Grandpa Urchin's Tunisian Orange Cake

For my third cake this week I chose to make this deliciously sticky, sweet Tunisian Orange Cake which I (along with many others) fawned over when we tasted it at fellow blogger, Food Urchin's lamb in a pit extravaganza last summer. Sadly for poor Food Urchin, despite his best efforts to wow us all with his amazing-cooked-in-the-ground-for-10-hours lamb, it was his Dad's cake which stole the show.

So here is the recipe, reproduced with the kind permission of Food Urchin and Grandpa Urchin, for the most moist, sticky, orangey, lightly spiced cake you e'er will taste on these shores...

Ingredients

For the cake:

50g slightly stale white breadcrumbs
200g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
1 ½ tsp baking powder
200ml sunflower oil
4 eggs
finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed orange
finely grated zest of ½ unwaxed lemon

For the citrus syrup:

juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon
75g caster sugar
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick

For the icing (optional):

The original recipe doesn't have icing, but I wanted to 'posh it up' a bit on this occasion. It really isn't necessary and you could just serve it as it is or with a dollop of yogurt or fresh cream.

2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
125-150g icing sugar
zest of ½ unwaxed orange

Method

Line the base of a 20cm round and 5cm deep tine with greaseproof paper, then grease and flour the tin.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the sugar, almonds and baking powder. Whisk the oil with the eggs, then pour into the dry ingredients and then mix well. Add the orange and lemon zest. Pour the mixture into the tin, place in a cold oven and turn on the heat to 180C.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the cake is golden brown (mine took 45 minutes). Check with a skewer by inserting it into the middle, if it comes out clean it’s done. Cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate.

Meanwhile, make the citrus syrup. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring gently to the boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves from the syrup.

While the cake is still warm, pierce it several times with a skewer, then spoon the hot syrup over the cake allowing it to run into the holes. Leave to cool. Spoon any excess syrup over the cake every now and then until it is all soaked up.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into the orange juice and zest and stir until smooth. Drizzle across the cake.

Coffee & Almond Cake

The second cake I made yesterday during my week of baking was this Coffee & Almond Cake. It's based on Mary Berry's recipe for a Gateau Moka aux Amandes which is in her Ultimate Cake Book. It's a fantastic book with recipes for pretty much every sort of cake you might want to bake - along with the Readers Digest Cookery Year, it was one of my best charity shop purchases!

I followed the original recipe for the sponge, but made an all butter coffee butter cream and used a double shot of espresso instead of coffee essence. It's a simple, yet stunning, cake to make and perfect for afternoon tea and cakes in the sunshine!

Ingredients

For the sponge:

3 medium eggs
4oz caster sugar
3oz self raising flour

For the butter cream:

6oz unsalted butter
10oz icing sugar
double shot espresso

Topping:

6oz shredded blanched almonds, lightly toasted

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Grease and line a 9" round cake tin.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk until pale and thick. The mixture should be thick enough to leave a trail. Gently fold in the sifted flour. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the sponge is golden and cooked through. Leave to cool, then turn out of the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the butter cream, start by making a double espresso and leave to cool. If you don't have a coffee machine you could make a small amount of strong coffee in a cafetiere or use 2 tbsp coffee essence as Mary Berry does in her recipe, but I haven't tried the essence so can't vouch for it!

Put the butter and sifted icing sugar in a food processor and mix until smooth. Add the cooled espresso.

Once the sponge is cool carefully slice in half horizontally. Sandwich the two halves together with a little of the coffee butter cream. Then use the remaining butter cream to coat the top and sides of the cake. Finally, gently scatter the toasted almonds all over the top and sides of the cake.

Luxurious Lemon Cake

I'm having a bit of a baking week this week and what a lovely cake to start with on such a gloriously sunny morning! Light lemony sponge, layered with lashings of lemon curd and creme fraiche, topped off with candied lemon zest. Perfect for Easter.

The recipe is based on a photograph I cut out of a magazine, probably a few years ago now, which I found stuffed in an old file of cuttings. I couldn't find a cutting of the method, only part the ingredients, so here is my version.

Ingredients

For the sponge:

250g unsalted butter
250g golden caster sugar
4 eggs
250g self raising flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the filling:
200ml creme fraiche
350g lemon curd (homemade tastes best, but using a good quality jar of lemon curd makes this cake much quicker and simpler to make)

For the candied lemon zest:

1 unwaxed lemon
100ml water
100g caster sugar

Method

To make the candied lemon zest:

Start by making the candied lemon zest the day before. To do this, prepare long strips of lemon zest, either using a zester or by peeling strips of zest with a potato peeler and slicing finely. Take care not to peel off the white pith as this will make the candied zest taste bitter. Place in a pan, cover with water and simmer for around 10 minutes. Drain the zest.

Add the measured water and sugar to the pan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Add the zest and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until the liquid has become syrupy.

Remove the zest carefully and place on a non stick baking sheet. Leave to dry out for 24 hours.

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven at 180 C. Grease and line the bases of two 8" sandwich tins. Beat the sugar and butter together then stir in the eggs, lemon zest and juice. Sift the flour and baking powder over the cake mixture and stir gently until combined. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. If you test the middle of the cake with a cake tester or scewer it should come out clean.

Leave to cool before removing from the tins and placing on a wire cooling tray. Once cool, slice in half so that you have 4 layers of sponge.

Stir a little of your lemon curd into the creme fraiche. Then layer up the cake starting with a layer of sponge topped with 1/3 of the lemon curd, then 1/3 creme fraiche mixture. Repeat twice and then place the final layer of sponge on top. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with candied lemon zest.

Festive Speculoos in celebration of St Nicholas

Way back when (so long ago I don't care to work it out exactly...), I spent an amazing 6 months living and working in Brussels. Now whilst I'm not a huge fan of typical Belgian cuisine (apart from those frites...they are mighty fine), on account of most traditional dishes being meat based, I do have ultimate adoration for their strong tasty beers, a piping hot waffle on a cold winter's evening, fine chocolates to die for and the simple biscuit which is the 'speculoos'.

Speculoos are spiced, crunchy biscuits originating in Belgium, Holland and (by some reports) Northern France. I came to know them when I lived in Belgium, not only do they accompany every cup of coffee you buy, they are traditionally made and given to children on the St Nicholas (6th December in Belgium). I remember fondly watching children run out into the street to greet St Nicholas as he passed on his sleigh handing out festive shaped speculoos, as excited as any child here in England on Christmas Eve.

Since then, the 6th December is a date that has always stuck in my mind and I've often spent a few days back in Brussels visiting friends and enjoying the Christmas Markets around this time. It's such a magical place to be in December with the markets on and around the Grand Place, the beautiful decorations and lights in Sablon and the best Christmas decoration shop I have ever been to in my entire life (worth a trip over there alone!).

So with the festive spirit in the air and whilst reminiscing about the good times, I decided this morning that it was about time I had a crack at making speculoos... There are many recipes out there which claim to be 'THE' recipe, but I settled on this recipe which I've translated into English and adapted slightly below.

Traditionally speculoos are made with 'cassonade' which is an unrefined dark moist sugar. The darkest sugar I had to hand was Billingtons molasses sugar which seemed to me to fit the bill nicely.

Ingredients

350g flour
250g butter (at room temperature)
250g dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 egg

Method

Beat the butter, sugar and spices together until they form a thick paste. Add the egg and beat again until combined. Then sift in the flour and baking powder a little at a time and mix until you have a soft dough.

Split the mixture in half, wrap each ball of dough in cling film and pop into the fridge. the original recipe says for 12 hours, but those were 12 hours I didn't have to spare, so I just left mine for an hour or so.

Roll the dough out until it is about 3mm-4mm thick. As the dough is sticky (and to avoid using more flour), this might best be done between baking parchment or cling film.

Cut into rectangles or festive shapes and bake in an oven preheated to 180C for around 10 minutes. Leave to cool and then enjoy (with or without children!).

Something more important than food? Surely not...?!

For what seems like forever, food has been the one thing that has consumed my thoughts, both day and night. As a small child I was once known to have thrown the table over when the nursery teacher didn't feed me fast enough. Then, when my ability to express my love of food became a little more refined, I would regularly (OK, probably daily) ask what was for lunch and dinner before I'd even started on breakfast. I've spent days, weekends, whole weeks just cooking, reading cook books, creating new recipes, blogging about food and most importantly feeding people.

Then a certain someone came along at the end of August this year who takes up pretty much my every waking second. So much so that I can't remember the last time I dipped into one of my favourite cook books! Baby GG (as he's affectionately referred to on twitter...) has now of course pipped 'food' to the top of the list of things I love...

At first I honestly wasn't sure I'd ever sit down to eat a meal again, let alone cook one, but as time has gone on I am managing to find a little time to cook again. And what better time with Christmas approaching - I might not have managed Christmas cakes this year, but mince pies are definitely on the baking menu next weekend!

Leek & Cheddar Tartlets

Tartlets are so versatile - you can fill them with almost any vegerables and cheese you have to hand. There seems to have been a bit of a proliferation of 'caramelised onion and goat's cheese' tarlets served up as the token vegetarian offering in recent years (which not everyone is fond of...although I'm quite partial to a homemade one made with caramelised red onions and thyme), but this shouldn't put you off! Mushrooms work particularly well with pastry, especially in a thick bechamel flavoured with tarragon, garlic and brandy (like the Crank's recipe for Mushroom Lattice Tart), as does asparagus at this time of year. Other favourites of mine as the weather starts to warm up are tomato with either dijon mustard and gruyere or soft goat's cheese and thyme or fresh peas and broad beans with feta. All of which are great serve hot, warm or cold as part of a picnic.

I have made this version using the leek and cheddar combination a few times recently after picking up some lovely farmhouse cheddar whilst on holiday in Dorset. They're perfect for lunch or a light Spring supper accompanied by some English asparagus - especially in this gloriously hot and sunny weather!

Ingredients

For the pastry:

60z plain flour
3oz butter
2-3floz cold water
a pinch of paprika (or cayenne) (optional)
a pinch of salt

For the filling:

2 medium leeks (trimmed, washed and sliced)
1 egg
5floz mixture of milk and double cream (or just milk if you prefer)
4oz mature cheddar cheese (grated)
1 - 2oz butter
1 tsp mustard
salt & pepper

Method

Firstly make the pastry. Mix the butter and flour together (either by hand using your fingertips or in a food processor) until they ressemble breadcrumbs, then add the paprika / cayenne (if using) and salt. Add the water a little at a time until the mixture forms a soft dough (taking care not to 'over-handle' the dough). You may need more or less water which is why it's best not to add it all in one go. Wrap the ball of dough in clingfilm and refridgerate for at least 20 minutes.

To make the filling, start by heating a large knob of butter (at least 1oz) in a heavy based pan over a low heat, then add the sliced leeks. Saute the leeks for around 10 minutes until softened but take care not to let them colour. In the meantime, beat the egg and add the milk and cream (or just milk), most of the grated cheese (keep a little to sprinkle on top of the tartlets), mustard a pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out to line 4 greased fluted tarlet tins. Return the tins to the fridge for 10 minutes (or longer - they can be prepared in advance). Blind bake the pastry cases for around 15 minutes at approx 190 C (depending on your oven). To do this, line the pastry case with a piece of baking parchment and fill the parchment with baking beans (or rice or dried pulses). Then remove the parchment and baking beans and bake for another 5 minutes.

Divide the leeks between the part cooked tartlet pastry cases and then pour over the egg, milk and cheese mixture, taking care to make sure the cheese is equally divided between the tarlets. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top and put back into the oven at approx 180 C (depending on your oven) for 10 - 12 minutes until set and golden.

Rhubarb & Rose Tart

I always begrudge parting with my hard earned cash for rhubarb. Especially in London where a mere crumble's worth is likely to have the bank manager come knocking. I'm used to getting it free you see as my parents have a fantastically prolific rhubarb patch. Alas, the 8 hour round trip to Derbyshire is a just a touch on the excessive side (even for good homegrown rhubarb)...

So when I spied some lovely fresh pink rhubarb in my local grocers a couple of weeks ago I couldn't resist. There had been quite a lot of talk of ways to use the new season rhubarb amongst some of my fellow food bloggers (good old crumble, fool, compote, muffins...) and what to match it with. I'm a big fan of stem ginger with rhubarb, especially in a layered fool, but Linda who writes the blog With Knife and Fork mentioned that she'd opted for rose water in her rhubarb fool. After some to-ing and fro-ing with Linda and Jan (The Ample Cook) over poaching methods and rose water I set to making this delicious tart.

Ingredients

1 quantity of sweet pastry (8oz plain flour, 4oz butter, 1oz icing sugar, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk)
4oz ground almonds
4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
1oz plain flour
2 eggs
4 - 5 stalks rhubarb
2 tbsp rose water
2 tbsp golden caster sugar (or more to taste)

Method

Make the pastry: I do this in the food processor, but if you don't have one mix the flour and butter in a large bowl with your fingertips until they resemble breadcrumbs, add the icing sugar and mix and finally, beat the whole egg and egg yolk together and add to the bowl. Bring the ingredients together with your hands to form a ball whilst handling as little as possible. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least half an hour.

Roll out the pastry to line a fluted tart tin (or several smaller tartlet tins), prick gently all over with a fork and chill again. Blind bake for around 15 minutes at 180 - 200 C (depending on your oven). To do this, line the pastry case with a piece of baking parchment and fill the parchment with baking beans (or rice or dried pulses). Then remove the parchment and baking beans and bake for another 5 minutes.

Whilst the pastry case is cooking you will need to poach the rhubarb. Wash the rhubarb well and cut into pieces approximately 1 & 1/2 inches long. Put into a wide based pan or casserole and add the 2 tbsp rose water and 2 tbsp caster sugar (you may want more or less sugar depending on your own tastes). Put the pan on the hob and poach the rhubarb for about 5 minutes. You want the pieces to be tender but not so cooked that they break down.

In a clean bowl (or food processor), make a frangipan by mixing the rest of the ingredients together (almonds, butter, sugar, flour and eggs).

Remove the tart case from the oven and fill with the frangipan mixture. Add the rhubarb pushing it into the frangipan mixture slightly. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the tart is golden brown and the frangipan is set.

Serve hot or cold with lightly whipped double cream or clotted cream.

Showing off Sugar (Muscovado Custards)

A few weeks ago, the nice people at Billington's sent me some sugar to play with. I say play with because it's not really the sort of sugar you'd put in your tea or coffee but is more suited to a baking extravaganza (or possibly sprinkling on your porridge).

Now I've bought Billington's sugar on occasion before, but not for any reason other than the fact that it was what I needed at the time. I mostly bake with golden caster sugar and most bags of muscovado or soft sugars end up at the back of the baking cupboard and rock solid next time a recipe calls for them.

Billington's sugars are unrefined and undergo minimum processing. The sugar cane is cut, shredded and juiced and that juice is then clarified and crystallised. Nothing added and nothing taken away (unlike some brown sugars which are apparently refined white sugar coated to add colour and flavour...).

As luck would have it, the very same week I picked up a copy of the March 2010 edition of Waitrose Food Illustrated which had a feature spread about different types of sugar and their uses, along with a few recipes. This recipe for Muscovado Custards caught my eye as it called for both the dark muscovado and molasses sugar which Billington's had sent.

Although I followed the recipe to the letter (and allowed a little extra cooking time) they didn't set completely. The only thing I can think is that my eggs were a touch on the small side? Despite them not setting, they certainly showed off the sugar to its best. They were rich with a real deep, earthy sweetness. The sort that lingers on the tongue long after the mouthful has gone.

Ingredients

300ml double cream

75g dark muscovado sugar

25g molasses sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 150C.

Warm cream, both sugars and salt over a medium-low heat in a small heavy based pan until sugar has dissolved. Put to one side.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and then slowly whisk in the cream mixture and vanilla extract. Strain into a jug and then poor into ramekins. Now, the Waitrose recipe says to pour the mixture into 4 x 120ml ramekins. Given how rich the custards are, you could probably get away with using smaller ramekins and making 6, but would need to adjust the cooking time.

Put the ramekins in a deep roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the tin until it comes to about one third of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Cook for 20-25 minutes until the custards are just set but still wobble slightly in the middle (they will set further on cooling). Remove from the tin and chill for at least 3 hours.

It is this final step where my custards didn't seem to want to play - they needed longer than the 20-25 minutes stated in the Waitrose recipe and then they didn't continue to set when cooling. They set nicely around the edges but two of them simply didn't set in the middle at all. So if I make this recipe again, I'll make sure my large eggs are just that - large - and that I cook them for a little longer, keeping my eye on them for when they set.