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Cake: 200 fabulous foolproof baking recipes
Rachel Allen
Whether it’s classic cakes, tiered cakes or small cakes, free-from cakes or wedding and birthday cakes Rachel has the perfect, foolproof recipe.Rachel Allen knows home baking. It’s her fail-safe recipes, with easy-to-follow methods, thoughtful tips and advice that have been helping her readers over the years to make the most gorgeous cakes and bakes that work every time. Sponges, muffins, brownies, pop cakes, cheesecakes, tortes, pudding cakes, whether they are indulgent or healthy(ish), chocolaty, nutty or fruity, sweet or savoury, or gluten-free, you’ll find them all in this ultimate cake bible.Try classics such as Victoria Sponge and Carrot Cake, new bakes like Beetroot Brownies or White Chocolate and Macadamia cake, festive treats such as Caramel Yule Log or a St Patrick’s Day Guinness Cake as well as every day cakes like Raspberry Bakewell Cake or Butterscotch Banana Cake. Cake for grown-ups such as the Orange Cake with Campari Icing or children’s party favourite Cake Pops. Cakes for when you have no time as well as more adventurous wedding and birthday cakes.Rachel will show you how to bake and decorate simple special occasion cakes, then give additional instruction for making it special – or even of professional quality. Whether it is a golden anniversary, wedding or 4th birthday party, you’ll never have to buy a cake again.In this comprehensive collection you’ll find a mix of delicious easy and everyday cakes, teatime treats, classics, festive baking, hearty puddings and even some free-from and healthier cakes. And when you’ve finished baking, Rachel will show you the best tips and tricks for decorating and icing.The wait is over! Enjoy more baking from Rachel Allen in Cake.
Contents
Title Page (#u659e8d91-2464-58b7-9137-2fd116fbce94)
Introduction
01/ Easy
02/ Fast
03/ Healthy
04/ Classic
05/ Teatime
06/ Dessert
07/ Children’s
Decorating ideas (#u4cbca006-7a27-5efc-8c41-5c48a79053e5)
08/ Celebration
09/ Festive
Cake essentials
List of Recipes
Thank yous
Copyright
About the Publisher
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Introduction (#u56759131-d352-5575-87e2-06bb78cafa40)
I love every type of cake, whether light and buttery or dense and fudgy. In fact, I have adored baking ever since I was a child, when I began making cakes with my mother and sister. I was transfixed by the whole process – from stirring the ingredients in a big bowl to popping the filled tin in the oven and waiting for the magic to happen. Then, hey presto, the mixture had turned into a proper cake, beautifully risen and golden and with mouth-watering smells filling the kitchen. Our finished creation was then carefully removed and decorated before being placed on a plate and proudly presented to the rest of the family or to friends.
I know I’m not alone in my passion for cakes. Indeed, I get asked for my cake recipes more than any other type of dish! This book is aimed at anyone who has ever enjoyed a slice of cake – whether baking is your favourite pastime or if you’ve never tried it before. My previous book, Bake, was dedicated to all types of baking, from pies and casseroles to puddings and biscuits. This volume focuses exclusively on cake baking, showing you how to quickly master the basics, add effortless decoration and expand your repertoire of great-looking, great-tasting cakes to give, share and enjoy.
There is always something in my diary that offers the perfect excuse to bake a cake. With this in mind, I’ve divided the book into sections, each with a selection of cakes for different occasions, be it a simple picnic or coffee with a friend, or an elaborate event like a wedding, birthday or special celebration. You’ll find chapters devoted to fast cakes, festive cakes, classic and teatime cakes, novelty cakes for children’s parties and recipes catering specifically for people with allergies or food intolerances.
The recipes in this book are all easy to follow, with no particular level of skill or experience required. Most are quick and simple to make, while a few will take a little more time and effort. The sections on cake decoration include recipes for honeycomb, chocolate squares and fondant-icing shapes, each of which will help you add that special finishing touch or real ‘wow’ factor. Icing and decoration are usually tailored to specific cakes, but you can experiment with mixing ideas from different recipes and be as creative as you like.
There is something in Cake for everyone, from the casual cook to the committed baker, and I hope you enjoy using this book as much as I’ve enjoyed creating the recipes for it. I believe that divine recipes are made to be shared and cake tastes best when enjoyed with friends or family. It’s true that cakes are an indulgence and not something to have every day, but eaten every so often they are a genuine treat. Even a tiny sliver can really brighten your day or transform an otherwise ordinary get-together into a memorable occasion – magic not only in the making but in the eating!
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You don’t always need a special reason to bake a cake and this chapter is full of cakes that are really easy to put together. The recipes are not elaborate; there are no grand tiers or complicated icings here. The cakes are straightforward without involving too much technique or hours of labour. These cakes are the ones that I keep in a tin in the kitchen, ready for when a friend calls round or invites me over for coffee. They are also good for popping into a lunchbox or at the end of a simple supper, when you don’t need a fancy dessert, just a little slice of something sweet. Easily achievable and simply delicious, these are cake recipes that you’ll return to again and again.
01/ Easy
Lemon poppy-seed cake
Lemon poppy-seed muffins
Apricot, pistachio and saffron muffins
Pear and ginger muffins
Coconut and lime cake
Apple and walnut cake
Bakewell cake
Marbled chocolate crumble cake
Lemon crumble cupcakes
Lemon curd
Tropical cake
Toscatårta or Swedish almond cake
Lemon and rosemary polenta cake
Orange sour-cream cake
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Lemon poppy-seed cake (#ulink_eb2a5ae8-397d-55c0-84c8-96d88d3c2b5e)
Poppy seeds are used in cakes and many other dishes across the world, their fragrant nutty taste going especially well with the citrus flavour of lemon or orange. There is a lot of milk in this recipe, which makes the crumb very tender and soft. It’s baked in a bundt tin, which gives more of a crusty outer layer, though if you don’t have one, a standard round cake tin would do just as well, or you could use the mixture to make muffins (#u8c27a4f3-f081-5f49-97ac-b21d7e365bfb). If you like, you could decorate with candied orange slices, placing these on the iced cake instead of sprinkling over the poppy seeds.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 50–70 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 40 minutes
Serves: 10–14
325g (11½oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp salt
400g (14oz) caster sugar
25g (1oz) poppy seeds, plus 1–2 tsp to decorate
225ml (8fl oz) sunflower or vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
325ml (11½fl oz) milk
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Candied orange slices, to decorate (optional)
For the icing
200g (7oz) icing sugar, sifted
3 tbsp lemon juice
2.5 litre (4⅓ pint) bundt tin (about 23cm/9in in diameter) or 25cm (10in) diameter cake tin
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, then grease the bundt tin with sunflower or vegetable oil and dust with flour. If you’re using a standard type of cake tin, grease the sides and line the base with a disc of baking parchment.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, add the sugar and poppy seeds and mix together.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until combined. Tip this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together using a wooden spoon to make a smooth batter. You may need to use a whisk briefly to get rid of any lumps of flour.
Tip into the prepared tin and bake for 50–60 minutes (60–70 minutes if using a standard cake tin). When cooked, the cake should feel springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to sit for just 2 minutes, then loosen the edges with a small, sharp knife, place a wire rack upside down on top of the cake and carefully turn it over. Gently remove the tin and allow to cool completely.
While the cake is baking, or while it’s cooling, you can make the icing. Beat the icing sugar and lemon juice together until smooth. Carefully transfer the cake to a cake stand or serving plate, then drizzle the icing backwards and forwards from the centre to the outside of the cake in a zigzig pattern. Sprinkle over the poppy seeds straight away and the candied orange slices, if you’re using them, before the icing has a chance to dry.
Orange poppy-seed cake
Make the cake (#ulink_2d82e084-d9bd-58b0-b4b5-d8d35a0bc2df) as in the recipe, replacing the lemon zest in the sponge with the finely grated zest of 1 orange and using orange juice instead of lemon juice in the icing.
Lemon poppy-seed muffins (#ulink_24b73fe4-561a-5469-8b0a-3ef95dd400ff)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 20–25 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour
Makes: 12 muffins
215g (7½oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
265g (9½oz) caster sugar
15g (½oz) poppy seeds, plus 2 tsp for sprinkling
150ml (5fl oz) sunflower or vegetable oil
3 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
215ml (7½fl oz) milk
Finely grated zest of ½ large lemon
For the icing
130g (4½oz) icing sugar, sifted
1–2 tbsp lemon juice
12-cup muffin tray and 12 muffin cases
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF), Gas mark 4, and line the muffin tray with the paper cases.
Mix the ingredients for the sponge (#ulink_2d82e084-d9bd-58b0-b4b5-d8d35a0bc2df) following the main recipe, then divide the batter between the paper cases, filling each case three-quarters full.
Bake for 20–25 minutes or until lightly golden on top and springy to the touch. Allow to cool in the muffin tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool down fully.
Make the icing (#ulink_2d82e084-d9bd-58b0-b4b5-d8d35a0bc2df), then drizzle it over the cooled muffins and sprinkle with the poppy seeds to finish.
Apricot, pistachio and saffron muffins (#ulink_e8da8dab-2362-5300-bb84-a7409286da96)
I adore the combination of the sweet juicy apricots with the exotically perfumed saffron. Use peaches (fresh or tinned) in place of the apricots if you wish. These muffins are delicious served with a spoonful of crème fraîche and a piping-hot cup of coffee or tea.
Prep time: 10 minutes
