Raspberry and Basil financiers

Recently I was invited to a French Glace Cherries Masterclass in London where Cindy from Food For Thoughts showed us how to make French glacé cherries Jelly Cakes and French glace cherry and pistachio financiers. We also got to sample some lovely treats made with glacé cherries which Cindy prepared for us to sample throughout the afternoon. 

The inspiration for this recipe came from the financiers we made. I had a lot of leftover egg whites after making custard for my custard crumble cake so I decided to make financiers. As it's nearing Valentine's, I chose to make raspberry and basil financiers after seeing it on BBC Good Food.  

This is a slightly unusual combination of flavours but I thought it worked really well. It was definitely not to everyone's taste though particularly the basil. The cake itself is light and nutty and the tart raspberries paired well with the basil. The heart shapes look cute and are perfect for a delicious Valentine treat. 

I'm sending this to a few challenges this month. 

Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior where the idea is to make everything from scratch.

Cooking with Herbs hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is Chinese and Romantic Inspired Recipes with Herbs. 

Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from Cakeyboi and Kat from the Baking Explorer. The theme this month is Loved Ones. 

Calendar Cakes hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes and Laura from Laura Loves Cakes. The theme this month is Oh L'Amour!

Four Seasons Food hosted by Anneli from Delicieux and Louisa from Eat Your Veg. The theme this month is 'Food from the Heart' 

A new challenge called Love Cake hosted by Jibber Jabber UK. The theme this month is Baking with Passion. 

Let's Cook Sweet Treats for Valentine hosted by Nayna from Simply Food. 

 cooking browned butter

 adding basil

 add raspberries before baking

Recipe is from BBC Good Food

Apple and Blackberry Custard Crumble Cake

I made this recipe as a test for the recipe I was developing for the Sainsbury's 'apple and pear challenge'. I tweaked the recipe slightly for Sainsbury's but this is a pretty good recipe too. The inspiration for this cake came from Sunday lunch at a local pub where the crumble of the day was apple and blackberry. We didn't order dessert as we were too full but I decided to make my own apple and blackberry crumble in cake form. I added fruit to the sponge and a layer of blackberries on top. I also decided to add some hazelnuts to the crumble which gave it a lovely crunchy, nutty texture. The apples and blackberries paired beautifully and the hint of cinnamon really lifted the cake. The addition of custard and crumble appears to now be a signature bake for me but why mess with a good thing? 

 making the custard 

 adding apples and blackberries to the mix 

 more blackberries on top 

 crumble layer 

 

serve with vanilla ice cream 

For the cake

250g butter

250g caster sugar 

250g plain flour

4 eggs 

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces

100g blackberries + 50g blackberries to dot on top of the sponge pre baking

For the custard

250ml milk

1 vanilla pod 

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoon cornflour

60g caster sugar

For the crumble

90g butter

90g soft brown sugar

60g ground almonds

80g jumbo rolled oats

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

100g blanched, whole hazelnuts 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Make the custard first by heating the milk and vanilla pod on a low heat to simmering point. 
• Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a separate bowl. 
• Pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture and continue whisking constantly. 
• Rinse out the pan.
• Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently until the custard thickens. You will need to stir frequently. 
• Make the cake mixture by creaming butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at at a time and mix well.
• Fold in the flour, baking powder and ground cinnamon.
• Finally add in the apples and 100g blackberries and stir by hand.  
• To make the crumble, place all ingredients except for the oats and hazelnuts in a food processor and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in the oats and pulse gently. Stir in the hazelnuts by hand.
• To assemble the cake, pour the sponge mixture into a lined tin and smooth with a palette knife.
• Sprinkle 50g blackberries on top, pushing them in slightly. 
• Pour the custard layer on top. 
• Then add the crumble layer. 
• Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 40- 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Apple and Pear Upside Down Custard Crumble Cake

Recently I was contacted by Sainsbury's to participate in their 'apple and pear challenge'. I was sent an Orchard Assortment box which contains 4 English apples and 2 English pears.  I brainstormed some ideas and as I couldn't decide what to make, I decided to combine a few favourite desserts - fruit crumble, upside down cake and custard! I made some caramel then layered the apples and pears on top. This was followed by a layer of custard, a layer of sponge mixed with chopped apples and pears and finally a crumble layer. At the last minute, I also decided to add some flaked almonds just to give it extra crunch and texture. The cake is served upside down and it tasted absolutely divine! The sponge was really light and the caramelised fruit and custard really complemented the cake well. The crumble and toasted flaked almonds made a really good crunchy base.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the cake and there wasn't a crumb left at the end of the day! 

The varieties included in the Sainsbury's Orchard Assortment Box are
Rubens - red in colour, this apple has a crisp, refreshing and sparkling flavour coupled with a sweet hint of melon
Jazz - A colourful apple with flashes of red, green and yellow, its flavour is characterised as sweet and aromatic with undertones of pear
Kanzi - Scarlet red in colour with a pale green background, this crunchy and juicy apple has a deliciously complex sweet taste
Cameo - This new variety is dark red in colour offset with orange flushes. Sweet, juicy and crunchy, topped off with a blend of honey and citrus flavours.
Sweet sensation - Vibrant red blush over a green-yellow background, this pear variety is deliciously sweet to taste and melts in the mouth when ripe
Concorde - A cross between Conference and Cornice pears, the Concorde is a green, slightly russetted pear with a rich, sweet flavour.

For this recipe, I decided to use the Jazz and Cameo apples and the Sweet Sensation pear as I felt the flavours would complement each other. 

 making the caramel for the apples and pears 

 cooking the custard 

 lovely caramel 

 adding chopped fruit to the batter 

 layer fruit on top of the caramel layer 

 add custard 

 add sponge 

 add crumble and flaked almonds (see instructions - I'd recommend adding the almonds at a later stage) 

 fresh from the oven 

  I love how you can still see the pears 

 You can clearly see the caramel fruit later, custard layer and sponge. The crumble layer is definitely there but you can't see it very well here. 

An original recipe by bakingaddict

For the caramel
200g caster sugar
3 tablespoons water
2 apples and 1 pear - peeled and sliced

For the cake
220g butter
220g caster sugar
220g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
chopped apples and pears (I chopped up the fruit leftover after layering the cake base as shown)

For the custard
570ml/1 pint milk
60ml single cream
1 vanilla pod
4 egg yolks
35g caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour

For the crumble
100g plain flour
50g ground almonds
125g butter
35g demerara sugar
35g caster sugar
60g rolled oats

100g flaked almonds (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Make the caramel by placing 200g caster sugar and 3 tablespoons of water into a pan over medium-high heat. 
• Watch carefully until it is amber in colour - do not stir the mixture at any point. Take it off the heat and carefully pour it into a lined baking tin. 
• Arrange the apple and pear slices as shown. 
• Make the custard by heating the milk, cream and vanilla pod on a low heat to simmering point. 
• Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a separate bowl. 
• Pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture and continue whisking constantly. 
• Rinse out the pan.
• Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently until the custard thickens. You will need to stir frequently. 
• Make the cake mixture by creaming butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at at a time and mix well.
• Fold in the flour, baking powder and vanilla extract.
• Finally add in the chopped fruit.
• To make the crumble, place all ingredients except for the oats in a food processor and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in the oats and pulse gently. 
• To assemble the cake, add a layer of custard to the caramel fruit and smooth with a palette knife.
• Add in the sponge mixture and level with a palette knife.
• Place the crumble on top.
• Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Take the cake out of the oven and sprinkle flaked almonds all over the top and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes or until the almonds are toasted and brown. [I added the almonds before baking but it browned quickly so I had to cover the cake with foil after about 20 minutes - I would definitely recommend adding the almonds at the end] 
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before turning it upside down on a serving tray to serve. 

Disclaimer: I was sent an Orchard Assortment Box from Sainsbury's for review purposes and a Sainsbury's gift card to cover the cost of the ingredients. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel and a review

Last week there was a shout out on twitter from Sugar and Crumbs to review their new icing flavours so I jumped at the chance. They have just launched salted caramel and coffee in addition to the other 22 flavours already available. I decided to make a dark chocolate cupcake with a salted caramel filling and salted caramel icing. 

The cakes were absolutely amazing. The dark chocolate paired really well with the salted caramel. The icing sugar itself smells like caramel and it's a lovely fine icing which comes in a resealable bag. There's a recipe guide at the back to tell you how much butter and icing sugar to use to make the buttercream. The icing turned out beautifully and it actually tasted of salted caramel! I am usually dubious about flavoured icing sugar as the flavours tend to get lost or taste artificial but this was not the case at all. I can't wait to try some of the other flavours. 

 salted caramel icing sugar 

  melt butter, chocolate and cocoa powder 

 whisk eggs and sugar 

 adding sea salt to the caramel 

 filling cupcakes 

For the cupcakes (Makes 12)
113g unsalted butter, chopped
60g dark chocolate, chopped
40g cocoa powder
105g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
130g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
115g sour cream

For the filling

1 can of caramel

handful of sea salt flakes 

For the icing

250g butter

500g salted caramel icing sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk 

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. 
• Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. 
• Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.
• Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated.
• Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. 
• Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.
• Divide the batter evenly in 12 cupcakes cases. 
• Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack until completely cold before decorating.
• To make the filling, add sea salt flakes to the caramel and adjust to taste. 
• Make the frosting by beating the butter and icing sugar until smooth. 
• Add in milk to required consistency and continue beating.
• To assemble the cupcakes, core out the middle of the cupcake using a melon baller or cupcake corer.
• Fill with 1 teaspoon of salted caramel filling.
• Pipe buttercream on top of each cupcake.
• Decorate with sprinkles. 

Disclaimer : I was sent the flavoured icing sugar from Sugar and Crumbs for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. 

Coffee Cake with Meringue

This is a twist on a classic coffee and walnut cake. It has a coffee meringue top and a drizzle of coffee icing and is definitely one for coffee lovers. I used Camp Coffee essence in the cake and filling which really added to the coffee flavour. It's a recipe that I've adapted slightly from BBC Good Food. My colleague's reaction to this cake was "I've died and gone to heaven and I won't be coming back!" It's a really good way of using up leftover egg whites which I had plenty of as I made a lot of custard recently for an upcoming post.

 adding coffee and walnuts to the meringue 

 adding some walnuts to the cake batter 

 meringue topped cake, normal cake 

 place  1 cake on a cake board/serving plate 

 add the coffee filling 

 place the meringue topped cake on top and drizzle with coffee icing 

 

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food 

For the cake
175g softened butter
175g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

75 walnuts

2 tablespoon coffee essence 

2 teaspoon coffee mixture

For the meringue topping
2 egg whites
100g caster sugar
3 tsp instant coffee granules mixed with 3 tablespoon boiling water (coffee mixture)
25g chopped walnuts

For the filling

100g butter
200g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon coffee essence 

1 teaspoon coffee mixture 

For the drizzle icing
3 -6  tbsp icing sugar depending on consistency

Coffee mixture 

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Grease and line 2  20cm sandwich tins.
• Firstly make the meringue by whisking the egg whites until stiff.
• Gradually add in the sugar and continue whisking.
• Make the coffee mixture by dissolving 3 teaspoons of instant coffee granules in 3 tablespoon of boiling water.
• Gently fold in walnuts and 1 teaspoon of coffee mixture into the meringue. Set aside.
• Next make the cake mixture by creaming butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. 
• Add in the eggs then fold in the flour and baking powder.
• Add 2 teaspoons of coffee mixture and 2 tablespoons of coffee essence. 
• Gently fold in the nuts. 
• Divide the cake mixture between the 2 tins, putting more mixture in one than the other.
• Spread the meringue on top of the tin containing less cake mixture.
• Bake the plain sponge for 20-22 mins until it is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Continue baking the meringue topped sponge for a further 40-42 minutes.
• Allow cakes to cool completely in their tins. 
• Now make the coffee filling by beating butter and icing sugar together until smooth. Gradually add in the coffee essence and coffee mixture. 
• Place the plain cake on a cake board or serving tray. Spread the coffee filling evenly and then gently place the meringue topped cake on top.
• Add 3-6 tablespoons of icing sugar to the remaining coffee mixture and stir to mix well (you may need more icing sugar depending on consistency) 
• Drizzle the icing over the top.