Coral Anniversary Cake

Last week my parents celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary. 35 years! Isn't that incredible?

The traditional gift for 35 years is coral. Now, not only do you not want to go around giving actual coral (I won't get my science hat on but read here for more) but it's also fairly difficult to incorporate a coral theme into cake. All I could think of was Finding Nemo, which would have been a bit lost on my parents I think, so instead I decided to go for coral coloured flowers, nice and simple (theoretically).

The whole thing turned into a bit of a farce. I made the cakes in Edinburgh and then took them all the way home to near Liverpool. I made the icing for the layers and crumb coat the evening I got home but then had to hide the icing and the cakes in my room because my parents got home from work too early I recommend you don't try sleeping with a tub of icing in the room. The temptation is so great.

I then spent the next morning manically layering and crumb coating, whipping up the main icing, icing with a "rustic" style because if I'm honest there was no time for anything else, and then painstakingly making tiny little fondant flowers for to decorate. All done hidden in the conservatory in case someone came home early. I finished by the skin of my teeth, and I was quite happy with it. I'd intended on a super smooth icing which would have suited the fondant flowers more - the rustic look would have been better with real flowers. But time got the better of me so no super smooth icing. Stupidly, I could have saved myself a lot of time by just going to buy buy some fresh flowers. Oh hindsight.

So lesson of the blogpost - be prepared!

I used the following recipes:

• Double the sponge recipe from this Raspberri Cupcakes cake
• The strawberry (although I used raspberry) cream cheese icing from Glorious Treats
• 375g Icing Sugar, 225g Butter, dash of milk for the layering/crumb coat butter cream

I've included a few behind the scenes snaps of assembling the cake. I was on snapchat the whole time annoying my friends with lots of pictures of layers. Have you ever had to make a special occasion cake for someone? Were you more organised than I was? (I hope for your sake you were!)

 

Cake Trails #3: Ginger and Rose Cake

Last week Eve and I visited Lovecrumbs, which markets itself as Edinburgh's only cake-only cake shop. You can read all about our visit here and if you look carefully in one of the pictures you can see on the menu the inspiration for this cake, "Rose and Ginger Cake, £3.20" (you can also see me standing awkwardly in the mirror). I think you can see their version in one of the snaps too, with pink icing and crystallised ginger on top.

Inspired by their menu, I decided to make use of the jar of edible rose petals that have been loitering in the kitchen cupboard for a while and whip up my own Ginger and Rose Cake. This bake coincided nicely with my Mum's birthday, and she was delighted to be presented with such a pretty cake.

Ginger and Rose Cake

Cake
225g Unsalted Butter
50g Soft Light Brown Sugar175g Caster Sugar4 Eggs285g Self-raising Flour3tbsp Stem Ginger Syrup3tsp Ground Ginger

Icing
300g Icing Sugar
90g Butter
3tbsp Rose Syrup
Edible Rose Petals (to decorate, optional)

1. Grease and line two 10" cake tins and preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5
2. Mix the butter until light and fluffy (as an aside, this is hard without a mixer and a crushed right hand - so the mixer I used for this cake is more commonly known as Dad!)
3. Mix in the sugar and then add the eggs one at a time, alternating with the flour and the ginger.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top and a knife comes out clean.
5. Leave it out to cool, and then mix all the icing ingredients together. Pipe half the icing on top of one of the cakes and then put the other cake on top, then top with the rest of the icing. When I'm piping in the middle, I like to do a circle around the outer edge of the cake and then fill the middle in. It makes it nice and neat to look at from the outside.
6. Position the rose petals however you fancy.

Cake Trails #2 Caramel Banana Bundt Cake

Week Two of our Cake Trail took us to Cuckoo's Bakery, who bake possibly the best cupcakes in Edinburgh. One of their cupcakes even won them an award! I encourage you to read all about our visit here on Eve's blog, but the short version is, these are really really good cupcakes. As in, I took a box home.

In there though, I chose a banana and caramel cupcake, and I gave it a strong 2/3 (cake, filling and icing making up the three). The cake was a delicious banana bread type cupcake, and you could really taste the banana coming through. The middle of the cupcake was filled with salted caramel, another absolute winner. But for me, the icing was a bit of a let down - it was really really sweet and it tasted like what banana *should* taste like, rather than what it actually tastes like - do you know what I mean?

So for this weeks inspired by bake, I stuck with the banana cake and and the caramel sauce, but I changed the icing to a tangy cream cheese icing. I also opted for one big bundt cake, rather than cupcakes. There are two reasons for this. 1) I did cupcakes last post, and 2) I got a bundt tin for Christmas off Ben's parents and hadn't played with it yet. Good, strong reasoning I think. 

This cake was an absolute hit with my friends, and I'm really pleased because although in my head the cream cheese icing was going to work with the banana bread and caramel, I wasn't 100% convinced it was going to come off in reality. 

Caramel Banana Bundt Cake

Cake

270g Light Brown Sugar

2 Eggs
200g Ripe Bananas, Mashed
280g Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
140g Melted Unsalted Butter

Caramel Sauce

200g Sugar
90g Salted Butter
120ml of Double Cream

Cream Cheese Icing

225g FULL FAT (this matters) Cream Cheese

85g Unsalted Butter

300g Icing Sugar

1tsp Vanilla Extract (optional, but coming from a not big vanilla fan, it's nice in this)

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC and grease your bundt tin
2. Beat the sugars and the eggs together until light and airy
3. Mix in the mashed bananas
4. Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together, then gently fold in to the wet ingredients
5. Finally add the melted butter and pour into your prepared tin
7. Bake for around 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

8. Whilst the cake is baking, make your caramel.

9. Heat the sugar in a pan, stirring all the time until it forms clumps, then melts down into an amber liquid.
10. As soon as you have the liquid, add the butter - it'll splash everywhere, so watch out!
11. Once the butter melts, add the double cream, stirring alllll the time. Once again, watch out, because there will be lots of bubbling.
12. Let it bubble for about a minute, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

13. Once the caramel and the cake are both completely cool, make the cream cheese icing by mixing the butter with the cream cheese and vanilla then gradually adding the icing sugar. 

14. Pipe the cream cheese icing onto the cake and then follow by piping the caramel.

Cake Trails #1: Mango and Coconut Cupcakes

Well it's been a little quiet around here recently hasn't it? I'd love to say I've just been so busy working hard on my real life that I haven't had time to blog, but really I've spent a lot of time under a duvet (seeing as there's no sand to stick my head in).

Luckily I've got a really nice project that has just started, and I am so excited to share it with you. My friend Eve over at Sam Loves Cake had the great idea of starting an Edinburgh Cake Trail. We are tirelessly hunting down the best cake the city has to offer. Eventually we'll have a little map for you to take a quick look at to help you work out where to get your next cake fix. Until we get a few under our belt though, Eve is telling you all about our visit, whilst I am baking about it instead. For every venue we visit, I'll be whipping up a treat inspired by something we ate, or something that caught our eye.

This week it's Mango and Coconut Cupcakes, inspired by the decadent Mango and Coconut Cheesecake Eve tucked into at Mimi's Bakehouse in Leith.

Whilst we plough through this wintery January, a bite of these cupcakes is like a much longed for visit from a tropical breeze. Vanilla sponge with a mango centre topped off with coconut cream buttercream and another splodge of mango on top for good measure. They may look like fried eggs, but they are assuredly more decadent. Whipping them up couldn't be easier, and the coconut cream buttercream is a nice change from your usual buttercream.

Mango and Coconut Cupcakes

185g Sugar
90g Unsalted Butter
1 Egg & 1 Egg White
1tsp Vanilla Extract
200g Plain Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
125ml Milk

300g Frozen Mango

120g Butter
310g Icing Sugar
Half a Tin of Coconut Milk*

*This is a bit of a faff. You need to put the tin in the fridge over night, or for 8 hours before you want to make the icing, then open the tin from the bottom not the top. Drain off the thin coconut water (save it for a smoothie or something) then weigh out the remaining thick white coconut cream. You'll need half of the white coconut cream. Alternatively, I think in some places you can just buy coconut cream, but not in the tiny convenience shop by my flat!

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
2. Add the egg, egg white and vanilla extract.
3. Alternate folding in the flour and baking powder and mixing in the milk. I go flour, milk, flour, milk, last bit of flour.
4. Fill your cupcake cases and bake at 180oC for 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
5. Leave to cool.
6. Defrost the mango and blitz until smooth in a food processor.
7. Core the cupcakes, either with a cupcake corer or just with a knife, and fill with around a teaspoon of mango, then replace the top of the cupcake.
8. Whip the coconut cream, then add the butter and the icing sugar. You might need a bit more icing sugar to thicken the icing if you're working in a particularly warm kitchen.
9. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes or just use a palette knife, and then top with another dollop of the mango.
10. These cupcakes are definitely best eaten right away, but if you're saving them I recommend you keep them in the fridge or a very cool place, because the icing can get runny.

Christmas Cranberry and Orange Cake

This cake is an absolute showstopper - perfect for the centre of your Christmas dinner table for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's a lighter option than the traditional Christmas pudding, but has all the familiar tastes of the season. Lighter options seem to be popular this year, I keep reading about them everywhere, so I thought I'd join the party. Secondly, this cake looks spectacular (if I do say so myself). And all you need to do to it is pop it on a cake stand and you're ready to go. It absolutely doesn't need setting on fire, and you still have plenty of time to whip it up before Christmas - it doesn't need time to develop. Really, it's an incredibly low maintenance cake. 

Have I convinced you to give it a go yet? 

It's very easy, and though it looks like there's a lot of steps it really doesn't take much time. It's worth bothering to heat the cranberries for the topping in sugar and water, it takes some of their tartness away, and makes them contrast just nicely with the rest of the cake. You could replace all of the cranberries with dried cranberries easily, but I think the fresh look much nicer.

Christmas Cranberry and Orange Cake

Cake

250g Unsalted Butter

250g Caster Sugar

3 Large Eggs
Zest of 2 Large Oranges
270g Self Raising Flour
120ml Fresh Orange Juice (those oranges you zested will come in handy here!)
100g Fresh Cranberries, cut in half

Icing
150g Icing Sugar
Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Frosted Cranberries
3tbsp Caster Sugar
Water
Fresh cranberries
100g Granulated Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC and grease your cake tin. I used an angel food cake tin, but a bundt cake tin or a loaf tin would work equally well.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until really light and fluffy
3. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by most of the orange zest (save a little bit for the top).
4. Fold in the flour, and then slowly add the orange juice.
5. Chop the cranberries in half and coat in flour. Fold carefully into the mixture.
6. Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. The time might vary a bit if you use a different type of tin. Particularly, I find loaf tins take a while, and after about half an hour I usually cover the tin with foil, so the top of the cake doesn't burn.
7. Leave the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then turn out to cool completely.
8. Whilst the cake is cooling, put fresh cranberries (however many you want on top of you cake) in a saucepan and just cover with water.
9. Add around 3tbsp caster sugar and heat. Once it's bubbling, remove from the heat and drain the cranberries. You mustn't let them pop when they're heating, so watch for cracks in the skin. If you see them, whip them off the heat then.
10. Coat the cranberries in the granulated sugar and leave to cool.
11. Sieve the icing sugar and add the orange juice - how much is up to you. I didn't use very much, because I wanted defined white stripes of icing, but if you want more of a glaze add more orange juice. The best approach is to add juice very slowly until you get the consistency you want. If you're using freshly squeezed you'll want to sieve it, so there's no juicy bits in the icing.
12. Put the icing in a piping bag, chop the tip of and decorate however you fancy.
13. Top the icing with the frosted cranberries.
14. Sprinkle over the remaining orange zest.

Sticky Toffee Apple Bonfire Cake

It wasn't my aim for this cake to match the leaves on the drive, but I think it's a beautiful comparison. When I was baking all I could think about was the taste of toffee apples and the smell in the air after Bonfire Night (I hope you're thinking about it now too).

It's deceptively simple, and because of the way the toffee is baked in the oven it won't break your teeth either. You just get that beautifully sweet, rich taste with chewier bits around the edges. You heat up some sugar and water then pour the glistening toffee over greaseproof paper in a round tin. It sets quickly - by the time you've made up the cake mix and sliced the apples it'll be cool enough to use.

You can arrange the apple slices however you like, I went for something traditional but I was thinking about it afterwards, and you could probably make some nice images and patterns. The cake mix is thick and honey coloured, and fills the cake tin right to the top.

While the cake is in the oven the toffee melts, turning the apples the colour of autumn leaves and caramelising the top of the cake. I can't stop looking at the shine of the toffee on the apple slice below!

Luckily, this can be whipped up in no time, so there's still time to get on the table for the 5th

Toffee
200g Caster Sugar
3 Tbsp Water
2 Large Apples

Cake
225g Salted Butter
150g Light Brown Sugar
75g Caster Sugar
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
4 Eggs
225g Self Raising Flour
1/2 Tsp bicarbonate of soda
60ml Milk

1. Grease your baking tin and line with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4
2. For the toffee, put the caster sugar and the water in a pan and heat on high, making sure NOT to stir at any point.
3. When the sugar has melted and is golden remove from the heat and pour into your prepared tin.
4. Slice your apples and arrange them on top of the toffee.
5. For the cake mix the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
6. Sift the flour and the bicarb in, and then fold the mixture together.
7. Add the milk.
8. Place the cake tin on a baking tray to catch any melted topping, then bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
9. Immediately flip out, watching out for any burning topping (I needed that advice and didn't get it. Sadface.) and leave to cool. Serve with extra thick cream for a little added indulgence.

Butternut Squash Cake

Vegetable cake is all the rage these days isn't it? But other than a classic carrot cake I've never really given the concept much thought. So when I had the end of a butternut squash crying out to be used in the fridge, I thought it was high time I joined the party.

Vegetable cake wasn't the only bandwagon I jumped on this week though, no way. Browned butter. Something else you can't browse pinterest without hitting on every other pin. People rave about the stuff, actually rave. You must have seen it. So I embraced all of the current trends, and decided to top my butternut squash cake with browned butter frosting. 

After browsing for a suitable recipe, I came up with a lot of cup measurements, too much butter and lots of bundt tins (something I don't own). I did notice though, that a lot of the recipes were similar to the one I use for banana bread. Sort of. I then got fed up, and basically winged it. Incredibly, I struck lucky! It worked! So I absolutely have to share it with you.

It's perfectly Autumnal, in both taste and looks (orange cake!). If you give it a try, please let me know how you get on.

Butternut Squash Cake

220g Roasted Butternut Squash
150g Melted Butter
150g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
200g Self Raising Flour
1tsp Ginger

Browned Butter Glaze

40g Butter, Brownes
90g Icing Sugar


1. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Peel and chop your butternut squash and roast for 20 minutes. As you can see by the picture, mine was slightly crisp around the edges, and I was worried about how that would taste in the cake, and what that would do to the texture, but it was fine. Obviously, if you can avoid burning it, do, but I'm still adjusting to my new oven. 

2. Once the squash has cooled, mash into a relatively smooth paste, and then add the melted butter.

3. Add the caster sugar, followed by the eggs one at a time, and finally the flour and the ginger.

4. Pour into a prepared loaf tin and bake at 180°C for 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely.

5. Brown your butter by slowly heating it in a saucepan over a low heat. It will melt, then it will bubble, and then it will start to turn darker. You want it a pale brown - if it gets too dark it will taste bitter.

6. Leave the butter to cool for five minutes, then sieve the icing sugar in and mix well. It should be thick but pourable. If it's too thin, add some more icing sugar a little a time. If it's too thick, a splash of milk. 

7. Put into a sealed piping bag, then snip the smallest bit of bag away and drizzle over the loaf.

Blackberry and Elderflower Pimm's O'Cake

Pimm's is the first alcoholic drink I ever remember being allowed to try, and actually enjoying. I was about eleven at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park with my parents. We'd paused our long day of wandering around the show at the Pimm's tent, and because I was so fascinated by all the fruit floating around the jug, I was allowed a tiny little glass all to myself. I felt terribly grown up! It became a bit of a ritual; every year we'd go to the flower show and spend an hour or so of the day just lounging around with Pimm's, enjoying the sunshine (or huddling under a big umbrella...).

My love has not diminished since this first introduction, and a tall glass of Pimm's and lemonade overflowing with ice, strawberries, cucumber and mint leaves is still, I think, the ultimate way to enjoy it. But with my love of cake, I couldn't help thinking a little bit more outside the box, particularly when I came across a bottle of the relatively new Blackberry and Elderflower Pimm's in cupboard. And what could be better than a moist, fruity sponge cake laced with a little bit of summery naughtiness and covered fresh fruit? I'd argue not much.

Blackberry and Elderflower Pimm's O'Cake

225g Unsalted Butter
200g Golden Caster Sugar
4 Eggs
225g Self Raising Flour
Zest and Juice of One Lemon
Handful of Fresh Mint Leaves, Chopped
50ml Blackberry and Elderflower Pimm's
100ml Blackberry and Elderflower Pimm's

Fresh Summer Fruits and 250ml of cream whipped with 50g Icing Sugar to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line two 10" cake pans

2. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time.

3. Fold in the flour, then the lemon zest.

4. If you're lucky and have some mint in your garden, head out on a mint hunt - it grows in very obscure places! Otherwise you can pick up fresh mint in the supermarket with ease.

5. Wash and chop the mint you collected, and add half of it to the cake mixture. Then add the 50ml of Pimm's and the juice of the lemon you zested earlier.

6. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Whilst still warm, drizzle the 100ml of Pimm's over the flat bases of the cakes.

7. When completely cool, sandwich together with half of the whipped cream, making sure the two soaked surfaces are the ones next to the cream - this way you get a pretty pink pattern around the cream when you cut into it! Top the cake with the rest of the whipped cream, summer fruits of your choice and the remainder of the chopped mint leaves.

Crunchy Carrot Cake

Let's talk carrot cake. Squidgy and sweet with the odd crunch of pecan, complemented by cool cream cheese icing, in my opinion it's a cake you can't really beat. My version isn't overly spiced, there's just a hint of mixed spice. No one wants to be overwhelmed by spice. No one wants to be overwhelmed by words either, so lets get on with the recipe.

Crunchy Carrot Cake

150g Butter, melted

150g Soft Light Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

200g Self Raising Flour

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1tsp Mixed Spice

200g Carrots, peeled

100g Pecans + extra to decorate

Cream Cheese Icing

600g Icing Sugar

100g Butter

300g Full Fat Cream Cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grate the carrots and set aside. Mix the melted butter with the brown sugar and then add the eggs. Add the flour, then gently stir in the chopped pecans. Finally, pad the carrots with kitchen roll until they're quite dry and stir in. Split evenly between two round cake tins (approx 10"). Bake for around thirty minutes, or until golden on top and a knife comes out clean.

2. Remove the cakes from the tin and leave to cool. Mix up the icing ingredients to form a smooth white icing. Spread a thick layer on the top of both cakes then place one on top of the other.

3. Decorate with pecans to give it an extra oomph, in both look and taste.

Enjoy with a cup of tea... maybe even a cup of matcha tea! Don't forget you can enter a giveaway here to win a free Modern Matcha Kit.