Fizzy Jaffa cakes
IT’S JAFFA TIME, JAFFA CAKE TIME!! My apologies, it’s actually… FIZZY JAFFA CAKE TIME!!
I don’t know if you noticed but I am pretty excited about this one! I feel like I should just jump right in but I owe it to the jaffa cake world to do a little introduction, feel free to scroll straight down to the recipe!
I recently discovered that Milka have brought out their own version of the jaffa cake and I actually think it’s better than McVities but that all depends on your preference in cake texture and chocolate. Then, I had to watch ‘the Great British Bake off’ episode, where they made Mary Berrys Jaffa cake recipe (season 4, episode 1!). I’d watch that after you make this recipe, they make it look more daunting than it actually is, trust me!
The McVitie classic Jaffa cake says that it’s a genoise sponge base and a layer of orange flavored jam with a coating of chocolate. A classic Italian genoise sponge is made with eggs, flour, sugar and melted butter. A lot of Jaffa cake recipes, including Ms. Berry’s, don’t add butter but I prefer to.
Now for the fun part, the jelly layer! When I was growing up, and fully grown, my mam would make jelly every Christmas. She would layer the different flavours in glasses and spend a whole day letting one set before applying the next one, it just wasn’t Christmas without this jelly and we went absolutely wild for the orange layer! She would add orange Fanta or club orange to the orange jelly and it just makes it taste amazing! I added orange lucozade to my orange jelly for my Jaffa cakes, hence the name ‘Fizzy Jaffa Cakes’, and I think it takes them to the next level, they’re perfect!
Let’s talk chocolate! This should be the easy part, what is your favourite chocolate? Use that!
I like to do a mix here, I use milk, semi-sweet and dark and I love it! You like white chocolate too? Mix it through! It’s chocolate, it’s going to be delicious! I mix a teaspoon (5 grams) of vegetable oil with my chocolate to make it extra smooth and to help keep it’s form and from cracking once hardened.
Did I mention how excited I am about this recipe?!
Right, let’s get on with it!
FIZZY JAFFA CAKES
recipe
A classic genoise sponge base, orange jelly middle and smooth chocolate top.
⏲ PREP TIME: 20 minutes
⏲ BAKING TIME: 12 minutes
⏲ RESTING TIME: 1 hour 20 minutes
🍪 SERVINGS: 22 biscuits
CALORIES: 122 calories
EQUIPMENT
stand mixer/ electric whisk
mixing bowls
Spatula
non-stick muffin tin
baking tray/dish
INGREDIENTS
Genoise Base
120 grams all-purpose flour
120 grams granulated sugar
30 grams unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 gram salt
Jelly Middle
1 packet/ 170grams orange jello (200 mls boiling water)
200 ml orange lucozade (fanta/club orange/orange soda)
Chocolate Finish
85 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips
85 grams milk chocolate chips
30 grams dark chocolate
5 grams vegetable oil
INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Preheat oven to 350°F, 180°C. Grease cupcake tin with butter.
Jelly layer
I like to make mine the night before just to save on time but if you can’t or it’s a spir of the moment Jaffa making day then you should always make your jelly first and it should be set in 45-60 minutes, by the time your bases are ready.
1.
Add 200 mls boiling water to your orange jelly mix (half of the boiling water suggested on your packet) and 200 mls of orange lucozade (substitute for half of the cold water suggested) or whatever orange fizzy drink you prefer, you could even use orange juice.
2.
Put cling film on a baking sheet or square pan and pour your jelly mix onto it. Choose your pan size depending on how thick or thin you want your jelly layer. Place it in the fridge to set. Make sure it’s even in the fridge, my house is slanted so I had to balance it to make sure it was an even layer!!
Genoise Sponge Base
1.
Melt butter in microwave and set aside to cool. Mix room temperature eggs and yolks with sugar, on high, in stand mixer or with hand mixer until the mixture at least doubles in size.
2.
Sieve flour into the bowl and fold into the mixture with a spatula or a spoon, or mix on low until combined. Add the butter and vanilla essence and mix through.
3.
Spoon 1 tablespoon/ 15 grams of the mixture into each muffin slot.
4.
Put into preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until sponge is set and pulls away from sides.
5.
Let them cool in the tin for another 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool.
Chocolate layer
1.
Put your chocolate of choice in a microwave safe bowl with a teaspoon/ 5 grams of vegetable oil. Heat on high mixing every 20 seconds until smooth. It won't take long.
2.
Allow the chocolate to cool before adding it to the jelly so that it doesn't melt it. It also makes it a lot easier to spread, the oil will make sure it doesn't harden too quickly and you'll get all your biscuits covered.
Jaffa Construction
1.
Use a cookie cutter to cut out your jelly and place the discs on top of each sponge base.
2.
Use a teaspoon to spoon chocolate into the middle of jelly and lightly push it out to the sides with a butter knife and smooth along the edges. The first few might be messy but you'll get the hang of it fairly lively. For me, adding the oil really helps with the application and to keep it smooth.
3.
The oil means it will take a bit longer for the chocolate to set but it will be worth it, I'd recommend trying one now though, for health reasons!Leave on wire rack to set.
