Passionfruit cake with passionfruit glaze

 I have a passion for passionfruit aka granadilla aka passiflora ligulalis.  To me the taste is pure nostalgia.  Growing up in South Africa, we had a vine which used to produce so much fruit that I used to pluck them, cut them in half and squich the contents straight into my mouth.  My Mum used to make a wonderful granadilla cake, which consists of flavouring the sponge with the pulp and then adding the pulp and seeds to buttercream icing.

I had no idea that they are native to the Andes Mountains between Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia. It grows as far south as northern Argentina and as far north as Mexico. Outside of its native range it grows in the tropical mountains of Africa and Australia, and is now common in local markets of Papua New Guinea, where it is known as 'sugar fruit'.

The taste and aroma of a ripe passionfruit is like no other.  A tonsil tickling sourness mixed with an almost indescribable tropical-ness.  They are also mega-healthy for you containing vitamins A, C, and K, phosphorous, iron and calcium.

Spring has been so grey, wet and rainy this year that summer feels like it's simply never going to get here.  So I decided to cheer myself up with a little bit of sunshine on a plate by making a passionfruit cake.

Be warned this cake is seriously passionfruity -  you'll need the pulp of 8 passionfruit.  In the UK, ASDA supermarkets nearly always have a great deal of 3 for £1.

 To make this cake follow my foolproof sponge cake recipe here and add the sieved pulp of 3 passionfruit to the mixture near the end.

To make the butter cream icing [in the middle of the cake]  follow the recipe at the end of the sponge cake recipe and to this add the sieved pulp of  3 passionfruit.

To make the glaze mix [on the top of the cake] mix together the pulp of 2 passionfruit with enough sieved icing sugar to make a sticky glaze and pour it over the cake.  If you fancy having some seeds in the pulp to add interest then push the seeds around in the sieve with a metal spoon until they look nice and shiny and then add them to the glaze.

My cake looked a little plain, so I rooted around in my goodie draw and found some left over lemon and organge jellies and added them on top
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Easter 2012 - Easter nests, Easter Cake and a great Easter Dessert

I'll let these photos of Easter baking 2012 speak for themselves:

These very more-ish little treats were made by mixing together melted dark chocolate, melted milk chocolate [equal amounts], rice crispies, toasted coconut, butter and syrup.  I kind of guessed the amounts.  I topped them with tiny mini eggs, mini eggs, toasted coconut and hundreds and thousands.

Lemon sponge cake with lemon curd buttercream icing.  Decorated with edible rice paper daisies and mini-eggs

For this cake I used my trusty Victoria Sponge Recipe. Adding lemon zest to the cake and two large tablespoons of lemon curd to the butter cream icing.  I also added some yellow food colouring to the icing to give it a lovely pastel yellow colour.

Lemon Meringue Roulade filled with fresh cream, fresh raspberries and lemon cured - recipe here

Foolproof Classic Victoria Sponge Cake

With a few easy tricks [revealed in this recipe] you can bake a wonderful sponge cake certain it will turn out light as a feather each and every time.

At the end of the recipe I give you lots of tips on what else you can make with this basic recipe.

Ingredients

220g of very soft butter
220g caster sugar
4 medium eggs, lightly beaten
220g self-raising flour - to make this recipe gluten-free I used Doves Self-Raising Flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
Up to half a cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C, gas mark 4 (the temperature at which most cakes are baked). Line the bottom with greaseproof paper and grease the sides of two 20cm-diameter sponge tins.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and set to one side.

A sponge is made by the creaming method; that is, the fat and sugar are creamed or beaten together until light and fluffy before other ingredients are added. It's important to beat the butter and sugar well, as this incorporates lots of air which makes the cake light. Begin with very soft butter [I soften mine in the microwave on "warm" until it's almost melting] add the sugar and beat with an electric whisk for up to 5 minutes, until fluffy and pale. This is the secret to a very light sponge.

Add the vanilla to the beaten egg.

Now add the beaten eggs and flour in the following way:

Add a quarter of the egg and either fold in by hand with a large stainless steel spoon or mix on the lowest speed of your electric mixer until completely incorporated. At the very first sign of curdling or separating, add a tablespoon of the sieved flour.  Adding the remaining egg in three more batches,  along with a tablespoon of flour if and when necessary.

Add the remaining flour and fold in with a large metal spoon. The cake batter should be wet enough so that a scoop of the mixture will slowly fall off a spoon when held sideways, rather than running off easily, or sticking completely.   If this doesn't happen to your mixture, very slowly incorporate tablespoons of milk - by hand -  until it does so.  I've been known to add up to 6 tablespoons in mine.
This is the secret to a very moist sponge.

Do remember:  not all flours are the same and not all creamed ingredients are the same each time.  For instance, gluten free flour can require more milk to get the right consistency.  This is why baking isn't an exact science and getting to know what works for your ingredients and oven can take a few tries.

Divide the mixture between the two greased cake tins, smoothing the tops. Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. The cakes should look well-risen and golden brown, and should have pulled away slightly from the sides of their tins. To make sure the cakes are done, push a metal or wooden skewer into the middle of one. It should come out clean the cake is done. If there's sticky-looking cake mix on it, bake for 5 minutes more, then repeat the test.

After 10 minutes cooling in the tin, turn the cakes out on to a wire rack (if you turn them out when hot, they may break up). Put the smoothest-looking cake right side up (this will be the top of the finished cake) and the other upside down, so its domed top flattens slightly. Leave to cool completely.

Buttercream Icing:

50g unsalted butter - make sure it's very soft
100g icing sugar
Contents of one vanilla pod - slit and scraped with a knife
or 1 tsp of vanilla essence

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and put to one side. This ensures the icing is very light and doesn't clump together.

- Add the butter to a 2nd mixing bowl
- Add about a quarter of the sugar
- Mix on a slow speed to start off with and increase the speed gradually
- Add the balance of the butter in batches
- Add the vanilla

Beat on a high speed for at least five minutes - this will make it light and creamy

To assemble the cake:

- spread the bottom layer of cake with the butter cream mixture
- spread the underside of the top layer of cake with either raspberry or strawberry jam
- carefully sandwich the to layers together
- using a sieve, sprinkle icing sugar over the top



This my "go to" cake recipe.  It's also endlessly adaptable - both the cake and icing.

Cake variations:

Lemon cake:  add the zest of one large or two small lemons to the cake batter

Orange cake:  add the zest of one orange to the cake batter

Chocolate cake:  mix 2 heaped tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder with 4 tablespoons of warm water and add to the cake batter after the last addition of egg mixture

Coffee cake:  mix 2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules with 2 tablespoons of warm water and add to the cake batter after the last addition of egg mixture

Butter cream variations:

Even for these variations I still keep the vanilla in the icing, as I think it adds a lovely dimension to any additional flavouring.  All the flavourings are added halfway through the mixing process.

Lemon icing:  add the zest of half a lemon to the butter cream halfway through mixing / or add two heaped tablespoons of lemon curd to the butter cream mixture and mix well

Orange icing:  add the zest of half an orange to the butter cream

Chocolate icing:  add two heaped teaspoons of good quality cocoa powder, that has been mixed with three teaspoons of water to make a runny paste

Coffee icing:  add one heaped teaspoon of good quality instant coffee granules that has been mixed with two teaspoons of water to make a runny paste 

Lime, Coconut and passionfruit Cupcakes

 These cupcakes taste of summer and have a lovely tartness to them.  I'm not crazy about sugary icing, so these don't have any!  They do however, have a lovely dollop of mouthwatering passionfruit curd in the middle. The cakes are very moist.  I guess you could say this cupcake is not really a trendy cupcake [in the new fashion of lashings of icing and decorations] but it is a cake in a cup.  

 I used my basic, trusty sponge cake recipe to which I added lime zest and shredded coconut.  I made some passionfruit curd [recipe here]  last weekend, so thought I'd experiment and add a heaped teaspoon of curd into the middle of the cakes before baking.  You could happily use some quality shop bought lemon curd instead, or just omit adding any curd.

This recipes makes 12 large cupcakes.

 Ingredients

220g of very soft butter
220g caster sugar
4 medium eggs, lightly beaten [I actually use large eggs as I don't buy medium]
200g self-raising flour - to make this recipe gluten-free I used Doves Self-Raising Flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
70g shredded coconut 
1 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of two limes - finely grated
Up to 125ml of milk, for making the batter the right consistency
Enough passionfruit or lemon curd to add a teaspoon into each cake
Extra coconut for sprinkling on the top before baking

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

Line a cupcake  tray with large [ie. muffin paper cases]. 

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, then gently stir in the coconut and lime zest and set to one side.

A sponge is made by the creaming method; that is, the fat and sugar are creamed or beaten together until light and fluffy before other ingredients are added. It's important to beat the butter and sugar well, as this incorporates lots of air which makes the cake light. Begin with very soft butter [I soften mine in the microwave on "warm" until it's almost melting] add the sugar and beat with an electric whisk for up to 5 minutes, until fluffy and pale. This is the secret to a very light sponge.

Now add the eggs. Beat them lightly first to break them up and add the teaspoon of vanilla to the eggs.
Add a quarter of the egg, plus a spoonful of flour and beat on the lowest speed until completely incorporated. [Adding the egg gradually along with a little flour should stop the mixture curdling, or forming tiny lumps, which can make the cake heavy]. . Add the remaining egg in batches in the same way.

Add the remaining flour and fold in with a large metal spoon. The cake batter should be wet enough so that a scoop of the mixture will slowly fall off a spoon when held sideways, rather than running off easily, or sticking completely.   If this doesn't happen to your mixture, very slowly incorporate tablespoons of milk until it does so.  I've been known to add up to 6 tablespoons in mine.  This is the secret to a very moist sponge.

Using a large spoon fill the cases half way up with the cake batter. Make a small depression in the middle of each cupcake with a teaspoon and add a teaspoon of curd.  Using the large spoon again divide up the remaining batter between the cases.  They should be approx. three quarters full. Take a large pinch of shredded coconut and sprinkle over each cake. 

Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown.  Remember all ovens differ and quickly opening the oven after 15 minutes to check won't ruin them.

 As you can see they turned out wonderfully.  A very consistent bake - they even all rose the same amount - so I was really pleased.  They are wonderfully moist and very coconutty.  The hint of curd in the middle adds a pleasing third taste dimension too.

Coffee and Walnut Cake

I wonder who discovered that coffee and walnut is a marriage made in heaven? The Italians I hazard? I mean coffee and peanuts, no thanks, coffee and pecan nuts, not really, coffee and hazelnuts ….. maybe? Mr Ferrero Roche, one of the richest men in the world made his fortune on the marriage of chocolate and hazelnut paste.

For this cake I use very strong espresso, none of that powdered muck and certainly nothing containing chicory. Growing up in South Africa proper coffee wasn’t available until the mid-80’s – yes darkest Africa was kind of life the UK in this respect – a very late-comer to the ground coffee bean. Over time I’ve become a total coffee snob and won’t drink instant unless I’m totally desperate. Like I’m almost falling asleep at work and the cafeteria is closed.

My favourite coffee is the one I drink every morning. Which is Sainbury’s Taste The Difference Tarrazu from Costa Rica. I used to drink Lavazza red label but now I find that too strong. Every morning I fire up my trusty Bialetti espresso maker and make two big servings of espresso. I pour this into two mugs filled quarter of the way with hot milk and vanilla flavoured sugar. I can’t function before I’ve taken my coffee back to bed and spend at least 15 minutes sipping my coffee and reading my current book. This ritual sets me up for the day, every day.

Back to the cake…. Last year for Red Nose Day we had a massive cake sale at work and a colleague brought in a delicious Coffee and Walnut cake. It’s not a cake I’ve ever made, who knows why…. so I was spurred on to give one a go as soon as possible. She kindly gave me her recipe which is this one from the Daily Mail. Personally I don’t think raisins should be in this cake, so I left them out.

I’ve made a few other adaptations, as I always do -  here’s the recipe:


Makes 8-10 slices

FOR THE SPONGE

• 175g unsalted butter softened plus extra for greasing

• 175g caster sugar

• 3 large free-range eggs beaten

• 3 tbsp milk

• 175g self-raising flour [I used Doves Gluten Free self-raising flour]

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 2 tbsp of cooled strong espresso / or 2 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 2bsp boiling water

• 80g walnut pieces chopped into small chunks (I bash mine in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin)

FOR THE TOPPING

• 150g unsalted butter, softened

• 300g icing sugar

• 3 tbsp of cooled strong espresso / or 3-4 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 3 tbsp boiling water

• 60g walnut pieces for decoration - either in halves or chopped up smaller depending on you want to decorate the top


Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lightly grease a 22cm round, 5cm deep cake tin and line the base with parchment paper. You can also use a medium size oblong tin [as in the picture]


Sieve the flour and baking powder and put to one side. To make the sponge, beat together the butter and sugar, until pale and fluffy. Aim for a full 5 minutes of beating if you can. The fluffier the mixture the lighter the cake. Add the eggs and milk a little at a time, beating after each addition. If the mixture looks like it’s starting to curdle add a tablespoon of flour and beat on slow for a few seconds. Fold in rest of the flour with a large metal spoon, then stir in the coffee. When this is all well mixed, gently fold in the walnut pieces.


Tip the cake mixture into the prepared tin, smooth off the top and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. The cake should spring back to the touch of a fingertip and be slightly shrinking away from the edge of the tin. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out on to a wire rack.


Meanwhile, make the topping. Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until soft, then sift in the icing sugar, add the dissolved coffee granules and beat as hard as you can for as much as 10 minutes, if you can bear it, to make it really light and fluffy.


When the sponge is completely cool, remove it from the tin and add the topping. Either smooth it over with a knife or be extravagant and pipe in a fancy style over the top, finishing off with the walnut pieces arranged decoratively all over.

In the picture above you may notice that there is no half walnut prettily decorating the slice.  That's because I decided to experiment and finely chop up the walnuts and incorporate them into the icing.  Warning!  don't do this - it makes the icing difficult to spread.  Most definitely rather decorate the cake with the walnut halves.  It looks so much prettier that way too!

Lemon and Blueberry Cake with Lemon Drizzle

Lemon and blueberries are a match made in heaven.  I often get the craving for an intense hit of lemon, a burst of gooey blueberry and a hint of sugary sweetness. 

What's great about this cake is that it contains ground almonds, so it's super-moist. Also, ground almonds have the health benefit of being lower in GI [fuller for longer theory] and as we all know nuts are healthy for you.

Recipe:

140g self-raising flour [I use Dove's gluten-free self-raising flour]

140g ground almonds

140g butter [I use half butter and half baking spread to cut the artery clogging animal fat]

140g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Finely grated zest and juice of two lemons

3 tablespoons of milk [I used a little extra milk as I use gluten free flour which can make cakes a little dry but it you're using normal flour you may not need it].  The idea is for the mixture to be quite stiff but certainly not like a paste

2 tablespoon of lemon juice

20cm springform cake tin. Line the bottom with greaseproof paper

For the drizzle:

3/4 cup of icing sugar - sieved to get rid of any lumps

1-2  tsp of lemon juice

Method:

Turn the oven on to 180 degrees / 160 for fan ovens

Make sure the butter is very soft. I take butter from the fridge and put it in the microwave on "warm" in 20 second spurts until I can easily stick my finger in it and leave a hole]

Sieve both the ground almonds and flour. I put them in the sieve together. The flour goes through easily but the almonds take longer. If there are some stubborn flakes at the end that won't go through I sprinkle them over the rest from a height to incorporate some air.

Cream together the butter and sugar until very pale and fluffy. For at least three minutes, five is even better, add the vanilla and lemon zest towards the end.

Break in the eggs one at a time into the creamed mixture and beat for a few seconds on a slow speed to incorporate. Add a few tablespoons of the flour if it starts to curdle or separate.
Add the rest of the flour and almonds in several batches beating on a slow speed for a few seconds after each addition.

The mixture will be quite stiff but that's ok.

Add the two tablespoons of lemon juice.  [At this stage, if you're using gluten-free add the three tablespoons of milk and beat for a further few seconds].

Spoon half the mixture into the cake tin spreading it out evenly with the back of a spoon.

Sprinkle over the blueberries - making sure that you distribute them fairly evenly.

Spoon over the rest of the mixture and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 40-50 minutes in the centre shelf of the oven

Test the cake after 40 minutes by inserting a toothpick or skewer into the middle. It should come out clean.

Drizzle: 
 
Once the cake has completely cooled put the icing sugar in a small bowl and one teaspoon at a time stir in the lemon juice.  You'll need to stir quite a bit between each addition as it takes a while for the icing sugar to melt.
 
You want the consistency to be thick.  Almost so thick that you could write with it.  [Mine in the pic below isn't a good example as the drizzle turned out too thin :-( ]
 
Using a small self-seal bag spoon the mixture into one of the corners and seal.  Push all the drizzle down into the corner.  Taking some scissors make a tiny incision on the corner.  The drizzle should pleasingly come out in such a way that you can make lines with it.  Without being too fussy drawn lines over the top of the cake.

 

Venetian Carrot Cake with Tipsy Marscapone

The carrot cake has a long and distinguished history, hailing from the Arab speaking world in the 10th century, on to  the Middle Ages and then finally gaining popularity again during the 2nd World War when rationing meant no sugar to bake with.

According to Nigella this recipe hails from the Jewish Quarter in Venice and thanks to the inclusion of olive oil, pine nuts  and marscapone has a distinctly Italian feel to it.

I first saw Nigella make this recipe on her series Kitchen.  I've made it many times and it's never let me down.  The complexity of flavour never fails to impress.  Plus it's a healthy option because it uses olive oil, only half a cup of sugar and lots of vege.  An all round winner.

Thanks to only using ground almonds in this recipe this carrot cake is incredibly moist and gluten-free.  The rum soaked raisins and the booze-spiked marscapone,  make this cake feel more like a sophisticated, adult dessert than simply a tea time favourite. If you're not too keen on carrot cake then please try this one as it's quite a departure from normal carrot cake.

Here is Nigella's recipe:

Ingredients

For the carrot cake

• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• carrots - 200-250g/7-9oz
• 75g/3oz golden sultanas
• 60ml/2¼fl oz rum
• 150g/5oz caster sugar
• 125ml/4½fl oz regular olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 free-range eggs
• 250g/9oz ground almonds
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg, or to taste
• ½ lemon, finely grated zest and juice

For the mascarpone cream (optional)

• 250g/9oz mascarpone
• 2 tsp icing sugar
• 2 tbsp rum

Preparation method

1. For the carrot cake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line the base of a 23cm/9in round springform cake tin with re-usable non-stick silicone liner or baking parchment and grease the sides with olive oil.
2. Toast the pine nuts by browning in a dry frying pan; the oven alone is not enough to scorch out the paleness. Set aside.
3. Grate the carrots in a processor (for ease) or with a coarse grater, then sit them on a double layer of kitchen paper and wrap them, to soak up excess liquid. Set aside.
4. Put the golden sultanas in a small saucepan with the rum, bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Whisk the sugar and oil until creamily and airily mixed.
6. Whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs and, when well whisked, fold in the ground almonds, nutmeg, grated carrots, golden sultanas (with any rum that clings to them) and, finally, the lemon zest and juice.
7. Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. The batter will be very shallow in the tin.
8. Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the cake and put it into the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the top is risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out sticky but more or less clean.
9. Remove from the oven and let the cake sit in its tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unspring and leave it on the rack to cool.
10. For the mascarpone cream, mix the mascarpone with the icing sugar and rum.
11. To serve, transfer the cake to a plate. Put the mascarpone cream in a bowl to spoon alongside the cake, for those who want.
    
    Cooks note:
    
    I use Grand Marnier instead of rum in both the raisin liquor and the marscapone, as GM has an orange flavour and therefore adds another dimension to the flavour.
    
    I make sure I use 250g of grated carrot as it makes the cake that little bit bigger and moister
    
    I don't bother to toast the pine nuts first, I just sprinkle them on top and they go golden brown all on their own
    
    
    

Apple Cake

Colleagues have taken to bringing in oodles of cooking apples from their gardens for everyone.  Which is a lovely gesture and somewhat forced me to find a recipe to use them in.  This cake turned out brilliantly.  The bake has a dense yet light texture - thanks to the yoghurt I think?  

This recipe is an adaptation of a Waitrose card recipe:

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes


Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 apples

225g demerera sugar

200g butter, softened [I used soft light brown sugar, as it's easier to get light and fluffy with the butter]

3 large eggs, beaten

200g  self-raising flour

150g pot Natural Yogurt

For Crème Fraîche:

500g  Half Fat Crème Fraîche

2 tbsp  Honey

½ tsp organic cinnamon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Lightly grease a round 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, line the base with baking parchment, then grease the top of the parchment.

Core the apples and slice thinly (no need to peel). Put them in a large bowl, add 25g of the sugar and toss well to coat. Arrange the slices in the tin, overlapping them slightly to form circles.

Beat the butter and remaining sugar together until light and fluffy, using an electric hand whisk or wooden spoon. Add the eggs, a little at a time, until they are fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth. If the mixture begins to curdle, simply add a spoonful or two of the flour and continue to add the egg.

Fold in the remaining flour and yogurt, then carefully spoon the mixture over the apples. Place the cake tin on a baking tray and bake for about 1 hour, or until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 20 minutes or so. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Spoon the crème fraîche into a serving bowl. Beat the honey and cinnamon together, then stir gently through the crème fraîche. Chill. Serve the cake in slices, with the honeyed crème fraîche.

Cooks tips:

As you can see from my picture the sides browned a little too much.  My fan oven is the bane of my life in this respect as most things seem to come out a bit too brown around the sides.  So for the last ten minutes watch it like a hawk.  Next time I'll take mine out 5 minutes earlier.

I also made an error of whipping and not folding the honey and cinammon into the creme fraiche.  This resulted in a runny, double cream consistency which tasted nice but couldn't be spooned on the plate next to the cake. There is a definite reason for mixing the honey and cinammon together first and then gently folding into the creme fraiche.  Sometimes I wished I was more obedient ;-)

Next time I think I might add cinnamon to the cake batter mixture - because I love cinammon with apple and just having some in the creme fraiche doesn't infuse the cake with the flavour.

Orange Sponge Cake with Orange Buttercream Icing

Pixie loves sponge cake and he loves oranges.  So, seeing as he's been poorly, I decided to try and cheer him up by combining two of his favourite things.  This is also a childhood favourite of mine.

Ingredients

220g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

220g caster sugar, plus extra for dredging

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

220g self-raising flour - to make this recipe gluten-free I used Doves Self-Raising Flour

Zest and juice of one large orange

Up to six tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice


Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C, gas mark 4 (the temperature at which most cakes are baked). Line the bottom with greaseproof paper and grease the sides of two 20cm-diameter sponge tins.

A sponge is made by the creaming method; that is, the fat and sugar are creamed or beaten together until light and fluffy before other ingredients are added. It's important to beat the butter and sugar well, as this incorporates lots of air which makes the cake light. Begin with very soft butter, add the sugar and beat with an electric whisk for 2 minutes, until fluffy and pale. I find 5 minutes works even better.

Now add the eggs. Beat them lightly first to break them up. Add a quarter of the egg, plus a spoonful of flour and beat on the lowest speed until completely incorporated. Adding the egg gradually along with a little flour should stop the mixture curdling, or forming tiny lumps, which can make the cake heavy. Add the remaining egg in the same way.

Add the remaining flour and fold in with a large metal spoon. Self-raising flour is used because it contains raising agents to give the sponge extra lift. Add a fresh orange juice, one tablespoon at a time,  if necessary to achieve dropping consistency - this means a scoop of the mixture will slowly fall off a spoon when held sideways, rather than running off easily, or sticking completely.

Divide the mixture between the two greased cake tins, smoothing the tops. Put in the oven - preferably on the same shelf - and bake for 20 minutes. The cakes should look well-risen and golden brown, and should have pulled away slightly from the sides of their tins. To make sure the cakes are done, push a metal or wooden skewer into the middle of one. It should come out clean, or with only a few dry crumbs attached. If there's sticky-looking cake mix on it, bake for 5 minutes more, then repeat the test.

After 10 minutes cooling in the tin, turn the cakes out on to a wire rack (if you turn them out when hot, they may break up). Put the smoothest-looking cake right side up (this will be the top of the finished cake) and the other upside down, so its domed top flattens slightly. Leave to cool completely.

Orange Buttercream Icing:
 
300g of sifted icing sugar
150g of unsalted butter - make sure it's very soft
Zest of half an orange
Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
 
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.  This ensures the icing is very light and doesn't clump together
 
Put the soft butter into a bowl and add a little icing sugar - start to mix with an electric beater on slow - otherwise you'll be enveloped in a cloud of sugar
 
Add a few more tablespoons of the icing sugar and combine
 
Add the rest of the icing sugar in manageable batches
 
Once blended add the orange zest and beat some more
 
Add vanilla essence and beat some more
 
The longer you beat the lighter the icing will turn out.  So beat away..........

Raspberry Bakewell Cake

I adore Bakewell Tart but because Pixie is gluten intolerant it's not possible for him to eat semolina.  A vital ingredient.  I found a recipe on Good Food that is a Bakewell Cake and I've adapted it to be gluten-free by simply substituting Doves Self-raising Gluten Free Flour for normal self-raising flour.

What's great about this cake is that it also contains ground almonds, so it's super-moist and the addition of fresh raspberries instead of jam gives it an intense fruity flavour that isn't too sweet.  Also, ground almonds have the health benefit of being lower in GI and as we all know nuts are healthy for you,

It's such a hit with the family that it's requested at every gathering.

Recipe:

140g self-raising flour
140g ground almonds
140g butter [I use half butter and half baking spread]
140g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract [I love to taste almond but you can always leave this out or use 1 teaspoon]
3 tablespoons of milk [I used a little extra milk as I use gluten free flour which can make cakes a little dry but it you're using normal flour you won't need it]
3-4 tablespoons of flaked almonds

20cm springform cake tin.  Line the bottom with greaseproof paper

Method:

Turn the oven on to 180 degrees / 160 for fan ovens

Make sure the butter is very soft. I take butter from the fridge and put it in the microwave on "warm" in 20 second spurts until I can easily stick my finger in it and leave a hole]

Sieve both the ground almonds and flour. I put them in the sieve together.  The flour goes through easily but the almonds take longer.  If there are some stubborn flakes at the end that won't go through I sprinkle them over the rest from a height to incorporate some air

Cream together the butter and sugar until very pale and fluffy.   For at least three minutes and add the vanilla towards the end.

Break in the two eggs into the creamed mixture and beat for a few seconds on a slow speed to incorporate.   Add a few tablespoons of the flour if it starts to curdle or separate.

Add the almond essence and beat briefly on a slow speed.

Add the rest of the flour and almonds in several batches beating for a few seconds after each addition.

The mixture will be quite stiff but that's ok.  At this stage, if you're using gluten-free add the three tablespoons of milk and beat for a further few seconds.

Spoon half the mixture into the cake tin spreading it out evenly with the back of a spoon.

Sprinkle over the raspberries - making sure that you distribute them fairly evenly

Spoon over the rest of the mixture taking care not to push too hard and squash the raspberries

Sprinkle over the flaked almonds

Bake for 40-50 minutes in the centre shelf of the oven

Test the cake after 40 minutes by inserting a toothpick of skewer into the middle.  It should come out clean.

Homemade 21st Birthday Cake

My partner's daughter recently turned 21 and I decided to try and push the boat out with my cake decorating skills, which let's face it aren't very sophisticated.  The easy option would have been to simply buy a cake but  Pixie [my partner] has a gluten allergy, so it's not easily done.  So it was down to me to provide something which he could also eat.

Unfortunately I didn't have all the time in the world and wasn't feeling all that, so I couldn't spend ages and go the whole hog.  In fact I got up at 6am the day of to decorate the cake I made the night before. 

So here's a picture of my lemon sponge cake with lemon buttercream icing surrounded by cut to size Mikado dark chocolate fingers and decorated with store bought chocolate letters and gold candles. Voila!

Easter Cakes

I made loads of food this Easter Weekend just gone but here are the highlights:

Easter Cake - vanilla sponge with lemon curd buttercream icing topped with edible daisies and mini eggs [made with Doves Gluten Free Flour]

Vanilla sponge cake top with chantilly cream and fresh strawberries [made with Doves Gluten Free Flour]

Recipes to follow soon!

Fridge Cake a.k.a Tiffin

Much has been made of the story that William and Kate are serving Fridge Cake at their wedding buffet.

I thought I'd share with you my favourite fridge cake [or tiffin] recipe, which people rave over.

Fridge Cake / Tiffin To Die For

250g/9oz dark chocolate, chopped
150g/5oz milk chocolate, chopped
175g/6oz butter
4tbsp golden syrup
200g/7oz shortbread or digestive or rich tea biscuits [I used Gluten Free "Tru" biscuits]
150g/5oz brazil nuts, chopped into biggish chunks
150g Craisins [dried cranberries - these give a lovely tart flavour, whereas raisins are a lot sweeter]
3 x Crunchie chocolate bars, or honeycomb, bashed into medium size chunks
1 tbsp of icing sugar for decoration
edible glitter for decoration [optional]

Method:

1. Place the dark & milk chocolate pieces into a heavy-based pan.  Add the butter and golden syrup and cook over a very low heat to melt - stirring occasionally but don't overstir
2. Place the biscuits in a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin into rubble - don't make the bits too small though as you need a good contrast of textures in the finished product
3. Place the Crunchie bars in a bag and bash with a rolling pin into rubble
4. Using a sharp knife and cutting board cut the brazil nuts into small chunks - if find bashing them in a freezer bag makes them too small
5. Take the pan off the stove and stir in the biscuits and nuts
6. Add the craisins and finally the Crunchie rubble
7. Stir until everything is coated with the syrupy chocolate mixture
8. Pour the mixture into a 25cm/10in x 30cm/12in greased and lined baking tray and smooth the surface as much as possible, although it will look bumpy[I line mine with greaseproof paper so the pieces are easy to remove]
9. Refrigerate for two hours, or until firm enough to cut
10. Dust with icing sugar and sprinkle with edible glitter if using
11. Remove the block of cake and cut into 24 rectangles.

Serving suggestion:  enjoy with a cup of English Tea whilst watching the Royal Wedding and waving a Union Jack

Valentine's Day Cupcakes - vanilla cupcakes with fresh raspberry puree icing

These are vanilla cupcakes with fresh raspberry puree icing, topped with a perfect raspberry.

Everyone in the office loved them!

The recipe for the cupcakes is:

100g (4oz) butter

100g (4oz) golden caster sugar

2 eggs, mixed with 2tsp vanilla extract

100g (4oz) self-raising flour

1-2tbsp milk
 
Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper bun cases.


Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy [for at least five minutes]

Gradually beat in the eggs and the flour in approximately four batches [alternate - starting with flour].

Add the milk so the mixture reluctantly drops off a spoon

Put 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture into each fairy cake case and bake near the top of a preheated oven at 190°C (375°F, gas mark 5) for 12-15 mins, until springy to the touch, golden and risen. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Note:  these cakes turn out small if you make 12 out of this mixture.  I usually double the mixture and make around 18 larger cakes

Icing:

250 gm soft unsalted butter

1 cup icing sugar, sifted

150 gm raspberries, puréed and strained

Beat butter until white and fluffy
 
Gradually add the sifted icing sugar
 
Add the raspberry puree and beat until blended
 
[If the raspberry puree makes the mixture thicken a bit too much, add a little milk, tablespoon by tablespoon until the desired consistency reached].

Date and Banana Loaf

Who needs dainty, cupcakey, frippery and frou-frou?  This is a solid, gulag-style old-fashioned loaf that demands you cut off a great big hulking slab, slather it with butter and eat it accompanied by builders tea.

It's not all hulk and bulk though.  The bananas make it lovely and moist, the dates are sticky and gooey, it's low in fat, big on taste and only takes 15 minutes to make.

Recently I've been making a real effort to clear the kitchen counter before starting to bake and to get out all my ingredients and utensils beforehand.  This may be elementary to many but typically, when I bake, it's chaos and not organised chaos just chaos, chaos.  I used to use the excuse that creative geniuses are never organised but then I began to realise I was just being plain stupid.

So now, as you can see above, all is pristine and calm.  Even the bananas look calm.

Recipe:

300g self-raising flour - I used Doves Gluten-Free Self Raising Flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

125g chopped dates

half a cup [125ml] caster sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp of ground nutmeg
2 large or 3 medium bananas - about a cup full of whipped banana but no matter if it's slightly more

1 cup [250ml] milk - I used semi-skimmed

2 large eggs

2lb capacity or 21.5x10.5cm loaf tin

Method:

• 
  
  Sift the self-raising flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl.
• 
  
  Stir through the dates and sugar
• 
  
  Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients
• 
  
  In another medium size mixing bowl chop up the banana into slices
• 
  
  Whisk the banana slices until smooth-ish
• 
  
  Add the eggs and milk and whisk briefly together until combined
• 
  
  Pour half the banana mixture into the dry ingredients and combine at a low speed until blended
• 
  
  Add remaining banana mixture and combine until just blended [don't over-mix]
• 
  
  Pour mixture into a greased or lined loaf tin
• 
  
  Bake for 50 mins at 180 degrees [as I use a fan oven I bake it for 40 minutes -turning the tin around half way through]

The very yummy result:

This is the view out my kitchen window.  I'm in lambikins heaven at the moment.

The Easter that was

Easter cupackes made by my own fair hand.  Vanilla sponge with a choice of lemon or chocolate icing.

I followed this recipe.  They come out rich, moist and yet light.  If you like large cupcakes, then I suggest you double the quantity.  The first time I made them I didn't double up and the mixture made 11 smallish cakes.  I add two heaped teaspoons of lemon curd to the butter cream mixture but obviously it's to taste - better to start out with less and add more.

A closer view of my lemon curd icing:

Couldn't resist a shot of these flowers my sister-in-law gave me:

Lemon, Rosemary and Olive Oil Cake

Last thing at work yesterday afternoon, in an attempt to fend off impending sleep,  I checked out one of my favourite sites "The New York Times" Online.  I came across a lovely essay about someone who bakes in the wee small hours.  They tried to recreate a scrumptious cake they'd had in London.  It sounded delicious - a lemon, rosemary and olive oil cake.  It sounded so yummy that I immediately looked for a recipe and found this one.  I decided to make it as soon as I got home.

I adapted the recipe to gluten-free by using Doves Gluten Free Plain Flour.

To be perfectly honest my run of things turning out not quite right is still alive and well and living in Buckinghamshire.  I cooked it at a too high temperature.  It said 350 celcius and I thought that was 190 degrees centrigade when in fact it's 175 degrees centrigrade.  So the oven was slightly too hot.  Then I should have probably taken it out ten minutes before I did.  The upshot being it turned out slightly dry.  Boo bloody hoo!  We're eating it anyway, spread with butter - waste not, want not and all that jazz.

I looked after our neighbours chickens last week and she gave me these lovely flowers to say thanks.  My kitchen is looking very spring-like.

This week I've been catching up with "Lambing Live", who would have thought learning about sheep farming could be so compelling!   Our cottage overlooks fields of sheep and we just love this time of the year.  Anthony actually watched triplets being born on Thursday - he called me at work just to make me jealous!

These little cuties are in a neighbouring village.

We've got mommies fit to burst in the field this morning.  I keep on surveying them for signs of labour [I'm an expert now] but nothing yet :-(