One of the (many) things I love about food is its ability to transport you to far reaching and exotic places, be it the Asia, South America or in this case, the Middle East. This dairy free cake is heady with rose, but taken to the next level with hints of lemon and little jewels of cherry. On the subject of the cherries, I know they are no longer particularly seasonal, hence why I've used tinned. However, the syrup from the tin also serves as a sweet steeping liquor for the top of the cake. So why not leave the grey and the dreary behind and have a cheeky baking holiday? I promise you won't be disappointed. ;-)
Prep time: 15 Mins
Baking time: 60 Mins
5 Large Eggs
200g Golden Caster Sugar
1tsp Rose Water
The Zest of 2 Unwaxed Lemons
The Juice of 1 Lemon
200g Ground Almonds
50g S/R Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
454g Tin of Cherries in Light Syrup
3-4tbsp Icing Sugar
I use a full 20cm cake tin liner for this recipe and I would advise you to do the same, as the batter is quite liquid. So grab one and line a deep, 20cm loose bottomed baking tin. At the same time preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs and caster sugar until just frothy, then add the rose, lemon zest and juice and keep whisking. Fold through the ground almonds, then sift in the flour and baking powder and do the same until evenly combined. Pour the batter into the tin and even to the edges.
Drain the cherries, retaining the liquor. Scatter the cherries on top of the batter and press gently into the surface. Bake in the centre of the oven for around 60 minutes, until a skewer or sharp knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. When you are happy the cake is baked remove from the oven and set to one side whilst you prepare the steeping liquor.
Add 3 tbsp of icing sugar to the cherry syrup and whisk together. It should have a very light syrup consistency. If not add another teabelspoon and do the same. Stab a sharp knife into the top of cake, around halfway down and all over the surface, then spoon over the syrup. You want the surface to be completely sodden with syrup. Leave in the tin to cool completely and the cake is ready to serve. Boom!
Sunday, 15 October 2017
Monday, 2 October 2017
Granola
It's fair to say that I have become somewhat obsessed with making (and subsequently eating) my own granola recently. It's not that it's any cheaper to do it, or obviously any easier than buying a packet from the supermarket (although still very easy), it's just so much more delicious and a surprisingly fleixible platform to be creative with flavour and texture combinations.
All you really need is some oats, a little oil and some sweet syrup and from there you can let your own tastes and temptations take over. In this recipe I've also added some cocoa powder and peanut powder (which is like powdered peanut butter), as well as vanilla and almond extract, but there's no reason why you couldn't go for some spice instead, or some citrus zest or extract. I've also kept it pretty generic with the dried fruit, nuts and seeds but if you prefer things more exotic, feel free to go wild with dried papaya or coconut, banana chips or even a handul of chopped dark chocolate!
Prep time: 15 Mins
Baking time: 25-30 Mins
25ml Rapeseed Oil
75ml Maple Syrup
75ml Runny Honey
1tsp Vanilla Extract
1tsp Almond Extract
300g Jumbo Rolled Oats
1tbsp Cocoa Powder
2tbsp Peanut Powder
350g Dried Fruit, Roughly Chopped Nuts and Seeds (I'll leave the ratio up to you
Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and line a large flat baking tray with baking paper. Add the oil, syrup, honey and extracts to a large, heatproof mixing bowl (it will become apparent why in due course) and stir together. As an aside, although I like the flavour of honey and maple syrup together the main reason I use half and half is because maple syrup is so darn expensive!
Add the oats, powders and any nuts to the wet ingredients, then mix together to combine. Make sure you get right to the bottom of the bowl when doing this. Scatter the mixture over the baking paper and bake in the centre of the oven for around 12-15 minutes.
When the oats are just starting to colour remove them from the oven and tip back into your bowl. Add the seeds and fruit and mix through. Scatter evenly again over the baking paper and return to the oven for a further 12-15 minutes, until the oats and nuts are a toasty golden brown.
Once you're happy the granola is baked leave to cool on the tray, before tipping into an airtight container. It should keep for a fair few weeks like that, not that it ever lasts that long in my house!
All you really need is some oats, a little oil and some sweet syrup and from there you can let your own tastes and temptations take over. In this recipe I've also added some cocoa powder and peanut powder (which is like powdered peanut butter), as well as vanilla and almond extract, but there's no reason why you couldn't go for some spice instead, or some citrus zest or extract. I've also kept it pretty generic with the dried fruit, nuts and seeds but if you prefer things more exotic, feel free to go wild with dried papaya or coconut, banana chips or even a handul of chopped dark chocolate!
Prep time: 15 Mins
Baking time: 25-30 Mins
25ml Rapeseed Oil
75ml Maple Syrup
75ml Runny Honey
1tsp Vanilla Extract
1tsp Almond Extract
300g Jumbo Rolled Oats
1tbsp Cocoa Powder
2tbsp Peanut Powder
350g Dried Fruit, Roughly Chopped Nuts and Seeds (I'll leave the ratio up to you
Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and line a large flat baking tray with baking paper. Add the oil, syrup, honey and extracts to a large, heatproof mixing bowl (it will become apparent why in due course) and stir together. As an aside, although I like the flavour of honey and maple syrup together the main reason I use half and half is because maple syrup is so darn expensive!
Add the oats, powders and any nuts to the wet ingredients, then mix together to combine. Make sure you get right to the bottom of the bowl when doing this. Scatter the mixture over the baking paper and bake in the centre of the oven for around 12-15 minutes.
When the oats are just starting to colour remove them from the oven and tip back into your bowl. Add the seeds and fruit and mix through. Scatter evenly again over the baking paper and return to the oven for a further 12-15 minutes, until the oats and nuts are a toasty golden brown.
Once you're happy the granola is baked leave to cool on the tray, before tipping into an airtight container. It should keep for a fair few weeks like that, not that it ever lasts that long in my house!
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