Mini Chocolate Raspberry Cakes

These little cakes came about because I made a chocolate cake and one of the layers didn't rise as much as I would have liked due to a heavy hand when adding the cocoa powder! I use Green and Black's cocoa powder and it's a must for these little choccie cakes.

It's a wasteful method but I cut out tiny rounds to make these little cakes and the leftover sponge cake is the cooks treat!

The filling is simply seedless raspberry jam and a few fresh raspberries crushed . I served my little cakes with vanilla ice cream.

Individual Raspberry Frangipane Tarts Recipe

I couldn't resist buying a punnet of huge raspberries after I spotted them on one of my favourite market stalls in Bridgnorth.  I know we should buy seasonal food but they said 'buy me' and so I did. These were some of the best raspberries I've ever eaten, in fact they were far superior to the ones I grow in my garden!

Brioche Berry Pudding

I wonder if the Olympians can indulge in a pudding this week as a reward? Or maybe they are programmed never to go anywhere near sugar. For those of us who like an indulgent dessert/pudding this is one of my favourites because it is as light as a feather to eat, quick and easy to make and reheats quickly in the microwave.

All you need is a sliced brioche loaf, which I mostly buy from Aldi, berries of your choice, eggs, sugar, milk and a pot of whipping or double cream.

You will need: large buttered ovenproof dish

1 small sliced brioche loaf about 200g
75g fresh raspberries
75g fresh blackberries
250ml semi-skimmed milk
250ml whipping or double cream
3 medium eggs
25g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Icing sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Cut off the crusts. Lay half the brioche over the base of a 1.5 litre x 6cm deep ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over half of the raspberries and blackberries, cover with the rest of the brioche squares. Scatter over the rest of the berries.
3.Whisk the milk, cream, eggs, vanilla extract and sugar together in a jug. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the brioche and leave to soak for 5 minutes.
4. Put the dish into a deep roasting tin and pour boiled water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 30 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from the oven and the tin. Leave to rest for 10 minutes, dust with icing sugar, serve on it's own or with whipped cream.

Mixed Berry and White Chocolate Cheesecake Slice

My strawberries were at their best when I left for my holiday a few weeks ago and now they are struggling to produce any fruit.  Next year I'm definitely not going away during strawberry season and missing one of my favourite fruits.

The raspberries are being a bit temperamental this year and the berries aren't anything to get excited about.  However, my redcurrant bushes are producing amazing crops of fruit and I'm looking forward to filling bag after bag to pop into the freezer for a rainy day.

I'm not the biggest fan of a baked cheesecake but because the cooked layer is quite thin I was more than happy with my dessert. If you have a go at making this you'll find that there is a quantity of cheesecake batter left over but you can easily make a couple of individual cheesecakes with some extra biscuits.

You will need:  12.5cm x 35cm loose based tin.

Ingredients:
250g Hobnobs
80g butter, melted
120g white chocolate
1 vanilla bean or 1tsp vanilla extract
125g cream cheese, softened
55g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
125ml whipping cream

To decorate:
60g white chocolate
250g small strawberries
125g raspberries

1. Add the Hobnobs to a food processor and whizz until fine.  Add the melted butter and process until all combined.
2. Pour the biscuit mixture into the tin and press over the base and sides of the tin.  Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
4. Break the chocolate into pieces and add to a small bowl.  Place a pan of water on the hob to a gentle simmer and place the bowl with the chocolate over the pan to melt the chocolate.  Cool.  Or if you have an induction hob the chocolate can be placed in a small saucepan and the chocolate melted on the lowest setting.
5. If using, take the vanilla bean and split it lengthways, scrape out the seeds.
6. Place the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla seeds or vanilla extract into a mixing bowl.  Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture thickens and becomes smooth - if the mixture seems a little thin don't worry it will still be okay.  Now add the cooled chocolate and cream and whisk until the mixture thickens slightly.
7. Remove the tin from the fridge, place onto a large baking tray, and pour in the filling taking care not to overfill.
8. Bake for 30 minutes.  Leave the baked cheesecake in the oven for a couple of hours.  Remove from the oven, cool and place in the fridge for approx 2 hours to chill down.
9. Carefully remove the flan tin and place onto a suitable plate, decorate with the fruit, melt the chocolate and drizzle over the top of the berries.

Raspberry, Almond and Custard Cake Recipe

The custard layer for this cake is made from Birds Custard Powder, in this house we love it. Posh custard out of a carton isn't suitable, neither is low fat, out of a can, ready made or a fancy version of home made.........it's just got to be yellow custard powder made with milk and cooked without any lumps!

Last time I made this cake I used frozen raspberries and they all sank to the bottom of the cake, so let's forget the fact that I ruined a perfectly good bake.  This time round I used fresh and they stayed on top of the cake.  I also baked the cake on a conventional setting rather than the fan setting and this allowed the cake to rise gently without the cake batter rising and burying the raspberries.

So, if you are looking for a large cake that's easy to make and love the bright yellow stuff, then maybe this recipe will be perfect for you too.

It's best to make the custard the day before you make the cake.

You will need:  22cm deep springform tin greased and lined sides and base

250g salted butter, softened
2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind
330g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g self-raising flour
75g plain flour
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice or from a carton
60g ground almonds
150g fresh
20g flaked almonds

For the Custard:
2 tablespoons custard powder
55g caster sugar
250ml milk
20g butter, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. To make the custard: Place the custard powder and sugar in a small saucepan, gradually stir in the milk. Cook, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Wet a  piece of clingwrap and press over the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Place in the fridge until cold.
2. Preheat oven to 170°C.
3. Place the butter, orange rind and sugar in a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Gradually fold in the flours, orange juice and ground almonds.
4. Spread two-thirds of the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Dollop small spoonfuls of custard over the cake batter. Spoon the remaining cake mixture over custard, carefully spread with a small spatula to completely cover the custard. Sprinkle over the raspberries followed by the flaked almonds.
5. Bake for about 1 hour 25 minutes or until cooked, if it shows signs of getting too brown cover the tin loosely with a piece of foil and bake for a few minutes longer until cooked.  Cool the cake in the tin.
6. Serve the cake with whipped cream just as it is.
7. Store in the fridge.
Adapted from an Australian Women's Weekly recipe.

Are you yay or nay when it comes to Birds Custard?

Bird's Custard is an egg free alternative to custard.

For more raspberry inspiration:
Raspberry, Chocolate and Almond Cake
The Perfect Raspberry and Almond Cake
Mini Raspberry Cream Brownies