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I am currently on what could best be called as a baking odyssey, as I have had always struggled with the concept of baking. My biggest fears were, would the cake rise, would it get burnt, will it turn out as good as the picture I am presented with. The main reason for my new found love of baking was that I simply got bored of the common place cakes or breads we have to offer here in the UK.

I wanted to create cakes that not only tasted good but also I wanted my cakes to have a high visual impact. Each time I now bake I’m searching for the next cake that simply wows me and all the others who see my recipes. I find it easy to see in at what I’m doing from the publics view. I try to make each cake I produce have a certain dazzle to it but still keep it unique and inspiring.

I like how the reaction I get when I produce cakes, people can see the handwork and dedication I give in producing cakes that I feel anyone of them would sit so well in any party or occasion we may have. I always think if your going to do any form of cooking (with baking included) you might as well bake something that really is a show stopper. This was the moment when I sat and thought of all the cakes I knew of, all the ones I have had the pleasure in seeing or tasting and it came clear to me that if I want to bake it has to be something that really stands out.

It needed to still include my fruit theme but be a cake that is unlike anything I or many others had seen or heard of before. I searched for all cake designs I could think of, any style that I thought may look intriguing enough to bake. It took a month to really find one that fitted the bill. The design I eventually found really opened up my eyes to the possibilities of baking and how fun it really can be to make something form your heart into something that is a marvel to look at.

The design I came across was a ring cake. It may or may not of been a well known to the public, but for me it was a total unknown that I thought that this design would really open up peoples eyes to this new found world of unique baking and I also hoped people would respond positively to it. The cake in questioned is named “Iced blueberry and lemon ring”, it not only looked good but once I had read the ingredients list I knew this cake was going to be something so special.

It looked like a cake like no other, a true novelty but mostly a cake that would really remind me of why I love cooking so much. I knew that if I could pull this one off then I could produce any cake I wanted. I looked at it as the stepping stone, something to guide me in my future journeys but a reminder of how baking can really be such a joyous occasion. This cake consists of the usual cake making ingredients such as eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder, yet it holds so much more inside.

Within the cake it also includes has blueberries, lemon zest and sour cream, which  add so much depth and flavour. Once the cake has risen and has been left to set you will notice that all the blueberries have rose to the top, this give the cake a lovely  purple blueberry effect on top. The most fun part of making this cake is icing the top, a simple icing sugar/lemon juice mixture that you glaze the top with, then followed up by chocolate shavings. The look of the cake had been transformed from a normal looking cake into something that is best named as art.

I had only limited knowledge of baking and here I was with all my ingredients to make this ring cake, but I knew that I had the love and affection in cooking to make this into a real success. As all cooks know if u have passion and love for what you are doing then more than likely it will turn out the way you hoped it would. This is why I love baking, its being artistic and creative, Its using all your emotions to produce something that you can stand back and look at and say to yourself I created this wonderful piece of art.

I look at this whole experience through the lens of an artist, we all start of as amateurs but with a little bit of  practice and of course a few failures along route, then we all can produce cakes that really amaze those who get to see or taste our efforts.

Ingredients:

175gms of butter, softened.
300gms of sugar.
4 eggs, lightly beaten.
zest of 1 lemon.
142ml of sour cream.
250gms of plain flour.
2 teaspoons of baking powder.
150gms of blueberries.

For the icing:
150gms of icing sugar.
3 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Chocolate shavings.
You will need a silicon 23cm ring tin., which must be floured before use.

Method:

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180oc.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until soft and creamy with a electric whisk or hand whisk.
3. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time til well mixed.
4. Fold in the sour cream, followed by the lemon zest, flour and a pinch of salt.
5. Carefully mix the blueberries into the mixture.
6. Spoon the mixture into to the prepared ring tin and smooth of the surface.
7. Place into the oven for 45-50 minutes. Once cooked take out of the oven and place onto a wire rack and leave to cool for 15 minutes.
8. Remove the cake from the ring tin and flip over and place onto the wire rack, allow this cool for a further 15-20 minutes.
9. Once the cake is cool mix the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl then layer the top of the cake in any design you wish and finish the cake with a layer of chocolate shavings and enjoy ;-)

If you would like to see this recipe in more detail, please visit this site