Meringue Buttercream Icing

A light and delicious twist on buttercream icing. This recipe is perfect for icing almost any cake. This recipe make a generous amount. You will not run out when icing and decorating two 23cm cakes.

Ingredients

6 Egg Whites
400g castor sugar
675g unsalted butter ( at room temperature )
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preparation

1. Place eggs whites and sugar into glass or metal bowl and set over a pan filled with about 5cm of simmering water.  Heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature of the egg whites reaches 60C. they will feel very hot to the touch.
2. Transfer the heated egg whites and sugar to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Mix at high speed until they have reached maximum volume, (5-10 minutes).  Mix on medium to high speed while pinching off small pieces of butter and throwing them in.  Mix in vanilla if using.  The buttercream may look like its breaking down, but keep mixing and it will come back together.
Store in fridge if not using straight away.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Fudge Bundt Cake

For the recipe of the cake and frosting, click the following link:
Chocolate Cake Recipe

To prepare the bundt tin, I lightly greased and floured tin, as its impossible to line with greased proof paper.

Once cooked, leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.

I sliced horizontally and put a layer of ganache, before covering cake with rest.
Then decorated with malteaser's and chocolate shavings.

Enjoy!

Fresh Berry Flan

Another version of the previous flan, for recipe see: fruit flan

This one has strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in.

Instead of using quick-jel, I  made my own by simmering some raspberries in a little water and sugar for 10 minutes, then strain.   Using 1 sachet of gelatine  mixed with a little cold water, whisked into the strained juice, then bring to boil for 1 minute.
Spoon over fruit before it starts to set.

Enjoy!

Fresh Fruit Flan

This ideal dessert for a summers day, if you don't want to make you're own cake flan you case, you can buy them, but like anything, I prefer to make my own.

The amount below made a 10-11inch raised centre cake tin.

4 Eggs (separated)
100g Castor Sugar
100g SR Flour (sifted)

Fruit of your choice
2 packs red Quick Jel


To make sponge:

Whisk egg white until forms peaks.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar for a couple minutes till frothy.

Add half of the egg yolk mix into egg white and whisk again.

Gently add the sifted flour and fold in with spatula, then add remaining egg yolk mix, and again fold in gently.

Grease and flour cake tin, and add cake mix.

Bake Gas 5 until risen and golden brown.

Let cool for 5 minutes, then turn upside down onto cooling rack and remove tin, allow to cool.

Arrange fruit in cake base.

Make up quick jel by instructions on packet, then gently spoon jel over fruit.
Allow to set in fridge.

Enjoy!

Meringue Nests

These meringues turned out great! As they should be, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with minimal cracking, 

here's how I did it:

This amount made 6 meringue nests:

2 Egg Whites
100g Castor Sugar

Whisk the egg whites on slow speed at first until frothy, then on fast speed until forms peaks.
While whisking on fast speed, add the sugar 1tbsp at a time.
When mix still forms peaks, turn down speed to slow for 1 minute.
(this will stabilise the meringue).

Place lightly greased baking parchment onto tray.

Put meringue into piping bag with large star nozzle.

Starting from the centre, pipe in a circular motion for the base, then pipe around the edge once more to create ridge.

Place in cool oven, Gas 1/2 - 1, (130c).

Bake for aprox 1 hour, then turn oven off, and leave in oven till completely cool.

Store in air tight tin until ready to use.

When ready to serve, fill with cream and fruit of your choice.

Enjoy!

Fresh Blueberry Swiss Roll

I wasn't planning on making this swiss roll, but made a batch of batter up, intending to use as a sponge flan base, but realised it wasn't enough, so made swiss roll instead! ( I made another double batch and made sponge flan base, which is in freezer ready to fill at weekend)

For the Sponge:

3 Eggs (separated)  
75g Castor Sugar
75f SR Flour (sifted)

Grease and line swiss roll tin with greased proof paper.

Whisk egg whites until form peaks.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until creamy and aerated. 
Whisk half of the yolk mix into the egg white mix.

Fold the flour into mix gently by hand with spatula, then fold in rest of egg yolk mix.

Spread cake mix into prepared tin, and bake Gas 5, until started to turn golden brown.

Allow to cool for just 5 minutes, then remove from tray, keeping the greased proof paper on.
Gently roll cake including the paper and allow to cool on wire rack for a further 10 minutes.

Gently unroll cake, remove paper, then spread jam or fruit of choice.
Roll cake up again, with seal at bottom.

Enjoy!

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

These turned out better than I expected, and are absolutely delicious.
Can be eaten on there own, or served as individual desserts with custard or cream.

4oz Castor Sugar
4oz Margarine
4oz SR Flour
2 Eggs

Tin of pineapple slices
Glace Cherries
Golden Syrup

Drain pineapple slices, and put to one side.

Cream together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, beat in beaten eggs a little at a time, (with a little flour to prevent curdling).
Fold in rest of flour.

Put cake papers in muffin tin.
Place one pineapple ring at bottom, (depending on size of your pineapple rings or paper cases, you may want to use scone cutter on pineapple rings to make the smaller).

Place half a cherry in centre of ring, then drizzle aprox half a tsp of golden syrup over fruit at bottom.
Put 1 small ice-cream scoop of cake mix in each paper case.
Bake in oven gas 6, until risen and golden brown.
Place on wire rack, and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, before careful removing papers and cooling completely, with cherry facing up.

Enjoy!