Sorry for the slack update on the butterscotch tart but it was probably my least favourite dessert ever (excluding anything banana flavoured) so i have not been in a hurry to report my findings. However, feedback reveals it tasted exactly how it is supposed to taste, so i guess it was a success. In fact everyone cleared their plates... beyond me as to why. Apparently it has something to do with school dinners. As i was always a packed lunch child his could explain the mystery. So to recap the pastry case was a bit of a disaster because the sides shrunk down and i did slightly over bake it so it was more like a biscuit than pastry - but no soggy bottom so Mary should be proud. I then heated up butter and milk and when it was boiling added soft brown sugar and a little flour. After a severe beating and much head scratching i allowed it to cool then spread over the pasty case and refrigerated. A little gold shimmer just before serving finished it off along with the obligatory birthday candle. After Chris the kiddies had a turn to blow out the candle and I served with whipped cream (although i was informed custard would have been more appropriate and may have helped warm up the rather cold butterscotch) Suffice to say i will not be rushing to make this tart again!
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A few weeks back you may have read my post featuring the new craze taking the US by storm... cake cups. I decided to have a go at them myself for a friend's birthday using leftover lemon cake, vanilla buttercream icing, fresh raspberries and raspberry jam. Funnily enough i didn't have any spare whiskey glasses hanging about so, being the classy gal I am, I decided to use plastic wine glasses. I crumbled the sponge and added a layer to the bottom of the glass then added a layer of raspberry jam followed by a layer of buttercream and some fresh raspberries. I then sprinkled another layer of crumbled cake on top and finished it with a fresh raspberry and some grated dark chocolate. The result looked a lot better than i expected and the layers looked very appealing. The novelty of the wine cups was very well received by the tasters (my trusty work colleagues!) and the general feedback was the ratio of filling to sponge was much better than a normal muffin/cupcake where you struggle to get cake and filling every bite. They were also a big hit with Eloise who got involved and made her own version which looked slightly different to mine but just as fun. The jury is still out over the cake/dessert classification...
A couple of major cake projects on this week. One is a golf course and here are some fondant trees I have been working on tonight for the landscaping. The cake will also have sugar bunkers and a piping gel lake so watch this space!
My blog's biggest fan, Jon, and his fiancée Shelley moved into their new house in East Grinstead this weekend. Chris suggested popping over this afternoon to see the house and to wish them well. Perfect opportunity for me to make them a cake. So this morning I knocked up a Victoria sponge filled with a cherry berry jam and iced with vanilla frosting. A sprinkle of glitter and a few pearl sprinkles finished it off. What Chris didn't tell me was that he hadn't checked if Jon was working today... Of course he was! So we had to eat the cake instead, couldn't let it go to waste could we?!? Eloise enjoyed her slice with a cup of tea in front of Escape to the country. Sorry no cake came your way guys but congratulations on your new home xx
This evening was all about baking butterscotch tart for my husband's birthday meal tomorrow. I make cakes so pastry is not my thing. I did what any good wife would do in this situation and bought ready made pastry from the supermarket! I did roll out the sweet shortcrust pastry myself to line my new tart tin...
As recommended I popped the pastry case in the freezer for 20 mins, lined it with baking paper and baking beads then blind baked for 15 mins. And this happened... Shrunk pastry. Why!!! I don't understand why it has slid down the pan side and given me this weird, uneven edge. Clearly I am going to say I'm going for the rustic look but I'd like to know why this happened for future tarts. Someone is probably tutting as they read this muttering & 'this wouldn't have happened if you'd made your own pastry'... The butterscotch is now cooling after I completely winged it over the hob (I can't stand the stuff so have no idea how to make it and for the first time in the history of man the internet appears to only have 3 recipes for butterscotch tart and each one is different. So i went for the one with the least ingredients) I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow! Today I spent the afternoon at The London Bridge hotel setting up for a journalist event. We took the journalists up the wonderful new Shard building (73 floors up above the London skyline) then back to the hotel for cocktails and canapes. Now, whilst this was quite exciting we all got very distracted by the wonderful tea and hot chocolate served in the bar! The tea was a beautiful little tipi of fresh tea leaves which brewed a delicious cuppa. The delicate little tent had a little leaf handle to dunk your tea and looked so cute in the cup. The little bag came with a ceramic rest to perfectly place your tea bag between cups. It was so pretty and fun it took tea to a whole new level. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better the hot chocolate came out - a mug of hot, frothy milk with a cube of rich milk chocolate on a stick on the side for you to melt and swirl in. This wasn't breaktime, this was theatre (or maybe playtime). All we needed now was some cake...
Pancake day! Not usually a big deal in our household but now we have a 2 year old it seemed a great time to start a tradition.
Possibly I was a little overenthusiastic allowing Eloise free reign during the mixing process... Despite the chaos they taste good and after I had spent an hour cleaning the kitchen post apocalypse I made savoury pancakes for the grown ups (me and Chris) filled with peppers, onions, ham and cheese. Topped with fresh tomato and cheese and baked in the oven they were delish. Twitter just alerted me to another possible use for the leftover cake scraps which are taking up valuable space in my freezer. Cake cups. What? I hear you shout. I know, it took me a while to get my head round these little babies too but essentially they are a cross between a cupcake and a trifle. They have been conjoured up by New York bakers www.beeskneesbakingco.com who originally made them as an alternative to cupcakes for weddings. Because they are served in whiskey glasses (or bourbon glasses if you are the other side of the pond) they can very easily be stacked to form a cake tower. Also the glasses can be ingraved with personalised wedding messages for guests as a memento of the day. Pretty good idea I'd say but what actually is a cake cup? It looks like crumbed cake at the bottom. Then a layer of frosting and filling with more cake on top. So it resembles a trifle in structure and you would definitely require a fork to eat. I'm thinking it is more of a dessert really than a cake, to me a cake can be eaten with your fingers but regardless I am going to try making some of these. The Lemon Raspberry which has raspberry honey jam and lemon curd filling sounds immense!
As promised this is my cranberry and vanilla cake pop tutorial for those who do not have the convenience of a cake pop maker! The first thing you need is crumbled cake. You can bake any flavour you like but I used vanilla cake scraps which I had bagged up in the freezer from my last bake. I defrosted the cake overnight then whizzed it into crumbs using a stick blender. Then I added some vanilla buttercream frosting (unsalted butter and icing sugar) to the crumbs a spoon at a time until the mixture was a little sticky but not too much - remember you are going to add the cranberry mixture which will add to the stickiness. Now for the cranberry mixture. I took a punnet of fresh cranberries and popped them in a saucepan with 100ml water and a tablespoon of caster sugar. Heat the mixture on the hob until the cranberries break down and you have a nice thick cranberry sauce mixture. It will still taste quite sharp but that is good because the cake mixture is very sweet. Leave it to cool a little but before it solidifies mix it through your cake crumbs in a rippled effect. Next you need to form the ball shapes. You'll need to melt a little of the candy melts topping and have your cake pop sticks ready. To form you ball scoop out some mixture using a measuring spoon. I found the teaspoon measure worked well. The roll it in your palms to form a solid ball. Dip the end of your stick in some melted candy melt and then poke it half way into the ball. This will help keep the pop on the stick during dipping. I poked my sticks into a polystyrene cake dummy for a few minutes then put them in the freezer for 15 mins to help the pops keep their shape. Melt the rest of the candy melts. You will notice the result is very thick. To thin it slightly melt in a little Trex shortening. This will make it easier to dip your pop. Grab your pops from the freezer a batch at a time. Dip each one in the candy melts. Take a look to see if you are happy with the covering. If not you can redip once the base coat is dry. When you have finished dipping you need to add your sprinkles or glitter immediately as the coating dries very fast. After decorating put them back into the styrofoam to dry completely. Once dry wrap individually in cellophane and tie off with matching ribbon.
Cake pops hit work this week when my friend Melaney made some delicious treats for our colleague Jen's birthday. Melaney had a secret weapon at her disposal for this bake: a cake pop maker! This machine takes the faff out of cake pops. The time consuming element is the forming of the ball shapes and this gadget does it for you. Any flavour can be used and they only take 4 minutes to cook!
The cake pops were very moist and tasted a little bit like doughnuts. Definitely not like a cupcake. I quite liked the fact that they weren't as sweet as traditional cake pops which have frosting mixed into the cake mixture so they will form into the ball shapes. Melaney dipped the tops of the pops in white chocolate and decorated with sugar strands. They were delicious and a very good size to satisfy a sweet craving. If I can get Chris to allow another cooking gadget into the house I will be purchasing one! Or I may just hide it... |
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