I love cake. I really do. I love the whole theatre of it. And a cake with candles? And Easter chicks? Sweet.
My excuse for this was a Sunday Birthday lunch. I was in charge of cakes so I went all out sugar. There was icing everywhere on Sunday morning. I always think that nothing succeeds like excess, hence the feathery flock of chicks. Although I do think some of the chicks are a bit demented looking…
The chick sponge cake was gorgeous, I highly recommend putting icing on a butterless sponge cake with cream and raspberry jam. The chocolate queen cakes, again with cream and raspberries: unreal. However I have mixed feelings about these custard slices. They taste amazing but look pretty shabby… I should have used double the amount of custard. Damn.
Custard Slices
Ingredients
1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
55g caster sugar
40g custard flour
310ml milk
30g butter
1 egg yolk
(double the custard ingredients if you want more)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees c.
- Place the pastry onto an oven tray and bake for 15 mins or until puffed up. Cool.
- Split pastry horizontally, Flatten both pieces with your hand.
- Combine sugar& custard powder in a medium pan. Gradually stir in the milk. Stir over heat until it boils and thickens. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring all the time for 2 mins.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and egg yolk.
- Spread the hot custard over the pastry. Place the other piece of pastry on top and press down gently. Leave to cool.
- Meanwhile make some thick glace icing and spread over the pastry.Put in the fridge for about 3 hours.
- Once the icing is set you can slice it carefully using a serrated knife.
These cakes would be really nice for a tea party or special lunch get together, any excuse really!
Lilly x
Lilly Higgins: Food blogger, cookbook author and food photographer with a love for all things edible. Columnist with The Irish Times.
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