White chocolate & hazelnut cake
You can make the buttercream up to a day ahead, cover and chill. Bring up to room temperature and beat well before using.
CUTS INTO 20 SLICES PREP 1hr, plus cooling and chilling COOK about 1¼hr FOR THE CAKE
• 500g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
• 150g chopped roasted hazelnuts
• 550g caster sugar
• 1tsp vanilla bean paste
• 10 medium eggs
• 525g plain flour
• 2½tsp baking powder
• 100ml milk
FOR THE CARAMELISED NUTS, OPTIONAL
• 8 blanched hazelnuts
• 50g caster sugar
• ¾tbsp golden syrup
• 8 wooden skewers/cocktail sticks
• 1 large orange (see step 4)
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
• 100g white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 6 medium egg whites
• 250g caster sugar
• 300g unsalted butter, chopped and softened
FOR THE DRIP
• 100ml double cream
• 125g white chocolate, roughly chopped
1 Preheat oven to 180°C
(160°C fan) mark 4. For the cake, grease and line 2 x 20cm round, deep cake tins with baking parchment. Blitz hazelnuts and 25g sugar in a food processor until fairly fine; set aside. Beat butter and remaining 525g sugar in a freestanding mixer
(or in a large bowl with a handheld electric whisk) until pale and fluffy.
2 Beat in the vanilla, followed by the eggs, 1 at a time, adding a little of the flour if the mixture looks like it’s starting to curdle. Fold through ground hazelnuts, (remaining) flour and baking powder, followed by the milk. Divide between the lined tins, smooth to level and bake for 50-55min, or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool in tins.
3 If making caramelised nuts, toast them in a small, dry pan over low-medium heat until lightly golden. Tip on to a board to cool. In a pan, mix sugar, syrup and 2tbsp water. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Turn up heat to medium-high and bubble for 5min, swirling the pan occasionally rather than stirring, or until a deep caramel colour. Remove from heat.
4 Put the orange on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Stick a hazelnut on top of each skewer/cocktail stick. Working one at a time, dip the nut into the caramel to coat (tilting the pan if needed), then poke the other end of the skewer/stick into side of the orange (so any excess caramel drips on to the parchment). Repeat with remaining nuts; leave to cool completely.
5 For the buttercream, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside to cool. In a separate large heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, use a handheld electric whisk to beat egg whites and sugar until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved, about 5min. Turn into the bowl of a freestanding mixer, or continue with bowl off heat and a handheld electric whisk. Beat on high for 10min, or until meringue is thick and the outside of the bowl is completely cool. Gradually add the butter, one piece at a time, beating well after each addition
(it might look curdled, but keep beating and it will come together). Once all butter has been added, beat on medium-high for 4min. Add cooled white chocolate and beat again until smooth.
6 To assemble, slice the cooled cakes in ½ horizontally. Sandwich the layers back together with generous layers of buttercream. Scantly cover the top and sides of cake with some of the remaining buttercream, smoothing with a palette knife to finish. Chill for 30min to firm up. Once firm, use most of the remaining buttercream to ice top and sides of cake as smoothly as possible. Chill for 30min.
7 If you like, drag a palette knife in horizontal rings around the sides of the cake to make stripes, removing a little icing. Transfer remaining buttercream to a piping bag, fitted with your nozzle of choice. Chill cake while you make the drip.
8 For the drip, heat cream and white chocolate in a small pan over low heat until chocolate melts. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally, for 30min. Pour cooled drip over top of chilled cake, smoothing with a palette knife and encouraging drips to fall over the sides. Pipe buttercream rosettes around the top of the cake; top each one with a caramelised hazelnut, if made. Serve in slices.
TO STORE Remove caramelised hazelnuts and store in an airtight container. Keep iced cake loosely covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Allow to come up to room temperature before serving.
PER SERVING: CALS 551; FAT 27G; SAT FAT 13G; CARBS 68G
MAKES 12 PREP 35min, plus cooling COOK about 25min
FOR THE CAKES
• 200g caster sugar
• 125g butter, softened
• Finely grated zest 2 lemons
• 4 medium eggs, beaten
• 200g self-raising flour
• 75g soured cream
• 4tbsp lemon curd
FOR THE MERINGUE TOPPING
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 medium egg whites*
YOU’LL ALSO NEED
• A sugar thermometer
1 Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
2 For the cakes, put the sugar, butter and lemon zest into a large bowl and beat with a handheld electric whisk, until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a spoonful of flour if the mixture looks like it’s about to curdle.
3 Using a large metal spoon, fold in (remaining) flour followed by soured cream. Divide the mixture between the cases. Bake for 12-15min, until risen and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4 Next, make the meringue topping.
In a medium pan, gently heat sugar and 3tbsp water, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once fully dissolved, turn up heat to medium-high and boil syrup, swirling pan occasionally instead of stirring, until mixture reaches 120°C on a sugar thermometer. Remove pan from heat.
5 Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites in the bowl of a freestanding mixer (or in a large, clean bowl with a handheld electric whisk) to stiff peaks. With the motor on low, gradually trickle hot sugar syrup on to stiff egg whites, whisking constantly. Once all the syrup has been added, continue beating until meringue is completely cool.
6 Transfer meringue to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm closed star nozzle. Using a small sharp knife or apple corer, carve a small hole into the centre of the top of each cake and fill each hole with 1tsp lemon curd. Pipe meringue on to the cakes and brown with a blowtorch, if you like. Serve.
PER CUPCAKE: CALS 305; FAT 12G; SAT FAT 7G; CARBS 45G
‘These delicious treats are lemon meringue pie in cupcake form’