Gifts of cake

My Dad and Father in law are two of the most difficult people to buy for; but do love a nice bit of cake!  So for Fathers day this year it was decided that “the dads” would get a cake each.  I wondered if Royal Mail was capable of delivering a cake in one piece, only one way to find out….

I have very early memories of food people like and a Battenberg cake always seems to remind me of my dad so his gift was decided.  I used the recipe from Farm House Kitchen, (a Yorkshire Television publication) that my Mum has had for years and I managed to pick a copy up in a charity shop for 50p  It is excellent for the basics.  The cake is dead easy just a classic sponge mix split in half and one half coloured with pink food colouring.  Next time I make it I am going to try colouring a flavouring the pink bit with raspberry puree.  I made my own marzipan to cover it which is always more tasty than shop bought of course!

Ian was more difficult and with not such a sweet tooth I finally decided on Bara Brith a Welsh tea loaf where the fruit is soaked over night in tea.  I used the recipie from my new favourite book, Cakes by Pam Corbin (River Cottage Handbook).  Apart from the soaking of the fruit overnight the cake was so simple, Pam suggests making two at a time and freezing one, and fresh they will last a good 2-3 weeks in the tin.  As it was a loaf I could not have a sneaky taste before it was packaged up and posted off, fingers crossed!!!  

 

Decoration time

I love to look at pretty things and beautifully decorated cakes and biscuits are probably a favourite but they also have to taste as good as they look.  There are some lovely cake decorations out on the market but sometimes I wonder how edible they actually are.  My favourite have to be sugared flowers and rose petals.  I have rose petals and mimosa flowers from Uncle Roys (Product of the UK too!) and they look stunning on cakes and biscuits.  I also think you cannot beat real flowers and to make sure they are truly organic I decided to grow my own Nasturtiums and Lavender.  I am going to try roses and violas next.  I use violas on a recent 60th Birthday cake and they looked beautiful.

Here is my first Nasturtium flower on my carrot cake

Salted Caramel Shortbread

This is such a favourite among my family or rather the unsalted version is!  I decided to have a go at the salted caramel version as it seems to be a current food trend.  It is very easy to make although does take a while as there are 3 main elements.  It is also by no means a "thifty" bake as it is full of butter, caramel and lots of chocolate but lovely for a gift or special occasion.  I used the River Cottage Cakes recipe which is pretty standard using a shortbread base, condensed milk boiled in the tin for the caramel and ALWAYS good quality chocolate (I love Devine). To "salt" it simply add half a teaspoon of flaky sea salt to the caramel and sprinkle one teaspoon of salt over the chocolate as it is setting (Quantity for a 20cm square tin)

Egg Free Baking

My lovely work colleagues/cake tasters usually have a new delight to try each week but one vegetarian who does not eat eggs often misses out.  I saw this lovely recipe for Chocolate Melting Moments and thought I would give it a go.  I topped mine with a fresh strawberry as they had just come into season, yum.  My vegie friend was suitably impressed.

Here is the recipe from You Magazine
MAKES ABOUT 12

• 150g unsalted butter diced at room temperature
• 75g icing sugar sifted
• 25g cornflour
• 120g self-raising flour
• 30g cocoa

FILLING

• 30g unsalted butter slightly softened
• 30g icing sugar plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp cocoa

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Arrange about 12 paper cases in fairy-cake tins. In a food processor, cream together the butter and sugar until light, creamy and fluffy. Sift and add the cornflour, flour and cocoa, and combine. You should have a soft squidgy dough.
2. Divide the dough into roughly 30g pieces and roll into balls (about the size of a walnut). Press a shallow dip into the top of each one then transfer to the paper cases, gently pressing them down into the papers to steady them. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.
3. Using an electric whisk, make the filling: whisk the butter, icing sugar and cocoa in a small bowl until pale and fluffy. Fill each hollow with about half a teaspoon of the filling (or use a piping bag if you wish). Dust with icing sugar using a fine strainer, then set aside for about an hour for the filling to set. If you like you can now peel the papers off. These will keep well for a few days in a sealed container somewhere cool.