As the new year is upon us and the avalanche of new year new me captions await their moment of glory, I thought it'd be apt to share Mary Berry's scrumptious reflection cake recipe.
The addition of gelatin to the icing sugar gives the cake an impressive shine. After all now is the time to reflect ~ one slice or two?
Ingredients for the sponge: 50g cocoa powder / 90ml boiling water / 3 eggs / 175g self-raising flour / 1 tsp baking powder / 100g baking spread / 250g caster sugar Ingredients for the icing: 7 sheets of leaf gelatin / 225g caster sugar / 75g cocoa powder / 75ml double cream / 50g dark chocolate / 2 tbsp apricot jam for brushing To fill and decorate: 300ml double cream, softly whipped / 10 strawberries with their green tops. You will need two 20cm round, loose-bottomed cake tins with deep sides.
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, then grease the tins with baking spread and line the bases with baking paper
2. Sift the cocoa powder into a large bowl. Pour in the boiling water and stir into a smooth paste. Add the remaining ingredients and beat together using an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy. Spoon into the prepared tins and level the tops.
3. Bake the cakes in the oven for 20-25 minutes (ideally on the same shelf, so that they cook at the same rate) until well risen and coming away from the sides of the tins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the baking paper and leave to cool down completely.
4. To make the icing, soak the gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes until soft. Measure the sugar, cocoa powder and cream into a saucepan and pour in 125ml of water. Stir the mixture over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and continue to stir until smooth.
5. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate pieces to the hot liquid, allowing them to melt. Leave to cool for 5 minutes. Remove the gelatin leaves from the bowl of water and squeeze out any liquid before adding to the pan. Stir the warm chocolate mixture until the gelatin has dissolved, then pour through a sieve into a bowl. Place in the fridge to cool down for about an hour and thicken to the consistency of thick mayonnaise.
6. Slice each sponge in half horizontally. Spread a third of the whipped cream over one layer of sponge, followed by another layer of cream and sponge, and continue to assemble the cake until you have four layers of sponge and three of cream. Press the sponges down between each layer so the cream comes right to the edges and the sponges are level at the sides. Take a palette knife and smooth around the edges so the excess cream very lightly covers the sides and gives a smooth edge.
7. Warm the apricot ham in a small saucepan and then pour through a sieve to remove any lumps. Brush the warmed jam over the top of the cake, then chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
8. Pour 50ml of the icing into a bow, then dip the top half of each strawberry into the melted icing and set aside on baking paper to set.
9. Pour or spoon the remaining icing over the top of the cake, smoothing it over the top and sides with a palette knife. Be very careful doing this - you want a smooth shiny icing. Leave for an hour or so to set.
10. Arrange the chocolate-iced strawberries around the bottom edge of the cake to serve. Cooking time: 25-30 minutes, plus cooling.
11. GORGE!
