Monday, October 10, 2011

Lemon Poppyseed Cake via Jamie

We have three lemon trees at Number 10 and two of them are going crazy with fruit...so it was time to use some up and make a lemon and poppy seed cake..

This is a recipe that I first saw on the Jamie Oliver site and have tried it out a few times now...it's terrific if you like a tangy cake....it's also pretty easy, which is always important. It's a cake that is very moist, a little tart and truly delicious

I tweaked Jamie's recipe a little to increase volume...

You will need

150g unsalted butter, softened
130g caster sugar
4 large eggs
180g ground almonds (almond meal)
30g poppy seeds
large dollop yogurt
zest and juice of 2 lemons
125g self-raising flour, sifted

Lemon syrup:

100g caster sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Lemon Icing:

250g icing sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 180 Celsius


In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one

Place the poppy seeds into the yogurt and let sit for a few minutes.

Fold in the almond meal, self raising flour, lemon zest, lemon juice and poppy seeds and yogurt



Line a cake tin with baking paper, spoon the mix in (it shouldn't be runny) and place in the oven for approx 35 minutes or until golden and the top springs back then lightly pressed.


When ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the tin for a few minutes before you turn it out onto a plate

For the lemon syrup, place the juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved, then pierce the top of the cake a few times with a skewer and spoon the syrup over the top

When the cake has completely cooled, make the icing, (which will be runny), and spoon it over the cake



So you get a hit of tangy lemon in the cake, from the syrup and finally from the icing.

YUMMO!

Truly delicious!



Thanks Jamie

Friday, October 7, 2011

No need to knead

I have to admit I was a bit sceptical when a friend told me about this bread, I mean all bread dough needs to be kneaded right?

Apparently not.

This is a really easy recipe and while it's not particularly pretty along the way, the end result is fabulous, not only to eat but to look at. It's a long process, but oh so worth it!



The first thing is to mix the ingredients together and there are just 4 of them

3 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine table salt
1 1/2 cups of warm water

You'll also need a covered pot of some sort, like a large cast iron or Pyrex one that can go into a very hot oven

The night before, put all the ingredients in a large bowl and use a wooden spoon to bring them together. But don't over do it. It will look pretty rough but don't worry, this is just how it should look.
Now cover the bowl with glad wrap and let it sit on the bench for between 12 and 20 hours.



The next day the dough will have expanded and look wet and bubbly and sticky, so sprinkle some flour on the bench ...


This is where the yeast action is



....and with a wet spatula, put the dough on it and use the spatula to fold the ends over a few times to form a ball.  Generously dust a cotton tea towel with flour and put the ball of dough on it and place it in a bowl to let rest for a couple of hours until it doubles in size


Now, preheat the oven to about 200c and place your pot in there so it can heat up

When the dough's ready, place it in the pot, put the lid back on and bake for 30 minutes. It's sort of like baking in an oven within an oven.
Uncover and then bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.




When it's all ready, place your loaf on a wire rack to cool then eat.


This is what you end up with.


A delicious loaf that is crusty and moist and scrumptious



I think I prefer this to the sour dough loaf I made. This takes a little longer, but I like the end result a lot more
Thanks to Steamy Kitchen for this recipe...it's terrific!