Baking Heaven April 2020

I

t’s nice to put a little more care

and attention into individual

cakes and these tropical cakes

certainly showcase additional

patience and skill. I’ve baked the

ginger cakes inside individual mould

tins with removable bases – quite

clever and time-saving! The cakes

form a natural crust on the top so turn

them upside down to decorate.

Ginger cakes with

lime buttercream

and pineapple

sunlowers

MAKES 12

1 quantity of Warming Ginger Loaf
Cake mixture (see recipe, left)
For the fresh lime buttercream
200g (7oz) unsalted butter
400g (14oz) icing sugar
grated zest of 3 limes
juice of 2 limes
For the pineapple sunflowers
1 small pineapple, trimmed,
peeled and cut into the thinnest
rounds possible
gold lustre spray

To make the cakes
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas
Mark 4. Brush the insides of a 12-hole
removable-base cake tin with melted
butter (or spray with quick-
release spray).
2 Divide the ginger cake mixture equally
among the 12 holes (about 40g (1½oz)
in each) and bake for 40 minutes until
risen and firm to the touch. Leave to
cool for 5 minutes in the tin before
turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the fresh lime buttercream
1 Blend all the ingredients together until
smooth and light.

To make the pineapple sunflowers
1 Preheat the oven to 110°C/Gas
Mark ¼.
2 Pat the pineapple slices dry with
kitchen paper. Line 2 baking sheets with
non-stick baking paper and lay the
pineapple slices on top. Bake for

1½-2 hours, turning the pineapple over

every 30 minutes, until the pieces are

slightly shrunken and dry.

3 Transfer the pineapple pieces to the

holes of a cupcake tin to encourage the

pineapple to set in the flower shape and

return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until

they are dry and the edges are

starting to curl. Leave to cool in the tin,

then spray with gold lustre.

To assemble the cakes

1 Once the cakes are baked and cooled,

turn them upside down – they will be

quite sticky.

2 Fit a large piping bag with a star nozzle

and fill with the lime buttercream. Pipe a

generous swirl of buttercream on the

top of each cake and press a pineapple

flower on the top at an angle so

they are all facing in one direction – a

little like natural sunflowers in a field

when they all turn to worship the sun.

The cakes will keep in a container with a

lid for up to 3 days.

WWW.FOODHEAVENMAG.COM APRIL baking heaven 39

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bake

BAKING^ TIP

ALTERNATIVE

INSTE AD OF PINE APPLE,

USE READY-MADE DRIED

BANANA CHIPS