Goody Good Stuff – A Very Sweet Review

Growing up everyone has their favourite treats. For some people its crisps, others chocolate bars or weird flavoured bubble gum, but for me it was sweets. I wasn’t a fan of boiled sweets, but I loved penny chews, flying saucers, milk bottles and millions from the pick n mix selection. Over the years my tastes changed and now my treat of choice would be a slice of cake or some rich dark chocolate. This is probably a good thing, as when I became vegetarian and now coeliac, this puts nearly all sweets in the forbidden bin…or so I thought!

When the lovely people at Goody Good Stuff offered to send me some of their new range of suitable-for-everyone sweets, my childhood nostalgia took over and I eagerly accepted. The entire sweet range is vegetarian, fat, gelatin, dairy and nut free. They are also made with no artificial colours, use natural flavours and are Halal & Kosher certified. Wow!

I was sent 6 of their 8 varieties to try and in the interest to giving them a fair review I teamed up with C, one of my coeliac friends, for a sweet taste test. We took out jobs very seriously and made score sheets and everything! Each of the sweets was awarded marks of out 10 for Aroma, Appearance, Texture and Flavour. I’ve then added together our scores and took the average to create an overall score out of 40 for each one. It was a lot of fun, although I was on a complete sugar high by the end of it!

Interesting enough, our top and bottom choices were the same, but the middle ones shifted about a bit. Here is the summary:

Cheery Cherries

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw these, they used to be one of my favourites growing up. The aroma of cherry hits you the minute you open the bag, it’s a sort of fake cherry smell but so reminiscent of my childhood. The texture of them is bouncy and chewy, yet surprisingly soft. Not as hard as Haribo sweets, probably due to their lack of gelatine. They had a lovely cherry flavour and we both agreed we would happily eat these again. Joint score 66/80

Cola Breeze

Again the aroma was very strong and smelt just like you’d opened a can of coke. These scored highly on texture and appearance and I loved the sugar coating, it was ever so slightly sharp and fizzy and really enhanced the cola bottle experience. Sadly I’ve never liked cola bottles, but I could tell they were a very good representation so tried to be fair with my marks; C adored them – hence their high score of 65/80

Strawberry Cream

These were fun little sweets. A mix of white ‘cream’ and red ‘strawberry’ blobs. They were springy and chewy and the perfect size to pop 2 or 3 in your mouth at the same time. I liked how the white and red blobs tasted different too, rather than just being a different colour, so worked well eaten together. I would have liked the strawberry ones to have been a little bigger though, possibly also strawberry shaped like in one of the other packets. Scored 60½/80

Summer Peaches

Another sweet I remember fondly. Again, the aroma was strong when opening the bag and it smelt quite fresh, rather than chemical. I loved the two tone, blushing red and orange hue to the sweets, just like a real peach. The texture was wonderfully soft and also juicy, not chewy. The fine coating of sugar was just right too, not too thick, so that it didn’t actually crunch when you bit into it. I loved these but C wasn’t so keen on the flavour (like me with cola bottles) so it scored 52½/80

Tropical Fruit

This was a mix of shaped, coloured and flavoured gummy sweets. Unfortunately, this meant that the smell of them together in the bag was a bit overpowering and confused, due to all the different flavours fighting for attention. However, the sweets themselves were very nice and we were both impressed with the attention to detail on the shapes of the sweets. They were slightly firmer in texture than the cherries but still soft enough to chew easily. The flavours were a bit off though. The pineapple tasted very tropical, but the strawberry one I had tasted more like orange and the banana was a very fake banana milkshake flavoured banana. Good, but we both felt they could have been better. 50/80

Sour Fruit Salad

This was our least favourite. To start with the majority of the bag was green and yellow sweets, with only one red, orange and pink sweet in the bunch (there’s more sweets than shown in photo). I thought at first they were all the same shape, but they are in fact different, only subtly so. The sugar coating doesn’t help, but we felt they could have been more distinctively shaped, more like the tropical fruit mix. They were also called ‘sour’ but neither of us got any kind of sour flavour from the sweets nor the sugar coating. On the plus side we loved the gooey soft texture of the sweets, but felt overall these were a bit hit and miss. 43/80

All in all both C and I were impressed with the variety and quality of the sweets, and we would definitely buy our top four again. They are a great choice for people with certain dietary requirements, or vegetarians alike. I’m sure they would be a hit at a children’s birthday party. You can find a list of their stockists on their website.

Goody Good Stuff also told me that the sweets are suitable for baking with as they can withstand temperatures up to 250C. Naturally I wanted to try this out and used some of the Strawberry Cream sweets to create a cupcake. Their small size and flavour seemed to make them the ideal choice. I mixed some of the red strawberry sweets into a vanilla sponge base and used the cream sweets on top as decoration. Whipped cream seemed appropriate to use as the topping and I flavoured it with a few spoonfuls of strawberry jam and a hint of pink to tie it all together.

The sweets held up well in baking and kept both their colour and flavour. However, I had to store my cupcakes in the fridge as I’d used fresh cream for the topping, which did cause the sweets to go a bit hard and chewy, but otherwise they worked well. I bet they would be great in a cookie or slice or some kind.

Roasted Pumpkin & Feta Quiche with Mint

I bought a large pumpkin a few days ago in order to make a pumpkin risotto. After making the dish I was left with three quarters of a pumpkin still to use and decided to simply roast it in slices as I love any sort of roasted veg. Even after eating some in salads, with houmous and general munching I was still left quite a considerable amount leftover. I hate to waste food and so decided to use it in a quiche. I had a rummage through the fridge to see what else needed using up and came up with half a block of feta cheese and some fresh mint. Right pumpkin, feta and mint quiche it was to be!

I was a little unsure about adding the mint to the quiche and nearly didn’t do it, but I’m so pleased I decided to take a chance any include it. It really adds a freshness to the finished quiche, the same way lemon does, only…more minty! It tasted delicious with the little cubes of salty feta and peas (I add peas to most savoury things!) I must use mint more often in my cooking, it was a revelation.

The tiny cubes of feta seemed to melt into the egg quiche mixture, become very soft and creamy. You could taste when you bit into a chunk, but the chalky, crumbly texture was gone, which worked really well. The cubes of roasted pumpkin were delicious too and I loved how each slice looked so pretty, orange, cream and green.

I cut most of it into slices and stashed it away in the freezer for when I’m in need of a quick dinner. I love how using leftovers can often produce the best tasting meals.

Roasted Pumpkin & Feta Quiche with Mint

Gluten Free Pastry

200g gluten free plain flour (Doves Farm)
20g brown rice flour
½ tsp xanthan gum
85g butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 - 2 tbsp cold water

Filling
170g roasted pumpkin or squash*

80g feta cheese

50g frozen peas, thawed

3 eggs

300ml milk

8 large mint leaves

Salt and pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Have an 8inch/20cm tart tin ready.
Mix the flours and xanthan gum together in a bowl to combine.
In a separate bowl, add your butter, (it should be soft, if not blast it in the microwave for a few seconds) along with half the flour mixture, the egg and 1 tablespoon of the water. Beat with a spoon or spatula to form a paste. (Yes I know this goes against all traditional pastry making!) Add the rest of the flour and bring the mixture together to form a dough, switching to your hands at the end. Add a little more water if it seems dry. Knead the dough gently for 1 minute to ensure everything is well combined.
Roll out the pastry between two large sheets of clingfilm to the size and shape of your tart tin, plus an extra 1-2 inches for the sides.
Peel off the top sheet of clingfilm, and use the base sheet to help you flip the pastry into the tin and press it down gently. Trim off the excess and patch up any cracks with the off-cuts of pastry.

Prick the pastry lightly with a fork and place on a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. (You don’t need to add any baking beans as GF pastry doesn’t shrink like ‘normal’ pastry as there is no gluten!)

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Increase the oven temperature to 190C.  Cut your roasted squash or pumpkin into 2cm cubes and the feta into 1cm cubes.

In a jug, whisk together the eggs, milk and a little salt and pepper.

Scatter the pumpkin, feta and peas over the base of the tart. Chop the mint into shreds and arrange over the top.

Place the tart into the oven and then pour the egg mixture over the top, using the jug to help you.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the middle is set when gently shaken.

Allow to cool slightly before serving. Also tastes delicious cold.

Makes 1 x 8inch quiche

Note

* I had leftover roasted pumpkin from a previous dinner, but if you don’t, then simply cut your pumpkin into large slices, drizzle with a little oil and roast at 200C for 25-30 minutes. You can leave the skin on, as its edible once roasted

Soft & Cakey Triple Ginger Cookies

These cookies are amazing! I couldn’t sleep last night as I had too many thoughts racing through my mind. During the night my mind wandered off to baking. As I was feeling restless it was warming, comforting food I was craving. By morning my mind was made up – gingerbread cookies. Not the crisp and crunchy kind, the soft, thick kind. Rich in spices, ginger and treacle.

I have a favourite soft ginger cookie recipe which I used to bake quite often, but I have not tried baking them since going gluten free. Some textures, soft and chewy in particular, are harder to achieve in a gluten free baked good, which often produce crisper and crumblier results, especially in cookies. This made me a little anxious to bake this recipe again, as I had such fond memories of it. My desire for gingerbread won over though and I set to work.

These cookies get their ginger flavour from a generous amount of ground ginger and also chopped crystallised ginger. I wanted an extra warming kick and so today I also added some chopped stem ginger (the kind that comes in syrup). Mixed spice and a sticky spoonful of black treacle are also added which lends a deep spicy aroma and flavour to the cookie. It’s also important to use granulated sugar, NOT caster sugar in the mix, as the larger granules produce a cookie with a slightly crackly texture and crunch which just makes them that little bit extra special.

I wanted thick cookies and so chilled the dough briefly before baking them. This worked well and helped ensure the middle stayed soft and tender while the outside became ever so slightly crisp. They smelt amazing while baking in the oven, warm and spicy, almost like Christmas cake!

Taking a bite, you first hit the crisp edge which yields to a soft, slightly chewy, thick cakey middle. The warming spices come through instantly, but not overpoweringly so. More a soothing, comforting warmth with little kicks of hot spicy ginger hitting your taste buds as you bite into a little nugget of chewy crystallised or stem ginger.

A subtle warming spiciness lingers on your tongue for several minutes even after you’ve finished it. Warm, soothing and comforting. Just breathing in their smell is enough to relax the mind and muscles. They are truly amazing cookies and just what I needed after a restless nights sleep.

Soft & Cakey Triple Ginger Cookies

Ingredients
240g gluten free plain flour (Doves Farm)
135g butter
180g granulated sugar (not caster)

1 egg

2 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp mixed spice

45g black treacle

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

30g crystallized ginger

30g stem ginger

Method

Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper (not silicone or else they spread too much) and set to one side. Line another smaller tray with clingfilm.

Make sure your butter is soft, add the sugar and cream together using an electric mixer until fluffy.
Beat in the egg and spices until well incorporated. Chop the crystallized ginger and stem ginger into small pieces and stir through the batter along with the black treacle.
Scatter the flour and baking powder over the batter and beat together until just combined.
Use an old fashioned ice cream scoop, or a tablespoon, to take equal amounts of the cookie batter and place onto the clingfilm lined baking tray (you can arrange them close together).

Place the cookie balls into the fridge to firm up for 30-40 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180C.

Arrange the chilled cookie balls onto the greaseproof paper lined baking tray, about 2inch/5cm apart. Press down on the tops gently to create a flat top, but you don’t want them to actually spread out at all.
Bake in the oven for 13 minutes until puffy and slightly crackled on top.
Allow to cool for 2 minutes before carefully transferring the cookies to a cooling rack – they will still be soft at this stage.
Repeat with the remaining cookie balls if required.
Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. They go completely soft after the first day.

Makes 15 thick cookies

Squidgy Chocolate Muffin Cakes

I am so pleased I finally get to share this recipe with you. I created these little squidgy chocolate cakes back in my university days, a sort of muffin-brownie hybrid. I had the recipe saved on my laptop, which later went and died on me. I had my uni work back up but feared the recipe lost forever. However, last weekend I was looking back through my family’s old computer archives when I discovered a file called ‘Katie Laptop Backup.’ It turns out my Dad had taken a copy of all my files shortly before my laptop died, not just my uni work. Hidden amongst the essays and coursework was this recipe – hurrah! Thank you Dad! I was so excited and set about baking them at once.

They are just as good as I remember, despite now baking them using gluten free flour. They have a slightly chewy top crust which hides a squidgy chocolate middle, reminiscent of a brownie and then a cakey base. They are quite rich and packed with dark chocolate flavour.

The recipe only makes 6 cakes, created at a time when dark chocolate, butter and eggs seemed ridiculously expensive for a student, but I’m sure the recipe would double up easily. The rather shocking thing about these cakes is the temperature they are baked at – 200C. This means they only have 10-12 minutes in the oven and helps create the top surface while maintaining a soft and gooey centre. It’s not uncooked batter, more brownie like.

I also added a few white chocolate drops as decoration, which added little blobs of melty chocolate and a little sweetness. I shared them with my family and they were devoured in one sitting (there were 5 of us) with the last one being fought over. I’ve already been asked to make them again. My Dad wants me to try baking them with some cherries in the centre – sounds good to me!

Squidgy Chocolate Muffin Cakes

(Apple & Spice own recipe)

Ingredients

65g dark chocolate

110g butter

1 egg

½ tbsp rapeseed oil

60g gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm) (‘normal’ plain flour works too)

80g caster sugar

12g cocoa powder

½ tsp instant coffee (optional)

½ tsp baking powder

24 white chocolate chips/small chunks

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C (yes, really that hot). Line a muffin tin with 6 paper cases.

In a small pan, melt the dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee (if using) and butter together until melted and glossy. Set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk together the egg, oil and sugar until it has turned slightly thicker and become moussy in texture, about 2 minutes.

Add the flour and baking powder and beat again.

Add the melted chocolate mixture and beat again briefly. The mixture will suddenly become very thick and glossy, this is how it should be.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cases and add 4 white chocolate drops or chunks on top of each one. Press them down until nearly submerged in the cake batter.

Bake for 12 minutes. They will be slightly risen with a crisp top surface, but still soft in the centre.

Leave them to cool in the tins for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. They will sink slightly on cooling due to their soft centres.

Store in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.

Makes 6 cakes – easily doubled

4th July Mini Cupcakes

Today is American Independence Day and over the past few days lots of red, white and blue themed treats and snacks have been appearing on blogs. I know we don’t celebrate it here in the UK, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy getting in the spirit of things and baking some red, white and blue mini cupcakes, in honour of my American friends.

These are simple, all-in-one, mini vanilla cupcakes that I tinted red with a few pin-pricks of food dye. I then made a quick butter and icing sugar frosting which I tinted blue before topping them with a teeny-weeny white sugar star. You can go from raw ingredients to finished cupcakes in only 30minutes. Cute, bite-sized and delicious!

4^th July Mini Cupcakes

Cupcakes

60g GF self raising flour

60g butter

60g caster sugar

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp GF baking powder

Red food paste

Icing

70g butter

140g icing sugar

2-3 tsp milk

Blue food paste

Decoration

Mini white sugar stars or fondant stars

Mini Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a mini cupcake tin with 24 paper cases.

Make sure the butter is very soft. Mix all the ingredients, except the food dye, together until smooth and beat until light and fluffy.

Add a tiny amount of food paste using the tip of a cocktail stick. Mix to combine, adding more food dye if necessary.

Divide the batter between the paper cases using a teaspoon.

Bake for 13-15 minutes until springy to the touch.

Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Icing

Make sure the butter is soft and beat until soft and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and blend until well incorporated.

Add the milk and mix to create a smooth thick frosting. Add a tiny amount of food paste using the tip of a cocktail stick. Mix to combine, adding more food dye if necessary.

Pipe on top of the cooled mini cupcakes using a large star nozzle.

Decorate with white sugar stars or cut a small white star out of fondant icing

Makes 24 mini cupcakes

ABC Award

Thank you to Gem from Cupcake Crazy Gem who recently presented me with this ABC (Awesome Blog Content) award. For fun, you’ve got to give some random facts about yourself, one for every letter of the alphabet! So here's my 26 alphabet related facts about me! 

A – Apple & Spice. My blog. I started it during my uni days and never expected it to grow and still be going strong 5 years later. It’s great at pushing me to be creative and try new recipes and showing me the vast culinary world out there.

B – Backwards. My friends and family often describe myself as backwards as I don’t fit your typical stereotype. I’m not that interested in fashion and would sooner have a new baking tin than a new pair of shoes. When doing those fun personality tests, I’m often in the 2% who say something different to the norm or I’ll like foods no one else does. I like being a bit quirky though and it means I have ideas other people might not, which can be useful.

C – Coeliac. Since being diagnosed nearly two years ago, my diet and lifestyle has changed quite dramatically. However, I feel it’s an experience that’s made me stronger and only increased my interest in discovering new foods.

D – Desserts. Some of my favourite things to bake. I eat dessert every day, it doesn’t have to be extravagant – some stewed fruit and yoghurt can be just as enjoyable as a large slice of carrot cake.

E – Eating. I love trying new foods and flavours. Different cuisines, foods and cultures interest me so much. Every time I see something new I think ‘ohhh wonder what that tastes like.’ This very snazzy looking watermelon radish was a recent discovery while in America.

F – Fruit. I love all fruit (except kiwi which I’m allergic to) and often eat 5 portions a day, before even adding veg into the equation. I love summer and autumn when all the berries, plums, apples and pears come into season. There’s nothing like freshly picked fruit.

G – Grow Your Own. There is a special kind of enjoyment about eating something you have grown yourself. I currently have 4 different varieties of potato, 3 varieties of tomato, a strawberry plant and a dwarf pear tree all growing in pots on the patio. You don’t need grass to home grow.

H – Health. Our health is one of the most important things. As much as I love desserts and sweet things, I also make sure to include lots of wholegrains, fruits and veg to my diet. My uni course, being coeliac and vegetarian has only increased my awareness of how important our health is.

I – Ice Cream. One of the best I ever had was a hazelnut gelato in Italy when I was 16. Divine

J – Job. I’m currently job hunting. If anyone knows of a job where the skills of a coeliac, vegetarian, baking enthusiast, blog writer and all round foodie with a food and nutrition degree is required – let me know!

K – Kitkat. My childhood nickname. I’m not sure how it started as I didn’t eat a lot of kitkat biscuits. I think it’s just because it sounded good when spoken with my name ‘Kitkat Katie’

L – Lightning. There is something so awe-inspiring about watching a thunderstorm, patricianly at night. Powerful, slightly frightening and strangely beautiful at the same time.

M – Mum & Dad. They’ve given me such love and support and always been there to share my highs and lows. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.

N – Newquay. Lots of happy memories of family holidays spent here. Days on the beach, learning to body board in the sea and walks along the coast.

O – Onwards & Upwards! My motto for life. If things don’t turn out as you wanted, don’t dwell on the past, but look to the future. Equally if things are going well, don’t stop, keep going… Onwards…!

P – Peas! I love them, they are so versatile. Try eating them straight from the freezer on a hot day, they are like little balls of sorbet – delicious.

Q – Quiet. Everyone needs a bit of quiet time now and then.

R – Reading. I always have a book on the go and read a few pages every night. I’ve just started Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (one of my favourite authors) and at 850 pages it’s going to take a while.

S – Siblings. I have an older sister Caroline (Caz) and a younger brother Jonathan (JJ). We are all 4 years and 4 months apart, with me being the middle child. We are really close to each other, but I do remember suffering a bit from middle child syndrome when I was younger. Being jealous, as my brother got away with everything being the baby of the family, while my sister got to do everything first and I was stuck in the middle. It’s better now we’re older and have each become our own unique people.

T – Technology. I think we have too much of it. I like phones, computers and the internet but feel we are all connected to it too much now. Sometimes it’s good to keep our own thoughts to ourselves. I don’t have an i-phone, i-pod, Twitter or Facebook account for this reason.

U – USA. I’ve been twice, once to Chicago and once to Los Angeles. I loved it and can even picture myself living there for a year or two. I loved how their broad range of different foods and cuisines were so accessible. It made being a coeliac vegetarian quite easy. Plus they have specialist shops you just wouldn’t get here in the UK, like whole stores dedicated to popcorn – how cool!

V – Vegetarian. I’ve been vegetarian since I was 9, over 16 years! I’m the only one in my family who is, which also adds to me being ‘backwards’ in their eyes.

W – Walking. This is my favourite form of exercise. I love wandering off and exploring new areas, particularly in the countryside where each new hill or corner reveals something new. I find it so peaceful and it gives me time to think.

X – XXX. Indicating kisses at the end of a letter, always a nice thing to receive.

Y – Yogurt. I eat it nearly every day and prefer it to milk on my cereal. It must be natural and unsweetened, although I often add my own berries, cinnamon or even a little nutella to it.

Z – ZZzzzzz enough facts about me!

I now pass this award onto 5 of my favourite bloggers. You must link back to the person who gave you the award before passing it on:

Green Gourmet Giraffe

Chocolate Log Blog

Sugar Plum

Feeding My Enthusiasms

The Caked Crusader

Daring Bakers June 2012: Battenberg

I was so excited when this months Daring Bakers challenge was announced. I adore Battenberg cake, its quirky cream and pink squares, the soft fluffy sponge and best of all, the outer coating of intense almond marzipan. I’d never attempted to make one myself and have not eaten one since having to go gluten free. This made the challenge feel even more special and I was determined to get it right.

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

The part that I found most difficult was preparing the pan with a cardboard centre divide in order to bake two coloured sponges in the same pan simultaneously. I couldn’t get the divide to stand up, but thankfully another family member came to my rescue and held it in place while I spread the coloured batters on either side. I suspect if you were careful, you wouldn’t need to bother with the divide at all, as I don’t think the cake batters would spread too much into each other as they are quite thick. I may try this next time, especially as you trim the cake to size anyway.

After trimming I had my 4 strips of cake and was ready to begin assembly. As the sponges were delicately flavoured with almond and would be covered with almond marzipan I wanted to introduce another flavour element and decided to use some zingy lemon curd, instead of the specified apricot jam, to stick my cake strips together. This worked well as it was the perfect spreadable consistency and the lemon and almond flavour complimented each other nicely.

The assembly process is a little fiddly and time consuming, but it wasn’t difficult. My finished Battenberg ended up a little rectangular, rather than a perfect square/cube but for a first attempt I was more than happy with the results.

The checked pink and cream squares made it instantly recognisable and it sliced into portions without falling apart, the lemon curd and marzipan doing their jobs well. The sponge was wonderfully soft and fluffy and surprisingly moist considering the dry ingredients were more than a usual cake recipe. The thin spreading of lemon curd added just a touch of freshness and sweetness to the cake, and the almond marzipan was, naturally, fabulous. I love how it is wrapped around the whole cake so you can get a bit of cake, jam and marzipan in each bite – heavenly!

I made this cake for a coeliac friend who I had invited round for dinner. We had recently been talking about food we missed and she had actually mentioned Battenberg, so she seemed the perfect person to share it with. This recipe is by Mary Berry and I’ve seen she also has a more adult coffee and walnut version too, which I’m sure is delicious, but for me the pink and cream squares are part of what make it so special and so childishly nostalgic to me.

Click here to see other Daring Bakers Battenberg cakes

Battenberg

(Recipe adapted from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible)

Cake
175g unsalted butter
175g caster sugar
175gm gluten free self raising flour
3 eggs
65g ground almonds
¾ tsp gluten free baking powder
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract

¼ tsp xanthan gum (if making GF)
Pink food paste

To Decorate
100g apricot jam (I used lemon curd)
225g marzipan, natural

Cake
Preheat oven to moderate 180C and grease an 8inch/20cm square baking tin. Cut a large rectangle of parchment paper, the width of the tin. Cut a sheet of card the width of the tin and wrap it in foil. Then fold this inside the centre of the parchment, to create a wall/divide to go through the centre of the tin. Line the tin with parchment paper, creating a divide in the middle with the parchment covered card.
Whisk together the dry ingredients then combine with the wet ingredients in a large bowl and beat together just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth.
Spoon half the mixture into the one side of the prepared baking tin.
Add a few pinpricks of pink food paste to the remaining batter, stir until the colour is thoroughly distributed, and spread into the second half of the divided tin.
Bake for 25-30mins until the cake is well risen and springs back when lightly touched.
Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out to cool thoroughly on a wire rack.

Assembly

Once completely cool, trim the very edges of the cake with a long serrated knife to cut away of the browned surface.
Cut each coloured sponge in half lengthways so that you are left with four long strips of sponge.

Neaten the strips and trim the tops if necessary so that your strips are all the same length and height.
Gently heat the apricot jam and pass through a small sieve (I used cold lemon curd).

Brush warmed jam onto the strips of cake to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern (one yellow next to one pink. On top of that, one pink next to one yellow).
Dust a large flat surface with icing sugar then roll the marzipan in an oblong shape that is wide enough to cover the length of the cake and long enough to completely wrap the cake, use a ruler to help you.
Brush the top of the cake with the jam and place the cake on the marzipan, jam side down. Brush the remaining three sides with jam and carefully press the marzipan around the cake, making sure the join is either neatly in the one corner, or will be underneath the cake once turned over.
Carefully flip the cake over so that the seam is under the cake and score the top of the cake with a knife, to create a diamond effect. (I also crimped mine with an icing tool).
Neaten the ends of the cake and cut thin slices off both ends of the cake, to create a good presentation.

Store at room temperature and eat within 3 days.

Spiced Fig & Walnut Biscotti Bites

I’m not really much of a biscuit/cookie lover. Given the choice I would always choose cake over cookies, but every so often I fancy something crisp and crunchy and biscotti are always my biscuits of choice.

I usually make biscotti by shaping them into one thick log that I slice after baking. However, I was having a sort out in my room and rediscovered my éclair tin that I once used for baking little cakes in, and never again since. The rounded log shaped hollows got me wondering if it would be possible to make mini biscotti logs in each of the hollows in order to create smaller, more dainty biscotti slices. Only one way to find out!

The tin actually worked perfectly and made it very easy to shape and bake the sticky biscotti dough. The resulting logs were then easy to slice into equal sized slices which made for very cute little biscotti bites.

I had some dried figs and a few broken pieces of walnut to use up and decided to pair these together with lots of warming spices. Cinnamon is my spice of choice, but I was in an experimental mood and so used ground cardamom, cloves and a little mixed spice instead.

The spices gave a wonderful colour to the dough and made the finished biscotti smell and taste a bit like an exotic gingerbread or Christmas cake, warming, comforting but just a little bit different. The figs added a nice chew as well as sweetness and crunch from their little crunchy seeds. I liked munching on them just as they are, but I bet they would be great served with some cheese too, either as nibbles with drinks or for something a bit different to have after dinner.

If you don’t have an éclair tin I’m sure you could use a muffin tin and cut them vertically into slices instead, or just make the traditional big log shape. This recipe doesn’t make a lot of dough, so you may want to double the quantities if making traditional biscotti.

Spiced Fig & Walnut Biscotti Bites

Ingredients

1 egg

50g caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

90g soft, ready to eat dried figs

40g walnuts

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp mixed spice

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm)

30g fine yellow cornmeal (not cornflour)

MethodHeat the oven to 180C. Have an éclair tin ready to hand, or else line a baking tray with silicone paper.

Beat the egg, sugar and vanilla extract together until combined, but it doesn’t want to go foamy.
Roughly chop the walnuts and dried figs into small chunks and add to the bowl along with the spices. Stir briefly.
Scatter the flour, cornmeal and bicarbonate of soda over the top and mix it all together using a spatula. It should be quite thick, soft and sticky.
Wet your hands before dividing the dough into 4 pieces and rolling each one into a log shape. Place in the hollows of the éclair tin, or place onto the lined baking tray.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until puffed and lightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven, tap the logs out the tin and place onto a chopping board. Dampen a tea towel (it should not be too wet) and drape over the top of the biscotti and leave for 5 minutes (this keeps the top soft and makes slicing easier – my own discovered tip!)
After 5 minutes, slice the biscotti into 1cm slices on the diagonal.
Arrange the slices onto a baking tray, laying them flat.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes before flipping the slices over and baking for a further 5 minutes. Once baked, transfer the slices to a wire rack to cool.
Store in an airtight container. Keeps well for around 3 weeks!
Make great gifts, packed in little boxes or bags.
Makes around 20 mini biscotti

The Cake Slice June 2012: Brooklyn Blackout Cake

This cake is rich, intensely chocolaty, fudgy, moist and decedent. It’s almost black, brownie-like layers are sandwiched together with a smooth, bitter chocolate cream, before being covered in a sweet dark chocolate frosting and scattered with some reserved cake crumbs….it’s dark and mysterious and utterly divine.

This cake is too good to be simply labelled as a ‘cake.’ In my eyes this is not cake. It’s a sort of torte, gateaux, truffle, brownie, dessert, cake hybrid. It’s a dessert for serious chocolate lovers and is so rich and sophisticated that it should come with an ‘adults only’ warning.

As last Sunday was Fathers day I saved baking this until then, when I could present it to my dad over dinner. This is such a dark, moody creation, that it seemed the perfect ‘manly cake’ – no light fluffy fruity layers here!

The cake was meant to be a 9inch cake, which is then cut into 3 layers. I decided to halve this recipe and baked the cake in a 6inch tin, which worked fine, although only resulted in 2 tiers, rather than 3. Not that this mattered. I then discovered I didn’t have enough eggs to make the filling, so substituted this was a dark chocolate ganache (a decadent cream and chocolate combo) that I suspect was even more indulgent than the proposed filling.

The cake layers themselves are very moist and fudgy. Almost middle of a brownie in consistency. Their deep dark colour comes from copious amounts of cocoa powder and some hot strong coffee. The coffee seems to really enhance the chocolate flavour, without being obviously coffee. The cake layers become even more sticky and fudgy as they are stored over time.

The outer frosting was quite sweet, but this acted as a nice contrast to the rich cake and bitter chocolate ganache filling. My mum was in rhapsodies over her slice. We all agreed it was fabulous and definitely more of a dessert than an afternoon tea cake. One I’ll be sure to bake again (think I’ll stick to my ganche filling too). I strongly recommend you giving a go!

Click here to see the list of my fellow Cake Slice bakers.

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

(Recipe adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)

Chocolate Blackout Cake

180g plain flour (I used Doves Farm plain GF)

80g cocoa powder

1½ tsp gf baking powder

1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

400g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

240ml buttermilk

115g butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla extract

240ml hot brewed coffee (you can use decaf)

Chocolate Filling *(see notes below for my ganche filling)

4 egg yolks

130g caster sugar

2 tbsp cornflour

1/8 tsp salt

240ml water

160m double cream

85g dark chocolate, finely chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

115g dark chocolate, chopped

155g butter, softened

190g icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Blackout Cake

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line two 9inch/22cm round cake tins.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the sugar and mix until all the ingredients are blended.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. While mixing the dry ingredients at low speed, add the egg mixture in a steady steam. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat for 1 minute, until well blended. (It will be quite thick)

Add the hot coffee and mix gently until combined. (It will now be very liquid)

Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until starting to come away from the sides and firm to the touch. Cool the cakes in the tins before turning out.

Chocolate Filling

In the bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and salt until pale, about 1 minute.

In a saucepan, combine the water and cream and bring to a boil before removing from the heat. Whisk half of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour this mixture into the remaining cream in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue to boil, whisking, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until it is completely melted. Pass the filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Cover the surface of the pudding with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until chilled.

Chocolate Frosting

Melt the chocolate until smooth and set aside.

Beat the butter until creamy, before gradually adding in the icing sugar. Beat until it starts to form a buttercream.

Beat in the vanilla extract and the cooled chocolate, mixing until blended.

Assembly

Using a large serrated knife, cut the two chocolate cake layers in half, to create 4 layers. Set one layer aside and crumble half of it into crumbs to use as decoration later (you can eat the remaining bit).

Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread over half of the filling. Top with another cake layer, the rest of the filling and the final cake layer. You should have a three-tiered cake at this stage.

Spread the chocolate frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Don’t worry about being too neat as its going to get covered in crumbs.

Scatter the saved cake crumbs over the top of the cake (sides too if you wish)

Serve immediately or store at room temperature for up to 3 days. The cake becomes even more moist and fudgy over time.

Notes:

* I halved this recipe and baked the cakes in 2 x 6inch tins. These made cakes a little too thin for cutting in half so my cake was only two-tiered instead of three.

* I didn’t have enough eggs to make the filling so I made a simple chocolate ganache using 160ml hot double cream, poured over 85g dark chocolate and stirred until smooth. Leave the ganache to cool and thicken before using – divine!