If I haven’t mentioned the Clandestine Cake Club recently let me refresh your memories! Basically, you bake a cake, turn up at a clandestine venue and chat with fellow baking enthusiasts while digging into everyone’s cake. Sounds good, huh? I happen to have taken over organisation of the York Central CCC and I really enjoy the opportunity to meet new people and have a good old chat about cakes, baking and everything else going on in our lives at the time! There are clubs all over the UK, and indeed, all over the globe, so check out the website for a club near you if this sounds like your kind of thing!
This B52 cake was for the ‘The Sun Is Over The Yardarm’ event, calling for boozy cakes. I went for one of my favourite shots, the gorgeous B52: a combination of a layer of Baileys, a layer of Kahlua and a layer of Cointreau. YUM! To translate this into a cake I decided to go for a layer of Kahlua soaked sponge, a layer of Cointreau soaked sponge and all topped with a Baileys and marscapone icing. This was a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself!
Serves 12
200g unsalted butter
200g golden caster sugar
4 eggs
200g self raising flour
3 tbsp milk
zest of 1 orange
3 tbsp espresso
3 tbsp Kahlua
3 tbsp Cointreau
200g granulated sugar
375ml water
500g full fat mascapone ( DO NOT buy low fat, it will be runny!)
100g icing sugar
3 tbsp Baileys
– Heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180C and grease and line 2 sandwich tins.
– Cream together the butter and sugar.
– Beat in the eggs.
– Fold in the flour.
– Add the milk and mix until combined.
– Divide your mixture between two bowls.
– Into one bowl add the orange zest, into the other add the espresso and mix well.
– Pour one batter into one sandwich tin, and one into the other.
– Bake for 25-30 minutes, testing with a toothpic to check for doneness.
– In the meantime combine the sugar and the water in a small pan and heat until all of the sugar is dissolved.
– Divide the sugar syrup in two.
– To one syrup add the Cointreau, to the other the Kahlua.
– If they’re watertight keep the cakes in their tins, if you think your tin will leak, turn out the cakes onto separate plates.
– Prick the cakes all over with a toothpick.
– Gently spoon the Kahlua mixture over the coffee cake and the Cointreau mixture over the orange cake and leave to soak for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
– Once the cake has absorbed all of the liquid turn out and press the two layers together. (They should be moist enough to stick slightly to each other without any need for icing.)
– In a new bowl mix the marscapone, the icing sugar and the Baileys together.
– Spoon this on top of the cake and swirl around until pleasing.
– Enjoy!
Anna in the kitchen 