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.

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.

 

 

From my Grandmother's Table

Kirsch Kuchen (Cherry Cake)
I was recently in Germany for a whistlestop family visit. As is usual with my family (and I am sure, many others) no sooner had we walked in the door on the afternoon of our arrival, then we were sitting down drinking coffee and eating cake. And no sooner had we finished that, we were sitting down to a traditional, and very delicious, Bavarian meal prepared by my cousin. Sausages, cucumber salad, warm potato salad (the German kind made with hot vinaigrette, not the American version. Far too heavy on the mayonnaise for my liking), rye bread and German mustard were on the menu, all washed down with a beer. It was a very wonderful welcome.
I only tell you this as it reminded me of all the times I spent visiting my Bavarian grandparents, when every day revolved around food. First there was breakfast, then elevenses, lunch, a spot of kaffee und kuchen in the afternoon, and if we were still hungry after all of that, there was a light supper. Not surprisingly, I always came back from my German holidays a few pounds heavier.
However, although we ate cake, pudding was rare. Maybe occasionally some gelato from the Italian ice cream parlours that are on every corner during the summer, but mostly we always had fruit, and it was no different during my recent visit.
On the table was a large dish of the biggest, plumpest, reddest and juiciest cherries I have seen in a long while. This got me very excited as I absolutely love cherries. They are by far my favourite summer fruit, and I can happily chew (and spit) my way through a punnet or two with ease.

Seeing these cherries reminded me of a recipe for Cherry Cake that I had seen in my grandmother's handwritten cookery book. She was a fantastic cook, and at some point in the early sixties she wrote her own personal recipe book. All categories were covered, from cakes, puddings, and Christmas baking, to savoury starters, main courses and drinks, all written in her beautiful handwriting.
My mother now has the book in her possession but I have borrowed it for inspiration. It is funny, but in all the years I have been baking, I don't think I have ever baked anything German, other than the goodies I bake at Christmas. Perhaps it is because my mother always made her mother's recipes, and so I never felt the need to.

However, I don't think she ever made this one, and as we are in cherry season, it was the perfect time to give this cake a try. I have made a couple of changes to the recipe and added a few more details that were missing from the original version. My grandmother wrote a wonderful book, but reading it, well, you can tell that she wrote it for herself, as on occasion the methods are a little vague. For example: make the batter, put in a cake tin, bake for an hour.
Yes, that is all very well, Granny, but HOW do you make the batter? WHAT size should the tin be?, and at WHAT temperature?! You see, vague.
This is a super cake, very light, and not at all dry. There is a background note of lemon, but this could easily be replaced with almond extract if you wish since almonds and cherries are perfect partners. I was tempted to do this, but as this is my grandmother's recipe, it is only right that to do it justice I should follow the recipe as written. What did surprise me about this cake is that in my opinion, it has a 'German' flavour. I wish I could explain what that means, but I don't think I can. Perhaps it is just knowing the cake's history that it makes sense that it should taste of her homeland.  

For the Cake

200g unsalted butter, softened and at room temperature

200g icing sugar, sifted

200g self raising flour

4 large eggs

zest of 1 lemon (or 1 tsp of almond extract)

450g cherries, stoned and kept whole if possible (see the notes below)

Icing sugar for dusting

You will also need a 22cm (8 1/2") springform tin, greased and base lined with baking parchment

1. Preheat the oven to 160C / 150C fan / 325F / Gas 3-4.

2. Beat the butter and icing sugar together until very fluffy and pale in colour, about 4-5 minutes.

3. Beat in the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the sifted flour to prevent curdling.

4. Beat in the lemon zest and then fold in the flour gently. Don't over beat as you want to keep in as much air as possible. Once all of the flour is incorporated, stop mixing.

5. Put half of the mixture in the prepared tin, and then lay the cherries in one layer over it. They will sink to the bottom but don't worry about this.

6. Cover the cherries with the remaining mixture and level the surface. 

7. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. My grandmother says to bake for an hour, but mine was ready in 50 minutes. Therefore you could open the oven door after 50 minutes if you wish, to check if it is done, and if not, then every 5 minutes or so until a skewer or cocktail stick comes out clean.

8. Take the cake out of the oven and leave it in the tin for 15 minutes. Remove from the tin and put onto a cooling rack. I would add to be careful with the cake as it is quite delicate while warm.

9. When the cake is cold, drench in sifted icing sugar and devour. I recommend with some whipped cream!

 

  

 

 

Baking Notes
Stoning cherries is very laborious and very dull, and unless you have time on your hands I would strongly suggest that you use a cherry stoner. I cannot say that it makes the job any more interesting, but it certainly makes light work of it, and keeps the fruit whole, which adds to the look of the cake when cut. Feel free to use tinned cherries (in juice, not syrup), or those in a glass jar, but do make sure that they are very well drained before you use them, and any excess liquid removed with kitchen paper. 
 

A Taste of Eastern Promise

Pistachio and Rosewater Cake
(adapted from RedOnline here)

I cannot tell you how excited I am to share this Middle Eastern inspired cake with you. I think it is one of the prettiest cakes that I have seen for a while and it is my way of heralding the start of Summer.

When I found it amongst my recipe file, I just thought, 'oh hello.....you look tasty, come into my kitchen!'
I love all things pistachio (its ice cream is my favourite), and I love the rose flavour of Turkish Delight. Throw in some pink from the rose petals, and combined in a cake, it just had my name written all over it. However, I have never baked with this classic combination before so I was intrigued to find out if it would live up to my expectations.
It did, and I was so pleased. While the cake was baking, the most delicious scent of rose and lemon filled my kitchen, and when cut into it, that same scent was intoxicating.
The rose flavour was very delicate, (not at all like ingesting a mouthful of  perfume) and mixed with the sharpness of lemon, the cake was so moreish. The pistachio nuts give a slight green hue to the cake, and a creamy nuttiness. You will find this cake very moist because of the oils in the ground almonds, and its taste and texture improves with age. Therefore, if you make this cake, I would recommend that you do so a day or two in advance for maximum impact! 

 For the cake
225g butter, softened (and a bit extra with which to grease the tin)

60g corn flour (I was a bit sceptical about this, but its addition gives a lovely crumbly lightness) 

1 tsp baking powder

100g blanched almonds

125g unsalted shelled pistachios

225g caster sugar (I used white instead of my usual golden because that is what I had in the cupboard)

3 large eggs

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp rose water

To decorate

Icing sugar

25 - 50g chopped pistachios 

2 tbsp edible dried rose petals (I found mine in Waitrose, but they are available online)

To serve
Greek yogurt mixed with lemon curd

23cm 9" springform cake tin, greased with butter and base lined with a circle of baking
parchment

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas mark 3

2. In a dry frying pan toast the almonds and pistachios in a until they have gained a little colour and the and you can begin to smell them. Do be careful to keep an eye on them and stir them occasionally as the almonds can easily get too brown and burn. Don't be tempted to miss out this step as the toasting really helps with developing the nutty flavour.

3. Put into a food processor and grind very finely.

4. Mix the butter and sugar in a bowl until very light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one, and then add the lemon juice, zest and rosewater.

5. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add to the butter, sugar and egg mixture and fold in gently until well combined. 

6. The mixture should be a soft dropping consistency. If not, add a little more lemon juice until it is.

7. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 40 - 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and the top is golden brown. If you think that the top of the cake is becoming too brown while baking, just put a layer of greaseproof paper over it. 

8. Take the tin out of the oven and leave to cool down for about 10 to 20 minutes for before removing from the tin and placing on a cooling rack. Do be careful at this stage though, because the cake is quite delicate and liable to break in half if you pick it up on either side. I would recommend a fish slice to slide under the bottom of the cake to help move it.

9. Dust with icing sugar, sprinkle either delicately, or liberally with the chopped pistachios and dried rose petals.

 If you try this cake I would really like to know how you like it. Or, do you have a recipe that you make that says 'Summer' to you?