Mini Lemon Meringue Pies - GBBO Botanicals Week

It was Botanicals Week on The Great British Bake Off and for the signature challenge I decided to bake Mini Lemon Meringue Pies instead of a large one as they are much better for portion control purposes, and also more appropriate for afternoon tea which was when my family would get to devour them.  I cooked the meringue in the oven, no blow torches in my kitchen, so I think Mary Berry would approve. 

I used the Nutri Ninja Complete System that I had been sent to review to make the pastry.  It whipped up the pastry in a flash! So quick and easy to just bung all the ingredients for the pastry into the machine and whizz it for a few seconds.  

I also made my own lemon curd, and used the leftover egg whites for the meringue.  Such a delicious afternoon tea treat, and no waste as all of the eggs were used and I also used some lemons that were looking rather tired in our fridge.

Mini Lemon Meringue Pies - Makes 24

To make the pastry cases:

330g plain flour
3 Tblsp caster sugar
175g cold butter, cubed

Cold water

Put the flour, sugar and butter into the bowl of a processor, add 1 tablespoon full of ice cold water and mix until the dough comes together.  If you need to add more water do so one teaspoonful at a time until the dough comes together.  Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in clingfilm then chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.  

To make the dough by hand: Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub into the flour until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir through the sugar before adding the a little water. 

I add a tablespoon of cold water then add more, if necessary, a teaspoonful at a time. Mix to a firm dough and press out to a disc shape. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for half an hour before you attempt to roll it out.  Whilst the pastry dough rests, make the lemon curd.

Lemon Curd

200g butter
225g caster sugar
Grated zest and juice from 3 lemons
4 free range eggs

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Whisk the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and eggs into the butter until well combined. Keep whisking continuously whilst the curd thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from the heat just as it is about to boil vigorously. Pour into a bowl to cool for a couple of minutes then put a piece of clingfilm over the curd, touching the surface so that a skin doesn’t form. When the curd has reached room temperature, transfer it to the fridge. You can store the lemon curd in a the fridge, just keep it covered. I put mine into sterilised jars topped with cellophane and a band. The curd will thicken considerably in the fridge and will keep for 2–3 weeks.

To make the meringue:

Make the meringue by whisking the egg whites with half the sugar until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar and the cream of tartar whilst whisking. You should end up with a very stiff meringue mixture. Carefully spread the meringue over the cake, make sure you cover the lemon curd completely and that the meringue forms a seal around the edge of the cake. Rough up the meringue with a spoon to make peaks on the top. Cook for about 8 minutes, until the meringue is golden. Keep an eye on it as it can go from golden to burnt very quickly. Cool for 10 minutes then chill in the fridge for half an hour to an hour before you serve it as this makes it much easier to cut neat slices.

Assembling and baking the mini pies:

Take one half of the pastry out of the fridge and unwrap it.  Roll out into an even shape, on a lightly floured surface, to about the thickness of a £1 coin. 

Grease two 12 hole muffin tins and cut large circles out of your dough before placing them into the prepared muffin tin holes. Prick the bottom of the pastry well with a fork and bake in a preheated oven set to 180C/160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 10 minutes.  Repeat with the second batch of dough.

Once the cooked pastry cases have cooled, dollop some lemon curd into each one. I usually fill them about 3/4 full.  You can then pipe your meringue on top of each tart.  I make sure that I completely cover the lemon curd.

Bake the tarts in an oven preheated to 220C/200C Fan/425F/Gas Mark 7 and cook the tarts for approximately 10 - 15 minutes until the edges of the meringue start to turn golden.  Keep an eye on the tarts after 10 minutes as the meringue can brown very quickly.

Leave a Comment Basics, Cakes, GBBO, Jam, Party, Puddings, Vegetarian

Chocolate Hazelnut Swirl Bread

I baked this delicious loaf for GBBO Bread Week, my family could barely wait until I had taken photos to devour some.  Our house smelled delicious, the scent of freshly baked bread combined with hazelnut and chocolate.  Oh my goodness, the loaf is SO good.  Great any time of day, from breakfast and brunch through to afternoon tea.  

Chocolate Hazelnut Swirl Bread

300g strong white bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

20g sugar

1 1/2 fast action yeast

185ml milk, I used whole milk (you could use oat/almond milk instead)

1 Tblsp oil

100g chocolate hazelnut spread (I made my own)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until a rough dough forms.  Then either turn out the dough and knead until smooth and elastic (approximately 10 minutes), or knead in a stand mixer with a dough hook fitted for 5 - 7 minutes.

Once kneaded, put the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place until doubled in size.  Once the dough has risen, knock it t ack and roll out to 40cm x 30cm (16in x 12in) rectangle with the longest side facing you. Spread the dough with a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut spread, leaving a 2cm (3/4 inch) border.  Roll up the dough tightly from the longest side and pinch the seam and ends to seal.  Turn the roll seam side down and fold the roll of dough in half then twist the halves around each other twice to make the swirl.  Tuck the ends of the roll in neatly then place the dough twist into a greased 2lb (900g) loaf tin.

Cover with greased cling film and leave in a warm place for the dough to rise once again.  My loaf took around 45 minutes in a warm kitchen.  Whilst the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 210C/190C Fan/425F/Gas Mark 7.

Take the clingfilm off the risen loaf then bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes until golden and cooked through.  Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transerring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Leave a Comment Basics, Bread, Breakfast, GBBO, Vegan

Dampfnudeln

I have been trying some of the technical challenges from The Great British Bake Off and made these delicious dumplings last weekend.  I had eaten Dampfnudeln before but not attempted to make them myself.

After having attempted making Dampfnudeln before the bread episode of Bake Off aired, I watched with great interest to see how they got on. The instructions the contestants were given were very scant indeed and it was no wonder that almost all of the struggled with the task.  I dare say that Paul Hollywood would not attempt Dampfnudeln often himself, and obviously had been scouring the globe for tricky recipes for the contestants to make.  With the right recipe and clear instructions the dumplings weren't difficult or faffy, and tasted very nice indeed with custard.

Dampfnudeln

500g bread flour
100g sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
7g sachet instant yeast
150ml whole milk
2 large free range eggs
70g unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Poaching liquid
25g unsalted butter
pinch of ground cinnamon
150g whole milk
25g sugar

Custard and plum sauce to serve, homemade or storebought.

Put all the Dampfnudeln ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook fitted and mix until a soft dough forms.  Knead using the mixer for 7 - 10 minutes or until the dough is really smooth.  You can of course mix and knead the dough by hand but I was short on time and patience so on this occasion let my mixer do the work for me.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with greased clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, this took about an hour in a warm kitchen. 

Once the dough has risen, knock it back and then divide it into 12 equal portions and shape into balls.  I weighed mine to make sure they were all equal and each of the 12 balls weighed 75g.  

Put the poaching liquid ingredients into a wide heavy based saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted.  Take the pan off the heat and add the dough balls.  All the dough balls need to be touching the base of the saucepan in a single layer.  Put the lid on the saucepan and leave the dough balls to rise in the warm liquid for 15 minutes. 

After 15 minutes, put the saucepan back onto a low heat and cook the dumplings for 20 minutes before you are tempted to remove the lid.  A glass lidded saucepan would've been very handy but sadly mine was a cast iron saucepan and the lid was most definitely not see through.  After 20 - 25 minutes remove the lid and cook the dumplings uncovered for 5 - 10 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the base of each dumpling is golden and caramelised.  

Serve the dumplings with warmed custard and plum sauce.  

Many thanks to Tesco who provided me with a Giftcard to purchase some items for this bake.  You can check out their baking recipes here.  

I am entering this bake into The Great Bloggers Bake Off hosted by Mummy Mishaps.

6 comments Basics, Bread, GBBO, Puddings, Snacks, Vegetarian

Chocolate Viennese Whirls

When I discovered that they were baking Viennese Whirls on The Great British Bake Off this week I knew I had to give them a go. Of course I had to bake a chocolate version! Deliciously buttery and light biscuits sandwiched together with a rich dark chocolate ganache, how could I not bake them?!

I made sure my butter was very soft indeed so that the mixture was easy to pipe, and that I used a fairly big nozzle. I probably should have put the piped biscuits into the fridge for half an hour or so to ensure the piped biscuits looked more professional, but I'm not that bothered and they tasted totally scrumptious, so why faff if there's no need. I can just see the look of dismay on Paul and Mary's faces.

This batch of Chocolate Viennese Whirls cost £3.66 to make, or approximately 30p per Whirl.  Cost breakdown, exclusive of energy costs, is as follows: £1.02 butter, 25p icing sugar, 13p free range egg, 40p cocoa powder, 11p plain flour, 90p chocolate, 85p double cream.  You could serve the Whirls as plain biscuits and not sandwich them together with ganache, in which case the batch would cost £1.91 or 8p per biscuit for 24 biscuits.

Chocolate Viennese Whirls

300g very soft, but not melted, unsalted butter
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 free range egg
2 1/2 cups plain flour

Chocolate Ganache
300ml double cream
400g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and flufffy, I used hand held electric beaters.  Carefully beat in the cocoa powder then the egg.  Mix in the flour by hand, using a wooden spoon, until completely combined  

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4/350F.  Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.  Put the biscuit mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.  Pipe biscuits about 2 inches in diameter onto lined baking trays, allowing a little room for the biscuits to spread.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes.  Leave to cool on the trays for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache

Heat the cream until almost boiling then add the chopped chocoalte.  Stir until completely combined.  Leave to cool until mixture reaches spreading consistency.  

Spread a the underside of a biscuit with a generous amount of chocolate ganache then place another biscuit on top. I managed to get 12 biscuit sandwiches from this recipe.  

I'm entering my Whirls into The Great Bloggers Bake Off, hosted by Jenny at Mummy Mishaps.

And also The Bake Off Bake Along co-hosted by Rhyme and Ribbons and This Particular.

15 comments Basics, Biscuits, GBBO, Party, Snack, Snacks

Giant Jaffa Cake (Vegan)

We enjoy watching The Great British Bake Off and trying out the bakes that the contestants have to make each week.  This week one of the tasks was to bake some Jaffa Cakes.  On the show they made standard small Jaffa Cakes but I thought that would be too much faff and decided to make a Giant Jaffa Cake instead.

I had to remake my jelly as the first batch didn't set firmly enough, but apart from that it was a fairly straight forward bake.  My family devoured some for pudding this evening, and there's still some leftover for a treat with a cuppa tomorrow.  

Giant Jaffa Cake (Vegan)

Sponge:
125g plain flour
125g caster sugar
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2tsp tsp salt
125ml dairy free milk
30g oil (I used vegetable/rapeseed oil)
4tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Jelly:
400ml orange juice
5g Agar Agar

Topping:
400g Dairy free Dark Chocolate, chopped/broken into small chunks

To make the sponge:

Preheat oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4  Grease and line a 20cm/8inch cake tin

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients together in a jug until completely combined.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Pour the cake batter into your prepared tin and level the surface.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the jelly:

Bring the fruit juice to the boil in a pan and sprinkle the agar agar powder on top. Stir in and boil for 2-3 minutes then remove from the heat, pour into a lined 20cm/8 inch cake tin, and leave to cool and set.

Carefully turn out the jelly onto the top of the sponge cake.  Put in the fridge to chill whilst you prepare the topping.

To make the topping:

Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water.  Once completely melted, leave to cool slightly then pour over the cake.  

I've added this post to the We Should Cocoa linky over at Tin and Thyme.

I'm entering this bake into the Great Bloggers Bake Off linky, hosted by Mummy Mishaps.

12 comments Basics, Cakes, GBBO, Party, Vegan, Vegetarian

Giraffe/Tiger Bread and Bready, Steady, Go! - September Linky

It's my turn once again to host the Bready, Steady, Go! linky and I can't wait to see all the delicious bakes.

My 3 daughters are heading back to school this week and to ease some of the inevitable nerves at getting back to routine, we baked a couple of loaves to make school lunch sandwiches with.

We baked a plain white round loaf topped with cheese, it was delicious! We of course taste tested it, and the second loaf, quality control is very important.

The second loaf we made was a long loaf topped with a paste to give the top of the bread a cracked appearance.  This is called Tiger Bread or Giraffe Bread.  It is very simple to make and bake.  I was given the topping paste recipe by a baker friend, he scaled it down for me from his usual bulk/commercial quantities.

Tiger/Giraffe Bread

500g strong white bread flour
2 tsp salt, I sometimes use garlic salt for more flavour
7g sachet instant yeast
2 Tblsp oil, I used sunflower as that's what we had
1 tsp sugar
275ml - 300ml lukewarm water

Topping
1 sachet instant yeast
4 Tblsp/60ml water, or more if needed
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp oil

1 or 2 tsp onion powder
60g rice flour

Put the flour into a large bowl.  Measure the salt and sugar on one side of the bowl and pour the sachet of yeast onto the other side of the bowl.  You don't want the yeast and salt to meet until the liquid is added.  Add the oil to the water and pour into the bowl, mixing until a soft dough forms, either with a stand mixer or by hand.

Once a dough forms, knead until smooth and elastic.  This usually takes 10 minutes by hand and around 5 minutes in the stand mixer with a dough hook fitted.

Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave until doubled in size.  Mix together the topping ingredients and leave to stand for 15 - 20 minutes before spreading onto the top of your loaf.  Add a little more water if necessary to get a spreadable consistency.

Knock back the dough then shape into a long rugby ball shape.  Put onto a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper.  Spread the dough with the topping paste and leave to prove, uncovered, for around 30 - 40 minutes.  

Whilst the dough is proving, preheat your oven to 220C Fan/240C/Gas Mark 9/475F.

Bake the bread for 10 minutes to get a good oven spring then turn your oven down to 180C Fan/200C/Gas Mark 6/400F and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes.  When properly cooked through, the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the base.  Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Now it's your turn! Link up all of your delicious yeasted bread bakes.

The Rules:

Bready Steady Go! will run from 1st until the 28th of each month and then a round up will be posted by the hosting blog, which is me this month, at the end of the month.

You can link up any yeasted bread recipe, sometimes we may also run themed challenges, and feel free to join in with other challenges if your post also meets their guidelines. If you really love baking bread then you can add multiple entries up to a maximum of 3 per blog each month.

Please link back to Jen’s Food, and this post, and include the badge to help spread the word.

We’d prefer to see entries from new blog posts where possible but you can also link up old posts if you add the badge and link back to our blogs as well.

You can tweet your entries to @JensFood and @UtterlyScrummy using the hashtag #breadysteadygo and we will retweet all that we see.

All entries will also pinned to our new Pinterest board as they come in.

If you make a recipe from a book/magazine/website etc please respect copyright and do not reproduce the recipe verbatim. Instead of copying out the recipe from the book, describe it in your own words and if it’s from an online source please link to the original content rather than copying full recipe.

So what are you waiting for?! Bready, Steady, Go bake some bread!

An InLinkz Link-up

3 comments Basics, Bread, Breakfast, GBBO, Lunches, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian

Vanilla Cheesecake Traybake - Great British Bloggers Bake Off Week 4

I'm baking along with The Great British Bake Off and am hosting Week 4 of the Great British Bloggers Bake Off on behalf of Jenny who blogs at Mummy Mishaps.

It was dessert week on The Great British Bake Off this week and the Show Stopper Challenge was three baked cheesecakes.  It's the school holidays and bubs is teething again so time and patience were in short supply, there was no way three baked cheesecakes was going to happen.  It took me 4 days to get enough time to bake and photograph my traybake.  Each day I would take the ingredients out and be ready to bake only to have to put them back in the fridge due to some family issue or other issue.

It was worth the wait though!  This Vanilla Cheesecake Traybake is creamy and delicious but light and not as heavy as a large baked cheesecake.  You can also slice it into whichever sized portions you fancy.  I topped our slices with homemade Black Cherry Compote, made from foraged fruit.  A caramel sauce topping or chocolate ganache topping also works well, as does a dollop of lemon curd.  If there are any leftovers you can store the cheesecake traybake in the fridge for a couple of days.

I was also sent vouchers by Tesco to purchase my baking ingredients for this week.  Do check out the Tesco Real Food website for lots of great baking inspiration and recipes.

Vanilla Cheesecake Traybake

250g plain biscuits, I used rich tea fingers
125g unsalted butter, melted
220g caster sugar
500g full fat soft cheese/Philadelphia
250g soured cream
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 free range eggs, beaten

Line a slice tin or Swiss roll tin with non stick baking paper and preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 3.

Either put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush to crumbs with a rolling pin or blitz in a food processor. Mix the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter then press them into your prepared tin. Set aside in the fridge whilst you make the creamy vanilla topping.

Put the sugar and cream cheese into a bowl and mix until combined and the mixture is smooth. I used my hand held electric beater for this as I was in a hurry but you can just as easily mix it by hand. Add the soured cream, vanilla and beaten eggs. Mix again until completely incorporated and the mixture is light and smooth.

Take the chilled base out of the fridge and pour the creamy mixture over the top, spreading and smoothing it out with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until the top is a light golden, and the centre is set. Allow the cheesecake to cool completely in the tin. Slice and serve with your chosen toppings.

The Rules:

The linky will be open from Thursday morning until the following Monday at 12 midnight. 

All entries must link to this post, carry the Great Bloggers Bake Off badge (available in the side bar of Mummy Mishaps blog), and also a link to http:///www.mummymishaps.co.uk

When you tweet your bake off recipe, please @JennyPaulin with the #GBBOBloggers2015 hashtag and she will RT and add bakes to the Pinterest board.

Each week a blogger or bloggers will be selected as a Star Baker and will receive a special badge to wear with pride on their blog.

The recipe MUST be relevant to the bakes that are made in the The Great British Bake Off - Week 4 which means Creme Brulee, Spanische Windtorte, or Baked Cheesecake.

Now it's your turn! Link up your bakes using the linky below.

11 comments Basics, GBBO, Puddings, Vegetarian

Quick Double Chocolate Bread

On the Great British Bake Off this week it was all about bread.  There were sculptures, baguettes and quick breads without yeast.  I'm a great fan of soda bread, ready in a jiffy and usually very thrifty indeed.  I've made both savoury and sweet versions in the past but never a chocolate version so I thought I would give it a go.  This bake is based on Ugne's recipe from Bread Week.

Quick Double Chocolate Bread

450g plain flour

100g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g white sugar or caster sugar

125g butter, melted and cooled

200ml milk mixed with 1 Tblsp lemon juice or white vinegar and left to curdle

2 large free-range eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

100g finely chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, I used white and dark

Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.  Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Put the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and sugar into a large bowl.  Stir to combine.  

Combine the cooled melted butter with the milk and lemon mixture.  Mix in the eggs and vanilla then beat until combined.

Make a well in the dry ingredients then add the liquid ingredients, gently stirring with a wooden spoon to combine.  Do not beat the mixture or your bread will be tough.

Once a soft dough forms turn out onto a floured surface then gently shape into a round.  Put your bread round onto your lined baking tray.  Make deep cuts into the round with a knife our dough scraper, about half way into the loaf.  Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base.  Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 - 30 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

I'm linking this recipe up to The Great Bloggers Bake Off, created by Mummy Mishaps and hosted this week by Jo's Kitchen.

For other Quick Breads, check out these fab recipes:

Wild Garlic Pesto Pinwheels by Foodie Quine

Rosemary, Olive and Sun-dried Tomato Flax Focaccia by Natural Kitchen Adventures

Chocolate Muscovado Banana Bread by Tin & Thyme

Malted Spelt Soda Bread Recipe by Kavey Eats

Cheddar & Dill Beer Bread Rolls by Tinned Tomatoes

Apple & Pear Cider Spelt Soda Bread by Fab Food 4 All

Cheddar & Chilli Sweet Potato Bread by The Veg Space

4 comments Basics, Bread, GBBO, Snacks, Vegetarian

Biscotti inspired by The Great British Bake Off

Week 2 on The Great British Bake Off was Biscuit Week, and they were asked to bake Biscotti.  My 8yo and I baked these to put in the Christmas Hampers we gave to teachers last year.  They are delicious and you can add nuts or dried fruit to suit your tastes.  We baked them again over the weekend and will be munching on them with a cuppa throughout the school holidays.

Biscotti

85g light soft brown sugar

1 large free range egg

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract

140g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp mixed spice or ginger (optional)
Flavour additions: we used almonds and dark chocolate chunks but have used dried fruit, other nuts and milk/white chocolate chunks in the past.

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.  

Beat together the sugar and egg until pale and thick then fold in the dry ingredients.  Stir in any flavour additions.  

With floured hands, shape the mixture into a long roll about 28cm/11inches long and press to flatten slightly.

Lift the log of dough onto your prepared tray and bake in the preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes until golden.  Cool for 5 minutes until cool enough to handle.  Slice the dough into 1.5cm slices and return to the baking sheet.

Bake the slices in the oven for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown  Transfer to a wire rack to cool then store in an airtight container for up to three weeks.

I've linked up with All You Need Is Love And Cake who is hosting the Great Bloggers Bake Off this week on behalf of Mummy Mishaps, do pop over and check out the rules of the challenge.

5 comments Basics, Biscuits, GBBO, Snacks

Black Forest Gateau inspired by The Great British Bake Off

The Great British Bake Off started again this week and one of the bakes is a Black Forest Gateau, I decided to bake my own delicious take on the classic.  These Black Forest Chocolate Gateau was delicious and disappeared very quickly once the photos were taken.

The contestants on The Great British Bake Off had 3.5 hours to bake and decorate their cake.  It took me slightly longer than that as I had a teething baby, 3 older children, a Tesco grocery delivery and several loads off washing to deal with whilst baking and decorating my cake.  

My cake is 4 layers of chocolate sponge with ganache and cherry jam swirled whipped cream between them.  I did not use any Kirsch in my cake as my children were going to be eating it and I thought it best to leave it out.  

Chocolate Layer Cake

I baked two of these cakes, cut them in half and filled them with chocolate sponge with ganache and cherry jam swirled whipped cream.

200g self raising flour
50g cocoa powder
125g softened butter
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract
275g caster sugar
2 large free range eggs
160ml lukewarn water

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan. Grease and line a 22cm/9 inch cake tin, ensuring the paper comes 2 inches/5cm above the top edge of the cake tin.

Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat with a stand mixer or electric hand held beaters until mixture is smooth. Beat for 3 to 5 minutes until the mixture is lighter in colour. Pour mixture in to prepared cake tin and level the top.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until cake is cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tin for 15 minutes to half an hour before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Split the cake horizontally into 2 layers. Spread chocolate ganache on one half and cherry jam swirled whipped cream on the other, sandwich them together.  Repeat the process with the second cake and top with ganache to finish.

Chocolate Ganache

300g dark chocolate,
200ml double cream

Put the cream in a saucepan over a moderate heat. Heat until almost boiling, remove from the heat and stir through the chocolate until a smooth mixture forms. Leave the ganache to cool until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Many thanks to Tesco who are sponsoring this year’s Great Bloggers Bake Off, hosted by Mummy Mishaps, and who are kindly providing gift cards to buy the ingredients needed to take part in the challenges each week.  For more great recipe ideas check out the baking section on Tesco Real Food – there's loads of great baking recipes to help with your own culinary adventures.

9 comments Cakes, GBBO