With Halloween just around the corner and pumpkin carving parties nearing... we met with London-based chef, Jemma Harrison, to taste her favourite autumnal recipes.
Styled with autumnal ginghams and bows decorated with gourds, corn, mini pumpkins and walnuts, here is what to bake for your own autumnal spread at home.
Guinness Cake
- 250 millilitres Guinness
- 250 grams unsalted butter
- 75 grams cocoa powder
- 400 grams caster sugar
- 150 millilitres sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 275 grams plain flour
- 2½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
For the topping:
- 300 grams cream cheese
- 150 grams icing sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornflour
- 125 millilitres double cream (or whipping cream)
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/160°C Fan/350ºF, and butter and line a 23cm / 9 inch springform tin.
- Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter — in spoons or slices — and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarbonate.
- Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.
- When the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing.
- Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and cornflour and then beat to combine.
- If using double cream, add it and beat until you have a spreadable consistency. If using whipping cream, whisk first to soft peaks, add a couple of spoonfuls into the cream cheese mixture and once this is combined, fold in the rest.
- Cut the cake in half and put icing in middle. Put the lid on and ice the top and decorate with cherries and shaved chocolate.
