RECIPE: Madeira loaf, lemon curd and blueberry trifle pots

A recipe for lemon curd and blueberry trifles made with low-fat quark cream cheese

Madeira loaf, lemon curd and
blueberry trifle pots

The Queen is 90 this year - three cheers for Her Majesty! I'll tell you who else has turned 90 this year, Sir David Attenborough. As wildlife and nature are my biggest passions after food and eating, David has been one of my all time heroes since I was a kid. And so, I'd like to dedicate this bake to both of these elderly but mighty great British institutions. 

The Queen is celebrating with a big bash today - The Patron's Lunch. The Mall in St James’s Park has been transformed for its largest ever street party, to celebrate Her Majesty's patronage of over 600 charities and organisations.

There'll be many more parties happening up and down the country, and Stork intend to provide the best baking inspiration for them.

As part of that, they got in touch with a few bakers to come up with fitting recipes for the occasion, to share on the Stork website. My brief, trifle! 

Now I'll be honest, I've never been much of a trifle fan. I don't like things with too much cream, and I really don't like jelly. So I took this as a great opportunity to come up with something that would appeal to all, even those who think they might not like trifle. 

Meaning “curd” in Slavic, quark is a soft, white and un-aged cheese made from whey. It has a much lower fat content than other cream cheeses (99.8% fat-free) and is popular in Scandanavia and Eastern Europe. Where a dish requires a voluptuous creaminess, I often use quark in place of higher fat alternatives, such as in this beetroot and quark dip. It both cooks well and is also excellent used in desserts. Best of all, you'll find it in all the standard supermarkets.

Quark sweetened with lemon curd makes up the white layer, and the rest is Madeira cake, more lemon curd, and blueberries. What you end up with is a clean, light, and refreshing trifle, that contains a lot less fat than its classic counterparts. 

This really is a great recipe, even if I do say so. I looked so forward to scoffing these every evening until my portions ran out. I'll definitely be rustling these up again.

stages of making the Madeira loaf, lemon curd and  blueberry trifle pots
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What I've done is use Stork with Butter to make the Madeira loaf, and used cut up slices of that as the layers between the quark mix and lemon curd. This is the link to the step-by-step recipe on the Stork website for you to follow at home. I've been a long time fan of using Stork when baking sponges - it's a versatile ingredient, and the fact it can be used straight from the fridge is always a bonus. 

Here's the link to my Madeira loaf, lemon curd and blueberry trifle recipe for you to try at home. If you do, the lovely folk over at Stork would love to see how it went. You can share your trifles on Instagram tagging @bakewithstork, Twitter tagging @bakewithstork, or Facebook tagging the /bakewithstork page. And tag me as well please - I'd love to see too. And feel free to leave a comment below, letting us know how it went - I'd love to know what you think!

This is a sponsored post, in partnership with Stork, as part of a street party campaign to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday and The Patron's Lunch. I hope you get to try this recipe - it's a corker! 

Related links
RECIPE: 'The Elvis' sandwich peanut butter, banana and bacon mini cakes
RECIPE: Easter Chick Cupcakes with Stork

RECIPE: 'The Elvis' sandwich peanut butter, banana and bacon mini cakes

A recipe for mini cakes based on 'The Elvis' sandwich

'The Elvis' sandwich peanut butter,
banana and bacon mini cakes

All hail America and their weird and wonderful flavour combinations. Bacon with maple syrup, chicken and waffles, peanut butter and jelly (or jam, as we in Blighty like to call it).

And from America, we have none other than The King himself to thank - Elvis Presley - for introducing the world to the awesome combination of peanut butter, banana and bacon. It's no secret most things are improved with bacon, and this particularly holds true when peanut butter is involved.

The history behind this infamous sandwich, now universally referred to simply as 'The Elvis', is that old snake hips himself was well acquainted with fanciful food cravings. There have been many articles written about his creative culinary tastes, and his love of peanut butter and banana sandwiches with crisp bacon is well reported, even by his mother, Gladys Presley.

So when Stork approached me to come up with a cake recipe that included bananas to coincide with the London Marathon (bananas for energy, see), and wanting to steer away from well worn banana breads, The Elvis came to mind.

In this recipe I've created a mash-up between The Elvis sandwich, and peanut butter jelly sandwiches, but in cake form. Which means there's also a slick of jam in between the two halves of each mini cake. You get a lovely and hearty end product, and they look pretty good too.

making 'The Elvis' sandwich peanut butter, banana and bacon mini cakes

ingredients to make 'The Elvis' sandwich peanut butter, banana and bacon mini cakes
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There are a few steps to this recipe, but it's nice and simple and will help you get acquainted with the baker within.

What I've done is used Stork with Butter to make these Elvis mini banana sandwich cakes - that link is the step-by-step recipe on the Stork website for you to follow at home. I've been a long time fan of using Stork when baking sponges, and I've realised Stork with Butter works very well in the peanut butter frosting in this recipe too - it's a versatile ingredient, and the fact it can be used straight from the fridge is always a bonus. 

Here's the link to my 'The Elvis' sandwich peanut butter, banana and bacon mini cakes recipe for you to try at home. If you do, the lovely folk over at Stork would love to see how it went. You can share your 'The Elvis Sandwich' cake bakes on Instagram tagging @bakewithstork, Twitter tagging @bakewithstork, or Facebook tagging the /bakewithstork page. And tag me as well please - I'd love to see too. And feel free to leave a comment below, letting us know how it went - I'd love to know what you think!

'The Elvis' sandwich peanut butter, banana and bacon mini cakes

This is a sponsored post, in partnership with Stork, as part of a campaign to help the occasional baker be creative in the kitchen, giving you the tools you need to make show-stopping, crowd-pleasing, tasty bakes in a simple way. I hope you get to try this one - it's a corker! With thanks to Elvis.

Related posts
RECIPE: Easter Chick Cupcakes with Stork

RECIPE: Easter Chick Cupcakes with Stork

Baking Easter cupcakes with Stork

Easter chick cupcakes - cute, huh

I have a confession: I can't remember the last time I knocked up a cake. Writing that down makes me realise just how long it's been. A combination of eating out a lot these days means I have less time to cook at home and when I do, I try to be good; I don't always win at that game. 

But there are probably few better excuses for getting flour in your hair than a public holiday, and Easter is prime for baking opportunities. My favourite are these pillowy hot cross buns, a recipe from Paul Hollywood, that I try to specifically set aside time for each Easter. 

So when the nice people over at Stork told me about this campaign, I jumped at an excuse to spend some much overdue time back in the kitchen and try out this Easter cupcake recipe. And hands up, I have always used Stork when I've baked sponge cakes in the past. You can see an example of that in these chocolate fondants, where I specifically reference them. And that's a recipe from 2012! 

I'm a long time Stork user. I think I first tried it because the other half, who's a big fan of sponge cakes, recommended it when I got into baking - he cooks more than me, and is better at it too. The results always impressed - it gives a lovely rise and a fluffy sponge - so I've sort of used it ever since. And now they've gone and released a new product called Stork with Butter (which - you guessed it - has actual butter in it too), and that can only be a good thing.

What I've done is used Stork with Butter to make these Stork Easter chicks cupcakes - that link is the step-by-step recipe for you to follow at home, along with a very nicely done video showing the full process - and shared some pictures of it in this post.

Cupcake ingredients. Also note - gold cupcake holders.
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I have in fact already baked this Easter cupcake recipe twice, and eaten a minimum of three in each sitting, because they're bloody lovely. Mainly thanks to the lemon frosting - there are few food stuffs that can't be improved by lemon (that's the Turkish in me), so I was most pleased to see it in the recipe. 

And probably also because this is the first time I've baked in ages, so I've been rewarding my efforts by scoffing more of them than I probably should be. Plus, the other half asked if I could make a second batch too - turns out he's also a fan.

Trying out the Stork Easter chick cupcake recipe. It works.
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So that's it folks. Go forth and bake the Stork Easter chick cupcakes - they're really easy, fresh and light, and I'm happy to give them my stamp of approval. They're also pretty cute, and I'm guessing you'll enjoy giving each one a slightly different character in their little chick faces. Don't get too attached though - remember you're eating them. 

Here's the link to the Stork Easter chicks cupcake recipe for you to try at home. If you do, the lovely folk over at Stork would love to see how it went. You can share your Easter cupcake bakes on Instagram tagging @bakewithstork, Twitter tagging @bakewithstork, or Facebook tagging the /bakewithstork page. And tag me too - I'd love to see them. Don't forget to use the #StorkChick hashtag. And feel free to leave a comment below too, letting us know how it went. 

Happy Easter folks!

This is a sponsored post, in partnership with Stork, as part of their Bake with Stork Easter Chicks campaign. I was asked to rustle up this Stork Easter chicks cupcake recipe in order to encourage you guys to give it a go yourself. I hope you get to!

Easter chick cupcakes - this guy is my favourite

beetroot and pecan brownies - recipe

Putting a vegetable in a cake is nothing revolutionary. Naturally sweet root vegetables add lightness and aid moisture retention during cooking, and who doesn’t like a fat slice of carrot cake. Hell, I’ve even made a parsnip cake in my time. And as the nights draw in and we up our duvet tog counts, this time of year demands sustenance to satisfy the sweet tooth in all of us. The addition of beetroot to these brownies provides an earthy undercurrent that works so well with dark chocolate. Throw in toasted nuts of your choice for added texture and you have a perfect accompaniment to a vat of tea.

The recipe for these are based on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstal's from his book Every Day, with a few changes.

Beetroot and pecan brownies

Makes about 20

250g fresh beetroot
250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
150g dark chocolate, broken into pieces (I used Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Bar)
100g dark chocolate with a touch of sea salt, broken into pieces (I used Lindt Excellence A Touch of Sea Salt)
3 medium eggs
250g golden caster sugar
A pinch of sea salt
150g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
50g toasted pecans, roughly chopped

First prepare your beetroot. Cut away the stalks but leave the beetroots whole and boil until tender. Drain and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, use a teaspoon to scrape off the skin which should come away easily. Finely grate the beetroot and set aside - I used a hard cheese grater.

Grease a shallow baking tin, approximately 20 x 25cm, and line the base with baking parchment. If you prefer, you can grease the base with butter and dust with cocoa powder which will also prevent the brownies from sticking.

Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt. I do so in a microwave for about 30s at a time, giving the contents a good stir each time. When almost everything has melted, keep the microwave times shorter, say 10s or so. If you overheat it the chocolate will split.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until thick and pale and then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. 

Combine the salt, baking powder and flour, sift them over the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in with a large metal spoon. Now fold in the grated beetroot and pecans – be careful not to over-mix or it will make the brownies tough.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for around 1hr or until they are done. When a knife or skewer is inserted in the centre it should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don’t be tempted to overcook them or they will be dry. 

Tip: If the batter rises like a cake sponge, take the back of a ladle and compress it down - you’ll still obtain the familiar brownie appearance.

Remove the tin from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool before cutting into squares. 

Keep these airtight and they’ll remain moist and wonderful for a good week. Enjoy with a hot drink and a comfortable armchair.

Afiyet olsun.

Marmalade Cake

'Tis the season for Seville oranges, in case you didn't know. The observant among you may have noticed a new crate in the cirtrus arena of the fruit aisles displaying these lumpy and quite dull looking wonders. These aren't oranges you want to eat without cooking - they're not at all sweet, and are in fact quite bitter. While the season for them remains and we continue to find them in our greengrocers and supermarkets, kitchens across the land will have their weekends occupied with the making of that wondrous toast, panettone and brioche topping, my favourite of all the conserves - marmalade. That is what Seville oranges were bestowed upon this earth for.

In celebration of this annual event and to play my part, I wanted to make something involving some Seville orange marmalade without making it itself. Cakes and citrus have always been the best of friends, and so a marmalade cake it would have to be.

I've been lucky enough to visit Seville
- this is a photo I took of the world famous oranges

Marmalade Cake

A sticky orange cake not shy on the orange front. Marmalade, orange juice and zest in the sponge, topped with caramelised orange slices, and drizzled with a marmalade glaze. There's a few recipes out there but this one by Jamie Oliver fully embraces the orange in all its glory, and I like that.

Makes about 10 slices

200g butter softened, plus a large knob for greasing
4 tbsp demerara sugar
2 small oranges, thinly sliced
200g golden caster sugar 
6 heaped tbsp fine-cut Seville marmalade
4 large eggs, beaten
200g self-raising flour (or 200g plain flour with 2.5tsp baking powder)
50g ground almonds
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease the base and sides of a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Sprinkle the base with the demerara sugar. Arrange the orange slices on the base of the tin in a slightly overlapping layer.

Cream the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy, then beat in 3 heaped tablespoons of marmalade, followed by the beaten eggs. Fold in the flour, ground almonds, a pinch of salt, and the orange zest and juice.

Carefully pour the cake batter into the tin. Place in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, until golden and firm to touch.

Remove from the oven and allow to stand for a few minutes. Very carefully, while it’s still slightly warm, turn out the cake onto a serving plate.
Prick holes in the cake with a skewer. Make a glaze by warming the rest of the marmalade in a pan with a little water. Spoon this over the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature with yoghurt, cream or ice cream. Or my favourite, with a cup of tea.

Alfiyet olsun.

Afternoon Tea, The Lanesborough - Review

Britain is full of institutions, many to be proud of. Monty Python, suits from Saville Row, the NHS, the BBC, Speaker’s corner, and Wimbledon to name a few. Eating and drinking are also a major part of the British make-up, and we don’t fare too badly when it comes to institutions of the culinary kind – full English breakfasts, gin and tonic, fish and chips, Pimms, Sunday roasts, strawberries and cream. The British are also well known the world over for their love of tea. The habit of taking tea in the afternoon is now a tradition so strong that all the top hotels in London offer an ‘afternoon tea’ dining experience, priding themselves on expertly sourced preserves and the quality of their tea range, with stiff competition amongst the rivals.

It was Matt’s mum’s birthday this weekend and for a gift, he treated both his parents to join us for afternoon tea at The Lanesborough, Hyde Park corner. Many of the hotels in London claim their tea experience to be the best. However, it’s The Lanesborough that has won the UK Tea Council Award of excellence every year between 2009-2012 and they are keen to highlight this fact on the very first page of their menu, and rightly so. Afternoon tea is served daily in the hotel’s Michelin starred conservatory restaurant, Apsleys - grand in its Venetian splendour and fitting for the experience.

We were seated at a table next to the pianist – an older gentleman dressed in his finery, playing both soothing pieces of classical alongside more jaunty Christmas melodies. From the menu on offer, Matt opted for The Lanesborough Tea (£40) which includes your preferred choice of tea (in this case Assam), a selection of finger sandwiches, pastries, toasted teacakes and homemade scones, served with homemade fruit preserves and clotted Devonshire cream.  Matt’s parents and I opted for The Belgravia Tea (£50) including the full afternoon tea selection as above, with the addition of fresh strawberries and cream and a glass of champagne. I selected the Lanesborough afternoon blend and those chosen by the rest of the party were the slightly stronger Lanesborough morning blend, and Earl Grey.

Photograph from hotel website

The teas were ceremoniously poured from silver pots of substance and strawberries were delivered at room temperature – exactly how they should be. We were each then presented with an amuse bouche of chocolate sponge topped with chocolate mousse, sitting atop a mango and banana puree with a festive sprinkling of gold leaf - very pleasant. Empty pots removed and the familiar three tiered stand of an afternoon tea was soon delivered, presenting us with the sandwiches, cakes and petit fours. The sandwiches could have been arranged a little neater, but stripped of their crusts and with soft bread, the flavours were appealing and traditional with the inclusion of a couple of Christmas guest spots: smoked salmon with cream cheese on brown; egg mayonnaise and cress in delightful cloud like brioche buns, turkey and cranberry with red cabbage on white, cucumber, and Stilton  The middle tier housed the cakes: a square of dense and sweet Christmas cake, a lemon sponge, a wonderfully rich chocolate cake, and a hazelnut based sponge. The top tier of petit fours included a spiced cheesecake, and raspberry and chocolate based bites. Alongside this tower of delights were four warm caramelised red onion and cheese tarts – a classic combination of flavours that expectedly worked well, encased in crispy light pastry.

With tea regularly topped up and sandwiches joyfully replenished at request (Matt is first in line at the Stilton fan club), room for more was rapidly waning. But more there was. A plate of dainty mince pies with a dusting of icing sugar; toasted spiced tea cakes; and small warm scones sporting golden glazed marmalade hats. To accompany this, pots of strawberry jam, lemon curd and Devonshire cream. Aromas of cinnamon, ginger and mixed spice were mingling with every mouthful from the mince pie fillings and tea cakes. The scones were fresh, light and soft - so delightful in their form that we asked for a few more and were happily obliged. As part of this festive version of the traditional afternoon tea (available until 1^st Jan), our final consumable came in the form of a shot glass housing a warm and spicy mulled wine. A glorious round-off to the fare, and capable of warming the very marrow in your bones.

The simultaneous consumption of tea and champagne (and alongside mulled wine in this instance) may sound strange on paper. And to be honest, it is – in no other environment would this combination ever be found. But it works. Whilst champagne is not by any means a necessity in order to enjoy the experience of a quality afternoon tea, at this time of year alcohol seems to involve itself in every ingredient, outing and social interaction, so you may as well resign to this fact and enjoy it. Regardless, the opulent setting of Apsleys along with the quality of what was on offer made the experience most pleasurable and I do believe the birthday girl was positively chuffed with her gift. Good work Matt.

Alfiyet olsun.

chocolate fondant

I am once again left with egg yolks going spare from the egg white cookies of yesterday.  Readers may recall the option I took the last time I was faced with this predicament – crème brûlée   This time, I’m going with chocolate fondants.

These are bleedin’ excellent.  They’re incredibly easy to make, very difficult to mess up, and look the business. Is there anyone in the world that doesn’t love a gooey middle? What’s even better is they're perfect make ahead desserts.  They can be popped into the freezer after being made up and cooked in the oven straight from frozen.  Excellent if you want to get ahead for some dinner party planning.  But even better than that – simply knowing you have them in stock for when you’re hankering for some sin.

Chocolate fondant

I challenge anyone to resist them.

45 mins prep plus 15 minutes cooking

Makes 4

Some melted butter for brushing
Cocoa powder for dusting
100g good quality dark chocolate
100g butter
100g golden caster sugar
2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
100g plain flour

Tip I find the Stork available in the plastic tubs are perfect for cake making – it’s already soft so it's great for brushing.  If you’re making pastry, that’s when you want cold hard butter bought in blocks.  Not what we want this time.

You first need to get your moulds ready.  Get four standard sized ramekins and coat the whole of the insides with butter.  I tend to use a clean kitchen towel for this.  Then pop in the freezer.  After they’ve all been given a coat, get them out and give them another coat of butter.

Now coat the insides with cocoa powder.  The best way to do this is tip a load into a ramekin, hold it so it’s almost on it’s side, then rotate the ramekin so all of the sides are coated in the powder.  You don’t want to leave any part uncovered.  Do this over your pot of cocoa powder so any that falls out falls back into the pot – no need for waste.  This preparation ensures they’re easy to get out once cooked.

Melt the chocolate and butter.  Recipes always tell you to do this over a bowl of simmering water – I see this effort as unnecessary.  Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl and microwave for a few seconds at a time – give it a good stir each time you check it.  As long as you don’t over heat it, this is a much quicker way of melting chocolate.  The risk here is that if you leave it in too long, the chocolate will overheat and split – so keep an eye on it.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar together for a good 10 minutes until they’re thick and pale and the whisk leaves a trail.  I would recommend using an electric device for this.  

Sift the flour into the eggs, then beat together with a wooden spoon or with the beater attachment of an electric stand mixer.

Pour the melted chocolate and butter into the mixture in thirds, beating between each addition so the mixtures are fully combined before adding more.  You’ll end up with a loose cake batter.

Take a large spoon and equally fill the four ramekins with the batter.  Chill for at least 20 minutes before cooking.

Tip At this stage, you can cover them with cling film and pop them in the freezer.  When you want to cook them, simply carry on as stated and add a few more minutes to the cooking time.

Heat the oven to 200C / fan 180C / gas 6.  Place the fondants on a baking tray and bake for around 10-12 minutes.

You’re looking for a crust to have formed on the top, and they should just start to come away from the sides of the ramekin.  When they’re done, remove from the oven and let them sit for a minute before turning them out.

I find the best way to get these out is to get a sharp knife round the edge to ensure they’re fully detached from the sides.  Then with the ramekin in an oven glove, gently tip it onto a plate.  They look much better the right way up, so I then tip this back onto another plate.

I’ve made these many many times and have never had a problem with teasing them out.  If you do – it doesn’t matter.  They’ll still taste incredible.

Enjoy with a glass of milk and a sullied conscience.

Alfiyetolsun.

Fruit and nut cake

It’s the weekend – rejoice.  Like most, if not all of the weekday workers in the country, I look forward to my weekends with great anticipation.  My reasons are, in no particular order: lie-ins, Homeland and ample time for cooking endeavours.   Therefore multiple entries over the two days of the weekend are likely to become regular occurrences – I hope this is something my readers look forward to getting used to.

A fruit bowl can be a sorry looking sight at times.  When first filled with produce straight from the shop, they are colourful and inviting corners of the kitchen with the promise of fresh snacks, tangy flavours and wholesome satisfaction.  More often than not however, they look considerably past their best – flaccid, wrinkly, bruised, unloved.  Time to accept their fate and turn them away towards the bin - right? Wrong. Never does a fruit bowl beckon me with such calling than when their fragrance just begins to turn to ferment – my single interpretation translating to cooking them up in a dessert.

On Saturday I was faced with such fortune – five paltry looking pears sitting in the bowl helping to ripen the last of my initially insipid garden tomatoes.  And they did a good job, turning them fragrant and a fruity red after a few days.  The pears were a failed attempt to eat one a day for the week as part of my 5-a-day. Plans not having gone quite accordingly, I resort to the only natural alternative.  Make a cake with them.  

With head cocked in contemplation, eyeing up what had been five fine beacons of seasonal produce, I recall a recipe I recently thumbed over from the November issue of delicious magazine.  And from one of my most favoured cooks – Nigel Slater.

A pear and hazelnut cake

Nutty sponge meets fruit crumble for a delicious combination.

There will be enough for 8-12

175g softened butter
85g golden caster sugar
85g light muscovado sugar
80g skinned, toasted hazelnuts
2 eggs
165g self-raising flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Few drops of vanilla extract

For the pears
A large juicy lemon
750g pears (5-6 pears)
3tbsp caster sugar
Ground cinnamon

For the crumble
100g plain flour
75g butter
2bsp demerara sugar and a bit extra for the crust
A little more cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 160C / fan 140C/ gas 3 and line the base of a 21-22cm square cake tin with baking paper.

For the pears, squeeze the lemon into a small saucepan.  Peel the pears, cut them into small chunks and place into the lemon juice – it wills top them browning.  Bring the juice to the boil and turn the heat down to a gently simmer.  Scatter over the sugar and a liberal pinch of cinnamon.  Cook with the occasional stir until the pears are translucent and tender.  They should be soft enough to pierce with a skewer with little or no effort.  Try not to colour them beyond the palest gold or to let the juice boil away – you’ll want it for later.

Tip If your pears are particularly ripe as were mine, note that they will need less cooking time before they’re the desired tenderness.
Make the cake – beat the butter and sugars in a food mixer or with an electric hand whisk until a light and pale coffee colour.  This will take a good five to ten minutes, longer if done by hand with a wooden spoon – also an option.  Meanwhile, grind the hazelnuts quite finely.  You can do this in a food processor or with a hand blender and its snug container.

Tip Don’t over grind the nuts or they will become oily.  Also the less fine you grind them, the more texture you’ll get in the sponge.  It’s really up to personal tastes how fine or course you want the nuts.

Break the eggs, beat them gently to just mix the white and yolks and gradually add to the mix with the beater on slow.

Tip If the mixture begins to look like it’s curdling (common when adding eggs to the butter/sugar mix, especially if all added at once) – don’t panic. Just add a tablespoon or two of the flour and it will bring it back to the right consistency.

Add the ground hazelnuts, flour, cinnamon and a couple of drops of vanilla extract. Allow the mixer to go round a few more times on slow to fully combine all the ingredients until smooth.  Scoop out the mixture into the prepared tin (where bowl scrapers come into their own) and smooth it flat.
Lift the pears from their syrup with a draining spoon, reserving the juice.  Place the pears on top of the cake mixture.

To make the crumble topping, blitz the flour and butter to crumbs in a food processor. Add the demerara and mix lightly.  Remove the processor bowl from the stand.  Add a few drops of water and run a fork through the mixture – this will cause some of the crumbs to stick together like small pebbles.  This will make for a more interesting mixture of textures.  Scatter the crumble loosely over the pears, followed by a little more demerara and a pinch of cinnamon.


Tip There is no necessity in having a food processor to make this crumble.  The desired sand like texture can be achieved by rubbing chunks of the butter into the flour with your fingertips.  Although the processor does achieve this in seconds, it does also create extra washing up.  One of life’s many compromises.

Bake for about an hour and check if the sponge is done with the skewer method.  Remove the cake from the oven and set aside. Bring the reserved pear and lemon juice to the boil for a couple of minutes until there is just three or four tablespoons left.  Trickle it over the surface of the cake and allow to cool.

The reason this cake is so good is because it brings together two wonderful elements – sponge and fruit crumble.  The sponge is light, moist and satisfying with its buttery flavour cleanly sliced through by the tartness of the pear and citrus.  Nigel’s pebble crumble suggestion is wonderfully fitting, providing little nuggets of crunch – a welcome presence amongst sponge and cooked fruit.

The other reason this cake is good is because Matt doesn’t like cooked fruit in dessert.  This means that I get a whole slice plus extra crumble with every portion.  Seeing as I think the fruit upwards is the best part of this cake, that’s a winning situation for me.

I think an apple pie should be next on the list.  

Alfiyet olsun.