How To Make Donuts

Cappuccino cake

cIngredients  

250g softened butter , plus extra for greasing

280g self-raising flour

250g golden caster sugar

½ tsp baking powder

4 eggs

150ml pot natural yogurt

1 tsp vanilla paste or extract

1 tbsp cocoa powder , plus extra to dust

100ml strong coffee (we made it with 2 tbsp coffee granules)

FOR THE ICING

140g icing sugar , sifted

350g mascarpone or soft cheese

few chocolate-covered coffee beans

Method  

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease a 20 x 30cm baking or roasting tin and line with baking parchment. To make the sponge batter, beat the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, cocoa and half the coffee in a large bowl with an electric whisk until lump-free. Spoon into the tin, then bake for 25-30 mins until golden and risen and a skewer poked in comes out clean. Drizzle with some of the remaining coffee.
• Cool in the tin while you stir the icing sugar into the mascarpone. Spread over the cooled cake, dust with a little cocoa and scatter with the coffee beans.

 

credit to : bbcgoodfood.com

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Chocolate & Caramel layer Cake

INGREDIENTS

FOR VANILLA & CHOCOLATE SPONGES

225g very soft butter , plus extra for greasing

225g golden caster sugar

175g self-raising flour

85g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

150ml pot natural yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp cocoa powder

FOR CARAMEL & CARAMEL-CHOC SPONGES

225g very soft butter , plus extra for greasing

175g light muscovado sugar

50g dark muscovado sugar

175g self-raising flour

85g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

150ml pot natural yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp cocoa

TO ASSEMBLE

397g can caramel (stocked near the condensed milk instores)

140g dark chocolate

140g milk chocolate

300ml double cream

METHOD

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line bases of 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. For the Vanilla & chocolate sponges, mix all the ingredients, apart from the cocoa, together with an electric whisk. Scrape half the mix into a second bowl and whizz in the cocoa. Scrape into the tins and bake for 20-25 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean.
• Repeat step 1 for the Caramel & caramel-choc sponges, again leavingcocoa out of the first mixing, then splitting the mix in half and whizzing the cocoa into one batch. Cook as above.
• While sponges are cooling, melt the dark and milk chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Remove from the heat, stir in the cream and cool or chill until spreadable.
• When the sponges are cool, spread a third of the caramel over the Vanilla sponge and top with the Caramel sponge. Spread over another third of the caramel and top with the Caramel-choc sponge, then the final third of caramel and top with the Chocolate sponge (don't panic if you mix up the layers, the cake will still look great when you cut in). Spread the chocolate icing over the whole cake to serve. It will keep in a cool place in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

credit to : bbcgoodfood.com

Making Chocolate Mousse

Chococcino cake

Ingredients

FOR THE SPONGE

200g soft, butter , plus extra for greasing

1 tsp baking powder

85g good-quality cocoa powder , such as Cafédirect or Green & Black's

140g self-raising flour

200g golden caster sugar

4 eggs

2 tbsp milk

FOR THE FILLING AND ICING

2 x 250g tubs mascarpone

85g golden caster sugar

4 tbsp very strong coffee (see tip below)

50g dark chocolate , for grating

Method

1.   Heat the oven, line the tins and make the sponge as described in the 'goes well with' recipe, sifting the cocoa powder with the flour and baking powder.

2.   For the filling, beat the mascarpone and sugar together, then beat in the coffee. Use half the mix to sandwich the cakes and spread the other half over the top, swirling with the back of a spoon to make pointy curls. Finely grate the chocolate over the top, then serve

credit to : bbcgoodfood.com

Fondant Mini Cake Designs

Classic sponge sandwich

Ingredients

200g soft butter , plus extra for greasing

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

200g golden caster sugar

4 eggs

2 tbsp milk

FOR THE FILLING

142ml double cream

50g golden caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

100g strawberry conserve

icing sugar , for dusting

Method

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease and base-line 2 x 20cm non-stick round sandwich tins with baking parchment, then lightly grease the parchment. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, then tip in all the other sponge ingredients. Using an electric whisk, beat everything together until smooth. Divide the mix between the cake tins, then bake for 20-25 mins until cooked and golden. When cool enough to handle, remove the cakes from the tins, then leave to cool completely on a rack.
• To make the filling, whip the cream with the caster sugar and vanilla until it holds its shape. Build the cake by spreading one sponge with jam and the other with cream. Sandwich the whole thing together, then dust with icing sugar.

 

credit to : bbcgoodfood.com

Fairy Cake Recipe

Simple Elegance Wedding Cake

Ingredients

YOU WILL NEED

5 x ingredients for Easy vanilla cake (see 'Goes well with' recipe below)

5 x ingredients for Basic vanilla buttercream (see recipe below)

340g/12oz jar strawberry jam , optional (I used Tiptree Strawberry & Champagne)

340g/12oz jar apricot jam , warmed and sieved

4kg white ready-to-roll icing (I used Regalice)

15cm, 23cm and 30cm thin round cake boards

40cm thick round cake board

cocktail sticks

palette knife

a roll of baking parchment

a flat baking sheet or cake lifter
 
icing sugar , for rolling out

string , for measuring

8 x long plastic dowels

kitchen scissors

3.5m x 1.5cm white satin ribbon

tube of UHU glue , or similar

TO STACK AND INSERT THE FLOWERS

2cm and 15cm polystyrene cake dummies
18-gauge floristry wire , cut into about 20 x 10cm lengths

15-20 white and pale green hydrangea heads (get some smaller, some larger, if you can); your florist can advise

40cm, 30cm and 18cm cake boxes with lids, if you're transporting the cake

Method

1.   MAKING THE CAKES: Make the basic Easy vanilla cake recipe (see 'Goes well with'), following the instructions below for each tier, then cool and drench with the syrup. The cakes can be frozen ahead, without icing. However, if you bake them three days before the wedding, the cake will be fine until the big day.

2.   For the bottom tier, triple the quantities for the basic cake mix, then spoon into a ready-lined deep round 30cm cake tin. Bake for 2 hrs 15 mins on the middle shelf until risen and cooked through as before. While this cooks, make up a quadruple batch of the syrup - this will be enough for all three cakes. Cool and drench the cake with syrup as before.

3.   For the middle and top tiers, double the quantities for the basic cake mix, then spoon it into ready-lined 15cm and 23cm cake tins, filling each to about two-thirds full. Bake them together on the middle shelf, taking the small cake out after 1 hr 15 mins, and leaving the larger cake to cook for 1 hr 30 mins in total. If you know that your oven has hot spots, quickly move the cakes around after 50 mins. Cool and drench with syrup as before.

4.   LAYER AND COVER THE CAKES: Make the buttercream as in the basic recipe. You will need 5 x basic quantity - this is a lot, so split your weighed-out quantities in two before you start mixing. You may have some left over, but better too much than too little. Weigh out the buttercream - you will need approximately 400g for the 15cm cake, 600g for the 23cm cake and 1.3kg for the 30cm cake. Spread a little buttercream over the 15cm cake board. Level the top of the cake if you need to, then upturn the 15cm cake onto it. Split into three using a bread knife. I like to mark the front of the cake on each layer before lifting it off, using toothpicks, so I can reassemble it in exactly the right way. Take the top third off first (what was the bottom of the cake) and set aside. Carefully cut the middle layer and set that aside, too. A flat baking sheet or cake lifter can be very helpful here to slide the cake layers off and then back onto each other.

5.   Spread a layer of buttercream over the cake on the board. Return the middle layer, lining up the toothpick markings, then spread another layer of buttercream on top. Add a little jam if you like, dotting it over, then spreading evenly. Top with the final piece of cake, then dust off any crumbs on or around the cake. Now brush the whole cake with a thin layer of apricot jam. This should stop you getting too many crumbs in the buttercream. Sit the whole cake on a large sheet of baking parchment.

6.   Spread the rest of the buttercream over, starting with the top, then smooth and paddle it around the sides and down to the board. Repeat the whole process with the remaining cakes, using the corresponding boards and the different quantities of buttercream. The cakes are now ready to be iced. You can leave them overnight if needed, loosely covered with cling film.

7.   COVERING THE CAKE WITH ICING: You will need about 500g icing for the 15cm cake, 1kg for the 23cm cake and 1.7kg for the 30cm cake. Dust the work surface with icing sugar, knead the icing until pliable, then use your rolling pin to roll it into a circle large enough to cover the sides and top of the cake, with a little left over. Use string to check the size. Use your rolling pin to help you lift the icing over the cake.

8.   Smooth the icing around the cake with your hands, easing it over the edges and down to the board. Then trim off the excess with a sharp knife, flush with the bottom of the cake board. Smooth any marks with the flats of your hands, buffing the icing to a slight shine. Once you've iced all the cakes, cover the thick base board. Lightly brush with cooled boiled water, then lay the icing over. Trim to the edge of the board with a knife (I tend to do this like I would a pie crust, holding the board in my left hand, and knife in my right), then leave the board and the cakes to dry overnight.

9.   STACKING THE CAKES: Dowels, which are basically plastic sticks, provide stability and strength to tiered cakes, and polystyrene blocks allow you to add a 'floating' layer of flowers. By measuring and cutting the dowels to the same length as the polystyrene, you'll provide an even platform for the next cake to sit on, even if the cake below is a bit wonky.

10. Sit the 15cm dummy centrally on top of the biggest cake. Insert four of the dowels into the cake, around the outside of the dummy, in a square shape. Push them right down until they meet the cake board. Mark with a pen where the top of the dummy comes to.

11. Carefully pull out the dowels; then, using scissors, score around each dowel where you marked it. Snap the plastic cleanly. Re-insert the dowels in their original holes, rounded end down. Repeat the process with the 23cm cake and the 12cm dummy. Position the biggest cake in the middle of the covered board. Run a thin line of glue around the base board and fix the ribbon around it. Fix the ribbon around each cake, using a spot of the glue on the ribbon to secure it to itself. If you're moving the cake to a venue, put the cakes into their boxes now. Make a little kit to take with you - glue, scissors, etc - just in case you have to re-do anything.

12. ON THE DAY - STACKING AND DECORATING THE CAKE WITH FLOWERS: I used hydrangeas - they're beautiful, in season and you can achieve a dramatic effect with relatively few blooms. On the day, save putting the flowers on the cake until as late as you reasonably can. Cut the stems of the hydrangeas to about 2-3cm. Split your least-favourite bloom into smaller pieces - this will help you fill any awkward gaps later. Make sure you save one beautiful bloom for the top.

13. Insert a length of floristry wire into each stem (or wind it around the stem), leaving a spike of wire about 3cm long. Push this into the polystyrene dummy. Repeat until the two dummies are surrounded with a halo of flowers. The bottom cake should be in its permanent position now - out of direct light and away from any radiators. Lift the 23cm cake onto the bottom polystrene dummy, taking care not to squash any petals, then repeat with the top cake. Fill any gaps with the broken-up flower head you reserved earlier. Sit the final bloom on top of the cake, and you're done!

14. CUTTING THE CAKE: Cut the cake across, in a grid, rather than into wedges. You should be able to get 50 servings from the large cake, 30 from the middle and 12 from the top, when cut into 2.5 x 5cm pieces.

credit to: bcgoodfood.com

Butter Cake

Blackberry & almond meringue cake

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

200g butter , softened

200g golden caster sugar

200g self-raising flour

50g ground almonds

2 eggs and 2 egg yolks, beaten

2-4 tbsp milk

150g punnet blackberries

FOR THE MERINGUE

2 egg whites

100g golden caster sugar , plus a sprinkle

2 tbsp flaked almonds

FOR THE FILLING

200ml double cream , lightly whipped

4 tbsp bramble jelly

Method

• Line the base of two loose-bottomed 20cm non-stick sandwich tins with baking parchment. Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3.
• Put all the cake ingredients (except the blackberries and using just half the milk) in a bowl, then beat until creamy and well mixed. Stir in 100g blackberries, along with the extra milk if you need it to loosen the mixture a little. Divide between the sandwich tins and level the tops.
• Quickly whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl, adding the 100g sugar, a spoonful at a time, until really thick and glossy. Lightly spread onto one of the cakes, then sprinkle with the flaked almonds and extra sprinkle of sugar. Bake both cakes for 40 mins, then take the cake without the meringue out of the oven and set aside. Bake the remaining cake for 30 mins more until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Carefully remove cakes from the tins and cool on a wire rack. When the cakes are cold, peel off the paper.
• To serve, spread the cream on the plain cake right up to the edges. Spoon over the bramble jelly, then sandwich with the meringue-topped cake and decorate with the remaining blackberries.

 credit to: bcgoodfood.com