April 2015 – Sweet Tooth Experiments

Red Skin Candy Cake

Posted on April 27, 2015 Posted in Cakes .

Red Skin Candy Cake

To get some ideas on recipes recently I started looking closer at the more popular and my favourite lollies (candy) that I grew up on.

One of the lollies that caught my eye was the sweet raspberry flavour of the old Red Skin bar. Similar to the raspberry twist, (red licorice) but much stronger in flavour.

I have made a Musk Stick Cake before which turned out amazing so I decided to make a Red Skin Candy Cake.

Unlike the Must Stick Cake I made I would not be able to blitz the lollies in a food processor, therefore, for this recipe I placed the Red Skins in water to dissolved (inspired by the old Red Skin dissolving in vodka concept).

As I needed a plain cake base of this recipe I used my white chocolate cake recipe which uses water instead of milk (perfect for dissolving the red skins).

My white chocolate cake recipe is super amazing, where so the Red Skins just takes it to the next level!

Ingredients:

420ml boiling
16 red skins
170g butter
170g white chocolate
300g sugar
300 self raising flour
2 egg
Red Skin Ganache:
8 red skins
100ml cream
200g white chocolate

Method:

Place the water in a bowl with the red skins. Set aside until the red skins have dissolved in the water.
Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper.
Place the butter, chocolate, sugar and red skin water in a saucepan on a medium heat until the mix is smooth and glossy.
Add the flour and whisk with a hand whisk until the mixture thickens.
Add the egg and whisk to combine.
Pour the mix into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a skew inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Place the cake onto a cooling tray until cold.
To make the ganache place the red skins and cream into a saucepan on a medium heat and stir until the red skins have melted and the mix is smooth.
Place the white chocolate in and remove the saucepan off the heat.
Stir until the white chocolate has melted and the mix is glossy and smooth.
Place the mix in the fridge to harden to a spreadable consistency.
Cut the cake in half horizontally.
Spread half the ganache over one layer of cake. Top with the second and spread remaining ganache over the top and the sides of the cake.

Red Skins

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Orange and Poppy Seed Rice Cake

Posted on April 20, 2015 Posted in Cakes .

Orange and Poppy Seed Rice Cake

I actually got the idea for this recipe from a savory risotto and garlic cake recipe. I thought it would be interesting to take the rice base idea and the cooking methodology and incorporate this into my orange and poppy seed cake recipe (knowing only zest, juice or essence would work as the flavoring).

I did have to make quite a few alternations as I went, obviously the original orange and poppy seed ingredients were not all applicable and the savory cake methodology didn’t 100% translate but was fairly close.

The outcome was quite surprising. I had no idea if the cake would hold the structure I was after, or if the cake would be too dry, however the outcome was an extremely well structured but moist cake that tasted amazing! A very satisfying experiment. I even got told that had I not informed people of the rice part they would not have known.

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 tbsn orange zest
I tsn vanilla essence
80g poppy seeds
220g sugar
1 cup orange juice
2 cups milk
1 cup arborio rice
2 eggs
3 tbsn self raising flour

Syrup:

20g orange juice
1 tbsn orange zest
120g sugar

Method:

Simmer on low the orange zest, vanilla, poppy seeds, sugar, juice and milk in a saucepan on the stove until well combine and the sugar and butter are melted. Remove off heat.
Place the rice in a saucepan on medium heat and stir the dry rice.
Now add in 1/2 cup of the milk mix until the liquid is absorbed. Then add in another 1/2 cup. Repeat until the liquid is full absorbed. This will take around 30 minutes in total.
Remove the rice mix off the heat and place a lid on the top, leave for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 23cm spring form cake tin with baking paper.
Once the rice mix has cooled add in the eggs and flour, beat until will combine with a wooden spoon.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the top of the cake has browned slightly.
Meanwhile, place the syrup ingredients in a saucepan on a medium heat, stir until ingredients are well combine.
Boil the mix for 4 minutes or until the mix resembles a thick syrup consistency.
Using a skewer poke holes in the cake and pour the orange syrup over the top of the cake.
Remove from the tin and enjoy.

Notes:

You will need 3 oranges for this recipe.

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Peanut and Raspberry Ricotta Cheesecake

Posted on April 14, 2015 Posted in Cakes .

Peanut and Raspberry Ricotta Cheesecake

So often when I come across ricotta cheesecake recipes they seem to have more cream cheese, mascarpone or cream than they do ricotta. So I decided to make a ricotta cheesecake with ricotta and no other cream or cheese inclusions.

For the flavour, I actually played around with many different fruits and flavors but found the texture always ended up too soft or the ricotta flavour overpowered the fruits flavors. Therefore, I ended up opting for ingredients that were thick in texture and strong in flavour. Now, you may recall in the past I have posted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich slice recipe which was one of my first experiments with the peanut and fruit flavour combo’s. This combo worked very well, was strong and as I used peanut butter and jam the mix would not thin the ricotta out too much. The outcome a very satisfying, creamy, tasty RICOTTA cheesecake! In fact, my father actually told me this was the best cake I have made! On top of this it is super easy to make with only 7 steps!

Ingredients

Base:

210g plain sweet biscuits
85g butter

Cake:

90ml milk
1 tbsn gelatine powder
500g ricotta
90ml golden syrup
240g raspberry jam
150g peanut butter
175g condensed milk

Method:

Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Place the biscuits and butter melted in a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Press the mix into the bottom of a cake tin and press with fingertips until the base is firm.
Place the tin in the fridge to firm.
Heat the milk in the microwave until bubbling then sprinkle the gelatine in the milk. Wisk with a small hand whisk until the gelatine is well combine and no lumps. Leave mix aside to cool slightly.
Using electric beaters whisk the ricotta with the condensed milk until; smooth and creamy.
Pour the milk mix into the ricotta mix along with the peanut butter and jam and beat to a smooth consistency. Whisk until well combine then pour the mix onto of the base and place in the fridge to set for 3 hours. Then remove the cake from the tin and serve.

Notes:

I have decorated with crushed peanuts and fresh raspberries.

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Novelty Chomp Bar

Posted on April 9, 2015 Posted in Unique .

Novelty Chomp Bar

While on holiday at the start of the year a friend professed her love for the chocolate bar Chomp. We were in the supermarket and she saw the Chomp bar, which is quite a rare find and had to have not one but two.

Somehow we got onto the subject of me making a ‘chomp cake’…A few bars later and an analysis of the key ingredients that go into the chocolate bar and I was pretty sure I could replicate the bar on a large scale.

Therefore introducing my Novelty Chomp Chocolate Bar.

Ingredients:

125g pack of vanilla cream waffers

Chocolate ganache:

50g thickened cream
150g milk chocolate

Caramel layer:

160g brown sugar
95g thickened cream
35g butter

Method:

Line a 15cm x 8cm loaf cake tin with baking paper.
To make the chocolate ganache heat the 50g cream in the microwave in a bowl until boiling.
Add the chocolate to the cream, wait 1 minute then stir the chocolate until a thick and glossy consistency has formed. Place the mix aside in the fridge to cool.
To make the caramel place the sugar and 95g of cream in a pan on the stove and heat on medium stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Turn the heat up to high and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove the pan off the heat, add the 35g of butter and stir until the mix is glossy and combine. Place in the fridge until the caramel is cooled.
To assemble pour 2/3rds of the chocolate mix into the tin, ensuring you spread the chocolate along the sides as well as covering the bottom of the tin. You need to have all the metal of the cake tin completely covered in chocolate. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes or until set.
To add the caramel layer you need to pour half the mix into the base on top of the chocolate mix.
For the wafer layer place 2×2 waffers in the tin horizontally (long ways). Cut 4 extra wafers to size to ensure complete coverage of the caramel with 2 layers of wafer thickness.
Pour the remainder of the caramel on top of the wafers and spread to ensure even coverage.
Place the tin in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Remove the tin from the freezer and pour the remaining chocolate ganache over the top of the caramel, ensuring even and full overage of the caramel.
Place in the freezer for 20 minute.
To serve turn the tin upside down onto a plate and remove the baking paper from the Chomp Bar.
Cut horizontally and enjoy.

Note:

You will only need 8 waffers for this recipe so if you can find a smaller packet (70g) of waffers it would be ideal.

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Musk Candy Cake

Posted on April 4, 2015 Posted in Cakes .

Musk Candy Cake

Recently at work a colleague brought in a box of old school canteen/cafeterias musk sticks, which of course I consumed quite happily. It has been so long since I have had lollies that I grew up on (one would hope that I have grown out of the lolly bag stage by now). Eating these lollies brought on the idea of making a musk flavoured cake.

By using my standard vanilla cake recipe as the base I modified to allow for ground-up musk sticks. After a few variations of frosting I ended up making a rosewater inspired frosting, which is a very very similar flavour to musk sticks therefore worked really well.

Musk sticks in the icing made the texture way to rough and looked worse for wear after being spread onto the cake.

Such a tasty and pretty cake – this one will be coming out again for a cousins 7^th birthday for sure!

Ingredients:

Cake:

250g sugar
125g butter
2 eggs
1 + ½ rosewater essence
Pink food coloring (as many drops as you desire)
275g musk lollies
250 milk
2 cups self raising flour

Frosting:

125g butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsn rosewater essence
Pink food coloring (as many drops as you desire)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 23cm baking tin with baking paper.
Place the musk lollies in a food processor and process until they are to a powder consistency.
Beat the sugar and butter with electric beaters until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time beating in between each addition.
Beat in the rosewater essence and food coloring.
Beat in the ground musk until well combine.
Pour in the milk and flour and stir with a spoon until just combine.
Use the electric beaters until the mix is just smooth, without over-beating.
Pour the mix into the prepared cake tin.
Place in the oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Meanwhile make the frosting by placing the ingredients into a bowl and using the electric beaters beat the mix until light and fluffy. Place aside.
Leave the cake in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer onto a cooling rack.
Once cool cut the cake in half horizontally.
Following, spread the frosting in the middle of the cake, over the top and sides with a knife.

Notes:

I used musk sticks as musk flavored lifesavers are too hard to process sufficiently.

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Sweet Tooth Experiments

Monthly Archives: April 2015

Red Skin Candy Cake

Orange and Poppy Seed Rice Cake

Peanut and Raspberry Ricotta Cheesecake

Novelty Chomp Bar

Musk Candy Cake

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