October has been rather busy and cake filled for my family. My birthday is at the beginning of the month, swiftly followed by my friend/future sister-in-law then my Dad a couple of weeks later. As a chocolate fiend I knew my friend's cake needed to be decadent so I took inspiration from a millionaire's shortbread cake I found on Jane's Patisserie blog.
Considering my family were still working through my large birthday cake I didn't think it was wise to bake a monster triple layer cake. Instead I adapted the cake to be smaller by using a standard 4 egg victoria sponge recipe baked in two 8" cake tins and swapped the caster sugar for soft light brown sugar. I also made my own caramel and millionaire's shortbread pieces as I felt like being fancy.
I don't know what it is about me and caramel but it's always a bit of a disaster. Every time without fail I burn the first batch. EVERY TIME. Also, it's always lumpy. Recipes say that if the caramel hardens and goes a bit lumpy after adding the cream just to put the pan back over the heat until it melts. Mine doesn't want to melt, even if I practically reboil it. Should I fully reboil it or will it go further wrong and burn? Should I warm the cream up first so it's less of a hot/cold reaction when adding it to the sugar? Tips or suggestions welcome!
The millionaire's shortbread, however, was an absolute triumph. Man, that stuff is addictive to eat. In fact it was the best thing about this cake. I don't know why, but the cake itself was a bit underwhelming. Perhaps I slightly overbaked the sponge, the chocolate icing was too thick, or maybe I'm just not that big a fan of cakes without a jam or curd filling or a fruit element as they're too sweet (gasp!) and lack contrast. It could be a combination or just personal preference.
It's a shame this cake didn't quite hit the spot for me, especially considering how cool it looked and the effort I put into making it, but I can highly recommend the millionaire's shortbread. You can find the recipe for it in my archives here. I only make it once every few years for fear of eating it all and becoming morbidly obese!
For Dad's birthday I baked a duff (clootie pudding) as it's his favourite along with a tray of buns/fairy cakes for my nephews as they're not fussed with boiled fruit pudding. I think this duff turned out better than the last one I made a couple of years ago (you can find the post and recipe here) as I kept a closer eye on the water level in the pot. Dad has had a really tough year health wise so he fully deserved a celebratory duff with a mahoosive exploding candle.
After a week's break I'm just about ready to start thinking about cakes and baking again. Roll on Hallowe'en!
For Dad's birthday I baked a duff (clootie pudding) as it's his favourite along with a tray of buns/fairy cakes for my nephews as they're not fussed with boiled fruit pudding. I think this duff turned out better than the last one I made a couple of years ago (you can find the post and recipe here) as I kept a closer eye on the water level in the pot. Dad has had a really tough year health wise so he fully deserved a celebratory duff with a mahoosive exploding candle.
After a week's break I'm just about ready to start thinking about cakes and baking again. Roll on Hallowe'en!
