How to Make Cakes

Carrot cake with maple buttercream

2013-05-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

I have previously posted a carrot cake recipe but came across this one recently and tried it with a maple syrup buttercream which I think worked really well so decided to post the new recipe and video.

The history of carrot cake dates back to the medieval period - from the 5th century to the 15th century. Carrots were used as a sweetener because other sweeteners were scarce at this time. According to 1NutritionFactsGuide.com, carrots contains more sugar than any other vegetables. Originally carrot puddings were more made but from the 1900's the concept of the carrot cake became more popular. During the Second World War when sugar was rationed the carrot cake grew in popularity. It was not until the 1960's that they became commonplace in the United States. Nowadays they are in all coffee shops and cafes.

To watch a video of me making the cake please click on the video below:

Equipment
Large mixing bowl
Electric mixer
Sieve
Measuring jug
square cake tin 8" by 8"

Carrot cake
150g (5 1/4 oz) dark muscavado sugar
175ml (6 fl oz) vegetable oil/sunflower oil
3 eggs
175g (6 oz) self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
175g (6 oz) grated carrots
100g (3 1/2 oz) sultanas

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350 fahrenheit or gas mark 4). First beat together the oil, eggs, sugar and beat well until all mixed. Add in the carrot and sultanas and mix together. Then add in the sieved flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together.

Pour the mixture into the baking tin. Bake in the centre of the oven (with the oven on a regular (not fan) setting) for about 40 to 45 minutes. Once cooked the cake should feel springy to the touch and a cake tester or tooth pick should come out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the tray and then cool on a wire rack. Leave to cool completely before adding the buttercream topping.

Maple buttercream frosting - see alternative cream cheese version below

350g (12 1/4 oz) icing sugar
175g (6oz) softened unsalted butter
3 tbsp maple syrup

Cream cheese alternative

350g (12 1/4 oz) icing sugar
100g (3 1/2 oz) cream cheese
75g (2 1/2 oz) softened unsalted butter
3 tbsp maple syrup

Sieve the icing sugar and beat in the butter (and cream cheese) and maple syrup with an electric beater (starting very slowly). It should be smooth and thick and creamy.

Using a palette knife spread the frosting over top of the cake. It should be a generous thick frosting making sure you spread it right to the edge of the cake.

Cut into squares.

Chocolate Victoria Sponge

2013-01-20T08:04:00.004-08:00

Following several email requests for a basic chocolate cake, I have modified my Victoria Sponge recipe to create a light chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream.

To watch a video of this cake being made please click on the image below:

Victoria Sponge Ingredients
285g butter or margarine (at room temperature)
285g caster sugar
240g self-raising flour
45g cocoa
2 teaspoons (12.5ml) baking powder
5 Eggs

Buttercream Ingredients
150g softened butter
300g icing sugar
40g cocoa
3 tablespoons (45ml) warm water

Equipment required
2 greased 8-inch (20cm) sandwich tins
Sieve
Large mixing bowl
Electric whisk

This cake uses the all in-in-one method so first sieve the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a large bowl and then add all the other ingredients into the bowl. Using an electric whisk beat the ingredients together, starting slowly then on medium speed until you get a smooth, creamy consistency. Ensure it is all mixed together.

Divide the mixture between the two sandwich tins and bake at 180 degrees centigrade (350 degrees fahrenheit) for 30-40 minutes. The cake should be springy to the touch. When cooked leave to cool for a few minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cakes are cool make the buttercream - first soften the butter by beating slowly and then gradually add the sieved icing sugar and cocoa and the water. Slowly beat together until smooth. If the buttercream is still thick then add a little more water.

Spread the buttercream on one half of the sponge and sandwich together. Sieve icing sugar and cocoa on top

Mini Victoria Sponges

2012-11-04T08:09:00.001-08:00

The Victoria Sponge recipe on my blog has been the most popular entry and so I thought i would share this recipe for mini versions of them. It makes a great change from cupcakes and everyone gets their own individual cake! In the 'Equipment required' section below I have also given a link to get the cake tin I used which is perfect for these.

Mini Victoria Sponges

Watch a video of how to make Mini Victoria Sponges:

Sponge Ingredients
180g self raising flour
180g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
180g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Equipment required
Large mixing bowl
Electric whisk
Deep bun tin (this one from Lakeland is perfect)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade on a conventional setting (170 fan)(350 fahrenheit or gas mark 4). First cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Then add the eggs one at a time and add a small amount of flour with the last egg to stop the mixture from curdling. Add the vanilla extract and stir in. Once all mixed, add the rest of the flour with the baking powder and salt (sieved) and fold in.

Put the mixture into the tin and fill about three-quarters full and bake for about 12-15 minutes. Leave them in the tin to cool and then take them out and put them on a wire rack to completely cool.

Buttercream filling
150g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
300g icing sugar
1 teaspoon valilla extract

Plus strawberry jam

Soften the butter first and then add the sifted icing sugar and vanilla essence and mix together slowly until fully mixed and creamy.

With the jam mix it in a bowl first to soften it to make it easier to spread.

Once the cakes are cooled cut them in half and spread jam on the top of the bottom sponge and some buttercream on the bottom of the top one and sandwich together. Sprinkle the top with icing sugar.

Madeira cake

2012-10-24T14:10:00.001-07:00

The Madeira cake dates back to an old english recipe in the 18th century. It is similar to an american pound cake or yellow cake. Many people mistakenly believe that this originates from the island of Madeira but in fact it got its name because it used to eaten with Madeira wine which was very popular in 18th century. It is now more often served as part of afternoon tea.

Watch a video of how to make this cake:

Ingredients

240g unsalted butter at room temperature

200g caster sugar
3 eggs
zest and juice of one lemon
220g self raising flour
80g plain flour

Equipment Required

large bowl

electric mixer

loaf tin
greaseproof paper

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade on a conventional setting (or 160 on a fan setting) (360 fahrenheit or gas mark 5). First cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the lemon zest and mix together. Then add the eggs one at a time and add a small amount of flour with each egg to stop the mixture form curdling. Once all mixed, add flour and mix together (ideally manually rather than using the mixer).Finally add the lemon juice. Spoon the mixture into the tin and then sprinkle a tablespoon of caster sugar on the top.

Bake for amount an hour until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin and then turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

Halloween Cupcakes

2012-10-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

As it is nearly halloween I thought I would add a recipe and a few ideas for some fun halloween cupcakes.

I have just given a basic recipe and some ideas for toppings but i am sure that you are more creative than me!

Halloween Cupcakes www.howtomakecakes.co.uk

Watch a video of how to make this cake and decorate them:

Ingredients for the cupcakes

120g unsalted butter at room temperature

400g caster sugar
360g plain flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
350ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the buttercream

100g unsalted butter at room temperature

200g icing sugar
2 tablespoons boiling water
food colouring as required

Other ingredients
fondant icing
piping icing
anything else you want to use to be creative!

Equipment Required

large bowl

electric mixer

cupcake cases

cupcake tin

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade (or 360 fahrenheit or gas mark 5). First mix together the butter, caster sugar, flour, salt and baking powder with an electric mixer until it is a breadcrumb type consistency. Add the eggs into the milk with the vanilla essence and lightly whisk together in a separate bowl. Add about three-quarters of this to the breadcrumb mixture and beat together and then add the rest of the milk mixture and mix until a smooth batter.

Put the cupcake cased into the bun tin and fill about two-thirds full with the mixture.

Bake in the oven for around 15-20 minutes (not on the fan setting) unit springy to the touch and starting to lightly brown.

Leave them to cool for a few minutes in the tin and then put on a cooling rack to cool completely before adding any topping.

To make the buttercream first beat the butter with an electric mixer to soften. Then add the icing sugar and boiling water and carefully mix together until creamy and smooth. Split between bowls to add different colours as required.

Please see the video for ideas of how to decorate using simple approaches that you can get the kids to help you with. The decoration approaches are:
(1) Creating a spiderweb with buttercream icing and piping icing.
(2) Using fondant icing to create words and pictures.
(3) Piping words onto the buttercream icing.

Sticky Toffee Squares

2012-08-26T09:42:00.001-07:00

These toffee squares are a 'traybake' with a nice sticky syrup on the top. the sponge is made with dates in which makes it moist and sticky.

Watch a video of how to make this cake:

Ingredients for the sponge

90g unsalted butter at room temperature

140g caster sugar
180g pitted dates, chopped
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
175ml boiling water
1 egg
180g self raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the toffee sauce

85g light soft brown sugar
40g butter
2 tablespoons of cream or full fat milk

Equipment Required

large bowl

electric whisk

sieve

saucepan

8-inch square tin

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (or 350 fahrenheit or gas mark 5). First put the dates, boiling water and bicarbonate of soda in a saucepan and gently heat for 5 minutes.

While that is cooking put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together using an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and add the cooked date mixture and beat beat together.

Sift the flour and fold this into the mixture so that it is totally absorbed. Pour into a greased 8inch by 8inch cake tin.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes (not on the fan setting) until the sponge is springy to the touch. Be careful to check after 30 minutes and not to overcook it.

When the cake is cooked make the toffee sauce. Put all the ingredients for the sauce into a saucepan and put on a low heat to melt. While this is happening prick the sponge with a fork or cake tester for the sauce to absorb in. Once the sauce is melted down pour it over the sponge so that it is evenly spread. Some will absorb in and some will sit on the top.

Leave it to cool in the tin and then cut into squares.

Cherry Madeleines

2012-03-03T09:33:00.001-08:00

Madeleines are made using a delicate Genoise sponge. This produces a light sponge which comes from the way the eggs and sugar are whisked together over a gentle heat. The sponge can collapse easily and to make it a little more robust, cornflour is added.

It is believed that Madeleines date back to the 18th century and that they originate from the Lorraine district of France. They are traditionally shell shaped and could be named after Madeleine Palmier who was pastry chef Louis XV's Father-in-law, Stanislaw Leszczynski, King of Poland and Duke of Lorraine.

Watch a video of how to make this cake:

Ingredients

65g unsalted butter

65g plain flour

1.5 teaspoons cornflour

2 eggs

65g caster sugar

0.5 tsp vanilla extract

30g glace cherries

Equipment Required

large bowl

electric whisk

sieve

saucepan

madeleines tin

First melt the butter in a small saucepan and leave to cool.

Then put the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl and place over a pan of simmering water. Whisk the mixture using an electric whisk until the mixture is thick, pale and has tripled in volume. It should leave a thick trail as it drops off the whisk. Remove from the heat and continue to whisk for another couple of minutes until the mixture is cool.

Sift the flours twice and then a third time into the mixture and gently fold it in using a 'figure of eight' movement. When it is nearly blended pour the cooled butter down one side of the bowl and blend it into the mixture. Then gently stir in the glace cherries.

Spoon the mixture gently into the holes of the tin and fill to the top and then bake at 190 degrees Celsius (375 Fahrenheit or Gas Mark 5) for 10 - 12 minutes. The cakes should be springy and golden.

Allow them to cool for a couple of minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Variations - rather than using glace cherries you could add a tablespoon of cocoa to make chocolate madeleines or add 20g of orange zest and a tablespoon or orange juice for orange madeleines.

Chocolate cake with fudgey chocolate buttercream

2012-02-19T09:58:00.046-08:00

I have had a chocolate cake recipe on here for a while but had not recorded a video. I got quite a few emails asking for a video so I have updated the recipe and recorded the video below. It is an easy all-in-one sponge mixture and the buttercream has melted chocolate in it which makes it really tasty and creamy and you don't get that bitter cocoa taste you get if you just make buttercream with icing sugar and cocoa.

Here is a video of how to make the cake

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

200g self raising flour
40g cocoa
1.5 tsp baking powder
200g light muscavado sugar
200g softened butter (at room temperature)
4 eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
60g dark chocolate

Equipment Required
Large bowl
Electric whisk
2 8" sandwich tins
sieve
bowl for meting chocolate
saucepan

Put the chocolate in a bowl that fits neatly on top of a saucepan of simmering water and melt the chocolate. While it is melting put everything else into a bowl and when the chocolate is melted add that too. Whisk everything together until it is smooth and combined. If the mixture still seems very stiff then add a couple of tablespoons of milk and whisk again.

Grease the sandwich tins (ideally put some greaseproof paper on the bottom) and then split the mixture between the two tins. Spread evenly but try not to really push the mixture down in the tin and it will make it less light and springy when it cooks. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (if you have a fan oven and can turn the fan off then do that - use the normal oven setting). It should take around 30 minutes to cook but check it after 25 and if it is springy then take it out. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then turn out in to a cake rack. Allow to cool completely before adding the buttercream.

Ingredients for chocolate buttercream

200g butter (softened)

200g icing sugar

200g dark chocolate

Equipment required

Large mixing bowl

Saucepan

Bowl for melting chocolate

Electric whisk or wooden spoon

Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water as you did for the cake. While it is melting whisk the butter for about 15 seconds and then add the icing sugar and whisk with the butter. Then add the chocolate and whisk again. The buttercream should look creamy and light.

Choose the sponge that has the flattest top and keep it to one side. Put half the buttercream on the other sponge (on the side that was the base) and then put the other one on top. Then carefully spread the rest of the buttercream on top of the other sponge trying not to move it around too much or putting too much pressure on the cake otherwise the buttercream in the middle will come out. You could add the buttercream to the top of the top sponge before sandwiching it on the other - you just have to be careful when picking it up to put it on top.

Christmas cake (with some added chocolate!) - Part 2 (marzipan and icing)

2011-12-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

Hopefully you have made my Christmas cake (with some chocolate added) and I will now explain how to marzipan and ice the cake.

I like to use royal icing as I think this is much nicer than fondant icing - it sets hard and has a much nicer meringue-like taste.

The traditional way to make royal icing is to use egg whites but some people are concerned about using raw eggs, and therefore meringue powder is a suitable substitute which is what I use on my cake. I have however included both recipes below.

To watch a video showing you to how to marzipan and ice the cake please watch the video below:

Equipment required

Electric mixer

Large bowl

First marzipan the cake. I have used ready rolled shop-bought marzipan but if you want to make your own marzipan you can see my recipe in my Battenburg cake recipe. Warm two tablespoons of apricot jam and then pass through a sieve. Brush this all over the top and sides of the cake and then put the marzipan on the top and carefully flatten around the sides. If you have an icing smoother use this to help smooth the marzipan and cut the marzipan where there are folds.

Royal icing using egg whites

2 egg whites

1tsp lemon juice

500g icing sugar

Mix the lemon juice with the egg whites in a large bowl and add a quarter of the icing sugar and mix well using an electric whisk or wooden spoon. Keep adding the rest of the icing sugar a quarter at a time and mix each time. The mixture will become thick and spreadable.

Royal icing using meringue powder

3 tablespoons meringue powder

500g icing sugar

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

120ml - 180ml warm water

Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl and mix in the meringue powder. Then mix the lemon juice and vanilla extract into the water and add most of the water to the icing sugar. Start mixing together with a spoon and then use an electric whisk to mix the icing for a fe minutes. The icing will become glossy and thick - so that if you turn the bowl upside down it won't fall out. Add more water is required.

As soon as the icing is mixed start by spreading it on the top of the cake with a pallette knife and then cover the sides until all the marzipan is completely covered and you have a nice thick layer of icing. You may want to smooth the icing completely or create a 'snowy' effect or pipe more icing.

Once covered leave to set - it will take a few days to completely harden and keep the cake is an airtight tin until Christmas!

Christmas cake (with some added chocolate!) part 1

2011-11-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Christmas Cake before decorating

Christmas Cake before Decorating

Although I like a traditional Christmas cake I decided to try a recipe adding some chocolate and not using too much alcohol. I think this has the right combination of tradition and some added flavours to make it a more modern cake. I will add a blog shortly on how to marzipan and ice the cake but this will show you who to make the fruit cake.
To watch a video showing you to how to make the cake please watch the video below:

Equipment required

8 inch deep cake tin
Greaseproof paper

Food processor
Large bowl

Christmas fruit cake

375g sultanas
200g currants
175g raisins
150g mixed peel
150g glace cherries
150ml brandy
350g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
200g dark chocolate

300g dark muscovado sugar

4 eggs
300g plain flour

2tsp mixed spice
1.5tsp cinnamon
zest of one lemon
juice of three lemons

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees centigrade (300 fahrenheit or gas mark 2) and line the deep cake tin with greaseproof paper with enough paper so that it stands above the side of the tin.

Put the chocolate in a bowl and put over a pan of simmering water in order to melt the chocolate.

While the chocolate is melting, beat together the butter and sugar on a high speed until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and beat together on a slow speed and then add the eggs one at a time. Before adding the final egg add one tablespoon of flour to stop the mixture from splitting. Once mixed together, sift and add the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon together with the lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix together until thoroughly mixed. If using a food processor remove the bowl and do the rest by hand. Add all the dried fruit, mixed peel and glace cherries and stir together.

When all mixed together pour the mixture into the deep cake tin. Make a small well in the middle of the cake to stop the centre rising and ensuring a flat top. Cover the top with a disc of greaseproof paper to stop the top from burning and cook for 3.5 to 4 hours. Test it is cooked by inserting a skewer or sharp knife that should come out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin and then turn out on to a wire reach to cool. Wrap in cling film or foil and keep in an airtight tin until ready to be decorated. Feed it once a week with a little brandy but putting small holes in the cake and pouring over a couple of teaspoons of brandy.

Click here to go to the posting on how to decorate this cake with marzipan and icing.

Devil's Food Cake

2011-10-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

Devil's food cake is apparently so named because it is the counterpart to the the other classic American Angel food cake which is a light vanilla sponge. This is a moist and light chocolate cake - very much like a red velvet cake but without the addition of the food colouring to make it red. It is covered in frosting whether this is chocolate or vanilla is up to your preference. The recipe here is for a typical American style frosting which is a light marshmallowy frosting.

To watch a video showing you to make the cake please click on the video below:

Equipment required

Three 8"sandwich tins Loaf tin

Food processor
Large bowl
Sugar thermometer (if available)

Devil's food cake

100g dark chocolate

175ml boiling water
175g unsalted butter (softened)

300g soft brown sugar

3 eggs
175ml soured cream

300g plain flour

1.5tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade (375 Fahrenheit or gas mark 5) and place some greaseproof paper on the bottom of the three sandwich tins lightly grease the rest of the tin.

First break the chocolate into small pieces and put into a saucepan with 175mil of boiling water. Put on a low hob to melt down. Once melted remove from the heat and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. Then add the eggs one at a time and mix together. Stir in the melted chocolate.

Separately, mix together the soured cream and vanilla extract. Also sift the flour flour and bicarbonate of soda together. To the mixture add the soured cream and flour in three batches alternately. Mix between each batch. When all mixed together the batter is complete and should be divided until the three tins. Don't worry that the mixture is quite runny.

Bake in the pre-heated oven (not on the fan setting) for 20-25 minutes. When cooked and springy to the touch cool briefly in the tin sand then turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Vanilla frosting
2 eggs whites
500g granulated sugar
300ml water
large pinch of cream of tartar

Put the sugar and water together into a saucepan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Whilst this is happening whisk the egg whites until you have stiff peaks.

Once the sugar has dissolved increase the heat. The sugar mixture has to get to 118 degrees Centigrade or 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Ideally use a sugar thermometer to check the temperature but if you do not have one boil it until it very slightly starts to darken in colour and drop a small amount of cold water into it and you should see it form a soft ball. Take the saucepan off the heat and add in a large pinch of cream of tartar and whisk until the mixture goes cloudy.

Pour the syrup into the whisked eggs and whisk continuously. Keep whisking until the frosting thickens and loses its shininess.

Spread a layer of the frosting on one of the cakes and sandwich another on top. Then repeat with the final sponge. Use the cake with the flattest top for the top sponge. Then cover the top and all of the sides in the frosting so that the cake is completely covered. You could decorate the top of the cake with chocolate curls or similar or just leave it as it is.

Although there is a lot of frosting, American frosting is much lighter than butter cream and so it doesn't seem too heavy at all.

Rocky Road

2011-07-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

As a change I thought I would make a chocolate treat that needs no baking. Rocky Road is a yummy chocolate, biscuit and marshmallow treat that is refrigerated. In the US it usually just contains chocolate, marshmallow and nuts. In Australia it tends to have chocolate, turkish delight, coconut and glace cherries whereas the UK version has chocolate, biscuits and marshmallow which is certainly the version I like. I also add sultanas for extra flavour and contrasting textures.

To watch a video showing you to make the cake please click here or click in the video below:

Equipment required

Baking tin or foil tray (approx 9" X 9")

Heavy based saucepan

Large bowl

Rocky Road

310g good quality dark chocolate

125g unsalted butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

200g rich tea biscuits

100g mini-marshmallows or marshmallows cut into small pieces

75g sultanas

icing sugar to sprinkle over the top

Put the butter, chocolate and golden syrup is a saucepan and melt on a low heat stirring often. While this is melting put the rich tea biscuits in a food bag and bash with a meat hammer or rolling pin to break into chunks. Do not bash it so much that it becomes crumbs as you want bite-size pieces of biscuits. Set aside the biscuits.

When the chocolate mixture has melted set aside about 100ml to use later.

Mix the biscuits, marshmallows and sultanas into the mixture so that all of it is coated with the chocolate. Tip into the baking tin which should be lightly greased. Press down firmly with a spoon so that it is flat and compact in the tin. Then pour over the melted chocolate mixture that you had set aside to cover any biscuits or marshmallow that shows at the top so that it is a fairly flat chocolate surface.

Put the tin in the fridge for at least two hours but overnight if you have time. When you take it out of the fridge cut it into squares in the tin and remove onto a plate. Then sprinkle a good covering of icing sugar over the top and they are ready to serve. If not serving immediately then keep in the fridge otherwise they will go soft.

Ginger loaf cake

2011-06-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

Having just returned from a cruise where crystallised ginger is served with petit fours because of its abilities to help with sea sickness, I decided to make a ginger cake. This recipe is for a ginger loaf cake. Although the cake can be eaten straight away it get a little stickier and nice a day or two after cooking.

To watch a video showing you to make the cake please click here or click in the video below:

Equipment required

Loaf tin (approx 16cm X 10cm X 8cm high)

Food processor
Large bowl

Ginger loaf cake

8 pieces of step ginger in syrup plus 4 tbsp syrup

150g butter

100g dark muscovado sugar

200g golden syrup

250g self-raising flour

2 eggs

200ml milk

1tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2tbsp light muscovado sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350 fahrenheit or gas mark 4) and place some greaseproof paper on the bottom of the loaf tin and lightly grease the rest of the tin.

Put the stem ginger and syrup in a food processor or a small electric chopper and pulse until roughly chopped. Once chopped place in a large bowl and set aside.

In the food processor put the butter, dark muscovado sugar and golden syrup and whizz the mixture together until pale and creamy. Then add the flour and cinnamon and ground ginger and whizz again. Then add the eggs and milk and give it a final whizz together.

Pour the mixture into the large bowl with the chopped up stem ginger and mix together and then pour into the pre-greased tin. Sprinkle the light muscovado sugar over the top and bake in the over for around 1 hour 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. After an hour check the cake and if the top is looking brown cover in with some foil for the remaining cooking time to stop the top from burning.

Once removed from the oven, leave it to cool completely in the tin and then turn out onto a wire rack. When cold sprinkle with icing sugar. If you can resist leave in a tin for a day as it goes stickier and yummier!

Fruit scones

2011-05-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Scones are traditionally connected with Scotland, Ireland and England, although no one knows for sure who did actually invent them. The The first known print reference, in 1513, is from a Scottish poet.

Originally, scones were made with oats, shaped into a large round, scored into four or six wedges (triangles) and griddle-baked over an open fire (later, a stovetop). With the advent of oven baking, the round of dough was cut into wedges and the scones were baked individually. Today’s scones traditionally made with wheat flour, sugar, baking powder or baking soda, butter, milk and eggs, and baked in the oven—both in the traditional wedge form and in round, square and diamond shapes.

freshly baked

freshly baked scones

perfect with jam and cream!

To watch an 8 minute video of how to make fruit scones you can see my video on YouTube click here or below:

Equipment required

Baking sheet

Large mixing bowl

Electric mixer

Sieve

Fruit scones

110g unsalted butter - at room temperature

450g plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
60g caster sugar
pinch salt

110g raisins
300ml whole milk

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350 fahrenheit or gas mark 4) and lightly grease a baking sheet.

First sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into pieces and rub into the dry ingredients. Then add in the sugar and sultanas and mix so they are evenly distributed. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in two-thirds of the milk. Combine initially with a knife and then use your hands to bring the mixture to a dough so that it cleans the sides of the bowl. Add as much of the remaining milk as is required.

Then put the dough on a floured board or work surface and carefully pat the dough down to about 2cm thick. Try not to put too much pressure on the dough and don't use a rolling pin as this will stop them from rising. Cut the scones using a cutter or upturned jam jar and place on the greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with beaten egg and a sprinkle a little caster sugar on the top.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly brown and the base has a 'hollow' sound when tapped.

When cooked cool on a wire rack - best eaten with jam and cream!

Battenburg cake

2011-03-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

The origin of the Battenburg cake is not clear but it is claimed that the cake was created in honour of the marriage of Queen Victoria's granddaughter to Price Louis of Battenburg. The four squares representing the four Battenburg princes.

To watch a 10 minute video of how to make the Battenburg cake you can see my video on YouTube click here for Part 1 and click here for Part 2, or below:

Equipment required

Battenburg tin or an 8" square tin

Large mixing bowl

Electric mixer

Sieve

Battenburg cake

175g golden caster sugar

175 unsalted butter - at room temperature

175g self-raising flour

3 eggs lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

drop of milk

few drops of pink food colouring

Apricot jam to stick the cake together

If you want a specific Battenburg tin go to the decuisine website which is where I got mine from. It has four sections for the pink and regular sponge. Otherwise use an 8" square tin and divide it in two with a thick piece of tin foil. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350 fahrenheit or gas mark 4).

First cream together the caster sugar and the butter until light and fluffy. Then add half of the lightly beaten eggs and mix well. Before adding the rest of the eggs add one tablespoon of flour to stop the mixture from curdling. Then add the remaining eggs and beat together. Sieve the flour into the mixture and fold in with a metal spoon or spatula. Measure an eggcup full of milk and add the vanilla extract and then add this to the mixture and stir in.

Then divide the mixture in two and in one bowl add some drops of pink food colouring until the mixture is a nice pink colour. You should now have equal amounts of pink and regular cake mixture. If you are using the Battenburg tin fill two sections with pink mixture and two with regular or if you are using a square tin with a divide put pink in one side and regular in the other and bake for 20-25 minutes until springy to the touch.

Once cooked allow to cool. Remove from the tin and if using the square tin cut each sponge in half so you have two pink sponge strips and two regular sponge strips.

Before making the marzipan (or using ready rolled) put the cake together. Put a few tablespoons of apricot jam in a bowl and mix vigorously so that it is smooth and spreadable. First take a pink strip and regular strip and brush one side with apricot jam and then stick the regular sponge to it to make the base. then put apricot jam on the top of both sponges and the inside of the other pink sponge. Place the pink sponge on top of the regular one and the regular one on the bottom pink one and stick them all together.

Marzipan

There is plenty of pre-made and even ready rolled marzipan available but it is simple to make and much tastier than factory made marzipan.

100g icing sugar

100 g caster sugar

200g ground almonds

1 egg plus one egg yolk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

few drops almond extract

Sieve the icing sugar and caster sugar into a large bowl and mix in the ground almonds. Then add in the remaining ingredients and mix all together until it all comes together and bowl is clean. Use your hands to mix it together.

Dust the work surface with icing sugar and then knead the marzipan for a few minutes until it feels smooth. The roll out until about 1 cm thick trying to ensure it doesn't stick to the work surface.

Then brush apricot jam in the middle of the marzipan the size of the cake and sit the cake on it. Brush the sides of the cake and top with the jam and then fold one side of the marzipan on the cake and then carefully do the other side so that it meets on the top (which will become the bottom). Cut any overlapping marzipan and crimp together so the join is less visible. Trim each end and then turn over so the join is on the bottom and you have one finished cake!

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

2011-02-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

The history of carrot cake dates back to the medieval period - from the 5th century to the 15th century. Carrots were used as a sweetener because other sweeteners were scarce at this time. According to 1NutritionFactsGuide.com, carrots contains more sugar than any other vegetables. Originally carrot puddings were more made but from the 1900's the concept of the carrot cake became more popular. During the Second World War when sugar was rationed the carrot cake grew in popularity. It was not until the 1960's that they became commonplace in the United States. Nowadays they are in all coffee shops and cafes.

To watch a 10 minute video of how to make my version of the carrot cake with a cream cheese topping you can see my video on YouTube click here, or below:

Equipment required
Greaseproof paper and a rectangular cake tin (approx 9" X 13")
Large mixing bowl
Electric mixer
Sieve
Measuring jug

Carrot cake
150g caster sugar
150g light brown sugar
300ml vegetable oil
4 eggs
225g plain flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
250g grated carrots
75g raisins

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350 fahrenheit or gas mark 4). First beat together the oil, eggs, sugars and beat well until all mixed. Then add in the sieved flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt and mix together. Finally stir in the carrots and raisins.

Pour the mixture into the baking tin which should have the based lined with greaseproof paper. Bake in the centre of the oven (with the oven on a regular (not fan) setting) for about 35 to 40 minutes. Once cooked the cake should feel springy to the touch and a cake tester or tooth pick should come out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the tray and then cool on a wire rack. Leave to cool completely before adding the cream cheese topping.

Cream cheese frosting

450g icing sugar
190g cream cheese
75g softened unsalted butter
2 tbsp maple syrup

Sieve the icing sugar and beat in the butter with an electric beater. Then add the cream cheese a bit at a time and beat together. Finally add in the maple syrup stir into the mixture. It should be smooth and thick and creamy.

Using a palette knife spread the frosting over top of the cake. It should be a generous thick frosting making sure you spread it right to the edge of the cake.

Cut into squares.

Chocolate whoopie pie with fluffy marshmallow filling

2011-02-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

The whoopie pie has its origins in the US in the 1920's. They are well known for being a staple element of the packed lunch of the Amish community in Pennsylvania for decades. No one seems to know why they are called 'whoopie pies' as they are certainly not a pie! It is basically two soft cookies (or really a cross between a cookie and a cake) sandwiched together with some icing or cream in the middle. There are loads of different variations of cookie and of filling but the recipe below is for a chocolate whoopie with a fluffy marshmallow filling.

Personally I love whoopie pies as it is a bit like having a mini cake just to yourself. The filling much lighter than buttercream and the cookies are like a light cake/cookie.

To watch a 10 minute video of how to make the whoopie pies and filling on YouTube click here, or below:

Equipment required
Greaseproof paper and a baking sheet or a whoopie pie tin
Large mixing bowl
Electric mixer
Sieve

Chocolate whoopie
200g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter

1 large egg

1tsp vanilla extract

125ml buttermilk
180g plain flour

90g cocoa

1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

0.5 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (350 fahrenheit or gas mark 4). First cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Then add the egg, the buttermilk and the vanilla extract and beat together - the mixture will be very runny at this stage.

In a separate bowl sieve together the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and add a pinch of salt. Mix together.

Then add half of the dry ingredients to the mixture and stir together. I find it easier to do this by hand as the mixture will become very thick. Once that is all mixed together add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix together again. This will become like a thick cookie dough mixture. Once it is all mixed together put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Once chilled, form the mixture into golfball sized piece and place on greaseproof paper on a baking tray, leaving enough room for them to expand when cooked. You can make them bigger or smaller as you wish but try and make them consistent sizes. With the above recipe I would normally make about 9 whoopies (so 18 'cookies').

Place in the oven and cook for around ten minutes. The whoopies should be soft but slowly spring back when pressed. Leave for a minute or two in the baking tray and then cool on a wire rack.

Fluffy marshmallow filling

3 egg whites

150g caster sugar

2-3 tbsp golden syrup

1tsp vanilla extract

Put all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water. With an electric whisk (or hand whisk, but this will take time) whisk everything together. The purpose of the heat is to help the sugar dissolve. After a while once the mixture starts to thicken you can remove the bowl from the heat and finish whisking until the mixture is thick and holds its shape - so if you tip the bowl up it does not move.

Dollop a generous spoonful of the filling onto the base of one of the whoopies and sandwich it together with another. Serve straight away.

Bakewell Tart

2009-11-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

The Bakewell tart is a traditional English dessert or cake that has developed from the Bakewell Pudding, although the modern tart is quite different form the original pudding. Bakewell is a small town in Derbyshire, England and local legend has it that it was eaten as far back as the 1500s at Haddon Hall. More popular belief is that the actual appearance of the Bakewell Pudding was 300 years later in the 19th century.

The Bakewell Pudding was first created in the 1860s when Bakewell's coaching inn was the White Horse. The White Horse was built in 1804 on the site of an earlier inn. Back in the coaching days it was the landlady of the White Horse, Mrs Greaves, who usually did the cooking but on the monumental day, when entertaining important guests, the task of making a strawberry tart was left to an inexperienced assistant. The egg and sugar were omitted while making the pastry. Then the jam was spread over the unusual pastry base, and the egg and sugar mixture was put on top and an extra (secret) ingredient was added. The customers liked this new sweet, and the rest is history.

Modern day Bakewell tart consists of a shortcust pastry base, spread with jam and covered with a sponge-like filling enriched with ground almonds (known as frangipane).

The thing I like about bakewell tart is that it makes a great warm dessert with cream or custard but is equally good as a nice slice of ‘cake’ with afternoon tea. My recipe is a combination of different recipes and techniques but I think makes the perfect Bakewell Tart.

To watch a 10 minute video of how to make the tart on YouTube click here, or on the blog posting:

Equipment required
Greased 10inch tart tin or flan dish
Large mixing bowl
Electric mixer (or wooden spoon and elbow grease!)
Sieve

Sweet Pastry
Buying ready-made pastry is perfectly acceptable these days (even Delia Smith says so in her book ‘How to cheat at cooking’). However if you want to make your own pastry here is a recipe for a nice dessert or sweet pastry:
125g unsalted butter
90g golden caster sugar (regular caster sugar is fine)
250g plain flour
1 egg

To make the pastry, sift the flour into a mixing bowl and stri in the sugar. Ten rub in the butter using the tips of your fingers. When the mixture resembles breadcrumbs add the lightly beten egg a bit at a time to bring it together to a smooth dough. It should leave the bowl clean but not be sticky. If you have added too much water then add a little more flour. Knead it for a couple of minutes and then leave it to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes in a polythene bag or cling film.

Once rested roll out the pastry so it is slightly bigger than the dish you are using. Carefully line the dish with the pastry ensuring there are no gaps. Overlap the edges by about 1 inch as the pastry will ‘shrink’ when it is cooked. ‘Blind-bake’ the pastry for about 20 minutes i.e fill the pastry case with baking beans if you have them and bake the pastry so that you do not end up with soggy pastry when the tart is cooked.

Once the pastry has been blind-baked take it out of the oven and leave it to cool (it is not essential it is completely cold before the next stage).

Filling

6oz (150g) caster sugar
6oz (150g) soft margarine
3 eggs
6oz (150g) self-raising flour
½ teaspoon almond essence
1 egg-cup milk
strawberry jam
20z (50g) grated marzipan

Cream the margarine and sugar together using a wooden spoon or electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat into the mixture. It is a good idea to add one tablespoon of flour before the last egg to stop the mixture separating. Mix the almond essence with the milk and beat in to the mixture. Then fold in (using a metal spoon with a figure of 8 movement) the remaining flour.

Mix a few tablespoons of jam in a bowl so that is becomes runny and then spread this on the pastry case. Cover the entire base. Then add the grated marzipan on top of the jam. It looks like you are adding cheese but don’t be put off!. Then spoon in the frangipane filling ensuring no jam or marzipan is visible. Add it carefully so that you so not mix the jam or marzipan into the mixture but it stays under the frangipane.

Bake in the oven at 200 Centigrade (400 Fahrenheit, gas mark 6) for 20 minutes and then turn it down to 180 centigrade (350 Fahrenheit, gas mark 40 for a further 15 minutes. The sponge should be firm but ounce back up when you press it. Some people like to add pastry to the top or even ice the tart but I think it is great as it is.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2009-10-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Watch a 10 minute video on how to make these cupcakes by clicking here to watch on YouTube or watch on the blog posting:

red velvet cupcakes

Red velvet cakes are an american tradition with cream cheese frosting. They were made famous in the film Steel Magnolias when they were featured as a wedding cake and are a very popular cake made by The Hummingbird Bakery. Below is a recipe for red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

cupcake

Ingredients
90g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
30g cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
40ml red food colouring
225g self-raising flour
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
165ml buttermilk

Equipment required
large mixing bowl
sieve
electric whisk
muffin cases
muffin tin

Beat the butter and sugar together using an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat together.
In a separate bowl mix together the cocoa, vanilla essence and food colouring. It does seem a lot of food colouring but dont worry about it! Mix them together so that it becomes a dark coloured paste. Add to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and beat together. Then add half of the buttermilk, beat together, add half the flour, beat together and then repeat this process. You will then just have the bicarbonate of soda left. Add this and beat slowly to start with and then increase the speed so that everything is mixed together and you should have a lovely deep red mixture.

Divide between the muffin cases - this recipe should make about 18 cupcakes. Fill the cases about 2/3 full. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for around 20 minutes on 170C or 325F or gas mark 3. The cakes should be springy to the touch when properly cooked. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Creamcheese frosting
Ingredients
200g cream cheese
75g unsalted butter, softened
450g icing sugar
1tbsp warm water
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat together the sugar and butter with the water. Then add all of the cream cheese and beat together until smooth and glossy. Add the vanilla essence and mix together. Using a spoon top the cupcakes with the frosting. A nice touch is to crumble one of the cupcakes and sprinkle a little of the crumbs on top of the cake for decoration.

Tips
Try and use a deep muffin tin if you have one - this keeps the cupcakes in shape in their muffin cases while cooking.
Don't be put off by the amount of food colouring that is required - it gives the cake the deep red colour.

Back to Basics - Victoria Sponge

2009-10-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

The most popular recipe on the blog so far is this traditional and evergreen classic for Victoria Sponge.

To watch a 10 minute video of how to make the cake on YouTube click here, or on the blog posting:

Victoria Sponge

The traditional British Victoria Sponge was named after Queen Victoria of England (1819 – 1901). One of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, is said to have been the creator of ‘teatime’. Because lunch was traditionally served at midday, the Duchess often became peckish about four o'clock in the afternoon.

The Duchess spent most summers at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. It became common practice for friends to join the Duchess for an additional afternoon meal in her rooms at Belvoir Castle. The menu consisted of small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets, and, of course, tea. This summer practice proved so popular, the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for “tea” The practice of inviting friends to come for tea in the afternoon was quickly picked up by other social hostesses.

Queen Victoria adopted the new craze for tea parties. By 1855, the Queen and her ladies were in formal dress for the afternoon teas. Rather than having lots of small individual cakes this simple large cake became on the Queen's favourites. After her husband, Prince Albert, died in 1861, Queen Victoria spent time in retreat at her residence Osborn House on the Isle of Wight. According to historians, it was here that the cake was named after her.

Today the Victoria Sponge is seen to be a simple basic cake to make. Traditional English fetes and Women’s Institutes often have a ‘bake-off’ for the best Victoria Sponge. I believe that a good Victoria Sponge is one of the best cakes but all too often they are not made well and is just a flat heavy sponge rather than the light and fluffy sponge that it should be, sandwiched together with strawberry or raspberry jam and buttercream. I have tried a number of recipes and have come up with the one I think works the best. It is a simple all-in-one recipe that uses a higher quantity of ingredients than most other recipes. With the right amount of baking powder you end up with a well-risen light sponge that looks great.

Victoria Sponge Ingredients
285g Self-raising flour
2.5 teaspoons (12.5ml) Baking powder
285g Margarine
285g Caster Sugar
5 Eggs
Raspberry or Strawberry Jam

Buttercream Ingredients
150g Softened Butter
340g Icing Sugar
3 tablespoons (45ml) Warm water

Equipment required
2 greased 8-inch sandwich tins
Sieve
Large mixing bowl
Electric whisk

Cake
- Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl
- Add all the other ingredients into the bowl
- Using an electric whisk beat the ingredients together, starting slowly then medium until you get a smooth, creamy consistency
- Divide the mixture between the two sandwich tins and bake at 170 degrees centigrade (340 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30-40 minutes. The cake should be springy to the touch.
- When cooked immediately turn out onto a wire rack.

Buttercream
- Soften the butter and beat until smooth
- Gradually add the icing sugar, beating well
- Add the water and beat until smooth

Spread some jam on one half of the sponge and buttercream on the other and sandwich together. Sieve icing sugar on top

Tips
My tips for a good Victoria Sponge are:
1) Use good quality 8-inch sandwich tins. Line them with greaseproof paper to avoid the cake sticking
2) If you have a fan oven, do not use the fan feature. Cakes cook much better on the traditional oven setting
3) Be careful not to use too much jam or buttercream otherwise the cake may slide apart when sandwiched together. Do however spread the jam and buttercream to the edge of the sponges as this will enhance the appearance of the cake
4) When turning out the cakes onto the wire rack, try turning one out onto a solid surface (like a chopping board) and then put it on the wire rack so that the top of the cake does not get the marks from the wire rack. This will make it look much better.

Victoria Sponge

Wedding cupcakes

2009-02-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

I recently made some cupcakes for a friend’s wedding. They wanted chocolate cupcakes with buttercream. I made the buttercream in both a cream and a green which matched the bridesmaids’ outfits. To add a bit of sparkle the cupcake cases were silver and I used silver chocolate beans also as well as white chocolate curls. As they wanted to cut a cake on the day I also made a chocolate cake which was covered in buttercream and then had white chocolate cigarellos round the outside.

Using the cake stand I have it all came together really well and with the flowers on top made a great centrepiece.

wedding cupcakes

wedding cupcakes 2

close up

top cake

It took a fair amount of research to find everything that was right for these cakes and I spent a while finding the right colouring to get the desired shade of green. A really good shop that I can recommend is Surbiton Sugarcraft. They have a small shop in Surbiton that has everything you can imagine for cake decorating and it can all be ordered online. I used the Sugarflaire colour powder to make the buttercream the desired colour. I wasn’t sure how well it would work initially as I have been used to using liquid colouring but it was great and really easy to use.

Double chocolate cupcakes - makes about 12

Ingredients
125 softened butter
125g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
90g self-raising flour
30g cocoa
100g milk chocolate drops

Equipment required

12-hole muffin tray
silver muffin cases
large mixing bowl
electric or hand whisk
sieve

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. It is better to use a regular setting rather than a fan setting.
Beat the butter and sugar together
Add eggs to the bowl and sift the flour and cocoa on top
Beat all together until smooth
Stir in the chocolate drops
Fill the cases about two-thirds full and bake for 12-15 minutes or until springy to the touch

Buttercream – enough for 12 cupcakes
175g butter softened
350g icing sugar
3tbsp boiling water
few drops of vanilla essence

Beat together the butter until soft and smooth
Add everything else and beat until smooth and pale in colour

Tips
For these cupcakes I then used an icing bag with a large nozzle and iced them using that. It gave a much more professional look and was quite quick to do once you get used to it.

To make a good buttercream it is also vital to ensure your have softened butter - so leave it out overnight in a cool room. the beat it on its own first before adding the other ingredients - this makes a really light and fluffy buttercream.

More Cupcakes!

2007-11-18T06:42:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked to make some cakes for another 40th birthday party. The idea was to have something that could create a centrepiece that guests would see when they arrive. We agreed that I would make some creative cupakes and use the 5-tier cake stand to present them on. Here are some photos of them

prepared at home

setting up at the party

chocolate and violet cakes and maple syrup and ginger

top layer had shards of rose flavoured chocolate

Basic Halloween Cakes

2007-10-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Halloween Sponge Cake

Another excuse to make some fun cakes has to be Halloween. There are only a couple of weeks until 31 October! I have made some Halloween cakes for a friends party previously and rather than create a big iced cake on the shape of a pumpkin (and let’s be honest we don’t really want to eat bright orange fondant icing!), I have used some basic recipes I have already talked about on my blog and decorated them with some Halloween decorations. It is surprising how just using some black and orange colours instantly make cakes look like Halloween cakes. Marks and Spencer sell some great jelly sweets with bats and spiders on which can be put on cakes and you can always pick up some good orange and black sprinkles from supermarkets and kitchen shops at this time of year.
Because I like to talk a bit about the history of cakes I thought I would add a bit to the blog about the history of Halloween.
Halloween
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter. Over time this has turned into the Halloween we know today where kids go ‘trick or treating’, pumpkins are turned into lanterns and everything becomes orange and black!

Here is a photo of a cake I have previously made for Halloween. It is basically the Victoria Sponge recipe below, but use Apricot jam in the middle to be more of a Halloween colour. On the top I then used a basic icing with some orange food colour and orange juice added to it. The recipe for the icing is:

2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
200g icing sugar, sifted
few drops food colouring

Put 2 tablespoons of orange juice into a bowl and gradually sift in the icing sugar, stirring as you go until smooth and spreadable. Add more orange juice of required. Add afew drops of food colouring until you get the desired colour. Decorate immediately with black and orange sprinkles and any other Halloween decorations you can get!

Halloween Cupcakes

You could also make some basic cupcakes with buttercream which again you could colour orange and add some fun decorations on.

Halloween Cupcakes

Basic Cupcake recipe
115g butter (at room temperature)
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
115g self-raising flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest of one orange (optional)

Buttercream recipe
150g softened butter
340g icing sugar
3 tablespoons (45ml) warm water
Few drops orange food colouring (black could be used for Halloween also)

Equipment required
1 12-hole muffin pan tray
muffin cases
sieve
large mixing bowl
electric whisk

• First preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 160 if it is fan assisted.
• Put the muffin cases in the muffin tray
• Beat the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy
• Beat in the eggs one at a time
• Sift in the flour and fold in by hand using a figure of eight movement
• Stir in the milk and orange zest (if used)
• The mixture should be a smooth, creamy, spoonable mixture.
• Spoon into muffin cases (fill them just over half-full) and bake for 15-20 minutes until firm and springy

Buttercream
• Soften the butter and beat until smooth
• Gradually add the icing sugar, beating well
• Add the water and beat until smooth
• Add a few drops of food colouring
• Spread generously the buttercream over each cake and decorate with sprinkles and Halloween treats!

Cupcakes

‘Flame’ Cupcakes

2007-08-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

You will see from the photos and posting below that I recently made some cupcakes for a friend’s 40th birthday party. As well as the chocolate cupcakes featured above I made some ‘flame cupcakes’ that I put on the top of the cakestand. These looked great and everyone asked me how I made them. As the creation was to replace an actual birthday cake, they had the appearance of flames on the top of the cakestand.

I used a maple cupcake sponge with maple syrup buttercream and then made the sugar flames for the top. This isn’t the easiest thing to do but with some patience and a lot of trial and error you can make some dramatic cakes.

The recipe and instructions are set out below. This will make 12 cupcakes. As to get some really good ones there is a bit of trial and error I suggest making all 12 even if you end up with only 4 or 5 really good flame cakes. The others are tasty even without the sugar shards:

Maple Cake Ingredients

60g butter, softened

150g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

110 g dark brown sugar

60ml maple syrup

2 eggs

Maple Buttercream Ingredients

90g butter, softened

160g icing sugar

3 teaspoons maple syrup

Sugar Flames

330g caster sugar

250ml water

Equipment required

1 12-hole muffin pan tray

muffin cases

large heavy based saucepan

sieve

large mixing bowl

electric whisk

• First preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 160 if it is fan assisted.

• Put the muffin cases in the muffin tray

Cakes

•Put butter, sieved flour and cinnamon, sugar, maple syrup and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on slow speed until all the ingredients are mixed together. Increase the speed until the mixture becomes paler.
• Divide the mixture amongst the 12 muffin cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cakes start to brown and are firm to the touch.

Buttercream

While the cakes are cooking you can make the buttercream but it shouldn’t be put on the cakes until they are cool (which won’t take long).

• Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl and beat in the softened butter and maple syrup. I find using a metal the spoon the easiest way to do this, pushing the butter against the bowl using the back of the spoon. Eventually it will all come together in a nice creamy buttercream.

• Using a teaspoon spread the buttercream generously on top of the cakes.

Sugar Flames

Now for the fun bit!
• Combine the sugar and water in a heavy based saucepan.

• Stir over the heat continuously until the sugar dissolves being careful that it does not boil.

• Once all the sugar has dissolved bring it to the boil. Then reduce the heat and leave the liquid to simmer.

• The liquid will start to become golden brown. This will take quite a while (maybe 20 minutes) but it must become this colour before making the flames. If you have a candy thermometer then the mixture should be between 138 degrees Celcius and 154 degrees Celsius. It is not essential to have one however as it is the colour that tells you it is ready to use.

• Remove from the heat and allow the bubbles to subside.

• I then use a granite worktop but you could just use greaseproof paper or a glass chopping board to make the shards. Dip a wooden spoon in the mixture and then drizzle it on to the granite worktop or greaseproof paper moving the wooden spoon back and forth. Here are some photos of the drizzled sugar.

• Allow the sugar to set at room temperature and then using a sharp knife or a metal spatula. It will break up so just keep lifting some off and you get some long strands. Arrange it on the cake with shorter shards at the back and longer ones at the front to give a dramatic effect.

Tips

My tips for these cakes would be:

• Make plenty of sugar shards and work then quickly. Drizzle the sugar syrup and then start to try and lift it fairly quickly to see if it is set. If it is left for too long it goes too brittle.

• Don’t make them more than a day ahead – the next day the sugar starts to melt a bit and they don’t look good. It is fine to make the morning of an afternoon or evening party.

• Place the shards firmly into the buttercream and the cake so that they don’t fall over.

Making the sugar flames

Cupcakes

2007-08-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes have been around since the end of the 19th century. I read on the Cupcakestakesthecake blog that their name actually derives from the introduction of the ‘cup’ measuring system rather than their shape. A great way to remember a recipe was one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour and four eggs plus one cup of milk and one spoonful of soda.

They have been popular in the US for a long time and more recently have become a bigger hit in the UK. The Magnolia Bakery opened its doors in New York in 1996 and its popularity has been growing ever since. It even got featured on Sex in the City and everyone who goes know that they will have to wait in line for at least 15 minutes to get buy some of their famous cupcakes. They even have their own cook book.

London has seen the opening of the Hummingbird Bakery, now with two bakeries – one in Notting Hill and one in South Kensington which specialises in American cakes with special emphasis on cupcakes.

Magnolia and Hummingbird both do basic vanilla and chocolate cakes with buttercream or cream-cheese toppings. These are good but there is a lot more than can be done with cupcakes to make them really special. It is becoming more popular to have cupcakes as wedding cakes rather than the traditional iced fruit cakes. With the right stands and some recipe imagination you can create some great spectacles. I was recently asked to make a cake for a 40th birthday and decided to make chocolate cupcakes with some ‘flame cupcakes’ on the top. By using a 4 tiered clear cake stand it was a great centrepiece and a great change from regular brightly coloured cupcakes or a traditional birthday cakes. Picture of the cakes can be found here. A full step-by-step recipe is also on this blog and I will add details about the ‘flame cupcakes’ shortly.