Red Velvet Layer Cake & Bagels

My new mixer arrived today! Wooooooooo Hooooooooo!

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It's so pretty, I love it. I decided to christen it by making a Red Velvet Cake. The recipe came form my Hummingbird Bakery cookbook.
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I also knocked up this lovely cooked breakfast for my hubby. Suey and I had toasted bagels with cream cheese and bacon. Yum Yum.
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Red Velvet Cupcakes:
Source: Hummingbird Bakery
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***If you want to make the layer cake like I made today, you need to double the recipe below and split between 3 x 20 cm cake pans baking for 20 – 25 minutes. You also need to double the cream cheese frosting.***
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60grams unsalted butter (at room temperature)

150grams caster sugar

1 egg10grams cocoa powder

20ml red food colouring

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

120ml buttermilk

150grams plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

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Cream Cheese Frosting:

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300grams icing sugar, sifted

50grams unsalted butter (at room temperature)

125grams cream cheese, cold

a 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with cupcake cases

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1. Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F (Gas 3).

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2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat on a medium speed with an electric whisk until light and fluffy and well mixed.

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3. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.

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4. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick dark paste.

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5. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until everything is combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).

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6. Turn the mixer down to a slow speed and add half the buttermilk. Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added.

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7. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth even mixture.

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8. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.

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9. Spoon the mixture into the cases until 2/3 full and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to slightly cool in the tray before removing to wire cooling rack to cool completely.

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10. When cupcakes are cool, spoon the cream cheese frosting on top.

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Cream cheese frosting:

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1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together with an electric mixer. on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.

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2. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed.

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3. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Do not over-beat, as it can quickly become runny.
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Mrs Hackneys Notes:

• The icing was quite difficult to make. There is such a small volume of butter compared to the icing sugar that it’s hard to get it to mix. Your butter needs to be REALLY soft before starting. My butter was room temperature but it needs to be a bit softer than room temperature. I’d add the icing sugar bit by bit until it’s nice and creamy then keep adding in tablespoons of icing sugar. My mistake was that my butter wasn’t soft enough and I added too much icing sugar to start.
• Use a cocktail stick to test if the cake is cooked. It should come out clean.
• When you ice the cake, it picks up a lots of crumbs so I’d give it a ‘crumb coat’, put it the fridge until the icing starts to harden and then put on another layer.The icing quantity literally gives you enough to fill 2 layers and cover the cake so go easy when icing the layers.
• I had to make a bit of extra icing to cover the sides.
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This is without a doubt the BEST cake I've ever made. It's super moist and delicious.
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Bagels...

I wanted to try out my dough hook attachment. I decided to make bagels because there’s something really satisfying about eating a chewy homemade bagel. Sue and I love them and the last (and only other time I've made them) I sliced them in half, wrapped them individually in cling film and put them in the freezer. Then when we wanted one, we just had to take one out the freezer and pop it in the toaster for 3-4 minutes and hey presto, a delicious, hot, toasted bagel.

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Bagels:

Source: Rachel Allen Bake

450g (1lb) strong white flour
1 x 7g sachet fast-acting yeast
2 level tsp salt
250ml (9fl oz) warm water (use half kettle and half cold tap water to achieve slightly warmer than blood temperature)
2 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp treacle or molasses
Maize or cornmeal, for sprinkling
1 egg, beaten
Sesame seeds, sea salt, poppy seeds or a savoury topping of your choice (optional)
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1. Sift the flour and salt into the bowl you are making the bread in, add the yeast and mix well.

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2. Measure the water in a measuring jug then stir in the honey and oil. With an electric food mixer on the lowest setting, slowly add all the liquid to the dry ingredients. Knead on the lowest setting for 10 minutes, checking to make sure the dough is not too wet and adding more flour if it does look too sticky. It is stiffer than a normal bread dough, but will still have elasticity.

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3. If making by hand, make a well in the centre of the flour and pour the liquid in gradually, bringing the dough together with your hands.

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4. Turn the dough onto a clean, dry and floured work surface. Using more flour if necessary, start kneading the dough, stretching it away with the palm of one hand and folding it back again with the other, keeping this up for 10 minutes (great muscle builder!). You may need to use more flour as you go, to avoid a sticky dough, which you don’t want.

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5. Next, place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl and turn it in the oil to coat. Cover with cling film or a plastic bag to create a draught-free environment and put in a warm (not hot) place for 1–3 hours or until doubled in size.

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6. When the dough is nearly ready – doubled in volume – bring a large saucepan of water to the boil (about 4 litres/7 pints) and add the treacle or molasses. Cover and turn off the heat while you shape the bagels.

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7. Lightly oil two baking trays and sprinkle with maize or cornmeal. Remove the dough from the bowl, then punch it down and knead it briefly. Roll it into a rough sausage shape and divide into 7 chunks. As you work with one, keep the others covered with a clean tea towel. There are two ways to shape the bagels. One is to firmly roll out each chunk into a long ‘snake-like’ shape, then looping the ‘snake’ and sealing the ends together with a tiny splash of water and squeezing it. The other method is to roll each chunk into a ball. Piercing a hole in the centre with your finger, pull the dough open until you can fit your hand inside stretching it wide, turning it around and squeezing it to keep it even – like a steering wheel. Place on the prepared baking trays and repeat with the rest of the dough.

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8. Cover and allow to stand for a further 10–20 minutes to allow the dough to bounce back again. .
9. Preheat the oven to 220ºC (425°F), Gas mark 7 and heat the saucepan to a gentle simmer.

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10. Gently lift each bagel into the water and poach no more than three at a time, turning gently with a couple of slotted spoons, poaching for about 1 ½ minutes on each side. Remove the bagels from the water, allowing them to drain first, and place on the prepared trays, spacing them about 3–4cm (1 ¼ –1 ½ in) apart.

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11. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, sea salt, poppy seeds or a savoury topping of your choice, or just leave them plain, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn them upside down for a further 10 minutes to cook the bases. Cool on a wire rack.
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Mrs Hackneys Notes:

• Warm the oven up and turn off. Wait until it's cool but still warm and put in your dough to rise.
• If you want to freeze them, they can last for up to 3 months.
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The finished product!

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Enjoy :-)