Turkish Delight Cake

One of my dear friends (and fellow lovers of Turkish Delight) has been away in Africa for the last month visiting family and so I knew I wanted to bake a special cake for her return and I was really pleased with the results! Apologies for the poor quality of photos (lost the camera so used my phone, then forgot to take a photo of it before it was cut!). 

I think this cake is perfect for when you want something a little more special than a normal sponge and the flavours of chocolate and rose work brilliantly together, producing a light, summery, scrummy cake. Let me know what you think when you bake it!

Yummy Mummy's Turkish Delight Cake

8oz/200g self raising flour,
8oz/200g castor sugar,
8oz/200g Stork,
4 large eggs,
3 heaped desertspoons of Green and Blacks cocoa (you can add more or less to your taste),
4 bars of Fry's by Cadburys Turkish Delight.

8oz icing sugar,
4oz Stork,
Pink food colouring (I used Wilton's gel colour, you only need a small amount to get a rosy pink colour),
2tsp rose water.

100g milk chocolate chips.


1. Preheat the oven to 200/180 fan/gas mark 6.
2. Mix together the self raising flour, castor sugar, Stork, eggs and cocoa. Divide evenly between two round cake tins, lined with foil.
3. Chop each bar of Turkish Delight into 6 pieces. Push gently into the top of the raw cake mix, spreading them evenly so that when the cake is sliced there will be Turkish Delight in every slice.

4. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack before removing the cakes from the tin. The Turkish Delight will have sunk into the middle of the cake but if any have gone right to the bottom waiting until it is cool will stop them being pulled out on the foil.

5. Mix together the icing sugar, Stork, pink food colouring and rose water, taste it to check it is rosy enough for you, if you add more use it sparingly. I like to leave this in the fridge for half an hour to firm up.

6. Spread half the buttercream onto one cake and sprinkle over half the chocolate chips. Repeat, putting the top cake on and topping with buttercream and chocolate chips. 

I have been keeping this cake in the fridge due to the 30 degree heat! Hope you enjoy it as much as we have! I will definitely be making this one again!!

xxx 

Simple summer sponge!

I think that sometimes simple is best, and this sponge cake is super quick to whip up and bake and can be filled and topped any way you want to. This is my 'go to' cake recipe as it always produces a moist and delicious cake in no time at all, and is so easy to adapt for different recipes by adding other ingredients eg. cocoa, coffee, nuts, fruit etc.

Yummy Mummy's Simple Sponge Cake

200g/8oz self raising flour,

200g/8oz Stork,

200g/8oz castor sugar,

4 large eggs,

2tsp vanilla essence.

1. Preheat your oven to 190C/gas mark 5 and line 2 round cake tins with foil.

2. Mix together all the ingredients and then dollop the mixture evenly into the two tins, lightly smoothing them over.

3. Bake until golden brown (in my electric oven this takes 20-25 minutes but in my gas oven it tok 15-20 so keep an eye on them).

4. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes (until they are not too hot to handle), then turn out the cakes onto a wiring cooling rack and leave until cold. 

Now you can fill and top them anyway you want; fresh fruit, buttercream, jam, chocolate ganache etc. For this summery cake I used vanilla buttercream, strawberry jam and fresh strawberries. 

If using fresh fruit, I would recommend sandwiching the cakes just before serving so they don't go soggy!

Happy baking!

xxx

Hokey Pokey!

Hokey Pokey (or honeycomb) is a quick and easy sugary treat, that is fascinating for children to watch (but I wouldn't recommend them making it as hot sugar can really burn!!!). It only uses simple storecupboard ingredients and a saucepan, but a sugar thermometer will help you too.

Hokey Pokey

4 tbsp golden syrup,

4 tbsp water,

12 tbsp sugar,

2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda.

1. Use a large saucepan as it will bubble up hugely at the end, put your sugar thermometer in ready. Put the golden syrup, water and sugar in the saucepan and heat very gently over a low heat so you don't burn it, until you cannot feel any sugary granules on the bottom of the pan.

2. Boil the mixture for about 5 minutes/until it reaches 138C, it will turn a darker colour.

3. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the bicarbonate of soda, be prepared for it to froth up a lot.

4. Quickly pour out onto a baking tray lined with foil and leave to cool. Do not pat it down or expect it to look pretty, it will deflate a little as it cools.

5. When it is completely cool break into pieces. I dunked mine into Cadburys chocolate to make mini crunchies!

This is best eaten the day you make it but a little goes a long way! Don't make this just before a visit to the dentist!!!

xxx