Tag: cake

Enid’s bublanina

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A family heirloom recipe for traditional apricot or plum kuchen (cake). I remember tasting this as a child, sitting on the scratchy horsehair sofa in my Granny’s living room and thinking it was the most delicious thing I’d ever eaten. The tart fruit contrasts beautifully with the sweet, light, lemon-scented sponge.

  • 170g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 170g caster sugar
  • 170g flour
  • 3 eggs
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • A little milk (if needed)
  • Apricots or plums, pitted and cut in half
  • Granulated sugar to sprinkle on top
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan (180C). Grease and flour a 9″ square cake tin (although there’s no reason this cake can’t be round, for some reason it was always square in my Granny’s house)
  2. Separate the eggs
  3. Beat the yolks and sugar until pale yellow and thick
  4. Add butter and lemon zest and beat again
  5. Add flour and lemon juice a spoonful at a time, alternately between them (using a little milk if the consistency is too thick – it should be thick, dropping off only spoon reluctantly
  6. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks
  7. Fold the egg whites into the batter
  8. Spoon into the cake tin and place halved fruit, cut side upwards on top of batter
  9. Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar and bake for about 35 mins
  10. Cool thoroughly before cutting into squares to serve

Babovka

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Aka Kugelhopf. This cake is plain, unfussy and delicate, marbled with cocoa and lemon, another morsel of Czech family history. Ideally, use a bundt tin to create the traditional ring shape.

  • 170g butter at room temperature
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 300g caster sugar
  • 300g plain flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 150ml milk
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  1. Grease and flour a babovka/bundt tin
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan (190C)
  3. Whisk butter till very light
  4. Add the egg yolks, sugar and lemon zest, continuing to beat well
  5. Mix the flour and baking powder together
  6. Stir the milk and flour into the butter/egg mixture a couple of tbsp at a time, alternating between them. Mix gently but thoroughly until well combined
  7. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until very stiff
  8. Fold into the batter with a metal spoon until well mixed
  9. Pour about two thirds of the mixture into the prepared cake tin
  10. Add the sieved cocoa powder and a little milk to the remaining mixture
  11. Pour evenly on top of the plain mixture
  12. Draw a clean tablespoon through the centre of the mixture (going around twice)
  13. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 mins
  14. Reduce to 160C fan (180C) for a further 30-40 mins or until firm and leaving the sides of the tin
  15. When ready remove from oven and leave in tin for 5 mins before removing to cool on a rack
  16. Once cool, dust with icing sugar and serve with fresh raspberries

Nusstorte

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Nut cake. Possibly Swiss in origin? Who knows. I’ve never seen a recipe for this version of it anywhere but my grandmother’s handwritten notes and my typed-up-and-converted-to-metric copy. This is another family tradition that goes back generations. Always my mum’s birthday cake. Incredibly light, moist, and flavourful.

  • 6 eggs
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 200g ground hazelnuts (if poss, grind them yourself from whole – it gives a better texture and moisture)
  • 3 tbsp dry, white breadcrumbs (you can use plain flour instead, or rice flour if you want to keep it gluten free)
  • 1 tsp almond essence
  • Apricot jam
  1. Pre-heat oven to 160C fan (180C). Grease and line 2 round baking tins (or a single springform tin)
  2. Separate the eggs and whisk the whites into stiff peaks
  3. In separate bowl, beat together the sugar, yolks and almond essence until mixture turns pale yellow
  4. Alternating, fold in the breadcrumbs, egg whites and hazelnuts a spoonful at a time
  5. Pour into the tins and bake for about 40 mins. (If making as a single cake, not 2 layers, bake for an hour)
  6. Once baked, risen and golden on top, remove carefully from tin and leave facedown to cool on a rack
  7. Once cool, warm the apricot jam slightly to loosen it and use to sandwich the layers together
  8. Ice with the chocolate glaze below and decorate with toasted almond slivers arranged in flower patterns

Serve with schlagsahne (whipped cream) and a strong coffee

Chocolate glaze

The only chocolate icing recipe you’ll ever need.

  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 30g butter
  • 80g dark chocolate
  • 3 drops veg oil
  1. Melt together and dissolve all ingredients until smooth (bain marie or careful microwaving equally legit)
  2. Remove from the heat, stir well and add the oil
  3. Cool slightly and spread over the cake – this quantity will do the top and sides

Marmalade, almond and cinnamon cake

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An unusual and extremely delicious combination. A dream of a cake – moist, sweet, tart, nutty and fragrant.

  • 250g unsalted butter
  • 250g golden caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 175g plain flour
  • 2½ tsp baking powder
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 200g fine-cut marmalade
  • 50g flaked almonds, toasted until golden
  • 140ml double cream (if wanted)
  • Icing sugar and crystallised orange slices to decorate
  1. Set oven at 160C fan (180C)
  2. Grease and line two 8″ sandwich tins
  3. Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy
  4. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in flour, ground almonds, cinnamon and baking powder. Plus a pinch of salt
  5. Fold in 150g of the marmalade and the toasted almonds
  6. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for approx 35 mins until golden and well-risen
  7. When cool, whip the cream (if using) and sandwich with the remaining marmalade and cream
  8. Decorate with crystallised orange slices and dust with icing sugar

Banana bread

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

A recipe handed down by my mum and the absolute best way to use those very brown bananas that you’ve been trying to persuade your family to eat for a week and no-one wants to touch. The addition of walnuts and cranberries adds a touch of bitterness and sourness which offsets the sweetness of the banana perfectly. I tend to buy cranberries when they’re in season and keep them in the freezer. They keep for months, and you can use them from frozen. In fact, I don’t think I ever use them for anything else. Perhaps I need to expand my cranberry repertoire.

  • 200g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda 
  • ½ tsp salt 
  • 75g unsalted butter at room temperature 
  • 175g caster sugar 
  • 2 eggs, beaten 
  • 450g bananas, mashed. This is quite flexible – I usually use 2-3 bananas, I’m not sure what they weigh
  • 100g walnuts, chopped roughly 
  • 100g cranberries 
  1. Preheat oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Grease and line a 8×4” loaf tin. I dislike this job out of all proportion to the effort it takes, so I always try to delegate it
  3. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a bowl 
  4. Stir in the nuts and cranberries so they’re coated with flour – this means they won’t sink to the bottom of your loaf. I don’t know why. Witchcraft? Chemistry? But it works
  5. In another bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy
  6. Add egg a little at a time and beat well as you go
  7. Stir in the mashed bananas
  8. Then tip in the flour mixture and stir together (don’t beat it at this stage)
  9. Coax into the loaf tin, make sure it gets into all the corners
  10. Bake for 1 to 1½ hours. Use a clean skewer to check if its done – if you poke it into the middle of the loaf, it should come out clean

Quick chocolate cake

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Our family’s birthday cake recipe. It’s quick, incredibly easy and makes a cake that is moist, chocolatey and satisfying without being heavy or overly rich. It also doesn’t involve creaming butter and sugar which is a huge point in its favour for me! I’ve given this recipe out probably more than any other.

  • 60g dark chocolate
  • 110g unsalted butter
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 125ml milk
  • 120g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  1. Pre-heat oven to 170C fan (190C)
  2. Grease and line 2 identical baking tins (or 1 big one if you don’t want to make a sandwich cake)
  3. Melt together the chocolate and butter. I used to use a bain marie, now I just melt in the microwave – 40 seconds at a time, stir and check
  4. Pour the melted chocolate and butter into a mixing bowl
  5. Beat in the sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla
  6. Tip in the flour and baking powder, and a pinch of salt
  7. Mix until just combined – don’t over-beat it
  8. Pour (yes, it’s that liquid, don’t worry) into the lined tins and bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and cooked through. If cooking in 1 tin, bake for about 10 mins longer)

You can also use the same recipe to fill cupcake cases and cook for just 15 mins. Or 4 times the recipes fills a deep roasting tin, which will need about 40 mins but makes an excellent option for large numbers.

Ice once cool with the chocolate glaze below. It’s the best chocolate icing ever. And no clouds of icing sugar to contend with. This quantity will ice the cake above, with enough to sandwich between the 2 cakes as well as coating the top and sides.

  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 85g dark chocolate
  • A drop of veg oil
  1. Break the chocolate into a bowl and add the other ingredients. You won’t believe it will turn into a beautiful, glossy, smooth icing, but trust me, it will.
  2. Melt together in a bowl over some hot water or in short bursts in the microwave. It will look terrible until it suddenly doesn’t
  3. Once the icing has cooled slightly, use a spoon to spread over the top and sides of the cake. Top with chocolate sprinkles/maltesers/candles. The cooled icing will set so it’s not crunchy but will hold its shape.