Category: Cakes

Baking · Cakes

School Cake

What Jessica Baked Next2 Comments

A true British classic – this is my take on the popular old-fashioned School Cake. This simple, fluffy vanilla traybake is topped with icing and lots of colourful sprinkles!

When it comes to cake, the simplest of cakes is definitely a winner in my opinion.

The cake I have for you today is easy to make and even easier to eat!

School Cake is a nostalgic bake that often reminds many British people of their childhood at primary school. My sister and I went to school in the 2000’s. We actually don’t remember having this cake, but I’ve seen this recipe everywhere!

When talking to my family, we discussed our memories of school food, and obviously, pudding was our main topic of conversation. Sweet treats we remember enjoying at school included chocolate shortbread and flapjacks.

If you love flapjacks, then you just have to try my popular British Flapjacks recipe ASAP!

I bake cakes like this at work very often, so I thought about sharing one on my blog. You can make this cake one of two ways. The all-in-one method or creaming method. I like to cream my margarine and sugar first, then add the eggs, along with the vanilla extract, flour and milk.

I would recommend using margarine over butter. Butter adds amazing richness, but personally, for me, the margarine keeps the cake super moist and tastes more traditional. Plus, a bonus of using margarine, is that you can use it straight from the fridge, unlike butter which needs to be softened.

Decorate this amazing vanilla traybake with a simple white icing. Then follow that with a generous amount of sprinkles (either sugar strands or hundreds and thousands).

Leave the icing to set, then slice into squares as big or small as you like.

We ate this cake as it is, and also with some custard. This divine cake stays moist for days, it’s perfect for all occasions. Whether that be for a weekday/weekend pudding, or for a birthday party.

Take a step back in time to your school days with this fabulous, retro cake!

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School Cake

A true British classic. My take on the popular old-fashioned School Cake. This simple, fluffy vanilla traybake is topped with icing and lots of colourful sprinkles!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 16
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 300 g butter (salted or unsalted) or margarine margarine produces a lighter sponge
  • 300 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 5 medium or large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 300 g self-raising flour
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 325 g icing sugar
  • 4-5 tablespoons water or enough for a thick, spreadable icing
  • Sprinkles (either sugar strands or hundreds and thousands) to decorate

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 23cm x 30cm (9 x 13-inch) baking tin with baking parchment.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter/margarine with the sugar for about 2 minutes, until light and creamy. Add one egg, along with the vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of the flour. Mix well to incorporate, then repeat with the remaining eggs and the flour. Finally, add the milk and continue mixing to combine - don't over mix.
  • Transfer the cake batter to the lined baking tin and smooth the top with the back of a spatula or spoon. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden, risen and a cake tester, when inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean without any uncooked batter remaining. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transport it to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
  • Once the cake is cooled, prepare the icing. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the icing sugar with enough water to make a thick, spreadable icing - start adding a teaspoon of water and keep adding until you get the consistency you desire.
  • Spread the icing over the top of the cake, then cover with a generous amount of sprinkles. Leave the icing to set, before slicing up into 12-16 squares. The cake will keep for up to 3 days stored at room temperature.

Try these cake recipes next!

Classic Victoria Sandwich

Chocolate Traybake

Carrot Cake Traybake

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Baking · Cakes · Loaf Cakes · Vegan

Pistachio Lemon Drizzle Cake

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Take the classic lemon drizzle cake to the next level by adding pistachio. This vegan cake is soft, fluffy and a taste of spring.

Spring has arrived, well maybe not in the UK at the moment as we’ve been experiencing a mixed bag of weather after having beautiful weather last month.

The dismal weather tends to make me crave all things spring and summer even more.

A few weeks ago, I fancied baking a lemon cake. I thought about sharing a vegan lemon drizzle cake, but I wanted something slightly different. I’ve always loved adding nuts to cake, before going vegan, this Greek-style Honey Walnut Cake was one of our favourites.

This Pistachio Lemon Drizzle Cake is a fabulous recipe from So Vegan. The recipe was straight forward to follow and the finished bake was everything I’d hoped it would be.

Fluffy, packed with gorgeous lemon flavour and with a nuttiness coming through from the pistachio.

We devoured this cake in record time. It barely lasted two days and there were only four of us in the house! We kept going back for slice after slice…

With Easter this week, this cake will be a delicious addition to your Easter menu served with fresh berries of your choice.

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Pistachio Lemon Drizzle Cake

Take the classic lemon drizzle cake to the next level by adding pistachio. This vegan cake is soft, fluffy and a taste of spring.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 8
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Pistachio Lemon Cake:

  • 80 g shelled pistachios plus extra for decoration
  • 200 g plain flour
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 1 lemon zested and juiced
  • 80 ml melted baking block/dairy-free spread or vegetable oil
  • 200 ml plant milk I use oat

Lemon Syrup:

  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 70 g caster sugar

Lemon Icing:

  • 100 g icing sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (add more or less depending on your preferred consistency)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 900g / 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a food processor, process the shelled pistachios until they're a crumb like consistency. Set this mixture aside for later on.
  • Place a sieve over a large mixing bowl and sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar. Give these ingredients a quick stir together to combine. Add the pistachio crumbs and lemon zest (zest of one lemon) to the bowl and mix.
  • In a small jug, whisk together the juice of the lemon you zested earlier, along with the melted baking block/dairy-free spread or vegetable oil and the plant milk. Add these wet ingredients to the dry and gently fold together until no lumps of flour remain - be careful not to over mix the cake batter.
  • Pour the cake batter into the loaf tin and bake for 45-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean without any uncooked batter remaining. Test directly in the centre of the cake to ensure it's baked all the way through. Mine took about 55 minutes to bake fully, but all ovens are different so keep checking.
  • Once the cake has baked, prepare the lemon syrup. In a small bowl or jug, stir the lemon juice with the sugar until all the sugar has dissolved. Take a tooth pick and prick holes all over the top of the cake. Pour the syrup over the warm cake and leave it cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes, then carefully remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
  • Now the cake is cool, prepare the lemon glacé icing. In a small bowl, stir together the icing sugar with enough lemon juice until you have a thick but slightly runny icing.
  • Drizzle the icing over the cake as you desire and decorate with an sprinkle of extra chopped pistachios. Allow the icing to set before slicing. Store the cake in an airtight container or a cake plate with a cover for up to 3 days.

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Baking · Cakes · Vegan

Vegan Gingerbread Loaf Cake

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Gingerbread loaf cake that’s free from dairy and egg. This vegan cake has all the yummy spices you associate with autumn and winter.

‘Tis the season to start baking all the autumnal and wintery cakes.

When I made this gingerbread loaf it lasted less than 24 hours! Because it was thoroughly enjoyed so much by my taste testers, I’ve been keen to share this special cake recipe with you.

I’ve got my festive bake on and I’ve been getting busy in the kitchen creating some recipes for you to enjoy over Christmastime. The whole of November and up to Christmas Day, all the bakes you see will be festive so you have some new recipes to try out in December to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.

I made this Gingerbread Loaf Cake using a fabulous recipe from Cozy Peach Kitchen a couple of weeks ago and honestly I’ve dreamed of it ever since. This cake is the epitome of gingerbread perfection if you love a fiery ginger flavour in your bakes, it has various spices in the cake batter and once baked, the top and sides they’re drizzled with orange glacé icing.

With gorgeous flavour from ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. This cake is stunning and perfect for baking throughout the autumn and winter months. A slice of this gingerbread loaf cake and a mug of coffee, tea or hot chocolate is complete and utter bliss.

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Vegan Gingerbread Loaf Cake

Gingerbread loaf cake that's free from dairy and egg. This vegan cake has all the yummy spices you associate with autumn and winter.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cake:

  • 300 ml hot water
  • 80 ml golden syrup (substitute with black treacle or molasses)
  • 100 g dark or light brown sugar
  • 80 ml vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 240 g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 + 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Orange Icing:

  • 100 g icing sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons orange juice (add more or less depending on your preferred consistency)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 900g / 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the hot water and golden syrup until combined. In a jug mix the brown sugar, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract to combine.
  • Place a sieve over a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and a small pinch of salt.
  • Add both liquid mixtures to the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk until you have a smooth batter - it will be very runny.
  • Transfer the batter to the loaf tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
  • Once baked leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully remove and place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely - at this point I recommend leaving the gingerbread overnight to let the flavours develop, but this is optional.
  • When the cake is cooled, now is the time to make the icing. Combine the icing sugar with the orange juice, adding more or less until you have the desired consistency. You don't want it too runny, but thick enough to coat the cake.
  • Drizzle the icing over the top of the loaf cake. Leave the icing to set before slicing. Store the cake in an airtight container or a cake plate with a cover for up to 3 days.

I love the flavour this tangy orange icing adds, but if you don’t have orange then a lemon is a good alternative or make your icing with water instead. The icing is optional as the loaf tastes gorgeous without it too.

We sliced our cake up and I served my slice with vegan whipped cream and orange zest. We all enjoyed this so much, we’re now even contemplating having it for Christmas Day pudding with toffee sauce. Yum!

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Baking · Buttercream and Frosting · Cakes

Carrot Cake Traybake

What Jessica Baked Next41 Comments

Just in time for Easter, I’m serving you a piece of my favourite carrot cake traybake. This delightful cake is full of delicious flavour from cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and it’s covered with a rich homemade cream cheese frosting. This recipe will be a real treat for all carrot cake lovers out there! 

What’s your favourite cake? If you asked me that exact question my list would probably be endless. I really do honestly love any kind of cake and I believe there’s definitely a cake perfect for every occasion.

Since it’s Easter week and you might need a last minute Easter bake to make today or over the weekend, I decided I would share my go-to easy carrot cake recipe again with updated photographs.

Ever since I baked these Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting I’ve had my mind set on adapting the recipe into a traybake. The first time I shared this carrot cake recipe, I baked it as a layer cake, however how delicious it was I decided the original recipe needed to be made easier.

Traybake’s are perfect for times when you just don’t have the energy to put a lot of effort into decorating a cake. They’re super easy to make and the decoration can be kept as minimal as you want. I find layer cakes too much of a faff, but traybake’s are so much easier to decorate and style up, so if you’re of the same opinion as me then I hope you’ll love my take on a classic carrot cake.

To make my carrot cake extra special I like to add ground cinnamon, ginger and freshly grated nutmeg. Sometimes I also add orange zest and chopped walnuts – I’ve included these in the recipe incase you feel like adding those in too. If you don’t want to add walnuts you can swap them for a different nut like pecans or even leave them out and replace with raisins.

Carrot cake is extremely adaptable so you can pick and chose whatever add-ins you want in your cake and truly make it your own!

The cake is dairy-free, however for a dairy-free frosting/icing you could swap the cream cheese frosting for a drizzle icing. Try adding some of the juice from a lemon or orange and whisk the juice into icing sugar to create a drizzle icing that’s perfect for decorating your traybake.

To decorate my carrot cake, once the cake has completely cooled I use a serrated knife and slice the cake into 12 neat bars/squares and pipe the cream cheese frosting on the top of each piece of cake. I was kindly gifted a box of cake decorating goodies from the lovely team over at Cake Angels and I thought it would be fun to decorate my cake with the cute Carrot Wait for Cake sugar decorations and the Rainbow Sprinkles – how fun do these look?

(Serves 12-15)

Ingredients:

Carrot Cake Traybake:

150g dark or light brown sugar

150g caster or granulated sugar

300ml sunflower or vegetable oil

3 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

300g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is recommended)

300g carrots, peeled and grated – weigh to ensure this is correct

100g nuts (pecans or walnuts), chopped into small pieces (optional)

Zest from 1-2 oranges (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting: 

100g butter, softened

100g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

300g full-fat cream cheese, softened – I leave mine out at room temperature for an hour to soften

Method:

  1. To make the carrot cake traybake: Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33cm) tin with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the sugars, oil and eggs until smooth.
  3. In another bowl sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture a little at a time and whisk until completely incorporated.
  4. Now fold through the grated carrot, chopped walnuts and orange zest (if using). Spread the cake batter out into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is well risen and a cake tester when inserted into the centre comes out clean without any uncooked batter remaining.
  5. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then carefully transport to a wire rack and allow to cool completely to room temperature.
  6. To make the cream cheese frosting: Cream the softened butter in a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes to soften. Now add the sifted icing sugar and vanilla and starting on a low speed mix to combine. Continue to cream for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
  7. Once creamed add the softened cream cheese. Turn the mixer up and whisk on high speed for another 1-2 minutes or until the frosting is creamy, thick and smooth. You need to use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment to make sure the frosting reaches the correct consistency.
  8. Spread the top of the cake with the cream cheese frosting or cut the cake into squares and spread the top of each piece with the frosting or pipe the frosting on the top of each piece of cake. Further decorate with chopped nuts or sprinkles as desired. The cake will store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 3 days, but if you’re not consuming it right away then I recommend refrigerating the cake.

Recipe Notes:

  • The weight of the carrots is based on weighing the carrots after they have been peeled and topped and tailed.
  • When adding the spices, I like to add a heaping teaspoon of each spice. This is down to personal preference as I really love the flavour the spices add to the cake.
  • This cake serves 12 generous portions or up to 15 smaller pieces.

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Baking · Bread · Cakes · Vegan

Vegan Banana Bread

What Jessica Baked Next13 Comments

This easy and simple banana bread is a delightfully good vegan treat that uses everyday ingredients and tastes like it’s been made in a bakery! Vegans and non-vegans alike will rave about this recipe. 

 

I’m finally back after a bit of time off over the festive season with my first recipe of 2020 and I guarantee that you’ll go bananas for it!

This year I’m partaking in Veganuary, for the 31 days of this month (at least) I’m going entirely vegan and I’m eating a completely plant-based diet. So far I’ve been really enjoying veganism. Before going vegan I’d been vegetarian for a while and wanted a new challenge to take on.

My sister has gone vegan too and as a family we’ve all been thoroughly enjoying sitting down at the end of the day to devour a vegan feast each night for dinner. This is actually the first time in ages I’ve felt super excited about baking/cooking, for a while I’d felt uninspired but going vegan has encouraged me to really think about what exactly I’m eating and where it’s sourced from.

I also wanted to set myself the goal of sharing more vegan recipes on my blog as I only have a few on here and want to expand the collection. I’ve worked hard in my kitchen at home to bake some vegan treats. Whether you’re following a vegan lifestyle, cannot eat dairy/eggs or simply just want to try some vegan food, then I hope you’ll like the recipes I will be sharing.

I’ve trialled this banana bread recipe out a couple of times as I wanted it to be perfect before posting on here. Every time I’ve baked it, it’s disappeared within a couple of days and as soon as the last slice has been eaten, I’ve been craving it all over again!

This vegan banana bread uses no out of the ordinary ingredients that are sometimes found in vegan bakes. You’ll just need overripe bananas, sugar (either caster/granulated or brown sugar), oil, vanilla extract, non-dairy milk (I use soya), apple cider vinegar, flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. The soya milk was literally the only ingredient I had to go out and buy to make this recipe, but since going vegan my fridge is now full of plant milk!

My taste testers all agreed that this vegan banana bread is identical in taste and texture to my classic banana bread recipe – dare I say it that I think this version is even better! I’ve adapted this recipe slightly from Betty Crocker’s Vegan Banana Bread recipe and highly recommend you give it a try if you’re as crazy for banana bread as I am.

Mix the recipe up as much as you want by adding extra ingredients such as chopped nuts (hazelnuts, pecans or walnuts) or even some good quality dark chocolate.

Also, if you like spices in your bakes, try stirring a touch of ground cinnamon or mixed spice into the batter.

I have one successful vegan sweet recipe ticked off my list, now on to the next!

Ingredients:

60ml (1/4 cup) unsweetened plant milk – I like using soya milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3 overripe bananas – you’ll want the skin to be spotty and turning black

200g (1 cup) sugar – you can use a mix of caster/granulated or dark/light brown sugar

120ml (1/2 cup) oil – you can use coconut, canola/vegetable or even melted vegan butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

240g (2 cups) all-purpose/plain flour

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

  1. Line a 900g / 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper, leaving some paper overhanging the edges of the tin so you can lift the banana bread out easily once it’s baked. Set the tin aside for later. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
  2. In a small bowl or jug, add the soya milk and apple cider vinegar, stir and leave it for 5 minutes – this helps the cake to rise.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until they’re smooth. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract and the milk/vinegar mixture and beat until smooth and completely combined. Now sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt over the top of the other ingredients and gently fold until no lumps of flour remain – be careful not to over mix the batter.
  4. Transfer the batter into the tin and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a cake tester when inserted into the centre comes out clean without any uncooked batter attached to the cake tester. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove the banana bread from the tin and leave it to cool completely on a wire rack.
  5. Once the banana bread has cooled to room temperature, slice it up and enjoy. The banana bread will keep stored in an airtight container for up to one week. The banana bread is delicious served as it is or spread with vegan butter, chocolate hazelnut spread or peanut butter.

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Baking · Buttercream and Frosting · Cakes

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

What Jessica Baked Next2 Comments

Homemade pumpkin cake filled with cosy spiced flavour is both easy and quick to make. Decorated with a vanilla cream cheese frosting and dusted with extra cinnamon, this cake is a quintessential autumn treat. 

Autumn is well and truly here now with the arrival of the cooler weather and darker evenings. We’ve said goodbye to summer and now we’re all looking for comforting, cosy and warming recipes. I’ve already been indulging in lots of my favourite autumnal recipes and I always look forward to the start of a new season.

I love all seasons, but spring/summer are my personal favourites. In summer we’re eating lighter meals that aren’t too heavy, whereas in the autumn and winter months it’s all about devouring (savoury and sweet) pies, stews and indulgent desserts and puddings – I’m certainly not complaining about the last part…

A recipe I think is just perfect for autumn is this pumpkin cake and if you’re a lover of carrot cake then this cake will hit the spot for you! I really enjoy cakes that are full of spices, so much so that I shared this Spice Loaf Cake recipe earlier this year and after sharing that recipe I wanted to make a pumpkin spice traybake for my blog.

Compared to carrot cake this pumpkin version is SO much easier and quicker to prepare, no peeling and grating carrots and best of all it takes a matter of minutes to rustle up and have in your oven baking!

Whilst this cake is scrumptious on its own, my favourite part of this recipe is still the incredible frosting that tops it. For me, no frosting pairs better with pumpkin cake than cream cheese frosting does.

My cream cheese frosting is rich and smooth, it’s not too sweet and pipes wonderfully – this is a recipe I learnt while studying at culinary school and it’s totally fail-proof if you follow the instructions closely and take your time while preparing it.

This truly is one of my family’s favourite cakes, it’s always a huge hit with everyone and goes down a storm (it’s definitely something to do with the amazing cream cheese frosting)! Perfect for an autumn treat, serve the cake at Halloween parties this week, take along to a firework display on Bonfire Night or for any readers celebrating Thanksgiving in the States next month, this could be your showstopper dessert to serve on the special day!

(Serves 12-20)

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Cake:

4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

350g caster sugar

240ml vegetable oil

425g (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin

300g plain flour

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting: 

100g butter (salted or unsalted), softened

100g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

300g full-fat cream cheese, softened – I leave mine out at room temperature for an hour to soften

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33cm) tin with parchment paper.
  2. To make the cake: In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil and canned pumpkin until well combined. Now over the top of bowl sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix until all the ingredients are completely incorporated.
  3. Pour the cake batter into the cake tin and smooth the top over evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake – my cake took around 35 minutes before I was happy with it being baked all the way through. Now leave the cake to cool in the tin completely before preparing the frosting.
  4. To make the cream cheese frosting: Cream the softened butter in a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes to soften. Now add the sifted icing sugar and vanilla and starting on a low speed mix to combine. Continue to cream for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
  5. Once creamed add the softened cream cheese. Turn the mixer up and whisk on high speed for another 1-2 minutes or until the frosting is creamy, thick and smooth. You need to use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment to make sure the frosting reaches the correct consistency.
  6. Decorate the cake as desired, either spread the top of the cake with the cream cheese frosting or slice the cake up into pieces and pipe the top of each piece with the frosting.
  7. This cake will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days – without the cream cheese frosting the cake itself will last for up 5 days. We prefer ours chilled and eaten straight from the fridge, but it’s also great served at room temperature.

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Baking · Cakes · Loaf Cakes

Spice Loaf Cake (AD – Gifted)

What Jessica Baked Next6 Comments

 This moist spice loaf cake is a new family favourite and a wonderful alternative dessert to enjoy over Easter.

I was kindly sent a few of Freshly Spiced’s spice blends to bake with. I wasn’t contracted to write a blog post and all views and opinions are my own.

Happy Friday! I have the perfect weekend bake with this deliciously moist and flavour-packed Spice Loaf Cake.

The lovely people over at Freshly Spiced recently got in contact with me and offered me the chance to try out some of their spice blends in my baking.

With Easter less than a month away now, I’m on the lookout for some new desserts I can serve for my friends and family for when we meet. At this time of year spices are often used in bakes like traditional hot cross buns, I love the aroma the hot cross buns but I’m not overly keen on dried fruit. This loaf cake combines all the delicious spices found in hot cross buns minus the fruit.

I started to brainstorm recipes and remembered spotting a nice cake in SWEET by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh and thought that would be a great bake to showcase Freshly Spiced’s Sweet Spice Blend.

Freshly Spice’s Sweet Spice Blend is an aromatic combination of 9 ingredients (brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, mace, allspice berries and rose petals).

It offers a different take on a mixed spice and creates a unique Middle Eastern mixed spice with hints of Turkish and Indian inspiration. The spice blends all come already toasted, which means these spices will have more of an intense flavour.

The spice blends I received were 100% vegan and gluten-free, which is reassuring if you have certain allergies or an intolerance.

I’m working my way through the Sweet Spice Blend that I used in this cake recipe and cannot wait to try the Turkish Drinking Spice Blend, which I’m looking forward to adding to hot chocolate and I’m excited to taste the Sweet Treat Spice Blend too by mixing that into my morning porridge.

I paired a slice of this loaf cake with Greek yoghurt and fresh blackberries and raspberries, but I also thoroughly enjoyed it just buttered. Either way it’s going to make a fabulous breakfast, afternoon treat or dessert. This cake reminded me of cakes I’ve had before in Cyprus and takes me back to one of my favourite travel destinations.

(Serves 10-12)

Ingredients:

180g butter (salted or unsalted), softened

160g dark brown sugar

160g light brown sugar

Zest from one large orange

3 large free-range eggs

120g sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon mixed spice – I used Freshly Spiced’s Sweet Spice Blend

220g plain flour

3/4 teaspoon salt (only add a pinch if using salted butter)

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or malt vinegar)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 190°C / 170°C Fan / 375°F / Gas Mark 5. Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin and line with parchment paper, set aside.
  2. Place the butter, sugar and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. Cream until lightened and smooth, you don’t want to aerate the cake too much.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sour cream and vanilla and whisk again until combined.
  4. Sift the mixed spice, flour and salt together into a separate bowl and set aside.
  5. Add the dry ingredients a third at a time along with a third of the egg and sour cream mixture and mix until completely incorporated.
  6. Stir the bicarbonate of soda with the vinegar in a small bowl – it will fizz up a little. Add this mixture to the cake batter and mix until combined. Transfer the cake batter into the loaf tin and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  7. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack and leave it to cool completely before slicing.
  8. The cake will keep stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Recipe Notes:

  • I used just light brown sugar in my cake, I have written the recipe down as it is in the cookbook using both dark and light brown sugar.
  • This recipe states that the cake should take roughly 50-55 minutes to bake, however mine took about 15 minutes longer – all ovens are different, but this might be not be the case for you.
  • I recommend to leave this cake overnight before slicing as the flavour will intensify.
  • The cake itself is delicious served plain, spread with a generous helping of butter, with Greek yoghurt or with a scoop of ice cream and fresh berries.

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Baking · Cakes · Candy and Sweets · Chocolate

Chocolate Traybake

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Easy and simple chocolate traybake is a great cake for parties and all kinds of celebrations. Moist chocolate sponge cake is topped with a dark chocolate ganache icing and can be decorated with your favourite chocolate and sprinkles. 

Last month I shared my Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes and I’m back this time with a super easy and delicious chocolate traybake.

I just love chocolate cake and will always find one way or another to fulfil my chocolate fix!

This is an amazing cake recipe you want to have in your back pocket ready for celebrations. It’s the kind of cake that’ll go down a storm at birthday parties and a get-together with family and friends.

I guarantee you that this traybake will disappear instantly upon slicing!

I have lots of chocolate cakes and cupcakes on my blog already, but there’s certainly room for more. I baked and shared this Chocolate Fudge Cake all the way back in 2015 and that cake is completely different to this traybake as it’s super dense and fudge-like. Whereas this traybake has a light and airy texture.

It’s up to you on how you decorate your traybake and because it’s nearly Easter I chose to decorate mine with mini eggs, colourful sugar-coated chocolates and mini milk and white chocolate chips. It’s colourful and fun and this cake really does taste as impressive as it looks!

I’m excited to bake this traybake again as there is so many ways to decorate it and it can be adapted for any occasion!

(Serves 15-20)

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake: 

75g cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

200ml boiling water

4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

370g light brown sugar

180ml vegetable oil

200g self-raising flour, sifted

Chocolate Ganache: 

150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces – approx. 50% cocoa solids

2 tablespoons golden syrup

2 tablespoons double cream

Method:

  1. To make the cake: In a small bowl whisk together the cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and boiling water. Mix until combined and then set aside to cool for 20 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 23cm x 30cm baking tin that’s at least 4cm deep with baking parchment.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and oil until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate mixture to this and whisk again until incorporated. Finally, add flour and whisk until mixed fully.
  4. Pour the cake batter into the cake tin. Bake for 30-40 minutes (my cake took 30 minutes exactly) or until a cake tester when inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Once the cake is baked, leave it to cool in the cake tin completely.
  5. To make the ganache: Place the dark chocolate, golden syrup and double cream in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Continue to stir until you have a glossy ganache.
  6. Spread the ganache on top of the cake – it will be a thin layer and as the cake is very rich this amount is just right. Decorate the cake with chocolate and or sprinkles. Leave the cake to set at room temperature for a couple of hours before slicing into squares. The traybake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Recipe from Annie Bell’s Baking Bible

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Baking · Cakes · Chocolate · Gluten-Free

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (Torta alla Gianduia)

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Flourless chocolate hazelnut cake – this Italian cake originates in Piedmont, a region in North-Western Italy known for its hazelnuts. This gluten-free cake is a chocolate lovers dream dessert! 

Christmas is now less than two weeks away and if you’re anything like me and want to be organised regarding food this cake will be perfect for an alternative pudding this Christmas Day.

As much as Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year, I’m not the greatest fan of traditional Christmas food. I don’t have the typical Christmas roast dinner as I’m vegetarian and because I’ve never enjoyed mince pies, Christmas cake or pudding that means Christmas Day dessert is usually a creation involving chocolate in some form or another.

Some years we have a yule log, however this year we fancied a change and decided on this classic Piedmontese cake, Torta alla Gianduia.

This torte is simply divine and it has an incredible soft, truffle cake texture that’s simply too hard to resist.

Because this cake is flourless that means it’s suitable for anyone following a gluten-free diet. I was a bit skeptical making this cake, it was one of the first times I’d baked a flourless cake but I was extremely happy with how it turned out! My sister who usually dislikes gluten-free bakes even said this was the only gluten-free cake she has ever liked.

The texture is mousse-like and beautifully light and fluffy – it really does melt-in-your-mouth. You’ll have the urge to eat slice after slice of this cake just like I did!

You know this cake is good because it rivals my favourite chocolate fudge cake. I used Nigella Lawson’s recipe from How To Be A Domestic Goddess, but I used the dark chocolate ganache recipe from SWEET by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. The ganache is rich, glossy, silky and has all the qualities a good chocolate ganache should have.

This cake is made differently to the usual cake recipes I make and I love that I’ve discovered a brilliant gluten-free chocolate dessert. I know this cake will most definitely be appearing on our table on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, but I also know it’ll be a year-round favourite for parties and other celebrations.

Serve this showstopper cake with pouring/whipped cream or ice cream. I always serve chocolate bakes with fresh raspberries, but you can also eat it with different berries on the side. If you want you can garnish the top of the cake with extra hazelnuts, chopped or whole.

Torta alla Gianduia is a big hit with my taste testers and I’m sure it will be with yours too! If you adore the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts, then this is the cake recipe for you.

(Serves 10-12)

Ingredients:

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cake:

6 large free-range eggs (whites and yolks separated), at room temperature

Small pinch of salt

125g butter (salted or unsalted)

400g chocolate hazelnut spread

1 tablespoon frangelico, rum or water

100g ground hazelnuts (can be substituted with ground almonds)

100g dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

200g dark chocolate, chopped into 2cm pieces

200ml double cream

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted)

Method:

  1. To make the cake: Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 23cm / 9-inch springform cake tin with parchment paper and grease well with extra butter. Set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites and a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. In another bowl, beat together the softened butter, chocolate hazelnut spread and the frangelico, rum or water (just a tablespoon of whatever one you’re using) – I used water for a non alcoholic version.
  3. Now mix in the ground hazelnuts and the egg yolks. Fold in the melted chocolate, then lighten the mixture with a large dollop of egg white – at this point you can beat the mixture as vigorously as you like. Gently fold in the remaining egg white a third at a time, continuing to fold until no egg white is visible in the cake mixture.
  4. Carefully transport the cake mixture into the cake tin, bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is beginning to come away from the sides and a cake tester when inserted into the centre of the cake comes out completely clean without any uncooked batter attached. Leave the cake to cool in the tin completely.
  5. To make the ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium mixing bowl. Heat the cream and golden syrup in a small saucepan until bubbles just begin to appear on the surface and just before it starts to come up to the boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until mostly melted. Now add the butter and continue to stir until smooth. Directly place a piece of clingfilm on the top of the ganache and leave it at room temperature for about two hours until spreadable.
  6. Decorate the cake by covering the top and sides with the ganache. Decorate the cake with chopped, toasted hazelnuts and serve. Keep the cake stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

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Baking · Cakes · Curd and Jam

Classic Victoria Sandwich

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This traditional sponge cake tastes great decorated with a choice of fillings such as vanilla buttercream, whipped cream, lemon curd or jam. This recipe proves that you needn’t be an experienced baker to make a bakery-worthy cake.

Today I wanted to share a layer cake recipe that’s popular in bakeries, coffee shops and tea rooms.

Victoria sandwich is a classic British recipe and a firm favourite cake for many. It’s a popular cake for celebrations like birthdays and can be as dressed up or down according to the occasion.

Over the last few weeks I’ve lost count of the number of sponge cakes that have been baked in my kitchen. Luckily I don’t mind as sponge cake is my favourite cake and I wanted to make sure this cake was good enough for sharing.

I worried that the recipe was too simple, but sometimes you don’t want to bake anything too elaborate or requires more than a handful of ingredients.

If you feel like adapting the recipe you can add different flavours like fresh lemon, lime or orange zest or fold through some fresh/frozen berries or even some chocolate chips into the cake batter before baking – there are so many derivatives of this basic sponge cake recipe.

Once the cakes are completely baked all the way through, allow them to cool and then decorate as you want. Traditionally the cake has a raspberry jam filling, but strawberry jam or even homemade lemon curd are both delicious alternatives. As well as a curd or jam filling, you can also fill the cake with vanilla buttercream or whipped cream.

However you decide to decorate this cake, I hope you enjoy baking (and eating) it as much as we do!

(Serves 10)

Ingredients:

Cake Batter: 

225g (8 ounces) butter (salted or unsalted), softened – I leave mine out at room temperature overnight to ensure it’s soft enough

225g (8 ounces) caster or granulated sugar

4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

225g (8 ounces) self-raising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons milk or water

Decoration/Filling:

3-4 tablespoons raspberry or strawberry jam (try not to use too much otherwise it might spill out)

Half batch vanilla buttercream recipe or 150ml double cream, for whipping (both optional)

Icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 190°C / 170°C Fan / 375°F / Gas Mark 5. Line the base of two 20cm / 8-inch cake tins with parchment paper and grease the sides of the tin.
  2. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together for about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition – if the mixture looks curdled, add a bit of the flour. Next mix through the vanilla extract.
  4. Now gently fold through the flour and mix until no lumps of flour remain. Add enough water/milk to loosen the cake batter slightly (I added 4 tablespoons of water to my cake batter. We’ve found adding water instead of milk produces a lighter cake).
  5. Evenly divide the cake batter between the cake tins, leave a small dip in the centre of each cake to encourage even rising.
  6. Bake the cakes for 20-30 minutes (it takes around 25 minutes in my oven) or until the tops have turned a light golden colour and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre of one of the cakes. Only test one cake as this will become the base layer and the other cake will be the top layer on show.
  7. Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the sides of the tin and release the cakes from their tins. Peel the parchment paper carefully off the base of each cake and leave the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack, base side down.
  8. Once cool, fill the cake with raspberry jam and sandwich the two cake halves together. Dust the top with icing sugar and serve. The cake will keep at room temperature covered for up to 3 days. Generally this cake only lasts a day or so in our house!

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