Salted Caramel and Banana Triple Layer Cake

Salted caramel has been a huge trend for a while now and doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon.  It's a love it or hate it taste, personally I am a huge fan of how the touch of salt brings out the buttery sweetness of the caramel whilst giving an edge that prevents any sickliness.  On a recent supermarket trip I spotted a new flavour of Ben and Jerry's ice cream with a yummy sounding salted caramel core that needs to be tried very soon!

I originally planned to make this a purely caramel  cake but then spotted a very sad looking banana lurking forgotten in the fruit bowl and thought the flavours would work well together for a banoffee-esqe vibe.  Those almost black, squidgy, no-good-for-eating bananas make the best cakes with a dense texture and rich taste.

I used vanilla buttercream to sandwich and top the sponge as I had some to use up from a previous bake but next time I would use plain whipped double cream to make the overall cake less sweet and give it a more authentic banoffee pie taste.  A little grated dark chocolate on top would also go really well!

The salted caramel recipe makes a lot so any leftovers can be stored in the fridge until you decide how to use them up.  The easiest (and best!) way is straight from the jar with a spoon or drizzled over ice cream.  If you're feeling more adventurous it would be amazing in an apple crumble or served with sliced bananas, crushed biscuits and whipped cream for an instant dessert.  I've had a recipe for dulce de leche brownies bookmarked for aaaaages now so I'm going to see if I can adapt it to use up my caramel.  I'll blog the results if it works!

(All the measurements for this cake are in cups as the batteries have run out on my digital scales!)

For the Salted Caramel :

2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 cup double cream
salt to taste (I used 1/2 tsp)

Heat the butter, sugars and syrup in a small pan for 3-4 minutes until smooth and well combined.
Take off the heat and slowly whisk in the cream, take care as it can splutter.
Return to a low heat and cook for 2-3 mins more until the sauce thickens and turns a deeper golden shade.  Add salt to taste.
Pour into a bowl and allow to cool before chilling.

For the Banana Cake:

1/3 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1.5 tbsp oil
1 large mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp bicarb
1/2 tsp baking powder


Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.  Grease and line a 20cm round sandwich tin and wrap the outside in tin foil.
Whisk together the sugar, sour cream, egg, oil, banana and vanilla.
Fold in the flour, bicarb and baking powder.
Spoon into the tin, smooth out and bake for 30-35 mins.  This is a dense cake so needs a fairly long cooking time.
Cool in the tin for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Caramel Sponges:

3/4 cup light  brown sugar
3/4 cup soft unsalted butter / margarine
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.  Grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and wrap in tin foil.
Beat all the ingredients together until light and fluffy.  Add 1-2 tbsp milk if batter seems too thick.
Divide between the tins and bake for 20 - 25 mins until golden brown and well risen.
Cool in the tins for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To Assemble the cake :

1 cup vanilla buttercream / whipped double cream

Place the first caramel sponge onto your serving plate / stand.
Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.  Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the sponge (this will stop the salted caramel oozing out)
Spread a good layer of caramel over the sponge, keeping within the buttercream border.
Place the banana cake in top and repeat the buttercream / caramel process.
Pop the second caramel sponge on top.
Pipe small rosettes all over the surface and drizzle with more salted caramel.

xx

Pink and Sparkly Disney Princess Tiara Cake!

This cake was made for a little girls' 5th birthday party.  I was told she loved all things Disney Princess and then given free reign with the design so it was a great opportunity to do something creative and try out a few new techniques!!

I decided to do a tiered cake with a sugar tiara on top so it was nice and tall with lots of space for decoration.  The tiara was hand cut from flower paste (gumpaste) so I made it a week in advance to give it plenty of time to dry.  I dried it around a cake tin so it would be curved and sit nicely on the top tier.  I also made the roses and bows at the same time.

The bottom tier was a rich chocolate mudcake filled and covered with white chocolate ganache and white sugarpaste.  This gave a good sturdy base for the second tier to sit on aswell as being the birthday girl's favourite.  Once iced I glued the cake onto the board using a little buttercream to hold it in place.

The second tier was vanilla sponge filled and covered in vanilla buttercream and pink sugarpaste.  While the sugarpaste was still soft I used a ruler and blunt knife to create a quilted effect.  I then used a small ball tool to make little indents at each intersection.  To stack the cake I pushed 5 plastic straws  into the centre of the base cake and cut them to the height of the cake.  As this was only a small cake the straws gave enough support (larger, heavier cakes need plastic dowels).  I then stacked the second cake on top, ensuring it was level.

To finish the tiara I rolled thin pieces of sugarpaste and coiled them around to form a heart and decorative swirls.  These were attached with edible glue.  The whole tiara was painted with gold lustre except the heart which was covered in edible glue and pink glitter.  Small pink glittery hearts were also stuck around the bottom.  Once all the paint was dry I attached the tiara to the top of the cake using more edible glue.  This stuff is fantastic for cake decorating as it dries clear unlike royal icing, a little goes a long way though it's very sticky!

Going back to the bottom tier I cut 4 large hearts from pink sugarpaste and stuck a rice paper Disney Princess image onto each before attaching them to the cake, equally spaced apart.  These are easily available from ebay and come in lots of different designs.  The bows were then attached in between each heart with small swags to connect them.  The swags are just thin rectangles folded like a concertina and pinched at each end.  Smaller pink glittery hearts, roses and some piping using royal icing, painted gold completed the bottom tier.

For the second tier I piped tiny dots into each indent and painted them with edible pearl.  I also piped larger pearls onto the tiara.  The final touch was a pretty pink ribbon around the cake board and the cake was ready for the party!

I hope to do a few more cake tutorials but will take photos of the different stages this time.  I tend to get really into what I'm doing and forget to snap any pictures until it's too late!  Decorated novelty cakes are my favourite things to do, it can be fiddly and repetitive at times but so rewarding when its all finished.  The process is very relaxing, when things go to plan that is!
xx

Chocolate and Hazelnut Mousse Cake

For Fathers Day my little girl and I got in the kitchen  to whip up this fluffy mousse cake for her Daddy.  He absolutely loves Nutella, often sneaking spoonfuls straight from the jar when he thinks no-one's looking so we decided to use chocolate and hazelnut as the main flavours, incorporating some of his favourite sweets into the decoration.

She loves to use the electric hand mixer as she's now big enough to hold it on her own so this cake is made up of layers of whisked chocolate sponge, whipped hazelnut cream, Nutella and milk chocolate mousse, lots and lots of whisking!!!!  I definately wouldn't recommend attempting this by hand unless you want a serious arm workout!!

The whisked sponge doesn't contain any butter so its super light and fluffy.  It's a very mild chocolate flavour, nothing rich or fudgy as that could easily become sickly when combined with the sweet fillings.  It's sort of like eating a very decadant swiss roll!  The hazelnuts provide a nice crunch against the soft whipped cream and mousse.

The idea for the chocolate collar came from The Pink Whisk although I used milk chocolate rather than white.  Next time I think I would use dark as the bitterness would help to offset the sweetness of the mousse and Nutella.  It looks tricky but was actually quite straightforward, if a little messy!!

As this is a fatless sponge it will only keep for a day or two and any leftovers will need to be stored in the fridge because of the double cream.

For the Cake :

4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cornflour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  Grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins
Crack the eggs into a large bowl and add the sugar.
Whisk using an electric hand whisk for 10 minutes until very pale, fluffy and tripled in volume.
Sift over the dry ingredients and gently fold in, being careful to mix thoroughly but not knock all the air out.
Divide equally between the tins and gently smooth out.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until risen and a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tins.  These cakes are very fragile so can fall apart if you try to move them while still warm.
Once cool, run a knife around the edge to loosen and turn out.  Use a large serrated knife to gently cut each cake in half horizontally using a sawing motion.

For the Hazelnut Cream:

1 cup double cream
2 tsp hazlenut syrup ( I used Monin sugarfree, if making this only for adults you could use Frangelico hazelnut liqueur instead)
1/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Whisk the cream and syrup until it forms soft peaks and is spreadable.  Fold through the chopped nuts.
Chill until needed.

For the Mousse:

1 cup double cream
100g chocolate, chopped (I used milk but use whatever is your favourite)

Place the chocolate into a large bowl
Heat the cream until scalding then pour over the chocolate.  Leave to stand for 5 minutes then stir gently until melted and smooth.
Allow to cool to room temperature then whisk until thick and fluffy.

(To make the mousse lighter you could then fold through whisked egg whites but I left these out as I was making this for kids.)

To Assemble the Cake:

3 - 4 tbsp Nutella
1 Fudge bar, chopped
50g white sugarpaste
150g milk chocolate, melted and slighly cooled

Place the first layer of sponge onto a plate / stand.  Spread over 1/2 of your hazelnut cream.
Top with the second sponge layer.
Stir the Nutella to make it runnier then spread over evenly.
On goes the third sponge and the remaining hazelnut cream.
Pop the final sponge layer on top and cover the whole cake with chocolate mousse.  Don't worry about getting the sides too neat as they will be covered by the chocolate collar.
To decorate, my daughter rolled out some sugarpaste and cut out letters to write 'Best Daddy'.  She then wanted to use chopped Fudge bar as this is his favourite but more chopped hazelnuts would probably be more appropriate!!
The final step is the chocolate collar, step by step instructions for this can be found on www.thepinkwhisk.co.uk

We really enjoyed making this cake together as my daughter was able to do so much of it herself. She felt really proud giving it to her Daddy, almost as much as he enjoyed eating it!!

Suitcase Leaving Party Cake

I recently made this cake for a friends' leaving party as she is off to travel around the world for the next year (jealous!!!) . I wanted to represent as many of the countries she is visiting as possible but didn't want the cake to be too big .  After doing a bit of Googling to see what other travelling / leaving party cakes people had come up with I settled on a suitcase cake with hand painted labels for New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and China plus a good luck heart and name tag.

I made the labels first by cutting shapes from flower paste (gumpaste) and letting them dry overnight.  I then drew on my designs using a black edible marker pen and painted them using gel food colours diluted with vodka.  It's important to use vodka rather than water as the alcohol evaporates quickly so the flower paste doesn't become soggy.  I also used the flowerpaste to shape buckles.

The cake itself was dark chocolate mudcake filled and covered with milk chocolate ganache that was spiked with Cointreau to give a boozy Terry's Chocolate Orange taste.  The ganache covered cake was left to firm up in the fridge overnight before being covered in chocolate sugarpaste (fondant).

To give it a leathery look I allowed the sugarpaste to dry for 15 minutes once rolled out before applying it to the cake and rubbed it with a small amount of cornflour. This causes tiny cracks all over the surface and gives it a dull appearance, usually the exact opposite of how you want sugarpaste to look!!

I moulded a handle and cut straps from the leftover sugarpaste, running a stitching wheel along the edges for a bit of added detail.  You can get the same effect using a cocktail stick to make tiny dots but it takes a lot longer!

The final touches were to paint the buckles using gold lustre powder mixed with vodka and thread the straps through them.  I also used the gold lustre to add a few highlights to the labels and handle.  I attached the labels using edible glue and the cake was finished!!

It looks a lot more complicated to make than it actually is as the cake is just a simple rectangle with rounded off corners.  It's also great if you're new to covering cakes as the sugarpaste is meant to looked cracked and uneven to add to the aged, leathery suitcase effect!  If you're not confidant about painting the labels yourself there are lots of companies online that print edible images too.

I was really pleased with how this cake turned out in the end and it seemed to go down well at the party too!  I hadn't used chocolate sugarpaste before and was worried it would taste artificial but it was actually really tasty, much nicer than regular sugarpaste which I usually peel off and give to my other half who loves the stuff!  I got mine from a local cake decorating shop but I've seen it in larger supermarkets recently too.

xxx

Blueberry Rose Layer Cake

One of the best things about summer in my opinion is the abundance of fresh berries.  They taste fantastic at this time of year; sweet, juicy and the beautiful colours look so inviting.  Blueberries were on offer at my local supermarket when I did the weekly shop so I decided to incorporate some into a layer cake this weekend.  Rather than baking them into the sponge as I've done before I wanted to try something a bit different.

The blueberries were cooked down in a little water, pureed until smooth then made into a smooth tangy curd to fill the layers of vanilla sponge.  This recipe makes quite a lot so you'll have leftovers to spread on toast or stir into yoghurt (or just eat with a spoon!)  It's not as sweet as blueberry jam so provides a nice sharpness and keeps the cake tasting zingy and fresh, perfect for summer!  It's also the most incredible deep violet colour which looks great against the golden sponge.

For the sponge :

225g soft unsalted butter or margarine

225g caster sugar

4 eggs

200g plain flour

25g cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.  Grease and line 2x20cm round tins then wrap tin foil around the sides.  (the lower oven temp and foil ensure you get nice even sponges rather than those annoying domes in the middle that have to be sliced off!)

Cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time adding 1 tbsp flour after each addition to prevent any curdling.

Sift together the remaining flour, cornflour and baking powder then gently fold in.

Mix the vanilla extract and milk together then fold in to get a smooth batter.

Divide between the tins, smooth with a spatula and bake for 25 - 30 mins until risen, pale golden and springy.

Cool in the tins for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the blueberry curd:

150g blueberries

2 tbsp water (omit if using frozen berries)

75g caster sugar

50g unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 tsp cornflour

2 tsp lemon juice

Heat the berries and water in a saucepan until they break down.  Take off the heat and puree using a hand blender or food processor.  You can sieve the puree if you want to remove the skins but I didn't bother.

Return to the pan and add the sugar and butter.  Heat gently until melted.

Crack the 2 eggs into a large bowl and whisk together well.

Mix the cornflour and lemon juice to a smooth paste.

Pour the blueberry mixture over the eggs, whisking all the time then quickly pour back into the pan.

Heat very gently, whisking all the time until it begins to thicken.  Whisk in the cornflour paste and continue to cook for 3 - 4 minutes.  

The curd should be fairly thick by now but will also firm up as it cools to a spreadable texture.  Transfer to a shallow bowl, cover the surface directly with clingfilm and leave to cool.  Store in the fridge once completely cold.

For the buttercream:

150g soft unsalted butter

300g sifted icing sugar

2 tbsp blueberry curd

purple gel food colour

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Stir through the curd and continue to mix for 5 - 10 mins until the buttercream becomes mousse like.

Fit a Wilton 1M nozzle into a piping bag and paint a stripe of purple gel down one side.  Fill with blueberry buttercream.

To Assemble :

Place one layer of cake onto a stand / plate.

Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge.  Fill with a good layer of blueberry curd.

Place the second sponge on top.

Pipe buttercream roses over the top and fill in any gaps with little swirls.

I'm entering this cake into Tea Time Treats as I'm a big fan of the hosts What Kate Baked and Lavender and Lovage and the theme this month is layer cakes.  As I'm fairly new to blogging this is my first ever entry but I hope join in each month now!
Blueberry Rose Layer Cake

Double Chocolate and Vanilla Trifle

One of my biggest pet hates is throwing away food but I often find myself with off-cuts of sponge and leftover ganache from making novelty shaped celebration cakes.  I recently made a sports car shaped birthday cake which involved baking a huge slab of dark chocolate mudcake, much of which was carved away to create the right silhouette.

Instead of just leaving the cake scraps to be picked at by various members of my household I decided to make a dessert out of them along with the leftover white chocolate ganache and vanilla creme patissiere.  You don't need leftovers to make this dessert though, its tasty enough to be worth making from scratch!!!

For the Trifle

Approx 200g chocolate cake
1 bag Galaxy Bites, roughly chopped

For the Vanilla Creme Patissiere

200ml milk
100ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, split open
2 eggs plus 1 yolk
75g caster sugar
40g cornflour
50g unsalted butter, cubed

Heat the milk, cream and vanilla pod til just simmering, stirring to ensure it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.
Take off the heat, fish out the softened vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds.  Stir them back into the milk and discard the pod.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar and cornflour til very smooth.  Quickly pour over the hot milk, whisking all the time to prevent the eggs scrambling.
Pour back into the pan and heat til thick, whisking all the time.  Whisk in the butter ensuring it is all melted and well combined.
Take off the heat and directly cover the surface with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming.  Leave to cool.
Stir well before using.

For the White Chocolate Ganache

50ml double cream
100g good quality white chocolate, roughly chopped

Pour the cream into a large heatproof bowl and microwave on high in 20 second bursts until almost boiling.
Add the chocolate and stir until melted.  The heat from the cream should be enough but you can microwave for another 20 seconds if any stubborn bits wont melt,
Whisk the mixture using an electric hand mixer until thickened and fluffy.

To Assemble:

Roughly crumble the cake into large chunks and place a handful into the bottom of a sundae glass.
Spoon over a thick layer of creme patissiere and sprinkle with a few chopped sweets.
Add a layer of ganache then repeat to fill up the glass.
Decorate with cake crumbs and any remaining sweets.
(I made 3 individual trifles from this amount but it depends on the size of dish you use)

You could always use ready made fresh custard and whipped double cream if you don't have any leftovers or fancy making the creme pat and ganache from scratch.

Raspberry + Vanilla Breakfast Muffins

Breakfast can be a tricky meal to keep interesting in our house thanks to always being in a rush and a fussy daughter who rejects my attempts at homemade porridge or scrambled eggs.  The usual options of buttered toast, plain bagels or Rice Krispies have been deemed 'boring' but I still want her to have a healthy start to the day (NOT chocolate croissants or Nutella toast as per her suggestions!)

These muffins are super healthy and filling with a secret protein rich ingredient, oats and only a small amount of sugar.  The recipe doesn't include eggs so can easily be made suitable for vegans.  I was expecting them to be a little dense as eggs are usually what give that fluffy muffiny texture but these were lovely and light thanks to that secret ingredient again......gram flour otherwise known as chickpea flour.  You wont find it in the baking aisle but it is stocked in the ethnic or special ingredients aisle in most large supermarkets.

Chickpeas in muffins sounds a bit gross but you honestly don't get any 'beany' taste from it at all.  It just gives a great lift to the batter, a lovely fluffy texture and also provides the protein hit that is often missing from breakfast muffins.  No 11am hunger pangs with these babies, the combination of gram flour and oats will keep you full right through til lunch!

1 cup oats

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup gram flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup milk / non dairy milk

1/2 cup melted butter (use margarine or oil for vegan option)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp vanilla extract (the kind with vanilla seeds if you can find it)

1 cup frozen raspberries

Makes 12 decent sized muffins

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  Line a 12 hole muffin tin with large paper baking cases.

Mix together the oats, flours, sugar, baking powder and bicarb in a large bowl.

Whisk together the milk, melted butter and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together lightly using a spatula.

Add the frozen raspberries and fold in very gently.  Don't over mix, the batter should be lumpy and slightly scary looking if you are used to beautiful smooth cake batter like I am!  Just trust it will all be okay once baked!

Scoop the batter into the cases and bake for 20 - 30 minutes until a skewer poked into the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

These muffins freeze beautifully, I popped all 12 into a large freezer bag and have been taking one out each night so it's defrosted by the morning.  They are also great to add to packed lunches!

Absent Blogger

I'm still here!!  Baking and blogging has been put on hold lately due to a fractured right foot.  Hobbling around on crutches and hot ovens are a bad combination!!  I'll be back on my feet and back to baking this weekend hopefully, I have a healthified muffin recipe I'm dying to try out and will be blogging the results (good or bad!)
xx

Cloud Cupcakes

I spotted these cute cupcakes on Pinterest a while ago and thought they'd be a perfect bake for summer with their pretty sky blue frosting and fluffy white clouds.  As the sun has FINALLY decided to make an appearance it was time to give them a go!

My little girl helped make the sponge batter which we flavoured with lots of vanilla as its her favourite but you could make it any flavour you like, I think lemon would be great to go with the summery theme.  It's just a basic 2 egg sponge mix so I won't type out the recipe or method.

The frosting is a vanilla buttercream tinted with blue gel colour (reserve some for the clouds before colouring!) and roughly swirled over the cakes.  The little clouds were done by my daughter using a piping bag fitted with a star tip and the reserved vanilla frosting.

The rainbows are cut from strips of 'Rainbow Belts' sweets.  We are lucky to have an amazing pick and mix shop on our doorstep which stocks all kinds of hard to find sweets so these were easy to find but you can always order them online.  They are simply cut into shorter lengths, bent slighly in the centre and then pushed into the buttercream clouds so they stay in place.

Lovely, summery, colourful cupcakes that taste as good as they look!

First ever successful MACARONS!!!! (Attempt no 7!)

At last I've managed to make something that resembles a proper macaron!!!!!  For some reason these little meringues have been my baking nemesis but with the help of a shiny new KitchenAid mixer I've almost cracked it.  These were by no means perfect, the shells were very irregular in size as I didn't use a template and some were underbaked but they tasted great nonetheless!

I used the Italian meringue method for these which involves heating a sugar syrup to 118 degrees and pouring it onto whisking egg whites.  The first time I did this the syrup solidified as soon as it hit the eggs leaving me with a great big lump of crystalised sugar and an unhappy sounding mixer.  Undeterred I boiled up a second sugar syrup, whisked fresh egg whites and all went well second time around.

I didn't flavour these shells and filled them with a simple white chocolate ganache leftover from the damask cake I made previously.  Next time I'm going to try chocolate shells with a hazlenut filling and maybe some lemon ones with a sharp lemon curd.  The shells are very sweet so I'm not keen on the idea of a sugary buttercream filling, I think you need something tangy to stop them becoming sickly,

I've heard the French meringue method is more reliable so I think I'll give it a go to compare next time too.  Be prepared for lots of macaron posts coming up!!!

Damask print White Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

I had a bit of spare time this week and decided to make a more elaborate cake than usual with a few decorative touches. Instead of going down the normal route of making sugarpaste decorations I made a damask printed joconde sponge which was wrapped around a white chocolate and raspberry cake.

Joconde sponge looks very complicated and tends to get responses of  "how did you do that????"  but the technique is actually quite simple and doesn't take very long although it does make quite a bit of washing up! It involves first making a thick coloured paste which creates the design and then a light sponge to hold it all together  For this design you will need a rose damask print stencil which I found in The Works for £1 but you can use any stencil you like or just pipe a design freehand if you're feeling creative!

The top of the cake looked quite plain so I piped on rose swirls using a Wilton 1M nozzle and white chocolate ganache.

For the Joconde Sponge - 

25g soft butter
25g icing sugar
25g egg white
30g plain flour
Gel food colouring

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Beat together the butter, icing sugar, egg white and flour til you have a smooth thick paste.  Add your chosen colour and mix in well.
Place your stencil onto the greaseproof paper and spread the mixture evenly over it.  An angled palette knife makes this easier but a regular one will also work. Peel off the stencil and  repeat until the greaseproof is covered in the design.  Place in the freezer for 15 minutes until firm while you make the sponge batter.

45g egg whites
10g caster sugar
60g ground almonds
2 eggs
60g icing sugar
20g plain flour
20g melted butter

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Whisk the egg whites and caster sugar to stiff peaks.
Whisk the almonds, icing sugar and 2 eggs til pale and fluffy.  Fold in the flour followed by the meringue.
Stir 1 tbsp of this mixture into the melted butter then fold it back into the batter.  Retrieve your baking tray from the freezer, pour the batter over the frozen design and spread evenly. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes then allow to cool on the tray.

For the Sponge ; 

225g soft unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
75g frozen raspberries

Line 2 x 20cm cake tins and reduce the oven to 180 degrees C.
Place all the ingredients except the raspberries into a stand mixer and beat until well combined.  Once you have a smooth mixture add the raspberries and mix lightly so they are just beginning to break up.  It is important to use frozen berries so they don't turn to mush.  Divide between the tins and bake for 25 minutes til golden and springy to the touch.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Ganache ;
200g white chocolate, broken into small pieces
175ml double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Heat the cream and vanilla until almost boiling.  Take off the heat and add the white chocolate. Leave to melt for 5 mins before gently stirring until smooth.  Cool to room temperature then whisk using an electric hand whisk until thickened and holding its shape.  Whisking the ganache makes it much lighter and easier to pipe.

To Assemble ; 

Place one cake on your serving plate.  Spread over a layer of ganache (you could use raspberry jam / curd if you prefer) then top with the second cake.

Flip the joconde sponge onto a large board and peel off the greaseproof, revealing the pattern! Trim the edges so they are perfectly straight then cut into long strips the same height as your cake.

Spread ganache or jam around the sides of the cake then wrap around the strips of joconde.  I used 2 whole strips then cut an extra piece to fill in the gap.  Try to match up the pattern as best you can.

Place the remaining ganache into a piping bag with a 1M nozzle and pipe roses over the top of the cake.  For an extra girly touch you could even sprinkle over some edible glitter,  I was making this cake for boys though so I left it off!

Tom and Jerry birthday cake

A few years ago I began decorating cakes aswell as baking them.  My first ever cake was the fairy toadstool from Debbie Browns' 50 Easy Party Cakes and since then I have made everything from a 3 tier Michael Jackson themed cake to a farmyard and most recently an Ipad!


This Tom and Jerry themed cake was made for a little boys' 6th birthday and involved lots of different techniques so I thought I would share some of them in this post rather than a recipe.

I started off by sketching a few designs and eventually settled on this 2 tier cake in bright primary colours with handmade Tom and Jerry figures sitting on top.

The figures needed time to dry so I began sculpting them about a week before I made the actual cake.  I add 1 tsp of Gum Tragacanth to 500g sugarpaste rather than buying super expensive flowerpaste and have found it works just as well.  I buy white sugarpaste and colour it myself as buying lots of different colours gets expensive and leftover paste doesn't keep well.  The only colours I buy ready are red and black as these are really difficult to make.  I also made the stars which explode from the cake on wires as these needed to dry too.  \If the sugarpaste is soft the wire will just tear through it!  Simply cut out stars from sugarpaste that has been pre mixed with gum tragacanth and rolled fairly thickly.  Dip the end of a thin piece of wire into edible glue and gently push into the bottom of the star ensuring it doesn't go all the way through.  Leave to dry for at least 24 hours.

The cake itself is a vanilla madeira with strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream.  As both tiers are round no carving was needed so I just levelled, filled and iced the cakes with a smooth coat of buttercream before chilling them overnight. The buttercream needs to be really firm so you can get a perfect flat surface on the cake. The next morning each tier got covered with sugarpaste and left until the evening when I finished the decorating.  I find this allows the sugarpaste to firm up so you don't get any dents or fingerprints in it.

To decorate the cake I cut large stars from yellow sugarpaste and stuck them evenly around the larger tier.  Each star was then topped with either a rice paper Tom and Jerry image or a blue sugarpaste 6.  The smaller yellow tier was decorated with a birthday message and more stars, blue this time.

To stack the cakes I placed the larger tier onto a covered cake board, attaching it using royal icing.  I then cut plastic dowels to the height of the cake and pushed 4 into the centre.  The second tier sits on top of the dowels so it doesn't crush the bottom cake.  I rolled the leftover sugarpaste into small balls and placed them around the bottom edges of the cakes in alternating colours to make a border.

Finally I stuck the Tom and Jerry figures onto the top using royal icing and inserted the star wires.  The only time consuming part of this cake was making the figures but you could always buy plastic ones to make life easier.  The rest of the decorating is fairly quick and easy yet looks super impressive!  I think it would be easy to adapt this design for any childs' birthday party by changing the colours and adding their favourite characters to the top!

Easter Malteser Bunny Cake!

As Easter is only a week away now I decided it was time to start making some Easter themed bakes!  I've seen so many ideas on other blogs I want to try, especially the adorable Creme Egg lambs from The Pink Whisk, sooooo cute!  Definitely going to be giving those a go with my daughter as we'll most likely be snowed in this weekend!

This is a very simple cake as the bunnies are shop bought (on offer at Tesco at the moment!)  and the cake batter is a 'one bowl, chuck it all in and whisk' recipe. It's also super quick to make and decorate but still looks impressive.

Personally I love layer cakes but  you could easily scale down the recipe and bake it as little cupcakes which would be even quicker.  This cake will serve 10 people generously and stay fresh for a good few days so it's a great one to bake for the upcoming bank holiday weekend if you'll have friends and family over.  Plus who doesn't love Malteser bunnies!!!!

For the Cake :
300g plain flour
225g caster sugar
60g cocoa powder
3 large eggs
200ml vegetable oil
200ml milk
50ml black coffee
tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp golden syrup
3 large eggs
1.5tsp bicarbonate of soda
1.5 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F.
Grease and line two 20cm round cake tins.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, bicarb and baking powder.  Make a well in the centre.
Crack the eggs into the well, followed by the oil, milk, coffee, vanilla and golden syrup.
Whisk together using an electric hand whisk until you have a shiny smooth batter.
Divide equally between the tins and bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the top springs back when pressed lightly.
Cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Malt Buttercream:
 60g soft unsalted butter
150g icing sugar
2 - 3 tbsp malt powder (Horlicks, Ovaltine, etc)
2 - 3 tbsp milk

Beat the butter and icing sugar together using a wooden spoon (this stops icing sugar flying everywhere and covering everything in your kitchen!)
Beat in the malt powder and enough milk to make a soft pipeable icing.  Use 2 tbsp malt powder for a subtle flavour or add the extra spoonful if you want it stronger.
Whisk the icing using an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy.  Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

To Assemble the Cake:
10 Malteser mini bunnies (2 packets)
Handful of Smarties (or Mini Eggs, jelly beans, etc

 Place 1 cake layer onto your cake stand / plate.
Pipe an even layer of buttercream on top going around the edge in a circle, the star tip gives a nice neat edge.
Place the second cake on top and pipe 10 stars around the edge.
 Pipe any remaining buttercream into the centre of the cake and spread out with the back of a spoon.  Sprinkle over the Smarties and top each star with a bunny, facing outwards.

Almond Macaroon Cake

This is another recipe from my absolute favourite book at the moment, Home Sweet Home by Hummingbird Bakery.  I followed the recipe exactly so I won't reprint it but I totally recommend everyone should rush out and buy this book if they haven't already!

  The only slight addition I made was to add the roses on top to use up some of the extra marzipan (and to disguise the cracked top!)  I've only ever made roses using sugarpaste before which is less sticky so these ended up very rustic looking and a bit chunky but prettied the cake up nonetheless.

This cake caught my eye as I've tried several times to make French macarons but have failed miserably every single time so far.  The almond macaroon topping on this cake has the same taste and chewy texture but is much easier and quicker to make.  Next time I think I would add some food colouring to the mixture before baking and also leave it in the tin longer to allow it to cool fully which would stop the top cracking so much.

I'm still determined to master proper macarons though so look out for them on here when I finally manage it!

Giant White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookies

My other half is a massive fan of Tesco Finest White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookies, often devouring all 5 in the packet before anyone else gets a look in!     In an attempt to recreate them i've tried several recipes but they've always come out slightly too dry and cakey or so underbaked they're raw in the middle .  With this recipe I've finally cracked it, these cookies are soft and chewy without that raw doughiness.  You can add whatever you like to the basic cookie dough, I'm going to try salted caramel and pecan nuts next!

For the Cookie Dough :
 125g soft butter
100g baking spread (I always use Stork)
100g caster sugar
125g brown sugar
200g condensed milk
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp strawberry flavouring (optional)
325g plain flour
15g cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
100g white chocolate, roughly chopped
75g raspberry dried fruit pieces (I used Fruit Flakes or you could also use raspberry flavoured cranberries although these are harder to find!)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F.
Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
Cream together the butter, baking spread and both types of sugar til just combined.  You don't need to beat in lots of air as you do when making a cake as these cookies don't need to rise, overbeating can give a more cakey texture rather than chewiness.
Beat in the condensed milk, vanilla extract and strawberry flavouring (if using) followed by the flour, cornflour and baking powder.
Gently fold in the white chocolate chunks and raspberry pieces so they are evenly distributed.
Divide the dough into 12 equal balls and place 6 on each baking sheet.  I used an ice cream scoop to do this as it makes it very easy to ensure each cookie is the same size.  You don't need to flatten them as they will spread during baking, just ensure they are spaced well apart.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until baked to your liking.  10 minutes gives very soft, doughy cookies.  15 minutes will give you much firmer cookies with crispy edges and just a little bit of chewiness in the centre.  My personal preference is 13 minutes, just cooked enough to not fall apart but still super gooey and yummy in the middle!
Allow the cookies to cool on the tray before removing by sliding a palette knife underneath them.
                                   

Mini Baker

Last week I saw a post on a lovely blog, The Pink Whisk featuring a recipe and tutorial for beautiful Mother's Day rose biscuits.  On Saturday morning myself and my little Ella decided to bake up a batch for her Nana as we knew she'd love them!  Ella made all the roses and leaves herself and was so proud giving them as a gift on Sunday.  They are a great way to make beautiful decorated biscuits that aren't too sweet as they aren't covered in lots of icing but still taste absolutely delicious.  We followed the recipe on Ruth's blog, except we added lemon flavouring instead of vanilla.
Ella enjoyed making these so much I think she will be coming up with lots of different designs in the future!

Custard Cream Cake

Can't decide between a slice of cake or a biscuit?  Try this!!

As a kid my favourite biscuits were always Custard Creams so when I saw the recipe for Custard Cream Cupcakes in the new Hummingbird Bakery cookbook 'Home Sweet Home' I was inspired to make this cake.  Most recipes use custard powder which I find gives a weird chalky flavour and texture that I really don't like.  This one however uses a creme pattissiere flavoured with vanilla pods so you don't get any of that nasty cornfloury-ness (yes it's a word!?!)
I have changed the recipe quite a bit but the original can be found in 'Home Sweet Home'. There are lots of stages but none of them take too long, the biscuits and creme pattissiere can be made a day in advance.

For the Biscuits:
100g soft unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
200g plain flour
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Beat the butter and sugar til combined then mix in the egg and vanilla paste.
Stir in the flour and cream of tartar to form a soft dough.  Wrap in clingfilm and chill for around 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C / 325 degrees F / Gas mark 3.
Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
Roll out the dough fairly thinly (3-4mm).  I always roll the dough out between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper or clingfilm to avoid it sticking without adding any extra flour as this can make the biscuits tough.  Cut out as many biscuits as you can, I used a 5cm round cutter but you can use whatever shape you prefer.  Keep re-rolling and cutting until all the dough is used up.
Transfer the biscuits to the lined trays and bake for 8-10 minutes til lightly golden at the edges.  If you have cut much larger biscuits they may take a little longer.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Vanilla Creme Patissiere:
120ml milk
100ml single cream
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
2 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
15g cornflour
15g plain flour

Heat the milk, cream and vanilla pod til boiling, do this slowly and stir regularly to avoid scorching.
Mix the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and flour to a smooth paste in a large bowl.  Add 1-2 tbsp of the hot milk if needed.
Remove the vanilla pod then pour the boiling milk mixture over the paste, whisking all the time then quickly pour back into the pan.
Keep whisking over a low heat until the mixture thickens, this should take 4-5 minutes.
Pour the thick custard into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to cool completely.

For the Cake:
225g soft butter / margarine
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F / Gas 4
Grease and line two 20cm round cake tins.
Whisk all the ingredients together using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer til pale and fluffy.
Divide equally between the tins and smooth the tops using a spatula.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown and springy to touch.  Cool on a wire rack.

For the Buttercream:

50g soft unsalted butter
150g icing sugar
2 tbsp vanilla creme patissiere
1 - 2 tbsp milk if needed.

Cream together the butter and icing sugar.  Beat in the creme patissiere and enough milk to get a smooth spreadable consistency.

To assemble:

Place one cake layer flat side up on your serving plate.  Spread over the vanilla creme patissiere then top with the second cake layer, flat side down.
Spread a small amount of buttercream over half the biscuits and sandwich with the other half.  Stick the biscuits around the edge of the cake using a tiny dab of buttercream.
Spread the remaining buttercream over the top of the cake and crumble over any extra biscuits (or just eat them yourself!)

Chocolate Coconut Cake for a Brand New Blog!

I've been reading other peoples' baking blogs for a while now and thought it was about time I started one of my own!  For my first ever blog post I made this Chocolate Coconut cake topped with homemade coconut sweets that taste an awful lot like a popular chocolate bar.....not naming any names of course!  The sweets are super quick and easy to make, I only made a small batch but you can easily multiply the recipe if you want more.  They'd make great gifts wrapped up in pretty jars or bags!

For the Chocolate Cake :

100g soft butter or margarine
200g caster sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
50g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
175g plain flour (or use self-raising and omit the baking powder)
120ml milk
40ml black coffee ( you can't taste the coffee it just makes the chocolate flavour stronger!)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degree F / gas 3.
Grease and line two 8in / 20cm round cake tins.
Cream together the butter and sugar for around 5 mins til pale and fluffy.  You can use a stand mixer if you're lucky enough to have one, an electric whisk or just a wooden spoon and lots of effort!
Add the eggs one at a time, whisking the mixture really  well in between additions to avoid curdling.
Sift together the cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and flour then whisk half into the butter, sugar and egg mixture.
Whisk in the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients followed lastly by the black coffee.
Use a spatula to divide the batter equally between the tins and bake for 20 - 25 mins til springy on top and cooked through.  Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack and peeling off the baking paper.  Cool completely while you make the sweets.

For the Coconut Sweets:

50g dessicated coconut plus extra for sprinkling
60g icing sugar
60g condensed milk
50g - 100g chocolate

Simply mix all the ingredients together until they form a thick dough.  You may need to add a little more coconut if the mix is too wet or condensed milk if it won't come together.
Sprinkle a little coconut over the base of a baking tray or square container (I used a little plastic tub as all my baking trays are too large) to stop the sweets sticking.
Place the dough into the tray and press down really well to ensure it holds together.   Leave to
set for 2-3 hours while your cake cools.
Once the coconut has set, tip it out of the container and cut into pieces (I got 12)
Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20 second bursts until smooth.  You can then either dip the sweets to completely coat them or just drizzle them like I did.  Leave to set while you make the coconut buttercream.

For the Buttercream:

75g  soft unsalted butter
175g icing sugar, sifted
50g dessicated coconut (you can add more or less depending on how coconutty you want it)
tbsp milk (if needed)

Beat the butter, sugar and coconut til fluffy and smooth.  Add the milk if needed to get a spreadable consistency.

To assemble the cake:

Place one of the cakes on your serving plate, flat side up.
Spread or pipe on the coconut buttercream.
Sandwich the second cake on top, flat side down 
Arrange the coconut sweets around the edge of the cake and drizzle over any leftover melted chocolate.  (If you  ate the leftovers  haven't got any left  just sprinkle with more coconut or dust with cocoa powder)

Thanks for reading, please leave me a comment if you try the recipe!
xxx