Spiced Sweet Potato Cake (Version 2)

This is my second attempt at a sweet potato cake. As you can see it looks drastically different to version 1.

The first thing you will notice is that it looks a lot bigger, more of a loaf shape. This is because I used slightly more mixture and baked in into one large cake rather than two smaller ones. I also ensured it really was fully cooked this time, meaning it rose beautifully and stayed that way! If you compare it side by side with version 1, you might think that I have burnt it, but rest assured its not burnt, I replaced some of the sugar with brown sugar in the hope of giving it a caramel overtone and this made the batter much darker, as you can see from the inside crumb.

The cake also contained oil rather than butter and I threw caution to the wind and mixed most of the ingredients together in one go, cutting down some of the process stages. This worked well and didn’t seem to have any negative effects on the cake. I loved the orange and spice mix from version 1 so much that I transferred those over into this cake as well.

The finished cake rose well and was light in texture. The crumb was soft and moist thanks to the oil and sweet potato and it had a very nice, faintly orangey flavour with caramel overtones. However, I think some of the magic of the orange, spices and sweetness from the sweet potato was lost by adding the brown sugar, as they were not as pronounced as in the first version. The lovely golden orange colour was also lost, which was a shame as I consider its sunny colour one of the most pleasing aspects of baking with sweet potato. This does not however prevent it from being a delicious and tasty cake and if I was not doing a comparison I would probably not find fault with it, so don’t let my judgements stop you from giving it a go.

I now had two different sweet potato cakes to try out on my friend. I told her I had been experimenting with spice cakes and invited her round for a tasting. She happily ate slices of each while considering them. In the end she told me that while she liked both cakes she preferred the flavour of version 1, but the height and lightness of version 2 (same as me – hurrah!) When I told her what the mystery ingredient was she was surprised and said it didn’t taste like sweet potato. As she had already said she liked both cakes, she had to eat her words and grudgingly agreed that vegetables and squashes may in fact have a place in baking. So even thought I may need to create a sweet potato cake version 3 to get my ideal cake, at least I achieved what I set out to do which is to broaden my friends mind to the possibilities of baking ingredients.

I have got quite a lot of cake(s) left over and I’ve got an idea forming of what to do with them, I’ll let you know if it works!

Spiced Sweet Potato Cake (Version 2)
Ingredients
240g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
130g sweet potato, cooked and mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml sunflower oil
2 eggs
100g caster sugar
100g soft brown sugar
Zest of ½ orange
1 tsp cinnamon
½ ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves20g pecans

Method
Preheat oven to 170C. Lightly grease and flour a 450g/1lb loaf tin.
Prick the sweet potato with a fork and microwave on high for 9 minutes until soft. Cut open, scoop out the flesh and mash with a fork. Weigh out the correct amount and set aside.
In a bowl, sift together flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and spices and set aside.
Place the sweet potato puree, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and sugars into a large bowl and beat until well combined.Add flour mixture mix until just combined, a few small lumps are fine.
Spread the batter evenly into the loaf tin. Roughly chops the pecans and scatter over the surface of the batter.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until well risen and golden. A skewer inserted into centre of the loaf comes out clean. Cover the top quickly with foil after 45 minutes if you think it is browning too quickly.Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 loaf cake

Sweet Potato, Orange & Pecan Spice Cake (Version 1)

I was talking to a friend recently about the use of vegetables and squashes in cakes after we both watched a food programme that featured a chocolate beetroot cake. My friend was quite horrified by the use of beetroot and even more so when I told her that almost any vegetable could be used as a cake ingredient. She refused to believe that adding any vegetable would taste good in a cake, despite my protests that she already knew and liked carrot cake. I was determined to prove her wrong and surprise her with a piece of cake that contained a secret vegetable ingredient, but which one to choose? I thought it over and in the end settled on a sweet potato. They are not strictly a vegetable but neither are they a common cake ingredient and I thought their sweet flavour would be a good starting point. Now all that was left was to find the right recipe to bake with it.

After much hunting I decided to adapt a recipe for pumpkin cake that I found on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody blog. I also fiddled around with the quantities and added orange zest and spices which I thought would complement the sweet potato.

Everything went well and the resulting cake was very good. It was moist and a lovely golden yellow colour thanks to the sweet potato. The mix of orange and spices tasted fantastic and gave it a very autumnal feel. The chopped pecans added a nice crunch and they had got nice and toasty during baking. It rose well during baking but sank slightly as it cooled down with the result that the base was a little denser then I would have liked (I think 5 mins more would have been ideal – I’ve amended the recipe). All my family loved this cake, and it’s one I would certainly make again, but I wanted to experiment further, so I’m calling this sweet potato cake version 1, with version 2 to follow.

Sweet Potato, Orange & Pecan Spice Cake (Version 1)
Ingredients
1 small or ½ large sweet potato (130g cooked flesh)
180g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
2 eggs, separated
150g and a separate 30g caster sugar
60g butter
1 tsp vanilla
140ml milk
Zest of ½ orange
40g pecans for decoration

Method
Preheat the oven temperature to 180C. Grease and line two small loaf tins.
Prick the sweet potato and microwave on high for 9 minutes.
When the sweet potato is cooked, scoop out the flesh and mash until smooth. Measure out 130g of potato puree and set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Set aside.
In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually beat in the 30g of sugar and continue to whisk until the egg whites are fairly stiff.
In another bowl combine the sweet potato, butter, vanilla, orange zest and remaining 150g sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl after each egg yolk is added.
Add a third of the flour mix, followed by half the milk. Repeat with more flour, milk and ending with the last of the flour.
Using a spatula, fold in a third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until no streaks remain, but do not over mix and deflate the batter.
Spread the batter between the loaf tins. Roughly chop the pecans and scatter over the surface. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool completely.
Makes two small loaves.
Note: I think this mixture would also fit into one deep 450g/1lb loaf tin and would probably need around 50-60 minutes cooking time.

Bite Size Fruitcakes & Chocolate Truffle Squares for Afternoon Tea

As promised, here are the recipes for the other sweet treats I made for the afternoon tea party I had recently to accompany the macarons I made for this months Daring Bakers challenge. There was a selected of savoury sandwiches (including cucumber sandwiches with the crusts removed!), along with some of my favourite buttermilk scones served with clotted cream, jam and fruit, some bite size fruitcakes topped with marzipan flowers and some honeyed chocolate truffles served on tuile biscuit squares.

It made quite a spread and when rounded off with cups of freshly made tea and enjoyed in the company of friends and family it made for a most enjoyable afternoon. I do think it’s a shame that the tradition of afternoon tea has almost disappeared from our daily lives, but I for one vow to try and enjoy them at every possible occasion.

Bite Size Fruitcakes
You can’t have a traditional afternoon tea without the presence of fruitcake. As I was aiming for elegant food, I decided to experiment with baking the fruitcake mix in cannelé moulds in order to make them bite size. This worked a treat and when topped with a little marzipan flower I think they turned out rather dainty. You could eat a couple while still leaving room to sample other things and baking them individually meant they cooked very evenly and stayed wonderfully moist.

This is a scaled down version of my favourite fruitcake recipe. However, don’t feel you have to stick to it religiously. If you run out of one or more of the fruits, dried cranberries, peaches, pears, prunes or dates also work well. If you don’t want to use brandy then you could use a spiced fruit tea or apple juice instead.

Bite Size Fruitcakes
Fruit Mix
60g raisins
60g sultanas
60g currants
25g dried apricots
35g glace cherries
Zest of ½ lemon
Zest of ½ orange
1 tbsp brandy

Cake Mix
75g plain flour
½ tsp mixed spice
15g ground almonds
55g soft brown sugar
55g butter
2 tsp black treacle
1 egg
Zest of ½ lemon
Fruit mix (above)

Method – Fruit Mix
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 and cherries into small pieces and same size as the raisins. Grate over the zest of the orange and lemon.Drizzle over the brandy, give everything a stir and then cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave for at least 4hours or preferably overnight to allow the fruit to absorb the brandy and plump up.

Cake Mix
Have two cannelé trays (around 35 moulds) ready to hand (you could also use mini muffin trays). Preheat the oven to 140C.Measure the lemon rind, flour, mixed spice, ground almonds, sugar, butter, treacle and egg into a very large bowl and mix together until smooth. (It will be quite stiff)Add the soaked fruits and mix everything together using a spatula, making sure the fruit is evenly distributed.Spoon the mixture into the cannelé moulds using a teaspoon. Fill almost to the top and press down gently to ensure no large air pockets remain trapped at the base.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cakes are starting to come away from the sides of the pan and a small skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.Allow the cake to cool in the moulds for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool.
Top with small marzipan flowers or discs if desired.
They keep well for a week in an airtight container. (They can be kept longer than this as fruitcake keeps for a long time but due to their small size they can start to dry out after a week).
Makes 35 bite size fruitcakes

Honeyed Chocolate Truffle Squares on Tuile Biscuits
I had to include something rich and chocolaty for the chocoholics in my family and these little truffle squares were ideal. You can flavour the chocolate truffle any way you wish but I decided to use a little blossom honey to add a floral note and a touch of sweetness. Adding a small amount of liqueur, the zest of an orange or some strong espresso would also be good. As the truffles were being served with the rest of the afternoon tea treats, I decided to make some small tuile squares on which to serve them. This made them easier to pick up and eat, as the truffles can turn slightly soft if they are left out for more than half an hour and I didn’t want people getting chocolate over their fingers – not ideal for an elegant tea party!

If you don’t want to make the tuile biscuits, dusting the truffle squares in cocoa powder will make them the perfect petit fours to serve with coffee after a dinner party.

Chocolate Truffles
100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
100ml double cream
1 level tbsp blossom/runny honey

Method
Heat the cream and honey in a small saucepan or microwave until hot, but do not allow to boil.
Break the chocolate into pieces and add to the cream. Stir gently until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a small 15cm square shallow tray or container, which has been fully lined with clingfilm.
Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating for 2 hours.
Once chilled, remove the chocolate truffle sheet from the tray with the help of the clingfilm. Use a long sharp knife to cut the truffle into 1cm squares. Clean your knife with a sheet of kitchen roll between each cut to get neat squares.
Chill the squares until required.
To assemble, place each truffle square on top of a tuile square and serve immediately.

Tuiles
(Recipe from the Daring Bakers January challenge)
Ingredients

30g softened butter

30g sifted icing sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 egg white

33g plain flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Gradually add the egg white, white continuing to beat.
Add the flour, a teaspoon at a time until you get a smooth batter/paste. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut out a small square from card to act as a stencil, making sure its about 1cm larger than your chocolate truffle squares. Place the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula or small knife to spread over a thin layer of the paste before carefully removing the stencil. Leave some room in between your shapes.
Bake for about 4-5 minutes until crisp and golden. Watch them carefully as they can burn quite easily.
Meanwhile, prepare the next batch of tuile paste squares on a new piece of baking paper, ready to bake once the first batch is cooked (this saves time).
When the tuiles are baked, lift the baking paper off the baking sheet and replace with the next batch of tuile paste squares and bake as before.
Continue until you have enough squares.
They will keep for 3 days in an airtight container.

The Cake Slice October 09: Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake

This months Cake Slice cake is an extra special this month, as it marks the start of our next 12 months of baking adventures from our newly selected cake book and welcomes lots of new members into our group. I can now reveal that our new book is Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott! I’m thrilled our members voted this as our next book as it offers a whole variety of different cake styles, shapes and sizes. As much as I loved baking from our Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes book, it was sometimes difficult to find an occasion to bake a triple layer cake each month – this book offers much more scope for impromptu cake baking. It’s crammed full of cakes for every occasion, from layer cakes, tray bakes, bundts, cupcakes and loaves.

This Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake was voted the debut cake from the book. To me, the name is slightly confusing as the cake does not contain coffee. It is so called because in America it is the kind of cake that is often served with a cup of coffee. Similarly, here in the UK our toasted teacakes do not contain tea, but are often served alongside a cup of it in the afternoon. Either way I have decided to rename this cake as Cinnamon Pecan Raisin Crumb Cake. It consists of a moist butter cake with a generous middle layer of cinnamon sugar, pecans and raisins. It is also topped off with more of the same spiced fruit and nut sprinkles – strudel style.

During baking, the cake forms a delicate spiced sugar crust and the surface raisins become pleasantly chewy, like little nuggets of treacle, while the pecans get lightly toasted which gives them a wonderful depth of flavour. The cake itself remains incredibly moist and tender. It’s a lovely buttery yellow colour with a slightly crumbly crumb, reminiscent of a shortcake. The hidden middle layer of fruits, nuts and spices turns soft and gooey, adding sweetness, stickiness, crunch and spiciness to the soft and buttery crumb. The resulting cake is just heavenly, the kind of cake you eat before chasing the crumbs around the plate with your finger to ensure you get every last morsel.

The cake calls for an astonishing amount of cinnamon, and yet I’m pleased to say it wasn’t overpowering as it is only used in the filling and topping rather than the cake batter itself. So, although intense, the sweetness of the raisins and caramel flavour from the brown sugar helps balance the cinnamon with delicious results. The only change I made to the cake was to reduce the amount of sugar called for in both the cake and filling. I have a very sweet tooth, but I know from past experience that American cakes can be extremely sweet and when I noticed that the combined sugar content was 525g I decided to reduce it slightly. Also, the recipe for the cinnamon sugar makes an extremely large amount. I had about a third of mine leftover, despite being generous with it, so I will reduce the amount I make next time.

I loved how quick and easy it was to put together and once baked it required no extra work meaning you could be enjoying a piece in around an hour. This cake sort of reminds me of a sticky bun, only in cake form. Needless to say it didn’t last long in my house. It is one of the most delicious and enjoyable tray bake cakes I have made in a long time. It can be eaten hot as a pudding or cool at room temperature. I preferred it at room temperature and found it actually seemed to develop in flavour and become more tender the following day. If this cake is a sign of things to come from our new book I can’t wait to see what we’re baking next! Click here to see fellow Cake Slice bakers cakes.

Cinnamon Pecan Raisin Crumb Cake
(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)
For the Cake
360g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
225ml milk
200g butter, softened
225g sugar (I used 150g)
2 eggs

For the Cinnamon Raisin Filling
300g light soft brown sugar (I used 200g)
3 tbsp plain
3 tbsp cinnamon
225g raisins
175g pecans
150g butter

Method – Cinnamon Pecan Raisin Filling
Combine the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix everything well. Roughly chop the pecans and mix with the raisins and pecans in another bowl. In a third bowl, melt the butter until liquid and set aside until needed along with the cinnamon mixture and nut raisin mixture for use later.

For the Cake
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch/32x23cm pan.
In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer on high speed until pale yellow and evenly mixed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl to ensure a good mix. Add the eggs and beat for another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl now and then, until the mixture is smooth and light.
Combine the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Stir the vanilla into the milk.
Add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir only until the flour disappears. Add a third of the milk and mix in. Repeat twice more until all the flour and milk mixtures have been incorporated. Stir just enough to keep the batter smooth.
Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter followed by half the melted butter. Scatter half the raisins and nuts over the top.
Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter carefully over the filling and use a spatula to smooth the batter all the way to the edges of the pan. Top with the leftover cinnamon, butter and nut mixture, covering the cake evenly.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, fragrant and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving in squares right from the pan. The cake is delicious hot, warm or at room temperature. (I preferred room temperature).
Serves 15-18

Apple & Blackberry Cake: Spiced Bramley Apple Cake with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting & Coulis

It was my Grandmothers birthday a few weeks back and like me, she is a fellow fruit and foraging fanatic. This summer we have spent many a happy hour together, half engulfed by bushes down country lanes, picking plums and blackberries and enjoying days out at nearby pick-your-owns, digging up our own leeks and potatoes. When her birthday approached this year I was determined to bake her a special birthday cake making use of some of the fruits we had gathered together. As our most recent excursion had been blackberring I knew they would have to feature somewhere and decide to pair them with their best flavour companion, apple.

I have been working on my own recipe for apple sandwich cake layers, on and off, for some time now and have recently reached what I considered to be my ideal apple sponge cake. I decided that this would be the perfect time to give it its debut. It makes use of lots of freshly made Bramley apple puree and, naturally where I’m concerned, spices. The resulting cake is wonderfully moist but without it being dense or stodgy. It smells incredible during baking, sweet, warm apples and a mix of fragrant spices, reminiscent of cider warming on the hob at Christmas.

The blackberry cream cheese frosting was a bit of a wild card. I had an idea of adding lots of blackberry puree into the frosting, but I wasn’t at all sure it would work without turning into a runny goo, but I knew if I didn’t try, I would never know. I thickened the puree with a little arrowroot which stopped it being so ‘wet’ while ensuring its colour remained bright and glossy. I’m thrilled to say it worked well. I used half the coulis in the frosting which turned a gorgeous shade of purple, and spread the remaining half over the top of the finished cake as a glaze, which added an extra hit of intense blackberry flavour.

This finished cake was absolutely packed full of apple flavour - fresh and slightly sharp, that seemed to explode in your mouth, followed by an undertone of warming spices. The frosting was thick, creamy and smooth with a distinctive tang of fresh blackberries and such a striking natural colour! When paired together, the resulting cake with its moist spiced apply sweetness, velvety frosting and fruity twang is nothing short of heavenly.

The cake was meant to be a triple layer cake, but one of my cake layers suffered an accident, so I ended up only making a double layer cake – I was initially disappointed, but on the plus side this meant we had some leftover frosting to serve with the cake, which can never be a bad thing. So happy birthday Grandma! Thank you for so many happy fruit filled memories.

Spiced Bramley Apple Cake with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting & Coulis

(Recipe by me)

Spiced Apple Cake

400g plain flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

220g butter

200g light soft brown sugar

4 eggs

Apple puree (see below)

Bramley Apple Puree

4 Bramley apples

200ml water

150g caster sugar

Blackberry Coulis

700g blackberries (400ml blackberry juice)

70g caster sugar

1 tsp arrowroot

Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting

250g icing sugar

200g cream cheese

100g butter

Half the blackberry coulis (above)

100ml double cream for decoration

Method – Bramley Apple Puree

Peel and core the Bramley apples and cut into small chunks. Place the apple into a saucepan and add the water.

Heat and allow to cook until softened and starting to break down and turn mushy. Stir in the sugar and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes until all of the water has evaporated and the apple is thick and pulpy. Remove from the heat and mash gently with a fork until a smooth puree is formed. Set aside to cool.

Spiced Apple Cake

Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease three 8inch/20cm sandwich pans and line the bases with greaseproof paper.

Beat the butter and sugar until well combined and soft. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Stir in the prepared apple puree (the mix will look very runny at this point, but this is ok).

Scatter the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices over the surface of the batter. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter using a large spatula or spoon, until no flour streaks remain.

Divide the batter evenly between the three cake tins (they will be very full).

Bake for 30-35 minutes until risen, lightly golden brown and springy to the touch. (The batter will rise to the top of the tin during baking, but will sink back down slightly on cooling).

Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 15 minutes before unmoulding onto a cooling rack, peeling off the base paper and leaving to cool.

Blackberry Coulis

Rinse the blackberries under cool running water to remove any dust or dirt. Place the berries into a large pan and crush them slightly to release some of their juices. (There is no need to dry the berries first, as any water that remains on the berries will help start the cooking process).

Heat the blackberries and bring the mixture to the boil as the juices are released. Allow to boil for 15 – 20 minutes then remove from the heat.

Position a large bowl under a sieve and push the fruit through the sieve to remove the pips, catching the juice in the bowl below.

Rinse out the pan and pour the blackberry juice back in. Stir in the sugar and bring the mixture back to the boil.

Boil for 10 minutes until the juice has reduced by nearly half.

Dissolve the arrowroot in 2 tsp of cold water and add to the pan, stirring well. Continue to stir gently until the mixture has thickened and become slightly jelly like.

Remove from the heat and pour the coulis into a bowl and leave to cool before refrigerating until cold before using.

Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and well combined. Sift over the icing sugar, a third at a time, beating well between each addition.

Fold in half of the cooled blackberry coulis, reserving the rest for later.

Cover and refrigerate for an hour, to firm up, before using.

To Assemble

Place one of the cake layers on a serving plate and spread over a quarter of the blackberry cream cheese frosting. Top with another cake layer, another quarter of the frosting and top with the final cake layer.

Use the remaining half of the frosting to generously cover the top and sides of the cake.

Whip the double cream until soft peaks form. Place the cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe a border of cream around the top outside rim of the cake and another middle ring of you wish.

Using the reserved blackberry coulis, drizzle it over the top of the frosted cake, inside the piped cream border. Gently spread it out into an even layer to cover the whole top of the cake. (I found putting the coulis into a squeezy bottle helped).

Decorate with extra flowers or candles as you wish.

Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days.

Serves 12-16

(Makes an 8inch/20cm triple layer cake – I only ended up with a two layer cake as my third layer had an unfortunate accident with the floor!)

The Cake Slice Septembers 09: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

This months Cake Slice cake is quite poignant as it marks the end of an era – the end of our year of baking from Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes. Yes! I can hardly believe it but it has in fact been a whole year since the groups creation and we have baked and eaten our way through 12 delicious cakes from this book, meaning next month we will be baking from a brand new cookbook. We choose our cakes each month by voting, so as you can imagine all eyes were glued to the poll to see which cake would be selected as our last cake. This month there was one clear winner, a chocolate cake. It seems few people can resist the lure of a good chocolate cake and September’s cake choice was not only a chocolate cake, but a Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake that contains the surprise ingredient of mayonnaise!! Yes mayonnaise! It is used in place of butter or oil in the cake and results in a very moist and tender crumb.

The cake not only consists of three layers but also contains three hits of chocolate. One, is the gooey chocolate cake itself, two, is a generous layer of fudgy sour cream chocolate icing and three, is a creamy white chocolate mousse filling that is revealed on slicing, a great contrast to the dark cake and icing.

Wow this cake was amazing. As sponge contains mayonnaise and a fair quantity of strong coffee it makes the cake incredibly moist, with an intense chocolate flavour. I think the coffee helped enhance the rich smoky chocolate flavour and cake the cake its deep rich colour without obviously tasting of coffee. My siblings hate coffee and yet happily devoured the cake without detecting the coffee. The thick layer of icing was lovely and fudgy, while the creamy white chocolate mousse filling was wonderfully light and fluffy in contrast. This cake is definitely one for the chocoholics and one I am sure I’ll be making again.

This was the perfect indulgent cake for our last cake baked from the Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes book. You’ll have to wait until next month to see the first cake we bake from our newly selected cookbook! If you are a fellow cake baking fanatic and would like to become a member of our group for the upcoming year please email me at: (appleandspice [AT] hotmail.co.uk) and put ‘Cake Slice Member’ in the subject box. Places are limited so first come first served.

In the meantime don’t forget to check out the blogroll to see everyone else’s cakes.

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake
(Recipe from Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne)
Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake
270g plain flour
65g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
65g unsweetened chocolate, chopped
225ml milk
280ml hot, strongly brewed coffee
2 eggs
225g mayonnaise
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
500g sugar (I only used 300g and it was perfectly sweet)

White chocolate mousse (below)
Sour cream chocolate icing (below)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 9 inch round cake pans. Line the base of each pan with parchment.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the milk to a simmer. Pour the hot coffee and milk over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth and leave to cool slightly.
In a mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the dry ingredients and mocha liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth and well blended. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans. (It’s a runny mix and I found using a ladle helped divide it equally between the pans).
Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before un-molding onto a wire rack and carefully peeling off the paper. Leave to cool completely.


White Chocolate Mousse
115g white chocolate, chopped
225ml heavy cream
1 egg white
1 tbsp sugar

Method
Melt the white chocolate with 60ml cream in a double boiler. Whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and let the white chocolate cream cool to room temperature.
When it has cooled, beat the remaining 165ml cream until stiff peaks form. In a clean bowl whip the egg white with the sugar until fairly stiff peaks form.
Fold the beaten egg white into the white chocolate cream. Then fold in the whipped cream until blended. Be sure not to over mix.


Sour Cream Chocolate Icing
340g dark chocolate, chopped
100g unsalted butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
60ml whole milk room temperature
110ml sour cream, at room temperature

Method
Melt the chocolate with the butter and golden syrup in a double boiler over barley simmering water. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth.
Whisk in the milk and sour cream. Leave to cool until it becomes the thickness of mayonnaise, but be sure to use while still soft.


To Assemble
Place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with half the white chocolate mousse, leaving a 1cm margin around the edge. Repeat with the second layer and the remaining mousse. Set the third layer on top and spread half the sour cream chocolate icing over the cake, allowing some to run down the sides. Use the remaining icing to cover the cake, smoothing it down the sides.
Decorate with a few white chocolate buttons or as desired. Refrigerate if not eaten within two hours.
Makes an 9inch triple layer cake

Daring Bakers Challenge August 09: Dobos Torte

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Dobos Torte is a five layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin caramel covered cake wedges. (Some tortes may have as many as 12 layers, but 5-6 is quite standard.) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, allowing everyone to use it freely.

In simplest terms Dobos Torte is five layers of whisked sponge, layered and covered with an enriched chocolate buttercream and topped with a sixth caramel topped cake layer, that has been cut into triangles and arranged in a fan design. It is this caramel fan which makes a Dobos Torte so unique and instantly recognisable.

Making the Dobos Torte was quite time consuming due to all the individual components, but it was also very enjoyable. I loved all the different techniques involved and seeing it all come together. I had also never made a poured caramel quite like this one before so the recipe was also a wonderful challenge. A recipe truly worthy of its Daring Bakers status.

The cake layers were very light and soft with a slight stickiness that reminded me of angel food cake. The hardest part was finding work surface space for them all to cool down on. Thankfully I did have three cooling racks on which to place them, all lined in a row. The chocolate buttercream took a little work but produced a gorgeous silky smooth and indulgent cream. I added some Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) to mine and it really took it to the next level, complementing the chocolate flavour so well.

My caramel layer went without a hitch, but you really must keep an eye on it while its boiling away. It stayed a clear sugar mixture for ages and then all of a sudden – whoosh – it became an amber caramel, so don’t ignore it! Once the caramel had set firm, I had fun slicing the excess off the edges. The crack and slice as the shards scattered everywhere, including the floor, was rather satisfying.

The finished cake tasted fabulous. Creamy chocolate and hazelnut cream, soft and squishy layers of sponge and finishing sweet crunch of caramel, just divine. My family and I ate most of it in one afternoon. I found the caramel topping a little hard to eat on the first day, but after a night in the fridge it had softened slightly, allowing you to take a forkful much more easily.

Thanks Angela and Lorraine for such a fantastic challenge choice! Click here to see a list of fellow Daring Bakers and their Tortes.

Dobos Torte
Sponge Cake Layers
6 eggs
160g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g plain flour
15g cornflour
Pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream
4 eggs
200g caster sugar
110g dark chocolate
250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp Frangelico (hazelnut liquor – my adaption)

Caramel Topping
200g caster sugar
180ml water
40ml lemon juice

Decoration
50g finely chopped hazelnuts (optional)
12-13 whole peeled hazelnuts

For the Sponge Layers
Position the oven racks into the top third of the oven and preheat to 200C.
Cut out six strips of greaseproof paper to fit a baking tray and draw a 9inch/22.5cm circle on each one. Turn the greaseproof paper over, so the drawn line is not going to come into contact with the food. Lay one sheet ready on a baking tray.
Separate the egg yolks and whites into two large bowls. Whisk the egg whites until foamy and then slowly add half the icing sugar (80g) beating well until a thick and shiny meringue is formed.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the vanilla and the other half of the icing sugar (80g) until thick, pale in colour and ribbons form when you lift the beaters above the batter. This should take about 3 minutes.
Add a third of the meringue to the egg yolk mixture and fold together gently using a metal spoon or a spatula. Then lightly fold in the remaining meringue.
Sift over the flour and cornflour in two batches, folding in gently, as before, until no flour streaks remain.
Spoon one-sixth of the batter onto one of the prepared greaseproof papers, spreading it out to fill the circle you drew on earlier. (I found 2 heaped tablespoons of batter was the right amount).
Place the circle of batter into the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Prepare the next cake circle on a second baking tray while the first one bakes.
After 5 minutes the cake should be puffy and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool, leaving it attached to its base paper.
Place the second cake circle in the oven and prepare the third one in similar fashion. Continue until you have 6 baked cake circles.

For the Chocolate Buttercream
Half fill a saucepan with water and allow to come to a boil. Break the chocolate into small pieces and set aside. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl (not a plastic one as its going over the heat) until it has tripled in volume, turned pale, thick and creamy, around 3-5 minutes.
Place the bowl over the top of the boiling water in the saucepan, but don’t allow the bowl to touch the water. Continue to whisk for 3 minutes until the mixture has warmed and is starting to thicken.
Add the chocolate to the mix and whisk until melted and well combined. It should be shiny and sticky at this stage.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Once cool, beat the mixture and add the Frangelico if using. Continue mixing and add the soft butter in small chunks. It should start to stiffen, turn paler and become more creamy. Chill until required.

For the Caramel Top Layer
Use a shape serrated knife and the base of an 8inch/20cm cake tin to cut out rounds from your six cooled cake layers. Select the best one to be your top caramel covered layer and set the rest aside.
Cut your chosen top layer into 12 triangle portions and place on a baking tray lined with a well greased sheet of greaseproof paper or silicon mat. Reform the triangles to their original circle shape.
Oil a small metal knife or spatula and have it to hand.
Heat the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small saucepan. Stir until the sugar has dissolved before bringing to a boil. Do not stir, but watch over it from now it. It will gradually turn a light brown before suddenly turning into an amber caramel colour. Immediately remove from the heat and carefully pour the hot caramel over the surface of the cut cake layer. Use the oiled knife to help you spread it out to the edges, but be quick as it starts to set after 20seconds.
Leave to cool and set hard before peeling off the paper, transferring to a chopping board and re-cutting the cake into its precut triangles. Use a long sharp knife and try to make each cut in one quick movement to prevent and layer from shattering where you don’t want it to. Slice the excess caramel off the outside too.

To Assemble the Cake
Place one of your five remaining the cake layers onto a serving plate and spread over 2 tablespoons of the chocolate buttercream. Repeat with the remaining cake layers.
After the final cake layer, use most of the remaining buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons for decoration.
Put the remaining buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe 12 swirls around the edge of the cake and place one of the whole hazelnuts on top.
Place one of the caramel topped cake triangles at a slant, half resting on top of the hazelnut, with the point facing inwards. Repeat with the other triangles to create a fan design.
Press the chopped hazelnuts onto the outside of the cake if desired.
Makes one 8inch/20cm 5 layer cake. Serves 12

The Cake Slice August 09: Pistachio Petit Four Cake

I was very excited by this month’s cake choice – a pistachio cake sandwiched together with marzipan, apricot jam and a dark chocolate ganache. The entire cake is then swathed in more of the indulgent chocolate ganache! I adore marzipan, pistachios and ganache but have never combined them together in a cake before so I couldn’t wait to get baking.

One of the things I love about pistachios is their dusky green colour and buttery taste and I was pleased to find that these attributes carry over into the cake layers too. They also kept the cake very moist and scattered with tiny speckles of nuts which added a great taste and light texture without being coarse. The jam, ganache and almond marzipan softened and melded into the cake layers, producing a lovely sweet yet bitter and indulgent gooey filling layers. The whole cake was divine!

As the cake is called a petit four cake, I halved the recipe and baked my cakes in my most recent bakeware purchase, a king sized muffin pan that I bought during my recent visit to Chicago. I couldn’t resist it - I had never seen a muffin pan so big! It produced perfect little layers cakes and I liked how it made the cakes slightly domed in shape. They were a big success with my family, all the flavours complemented each other so well. However, I was slightly disappointed that the cake, although nicely nutty, didn’t have much distinctive pistachio flavour, but they are quite a delicately flavoured nut so this is not really surprising. Click here to see the other Cake Slice cake bakers cakes.

Pistachio Petit Four Cake
(Recipe from Shy High Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman & Peter Wynne)
For the Pistachio Cake Layers
80g skinned pistachio nuts (180g with shells on)
360g caster sugar
240g American cake flour OR (200g plain flour with 40g cornflour)
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
225ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs, lightly beaten

260g apricot jam
Marzipan (below)
Dark chocolate glaze (below)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter three 8 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
Spread out the pistachios in a baking tray and toast in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes, until lightly coloured. Transfer to a dish and let cool completely. Finely chop the pistachios and set 25g aside for decoration.
Put the remaining 55g pistachios in a food processor. Add the sugar and pulse just enough to grind them finely. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add the flour, baking powder and salt. Blend with the mixer on low for 30 seconds.
Add the butter, milk and vanilla and wit the mixer on low, beat until completely incorporated. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beaten eggs in 2 or 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only long enough to blend after each addition. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners and let cool completely.

For the Marzipan - (You can use 500g shop bought marzipan instead)
225g almond paste (not marzipan)
370g icing sugar
180g light corn syrup

Method
Crumble the almond paste into a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer on low speed to soften the almond paste. Add the icing sugar and corn syrup and beat until smooth. Wrap well in plastic so it doesn’t dry out and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before rolling.


Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
450g dark chocolate
225ml double cream

Method
Chop the chocolate coarsely and place in a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a bare simmer. Pour immediately over the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth, allow to cool slightly to begin to thicken, but use the glaze quite soon after making before it starts to set.


To Assemble
Roll out a third of the marzipan on a work surface dusted with a little icing sugar to about 1/8th inch/3mm thick. Set one of the cake pans upside down on the marzipan and trim around it with a small knife to make an 8 inch round. Repeat twice more with the remaining marzipan. Save your scraps to make roses for decoration if desired.
Place one cake layer on a cake board, flat side up. Spread a third of the apricot jam evenly over the top, leaving a ¼ inch margin all round to allow for spreading. Place one marzipan round on top of the jam and spread 2 tablespoons ganache glaze over the top of the marzipan so that it is completely covered. Repeat with the second cake layer, adding more jam, marzipan and glaze.
Add the final cake layer and top with preserves and marzipan as before. Place the whole cake on a wire rack set over a baking pan. Pour the remaining dark ganache glaze over the cake, spreading it as evenly as possible over the top and sides of the cake. Allow the ganache to set before transferring to a plate. It should be smooth and glossy.
Garnish the top with the reserves chopped pistachios.
Optional: Make some marzipan roses with any leftover marzipan scraps if desired.
Makes one 8inch/20cm cake