So firstly, it’s been a hell of a while since I last decided to blog and this has totally to do with the Save 7 Lives Cupcake drive that I’ve been powering on with for weeks!
I seem to have lived and breathed every bit of detail of
the day and I can promise all of you that its going to be one of the biggest foodie highlights of the year – and it’s all for a great cause… so, keep your eyes peeled!
Until I spill the beans on what’s baking for the organ donor
foundation, I’ve decided to tantalize you with a different baked recipe to keep you going! Easter is coming up and I’ve been devouring hot cross buns for the last 2 weeks to get myself into the spiced up spirit for the celebration! I thought that
maybe this year its time to share a different spiced sponge recipe with you, instead of defaulting to the usual
2013 seems to be the year of baking at varsity, and in each practical we are tackling a different category of desserts! 3rd year
is turning out to be very sweet indeed… We started with baked custards (that was the day I overate on chocolate crème brulee and orange soufflé) and we spent the next day on starch set desserts! Last week was the week of South African
desserts…
Pot-pudding was deemed my fate, and together my baking partner Lauren we took on a South African favourite! Baking is usually a bit of more of a challenge for me than being in the hot kitchen, but this particular prac went as smoothly
as the crème anglaise we finished it off with! A basic wet dough made with a variety of spices and lemon zest, poached in a port syrup for half an hour took me to an Easter wonderland full of fragrant, spiced and heartwarming fantasies! It was just
so good. Unpretentious and honest, the softness of the sponge and the syrupy sweet richness of the reduced syrup had the whole kitchen dipping their fingers in our pot while Lauren and I battled against the masses! Not the most aesthetically beautiful
dessert (the plating took some focus), but oh does this pudding pack the punch in terms of flavour! I could go on about it for days, but I won’t – so here it is!
INGREDIENTS
240g Cake Flour
10ml Baking powder
5ml Mixed
spice
2ml Salt
125g Butter
125ml Apricot Jam
3 Eggs
5ml Bicarbonate of soda
15ml Hot water
20ml Lemon/orange zest
SYRUP
500ml Water
250ml Strong Rooibos tea
375ml Sugar
25ml
Butter
125ml Port
METHOD
- Sift dry ingredients to get rid of any impurities!
- Rub in butter (like you’d do with a scone recipe)
- Add apricot jam and mix through with a fork (I find it works best)
- Add
the beaten eggs, and follow the same step as the apricot jam
- Dissolve the bicarbonate in the hot water, and add to the dough mixture. Add the zest!
- Combine all the syrup ingredients in the big pot and bring to a boil
- Reduce to a
soft simmer
- Grab a good old tablespoon, and slowly spoon the dough mixture into the simmering liquid
- The dough will not keep its perfect shape, so don’t despair its not going to turn out in a perfect shape.
- Continue
spooning the dough until the pot is quite full. As the dough cooks, it’ll ‘steam’ together and take some shape.
- Cover with a lid and leave it be for about 20 minutes! Do not sneak a peak, the sponge will fall flat
- After
20 minutes, remove the lid and prick with a cake tester.
- Remove from the syrup, and set aside before serving. By this point the sauce would have reduced to lovely, thick syrup.
Serve warm with a good spoonful of syrup and crème
anglaise or custard and enjoy Easter!
And on the note of crème anglaise – I’ve always been a massive fan of very classic, traditional recipes for desserts and hot foods! I think they are very important in establishing a basis from
with cuisine can develop beautiful new dishes can make their mark! If you don’t understand the basic and how they work, and why they sometimes don’t you don’t really have the understanding to make adjustments that will be a success! This
custard sauce is such a staple for any baker or chef to know, and you can so easily transform it to a different variation once you get the basic recipe sorted!