by Cassie | Aug 1, 2018 |
This Sparkling Wine Buttercream Tart with Figs is topped off with edible flowers to create a show-stopping dessert that is bang on trend.
Say hello to your new favourite tea-time-or-anytime treat; this sparkling wine buttercream tart laden with figs and flowers. But this isn’t just any tart, this tart is completely customisable and can be turned into whatever shape/size/flavour you want. So, when Food & Home Entertaining challenged me to make my own version, I knew it would have to be a little fancier than an everyday tart. And by fancy, we all know I mean there’s a little bubbly in it!
If you’re not a big fan of cake, or you’re feeling slightly daring this sparkling wine buttercream tart is the perfect alternative. It’s layered, there’s frosting, it’s got toppings and above all, it’s as tasty as it looks!
The best part of this dessert that it’s completely up to you how you want to make it. Make the biscuits chocolate flavoured or fill it with your favourite raspberry buttercream or even chocolate mousse, top it off with macarons or berries – you have complete control here! You can create any shape you want; cut the biscuits into a number for a birthday or create a monogram for an anniversary. Or just make a heart for one because you’re worth baking for too!
Sparkling Wine Buttercream Tart with Figs and Flowers
2018-07-09 11:40:43
Serves 4
10064 calories
1082 g
2590 g
591 g
78 g
365 g
2466 g
2066 g
679 g
23 g
184 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 10064
Calories from Fat 5203
Trans Fat 23g
Polyunsaturated Fat 27g
Monounsaturated Fat 157g
Total Carbohydrates 1082g
361%
Sugars 679g
Protein 78g
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
- SWEET PASTRY
- 500g (2 cups) cake flour
- 120g icing sugar, sifted
- 240g salted butter, cubed
- 6 large egg yolks
- SPARKLING WINE BUTTERCREAM
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 550g white sugar
- 180ml (3/4 cup) sparkling wine
- 450g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- Small fresh figs, to decorate
- Edible flowers, to decorate
- For the pastry, place the flour and icing sugar in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and process until the dough just comes together. Tip out onto a lightly floured work surface and bring pastry together with the heel of your hand. Divide into 2 discs then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to rest.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C if you’re using a fan-forced oven). Grease 2 large baking sheets and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, working with one disc of pastry at a time, roll the pastry out onto a large sheet of baking paper 5mm thick, then cut each into a medium-sized heart –12x 12cm wide. Cut out the centre of each heart so you’re left with a 2cm border. Bake the pastry hearts in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges start turning golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Combine the sugar and sparkling wine in a medium-sized pot and stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves completely. Increase the heat and bring the syrup to the boil. Stop stirring and attach a sugar thermometer to the pot (if any sugar crystals have washed up on the sides, brush them away using a pastry brush dipped in cool water). Continue to cook the syrup until it reaches 115° C (final desired temperature). As soon as the sugar syrup hits 110°C, begin whipping the egg whites on medium-high speed. The goal is to have the egg whites at soft peaks when the sugar reaches the 115° C. With the mixer running, add the sugar syrup in a slow, steady stream down the side of the mixing bowl. Continue to whip on high speed until the mixture reaches stiff peaks and the bowl is no longer warm to the touch. The meringue should be smooth and glossy. With the mixer still running, gradually add room temperature butter in chunks. Continue adding and mixing until all of the butter is incorporated and the buttercream is light and smooth. Beat in the vanilla and mix to combine. Place the buttercream in a piping bag with a straight nozzle.
- To assemble the tart, pipe blobs of buttercream on the first pastry heart to cover the surface area, then top with the second pastry heart. Repeat with the remaining two pastry layers so you have 4 in total. Decorate the top with more buttercream then arrange quartered fresh figs and edible flowers on top. Serve immediately.
The Kate Tin https://thekatetin.com/
by Kate | Mar 10, 2018 |
This isn’t just a delicious recipe for a vanilla buttercream cake, I’m going to breakdown how to create the unicorn cake that’s been flooding our social media feeds for months. Even if you’re not going to be making a unicorn cake anytime soon, below is a detailed recipe on how to bake, prep and frost a basic 6-layer vanilla cake – which, if you’ve ever been asked to make a birthday cake, should come in handy, no matter how you decide to decorate it!
First up, I just want to say that I am absolutely aware that the unicorn cake trend is basically almost over. Well, if you’re a serious baker, instagrammer or following ‘baking trends‘ that is. But if you’re a 3 year old, then a unicorn cake is still VERY much a big deal! So when I got THREE requests in one week from various family members to make a Unicorn Cake, that’s clearly the universe telling me to post it. If I’m being asked for unicorn cakes from nieces, cousins and step-daughters then obviously you are all too! So, hopefully this post will encourage you to bake any little girl (or boy!)’s dream come true…
Tip #1: Never frost and decorate a cake on the day you baked it. In other words, always prep the sponge and frosting the day or night before. Freshly baked sponges are a wonky/collapsed cake waiting to happen – especially if you’re layering them 6-sponges high!
Tip #2: Freeze (or at least refrigerate) your cake layers. Frozen cake layers are rigid and cold which makes it easier to build a straight cake and also immediately sets the frosting so it’s sturdier. Since I learnt this trick it’s changed my life!
Tip #3: Make all the fussy decorations (like the unicorn cake ears/unicorn horn) a few days before so you’ve got less to worry about.
Tip #4: Get a cake turntable. It will make your life so much easier!
Getting the look of the main on the unicorn cake usually requires a lot of different piping nozzles, but if you’re not a good piper you can buy some of these mini meringues from any supermarket and use those – I popped them on my cake in between the buttercream because I love the crunch they add! Do you regularly bake birthday cakes? I would love to hear some of your tips and what creations you’ve made – post them in the comments below!
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM UNICORN CAKE
Makes 1 large 6-layer cake (20cm wide x 20cm high) or 35-40 cupcakes
Timeline: 2 hours for baking the sponges and prepping the frosting, 3 hours for assembling and decorating
Recipe adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
VANILLA SPONGE
160g salted butter, softened
560g caster sugar
480g cake flour
30ml (2 tbsp) baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
480ml full cream milk, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
1kg icing sugar
320g salted butter, softened
100ml full cream milk, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pink, turquoise and purple gel food colouring
TO DECORATE
Edible glitter and gold dust
200g White Fondant
3 large wooden skewers
Quick Dry (or you can use a little vodka)
To make the sponge, preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius (170 if you’re using a fan-forced oven). Grease and line 6 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper. If like me, you don’t have 6 (who does), you’ll have to reline and bake the cakes in batches (which is perfectly okay).
Using an electric handheld or stand mixer (with the paddle attachment), place the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder in the bowl and mix on low speed until it resembles a sandy breadcrumb texture. Whisk together the milk, vanilla and eggs then, with the speed still on low, gradually pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Beat the batter until smooth and light – about 2 minutes. Divide the cake batter in between your lined tins (if you’re OCD like me you can weight it so they’re all even – I used about 320g in each of my tins). Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden, springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool completely before levelling them off by cutting off the tops with a bread knife. At this point I wrap the layers (usually with the base of the cake tin underneath to keep them steady) and freeze (or refrigerate) them overnight. Mix quickdry with edible gold lustre dust to form a thick paste and use a paintbrush to paint the unicorn horn, ears and eyes gold. Allow to dry.
To make the unicorn horn, ears and eyes; roll an egg-sized piece of fondant into a long sausages which tapers off at both ends (so both ends are thinner than the middle). Bring the two ends together to form a loop then twist the loop to form a unicorn horn! Insert a wooden skewer down the centre of the horn and allow to dry overnight. For the ears, form two large triangles then round the edges off. Place the triangle in the palm of your hand to give it a curved shape and allow to dry. Pinch off two small pieces of fondant for the eyes, roll into sausages, flatten slightly and form into curves.
To make the buttercream, place the icing sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until it forms a thick sandy paste. Gradually add the milk and vanilla on low speed until combined then increase to high and whip until very white and fluffy – about 5 minutes.
To assemble the unicorn cake, identify your two most perfect, level sponges – they will be your top and bottom. Place one of them on a cake board. If you’re using a cake turntable, tape the cake board to the turntable so it doesn’t move around – I use masking tape. Top the first sponge layer with a big dollop of buttercream and use a palette knife to spread it out roughly. Top with the second sponge and press it down firmly so the buttercream underneath squishes out the sides (if you’re OCD like me, you can use a spirit level to make sure each level is straight). This is also where the cold sponges help as they’re rigid and set the buttercream almost immediately – so no wonky cakes! Continue layering sponge and buttercream, ending off with perfect sponge you reserved earlier. Using a palette knife scrape the frosting that squished out from the sides and spread that thinly all over the cake – this is called a crumb coat. Refrigerate until firm. Now cover the entire cake in a thick layer of frosting. Using a palette knife perpendicular to the turn table, scrape off an even layer of frosting to give you a smooth edge. Refrigerate again until firm.
To decorate the unicorn cake, divide the remaining buttercream into 3 bowls and tint each pink, purple and turquoise. Prepare 3 disposable piping bags with different nozzles – I used this one, this one and this one. The idea is to have large, medium and small nozzles to give varying textures. Place a different colour frosting in each. Insert the unicorn horn and ears into the top of the cake then stick the eyes on the front using buttercream. Now start piping varying sizes of swirls as the main starting at the top of the cake and working your way down the side. Sprinkle the main with edible glitter.
by Kate | Nov 2, 2017 |
Tim Tams came into my life rather late. I was 21, had just received my first (very meager) salary and was standing in the supermarket aisle with an intense desire to splurge. I’d seen these cookies before but had always been outraged by the ridiculous price tag. Where they made of gold to be deserving of 50 Randelas?! On this particular day though, it was this exact ridiculous price tag that lured me in – after all, my bank account was full! I went home and ate the entire packet in one sitting. Since then, Tim Tams have become my treat. I share them with no one. I eat them in secret. If you’re a hardcore Tim Tam fan like me, though, you’ll have noticed that there are times when this Australian treat is impossible to find in South Africa. It’s like the ozzies hog them. How rude. Don’t worry though, because during Tim Tam shortages, you can now make your own. Yes, I cracked the recipe and they are so good you may never buy a packet again!
Ingredients
For the Biscuits:
- 150g butter
- 150g soft light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp (45ml) golden syrup
- 330g cake flour
- 60g The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 3-4 tsp milk
-
Filling
- 115g butter softened
- 125g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tbsp The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder
- 2 tbsp milk powder, lightly toasted (or Horlicks or Milo)
-
- 200g good-quality milk chocolate, melted (I use AFRIKOA milk chocolate)
- 1 tbsp odourless coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celscius.
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
- For the biscuits, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy – about 8 minutes.
- Beat in the golden syrup.
- Sift the flour, cocoa, salt and bicarbonate of soda into the creamed mixture.
- Add the milk a bit at a time, until you get a soft even dough. It should be a bit crumbly, but just come together.
- Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about a minute, until it comes together.
- Roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin about 1/2cm thick.
- Cut out into rectangles 8cm x 4cm and then carefully lift onto the prepared baking sheet with a metal spatula, leaving some space in between the biscuits.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, then remove from the oven.
- Carefully lift onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the filling, cream the butter together with the icing sugar, cocoa powder and toasted milk powder.
- Add a little milk to bring the frosting together.
- Spread a heaped teaspoon onto each of half the baked biscuits and then top with another one, pressing down lightly.
- Repeat until all the biscuits are filled.
- Stir the coconut oil into the melted milk chocolate.
- Dip the bottom of each biscuit and allow to set on a sheet of baking paper. Place the set biscuits on a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath then pour the chocolate over the biscuits to coat completely.
- Allow to set then store in an airtight container.
0.1
https://thekatetin.com/homemade-tim-tams/ 
Want more chocolate? Of course you do:
Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
Chocolate Sweetie Pies
by Kate | Oct 19, 2017 |
Welcome to the dark side. But don’t worry, there’s cake! Black brushstroke cake, to be exact. Earlier this year, in my monthly baking column for Food24, I wrote about how darkness was going to descend on baking and treats were going to go gothic. Sometimes trends are silly and sometimes they can be fun – especially when they tie in with a celebration. And while I definitely don’t celebrate Halloween, it does give us bakers a fantastic excuse to get super creative. When the folks over at Food & Home Entertaining Magazine asked me to create a gothic food feature for their October issue, it was like putting me in a candy store! This Black Brushstroke Cake was the result and it is one heck of a showstopper – a jet-black velvet cake is sandwiched together with burnt vanilla buttercream and decorated with black chocolate brushstrokes. What is burnt vanilla, I hear you ask? Well, by baking the vanilla, the sugars in the bean caramelise giving it a more intense, toasty flavour.
If you haven’t yet tried the chocolate brushstrokes – check out my tutorial here – it’s a lot easier than it looks!
BLACK BRUSHSTROKE CAKE WITH BURNT VANILLA FROSTING
Makes 1 x 20cm cake, serves 6-8
240g cake flour
490g Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar
100g The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder
10ml (2 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
5ml (1 tsp) baking powder
large pinch salt
2 large eggs
180ml (¾ cup) strong coffee, cooled
320g buttermilk
125ml (½ cup) canola oil
black gel food colouring
BURNT VANILLA FROSTING
1 vanilla pod, halved
125g butter, softened
60g The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder, sifted
300g Natura Sugars Demerara Icing Sugar, sifted
45 – 60ml (3 – 4 tbsp) milk
black gel food colouring
BLACK BRUSHSTROKES
black powder food colouring
100g The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate, melted
For the cake, preheat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line 3 cake tins (20cm diameter) with baking paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, coffee, buttermilk, canola oil and a few drops black gel food colouring.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Divide the batter among the tins and bake in the preheated oven, 30 – 40 minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centres of the cakes comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins, 5 minutes, before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool down completely.
To make the icing, place the vanilla pod on a baking sheet in the oven and roast, 5 minutes, until fragrant. Scrape the seeds from the pod and discard the pod. Place the seeds in a blender or pestle and mortar and blitz or pound to form a fine powder. Cream the butter until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla powder, 60g cocoa, the icing sugar, milk and enough gel food colouring to make a black icing. Beat until smooth and completely combined.
For the brushstrokes, line a baking sheet with baking paper. Mix the powder colouring into the melted baking chocolate. Drop a teaspoonful coloured chocolate onto the baking sheet, then use the back of a spoon to smear the chocolate like a brushstroke over the baking sheet. Repeat until all of the chocolate has been used up. Allow to set before peeling off the brushstrokes.
Assemble the cake by layering the sponges with burnt vanilla buttercream icing between each layer. Cover the entire cake in icing and smooth out with a palette knife. Using dollops icing, stick the brushstrokes on the front of the cake to decorate.
