English Muffins - Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge #1

At the beginning of the year I decided that when the 2013 series of the Great British Bake Off (GBBO) was aired, that I would attempt the technical challenge each week.  The series is two weeks in and I started with the challenge shown in week two; English Muffins.

Yes, I know I'm doing them out of order but me being me, I just can't make their Angel Food Cake until the new tin arrives.  Yes, I'm a perfectionist, and yes I promise I'll use the tin for other bakes too.  I promise!

For the moment, though, English Muffins are on the menu.

I can say hand on heart that I've never made muffins before.  Bread, yes.  Muffins, nope.  So this was going to be a learning curve for me just as much as the actual contestants, but at least I had the full instructions to work from and the benefit of learning from their mishaps on the telebox!

The technical challenge recipes are posted on the BBC website after each programme has been aired, and the English Muffins recipe is here.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly or who knows me personally will perhaps realise that these technical challenges are an additional challenge for one reason; I don't like following recipes to the letter.  I play with them.  I experiment and try different flavours.  This is how I keep baking more interesting for me, and I like it when people try a cake, buns or bread they've never tried before and like them!

But stick to the recipe I did, and thank goodness.

Dough pre-prove

I made double quantity, and I made them in one big batch.  My reasoning behind this was so that I could test a couple and make sure they were properly cooked before auctioning them off for a worthwhile, local cause (more information later).  In hindsight this was a slight mistake.  It meant that because my griddle could only hold a maximum of four muffins, the time they sat proving on the trays before cooking was too long for the last four (being that the cooking time for each muffin was 10-12 mins), and consequently they were over-proved and therefore a little thinner than the others.  What I'll remember for next time is to stagger single batches to allow for over-proving and any additional mishaps or delays.

This dough was very sticky and it took some time to knead it into submission.  It's fair to say I was knackered, but I'm told it helps with the bingo wings!  Perhaps I should make more.  A lot more.

Dough post prove

Now, the recipe does say that after the first prove that the dough should be tipped out onto a work surface, rolled out and then left to rest for 15 mins.  What I discovered was that the following process of cutting out the muffins and placing them on trays sprinkled with semolina is made much easier if you sprinkle semolina onto the work surface too, prior to turning out the dough from its bowl.  I guarantee that you'll find it significantly easier to remove the muffins from the work surface, and they're less likely to stretch out of shape.

Oh, my muffins are going all toasty!

Oh, another thing to mention is that between batches you might want to wipe the excess semolina from the griddle; toasty is tasty, burnt is not!

I have to say that this recipe is very simple to follow and it produces great results.  It's a shame I didn't think ahead this time and stagger the double quantity of dough, but I won't ever forget that in future.  The slightly thinner muffins were no less tasty than the normal sized ones, though.  I had to test them.  They were being sold on to lovely people, and I had to be sure they were fit for human consumption.  That's my excuse, anyway.

Ten lovely muffins, ready for the winning bidder

My only issue with completing these technical challenges each week was that I would then have a lot of food in the house that I shouldn't be eating (barring one or two muffins!).  So a plan was formed.  A silent auction on Facebook to local bidders, to raise a little money for a fabulous local cause, Matty's Bistro.

I won't go into detail here, but I do suggest you take a look at this post here.  It explains beautifully, enthusiastically and passionately what Matty's Bistro does for young people in our area.  There's no way I could put it any better.

I've been reliably informed that the muffins have and are being enjoyed by numerous people.  I asked for constructive criticism but they had none to offer, and I'm told my muffins are the best in town.  I feel ever so chuffed and humbled!

I can't wait to get my teeth into the next challenge; Angel Food Cake.  I only hope that others want to get their teeth into it, too, and raise as much money as we can for Matty and his dedicated students.

Wonka Caramel Slice

You many remember back in January that I made a caramel slice for a friend and colleague's birthday.  If not, it's here.

One result of this tasty morsel was a discussion with another friend and colleague who also loves to bake.  She divulged to me that her most favourite thing is a caramel slice, and she'd be in heaven if she had one that was three feet tall, made with dark chocolate and topped with Thornton's cappuccino truffles.

It didn't stop there, however.  We descended into coloured caramel until I finally said, "You could even do it multicoloured."  Bless, her face lit up like her beloved Christmas trees!

And so the Wonka Caramel Slice was born.

Since that day, on and off, I've considered just how viable it would be to make a three foot tall caramel slice, and although it would indeed be possible (if fabulously messy!) I had to concede that it would also be unlikely in a bog standard, run of the mill kitchen.  And yet I felt like I'd been set a challenge, if only by my own hand!

Over the months the ideas formed and some trial and error on the day was necessary, but I did indeed create a rather deep, multicoloured caramel slice.  Okay, so it wasn't three feet tall, but it was around 4 inches (including the chocolates on top), which I think is still rather impressive.

Now, normally I give a vague idea what I did and just a couple of photos, but this time I knew I wanted it to be documented in all its strange, imperfect glory.  So here we go...

1. Shortbread

Where else do you start but with the shortbread?  I picked Mary Berry's recipe because I know it works a treat.  I considered making one very thick piece of shortbread, but I knew the likelihood of it being fully cooked in the middle was slim, so instead I opted for regular shortbread built up in layers.

Three layers of shortbread

When it came out of the oven (and was therefore still soft) I cut it in half then left it to cool in the tin. I made two standard slabs of shortbread in this way, and once cooled I sandwiched them together with a little melted dark chocolate so they wouldn't slip and slide around.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice that there must have been four pieces of shortbread but that there are only three layers in the photo.  Um... *smile*...

2. Coloured caramel

So then, coloured caramel!

I used three standard tins of condensed milk and approximately 150g unsalted butter, shoved it all in a big pan, brought it to the boil slowly while stirring the whole time.  I then simmered it for... well I'm not sure how long it was; until it was lovely and thick!  I'd say the whole thing probably didn't take longer than about 15 mins.

Three coloured caramels

I then divided it into three and added the colourings until I was happy with them.  For the orange and green I used red and blue colours respectively, since the caramel was already yellow.  Then once they were fully cooled but at room temperature (if they're too cold they can't be easily piped), I popped them into piping bags ready to be let loose on the shortbread.  When I say 'popped them into piping bags' what I actually mean is 'messily, stickily wrangled the awkward buggers into piping bags'.

3. Worms

Worms?  Oh yes, indeed.  Worms!  Well, how else would you expect to get a decent mix of colours on top of delicate shortbread?  I piped multicoloured caramel worms on top!

Worms!!!

And then, of course, I needed a flat surface on which to pour melted chocolate, so out came the palette knife.  Awww.... and I liked the worms!

Worms defeated  :(

Okay, so it was starting to take proper caramel slice shape.  Now, however, I faced a dilemma.  How would I pour on the melted chocolate so it didn't just run off the sides and onto the worktop?

4. The Wall

There was no other option that I could see; I needed greaseproof paper and I needed it fast!

The Wall

The caramel was sticky enough to hold the paper in place and create a barrier to stop the chocolate escaping, or so I hoped.  Some sticky tape helped too, of course.  And a lot of crossing of fingers!

Behold!  The chocolate remains in place!

Well, it sort of remained in place...

5. The Scaffold

As I sat there admiring the beauty and sheen of the successfully retained chocolate (not tempered, btw, to make sure it wasn't too difficult to cut through once it had set), I began to worry.  One side of the wall was beginning to buckle under the pressure.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

So there I was, my hands holding up the paper to stop the overflow of chocolate while desperately looking around the kitchen to figure out how to keep it in place without me holding it for the next hour!

Scaffold!

TADAAAAAAA!  I wedged loaf tins around the edge of the slice, with the other side of the tins being kept in place by the flaps on the carry box.  Phew!  Okay, so the scaffold was in place and I could finally add the cappuccino truffles and walk away!

It was commented on that there were nine chocolates.  How was this possible?  They come in bags of eight or twenty.  Um... *smile*.  Sorry, Cate!  I ran out of time to buy more  :(

6. Relief!

The removal of the scaffold and the wall were such a big relief.  The slow, careful unveiling of the finished article was both painful and joyous, because I was just so nervous of messing it up now that I'd come so far.

Wonka Caramel Slice - all done!

It wasn't a thing of beauty.  I did consider trying to tidy up the sides and do a cover-up job so it looked more professional and... well... less like a playdoh brick... but this was never, ever going to be perfect.

This was an experiment in sugar and chocolate, and its imperfections just added to the childish joy of the thick, gooey, crunchy, coffee-ey mess of confection.

What this caramel slice lacked in beauty it more than made up for in flavour.  By the end of the day I was assured that apart from a couple of pieces kept back for colleagues the next day, it was demolished.

I can attest to the demolishing of the Wonka Caramel Slice.  I saw it at lunchtime when half of it had already been hacked and chipped away.  It was a most stunning sight, that so many people 'had at it'.

The only regret I have is that I didn't get a photo of Cate devouring the monster.  The childlike joy of her face when she realised I'd actually made the caramel slice of our combined imaginations, albeit significantly smaller than the 'house' she wanted, will never be forgotten.

I implore anyone out there who loves to bake; make something silly and imperfect, and just have some fun with it.  As a frustrated perfectionist most of the time, I found this was a lot of fun to plan and make, much more than I expected.

So bugger off, get in the kitchen and get messy!

Tiramisu Cupcakes & Accidental Lime Ice Cream

Tiramisu Cupcakes

First I'd like to thank Matty (Matty's Bistro) for being the inspiration for these cakes.  Having a chat pre-choir it was discovered that we share a love of tiramisu.  Quite frankly, if I see it on the dessert menu in a restaurant not only do I find it damn near impossible to choose anything else, but I often make sure my main meal will allow me room to squeeze in the tiramisu without feeling all bloated and icky afterwards.  Yes, I do indeed love a good tiramisu!

I knew I'd have a full weekend ahead of me, but I also knew my Monday would be mostly free so the plan was formed.  I've never attempted tiramisu before but I'd tasted enough to know what I needed to do.  So, a few different recipes were inspected and I made my shopping list.

Now then, I didn't use a regular sponge recipe.  I used a recipe for white cake instead (sponge made only with the whites of eggs, so giving a much paler colour) because I knew it would be a little more moist and dense, which was exactly what I wanted.

There are plenty of white cake recipes out there to choose from but I stuck with what I already knew worked from a previous cake experiment, here.  This time I replaced the almond extract with a little extra vanilla.  Before spooning into the cake cases I split the mixture in half and in one of them also added a small amount of VERY strong coffee.  I then swirled them back together to try to achieve a marbled effect, which worked to some degree but would be much more effective on one large cake.

So, cakes in the oven it was time to get on with the icing.

I say icing, but what I really mean is indulgent topping.  Don't expect to see any butter icing here.  To stay as true as possible to the delectable taste of tiramisu I used a tub of mascarpone, some (sifted) icing sugar, a little coffee liqueur and a little of the VERY strong coffee.  I again kept a little to one side and added more liqueur and coffee.  All in all I'd say there's about 1 tablespoon of alcohol in the topping for 12 cakes, so not at all likely to get you squiffy (apologies, I'll try harder next time!).

Tiramisu Cupcake

Today was the first time I used one of my posh new icing nozzles, so each cake is topped with a flower (hence wanting a darker coloured topping, to contrast in the centre of the 'flower').  Then I finished it with some grated chocolate, because of course no tiramisu is complete without grated chocolate!

I have to admit I'm a little bit in love with these cakes.  If I wasn't planning to give most of them away I'd be currently making myself very, very sick by devouring the whole friggin' lot!

These cakes are as close to tiramisu as I've tasted without actually eating tiramisu.  Yes, I'm blowing my own trumpet today because I actually believe I should.  They're a resounding success!  I only hope the person who gets to eat the rest agrees with me.  Time will tell...

Accidental Lime Ice Cream

Okay, time to own up.  Last weekend I had a tiny disaster while trying to make chocolate lime cupcakes.  The cakes themselves were fine, but I wanted something special for the icing.  What I found was a recipe for no-bake key lime pie filling that promised to set beautifully.  Unfortunately it didn't set at all.  It remained a runny, if delicious, tub of "now what?"

I had an epiphany.  I shoved it in the freezer and promptly forgot about it!

The result is this:

Accidental Lime 'Ice Cream'

It's not ice cream.  There's no cream in sight.  The recipe is:

• 1 tin of condensed milk
• 1 x 300g tub of cream cheese
• zest and juice of 4 limes

That's it.  Mix it together and freeze.  The texture is more dense and sticky than ice cream, but I can't fault its flavour.  There's no mistaking it's lime!  Perhaps I'll make it on purpose next time and use the ice cream maker, hoping for a lighter texture.

Both the cakes and the ice cream are lovely.  I know I'm blowing my own trumpet but sometimes I just have to; if I want to bury my face in something I've made, even I have to admit it's good!

Now, how many of you are wondering if the tiramisu cakes are meant for you???

Nope, you're wrong.

Next!!!!

A Tale of Two Cakes

Yesterday saw me spend a lot of my day in the kitchen and I already told you about the two loaves I made, but I also decided to experiment with cake (again!).

A chat with my friend Jo at the cinema, while waiting for Robert Downey Jr to blow up a crap load of stuff on a momumental scale, saw a plan slowly develop.  I already knew I wanted to make cinder toffee but I also wanted to make it a little different and incorporate it into cake.  Unfortunately it didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped.

First thing first, here's the recipe I used for the cinder toffee.  Be warned; this makes a significant amount!  My plan was to add toasted pecans, which is what did, however my first attempt with a different recipe went very wrong and my pecan supply was somewhat depleted for the second attempt.  The result was that you can barely taste the pecans, which is a huge shame because they're sooooo good!  What I did do right though was to break it into chunks and coat them in milk chocolate.

Chocolate coated Pecan Cinder Toffee

Yes, it all sounds like a lot of effort for what is essentially a Crunchie bar, but it's nowhere near the amount of hassle you think it will be and at the end of it you have a huge amount sweet, crunchy goodness.  Bonus!

So how did I incorporate this into cake?  It was a bit of a no-brainer, really.  I made cupcakes using chocolate sponge topped with icing made from mascarpone and a rather lovely toffee sauce, and sat them on top.  Not elegant, perhaps, but certainly eye-catching!



Chocolate Pecan Toffee Crunch


Next time I'll use more pecans, grind them finer and spread them on the bottom of the tin before pouring over the bubbling toffee.  I'll also think of something to hide beneath the icing, because I love people to find a nice little surprise when all they expected was cake (extra chocolate coating perhaps with toffee sauce inside, or some fudge).  Maybe I'll add ground pecans to the cake batter.  This is one of my problems; I have so many ideas that I don't know where to go next!

Another idea I had recently involved an attempt at a bribe plus a small thank you to a very interesting person.  A couple of weeks ago I went to see Derren Brown's new stage show, Infamous (fabulous, btw... stunning, sensitive, personal, impressive and well... astounding!), and one of the people I went with is not only a huge fan herself, but so is her son Harry, and she was taking him to see the show a few days later.  Because I'd been a (small) part of one of his shows last year I decided to attempt flattery, a thank you for the positive effect the experience had on me, and a bribe.  The purpose was for Harry to have a few moments with his hero.  So I went to the stage door afterwards armed with cakes and a letter for Derren about Harry (and a little ego-stroking too, of course.  Well deserved, I might add!).

As it turns out, the handwritten letter that accompanied the cakes wasn't read until the day after they met, but Rachel, Harry's mum, reported back to say that he thought the cakes were "amazing" and he had a hard time believing they were homemade.  The following day I was surprised and ever so chuffed to find a message from Derren directly saying that both the cakes and Harry were "terrific".  Now here's the thing; I don't hold his opinion any higher than anyone else's, but I rarely get feedback from people I don't know about the things I bake.  I always assume there's a degree of flattery involved because people who know me don't want to hurt my feelings.  So to find out that not only he adored them, but that one of his trusty team, Max, scoffed five down his gullet like a feckin' hoover, well that just made my day!  I'm also chuffed to bits to say that pre-letter, Derren was downright fabulous with Harry and broke his own rule about not posing for a photograph.  He's a delightful, charming, kind person, and I know one little boy who will never, ever forget that evening in the presence of his hero.

Okay, so back to the cakes.  Today I recreated the bribe because a friend wore me down over the last week at work and I could stand it no longer.  Today is her birthday, so I could hardly refuse.

These cakes were and are Blueberry & Lemon Cupcakes (a slight tweak on an earlier experiment).

They're lemon sponge with a small well cut into the top (like you would do for butterfly cakes).  In that well I put a spoonful of home-made blueberry and lemon curd (recipe is here, with the addition of lemon zest and juice to taste).  I then made two butter icings.  One was flavoured with the same blueberry and lemon curd, and the other was flavoured with just lemon curd.

I then spooned each butter icing carefully into the piping bag, each flavour on its own side, and swirled it on the top in a kind of Mr Whippy stylee, and topped them with a few sugar crystals.



Blueberry & Lemon Cupcakes


I have to admit, they're tangy and delicious.  When I first made these a couple of weeks ago I didn't get to taste a full one myself.  As I type I have a cake sat on the desk beside me just begging to be eaten.  Just a sec...

Oh...

Mmmmmmmm...

Oh my.  Um.  Yes, that was mmmm...

See, this is a problem.  How's a girl to lose any weight while she makes cakes for other people?  Not that I'm especially complaining.  Not really.

So there they are.  Two successful (if one needing a slight tweak) experiments, and one happy birthday girl.



Happy Birthday, Rachel!


I get the feeling there aren't many of these remaining!

Like Mum used to make

Today has been rather productive and I'm a tad knackered!  It's a good knackered, though; the kind that gives you an ache in your bones and reminds you that you've actually done something with your day, and the kind that sees a freezer restocked with goodies.

Over on H.A.P.P.Y. last week I talked about why I bake so much and what originally inspired me.  Or rather who inspired me.  To this day I maintain that it was mum who gave me the love of baking that I have now, and with that in mind I wanted to make something from her recipe folder that I would be allowed to eat!

So the first loaf of the day came from her very own hand, and it's a fruit loaf.

I remember mum making this years and years ago.  I used to wonder how it could be that a bowl full of All Bran cereal and milk could create something so moreish, and I do still wonder the same today.  I did make a couple of small adjustments to her recipe.  I halved the sugar because quite frankly it was just way too sweet, and I added cinnamon because I just really, really like it!

This is possibly one of the simplest recipes I've ever used, and it gives fab results.

Fruit Loaf

1 heaped mug All Bran cereal
1 heaped mug mixed fruit (I just used sultanas and raisins)

½ mug caster sugar

1 mug milk (I use skimmed to keep the fat content low so I can still eat it)
1 heaped mug self raising flour
1½ teaspoons cinammon

• Put the All Bran, mixed fruit, sugar and milk in a bowl and mix.  Leave it to stand for 1 hour.
• Add the flour and cinammon, and mix well.
• Bake in a lined and greased loaf tin for 1 1/2 hours at 180°C (160 fan)

 It really is that simple.  This is the one I made today.



Almost me mam's Fruit Loaf

Sometimes I add orange and lemon zest and leave out the cinnamon.  Sometimes I crush some pecans and mix them with demerera sugar and sprinkle it on top of the loaf before baking.  Next time I might add some apple.

The loaf freezes well, and it's bloomin' gorgeous toasted and slathered in butter.  Not quite the healthier option when served like that, but rather good for an occasional treat!

I did say I was busy today, and I did also make bread.  This wasn't one of mum's recipes (I don't remember seeing any bready things in her folder at all, come to think of it), but one of Paul Hollywood's.  It's a seeded bread from his 'How to Bake' book, and it's... ohhhhh... it's so good!

This loaf incorporates pumpkin, sesame, poppy, sunflower and linseed.  There should have been another but I can't remember what it was and can't be bothered going to look!  I just used a little extra of the other seeds instead.  It uses a combination of white, wholemeal and rye flour, and there's some black treacle thrown in there for luck.  Or flavour.  Perhaps it's more for flavour.



Seeded Bread
A bit gashy, but bloody lovely!

In hindsight I may have cut the dough too deeply before it had its second prove, because rather than a nice detail of a bit of a cut down the middle, instead it has a big, gaping gash!  Oh well, at least it proved that it proved!

If you do make this, don't skimp on the mixing.  The recipe suggested using a mixer with a dough hook, and in total the mixing time is around 10 minutes.  I don't have a standalone mixer so I used a hand mixer with small dough hooks.  It worked, but it could have been much better; the loaf is a little closer in texture than it should be (but then, wholemeal flour will do that, too).  This is a wet dough that needs the intense mixing time that hands just won't easily give.

I'm using christmas vouchers to buy myself a mixer.  Yes, I know; I still have christmas vouchers!



Seeded Bread
With actual real butter...

If you love seeded bread, you'll bloody well adore this one!  I've only had one slice but could have so easily eaten half the loaf in one sitting.  As it is, I've frozen most of it and kept some aside for tomorrow's breakfast.  The will power it's taking not to go toast it right now is more than you could know!

So there you are, two loaves for the price of one; fruity and seedy.  No, it doesn't remind me of anyone, either.  Nope.  Not at all.

Anyway...

I did also make cakes and cinder toffee today but that blog entry is for tomorrow because I have more to do, so until then please wish me luck in not devouring what's not in the freezer.  I need all the help I can get!

Pear & Stilton Bread

Well then, I wasn't expecting this.  Yesterday morning before I'd even had breakfast it was announced that I would be left alone at least for the day.  Instantly, of course, I realised I'd have undisturbed use of the kitchen.  This is my version of bliss.  Well okay, it's one of my versions of bliss, but I take the happy where I can!

I intended to make some nice healthy wraps for lunches, with the thought of adding some roasted garlic.  My decision making processes aren't always apparent but this one certainly was and I ended up making Pear & Stilton Bread.

I seem to recall flicking through a recipe book while my dough was proving and I realised the basic dough recipe was the same whether it was for wraps, a nice basic loaf, or a fancy loaf filled with 'stuff'.  This is where my mind went straight to the block of stilton in the fridge, but I couldn't just make stilton bread.  The grapes were past their best.  I don't have cranberries, dried or otherwise, sitting in the cupboard or the fridge.  Pears.  Aha!  I always have pears hanging around, so there it was; my plan to make a loaf filled with stilton and pear.

I had another flick through the book to find some inspiration for the best way to accomplish a decent loaf with stilton and pear running all the way through. I settled on this:

• I flattened out the dough after the first prove, into a large rectangle
• I crumbled the stilton and peeled, chopped pear evenly over the dough
• I rolled it up tightly from the long edge into a sausage
• I smoothed it out so it was as even as possible
• I wound it up into a spiral

The resulting finish was a little bit of a surprise.  When it was proving the second time, directly before baking, it just looked like a promising nice round loaf of bread.  When it came out of the oven I can only describe it as looking like a giant turd.


Pear & Stilton Bread


I can guarantee you, however, that it takes nothing like that.  It's delectable, especially with those browned bits of cheese.  Perhaps you'll appreciate it a bit more if I show you what it's like inside.



Pear & Stilton Bread
Looking better for taking a slice!

 It's ever so soft and moist and moreish.  I had to slice it up and freeze it before I scoffed it all down and made myself sick.

So the quantities I used to one standard loaf recipe were 200g stilton and one medium pear.  I was going to add two pears, but I was nervous of the moisture content and what effect it might have on the dough and the finish, but I could have easily gotten away with two, and next time that's what I'll use.  It needs that extra little bit of sweetness to counteract the strength and saltiness of the stilton.

Pear & Stilton Bread

So that was my first proper experimental loaf and it was a resounding success.  Whatever should I try next?  Oh, oh, oh, perhaps I should start myself off a sour dough starter!

I did make chocolates yesterday too, and this afternoon I made some cakes, but they're all for Tuesday and I need to do some finishing.  They're very much not ready for blogging, although they're just a little tweak on something I've done previously so don't get all excited.

I also appear to have given myself a slight wrist injury from kneading the dough with so much passion and energy yesterday.  Yes, I was picturing one person in particular.  No, I won't say who I was pummeling there on the kitchen table.  Yes, if you know me well you'll know exactly who it was!

I will say the wrist injury was worth it, both for the resulting scrummy loaf and the frustration that melted away when I finally stopped beating the cr... kneading the dough.

Try it, it's fun.! And you get to eat something really lovely afterwards.  If they're lucky, so will your family!

Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake

You may remember, since it was only a couple of days ago, that I mentioned making a chocolate orange cake for someone's birthday and that it was sat in the freezer ready to be finished.  Well, tonight I finished it.

I'll repeat this for anyone who can't be bothered looking at the previous post, the recipe for the cake is from Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes, and it's the chocolate cake that the little boy is forced to eat in front of the whole school for stealing food from the kitchen (I think I got that right?), in Matilda.  I didn't know there was a real recipe out there for it until I had a nosey around t'interweb and it's right here.

 



Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake

 

The recipe is simply for a rich chocolate cake, but having discovered that 'person with birthday' has a particular favourite flavour, namely chocolate orange (nooooo, really?!), I had to jazz it up a bit.  To the sponge mixture I added: 

• Zest of 3 large oranges
• 1 teaspoon orange extract

This was plenty to make the orange fight through the richness of the chocolate.  I know because this is one of those cakes that cracks on the top when it bakes, and oh dear, a little of the top fell off onto the counter when I was turning it out of its tin!  Shame.  It's a good thing it needed to be iced and presented upside down.

I did originally intend to sandwich the cake with some home made orange curd, but as I started to cut into it a piece of the side began to come away.  I didn't want to go to work tomorrow with a plate full of crumbs, so I stopped slicing!  This is, however, a rich, moist cake that isn't as deep as a regular sponge might be, so it can get away with not having an extra layer of sweetness inside, especially as it was about to be covered with ganache.  For future reference, for a layered cake I would either make two separate cakes, or I would refrigerate it well before getting out the knife.  I suppose it depends how much cake you want at the end!

I used a mixture of milk and dark chocolate for the ganache because I knew dark chocolate alone would just be way too much for the cake, and I didn't want the two fighting each other.  The quantities I used for the ganache were:

• 100g dark chocolate
• 200g milk chocolate
• 280g double cream

What I would say about mixing the cream and chocolate together is be careful how much you play with it and how vigorously you mix.  I ended up with a few little air bubbles in the finished cake that could have been avoided if I'd only slowed down a little.

Before covering the cake completely for the final glossy finish, I used a couple of spoons of the ganache straight away to thinly coat the cake.  The intention was to avoid crumbs flowing off to the surface of the ganache and spoiling the end result.  This also gave the rest of the ganache chance to cool a little, making it a little thicker before pouring onto the cake, so that it wouldn't all just run off into a big pool of chocolate on the counter!

 

With the leftover ganache I added orange extract to taste (yes, I got to taste it!) and left it to set in the fridge while the cake set under a nice, safe cover away from inquisitive fingers.

 

Once the mixture was set I used it to make truffle quinnelles and balls, rolled in cocoa powder, and arranged them on top of the cake.  In hindsight I should have made them smaller, but we live and learn.

 



Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake
Ooooh, look at the shine on that!

 

Overall I'm very happy with the finish, not least because this is the first time I've successfully coated a cake with glossy chocolate ganache.  Now I know the trick to it, I'll be repeating it.  Oh, you know I will!

 

If the birthday girl doesn't enjoy this she's not getting another.  Quite honestly, she's lucky she's getting this one!