Maple & pear ruffle cake
- Edd Kimber
Save recipe
Serves 16
A challenge
Prep: 1 hr and 30 mins
Cook: 40 mins
A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.6 ratingsRate
loading...
A grown-up, lightly-spiced sponge that is sandwiched with pears caramelised in maple syrup and topped with meringue buttercream
Freezable (un-iced)
Ad
Skip to ingredients
Alternatives
Complete the dish
Loading...
Showing items 1 to 3 of 3
Mulled pear & cranberry punch
A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratings
Homemade salted caramel sauce
A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.39 ratings
Cinnamon ice cream
A star rating of 4 out of 5.15 ratings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Units:
MetricUS
-
225g unsalted butter
softened, plus extra for greasing
-
175g golden caster sugar
-
175g light brown soft sugar
-
4 large eggs
-
325g plain flour
-
25g cornflour
-
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
-
1 tsp ground ginger
-
1 tsp mixed spice
-
1 ½ tbsp baking powder
-
300ml full-fat milk
-
edible gold spray
(optional), to decorate
For the caramelised pears
-
4 large conference pears
ripe but firm
-
juice 0.5 lemon
-
3 tbsp maple syrup
-
2 tbsp unsalted butter
For the meringue buttercream
-
4 large egg whites
-
320g light brown soft sugar
-
480g unsalted butter
softened
-
6 tbsp maple syrup
Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal643
- fat40g
- saturates25g
- carbs65g
- sugars48g
- fibre2g
- protein6g
- salt0.5g
Ad
Method
-
step 1
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease 3 x 20cm sandwich tins, lining the bases with baking parchment and greasing the parchment too.
-
step 2
To make the sponge, put the butter and sugars in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, about 5 mins. Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating until fully incorporated before adding more. In another bowl, mix the flour, cornflour, spices and baking powder. Stir in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the milk. Divide the batter among the prepared tins, smooth the surfaces and bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, peeling off the parchment, to cool completely.
-
step 3
For the caramelised pears, peel, core and dice them into small cubes, tossing with the lemon juice as you go. Tip into a frying pan with the maple syrup and butter, and cook over a medium-high heat until the pears have softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool.
-
step 4
For the buttercream, put the egg whites and sugar in a large heatproof bowl (the bowl of your tabletop mixer, if you have one) and place over a pan of gently simmering water. Whisk until the sugar has fully dissolved - you can test this by dipping two fingers into the bowl and rubbing them together; if you can’t feel any grains of sugar, the mixture is ready. Remove the bowl from the pan and beat with an electric whisk (or use your tabletop mixer) until a thick meringue has formed. Continue whisking until the meringue has cooled to room temperature.
-
step 5
Slowly beat in the butter, 1 tbsp at a time. The mixture should now look like a silky- smooth buttercream – if it doesn’t, continue to whisk until it does. If it still refuses to thicken, it may be the mixture is still too warm, so chill for 10 mins, then continue whisking. Whisk in the maple syrup last.
-
step 6
To assemble the cake, place the first sponge on a cake board or serving plate and spread with a thin layer of the buttercream. Top with half of the caramelised pear chunks, discarding any leftover liquid. Repeat, finishing with the third sponge.
-
step 7
To finish, spread a very thin layer of the buttercream over the sides and top of the cake – this is called ‘crumb-coating’ (see tip). Now spread a thick layer of buttercream on top of the cake. Put the remaining buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a small petal piping tip (see tip). Hold the piping bag with the wide end of the nozzle touching the side of the cake, at the very bottom. Gently wiggle the bag side to side, back and forth, in a zigzag motion, working up the cake in a strip. Repeat, starting next to the previous strip each time, working all the way around the cake until it’s entirely covered. To finish, pipe 1 row of buttercream around the edge of the top of the cake (which will neaten any rough edges at the top of your zigzags). If you like a little sparkle, finish the cake with a coat of edible gold spray. Best served within 2 days of baking, but the cake will keep for up to 4 days.
RECIPE TIPS
GET A SMOOTH FINISH
Crumb-coating is something that professional bakers do to give their cakes a polished finish. Spread a very thin layer of the icing over the whole cake first before icing properly. It helps to stick down any stray crumbs, so you shouldn’t get any in your final icing. For a really neat finish, chill the cake after crumb-coating (also known as masking) before continuing to ice.
PETAL ICING TIP
The best way to create your ruffle is to use a smallish, thin petal-shaped tip. (I used a Wilton 104.) Both available from most good bakeware shops.
Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2014
Ad
Comments, questions and tips
Rate this recipe
What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5
Choose the type of message you'd like to post
Choose the type of message you'd like to post
CommentQuestionTip
Overall rating
A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.6 ratings
Ad
Ad
Get 3 months of Good Food All Access
Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.
Loading...
Ad
Loading...
Loading...