last week I was sharing information about our village market where we had a cake stall. Between us, the women of the village baked for England. This little number was the first to be sold out of - in under an hour.
Karen and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
One of the features about our new fundraising strategy is we keep the neighbours informed about what is happening - this is the letter Karen and I have just posted to every member of the village.
Dear friends and neighbours, a big thank you to all for the support you gave to our baking stall last Saturday. Your kind donations of ingredients, baking and buying our cakes brought in a fantastic profit of £223.41.
Time flies when
you are having fun and before our very eyes our monthly coffee morning draws
nigh, this coming Saturday, 4th April. We have lots of fun activities for the
kiddies, including “Hook a duck” game, colouring activities and lots more. We
will also be presenting certificates from our last egg colouring competition.
The kettle will be on ready to provide you with cups of tea or coffee, fresh
sandwiches and soup and roll is on offer too.
We were
recently given generous donations for our village hall kitchen from the
relatives of “Auntie Peggy” including a lovely Royal Worcester pie plate, so in
memory of Peggy we are introducing “Peggy’s Pie Special” where each coffee
morning we will have a pie of the month….April’s Pie Special will be Lemon
Meringue.
For those who
can not attend we have baking boxes available at £5 per box. If you would like
one of these please contact Denise or Karen
Thank you again
for your support.
My L contribution to ABC Wednesday.
Here are the recipes I used for the favourites...
Coffee Walnut Cake (Nigella Lawson’s version)
for the sponge
for the buttercream frosting
Cherry &
Almond loaf cake
Ingredients
Method
Chocolate Orange Loaf
Ingredients
To finish
Method
Mary Berry's ginger and treacle spiced traybake recipe
My L contribution to ABC Wednesday.
Here are the recipes I used for the favourites...
Coffee Walnut Cake (Nigella Lawson’s version)
for the sponge
·
50 grams walnut
pieces
·
225 grams caster
sugar
·
225 grams soft unsalted
butter (plus some for
greasing)
·
200 grams plain
flour
·
4 teaspoons instant
espresso powder
·
2 ½ teaspoons baking
powder
·
½ teaspoon bicarbonate
of soda
·
4 large eggs
·
1
- 2 tablespoons milk
for the buttercream frosting
·
350 grams icing
sugar
·
175 grams soft unsalted
butter
·
2 ½ teaspoons instant
espresso powder (dissolved in 1 tablespoon
boiling water)
·
approx. 10 walnut
halves (to decorate)
1.
Preheat
the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4/350°F.
2.
Butter
two 20cm / 8inch sandwich tins and line the base of each with baking parchment.
3.
Put
the walnut pieces and sugar into a food processor and blitz to a fine nutty
powder.
4.
Add
the 225g/2 sticks butter, flour, 4 teaspoons espresso powder, baking powder,
bicarb and eggs and process to a smooth batter.
5.
Add
the milk, pouring it down the funnel with the motor still running, or just
pulsing, to loosen the cake mixture: it should be a soft, dropping consistency,
so add more milk if you need to. (If you are making this by hand, bash the nuts
to a rubbly powder with a rolling pin and mix with the dry ingredients; then
cream the butter and sugar together, and beat in some dry ingredients and eggs
alternately and, finally, the milk.)
6.
Divide
the mixture between the 2 lined tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or
until the sponge has risen and feels springy to the touch.
7.
Cool
the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, before turning
them out onto the rack and peeling off the baking parchment.
8.
When
the sponges are cool, you can make the buttercream.
9.
Pulse
the icing sugar in
the food processor until it is lump free, then add the butter and process to
make a smooth icing.
10.
Dissolve
the instant espresso powder in 1 tablespoon boiling water and add it while
still hot to the processor, pulsing to blend into the buttercream.
11.
If
you are doing this by hand, sieve the icing sugar and
beat it into the butter with a wooden spoon.
12.
Then
beat in the hot coffee liquid.
13.
Place
1 sponge upside down on your cake stand or serving plate.
14.
Spread
with about half the icing; then place on it the second sponge, right side up
(i.e. so the 2 flat sides of the sponges meet in the middle) and cover the top
with the remaining icing in a ramshackle swirly pattern.
15.
This
cake is all about old-fashioned, rustic charm, so don’t worry unduly: however
the frosting goes on is fine. similarly, don’t fret about some buttercream
oozing out around the middle: that’s what makes it look so inviting.
16.
Gently
press the walnut halves into the top of the icing all around the edge of the
circle about 1cm apart.
Cherry &
Almond loaf cake
Ingredients
·
200 grams natural-coloured glace
cherries
·
250 grams self-raising
flour
·
225 grams butter (softened)
·
175 grams caster
sugar
·
3 large eggs (beaten)
·
2
- 3 drops almond
essence
·
100 grams ground
almonds
·
6 tablespoons milk
Method
1.
Preheat
the oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3/325ºF. Halve the cherries, wash them in a colander
under cold water, then pat them dry, toss them in some flour and shake well to
get rid of excess.
2.
Cream
the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs and
almond essence, then gently fold in the flour and ground almonds. Fold in the cherries and then the
milk and spoon the thick mixture into a lined and buttered loaf tin (23 x 13 x
7cm / 9 x 5 x 3 inches) and bake for ¾-1 hour, or until a cake-tester comes out
clean.
3.
As
with all of these sorts of cakes, leave in the tin on a wire rack until
completely cooled.
Chocaholic (pictured above in my post)
180g (3/4 cup) room temp butter, 180g (3/4 cup) caster
sugar
3 free-range eggs, beaten 125g (1
cup) self-raising flour
100g (1 cup) ground almonds ½
tsp baking powder
100ml (1/2 cup) milk 4
tbsp cocoa powder
200g (2 bars like this) milk
chocolate chunks
200g (2 bars)white chocolate chunks
2lb loaf tin
Cream together your butter and sugar until light &
fluffy. Mix in your eggs, followed by your flour, almonds, baking powder,
cocoa, and milk.
You should be left with a lovely smooth batter. Roughly
chop your chocolate bars and add to the batter. Stir it around. If you’re using
a metal tin, grease it in a good smear of butter. If you’re using a silicone
one (clever you) don’t bother. Pour the batter into your tin.
Pop into the middle of your oven and close the door.
Cooking time will vary depending on your cooker, but it should take around
45mins. When it’s done the top should be nice and shiny and it should have
raised up in the middle, I take mine out when it’s still a little bit wobbly
because it gives a good squidgy middle later. If you want a more sturdy cake,
leave it an extra 5-10.
Put it onto a wire rack to cool (still in the tin) and
when it’s cold enough to handle, slide it out to chill a little more.
Chocolate Orange Loaf
Ingredients
·
140g butter, softened
·
200g self-raising flour
·
11⁄2 tsp baking powder
·
200g golden caster sugar
·
3 large eggs
·
6 tbsp milk
·
finely grated zest 1 large orange
To finish
·
3 tbsp orange juice
·
50g golden caster sugar
·
50g dark chocolate
Method
1.
Heat
oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 1.2-litre loaf tin.
Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl and beat with a hand whisk or wooden
spoon for 3-5 mins, until light and fluffy. Spoon the mix into the tin and
level the top.
2.
Bake
for 40-50 mins, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Meanwhile, heat the
orange juice and sugar gently in a small pan, stirring until dissolved. When
the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and spoon over the orange mix.
Leave to cool in the tin, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
Mary Berry's ginger and treacle spiced traybake recipe
Ingredients:
225g (8oz) softened
butter 175g (6oz) light muscovado sugar
200g (7oz) black
treacle 300g (11oz) self-raising
flour
2 level teaspoons b/
powder 1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice
1 level teaspoon
ground allspice 4 large eggs
4 tablespoons milk 3 finely chopped bulbs of stem ginger from a
jar
For the icing:
75g (3oz) icing sugar
3 tablespoons stem
ginger syrup from the jar
3 finely chopped bulbs
of stem ginger from a jar
Pre-heat the oven to
180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4. Grease a 30x23 cm (12x9in) traybake or roasting tin, then
line the base with baking parchment.
Put all the
ingredients for the traybake into a large bowl and beat until well blended.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping the bowl with a plastic
spatula to remove all the mixture. Level the top gently with the back of the
spatula.
Bake in the pre-heated
oven for 35–40 minutes, or until the cake has shrunk from the sides of the tin
and springs back when pressed in the centre with your fingertips.
Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes
then turn out, peel off the parchment and finish cooling on a wire rack.
To make the icing,
sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the ginger syrup and mix until the icing
is smooth and has a spreading consistency. Pour the icing over the cake, spread
it gently to the edges with a small palette knife and sprinkle with the chopped
stem ginger to decorate. Allow the icing to set before slicing the traybake
into 15–20 pieces.