Lemon Lavender Fondant Fancies Recipes

LEMON & LAVENDER FONDANT FANCIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, yogurt, flour and baking powder in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth. Tip into your cake tin and smooth the top. Bake for 45-50 mins until risen and golden, and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Grind the lavender to a powder using a pestle and mortar. To make the butter icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy. Divide the mixture into 2 bowls, add the lemon zest to one batch and the lavender to the other, then mix each to combine. Transfer the icings to 2 piping bags.
• When the sponge has completely cooled, use a large serrated knife to remove the top and give you a flat surface. Flip the cake over so the flattest side becomes the top. Carefully trim off the edges, then cut the sponge into 16 squares. Use a ruler if you want them to be the same size. Brush the top and sides of each sponge square with a little jam. Pipe a small dome of butter icing onto each sponge, 8 with lavender icing and 8 with lemon. Chill the cakes for at least 1 hr.
• Sieve the fondant icing sugar into a large bowl, and add enough water to make a thick but pourable icing. Spoon a little white icing into a sandwich bag or piping bag to use later. Divide the remaining icing into 2 bowls, dye one batch lemon yellow and the other pale lilac.
• Remove the sponges from the fridge and transfer to a wire rack, sitting the rack on a tray to catch any drips. Spoon a little icing over each sponge, lilac for the lavender-flavoured fancies and yellow for the lemon. Use a small palette knife to spread the icing down the sides of the sponge to completely cover each one. Leave to set for 30 mins, then cover the cakes with a second layer of icing to give a smooth surface. Drizzle the white icing over the cakes and decorate with a little lemon zest and lavender buds. Leave to set for 1 hr at room temperature before serving. Will last 2-3 days in a tin.

MARY BERRY'S FONDANT FANCIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Grease and line a 20cm/8in square tin with two strips of parchment paper.
• For the sponge, beat together all the sponge ingredients until smooth. Tip the cake mixture into the tin and tap lightly to level out.
• Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a metal skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and allow to cool completely on a wire rack, before putting in the fridge to chill (or alternatively place in the freezer for a few minutes until chilled but not frozen).
• While the cake is chilling, make the buttercream. Beat together the softened butter and icing sugar in a bowl until lighter in colour, and smooth.
• Place 100g/3½oz of the buttercream in a piping bag and allow to slightly firm up in the fridge. Keep the rest in a bowl for the cake sides.
• For the marzipan topping, heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan and sieve it into a bowl.
• Brush the top of the cake with the sieved apricot jam.
• Roll the marzipan out very thinly, cover the top of the cake and chill again.
• Cut the cake into 25 equal squares (each 4cm/1½in square). You may need to cut off the edges if they have rounded and pulled away from the sides of the tin - all the edges must be straight and neat.
• Cover four sides of each square with buttercream (not the marzipan top or the base). Using the buttercream in the piping bag, pipe a blob in the centre of each square on top of the marzipan. Leave to set in the fridge for 20 minutes.
• For the icing and decoration, cut the fondant icing into small cubes. Place in a sturdy free-standing mixer with a paddle. Churn the icing until it stars to break down, adding a splash of water if it's too hard. Very gradually add the water - the icing will become smooth and more liquid.
• Add flavouring and food colouring to taste - be careful not to add too much at once, you can always add more but can't undo it!
• Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water). Once melted, place the chocolate in piping bag and set aside.
• Take the cakes out of the fridge and place one onto a fork.
• Dip each square into the icing one at a time and carefully set onto a cooling rack, with parchment underneath to catch the drips. Try not to get finger prints on them - for this reason it is best to insert the fork at an angle so that you can slide the cake off onto the cooling rack easily.
• Leave the fondant to set, but do not put in the fridge as the icing will lose its shine.
• Using the piping bag of melted chocolate, drizzle the chocolate over each fancy in a zig-zag pattern.
• Leave to set and then place on a cake stand to serve.