A Song of Ice and Fire

My boyfriend is a massive fan of the TV show Game of Thrones so for his birthday I decided I would make him a cake with the sign of his favourite house. As he is also a fan of chocolate and chilli, I thought I would re-use my recipe for chilli chocolate cupcakes but on a much larger scale. This cake is three layers of cake with two layers of chilli buttercream, covered in ready to roll icing (I know it's cheating but I don't have the patience to make it myself).

Ingredients:

120g/ 4oz Unsalted butter

300g/ 10.5oz Caster sugar

3 Large eggs

115ml/ 4fl oz Milk

40ml/ 1.5fl oz Sunflower oil

1tsp Vanilla extract

160g/ 5.5oz Plain flour

70g/ 2.5oz cocoa powder

1.5tsp Baking powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (Gas mark 3) and line three cake tins with baking parchment. If you don't have three, take a look at my lemon cake post as that has a little tip for how to make a three layer cake with only two tins (see step 4).

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time.

3. In a separate bowl or jug mix the milk, oil and vanilla. Pour half of the liquid into the butter and sugar and mix well before adding the other half. 

4. Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and mix until the batter is smooth. Divide evenly between the tins and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. 

For the chilli buttercream you will need:

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 250g icing sugar
• 110g cream cheese, softened
• 60g butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, mix the cayenne pepper and the cinnamon with the icing sugar. Beat in the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until the icing is smooth; mix in the vanilla. Spread the icing onto the cooled cupcakes in attractive swirls. For decoration, you could add small dried chillies draped across each cupcake.

5. When the cakes are cool, assemble the layers using the buttercream in between each sponge. Once the layers are done spread some buttercream around the outside as this will act as a glue for the ready to roll icing. As the name suggests, just roll it out until it is approximately 1cm thick. The trick is to roll it out either on top of clingfilm or a worktop sprinkled with icing sugar. Lift one edge of the icing and roll it around a rolling pin. This will allow you to drop it over your cake a lot easier and stop it from falling apart. 

For the decoration on top, you can do anything you like. I tend to buy my decorations as I'm nowhere near ready to make my own. Just pick the things you like and stick them on with royal icing (also sold but there are plenty of recipes online that are easy to follow).

To make the design I wanted, I printed an image I found online and cut it out to create a template. I then laid it over some rolled out icing and used a knife to cut round the template. It's really easy to stick ready to roll icing to itself, just brush a little water on the back and place it where you want it. Be careful though as once it's stuck it is really hard to peel it off again. Plus if you're using coloured icing, the water takes on the colour and can stain the icing underneath. Not good if you're using red on white like I did. The staining can come off if you careful use some damp kitchen roll to rub it off.

This was the finished cake.

My boyfriend loves Daenerys Targaryen so I went for the three-headed dragon and the House motto of Fire and Blood. I had to make sure it survived a day on my desk at work and then take it on four trains as I was travelling from my home in Birmingham to his parent's house in Luton.

The birthday boy was very happy with his surprise birthday cake.

Dov'è la Festa

There was no baking for me in September 2013 as I was lucky enough to be accepted for a funded archaeology placement in Tuscany. The weather was beautiful and the food was gorgeous. We had fresh seafood in a restaurant located on a hilltop in Porto Santo Stefano, sea bass barbecued with pesto rubbed in, so much pasta that we began to resemble a piece of farfalle and of course fantastic cakes. As we were there for 5 weeks, there's too much to write in one blog post so I've decided just to share some pictures with you all. Enjoy!

This is just some of the team I working with out in Tuscany. Most of us were recent graduates from UK universities. We learned a lot but had loads of fun too.

Of course we had to try wine while we were out there.

Enjoying gelato on a sunny day in Porto Santo Stefano.

One of the many barbecues we had at the agriturismo (farm house).

Even more gelato.

Our leaving party with the lovely members of staff from Etruria Nova Onlus.

Playing the 'Hydration Game' so named because we used water rather than alcohol.

Homemade nutella cheesecake.

If you like strong drinks, try an Aperol Spritz. Small drink but it definitely packs a punch.

Honestly the best pizza place in Rome. It's only one street away from Termini train station. We stopped in there for a quick bite of lunch and it was way more delicious than we were expecting.

Taking in the sights of Rome.

Red Hot Chilli Cupcakes

I wanted to try something a little different at my family barbecue July 2013 so I decided to try making chilli chocolate cupcakes. I'm really sensitive to chilli so I was a little concerned about how spicy they were going to turn out. I needn't have worried as they came out great with just hint of chilli to give you a tickle at the back of the throat. Perhaps not a good idea for children but definitely great for older teens and adults that like something different. It's a really simple recipe too.

Ingredients:

• 200g butter, melted
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 200g self-raising flour
• 100g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• milk as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 250g icing sugar
• 110g cream cheese, softened
• 60g butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150 C / Gas 2. Line a muffin tin with paper cases. I used mini cases as I thought if they turned out spicy then at least they'd be small and not so hot.

2. Mix together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, beating between each addition. Combine the flour, cocoa and cayenne pepper in a separate bowl, then sift into the butter mixture and fold to combine. Stir in a few drops of milk.

3. Pour into prepared tin and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The cakes are ready when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool on wire rack before icing.

4. In a bowl, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and the cinnamon with the icing sugar. Beat in the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until the icing is smooth; mix in the vanilla. Spread the icing onto the cooled cupcakes in attractive swirls. For decoration, you could add small dried chillies draped across each cupcake.

I forgot to take photos as I went along but here is the finished thing.

Enjoy!

When Life Give You Lemons...

...make a lemon cake with cream cheese frosting!

This is a favourite for my family and regularly makes an appearance at our summer barbecues. My mom especially loves it because she says it gets her behind the ears. The moistness of the cake and the creaminess of the frosting blends together perfectly. It's just yummy! I make mine in my electric mixer but it can easily be done without one.

Ingredients:

110g/ 4oz Unsalted butter

380g/ 13oz Caster sugar

320g/ 11oz Plain flour

4 tsp Baking powder

320ml/ 11 fl oz Buttermilk (any milk is fine)

Zest of 2 lemons

3 Large eggs

Raspberry Jam

900g/ 2lb Icing sugar

Zest of 1.5 lemons

150g/ 5.5oz Unsalted butter

375g/ 13oz Cream cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (Gas Mark 5) and line three 20cm/8 inch cake tins. If you only have to cake tins, don't worry. Keep reading and I'll reveal all.

2. In an electric mixer, or in a bowl if you don't have one, whisk the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder until it resembles sand. When using a hand whisk, use a slight mashing motion to create the same effect. It will take a little time but stick with it.

3. Using a large jug or a separate bowl whisk together the milk, lemon zest and eggs. Pour half the liquid into the crumby mixture and mix together until the batter is smooth. Add the remaining liquid and continue mixing.

4. If you have three cake tins, divide the batter evenly between them. For those of you that only have two tins, substitute the third tin for a bowl (apologies for all the separate bowls and extra washing up, I'll make it up to you I promise). Bake the sponge for 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown. When you remove them from the oven and place the cakes on a wire rack to cool. If you've got the final sponge mixture waiting in a bowl, quickly place a new piece of parchment paper in the bottom and pour in the mixture.

5. To make the icing, cream together the icing sugar, lemon zest and butter until well combined with no lumps. Add the cream cheese and best until smooth. 

6. When the sponge feels cool, start assembling the layers. Place the first sponge on a plate or cake card and spread over a layer of icing followed by a layer of jam. Repeat with the second sponge and place the third on top. Spread the remainder of the icing on the outside of the cake, keeping it as even as possible. As a bit of decoration, you could place a few raspberries on the top. The latest lemon cake I made, I used some soft golden balls around the edges to add a bit of glam.

Whatever reason you make it for, trust me it'll be big hit! Enjoy!