Mini Fruit Cakes

Today we're a little sad to say goodbye to the amazing Theresa Nguyen of The Gook! What an incredible month we've had of Willy-Wolka-esque novelty sweet treats, from chocolate terrariums to dessert bento, and everything in between, all expertly captured by our Sydney dream team Phu Tang and Gemma Lush! Be sure to bookmark Theresa's blog to keep up with of all of her ongoing food adventures...!  - Lucy

Mini fruit cakes by Theresa Nguyen / The Gook, photos by Phu Tang, food styling by Gemma Lush.

I absolutely hate classic fruit cakes. We’ve never seen eye to eye. People have tried to turn me, by hiding it under custard or a little brandy sauce, but it hasn’t worked. Mainly, I blame the dried fruit component - from an early age we’ve never been friends.  I'm talking about sultanas, then raisins, followed closely by the currants. If I find any of these culprits in sweet (or savoury) things I get a little narky. It’s one of my pet food hates. And seeing as they’re the main ingredients in fruit cakes, it’s no wonder I despise them so much. With so much hate for the poor classic fruit cake, I thought I'd turn the concept on its head.  So,  I’ve removed all the fruit - and in the spirit of last week's 'dessert in disguise' bento box, I've create fruit cakes that simply look like fruit. Plus, I made them mini, because who can resist a tiny novelty dessert?!  Good things always come in small packages. My absolute favourite in the mini fruit cake series is the pineapple, it's almost too pretty to eat!

Ingredients

For the vanilla cupcakes 120g plain flour 140g castor sugar 40g unsalted butter, at room temperature 1½ tsp baking powder 120ml full cream milk ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 egg Pinch of salt For the vanilla frosting 250g icing sugar, sifted 80g unsalted butter, at room temperature 25ml full cream milk A few drops of vanilla extract Note: One batch of cupcakes and one batch of vanilla frosting (divided into four colours) makes 6 x mini pineapple cakes, 3 x mini strawberry cakes, and 3 x mini watermelon cakes.  You will also need Food colouring in yellow, red, pink and blue Palette knife 1 x disposable piping bag with star nozzle (you can buy this from the supermarket) Black sesame seeds Mint leaves Parsley Leaves

Mini fruit cakes by Theresa Nguyen / The Gook, photos by Phu Tang, food styling by Gemma Lush.

Method

For the vanilla cupcakes Since my fruit cakes don't actually require any fruit of the traditional variety, I instead use my favourite basic vanilla cupcake recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf to create the body of each cake. Before we start, preheat your oven to 170 degrees. Following this, place the flour, sugar, butter, baking power and salt in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on a slow speed until the mixture is a sandy consistency. Whisk the egg, milk sugar and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. On a slow speed pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat until just combined. Do not over mix. Spoon the mixture into a 6 cup silicon large cupcake mould and 12 cup silicon mini cupcake mould (both available from Kmart from $5.00). Bake the mini cupcakes for 15-20 minutes and the large cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. The cake should spring back when touched when it's finished cooking. Let the cupcakes cool completely before demoulding. If it’s too hot the mixture will stick to the silicon mould. For the vanilla frosting Beat the icing sugar and butter on a medium speed in a freestanding mixer using the paddle attachment until well combined. Mix the milk and vanilla together in a small bowl. Then turn the mixer speed to low, and add the milk and the vanilla mixture one spoonful at a time, until it's fully incorporated into the mixture. Turn the mixer speed to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, which usually takes about 5 minutes to achieve this consistency. For the mini pineapple fruit cakes Note: You will need 2 x mini cupcakes to make 1 mini pineapple cake. Cut the tops off the mini cupcakes and discard (or eat). Use some of the basic vanilla frosting to stick the parts together – bigger sides together to form a pineapple shape. Make the yellow frosting by mixing the basic vanilla frosting with a few drops of yellow food colouring until you are happy with the colour. Transfer into piping bag with star nozzle attached. Pipe the frosting around the cake base, starting from the top and working around in a circular motion until the whole cake is covered. Pierce the top with a skewer and insert a few springs of mint.

Mini fruit cakes by Theresa Nguyen / The Gook, grey plate by Dinosaur Designs, photos by Phu Tang, food styling by Gemma Lush.

For the mini strawberry fruit cakes Note: You will need 1 x large cupcake to make 1 mini strawberry cake. Using a serrated knife cut down the top of the cake to shape them into upside down strawberries. Make the red frosting by mixing the basic vanilla frosting with a few drops of red food colouring until you are happy with the colour. Using a small palette knife coat the cake with the red frosting. Don’t worry if it’s not super smooth. Place the frosted cake into the fridge for 5 minutes then smooth over the bumps with a slightly wet palette knife. Press black sesame seeds on top of the red frosting, you may need to use tweezers for this! Then arrange three parsley leaves in a clover formation on a platter and gently place the mini strawberry cake on top. For the mini watermelon fruit cake Note: You will need 1 x large cupcake to make 1 mini watermelon cake. To construct the watermelon cake, cut the tops off the large muffin cakes, and use the cylindrical base only. Make the pink frosting by mixing the basic vanilla frosting with a few drops of pink food colouring until you are happy with the colour. Then make the green frosting for the exterior of the watermelon by mixing a few drops of blue and yellow food colouring until you are happy with the colour. For the watermelon centre spread the top of the cake with pink frosting. For the watermelon exterior, spread the outer of the cake with green frosting. Don’t worry if it’s not super smooth. Place the frosted cake into the fridge for 5 minutes, then once the frosting has moderately set smooth over the bumps with a slightly wet palette knife. Similar to the mini strawberry cake, press a few black sesame seed into the pink centre, again you may need to use tweezers. These can be made a few hours in advance and left it in the fridge, but be sure to bring them to room temperature before serving.

MASSIVE thanks to Theresa for joining us with her 'Sweet 'n Silly' desserts for the month of May!  It's been so fun and very sugary!  For more recipes from Theresa, do check out her own brilliant food blog – The Gook!

THANKYOU THERESA!  We have loved all your work this month...!  What a star.  Photo by Phu Tang, styling by Gemma Lush.