O Canada!… Maple Syrup Cake Weekly Bake-Off

So, regular readers may have noticed it has been a while since I published a Weekly Bake-Off post.

I was thrilled last Monday when I saw the Weekly Bake-Off challenge… Maple Syrup Cake.
Well, my little heart skipped a beat. Those who know me personally will know I have spent two decades dreaming of life in Canada, since a holiday there with my parents as a teenager, and 2 subsequent trips as an adult. I spent the Summer or 2001 living and working in Vancouver, and count this as one of the happiest times in my life. I love this beautiful city and its beautiful surroundings!

So a cake made with Maple Syrup is a lovely reminder of the land of the Maple Leaf!

Also what’s not to love about maple syrup?
Delia Smith describes maple syrup as ”a unique ingredient, smooth and silky textured, with a sweet, distinctive flavour – hints of caramel with overtones of toffee will not do- and a rare colour amber set alight. Maple flavour is, well, maple flavour, uniquely different from any other, and ultimately quality is determined by what they call the long mouth feel”.

I am pleased with how the Maple Syrup Cake turned out. The sponge is lovely and moist, and the flavour of maple syrup is delicate throughout. This is a recipe I will definitely try again.

The recipe below is adapted slightly from Mary Berry’s 100 Cakes & Bakes.
I have omitted pecan nuts from the recipe for the benefit of Mr Hungry Squirrel’s nut-allergy.

Check out the other entrants’ submissions to the Weekly Bake-Off Challenge.

The Recipe

Ingredients
Cake 225g unsalted butter, softened 225g light muscovado sugar zest of 1 orange 4 large eggs 100ml maple syrup 350g self-raising flour 2 level tsp baking powder ½ tsp ground ginger	Filling & Topping 500ml double cream, whipped 3 tbsp maple syrup zest of 1 orange

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Lightly grease a deep, round 8 inch cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.

Put all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and mix until well blended.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin, and level the surface.

Bake for 1 – 1¼ hours.
After 30 – 40 minutes, place a disc of baking parchment over the top to prevent the cake from browning too much.
A fine skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin, for 10 – 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, remove the baking parchment and allow to cool completely.

Whip the cream (careful not to over-beat it), and then fold in the maple syrup.

Split the cake into three layers.

Spread a layer of cream between each layer and over the top.

Decorate the top with the orange zest.

Enjoy!

Fiona’s Tea Loaf

So, with every January comes New Year Resolutions.
I have to be honest, I am not big on New Year Resolutions, due to the low willpower threshold I have mentioned previously.
However, like most people, I have great intentions to eat less, exercise more, and live a healthier life.

This recipe is a vein attempt to include some lower fat content recipes on my blog, and is certainly healthier than some of the other recipes I have featured on my blog, due to the absence of butter in the ingredients list.

Though I have to admit, I can’t help but serve a slice of tea loaf with a good slathering of butter… woops!

This recipe was adapted slightly from a recipe given to me by my mother-in-law Fiona… hence Fiona’s Tea Loaf!

The Recipe

Ingredients
225g sultanas 200g soft light brown sugar 300ml tea 1 egg, beaten 275g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp mixed spice

Method

Place the sultanas and tea into a mixing bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and leave for 3-4 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Lightly butter and line a 2lb loaf tin, or use a loaf tin liner.

Add the beaten egg and sugar to the soaked fruit, and mix well using a wooden spoon.

Sift in the flour and baking powder, add the mixed spice, and mix well.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.

Bake for 1 – 1¼ hours, until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cover the top with baking paper or foil halfway through the bake to prevent the loaf from browning too much.

Enjoy!

WPScotland’s 1st Birthday Cupcakes

A few weeks ago Martin from WPScotland asked me to make some cupcakes to celebrate WPScotland‘s first birthday.

WPScotland was founded by Martin Young and Taryn Wallis.
It is a nationwide network of WordPress bloggers, users, developers and designers. Their main aim is to bring these groups together, and foster a community that supports each other through sharing experiences and learning from each other.
Their first meetup was in Glasgow in January 2011, and from those 7 people, they now have monthly meetups in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness, and almost 80 different people have come along. Their first one day conference sold out in less than a week, and their second, on Feb 04 2012 in Glasgow, is set to do as well.

For the WPScotland birthday meetup cupcakes, I baked my Raspberry & Orange Cupcakes, and decorated with a swirl of frosting, and topped with the WPScotland logo.

I reckon they look pretty smart!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WPSCOTLAND!

I use Top That Edible Cake Toppers for my printed cupcake toppers.

Raspberry & Orange Cupcakes

Happy New Year followers!
The Christmas & New Year season was a busy one. Mr Hungry Squirrel and I had a lovely time catching up with friends and family, as I hope you all did too!

I am most definitely finding my baking feet after a bit of a break from blogging over the festive season, so I decided to ease myself in with an old faithful… My first bake of 2012 was Raspberry & Orange Cupcakes. I have used this recipe on many occasions now, and it always goes down a treat!
The orange compliments the raspberry so well, and the orange-tinged cream cheese frosting is divine.

I am also entering this post into the Citrus BlogHop. Check out Mike’s, from Mike’s Baking (one of my favourite blogs), post  on his delicious looking Clementine Basil Mojito Loaf Cake, not to mention all the other fab posts in this #citruslove event!

The Recipe

Ingredients
Cupcakes 225g unsalted butter at room temperature 150g caster sugar finely grated zest of 2 oranges 3 medium eggs, beaten 225g self-raising flour, sifted pinch of salt 4 tbsp orange juice 125g raspberries, lightly crushed	Frosting 150g unsalted butter at room temperature 75g low fat soft cheese 500g icing sugar, sifted ½ tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp finely grated orange zest pink food colouring

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

In a freestanding mixer beat the butter and sugar together, until pale and creamy.
Add the orange zest, then gradually beat in the eggs, little by little.

Add the sifted flour and a pinch of salt, and gently fold in using a large metal spoon.
Finally fold in the orange juice and raspberries.

Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases, and bake in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes.

When ready, they will be golden brown on top, and a skewer inserted should come out clean.

Cool in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, use a freestanding mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese together until creamy.
Add the icing sugar, mix on a slow speed initially. Once incorporated, turn the speed up to maximum and beat for 4-5 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract, orange zest and a little pink food colouring, and beat well.

Spread or pipe onto the little cakes, and decorate as you wish.

Enjoy!

This recipe makes 14-16 cupcakes.

This recipe is adapted from a Rachel Allen recipe for Kerrygold.