cake – Page 2 – ALMOST ITALIAN

Rustic Italian Plum Cake

Cleaning out the fridge would have to be THE most objectionable of kitchen tasks- a duty better palmed off onto someone else, with generous bribes of unbridledness, or 25,000 frequent flyer points or both. But more often than not, the painful job lands on me. Amongst the buried treasure, wilting vegetables, jars of Chinese sauces past their use by date, half used tubs of mouldy mascarpone and… you know the score…. I found a bag of blood plums, just a little too ripe, but still consumable. Plums are my favourite fruit and I am a little sad when the season comes to an end. This bonanza was my reward. And so was the this lovely Italian inspired cake which soon followed the find.

served with runny cream — Served with runny cream.

Torta Rustica con Prugne. Rustic Italian Plum Cake

400 g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
300 g caster sugar, plus extra for the top.
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
150 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
8-10 plums ( blood plums are the best here) halved and stoned

Line the bottom and sides of a 26 cm round springform cake tin with baking paper and butter the paper well.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Combine 300 g caster sugar and the eggs in a bowl and whisk until the mixture is pale and thick ( use a stand mixer for ease or preparation). Fold in the flour mixture and lemon zest in three batches, alternating with the melted butter, beginning and ending with flour.

Spoon half the batter into the prepared tin, and top with the half the plums, cut side up. Smooth the remaining batter on to top and make a topping with the remaining plums, cut side up. Sprinkle with the extra sugar and bake at 180 C/160 C fan oven for 60-70 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove and slide the cake from the bottom, and let cool on the rack completely. Serve in wedges with cream or ice cream. Serves 8 to 10.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — My slightly different version.

It pays to read a recipe well before commencing. Here I have inadvertently shoved all the plums into the centre, rather than layering them. This made for a wonderful red gooey middle. And now that the plum season is over in Australia, I cannot attempt the layered version until this time next year.

From Splendido, The Best of Italian Cooking. Loukie Werle, 2001

Pear Almond and Amaretto Frangipane Torta. Too Easy.

A little anniversary passed by the other day : I published my 200th post on this site, making me wonder whether my blog has a secret life of its own. What started as a journal to record my obsession with cooking and all things Italian, interspersed with the odd travel and garden post, has acquired its own weekly and monthly rhythm and character. I enjoy the weekly travel prompts provided by Ailsa at Where’s My Backpack, and the photographic challenge offered by The daily Post at WordPress. A month doesn’t pass by without popping into Celia’s ‘In my Kitchen’ at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial and I attempt to record my vegetable garden efforts in the monthly Garden Share Collective. I have met some wonderful folk along the way: my virtual world is a positive and palpable part of my life. These friends have encouraged me to make my own sourdough bread ( Celia) explore new recipe books, taking me out of my comfort zone, thanks to Leah at The Cookbook Guru, acquire wonderful vintage cookbooks due to scholarly accounts by Debi at My Kitchen Witch, visit a most fabulous garden and seaside in New Zealand at Julie’s Frog Pond Farm, read the most enticing recipes by the best cook in Melbourne ( Sandra at Please Pass the Recipe), be amused by Lorraine’s antics at Not Quite Nigella, feel envious of Jane’s energy and her volume of baking at The Shady Baker, reflect on the wisdom and beauty of Ardys desert photographs at Ardysez and the storytelling of Ella Dee. There are so many more, newer friends, too numerous to mention, especially the documenters of Italian life, those residing near Lucca and travellers in that great country.

My top rating post of all time is Apricot Almond Cake with Amaretto. Easy Frangipane quickly followed by In My Kitchen. February 2014 ,

My ostracised posts,those languishing at the bottom end of the stats page, are Travel Theme: World Cups and Travel Theme: Energy.

Thanks to you, dear reader, for encouraging me along the way with your comments, ‘likes’ and views. As a way of celebrating, I’m including the original Pear Frangipane Cake recipe as it’s pear season and I believe it is the best version of this cake. I love this cake because it impresses most guests, is easy to make, and doesn’t have a pastry crust, which is a bonus. Also check out the blueberry version by the lovely Signorina at Napoli Restaurant Alert as well as my raspberry version here.

Torta di Pere, Mandorle e Amaretto. Pear Almond and Amaretto Frangipane Tart.

Ingredients

125 g softened unsalted butter
150 g of castor sugar
4 eggs
50 g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
375 g almond meal
2 Tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
Two large pears, peeled, cored and cut into thick wedges
25 g flaked almonds for top (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 180c. Grease a 25 cm loose bottom tin. Line base.
Place butter and sugar and eggs in a mixer bowl and beat for 5 minutes until thick and pale.
Stir in the flour mixed with the baking powder, then fold in the almond meal, followed by the Amaretto. Pour into the prepared tin and smooth top.
Arrange pear wedges over the top, pressing them down so they partly submerge. Scatter the top with the flaked almonds. ( optional)
Bake for 45- 50 mins. Cool in tin.
Serve dusted with icing sugar, cream or mascapone.

Christmas Cake goes Camping

I remember a comment by an old friend who said that he always takes a big fruit cake camping. When too tired to cook, or just in need of a something sweet, a big fruit cake hits the spot. This mighty fruit cake went camping with us in September and saw a lot of the outback. It keeps very well and took over a month to eat. Morning tea and night time pudding all in one easy travelling cake.

Now it’s time to make a Christmas cake, using this same recipe. The list of fruits need not be followed to the letter. I prefer to use up any fruits in the pantry: in this cake I substituted dried cranberries for glace` cherries. You can’t go wrong if the weights are all the same.

Ingredients

500g sultanas
375g raisins, coarsely chopped
300g mixed glace` cherries, coarsely chopped
300g currants
250ml (1 cup) brandy
Melted butter, to grease
250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
155g firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
115g (1/3 cup) breakfast marmalade
300g plain flour
75g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
Blanched almonds, to decorate
80ml (1/3 cup) brandy, plus extra

Combine the sultanas, raisins, cherries, currants ( or other dried fruits on hand ) with the brandy in a very large glass ceramic bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside, stirring occasionally, for at least 6 hours to macerate.

macerating dried fruit in brandy.
Preheat oven to 150°C. Brush a round 22- 25cm (base measurement) cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base and sides with 2 layers of non-stick baking paper to reach 6cm above the edge of the pan.
Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until combined (the mixture may curdle at this stage – this is due to the high proportion of eggs to butter: throw in a little of the measured flour which should stop this. It makes no difference to the result) Add the marmalade and beat until well combined. Add the combined flour and mixed spice, and fold until just combined. Stir in the sultana mixture. Spoon into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Tap the pan on the bench top to settle the mixture. Arrange the almonds over the top.
Wrap the outside of the pan with 3 layers of newspaper, rising slightly higher than the baking paper. Secure with kitchen string. This step is essential as it prevents the cake from drying out before it is cooked inside. A square tin is easier to wrap than a round one!

wrapping makes all the difference.
Bake, covering with foil if necessary to prevent overbrowning, for 3 1/2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Pour the extra brandy over the hot cake. Wrap the pan in a clean tea towel and set aside overnight to cool completely. Stores well, wrapped in two layers or more of foil, and store in a dark cupboard.

Tricks.

Blanch your own almonds; it’s much cheaper, assuming you have some almonds on hand. Boil a pot of water, add almonds to water for exactly one minute, drain in a strainer and rinse with cold water, then squeeze almonds from their skins.

The following link is a wonderful site for checking out basic cake making techniques. http://cakefrills.co.uk/home/tutorials/the-basics/basic-rules

Orange, Almond and Marmalade Morning Tea Cakes.

Spring is just around the corner and the birds are warbling cheerfully in the garden. Another Dexter calf was born early this morning, still without name but many are in the running. What a glorious day, makes me want to talk like Robbie Burns, oh deary laddie oh.

New born male Dexter in need of a name. — New born male Dexter calf needs a name. So far the nominations are : Dillon, Dylan, Danny, Dustin, David, Denzel, Darcy, Dermot, Delicious, Daire, Dash, Doogle, Daithi, ( I think that’s Daisy with a lisp or pronounced by a drunk ), Dennis, Dugan, Declan, Duke, Dude, Duncan, Damian, Doyle, Darragh, Diddley Dee per Taters, Darius, Dailey, Dale, Dinner, Draco, Dax, Dante, Doolin, Declan, Dacow, Dagwod, Derwood, Des, Delbert, Donal, ( after Donal Lunny ) Dalton, Daryl, DOT ( short for Dirty Old Town) and Oh ( short for Danny Boy).

These simple little morning tea cakes are not overly sweet and include a small amount of almond meal helping to keep things moist. They have a sweet/bitter heart, just like mine, provided by a daub of orange marmalade. Best of all, they can be thrown together in minutes.

Orange, Almond and Marmalade Cakes.

125 g unsalted butter
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 large orange, rind zested then juiced
2 large eggs
1 cup SR flour
3/4 cup almond meal
orange marmalade

Cream the butter, sugar and orange rind until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Then add the flour, the almond meal and the juice. Spoon into a greased 12 hole muffin tin, regular sized , and if you prefer, encase them in muffin papers or parchment. Make a small indent into the batter and add a half teaspoon of marmalade to each. Smooth batter over the top.

Bake in a preheated (180 c oven for 15-20 minutes). Cool on a rack. Dust with icing sugar.

Help name the Dexter calf. The name must start with D and be male-ish. Irish/Celtic names preferred but not essential. Leave a D name in the comments below. His name will be chosen by Sunday, August 24th.

Easy Lime Syrup Cake

Limes seem to be everywhere this season. Strangely, they have become more prolific and cheaper than lemons. My garden lime trees are thriving, with fruit and further flowers in abundance. This glut calls for a lime syrup cake.

Although a Neil Perry recipe, chef extraordinaire, this cake is delightfully easy to make. No fancy procedure, you can mix it in a bowl by hand or with a stand mixer. All you need is an abundant lime supply and a few other pantry staples.

This cake was made for the ‘export market’ and so it was ‘tarted up’ on the board with a few winter flowers and a liberal dusting of icing sugar. It is dense, moist cake with a sweet/sour/tropical flavour.

Ingredients.

350 g caster sugar
300 g self- raising flour
90 g desiccated coconut
zest of 1 lime
250 g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup milk.

For the syrup

225 g castor sugar
zest of 1 lime
juice of 5 limes.

Method

Preheat oven to 180c. Lightly grease a 19 cm square cake tin. Line the base and sides with baking paper that extends 2 cm above the sides. Sift together the sugar and flour and mix with the coconut and lime zest in a bowl. Stir in the butter. Combine the eggs and milk and add to the bowl. Mix until smooth. ( by hand or briefly in the mixer)Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on a tray for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out completely dry. If the top of the cake starts to brown before it is baked through, cover with some foil and continue cooking.

Meanwhile make the syrup. Put the sugar and 185 ml of water in a heavy based saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the lime zest and juice, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 8 minutes. Strain.

Remove the cake from the oven and use a skewer to poke a few holes evenly over the cake. Slowly pour the hot syrup over the cake. Let it stand for about 20 minutes or until the syrup has soaked into the cake, then turn it onto a wire rack lined with baking paper and allow to cool.

To serve, simply slice or serve with cream or fresh fruit salad.

The cake photographed in odd winter light.

Leah from The Cookbook Guru is taking a look at Neil Perry’s cookbook, ‘The Food I love‘ this month. This recipe may be found on p 404 of that book.

Fresh Fruit Charlotte, Lorenza de’ Medici’s Special Cake.

Throughout the nineties, which seems like yesterday, I was in love with Lorenza de’ Medici. It wasn’t so much her recipes that inspired me: I wanted to live in her house! I acquired all of her cookbooks at great expense and learnt Italian, a necessary step if I were to become the new proprietress of Badia a Coltibuono. It was a wonderful fantasy. One of the desserts I made during that era came from her glossy coffee table book ‘The Renaissance of Italian Cooking’. I had completely forgotten about this sweet until I recently found the book again at a second-hand store. ( all my cookbooks were lost in 2009 ). The original price was $49.00 but this week’s price was $3.99. I love people who discard their cookbooks, I have re-filled my shelves with cheap treasure. I made my special dessert again this Sunday and relived all my Italian fantasies. It is back on the top of my favourite dolce list.

Charlotta Di Frutta

For the Short pastry.

350 g plain flour
2 egg yolks
125 g sugar
225 g butter
pinch of salt

For the filling

1 orange
300 g blood plums
1 kg apples
225 g sugar
grated peel of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp Marsala
3 cloves
1 vanilla pod ( optional)

Method

Prepare the short crust pastry. Place the dry ingredients in the food processor, add the butter, process, then the egg yolks, until mixed and formed into a ball. ( you can do this by hand if you prefer). Roll or press into a flat slab, wrap in cling wrap and let rest in the fridge for an hour or so.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Grate the orange peel and reserve. Peel the orange, removing any pith, and divide into segments. Peel the plums and apples and cut into pieces. Cook the fruit together with the sugar, lemon and orange peel, Marsala, cloves and vanilla pod for 20 minutes, uncovered, over low heat.
Butter and flour a 25 cm springform pan. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry to line the base and sides of the pan. Fill with the cooled cooked fruit and cover with the remaining pastry, rolled out thinly. Cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees c /350 f for 45 minutes. Let cool before removing from the pan. Dust with icing sugar,and serve at room temperature with cream Serves 8-10.

Note: this pastry is VERY short, requiring some patching do be done here and there. Despite this frustration, it is worth the effort and will still taste and look lovely.

This post is for Marcel, the boy who appreciates good food!

Apricot Almond Cake with Amaretto. Easy Frangipane

I found this recipe some years ago: it lives in my special hand written cake book- the one that is devoted to cakes that really work. It is my favourite cake recipe and gets adapted according to the season. The lack of a pastry base makes it so easy and quick to prepare. The original recipe calls for pears, but I am substituting apricots. Ripe peaches and nectarines work quite well too. I am yet to try it with cherries. The apricots are in season, and I must be quick before Mr Tranquillo and the visiting humanoid fruit bats eat the lot!

Torta di Mandorla, Albicocca e Amaretto

Italian Almond and Apricot Cake with Amaretto.

Ingredients

125 g softened unsalted butter
150 g castor sugar
4 eggs
50 g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
375 g almond meal
2 Tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
7 or more apricots large, ripe, enough to fill the tart
25 g flaked almonds

Method

Preheat oven to 180c /160c FF. Grease and line a 25 cm loose bottom tin.
Place butter and sugar and eggs in a stand mixing bowl and beat for 5 minutes until thick and pale.
Stir in the flour mixed with the baking powder, then fold in the almond meal, followed by the Amaretto. Pour into the prepared tin.
Arrange halved apricot over the top and lightly press down so they are submerged. Scatter the top with the flaked almonds.
Bake for 45- 50 mins. Cool in tin.

Cool, dust with icing sugar. Serve with a small glass of Amaretto.

This keeps well in the fridge for a few days. Re- warm slices briefly in microwave.

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