Dobos Torte - Daring Bakers August '09!

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonfulof Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular DobosTorte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

When I saw this month's challenge I took a deep breath and gulped. It sure looked challenging, and I had never attempted a cake this ambitious before.

And what a challenge it was! I've been a fan of Lorraine's blog for a while now, and I would expect nothing less than such a exciting choice!

This cake is spectacular. With a recipe handed down since 1906 in Hungary, I thought there was hardly room for 'improvement'! I was originally planning a variation (along the lines of coffee or mocha buttercream), but given I'd not attempted anything like this before, I wanted do the recipe justice, and leave as is (though I'm looking forward to other DB's variations!).

This spectacular torte (which the photos do no justice at all) is not tricky; just a bit time consuming, but it more than pays off on completion. Everyone keeps talking about the texture of this cake: it is light as a cloud, belying the amount of butter involved! The torte almost seems like a mousse cake with the light, airy buttercream, and honestly cannot rave about it enough. Everyone who tried this cake LOVED it!

Thanks Angela and Lorraine for a spectacular challenge!

Dobos Torte

INGREDIENTS:

Sponge cake layers

- 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g
cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
- pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream

- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) caster sugar
- 4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Caramel topping

- 1 cup (200g) caster sugar
- 12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
- 8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

Finishing touches

- 12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
- 1/2 cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions for the sponge layers:

(You can prepare the sponge layers the night before in advance and stored interleaved with parchment [baking paper] and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.)

1.Position your oven racks in the top 2/3 of the oven, and preheat your oven to 200C.

2.Cut six pieces of baking paper to fit baking sheets/tray. Use the bottom of a 9″ (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, and trace a circle on each of the papers. Turn the parchment upside down so the marker doesn’t come into contact with the sponge.

3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner’s (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes.

4. In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner’s (icing) sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5.Line one of the baking sheets with the prepared circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. I added an additional sheet of baking paper over the top and smoothed to ensure I had flat layers (I’m not going into as much detail, here, but thanks, Audax, for this tip!)

6. Place the tray in the oven, and bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this layer is baking, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8″ springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated, sharp, knife is best for this task.)

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

You can prepare the buttercream in advance and kept chilled until required – it will last a few of days.

1. Prepare a double-boiler – a small saucepan of water, with a medium sized bowl that fits snugly over the top. Quarter fill the saucepan with water and bring to a simmer.

2. Add the egg and sugar to the bowl, and whisk until thick and pale, this will take a few minutes. A hand beater will make this much easier!

3. Place the bowl with the egg and sugar mixture over the saucepan, and continue to beat until you see the mixture start to thicken further, for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate, and continue to whisk over heat for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

4. Once cooled, beat in the butter a couple of tablespoons at a time, until it is all incorporated. You will be left with a thick, rich buttercream. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Select the best-looking sponge layer – this will become the caramel top.

2. Line a jellyroll pan with baking paper and butter the paper (this will stop the toffee sticking). Place the reserved cake layer on the paper, and cut the cake into 12 equal wedges (I actually only cut mine into 8 – but 12 is much better. These wedges will really form the lines where you cut the cake, and it is RICH. One person seriously cannot eat a 1/8 slice of this cake!).

3.Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan and stir to dissolve. Bring to boil, and once the sugar crystals are dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high boil, and do not stir. Swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and wash down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush. Boil until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.

4. Make sure you have a oiled spatula ready for this – the toffee can set quickly. Pour your toffee over your cake layer. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), move the wedges of the cake apart and divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, Use the knife to move the excess toffee away from the covered wedges.

Angela’s note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8" silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.

Assembling the Dobos

1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.

2. On the tray/plate you will present the torte on, place your first sponge layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with the remaining cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.

3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.

4.Propping a hazelnut (and optionally, a small piped rosette buttercream) under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour (though they’re lovely straight out of the fridge!)

NOTES:

This cake kept very well for a few days refridgerated. It was as good on day 2 as the day it was made.

Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Buttercream

The first time I attempted macarons they broke me. There were literally tears. Tears, and a stack of leftover rosewater buttercream.

It was awhile before I felt ready to talk about it, but I think I'm there now. 2 batches of macarons that actually look like macarons later, and I'm feeling a lot better.

Oh, when I pulled these out of the oven I nearly fell over from shock. I called my mother in a daze, speechless. I could only manage "Macarons... ACTUAL macarons... WORKED".

Now, they were not perfect by any means, but they were macarons, and these sweet, dense, chewy pillows of almond meringue are well worth the HEARTACHE they had previously caused.

The actual process of making the macarons isn't overly complicated, they're just temperamental. I think a large part is knowing your oven. My oven runs cold, and whilst it seems like overkill, I had to cook my shells for an extra 10 minutes more than instructed before the innards of the macarons stopped being liquid (it once took me 2 hours more than prescribed to cook a cake!).

The below recipe is originally from the fabulous Queen of Macarons, Helen of Tartelette, and with further instruction from incredible Audax of Audax Artifax. The extra detail he goes into (in everything!) is unbelievable.

As far as I understand, you need a kitchen scale. These are temperamental at the best of times, and the recipe really is done by weight.

Chocolate Macarons

Makes: this should make about 20-25 sandwiched macarons, you just need to get the hang of piping them out consistently.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Macarons:

90g eggwhites, aged for 2 days (this is about 3 eggs) *
60g of castor (superfine) sugar
110g almond meal (ground almonds)
200g icing sugar
1/2 tspn cornflour (optional)
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

* if you don't want, or don't have time, to age the eggwhites 2 days, put them in your microwave on lo-mid setting, for about 15 seconds. Audax instructs that this simulates the aging effect. I did mine in two 10 second bursts on power setting 3.

For the Chocolate Buttercream:

This buttercream recipe has been adapted from a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

1 egg
50g white sugar
30g dark chocolate, finely chopped
65g unsalted butter, at room temperature
(I normally don’t worry too much about using salted butter, but you NEED unsalted for this. It does need to be soft – a knife should run through it with very little resistance.)

METHOD:

For the Macarons:

1. Line an upturned cookie sheet with baking paper/parchment. I've had great success using double stacked trays (2 cookies sheets stacked on top of each other). It allows the bottoms to cook slower, so you get a better result.

2. In a food processor, pulse the almond meal, icing sugar, cocoa powder and cornflour to combine, and get out any lumps. Put the mixture aside. If you don't have a food processor, you could sift the ingredients.

3. In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggwhites till they start to foam, and become bubbly. This doesn't mean till they start to turn white, just bubbly.

4. Gradually add in the castor sugar, beating constantly. Continue to beat until the meringue becomes thick and glossy. Stop beating as soon as the meringue reaches the point where you can upturn the bowl without the mixture falling out. I started beating in 10 second pulses and checking as it approached this point.

5. Add the almond mixture to the meringue, and fold to combine, using no more than 50 strokes. You can work quickly at first, and be a little less careful, to get rid of excess air, but you do not want to deflate the mixture.

Helen says to stop when the mixture "flows like lava", which I love! You are done when any peaks in the mixture flatten out in 30 seconds.

To test this, you can spoon a teaspoon of the mix onto a saucer, and watch. If not quite there, give a couple more strokes and yet again. It is better to have a few too few strokes than too many. Remember that you will be piping the mixture, which will lose a little more air.

6. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a plain tip, and, holding the bag about half an inch above the baking tray, pipe 1.5" (3cm) rounds onto the tray, about 1.5" apart.

7. Preheat the oven to 175C (conventional), and put the macarons aside for30-60 minutes to harden their shells (this is somewhat optional. As I understand, it will yield better results, but I have put mine straight in the oven with no problems whatsoever).

8. Turn the oven down to 160C and bake the macarons for 15 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool. To remove from the sheets, I gently peel back the paper. If you have difficulty, you can run some water under the sheet and quickly remove (so they do not go soggy).

For the Chocolate Buttercream:

1. Prepare a double-boiler – a small saucepan of water, with a medium sized bowl that fits snugly over the top. Quarter fill the saucepan with water and bring to a simmer.

2. Add the egg and sugar to the bowl, and whisk until thick and pale, this will take a few minutes. A hand beater will make this much easier!

3. Place the bowl with the egg and sugar mixture over the saucepan, and continue to beat until you see the mixture start to thicken further, for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate, and continue to whisk over heat for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

4. Once cooled, beat in the butter a couple of tablespoons at a time, until it is all incorporated. You will be left with a thick, rich buttercream. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

To assemble:

Either pipe, or spoon, a teaspoon of buttercream between two evenly shaped/sized macaron shells, and gently press together. And voila, macarons!

Choc-Mint Royals - Daring Bakers July 2009!

Choc-Mint Royals

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

There was a flash of light and a loud, crackling, electrical hum.

I have to admit, I freaked. I did somehow maintain the presence of mind to turn the oven off before I burst into tears and fled the kitchen.

It was terrifying. More so than the fire I started in the oven a few years back... though not so much the fire I started with the Christmas pudding 2 years ago. You hear of kitchen disasters: I AM a kitchen disaster. I will, however, maintain that this was not my fault. The oven committed suicide.

Seriously now: on the evening of Monday, the 29th of June, at approximately 9:00pm, I shut the door of my oven to bake pumpkin pies, and the element in the bottom of my oven started burning, sparking, and humming.

Combine that with starting a new job, and I've really not spent much time in the kitchen the last month! So it is with great excitement to begin with this month's Daring Bakers challenge!

Part way through, I wasn't sure about this recipe. Gelatine is foul smelling, and this stage of the recipe started to freak me out! However, after the smell was gone, and the biscuits we're finished, it was fine! They're lovely. So in the words of my lovely Mum: "WOW! Look at all that chocolatey goodness, smothering a crisp biscuit and soft, velvety marshmallow."

Choc-Mint Royals

INGREDIENTS:

For the biscuit base:

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams) unsalted butter (I cheated: I used salted butter, and didn't add the extra salt)
• 3 eggs, whisked together

For the marshmallows:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup, or glucose syrup
• 3/4 cup (168 g) white sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence

For the chocolate glaze:
• 340g semisweet chocolate
• 57g cocoa butter or vegetable oil
• 1/2 tspn peppermint essence

METHOD:

For the cookies:

1. in a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
2. Add the butter and mix until 'sandy' (I used a hand mixer).
3. Add the eggs and mix until combined.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. I actually found the dough was better the next day. The way the ingredients are combined means that you have undissolved sugar crystals in your batter. After an hour or more they can dissolve and you don't end up with weird textured biscuits.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 180C (375F), and line with baking paper.
6. Roll out the dough to 3mm thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using a 1 to 1.5 inch cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
7. Place the cookies on the prepared tray, and bake for 10 minutes, or until light, golden brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

For the marshmallow:

8. Add water, sugar, and strip to a saucepan and being to 235C' or 'soft-ball' stage.
9. Beat the eggwhites to soft peaks
10. Dissolve the gelatine in 2tbsp cold water, and stir into the syrup
11. Add the syrup mix to the eggwhites, and beat until stiff.

Assembly!
13. Pipe a "kiss" of marshmallow onto each cookie, and leave to set set at room temperature for 2 hours. If you can't be bothered with a piping bag, you can carefully soon it on, but you may not get the same shape and symmetry as you would otherwise. Having said that, I just spooned it on, as I was in a rush, so it's certainly not the end of the world!

For the chocolate glaze:
12. Melt the chocolate, oil, and peppermint essence in a bay Marie (a large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water - make sure the water is not touching the bottom of your bowl).

Back to asembly:
13.  Line a cookie sheet with baking paper. (I did this, then buy a rack over the top, but you do end up with unusually bottomed royals!
14. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze. Lift the pit with a fork, and allow the excess chocolate to run off. I found that running a knife or spoon across the bottom of the forked helped get the excess glaze from between the fork prongs. Axa your glaze supplies deplete, drop your biscuits into the bowl to cover the bottom, then spoon glaze over the top.
15. Place on the prepared tray and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

NOTES:

Nicole advises that if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping. You could possibly stick this in the microwave for say, 20 seconds to achieve the same effect. Downside may be soggy biscuit.

Rhubarb & Ginger Bakewell Tart... erm... Pudding

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

This tart has changed my life. Since I was introduced to this fruity, sweet, nutty, crumbly, sticky, SUMPTUOUS tart, I have gained 10 kilos. All within a month. My tastebuds are ALIVE, but my heart is going to give out any moment now.

So... that's not so much an exaggeration, as an outright lie: I have, so far, only made this tart once, but it was a delicious once, and my tastebuds have now officially sworn fealty to the Church of Bakewell.

Confession: I initially thought this tart would be a little dull and dry. Boy, was I wrong. By the powers of each individual element of this tart combined (yes, it's a loose referece to Captain Planet), we have a winner. The fruitiness of the jam and the moist, fluffy, frangipane are a match made in heaven.

So, as you now already know, the Bakewell Tart...erm... Pudding (pudding vs tart is the subject of great debate, I am lead to believe) was our Daring Bakers challenge for the month of June. Whilst the tart itself really had to remain the same, we were given the choice of any jam we wanted to use. I decided to use rhubarb and ginger jam, hence its appearance a couple of weeks ago on this very blog. The tartness of this jam breaks through the sweetness of the frangipane, balancing the flavours of this tart perfectly.

This is actually my first ever crack at a tart. Though essentially not too different from pies, they are, like, TOTALLY different, so it's a big thing for me! It was a fantastic one to cut my teeth on. Where once I wasn't sure, I now cannot recommend this classic British dessert highly enough.

Rhubarb & Ginger Bakewell Tart... erm... Pudding

INGREDIENTS:

Makes 6 10cm/4" tarts

- 1 Quantity of Rhubarb & Ginger Jam
- Handful flaked almonds

For the Pastry:
- 225g all purpose flour
- 110g butter
- 30g sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1-2 tbspn cold water
- 30g sugar
- 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) salt

For the Frangipane:
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 125g icing sugar
- 125g ground almonds
- 3 eggs
- 30g flour
- 1/2 tsp almond extract/essence

METHOD:

To make the pastry, grate the butter into a large bowl and add the flour. Working quickly, rub the butter into the flour using your finger tips. Once the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add in the sugar and egg yolks, and mix until the dough comes together. If the mixture is still not wet enough to form a cohesive pastry dough, add in the extra water, a tablespoon at a time. Aim to use as little water as possible. If you have the gadget, and can't be bothered (fair enough if you ask me!) you can make the pastry by pulsing the flour and butter together, the adding the other ingredients, and again, pulsing, until the dough comes together.

Trivia: I had a processor for 2 years before I was finally told it could 'rub' the butter in for me. Duh. It changed my LIFE (yes, I've been struck with a touch of the melodramas).

Flatten the pastry into a rough disc, wrap in cling wrap, and stick it in the fridge. You can now leave it for a day, or continue to on to the finished tart: choose your own adventure.

Ok, now for the frangipane. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Resist the urge to eat the mixture (don't give me that look, it's YUMMY and you know it). Add the eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mix will appear to curdle, but it's fine: we'll fix this in a moment. Now, add your flour, almond meal, and, if using, almond essence. Beat until combined, and stop. Voila! Your very own frangipane. Aren't you proud?

To assemble your tart, remove your pastry from the fridge, and divide into 6 even parts. On a floured surface roll each portion of the pastry out to 5mm (1/5")thick discs and line your tart tins. At this point, stick the tarts in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 200C (conventional).

Remove the tarts from the freezer and add 2-3 tbspn's of jam to the base of each tart and spread it out evenly. You can really add this to taste. If you want death-by-jam, go for it, just remember to leave room for the frangipane.

Jamming up the tart

On top of your jam, smooth on frangipane. I overfilled my tarts every time. It's only on a third attempt that I filled them correctly and got the photo above! Be aware: the frangipane melts and puffs up, creating a smooth domed surface. For this reason, make sure the frangipane doesn't come up over the edges of the tart when you're filling, or you will have spillage.

Filling it up with delicious frangipane

Bake your tarts for 25 minutes. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top of the tart, and bake for a further 5 minutes.

When ready, the tart will be a gorgeous golden brown. Eat hot or cold and enjoy!

Chopped so you can see the jammy yumminess

NOTES:

You can, of course, substitute the jam for any of your liking. I really liked the rhubarb as it's tart and stops the pudding from being oversweet.

Before I used the pastry for the tarts, I used some to make individual apple pies, and didn't like it. It just didn't do it for me, but, when used for the Bakewell Tart it was transformed into something TRANSCENDANT. 3 thumbs up :)

RELATED POSTS:

Rhubarb & Ginger Jam

Apricot Jam and Chocolate Cupcakes with Rosewater and Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Yup! Say that 5 times fast!

After a weekend of spectacularly failed macarons, I was left with containers full of delicious buttercream filling in my fridge. Lacking my planned home-cooked Mothers' Day presents, the humble cupcake came swiftly to the rescue.

I can't admit to ever having made s cupcake entirely based around icing before, but I thought chocolate brown would look pretty against the pale marshmallow colours of my buttercream. While mixing the cupcake batter I thought of some apricot preserve leftover in the fridge from Easter's hot-cross buns; I thought it might add a bit of interest.

This is a really light and moist cupcake recipe and, as they cook, the jam mixes in with cupcake batter, falling to the bottom of the patty-pans. You end up with delicious fluffy bites of cupcake with a nice hint of warm apricot to follow each mouthful.

Apricot Jam and Chocolate Cupcakes with rosewater and vanilla bean buttercream Icing

Makes 12

INGREDIENTS:

For the chocolate cupcakes:
- 125g self-raising flour
- 125g caster sugar
- 125g butter
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbspn orange juice
- 4 tbspn apricot jam
- 2 tbspn cocoa powder

For the buttercream icing:
(Adapted from the incredibly talented Tartalette)

- 1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- 140g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 tspn rosewater essence
- a few drops of red food colouring (it just depends on how coloured you want it)
- Innards (the seeds) of 1 vanilla bean

METHOD:

For the cupcakes :

1. Preheat oven to 180C (conventional), and line a cupcake tray with patty-pans
2. Combine the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl and beat (using electric beaters if you have them) until pale and creamy.
3. Add the eggs in, one at a time, beating until fully combined after each.
4. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, and add the orange juice; stir until fully combined and the batter is smooth.
5. Divide the mixture into the prepared cupcake tray holes.
6. Put about 1/2 tspn of jam onto the top of each cupcake (I used my finger to make a little well in each). You may find this easier if you microwave the jam for about 15 seconds, or heat it over the stove until it's at a honey-like consistency.
7. Bake your cupcakes for 15-20 minutes. They're done when puffed and the centres are springy to the (gentle) touch. If unsure, insert a skewer halfway in, and check it comes out with no wet cupcake batter (just remember the jam - it will still be wet)
8. Allow to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes (only so you don't burn your fingers like me!) and turn onto a rack to cool.

For the buttercream icing:

1. While cooling, you can make your icing! Place a mixing bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure your saucepan doesn't touch the water.
2. Place your egg whites and sugar in the bowl and whisk/beat until the it feels hot to the touch, and the mixture looks like what Tartalette describes as "marshmallow cream". This will take about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat
3. Using an electric mixer beat the mixture until you have a very thick, very sticky meringue that forms stiff peaks, and it has cooled. This will take about 5 minutes.
4. Add your butter, about a tbspn at a time, making sure it is fully combined after each addition. Continue to beat for 5-10 minutes until thick and smooth. Divide your mixture into halves.
5. To one half, add the food colouring and rosewater essence, and beat for a further minute to fully combine
6. To the remaining half, add the vanilla bean innards, or vanilla essence, and beat for a further minute to fully combine.
7. Once your cupcakes are cooled, you can ice them with the buttercream however you like. I piped mine on with a 1cm plain nozzle.

NOTES:

While I've used apricot preserve, there's no reason you couldn't use something else, or leave it out altogether.

Like all cupcakes, these are best eaten same day, but I find these tend to stay nice and moist for a couple of days. If they're getting towards the end of their lifespan, I microwave them for 10-15 seconds and they become nice and warm and soft.

I'd suggest icing these when you're ready to eat them. The buttercream really needs to be refridgerated, but that's not the best place for cupcakes.

If you're not going to use the buttercream immediately you can keep it in the fridge for about a week, or freeze for up to a month.

1 a Penny, 2 a Penny - Hot Cross Buns!

Oh dear, where has this year gone so far? The end of Christmas and the beginning of the new year has been full speed ahead and nothing less than a mad start for me! Well, somehow it's Easter already, and some seasonally appropriate baking seemed the way to go. Hot Cross Buns are the highlight of my husband's year; he adores them, and normal fruit bread just isn't quite the same. With this in mind I decided to make my first real attempt at the sweet fruity buns, and, much to my surprise I might add, they turned out splendidly. I used a recipe from Taste.com.au. While, yes, these were time consuming, they were very easy to make. And there is nothing quite like bread fresh from the oven! I substituted pre-packaged mixed peel with dried apricot, and used the fresh zest 1 lemon and 1 orange. Enjoy!

Fruit Mince

Hubby is a huge fruit mince pie fan, and rightly so! They are one of the first 'Christmasy' things that find their way into our pantry at this time of year, and get us excited about the coming festivities. In the past, we've always bought these from the supermarket. They're cheap enough, and in previous years it had always seemed like they would be such a chore to produce myself. But when I found a recipe for fruit mince a few weeks ago, I thought I had to give it a go! I don't know about you, but whenever I see recipes for fruit mince pies, the ingredient list goes something like this: "300gm quantity of fruit mince. Pre-made Shortcrust pastry", so I had no reason that could justify doing this when it's so close to just buying them from the store.

The fruit mince recipe is something like this. I've really adapted this to my tastes, so you don't need to be too strict. This isn't easy to mess up - you just don't want it too wet (or too dry, I imagine!).

- 200g Sultanas
- 200g Raisins
- 200g Currants
- 100g Dried Apricots
- 100g Dates
- 1/3 cup blanched almonds
- 2tspn mixed spice (I use 1 part cinnamon, 1 part nutmeg, 1 part allspice)
- 2/3 cup tightly packed brown sugar
- 1 grated granny smith/green cooking apple
- Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- Grated zest and juice of one lemon
- 1/3 cup brandy

NOTE: I've adjusted this recipe from what I had originally made (removed the requirement for butter)--it's so easy to make; you truly can't get it wrong!

1. Pulse the dried fruit in batches in a food processer. It will help get everything nice and fine. if you don't have one, chop the dry ingredients finely (paying special attention to the larger fruits and ingredients. I sometimes include my currants and sultanas whole.

2. Thoroughly combine remaining ingredients and the fruit mixture in a mixing bowl, or a large container you can seal. This will more or less fill a medium sized mixing bowl (or a 2L pudding basin as a guide), so you will likely have leftovers you may want to keep for a while.

3. Store in a sterlised, air-tight jar until ready for use.

For best results, allow the fruit mince to sit for at least two days before use. Just give it a stir once a day. It will still work if you use it straight away: I did, and the pies were fine.

NOTES:
The dried fruit in the recipe can be used interchangeably. The recipe I had originally didn't call for apricots or dates, but I like them, so I used them. Personally, I hate candied peel, and always substitute it for fresh zest in every recipe I find. If there's something you don't like - don't use it. I also love my Christmasy things to be spicy, so you may want to use a little less (or a little more!) of the mixed spice.

The fruit mince will keep well if tightly sealed and refridgerated, and the taste will improve. The fruit mince can keep for up to 6 months is you store it in a sterilised air tight jar (just the same as you'd do for jam).

Realistically, these should last at least a week in an airtight container, but they only last a few days in my house without being eaten! We're only a house of 2, so I've been making half batches of pastry and cooking lots of 6, which means they're always fresh, and the mince flavour improves as it ages each time.