Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts
Every time I go to Costco I pick up a large punnet of Blueberries. I adore fresh blueberries and often have them on my cereal in the morning.
I also enjoy them baked into muffins, cakes and desserts. They really shine in baked desserts.
Theyare so good for you. They are what is known as a super-food, and small wonder as they are little power-houses of nutrition.
Packed with antioxidants and
phytoflavinoids, these berries are also high in potassium and vitamin C,
making them the top choice of doctors and nutritionists. Not only can
they lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, they are also
anti-inflammatory. You can't lose!
Today I decided to bake some of them into a cake I adapted from a recipe that I found in the book Simple by Ottolenghi.
This was the first recipe I have cooked from the book, although I have quite a few ear-marked. I love the food of Ottolenghi.
When I worked at the Manor, the oldest daughter would often come down from London for the weekend and she would often bring with her things she had bought in his London shop and restaurant. His salads are phenomenal.
I have been gathering middle Eastern ingredients together so that when my children are here we can do some middle Eastern cooking together.
Create a few taste memories with each other.
I found this cake is a bit denser than most cakes are, perhaps from the combination of the use of ground almonds and flour combined.
In fact there is more ground almond in the cake than there is flour.
There are a full two cups of blueberries in the cake.
Some are stirred into the cake batter before baking and some are scattered over the top of the cake partially through the bake time.
For the most part my berries sunk to the bottom . . . which didn't really affect the taste of the cake, just the looks.
In the book the photo of the cake had plenty of berries sitting on top, bleeding into th icing.
The texture is very much like a frangipane bake . . . dense, buttery and lovely . . . just sweet enough . . . the perfect combination with the sweet/tart berries . . .
It may not be the prettiest cake around, but it I think it is one of the tastiest . . . .
The batter is flavoured with plenty of freshly grated lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and vanilla.
Blueberries and lemon are the perfect partners . . .
The finished cake is drizzled with a lovely lemon drizzle icing once the cake has cooled completely.
This is the perfect cake to sit down and enjoy with a hot drink . . . . .
I can also see it being enjoyed on a warm summer's day with an ice cold glass of lemonade.
In short, this is a cake that you can enjoy any hour of the day, any day of the week, any week of the year . . . full stop.
Bluberry, Almond & Lemon Cake
Yield: 8
A very moist and delicious loaf cake adapted from a recipe in Ottolengi 's book Simple.
ingredients:
- 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature (2/3 cup)
- 190g caster sugar (1 cup fine granulated sugar)
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
- 90g self raising flour (1 cup, less 3 TBS) sifted
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 110g ground almonds (1 1/4 cup)
- 200g fresh or frozen berries (if using frozen, thaw and pat dry) (2 cups)
- 70g icing sugar (generous 1/2 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Bluberry, Almond & Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with paper, leaving an overhang to lift the cake out with when done.
- Cream the butter and sugar together with the, vanilla, lemon zest and 1 TBS of the lemon juice with an electric mixer on high speed for about 3 to 4 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and then slowly add the beaten eggs, a bit at a time and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whisk together the flour, salt and almonds. Add in three additions, stirring it well together. Fold in 3/4 of the blueberries by hand. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and scatter the remaining blueberries over top. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes. It should be turning golden brown at this point, but still be semi-raw. Cover lightly with a sheet of foil and bake for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and cooked (Mine took a further 45 minutes.) A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave in the pan to cool, on a wire rack for 10 minutes before lifting out to finish cooling completely.
- Once the cake is completely cold, whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth. Drizzle this mixture decoratively over the cake. Leave to set and cut into thick slices to serve.
I am still trying to sort out my facebook page. Someone keeps reporting my recipe posts as Spam and then Facebook removes them as being in contradiction to their community guidelines for Spam. My recipe posts on there are no different than anyone elses. I can't think of any reason anyone would want to be so malicious with me, but you know people. It takes all kinds. I have asked for FB to review the posts, but you know how long it takes for FB to do anything. In the meantime I would suggest you follow me on Instagram or even Pinterest. Many Thanks!
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content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English
Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading
this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report
it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting.
Do come again!
This week I was craving a cake. Oh, we still have Christmas cake left, but I wanted cake cake. Something without raisins and currants and peel . . . just cake.
Something that I could just sit down and enjoy a slice of with a nice hot cup of herbal tea.
It didn't have to be fancy smancy . . . just pleasant and satisfying. I toyed with making a Victoria Sandwich Cake (which is our favourite cake).
I also though about making a Coffee Walnut Cake (another favourite), but they just weren't ticking the boxes of my desire.
I wanted something spicy and dense, dark and delicious. I then remembered this gingerbread cake recipe.
I have had the recipe in my big blue binder for about a bazillion years. In fact I think its been about a bazillion years since I have made it.
You cannot call it a pretty cake by any stretch. It is the ugly step sister of pretty cake.
It is like the country cousin of the city mouse. This is a cake you might be tempted to overlook when glancing upon it sitting in the glass case of a bake shop.
Were you to do so you would be making a grave mistake. This is the kind of gingerbread cake that sonnets could be written about, poems . . . novels.
This is the kind of gingerbread cake that you could imagine Meg, Amy, Jo and Beth sitting down to enjoy on cold winter's evening while the fire burns low in the grate, whilst Marmee reads to them the latest missive from their pa . . .
It is a gingerbread cake that gets more delicious with each day that it stands. Like magic it gets denser, moister . . .
It is just like magic. Trust me on this . . . just leave it sit, you will see.
This is the cake you will find yourself sneaking down the stairs to steal a smidgen of in the middle of the night. Midnight feast cake has no calories, everyone knows that!
Don't burst my bubble if that is not true.
This is the kind of cake as a child I imagined Mary Poppins picking up for Michael and Jane Banks. Decorated with shiny gold stars stuck to its surface, all wrapped up in brown paper . . .
I love the Mary Poppins Books when I was a child, did you?
Oh, I know I do have a fanciful mind. It comes from a lifetime of reading books. I come by that habit honestly.
My father inspired a love of the written word in me when I was very young . . . I can still hear his voice reading to me in my mind's eye. He would change his voice with each character in the story. It is a beautiful memory that I hold dear and close in my heart.
In any case I do hope you will bake this lovely ugly step sister of a cake. I hope that you will enjoy it.
The ginger glaze icing is quite tasty . . . and it would be lovely spread with softened butter as well, or . . . dare I suggest it, lemon curd.
Today I fancied a little bit of indulgence with a small squirt of squirty cream . . . .
They do say a little bit of what you fancy does the body and the mind good . . . I believe that's true.
Yield: 16
Deep, Dark & Delicious Gingerbread
A moist, sticky and dense slice with plenty of ginger spice!
ingredients:
- 250g butter (1 cup +1 1/2 TBS)
- 250g soft dark brown sugar (1 1/4 cup, packed)
- 250g molasses or dark treacle (9 fluid ounces)
- 300ml whole milk (1 1/4 cups)
- 2 large free range eggs
- 5 knobs of preserved ginger in syrup, chopped finely
- 375g plain flour (2 1/2 cups + 3 TBS)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
instructions:
How to cook Deep, Dark & Delicious Gingerbread
- Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter a 9-inch square baking tin and line it with baking paper. Set aside.
- Put the butter, sugar, and molasses into a saucepan. Cook over low heat to melt the butter and sugar. Whisk in the milk. Set aside to cool some.
- Whisk together the flour, soda, ginger, allspice and cardamom in a large bowl. Stir in the chopped glace ginger. Make a well in the centre.
- Beat the eggs into the liquid ingredients thoroughly. Pour into the well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir together, gradually drawing in the dry ingredients from the side of the bowl until you have a smooth and thick batter. Pour into the prepared baking tin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until well risen and firm to the touch. Do NOT be tempted to open the door prior to that time or the cake may sink in the middle. Once an hour has passed, check the cake. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. If it doesn't cook for a further 10 minutes and try again. The cake is done when the skewer comes out clean.
- Leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cold remove from the tin and either wrap tightly and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Optional Icing - Whisk together 65g of sifted icing sugar (1/2 cup) and enough ginger syrup to give you a smooth drizzle icing. Drizzle decoratively over the cold cake.
NOTES:
Note - if you can't get preserved stem ginger, you can use candied ginger. I would say about 12 pieces, chopped finely. Instead of syrup in the glaze icing use some fresh lemon juice
I enjoyed this with a hot cup of Taylor's Spiced Apple Tea. It was definitely a "Home Sweet Home" moment and made for a great beginning to my year.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
If you are looking for a fabulous dessert to finish your Christmas celebratory meal with I say look no further! This wonderful Christmas Gingerbread Roll fits the bill on all counts!
Not only is this really delicious but it is also very simple to make.
I am not sure what it is about those warm baking spices and gingerbread. They go together with Christmas like peas and carrots!
The smell alone speaks Christmas to me!
The cake smells heavenly when it is baking . . . the scent of Christmas . . . ginger and cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and a bit of ground cardamom for good measure . . .
Gets your tastebuds to tingling . . .
I think Mary Berry herself would be very proud of the distinct roll I achieved, don't you?
I was rather well pleased with how it turned out.
Flavoured and sweetened with warm, earthy molasses and fragrant vanilla . . . mmmm.
I love anything with molasses. As a maritime Canadian, molasses runs through my veins . . .
That filling is lush and moreish . . . light . . .not in the least bit heavy or cloying.
Its simply whipped cream mixed with lemon curd . . . perfectly flavoured.
Lemon and Ginger are perfect partners.
Not too sweet, not too tart . . . just perfect with the sweetness of the cake.
You could also stir in a TBS of ginger syrup from a jar of preserved stem ginger if you wanted to inject even more warmth and flavour, but I can assure you it is pretty perfect just as it is.
It cuts beautifully into lovely slices . . . a light dusting of icing sugar is the only adornment it needs . . .
Oh this would be lovely with a hot cup of something like coffee, or tea . . . herbal or otherwise . . .
This is the perfect finish for any meal, be it on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day . . .
I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be happy with a slice of this set before them, can you?
Yield: 10
Christmas Gingerbread Roll
This makes for a delicious light dessert. Spicy gingerbread rolled around a lush lemon cream filling. Its a lot easier to make than one would suppose.
prep time: cook time: total time:
ingredients:
For the cake:
- 105g plain flour (3/4 cup)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp each, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large free range eggs, at room temperature
- 145g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
- 50g soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup, packed)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 80ml molasses (1/3 cup)
- 65g icing sugar, sifted (for rolling) (1/2 cup)
- 30g icing sugar, sifted for dusting at the end
For the lemon cream filling:
- 480ml double cream (whipping or heavy cream, 2 cups)
- 115g good quality lemon curd (about 1/3 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Christmas Gingerbread Roll
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a 10 by 15 inch Swiss roll tin and line with baking paper. Butter the baking paper.
- Sift together the flour, spices and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk the eggs with an electric whisk, slowly adding the caster sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla and molasses, continuing to whisk with the electric whisk until the mixture becomes thick and billowy. This will take about 3 minutes. Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until combined and no white streaks remain. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking tin. Tap gently on the counter to allow the mixture to settle.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes, until the cake bounces back when lightly touched.
- While the cake is baking lay out a large clean tea towel on a flat surface. Dust lightly with half of the first amount of icing sugar.
- Tip the baked cake onto the dusted tea towel as soon as it comes out of the oven and carefully peel off the paper. Dust with the other half of the first amount of icing sugar. Make a tiny cut along the width of it at one narrow edge about 1 inch in. Using the tea towel as a lever and beginning at that end gently roll up the cake tightly. Place onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake is completely cold. Place the whipping cream into a chilled bowl. Whisk with your electric whisk until it doubles in volume and starts to form soft peaks. Fold in the lemon curd. It will continue to thicken when you add the lemon curd.
- Unroll the cake carefully and spread completely with the lemon cream. Carefully re-roll. Trim off the ends and place onto a serving plate. Dust with the remaining icing sugar. Keep, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. Cut into slices to serve.
This will probably be the last sweet recipe I post before Christmas. I think most people's menus have probably already been decided now and you can only eat so much sweetness. I may post one or two quick ideas for suppers, but we will see how it goes! In the meantime, don't forget to take some time to relax a bit and to enjoy the sweet spirit of these final few days before the big day itself. If you are like me, its all done now and you can breathe a bit easier until the big day itself! I am doing the Easy Turkey from Piper's Farm this year so all I have to do is cook the side vegetables. The turkey comes with stuffing and bacon wrapped sausages and stock for gravy. All I have to do is pop it all into the oven. Easy peasy. Since there is just the two of us, I am taking the easy route this year!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I am enjoying a quiet Saturday as I sit and write this. Usually at the weekends, I like to bake a cake or some such.
Sometimes it will be a fancy cake, especially if we are celebrating something. More often than not it is a Victoria Sandwich Cake. This is quite simply, the best.
In all truth our favourite cake is the simple Victoria Sandwich Cake. That is the one we enjoy eating most of all, and the one I enjoy baking most of all.
I know I have shared it with you before, but can you ever share something that you love too many times? I think not . . .you can never have too much of a good thing!
My mother always filled our cakes with jam. With jam in the middle a cake needs no other adornment. Especially if you use really good jam. And I always do.
My father always loved cake with jam in the middle and it was something we all enjoyed. My jam of choice has always been Bonne Maman. It just has the nicest consistency and the right amount of fruitiness!
Jam is a very versatile ingredient. You can change the flavour of a plain cake such as this just by varying the type of jam you choose to use.
But it must always be a good jam. Homemade is good of course, but if you are buying your jam, make sure you get a quality one.
More often than not I will use strawberry jam. That is my favourite, along with raspberry which follows a close second.
These are what are the most traditional for this purpose. Any red jam looks great actually.
Here are some suggestions to shake it up a bit. Add a bit of lemon zest to the batter before baking and fill it with some wild blueberry jam.
You have yourself another tasty combination. The flavour of lemon and blueberries together is unmatchless.
If you add some freshly grated nutmeg and a bit of vanilla. Fill it with peach or apricot jam and your cake is lifted to an entirely different level.
Or you could fold raspberries into the cake and fill it with peach jam. Voila, a sort of a peach melba cake!
And don't get me started on lemon curd. Lemon curd in the middle is another favourite of mine. I completely adore Lemon Curd.
I could eat it with a spoon. Shhh . . . don't tell, but whenever I use it I always eat a cheeky spoonful. That's yours and my little secret now.
In the summer filling this cake with a layer of whipped or clotted cream and sliced strawberries turns this cake a beautiful indulgence . . .
You cannot get much better than a cake filled with softly whipped cream and berries. You do have to eat the whole thing on the day, but that is so not a problem!
This is a cake that can be as simple as you wish. It can also be as elaborate as you wish. It suits all occasions.
It is the Birthday cake of choice in this house and so quick and easy to whip up. You can seriously have one of these on the table in less than an hour, tops and that allows for cooling.
It is perfect for cold and dismal, rainy autumn afternoons near the end of September. A day when all you want to do is hunker in with a good book and a hot cuppa.
A day when you can pull a blanket over your knees and just hunker down. A day when you are wanting comfort of the utmost kind.
If ever there was a cake that you could consider to be a comfort cake, this is it. Comfort, pure and simple and most delicious.
Yield: Makes 1 7-inch cake
Victoria Sandwich Cake
Popular during the reign of Queen Victoria, this cake remains popular to this day, which is a huge testament to it's taste and ease of baking!
ingredients:
- 170g of butter (12 TBS,)
- 170g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
- 3 large free range eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 170g self raising flour (a scant 1 1/4 cups)
To finish:
- strawberry or raspberry jam
- caster sugar or powdered sugar to dust on top
instructions:
How to cook Victoria Sandwich Cake
- Butter and base line two 7 inch sandwich tins. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
- Sift the flour together with the baking powder.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light in colour and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour.
- Fold in the flour with a metal spoon, taking care to use a cutting motion so as not to knock out too much of the air that you have beaten into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins, levelling off the surface. Make a slight dip in the centre of each.
- Bake on a centre rack of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sponges have risen well, are golden brown, and spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in the pan for five minutes before running a knife carefully around the edges and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, place one layer on a cake plate. Spread with raspberry jam. Place the other cake on top, pressing down lightly. Dust with icing or caster sugar and cut into wedges to serve.
If I am lucky this will last us several days, but since it is a favourite of both of us, I don't expect that it will be around much longer that. Quick, easy and delicious. Qualities that are pretty hard to beat!
Up Tomorrow: Fried Egg Sandwiches (brought forward from the other day)
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