Sweet Tooth Experiments

Monthly Archives: May 2014

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

Posted on Posted in America, Cakes .

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

 

We saw cake-pops, marshmallows and salted caramel sweet treat baking trends last year. This year is an interesting one, where one trend really caught my eye and became a must on my list to experiment with – the sweet and salty combo, more specifically salted bacon praline.

Very interesting, sugar and bacon – how gross. However, the sugar and bacon comb delivers sweet and salty, which is the big craze at current.

French toast with maple syrup and bacon is a norm in America on diner breakfast menus that is slowly migrating onto AUS breakfast menus (think brioche bread, mascarpone cheese, bacon and maple syrup – sometimes with poached pears).

So after doing some research (at a few cafes for breakfast of course) I decided to make a choc bacon cake and cupcakes and top it off with maple icing and bacon praline. Don’t knock this until you try it, you can’t taste the bacon in the cake but the sweet-salty taste is quite amazing.

 

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

 

Ingredients:

  • 250g bacon, diced
  • 2 cups of cake flour
  • ¾ cup of cocoa powder
  • 1 + 3/4 cups of white sugar
  • 2 tsn baking powder
  • ¼ tsn salt
  • 1 tsn baking soda
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup strong coffee
  • 1 + ½ cups buttermilk
  • ½ butter

Frosting

  • 135g butter
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 1 cup rice flour
  • 140g maple syrup
  • Extra, ¼ cup white sugar (optional)

 

Method:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180c and line a 25cm round cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Place bacon in a frying pan and fry for 10 mins or until crisp and brown.
  3. Place the bacon onto paper towel to drain off excess oil.
  4. Place the bacon in a food processor until fine.
  5. Sift the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl, mix together.
  6. In another bowl whisk by hand the eggs, coffee, buttermilk and butter.
  7. Place the wet mix and ¾ cup bacon into the dry mix bowl and whisk together until just mixed through.
  8. Pour into the cake tin.
  9. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  10. Cool in tin for 10 minutes then on a baking rack until cool.
  11. To make the icing – cream the butter in a bowl with electric beaters for 10 minutes.
  12. Add the sugar, flour and maple syrup and hand stir until almost combine. Now beat for 5 minutes until fluffy.
  13. Cut the cake into 3 even layers, spread the frosting in between the cake layers, top and sides.

Optional:

  1. To decorate place the left over bacon on some baking paper.
  2. Place the extra sugar in a pan on the stove and stir until sugar starts to dissolve. Once sugar has turned into a syrup pour over the bacon.
  3. Once set place into the food processor until fine pieces have formed then sprinkle over the cake top.

 

Notes:

 

Like this recipe? Subscribe via RSS or email to get my new entries and more scrumptious recipes with reviews.

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

Ingredients

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

Step 3

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

Step 4

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

Step 5

Chocolate Bacon Cake with Maple Frosting

Step 6

 

Email, RSS Follow
Print

Strawberry Frosting

Posted on Posted in Icing .

Strawberry Frosting

Strawberry Frosting

You may not be aware but I actually do a lot more baking than what you see on this blog…of all the baking I do only the recipes that I think are absolutely scrumptious – that I would actually recommend to people make it to this site.

The purpose of this blog originally was to have a place to put all my favourite amazing quirky recipes (scribble on paper is not the best way to store recipes) – like my own online recipe book or library.

I am opening this post with this fact becuase last weekend I made a Moscato cake with strawberry frosting. The cake had an awesome texture but the flavour the Moscato produced was quite underwhelming. When it came to the icing (frosting if your American) I didn’t know if using strawberries, frozen berries, essence, or jam would produce the best taste and texture. So I decided to make a patch of each, testing as I went along, each with varying pros, therefore see below and take your pick!

 

Strawberry Essence Frosting:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 4 tsn strawberry essence
  • 6 drops red food colouring
  • 1 + 1/2 cups icing sugar

Method:

  1. Beat the butter, essence and food colouring in a bowl with electric beaters for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.
  2. Beat in the sifted icing sugar for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Notes:

  • This is the easiest and quickest method (15 mins tops with one bowl). However, will not have the real rich fresh strawberry flavour (but is still super delicious and very much strawberry tasting).

 

Fresh Strawberry Frosting:

Ingredients:

  • 250g (punnet) strawberries
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 tsn vanilla extract
  • 1 + 3/4 cups icing sugar

Method:

  1. Hull the strawberries and place them in a food processor until texture resembles liquid.
  2. Push the mix through a sieve to get rid of any pieces.
  3. Beat the butter and extract in a bowl with electric beaters for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat in the strawberry mix on low until combined.
  5. Beat in the sifted icing sugar for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Notes:

  • This is the lengthiest method however, will produce the most amazing tasting icing!

 

Frozen Strawberry Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 tsn vanilla extract
  • 3 drops red food colouring
  • 1 + 3/4 cups icing sugar

Method:

  1. Place the berries in the microwave until warmed and thawed.
  2. Place in a food processor until texture resembles liquid.
  3. Push the mix through a sieve to get rid of any pieces.
  4. Beat the butter, extract and food colouring in a bowl with electric beaters for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.
  5. Beat in the strawberry mix on low until combined.
  6. Beat in the sifted icing sugar for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Notes:

  • This method is as close to the fresh strawberry method as you can get which will come in handy when strawberries are out of season. Frozen berries can be stored in the freezer for a looooong time, all year round.
  • This method is also a lot cheaper than using fresh berries.

 

Strawberry Jam Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup strawberry jam
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 drops red food colouring
  • 1 + 3/4 cups icing sugar
  • 3/4 rice flour

Method:

  1. Pushthe mix through a sieve to get rid of any pieces.
  2. Beat the butter and food colouring in a bowl with electric beaters for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in the strawberry mix on low until combined.
  4. Beat in the sifted icing sugar and sifted rice flour for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Notes:

  • This is the easiest and quickest method using a type of ‘real strawberry’.
  • This is also the most convenient as everyone has strawberry jam in their fridge but chances are you don’t have fresh berries, essence (unless you bake a lot) and frozen possibly but this adds in extra steps.
  • I have added in rice flour as it produces the same texture result as the icing sugar, howver without the sweetness that sugar has (as the jam is already very sweet). Omitting the rice flour would equate to a super ridiculous sweet icing!

 

Like this recipe? Subscribe via RSS or email to get my new entries and more scrumptious recipes with reviews.

Email, RSS Follow
Print

Devil’s Food Cake

Posted on Posted in America, Cakes .

So my all-time favourite dessert in the world is Tiramisu. Coffee, chocolate and Marsala is there a better flavour combo in the world? (I don’t think so)!

This got me thinking about other desserts that hold similar flavours, where I was led to the Devil’s Food Cake. This cake has many variations, some with red food colouring, some with beetroots for the colour, some with coffee, some with chocolate, and some with only cocoa powder for the taste.

After assessing variations I decided on my ingredients mix that would provide the most rich (but not too sweet) result with a lovely dense texture.

To do this I have elected for coca powder and only used chocolate in the icing. I have a good amount of coffee, which complements and amplifies the chocolate taste. Also I have used sour cream for the icing to pull back the sweetness again (as the icing is mostly chocolate).

 

IMG_5026

Devil’s Food Cake

Ingredients

  • 180g butter
  • 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
  • 2 tsn vanilla essence
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/3 cups self-raising flour
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsn bicarbonate of soda
  • 4 tsn (5 if you are a coffee fan) instant espresso coffee powder
  • 5 drops red food colouring
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup milk

Chocolate ganache

  • 300g dark chocolate
  • 3/4 cup sour cream

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line a 23cm round cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Using electric beaters beat the butter, sugar and essence for 5 mins or until it is light and fluffy.
  3. Add in the eggs one at a time and ensure you beat thoroughly between each addition.
  4. Sift in the flours, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into the sugar mix, stir.
  5. Add 3 tsn of the coffee powder to the water, stir.
  6. Add remaining tsn of coffee powder to the mix as well as the food colouring, water mix and milk.
  7. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
  8. Once cooked leave the cake in the tin for 5 mins, then place onto a cooling rack to cool.
  9. To make the chocolate ganache place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (50%) for 1 minute, and then stir every 30 secs with a spoon until just melted. Following stir in sour cream.
  10. Cut cake into 3 layers. Spread the ganache on top of the 3 layers as well as the side of the cake.

Notes:

  • This cake is super rich with flavour, however I have deliberately have not had it super sweet. The sugar level is lower than most devils food cakes and there is no chocolate in the actual cake only cocoa powder. Additionally instead of cream I have used sour cream again to slightly off set the ganache sweetness. Though I LOVE sweet but I think this cake the flavour needs to dominate. Though it is still very much sweet blisss…
  • If you don’t like coffee you can omit the coffee powder, however it more enhances the chocolate taste not so much had its own flavour. This will then just be a red velvet cake.
  • I added an extra 2 steps to this for decoration. I placed kit kats around the cake which held in place thanks to the ganache. Then I placed M&Ms on top.
  • Deciding against the coffee and red food colouring would mean this is just a dense chocolate cake.

 

Like this recipe? Subscribe via RSS or email to get my new entries and more scrumptious recipes with reviews.

Devils Food Cake

Step 10

Devils Food Cake

My additional step 11 (see notes)

 

 

 

 

Email, RSS Follow
Print

Strawberry Cake Biscuits

Posted on Posted in Biscuits .

strawberry cake biscuits

Strawberry Cake Biscuits

I don’t tend to make many biscuits, I more skew to cakes and slices. Biscuits (or cookies if you’re from the states where some of my lovely readers are) tend to be either chocolate, chocolate chip or chocolate with nuts. You don’t get many biscuit variations like slices and cakes (when was the last time you ate a strawberry biscuit or orange and poppy seed?)!

Still on topic but to give you some context to this recipe, I was at the supermarket the other day and noticed a whole massive section to cake mixes, cupcakes and muffins but only 2 types of biscuit packs – chocolate and choc chip.

People must want to try other flavours…or maybe they just don’t sell..guess I will never know.

However, this got me thinking, what happens if I buy one of the more unique cake mixes and turn it into biscuits instead?

I don’t recall the last time I ever used a pack mix for baking but this could be a very interesting experiment indeed.

That brought on the Strawberry Cake Biscuit recipe.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 (500g approx.) cake packet mix – I used Betty Crocker Strawberry
  • 1 tsn baking power
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • ½ tsn vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of small white chocolate chips (optional)

 

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175c and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Mix together the cake mix and the baking powder.
  3. Whisk by hand the eggs, butter, and vanilla extract.
  4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until the dough is formed.
  5. Mix in the choc chips if you are opting for this ingredient.
  6. Using hands with a little oil/butter roll the dough into balls about 30g in size (this is about the size of a 50c piece). Place on the baking paper.
  7. Bake for 10 minutes or until they are almost (but not) about to get slightly brown.
  8. Wait a few minutes and transfer onto a baking rack to cool. Once on the rack slightly push them down with a spatula if they have risen a lot in the center.

 

 

Notes:

  • You can use any cake mix. I almost went for the white chocolate and raspberry swirl.
  • This is a bit of a cheat recipe but it is just so simple and you can make biscuits you have never even tasted before!
  • They take a whole of 20 minutes to make and bake!
  • The biscuits are quite sweet so it wouldn’t hurt to make them smaller than I have recommended if you don’t like things too sweet.
  • The mix I bought came with an icing mix, if yours does too you can make the icing and use it to make a biscuit sandwich (similar to a melting moment type biscuits).

 

Strawberry Cake Biscuits

The ingredients

strawberry cake biscuits

Step 4

 

Like this recipe? Subscribe via RSS or email to get my new entries and more scrumptious recipes with reviews.

 

 

 

 

Email, RSS Follow
Print