helenscchin's Blog

           Continue reading “Berries and orange cake”

       

I made this birthday cake for 4 people celebrating together.

Ingredients

375 g butter softened
1 1/2 c caster sugar
3 Tsp vanilla essence
6 eggs
3 3/4 c self-raisin flour
1 3/4 c milk
1 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp bicarb soda
1 Tsp salt

Decorations (1 day in advance)

150 g dark chocolate broken into pieces
1 Tsp truffle infused oil
125 ml thicken cream
20 g butter
280 g white melting chocolate
100 ml thicken cream
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tsp melted butter
8 strawberries: 4 cover with dark chocolate, 4 on its own for decoration

Glaze and garnish

6-8 Tbs marmalade jam
1 lemon zest
1 small bunch of thyme

Method

Melt dark chocolate in microwave 5 times for 15-20 seconds; stir each time until completely melted. Then add cream and truffle oil and gives a stir and set to cool slightly before spooning into the oval shapes mould. Next place in freezer for 4 hours to set, then removed from freezer to thaw on bench top about 15 minutes so that easy to unmould.

Place them in a container and back into fridge until needed. With some extra chocolate, dunk one by one strawberry into it and let it set with pricking a small satay stick through and put in a glass with weight to hold it steady and not touching each sticks.Place them in fridge until needed.

For the white chocolate microwave 3 times for 15-20 seconds, stir each time until completely melted. Add thicken cream and oil, stir to mix well and set aside to cool slightly. Then spoon in the heart shapes mould. Place in freezer for 4 hours to set, removed from fridge so later easy to unmould them. I left them in the mould until I am ready to use.

The following day

Preheat oven 160 degrees, greased and lined the bottom 10 inches square tin. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and bicarb well.

Beat butter, caster sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine. Now add half the flour. Stir to combine in a direction of North to South and East to West. Add half the milk, do the same as with the flour to combine. Stir to combine. Repeat with remaining flour and milk.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Switch off oven, leave and in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven to cool further for 10 minutes. Next turn out onto a foiled plate mate to cool completely.

Spread the marmalade jam on top, grate lemon over it and sprinkle with thyme. To decorate the cake, remove the strawberries from the sticks and place them at the four corner of cake followed by white heart chocolate, oval dark chocolate and white heart chocolate all around the cake in square.

Serve with a strong brew coffee or if you like a sweet dessert wine like Tawny port.

 

Note: Oven temperature vary, you might need less or more time. Over beating can cause cake to crack. You can replace chocolate with cream pips with your favourite shapes nozzles.

 

#helenscchinrecipes,#nomadkitchencounter
#clubfoody,#awesomedesserts

       Continue reading “Ginger and orange cake”

      

Ingredients

3 c flour
2 c beer (Okinawa sour beer)
2 c packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
450 g  chopped dates
225 g craisin
250 g butter, softened
300 ml sour cream
2 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp cinnamon
1/2 Tsp nutmeg powder
1/2 Tsp Moroccan powder

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Method

Preheat 180 C. Grease the 10″ tub pan.

Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg powder and Moroccan powder in a bowl, set aside for later. Then combine dates and craisin, stir in small amount of flour mixture to coat, and set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Next add in the sour cream, beating to mix well.

Then add flour mixture alternately with beer, mix with a big spoon till all mix well. Stir in dates and craisin.

Pour into prepared tube pan. Bake in a for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Insert skewer in and comes out clean. Switch off oven leave cake in oven for 35 minutes.Then bring out to cool in the pan 20 minutes. Now turn out on a rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil, and let stand 24 hours before serving.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Note: Oven temperature vary. You might need less time or more.

 

#helenscchinrecipes
#nomadkitchencounter
#clubfoody
#awesomedessert

Ingredients

90 g Manuka honey
125 g butter, diced
2 William and 2 Beurer pears, cored and cut into rough 2 cm pieces
1 c plain flour
1 3/4 Tsp baking powder
300 ml double cream
400 Natural yoghurt
130 g castor caster sugar
55 g dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tsp vanilla essence
1/2 c olive oil
A pinch of nutmeg powder
1 Tbs ground ginger
2 Tbs fresh ginger grated for topping

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Bring honey and butter to boil in a saucepan, add pears, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pears are just tender (5-7 minutes). Spoon half into greased 24 cm baking round tray.

For ginger sponge topping: Mix flour and baking powder in a deep plate. Beat together yoghurt, both sugar, egg, vanilla, nutmeg powder, ginger powder until pale and creamy. Next stir in flour mixture. Then spoon batter evenly over pear. Now add the remaining half pear, gently push into the batter. Sprinkles the grated fresh ginger on top of the pear.

Bake until top is risen and golden brown 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes. Cake is done when skewer comes out clean. Turn off oven, leave cake in with door close for 35 minutes to 1 hour. Cool further 30 minutes on the bench top, then turn over on to a plate and serve warm.

 

Note: Oven temperature vary. You may need less or more time. You may serve it cold with vanilla ice cream or on its own.

 

 

#helenscchinrecipes
#nomadkitchencounter
#clubfoody
#awesomedessert