Rachel Allen

Cake: 200 fabulous foolproof baking recipes


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rel="nofollow" href="#litres_trial_promo">cake from the tin and transfer to a serving plate.

      Drizzle over the remaining honey and allow to cool down completely before serving.

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       Gluten- and dairy-free pecan brownies

      You’ll be amazed at how gorgeously fudgy these brownies are despite not containing a hint of dairy or gluten. The pecans aren’t essential but I love the crunchy contrast they provide with the softness of the brownies.

      Prep time: 10 minutes

      Baking time: 45 minutes

      Ready in: 2 hours

      Makes: 12 brownies

      125g (4½oz) dark chocolate, in drops or broken into pieces

      225g (8oz) soft dark brown sugar

      125ml (4½fl oz) sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing

      ½ tsp vanilla extract

      2 eggs

      75g (3oz) ground almonds

      25g (1oz) rice flour

      ½ tsp salt

      ½ tsp baking powder or gluten-free baking powder

      75g (3oz) pecans, chopped, plus 12 whole (shelled) pecans to decorate

      20cm (8in) square cake tin with 5cm (2in) sides

      Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. If the cake tin has a removable base, grease the sides of the tin with sunflower oil and line the base with a square of baking parchment, otherwise line the base and sides of the tin.

      Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Leave just until melted, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and add the sugar, sunflower oil, vanilla extract and eggs and whisk together well. Next add the ground almonds, rice flour, salt, baking powder and chopped pecans and fold in until well mixed.

      Tip into the prepared tin, then place the 12 whole pecans in an even grid on top. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the middle of the cake still wobbles slightly when you gently shake the tin – a skewer inserted into the centre should come out with a little moisture on it.

      Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool in the tin for at least an hour before carefully removing the cake and cutting into 12 squares (each with a pecan in the middle) to serve.

       Vegan frosted lemon cake

      Whether you’re vegan by choice or intolerant to dairy foods and eggs, finding cakes that both work and taste good can be tricky. It’s certainly not impossible, though, as this cake proves with its intense lemony flavour and a soft, light crumb that is just as good as anything made with butter or eggs. For the icing I’ve used a soya spread, which works wonderfully when sweetened and thickened with the icing sugar. You could use any other citrus fruits to flavour this cake as well (see the variations).

      Prep time: 20 minutes

      Baking time: 45–50 minutes

      Ready in: 1 hour 45 minutes

      Serves: 8–12

      450g (1lb) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

      2 tsp baking powder

      1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

      300g (11oz) caster sugar

      125ml (4½fl oz) sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing

      Finely grated zest of 3 lemons

      Juice of 3 lemons plus enough water to make 300ml (½ pint)

      For the frosting

      175g (6oz) soya spread

      500g (1lb 2oz) icing sugar, sifted

      Pinch of salt

      Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

      1 tsp lemon juice

      23cm (9in) diameter cake tin with 6cm (2½in) sides

      Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Grease the sides of the cake tin with sunflower oil and dust with flour, then line the base with a disc of baking parchment.

      Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. In a separate bowl, mix together all the remaining ingredients. Add these to the dry ingredients and stir well until the mixture comes together.

      Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45–50 minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

      Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Using a small, sharp knife, loosen around the edges, then carefully remove the cake from the tin and leave on a wire rack to finish cooling.

      As the cake cools, make the frosting. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer. Using either a hand-held electric beater or the food mixer, whisk on full speed for 2–3 minutes or until light and fluffy.

      Once the cake is cool, use a bread knife to slice it horizontally in half. Place the bottom half of the cake, cut side up, on a cake plate or stand, then spread over some of the frosting, to about 5mm (¼in) thick. Place the top half of the cake on top, cut side down, then spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake.

      Make up the cake in the same way, substituting the lemons with the zest and juice of three oranges (with the juice topped up to 300ml/½ pint with water, if necessary) and reducing the sugar to 275g (10oz).

      Vegan frosted lime cake

      Follow the recipe as above, substituting the lemons with the zest and juice of four limes (with the juice topped up to 300ml/½ pint with water, if necessary).

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       Dairy-free blueberry crumble cake

      This dairy-free cake has a divinely thick, sticky crumble topping. Naturally sweet blueberries are dotted throughout the cake and scattered on top where they burst during baking and ooze their syrupy juices into the topping. If you’re intolerant to eggs, this cake works well with an egg replacer, which you can buy from health-food shops. Of course, you can use real eggs otherwise.

      Prep time: 20 minutes

      Baking time: 50–60 minutes

      Ready in: 2 hours

      Serves: 8–12

      225g (8oz) plain flour

      2 tsp baking powder

      1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

      ½ tsp salt

      50g (2oz) caster sugar

      50g (2oz) wholemeal flour