Blueberry, Lemon and Coconut Cake

Five years have passed by since I started blogging. This blog has certainly kept me busy and distracted from all of life's stresses and hard times. Whenever I need an escape to a more peaceful and calmer world, I run to my little kitchen and start mixing, kneading, shaping and decorating. Time flies when you are doing something you love and you just enjoy every single moment!

To celebrate the blog's fifth year anniversary and all the beautiful moments it helped me to live, I decided to make a simple, easy, yet delicious cake with vibrant, fresh and summery flavors.

I´m not revealing any secret when I say that I´m obsessed with berries, all kind of summer berries, and I just love to eat them fresh or use them in my baked recipes. Blueberries were my choice for this cake and I married their flavor with that of lemons and coconuts. Trust me when I tell you, the result was amazing! Give this cake a try and you won't be sorry!

Now for the sponge you need for five 15 cm in diameter pans:

• 5 eggs (at room temperature)
• 150 g sugar
• 150 g cake flour
• dash of salt
• 60 g melted butter
• Zest of 2 big lemons
• 1 tsp of kirsh (optional)
• 50 g shredded coconut

Combine sugar, eggs, lemon zest, kirsh and salt and start whisking at low speed and then start increasing until you get to the highest one; beat for at least 5 minutes. The mixture should triple in volume, become very pale in color and with a cloud-like texture.

Add the flour and the coconut. Mix gently with a spatula until everything is incorporated. Finally, add the butter and mix slowly.

Pour the batter in the greased and lined pans.
If you don´t have 5 pans of the same size, pour the batter into 2 pans and then once baked slice your cakes. Be careful that the baking time will vary as you change the size of the pans.

Bake the cake in a preheated oven (160 C) for about 18-20 minutes. Leave the cakes to cool for 5 minutes in the pan then unmold and transfer them to a cooling rack.

For the blueberry sauce:

• 250 g fresh or frozen blueberries
• 125 g sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• half vanilla pod

Combine everything and cook the berries for about 15 min, on a very gentle heat. If the sauce is too runny, just scoop out some of the liquid, but reserve to serve with the cake.

For the frosting:

• 150 g soft butter
• 50 g cream cheese or mascarpone
• 100 to 150 powder sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Combine butter, cheese and sugar and beat until  fluffy and pale, add the lemon juice and beat for few seconds.

To assemble:

Place a bit of the frosting on the cake board and then place the first layer. Pipe some of the frosting on the cake and spread with a spatula to cover the whole layer then pipe a small circle round the edge.In the middle of the cake layer add a tbsp or 2 of the blueberry sauce and then top with another layer. Repeat until you have covered all the layers,

Add some frosting on the top and edges, smooth with a scraper then decorate as you wish. I covered the top with fresh plump blueberries and multi-colored pansies and added some petals and flowers on the sides too.

Do make this cake and enjoy its light and summery flavors.

From now and until the sixth year blog anniversary keep on baking!

A Valentine's Chocolate and Blackberry Cake

Flowers, especially roses, gifts, cards, love declarations and of course romantic meals are the norm of Valentine celebrations around the world. Personally I don´t think we need any fixed date to celebrate love, but it´s a longstanding tradition  and it wouldn't hurt if for one day if we did something extra for the ones we love.

I once read that "cooking is love made visible" and I couldn't agree more. For me, cooking is a labor of love first and foremost and when you don't cook with love and passion the end result will always be lackluster. This Valentine day bake  a cake or cook a nice meal for your significant other or for just anyone you think is deserving of your love. If cake is on the menu then I've got just the perfect recipe for you!

I first made this cake was for my birthday celebration, but once decorated it was clear that it is the perfect cake for Valentine. It's layered cake with chocolate and blackberries that not only tastes great but also shines with its simple elegance; you can never go wrong with that. Taste wise it has a delicate balance between the depth of chocolate and the freshness and tang the fruits add.

Let's start baking.

For the sponge you need: 

• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 180 g granulated sugar 
• 150 g melted  butter 
• 180 g sifted flour
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 125 g blackberry purée (recipe follows)
• 50 ml of milk or cream
• 8 g baking powder
• 90 g melted and cooled chocolate
• 1 tsp blackberry liqueur; optional (you can rum or any other fruit liqueur) 
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

For the frosting you need:

• 250 g butter  (room temperature)
• 150 g cream cheese (room temperature)
• 200 g powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp blackberry purée

For the blackberry purée you need:

• 300 g blackberries
• 20 g sugar
• Seeds of a half vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the purée

Combine all ingredients and gently simmer for about 10 to 15 min or until the fruits are soft, pass the purée into a sieve to get rid of the seeds, and you´re done.

For the sponge:

First combine all the dry ingredient, mix well, set aside. Beat the eggs with the vanilla and the liqueur (if using), slowly start adding the sugar. Keep beating until the egg mixture doubles in volume and becomes rather thick.

Add the chocolate and mix at low speed. Turn off the mixer, add the butter and mix slowly till well combined, fold in the flour, then the blackberry purée, the milk or cream and mix again until well combined.

Pour the batter into 4 greased and lined pans (15 cm) and bake for 20-25 min at 180 C preheated oven. If you don´t have 4 pans do as I did since I only have 2. Divide the batter in two equal amounts, bake the first batch while the other half rests in the fridge, then bake the second batch. 

Once out of the oven, let the cakes cool for 5 min in the pan then transfer to a cooling rack until they are completely cooled. 

For the frosting:
Start mixing the butter and cheese, add the sugar and then the purée. Mix until well combined. Leave in the fridge for at least half an hour before you frost your cake!

Assembling:
Brush each layer with some blackberry purée, then add a generous amount of frosting between each layer, lightly frost the outside of the cake and decorate with a real rose using the color that your like! 

Happy Valentine!

Roasted Cranberries Bundt Cake!

The year 2016 is only one day away. Time surely flies by. What an exciting year 2015 was for me! I learned a lot of new recipes, experienced new flavor combinations and new methods of cooking. It is only fitting to say goodbye to this year in baking style!

The last bake of this season had to be beautiful and featuring the season's colors and flavors. It  had to be easy to make too as no one wants to be tied down to the kitchen during these festive times! My answer to all of this was a roasted cranberries cake baked in a beautiful bundt mold.

To make this cake you need to start with its flavor base: the roasted cranberry sauce. The process is really straightforward, you just need to get the ingredients and combine them together. For this you will need:

• 125 fresh cranberries
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 cm of ginger, fresh and grated
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 strips of orange zest

Combine all the ingredients in a pan, and slowly roast them in the oven at 150C for about 20 min. They will be done when your whole house smells like Christmas!
Let the cranberries mix cool down as you prepare the cake mix. 

 For a pine forest mold with 10 cups capacity you will need, :

• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 150 g soft butter
• 220 g white sugar
• the cooled roasted cranberries with their juice
• 220 g cake flour
• 10 g baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 150 ml whole milk or cream
• 1 tsp cointreau (optional)

First combine the flour, the salt and the baking powder and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until creamy. Start adding the eggs one by one, making sure the egg combines well with the dough before adding the next one. 
Now add 1/3 of the flour mix, beat until combined then half of the milk and mix again, repeat with another 1/3 of the flour, then the rest of milk and finally the rest of the flour. Finally, gently fold in the cranberries and their juices.

Pour the batter in the greased and floured pan and bake for about 45 to 50 min in a preheated oven (175C).

Leave the cake to cool in the pan for around 5 min and then flip it over a cooling rack.

Dust with some powdered sugar and enjoy the deep flavors of this wintery cake!

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, yet again, and a very happy new year. May it bring you nothing but joy and loads of sweetness!