PREP TIME 30 minutes COOKING TIME 30 minutes SERVES: 8 180g unsalted butter, room temperature 180g caster sugar 3 eggs 250g self-raising flour, sifted 3 tbsp milk 75g mixed seeds – pumpkin, sesame, poppy Small handful of fresh pitted cherries | about 100g | each sliced into 3 pieces Small amount of granulated sugar infused with Lapsang Souchong tea | optional – see tip | 120ml Mixed Berry Coulis | see page 256 | or raspberry jam 150g double cream, whipped 150g icing sugar, sifted Small amount of lemon juice Handful of flaked almonds, toasted | optional – see page 257 | Fresh flowers to decorate Three 18cm round cake tins, greased and lined
1 Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan assisted/gas mark 6.
2 Cream the butter and sugar together for 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just incorporated. Fold in the flour, then add the milk slowly – you need just enough to ensure that the mixture falls slowly from the spoon. Fold in the seeds and cherries.
3 Divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins and level out to the edges. Sprinkle the top with some of the Lapsang-infused sugar, if using. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4 Spread the base layer with the coulis or jam and pipe the whipped cream on top. Sandwich the two halves of the cake together.
5 Mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to give it a pouring consistency – or add a dash of coulis, which will also give it a nice pink colour – and pour over the top of the cake. Decorate with toasted almonds and garnish with fresh flowers, if using.
TIP: To infuse granulated sugar with Lapsang Souchong, simply leave an unused tea bag in 400–500g of caster sugar overnight. You can use a small amount for this recipe, then store the rest in an airtight container to use another time.
HOW TO WHIP CREAM
YOU WILL NEED A chilled bowl | large enough to hold at least double the volume of cream you are whipping | An electric hand whisk Very cold double cream 1 tsp caster sugar and ¼ tsp vanilla extract per 200ml of cream | optional |
Pour the cream into the bowl and whip thoroughly and evenly, beginning on a medium speed. Ensure that you run the beaters around the edge of the bowl to keep it all evenly mixed. When the cream starts to thicken and you see the first sign of soft peaks, add the sugar and the vanilla, if using. Now reduce the speed to medium-low and watch carefully – it’s almost done. Continue just until you have very soft peaks. Using an electric hand mixer this should take under 2 minutes.
ZEBRA CAKE
This is a version of the ‘rainbow cake’ recipe that appeared in my last book, but uses the classic combination of chocolate and vanilla sponge. It looks amazing when it’s cut into – the striped effect is made with two separate batters that are layered on top of each other in the tin before they go into the oven
PREP TIME 25 minutes COOKING TIME 30 minutes SERVES: 8 260g unsalted butter, room temperature 420g caster sugar 4 eggs 430g plain flour, sifted 1 tbsp baking powder Pinch of salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 240ml whole milk 30g cocoa powder, sifted 1 batch of Chocolate or Vanilla Buttercream | see pages 254–255 | Three 15cm round cake tins, greased and lined
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C fan assisted/gas mark 6.
2 Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy – approximately 4 minutes. Add the eggs and beat slowly at first, then on medium, until just evenly incorporated, scraping down the bowl after each stage. Remove half the batter and set aside.
3 In another bowl, whisk together half the flour, baking powder and salt. Add half these dry ingredients to the batter | so a quarter of the total | and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla and half the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. This is your vanilla batter. Set aside.
4 Clean your mixing bowl and put in the second half of the batter.
5 In your second bowl, whisk the remaining flour, baking powder and salt with the cocoa powder. Repeat the process, adding half the dry ingredients to the batter, then the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients, making sure you scrape down the bowl with each addition and be careful not to over-beat. This is your chocolate batter.
6 To make the zebra stripes, spoon about 3 tablespoons of the vanilla batter into the centre of each of your prepared cake tins. Then add 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter into the centre of that. The vanilla batter will spread out. Continue alternating the batters, adding to the centre each time. Once you are done, don’t be tempted to level the top or merge the layers in any way!
7 Bake for approximately 25–30 minutes, or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean | or just with a few crumbs, and no liquid |. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8 Spread buttercream on both layers, sandwich together, and spread more buttercream around the sides.
BEETROOT CAKE
I first made this cake for someone who had food intolerances that meant they could hardly ever eat cake. It’s virtually savoury and contains no butter or flour, but still has a beautiful colour, texture and flavour. The original version had no added sugar, but I’ve adapted it slightly with honey and brown sugar to complement the natural sweetness of the beetroot. This cake is delicious with the mascarpone frosting on its own, or you could add some icing sugar to it if you like. Warning: this is a cake for grown-ups.
PREP TIME 40 minutes COOKING TIME 30 minutes SERVES: 8–10 500g raw beetroots, peeled and grated very fine 120ml olive oil 60ml freshly squeezed smooth orange juice 80g root ginger, peeled and finely grated 150g raisins 6 tbsp runny honey 1½ tsp vanilla extract Finely grated zest of 2 lemons ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 2 tsp baking powder 360g polenta | instant coarse polenta will do | 4 eggs, separated 50g light brown sugar Fresh fruit, such as berries or sliced peaches, to decorate Handful of chives, chopped FOR THE FROSTING 400g mascarpone A dash of beetroot juice to colour | optional | 100g icing sugar, sifted | optional | Two 18cm cake tins, greased and lined
1 Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan assisted/gas mark 6.
2 Combine the beetroot, oil, juice, ginger, raisins, honey, vanilla, lemon zest and spices in a bowl. Put the baking powder and polenta in a separate bowl and stir to combine.
3 Beat the egg yolks with the brown sugar until creamy and increased in volume – approximately 4 minutes. Stir into the beetroot mix.
4 In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form | see page 35 for how |. Stir the polenta evenly into the beetroot mix, then fold in the egg whites | see page 35 |.
5 Divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins and level out to the edges. Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6 Beat the beetroot juice and icing sugar into the mascarpone, if using. Spread the cake rounds with the frosting, then add the fruit, sandwich together and sprinkle with the chopped