The Cake Slice January 2010: Red Velvet Cake

With over 50% of the votes, The Cake Slice bakers cake of choice to kick start 2010 was a Red Velvet cake. It seems we were all eager to start the new year off with a little colour and excitement. A Red Velvet cake is a unique and instantly recognizable cake due to its deep dark red colour thanks to a hint of cocoa powder and lots of red food dye. It has a soft and tender crumb thanks to the inclusion of vinegar and buttermilk in the cake and is often topped with a cream cheese or buttercream frosting. However, this cake is a little different as it called for a cooked milk based topping mixed with coconut and pecans which resulted in a nutty, nobly fluffy icing.

Red Velvet cake is relatively unknown here in the UK, although you do occasionally see it in London cupcake shops. I have only eaten it once, when I was in Chicago during the summer, and have longed to try baking one myself ever since, so I was particularly excited by this months choice.

I had no call for a large cake and so instead I halved the recipe and baked a batch of cupcakes instead. This also allowed me to use some of the cute red and white spotty cake cases I was given at Christmas. Just perfect for Red Velvet cupcakes!
The colour of my sponge turned out quite a lot darker than I expected, not the vibrant red colour I was anticipating but I think this was because I used gel food dye rather than the liquid version called for. Gel is more concentrated and so I reduced the amount – I now realize I reduced it a little too much, but the crumb still had a nice earthy red hue to it. Will add more next time!

The texture of the cake was wonderful. It was very light, quite tender and moist thanks to the buttermilk. It had a faint cocoa richness that paired with the sweet creamy topping perfectly, without being obviously chocolaty. The icing was soft and creamy and I loved its quirky nubbly appearance and texture. A bite resulted in a great contrast between the nutty sweet coconut icing and the soft cake beneath.

The icing itself was unlike any other icing I have made before. You heat some milk and flour together until it forms a thick paste, just like a rue when making a béchamel sauce. You leave the paste to cool and then beat in butter, caster sugar and a little vanilla. You end up with an icing the consistency of spreadable butter into which you stir the coconut and pecans. I was quite dubious about how it would taste but it was surprisingly smooth and creamy, thick without the need of too much sugar and I didn’t notice any graininess from the caster sugar either. Who would have guessed?! I think I still prefer cream cheese icing myself, but I would urge you to give it a go, for learning a new technique if nothing else.

Red Velvet Cake
(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)
For the Red Velvet Cake
300g plain flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
225ml buttermilk (see note below)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp red food colouring
200g butter
400g caster sugar
2 eggs
1½ tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar

For the Coconut Pecan Icing
225ml milk
2 tbsp all purpose flour
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g sweetened shredded coconut
100g finely chopped pecans or walnuts


Method – Red Velvet Cake
To make the cake, heat the oven to 180C. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans and line them with waxed paper to kitchen parchment. Grease the paper and flour the pans.
Prepare three separate mixtures for the batter. Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl and use a fork to mix them together well. Combine the cocoa powder and the red food colouring in a small bowl, mashing and stirring them together to make a thick smooth paste.
In a large bowl, beat the butter with a mixer at low speed for 1 minute until creamy and soft. Add the sugar and then beat well for 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl now and then. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one until the mixture is creamy, fluffy and smooth. Scrape the cocoa-food colouring paste into the batter and beat to mix it in evenly.
Add a third of the flour mixture and then about half the milk, beating the batter with a mixer at low speed. Mix only enough to make the flour or liquid disappear into the batter. Mix in another third of the flour, the rest of the milk and then the last of the flour in the same way.
In a small bowl, combine the baking soda and vinegar and stir well. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to quickly mix this last mixture into the red batter, folding it in gently by hand. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake at 180C for 20 to 25 minutes (20 for cupcakes) until the layers are spring back when touched lightly in the centre and are just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pans.
Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks or folded kitchen towels for 15 minutes. Then turn them out onto the racks, remove the paper and turn top side up again to cool completely.

Coconut Pecan Icing
Combine the milk and flour in a small or medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking or stirring often until the mixture thickens almost to a paste, around 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and scrape it into a small bowl to cool completely.
Meanwhile, beat the butter with a mixture at high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar in thirds, beating well each time until the mixture is creamy and fairly smooth. Add the cooled milk and flour mixture and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides now and then to combine everything well. Using a large spoon or spatula, stir in the vanilla, coconut and pecans, mixing to combine everything well into a thick, fluffy, nubbly icing.

To Assemble
Place one cake layer top side down on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread a third of the icing on top. Place the second layer, top side up, on top. Frost the sides and then the top of the cake with the remaining icing. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to help the icing set.
Makes one 9inch double layer cake or 24 cupcakes

NOTE: If you can’t find buttermilk, stir 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar into 225ml of milk and leave to stand for 10 minutes before using.

Spiced Christmas Biscotti with Raisins, Dried Blueberries, Almonds & Pistachios

Biscotti are the perfect homemade Christmas gift as they keep well for a couple of weeks thanks to their being twice baked. This means you can make them a little ahead of time or send them off in the post without fear of them going stale. This is especially good at Christmas when people are more likely to be inundated with food, most of which has to be eaten straight away and so can run the risk of it being overlooked. Once the turkey has gone and the mince pies gobbled up, the little packet of biscotti will still be there to savour and munch on with a well earned cup of tea/coffee. That being said don’t let this fool you into thinking biscotti are dry and dull, they are anything but. Biscotti are crisp with a light open texture and are ideal for dunking into a hot drink or a glass of sweet dessert wine. They are often packed full of chunks of almonds, chocolate chips, candied peel or dried fruits meaning they are anything but boring.

When I decided to make biscotti this year I wanted one that would incorporate a little festive flavouring and this recipe hit just the right note. It’s studded with chunks of almonds, raisins, chewy dried blueberries and creamy pistachios. The dough includes hints of orange and mixed spice which give it a very warming flavour and aroma. The colour of the fruit and nuts and the mix of chewy fruits and nuggets of almond all encased in a crisp and crunchy biscotti make for one tasty biscuit.

I used lightly salted pistachios in my biscotti, mainly because I couldn’t find unsalted ones, and this resulted in a faint salty note every time I bite into one, which may sound odd and unpleasant in a sweet biscuit, but it actually worked really well against the sweet chewy fruits.

Traditional Italian biscotti (like this one) do not contain any butter, making them extra crisp, but if you prefer your biscotti with a slightly softer bite there are plenty of American style biscotti recipes around that do contain butter.

Once baked, sliced and baked again, my biscotti were packed into little cellophane bags and given little labels. I think this makes them look just as good as anything you can buy from shops or delis and ideal gifts for those hard-to-buy-for friends. Plus you can also change the add-ins to whatever suits the recipient, meaning they are bound to please.

Spiced Christmas Biscotti with Raisins, Dried Blueberries, Almonds & Pistachios
(Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food Magazine, 2008)
Ingredients
350g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
Zest of 1 orange
85g raisins
50g dried blueberries
50g blanched almonds
50g shelled lightly salted pistachios (80g shell on)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper or a silicone sheet.
Put the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and sugar in a large bowl and stir together to mix.
Chop the almonds in half and lightly beat the eggs until broken. Add to the dry mix along with the zest of the orange, fruits and shelled pistachios.
Stir the mixture together with a wooden spoon until it starts to form into clumps, then use your hands to bring it together to form a dough. It may appear quite dry and first but do not be tempted to add any extra liquid as it does come together.
Turn the onto a lightly floured surface and kneed gently until no flour streaks remain. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a round log shape, about 30cm long. Place the dough logs onto the prepared baking tray, leaving as much room between each one as possible to allow for spreading during baking.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the dough has turned lightly golden brown and feels relatively firm when lightly pressed in the centre.
Remove from the oven and transfer the biscotti logs to a rack to cool for several minutes before slicing. Dampen two sheets of kitchen paper and lay these over the top of the biscotti logs to keep the top crusts soft – this prevents them from crumbling when you come to slice them.
Meanwhile, reduce the oven temperature to 150C.
After 5 minutes, place a biscotti log onto a chopping board and use a bread knife to cut it into 1cm slices, at a slight diagonal to give long thin biscotti.
Lay the biscotti slices on their side back on the baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes before flipping the slices over and baking for a further 5 minutes. (You will probably only fit one lot of biscotti on the baking tray at once).
Once baked, immediately transfer the biscotti to a wire rack to cool and repeat with the remaining log.
Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to two weeks or package into small boxes or bags to give as gifts.
Makes 40-50 biscotti

Go with the Grain: Festive Rice and Spelt Salad

I was invited to a friend Christmas get together where we swapped cards and presents over lunch. I am fortunate that a number of my friends also enjoy cooking so we usually operate on a bring and share lunch. I was asked to bring a salad and my first reaction was “that’s not very exciting” but then I thought why not add some Christmas colours and flavours and made it a fun festive salad, thus this salad was born.

I had no recipe in mind and instead set off browsing the shop shelves trying to decide what I considered to be festive flavours which would work in a salad. Strangely enough my first thoughts were cinnamon and cardamom and so the idea of doing a spiced rice salad was born. I then thought of adding some fruit and settled on dried cranberries and pomegranate seeds – both gorgeous red colours and very festive. Nest into the basket was some pistachios, for their wonderful mottled green colour and some spring onions for freshness and crunch. I decided to add orange zest to complement the cranberries but on my way to the shelf I passed a stand of clementines which seemed much more festive and so I used that instead. I decided to see if I could get some wild rice too to add a different texture and discovered a packet of spelt grain whose nutty flavour appealed instantly, so in it went. I then thought about some sort of dressing to combine everything together and decided on a simple mix of olive oil and a little honey to add a little sweetness and moisture while still allowing the other flavours to be the main star. I also picked up a packet of fresh mint, which I have discovered goes wonderfully with pomegranate. So armed with my colourful, albeit a little odd mix of ingredients I went home and started creating my salad.

As cardamom can be quite a strong spice I decided to add the pods to the water the grains cooked in and then fish them out afterwards to allow the flavour to subtly permeate into the grains without being overpowering. This worked well and produced a faint fragrant overtone to the grains. I have never added pomegranate seeds to a salad before, but I have seen Nigella do it a number of times and I felt quite the domestic goddess as I sprinkled them in – all shiny and jewel-like.

Once finished I wasn’t at all sure how it would taste, but in my head all the flavours went together and the gorgeous mix of glossy reds and shades of green looked so beautiful together that I was more excited than concerned.

I tried my first spoonful and couldn’t help grinning. My mouth filled with so many layers of flavour, but each came in their own wave and didn’t seem to contradict the other ingredients. The first taste was of a lightly spiced earthy grain but then the sweetness of dressing and clementine flavours appearance, which were then balanced out by my biting down on the tartness of the cranberries and a burst of earthy pomegranate juice all finished with a hint of mint and a zingy sensation. Success! It didn’t just taste good, it tasted fabulous, so fresh and vibrant and definitely festive. It got a lot of positive comments at the lunch party, not everyone liked the pomegranate seeds, but you can’t please everyone. Either way as far as salad is concerned this ones a keeper!

Festive Rice and Spelt Salad
Ingredients
100g long grain rice
100g spelt grain
100g pomegranate seeds (a fresh pre-prepared pack is ideal)
65g pistachios with shell (50g minus shell)
50g dried cranberries
2 spring onions
1 clementine, zest and juice
6 large mint leaves
4 cardamom pods
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp runny honey

Method
Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Crack the cardamom pods so that the inside seeds are exposed and add to the pan of water. Do not crush completely as you will want to fish them out later. Find out how long your spelt takes to cook (usually around 50minutes) and how long the rice takes to cook (often 12-15 minutes).
Add the spelt to the pan of boiling water and cook on a simmer. Add the rice to the same pan once the spelt has 12-15 minutes left to cook, so that both grains will be cooked and ready at the same time.
Once cooked, drain the water from the pan and cover the grains with lots of cold water to stop the cooking process and help it cool down quickly.
Meanwhile, prepare the remaining salad ingredients. Remove the pistachios from their shell and roughly chop so that some nuts are in pieces while others remain whole.
Place the dried cranberries into a small bowl and add the zest and juice from the clementine. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds which will enable the cranberries to rehydrate, plump up and become glossy. Slice the spring onions into small pieces.
Place the cooled rice and spelt into a large serving bowl, removing the cardamom pods. Add the pistachios, orange infused cranberries, pomegranate seeds and spring onions.
Finely shred the mint and add to the bowl along with the cinnamon.
Mix the honey and olive oil together until well combined. Drizzle over the salad and mix everything together well ensuring all the ingredients are evenly distributed and covered in a little of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4 as a main or 8 as a starter. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Jordans Country Crisp Appreciation Society Day

Yesterday I was one of a few lucky bloggers to be invited to the first Country Crisp Appreciation Society day run by Jordans Cereals at Leiths School of Food and Wine in London. I was delighted about this as I adore cereal and have been eating Jordans products for many years. For those of you who don’t know, Jordans produce a delicious range of oat based mueslis, cereal bars, porridge oats and Country Crisp clusters. They are based in Biggleswade, in my own hometown of Bedfordshire and use only the finest natural ingredients in their cereals.

Some of the other cereal enthusiast bloggers were:
Kavita of Kavey Eats
Signe of Scandilicious
Mathilde of Mathilde’s Cuisine
The Muesli Lover
Greedy Diva
The Ginger Gourmand
Danny of Food Urchin
Maunika of Cook in a Curry

Jordans Country Crisp cereal has been around for several years, and comprises of clusters of oats and barley baked into various sized clusters. It comes in many varieties depending on what add-ins you have with it. I have always favoured the raisin one which has lovely giant chewy flame raisins mixed in with it. The crisp clusters are hugely popular and the whole Country Crisp range has now got such a fan base that Jordans have just launched a Country Crisp Appreciation Society. People can’t get enough of it and are eating it not only at breakfast but also baking with it and snacking on it straight out the box. As a result they have recently launched a honey variety which is designed with snackers in mind – bigger clusters with no add-ins to pick through, although, it does of course still taste great for breakfast.

After a meet and greet one of the two founders of Jordans, Bill Jordan himself then gave us a talk about the history and philosophy behind Jordans. He was ever so friendly and stayed to answer all our questions as we got down to some baking. Apparently it took 83 different recipes before they achieved the perfect cluster – now that’s dedication! Jordans were also the first to offer freeze fried berries in its cereal and all its oats are grown in the fields near the factory and to conservation standard.
Jordans head of taste, Kirsten, then talked us through a Country Crisp Pear and Chocolate Crumble Cake we would be baking using Jordans Chocolate Country Crisp. We were each given our own work space and ingredients and set about baking. It was a vanilla sponge cake, studded with chocolate chips, topped with a layer of Chocolate Country Crisp, sautéed sliced pears and a final sprinkle of more Country Crisp. The recipe can be found here. It produced a delicious cake and it was interesting to see how everyone’s cake turned out a little differently, even though we had all followed the same recipe. The way the pears had been sliced or the amount of Country Crisp topping made each one unique.

While our cakes were baking Kirsten talked us through the secrets to making new Country Crisp recipes. There are 3 different cluster bases, Vanilla, Nutty and Honey from which to add and create new products. Getting the clusters just right took a lot of research. Customers told Jordans they liked the big clusters but then complained that it was too much to chew if the pack only contained big clusters. Too many small clusters meant they weren’t clustery enough. Jordans have found that a mix of small, medium and large clusters is most successful. To do this they sort and grade the clusters after oven baking them to ensure every box is perfect. Even the add ins have proved problematic as high water content fruits like peaches proved too bland and the cut or shape of a nut dramatically changes the texture and mouthfeel of the cereal. It’s Kirsten’s job to taste and help develop the recipes – how fantastic a job does that sound!

We then got the opportunity to get creative and mix our own Country Crisp cereal using the oaty crisp clusters as a base and a fantastic array of add-in ingredients. I chose pecans, hazelnuts, giant flame raisins, pumpkin and sesame seeds, natural apple and apricot pieces and flaked coconut. I then went back and added a handful of dark chocolate curls – being curls they just melted in the mouth, and even sprinkled in a generous amount of cinnamon for an extra warming Christmassy scent. I was so excited by this as I absolutely adore cinnamon with nuts and chocolate, plus its meant to be very good for controlling blood pressure. Once our cereals were mixed we were then presented with our very own personalized country crisp cereal box complete with our picture and a short character description! How cool is that!!

I had a bowlful of the cereal this morning and it was divine. Nutty with crisp oaty clusters, chewy raisins, creamy coconut and the warming scent and flavour of cinnamon. If you live in the Bedfordshire area and fancy creating your own cereal mix then you can visit their shop in Biggleswade to stock up on all the raw ingredients they use in their own cereals or simply just pick up one of their ready made mixes from the shelves. I have visited the shop many times (it also sells a great assortment of herbs, spices and other gifty things) and found out yesterday that the lovely lady who runs it is actually Bill Jordans Mum!

It was a fantastic morning and we left with a bag full of our lovely goodies – pear chocolate crisp cake, personalized cereal and box and a couple of boxes of the Country Crisp cereal. Thank you so much to everyone at Jordans and Wild Card for arranging the day and it was great to meet so many cereal enthusiasts.

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

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

Daring Bakers December Challenge: Frozen French Yule Log

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand

What is a French Yule Log and how is it different from the Yule Log I made last December with the Daring Bakers? In France you can buy two kinds of Yule log, either a Genoise and Buttercream log shaped cake , or a frozen Yule Log containing many different layers including Dacquoise Biscuit, Chocolate Mousse, Ganache, Praline Crisp, Crème Brulee and Chocolate Icing. That’s right 6 components and the mousse and dacquoise biscuit can make more than one layer! I’m sure you can understand how I sank to the floor in a daunted state of disbelief upon reading the 18 page document that made up the recipe. Thankfully nearly half of that were options on flavour variations for the components but it still results in the most multi stage/component recipe I have ever made. That being said, once I had sorted out the recipe in my head I found each component to be relatively straight forward and apart from the chocolate icing (which is best made the day you serve it) I got the challenge completed in one day without any disasters. The log is frozen overnight before being turned out and covered in a glossy chocolate icing before being returned to the freezer for a few hours before serving.

We could choose what shape to make our ‘logs’ but I decided to go with a loaf tin instead of a cake tin to try and resemble the thinner shape of a log. We were given many options for flavours but I decided to keep things quite simple as I was serving the dessert on Christmas day and wanted to make something I knew everyone would eat. My dacquoise biscuit was made with ground almonds and is similar to a genoise you make for a swiss roll. Once baked, I then cut around the base and top of my loaf tin to get the correct sized layers. The mousse and ganache were half milk, half dark chocolate, the praline crisp hazelnut and the crème brulee vanilla and I love the resulting pale streak in the middle of the log. The chocolate icing and mousse both call for gelatin, but as I’m Vegetarian I left this out. We were told that we could use agar agar if we didn’t want to use gelatin, but I read the recipe and couldn’t see a reason why gelatin was needed in the first place, especially as the whole dessert is frozen so I skipped that part completely and my dessert didn’t suffer in the slightest. If anything I suspect it turned out smoother and creamier than if I had used gelatin as this would have given it a slight gelatinous consistency, which I don’t like.

The chocolate mousse component in its unfrozen state is just divine. I was initially a little concerned as my mousse was very thick and stiff but as I mixed, it suddenly transformed into a rich and creamy mousse that was velvety smooth. I couldn’t help eating a few spoonfuls before it even got near the tin. I plan to make this again and serve it in little espresso cups, it was so good.

I pleased to say it went down very well with everyone on Christmas day, the only thing I would change if I made it again is to try and flatten my praline crisp into a thinner layer as it was rather thick, but this wasn’t particularly a bad thing. Once again, I’m so pleased the Daring Bakers made me make something I wouldn’t normally have attempted, as the results were well worth the effort. Don’t forget to check out the other Bakers Yule Logs and click here for the recipe.

The Cake Slice – Decembers Cake: Chocolate Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake

An intriguing sounding cake that is perfect for this festive season. Below are the author’s words as to how the cake got its name.

“This cake is delicious any time of year but it was specially designed for the Christmas holidays – The Nutcracker is a play on the hazelnuts which are a key ingredient and a play on the popular ballet associated with this season.The layers can be baked in advance but the cake is best served the day it is assembled, allow it is best to leave it 6-8 hours before serving to allow the flavours to meld together and the crème to set up. The cake can be stored in the fridge for 3 days but the recipe contains so little flour that it will start to turn pudding-like.”

Sounds delicious doesn’t it? I played around with the recipe a bit for this cake. I chose to bake cupcakes instead of the large cake and used walnuts in place of hazelnuts as I had some that needed using up. I also replaced the crushed biscuits crumbs with leftover gingerbread cookies, which I had great fun attacking with a rolling pin and I think added extra flavour to the batter. The recipe suggests blitzing the nuts in a food processor but while away at uni I don’t have access to one of these and so I chopped the nuts by hand as finely as I could but I still ended up with a few largish chunks. However, I loved the texture this gave the cupcakes and I think it helped keep them very moist and wonderfully light. I also topped the cupcakes with leftover royal icing that I stored away in the fridge after making the gingerbread cookies from the previous week – I can’t let anything go to waste! Baked into pretty liners and topping with a few chocolate sprinkles I think the cakes look quite festive. Due to such a small amount of flour used, the cakes have a springy soft texture and a wonderful nutty flavour. They certainly went down a treat with my flat mates.

Chocolate Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake
(Recipe from Shy High Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman & Peter Wynne)
Makes one 9inch triple layer cake
Ingredients – for the cake layers
140g skinned hazelnuts
150g whole graham crackers (or digestive biscuits), broken into pieces
175g caster sugar
50g plain chocolate, finely grated
10 eggs, separated
55ml vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g plain flour
1½ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp baking powder

Dark chocolate curls for decoration

Method – for the cake layers
Preheat the oven to 170C. Butter the bottom and sides of 3 x 9inch cake tins. Line the base with parchment paper and dust the sides with flour, tap out any excess.
Spread the nuts onto a baking tray and toast for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Leave to cool completely. Increase the oven temperature to 180C.
In a food processor, grind the graham crackers to crumbs. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add the toasted nuts to the processor (no need to wash) and add 30g of sugar. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground, but do not blitz too much or else it will form a paste. Add the nuts, graham cracker crumbs (crushed digestives) and grated chocolate together in the bowl and mix.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and 70g of sugar using an electric mixer until well blended. Add the oil and vanilla slowly, beating until ribbons begin to form on the surface of the mixture. Then, fold in the chocolate nut crumbs.
Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and beat until thick and foamy. Gradually add the remaining 75g of sugar, continuing to beat until the whites form stiff peaks. Fold a third of the egg whites into the yolk mixture and mix well to slacken the mix. Sift over the flour, spice and baking powder and fold in. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites until no streaks remain but do not over mix.
Divide the batter between the three pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire wrack to cool completely.
To assemble the cake, place a layer on a cake stand, flat side up. Sprinkle it with a third of the rum syrup and let it all soak in for 1-2 minutes. Spread 1/5 of crème Chantilly over the top, right to the edge. Repeat with the remaining layers, letting the syrup soak in before adding the crème.
Use the rest of the crème to cover the sides of the cake. Decorate the top with dark chocolate curls.

Rum Syrup
55g sugar
55ml water
55ml dark rum

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the rum. Allow to cool before using.

Crème Chantilly

450ml double cream

3 tbsp icing sugar

1½ tsp vanilla extract

Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled bowl and whip until the cream is stiff but not too thick or buttery.

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.