Red Currant Cakes in glass jars

Red currants are still in abundance in our garden, so I made a batch of little cakes in glass jars to preserve them. I have made some cakes in glass jars before, and they make a really nice gift. You don't need any special glasses, anything heatproof, like jam glasses, with a wide opening works fine. Of course you can also bake them in a regular muffin pan.

The special ingredient here is muesli, which will give you a mix of oatmeal and other good things, like nuts or dried fruits. You can choose any muesli type you like, but it must be a dry type. Granola is also not suitable.

Daring Bakers: Swiss Swirl Ice-Cream Cake

Perfect for the hot summer weather the Daring Bakers' theme this month was an ice-cream cake. Lucky for me, I was just reunited with my ice-cream maker in Germany and couldn't wait to bring it to use, after a long time in storage.

The outside of the cake contains of a biscuit roll, which in the past I always had problems rolling. This recipe was great and it was easy to manage. I was very busy picking fresh strawberries this season, so I filled the roll with homemade strawberry-vanilla jam and vanilla whipped cream.

The ice-creams I made were also strawberry and dark chocolate. I never thought I would make an ice-cream cake before, but I really liked it, and will definitely make it again. There are so many endless flavor combination that this is really a cake for all seasons. Check out some of my fellow Daring Bakers and there awesome flavor ideas.

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

Red Currant and Almond Cake

We have a huge amount of red currants in our garden this year. The branches are so heavy that they already lean down. For my taste red currants are a little sour to eat raw, maybe if you put them in yogurt or muesli. But red currants are perfect for baking and jam making. I already made some batches of jam, which I will post soon.

This cake has a nice hint of tartness, but is still sweet enough through the topping of caramelized almonds. The batter is made from whipping cream instead of butter which gives a light texture. After the first baking a mascarpone cream and caramelized almonds are added. Be sure to use a deep enough cake pan. I tried to make the cake in a tart form first, but the batter came way to high.