Jaffa cakes look fiddly, but it’s mostly the chocolate topping that can be tricky. If you don’t want these to contain alcohol, just replace the gin with cold water.
Makes: 24
For the jelly:
2 x 135g packets of raspberry jelly cubes
200g hot water
90g gin
For the cake:
2 large eggs
50g caster sugar
60g self-raising flour
Plus:
200g white chocolate
For the penguins:
White, black and orange fondant
Orange sprinkles, star-shaped or similar (optional)
First make the jelly: pour the water over the jelly cubes and stir until completely melted. Then stir in the gin. Pour into a shallow tray (such that the jelly is just under 1cm deep), and place in the fridge until completely set.
Next make the cake. Butter two 12-hole cupcake trays and preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/375F/gas mark 5.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar on high speed for seven minutes. The mixture should be pale, fluffy, and hold a trail. Sift in the self-raising flour, and gently fold to combine.
Place about a tablespoon of cake batter into each cupcake hole and smooth the top. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. You can tell they are ready when they have slighty pulled away from the sides.
Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before removing and leaving to fully cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make the mini-penguins. Use the white fondant to create the main shape, then partially cover with a thin layer of black fondant for the back, wings etc. Use a little orange fondant for the nose, and some more black for the eyes. You can use more orange fondant for the feet, or orange sprinkles.
Roughly chop the white chocolate into small pieces. Then melt in a bain marie over a low heat. Use a small round cutter (just a little smaller than the diameter of the cake) to stamp out jelly circles.
To assemble, place a jelly circle on top of each cooled cake circle. Then use a spoon to carefully spread the white chocolate over the top, right to the edges. Try to avoid having the chocolate drip over the edges for a more traditional Jaffa cake shape. The penguins will distract from any slips.
