Here is a little variation on my blood orange jelly cakes,, using the recipe for strawberry and hibiscus jelly and adding a few tweaks, and a little shape shifting to produce another delectable and tender little jelly cake.
For those without a gem scone tray, the world is your oyster when it comes to jelly cake shapes. I used a square cake tin this time and cut the cake into smaller squares, but you can use a small muffin tray, cupcake wrappers, rectangles, fingers - whatever works and is at hand in your kitchen.
Hope you like this version.

Strawberry and Hibiscus Jelly Cakes

This is essentially the same basic recipe for the blood orange jelly cakes but for a few different things. I’ve omitted the orange zest from the batter, changed the jelly to strawberry and hibiscus (see previous post) and added a vanilla creme fraiche cream. Please note you will need to start the jelly the day before to extract the juice from the strawberries.

Makes 25 complete cakes.

For the cake:

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

125g unsalted butter

140g raw caster sugar

pinch salt,

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2 eggs

120g plain flour

30g cornflour

2 teaspoons baking powder

125ml milk

For the Jelly:

One quantity of strawberry and hibiscus jelly (see previous post)

1-2 cups desiccated coconut

For the Vanilla Creme Fraiche Cream:

150g creme fraiche

150g thickened cream

2 tablespoons icing sugar - sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Spray oil or melted butter

baking paper

Method:

Prepare the jelly starting the night before, as per the previous post but chill it until it is just starting to set. Remove from the fridge at this point.

(if the jelly has set, this can be easily fixed by heating in the microwave until the edges are just starting to melt, then giving it a good stir until you have returned to a slightly gloopy slightly runny mixture)

Preheat the oven to 165 degrees celsius, fan forced

Prepare a 22cm square cake tin by greasing it lightly and lining it with baking paper.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, caster sugar, salt, and vanilla and until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition until you have a cohesive, fluffy mix.

Sift together the flour, cornflour and baking powder.

Gently stir in the flour mixture until combined followed by the milk. Only stir until the batter is just combined and free from any lumps.

Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the top.

Bake at 165 deg C, fan forced for 15-20 minutes or until the cake is just done and springs back lightly when pressed with your finger. It may take a little longer depending on your oven so keep checking every five minutes toward the end of cooking time.

Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a rack.

Once cooled, trim off the brown edges and even out the top by trimming it with a knife, before cutting the cake into 4cm squares.

Pour the coconut into shallow bowl.

Roll each cake in the jelly, using a spoon to make sure it is covered. This needs to be done quite quickly so that the jelly is just starting to sink into the cake in a thin layer.

Remove the cakes and roll in coconut.

Once all the cakes are jellied and rolled, chill them in the fridge to allow the jelly to set.

To fill the cakes:

Remove the cakes from the fridge half an hour beforehand. This allows the cake to warm and soften a little.

Prepare the vanilla creme fraiche cream:

Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl.

Beat with a whisk or a hand beater until thickened. Be careful not to overbeat. I find if you beat to soft peaks initially, the cream can be brought to stiffer peaks with a whisk just prior to use.

Place the cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

Pipe a small rosette of vanilla creme fraiche cream on one half of cake and sandwich gently with the other half.

The filled cakes are best eaten on the day they are made.

The cakes can also be made in advance. Prepare the cakes up the the point of filling them with cream and store them in the fridge. When ready to serve, remove them from the fridge about half and hour before serving, fill them with cream and serve.