Golden Wedding Anniversary Cake Part 5: Party time and the end of the saga!

Write-up to follow soon!

Golden Wedding Anniversary Cake Part 4: "Perfect" Decoration (or how to repair a cake with icing sliding everywhere)

Write-up to follow soon!

Golden Wedding Anniversary Cake Part 3: Zing! Lemon time...

Write-up to follow soon!

Golden Wedding Anniversary Cake Part 2: Chocolate Overload

Write-up to follow soon!

Golden Wedding Anniversary Cake Part 1: Fruity!

Write-up to follow!

A Prim, Proper, Traditional Slice of Earl Grey Cake

I'm starting to feel a bit silly saying "I'm back!" because it never seems to last. Maybe this whole "being back" business will really kick in once I get back to university. I'm making cakes at home - probably too many, actually! - but I've found a little nest of recipes that I know and love. Trying new stuff? Meh. Why should I when I have these brownies? And this cheesecake?

But sometimes the 'new stuff' bug bites (I think it loiters around in the especially nasty gangs of midges we've had this year) and suddenly I am back to my old self, trawling blogs and going through the recipe books. Birthdays currently seem to be the main time the 'new stuff' bug takes a nibble...

So this time it was Mum's birthday and I threw recipes at her until she was covered in batter. No, wait. Um, I threw recipes at her until she made her mind up. Luckily, most of these recipes were on the internet. You don't throw recipe books at your mother. Especially on her birthday.

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yes, Earl Grey cake. 

This was what stuck. The Maple Pecan cake didn't make the grade because my brother doesn't like nuts. I'd made Chocolate Guinness cake before, though I hadn't blogged it... but brother didn't fancy that either. Boyfriend didn't fancy dulce de leche cake and cupcakes somehow fell by the wayside...

When he tried it, brother didn't like this cake either, but we gave him leftover brownie and all was good in the world (well, his world).

Right, the recipe is here (it is a Gizzi Erskine recipe from here but I preferred the blog). Go and read it, then come back for my review of each component.

You're back? Good. 

Overall, I enjoyed making this! The cake part, however, came out dry and crumbly. I know someone else mentioned this problem, although I don't know if the fact that Mum accidentally bought fat free greek yoghurt may have compounded it somewhat... either way, in future I'd probably just use a reliable chocolate fudge cake recipe, preferably one that calls for some boiling water so you could make a strong earl grey infusion.

The cream is where things take off. Mum licked a little bit after I'd finished with what I needed to sandwich the cakes, and then came back with a spoon to clean out the bowl. It was delicious and simple. A real hit! It would probably work as a cupcake icing, actually, or a cream cheese icing on a vanilla or chocolate loaf...

The chocolate ganache/icing. Pretty standard, yummy, stuck to the cake well. Pretty classic and I might use it  again when I need a chocolate cream.

The toffee/'gold dust'? A bit of a faff, in my opinion, but I know my boyfriend really loved it (though he said it had definite hints of toffee apple with only a slight earl grey hit afterwards). I am not used to making caramel so got a bit worried at how long it took for the sugar to caramelise. I also don't have a mortar and pestle, and attacking hard caramel/toffee with a foot long wooden rolling pin until it becomes dust-like is a bit of a faff. Get me a mortar and pestle, and I might try again. 

Would I make this again? For myself, in its current form, no. The dryness of the cake was a real dissapointment to me - I like my cakes moist! But everyone else who tried it really enjoyed it. Some could taste earl grey, others tasted orange or just a strangeness, though pleasant. If I could overcome the dryness of the cake I'd definitely be willing to give this taste another go. 

Hmm... maybe lady grey cupcakes...