Pavlova

with Fresh Cream & Strawberries or Fresh Cream & Raspberries

Pavlova

Pavlova

Ingredients:
3 large fresh Egg Whites
175g Caster Sugar

For Topping:
275ml Whipping Cream or Double Cream, whipped
350g Fresh Fruit, like Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries or Mango & Passionfruit, Banana & Ginger (try a few varieties to find your favourite - depending on season)
Icing Sugar, for dusting
Dark Chocolate, grated over fruit

Preheat oven to 150°C - BUT turn down to 140°C immediately, when you put Pavlova into the oven.

Method:

1. Place the egg whites in a large clean bowl and & have the sugar measured and ready. 
2. Now whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks and you can turn the bowl upside down without them sliding out (do not over-whisk the egg whites, otherwise they will start to collapse).
3. When they're ready, start to whisk in the sugar, one tbsp at a time, whisking after each addition until all the sugar is in. 
4. Now take a metal tablespoon and spoon the meringue mixture on to the prepared baking sheet, forming a circle about 20cm in diameter. 
5. Then spoon round blobs next to each other so that they join up to form a circle all around the edge.
6. Make little swirls in the meringue all round the edge, using the tip of a skewer, lifting the skewer up sharply each time to leave tiny peaks.
7. Place the baking sheet in the oven, then immediately turn down the heat to 140°C and leave it to cook for 1 hour.
8. Turn the heat right off, but leave the Pavlova inside the oven until it's completely cold.
9. If you make a Pavlova in the evening, you can leave it in the turned-off oven overnight to dry out. 
10. The secret of successful meringues of any sort is to let them dry out completely.
11. To serve the Pavlova, lift it from the baking sheet, peel off the paper and place it on a serving dish. 
12. Then just before serving, spread the whipped cream on top, arrange the fruit on top of the cream and dust with a little sifted icing sugar or/and grated Chocolate.

Sivi's Blackforrest Gateau

Sivi's Blackforrest Gateau

Blackforrest Gateau

Shortcrust Base:

• Pre-heated Top and Bottom Heat only @ 200degree
• Not pre-heated Fan-Oven @ 170degrees
• Pre-heated Gas Oven @ 3-4

Ingredients:

125g Plain Flour

10g Cocoa Powder

1 knife tip of Baking Powder

50g Caster Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Sugar

100g soft unsalted Avonmore Butter

1. Add the Butter, Sugar and Vanillin Sugar into a bowl and mix until creamy, using a hand mixer.
2. Add the Flour, Cocoa Powder and Baking Powder in a bowl and sift onto the butter/sugar mix.
3. Mix with a dough hook, first on low speed for a short time, then on highest speed until well mixed.
4. Take the dough out of the bowl onto your worksurface and knead the dough until smooth. If the dough is too sticky, leave in fridge for 30min.
5. Grease a 25cm (10in) round sandwich tin and cover base with baking paper.
6. Roll the dough and add it to the sandwich tin, making sure the the base is all covered.
7. Prick with a fork several times and bake for about 15min.
8. Remove the Shortcrust base from tin and leave to cool.

Sponge Cake:

• Pre-heated Oven @ 170degrees
• Pre-heated Gas Oven @ 3-4

Ingredients:

4 Eggs

2 tbsp hot Water

100g Caster Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Sugar

75g Plain Flour

30g Corn Flour

10g Cocoa Powder

1 knife tip Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1. Add Eggs and Water to a bowl and whisk on highest speed for 1 Minute until frothy.
2. Slowly add Sugar and Vanilla Sugar while whisking for 1 more Minute, then whisk for another 2 Minutes.
3. Add the Flour, Corn Flour, Cocoa Powder, Cinnamon and Baking Powder in a bowl and sift half of it onto the Egg mixture.
4. Whisk briefly on slowest speed.
5. Sift the other half of the Flour mixture onto the Egg mixture and whisk gently on slowest speed until well combined.
6. Pour Sponge mixture into the sandwich tin and bake for about 25-30 minutes
7. Grease a 25cm (10in) round sandwich tin and cover base with baking paker.
8. Once baked, take out of the sandwich tin to cool

Filling:

Ingredients:

abt 700g pitted Sour Cherries in juice

250ml of Cherry Juice

30g Cornflour

abt 25g Caster Sugar

abt 3tbsp Kirschwasser (42% vol.) (or to taste – if kids are eating the cake as well, I ony add half the amout of Kirsch or use just Cherry Juice instead)

750g Avonmore Double Cream

50g Icing Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Sugar

30g Dark Chocolate, grated

1. Drain the Cherries and measure 250ml of the Cherry Juice, pour into a sauce pan. (Keep about 15-18 Cherries if you want to use them for decoration)
2. Take 4tbsp of the Cherry Juice and mix with the Cornflour.
3. Bring the rest of the Cherry Juice to the boil.
4. Take of the heat and add the Cornflour with Cherry Juice and stir constantly until thick and leave to cool.
5. Mix the sugar and Kirschwasser in a small bowl and add to the Cherries.
6. Whisk the Cream for 1/2 minute, then sift Icing Sugar and Vanilla Sugar onto the Cream and whisk until Cream is forming a peak.
7. Spread half of the Cherry Mix evenly onto the Shortcrust Base, then add 1/3 of the Cream Mixture.
8. Cut the Sponge base lengthways through the middle, to create 2 layers.
9. Put one half of the Sponge base onto the Shortbread/Cherry/Cream layer.
10. Repeat and add the other half Cherry Mix and 1/3 of Cream onto the Sponge Base, then put the second Sponge Base on top.
11. Cover the cake (top and sides) with the leftover cream.
12. Spread the grated Chocolate evenly all over the cake (top and sides) and decorate with the Cherries on the top of the cake, forming a ring on the edge of the cake.
13. Leave in the fridge to cool. You can eat it the sacme day, but I think it's even nicer the following day. Enjoy!

Rhubarb Crumble

This is one of my favourites, because it's quick and easy to make. Lovely for summer, with fresh cream or ice cream.

Ingredients for Cake: 400g (14 oz) rhubarb 100g (4 oz) strawberries 4 tbsp caster sugar 3 tbsp ground almonds Ingredients for Crumble Topping: 150g (5 oz) plain flour 75g (3 oz) demerera sugar a generous pinch of salt 100g (4 oz) cold butter, cut into pieces 50g (2 oz) ground almonds

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C / 400F. 
2. To make the topping, mix the flour together with the sugar and salt in a bowl and add the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3.  Mix in the ground almonds.
4. Cut the rhubarb into small pieces not larger than half an inch and halve the strawberries. 
5. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the base of a suitable ovenproof dish ( a round pyrex dish with a 17cm/7in diameter is good). 
6. Mix the rhubarb and strawberries together with the sugar and spoon into the dish.
7. Cover the fruit with the crumble topping.
8. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Emma's 6. Birthday Minion Pinata Cake

Victoria Sponge Cake with Butter Icing inside the cake and coloured roll-out icing for decoration. Cake is filled with jelly beans.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Victoria Sponge with Maple Creme Filling

I have tried a few recipes for a Victoria Sponge, but I must say, this is my favourite one.

Ingredients 4 large eggs 225g/8oz caster sugar 225g/8oz self-raising flour 2 tsp baking powder 225g/8oz soft butter or margarine at room temperature, icing sugar for dusting plus a little extra butter to grease the tins Method Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line 2 x 20cm/8in sandwich tins: use a piece of baking or silicone paper to rub a little baking spread or butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated. Line the bottom of the tins with a circle of baking or silicone paper (to do this, draw around the base of the tin onto the paper and cut out). Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar, flour, baking powder and baking spread. Mix everything together until well combined. The easiest way to do this is with an electric hand mixer, but you can use a wooden spoon. Put a damp cloth under your bowl when you’re mixing to stop it moving around. Be careful not to over-mix – as soon as everything is blended you should stop. The finished mixture should be of a soft ‘dropping’ consistency – it should fall off a spoon easily. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn’t need to be exact, but you can weigh the filled tins if you want to check. Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes. Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the door while they're cooking, but after 20 minutes do look through the door to check them. The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check – they should be springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool in their tins for five minutes. Then run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tin and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. To take your cakes out of the tins without leaving a wire rack mark on the top, put the clean tea towel over the tin, put your hand onto the tea towel and turn the tin upside-down. The cake should come out onto your hand and the tea towel – then you can turn it from your hand onto the wire rack. Set aside to cool completely. To assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with plenty of jam. If you want to, you can spread over whipped cream too. Top with the second cake, top-side up. Sprinkle over the icing sugar. To serve strawberry or raspberry jam whipped double cream (optional) or any flavoured butter cream icing

Banana Whoopie Pie with Creamy Maple Syrup Filling

Mothersday Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Makes 12 
Baking time: about 20-30 minutes

• 175g softened unsalted butter 
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 175g sifted self-raising flour;
• 75g sifted plain flour
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• some milk

Method:

1. cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 
2. Add the eggs one at a time and mix in. 
3. Add the Vanilla Extract
4. If the mixture looks as though it’s going to curdle, mix in 1tbsp flour. 
5. Fold in the remaining flour 
6. add a little Milk if needed to loosen the mix
7. Bake at 170°C (150°C fan oven) mark 3 for 20-30min
8. Ice with buttercream or any icing prefered.