5. All kind of Cake recipes
Cranberry obsession snow cake
Ingredients
10oz unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pans
3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
7 large egg whites, at room temperature
Cranberry filling
3 3/4 cups cranberries, divided
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups cranberry or cherry preserves
Buttercream
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
12 ounces white chocolate (bars or a block, but not chips), divided
1 pound unsalted butter, cut into pieces and at room temperature
Assembly
1/2 cup colourless liqueur such as crème de cacao or kirsch
About 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
To make a pure white cake, use your fingers to rub off the browned surface of each layer before assembling.
Method
Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Butter 2 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.
To make the cake: In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites in 3 batches, scraping down the inside of bowl as needed. Beat in the flour mixture in 5 batches, adding 1/4 cup water after each addition (you will begin and end with flour). Make sure the flour is completely blended each time before adding water. Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Smooth tops with a spatula. Bake until center of cake feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes completely in pans on a rack.
Meanwhile, to make the cranberry filling: Combine 3 cups cranberries, the sugar, preserves, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until cranberries pop and preserves melt. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Add remaining 3/4 cup cranberries, stir to combine, and remove from heat. Transfer to a small bowl and chill until ready to assemble cake.
To make the buttercream: Fill a saucepan with about 1 in. water and bring to a simmer over low heat. Put egg whites, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer briefly to combine. Place bowl over hot water, making sure bottom of bowl isn't touching water, and heat whites, whisking constantly, until hot to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan and bowl from heat. Put bowl of warm whites on the mixer and whisk on high speed until tripled in volume and side of bowl is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop 4 oz. white chocolate, put in a medium metal mixing bowl, and set in same pan of warm water off the heat to melt slowly, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from pan and let cool to room temperature. Reduce mixer speed to low and whisk butter into whites, about 1/4 cup at a time, until incorporated. Continue to whisk on low speed until smooth and fluffy, about 10 minutes (mixture may look grainy at some point but will come together). With a rubber spatula, gently fold melted chocolate into buttercream until completely combined.
Assemble: Rub tops of both cakes gently with your hands to remove browned outer surface, then carefully invert cakes and rub undersides so that cakes are completely white. Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate, top side up. Using a pastry brush, brush top with half the liqueur. Spread about 1 1/2 cups cranberry mixture over layer with a metal spatula, leaving a 1/2-in. empty border around edge. Place second cake layer on top, flattest side down, and brush with remaining liqueur. Spread top and sides of cake with a thin layer of buttercream to seal in crumbs and chill 30 minutes. Cover with remaining buttercream, starting with the sides and covering the top last.
Use the palm of your hand to warm remaining chocolate. Shave smooth side of chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler to make thin curls and scatter curls over cake's top. Sift powdered sugar over cake. Serve with remaining cranberry mixture on the side.
Apricot, cinnamon & olive oil cake
Ingredients
200g dried apricots, roughly chopped
225g spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus a little extra for sprinkling
200g light brown muscovado sugar
3 large eggs
100ml good-quality olive oil
100ml full-fat natural yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the icing
140g full-fat cream cheese
85g butter, softened
250g golden icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
Put the apricots in a bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside for 30 mins. Meanwhile, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4, grease a deep 20cm round loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and ½ tsp salt. In a jug, mix the eggs, olive oil, yogurt and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix briefly with an electric hand whisk to remove any lumps. Drain the apricots and stir into the cake mix, then pour into your cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hr or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, mix all the ingredients together, using an electric hand whisk, until smooth. Spread generously over the top of the cake and dust with cinnamon before serving.
Sticky sponge cake
Ingredients
4 medium oranges
6 tbsp golden syrup, plus extra to serve, optional
200g butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
200g soft brown sugar
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds
4 large eggs
Method
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Finely grate the zest from 2 oranges into a large bowl. Cut the peel and pith from all the oranges with a serrated knife, and slice quite thickly.
Drizzle the golden syrup evenly over the base of a greased 23cm round cake tin. There is no need to line the tin and it shouldn’t have a loose bottom otherwise the syrup will bubble through. Arrange the best orange slices on top of the syrup and finely chop any that don’t fit.
Put all the remaining ingredients in the bowl with the zest and chopped orange. Beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Spoon on top of the oranges, spread lightly and make a deep hollow in the centre of the mix with the back of a spoon – this will ensure that the cake rises evenly.
Bake for 45-50 mins until firm when pressed. Allow to settle for 5 mins before turning out. Drizzle with golden syrup if you like, and serve with custard or ice cream.
Ginger treacle sponge
Ingredients
175g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp ginger syrup from a jar of stem ginger
175g soft light brown sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest 1 lemon
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp ground ginger
For the candied Clementine
200g caster sugar
1-2 Clementine, unpeeled and thinly sliced
For the topping
6 balls stem ginger, chunkily diced, plus 3 tbsp syrup from the ginger jar
100g golden syrup
Method
Butter a 1 litre pudding basin. Mix the breadcrumbs, golden syrup and ginger syrup and place in the bottom of the basin.
To prepare the steamer, put a small, upturned saucer or trivet into a large saucepan big enough to fit the pudding basin. Put the kettle on. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the beaten eggs, vanilla and lemon zest, then sieve the flour and ginger into the mixture. Fold everything together with a big spoon or spatula. Fill the pudding basin with the sponge mixture.
Cut out large sheets of greaseproof paper and foil, big enough to fit over the basin with a 2in overhang. Sit greaseproof on foil, fold a pleat into the middle, then butter the greaseproof. Put, butter-side down, over the pudding, and tie tightly under the rim with string. Sit the basin in the saucepan, add enough water from the kettle to come halfway up the basin sides, cover with a lid and simmer gently for 1 hr 45 mins.
Meanwhile, candy your Clementine slices by pouring 100ml water from the kettle over the sugar in a small frying pan. Heat until melted, then add the Clementine slices and bubble until they are shiny and sticky with sugar. Lift out with tongs and set aside on baking parchment to dry.
Check the pudding is cooked by inserting a metal skewer – there should be no raw mixture on the skewer, but you may find a little sticky syrup from the bottom.
For the topping, put the syrups in a small pan and bubble to thicken for a few mins, then stir in the ginger chunks and a few Clementine slices. Turn the pudding out onto a serving plate and spoon over some syrupy ginger topping. Serve with crème fraîche and custard.
Chocolate cake
Ingredients
200g good quality dark chocolate, about 60% cocoa solids
200g butter
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
85g self-raising flour
85g plain flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
200g light muscovado sugar
200g golden caster sugar
25g cocoa powder
3 medium eggs
75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)
grated chocolate or curls, to decorate
For the ganache
200g good quality dark chocolate, as above
284ml carton double cream (pouring type)
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
Method
Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3. Break 200g good quality dark chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Cut 200g butter into pieces and tip in with the chocolate, then mix 1 tbsp instant coffee granules into 125ml cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted – don’t overheat. Or melt in the microwave on Medium for about 5 minutes, stirring half way through.
While the chocolate is melting, mix 85g self-raising flour, 85g plain flour, ¼ bicarbonate of soda, 200g light muscovado sugar, 200g golden caster sugar and 25g cocoa powder in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat 3 medium eggs in a bowl and stir in 75ml (5 tbsp) buttermilk.
Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25- 1 hour 30 minutes – if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don’t worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin (don’t worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three. Make the ganache: chop 200g good quality dark chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour a 284ml carton of double cream into a pan, add 2 tbsp golden caster sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate curls. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.
Chocolate fridge cake with pecan & meringues
Ingredients
200 g digestive biscuits
110 g whole pecans, roughly chopped
110 g pistachio nuts, peeled
10 glace cherries
2 ready-made meringue nests, smashed up
150 g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
200 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
Method
Break the biscuits into small pieces directly into a large bowl. Add the pecans, pistachio nuts, cherries and smashed meringue. Put the rest of the ingredients into a second, heatproof bowl and either put this over a pan of simmering water, or into a microwave until melted.
Mix the contents of both bowls together and get yourself a container that will act as a mould. To help with turning the cake out, line the container with clingfilm, leaving plenty of extra clingfilm at the edges to fold over the top. Now spoon the mixture into the container. Put into the fridge to firm up, then turn out , removing the clingfilm, and cut into chunky slices. This cake can be kept in an airtight container for a few days and actually improves in flavour after a few days.
If you're allergic to nuts then simply leave them out of the recipe.
Lemon crêpe cake
Ingredients
21 ready-made crêpes
6 teaspoons gelatine powder
4x320 g jars lemon curd
grated zest of 1 lemon
crème fraîche, to serve
candied lemon slices
190 g granulated slices
1 lemon, thinly sliced
6 drops lemon essence
Method
For the candied lemon, place the sugar in a pan with 200ml cold water and heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon slices and essence, cover the surface with baking paper, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the lemon is almost translucent. Remove from the heat, leave to cool, then remove the lemon slices to a wire rack over a tray and set aside.
Place 200ml boiling water in a large saucepan over a low heat, sprinkle in the gelatine and whisk for 2–3 minutes, until it dissolves. Add the lemon curd and stir for a few minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Line a 24cm spring-form cake tin with clingfilm so it overhangs the sides. Place 1 crêpe in the base of the tin and spread over 2 tablespoons of lemon curd mixture. Continue layering the crêpes and curd until you've used all the crêpes, finishing with a crêpe. Pull the clingfilm over the cake and chill overnight, or until the cake is firm.
Remove the cake from the tin and transfer to a cake stand or large plate. Top with the candied lemon slices and a drizzle of the syrup, then scatter over the lemon zest and serve with a dollop of crème fraîche.
lemon drizzle cake
Ingredients
For the cake
115 g unsalted butter, softened
115 g caster sugar
4 large free-range eggs
180 g ground almonds
30 g poppy seeds
zest and juice of 2 lemons
125 g self-raising flour, sifted
For the lemon syrup
100 g caster sugar
90 g lemon juice
For the lemon icing
225 g icing sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Grease and line the bottom and sides of a 20cm springform cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Using an electric whisk, beat the butter with the caster sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs one by one, beating each in well. Fold in your ground almonds, poppy seeds, the lemon zest and juice and the sifted flour. Spoon the mix into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until lightly golden. You can check to see if the cake is cooked by poking a cocktail stick right into the sponge. Remove it after 5 seconds and if it comes out clean the cake is cooked; if slightly sticky it needs a little longer, so put it back in the oven. Allow the cake to cool on a rack.
Make your lemon syrup by heating the sugar and lemon juice in a pan until the sugar has dissolved. While your cake is still warm, make lots of little holes in the top with a cocktail stick and pour your syrup over.
To make your icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest and juice, stirring until smooth. When your cake is almost cool, put it on a serving plate and pour the icing carefully over the top. If you pour it on to the middle of the cake, then let gravity disperse the icing down the sides, you get the 'drizzle' effect! Give it a helping hand with a spoon if you want.
Mint choc teacakes
Ingredients
110 g butter, softened
100 g caster sugar
1 free-range egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
150 g flour
30 g cocoa powder
Icing sugar, for dusting
Peppermint meringue filling
275 g caster sugar
4 free-range egg, whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
A few drops of pure peppermint extract
Chocolate topping
100 g 70% cocoa chocolate, broken into pieces
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
1. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Whisk in half the beaten egg (you only need half) and the vanilla extract, then stir in the flour and cocoa powder until just combined. Divide the mixture in half, shape each into balls, wrap both in clingfilm, then chill for a couple of hours until the dough has firmed up.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4, and grease and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Dust a work surface with icing sugar and roll out 1 batch of dough to 5mm thick. Cut out rounds using a 5cm cutter (re-roll and cut any trimmings), then transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes till cooked through. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
3. To make the peppermint meringue filling, place the sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar and 1½ tablespoons of water in a large heatproof bowl. Beat with an electric whisk till fluffed up, about 1 minute. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water set over the lowest heat possible, and continue to beat at high speed for 10–12 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Remove from the heat, add a few drops of peppermint extract and beat for 2 more minutes, until the meringue has thickened even more.
4. Fit a 1cm plain nozzle to a piping bag and fill the bag with the peppermint meringue. Pipe onto the biscuits in an upward spiral, working from the outside in; leave a small border around the edge – aim for a swirl around 3–4cm tall. Place the biscuits on a tray and leave to set in the fridge while you make the chocolate topping.
5. Place the chocolate pieces and oil in a small heatproof bowl and gently melt over a pan of simmering water until completely smooth and glossy. Transfer to a small, deep bowl and leave to cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
6. To finish the teacakes, hold the chilled biscuits by the base and gently dip the meringue into the melted chocolate, swirling so it's completely covered. Or, place the biscuits on a wire rack with greaseproof paper underneath and drizzle over the chocolate until each biscuit is covered. Chill the biscuits for a few hours until the chocolate has completely set, and serve.
Orange & polenta cake
Ingredients
200 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
200 g demerara sugar
3 large free-range eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
200 g ground almonds
100 g coarse polenta
zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
crème fraîche or plain yoghurt, to serve
For the syrup:
250 ml orange juice, (from about 3-4 oranges)
30 ml orange blossom water
5 cardamom pods, crushed
125 g golden caster sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F/gas 2½. Grease a 20cm springform tin, line the bottom and sides with baking paper and grease again. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and creamy – don't worry if it looks gritty, as the sugar will dissolve when it's cooked. Beat in the eggs, one by one, then stir in the vanilla essence.
In a small bowl, combine the ground almonds, polenta, orange zest, orange blossom water and baking powder, then stir this into the cake mix. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 40–50 minutes, until the surface is light brown and the cake is coming away slightly from the sides of the tin. Remove the tin from the oven, leave to cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. This cake will be quite moist and a little fragile, so handle carefully as you remove it.
To make the syrup, put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over a low–medium heat until reduced and thickened slightly, it should take about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Prick the cake all over with a skewer, then brush generously with the syrup. Serve in slices with a dollop of crème fraîche or yoghurt and an extra drizzle of syrup.