As someone who has baked to avoid everything from doing the dishes to writing a will, I'm an expert in baking my time - whether it's 15 minutes or all chocolate-fudging day. My book is not designed to stop you getting on with your to-do list, in fact it's meant to do the opposite.
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With each chapter based on a classic bake or flavour combination, Bake Your Sweet Time offers different recipes depending on how much time and effort is needed.
So there are quick bakes for a 15-minute lull, medium-timed foolproof recipes for a 90-minute interlude and multi-step, big-wow bakes for when you're lucky enough to be able to take your sweet time straining, proofing, chilling or tempering.
And this isn't just about the result - it's about the sweet, sticky, bowl-licky process of baking: the sugar highs; the sunken lows; the triumphs and the tragedies of the cake tin. So the only thing to do before starting is to ask: what do you want to bake and how long have you got?
Blackcurrant Meringue Bars
A buttery shortbread base covered with a blackcurrant curd, topped with baked French meringue and cut into bars. Alternatively, blackberries or raspberries will give you the sharp, fresh contrast with the rich biscuit base and the light sweet meringue.
Ingredients
Shortbread base
- 200g (7 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour or 250g (9 oz) gluten-free self-raising mix
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder (omit if using gluten-free flour)
- 50g (13/4 oz) cornflour (cornstarch, omit if using gluten-free flour)
- 85g (3 oz) granulated sugar
- Large pinch of salt
- 150g (51/4 oz) salted butter, melted\
Blackcurrant curd
- 400g (14 oz) fresh or frozen blackcurrants
- 300g (101/2 oz) water
- 150g (51/4 oz) granulated sugar (plus extra, if necessary)
- 40g (11/3 oz) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 2 egg yolks
Meringue topping
- 2 large (extra-large) egg whites
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 110g (33/4 oz) granulated or caster (superfine) sugar
Equipment needed
- 20 x 30cm (8 x 12 inch) brownie tin pan
Method
1. Set the oven to 165°C fan (350°F/gas 4) and line the brownie tin with baking paper.
2. Make the shortbread. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, pour over the melted butter and mix to bring everything together as a dough.
3. Press the dough into the lined tin and level with the back of a spoon.
4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes until the surface is lightly golden and crazed with tiny cracks.
5. Put the blackcurrants in a food processor or blender with the water and blitz to make a watery purée. Pass that purée through a sieve (strainer) into a heavy-bottomed pan. You will need 580g (201/2 oz) of sieved purée, so add water to make up the weight if you don't have enough. Add the sugar to the pan and stir into the purée.
6. In a small bowl, mix together the cornflour, egg yolks and a few spoonfuls of the purée from the pan, stirring to make a smooth 'slurry', then stir that back into the rest of the fruit. Don't start cooking the fruit curd until about 5 minutes before the shortbread comes out of the oven - it needs to be poured over the base as soon as it's ready so it doesn't set in the pan.
7. Put the pan on a medium heat. Keep stirring while it comes just up to the boil, then remove from the heat once the first big bubble pops in the mixture. Taste the curd and add more sugar if needed. Pour the curd immediately over the baked shortbread base and level it out. (The shortbread doesn't need to cool, it can be covered straight from the oven.)
8. Drop the oven temperature to 150°C fan (325°F/gas 3).
9. Using the quantities given here, make the French meringue (see below). Spread the meringue over the blackcurrant curd, pulling peaks up with a spatula so there's more surface area to crisp up in the oven.
10. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. The meringue should develop a very lightly golden crust.
11. Leave to cool and then cut into squares. These are best eaten within 48 hours, but I doubt that will be a struggle.
French Meringue
- To a clean, grease-free stand mixer or a large bowl, add the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar.
- Start beating the egg whites. As soon as they hold stiff peaks, begin adding the sugar, one teaspoon at a time, using an actual teaspoon rather than a teaspoon measure. Leave 10-15 seconds between each teaspoon. With each addition, you'll see the meringue become thicker and glossier.
- When all the sugar has been added and the meringue is holding stiff peaks, use as the recipe requires.
Note: Which sugar you use is not critical; caster (superfine) sugar has smaller grains and dissolves more quickly than granulated, but unless you're whisking this by hand that won't make any difference. My advice is to use what you have in the cupboard.
Prep time 40 minutes. Ready in 1 hour 50 minutes. Makes 12 squares.
Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake
Not dark in a brooding Dark Knight sort of a way, just deeply chocolatey. In fact, a slice or two of this (ironically) light-in-texture cake might have cheered Bruce Wayne up a bit. That and maybe a cuddle. Packed with chocolate flavour but not too sugary, it's perfect for layering and covering with a chocolate fudge frosting that kicks your recommended daily intake into next week.
Ingredients
- 70g (21/2 oz) unsweetened
- cocoa powder
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 180g (6 1/3 oz) boiling water
- 4 large (US extra-large) eggs
- 160g (5 2/3 oz) light brown
- soft sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 120g (41/4 oz) sunflower oil or any other flavourless oil
- 35g (1 1/4 oz) dark (bittersweet) chocolate (70% cocoa)
- 65g (2 1/3 oz) milk chocolate
- 100g (3 1/2 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour or gluten-free plain
- (all-purpose) flour + 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 4 tsp baking powder
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- 25g (1 oz) dark brown soft sugar
- 100g (3 1/2 oz) light brown soft sugar
- 200g (7 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 150g (5 1/4 oz) milk chocolate
- 200g (7 oz) salted butter
- 4 tsp (approximately) water, for beating when cool
Equipment
- Two 18-cm (7-inch) round cake tins (pans)
Method
- Set the oven to 160°C fan (350°F/gas 4) and line the base of each cake tin with a disc of baking paper.
- Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil, then whisk until combined.
- Break both the dark and milk chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl, then microwave in short bursts to melt. If you don't have a microwave, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of hot water to melt. Whisk into the batter until evenly blended.
- Add the flour and baking powder, then whisk in until no dry pockets of flour remain and the batter is smooth. If using gluten-free flour, mix the flour, baking powder and xanthan gum together before whisking into the batter.
- Divide the batter between the lined tins and bake in the middle of the oven for 28-30 minutes or until a metal skewer comes out clean. (Use a metal skewer, rather than a wooden one, as the batter sticks to wood and gives a false impression of being underdone.)
- While the cakes are baking, make the chocolate fudge frosting following the instructions below.
- Leave the cakes in their tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
- When completely cooled, split each cake in two so you have four layers. Sandwich each layer with up to 90g (3 oz) of the chocolate fudge frosting. Using a large palette knife, spread a thin coating of frosting over the top and sides of the cake to trap the crumbs, then chill for 10 minutes to set that layer. Finally, use the remaining frosting to thickly coat the cake. With chocolate fudge frosting, I take a relaxed approach to the end result, preferring to see the strokes of the palette knife. If you want a smooth, sharp finish use a large, wide cake scraper and a turntable.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
1. Chop the chocolate as finely as you can be bothered so it melts faster.
2. To a heavy-bottomed pan, add all the ingredients, except the water. Put on a very low heat and stir slowly as everything warms and melts.
3. When the mixture is evenly blended, turn the heat up slightly. Keep stirring so nothing burns and bring it up to a gentle boil. Keep it gently bubbling for 2 minutes, or, if you have a thermometer, until it comes up to 115°C (240°F). This is the 'soft ball' stage of heating sugar: at this temperature the sugar structure changes, making the frosting thicker and more fudgy in consistency.
4. Remove from the heat, scrape the hot icing into a bowl and leave to cool and firm up. To speed the cooling, put the bowl in the fridge but don't let the icing go much below 20°C (70°F) or it will be too firm to beat at the next step. If you're not in a rush, just leave it on the side.
5. When the icing has firmed to a consistency similar to peanut butter, start beating it. It will almost instantly start to separate, the oils pooling in the base of the bowl. Just add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time and carry on beating. The water helps to re-emulsify the fat with the chocolate; after just a few additions, the icing will come back together. Beat for a further minute until it is thick and pale. Set aside at room temperature until needed.
6. If the icing feels stiff when it comes to using it, a few seconds in the microwave will loosen it enough to make it easily spreadable so it won't tear a delicate cake.
Prep time 45 minutes. Ready in 2 hours.
Serves 10-12
- Images and text from Bake Your Sweet Time by Tat Effby (Murdoch Books, $45).
