Ginger Cake Donuts

I suspect most people will associate gingerbread with Christmas and Winter, but for me it is one super Autumn-ey flavour and perfectly nice for this time of year. With October truly on it's way and the Cake Slice Bakers time of the month swinging around, there was no doubt in my mind what I was baking when it came to choices. 

The Ginger Cake is, as Roger Pizey in World Class Cakes, puts it "super-charged". While I omitted the Ginger Wine called for in the original recipe, the rest stayed the same. I had never heard of Ginger Wine, and couldn't find it readily so it didn't make the cut. I added a sweet cinnamon, cream cheese frosting instead. The Donuts were beautifully balanced and based on the oh-ahs that accompanied the tasters lip smacking, I trust they went down a treat. 

I had a half of one, trying to be good and not deviating too far off my build-me-some-muscle gym plan. But honestly every time I meet my trainer he's asking what I have baked this week so I can never get away from it! My work colleagues are the same. It's like they want me to bake and complain I am making them put up weight.

And I love them for it. 

Ginger Cake Donuts- 

makes 18 donuts. Adapted from World Class Cakes page 70

170g butter
200g dark brown sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
2 eggs
160ml whole milk
290g self raising flour
2 tsp ground ginger
75g chopped crystalised ginger

Preheat your oven to 325F/160C or Gas mark 3.
Spray a donut pan with non stock spray and leave to one side.
Melt the butter, sugar and corn syrup over a low heat.
Whisk the eggs into the milk. Add this to the melted butter. Mix to combine.
Sift the flour with the ginger and add the crystallized ginger. Add this to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined and smooth.

Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe in the donut holes until just before the fill line. Bake in your preheated oven for 13-15 minutes until the tops spring back when touched.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan before tossing out and allow to to cool fully on a wire rack.

Make the frosting.

Cinnamon, Maple Cream Cheese Frosting 

30g full fat cream cheese
1 to 2 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp maple syrup
125g icing sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until smooth. If you need more milk to make it wetter, add in one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Once the donuts have cooled, dip in each one and allow to dry on a wire rack.

*** of course I don't have a picture of the finished forsting before dipping.. It was all too exciting!

Whaadya think?

Pretty autumnal right! Be sure to check out the linky below and see what the other bakers made this month. Happy baking folks!

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Olive Oil Cake- Gluten and Dairy Free

What a month it's been!

Can you believe school is back next week already.. I am not even prepared for that! But I am prepared for getting back into our aul' routine. And the kids not wanting to eat every hour of the day because they are bored, or it's rainy or they just plain don't know what to do with themselves.

I have pottered about this month. dipping in and out of social media, spending time with my babies and family and enjoying what's left of the summer. Though as I type this, Autumn is well on it's way and the blanket I have wrapped 'round my shoulders is doing it's best to keep the damp and cold at bay.

The cake I choose for this months edition of The Cake Slice Baker's almost resembles that feeling of the blanket. I adapted it to be gluten free and dairy free also as I am struggling with recipes for friends who are coming into allergies. While made with peaches in the book, I opted to leave them out. I am the only one in the house who likes peaches and to be honest, eating a whole cake by myself is not good for my health.

Apparently?

I know right!! Shocked me too!!

This Olive Oil Cake is a beautiful cake though. I photographed it early morning before anyone was up,  mug of coffee in hand nibbling on the crumbs as they fell off. Maybe I am biased but I was really in tune with the cake and the dawn chorus and I felt that next day charm worked had really worked it's magic on this cake.. once the crumb had settled it tasted so great.

Roger Pizey and his book World Class Cakes is just wonderful. I am really enjoying baking through with different skill levels catered for on every page. Although some of the timings have caused concern with some of the bakes, I think we all know our own ovens best and can alter as we see fit. It won't be long until the autumn will be here and our journey with Roger will come to an end!

Olive Oil Cake

adapted from pg 83 World Class Cakes

(regular recipe in brackets)

3 eggs
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
300g caster sugar
125ml olive oil
125ml almond milk (125ml whole milk)
128g gluten free flour (128g plain flour)
125g ground almond flour (128g self raising flour)

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F or Gas mark 4
Grease an 8 inch spring form, round pan.
Beat the eggs together with the sugar and the zest until well combined.
Sift the flour with the ground almonds, removing and coarse bits.
Alternating between the wet ingredients and dry, add these to the egg/sugar mixture.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake in your preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool and then turn out onto a wire rack.

Before serving, sprinkle in icing sugar. Enjoy with your morning coffee or tea!

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Lemon Tart

Pressure?

Pressure is for tyres my Mom will always say. There's no need to put yourself under pressure. But I don't heed her words and put myself under pressure is exactly what I did this month. I had read the recipe for Marco Pierre White's Lemon Tart, some time ago when I say it in Roger Pizey's book, World Class Cakes. I knew the minute it came up for choice with the Cake Slice Bakers, it would be what I picked. Having spotted it on June's list. I gave it no more thought.. until I came to bake it.

I picked the hottest day of the year ever to make this tart. Irish people don't get really great weather. We get pockets of sunshine here and there, but global warming stepped up a notch this week and we got temperatures hotter than the Mediterranean. I am not complaining about the weather (Irish people also do a lot of that!!) but merely stating that the heat put me under pressure...

Not great when you are trying to keep pastry cold!

Anyway... this tart was a pure delight! It has this light, lemon flavour that tasted so much better the following day. I did have some trouble with this tart from the start, but the spoils at the end were delicious.

During the baking process I dropped my bowl of zest into the filling bowl, resulting in this crazy splash spillage of sticky lemon filling. No process photos as a result but I do plan this again so will pop them in as soon as! The recipe also called for way more filling than was actually needed, I had a lot left over, even after the spillage so I have adjusted this for you in the recipe below. I also substituted my own Short Crust Recipe in for Marco's because I didn't like how the pastry sounded in the book and didn't have the 24 hours to rest it either!!

Marco Pierre White's Lemon Tart- 

adapted from page 246 World Class Cakes

Short Crust Pastry

240g plain flour

50g icing sugar

150g diced cold butter (+ a little extra for greasing)

1 large egg

Preheat your oven to 180C, 350F or gas mark 4.

Put the flour, butter and icing sugar into a food processor and blitz until looks like breadcrumbs.

Crack in the egg and bring together until a soft ball forms.

Wrap in clingfilm, pat down and leave in fridge until needed.

Lemon Filling

225ml double whipping cream

6 large eggs

240g caster sugar

finely grated zest of 2 lemons

juice of 2 large lemons

In the bowl whisk the cream and mix until it forms a ribbon.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until smooth.

Add the lemon juice to the egg and sugar batter and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture through a strainer onto the cream.

Whisk everything together and then add the lemon zest.

Let the bowl of filling stand in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Take the pastry out of the refrigerator, grease up a 10 inch, loose bottom, round pie dish with some butter.

Roll out a larger circle than your pie dish and place it into your dish pressing the sides gently as you go. Cut off any excess. Chill for the remaining time on the filling.

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F or gas Mark 3.

Remove the pastry shell from the refrigerator and line with parchment paper, fill with baking beads and bake blind for about 20 minutes, or until the inside of the tart becomes golden brown.

Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, then carefully remove the beads and the parchment paper.

Turn the oven down to 120C/250F or Gas Mark 2.

Remove your chilled lemon filling from the refrigerator and whisk again. Pour the lemon filling into the warm pastry shell and bake in a pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes. There should be a slight wobble in the centre when it is cooked.

Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Once the tart is fully cooled remove it from the baking dish and douse in icing sugar.

*yours will not turn out as brown as mine on the top.. My oven was too hot for the tart when I put it in. Ensure you have sufficiently cooled your oven to avoid this. 

So what do you think? Another Cake Slice Bakers success month from World Class Cakes? I think so.. despite the pitfalls and stops and starts I encountered. There wasn't much left by the time I got to photographing it.. that's a good sign I reckon!

Please scroll down to see all the beautiful cakes that were baked this month, and don't forget to check out our Facebook Page. Also, if you are interested in joining the #TheCakeSliceBakers, please send an email to Felice at thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com, and she will send you all the information you need! We are a great bunch of bakers, happy to make new friends!

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Genoise and Raspberries and Cream... Oh my!!

There was no way I was going to pass up a Genoise Sponge when I saw it on The Cake Slice Bakers list this month. 

It is one of my favourite sponges, light and airy and perfect with fresh fruit and cream. I was excited to see how Roger Pizey of World Class Cakes made his and followed the instructions in earnest. 

But alas, it was pretty much the same as every other Genoise recipe I have tried. Not that that was a bad thing, but there was nothing a teeny bit special about it. I did not however, use a the sugar syrup mentioned in the recipe. I really dislike, with all my baking heart sugar syrups used on cake layers to keep them moist. My understanding is, if you have to pour sugar water onto your dried out old sponge, then your recipe is wrong. Maybe that's the novice in me and someone can enlighten... I would love to stand corrected. 

Syrups as glazes and flavours, you can proceed, but sugar water.. YUCK!!! 

What the recipe did make for though, was an exceptionally light sponge, that melted in your mouth. There was no need for the sugar syrup in my opinion. The Chantilly Cream, a basic in most kitchens was a lovely accompaniment to the raspberries, not as sweet at this time of year and which happened to be on sale in my local store this week. And good thing too as there are a lot needed for this recipe.

The recipe it self called for one 8' round. Now. looking at the pictures in the book, I did not think the cake displayed was as small as an 8 inch. But I trusted the book.. I should have went with my gut. I opted to split the batter into two 6' pans, which actually resulted in me using three 6 inch pans and then ended up with double height cakes. You will see in the pictures below, they are very deep layers. Again, not a complaint.. the cake was ate up in no time, just something that I felt coming and ignored. 

Genoise Sponge with Raspberries and Cream

6 eggs

200g caster sugar

160g plain flour

25g plain flour

30g butter, melted

500ml Chantilly cream (recipe below)

625g fresh raspberries

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325F or gas mark 3. Line two 8 inch round cake pan or three 6 inch with baking parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until white and foamy. Slowly add the sugar and beat until the mixture has trebled in size.

Sift the flour and plain flour together and fold it, using a large metal spoon into the egg mixture, carefully.

Once incorporated, fold in the melted butter.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pans and bake in a preheated oven for 25-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middles comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully.

While the cake is cooling make the Chantilly Cream.

Chantilly Cream

500ml double cream

125g icing sugar

Whip the cream to soft peaks, sift in the icing sugar and continue to whip the cream until thick, stable ribbons form. Store in the fridge until needed. 

Putting it all Together

Once the cakes are cooled, spread a layer of the Chantilly cream on the bottom layer before arranging the fresh raspberries in circles on top.

Cover the raspberries with another layer of cream and then place the top layer of cake on the raspberries.

Spread a layer of cream on the very top (and sides if you wish) and place more raspberries. 

Serve.

So what do you think? It's worth a shot for sure.. I know it will be a hit because who doesn't love cake and cream and fruit when the summer is fast approaching!!

Have a great weekend folks!

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Lime and Pistachio Loaf

At the start of this year I decided to be more environmental, that meant,  for me, consuming less and making do with more. More of what I had in the pantry, finishing tubes and potions off to the end before replacing, bringing my travel coffee cup with me everywhere I go so I am not buying a new cup on the go. So far, with a few minor slip ups on the coffee cup front, I have been doing good.

I have helped myself notice how little I need to live with, what little 'stuff' I genuinely need. How content I am with being part of the everyday ebb and flow, taking life as it comes. That's not to say I am some kind of superwoman, converted to this new lifestyle but I feel a lot less anchored to 'stuff' these days. I am definitely learning to live without.

Soooo.. and I'm not going to lie to you, I didn't read the recipe properly on this one.. or did read it ages ago, decided  I was making it and totally flaked on the fact the original recipe calls for lemons too.

My bad.

Going to chalk that down to good old age, brain fuzz and maybe the million other things life throws at you at any given time. But I was going to make it regardless because I had everything else that I needed in the pantry and was content with doing without the lemons.

Lime and Pistachio Loaf- 

adapted from World Class cakes pg 75

3 large eggs
180g caster sugar
225g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
125ml vegetable oil (or 125g soft salted butter)
175g crushed pistachio nuts
zest and juice of two limes

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F or Gas Mark 4. Line or grease and flour a 2 lb loaf pan, or two 1 lb loaf pan. Ideally the 2 lb is better as the mixture doesn't quite make two high sliced 1 lb loaf. I divided it, but retrospectively should have just made one loaf.

Start by beating the eggs until they have doubled in volume and are thick and mousy looking.
Add the sugar, a bit at a time and continue to beat the eggs.

**If  using the butter, cream the butter and suagr together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time scraping down the bowl as you go.**

Add the flour and baking powder, followed by the oil (not required if using butter) and fold through, until one homogeneous mess.
Remove from the mixer and fold through 3/4 of the nuts, all the zest and juice.
Pour into your prepared pans and sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes on a low shelf, until the center has cracked and a skewer inserted in the middles comes out clear. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, before removing to cool fully on a wire rack.

This tastes so much better the next day... if it lasts that long!

This cake was the perfect breakfast loaf. All my guys here loved it.. I am sure the lemon added another zesty flavour to the loaf but the mixture of salty and sweet was just divine! I will definitely make this one again as I was very happy with the results.

A soft fluffy cake, with a fresh zesty, salty bite! Ticks off everything in my books!

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Banana Bread and Cream Cheese Frosting

For all of you who are new here, let me just introduce to you what happens round this time every month (and also do a little happy dance and extend the warmest of wishes and hellos that you are even here in the first place!). The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of bake loving maestros who choose a book and bake cakes from said book.  

This month is no exception... March has just flown by and in a frenzy of wedding cakes and birthday cakes and all other bakes, the choice for this month had to be simple! World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey is just  a wonderful book to bake from with different skill levels catered for on every page. While I thoroughly enjoy the idea of challenging myself, March was not the month for that. 

Thus the humble, yet spectacular Banana Bread was baked. I made two minor adjustments to the recipe, one because I didn't have the ingredients to hand and two because I seriously love the Cream Cheese Frosting from the book and thought it'd make a fab pairing with this recipe. Even with my adjustments the bake was a huge success. One taster remarking it was 'the best thing ever' and 'are you going to finish your piece, or will I?' (after his third piece)!!!

Needless to say, there is no excuse for not using up your ripe bananas in what is the easiest bake ever and then enjoying said bake with a big vat of tea, throwing your feet up on the sofa and regaling in your baking prowess.  

Banana Bread- 

adapted from World Class Cakes pg 65

125g soft butter
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs
225g self raising flour
50g ground almond
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
125ml butter milk
2 ripe bananas mashed

Preheat your oven 180C/350F or Gas Mark 4.
Line a 9 inch square pan with some parchment.
Mash the bananas in a bowl.
Add the sugar and butter into bowl and mix with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add the eggs and mix. Whisk the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and baking soda together and add to the wet mix. Fold through.

Add the milk and the mashed bananas and mix until fully incorporated. Transfer to your pan.

Bake in your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden and crusted or a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clear.

Allow to cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to cool fully before slicing.

Cream Cheese Frosting 

260g icing sugar

80g unsalted butter, softened

40g cream cheese

Beat together the butter and cream cheese. On a low speed add in the icing sugar, a small bit at a time. 

Mix on medium speed until it comes together. (You could add a little milk if you’ve reached a too stiff consistency.) Keep on mixing until soft and fluffy.

Once the banana bread has cooled, cut them up and swirl on the cream cheese frosting in a zig-zag pattern over each bar.  

I used an 8 inch tin when I made my banana bread bars.. and had enough for four cupcakes also.

I baked up the cupcakes as you normally would, rough chopped 5-6 stalks of rhubarb and stewed it for a few minutes until soft and gooey in 4 tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla.

Once the cupcakes had baked and cooled, the rhubarb had cooled and I had opened a carton of store bought custard.. I layered the different components together in recycled yogurt jars. I had enough cupcake crumbs from one cupcake to use in one jar. Seriously easy way of using in season ingredients and making something so much more entertaining!

Need more baking inspo?? Seriously.. you couldn't get any better than the guys and dolls of The Cake Slice Bakers!

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Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Espresso Frosting (Dairy Free)

Time of the month again round these parts folks... and no this is not me over sharing but rather an introduction (or a gentle reminder to those seasoned reader) to the 20th of each month where The Cake Slice Bakers and I pick a recipe from  a choice of 4, from our latest book to bake and share with you all. This month we are still hopping through World Class Cakes by Roger Pizney and I have to say I am loving it.

Dietary restrictions dictated the recipe this month, but what I found was that the Devil's Food Cake (pg 44) I did decide to bake up, lent itself beautifully to a dairy free option. A very good friend of mine has a son with severe dairy allergies and I always want to come up with variations for him.. I figured I would give this a go in his honour and boy, was I delighted with the outcome.

I did not follow the direction for the frosting that accompanied the cake batter recipe. While I have no doubts that the frosting was delicious, I couldn't in good conscience use half a dozen egg yolks in a single frosting. January is always the month we tighten up and start our new year budget.. and the budget didn't stretch to six egg yolks going into ONE frosting. Another time maybe, but not this month I'm afraid.

I adapted an espresso glaze to suit the dairy free conditions of the bake, and bobs your uncle.. these donuts were born. They are also part of my "baking on a budget" notions, with all ingredients bought in Aldi and proof, again, that name brand ingredients can bake a perfectly perfect bake!

Devil's Food Cake- adapted from page 44
Makes 18 donuts or 2 8' round cake layers

35g cocoa powder
65ml boiling water
85ml almond milk
125ml vegetable oil
230g caster sugar
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
225g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 350F, 180C/160C fan, or Gas mark 4. Spray a 12 or 6 cavity donut pan with baking release spray and set to one side.
Mix the cocoa powder with the hot water and leave to cool.
Cream the sugar with the oil and add the eggs followed by the vanilla. Mix together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together.
Slowly add the milk to the cocoa/water  and mix until combined.
Alternating between the flour and the cocoa powder, mix the two into the egg and oil mixture until fully combined.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe circles into your donut pan, until 2/3 full. Pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Remove from the oven, leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes before popping out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Espresso Glaze- enough for 12 donuts

125g dark 70% chocolate
2 tbsp coconut oil
450g icing sugar
4-5 tbsp strong coffee

In a heat proof bowl melt the chocolate and the coconut oil.
Add the icing sugar and coffee and using an electric mixer, whisk until combined to a shiny glaze.

Once the donuts are cooled, dip in each one to totally glaze over the top of your donut. Leave to dry for a few minutes on a wire rack.

I absolutely adore how these turned out.. I am so delighted that the cake recipe adapted so nicely to suit a dairy allergy and I have another recipe to add to my allergens list! The things you learn with The Cake Slice Bakers!

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Spiced Maple Pecan Cupcakes

Each month for the past however long I have been honored to bake with some of the best ladies and gent in blogland… Regulars to here will know the drill around this time each month; where The Cake Slice Bakers and I chose a cake and bake it, comparing notes and annotations, joys and downfalls. 

We are a group of bake loving maestros who choose a book and bake cakes from said book.  This month is no exception, only our New Year begins. November marks the start of a new baking venture and we get to reveal our new book… World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey.

This month I actually made two of the same recipe... One in loaf form, which was rapidly devoured and therefore not available for photo shooting but the other in cupcake! Which worked out so lovely.. I am so pleased with it. And judging by some of the other bakers choices, makes a really great cake too! 

I added a dash of spice to the cupcake version, as I felt the loaf was a little lacklustre.. The addition of the spice was great and accented the maple and pecan flavours perfectly. A great start to the baking year I will say!

Spiced Maple Pecan Cupcake
adapted from World Class Cakes 

225g self-raising flour

110g caster sugar

120g light brown sugar

1tsp baking powder

1tsp pumpkin spice

280ml buttermilk

100g unsalted butter, melted

85ml maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

85g toasted, chopped Pecans

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F or gas mark 4 and line a 12 (or two 6) hole cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, sugars, and baking powder.

In a separate jug, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Add this into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, don’t over mix. Fold through the pecans and scoop out even spoons to fill the cupcake liners to 2/3 full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes and remove form the oven.  Leave the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes then remove each one and leave to cool on a wire rack. Frost when cold.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

260g icing sugar

80g unsalted butter, softened

40g cream cheese

2tbs maple syrup

Beat together the butter, cream cheese and maple syrup. On a low speed add in the icing sugar, a small bit at a time. 

Mix on medium speed until it comes together. (You could add a little milk if you’ve reached a too stiff consistency.) Keep on mixing until soft and fluffy.

Using a plain piping tip, pipe rounds onto each cupcake and dust lightly in pumpkin spice.  

Pretty good looking right.. and they tasted just as good! 

Happy to be back baking with this group for another year!

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