CAKE! :drool:

[Donna]

So what is everybodys favourite cake?

Post all your recipes too! (including you lemoncake - for the chocolate-chestnut with raspberries & whipped cream )

Sparkles should be good at this one!

[mrs_warwick]

One of my favourite chocolate cakes is a Gary Rhodes recipe that includes Guinuess in the cake mix and Irish Whiskey in the icing. It costs about £5 to make- lots of butter and chocolate. I don't have the recipe to hand but I could type it out if people are interested. It comes from 'The Complete Rhodes Around Britain'.

[Donna]

Originally Posted by mrs_warwick

One of my favourite chocolate cakes is a Gary Rhodes recipe that includes Guinuess in the cake mix and Irish Whiskey in the icing. It costs about £5 to make- lots of butter and chocolate. I don't have the recipe to hand but I could type it out if people are interested. It comes from 'The Complete Rhodes Around Britain'.

Ooook! Get typing! This sounds very unusual. Would be a good idea to shape the cake into a pint of Guiness!!

[LemonCake]

Originally Posted by Donna

So what is everybodys favourite cake?

Post all your recipes too! (including you lemoncake - for the chocolate-chestnut with raspberries & whipped cream )

Sparkles should be good at this one!

More a pudding than cake, straight out of Nigella's Domestic Goddess book. Haven't got it to hand but something like:
425g tin of chestnut puree
125g unsalted butter
6 large eggs, separated
250g plain chocolate, melted
1 tbsp rum
50g caster sugar
25g light muscovado sugar

Beat together butter & chestnut puree, add egg yolks, slightly cooled chocolate & rum. Whisk egg whites in separate clean bowl to foam, add caster sugar & whisk to glossy peaks. Sprinkle muscovado over and stir/gently whisk in. Add egg whites a third at a time to choc/chestnut mix until just combined.
Bake in lined 22cm springform tin at Gas Mark 4 (170degreesC??) for 40 minutes until top is firmish. It will crack but don't worry. It will sink as it cools, don't worry about that either. It's not for looks, it's for taste. She just sprinkled it with icing sugar, I tipped raspberries into the sunken middle. Maybe it wasn't meant to sink but it still tasted fab. Eat in very small slices as it's very very rich. Cream is a good accompaniment either whipped or poured.

The lemon cake recipe is the easiest thing in the world to make but I'm holding that one close to my chest for a while!

[Beowulf]

Hi,

I'm not a big fan of fancy cakes. I prefer savory dishes but I do dabble in biscuits, cookies and the occaisional banana loaf or gingerbread.

However I do like this carrot cake recipe which I've made on occasion.

4 medium eggs
250 g Plain flour
20 g baking powder
295ml veg oil
400 g granulated sugar
10 ml vanilla extract
10 ml lemon Juice
a little salt
5 g ground cinnamon (I sometimes.. depending on my mood use a little mixed spice instead/as well as)
330 g grated carrots
120 g chopped pecans

115 g unsalted butter (if using salted cut out the salt above)
225 g cream cheese
480 g icing sugar
5 ml vanilla extract
120 g chopped pecans / or walnuts/ mixed nuts whatever

method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into a prepared non stick pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make topping : combine butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans.

cover the cooked cake.

What I sometimes do is make little marzipan carrots with a little red and green food colouring to decorate the top. It doesn't add much to the cake but the first bite is always with the eye

[Donna]

ooops there goes the last sheet of paper in the printer - getting funny looks now.

[LemonCake]

Originally Posted by Beowulf1970

Hi,

I'm not a big fan of fancy cakes. I prefer savory dishes but I do dabble in biscuits, cookies and the occaisional banana loaf or gingerbread.

I bake lots but mostly very easy traybake stuff which gets hoovered down at work like they haven't seen food for a week! Lemon cake, banana loaf, gingerbread and carrot cake are all staples. I'll try the carrot cake recipe, thanks.

What I sometimes do is make little marzipan carrots with a little red and green food colouring to decorate the top. It doesn't add much to the cake but the first bite is always with the eye

You have toooooo much time on your hands. I'll bet you have an immaculately tidy home as well

[Dreadful Scathe]

cheesecake.

any.

[Beowulf]

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

cheesecake.

any.

I have a really easy recipe for that.

get cheesecake from freezer, unwrap. get spoon. wait impatiently for it to defrost.. eat entire cheesecake when still slightly frozen. get icecream headache.



have (in the past) been known to eat two whole cheesecakes in one sitting by myself. (was having a bad day at work and needed comfort food!)

[Yliander]

Originally Posted by Beowulf1970

I have a really easy recipe for that.

get cheesecake from freezer, unwrap. get spoon. wait impatiently for it to defrost.. eat entire cheesecake when still slightly frozen. get icecream headache.



have (in the past) been known to eat two whole cheesecakes in one sitting by myself. (was having a bad day at work and needed comfort food!)

to speed defrost - place in cupboard with water heater

[Daisy Fox]

I make celebration cakes for a local bakery, and have just discovered an amazing american cake book called 'the whimsical bakehouse'.

They have delicious cake recipes including a chocolate butter cake with an oreo cookie cream filling. The americans do have gorgeous cake fillings.

You can find the book on Amazon, but I can type out recipes if anyone wants them.

[johnthehappyguy]

Originally Posted by Beowulf1970

I have a really easy recipe for that.

get cheesecake from freezer, unwrap. get spoon. wait impatiently for it to defrost.. eat entire cheesecake when still slightly frozen. get icecream headache.

what sort of bachelor are you ?

Do you not possess a microwave ?

John

[jivecat]

Originally Posted by Beowulf1970

115 g unsalted butter (if using salted cut out the salt above)
225 g cream cheese
480 g icing sugar
5 ml vanilla extract
120 g chopped pecans / or walnuts/ mixed nuts whatever

method

I really like baking (and eating) carrot cake. I'm having problems with my cream cheese frosting, however. When I add the icing sugar the consistency goes really runny so it drips off the cake when applied. It's only started doing this recently, same recipe & all. I've put it down to declining cream cheese standards. Fings just ain't what they used to be, even Philadelphia. Any one know how to fix this problem?

[Lucy Locket]

I adore carrot cake & have tried twice to make it, with disastrous results. much easier to buy.

Might have to give it another go now.

[mrs_warwick]

Originally Posted by Donna

Ooook! Get typing! This sounds very unusual. Would be a good idea to shape the cake into a pint of Guiness!!

funny you should say that but it is one of the serving suggestions...

Warning! This is a long and complicated recipe for an addictive cake

From The Complete Rhodes Around Britain

Makes 1x 20-25cm (8-10in) cake
225g (8oz) unsalted butter
350g (12oz) soft brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
225g (8oz flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
400ml (14 fl oz) stout (Guinness)
100g (4oz) cocoa

Pre heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas 4 and butter a 20-25cm (8-10in) deep cake tin. Cream together the butter with the soft brown sugar. Gradually add the beaten eggs.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix the stout with the cocoa powder.
Now add the flour and stout mixes alternately to the butter and eggs until completely and evenly bound. You will find the consistency to be quite soft. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 1-1&1/4 hours until set. You may need to cover with a piece of brown paper after an hour to prevent it browning too much. Allow to cool before removing from the tin. The stout cake is now ready - cheers!

Variations
Pouring a glass of stout always leaves you with a lovely finish on the top. You can do exactly the same with this cake. Melt 100-175g (4-6oz) of grated white chocolate with 100-125g (4-6oz) of butter and 1-2 measures of Irish whiskey until just softened, then leave to cool. You now have a rich white chocolate icing to spread on top of the cake.

To make a glass of Stout Cake Pudding, simply blitz some of the cake to a crumb stage and spoon into 300ml (1/2 pt) glasses, leaving 1-2cm (1/2-3/4in) clear at the top. Soak the sponge crumbs in a flavoured syrup or perhaps add freshly grated chocolate or even fruits or raisins. Finish the dish with Irish whiskey Sabayon (see below) and pour on top. This, as you can imagine, looks just like a real half pint of thick creamy stout and tastes just as good.

Sabayon
Makes 1&1/2 pints
4 egg yolks
50g (2oz) caster sugar
6 tablespoons liqueur e.g. Irish whiskey

Whisk togeth the yolks with the sugar and the flavour of your choice over a pan of simmering water, which will at least double the volume.

Enjoy

[Beowulf]

Originally Posted by jivecat

I really like baking (and eating) carrot cake. I'm having problems with my cream cheese frosting, however. When I add the icing sugar the consistency goes really runny so it drips off the cake when applied. It's only started doing this recently, same recipe & all. I've put it down to declining cream cheese standards. Fings just ain't what they used to be, even Philadelphia. Any one know how to fix this problem?

Tried mascarpone? I normally just put everything into my blender and blend until smooth. .. some times its runnier than others but never overly so..
don't know what the problem may be there?

[Feelingpink]

Originally Posted by Daisy Fox

I make celebration cakes for a local bakery, and have just discovered an amazing american cake book called 'the whimsical bakehouse'.

They have delicious cake recipes including a chocolate butter cake with an oreo cookie cream filling. The americans do have gorgeous cake fillings.

You can find the book on Amazon, but I can type out recipes if anyone wants them.

Ooooh, that reminds me of other American recipes I've read - where the frosting/filling is in the middle. I think they sometimes do, say, muffins where you half fill the case, then dollop in the topping and fill the remainder of the case with more mixture, so that the middle is all gooey. Guess that also gets over the runny cream cheese issue. Love your cake!

[Daisy Fox]

Originally Posted by Feelingpink

Ooooh, that reminds me of other American recipes I've read - where the frosting/filling is in the middle. I think they sometimes do, say, muffins where you half fill the case, then dollop in the topping and fill the remainder of the case with more mixture, so that the middle is all gooey. Guess that also gets over the runny cream cheese issue. Love your cake!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. sounds yummy. This american book also has a recipe for buttercream, that uses shortening instead of butter. Thought it sounded disgusting at first, but it actually tastes much nicer than butter buttercream, not as sickly sweet.

With cream cheese frosting - have you tried adding more icing sugar to thicken it up. Or refrigerate it after mixing to help firm it up. Both of these are tips for buttercream but may work for cream cheese.

[Beowulf]

I'm in the wrong job.. I'm in the office sitting infront of my computer and all I can think about is getting home tonight and baking !!

Pete "Beowulf" Little, software engineer by day, photographer by night and baker by weekend !! A most odd combination

[Donna]

Originally Posted by Beowulf1970

I'm in the wrong job.. I'm in the office sitting infront of my computer and all I can think about is getting home tonight and baking !!

Pete "Beowulf" Little, software engineer by day, photographer by night and baker by weekend !! A most odd combination