Tag: cake

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Russian Honey Cake

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Russian Honey Cake
Russian Honey Cake

Burnt honey:
190ml honey
63ml water

Cake:
63ml burnt honey
190ml honey
280ml granulated sugar
200g butter, cubed
6 eggs
12,5ml baking powder
3,7ml salt
5ml ground cinnamon
940ml flour

Honey-cream:
125ml burnt honey
360g tin of caramel treat
2,5ml salt
600ml whipping cream

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Cut 11 pieces of baking paper to the size of a large baking sheet and trace a 22cm circle onto each. Set aside.

For the burnt honey:
Pour the honey into a small saucepan and place it over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium when it start to bubble.
Cook until it becomes an amber colour – about 3 minutes.
Take the honey from the heat and add the water – stand back as it will sputter!
Whisk together once it stops bubbling.
Pour the burnt honey into a measuring jug and set aside to cool.

For the cake:
Pour the burnt honey, honey, sugar and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water.
Stir until the butter has melted and then whisk by hand to combine.
Add the eggs one at a time while whisking continuously, still over the simmering water.
Add the baking powder, salt and cinnamon and whisk together for 30 seconds.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Sift the flour into the mixture in 3-4 batches, whisking after each addition until the batter is smooth. (You may use an electric hand-held whisk)
Scoop a heaped 125ml measuring cup of the batter onto the baking paper circle and spread it out evenly with a spatula.
Bake each layer/disc for 7 minutes until it is a dark caramel colour.
Place the baked discs on a flat surface to cool completely.

For the honey-cream:
Add 125ml burnt honey, the caramel treat and salt into a mixing bowl and whisk by hand to combine.
Add 190ml cream, a little at a time, while whisking.
Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Pour the remaining 410ml cream into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat to medium soft peaks.
Add the honey and caramel mixture and beat to medium stiff peaks.

Assembly:
Assemble the cake on your serving plate so that you don’t have to move it later on.
Place the first cake disc on the plate and scoop a generous amount of the honey-cream on top. Spread out evenly not worrying that it will crawl down the sides.
Keep going until all the cake discs have been stacked.
cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining honey-cream and smooth it out.
Place the cake in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours.

If you would like to, blitz up a selection of salted nuts and cover the sides and top of the cake with it before slicing to serve.

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Blood Orange Cake

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Blood Orange Cake
Blood Orange Cake

I made this cake with blood oranges but it can be made with regular oranges as well. You will need 6 oranges in total.

3 blood oranges, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
15ml + 60g honey
75g butter, softened
1 blood orange, zested and juiced
3 eggs, separated
100g almond meal
90g polenta
200g ricotta cheese, drained
a pinch of salt
110g caster sugar
raw shelled pistachio nuts, to decorate
crème fraîche, for serving

Syrup:
150g caster sugar
2 blood oranges, juiced

Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Layer the blood orange slices on the bottom of the tin, in two layers.
Drizzle the 15ml honey over and set aside.
Add the butter, 60g honey and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Beat on high speed, until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well between each addition.
Take the bowl from the mixer and fold in the almond flour, polenta, ricotta and orange juice. Set aside.
Add the egg white and salt to a clean bowl and beat until soft peaks form.
Gradually beat in the caster sugar until shiny.
Fold the egg whites into the ricotta mixture.
Spoon the batter onto the orange slices in the prepared cake tin.
Smooth the top and bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

For the syrup:
Add the sugar and juice to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil and cook until you have a light syrup – about 10 minutes.


Once the cake comes out of the oven, pour the syrup over and allow to cool.
Invert the cake onto a serving plate and remove the baking paper.
Decorate with a scattering of pistachio nuts and serve with crème fraîche.


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Carrot-Pineapple Cake

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Carrot-Pineapple Cake
Carrot-Pineapple Cake

625ml flour
10ml baking powder
7,5ml bicarbonate of soda
15ml ground mixed spice
5ml salt
375ml brown sugar
310ml sunflower oil
62ml smooth apricot jam
4 eggs
500ml grated carrot
1 x 440g tin of crushed pineapple, drained
125ml pean nuts, chopped

Preheat your oven too 190℃ and spray a ring tin with cooking spray. Coat the sprayed tin with dried breadcrumbs and shake out the rest. Set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Add the sugar and oil to the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
Add small amount of the apricot jam to the mixture with the machine running on medium speed.
With the mixer still running, add the eggs one-by-one.
Scrape down and mix on high speed for a minute or so.
Add the carrot, pineapple and nuts and mix on a low speed until the ingredients are well incorporated.
Take the bowl from the mixer and add the flour mixture.
Fold together until fully incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to stand on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before inverting the cake onto a serving platter.
Cool the cake completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing:
60g butter, room temperature
125g cream cheese, room temperature
30ml milk
2,5ml vanilla
125g icing sugar, sifted

Beat the butter and cream cheese together until soft and fluffy, scraping down every now and then.
Keep the mixer running and drizzle in the milk and vanilla.
Add the icing sugar a spoonful at a time until you have a smooth mixture.
Spread the cream cheese icing on the cake and scatter a handful of pecan nuts over.

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Milktart Cake

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Milktart Cake
Milktart Cake

250ml + 30ml + 30ml granulated sugar
2,5ml + 2,5ml + 2,5ml ground cinnamon
1litre + 250ml milk
125g butter, cubed
125ml cornflour
125ml self-raising flour
5ml salt
6 eggs, separated

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line the bottom and sides of a 22cm diameter loose-bottom cake tin, with baking paper. NB: the paper should stick 10cm above the rim of the cake tin as the cake will rise up.
Sprinkle 30ml of the sugar and 2,5ml of the ground cinnamon on the bottom of the baking tin and then set it aside.
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and pour in the 1 litre milk, butter, 250ml sugar and another 2,5ml cinnamon.
Remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as small bubbles start appearing on the sides of the pan.
Add the cornflour, flour, salt, egg yolks and 250ml milk to a bowl and whisk together.
Drizzle the milk into this mixture while whisking.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place it over medium heat. Stir the mixture until it thickens and has a custard consistency. Remove from the heat.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold it into the custard.
Gently pour the custard into the prepared cake tin.
Sprinkle the leftover 30ml sugar and 2,5ml cinnamon over the batter.
Bake the military in the oven for 50 minutes.
Remove and cool completely before serving.



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Pear and Honey Cake

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Pear and Honey Cake
Pear and Honey Cake

3 pears
125ml sugar
45ml water
220g butter
340g honey
190ml cultured buttermilk
3 eggs
150g sugar
5ml vanilla
300g flour
10ml baking powder
5ml ground cinnamon
2,5ml ground mixed spice
10ml salt

Preheat your oven to 170℃ and spray the sides of a fixed-bottom cake tin with cooking spray.
Peel the pears and slice them into 8 wedges each.
Arrange the wedges on the bottom of the cake tin and set aside.
Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan set over medium heat.
Do not stir but swirl the mixture from time-to-time until you have a caramel.
Remove from the heat and pour the syrup over the pear wedges in the cake tin. Set aside.
Add the butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat and gently simmer it for 5 minutes or so.
Pour the browned butter into a large mixing bowl and add the honey, buttermilk, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Whisk the mixture together.
Now sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt. Mix until you have a smooth batter.
Pour the cake batter onto the pears wedges and bake in the oven for 1 hour.
Remove the cake from the oven and invert it onto a plate – leave the upturned cake tin for a few minutes before removing it.
Serve the cake with a dollop of cream, ice cream or yoghurt.

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Apple Cheesecake

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Apple Cheesecake
Apple Cheesecake

300g dry biscuits
100g butter, melted
500g cream cheese, room temperature
100g caster sugar
300g sour cream
10ml vanilla
3 eggs
1 x 385g tin unsweetened pie apple slices, drained
2,5ml ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 150℃ and spray a 17cm x 27cm (22cm round) baking tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
Break the biscuits into the bowl of a food processor and blitz to crumbs.
Drizzle in the butter while the engine is running – the mixture should resemble wet sand.
Spoon the mixture into the baking tin and evenly press into the base and up the sides.
Place in the refrigerator until needed.
Add the cream cheese, caster sugar, sour cream, vanilla and eggs to the bowl of your clean food processor.
Process until well combined and spoon into a mixing bowl.
Add the drained apple slices and fold the mixture through.
Bake the cheesecake for 45minutes. It should just be set and still be slightly wobbly in the centre.
Turn off your oven, open the oven door slightly and rest the cake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven, sprinkle over the ground cinnamon and cool to room temperature.
Now refrigerate the cheesecake overnight.

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Milktart Muffins

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Milktart Muffins
Milktart Muffins

Filling:
250ml milk
30ml butter
1 egg
60ml sugar
30ml flour
30ml cornstarch
5ml vanilla

310ml flour
10ml baking powder
2,5ml bicarbonate of soda
90ml sugar
5ml cinnamon
2,5ml salt
1 egg
45ml butter, melted
250ml cultured buttermilk
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling over

For the filling:
Add the milk and butter to a small saucepan set over a low heat. Allow to warm to the point where small bubbles form around the edges of the saucepan, but do not bring to a boil. Take from the heat and keep aside.
Add the egg and sugar to a bowl and whisk together.
Add the flour and cornstarch and whisk again.
Drizzle the warm milk mixture into this while whisking continuously.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, place it back on a low heat and simmer for 2 minutes while stirring.
Take from the heat, add the vanilla, stir through and set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cups.

Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, cinnamon and salt to a bowl and mix together.
Add the egg, melted butter and buttermilk to a jug and whisk until amalgamated.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix through.
Spoon a tablespoon of the batter into each of the paper cups.
Now spoon a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre of each muffin and end off with another tablespoon of the batter on top.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Take the hot muffins from the oven and immediately sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar.
Allow to cool one a cooling rack.


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Most Basic Chocolate Cake

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Most Basic Chocolate Cake
Most Basic Chocolate Cake

330g butter, room temperature
550g sugar
5 eggs
5ml vanilla
620g flour
120g cocoa powder, sifted
3,7ml baking powder
1,2ml salt
250ml milk

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line two 22cm cake tins with baking paper.
(If you want a cake with three layers, double the batter and divide between three baking tins.)
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed until soft and creamy, scraping the mixture down once or twice during the mixing.
Add the eggs one at a time with the mixer running and then add the vanilla.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder to a bowl and mix through.
Add two spoonfuls of the dry ingredients and follow it up with a splash of milk, while the mixer runs on slow speed. Keep going until all is incorporated.
Divide the batter between the baking tins and bake for one hour.
Remove and allow the cakes to cool in the tins before removing and cooling on a wire rack.
Frost as desired.

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Lime Mousse

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Lime Mousse
Lime Mousse

8 eggs
250ml + 60ml sugar
2,5ml salt
juice and grated zest of 4 limes
250ml whipping cream
5ml vanilla extract

Separate 4 eggs into two bowls.
Add four whole eggs to another bowl and add the egg yolks to it.
Add 250ml sugar and whisk together until incorporated.
Pour this mixture into a small saucepan.
Add the salt, lime juice and finely grated zest and stir through.
Place the saucepan over low heat and stir continuously until the curd thickens. About 10 minutes or so.
Take the mixture off the heat and strain it through a sieve.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until chilled.
Whisk the four egg whites to stiff peaks.
Add the 60ml sugar a little at a time while whisking continuously. Keep going until all the sugar is incorporated and you are left with a stiff, glossy meringue mixture.
Add this mixture to the chilled lime curd and fold through.
Whisk the cream and vanilla in a separate bowl until stiff and fold it into the curd mixture.
Spoon the mousse into serving cups and chill until needed.

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Baked Chocolate Mousse

by Karen Claassen2 Comments on Baked Chocolate Mousse
Baked Chocolate Mousse

300g dark chocolate, chopped
160ml butter, cubed
6 eggs, separated
30ml + 30ml caster sugar
5ml vanilla

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin with baking paper.
Add the chocolate and butter to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water.
Stir every now and then until the chocolate is melted and you have a silky smooth mixture.
Take the bowl from the saucepan and set aside.
Add the egg yolks and 30ml caster sugar to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 5 minutes.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture and mix well. Set aside.
Add the egg whites to a large mixing bowl and whisk until soft peaks.
Add the remaining 30ml caster sugar a little at a time while whisking until you have a thick, glossy consistency.
Stir a third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
Add the rest and gently fold it through.
Add the vanilla and fold it in until your mixture has an even colour without any white pockets of egg white in it.
Spoon the mousse into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool the cake in the baking tin.
Remove from the tin and sift over some icing sugar to serve.