American Classics - Ham & Jam, Preston - South Lancashire Clandestine Cake Club

Carla's - Amazing Banana maple syrup and pecan bundt

In celebration of Thanksgiving the theme for our cake club was American Classics and what a fun afternoon we had.

We had the following cakes, Banana, maple syrup pecan bundt, Reeces Pieces Cake, New York Cheesecake, Peanut butter and Jelly bundt, Sweet Potato bundt, Boston Cream Pie, All American Carrot Cake, Baked New York Cheesecake, Strawberry shortcake,Apple and Apricot Cake, hummingbird Cake, Ginger Chocolate Brownie Cake and some American Buttermilk biscuits (not strictly to CCC rules but brought along as a kind gesture by a bakers guest).

Hosted by a fab new coffee shop in Preston City Centre - Ham and Jam we enjoyed a massive selection of wonderful baking, great coffee and a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Lucky us, we were also joined by Dorrett Conway -  one of this years Great British Bake Off contestants who lives locally.

Cake clubbers old and new joined us to much our way through cake mountain (Mount Sugar Rushmore !). Everything on Ham and Jam's menu is locally sourced where possible so we were happy to see Atkinson's Coffee being served.

We loved Ham and Jam, a great addition to Preston City Centre as we love to support local independent venues as its what we are all about. Check out their website here

Spicy persimmon bundt cake

A few weeks ago I purchased 3 persimmons which were on special offer in my local market, these beautiful orange fruit are the unsung hero in this bake as they provide moisture and succulence, although you would never know they were there. Perfect for a wintery evening the spicing really lifts this bake and well worth the wait whilst the fruit was ripening.

What you need

• 3 persimmons - peeled and pureed
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 115g butter
• 200g light brown sugar
• 350g plain flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• Icing sugar and water to making glace icing

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Oil spray the bundt tin throughly
• Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy
• Add the bicarbonate of soda to the persimmon puree, it will jellify don't be alarmed
• Add the puree plus the other ingredients (except the icing sugar) to the sugar and butter
• Mix until you have a smooth mixture, sppon into the prepared bundt tin
• Smooth level 
• Bake for 40 -45 minutes, until risen and tested cooked with a skewer
• Cool fully in the tin on a wire rack
• Once cool, a sharp inversion of the tin should release the cake
• Ice when cool, using a drizzle technique.

I have just spotted that the theme for Love Cake for January 2015 is "Feeling Fruity" so I am linking up this post to this challenge. This is hosted over at Jibberjabber

                                  

Yogurt baby bundt cake - gluten free

One of my favourite all time recipes is a delightfully simple yogurt loaf cake which is so simple that you don't even need scales. When I went gluten free I had doubts that this recipe would convert well to being made with non wheat flour, how wrong was I !

With a couple of little tweaks this recipe has successfully made the switch to gluten free, the recipe makes 2 x 2lb tin loaves, or one 2lb tin loaf and a small bundt cake. You now have a cake for the freezer, and one on ice for if you ever need a quick cake when guests arrive with little notice. Its really difficult to tell that this cake is gluten free, its not gritty or grainy unlike other recipes.

So here's the tweaked recipe

What you need

• 1 pot of yogurt (plain, vanilla, lemon, strawberry whatever you like)
• 3 pots of gluten free self raising flour (or plain with 2 tsp baking powder)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 pots of caster sugar
• 1 pot of vegetable oil ( I use coconut oil or sunflower)
• 3 eggs - free range
• 1/2 tsp xanthum or guar gum (not absolutely necessary but helps crumb structure)
• 2 x 2lb loaf tins lined or 1 loaf tin and one small bundt tin oiled

What you do 

• Mix all ingredients together until you have a smooth batter, its really easy in a mixer
• Pour into prepared tins and smooth level
• Bake in a pre heated oven at 170c for about 45 minutes until golden and well risen
• Cool in the tins, to remove bundt upend tin gingerly with a gentle tap and the cake should release.
• I iced the bundt using a simple glace icing - using sieved icing sugar and water, I then sprinkled with freeze dried raspberries.

Nordic ware bundt baking tester

I decided to treat myself this month after seeing Jo Wheatley winner of the Great British Bake Off a couple of years ago singing the praises of this little gadget on facebook. So I promptly placed it on my Amazon wishlist, for there it to sit for a couple of months.

I am not really a fan of purchasing through Amazon for a variety of reasons but I happened to have a gift voucher to spend plus I hadn't seen this gadget for sale in any of the kitchen shops I visit in my area, so I took the plunge and ordered it on line.
                                                

I have now had this little dinky blue stick for a couple of weeks and its turning out to be a valuable gadget to have in the kitchen, as a keen baker the last thing I want is an underbaked cake.

Nordic ware are an American company world famous for their range of bundt tins but you don't need to be baking a bundt to make use of this tester, you just plunge the tip into your cake for 5 seconds and if the tip turns bright red your cake is done, obviously you don't want to be testing the cake until its ready, the rule I use is not to open the oven door until at least 3/4's of the baking time has passed. Its easy to use and so far hasn't let me down.

                                           
                           
The opinions expressed in the post are my own and I have not be paid for this post, I purchased the item from my own funds.

Courgette Bundt Cake

The courgette season is upon us, the green beauties are popping up overnight and so the annual race to keep up has commenced. Courgettes are  a very versatile vegetable easily grown in the vegetable garden , easily incorporated into many recipes as regularly readers of my blog will know I have a love for courgette cakes, so here's another.

Picking up on the current trend for bundt cakes on the internet and twitter, please welcome the Courgette Bundt Cake.

Ingredients

• 225g Grated courgette
• 250g self raising flour
• 3 eggs - free range
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 150ml sunflower oil

Bundt tin approx 10 inch , oiled and flour dusted

Preheat oven to 180c normal / 160c fan

Method

• Grate your courgettes , I used my food processor grating blade.If you don't have one, place in a large bowl after grating.
• Now add all the other ingredients
• Mix well until well incorporated
• Pour into your prepared tin
• Bake for 35 minutes approximately until it tests cooked with a skewer.
• Leave to cool in tin for approx 15 minutes
• Tip up onto cooling wire rack, allow to cool fully
• Now ice or frost to your taste, I just used a simple glace icing drizzle.

I am entering this cake in Dollybakes & Laura Loves Cake  calendar cakes challenge for "British Summertime" as courgettes are for me a signal of summer and dolly just loves a bundt cake !

This is also my entry is Simple and Seasonal for August , hosted by Fabulicious Food

In celebration of National Bundt Day UK I'm linking up with the lovely DollyBakes

Chocolate & whiskey bundt cake

Last weekend I had a marathon baking session, to create some 'thank you' cakes for the care staff at my late Father in laws care home as way of a token of thanks. Amongst other cakes was this dark delight, with a more adult flavour. Dark and foreboding this is definately a cake I will be making again, drizzled with white chocoloate the contrast with the almost black cake is great. I am sure you could substitute other alcohol for the whiskey, maybe amaretto, rum or coffee liquer and it  would work as well.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cocoa , plus a couple of spoons for dusting your tin
• 1 1/2 cups of freshly brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup alcohol of your choice
• 1 cup of butter
• 2 cups of caster sugar
• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1 1/4 tsps of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 eggs - free range
• 1 tsp vanilla

Method

• Use will need a 10" bundt tin or a round cake tin of a similar size
• Preheat the oven to 160c 
• Oil spray your tin and then dust with cocoa powder
• Combine the coffee, alcohol, butter and cup of cocoa in a saucepan, over a low heat melt and combine the ingredients
• Take of the heat and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved
• Allow to cool slighty
• Now mix all the flour, bicarb and salt in a seperate bowl.
• Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a jug, then whisk into the cooled cocoa mix
• Now whisk in the dry ingredients, until throughly mixed
• Pour into your prepared tin
• Bake in the oven for 40-50 mins, until tested cooked with a cocktail stick
• Cool in the tin for a couple of hours before removing from tin
• Once cooled drizzle with melted chocolate to decorate or sprinkle with icing sugar
• The cake keeps well and the moisture level and flavour improves.

I am refreshing this post to take part in Baking with Spirits challenge hosted by Janine who blogs at Cakeoftheweek.

                                               

In celebration of the Bundt, this post is being linked to National Bundt Day UK with Dollybakes

Danish Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

This weeks post continues the odyssey of the bundt tin, after a busy couple of days I finally got round to baking. The recipe includes sour cream which helps to create a moist tender crumb, I did however get a bit worried that this cake might stick in the tin despite spraying with a vegetable oil spray but I managed to get the cake out with a sharp inversion. The resultant cake is tasty and has a lovely cinnamon swirl.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vegetable margarine
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs - free range
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarb
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup demerara sugar

Method

• Pre heat your oven to 180c
• Oil your bundt tin
• Mix the ground cinnamon and demerara sugar together in a separate bowl
• Cream your margarine and granulated sugar
• Now add all the other ingredients and mix well in your mixer
• Now pour half of the mixture in your prepared tin
• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top
• Now top off with the rest of the mixture and level.
• Bake for approx 45-60 minutes until golden and fully baked when tested with a skewer
• Cool in tin and then tip out until a wire rack

In celebration of all things Bundt, I'm joining in National Bundt Day Uk from Dollybakes

Spicy Torus Cake aka Spicy Bundt Cake

I have secumbed to the trend sweeping through the baking nation , I have purchased a bundt or kugelhopf tin ! According to Mr B the correct geometrical term for this shape is a torus so that is what this cake has now been christened. Given that most recipes are from the US of A and thats where I have taken my inspiration from, this recipe is in cups, now I know that some bakers detest american cups but personally I love them, you just have to commit and buy a good set to get good results.

I love spiced cakes, my favourite spice being cinnamon, this recipe features both cinnamon and cloves, the warm comforting aroma that rises from the oven when baking is delightful  and  it scents the whole kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable margarine
• 2 cups of caster sugar
• 3 eggs - free range
• 3 cups plain flour
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk ( if you can't get it milk acidified with lemon juice)
• Icing sugar to spinkle 

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180c
• Grease / oil your tin
• Cream your margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, use a mixer if you have one.
• Add your eggs , don't worry about the curdled look
• Add the flour, cinnamon, cloves, salt and bicarb, sift as you go.
• Mix well and pour into your prepared tin.
• Smooth top
• Bake for 50-55 mins until tested as cooked
• Cool in tin for 10 mins and then turn out to cool fully on wire rack.
• Dust with icing sugar to serve.

In celebration of the bundt , I am linking this post to DollyBakes National Bundt Day UK celebration