Lemon Drizzle Mashed Potato Cake

It’s been a gloriously warm and sunny week here in Sheffield – about time too! Earlier in the week I had planned to bake some form of chocolate cake, but the sunshine made me yearn for something fresh and zingy instead, and lemon was the obvious choice. I wanted to try something a bit different and remembered seeing an old episode of River Cottage on TV where one of the chefs who works with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall made a lemon cake with a secret ingredient – mashed potato!

On first consideration mashed potato may sound like an odd ingredient for a cake, but if I had suggested pumpkin or sweet potato cake I doubt many people would have been overly surprised. The cake is also gluten free and potato flour is a common ingredient in gluten free baking, so on reflection using mashed potato in a cake is not that odd a concept. That being said I was still very eager and excited to try it out myself.

The mashed potato doesn’t replace any of the standard cake ingredients – they are all still there in their equal quantities, it is simply an additional ingredient. I imagined using mashed potato in a cake would result in a very dense and heavy sort of cake – maybe even one a little gummy, but let me re-assure you this cake turned out to be amazingly light and soft. Not heavy or dense in the slightest.

The cake baked evenly and despite its rather compact crumb appearance it was incredibly light, soft and moist. The lemon flavour really shone through, especially as it’s doused in a zingy lemon syrup once removed from the oven. I would describe it as ‘damp’ but in the most delicious way possible, rather than ‘damp and soggy’ which is not good for a cake.

Surprisingly despite using 3 lemons it wasn’t overpoweringly lemony. The potato seemed to mellow out the lemons sharp acidity giving the finished cake a flavour similar to a well made lemon curd. Fresh and lemony, but nicely balanced and sweet too.

It has to be one of the simplest looking, yet most delicious lemon cakes I’ve ever made. The potato gave it a fabulous texture, reminiscent of cakes made with sour cream. It kept just as damp and delicious for the 4 days it lasted. I didn’t have any berries with me at the time but I can imagine it would be great with some fresh raspberries on the side. Worthy of a picnic or BBQ dessert. Do give it a go.

Lemon Drizzle Mashed Potato Cake

(Adapted from River Cottage by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter, softened

175g caster sugar

4 eggs

100g ground almonds

75g white rice flour

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

2 large baking potatoes (around 400g raw = 250g cooked & mashed)

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons

For the topping

Juice of 2 lemons

55g caster sugar

Method

Prepare you mashed potato in advance. Cook it in the skin, then mash it without adding any additional butter or milk and set aside until cold.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8inch/20cm springform cake tin.

Finely grate the zest of the lemons and set it aside to use later. Mix the ground almonds, rice flour and baking powder together and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light, pale and fluffy, around 3-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of almond flour mix with each addition to stop the mixture curdling.

Once the last egg is added, scatter the rest of the almond flour mix over the top and fold into the mixture.

Weigh out and add 250g of cold mashed potato to the bowl and gently whisk until the potato is incorporated and no large clumps remain. Try not to beat all the air out of the batter.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Check it after 30 minutes to make sure it is not browning too much, and quickly cover with a sheet of foil if it is.

Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lemons and stir in the caster sugar.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately prick the top all over with a skewer. Use a spoon to gradually pour the lemon syrup over the top of the cake, letting it soak in before adding more. Make sure to spread it all over the cake evenly.

Leave the cake to cool completely before serving

Carrot Cake and a Lesson in Trusting Your Instincts

Recently I learnt the harsh lesson of trusting my baking instincts. Carrot cake is one of my all time favourite cakes and yet I rarely make the time to bake it. Things have been a little hectic and stressful of late and I wanted something indulgent and comforting to cheer myself up and decided to bake carrot cake. I also thought it was be good for an alternative Easter cake – Easter bunny, carrots = carrot cake. (A bit of a stretch I know, but go with it).

After a little search I came across a few recipes for carrot cupcakes by Babycakes NYC. They are a gluten free and vegan friendly bakery in America. I’ve had the good fortune to taste some of their products a few years ago on a trip to America. They were some of the most delicious bought gluten free treats I’ve ever tasted, so was more than happy to use their recipe – or so I thought!

I wanted to bake a cake instead of cupcake and so hunted for a recipe where someone had done just that. I came across one on a blog, printed it off and set to work. When it got to the part about adding the spices I was a little surprised at the quantity required. 1 tbsp of cinnamon and 3 tbsp of ground ginger. I paused slightly, this sounded like a lot of spice, but the cakes I had seen online did look darkly coloured and highly spiced (there is no brown sugar used to add additional colour) and so I decided to go with it. I did however reduce the ginger to 2 tbsp, instead of the 3 stated.

The cake baked well, quite firm and dense, but also wonderfully moist and very aromatic. Being vegan and gluten free meant no butter, eggs or refined sugar were used. Instead it relied on almond milk, oil and agave nectar for sweetness and moisture. I added some chopped walnuts, pecans and a few sultanas as I feel these are a must in any good carrot cake.

I didn’t need the recipe to be fully vegan and so made a lemon Quark frosting for filling and decorating my cake. Quark is a lesser well known curd cheese with a texture in-between cream cheese and ricotta. After a few photos I eagerly I cut a slice and tasted some.

My first thought was ‘ohhh that’s a bit strong’ followed by ‘urgh that’s horrible!’ The spices – ginger in particular completely overwhelmed the entire cake. It was so strong, raw, harsh, bitter and astringent that it made my mouth feel as though I’d stripped the top layer of skin off my tongue. Ginger is a very strong spice and I love my spices, but this was completely inedible. I bravely ate a few more mouthfuls, hoping the frosting would mellow out the flavour but it was not pleasant. I was so upset. I dare you go and eat a small spoonful of raw ground ginger and see what’s it’s like – not good.

This has to be one of the very few occasions that I have actually thrown a baked product away. Usually I can find some way to save a dish, adding extra sauce or turning it into something else but this cake was beyond help. I went back to the recipe and checked I had read it correctly – yes I had. Then I went and looked again at other recipes online only to discover that the 3 tablespoons ginger listed in the recipe I had printed should actually be 2-3 TEASPOONS! So I ended up adding about 3 times the amount of ginger I should have done – no wonder it tasted horrible!

I’m not too angry at the recipe for stating 3 tbsp instead of tsp – that accidental ‘b’ in the spoons was probably a typo and an easy mistake to make – but it’s shown me to trust my baking instincts – if it sounds too much, it probably is!

I have decided not to give you the recipe I used or a link to the blog site I copied the recipe from, as I don’t want to be mean. I still haven’t had my carrot cake, but I am determined to try the recipe again (from a more reliable source), as the texture seemed good. I think I’ll double and triple check the recipe next time though!

Lemon & Almond Magic Cake

I first saw this recipe for Magic Cake a few months ago and bookmarked it at once to try. It intrigued me as the magic part comes from the cake mix separating out into 3 distinct layers during baking. A top sponge layer, a custard middle layer and a firmer base layer. It looked incredible and I couldn’t wait to try it for myself.

I was a little dubious at first, as my cake batter was more like cake soup. It was very thin and slightly aerated from the addition of whisked egg whites. I was doubtful it would actually transform into anything sliceable.

On removing my cake from the tin I was amazed and delighted to discover that it had in fact separated into layers! I had not 3, but 4 layers in mine. A top sponge, a soft custard, a firmer custard and a more compact base layer. It was so exciting seeing the pool of cake soup transform into something that resembled cake.

The original recipe used only vanilla extract for flavour but I decided to use almond and lemon zest for mine. I love this flavour combination and the lemon gave it a nice freshness. The top sponge layer was very light and fluffy and the custardy filling was amazingly smooth and creamy.

It was tasty in a novel and unique ‘I can’t believe that worked’ sort of way. But looking at the dessert in its entirety, once you have got over the magic of it forming layers, I felt the base layer let it down. It became very firm and rubbery when stored in the fridge overnight and not that pleasant to eat. The airy sponge and silky custard top layers were so soft and light that the dense rubbery base kind of spoilt it. It has potential to be really good though, so don’t be put off trying it for yourself. The fact I used gluten free flour rather than wheat flour (used in the original) may have had something to do with the rubbery base texture. Others may be more successful

Lemon & Almond Magic Cake

(Recipe adapted from Kitchen Nostalgia blog)

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated

1 tbsp water

150g caster sugar

125g butter

115g gluten free plain flour

500ml milk

1 tsp almond extract

Zest of 2 lemons

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease an 8inch springform tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. Wrap the whole outside base of the tin in a sheet of foil, in case of any leakages during baking.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites and yolks into different bowl. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside..

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, water and almond extract until light and creamy in colour. Add melted butter and continue beating for another minute. Scatter the flour and lemon zest over the top and gently mix together.

Heat the milk until it is only just slightly warm to the touch, then gradually add it to the batter mix, while mixing slowly. It will become very liquid at this stage.

Add the egg whites on top and gently fold them into the liquid batter using a spatula. Mix until they are mostly incorporated, but a few lumps of whisked egg white are fine.

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for about 60 minutes or until the top is golden and puffy looking.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for at least 3 hours. The top may sink slightly on cooling, this is fine. Then carefully remove from the tin and slide the ‘cake’ onto a serving plate using a big palette knife to help you.

Sprinkle the top with icing sugar and serve. You should be able to see a dense base layer, middle custard layer and airy sponge top.

Makes 1 x 8inch custardy cake

Tea & Cake with Friends at Steel City Cakes, Sheffield

Yesterday my two best friends from ‘back home’ aka Bedford, came to visit me. I haven’t seen either of them since Christmas and that was only for a couple of hours so it was lovely to catch up with them again and learn all the latest gossip. We had a very enjoyable day shopping in the city centre complete with a delicious lunch at Fusion Organic Café – my favourite lunchtime spot.

I then treated the girls to afternoon tea at Steel City Cakes. I had been once before and was impressed at the variety of cakes on offer. As well as 'normal cakes' they also always have a selection of gluten free, dairy free, vegan or an assortment of all combined! It really is a shop where almost anyone can have their cake and eat it.

I would normally be a little wary of places offering homemade gluten free cakes alongside 'normal' cakes, but on my previous visit I had a chat with the owner who said her daughter is also gluten free and she is the one who bakes their gluten free cakes – result! There is nothing nicer than a gluten free cake baked by someone who truly knows and understands the sheer enjoyment of being able to eat a nice piece of cake along with the rest of their friends/family.

Steel City Cakes is located on Abbeydale Road and its not the easiest place to get to if travelling by car as there is limited parking along the streets outside, but don’t let that put you off. Once inside we were greeted by a vast assortment of layer cakes, most of which where 3 layers tall – now that’s my kind of cake! As well as cakes there were also cheesecakes, brownies, cupcakes and a few tarts on offer.

I decided to treat the girls to the tea and cake combination deal which allows you to have any cake and drink of your choice for £4. My friends chose lemon cheesecake and a white chocolate & fresh raspberry triple layer cake as their cakes. I enquired what was gluten free that day and was offered a choice of chocolate & toffee, coffee & walnut or chocolate & fresh raspberry cakes, as well as chocolate brownie or an apricot and custard tart. Wow what a choice! I went for the chocolate & fresh raspberry cake as I love that combination.

Some of the other 'normal' cake combinations sounded amazing and different from your standard, chocolate and vanilla only cake places. There was a spiced courgette cake, a pistachio one, coffee & walnut, salted caramel and peanut butter & chocolate. Yum.

When the cakes arrived we were amazed at the portions – they were huge! Normally these types of tea and cake offers mean you get a thin sliver of cake, not here these were substantial slices of cake and cheesecake that could almost have fed two people. So make sure you come hungry.

For drinks J and I went for fruit tea which was served in traditional china cups complete with saucers and floral design, which was a lovely touch. My other friend went for hot chocolate with complementary whipped cream on top.

We all tucked in somehow managed to polish off the lot. All the cakes were fresh and light and I loved the addition of the fresh raspberries with my chocolate cake. That little bit of fresh tartness really cut through the sweet buttercream. My cake was actually vegan and gluten free, I’ve no idea who they made it so rich and chocolaty without dairy, eggs or gluten. I was very impressed. My other friend described the lemon cheesecake as one of the nicest she’s had and I must admit it did look divine (please make some GF versions too!).

We all left full, happy and in a bit of a sugar coma. The shop is a bit out of the way but don’t let that put you off. I’ve been twice now and both times the cakes have been delicious and the variety excellent. This is clearly a shop run by cake lovers for cake lovers and well worth a visit.

Note: This review is my own. I went of my own accord and have received no incentive for writing this review.

Celebrating 7 Years of Apple & Spice with Apple & Hazelnut Upside Down Double Layer Cake

Today my blog turns 7. I can’t quite believe it. Each year I like to celebrate the occasion by making an apple themed bake. This year I was inspired by a cake combination of apple and hazelnuts.

My apple themed bakes from previous years are:

1st year – Spiced Apple Cake

2nd year – Individual Apple & Oat Crumbles

3rd year – Overnight Spiced Apple Stack

4th year – Fruity Tea Loaf

5^th year – Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

6^th year – Apple, Caramel & Almond Tart withPeanut Praline

My apple and hazelnut cake consists of light layers of nutty cake made by replacing some of the flour with ground hazelnuts. This was baked in tins that had chunks of sautéed spiced apple placed in the base first. When the cakes are turned out the apple bases become the topping for each cake layer. This creates layers of hazelnut cake topped with apple which when stacked means one apple topping acts like a fruity filling along with some creamy ricotta, and the other cake creates an appley topping as decoration. A double layer upside down cake.

I chose to shell, roast, de-skin and grind my own hazelnuts as we had lots of hazelnuts in their shells leftover from Christmas. I’ve never roasted and ground my own hazelnuts before and the intense nutty aroma this process produced was intoxicating. I’d really recommend roasting and grinding your own if you can, the flavour was far superior to the pre-ground variety, so nutty and fresh tasting.

The apple for the base/topping was made with tangy Cox apples that I first softened slightly in a mix of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. This created little chunks of sweet and spicy appley goodness that were delicious when baked into the hazelnut cake.

I debated using slices of apple rather than chunks, to create a more decorative topping when the cakes were turned out, but decided this would make the cake harder to cut neatly. I think I made the right decision in the end and I liked the chunks of apple, I think they added more flavour and texture than a thin slice would have done.

To fill my cake layers I used fresh ricotta that I lightly beat with a little maple syrup to sweeten it. This worked really well and kept the cake feeling light and delicate, as ricotta is no where near as rich as double cream. As it was lightly beaten it became smoother and creamier and many of my tasters didn’t realise it wasn’t cream until I told them. You couldn’t really taste the maple syrup, it just sweetened the ricotta slightly while still letting the hazelnuts and apple shine through.

My family loved the cake and it was devoured within a day. The combination of roasted hazelnuts, succulent apple and milky creamy ricotta was a delicious combination and kept the layers moist. It was the kind of cake you could eat for afternoon tea or as a dessert. (Sorry for the quality of the photos it was a very dark day).

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog or who writes blogs of their own. You are a great source of inspiration and new ideas. I’m sure most bloggers would agree with me that there are occasions were finding time to bake and blog can feel like a chore, but most of the time I delight in freedom of food creativity it allows me to explore.

Apple & Hazelnut Upside Down Double Layer Cake

Hazelnut Cake

60g hazelnuts, skin on

120g caster sugar

120g butter

80g gluten free plain flour

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

Sautéed Apples

4 x Cox apples (350g peeled, chopped weight)

15g butter

3 tsp light soft brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Filling

150g ricotta

1½ tbsp maple syrup

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 8-9 minutes until the skins are tinged and they smell very nutty.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then rub the hazelnuts in a clean tea towel or sheets of kitchen paper to remove the skins. If sufficiently roasted, they should just flake off easily.

Grind the hazelnuts in a coffee grinder or small food processor and set aside.

To make the apple, peel, core and dice the apples into 1-2cm pieces.

Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the apples. Allow to cook for 8-10 minutes until just starting to soften. Sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon and cook for a further 1 minute until the sugar has dissolved to form a light caramel with the juices from the apple. Set aside.

Line the base of 2 x 6inch cake tins with greaseproof paper. If not still on, heat the oven to 180C. Divide the sautéed apple between the bases of each cake tin.

To make the cake, make sure your butter is soft and then beat it together with the sugar until it is pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well. Scatter the flour, baking powder and hazelnuts over the top of the cake and mix until combined.

Divide the cake batter into the tins, spreading it carefully over the top of the apple chunks. It’s easiest to do this by blobbing on small spoonfuls and spread it out gently. It may look like there isn’t enough sponge mix, but it puffs up in the oven.

Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes until risen and gently springy to the touch.

Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge and turning out. Leave the cakes to cool upside down, with the apple facing up.

To assemble, use a spatula to beat the ricotta with the maple syrup until it becomes smoother and creamy. (It will still look slightly granular, this is fine)

Place one cake layer on a serving plate, apple side up. Spread over the ricotta and top with the second cake layer, also apple side up.

Allow to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before dusting lightly with icing sugar and serving.

Store any leftovers in the fridge and due to the moistness from the apple and ricotta, its best to eat within 2 days.

Makes 1 x 6inch cake.

Indulgent Love-By-Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

I’m not normally the type of person who craves chocolate, and when I do eat chocolate it’s got to be dark. Cake, rice pudding or cereal are usually my comfort foods of choice. However, there are exceptions to the rule. These past few weeks have been really busy at work and what with it being the run up to Valentines Day I keep seeing blog posts full of indulgent looking chocolate based desserts with the result that by the time Friday rolled round I was more than ready for some full on chocolate indulgence. The richer and darker the better.

After a quick internet search I happened upon a cake recipe by a chef called Ed Kasky that had literally hundreds of rave reviews. It looked so deep, dark and chocolaty that I knew I had found my chocolate treat. The recipe made a colossal 10inch double layer cake, which even in my chocolate craved state was too much for me. I decided to make a daintier 6inch cake instead. The recipe called for 3 eggs and I pondered dividing everything by a third and using only 1 egg, but this seemed stingy and so instead went for using 1½ eggs. I know this isn’t ideal but you can simply add the remaining half egg to more eggs to bulk up an omlette or make some fried rice etc. 

Making the batter I could tell the cake was going to be a good one. Oil, buttermilk and hot coffee are used in place of butter, and both melted chocolate and a large amount of cocoa powder are used for chocolate flavour. This produced one very rich chocolaty cake batter that was of pouring consistency. The cake is also baked at a very low temperature, meaning it almost sets in the oven rather than bakes, creating a completely soft cake without a top crust, I could tell it was going to be a lovely moist cake. 

Using 1½ egg recipe produced a large amount of batter and I ended up filling 2 x 6inch tins and a spare ceramic dish with the batter. Despite using 3 dishes, the batter still rose in the oven and overflowed the sides of the tins, falling onto the oven base. Well darn, I should have stuck with my original thought of only using 1 egg. I think I made enough batter to fill 2 x 8inch tins. 

Despite a bit of baking mishap, after trimming off the overflowed bits and neatening the edges, the cake was spectacular! It was light, airy and wonderfully moist. It was a little soft and fragile at first, but firmed up a bit on cooling. Due to the large amount of batter it produced 2 very tall layers which were decadently filled and topped with a glossy dark chocolate ganache for extra indulgence.

The cake was fantastically light and almost moussy when I first ate it. The middle layer of ganache melding with the soft moist cake layers to make one delectable mouthful. The cake was sweet with a rich, slightly sticky gooey chocolate cake flavour. You don’t taste the added coffee in the cake, it just seems to deepen the chocolate flavour and make it seem even more grown up and indulgent. Oh, this was the chocolate cake of all chocolate cakes!

The smooth, creamy dark ganache worked perfectly with the cake, it really felt special and treat-worthy. In a nod to Valentines Day I decorated it simply with a sprinkle of red sugar hearts. Perfect for sharing with a loved one. I can’t wait to make it again and use 2 x 8inch tins instead. I’ll give my recipe below using 1½ eggs, but I’ll say to bake it in 8inch tins, as 6inch are far too small.

If you’re going to give in to a chocolate craving, then you might as well dive in head first and bake this wickedly indulgent sensational chocolate cake! It really is death by chocolate, but as it’s nearly Valentines, I’ve taken a bit of poetic license and called it Love-By-Chocolate instead J

Here a link to the original recipe, that I halved and adapted to make it gluten free (below).

Indulgent Love-By-Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Cake

40g dark chocolate

170ml hot brewed coffee

275g caster sugar

*120g rice flour

*20g cornflour

*10g tapioca starch

¾ tsp xanthan gum

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1½ eggs

85ml vegetable oil

165ml buttermilk

½ tsp vanilla extract

*(Alternatively use 150g of your favourite gluten free plain flour)

Dark Chocolate Ganache

300g dark chocolate 60-70% cocoa

180ml double cream

40g butter

Method - Cake
Preheat the oven to 150C and grease and line the base of 2 x 8inch tins.

Finely chop the 40g chocolate and add to a small bowl with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside.

In a jug, measure out the oil, buttermilk and vanilla, set aside.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, gluten free flours, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum.

In another large bowl beat the eggs with an electric mixer until thickened slightly and pale creamy coloured, around 3 minutes.

Combine the coffee mixture to the buttermilk mixture in the jug and then slowly add the liquids into the whisked egg mixture, whisking slowly all the time. Don’t worry if there is some solidified chocolate bits left behind, just add these in too.

Add the flour mixture a third at a time, beating gently between each third until just combined.

Divide the batter between the tins and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, around 50mins – 1hr 5mins.

Place the cake, still in the tins on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely in the tins. Do not remove when still warm or else they will collapse.

Once cool, run a knife around the edge and carefully turn out. Place on cake on a serving plate, spread with half the ganache and top with the remaining cake layer. Spread the remaining ganache over the top of the cake and decorate as desired.

Allow to set for 30 minutes before serving.

Store any leftover cake in the fridge, wrapped in clingfilm.

Dark Chocolate Ganache
Break the chocolate into pieces and set aside.

Heat the cream in a saucepan until just beginning to simmer, but don’t let it boil.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate, stir once and leave for 3 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Then stir gently until the cream and chocolate are combined into a glossy mass.

Cut the butter into small pieces and stir into the chocolate.

Allow to cool until of a spreadable consistency but still soft and glossy, around 10 minutes. Use the ganache to fill and decorate the cake layers.