DECORATED - by APRIL CARTER

A couple of years ago I did a food writing course at Leith's cookery school. There were about 15 of us on the course, from all walks of life, each with our own food writing ambitions. Mine was to improve my blog, learn some writing techniques and brush up my skills in the hope of one day writing my own cookbook. 2 years down the line and I still hope to publish my own book, part of which is written, part of which is safely stored in my head!!!! But something exciting popped up on my facebook feed a few weeks ago - one of the ladies on the course, April Carter, has now written her 3rd book (!!), which has been published by Hardie Grant and is now on sale! Her name emblazoned across her book, full of her own recipes - that has to be the dream come true? I was thrilled when April said yes to me previewing one of her recipes from the book for my blog, in the hope that you might want to buy the book yourselves, either to further your own baking, or as a perfect Christmas present for a loved one.

April Carter's 'Decorated - Sublimely crafted cakes for every occasion' book is absolutely beautiful. A collection of recipes for cakes and sweet treats for all occasions and skill levels, the book finishes with a chapter dedicated to how to decorate your own cakes, going into great detail about icing techniques, how to melt chocolate and tips for that extra special finishing touch, all shown via gorgeous photos, taken by Danielle Wood. I know already that April's book is going to be my go-to book for cake making and decorating, and as I'm known as the world's worst cake decorator I can see myself learning a LOT from the last chapter of 'Decorated'. So when an email came into my inbox at work last week asking if I'd bake a cake for a bake sale in aid of Children with Cancer and St John's Hospice (for who they ended up raising over £400), I thought it the ideal time to give one of April's recipes a go, though as you'll see later, I've still got a way to go on the decorating side of things!! Looks aside, it was one of the most delicious cakes I've ever eaten, and April's recipes are a dream to follow - step by step, absolutely perfect instructions.

CHESTNUT & PEAR CHEESECAKE

I did adapt the recipe slightly, so I will give you my version, and for April's you'll need to buy her book! The main change I made is that I didn't actually use any chestnut as I couldn't get hold of it for when I needed it - I replaced the chestnut puree with some homemade salted caramel.

For the pears:
7 small, firm pears
500g caster sugar

For the base:
180g hobnobs (April specifies digestive biscuits, hobnobs worked well too)
90g unsalted butter
2 tbsp fairtrade cocoa powder

For the layers:
100g fairtrade dark chocolate (I used Green and Blacks)
250g cream cheese (always use Philadelphia - supermarket own brands lack creaminess)
150g soft light brown sugar
450ml double (heavy) cream
150g salted caramel sauce (this is meant to be chestnut spread and would've made the cake taste even more sublime, and Christmassy!)

For the chocolate glaze:
100g fairtrade dark chocolate (I used Green and Blacks)
50g unsalted butter

Start by making the base of the cake. Melt the butter. Magimix the biscuits into crumbs, and stir into the melted butter with the cocoa. Line your 8" springform cake tin with cling film, and press the base into the bottom, leaving it a little higher at the edges. Refrigerate to firm up the biscuit base. When I made this cake I found all 3 of my spring form frames, and none of the base pieces, so ended up making it in an oblong bread tin instead!

Poach the pears by boiling 1 litre of water with the caster sugar. Once the sugar has melted add the pears, cover with greaseproof, put a lid on and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the pears are soft. Remove from the syrup and leave to cool.

To make the filling start by melting the chocolate. Break the chocolate into small chunks and put in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Leave to melt and remove from the heat once it's nearly all melted. Stir to melt the remaining lumps. Whisk the brown sugar into the cream cheese by hand. Put to one side. Whisk the double cream until soft peaks form. Fold the cream cheese mixture into the double cream. Split the mixture into 2 equal amounts.

In the first cream cheese/cream mixture add the cooled melted chocolate and fold until combined. Spread this mixture over the biscuit base. Push the cooled pears down into the chocolate layer and put the cake-so-far back into the fridge.

Fold the salted caramel into the remaining cream cheese/cream mixture, and once the layer of chocolate cream has set a little, spread the salted caramel layer on top. I found this a little tricky with the pears in the way, so I actually piped this layer on and smoothed it out with a palette knife. Put the cake in the fridge and leave for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

I left the cake overnight so I could decorate it before work in the morning. This meant I was rushed to do the decorating in the morning, which goes a little way to explain the photo below! To decorate the cake, melt the chocolate and butter in the same way as before. Once melted, remove from the heat and leave to cool. When it has cool spread the chocolate over the chestnut/caramel layer and leave it to drip down the sides. Here is what my cake looked like, and below is April's stunning creation! I think a good way to get really defined layers would be to freeze the cake in between layers, and leave to defrost in the fridge before topping with the chocolate mix.

My version:

April's version:

 

'Decorated' is one of the prettiest books I've seen, printed on gorgeous, thick, matt paper, and filled with stunning photos. Style does not give way to substance though, and it's packed with tempting recipes, that even the most nervous of bakers could easily make, following April's excellent instructions. At £20 it would make a fabulous Christmas present, and a cake baked from the book would be an even lovelier accompaniment.

 

Massive congratulations to April on your 3rd book - please keep them coming, I adore your recipes and books!

 

Decorated by April Carter published by Hardie Grant (£20.00) Photography: Danielle Wood