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illusionary cake sandwiches

16 June 2016 by Dominic Franks

… as my dear readers know,  my other life as an event producer at The Persuaders is full of fun and madness and our current project with benefit Cosmetics sees us on board the Good Ship Benefit.  It’s still there folks, moored at Embankment on the River Thames and open for gorgeous food and divine cocktails and of course lots of stunning make-up, until the end of August.  From next week, to celebrate the magical new brow collection from Benefit they are turning their regular afternoon tea into an illusionary afternoon tea.  It’s an absolutely gorgeous idea with an unusual twist… all the cakes and brownies are savoury and all the sandwiches are in fact cakes.  The head chef Glenn has done a brilliantly inventive job of creating this lovely afternoon tea and we’ve all worked together to produce what we think is a very special treat, served in the beautiful brow lounge on board the main deck of the good ship.  So if you haven’t visited yet, do pop by and pay them a visit and tell them I sent you…

you can book the afternoon tea on the Good Ship Benefit website…

illusionary cake sandwiches
everyone loves a good old-fashioned Afternoon Tea and the summer months seem to be the most popular time of year to eat them… whether you’re throwing a street party, on a deck-chair at the glorious coast or on a rug in a park, these little gems are delicious but also have an amusing and slightly magical edge, looking like savoury sandwiches but they are in fact sweet cakes. Something I’m sure you’ll agree will go down well with all your guests be them young or old.  Ive created 3 varieties to represent 3 types of sandwiches; a classic victoria sponge with jam and buttercream, a chocolate sponge with an apricot jam filling that looks like brown bread and smoked salmon and a carrot cake sponge with a cream-cheese and shredded carrot filling that looks just like granary bread with a coleslaw filling and will completely fool all everyone on the picnic rug.

for the classic sponge and chocolate sponge mix 

(to save time and effort, make this as one large mix then divide into two equal portions and add the cocoa powder to one portion.)
6 large free-range eggs
450g sugar
450g butter
450g self raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla paste

preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan 160C.

grease and line two 2lb loaf tins

cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy – a stand-mixer will make light work of this

add three eggs and half the flour and beat until smooth, then add the last three eggs and gthe rest of the flour and beat again until smooth and light, add the vanilla and beat one final time

now pour half the cake batter into one of the loaf tins and smooth off the top, then add the 2 tablespoons of cocoa to the remaining batter and beat well, then pour this into the second loaf tin

bake both cakes for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean, then set aside to cool

for the carrot cake mix
175g light muscovado sugar
175ml sunflower oil
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
140g grated carrot
100g raisins

1 teaspoon poppyseeds
grated zest of 1 large orange
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon

preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan 160C.

grease and line one2lb loaf tins

tip the sugar into a large mixing bowl, pour in the oil and add the eggs. Lightly mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the grated carrots, raisins, poppyseeds and orange rind.

mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then sift into the bowl. Lightly mix all the ingredients – when everything is evenly amalgamated stop mixing. The mixture will be fairly soft and almost runny.

pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40- 45 minutes, until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack.

for the fillings
300ml double cream
50g cream cheese
150g butter – room temperature
200g icing sugar
the zest of one lemon
half a carrot – peeled and finely grated
strawberry jam
apricot jam

in a large bowl, whip the double cream to a very thick consistency, then divide it in half. To one half stir in the cream cheese, lemon zest and grated carrot and this will give you the carrot cake filling, set aside the rest of the double cream for the chocolate cake filling.

in another large bowl make a buttercream icing by beating the butter till soft and creamy then add the icing sugar and beat again till soft and smooth, this will give you the classic sponge filling.

now you have all your cakes you can begin to assemble the ‘sandwiches’. You should be able to slice your cakes with a bread knife and treat them just like a loaf of bread but it may help to pop the cakes into the fridge for an hour before doing this. Then you simply slice all the cakes and fill them like you would as if making a sandwich. I’ve cut them into triangles because I think they look so pretty like this but you could go for halves or even dainty fingers.

eat and of course enjoy!

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Filed Under: Cakes Tagged With: #GoodShipBenefit, afternoon tea, carrot cake, celebration cake, chocolate cake, picnic, sandwiches, summer, victoria sponge

Previous Post: « chicken thigh and shrimp gumbo
Next Post: cashew red pesto and broad bean egg pie with poppyseed and lemon thyme crust »

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Comments

  1. Laura Denman says

    16 June 2016 at 5:37 pm

    My favourite sort of sandwich 🙂

  2. Choclette Blogger says

    16 June 2016 at 7:45 pm

    This is just such a super brilliant idea and your sandwiches look divine, though if you hadn't said anything, I might have got a bit of a shock when tucking in. So when to the brownies make an appearance?

  3. Choclette Blogger says

    16 June 2016 at 7:45 pm

    Love those teacups BTW.

  4. Stuart Vettese says

    16 June 2016 at 8:17 pm

    Very clever Dom. Super cute and super deceptive 😀

  5. Zoey @ Pressure Cooker Portal says

    17 June 2016 at 9:34 am

    This will be great suggestion for my next picnic with my family.

  6. belleau kitchen says

    17 June 2016 at 10:01 am

    thanks Laura xx

  7. belleau kitchen says

    17 June 2016 at 10:02 am

    thanks C… i'll get round to the brownies… you're such a pusher!

  8. belleau kitchen says

    17 June 2016 at 10:02 am

    thanks, they were my Aunties!

  9. belleau kitchen says

    17 June 2016 at 10:02 am

    thanks Stuart!

  10. Susan Lindquist says

    18 June 2016 at 4:56 pm

    What a clever little trompe l'oeil! So pretty on that tea tray with the rosy china cups and saucers! Excellent presentation, dearie!

  11. Shana J.Eaton says

    18 June 2016 at 6:35 pm

    Sound Great! I LOVE Sandwich! Thanks

  12. belleau kitchen says

    19 June 2016 at 8:27 am

    thanks Zoey… it will make for a great picnic!

  13. belleau kitchen says

    19 June 2016 at 8:28 am

    Thanks Susan… those saucers belonged to my great Aunt and I love them!

  14. belleau kitchen says

    19 June 2016 at 8:28 am

    Thanks Shana!

  15. Kate Glutenfreealchemist says

    19 June 2016 at 12:29 pm

    That's genius! I hope there is a GF option on board????

  16. SavoringTime in the Kitchen says

    20 June 2016 at 7:43 pm

    What a cute idea! I love that no fork is needed 🙂

  17. My Little Space says

    21 June 2016 at 5:58 am

    Guess I am late here ! Nothing left for me. haha….

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About Dom In The Kitchen

My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

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