Category Archives: Cake Recipes

RECIPE // Lemon coconut cake with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream (and a nod to Violet)

Well a big hello my Lovelies! How’s things? 

I know it was a couple of months ago now, but who watched the Royal Wedding? Sigh. Wasn’t it just gorgeous!?

Ok, now keep your hands up if you loooved Megan Markle’s wedding dress. Sorry folks, but my hand goes down right there. I know I know…simple elegance, but nah, I tried, but I just could not see past an ill fitting, dare I say it, plain gown that did nothing for my expectations of royal nuptials. ( Please don’t throw anything at me! ) Thankfully her stunning veil saved the day and of course the sweet Duchess of Sussex is just so darn attractive she looks fabulous in anything. 

The cake however, now there is a trend setting piece of sugar work that I am hoping will take the world by storm. Although, yes, admittedly, it too was rather plain for the palace, I was impressed by it’s daring simplicity. Sitting there on possibly priceless gold cake stands, were these very basic (dare I say rustic) cakes that gosh, even home baking amateurs like me could have a crack at. 

What excites me most about this rustic marvel is the rough edges. That brilliantly buttercreamed border has announced to the home baking world that it is finally ok not to have that all elusive perfect razor sharp edge on your cakes. (Although I still love that look and hope one day to achieve it) But oh my, this is something to celebrate my friends. What a revolution! And honestly, isn’t it just so pretty? 

So, it is with the greatest respect to Claire Ptak from  Violet Cakes I offer you my nod to Violet. A celebration of the imperfect cake. To keep some vintage originality, I chose to give my cake more of a shabby chic look, using the prettiest pale pink roses and gorgeous ‘Wedgewood’ food colour. I hope we see a lot more of this cake decorating style in the future.

The Royal wedding cake was elderflower and lemon. For my cake I made a lemon and coconut cake with layers of raspberry swiss meringue buttercream and homemade lemon curd. Store bought curd will do, but let me encourage you to make your own as it really does taste so much better. I use this super simple recipe from Donna Hay.

 

Print

Lemon coconut cake with raspberry swiss meringue buttercream

A subtle lemon cake filled with layers of fresh raspberry swiss meringue buttercream and homemade lemon curd.

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 1 tsp each baking powder & Bicarb soda
  • 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
  • 1 1/2 cups castor sugar
  • zest of two lemons

Raspberry swiss meringue buttercream

  • 12 egg whites
  • 2 1/2 cups castor sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 625 grams unsalted butter, chopped and at room temp (2 1/2 blocks) It needs to be quite soft
  • 1 punnet fresh (or frozen) raspberries
  • 2 - 3 drops pink gel paste I used Wilton Rose colour
  • 1 cup lemon curd to put between cake layers I used Wilton Rose colour
  • 4 -5 drops Americolor "Wedgewood" food gel paste For final coat of frosting

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180C

    Grease and line three 20cm (8 inch) round cake pans

  2. In a medium bowl, using a hand whisk, beat eggs until well combined.

  3. Add vanilla and oil. Whisk well

  4. Add sour cream. Whisk until well combined. Add coconut and water, whisk well.

  5. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, bicarb soda

  6. In another separate bowl, measure sugar. Add zest of two lemons and using your fingers rub the zest into sugar until well combined and fragrant.

  7. Add sugar to dry mix and whisk together until well combined

  8. Carefully pour wet mixture into dry mix. Whisk well.

  9. Divide cake mixture into three prepared cake tins.

  10. Bake in moderate oven for 25 minutes. Check and continue to bake for another 5 minutes if needed. 

  11. Place tins on a wire rack to cool. Leave cakes in tins for 10 minutes before turning onto rack. When completely cool, wrap each cake in plastic food wrap and refrigerate at least an hour (I leave mine overnight)

Swiss meringue buttercream

  1. Carefully separate egg whites, ensuring no yolk gets in. I find it best to separate each egg in a small bowl before adding it to the mixing bowl, so you don't contaminate all of the other whites if some yolk gets in..make sense?

    Keep two egg yolks to make your lemon curd

  2. Place egg whites in your electric mixing bowl.

  3. Add sugar and hand whisk until well combined

  4. Put the bowl carefully over a medium saucepan on a stove, with 1 inch of simmering water in it. Whisk to ensure sugar and eggs are combined

  5. Wait and watch for about ten minutes until you feel no sugar granules as you rub mixture between your fingers. NOTE: mixture will be hot but shouldn't be too hot to touch. Never do this if you are making caramel!!

  6. When you are sure the sugar is dissolved, remove from stove top. Put bowl into electric mixer and using the whisk attachment whisk on high until meringue forms with stiff peaks. About 5 - 8 minutes

  7. Stop mixer and change over to paddle attachment. (Give the whisk to the nearest child who walks past and s/he will love you forever)

  8. Turn mixer onto the LOWEST speed and gradually add pieces of soft butter, one at a time. This will take some time.

  9. Wait and watch. This is where SMBC can get tricky. When all of the butter is in, the mixture will change consistency and flop slightly. It will then change to look soupy, then curdled like scrambled eggs. Don't panic, YOU WANT THIS TO HAPPEN. Don't give up when it looks weird. It will take about 15 minutes to turn into silky smooth buttercream and you will be beside yourself with how fabulous it looks. 

  10. TROUBLESHOOTING: SMBC can be temperamental. If it still isn't coming together after say 25 minutes, then it probably won't. The experts say to refrigerate for 15 minutes then mix again, but this has never worked for me and I find it easier to admit defeat and start all over again. Yep, that means another dozen eggs, so be prepared.

  11. If all is going well, rejoice! 

    Add vanilla bean paste and mix for another minute or so.

    Separate icing into two bowls. Reserve half for final coat of frosting. Colour with "wedgewood" Gel paste. 

    Add raspberries to the second half of frosting. Add food gel paste to make it pink if that hasn't happened naturally. (frozen berries may give more colour than fresh)

Assembling the cake

  1. Take your cold cakes out of the fridge. Using a serrated bread knife, carefully level cakes until flat on the top. They should be pretty flat already. 

  2. Put one layer of cake onto a cake board and onto a turntable if you have one.

  3. Spread a spoonful of lemon curd onto the cake, then some of the raspberry meringue buttercream. 

  4. Repeat with second layer. 

  5. Turn third layer upside down and place on top. Eyeball the cake to check it is level.

    NOTE: The cake I made in the photo has 4 layers. If you want the cake this tall you will need to make two batches, putting a third of the mixture into one 20cm (8 inch) round tin. I used the rest of the second batch to make cupcakes.

  6. Using a cake spatula, smooth the sides of the cake and put more icing on top. Smooth as best as you can, adding more icing to cover the entire cake with a thin coat. This is called a 'crumb coat' and stops crumbs getting into your final coat of icing.

  7. Refrigerate cake until crumb coat has crusted.

  8. Use the remaining blue coloured buttercream to frost the cake. (Keep frosting at room temperature and beat on low to get back to desired consistency if necessary)

Just a few things to note. This recipe makes a three layered cake, not four like the photos. One batch will split evenly into three 20cm (8 inch) round cake tins. For my cake I made two batches and put a third of the extra batch into one cake tin. I baked the rest as cupcakes, which reminds me, all of my cake mixtures are interchangeable with cupcakes, so you can make either. Bonus.

You know my favourite outfit at the Royal wedding? Although Oprah came a close second in my eyes, I thought her Majesty the Queen rocked it with royal splendour. Did you notice how fabulous she looked? Wearing the brightest, almost neon lime green accented with deep purple feathers. Seriously, the woman is a legend. Who else could wear those colours?  All I could think about was how gorgeous those colours would look in a cake, so watch this space. 

God save the Queen. xx 

Pin for later

RECIPE || Best ever Chocolate & Peanut butter cake

Good morning dear ones, how’s life in your neck of the woods? We had our first rain in three months this week, which was like nectar from heaven.  Apart from the obvious benefits to a thirsty garden, I just love rainy days in the holidays as they give you an excuse to stay indoors and bake, read, stitch, eat, watch a movie or just sit and take things easy for a bit. It’s like you have universal permission to blob on the lounge and just breathe,  without the guilt. I like that.  Sometimes life needs to slow down a little.

I enjoy watching movies. Especially movies that involve food (and old fashioned tea parties or retro dresses, just saying).  What I really love though, is watching people eat food in films.  Hallelujah for the scene in A Hundred Foot Journey where the sweet french girl feeds the weary Indian travellers from the bounty of her own garden. Ahhh. Or Meryl Streep as the infamous Julia Childs, in Julie and Julia, eating what appears to be her first French meal with her husband. I just love how she bites the fish and there is this knowing exchange of groans and eye contact between them that expresses so perfectly just how much they love their food. Ahhhh. I so get it. 

This is where I confess one thing that drives this foodie slightly crazy when I watch movies. Oh the children do their eye roll and have a whinge, but I don’t care. It’s just not right. 

Characters in movies rarely eat. Have you ever noticed that?

And it  bugs me.  Really bugs me. They will sit in front of a delicious burger in a cool retro diner, or fancy restaurant, look at the food, have a conversation, then the scene changes! Or (now this is a killer) have you ever noticed in all of those ahhmaaazing afternoon tea scenes in Downton Abbey, in the most incredible red library I have ever seen, how Carson (God bless him…definitely my favourite) would bring in the prettiest tea sets, pour the ladies their tea, and sitting right there on the table would be the cake. A freshly baked cinnamon tea cake I imagine, made by Daisy, to be totally neglected and unappreciated. ‘Come on Mary, cut the cake. Eat the cake Mary, Pleeease Mary…….eat the cake. Just eat the cake. One slice. Please.’ I would literally implore her out loud. Just. Eat. The. Cake. It’s not that hard. Honestly.  (Hence the children’s eye rolls). 

 On rare occasions  Mary’s witty old  grandmother would actually nibble at the treats on her delectable tea tables, and my heart would soar. I could almost taste the cake. 

Speaking of cake, this is the ultimate choc peanut butter combo. Truly, it  has no equal. it’s hands down my favourite cake. I made it for a wedding last week and the guests loved it.  A moist, rich chocolate cake  with creamy peanut butter frosting and a chocolate ganache drip. This recipe will make a two layer cake or one batch of cupcakes. If you want to make the cake in these pictures you will need to double the recipe. If you think chocolate and peanut butter is a match made in heaven, you will want to make this cake. Trust me. 

Next Saturday  I will be sharing a very special baby shower I created for my own sweet Daughter in love. Can’t wait for you all to see it.

Have a wonderful weekend.

xx

Print

Best ever Chocolate & Peanut butter cake

The ultimate choc / peanut butter cake. A moist chocolate layer cake with smooth peanut butter cream cheese frosting. This recipe will make a two layered cake or 18 cupcakes. The picture shows a four layer cake, so you will need to double the recipe if you want a larger cake. 

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp coffee granules Mix with 1/4 cup boiling water
  • 3/4 cup warm water Add to diluted coffee mix
  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarb soda
  • 1 1/2 cups castor sugar
  • 1 cup pure cocoa powder

Instructions

  1. Grease two x 20cm round cake pans and line with baking paper

    Preheat oven to 180C 

  2. In a medium mixing bowl, using a hand whisk, beat eggs, vanilla extract and oil

  3. Add sour cream, coffee and water.

  4. In a separate bowl, sift flour, bicarb soda, baking powder, sugar and cocoa. Whisk dry ingredients with a hand whisk until well combined.

  5. Pour wet mixture into dry mix and whisk carefully until well combined.

  6. Pour half of the mixture into each prepared cake tin.

  7. Bake in a moderate oven (180C) for about 25 - 30 min or until firm to touch and a skewer comes out clean. Cool cakes for about ten minutes, then turn onto wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut butter cream cheese buttercream frosting

  1. In an electric mixer on medium speed, add 125g chopped salted butter

  2. Add 125g cream cheese. Mix until light and fluffy, about two minutes.

     Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  3. Turn mixer onto low speed and add 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter. I always use unprocessed peanut butter which tastes amazing

  4. Keeping the mixer on low, slowly add icing sugar half a cup at a time. You will need about 3 - 4 cups as you will be filling the cake as well as frosting the outside

    Add dashes of pure cream as mixture gets too stiff. Keep adding until the frosting reaches the desired consistency

Assembling the cake

  1. When cakes are cooled, use a bread knife to level the cakes. Discard (or feed to the kids) the tops of both cakes. You won't need them. 

  2. Apply a generous amount of frosting to the top of one cake.

  3. Turn the second cake upside down on top of the frosted cake, so the under side of the cake now becomes the top. Using a spatula, spread the overhang of icing from the middle around the cake until it looks even.

  4. Apply more frosting to the top of the cake and smooth it out around the sides. This will only be the crumb coat, which seals in the crumbs, so keep just do a thin layer of frosting at this stage. Chill in fridge for an hour.

  5. Remove the cake from fridge and apply more peanut butter frosting to the top and sides of the cake. Smooth with the spatula until you are happy with the look of the cake.  Drip ganache around the rim of the cake to make drips and chill cake before adding piping to the top, if desired.

Recipe Notes

This recipe works amazingly well as cupcakes. I often use this mix and pipe a swirl of peanut butter frosting on top. Delicious!

Beautiful poppies from Alstonville Florist.