Hello blogging world!
Well.
Buying a domain name and paying for hosting was one thing.
Setting up an actual site is a whole other ball game.
Life’s pretty easy over here at WordPress.com. You don’t have to think about much, you just blog and publish.
But in self-hosting world, my entire vocabulary has been expanded. Plugins. Caching. SEO. Jetpack. RSS. CDN. Meta. CSS. Atom feed. PHP. Ummm… A week ago, I didn’t actually know what any of those things were.
Secretly, I still don’t understand what most of those things actually are. Like, CSS. Um? What?I’m just hoping to fake it till I make it.
Thank god for an IT-literate friend who has swooped in to save the day, design all the gorgeous details and answer my ten million annoying questions.
So point of the story is that I know nothing about web design.
But something I do know a whole lot about?
Baking. And bars. And cake. And all things gooey. And Biscoff related.
When I saw these gooey Biscoff cake bars on Confessions of a Cookbook Queen I died and went to heaven, just a little bit.
Then I went straight into the kitchen and baked them. And It was gooey, Biscoff, cream cheese, butter cake love at first bite.
So today I give you bars.
Hopefully by the end of the week, I will give you my new site.
Deal? Okay.
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
For the gooey Biscoff layer
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup Biscoff spread (140g, 5 oz)
450g icing sugar, sifted (16 oz)Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and line a 9 x 13 inch pan with baking paper.To make the butter cake layer, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.Add the egg, melted butter and vanilla and stir until just combined. Press into the prepared pan.
To make the gooey Biscoff layer, beat the cream cheese until smooth using an electric mixer. Add the eggs, Biscoff and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy.
Add the powdered sugar in small batches, beating on low speed until each batch is combined.
Pour the gooey Biscoff layer over the cake layer and spread our evenly.
Bake for 35 – 40 minutes until the edges are golden and the top is shiny. The center will still be slightly underdone but will set when it cools.
Allow to cool completely before cutting. Makes 20 – 24 bars.
It will all be worth it I’m sure. I’m a graphic designer and over the years have done numerous courses in HTML and web and I’m using WordPress – for sheer laziness – I must confess. I figure if I can leave all the behind the scenes to WordPress I can concentrate on getting my imagery and baking skills to a level I’m happy with. Really looking forward to seeing your new site and of course more edible goodies
Oh thanks so much Boni! Your site is beautiful though – your logo and your photos are absolutely gorgeous. I hope you like the new site
see you over there soon!
Ah thanks Natasha. To hear that from you has given me such a boost. Your site and amazing-mazing photography is an inspiration for me. Talk soon.
You’re very welcome! You should be proud of it and your photos, and to think you haven’t even been doing it for a year! I took ages to get the hang of things
Really looking forward to seeing the site Natasha! Mine is being designed at the moment as well, is so exciting! Who have you gone with for self-hosting? Think I’m going to go with bluehost.
P.S the bars look amazing
Hi Joy! Oh yay! I’m looking forward to seeing yours, too! I have gone with Go Daddy
PS. Thanks!!
I’m swooning over the gooey Biscoff butter cake bars – and wishing you best of luck with your new site adventure!
Thanks Anne! They’re crazy gooey
I believe I may have died just a little after seeing these bars. My new year’s resolution has died as well, but no regrets! I’m so glad I stumbled across these on Tastespotting; gorgeous photos, and congrats on the domain change! I hope it goes swell…this coming from the girl who can barely handle her Google Reader feed, much less deal with the nuances of CS. Good luck, and cheers!
Haha thanks so much! I don’t even know how to set up a Google Reader feed, so you’re a step ahead of me!
I am hopelessly hopeless, so fingers crossed.
In regards to the bars, I died when i first saw them too. And needed to bake them ASAP. Hope you enjoy as much as I did
Hi, What if the Biscoff mix??????? Cake maker. earthangel1054@WildBlue.net
Hi Naoma, it is a spread, also called Speculoos.
You don’t want to know because you will be totally hooked and eat it straight out of the jar! Widely available in US and only recently available in UK (waitrose). Now my suitcase from US has space for something else.
Oh my, those look like they came out perfectly!! I’m so excited for your self-hosted site…can’t wait to see how it turns out
Thanks Maura!! I can’t wait to see how it turns out either lol!
ps. I finally replied to your email yesterday!
Anything with biscoff as an ingredient is a must. Can completely relate to your IT issues- I am still on a very steep learning curve, I don’t have an IT savvy friend
I know right, Biscoff is amazing!!!
Haha I am so glad I’m not along! It is SO confusing! You need to get yourself someone IT savvy otherwise it is a nightmare! Good luck
Looking good! I’m also in the process of a move to self-hosting. Can’t wait to relaunch!
Thanks so much! Good luck with your relaunch
Hi, new to your site and LOVING it!!! Do you know if you can get biscoff in Australia?
Hi Fiona! Thanks so much, I’m glad you like it
You actually can’t get Biscoff in Australia! You can get the biscuits, called Speculoos, at Aldi, but not the spread 
Oh no
I’m assuming Speculoos is like the Speculars you can buy in the other supermarkets? Will have to hold back trying this one then! Can’t wait to look for something else I can try 
Sounds like it probably is! I know it’s a huge shame we can’t get it here, but an importer emailed me a couple of months ago saying they were working on it… so hopefully soon! Hope you find something else yummy
[...] to I wanted to make a double-decker blondie out of it, so when I found this wonderful recipe for Biscoff butter cake, my taste buds were definitely a-tingle. I decided to adapt the cookie butter layer to accommodate [...]
So happy I stumbled onto your site. Old/New! I love reading your blog, comments on your recipes, new takes on old recipes, photography and yes that you welcome your followers comments. I too am a lover of Nutella but also discovered Speculoos and am hot on the trail for recipes. Believe it or not I recently travelled with my family to Europe for Christmas and the only thing I brought home was Speculoos. I look forward to following you and your recipe creations. Good luck on this new site.
Hi Liz! Wow, thank you so much for all of your kind words! I’m very happy to hear you like the blog
I’m jealous!
I am OBSESSED with speculoos, and if I could I would bring nothing but speculoos home from Europe too
Love that you’re following along, hope you enjoy it!
Hehe speculoos also called speculaas, is very yummy, it’s pretty normal in Belgium. In fact I’m currently eating a white chocolate egg with speculaas inside. MMMmmm. You should also try tiramisu with speculaas, Or the icecream.
Anyways, this recipe looks incredible and I will try to make this soon!
Hahah if you have it everywhere and can get it so easily then maybe you should send me some?!
just kidding, but I am very jealous!
Those are great ideas, if I could buy it here, I would love to try them, thanks!
Enjoy your speculaas!