Lemon Ombre Cake (or Happy Birthday to Me!)
There are a few flavours and flavour combinations which always make me happy: a good sharp hit of lemon would probably be in my top 3.  It was my birthday last week and, given that the long Easter weekend was coming right up, I deferred celebrations a little.  It's probably a bit odd to make your own birthday cake, but I consider it a present to myself!  I opted to max out the lemon: light as air lemon sponge layers, silky smooth but cheek-suckingly-sharp lemon curd filling, all swathed in tangy swirls of fluffy lemon frosting.  But the lemon isn't agressive at any point, it's all mellowed and balanced by the sugar you always get (and which can be cloying with other flavour combos) in both the cake and the frosting.  Oh, and all with the fashionable ombre effect (it's de rigeur daaahling!!).  There are a couple of things I would do differently next time I make this cake: firstly I would keep the cake refrigerated right up until serving just so that the cake crumb was firmer; and I would frost the cake on its serving plate rather than try to transfer it once completed...yikes!  If you have sandwich tins your life will be easier as you can bake 2 layers at a time; if you don't it's still not difficult, it just takes a bit longer to get the cake stage done.

For the Cake:
This is a 4 egg mix (from the cake mix matrix which can be found here.  PLUS:
8 drops of yellow food colouring gel (I used Americolor Egg Yellow), 
3 tblspns milk (making 7 tblspns or 105mls total)
Zest of a large lemon.

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C / 325F.  Weigh your mixing bowl and note down the number.  Line two 20cm / 8" sandwich tins, or a single cake tin if that's what you have to hand.  Make the cake batter as per the instructions in the matrix, adding the extra milk and lemon zest, then beat on high for 3 minutes until very pale, very light and very soft.
2. Scrape off the beaters into the bowl and weigh it again, note down the number.  Now, subtract the weight of the mixing bowl and divide the answer by 5 - that's how much mixture is going into each layer of the cake (for me it was 175g / 6oz.  Place the cake tin on the scales, zero the scales, then pour in the required weight of cake batter.  Tilt the cake tin gently until the batter is evenly spread (if your mixture is a bit too firm to tilt into place just nudge it gently with a small spatula).  
3. Add 2 drops of yellow gel to the remaining batter in the bowl and mix VERY well. Add 175g / 6oz of batter to the second tin, level the mixture.  Now bake both of these for approximately 9-10 minutes or until they feel springy to the touch.  If you're baking one layer at time make sure you bake it in the centre of the oven.  Meanwhile add a further 2 drops of food colouring gel to the batter in the bowl and beat well.
4. When cooked, cool the cakes in the tin for about 5 mins then carefully de-tin onto a cooling rack.  Run some cold water into the tin (to cool it down), re-line and weigh in another 175g/6oz of batter.  Repeat the process until you have 5 cooked layers of sponge cake, adding 2 drops of colouring to the batter for each layer.  Make sure you remember the order in which you placed the cooked layers on the cooling racks...so that you stack them in the right order when you assemble the cake!

For the Lemon Curd / Lemon Butter Filling:
2 large or 3 medium lemons
150g / 6oz sugar
100g / 4oz unsalted butter cut up
4 large eggs (don't use very fresh eggs, the egg white is too thick)

1. Place the zest and juice of the lemons in a heatproof bowl.  Add the sugar and the butter.  Break the eggs into jug or bowl, beat them well, then strain them through a sieve onto the other ingredients.  I know this sounds fussy, but you really don't want lumps of cooked egg white making your lemon curd grainy.
2. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until everything is melted and/or dissolved - about 5 mins.  At this stage you'll probably wonder how such an unpromising mess will ever turn into something wonderful...trust me...it does.  Just leave the bowl over the simmering water, stir it every couple of minutes while you get on with something else, until you have a thick custard consistency.
3. Remove the bowl from the heat, allow it to cool a little then cover completely with plastic wrap (it's best if the wrap touches the surface of the curd), and place in the fridge until you assemble the cake.

For the Frosting:
200g / 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
500g / 4 cups icing sugar, sieved
juice of 1 large lemon (the one you zested for the cake)

1. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a free standing mixer and (using the paddle attachment) beat on slow until everything is combined.  Increase the speed to high and beat for 3-4 mins until very white, light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides and beat for a further 30 seconds.

To Assemble the Masterpiece:

1. If your cakes have fairly flat tops (which they should) you can go straight on to the layering.  If they have domed tops, carefully slice off the domed part so you have a flat surface.  Place the darkest yellow layer upside down on the serving plate.  Place about 2 tblspns of the lemon curd on top and spread almost to the edges.  If you need a little more lemon curd that's fine, you'll have plenty.
2. Take your next darkest yellow layer and carefully place that on top.  Keep layering up the cakes with lemon curd in between until you have placed your final palest layer on top.  You can of course do this in reverse order so the lightest layer is at the bottom, it just seems a bit counter-intuitive!
3. Now, take a bamboo skewer (or similar implement) and push it, from the top, right down through the entire cake stack.  This will give you some stability while you add the crumb coat of frosting.  Take a small amount of icing and spread it very thinly all over the top and sides of the cake.  Add more icing where you need to so that you have a completely smooth surface over the top and sides.  Remove the skewer and place the cake in the fridge for 20-30 mins.
4. Now for the fun part!  I can't be precise here because so much depends on your icing style.  It really doesn't matter about precision though as you will have plenty of frosting of the right colour when you need it.  So, place a good couple of scoops of white icing in a disposable pastry/icing bag fitted with a coupler and small open star tip.  Starting at the top edge, pipe 6's or 9's (that's left or right spirals) around the side of the cake.  They should be large enough to cover about 1/4 the height of the cake.  Next, pipe the same spirals on top of the cake around the outside edge...see the photo above if my description is inept!  If you run out of frosting just scoop some more into your piping bag from the bowl.  Any frosting left in the bag can be squeezed back into the bowl.
5. Add 1 drop of yellow food gel colouring to the frosting and beat well, it must be completely mixed in with no streaks.  Remove the coupler and tip from the previous icing/pastry bag and place in a new bag.  Scoop in some of the pale yellow frosting and pipe another layer of spirals around the side of the cake just below the white ones, repeat on the top of the cake.  Add another drop of food colouring to the frosting in the bowl, beat really well, then complete your third row...add a drop of colour, beat, complete the fourth and final row.
6. Place the cake in the fridge for 30 mins or so, just to firm up the frosting.  And use a good sharp knife when you cut the cake...I didn't, and it fuzzied up the layers a little. 

Icing Options
My last post was a recipe for orange nutmeg cookies (you can find it here) and I used some of the dough to make lambs and chicks for my little lamb and chick...and I promise this will be the last cutesy posting for a couple of months!  I also promised I'd post a recipe for royal icing which I have combined with ready to roll fondant on the lambs, and used 'neat' on the chicks.  It has taken me quite a while to settle on the recipe that works best for me and the local climate and I still need to adjust the amount of water if it's a particularly hot, dry, or stormy day...so don't worry if you need to make small adjustments too.  Also, most recipes I have read talk about 'meringue powder' which I haven't been able to find locally.  But, I did find something called Pavlova Magic (well of course, it's practically the national dish!) which seems to work just fine.  Now, there are several videos on You Tube if you're new to piping, and this one is my favourite for basic technique.  Oh, and please don't think you have to do any of that origami business to make your own piping bags...get a pack of disposables from the supermarket or a cake decorating shop.  Lastly, please don't freak out that the lamb and the chick are the same size, this is not some scary steroid experiment...they're just cookies!!

Royal Icing: enough for at least 36 cookies
3 tblspns Pavlova Magic or meringue powder
500g / 1lb 2oz icing or confectioners sugar
5 tblspns water (which should be hand hot)
Upto 2 tsps of flavouring (vanilla or almond essence, lime juice etc)

1. Place the Pavlova Magic or meringue powder in the bowl of a free standing mixer and add the hand hot water.  With the paddle attachment, beat on slow for about 30 seconds until it's dissolved then increase the speed to medium and beat for about a minute until the mixture is nice and frothy.
2. Add the icing or confectioners sugar all in one go and beat on slow - to avoid getting covered in sugar - until everything is well mixed.  Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 6 or 7 minutes.  The mixture should be very white and very stiff.  If you remove the paddle attachment and run it through the icing, you should be able to turn the paddle upside down and the peak of icing will stand straight up.
3. At this point, I usually divide the icing between a number of smaller plastic boxes or bowls, according to how many colours I need, cover each batch with a piece of cling wrap - and make sure the wrap is touching the entire surface of the icing to ensure that no air gets in - put the lids on, and stash the whole lot in the fridge until the next time I get an opportunity to potter in the kitchen! 

For the Lambs:
Pre-baked and cooled cookies
A small amount of light corn syrup (such as Karo) or runny honey 
White ready to roll fondant icing
White royal icing
Black sugar beads
Disposable piping bag fitted with a coupler and PME 1.5 piping tip

1. Dust the kitchen bench with a little cornflour / corn starch.  Roll out the fondant to approximately 3mm or 1/4"  thickness.  Using the same lamb cutter you used for the cookies, cut out as many shapes as you need.  You can re-roll the scraps of fondant a couple of times, but after that there's usually too much cornflour incorporated and you need to use a new piece.
2. Brush the surface of the cookies with a little corn syrup - don't go right to the edges of the cookie as they will have spread during baking and the fondant shape will be slightly smaller.
3. Place a fondant cut out on top of each cookie and press lightly all over.  Push a black sugar bead into the fondant for the eye.
4. Next, take a couple of tablespoons of white royal icing and place in a small bowl.  Add a teaspoon of water and beat really well with a spatula.  Pour the icing into the prepared piping bag.  Lift the bag and shake the icing down to the tip then twist the top part of the bag to make a seal.  (See the Sweetopia video link in the top paragraph for the visuals).  Now, pipe a line all round the body of the lamb and around the edge of the face.  Pipe some spirals and "C's" on the body - and there you have your woolly little lamb!

For the chicks:
Pre-baked and cooled cookies
Royal icing
Black sugar beads
1 disposable piping bag fitted with a coupler and a PME 1.5 tip (for the orange)
1 disposable piping bag fitted with a coupler and #2 plain tip (for the yellow)

1. Colour a portion of the royal icing yellow - I used Americolor's Egg Yellow - and just add one drop at a time until you have a colour just a shade lighter than you would like.  Now, you want to create what I call 'all purpose' icing.  That means an icing you can use to outline AND flood a cookie at the same time.  So, when you draw a knife through the bowl of icing you want the gap to close and for there to be no trace of the knife mark in about 10 seconds.  So, add about a half teaspoon of water and mix well with a spatula.  Try the knife test.  If it takes 15 or 20 seconds for the mark to disappear, add another half teaspoon of water and beat again then re-test it.  Cover the icing and set it aside for about 30 mins, the colour will develop further.  Take a tiny amount of royal icing and colour it orange - I used Americolor's Electric Orange.  Just add a couple of drops of water off the end of your finger to thin this tiny amount.  Beat it well after the water is added.
2. Pour each batch of icing into their respective piping bag, shake down and twist to seal.
3. Take the yellow icing and pipe an outline around the body of the chick (not the beak).  Immediately flood the shape by piping inside the outline until the body and head areas are filled.  Gently shake the cookie left and right on the work surface to make sure the icing is even and levelled.  With a pair of tweezers, drop a black sugar bead into the wet icing as an eye.  Leave the icing to set for about 30 minutes.  Next, outline and flood a little wing shape on top of the piped body - it will look very dimensional!
4. Finally, outline and fill the tiny beak and pipe on the legs and feet.  Leave the cookies to dry completely for 4-6 hours then place them in an airtight box and they will keep prefectly well for about a week.

Festive Treats for Everyone - Part 2
I think I've probably been making Krispie Treats since I was about 6...and that's a lot of Treats!  Today's post is almost a replica of the Easter Nest I made all those years ago, the only difference being the chick inside the nest.  Back in the day it was always a sugar coated chocolate egg but I've found it quite difficult tracking those down...so it's a sugared almond instead.  Now, the idea for the chick came from Sugarbelle's bluebirds which can be found here except that we don't get bluebirds like that in Australia, so I turned them into little yellow and white chicks. I iced the beaks on with some left over orange icing, but you could just as easily draw them on with food-safe markers.  Once again, these are great for the kids to make, little hands are particularly good at squishing the treats into the cupcake cases!

For the Nests:
25g / 1oz butter
2 tblspns golden syrup / dark corn syrup
100g / 4oz dark or semi sweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
12 sugared almonds (or something similar) with faces drawn or iced

1. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake cases.
2. Place all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second bursts, stirring the mixture well each time, until everything is melted and well combined.
3. If the mixture is hot, allow it to cool for about 10-15 minutes...but the chocolate will melt pretty quickly so it should really only be barely warm at this stage.
4. Place about a tablespoon of the mixture in each cupcake case and press down and out to form a shallow cup or nest shape.
5. Push a sugared almond gently into the centre of the nest and allow to set for about 30 minutes.
6. That's it.  You're done.  How easy was that?!

Festive Treats for Everyone - Part 1
Now this is not strictly baking, it's child friendly no-bake baking.  And the good news is, these treats incorporate just about everyone: they're designed to celebrate Spring and Easter, but with a couple of small modifications they're also Passover friendly, dairy free, gluten free and nut free.  Not bad for kids' treats.  More good news: if you're looking to involve children in the process, the Krispie Treats are ideal:  everything happens in a big bowl with a big spoon, in a microwave, and with your hands.  Oh, and there's very little chance of sticky fingers being wiped on clothes or surfaces because they'll be thoroughly licked clean!!  I'll start with the easy ones first: the idea for the sheep was inspired by The Decorated Cookie's lambs made from cake, which can be found here.  But I wanted my 3 year old to be involved and rolling small amounts of sponge cake without squishing it into oblivion may be beyond him...so I went for Krispie Treats instead.

 

For the sheep:
150g / 6 oz mini marshmallows
25g / 1 oz butter
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
12 pretzel sticks - swap for 24 matchsticks for the Passover/gluten friendly option.
6 sugared almonds - swap for full size marshmallows for the nut friendly option.
2 squares of white chocolate melted - swap for melted marshmallows for dairy free.

1. Place the butter and marshmallows in a microwave friendly bowl and cook on high in 30 second bursts, stirring each time you check them, until you have a light liquid consistency.
2. Add the Kripspies and stir thoroughly until they are all coated.  Make sure you use a BIG bowl otherwise the cereal will go everywhere.  Allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.  If you're using pretzel sticks, cut each one in half so you have 24 pieces.
3. Pour about a teaspoon of oil onto a paper towel and lightly rub it over the palms of your hands.  Then, take a couple of teaspoons of the mixture and roll it into an oval or egg shape, squeezing the mixture together as you do so.  Push 4 pieces of pretzel (or 4 matchsticks) into the krispy ball to act as legs.  Try your best to get them roughly even although sheep that look a bit tipsy are very cute!  Leave the shapes to dry on a lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes.
4. Finally, dip a sugared almond - or full size marshmallow - in a little melted white chocolate and press on to the body.  You will need to prop up the sheep until the chocolate sets as the almond makes the front of the sheep heavy.  I propped mine up on a little stack of cupcake cases.

Simnel Cake: For My Mum With Love
You can take the girl out of England...but you can't take England out of the girl!!  A few days ago it was Mothering Sunday in the UK, which is different to Mother's Day everywhere else.  So I looked up the origins and...(now for a very quick bit of the liturgy):  Lent is the 40 day period immediately before Easter, and Mothering Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Lent.  In centuries past, children were often sent away into service.  The tradition was that you attended the parish church closest to where you lived (this would be the 'daughter' church) but once a year you returned to your home church - which would be the 'mother' church.  Children who had been sent away to work were granted the day off to return to visit their mothers and mother church, the two events collided and this once-a-year reunion became Mothering Sunday.  Happily, the traditional Lenten Fast was relaxed for the day so a celebration cake was definitely in order.  Now, with Mothering Sunday being so close to Easter, Simnel Cake has become traditional for either or both celebrations.  The only difference being the mode of decoration - crystallised flowers for Mothering Sunday and moulded marzipan for Easter.  And all of that brings me to today's recipe: this is the kind of cake my Grandma used to serve with a cloth on the table, a big pot of tea, and the best china.  I should point out that the marzipan in the photo below has NOT been toasted or burnished, so it looks a wee bit pasty.  Unfortunately I can't fit a cake under my grill and my kitchen blowtorch picked the least convenient moment run out of gas.  It still tastes gorgeous though...I've just finished a piece! 

For the cake:
150g / 6oz unsalted butter, softened
150g / 6oz soft light brown sugar
3 large eggs
zest of 1 lemon
2 tblspns milk
200g / 8oz plain or all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp powdered ginger
400g / 14oz mixed dried vine fruit (any combination of currants, sultanas, raisins)
100g / 4oz craisins...this is not traditional but it makes the cake so yummy!
400g / 1 lb marzipan or almond paste**
Small amount of cornflour/constarch for dusting the kitchen bench

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.  Grease and line an 18cm or 7 in round cake tin.  I prefer a spring clip tin but please use whatever style of tin you're happiest with.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together, they don't need to be light and fluffy but they do need to be well blended.
3. Add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time, and beat well between each addition.  When they're all combined add the lemon zest and the milk, beat well.
4. Next add the flour, the spices, and the baking powder.  Mix thoroughly but don't overwork the mixture or it will become tough.  Finally, add the dried fruit and mix again.
5. Now, place roughly half of the mixture in the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface.  Dust the kitchen bench (or a rolling mat) with a small amount of cornflour.  Roll out the marzipan/almond paste until you have a circle which is about the same diameter as the cake tin, then place it on top of the cake mixture in the tin.  Spoon the remaining cake mixture into the tin, level the surface then make a slight dent in the centre, you want the cooked cake to be as level as possible.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 140 C / 280 F and bake for a further 70 minutes.  The timings will depend on your oven - in any event the cake should pass the clean skewer test.  Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin, then remove it and place it on a serving plate.

For the decoration:
400g / 1 lb marzipan or almond paste
Small amount of cornflour for dusting the kitchen bench
1 tsp jam or jelly - anything without seeds will do
Small fresh flowers (optional)
Piece of wide ribbon (optional)

1. First, cut about 100g / 4oz of the marzipan from the block and reserve it.  
2. Gently warm the jam or jelly by placing on a saucer and microwaving for about 10 seconds.  Brush it all over the surface of the cake.
3. Dust the kitchen bench or a rolling mat with a small amount of cornflour.  Roll out the larger piece of marzipan until it is the same diameter as the cake - if you used a spring clip tin, you can use the loose bottom plate as a template.  Place the disc of paste on top of the cake and gently press down to ensure that it sticks to the surface.
4. Next, either pinch off 11 equal sized pieces of marzipan from the remaining piece - or - roll the smaller piece of marzipan out flat on the kitchen bench then take a small cookie cutter and cut 11 identical shapes, discarding (or eating!!) any trimmings once this step is complete.  Roll the 11 pieces into balls and arrange them evenly around the edge of the cake.  Once you are happy that they are all evenly spaced, dab the underside of each ball with a little of the jam/jelly and press lightly onto the surface of the cake.
5. At this point you have a choice: you can either place your cake under the grill / broiler for a couple of minutes to toast the surface of the marzipan; or you can gently burnish the entire surface with a kitchen blowtorch.  I prefer the blowtorch option - I find the heat is much more easily controlled.
6. Finally, If you are using fresh flowers (please make sure they're edible ones!), arrange them in the centre of the cake and tie a wide ribbon around the edge, finishing with a generous bow at the front. 

** I choose to use the natural colour marzipan, i.e. there are no colours added.  However, the marzipan of my childhood was a somewhat violent yellow colour and there are times when I get all nostalgic for it.  So, if you prefer the yellow variety please go right ahead and use it...I would if I could get it!

Easter Cupcakes
So Easter in Australia is a funny thing - a bit like Christmas here is a funny thing too.  While the rest of the world is revelling in the fact that Spring is either sprung or about to, we're moving into Autumn.  Somehow the chicks, rabbits, and blossomy type flowers look a bit odd when the leaves are turning brown and falling off the trees!  But, there are some conventions I'm happy to continue...however odd they look.  I'm planning to post a few Easter recipes over the next week or so and here is the first - a cupcake, to ease myself in gently. 

I think I can safely say that these meet all of my criteria for an appropriate seasonal offering: there's chocolate in a couple of forms, there are the obligatory spring flowers, and that grass is the required luminous green!  I chose to pipe the grass with a simple buttercream frosting - because I'm a cake-geek and I have a grass piping tip - but you could just as easily colour a bit of shredded coconut green and get the same effect.  There are instructions for colouring coconut in the Sesame Street cupcake recipe which can be found here.

And so to the recipe:  it uses a 2 egg mix (from the cake mix matrix which can be found here) but I've made the chocolate version, so swap 30g /1oz of cocoa for the same amount of flour.  Bake the cupcakes at 170 C / 350 F  for about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven.  Allow them to cool for 5 minutes in their tins, then cool completely on a rack.

Icing - this is enough to ice the cakes as in the photo, you will only need about a third of this amount if you plan to use coloured coconut.
100g / 4oz unsalted butter softened
250g / 2 cups icing or confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Green colouring (I prefer to use the concentrated gels so that the icing doesn't become too soft)

1. With the mixer on slow, beat the butter and sugar together until they are well combined.  Then increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and fluffy.  
2. Now, start adding the colouring a drop at a time and allow the mixer to thoroughly combine it before you add more.  When you have a shade of grassy green that pleases you, add the vanilla and beat briefly.
3. Spread a small amount - about a teaspoonful - over the top of each cupcake and smooth it with a palette knife, this will provide something for either the piping or the coconut to stick to.
4. If you're piping the grass, place the rest of the icing in a bag fitted with suitable tip (I'm afraid I can't remember the number of it) and start in the middle and work outwards in circles.  This way you won't crowd yourself and bend your beautiful blades of grass over!

Embellishments:
Royal icing or fondant flowers
12 Sugar coated chocolate mini eggs

1. Luckily, I had a million little spring flowers already made from scraps of fondant I used a few weeks ago so I used those but you could just as easily use pre-made royal icing flowers that are available from every supermarket (or cake decorating shop).
2. Finally, take a mini egg and push it gently but proudly into the centre of each cupcake...and congratulate yourself on producing a masterpiece!