Raspberry and Strawberry Cake with Marsala

This is one of my favourite cake and I keep baking this one time and time again. I think mascarpone/cream cheese and Marsala is a match made in heaven but if you even add some fresh strawberry and raspberry...........hmmm even nicer.

For the sponge

125 g butter

0.5-1 tbsp instant coffee

175 ml hot water

100 g good quality dark chocolate

190 g caster sugar

115 g self-raising flour

75 g plain flour

25 g cocoa powder

1 egg

For the cream

250 ml double cream

250 g cream cheese/mascarpone

2-3 tbsp icing sugar

3-6 tbsp Marsala - optional but highly recommended

1 Dream Topping

250 g strawberries
150 g raspberries

Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare 2 sandwich tins (19 cm in diameter). Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Blend the coffee with the hot water, add to the butter with the chocolate and sugar and heat gently, stirring until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and leave just until warm.

Sift in the flours and cocoa butter, then using an electric mixer whisk together with the warm chocolate mixture on low speed. Gradually whisk in all other dry ingredients then the egg.

Divide the mixture between the two sandwich tins and bake in the preheated oven for 25-35 minutes until firm and the skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Leave in the tin for 5 minutes to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack.

For the cream whisk to soft peaks the double cream with dream topping, add the cream cheese, icing sugar and Marsala and give it a final beat (don't beat it for too long otherwise you can't really spready the cream. Taste the cream and if you think it isn't sweet or boozy enough just add more icing sugar or Marslala.

Layer together the sponge and cream adding sliced strawberries(2/3rd) in the middle layer and leave the raspberries as a whole for the top of the cake and remaining strawberries.

Keep it in the fridge... it is best if you leave it rest in a the fridge for a few hours or next day before serving.

Tiramisu cupcakes

I made these cupcakes after watching Eric Lanlard's Baking Mad series on Channel 4. This is his recipe although instead of making 12 muffins I made 24 mini muffins. The chocolate covered coffee beans are delicious but hard to get your hands on as is isn't sold in supermarkets-I ordered them from Ebay-and they are yummy.

Tiramisu Cupcakes

For the cupcakes

125g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 large eggs

125g golden caster sugar

1 level tbsp instant espresso granules dissolved in 2 tsp boiling water

50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the frosting

500g mascarpone

250g golden icing sugar, sieved

2 tbsp Marsala wine

To decorate

Cocoa powder, to dust

Chocolate coated coffee beans

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin/24-hole mini muffin tin with paper cases. Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a bowl.

Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until pale and creamy. The mixture should double in volume and will take a few minutes. Once whisked, fold half the flour into the mixture.

Mix the coffee into the butter and pour half into the mixture. Add the remaining flour, then the rest of the coffee and butter and gradually fold in.

Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake for 25 minutes until risen and a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, whisk the mascarpone with the icing sugar then add the Marsala. Pipe on top of each cupcake and give a generous dusting of cocoa powder. Finish by placing a few chocolate coffee beans on top.

Mascarpone Banana Pie/Mascarpone Strawberry Pie

I made this recipe with both biscuits(digestive and hobnobs) and I also tried the chocolate covered version and the plain as well. All of them were delicious. I also experimented with the sizes. I did the pie in my big tart tin and in my small tartlet tins as well(depending how thick you press in the biscuit mix to the base, I usually make 5-6 small tartlets from this amount of biscuit). Also to get the base out in one piece you need the removable base tins!

Mascarpone Banana Pie

For the Biscuit Base

250g biscuit(Digestive or HobNobs-oat biscuit, either plain or chocolate covered)

75g butter

For the cream

4-6 tbs icing sugar

200g mascarpone

100ml double cream

1vanilla pod

5 tbsp Marsala

For the topping

3 bananas 

2 tbsp lemon juice

or

300g strawberry

Crush the biscuits to crumbs(I usually use the end of my rolling pin) and mix it with the melted butter. Press firmly the mixture into the form and put it to the fridge for at least 30 minutes to harden.

Whip the double cream to stiff peaks, add the mascarpone, Marsala and icing sugar,and mix it together. Spoon the cream to the biscuit base and add the fruits on top.

If you using banana, with a brush cover the surface of the banana slices with some lemon juice. It will stop the banana to turn brown even after a day and you won't feel the taste at all.

Put the pie to the fridge for at least 1hour to get the right taste and temperature. 20 minutes before serving take the pie out of the fridge, otherwise it will be hard to remove the case from the tin.