Lemon Macaron Layer Cake - Clandestine Cake Club - Norwich Club (May) - RECIPE

Unfortunately, I've had little time for blogging of late - so have a lot of catching up to do !

This is the cake I made for the May meet of Clandestine Cake Club (Norwich). I'll warn you now if you are thinking of making it - it WAS a labour of love.....

There are a lot of aspects to this cake - sponge, swiss meringue buttercream, macarons and homemade lemon curd. It contained 48 macaron shells as there were also macarons between the layers.

It was very time consuming so wouldn't be a cake that you would want to make on a regular basis. It was also very rich, so only snall slices required.

At a guess, this cake served around 36 portions. I brought a lot of it back and it got handed round several neighboring companies and staff at my work !

Sponge Cake Recipe 

200g of salted butter

375g caster sugar

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla extract

275g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

160ml milk

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and combine followed by egg yolks. Add dry ingredients and milk with canilla, alternating (1/3 of the amount at a time)

Bake in a 170deg C pre-heated oven for approx 50mins until a cake tester comes out clean

Allow to cool and then refrigerate until firm.

Tort (split) into three even layers.

Spread the bottom and middle layers generously with lemon curd, then top with a layer of macarons and a layer of Italian meringue buttercream.

LEMON CURD RECIPE (makes two jars)

200g sugar

3 eggs + 2 yolks

100g melted butter

250ml lemon juice (or 150ml lemon and 100ml lime)

zest 3 lemons

The lemons I bought looked sublime, but infact were very disappointing.... Loads of peel and very little juice.I used 5 lemons and still had to top up with 100ml of lime juice on this occasion as I ran out of lemons !

First of all, melt the butter and them add the lemon juice and lemon zest.

Whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar in a pan, then whisk in the butter and lemon mix.

Stir continuously over a low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Put into sterilised jars and seal. 

This lemon curd recipe does not need a double boiler. Keep a sink full of cold water nearby. If it looks like it might split, plunge the pan bottom into the water and then whisk like fury. I've never had it split yet...(though I've water dunked it once or twice before).

For the macarons, please see the macaron recipe here : http://www.siliconemoulds.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/seville-orange-curd-and-mallow-macarons.html

This time however, I made lemon macarons instead of orange. These are baked on the Revolutionary Double Sided Macaron Mat from SiliconeMoulds.com.

For applying buttercream and getting lovely straight sides on your cake, use a bench scraper (£6.99 from www.siliconemoulds.com).

These can be butted up to the cake and be flat on the cake board. It gives you a lovely smooth finish with very little effort and a professional finish.

Sarah-Jane Nash - www.siliconemoulds.com

Base Madeira / Layer Cake Recipe and Working Late...

I've made a few birthday cakes recently - two in the last week. It's a great excuse to practise some new techniques and practice skills, especially since I don't make larger cakes very often. I've taken to using this recipe for layer cakes. It's dense and holds up well and makes a good slicing piece. It's not going to crumble into a billion crumbs when you cut it.

This Scotty dog cake was made in our new silicone large Scotty dog cake mould (we also do a matching small version for making chocolates). I made up a chocolate recipe batch as original intention was to frost in chocolate buttercream. I used one batch of mix - but to be honest, I should have added another half batch (6 eggs rather than 4) and made it a bit deeper. Always next time !

At the last minute, I changed my mind. It ended up split and filled with raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream and I frosted it in more pink vanilla buttercream with a star tip. I gave the cake a very light covering of the buttercream before piping the rest on with a star tip.

The ribbon originally came from the odds and ends basket at the local haberdashery and had been in my ribbons box for some time. It just worked brilliantly as a collar and I used two brown Smarties (chocolate beans) for the eye and nose. 

RECIPE

300g self raising flour

300g caster sugar

4 large eggs (room temperature)

250g of salted butter (soft - but not melted)

60 to 80ml of milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Sift flour and sugar together into mixer bowl. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add blobs of the butter and keep beating until all incorporated.

Put into a greased and floured silicone bakeware mould or tin (alternatively use cake release spray) and bake until done and a cocktail stick comes out clean. In an 8" / 200mm dia tin, this takes approx 70mins. It may take less in a bigger mould / tin or longer if you increase the quantity of mix to suit your mould or tin.

bake at 160deg C if using a fan assisted oven.

For the chocolate version, reduce the flour to 240g and add 80g of good quality cocoa powder. A little more milk will be required.

This is the other cake I made this week. Peppa Pig with her teddy - for Amelia's birthday. The bottom tier was two lots of mix cooked in 8" tins and made into a 4 layer cake (with tops removed after levelling). The top tier was one batch split between two 6" tins and made into three layers. It's on it's own board and the bottom tier is dowelled to support it.

---------------------------------------

I had a couple of late nights at work making these. One night on my own. The second, Martin came in with two of his kids who baked some cupcakes whilst I iced the Scotty dog for their little sister, who's birthday was on Saturday. 

I don't really like being in there on my own late at night. It's a big old warehouse which used to be an American Air Base during the war with the kitchen (as yet unfinished at the top). There is a lot of noise at night. Weird creaks and groans and rattles. Mainly from the roof and the electricity metre - but it does still freak me out !

We know the estate is hunted. Some years ago, my husband saw a ghost in his unit, and Martin (my colleague) has had a ghost (man) walk right past him in the adjoining unit. I'll let him tell you about that sometime. Needless to say, I get creeped out working in there late and had to finish Amelia's cake on the second night as I just couldn't bear to stay in there longer in the dead of night on my own .....