Thank you all for entering our cake competition, we had loads of entries but the overall winner, was a cake made by Claire Stevens and Nicky Pye!!! It was a great cake made by to very clever people. check out the pic below!!!
Maple syrup cupcakes with caramalised pecans
This was (I have to admit ) the funnest cupcakes I’ve ever baked, especially making the caramalised pecans. Defintley cupcakes to show off!!! I really enjoyed making these and I hope you will too!!!
Makes 10 regular cupcakes
| Ingredients: Sponge 115g butter
50g soft brown sugar 160ml maple syrup 2 eggs 115g self raising flour 60g pecan nuts roughly chopped |
Ingredients: Caramelised nuts 60g caster sugar
1o pecan nut halves
|
Ingredients: Frosting 50g butter
3 tablespoons maple syrup 435g icing sugar
|
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 C Gas 4, line the muffin tin with paper cases
Beat the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until creamy. Add the maple syrup, then beat in the eggs one at a time until well mixed. Sift the flour into the mix and fold in. Fold in the nuts, then spoon into the paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
For the caramelised pecans, put the caster sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has melted and is a pale golden colour. Spread the nuts onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and pour over the 
sugar. to cover all the nuts. Leave to cool. Once cooled, break the pecans into 10 ‘shards’ to top the cupcakes.
For the frosting, beat the butter, maple syrup and icing sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Pipe the mixture onto the cakes and top with a caramelised pecan.
Scrummy shortbread
Shortbread is something I found baking very,very easy!!! Also as a messy person like me, it was thankfully easy to clean up. But be careful I accidentally overcooked it as maybe my oven was to hot, so keep an eye on the time and don”t put it to what the time says!!! But these are biscuits that go with everything!!! so enjoy…
Method
1. Set the oven to 160C/gas 2.
2. Place all the ingredients together in a food processor and whizz until the mixture forms a smooth dough (if preferred this can be done by hand in a bowl using soft butter).
3. Roll the shortbread out to form a circle with a 20cm diameter and flute the edge (alternatively, press into a 20cm loose bottomed cake tin).
4. Prick gently over the top with a fork and score the surface of the round into 8 even wedges. Sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm and golden.
5. Set aside to cool a little, but cut into wedges while still slightly warm. Store in an airtight tin.
Cake competition
If you think you’ve done an amazing cake and would like to share it, send me a pic of the cake (or anything you’ve baked) to angus@thetorridon.com, and I’ll choose the best one and I’ll put it on the blog.
Good luck!!!!!
Lemon layer cake
This is a yummy cake, full of lemon butter cream that melts in your mouth… enjoy.
Lemon Layer Cake
2.5 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
.25 tsp. baking soda
.25 tsp. salt (optional)
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp. lemon zest
1.25 cups sugar
2 large eggs
.5 cup milk
.5 cup lemon juice
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Flour, line and grease 2 8-inch round cake pans.
Combine sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl combine butter and lemon zest and beat until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar (the slower, the better) until completely combined. Add eggs one at a time, then beat 2 to 3 minutes until the batter is light and fluffy.
Beat .25 of dry ingredients into the wet batter, and then add all of the milk. Beat until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients, alternating with lemon juice, beginning and ending with the dry.
Divide batter between the two cake pans and smooth with spatula.
Place pans on the middle rack in oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pans on rack for 10 minutes.
Apply lemon butter cream frosting, using .5 cup for the filling (I like to use raspberry jam instead), and the remaining 2 cups for frosting. Serve at room temperature.
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Lemon Butter Cream Frosting
3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter at room temperature
1 tbsp. lemon zest
.3 cup lemon juice
In a stainless steel double boiler over simmering water combine sugar and egg whites. Whisk until just warm and dissolved (don’t scramble the eggs!). Remove from heat and beat with an upright mixer until stiff peaks form. If separation occurs, continue beating on high, or cool to room temperature.
Once the mixture reaches room temperature add butter one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Add lemon zest and continue beating at medium speed. Add lemon juice and beat on high until smooth.
Spread
thickly on top.
New and improved Coffee and walnut cake
I have family up, and I was thinking of what I could bake, and I wanted something simple but delicous, so I chose Coffee and Walnut Cake that I have baked before so instead I used a recipe from the Primrose Bakery and it turned out better than Mary Berry’s!!! Enjoy!!!
For the cake
175g unsalted butter
175g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs, free-range or organic
175g self-raising flour, sifted
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
75g walnuts
1.5 teaspoons instant coffee mixed with 2 tablespoons boiling water
For the syrup
1 tablespoon instant coffee
50g demerara sugar
55ml boiling water
For the coffee buttercream icing (you need 1 and a half batches)
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in a small amount of hot water
350g icing sugar, sifted
- Preheat the oven to 170 C.
- Grease and line two 20cm cake tins.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, which should take 3-5 minutes using an electric hand mixer.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.
- Add the flour and baking powder and beat well.
- Grind the walnuts in a food processor for about 30 seconds or so – they should not be too fine.
- Add the coffee and ground walnuts to the batter and mix again but for no more than 3-4 seconds.
- The mixture should have a marbled effect and it is very important not to overmix or you will take all the air out of the cakes.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until raised and golden brown.
- Insert a skewer in the centre of one of the cakes – it should come out clean if it is cooked.
- Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool in their tins.
- Make up the syrup by combining the ingredients in a jug and stirring well to ensure the sugar dissolves completely.
- After 10-15 minutes, prick the sponges with a fork, brush on the syrup and leave it to soak in.
- When you are ready to ice the cakes, carefully turn them out of their tins and peel the greaseproof paper from the bases.
- Place one cake on a plate and spread a thin layer of coffee buttercream over it.
- Place the second cake on top and use the rest of the buttercream to cover the upper surface.
- Decorate with walnut halves around the edge.
