Great Cake Recipes

Photography by Mark O'Meara Opt for treats at Halloween with this cake pop recipe.

Ingredients:

• 583g packet chocolate fudge cake mix
• 1/4 cup (60ml) bought chocolate frosting
• 375g white chocolate melts
• Orange food colouring gel

Equipment:

You will need a black edible ink pen (available from cake decorating suppliers) alternatively you can use cake decorating writing gel in chocolate or black (available from supermarkets). We used wooden sticks for this recipe which were thoroughly cleaned, but lollypop sticks or bamboo skewers can be used as an alternative.

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line the base of a 20cm round (base measurement) cake pan with baking paper.

2) Make the chocolate cake following packet directions. Spoon into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

3) Break the cake into small pieces and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Process until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a bowl. Add the chocolate frosting and stir to combine.

4) Line an oven tray with baking paper. Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into a ball. Use your fingers to lightly flatten into a pumpkin shape. Place on the lined tray. Repeat with remaining chocolate cake mixture. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm.

5) Place the white chocolate melts in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon until chocolate melts. Add orange food colouring and stir to combine.

6) Dip the end of 1 lollypop stick in chocolate then insert into the bottom of a ball. Return to the tray. Repeat with remaining cake balls.

7) Dip 1 cake ball into the melted chocolate, turning to coat. Gently tap on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Insert the cake pop in the polystyrene to stand upright. Repeat with remaining cake pops and chocolate. Set aside for 15 minutes to set.

8) Use a black edible in pen to draw a face on each pumpkin to create a jack ‘o’ lantern. Turn pumpkins on their base to serve. Taste.com.au - April 2012
Recipe by Sarah Hobbs

Photography by Ben Dearnley This is the sort of frog you want in your throat! It's sweet, tasty, and topped with creamy icing.

Ingredients:

• 200g butter, at room temperature
• 215g (1 cup) caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 375g (2 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
• 125ml (1/2 cup) milk
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 250g pkt cream cheese, at room temperature
• 300g (2 cups) icing sugar mixture
• 2-3 drops of green liquid food colouring
• 20 green fruit ring lollies, halved
• 2 straps black licorice, cut into 40 pieces

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 180°C. Line twenty 80ml (1/3-cup) capacity muffin pans with cases.

2) Use an electric beater to beat butter and caster sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until combined. Stir in flour, milk and half the vanilla until well combined.

3) Divide mixture among prepared pans. Bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

4) Use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese until soft. Gradually beat in the icing sugar. Beat in food colouring and remaining vanilla. Spread icing over cupcakes. Decorate with the lollies and licorice. Australian Good Taste - January 2010 , Page 74
Recipe by Michelle Noerianto

Photography by Mark O'Meara Have a bit of fun in the kitchen with these delicious cake disco morsels.

Ingredients:

Equipment:

You will need lolly-pop sticks for this recipe and a block of oasis or polystyrene.

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line the base of a 20cm round (base measurement) cake pan with baking paper.


2) Make the vanilla butter cake following packet directions. Spoon into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.


3) Use a serrated knife to trim the crusts of the cake. Break the cake into small pieces and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Process until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a bowl. Add the vanilla frosting and m&m’s minis and stir to combine.


4) Line an oven tray with baking paper. Roll tablespoonsful of cake mixture into balls and place on the lined tray. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm.


5) Place the white chocolate melts in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon until chocolate melts. Place the 100 & 1000’s in a small bowl.


6) Dip the end of 1 lollypop stick in chocolate then insert into a cake ball. Return to the tray. Repeat with remaining cake balls.


7) Dip 1 cake ball into the melted chocolate, turning to coat. Gently tap on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Roll the cake ball in 100 & 1000’s to coat. Insert the cake pop in the polystyrene to stand upright. Repeat with remaining cake balls, chocolate and 100 & 1000’s. Set aside for 30 minutes or until chocolate is completely set.
Taste.com.au - April 2012
Recipe by Sarah Hobbs

Photography by Brett Stevens Enjoy this Alice in Wonderland-inspired cheesecake and set the table for a tea party beyond your wildest dreams

Ingredients:

• 150g frozen raspberries, thawed
• 250g white chocolate melts
• 1kg full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 330g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• Red and white sugar heart cake decorations

Shortbread base:

• 150g (1 cup) plain flour
• 55g (1/4 cup firmly packed) brown sugar
• 125g unsalted butter, chopped, plus extra, to grease
• 50g (1/2 cup) walnuts, roasted, finely chopped

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a 24cm springform pan, then line base with baking paper. To make shortbread base, process flour, sugar and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add walnuts and process until mixture starts to form clumps. Press mixture evenly over base, then bake for 20 minutes or until pale golden. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then release side of pan and slide shortbread with baking paper off base onto a wire rack. Cool completely.


2) Reduce oven to 150C. Wipe pan clean. Grease with extra butter. Wrap outside of pan with foil to make it watertight.


3) Process raspberries in a food processor to a puree, then press through a fine sieve into a bowl. Discard seeds. Measure 60g puree for the filling.


4) To make cheesecake filling, melt 50g white chocolate melts. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed, scraping down the side of the bowl frequently, for 5 minutes or until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla, and beat until just combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until just combined. Place 1 cup cream cheese mixture in a small bowl and stir in reserved 60g raspberry puree and melted white chocolate.


5) Spoon plain cheese mixture into pan and level. Fit a piping bag with a 1cm plain nozzle, twist bag near nozzle to prevent filling leaking, then spoon the raspberry cheese mixture into the bag. Untwist bag, quickly insert nozzle into the centre of the cake filling to a depth of 1cm, then pipe a 3cm round of the raspberry mixture. Lift out nozzle (take care as mixture may leak), then place above the centre dot and pipe a 1.5cm round. Repeat at the opposite point, then pipe 2 x 1.5cm rounds on each side. You should now have 7 rounds. If you have mixture remaining, add a little more to each of the smaller rounds; don’t worry if they aren’t level.


6) Place in a large roasting pan on the bottom shelf of the oven, then pour in enough boiling water to reach 3cm up the side of cake pan. Bake for 1 1/4 hours or until edge is set and centre moves only slightly when pan is shaken; the top will be pale golden. Remove cake from water bath and cool to room temperature. Keep oven at 150C.


7) Meanwhile, to make edible playing cards, using a pencil and a ruler, draw 3 x 5cm x 30cm rectangles on a sheet of baking paper. Melt remaining 200g white chocolate melts. Turn paper over, spread chocolate thinly within marked rectangles, then set aside until just set. Using a sharp knife, trim rectangles straight. Cut each into 10 x 5cm x 3cm rectangles to make 30 cards, then trim the corners. Place on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Place 6 red hearts at the centre of each card and 4 white hearts at each corner. Place tray in oven for 30 seconds; this will melt chocolate slightly so the hearts stick. Cool.


8) Line a board or tart pan base with baking paper. Release the side of the cheesecake pan, then invert onto lined board. Carefully remove pan base, then invert cheesecake onto the cooled shortbread base so red dots are on top. Press white-chocolate cards around the side of the cake, using a small dot of soft butter to stick them to the cake. MasterChef - June 2011 , Page 69
Recipe by Sophia Young