Annies Pantry

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Birthday Cake

Ingredients

200g butter
1 1/2 cups Chelsea white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Chelsea golden syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups milk

Butter frosting:
175g cooking chocolate
1/4 cup water
3 egg yolks
250g butter
3/4 cup Chelsea icing sugar

Method

(2 cakes required for rabbit)

Beat eggs and sugar in a food processor until light and creamy. Add butter and golden syrup, mix until smooth. Add baking soda, flour, cocoa and milk. Mix until well combined. Pour into a well greased, paper lined 23cm round cake tin. Bake at 180°C for 50 to 60 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack and cool before decorating.

For frosting, place chocolate and water into a bowl and microwave on med-low until melted. Cool, add egg yolks and beat well. Beat the butter and icing sugar until creamy, then add in the cold chocolate mixture.
(Makes enough frosting to complete rabbit.)

To assemble and decorate

Use two 23cm cakes to create the rabbit cake. Cut shapes by following the diagram and assemble into the bunny as shown. Lavishly ice with butter frosting. Food colouring can be used to tint the frosting different colours for the face and bow-tie.
To decorate, use licorice straps cut into shoestrings for eyebrows, whiskers and mouth. For the bunny's tie, eyes and nose use different coloured pebbles. Finally, use pink food colouring to tint coconut and sprinkle it on the ears. Your beautiful, delicious birthday cake is ready for the candles.

Sponge Cake

Ingredients

4 large eggs, separated (room temperature)
3/4 cup Chelsea White Sugar
3/4 cup cornflour
2 tablespoons custard powder
3 teaspoons baking powder
Chelsea Icing Sugar to dust

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Well grease and baking paper line two 23 cm sandwich cake tins.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add sugar & beat until mixture is stiff and glossy, with sugar dissolved. Add the yolks, one at a time, mix in well.
Sift together cornflour, custard powder and baking powder.
Gently fold dry ingredients into egg mixture using a metal spoon.
Pour half the mixture into each prepared tin. Bake for 15 �?20 minutes without opening the oven door whilst cooking. The cakes should shrink slightly from the sides of the tins and spring back when gently touched.
Cool for 10 minutes in the tin then turn out onto wire rack covered in a tea towel or paper towel to prevent a rack imprint on the sponges.
When cool, fill with whipped cream and fruit and sprinkle with a fine dusting of icing sugar.
Special thanks to Dorothy Cashmore for use of this Best Ever recipe

Hazelnut Torte

Ingredients

Makes a large Dessert

6 egg whites
2 cups Chelsea caster sugar
1 1/2 cups chopped hazelnuts (skin removed)
48 small plain water crackers crushed to crumbs (eg. Plain Snax)
300 ml cream
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
1/4 cup extra chopped hazlenuts

Method

Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually add sugar a spoonful at a time until thick and glossy. Fold in hazlenuts and biscuit crumbs. Spoon onto 2 baking-paper-lined well-greased 23cm springform cake tins. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 160°C until crisp and dry.

Cool in the tine and then carefully remove and fill with whipped cream. Spread more cream over the top and sprinkle with the chopped chocolate and extra chopped hazelnuts.

JO SEAGAR’s TIPS

To remove hazelnut skins, place nuts in an oven dish, such as a small roasting pan. Bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes. Tip into a clean tea-towel and rub of the skins.

Important Announcement The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009. You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More
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