Rum and Raisin Cake

This is the cake I always make when we go on a picnic. The raisins need to be soaked in the rum beforehand. I do it over night if I am baking it fresh the next day. I also leave the butter out of the fridge overnight so it is soft enough.

Ingredients

175g / 6 oz raisins
6 tablespoons rum ( I used Captain Morgan's as it is spiced and I love the flavour you can use any Rum)
275g / 10oz butter, softened
175g / 6oz golden caster sugar
4 eggs
50ml (2fl oz) milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract / bean paste
275g / 10oz plain white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
50g / 2 oz walnut, hazelnuts or pecans chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons dark moscavado sugar

23cm (9 inch) round tin with spring form base buttered and floured

Soak the raisins for 30 mins. Drain and reserve the rum, and set the raisins aside.

Preheat the oven to 180oC/160oC Fan/ gas mark 4.

Cream the butter, add the caster sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Seperate the eggs and set the whites aside. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, to the creamed butter, beating well between each addition. Mix in the rum, milk and vanilla extract.

Mix flour and baking powder and fold I. A little at a time, to the base mixture.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fluffy. Working in batches of a 1/3rd and fold into the cake mixture, with the last 1/3 add the raisins and chopped nuts.

Pour mixture into greased tin, sprinkle with moscavado sugar and bake for 45 - 60 mins or until the top is golden and the centre firm and set. Allow the cake to cool in the tin. Then cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy x x x

Parsnip and Walnut Loaf Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I got this recipe from my mother in law. It's a great way to use up left over parsnips and bananas. Its a great weekend bake.

Prep 40 mins
Cooking time : 1 hour
Serves: 8 - 10

150ml sunflower oil
150g soft brown sugar
1 large egg
1 ripe medium sized banana, mashed
150g self-raising flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
125g grated parsnip (Approx 2 parsnips)
100g walnuts roughly chopped

Icing

60g very soft butter
75g icing sugar
75g full fat cream cheese
2 teaspoons maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 170oC (150oC Fan oven) gas mark 3. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin.
2. Whisk the oil, sugar and egg together until lighter in colour. Whisk in the banana.
3. Fold in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice, followed by the parsnip and walnuts. Turn into the prepared tin and bake for 50 - 60 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
4. To make the icing cream/ beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the cream cheese a tablespoon at a time, followed by the maple syrup.

Enjoy with a nice cuppa tea or coffee x x x

Linked to http://caroleschatter.blogspot.co.nz/p/link-ups-wip.html

Chocolate and Raspberry Zebra Cake

I made this cake for my sisters birthday. It turned out really well.

It requires a little more effort and it is well worth it

Makes 22cm round cake• prep 40 mins•Cook 1hr 5 mins

Veg oil for greasing,

For Raspberry Sponge

150ml pot of raspberry yogurt
150ml / 1/4 pt vegetable oil
100g / 4oz frozen raspberries, defrosted
200g / 7oz self raising flour, plus an extra 5 tbsp
140g / 5 oz caster sugar
2 large eggs
Artificial pink food colouring

FOR CHOCOLATE SPONGE
200g / 7oz self raising flour
140g / 4oz caster sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 large eggs
150ml pot natural yogurt
150ml / 1/4 pt veg oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To Decorate

200ml double cream
100g seedless raspberry jam
100g dark chocolate bar, roughly chopped

Cheat - 1 pot Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Icing

• preheat oven to 180oC/160oC/gas 4. Grease and line base of deep 22cm round cake tin with baking parchment.
• to make the raspberry sponge, put the yogurt oil and raspberries into a food processor or blender, and whizz until well blended. Sieve, to remove the seeds, into a measuring jug until you reach 300ml. Discard the rest. 🍓
•make the two cakes. In two mixing bowls, separately mix the dry ingredients, plus a pinch of salt, for the raspberry and chocolate sponges. Crack in the eggs, then add the yogurt, oil and vanilla extract to choc cake and raspberry mix to the other. Beat each with an electric Whisk until smooth, cleaning whisks between bowls. Quickly stir some pink food colouring into the raspberry cake mix.
• sit the cake tin in front of you and a bowl of cake batter to each side , work fast. This is important that you be quick.
Using 2 1/2 cup measures or equal sized ladles spoon choc into the centre of the tin, don't wait for it to settle quickly too with raspberry mix and repeat choc, rasp, until finished. Put straight into the oven.
• bake for 1 hr until a skewer poked ino the middle comes out clean. Keep an eye on it you might cover it loosely with parchment paper after 45 mins if the cake is looking dark. (The top will crack). Cool in tin
. To decorate put cream and jam in a pan And bring nearly to the boil, stirring to melt the jam. Take off the heat, tip in chocolate and leave until melted. Stir together until smooth. When thick enough spread over cooled cake that has been removed from its tin.