Tag: Cake

Chocolate Orange Tort

  • This is a chocolate cake with orange butter cream.
  • I adapted a chocolate cake recipe from a BeRo cook book.
  • Use a chocolate or chocolate orange glaze on the top.
  • You could double the ingredients – use bigger diameter tins or make a 4 layer tort.

Chocolate Cake – Ingredients

  • 200g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 225g caster sugar
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 100g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 5 tablespoons of evaporated milk
  • 5 tablespoons of water
  • Grated rind of 1 orange* 
  • * save the juice for later

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.
  • Grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm tins.
  • Rub the butter into the flour.
  • Add the baking powder, salt and cocoa.
  • Mix well together.
  • Mix the eggs, milk, water and orange rind together.
  • Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients.
  • Beat well.
  • Divide the mixture between the 2 tins.
  • Smooth the tops level.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes.
  • Allow to cool completely before assembling. 

Orange Butter Cream – Ingredients

  • 100g butter (unsalted is best)
  • 200g icing sugar
  • Grated rind of 1 orange
  • 3 tablespoon of orange juice

Orange Butter Cream – Method

  • Cream the butter and icing sugar.
  • Add the rind and juice and mix well.

Chocolate Glaze

  • Melt 80g of dark chocolate (or dark chocolate with orange) with 40g of butter in a bowl over hot water.
  • You could add grated orange rind to the dark chocolate. 
  • You would need to use another orange and will have some juice left.

Assembling the Cake

  • Place one round of cake onto a serving plate.
  • Spoon half of the orange juice over the top of the cake.
  • Spread the orange butter cream over the cake.
  • Place the second round of the cake on top.
  • Spoon the rest of the orange juice over the top of the cake.
  • Leave for a few minutes.
  • Make the chocolate glaze.
  • Spread the chocolate glaze over the top of the cake.

Orange Drizzle Cake

  • My lemon drizzle cake is very popular and I make it often.
  • I decided to make an orange version and was very pleased with the result.

Ingredients – Cake

  • 175g butter
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • Juice of ½ orange
  • 175g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder

Ingredients – Drizzle

  • Juice of ½ orange
  • 80g caster sugar

Method

  • Grease and line a large (2lb) loaf tin – or use a ready bought liner.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 – 180oC
  • Cream the butter and sugar till soft and fluffy
  • Add the orange zest and mix again.
  • Add the eggs, 1 by 1, and mix well.
  • Add the orange juice and mix well.
  • Mix the flour with the baking powder.
  • Fold in the flour with a metal spoon.
  • Put the mixture into the loaf tin and gently level the top.
  • Bake for around 45-50 minutes – check after 40 minutes and cover the top with greaseproof paper if needed to prevent the top burning.
  • Leave to cool slightly in the tin and then remove and place on a cake rack and allow to cool a little more.
  • *
  • Prepare the drizzle by mixing the sugar and orange juice until it dissolves.
  • Remove the greaseproof paper or liner and place the cake onto a plate (a long rectangular one with a lip around the side is the best ) so that the base is flat and excess drizzle does not run off.
  • Prick the top of the cake with a skewer.
  • Gently spoon all the drizzle over the top of the cake.

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Burleigh Blue Mist tea plate- 1930s

    Apricot Keks

    • I made a lovely apricot and prune keks – fruit cake – several months ago.
    • I still had a lot of dried apricots so decided to make this just with apricots.
    • This time I made it in a 21 centimetre square tin
    • It too was delicious.

    • You have to start this cake the night before.

      Ingredients

      • 385g dried apricots
      • 100ml hot Earl Grey tea
      • 100ml sherry
      • *
      • 115g currants
      • 115g sultanas
      • 115g raisins
      • 50g mixed peel
      • *
      • 150g soft brown sugar
      • 150g butter
      • 2 eggs
      • *
      • 185g plain flour
      • 2 teaspoons of mixed spice

      Method

      • Chop the apricots into small pieces.
      • Place them into a bowl and pour the hot tea over them.
      • Leave until this is cold.
      • Add the sherry, cover and leave overnight.
      • *
      • Add the other dried fruits to the soaked apricots and mix well.
      • *
      • Grease and line all sides of a 21 cm square tin
      • Pre-heat the oven to GM 1- 140°C
      • Mix the flour with the mixed spices.
      • Cream the sugar and butter till well blended.
      • Add the eggs and mix well together.
      • Fold in the flour mixture.
      • Add the dried fruits and mix well together.
      • Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth down the top.
      • Bake for  3 – 3¼ hours.
      • Leave to cool in the tin.

    Note

    You can use a 24cm tin – and bake for 2 – 2¼ hours.

    Orange Cake – 2

    I posted a recipe for an orange cake over a year ago  – it was made with sunflower oil and yoghurt.

    Whilst looking through my box of recipes I came across this recipe, which I had not made for a while.

    This orange cake is made in a large loaf tin and has a sticky glaze poured over it once it is baked.

    Ingredients

    • 225g self raising flour
    • 75g butter
    • 125 caster sugar
    • 50g mixed peel
    • 2 eggs
    • 3 tablespoons of milk
    • 2 oranges – grated rind and 3 tablespoons of juice
    • *
    • 3 tablespoons of orange juice and 40g icing sugar for the glaze

    Method

    • Use a cake liner to line a large loaf tin.
    • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C.
    • Rub the butter into the flour until you have “breadcrumbs”.
    • Stir in the sugar.
    • Stir in the mixed peel and fine grated orange rind.
    • Mix in the egg, milk and juice.
    • Bake for 40-45 minutes.
    • Cool for a few minutes.
    • *
    • Place the orange juice and icing sugar into a small saucepan.
    • Mix well and whilst stirring bring it up to the boil.
    • *
    • Spoon the glaze gently over the cake surface.
    • Leave to cool completely in the tin.

    Tea set – Lyndale by Royal Standard from the 1950s.

    Serving plate by Burleigh Ware – Burges & Leigh Ltd – Blue Mist from the 1930s.

    Plain Kefir Sponge

    After I made the chocolate cake with kefir, which I posted recently, my Polish friend in Leeds said she had heard of plain versions with fruit on top.

    I found many recipes all with varying amounts of the ingredients.

    I tried out a few versions and decided on what were the best proportions to make a lovely soft sponge cake.

    As well as the base for a fruit topped cake, which will be posted soon, this is a good cake which can be used as a base for torcik or desserts such as English trifle or Italian Tiramisu.

    You can portion it up and freeze it for later.

    Ingredients

    • 350g plain flour
    • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
    • 175g of sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 400ml of kefir
    • 125ml of sunflower oil
    • Grated rind of 1 large orange
    • or 2 small lemons
    • or ¼ teaspoon of vanilla essence
    • *
    • Icing sugar to dust

    Method

    • Grease and line with one piece of greaseproof a 32x22cm baking tray.
    • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C
    • Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
    • In another bowl mix the eggs, oil, kefir and rind or essence together.
    • Pour the kefir mixture into the dry mixture.
    • With a wooden spoon mix well together until you have an even thick batter.
    • Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin.
    • Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.
    • Leave to cool in the tin on a wire cake rack.
    • Dust with icing sugar to serve.

     

    What if you cannot get kefir?

    • Should you not be able to get any kefir you can use 3 parts yoghurt to 1 part milk instead.
    • So in this recipe use 300ml of yoghurt mixed with 100ml of milk.

     

    Curd Tart – English Cheesecake

    I have been doing some research on old English recipes and looked at curd tart recipes – these are similar to Polish baked sernik .

    • Curd tarts in England originated in the early 17th century.
    • In Yorkshire they were traditionally baked for Whitsuntide.
    • Nutmeg is a very popular spice in English baking.
    • Curds are coagulated milk proteins – casein.
    • Raw milk will coagulate naturally when left in a warm place.
    • Pasteurised milk needs the addition of something acidic such as lemon juice, vinegar or lactobacillus (found in natural yoghurt).
    • You can make your own curds. The following is an easy way to make curds and these are the curds* used in the recipe below.
    • *
    • *Polish twaróg or yoghurt cheese is more tangy.

    Making Curds

    • In a deep saucepan put 500ml of milk, 3 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon of salt.
    • Heat gently until it comes to the boil, stirring occasionally.
    • Curds will form.
    • Put the mixture into a large sieve or muslin bag and leave for a few hours.
    • Leave the curds to go cold.
    • It is often good to make the curds the evening before you need them.
    • 500ml of milk will give around 200-225g of curds with this method.

     

    Ingredients

    • Around 200g of curds (as above)
    • 110g granulated sugar
    • 2 eggs – beaten
    • 60g currants
    • Grated nutmeg
    • *
    • Shortcrust pastry or a richer pastry such as  kruche ciasto

    Method

    • Grease and line the base of a loose bottomed tart tin.
    • Pre-heat the oven to GM5 – 190°C.
    • Roll out the shortcrust pastry thinly and line the tin with it.
    • With a fork, chop up the curds into small pieces.
    • Whisk together the curds, sugar and eggs.
    • Stir in the currants.
    • Pour the mixture into the lined tart tin.
    • Sprinkle liberally with freshly grated nutmeg.
    • Bake for around 30 minutes.
    • Leave to cool on a wire cake rack.

    Served on tea plates by Royal Doulton, Counterpoint, 1973 – 1987

     

    Kefirowe

    My Polish friend who lives in Leeds sent me a copy of a recipe from an old Polish cookbook for kefirowe – this is a cake made with kefir.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • I tried it out and it is super – a soft moist cake made with sunflower oil and cocoa as well as kefir.
    • I made it twice, once with a darker chocolate icing and the second time with a milkier chocolate icing.
    • It would be good with a wide range of different flavoured icings.

    Ingredients

    • 350g plain flour
    • 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
    • 200g granulated sugar
    • 5 tablespoons of cocoa
    • *
    • 2 eggs – beaten
    • 500ml of kefir
    • 250ml sunflower oil

    Method

    • Grease and line with one piece of greaseproof a 32x22cm baking tray.
    • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 – 180°C
    • Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
    • In another bowl mix the eggs, oil and kefir together.
    • Pour the kefir mixture into the dry mixture.
    • With a wooden spoon mix well together until you have an even thick batter.
    • Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin.
    • Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.
    • Leave to cool in the tin on a wire cake rack.
    • *
    • Ice with the icing of your choice.
    • Cut into squares, rectangles or lozenges to serve.

     

    Coffee set and tea plates – Greenway by John Russell 1960s

    Chocolate Icing Ingredients

    • 100g butter
    • 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
    • 1 tablespoon of water
    • 200g icing sugar

    Method

    • Melt the butter gently in a small saucepan.
    • Stir in the cocoa powder and the water.
    • Mix and cook gently for a couple of minutes.
    • Remove from the heat.
    • Mix in the icing sugar, bit by bit until you have a thick icing.
    • Ice the top of the cake.

    Milk Chocolate Icing Ingredients

    • 60g butter
    • 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
    • 3 tablespoons of hot milk
    • 250g icing sugar
    • 1-2 drops of vanilla essence

    Method

    • Heat up some milk in a small pan (I use a bit more than is needed and measure it out after heating).
    • Melt the butter in a pan.
    • Blend in the cocoa powder.
    • Stir in the icing sugar, milk and essence (I add the sugar in stages -aiming  for a slightly runny icing) and beat until it is thick and smooth – adjusting with icing sugar and extra milk as necessary.
    • Ice the top of the cake.

     

     

    Tea plates are Las Palmas – Aynsley from the 1960s

    Jug by Buchan Pottery, Portobello near Edinburgh from the early 1960s.

    What if you cannot get kefir?

    • Should you not be able to get any kefir you can use 3 parts yoghurt to 1 part milk instead.
    • I tried this out in the recipe and used 375ml of yoghurt mixed with 125ml of milk.
    • It worked very well.

    I used a white chocolate icing on this cake.

    White Chocolate Icing

    • 100g of white chocolate (I like Green & Black best)
    • 3-4 tablespoons of hot milk
    • 200g icing sugar (you might not need it all)

    Method

    • Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of hot water.
    • Heat up some milk in a small pan (I use a bit more than is needed and measure it out after heating).
    • Mix 3 tablespoons of the hot milk into the heated chocolate.
    • Stir in the icing sugar (I add the sugar in stages – aiming  for a slightly runny icing) and beat until it is thick and smooth – adjusting with icing sugar and extra milk as necessary.
    • Ice the top of the cake.

    Tea set by Royal Doulton – Carnation 1982 – 1998

    Almond Meringue Cake

    My mother used to buy little cakes called Japs from the English bakers where we lived in Lancashire.

    We both loved them.

    I now know that the name is shortened from Japonais  – which is French for Japanese style.  How they came by this name seems to be a mystery.

    Traditionally they were two circles of almond meringue sandwiched together with a butter cream (often coffee flavour), covered with more butter cream and nibbled nuts.

    When I came across this recipe for an almond meringue cake, lots of memories came flooding back.

    The proportions for the meringue are:

    50g of caster sugar & 25g of ground almonds per egg white.

    I used 4 egg whites in this version.

    Ingredients

    • 4 egg whites
    • 200g caster sugar
    • 100g ground almonds

    Method

    • Use the loose bases of two baking tin – 20cm in diameter.
    • Lightly grease the circles.
    • Cut a 2 x 20cm circles of grease-proof paper and stick them onto the metal circles.
    • Place each circle on a large baking tray.
    • Pre-heat the oven to GM1 – 140°C.
    • Whisk the egg whites until stiff.
    • Add the sugar and whisk again till stiff.
    • Fold in the ground almonds.
    • Spoon and smooth half the mixture onto each circle.
    • Bake for 50 minutes (swap shelves half way through).
    • Turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside for 20 minutes.
    • Take out and leave to cool completely before using.
    • *
    • Place one circle onto your cake stand.
    • Cover this with coffee or rum butter cream**.
    • Place the second circle on top.
    • Optional – add a few blobs of butter cream on top to decorate.
    • *
    • ** You can use a lighter cream filling of your choice.

     

     

    Coffee set by Royal Doulton  – Pastorale – 1970 – 1990

    Jug by Buchan Pottery, Portobello near Edinburgh –  from the early 1960s.

     

    Chocolate & Raspberry Cake

    I decided to make a chocolate cake I had not made for a while. Raspberry jam is used in the cake and in the butter cream. The best results are with a jam that is not too sweet – a slight tartness is best.

    I used raspberry jam that was made by my friend in Leeds from raspberries that  were grown on her allotment.

    Ingredients

    • 150g plain flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 30g cocoa
    • 90g caster sugar
    • 120g butter
    • 4 level tablespoons of raspberry jam
    • 2 eggs beaten
    • 2 tablespoons of milk

    Method

    • Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 5 – 190°C.
    • Grease and line the bottoms of 2 – 18cm diameter baking tins.
    • Mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa together.
    • Cream the butter, sugar and jam together.
    • Add the eggs bit by bit .
    • Fold in the flour mixture with the milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
    • Divide the mixture between the two tins.
    • Bake for 25 minutes.
    • When cold, sandwich together with the raspberry butter icing.
    • Dust the top with icing sugar to serve.

    Raspberry Butter Icing

    Ingredients

    • 60g butter
    • 2 tablespoons of raspberry jam.
    • 120g icing sugar.

    Method

    • Cream together the butter, jam and around ¾of  of the icing sugar.
    • Add more icing sugar until the required consistency is achieved.

     

     

    • Coffee set – Greenway – by Hostess Tableware – 1960 – 1979
    • Designed by John Russell

     

    Pear & Ginger Cake

    Having recently made a lovely apple cake loosely based on an English Victorian recipe I thought I would adapt it using pears and ginger.

    Ingredients

    • 4 pears (Conference are good) – peeled & cored and cut into rough 2.5cm chunks
    • 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
    • 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
    • 230g of plain flour
    • ½ tablespoon of baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon of salt
    • 125ml of sunflower oil
    • 200g granulated sugar
    • 2-3 drops of vanilla extract
    • 3 eggs

    Method

    • Pre-heat oven to GM4 – 180°C.
    • Use a 22cm loose bottom tin with a cake liner – (like a huge bun case).
    • Mix the pears, ginger and sugar in a small bowl.
    • Leave whilst you prepare the cake mixture.
      *
    • In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
    • In another bowl whisk the oil, sugar, vanilla extract and the eggs until they are thoroughly mixed.
    • Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture and mix thoroughly.
    • Place half the cake batter into the cooking tin.
    • Place half the pear mixture and juices on top of the cake batter.
    • Cover with the rest of the cake batter.
    • Place the rest of the pear mixture evenly over the surface of the cake.
    • Bake for 60 – 65 minutes – cover and maybe another another 10 minutes if not done.
    • Leave to cool in the tin before turning it out.

    Served on Burleigh Ware, Burgess & Leigh Ltd, Blue Mist, stoneware tea plates from the 1930s.

    Variation

    Having made this, I thought about the French dessert Poire belle Hélène, which has a chocolate sauce poured over poached pears.

    I made the cake again and when it was cool, I drizzled a chocolate sauce made from 40g of melted dark chocolate and 20g of butter over it.

    Tea plates by Midwinter – Queensbury from the 1970s.