Crave: Brilliantly indulgent recipes by Collison Martha

Author:Collison, Martha [Collison, Martha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-07-27T04:00:00+00:00

You will also need two 18cm-round cake tins and a sugar thermometer.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4; grease the base and sides of the cake tins and line them with baking parchment.

Start by making the sponge. Heat the butter and milk together in a small saucepan over a low heat until the butter has completely melted and the mixture is beginning to bubble. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Fill a small saucepan about a third full with water and bring to the boil. Have an electric hand-held whisk ready, or fit your stand mixer with the balloon-whisk attachment. In a large heatproof bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla bean paste or extract. Beat the mixture in the bowl over a pan of simmering water using a whisk until the sugar has dissolved. If you rub the mixture between your fingers, you shouldn’t feel any grains of sugar. Take the bowl off the heat and whisk on high speed using the electric hand-held whisk or stand mixer for around 10 minutes. The mixture should be really pale and fluffy, and the outside of the bowl should feel slightly warm rather than hot.

Sift the flour and baking powder over the whisked egg and sugar, and fold it in using a spatula until combined. Pour the cooled milk and melted butter mixture down the side of the bowl and mix until smooth. Try not to over-mix the batter or you will release the air you whisked in and the cake won’t rise as well.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared tins and bake for 35–40 minutes. The cakes should be golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then turn them out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream. Place the egg whites in a large clean, grease-free bowl or the cleaned bowl from the stand mixer. Combine the sugar and 75ml of water in a small saucepan and set over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and allow the syrup to simmer, placing a sugar thermometer in the pan to monitor the temperature.

When the sugar syrup reaches 1100C on the sugar thermometer, start whisking the egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks. When the syrup reaches 1180C (the soft ball stage), remove it from the heat and slowly pour it down the side of the bowl of the egg whites in a steady stream, whisking all the time. Try to avoid pouring the syrup on to the beaters, as this will create hard sugar crystals. Continue to whisk for 5 minutes, until the meringue is thick and glossy and the outside of the bowl feels cool to the touch.

Add the butter, piece by piece, whisking between each addition until all the butter is incorporated and the buttercream is smooth.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.