Blood Orange Pound Cake

Happy Valentines Day! I might not be a fan of the more obvious, throw some hearts on, Valentines Day baking this vibrant blood orange cake just happens to be bright pink so might be the perfect cake if you are looking for something edible this Valentines Day. Made with my winter obsession this pound cake is infused with blood orange flavour. Firstly the zest is beaten with butter and sugar, releasing the strong oils and adding bags full of flavour. To layer in more orange flavour the cake, still fresh from the oven, is brushed liberally with a simple syrup made with blood orange juice and sugar, which soaks down into the cake adding more flavour plus moistness to boot. To finish the cake has yet more orange flavour added in the form of a classic icing sugar glaze and finished with segments of blood oranges and toasted flaked almonds. It is a simple cake with a surprising amount of elegance; its texture is velvety, the benefit of being made with a mix of butter and cream, its moist and keeps for days, and it has a delightful flavour. 

Whilst I have you here I also have a quick update. In the morning I am flying out to the states to start the #BakeLikeABrit tour with Bake From Scratch magazine. I cannot wait to get to San Francisco, our first stop on the tour and I am so excited to get our first event started. Make sure you follow along on Instagram where I will be posting lots of behind the scenes content. Whilst we have a lot planned on the trip we also have a few events you can get involved with.

Facebook Live at the Williams Sonoma HQ
Don't miss the FB LIVE from the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen Amy Guittard from Guittard Chocolate and myself. We will be making Passion Fruit Bundt Cake in the Nordic Ware Crown Bundt Pan, glazing in a chocolate sauce made with Guittard Chocolate
There will be a GIVEAWAY during the broadcast, with prizes including cake pans, cookbooks and chocolate.
Join this event to get a reminder when the LIVE begins Friday, February 16th at 9:30am PST 5.30pm GMT.

In Store Events
Whilst on the tour we will be doing two instore events at Williams Sonoma stores, the Edina store in Minneapolis and the Columbus Circle store in NYC. Tickets are $15 and include a copy of the magazine so a total steal, I cant wait to see you guys there.

Minneapolis
19th Feb 6.30-8.00pm Williams Sonoma Edina
Book Tickets Here

NYC
22nd Feb 6.30-8.00pm Williams Sonoma Columbus Circle
Book Tickets Here

Blood Orange Pound Cake
300g caster sugar
3 blood oranges, prefereably Moro variety
150g unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
200ml double cream

Blood Orange Syrup
100ml blood orange juice
100g caster sugar

To Decorate
2 blood oranges
Icing sugar
Handful of flaked almonds, lightly toasted

Heat the oven to 180C (fan 160C) and lightly grease a large loaf tin, lining with a strip of parchment paper. Put the sugar, butter and orange zest into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and beat for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, a little a time, waiting until fully combined before adding more. Fold in the flour, salt and the baking powder and mix until smooth. Pour in the cream and gently mix to combine. Spoon into the loaf tin and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

While the cake bakes, put the orange juice and sugar into a small pan and bring to a gentle simmer, cooking until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack set over a piece of baking paper. Using a skewer, poke holes all over the top, sides and base of the cake. Brush the syrup all over the cake, coating the entire surface. Allow to cool. 

To make the glaze, slowly mix in icing sugar to the orange juice, adding just enough to make a glaze that is thick and pourable. Add a small pinch of salt and mix to combine, this helps temper the sweetness a little. Pour the glaze all over the cake, allowing to drip downs the sides of the cake. Allow the glaze to set for 20-30 minutes before topping with segments of blood orange and flaked almonds. This cake will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

Triple Ginger Bundt Cake

GIngerbread is a big deal in my family, a really big deal. My grandmother, Nanna, had a version that was made once a week, a firm family favourite, it is one of those recipes that I will cherish and bake forever. Even though she passed away when I was little I have her handwritten recipe and make it often. It helps that it is incredibly easy to make, a simple wet into dry, muffin style method, and I do love a recipe that massively exceeds in taste the effort required to make it. Whilst I have a lot of loyalty to that recipe for this gingerbread I wanted a slightly different tone, something darker, more intense, something similar to my other favourite gingerbread recipe; the legendary ginger stout cake from Claudia Fleming, a recipe she developed whilst the pastry chef at The Gramercy Tavern. The recipe appears in her out of print of book The Last Course, a copy of which I am lucky to own (it is currently being sold on amazon for £138!). Similarly to Flemings recipe mine is oil based and uses a stout to give extra depth, instead of the usual go-to guinness I went with a chocolate stout. To give a darker, richer flavour I switched my recipe from golden syrup to black treacle and upped the spicing, using a trifecta of ginger in the form of ground, fresh and candied, I wanted this to be a properly fiery gingerbread. 

Triple Ginger Bundt Cake
Serves 12-16

340g plain flour
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
175g vegetable oil
150g light brown sugar
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
4 tbsp roughly chopped candied ginger
340g black treacle (or molasses)
200ml stout (I used chocolate stout but any stout will work) 
2 large eggs

Making this cake really couldn't be easier, simply preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and take a a 10-cup bundt pan, I used Nordicware's Kougelhopf pan, and lightly grease, making sure to cover the entire pan right into all of the crevices of the pan. Lightly dust the inside of the pan with a little flour, tapping out any excess.  

In a large bowl mix together all of the dry goods. Add the remaining ingredients, except the eggs, into a saucepan and heat over medium heat cooking until the sugar has melted and everything is evenly combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before whisking in the eggs. Pour the liquid goods over the flour mixture and whisk briefly until smoothly combined. Pour into the prepared bundt pan and place onto a baking tray, baking in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. If you fancy you can glaze or frost the cake but personally I think a simple dusting of icing sugar works perfectly. 

As with all gingerbread recipes this actually improves after a couple days, the flavour gets better and the cake gets stickier. 

Cardamon Cake with Strawberry and White Chocolate (a not so funfetti cake)

Happy Birthday to…well, me actually! Yes I made my own birthday cake, I’m that person now! Actually, I don't really like to celebrate my birthday in a big way, not because I worry about ageing (I really couldn't care) I just don’t like the attention or the fuss, makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Normally I be happy to have a lazy morning in bed with a big mug of coffee opening cards and presents and have that be it. This year I decided *was convinced by friends* to change that so I have a weekend full of fun birthday treats and with the weather looking gorgeous I cant wait! But enough of my existential ramblings, back to cake, that’s what we are here for after all. Birthdays require a cake and come on folks, birthdays are not about subtle and elegant, it requires a taste level that just verges on the tacky. I also think there should be a law requiring all birthday cakes to include a ridiculous amount of sprinkles, but more on that later.

When it comes to birthday cakes I have one main rule, it has to be homemade. I don't care if you’re bringing your kid up on a no sugar diet or you're trying to watch your weight, a birthday is a day to indulge and enjoy yourself. My love of food and cooking comes from that slightly cliched idea of cooking and baking with my mum when I was still young, helping make the mince pies at christmas, making bread with Grandparents, spending a lot time in the kitchen with family, learning by doing. Key amongst those memories were the fabulous birthday cakes my mum made for my twin brother and me. These weren't complex cakes, topped with over the top ornate decorations, these were simple chocolate cakes with smarties and chocolate fingers used to create a train, chocolate buttons used to spell out our age that year. The key thing that I remember though is that they were homemade. I think it is this reason I equate baking with love; baking something for another person really shows you care, to my mind it is one of the nicest things you can do for someone. Short version of that rambling is - homemade birthday cakes are the way to go (even if you make it for yourself).

For my birthday cake I wanted a cake that was a little over the top, colourful and just a little bit garish. Yes I wanted to make a funfetti cake, sprinkles everywhere! Turns out with UK and EU regulations on certain colourings means it’s pretty hard to get really colourful sprinkles that give the right effect. The sprinkles I used, traditional 100s and 1000s, basically vanished once the cake was baked. So this was funfetti lite, just sprinkles on the top of the cake. 

I have also been experimenting with a new type, new to me anyway, of filming video recipe content and this little example is my first attempt. I will be doing a few more over the coming months, with some being full recipes so let me know what you think?

Cardamon Layer Cake with Strawberry and White Chocolate Buttercream

Cardamom Cake Layers
325g plain flour
25g cornflour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
2-3 tsp ground cardamon (depending on how strong you want the flavour)
1/4 tsp salt
225g unsalted butter, room temperature
400g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
5 large egg whites, lightly beaten
250ml whole milk

Strawberry White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
3 large egg whites (roughly 120g)
240g caster sugar
360g unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature
165g strawberry puree, see below
150g white chocolate, melted and cooled
100g strawberry jam

Strawberry Puree
125g diced strawberry
40g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

To make the cake first thing you need to do is make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature, everything combines better this way, no split or curdled cake batter!

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and lightly grease three 8 inch round cake tins, lining the bases with parchment. 

Mix together the flour, cornflour, baking powder, cardamon and salt and set aside for the moment. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and using an electric mixer beat together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Whilst continuing to mix slowly add in the egg white a little at a time beating for about 30 seconds between additions. Once all the egg has been added mix in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk. Divide the batter equally between the prepared tins and bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely. 

To make the buttercream first start with the strawberry puree. Place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the fruit starts to release its juice. Mash slightly with a fork and continue cooking until the mixture is very juicy and the liquid has reduced slightly, this should take no more than a few minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and use a stick blender to puree. Set aside to cool fully before using. 

A post shared by Edd Kimber (@theboywhobakes) on May 24, 2017 at 10:28am PDT

For the buttercream place the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Gently whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved. To test it is ready dip your forefinger and thumb into the bowl and rub together. If you can feel sugar grains, heat for a little longer. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk using an electric mixer for about 5-10 minutes or until the meringue is a room temperature. Whilst continuing to whisk, add the butter a little piece at a time. By the time all of the butter has been incorporated you should have a silky buttercream texture. Pour in the cooled chocolate and strawberry mixtures and mix to combine. 

To assemble the cake place the first layer onto a cardboard cake round or a serving plate and top with half of the jam, spreading almost to the outside edge. Top with a layer of the buttercream and spread to the outside edge. Repeat with the second cake and finish by placing the last layer of cake on top, spreading the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. 

To decorate scatter as many sprinkles across the cake as your inner child desires. 

Kept covered this cake will keep for up to three days but really who is going to keep a cake lying around that long. Make it, light some candles, make a wish and dig in!

Bergamot and Gin Bundt Cake

January. It was barrage of cold, wet and simply miserable days, coupled with a looming tax deadline. Thank god it is over (although with Trump now in office I don't think its going to be sunny days and rainbows anytime soon). So yes, January doesn't really give us much to look forward to, except for the bounty of citrus that brightness the dullest of months. Normally I am obsessed with blood oranges, buying them by the dozen and figuring out a use later, and that certainly hasn't changed. This year, however, I have become quite besotted by the bergamot.  A more unusual, slightly trickier to find citrus, it tastes to me like a cross between a lemon, a lime and with a big dose of grapefruit and a hint of lavender. Its a little more sweet than lemons, although still sharp, very floral and just delicious. Over the last month I have used it in cocktails, in cookies and a couple of cakes and I have been completely won over. Thankfully my recipe testers seem to agree. 

One of the things with being a food writer is that at most times you can find one, if not two recipes in the kitchen waiting to find a home. It is one of the questions that people seem fascinated with; where does all all the food I make go, other than the obvious of course! I bake and cook every day and there is a limit to what me and my flatmate can eat, as much as we try to deny that sometimes. So, on a regular basis, I become the Hansel and Gretel of cakes, leaving crumbs wherever I go, taking cakes to meetings, dropping off cookies to my neighbour and generally trying to get the food into other peoples mouths other than my own. This particular recipe ended up at a friends office. Whilst they are normally very thankful for the food, I don’t regularly hear much back in the terms of feedback, but this was different. They loved this cake, and whilst I had planned on sharing this eventually, be it in a book or a magazine, I thought it was too good to sit on so here it is. A Bergamot and Gin Bundt cake (yes another bundt, sorry but I don’t think I won't ever stop loving bundt cakes). 

Bergamot and Gin Bunt Cake
500g golden caster sugar
zest of 2 large bergamot (see note below)
8 large eggs
250ml light olive oil
200g yoghurt
50ml bergamot juice
100g fine semolina
250g self raising flour
100g ground almonds
1/2 tsp baking powder

Glaze
2 tbsp gin
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1-2 tbsp bergamot juice
200g icing sugar

To make the bundt cake preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan).

Place the sugar, bergamot zest and eggs into a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk together until pale and light, about 5 minutes. Pour in the olive oil, yoghurt and bergamot juice and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl mix together the remaining ingredients. Add the dry goods to the egg mixture and whisk together briefly to combine. 

Spray a large bundt pan with oil (I find spray oil the most effective way to grease a bundt tin, almost guaranteeing it to release easily) and pour in the cake batter. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Whilst the cake is still warm you can brush with a bergamot syrup if you fancy but I actually dont think this cake needs it, it is perfectly moist and flavourful on its own. 

For the glaze mix together the bergamot juice, gin, vanilla and icing sugar until a thick but pourable glaze is formed. Pour over the top of the cake and allow to drip down the sides of the cake. If you prefer you can sprinkle the cake with bergamot zest.

This keep keeps brilliantly, 3-4 days in a covered container.