How to bake layered cakes

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/19/jaffa-cake-recipe-millefeuille-ruby-tandoh

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There’s a wonderful line in the movie Shrek where the protagonist explains that, like onions, ogres have layers. His sidekick, Donkey, points out that he’d be better off likening himself to cake: people like cake, he reminds us, not onions. Like Donkey, the metaphor was lost on me because as soon as I heard cake and layers mentioned I’d already drifted into a daydream: eight-layered opera cakes, fraisiers sandwiched with custard, even humble Jaffa Cakes with their holy trinity of sponge, jelly and chocolate. These are the layers I’m interested in.

Jaffa cakes

Don’t let the jelly aspect scare you: I’ve used a vegetarian gelatine alternative here that couldn’t be simpler to use. You can also use agar-agar flakes or gelatine if you want – just follow the instructions on the packet and remember to use a little more than usual, as the acidity of the juice will give a softer set.

For the sponge15g butter 1 large egg1 large egg yolk40g caster sugar40g plain flourZest of 1 orange

For the orange jelly100ml orange juice (from 1½ -2 oranges)Juice of 1 lemonZest of 1 orange3 tbsp caster sugar1 tsp (3g) vegetarian gelatine substitute 100g dark chocolate

1 Grease each of the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin and line the bottoms with circles of baking parchment (I know it’s a hassle cutting out little circles of paper, but I promise it’ll make unmoulding the cakes much easier). Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

2 Melt the butter, then set it aside to cool slightly while you prepare the remaining ingredients for the sponge. In a large bowl, whisk the whole egg, egg yolk and sugar together for 5-10 minutes, until very thick and almost doubled in volume. It’s ready when a “ribbon” of it will sit of the surface of the mixture for a couple of seconds before sinking back in.

3 Sift the flour over the top of the whisked egg and sugar mixture and gently fold in using a large metal spoon, cutting through with a figure of eight motion to incorporate the flour without deflating the eggs. Dig right to the bottom of the bowl – the flour can sink in clumps. Once the flour’s nearly incorporated, add the melted butter and orange zest and fold in.

4 Divide the batter between the 12 prepared muffin moulds – there’ll be barely 1cm in the bottom of each one. Bake in the preheated oven for 5-6 minutes, until risen, set and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin.

5 For the jelly, combine the orange and lemon juice, orange zest and sugar in a small pan. Sprinkle over the vegetarian gelatine and whisk to combine. Set over a low heat until the mixture reaches a simmer then remove from the heat and immediately divide between the cooled cakes, pouring a layer a few millimetres thick over each one. The jelly should set very quickly as it cools, but you can move them to the fridge to speed up the process, if necessary.

6 Once the jelly has set, unmould the jelly-topped cakes from the tin, first running a knife around their edges to loosen them. Melt the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set above a pan of simmering water. Leave to cool slightly, then spoon a little over the top of each cake, nudging it gently towards the edges to completely cover the jelly. Move the cakes to the fridge or freezer to quickly cool the chocolate, then return to room temperature once set.

Chocolate malt millefeuille

Malt adds a rich sweetness to the chocolate custard filling of these pastries – layered with crisp, caramelised pastry and topped with a malted, chocolate-rippled icing.

Makes 4For the filling300ml whole milk3 large egg yolks50g caster sugar3 tbsp cornflour4 tbsp malt drink powder, such as Horlicks1½ tsp vanilla extract100g milk chocolate250g all butter puff pastry50g icing sugar

To ice25g dark chocolate1 tbsp malt drink powder3 tbsp icing sugar2-3 tsp water

1 Heat the milk in a small pan until scalding. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornflour in a mixing bowl. Once the milk’s hot, add 1-2 tbsp to the egg yolk mixture along with the malt drink powder and stir to combine. Gradually add the rest of the milk to the egg yolk base, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs.

2 Pour the custard back into the pan and set over a medium-low heat to thicken, stirring constantly. Simmer for 1 minute then turn off the heat, decant into a clean bowl and stir in the vanilla extract.

3 Melt the milk chocolate in a small heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water then stir this into the still-hot custard. Cover with clingfilm and leave to cool completely.

4 While the filling cools, prepare the pastry sheets. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and have a couple of baking trays to hand.

5 Roll the pastry on a lightly floured work surface until it’s slightly larger than 20x30cm. Sprinkle half the icing sugar liberally over the surface of the pastry, rub lightly in with your hands then flip the pastry over and repeat on the other side. Prick all over the pastry with a fork so that it doesn’t puff up too dramatically in the oven.

6 Line one of the baking trays with baking parchment and lie the pastry on top. Cover with a second sheet of baking parchment and then stack the other baking tray on top, to weigh down the pastry. Bake the pastry for 20 minutes, then remove the upper baking tray and top sheet of baking parchment and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

7 Cut the pastry sheet into 12 rectangles – a grid of 4x3 from the pastry – each with dimensions of roughly 5x10cm. Divide half the filling over four of the rectangles, piping it on if you’re keen to make these look good, or simply dolloping and spreading if you’re less fussy about appearances. Place four more sheets of pastry on top of these, and use the remaining filling mixture to cover these, leaving you with four double-decker pastries. Top with the final four rectangles of pastry.

8 Melt the dark chocolate. In a small bowl, stir together the malt drink powder, icing sugar and enough water the give a thick, but not gloopy, icing. Spread a little of the icing over each of the four millefeuille slices. Using either a fine-nozzled piping bag or drizzling off a spoon, “draw” a few lines of the melted chocolate across the iced slices then lightly drag a cocktail stick or the tip of a sharp knife across each one twice. This is called feathering, and it’ll leave you with a distinctive patterned finish.