Baked vanilla cheesecake with raspberries

Cake tin:

20cm sandwich tin 4cm deep with a loose base, greased and lined with baking parchment

For the base:

200g pack shortbread fingers
50g butter, melted

For the filling:

300g Philadelphia Creamy Soft Cheese
350ml Crème fraîche
175g golden caster sugar
25g plain flour
3 large eggs, beaten
1 dessertspoon  Vanilla Extract

For the topping:

200g fresh raspberries
Icing sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 150ºC, gas mark 3.

Blitz the biscuits into crumbs in a food processor then tip them into a bowl and add the melted butter and give it a thorough mix.

Press the crumbs evenly into the base of the lined tin using the back of a metal spoon to give it a smooth surface.

Make the filling

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, caster sugar and flour.

Stir in the crème fraîche, beaten eggs and vanilla.

Pour the mixture over the biscuit base and place it on a baking tray in the lower half of the oven.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, by which time the cheesecake will be barely coloured; it should be just set firm on the edge but still slightly wobbly in the centre.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before placing in the fridge for several hours to firm up.

To serve the cheesecake, arrange the raspberries all over the surface and dust with icing sugar.

Chocolate Cake

Best ever family chocolate cake

Ingredients

50g (2oz) cocoa

6 tbsp boiling water

3 eggs

4 tbsp milk

175g (6oz) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

100g (4oz) softened butter

300g (10oz) natural caster sugar

For the icing and filling

150g (5oz ) Bournville chocolate broken into pieces

150ml (5 fl oz) double cream

3 tbsp apricot jam

The cake

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.

Grease two 8in (20cm) sandwich tins and line the base with baking parchment.

First measure the cocoa and boiling water into a large bowl, and mix well to make a paste.

Add the remaining ingredients and beat again until combined.

Divide the cake mixture between the prepared tins.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 mins until well risen and shrinking away from the sides of the tin.

For the icing and filling

Measure the chocolate and cream together in a bowl and stand the bowl over a pan of simmering water for approx 10 minutes until melted - stirring from time to time.

Set aside and allow to become cold and almost set.

When baked, remove the cakes and allow to cool completely.

Spread the tops of each cake with apricot jam.

Fill the cakes with half the icing and spread the remainder on top.

Dust with icing sugar.

Fruit Teabread

Loaded with sultanas and apricots. There is no butter in this so it is good for you :)

Start the day before, fruits need to be soaked in hot tea overnight.

Cake tin needed:

A 900g (2 lb) loaf tin

Ingredients:

350g (12 oz) mixed dried fruit

225g (8oz) light muscovado sugar

300ml (1/2 pint) hot Earl Grey tea made using 2 Earl Grey teabagsz

275g (10oz) self raising flour

Zest of 1 lemon

1 large beaten egg

Day before:

Put dried fruits and the sugar into a bowl, stir to mix, then pour over hot tea.

Cover the bowl and leave in a cool place overnight.

Preheat the oven to 150 C.

Line baking tin with baking parchment.

Add the flour, lemon zest and beaten egg to the fruit mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed.

Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and gently level the surface.

Bake for 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours, until well risen and firm to the touch.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

Turn the teabread out and leave on a wire rack to cool.

Lychee Cupcakes

Delicate lychee flavour

Tins needed:

Bun tray

Ingredients:

225g (8oz) softened butter

225g (8oz) caster sugar

225g (8oz) self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

1 tin of lychees

For filling:

300ml whipped cream

½ tin chopped up lychees

For buttercream frosting:

125g cold Philadelphia full fat cream cheese

50g softened unsalted butter

300g icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

Drop of pink food colouring

For decoration:
Lychee Jelly Belly sweets

Makes  about 18.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Line the bun tray with baking cases.

Place the butter, caster sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat for 2-3 minutes until well combined.

Stir in chopped up lychees drained of any juice.

Spoon the mixture into paper cases.

Bake for 18 minutes until well risen.

Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Cut out middle of cupcakes and fill with chopped up lychees and whipped cream.

Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a mixer with paddle attachment on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.

Add vanilla extract.

Add Philadelphia in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated.

Turn the mixer up to medium-­high speed.

Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.

Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.

Add drop of pink colour and mix through.

Transfer the frosting to piping bag with star nozzle and decorate the cupcakes when completely cooled.
Add few lychee Jelly Belly sweets on top of each.

Lychee Sponge Cake

Delicate lychee flavour

For the cakes

4 free-range eggs

225g/8oz, caster sugar

225g/8oz self raising flour

225g/8oz butter at room temperature

1tin of lychees, reserve the syrup

For filling

300ml whipping or double cream

½ tin lychees

For icing

250g (9oz) icing sugar, sifted

80g (3oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

25ml whole milk

A couple of drops of vanilla extract

½ tin lychee cut in halves

Praline

100g/3½oz caster sugar

55g/2oz cashews/almonds

Place a lightly greased sheet of baking paper onto a baking sheet.

Heat the caster sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat without stirring, until the sugar dissolves and liquid turns a deep brown caramel colour.

Add the nuts and pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.

Allow the caramel to cool and set hard, and then break it up into tiny pieces.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Grease and line 2 x 20cm/8in sandwich tins.

Break the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour, baking powder and butter.

Mix everything together until well combined.

Be careful not to over-mix – as soon as everything is blended you should stop.

The finished mixture should be of a soft ‘dropping’ consistency – it should fall off a spoon easily.

Add chopped lychees coated in flour so they don’t sink. Mix gently.

Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn’t need to be exact.

Smooth the surface of the cakes.

Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins.

Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool in their tins for five minutes. Then run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tin and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.

To take your cakes out of the tins without leaving a wire rack mark on the top, put the clean tea towel over the tin, put your hand onto the tea towel and turn the tin upside-down.

The cake should come out onto your hand and the tea towel, remove baking parchment, then you can turn it from your hand onto the wire rack.

Set aside to cool completely.

To assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with whipped cream.

Place handful of chopped lychees on top of cream.

Top with the second cake, top-side up.

Spread butter cream on top and sides.

Decorate with praline and lychees.