I have set up a page on Facebook where I will be showcasing all of my recipes, focusing in particular on cakes and macarons.
I have loads of exciting upcoming projects and experiments in mind so search for Baked By Sarah
Thank you 🙂
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Strawberry Macarons (Macaroon)
It’s been a while since i’ve made some macarons as I have been practicing for some upcoming weddings cakes.
However, I still really want to experiment with new colours and flavours and those who have made macarons will know that as they are so temperamental it’s really important to make them frequently to become good at them.
Im finding that one of the biggest challenges at the moment is adding colour as this affects the consistency of the batter and the cooking time quite dramatically so you have to keep an eye on them as I am finding that the time can vary from anywhere between 12 minutes and 18 minutes.
I kept these ones quite simple by using red food colouring to achieve the pink colour. This meant that I didn’t have to add too much colouring.
I then filled them with strawberry jam instead of a buttercream for a bit of variation.
Coconut and Raspberry Cupcakes
I made these cakes as a Mother’s Day treat as my mum loves coconut and these are a bit different from your regular cupcake. They also combine two of my favourites techniques – a flavoured centre filling and rose piped icing.
These involve a few more ingredients that your regular cupcake as I added raspberries into the batter so it’s important to ensure that the consistency of the batter is maintained to create a fluffy, light sponge.
With summer only around the corner it’s nice to incorporate nice fresh raspberries into the recipe. I am going to start experimenting with other varieties of fruit in upcoming recipes.
Ingredients
115g Golden Caster Sugar
115g Unsalted Butter
110g Self Raising Flour
15g Cornflour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 large Eggs (free-range or organic)
125g Crushed Fresh Raspberries
Raspberry Jam
Icing
115g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
60ml coconut Milk
1tsp Vanilla Extract
500g Icing Sugar (sifted)
Food Colouring of your choice
Desiccated Coconut
Method
This method is really simple, the key with this recipe is using the correct measurement of ingredients and gradually combining the ingredients to prevent curdling.
1. Using a hand whisk cream the butter and sugar together
2. Add the eggs one by one and continue to whisk, adding a small measure of the flour each time to prevent the mixture from curdling
3. Sift all of the remaining ingredients together and add to the mixture, whisking thoroughly
4. Fold in the crushed raspberries
5. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, line a muffin tray with muffin cases and fill roughly 3/4 of the way
6. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean
7. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the baking tray before turning out on to a wire rack to cool fully
8. In the meantime, prepare the icing
9. Beat together the butter, coconut milk, vanilla essence and half of the icing sugar
10. Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar and food colouring of your choice – I chose a few drops of bright pink gel
11. Cut out the centre of the cooled cupcakes and spoon in a small amount of raspberry jam
12. Pipe the icing sugar on top of the cake
13. Finish off by decorating with some raspberries and a sprinkle of the desiccated coconut 🙂
Simple Layered Cake
I’m making my friend’s wedding cake for her in a couple of months’ time. This is the first (of many I hope) that I have aver made and am hoping that this is something which I can become really good at.
As I have never made one before I thought it was about time I started practising.
To begin with I decided to keep it simple so I started with an easy vanilla sponge which is a fool proof recipe for any type of cupcake or sponge. I made 2 separate cakes in a round cake tin and layered them on top of each other using vanilla buttercream and raspberry jam.
This is also the first time I have attempted to do both a crumb coat and a full cake covering with rolled out icing.
I really want to master this and feel confident as I will probably fall in to panic mode in the run up to the wedding!
Ingredients
These are the ingredients for one sponge cake as I made one at a time (I only had one round cake tin) so you will want to double these measurements up so you can make 2!
Sponge
125g Caster Sugar
125g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
2 Medium Eggs whisked
125g Self Raising Flour (sifted)
2tbsp Semi Skimmed Milk
1tsp Vanilla Essence
Buttercream
250g Icing Sugar (sifted)
55g Unsalted Butter
30ml Semi Skimmed Milk
1tsp Vanilla Essence
Additional
1tbsp Raspberry Jam
Ready to Roll Icing
Method
1. To make the sponge whisk together the caster sugar and the butter until creamy
2. Slowly whisk in the eggs, adding a spoonful of the flour to prevent the mixture from curdling
3. Fold in the remaining flour with a metal spoon and then mix in the milk and vanilla extract
4. Line an 8 inch round tin with greaseproof baking paper. Add the mixture and pop into a preheated oven of 180 degrees (fan) for 18/20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean
5. Let the cake cool before sliding off onto a wire rack to cool further
6. Repeat this process so you have 2 cakes
7. To make the buttercream, whisk together the sifted icing sugar and butter and then slowly add the milk and vanilla extract
8. Even out the top of each of the cakes by thinly slicing off a thin layer with a sharp knife
9. On top of the one cake used a pallet knife to smooth over a thin layer of the buttercream and then smooth the jam on top of the buttercream
10. Balance the other cake on top ensuring that they are even
11. Apply a crumb coat to the entire cake and then refrigerate for around 30 minutes
12. Roll out the icing and use your rolling pin to apply the icing to the cake
13. Smooth down the edges and cut off any excess icing with a sharp knife
14. Garnish with some sliced strawberries
bakedbysarah 