Friday 27 April 2012

Chocolate Marmalade cake and my German Friendship cake


I was in the Lake District a few weeks back and tasted the loveliest chocolate orange cake in a little cafe. I asked the man in the cafe for the recipes and he informed me it was Nigella Lawsons Chocolate marmalade cake (although like mine, he had covered his cake in a chocolate orange ganache.)

So this week I found the recipe and decided it was time to recreate the tasty cake. The cake itself turned out nice, it tasted a lot better than it looked but that was my fault. It was lighter in colour and not as rich as I remember, I might add a little more chocolate last time although I think it doesn't need it with the chocolate Ganache. The cake sank a little in the middle (as had the man's in the cafe) so I might play around with the recipe a little to try and rectify this next time. Overall though it tasted great and the topping made it rich enough that you didn't need to much (but still had to much, in my case.) As I said it tasted better than it looked and this was my fault mainly because on removing it from the tin I managed to drop it on my chopping board so it was a little pieced together and flattened before i covered it. Any way, here it is:



And here's how it's made :

125g Unsalted butter
100g Dark chocolate
300g good quality orange marmalade
150g Caster Sugar
a pinch of salt
2 Large eggs
150g Self-rising flour

Melt the butter slowly in a saucepan. When it's almost melted, add chocolate pieces, stir and take off the heat. Stir with a wooden spoon, until chocolate has melted.
Add the marmalade, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir thoroughly (it's okay to leave small visible chunks of marmalade in the batter).
Add sifted flour, stir and pour into a buttered and floured 20-22 cm loose bottomed cake tin.
Bake at 180˚C oven for 45-50 minutes, until the cake has set. Leave to cool in the tin slightly then finish cooling on a wire rack.

To cover the cake I used

100ml Double Cream
180g  Dark Chocolate, chopped into chunks.
2-3 drops of orange essence
zest of orange (optional)

Warm the double cream gently in a pan with the orange extract and add the chocolate, stir until melted. 
Leave to cool slightly before spreading over the cake and then garnish with a little zest of orange and leave to set in the fridge.
Also this week I got to bake my German Sourdough friendship cake that I mentioned in my last blog. Before adding the remaining ingredients and baking I split the mixture into 4, gave one part to my sister, one to my Mum and one to a friend in work. They have started at step one and I followed the recipe on the instructions, adding a little extra here and there and an extra egg (so it was big enough to bake in my bunt tin rather than a tray)  and then it was done, and before I knew it it was gone! It was really tasty, I took half into work, which didn't last long and left the rest at home and that was gone almost half as quick. I will definitely be making another one of these in the future, maybe making my own starter mix so I can carry on baking them at will. Any way here it is:



The darker patches are where it was drizzled in melted butter and sugar, mmmmmmm.

Filled with apple and raisins.

Any way that's all for today, I have to go and make another cake now as it's my little brothers birthday tomorrow.

Cupcake Kris xxx

Sunday 15 April 2012

A Very Flowery Birthday Cake

Wow I can't believe I haven't blogged in nearly 3 weeks. It's not from the lack of baking either. I've been busy over Easter making creme egg Easter chicks for friends (featured in the last post) and a big Victoria sponge for a BBQ as well as numerous hot cross buns. I used the same recipe as last year, which can be found here. However some I just used mixed dried fruit for rather than cranberry and orange. I also used the dough for a bath of 12 and made a hot cross bun loaf instead. Unfortunately as my friends and family rather like hot cross buns they had all gone before I realised I hadn't even taken a picture.

I also had an order for a carrot cake for Easter Saturday, I used this recipe. However I did take a picture of one cake I made recently. I had an order for a 30th Birthday cake for a girl. I was told she liked flowers but not really pink and it had to have Happy 30th Emma on it and this is what I came up with: 






  


The base is a basic Victoria sponge base with vanilla butter cream in 3 layers. 

I was quite happy with it, however I still think I need quite a bit more practise on levelling and icing the cake, I could really do with some better equipment of taking a class but it's just finding the time. Plus I much prefer making smaller cakes or naked un iced cakes any way but that's more for home baking I suppose.  

Well no recipe for today as I haven't made anything I haven't posted before, I do currently have a German sourdough friendship cake in the process. I was given a starter and some instructions by a friend and everyday you stir the mixture, adding milk flour and sugar every few days and then after 10 days you split the mixture into 4, use a quarter to follow the recipe and make the cake and give the other 3 batches to friends with the instructions to start the process again. Its currently sitting on my worktop half way through the process, so I hope it's successful and that I manage to think of who to give the other 3 batches too. It's good the way it carries on, it's like the cake that never ends! 

Lastly I just want to point out I've now put a little search bar in the left hand corner of the screen so you can search previous recipes I have posted. 

Any way I will post a picture of my friendship cake when it's done until then 

bye for now 

Cupcake Kris xxx