Recipe Cakes - Lemon Curd Mini Cakes Recipe

There are many types of recipe cakes available to make, many are simple enough you simply need to follow the recipe and they will turn out perfectly, but it is often true of many cake makers that one day you can bake a faultless cake and the next it may be burned or unevenly cooked. There are certain rules to follow that will ensure that when you make cakes they are flawless every time.

1. Ensure that all materials and equipment are to hand when needed.

2. Use only great ingredients

3. Follow all directions exactly

4. Use accurate measurements

5. Use correct size tin

6. Make sure oven temperature is correct

7. All cakes should be baked in the centre of the oven

Cakes and cake making can be divided into sections, fat free cakes, gluten free cakes, fruit cakes, mini cakes, pancakes and sponges. There are cakes for every celebration Christmas, Weddings, Christenings and Birthdays. Cakes come in every flavour, size and shape and it is really up to you what you wish to create.

Fat free sponge recipe

4 eggs

4 oz caster sugar

3 oz self raising flour

Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is pale, thick and creamy and the whisk leaves a trail on the surface. Sift the flour onto the surface of the mix and gently fold in with a metal spoon using a cut and turn movement.

Pour into a shallow, rectangular jelly roll tin lined with non-stick silicone paper and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes at 180C. Take out of the oven when golden brown and firm to the touch, turn out of tin onto a clean tea towel sprinkled with either caster or icing sugar and leave to cool before removing the silicone paper. Trim the hardened edges of the cake with a sharp knife before either rolling up the cake, when cold, with cream and fruit, or cut in half when cold and sandwich together with jam and cream.

Gluten-free cakes

Gluten-free cakes are a must for anyone who is wheat intolerant or has an allergy to gluten, commonly known as celiac disease. Gluten-free flour is available from many health shops and supermarkets but behaves in a very different way from flour with gluten. Your cakes and breads will be more crumbly and of a different texture.

Chocolate Almond Torte

Gluten-free Chocolate Almond Torte Recipe

6oz dark chocolate coarsely chopped

5oz butter chopped

5 eggs separated

5oz caster sugar

6oz almond meal

Ganache topping

4oz thickened cream

6oz dark chocolate chopped

Stir chocolate and butter together in a small saucepan over a low heat until combined and smooth. Cool for approx ten minutes.

Beat the egg yolks and the sugar together in a small bowl until pale, thick and creamy. Transfer into a larger bowl and gently fold in the chocolate mixture and then the almond meal. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer in a very clean, grease free bowl until reach soft peaks. Fold into the chocolate mixture being very careful not to lose any air from the egg whites by over mixing. Pour the mixture into a 9 inch cake tin lined with non-stick silicone paper. Bake for fifty-five minutes at 180C. When the cake is cooked let it stand for fifteen minutes out of the oven before turning out to cool on a wire rack covered in baking paper.

Ganache

Bring the cream to the boil in a small saucepan, take off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir until completely smooth, pour over the top of the cake and ice the sides if desired. Refrigerate before serving. Serve with softly whipped cream and a cup of espresso for a real touch of luxury.

These very tiny cakes are ideal for parties. Children will love them too and little mini cakes are more economic than dividing a large sliced cake at a children's birthday party.

Fruity butter Icing

2oz butter

4oz icing sugar

2 teaspoons lemon curd

Mix together all the ingredients until smooth add a little lemon juice or hot water if necessary. Ice the mini cakes and top with a curl of grated lemon peel. This beautiful topping will compliment many different cakes.

Baking a cake should be fun and if you follow these recipes in a methodical manner there is no reason why you should not succeed every time you bake. Whichever recipe cakes you choose to make, whether it is a cake for a celebration or a simple family meal it is one sure way of letting your family or friends know that you care about them.