Clandestine Cake Club Bolton - Each Peach Pear Plum

Some of the best cakes we have ever made at Bolton Clandestine Cake Club have been fruity ones, so inspired by my favourite childhood book, I called May's event 'Each Peach Pear Plum'. I asked our members to bake a fruity little number, and they didn't disappoint!

We held our meeting at one of our favourite venues, The Rivington Pub and Grill in Blackrod. They are always very supportive of our club and go out of their way to help. It was nice to have lots of space to wallow in our cake induced comas... We also welcomed quite few new members too.

We had fifteen cakes in total, including:

• Chocolate Orange Cake
• Raspberry and Almond Torte
• Peach Melba Cake
• Spicy Apple and Giant Sultana Cake
• Plum and Almond Cake
• Summer Fruit Drizzle Cake
• Orange and Poppyseed Cake
• Raspberry Torte
• Chocolate and Pear Cake
• Caramel Peach Cake
• Plum Cream Cake
• Orange Drizzle Cake
• Peaches and Cream Cake
• Raspberry Bakewell Cake
• Caramelised Pear and Almond Cake

Our June meeting is quite an exciting one! We're having a hip hop themed event called 'I got 99 problems but a cake aint one' so I'm sure our clubbers' imaginations will be in overdrive. Please visit the Clandestine Cake Club website for more details.

Join me on Facebook
Tweet me @dollybakes
Have a nosy at my pics on Pinterest

Giveaway: A Full Set of Renshaw Sugar Paste!

Renshaw has over 100 years of experience in baking expertise, product innovation and inspiration, though they’re perhaps best known for their range of vibrantly coloured ready to roll icings (also known sugar paste if you’re British and fondant if you’re American) in addition to their white and celebration icings for covering, modelling and decorating your creative cakes and bakes.
The full colour range of icings, from gentle Pastel Yellow to the more striking Fuchsia, plus hard to mix Jet Black and stand out Ruby Red are all available from Renshaw’s newly launched website, www.renshawbaking.com, though all good sugar craft shops and some Lakeland stores stock a selection of Renshaw’s products.

There are inspirational recipes there too, if you’re looking for new ideas for seasonal and celebration cake decorating ideas and a blog to keep you up to date with all things sugar craft, plus hints and tips for creating sugar paste models and icing flowers. This month, I’ve teamed up with Renshaw to give away the full set of coloured ready to roll icings – that’s 25 packs of 250g packs of sugar paste - including:

Amethyst
Atlantic Blue
Baby Blue
Bottle Green
Chocolate
Duck Egg Blue
Flesh
Fuchsia
Grey
Jade Green
Black
Lilac
Lincoln Green
Navy Blue
Orange
Pastel Green
Pastel Yellow
Pink
Poppy Red
Ruby Red
Shell Pink
Teddy Bear Brown
Turquoise
White Chocolate
Yellow

How to Enter
Simply enter your email address to be in with a chance to win the full range – perfect for getting to
grips with sugar paste modelling or creating colourful and inspired cakes for the coming year.
Once you have done that, there are bonus entries too!
Please see the Renshaw Privacy Policy for more information about the use of personal data.
The competition closes next Friday 24 May.

Join me on Facebook
Tweet me @dollybakes
Have a nosy at my pics on Pinterest

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Strawberries and Cream Bundt Cake

Nothing beats British strawberries. I spent my childhood summers picking them in my grandad's garden, and shaking my fists at the cheeky blackbirds who had pecked them for breakfast. We ate them with thick double cream and a shed load of sugar, which removed any trace of goodness from the bowl. I love the smell, colour and of course the taste. As soon as I saw British ones back in the shops, I pounced.

This cake was a bit of an experiment, but turned out beautifully. One tip though, cut your strawberries up into little chunks. I tried a few whole, which had a strange result... They disappeared completely leaving a strawberry shaped hole! Not got the foggiest why. No trace other than the pips... Poof...

This is a supremely moist cake with a delicate flavour and firm sugar crust. One word of warning, don't be a clever clogs like me and use an intricate tin (unless you like swearing like a docker at said tin). The  firm sugar crust means that this one adheres to nooks and crannies. It should never break up, but it needs a firm whack if stuck! I'd recommend the Nordic Ware Anniversary tin or a plain ring mould. 

Ingredients:

• 225g butter
• 450g golden caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 350g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 100ml thick strawberry yoghurt 
• 150ml double cream
• 15 medium sized strawberries cut into quarters

Method:

1. Grease and flour a regular sized bundt tin (2.4l, 10 cup, 10 inch). 
2. Soften the butter and then cream in the sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time on a slow setting.
4. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts.
5. Add all the remaining dry ingredients to a large bowl.
6. Measure the yogurt and cream into a jug. Give it a quick mix.
7. Sift in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by 1/2 of the liquid. Repeat until all the flour and liquid is used up. Fold it in gently...
8. Give the whole thing a quick mix for about 10 seconds or until well combined.
9. Spoon enough mix into the tin to cover the bottom (about an inch deep), them 'poke in' some strawberry pieces, taking care not to hit the bottom. Keep doing this in layers until all the mix and strawberries are used up. This just ensures even distribution. 
10. Bake at gas 3/160 C for about an hour and 15 minutes. 
11. It should be shrinking from the sides and a skewer should come out clean.

Bloggers: Please respect the fact I am sharing my own ideas and recipe. Blood, sweat and many tears have gone into getting this right, so you may enjoy a perfect bundt. If you wish to re-blog a recipe from these variations, please credit my blog and link to this original post rather than pasting the recipe on your own page. 

Please see my Creative Commons Copyright information for more details. Thank you.

Please leave your comments below... x

Join me on Facebook
Tweet me @dollybakes
Have a nosy at my pics on Pinterest