Chocolate, Cherry and Mascarpone Cake

This is a really easy recipe and a simple cake to bake for an occasion or for afternoon tea. The triple layers of chocolate sponge sandwiched between thick mascarpone cream and cherry jam make this a really indulgent cake.







Ingredients

6oz/150g of unsalted butter
8oz/200g of Self raising flour
1 1/2 level teaspoons of baking powder
6oz/150g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
3 tbsps. milk
3 tbsps. of cocoa blended with 3 tbsps. hot water (cooled slightly)

250g Mascarpone cheese
300ml whipping cream
Cherry Jam
Fresh cherries to decorate (optional)
Edible glitter (optional)


Method

1) Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 (180c)

2) Grease and line 3 shallow round cake tins with greaseproof paper.

3) Beat the butter until light and fluffy.

4) Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and beat with a hand mixer for 2 minutes.

5) Divide the mixture evenly between the trays and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through and springy.

6) Next place the mascarpone and whipping cream in a bowl and whip until firm. Place in the fridge.

7) When the sponges have cooled start to assemble your cake. Top one layer with a thick layer of mascarpone cream and then spoon on a generous amount of cherry jam. Repeat the layers saving some of the mascarpone cream to decorate the top of the cake. Sprinkle with edible glitter and top with fresh cherries.

This cake needs to be cut into very large slices, forget about the diet...remember we have a separate stomach for dessert and cake!

Mich Turner's Rose Cake

This weekend we were asked to make Mich Turner's rose cake to help celebrate a fortieth wedding anniversary. We adapted it to include yellow roses as the bride carried yellow roses on her wedding day. This cake is four layers of vanilla madeira cake and is sandwiched with a deliciously fruity strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream. We used different shades of yellow buttercream to pipe roses around the cake. Beautiful! This is the perfect cake to celebrate any occasion.

Look out for our demos coming soon to learn how to pipe the perfect buttercream rose. Have a look at our rose cupcake tower, each cupcake has been lovingly piped with a beautiful buttercream rose and finished with a sprinkling of glitter. Simple yet so effective and perfect for a wedding or to give as favours to your guests.

Summer Strawberry and Vanilla Cupcakes

The sun is shining, the garden furniture has been dusted off so it's time to hold an al-fresco tea party! Our Summer Strawberry and Vanilla cupcakes are the simplest and prettiest things to make to serve with tea and a glass of fizz. Try out our easy recipe the next time you need to impress your guests.

Ingredients

150g/6oz of Butter (softened)
200g/8oz Self Raising flour (sifted)
1 1/2 level teaspoons of baking powder
150g/6oz Caster Sugar
3 medium eggs
3 tablespoons of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence

Large cupcake or muffin cases x 12
Muffin tray

300ml Whipping cream
Strawberry Jam (good quality)
Strawberries

Optional to decorate
Mint leaves
Edible glitter
Icing sugar

Method
Heat the oven to 180c or Gas Mark 4

1. Start by beating the butter until light and fluffy.

2. Next add the sugar

3. Sift the flour and baking powder in to the bowl

4. Beat the eggs together and add to the bowl

5. Add the milk and vanilla essence

6. Beat the ingredients together with a hand mixer for 2 -3 minutes. Arrange your cupcake cases in the muffin tray and spoon the mixture in to each case. Put the cupcakes in to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden on top and a skewer inserted in to the middle of the cake is clean when removed.

7. Next whisk the cream until whipped and fluffy and place in the fridge.

8. When the cakes are ready, place them on a wire rack to cool completely.

9. When cool, cut out the middle of the cupcakes carefully to make a deep hole in the middle. Place a teaspoon of jam in each cupcake and spoon or pipe the cream in until the hole is full and some of the mixture is on top of the cupcake. 

10.Dust each cupcake with icing sugar. 

11. Next slice your strawberries in half and decorate the cupcake, sticking them to the excess cream on top. Decorate the strawberries with edible glitter and a mint leaf. Arrange on a pretty plate or cupcake stand...doilies are optional. 

Now relax in the garden amongst the flowers with a cupcake and a glass of fizz, whilst your guests worship you and your baking skills. Enjoy!

Creating a Dream Cake

One of our favourite challenges was our Snow White Cake. It was created for a 21st Disney themed birthday party and the birthday girl was going to be dressed as Snow White. We were given free reign over the design of the cake, the only request was that the cake needed to be made out of carrot cake.

A vanilla sponge with a core of strawberry jam iced with red sugarpaste

We contemplated various cake designs, a fairy tale castle seemed too obvious so we thought it would be a good idea to create a giant poisonous apple to compliment the birthday girls costume. We set out by creating a very, very rough sketch which involved a rectangle and a circle and then built the design around this.

Here's Phoebe. We painted the apple effect with red food colouring and edible gold dust, before leaving it overnight to dry.
 

The base of the cake was a delicious carrot cake, iced in pale green sugarpaste and decorated with edible leaves. The leaves were cut out, printed with a veiner and moulded before leaving overnight to harden. We then decorated the leaves with green, gold and silver dust. The vines were painted on to the cake with a mixture of green food colouring and vodka and then edged in gold.

A mixture of edible glue and sugarpaste helps the leaves to stay stuck on to the cake.

 Here's Catherine, painting the apple. Once the colour had dried we glazed the apple with sieved jam and then added some sparkle with a touch of edible red glitter.

A sugarpaste stalk and a flower paste leaf completed the apple and it was carefully lifted on to the base of the cake and secured with dowel rods to ensure the cake did not sink. A flourish of edible fairy dust added a magical shimmer to the completed cake.

 
Here we are with the cake...all ready for the ball!

Our cake took centre stage on the buffet table at the party.