Ombre Rose cake

The ombre rose cake is quite simple to make once you get a hang on piping the rise swirl. You can use either the 1M or 2D Wilton tip. I prefer the 1M as it gives more defined swirls.

To create the rose swirl cake you will need:

1M tip
Piping bags
Buttercream
Cake, crumb coated in the colour you will use for the rose swirls.

To make the ombre colours, start by colouring 1/3 of the icing in the darkest shade you will be using. Then divide the coloured batch into 2, add yhe same quantity of uncoloured icing into the second batch to lighten it, divide and colour until you have all the shades.

Remember to colour enough as you may not be able to get the exact shade if you run out of a batch.

Next, fill you bag with the darkest colour and make the first layer of swirls. You may reverse the colour, starting with the lightest. You may also want to make lines on the cake to help you pipe equals swirls.

Continue piping the swirls until you cover the entire cake. If you have spaces, just fill them up with stars.

And you have your Ombre Rose Swirl Cake.

Doughnuts

Ever experienced the delight of eating freshly made doughnut, straight from the fire then glazed. That’s one of the benefits of being a baker. Luckily, almost anyone can re-create that experience with this recipe.

Doughnuts:

Flour                    900g

Sugar                  150g

Milk                    500mls

Butter                  120g

Eggs                   3

Yeast                  20g

salt                    1 tsp

Butter                 100g

Icing sugar         350g

Milk                   120mls

vanilla               2 tsp

Scald the milk in your microwave and let cool. This process destroys the enzymes in the milk that could interfere with the action of the yeast.
Combine yeast, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, butter and 1/3 of the flour. Beat with your mixer on low for 30 seconds, scrape the bowl then, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Change to the dough hook and add the flour, knead until well mixed 3 – 5 minutes
Cover and let rise until double. Then punch down flatten and roll the dough on a floured table to about 1/2 inch thickness
Cut with floured doughnut cutter, cover and let rise the doughnuts double in size.

Fry at 170degrees centigrade then drain

To make the glaze
Melt butter and combine with the milk. Add the icing sugar and stir over low heat till the sugar is dissolved and well combined.
You can make the glaze while waiting for the doughnuts to proof. then dip immediately the doughnuts are ready and set on a cooling rack to set.

Polker dot cake

Imagine the surprise when you cut into the cake to reveal the patterned interior. This polker dot cake or any patterned cake is actually easier than you thought.

Though most cake makers prefer a slightly denser cake for patterned cake for this technique,  with experience, you will be able to work with your regular cake recipe.

For this tutorial, we will be working with a simple Madeira cake

You will use a cake pop maker for the polker dot cake. You can use the cake pop pan or an electric cake maker. I used the electric cake pop maker.

Recipes:
Butter                      350g
Sugar                      350g
Flour                       500g
Baking powder     4tsp
Eggs                        7

Sift flour and baking powder in a dry bowl. Add lemon zest, combine and set aside
In your mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs 1 at a time and continue creaming just until well combined.
Fold in the flour until combined.

Take out several batches of the batter and colour with food colour. Bake the polker dots in the cake pop pan and cool. This can be made ahead of time and allowed to cool before mixing the main cake

Remove the cake pops, trim the edges if rough to get the pops round.

Place a small amount of batter in your pan and place the cake pops on the batter. Pour more batter on the pops to completely cover them. I use a pastry bag to get even distribution of the batter without shifting the pops.

You will have to make layers of the cakes so that the pops are centered in each layer. Make as many layer as you want but a typical layer will be about 1.5 to 2 inches high.

Again target to just cover the pops lightly as the batter will rise when heated, distributing evenly to cover the pops completely.

Fondant icing

Recipe
Gelatine               2tsp
Corn syrup          1/2 cup
Water                    1/4 cup
Almond extract  1 tsp
Icing sugar          900g – 1kg
CMC                       2tsp  
Shortening           as required. See procedure

Add gelatine to water. Dissolve in microwave or over water bath. (don’t let it boil)
Add corn syrup, flavour and glycerine if used. Heat till melted and well mixed. 
Sift 3/4 of the sugar and cmc into a bowl. Pour mixture into it and mix.
rub shortening on your hand and knead till smooth, adding more sugar as required to achieve desired consistency. About 900g works.

Always keep fondant covered to prevent it from drying out.

Fondant can be used to create beautiful designs on cakes. It is the preferred icing for wedding and custom cakes in Nigeria.

Cream cheese frosting

Cream cheese frosting is always a favourite for red velvet cake.  It is easy to make just like the American buttercream.

Recipe:

250g cream chese
125g butter
125g confectionary sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

In  your stand mixer, soften cream cheese, add butter and cream until creamy.  Add vanilla extract then addict in confectionary sugar and cream until well combined.

Baking substitutions

Baking in Nigeria comes with some challenges. Certain ingredients are not readily available and when available, are quite expensive because they are imported. These baking substitutions will come in handy especially if you bake on a commercial basis and want to keep cost down.
Cake flour
Mix 2tbs. corn flour in 1 cup of flour. Sieve 3 times

Self-rising flour
Add 11/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4tsp salt into every 1 cup of flour and mix thoroughly to combine

Buttermilk
1 cup of full cream milk + 2 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice, stir and let stand for at least 5 minutes

Useful Baking Conversions

Accurate ingredients measurement is paramount to successful baking. Baking recipes are measured using either the volume measurement (cups) or the weight (grams or oz). The issue with using the volume measurement is that variations can occur depending on how the cups are filled or how compressed ingredients were before being measured. Consequently, a lot of experts advocate for volume measurement
Recipes on this page have been adapted for weight measurement in grams as this is the common measurement in Nigeria. To get accurate measurement, it is important to invest in a digital scale, you will find it invaluable.
I’ve put together this useful conversion table which I have used in deriving measurements on this blog. You may find it useful when trying to adapt a recipe.

Teaspoon (tsp)/Tablespoon (tbs)/Cups to mls
1 tsp = 5 ml =
1 tbs = 15 ml = 3tsp
1/8 cup = 30 ml = 2 tbs
1/4 cup = 60 ml = 4tbs
1/3 cup = 80 ml =
1/2 cup = 120 ml =
2/3 cup = 160 ml =
3/4 cup = 180 ml =
1 cup = 240 ml = 16tbs
1/3tsp = approx. 1/4 tsp + 1/8tsp
2/3 tsp = approx. 1/2 tsp + 1/8tsp

Converting Baking Ingredients (1 cup)
Butter = 226g = 2 sticks
Caster sugar 200 grams
Granulated sugar 220grams
Brown sugar 220 grams
Confectioners (icing) sugar 125 grams
All-purpose flour 125 grams
Cake flour 110 grams
Whole wheat flour 120 grams
Cornstarch 110grams

Pounds (lb)/ Ounce (Oz) to grams (g)
1 pound = 454 g
1.10 pounds = 500 g
1 Oz = 29.5g

Converting Fahrenheit to Centigrade
Fahrenheit Celcius
250 ºF = 120 ºC
275 ºF = 135 ºC
300 ºF = 150 ºC
325 ºF = 165 ºC
350 ºF = 175 ºC
375 ºF = 190 ºC
400 ºF = 205 ºC
To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 degrees and divide by 1.8

Chocolate Marble Zucchini Cake

Recipe:
Flour 200g
Sugar 200g
Butter 100g
Egg 2
Grated Zucchini 200g (11/2 cups)
Chopped walnuts 50g (1/3 cup)
Baking soda ½ tsp
Baking powder 1 tsp
Cinnamon ½ tsp
Nutmeg ½ tsp
Ginger ½ tsp
Dark chocolate (melted) 40g
Water 80 mls
Salt (optional)* ½ tsp

Measure out all ingredients. I always do this and then double check to ensure its complete. You don’t want to put the cake inside the oven only to remember you forgot one ingredient.

*you may skip or reducing salt, depending on the salt content of the butter used
Prepare your pans
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices, and set aside
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy
Add egg and mix in thoroughly
Fold in flour alternating with water
Fold in Zucchini and nuts
Divide batter. Fold in melted chocolate into 1/3 of the batter
Pour batter into cake pans to create the marble effect
Bake at 180 degrees

Swiss meringue buttercream

Egg whites from 6 eggs
Granulated sugar 300g
Unsalted butter 500g
Cream of tartar 1/4tsp
Vanilla extract 1 tsp
Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of your standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water and whisk until the sugar has dissolved
Attach the bowl to the mixer and whisk using the whisk attachment. Start whisking on low speed and gradually increase the speed until stiff peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is completely cool (about 10 minutes)
Reduce the speed of the mixer and start adding the butter in little bits (the butter should be cut up to cubes and allowed to soften at room temperature). Mix thoroughly between additions. Once all butter has been added, whisk in vanilla. The mixture may curdle a bit. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and silky.

The buttercream can be coloured to any desired colour. It can be used to create beautiful piped decorations, borders or swirls

Red velvet cake

The red velvet cake is a mild chocolate cake with a brownish bright or deep red colour. The velvety texture of the cake results from buttermilk used in the recipe.
Recipe
Flour 250g
Salt 1/4tsp
Coco powder 15g
Sugar 300g
Butter 120g
Eggs 2
Buttermilk 240mls
Baking soda 1tsp
Distilled vinegar 1tsp
Red food colour 4tsp

Sift flour, coco powder and salt and set aside
Mix the red food colour in the butter milk and set aside. To substitute for buttermilk, add 2 tsp. of vinegar in every 1 cup full cream milk stir and let rest for about 5 minutes.
In your mixer, cream the butter until soft (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and continue creaming until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue creaming until combined. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
Using the slowest speed of your mixer, fold in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz then fold into the cake batter.
Pan and bake at 170 degrees centigrade until done

Frost with cream cheese or your favourite frosting and decorate with crumbs to create a mouth watering delight every one will be waiting to devour.