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Painted Canvas Cakes

When I'm feeling down, I need to look outside of myself for inspiration. Art is a great place to look for ideas for new dishes. This painted canvas cakes is inspired by the art exhibits at the Modern Gallery of Art in Edinburgh.

Ingredients
  

Lemon Cake

  • 240 g all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 5 g salt
  • 150 g butter
  • 250 g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 160 ml milk
  • 3 tbsp lemon zest
  • 80 ml lemon juice

Cream Cheese Mousse

  • 200 ml cream
  • 180 g cream cheese
  • 75 g sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 6 g gelatine

Lemon Curd

  • 4 lemons, zest and juice
  • 200 g sugar
  • 100 g butter
  • 3 eggs, plus 1 yolk

Spirulina Butter Cream

  • 85 g butter
  • 180 g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp blue spirulina
  • 1 tbsp whipped cream

Blueberry Buttercream

  • 85 g butter
  • 180 g icing sugar
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 tbsp whipping cream

Raspberry Gel

  • 300 g raspberries
  • 125 g sugar
  • 125 g water
  • 3 g agar agar

Instructions
 

Lemon Cake

  • In stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Add eggs to creamed butter and sugar mixture one at a time until well incorporated.
  • In a bowl mix together the milk and lemon juice and set aside. In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients- flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  • Alternate between adding milk mix and dry mix until the batter comes together. Bake in a sheet pan at 175 C, 350 F for 15-20 minutes.

Cream Cheese Mousse

  • Whip cream in a stand mixer until it reaches soft peaks and set aside in a bowl. In a stand mixer, whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.
  • Bloom gelatine in a bowl of water. Once bloomed transfer gelatine to a small microwaveable container and cover with a few tbsp of water. Melt for about 10-20 seconds.
  • Whisk the melted gelatine into the cream cheese mixture then fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese and gelatine mix.
  • Using rectangular silicone moulds, pipe the cream cheese mousse in to fill about half of the mould. Cut your lemon cake to just under the size of the molds and push the individual piece of lemon cake into the mousse forcing the mousse up the sides of the mould. Smooth out the mousse on to of the cakes and transfer to the freezer.

Lemon Curd

  • Whisk together lemon zest, juice, sugar, eggs and egg yolk. Place over a double boiler and whisk continuously until thick. Add in the butter a cube at a time and allow to melt while whisking. Continue whisking until thickened again. Place in the fridge to set.

Spirulina Buttercream

  • In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.

Blueberry Buttercream

  • Place blueberries in pot over medium heat and allow to cook down until soft and jam like. Cool. Add cooled blueberry coulis to butter, sugar and whipped cream in a stand mixer and whisk together until smooth.

Raspberry Gel

  • Heat raspberries, sugar, agar and water in a pot over low heat. Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes then strain the seeds out. Cool in the fridge until set. Place the set jelly into a blender and blitz until smooth.

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