Fun with fondant

For a lot of years when making celebration cakes I avoided using fondant icing.  I always tended towards mascarpone-based icing or flavoured butter icing just because I never really liked fondant.  I always looked at it like sweet Play Dough.  I felt there was no substance to it and that it wouldn’t add anything to the cakes I made.  While I was concentrating on my cakes being substance over style, I neglected to consider that it was possible to have both.  That was until someone asked for a cake with a panda face on it for his daughter’s birthday.

 

I admit that my initial reaction was, “Oh shit, I’ve only used fondant once and that was around twenty years ago!  I can’t do this.  I can’t!”.  And then I looked online for inspiration and to get some tips, and I swallowed my doubts and agreed to make the cake.  I don’t mind admitting I was crapping myself over the decoration.  I’ve always been a perfectionist and I hate handing anything over that I feel isn’t up to my standard, even if the person receiving it thinks it’s incredible.  I have to bite my tongue to stop myself pointing out the flaws.

 

Before I decided to make the panda cake I had to remind myself of all the craft things I’ve done and still do, not least the Fimo modelling I did years ago (anyone for a windswept wizard brooch?!), and the fantastic (if at times frustrating) clay sculpting I did to make various kinds of masks a few years ago.  The dragon was by far my favourite.  I love clay.  LOVE it!!!

 

 

So I collected as many online tips as I could find, watched a few videos, and made a note of the potential problems I’d encounter and how to fix them.  I went trawling the internet for panda cake designs, then I grabbed a piece of paper and sketched out a few design options.

 

Then I baked.  I filled.  I crumb-coated. I refrigerated.  I pre-prepared hundreds of tiny cherry blossom flowers.  I made a fondant panda.  I made the lettering (hand cut).  I coated.  I refrigerated.  And finally I was ready to decorate.

 

From start to finish it took me around eight hours, and although I could’ve been happier with it (can we say ‘perfectionist’ again?), I was actually impressed with how good it looked.  What often used to happen was I’d have an idea of what I wanted to create, but the result was never quite right.  It (usually) tasted good, but I rarely saw my vision come to life.  Until I made the panda cake.  I’m incredibly happy to say that the birthday girl loved it, too.  And I didn’t skimp on the substance.  I filled and coated the vanilla sponge with raspberry butter icing.  And when I say it was raspberry, I don’t mean it was vaguely berry-y.  I mean it was fruity, vibrant, get your taste buds dancing raspberry.  I could do both style and substance after all, and from then on my mind has been much more open to the possibilities.

 

 

After that I made my boss’s 60^th birthday cake.  The flavour of this one was orange sponge with orange and passion fruit butter icing.  It was a completely different design.  This time I opted for an elegant, stylish cake with a home-made rose and petals.  I didn’t buy a cutter for the rose, instead I decided to entirely hand-craft petals and build the rose myself petal by petal.  I have to admit I was pretty chuffed with it, though with a lot of practice I reckon I can get it to look like a proper, real rose instead of a fondant version of a rose!

 

 

I had a bit of a break once the new year arrived.  I needed to avoid cake for a while (all that taste testing can take its toll on an already too-expanded waistline!), and I was moving house.  With that also came the fear of moving into a new place with a crap oven.  Yes, it really was one of my main concerns!  But eventually I tested the oven with scones, and happiness returned.

Next came an incredibly simple cake that used the #psst logo as its design, but of course keeping it simple meant it had to be as close to perfect as possible because any mistakes would show. As it turned out I was misinformed regarding the amount of orange fondant I would need, so ended up having to add a white border around the bottom and hide the join with ribbon. I'm pretty sure no one noticed! The real shame though was that I intended to use the remaining white to make a little caravan to add to the top, so the cake was even simpler than I'd planned! If you want to know what #psst was all about, take a look here - http://positivelystocktonontees.co.uk

Next on the list was a birthday treat for someone who, based on facebook photos, had already had a glut of cake from his lovely family!  So I went for a curveball.  Instead of making a cake, I made one giant caramel slice (millionaire’s shortbread).  I decorated it with extra sweets; Curly Wurlies, fingers of Fudge and Smarties, and I added some hand-crafted fondant decorations.  I made them the night before so they had some time to set, and they were all symbolic of some of the events we’d done over the two years I’ve been with Stockton Town Choir, and one special event that’s still to come.  I’d intended to add more than the five that were there, but I broke some of them at the final stages and had no time to replace them.

 

 

I really did need to bite my tongue when I handed this over.  When I made it I must have overheated the chocolate, and although when it first set it was perfect, when I returned home to collect it for the birthday boy I realised the chocolate had started to bloom, and based on some small shavings from the side of the finished slice the texture of the chocolate was a little compromised; it had a slightly crunchier texture than chocolate normally has and it didn’t have the same mouth-feel as it melted.  That said, it tasted exactly as it should.  And who knows, perhaps the texture wasn’t as compromised as I thought.

 

And finally we have my most recent fondant-covered cake.  This was for a colleague’s last day at work, and I wanted something a bit more unusual but very fitting for her.  This was a woman who rarely ate meals during the day, and instead opted for a drawer full of sweets from which she would graze all day.  So it seemed only right to include sweets, and this time I decided to put them inside the cake.  I made three sponges, and cut a circle out of the middle layer before sandwiching it all together.  I simply filled the hole with Smarties before putting the final layer of sponge on top.

 

I did spend some time the night before making lots of decorations, but I only used a fraction of them.  My plans had to change slightly when something I’d tried didn’t quite work, but I did make a fondant version of her to sit on the edge of the cake that worked out nicely (thankfully!).  The first version of my colleague had her standing, and she was supposed to be bursting out of the top of the cake and through the NHS logo, but her arms drooped when I got up the next day, and instead of looking like she was jumping up and celebrating, she looked like she was waiting for her disciples on a hilltop.  Yep, the design had to change!

 

 

I’m gradually figuring out the limitations of fondant icing, its problems, which brands are more solid and stable to work with, which will sink under their own weight due to their softness, how it responds to my clay modelling tools (yes, don’t worry, they were thoroughly cleaned and sterilised first!), which colours mix well and which cause stability problems with the fondant.  It’s all a great learning curve, and at some point I intend to find a course that will push my limits and imagination.

 

I’ve always loved baking, and seeing and hearing the reactions of people enjoying the flavours of my cakes and other baked goods, but I want to go that bit further.  I want to give them as much style as substance.  I want them to see a cake and be wowed, and then bite into it and groan with pleasure.  I want people to have the best of both, and although I fear I may never, ever think something I’ve created is perfect, I do realise I’m my own worst critic.  So I’ll keep learning and practicing, and one day perhaps I will see perfection and I won’t need to bite my tongue anymore.  Cuz it hurts, you know.  It really hurts!

 

I already have my next cake planned.  I’m not telling, but it’ll be a lot of work, a lot of fun, and if I get this right it will be out of this world!

 

Cinnamon Caramel Cake

Goodness, how long has it been since I last wrote about my baking?  Ten months? Oops!  Okay, well let me return with something to really tickle your tastebuds.

This Cinnamon Caramel Cake was inspired entirely by the discovery of a spread on a supermarket shelf.  It was sat there surrounded by peanut butters and jams, and I almost didn't see it at all.

Do you ever go to a coffee shop where you get an individually wrapped Lotus caramelised biscuit?  Well this is a spread that tastes exactly like those biscuits.  Don't believe me? Here they are, and yes you can get then in smooth and crunchy!

Marvellous!

With my tastebuds well and truly loving me, and my little brain cells working overtime I tried to come up with something special, but also something simple that would let the Lotus spread shine perhaps without people even knowing what the secret ingredient was!

I used my sister and sisters in law as guinea pigs a few weeks ago on a lovely spa weekend just for us girls, and they went down a treat!

I don't often make the first of a new idea and decide not to change anything, but this was it.  It's incredibly simple, no fuss, no fancy decoration, just fabulous flavour.

My sponge recipe was only to add 1.5 tsp of cinnamon to a standard recipe, but I'll give you it here anyway (is this the first time I've given the actual recipe???).

200g self raising flour

200g caster sugar

200g unsalted butter, softened

4 large eggs

2 level tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp ground cinnamon 

I just blended it all together in the mixer until it was smooth and glossy (don't over mix it though or it won't rise as well as it should), then I put it in a greased and lined tin and baked it at 180 (160 fan) for about 40 minutes.  I think the tin I used was 7".

For the filling of the large cake I used some of the crunchy spread to add a little texture plus a little of the topping.  The topping was:

1 x 250g tub mascarpone

Smooth Lotus spread to taste

I used about 2 tbsp of Lotus spread, but half the fun with experimental baking is tasting as you go along, so have a play with it!

This is the cake I've finished off tonight, ready to give to a colleague who's leaving tomorrow.  After coating the cake I textured the top a little (though you can't really see it here) and sprinkled it with some ground cinnamon.  Decorating large cakes isn't exactly my forte, so I tend to keep it simple!  Anyway, without doubling up on the topping there wasn't enough to start doing any fancy piping.  

When I made the cupcakes the only difference was making a small well in the middle and filling with the crunchy spread before piping on the topping. 

I know I said I wouldn't change this recipe, but while I was typing I did consider that next time I might try using a soft brown sugar instead of caster sugar for a bit more depth of flavour.  Not yet though.  Ginger Cream Cake is next for dad's birthday party!

It turns out that there won't be many people at work tomorrow.  Shame.  Well, not for me and my colleague.  No, I won't tell you where I work.

Do make it.  It's rather lovely!

Mint Chocolate Cake

I know it’s been a long time since my last foodie blog post, but in my defence I’ve been a tad busy.  And lazy!  At some point I will post about the remaining technical challenges I completed last year from the Bake Off, but for now I’m focussing on the new stuff.

I’ve been experimenting a lot more lately.  I moved into my own flat in December, complete with absolute freedom in the kitchen, and I’ve immersed myself in experimentation of the baked kind.  This includes, but is not limited to:

·         Mint and double chocolate chunk muffins

·         A giant chelsea bun for a friend’s birthday

·         Hazelnut praline pavlova

·         Lemon and passionfruit cake

·         Citrus fruit loaf

·         Gingerbread house (more “I wonder whether I can”, rather than experimenting!)

My offering today is a Mint Chocolate birthday cake for none other than my boss!  I’m glad to say I’ve pretty much had freedom to choose what to make this time, the only request being for chocolate.

Back in November I did a batch of test cupcakes that were unleashed on the paying public for charity, those being Chocolate and Peanut Caramel Cupcakes.  They went down a treat, with two different people asking me for the recipe I’d used for the chocolate icing.  How flattering!  My main test of these cakes was down to the sponge.  I used a regular recipe for chocolate cupcakes, but I also added a forgotten quantity of dark Belgian chocolate.  The purpose was to produce a slightly denser but moister sponge, and I think it worked.

So, that’s what I used for this birthday cake, only playing a guessing game with the quantity of added melted chocolate because I like to live life on the edge!  I also added some peppermint extract because I didn’t just want a bog-standard chocolate cake with some flavoured icing.

I took inspiration from my Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake, and decided to coat it with a glossy chocolate ganache made with half milk and half plain chocolate so it wouldn’t overpower the mint.  I know it’s a fine line with peppermint; if you use too much you may as well be eating toothpaste, but use too little and the point of it is lost entirely.  It was also part of the reason for my decision not to attempt mint butter icing.  Buttery toothpaste, anyone?

I did, however, still want a filling for the cake.  I decided that whipped cream wouldn’t quite work for what I had in mind, so I returned to the trusty mascarpone!  I used one tub of mascarpone mixed with a little sifted icing sugar and some peppermint extract.

Decoration with larger cakes is often my downfall.  I have a great image in my mind of how I want a cake to look when it’s finished, but my talents mean I fall short and it looks very homemade!  On very bad days it looks like a five year old has made it!  This time I decided to keep it simple and attempted elegance!  I melted and tempered some white chocolate, grabbed a very large sheet of greaseproof paper, made a little piping bag and let loose.  The result was around fifty scribbles, shapes and patterns that I’d choose from later.  I’ll eat the rest gradually over time despite telling myself they’ll be stored for future use.

(Edited to add that they were eaten by the end of the next day!).

I didn’t wait until I’d iced the cake before deciding which of the white chocolate decorations to use.  Instead I laid them on the cake before I even sandwiched it with the mascarpone, to be sure I was doing exactly what I wanted and what (I thought) would work.

I was fortunate to read a tip from someone a few days ago (I can't remember where) for coating the cake. Before putting the cake on your board or plate, put a few strips of greaseproof paper where the edges of the cake will sit (I used five), and have a couple of inches sticking out.  The reason for this is that when the ganache flows down the sides of the cake not only will the paper catch most if not all of the overspill, once the ganache has set you can carefully pull the pieces of paper out from under the cake.  It will give you neat edges and you won't have to attempt cleaning up the board.  This was the first time I tried it and it worked a blimmin’ treat!

So this is the result.  Mint Chocolate Cake with mint mascarpone filling, coated with mint chocolate ganache, topped with homemade white chocolate decorations.

I've finally learned my lesson with a full ganache coating; to only use it for a single layer cake, or to use something like a thin fondant on the sides to get them lovely and smooth before pouring on the ganache.  In this case I could have used a ball of peppermint cream 'dough'.  Next time, perhaps.

Was it elegant?  Nope.

Was it perfect?  Nothing I ever bake is perfect in my view!

Was it delicious?  I've made nicer but it ain't half bad (see previous answer to 'perfect'!)

Did my boss like it? Yep, she really did, and that's what really matters.

Two people have since commented that the flavour reminded them of Yo-Yo mint chocolate biscuits from distant days gone by!  Ah, memory lane...

Custard Tarts - Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge #4

So then, tarts.

Custard tarts to be precise.  Week 4 of the Great British Bake Off and I've gone and attempted a technical challenge that I knew really, really wouldn't be simple.  First off, the recipe's here.

I've rarely made custard from scratch.  In fact, prior to this challenge I made crème pâtissière once for a tart I was making up on the spot (here).  To further my difficulties I've never eaten a custard tart.  I've never wanted to eat a custard tart.  I'm not a big fan of nutmeg, and every custard tart I've ever seen reminds me of quiche.  Quiche is the work of the devil.

So, you can see my difficulties began before I even started baking.  I have a much better chance of 'winging it' if I at least know how the finished product should taste, and what texture the filling should be.  But yes, of course, I watched the episode so I should have known precisely what I was doing.

The recipe itself was simple to follow, I can't deny that much.  However, I should have trusted my instincts a little more than I did.  I've been baking long enough to know that if I think twice about the thickness of the pastry, I should change the thickness of the pastry!

I did make some mistakes with this challenge, I can't deny it; photographic evidence is forthcoming, I promise.

The pastry was very soft.  It was perhaps down to the temperature of the kitchen (although the butter was definitely chilled).  Maybe using a whole egg instead of water to bind it together made a difference.  It might have needed a little longer in the fridge.  One thing's for certain; as easy as it was to roll out and manipulate in the muffin tray, even though there were no tears in the pastry cases the filling still leaked through a few of them.

I did at least have the foresight to use a trick one of the GBBO contestants demonstrated.  Don't underestimate the usefulness of the paper.  The paper was a huge contributor to the fact that so many came out more or less in one piece!

The handy 'strips of greaseproof paper' trick

Now, I knew long before these babies came out of the oven that they would look homemade.  I was in no doubt that the cutter I used was a little too small for the muffin tin, the pastry was very soft, and that manipulating the raw pastry up the side of the tin a little would push them out of shape.  In fact, the pastry was so soft that it was misshapen even before I played around with it.  You can see it there too, I know you can; twelve imperfect tarts waiting to get their bottoms browned.

Waiting to go in the oven

Just a quickie about making the custard before I forget; it was very simple.  Follow the instructions and you won't go far wrong.  I did use an electric hand whisk for the yolks and sugar to make sure when beaten that they were nice and pale and creamy, but that's all.  The making of the custard was uneventful!

Yes.  Imperfect is definitely the word.

Do you see these baked tarts?  This is what happens when you use those little strips of paper in the tin.  Ignore the ones in the background.  Please.  But really, it did help immensely.  Something I didn't consider was that even after the obligatory 30 mins cooling in the tin, the custard was so light and delicate and the pastry so thin, that removing them without either crushing them or having them fall apart was almost impossible.

A very un-soggy bottom!

The sogginess of their bottoms was uneven.  The twelve tarts you see above were fine, but they were on the top shelf of the oven.  It turned out that I rolled the pastry so thinly that there was enough remaining to make a further eight tarts, which of course I did.  After all, it never hurts to have spares!

The extra eight tarts went onto a lower shelf in the oven, and yet again I should have trusted my instincts and left them in a little longer.  I should have also used the paper in their tray, but curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to see how difficult it was to remove the tarts without said paper.

I say remove...

Me?  On GBBO?  Really?????

I wouldn't go so far as to say what was remaining of the eight were tarts.  They would have brought on a stern look from Mary Berry and laughter from Paul Hollywood.  And we all know your bake is a travesty if Paul Hollywood laughs!

Fully cooled, cut and glistening; one of the eight with slightly under-baked pastry.

As imperfect as these tarts look, though, once I cut into this one I knew I'd done something right.  Finally!  This is how the custard should look, right?  Oh, for the love of everything covered in flour, please tell me this is how the custard should look!!!

All in all, this wasn't a big fail... just a little one.  Despite my trepidation with nutmeg I did eat that one you see up there ^ and it was tasty.  It was.  I think perhaps I'm just someone who doesn't go crazy on custard.  No, that's a whole different show.

So, my tips?

• Use the paper
• Knead the pastry a little more than you normally would
• Use the paper
• Don't be too concerned about getting a thin pastry case, or it will be way too delicate to move
• USE THE PAPER!

I won't be auctioning off these babies for Matty's Bistro; they're just not how they should be and I'm a perfectionist.  Other people will get to eat them, but I won't expect anyone to pay for the privilege!

Oh, and as for the 7 leftover egg whites, dad gets a treat.  He hates custard so he won't eat the tarts, but he loves a nice pavlova.  So now, cooling in the oven, is a huge pavlova that tomorrow will be filled with whipped cream, raspberries and strawberries, and drizzled with homemade lemon curd.

Oh yes, NOW you're talking!

If I remember, there may even be a photo of it here before it's demolished.

Angel Food Cake - Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge #2

It was a week ago when I took on the challenge of the Angel Food Cake from the first episode of the Great British Bake Off.

Now, I've made fatless sponges before but they're few and far between, and they were certainly nothing as technical as this.  Usually I make up the batter, pour it in the tin, throw some blueberries on top, and just cut it up into squares when it's cooled.  It's one of my diet treats, and it's really lovely.  But this?  I was determined to achieve perfection and nothing else would do.

The recipe I used is here.  The technical challenge recipes are posted on the BBC website after each episode has aired.

So then, down to business.  This recipe is a delightfully light sponge cake made without butter and with little flour, getting its rise from 10 egg whites.  It's lightly flavoured with lemon zest and is finished with vanilla cream and homemade lemon curd.  The recipe called for passion fruit in the curd too, but the one week I wanted to buy passion fruit was the one week I couldn't find it anywhere!

The main things that I discovered I required, beyond the ingredients, were a light touch and a lot of patience!

Egg whites whipped with the lemon juice and sugar

The egg whites above took around 10 minutes to reach the stage you see here.  This was because not only were there 10 egg whites in the bowl (and therefore a lot more volume to whip up than usual) but the sugar needed to be added slowly.  Had I done this using a stand alone mixer instead of a little hand mixer, I'm sure it would've been a heck-load quicker!  Add to this the slow, careful process of folding in the flour in three stages, slowly, gradually combining it so as not to knock all the air out of the egg whites, and you can see where most of the patience is needed!

About to go in the oven

It took a while, but here is my beautiful new cake tin, complete with delicately poured batter ready to go in the oven.  To say that it went against everything I know as an amateur baker not to grease the tin is an understatement.  I knew that as it rose the batter needed something to grip onto, and that the same would be the case for when it cooled, but I was still skeptical.

Hurry up and cool already!

Have you ever cooled a cake upside down still in its tin?  No?  Neither had I.  Was I desperate to see the result?  Oh by-heck-in-a-hand-basket, was I ever!  This was where the rest of the patience came in useful.  I wanted to lift it up and prod and poke and just see how my delicate baby of a cake was doing, but I resisted.  To this day I don't know how I did it, but I do know that the making of the lemon curd helped.

Lemon curd

I know this looks orange, and in its jar it does look like orange curd; it's not just down to the photograph.  I can guarantee it's the best lemon curd I've tasted, and I'm not only saying that because I made it; it's absolutely true.  It's also true that I was ecstatic to see that the finishing of the cake used up all of the egg yolks.  How happy am I that in a few weeks I get to use up some more of the remaining curd in a birthday cake for a colleague?  Very.  Not to mention how fabulous it is on hot toast!

Anyway, I digress (and drool a little!).

It turned out nice!

This is it.  This is what made me want to jump for joy in the kitchen and do a victory dance.  I kid you not.  Having carefully gone round the edges of the cake in its tin with a thin, non-serrated knife, this was the beauty that slid out; perfectly formed, evenly baked and all in one piece.  I was so happy I could have cried!

Now, having recovered from my joy and amazement, all that was left was to decorate the big beauty.  Whipped cream with vanilla and a drizzle of lemon curd (minus the passion fruit) were the only things remaining.  It felt like a shame to cover her up, but cover her up I did.

All done.  Decorated and ready for its box.

I did still have the nagging little doubts in my mind; what if it's not fully cooked in the middle?  With the muffins I could make extra and be sure that they were fit for consumption before I auctioned them off, but not with this.  With this Angel Food Cake I spent the next few hours worrying that it might still be a little raw inside.  I was lucky, then, to be offered a slice by the winning bidder!

The winning bidder.  Chuffed and a half!

When I said this was a big cake, I wasn't kidding.  The photo above has put it in perspective, and it wasn't long before it was put in bellies!

I said I was lucky to have been offered a slice before I left this lovely lady's home, and I really was.  My worries were blown away with just how light and moist (and fully cooked... hurrah!) this cake was.  I urge anyone to try it; it's not a difficult bake, it just takes some patience and a light touch.

I was reliably informed a few days after this photo was taken that her granddaughter announced I was "through to the next round", and she'd gone at the cake with a ladle!  It's only a shame there wasn't any photographic evidence!

I'm already noting down ideas for the next Angel Food Cake I bake.  And the next.  And the one after that.

It's lovely.  Try it!

Not to forget a big thank you to all who bid on this cake.  Every last penny helps out the fabulous work Matty's Bistro does for the young adults in Teesside.  Much love x

English Muffins - Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge #1

At the beginning of the year I decided that when the 2013 series of the Great British Bake Off (GBBO) was aired, that I would attempt the technical challenge each week.  The series is two weeks in and I started with the challenge shown in week two; English Muffins.

Yes, I know I'm doing them out of order but me being me, I just can't make their Angel Food Cake until the new tin arrives.  Yes, I'm a perfectionist, and yes I promise I'll use the tin for other bakes too.  I promise!

For the moment, though, English Muffins are on the menu.

I can say hand on heart that I've never made muffins before.  Bread, yes.  Muffins, nope.  So this was going to be a learning curve for me just as much as the actual contestants, but at least I had the full instructions to work from and the benefit of learning from their mishaps on the telebox!

The technical challenge recipes are posted on the BBC website after each programme has been aired, and the English Muffins recipe is here.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly or who knows me personally will perhaps realise that these technical challenges are an additional challenge for one reason; I don't like following recipes to the letter.  I play with them.  I experiment and try different flavours.  This is how I keep baking more interesting for me, and I like it when people try a cake, buns or bread they've never tried before and like them!

But stick to the recipe I did, and thank goodness.

Dough pre-prove

I made double quantity, and I made them in one big batch.  My reasoning behind this was so that I could test a couple and make sure they were properly cooked before auctioning them off for a worthwhile, local cause (more information later).  In hindsight this was a slight mistake.  It meant that because my griddle could only hold a maximum of four muffins, the time they sat proving on the trays before cooking was too long for the last four (being that the cooking time for each muffin was 10-12 mins), and consequently they were over-proved and therefore a little thinner than the others.  What I'll remember for next time is to stagger single batches to allow for over-proving and any additional mishaps or delays.

This dough was very sticky and it took some time to knead it into submission.  It's fair to say I was knackered, but I'm told it helps with the bingo wings!  Perhaps I should make more.  A lot more.

Dough post prove

Now, the recipe does say that after the first prove that the dough should be tipped out onto a work surface, rolled out and then left to rest for 15 mins.  What I discovered was that the following process of cutting out the muffins and placing them on trays sprinkled with semolina is made much easier if you sprinkle semolina onto the work surface too, prior to turning out the dough from its bowl.  I guarantee that you'll find it significantly easier to remove the muffins from the work surface, and they're less likely to stretch out of shape.

Oh, my muffins are going all toasty!

Oh, another thing to mention is that between batches you might want to wipe the excess semolina from the griddle; toasty is tasty, burnt is not!

I have to say that this recipe is very simple to follow and it produces great results.  It's a shame I didn't think ahead this time and stagger the double quantity of dough, but I won't ever forget that in future.  The slightly thinner muffins were no less tasty than the normal sized ones, though.  I had to test them.  They were being sold on to lovely people, and I had to be sure they were fit for human consumption.  That's my excuse, anyway.

Ten lovely muffins, ready for the winning bidder

My only issue with completing these technical challenges each week was that I would then have a lot of food in the house that I shouldn't be eating (barring one or two muffins!).  So a plan was formed.  A silent auction on Facebook to local bidders, to raise a little money for a fabulous local cause, Matty's Bistro.

I won't go into detail here, but I do suggest you take a look at this post here.  It explains beautifully, enthusiastically and passionately what Matty's Bistro does for young people in our area.  There's no way I could put it any better.

I've been reliably informed that the muffins have and are being enjoyed by numerous people.  I asked for constructive criticism but they had none to offer, and I'm told my muffins are the best in town.  I feel ever so chuffed and humbled!

I can't wait to get my teeth into the next challenge; Angel Food Cake.  I only hope that others want to get their teeth into it, too, and raise as much money as we can for Matty and his dedicated students.

Wonka Caramel Slice

You many remember back in January that I made a caramel slice for a friend and colleague's birthday.  If not, it's here.

One result of this tasty morsel was a discussion with another friend and colleague who also loves to bake.  She divulged to me that her most favourite thing is a caramel slice, and she'd be in heaven if she had one that was three feet tall, made with dark chocolate and topped with Thornton's cappuccino truffles.

It didn't stop there, however.  We descended into coloured caramel until I finally said, "You could even do it multicoloured."  Bless, her face lit up like her beloved Christmas trees!

And so the Wonka Caramel Slice was born.

Since that day, on and off, I've considered just how viable it would be to make a three foot tall caramel slice, and although it would indeed be possible (if fabulously messy!) I had to concede that it would also be unlikely in a bog standard, run of the mill kitchen.  And yet I felt like I'd been set a challenge, if only by my own hand!

Over the months the ideas formed and some trial and error on the day was necessary, but I did indeed create a rather deep, multicoloured caramel slice.  Okay, so it wasn't three feet tall, but it was around 4 inches (including the chocolates on top), which I think is still rather impressive.

Now, normally I give a vague idea what I did and just a couple of photos, but this time I knew I wanted it to be documented in all its strange, imperfect glory.  So here we go...

1. Shortbread

Where else do you start but with the shortbread?  I picked Mary Berry's recipe because I know it works a treat.  I considered making one very thick piece of shortbread, but I knew the likelihood of it being fully cooked in the middle was slim, so instead I opted for regular shortbread built up in layers.

Three layers of shortbread

When it came out of the oven (and was therefore still soft) I cut it in half then left it to cool in the tin. I made two standard slabs of shortbread in this way, and once cooled I sandwiched them together with a little melted dark chocolate so they wouldn't slip and slide around.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice that there must have been four pieces of shortbread but that there are only three layers in the photo.  Um... *smile*...

2. Coloured caramel

So then, coloured caramel!

I used three standard tins of condensed milk and approximately 150g unsalted butter, shoved it all in a big pan, brought it to the boil slowly while stirring the whole time.  I then simmered it for... well I'm not sure how long it was; until it was lovely and thick!  I'd say the whole thing probably didn't take longer than about 15 mins.

Three coloured caramels

I then divided it into three and added the colourings until I was happy with them.  For the orange and green I used red and blue colours respectively, since the caramel was already yellow.  Then once they were fully cooled but at room temperature (if they're too cold they can't be easily piped), I popped them into piping bags ready to be let loose on the shortbread.  When I say 'popped them into piping bags' what I actually mean is 'messily, stickily wrangled the awkward buggers into piping bags'.

3. Worms

Worms?  Oh yes, indeed.  Worms!  Well, how else would you expect to get a decent mix of colours on top of delicate shortbread?  I piped multicoloured caramel worms on top!

Worms!!!

And then, of course, I needed a flat surface on which to pour melted chocolate, so out came the palette knife.  Awww.... and I liked the worms!

Worms defeated  :(

Okay, so it was starting to take proper caramel slice shape.  Now, however, I faced a dilemma.  How would I pour on the melted chocolate so it didn't just run off the sides and onto the worktop?

4. The Wall

There was no other option that I could see; I needed greaseproof paper and I needed it fast!

The Wall

The caramel was sticky enough to hold the paper in place and create a barrier to stop the chocolate escaping, or so I hoped.  Some sticky tape helped too, of course.  And a lot of crossing of fingers!

Behold!  The chocolate remains in place!

Well, it sort of remained in place...

5. The Scaffold

As I sat there admiring the beauty and sheen of the successfully retained chocolate (not tempered, btw, to make sure it wasn't too difficult to cut through once it had set), I began to worry.  One side of the wall was beginning to buckle under the pressure.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

So there I was, my hands holding up the paper to stop the overflow of chocolate while desperately looking around the kitchen to figure out how to keep it in place without me holding it for the next hour!

Scaffold!

TADAAAAAAA!  I wedged loaf tins around the edge of the slice, with the other side of the tins being kept in place by the flaps on the carry box.  Phew!  Okay, so the scaffold was in place and I could finally add the cappuccino truffles and walk away!

It was commented on that there were nine chocolates.  How was this possible?  They come in bags of eight or twenty.  Um... *smile*.  Sorry, Cate!  I ran out of time to buy more  :(

6. Relief!

The removal of the scaffold and the wall were such a big relief.  The slow, careful unveiling of the finished article was both painful and joyous, because I was just so nervous of messing it up now that I'd come so far.

Wonka Caramel Slice - all done!

It wasn't a thing of beauty.  I did consider trying to tidy up the sides and do a cover-up job so it looked more professional and... well... less like a playdoh brick... but this was never, ever going to be perfect.

This was an experiment in sugar and chocolate, and its imperfections just added to the childish joy of the thick, gooey, crunchy, coffee-ey mess of confection.

What this caramel slice lacked in beauty it more than made up for in flavour.  By the end of the day I was assured that apart from a couple of pieces kept back for colleagues the next day, it was demolished.

I can attest to the demolishing of the Wonka Caramel Slice.  I saw it at lunchtime when half of it had already been hacked and chipped away.  It was a most stunning sight, that so many people 'had at it'.

The only regret I have is that I didn't get a photo of Cate devouring the monster.  The childlike joy of her face when she realised I'd actually made the caramel slice of our combined imaginations, albeit significantly smaller than the 'house' she wanted, will never be forgotten.

I implore anyone out there who loves to bake; make something silly and imperfect, and just have some fun with it.  As a frustrated perfectionist most of the time, I found this was a lot of fun to plan and make, much more than I expected.

So bugger off, get in the kitchen and get messy!