Christmas Cake Stage 2 – Baking the Cake

After soaking your fruits overnight it’s time to bake them into a cake. A fruit cake such as this is really fruit held together with cake, rather than a cake containing fruit as it’s very densely fruited. The cake mix itself is still very flavoursome in its own right as it contains mixed spice, black treacle, brown sugar and little nuggets of almonds.

It’s important to line the base and sides of the cake tin with greaseproof paper as this stays on the cake right up until you are ready to ice it, and helps keep it moist. Once you have prepared your cake mix, added your boozy fruits and spooned it into the tin it’s a good idea to create a little hollow or dip in the centre of the cake as this then compensates for the normal doming effect during baking and you should end up with a lovely flat surface on which to decorate later – we don’t want any wastage!

The wonderful rich and spicy aroma given off by the cake permeated throughout the whole flat, making it smell very festive. Once baked, it’s drizzled with a little extra Brandy before being wrapped and stored away to mature for several weeks. All you need to do now is nurture it by ‘feeding it’ once a week with a few extra teaspoons of Brandy – which helps keep it moist and develop in flavour.

Christmas Cake Mix
For an 8inch/20cm round cake
Ingredients
225g plain flour
1 ½ tsp mixed spice
40g ground almonds
40g blanched almonds
165g soft brown sugar
165g butter or margarine
1 tbsp black treacle
3 eggs
1 lemon - zest
(Your pre-soaked mixed fruit)
Feeding
1 ½ tbsp Brandy

Method
Grease and line bottom and sides of an 8 inch tin with greaseproof paper, allowing the paper to rise a little way above the rim of the tin.
Pre heat the oven to 140oC.
Measure the lemon rind, flour, mixed spice, ground almonds, sugar, butter, treacle and eggs into a very large bowl and mix together. Beat it for 3 minutes until mixture is smooth. (It will be quick stiff)
Roughly chop the blanched almonds and add to the mix along with the soaked fruits. Mix everything together using a spatula, making sure the fruit is evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, pressing down gently and smoothing the surface. Then create a little dip in the middle to compensate for doming in the oven which should result in a flat surface when baked.
Bake the cake for 2 hours and 45 minutes. (After 2 hours you can quickly cover the tin with foil if it is becoming too brown before baking for a further 45 minutes).
Check the cake with a skewer, which should come out clean.
Measure out the ‘feeding’ Brandy into a small bowl and prick the top of the cake all over with the skewer. Evenly drizzle over the Brandy using a teaspoon.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin before removing from the tin but leaving the greaseproof paper on.
Wrap it up well in clingfilm and leave in a cool place to mature for several weeks. Feed once a week with a few more teaspoons of Brandy until required.

Christmas Cake Stage 1 – Preparing the Fruit Base

I’m so excited – it’s time to start preparing the fruit ready for the Christmas cake. Making the Christmas cake each year symbolises to me that the holiday season is nearly here and its time to start thinking about festive food and presents. It may seem early to start thinking about Christmas cakes, but they like to sit tightly wrapped in a cool place for several weeks before eating. A weekly feeding of Brandy keeps it moist and helping it mature into something special.

I know many people who say they don’t like Christmas cake but I’m sure that’s because they have only ever had shop bought cake which can be dense, dry and nothing like a good Christmas fruit cake should be. Make your own and be rewarded with a moist rich, lightly spiced, Brandy infused, plump fruit studded cake that will knock the Christmas stocking off any store bought creation.

To start, you need to soak your fruit base in brandy overnight to become all plump and flavoursome. I prepared mine last night and the aroma of all the sweet fruits, orange zest and brandy is wonderful and unlike no other. It smelt so good that I left the bowl containing the soaking fruits in my bedroom overnight so I could breathe in its Christmassy scents.

Christmas Cake Fruit Base
For an 8inch/20cm round cake
Ingredients
175g raisins
175g sultanas
175g currants
85g dried apricots
100g glace cherries
35g mixed candied peel (or zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon)
2 tbsp Brandy

Method
Weight out the raisins, currants and sultanas into a bowl. Sort through the fruit a handful at a time, removing any stalks still attached to the fruit (these won’t be nice to crunch on).
Cut the apricots into small pieces and same size as the raisins, chop the cherries into quarters and add to the other fruit.
Add the candied peel or if you don’t like candied peel, grate over the zest of an orange and a lemon.
Pour over the Brandy, give everything a stir and then over the bowl with clingfilm and leave for at least 4hours or preferably overnight to allow the fruit to absorb the brandy and plump up.

If you run out of one or more of the fruits dried cranberries, peaches, pears, prunes and dates also work well.
If you don’t want to use Brandy then a spiced fruit tea or apple juice would work just as well.

The Cake Slice: Cappuccino Chiffon Cake

This is our first official posting for our first cake baked by The Cake Slice group. We are going to spend a year baking one cake from 'Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes' by Alicia Huntsman and Peter Wynne each month. It’s the creation of Gigi from Gigi Cakes and I was thrilled when she asked me to be co-host. To launch the group, we started with a recipe for Cappuccino Chiffon Cake and it truly is irresistible.

It involves three layers of light espresso chiffon cake, each one doused in rum (I used Amaretto) spiked espresso syrup and sandwiched together with mountains of cream. To finish it off, a dusting of cocoa powder is added to the top in the design of your choosing. I put a ring of chocolate coffee beans around the cake and cut out a stencil design of a steaming cup of coffee for my decoration. I dusted over the top of it and then peeled off the paper to reveal the design.

What can I say about the flavour of this cake? – Oh it’s divine. It is so moist and light with a really strong espresso kick while the sweet syrup keeps it from tasting too strong. The final dusting of cocoa finishes it off perfectly and it tastes just like a tiramisu. Heavenly.

Be sure to check out the other cappuccino cakes from my fellow Cake Slice bakers. See you next month with another irresistible layer cake.

Cappuccino Chiffon Cake
Makes an 8inch triple layer cake

For the cake layers
55ml vegetable oil
6 eggs, separated
6tbsp cooled freshly made espresso
160g plain flour
340g caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cream of tartar
Cocoa powder for dusting

Espresso Syrup
70ml hot espresso
150g caster sugar (I used 100g)
50ml rum (I used Amaretto)

Vanilla Cream
600ml double cream
40g sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, egg yolks, espresso, and vanilla; whisk lightly to blend. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, 200g of sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium-low speed until frothy. Raise the mixer to medium high and gradually add the remaining 140g of sugar. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Do not whip to stiff peaks or the cake will shrink upon cooling.

Add the espresso-egg mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together just until combined. Add one fourth of the egg whites and fold them gently into the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites just until no streaks remain.

Divide the batter among the pans.Bake the cakes for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Run a knife around the rim of the pans to prevent the cakes from tearing while cooling. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans.
Invert onto a wire rack and remove the parchment papers.

For the espresso syrup

In a bowl, stir together the espresso and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the rum and let cool to room temperature.

For the vanilla cream
Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in large chilled mixing bowl with chilled beaters. With the whip attachment, beat the cream until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cake

Place one cake layer flat side up on a cake stand or platter. Soak the cake with a third of the espresso syrup.
Spread 3 tbsp of whipped cream evenly over the top of the cake. Repeat with the next layer, syrup, cream, cake etc.
Finally top with the third layer. Soak with syrup and frost the top and sides of the cake with the whipped cream.

To decorate

Smooth out the whipped cream as much as possible on top. Lay a paper doily or stencil design on top of the cream and sift over cocoa powder or cinnamon.
Carefully remove the doily and serve.
Keep refrigerated until required and eat within 3 days.
Serves 12

Chocolate Overload Cake

I have quite a few backdated recipes that I need to post about and as today is the start of National Chocolate Week it seems fitting that I start with this one. Back in August it was my brothers birthday. He is a huge chocoholic and will only eat chocolate based cakes and desserts. Often when I make him something chocolaty he says it’s good but it could have done with more chocolate. This is usually followed by groans and rolling of eyes by everyone else at the table. So for his birthday I was determined to make him a cake that was absolutely choc full of chocolate and this chocolate overload cake was the result.

It’s comprises of a chocolate sponge which is filling, topped and covered in a rich chocolate fudge icing, surrounded by a wall of piped chocolate candles and decorated with all the chocolate goodies I could get my hands on, including, maltesers, chocolate buttons, fudge, coins, minstrels, flakes and rolos! Needless to say he loved it and insisted on another one the following week for when he had his mates over – success :)

I love this chocolate fudge icing because it doesn’t rely on icing sugar, unlike a lot of fudge icings, which I find can make them taste a bit grainy. Instead it involves boiling evaporated milk with some sugar to produce a thick caramel and then whisking it a lot of chocolate to produce a rich, smooth fudgy icing. It tastes like a sweeter version of a chocolate ganache and has the added bonus that it doesn’t need to be kept in the fridge.

Chocolate Overload Cake
For the cake
150g self raising flour
175g butter
175g caster sugar
30g cocoa powder
3 eggs
1½ tsp baking powder

For the fudge filling and topping
125g butter
300g dark chocolate
410g can evaporated milk
275g light soft brown sugar

For the chocolate candles
50g dark chocolate
100g white chocolate

For the decoration
1 bag maltesers
1 bag minstrels
Chocolate coins
1 finger of fudge
1 packet rolos
1 bag chocolate buttons
1 flake bar

Method – for the cake
Preheat the oven to 175C. Line two 8inch/20cm round cake tins with greaseproof paper and grease the sides.
Beat together the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs and sift over the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Beat well until everything is incorporated and the batter has lightened in colour slightly.
Divide the cake mix between the two tins and bake for 24-28 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring onto a wire wrack to cool.

For the fudge icing
Meanwhile make the fudge topping. Heat the milk and brown sugar together in a pan, stirring continuously until all the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and leave on the lowest heat for 5 minutes stirring every minute to prevent from burning on the bottom. It should be barely bubbling.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and once melted, beat in the butter.
Allow to cool for an hour before transferring to the fridge for 20 minutes before you want to use it, to stiffen.
Once fully cooled, beat briefly before using a third to sandwich the caked together. Spread the rest over the top and sides of the cake.

For the chocolate candles
Find an outline of a tall straight candle and copy it many tiny on a piece of paper. Lay the paper onto a baking tray and over the surface with a layer of clingfilm, ensuring it lies smooth.
Melt the dark chocolate and put into a piping bag fitted with a small writing nozzle. Draw round the outline of the candle and flame using the dark chocolate. Leave to set before continuing.
Once the outline has set, melt the white chocolate and filling in the rest of the candle keeping within the dark chocolate outlines.
Leave to set for 2 hours in a cool place or preferably overnight.
Carefully peel off the cling film when ready to use and attach to the outside of the cake. Try not to handle them too much or they will start to melt and break.

For the decoration
Chop up the chocolate flake and finger of fudge into small pieces. Scatter over the top of the iced cake along with the rest of the chocolate goodies.
Serve and enjoy.
Update: I am submitting this cake to Not Quite Nigella's Ultimate Chocolate Cake Challange.
The delicious round-up can now be viewed here!

Caramel Apple Cakelettes

I was flicking through a cook book looking for inspiration for a quick dessert and came across a pear and ginger cake. It looked delicious but I wanted something lighter and a bit more dainty and so moved on, but I couldn’t get the cake out of my head so I decided to alter it by using apples and cinnamon instead.

I hit upon the idea of baking them in individual tart tins and placing the apple in the base instead of on the top, turning them into upside-down mini cakelettes. I also added a layer of caramel syrup to the base, to create a sort of take on tarte tatin only with cake instead of pastry.

For the apple I used Red Delicious as its deep red skin and firm flesh make it ideal for maintaining its shape and colour during cooking. I’m not a fan of the apples to eat raw as they can sometimes be a bit fluffy, but this they were perfect. Golden syrup formed the base of my caramel syrup which does away with the need for a sugar thermometer and speeds up the process no end.

Once baked, I nervously upended the cakelette onto a plate (with the help of rubber gloves) and it came out perfectly – hurrah! It looked so pretty and smelt gorgeous, all apple, cinnamon, moist sponge and sweet sticky caramel.

Caramel Apple Cakelettes
For the sponge
110g self raising flour
100g butter
75g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 level tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 eating apple (I used Red Delicious)

For the caramel syrup
2½ tbsp golden syrup (100g)
55ml single cream or whole milk
10g butter

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and arrange 4 small tart tins on a baking tray.
First make the caramel syrup. Add the golden syrup, milk and butter into a small pan and heat gently, stirring until all the ingredients have melted together.
Then increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil and allow to bubble for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To make the sponge, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs and beat again. Sift over the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and beat together along with the vanilla.
Then cut the apple into quarters, remove the core and slice into very thin slices, so you end up with crescent shaped apple slices.
Drizzle a few spoonfuls of the syrup over the base of the cake moulds, until the bottom is covered, but leave a couple of spoonfuls left over for decoration.
Arrange the apple slices neatly in the syrup, so that they overlap slightly. Remember, this will become the top once they are turned out.
Spoon over the sponge mixture in small blobs, spreading it out into an even surface right to the edges of the tin to form a seal. If possible make sure the syrup does not rise up above the sponge layer.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes and golden and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool for 3 minutes before running a knife around the rim of the tin and turning out the cakes onto a plate, bottom side up. (Wear rubber gloves to hold the moulds)
Decorate the plate with a few dots of the remaining syrup and serve straight away.
They also taste great cold.
Serves 4

Special Spiced Carrot Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Icing

It was my Grandmothers birthday a few weeks ago and I had promised to bake her a cake. Like me, her favourite cake is carrot cake, however I have made her carrot cakes in the past and wanted to do something a bit different this year. I trawled through my many books looking for inspiration and although I found some delicious sounding cakes they didn’t seem to match up to the spicy fruity nuttiness of a carrot cake. I was getting quite frustrated and decided to go ahead and bake my usual carrot cake when I hit upon the idea of changing a few of the recipes supporting ingredients and baking a special spiced carrot cake.

I switched the walnuts for pistachios, the raisins with dried cranberries, added some ground ginger along with some finely chopped stem ginger for extra flavour. I also added the rind from an orange as I think orange works brilliantly with cranberry and ginger flavours. Feeling much more content I baked away and the cake seemed to be celebrating too as it rose so tall and proud that it was reaching up above the rim of the cake tin and filled my whole kitchen with a warm spicy aroma. After it had cooled, I sliced it in half and was pleased to see the cranberries and the pastel green pistachios scattered within. I filled and covered it with a generous layer of ginger cream cheese icing, scattered over a few chopped toasted hazelnuts and decorated it with some sugar flowers I made. (Thanks for the flower mould Gigi) I know blue flowers are not very realistic but I think they look pretty.

My grandma was thrilled with the cake and I loved how the alternative ingredients gave it a different flavour and appearance while still maintaining its carrot cake status. It was wonderfully moist and full of warming spicy flavour. I was particularly fond of the cranberry and stem ginger additions, which provided little nuggets of flavour hidden amongst the spicy crumbs.

Special Spiced Carrot Cake
For the cake
250ml vegetable oil
250g light soft brown sugar
3 eggs
300 - 350g (3-4) grated carrots
50g shelled pistachios
50g dried cranberries
1 orange – rind only
375g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
40g stem ginger in syrup

Method
Grease and line the base of a 20cm 8inch springform cake tin. Preheat the oven 180C.
Place the oil, sugar and eggs into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until thick and creamy.
Peel and roughly grate the carrots, chop the stem ginger into small pieces and finely grate the rind off the orange. Fold the pistachios, dried cranberries, stem ginger, orange rind and grated carrot into the cake batter.
Sift over the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, ginger and bicarbonate of soda and fold into the mixture using a spatula, turning the bowl as you go until no flour streaks remain, but do not overwork. (The moisture from the carrots will help slacken the mixture).
Spread the batter evenly into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes, then cover loosely with foil and bake for a further 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before un-moulding and cooling on a wire wrack. Once cool, cut the cake in half and fill and cover with the ginger cream cheese icing.

For the ginger cream cheese icing
60g butter
160g cream cheese
500g icing sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ginger syrup from stem ginger jar
50g chopped toasted hazelnuts

Method
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together in a bowl until smooth.
Beat in the ginger and ginger syrup. Gradually sieve and beat in the icing sugar into the cream cheese in batches until it’s all combined.
Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up if a little soft, before using to fill and spread thickly over the cake.
Scatter the chopped nuts over the surface of the cake and in a rim around the bottom edge to conceal any drips of icing.
Will keep for up to 5 days if stored in the fridge.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is great American favourite and yet it has only recently started to take off here in the UK. It has quickly become one of my favourite flavour combinations. The creamy, nutty and slightly salty peanut flavour paired with rich, bittersweet chocolate provides a great sweet/savoury yin and yang match. What better way to encourage people to experience this taste sensation than in a simple cupcake, after all everyone likes cake.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
For the cupcakes
100g self raising flour
115g butter
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
20g cocoa powder

Peanut Butter Frosting
100g butter
40g smooth peanut butter
150g icing sugar

Decoration
Chocolate buttons

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C. Line a muffin tin with paper cases.
Beat together the butter, sugar until smooth and then beat in the eggs.
Sift over the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and beat until well combined.
Spoon into the muffin cases, using a tablespoon, filling each case half way.
Bake for 22-24 minutes until risen and springy.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool.
Meanwhile make the frosting. Beat the butter and peanut butter together until well combined.
Sift over the icing sugar in two batches, beating well between each batch until smooth.
Spread a generous amount of the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes and top with a large chocolate button.
Makes 10-12 cupcakes

Cupcakes As Far As The Eye Can See

These last few weeks I have been baking masses of cupcakes, up to 200 a week for a summer job. I have done a range of seven flavours which are then packed snugly into plastic boxes, labelled and then sent on their way. I thought it would be fun to make a series out of posting the recipes, so for the next two weeks I shall be introducing you to each of the seven cupcakes varieties I have been baking. They are all quite simple, but when baking in bulk I find it’s easier to keep things straightforward.

So to start off I give you vanilla cupcakes, filled with strawberry jam and topped with glace icing and sugar sprinkles. These are a favourite with young children who get attracted by the colourful sugar strands but they are also a good choice for people who don’t like anything too ‘fancy’ done with their cake.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Jam & Sprinkles
Cupcakes
115g self raising flour
115g butter
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
¾ tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling
70g strawberry jam

Topping
100g icing sugar
Water
20g sugar sprinkles

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs and then sift over the flour and mix until well combined.
Add the vanilla extract and baking powder and beat again.
Using a tablespoon, divide the batter into the muffin cases, filling half way.
Bake in the oven for 22-24 minutes until golden and springy.
Remove from the oven, leave for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool.
When cool, cut out a cone from the top of the cake using a small sharp knife.
Fill the space with ½ teaspoon of strawberry jam and replace the cone of cake.
For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and dissolve with a little water, starting with ½ tablespoon of water and then teaspoons of water until you get a thick spreadable paste.
Spread the icing onto the top of the cakes and immediately decorate with the sugar sprinkles. (I find it easiest to place the cake on a plate to catch the excess sprinkles)
Makes 10-12 cupcakes.

Daring Bakers July Challenge: Filbert (Hazelnut) Gateau with Praline Buttercream

When Chris of Mele Cotte chose Hazelnut Praline Gateau for this months challenge I was thrilled. My favourite chocolates are pralines and so using that flavour for a cake sounded a wonderful idea and it so was. This cake is amazing. The toasted hazelnuts used in all components of the cake give a fabulous flavour and aroma.

I decided to half the recipe as I didn’t want too large a cake. The Hazelnut Genoise was light and tender and dotted with tiny nuggets of hazelnuts. The toasted hazelnuts worked so well in the cake that when I tasted a few scrapes of the cake from around the tin I had to prevent myself from not taking a bite out of the cake before it was finished.

I used a little rum in the syrup which gave it flavour but I was careful not to add too much. I then used amaretto in the buttercream to enhance the nutty flavour but didn’t add any more liqueurs to any of the other components as I wanted the hazelnuts to be the main flavour.

For the praline paste I used hazelnuts which were pre chopped which worked well as it meant they got more of an even coating in the caramel. I ate a bit of the brittle before I blitzed it and it tasted so good, the caramel coating really enhanced the praline flavour. I saved a few of the brittle pieces back to help decorate the top of the cake and I like how they were small pieces rather than a whole nut. It took longer to blitz the brittle into a smooth paste that I anticipated and I had to keep scraping down the sides of the processor, but the aroma it released while being crushes was unbelievable. Every time I removed the lid of the processor a cloud of deep toasted hazelnut aroma would waft up and smelt so unbelievably good it would almost make me feel lightheaded. It was enough to make you want to weep with happiness.
When it came to assembling the cake all was going to plan. I had lots of praline buttercream leftover and not wanting it to go o waste I decided to use it to cover the top and sides of the cake as well. This worked fine and I put it in the fridge to chill while I made the ganache. When it came to pouring the ganache over the cake I suffered a minor disaster. The ganache flowed and settled on the flat top of the cake fine, but when I tried to smooth it over the sides of the cake it ran off in horrible blotchy patches where it began to melt the butter in the buttercream and run off in oily patches – not good. I piled it all on anyway, stuck it back in the fridge to chill and hoped for the best. When the ganache had cooled but was still spreadable I removed the cake from the fridge and tried to scoop it up the sides of the cake. Thankfully it did stick this time but the end result looked like a monstrosity. Back into the fridge it went and then sufficiently chilled I removed it once again and carefully began to remove the excess ganache from the plate. A few minutes later and ta-da, the cake had been transformed from a blob into something quite presentable – whew! I have learnt a good lesson though, never cover the sides of a cake with buttercream if you want to cover it in a warm glaze :)
When I tasted the finished cake it was well worth the effort and I would definitely consider making it again for a celebration. The hazelnut flavour was gorgeous and all the tastes and textures mingled together well and the smooth dark chocolate ganache finished it off perfectly. The gateau is quite rich so small slices were sufficient.

Be sure to check out the blogroll to see other Daring Bakers creations.

Filbert (Hazelnut) Gateau with Praline Buttercream
From Great Cakes by carol Walter
Hazelnut Genoise

225g toasted skinned hazelnuts
75g plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour
7 egg yolks
55g & 160g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp grated lemon rind
5 egg whites
50g clarified butter, melted

Method
Heat the oven to 180C. Grease and flour a 10inch spring form tin and set to one side. (Use a 6inch tin if halving the recipe)
Place the nuts, flour and cornflour in a food processor and blitz for 30 seconds. Then pulse until you get a fine powdery mixture, but don’t over process. Set aside.
Put the egg yolks into a bowl and whisk for 3-4 minutes until they are light in colour and tripled in volume. Slowly add the 160g of sugar a tablespoon at a time. The mixture should turn moussey and leave a ribbon trail.
Mix in the vanilla and lemon and set aside.
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Then add the 55g of sugar a spoonful at a time until glossy.
Pour the egg yolk mixture over the egg whites and whisk until just combined.
Scatter over two tablespoons of the flour nut mixture and fold in gently using a spatula. Continue doing this with the remaining mixture until you have only two tablespoons left. Then drizzle over the clarified butter, add the remaining nutty flour and fold in well.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until it feels springy to the touch and has started to come away from the sides of the tin.
Leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and leaving to cool.

Sugar Syrup
225ml water
55g caster sugar
2 tbsp rum or liqueur of choice

Method
In a small saucepan, heat the water and sugar together until dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in your liqueur of choice. Set aside.

Swiss Buttercream
4 egg whites
160g caster sugar
300g butter
1 tbsp Grand Marnier or liqueur of choice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
Beat the egg whites in a large glass bowl until foamy and nearly at soft peak stage. Then place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, but the bowl shouldn’t touch the water.
Whisk the egg whites, adding tablespoons of sugar one at a time. Continue to beat for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are warm. The mixture should look like fluffy marshmallow.
Remove the bowl from the heat and beat for 5 minutes until cool.
Place the butter in a clean bowl and beat until soft and fluffy. Continue to beat the butter, adding tablespoons of the meringue mixture until it is all used up.
Beat in the vanilla and liqueur of your choice.
Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes before using.

Praline Paste
150g toasted skinned hazelnuts
150g caster sugar

Method
Scatter the sugar over the bottom of a heavy frying pan and heat over a low flame for 10-20 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and formed a light caramel. Do not stir the sugar, but the odd shake of the pan is ok to enable even melting.
When the sugar has completely melted remove from the heat and stir in the hazelnuts.
Quickly spread the mixture over a baking try lined and greased with parchment paper or a silicone sheet.
Leave to cool before breaking into pieces and blitzing in a food processor to form a paste. This can take up to 10 minutes and you will need to scrape down the sides every so often.
Transfer to a bowl and cover until ready to use, do not put in the fridge.

Praline Buttercream
1 x Swiss buttercream
1 x praline paste
1 tbsp rum or liqueur of choice

Method
Whisk half the buttercream into the praline paste until well combined. Then add the rest of the buttercream and fold in the liqueur of choice.

Ganache Glaze
175g dark chocolate
300g double cream
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp liqueur of choice
¾ tsp vanilla extract

Method
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl and set to one side.
Heat the cream and the syrup in a small saucepan over a low heat.
Leave it until it just reaches a gentle boil, then remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.
Stir until smooth and well combined. Stir in the vanilla and liqueur of choice.
Leave to cool and thickened slightly before using, but don’t leave it too long or it will set.

To Assemble
Cut the cake into three even layers and turn the top layer upside down to use as the base.
Brush the layer with some of the sugar syrup and a third of the praline buttercream.
Top with another layer of sponge, moisten with syrup and spread with another third of buttercream.
Top with the final cake layer, moisten with syrup and spread over the rest of the buttercream.
Transfer the cake to a wrack set over a deep baking tray. Brush the sides with a little melted apricot jam and pour over the still soft chocolate ganache glaze. Spreading it out evenly over the top and sides of the cake, catching any excess in the tray below.
Using leftover buttercream or whipped double cream, decorate the top of the cake.
Store in the fridge until required. It can be kept for up to 5 days.

Raspberry & Almond Cupcakes

I am lucky enough to have a small mountain of home grown raspberries, thanks to my aunt who has quite a jungle of raspberry canes growing in her back garden. I think raspberries are a beautiful fruit, so unusually constructed with their plump little pockets of sweet juice surrounding tiny seeds and so pretty in colour. Another bonus is that they grow surrounded by flat greens leaves rather than the prickly thorns of blackberries meaning they are far more enjoyable to pick. I have frozen a few for future use and enjoyed some raw but I also wanted to use them in baking and these cupcakes were the result.

At first I planned to make raspberry muffins but I find raspberries can sometimes have quite large seeds which are not nice to chew on, so instead I decided to use one baked into the centre of a cupcake and then make a raspberry cream topping with the rest.

I used ground almonds in the cake mix which I find always gives a lovely moist texture and is a perfect flavour pairing with raspberries. The raspberry baked into the cakes centre is a nice surprise when bitten into and it seemed to have intensified in flavour. For the raspberry cream I used a base of an Italian style meringue but whisked it with the juice of lots of raspberries which I pureed first. I was worried that this would be too wet and I would end up with liquid goo but it actually whisked up to be wonderfully light and fluffy. I added some whipped cream to give it extra stability and this transformed it into a light and airy raspberry mousse which tasted divine. The sweetness of the meringue base really enhanced the raspberry flavour and it turned a lovely pretty pink colour and was so creamy and smooth In fact it was so good that I spooned the leftovers into little glasses and served it as a raspberry fool.

Topped with an extra raspberry they encompass the joys of fresh summer berries, now I just wish the weather would take the hint and stop being so cold and wet.

Raspberry & Almond Cupcakes
For the cake
100g self raising flour
115g butter
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
25g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
12 raspberries

For the raspberry cream
2 egg whites
150g caster sugar
200g raspberries
200ml double cream

Method – for the cake
Preheat the oven to 175C and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases.
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one.
Add the ground almonds and almond extract. Sift over the flour and baking powder and mix well to combine.
Spoon a teaspoon of the almond batter into the base of each of the muffin cases. Place a whole raspberry in the centre of each spoonful of batter. Divide the remaining batter evenly between the muffin cases, covering each raspberry.
Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Transfer to a wire wrack to cool.

For the raspberry cream
Take 12 of the best raspberries and set to one side for decoration later. Then place the remaining raspberries in a pan along with the water and 50g of the caster sugar.
Heat until the raspberries are mushy and thick, then remove from the heat. Push the raspberry mush through a sieve, collecting the juice in a glass bowl. Discard the seeds.
Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and add the egg whites and rest of the sugar.
Whisk the mixture over the heat until it turns very fluffy and has tripled in volume, around 4 – 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and continue to beat for a few minutes more until nearly cold.
Whisk the double cream until it forms soft peaks and then whisk it into the raspberry mixture. It will turn creamy and deflate slightly, but this is ok. Whisk until thick and mousse like.
Chill in the fridge to firm up for at least two hours before spreading or piping onto the tops of the cooled cakes.
Top with the raspberries saved from earlier.
Makes 12 cupcakes

Chocolate & Vanilla Marble Tray Bake

Last weekend it was our local village fete. My family always help run a few game stalls for the children and supply a few little cakes for the refreshment stand. This tray bake was one of the cakes contributed.

It’s an all-in-one cake meaning you simply have to put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat it together, so it’s very easy to make. Swirling together vanilla and chocolate flavoured batters makes it more appealing to the eye and means it will please both vanilla and chocolate cake fans. I topped the cake off with a dark chocolate buttercream and drizzled over a little white chocolate to keep the two tone colour theme going.

The cake was light and tender and I loved how the dark chocolate swirl stood out against the vanilla sponge. The buttercream was sweet, with a rich chocolate flavour that prevented it from being over sweet. Cut into squares it went down well with both children and adults at the fete.

Chocolate & Vanilla Marble Tray Bake
For the cake
200g self raising flour
200g butter or margarine
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
1½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
20g cocoa powder
1 tbsp milk

For the buttercream
100g butter
200g icing sugar
75g plain chocolate
50g white chocolate

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a 30cm x 20cm baking tin.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the butter, sugar and eggs and beat using an electric mixer until smooth and slightly lighter in colour.
Beat in the vanilla.
Mark the cake batter in half using a spatula and then dollop tablespoonfuls of half the vanilla mixture at regular intervals in the tin, leaving spaces between each one.
With the remaining half of the batter, sift over the cocoa powder and beat in until well incorporated. Add the milk to slacken the mixture and mix well.
Dollop tablespoonfuls of the chocolate mixture in-between the vanilla blobs in the tin.
Take a skewer or thin bladed knife and run it up and down through the mixture to swirl the two cake mixes together.
Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire wrack to cool.

For the buttercream
Beat the butter until soft and creamy.
Sift over the icing sugar in two batches and beat well until smooth.
Melt the dark chocolate, allow to cool for 10 minutes and then beat into the buttercream. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.
Spread the buttercream evenly over the top of the cake. Melt the white chocolate and place into a piping bag with a small nozzle.
Drizzle the white chocolate over the top of the cake and leave to set before cutting into squares.
Makes 15 squares.

Daring Bakers May Challenge – A Cake to Sing About: Light & White Opera Cake

When I saw this months challenge I was thrilled as it’s a cake I have heard lots about but never attempted to make myself. As I read through the recipe and its many stages and components – sponge, syrup, buttercream, ganache, glaze – I began thinking “Ekk this looks complicated.” However, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. If you can make a whisked sponge and a buttercream then you can make this cake. You do need a free afternoon to create it, but it’s a very pleasant way to spend a few hours, especially when it’s blowing a gale outside and you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful cake that will get ‘ohhs’ and ‘ahhs’ from your friends and family.

Traditionally an Opera Cake is dark and flavoured with rich chocolate and coffee but in honour of the approach of summer and with a nod to the LiveSTRONG day in America (fighting Cancer) our Opera Cakes were to be light in colour and flavour. I was initially a little disappointed at not making a traditional Opera cake, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I became – there are SO MANY flavour variations you can make when not tied down to coffee or chocolate. In the end I decided to make an almond joconde sponge, a zingy lemon syrup and a floral lavender buttercream.

I halved the recipe and made a rectangle cake rather than a square, but I still had the three layers. I also bypassed the optional ganache stage and replaced this with a layer of marzipan to tie in with the almond joconde. I also tinted the buttercream a pale lilac colour to resemble the lavender. I kept the white chocolate glaze and wrote ‘Opera’ on top with a little glaze that I tinted purple. That thistle looking thing at the end was meant to be a stalk of lavender, just squint a bit.
I was delighted with how the cake turned out. The sponge was so soft and floatingly light, very reminiscing of an angle cake, look at all those little air bubbles! It had a wonderful almond flavour, that really worked well with the zesty lemon syrup. I have just realised that I forgot to add the melted butter to the batter, but it doesn’t miss it. The lavender buttercream was really good and added a wonderful subtle floral bloom in the mouth. I have never used lavender in baking before, but I’ll definitely be using it again.

Thanks girls (Lis, Ivonne, Shea & Fran) for choosing such a wonderful cake – I would never have attempted it without the push. Be sure to check out the other Daring Bakers creations.

Lemon Lavender & Almond Opera Cake
For the joconde
6 egg whites
30g caster sugar
225g ground almonds
150g icing sugar
6 whole eggs
70g plain flour
45g butter
1½tsp almond extract (my addition)

Preheat the oven to 220C and position the oven racks in the top third and bottom third of the oven. Line two 12½ x 15½ inch Swiss roll tins and grease with the butter.
In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they are doubles in size and foamy. Add the caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time, while whisking until the egg whites have become thick and glossy. Set to one side.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, icing sugar and ground almonds until thick and creamy, about 3 minutes. (I also added almond extract at this point)
Sift over the flour and mix in gently. Do not overwork.
Take a third of the egg white mix and fold into the almond mix to slacken it. Then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites, being careful not to knock out too much of the air.
Melt the butter and fold into the batter.
Divide the mix evenly between the two tins and spread out into an even layer.
Bake for 5-9 minutes until lightly golden brown and springy to the touch.
After removing from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the pans, cover the tops with a sheet of greaseproof paper and turn out onto a wire wrack.
Peel away the base of greaseproof paper, but then leave it covering the cake and allow to cool.

For the syrup
125g water
65g caster sugar
2 tbsp of your choice (I used zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon)

Add all the ingredients together in a pan, stir and bring to the boil.
Allow to bubble for 1 minute until the sugar is all dissolved and then remove form the heat and set aside to cool

For the buttercream
100g caster sugar
60g water
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
200g butter, softened
1 vanilla bean or flavouring of your choice (I used 3 dried lavender stalks)

Combine the sugar, water and flavouring of choice in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Allow to cook, without stirring, until the syrup has thickened and reached around 105-110C.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg and egg yolk in a clean bowl until they become thick, pale and doubled in volume.
Slowly drizzle the hot syrup down the side of the bowl, containing the eggs, beating continuously. Do not pour the syrup over the beaters, or you’ll end up with spun sugar.
Continue to beat the mix until it become glossy, thick and cool to the touch, around 5 minutes.
Gradually beat in the softened butter in small chunks until all combined.
Add any other flavouring e.g. vanilla extract, and beat again. (I tinted mine a lavender purple colour)
Place the buttercream in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up to a spread-able consistency, stirring every 5 minutes so as to set evenly.

For the white chocolate ganache top (Optional)
(I replaced this layer with a layer of marzipan)
200g white chocolate
240ml double cream
1 tbsp flavouring of your choice

Melt the chocolate and 3tbsp of the cream in a small saucepan until smooth. Stir in your flavouring of choice.
Beat the rest of the cream until softly whipped. Fold into the melted chocolate and allow to sit and firm up before using.

For the glaze – only make this when you are ready to use it immediately
110g white chocolate
120ml double cream

Melt the chocolate cream together until smooth.
Whisk gently and allow to cool for 10 minutes until started to thicken and use immediately while still warm and shiny.

To assemble the cake
Trim the sides away from the joconde sponges. Cut each sponge into one square and one rectangle (one 10inch square and one 10x5 inch rectangle). You will end up with two large squares and two rectangles that when joined together will make a third 10inch square.
Place one of the cake square on a serving plate and drizzle over a third of the syrup.
Spread on a third of the buttercream and top with the two rectangles, to form another square.
Add another third of the syrup and butter cream and top with the final cake square.
Spoon on the rest of the syrup and spread over the rest of the buttercream.
Chill in the fridge until firm.
Then spread the top layer with the ganache (I used a thin layer of marzipan instead)
Make your glaze and pour over the top of the cake, smoothing it to the edges of the cake and leaving to set in a shiny layer.
Do not touch the glaze once it starts to set or else it will loose its shine.
Store in the fridge until required.
Serves 20