IT’S MY BIRTHDAY… and I got given this beautiful, delicious cake… I LOVE JAM SPONGE CAKE.

This was the birthday cake I got given on Friday 10th May, ready for my birthday and party on Saturday 11th May.  I literally could not believe my eyes.  It was completely and utterly wonderful, not only because of the fabulous decoration and the lovely personalisation but the cake itself tasted delicious, moist, spongy and overall stunning.  I was one VERY happy lady, VERY spoilt lady.  My favourite things, flowers (specifically Gerbera’s) and cake.  EPIC.

The cake may have been a ‘simple sponge cake’ but that was a huge understatement.  Everyone thinks they can make a Victoria sponge cake and they can… it’s easy, but getting a ‘simple sponge’ to be indulgent and worthy of a birthday cake isn’t an easy task. It takes a while to perfect the basic recipe and the baking technique, but once you have got it – as Leanne Camilleri certainly has, you will be away.

Have you ever had a birthday cake from the supermarket… has it felt ‘fluffy’ in your mouth?  I have, and it did.  It also left a strange taste in my mouth and did not leave me wanting more.  Basically, the cake is made from non-fresh ingredients, so keep manufacturing costs low and to increase the profit margin.  So your lovely birthday cake will contain a range of dried milk, pasteurised eggs, syrup and raising agents – which does NOT say HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.

Here is an ingredient list of a standard sponge ‘birthday cake’ from one of the leading retailers…

Sugar , Wheat Flour , Pasteurised Egg , Vegetable Oil , Buttercream (9.6%) [Unsalted Butter, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Flavouring] , Raspberry Jam (8.4%) [Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Raspberries, Water, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Flavouring] , Glucose Syrup , Dextrose , Water , Emulsifier (Mono and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids) , Wheat Starch , Raising Agents (Diphosphates, Sodium Carbonates) , Maize Starch , Salt , Stabilisers (Xanthan Gum, Tragacanth) , Preservative (Potassium Sorbate) , Humectant (Glycerol) , Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid) , Colours (Anthocyanins, Carotenes, Titanium Dioxide, Lutein) , Vegetable Concentrates (Algae, Safflower, Beetroot) , Dried Egg White.

My lovely cake from Leanne Camilleri did not contain any of these unnecessary dried/pasteurised ingredients, it was very obviously made from fresh ingredients and this was obvious from the very first bite.  So I am going to provide you with a very lovely, very simple sponge cake recipe so that you to can make all your own sponge cakes from now on.  DO NOT BUY FROM THE SUPERMARKET, it’s easier, tastier and cheaper to make it yourself.

MY BIRTHDAY CAKE (a few images for you here!)

With candles and complete with all my friends singing away!

… it’s time to make a wish!

Time to cut the cake. Believe me I felt very guilty about this!

The first slice is out…

… and wow 4 layer! NOW TO EAT.

Leanne Camilleri makes cakes like this as a hobby, so if you would like a cake similar to mine, or maybe something more specific, do let me know and hopefully I can put you in touch with Leanne who can make you one of these wonderful, incredible, tasty, beautiful cakes.  I cannot thank her and my lovely friend for the generous thought enough.  You truly made my birthday.

The ORANGE-IEST, Lemon Cake you ever did see…

My orange coloured Lemon Cake. It was phenomenal!

My mother and I made the lemon cake together yesterday for mothers day, using the eggs we collected from the chickens.  We then devoured it with a large mug of tea!

I just wanted to take the opportunity to share the end result of this cake with you here.  It was fantastically orange (due to the eggs we used from our chickens) and it was beautifully lemon-y.  It really was a taste sensation!  So, if you are doing any of your own baking at home and can afford to buy organic, free-range eggs do – you will not regret it, I promise.

Do you want to make my lemon cake?  If so, you can find the link on the right of the page under ‘A little Lemon Cake for my Mother Hen’, or simply click on this link!

If you make one of your own do send some pictures over to me, or send me a TWEET @gemsfoodgems.

Just a few of the chickens for the eggs for my Lemon Cake… Thanks!

A little LEMON CAKE for my MOTHER HEN…

I feel as though I am today introducing you to my sisters!  Since my sister and I ‘flew the nest’ my Mother has taken on several chickens to love.  We say they are her ‘designer chickens’ as each one is a little ‘different‘, has a funny little name and a very amusing personality.  If you hover over the pictures the chickens ‘stared’ will be revealed.

As I am home for Mothers Day this year, I have had the opportunity to bake with the wonderful Free Range, Organic eggs that the chickens provide us with on a daily basis.  For me, this is one of the most special things about coming home, to my mum.  Fresh Eggs.  We have scrambled eggs in the mornings on fresh bread and then in the afternoons we collect the eggs and bake a seriously delicious cake, which is beautifully orange – due to the naturally intense colour of the eggs.  There is nothing more wonderful.

Without further ado, I give you my mum’s favourite cake recipe which we have made together as a treat for MOTHERS DAY, and to say thank you to her for being TOTALLY FANTASTIC.

These are the eggs we collected this weekend from our chickens…

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

MAKES: 2 large loaf cakes (8lb cakes)

If you want to make just one cake, simply halve this mixture.  We make 2 so that we can share them with family and friends.

INGREDIENTS:

For the cake:

• 8oz (225g) Butter
• 8oz (225g) Light Brown Sugar Sugar
• 4 Free Range Eggs
• 9 1/2 oz  (270g) Wholemeal Self Raising Flour
• Juice & Zest 1 Lemon
• Pinch of Salt
• OPTIONAL: 2oz (60g) Poppy Seeds

For the lemon drizzle topping:

• Juice of 2 lemons
• 5 tbsp sugar

HOW TO MAKE THE LEMON DRIZZLE CAKES – JUST FOR YOUR MUM!

The first thing you need to do (as always) is to pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C or Gas Mark 4.  Then you need to line your loaf tin with baking paper or if you have it with a case/liner.

Then in a bowl you need to cream together the butter and the sugar.  It is really important for this stage (if you are not using a mixer) that you use butter at room temperature, as otherwise it is just too hard to mix them.  The creaming method is great for getting some air into the cake to, so keep mixing the butter and sugar until you have a light/cream coloured mix.

Now you need to gradually add your eggs.  If you are a regular follower of my blog you will see that I advise you to break the eggs into a cup and then add them to the cake one at a time.  So do this, then give the mixture a good stir.  By the 4th egg the cake mix may be starting to curdle/separate, so do add a tablespoon or 2 of the flour.

Next sieve the flour into the bowl and then mix well, using a folding method.

Zest the lemon and pop this into the mixture and then the juice of the lemon.  It is best to use a sieve to do this, or a lemon squeezer, so that you don’t get any of the pips in the cake!  (If you are using poppy seeds add them in here and mix again.)

Finally, mix well and then split between the 2 loaf tins and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Whilst the cakes are cooking prepare the lemon syrup drizzle topping.  To do this pop all your ingredients into a pan, bring it to the boil (just) so that the sugar dissolves.  You don’t want to make toffee, so as soon as it bubbles reduce the heat and keep stirring.  Put to one side, until the cakes are cooked, but stir every now and again, so that the sugar does not start to crystalize.

After the alloted cooking time, take one of the cakes out and insert a clean skewer or knife into the centre of the cake.  If it comes out clean then the cake is cooked.  If it does not, pop it back in the oven for 5 minutes and repeat this until the cake is cooked.  Remove from the oven, gently stab it all over (only about 1/2 way through the cake) and pour over the lemon syrup.  Leave to cool and then slice and enjoy… (with a cup of tea!).

Ps.  Remember to say thank you to your chickens if you are using home grown eggs!