Chocolate Mud Cake ( stacking)

Shams Dark Choc Mud Cake
225g dark lindt or callebaut chocolate(break into pieces)
300ml water
1tsp coffee
340g butter
250g sugar
300g cake flour
50g cocoa(nomu)
1 1/2 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
4 eggs(free range)
1 tsp vanilla extract(vanilla man ,alcohol free)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius and fan forced 140degrees celcius.In a saucepan add first 5ingredients together stir over medium heat until butter and chocolate melts and sugar dissolves.

Leave aside for 15 minutes to cool.

Sift the dry ingredients.
Whisk in sifted dry ingredients into chocolate mixture a little at a time .
Lastly whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Cooking time for cakes +- 1 hour(depends on oven.)Cupcakes 15-25mins.Cool cake in pan.Do not try and rush the cooling process of this cake - best to leave in tin overnight and then turn out (to avoid cracking!)It is moist and dense and keeps really well.It gives you a week to torte, ganache, fondant and decorate and it .It taste best from the second day .For milk choc mud cake reduce sugar by 50g.

Shams Dark ChocolateGanache
600g dark chocolate(lindt or callebaut,broken into pieces )
250ml must be double thick cream( WOOLWORTHS AYRSHIRE DOUBLE THICK CREAM)
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat and when it begins to bubble on the sides remove from heat.Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate . Stir with a whisk until smooth.Then transfer to a glass bowl and leave it aside to cool.Pipe swirls once it has thicken or ganache your cake.

Vanilla Butter Cake

 This recipe is so delicious!! It holds up perfectly under fondant yet is moist. I quadrupled it, and it made 1 10 by 3 in round and 1 8 by 3 in round. The texture is between a pound cake and a fluffy cake. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup butter 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup milk

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 8 inch square baking pan. Line bottom with wax paper or dust lightly with flour. 2.Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. 3.Cream the butter and blend in the white sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Stir until just blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. 4.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pan and allow it to cool. 5.Variation: Blueberry Cake; Add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg to your dry ingredients and stir in 1 cup fresh blueberries into the batter before you bake it. Cut it into squares while it is still hot.

Triple Chocolate Layer Cake

Triple Chocolate Layer Cake

A double layer homemade devil's food chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting and chocolate chips on top. Serves 12. Cake stays fresh, moist, and soft at room temperature (covered) for up to 4 days. Cake may be refrigerated (covered) for up to 7 days.

Ingredients

Devil's Food Chocolate Layer Cake
• 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 and 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch processed)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk*
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola oil, or melted coconut oil)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed strong hot coffee
Milk Chocolate Frosting
• 1.25 cups (2.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3-5 Tablespoons heavy cream (or half-and-half)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 15 oz (1.5 bags) chocolate chips, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Butter & flour two 9 inch round cake pans, or use non-stick spray.
2. For the cake: Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
3. Using a handheld or stand mixer, combine the buttermilk, oil, room temperature eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low. Add the coffee. The batter will be VERY thin. This is ok.
4. Pour the batter into prepared baking pans and bake for 23-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. My cakes took exactly 24 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.
5. For the frosting: Cream the butter with a hand mixer on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. This will create a nice creamy base for the frosting. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and 3/4 cup of cocoa powder. Mix on low. Add 3 Tablespoons of heavy cream and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. If your frosting is too thin, add up to 1 more cup of powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thick, add up to 2 more Tablespoons of heavy cream. Add at least 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Taste the frosting and add more salt if the frosting is too sweet. Add more cocoa powder if the frosting is not chocolate-y enough. Frosting recipe is forgiving. Add more/less of each ingredient to obtain the consistency and taste you desire.
6. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with chocolate chips or as desired.

Notes

*Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You may make your own buttermilk at home by measuring 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring glass. Add enough milk (1%, 2%, or whole) in the same measuring glass to reach 1 cup. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in your recipe.

*Cake will not set up properly if using cold eggs. Please see note in the text of the post for a shortcut to bring eggs to room temperature.

Cake adapted from Ina GartenFrosting by sallysbakingaddiction.com

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Natural Red Velvet Cupcakes

Natural Red Velvet Cupcakes

Prep Time: 1 hour

Yield: 24 mini cupcakes + 3 regular sized cupcakes, or 12-14 regular sized cupcakes.

Ingredients

• - 3/4 cup freshly puréed beets (boiled until tender, then puréed)
• - 1/3 cup oil (I used coconut)
• - 1 1/4 cup sugar
• - 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• - 1 1/4 cup flour
• - 1/4 tsp salt
• - 1 1/2 tbsp natural cocoa powder (NOT dutch processed)
• - 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• - 1 cup almond milk (or other milk alternative)
• - CREAM CHEESE ICING
• - 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• - 1 block cream cheese (250g) - use vegan cream cheese to keep vegan
• - 1 to 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• - a splash of vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Mix the beet purée and oil until incorporated.
2. Add sugar, vanilla extract.
3. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk until incorporated into the batter.
5. Divide among cupcake liners, filling them 3/4 full, and bake for 15-20 minutes (for mini cupcakes) and 20-25 minutes (for regular sized cupcakes) until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when poked in the middle.
6. To make the cream cheese icing, whip together all ingredients (add the icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it reaches your desired consistency)
7. Pipe onto cupcakes as desired. The beetroot may discolour the frosting if left for too long, so if you are piping this ahead of time, do not do so more than 24 hours ahead of time.
8. Keep the cupcakes in the fridge and let sit at room temp at least 30 minutes before serving.

chocolate cupcake

24-28 cupcake liners

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 2/3 cups sugar(or use 2 cups as per original)

3/4 cup good cocoa powder(I used Hershey's DARK)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup extra light olive oil

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Additional:

Frosting or ganache glaze...sprinkles, etc..

Directions:

1. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.

2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt....use a whisk to do this as it helps to sift the ingredients evenly.

3. In another bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined.

4. With a mixer, on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients(step 3) to the dry ingredients(step 2). until combined.

5. With mixer on low, stir in the boiling water just until combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl so that everything is combined... but don't over mix. (the batter will be a bit thin, don't worry, this is right).

6. Fill liners 1/2 - 2/3 full with batter. ( It is easier to put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.)

7. Bake cupcakes for approximately 20-24 minutes....or until toothpick comes out clean. Check at 20 minutes... just to be sure... as it depends on your oven and how much you've filled your cupcake liners. Try not to overbake, as the cupcakes can get to be too dry....and don't under-bake as the cupcakes can fall in the middle.

8. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting....or freeze cupcakes unfrosted and defrost later.

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Milk Chocolate Ganche Recipe

May 30th, 2011 admin

This milk chocolate ganche recipe can be quite rich but if you chill it and whip it up it should become a lot lighter which I personally prefer to when the icing is just chilled and piped or drizzled on. Also this recipe is quite versatile so it can be used to ice/fill cake, cupcakes, it be fill macaroons and well whatever you want it to go on really it is simply delicious. Sorry I don’t have a picture for this post but I forgot to take one but I should be doing another post soon showing this ganache 3 ways. Also ganache cane be done many ways but I think this is the best way.
So here is the recipe for the chocolate ganche-
Recipe to ice 12 cupcake or fill and cover a 8″ cake-

• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream

Have a hob witha pan of simmering water and heatproof bowl ready-

1. Place the chocolate into a medium bowl.
2. Heat the cream in the heatproof bowl over simmering water.
3. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot.
4. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
5. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the centre of the cake and work outward. Or for a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, and then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy. Another option is letting cool for a long time them piping it for a very rich icing.

For a richer darker icing use dark chocolate instead of milk. I like this but I only used milk to use up some of my easter eggs! I got loads of them!

Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting

Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 4 to 5 cups (enough for one 9-inch-round three-layer cake or 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients
      . egg whites (large), 5

• extra-fine granulated sugar, 10 ounces (1¼ cups) separated into 1 cup, 1/4 cup
• cold water, ¼ cup
• unsalted butter 453.5 g (at room temperature), 1 pound (4 sticks) ( make sure not too soft but out of fridge for 35-45 min)

Directions

1. Set out the ingredients and equipment.
Separate the egg whites into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment.
Measure 1 cup sugar and the water into a 1-quart, heavy- bottomed saucepan. Gently stir to combine (I use the candy thermometer for this).
Measure the remaining ¼ cup sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
Cut the butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and set aside in a medium bowl.
2. To make the sugar syrup, place the candy thermometer in the saucepan and heat the mixture over medium-high heat. Partially cover with a lid to capture the evaporating water—this helps to moisten the sides of the saucepan to prevent sugar crystals from forming.
3. With the mixer on high speed, begin whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. When the peaks are stiff, you have a meringue.
4. Keep the mixer running and pour the ¼ cup of sugar into the meringue, and keep whipping
5. Raise the heat under the sugar syrup to bring the syrup to 245°F, if it is not there already. When the syrup is at 245°F, remove the thermometer and slowly pour the syrup into the meringue.
6. After 1 to 2 minutes reduce the mixer speed to medium-high for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the meringue is cooled. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the butter is fully incorporated.


Flavor Variations:
The following flavorings can be added to the base recipe for Italian Meringue Buttercream:
Vanilla: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate: 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Rum: 2 to 4 tablespoons (to taste) dark rum
Amaretto: 2 to 4 tablespoons (to taste) amaretto
Raspberry: 1/4 to 1/2 cup raspberry puree ( same with strawberry)
Lemon: 2 tablespoons limoncello
Orange: 1 teaspoon orange oil
Lime: 1 teaspoon lime oil

Notes

EQUIPMENT: standing mixer, 1-quart heavy-bottom saucepan, candy thermometer


My notes : if the mixture gets soupy once the butter is added thats NORMAL. Just keep that whip going on HIGH and it will come together. I promise. I have had troubles with Swiss Meringue Buttercream having it never come together but this I promise you it will. You will hear a change in the sound once it comes together

Also leave at room temp IF you are using the same day. Otherwise put in an airtight container and pop in fridge until ready to use. Thaw at room temp for 30-40 min and whip again for 5 min on LOW speed.
This frosting tastes best at room temp. Its creamy, buttery and not overly sweet like some powdered sugar based frostings can be. But straight out of the fridge it tastes well more like butter. Hey some of you might not have the patience to wait the 30 min for frosting taste perfection. I know I haven't been able to before.

Also this makes A LOT of frosting enough to pipe giant 1M swirls on cupcakes with some leftover. I would say its enough for 40 cupcakes not

vanilla custard

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split, or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place an oven rack one-third of the way up from the bottom. Choose a small roasting pan large enough to hold four 6-ounce custard cups, and fill it with enough water to go halfway up the sides of cups. Place pan without cups in the oven. Meanwhile, combine cream, milk, and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan; bring to boil.
   
2. Whisk together the yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the hot milk until completely combined, then pour into custard cups, and place them in the pan of hot water. Bake on the lower shelf until the custard has set and is no longer liquid when lightly touched in the center, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, remove custard cups from the water, and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled.