This Week’s Cakes…..rollerboots, Minion and a few more

So here is a selection of our cakes this week………just a small taster.

Hope you’re all having a great cake week.

Savoury Cream Tea……Romsey’s Original

OK, so we have a cake shop. Which generally means our major food group is sweet, sweet and more sweet. But occasionally, very occasionally, we digress to something a little more savoury.

However, we don’t want to fall too far away from the British ideal, so what we have invented is The Savoury Cream Tea…..oh yes people….Cream Tea with our other favourite food group – cheese – how could we possibly go wrong?!

The Original Daisy Cake Savoury Cream Tea consists of 2 delishly, freshly baked cheese scones, cream cheese and pickle, all washed down with a cuppa straight from the pot! And for dessert you could always have a traditional Sweet Cream Tea, or would that be too much?

So, hands up who wants to make some easy cheese scones? Yup, thought you would…….

Cheese Scones

Makes 12
450gms Self Raising Flour
1tspn Mustard Powder
1tspn Cayenne Pepper
125gms Strong Hard Cheese (we use Lyburn Cooking but mature cheddar is fine)
70gms Rapseed or Sunflower Oil
70gms Cream Cheese
2 Eggs
100ml Milk plus some for brushing the tops

Preheat your oven to 220c (200c fan), 400f or Gas Mark 6.

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment

Sieve the flour, mustard and cayenne pepper together into a large mixing bowl

Grate the hard cheese and mix it through the flour

Add all the other ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. It’s best to get your (clean) hands in to make sure is properly mixed into a sticky dough

Dust the work surface with flour and turn out your dough.

Knead very lightly for 30 seconds or so.

Now you can either go for the rustic look or the cut look…..for the rustic look divide your dough into 12, roll into balls and place on your baking sheet. For a cut look, press the dough to about 1 inch thick and with a 6cm Round cutter, cut 12 scones and place on your baking sheet.

Lightly brush with milk, making sure your don’t let it dribble down the side as it impairs the rise.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until well risen, golden brown and making your kitchen smell amaaaaazing!

Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool, or just scoff the lot warm.

We always serve our scones warm…..they just taste so much better. To warm cold scones, pop in the oven, preheated to 170c (150c fan), 325f or gas mark 3 for just 3 to 5 minutes.

The Cake Room

Did you know The Daisy Cake Company has gone retail? It happened a while ago. We moved to Hampshire in January, and then we opened a shop in The town of Romsey in April, and that’s mainly why things have been so quiet around here later. So here are some photos from the last few months, including the grand opening when The Mayor of Romsey came to eat cake with us.

Every week we have a new flavour in the Cake Room, and many, many celebration cakes, so fingers crossed, I will be able to find a few moments to share new recipes, ideas and cake photos with you all.

Thanks for bearing with me, and welcome to the new chapter of The Daisy Cake Company xx

Chocolate Spiced Shortbread

Here’s a quick recipe from my submissions from the Good the Know website.

It’s full of festive flavour and makes your house smell amazing!!

Full recipe can be found here…….

Sticky Toffee Christmas Tree Brownies

So everyone…….how are the Christmas preparations going?

Are you one of those annoyingly organised people? Do you have all you Christmas presents bought and wrapped? Christmas cards written and sent? Tree up and decorated? Really…..you’ve done all those things already. Hmph……s’not fair!!

Don’t take my little outburst personally. It’s just that I have none of those things done. Not 1!! December always seems to disappear at a speed unknown to man. I complain that the Christmas chocolates are in the shops too early in September, and then whoosh…..Christmas is here and I’ve done nothing!!

But, and this is a good but…

I have made chocolate brownies!!

Sticky Toffee Brownies
175gs Dark Chocolate
130gms Unsalted Butter
130gms Dark Brown Sugar
130gms Plain Flour
1⁄2tspn Baking Powder
1⁄2tspn Ground Mixed Spice
2 Large Eggs
75gms Chopped dates (optional)

1x 20cm (8”) round baking tin, lined withgreaseproof paper and greased with butter.

Frosting
50gms Unsalted Butter at room temperature
150gmsIcing Sugar
1tbsn Toffee Ice-cream Sauce or Golden Syrup
Green Food Colouring

Pre-heat the oven to 140c, (120c Fan), Gas Mark 2
Break up the chocolate and put into a heatproof bowl with the butter and place the bowl over a saucepan of constantly simmering water (ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water)
Stir the chocolate and butter with a wooden spoon as it melts
Once the chocolate and butter are completely melted remove the bowl from the saucepan and mix in the Dark Brown Sugar.
Next sift together the Plain Flour, Baking Powder mixture and Mixed Spice and stir into the chocolate mixture.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and lastly stir through the dates so they are evenly distributed.
Pour into the baking tin, and smooth to the edges
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Some people like their brownies chewy, others a bit drier. The longer you bake your brownies, the drier and less chewy they become.
When your brownies are done the top will have acrust, the edges a bit crunchy, and the middle slightly soft to the touch.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, before turning out onto a wirerack and leaving to cool completely.

Whilst they are cooling, you can make your frosting: Using either an electric mixer, or a wooden spoon, beat your butter until soft and smooth. Mix in the icing sugar (gently at first or you’ll be lost in a cloud of sweet powder), and finally beat in the Toffee Sauce or Golden Syrup. If you want to make your trees green add a small amount of green food colouring. With the frosting, the more you beat it, the lighter and fluffier it’ll become, so keep beating for between 5 and 10 minutes.

Once your Brownie has cooled cut into sixths or eighths (depending on how big you want your slices), and either pipe on your frosting or smooth on with a spoon. Decorate with sweets or sprinkles, and stick half a straw into the bottom for the trunk.

Mince Pie Cupcakes

Flash back 2 years ago when I first bought you the Hint of Christmas Cupcakes…..

I have now practiced and perfected this recipe and am happy to present to you Mince Pie Cupcakes….the perfect, lightly spiced fruit cupcake as an alternative to rich fruit Christmas Cake.

Ingredients

150gms Softened Unsalted Butter
150gms Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
2tbspns Milk
150gms Self Raising Flour
1tspn Mixed Spice
140gms Good Quality Mincemeat

Line a 12 hole cupcake tin with festive cupcake cases. Preheat your oven to 160c/140c fan/ gas mark 3

In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

In a jug beat the eggs and milk together

Sift together the flour and mixed spice

Add one third of the eggs to the butter and sugar with a table spoon of flour and beat

Repeat, until all the egg has gone

Add the remaining flour and mix until just combined

Lastly add the mincemeat and mix until evenly distributed.

Divide the mix between the cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Frost with buttercream. I coloured mine green and added a fondant star on the top!

Cake Chocolate

 

Now I know you may think the title of this post is a typo….Cake Chocolate? Surely that should say Chocolate Cake…..well, actually NO!!!

This is one of the easiest recipes ever!! FACT!!

What makes this recipe so easy is using an ingredient which has already been mixed. I promise I haven’t lost my mind, but this recipe includes shop bought cake mix.

Huh? Really?????……..yup, really!! You did read that right…….

shop     bought     cake     mix!!!

I know, I know, but haven’t you all got enough to do over Christmas without making treat making more complicated than needs be? You’ll thank me for this recipe.

I promise…..

Ingredients

300gms Milk Chocolate. Doesn’t need to be expensive, just your favourite Milk Chocolate

200gms White Chocolate

4tbspn Cake Mix. I used Victoria Sponge mix, but use whatever flavour you fancy.

Sprinkles

Line a baking sheet with some greaseproof paper.

Break the Milk Chocolate into a plastic bowl and pop into the microwave. Blast for 20 seconds at a time on the highest setting. Stirring between each burst until just melted – watch that you don’t burn it.

Pour onto the greaseproof paper and spread to a rectangle approximately 10″ X 8″ and put to one side to set

Repeat the melting process with the White Chocolate.

Now, for the cake bit…….add the cake mix to the melted White Chocolate and whisk until completely dissolved and disappeared.

Pour the White Chocolate on top of the Milk Chocolate and spread out.

Sprinkle the sprinkles. I used red and green Christmas trees. Ho Ho Ho

Put aside to set (should be done in an hour or so at a coolish room temperature, or pop in the fridge for an hour)

Chop into interesting shapes, break into pieces, or just bite into the whole big slab…..that’s your choice!