Modern Simnel Cake 2.0: "Can any cake be a Simnel cake? Or must it be fruit cake?" (Wheat Free with Dairy Free Option)

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Happy Easter all, and to celebrate here is a delicious carrot cake with super luscious cream cheese icing, decorated with cake truffles made from leftover cake and icing.

Last year, I did a raspberry and almond cake for Easter, taking inspiration from the original marzipan element of the traditional Simnel cake, but fashioning little marzipan icons for each Apostle. This year, however, the only thing Simnel-y about this cake is mixed spice in the carrot cake. And, of course, the decoration.

No-one can agree on the origin of the word Simnel, but what most people agree on is that it's made of a fruit cake with a marzipan filling and topping, and has 11 marzipan decorations on top to represent the Disciples of Christ, without Judas.

So, in reality, any kind of cake can be a Simnel cake as long as it has the 11 disciples on top: for example, this is a fairly run of the mill carrot cake with cream cheese icing, but because of its decoration, it has Easter significance.

This time, the Disciples are represented by cake truffles which I made out of crumbling the sliced-off dome of the carrot cake and some icing. Usually, the eleven decorations are just arranged on top as if it's normal, but seeing an uneven number arranged like it's nothing very irritating. So, this time I decided to make a point of the missing Disciple to give it some evenness, and also I feel it gives its greater weight and significance.

The icing I used in this recipe was a little bit of an experiment, and before I share it with you I want to do some fine tuning. When I demonstrate it in a video, I will share the updated recipe. For now, just use whatever cream cheese icing you like.

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DIFFICULTY

Requires mixing, cake slicing, and layering

TIME

About 2 hours

RECIPE RATING

Easy!

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INGREDIMENTS

For one deep 8 inch (21 centimetre) round cake

8 ounces (225 grammes) white spelt flour

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) baking powder

2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) ground mixed spice
¼ teaspoon (2 millilitres) salt

8 ounces (225 grammes) finely grated carrots
Zest of half an orange

4 medium (US Large) eggs

6 ounces (170 grammes) light brown sugar

4 fluid ounces (120 millilitres) sunflower oil

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

Optional: 3 ounces (85 grammes) raisins
Optional: 3 ounces (85 grammes) chopped walnuts

To decorate
1 pound (455 grammes) cream cheese icing, of your choice (see below for my recipe)
Icing sugar
Ground mixed spice

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FREE FROM

Wheat, yeast, dairy

CONTAINS

Eggs, spelt, nuts (unless you omit them), refined sugar

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METHOD

• In a mixing bowl, sieve in the flour, baking powder, mixed spice, and salt. Stir in the carrots and orange zest, and the raisins and nuts if using, and toss through the flour.
• In a wide jug, beat the eggs with the brown sugar with an electric hand mixer for a full five minutes, until doubled in size and pale, and when you lift the beaters you can leave a trail of mixture on the surface.
• With the mixer running, gradually add in the sunflower oil and mix in well. Beat in the vanilla essence.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour and carrots mixture and pour in the whipped eggs and sugar mix. Gently fold the whole thing together with a metal spoon or rubber spatula.
• Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a cocktail stick stuck in the centre comes out completely clean.
• Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting off the dome and slicing in half horizontally.

To decorate

• Crumble the cake dome until very fine and mix with just enough icing to make a dough like texture. Roll the mixture into 11 balls, and chill for an hour until set.
• Fill and ice the cake with the remaining icing (my cake was only one layer because I made a smaller cake). Place the cake truffles on top, using the lid of a cola bottle to replace the twelfth ball.
• Dust the tops of the balls with icing sugar, and then mixed spice for visual contrast. Remove the cola bottle lid, and chill for an hour. Allow to temper to room temperature for half an hour before serving.

Mock "Cream Cheese" Icing

I made a cream cheese icing that doesn't actually have any cream cheese in, instead it had yoghurt. I find here in Ireland cream cheese varies so much in quality that it's unreliable: some days it whips up beautifully, and other days it turns to water.

To make this mock "cream cheese" icing, I melted together 4 ounces (115 grammes) each of Greek yoghurt and sugar and then simmered it for one minute (it will split slightly, but don't worry: you'll be whipping it later and won't notice it much). I removed it from the heat before adding in 8 ounces (225 grammes) of white chocolate and 4 ounces (115 grammes) of unsalted butter, in small pieces. I returned to pan to very low heat and cooked very gently, stirring all the time, until it was smooth and flowing. I then added a full quarter teaspoon of coarse salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to give it that salty sourness associated with cream cheese icing.

I then allowed to cool and thicken, stirring every so often, until it reached a spreadable consistency. I lightly whipped mine with a hand mixer for a lighter texture, but this is optional. This icing is stable at room temperature.

THIS TIME IN 2017: College Classes are Over! Hoorah! (Chocolate Butter Cake with Simple Fudge Icing)
THIS TIME IN 2013: Different Sponge Cake Flavours (no April Fool, it's after 12pm)
There were no blogs on this day in 2014, 2015, or 2016

Hot Cross Buns, and Iced Buns: Almost No-Knead Bread (Wheat Free with Dairy Free Option)

Today is Good Friday, and as promised I present to you Hot Cross Buns and Easter Iced Buns!

These are brought to you because hot cross buns are traditional this weekend, of course, but also in response to a conversation that I find myself having fairly frequently with other hobby bakers:

"How do you make bread without kneading?"

You don't have to knead bread if it proves overnight in the fridge

"Hmm, I don't have that amount of time. How to I make bread in a few hours?"

Well, if you want it today you'll have to knead it really thoroughly

"Okay, so how do you make bread that doesn't need kneading that I can have in a few hours?"

These people who obviously want to have their bread and eat it too.

If there is one thing that I have come to learn about yeast-risen bread, it's that to make a nice bread you have to spend time, or spend effort. There is no such thing as a no-effort bread that's ready immediately, unless you're making soda bread. As such, the less effort you want to put in the more time you'll have to spend, and the less time you want to spend the more effort you'll have to put in.

Kneading and overnight proving are both used to develop gluten in bread dough: you can develop the gluten by hand through kneading vigorously, or you can let the yeast develop the gluten overnight slowly and steadily. Here are the pros and cons of each:

• Kneading is the faster solution as you can knead a dough well by hand and have bread ready for its first rise in half an hour. Sometimes, however, when you encounter a particularly sticky dough, people get frustrated and the temptation is to add a load more flour to make the kneading easier, thus making the dough dry and tough. Also, some very sticky doughs need a good 20 to 25 minutes of continuous kneading, which can be exhausting.
• When you prove dough overnight, the kneading step and the first rise step are combined in a zero effort solution, but if you want bread today you have to start yesterday, which means you really have to plan your bread needs in advance. Also, overnight rises can make a bread that is overproofed, which leads to dense, sour loaves that stale too quickly.

So what's a baker to do? Well, I have come to inform you that there is a halfway house: bread that takes a day to make and requires only moderate kneading effort, harnessing the gluten developing powers of both the yeast and your hands in turns.

In this recipe, I use this bread dough to make a delicious and pretty Easter treat: a tray of hot cross buns, and plain buns iced with little portraits of Bibbit's springtime friends.

Follow the recipe below, and watch the video for full instructions!

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DIFFICULTY

The steps are simple, but time consuming

TIME

Roughly 3½ to 4 hours

RECIPE RATING

Intermediate

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INGREDIMENTS

Makes 16 buns

1 pound (455 grammes) white spelt flour
2 ounces (55 grammes) unsalted butter, or margarine
1 rounded teaspoon (7 grammes) salt
2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
2 medium (US large) eggs
6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) milk at body temperature, or milk alternative
Up to 4 extra tablespoons (60 millilitres) milk or milk alternative, to adjust the texture
1 quarter-ounce (7 gramme) packet of dried active yeast

For spiced dough

1 or 2 tablespoons (7 to 15 grammes) ground mixed spice, to taste, moistened with half as much warm water
3 ounces (85 grammes) mixed dried fruit of your choice
Optional: 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) orange zest
Optional: 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) lemon zest

To make the crosses

½ ounce (15 grammes) white spelt flour
¾ teaspoon (3 grammes) butter
Water, to mix

To decorate

Runny honey, for brushing
Fresh orange juice, for brushing
12 ounces (340 grammes) icing sugar, sieved
2 ounces (55 grammes) unsalted butter, or margarine
Hot water, to mix
Food colouring: pink, yellow, orange, black, blue, and green.

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FREE FROM

Wheat, yeast, nuts

CONTAINS

Eggs, spelt, dairy (dairy free option in italics), refined sugar

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POINTS TO REMEMBER

• Try not to add too much milk, otherwise it will need more rises to develop the gluten. At the absolute most, add a total of 8 fluid ounces (225 millilitres) of milk, which is half as much flour.
• The first rise will take roughly an hour and a quarter, but it could take up to an hour and a half.
• Likewise, the second rise should only be 45 minutes, but could take up to an hour.
• One thing that I forget to mention in the video is that the raw rolls need to be flattened a little bit so they don't rise in a ball shape. 
• The third and final rise should to 30 to 40 minutes: the rolls should expand by about two thirds, not double. If you poke them on the side and they spring back, they need more rising: your finger should leave a little dent in the side, but not collapse the roll.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 200°C (400°F).

THIS TIME IN 2017: Recipe Revision: Baked Cheesecake, but a large one this time! (Gluten Free Option)

THIS TIME IN 2015: Experiment: Yeast and Wheat Free Hot Cross Buns

THIS TIME IN 2013: Coffee Sponge Slice with Raspberry Fondant Icing (Wheat Free)

There were no blogs on this day in 2014 for 2016

Question: "How much chocolate and cornflakes should I use to make Cornflake Cakes?", with Video

The humble cornflake cake: a staple of every Irish household all throughout the year.

These cakes are very simple to make, and are often done as a fun baking project for small children because they only need two ingredients: chocolate, and cornflakes (or sometimes rice crispies). Mix 'em up, pop 'em in cases, refrigerate until set, and Bob's your uncle!

However, the question I sometimes get is how much of each should I use? The simple answer is melt an amount of chocolate and then add cornflakes until it's "right", which is how pretty much every Irish Mammy has done it since the dawn of time. But, if you want to know exactly how much of each to use, so that you know if you have the right amount of ingredients before you get started, here is your answer:

It's a very simple weight ratio of 2 parts chocolate to 1 part cornflakes.

That's it: melt two parts in weight of chocolate, and mix in one part in weight of cornflakes until thoroughly coated. It couldn't be simpler. If you want a little extra richness, you can replace a sixth of the chocolate with unsalted butter, but this is purely optional.

To make a dozen small cakes, you will need half a pound, or 8 ounces (225 grammes) chocolate and quarter of a pound, or 4 ounces (115 grammes) cornflakes. Decorate however you like with mini eggs, or fluffy chick toys. You can of course make fewer huge cornflake cakes if you like, or multiply the amounts to make loads of cakes; it's completely up to you.

Check out the video below, where I demonstrate how to make them.

Easter Celebration: a Modern-Style Simnel Cake (Wheat Free)

It is Easter! And to celebrate the occasion, I'm back to my usual tricks: layer cake! Almond, raspberry, and lemon edition.

Yesterday, on Easter Sunday, my family gathered for dinner: with my parents, siblings, and our respective companions, there were nine of us all together. There was a lot of food.

Traditionally, the cake eaten at such Easter Sunday gatherings is simnel cake, a rich fruit cake with a layer of marzipan in the middle, topped off with apricot glaze and eleven marzipan balls to symbolise the Apostles without Judas Iscariot.

However, fruit cake and marzipan are heavy eating, associated more with the cold winter months than with the coming of spring. As such, I thought I'd shake things up a bit with some springtime flavours, but keeping the almond and marzipan theme of the traditional simnel cake.

Three layers of almondy sponge cake, sandwiched with raspberry jam and lemon curd. On the top of the cake, I made marzipan shapes to symbolise the Apostles. Of course, one space is empty to show Judas Iscariot's absence. The symbols are:

Andrew: saltire, ie. an X-shaped cross

Nathanael (Bartholomew): knife 

James the Elder: key 

James the Younger: saw 

John: eagle 

Judas: sword 

Matthew (Levi): angel 

Peter (Simon Peter): fish 

Philip: column 

Simon the Zealot: boat 

Thomas: spear

Without further ado, let's get started!

INGREDIENTS
For one three layer 8 inch (20 centimetre) cake

• Three 8 inch (20 centimetre) sandwich cakes, domes cut off, either vanilla or almond flavour
• 1 pound (455 grammes) vanilla buttercream icing
• 5 tablespoons (75 millilitres) raspberry jam
• 5 tablespoons (75 millilitres) lemon curd
• Pink and yellow food colouring
• Marzipan, for modelling

HOW-TO

First, design the symbols.

• The day before you make the cake, make the marzipan decorations. Roll the marzipan to about an ⅛ inch (3 millimetres) thick, and make each one for the Apostles about 1½ inches (4 centimetres) in size. Roll some more to a quarter inch (5 millimetres) in thickness, and make Jesus' cross 3 inches (8 centimetres) in size. Allow the shapes to dry completely, exposed to air.

Then, assemble the cake

• Divide the buttercream into two portions. Add a tablespoon of raspberry jam to one and colour it pink, and then add a tablespoon lemon curd to the other half and colour it yellow.
• Spread a little buttercream on a serving plate, and fix the bottom layer of cake. Put some of the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a half-inch (1 centimetre) star or round tip, and pipe a dam around the edge. Spread the jam, saving a tablespoon (15 millilitres), on the cake, inside the dam.
• Take the next layer, and spread a very thin layer of buttercream on the bottom. Place on top of the raspberry layer, pressing a little to fix it. Again, pipe a dam around this layer, and spread with the lemon curd, again saving a tablespoon (15 millilitres).
• Take the top layer, and spread a thin layer of buttercream to the top of the cake. Place on the cake upside down, so the flat bottom is facing up.
• Ice the top of the cake with yellow icing, and then decorate the sides in a two colour gradient, like in the pictures. Put the excess you scrape off in the gradient icing into a piping bag, trying not to mix the colours too much.
• Pipe a bottom and top border on the cake: pipe 12 rosettes on the top around the edge, and one in the middle.
• Place one Apostle symbol on each of the rosettes, leaving one empty deliberately to symbolise Judas Iscariot's absence.
• Allow to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

Hot Cross Bunnies: a Cutesy Twist on a Traditional Favourite (Wheat Free)

What do you get if you pour a kettleful of water down a rabbit hole? Hot cross bunnies!

I know I shouldn't be so flippant on the day of our Lord's death, but it's a joke I always heard growing up. What better way to interpret it than in edible form?

Traditionally, hot cross buns are eaten on Good Friday, as they are marked with Jesus' cross, and spiced in memory of his embalming. However, they are available throughout the entirety of Lent in most Irish and UK supermarkets. Easter in my household is indeed a religious celebration, and not just a social custom, as it has become for most Irish and British people. As such, I like to honour the traditional Christian practices at this time of year.

My mother for years has been deprived of hot cross buns and, seeing as in the past six months I've properly learnt how to make yeast risen dough, I thought I'd break her fast, pardon the Lenten pun.

I made a batch of sweet bread dough according to this recipe, only added in about 3 ounces (85 grammes) of dried mixed fruit with candied peel, 2 teaspoons mixed spice, and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. If you don't like dried fruit however (like my companion: he hates dried fruit), you can use the same amount of chocolate chips, or nuts.

I divided the dough into 12 pieces, and roll into balls. I arrange on one or two flat trays, depending on size, about two or three inches (5 to 8 centimetres) apart so that they wouldn't touch each other as they rose and baked, and slightly flattened so they didn't rise into giant balls, but domed as they rose instead. I then proofed until the buns doubled in size. Make sure to roll the dough balls better than I did, however, mine went a little mental and lost their shape because I didn't tighten the surfaces of the dough balls.

Once they doubled, I used scissors the cut the ears out of the bunnies, and pulled them away from the bodies slightly. I then brushed the bunnies with some eggwash. Then, I mixed about 2 ounces (55 grammes) of white spelt flour with enough water, a teaspoon at a time, until it became think and pipe-able, like royal icing. I piped on the crosses on the bunnies' backs using a small baking paper piping cone. Putting the crosses on after eggwashing means the bunnies become golden, but the crosses stay white.

I baked on the centre shelf of an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4) for 15 to 20 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. If the bunnies' ears begin to burn, cover the bunnies with tin foil, but mine were okay. I removed them from the oven and, while they were still warm, I brushed them with golden syrup. You could use apricot jam, or honey, or even just some icing sugar mixed to a syrup with hot water.

They're delicious straight from the oven, but I recommend letting them cool down a little so they're easier to cut open and lather with butter.

These however, don't keep very well. Like with all my other recipes made with sweet bread dough, eat on the day they're made, and toast the next day; on day three, they're only good for bird food.

THIS TIME IN 2016: Buttermilk Scones (Wheat Free)

THIS TIME IN 2015: Carrot and Orange Cake with Fresh Cream Icing (Wheat Free)

There was no blog this time in 2014

THIS TIME IN 2013: Black Forest Gâteau: a Retro Classic? (Wheat Free)

Experiment: Yeast and Wheat Free Hot Cross Buns

So, after the success of my Bakewell tart slices, I decided to get even more experimental in the kitchen and do something completely different. Seeing as it is Good Friday, I thought I'd try my hand at making some yeast and wheat free hot cross buns.

Hot cross buns are a big part of out family's Easter festivities, but for years my mother and I haven't been able to eat them. A few years ago I tried my hand at traditional yeast risen buns, and they turned out really well. But generally speaking I avoid using yeast because the temperatures of my house and the houses of my family members (where I would bake if I'm there for a holiday) are too unreliable for proofing dough.

As such, I though I'd try to make some using my yeast and wheat free quick pizza base recipe, which I successfully converted into bagels. I thought of the theory, and thought it would work, and just made a few little changes: I replaced some of the warm water with a medium egg, and added some dried mixed fruit and spices. I kneaded it for about 5 minutes, allowed it to sit for 20 minutes, then rolled it into 8 balls. I put them together in close proximity on a flat baking sheet and baked them at 200 degrees Celcius for 15 mintes.

And here is what happened:

For some reason, the crusts baked up to hard, and they didn't spread properly in the oven. as you can see, they turned into balls instead of buns, and the crusts split. This suggests to me that the temperature was too high, and the dough was too firm.

The texture of the buns was really convincing and bread-like, and the taste was very good. But the shape was wrong and they were a little too dense. Next time I'll have to make the dough softer, maybe even more like a brack batter.

At least I gave it a go! And I'll know better for next time. Maybe between now and March 25th 2016 I'll have the recipe perfected.

THIS TIME 2014: No blog
THIS TIME 2013: Different Sponge Cake Flavours (no April Fool, it's after 12pm)