A Sweet Affair

Serving up a sumptuously delicious spring time bake with my Roasted Strawberry & Elderflower Meringue Cake plus a much more low key, effortless Spanish Tarta de Santiago.

Hey Friends!

I hope you are all having a lovely week and are enjoying the start of a long weekend filled with delicious food, good company and most importantly, lots of chocolate.

We have a long weekend ahead and I am typing ferociously/furiously/fervently to get this newsletter typed up and over to you before any food based festivities begin. I know a lot of you probably have your menu already planned and sorted but for those of you who like to leave things a little late (aka me. This is me very much calling myself out), let me throw my hat into the ring and give you a solid dessert option for you to consider. If this week’s offerings don’t tickle your pickle, make sure you take a scroll back through the archives and find yourself another tasty morsel from there instead.

live footage of me typing the newsy

There is an abundance of yum lurking in there and I promise, one of these weeks I will get a recipe index sorted and uploaded to make your browsing a little easier. If there are any sweet treats you tried on holiday, shared a moment with in a restaurant or have an intense craving for something a little nostalgic - do let me know. Would love to start being able to curate and create recipes requested by you, making our little corner on the internet somewhere truly delicious and truly yours.

A few things I am loving this week:

• Running: Slowly but surely getting back into running after a long stint off (my knees can’t hack it like they used to) but I am spoilt for gorgeous places to run to and along where I live now, so taking myself off at the end of the day to clear my head and take in a bit of time for just myself feels like a real treat. Admittedly I have only been running a few times a week over the last month and I am already having to quieten down the noise in my brain telling me to sign up to another marathon. Like girl, are you crazy? Where this bold act of confidence that has no boundaries comes from, I have no clue. IF I ever tell you I have signed up for one, please remind me of this moment and please tell me to reconsider. For the sake of my knees if anything.

• Milo: Nearly 6 years down of this little bundle of sunshine brightening my days and still, he remains the very best thing I have done (quitting my job and starting baking aside). Not a day goes by where he doesn’t make me laugh, smile or feel an intense amount of joy. He truly is the goodest boy, even if he hates cats, pigeons and anything that moves.

• Wisteria: Obsessed people, I am OBSESSED. I have always wanted a home adorned with wisteria on the front and now I have exactly that, I feel so lucky. To the point I now have an album on my phone called ‘Wisteria’, just so I can monitor the daily progress. Does this make me old? Perhaps. Do I care? Mildly. But I am not green fingered in the slightest, so the fact that this is managing to flourish under my clueless guidance, is just truly thrilling. Yup. I got it. That bit was definitely a touch too old.

  

  

• Haircut: After growing my hair for over a year to donate, the long locks are officially gone and I am back to my short haired best self. I had that moment the day after where I was filled with immediate regret because I didn’t know how to style it without looking like Lord Farquaads long lost twin. I am pleased to say that the regret has gone but I am still very much living life in that half up, half down phase. I have wildly thick hair that just does whatever it wants so if you see me on the street looking like Sia with her lampshade bob – no you didn’t.

• Village life: I know I mention this pretty much every newsletter, but I am LOVING countryside life. Every time there is a special occasion, you can bet your ass on a little sweet lady knitting and crocheting the village decorations. This week, we have chickens, chicks, bumblebees and flowers sitting atop our village post box. Last month there was Paddington, Where’s Wally, Bagpuss, Harry Potter and a few others sitting atop bollards around the pond for world book day. And the part that blows my mind? They don’t get stolen. You leave anything on the streets of London for breath and they are gone. I guess I am not used to…niceness?? It’s unsettling but in a good way.

Another reminder that One Bake is still currently on offer for my UK friends over on Amazon – at the moment you can grab it at a WHOPPING 49% OFF during this limited time offer. It’s packed full to the brim of some of my favourite sweet treats, cakes, breads, biscuits and bakes with a number of standout options for you to consider adding to your Easter menu, especially if you are catering for anyone with a dairy intolerance, eats egg free or who follows a plant based diet.

My purposely underbaked Chocolate Fudge Cake which is an homage to my idol Bruce Bogtrotter, Malt & Milk Chocolate Tiramisu, Choco-nut Babka, Salted Caramel Doughnuts and Lemon and Thyme Drizzle Loaf are all SCREAMING to be made over this long bank holiday weekend.

Good yum and good fun leads to a very happy tum.

---

After last weeks chocoholic extravaganza, this week we are taking it back a slight notch and keeping things real simple with two cakes, each sitting at the opposite ends of the scale in terms of flavour, complexity and vibes.

Kicking off the newsy, we finally go back to the ‘Around the World’ series and head to Spain for cake number 24. Tarta de Santiago is a low key, low fuss, low maintenance kinda affair. It’s a gluten free bake which makes it suitable for most and leans on the simple side of life with little flavour impact, relying heavily on lemon zest and a splash of booze to carry you through. If you prefer your sweet treats on the more subtle end of the spectrum, this is for you.

And being served up as the main bake of the day is my Roasted Strawberry & Elderflower Meringue Cake. This is a BIG spring win. Admittedly we are still a touch out of strawberry season so making the most of the frozen sort for more flavour impact (plus cheaper, win win) and pairing that big flavour with the subtle floral hint of elderflower. Both sitting on sumptuously soft, moreishly moist, decadently delicious almond sponges and finished with crisp meringue cigarettes lining the edge for texture and flavour. You could call this an Eton Mess but I would call this straight up delicious. One thing about me – yes I love a filthy chocolate cake but I would, no questions asked, in a heartbeat, choose a fresh cream cake any day. Why? Cause I can consume more of it, of course.

---

Let’s get to it! It’s a shorter newsy this week as I was conscious of getting this over to you in good time – plus ya girl is DROWNING in work and my brain is fried so we are going to keep this shorter but still just as sweet.

First up on the menu is the latest cake from my ‘Around the World’ series. It feels like it has been a real minute since we tackled a cake from the elusive list but felt so good to be back at it and learning something new. For cake number 24, we head to Spain for a slice of their Tarta de Santiago. This traditional almond cake dates all the way back to the 17th century and is now a popular treat for pilgrims undertaking the Camino de Santiago route. It's made up of a handful of ingredients resulting in a light, simple treat, lightly spiked with lemon zest and heavily dusted in icing sugar, often finished with the St James cross adorned across the top.

With no flour included, it's a nice gluten free treat butttttt does sit in the midst of simplicity. The issue when something is so simple is that it has to be flawless and for me, personally, I think there are a few tweaks that could really elevate the cake. Next time, I would:

• Switch out the lemons for oranges

• Double the amount of booze

• Increase the amount of eggs from 4 to 6 (for more moisture and more richness from the yolks)

• Underbake the cake by 3 to 5 minutes to retain more moisture, even if it means a dipped middle.

• Add a touch of flour and baking powder to provide the cake with more stability

• Top the cake with a booze spiked chantilly and orange compote.

• Or serve it alongside my Pistachio & White Chocolate no churn Ice Cream.

It's not bad, it's just not better than a lot of the cakes that came before this. Was I mean? Perhaps. But do we want more? ALWAYS.

Some advice I have received from some Spaniards who were mildly miffed with my cake reporting (no offence intended, no offence taken) is that using whole blanched almonds and blitzing down to make your own ground almonds are essential for that moist, marzipan-esque texture. Serving suggestions have included caramelized figs (I am not a big fig utilizer, maybe I should fig more often??), serving alongside a glass of Pedro Ximenez or a deep, richly roasted coffee.

I am definitely going to re-bake this one but following my suggested tweaks because I refuse to believe that I wasn’t a huge fan of an almond based cake. If you have been here a while, you’ll know I have a penchant for a few particular flavours: cardamom (my queen), tonka (my latest love) and almond (my fail safe). An almighty trio and one I am now questioning why I haven’t paired altogether. Alas, we digress.

Just a little note – please do not judge me on the below. When it comes to testing new recipes, especially those originating from other countries, I have to allow a number of recipes on google to help lead the way. I’ll take a mix of highly rated recipes, delve into the comments, see queries and concerns raised, do a bit of historical research on the cake and formulate a recipe based on all those factors accumulated. If you prefer your cakes on the simpler side of life, this one is for you. Serving accompaniments are a must as she’s a little timid and a touch shy on her own.

Recipe Makes: 1 x 8 cm / 20 cm springform or loose bottomed tart tin

Recipe Serves: 12

Spainish Tarta De Santiago

99.6KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Y O U – W I L L – N E E D -

225 g Caster Sugar

2 Lemons, zest only

4 Large Eggs

10 ml Almond Liqueur, optional

200 g Ground Almonds

0.75 tsp Cinnamon Powder

Icing Sugar, to dust

M E T H O D -

1. Preheat the oven to 160C Fan/180C/360F and grease and line the base of a 20 cm/8 inch tin and grease and flour the sides.

2. Into a mixer bowl, add the caster sugar and lemon zest. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium for 3 minutes to help release the oils from the zest.

3. Add the eggs and beat for 8 minutes until it reaches the ribbon stage. By now the mix should be doubled in volume, light and aerated.

4. Add the ground almonds, cinnamon powder and additionally go in with 1 tsp vanilla bean paste and 1/4 tsp salt.

5. Gently fold through, scraping the base and sides to ensure all the ingredients are well mixed.

6. Transfer the batter to your lined tin and bake for 26 to 28 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven, leave to sit in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a sheet of clingfilm. Wrap and leave to completely cool.

8. Once cool, place St James cross stencil on top (print one out and cut out or draw one, like me), press down to lightly adhere to the cake top and heavily dust the top with icing sugar.

9. Remove the stencil and slice.

Moving onto the main bake of the day – my Roasted Strawberry & Elderflower Meringue Cake. Hopefully this recipe wings its way over to you right before you settle on your Easter feasting menu. She’s a beautifully delicious, spectacularly light, sweet in all the right places kinda cake. It’s a simply put together affair, relying heavily on the sponge and cream flavours to deliver the right sort of delight.

She looks fairly low key in terms of decorations – keeping it paired back and simple, allowing each slice to do the talking. It’s made up of a tender almond sponge soaked in an elderflower and tonka syrup, topped with elderflower whipped cream, a roasted strawberry compote, roasted strawberry whipped cream, topped with fresh strawberries and finished with crisp vanilla bean meringue cigarettes framing the edge.

An undeniably beautiful and worthy centrepiece for any Easter celebrations. The deliciously moist, almond heady sponge (told you I love almond as a flavour) acts as the perfect foundation for the two whipped creams. And before you think it, the elderflower comes in just the right amount, avoiding that overly floral and soapy aftertaste. It sits in the background, gently humming away without stealing the show. It’s the Kelly Rowland of the group (too niche a joke??) – can hold it’s own but also not the main star.

I used golden marzipan in my sponge as that’s all I had knocking around so you may find my sponge is slightly on the yellower side than yours will be once baked but adding it to the base of your batter really helps to deliver that hit of flavour, without relying too heavily on the extract.

I’ve decorated the edges using meringue cigarettes but if this feels and seems too tedious to you (I get it, it is a *touch* extra), bake the meringue has thin sheets and crumble up to coat the sides instead. This meringue recipe is solid for when you want that crisp, crunchy finish. It’s a variation on my meringue I use to make a pavlova, where we focus on a more of a crisp shell with mallowy filling, so a great one to have in your back pocket.

If you are after something a bit quicker and lighter to round up your Easter lunch, layer meringue shards between the cream and top with the roasted strawberry compote for a jazzier take on an Eton Mess OR do as I did, and use the leftovers to make a mille-feuille sans pastry. One recipe but a multitude of ways in which you can use it. She’s the gift that just keeps on giving.

Recipe Makes: 3 x 20 cm / 8 inch cake tins

Recipe Serves: 14 (but probably more if you are careful with the slicing)