For those with a sweet tooth...
We all love a slice of cake, or a bite of a hot, fresh cookie. So why not make your own. You will be surprised at how delicious these recipes are, not to mention how easy.
If you have any questions, feel free to comment stating the name of the dish you are querying.
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Axel's Perfect Fraisier cake.
NOTE: CONTAINS ALCOHOL! Also: Contains milk, eggs, dairy and almond paste. Allergy sufferers beware!
Ingredients
For the Pastry cream
- 2 cups milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
The Cake
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon kirsch
- 3/4 pound strawberries, thinly sliced
- Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
- 4 ounces almond paste (1/2 cup)
Directions
To make the pastry: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, vanilla bean, vanilla seeds and salt just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale, then whisk in the flour. Whisk 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the mixture into the hot milk in the saucepan and whisk over low heat until the pastry cream is thickened, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the butter until melted. Strain the pastry cream into a large bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until they hold firm peaks. Add 6 tablespoons of the sugar and continue beating until the whites are stiff and glossy, about 1 minute.
In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, the vanilla extract and the salt at medium-high speed until thick and light in color, about 1 minute. Fold half of the whites into the yolk mixture, then fold in 6 tablespoons of the flour. Repeat with the remaining whites and flour. Fold in the butter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cake is golden and pulls away from the edge of the pan. Set the pan on a rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a rack and let cool completely.
In a small saucepan, mix the 3 tablespoons of sugar with the water. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and add the kirsch.
Using a serrated knife, slice the cake in half horizontally. Transfer the cake bottom to a round 9-inch straight-sided glass bowl and brush with half of the kirsch syrup. Arrange a row of strawberry slices around the dish, then top the cake with the remaining sliced strawberries in an even layer. Spread all but 1 tablespoon of the pastry cream over the strawberries. Brush the cut side of the cake top with the remaining kirsch syrup and set it cut side down on the pastry cream.
Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll out the almond paste to a 9-inch round 1/16 inch thick. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon of pastry cream on the top of the fraisier and cover with the round of almond paste.
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Axel's Basic Victoria Sponge
Ingredients
For The Sponge
- 4 oz (113 grams) Flour (Self Raising)
- 4 oz (113 grams) Sugar
- 4 oz (113 grams) Butter (Unsalted)
- 2 Eggs
- Vanilla Essence (Optional, but it makes it nice.)
For The Filling
- Strawberry Jam
- Buttercream (See below for recipe)
For The Buttercream
- 6 Oz (175 grams) Icing sugar (Make sure there are no lumps!)
- 2 Oz (85 grams) Butter
- Vanilla Essence
To make the sponge, add your sugar and butter together and cream until soft and almost white in colour. Then, add one egg and about a tablespoon and a half of flour and mix. Then add more flour as you go, this will stop the egg curdling. Next, add the next egg and the remaining flour and mix very well, making sure no lumps are present.
Put this into a greased cake tin and put in the oven at around 180°C/gas 4. This will take roughly 20 minutes. But, depending on your oven, it might take a little longer. If you are unsure, take a sharp knife and poke the middle all the way through and pull it out. If there is liquid on the knife, it's not done.
After your sponge has cooked, take it out and put it on a plate to cool. After this has cooled, you can make your butter cream. (Adding buttercream to a hot cake is NOT a good idea. ;) )
Take your butter and put it in a dish, then add your icing sugar a bit at a time, mashing it in with a fork. After all of it is added, it should be firmer than before and will look lighter in colour. Add your vanilla essence and mix it in.
Cut your sponge in half. Spread one side with the jam, the other with your butter cream and serve with cream, ice cream, or custard. (Personally, I just like a sprinkling of lavender sugar. But, that's just me. ;) )
[NOTE: If you find your mix too runny, add a little extra flour.]
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Axel's Famous Builders Cake
Ingredients
Cake/Sponge
- 4OZ Self Raising Flour
- 4OZ Butter
- 4OZ Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- Vanilla Essence
Buttercream
- Butter
- Icing Sugar
- Peppermint Essence
- Blue food colouring.
Weight out the butter and the sugar and put them in a bowl. Mix them until whiteish in colour, fluffy and until it's easy to move the spoon in the mixture. Add one egg and a small amount of the flour and mix. Add more flour so it doesn't curdle. Then ad the next egg and another small amount of flour, adding the rest of the flour when mixed in. Add cocoa powder and the vanilla essence to taste. (The stronger, the better.) If the mixture becomes too dry, ad a small drop of milk to soften it up.
Place the mixture into a pre-greased (Get some butter on a small piece of paper and smear it on the inside of the tin.) baking/cake tin and place in a pre-heated oven and bake until risen. (Use a knife to test to see if it is done.)
To make the buttercream, add butter (As much, or as little. Whatever is needed. )to a bowl and keep adding icing sugar, mixing until firm. (There should be more icing sugar than butter.) Add the peppermint essence to taste. Then add the blue food colouring and a small amount of cocoa powder to create the 'cement look'.
After your cake is ready, slice it in half and spread the buttercream generously.
NOTE: Make sure that the cake is cold before you add the buttercream to the middle.
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Axel's Egg Custard. (WITHOUT PASTRY)
NOTE: Please have patience with this one, as it contains constant stirring
Ingredients
- 1 Vanilla pod
- 500ml of Milk
- 5 Egg Yolks
- 80g caster sugar
Add milk to a saucepan and bring to the boil adding the vanilla seeds and pod. (Take a knife and scrape them from the pod.) Do not leave it boiling long. Take it off the heat once it starts to bubble.
Next, in a bowl, mix your egg yolks with your sugar and mix. this needs to be whisked until it turns pale in colour. Through a sieve, pour your milk over this mixture, discarding the vanilla pod that was used earlier.
In another pan (Or the same one if you have time to wash it out. ;) ), add the mix and cook slowly. The mix needs to be continually stirred for at least 8 minutes until it thickens. Once it's able to coat the back of the spoon, it is ready.
[Note: For a savoury option, add cheese instead of vanilla.]
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Axel's Cookie Recipe
250g plain flour
325g chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon salt
200g dark brown soft sugar
100g caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
170g unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Directions
Preheat the oven to 170 C for electric and Gas mark 3 if you use gas and line your trays with parchment ready, or alternatively you can grease them. (Axel's Tip! - Try greasing and lightly dusting with flower. This makes any surface non-stick.) Mix together your salt, bicarb and flour until it's well mixed.
Then, in a clean bowl, cream together butter (Axel's Tip! - You can melt this if you want to make it easier, but I enjoy the workout you get from unmelted. Work those arms!), brown sugar and caster sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the flour, bicarb and salt mix until just blended and then stir in your chocolate chips by hand, or wooden spoon.
Once this has been mixed, take out roughly 4 tablespoons worth of the mix and place on your baking tray at around 7 to 8cm apart and bake for 15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are nicely crispy.
[NOTE: This recipe can be adapted to include any ingredients you want to add. M&M's are great. Also, I'll be adding a recipe for fudge soon which is a great addition.]
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Axel's Melty Chocolate Roulade
Ingredients
- 6oz of either milk, or plain chocolate (Melted)
- 6oz of caster sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 6 egg whites
- Cocoa powder
For the filling
- 300ml of yummy double cream
- Entirely optional extras of half a cup of strong coffee, Cointreau, or Nutella
Make sure to melt your chocolate before anything else. If it goes hard again, add honey to make it runny again. Allow it to cool a tiny bit. While you wait, whisk up your egg yolks and add your caster sugar. Add the chocolate to it and blend it evenly.
In another bowl, whisk up your egg whites and fold gently into the mix. Use sweeping motions so as not to take out too much air.
Line a baking tin with greaseproof paper and pour in your mix. Make sure to level it off. The last thing you want is a lumpy roll. Place in your oven for roughly 20 minutes. (Or at least until it looks cooked.)
Once it's done leave it to cool. (For the best results, overnight is a good idea.) Roulades roll best when cool, remember. After it has cooled, it's time to add your filling. Choose what you want (Fresh cream is ALWAYS a must, but if you can't get it, squirty cream will be fine.) and get it prepared.
Turn out your roulade onto a lightly floured surface, removing the paper and score about one to two inches down from the top. This will make rolling easier. Also trim your edges if they are messy. Spread on your filling and begin rolling at the end you scored until you have a nice spirally sausage of yummyness.
Dust with sugar.
Note: If you find it difficult to roll it, leave the paper on and spread the top side and use the paper to help you make a tighter roll.
