Cherry Bakewell Fondant Fancies

I went and did it again.  I made something I want to scoff until I'm sick!

Today was the turn of Mary Berry's Fondant Fancies.  When I first saw them being made on the GBBO masterclass the words 'cherry bakewell' popped into my head, and despite intending to follow a recipe as it's written for once in my life, I had to play around with it.

First, here are my Fancy soldiers all freshly dripping with icing. 


Cherry Bakewell Fondant Fancies

 There's a few that look a bit wonky, and I had to keep replacing a cherry here and there that was sliding off (!), but for a first attempt at a difficult challenge I'm pretty chuffed with myself!  There's definitely a knack to the butter and fondant icings.




Cherry Bakewell Fondant Fancies
(because all cakes should have a close-up)

Right then, so what did I change from the original recipe?

1. I omitted the blob of butter icing on top, instead replacing it with half a glace cherry (rinsed and dried to avoid leakage of syrup on the top)
2. I replaced the apricot jam with raspberry
3. I used almond essence in the fondant icing

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed there's one Fancy soldier missing in action (there should be 25).  He broke mid dip.  I did everything I could to patch him up but in the end I did the only thing left to do... the kindest under the circumstances.  I ate him.  I'm not sorry.

If I was to do anything differently next time, it would only be to not worry so much about how neat the butter icing is on the sides.  After being in the fridge for a while it hardens up nicely so you can tidy them up much easier and with much less mess right before dipping in the fondant.

Next time I'll play around with a few different flavours.  Orange fondant with orange marmalade inside, maybe lemon fondant with lemon curd.  Oh, and coconut sponge with lime fondant and lime curd.  No, these are definitely not imminent!  I need a rest.  And maybe a little cake with a cherry nipple...

Pecan Chelsea Buns

I've been messing with Paul Hollywood's buns.  Unfortunately they were only the Chelsea kind.

I did plan just to make the recipe that was on the GBBO Masterclass on Thursday, which is here, but I can't help myself; I have to play around with recipes.  Now don't go thinking I'm daft enough to change the basic dough recipe.  This is, after all, a master baker's tried, tested and trusted one, so I left well alone there.

This was the first time I'd made dough like this since I was at uni, and I have to admit it was incredibly therapeutic and very enjoyable!  I'm also chuffed to say they rose extremely well, so a gold star to me thankin' ya kindly  ;)

So instead of making Chelsea Buns filled with sultanas, apricots and cranberries, topped off with apricot jam then orange icing, I created said buns filled with pecans and cinammon, topped off with maple syrup then cinammon icing.  Uh oh, they're dangerous.  Take a looksie...

Pecan, maple & cinammon chelsea buns
(I couldn't resist this picture with the dribbling icing!)

And just in case you need proof of the delectable soft dough, here's another...

There are two things I'd do differently next time.

First I would use less pecans.  I substituted the total 300g of dried fruit in the original recipe with 300g of pecans.  Now, it tastes fantastic but they don't hold together as well as they perhaps could have.  So next time there'll be fewer nuts (there's a sentence I've definitely said before!).

Second I would use two tins to give them more proving space.  There should have been about a 1cm gap between them before the final proving, but these had less than half that, and it shows a little on the end result, most noticably with the buns in the centre.

All that said, they're incredibly tasty and moreish!  Really.  I had a small tester of one of the offcuts (because you have to, it's one of the most important laws of baking!), and they do taste good!

I've already picked out my favourite and I'm saving it for after dinner, after soaky hot bath, and with a good strong cuppa in front of the TV.

Tomorrow I intend to attempt Mary Berry's Fondant Fancies (not a euphemism), but of course you know there's a twist to those too!

Raspberry & Marshmallow Cupcakes

Day two of the experiments has paid off.  I should know by now not to try to cut corners because it just never works out the way you want!

After yesterday's fail on the first version of these cakes I went all out.  Instead of using jam, I used fresh raspberries in the sponge itself and on top as decoration.  And although it was a bit of a faff, it was absolutely worth making my own marshmallow.  Really.  Highly recommended, but not one to make with young kids thanks to the whole boiling sugar thing.  Some adults should possibly avoid it too ;)




Raspberry & Marshmallow Cupcakes

 Drooling yet?

I decided not to bother toasting the marshmallow this time, and instead dusted it with a mix of icing sugar and cornflour (as you'd find on most marshmallows).  The recipe I used from BBC Good Food was also too much for the cakes alone so there's also a slab of marshmallow with raspberries currently setting on a baking sheet.  Bonus!

The result is a feckin' tasty mouthful, even if I do say so myself.

Experimental marshmallows

Most of the cakes I bake at the moment are experimental.  I rarely follow a recipe to the letter, and instead I use a basic sponge recipe and adapt it to what I feel like making.

Today was Raspberry & Toasted Marshmallow Cupcakes.

As a starting point they're fine, but they need some work.  So here's what I did...

1. Substituted some of the sugar in the sponge recipe with raspberry jam
2. Pushed a marshmallow into the centre of the cake mix
3. Put a little dollop of jam on top of the marshmallow
4. Made sure the jam was fully covered with a little more cake mix before baking
5. After baking I placed another marshmallow on top of each cake then grilled them, watching constantly because they burn so quickly

This is the result after a messy addition of drizzled icing

The marshmallow inside the cake melted almost to nothing, so next time I'll leave that out.  Also, I'd originally planned to make marshmallow, pipe it on then toast it.  There were two drawbacks to this; I didn't have gelatin but I did have a big bag of pre-made marshmallows.  And it's Sunday.  And I was too lazy to go shopping.  Okay, so that's four drawbacks.

Next time I'll make the effort with home-made marshmallow, and instead of the jam in the cake mix (which didn't alter the taste much, but did make them nicely moist) I'll use fresh raspberries.

Next time they'll be perfection.

This time they really aren't perfection, but they're still cakey goodness!  I suspect there's a 9 yr old and a soon-to-be 7 yr old who'll gobble them up regardless of how they look!

Last minute birthday choccy cake

So I had a couple of weeks off from the kitchen, I came home from a weekend away to be asked if I'll make a chocolate birthday cake for me fatha's tennis coach.  It's a good thing I was allowed a sleep first or I may have told him where to buy one.  Me being me, though, I couldn't resist.

It's just a basic chocolate sponge recipe, single layer (so there's no filling), but the icing is chocolate ganache made with Lindt extra creamy milk chocolate, and the topping is chopped up fudge.  It's what the guy asked for and it's what he got.

I can't remember ever making one so fast, I had so little time to get it done, but there it is.

It's not the most elegant (but at least this one isn't a brick!), and I have to admit the piping isn't my best, but I get the feeling it will all go down just as easily.

I only had a tiny bit of the ganache left over to have on a tiny bit of offcut.  Really.  This time I didn't pipe the leftovers straight into my mouth (yes, it's been known!), and dad is under strict instructions to eat the remaining offcuts before I eat them myself.  I don't see it as being a problem.  In fact they're probably already down his neck.

I'm considering making some pink cakes and biccies this weekend to sell at work (or wherever they can be sold) for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Hmmmm.... Eton Mess Cupcakes?  Raspberry Ripple Traybake?  Strawberry Shortcake Slices?

Watch this space  ;)