Holiday Cakes and Cupcakes. Carol Deacon
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Название: Holiday Cakes and Cupcakes
Автор: Carol Deacon
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Кулинария
isbn: 9781462910144
isbn:
2 If you are using a mixer, sift your flour into the bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix on the slowest speed to gently bind the ingredients together. Switch to the mixer’s highest speed and beat all the ingredients for a minute until the mixture is pale and smooth.
3 If you are mixing by hand, make sure your butter is very soft (place it in a microwave for a few seconds if necessary). Then beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the eggs and beat those in too until the mixture is smooth. Sift the flour and gently stir it in with a metal spoon.
4 Spoon the mixture into your prepared pan and smooth the top. Place the cake in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for the required time. Not all ovens bake the same so the baking times are approximate. Your cake will be ready when it is starting to pull away from the sides and you can’t hear bubbling noises. To check for sure, insert a knife or metal skewer. If it comes out clean then the cake is done. If there’s mixture on the skewer, cook for another five or ten minutes or so.
Variations This is a very versatile recipe which lends itself to all sorts of variations. To alter the flavor, stir in a tablespoon of cocoa or coffee to create a simple chocolate or coffee cake. Add a dash of almond or mint flavoring for something unexpected. Add a handful of desiccated coconut, a ripe banana (mashed). You could even add the zest of an orange or lemon. To make a colorful cake stir in a little food coloring before baking. Perhaps add a little green food color to your Halloween cake for example. If you just stir it in lightly, your cake will have a marbled appearance when baked. Stir it in thoroughly and your cake will be one solid color. You can even alter your cake’s texture by stirring in chocolate beans or chocolate chips, raisins, or glacé cherries.
CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPES
This is an excellent chocolate cake for a special ocassion. It has a strong yet velvety texture that is easy to cut into shapes. You will need to use a mixer that has a whisk attachment as well as a normal beater. If you don’t possess one or simply want to make a less complicated cake, use the Madeira cake recipe but add cocoa powder to it. As it bakes, a hard crust will form on top that may scorch or crack. This is normal. Slice it off and discard the crust once the cake has cooled and before you decorate it.
1 Pre-heat your oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line your cake pan (see page 14) and separate the eggs placing the whites and yolks in two different bowls.
2 Melt the chocolate in a large bowl and place to one side.
3 Beat the butter and sugar together using the normal beater on the mixer until fluffy.
4 Beat in the egg yolks. Tip the chocolate into the mixture and keep the bowl the chocolate was melted in. Bind the mixture together on a slow speed.
5 Gently stir in the sifted flour using a metal spoon then scrape the chocolate mixture back into the chocolate bowl. Remove the beater from the mixer.
6 Wash your machine’s mixing bowl. Dry it and place the egg whites into it.
7 Place the whisking element on your mixer. Whisk the egg whites until stiff then whisk in the confectioners' sugar. Remove the whisk and put the beater attachment back on.
9 Tip the chocolate mixture into the egg whites and mix together on a slow speed. It will look dreadful at first but the two will mix smoothly together eventually.
9 Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and bake immediately.
10 When the cake is ready there will be no bubbling noises. To be sure, insert a knife or metal skewer. (You may have to cut a small chunk out of the cake’s crust to do this). If it comes out clean, then the cake is done. If there’s mixture on the skewer, cook for a little longer.
TIP: Unless you have a very big mixer, it may be easier to make the largest sizes in two separate batches then gently stir together. Have everything weighed out beforehand though as this mixture needs to be cooked immediately.
RECIPES FOR ENGLISH-STYLE FRUITCAKE
In the UK, it is traditional to have a rich fruitcake for Christmas. The dried fruits should be soaked overnight in brandy or fruit juice before cooking so that they’re plump and moist. The cake should be made in October to allow it time to mature and for the flavors to develop… In the real world, even if you just threw this cake together on Christmas Eve with fruit straight out of a packet, you should still end up with a cake that is tasty and moist plus a house full of spicy Christmas aromas.
1 Line both the inside and outside of your cake pan. (See page 14 for how to do this)
2 Pre-heat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C)
3 Beat the butter and sugar together until they are soft and creamy. Then beat in the eggs one at a time.
4 Sift the flour and spices into the bowl and gently stir them. Stir in the ground almonds. If you are using a mixer, use the slowest speed. If you’re mixing by hand use a metal spoon.
5 Stir the lemon zest and slivered almonds into the soaked dried fruit. Tip the fruits into the cake batter and stir in by hand.
6 Close your eyes and make a wish.
7 Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and gently smooth the top.
8 Place the disc of waxed paper with the hole cut out on the top of the mixture. Don’t press, just let it lie on top.
9 Place the cake in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake. Remove the paper off the top about 15 minutes before it’s due to be done. Lightly prod the top of the cake, if it feels very soft and you can still hear a lot of bubbling it is not cooked. If it looks done and feels firm to the touch and is silent, insert a skewer or sharp knife. If it comes out clean–the cake is cooked. If it’s not, give it another 15 minutes of cooking and test again. All ovens vary so don’t panic if yours cooks in a shorter/longer time than that suggested.
10 Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before turning out.
MICROWAVE CAKES
If you need to bake a cake really quickly, a microwave cake may be the answer. They will look a little pale and interesting when cooked because they won’t have browned on top but nobody will notice once they’re covered with frosting. These amounts are for a 7-inch (18 cm) round microwave baking pans. Don’t use your normal metal one.
Microwave Vanilla sponge Cake
½ cup (120 g) butter
½ cup (120 g) superfine (caster) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup (120 g) self-rising flour
½ СКАЧАТЬ