MARBLED TEA CAKE
Serves 10-12
4 x 250ml flour
20ml baking powder
250g butter
375ml castor sugar
6 eggs
10ml vanilla essence
250ml milk
100g dark chocolate, melted
pink food colouring
Glacé icing
375ml icing sugar
water to mix
pink colouring
Grease a 23cm-deep ring pan with non-stick cooking spray. (Or use a large chiffon pan.) Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl.
With an electric mixer, cream the butter and castor sugar very well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add vanilla essence. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk until well blended.
Divide the mixture into three equal portions.
Add melted chocolate to the one portion and a little pink food colouring to the other, leaving the last one plain. Drop alternate spoonfuls of the three mixtures into the prepared pan.
Cut through the batter with a knife to produce the marbled effect.
Bake at 160°C for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Remove and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.
When cool, ice cake with glacé icing which you make by combining the icing sugar, water and pink food colouring.
LEMON CHIFFON CAKE
Serves 10-12
375ml flour
10ml baking powder
190ml castor sugar
100ml oil
6 eggs, separated
75ml water
grated rind of 1 lemon
80ml extra castor sugar
Lemon Butter Icing
250g butter
750ml icing sugar, sifted
rind and juice of 1 lemon
milk to mix
Sift flour, baking powder and castor sugar into a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the centre and add the oil, egg yolks and water.
Mix well with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the lemon rind.
Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry and gradually beat in the extra castor sugar. Loosen the batter by mixing in a large spoonful of the egg white mixture, then carefully fold the rest of the egg whites into the batter.
Pour mixture into an ungreased 24cm chiffon pan and bake at 180°C for 30-40 minutes until firm. Remove from oven, invert pan and leave to cool completely.
Carefully loosen cake from sides of pan with a knife and remove. Cover with lemon butter icing and garnish the top with thin strips of lemon rind.
ICING: Cream butter until soft. Add the icing sugar, lemon rind and juice and beat until smooth. Add enough milk to make a spreadable icing.
STRAWBERRY LAMINGTONS
Makes 16
125g butter
160ml castor sugar
3 extra large eggs
5ml vanilla essence
300ml flour
pinch of salt
7ml baking powder
Syrup
250ml water
75g butter
300ml icing sugar
few drops of strawberry essence
few drops of pink colouring
desiccated coconut
Cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients and blend in gently.
Spoon into a greased and lined 20cm square cake pan and bake at 180°C for 15-20 minutes until golden or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on a cooling rack.
Cut cake into 4-5cm squares. Dip them into the syrup and toss in coconut. Place on cooling rack to dry.
SYRUP: Combine water, butter and icing sugar in a small saucepan.
Put over medium heat and stir until melted. Add essence and colouring then bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
* It is easier to dip the lamingtons if the cake has been made the day before because the cake will be firmer.
CHOCOLATE ORANGE TORTE
Serves 8-10
180ml flour
45ml cocoa powder
pinch of salt
4 eggs
180ml castor sugar
60g butter, melted and cooled
50ml orange liqueur or fruit juice
Topping
400g good chocolate, chopped
375ml cream
45ml orange liqueur (optional)
cocoa powder for decoration
Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt. Beat eggs and castor sugar with an electric mixer until very thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Carefully fold in sifted dry ingredients in three batches, then fold in the melted butter. Pour mixture into a base-lined 25cm cake pan and bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove and turn on to a cooling rack.
When the cake is completely cold, trim it to fit into the base of a 23cm springform cake pan. Sprinkle liqueur over cake.
TOPPING: Put chocolate in a bowl. Heat cream to boiling either in microwave or on top of the stove and pour over the chocolate. Stir until smooth.
Stir in liqueur. Put in the fridge to cool. Using an electric mixer, beat the chocolate until it begins to thicken and gets fluffy. Spoon this mixture on top of the cake base and smooth with a spatula. Chill until firm.
Remove from the pan and put on a serving plate. Sift cocoa powder on to the cake and decorate with white chocolate truffles or as desired. - Saturday Star
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