Cherry Chocolate Fairy Cakes

Whether it's black forest gateau, liqueur chocolates, covered berries, chocolate bars, or biscuits and cakes, chocolate and cherries belong together. Forever, and always.

I've done the black forest thing a few times, but this time I thought I'd try something a little bit different. In the traditional gateau, it's chocolate cake, fresh cream, and fresh cherries and cherry jam, whereas this time I thought I would try mix the cherry and the cream together, in a cherry butter cream.

However, here in Ireland, cherries are incredibly expensive. Because they have to be imported from southeastern England or the continent, they can be up to €13 ($14.50, £11.30) per kilogram. Also, there's no such thing as cherry essence in the shops. So, I had to improvise.

Here, we can buy cherry juice drink. It's generally in the fruit juice and juice drink section of the supermarket. The one I buy is 25% cherry juice. Of course, you can't add cherry juice directly to the buttercream, otherwise it'll be too runny, but if you reduce it to a syrup it works just as well.

If you have access to cherry essence or flavour oil, you can just use that instead.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (dairy substitutes can be found in italics)
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS

For 12 standard fairy cakes

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 medium eggs
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) caster sugar
• 2 ounce (55 grammes) sunflower oil
• 2 fluid ounces (30 millilitres) warm water
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

For the icing:

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) butter, softened or margarine
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) block vegetable fat, softened
• 12 ounces (340 grammes) icing sugar, sifted
• 4 fluid ounces (120 millilitres) cherry juice drink, at least 25% fruit juice content, like this one
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• Red and blue food colouring

To make the chocolate coated cherries,

• 12 glacé cherries (choose the roundest, prettiest ones from the tub)
• 1 ounces (30 grammes) dark chocolate
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) sunflower oil

HOW-TO

First off, make the chocolate cherries,

• Wash and dry the glacé cherries to remove all the excess syrup.
• To make the coating, melt the chocolate and oil together in a cup or small bowl, either in the microwave in 30 second increments, or over a pan of simmering water.
• Line a small tray or chopping board with a sheet of non-stick baking paper.
• Using a cocktail stick, pick each cherry up through the hole in the top and dip in the chocolate. Slide each cherry off onto the paper lined tray. Refrigerate for about an hour.

Then, prepare the syrup for the icing,

• In a small saucepan, boil the cherry juice until reduced by half. It should be slightly syrupy.
• Leave the syrup aside to cool completely

Then, make the cakes,

• Make the cake mixture according to this recipe, using a 12 hole muffin tin lined with pink cake liners (or white, if you can't get green). Divide the mixture between all the cases, and bake at 180ºC (350ºF/Gas Mk. 4) for about 20 minutes. Once cooked, transfer the cakes to a wire rack and cool completely.

Now, assemble the masterpieces,

• To make the icing, beat the butter and fat together with an electric beater, or with a wooden spoon and a lot of elbow grease, until light and fluffy and well combined.
• Add in the vanilla essence, and about 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) of the cooled cherry syrup and half the icing sugar and beat again until fully combined.
• Add the rest of the icing and continue to beat until you get a nice smooth and creamy icing. If you think the icing is too stiff, add cherry syrup until it's the right conistency.
• Add the red colouring a drop at a time until it's a deep pink colour, then add a drop or two of blue colouring to give it a slightly darker, more cherry like shade.
• Fit a piping bag with a medium or large star nozzle, and pipe swirls on top of each cake. I start in the centre of the cake, swirl around the edge, then continue to swirl upwards to have two layers and a peak on top.
• Pop a chocolate glacé cherry on the top of each cake. You could add some sprinkles if you like, too.

The cherry taste in the buttercream is nice and subtle, and a lot more natural than the intense -- almost synthetic -- taste of a flavour oil or essence. And the chocolate coated glacé cherries are a nice touch, and I think I'll be repeating that in the future.

This time in 2015: Something Different: Koeksisters (Wheat- and Dairy Free)

This time in 2014: Chocolate Truffles (Gluten and Dairy Free)

This time in 2013: Variations on a Theme: Neapolitan Coconut Ice

Bakewell Tart Slices (Wheat Free)

Recently I've been feeling a little lacking in inspiration in the kitchen, as I've just been baking the same old things for months. So, I thought I'd try something completely new and different, and try my had at making some Bakewell tart, and here's the result!

Bakewell is a town in County Derbyshire (pronounced DAR-bi-shur, for those who take that first letter E literally), and this confection is said to have been made there as far back as the mid 1800s. Nowadays, it is best known as a little individual cake manufactured by Mr Kipling, which has fondant icing and a glacé cherry on top.

Although the original Bakewell tart recipe doesn't include the aforementioned icing and cherry, the combination of pastry crust, raspberry jam, and almond sponge (also known as frangipane) is absolutely delightful. It's one of my Dad's favourite things.

Usually the name Bakewell tart conjures up the image of individual tarts in foil cases, but it is traditionally baked as a large round tart. However, I decided to go tray bake on it and make Bakewell slices.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products
☒ Dairy
☒ Eggs
☒ Nuts (Almonds)

INGREDIMENTS:
To make one 4x8 inch (10x20 centimetre) tart, which yields eight decent slices

For the base:

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) cornflour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) icing sugar
• 4 tablespoons (60 millilitres) raspberry jam

For the filling:

• 1 ounce (30 grammes) ground almonds
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter or margaine
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• Several drops of almond essence
• 1 fluid ounce (30 millilitres; 2 tablespoons) milk, or water or milk alternative

For the topping:

• 4 ounces (115 grammes) icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 grammes) butter, or margarine
• Water, to mix
• 4 whole glacé cherries, halved

METHOD

• Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4, or moderate).
• In a small mixing bowl, beat together the butter and icing sugar until fluffy with an electric mixer or wooden spoon. Add in the two flours and mix into a soft but crumbly dough.
• Tip the dough into an ungreased loaf tin and press down into a smooth and even layer. To make it easier, moisten your fingertips to stop the dough sticking to your hands.
• Spread the raspberry jam over the base in an even layer, like you were putting jam on toast. You don't want it too thick. Set aside.
• In the same bowl, beat the butter and caster sugar until fluffy with the same beaters or wooden spoon. Beat in the egg until fully mixed, then then the almond essence. Different brands have different strengths, so go by taste if you don't have an issue with raw egg: it should have a good almondy taste that's not offensively strong.
• Put the almonds, spelt flour, salt, and baking powder in a sieve. Sieve in half the ingredients into the bowl, mix in, then add the milk, mix in, then add the last of the dry ingredients and beat to a smooth batter.
• Spoon the mixture carefully over the jam in blobs, and then smooth out without disturbing the jam too much. Even out the surface, and then put in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Once removed from the oven, cool fully in the tin on a wire rack.
• When your tart has completely cooled, make the icing. Melt the butter in a small bowl, and add in the icing sugar and mix until the icing sugar is moistened with the melted butter. Add water, a teaspoon at a time, until it is a thick but spreadable icing. Spread all over the top of the tart, and press 8 glacé cherry halves into the top of the tart, spaced evenly. 
• Allow to set for at least 3 hours. Cut unto eight even slices, trimming the sides if you like to make it neater.

The combination of crumbly, butter pastry, with the moist soft almondy sponge, and the tartness of the fruity jam, topped off with the campness of fondanty icing and glacé cherries, is absolutely wonderful; and quintessentially English. This turned out so well, and it went down very well with the family.

THIS TIME IN 2014: Spanner in the Works: White Spelt Flour No Longer Exists
THIS TIME IN 2013: Basic Sponge Cake (Wheat Free)