Express Lemon Cupcakes & Chocorange Biscuits

If they say never work with animals or small children today I broke a rule.  Actually, it wasn't that bad.  I just had to accept the following:

1. Children will lick spoons and put them back in the bowl - even when you have not finished mixing.

2. Expect things to end up on the floor.  Don't try and fight it.

3. You can't have it neat and organised.  No matter how much you plan and tidy around them, things will get messy.

4. Everything taste 'yum', even if its just sugar and butter licked of the beater of your mixer.

5. And finally, don't expect the end product to look like the picture in the book (and certainly the vision in your head)

Once I came to terms with those areas I started to enjoy myself and learnt the following:

1. It does not matter if what you end up with looks nothing like the picture in the book.

2. Children will sit quietly for ages rolling out dough, cutting them in to biscuits and then rolling out the leftover bits.

3. A bit of mess can be wiped away - worktop, floor or even ceiling, it will come off!

4. Always buy more eggs then you think you need (or keep your kitchen floor clean enough to scoop them back up and use if necessary)

5. And finally, family members will ALWAYS eat what is given to them without question and the reply is ALWAYS 'yum', or 'did you make these?' or 'wow, aren't you clever'.

Today I looked after my cousins two young daughters.  I say look after, they are both as good as gold and caused me no problems so looking after was more 'entertain' and have fun.  8:30am till 12:30pm.  I decided baking would use up the time quickly and thought about two simple recipes that they could make together.  Express lemon cupcakes, express because the mix is whizzed up in the food processor and chocolate-orange biscuits.

Rolling out the dough for the cookies seemed to be the best part of the morning.  Me trying to keep everywhere neat and tidy was the worst.  



Express Lemon Cupcakes
Makes 12

For the cakes
125g soft butter
125g caster sugar
125g plain flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp room temp milk

For the lemon frosting
200g soft unsalted butter
550g sifted icing sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
zest from the lemon

Pre-heat oven to 200C (180C fan) and place 12 cupcake (or muffin) cases in a tin.

Throw everything in to the food processor (or mixing bowl) and process for 30 seconds or so until it all comes together and you get a smooth mix.  It may be necessary to stop after 15 seconds and wipe down the sides of the processor bowl.

 

Using an ice cream scoop (about half filled each time) transfer the mix to the 12 cupcake cases.

Bake for 15 minutes, until golden and pressing the top of one springs back.  Leave to cool completely.














To make the frosting, put the icing sugar and butter in a large bowl, add the lemon juice and zest and mix.  You could put it in your mixer and beat, I got a small child to do it instead.

 

 

Transfer the icing to a piping bag and cover each cake, you may have some icing left over.  I did  but it was quickly eaten.

Add sprinkles and leave to one side for the icing to set. 

Enjoy.


Chocorange Biscuits
Makes about 30

For the biscuits
85g soft unsalted butter
6 tbsp caster sugar
50g plain chocolate, chopped fine.
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
225g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder

For the icing
175g icing sugar, sifted.
3 tbsp orange juice
zest of half the orange
25g plain chocolate, melted.


Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan).  Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.

In a mixer, fitted with paddle, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and smooth.

 

Add the egg and milk and beat until smooth again.

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and chopped chocolate.  Mix until it all comes together to form a ball of dough.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface and cut in to shapes.  Re-roll trimmings and repeat.  Place on the baking sheet.

 

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until firmish, they will harden up once out the oven so don't worry if they are a little soft.

















Leave to cool while you make the icing.  Mix together the icing sugar and orange juice/zest.  

 

Place some icing on each biscuit and allow to set.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave and drizzle, artistically, over the tops of the biscuits.  Leave to set.

 


Enjoy.

Sachertorte

A real foodie must be open to try pretty much anything.  I consider myself a foodie and will give almost anything a go.  There are only a few things on my 'yuck' list and these include liver, kidney, olives and anything with an exoskeleton.  I am happy to taste anything, even if it contains something I don't think I would like, and I am not afraid to  retry something I have not liked before - only recently I tried a couple of olives, still don't like them.

When travelling I have always tired to taste well known dishes from that area.  Green/red curries in Thailand, pizza in Rome,  Singapore Slings at Raffles,  Kebabs in Berlin and pastries in Denmark.  One place I have not been to yet is Vienna, famous for its Sachertorte, but it is on my list of places to visit.

Hunting around the internet, and plenty of research later, brought me to two versions of the 'traditional' Sachertorte.  However, the absolute original recipe comes from the hotel of the same name - Hotel Sacher, Vienna.   Invented in 1832 this dense chocolate cake is sandwiched together with apricot jam and rich dark chocolate icing.  I came across two versions while hunting for a suitable recipe - two layer and single layer.  The two layer version is the one made at the Hotel Sacher therefore it is the recipe I have decide to make.

The icing for this torte is rather strange.  You bring water and sugar up to a boil and then add the dark chocolate.  When I first read this I wondered if the chocolate would simply burn, however careful boiling (if there is such a thing) and constant stirring reduces the risk of burning.  I was worried that my icing was starting to burn and I didn't quite make it to the suggested 116C on the thermometer but the resulting icing turned out ok.  My attempt at writing the famous 'Sacher' wording on top was a total disaster - hence not really seeing in the photo.  I wouldn't really bother and the actual cake in Vienna only contains a chocolate stamp instead of the words.

I feel I overcooked the sponge slightly.  My recipe stated 1 hour 15 minutes.  However other recipes call for 40 to 50 minutes.  I have reduced the cooking time in this version to 50 minutes, but its important to check for that the middle is springy when gently pressed before taking out.

So, here it is, 'original' Sachertorte....serve with thick cream and keep away from the fridge.  Better after a few days resting, or so my recipes says.




Sachertorte

Serves 8-10

for the cake
115g unsalted butter, softened
175g chocolate (70%)
3 tbsp strong coffee
140g caster sugar
5 eggs, separated
140g plain flour
4 tbsp apricot jam
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water

for the icing
85g caster sugar
4 tbsp water
100g chocolate (70%)

Preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan).  Grease and line a 23cm loose bottom tin.

Heat the chocolate with the coffee over steaming water.  Don't worry too much if the chocolate looks thick and slightly wrong, it will mix out later.

 

In a freestanding mixer, fitted with paddle, beat the butter and 85g of the sugar until light, about 3 minutes.  Add the chocolate mixture and egg yolks.  

 

Sift in the flour and fold.

 

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, add the remaining sugar and whisk.
Fold the egg white mix in to the chocolate.

 

 


Transfer to the baking tin and cook for 50 minutes, check if springy in the centre.  If not add another 10 minutes cooking time.

 

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then remove.  Slice in half horizontally and sandwich together with 2tbsp of the jam.

Heat the remaining jam with the lemon juice and water.  Pass through a sieve.  Cover the cake with ALL the hot jam mix and brush around the top and sides.  Leave to set while you make the icing.

 

For the icing, heat the sugar and water in a heavy pan until boiling and the sugar has dissolved.  Add in the chocolate and mix until glossy.

 

 

Return to the heat and BOIL until a thermometer reads 116C.  Mix all the time.

Transfer 2 tbsp of this chocolate mix to a small bowl and pour the rest over the cake.  I would make sure you have some paper under to catch the leftover - it does get a bit messy.

Smooth round the sides but try not to touch the top while it sets or you will leave marks.

Leave to set for an hour.  Then, heat the left over icing you saved and using a point of a knife or piping bag, write the word 'Sacher' on top.  Mine looks a little messy, honestly, I wouldn't bother with the writing.

Enjoy.

Old-Fashioned Cherry Cake

This post is based on ingredients I happened to have in already and required using up.  Glace Cherries that I brought by error and some left over ground almonds from an old recipe.  I have always been a fan of simple cake, cake to eat with coffee, or just to cut off a chunk when a sugar hit is needed.  

I was flipping through 'Delia's Cakes' and came across her recipe for Old-fashioned cherry cake.  A quick read through the ingredients and method and I was ready to go (a big tip for any baker, read it completely first!).  

She states that  recipes for cherry cake often end up with sunken cherries however her tip is to reserve some and scatter on top after you have transferred the mix to the baking tin.  Poking them in just before cooking means some will sink but those on top will stay where they are.  Another technique I know that is suppose to keep fruit, chocolate chips or any 'added' ingredient comes from Ina Garten - she recommends coating whatever it is you are adding in some flour.   I decided to follow Delia's instruction this time but next time I will give Ina's ago.

This cake is very traditional - the same amount of flour, sugar and butter to three eggs.  Basic creaming method - mixer highly recommend.  I tip I often read and does make a huge difference is making sure the butter is at room temp.  There is a big difference between butter taken out the fridge an hour before you want it and one that has been left over night to totally soften.  I often think ahead when baking and remove things from the fridge the night before I need it.  Sometimes I forget and a quick blast in the microwave helps, but remembering to leave it out is the best.  I always keep eggs at room temp in the cupboard - they do not need to be stored in the fridge. 

When making this cake it is very important to over-line the cake tin.  It raises a lot and you without the extra lining your either going to get a messy oven or a flat cake -  or both.  Over lining is easy, and so is lining the base.  I have included in the start of this recipe my method for quickly lining a tin.

So, here is a quick tip to line a cake tin, and Delia's fab recipe for Cherry Cake.

Lining a cake tin - the easy way.

I have tried to include enough photos to make this easy.  First you need a large piece of baking paper (a square larger than your tin).

 

Fold the baking paper in half, quarter, and again, and again until you have a long thin triangle.  

 

Align the point of the triangle with the middle of the tin and then cut the length to match the diameter of the cake tin.  It is easy on a removable tin, for all others just turn the tin over and measure the centre out from the base. 

 

Open out and you should have a rough circle that pretty much perfectly matches the base of your tin.  Quick, simple and non of that cutting out neat circles rubbish - we are not crafters, we are bakers!

Old-Fashioned Cherry Cake

by Delia Smith

Makes a large 18cm cake

200g glace cherries

175g butter (room temp)

175g caster sugar

3 large eggs (lightly whisked)

175g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

75g ground almonds

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tbsp milk

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line an 18cm cake tin-both base and sides - butter first, then lining paper, use the butter bush to push the lining paper down.  Notice how tall the lining stands above the cake tin.  This is very important as you want a tall cake when cooked.

Start with the cherries - this is the messy time consuming part.  Slice each cherry in half and then in to quarters.  Put to one side.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with the paddle and beat, on high, until light - about 4 minutes.

 

With the mixer running on medium-high slowly add in the egg.  Allow time for the mixer to incorporate.  Remove the bowl from the mixer when done.

 

Sift the flour and baking powder in to the mixer bowl.  Using a large spoon mix the flour in quickly yet carefully.  Add in the two thirds of the cherries, milk, extract and almonds.  Mix completely.

Transfer to the baking tin and smooth out.  Scatter over the remaining cherries and gently push in to the mixture.

Bake for 1 hour, until the top of the cake is springy to touch.  You can just make out the extra rise in the baked version - without the lining paper this would have been a mess!

 

Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before turning out.  Leave to cool completely and store in an air-tight tin.  The almonds will mean this cake keeps well - at least a week if kept in a suitable tin.

Serve with tea or coffee, enjoy.