What is the one consumable that is a part of our lives and a must-have at every memorable celebratory occasion? The cake! From birthdays to weddings and from christenings and anniversaries to all sorts of festive holidays (think Easter, Christmas, Diwali etc), cakes are almost always the centrepiece of the table. So it’s no wonder that this popular confectionary should have a day all to itself – and this year National Cake Day is celebrated around the world on Thursday, November 26.
To celebrate, we asked two Capsicum Culinary Studio patisserie experts to share their favourite recipes. But we did ask them to keep it simple and less expensive!
PE Campus Chef Bernice Warner’s Moist Carrot Cake
(Yields one 23cm cake or two 15cm round cakes)
Ingredients:
320g cake flour
10ml baking powder
7½ ml baking soda
5ml ground cinnamon
5ml salt
4 medium eggs, beaten
332g white sugar
310ml vegetable oil
280g grated carrots
For the Icing:
60ml softened butter
800ml icing sugar, sifted
150ml smooth cottage cheese
5ml vanilla essence
5ml lemon juice
125ml chopped walnuts (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C
Sift all the dry ingredients together, twice.
Cream the eggs and sugar until pale light in colour. It should double in volume.
Add in the oil and mix really well.
Fold in the egg mixture with the grated carrots and the dry ingredients.
Place into a lined spring form 23cm round cake tin
Bake for 45min
Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack to cool, before icing.
To Ice
Cream the butter and then add the sifted icing sugar.
Add the cream cheese and flavourings and beat until silky smooth.
Place in a piping bag with a fitted nozzle of your choice and finish by icing the top and adding the chopped nuts.
Capsicum alumni Hendrik Pretorius’ Le Gâteau Marbré au Café
(A simple-to-make, yet utterly delicious French-style cake with coffee, almond and cocoa)
Ingredients:
10g ground coffee
1 tbs cocoa powder
100g almond powder
250g flour
200g butter
180g sugar
100ml milk
10ml vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
Method:
Preheat oven to 175°C
In a standing mixer or with a hand mixer combine the sugar and eggs together with a whisk attachment for 5 minutes and add the vanilla extract and mix until light and fluffy.
Melt the butter and add it gradually to the mixer until well incorporated.
Sift the flour and add the almond powder and baking powder and and gently fold the dry ingredients into the mixture until it is well combined.
Remove a small amount of the mixture and mix together with the cocoa powder. Fold the cocoa mixture gently back into the other batter to create a marble effect
Gently pour the mixture into a prepared 20cm x 10cm loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.
