Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Champagne Victoria Sponge

Our June 2012 meeting was the day after the double bank holiday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, so we thought it was only fair to thank our ma'am for the extra day off work by paying homage to her in baked form. When tasked with baking a cake to celebrate Britishness and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, for me it could only ever have been a Victoria Sponge. A special, spruced up for a party kind of Victoria Sponge. So I decided to sandwich some home made strawberry and champagne jam with some champagne flavoured butter cream in between two layers of deliciously light almond sponge.

I also entered this recipe into a couple of Jubilee baking competitions, and whilst I wasn't a prize winner in the Times' Jubilee Bake Off, I did get 1st prize in the Natural Selection Foods Jubilee Baking Competition! 

Strawberry and Champagne Jam

Ideally the jam should be made at least a day in advance so that it has time to set, however to save time it can be made in advance. The jam will keep in the fridge for 6-8 weeks (if it lasts that long!)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Makes two medium sized jars (around 400g)

Ingredients:
300g fresh British strawberries
250g jam-making sugar (sugar with added pectin)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
100ml pink champagne
1 tsp lemon juice

1. Place a heavy-based saucepan on the hob on the lowest heat. Wash, hull and chop the strawberries into small pieces, then add these to the pan with the sugar, butter and champagne. Gently stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, then leave the jam to cook on the lowest heat for a while, stirring regularly.
2. Meanwhile, place a saucer into the freezer to use later when it come to test whether or not the jam will set.
3. Once the jam begins to bubble and simmer, add the lemon juice. The liquid should have reduced and thickened slightly. After around 45 minutes, test the jam for set by taking your saucer from the freezer and dropping a teaspoon of jam onto it. After 30 seconds on the saucer the jam should be set - if not add a little more lemon juice and cook for a little longer.
4. Once the jam is ready, remove from heat and pour into sterilised jars. Leave to cool completely before placing in the fridge to set overnight. Removed from the fridge 30 minutes before serving to allow the jam to return to room temperature.

Champagne Victoria Sponge

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30-35 minutes

Makes 18 slices

Ingredients:

600g margarine

600g caster sugar

6 large free range eggs

50ml milk

A few drops of natural vanilla extract

600g self raising flour

1tsp baking powder

For the filling:

250g unsalted butter

500g icing sugar

1 tbsp milk

A few drops of champagne flavouring (to taste)

4-5 tbsp strawberry and champagne jam

Extra icing sugar for dusting.

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 / 190 Degrees, and grease and line two 9" springform cake tins
2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. In a small bowl or jug, beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract and put to one side. Sift the flour, almonds and baking powder together into another bowl. Beat a third of the wet mixture into the butter and sugar, then fold in a third of the dry mixture. Continue in the order until all of the ingredients have combined to form a smooth batter. 
3. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake-tins and level with the back of a spoon. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Whilst the cakes are cooling, prepare the butter cream. Beat the butter, icing sugar and milk together until smooth and creamy, then add a little champagne flavouring at a time until you reach your desired taste. Put the butter cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star shaped nozzle, and place in the fridge until ready to use.
5. Once the cakes have completely cooled, assemble the sponge. Place one of the sponge layers onto a serving plate, and spread the jam over this. Pipe the butter cream on top of the jam in swirls, and then place the second sponge gently on top of this. Dust the cake with icing sugar to finish.

Happy Thoughts
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Spiced Tomato and Caramelised Onion Chutney

OK, so strictly speaking this isn't a cake, bake or dessert... but have you even known me to be particularly strict? Back in October 2012 I was visiting my parents, and as it was a nice day we decided to go have a look around some farm shops in Derbyshire. In one of these farm shops, we found a selection of THE most delicious chutneys I have ever tasted - my favourite being the Spicy Tomato and Caramelised Onion Chutney. Yum, yum, yum.

Anyway, the chutney soon ran into short supply, and we couldn't very well go all the way back to the farm shop in Derbyshire for some more, and since preserving was my "new thing to learn" in 2012, I decided to have a go at making my own based on the ingredients on the back of the jar of chutney.

I've got to be honest, it's not as easy as I thought it would be, especially when it came to working out the quantities (tomatoes, 44%...). I was also unable to get hold of all of the ingredients on the back of the jar, so some get left out, and I added in a few of my own! The tomato skins presented somewhat of a problem - I wasn't sure whether to peel the tomatoes first, or whether to leave the skins on. I decided to leave the skins on, as peeling 750g of small tomatoes really didn't appeal to me. What I found happened was that the skins floated off the tomatoes as they cooked, so I was able to fish most of the skins out. I maintain that fishing out the tomato skins is easier and less time consuming than peeling them beforehand, but if I ever find a more suitable method, I'll update this post!

Ingredients:
2 medium onions
1tbsp butter
2tbsp light brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
250g on-the-vine cherry tomatatoes
500g baby plum tomatoes
350g distilled malt vinegar
250g preserving sugar
2tbsp tomato puree
6 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves


Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Makes 4 medium jars (approx 275g per jar)

1. Slice the onions into very thin strips. 
2. In a large, heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter and sugar on a low heat. Add the onions and stir to coat. Fry for 5 minutes until the onions are tender and starting to brown.
3. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic. When the onion is brown, add the garlic, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds to the pan and stir fry for 1-2 minutes to release the fragrance of the spices.
4. Halve the tomatoes and add these to the pan along with the vinegar and the sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. 
5. Stir in the tomato puree, cardamom pods and bay leaves, then allow the mixture to come slowly to a steady simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the chutney catching on the bottom. I always find with preserving it's better to cook your jam or chutney on a low heat for a longer amount of time than to cook it on a high heat for a short amount of time - it's probably just a preference, but it works for me!
6. After 30 minutes, CAREFULLY remove any straggly tomato skins from the chutney with a pair of tongs. Stir the mixture well and then allow to simmer for a further 15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, sterilise your jars and lids by first washing them in warm soapy water, then rinsing them with hot water, and then baking them in a warm oven until all of the water has completely dried.
8. The chutney is ready to jar when the mixture has thickened and most of the tomatoes have dissolved (don't worry if you still have a few tomato lumps - it adds texture!) Fish the cardamom and bay leaves out of your chutney, then carefully spoon the chutney into the sterilised jars. Put the lids on the jars tightly, then put to one side to cool. Once cool, store in the fridge for at least a week before eating to allow the flavours to infuse. Once opened, eat within 3 months.

Happy Thoughts
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Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Sweet Red Onion Relish

This is the recipe for the Sweet Red Onion Relish I served with my Flowerpot Bread at the March 2012 Cake'n'Bake Club meeting. I know this isn't a baking recipe, nor does it have anything to do with flowers (which was the theme for March 2012) but I really wanted to have a go at baking bread that month, and didn't relish the thought of serving plain bread. I'd also decided that I'd quite like to have a go at jam-making/preserving in 2012, so the most sensible solution seemed to be to make some sort of savoury jam to serve with my Flowerpot Bread.

I scoured the net and read various recipes, and then decided to attempt my own sticky-sweet onion relish, based on the knowledge gained in my research. One thing that did stick out was that most of the recipes I found said to leave the relish sealed in a cool dark place for 1 month to mature before serving. I only had 10 days to allow mine to mature... but it tasted yummy all the same. (To be honest, I'd have happily started eating it as soon as it was ready!)

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 75-90 minutes
Makes around 650g relish (3 and a bit medium jars)

You will also need 4 medium sized jars

Ingredients:
1kg red onions
3tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of salt
Pick of black pepper
75g golden brown granulated Sugar
75g soft light brown Sugar
186ml red wine (one of the mini/one person bottles available in supermarkets)
30ml balsamic vinegar
30ml red wine vinegar

1. Peel, halve and finely chop the onions. Place them in a large saucepan with the onions over a low heat. It's important to keep the temperature low so that the onions go soft and gooey, rather than brown and crispy. Heat the onions for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them from burning.
2. After 15 minutes, add the salt, pepper and both kinds of sugar to the pan and stir until all the sugar has melted. Cook for another 15 minutes, maintaining the low heat.
3. Once the onions are soft, translucent and sticky, stir in the red wine and both vinegars. Increase the heat slightly and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally for 45-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced.
4. Whilst the relish is simmering, sterilise your jars. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, and place a wire rack on the middle shelf. Wash the jars and lids in warm soapy water, then rinse under the hot tap. Place upside down (lids too!) on the wire wrack in the oven to dry whilst your relish cooks. 
5. Once your relish is ready, remove the jars from the oven being careful not to touch the inside of the jar/lid. Carefully spoon the relish into the jars and place some greaseproof paper over the top. Place the lid on whilst still hot and make sure to seal the jar tightly. Once cooled, leave the relish to mature in a cool dry place until you need it.
6. Serve with Flower-pot bread and lots of cheese! Yum yum yum!

Happy Thoughts
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Cranberry Jam

I've never made cranberry sauce or cranberry jam or cranberry jelly before, but I decided to make home-made Christmas hampers for my friends and family this year and thought that some sort of cranberry preserve deserved to be included. I'm calling it a cranberry jam, as it has a thick, jam-like consistency.

I used the recipe on the punnet of cranberry, with the addition of a couple of tangerines to make it even more Christmassy!

Ingredients:
2 tangerines
100 ml water
100g sugar with added pectin
350g fresh cranberries

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Makes 2 medium (200gish) jars

1. Grate the zest of the tangerines into a saucepan, and then squeeze in the juice. Add the water and the sugar and turn on the heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Add the cranberries to the pan and allow the jam to simmer for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the jam from catching on the bottom. 
3. Meanwhile, sterilise the jars and lids by washing them in warm soapy water, rinsing in hot water and then baking on a low heat until completely dry.
4. After 30 minutes, the jam should have reduced to a nice, thick mixture. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
5. Carefully remove the jars from the oven, and spoon the cranberry jam into them - it's really important to be careful here as both the jar and the jam will be very, very hot! Place the lids on the jars and leave to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge.
6. Keep refrigerated and consume within 6 weeks.

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I Smell Of Strawberries

Well, it's been a little quiet around Princess and the Cake HQ of late, so I thought I'd do a little bit of explaining. You see, when we first started the Disney Pixar collection, we were working under the presumption that Brave would be released on June 22nd, and so our plan was to squeeze in all of the Disney Pixar films before then, and have a trip to the cinema to see Brave as our big finale. So June came along and we found ourselves with only three films remaining in the collection: Up, Toy Story 3 and Cars 2. It became a little tricky to schedule them in around everyone's holidays, but we found that if we did all three withing a 10 day period we could squeeze them in before going to see Brave - how exciting! 

However, we then found out that whilst Brave was being released on the 22nd June pretty much everywhere else in the world, we in the UK would have to wait until the 17th August. Whilst this is a little bit annoying - we want to see Brave!! - it left us with MUCH more time for the final three films, so we spread them out a bit. Hence the lack of posts recently!

Anyways, I'll post the recipe and photos for Up as soon as I can, and I'm baking Toy Story 3 as we speak, but by way of apology for getting a bit slack, here's a little teaser recipe to tide you over - the strawberry jam I'm using in my Toy Story 3 cupcakes.

The BEST Home-made Strawberry Jam

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 45 - 60 mins
Make a large (approx. 450g) jar

Ingredients:
350g strawberries (British are best!)
400g Jam Sugar (sugar with added pectin)
75ml cold water

1. Wash and hull the strawberries, then tip them into a blender. Pulse until a mostly smooth puree has formed, then pour this into a large, heavy-based saucepan.
2. Add the sugar and water to the saucepan, then put onto a very low heat. Stir until all of the sugar has dissolved, then leave on the low heat until the jam reaches rolling simmer. (It's a good idea now to place a saucer into the freezer to use to test the set later on!) Allow the jam to simmer away, stirring occasionally, until the jam starts to thicken (about 45 minutes). I find that slow and steady wins the race with jam - yes, you could turn up the heat and reach a rolling simmer much faster, but you risk burning the strawberries and in my experience, the jam just doesn't taste as good.
3. After 45 minutes, remove your testing saucer from the freezer, and pour a teaspoon of jam onto it. After 30 seconds your jam should be set - if so, pour the hot jam into a sterilised jar and leave to cool before placing in the fridge to set completely. If the jam isn't quite set yet, leave it to simmer for a little longer, and test again in 5 minute intervals.

All done!

Next time I'll post the photos and recipe for the candyfloss-flavoured cupcakes I made for Up, but until then,

Happy Thoughts
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