The Hummingbird Bakery Life is Sweet: 100 original recipes for happy home baking. Tarek Malouf
large eggs
120ml (4fl oz) whole milk
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
One 23cm (9in) square tin
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Line the tin with non-stick baking parchment on the bottom and up the sides.
2. Place the butter, water, molasses, honey and muscovado sugar in a saucepan and put on a low heat. Stir frequently and cook until the butter has melted and everything is thoroughly mixed together – do not allow to boil. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
4. When the molasses mixture has cooled enough so that it’s just lukewarm transfer to a mixing bowl, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the milk and mix to combine well. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter. There may be some lumps, but don’t worry as long as most of them have been mixed in. Don’t vigorously mix. Finally, stir in the grated fresh ginger.
5. Bake in the oven for 1 hour–1 hour 15 minutes, or until the top bounces back when lightly touched and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for at least 15 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The cake can be served with whipped cream, if desired.
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
This recipe is adapted from the runner-up in the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off. The original recipe used Pillsbury powdered mix and became an instant hit after the company printed it in newspaper ads. The cake will have a gooey middle, so don’t test it with a skewer. And use the nuts or it won’t work!
Makes one 25cm (10in) Bundt cake, to slice as desired
For the cake
390g (13½oz) unsalted butter, softened
375g (13oz) caster sugar
6 large eggs
250g (9oz) icing sugar, stirred to lighten and smooth out
305g (11oz) plain flour
90g (3oz) cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g (9oz) chopped walnuts
For the chocolate glaze
90g (3oz) icing sugar, sifted
30g (1oz) cocoa powder
4 tbsp warm milk
One 25cm (10in) Bundt pan or ring mould
1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Grease the Bundt pan with butter and set aside.
2. Using a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes on medium speed until light and creamy. Lower the speed and add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition and mixing until just incorporated. Gradually add the icing sugar, mixing well. Add the flour, cocoa, vanilla and walnuts and mix until just combined.
3. Scrape the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55–60 minutes. The cake will not be done in the centre, but will be dry on top and separated slightly from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and let stand in the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour. Loosen from the sides gently with a spatula after 1 hour and allow to cool in the pan for a further hour. If you take the cake out of the pan too early, it can fall apart. Remove from the pan by inverting the cake onto the rack, then cool completely.
4. To make the glaze, combine the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and beat with a whisk until smooth.
5. While the cake is still on a wire rack, place a sheet of greaseproof paper or a large plate under the rack to catch the drips. Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Let stand to set the glaze, then transfer carefully to a cake plate to serve.
Upside-down Pear Cake
We suppose you could use apples instead of pears, but pears work so well with the sponge and look like jewels when you turn the cake out on to your serving plate.
Makes one 23 x 32cm (9 x 13in) cake, to slice as desired
For the caramelised pears
6 large, ripe pears, peeled, cored and quartered lengthways
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
40g (1½oz) unsalted butter
80g (3oz) caster sugar
130ml (4½fl oz) Kentucky bourbon or whiskey
For the cake
195g (7oz) plain flour
1½ tbsp ground ginger
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp grated nutmeg
½ tsp salt
160g (5½oz) unsalted butter
75g (2½oz) dark muscovado sugar
4 large eggs
170g (6oz) pure cane molasses, such as Meridian
3 tbsp boiling water
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
One 23 x 32cm (9 x 13in) tin
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Line the tin with non-stick baking parchment.
2. To make the caramelised pears, mix the pears with the lemon juice. In a large frying pan, melt the butter and sprinkle with half the caster sugar. Put the pear quarters into the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until brown on one side. Turn and cook for a further 5 minutes until the other side is brown. With a slotted spoon, carefully remove the pear quarters and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Add the bourbon and the rest of the caster sugar to the pan and cook and stir frequently for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy. Pour this syrup into the baking tin and tip the tin to spread evenly over the bottom of the tin.
4. Start to arrange the pears from one corner so that they cover the bottom of the tin and are facing the same way, with the tapered ends lying in the same direction. Set aside.
5. To make the cake, sift together the flour, spices and salt in a bowl.
6. Using a freestanding electric mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for around 5 minutes on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, on a lower speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Only beat until just incorporated. Add the molasses and beat for a few moments longer to mix.
7. In a small bowl, add the boiling water to the bicarbonate of soda and set aside. Add half the flour mixture to the creamed mixture on low speed. Then add the water and bicarbonate of soda and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until well incorporated. It will look like the mixture has split, but that is correct.
8. Scrape the mixture into the tin on top of the arranged pears and bake for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 165°C (325°F), Gas mark 3 and bake for 10–15 minutes longer. The top should bounce back when lightly touched. Cool in the tin for 1 hour, then run a knife around the edges of the cake. Place a tray over the top of the tin and carefully (but quickly) turn upside down.
Grape Jelly Cupcakes