More cake today. This time with fruit which totally makes it healthy. And with big gooey pockets of custard which makes it more healthy. Custard’s good for you right? Lots of calcium, good for strong bones. Ahem. The idea for this cake has been kicking around for a while now going through various transformations in my head before it ever even hit the mixing bowl. The first seed of inspiration came from Dan Lepard’s Short and Sweet, an encyclopaedia of all things good, which has a recipe for apple and walnut cake dotted with custard. I pinched the custard element and reduced the sugar since his recipes always turn out too sweet for my tastes. The cake is a basic sponge made with both caster and soft brown sugar for a caramel depth and spiced with nutmeg, the traditional and perfect flavour pairing for creamy custard and a good match with plums. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Cake’ Category
Roasted plum and nutmeg custard cake
Posted in Baking, Cake, Dessert, Fruit, tagged Autumn, cake, custard, nutmeg, plum, roasted, spice, vanilla on November 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Whisky cake with chestnut and chocolate ganache
Posted in Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Party food, tagged Autumn, cake, chestnut, chocolate, Christmas, ganache, marron, orange, whisky on November 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Hip hip hooray! Today is T and Cake’s 2nd birthday! Wow, where have the last two years gone? So much has happened over that time and hopefully there are many more adventures to come. My new kitchen units have arrived (all 120 boxes) and hopefully I’ll soon be busy experimenting with new toys and fancy settings on the oven. I’ve also had the good fortune to get an allotment which will require rather a lot of heavy duty digging over winter but should provide some beautiful fresh ingredients come next summer. But what is a blog without people to read it? Here’s to you, kind readers. Thank you for stopping by, leaving comments and making this blog what it is. I’m sorry not to be able to share this birthday cake with you in person but we can celebrate in spirit. Cheers!
Tres leches cake
Posted in Baking, Cake, Dessert, Fruit, Mexican, Party food, tagged condensed milk, cream, fruit, Latin America, milk, rum, summer, tres leches on July 17, 2012| 3 Comments »
Tres leches cake is, so I hear, quite ubiquitous in Latin America and very popular in the US. It is also, apparently, quite the fashion in Albania. I’d love it to become more popular here in blighty since it’s pretty darn good cake. It is, essentially, a light-as-air sponge cake soaked in ‘three milks’: sticky, sweet condensed milk, evaporated milk and rich, fresh cream; and, if you like, a kick of rum. The sponge, being made of eggs whipped up to frothy peaks, is full of tiny bubbles which act as little pockets to hold the milks which means the cake is incredibly moist but not soggy. As you can probably imagine, for something soaked in condensed milk, this cake is quite sweet so it is just perfect topped with softly whipped cream and fresh summer berries which are tart enough to balance out the favours.
Tres leches cake makes a wonderful summer cake for a tea party or dinner; it’s so pretty decorated with a riot of red, pink and purple berries, simple and elegant at the same time. Once it’s been doused in milk, the cake goes in the fridge to chill so it’s cool and remarkably refreshing when served: not what your guest are expecting but a pleasant surprise. And that’s what I really love about tres leches – it’s not your everyday cake, it’s a bit of a surprise. Tell someone you’re serving them sponge cake soaked in milk and they’ll probably think you’re nuts (unless they’ve already been inducted into the tres leches club) but one bite in they’ll wonder how they’d gone so long without this cake in their lives.
Tres leches cake with berries
Adapted very slightly from Simon Rimmer on Saturday Kitchen
Serves 8
For the cake:
- 4 eggs, separated
- 150g sugar
- 200g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the milk sauce:
- 397ml condensed milk
- 350ml evaporated milk
- 200ml double cream
- 3 tbsp rum
For the topping:
- 150ml double cream
- fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, red currants, cherries)
First make the cake. Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease a 23cm square pan (but not one with a loose base! I used a pyrex dish).
In a spotlessly clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks, add 50g sugar and beat until stiff.
In another large bowl beat the yolks and remaining sugar until pale and fluffy. Sift over the flour and baking powder and fold in. Stir in the milk and vanilla.
Fold one-third of the egg whites into the yolk batter to loosen then gently fold in the rest of the whites. Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 30–40 minutes. The cake is ready when it’s golden and a skewer comes out clean.
While the cake is baking stir together the milk sauce ingredients.
As soon as the cake comes out the oven prick it all over with a fork and gradually pour over the majority of the sauce, about ¾. Allow to cool in the baking dish then chill.
Two hours before serving pour over the remaining sauce.
Just before serving turn the cake out and whip the 150ml cream to firm peaks. Spread the cream over the top of the cake and decorate with fresh berries.
Almond cake
Posted in Baking, Cake, Dessert, Freezer-friendly, Low effort, Packed lunch friendly, tagged almond, baking, butter, cake, Italian, polenta, simple, summer on July 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »
I like a fancy cake as much as the next person, probably more so. Crumbly tops, fruity fillings, chocolate, they all float my boat. But so do basic, unassuming cakes, ones that seem almost dull in their simplicity. In fact, the more simple the cake, the better it has to be; there are no whistles or bells or, you know, lashings of frosting, to hide behind. It doesn’t get much more easy than this one-step cake and, to my mind, it doesn’t get much better. (more…)
Apricot and ratafia cake
Posted in Baking, Cake, Dessert, Fruit, Packed lunch friendly, tagged almond, amaretti, apricot, baking, BBC Good Food, cake, coffee cake, ratafia on April 22, 2012| 1 Comment »
Hmm, for a blog with cake in the title it feels like it’s been a while since I posted a cake recipe. It’s been a whole seven weeks since the Portuguese orange cake and my afternoon mug of tea has been missing its usual partner in crime. I’m nibbling on the last slice of this most recent cake and sipping a giant mug of Yorkshire tea as I write and trying in vain not to get too many crumbs over the desk, the keyboard and myself. It’s not a massively crumbly cake, the moist apricots help hold things together but I’m genetically destined to be a messy eater, just ask my mother. As a child I had cake crumbs in my tummy button more often than not. (more…)
Tiffin with caramel, salt and marshmallows
Posted in British, Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Gifts, Low effort, tagged bunnies, caramel egg, chocolate, crackers, Easter, marshmallows, rocky road, salted caramel, tiffin on April 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Happy Easter!
Come Easter I suspect that many of us have a little bit of chocolate and other various goodies stashed away for the occasional treat (or all-out indulgence). In our house it usually gets scoffed pretty quickly but if you have any leftovers tiffin (or rocky road) is a fun way to use it up. Admittedly I went out and deliberately stocked up on tiffin ingredients but we are rather partial to a sweet treat round here and there’s been some very labour-intensive DIY (I have my very own mini-wrecking bar and hard hat!) going on over recent weekends that’s necessitated a few extra calories. (more…)
Portuguese orange cake
Posted in Baking, Cake, Dessert, Fruit, Portugese, Snacks, tagged baking, cake, David Leite, olive oil, orange, Portugese on March 1, 2012| 1 Comment »
I know I’m very late to the party in buying David Leite’s wonderful book The New Portuguese Table but better late than never eh? Since treating myself last month I’ve been working my way through some Portuguese delights such as a lighter version of mayonnaise flavoured with ginger and corriander and an unusual but delicious milk liqueur. We’ve been through quite a number of eggs, a lot of chorizo and dozens of oranges and enjoyed every recipe. Unfortunately for the UK cook, the recipes all use cups – not a problem if you have a set but it does create more washing up. I’ve been converting to grams as I go so the following recipe is scale-friendly. (more…)