These cute little cakes look like petite cakes for tea time but are actually more like a crumbly, buttery Viennese biscuit.
Top them with glace cherries or spoonfuls of jam, any variety works well.
Traditionally they are topped with a deep red jam, but I prefer apricot.
You could even try a lemon or passion fruit curd perhaps, so use whatever's in your cupboard.
Other recipes, including Mary Berry's, suggest piping the dough into the cake cases to make them look more refined. But this is my mum's old recipe and we always just pop spoonfuls of the mixture into the cake cases, then make a dip in the top for the jam to sit in.
Call it laziness or not, but I think they look fine, and they certainly taste just as good as any piped version!
Swiss Cakes Recipe
Makes 18
Ingredients
75g icing sugar
185g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
50g cornflour
225g butter at room temperature, chopped
Jam of your choice
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 160 fan. Place paper cake cases in two 12 cup bun tins.
2. Sift the icing sugar, plain flour, baking powder and cornflour into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the soft butter in pieces, distributing around the bowl.
4. Beat until smooth by hand or using an electric whisk. At the end pull together with a baking spatula, wooden spoon or by hand but try to handle the dough as little as possible.
5. Place a ball of dough in each cake case and flatten slightly. Make a dent in the centre for the jam to sit in.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just golden. Cool on a wire rack.
7. When cool, place spoonfuls of jam in each cake and dust with icing sugar before serving.
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Other recipes, including Mary Berry's, suggest piping the dough into the cake cases to make them look more refined. But this is my mum's old recipe and we always just pop spoonfuls of the mixture into the cake cases, then make a dip in the top for the jam to sit in.
Call it laziness or not, but I think they look fine, and they certainly taste just as good as any piped version!
Swiss Cakes Recipe
Makes 18
Ingredients
75g icing sugar
185g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
50g cornflour
225g butter at room temperature, chopped
Jam of your choice
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 160 fan. Place paper cake cases in two 12 cup bun tins.
2. Sift the icing sugar, plain flour, baking powder and cornflour into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the soft butter in pieces, distributing around the bowl.
4. Beat until smooth by hand or using an electric whisk. At the end pull together with a baking spatula, wooden spoon or by hand but try to handle the dough as little as possible.
5. Place a ball of dough in each cake case and flatten slightly. Make a dent in the centre for the jam to sit in.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just golden. Cool on a wire rack.
7. When cool, place spoonfuls of jam in each cake and dust with icing sugar before serving.
Pin it:
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