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.

Cappuccino Cake

I haven't baked for a while, but now I am back in the kitchen:) I found a great recipe on  the bbcgoodfood website and this is one of the few recipes I haven't modified. The cream is truly wonderful, but you have to use a very good quality coffee  to get the favours just right.

Cappuccino Cake

Ingredients

250 g unsalted butter, softened

250 g light soft brown sugar

300 g self-raising sugar

4 eggs, beaten

50 walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

100 ml very strong coffee (made fresh) cooled

Frosting

500 g mascarpone

3 tbsp light soft brown sugar

100 ml very strong coffee (make fresh) cooled

cocoa powder to decorate

Heat the oven to 180C. Butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper. Beat butter and sugar together with electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add the flour and eggs in one go and keep beating until evenly mixed.

Fold in the walnuts and the coffee. Spoon the mix into the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 mins or until golden and well risen.

Leave the cakes in their tins for 5 mins before turning onto a wire rack. Sweeten the coffee with the sugar and sprinkle 4 tbsp over the sponges. Leave to cool completeley.

While the cakes cool make the frosting. 

Tip the mascarpone into a large bowl and beat in the remaining of the coffee until smooth and creamy. Use about half of the frosting to sandwich the sponges together then using a palette knife spread the rest of he frosting over the top of the cake. Decorate with dusting of cocoa powder.

White Chocolate and Strawberry Celebration Cake

Again I am a year older.... yet another year passed. I haven't baked for a while, as I am on a diet and I don't have the same desire to bake as before. I had this before....a few months and it will pass, and I bake like crazy again. I think it is down to the "good" weather (as good as it can be in UK), so I rather spend my time outside, than in the dark kitchen. Ever since I did my Chocolate Fingers Celebration Cake, I wanted to do the "White" version. So here it is, for my work colleagues pleasure: my birthday cake.

White Chocolate and Strawberry Celebration Cake 

with white chocolate covered biscuit fingers

For the sponge

220 g self-raising flour
220 g butter at room temperature
220 g golden caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
50 g dessicated coconut

For the cream 

500 g mascarpone

200 g white chocolate

For the topping

1-1.5 kg strawberry (we picked them from a PYO farm, so they don't cost a fortune)

3.2 boxes of Cadburry dream fingers

For the decoration

some red ribbon

3 pearl headed pin

Heat the oven to 180 C and prepare a 19 X 25 cm rectangle cake tin.

Put all the cake ingredients in a  large bowl. Beat them together with an electric mixer until you have a creamy mixture, then fold in the poppy seed.

Pour the cake mix into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 20 -25 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed. When it is ready, leave it to cool down completely then with a cake leveler divide the sponge to 3 equal parts

Mix the mascarpone with the melted white chocolate with a mixer. Wash and slice the strawberries (slice enough strawberries for two layers in between the sponges, and quarter/halve the rest for the top).

Spread 1/3 of the cream on the sponge than arrange the strawberry slices on top - repeat the process with the remaining of the sponges. Cover the side of the cake with the cream (this will act as a glue) and arrange the chocolate fingers around.

When finished cut a long enough ribbon to cover the cake and secure in the middle with two pearl headed pins (I use them as they are easy to remove and they are noticeable! but as you insert them into the cream please clean them before use).

Cut a smaller piece of ribbon and make a bow, inserting the pin in the middle (from the middle) - I hope this make sense. When finished place the bow on top of the ribbon ends- secured with the pins.

Arrange the strawberries carefully on the top ( as the cream is still soft it doesn't hold the fingers  perfectly  on place yet). 

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and keep it in the fridge in between consumption.

Pina Colada Cake

 I saw a pina colada cake recipe in my new book. I loved the idea (coconut, rum, pineapple) but I didn't like the recipe-sorry author. The cake was a simple sponge, with buttery-sugary cream....aghhh

So I made my own version, because  I also think that in order to call a cake a boozy cake you need more than 2 tbsp alcohol in it. The end result was fab (and incredibly easy to make), one of my favourite cakes I ever made...it is in my top 3.

Pina Colada cake

For the sponge

200 g self-raising flour

210 g butter at room temperature

200 g golden caster sugar

50 g dessicated coconut

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

1-3 tbsp milk

For the cream

250 g mascarpone

125 g cream chese

150 g melted white chocolate

40 g dessicated coconut

1-3 tbsp white Rum/Malibu

Filling

1/2 pineapple

3-5 tbsp dark Rum

1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar

Slice the pineapple to small pieces, coat it with the muscovado sugar and rum and place it to the fridge. Leave to absorb the alcohol for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.

Preheat your oven to 180C and prepare a 23 cm round tin with baking paper.Put all the cake ingredients in a  large bowl. Beat them together with an electric mixer until you have a creamy mixture and add milk as needed.

Pour the cake mix into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 20 -25 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed. Leave to cool completely than cut the cake in half with a cake leveler.

For the cream, put all the cream ingredients in a bowl and mix it with an electric mixer. That's it:)

Put 2/3 of the cream in between the sponge layers and all the pineapple except a handful that you can reserve for the top decoration. Leave it to rough, I love the rustic look of it.

Place the second sponge on top and cover it with the rest of the cream and pineapples.

Keep it in the fridge, but remove it 20 minutes before consuming.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

This was the chocolate cake I made for my boss who is now off to get married next weekend. I baked a chocolate cake (his absolute favourite) and a Lemon Curd filed Zila Cubes cakes. The Zila cakes were the perfect start of the morning (as it was conveniently sliced) before we dig in the oozing chocolate mountain. I took the recipe from the BBCgoodfood (Angela Nilsen) website as it had over 800 positive ratings, so I thought it must be good.........and ohh my God how good it was. I only changed the cream and made a 10% bigger cake so it would be a nice size in my rectangle tin (I found the rectangle shape better for he office cake sharing/it is easier to divide and share). Oh I made a poor attempt to replicate my boss and his fiancee to sit on top of the cake....sadly later during delivery his leg broke into pieces...........but I still sit them on top of the cake as I worked too hard not to put them on. I also made the mistake to cover the freshly covered cake with kitchen foil which later stuck to the cream and left some marks, but nobody complained about this:) 

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

For the sponge

220 g good quality dark chocolate, about 60% cocoa solids

220 g butter

1 tbsp instant coffee ganules

95 g self-raising flour

95 g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

220 g light muscovado sugar

200 g golden caster sugar

30 g cocoa powder

4 medium eggs

85 ml buttermilk (5tbsp)

For the cream

500g mascarpone

200 g good quality dark chocolate, about 60% cocoa solids

3-4 tbsp hazelnut liqueur

To decorate

50 g chocolate for chocolate curls 

Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 19X25 cm rectangle tin with baking paper.

Break the dark chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy based pan. Cut the butter into pieces and tip in with the chocolate, then mix 1 tbsp instant coffee granules into 125 ml cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat.

While the chocolate is melting, mix the self raising flour, plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, light muscovado sugar, golden caster sugar and cocoa powder in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the buttermilk.

Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25 -1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the middle it should come out clean and the top should feel firm. 

Leave it to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three. Make the cream:mixing the mascarpone with the melted but slightly cooled chocolate and the hazelnut liqueur.

Sandwich the layers together with the mascarpone cream but leave enough cream to cover the outside of the cake with a palette knife.

Decorate with chocolate curls: melt 50 g of dark chocolate and spread it on a sooth chopping board. Pop it to the freezer for 10 minutes so the chocolate  hardens, then with a long bladed sharp knife start shaving curls of the surface. It doesn't have to be precise, the more shape and size you have is the better.

The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days......haha it took 30 minutes for the office staff to demolish the whole cake:)

Chocolate Fingers Celebration Cake with Red Berries

It is my friend's birthday today so true to traditions I baked her a birthday cake. I always wanted to make a similar cake but the chocolate cigarellos just way out of my budget range(for a small cake  it would cost 30-40 pounds at least). But, there is a cheaper alternative: Chocolate fingers! I modified my previous flourless brownie recipe (but added some flour to make it more sturdy) as I just couldn't have enough of it since yesterday.

Chocolate Fingers Celebration Cake with Red Berries

Ingredients for the cake
250 g dark chocolate broken into pieces (around 60%-70 cocoa solids)
250 g unsalted butter, diced
100 g golden caster sugar
4 medium eggs
100 g  ground almonds
50 g plain flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder, sifted
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

For the cream and decoration
250 g mascarpone
100 g dark chocolate broken into pieces
2-5 tbsp Amaretto liqueur
2.5 box of Cadbury Chocolate Fingers

300 g raspberries
150 g strawberries

red ribbon for decorating
2 coloured pearl headed pins

Preheat the oven to 170C and prepare two 19 cm sandwich tin.

Melt the chocolate (250 g) with the butter in a bowl set over a pan with a little simmering water in it. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and stir to combine, then leave to cool slightly. Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture, one by one, beating after each addition until the mixture is very glossy.

Gently fold in the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and cinnamon without overmixing.

Spread the chocolate mixture in the tins and bake for 25-35 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean with just a few moist crumbs on it.

In the meantime  you can prepare the filling. Melt the 100 g chocolate in a bowl set over a pan with a little simmering water in it. Remove from the heat then leave to cool slightly. Add the mascarpone and work it until fully incorporated then add Amaretto liqueur to taste (as this cake made for a birthday girl, I wasn't shy with the amount:))

When the cake is ready and completeley cooled, level with a cake leveller. Place one layer on the cake stand and spread some chocoalte filling and sandwich with the other sponge layer.

Cover the cake with the rest of the chocolate cream (leaving a thicker layer on the top rather than the sides) and start to press lightly the chocolate fingers to the sides. You should face the cake eye level otherwise after a few chocolate you tend to misplace the fingers and they won't stand straight.

I prepared the bow while baking the sponge. Just cut a piece of ribbon, tie it, then insert a headed pin from behind. Cut a bigger piece of ribbon, tie it around the cake and fix it with another headed pin(obviously please wash the pins before use, and just before cutting the cake remove the ribbon with the needles to avoid any accidents). When you happy with the position of the ribbon just insert the bow on top.

Place or arrange the washed fruits on top.............and you can start preparing for the birthday party.

and Happy Birthday Rimma!!!!!

Strawberry and Chocolate Checkerboard Cake

I wanted to create a checkerboard cake without the pan and I am kind of made it, but I was a bit clumsy. When I tested my chocolate cake, it slipped from my hand and dropped to the rack. The result is a knocked back little bit dense cake. I was really disappointed as I aimed to create a real checkerboard cake, so I needed the same hight sponge as the with of each "square". I still have the effect, but it is more rectangular than squares. Anyway I was still proud of myself as for first try it wasn't a total disaster. Without the special pan I left with an extra layer of sponge....but hey it is always nice with some fresh cream a strawberries.

Strawberry and Chocolate Checkerboard Cake

For the chocolate sponge

150 g self-raising flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

175 g butter at room temperature

175 g golden caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1-3 tbsp milk

100 g 70% dark chocolate, melted and cooled

For the pink sponge
150 g self-raising flour
150 g caster sugar
150 g butter, at room tempeature
2/3 tsp baking powder
3 eggs

1 tbsp milk
red fool colouring

For the strawberry cream (here I increased the amount of cream because I found it too little at the time)
350 g fresh strawberries +extra if you want to decorate
300 g mascarpone
2-3 tbsp icing sugar(to taste)
1 dream topping

Heat the oven to 180 C. Butter and base line 2 X 18-20 cm round cake tin with baking parchment.

For the chocolate sponge:Put all the cake ingredients except the chocolate in a  large bowl. Beat them together with an electric mixer until you have a creamy mixture, then fold in the melted chocolate. Add a little more milk if the mix is too stiff- it should fall easily form a spoon.

Divide the mixture into the prepared tins and bake in the oven for 20 -25 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed. Cool the cake on a cake rack.

For the pink sponge beat all the cake ingredients together except the colouring until you have a smooth, soft batter. Add a little food colouring and mix together well. 

Prepare the same cake tins as you used for the chocolate sponge and divide the mixture into the 2 prepared tins. Bake in the oven for 20 -25 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed. Cool the cake on a cake rack.

I planned the whole process ahead, as I work with numbers, I thought won't have any problem. 
My plan: measure the diameter of your pan, lets say you have a 20cm pan. Then all sponge circle should have the same width of 4cm (for the middle 4cm should be the diameter). I made a sketch in paint for you as I am pretty bad explaining:

I planned to draw the circles on a baking parchment and just place on top of the cake layers and cut them out. But in the end I have been informed we don't have a paired compass................

So I did all cutting by the eye. It was pretty reasonable, and obviously you can make more than 3 sponge rings, it is all up to you.

But if you want a pretty checkerboard cake you should make sure to have the same hight sponge as the width. So if you have 4cm rings your sponge should be 4cm high. (it helps if you don't drop the half ready sponge to collapse....)

To make the cream just simply bland  the strawberries with a hand blender than add it to the mascarpone, icing sugar and dream topping. Mix the ingredients together and add a little food colouring.

When it is ready you can layer your cake: 

Bottom layer: chocolate-pink-chocolate, middle: pink-chocolate-pink, top layer: chocolate-pink-chocolate. I didn't put on the 4th layer as this cake was only meant for 4 people so it was more than enough anyway.

Finish off with a cream layer outside, so your guest can't see the "secret" until it is cut:)

Keep it in the fridge and serve with whipped cream and strawberries.

Strawberry Cheesecake

I still had some strawberries from our PYO trip that desperately needed some attention, so I decided to make a strawberry cheesecake. Plus I got a Cuissential Non-stick Silicone Baking Mat for my birthday from my dear friend, the creator of Kabi's Kitchen, so I had no choice, but test it on the same day:)

Strawberry Cheesecake

For the base

250g digestive biscuit

90g unsalted butter

For the filling

350g strawberries

300g mascarpone

200ml double cream

1 dream topping

1vanilla pod

3 tbsp icing sugar

For the top

100g strawberries

1 Greens Quick Red Jel or any other red cake cover jelly

For the decoration 

50g good quality dark chocolate preferably with 70% cocoa solids

Line the base of a 23cm spring form tin. 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. Line the sides of the cake pan.

Whip the double cream to stiff peaks, add the mascarpone,dream topping, vanilla seeds and icing sugar,and mix it together. Carefully fold in the chopped strawberries. Spoon the cream to the biscuit base.

Prepare the cake cover jelly according to the instructions. Leave it to cool stirring occasionally. In the meantime slice up the rest of the strawberries to small pieces then arrange on top of the cream. When the jelly is almost set, pour on top of the cake and leave to set in the fridge for at least 4hours.

To prepare the decoration melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water, than fill into a sandwich bag or any other plastic bag. Cut a small hole at one corner....I mean: small, it should be tiny to achieve a nice and delicate chocolate lines. Using a baking paper or a non -stick silicone baking mat, squeeze the chocolate on the surface creating a criss cross effect.

Put it to the freezer and leave it to harden. 5-10 minutes before serving, remove the chocolate from the freezer and leave it to defrost. When it is still hard but not frozen cut out circles with a  metal cookie cutter and arrange on top of the cake.

Marcarpone and Strawberry Mini Chocolate Cakes

I bought the Lakeland's 12 hole mini sandwich tin and I had to try it straight away. This cake recipe is originally from their website, slightly changed.

Mascarpone and Strawberry Mini Chocolate Cakes

For the cakes

175g unsalted butter, softened

125g soft light brown sugar

100g caster sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 vanilla pod

175g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g cocoa

75ml buttermilk

75ml boiling water

For the filling

300g strawberries 

150ml double cream

200g mascarpone

1vanilla pod

3 tbsp Amaretto liqueur

2-3tbsp icing sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Cream the butter with both of the sugars until pale and light. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time. Add the vanilla seeds.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa into the mixture and mix until almost combined. Add the buttermilk and boiling water and continue to mix until smooth.

Divide the mixture between the Mini Sandwich Pan so that each well is two thirds full. Bake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for about 20 minutes until well risen and a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of one of the cakes comes out clean. Leave the cakes to rest in the tin for 2 minutes and then ease out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the cream whip the double cream to stiff peaks, add the icing sugar, mascarpone, vanilla seeds and Amaretto liqueur and mix it together. Wash and slice the strawberries.

Cut the cooled cakes in half and spread the bottom layer of each cake with the mascarpone cream, add some strawberries and some cream again.

Sandwich with the top layer then add some more cream on top and a slice of strawberry for decoration.

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.