The Cake of the Summer

Raspberry and Orange Polenta Cake
Summer 2015.....it was all a bit.....meh. Apart from a few "phew, what a scorcher" days, the weather in my part of the world didn't quite know what to do with itself. Apart from rain. Which it has done in biblical proportions over the past few days. So much so that had I seen Noah and his Ark, I would not have been surprised.
Which brings me on to this cake - my absolute favourite bake of this summer. A cake full of almonds, citrus flavours and a seasonal berry is always going to have the potential to be a winner in my eyes. Drenched in a sticky orange syrup, and studded with whole raspberries, this golden hued polenta cake is so reminiscent of sunshine that it can't fail to cheer a person up on a miserable day, or bring joy when the skies are blue, and the weather warm. It is altogether a win-win situation of a cake.
I think I am in love with polenta in a cake. Not only does it bring such an unusual crumbly and crunchy texture, but it also has the benefit of being gluten free. Use gluten free baking powder as well, and this cake becomes a treat for those who are gluten intolerant or those just trying to reduce it in their diet. 
I enjoyed this cake plain, with a few extra raspberries, but a dollop of creme fraiche or mascarpone cheese would be very acceptable with it. 

For the Cake

(adapted from the Waitrose website)

200g unsalted butter, with a little extra for greasing the tin

200g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature 

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g polenta

200g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

Finely grated zest of 2 oranges

165g raspberries, plus extra to decorate

2 tbsp flaked almonds

For the Syrup

Juice of 2 oranges

100g golden caster sugar

You will also need a 23cm springform tin, greased and the base lined with baking parchment 

1. Preheat the oven to 150C / 300F/ Gas mark 2

2. Beat the butter and the 200g of golden caster sugar in a bowl until very light, fluffy, and pale in colour. 

3. Next, add in the vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Stir in the polenta, ground almonds, baking powder, and the orange zest until combined.

5. Gently fold in the raspberries so as to try and keep them whole. However, don't worry if a few get broken up while doing this.

6. Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin, and scatter the ground almonds evenly over the top.

7. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes until the cake is golden on top, and a skewer comes out clean when inserted. You might find that the cake sinks in the middle. Don't worry about this as the dip will be covered up by the extra raspberries.

8. While the cake is in the oven, make the syrup. Put the orange juice and sugar into a small saucepan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the liquid has thickened.

9. Take the cake out of the oven and prick it all over with a skewer. Spoon over the orange syrup, making sure it goes into all of the holes, and leave to cool in the tin.

10. Remove from the tin, and decorate with the extra raspberries, before serving.

Baking Notes

When I made this cake the result was quite wet since my oranges were particularly juicy, and I used all of the syrup. Your oranges might not be as juicy, or you might not want a cake that is so wet. In that case, just use as much of the syrup as you feel is right.

I Heart This

Flourless Chocolate Cake
'If chocolate be the food of love, munch on', wrote William Shakespeare.......never.
Excuse my play on the Bard's opening line from his play, 'Twelfth Night', but as Valentine's Day is here again, I couldn't resist.
I can't say I get terribly excited about this 'Day of Love', but I do like to mark an occasion by mixing up a treat that I can share with my loved ones.
I did want to try and avoid the obvious chocolate recipe to celebrate this occasion, but this (and I admit not very pretty) cake is so delicious and so special that it was my only choice. Plus, I was actually craving it. Therefore, based purely on my greed, I hope you love this cake as much as I do and it becomes a staple in your repertoire for when you need a truly celebratory dessert. This is no delicate, light sponge, but rather a very rich, dense, fudgy pudding, which simply melts in the mouth. Think of the richest, darkest chocolate truffle you have ever eaten, and it is like that. But in cake form.
As in the recipe, you can cover the cake with crème fraiche or cream, before piling the berries on top, but I prefer to serve it separately. A mixture of strawberries, redcurrants and raspberries would be lovely in summer, and in the autumn, blackberries and blueberries. But whatever fruit you choose, the only rule is to not be shy. This is a decadent pudding so be decadent.
When I made this cake I used just raspberries, and replaced the crème fraiche with double cream simply because they are my personal favourite. The sour tang of crème fraiche would of course cut through the richness of all of this cake, but call me old fashioned, I do like a bit of cream with my chocolate. The Cajuns have their 'holy trinity' of bell peppers, onions and celery, and I have my classic 'holy trinity' of chocolate, raspberries and cream.

For the Cake
(adapted from Sophie Dahl's Voluptuous Delights)

300g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, (plus extra to decorate, but this is optional)
225g golden caster sugar
180ml boiling water
225g salted butter, cubed
6 medium eggs, at room temperature and separated
1 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

To Decorate
250g of your choice of berries
200ml crème fraiche, or double cream

You will also need an 8in / 20cm square, or a 9in / 23cm round cake tin

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4.
2. Grease and line the base and sides of the tin with baking parchment.
3. Break up the chocolate into small pieces and put it in a food processor with the sugar and pulse until fine.
4. Add the boiling water, butter, egg yolks, coffee powder and vanilla extract and give it another mix. The chocolate and butter should melt so that you have a molten chocolate mixture. Transfer into a large bowl.
5. Whisk the eggs whites in a glass bowl until stiff and fold a quarter into the chocolate mixture using a metal spoon, to slacken it. Fold in the remaining egg whites until they are thoroughly mixed in. You will need to do this gently in order not to knock the air out of the egg whites.
6. Pour the mousse like mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 - 55 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
7. The top of the cake will crack and the centre will collapse. This is entirely normal, so don't worry.
8. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin and place in the fridge for a few hours, or better still, overnight.
9. When you want to serve the cake, remove from the tin and take off the paper. At this stage I would also put the cake on the serving plate before decorating.
10. If you are using the double cream give it a bit of a whisk so that it has thickened up enough to hold its shape, but is not stiff, and dollop on top of the cake. The crème fraiche doesn't need whisking so you can just spoon that on top as is.
11. Put the fruit on top of the cream or crème fraiche, and grate over some extra chocolate if you fancy it.
12. Devour. Greedily.

Baking Notes
For this cake use the best chocolate you can afford, and do make sure it contains 70% cocoa solids. If you don't want to make such a dark, bitter cake and want something is a little sweeter, use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, but with the dark being the in the greater proportion. 
 

 

A Taste of Provence

Lavender, Lemon and Honey Cake
(adapted from Love, Bake, Nourish by Amber Rose)

Lavender. I have bathed in it. I have scented my house with it. I have even spritzed my laundry with it, but, I had never tasted it. It is a flavour that had always intrigued me as I thought that it might be akin to eating a bar of soap. Which, when I recently tried some (bought) lavender shortbread, it was. I have to say that it was a flavour that I didn't think that I would be hurrying to try again as I found it quite unpleasant. So much so that my biscuit remained unfinished. 

However, that opinion changed when I saw this cake. Although lavender, the lure of the other ingredients proved strong enough for me to want to give it a try. There is something about cakes that include almonds that I love. Perhaps it is the taste, or maybe it is the squidgy dampness that they impart that I am addicted to. I don't know what it is, but if a cake is heavy on almonds then I am a fan. Polenta is used in place of flour in this cake which, being made from corn, makes this cake gluten free, and therefore perfect for those who cannot eat wheat or are trying to reduce it in their diet. 

This cake is my first foray into a beautiful book called 'Love, Bake, Nourish' by Amber Rose, which had been on my radar for a while, and which I finally acquired only recently. If you like cakes and baked goodies that use seasonal ingredients and healthier and nutritious alternatives to refined sugar and wheat flour then this book is for you. 

The recipes are not vegan as they do use butter and eggs, but instead of white sugar you will find honey and maple syrup, and in place of wheat, nut, buckwheat, and spelt flours.

It is an amalgam of two recipes, the cake being from one, and the icing, another. Of course there is nothing to stop you from just making the cake au naturel, but I just think a little adornment stops it from looking naked.

So, how did the cake turn out? Very well indeed! It is very soft and moist, which is to be expected  from all of those almonds, and the polenta adds an unusual crumbly grainy texture, which I found rather moreish. It is also beautifully light and two pieces are easily wolfed down without realising it (or feeling guilty).

However, I cannot say that I really tasted the lavender. Perhaps I chopped it too small, or maybe I should have been brave and used a little more. I am not sure until I make it again and tweak the amount. What does come through though is the lemon (which is always a good thing in my opinion) and there is no reason why you couldn't replace the lavender with extra lemon zest, or replace the lemon with orange zest and juice. You could even go one step further and use a mixture of both to make a super-citrusy cake.

 

For the cake

2 teaspoons dried lavender, finely chopped

100 g golden caster sugar

225g unsalted butter, softened 

225g ground almonds

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs

Grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons

Juice of half a lemon

75g honey

110g polenta

1/2 tsp baking powder (Dr. Oetker make a gluten free option if wheat cannot be eaten)

Pinch of salt

For the icing

30 ml lemon juice 

3 tsp honey

125g icing sugar

1 - 2 tsps dried lavender, chopped

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Grease and base line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment.

1. Cream the butter, sugar and lavender in a large bowl until very pale in colour and fluffy in texture. I usually whisk with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes for the mixture to get to this stage.

2. Add in the ground almonds and vanilla extract and stir until incorporated.

3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until well mixed, and then gently fold in the zest, juice, honey, polenta, baking powder and salt with a metal spoon.

4. Pour into the prepared tin, and with the back of a spoon level the surface.

5. Put in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until a cocktail stick comes out clean when inserted in the centre.

6. If you think the cake is becoming a little brown, cover the surface for the last 10 minutes of cooking with a circle of greaseproof paper.

7. Take the cake out of the oven and leave in the tin for about 15-20 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Remove the baking parchment layer.

8. To make the icing, mix the lemon juice and honey in a medium sized bowl, and add in the icing sugar in two batches. What you are aiming for is a thick icing that can be poured and drip prettily down the sides.

9. Spoon over the cake and sprinkle with the chopped lavender.
10. If you wanted to, make this the day before you need it and wrap it in greaseproof paper and foil, un-iced, and it will be even better for it.