Jam

Valentine’s Day Cake

Left it last minute? Don’t worry about it, I have you covered. Today I’m sharing my recipe for the perfect Valentine’s Day cake.

This cake is the perfect treat as it’s quick and easy, you could easily make this on the day and still have it ready in time. Starting with a chocolate velvet cake, a milk chocolate ganache and strawberry filling – what’s not to like?

The combination of chocolate and strawberry marry one another so perfectly well, regardless of the chocolate and luckily for you, I used milk, dark and unsweetened. The balance of sweetness and tartness all balances so well, so if you’re a chocolate fan, you’ll love this cake!

For quality chocolate, don’t forget to check out Cocoarunners. For this recipe, I used their milk chocolate, dark chocolate and unsweetened chocolate – what’s not to love?

Regardless of how you are spending Valentine’s day this year, why not treat yourself?

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Chocolate velvet cake:

120g butter.

300g granulated sugar.

2 eggs.

120ml buttermilk.

120g plain flour.

30g cocoa powder.

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda.

1 1/2 tsp white vinegar.

Ganache:

230g milk chocolate.

460ml double cream.

For the strawberry filling, use a good quality strawberry jam or other jam/preserve.

Decoration:

Grated dark chocolate.

Strawberries, halved.

unsweetened chocolate buttons.

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, lining your 8 inch heart cake tin with parchment and get any other bits you may need, such as a stand mixer and spatulas ready. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 170˚c/325˚f.

To start, I recommend with the cake. Into a large mixing bowl, place the butter and sugar and beat them together until they are well combined.

Once combined, you can add your eggs, one at a time beating well in-between each addition.

Then go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated earlier on.

Add around 1/3 of the dry mix into the bowl and beat that in until its fully incorporated, follow that by adding in around half the buttermilk and mix until fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining ingredients – remember, you should start and finish with the dry mix.

Give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits of dry mix or buttermilk that may be around the edge of the bowl.

Onto the cake batter, sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda and then top that with the the vinegar and allow to fizzle. Fold them into the cake batter until everything is fully incorporated.

You can then transfer the cake batter from the bowl straight into your lined cake tin. Then you can spread and level out the mixture to ensure consistent baking while in the oven.

Place the cake into the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean, when inserted into the centre).

While your cake is in the oven, you can clean down and make the ganache.

For the ganache, simply grab a small saucepan and pour in the cream. Place it on the hob over a medium heat and stir until it a reaches a boil, ensuring the cream doesn’t catch on the bottom of the saucepan (if it does, just restart).

Into a small bowl, add the chocolate. Then carefully pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes, then stir continuously until you have a smooth and glossy mixture.

Leave the ganache to cool and start to firm up, this doesn’t take very long – you’re only looking for the mixture to become a spreadable consistency.

Once ganache has come to a spreadable consistency, you can go ahead and transfer it into a large mixing bowl and beat it over a medium-high speed until it’s lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Keep the ganache at room temperature, to ensure it stays spreadable and easy to work with.

Now the cake has baked and cooled fully, you can go ahead and level the cake (don’t throw away the excess cake, it’s great for cake pops or with custard). Then you can slice the cake in half, so you have two even layers.

Take your board/plate/stand you intend on using and place a blob of chocolate ganache into the centre and spread it out, then place the first layer of cake on top and press it down to secure it in place.

Then place a good amount of ganache and spread it out until you have a consistent layer of ganache, generously spoon on the strawberry filling and spread it out. Sandwich the second layer of cake on top and press down, just to secure it in place.

Using the remaining ganache, coat the sides and top of the cake, trying to get it as smooth as possible (it doesn’t have to be perfect).

While the ganache is still tacky, take the grated dark chocolate and scatter on top and spread it all around to ensure even coverage (this is optional but it helps to cut through the sweetness).

Then to decorate, its really up to you but I kept it simple with just some halved strawberries and unsweetened chocolate buttons. That’s all I did, kept it simple but impressive enough to show someone you care!

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.

Cherry Bakewell Flapjacks

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

For this weeks recipe, I took two treats and combined them to make a super easy and tasty treat for you to enjoy. Today I’m sharing my recipe for a batch of cherry Bakewell flapjacks.

If you like the plain traditional flapjack recipe, then you should like these. It’s the original chewy and gooey flapjack with elements of a cherry bakewell incorporated… It’s honestly a winning combination.

I use some ground almonds in the dry mix, this helps to add to the flavour and texture of the bake but I also use almond extract to get the most flavour into this bake.

When it comes to the jam, I used cherry to further add to the cherry flavour, however, traditionally in a Bakewell you’re more likely to find a plum jam but you can use whichever jam you like (homemade is better but shop bought works well).

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

175g Butter.

175g Light brown sugar.

175g Golden syrup.

1/4 tsp Almond extract

350g Oats.

50g Ground almonds

50g Cocktail or glace cherries, halved.

(up to) 200g Cherry jam.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I like to start by weighing up all of my ingredients, lining my 8×8 inch cake tin with parchment paper and grab any other equipment you may need such as a mixing bowl, spatula and saucepan. You may also want to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to grab a medium saucepan and place in the butter, golden syrup and light brown sugar and place the saucepan on the hob over a medium-high heat and just leave it for around 60 seconds, then you can start to stir it constantly until everything has melted together and become smooth. The mixture should be clear, meaning you can see a single trace of a single ingredient.

Set the mixture aside for a moment while you prepare the next step.

Into a large mixing bowl, you can g ahead and add in all of your oats, the the ground almond and just mix the two together until they are fairly well combined.

Now you can go ahead and pour the melted mix over the oats and almond mixture, giving it all a very good mix. You want all of the oats to be coated in the melted mixture, this will only help to make them taste as yummy as possible.

Just before you’re finished with mixing the dry and wet mix together, you can go ahead and add in some cherries (cocktail cherries or glace cherries work well), fold them into the mixture until they have been fairly distributed throughout the mixture.

Grab your lined cake tin from earlier on and add around half of the flapjack mixture. Spread it out and level it out as best you possibly can – I found using a small cranked palette knife works really well.

Directly on top of the bottom layer of flapjack mixture, you can add the cherry jam and spread it out to get it as level as possible – then you can place the remaining oats on top of the jam layer and spread it out to achieve a consistent level. If you can still see some jam under the flapjacks, don’t worry it’s not the end of the world.

Place the tray into your preheated oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a nice golden brown colour all over with darker edges.

Once out of the oven allow to cool down fully before you attempt to finish them off.

This is optional but on a cherry Bakewell you get a thin layer of icing, so to add that element into the flapjacks, I’ll be making a glace icing to drizzle over the cooled traybake.

Simple drizzle over the icing in whichever pattern you’d like and place in the fridge for 20 minuets just to allow the icing to firm up.

Whenever you’re ready, you can slice them up. How you do this is completely up to you – I went with 16 bitesize pieces of flapjack but you could always half that and yield 8 more than generous portions but its up to you.

Victoria Sponge Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’ll be showing you how to make a Victoria sponge cake, it’s a classic. If you’ve baked any cake before, I can almost guarantee that you’ve attempted this at one point or another.

If you haven’t heard or tried this cake before, where have you been? I mean its such a simple and straightforward cake, yet its the perfect cake to make for most occasions – that’s for certain!

You can get one of these cakes made in next to no time at all, well if you follow my recipel. The method used to make this cake is the creaming method, this is where you mix the butter and sugar together until they become lighter and fluffier in consistency, then you add in the eggs and extract followed but your dry ingredients then bake your cakes and allow them to cool. Finish the cakes by sandwiching them together with freshly whipped cream (or buttercream) and your choice of jam – don’t forget the light dusting of icing sugar.

Sound like something you’d like, you’ve got this!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients –

Cake –

200g Butter.

200g Granulated sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla bean paste/extract.

3 Eggs.

200g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Filling –

3-4 tbsp Jam (Strawberry or raspberry work well, but it’s your choice).

200-250ml Double cream, whipped (you can sweeten it with 1/2 – 1 tsp vanilla and 75-100g icing sugar).

Finish –

Icing sugar (to dust).

Method –

Before you start, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend starting by weighing up all your ingredients, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and prepare your 6 inch cake tins and get any equipment you may need such as a stand mixer and silicon spatula.

Place your butter and sugar into a mixing bowl of choice and beat them on a medium/high speed until they are well combined and the colour and consistency of the mixture has changed to become lighter and fluffier.

Go ahead and give the bowl a quick scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then you can go ahead and add in your eggs, one at a time beating well in-between each addition. You’ll also want to add in the vanilla at this stage.

Once everything is combined, scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl.

Sift in your dry ingredients and fold them in using a spatula (or mix on a low speed) being careful not to overmix the batter when incorporating the dry ingredients – otherwise your cakes won’t have a light and fluffy end result, instead they’ll be tough in texture.

Divide the batter between your two 6-inch cake tins and bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

When your cakes are baked, allow them to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Take your double cream and add in the vanilla extract and icing sugar and whisk on a high speed until you reach a stiff peak consistency, this is the ideal consistency. It’s firm enough to support the second layer of cake, without failing and making a mess.

Add your whipped cream onto the cake, I opted to use a piping bag and pipe the cream on but feel free to do it however works for you. Add your jam on top of the cream and sandwich the cakes together. Finish the cake with a light dusting of icing sugar and enjoy.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Rolls

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This weeks bread recipe is for a batch of peanut butter and jelly rolls, its something a little different but the combination and balance make these rolls work really well.

These rolls were the accidental creation… I was trying to use up the odds and end I had in the cupboard and magically, I came up with these stunning rolls. I know they aren’t the best looking but trust me, they are super tasty!

If you like cinnamon rolls or Chelsea buns, then you might like these – seeing as they are the perfect alternative to either of them. They’re not the most seasonal baked treat, I’m aware but hey, they are packed with flavour and delicious – what more could you ask for really?

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Bread:

500g Strong white bread flour.

50g Fresh yeast.

75g Butter.

75g Granulated sugar.

15g Milk powder.

1 Egg.

175ml Water (Luke warm).

Peanut Butter Filling:

150-200g Light brown sugar.

80g Butter.

20g Ground cinnamon.

Topping:

Strawberry Jam (the amount will vary on how much you’d like, I used a fair amount to balance out the ratio roughly compared to the peanut butter).

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, lining a 9×13 inch deep sided baking tin with parchment paper and get any equipment you may need ready, such as a stand mixer (or mixing bowl) and spatulas.

I like to start with the dough. To make the dough you’ll want to start with taking a mixing bowl and place in the bread flour and salt, giving them a brief mix just to combine the two.

Then place the remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix them all together on a low speed to start with (for 2 minted approx), working your way to a high speed (for 6 minutes) until a dough has formed. The dough should be soft, if it’s sticky, don’t worry too much, we should be able to fix this in a little bit.

Flour the work surface with a generous amount of bread flour and place the dough onto it. Knead the dough until the dough is smooth and elasticated. This may take some time, but the dough will become easier to work with as some of that flour is incorporated.

Place the dough into the lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with cling-film and allow to proof until the dough has doubled in size, for me this is usually about an hour but depending on the climate where you live this time may require adjusting.

While the dough is proving, you can make the peanut butter filling. Into a bowl, place the butter, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon and peanut butter into a mixing bowl.

Whisk all of the ingredients together until they are all well combined, they should come together and form a peanut butter coloured spreadable paste.

Once the dough has completed its first proof, you’ll want to generously flour your worktop and place the dough onto it. You can then knock the dough back, this is just the process of removing the gases that had built up during the first proof.

Now the dough has been knocked back, bring the dough into a ball shape and start to roll the dough out using a rolling pin. The dough may resist being rolled out, this is a sign that the gluten has formed, this is a good sign. You’ll want to roll the dough out to a rectangle with the rough dimensions of 25cm x 45cm.

Take the peanut butter filling and spread it all over the dough, until you have a generous and level amount spread on the dough.

Take the long side of dough (the one nearest you) and start to roll it up. Start by rolling around 2cm of the dough into the first roll and then just continue the rolling until you’ve fully rolled the dough. Make sure that you keep each roll of the dough tight (ensuring the seem is on the bottom of the dough.

Slice the dough at around 1 inch increments, they’ll be your individual

Place the rolls into a deep sided tray, I used my trusty Nordic Ware 9×13 baking tray (this is not an affiliate link, it’s a link to the exact one I have). Cover the tray with cling film and allow to double in size. Prove for around 30-45 minutes – these rolls will batch while baking, this is normal.

While the rolls are having the second proof, you can go ahead and preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f. Once your rolls have proofed up nicely, you can remove the clingfilm from on top of the dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (they should be a golden brown colour).

Now that the peanut butter rolls are baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool down, almost fully before you finish them off.

Once they’re almost cooled down, you can the dollop the strawberry jam on top of each of the rolls and spread it all out until you have a good coverage of jam over the rolls.

Square Black Forest Gateau

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This Black Forest gateau is sure to be the perfect addition to whatever celebration you have planned in the coming months.

If you have been following me for a while, you may be aware this isn’t my first ever Black Forest gateau. I’ve actually made this cake every year on my blog with a twist making it different every year and well, this year is no different. I thought I’d add this version, it’s a simple square cake, which won’t fail to impress at your next celebration.

If you haven’t had a Black Forest gateau before, you’re missing out. It starts with a layers of chocolate sponge, filled with freshly whipped cream and cherry jam, then finished with more of the cream, grated dark chocolate and cherries. The combination of the chocolate cake and cherry jam is amazing but chuck in the cream and it’s a dream – don’t believe me? Give it a try for yourself.

This cake was a slightly special cake as it was made for my moms birthday and she asks for this cake every year but to keep it interesting I’ve finally got around to making a square cake – something I haven’t really done before (is it me or are round cakes more popular?)

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

470g Butter.

470g Granulated sugar.

6 Eggs.

410g Plain flour.

65g Cocoa powder

18g Baking powder.

Milk (optional, only use if needed).

Cream:

750ml Double cream.

125g Icing sugar.

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Simple Syrup:

150ml Water.

150g Granulated sugar.

5ml Vanilla extract.

Coating & Finishing:

300-450g Dark chocolate, grated.

Maraschino cherries.

Cherry jam.

Methods:

Before you get into making this cake, y1ou’ll want to do some prep work. I personally like to start by weighing up all of the ingredients, lining the 8 inch square tin with some parchment paper, preheating the oven to 180˚c/350˚f and preparing any equipment such as a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and a spatula.

To start on the cake, you’ll want to grab your mixing bowl and place in the butter and granulated sugar. Beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this should take around 7-9 minutes but may take more time, depending on how you’re mixing them together.

You can then go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Now you can go ahead and add in the eggs, roughly one at a time, beating well in between each addition. You may notice as the egg is added, that the mixture starts to curdle slightly and this is normal (you will be able to fix it at the next stage).

Don’t forget to give the bowl another scraping down, again just to incorporate any bits that haven’t been fully incorporated.

You can now go ahead and add in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, passing them through a sieve first (this is to remove any lumps that may be in the mix).

Start the mixture on a medium-low speed, working your way up to a medium-high speed, just until the flour has been incorporated. You may need to add some milk to help with the consistency (I find a tablespoon at a time works really well).

Give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated earlier on.

You can then transfer the cake batter into your lined square 8 inch cake tin, spread and level it out and then place into the preheated oven and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

While the cake is baking, its the perfect time to get cleaned up and prepare for the next stages. At this stage I recommend you also make the simple syrup.

To make the simple syrup, it’s honestly super easy. Simply place the water, sugar and vanilla extract into the saucepan and mix together. Then place over a high heat and bring it to a boil, then you can allow it to simmer for a minute or so, just until, the mixture is thicker than water. Allow to cool fully, then its ready to use – if you’re making this in advance, store in an airtight jar and refrigerate until needed.

I leave everything I have done for the cake so far and leave it until tomorrow but if you only have one day to do everything, don’t worry, just ignore me on leaving everything overnight.

I start by levelling the cake, so you have two layers and then generously brush over the simple syrup. Leave the cake layers on a cooling rack while you make the whipped cream.

For the whipped cream, grab a clean mixing bowl and pour in all of the double cream and then add the icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk over a medium-high speed until the cream changes in consistency – it should be thick enough to hold its shape but still spreadable. If you have over-whipped the double cream, simply start over – the grainy mouthfeel will ruin it.

Now you have all of the elements ready, you can finish the cake. Take the cake stand/plate/cake board you intend on using and use a small blob of the freshly whipped cream, then place a layer of cake on top, pressing down to secure in place. Then on top of the layer of cake, you can spread a good amount of the whipped cream, spreading out to the edge of the cake, then spread as much or as little cherry jam as you’d like then sandwich the second layer of cake on top. Pressing down slightly, just to secure in place.

Then you can go ahead and give the cake a good coating with the remaining cream, reserving a piping bags worth. Spread and level the cream all over the cake, ensuring a level amount all over the cake.

Take the cake and coat the sides and top with the grated chocolate, making sure you get a good coverage all over the cake. You may need to go over some patches a few times to ensure a good coverage.

Place into the fridge and allow everything to firm up.

After the cake has been in the fridge for a short while, you can then remove it from the fridge and finish the cake off. Place the cake on to a turntable and pipe rosettes all around the outer edge of the cake – you will then want to add the maraschino cherries, how many you add is up to you – I went with what looked right but you can add more or less – you’re the judge here!

Place the cake back into the fridge and allow to firm up, I recommend eating this cake with 24/36 hours.

Cut up and slice this cake however you like, unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the inside as this was my moms birthday cake and we weren’t celebrating together, you know, with coronavirus and the other commitments I had going on in my life at that time.

Jam & Coconut Traybake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This classic combination is not one to miss, trust me. Today I’m sharing a super quick and easy recipe for a jam and coconut traybake.

Recently I’ve been making this cake quite a lot, mostly for my nan as this is her favourite cake. I made this while the lockdown was still quite struct, so finding coconut was like finding flour – almost impossible.

This is quick, easy and cheap to make. If you have older friends and family, this will make the perfect nostalgic treat for them. So why not give it a try and share with them, when you can?

If you’re not sure you’d like this cake, I’m sure you will. It starts with a light coconut cake, which is topped with jam and more coconut – perfect as a snack anytime of day!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Cake:

115g Butter.

115g Granulated sugar.

115g Self raising flour.

2 Eggs

75g Desiccated coconut.

Milk (only if needed).

Topping –

30-50g Jam (whichever flavour you like but I like strawberry).

40-50g Desiccated coconut (use more or less, whatever takes your fancy).

Methods:

Before you get started on making this cake, you’re best to do some prep work. Start by lining your 8 inch cake tin with parchment paper, weigh up all of the ingredients, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and get any equipment you may need such as a mixing bowl and spatula.

To start on the cake, grab a mixing bowl and place in the butter and sugar. Beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this doesn’t take too long, about 5 minutes is ideal.

Then you can go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated.

You can then add you egg, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. The consistency will change and become looser but this is completely normal, it may even start to look curdled.

Now you can add in the flour, passing it through a sieve first (this is just to remove any lumps that may be in the dry ingredients). You will also want to add in the desiccated coconut.

Mixing on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed, ensuring you’re only mixing the cake batter until the dry ingredients have been fully incorporated and you can’t see a trace of a single ingredient. Add milk if needed.

Give the bowl another quick scrape down, just to incorporate any last bits that may not have been fully worked into the mix.

Take your lined 8 inch cake tin and pour the cake batter into it, the level it out as best you can. This is to help with the consistency when its baking – I find the back of a spoon works well or a small cranked palette knife is what I like to use.

Place into your preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes (use a cake tester, when inserted, it should come out clean). It should be risen and golden brown – allow to cool until it’s fully cooled down.

Once the cake is cooled down, you can then go ahead and finish the cake off. Take the jam and place it into the centre of the cake and spread it out until you have a consistent layer, then sprinkle over the desiccated coconut until you have enough of a layer and then set aside for a short while just to allow the jam to firm up a little.

Then you can go ahead and cut the cake up, into 8 generous portions of 16 more bitesize portions, its up to you!

Jam and Coconut Loaf Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’m showing you how to make a super easy jam and coconut loaf cake.

This recipe was one that was requested not by someone on my blog or social media but by my own nan. The combination of jam and coconut wasn’t something I had heard of before she mentioned it, so I was excited to try a new flavour combination.

Seeing as I hadn’t heard of this cake, I asked my nan what it was. It’s simply a coconut sponge cake which is topped with a layer of jam and finished with desiccated coconut. It’s a really straightforward recipe… It may not be anything special but hey, it would make the perfect snack on a afternoon with a cuppa.

In the more traditional recipes, you’d use a strawberry jam (or you could use some sort of red berry based jam) however, you can use whatever jam you like most.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Coconut Loaf:

175g Butter.

175g Granulated sugar.

3 eggs.

225g Plain flour.

1 tsp baking powder.

75g Desiccated coconut.

Decoration:

60-80g Jam (of your choice – I chose strawberry).

Desiccated coconut (don’t be stingy, be generous).

Method:

Start by doing some prep work. Preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f, weigh up your ingredients and prepare your loaf tin by coating with a thin layer of butter, greasing and lining a standard loaf tin with some butter and greaseproof paper and finally get any equipment you may need ready in advance, such as a mixing bowl and mixer.

To start the cake recipe, you’ll want to get your mixing bowl of choice and place the butter and sugar into the bowl and beat until the two are light and fluffy.

Add in your eggs, one at a time. Beating well in between each addition.

Go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl to incorporate any bits that not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Sift in your flour and baking powder then add in the desiccated coconut and mix that over a medium speed until a cake batter has formed. Try not to overmix your batter, this will result in a tough textured cake.

You’ll now want to transfer the cake batter into your lined loaf tin and level it off using an offset pallet knife. Bake that on the middle shelf of your oven for around 60 minutes (check the cake at around 45 minutes into baking and cover with foil if the top of your cake starts to darken while baking).

Bake until a tester comes out clean, for me this was 60 minutes (this time may be longer or shorter for you depending on your oven).

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes, then remove from the tin an allow to completely cool on a cooling rack.

Get your cake, once completely cooled. Add your jam on top of the cake and spread it around until you have a roughly consistent layer all over.

Sprinkle over a generous amount of desiccated coconut (to your personal preference) and leave for 10 minutes.

Enjoy this cake cut into slices with a hot beverage, such as tea or coffee or enjoy as a treat with custard.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Cupcakes

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

If lockdown has go you climbing the walls, why not give these strawberry and white chocolate cupcakes a go – I promise they’ll go down a treat.

These cupcakes are similar to the strawberry cupcakes I made earlier in the year, apart from this recipe was supposed to be muffins but they didn’t dome enough, so I turned them into cupcakes. The cupcake itself has fresh strawberries and white chocolate in it, which is then filled with homemade strawberry jam and topped with a strawberry and vanilla buttercream and finished with a drizzle of white chocolate spread. As you can tell, this is perfectly seasonal for the month of May!

If you cant get hold of strawberries to make your own jam, don’t worry – simply use store bought.

These were originally going to be muffins but they didn’t dome as much as they usually would, so I made the best of a bad situation and turned them into cupcakes – smart eh? haha.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cupcake:

150g Butter.

100g Granulated sugar.

150g Plain flour.

2 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

3 Eggs.

100g Fresh strawberries, chopped.

80g White chocolate, chopped (or chips).

Filling:

Strawberry jam (the amount will vary, dependant on how much you use).

Buttercream:

250g Butter.

500g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Strawberry jam.

Finishing:

White chocolate spread.

Methods:

Cupcake:

Before you get into the recipe, you’re best to do some prep work. I recommend weighing up all your ingredients, lining your muffin tin with liners and preheating your oven to 200˚c/400˚f.

Start by grabbing a large mixing bowl and lacking the butter and sugar into it. Beat them together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Next you can give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated.

Now you can work your eggs in, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition, ensuring they are fully incorporated before adding anymore egg. The mixture may curdle a little, this is normal for this recipe.

Give the bowl another good scraping down, again just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated earlier on.

Go ahead and add in plain flour, baking powder and salt, passing through a sieve first. This is just to ensure the mixture is as lump free as possible.

Before you continue to mix the dry ingredients in, add the strawberries and white chocolate and then go ahead and fold everything together using a spatula or wooden spoon – either will work well.

Take your lined muffin tin and spoon the mixture into the liners, filling them around 3/4 or 2/3 of the way full and place into your preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes.

Check the cupcakes are baked by inserting a tester into the centre and it should come out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool down fully, before you finish them off.

Buttercream:

Take a mixing bowl and place the butter into it and beat for 5-7 minutes on its own, it should be lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

give the bowl a good scraping down, then add half of the icing sugar and mix on a low speed to start with, working your way up to high speed. Repeat with the remaining icing sugar.

give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate the last bits of icing sugar. Then you can add in the vanilla extract and just beat that in until its fully incorporated.

Assembly:

To finish the cupcakes, start by coring the centre out of the cupcakes and filling them generously with strawberry jam, you can eat the little bit you’ve cored out – set them aside for a few moments while you finish the buttercream.

To finish the buttercream, add a good amount t of strawberry jam into the mixture and work it in until fully incorporated. Place into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle (I like an open star tip, but use what you have).

Pipe the buttercream on top of the cupcakes and then finish with a drizzle of white chocolate spread.

Fresh Cream & Custard Doughnuts

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

If you like filled doughnuts, this is the recipe for you. Today I’m showing you how to make your own custard and/or fresh cream finger doughnuts.

These doughnuts are ideal if you want to make a change from the more traditional filled or ring doughnuts, this way you’re still getting a filled doughnut but you’re able to see the filling.

I remember seeing these in some supermarkets and craft bakeries but not all that often – we made these at college quite a lot and thats where I got the inspiration from. I found an old picture of some doughnuts I made at college which has fresh cream and jam, custard and apple (I couldn’t make the apple variety as apples seem impossible to get ahold of).

The one thing I should say, is the custard in these doughnut is a simple creme patisserie. In the ones at college it was a cold custard but either works really well.

While you have the time and might be able to get in the ingredients, why not make a batch of these up and share them with your friends and family (at a locally safe distance of course).

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Doughnut Dough:

450g Strong bread flour.

5g Salt.

35g Fresh yeast.

60g Butter.

60g Granulated sugar.

1 Egg.

100ml Water.

150ml Milk

Fillings:

Whipped Cream:

200ml Double cream.

25g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Strawberry/raspberry jam (in a piping bag).

Custard:

For the custard filling, make sure you check out the creme patisserie/pastry cream blog post.

Method:

Before you get into the doughnuts, you should go ahead and do some prep. Weigh up all your ingredients, get your deep fat fryer or ‘chip pan’, cut some parchment rectangles and get any equipment you may need ready, such as a mixing bowl.

To start, take your mixing bowl and place in the bread flour along with the salt and give them a good mix, just until they are incorporated,

You can then go ahead and add in the fresh yeast, butter, sugar, egg, water and milk. Mix on a low speed to start for roughly 2 minutes. The dough should have formed but it will be very soft. Mix for a further 4 minutes on a medium speed or until you have a clean and soft looking dough.

You can go ahead and generously flour your work surface with bread flour. Place the dough onto it and give it a good knead to incorporate some of the flour, which should help the dough become smooth and elastic, as you knead it.

Once the dough is smooth and elastic (it will be soft, as its enriched), place into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film and leave somewhere warm and allow the dough to proof.

Proofing is simply the process of allowing the yeast to do its job.

After roughly about an hour (or once the dough has doubled in size), flour your work surface and place the dough onto it and knock it back. The process of knocking the dough back is simply to remove the gasses that have built up during the first proof.

Bring the dough back into a ball and cover with the clingfilm. Scale the dough off at 70g per doughnut, round the dough off using the palm/side of your hand and the worktop and then roll into a sausage shape. Place onto a rectangle of parchment paper and place onto a baking tray, making sure they’re loosely covered with clingfilm.

Allow the doughnuts to proof for around 30-45 minutes, they should be doubled in size.

While the doughnuts are proofing for the second time, get your deep fat fryer or chip pan and heat the oil to 180˚c/350˚f.

Once the doughnuts have proofed up well, depending on how big your fryer is you may be able to fry more or less (remember when you add the dough to the oil, it will lower the temperature). I was able to fry off doughnuts at a time. Fry them on each side for roughly 1 minute or until well coloured on each side.

After they have been fried, place onto some kitchen roll (this will help absorb some of the excess grease). Allow them to cool fully before you finish them off.

Now the doughnuts are cooled, slice them downtime middle and then grab a bowl of sugar (I have a container of sugar specially for doughnuts) and roll the doughnuts in the sugar, so they have a good coating of sugar – repeat this stage for all of the doughnuts.

For the whipped cream, simply grab a mixing bowl and place in the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk together until the cream starts to reach stiff peaks. Try not to over whip the cream as it will have a gritty texture and unpleasant taste.

Place the custard and whipped cream into a piping bah, fitted with a open star nozzle.

Open the doughnuts and pipe in the filling in a shell pattern, this is what looks most pleasing to the eye, but feel free to pipe it however you like.

Finish the cream doughnut by piping a line of jam down the one side, this just adds a little colour and flavour – the flavour of the jam is completely up to you!

Cornflake Tart Recipe | School Cornflake Tart

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

While you’ve got some more time on your hands, why don’t you give this cornflake tart a go?

I have already done a recipe for a cornflake tart but that was only a small one – this one is a large one. Who doesn’t want more of this classic treat?

I’m not sure whether it’s a local or national thing, but at my secondary school it was on the menu, alongside flapjacks and chocolate flapjacks. This recipe is even better than the ones your school could ever serve – I promise you that.

My recipe may not be exactly traditional but it’s my take on it and it’s always turned out well. If you’re not sure what cornflake tart is – are you okay? It starts with a shortcrust pastry case, which is then filled with strawberry jam and topped with cornflake mixture. You’re guaranteed to get sweet and crispy in every mouthful.

I’ll be showing you how to make your own pastry as well as the filling – its all super easy and can be made with a pretty quick turn around.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Pastry:

I already have a recipe showing you how to make pastry, I’ll link it here for you.

Cornflake Filing:

230g Golden syrup.

110g Butter.

80g Granulated sugar.

A pinch of salt.

170g Cornflakes.

250-300g Strawberry jam.

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, I recommend you do some prep work. Start by weighing up your ingredients, line your 9×13 inch baking tray (only if needed, or even better, use a disposable tray), preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and get any equipment you may need ready, such as a saucepan and a spatula.

To keep the recipe short and simple, I’ve left a link for the pastry recipe above. Make the pastry and wrap it in some clingfilm and chill for about an hour before you use it.

Once the dough has had some time to chill in the fridge, you can take it and start to roll it out. Start by generously flouring your work surface, then placing the dough onto it.

Roll out the pastry until its roughly 1 inch bigger than the 9×13 inch tin/tray, then you can go ahead and place the pastry over the top and press it down into place. Don’t worry if the pastry rips or tears, you can fix it with the left over pastry.

Dock the bottom of the pastry with a fork, this is just to allow the steam to release and prevents the pastry base rising while it bakes – place in the fridge and allow to chill for an hour.

Once the pastry case has had an hour in the fridge, you can then go ahead and grab your strawberry jam, spreading it out until you have roughly consistent layer of jam.

Place back in the fridge, just while you make the cornflake filling.

To make the cornflake filling, grab a small saucepan and place in the golden syrup, butter and granulated sugar and salt, then place it on the heat over a medium heat.

Allow everything to melt a little and then start stirring it constantly, just until everything is fully melted and is well combined.

Grab your bowl of cornflakes and pour over the melted mixture.

Then you can go ahead and give it all a very good stir until all of the cornflakes have been well coated in the liquid mix. Once you’ve achieved this, you can go ahead and grab your pastry case filled with the jam and add all of the cornflake mixture directly on top of the jam.

Move them about until you have a consistent layer and compress them down until the are slightly compact – this is just to make sure that it stays together while it bakes and once it cools down.

Place into your preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cornflakes have turned a golden brown colour. Whatever you do, don’t touch the tart until, its fully cooled down. Leave it in the baking tin/tray until it has fully cooled.

Once everything is done and dusted, you can go ahead and slice up the cornflake tart. You can cut it however you like but I went with 12 generously she portions but you could get 24 smaller bitesize pieces – its up to you.

Jam

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