Author Archives: messyjessygrace

Honeycomb and Chocolate Four Layer Celebration Cake

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Honeycomb and Chocolate Four Layer Celebration Cake Recipe One Perfect Mess 11

Aaaand I’ve reached 4000 views on my little blog! I can’t quite articulate how happy/jubilant/gleeful/giddy that makes me feel, so instead I baked this celebration cake to send you all my love in the form of a four layered chocolate cake with velvety honeycomb buttercream, drizzled generously with dark chocolate ganache and a pile of smashed homemade honeycomb. Does this give you a better idea of how grateful I am? I actually went a bit over the top on the swiss meringue buttercream, those responsible for demolishing it did so with a bit of a groan…i.e. probably only pile on half as much buttercream as I did. But oh well, as far as life difficulties go, too much honeycomb buttercream isn’t really that horrendous.

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Strawberry and Chocolate Tart with an Anzac Biscuit Base

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Strawberry and Chocolate Tart with an Anzac Biscuit Base Recipe One Perfect Mess 1

With Anzac Day approaching this Saturday, I thought I’d whip up this tasty little tart with all the egg yolks I had leftover from making swiss meringue buttercream last week! The crunchy, coconutty, buttery biscuit makes a wonderful base for the velvety chocolate crème pâtissière and fresh strawberries. Crème Pâtissière is a staple French custard equivalent, and it’s a little bit magical to watch hot milk, egg yolks, cornflour and sugar come together as you whisk to form a thick, silky cream. Traditionally flavoured with vanilla or chocolate, Crème Pâtissière can be used to fill tarts, cakes or eclairs, but is equally delicious on its own.

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Caramelised Pear and Ginger Upside Down Cake

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Caramelised Pear and Ginger Upside Down Cake Recipe One Perfect Mess 7

It’s a dark, wintery night and you’re cozied up on the couch, hands wrapped around a steaming mug of tea, listening to the crackling fire and the pitter-patter of gentle rain on the roof, but there’s something missing…until you pull this Caramelised Pear and Ginger Upside Down Cake out of the oven! I firmly believe that one slice of this soft, sweet, sticky cake will solve a significant number of your problems, and will be gladly received by whoever you choose to share it with. This recipe has become a favourite of mine, and I’ve experimented with it over the years to produce this fool-proof version.

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White Chocolate Layer Cake with Blackberry Buttercream

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White Chocolate Layer Cake with Blackberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe One Perfect Mess 1

It’s starting to feel like Autumn. Right now, the streets are adorned with vivid crimsons and fiery golds, the air is crisp and laced with the scents of log fires and fresh rain, and the kitchen smells like warm hot cross buns. I’m getting ready to hibernate for a winter of baking, drinking tea, reading, lambing, going for long walks… I’m definitely a cold weather frog. And after months of no rain, dry paddocks and hungry sheep, winter couldn’t come sooner! This scrumptious cake holds the last of the season’s blackberries, and fed a gang of friends and family as we huddled by the fire last night. Three layers of fluffy white chocolate cake are held together by velvety swiss meringue buttercream, flavoured with fresh blackberries and white chocolate. The berries are a wonderful offset to the sweetness of the chocolate, and I had a lot of fun (in hindsight) experimenting with the ombre frosting effect…not as easy as it looks but definitely worth the challenge!

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Salted Caramel Slice

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Salted Caramel Slice with Roasted Nut and Coconut Base Recipe One Perfect Mess 3-6

This is a swanky caramel slice that puts the classic recipe to shame. First, you taste the slathering of dark chocolate, sprinkled with sparkling salt flakes. Then, your teeth collapse into an irresistible layer of thick, silky, slightly salted caramel. Finally, that magnificent mouthful is finished off with a moreish, crunchy base of roasted nuts and shredded coconut. You’ll quickly convert to this jazzed up version of the old favourite, and those lucky enough to taste a slice will be begging you for more…

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Double Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Blackberries

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Double Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Blackberries Recipe One Perfect Mess 6

This is a monster for chocolate lovers; layers of rich, moist, chocolate buttermilk cake held together in a delicious embrace by a thick, velvety, dark chocolate cream cheese frosting, topped off with fresh juicy blackberries! The cream cheese frosting is decadent, but its slight tang provides the perfect offset to the rich, chocolatey sweetness of the cake itself. And I just love blackberries…I summoned my inner jungle girl and went crawling through a dense forest near my house to pick a whole container-full of these bad boys. I came back with some pretty severe war wounds down my legs and arms, but it was so worth it.

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Roasted Almond and Dark Chocolate Layer Cake

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Roasted Almond and Dark Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe One Perfect Mess 3

This is a celebration cake to get happy about; happy as you whip up the one-bowl cake batter for the layers of soft almond vanilla cake, happy as you see that your chocolate ganache has cooled to a fudgy frosting, happy as you meticulously scrape and lick the bowls clean with your spatula, happy as you press the roasted almonds into the thick chocolate coating, happy as you slice through the four layers and discover that the whole thing actually holds together perfectly…and then JUBILANT as you take a bite and realise it’s just as yummy as it was easy to make! I whipped this one up for my spectacular cousin’s 8th birthday, and it was enjoyed by kiddies and grandparents alike with lots of cups of tea and candles. I promise you the whole recipe really is foolproof, but the final cake looks like you slaved and sweated for hours. So I’m basically handing you the opportunity to appear much more impressive than you really are…does that and a slice of roasted almond and dark chocolate layer cake tempt you enough? If so enjoy the pictures and keep scrolling down for the recipe! Have a great weekend y’all 🙂

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Honey Roasted Fig, Dark Chocolate and Mascarpone Tart

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Honey Roasted Fig Dark Chocolate and Mascarpone Tart Recipe One Perfect Mess 6

Something super exciting happened to me the other day. I was at my local fruit and veg shop, loading up on as many ‘reject’ bargains as I could carry, when a big tray of fat black figs by the counter caught my eye. And they were only $20/kg! Usually figs sell for around $4 each, but now that Autumn has hit, this briefly miraculous time of ripe, affordable figs is upon us. It’s time to take advantage of it! This recipe actually only needs 2 fresh figs, but I bought 6 and froze the other 4, so now I just need to decide what my next fig creation will be!

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Dark Chocolate and Roasted Hazelnut Fudge Brownies

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Dark Chocolate and Roasted Hazelnut Fudge Brownies Recipe One Perfect Mess 2

I’m going to keep this one simple. Here you will find an incredibly easy recipe for possibly the best brownie you will ever taste. Packed with dark chocolate, butter and hazelnut, these brownies are soft, fudgey, crumbly and incredibly moist. I used a touch of almond meal and coconut essence to add a subtle depth of flavour, and have found that the recipe can easily be made gluten free by substituting regular plain flour for gluten free plain flour. Also, feel free to swap the hazelnuts for walnuts, macadamias, almonds, peanuts etc…but then again you can’t go past the perfection of chocolate and roasted hazelnuts. These are definitely best when served warm, your fork will slide right through that chocolately goodness, and each heavenly bite will literally melt in your mouth. Bake them for friends, family or yourself, and have fun!

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Honeyed Plum, Almond and Dark Chocolate Tart

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Behold one of the most versatile tart recipes ever. Using Dorie Greenspan’s basic recipes for ‘Sweet Tart Dough’ and ‘Almond Cream’, as found in her legendary book ‘Around my French Table’ (highly recommended), you can create so many variations of this beautifully fruity, rich, silky tart. I used her chocolate variation of the tart shell, and the result is a crumbly, rich, slightly bitter base that is the perfect carrier for this creamy almond frangipane filling, and the juicy plums nestled within. I have soaked the tart in warm honey to finish, which gives an already beautiful dessert an irresistible glow. The tart is rich but very thin, so I found it be the perfect amount of indulgence! Continue reading →