LITMIR.BIZ

       All the fruit has sunk in my cake

      Fruit will sink if the cake mixture is too wet. Make sure the fruit isn’t in huge pieces as the weight of them will cause them to sink. Make sure the pieces are dry and toss them in a tablespoon of flour before adding to the cake mix. To reduce the wetness of a cake mixture make sure you are using the size of eggs stated in the recipe.

       How big is my loaf tin?

      Unfortunately manufacturers have yet to standardise loaf tin sizes which can make life a little tricky sussing out the capacity of your tin A good way to check is to measure how much water your tin will hold. A 900g (2lb) loaf tin will hold just over 1 litre (36fl oz) of water and a 450g (1lb) loaf tin will hold just over 500ml (18fl oz) so you will know if your tin is suitable for a certain recipe or not. Just remember that if your tin is very deep, or very shallow, then you will need to keep a good eye on the baking time and put all your ‘testing for doneness’ skills to good use!

       Using up Eggs

      It always seems such a waste to be left with egg yolks or whites at the end of a recipe and not have anything to do with them. Here’s how to use them for custard or meringues – always useful and delicious!

       Meringue – Whites

      1 Whisk the egg whites until they start to look foamy. Continue whisking, adding the sugar 1 spoonful at a time, allowing each to be whisked in before adding the next until all the sugar has been added.

      2 Whisk until the whites stand in firm peaks. Pipe or shape your meringues and bake in the oven at 120°C (fan)/140°C/275°F/Gas Mark 1 for 11⁄2 –2 hours for a Pavlova and 1 hour for smaller meringues.

       Custard – Yolks

      1 Whisk together the egg yolks and caster (superfine) sugar in a large jug and set to one side.

      2 Heat the milk and cream gently until just below boiling point. Whilst whisking continuously, pour the milk/cream slowly over the egg yolks and sugar until they are well mixed together.

      3 Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently, stirring continuously to prevent the egg from scrambling, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

       Creaming Method

      Creaming method cakes are made by beating sugar into butter until light and fluffy. The creamed mixture should almost double in volume and will go very pale. Time spent getting this stage just right and incorporating lots of air is the foundation for any super-soft and light cake.

       Victoria Sponge

      The perfect Victoria sponge seems to be the holy grail of baking – if you can achieve a well-risen, golden, fluffy sponge you can conquer anything! There are a couple of tricks to help you on the way: the creaming of the butter and sugar and good-quality tins. Follow the steps and you’ll soon be the grand master of fabulous sponge cakes.

      Makes one 20cm (8in) cake

      Prep: 25 minutes plus cooling

      Bake: 30 minutes

      Oven:160°c (fan)/180°c/350°F/Gas Mark 4

      Ingredients

      Cake

      250g (9oz) very soft butter, plus a little extra for greasing

      250g (9oz) caster (superfine) sugar

      1 tsp vanilla extract

      4 eggs, large

      250g (9oz) self-raising (-rising) flour

      2 tbsp milk

      Filling

      200ml (7fl oz) double (heavy) cream

      2 tbsp icing (confectioners) sugar

      1 tsp vanilla bean paste or the seeds from inside 1 vanilla pod

      225g (8oz) seedless raspberry jam

      A little icing (confectioners) sugar to dust

      Equipment

      2 × 20cm (8in) round sandwich tins (layer cake pans)

      Baking (parchment) paper

      Electric hand-held whisk or food mixer

      Piping bag fitted with 1cm (³⁄₈ in) round nozzle (optional)

      Icing sugar sifter

      1 Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan) / 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Prepare the cake tins by greasing them well and lining the base of each with a circle of baking paper.

       TIP

      Good quality tins are one of the keys to the perfect cake – they distribute the heat evenly allowing the cake to rise evenly as it bakes, avoiding the domed top effect.

      2 Before you cream the butter and sugar together, the butter needs to be really softened – take no shortcuts here. You should be able to easily push a knife right through the block of butter with little to no resistance. Dice and put it into a microwave-proof bowl and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave on half power if it’s not soft enough – but don’t let it melt!

      3 Place the butter in a large bowl and add the caster sugar. Using an electric hand whisk begin to cream them together. Keep going until the mixture has gone very pale: it should almost double in volume and you should no longer feel the texture of the sugar within the butter. This will take you 5–6 minutes. It’s worth the effort – the air you incorporate now will result in a lovely fluffy sponge.

      4 Add the vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar and stir together. Crack the eggs into a jug and beat them with a fork so that they are less likely to curdle when added to the creamed butter and sugar.

      5

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