LivingINBL October 2016 | Page 29

golocalextra Rose petal heart cake October is the month of Breast Cancer Awareness and here’s the perfect cake to share with friends and get the message out there! An exquisite combination of white chocolate, cardamom, rosewater and raspberries. This cake is temptingly strewn with crystallised petals and white chocolate curls; both can be made a few days ahead, then stored in dry conditions in a cardboard box at room temperature. What you’ll need For the crystallised rose petals: 1 egg white, lightly whisked white caster sugar small paint brush Rose petals For the cake: 130g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the tin 20 green cardamom pods 170g self-raising flour 100g white chocolate, chopped 130g white caster sugar 2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract For the ganache: 100g white chocolate, finely chopped 100ml double cream 2 tsp rosewater For decoration: 250g fresh raspberries 200g icing sugar, sifted 2-2.5 tbsp rosewater 100g white chocolate, broken into pieces LIVINGINBL c The crystallised rose petals require a day or so to dry out so are best made in advance. Firstly line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Place the egg white in a bowl and the sugar in another. Hold the petals at the base and paint with egg, ensuring you cover every fold. Gently sprinkle on the sugar, again making sure every surface is covered, then shake off the excess. Lay petals on the line sheet and leave overnight in a dry warm place (an airing cupboard is ideal). They will harden in a few hours and become brittle. Store in an airtight container, lined and interleaved with baking parchment until ready to use on the cake. For the cake, preheat the oven to 180ºC/fan 170ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. I make this cake in a heart-shaped tin measuring 23cm at its widest point and 6.5cm deep, but otherwise use a 20cm diameter, 7.5cm deep, round tin. Butter the tin very well, then line with baking parchment. Deseed the cardamom pods: split them with the point of a knife, empty out the little seeds and grind them to a powder in a pestle and mortar. There may be a few pieces of husk mixed in, so sift the cardamom powder together with the flour to remove them. Place the chocolate in a food processor with half the sugar. the symbol of independent retailing GREAT VALUE GROCERIES, SOFT DRINKS, SNACKS BEERS, WINES, SPRIRITS, TOILETRIES AND MORE savetime&moneygolocal Village Store, Scot Lane, Aspull WN2 1YX Pick up your copy of Living in BL in-store Process until as fine as possible. Take 2 tbsp hot water – not boiling water or the chocolate will seize – and leave it until you can just dip in your finger. Dribble it into the chocolate, processing until most has melted. Add the remaining sugar and the butter, cut into knobs, and process well. Add the eggs, flour and vanilla and mix again. Don’t worry if there are tiny pieces of chocolate left in the batter. Pour into the tin and bake for 25–30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Rest in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack, removing the papers. Leave until absolutely cold. Meanwhile, make the ganache. Place the chocolate in a bowl and, in a pan, bring the cream and rosewater to the boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate, leave it for a few seconds, then gently stir until smooth. Leave until cold, chill slightly, then whisk until it thickens. Split the cake, spoon in the ganache filling and the fresh raspberries, then turn it upside down on to a cake stand. Place the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add the rosewater, mixing all the time until the icing is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour over the cake and let it drizzle down the sides. Allow to set for an hour or so. To make the chocolate curls, place a small heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Add the white chocolate to the bowl and heat until it melts, stirring only very occasionally. Pour it on to a plastic board, or a piece of marble, and spread out with a palette knife. Allow to set; a short spell in the refrigerator will help. Then run a sharp knife across the chocolate to make it curl. Just before you serve scatter the cake with the chocolate curls, then with the rose petals. Blackrod Fish and Pizza Bar Traditional English Fish & Chips and Italian Pizza & Pasta Open: Mon - Fri 11.30am - 9pm Sat 4pm - 9pm Blackhorse St. Blackrod BL6 5EW. 012