You may click on any image in this guide to enlarge it.

You will need:

Cake covered in marzipan and white sugarpaste
Additional White Sugarpaste
Blue Colour Mist Spray
Snow Flakes
Previously made Snowman and Children figures
Plain holly leaf cutter
A small amount of Royal Icing

Using the additional white sugarpaste, make 4 Medium and approx 20 small snowflakes using the same method as Making Holly Leaves plus a few extra to allow for breakages and leave to dry.

Spray the cake with the blue colour mist spray as evenly as possible.  (It will be necessary to cover the adjoining area before spraying as it does tend to go everywhere!).

Wipe the board with a damp cloth to remove any blue spray and leave the cake to dry.

Roll out the remainder of the white sugarpaste and cut out plain holly leaves.  Dampen the bottom edge of the cake with a little cool boiled water and stick the holly leaves to the cake, placing them at a slight angle.  Continue until you have gone right around the cake.

This provides an attractive boarder which is quick and does not require any piping of icing.

Using the royal icing place a small amount in the centre of the cake and attach the Snowman and Children figures.

To fix the snowflakes, place small blobs of icing in a pattern around the snowman and children and gently press small snowlakes into the icing.

For the side decoration place four small blobs equally round the side of the cake and gently press in the medium snowflakes.  Finally arrange small snowflakes in between.

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Preparing a Cake Tin for a Sponge Cake

Nothing is more depressing than carefully mixing and baking a sponge, only to have it stick to the tin and come out in pieces. The following method will ensure that this never happens.

Melt an ounce of lard or other hard white fat in a microwave or in a pan on the hob. Using a pastry brush, simply brush the entire area of the inside of the tin, Making sure you go right into the corners of a square tin and into the indentations if using a round ‘fluted’ sponge tin. Leave to cool until the fat has solidified on the surface of the tin. Finally add a tablespoon of flour to the tin and shake, until the fat is completely coated. If using two tins, simply empty the flour into the second tin and repeat. Finally tap the tins to remove excess flour. Should you notice any area not coated, simply paint with a little melted fat and cover with flour until the entire area is covered with flour. Your tin is now ready.

It is possible to buy parchment circles to prevent cakes from sticking. These are pre-cut circles of baking parchment which are placed in the base of the cake tin. It is necessary to grease the tin beforehand as the sides will stick and also the parchment may lift when you fill the tin and some mixture could seep underneath the paper. It is not necessary to grease the circles as baking parchment can simply be lifted off the baked cake.

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What you will need

Cake Tin
Greaseproof Paper
Scissors
1oz (28 grams) Lard
Pastry Brush for Geasing
Pencil or Pen

Use greaseproof paper to double line your tin. Firstly cut out two pieces for the base of the tin, using the tin as a template, then cut enough lengths of greaseproof paper, just higher than the tin, to go round the tin twice with overlaps. Melt some lard in a pan or in the microwave and using a pastry brush, grease the tin and line it with the greaseproof paper, using the brush to push the paper onto the inside of the tin and also grease the paper ready for the next layer. Finish with a layer of grease on the second layer.

Your tin is now ready to use (see picture) – Click on image to enlarge

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1. Do – Prepare the Cake Tin
   

See Preparing a Cake Tin for Fruit Cakes and Sponge Cakes

1. Do Weight All Ingredients out First

This can seem a waste of time when you just want to get on to the interesting part of making the cake. However, if you have ever forgoten an important ingredient, like sugar, or the scales has reset halfway through adding another ingredient you will agree it makes sense to get everything ready first (see picture), it also makes the actual mixing quicker and more enjoyable.

3. Do – Use Butter (hard fat)

Butter really does make the difference to both texture and taste. A soft margarine will make the cake too crumbly and possibly unable to hold the fruit, so it sinks to the bottom. Also the taste is supurb. Any worries about butter being unhealthy should be ofset by the fact that you do not eat huge amounts of Celebration cakes and if they taste that good, you will soon be helped to eat it by family and friends.

If you really cannot use butter for health/diet reasons, try to use a hard fat, I find trex makes a good alternative for my dairy free mother. Another good alternative is coconut oil. The texture, for both of these fats, is similar to that made with butter and the taste can be improved with the use of a little extra spices and vanilla extract, although this is not so necessary when using coconut oil.

4. Do – Use the Highest Quality Ingredients you can afford

You might think you are saving a few pence buying cut price dried fruit, but if it is out of date it can be dry and hard and family and friends will overlook the fantastic taste and look of the cake if they are biting on fruit seeds and stalks.

5. Do – Warm the Treacle/Syrup

Warming the treacle/syrup makes it much easier to measure and ensure you are using the right amount. (Do not boil it).

6. Do Wrap the Outside of the Tin with Newspaper

To make sure the edge of the cakes does not dry out, I wrap the cake in newspaper. After putting the mixture in the tin take two sheets and fold them horizontally into three. Repeat this until you have enough to go round the tin. Then tie in place with string.

7. Don’t Worry too much about Ingrdients Amounts

If you find you are short of raisins, then use sultanas or currents to make it up. The total quantity of fruit is more important than the breakdown. The main thing is not to leave out an ingredient as this will certainly make a difference.

8. Don’t – Set the oven too High

I find most recipies give too high a tempurature setting which can result in the cake rising and or burning before it is cooked.

No matter what size cake I am making, I always use 160 C for the first hour and then 150 C until the cake is cooked. Using these tempuratures I do not need to make a hollow in the mixture prior to cooking and the cake comes out level and golden. I also check the cake regularly after the first hour and adjust the temperature accordingly as each cake can cook at different rates. If it looks like it is starting to “crack” I lower the temperature and check every quarter of an hour, lowering the temperature further if necessary.

I use a metal scewer to test if my cakes are cooked. To ensure the cake does not “sink”, I only check once it is firm to the touch in the centre. Then I warm the skewer by inserting it between the tin and the lining paper for a few seconds before inserting into the centre of the cake. When the skewer comes out clean, the cake is cooked. Also to prevent “sinking” after testing the final time, I turn the oven off and leave the cake in for 15 minutes. I then place it on a wooden board still in the newspaper for at least an hour. I then remove the newspaper and leave the cake in the tin until it is completely cold.

9. Don’t Soak the Cake in Sherry

Ever wondered why that delicious looking cake is bitter, well it is possibly because it has been soaked in sherry.

I like cakes to be ‘fed’ with alchahol. It keeps them moist and also preserves them. (I have eaten cakes up to 18 months after I made them.) However both sherry and brandy alone makes the cake taste bitter and harsh.

I like to use a mixture of both. For very special cakes I make a syrup with sugar and water and use one part brandy, one part sherry and one part syrup. However for most cakes such as Christmas and family cakes two parts brandy and one part sherry will give a lovely mellow flavour.

10. Don’t Drown the Cake

Whilst it is best to “feed” the cake to give a moist texture and mellow flavour, you are not trying to achieve a sticky pudding or put your guests at risk of being ‘over the limit’ from eating your cake. I have had people boast that their cake is ‘so boozy’ or that they have ‘used half a bottle of brandy in it’. This is neither necessary or desireable.  (see comment below regarding using glycerine)

Make up your mixture of brandy, sherry and syrup (if using) and using a pastry brush, liberaly brush over the entire cake once. It will only be necessary to feed the cake a second time if a) it has cooked to long and is very dry or b) you cannot give it enough time to mature (a minimum of 4 weeks is necessary). Once you have ‘painted’ the cake, wrap it up in greaseproof paper and put it in a sealed container.

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Below is a list of basic items:

• Bowls – A selection of different size bowls is necessary for both mixing and weighing ingredients. These can be made out of glass, plastic or stainless steel to suit your taste and budget
• Spoons – Again a selection of tablespoons, desertspoons and teaspoons are reqired (it is not necessary to purchase cooks measuring spoons) along with wooden spoons for mixing
• Spatula – whilst not essential, it is a very useful tool for removing mixture from around the mixing bowl
• Knives – A small knife is useful for cutting cherries whilst a round bladed knife can be used for cutting butter and lard.
• Scissors – Useful for cutting up fruit such as prunes and apricots also for cutting greasproof paper
• A set of scales
• Whisk – for beating eggs and cream
• Pastry brushes – Very useful for greasing tins with melted lard and also for brushing pastry with milk and “feeding” cakes with alchohol.
• Cake tins
• Cooling racks

In this post I am going to concentrate on the equipment needed for modest baking for pleasure.

Scales

Whilst it is possible to bake well without scales, it takes a very experienced cook to bake consistently without weighing the ingredients first.

Scales come in all shapes and sizes and the only real criteria is that they should be accurate. However I have found that the digital flat or block scales are particulary useful. These scales are highly accurate and as you use your own bowl, it is possible to add all the ingredients to that bowl, resetting after each addition. This has the benefit of less washing up and is particularly useful when baking small items such as scones, rock cakes etc. However, when it comes to large celebration cakes, I would recommend wieghing out all the ingredients first. Salter make a particularly nice stainless steel block scale which looks very chic on the work top. These scales are available from www.lakeland.co.uk at £39.99 and are really worth paying that bit extra for.

Cake Tins

These can be as inexpensive or expensive as you wish. Cheaper tins are often thinner with a greater risk of the cake burning before being cooked, however this can be overcome by following my quide to lining the tin before baking the cake.

I prefer to use loose bottom tins, as you have more control over the removal of the baked cake, this is especially important if the cake is large or a sponge cake which could break.

Purpose made shaped and novely cake tins can be purchased or hired from many cake decorating shops. This is especially useful if you are making a ‘one off’ cake in that particular design.

Clean baked bean tins can also be used to make individual fruit cakes and also to make the base of turretts for fairy castle cakes.

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