It is my mother’s 60th birthday and for her anniversary I am planning to surprise her with something special – home made Rosette Swiss Meringue Buttercream Cake.

As a real flower lady this cake completely fits her style. I am saving all my red food colouring for her cake, but before the big day as an experience chef I am making a trial test just to be confident enough with how the final birthday cake will really look like.

The test is making a simple sponge cake and a first attempt at making swiss meringue buttercream and piping rosettes.

It is amazing how easy and effective the end cake result really is.

Confident and re-assured now I am ready to attempt this in a two-tier birthday anniversary cake.

 

Ingredients

For the buttercream

• 7 large egg whites
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 650g unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Food colour

For the cake sponges

• 4 free-range eggs
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 225g soft butter at room temperature, plus a little extra to grease the tins

 

Method

1. For the cake sponges: Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins: use a piece of baking or silicone paper to rub a little baking spread or butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated. Line the bottom of the tins with a circle of baking or silicone paper (to do this, draw around the base of the tin onto the paper and cut out).

2. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar, flour, baking powder and butter.

3. Mix everything together until well combined. Be careful not to over-mix – as soon as everything is blended you should stop. The finished mixture should be of a soft ‘dropping’ consistency – it should fall off a spoon easily.

4. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn’t need to be exact, but you can weigh the filled tins if you want to check. Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes.

5. Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Don’t be tempted to open the door while they’re cooking, but after 20 minutes do look through the door to check them.

6. The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check – they should be springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool in their tins for five minutes. Then run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tin and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.

7. To take your cakes out of the tins without leaving a wire rack mark on the top, put the clean tea towel over the tin, put your hand onto the tea towel and turn the tin upside-down. The cake should come out onto your hand and the tea towel – then you can turn it from your hand onto the wire rack. Set aside to cool completely.

8. For the buttercream: Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).

9. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

10. With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day.

11. (Optional) To tint buttercream, reserve some for toning down the color, if necessary. Add food color, a drop at a time to the remaining buttercream. You can use a single shade of food color or experiment by mixing two or more. Blend after each addition with the mixer (use a paddle attachment) or a flexible spatula, until desired shade is achieved. Avoid adding too much food color too soon, as the hue will intensify with continued stirring; if necessary, you can tone down the shade by mixing in some reserved untinted buttercream.

12. To assemble: To assemble the cake, place one cake sponge upside down onto a plate and spread it evenly with the swiss meringue buttercream. Top with the second cake, top-side up and cover the whole cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Fill in a piping bag using a 13mm open star tip with the swiss meringue butter cream, making sure that there are no air bubbles in the bag. To make the rosettes, start from the bottom of the cake. Beginning in the center, then slowly move your tip in a circle around the center point. Try to end in the same place each time. Repeat until whole cake covered with rosette buttercream.

13. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

New year in London. Fireworks, music and light. We had a dinner reservation at the exquisite Northern Hall restaurant in the Corinthia Hotel near the river Thames. What a place of delight. The interior displaying a distinct flair of the Great Gatsby, leather-chairs of understated masculinity soften by crystal lamps golden glow and picture perfect flower arrangements. The dinning tables so casually arranged, giving one the necessary intimacy to enjoy a private conversation, yet feeling pleasantly surrounded by the circle of remaining guests. We started our dinner with a glass of Laurent-Perrier, followed by a starter, main course and dessert. The description of the menu, sounded simple, yet nothing had prepared us for the variety of culinary delights, cascading into perfect crescendo by the final course by serving Yorkshire Pudding Parkin with caramelized pears and vanilla ice-cream. Only one bite and we were inrevocabley in love. The cake is so unbelievably soft and abundantly full of flavour as if coming from a fairy tail. The Parking is a Northern England speciality, usually served on bonfire night, yet frequently enjoyed on other occasions throughout the year. I have decided to surprise my loved one, by preparing this lovely moist sticky cake for Valentine, bringing memories of our holiday in England and whispering of passion and love.

 

Ingredients

• 220g soft butter
• 110g soft, dark brown sugar
• 55g black treacle/molasses
• 200g golden syrup/ corn syrup
• 120g medium oatmeal
• 200g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp milk

 

Method

1. Heat the oven to 140°C.

2. Cover the base of 20cm x 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.

3. In a large heavy-based saucepan melt together the butter, sugar, treacle, golden syrup over a gentle heat. Do not allow the mixture to boil, you simply need to melt these together.

4. In a large, spacious, baking bowl stir together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the melted butter mixture stirring to coat all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

5. Gradually, beat in the eggs a few tablespoons at a time. Finally add the milk and again stir well.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 1½ hours until firm and set and a dark golden brown.

7. Remove the Parkin from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Once cool store the Parkin in an airtight tin for a minimum of 3 days if you can resist eating it, you can even leave it up to a week before eating and the flavours really develop and the mixture softens even further and become moist and sticky. The Parkin will keep up to two weeks in an airtight container.

8. Cut the cake by using heart-shaped cookie cutter into hearts and serve with caramelized pears and vanilla ice-cream.

This is not a Christmas tart for everybody.

This is a Christmas tart for grown ups only…

Deliciously heavy chocolate base, deepened with intense coffee taste and lightly contrasted with vanilla whipped cream and delicious dried red cranberries, sweetened and soaked in vanilla sirup… This is the perfect dessert to end a fabulous dinner.

The original recipe serves 12, but I have made the tart in a smaller form serving 8 people, and have re-used the remaining tart ingredients arranging in delicious tall crystal glasses dessert variation to serve at another festive occasion.

The recipe is slightly altered from the Delicious Magazine.

For example, I have mixed dark chocolate and milk chocolate for the base. Dark chocolate, plus coffee would have been too heavy for me. In addition, I have added a touch of Christmas flavour to the cake, by adding dried cranberries.

 

Ingredients

• 250g digestive biscuits
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 125g butter, melted
• 2 egg yolks
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 600ml milk
• 3 gelatine leaves
• 200g dark chocolate, about 70% cocoa solids
• 150g milk chocolate
• 2 tbsp finely ground espresso coffee grains
• 284ml carton double cream
• 100g sugar
• 100g dried cranberries, to decorate
• 1tbsp Vanilla flavoured Sirop De Monin

 

Method

1. Put the digestive biscuits in a large plastic bag and crush them up with a rolling pin until they resemble breadcrumbs. Place them in a bowl and stir in the cocoa powder and melted butter. Mix well. Press and shape the mixture on to the base and sides of a 20cm round springform cake tin. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2. Mix together the egg yolks, caster sugar, cornflour and 4 tablespoons of milk. Put aside. Soak the gelatine leaves in a little cold water for about 10 minutes until softened.

3. Heat the remaining milk in a saucepan over a low heat. Break both the chocolates into pieces, then add to the milk with the espresso grains, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat, then stir into the egg mixture. Return the mixture to the pan over a low heat and stir constantly until thickened and smooth.

4. Drain off the gelatine leaves and squeeze out the excess water. Then add to the hot custard, stirring until the gelatine has dissolved. Cool for 15 minutes, then pour into the biscuit base. Allow to cool, then chill for 3-4 hours or until set.

5. Soak half of the dried cranberries in the Vanilla sirop for at least two hours. Scatter generously on top of the chocolate base of the tart.

6. Whip the cream until thick, adding 100g sugar and a few droplets of Vanilla sirup. Spoon on top of the tart and decorate with the remaining dried cranberries.

Bright and sunny, fragrantly rich June is a month full of promise. It is everywhere I turn around. In the luscious greenness of the trees, in the variety of flower blossoms, in the fragrance of the first summer fruits. I cannot resist the flowers on the market. How can one choose between the roses blushing in fifty shares of pink, the tender white peonies and the happy blue-purple larkspurs? Of course, I cannot choose and I buy them all. I move only a few meters away and I notice the first apricots for the season. Fragile and sun ripened, they smile at me promising the hidden sweet honey nectar of the Spanish summer. Walking home I take a bite, and while savouring all fragrance I am already dreaming of baking an almond apricot tart. It is a wonderful combination letting the apricots shine in the their full splendour.

 

Ingredients

• 6 large fresh apricots, halved, pitted and then halved again
• 35g honey
• Pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs – slightly beaten
• 140g ground almond meal
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons melted butter.
• 50g almond flakes.

 

Method

1. Preheat he oven to 175C degrees. Grease a springform pan with butter and then dust with powdered sugar, tapping out the excess.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the melted butter, powdered sugar, ground almonds, eggs, salt and honey. Mix very well with a whisk until lumps disappear and pour into prepared pan.

3. Arrange the apricots in concentric circles on top of the batter. You want the edges of the apricots to stick out of the batter a bit. Sprinkle almond flakes.

4. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until browned and set. Rotate the dish twice while baking for even browning.

5. Let cool and remove from springform pan. Dust with additional powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.