Let's talk about cake

[pineapplebryanbrown]

Not pies or tarts, only cakes.

I've given this a lot if thought and have decided the best cake is coffee and walnut without walnuts and with an enormous amount of buttercream icing.

I've just had some Victoria sponge and it was better than nothing but no icing.

Bara brith- from the river cottage cakes book

175ml strong warm tea
225g mixed dried fruit
Zest and juice of 1 orange
150g soft brown sugar

1 egg
225g self raising flour
1 tsp ground mixed spice
Pinch salt

Put the fruit, orange zest and juice, sugar and tea in a bowl, covr and leave overnight until the fruit is plump.

Preheat to 180c gas mark 4. Grease and line a 1 litre loaf tin. Beat the egg and mix it into the fruit mixture. Sift the dried ingredients into the bowl too and mix with a metal spoon. Spoon the mixture into the tin. Tap to level the surface. Bake for an hour. Leave in the tin for 10 mins then turn out to cool.

I like the walnuts. One per slice on top and some chopped up on the mixture. But I never have this unless someone brings it into work. I'd always choose carrot cake or choc. But nearly all cake is amazing and I love buttercream. Cream cheese frosting is basically buttercream too so don't think it's any more sophisticated!

But I have to say red velvet cake is dumb. Very unchocolatey chocolate cake with loads.and loads of red food colouring. What's the point?

Fay, I thought that was tomatoes, strips of cucumber and basil leaves on top...

It's my 50th birthday in a few months and I'm going to request that my DH commissions me a coffee buttercream cake with chocolate beans on top. I might also ask him for a small supermarket vanilla sponge so the rest of the family can have a piece of cake too.

Thanks for the idea OP.

OP I am so with you, that the BEST cake is a deep coffee cake with coffee butter icing. Why oh why oh why do people then spoil it by bunging walnuts in ?
This, OTOH Instead of walnut it should be very small slightly fudgey coffee bean shapes made out of chocolate fondant sounds absolutely lush.

As indeed, does your Mum's orange drizzle with chocolate on the top.

FWIW, a lady at my church makes a scrummy cappuccino cake. She made it once for a coffee morning and had to make it for all future ones now as it was so nice.

Back tell me about this cappuccino cake, how did it differ from walnutless coffee and walnut cake. And who the fuck ever decided to combine the two? I know I'll bung the worst nuts on this awesome cake!!!

She makes it as a tray bake, so about 2" deep of sponge. Don't know what goes in but the sponge is darker than the light brown of a coffee cake - (looks more like it might, in truth, be a mocca cake, with a hint of the chocolate about it ). then the icing is a bit lighter than a traditional butter cream - lighter in texture I mean, almost slightly runnier / not as thick (?) as a traditional butter icing. White in colour but with a tinge of coffee, then sprinkled chocolate powder on the top.

If I could bake, I should ask her for the recipe, but, in truth I prefer eating what she makes

Victorian sponge for me.

Forgot to mention our family recipe of coffee cream cake. You bake a basic sponge and soak it in this coffee syrup so it's slightly like a tiramisu. Whipped cream all over. Lush.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2006/cappuccino-cake

A good chocolate cake is a joy, but a rarity

The wife makes a cherry bakewell cake which is entirely too delicious

A local bake called the Yummy Yank (check out her website) does the most amazing Oreo cookie frosting.

Thanks Calzone - that looks right

I love cake. But as I’ve got older I’ve got fussier and fussier about shopbought ones. I once got absolutely flamed on here and called all sorts of names because on my birthday a couple of years ago DH asked what I wanted to do and I said ‘go to the hummingbird bakery and buy cupcakes’ so we drove an 80 mile round trip just so I could get the cakes I like the best scone I ever had was at Waddesdon Manor tea shop and the best actual slice of cake I’ve ever had was a slice of apple and blackberry crumble cake from the cafe at another national trust place whose name escapes me. I am a mediocre baker who can make fairy cakes, coffee cake and lemon cake reasonably reliably so we stick with those

Victoria Sponge 🤤

That cappuccino cake recipe has walnuts in

Has to be perfectly home made for me to enjoy (fussy) plus I keep sweet treats to a minimum now but top 3 would be carrot, coffee and walnut or chocolate. Sorry no order, depends what I'd fancy at the time.

@popehilarious "optional" me dear. It is a key word

Every time fil visits his brother I Wales he brings me a couple of these because he knows I love it.
Now I've read this thread I'm just going to have to open it
Also love carrot and lemon drizzle
But my absolute favourite is raspberry and white chocolate muffin still warm from the oven.

@PatPhoenix - thank you. I'll soak the fruit overnight tonight...

This is hummingbird cake I made, it’s a bit like a carrot cake but with banana and pineapple. No one liked it in my family but me though! I like most American cakes or french patisserie style cakes.

I love cake 🧁🍰🧁🍰🧁🍰🧁🍰🧁

A chocolate sponge with chocolate butter cream

A moist lemon drizzle

A plain sponge with whipped cream and lemon curd in the middle

Whatever the cake is has to be home made, shop brought doesn’t even come close in taste

I like the idea of cake, but seldom enjoy it. For various boring reasons I don’t bake anymore and 99.99% of the time I find other cake too dry. Even stuff sold as homemade. Looks delicious then it’s such a disappointment.

You are correct. Coffee and walnut is the greatest cake anyone ever did make. I'm crap at making cakes, but I make an amazing coffee and walnut.

Pope hilarious, I made a tiramisu once well twice but the first one was perfect. Might try what your family did. I don't know why but if I make something the first time it's perfect then not the 2nd. On the other hand years ago I used to make a cake weekly and the favourite was coffee and walnut. My cakes then were always perfect but done them so often.