Cake

Orange Bundt Cake

If you like citrus and would normally use lemon, give orange a try – I promise you won’t regret it! This orange bundt cake may become your new favourite very soon!

I was having a sort out and found my bundt pans, which I hadn’t used in more than 6 months, so thought I might as well use them, considering I had them out of storage.

I wasn’t sure which flavour of cake to make and considering the weather was actually nice at the time, I thought lemon but only had oranges in, so I came up with this orange bundt cake. I wasn’t 100% how it would turn out, but used the same recipe would for my lemon bundt and it turned out amazingly!

This cake is slightly different as I don’t really decorate it, I prefer to allow the flavours to speak for the cake. As the cake don’t have any filling or topping, I used a simple syrup made with fresh orange juice, which is generously brushed all over the cake. This adds more flavour, a preservative and keeps the cake fresh – which is always good.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

250g butter, room temperature.

250g granulated sugar.

Zest of 3 oranges.

5-6 eggs.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

250g plain flour.

1 1/2 tsp baking powder.

1/4 tsp salt.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all your ingredients, buttering and flouring a standard bundt pan and preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

You can also make the orange syrup which will be brushed all over the cake once it’s baked. To start into a saucepan, place the granulated sugar and orange juice and give them a mix. Then place on the hob over a medium-high heat until it almost reaches a boil, remove from the heat and allow to cool fully before you intend on using it.

To start on the cake, take a mixing bowl and place in the butter, granulated sugar and orange zest, then beat them all together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

After 5-7 minutes later, give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on. Now you can go ahead and add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Don’t worry too much if the mixture separates a little, this is because of the amount of liquid that has been added.

Once all of the eggs have been added, add the vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Then give your bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then you can add in the flour, baking powder and salt – passing them through a sieve first to remove any lumps that may be in the dry mixture (if theres a few little clumps, just discard them). Mix on a low speed to start with – working your way up top a medium-high, just until the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Try your best not to over-mix the cake batter at this stage as it will result in a tough textured cake.

If you notice the cake batter is a little stiff, add a small amount of milk to help loosen up the mixture and perfect the consistency.

Take the cake batter and transfer into the bundt pan (which is has been buttered and floured). Carefully transfer the cake batter into the pan, spread and levelling out as best as you possibly – this will help everything bake consistently.

Bake in your preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Once the cake has baked, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes in the tin, then transfer onto a cooling rack and allow cool for a further 5-10 minutes at which point you can generously brush over the cake with the orange syrup you made earlier on. You’ll want to get as much of this orange syrup over the cake as possible, as it helps add more flavour and keep the cake fresh.

Then allow to cool fully before you start to slice the cake up and enjoy it. So, that’s how I make my take on an orange bundt cake, which is light and flavourful without being too much, what’s not to like?

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.

Valentine’s Day Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

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!

Easiest Chocolate Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s bakemas 2020!

If it’s your first bakemas here, welcome. It is my annual mini-series in which I show you how to make a various Christmas themed baked goods – perfect if you want to impress your family and/or friends or if you’re hosting a festive get together.

I’m sharing the easiest chocolate cake recipe, like ever. Seriously, this is my go-to recipe whenever I’m making a chocolate cake.

Whenever I get the chance to make a chocolate cake, this is my go to recipe. It’s a simple and straightforward recipe, that only requires very simple ingredients and is the very recipe I have been using for the past 8 years – so I know it works well!

When it comes to making a basic cake, using the best quality products make the cake even better… That’s a fact! That’s why I’m using Cocoa Runners cocoa powder (it is now my favourite cocoa powder).

Anyway, lets get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

250g butter, room temp.

250g granulated sugar.

4 eggs.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

220g plain flour.

30g cocoa powder.

1 tsp baking pwoder.

up to 50ml milk.

Buttercream:

225g butter, room temp.

450g icing sugar.

30g cocoa powder.

boiling water.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Simple syrup:

100ml water.

100g granulated sugar.

1/2 – 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Filling (optional):

caramel.

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 your 6 inch cake tins with parchment paper, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and grab any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and spatulas.

To start, I like making the cake (as this takes the longest). Grab a large mixing bowl and place in the butter and sugar, beating the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – I find around 7-10 minutes on a high speed works well.

Give the bowl a good scraping down and then add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. You will notice the mixture change in consistency – this is normal.

Take the bowl and give it another good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Into a sift, add the plain flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Then sift directly into the bowl and mix on a low speed until the ingredients start to incorporate, then you can add in some milk – this is just to help achieve the perfect consistency. Try your best just to mix all of the ingredients in without over mixing the cake batter.

Give the bowl a final scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then transfer into your line 6 inch cake tins, split it equally (or as equally as possible) and level it out. This is to ensure even baking while in the oven – place into your preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes to until tester when inserted into the centre.

While the cakes are in the oven baking, its the perfect time to make make the buttercream and simple syrup.

The simple syrup is super simple to make. Into a pan, place the water, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk together. Then you can place on the hob, over a high heat and allow to come to a boil and then remove from the heat and transfer into a smaller jar/container and allow to cool fully before using.

To make the buttercream, start on the chocolate mixture. Place cocoa powder and and boiling water into a bowl and whisk until a liquid mixture forms, then leave to cool while you continue with the next stage.

Grab a mixing bowl and place in the butter. Then beat the butter on its own until it reaches a lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this is usually achieved in around 7-10 minutes (depending on the speed and softness of the butter).

Once you’ve achieved the right consistency, you can go ahead and add in half of the icing sugar and mix on a low speed to start, working your way up to a medium-high speed until the sugar has been fully incorporated – then give the bowl a good scraping down and repeat the process with the remaining icing sugar.

Then go ahead over a low speed, you can continue to add the cocoa mixture you made at the start. Mix until everything has been incorporated and the mixture looks fantastically chocolatey.

Give the bowl one final scrape down and then set aside until you need it later on.

Whenever you want to assemble, take the cakes and remove them from the tins and level them off using a knife or a cake leveller (keep the scraps, we’ll need them later on).

For this cake, I halved my cake layers so I had 4 layers in total.

With the cake layers, you’ll want to generously brush them over with the simple syrup.

Take your board/stand/plate and smear a small amount of buttercream into the centre and place down your first layer of cake (pressing down to secure) and add a small amount of buttercream and spread it out until you have a consistent level – don’t forget, as an optional filling, you can add and spread a small amount of caramel into the centre. Repeat this with the remaining layers of cake.

Then apply a crumb coat of buttercream, this is just a thin layer of buttercream to lock in those pesky crumbs. Smooth it out as best you can, then place in the fridge for 30-45 minutes or until the buttercream is firm to the touch.

Whenever you’re ready, apply the final layer of icing and smooth out the sides as best you can, leaving it a little more untidy on top. Using a small cranked palette knife, you can go ahead and make the swirl on top. To do this, slightly dig the palette knife into the buttercream on the outer edge, swirling the cake around on the turntable, taking the swirl into the centre.

Then to finish, simply take some chocolate sprinkles and apply them around the bottom edge, to add a flair of colour and to hide any imperfections. Then to the out edge on top of the cake, you can sprinkle some of the cake crumbs (which have been crumbled into a fine consistency) – use as much or as little as you’d like.

Then place back into the fridge until the buttercream has firmed up.

Whenever you need the cake, you can slice it up and enjoy!

Biscoff Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s bakemas 2020!

I’m sharing my recipe for a biscoff layer cake.

If you haven’t heard or tried of biscoff, where have you been? The flavour is unique – it’s spiced and warm, similar to a gingerbread but in its own league. You can get biscuits and spread and best of all, we use both forms in the cake!

3 layers of biscoff biscuit flavoured sponge cake, filled and finished with a biscoff spread buttercream and the finished with biscoff biscuits… Sounds like too much of a biscoff flavour, right? Wrong, it’s amazingly balanced.

If you know someone who likes or loves biscoff, this cake is honestly for them – show them how much they mean to you by making them this cake!

Anyway, lets get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

250g butter, room temp.

250g light brown sugar.

4 Eggs.

250g plain flour.

2 tsp baking powder.

pinch of salt.

100g Lotus biscoff biscuits, crushed into crumbs.

Milk (optional).

Buttercream:

350g butter.

700g icing sugar.

200-300g Lotus biscoff spread.

Simple syrup:

100ml water.

100g granulated sugar.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Decoration:

biscoff biscuits.

biscoff spread

Methods:

Before you get started on any element of the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of the ingredients, lining/buttering and flouring your 3 x 6 inch cake tins, preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and getting any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and spatula.

To start, make the cake.

Grab a bowl and place in the butter and light brown sugar and beat together until lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency. You will want to allow this to mix on a medium/high speed for around 7-10 minutes, that’s the amount of time I find perfect but always use this as a guideline.

You can then start adding your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. As the eggs are incorporated, you should notice the consistency change – don’t be alarmed, this is normal.

If you find your mixture is looking curdled, don’t fret. This sometimes happens while you’re adding moisture into the mixture. If it’s particularly bad, add a spoonful of your weighed out flour into the mix and incorporate.

Give the bowl a good scraping down, this is to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Now you can go ahead and add in the plain flour, baking powder and salt, passing them through a sieve first, just to remove any lumps that may be in the mixture. Don’t forget to add in the biscoff biscuit crumbs and then mix everything in until its fully incorporated. Try your best not to over work the ingredients, otherwise this will result in a tough textured cake.

You may find your cake batter isn’t too smooth and a little stiff, add in a tablespoon of milk until you achieve the perfect consistency.

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

Then take the cake batter and divide it between your prepped cake tins, I just eyeballed the amounts in each cake tin but for more accuracy, weigh it into each tin. Smooth and level out the batter and then bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

While your cakes are in the oven, you can get ahead and make the other elements.

To make the buttercream, grab a clean mixing bowl and place in the butter. Then beat over a medium-high speed for around 7-10 minutes or until it is lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Once you achieve that consistency, give the bowl a good scraping down, then add in the first half of your icing sugar. Then you can beat that in on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a high and mix until everything is incorporated. Repeat with the other half of icing sugar.

Just before you finish the buttercream, give the bowl a good scraping down. This will ensure those last bits of icing sugar will be incorporated, it’s also the perfect time to add in the biscoff spread and mix until its fully incorporated.

Now everything has been added and the buttercream is ready, give the bowl a final scraping down. If you’re using it within hours of, cover and keep at room temperature otherwise, cover and store in the fridge.

For the simple syrup, grab a medium saucepan and place in the water, sugar and vanilla extract. Give them a brief mix to combine, before transferring the pan onto the hob over a medium-high heat, allowing to come to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before you intend on using it.

Once the cakes have baked and been removed from the oven, allow to them to cool fully before you try to work with them – otherwise, it may get messy.

Now that the cakes and simple syrup are completely cooled down and the buttercream is made – you can assemble the cake.

To start the assembly, generously brush the simple syrup over the layers of cake.

Take your board/plate/stand and smear a small amount of buttercream into the centre and place the first layer of cake on top of it and press it down to secure it in place. Top that with some buttercream and spread it out until its level and consistent – repeat this with your remaining layers of cake.

Once the cake has been stacked, you can then go ahead and give the cake a crumb coat – this is just a layer of buttercream that will lock in the crumbs so they don’t ruin your final coat and look messy. Once you’ve applied the crumb coat, place in the fridge to chill for 45-60 minutes or until its firm to the touch.

While you wait, have a clean down and prepare to finish the cake off.

Apply the final layer of buttercream and get it as smooth as you possibly can, then place it back in the fridge for 30 minutes.

I always chill the cake before I apply the drip but thats just for me. I take some biscoff spread and warm it through, until its smooth and melted. Place into a piping bag an then carefully pipe small amounts on the top edge of the cake and let them run down – you can create drips of varying lengths, it looks quite pleasing to see different drips. Don’t forget to fill the top in, so the top has biscoff spread over it too!

Set in the fridge just until the drip has firmed up, then take the remaining buttercream and place into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and pipe rosettes on top of the cake and finish with biscoff biscuits.

That’s how I make my biscoff cake! It’s quick, easy and looks pretty impressive – why not try it?

Fresh Cream Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

It’s bakemas 2020!

That’s why today, I’m sharing another super easy cake recipe with you – here’s my take on a fresh cream cake.

It’s nothing super fancy, just two layers of soft vanilla sponge cake, filled with winterberry jam. Filled and coated with freshly whipped sweetened cream, finished with a desiccated coconut coating, a few rosettes top and they’re topped with some raspberries (feel free to use other berries).

If you’re looking for a cake to make to share with those you’re celebrating the holidays with, this may be the perfect addition at your celebration this year.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

250g Butter.

250g Granulated sugar.

4 Eggs.

1-2 tsp Vanilla extract.

250g Plain flour.

1 1/2 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

Milk (optional – only use if needed).

Filling:

Jam or spread of choice (I used winterberry jam, any filling is optional).

Finishing:

Whipped cream:

600ml Double cream.

50g Icing sugar.

1-2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Approx 200-250g desiccated coconut.

Optional – raspberries (or other berries) to finish.

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredient, grab 2x 6 inch round cake tins and lined them with parchment or butter and flour them, then you can go ahead and grab any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and mixing bowl or hand mixer and a mixing bowl – spatulas will be essential during this recipe, so grab at least one of them. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.

To start on the cake, 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 – around 7-10 minutes over a medium-high speed.

Once you’ve achieved the perfect consistency, give the bowl a good scraping down just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated previously.

Now you can add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. As you add in the eggs, you will notice the consistency change and become looser, this is normal, don’t worry.

Add in the vanilla extract and mix it in until its fully incorporated.

Now you can give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been incorporated earlier on.

Grab a sieve and pass though the flour, baking powder and salt. Sifting the dry ingredients ensures you have no lumps in your cake batter – lumps in your batter are the last thing you need.

Place the mixing bowl back onto the mixer and start to incorporate the dry ingredients over a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high until everything is combined and fully incorporated.

If you find the cake batter is a little stiff to work with, don’t worry. Use a little milk, roughly a tablespoon at a time until you achieve the perfect consistency.

Finally, give your bowl a good scraping down. Just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Now you can grab your prepared cake tins and divide the cake batter between them, trying to get it as equal as possible if you’re eyeballing it like I was. Smooth and level it out, then place into your preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

While your cakes are baking, it’s the perfect time to clean up and start on the cream filling and coating.

To make the cream filling and coating, take a clean mixing bowl and place in the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract, then beat over a medium-high speed until your cream has almost reached stiff peaks. It should easily hold its shape and be the perfect spreadable consistency.

Keep that refrigerated until needed later on or if you’re not decorating the cake that day, save whipping the cream until you need it.

Once the cakes are baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool fully, when you can, remove from the cake tins and leave on a cooling rack to cool fully.

Later on, once you’re ready to finish the cake, make sure you have levelled the top of the cakes. This just helps to keep everything level and consistent when finishing the cake off.

To start the assembly, grab your plate/stand/board and smear a small blob of fresh cream into the centre of it and place the first layer of cake onto it, pressing down to secure it in place.

On top of the first layer of cake, dollop and spread a good amount of cream and spread it out until its level, then optionally add some jam (I use winterberry but use your preference). Place the second layer of cake on top, then press down just to secure it in place.

You can then go ahead and give the cake a generous coating of the whipped cream, you will only be applying the one coat so be fairly generous.

Once you have a generous coat of cream, you can then go ahead and coat the cake with a layer of desiccated coconut, ensuring the cake has a good coating.

Pipe on the rosettes of cream, they may not stay in place due to you piping on top of the coconut but don’t worry. Then you can top them with your choice of berry, I chose raspberry.

Place in the fridge to firm up for about 45-60 minutes, then enjoy!

Apple Crumble Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Today I’m sharing my take on an apple crumble layer cake – this is the perfect cake to make and enjoy during the long autumnal days/nights.

This cake came to be after experimenting with flavours and preventing waste, plus why not combine a classic apple crumble with cake to make this perfectly seasonal apple crumble cake. Try not to get this cake confused with a crumble topped apple cake, which is equally as delicious.

I’ll be honest with you, this cake was an accidental creation. I had been making a apple crumble no-bake cheesecake and apple crumble cupcakes and had left over ingredients. So, to prevent food waste, I made this delicious cake. If you like sponge cake and apple crumble – you’ll love this cake.

The cake is made up of 2 layers of apple cake (made with fresh and dried apple), filled and coated with a cinnamon buttercream and finished with a crumble topping as decoration – it’s my take on a combination of an apple crumble and cake.

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

200g Butter.

200g Brown sugar (you can use either light or dark, whichever you prefer or have available).

3 Eggs.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

200g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

75g Cooking apple (peeled, cored and chopped).

10g Dried apple.

Buttercream:

250g Butter.

500g Icing sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Ground cinnamon (flavour to your preference).

Crumble:

35g Granulated sugar.

35g Dark brown sugar.

30g Oats.

50g Plain flour.

60g Butter.

Simple syrup:

100ml Water.

100g Granulated sugar.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Apple Filling:

1 Large cooking apple, chopped into small cubes.

30-50g Granulated sugar (use the amount of sugar that suits you best).

15-30ml Water.

Method:

Before you get started on any element of this recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend starting by weighing up all of your ingredients, getting any equipment you may need ready, such as a stand mixer, mixing bowls and spatulas. You will also want to preheat your oven to 180˚f/350˚f and line your 6 inch cake tins with butter and parchment paper.

Cake:

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to start on the cake. Grab your mixing bowl and place in the butter and light brown sugar and beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this takes around 7-10 minutes on a medium-high speed.

You now start adding your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. If you add your eggs too quickly, you may split the mixture and this sin’t ideal. You will also want to add in the vanilla extract, mix until it has been fully incorporated into the mix.

Don’t forget to give your bowl a good scraping down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then you can add in the dry ingredients, passing them through a sieve first. This will help remove any lumps that may be in the dry mixture, meaning you won’t have any lumps of raw flour in your finished cake.

Mix all of the dry ingredients in on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high speed until the flour has been fully incorporated. Once the flour has been almost fully incorporated, you can add in the apple and mix on a medium speed until they are fairly distributed through out the cake batter.

Give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate any little bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Divide the cake batter between your two cake tins and level it out as best you can using a small cranked or offset palette knife. You can then place them into the preheated oven and bake off for 30-35 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean).

Misc:

While your cakes are in the oven baking, you can make the buttercream and apple filling.

For the buttercream, grab your clean mixing bowl and place in the butter and beat for 5-7 minutes or until it has become lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

You can then go ahead and add in the first half of your icing sugar and beat on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high until the icing sugar has been fully incorporated. Repeat this stage with the remixing icing sugar.

Now you will want to add in the vanilla extract and mix until it has been fully incorporated. Give the bowl a good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Add in some ground cinnamon and mix until you have the desired flavour. The amount of cinnamon is up to you, I like quite a lot as I want to be able to taste the cinnamon.

To make the apple filling, take a large cooking apple and peel, core and cube. Then place into a medium-large saucepan and add in the sugar and water, heat over a medium-high heat and just cook until the apples have soften and the sugar/water have made a thickened syrupy consistency.

Transfer the apple filling into a jar until it’s needed, later on.

Now may also be the ideal time to make the simple syrup, which is probably the easiest thing to make in this recipe. Place the water, sugar and vanilla extract into a saucepan and mix together until they are combined. Place on the hob over a medium-high heat and allow to come to a boil, then simmer until the mixture has reduced and thickened slightly. Allow to cool fully before you intend on using it.

To start on the crumble, you’ll want to place the plain flour, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar into a bowl and mix them together.

Once they are combined, you can then add the butter, which is in small pieces. Once all the butter has been added, you can rub it together until the butter has been incorporated and the mixture has become crumblier looking – now you can add in the oats, stir until they have been incorporated.

Remove the crumble from the bowl and place onto a lined baking tray. If your crumble has lumps that are large, use a silicon spatula to break them down into smaller bits. Bake the crumble in the oven until it’s well coloured – around 10-12 minutes.

Assembly:

Now you have every element of the cake made, you can assemble it. To start, level your cakes – I remove the un-level top of the cakes and generously brush the layers of cake with the vanilla simple syrup I made earlier on.

Then grab the plate/board/stand you intend on using to serve the cake on and onto the centre of it, place a small blob of buttercream and smear it out and place the first layer of cake onto it, pressing down to secure it in place. This step acts as the glue, ensuring the cake is secure and won’t move around while you’re working with it.

Place a decent amount of buttercream onto the first layer or cake and spread out, leaving a slight lip on the outer edge, then add in the apple filling and place the second layer of cake on top, pressing down to secure it in place a bit better.

You can then go ahead and add a generous layer of buttercream to the entire cake, encasing the cake in the cinnamon buttercream. Usually, I’d suggest doing a crumb coat but this cake didn’t really need one as I wasn’t looking for a perfect finish. If you are looking for a more perfect finish, you can go ahead and do a crumb coat before applying the final layer of buttercream. If you do a crumb coat, chill in the fridge for around 45-60 minutes before applying the final layer.

Make sure you keep the sides smooth and have a little more buttercream on top of the cake, so you can use a small cranked/offset palette knife to make a swirl on top of the cake. This is probably the simplest and easiest way to decorate a cake – well I think so anyway. Feel free to decorate however you like!

To finish the cake off, I use the crumble mix around the outer edge of the cake just to add some decoration, colour and texture. You can incorporate the crumble a different way, if the way I mentioned doesn’t suit you.

That’s it. You can eat the cake straight away or chill in the fridge for a short while before you enjoy it.

Halloween Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

Although halloween this year may be a little different, there’s no reason not to celebrate. That’s why I’m sharing my recipe for a super simple halloween themed cake.

This is the perfect cake to make if you’re doing anything for halloween, it’s got the perfectly festive colours of purple, green and orange. It starts with 3 layers of coloured vanilla cake, sandwiched and finished with a standard vanilla buttercream and its then decorated with a white chocolate drip, buttercream rosettes and meringue decorations.

I’ll be honest, this cake is a remake of a cake I made back in 2017… I didn’t like the cake enough to share until this year when I found the old pictures and thought I could remake it and make it better. I added a white chocolate drip and meringue decorations.

This would be the perfect cake to make if you have a large household or are able to share it with your friends and family, especially if they celebrate halloween.

Anyway, lets’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Meringue decorations:

2 Egg whites.

Granulated sugar (double the weight of the egg whites).

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

Cake:

375g Butter, at room temperature.

375g Granulated sugar.

6 Eggs.

2 tsp Vanilla extract.

375g Plain flour.

1 1/2 tsp Baking powder.

45ml Milk.

Food colouring paste (or gels).

Buttercream:

450g Butter, at room temperature.

900g Icing sugar.

1-2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Simple Syrup:

200g Granulated sugar.

180ml Water.

10ml Vanilla extract.

Decoration:

White chocolate spread (for the drip).

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some preparation. Weigh up all of your ingredients, line or butter and flour your cake tins/line your baking trays with parchment, preheat your oven to 130˚c/265˚f an 180˚c/350˚f (for the cakes), then grab any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer (or hand mixer) and mixing bowls.

Meringue:

To start on the recipe, I like to make the meringue decorations as they take some time to bake. Start by grabbing your clean mixing bowl and placing the egg whites into it, then beating them until they are fairly frothy.

You can then go ahead and add in the granulated sugar, roughly a tablespoon at a time, allowing the sugar to be incorporated before adding anymore sugar.

Once you have all of the sugar incorporated, you’ll want to check if the meringue is ready. Take a small amount and rub it between your finger and thumb, if you feel any granules of sugar, continue to whisk until you can no longer feel any granules of sugar.

When ready, place the meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip and get ready to pipe. Onto the first lined baking tray, you can pipe small meringue kisses (and top them with sprinkles or other bits, if wanted) and onto the other tray, pipe a squiggle which should look like a ghost.

Place the trays into a the 130˚c/265˚f oven and bake for 40-60 minutes or until they peel away from the baking paper. Once baked, leave somewhere to cool until needed later on (store in the fridge if you intend on using them at a later date).

Cake:

To start on the cake, preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and grab a mixing bowl. Into the mixing bowl, place the butter and granulated sugar and beat them together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency (this normally takes about 7-10 minutes). The mixture should be smoother, lighter and fluffier (if you can see or feel any granules of sugar, continue to mix until you can longer feel them).

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.

You can then add in your eggs, roughly one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Try your best not to add in too much egg at anytime, otherwise you may curdle or split the mixture.

Then you can go ahead and add in the flour and baking powder, passing it through a sieve, just to remove any lumps that may be in the dry mix.

Mix the dry ingredients until they are fully incorporated, then stop, try not to over mix the cake batter too much (otherwise the baked cake will be tough in texture).

Into three separate bowls, add 15ml of milk and a colour into each (make sure the colour is very concentrated. Then divide the cake batter between the three bowls and incorporate the milk and colour into the cake batter – once the cake batter is coloured and ready, transfer into your lined (or buttered and floured) cake tins.

Spread and level out the cake batter as best as you possibly can, then place into your preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until well risen and when a tester is inserted into the centre, it comes out clean.

Buttercream:

The buttercream is super easy to make. Start by grabbing a clean mixing bowl and placing the butter into it, then beat on a high speed for 7-9 minutes or until the butter has become lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Once the butter has achieved the perfect consistency, you can go ahead and add in half of the icing sugar and mix o a low speed to start, working your way up to a high speed. Repeat this for the remaining half of the icing sugar.

Just before you finish mixing, add in the vanilla and mix until its been fully incorporated.

Crumb coat the cake with a layer of buttercream, then separate the buttercream equally between three bowls and colour each of buttercream with purple, green and orange. Cover and set aside until needed later on.

Simple syrup:

Place the water, sugar and vanilla extract into a saucepan and place on the hob over a high heat and allow to come to a boil. The mixture should thicken slightly once done.

Allow to cool before using.

Once its cooled, level your cakes and brush over your layers of cake.

Assembly:

To assemble the cake, start by taking your plate/stand and dolloping a small amount of buttercream onto the plate/stand and spreading it out. This is just to secure the cake cake in place, so it doesn’t move while you’re decorating it.

I like to start by placing the purple layer of cake onto the plate/stand, then top with vanilla buttercream and jam (repeat this stage with the remaining cake).

You can then go ahead and give the cake a crumb coat, this is just a thin layer of buttercream used to lock in all of the crumbs, so none get into your final layer of icing and ruin your decoration.

Place in the fridge, just to allow the buttercream to firm ups around 40-60 minutes will be fine.

Take the coloured buttercream and place into piping bags, this will make it easier to work with the decoration.

when you’re ready to apply the final layer of buttercream, you can do it however you like but I like the correspond the colours inside with the colours outside, so I will do purple, green and orange (in that order). I start by placing my cake on to a turntable, so I can spin the cake and get a more level and consistent layer.

I pipe on all of my layers, so they are like rough levels, you can always straighten them out if they aren’t as straight as you’d like. Then take a cake smoother/scraper and level the icing all amount the cake, so it will all become smooth and level out. You may need to go around the cake a few times, just to perfect the finish.

Place back into the fridge and allow the buttercream to firm up for a bit, about 40-60 minutes should be ideal.

After the time in the fridge, you can finish the cake. I like to do the drip first, so I melt the white chocolate spread in the microwave for a few seconds until its more liquid, then place the melted spread into a piping bag and drip it from the top, down the side of the cake. You can use more spread to create a longer drip or less if you want a shorter drip. Don’t forget to spread some of the chocolate spread on-top of the cake.

You’ll want the place the cake back in the fridge for 10 minutes, just for the drip to firm up.

Once you’re ready to finish the cake, you can go ahead and take the remaining buttercream and place it all into a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle, then pipe your rosettes onto the top of your cake, pipe as many or as few as you’d like – it’s up to you.

Then finish by placing the meringue decorations all over the top of the cake, you’ll know where a cake need some decoration.

Salted Caramel Gingerbread Traybake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

I’ve finally got into the swing of more seasonal baking! Today I’m sharing my recipe for a salted caramel gingerbread traybake – it’s a match made in heaven, trust me on this one.

I’ve gone from not slightly seasonal straight into sweater weather in a week, it had to happen though. If you have ever made a gingerbread style cake, you may know it’s similar to a Parkin (it gets better tasting with age) but throw in salted caramel and it really elevates the recipe into another dimension – it may sound bizarre but trust me on this one for once.

If you’re really not a fan of salted caramel, you can skip the salt and use just plain caramel, it won’t quite be the same but it’ll work.

Gingerbread isn’t always associated with autumn, I know but I wanted to share something a little more festive on the build up to Christmas but don’t worry, I have plenty of autumnal themed an flavoured recipes coming up… Keep your eyes peeled!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

175g Butter.

150g Light brown sugar.

50-75g Black treacle (the more you use, the richer the flavour).

200g Plain flour.

1 tsp Baking powder.

Pinch of salt.

3 Eggs.

30-50g Crystallised ginger (use more if you like a stronger ginger flavour).

100ml salted caramel.

Caramel:

100g Butter.

150g Light brown sugar.

100ml Double cream.

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Sea salt (flakes or rocks will work well)

Method:

Before you get started on making any element of this cake, you’ll want to do some prep work. Start by weighing up all of your ingredients, line a 9 inch cake tin with parchment and get any equipment you may need such as a medium saucepan, stand mixer and spatulas.

To start on the recipe, you’ll want to make the caramel. To make the caramel grab yourself a medium sized saucepan and place in the butter, light brown sugar, double cream, vanilla extract and salt.

You can then go ahead and place the saucepan on the hob over a medium heat and allow to warm a little before you continuously stir the mixture until everything has melted and fully combined, this doesn’t take too long but you’ll want to make sure everything is fully incorporate and you’re continuously stirring the mixture so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the saucepan and ruin your caramel.

Allow this mixture to cool fully before you use it.

To make the cake, it’s really easy. Into a large mixing bowl, place the butter, light brown sugar, caramel black treacle, crystallised ginger and eggs, then beat on a high speed until they are fully mixed together and incorporated – the mixture won’t be perfectly smooth because of the crystallised ginger.

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

Then you can add in the plain flour, baking powder and salt, passing them through a sieve first to remove any lumps that may be in the mixture.

Once all of the dry ingredients are in the bowl, incorporate them over a a medium speed, working your way up to a high speed until everything has been incorporated.

Give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in. The mixture should be smooth and glossy.

Pour the mixture into your lined 9 inch square baking tin, and place into your preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted.

You will then want to allow the cake to cool until its almost cold, still a little warm is ideal.

Take the remixing caramel and spread it on top of the cake, as its slightly warm the caramel will seep into the cake, enriching it and enhancing the flavours. It will be similar to a Parkin as it will get better with flavour.

Wait until the following day to slice the cake up, it’s worth the wait, trust me!

Red Velvet Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This American classic cake is a super simple and straightforward one to make. Today I’m sharing my take on a red velvet cake! I’m not going to try and claim this cake as a traditional version, as it isn’t – it’s my interpretation.

The cake is a staple in most bakeries, cafés and coffee shops. Almost all of them will have this for sale by the slice which is nice but why do that when you can make the cake at home and have fun while doing it?

You may know this cake for being a little different… It uses bicarbonate of soda as the raising agent and has both chocolate and vanilla flavours as well as a bright red cake finished with a thick and creamy cream cheese icing – the perfect combo!

If you like the tangy flavour of the brightly coloured cake partnered with the rich cream cheese icing, this is the cake for you!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

Cake:

Red Food paste/gel.

20g Cocoa powder.

1 tsp Vanilla extract.

125g Butter.

300g Granulated sugar.

3 Eggs.

190g Plain flour.

1/4 tsp Salt.

125ml Buttermilk.

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda.

1 1/2 tsp White vinegar.

Simple syrup (optional):

100g Granulated sugar.

100ml Water.

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract.

Cream cheese icing:

375g Icing sugar.

70g Butter.

105g Soft cheese.

Methods:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. I recommend you start by weighing up all of the ingredients, lining the 6 inch round cake tins with some parchment paper (or butter and line them), preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and grab any equipment you may need, such as a mixer, mixing bowl and silicon spatula.

To start on the cake, you’ll want to grab a small mixing bowl and place in the red food colouring gel/paste, vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Mix everything together until you have a dark red thick paste and set aside until you need it later on.

Then in another bowl place the butter and granulated sugar, then beat together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

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

Now you can take the red cocoa powder mixture you made earlier and add all of it into the mixing bowl and mix on a medium-high speed until the mixture has become a solid red colour.

Add in your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Once all of the eggs have been added and are incorporated, you will want to give the bowl a quick scraping down.

Then you can go ahead and add around a third of the flour, mixing that in until its fully incorporated then alternate with the buttermilk until you have none of either left over. One thing to note is that you should start with dry and end with dry.

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

Then you can go ahead and add in the bicarbonate of soda and directly on top add the white vinegar – this should fizzle and react (this is completely normal, it’s a chemical reaction. Fold those two into the cake batter until it’s been fully worked in.

Split the cake batter between your two lined cake tins and place into the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until they are well risen (and a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre).

While the cakes are in the oven, you can make your simple syrup. To do so, grab a small-medium saucepan and place the sugar, water and vanilla extract, giving them a good mix to combine.

Then place on the hob over a high heat and allow to come to a boil, then simmer for around 1 minute and then remove from the heat and transfer into another bowl/cup to cool down fully.

Now is also the perfect time to make your cream cheese icing!

To start on the cream cheese icing, grab a clean mixing bowl and place in the icing sugar and butter – mix the two together until they come together and the mixture is ‘crumbly’ looking.

Then you can go ahead and add in the soft cheese, start the mixer on a low-medium speed just to allow that cream cheese to incorporate. Once it has been incorporated, crank the speed up to high speed and mix for as long as needed to achieve the perfect consistency – which is when the icing holds its shape. If your cream cheese icing seems a little too thin, add a little more icing sugar and mixing helps to achieve the perfect consistency

Once your icing is made, you can then set that in the fridge until you need it later on.

Now that your cakes are made, you will want to allow them to cool fully before you do anything with them – this gives you time to get washed and cleaned, ready to ice and decorate the cake in a little while.

A couple of hours later, you should be more than ready to finish the cake off. You should start by removing the cakes from the tins and levelling them off but don’t forget to keep the bits you’ve cut off as we will need some of the crumbs later on.

Brush each of the cakes over with the simple syrup on a cooling rack and give them a few minutes.

Take your cake stand/plate/board and spread a small amount of cream cheese icing into the centre of it and place on top your first layer of cake (pressing down slightly to secure in place) and top that with a good amount of the cream cheese icing and then sandwich the second layer of cake on top.

Usually for cake Is like to do a crumb coat but I hardly ever do it with this cake, theres no real reason. I just take my icing and generously slather it on to the sides and top of the cake and roughly smooth it out – it doesn’t have to be perfect. You’ll want to make sure theres enough icing on top to do the swirl… This is commonly seen on a lot of bakery style cakes (its a simple and professional way of finishing the cake).

Then with some of the cake crumbs from earlier on, sprinkle them around the top edge of the cake, like a border of red velvet crumbs.

That’s how I make my red velvet cake – easy right? Why don’t you try it soon – its always a crowd pleaser whenever I make it!

Banana Bundt Cake

by bakingwithelliott Leave a Comment

This week I’m sharing my recipe for a basic banana bundt cake – this has become an essential bake in 2020.

It’s been a couple of years since I have made a bundt cake, mostly because I never usually have much luck with the pan… The cake breaks and gets stuck in the crevices. When I found my bundt pans again, I just knew I had to use them as they have been neglected in recent years.

Plus, when the coronavirus lockdown was implemented in the UK, it seemed like everybody and their mother were making banana bread… So, I’m jumping on the trend months too late.

Banana bread is always a winning idea, right? Who doesn’t enjoy a slice with a cup of tea or coffee.

The amount of batter this recipe yields the perfect amount for a standard bunt pan

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

200g Butter.

350g Granulated sugar.

4 Eggs.

4 Ripe bananas.

450g Plain flour.

2 tsp Baking powder.

1 tbsp Ground cinnamon.

Up to 4 tbsp Milk (only if needed).

Method:

Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend by starting with your ingredients and weighing them up in advance, greasing your bundt pan with some butter (or release spread, I found some on Pinterest), preheating your oven to 180˚c/350˚f and get any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and a silicon spatula.

To start on the recipe, take a large mixing bowl and place in the butter and granulated sugar and beat them together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency (around 7 or so minutes should work. Just keep your eye on it).

Once your have achieved lighter and fluffier, you can then go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down, Thai is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in earlier on.

Next you can start to add your eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. As you add the eggs into the mixture, you’ll notice it becomes looser in consistency and this is normal, if it looks a little split or curdled, don’t worry too much.

Then you can go ahead and add in all of the mashed banana and fold that in until its fully incorporated. Once the banana has been incorporated, you may noticed that the mixture has split and this is normal as the amount of moisture from the banana is too much but don’t worry – it will be corrected in the next stage.

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

Now you can take your plain flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon and add them into the mix, passing through a sieve first o remove any lumps that may be in the mix.

Mix on a low speed to start, working your way up to a meidum speed and mix until almost all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated, then stop mixing. You don’t want to over work the gluten as that will result in a tougher texture cake.

If you find the cake mixture to be a bit too firm, feel free to add a small amount of milk to help loosen the consistency.

When you’re ready, you can then grab your prepared bundt pan and add the cake mixture into the bundt pan, then level it off as best you possibly can.

Now place the bundt tin into the oven and bake for around 50-55 minutes. A tester should come out clean when inserted into the centre of the baked cake. Allow to cool for around half and hour (or until you can handle the tin.

Once you’re ready to remove the cake from the tin, you can place a cooling rack on top of the tin and flip it around so the bundt pan is on top and the coming rack is underneath – you should have heard the cake move and fall (in one piece I hope) onto the cooling rack. Then you can cautiously remove the tin and see if your cake has come out in one piece or not.

This is normally the nerve wrecking stage for me, not any of the other stages just this one. It’s right at the end and can be really off putting if it doesn’t turn out correctly.

Anyway, you can let the cake cool fully and then enjoy it. I like a slice on its own but you can also enjoy it with some cream or ice cream, if you’d like!

Cake

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