Minny’s Chocolate Pie - Gluten Free Version

Several months back I went to the cinema to see ‘The Help’ The film adaption of Kathryn Stockett book by the same name. It’s set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 and is about the struggle of black maids raising the children of rich white families. One of the maids, Minny, is a wonderful cook and becomes well know for her special chocolate pie. The pie features quite heavily in the story (I won’t give the plot away) but a lot of the characters went crazy over it and I came away wondering what it tasted like. A short while later I was doing some background research into the story itself and happened to come across a recipe for ‘Minny’s Chocolate Pie’ submitted to a magazine by the home economist who made the actual pies for the film! I had the actually recipe and would get to taste the pie after all – hurrah!

Somehow it got added to my ‘to bake’ list and then I forgot about it for several months, until I rediscovered it again last week and decided it was high time I baked myself a Chocolate Pie.

The pie itself was very easy to adapt to being gluten free as the filling contained no flour at all, so it was simply a matter of making my own GF pastry. I was delighted about this as the chocolate pie filling is essentially the essence of the pie and so I was thrilled I’d get to taste it in its true form, without the need for any substitutions.

The filling contains evaporated milk, which you can find it tins next to the long life milk. Regular milk or condensed milk is NOT the same and can’t be substituted. Surprisingly enough for a chocolate pie, it contains no actually chocolate and instead gets its flavour from cocoa powder. I was initially a little sceptical of this – how good could a chocolate pie be made with no actual chocolate? Well, let me say this is by far the BEST chocolate pie I have ever tasted. Actually, it’s the best of any kind of pie I’ve ever tasted. It’s truly amazing!

The filling is unlike nothing I’ve quite experienced before. Its soft and satin smooth, but also rich, sticky and ever so slightly chewy. You know the wonderful sticky layer in the bottom of a treacle tart or pecan pie, well it’s that sort of texture and stickiness, only in rich chocolate form. Utterly divine!

It’s not too sweet and stays fabulously soft and jiggly even a couple of days after baking. It also didn’t seep or make the pastry go soggy, all in all was the perfect pie. Adorn each slice with a little swirl of lightly whipped cream and its forks at the ready! Seriously, you MUST bake this pie – after that first bite you’ll understand just how good it is!

Don’t forget to submit your entries to my Go Gluten Free! event, in the run up to Coeliac awareness week.

Minny’s Chocolate Pie - Gluten Free Version

(Recipe adapted from Food & Wine magazine)

Sweet Gluten Free Pastry – my own

220g gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm)

100g soft butter

30g icing sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1 egg

2-3 tbsp cold water

Chocolate Pie Filling

335g caster sugar (I used 260g)

40g cocoa powder

60g butter

2 eggs

180ml evaporated milk (not regular milk or condensed milk)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

Method – Pastry

Mix the flour, sugar and the xanthan gum together in a bowl to combine.
Make sure you butter is soft, if not blast it in the microwave for a few seconds. Add to the flour along with the egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Beat with a spoon or spatula to form a dough. (Yes I know this goes against all traditional pastry making!)

Switch to your hands to bring the mixture together at the end. Add a little more water if necessary. Knead the dough gently for 30seconds to ensure everything is well combined. Use straight away or wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate until required.

Makes enough for one 8-9inch pie

Method – Pie Filling

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place a large baking tray into the oven to heat up.

Roll out your pastry between two sheets of clingfilm until 2-3mm thick and large enough to fit your pie dish.

Remove the top layer of clingfilm and flip the pastry into the pie dish and ease it into the sides. Use the clingfilm to help you, and then remove it.

Roll any overhanging pastry up under the lip of the dish and then use your fingers to crimp the edges in a decorative design.

Prick the pastry lightly with a fork and place on the preheated baking tray (this will help brown the base) Bake for 18minutes until lightly golden and set (see note below).

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a mixing bowl and add the rest of the filling ingredients. Whisk until smooth and no lumps remain.

Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for about 40-45 minutes (not on the baking tray). The filling should develop a thin top crust but still wobble when lightly shaken.

Remove from the oven and transfer the pie to a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely for 3-4 hours before serving.

Serve with lightly whipped cream

Makes 1 x 9inch pie

The pie will keep for 3 days and can be made a day in advance

Note: If you use regular pastry, then fill the pastry with baking beans or rice to blind bake it during the initial baking stage

Individual Rhubarb and Ginger Cobblers

Tis the season for rhubarb! I love rhubarb. I love its pink colour, its funny name (roo-barrrrr-b), its vegetable confused fruitiness and above all its flavour.

The flavour of rhubarb is really quite unique. It’s sweet, sour and sharp all at the same time. A sort of cross between a grapefruit and a blackcurrant is that makes sense. You can cook rhubarb in a manner of ways and serve it with both sweet and savoury dishes, but my preference is always for sweet. I got some sticks of rhubarb over the weekend from someone in the village, who was selling it freshly picked from their own garden. After pondering what to do with it for a while, I decided to simply cook it and top it with a scone-like cobbler topping for a quick and tasty dessert.

I personally love my rhubarb baked in the oven so that it retains its shape, while the juices bubble away and intensify in flavour. I also like my fruit to be on the slightly sharp side of sweet. I admit it does need a little sugar, but I like to taste the fruits natural flavour first and then the sweetness to come later, rather than feel I’ve just eaten a spoonful of jam. Not everyone in my family agrees with me, my mum likes her fruit sweet and so we often disagree to the right level of sweetness, but the easiest thing to do it just to taste as you go along and adapt accordingly.

Rhubarb also pairs wonderfully with other flavours, strawberries, rose and ginger being my favourites (not all together though!) As strawberries are not in season, I went the ginger route by adding some sticky stem ginger and a little syrup to the rhubarb base and some ground ginger to the cobbler topping. This made for a lovely warming note to the pudding, with fiery little bursts of ginger heat every time I bit into a chunk of the stem ginger.

Delicious eaten hot, straight from the oven and served with lots of fresh custard!

Individual Rhubarb and Ginger Cobblers

Rhubarb
7-8 sticks of rhubarb
1 large ball of stem ginger in syrup
2-4 tbsp caster sugar (adapt to taste)
4 tsp stem ginger syrup (from jar)

Cobbler
2 tbsp white teff flour*
2 tbsp brown rice flour*
1 tbsp gram/chickpea flour*
20g butter
100ml milk
¾ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp mixed spice
1 tbsp caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

Method
Heat oven to 200C.
Wash and chop the rhubarb into 1-2cm chunks, depending of thickness. Slice the ball of stem ginger into small pieces. Place the ginger and rhubarb into a small deep baking tray and scatter over the caster sugar.
Cover the top of the tray with foil and bake for 30minutes, until soft and juicy.
Divide the cooked rhubarb between 4 ramekins and drizzle over 1 teaspoon of ginger syrup over each, along with any of the rhubarb juices.
Increase the oven temperature to 220C and make the cobbler topping.
Measure out the flours, baking powder, sugar and spices into a small bowl. Make sure your butter is soft, but not melted, and then work into the flour mixture until it resembles fine crumbs.
Add the milk, a little at a time, until you have a thick batter consistency. It should resemble a thick pancake batter and hold its shape on a spoon. It’s ok to be a bit lumpy.
Spoon a couple of heaped teaspoonfuls of the batter over the top of the rhubarb (you shouldn’t cover the top completely).
Scatter over a little extra caster sugar and bake for 12-15 minutes until firm and lightly golden in colour and the rhubarb juices are bubbling up around the edges.
Allow to cool for 3 minutes before serving.
Eat hot with cream, custard of ice cream
Makes 4

*Note: If you don’t have all these flour you can substitute it with 5tbsp of your own flour mix or use plain flour if not making GF

Berry & Almond Muffin ‘Bread’ Pudding

I made this a few weeks ago in order to use up some of the berry muffins I made a while ago. I was the only person around to eat the muffins at the time and so couldn’t get through more than 3-4 before they started to go a bit past their best. Normally I freeze any cakes or cookies I don’t think I’ll eat in time, and then get them out later as and when needed. However, when I went to put the muffins in the freezer, it seems I have been putting more in than I have been taking out as they wouldn’t fit! I don’t want you to think I have a freezer full of cakes and cookies, there were plenty of other things in there too – bags of berries, cartons of homemade soup, meals etc. Either way, it was time to come up with a plan B.

Recently I had been day dreaming about trying to create a gluten free bread and butter pudding and hit upon the idea to make a denser bread pudding and to use the muffins in place of bread. The more I thought about it the more the ideal appealed and I set about doing a little research into bread pudding recipes.

Bread pudding turns out to be a bit of a minefield when it comes to specific recipes. I found some that called for cubes or bread to be baked in a custard, others crumbled them into crumbs and created a mush which was baked into something much sturdier. Some were custard based, others used water, milk or even tea as a socking liquid. The baking times also varied enormously. Some called for a hot oven and a short time, other a much cooler oven and a long bake. Anything from 25mins to 2.5hours! Some were dense and served in squares, others lighter and served with a spoon. This also includes side stepping all the bread and butter puddings which are completely different.

A few bleary eyed hours later I formulated my own recipe, picking and choosing the best aspects of various different recipes I liked. I decided to use milk as my soaking liquid and to crumble the muffins into fine crumbs as I wanted to end up with a denser, sliceable pudding. I added a little jam for extra fruity sweetness and some sultanas to add a dried fruit chew. Mixed spice and almond extract for flavour and just a tiny amount of flour to bind it all together.

I decided on a long slow bake for my pudding, as the mixture was very wet and I wanted to ensure I ended up with something that was not only cooked, but that could be served and held in slices. It was a little trial and error going along, but my finished pudding was delightful.

The outer edges of the pudding had gone wonderfully thick and chewy, while the middle was softer, more tender and studded with moist juicy fruits and crumbs. I adored the almond flavour, it really shone through and went so well with the fruits and spices.

I love how it looks quite plain from the outside and yet is so colourful and inviting once sliced into. Delicious and the perfect way to use up some leftover muffins or cakes you might have lingering around. Success!

Berry & Almond Muffin ‘Bread’ Pudding

Ingredients
600g leftover fruit muffins, around 7
250ml milk
50g gluten free self raising flour
1tbsp raspberry jam
2 eggs
100g sultanas
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp almond extract
1tbsp sugar for sprinkling

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an 8inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper, letting it drape up two opposite sides of the tin, which will help you remove the pudding once baked.
Tear the muffins into small chunks and add to a bowl along with the spices, almond extract and sultanas. Pour over the milk and mix together briefly. Then set aside for 10minutes.
Beat the eggs and jam together before stirring into the muffin mix. It should become very soft and mushy at this stage and look quite unappetising, but this is fine. Finally scatter the flour over the top and mix together.
Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Scatter over the caster sugar and cover the tin with a foil.
Bake in the oven for 1 hour, before removing the foil and leaving to bake for a further 40 minutes.
It should be a dark golden brown colour on top and feel firm to the touch.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15minutes, before running a knife around the edge and removing from the tin with the help of the greaseproof paper.
Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting into 12-16 pieces.
Store at room in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.
Can also be heated and served with custard.

The Cake Slice March 2012: Individual Warm Chocolate Puddings

The book describes these as ‘cakes’ but seeing as they are hot and wonderfully gooey inside I think ‘puddings’ is a much more appropriate title for them. These puddings are going to become my ultimate go-to chocolate pudding recipe. I’m not usually an overly chocolate pudding person, but these chocolate puddings have changed my mind, they are simply stunning.

I’m sure we have all enjoyed the delights of flourless chocolate cakes. The rich chocolate flavour, all moist and fudgy. Well now imagine that wonderful flourless cake, served warm straight from the oven, when the middle in still soft and gooey and the chocolate flavour is intense and powerful. Well, this is what you get with these puddings. Pure warm chocolate melty pleasure!

As they bake, they create an almost brownie like outer crust. Slightly chewy and crisp, with a soft and fudgy spongy layer just underneath the surface. When broken into, this reveals a soft, moussey, molten chocolate centre. No flour, no cocoa powder, no ground almonds, just pure chocolate!

The aroma as they bake is intoxicating. Warming chocolate really seems to enhance its indulgence and this time you are actually permitted to dive straight in with a spoon.

They took mere minutes to put together, used only a handful of ingredients and were naturally gluten free which thrilled me no end. The book states to make and bake these straight away, but I actually did a little experiment and found that they were perfectly happy to be chilled in the fridge for a few hours before baking, or even baked from frozen. I think the most important thing is to ensure they are eaten within minutes of baking, but I am sure this wouldn’t ever be a problem!

Next time you need a quick chocolate dessert to impress, I urge you to give these a go! Due to their soft gooeyness, they didn’t turn out perfectly, but I think this added to their soft molten middle anticipation. However, if you wanted to be dainty you could eat them straight out the moulds. Click here to see The Cake Slice blogroll

Individual Warm Chocolate Puddings
(Recipe from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)

Ingredients
255g dark chocolate, around 60%
110g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
4 eggs
Pinch salt
¼ tsp cream of tartar

Method
If you intend to make, bake and eat these puddings straight away, then preheat the oven to 180C. If not going to eat straight away, then no need to do this yet.
Grease 6 dariole/little pudding moulds or deep ramekins with oil and then dust with caster sugar to coat.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and cut the butter into cubes. Place into a heatproof bowl, over a pan of gently simmering water and allow to melt, stirring only occasionally. Once smooth, remove from the heat and beat in half the sugar (50g), along with the 4 yolks from the eggs. Save the whites for later.
Place the 4 egg whites and the pinch of salt into a clean glass bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until foaming. Scatter over the cream of tartar and whisk until soft peaks form. With the mixer still going, gradually scatter over the remaining half of the sugar (50g), a tablespoon at a time. The egg whites should become stiff and glossy.
Using a large spoon or spatula, take a third of the egg white mixture and fold it into the chocolate to slacken it. Use big folding strokes, turning the bowl as you go.
Add the remaining egg white mixture in two batches, folding them in gently each time. Once fully incorporated stop.
Divide the chocolate mix evenly between the 6 moulds or ramekins.
You can now chose to bake them now, chill them in the fridge for later, or freeze them.

To bake now: place the puddings into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
After chilling in the fridge: place the puddings in the oven, direct from the fridge and bake for 17 minutes.
From frozen: bake direct from frozen for 20 minutes.

After baking, allow the puddings to rest for 1 minute before running a sharp knife around the rim of the moulds and inverting out onto a plate. (I found mine collapsed when I did this, so you may want to eat them straight out the mould if you are trying to be dainty)
They will be all soft and gooey in the middle. Serve with cream if desired.
Makes 6

The Cake Slice February 2012: Boston Cream Pie & I’m off to LA!

Boston Cream Pie is an American dessert that has a rather confusing name as it is essentially a dessert cake. It consists of a thick layer of pastry cream inside two vanilla sponge layers, topped with a rich chocolate ganache! I was thrilled when it was voted this months Cake Slice bake.

The recipe calls for baking one cake in a 9inch tin that is later cut in half. As I needed to make the cake gluten free I decided instead to use two tins to save the trouble of cutting the cake in half as GF can be a little more fragile. This worked really well and I ended up with two thick layers of sponge. The sponge itself contains very little fat and is made using lots of whisked eggs and hot milk. I’ve not made a sponge using hot milk before but it worked well and you could actually see the cake batter start to puff up and rise with the heat as you mixed it in. It produced a lovely light textured sponge too.

I’m rather particular about creamy things. I don’t like the taste of plain cream, whipped or otherwise, but I adore custard and crème patisserie. I think it’s because cream just tastes bland and fatty, whereas custard has other textures and flavours. Either way the pastry cream filling for this cake made me very happy and was so good. Silky smooth, flecked with vanilla and so tempting that I found myself licking out the bowl afterwards.

Once assembled a bitter chocolate ganache is made and drizzled seductively over the top of the cake while it’s still warm, so that it slowly trickles down the sides, all shiny and glossy. Who could resist?!

The component parts on their own are simple and quite ordinary sounding, sponge, vanilla cream and chocolate glaze, but assembled together they made for one deliciously indulgent cake/dessert. The whole thing was surprisingly light, so much so I had to resist the urge to keep going back for further slices. If you’ve not tried Boston Cream Pie before, I highly recommend you do!

Click here to see The Cake Slice blogroll

Boston Cream Pie
(Recipe adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)

Hot Milk Sponge
130g plain flour (I used white teff flour)
1¼ tsp gluten free baking powder
120ml whole milk
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
55g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Vanilla Crème Patisserie
3 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
15g cornflour
240ml whole milk
15g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
60ml double cream

Chocolate Ganache
85g dark chocolate, 70%
80ml double cream
½ tsp vanilla

Hot Milk Sponge
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease two 9inch tins and line the bases.
Heat the milk and butter together until the butter has melted. Set aside.
Beat the eggs at high speed until well blended. With the mixer still on, slowly trickle over the sugar until the mix has tripled in volume and become thick and foamy. Beat in the vanilla.
Scatter a third of flour and baking powder over the surface and fold in gently using a spatula in a folding motion. Continue folding, adding the rest of the flour.
Heat the milk and butter mixture again until hot and then add it all to the cake mix, pouring it around the edge of the bowl in one go.
Fold in as before, being sure not to over mix.
Quickly divine the batter the two pans and bake for 18-20 minutes until risen, lightly golden and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack and leaving to cool completely.

Vanilla Crème Patisserie
In a large bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour.
Heat the milk until just beginning to boil, remove from the heat and slowly drizzle it over the egg yolk mixture, whisking all the time.
Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not allow it to boil.
Remove from the heat, strain through a sieve into a clean bowl and beat in the vanilla and butter. Cover and set aside to cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge for 2 hours.
When cold, add the double cream and beat with an electric mixer until it forms light peaks. Use to fill the cake or refrigerate until required.

Chocolate Ganache
Chop the chocolate into small chunks.
Heat the cream in a small saucepan until just coming to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Mix gently until dissolved.
Stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before using.
Can be made in advance and re-melted gently on a very low setting in the microwave.

Assembly
Lay one layer of sponge on your serving plate. Spread over the chilled custard mixture, leaving a little border around the edge as it will spread out of its own accord.
Carefully place the second sponge layer on top and place in the fridge to chill for half an hour.
Once chilled, pour over the chocolate ganache and spread out over the top surface. A little will dribble down the sides of the cake but this is fine.
Allow to stand for 30 minutes so the glaze firms up a bit before serving.
Store any leftovers in the fridge, covered in clingfilm.

Hollywood Here I Come!

In separate news…on Thursday I am off to Los Angeles to visit my friend, J, who moved to Hollywood to study film last year! I’m so EXCITED!! We have got lots planned and she has just informed me that it’s the Oscars on Saturday, while I’m actually in LA, so hopefully I might even get to spy a few celebs!

I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for Veggie friendly Gluten free restaurants, cafes or shops for me to visit while I’m there, or any specialist foodie places that are a must see. Ice cream, pancakes, waffles, pizza, chocolates etc that are in and around Hollywood.
I’ve found one restaurant called Hugo’s that sounds amazing and just discovered that BabyCakes NYC have a branch in LA too (so excited!), but apart from that I’m open to suggestions…

Also, I’m planning on taking lots of food for my 11 hour flight as when booking I mentioned I needed a special meal as I was Vegetarian Coeliac I was told ‘no, you have to choose one or the other, we can’t give you a meal incorporating both’…….?? Same applies if you are dairy and gluten free, you would have to choose just one! Errrrm how is that supposed to work?? In the end I’ve gone for Coeliac as that’s actually a medical condition but it’s probably going to mean a meat based meal. I also don’t hold out much hope for the other GF meal bits provided, as I’ve done some review hunting and so many people out there have been given gluten-containing bread, cakes or even croissants as part of their supposedly gluten free meal – so I’m going to be very suspicious of any food served to me on the flight!

Celebrating 5 Years of Apple & Spice with Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since I stared this blog! At the time it began I was a student sitting in my attic bedroom and thought writing a food blog would be ‘a bit of fun’ I never dreamed 5 years down the lines it would still go going. Along the way I have ‘met’ so many lovely people and learned so many new recipes and techniques that I really don’t think I would be the same person I am today without it. A lot of that is down to you, be your readers or fellow bloggers, so thank you!

Every blog anniversary I have always made an apple inspired recipe to celebrate.
1st year – Spiced Apple Cake

2nd year – Individual Apple & Oat Crumbles

3rd year – Overnight Spiced Apple Stack

4th year – Fruity Tea Loaf

And finally, this year I give you roasted apple and custard pots. Slices of baked apple underneath a thick, creamy layer of freshly made custard.

I used a combination of cooking and eating apples which resulted in a pleasing mix of slightly sweet and slightly sharp apple flavour with each bite. Some of apple was also soft and squishy while other slices retained a bit more of their structure. This combination of flavours and textures went really well against the thick creaminess of the custard.

The edges of the apple slices had become slightly toasted and caramelised during baking. When layered underneath the custard and allowed to chill for several hours, this created little pools of sticky caramel-like sauce amongst the apple which tasted delicious. You can’t beat the taste of real freshly made custard either.

So simple, quick and easy to prepare but a complete joy to eat. There is something so comforting and pleasing about the nursery combination of apple and custard, but sometimes the simplest things can be the best.

Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

Roasted Apples
2 large eating apples
1 large cooking apple
6 tsp soft brown sugar
15g butter

Custard
3 egg yolks
500ml milk
70g caster sugar
25g cornflour
1 tsp vanilla

Method
Preheat the oven to 190C.
Peel, core and slice the apples into thick slices. Lay them on a large baking tray, mixing the cooking and eating apple slices up. Scatter over the soft brown sugar. Dot small blobs of butter over the top and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. They should be soft and lightly caramelised around the edges.
Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray. Don’t try and move them too much when they are hot as they will stick more to the tray.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl.
Heat the milk until simmering and then slowly pour over the top of the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
Return the custard mix to the pan and stir over a low heat until beginning to thicken. Don’t try and rush and heat it too quickly or it could burn. It will take about 10 minutes. When thickened, remove from the heat and pour into a clean bowl. Stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool slightly. You want to use it still warm though.
Distribute the cool, baked apple slices between 6 glasses or ramekins, saving 6 slices for decoration. Some will be very mushy, but this if fine.
Pour the still warm custard mixture over the top and shake gently to smooth the surface. Lay a saved apple slice on top as decoration.
Place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
Makes 6

The Cake Slice January 2012: Tiramisu Cake

Tiramisu means ‘pick me up’ in Italian which is just what The Cake Slice Bakers and I needed after all the heavy food over the Christmas period. This cake looks creamy, and it is, but it’s also surprisingly light. A hit of strong espresso syrup and a dash of rum help give it a wake-up boost that’s very welcome during this cold and dreary January.

Tiramisu is usually served in a large serving dish with diners being given a scoop, but here it has been made just that little bit daintier by layering light and fluffy genoise sponge with coffee syrup and a velvety smooth mascarpone cream to create a sliceable cake.

It’s a little sweet, a little bitter and a little boozy, making for one satisfying dessert. There are quite a few steps involved but they are all relatively easy and once the components are made, it came be put together in a matter of moments. It also benefits from being made in advance which can be a bonus when you’re trying to organise a meal or get-together and don’t want too much to do last minute.

My only criticism is that I didn’t soak my top layer of sponge in enough espresso syrup, so it stayed pale rather than coffee brown. However, that’s my own fault and it did make the cake a little easier to slice as it wasn’t so soft. It still tasted delicious, so no harm done.

Click here to see The Cake Slice blogroll

Tiramisu Cake
(Recipe adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)

Genoise Sponge
100g plain flour (I used Doves GF flour)
6 eggs
150g caster sugar
½ tsp grated lemon zest
1½ tsp vanilla extract
85g butter, melted and cooled

Espresso Syrup
240ml hot espresso or strong syrup
50g caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tbsp dark rum (my addition)

Mascarpone Cream
6 egg yolks
1 tbsp water
450g mascarpone cheese
3 tbsp dark rum (I only used 1½)
1½ tsp powdered gelatine (I didn’t use this)
180ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Genoise Sponge
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the base and sides of two 9inch tins. (I used one tin and cut the cake in half after it was cooked)
In a glass bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar to combine, then set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until the eggs are warm. Remove from the heat and beat with an electric mixer until the eggs are thick, foaming and tripled in volume, about 8 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.
Sift a third of the flour over the eggs and fold in gently using a spatula or metal spoon. Sift in the remaining flour, in two batches, folding in gently between each addition.
Drizzle the melted butter around the edge of the bowl and fold in gently.
Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden and springy to the touch. (Bake for 25 minutes if using only 1 tin)
Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from the tins and leaving to cool completely.
While the cakes are baking, prepare the cream and syrup.

Espresso Syrup
In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir together until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Mascarpone Cheese
In a glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and water. Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and becomes hot to the touch, around 5-7 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat, scrape into a small clean bowl and leave to cool.
Beat the mascarpone cheese until creamy and smooth, using an electric whisk. Gradually beat in the cooled egg yolk mixture, mixing until combined.
Place the rum in a small bowl, sprinkle over the gelatine and leave for 5 minutes. Place the bowl in hot water and stir constantly until the gelatine has dissolved. Whisk this mixture into the mascarpone. (I just added the rum without the gelatine and it worked fine).
In a separate bowl, whisk the cream and vanilla together until just starting to form soft peaks. Fold this through the mascarpone mixture and place in the fridge until required.

Assembly

Trim the cake layers until you have removed all the outer rim of the darker crust from the sides. Brush the top side well with the espresso syrup and place, top side down, inside a 9 inch cake ring that has been placed on a serving plate. Brush the other side with more espresso syrup.
Use half the cream to over the top of the soaked cake, allowing it to go down the sides too until completely coated.
Brush the second cake layer with more syrup, place in the ring mould and brush with any remaining syrup.
Cover the cake with the remainder of the cream. Place in the fridge to chill for 4 hours or overnight.

To Serve
Run a knife that has been dipped in hot water around the rim of the cake and carefully remove the ring mould.
Dust the top with cocoa powder and a little grated chocolate before serving.
Store any leftover cake in the fridge.