Archive for the 'cakes' Category

Page 2 of 6

Victoria sponge cake

Published by Lucina, on 24 marzo 2016 in cakes and English Recipes. 0 Comments
Victoria sponge cake

                       Victoria sponge cake

Hello everyone and sorry for the disappearing act but I fell victim to the most vicious flu I have ever had in my life. Loads of my students had it and I have got to admit I wasn’t overly sympathetic with them…until I got it myself, of course! It took me nearly 3 weeks to feel human again! Next year: vaccine here I come. But enough of my state of health. What I am blogging today is a classic of English baking: A Victoria sandwich cake, which is basically a plain sponge cake filled with buttercream and raspberry or strawberry jam.  Every tea room will have one on sale. It is that common. And yet I had never actually made one until just over a week ago when my husband, who is very partial to it, kindly requested one on his birthday. How could I refuse? Plus it is not a particularly difficult cake to make. The only “complication” is that you have to bake two cakes of the same diameter. I have got to say I really enjoyed it. In truth I prefer more simple types of cakes. The recipe is taken from Felicity Cloake’ s Guardian column . Continue reading ‘Victoria sponge cake’

A simple carrot cake

Published by Lucina, on 20 febbraio 2016 in cakes and English Recipes. 0 Comments
a simple carrot cake

                        a simple carrot cake

Hello again. Here is the carrot cake I made for the Amnestea event which I promised to blog. Much simpler than my previous 2012 version (see here). There must exist hundreds of different carrot cake recipes out there and I reckon I am entitled to blog a different one every four years, aren’t I? 😉  I had never made this particular one before but I must say I thought it was very good. The recipe is an adapted one I found, would you believe, on the sachet of the Italian baking powder Pane degli angeli.  The sultanas and the spices weren’t in the original recipe, for example. Anyway, here it is. Much nicer than its burnt sister. And Tomik the cat is much happier too! Continue reading ‘A simple carrot cake’

Torta allo sciroppo d’arancia e mandorle ricoperta di cioccolato (se si vuole)

Published by Candida, on 10 gennaio 2016 in cakes, Chiacchiere/Chatting and Dolci. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

DSC_0147E adesso sembra una competizione! Da settimane avevo lì in bacheca la bozza di questa torta da postare e adesso Lucina ne posta una simile!!! Ma diversa! Dunque se volete provare un confronto, una variazione sul tema torta d’arance e mandorle. Ecco qui la seconda, una sua versione mediorientale e cioccolatata per di più (ma si può benissimo evitare la glassa al cioccolato). L’ho tratta dal bellissimo libro di Ottolenghi-Tamimi Jerusalem, scritto  da un ebreo e un arabo che celebrano la cucina della loro città e le loro tradizioni comuni. Nel libro la torta è pensata per le clementine, ma è detto che si può fare con quello di arancia, cosa che ho fatto, riproponendomi di provare anche la versione clementina. Dicono che si conserva a lungo (se coperta), ma noi l’abbiamo finita subito. L’idea di imbevere una torta con uno sciroppo mi è sempre piaciuta moltissimo.

NB. A proposito di tradizione ebree, musulmane e cristiane, anche la cottura a bagnomaria (usata per la glasse) le ricorda. Maria la Profetessa (per la leggenda Miriam la sorella di Mosè ed Aronne) era una dotta alchimista vissuta tra il primo e il terzo secolo dopo Cristo che inventò quel metodo di cottura per i suoi esperimenti (Balneum Mariae). Siamo un po’ tutte alchimiste (o streghe) quando cuciniamo!

Continue reading ‘Torta allo sciroppo d’arancia e mandorle ricoperta di cioccolato (se si vuole)’

Spiced orange cake with Christmas pudding ice cream

Published by Lucina, on 31 dicembre 2015 in cakes, Dolci and English Recipes. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .
orange spiced cake

orange spiced cake with Christmas pudding ice cream

While waiting to see the new year in let me share this amazing cake with you. It was recommended to me by my friend Janet, who is the unrivalled queen of all cakes, puddings and desserts. Well, I tried it over the Christmas holidays and was really impressed with it.  So thank you Janet! The good thing about it is that it’s fat free as well as gluten free. That’s right: no butter or flour! How great is that? And yet it’s so moist and flavoursome. Just think how many “difficult” friends you can cater for with this one. Unfortunately it is not suitable for vegans as there are eggs in it, LOADS in fact, but hey! You can’t please everyone, can you?  I really urge you to make it. You won’t be disappointed. Obviously you don’t have to make the ice cream to go with it. I did it as I had some leftover Christmas pudding. I confess it’s a doddle for me as I’m the proud owner of a Gaggia ice cream maker which Candi gave me many many years ago. It is still working and it makes some wonderful ice cream. Of course you can enjoy the cake as it is or simply serve it with some cream of course. The recipe is by Tom Kerridge, slightly adapted. Continue reading ‘Spiced orange cake with Christmas pudding ice cream’

Sicilian lemon and orange sweet bread

Published by Lucina, on 21 dicembre 2015 in bread, cakes and English Recipes. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
Sicilian lemon and orange sweet bread

Sicilian lemon and orange sweet bread

Christmas is approaching and what better than this lovely enriched bread which resembles panettone? The good thing about it is that it is not as difficult! I have already made it twice and both times it was a success. If you like experimenting with bread, try it! You won’t be disappointed. Lovely with a glass of spumante, I reckon. It is from Paul Hollywood’s Bread book. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients. It is actually straightforward. Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Continue reading ‘Sicilian lemon and orange sweet bread’

Blackberry and almond cake

Published by Lucina, on 25 settembre 2015 in cakes and English Recipes. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
blackberry and almond cake

blackberry and almond cake

September is the time to forage for blackberries, in my book, and this year is no exception.  I have previously confessed I have my secret places where I go and pick them not too far from my house ( and no, I will not reveal them to you, my dear friends, nor even under torture!). This is a very good year for blackberries in the UK (I don’t know in Italy) , albeit they are weeks behind compared to last year’s when I distinctly remember them being ripe in August. Hardly surprising considering the rubbish summer we have had! Anyway, every year I think of different ways in which I can use these free gifts from nature, apart from the obvious jam. This year the first thing I have made with them has been this deliciously moist cake which I have baked twice already as it’s simply divine!  I reckon you can use the mixture with other fruit such as apples, raspberries or blueberries. I thoroughly recommend it to you if you want to impress friends and family. My friend Carmelita said it’s one of the best I have ever made and she has tried a few! And if SHE says it, it must be right! 😉 Continue reading ‘Blackberry and almond cake’

La torta di Laura. Bavarese di pesche

Published by Candida, on 13 settembre 2015 in cakes, Chiacchiere/Chatting, Dolci, Ricette in Italiano and teatime. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

DSC_0347

A settembre non sono mai a casa e così, madre degenere, non faccio mai la torta di compleanno per la mia bimba. Quest’anno la vita ha disposto diversamente ed eccomi qui. Così ho potuto cucinare la stessa torta che 22 anni stavo facendo quando mi sono venute le doglie. Avevo tirato il fiato, finito il dolce ed ero andata in ospedale per qualcosa di molto, molto più dolce…

So che è imperdonabile non aver fatto il pan di spagna, ma ora come allora avevo un’autonomia limitata.

PS. Matteo, che aveva allora 8 anni, si ricorda che l’avevo rifinita diversamente, con le pesche fresche ben disposte a cerchio. Io invece non me lo ricordavo. Ci riprovererò tra 22 anni? Continue reading ‘La torta di Laura. Bavarese di pesche’

Lemon drizzle cake

Published by Lucina, on 21 marzo 2015 in cakes and English Recipes. 0 Comments
lemon drizzle cake

lemon drizzle cake

Yes, sorry folks! Here’s another “naughty” cake for the delight of your taste buds. Not only that: another lemon based one, to continue with Candida’s theme. I confess I have been too busy at work to experiment in the savoury department but today a friend of mine came to visit to pick up her birthday present so I decided to make an effort and treat her to a slice of home made cake and a cup of tea. Well….you can’t beat that, can you, as a welcome gift. Lemon drizzle cake is very popular here in England and one of my favourites. I love anything lemony, in truth. This one has a lovely, crisp topping which you make by mixing lemon juice with sugar and then pour on top of the warm cake. Delicious! I found it on the BBC Good food website, which is a mine of good recipes. One of the readers said she substituted half of the butter for yoghurt to cut down on the amount of fat. Worth experimenting, I’d say. Continue reading ‘Lemon drizzle cake’

Coffee and walnut cake

Published by Lucina, on 22 febbraio 2015 in cakes and English Recipes. 2 Comments
coffee and walnut cake

coffee and walnut cake

If you are afraid of butter look away now. If on the other hand you don’t think the occasional dairy treat is going to kill you, read on. I made this cake on a bit of a guilt trip on Valentine’s day.  I confess I completely forgot about it and failed to buy my poor husband a card, never mind a present. Yes, I know, it’s all commercial exploitation, bla bla bla. But tell that to aforementioned husband who not only bought me a nice card but also sent me a lovely bunch of flowers. So, in an attempt to ask for his forgiveness I decided to make him his favourite cake of all times. The one he always buys when we go to cafes , in other words. Also the one I had never made for him. Partly because of the high amount of butter needed to make this cake ( and sorry, I have done my research on line and all recipes seem to contain vast quantities ) and partly because  you have to make two layers and sandwich them together which in my book spells faff. But I had to make the effort on this particular occasion so I pulled out all the stops. Well, he certainly enjoyed it and was very thankful. So if you want to treat someone do consider this cake. The recipe comes from the BBC Good food website, slightly adapted. Continue reading ‘Coffee and walnut cake’

Raspberry and white chocolate traybake

Published by Lucina, on 7 dicembre 2014 in cakes and English Recipes. 1 Comment
raspberry and white chocolate traybake

raspberry and white chocolate traybake

I made this traybake today to share with a group of friends at lunchtime. Yummy! There was enough to offer later on in the afternoon when some lady friends came to have tea at my house. So I basically killed two birds with one stone. The advantage of making a traybake is that you can easily cut smallish portions to share with a large group of people. It’s much trickier to do that with a cake. Anyway, I am glad to report it was a success! I don’t know about you but I love the combination of raspberry and white chocolate. I have got to come clean and confess though that, unlike my previous healthy recipe, this has got a lot of butter in it. :-(BUT, as you can cut it in many dinky little squares, a little piece of it won’t send your cholesterol level off the scale. By the way you’ll never believe where I got the recipe from: it was on the packet of my McDougall flour! And why not? Continue reading ‘Raspberry and white chocolate traybake’