Spectacular Sweets

Livia Tabone’s cakes are a carnival of colour and flavour that will have you reaching out for more.

Photography and styling: BRIAN GRECH

Lemon Layer Cake with Ginger Curd

This makes a stunning centerpiece but is surprisingly easy to prepare.

Cake

360g butter, at room temperature

360g sugar

6 eggs 3

60g self raising flour

zest from 3 lemons

2 teaspoons ground ginger

Frosting

100g icing sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 packs of cream cheese

1 jar good quality store-bought lemon curd

thumb-size piece fresh ginger, finely minced

To decorate

icing sugar

fresh lemon zest

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 180 degrees, then grease and line three 20cm cake tins with baking paper.

2. To make the layer cake, in the bowl of your electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Next add the eggs slowly, one at a time and beat until all the egg is incorporated. Sift the flour on top of the mixture and fold in gently.

3. Pour the cake mix evenly into the tins and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the sponge springs back when lightly pressed. Set aside to cool completely, then remove from the tins.

4. To make the frosting, in a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon juice and beat with a fork until well combined. Sift in more icing sugar according to taste, if desired. Transfer your minced ginger into the jar of lemon curd and stir well.

5. To assemble the layer cake, place the base layer onto a cake stand and apply an even spread of cream cheese frosting, then spread the curd over the cream cheese. Repeat the process with the second layer. Place the third cake layer onto the top of the cake and simply dust with icing sugar and sprinkle on the lemon zest.

Cherry Almond Bakewell Tart

Serve this warm or at room temperature

For the pastry case

225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

150g butter, chilled and cubed

25g icing sugar

1 egg, beaten

Tart filling

180g butter, softened

180g caster sugar

3 eggs

180g ground almonds

200g cherry jam

To decorate

Handful of fresh cherries

25g flaked almonds, toasted

icing sugar to dust

1. For the pastry, measure the flour and icing sugar into a bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and keep kneading to form soft dough. Place the pastry into a clean plastic bag and let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to the thickness of 6mm, then drape it into a buttered 23cm loose-bottomed tart pan. Return it to the fridge for 20 minutes.

3. Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Prick the pastry base all over with a fork, line it with baking parchment and fill it with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the baking beans and parchment and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove the pastry shell from the oven and set it aside.

4. While the pastry case cools slightly, prepare the filling. Beat the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the ground almonds. Spread the jam over the base of the pastry case, then spread the almond filling evenly on top of the jam and level it out with a spatula.

5. Bake for 35–40 minutes until the filling is firm and golden brown, then transfer the tart to a wire rack to cool. When ready to serve, sprinkle over the toasted almonds, dust with icing sugar and dot the cherries around the tart to decorate.

Beetroot & Orange Marmalade Cake

For the cake

180g butter

180g sugar • 3 eggs

180g self-raising flour

2 heaped tablespoons

thick-cut marmalade

zest of one orange

a heaped tablespoon of beetroot powder (available from all good health shops)

To decorate

70g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon beetroot powder

tub of cream cheese

half a jar of thick-cut marmalade

fresh orange slices

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a loaf tin with baking parchment.

2. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy then beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the flour and beetroot powder until just incorporated. Add the marmalade and orange zest, and mix again.

3. Transfer the mixture into your lined baking pan and level out the surface.

4. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes until well risen, then leave to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack. Once the cake has cooled completely, transfer it to your serving plate.

5. Next prepare the frosting by adding the icing sugar and beetroot powder together and mixing well to get an even colour. Add the mix to a large bowl together with the cream cheese and beat with a fork until well blended. Add a splash of milk to loosen the frosting, if necessary.

6. Spread the frosting onto the surface of the cake, then dollop generous spoonfuls of marmalade over the cream cheese, decorate with fresh orange slices and serve.

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Blackberries

For the brownies

145g salted butter, cubed

200g sugar

75g cocoa powder

2 tablespoons of warm water

2 eggs

60g plain flour

For the frosting

60g unsalted butter, at room temperature

30g cocoa powder

250g icing sugar, sifted

3-4 tablespoons milk

To decorate

1 punnet of blackberries

1. Line an 8”x8” brownie pan with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Place the butter in a microwavesafe bowl and microwave for about 1 minute until it has completely melted. Immediately add the sugar, cocoa, and warm water, whisking vigorously with a handheld whisk.

3. Next, whisk in the eggs, one at a time, and keep whisking for a minute or so until the mixture thickens. Finally add the flour and whisk again until all the flour has turned chocolatey.

4. Tip the brownie mix into the pan and level out the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top has formed a shell while the centre remains moist. Set the brownie cake aside on a wire rack until completely cooled before attempting to lift it out onto a chopping board.

5. In the meantime, prepare the frosting. Add the butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until smooth. Sift in the cocoa powder and icing sugar and beat on low speed, gradually increasing the speed until a smooth consistency is reached. If the icing is too thick, gradually add the milk, bit by bit, until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.

6. Spread the frosting onto the large brownie square, then using a long sharp knife cut the frosted brownies into smaller squares or rectangles. Arrange the slabs of brownies on a serving plate and decorate with blueberries. For a frosted effect, store a few of the blueberries in the freezer and put them on the brownies just before serving.

Matcha Tea and White Chocolate Scones

A new twist on an old teatime favourite, serve the matcha scones fresh out of the oven and drizzled with white chocolate, or let them cool down and then split them and spread the cut side with cream cheese and lemon curd.

For the scones

350g plain flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons matcha powder

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons sugar

85g cold butter, cubed

150g plain full-fat yogurt

4 tablespoons full-fat milk

50g white chocolate chunks

To decorate

50g white chocolate, cut into small squares

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.

2. Put the flour, salt, matcha, baking powder, sugar and butter into a food processor and whizz until the butter is completely blended in. Alternatively, rub the mentioned ingredients between your finger tips until you achieve the same end result. The mixture should resemble coarse bread crumbs.

3. Tip the mix into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Measure out the yogurt and milk into a microwavesafe bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute until hot and curdled. Tip the yogurt into the well of the dry ingredients and work quickly, using a cutlery knife, to cut the flour mix into the milk. It’s important not to over mix. As soon as the mixture’s combined, stop mixing.

4. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and sprinkle over 50g of the white chocolate chunks. With floured hands, fold the dough over a few times – just enough to achieve a smooth dough. With the help of a rolling pin, create a circle measuring about 4cm thick in height.

5. Using a large, sharp knife cut the circle into quarters. Then cut each triangle in half. Transfer the scones onto a lined baking dish, spread evenly apart and bake until risen (about 12 minutes).

6. Once the scones are out of the oven and cool to the touch, melt 50g of white chocolate in the microwave or in a heat proof bowl over a simmering pan of water. Using a teaspoon, generously drizzle the scones with white chocolate and serve immediately.