Nigel Slater’s carrot cake with a frosting of mascarpone and orange
You could measure my life in health-food shops. It is to them I turn for the bulk of my store-cupboard shopping, from parchment-coloured figs and organic almonds to sea salt and cubes of fresh yeast. Their shelves are a constant source of inspiration and reassurance. It is also where I first came across organic vegetables, long before the supermarkets saw them as a money-spinner or the organic box schemes would turn up at your door. It was these pine-clad shops, with their lingering scent of patchouli, that introduced me to the joys of the organic swede.
To this day I wouldn’t go anywhere else for my lentils and beans, though I can live without the crystals and self-help manuals. These is something endlessly reassuring about their rows of cellophane-encased dates and haricot beans, their dried nuggets of cranberry and jars of organic peanut butter. And where else can you get a joss stick when you need one?
Health-food shops rarely used to be without a carrot cake on the salad counter, usually next to the blackcurrant cheesecake and the deep wholemeal quiche. Good they were, too, with thick cream-cheese icing and shot through with walnuts. I never scorned them the way others did, finding much pleasure in the deep, soggy layers of cake and frosting. This was first published in the Observer many years ago, and rarely does a week go by without an email asking for a copy to replace one that has fallen apart or stuck to the bottom of a pan. Few things make a cook happier than someone asking for one of your recipes.
Enough for 8-10
eggs 3
self-raising flour 250g
bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp
baking powder 1 tsp
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
salt a pinch
sunflower oil 200ml
light muscovado sugar 250g
carrots 150g
lemon juice of ½
walnuts 150g
For the frosting
mascarpone cheese 250g
Philadelphia cream cheese 200g
unrefined icing sugar 150g
orange grated zest of 1 medium
walnut halves a handful
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Lightly butter two 22cm cake tins, then line each with a disc of baking parchment.
Separate the eggs. Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Beat the oil and sugar in a food mixer until well creamed, then introduce the egg yolks one by one. Grate the carrots into the mixture, then add the lemon juice. Roughly chop the walnuts and add them too.
Fold the flour into the mixture with the machine on slow. Beat the egg whites till light and stiff, then fold tenderly into the mixture using a large metal spoon (a wooden one will knock the air out).
Divide the mixture between the two cake tins, smooth the top gently and bake for 40-45 minutes. Test with a skewer for doneness. The cakes should be moist but not sticky.
Remove from the oven and leave to settle for a good 10 minutes before turning the cakes out of their tins on to a wire cooling rack.
To make the frosting, put the mascarpone, Philadelphia cheese and icing sugar into an electric mixer and beat till smooth and creamy. It should have no lumps. Mix in the orange zest.
When the cake is cool, sandwich the halves together with about a third of the frosting. Use the rest to cover the top and sides of the cake. I don’t think you need be too painstaking; a rough finish will look more appropriate here. Cover the top with walnut halves.
From Tender: Volume I by Nigel Slater (Fourth Estate, £30). Click here to order a copy from Guardian Bookshop for 24.60
Emma Clark’s Glenegedale House banana bread
I have made this banana bread at least twice a week for three and half years for the guests in our guesthouse. The scent fills the house and wakes up the senses before you are even properly awake. This recipe was my grandmother’s and I have adapted it slightly. I usually use butter for all my baking as my theory is always use the best produce and you will get the best results. However, this is the only recipe in which I use margarine, simply because it works so well. The recipe handed down to me says not to beat the bananas and to leave them in chunks – I don’t. I believe it works better when beaten and smooth.
Makes 6 good slices when hot, or 8 slices when cold
caster sugar 170g
margarine 113g
self-raising flour 170g
ripe bananas 2 small
free-range eggs 2 large
salt a good pinch
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. First, blend together the caster sugar and the margarine, using a stand mixer or handheld whisk, until fluffy. Then add all the other ingredients making sure to scrape all the butter and sugar from the side of the bowl. Whizz all together for a minute or until it is a smooth batter. Line a 2kg loaf tin with a baking parchment liner, pour in the batter and bake on the top shelf for 45-55 minutes. It is done when a skewer comes out clean. Let it cool in the tin for five minutes. Slice and serve hot or cold.
Emma Clark is the owner of Glenegedale House, Isle of Islay
Claire Ptak’s hazelnut and raspberry friands
Friands are little French almond cakes, which we love at the Violet Bakery because they are moist and tasty and also so easy to make. In this version, I substituted hazelnuts for some of the almonds because I had a few left over that I wanted to use up. I really like the way these turned out, because the hazelnut has a lovely light flavour. The nutty base lends itself to a variety of seasonal fruit toppings. Here I’ve used raspberries, but you could use any berries you like or slices of peaches, nectarines, plums, figs, or whatever.
Makes 12-16 friands
butter 115g, melted, plus more for greasing the moulds
plain flour 90g
baking powder ¾ tsp
ground almonds 50g
ground hazelnuts 80g
icing sugar 190g
egg whites 5, slightly whisked
vanilla extract 2 tsp
fresh raspberries 200g (about 40-50)
slivered hazelnuts 50g
icing sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Butter 12-16 friand moulds or cupcake tins.
Weigh out all the ingredients (except the raspberries and slivered hazelnuts) into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until foamy (about 1 minute).
Spoon the mixture into the moulds, filling them to about three-quarters full, then top each mould with 2-3 raspberries and sprinkle with the slivered hazelnuts.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the tops of the cakes are springy to the touch. Leave the cakes to cool slightly in their moulds, then remove and dust them with icing sugar. They will keep well in an airtight container for a few days.
Adapted from The Violet Bakery Cookbook by Claire Ptak (Square Peg, £20). Click here to order a copy from Guardian Bookshop for £16.40
Jeremy Lee’s pistachio cake
Serves 8
For the apricots
apricots 12, plump
water 500ml
white wine 250ml
caster sugar 250g
vanilla pods 2
bay leaf 1
black peppercorns 10
lemon 4 strips of peel, and juice
For the cake
unsalted butter 250g, softened to room temperature
caster sugar 250g
whole almonds 100g, blanched and peeled
pistachios 150g, shelled
eggs 4 large
plain flour 40g
baking powder 1 level tsp
lemon 1
Place all the apricot ingredients except the apricots in a wide heavy bottomed pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Carefully lay the apricots in the liquid and return to a boil. Cover with a disc of greaseproof paper, remove from the heat and leave to cool for several hours or overnight.
Butter and line a deep 28-32cm round cake tin then heat an oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
Beat the butter and the sugar together until pale and fluffed. Grind the nuts in a food processor until quite fine but not powdered.
Crack the eggs into a jug and mix them well with a fork. Add this to the butter and sugar in small parts and whisk until a smooth batter is achieved. Sift the flour and baking powder into the batter, then gently fold in the almonds and pistachios. Juice the lemon and add this to the cake batter. Pour into the prepared cake tin.
Bake for 45-55 minutes until golden brown. To check if it is cooked through, the age-old skewer test is best. Insert a skewer in the middle of the cake: if clean when withdrawn it is done, if not, return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
When the cake is cooked, gently spoon a few ladlefuls of the apricot syrup on to it. Place the cake on a handsome plate. Spoon the apricots and some syrup into a pretty bowl. Some cream is most welcome.
Jeremy Lee is head chef of Quo Vadis, London W1
Oswaldo Oliva’s tres leches
Super easy to make and extra delicious, tres leches is a sponge soaked in three dairy products (milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk), which became popular in Mexico and Latin America after the New York Condensed Milk Company was founded in 1857. The key to “the perfect cake” is controlling the amount of liquid the cake absorbs. It should be moist and oozy, but still able to hold its shape when sliced. In this recipe, I add a boozy note to the mix that can be replaced with your drink of choice.
Serves 10-12
For the cake
fine sponge flour 350g
baking powder 1 tsp
caster sugar 400g
salt 1½ tsp
eggs 2
vegetable or grapeseed oil 240ml
whole milk 240ml
vanilla extract 2 tsp
For the tres leches soak
milk 250ml
evaporated milk 170ml
condensed milk 170ml
vodka 2 tbsp
vanilla extract 2 tsp
To finish
double cream 500ml
caster sugar 75g
strawberries 250g
Heat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3. Butter and line a 23cm round tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Dust the sides of the cake tin with flour, tapping out any excess.
To make the cake, sift the flour and baking powder twice.
In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, salt and eggs together until pale. Whisk in the oil. If using a mixer, use the whisk attachment on medium speed until you get a hom*ogenous liquid.
Sift the dry ingredients into the liquid mix. Do it slowly and one large spoonful at a time. Mix well but only until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing will result in a tougher cake. Finally, whisk in the milk and vanilla extract.
Pour the batter in the floured cake tin and bake on the centre of the heated oven for 55-65 minutes. Prick with a toothpick to make sure that the batter is cooked (the toothpick should come out clean) and remove from the oven. Allow the cake to cool completely on the counter or a wire rack before removing from the tin.
To make the tres leches mix, combine the milks in a saucepan and set over a low heat, stirring constantly so that the condensed milk does not burn on the bottom. Remove from the heat and add the vodka and vanilla extract. Mix well and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Pour over the sponge to soak. Allow this to cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.
For the cream, combine the cream and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and whip until soft peaks are formed. Top the soaked cake with the whipped cream and strawberries.
Traditionally, tres leches is eaten as a sandwich cake. For this, cut the cake in half horizontally (after the cake has cooled and before soaking the sponge). Soak the cakes with the milk mixture and refrigerate (as above). Use half of the cream to sandwich the soaked cakes together and top with the remaining cream and the strawberries.
Oswaldo Oliva is head chef at Lorea, in Mexico City
