Quick One-Day Moist Fruitcake

This is a great recipe for a last minute fruitcake. It’s nice and moist and only takes a day to make! Substitute your favorite dried fruits, nuts, and liqueur.

Makes a 9″ round or 8″ square.

Ingredients:

2½ lbs Mixed dried fruit/glace fruit
2 sticks + 2 tbsp Butter
1¼ cups Brown sugar
1 tbsp Corn syrup
½ lemon, juice and zest
¼ tsp Nutmeg
¼ tsp Allspice
¼ tsp Cloves
¼ tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Curry powder
2½ oz Blanched almonds, chopped
¾ cup Brandy
1 tbsp Cornflour
4 Eggs
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda

– Preheat oven to 320ºF/160ºC.
– Line baking pan with baking parchment. If using a regular baking pan, wrap some newsprint or parcel paper around the outside of the pan and secure with baking twine.
– In a large pot, bring fruit, butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup to a boil, stirring constantly.
– Once bubbling, add in lemon zest, lemon juice, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, curry powder, salt, almonds, and brandy.
– Simmer for 10 min, stirring constantly.
– Remove from heat and cool completely.
– Once cool, stir in corn flour.
– Mix in eggs, then flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
– Scrape into prepared pan.
– Bake at 320ºF/160ºC for 30min. Then reduce temperature to 250ºF/120ºC and bake for 3½ hrs or until done.

How to Make Gluten-Free Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Buttercream

This is my one-bowl vanilla cupcake recipe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF-islIWwV8 adapted to be gluten-free. Adding a little more moisture from the milk, shortening and blueberries helps keep the cupcakes moist while using rice flour.

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Vanilla Cupcakes:
2 1/4 cups rice flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 large eggs
1 heaping cup of fresh blueberries

– Preheat oven to 350 F.
– Place cupcake cases in pan.
– Measure all ingredients, except blueberries, into the mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment.
– Mix at low speed until ingredients are combined.
– Scrape down bowl once.
– Mix on high speed until smooth and fluffy (about 2 min).
– Stir in blueberries.
– Scoop batter into prepared cupcake pans.
– Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate pans in oven. Continue to bake for another 5-10 min. until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean.
– Let cool for 10 minutes in pan before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Puree:
1 heaping cup of fresh blueberries

– place blueberries in a mini chopper or food processor and puree.
– strain/press through sieve.

Blueberry Buttercream Icing:
1 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup blueberry puree
5 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon clear vanilla flavoring

– Place vegetable shortening in mixer and beat until fluffy. Add blueberry puree and mix.
– Add confectioner’s sugar and beat on low until combined, then high until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and mix.

How to Make a Gluten-Free Orange Almond Cake

This is a lovely recipe by Allyson Gofton that can be found on her website: http://www.allysongofton.co.nz/recipe/Orange-almond-cake/?r=2775&fs=1

I don’t have a large food processor, so I pureed my oranges in a mini chopper and then continued to mix everything in my mixer.

Using the whole orange gives the cake heaps of moisture and a not-too-sweet taste.

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Ingredients:

2 large oranges, unpeeled (navel oranges work well)
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups ground almonds
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar to dust

1. Place the unpeeled oranges into a saucepan. Cover with water and simmer for 1 hour. Drain and leave until thoroughly cold.
2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Grease and line a 9″/23cm cake tin with baking paper.
3. Cut the cooked oranges into quarters, remove the seeds and place in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until finely chopped. Add the eggs, sugar and lemon juice and process for 1 minute.
4. Add the baking powder and ground almonds and pulse only to mix. Do not over-process.
5. Pour into the prepared cake tin.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until golden in colour and a cake skewer (or toothpick) inserted comes out clean.
7. Stand in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to cool.
8. Sift over a thick layer of confectioner’s sugar.

How to Make a Lemon Syrup Loaf Cake

This is an easy cake baked in a loaf pan with a lemon syrup. The lemon syrup is added while the cake is still warm so it absorbs into the cake – yum. A simple dust of icing sugar is all it needs to finish. This recipe calls for self-rising flour. If you don’t have self-rising flour, please see the note at the bottom for how to make it yourself.

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Ingredients for the Cake/Loaf:

1 stick butter
1 2/3 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
rind/zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs

Directions for Cake/Loaf:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F.
2. Grease, line and flour loaf pan. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix in completely.
5. Stir in half of the flour.
6. Mix in the milk.
7. Stir in the rest of the flour.
8. Stir in the lemon zest.
9. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for about 45 min or until cake tester (toothpick) comes out clean.
10. Remove loaf from oven and place on wire rack. While still warm, poke holes in the loaf with a skewer and pour lemon syrup over the top.
11. Leave loaf in pan to cool completely.
12. Once cooled, remove from pan and dust icing sugar over the top.

Ingredients for Lemon Syrup:

3 heaped tablespoons icing/confectioner’s sugar, plus more for dusting
Juice from 1 lemon

Directions for Lemon Syrup:

1. Place sugar and lemon juice in small saucepan over low heat.
2. Stir until sugar has dissolved.
3. Set aside until ready to pour over Lemon Cake.

Note: You can make your own self-rising flour using all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. For every 1 cup of flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk or sift together.

How To Make Carrot Cake and Decorate with Cream Cheese Icing

This is a moist, easy to make carrot cake. The cream cheese icing or frosting is very simple too. I’ve just done a very quick and easy way to decorate the cake using a bread/table knife, so no fancy decorating equipment required!

Ingredients for Carrot Cake:
1 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups carrot, grated
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crushed pineapple

Directions for Carrot Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Grease and flour 2 x 8″ or 9″ cake pans
3. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a bowl
4. Mix in oil and eggs
5. Stir in carrots, walnuts and pineapple
6. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-35min or until toothpick comes out clean
7. Cool in pans for 10 min and then remove cakes from pans and cool completely on wire rack

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Icing:
2 x 8oz packages of cream cheese
2 sticks of butter, cubed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb icing/confectioner’s sugar

Directions for Cream Cheese Icing:
1. Beat cream cheese in bowl until light and fluffy
2. Add butter and beat until fluffy
3. Add vanilla and mix in
4. Add icing sugar and mix well
5. Place bottom cake on a serving plate. Add a large spoonful of icing and spread to cover cake.
6. Add second layer of cake. Add remaining icing to top and spread over cake from center outward.