baking powder
1 Grease the pan or bowl and place a disc of greaseproof paper in the base.
2 Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
3 Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
4 Sift the flour and baking powder together and stir in.
5 Scrape into the prepared pan and bake on full for four minutes.
6 Let stand for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the pan edges to turn the cake out.
Microwave Chocolate sponge Cake
½ cup (120 g) butter
½ cup (120 g) superfine (caster) sugar
2 large eggs
⅔ cup (90 g) self-rising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 Follow steps 1-3 as above leaving out the vanilla extract.
2 Sieve and sift the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder together into the mixture and gently stir in. Then follow steps 5 and 6 as above.
stock syrup
If your sponge cake is not going to be eaten as quickly as you’d like, you can add a little stock syrup to the sponge to ensure it stays nice and moist. It’s made of sugar dissolved in water and is dabbed onto the cake sponge before frosting.
1 Place ½ cup (100 g) of superfine (caster) sugar and ⅔ cup (150ml) of water into a saucepan and stir together.
2 Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
3 Alternatively, place the ingredients into a heatproof bowl and microwave for a couple of minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
4 Allow the mixture to cool before using. It will keep in a container in the fridge for up to a week.
How to use stock syrup
When you are ready to ice your cake, slice the cake horizontally into layers as normal. Before applying the buttercream, lightly dab some stock syrup over the top of each slice using a soft pastry brush. Do not saturate the sponge or you’ll end up with trifle. Then spread buttercream over the layers and assemble your cake as normal.
Melting Chocolate
It’s easy to melt chocolate, the secret is not to get any water into it or it will turn gritty. so if you are washing up a bowl prior to using it, make sure you dry it really well.
In the Microwave
Break the chocolate into squares and place in a heatproof non-metallic bowl. Place the bowl into the microwave and heat on full power for about a minute. Give it a stir and repeat in 30-second bursts until the chocolate has melted.
On the Stove top
Break the chocolate into squares and place in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl on top of a saucepan of gently simmering water. The base of the bowl should not be touching the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted.
CHOCOLATE CAKE POPS
This is a delicious way of using up the bits of cake you’re left with when you slice the top off a cake to level it or a bit of cake that is perhaps just a little bit past its best. In fact, they are so scrumptious and easy that you may find yourself baking a cake just to destroy it to make a large batch!
1 You can use a combination of any type of chocolate—milk, semi-sweet (plain), or white and any type of cake—Madeira, chocolate, or fruit.
2 Crumble the cake in a bowl into and weigh it. Use about 1 ounce (30 g) of chocolate to every 1 ounce (30 g) of cake crumb. Then weigh out the same amount of chocolate. So if you have 4 ounces (120 g) of crumbs you need 4 ounces (120 g) of chocolate.
3 Melt the chocolate and stir in the cake crumbs. Allow it to cool slightly then roll it into little ball shapes. Stand them on baking sheets and poke a lollipop stick into the top of each one. Refrigerate for about an hour to help the chocolate set or place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
4 Now, if you sample one at this point you will discover immediately that they taste delicious plain (Madeira cake with white chocolate is my own personal favorite) but you can also decorate them with melted chocolate, sprinkles, or anything else that takes your fancy. The ones shown here were dipped in a mixture of milk and white chocolate.
CHOCOLATE CRISPY MIXTURE
This is just the easiest tea time treat to put together and the recipe I always turn to when one of the children mentions at bedtime that “Oh I forgot to tell you, school’s having a cake sale tomorrow.” Simply melt some chocolate, stir in some cereal and that’s it. You can then spoon it into cup-cake cases or as done with the Thanksgiving Turkey Cupcake on page 55 create a massive chocolate crispy dome which caused unbelievable excitement amongst those under five foot in the Deacon kitchen!
You will need approximately 3 ounces (90 g) of cereal to every 7 ounces (200 g) of chocolate. If you are making small chocolate crispy cupcakes you could also add some mini marshmallows, chocolate beans or anything else that takes your fancy. Even a handful of dried raisins will add an interesting twist.
COOKIES
Cookies are an easy way to provide three-dimensional support for decorations such as the flowers and hearts on the Summer Holiday Flowers (page 52) and Valentine Heart cakes (page 48). I have used a very basic cookie dough mix but don’t let that fool you—there’s nothing basic about the taste— they’re really quite wonderful just on their own.
9/10 cup (200 g) superfine sugar (caster)
9/10 cup (200 g) butter (softened)
½ teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 medium egg (beaten)
31/5 cups (400 g) all purpose flour (plain)
Additional flour or confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar) for rolling out the dough on
1 Beat the sugar, butter, and vanilla together.
2 Slowly add the egg, beating it in as you go.
3 Add the flour and knead the mixture into a dough.
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