Let's Celebrate Autumn (Delicious Apple Surprise)

LET'S CELEBRATE AUTUMN 

Hello lovely people we have a new season coming! I love autumn, the leaves changing colours and falling like a natural colourful confetti. So many ingredients remind me of this cozy season... spices, nuts, apple, cheese... It is a great time to get together with friends and share a delicious treat with them! 

To inspire you I have tried to combine all these ingredients and create an unusual yet delicious dessert to explore our curiosity and boost our palate. For this I have gone in journey searching for the best ingredients to make it even more especial as I trust best ingredients makes a huge difference on the final taste.

I have called this recipe “Delicious Apple Surprise” and comprise spiced apple served with homemade cheddar cheese ice cream and caramelised buttery sauce.

I would love to hear your experience making this recipe and if you loved it as much as I did!

 Delicious Apple Surprise

(10 portions)

Vintage Reserve Barbers 1833 Cheddar Cheese Ice Cream 

Vintage Reserve Barbers 1833 matured for at least 24 months,  winner of the best mature cheddar in World Cheese awards and the only UK Cheddar to make it into the top 50 world cheeses

620g of full fat milk
100g of clotted cream
40g powder milk
160 g granulated sugar
3g ice cream stabilizer (CMC)
70g egg yolks
30g of vanilla bean paste
100g of grated Vintage Reserve Barbers 1833 Cheddar cheese

How do make:
Combine 16g of granulated sugar with the stabilizer and reserve.
Whisk the yolk with the rest of the sugar until it becomes firm and light colour. Add the sugar and stabilizer mixture above by hand and reserve.
In a pan heat the milk, the powder milk and the double cream. Remove it just before it starts to boil. Combine it with the creamed yolk mixture.
Take it back to the hob and cook in bain marie until it becomes thicker.
Remove it from the heat, add the grated cheese and the vanilla stirring until the cheese is all melted. Sieve it and chill as quick as possible using an ice water bath.

Let the mixture rest for 4 hours before putting into the ice cream maker Once the ice cream is ready keep it in the freezer until it is served.

That is the fun ice cream maker a friend have lent me! It is called Blue Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker. Homemade ice cream ready in just 20 min!

3 Spices Apple

10 Ganny Smith apples 
320g of unsalted butter
1kg of Demerara sugar 
25g of cinnamon powder 
25g cloves powder
25g nutmeg powder
1/2 cup of water (note: more water may be required)
1 lime juice to pour over the apples after they have been sliced.

How do make:
Remove the centre of the apples using an apple corer, remove the skin and slice it horizontally 3mm thick. After done pour the lime juice equally all over the apples.
In a pan melt the butter with the sugar, add the spices and one cup of water. After the sugar has been melted add the sliced apples. Cook it for about 5-10 minutes or until the slices are golden, almost clear but still firm (note: add more water if the syrup becomes thick but the apple still need cooking). Remove it from the heat and put over a rack.

Caramelised Buttery Sauce

With the sauce left after cooking the apple add 30g of liquid glucose and stir until all combined. Put aside in bain marie.

Pecan Crunch Topping

100g of coarsely chopped pecan 
50g of Demerara sugar
10g of Fleur de Sel
In a pan heat the sugar, after melted remove it from the heat and add the chopped pecan and the salt, stir it fast until they are all combined. 

Follow the first picture above as a serving sugestion! 

Baking and Cake Decorating Classes

Since last year I have been exploring a new area in the cake world! 

Everything started when I decided to share how fun and therapeuthic is to bake and decorate a cake! So I decided to teach! For me teaching is sharing the love and happiness of the cake and sweet world. Do you know the feeling when someone brings you a cupcake or a box of chocolate? It puts a smile straight on your face, isn't? For this reason I wanted to share my secrets to allow my students to experience the same. Would their intentions be for sharing  it with their family and friends or to take it more seriously to make it a business!

But I have learned that teaching goes beyond, it also means meeting wonderful people and making friends as they fall in love with baking and share their own experience. 

I have posted below lovely comments from some of my wonderful students have made about the class and how important was the experience for their lives! Priceless!

"That is really nice Layla! I am happy to see that you are giving people the opportunity to learn from you.
I had the opportunity to do the cupcake and the master cake class, it was an amazing experience for me! Layla is an excellent teacher, she is positive and doesn't hide anything, she gave us all the tips and I felt so confident about my experience that I was able to make the cupcakes on my own, from beginning to finish. Also made the cake twice, and used the dough recipe to create a bit. I would love to do it again, learn the biscuits perhaps or the flowers!!!! I need the time only, not easy now with my baby being so little. At first I thought about the price but after the class it was all worth it, would have paid even more, for the experience and for the great time I had. I have made quite a lot of courses in my life, a looot! and Layla is my top teacher ever! She is caring, patient and knows what she is doing. I have to say that Layla is a wonderful human being, kind and has work ethics, which is hard to see nowadays. xx"  Mireya G.S.

"Highly recommend!! I had the opportunity to do the Master Class and not regret. In my opinion it was a unique experience! The course gave me more confidence in making my own cake at home. It was a real challenge for me, but the way that Layla teaches her students is unique, we feel like we're in our own house. Also it was a therapy for me. It was well worth it!!! Thank you Layla!!!" Flavia A.

" Layla, after competing the cake and the cupcake classes I feel confident and ready to make my own. The ones I've done by myself were as pretty as the ones on the day, thanks for the technique. Please book me for the biscuit one in April!"
Luena H.

"A fun and very enjoyable day well spent!
I highly recommend the master cake decoration course; it is money well worth spending.
I was given a very warm welcome and the course host was ready to share her very extend knowledge with the group ensuring everyone was up to speed.
Everything was provided and the session was run at a good pace. As a beginner with no previous cake decorating experience I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with some of the others who had some basic knowledge already but I was fine, it was a very relaxing and informative day and I was not rushed to finish at the end.
The setting is great, as I didn’t feel like I was in a classroom, which makes spending my day off to do it even more pleasurable.
I can't wait to go back for the cupcake decoration session." Eliandra SM.

"I had a fantastic time learning with one of the most talented teacher. I've done the cupcakes and the cake decorating classes that gave me the confidence to make to my son his first birthday cake myself. The course is well planed and Layla she is very organised and patient that makes you confidence grow. Thanks Layla!!!" Shirley S.

" I have always enjoyed eating cakes however what really attracted me was their beauty, their wonderful decoration, artistic shapes and vibrant colours. Then I met that baker extremely talented. I fell in love for her amazing cakes and took the first opportunity to enrol in the course she runs. 
I had a great expectation and was a bit anxious about what I would learn but teacher Layla surprised me with the excellence of the course contents, her outstanding didactic and the harmony that dominated the classroom. What seemed impossible had come true, I barely believed when I left the class holding my cake with a big smile in my face.
The cakes are beautiful…tasty…outstanding…moreover we also could feel how sweet Layla was and all her detailed and careful preparation ranging from preparing the sponge to the cake’s assembly and decoration.
Whenever an opportunity arises I put in practice the skills I have learnt!
Thanks Layla" Solange R.

If you are interest in learning sugar craft and want to experience some of this fun activity visit my Facebook page for more information and classes available. www.facebook.com/LaylaPegadoCakes

Amalfi Sweet Taste

 I have had a wonderful experience that I want to share with you! I have discovered and tasted the sweet flavour of the Amalfi Coast. Like a child that has toys shop in front of them, I had Sal De Riso patisserie that is owned by the most prestigious Italian patisserie chef called Salvatore De Riso. Salvatore is lucky to be from an area in Italy that has a rich variety of top-quality ingredients, which added to his creativity, innovative and visionary ability made this experience unforgettable!

My husband and I have arrived at Sal De Riso around 1am and the shop was full and busy like it was midday! It was so difficult to decide what to try with so many wonderful options to choose from but the two desserts we have tried were samples of heaven!

Lemon Delight, his signature dish, has a dome shape with a ultra light almond sponge that has in the centre an intense lemon cream. All covered in a delicious fresh and light vanilla cream that when in contact of my mouth melted in seconds. The other dessert was the "Melanzane al Cioccolato" that can be broadly translated as Aubergine with Chocolate. I know...it doesn't sound right but the slightly bitterness of fried aubergine against the flavour of the not too sweet chocolate ganache flavoured with liqueur (probably Concerto, a liqueur popular in that region) was divine! What an amazing surprise!

Salvatore  just made me realise how rich and delicious is Southern Italy patisserie and how much I need and want to explore it!

If you want to know more about Salvatore's work he has published two books: Dolci del Sole and Dolci in Famiglia. If you are lucky to be in NY or  St. Petersburg he has some sale points that you can try his delicious desserts otherwise you will need to make a visit to his unforgettable patisserie in Minori, Amalfi Coast. Check his website for more information! www.salderiso.it/en

Royal Wedding Fruit Cake Recipe (Fiona Cairns)

Ingredients for the Fruit Cake:
1 1/2 cups candied cherries
2 cups golden raisins
2 cups dark raisins, preferably Thompson
1 1/4 cups mixed candied citrus peel
2/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup dried currants
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons bitter orange marmalade
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
finely grated zest of 1 organic orange
finely grated zest of 1 organic lemon
1 heaped tablespoon apple pie spice
6 tablespoons brandy, plus 3 tablespoons to feed the cake
1 cup walnuts
1/3 cup blanched almonds
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups almond flour
5 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preparing the Fruit Cake Batter:
The day before, rinse the cherries, then dry them well with paper towels and cut each in half. Place the golden and dark raisins, mixed peel, ginger, currants, cherries, molasses, marmalade, tamarind paste, zests and spice into a large bowl. Pour in 6 tablespoons of brandy, stir well, cover with plastic wrap and let stand overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Wrap the outside of the pan with brown paper and tie with string, to protect the cake from scorching in the oven.

Spread the nuts on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven, shaking once. Cool slightly, chop coarsely and set aside.

Combining the Fruit Cake Ingredients:
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. In an electric mixer on high speed, beat the butter and sugar for at least 5 minutes until it turns pale and fluffy. Add the ground almonds, then very gradually the eggs, mixing well between each addition. Fold in the flour with a large metal spoon and then the soaked fruits (and any liquid) and nuts.

Spread the batter into the pan. Bake on an oven rack in the lower third of the oven for about 2 1/2-3 hours. If a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, it is ready. If it browns too much before it is fully cooked, make a circle of foil a bit larger than the cake, pierce a hole in the center and open it up, then place it over the pan.

Let cool in the pan. Pierce all over with a wooden toothpick and evenly sprinkle over the remaining 3 tablespoons brandy. Remove from the pan and discard the paper. Wrap in fresh parchment paper, then aluminum foil, and let stand for a week or up to three months. Unwrap and sprinkle with with 1 tablespoon more brandy every other week, if you like, for extra succulence and booziness!

Delicious gluten-free lime cake (with a surprise ingredient)

I made for the first time a gluten free recipe and for my amazement this cake is delicious, moist, fluffy and firm enough to be decorated.

    (The best is the surprise ingredient in it!)

Ingredients:

• 200g butter, softened
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 175g ground almonds 
• 250g mashed potatoes (I know, is weird...but it really works!)
• Zest 3 limes
• 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder (in the UK Supercook does one)

How to prepare:

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a deep, 20cm round cake tin. Beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, then gradually add the egg, beating after each addition. Fold in the almonds, cold mashed potato (make sure it doesnt have any potato lump), lime zest and baking powder.
2. Tip into the tin, level the top, then bake for 40-45 mins or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack after 10 mins cooling. 

If you give a try please let me know how did it go!


Source: BBC Good Food

Naughty Cake Pops

I would like to share these cake Pops I made for the first time!

The idea of the cake Pops came from Bakerella (www.bakerella.com) , it is a big hit now in USA but I decided to add some extras, that is why they became naughty! ;)

It is easy and fun to make, and it is a great idea for bakers because you can use all left over from cakes. It does also diversify your product range!

Here are the steps to make the Pops

 In a large bowl crumble the cake

Add either buttercream or chocolate ganache or cream cheese to make the crumble glue together, not much but enough to stick it together and mix throughout!

I heated some raisins with Brazilian spirit "Cachaca" (here is the naughty part) at the microwave for 50 seconds and added to the cake mixture! To make it even naughtier I have added dark chocolate drops.

Hand roll  and let it chill in the fridge for several hours (you can speed this up by putting in the freezer).

Melt dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl by leaving it over boiling water until it is all melted.

After the cake balls are firm and cold remove from fridge put the sticks and  imerse each ball in the melted chocolate.

For decorating  I melted white chocolate and pour over a firm plastic bag and made a tiny hole in it. Quickly I made the zig zag movement in each cake. 

  

For the special touch I made some extra decorations to celebrate my lovely friends!

Hope you liked!

Restart

Today I got an e-mail of a really good friend and blog lover, Lu, asking me if I was going to keep my blog up to date with news from the baking world. She sent me the link of some other amazing blogs that made me feeI so enthusiastic that I decided to write about it!

OK, it is dinner time, the clothes are at the washing machine waiting to be removed but my excitement is really really above all of those boring duties.

When you enter in the blog world you can easily get addicted to it. It is fascinating the simple way it is written, the tips given and how it make easy to meet people all over the world sharing the same interest and passion  as you.

I found a blog of a Brazilian bake lover that lives in Chicago, how wonderful was to read about her discoveries!! http://thesweetfairycake.blogspot.com/

If you are interest in baking here are some of my favourite blogs that Lu sent me!

http://www.cakejournal.com/
http://bakedfromscratch.blogspot.com/
http://www.cakespy.com/


Sweet regards