The Great British Cake Off.

Over the next few weeks my friends and I have decided to test each others baking skills, all keen bakers and all thinking they are better than the other, what better way to settle the argument.   Starting from tomorrow we will be taking it in turns baking a cake, tasting and marking them. I’m up first|!!!!

There’s nothing that I like more than a bit of friendly competition.  So what to bake? what will win? something traditional? or something a bit more modern?  In my opinion there is nothing better than a fresh and soft Victoria Sponge with a layer of fruity strawberry conserve and a fluffy butter cream, and to add a bit of a twist I cover mine with a white chocolate icing.

This is so easy to make, all you need is equal measures of flour butter and caster sugar – to make two 9 inch sandwich tins you will need 400g self raising flour, 4oog soft butter, 400g caster sugar, 5 eggs & vanilla to taste.

Cream your sugar and butter together, add your eggs one at a time and mix thoroughly, fold in your flour. Add two teaspoons of vanilla essence.  Split the mixture into the tins evenly.  Bake at 180 degrees for 20/25 mins.

For the filling – cream 150 g soft butter, mix in 250g icing sugar and add two table spoons of hot water.  Once the cakes have cooled, spread one half of your cake with the butter cream and the other half with your strawberry conserve.

Melt 300g good quality white chocolate – poor over the cake and let it work its way out to the sides, sprinkle with hundreds and thousands – leave to cool.

To order a buffet or cake from 5 aday catering please visit our website @ http://bit.ly/117HnsR

Mum’s the word…..

Every year around this time I find myself asking the same question, what on earth do you buy someone who has almost everything?  With Mothers day upon us,  I have spent hours searching through shops looking for that perfect gift, panicking and worrying about what to buy her, so I have decided on top of the present I have finally bought I am going to cook a slap-up roast and to top it all I am going to make the most lemony, zingy mothers day cake.

On the menu – Roast Turkey with all the trimmings, Cranberry & Red Current Gravy, Roast & Mash Potatoes & a selection of fresh Vegetables.

The piece de resistance though is the cake – this is how you make it. 

to buy homemade cakes, why not visit our website – http://www.5adaycatering.co.uk

• 350g very soft butter
• 350g caster sugar , plus 1 tbsp
• 250g self-raising flour
• 3 eggs
• 100g ground almonds
• 150ml pot natural yogurt
• 2 lemons , zest and juice

• 12 tbsp lemon curd
• 500g pack marzipan
• 500g fondant icing sugar , sieved
• yellow, pink and green food colouring

Mix the butter, sugar, flour, almonds, yogurt, zest of lemon and juice of one of the lemons, once mixed split the mixture into two and cook in the 20cm cake tins for 35/40 mins.

Juice the second lemon and mix with a little sugar, when the cakes have cooked, cool on a wire rack and spike the cakes gently with a fork and spoon the cold lemon mixture over the cakes – leave to cool.

Sandwich the cake half’s together with 8 tbsp of the lemon curd, brush the rest over the top of the cake, break of 50g of the marzipan and put to one side,  roll the rest out and cover the cake.

Mix enough water with the fondant icing to make a thick mixture, set a little to one side and then mix in yellow food colouring, spoon it over the cake letting it dribble down the sides until the cake is covered.

To decorate, break the rest of the marzipan in half, with one half mix in the pink food colouring and rose shape decorations,  mix in the green colouring to the other half and make leaf shapes.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do – Happy Mothers day Mum!!!!!