“Cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness! If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!”
C. JoyBell C.
Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes … charming little tea cakes and a nice departure from my recent adventures with bittersweet chocolate. These little babies came together thanks to all the yummy food gifts I get ever so often. I am eternally grateful for them, they offer a constant source of inspiration.
Finla sent me some marzipan when Haan was visiting India a while ago. She sent me sacks full of stuff actually. So much that I think of her every time I bake because there is always a connect at the baking level. I was also at the receiving end of loads of other baking ingredients that another visiting friend from the UK brought for me.
It’s a touching feeling, nice to be at the receiving end I mean. Growing up, being at ‘that‘ end wasn’t always nice. Now it’s all good! For the baker in me, it can’t get better than this.
Summer has arrived in North India with a vengeance. Not yet into May and we are already hitting the 40C mark. The promise of stone fruit, summer berries, litchis, mangoes and melons lures me, but there’s work to do. I need to get the perishables into the fridge. Can’t leave even chocolate out as ‘room temperature‘ is another story!
Everything melts … E V E R Y T H I N G! Even poor Coco looks like she will melt, eyes and all!
So as I sat settling stuff into my ‘baking fridge,‘ I found many yummy ingredients. So rather than settling stuff, I settled down to bake something I had bookmarked – A Lemon Marzipan Cake. It would need to go the lime way though, as we are not a ‘lemon country‘.
My penchant for mini servings and petite cakes cannot be understated. I reached out for my sweet little mini bundt cake tin that I had bought from Old Delhi in 2009. For some reason I didn’t use it until 2 weeks ago. That was the first time {post yet to see light of day} but I was smitten! A mini bundt tray is a brilliant idea.
I loved the Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes. The batter gave me a bakers dozen – 12 mini bundts and one a little bigger! The texture of the batter was interesting; almost thick and sticky. Must have been the golden syrup doing something in there. The consistency was somewhere in between a cake batter and a cookie batter! It did get me a little unsure but then again, it was ready to bake!
This is my first time using marzipan in a cake. It added delicious new dimensions to these petite cakes. The lime and marzipan paired beautifully, the glaze adding a nice touch to them. I like mini bundts because you have the choice of adding a teeny helping of fresh fruit, or a dessert sauce, or whipped cream, maybe even preserves. For food on the go, a picnic or snack box, they are good to go as is!
It’s always fun when the kids get back in from school. The first question always is – what did you do {as in make in food terms} today. All roads lead to the kitchen! From sudden peace and quiet, it’s always a burst of activity, dog happier than ever that the kids are finally home!
So I served them mini bundts with fresh fruit, strawberries and mulberries, and strawberry & mulberry smoothies on the side! Colourful, pretty and fun, I was glad I made these little bundts! Simple, ONE BOWL {yes indeed} and fuss free, it’s a great recipe to have on hand.
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Recipe: Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes
Summary: Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes … charming little cakes that seem perfect for a tea table, picnic, snack box or as a gift. Simple one bowl petite cakes that are fresh and exciting. A Tate & Lyle recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 12 mold mini bundt tray or line a 900g/2lb loaf tin.
Cut the marzipan into small pieces and toss in a teaspoon of the flour. {It’s easier to chop marzipan when it’s chilled}
Sift the remaining flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the butter, Tate & Lyle Fairtrade sugar, Lyle’s golden syrup, eggs, milk and lemon zest and beat together until well mixed and smooth. Fold in the marzipan bits gently.
Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the surface. Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes {or 40-45 minutes for the loaf tin} or until well risen and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Mix the lime juice and icing sugar together and stir until smooth, when the cake is cool drizzle over the top and leave to set.
Note: Serve with fresh seasonal fruit if you like.
“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.”
Ruth Stout
The Raspberry Pistachio Roulade captures the colours of spring nicely. It’s light, refreshing, moist and quick to make. Even better that you can make it ahead. I made it while experimenting with GF roulades. Made one with just almond meal and didn’t let it bake enough, so it stuck to just about everything in sight. I was really annoyed as I had baked in a hurry!
The word roulade originates from the French word “rouler” meaning “to roll”.
Sometimes you should just sit back and relax and bake with time on hand. Hurry does make curry and that’s just what happened. While the failed roll was baking, I got the filling together. The filling was finger licking good. {My earlier Gluten Free Strawberry Almond Roulade came out really well}
I did unroll the sticky roulade and dry bake it and served up some sort of Eton mess! Yet the filling played on my mind, so another normal Swiss roll was baked at leisure the next morning. The good thing was that the filling was ready!
So while the roll baked and then cooled, I spent the morning out with Coco in my little garden. While I was ‘shooting’ ladybirds, she stuck her nose into every tomato plant, tried to catch a butterfly or two, begged for a game of ball … she’s a little busy body!
I love this part of the year, spring as it should be, but a little muddled up. The weather really warmed up 2 weeks ago and we thought we’d skipped spring altogether.
Then some ‘western disturbances’ etc hit the area, some rain, scattered hail etc. It’s pretty much like Spring now. Whatever it is, it’s nice.
The plants are happy. Tomatoes are GROWING, Thai chilis’ full of flowers, eggplant and lime are in full bloom, and the kumquat tree laden again. The oregano sprigs have taken root and look quite happy, as does the mint. Dill and coriander play home to ladybirds and bees as the flowers on them bloom. Pretty all the way!
Pretty was the roulade too. Baked, rolled, cooled and ready to go, it got put together in a matter of minutes. I dressed it up with a little leftover cream and sprinkles prior to serving.
You could also use a berry preserve, maybe even a bitter marmalade. The filling was given a lift with some white baking chocolate that a friend sweetly sent, gifts like these a constant source of inspiration.
Pistachios went in for colour, and because I just love them! The good thing was that as the Raspberry Pistachio Roulade sat in clingwrap overnight, the cake and the pistachio nuts took in some moisture, the cake becoming beautifully moist. The nuts swelled up and added a nice texture to every bite.
You could just slather it with preserves and serve it for tea, fill it with whipped cream for a comforting dessert on the go, or give it an adult twist spiking the cream with your favourite liqueur. If you use kirsch, you could consider some balsamic cherries in the filling. Another good option might be Frangelico and Nutella, or maybe Kahlua and coffee cream. Let your imagination lead you.
The Raspberry Pistachio Roulade was plated on this classic white ceramic platter from one of my favourite online stores Urban Dazzle. It’s actually a snack platter that accommodates a dip or relish on the side quite nicely. I use it often, and this time it doubled up as a dessert tray! White always works!!
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Recipe: Raspberry Pistachio Roulade
Summary: The Raspberry Pistachio Roulade captures the colours of spring nicely. It’s light, refreshing, moist and quick to make. It’s a nice make ahead simple homey dessert. {serves 6-8}
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
Swiss Roll
3 eggs, separated
75g powdered sugar {50+25g}
50g plain flour
1 vanilla bean, scraped
Filling
150ml whipping cream
50g white baking chocolate
3-4 tbsp Castor sugar
30g shelled pistachios
75g raspberry fruit filling {or a fruit preserve}
Slivered pistachios and flower sprinkles for top
Method:
Swiss Roll
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a Swiss roll tin with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites with 25g sugar to stiff peaks. Reserve.
In another large bowl, beat the yolks with the remaining 50g sugar until thick and mousse like. Add the scraped vanilla bean and beat again.
Sift the flour over the yolk mixture and gently fold in.
Next gently fold in the beaten egg whites in 3 lots.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with sliced pistachio nuts if you like.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until light golden brown and firm to touch.
While this is baking, lay out a clean kitchen towel, bigger than the size of the tray, and sift sugar evenly over it.
Once the roll is baked {might look uneven but don’t worry. Mine was uneven, but came together quite fine}, overturn immediately {very carefully} onto the sugar sifted towel, and gently peel parchment off. Trim the edges if required.
Now roll with the towel lengthwise, and leave to cool completely. {The longer side will be the length of the roll}
Cream Filling
Place the white chocolate with 50ml cream in a heat proof bowl and run in microwave for 1 minute {until melted}. Stir until smooth, and then cool.
Beat the remaining 100ml cream and sugar until medium peaks form. Fold in the white chocolate mixture.
Assembling
Unroll the cooled cake, place on a sheet of parchment, and spread the raspberry fruit filling over it with an offset spatula.
Sprinkle over with chopped pistachios.
Sp
read the cream filling over it, leaving a little border right around to avoid the filling oozing out.
Now with the help of the parchment paper, roll it right back into a roll, pulling the paper slightly to make a tight roll.
Place seam down on clingwrap and chill for a couple of hours. {I left mine overnight}. Unwrap gently and lay seam side down on your serving platter.
Pipe over some left over cream filling, slivered pistachios and colourful sprinkles if you like.
Slice with a sharp serrated knife and serve! Happy SPRING!
“The beet is the melancholy vegetable, the one most willing to suffer. You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip…” Tom Robbins
A Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Peanut Butter Filling seemed the best way to hide my gardens bumper crop of this earthy red vegetable. Veggies in my cakes are not new. I’ve made a Chocolate Beetroot Cake in the past, as also Tartines Zucchini & Orange Marmalade Tea Cake, and a Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake. However, the kids have grown up and are pretty much smarter now. They instantly pick the veggies out. More often than never, the poor beet gets the boot.
Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!!
Beets in soup didn’t work; the son hated the red even as my heart sang at the colour. Beets in veggie juice was given a thumbs down … “Do you have to Mama?“. Even the roasted beet salad that I love, didn’t work. Beet greens though went down happily in these Lamb & Beet Green Calzones.
Getting the veggies down isn’t as much a battle any more actually. The daughter LOVES char-grilled broccoli. Pizzas are made with a mushroom sauce, topped with an abundance of balsamic roasted thinly sliced veggies – bell peppers, onions, zucchini eggplant. Chicken and mozzarella play saviour! No one ever figures out what lies beneath!
Funnily enough, I made an absolutely delicious carrot cake in the first week of March. I hadn’t seen the challenge then. The veggies in that case were also home grown and not hidden in the cake. That was the best carrot cake we’ve ever eaten!
Obviously I was in sixes and sevens as I bravely made a beetroot cake. The Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake wasn’t easy to ‘declare‘ and in many ways the fear was within me. I kept thinking of ways to make something good better!
The cake baked nicely in just under an hour. I contemplated filling and frosting, tossing peanut butter and chocolate in my head. Peanut butter frosting was new to me, but one suggested in the recipe. Chocolate ganache was safe, simple and always welcome.
I settled for both. Peanut butter frosting to sandwich the cake, and dark chocolate ganache for the top. It felt safe. I left a single slice for the lad, muttering that I made something in a hurry and he could have it if he wished. Came back to find both the slices on my cake platter which I had just set up for photographs gone! Crumbs!! He announced, “It was really good Mama. Was that peanut butter inside? Really nice cake!“
Day 2: “Is there any cake left Mama. Oh yum! It’s really nice you know. I never thought a peanut butter frosting would taste so nice”! Of course I contemplated {read forever} if I should let the beet cat out of the bag. Nah!! Decided against it. What they don’t know can’t hurt them, but the cake is going to be on the table often!
Do stop by here and check out some novel ways of hiding veggies in your baking the Daring Baker way! Thank you Ruth for the really novel challenge. Thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!!
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Recipe: Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Peanut Butter Filling
Summary: A Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake that is earthy, moist, dark and delicious. The peanut butter filling compliments the cake really well, and can be doubled if you wish to frost the top of the cake with it too. We did love the extra dark chocolate ganache lavished on top though! Minimally adapted from NZ Woman’s Weekly
1-2 tbsp chilled milk {if required for correct consistency}
Chocolate Ganache Topping
100g dark chocolate chips
100g low fat cream
1 tbsp honey
Grated chocolate for garnishing
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line the base and sides of a 7″ round baking tin.
Place the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract in a large bowl and whisk well with a balloon whisk.
Sift the dry ingredients together.
Mix the grated beetroot and chocolate chips.
Alternatively add the flour mix and grated beetroot in 3 lots.
Mix together lightly and place in the tin. Bake for an hour/ until a tester comes out clean.
Cool completely, then slice horizontally.
Peanut Butter Filling
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whip until smooth. Add a tbsp or two of chilled milk to correct the consistency if required.
Also, taste and adjust sweetness if required.
Sandwich the cake with the filling.
Chocolate Ganache Topping
Place the dark chocolate chips, cream and honey in a heat proof bowl. Microwave 1 minute at a time until the chocolate has melted, stirring well each time. Whisk until glossy and cool a little. Pour over the cake.
Pipe rosettes of any left over peanut butter frosting on the ganache once slightly set, grate chocolate over the top if you wish. Enjoy!
” Laughter is brightest where food is best.”
Irish Proverb.
Irish Creme Chocolate Cakes with an Irish Creme Caramel Sauce … there’s something incredibly infectious about the green posts that have been falling into my mailbox the past few days. Irish Soda bread, shepherds pie, Irish coffee shamrock cookies, chocolate stout cupcakes, beer battered broccoli, Irish floats, corned beef & cabbage. I had to join in!
Years ago, working for BA introduced us to St Patrick’s Day as we had a sizable Irish crew. The accents always stood out, charming as could be. In 2009, the Irish accent beat its French counterpart as the world’s sexiest, thanks to stars like Colin Farrell and James Nesbitt! How sweet was that.
Loads of green is sweeping the net for St Patricks Day. I had a bottle of homemade Irish creme in the fridge, one that I made a while ago when some liqueur inspiration hit me. I made some kumquat liqueur then too. It’s still sitting in some cool dark place!
Cleaning out the fridge rewarded me with a quarter jar of leftover Irish creme caramel sauce and some almond praline, all from a recent recipe shoot. With a few hours on hand yesterday, I thought I’d put the leftovers to good use. With time limited, I opted to use a recent flourless chocolate cake recipe just because it was in my head.
That Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Strawberry Mascarpone Gateau served asinspiration for these little cakes. Since I was experimenting with the basic recipe, I made a few changes, including a teeny bit of wholewheat flour to the batter. If you’d like to keep these gluten free, then by all means use the Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Strawberry Mascarpone Gateau recipe. For 6 small cakelets, just half portions of that recipe will do.
I did an espresso meringue topping, sprinkled over with crushed praline just because I enjoyed doing a meringue topping for the earlier cake. Gave me another chance to experiment. I love the play of textures and colours that different methods bring about. Besides, chocolate is always rewarding to play with!
My touch of Irish green come via mint leaves, and the cakes have the delicious Irish creme stamp all over it. I’ve kept the amounts minimum because of the kids. Feel free to pour another spoon in, or give the caramel a good helping of the same. For the Irish Creme Caramel Syrup, stir your desired amount {upto 1/4 cup} of Irish creme through your to-go recipe of caramel syrup just as you’ve finished making it.
What I loved about these most was the meringue topping studded with crunchy praline. That was literally the ‘icing on the cake’! Do make sure you don’t over bake the little cakes. We want them moist and soft. If they do get a little dry, brush them with a strong coffee solution.
If you are short on time, instead of sandwiching them, you could always serve these with single cream on the side. That would make for a quicker dessert as it’s pretty much together already. A dusting of cocoa, a little dressing up with chocolate shavings, a drizzle of caramel … all done!
Happy St Patrick’s Day to you dear readers.
I love the way food connects the entire globe in such delicious ways!
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Recipe: Irish Creme Chocolate Cakes with an Irish Creme Caramel Sauce
Summary: Irish Creme Chocolate Cakes to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. What’s not to love about these little rustic beauties!
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutesIngredients:
Dark Chocolate Cakes
4 eggs, separated
100g vanilla sugar, divided 75g + 25g
1 vanilla bean, scraped
125g dark chocolate, melted
1 tbsp Irish Cream {Baileys or homemade}
25g wholewheat flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp espresso powder
To finish
100ml low fat cream chilled
1 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp caramel syrup
1 tbsp Irish Cream {Baileys or homemade}
2 tbsp crushed praline {or chopped roasted nuts}
Method:
Dark chocolate cakes
Preheat the oven to 180C. Oil 6 X 3″ dessert rings and secure the bases with foil.
In a large clean bowl whip the 4 egg whites with 25g sugar until stiff, reserve.
In another large bowl, beat the 4 yolks with 75g sugar until pale, creamy and mousse like, 5-7 minutes on high speed.
Beat in the vanilla bean.
Sift the wholewheat, baking powder and salt over the yolk mixture, and fold in gently.
Gently whisk in the Irish cream and melted chocolate.
Reserve about 1 cup beaten whites, and fold the remaining whites into the batter.
Divide between rings and bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile beat the reserved white with 1 tbsp sugar and the espresso powder until stiff. Transfer to piping bag.
Remove half baked cakes from over, gently pipe over a swirl onto each cakelet, sprinkle over with crushed praline.
Continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes, until done. Cool completely in rings.
Assemble
Run a butter knife around the edges to loosed the cooled cakes and demold. Slice each horizontally into two. Keep the pairs together.
Whip the chilled cream with powdered sugar until medium stiff. Sandwich the cakes with the cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup. Top with the meringue halves, and drizzle with a little caramel syrup.
“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”
Ernestine Ulmer
Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas! They weren’t for V Day; coincidentally just got made the same day. Himanshu messaged early in the morning on FB and we began discussing feet, macarons, failed feet, Mactweets and what not. I had a batch of egg whites in the freezer. The egg whites ex the Kumquat & Strawberry Tiramisu Charlotte were frozen for tempting times like this. I had some more frozen ex a batch of lime curd I had made for a recipe feature in Good Housekeeping. Egg whites are sweet creatures, maintenance free, and ever obliging. Happy to be frozen, and equally happy to defrost! I got mac-nostalgic and brought them down. Then the day got real, took on proportions that were very macaron unfriendly…I almost convinced myself to make macarons with the whites, the only problem with the beauties is the high risk of failure. That day had already had a tiring beginning. I was in no mood to punish myself. Besides, I find macarons really pretty to look at but sometimes too sweet to eat. Is it only me? Anyone else?I’ve had Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas on my mind for long! I’ve made others before – Tropical Fruit Pavlovaand Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse, Brandied Cherries and Peaches. However, the doublechocolate ones atWhat Katie Atedance in my head almost every time I see strawberries! Must be something about the V Day over-hype but the passionate red strawberries did shout out to me. India isn’t raspberry country yet something tells me that in the years to come, raspberries and blueberry punnets might flood the market. There was a time when we used to crave good fresh strawberries. Now we are spoilt for choice twice or thrice a year!I made Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas instead. There’s no recipe for chocolate pavlova that is as often used as Nigellas, and I found it a couple of years ago at WKA! If you want to indulge yourself in goodness and spoil yourself silly, look no further …
The Domestic Goddess does it the best, and in indulgent style. Pavlovas are pretty simple creatures. A few basics under your belt and you can churn them out with your eyes shut. Do read Katies post for some pearls of pav wisdom!
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Recipe: Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas
Summary: The crisp exterior of meringues, the marshallow gooeyness of chocolate within make these Double Chocolate Strawberry Pavlovas a combination made in heaven. Dark chocolate, whipped cream and balsamic strawberries offer a stunning passionate dessert! Adapted minimally from Nigella.com via What Katie Ate
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes plus cooling time Ingredients:
Double Chocolate Meringues/Pavlovas
6 egg whites
300g raw sugar {or Castor sugar}
3tbsp good quality cocoa powder
1 tbsp good balsamic vinegar
50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces
Topping
3 punnets of fresh strawberries
2 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
45g brown sugar
1 tbsp Grand Marnier {optional}
500ml whipping cream, whipped and sweetened with a 1 tbsp of raw/Castor sugar
Dark chocolate
Method:
Double Chocolate Meringues/Pavlovas
Preheat oven to 180˚C
Place egg whites in the bowl of a mixer and whisk until soft peaks form.
Using a tablespoon at a time, add sugar into egg white mixture and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff and glossy. Be careful not to over-beat as it can start to separate. The mixture is ready once it forms stiff, glossy peaks and you can hold the bowl upside down without any of it falling out.
Sift in the cocoa powder, add the vinegar and chopped up chocolate, using a large spoon slowly and carefully fold these into the egg white and sugar mixture until fully combined. It will be a light brown colour.
Line 2 large, flat oven trays with baking parchment.
Place a 9″ or 10″ dinnerplate on the middle of each tray and draw firmly around the edge with a pencil or pen to form a circle to help keep both pavlovas the same size. Flip the paper over so the ink/pencil lead is touching the tray side as opposed to the pavlova side, you’ll still be able to see the line through the paper. {I made smaller pavs}
Load up each circle with the mixture, smoothing it out to the edge of the line you have just drawn, try to divide the mix equally so both have same volume of mix. A pavlova is not supposed to look perfect so feel free to form a few points and peaks if you want, when cooked they’ll crisp up and add a bit more interest visually.
Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to 140˚C. Bake for 1hr to 1hr15mins. Do not open the oven door whilst the pavlova is baking.
The pavlova is cooked when it looks crisp at the edges which will have started to crack slightly. The top will be dry but if you press on the underside it’ll give a little as the centre should be still a little squishy/soft. Place the pavlova back in the oven and leave the door slightly ajar, leave the pavlovato cool completely inside.
Balsamic Strawberries
Place strawberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan, and simmer till the strawberries become a little squishy yet still retain their shape somewhat. Strain the mixture and reserve the strawberries in a bowl. Return the liquid to the pan and reduce it to a thick sauce. Pour over the strawberries and cool completely. Stir through the Grand Marnier if desired or zest of 1 orange. It becomes thick and jam-like. Cool completely.
Assemble
When the pavlovas are completely cool, place one disc on a serving platter or cake stand and spoon a big wallop of cream on top followed by half the balsamic strawberries, and then place the second meringue disc on top. Again pile on a good amount of cream and the remainder of the balsamic strawberries Grate some dark chocolate over and serve immediately.
“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
Hans Christian Andersen
A Tea Rose Fondant Cake … inspired completely by Peggy Porschens‘Pretty Party Cakes’. I have had this stunning book by this very talented sugar craft artisit for years. It sits by my bedside and provides infinite hours of eye candy. I didn’t once think I could attempt her beautiful work; until yesterday …
I have long delayed making sugar paste at home. LONG! The one day I saw a fondant cake at The Great Cookaroo, sometime late last year, and I knew she had beaten me to it. Bah humbug! It still seemed pretty formidable to me, even though Ruchiraconvinced me it was quite easy. She made her fondant out of marshmallows.
Sugar Paste icing is a very sweet edible sugar dough usually made from sugar and glucose. It is sometimes referred to as fondant or sugar gum or gum paste. It can be used to cover cakes, mould features and create decorations for cakes and many other uses.
Then a few days ago I met a very talented Amrita at I Bake who commercially does cakes with fondant. She convinced me it was really easy to make at home. The sweet girl even offered to send a batch home for me to work with. Enough! It was time to give fondant from scratch a shot, and was promptly entered as a new year resolution; rather an update of one which has been long postponed.
Seems like flowers are ‘in season’!! A few days ago, I was asked if I’d like to host a floral giveaway for readers of PAB from the beautiful Serenata Flowers in the UK. Serenata Flowers is a gift shop where other then flowers, you can find chocolates and wine too. They are hosting a giveaway well in time for Valentines day.
The prize is a £30 voucher at Serenata Flowers, that should give the winner the chance to choose a nice gift. Delivery would only be to an address in mainland UK , the winner may live outside UK though. All you need to do is visit the site and leave a comment saying which bouquet you like best. The contest is on until the 31st of Jan, 2013, and the winner will be announced thereafter.
It was time to pair real flowers with edible ones, and also time to ‘fondant or sugar paste’! This was my first attempt at working with fondant and I have to say I loved it! The end result wasn’t perfect, creases that peeped through, yet it took me back many years. Back to those play dough times, flowers, leaves, roses …
I loved using the leftover bits to cut out ribbons etc. Later thought I could have done bees and butterflies too. Maybe the next time I feel so inspired, now that I can ‘do it’!! Fondant is therapeutic; makes you rediscover the inner child in you!
See the ‘cake’ platter? I have to confess that it’s actually a salad plate from Urban Dazzle. It’s a classic white, round platter. The interesting bit is the offset centre which gives you a slight forward tilt. It’s a great aesthetic platter to have, and happily one that doubled up as a cake plate as in this case.
Cookies, finger foods, cupcakes, fruit, candy seem like some other fun uses. Until I do salads in it, I’m enjoying its versatility! This Tea Rose Fondant Cake was the best baking beginning to my new year. I love you fondant!!
I learnt something else. Kids never grow up! You should have seen their eyes light up when they saw all that sugary sweet prettiness! I thought they were both way beyond it. Pictures of the cake furiously ‘WhatsApped‘, the urgency to have dinner done, the impatience to cut a slice, the happiness at devouring the cake {the vanilla buttermilk pound cake is wonderful on it’s own}… so worth the effort!
If you don’t want too much sugar overload you could always just do a 1 egg mini cake. The little one came away neatly and looked sweet on it’s own. The fondant recipe is minimally adapted from ‘Essential Guide to Cake Decorating’ by Alex Barker, which the kids gave me us on our anniversary 4 years ago. This was my first foray into the book … and I loved it!
So go on guys. Spread out some fondant if you are so inclined. Otherwise send someone you love a beautiful bunch of flowers from Serenata Flowers. Share some joy!!
[print_this]Recipe: Sugar Paste/ Fondant
Summary: A simple fondant recipe that was silky smooth and fun to use. minimally adapted from ‘Essential Guide to Cake Decorating’ by Alex Barker
Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Ingredients:
3 tbsp liquid glucose, warmed {I used Solar, an Indian brand}
1 egg white {or 20g egg white powder reconstituted according to maunfacturer instructions}
400g icing sugar
Method:
Place egg white in a large bowl, whip lightly with fork and then then stir in the liquid glucose. {It tends to harden very fast in winter}
Add the icing sugar bit by bit and gradually work in with a wooden spoon until it begins to form a paste. Gently knead into a ball.
On a very clean surface, knead it until smooth and pliable. Wrap with cling-wrap if not using immediately.
To colour, take small portions, or as required, ans knead in a few drops of the colour as desired. Keep the remaining fondant wrapped in clingwrap at all times.
On a very clean surface dusted with icing sugar, roll out the fondant quite thin. Then cut into shapes with plunger cutters or hand make roses.
I fastened the flowers etc with egg white, though the book says to use royal icing.
Recipe: Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Pound Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
Summary: A lighter version of the classic pound cake, the Tea Rose Fondant Cake is sandwiched with a light confetti buttercream, and makes a delicious base for the fondant art.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes {including cooling time, and time to make fondant decorations etc} Ingredients:
Vanilla Pound Cake
240g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
150g unsalted butter, room temperature
275g vanilla sugar
3 eggs
130ml buttermilk {or substitute recipe below}
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
To make buttermilk substitute
Take 130ml milk at room temp; add 1 tsp white vinegar. Let it stand 5-10 minutes. When it curdles, it’s ready.
Vanilla buttercream
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
225g icing sugar
50g low fat cream
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
2 tbsp rainbow confetti {optional}
Royal icing or egg white to secure fondant flowers etc onto cake.
Method:
Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cake
Grease and flour the sides of a 7″ ring tin, or a 4″ round tin. Line the bottoms and sides with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Reserve.
Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and scraped vanilla bean.
With beater on low add the flour and buttermilk alternately in three lots.
Divide the batter between the two tins.
Bake for 50-60 minutes till golden brown on top, and the tester comes out clean. {The smaller cake will get baked in 35-40 minutes}
Cool completely, then slice into two horizontally.
Vanilla butter-cream
Beat the butter, vanilla bean and icing sugar until smooth and fluffy.
Gradually add the low fat cream and whip to desired consistency.
You can add more {or less} depending on how stiff you want the butter-cream.
Assembling
Sandwich the cakes with a light spread of butter-cream with the confetti stirred in.
Give both cakes a thin coat of butter-cream to provide a base for the fondant.
Note: Use squeaky clean hands, counter, rolling pin etc when handling sugar paste/fondant as it is white and shows impurities very easily.
Take about 1/3rd of the fondant {If it is too hard, then briefly, heat it in the microwave wrapped in cling-wrap for 10 seconds. {Keep the remaining fondant well wrapped else it will dry out.}
Sprinkle the work surface with icing sugar, and roll the fondant out thin. {I kept it quite thin to keep the sugar intake a little lower}.
Gently transfer it onto the 7″ cake and press into place. I got a few creases but covered most up with flowers and leaves. Handle gently or it will tear. Trim the edges around the base.
Take 1/2 the remaining fondant and repeat with the smaller cake.
Place the smaller cake on top of the bigger one.
Take bits of fondant, one bit at a time, and colour them with liquid colour as desired. Using plunger cutters or your hands, make flowers, leaves, roses etc as desired.
Roll any remaining scraps and using a fluted or plain pastry cutter cut out ribbons to cover up the bottoms edges.
Use either royal icing or egg white to stick the sugar paste flowers, leaves or ribbons onto the cake.
Note: I used the microwave {10 seconds, high} quite often as the fondant kept getting hard as the weather was freezing cold at 6C.
