Week One Hundred & Sixteen – Mary Berry’s English Cherry Cake & Mississippi Mud Pie

Posted on Mar 29, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 116 and strangely enough I find myself blogging about this bake on the same day that I actually tackled it! Wonders will never cease! I delved into Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible and found these two recipes- her English cherry cake and Mississippi Mud pie.

I began with the Mississippi mud pie. It began with crushing digestive biscuits, combining with melted butter to create the base. I always find Mary is a bit stingy in this part so I doubled the amount of biscuits and butter and I felt it was just about enough. I pressed it into the tin and got on with the next step of the recipe.

Mary asks you to put the chocolate, butter and water into a pan and melt gently. In another bowl, whisk six eggs (!) with the single cream and dark sugar and add the chocolate mix when melted and cooled slightly. Whisk all together, pour onto the base and cook. One word of warning, if you fancy tackling this bake, if you are using a loose bottomed tin, then stand it on a baking tray as it may leak slightly. Once baked, Mary tells you to leave it in the tin until cool. It will recede from the edges and sink/settle slightly. Once cool, add some whipped cream to the top and serve.

The second recipe was Mary Berry’s English cherry cake. One of the first things Mary tells you is to quarter the cherries, wash and dry thoroughly. I did all of this and covered the cherries in a fine layer of flour.

Put all the other ingredients in a bowl andmix thoroughly, then fold in the cherries so hopefully they don’t all go to the bottom. Put the mix into a lined cake tin, I chose a square one rather than Mary’s recommendation of a circular one. Bake for the recommended time.

The cake came out well but I was disappointed to see that my cherries occupied the lower half of the cake rather than being distributed evenly- must try harder!

The Easter weekend is coming up but I am going to be a little busy so the bake and the blog may be a little later than the usual weekend.

The countdown has now reached the heady heights of…

Week One Hundred & Fifteen – Mary Berry’s Battenburg Cake & Glazed Fruit Tartlets

Posted on Mar 29, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 115 and as is becoming usual, i am blogging about this bake a week behind, but I will also be blogging about this week’s bake after this so I will be all caught up if you get my meaning ..or ahead of myself even! I delved into Mary Berry‘s ever shrinking baking bible to find some recipes and found her Battenburg cake and the glazed fruit tartlets.

I began with the battenburg cake, I think I had put off doing this recipe for so long because it’s one of the few cakes that I really don’t like but luckily my hubby and the chief tasters do. Mary asks you to do one of her all in once recipes for the cake mix- with a bit of a twist. Once the cake mix is done, put half of the cake mix into one half of the tin, then add red food dye to the rest of the mix, blend in and put the pink mix on the other side of the cake tin. I thought this would be really tricky but actually it wasn’t too bad but I was worried about how it would look when I cut into it.

Mary gives you two options for the marzipan, either make your own or buy a ready made pack and I must confess that that’s exactly what i did, ready made is fine with me- I really don’t like marzipan anyway! Once the sponge was cooked and cool, Mary asks you to cut the cake into sections and put together in a checker board style, held together with warmed apricot jam. Then cover the cake with the jam and wrap in marzipan. Finally score the marzipan and hey presto- one battenburg cake. I was pleased with the way it looked but can’t tell you what it tasted like!

The second recipe was for Mary’s glazed fruit tartlets. Mary asks you to make the pastry, put it in the fridge for half an hour then line four tartlet tins and blind bake until golden brown.

When the tartlet cases are cool, put some whipped cream in the bottom, fill with fruit- I chose strawberries and tried to make them look pretty. Finally glaze with warmed jam – now these were quite yummy!

The countdown seems to be gathering pace now and we have not got to…

Week One Hundred & Fourteen – Mary Berry’s Tarte Tatin & Sticky Gingerbread

Posted on Mar 15, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 114 and I am actually blogging about this bake the day I baked it ( I won’t mention that I have only just completed the blog for last week’s bake!)

I dipped into Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible and found a lovely pudding – her Tarte Tatin and the sticky gingerbread recipe. My kitchen was going to have some lovely aromas today! I began with the Sticky Gingerbread recipe.

Mary asks you to put the syrups, sugar and butter in a pan and melt while weighing the other ingredients into a large bowl and mixing. Then mix all the ingredients together and pour into a traybake tin that has been lined with grease proof paper . I used my trusty Lakeland traybake foil tin and lined it with paper and popped it in the oven for about 50 minutes. The smell made our mouths water and we were delighted when the timer pinged. The difficulty was keeping everyone away from it until it was cool, cut up into squares and photographed for the blog!

The second recipe was Mary Berry’s Tarte Tatin. Mary asks you to put the butter and sugar in a pan and melt gently, our this into the bottom of a sandwich tin or springform tin and then line with the sliced cooking apples. Top with the pastry from her recipe and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp. This is where I had a slight issue with Mary’s guide to times. I checked my tart tatin after 20 minutes, the pastry was still quite raw and the oven was up to temperature because I had already baked the gingerbread. I set the timer for another 10 minutes, then another, and another. Finally the pastry was golden and crisp rather than pale and soft. Mary then asks you to pour the juices from the tin into a small pan and heat until caramelized. Turn the tart onto a plate and pour the caramelized liquid over the tart and serve warm.

This was a lovely recipe to make and smelt gorgeous but looked messy. I looked at other tart tatin’s on Google images and was relieved to see that most looked like mine so I heaved a sigh of relief.

Today is also Mother’s Day and I would like to wish my mum and my other mum a lovely day with all my love now and always.

Week One Hundred & Thirteen – Mary Berry’s Buttermilk & Honey Cheesecake

Posted on Mar 15, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 113 and I decided to choose just one recipe this week as I was very conscious that I had an uneven number of bakes left so I decided to even it up by doing just one bake this week, at least that was the theory! I delved into Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible and chose one of the few cheesecakes left. I hadn’t been overly keen on the last baked cheesecake I made but hoped that this one would be more to our taste.

Mary asks you to buy a flan base from the supermarket for the base and use this to line the base of a springform tin. This certainly cut down on the preparation and I am all for making life easier when baking! I then followed Mary’s instructions for the topping and poured it onto the flan case bottom and put it into bake. I had never used buttermilk before but as Mary advises in her book, you should be able to find this with the creams in the supermarket, and she was right. I set the timer and did the usual weekend stuff…housework, dog walking, baking, the usual multi tasking and juggling!

When the timer pinged, I brought out the cheesecake and allowed it to cool thoroughly before removing it from the springform tin. It looked more like a cheesecake than the last one I had attempted and it definitely tasted better but we still found it quite dense and filling so another recipe to add to the not to be repeated list!

People have been asking me what I will do when I have completed this challenge. I have given this a lot of thought and I have to say that it will be nice to bake something because I want to or it’s what I fancy rather than having to complete the challenge I set for myself. I probably won’t bake every week , I will use the time to improve my photography , or set some more time aside for my artwork which I very much enjoy but never seem to have the time to do anything of worth.

So, having completed just one recipe this week, the number of recipes left to go is …

Week One Hundred & Twelve – Mary Berry’s Sticky Ginger & Orange Cake & Treacle Sponges

Posted on Mar 4, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 112 and I delved into Mary Berry’s Baking Bible and found two recipes I fancied tackling last weekend. I like a pudding after dinner but try not to indulge too much! I began with Mary Berry’s sticky ginger and orange cake. I wanted a cake I could put under my cake dome and tuck into with a cup of tea when I get home from work!

Mary tells you to put the black syrup, the golden syrup and some water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile measure out all the other ingredients into a bowl and mix. Then add the syrup mix, continue to stir and then pour into the prepared, lined cake tin and bake for about 50 minutes. The resulting cake looked and smelt amazing. Mary advises that you wrap the cooled cake in foil and store for a day or two before icing ( if you want to ice it) . I did that then used the juice from a blood orange with some icing sugar and iced the cake.

The second recipe was the treacle sponges. Mary asks you to mix about 8 table spoons of golden syrup with a tablespoon of lemon juice and then divide between the pudding cases. I brought some disposable foil pudding cases for this as I had no pudding bowls.

Mary then asks you to mix the rest of the ingredients together- I just love these kind of recipes- thanks you Mary! Then divide this mix between the cases and smooth the tops. Mary then asks you to cover the top with grease proof paper and foil cover and then steam. I considered using a large pan but then realised I had a steamer in the cupboard that I hadn’t used for ages so I dug it out and put three puddings in the 1st level, and 3 in the second. I filled it up, set the timer and left it to cook. The resulting puddings came out really well and I would definitely do them again..

The chief taster has been feeling a bit left out lately with the bakes and sent me a text message with a picture of his lonely empty cake dome…..so he now has half a sticky ginger and orange cake in it!

I am still watching the Comic Relief Great British Bake Off, you can see episode 3 here. David Mitchell is hilarious , Michael Sheen seems really down to earth and funny and this is really worth watching. If you haven’t donated or organised some kind of fun bake sale already, please consider it- it’s a great cause.

The countdown continues and there are now 49 recipes left to go…gulp! The end is now very much in sight!

Week One Hundred & Eleven- Mary Berry’s Wholemeal Sultana & Apricot Rock Cakes & Singing Hinnie

Posted on Feb 24, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 111 and another late blog, think this is the theme for 2015! I delved into Mary Berry’s Baking Bible and wanted to find some bakes that were fairly plain and simple and the wholemeal sultana & apricot rock cakes and singing hinnie certainly fitted this brief.

I began with the wholemeal sultana & apricot rock cakes and this was a simple Mary recipe that was a throw every ingredient in together and mix. Then use 2 teaspoons to put rock sized pieces on baking trays, sprinkle with a little sugar and bake.

Mary suggests as they have wholemeal flour in , that they are eaten fairly quickly as they will dry out but I kept them under my baking dome and they lasted for several days without drying out.

The second recipe was Mary’s singing hinnie, a northern recipe. It is like a giant drop scone and Mary tells you that it makes a singing noise while it cooks. If it did- I couldn’t hear it!

I had read the Rising to the Berry blog and remember it said that this was not one of Anneliese’s favourite recipes. I must admit that it seemed to go well for me- maybe because I divided my mix into two pieces and rolled each one out into a round so it was the thickness Mary suggests and it fitted in my big frying pan as I don’t have a griddle. Mary suggests it is best eaten warm, split and buttered and put back together- she wasn’t wrong, it was delicious and certainly a recipe that I would consider doing again.

The Comic Relief Great British Bake Off continues and I watched last week’s with glee. I have missed the GBBO and this certainly has been entertaining. Episode two was very entertaining. If you missed it, you can see it here. Please consider buying the recipe book to help you raise some money for your Comic Relief Bake Off.

Week One Hundred & Ten – Mary Berry’s Austrian Curd Cheesecake

Posted on Feb 14, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 110 and I delved into Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible to look for just one recipe this week as there were still left overs from last week’s bake and I hate any kind of waste where food is concerned. This challenge is to stretch and enhance my baking skills , not to bake so much that food is wasted. I found this unusual Austrian Curd Cheesecake and chose this. Mary asks you to grease and line a springform tin and then mix all the ingredients together and pour into the tin. This cheesecake has no kind of biscuit base and has a lot of soft cheese in it and dried fruit and eggs. I did wonder how it would turn out as it didn’t sound like any kind of cheesecake that I had eaten before. I mixed the recipe and poured it into the tin and put it in the oven to cook.

Mary suggests baking the cheesecake for half an hour , then cover the top of it with foil and bake for another half an hour then turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven. Once cool, remove from the oven , take the springform side off and sprinkle with icing sugar. Mary says it is a moist cheesecake that will need no cream with it.

I must admit, I love cheesecakes and so does hubby and the chief taster but this was the most unusual cheesecake I have ever made. Hubby and I didn’t like the texture of it and found it quite bland. Unlike most of the recipes in the baking bible, this is not one that I will be repeating.

This week saw the first of the Comic Relief Bake Off celebrity episodes and it was so so funny. The celebrities all did a sterling job but the one that made me laugh the most was Dame Edna’s approach to baking- if you haven’t seen it, you can find the episode here. A must watch if you want a laugh.

Also seeing Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry with their red noses on is enjoyable on it’s own.

On a more serious note, Comic Relief raise money for very deserving causes and I will be donating as usual. Please consider donating or even doing yours own bake to raise money.

Finally as I am late with this blog again, it has fallen on Valentine’s Day and I would like to wish my hubby a happy valentine’s day, we will be cooking our own Valentine’s meal at home with fresh bruschetta, Italian prawn pasta – Jamie Oliver style and a lovely bottle of rioja to share….I asked my hubby if he could choose a “romantic” movie to watch, what would he choose- to my surpise, he said there were two- Sleepless in Seattle and The Truth About Cats & Dogs. The Truth About Cats And Dogs is my most favourite romantic move so I was really pleased he likes it too!

Week One Hundred & Nine – Mary Berry’s Courgette Loaf & Creme Brulee

Posted on Feb 5, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 109 and I am back in the baking saddle but not so much with the sitting and putting the fingers to the keyboard- oh well. i delved into Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible and it was quite apparent this week that there are not so many recipes left now to do and I am going to have to make a lot of celebration type cakes this year so watch out for- Happy Sunday cakes or Happy Weekly Shop Cakes or just Happy it’s one of the only recipes left cakes!

Anyhow, I found this unusual recipe not yet done- Mary Berry’s courgette loaves. The recipe makes 2 loaves- quite handy for the chief taster! This recipe involved grating loads of courgette- my machine featured last week came in very handy for this. This is one of Mary’s throw all the ingredients in and mix, then divide between 2 lined loaf tins and bake. The mixture looked ” different” and a bit yuk to be honest

The finished loaf looked fab and it didn’t look like a veggie loaf!

Mary suggests you put one in the fridge and one in the freezer- we put one in the fridge and one in the chief taster!

The second recipe was Mary’s creme brulee. This involved numerous egg yolks , and almost bucket loads of single and double cream- oh and sugar and vanilla extract- so really healthy for you! Mary asks you to whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla, then heat the cream until it is just too hot to stick your finger in- I took her word for this, I didn’t fancy a burnt finger! Then allow the cream to cool slightly and whisk all the ingredients together. Mary then asks you to either pour this into a large bowl or some ramekin dishes and then stand in a roasting tin, fill up halfway with hot water and cook in the oven until set. Once cooked, put in the fridge over night.

The next day, pour some demerara sugar on the top of each one and either place them under the grill or use a cook blowtorch on the top. I just so happened to get a blowtorch for Christmas, thanks to my other mum who probably got fed up with me borrowing hers. It was great fun!

Once the sugar had been caramelised on the top of the brulees, Mary asks you to put them back in the fridge again overnight and then enjoy. I made 8 in ramekin dishes and we gave 4 to the chief tester- and he and my other mum tucked into 2 each back to back- and so did we!

Naughty but nice!

Week One Hundred & Six – Mary Berry’s Sticky Apricot Pudding

Posted on Jan 16, 2015 by kimsideas

Week 106 and already I am behind with my blog, so much for New Year good intentions! As I have mentioned before, we still had a lot of goodies left over from Christmas and so when I dipped into Mary Berry‘s Baking Bible I went hunting for a pudding that could be eaten quickly and the sticky apricot pudding seemed to fit the bill. I had actually planned to make this before Christmas but I didn’t get around to it.

This recipe was a lovely one to begin the new year. It basically involved a cake mix which was a Mary special- throw all the ingredients together and mix, pour into a pudding tin and lay the apricots on top and then pour over the melted butter and then sprinkle demerara sugar over the top. Bake in the oven for about half an hour until , in Mary’s words it becomes caramelized and brown. Mary suggests you eat it while its still warm with either cream or custard. We had a slice on its own and it was delicious.

Our hairy hoolie who gave us such stress with his unexpected torsion and emergency operation just before Christmas is well on the road to a full recovery. This was a massive relief to us, this photo below was when we had just collected him on Christmas Eve and he was still really sleepy from the anesthetic and the painkilling drugs but having him alive and back with us. was the best Christmas present we could have had!

A few people have been asking for clearer pictures of the stable I made for my nativity characters, if you re-visit that blog entry, I have added some more photos for you that show more of the detail.

Week One Hundred & Five – Mary Berry’s Pineapple & Cherry Cake

Posted on Dec 22, 2014 by kimsideas

Week 105 and this blog is a little late- nothing new as this time of year brings other pressures! I delved with pleasure into Mary Berry’s Baking Bible and came up with this lovely tea loaf type bake. The recipe was one of Mary’s throw all the ingredients together and mix. The only tricky bit was washing the syrup off the cherries, cutting them into quarters and drying them. The pineapple came out of a tin. I mixed it all together, lined a loaf tin with a liner from the 99p shop and put it in the oven and set the timer.

When the timer pinged, I checked the loaf and the skewer test came out clean. I left it to cool in the tin. I took my photo then cut it in half and sent half to the chief testers. Mary does tell you to keep it in the fridge as it will go moldy in a tin in a warm kitchen.

I can now reveal my finished Christmas cakes as those who are getting them should have received them by now so here are some photos of the mini victorian christmas cakes in the boxes I found in the £ shop and the tiny christmas cakes I made in the silicone moulds and then sandwiched together with marzipan and iced. I didn’t get these boxes from the £ shop but on ebay. I had such fun printing our labels too but my kitchen up until this weekend looked like an Elf factory!

Well hubby and I will do a seasonal blog shortly but from kimsideas, I would like to wish you all season’s greetings for this time of year.

I hope for all those of you who celebrate that you don’t end up spending pretty much all of one day wrapping as I did this year- I can’t help it- I love wrapping the presents and making them look pretty but is it exhausting!

Lewis & Kim

Lewis & Kim Brown's blog of Baking, Photography, Dogs, Canada and whatever takes our fancy…

Tag Archives: kims cake challenge

Week One Hundred & Sixteen – Mary Berry’s English Cherry Cake & Mississippi Mud Pie

Week One Hundred & Fifteen – Mary Berry’s Battenburg Cake & Glazed Fruit Tartlets

Week One Hundred & Fourteen – Mary Berry’s Tarte Tatin & Sticky Gingerbread

Week One Hundred & Thirteen – Mary Berry’s Buttermilk & Honey Cheesecake

Week One Hundred & Twelve – Mary Berry’s Sticky Ginger & Orange Cake & Treacle Sponges

Week One Hundred & Eleven- Mary Berry’s Wholemeal Sultana & Apricot Rock Cakes & Singing Hinnie

Week One Hundred & Ten – Mary Berry’s Austrian Curd Cheesecake

Week One Hundred & Nine – Mary Berry’s Courgette Loaf & Creme Brulee

Week One Hundred & Six – Mary Berry’s Sticky Apricot Pudding

Week One Hundred & Five – Mary Berry’s Pineapple & Cherry Cake

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this:

Rate This

Share this: