Let’s be honest, intricate bundt cakes look so amazing. But there’s always that risk that because the design is so intricate your cake will get stuck. If you are a bundt cake pro, please keep doing what you’re doing, because why fix what’s not broken? Now if you’ve had bundt cake stuck in the pan several times and you’re ready to give up, please give this recipe a try before totally throwing your beautiful pan out.

Here are a few key things to remember:

  1. Softened butter is my preference when it comes to greasing bundt pans. Softened means you can make a dent in the butter even with just a slight pressure. Use a small pastry brush and get the butter into each nook and cranny. Take your time.
  2. When you’re satisfied that every millimetre is buttered up, sprinkle flour on top of the butter and lightly tap to distribute the flour. Cover all of the buttered surface then turn your pan over and tap lightly to remove the excess flour. Your pan should look like the one below:

3. Now like any cake, you know the cake will come out if the cake is pulling away from the pan.

Note the photos below:

Now here’s the golden ticket! This tip is a bundt cake game-changer! Once you remove the pan from the oven, cover the pan with a bigger plate and let sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, invert the pan and your cake should slide right out.

If you don’t have a bundt pan, this recipe works in a large loaf pan too! Some key notes if you’re using a loaf pan:

  1. It’s the same baking time and temperature.
  2. You don’t have to use butter and flour to grease the pan, I simply use spray oil and line the tin with baking paper.
  3. You don’t need to cover the pan with a plate after removing from the oven, just cool it down completely in the pan.

Finally, I adapted this recipe from Spruce Eats’ Sour Cream Lemon Cake. What does “adapt” mean? I added some of my own touches like:

  1. I use metric measurements when baking because I weigh everything, but I’ve tested the US measurements in this recipe too.
  2. I prefer using creme fraiche instead of sour cream (and yogurt) because after testing all three, I found the cake using creme fraiche had the nicest crumb, flavour and moisture even without the syrup and glaze.
  3. I added another lemon for zesting to amp up the flavour in the cake itself
  4. I added a lemon-vanilla syrup mostly to use up the other lemon and in case you overbaked your cake, this will save it.
  5. Lastly, I used the juice from the other lemon in the glaze.

Surprisingly, the lemon flavour in the cake is not overwhelming, it’s just absolutely delicious and fresh. Now you know everything there is to know about this lemon drizzle cake. Time to take your whisks out and preheat your ovens and try this recipe! Please comment below if ou have any questions, and tag @mrs.fancypants.recipes on your Social Media posts. Happy baking!

 
Difficulty: Medium

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Makes 1 x 10-cup bundt cake or 1 large loaf cake

Adapted from Spruce Eats

Ingredients

    For the lemon cake
  • For syrup
  • For glaze

Instructions

0/15 Instructions
  • Measure all your ingredients then preheat oven to 175C. If using softened butter, grease your bundt pan now. Do this by brushing the bundt pan with the softened butter using a small pastry brush, being careful to get the butter into each nook and cranny. Sprinkle flour over the butter and tap around lightly to distribute. Turn pan over and tap lightly to remove excess flour. If you're using melted butter, DO NOT GREASE YOUR PAN YET.
  • Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-high, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition.
  • Turn mixer down to low then add lemon zest.
  • Add half of the flour mixture gradually using a spoon, mix well.
  • Add the creme fraiche (or yogurt or sour cream) then mix until incorporated.
  • Fold in the rest of the flour mix. Set aside.
  • If you're using melted butter, make sure its not hot. Brush the bundt pan with the butter using a small pastry brush, being careful to get the butter into each nook and cranny. Sprinkle flour over the butter and tap around lightly to distribute. Turn pan over and tap lightly to remove excess flour.
  • Pour cake batter into the pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. Meanwhile make the syrup.
  • Combine all the ingredients for the syrup in a small pan. Bring to the boil until sugar is dissolved and you get a slightly thick consistency. Cool down.
  • When cake is ready, remove from oven and cover with a large plate for 10 minutes. Use kitchen mitts to invert pan and remove cake. Your cake should slide out perfectly.
  • Make several small holes on your cake using a toothpick then brush the cake with the syrup. Leave to cool completely.
  • When cake is completely cool, make the glaze by placing the icing sugar in a medium bowl and whisking the lemon juice in. Start with half and keep adding until you get the consistency you want just be careful that you don't make the glaze too thin, test it by checking how quick it drips from your spoon. You want a slow drip to get that nice drizzle effect.
  • Leave the glaze to set for 10-15 minutes then your cake is ready to serve.

Notes

You can make this in a large loaf pan if you don't have a bundt pan. Here are some notes if you're doing this:

  1. It's the same baking time and temperature.
  2. You don't have to use butter and flour to grease the pan, I simply use spray oil and line the tin with baking paper.
  3. You don't need to cover the pan with a plate after removing from the oven, just cool it down completely in the pan.

If you’re looking for an alternative flourless cake, try my hazelnut chocolate cake! I made this for a girlfriend’s birthday, I wanted something more “adult” if that makes sense. Less sweet, and easy to put together but still delicious, moist and pretty. Perfect with a cup of tea or an espresso martini!

When I make this cake, I like to use whole hazelnuts and roast them then grind them in a food processor. You can use store-bought hazelnut meal for your cake, if you can find it in your local grocery store. I use real hazelnut paste with no sugar added, these are sold in specialty baking stores, but I’ve also used Nutella and it worked too. If you don’t want to use alcohol, you can substitute 50 mL of strong coffee or espresso.

You can make this cake as simple or as special as you want, I recommend finishing it with the crunchy pearls or chopped hazelnuts for texture but a few ideas if you don’t want to bother with making a ganache:

  • You can serve the cake by itself with just a dusting of cocoa powder.
  • You can top with Chantilly cream then dust with cocoa powder.
  • You can whip some cream and icing sugar together then fold in some cocoa powder to make a chocolate cream.

If you bake this cake, make sure you let me know what you think in the comments section below or tag @mrs.fancypants.recipes on your social media post! Happy baking everyone!

 
Difficulty: Easy

Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

Makes 1 x 20cm cake

Ingredients

    Cake
  • Dark Chocolate Ganache

Instructions

0/8 Instructions
    Make the ganache:
  • Chop chocolate and dice butter. Place in a medium bowl.
  • Bring the cream to the boil and pour on top of the dark chocolate and butter. Let stand for 2 minutes then stir vigorously until smooth and glossy. Set aside until fully set.
  • Optional step: If you want your ganache to be lighter. Whip the set ganache with a hand mixer or in your stand mixer until light and fluffy.
  • Make the cake:
  • Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 20cm cake tin.
  • In a large mixing bowl, mix brown butter, sugar, salt, frangelico and hazelnut paste.
  • Add eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Pour into lined cake tin and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  • Remove cake from oven and let cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Remove cake from tin and cool down completely. This will take about 1 more hour.
  • Using an offset spatula, dollop and spread the ganache on top of the cake. If you're feeling fancy, you can choose to use a piping tip. Sprinkle with crunchy pearls or chopped hazelnuts.

Notes

  1. Hazelnut paste is sold in specialty shops, but I have tested this with Nutella, and it works as well, its just has a stronger chocolate flavour.
  2. Callebaut also has crunchy pearls, and both Valrhona and Callebaut are sold in specialty shops, however, chopped hazelnuts can also be used as a replacement.
  3. If you don't feel like making chocolate ganache, don't fret, top the cake with some chocolate cream by whipping 1 cup cream and 2tbsp icing sugar until medium then folding in some sifted cocoa powder.

In my Strawberry Cheesecake Post I discussed what a ganache is, and mentioned that it has plenty of uses. My recipe today also uses a ganache but with a different ratio and I use this to glaze my Ube Butter Cake. Last time, I incorporated the ganache in the cheesecake to help it set and have form instead of using gelatine, this time I used it as a decorative topping to make my cake look lovely and also to enhance the ube flavour.

Now, the cake recipe today is baked in a 10-cup bundt pan. What is a bundt pan you say? Bundt pans are cake pans that look like donuts because they have a tube in the middle. They also have different designs that make your cake look spectacular (when you get the cake out correctly). You’ll see the bundt pan I have in my video below, but if you don’t own one and still want to make this cake, don’t fret! You can use a large loaf pan instead.

https://youtu.be/rXdGhEJcNTs

This cake is a variation of my vanilla butter bundt. I wanted to make an ube flavour to commemorate Filipino Food Month. Filipino flavours and Filipino food don’t tend to be as popular as other cuisine, and Filipino Food Month is the Government’s initiative to give it a push globally since Filipinos are all over the world. Now this cake is not traditionally from the Philippines, however, ube is a well-known native flavour of the Philippines. Ube is a root crop also known as purple yam. It’s colour gives desserts a vibrant pop but this doesn’t translate to a strong flavour, instead its flavour is very mild–a little nutty with a hint of vanilla. It is widely used in local desserts, and one day I will post an actual traditional Filipino ube dessert when I get my hands on fresh ube again. But for now, here is the recipe for this delicious and easy to make butter cake. Happy baking!

 
Difficulty: Easy

Ube Butter Cake

makes 1 x 10-cup bundt pan

   

Ingredients

    For the cake
  • For the glaze

Instructions

0/8 Instructions
    Make the glaze:
  • Place the white chocolate in a medium bowl.
  • Bring the cream to the boil then pour on top of chocolate. Cover and let sit for a minute. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until glossy.
  • Add ube. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
  • Make the cake
  • Preheat oven to 170C. Mix yogurt, eggs and vanilla tin a medium bowl.
  • In your stand mixer bowl using a paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, b. soda and b. powder. Slowly add the liquid ingredients. Mix until smooth.
  • Add butter cubes one by one. The batter should look creamy. Grease your 10-cup bundt. Make sure you grease all the folds and edges for quick release.
  • Pour batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool for 10 minutes inverted on a wire rack.
  • The cake should separate from the bundt tin successfully. Pour the glaze all over and serve.

Notes

  1. If you do not have a bundt pan, this should also work with a large loaf pan.
  2. Grease your bundt pan well to make sure the cake come out easily. If it doesn't, try using a butter knife to loosen the edges of the cake as well as the middle tube.
  3. Keeps well at room temperature for 2 days, or in the fridge for 5 days. Always serve at room temperature.

 

https://youtu.be/N_zmg0HuKoE

You have not met a cheesecake as pretty as this! Lighter than your average cheesecake, this is set with chocolate ganache. There are many ways to make a no-bake cheesecake, but I have 2 trusted ways to make my version.

Version 1:

A few years ago Valrhona introduced a new line of products called Valrhona Inspiration. These are different chocolates flavoured with various fruits and nut, and I use this for my no-bake cheesecakes these days. I call this the Valrhona Inspiration Cheesecake.

Version 2:

This is the version I am sharing today. This is the original method of how I made my cheesecake before Valrhona Inspiration came along. This one uses white chocolate ganache, and you can use any kind of baking white chocolate. The flavour and colour come from pureed (blended) strawberries, and the good thing is, both frozen and fresh strawberries will work in this recipe, so use whichever one you prefer.

What is a ganache?

Ganache is a term used for a mixture of chocolate and cream. There are different ratios for ganache depending on it’s purpose, a higher ratio of chocolate to cream makes a firmer ganache that can be used for truffles and tart fillings while the opposite results to a runnier ganache that is great for dips, sauces and glaze.

What is the purpose of ganache in this recipe?

There are plenty of ways to make a no-bake cheesecake, and the main difference lies on what sets the cheesecake. Baked cheesecake have eggs in them that act as a binder, however, there are no eggs in this recipe. Some recipes use gelatine to set the cheesecake but I find that tricky, because there are different gelatine strengths. Other recipes use whipped cream but whipped cream gradually loses it’s stiffness resulting to your cheesecake softening. However, I found that using white chocolate ganache not only adds a nice flavour to the cream cheese, it also sets it beautifully and gives it a smooth texture and the cheesecake holds together better.

Now that you know how the recipe works, it’s time to get the bowls and whisks ready and try my recipe! I wrote it as easy to follow as possible, but if you still have questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section below. This takes longer to set than a cheesecake made with gelatine but the taste develops and it is actually better the next day. One last thing, if you want a brighter pink hue, a drop or 2 of food gel colour is all it takes.

Happy baking!

 
Difficulty: Easy

No-bake Strawberry Cheesecake

Makes 1 x 20cm springform pan

Ingredients

    For the crust
  • For the strawberry puree:
  • For the filling
  • Optional for serving

Instructions

0/8 Instructions
    Make the crust
  • Using a food processor, blend the cookies into fine crumbs. Slowly add the brown butter. Mix until it resembles wet sand.
  • Take a 20cm (8in) round springform pan and press crumbs into the bottom and all the way up the sides with the back of a measuring cup. Chill until filling is done.
  • Prepare the chocolate
  • Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small sauce pan bring the cream to the boil and pour on top of chocolate. Let sit for a minute. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or mariz (rubber spatula) until smooth. Set aside to cool down.
  • Prepare the strawberry puree
  • If using frozen strawberries, thaw the strawberries completely. Cut into smaller pieces and remove any stems. Place strawberries and lemon juice in the blender jug and blend into a smooth puree. Set aside.
  • Make the filling
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer, whisk cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy then add strawberry puree then whisk for 1 minute. Turn up mixer to high speed then add sugar a spoonful at a time and mix until smooth.
  • Turn mixer down add the melted chocolate and cream mixture (ganache). Then whisk on high until smooth. Pour filling into prepared pan, then with a hot offset spatula or spoon, flatten the top. Chill to set for at least 8 hours or overnight.
  • To serve
  • Whip cream and vanilla until medium peaks. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The cheesecake is ready when it is hard to the touch and fully set.
  • Unmold the cheesecake from the springform pan carefully. Run a knife under hot water and slice cheesecake into 12 portions. Wipe knife after each stroke. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh strawberries (if using).

Notes

  1. Measurement is based on yield after the unsalted butter has been cooked. Please watch this video on how to make brown butter or beurre noisette.

 

Chocolate tart is probably one of my favorite desserts to serve. It never gets old, it’s a crowd pleaser and goes well with anything from fresh berries, berry puree, vanilla ice cream, salted caramel, and the list goes on. Be forewarned though, this dessert was made for the chocolate lovers, and this is not extremely popular with kids. I recommend using Valrhona Guanaja 70% or an equivalent high quality dark chocolate, this is not the dessert to skimp on your chocolate, use your cheaper chocolate for chocolate chip cookies or brownies, but for this, I can’t emphasise it enough, USE HIGH QUALITY CHOCOLATE. Why? Because there’s no sugar in the filling, so the chocolate flavour is intense and if it’s not the great kind, it will just be bitter and not pleasant at all.

My recipe was adapted from the late Joel Robuchon’s Tarte au Chocolat recipe. I added a few of my own tweaks and I think mine has richer flavours compared to the original. I wrote this recipe as simple to follow as possible, and I give you the option to make everything from scratch or to get store-bought pastry for the shell. I also have some optional ingredients like brown butter and raspberry puree, depending on how special you want the tart to be. The addition of these two things makes this tart next level, I promise. So if you can, I suggest you go all out. Otherwise, without the optional ingredients, the tart is still amazing with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or even by itself.

I cool my tart down in the oven with the door left ajar. I leave it in there for an hour to two hours and by then the chocolate sets. Note thought, I live in Sydney, Australia and I don’t know if this would work the same in warm places, if the tart still looks super soft after 2 hours, refrigerate it until it sets. This process of cooling down the tart slowly, prevents cracking. I recommend serving the tart on the same day, but you can make it ahead a day before and keep it at room temperature, again, if you live in warmer climate, best to refrigerate. If you need a visual guide, you can watch the video below on how to make this chocolate tart. Don’t forget to like and follow!

 
Difficulty: Easy

Baked Chocolate Tart

1 x 25-28 cm tart

   

Ingredients

    For the tart:
  • To serve:
  • Optional raspberry puree:

Instructions

0/14 Instructions
    Make the tart:
  • Follow the recipe for the shortcrust pastry (see notes for my recipe or the packet instructions if you bought your pastry). The tart shell should already be blind baked and should just be cooling down.
  • Preheat oven to 120C.
  • Start making the filling. Chop chocolate and brown butter (if using) into small pieces and place in a medium bowl.
  • In a small sauce pan, bring the cream, milk and vanilla to the boil then pour on top of chocolate.
  • Let sit for a minute then start stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon or mariz (rubber spatula) until smooth.
  • Add eggs one at a time whisking until combined.
  • Pour the mixture into the tart shell and bake for 45 minutes. The centre of the tart will still be wobbly.
  • Turn the oven off and leave the door slightly ajar. Let the tart cool down in the oven for 1-2 hours until it's set. At this stage it shouldn't wobble at all.
  • Optional raspberry puree:
  • Bloom gelatin by sprinkling it on top of the water. Set aside.
  • Bring all other ingredients the boil. Blend until smooth, being careful with the hot liquid.
  • Add the gelatin, mix and strain. Refrigerate until set.
  • Blend to a smooth puree and serve alongside tart.
  • To serve:
  • Slice tart with a hot sharp knife with a thin blade. This will ensure you have sharp edges. Wipe knife after each stroke for a clean cut.
  • Serve chocolate tart slice by itself or with vanilla ice cream and raspberry puree or fresh raspberries (if using any).

Notes

  1. You can either use store-bought shortcrust pastry or use my simple sweet shortcrust pastry recipe.
  2. Brown butter adds a nice nutty flavour to the tart, but it's optional. You can watch how to make brown butter here.

I’ve been covered in desiccated coconut over the last few weeks, and I find them in every nook and cranny of my kitchen. Why? Because I wanted to experiment with different flavoured lamingtons and when I started, I just couldn’t stop!

When I go down these baking rabbit holes, I have a base recipe I work with. And today I’m sharing my recipe for this Aussie beloved mini cake and bakery staple. I hope you give it a try. My base cake is a vanilla sponge, I use dark chocolate for the ganache and dust with fine desiccated coconut.

Make sure eggs, milk and butter are room temperature. And if you’re wondering where the jam is, that’s for another recipe, because if you’re new to making these beauties, it could be a little overwhelming. So I thought, best to keep it simple and you can move up to a different flavour after your first try! I am going to be honest before you move ahead, if you’re not an avid baker and cook, this is a bit of work.

So how do you make lamingtons?

First, you need a really good cake base. I use a sponge cake as my base and it’s buttery and yummy. Actual vanilla pods or a high quality vanilla paste will help you get the best vanilla taste.

Second, you need patience. There’s a lot of waiting around, because you should never work with a hot cake straight from the oven. Let it cool down completely before you do anything else with it, then when it’s cool enough, you cut it and freeze it for 30 minutes so the cake is easier to handle and doesn’t crumble when you start covering it in ganache.

Third, you need persistence. It takes a little practice to get into the groove, don’t give up on your first try because these are so much better than store-bought lamingtons. The extra effort will all be worth it in the end when you take that first bite!

Lastly, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the recipe, feel free to spread the preparation time between two days, there is no pressure making everything in one day. You can bake the cake and cut the squares first then freeze it overnight and assemble the next day. Most of all, have fun! Baking is a lot of work, and if you don’t love it and have fun with it, it will feel like work. So just remember to smile and play some music while you make these scrumptious treats!

Australia Day Classic Lamingtons

 
Difficulty: Medium

Classic Lamingtons

Makes 12

Ingredients

    Chocolate Ganache:
  • 
Almond sponge:
  • Coating

Instructions

0/7 Instructions
    Make the ganache:
  • Place the dark chocolate in a bowl. In a small pot, bring the milk for the ganache to the boil then pour on top of chocolate. Let sit for 2 minutes then stir until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool down.
  • Make the sponge:
  • Preheat oven to 180C (no fan). Grease and line a 23cmx33cm (9inx13in) cake tin. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on med-high speed. Meanwhile in a medium bowl sift together flour, almond meal, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
  • When the sugar and butter are light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each time. Turn the mixer down to low-med speed then alternately add the flour mix and the milk ending with the flour mix. Pour batter into the pan and bake until the cake springs back and a skewer comes out clean (about 45mins).
  • Remove the cake from oven and cool down. When cake is completely cooled, cut the cake into 12 equal squares then place in the freezer for 30mins.
  • Assembly:
  • Pour 1/3 of the ganache onto a shallow tray. Place the coconut in another tray.
  • Remove the lamington pieces from the freezer, place them on the flat surface of chocolate, and spoon chocolate over the top and down the sides.
  • After letting the chocolate drip slightly, use an offset spatula to carefully transfer onto the coconut tray and coat the lamingtons in coconut. Keep refrigerated in a sealed container until ready to serve.

 

This tutorial has been a loooooong time coming. Since I published my banoffee pie recipe, I’ve had readers and friends asking me to make a honeycomb tutorial. I wasn’t ready because the honeycomb recipe I had then was from my notebook when I was an apprentice and I haven’t really experimented on how to get the best result, I just kept using this recipe and it worked for me, but I learnt it doesn’t always work for everyone, so today I made 4 batches of honeycomb and tweaked each one to see which one would give me the best result. Now I’m ready to share with you a Mrs.Fancypants approved recipe with matching photos and videos.

Test 1: This was my original scribbled recipe from the stone ages. LOL. I used 100g white sugar, 80g golden syrup and 8g bi-carb soda. I brought the sugar and golden syrup to the boil on medium heat and left it for 3 minutes then whisked in the bi-carb soda. I never really had a problem with this recipe, except that it was sickly sweet and has the after taste of bi-carb soda. The other thing wrong was, some readers just couldn’t get the right result and it’s frustrating for them (and me!). I knew this was because there were too many variables and there was no temperature specified for the caramel. I needed a recipe that was accurate so there’s less chance for failure.

Test 1

Test 2: So then came test 2. This is the same ratio as above, however, I pulled out my handy-dandy candy thermometer and heated my sugar to 150C (aka hard crack) then instead of whisking, I stirred the bi-carb soda using a wooden spoon. The sugar took 8 minutes from when I turned my stove on, to reach 150C. So in case you don’t have a thermometer, you can use a timer as a guide. This was great because it wasn’t sticky at all and it was super crunchy. However, I still found it sickly sweet. That’s where test 3 comes in.

Test 2

Test 3: I thought maybe use glucose instead of golden syrup. Glucose has very mild sweetness while golden syrup is 25% sweeter than sugar, I was just concerned about the colour. I was tempted to do half and half glucose and golden syrup, but I thought, if I wasn’t a chef, would I have golden syrup and glucose in my pantry at the same time, all the time? NO. So I stuck with glucose. It just didn’t turn out great, that’s all I could say. LOL. The result was pale and thin, more like a light caramel shard than honeycomb. So that’s that, back to the drawing board.

Test 3

Test 4: Since I haven’t addressed the sickly sweet problem, I then thought back to golden syrup but half the amount then make up the other half with water. Same as before, on medium heat, bring the mix to 150C. This time it took 10 minutes. Again, in case you don’t have a candy thermometer, that’s your guideline, as well as the visual in the video. And if you watch and listen, you’ll see what I mean.

Test 4

After all the experimentation and multiple tooth brushing to get rid of the sugar on my teeth, I’m happy to report that both test 2 & 4 gave me good results. Both were crunchy, aerated and golden. But I have to pick a winner, and I choose test 4 because it’s less sticky on top and easier to handle plus it sorted out the sickly sweetness that I didn’t like from test 2.

I also want to point out that both 2 & 4 didn’t have an after taste because the sugar is cooked to 150C the bi-carb soda dissolves in the mix easily, which is great. Test 1 has a bi-carb soda after taste and that used to bother me, but now with my tried and tested updated recipe, my honeycomb is exactly how I want it. I strongly recommend to get a candy thermometer, they come as cheap as $6 and totally worth skipping 2 coffees for.

I made a video to serve as a visual guide. In baking and cooking, I like to get to know the process. I didn’t have time to do this in a commercial kitchen, because of course, I needed to be super quick, but when I can, I look for signs when I cook that when the food tells me it’s ready. Like when the bubbles slow down or they change size, small things like this. So please watch the video, you might pick up something new!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJs0IkqB0QB/

So there you have it, now that you know how to make honeycomb, give my Banoffee Pie a go! I hope you learned something today, and please comment below for any questions and tag me on social media if you try this at home. Be careful in handling hot sugar, but more importantly have fun while cooking!

 
Difficulty: Medium

Failproof Honeycomb

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

Instructions

0/6 Instructions
  • You will need a candy thermometer, a wooden spoon for mixing and a medium rectangular baking pan. Make sure everything you need is ready before starting the recipe.
  • Line a medium rectangular baking pan with parchment paper then grease lightly.
  • In a small sauce pot stir golden syrup, water and sugar together then put on a medium flame.
  • Leave the mixture on medium heat and bring it to the boil then clip on a candy thermometer, cook until candy thermometer registers 150C, about 10 minutes from when you put the sugar on the heat.
  • Turn off the heat then sprinkle bi-carb soda and use a wooden spoon incorporate the bi-carb into the mix. This will make your honeycomb bubble. Do not over mix or you will not get aeration on your honeycomb.
  • Turn over onto your prepared baking pan and let set for a few hours then you can snap or cut it into small pieces.

You might have heard and seen photos of a burnt cheesecake in your social media in the last couple years. This was made famous by a small bar in San Sebastian, Spain called La Viña. I mentioned before how my friends and I love cheesecakes. I remember going to New York and heading straight to Junior’s cheesecake in Manhattan, but this cheesecake is not like the NY Baked cheesecake. This one is crustless, light, soft in the centre and for me, tastes a bit like a Portuguese egg tart because it contains plenty of eggs. I refer to New York because I’ve never been to San Sebastian, but I know exactly what my first stop would be when I finally visit.

Since I’ve never been to the birthplace of the burnt cheesecake, I did plenty of research and found a video by Santiago Rivera who is the chef behind the La Viña Cheesecake. I kindly asked a friend to translate the video and from there the only thing that’s left was for me to trial which springform size to use because it wasn’t specified. The original recipe is as follows:

Original La Viña Cheesecake Recipe

  • 1 kilogram cream cheese (I used Philadelphia because that’s what was available, it’s rumoured that the original uses San Millan cream cheese)
  • 400 grams sugar
  • 7 eggs (I used large eggs because that’s the standard)
  • 1/2 liter cream (I used pure cream which has minimum 35% fat)
  • 1 1/2 spoon plain flour

In the video, Santiago Rivera used a spoon to mix the cream cheese and sugar, then added eggs one at a time. He then added the flour and finally the cream. He pours the mix into a springform pan and bakes at 210C for 40 minutes. You can watch the video I’m talking about below, I found it on a European online radio and TV channel EITB.eus.

I made the cheesecake as instructed above and settled on a 26cm springform. It’s creamy, and custard-like, and I find a lot of people find it too eggy for a cheesecake. I personally love it. It reminds me of a Portuguese egg tart and a Japanese cheese tart, but without the shell. If you haven’t tried the original, I suggest you make it at least once, because really, what’s the point of jumping on the burnt cheesecake bandwagon when you are clueless on what the original actually is like.

The goal is for the cheesecake to be dark brown outside while preserving the soft and creamy centre. To do this, you need to bake the cheesecake at a high temperature. This cheesecake is beautifully rustic, and very photogenic, as you can see from my photos above.

My version is a tad smaller than the original and baked in a 23cm springform instead of 26cm. Because of this, I adjusted the the temperature for the same baking time. I also added vanilla and lemon for flavour. You can find my recipe below. Try making both and let me know which one you prefer. Don’t forget to tag me on social media when you post your beautiful cheesecakes and use #mrsfancypantsrecipes. Happy baking!

 
Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 15 Mins Cook Time: 50 Mins Total Time: 1 Hr 5 Mins

Burnt Cheesecake à la La Viña

Makes 1 x 23cm springform

Make the famed Basque burnt cheesecake at home!

Ingredients

Instructions

0/4 Instructions
  • Start with room temperature ingredients. Preheat oven to 220C. Line a 9” springform with baking paper, make sure you have an overhang of at least 5cm.
  • Mix cream cheese, sugar and cream. Add eggs one by one, fully incorporating after each addition. Sift flour into the batter and mix just until the flour is incorporated. Do not over mix.
  • Pour into the pan and bake for 50 minutes. The top should be caramelised but cheesecake should be jiggly.
  • Take out of the oven and rest for at least 2 hours at room temperature. Serve warm, consume immediately. (see notes if making ahead)

Notes

  1. If making ahead, take out of the oven and cool down at room temperature for 1 hour then place in the fridge to cool down completely. Take out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving and serve at room temperature.
  2. I recommend serving this cheesecake warm, if you made this ahead, you can slice into wedges and blast each slice for 15 seconds in the microwave. Serve and consume immediately after.
  3. You can make this gluten free by substituting the plain flour with 1 tsp corn flour/cornstarch. This prevents a lot of cracking, but I've tried making this with no flour and it still works, you just get a bit of cracking around the rim.

 

Who doesn’t love a good chocolate cake? But I understand that sometimes, dietary restrictions prevent us from enjoying the well-loved classic chocolate sponge cake with chocolate filling, so here is a gluten-free & lactose-free option! My dairy-free, flourless chocolate cake is made from Valrhona Guanaja 70% but you can use any good quality baking chocolate like Callebaut 811 which is also lactose-free. Most baking dark chocolates are dairy-free, but if in doubt, just check the label. A good thing to note when checking ingredients, is that cocoa butter is a lactose-free product.

Another dairy-free ingredient is Nuttelex buttery, which I used in place of butter. Nuttelex is a vegan, lactose-free butter alternative here in Australia, but if you don’t have Nuttelex in your local store, you can use any dairy-free margarine or coconut oil. I prefer using coconut oil because it tastes great, but of course your cake will have a hint of coconut. So for this recipe, I decided to use Nuttelex buttery.

Image courtesy of Nuttelex.com. Click photo for more information.

I love this chocolate cake because it’s easy to whip up and to decorate. It’s great to take to pot lucks and also a nice grown-up birthday cake. I love serving this with raspberry or coconut sorbet, and when I have time, I make my own using Gelato Messina’s recipe, which I will share here when I find extra time. It’s a great recipe and works so well! If you can have dairy, feel free to pair this with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and it’s absolutely delicious too. There’s only one thing you could do to mess up this super easy cake, and that is too leave it in the oven for too long. The last thing you want is to dry this out, so make sure you set a timer and check on the cake 10 minutes before it’s meant to be done, especially if you’re oven runs hot. Cool down on the kitchen bench for 15 minutes then transfer to the fridge to set completely for at least an hour.

If you try this recipe, let me know how you went by leaving a comment below or tagging me on social media. I’m always excited to see your work and always keen to answer any questions.

Happy new year everyone and thank you for all your support last year, cheers to the future of Mrs.Fancypants!

 
Difficulty: Easy

Dairy-free Flourless Chocolate Cake

Makes 1 x 20cm cake

Ingredients

  • Toppings:

Instructions

0/5 Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
  • Melt the chocolate and butter together and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool down. Meanwhile, in the bowl of your stand mixer or with a hand mixer, whip egg whites and sugar together until stiff peaks.
  • When the chocolate is cooled down to room temperature, add the egg yolks one by one, incorporating well before each addition. Sift the cocoa powder and mix until smooth.
  • Carefully fold in the meringue in 3 additions into the cake batter. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes. The cake should feel set but still soft in the centre. When you shake it, it should jiggle a little in the centre. Do not over bake or the cake will dry out.
  • Cool down on a rack for 15 minutes then move to the fridge for 1 hour to completely set. To serve, take out of the cake pan and peel off the baking paper. Sprinkle cocoa powder on top and decorate with berries and edible flowers, if using. Serve with a scoop of coconut or raspberry sorbet.

Notes

  • Nuttelex Buttery is actually margarine but I use this brand because the taste is not like other margarines. You can also opt for coconut oil and other dairy-free butter substitutes.
  • Pure cocoa powder (dutch processed or not) should be gluten-free
  • Make sure the 70% chocolate is dairy-free, I used Valrhona Guanaja 70% but there are plenty of good quality baking chocolate that are dairy-free too, like Ghirardelli & Callebaut.

Lobsters are known as a luxury food item globally, and if you go to a restaurant and order a live lobster from the tank, you should be ready to pay a hefty price by the end of dinner. However, if you have access to a very good fish market, you may be able to save on the hefty price tag and cook lobster at home for a special occasion. The next question is, how do you then cook a lobster after purchase? Should they be alive when purchased or dead?

Look, as a general rule in restaurants, lobsters are always purchased live. This is because once a lobster dies, they spoil quite easily, and can cause severe food poisoning. So if you have the fridge space at home I would buy the lobster alive then put it in a container with ice in the fridge. The low temperature in the fridge or freezer disorients the lobster, and makes them easier to handle. Bring a pot of salty water to the boil then dunk the lobster in, a kilo of lobster takes about 12 minutes to cook, and each 500g adds 5 minutes.

If it’s illegal to boil lobster where you live, your other option after putting the lobster in the fridge is stabbing the lobster in the space between the head and body then splitting it straight in half lengthwise. I hate this method because I have to physically stab a live animal, so I prefer the boiling method.

I love this dish because let’s face it, it’s absolutely impressive. I like adding caviar and pairing with champagne. It’s absolutely perfect for a romantic dinner at home or to cook on a special occasion. I add this dish to my catering menu when I know it’s a sit down and a special occasion, and people just love it and never forget it, and my clients don’t even mind the hefty price tag and most of them even add-on the optional caviar.

The sauce is a beurre blanc. Beurre blanc is a classic French white sauce made by reducing white wine, bouquet garni and French eschallots then adding butter while whisking constantly to make a rich and creamy sauce. The key is to not bring the liquid to the boil to avoid splitting. When done correctly, you get a shiny sauce that hugs each spaghetti noodle without running all over the plate.

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve done any justice to this dish with the photos that I took, because this is me plating it and shooting it right before dinner. Next time I plate this up for a catering function, I will make a note to take a nice photo, but for now, this is the homely version of this beautiful and delicious lobster spaghetti. Don’t forget to pop the champagne! Happy eating!

 
Difficulty: Medium

Lobster Spaghetti

Serves 2

Ingredients

Instructions

0/5 Instructions
  • Cook pasta according to packet and set aside. In a small sauce pot, place tarragon, eschallot and white wine together. Reduce until the liquid is halved. Drain and discard the tarragon and reserve the eschallot. Place the liquid back in the sauce pot.
  • Heat the liquid back up and start adding in the cold butter cubes gradually while whisking continuously. Keep whisking until the liquid starts to thicken. Do not bring the liquid to the boil or it might split. When the sauce has emulsified, take off the heat and set aside until ready to use.
  • Take the flesh of the lobster from the shell and reserve the head. Cut the lobster to bite size pieces.
  • Heat the sauce up in a medium pot that could fit the pasta, lobster and sauce. Toss the pasta, the eschallots and lobster in the warm sauce until everything is coated. Season with salt & pepper, sprinkle with chives.
  • Twirl the pasta using a carving fork and place on a long platter. Use the head as a garnish, making it look like the pasta is the lobster's body. Sprinkle with chopped chives. If using caviar, place the caviar on top. Serve immediately.