Pink Carrousel Cake

On Saturday I spotted a lovely little carrousel cake in a Bakers shop window, which took my eye immediately. Two tone pink with cute little ribbons streaming from the canopy and cute pink little animals. I would have loved one like this for my birthday as a little girl with all fairy tale wonders. I wondered if I could manage to recreate something on these lines myself at home? How would I go about making a canopy then thoughts and ideas went flooding through my mind!

Sunday I put my idea for the canopy into a working project and made little pink elephants from sugarpaste, so they would all be dried out for using today. The canopy is made from two different pink card colours and little sugarpaste teddies and butterflies stuck on in the sections. The ribbons I ‘glued’ on too. For the central pole I used a wooden stick and covered it over with a drinking straw and glued in place through the centre top. A little circular card was formed for the finishing touches and glued into place on top.

I thought a classic Victoria sponge for the sponge cake would be good, which I filled with seedless raspberry jam and fluffy light pink buttercream keeping in with the theme of the whole cake.
The whole of the cake I covered in a light pink fondant icing. In the middle of the cake I used a darker pink and light pink fondant icing for the base of the carrousel to stand the pink elephants on. A little pink royal icing was piped around the base of the cake and also on the edges of the base of the carrousel in the middle of the cake, finished by adding little dots of darker pink to the centre of the piping work.

This is how my cake turned out just from one little peek in a Bakers shop window. The animals I even thought could have been brought in biscuit form like the Cadbury’s chocolate animals in packs in the supermarket.

Cheesecake Pops – Daring Bakers April o8

Hosting this month’s event is Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah from Taste and Tell. Thank you Elle and Deborah for hosting D.B. this month.

They selected a fun recipe for the Daring Bakers of ‘Cheesecake Pops’, from a tempting little book called Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor. They both explained that they wanted to pick something that each Daring Baker could put their own stamp onto. They both kindly gave a little leeway of adding flavouring to the cheesecake and the chocolate dipping could be of any kind of chocolate with the addition of sprinkles and ribbons if we so wished. The shapes of the cheesecake pops could be of any kind as long as they weighed 50g (2 oz) each. There are various techniques and stages being used in making these pops, making and baking a cheesecake in a bain-marie, forming the cheesecake into desired shapes, tempering chocolate and dipping chocolate and working with it before it freezes to add sprinkles on.

The challenge for me was finding little lollipop sticks and I ended up having to use plastic straws because the wooden lollipop sticks were way too large to use that I had brought. Not having little children anymore to eat my cheesecake pops I halved the whole recipe without any problems. How do halve an egg I hear you say for the cheesecake, I simply lightly whisked an egg into a cup and only used half. I made approximately 22 cheesecake pops in all with doing this.

The cheesecake mixture I made in my Kitchen Aid mixer and poured this into a deep enough metal baking tin and placed into a bain-marie to bake in the oven. The cheesecake itself is very creamy, light and defiantly delicious. It was then left to cool and wrapped overnight in cling film and placed into the fridge to work into 50g (2 oz) shapes the next day. I decided to keep the shapes round and placed my straws into the centre ready to freeze for a couple of hours before covering with the tempered chocolate and sprinkles. Once the chocolate was coating the cheesecake shapes I had to work quickly to add the sprinkles before the chocolate set to a hard crackle.

I truly enjoyed making my cheesecake pops and with using various techniques in each step it was fun, fun, fun!! If I am being honest on taste here, I am sure young children will adore them and find them fun to eat however, I really enjoyed the cheesecake element but adding the chocolate coating, I did find them quite sickly to eat after one bite.

The postman always knocks twice - happy birthday!!

The postman always knocks twice so they say and my postie knocked at my door with a parcel for me whoohoo! I am a lucky girl today I have balloons, flowers, cookbooks, money, champagne and lovely cards I thought it couldn’t get any better!! Well it just has my ‘dear’ friends *Rosie so excited here like a child in a sweet shop* my ‘dear’ friend Maria from The Goddess’s Kitchen has sent me a most wonderful gift of a book called, “The home guide to cake decorating” wrapped in a most gorgeous cupcake bag and a most wonderful birthday card with a little baker on holding cupcakes. Thank you Maria I am so over whelmed with your gift and card it really is SO very kind of you!! I just ventured over to Maria’s blog to find she has baked a chocolate cake in my honour of today and Madison Maria’s cat is dressed in a pink boa just for me!! Thank you sweetie I am so very touched and feel very honoured indeed!!

Best wishes Rosie x

Pink & White Celebration Cake

I am celebrating my birthday with a gorgeous pink & white cake that I found again in the wonderful little book called ‘Cakes Galore by Valerie Barrett’, I have adapted the recipe a little to suit my taste and requirements. I just fell in love with all the fluffy pink icing and the chequered-board effect of the sponge *so girly*.

To enhance the flavour of the cake I used all butter throughout and added my own touches of raspberry jam with crème de cassis to sandwich the layers of sponge together with the buttercream, then lastly a few pink sugar decorations for that finishing touch. It was my choice to bake my own birthday cake as hubby had spotted a chocolate cake in our local bakers; however, I needed a good excuse to bake this gorgeous cake didn’t I? *giggle*.

Hubby wanted me to cut into my cake *only because he wanted to sing Happy Birthday or was it the lure of a slice of cake?*, this has enabled me to show you not just the outside of the cake but how it looks from the inside! I will try and describe the cake texture and flavours to you. The buttercream flavour hits the pallet before a subtle flavour of raspberries comes through from the seedless raspberry jam and crème de cassis, the texture of the sponge itself is very light and airy, much like when one thinks of huge fluffy billowing clouds. I am very pleased with the outcome of this cake, as one always wonders what it will turn out like the first time. This cake in my opinion is perfect for any female who adores the girly side in her with delightful shades of pink – “pink rocks”!!!!!!

I have company staying over for a few days and I’ll be found in my little kitchen cooking up a storm. I will be calling by to say hello to you all and view your wonderful creations my ‘dear’ blogging friends in a few days :)

My Adapted Recipe for Pink & White Cake

Ingredients
For The Plain sponges
175g (7 oz) softened butter
175g (7 oz) caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
175g (7 oz) self-raising flour
For The Pink Sponges
175g (7 oz) softened butter
175g (7 oz) caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
175g (7 oz) self-raising flour
Edible pink paste food colouring
For The Raspberry Jam Glaze
4 tbsp seedless raspberry jam or conserve
2 tbsp crème de cassis
For The Buttercream Icing
500g (1lb 2 oz) softened butter
1kg (2¼ lb) icing sugar, sieved
Edible pink paste food colouring

For Decoration
Pink sugar and pink sugar balls
Pink Candles & holders
Cake board or serving plate

You will also need 2 x 20cm (8 in) sandwich tins, greased with a little butter and base lined with greaseproof paper. You will use these sandwich tins again to bake the pink sponges after the white sponge you will need to prepare them again as above. You will also need a piping bag fitted with a rose nozzle and a pastry brush, also a 12cm and a 2.5cm plain round cookie cutter.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

For The White Sponge.

In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy, add the beaten egg a little at a time beating well with each addition until all combined. Next add the vanilla extract and beat in well, gently fold the flour through the mixture until fully incorporated and lastly fold through the milk. Dived the mixture evenly and level the surface with a spatula. Bake in the oven middle shelf for 20 -25 minutes or until firm in the centre with a gentle touch or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to fully cool.

Wash the sandwich tins up and make sure they are fully cold before preparing them again as above for the pink sponge mixture.

For The Pink Sponge.

In a large mixing bowl add the butter, sugar and edible pink food colouring beating until light and fluffy, add the beaten egg a little at a time beating well with each addition until all combined. Next add the vanilla extract and beat in well, gently fold the flour through the mixture until fully incorporated and lastly fold through the milk. Dived the mixture evenly and level the surface with a spatula. Bake in the oven middle shelf for 20 -25 minutes or until firm in the centre with a gentle touch or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to fully cool.

For The Raspberry Jam Glaze.

Place the seedless raspberry jam and crème de cassis in a saucepan on a low heat on the stove. Stir the ingredients together until they have combined together then leave aside.

For The Pink Butercream Icing.

Put the butter in a mixing bowl and gradually beat in the icing sugar. Add some edible pink food colouring, mixing well in and leave aside.

To Assemble The Cake.

Place all the sponges on a work surface and using the 12 cm plain round cookie cutter cut out the centre of each sponge, then in the centre of each 12cm circle of sponge cut out 5.5cm of sponge. Carefully lift the central 12cm ring from each cake and replace it with one of the other colour and do the same with the 5.5cm circle of sponge. Place the first layer of sponge on a cake board or serving plate and spread the top of the sponge with the jam then the buttercream. Place an alternative colour sponge on top spreading with jam and buttercream until all four sponges are stacked on top; remember to make sure all sponge cakes are placed alternate for the chequered-board effect.

Spread a little of the buttercream icing over the top of the cake and smooth down with a palate knife. Using a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle fill with buttercream and pipe lines of icing down the sides of the cake until fully covered. Pipe the remaining buttercream icing decoratively in a circle around the centre top of the cake and around the top edge.

Finish off by sprinkling a few pink sugar strands and pink sugar balls onto the decorative piping work around the centre top of the cake and around the top edge.

Related post

Raspberry Soufflé Gateau

Banana Bread with Cinnamon, Pecan & Hazelnuts

It seems ages since I have been found pottering in my little kitchen baking before my guests arrived to stay for a wonderful few days. I have missed the smell of newly bakes cooling on the side not to mention the anticipation of trying out something new! I just enjoy savouring that first taste as flavours mingle and burst into chorus on my pallet.

I found a NEW event taking place by Lorraine at Not Quite Nigella for Banana Bread. Lorraine requests that it be purely banana bread without any frostings for this event. In the knowledge of this, I knew I needed to bake a banana bread for this event that is packed with good flavour not relying on that extra touch of flavour from frosting. I adore the combination of bananas, cinnamon, pecan and hazelnuts with soft dark brown sugar and honey. The next process was to come up with a recipe to fit each flavour I had chosen. I f you could be a fly on my wall, you would find me at times sat with pieces of scrap paper and pencil working out such recipes. I am very pleased with the outcome of my recipe for banana bread; the subtle hint of cinnamon and honey mingle in the background with the full bodied flavour of banana and then subsiding with a nutty flavour coming through in a toffee kind of way. This banana loaf may look plain but what it lacks in looks it cheekily makes up in flavour and moistness and ideal sliced and buttered. A great bake for taking in a lunch box or even for afternoon tea on a sunny Sunday afternoon!

Banana Bread with Cinnamon, Pecan & Hazelnuts

Ingredients
100g (4 oz) softened butter
100g (4 oz) soft dark brown sugar
50ml (2 fl oz) runny honey – I used Gales honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk
2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
½ tsp cinnamon
225g (8 oz) self-raising flour
50g (2 oz) pecan nuts, chopped
50g (2 oz) hazelnuts, chopped

You will need a 900g (2lb) loaf tin that is greased with butter and lined with greaseproof paper or baking paper.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

In a large mixing bowl add the butter, sugar and honey and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract to the lightly beaten egg, then add a little of the egg mixture a little at a time, beating well at each addition until all combined. Gently fold in the mashed banana through the mixture with the chopped nuts. Sieve the flour and cinnamon into the mixture and fold through gently with a large metal spoon until all is combined. Lastly add the milk and quickly fold through and place into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top of the mixture over.

Place into the preheated oven towards the bottom of the oven *if placed too high in the oven the top will burn before being baked through*. Bake for 50 -1 hour or until it feels firm to a gentle touch in the middle or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool for at least 15 minutes before turning out to finish cooling on a wire rack. Remove the paper and wrap in foil and store in an airtight container or slice it up and eat it plain or butter each slice the choice is yours.

Note: if the top of the loaf seems to be browning too quickly towards the end cover the top over with a sheet of baking paper, this will help prevent the top from burning.

Top Tip: I weighed my sugar out then poured the runny on top of the sugar to weigh out the correct amount. This saved having to scrap the honey out of the weighing scale bowl.

Awards Time & 6 Word MeMe

You Keep Me Blogging Award

I had the most wonderful surprise from the lovely Sylvie at A Pot of Tea and Biscuit. I am an avid reader of Sylvie’s blog with excellent writing and photos of food, a must visit if you haven’t already!

Sylvie has very kindly passed a wonderful award on to me “You Keep Me Blogging Award”. I feel very honoured to receive this award due to many fellow bloggers who equally deserve this award. Thank you SO much Sylvie for thinking me worthy of this wonderful award!!

I have had time to think of whom to pass this “You Keep Me Blogging Award” onto, I would dearly like to award you all but I have to choose just one person. I haven’t made my decision lightly because I visit so many outstanding blogs, and you all leave me feeling inspired and in admiration of you all. You encourage me with all your lovely comments and make blogging for me such a joy; I really do appreciate you my blogging friends and many THANKS to you all!!

The person I have in mind for this award has been my dear online friend for many years now. She has been my inspirational muse at times and without doubt spurred me on when my mojo for cooking or baking has diminished throughout the years. She has always given me encouragement when I have doubted myself about a certain dish or bake. Thank you Maria for being such a sweet and much treasured friend!! Maria also is a fantastic baker/cook don't take my word for it go and have a look on her blog!

So Maria from The Goddess’s Kitchen and with great pleasure, I would like to pass this award onto you!

6 Word Meme

I am a little late in posting this meme due to having guests over and the lovely Vi from Flowers in the Kitchen has tagged me for a 6 word memoir.

1. Perfectionist
2. Considerate
3. Hoarder.... just can’t throw away my food magazines :S
4. Protective
5. Caring
6. Loyal

I am supposed to tag 6 people but I would like to share this tag with anyone who wishes to take up the challenge of partaking on this 6 word meme.

E for Excellent” Award

I have been awarded by the lovely Margot from Coffee & Vanilla, “E for Excellent” Award. It really was such a pleasant surprise and I feel SO very honoured to receive this award. Thank you Margot I will treasure it!

I now have the pleasure in passing on this award on to a few of my fellow bloggers. My only wish I have here is that I could nominate everyone!

Drum roll please .....

I would like to pass this award onto bloggers who are all new additions to my blogroll who all have excellent blogs that are worth a visit.

Kelly Jane at Cooking The Books

George at Culinary Travels Of A Kitchen Goddess

Vi at Flowers in the Kitchen

Vicky at A Healthy Appetite

Brenda at Tea and Wheaten Bread

Sylvie at A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit

Loulou at Kitchen Moments in Time

Raspberry Soufflé Gateau

Have you ever stumbled across a recipe and viewed the picture and just knew you wanted to cook or bake it but you needed the right occasion to indulge your desire for this? I have been drooling over such a gateau now for a couple of weeks ever since Cakes Galore by Valerie Barrett came into my possession. I first spotted this wonderful book on the lovely Margaret’s Blog at Kitchen Delights where she had baked a most gorgeous Easter cake from this book. If you haven’t visited Margaret’s Blog yet please do it’s a magnificent Blog, many thanks “M” for posting about this book!

I have company arriving and no better time to try out this recipe of Raspberry Soufflé Gateau. I have slightly adapted the recipe to suit my needs and also availability of ingredients. I aimed for a more in-depth adult taste by adding Chambord liqueur made from small black raspberries and other fruits and herbs combined with delicious honey. Now if this liqueur was good enough for King Louis XIV of France, it most certainly is for my guests. It did enhance the flavour of the raspberries for the couli as the main flavour for the Soufflé. I did have a little trouble turning the Gateau out due to not having a flat based tin, I must invest in one of those!

Note this recipe does contain raw egg whites if in any doubt use pasteurised egg whites.

I am posting my adapted recipe for this Raspberry Soufflé Gateau but you will find the original recipe in Cakes Galore by Valerie Barrett a very worthwhile book to have in your collection of cookbooks.

Adapted Raspberry Soufflé Gateau Recipe

Serves 10 – 12 slices

Ingredients
75g butter, melted
225g digestive biscuits, crushed
150g caster sugar
400g frozen raspberries
1 tbsp powdered gelatine
300 ml double cream
3 egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
200ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks
200g fresh raspberries
4 tbsp seedless raspberry jam
3 tbsp Chambord liqueur

You will also need a 20cm (8 in) springform tin preferably with a flat base and greased with a little butte.


Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

In a mixing bowl add the crushed biscuits, 50g of the sugar and melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon to bring the crumbs together a little before placing in the base of the tin. Flatten the crumbs down with your hand and place the tin into the preheated oven to bake for 10 minute, then leave to cool on the side.

In a saucepan add the raspberries and the Chambord liqueur and simmer the fruit gently until the fruit seems soft. Place all the fruit into a food processor and whizz until the fruit is blitzed up. Sieve the raspberry juices over a bowl to remove the pips and discard them.

In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, add 3 tablespoons of hot water and sprinkle over the gelatine. Stir until this is dissolved and place into the raspberry couli and leave aside.

In another mixing bowl add the 300 ml double cream and whip until soft peak stage. Now fold this into the raspberry couli.

In a large grease free bowl add the egg whites and whisk until soft peak then whisk in the cream of tartar and the remaining sugar a little at a time until the mixture is thick and glossy. Fold the whisked egg whites into the raspberry couli and cream mixture. Spoon the mixture on top of the biscuit base and place into the fridge for 2 – 3 hours or until set.

Remove the gateau from the tin very gently and place onto a serving plate. Place the 200ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks in a piping bag fitted with a rose nozzle and pipe around the top edge of the gateau. Pile fresh raspberries in the centre and spoon over the warmed jam over the raspberries.

Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream & Strawberries

When I saw Equal Opportunity Kitchen was hosting an event for Tried, Tested & True food, I couldn’t wait to participate. I wanted to submit something that evokes memories from being a child right up to my present day. I wanted to submit something that is classically English and a recipe of mine that has been well and truly tried and tested for many years.

As a child my parents took the family to Devon for holidays. Devon is diverse in rolling hills of green pastures with Dartmoor National Park where you will find horses roaming with their foals, picturesque little villages and vales and seaside resorts like Torquay and also little sea coves, which are very scenic. One heat wave of a summer when my children were little, hubby and I spent a most charming holiday in Devon. We visited a most quaint little village called Widecombe in the Moor located within the heart of the Dartmoor National Park. It has a delightful village green where we found horses grazing with their foals and we spotted a little tea shop. We sat outside in the glorious sunshine at a table with a white crisp linen tablecloth and devoured greedily with glee, fresh baked scones served with Devonshire clotted cream and thick fruity strawberry jam, for refreshments English tea was served alongside. I have through the years recreated this most wonderful experience on warm sunny afternoons sat on my patio taking afternoon tea with my family. This is very quaint and typically English but a truly salivating decadent afternoon tea experience!

These scones are best described as, slightly sweetened with an outstanding soft light airy interior texture and served with glorious dollops of rich sublime clotted cream and fresh succulent ripened sweet strawberries. Now just watch for those drips of juiciness as you sink your teeth into pure heavenly delights should you try this recipe out yourself *giggle*.

My friends I have pleasure in sharing with you, one of my favourite of all time recipes. If you are unable to find clotted cream, whisked double cream is a good substitute. You can either use fresh strawberries as I have or use strawberry jam. The greatest tip for making scones I can give you would be, not to work the dough for too long or your scones will not be light and airy.

Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream & Strawberries

Makes approximately 20 scones

Ingredients
500g (1lb 2oz) self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
100g (4 oz) butter
50g (2 oz) caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Approx 425ml (¼ pint of milk)
A little milk for brushing the tops
A little caster sugar for sprinkling on the tops
For Serving
Clotted cream
Fresh ripe strawberries or strawberry jam
You will also need 2 large baking trays lined with non-stick paper, a circular cutter 5cm (2 in)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/450°F/Gas mark 6

Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub through with your finger tips and thumb until it resembles breadcrumbs. Now add the sugar and mix through gently. Add the eggs and enough of the milk to make workable dough. Turn out onto the work surface and lightly knead quickly into a ball shape. Roll out to thickness of 1cm (½ in) and stamp out with the cutter. Place onto the lined baking trays and lightly brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle over a little sugar. Place into the oven to bake for approximately 10 -15 minutes until golden. Place onto a wire rack to cool and serve with clotted cream, fresh strawberries or strawberry jam.

Note: You may have to lightly re-roll the dough mixture to make 20 scones. Try not to work the dough too much or the scones will become heavy and not a light and airy texture that is needed.

Six Word Memoir & Award

The lovely charming Margot at Coffee & Vanilla tagged me for a Six Word Memoir and here my friends are another revelling six words about me.

Creative

Compassionate
Introvert
Sensitive
Affectionate
Chocoholic

Rules:
1. Write your own six-word memoir.

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.

3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.

4. Tag five more blogs with links.

5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

I’m tagging to participate in this meme:

Maria of The Goddess’s Kitchen

The cake Crusader of The Caked Crusader
Cakelaw of Laws of the Kitchen
Donna of Made in Heaven

Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures

E ...is for Excellent Award

The dear sweet Gloria from Canela’s Kitchen has very kindly awarded me with “ E ...is for Excellent Award”. I am very thrilled and very touched to be honoured with this most wonderful award – Thank you so very much Gloria.

There are so many truly excellent blogs that I visit and some I am yet to discover in the blogsphere. Therefore I find it very difficult to nominate a few as you all have excellent blogs; therefore I would dearly love to pass this award onto all my blogging friends who visit my site. Yes you and please DO take this award and place it on your wonderful site!

Rosie x

Lemon & Lime Marmalade Cake

Today I thought I would bake a cake using some of my lemon & Lime Marmalade I made the other day. Now I wanted to give myself a little challenge in using self-raising wholemeal flour in this bake. What did I think of the outcome I hear you ask in using different flour? The texture I thought was more of a crumbly one but it gave good flavour to the cake. Just think of lemons and how your mouth waters well adding citrus marmalade into the cake and icing gives that sweet and sour edge. I thought this would give me a chance to show you how I have incorporated some of my preserve in a bake. I wouldn’t call this a fancy cake but then the proof is in the taste. Personally I think this would make a great dessert cake without the icing and served with lashings of custard.

Lemon & Lime Marmalade Cake
175g (6 oz) softened butter
50g (2 oz) soft light brown sugar
5 tbsp golden syrup
2 eggs
150g (5 oz) lemon & lime marmalade
275g (10 oz) self-raising whole meal flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp lime juice
For The Icing
225g (8 oz) icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp lime juice
You will need 20cm (8 in) springform cake tin greased and lined with greaseproof paper.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the golden syrup and beat through until combined. Beat in one egg at a time until all incorporated then beat in the marmalade. Sieve the flour baking powder and ground ginger together and fold gently into the mixture in the bowl. Add both lemon and lime juice and fold through gently until all combined and of a good dropping consistency. Place into the cake tin and smooth the top over with a spatula. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 1- 1¼ hour(s) or until the top feels firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to completely cool.

Make the icing by sieving the icing sugar into a mixing bowl and add both lemon and lime juice. Mix to a smooth mixture remembering you want the icing to dribble down the sides a little, so add a little more citrus juice if the icing is to stiff.

Place the cake onto a serving plate and spoon the icing on top of the cooled cake letting some of the icing dribble down the sides.

Pixie at You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto has posted a lovely Clementine Curd and her thoughts of being new to preserving. Pixie and I hope to post different preserves and recipes up to the end of the closing date for ‘Putting Up” I wonder who will be the lucky winner in the raffle at the end for a gorgeous preserve book. You can find out more about the event on one of my earlier posts [link here].

Lemon & Lime Marmalade

Lemon & Lime Marmalade

Back view of jar showing the zest suspending in the preserve

I couldn't wait to get out my jam jars, preserving equipment for this wonderful ‘Putting Up’ Event. I had some lemon and limes, which I thought would make an excellent combination for marmalade. I have a fondness for using preserves in my baking but nothing beats a warm toasted slice of bread with lashings of marmalade in my opinion! This marmalade isn’t as sweet as some and gives a wonderful sharp edge to it and both citrus flavours shine through remarkably to give a clean taste to your palette. Note you need to start this recipe the night before.

I will try and guide you through the stages of this preserve to the best of my knowledge that I have learnt from making my own preserves. Of course I don’t proclaim to know everything and remain to learn all the time, so please feel free to leave any feedback. I am always willing to learn new procedures or valuable tips!

The setting point is one that can be hard to grasp at first, as I found to my cost when I first started making preserves. I have tried to explain to the best of my ability what to look for in a setting point.

I managed to yield three 450g (1lb) jars and ¾ filled a fourth 450g (1lb) jar from this recipe.

Lemon & Lime Marmalade
225g (8 oz) lemons
225g (8 oz) limes
15 litters (2½ pints) cold water
1.125kg (2½ lb) caster sugar
You will also need 4 x 450g (1lb) jam jars with lids or covers

Method

Wash your preserving pan or heavy based large pan in hot soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly on a clean tea towel.

Taking the lemons and limes, wash in hot water to remove any wax if they are not organic and to ensure the skins are fully clean. Dry thoroughly on a clean tea towel. Cut the fruit in half squeezing out all the juice and placing in a jug covered over in the fridge for the next day. Any pips and pulp scoop out and place into a muslin in the middle, tie tightly with string around the top to encase all the pips and pulp leaving a little extra string to tie to the handle if possible onto the preserving pan. Place the muslin bag of pips and pulp into the preserving pan with the water. Slice the zest and pith into thin strips and place this in the preserving pan. Cover over with foil or a lid and leave to soak overnight.

Showing preserving equipment I use minus jam jars, lids and labels

Next day, wash all the jam jars and equipment in hot soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly on a clean tea towel. Heat the oven on a low heat and place the jars on a baking tray and place in the oven to sterilise. Sterilise all lids or if using a kilnar jar the rubber seal in boiling water in a bowl or pan, do not place these in the oven.

Place two side plates in the freezer for the setting point if not using a sugar thermometer.

You can at this stage also warm the sugar through in the low oven on a large baking tray; this will help dissolve the sugar quicker when added to the preserving pan.

Place the preserving pan on a low heat on the stove and let it simmer until the zest is soft enough. You will need to keep the pan covered either by a lid or foil to ensure that you don’t lose fluid, (it can take an hour or more for the zest to soften). You can test to see if the zest is soft enough by carefully taking a strip out and squeezing through your finger and thumb, it should give easily and break into two. Remove the muslin bag of pips and pulp and squeeze out any fluids, being careful as this will be hot then discard the muslin bag and contents.

The zest soft after a simmer

If using a sugar thermometer clip this onto the side of your pan making sure the base is in the liquid. Now add all the sugar and lemon and lime juice in the jug, keeping the heat low and stirring with a large handled wooden spoon until all the sugar has dissolved. You can test this also by looking at the back of a wooden spoon to see if there are any signs of sugar crystals clinging to it. The sugar MUST BE fully dissolved before going on to the next stage.

A rolling rapid boil

Increase the heat and bring to a rolling rapid boil and boil until setting point is reached, making sure you remain to keep stirring to prevent the contents burning. This will be very hot at this stage so this is why I recommend a long handle wooden spoon to help prevent any splashes onto the skin. Setting point can be reached at any point from 5 – 20 minutes or even longer in some cases. Signs to look for in a set point would be, the fruit will not rise as vigorously and it makes less noise when bubbling and large bubbles appear on the surface. Always remove the preserving pan off the heat when testing for setting point. The sugar thermometer will read on the jam setting when ready or take a plate out of the freezer and place a teaspoon of the preserve on it. Leave this to cool and with your finger push through the middle, you will notice a wrinkle to the skin of the preserve and clearly a line through the centre where your finger has been. If the set is not reached place back on the heat and boil rapidly once again for 5 minutes, take off the heat and try again as above to see if setting point is reached.

Testing for setting point with a sugar thermometer

Testing for setting point with a plate

You can also judge before taking off the heat to test for a set by coating the back of a wooden spoon, and you will notice drops of jelly forming on the bottom of the spoon.

Showing jelly droplets on the back of a wooden spoon

When the correct set is achieved leave the preserve to cool a little giving a stir from time to time. You will notice the zest starting to suspend in the jelly of the preserve. If you pot up to early the zest will not suspend equally throughout the preserve.

It’s now time for potting up the preserve. Bring out the warm jars from the oven and place on a heat proof surface. Using a ladle or large spoon and jam funnel if you have one, fill the jars up to the brim, trying not to leave any gaps between the lid and the jar. This helps elevate any bacteria forming between the lid and jar in storage. With a clean cloth wipe off any stickiness around the outside lip of the jar and seal down with the lids.

Potting up my preserves

Leave the preserve to cool then wipe the outside of each jar to remove any spilt preserve and dry with a clean cloth. Place on the labels and it’s helpful to include the date the preserve was made. You can jazz your jars up with circles of cut fabric or thick wrapping paper tied with a thin ribbon. These make great gifts for family and or friends.

‘Putting up’ Blogging Event

Edit - As of this morning Pixie informed me that she is having a break from blogging for a little while. Hopefully if Pixie is back blogging before the round up May 21st (which we all hope for), I am sure things will remain as before for the round up, if not I will endeavour to take up the reins.

Best wishes Rosie x

My ‘dear’ friend Pixie at You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto came up with a fabulous idea to host a preserves event called ‘Putting Up’. Pixie very kindly asked if I would like to join her in hosting this great event, of course I jumped at the chance like leaping off a cliff without any hesitation! I really enjoy making homemade preserves and I find this event very exciting, so I hope you will join Pixie and I as we preserve our way through fruit and veggies. If it's successful, (which we hope it will be) we will continue with it throughout the year, likely making it seasonal.

We're asking you to share your Jams and Conserves, Jellies, Marmalade, Curds and Butters, Chutneys, Pickles, Relishes and Preserves.

Once you've made your preserve send an email to puttingup(at)gmail(dot)com with the words 'putting up' in the title, by May 21st, with the following information:

* your name, and country

*the name of your blog*

*the name of your jam or preserve

* a link to your post* a photo of your entry (no larger than 500pix)

Please remember to link to both Pixie, You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto and myself Rosie, Rosie Bakes a ‘Peace’ of Cake, so others can participate. You are welcome to use our "Putting Up" badge.Feel free to present a recipe to go along with your preserve. In fact, that would be a wonderful idea, however, please keep in mind that the focus of this event are the Jams&Preserves and we really want to see that JAR!

Afterwards, we'll post a round up of all your entries and will raffle off a ticket for your chance to win this Jam & Preserve book. Have fun and we're looking forward to your creations!

You do not need to have a food blog to enter, so if you are are interested, simply send in your photo and recipe.

Pixie asked if I would give an online preserving interview with her, I was more than happy to share with her and our readers, tips and points I have learnt along the way since starting out on home preserving myself. I would like to share with you my interview which you can read posted on Pixie's Blog at, You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto Blog. Pixie has kindly added some of my photo’s to this interview from preserves I have posted here on my blog

Little Madeleines

Cute Little Madeleines

After my baking challenge with Daring Bakers I found I had a little desiccated coconut left over. Now racking my brains of how to utilise a small amount of coconut then I thought of these cute little Madeleines. Now I know these gorgeous little cakes are baked in dariole moulds but unfortunately I haven’t any, so I had to adapt to baking my sponges in a large muffin tin. Perhaps they aren’t as elegantly tall as they should be and a little larger around the middle but they taste is just as good, says she who consumed the one cut in half in the photo!

You will laugh when I tell you that, I don’t know if the Madeleine’s had more jam and coconut on them or my fingers! Let’s just say, my fingers somehow resembled a hedgehog with bits of jam and spikes of desiccated coconut glued to them *giggle*......

Anyone for a cherry?

The sponge I found was light and airy with flavours from the raspberry conserve and coconut giving such delightful sweetness. I found it reminiscent of glorious past times when I would hurry home from school to see what mother had baked, eagerly eating without taking time to catch my breath, not wanting the pleasure of taste to ever end.

Now who's eaten the cherry?

Little Madeleines

Serves 8

Ingredients
100g (4oz) softened butter
100g (4oz) caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
175g (6 oz) Raspberry seedless jam
50g (2 oz) desiccated coconut
8 glace cherries

I used a 12 hole deep muffin tin - well buttered, if you use dariole moulds it may make more or less.

Method

Preheat the oven 190°C/fan 170°C/375°F/Gas mark 5.

In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and keep beating until the mixture is creamed well and light and fluffy. Add a little of the beaten egg at a time until all combined into the mixture. Gently fold the flour in with a large metal spoon until there are no traces of flour and all combined. Place the mixture equally into the prepared muffin tin using 8 of the muffin holes. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When they are fully cold using a segregated knife cut the tops of each cake to form a flat base.

In a saucepan add the raspberry jam and water and on a low heat on the stove bring to a smooth consistency and take off the heat. Place the desiccated coconut on a plate in an even layer. Dip the sponges top and sides in the warm jam and the roll in the coconut and stick a glace cherry on top of each little Madeleine.

The Great British Pudding Challenge April 08 – Queen of Puddings

Edit Post 6th April o8

I have now completed my own pudding challenge for this month and my feedback on this pudding is one of great joy. I had forgotten just how delicious this pudding is when I made this today for after Sunday lunch. It is a light pudding but the flavours and textures are outstanding, a slight hint of lemon erupts from the custard breadcrumbs following sublime sweetness from the layer of jam and the grand ultimate sweet crispness from the meringue. I served mine with a little single cream and with great reviews from the family and when are you going to make this again!!

This month’s pudding is a very old English traditional pudding that dates back into the 17th century. Bread was highly valued and any stale bread would be transformed into something like this pudding and would not be wasted. Even today when we are becoming more aware of wastage and what we throw out, I think this pudding stands the test of time and a great way to utilise stale bread. I used to eat this pudding as a child and quite forgot about this little gem until a few months ago when I was pondering on a pudding for Sunday lunch. It is very light and in my opinion one of the finest tasting puddings I have eaten.

You are invited to join me in my quest of “The Great British Pudding Challenge”. Anyone can join in whatever nationality. I do ask that you please leave a link with a comment if you join in to enable me to link up your site for the round up.

This month’s challenge runs from 1st April until the 30th April. For anymore information click on this link The Great British Pudding Challenge

Queen of Puddings

Serves 4

Ingredients
75g (3 oz) fresh breadcrumbs, made for day old bread
25g (1 oz) butter
Grated rind of half a lemon
100g (4 oz) caster sugar
2 large eggs
275ml (½ pint) of whole milk
3 tbsp raspberry jam – heated through

You will need a well buttered 1.2 litre (2 pint) pie-dish.

Method

Put the breadcrumbs into a large basin and leave aside. Place into a saucepan the milk, half of the sugar, butter and lemon rind and bring to the boil. Pour this over the breadcrumbs and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Separate the eggs and add the egg yolks to the crumb mixture and beat through. Place the whites of the eggs into a clean grease-free bowl for later use.

Place into the centre of a preheated oven 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 for 20 minutes or until set. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then spread the warmed jam over the top gently, (ensuring not to break the skin that has formed on top.) Beat the egg whites until stiff then gently add the sugar folding in. Pile the meringue on top of the jam and sprinkle with the extra tablespoon of sugar over the meringue top. Place back into the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the meringue is set and lightly browned.

Serve with cream, custard, ice cream or on its own the choice is yours.

Edit - James from The Cotswold Food year has submitted his delicious entry for this challenge from a Queen of Puddings he has posted on his blog from a little while back - please do go over and take a peek.

Edit - Nic from Cherrapeno has submitted her pud 'Fit for a Queen' it looks stunning my friends so pleased do head over and take a peek - I know it will make you drool as much as it did me :)

Edit - Cakelaw from Laws of The Kichen has submitted a most wonderful pudding fit for a Queen. If you want some serious drooling time do go head over and take a peek or drool as the case maybe :)

Edit - Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen experiments has also submitted a stunning Queen of Puddings again fit for any Queen! Do take a peek and drool over her entry :)

Edit -Dhanggit from Dhanggit's Kitchen has posted a stunning pudding using Pannetone for the bread - a most wonderful take on Queen of Puddings - please do go and take a peek :)

Banana Chocolate cake

Decisions, decisions on what to bake to use up some ripe bananas I’ve had hanging about in my fruit bowl! I find when using bananas in a cake the best flavour comes from those really ripe ones with blackish skins, they may look ugly from the outside but give such great flavour.

I pulled out my large scrap folder I have with hand written notes of my recipes that I have baked before and just haven’t got around to typing the recipes up yet! I’d perhaps find I would have to prise open some of the sheets of paper due to having a paper and pencil by my side as I work out my recipes and splodges of ingredients have fallen onto the paper – you get the picture I’m sure. Well I came across a little gem I baked sometime ago last year before I started blogging and thought this would be a lovely bake to share with you.

The texture is very light to the sponge and speckled through with the banana. I am sure chocolate chips could be added to this recipe, one for next time to try out! The sponge is baked in 20 cm (8 in) x 2 sandwiched tins, which gives a nice tall cake when sandwiched together with chocolate icing and then the whole top and sides of the cake are covered in dreamy chocolate icing. The decorations are optional and the choice is up to you if you add them or not, I think I may have gone a little O.T. with mine *giggle*!

Banana Chocolate cake

Serve approx 8 - 10

Ingredients
For The Sponge
225g (8 oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
175g (6 oz) softened butter
225g (8 oz) caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml (3½ fl oz) buttermilk
2 large ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
For The Chocolate icing
50g (2 oz) butter, softened
25g (1 oz) cocoa powder
90ml (3 fl oz) double cream or whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
450g (1lb) icing sugar
Sugar flowers, chocolate sprinkles (optional)

You will also need 20 cm (8 in) two sandwiched tins, greased and base lined with greaseproof paper.

Method

Preheat the oven 180°C/fan 170°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda together into a bowl and leave aside for later. Place the softened butter and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, (this can take time depending on how soft your butter is and anywhere up to 8 minutes). Add a little beaten egg beating well in each time making sure all the beaten egg is combined before adding more until none remains. Next add the vanilla extract and beat this through the mixture. With a large metal spoon had half of the flour and half of the buttermilk and fold through gently until all combined, repeat this process again until all the flour and buttermilk is fully combined into the sponge mixture. Lastly gently fold through the mashed banana into the mixture. Equally divide the mixture into the two sandwich tins and smooth the tops over with a spatula. Place into the oven on a middle shelf and bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 – 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack until cold.

To make the chocolate icing, place the butter into a large bowl and beat for a little while to ensure it is fully soft. Add the rest of the ingredients working them through until the icing is smooth and fully combined.

To assemble the cake, spread a little of the chocolate icing over the top of one sponge then place the second sponge over to sandwich them together. Pile all the chocolate icing on top of the cake and with a pallet knife work the icing until all the sides and top are covered in the icing. You may want to leave the icing smooth or make swirly patterns the choice is yours. Place the sugar flowers and chocolate sprinkles over the top if using.