Mel's Kitchen: Giant JaPFHa Cake Recipe

In the latest edition of Mel's Kitchen, Precision Fuel & Hydration's Athlete Support Specialist and 'Star Baker', Mel Varvel, shares a carb-rich recipe.

The Giant JaPFHa Cake incorporates the PF 300 Flow Gel and is the perfect addition to your pre-exercise carb load...

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 200g Self-Raising Flour
• 200g Unsalted Butter
• 200g Caster Sugar (Granulated sugar in the US)
• 3 Medium Eggs, beaten
• Zest of one orange + 1 tbsp orange juice

For the ‘jelly’:

• 1.5 Pouches PF 300 Flow Gel (~765g)
• 30g Powdered Pectin (easy to source on Amazon)
• 30 drops Orange Essential Oil (or Orange Extract to taste….probably around 2 tsp)
• 300g Good Quality Dark Chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into chunks, divided.

You’ll also need:

• A sugar thermometer
• A cake tin (~23cm) for the ‘jelly’
• A larger cake tin (or frying pan ~30cm) for the cake
• A stand mixer or electric hand whisk

Method

Step 1: Grease the cake tin (for the jelly) and frying pan/ larger cake tin (for the cake), then line the bottom of the 30cm frying pan/ larger cake tin with a circle of non-stick baking paper. Line the cake tin with cling film (I used cake release spray in both and that worked).

Step 2: Squeeze the Flow Gel into a saucepan and whisk in the pectin over a low heat until it’s fully dissolved (it will look opaque but don’t worry). Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for about a minute (Temperature should be over 75C/ 167F), whisking it occasionally to prevent it sticking.

Step 3: Take the Flow Gel mixture off the heat, stir in the Orange Essential Oil/ Extract and pour into the 23cm cake tin. Allow to cool and then put in the fridge to set for at least 1-2 hours.

Step 4: Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C (320/356F)/ gas 4. Put the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer or an electric hand whisk, beat the butter and sugar together until light and really creamy. Slowly add the eggs, a little at a time, whisking in between additions until the egg is fully incorporated. Don’t worry if it splits- just add a couple of tbsps of the flour and mix again.

Step 5: Add the flour and briefly mix everything together with the orange juice and zest in the stand mixer (we’re not too worried about a good rise here so no need to sift the flour and use a metal spoon unless you want to!). Use a spatula to scrape the batter into the frying pan/ cake tin. Level the batter off, then bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until risen and golden and a skewer comes out clean when pushed into the centre of the cake.

Step 6: Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 mins then run a palette knife around the edge of the cake and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Place the cake on your serving platter of choice the right way up.

Step 7: When the cake is cool and the jelly set, put ~two thirds of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place it in a microwave in 30 sec bursts, stirring with a spoon between each burst to ensure it doesn’t burn. When the chocolate has melted and there are no lumps left, add the remaining chocolate, leave for a minute and then stir it again until all of the chocolate has melted completely and there are no lumps.

Step 8: Carefully turn the jelly out and turn out on top of the cake in the centre.

Step 9: When the chocolate has cooled, spoon it on top of the cake and spread it carefully and quickly over the top with a palette knife. When the chocolate is starting to set, use a palette knife or skewer to score parallel lines across the cake. Then repeat at 90 degrees to create a chequered pattern. Chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Nutritional Information

Per JaPFHa Cake (please note: all values are approximate)

• Energy: 6,729 kcals (28,177 kj)
• Fat: 306g
• Carbohydrate: 900g
• Protein: 70g