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By June Ramli
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Are you a sweet tooth junkie, like me? Well, if you are then here are some recipe extracts from Crumbs and Doilies by Jemma Wilson which just came out this week!
Jemma Wilson aka Cupcake Jemma has been teaching the world to bake through her hugely successful YouTube channel for almost a decade.
In her first ever book, Jemma and her team unlock the secrets to their imaginative cakes, bakes, cookies and traybakes and give you all the tips and tricks to make them at home.
We hand picked three mouth-watering gratis recipes from Wilson’s maiden book just for you try at home during this holy month, enjoy!
Ginger Creams
Ingredients
Makes 15–18 GINGER COOKIES
140g unsalted butter, softened
150g soft light brown sugar
70g golden syrup
One egg
225g plain flour
11⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1⁄4 tsp ground cloves
150g demerara sugar
CREAM CHEESE ICING
70g unsalted butter, softened
a pinch of sea salt
115g cream cheese, at room temperature
395g icing sugar, sifted
A while back, Nikki made these Ginger Creams and brought them in for everyone as a treat, resulting in days of ‘are there any more of those cookies?’ and weeks of ‘when are you making those cookies again?’ Just spicy enough, soft with a slightly crunchy bite, thanks to the demerara sugar, and filled with smooth cream cheese icing, these sandwich cookies will make you forget all about the ones at the supermarket.
For the Ginger Cookies
In a large bowl, bring together the butter, light brown sugar and golden syrup with a spatula or an electric hand mixer until well combined. Add the egg and mix through until smooth, then add all of the dry ingredients, except for the demerara sugar, and fold through until you have a soft, squishy dough. Cover and place in the fridge for around one hour to firm up.
Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan) and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Weigh out 20g nuggets of the dough and roll between your hands to make neat balls. Roll each one in the demerara sugar to completely coat them. Pop them onto the baking sheet 10cm/4in apart, to allow for spreading.
Bake for 10 minutes, then leave to cool down completely.
For the Cream Cheese Icing
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a medium mixing bowl, beat together the butter and salt until pale and whippy. Add the cream cheese and beat together on a high speed for 1–2 minutes. Add the icing sugar in two stages, beating for a couple of minutes after each addition until you have a light, smooth, luxurious icing. Pop this into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle.
To Finish
Pair up the cookies and turn half of them over, ready to fill. Pipe 5–6 small blobs of icing (about the size of a 50p piece) around the middle of the cookies, 1cm/½in from the edge. Place the other cookies on top and gently press down to allow the icing blobs to spread a bit and reach the edges of the sandwich. Place in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
Team tip
Putting them in the fridge for a while will help the icing firm up. Actually, we all prefer them the day after they’ve been in the fridge overnight!
End Of The World Chocolate Cake
Makes 1 x 20cm/8in cake to serves 12–16
Prep
1 x batch of Chocolate Pie Crumb
1 x batch of Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
Chocolate Sponge
650g plain flour
690g caster sugar
120g cocoa powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp sea salt
6 eggs
450g buttermilk
450g brewed or instant coffee, cooled
390g vegetable oil
Chocolate Truffles
150g dark chocolate chips (54 per cent cocoa solids)
15g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
60g double cream cocoa powder, for dusting
gold leaf (optional)
Chocolate Shards
100g dark chocolate chips (70 per cent or 50 per cent cocoa solids)
To Finish
2 x batches of Buttery Ganache Icing
Imagine if Bruce Bogtrotter was all grown up, he’d tidied himself up a bit, graduated, got himself a good job in a respectable company and was generally a whole lot classier than his 11-year-old self – but, he still had a penchant for extremely chocolatey chocolate cake. I think this elegant little number might just tickle his fancy.
For the Chocolate Sponge
Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan) and grease four 20cm/8in round sandwich tins. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, bicarb and salt. In a separate, large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, cooled coffee and oil until combined, then add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until thoroughly combined so that you have a smooth, runny batter. Distribute the batter evenly among the prepared tins, then bake for 24–30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of each sponge comes out clean. Leave to cool for 15–20 minutes before removing from the tins and allowing them to cool completely.
For the Chocolate Truffles
Melt the chocolate and butter together, either over a bain-marie or gently in the microwave in 15-second bursts. Add the cream and stir to combine thoroughly. Pour this mixture into a small tray, bowl or dish and refrigerate until set. Once set, remove from the fridge and use a couple of teaspoons to scoop out the mixture and roll between your palms to make beautiful round truffles. Alternatively, if you have a truffle mould, fill it up with the truffle mixture, then leave the truffles in the fridge to set. Toss half of the truffles in a bowl of cocoa to cover completely. Leave the remaining truffles plain or decorate them with gold leaf. Put the truffles in the fridge until you need them… and try hard not to eat them!
For the Chocolate Shards
Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or a silpat, then pour it onto the baking sheet and spread it out with an offset palette knife to 2–3mm thick. Use the tip of the palette knife to make swooshy marks in the top of the chocolate. Leave for a minute or two until it’s no longer wet but still a bit tacky, then use the back of a knife to score lines all across the chocolate sheet, criss-crossing them so that you have lots of pointy triangles of different sizes. Leave to set completely. Once the scored sheet is set and snappy, break it apart along the score lines that you marked out to make lots of different-sized shards of chocolate. Set aside or store them in the fridge if they haven’t set properly.
To Finish
Start by making the Buttery Ganache Icing so that it has time to set to a spreadable consistency. Level and trim the sponges, then stick the first layer onto a cake board or a large, flat plate using some chocolate cream cheese icing. Build up the cake layers filling them with generous helpings of the chocolate cream cheese icing and a sprinkling of chocolate pie crumb. Use the buttery ganache icing to crumb-coat the top and sides of the cake and chill for at least 30 minutes, or until the ganache is firm to the touch. Apply a final neat top coat of buttery ganache all over the chilled cake, using a cake smoother or palette knife to make it as smooth as possible. Whip the remaining buttery ganache with an electric or a balloon whisk until it is slightly paler in colour and a lovely mousselike consistency. Use this to dollop on top of the cake with a spoon. You’re aiming for organised chaos here, so don’t make it too neat. Decorate with your truffles, chocolate shards and chocolate pie crumb – remember, this is a cake for the end of the world, so go nuts!
Tiramisu Cake
Makes 1 x 20cm/8in cake to serve 12–16
Prep
1 x batch of Vanilla Buttercream
1 x batch of Espresso Buttercream
1⁄2 x batch of Mascarpone Icing
Chocolate Truffles
150g dark chocolate chips (54 per cent cocoa solids)
15g unsalted butter
60g double cream
25g cocoa powder, sifted
1–2 tbsp cocoa powder
gold leaf or gold lustre dust (optional)
ESPRESSO SPONGE
500g caster sugar
330g unsalted butter, softened
135g vegetable oil
8 eggs
500g self-raising flour
6 tbsp espresso coffee, cooled (or strong instant)
To Finish
Marsala wine or espresso, for soaking the sponges
80g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
Tiramisu is such a respected dessert, but I’m confident this Tiramisu Cake will delight fans of the traditional Italian pud and hopefully everyone else as well! With its Marsala-soaked espresso sponges, espresso buttercream, fluffy mascarpone icing and classic dusting of cocoa powder, it’s a favourite bake among staff and customers alike.
Make your Vanilla and Espresso
Buttercreams and Mascarpone
Icing, cover and set aside.
For The Chocolate Truffles
Melt together the chocolate and butter, either over a bain-marie or gently in the microwave in 15-second bursts, then add the cream and stir to combine thoroughly. If you have a silicone truffle mould, pour
the ganache mixture into the holes and place in the fridge to set. Otherwise, just put it into a bowl and refrigerate until set, then use a teaspoon to scoop small amounts out that you can roll between your hands (wear latex gloves to avoid heat transfer and very messy hands!). Place the balls onto a
baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and chill for at least one hour. Once they’re set, toss half of the truffles in the cocoa and leave the other half plain, or jazz them up with gold leaf or lustre if you fancy, then pop them back into the fridge until it’s decorating time!
For the Espresso Sponge
Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan) and grease four 20cm/8in round sandwich tins. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, butter and oil for a couple of minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, two at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition to ensure they are well combined. Sift the flour directly into the bowl and start to fold it through on the lowest speed of the mixer or by hand using a large metal spoon. When the flour is almost completely incorporated, pour in the cooled espresso and fold that in as well to create a thick, smooth batter. Distribute the batter evenly among the prepared tins and level the tops with a palette knife. Bake for 22–24 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of each sponge comes out clean. Leave to cool for 15–20 minutes before removing from the tins and allowing to cool completely.
To Finish
Level and trim your espresso sponges and use a cake leveller or a sharp, serrated bread knife to carefully split each sponge into two layers so that you have eight thin, fragile layers. Stick the first layer onto a cake board or a large, flat plate using some espresso buttercream. Drizzle or brush a small amount of Marsala or espresso all over the sponge. You want to lightly soak, not drown it! Top with a generous, even layer of mascarpone icing. Place the next sponge layer on top and repeat, but this time with a layer of
espresso buttercream. Keep building up the layers in this way, alternating between the two icings and finishing with an upside-down sponge for the top layer. Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, then trim any lumps and bumps off the edge of the cake with a serrated knife to neaten the sides. Crumb-coat the top and sides of the cake with coffee buttercream and chill for 30 minutes, or until the icing is set. Apply a neat top coat of vanilla buttercream and chill for another 10 minutes. Take some of the remaining coffee buttercream and use a palette knife to spread a light band of it all around the bottom half of the cake. Smooth this out with a cake scraper and chill for 10 minutes until set. Mix a little of the melted and cooled chocolate into some of the remaining vanilla buttercream and repeat the previous step, but this time only go about two-thirds of the way up the coffee band, to create a two-layer effect. Pour the remaining melted chocolate into the centre of the top of the cake and spread it out with a small palette knife to create a pool of chocolate, leaving a 2.5cm/1in ring of exposed buttercream around the edge. Using a small sieve, carefully dust this with cocoa, taking care not to go over the exposed buttercream. Put the last of the coffee buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle, then pipe neat blobs, just over 2.5cm/1in apart, around the edge of the top of the cake. Take your truffles from the fridge and place them alternately in between the buttercream blobs to finish.
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June Ramli is the editor of DailyStraits.com. To stay in touch with June, look her up on Twitter @junesairaramli