Lorna's Gluten Free Orange and Coconut Cake

I've got a couple of friends who are gluten-free. One out of choice which really doesnt make sense; choosing to give up cake! But anyway, every now and then i send cake to their work via my fella to keep them happy. This is the latest to make the trip

Ingredients:
100g ground almonds
70g shredded coconut
150g fine cornmeal/polenta
2tsp baking powder
juice and zest of 2 oranges
270g butter
270g caster sugar
4 medium eggs


Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease an 8" round deep cake tin, lining with greaseproof as well if you want. In a large bowl, mix together the almonds, coconut, polenta and baking powder. In a separate bowl beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffly, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Don't worry too much if it splits a bit - a tablespoon on polenta should bring it back together as with a regular cake. Beat in the orange zest.
Pour the dry mix into the buttery mix and add in the orange juice. Mix until well combined. Pour into the tin and bake for about an hour. I baked for 45mins then covered the tin with foil so the top didnt go too brown and baked for another 25 minutes. Poke with a skewer to check if its done. Pop out of the tin and leave to cool on a cooling rack.
When he's nice and cool you can cut him in half and ice with any icing you want. I had a packet of Polish Dr Oetker icing in the cupboard (for reasons i fail to remember) which, from my apt skills on Google Translation, i made up as instructed. I did confirm it was gluten free first. Tasted a bit like hot chocolate, but not so hot...

Easter Baking Competition Winners

We at the Cambridge Cake'n'Bake Club decided to get into the Easter spirit a little early this year, by running an Easter Baking competition for our members. The challenge was simply to bake something Easter themed, and the top three recipes voted by our members and a panel of guest judges would each win a bundle of baking goodies.

Before announcing the winners, I'd like to take a moment to say a special thanks to the extremely talented pros who took time out of their busy schedules to take a look at our recipes and cast their own vote. In no particular order, our thanks go to to our new friends Suzi at Pretty Witty Cakes, Miss Sue Flay at The Secluded Tea Party, and Cat at Cakes by Cat. Thanks also go to Jen and her wonderful team over at Cake Wrecks, who have very kindly offered to send a copy of their book to the first place winner! You are all very welcome to join us for a cup of tea and slice of cake should you find yourselves in Cambridge on the first Wednesday of the month!

So, without further adieu, I am very pleased to announce our winners...

The prize for third place goes to Katrina's Easter Chocky Cupcakes!

In second place, we have Sarah's Easter Magic Chocolate Cake!

And finally, the prize for first place (and unanimously voted as favourite by our guest judges)... Jaymes' Polish Easter Mazurek!

Well done to everyone who entered, and thanks to those of you who took the time to read all the recipes and vote!

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!