Bonjour May!!

I am not sure there are many things in life that give as much pleasure as food.  Last week it was my birthday and so began a week of celebratory meals.  I enjoyed a beautiful three course dinner at Purnell’s Bistro in Birmingham with my husband, a delicious dinner and homemade cake with my family and then to finish, a long weekend in Paris in which my friend and I seemed to move from meal to meal, enjoying everything from a two and half hour champagne afternoon tea at the George V (pictured), to the obligatory steak frites and some emergency 5am room service!

One of the highlights was the falafel from a little shop recommended to us by our concierge which was placed into our hand with a paper plate already on the table, which we chose to wash down with Israli beer.  (I really to love the diversity of Paris!)  This I know, food doesn’t need to be fancy to taste good.  It just needs to be put together with thought and consideration!

I spend so long in my kitchen focusing on my cakes that the place my consideration lacks is often my online presence.  I always long to answer enquiry emails immediately but often time doesn’t allow! Which is why I am so grateful for my wonderful sister who, while on her maternity leave will be helping me in this way and getting me organised!  Thank you Sarah!

Looking back at the afternoon tea picture I am surprised we managed all that food, but the wonder of the afternoon tea is that it can be enjoyed slowly over a long period of time and so below are a couple of recipes to make perfect afternoon tea components!
Present on a pretty plate or cake stand, invite round your friends, treat yourself to a bottle of something sparkling and enjoy the simple pleasure of great food and wonderful company, which I have no doubt, is good for the soul.

Perfect Vanilla Sponge

This is the only cake recipe you will use time and time again! (Spoon into pretty case to make cupcakes (or why not try mini cases) and make a second batch to bake in an 8” square tin.  This can then be made into pretty mini Victoria sponge cake just by cutting with a circle cutter and sandwiching together with jam and buttercream.

200g Stork Margarine

200g Caster Sugar

200g Self Raising Flour

4 Eggs

½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Beat the margarine and sugar until smooth, beat in each egg with a tablespoon of flour and then once all combined mix in the rest of the flour until you have a smooth mixture.  Add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and stir through.  Pour/spoon into your tin or cases and bake until golden brown and a cocktail stick inserted comes out clean.  (Approx 20 mins.)

To make chocolate cakes, substitute 50g of the flour for good quality cocoa powder and add only two drops of vanilla.  For lemon cakes omit the vanilla and add the grated zest of 1 lemon.

To make a fruity treat, chop strawberries nice and small, place a teaspoon of these into a shot glass and then make a half batch of my cheesecake recipe.  Pipe the cheesecake into the glasses and then top with a sprinkle of crushed ginger biscuits.  Yum!

And finally, How about adding Parisian macaroons?  I have just bout the book ‘Mad about Macaroons’ by Jill Colonna and gives you all the tips needed to make the delightful treats.

Happy Baking!

What a busy month it has been since I last blogged! Four wedding cakes have headed out of the door in all shapes, styles and sizes and many more bookings taken.  I have also had some great fun with themed cakes including a space angry bird’s cake and modelling a garden cake among others. (Check out my gallery for photos!)

The month ahead looks set to be a busy one with may more wedding cakes heading out the door along with some fun character cakes and my sisters baby shower tea party to bake for. In the world of baking the announcement will be made soon of this year’s national cupcake competition categories.  I wonder if I can win two years running??!

I am so excited for Easter this year and its just days away! Finally owning a house and having the space to entertain means I can cook a full Sunday lunch for all the family.  And if everyone has room after the roast lamb I am planning on offering a wide
array of ‘afters’. (I actually fall the sleep thinking about all the different options!)

It wouldn’t be Easter without a fresh Simnel cake ready to be enjoyed with an afternoon cuppa and some melt in the mouth Easter
shortbreads, I am also tempted to make chocolate éclairs for a real treat or some lovely crisp macaroons.

However…to finish a Sunday lunch properly it has to be sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce. What makes it so wonderful is that you can bake the sticky toffee cake a day or so ahead then simply cut portions, warm (1 minute on a plate in the microwave does the trick) and serve with butterscotch sauce and custard, or ice cream!  I do make my own toffee sauce as I am getting read to serve, but there are plenty of lovely shop bough ones out there that will make life easier.  The recipe I love
is below, it is really simple to make and doesn’t use any fancy equipment, you just need a food processor and large cake tin to bake it in. I favour a big roasting tin (30x20cms).  Don’t be put off by the amount of nuts on top, they really work well with all the sweetness in the cake and add lovely bite. Enjoy and Happy Easter!!

Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients

525g Dried pitted dates

750ml hot water

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

185g salted butter

500g Dark Brown Muscavado Sugar

6 Eggs

450g Self Raising Flour

60g chopped walnuts

60g Chopped pecans

• Preheat the oven to 180oc and line your tin with
  baking paper
• Place the dates and water into a saucepan and
  bring to the boil.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate
  of soda.  (it will fizz in a delightful
  way-this is what is meant to happen so don’t be alarmed.)
• After 5 minutes tip into a processor and wiz
  until smooth.
• Beat you butter and sugar in a large bowl until
  light and fluffy and then beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a couple of
  spoons of your flour with each addition.
• Stir in the date mixture along with the rest of
  the flour.
• Pour into a tin, spread to even and top with the
  chopped nuts.
• Bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife into the
  cake comes out clean.

It’s been a busy few weeks here a LJC with two last minute wedding cake orders coming in for th end of the month, and plenty of baking needed for the YMC Charity evening of Cupcakes and Couture (pictured). The cupcakes were as popular as ever along with my Oreo chocolate Brownies – the perfect chocolate fix!

So its February already, and everyone is now a bit more willing to treat themselves again after January diets and health plans have
helped shed the Christmas excess weight… and just next week it is valentines day!

There are so many gift ideas out their in the shops but my favourite way to treat my husband is with a beautiful three course meal, a few drinks and quality time together.

I always try to get everything cooked and prepared ahead of time so that I don’t spend the evening in the kitchen so with that in mind below is my easy make-ahead dessert, a fabulous creamy chilled cheesecake. I do also have a foolproof baked cheesecake recipe; however, this is by far the easiest and most delicious way to quickly whip up a cheesecake in just a few hours.  You can top this with whatever you like, chocolates, fruit or just some white chocolate curls or a dusting of icing sugar. Thank you to everyone who told me on Facebook that this was the recipe they wanted me to share. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

250g Digestive Biscuits – Crushed

100g Butter

250g Mascarpone

250g Philadelphia Cream Cheese ( a budget range doesn’t give such a nice consistency!)

300ml Double cream

400g White Chocolate – I like Green & Blacks, but Milky Bar also works well!

•  Line the base of an 8” Springform pan with baking paper and brush  the sides with a light amount of vegetable oil, this helps prevent your cheesecake sticking when you release the tin.
•  Melt the butter and stir into crushed biscuits, pour into your tin and press down to form the base.
•  Beat together Mascarpone, Philadelphiaand Double cream until mixed and smooth.
•  Melt White Chocolate and stir into creamed mix.
•  Pour into your tin and smooth the top, chill for at least 4 hours. When ready,  release from the tin, transfer to a plate, decorate and serve!

Last year was such a great year at Lady Jayne’s Cakes, our biggest success being winning the National Cupcake Championships award for best ‘Themed Cupcake’!  We baked, decorated and delivered lots of amazing wedding cakes and this year we look forward to doing more of the same!

As it has got very cold and many of you will be staying in and avoiding the snow, so I thought the perfect recipe for you to bake at home this weekend is a sticky ginger cake.  It doesn’t require icing, just a simple dusting of icing sugar, but to be honest, it is perfect just as it is!

Sticky Ginger Cake

Ingredients

125g Butter

½ Cup Treacle

½ Cup Golden Syrup

1 Cup self-raising flour

1 ½ Cups Plain flour

1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

3 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1 Teaspoon Mixed Spice

¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon

3/4 Cup dark soft brown sugar

1 Cup of Milk

2 Eggs (at room temperature) lightly beaten

• Pre-heat the oven to Gas 4, 180oc and line an 8″ tin.
• Combine the butter, treacle and golden syrup in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the butter has melted.
• Put the flours, bicarbonate of Soda and Spices into a bowl, add the sugar and stir.
• Add the butter mixture and stir until just combined, then add the eggs and milk. Stir until all combined and well mixed.
• Pour into your tin and bake for 45 – 60 minutes.  The cake is cooked when an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean.
• Leave to cook, slice and enjoy!  This keeps well for a week in an airtight tin, and I think actually tastes better the next day!!

Despite there being an extra day in February this year, I still find there is not enough time to sit at the computer!  So finally, while it’s quiet at the stall, I am going to take this time to tell you everything I have been so busy doing this last week.

The best thing about deciding to run your own business is that it should lead to days spent doing a job you love.  And without a doubt last Tuesday was one of those days.  A couple of weeks ago I received a call from a girl whose wedding cake I had previously made.  She told me that she had a week off work and one of the things she most wanted to do was to learn to bake.  Many of her friends could seemingly whip up something delicious at a moments notice and Caroline was keen to be able to do the same.  So I agreed to spend the afternoon with her, teaching her to bake a large cake, shortbread cookies and a batch of cupcakes, which I also taught her to decorate using swirls of icing and handmade roses.  These we figured, would equip her with the skills to make something baked for pretty much any occasion.  I produced recipes to work from which she could keep and most importantly I talked her through doing everything by hand.  (My preferred way tomake any cake!)

And what fun it was! After 4 hours there was a table full of goodies, we had chatted about everything, in only a way girls can, and consumed plenty of tea!

Two days later the business led me to be in an entirely different place.  Selling cupcakes outside of The Champagne Bar at Marco Pierre White’s Restaurant at the top of the new Cube development in Birmingham.

I was there in an exercise of self promotion, to hand out free cupcakes the ladies in attendance of a high profile networking group Nails & Networking. In packing my car to attend the event I realised, it is about time that I start looking for something a little larger.  There was cake in the boot, boxes on the back seats and tubs of wrapped cake pops in the foot well!  It was the biggest relief to arrive, move all the cakes up 25 floors and be assembled.
The ladies loved them!  And if you are a facebook or twitter follower you will have seen my utter glee at the purchase of my remaining cupcakes by the head chef.   I love my job!

Next week should also be pretty exciting.  A lovely photographer has hired a studio fora photo shoot of what I am pretty sure will be the next big things in cake style… I don’t want to give too much away just yet, but I will be sure to post photos next week from the shoot!  I had better get baking again…

Wednesday 15th February 2012 – Making a Croquembouche!

 The Croquembouche or Piece Montee is by definition a cone shaped mountain of cream filled profiteroles, draped in caramel which sets hard, and is often finished with spun sugar decoration.  It is often served at Weddings inFrance, and with the trend inEnglandleading to more elaborate wedding cakes, its popularity over here is growing!

 My brother in law is set to marry his part French fiancée next year and they had already expressed a desire for a Croquembouche and when I received another enquiry for one a couple of weeks ago I realised I needed to test my capabilities.  I knew I could make the choux pastry, I was yet to make Crème Patisserie from Scratch, and the thought of working with red hot caramel filled me with dread!  I just kept picturing the poor Masterchef contestants with fingers bandaged looking thoroughly warn down by the end of their Croquembouche challenge!

 Another thing troubling me was the traditional way of building one, inside a large metal cone always looked a tad unstable, and left many with a lean.  I wasn’t sure this would then survive a 50 mile drive to a venue, so I set about looking for an alternative.  It was then that I discovered the polystyrene cone.  This was to be my support.

 I set about making my Choux Pastry, this part I found quite easy although I soon discovered that the profiteroles needed to be baked a tray at a time, which made it quite a lengthy process. In two and half hours though I had near filled my dining room table with them.  For those keen bakers out there, I actually used the choux pastry recipe from the original Be-Ro recipe book.  I doubled the quantity and then used three batches to make to desired amount. I found the best process was to bake each tray for 15 minutes at a high temperature and then remove from the oven, turning the temperature down, then quickly put a slit into each with a sharp knife to let the steam escape before placing back in the oven for a further five minutes to properly crisp up.

 For the Crème Patisserie I used the fabulous Laduree Recipe.  Following it to the letter I actually did a little dance around my kitchen when it worked!  I then set about whisking double cream ready to fold into the mixture to make smooth custard perfect for piping.  Warning, when beating double cream in an electric mixer do not leave it unattended.  I briefly left the kitchen to plug my phone into its charger, and returned to find clotted cream in my bowl!  Thankfully the second attempt worked like a dream as I never took my eyes off it!

 Once I had made my custard I then piped this carefully into every profiterole.

 The Caramel was my biggest challenge. It took three pans to get it spot on but is essence you simmer one cup of sugar to half a cup of water until it turns golden brown and then you remove from the heat.  Be careful where you place the saucepan down…always put it on a heatproof surface and then use pretty much immediately as it just continues to harden. Dipping each profiterole into the caramel I worked my way around the cone stacking one on top of each other until I made the top.  I then made another pan of caramel and dipped the back of two forks into it which when pulled apart makes the sugar strands to be shaped around the tower.

 I then used the bakers’ best friend bicarbonate of soda to remove the struck caramel from the pan.  (Simply cover the bottom in a layer of bicarb then cover with boiling water and then heat until the caramel comes away from the pan.)

 And finally after six hours I had my finished article!  As you can see from the pictures, the sugar crafter in me couldn’t resist adding some handmade icing roses! Oh….and it tasted…delicious!!

Wednesday 1^st February 2012 – If at first you don’t succeed……….!

 This is very much a blog for my fellow bakers, and for those who refuse to give up!

 I am always trying to make something new for the stall.  If you visit and there is nothing you fancy, hopefully I will be able to temp you next week, or the week after!  Ever since I rediscovered the joy of a Krispie Crème Doughnut I was determined to make a cake version. 

 The pans arrived and within hours I set about making a standard vanilla cake mix and filling the holes.  Into the oven they went and 15 minutes later they looked golden and well risen.  Perfect I thought.  Alas…not to be.  As is so often the case, I do a lot of my baking well into the night either after arriving home from work or once the stall has closed for the day. On this occasion it was fast approaching midnight so I left them to cool in the tins and then placed them in a plastic storage tub.  The next morning my excitement disappeared when after 10 minutes of trying to release the little cakes they were still stuck fast to the sides of the tins.  Careful movement with a spoon and pallet knife still wouldn’t help.  I gave in.  Batch 1 into the bin!

 Batch 2.  This time I though I would try greasing my non-stick tin, and dusting with a little flour.  (Being too small to line with parchment paper). I also planned to remove the doughnuts within five minutes of their leaving the oven.  Again they looked great, but still, they wouldn’t come out of the tins.  Batch 2 into the bin!

 At this point I was beginning to think the fault lay with the tin, but I figured I would try for 3^rd time lucky.  This time after some lengthy googling I came across a recipe that looked a little more dough like and contained shortening as opposed to butter.  I also took the advice of the author and went out a bought some over priced cake release spray.  (Something I had previously vowed never to waste my money on, but desperate times…)   Batch 3….a success!  Light fluffy and popped straight out the tins!  Wonderful!

 I am now working out the best glaze for them.  If you are nearby reading this, why not stop by later this week and sample one for yourself! 

 Oh…and just to keep regular readers updated, the croquembouche cone has arrived and a date has been set for attempt one, next Thursday.  I will let you know how it goes!  I do love to try something new!

Well it has taken me far too long to blog again.  Sorry everyone!   I managed to take a few days off in January and have a lovely mid-week break in Brighton.  Like most of my holidays great food was a priority and while there we visited some lovely restaurants.  My husband and I began the trip by breaking up the long drive down there with a stop at a services somewhere on the M40 and decided to start the day well with a Krispie Cream!  (I figure it is never worth starting a resolution until January 7^th at least!) Well it must have been years since I tasted one and it was delicious which gave me the idea of making cake doughnuts.  (Yes they are a real thing!)  So the pan is on order and I will let you know how I get on! Anyway I digress…

 Christmas was fantastic for Lady Jayne’s Cakes!  Plenty of pre-orders of cakes, mini fruit cakes and lots of other treats, giving us one of the busiest weeks since opening.  Christmas Eve was a sell out…I only wished I had baked more!

 I also had the pleasure of setting up a beautiful 3 Tier Wedding Cheesecake.  It was great fun to do something a bit different and for the couple it meant a distinctive wedding cake that could double as dessert.  Interested in your own wedding cheesecake?  Give us a call or drop us an e-mail and I will tell you how you can get your own showstopper!

 So this year it would seem the resolutions are firmly in place and sales have begun slowly, but with tempting healthy treats and delicious flapjacks LJC is winning a few people over.

 It is also never too early to think about Valentines Day.  Why not place an order and collect on the day a box of freshly baked cupcakes, cookies or a large iced heart shaped cake if you really want to make a statement.  Why not take it one step further and have you cake iced with a personalised message…or a proposal?! 

 Our recommendation for a treat for the one you love would be our ‘Last Rolo’ cupcake.  A rich chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate icing and a Rolo.  Totally delicious (and not too girly)!

 Over Christmas I was given the Laduree Sweet Cookbook.  (Thanks Louise!)  For those who have never heard of it, Laduree is pretty much the inventor of the French Macaroon and at their restaurants they bake the most exquisite little cakes.  So for my next challenge…perfect Macaroons!  They also feature a cake which has 6 different layers and takes 7 hours to make…think I may leave that for another time!

Wednesday 7^th December 2011 – Tis the season to be Greedy!

 ….or so says the front cover of the Guardian food special in last Saturday’s paper!  I don’t really think that’s true though.  I find I am just allowing myself a few more of the things I normally say no to.  Maybe infact, tis the season to indulge.  And why not?!  Most people I know work so hard throughout the year that is starting the day with a mice pie really so bad??

 Of course I run a cake stall, I am sure to say that!  But I don’t think everything in moderation is a bad way to live.

 The last week or so has been great fun. After a particularly slow Saturday (pre payday) I did adopt a flash sale tactic to clear some of the remaining cake pops and cupcakes which worked well and everyone seemed delighted with their weekend treats….So if you want to risk a visit at 3.50 on a Saturday to see what’s left…you never know what may be on offer!  However, the delightful snowmen cupcakes pictured were all gone within an hour last Saturday!

 What’s the best thing about running a cake stall? The opportunity to have fun with flavours and designs.  The mince pie cupcakes are still selling well and this week we have an amazing mint choc cupcake on sale topped with crushed candy canes. (Thanks Hannah for the suggestion!)

 If you are in the Burton Area this Saturday the World Market will be on in the market place with food from different countries along with a Santa’s grotto.  With Christmas music now being played into the market hall it’s feeling very festive indeed!

All our cupcakes remain £1.60 each or 4 for £5 (which I think is a pretty fair price!) Although one little old lady did comment this week “£1.60, oh no, are the made of gold dear?”  Only mildly insulted I did inform her we had been doing a roaring trade that day and then smiled sweetly.  My husband suggested in future I use the phrase suggested by another customer, ‘Good cake is not cheap and cheap cake is not good!’

 One final thing….if you have been eying up the Igloo Christmas Cake, it now has £5 off. (Now just £25)….when it’s gone, it’s gone!

 What an eventful week it has been!  Plenty of cupcakes baked and sold along with two large birthday cakes!  Mixed in to the last week was a Sunday opening, oh and several hospital visits to my poorly husband!  Thankfully just a couple of hours after an op to remove his appendix he was awake hungry and enjoying a large chunk of homemade maple and pecan flapjack with a cup of tea to build him back up again.  Who knew cake could heal!

 The Sunday opening was for the Christmas light switch on in the market place and a huge crowd turned out to see Chesney Hawkes do the honour!  I got up at 5.30am to get some lovely fresh cakes baked including an experimental mince pie cupcake topped with Brandy Butter Icing…. Which of course needed a taste test!  And oh wow!  I am never eating a mince pie again!  Don’t believe me?  Come and try one for yourself! During the day the market hall was filled with lots of people coming in for a warm.  Most it appeared had never known the market existed until that point!  At one point I managed to sell seventeen gingerbread Santa’s within about an hour!  (Let’s just hope they all remember I am here and come back!)   After closing we then donated the remaining cakes to the hardworking police officers who were overseeing the event and keeping everyone safe.

 So we are now on to week 4 and here’s hoping for a good week!  I think it is important to point out at this point that I joined a gym on Friday.  Cakes are delicious but they should be balanced with healthy food and exercise!