Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cupcakes

We are nearing the end of National Cupcake Week, only two more days eat as many cupcakes as possible and shrug it off with a ‘well it is National Cupcake Week.’ In the end I didn’t manage to organise a cupcake party (everyone was busy) but I did manage to bake a batch of cupcakes to share around and spread the cupcake yumminess.

As cupcakes are an American invention I decided to go with chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes. Not only a delicious combination, but also one that is decidedly American.

The chocolate cupcakes were good, but to me their main purpose was as a carrier for the divine peanut butter frosting. This is a recipe I have adapted from a standard vanilla buttecream recipe and one I have made lots of times in the past few months. It produces a thick, yet creamy peanut butter buttercream that’s not too sweet and is intensely flavoured with peanut. There is nothing worse than being promised a peanut butter flavour only to find it practically non existent.

After a swirl of the frosting I added some chocolate covered peanuts to decorate and add a bit of crunch. As I’m sure everyone has got their own favourite chocolate cupcake recipe I am only giving the frosting recipe below (leftovers taste great on toast too – shh!)

Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
70g butter
80g smooth peanut butter
260g icing sugar
25-40ml milk

Method
Make sure the butter is soft. Cream the butter together with the peanut butter until smooth and well combined.
Add the icing sugar, a third at a time, mixing well until incorporated. Add the milk as and when needed if it becomes a bit stiff.
Use more milk to slacken the frosting to the right piping consistency.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe on top of your chosen cupcakes and decorate with a few chocolate covered peanuts to decorate.
Eat and enjoy.
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes

Daring Bakers July 2010: Chocolate, Raspberry & Hazelnut Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

Just reading about this challenge bought a smile to my face. Here was a dessert that I had been meaning to attempt for ages but had been putting off in favour of some easier desserts. As it was this month’s challenge, I knew it was time to take the whisk by the handle and get baking.

When reading the recipe I felt a little uneasy as it consisted of so many components. We had to make a Swiss roll filled with cream and frozen, two different flavours of ice cream, layered inside the Swiss roll slices and around a hidden fudge centre – yikes!

I was most nervous about the ice cream components as I don’t have an ice cream maker and have tried making ice cream by the home freezing, stirring, freezing process before with limited success. However, I soon discovered that this recipe didn’t require the egg based ice cream variety, but relied on freezing flavoured cream to produce the ice cream which is much better behaved for home freezers.

We were provided with recipes for chocolate Swiss roll, chocolate and vanilla ice creams and a chocolate fudge centre, all of which had to be made from scratch. However, we were allowed to choose our own flavour combinations which was great as I love coming up with different flavour combinations.

I decided to stick with the chocolate Swiss roll as the outside layer, as I loved the colour contrast between the chocolate sponge and the white cream filling. My first ice cream flavour choice was raspberry as I have recently found a bottle of pure raspberry syrup which is so intensely raspberry that I knew it would go wonderfully with the chocolate.

To complement both the chocolate and raspberry flavours I decided to make my second ice cream hazelnut. I achieved this by added chopped roasted hazelnuts to a vanilla ice cream base. I also stirred in some Frangelico (an amazing hazelnut liqueur). The resulting ice cream was divine! Silky smooth and creamy, unsurprisingly due to the cream but with the slight crunch from the nibs of toasted hazelnut and the liqueur flooded your senses with hazelnut flavour – just gorgeous. The main thing to take note of is that by adding the alcohol, the ice cream will not set completely solid, which is great for eating but rather tricky when trying to layer it into a dessert!

Finally I stuck with the chocolate fudge centre as both my ice creams where quite pale in colour and I wanted the hidden centre to really stand out and add a wow factor when the finished cake was cut into. The fudgy sauce itself was delicious, so thick and glossy, I bet it would be great drizzled warm over profiteroles.

Making all the components and assembling the cake took time, especially the hourly mixings of the ice creams while they were freezing, but none of it was too tricky and I was able to complete the dish from start to finish in one day. I had plenty of time to get on with my other jobs in-between and the results were definitely worth the effort.

The dessert looked yummy when I unmolded it. The swirls of Swiss roll making it look quite elegant with little streaks of the pink raspberry ice cream peeking out between the gaps. I cut into it using a knife, unsure what to expect but the results were far better than I had hoped!

WOW! I loved how it turned out. The Swiss roll outer layer gave the edge a two toned stripy effect that reminded me of a zebra. Just inside this was the pale pink raspberry ice cream with the paler nutty hazelnut ice cream at the base. The centre of chocolate fudge came out perfectly formed – I’ve no idea how that happened as it sort of sunk into the ice cream when I added it. Magic! I loved how it really stood out against the ice cream layers and yet tied in with the chocolate sponge edge. It really added a wow factor.

How did it taste? Only one word needed – Divine! Silky smooth and creamy, fruity and nutty with the occasionally crunch texture from the chopped hazelnuts. The Swiss roll had stayed surprisingly soft and the fudge centre was rich and sticky.

Yes it is completely cream and calorie laden but for a dessert this good I don’t care! Just what you need on a hot summer day and it’s sure to impress any guests you might have over for a BBQ. Thanks Sunita for choosing such a fabulous dessert. Click to see the Daring Bakers blogroll.

Chocolate, Raspberry & Hazelnut Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake
(Inspired by the recipe of the same name from the Taste of Home website)

Chocolate Swiss Roll
3 eggs
110g caster sugar
25g plain flour
20g natural unsweetened cocoa powder
15ml boiling water
A little oil for brushing the pans
For the filling-
250ml whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
30g icing sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C. Brush a Swiss roll tin (11x9 inches) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper.
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick, about 10 minutes. When the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface.
Mix the flour and cocoa powder together and sift it over the whisked egg mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula, making sure to reach down to the base and around the sides. Finally fold in the hot water.
Spread the mixture into the baking pans and spread it out evenly.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch. It will still be quite soft and squishy due to the nature of the cake.
Spread a tea towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it. Flip the cake out of the pan and onto the tea towel. Carefully peel off the greaseproof paper and leave the cake to cool.
Starting from one of the longer sides, start to make a roll with the towel rolled inside. Leave until cool.

To make the Filling
In a large bowl, add the cream, vanilla and icing sugar. Beat until quite thick.
Unroll the cake from the tea towel and spread it evenly with the cream, leaving a ½ inch border around the edge to allow for spreading when re-rolled.
Roll the cake up again, using the towel to help you but don’t roll the towel into the sponge. Transfer the roll to a sheet of clingfilm and wrap it up well. Transfer the roll to a plate or tray and place in the fridge to chill until firm.

Raspberry Ice Cream

300ml whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
55g caster sugar
3 tbsp raspberry syrup/coulis

Method
In a mixing bowl, add the cream, vanilla and sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is blended together. Add the raspberry syrup or coulis and mix in well.
Pour into a freezer friendly container (I used a small tupperware box) and freeze till firm around the edges, about an hour. Remove from the freezer, mix well so it all becomes incorporated and smooth. Return to the freezer for a further hour before repeating the process. It may need a third hour depending on your freezer and container used. (You could use an ice cream maker if you are lucky enough to have one).

Hazelnut Ice Cream

250ml whipping cream
30g caster sugar
1½ tbsp Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
25g roasted hazelnuts

Method
Chop the roasted hazelnuts until quite fine. Place the cream, sugar and Frangelico into a large bowl and beat until slightly thick. Add the chopped hazelnuts and fold in to mix.
Pour the mixture into another freezable container or ice cream maker. Freeze for an hour, stir it together again and freeze for another hour. Repeat until the mixture is very thick and nearly solid. (The added alcohol will prevent it from freezing completely solid)

Chocolate Fudge Sauce Centre

50g caster sugar
10g natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp cornflour
170ml water
7g butter
½ tsp vanilla extract

Method
In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and cornflour until no lumps are visible. Slowly whisk in the water until combined and to prevent lumps from forming.
Place the pan over the heat and stir constantly until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat, beat in the butter and vanilla and set aside to cool.

Assembly

Line a pudding basin or deep bowl with a large sheet of clingfilm.
Cut the Swiss roll into 10-12 equal slices, approximately 2cms each. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the bowl, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the sides of the bowl, right to the top. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and freeze until the slices are firm, about 30 minutes.
Take your nearly frozen raspberry ice cream out of the freezer and spread it over the base and up the sides of the Swiss roll lined bowl.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
Once set, add the cooled fudge sauce over the raspberry ice cream, in the base only, not up the sides. Return to the freezer for another hour.
Soften the hazelnut ice cream (if needed) and spread it over the fudge sauce, filling the bowl completely to the top in line with the top of the Swiss roll slices. Cover with clingfilm and freeze for at least 4-5 hours until completely firm and well set.

To Serve
Remove the bowl from the freezer and place a serving plate on top. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl with the help of the clingfilm. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water and try again.
Leave the cake for 10 minutes to soften slightly and then cut slices using a sharp knife, warmed by dipping it in hot water first.
Eat and enjoy. Serves 6-8

Insanely Delicious Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

The joys of peanut butter cookies have been discussed by many bloggers in recent months, and as nice as they sounded I wasn’t in any particular hurry to try them out myself. They seem on first glance quite a simple plain cookie, I was sure they would be nice, but nothing that special. Oh how wrong I was!

A few weeks ago I was hunting for a simple cookie recipe to bake and send to my brother who was sitting his first year exams at university. Everyone knows what horrible things exams are and how much of a treat a break from revision is with a tasty snack. While browsing some blogs for inspiration I stumbled across the flourless peanut butter cookie recipe again and decided now would be the ideal time to try them out. Packed with nutrient rich peanut butter, sweet, simple and very post-able they fit the brief perfectly.

They were so quick and easy to put together that in a matter on minutes the creamy nutty aroma of hot peanut butter was filling the kitchen. When I opened the oven door I got a faceful of the steam and it was so intensely peanut-buttery that I began to think these cookies might be a lot more special than they first appeared.

I could hardly wait for them to cool down to try one. They had a craggily surface appearance and were lightly golden and crisp around the edges but stayed gorgeously soft and chewy in the centre. So chewy in fact that you could bend one almost in half before it broke in two!

The flavour was delicious – insanely delicious. The peanut flavour seemed to blossom and grow with each bite. They are in fact one of the best cookies I have ever made/tasted!! They don’t lack anything by being flourless, they are still quite a substantial cookie.

I sent a stack of 10 of them off to my brother and I got a text from him two days later saying they were all gone and could he have some more! Even my sister who hates peanut butter came back for a second one. They have to be tasted to be believed.

Insanely Delicious Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
(Recipe adapted from Joy The Baker blog)
Ingredients

170g smooth peanut butter
80g caster sugar
80g light soft brown sugar
1 egg
1tsp baking powder

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or parchment paper and set to one side.
In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter and both the sugars using an electric mixer until well combined (it will be quite stiff).
Add the egg and beat again to incorporate before beating in the baking powder.
Take slightly heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into small balls. (Don’t worry if the mixture appears a little greasy, it’s just the nut oils in the peanut butter).
Place the dough balls 5cm/2inches apart on the prepared baking tray. Use the back of a fork to slightly flatten the cookies and give the indent of the fork tines.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until lightly golden brown around the edges, but still soft in the middle. (If you like a crisper cookie, bake for 12 minutes rather than 10)
Allow to cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. They should crisp up around the edges but stay deliciously soft and chewy in the middle.
Makes 18-24 cookies
Store in an airtight container and eat within 4-5 days (this won’t be a problem!)

What to do with Leftover Egg Whites? Bake Nutty Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Cake

A bit of a long title, but it sums up this cake. Nuts, cinnamon and chocolate chips all combined into an egg white buttermilk cake. Sounds good doesn’t it, well it wasn’t just good, it was amazingly good, almost addictive, I couldn’t stop eating it! I found a version of this cake on Chef In You blog while looking for recipes to use up leftover egg whites and stumbled upon an egg white cake containing yoghurt, hazelnuts and chocolate chips and decided to try it – with a few of my own tweaks of course!

I added buttermilk to the cake which helped make it incredibly soft, tender and moist while the egg whites keep it light and fluffy. The cake part of its own would be delicious but it’s the additional dark chocolate, cinnamon chips and chopped nuts sprinkled on top and inside the cake that make it spectacular. They add little pockets of sweet spicy cinnamon, bitter chocolate or nuttiness with each bite, in perfect contrast to the smooth fluffy cake. Most of my centre sprinkles sank to nearer the bottom of the cake but this didn’t matter as I ate the cake with my fingers, selecting little bits of cake with a few sprinkle bits in each nibble. (Have you ever noticed how much more enjoyable it is to eat cake with your fingers?)

I was lucky enough to find American cinnamon chips in an American food shop a few weeks ago, but if you can’t find them then just toss some white chocolate chips around in some ground cinnamon and use those instead. I used a mix of pecans and walnuts in the sprinkle but you could use any nuts you like, or even some raisins or chopped apricots would be nice. I love how the top sprinkle became toasted and crunchy while the middle sprinkles remained soft and melty. Mmmm it was so yummy.

Next time you have a few leftover egg whites don’t even think of throwing them away or turning them into boring meringue – make this cake instead and I am sure you won’t be disappointed. It looks quite plain and simple, no elaborate decoration or frosting - but in my option it’s the best use of egg whites ever!

Nutty Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Cake
(Recipe adapted from Chef In You blog)

Cake
100g butter
200g caster sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
240g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
220ml buttermilk

Topping & Centre Sprinkles
50g chopped nuts – I used pecans & walnuts
50g dark chocolate chips
50g cinnamon chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 9x5 inch loaf tin.
Mix all the sprinkle ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
Start by whisking the egg whites until they becoming opaque and fluffy, but they don’t need to hold a peak.
In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg white and vanilla and mix gently.
Sift over half the flour and fold in gently, followed by buttermilk and then the remaining flour along with the bicarbonate or soda and baking powder.
Pour half of the batter into the loaf tin and scatter over half the sprinkle mix.
Cover with the remaining batter and the rest of the sprinkle mix.
Bake for 1hour – 1hour 10 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean (This sounds like a long time but it needs it!)
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool completely before slicing.
Wrap well in clingfilm to store and eat within 5 days.
Eat and enjoy

Carrot Cake Inspired Cinnamon Buns

I was in the mood for something sweet and spicy. Something with a bit of texture and also a little bit sticky and gooey. I couldn’t decide between carrot cake and cinnamon buns and was getting annoyed at myself for spending too long agonising over the decision. I decided to just make both, but we didn’t need both and they would go to waste, so I was back to square one. I asked my family and they didn’t mind - not very helpful. I then hit upon the idea of combining the two to make carrot cake inspired cinnamon buns – the more I thought about it the happier I became.

I adapted a recipe for cinnamon buns I have been meaning to try for a while and just added all my favourite parts of carrot cake to the dough. Grated carrot, a mix of spices and pecans. I also added raisins to the filling and decided to top the whole thing off with a cream cheese frosting instead of the usual glace icing.

I just went with my instincts and removed an egg from the original recipe to compensate for the extra moisture from the grated carrots. I switched white sugar for brown and used fresh rather than dried yeast as I had some in the fridge. I ended up with a spiced nutty dough, flecked with carrot and filled with spiced sugar and raisins.

Once prepared and baked they looked good and they smelt amazing, sweet, spicy and yeasty but I still wasn’t sure how they would taste. I cut a square, still hot from the oven, and spread it with some cream cheese frosting and pulled off my first bite...delicious. The dough was soft and springy thanks to the egg and milk used in the mix which keeps it tender. The spicy sugar had melted into a sticky middle glaze and the nuts and raisins added extra texture and variety in each bite. The frosting was fresh tasting, creamy and cool in temperature against the hot bun, melting slightly into the swirls. It had a slight sweetness but maintained its characteristic tangy flavour.

I loved tearing off little bits, unwinding the swirl to reach the gooey sticky centre. It could still do with a little tweaking, but it was still lick-your-fingers good. The best of both worlds combined into one delicious treat. You won’t be able to resist having another one – I know I couldn’t!

Carrot Cake Cinnamon Buns
Spiced Carrot Dough
235ml milk
1 egg
75g butter
620g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
25g fresh yeast
125g light soft brown sugar
150g carrot
50g pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground ginger

Filling
150g soft light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
50g butter
75g raisins

Topping
85g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g icing sugar

Method – for the spiced carrot dough
Place the butter in a small bowl and heat in the microwave until melted. Pour over the milk and heat again for 30 seconds until the milk is warm to the touch but not hot. Stir in a tablespoon of the sugar and crumble in the fresh yeast. Stir to combine and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl weigh out the flour, salt, spices and remaining sugar. Coarsely grate over the carrots.
Beat the egg into the milky yeast mixture and pour over the dry mix. Stir together using the tips of your fingers and bring the mixture together to form a sticky dough.
Roughly chop the pecans, you still want them in fairly large pieces though. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the nuts into the dough. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth, elastic and less sticky, about 8-10 minutes.
Lightly grease the bowl and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with cling film and place in a warm place to prove for 1½-2 hours until doubled in volume. I find the airing cupboard works well. While you wait, prepare the filling and topping.

Filling
Combine the sugar and cinnamon together and mix well to combine. Have the butter and raisins weighed out in bowls and set aside.

Topping
Beat the cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Add the icing sugar to taste. You want it sweet yet still with a good tang to it as the buns themselves are quite sweet. Keep in the fridge until required.

Assembly
Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll into a long rectangle, about 15x20 inches.
Melt the filling butter and drizzle over the surface of the dough. Use a pastry brush to spread it out evenly. Scatter the cinnamon sugar over the entire surface. Sprinkle over the raisins and press down lightly.
Starting at the longest edge, roll the dough into a roll. Use a serrated bread knife to cut the dough into 12-18 sections – depending on how long your roll is or how fat you like your buns.
Lightly grease a 9x13 inch deep baking tray and arrange the buns in the tin. They don’t have to be swished in too much as they will expand and grow during baking.
Leave to prove in a warm place for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C.
Bake the buns for 15 minutes until golden brown.
Leave to cool for 2-3 minutes before cutting a square and spreading with a dollop of the cream cheese topping.
Eat and enjoy while still warm and gooey.
If you don’t fancy the tangy cream cheese topping, and want something a little sweeter, a simple glace icing of water and icing sugar can be used instead.
Makes 12-18 buns
Beat eaten on day of baking or else reheated for 5 minutes in a hot oven the following day. Also, freeze well.

The Cake Slice February 2010: Mississippi Mud Cake

This month we baked a Mississippi Mud Cake. Normally I think of mud cakes as being tall, dense, sticky cakes but this cake is quite different – a cross between rocky road and brownie. It consists of a chocolate pecan studded sponge, topped with mini marshmallows and drizzled with hot chocolate sauce. Rich, sticky and very indulgent!

This cake received mixed reviews in our group, people either seemed to love it or loathe it. Personally I was firmly in the ‘love it’ category. A lot of bakers complained it was far too sweet, I didn’t find this to be the case. It was still sweeter than your average cake, but not unpleasantly so. However, I didn’t use the mound marshmallows as part of the topping which probably reduced the sweetness level quite considerably. The reason I left out the marshmallows is that no one in my family are fond of them and I wanted people to eat the cake.

I think brownie is a better description for this baked treat than cake. I consider cake to be soft, fairly light and spongy but this recipe resulted in a single layered moist, rich and sticky chocolate gooey brownie square. It was scattered with chunky pecans which added a nice textural contrast, were utterly delicious and made it seem even more brownie like.

To really push this ‘cake’ over the edge the whole thing is drizzled in a gooey chocolate glaze that sets into a thin chocolaty sugary crust. Mmmm it was divine. Just look how moist and fudgy it was. I may even use this recipe next time I want a batch of brownies! I also halved the recipe and baked it in an 8inch tin, as the full recipe made quite a large amount. My advice would be forget the marshmallows and enjoy the rich chocolaty fudgy cakey-bronwieness YUM!

Mississippi Mud Cake (brownie)
(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)
For the Cake (brownie)
200g butter, cut into big chunks
55g cocoa powder
4 eggs, beaten well
1 tsp vanilla extract
450g caster sugar
180g plain flour
¼ tsp salt
115g chopped pecans or walnuts

Mississippi Mud Frosting
400g icing sugar
55g cocoa powder
100g butter, melted
110ml milk or evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g mini marshmallows or large marshmallows, quartered


Method – Cake (brownie)
Heat the oven to 180C. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan. In a medium saucepan combine the butter and cocoa powder and cook over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the butter is melted and the mixture is well blended, about 3 – 4 minutes. Stir in the beaten eggs, vanilla, sugar, flour, salt and pecans and beat until the batter is well combined and the flour has disappeared.
Quickly pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cake springs back when touched gently in the centre and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan.
While the cake bakes, prepare the frosting so it is ready to pour over the hot cake.

Method – Mud Frosting
In a medium bowl combine the icing sugar and the cocoa powder and stir to mix well. Add the melted butter, milk and vanilla and beat everything together well. Set aside until the cake is done.

To Serve
Remove the cake from the oven, scatter the marshmallows over the top and then return the cake to the hot oven for about 3 minutes to soften the marshmallows.
Place the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack. Pour the frosting all over the marshmallow dotted cake and eat straight away or allow to cool to room temperature. Cut the cake into squares and serve.

Note: The recipe also works well when halved and baked in an 8inch square tin.

Apricot & Hazelnut Cake with Caramel Meringue Frosting

It was my mums birthday last week and naturally birthdays always mean a special cake. This year I wanted to deviate away from the traditional sponge and try something a bit different. My mum is a lover of baked goods with nuts, so I decided on making a hazelnut cake by substituting some ground hazelnuts for some of the flour. Nuts can sometimes result in dense cakes, so after a little hunting I chose to bake a butterless whisked cake that relies on separating the eggs and whisking the whites to add lightness.

I was a little worried the nuts would make the layers too heavy and they wouldn’t rise properly, but they puffed up beautifully and were very flat and even. The toasting hazelnut aroma as the cake baked was wonderful. When hot the cakes were quite delicate so it’s best to let them cool in the tins, but once cooled they are quite easy to handle. On tasting the cake the ground nuts were quite apparent, adding a great flavour and nobly nutty texture which was a hit with my mum – less so with my dad but he doesn’t like cake with ‘little bits in.’

As the cake was very light it seemed pointless to choose a rich buttercream or whipped cream filling to accompany it. Instead I hit upon the idea of making a caramel meringue by beating hot caramel over egg whites to create a very light and airy frosting. This worked well and created pillowy soft mounds of meringue which literally dissolved in tiny bubbles on your tongue.

Apricots and hazelnuts complement each other well so I sandwiched the cake together with some apricot conserve and sliced apricots. Over time the juice from the fruit dissolved a little of the meringue frosting, creating a delicious syrup that seeped into the cake layers making them incredibly moist. It’s the sort of cake you could easily serve as a dessert but it also made a delicious birthday cake. If you don’t want to go the fruity route I bet it would taste delicious with some sort of chocolate filling too.

Apricot & Hazelnut Cake with Caramel Meringue Frosting
Hazelnut Cake
100g skinned hazelnuts
75g self raising flour
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder

Apricot Filling & Caramel Meringue
100g apricot jam or conserve
8 fresh or tinned apricots
3 egg whites
150g caster sugar
100ml water

Method – Hazelnut Cake
Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease and line two 8inch/20cm cake tins and set to one side.
Place the hazelnuts and flour into a food processor and blitz until you have a nutty flour with a few tiny chunks of nut remaining.
Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs into two bowls. Add the caster sugar to the egg yolks and beat until thick, pale and creamy, about 3 minutes.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold a third of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mix to slacken it. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold in gently.
Scatter the nutty flour and baking powder over the surface of the batter and fold in gently until no streaks remain.
Divide the batter between the two cake tins and bake for 20 minutes until golden in colour and springy to the touch.
Allow the cakes to cool in the tins before running a knife around the edge and inverting them out onto a plate.

For the Caramel Meringue
Place the water and caster sugar together in a small pan. Heat gently, stirring often, until the sugar has dissolved. Then allow the liquid to bubble and take on a light golden caramel colour. You don’t want it too dark.
Meanwhile whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Once the caramel is ready, slowly drizzle it over the egg whites while still whisking. The egg whites should take on a thick glossy look and turn amber in colour. Continue to beat for 3-4 minutes once the syrup has been used up.
Use to sandwich and frost the cake immediately.

To Assemble
Spread a generous layer of a good quality apricot jam or converse over one of the cake layers. Cut the apricots into segments and arrange over the top of the jam, reserving a few for decoration on top.
Spoon half of the caramel meringue over the top of the jam and fruit and spread gently to the edges.
Top with the remaining cake layer. Use the remaining half of the meringue to cover the top of the cake and decorate with the reserved apricot slices.
Serve straight away. Best eaten on day of baking as if left, the meringue starts to break down due to the moistness of the fruit in the cake.
Eat within 2 days. Serves 8-10