Cake'n'Bake Easter Baking Competition

The deadline for entries to our Easter competition has now passed, and we had five wonderful and very different recipes submitted. Now it's time to pick our favourites!

Each member of the club, plus a few extra special judges who have very kindly agreed to give their time, will be asked to vote for one recipe based on the following criteria:

Which of these recipes would you most like to make for your family, friends (or as an indulgent treat for yourself) this Easter?

The overall favourite recipe (based on number of votes) will win 1st prize which will include a bundle of baking goodies, plus one of Eric Lanlard's recipe books and a signed copy of Cake Wrecks. Two runners up will also receive baking bundles.

The recipes are listed below, in order of submission, and the winner will be announced here on Monday 2nd April, 6pm UK time.

Until then, Happy Baking!

• Sarah's Easter Magic Chocolate Cake
• Jaymes' Polish Easter Mazurek
• Lorna's "Healthy" Hot Cross Buns
• Katrina's Chocky Easter Cupcakes
• Stacey's Easter Carrot Cake

Stacey's Easter Carrot Cake

It’s almost Easter and once again we’ve gone a bit Baking Mad! We decided to run a little competition in the club this month – to bake and blog about an Easter themed recipe. The favourite recipe(s), as voted by our club members and a few special guest judges would win a bundle of baking goodies. We’ve also submitted all of these recipes to BakingMad.com, to join their excellent selection of Easter recipes, such as Hot Cross Buns, EasterCakes, Cake Pops and more!

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This is my entry to the Easter Competition. Originally I attempted to make some stuffed bread rolls in the shape of bunnies, but unfortunately they didn't turn out too well so I ended up with only 2 hours to make whatever I could using ingredients I had in the house. Luckily for me I had an abundance of carrots in! My Easter bake is a deliciously moist carrot cake covered in a sweet yet tangy cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 large carrots (roughly 200g grated weight)
200g self raising flour
150g soft light brown sugar
50g chopped macadamia nuts
2 large eggs
1tbsp lemon curd
1tsp mixed spice
100ml vegetable oil

For the icing:
100g soft cream cheese
50g unsalted butter
50g vegetable shortening
300g icing sugar
1tbsp lemon curd

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45-50 minutes
Makes 12 slices

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease and line a 7" baking tin.
2. Grate the carrot into a large bowl, then add in all of the other ingredients and stir until combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire wrack to cool completely.
3. To make the icing, beat together to cream cheese, butter and shortening until smooth, then stir in the icing sugar and lemon curd until just mixed in - over beating here will make the icing too runny.
4. Once the cake has completely cooled, spread the icing over the top and sides using a pallet knife. 

PS - this recipe will also be submitted to http://www.bakingmad.com/ideas/easter-baking  - so keep an eye out for it there!

Katrina's Chocky Easter Cupcakes

It’s almost Easter and once again we’ve gone a bit Baking Mad! We decided to run a little competition in the club this month – to bake and blog about an Easter themed recipe. The favourite recipe(s), as voted by our club members and a few special guest judges would win a bundle of baking goodies. We’ve also submitted all of these recipes to BakingMad.com, to join their excellent selection of Easter recipes, such as Hot Cross Buns, EasterCakes, Cake Pops and more!

Easter Goodness in a Bite!

My entry for the Easter  Bake Competition.

When I think of Easter, chocolate, mini eggs and chicks come to mind. So... I thought I would bring them together for extra indulgence!!!

Serves 12-14 (Depending on the size of your cupcake cases)

To make the cupcakes, you'll need:

175g    Plain flour

1/4      Teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2         Teaspoons baking powder

75g     Cocoa Powder

           A pinch of salt

3         Tablespoons butter

300g   Caster Sugar

2         Free-range eggs

250ml  Milk

2         Oranges zest

2         Tablespoons orange juice

For the Butter-cream you'll need:

110g   Butter

240g   Icing sugar

2-3     Tablespoons milk

For the Topping:

1 Family pack size of  chocolate Mini Eggs

1 Pack of matlesers

1 Bar of dark chocolate ( Shaved to make the nests)

Method:

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat your oven to 180°C or Gas mark 4 and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake casings.

Cream the butter an sugar together until the colour becomes pale.

Gradually incorporate both eggs, one at a time.

Then fold in all dry ingredients, the milk and the orange zest and juice into the mixture until smooth.

Using an ice cream scoop fill the cupcake cases with the mixture. 

(The scoop helps to make sure each cupcakes has the same amount of mixture)

Then bake for 20-25 minutes. Once removed allow them to completely cool before adding the butter-cream on top.

To make the butter-cream:

Place the butter, Icing sugar and milk into the mixer and mix until a thick dropping consistency. You can put this on anyway you wish. I used a piping bag!

I also made little Easter chicks for the first time from sugar paste, dyed yellow!

 And used a black and red icing to make their cute little faces. 

I just rolled 3 small round balls for their heads. Then 3 slightly larger ones for their bodies and pointed one end to resemble their tale feathers and then I rolled out 6 balls around the same size as the heads and moulded them to look like wings. I just used a simple icing mixture to stick them together.

They all have their own characters.

The middle looks ready to go for a dive!

Also, for a cheeky added extra I shaved some chocolate. It's so simple and cheap to do! Just place a knife on top of the chocolate bar and repeatedly pull towards yourself.

Once your butter-cream is added, either decorate with the little chicks, mini egg nests or they are just as nice with the butter-cream beautifully piped on top.

Enjoy!

PS - this recipe will also be submitted to http://www.bakingmad.com/ideas/easter-baking  - so keep an eye out for it there! 

Lorna's "Healthy" Hot Cross Buns

It’s almost Easter and once again we’ve gone a bit Baking Mad! We decided to run a little competition in the club this month – to bake and blog about an Easter themed recipe. The favourite recipe(s), as voted by our club members and a few special guest judges would win a bundle of baking goodies. We’ve also submitted all of these recipes to BakingMad.com, to join their excellent selection of Easter recipes, such as Hot Cross Buns, EasterCakes, Cake Pops and more! 

This is my entry for the Easter competition. I was trying to think of something that wasn't just decorated in an Easter fashion, and this was practically shouted at me from my boyfriend; i think he's a fan of hot cross buns... They're "healthy" because they contain both dried fruit and wholemeal flour. Let's not mention the syrup on top...

Ingredients:
Makes 12

250-300ml warm milk
50g melted butter
250g strong wholemeal bread flour
250g plain flour
7g (one sachet) fast acting dried yeast
1tsp salt
70g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
50g raisins or sultanas
50g dried fruit (apricots, pineapple, orange peel etc. - whatever you like)

cinnamon (the amount is up to your taste - i suggest 2tsp, but others would say just the one)

75g plain flour
1tbsp golden syrup

Method:

Mix the melted butter with the milk, and make sure the mix is only lukewarm (so you don't kill the yeast). Put the flours, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the liquid mix and the beaten egg. Don't pour all of it in; about three quarters first because all flours absorb different amounts of liquid and you dont want it to be too sticky!

Now the thing i do to combine the flour and liquid is to use the wrong end of a spoon and mix - i figure it's a bit like a dough hook on a mixer... Seems to work for me at least! So yes, mix until it's nearly all combined (you may need to add more liquid) then turn it out onto a floured surface and get kneading.

I pop the telly on at this point and just knead away until i've got a nice smooth elastic dough; it'll take between 5 and 15 minutes depending on how quick you are. No rush of course (that's why the telly's on). When you're done, pop the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and put in a nice warm, cozy place for about an hour until doubled in size.

When he's proved (i always think of my dough as a "he", maybe i should see someone about that...), knock him back (i.e knead a bit again to get the air out) and split into 12 equal portions. Put a small handful of the dried fruit and raisins on each portion and squish in (technical term!). Make sure they're relatively well distributed but try not to have too many poking through the top of the dough as they might catch in the oven. Make 12 rolls like this, and then leave them on a tray, covered with oiled cling film in that cozy place again for another hour

Righty, so you're almost there. Preheat the oven to 200C. Now mix about 75g of plain flour with 6tbsp of cold water - mix in about 4tbsp straight away, then half a tbsp at a time, until you have a smooth paste (it needs to be quite thick). Pipe crosses on top of the rolls - i forgot the picture at this point, sorry! You'll need to do it slowly because the mix is rather elastic and you don't want to pull it off as you go along. I used scissors to cut the paste at the ends when i'd finished a row to keep it neat.

Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes or until they're nice and golden and sound hollow when tapped.
When they're done, microwave the golden syrup for about 20 seconds so its nice and runny, and brush on top of the rolls (i used a pastry brush). You could alternatively use jam in the same way. Leave to cool on a cooling rack if you can resist them straight from the oven! They go very well with home made lemon curd, but that's a story for a different post. Here's some with some good ol' butter:


PS - this recipe will also be submitted to http://www.bakingmad.com/ideas/easter-baking  - so keep an eye out for it there! 

Jaymes' Easter Polish Mazurek

It’s almost Easter and once again we’ve gone a bit Baking Mad! We decided to run a little competition in the club this month – to bake and blog about an Easter themed recipe. The favourite recipe(s), as voted by our club members and a few special guest judges would win a bundle of baking goodies. We’ve also submitted all of these recipes to BakingMad.com, to join their excellent selection of Easter recipes, such as Hot Cross Buns, EasterCakes, Cake Pops and more! 

This is my entry for the Easter Bake Competition.

Mazurek is a traditional easter cake originating from Poland. If you like Snickers or Fruit and Nut chocolate: you'll love this Mazurek!

Serves 8 - 10

You'll need:

23cm (9") Spring clip (or loose bottom) tin

For the base:

225g (8oz) Plain Flour

125g (4oz) Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes

3 tbsp Double Cream

1 Egg, beaten

For the Chocolate layer:

2 Egg Whites

166g (6oz) Icing Sugar

33g (1oz) Cocoa Powder

83g (3oz) Ground Almonds

83g (3oz) Raisins

For the Peanut layer:

3-4 tbsp Smooth Peanut Butter, add more or less depending on your taste

For the topping:

200g (7oz) Milk Chocolate

200ml (3.5 floz) Single Cream

To decorate:

Whole Almonds
White decorating icing

To make the base:

Rubbing the butter into the flour

Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°C/Gas 5. Sieve the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter. Beat the cream with the egg and mix in. 


Firmly press the mixture into the base of the greased tin. Bake for 10-20 minutes, until it starts to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow the base to cool.

Base mixture pressed into the tin

Chocolate layer ready for baking

To make the chocolate layer, reduce the oven's temperature to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Whisk the Egg Whites to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the Icing Sugar until stiff. Sieve in the Cocoa Powder, add the Ground Almonds and Raisins and gently fold in. Spoon the mixture onto the base and spread level.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the mixture is set. Cool the tin completely.

Beat the Peanut Butter to soften it, before spreading over the chocolate layer. Chill for 30 minutes, or until the Peanut Butter has firmed.

To make the topping, melt the Chocolate and cream together stirring until smooth. Pour straight onto the Peanut Butter layer and gently shake or tap the tin to ensure the topping is level and evenly covering. Chill until the topping is cool and slightly firm.

Decorate with the whole almonds. Arrange the Almonds to form an ear of corn, using the white icing to form a stalk. Leave to set fully before serving.

PS - this recipe will also be submitted to http://www.bakingmad.com/ideas/easter-baking  - so keep an eye out for it there!

Sarah's Easter Magic chocolate cake

It’s almost Easter and once again we’ve gone a bit Baking Mad! We decided to run a little competition in the club this month – to bake and blog about an Easter themed recipe. The favourite recipe(s), as voted by our club members and a few special guest judges would win a bundle of baking goodies. We’ve also submitted all of these recipes to BakingMad.com, to join their excellent selection of Easter recipes, such as Hot Cross Buns, Easter Cakes, Cake Pops and more! 


Sarah’s Easter Magic Chocolate Cake

Here is my submission for the Easter themed competition bake.
Why not delight your family, adults and children alike with
this creative and seriously chocolaty Easter Magic cake!

It comprises of a deep chocolate sponge filled with a rich
white chocolate cream centre, smothered in a dark and milk chocolate ganache,
decorated with cute handmade chocolate figures.

Ingredients for the
cake

175g self-raising flour
50g cocoa
225g golden caster sugar
225g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 tbsp milk

Ingredients for
the filling

125g white chocolate
125ml double cream

Ingredients for
the topping

200g dark chocolate
100g milk chocolate
225ml double cream

To decorate – can be brought in or hand-made in
chocolate moulds

Chocolate bunnies, chicks, eggs, mini sugar shell
eggs, basic icing

Method for the cake:

· Preheat your oven to 180 degree c/gas 4
· Grease and line an 18cm (7”) deep cake tin or 2
sponge tins
· Sieve the flour and cocoa together into a bowl
· Beat the butter and the sugar together until
light and fluffy
· Add one egg at a time to the creamed butter and
sugar with a little flour/cocoa mix and beat in between each addition
· Fold in the remainder of the flour and cocoa – being
careful not to “knock” out the air which has been beaten into the mixture
· Pour the mixture into the lined cake tin or 2
tins (make sure both tins weight the same if you are using two)
· Bake in the oven for 30-40 mins, keeping an eye
and not opening the oven whilst baking.
· Leave the cake/s to cool before turning out on a
rack to completely cool.

Method
for the filling:

· Whilst the cake/s cools, melt the white
chocolate and cream together in a bowl over a pan of hot water stirring occasionally
to combine.
· Be careful not to let the chocolate overheat as
it can turn grainy. Once melted, stir gently and leave the cool and thicken
slightly before spreading it onto one of the cakes or one half of the cake.

Method
for the topping:

· Melt the dark and milk chocolate and cream
together in a bowl over a pan of hot water, stirring occasionally to combine.
· Be careful not to let the chocolate overheat as
it can turn grainy. Once melted, stir gently and leave the cool and thicken
slightly before spreading it onto the cake, covering it completely.
· Use a hot pallet knife to smooth off the
surface.

Decorate the top and sides of the cake with chocolate figures which you can make
yourself by melting chocolate and using moulds. You can also add mini “mini
eggs” or a variety of other decorations to finish it off.

PS - this recipe will also be submitted to http://www.bakingmad.com/ideas/easter-baking  - so keep an eye out for it there!

Tom's Flower Bread

1lb strong flour (I used 3:1 white/wholemeal for this)

Half a sachet dried easy-bake yeast

Pinch salt

2 tblspns Oil

1 very big teaspoon of honey

10 floz warm water

To make it fruity and flowery add a few handfuls of dried fruit (rasins, sultanas are good) and dash of seeds (sesame and sunflower are good). I also grated some marzipan into the mixture to add that extra dash of sugary sweetness (like a flower!).

Dissolve the Honey in the water then mix it all up and knead it well for about 10 minutes.  It should form a slightly sticky firm dough.

Put back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel, and leave to rise for 2-3 hours in a warm place; it should approximately double in size.

Knock back and split into 7 equalish sized parts.  Arrange in a flowery shape; one in the middle and the others arround it in a ring, on a greased round baking tray.  Leave a small gap between all the pieces as they will rise again.

Leave to rise once again for about an hour, until the pieces have joined and the flower shape is obvious.

To make it more like a flower I made a red glaze by mixing a bit of red food dye with some milk and icing sugar and painting the outer pieces (the 'petals') with it.  I also sprinkled some seeds on the centre piece.

Cook in a moderate (about 190°C) oven for about 25 minutes.

The bread recipe is adapted from my Mum's - and has been well tested over the years! For a normal loaf use some molasses instead of the honey to get a deeper flavour, and adjust the white/wholemeal balance to taste (1:1 is good).  Each pound of flour produces a 2lb-loaf-tin loaf.

Sarah's Chocolate Guinness Cake

Makes 12 Slices

For the Cake:
250ml Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa
400g caster sugar
142ml sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2 1/1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the Topping:

300g Philadelphia cream cheese
150g icing sugar
125ml double cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degree/gas mark 4, butter and line 23cm loose bottom/spring form tin
Pour Guinness into a large saucepan and add the butter and heat until the butter has melted then whisk in the cocoa and sugar into the melted mixture.
Beat in a separate bowl the eggs, sour cream and vanilla then pour onto the brown, buttery, beery mixture and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.
The batter will be very wet - do not be alarmed, this is what gives the cake the very moist texture.
Pour the cake batter into the lined tin and bake for 45mins-1 hour. Mine took 1 1/2 hours - I kept checking mine with a skewer until I was satisfied with the texture.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin until completely cold.
Whilst this is taking place you can make the topping.
Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, add the icing sugar and then the cream and beat until spreadable. Do not over mix the mixture as the cream will turn grainy.
Top the cake with the mixture either by piping, or by smoothing on. You can if desired draw a shamrock on the top.

Happy baking!

Stacey's Flowerpot Bread

Baking in clay flowerpots was great fun - although if it's the first time you're using the clay pots they need to be "seasoned" - and that can take a fair amount of time! I did mine whilst my dough was proving, but in hindsight I'd probably do them the day before. For that reason, I'm going to start by telling you how to season your clay pots.

You will need:
5 11cm clay flowerpots
a pastry brush
a LOT of vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to gas mark 3. Brush each clay pot with oil, inside and out, (and paying special care not to miss the rim!) then place your pot in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the oil has baked dry. Carefully remove the pots from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle, then repeat the process 5 or 6 times to create a smooth, non-stick surface.
Once you've used the pots, if they are rinsed with warm water (rather than washed with soapy water) they will retain the "non-stick" layer and can be re-used without seasoning again.

I'm very new to bread baking, but wanted to use Cake'n'Bake Club as an opportunity to challenge myself, so decided to give it a go this month. The recipe below is based on The White Cottage Loaf recipe on page 285 of Mary Berry's Baking Bible, and chose it because it seemed nice and simple, and Mary Berry said it was good.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Proving time: 2-3 hours
Bake time: 20-25 minutes
Makes 5 flowerpot loaves

Ingredients:

650g strong white bread flour
10g yeast
1.5 tsp salt
60g melted butter or margarine
450ml warm water
1 large egg (to glaze)
50g poppy seeds
Vegetable oil (to grease the bakeware)

1. Measure all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and beat until combined to a sticky-ish dough.
2. Tip the dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead for 10-12 minutes until the dough is soft, pliable and still a little sticky. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and cover tightly with cling film. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Tip the dough back out onto a well floured surface, and knock it back by hand. Once the dough is smooth split it into 5 equal portions. Tuck the ends of the dough underneath itself and drop each piece into a greased flowerpot.
4. Place each flower pot inside a large plastic food bag and seal the end. Put the flowerpots in their bags back into the warm place to rise for around 45 minutes, again until it has doubled in size.
5. Preheat the oven to gas mark 7. Beat the egg, and brush a little of this over the top of each loaf, then sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and baked through.
6. Serve with lots of cheese and red onion marmalade! 

Happy baking!

Charlie's Lavender Shortbread

Ingredients:

125g/4oz butter

55g/2oz caster sugar

180g/6oz plain flour

1/4 tsp dried lavender

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius/gas 5.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth (I added the lavender to the sugar and mixed before combining with the butter).

3. Stir in the flour until it forms a smooth dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out until 1/2 inch thick.

4. Cut into rounds or fingers and place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Sprinkle with icing sugar and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Stacey's Sweet Red Onion Relish

Ok, ok, I know that this isn't STRICTLY a baking recipe. But - it IS something I made to go with my bake for March's Cake'n'Bake meeting, and Lorna asked for the recipe so I thought I'd post it here. To cut a long story short, I really wanted to have a go at baking bread this month, but didn't relish the thought of serving plain bread. I'd also decided that I'd quite like to have a go at jam-making/preserving at some point this year, so the most sensible solution seemed to be to make some sort of savoury jam to serve with my Flower-pot Bread.

I scoured the net and read various recipes, and then decided to attempt my own sticky-sweet onion relish, based on the knowledge gained in my research. One thing that did stick out was that most of the recipes I found said to leave the relish sealed in a cool dark place for 1 month to mature before serving. I only had 10 days to allow mine to mature... but it tasted yummy all the same. (To be honest, I'd have happily started eating it as soon as it was ready!)

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 75-90 minutes
Makes around 650g relish (3 and a bit medium jars)

You will also need 4 medium sized jars

Ingredients:
1kg red onions
3tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of salt
Pick of black pepper
75g golden brown granulated Sugar
75g soft light brown Sugar
186ml red wine (one of the mini/one person bottles available in supermarkets)
30ml balsamic vinegar
30ml red wine vinegar

1. Peel, halve and finely chop the onions. Place them in a large saucepan with the onions over a low heat. It's important to keep the temperature low so that the onions go soft and gooey, rather than brown and crispy. Heat the onions for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them from burning.
2. After 15 minutes, add the salt, pepper and both kinds of sugar to the pan and stir until all the sugar has melted. Cook for another 15 minutes, maintaining the low heat.
3. Once the onions are soft, translucent and sticky, stir in the red wine and both vinegars. Increase the heat slightly and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally for 45-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced.
4. Whilst the relish is simmering, sterilise your jars. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, and place a wire rack on the middle shelf. Wash the jars and lids in warm soapy water, then rinse under the hot tap. Place upside down (lids too!) on the wire wrack in the oven to dry whilst your relish cooks. 
5. Once your relish is ready, remove the jars from the oven being careful not to touch the inside of the jar/lid. Carefully spoon the relish into the jars and place some greaseproof paper over the top. Place the lid on whilst still hot and make sure to seal the jar tightly. Once cooled, leave the relish to mature in a cool dry place until you need it.
6. Serve with Flower-pot bread and lots of cheese! Yum yum yum!

I'll be posting my recipe for Flower-pot Bread soon, but until then - Happy Baking!

March - Baking in Bloom

For our March meeting, we decided to welcome in the Spring by setting ourselves the challenge of baking something with a floral theme.


This time we welcomed two new members, Olly and Lou, who made some Vanilla Cupcakes decorated with fondant roses, and some Mojito Cupcakes (respectively). As for the regulars: Angel baked some Flower Cookies, Charlie baked  Lavender Shortbread, Joy baked Sunflower and Sesame Seed Flapjacks, Lorna baked Lemon and Poppy seed Cookies, Sally baked some Poppyseed Bagels, Sarah baked a Chocolate and Guinness Cake (Guinness is made from hops, and hops are flowers!), Stacey baked some Flowerpot Bread, and Tom baked some Bread in the shape of a flower!

This month both Tom and Stacey decided to take on photography responsibilities - yet even with two of us doing it we still didn't manage to get a photo of all the bakes together - so here's a photo of a plate full of goodies!

To give you an update on the valentines competition we entered - we came third!

See http://www.bakingmad.com/blog/2012/02/valentines-blogger-competition-winners/ for full details, including the AMAZING 1st place cupcake and cake pop bouquet!
Everyone agreed that it was great fun to do, and that we'd like to get together to do something similar again, so watch this space!