SLIDER

lemon and bergamot drizzle cake

24 Oct 2021


Are you familiar with bergamot? It's a cross between an orange and a sour lemon and its oil perfumes Earl Grey tea.
My neighbour bought one for me a few weeks ago and I pondered how best to use it. It has a powerful flavour and it's quite bitter to boot and I'm not keen on bitter flavoured foods.
 
 
I decided to dilute the bergamot with lemon and made a lemon bergamot drizzle cake, inspired by a Claire Ptak recipe. 


The original recipe made a loaf cake but I made it in a bundt tin because it's my favourite sort of cake tin. It's decorative without really trying.
 
 
 
The cake is a butter cake flavoured with lemon and bergamot, lightened with yoghurt then drizzled with a simple syrup while still hot from the oven. Glace icing tops the cake when cooled, just to gild the lily.
 

Here's the recipe for you which makes a small bundt cake, which was inspired by a recipe from The Violet Bakery Cookbook by Claire Ptak. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C. 
 
Lemon and bergamot drizzle cake
Ingredients
135g unsalted butter, softened plus more for greasing the pan
135g caster sugar 
½ tsp vanilla extract 
2 tsp lemon rind and 1 tsp bergamot rind 
2 eggs 
150g (1 cup) plain flour 
1¼ tsp baking powder 
Pinch salt 
60 mls/¼ cup milk/yoghurt 
 
Lemon bergamot drizzle 
2 tsp caster sugar 
2 tsp water 
1½ tsp bergamot juice mixed with 2½ tsp lemon juice 
 
Icing 
½ cup icing sugar, sifted 
½ tsp melted butter 
1½ tsp bergamot juice mixed with 2½ tsp lemon juice 
 
Method 
Preheat the oven to 180°C conventional. Grease and flour a small bundt tin then place in the fridge until required. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the grated rinds into the butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is thoroughly mixed in before adding the next. 

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. Mix half of this into the creamed butter mixture, scraping down the sides, until barely combined. While the mixer is still going, beat in all the milk or yoghurt. Then add the remaining flour and mix until just combined. Scrape the bowl and give it one last mix. 

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or rubber spatula. Bake for 35- 40 minutes, until the top of the cake is springy and an inserted skewer comes out clean. While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon bergamot drizzle. 

Combine the sugar, water, and juice in a small pan and heat just until the sugar has dissolved. Do not let this boil, or the fresh flavour will be lost. 

Pour half the drizzle over the hot cake and let it soak in for 10 minutes before unmoulding the cake onto a cooling rack. Use a skewer to poke holes evenly throughout the baked cake then pour over the remaining drizzle. Let the cake cool completely before you make the icing. 


To make the icing, whisk together the icing sugar, melted butter and enough of the juice in a small bowl to make a thick but smooth icing. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake and let it drip down the sides. Use a spatula to lift the cake onto a serving dish.

The cake came out perfectly with a fine crumb and just a hint of the flavour of bergamot in the background. I shared most of the cake with my neighbours and it was all gone mid afternoon. Apparently the cake keeps well for up to 3 days in an airtight container but we'll never know!

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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cherry walnut drizzle cake

17 Oct 2021



When pictures of Danielle Alvarez's berry walnut cake flooded the internet, I added the recipe to my 'Things to Bake in 2021' list. I knew I had half a bag of frozen cherries in the freezer so I decided to make a cherry version of the cake. The original cake was dusted with icing sugar but I decided to go a little bit fancy and added icing to turn the cake into a cherry walnut drizzle cake.
 

 

The recipe called for chopped walnuts but I blitzed my walnuts in a small food processor to make walnut meal but with a few chunky bits for texture. I like to weigh and measure out as much as I can on bake days so once that's done, the cake doesn't take very long to put together.
 
 
Icing the cake is optional. I flipped the cooled cake upside down so I'd have a nice level surface to ice and that's when I discovered this is a very delicate cake. To make your life easier just dust the cake with icing sugar and I'm sure it will be equally delicious.
 

 
 
I soak the cherries before stirring them into the batter. The hectic pink coloured icing comes from the cherry juice. The colour is just wild, isn't it? 

 
Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17cm cake. If you'd like to make a larger cake, please refer to Danielle's recipe. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C. 
 
Cherry walnut drizzle cake 
200g halved pitted cherries or berries, fresh or frozen 
1 tbs lemon juice 
1 egg 
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1 tsp grated lemon rind 
60ml (1/4 cup) neutral oil or melted butter 
75g (1/2 cup) plain flour 
¼ tsp salt 
½ tsp baking powder 
45g walnuts, blitzed in a food processor to make a coarse meal 
 
Icing (optional)
15g butter, melted
50g (1/2 cup) sifted icing sugar 
2 tbs cherry liquid 
boiling water 
 
To decorate 
Extra walnut pieces 
Icing sugar
 
Method 
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC, conventional. Grease and line the base and sides of a 17cm springform tin with baking paper. Place the tin on a tray and set aside. 
 
Place the halved cherries and lemon juice into a small bowl. Set aside for 20 minutes, before draining the cherries. Don’t discard the juice as you’ll use this to make the icing. 
 
Whisk the egg, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind in the bowl of an electric mixer on high for approximately 2 minutes, until the eggs have lightened in colour and are light and airy. Slowly drizzle in the oil while the machine is still on high. Alternatively, you can do this by hand in a bowl with a whisk. 

Set aside 1 tsp of the flour. Sift the remaining dry ingredients into a bowl; add the chopped walnuts and mix to combine. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Sprinkle the reserved flour over the drained cherries and give the cherries a stir before folding them into the batter. 

Spoon the batter into the pan and bake for approximately 45-50 minutes until a cake tester tested in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before unmoulding the cake from the tin and removing the baking paper. Serve the cake dusted with icing sugar or if you'd like to ice the cake follow the method below.

Icing 
Mix the melted butter with the icing sugar and a pinch of salt. Add 1-2 tbs of cherry juice mixing with a wooden spoon to achieve the desired drizzle consistency. If the icing thickens, add a little boiling water to maintain the drizzling consistency. 
 

 
To decorate 
If you're planning to ice the cake, when the cake is cool, turn it upside down so the bottom of the cake is now the top. Place the cake on a rack with a piece of grease proof paper underneath to catch any drips. Using a spoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake allowing the icing to run down the sides of the cake. When almost set, decorate with the extra walnut pieces. 
 

 
 

This is a really lovely cake and it received a glowing review from my neighbour Dave. 

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen. 

Bye for now, 

Jillian

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blood orange and olive oil upside down cake

10 Oct 2021


It's blood orange season here in Sydney so inspired by the cover recipe from Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz I decided it was time to make an upside down blood orange cake. I'm no stranger to olive oil cakes and I already have a few upside down blood orange cakes on my blog, so I was confident I could make some changes to Claire's recipe and things would turn out okay. 
 

When I made the cake we were still in lockdown and the olive oil bottle was looking a bit empty. I really couldn't justify the full quantity of olive oil needed for the cake, not when I knew I could safely swap some of the oil for yoghurt and the cake would taste fine. I also don't own have any Grand Marnier in the house so I used orange juice instead. The third change? I really don't like the flavour of orange pith, so I removed all the rind from the blood oranges before thinly slicing. Don't worry, I used the rind in the cake batter but threw away the bitter pith. 
 

 
The fourth tweak? I simplified the recipe. I've  made the recipe twice now and I wasn't convinced whisking the eggs and drizzling in the oil as per Claire's recipe improved the cake's texture, so I left that step out. After the cake was cooked my blood orange slices lost much of their vibrancy. I helped things along with a quick glaze of thinned down home made blood orange marmalade I had in my fridge. Despite all these changes, the cake turned out really well. 
 


 
Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17cm cake. Although it was inspired by a Claire Saffitz recipe, I made so many changes to the recipe you may want to consult the link to her original recipe if you'd like to make a larger cake. She also suggests using a springform pan but I'm not so sure. They leak so if you do use one, make sure you bake the cake on a tray or perhaps wrap foil around the base of the tin to stop the slurry from leaking everywhere.
 
 
For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C.
 


Blood Orange and Olive Oil Upside-Down Cake – adapted from Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz
Ingredients 
Extra-virgin olive oil for the pan
3-4 medium blood oranges
1 tbs blood orange juice
2 tbs (38g) caster sugar 
 
Cake
75g (½ cup) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt 
40g cup) fine semolina
20mls blood orange juice or Grand Marnier
3 tsp finely grated blood orange rind
1 tsp vanilla extract 
110g (½ cup) caster sugar
100mls extra-virgin olive oil 
1 egg
¼ cup plain full fat yoghurt 
 
To serve
1-2 tbs orange marmalade or apricot jam, warmed
Plain whole-milk yoghurt or labne for serving 

Method 
Preheat the oven to 200°C conventional. Grease the base and sides of a 17cm tin. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of baking paper and smooth it to eliminate air bubbles. Lightly flour the side of the cake tin and set the pan aside.
 
Prepare the blood oranges 
Grate the rind from 2 of the blood oranges and set aside. Use a sharp knife to cut off all the pith exposing a colorful round of fruit. Place the orange on its side then slice the fruit as thinly as possible. Remove and discard any seeds from the slices and repeat until both oranges are sliced. If you don’t have enough slices to cover the base then use the third orange. 
 
Squeeze the remaining blood orange until you have at least 2 tablespoons of juice. Place 1 tbs of the blood orange juice into a small bowl. Add the 2 tbs of sugar to the bowl and whisk to make a smooth slurry. Pour the slurry into the bottom of the prepared pan and tilt in all directions to spread across the parchment. Arrange the orange slices in an overlapping pattern across the bottom of the pan and set aside. Make sure the base of the tin is completely covered with orange slices.
 
Cake 
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl then stir through the semolina to combine and eliminate any lumps. In a separate small bowl, stir together 1 tbs orange juice, the orange rind, the vanilla and set aside. 

In a large bowl mix together the sugar and the oil. Add the egg and beat for a few minutes until thickened and smooth. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the orange mixture and the yoghurt, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Use a large flexible spatula to fold the batter several times, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure it’s evenly mixed.

Gently pour the batter over the blood orange slices, making sure not to disturb them, and smooth the top. Transfer the cake to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 180°C, conventional. Bake until the top is golden brown, the centre is firm to the touch, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. 
 
Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake and remove the outer ring (be careful, as some of the juices from the cake might run). Invert the cake onto a wire rack and remove the circular base. Carefully peel away the baking paper and let the cake cool completely. 
 
For the best flavour and texture, store the cake in an airtight container and let it sit at room temperature for at least a day before serving. If desired, you can re-glaze the top of the cake by brushing over some warmed jam or marmalade just before serving. Slice and serve with yoghurt if desired. 
 
 
Simplified recipe indeed but still so delicious! 
 
See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.
 
Bye for now,
 
Jillian
 
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date and almond cake with salted caramel drizzle

3 Oct 2021

 

I've had my copy of the Flour and Stone cookbook by Nadine Ingram for some time but it's been ages since I last baked anything from the book. Whilst perusing the pages this recipe for a date and almond cake caught my eye. It's essentially an updated version of sticky toffee pudding but in cake form.
 
 
Apart from the fresh dates (I'm sure dried dates would work out just fine) and thyme leaves, I had everything else in the pantry or the fridge. I made the date puree and ground the almonds ahead of time, so it didn't take long to put the cake together.
 
 
I already had a batch of salted caramel sauce in the fridge so I used what I had to make the salted caramel icing. If you don't feel like making the icing, just drizzle some salted caramel sauce over the cake. Although Nadine suggests that the cake is best served the day it's made, I think it gets better over time. I would make the cake the day before but ice it just before serving. If coffee isn't your thing, just leave it out.


Here's the recipe for you which makes a small bundt cake. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C.if you'd like to make a large bundt cake, just double the ingredients and the bake time should stay the same.
 

 
Date & almond cake with salted caramel icing - adapted from a Flour & Stone recipe.
Ingredients   
250g fresh dates, pitted and roughly chopped 
275 mls water 
1 tsp bicarb soda 
2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbs boiling water 
135g natural almonds, toasted 
85g unsalted butter 
150g brown sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
2 eggs (whisked) 
150g self raising flour 
Pinch salt
 
To decorate 
Sea salt flakes 
Fresh thyme flowers 
 
Caramel icing
80 mls salted caramel sauce 
pinch salt or to taste 
50g (1/2 cup) sifted icing sugar 
2 tbs boiling water 
 
Method 
Place dates and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to help soften the dates. Once the mixture has come to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda, stirring it thoroughly into the dates. At this point the mixture will balloon in volume. Add the coffee and stir for another 30 seconds, then set aside to cool for 30 minutes while you get on with the rest of the cake. 
 
Reserve 35g of the almonds for decorating the top and grind the remaining nuts in a food processor so that they are finely ground with a few coarse pieces for texture. Set aside
 
Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease and flour a 17cm (5 cup) bundt tin, then place in the fridge until needed. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until pale and fluffy (or use hand held beaters). Give the eggs a light beat with a fork and then gradually add them to the fluffy batter. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula every now and then if you feel the egg is not incorporating with the butter. Once the egg is added, whisk the batter again until pale and fluffy. 
 
Remove the bowl if using a stand mixer. Fold the flour and salt through the butter mixture with a spatula until all the flour has been incorporated, and then add the cooled date mixture and ground almonds and mix well to combine.
 
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 50 - 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with a few sticky crumbs. If the cake is browning too quickly cover the cake with a sheet of baking paper or greased foil. As the cake continues to cook a little after it has been removed from the oven, underbaking a little ensures the sticky quality of the dates is maintained. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside for 15 minutes to cool in the tin before unmoulding. While the cake is cooling, prepare the caramel icing. 
 
Caramel icing 
Warm the caramel sauce either in the microwave or in a saucepan. Stir in the salt then set aside to cool for a few minutes. When the caramel is still a little warm, gradually add the icing sugar, mixing with a wooden spoon to achieve the desired drizzle consistency. If needed add a little boiling water to maintain the drizzling consistency. 
 
 

To decorate 
Unmould the cake onto a wire rack with a tray placed underneath to catch the surplus icing. Drizzle the caramel icing over the top of the cake. Slice the reserved toasted almonds and sprinkle over the top along with a few sea salt flakes and thyme flowers. Serve with clotted cream. Best served the day it’s made, the cake will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days. 
 

I shared the cake with my neighbours and it received their seal of approval.

See you all again next week wth some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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