Run by sisters Annabel and Emily Lui, the bakery uses only natural colours and flavourings.
‘‘Using natural ingredients has always been important to us; in our minds if we are making something in a particular flavour, then it should actually contain that ingredient rather than an artificial version.
‘‘We like to celebrate natural beauty and, to us, there is nothing more beautiful than natural colours.’’
Their recipes are a reflection of their Oriental heritage mixed with their family’s love of classic British and French baking.
‘‘Our mission became to create something new that would satisfy both our cravings. For Annable chewy brownies, crunchy crisp biscuits and soft cookies - for Emily - cake, any cake.’’
From that concept the ‘‘biskie’’ was born - two chewy cookie-cake hybrids sandwiching a light, mousse buttercream packed with delicious flavours.
They have divided the book into chapters based on different types of afternoon teas - fantasy, classic British, the Orient and American - and suggest afternoon tea menus to try at home.
Looking for something different for Christmas dessert this year? Try their blueberry and lemon cheesecake dream cake. Or if you are looking for ideas for bites for your Christmas party, the mini Yorkshire puddings and madelienes could do the trick.
Blueberry and lemon cheesecake dream cake
This is one of our most popular cakes. It has quite a few components, but you can prep these the day before. You could also cheat a bit and buy good-quality blueberry jam and lemon curd, and use crushed digestive biscuits/graham crackers for the crumb if needed.
Makes 1 cake
Ingredients
1 batch 20cm vanilla cake batter (see below)
150ml lemon soak (see below)
100g blueberry jam (see below)
100g lemon curd (see below)
1 batch cream cheese custard (see below)
100g digestive crumb (see below)
50g fresh blueberries, to decorate
finely grated zest of 2 lemons, to decorate
Blueberry and lemon buttercream
½ batch light as a feather cake buttercream (see below)
1 tsp freeze-dried blueberry powder
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
3 20cm/springform cake pans, bases
lined with greaseproof baking parchment, cake board or cake stand
stepped spatula (optional)
Vanilla cake batter
250g unsalted butter, softened
250g cups caster/granulated sugar
6 eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
340g (2½ cups) plain/all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
120ml (½ cup) buttermilk, at room temperature
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
Lemon soak - Makes about 400ml
40ml (3 Tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
200g (1 cup) caster/granulated sugar
Blueberry jam - Makes about 450g
300g fresh or frozen blueberries
150g caster/granulated sugar
Lemon curd - Makes about 300g
2 egg yolks
75g caster/granulated sugar
5g (1 tsp) pectin powder
40g unsalted butter, cubed
150ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
Cream cheese custard - Makes about 300g
100ml double/heavy cream
20g cornflour/cornstarch
2 eggs
100g white chocolate, broken into pieces
100g full-fat cream cheese
Digestive crumb - Makes about 450g
125g unsalted butter, melted
250g plain/all-purpose flour
60g caster/granulated sugar
60g soft light brown sugar
2½ tsp salt
Light as a feather cake buttercream - Makes about 900g
6 egg whites
260g (1¼ cups) caster/granulated sugar
430g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Method
Heat the oven to 180degC bake or 160degC fan bake.
Prepare a batch of the 20cm vanilla cake batter and divide between the three pans. Bake in the preheated oven following the cake instructions. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare the remaining components and the light as a feather cake buttercream and set aside. In a separate small bowl, mix the blueberry powder and lemon zest with 1 teaspoon water, then beat into the buttercream.
To assemble the cake, trim each sponge into a flat and even layer, each about 4cm thick. Line the sides of one of the pans that you baked the sponges in with a double layer of greaseproof baking parchment, about 15cm high.
Put the first sponge in the pan and drizzle over a third of the lemon soak. Take 150g of the blueberry and lemon buttercream and drop teaspoonfuls of it over the sponge in a random fashion.
Spoon over half the blueberry jam in the same way, followed by half the lemon curd, then half of the custard. Finally, sprinkle over half of the digestive crumb. Add the next sponge layer and repeat.
Add the last sponge layer and drizzle over the remaining lemon soak. Gently compress the top sponge down into the cake to make sure everything is well packed. Freeze the cake for 20 minutes or refrigerate for 40 minutes to set.
Carefully remove the pan and paper from the cake and transfer to a cake stand or board with a blob of buttercream underneath. Smooth the remaining buttercream over the top with a stepped spatula or flat knife. Decorate the cake with fresh blueberries and lemon zest.
Vanilla cake batter
Heat the oven to 180degC bake or 160degC fan bake.
Put the softened butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla paste in a mixing bowl. Sift in the flour and the baking powder and mix with a hand-held electric whisk (or use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), starting at a slow speed and then progressing to medium, for about 1 minute until well combined, scraping down the bowl a couple of times.
In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda/baking soda together until foamy and quickly add to the cake batter. Mix at a medium-high speed until combined; do not overmix or the sponge will be tough.
Divide the cake batter into the pans specified in the recipe and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes for three pans or 35-40 minutes for two pans until golden and springy to the touch.
Lemon soak
Stir together the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan with 160ml water. Bring just to the boil, then remove from the heat. Use the soak warm.
Blueberry jam
Stir together the ingredients in a saucepan with 60ml water. Bring to a simmer over a low-medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until the berries have released their juices. Leave to cool. It will keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks.
Lemon curd
Combine all the ingredients in a heatproof bowl.
Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, whisking every 10 minutes, for about 30-40 minutes until well combined and thickened.
Transfer the curd to an airtight container. Whisk as it cools to prevent a skin from forming. It will keep in the fridge for up to 23 weeks.
Cream cheese custard
Combine the double/heavy cream and cornflour/cornstarch in a saucepan and whisk together until smooth. Add the eggs and whisk in until fully combined. Place the saucepan over a low-medium heat and cook for about 10-12 minutes, whisking, until thickened. Remove from the heat.
Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in short bursts. Combine the thickened cream mixture and melted white chocolate in a bowl with the cream cheese and whisk until fully combined. Transfer the custard to a bowl and cover the top directly with clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before using. It will keep for up to 1 week.
Digestive crumb
Heat the oven to 190degC bake or 170degC fan bake.
Mix together all ingredients by hand in a bowl until resembling fine breadcrumbs. Tip on to a baking sheet lined with greaseproof baking parchment and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.
Fork through the mixture as it cools to create fine crumbs. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Light as a feather cake buttercream
Stir together the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Place over a pan of gently simmering water (making sure that the base of the bowl does not touch the water).
Heat gently, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. You can check this by rubbing some between your fingertips it should not be grainy.
Remove the bowl from the pan and use a hand-held electric whisk (or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment) to whisk for about 10-15 minutes until cool with stiff peaks.
Add the softened butter and whisk for a further 5-7 minutes until light cream in colour. Stir in the vanilla paste. It should have the consistency of medium-soft whipped cream, and be very easy to pipe and spread.
Tip: If your buttercream splits, freeze it until frozen solid. Melt a quarter in the microwave until liquid, then whisk back into the frozen buttercream until it comes back together.
Miso caramel madeleines
Our recipe gives classic French madeleines an oriental twist! While miso is mostly associated with soup and black cod, combined with soft brown sugar, butter and vanilla, it transforms into a can’t-quite-work-out-what-that-delicious-flavour-is cake.
These are great warm out of the oven, or box them up and give them as a gift on the same day as baking. The recipe is so easy you will want to keep making them over and over.
Ingredients
100g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
100g soft light brown sugar
30g caster/granulated sugar
80g plain/all-purpose flour
30g ground almonds
½ teaspoon baking powder
30g white miso paste
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
20g (1 Tbsp + 2 tsp) demerara/ turbinado sugar, to coat
12-hole madeleine pan or silicone mould, greased with butter
Method
Put the butter into a small saucepan and melt, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Combine the eggs, soft light brown sugar, caster/granulated sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, white miso paste and vanilla bean paste together in a large bowl and mix together with a spatula until well combined.
Add the cooled melted butter and mix well. Leave the mixture to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 180degC bake or 160degC fan bake. Fill each hole in the greased pan or mould to the top with the mixture and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until risen and golden.
Leave to cool a little, then pop the madeleines out of their moulds and dip in the demerara/turbinado sugar to coat while they are still warm. These are best eaten when freshly made.
Filled mini Yorkshire puddings
There is nothing more classically British than a Yorkshire pud! These are bite-sized but pack a punch from the creamed horseradish and the peppery watercress. For a vegetarian alternative, you could substitute the toppings for chopped roasted (bell) peppers with a sprinkle of feta.
Ingredients
vegetable oil, for oiling the pan
40g plain/all-purpose flour
½ tsp fine salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus extra to serve
1 egg, beaten
50ml (3½ Tbsp) whole milk
To serve
4 Tbsp creme fraeche
2 Tbsp creamed horseradish (or to taste)
2-3 large slices leftover roast beef (or from a deli)
small handful watercress sprigs
12-hole non-stick mini muffin pan
Method
Heat the oven to 220degC bake or 200degC fan bake.
Pour half teaspoon of vegetable oil into each of the 12 holes in the muffin pan and place in the hot oven for 5 minutes to heat up.
Sift the flour, salt and pepper into a bowl and stir together. Make a well in the centre and crack the egg into the well. Beat in the egg with a whisk, gradually incorporating the flour until smooth.
Gradually add the milk and whisk in until the batter has no lumps and all the milk has been incorporated.
Carefully retrieve the muffin pan with the hot oil from the oven and divide the batter between each hole, approximately 3 teaspoons into each. Cook in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until the Yorkshire puddings have risen well and are golden. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
For the horseradish cream
Mix the creme fraeche and creamed horseradish together, adding more horseradish to suit your taste. Set aside.
Cut the roast beef into 12 pieces.
To assemble
Make a little cut in the top of each Yorkshire pudding and tuck a slice of beef in vertically.
Spoon half-one teaspoon of the horseradish cream over the top. Garnish each Yorkshire with a watercress sprig and finish with a little freshly ground black pepper.
Serve immediately.
