Tiramisu Crunch Cake & Lancewood Cake-Off Competition

Tiramisu Crunch Cake & Lancewood Cake-Off Competition

*This Tiramisu Crunch Cake recipe is SPONSORED content

Lancewood has just launched a hunt for South Africa’s No.1 cake and guys, I don’t need to tell you that we need to win this one. Not me, but YOU! I want to see one of you win the all-expenses-paid trip to New York worth R150 000! I know you can do it!

So, what to bake that will WOW the judges?

First, it needs to be a cake (obvs) – but it can be a sweet or savoury cake! Think cheesecakes, sponge cakes, fridge cake – as long as it’s called a cake and looks like a cake, it counts!

Secondly, make something you LOVE. If you get excited about lemon meringue, then do a twist on that. I am crazy about tiramisu. This is evident in the many ways I’ve twisted it over the years. I’ve stuffed it into éclairs, frozen it, and if I was entering, I thought I’d make it into a cake! This is my Tiramisu Crunch Cake which is a naked cake (inspired by Christina Tosi’s famous Momofuku Milk Bar cake) to prove that even if you’re not great at cake decorating, you can still make a beautiful, drop-dead-delicious cake that’s bang on-trend. It has layers of espresso soaked sponge, a lusciously velvety mascarpone frosting made with Lancewood’s decadent mascarpone.  The real surprise factor lies in the crunchy cocoa rubble that is sprinkled in between the layers to add crunch. It’s seriously goooooood!

Thirdly, you need to use a Lancewood product (they have so many to choose from here) and submit a picture of your cake with the product you use in the picture – like this:

The judges (Zola Nene, J’Something and Lorna Maseko) might not be judging you on your photography skills, but I do think a good photo will help set you apart from the crowd (and help you get more public votes). So, here are some tips to take a great photo:

  • Set your cake next to a window or door where there’s natural daylight coming from one direction (avoid shooting at night/under fluorescent lights)
  • Put it on a pretty plate or cake stand (or a stack of plates) and shoot straight from the side so you can show off those layers!
  • Sometimes a cake looks better sliced so you can see what’s inside! Tip to getting the perfect slice? Chill your cake, then place your sharpest knife in a jug filled with just-boiled water to heat up, then wipe the knife with paper towel and slice, cleaning and dipping the knife in between each cut.
  • If it needs a wow factor, add a sparkler or drizzle it with melted chocolate (it always works!).
  • Use Instagram’s new ‘focus’ feature to blur out the background and make your cake the hero of the shot.
  • Edit the photo on your phone by increasing the contrast which makes the colours pop.

Lastly, upload your picture to the Lancewood Cake-Off website here 

Good luck, bakers! And let me know what you’ll be baking in the comments below!

 

TIRAMISU CRUNCH CAKE

Makes 1 large 4-layer 20cm cake that serves 10-12 people

 

ONE-BOWL 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

 

COFFEE SYRUP

120ml hot espresso

80g caster sugar

30ml grappa or your favourite liqueur (optional)

 

COCOA CRUMBLE

80g soft brown sugar

60g salted butter, at room temperature

160g cake flour

40g The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder, sifted

30ml whole coffee beans

 

MASCARPONE FROSTING

140g salted butter, room temperature

1kg icing sugar, sifted

230g Lancewood Medium-Fat Cream cheese, room temperature

230g Lancewood Mascarpone, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

To make the sponge, preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (170 if you’re using a fan-forced oven). Grease and line 4 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper. If like me, you don’t have 4 (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 400g in each of my tins). Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden, springy to the touch and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool completely before levelling them off by cutting off the tops with a bread knife. Allow to completely cool before use.

For the cocoa crumble; combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and spread out evenly on a lined baking tray. Bake in a 180 degrees Celsius (160 if you’re using a fan-forced) oven for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool.

To make the espresso syrup; brew the espresso and stir in the sugar until completely dissolved.

For the mascarpone frosting; Using an electric handheld or stand mixer (with the paddle attachment) mix the butter and icing sugar together until it reaches a sandy texture – about 9 minutes. Then add the cream cheese (room temperature) and vanilla extract and mix carefully until smooth. Fold in the mascarpone, don’t overmix. Place the frosting into a piping bag with a plain nozzle.

To assemble the Tiramisu Crunch Cake: make a collar that’s 65cm long and 21cm wide out of acetate (2 x A4 acetate sheets taped together) or double folded baking paper and insert it into the same springform cake tin you used to bake the cakes. Place the first layer of cake in the bottom of the cake tin. Brush generously with espresso syrup (don’t be afraid to really soak it as this is what will make it taste like tiramisu!), pipe a layer of frosting to cover the base and sprinkle with the cocoa crumble. Repeat this process until all the cake layers have been used. Make sure that each layer is pressed down properly. Finish the cake with a layer of frosting and the cocoa crumble. Place in the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours or until the frosting is firm. To unmold, remove the Tiramisu Crunch Cake from the cake tin, peel of the acetate and allow it to come back to room temperature before serving with a dark chocolate sauce.

Coconut and Lemon Curd Crumble

Coconut and Lemon Curd Crumble

#SPONSORED

Some of you, will make lemonade, but me? When life gives me lemons, I make PUDDING. Although, if I’m really honest with myself (and you), life didn’t give me lemons last week, I sort of, kind of, took them. My floral stylist friend Matanna would call it ‘Gorilla Foraging’ (which is, like, very trendy right now) but I know better than to dress something up and give it a fancy name. In simple words, it’s called stealing. Yes, when nobody was looking (at least I hope nobody was!), I snuck into my neighbour’s front yard and knicked a few lemons. Their tree has been groaning with citrus for the past few weeks, the ground littered with plump zingy lemons rotting away – going unused. Wasted. Every time I drive past, my heart ached with longing to save them. It just had to be done, nay, it was my duty!

So when life gave me lemons (just run with it, people!), I obviously made dessert – there is so much poetic clout in that sentence I can’t even deal. See, dessert even turns me into a poet! I adore lemons, along with butter, salt, a jar of Nutella , chocolate, and coffee, lemons are among the ingredients that are ALWAYS in my kitchen. Always. They bring so much brightness and cheer to winter – and the fact they’re packed with Vitamin C, well that just makes them (and anything they’re in) healthy.

All my favourite pudding recipes are magical and this one is no exception – it splits into two layers in the oven; a smooth, creamy, tangy, lemon curd at the bottom and a light, spongy pudding at the top. Sprinkle over some crunchy coconut crumble and you’re a scoop of ice cream away from lemon heaven. As if by some kind of sweet fate, the caster sugar that this silky smooth pud cries out for, just happens to be the same colour as it’s inspiration; Natura Golden Caster Sugar. It’s fine texture means it dissolves quickly ensuring a velvety texture, and it’s unrefined, natural bronze colour adds heaps of flavour. Just like a lemon without it’s zest, sugar with all it’s colour stripped from it, sadly, doesn’t taste like much so make sure you get the sugar with all the tasty parts still in it!

Now, excuse me while I go and fight the flu by eating this pudding.

Coconut and Lemon Curd Crumble

Recipe adapted from Curtis Stone

Serves 4

 

Coconut Crumble

110g cake flour

85g Natura Golden Caster Sugar

110g butter, melted

90g desiccated coconut

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

 

Lemon Curd Pudding

220g + 110g 85g Natura Golden Caster Sugar

Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon

4 eggs, separated

90g butter, melted

70g cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

300ml coconut milk

125ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Vanilla ice cream, to serve

 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Make the crumble by combining all the ingredients together. Spread on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool. To make the pudding, butter a 25cm pudding bowl or casserole dish with butter. In a mixing bowl, rub 220g of the sugar and the lemon zest together with your fingertips to release the oils from the zest – it should be very fragrant. Add the egg yolks and beat with an electric whisk until light and creamy. Add the melted butter, sifted cake flour and baking powder to form a batter then mix in the coconut milk and lemon juice. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form then gradually add the remaining 110g caster sugar to form a glossy meringue. Whisk half the meringue into the lemon curd mixture then fold the rest in gently. Pour into the prepared dish and place inside a larger roasting tin. Fill the roasting tin with boiling water so it comes halfway up the sides of the dish then bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the top just sets. Sprinkle over the coconut crumble and allow to cool in the bain marie for 5 minutes before serving with ice cream.

 

Disclaimer: This post has been created in collaboration with Natura Sugars, however, I only work with brands I think are awesome and that I actually use myself.