Naumann - Mini Cakes The best sweet recipes for little cakes and tarts

Whether for your own enjoyment or for giving as gifts these little miniature cakes and tartlets are sure to captivate everyone! Not only do these delightful, little sweet cakes look enticing but they taste just as good as their larger counterparts.

This book contains 27 ingenious recipes for creating a range of delicious mini cakes from simple sponge varieties to rich cream-filled bites and brightly decorated theme cakes.

Naumann & Gbel Verlagsgesellschaft mbH
A subsidiary of VEMAG Verlags- und Medien Aktiengesellschaft
Emil-Hoffmann-Strae 1, 50996 Cologne (Germany)
www.vemag-medien.de
Recipes: Annerose Sieck
Translation from German: First Edition Translations Ltd
Photos: TLC Fotostudio
Production: Naumann & Gbel Verlagsgesellschaft mbH
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-3-8155-8791-1

Notes

Abbreviations

cm = centimetre

g = gram

kg = kilogram

l = litre

ml = millilitre

tbsp = tablespoon

tsp = teaspoon

= diameter

Oven temperatures

The oven temperatures given in these recipes apply to conventional, top- and bottom-heated electric ovens. If using a fan oven, reduce the temperature by 20 C.

Unless otherwise stated, the cakes should be baked on the middle shelf.

Recipes

The recipe quantities given are enough to make one mini cake.

Whether intended as a treat for your own taste buds or as a thoughtful gift for someone else very few people will be able to resist the charm of these adorable little cakes and tartlets! As well as being beautifully decorated, these cute little cakes and tarts are also delicious on the inside. Whether made from soft sponge or richly filled with cream, these popular treats taste just as good as their larger counterparts! And for those extra special occasions, they can be covered with coloured, ready-to-roll fondant icing and lavishly decorated to reflect a particular theme.

All the cakes featured in this book are made using the set of cake rings included. The rings can be used both as a template for cutting out the sponge bases and also as a container for holding the filling in place while it sets (cf. section entitled Its the filling that makes the cake). The ingredients given for each recipe are enough to make one mini cake.

Any bits of sponge leftover after the cake bases have been cut out are ideal for using up as cake decorations. Simply crumble the sponge in a bowl, add a little soft cream cheese, icing sugar or raw marzipan, then knead the )! For an easier option, you could simply tear up any leftover sponge into tiny pieces and sprinkle over the surface of the cake. Alternatively, cut it into strips or curl into spirals. All these are excellent ways to use up any leftover sponge.

The easiest way to divide the cake base in half is to slice it through the middle using a serrated knife. First, allow the sponge base to cool completely. Then, using a small sharp knife, cut around the middle of the outside edge of the cake to a depth of about 1 cm. Next, using a serrated knife, follow this cut as a guide to slice horizontally through the middle, rotating the cake at the same time. If the cakes filling is runny and needs time to set, fit the bottom half of the cake into a cake ring, pour in the filling and place the other half of the cake on top. When the filling has set, the ring can be carefully removed and the cake decorated.

To hold two or more layers of cake together, secure in place using a cocktail stick; a glaze of apricot jam between the layers will also help them stick together.

Finish off your mini cake by adding some attractive, creative decorations! Your imagination need know no bounds: the top and sides can be decorated with fruit, nuts, almonds, pistachios, cracknel, glac cherries, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate flakes, sugar flowers, grated coconut, decorative sugar crystals, strands and beads.

Even plainer cakes with less elaborate decorative requirements can still be decorated with icing sugar, swirls of cream or various glazes or toppings. Ready-made toppings or candy melts can be purchased to make the task even easier!

For a more dramatic effect, use brightly coloured decorating sugar or glitter sugar. Pastes, powders or colouring pens, made from vegetable dyes, are ideal for dusting, painting or colouring sugar-based decorations, fondant icing and marzipan. Cakes can be given a sophisticated gloss using edible gold leaf or glossy food colouring sprays.

Not only do glazes and icing enhance the appearance of a cake and taste delicious, they are also a clever way of concealing any surface unevenness and help to keep the cake fresh and moist for longer! Simply pour any glazes or icing mixtures over your mini cake, then smooth the topping evenly over the top and sides using a palette knife.

To make sugar icing, the classic cake topping, mix icing sugar with a little water to make a thick, smooth paste. Fruity lemon icing is made in much the same way, using lemon juice instead of water.

An apricot glaze, a common feature of cake decorating, is a coating of apricot jam brushed over the surface of cakes and tarts. It is often applied under chocolate icing or under marzipan and fondant icing to help them stick to the surface of the cake. To make an apricot glaze, press some apricot jam through a sieve into a small saucepan, add a little water and a small amount of sugar, bring to a boil and simmer for approx. 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Using a pastry brush, spread the apricot glaze over the cake while it is still hot.

To make simple chocolate icing, break some couverture chocolate into small pieces, then melt in a bain-marie.

Ready-to-roll fondant icing is a supple, sugar-based mass which can be bought, ready-to-use, in a variety of different colours and flavours. To ensure the fondant icing adheres to the surface of the cake, spread a thin, sticky layer of either apricot glaze or sugar icing over the surface of the cake. A thin layer of ganache or buttercream also make excellent alternatives and these have the additional advantage of being useful for smoothing out any existing lumps or bumps. Acidic or water-based substances, such as quark or cream, are less suitable (and sometimes not suitable at all) since these may have the effect of softening the fondant icing.