FEATHER SUGAR COOKIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (160C fan).
• Put the cocoa in a large bowl, add the boiling water and mix until smooth. Add the baking spread or butter and beat into the cocoa until smooth, then add the remaining cake ingredients and mix until combined – this can be done in a mixer or by hand.
• Pour into the tin, spread evenly and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until well risen, just firm to the touch and shrinking away from the sides of the tin. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and peel off the baking parchment. Brush the top of the cake with apricot jam and leave to cool completely
• For the icing, warm the cream in a small pan until hot, then add the milk chocolate and stir until completely melted and smooth. Leave to cool a little so that it is a thick pouring consistency (this won’t take long depending on room temperature). Pour the icing over the cake, spreading out with a palette knife to cover the cake completely.
• To decorate, melt the white chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Place in a small piping bag, snip the end and pipe in lines down the cake, about 1cm/½in apart. Using a cocktail stick, drag through the white chocolate in opposite directions across the cake to give a feathered effect.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Line a 20 x 20cm square baking tin with baking parchment.
• Using an electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix again. Add the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, lemon curd and milk, and mix with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
• Mix the sugar and lemon juice together and pour over the hot cake. Leave to cool in the tin. You can eat the cake as it is, or for a fancy finish, try making this feather icing.
• Mix the icing sugar with just enough water to give a runny, but not watery, icing. Put a small amount of icing in a separate bowl. Add a few drops of the food colouring to the icing until pale yellow. Spoon into a disposable icing bag.
• Remove the cake from the tin and peel off the baking parchment. Sit the cake on a wire rack over a baking tray. Spread the white icing over the top. Pipe thin lines of the coloured icing across the width of the cake. Use a cocktail stick to drag through the lines in opposite directions to create a feathered effect. Leave to set before cutting into slices.