Cake #92 - Peppermint Chocolate Cake

Friends First Friday Cake - Peppermint Chocolate Cake.

For all Finnish heavy metal singers who have recorded new and traditional Christmas carols - Christmas baking is even more enjoyable when I listen to your voices. You are all stars!

I was excited to read that a new collection of these heavy metalized Christmas carols had just come out and now I have listened to it dozens of times already. It is called Ragnarok Juletid. 

This Finnish Christmas carol is one of my absolute favourites - first time I hear it translated into English!

Peppermint Chocolate Cake

200 g butter
250 ml granulated sugar
3 eggs
400 ml plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp cocoa powder

150 g peppermint crisp chocolate, chopped

100 ml cream

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 F) and grease and flour a 2-litre bundt cake pan.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, cocoa powder chopped chocolate in a bowl.
3. Cream together butter and sugar.
4. Mix in eggs.
5. Add the dry ingredients together with the cream and mix well.
6. Bake the cake in the oven for 45-50 minutes and let cool on a rack before removing from the pan.

Cake #91 - Snow Paw

Thursday Cat Theme Cake - Snow Paw.

This cake looks to me like a clothes rack with hooks. I could easily imagine hanging it on my kitchen wall - I would just need to turn the dewclaw the other way around.

Then I would hang there my cat apron [except I do not have one, what], my kittycat oven mittens and  my kitten tea towels and then there would still be room for some nice cat stuff they have at Sophie Allport. Which I just love. Have a look! If you, for some reason, are not a cat person, they do have other patterns, too.

So far I have managed to get myself only a Sophie Allport cat iron board cover but the situation will hopefully get better soon. The Husband every now and then flies to Leeds, UK, for business, and Sophie Allport just recently opened a shop downtown Leeds...

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The cake is a basic sponge with some vanilla in it. The black parts are made of black sugar paste and the snow is desiccated coconut.

Cake #90 - Carrot and Cranberry Cake

Wednesday Natural Ingredient / Healthy Cake - Carrot and Cranberry Cake with Raisins and Seeds

Crazy for craisins? To be honest, I am not, but in this cake they taste great, together with all the other healthy ingredients. If you want to make this cake even more healthy, use wholemeal flour and reduce the amount of sugar by half. 

I do not like sweet treats for breakfast but a slice of this cake was a perfect morning boost. Made with brown sugar, it is not too sweet. Warm up in microwave or toast, and enjoy with butter! Loads of butter.

Carrot and Cranberry Cake with Raisins and Seeds

2 eggs
150 ml brown sugar
150 ml sunflower oil
200 ml plain flour
1 tsp bread soda
1 tsp baking powder
100 g grated carrot
50 g dried cranberries
50 g mixed seeds
50 g raisins

1. Grease and flour a 1 kg loaf pan and preheat the oven to 200C / 400F.
2. Beat eggs and sugar until white and fluffy.
3. Pour in oil and beat until mixed well.
4. Mix all dry ingredients together.
5. Add grated carrot and dry ingredients gradually to the egg-sugar-oil mixture.
6. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle some seeds on top if you like,
7. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes and let cool before removing from pan.

Cake #89 - Date and Time Cake

Tuesday Humour Cake - Date and Time Cake.

Had I dared to be more experimental, this would have been Date and Thyme Cake. I do suspect the family had appreciated that kind of experiment much. This cake with dates and white chocolate they loved.

Date and Time Cake

300 g butter
400 ml granulated sugar
4 eggs
600 ml plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
150 g chopped dates
150 ml cream

100 g white chocolate, melted

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 F) and grease and flour a Ø 23 cm cake pan.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and chopped dates in a bowl.
3. Cream together butter and sugar.
4. Mix in eggs.
5. Add the dry ingredients together with the cream and mix well.
6. Bake the cake in the oven for 45-50 minutes and let cool on a rack before removing from the pan and piping the white chocolate on it,

Cake #88 - Sand Cake

Monday Mood Cake - Sand Cake

Dull, flat, grey mid-November. Sun and the beach!?

Never mind. I am patiently waiting for the summer, sun and the beach. Not going to Malta nor to Italia.

You can find the recipe for this cake here. No fork needed when eating it.

Potato starch is not easy to find in Ireland. This bag I bought at Oriental Emporium on Abbey St, Dublin 1. You can replace potato starch with cornstarch.

Cake #87 - Ellen Svinhufvud Cake

Sunday Classic Cake - Ellen Svinhufvud Cake.

Almond Meringue Cake with Coffee Buttercream and Toasted Almond Flakes.

Ellen Svinhufvud (1861-1953) was the wife of Finland's 3rd president, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud. History tells that Mrs Svinhufvud loved this almond meringue cake, made by Konditoria Stella, and the confectionary later named the cake Ellen Svinhufvud Cake after her.

Dress up (do not forget a hat with feathers!) and enjoy this cake on a Sunday afternoon. Serve coffee in golden cups and preferably speak Swedish. Cheers, ma'am! 

Ellen Svinhufvud Cake

Base
6 egg whites
350 ml icing sugar
150 g ground almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 125 С / 250 F.
2. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
3. Beat egg whites until firm adding icing sugar gradually.
4. Fold in ground almond.
5. Divide the batter evenly into 4 parts and spread each part into a rectangular about 20 cm x 30 cm, 5 mm thick.
6. Bake in the oven for about 90 minutes.
7. Let cool down on a rack.

Coffee Buttercream Filling
150 ml strong coffee
3 tbsp sugar
150 ml cream
100 g finely-ground almond
300 g soft butter

Topping
80 g toasted almond flakes
Icing sugar

1. Dissolve sugar in hot coffee and mix in cream. Let cool.
2. Beat butter until light and fluffy and then gradually pour in coffee with cream.
3. Fold in ground almonds.
4. To assemble the cake, spread the filling on the first layer, the cover with the second layer and top with filling, repeat.
5. Top the upper layer and sides of the cake with the filling.
6. Cover the cake with toasted almond flakes and finally sieve some icing sugar on top. Garnish, for example, with a fondant or marzipan rose.

Cake #86 - Courgette and Serrano Ham Cake

Savoury Saturday Cake - Courgette and Serrano Ham Cake, Served with Poached Egg.

I baked this cake only because I had just learned how to make a perfect poached egg and I needed a cake to go with one so  I could show you my new skill. It would have been a bit awkward to upload a picture of a single poached egg, wouldn't it? This is a cake challenge in a baking blog, after all.

By the way, the cake was very good! Even without the egg it would have been. It would not have looked that good, though, as the bright and nicely runny yolk made it more appealing. - Agree? I knew you would.

Courgette and Serrano Ham Cake

225 g grated courgette
½ tsp salt
300 ml plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
150 g cream cheese
100 ml rapeseed oil
80 g serrano ham, chopped
2 tsp dried herbs, I used parsley and basil

1. Grease and flour a Ø 20 cm springform  pan and preheat the oven to 175 C / 375 F.
2. Mix flour, salt and baking powder together.
2. Lightly whisk the eggs, milk and olive oil together in a jug.
3. Pour the liquid onto the dry ingredients and fold in.
4. Add the serrano ham and herbs together with the grated courgette.
6. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes.
7. Serve warm with poached eggs and serrano ham slices.