Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake

I'm digging into the un-posted archives today because I haven't done any baking all week.  I can't exactly say that I've been flat out busy, I am still unemployed, but things just seem to get in the way. The weekend has been busy -  football game, friends birthday celebrations, church, dinner, movies... but surely I could have baked something in amongst all that. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be back in the kitchen soon. Maybe I'll have to schedule it in! But this cake is good, simple to throw together and ends those chocolate v. vanilla debates. 

• I love using pumpkin in desserts. Try this Sour Cream Pumpkin Bundt Cake from Mommy? I'm Hungry
• This looks amazing. Almond Banana Cake with Salted Butter Caramel Icing at Savour Fare
• Mmmmm cookies. A Kiss and a Cupcake shares Cinnamon Cappucino Cookies
• You can never have too many banana bread recipes especially if they involve chocolate like this Double Chocolate Banana Bread at Dlyn
• And beautiful decadent Chocolate Raspberry Tarts at Delightful Desserts

Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake

Recipe from Taste.com.au

Ingredients

150g butter

1 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

20g butter, chopped

2 tablespoons boiling water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 22cm bundt pan (I used a round cake pan). Beat 150g butter  and caster sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in  eggs and vanilla.

2. Fold in  self-raising flour and milk. Divide mixture into 2 portions. Stir in 1 tablespoon cocoa to one portion. Alternatively spoon the mixtures into the pan.

3. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Set aside for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. 

4. Combine 1 cup icing sugar, cocoa powder, butter. Stir in boiling water. Pour over cake to serve.

Whipped Cream Cake

I hate winter. I really really do. Its cold and unpleasant. Now when I say cold, here in Sydney its been down to about 5C (that's about 40F) at its worst, which I guess for a lot of people isn't that bad, but its bad enough for me! And its not just the cold, I hate the rain and I hate that it gets dark so early.  And I also hate that it's flu season. Yes, I have a cold or the flu, who knows, all that matters is that I aint feeling all that great.  But this cake did make it a little better. The special thing about this cake is that it uses whipped cream instead of butter. It also uses brown sugar, giving it a really nice colour and flavour. The original recipe had a caramel frosting but I decided to use a fluffy frosting instead. I had some extra cake mixture so used it to make 6 cupcakes. I think next time I'll just make cupcakes. I filled them with cream and then topped them with a little frosting.

The unfrosted cupcakes

The unfrosted cake. I didn't get a photo of the completed cake because it was getting dark and then I had race out the door to get it to church on time. And it fell apart in the car, turns out my driving isn't very good for cakes.

• I don't know why but I love Rainbow Cakes. I will have to try this one from Megan's cookin for the next birthday
• Another great birthday cake would be this Chocolate Covered Coconut Cake from The Kitchen Sink Recipes
• A Little Owl in the Kitchen has some beautiful Tiramisu Tartlets. A friend of mine is obsessed with tiramisu so this is definitely one I'm going to have to try
• Grab Your Fork is a great Sydney based blog. This week sharing an Upside-down Pear and Macadamia Cake
• I love this idea. Chocolate-orange Mini Icebox cakes from One Ordinary Day

Whipped Cream Cake

Recipe from AWW Bake

Ingredients

600ml thickened cream

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar

2 cups self raising flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease deep 22cm-round cake pan; line base with baking paper.

2. Beat half of the cream in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form.

3. Beat eggs and extract in another small bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until dissolved between additions. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Fold in a quarter of the whipped cream, then sifted flour, then remaining whipped cream. Spread mixture into pan.

4. Bake cake about 50 minutes. Stand cake in pan 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.

5. Meanwhile, beat remaining cream in small bowl with electric mixer until firm peaks form.

6. Split cold cake in half; sandwich layers with cream. Spread with frosting.

Fluffy Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup water

1 egg white

Method

Stir sugar and water in small saucepan over heat, without boiling until sugar is dissolved. Boil, uncovered, without stirring about 5 minutes, or until syrup reaches 116C/240F on a candy thermometer. Syrup should be thick but not coloured. Remove from heat, allow bubbles to subside. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. While mixer is operating, add hot syrup in thin stream, beat on high speed about 10 minutes or until mixture is thick and cool.

Chocolate Swiss Roll

D: Hey Nat, thanks for bringing cake into the office, but I can't sit and chat. I'll just take a piece and head back to my desk.

Nat: Yeh thats cool.

D walks out of the kitchen

30 seconds later D walks back in

D: Oh wow, this cake is great!! Really, How did you do this?!

I love recipes that are simple but look complicated when presented. You get that 'wow' response when they are served up, with everyone asking how you did it. My response for this one was 'its easy, really not difficult at all'. Which is true.  Swiss rolls (or jam rolls) are one of those cakes that many people find daunting, but if you follow the instructions there really isn't much to it. So please, give it a try. And once you have mastered the basics there are so many more variations to try. Add some jam, flavour the cream, change the cake... combinations are endless.

Another great week in the blog world, I had trouble narrowing down my five favourite recipes but here they are:

These Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcakes from Playing House are not what you expect, I'm very interested to see how they turn out and experiment a little.


Savory Sweet Life shows us how to make Fortune Cookies, personal messages are a great idea.

To celebrate national donut day Cook and Eat shares some Chocolate Filled Donuts. I really really love donuts.

Until I read this post at Smells Like Home I had no idea what a Boston Cream Pie was, but now I can't wait to try it.

And I'm working up the courage to work with yeast, this Sundried Tomato and Garlic Bread at Monsoon Spice might be a great start.

Chocolate Swiss Roll

Recipe from Everyday Food Autumn 2009 (the Australian Women's Day food magazine)

Ingredients

3 eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar, plus 1/4 cup extra

1/2 cup self-raising flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons hot water

300ml cream, whipped

Method

1. Preheat oven to moderate, 180C. Lightly grease a 26 x 32cm swiss roll pan. Line with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat eggs until frothy. Gradually add sugar, beating until thick and pale. Mixture should hold its shape.

3. Sift flour and cocoa together. Fold lightly into egg  mixture, followed by water.

4. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until sponge springs back when lightly touched.

5. Line a clean towel with baking paper. Sprinkle with extra sugar. Turn out cake onto sugar and remove baking paper. Trim edges. Roll up from long end side, using the tea towel as a guide.

6. Cool completely on a wire rack. Unroll cake. Cover with half cream. Reroll without tea towel and transfer to a serving plate. Serve sliced  with remaining cream and raspberries.

Mini Caramel Mud Cakes

Bribery is an interesting thing. Well I like to call it incentive. I had been waiting for some photos from a friend and offered baked goods in return for getting them quickly. The fact that I would have baked anyway is not important, in the end all parties were happy. I got to back, got my photo and he got mud cake, win-win. Not sure why I chose this recipe, it just jumped of the page when I read it.  They were eaten very quickly. Again I missed out but by all accounts they are a winner. I'm sure with more time and some creativity they can be dressed up nicely, I just dusted them with icing sugar as I was racing out the door.

Mini Caramel Mud Cakes

This recipe is from AWW Kitchen

Ingredients

125g butter, coarsely chopped

100g white eating chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup golden syrup

2/3 cup milk

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup self-raising flour

1 egg

2 tablespoons icing sugar

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Line 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.

2. Stir butter, chocolate, sugar, syrup and milk in small saucepan over low heat, until smooth. Transfer mixture to medium bowl; cool 15 minutes.

3. Whisk sifted flours into chocolate mixture, then egg. Divide mixture among cases. 

4. Bake about 30 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.

5. Serve, dusted with sifted icing sugar.

It's not about you, Its about the Dew... Cake (Mountain Dew Cake and Rainbow Cake)

Today has been a day. And I'm sharing two recipes to help document it.  Its been a big week actually.  Due to some not so great news I have had to postpone, maybe indefinitely, my move to the US.  But today was a much better day. After Church this morning we had a really nice lunch, and I made two cakes (with the help of some friends).  These are two recipes I have seen and been wanting to try for a while. Now they use a box cake mix. I know, I know not traditional, and I don't usually like cake mixes, but the modifications make them spectacular. Two great cakes, given to some good friends.  

The Mountain Dew Cake is the well known, cake mix plus a can of soda recipe. I'd been intrigued by it for a while and when I told a friend about it they thought about mountain dew straight away.  You see we have some friends who are obsessed with Mountain Dew and live by the motto 'its not about you... its about the Dew' So really there was no other alternative when it came to this cake. The taste wasn't as Dew-y as desired but I'm so pleased it turned out at all. The glaze was supposed to have dew in it too, but it was all gone by the time I went to make it (addicts!)

The Rainbow Cake was for another friend's birthday. When I first saw this recipe I had wanted to make it with a from scratch recipe but I thought I'd try it with a box mix first to see how it went.  It was great! I cannot wait to try it again with other colours, and cupcakes! Can you imagine!!  

So thank you to my amazing friends. I hope you enjoyed the cakes. 

And now... 

• The Cooking Photographer - WWII Caramel Refrigerator Cookies
• Ezra Pound Cake - Edna Lewis' Busy-Day Cake
• Good Things Catered - Chocolate Oreo Cake
• Sugar Plus - Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
• Dunkin Cooking the Semi-homemade Way - Baklava

(Sorry for the lack of descriptions, its way past my bed time!)

Mountain Dew Cake - Buy a cake mix and instead of adding the wet ingredients just add a can of Mountain Dew (375mL).  Bake following packet directions.

Rainbow Cake - http://justaddeggs.blogspot.com/2009/03/taste-and-create-rainbow-cake.html 

Hot Cross Buns

I think its important to document the disasters.  Not that this was a huge disaster but its not the pretty picture I would like it to be.  I haven't been doing this blog thing for very long but already I am caught up in the visual, the pretty, the popular.  I sometimes forget that I started to blog to help me learn. And we can't learn without making mistakes.  And we can't learn from others if we don't share those mistakes.  So in an effort to share the ugly truth, here are my hot cross buns.  They tasted good (or so i was told) but certainly don't look that great.  The very squished hot cross 'cake' resulted from me using a pan that was smaller then the one called for. I tried to squash it all in, it didn't work.  And the crosses, well I piped them too thick.  So what did i learn? Use the pan the recipe calls for, and hot cross bun crosses spread when baking.    

Hot Cross Buns

Recipe from AWW Bake

Ingredients

1 tablespoon (14g) dried yeast

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 cups warm milk

4 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon

60g butter

1 egg

3/4 cup sultanas

Flour paste

1/2 cup plain flour

2 teaspoons caster sugar

1/3 cup water, approximately

Glaze

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon gelatine

1 tablespoon water

Method

1. Combine yeast, sugar and milk in small bowl or jug.  Cover; stand in warm place about 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy.

2. Sift flour and spices into large bowl; rub in butter. Stir in yeast mixture, egg and sultanas; mix to a soft sticky dough. Cover, stand in warm place about 45 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

3. Grease 23cm square slab cake pan or deep 23cm-square cake pan.

4. Turn dough onto floured surface; knead about 5 minutes or until smooth.  Divide dough into 16 pieces, knead into balls.  Place balls into pan; cover, stand in warm place about 10 minutes or until buns have risen to top of pan.

5. Meanwhile , preheat oven to 220C/430F.

6. Make flour paste for crosses; place in piping bag fitted with small plain tube, pipe crosses on buns.

7. Bake buns about 20 minutes. Turn buns, top-side up; onto wire rack.

8. Make glaze; brush hot buns with hot glaze.  Cool on wire rack.

Flour paste: Combine flour and sugar in cup. Gradually blend in enough of the water to form a smooth firm place.

Glaze: Stir ingredients in small saucepan over hear, without boiling, until sugar and gelatine are dissolved.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

You have to make this bread!  Its beautifully moist and super easy to make.  I whipped it up  one afternoon in the very short time I have between finishing work and racing off to class.  Took it into work the next day and it didn't last long.  It was described as the 'best cake ever' but I think that was a bit of an exaggeration!  Seriously though, try it, you won't be disappointed.

And back to Sunday Baking. I'm so glad I can share with you again my favourite recipes of the week.

• Lets get started with Elle's New England Kitchen Chocolate Glazed Donut Muffins, whats not to love about chocolate, donuts and muffin all in one!
  
• Try out the Apple Spice Cake at Passionate About Baking
• Bilateral Haze has the cutest Birthday Cupcake Bites
• I LOVE this rainbow cake from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments
• And continue the rainbow cookies at Pie of the Tiger

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

found on all recipes

Ingredients

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  In a small bowl, mix together 1/3 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon; set aside.

2. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar. Combine egg, milk and oil; add to flour mixture.  Stir until just moistened.

3. Pour half of the batter into pan.  Sprinkle with half the reserved cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon/sugar mixture. Draw a knife through batter to marble.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into centre of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil and let sit overnight before slicing.

Lamingtons

I continue my Australia Day celebrations with one of the few recipes that can be claimed as Australian.  Australia has great food but not very many dishes that are truly Australian.  Our country is such a mix of different cultures and influences that we have no distinct flavour or cuisine.  Lamingtons however belong to us!  They are simply sponge cake squares dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut. Traditionally made from stale (or day old) sponge so that it is easier to handle.  They are simple yet amazing. I'm yet to meet someone who doesn't like lamingtons.  Some variations also contain cream, or cream and jam. You can also get them as larger cakes or rolls (roulade).  I've stuck with the traditional lamington of just plain ol' sponge.

They can be a little messy to make, but my tip is to use a fork to dip the sponge in the chocolate and coconut. The fork marks will be hidden by the chocolate that soaks into the sponge. If you are pressed for time you can use pre-made sponge. 

Happy Australia Day!!  

Lamingtons

recipe from AWW Bake

Ingredients

6 eggs

⅔ cup  (150g) caster sugar

⅓ cup (50g) cornflour

½ cup (75g) plain flour

⅓ cup (50g) self-raising flour

2 cups (160g) desiccated coconut

Icing

4 cups (640g) icing sugar

½ cup (50g) cocoa powder

15g butter

1 cup (250mL) milk

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease 20cmx 30cm lamington pan; line base with baking paper, extending paper 5cm over long sides.

Beat eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer about 10 minutes or until think and creamy; gradually beat in sugar, dissolving between additions. Fold in triple-sifted flours. Spread mixture into pan.

Bake cake about 35 minutes. Turn cake onto baking-paper-covered wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, make icing. Cut cake into 16 piees; dip each square in icing, drain off excess. Toss squares in coconut. Place lamingtons onto wire rack to set.

Icing Sift icing suar and cocoa into medium heatproof bowl; stir in butter and milk. Set bowl over medium saucepan of simmering water; stir until icing is of a coating consistency. 

Hummingbird Cake

I am a picky eater. I mean a really really picky eater. I don't eat any vegetables (well potato but I don't think that counts) and apples are about the only fruit I'll eat on their own. But I will eat some fruit and tomatoes if they're mixed in with something, such as pasta sauce or cake. Which is why I have no problem with this hummingbird cake. Give me a banana on its own and I won't touch it. Mix it into a cake and I'll eat it all up. Same with pineapple, won't eat it on its own but in this cake I loved the flavour. I wasn't all that pleased with the chunky-ness of the pineapple but I'm sure less picky eaters will love it (as my taste-testers did!)  

I found some great recipes in the blog world this week to highlight for Sunday Baking. Here is a small selection to inspire. 

• Tartelette shares a great tradition with her Brioche des Rois
• Ambers Delectable Delights has some Honey Yeast Rolls to try
• There are some irresistible Fudge Puddles over at Amanda's Cookin'. Also check out her son's Lemon Bars. We love seeing kids in the kitchen!
• And a little more chocolate at Sweet treats with Brownie Bites with Mocha Glaze
• Finally, some great personalized cupcake decorating at Baked Perfection
  

Hummingbird Cake

Another recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly Bake

Ingredients

450g (1lb) can pineapple in syrup

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup mashed banana

2 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Icing

2 cups icing (confectioners) sugar

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons pineapple syrup

Method

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (375 F). Grease deep 23cm-square cake pan (9 inch); line base with baking paper. 

Drain pineapple over medium bowl, pressing with spoon to extract as much syrup as possible. Reserve ¼ cup syrup.

Sift flours, soda, spices and sugar into large bowl. Stir in drained pineapple, reserved syrup, coconut, banana, eggs and oil. Pour mixture into pan.

Bake cake about 40 minutes. Stand cake in pan 5 minutes; turn, top-side, onto wire rack to cool.

Make frosting; spread cold cake with frosting.

Frosting: Sift icing sugar into a bowl, stir in vegetable oil and syrup.

Raspberry Butter Cake

I'm not sure if its just because its a busy time of year but I feel like the last week or so has flown by. Its time to go back to work tomorrow and I don't think I got nearly as much done as I was hoping. But not to worry. I did manage to get some baking done. 

There were some leftover raspberries in the freezer and I decided to use them today for my Sunday baking. I have been meaning to get a start on baking my way through the Australian Women's Weekly Bake cookbook I got a little while ago so chose a simple Raspberry Butter Cake. The recipe went together pretty well but the timing was a little off. The recipe called for an hour of baking but when I checked it at 50 minutes it was over done, it probably should have come out at about 45 minutes. It was still pretty good though. 

I've spent a lot of the week checking out lots of other food blogs and decided that there are so many great recipes out there I might share a few that I've found. So I'm officially starting Sunday Baking blog highlights. Along with my own Sunday Baking recipe, I'm going to share a few other blogging highlights I've found during the week.

• Annie's Eats has some lovely, simple Pineapple Muffins
  
• The Canadian Baker shares rich Dark and Dangerous Triple Chocolate Cookies
  
• Finish off the festive season with some Caramel, Cashew and Chocolate Coated Pretzels at Sweet Pea Patisserie
  
• Zoe Bakes has a great recipe for Chocolate, Candied Ginger and Grapefruit Biscotti
  
• And a little bit more chocolate at Baking Bites with some Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Raspberry Butter Cake

Australian Women's Weekly Bake

Ingredients

125g butter, softened

¾ cup (135g) caster sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ cups (225g) self-raising flour

½ cup (125ml) milk

¾ cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Method

Preheat oven to 180oC. Grease deep 20cm round cake pan, line base with baking paper.

Beat butter and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Transfer mixture to medium bowl; stir in sifted flour and milk, in two batches. Fold ¼ cup raspberries into mixture.

Spread three-quarters of cake mixture into pan; sprinkle with remaining raspberries. Spread remaining cake mixture over raspberries. 

Bake cake about 45 minutes (original recipe called for about an hour). Stand cake in pan 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.

If you have recently posted a baking recipe that you would like to be considered for Baking Sunday send me an email at sundaybaking[at]hotmail[dot]com. 

Classic Sponge Cake

I achieved one of my cooking goals with my latest baking efforts. It was my first attempt at a multi-layer cake. Now it wasn't difficult at all, just two cakes stuck on top of each other, but it was a start.  Next time I'll aim to cut a cake in half to make some layers. It was also my first sponge cake. I was unsure whether it was done so probably kept it in the oven a little too long but it was still very nice. A sponge cake is ready when its just golden brown, the normal cake tests don't apply (eg. touching the top to see if it bounces cake). The cake was made to take to a family Christmas barbecue so I wasn't able to get any pictures in the mad rush to get out the door. Hope the drawing helps!

Classic Sponge

Essential Baking Cookbook

Ingredients

1/2 cup plain flour

1 cup self-raising flour

6 eggs

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup strawberry jam

1 cup cream

icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Preheat the overn to moderate 180oC. Lightly grease two round cake tins and line the bases with baking paper. Dust the tins with flour, shaking off excess. 

2. Sift the flours together three times onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Beat the eggs in a large bowl with electric mixer for 7 minutes or until thick and pale. Gradually add the sugar to the egg, beating well after each addition. Using a large metal spoon, quickly and gently fold in the sifted flour and 2 tablespoons boiling water.

3. Spread the mixture evenly into the tins and bake for 25 minutes, or until the sponges are lightly golden and shrink slightly from the sides of the tins. Leave the sponges in their tins for 5 minutes. 

4. Spread jam over one of the sponges. Beat the cream in a small bowl until stiff, then spread over jam. Place the other sponge on top. Dust with the icing sugar. 

Fluffy Chocolate Cake - Best Birthday Cake!

Todays baking sunday was a birthday cake classic. This fluffy, moist chocolate cake is becoming a family favourite. I made a different icing to usual, and settled with a warm glaze.   Sorry about the poor quality picture. Was all gone before I could get a better shot! 

*** I managed to get a pic of the last slice left. enjoy! ****

Fluffy Chocolate Cakes

Recipe from Australian Womens Weekly Cakes and Slices

Ingredients

125g butter

2 tablespons cocoa

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 cup self-raising flour

Icing

1 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

20g butter, chopped

2 tablespoons boiling water

Method

1. Combine butter, sifter cocoa and milk in saucepan, stir over low heat without boiling until butter is melted; cool to room temperature. 

2. Grease a deep 20cm round cake pan, line base with paper; grease paper well.  Preheat oven to 180oC

3. Beat eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy, gradually beat in sugar, beating until dissolved between each addition. Transfer to large bowl. Fold in half the sifted flour and half the cocoa mixture, then remaining flour and cocoa mixture. Pour into prepared pan. 

4. Bake in moderate oven for 35 minutes. Stand 5 minutes before turning on to wire rack to cool. Spread cold cake with icing. 

To make icing: Combine sugar, cocoa and butter. Stir in boiling water until smooth. Pour over cake.