Hello friends and welcome back to Sweet Things!
How are we all? I’m feeling a little more refreshed and sun kissed after a couple of restful days in Porto. I’ve been to Portugal plenty of times before, with most trips being spent in Lisbon. But this was my first time up North and I absolutely loved it.
If you’ve not visited before, then expect to eat an abundance of bacalhau (salted cod), pastéis de nata (custard tarts) and various types of sandwiches. Had to try the iconic Francescinha - a sandwich made with toasted bread, steak, ham and sausage, then drowned in a spicy sauce and covered in melted cheese. A fried egg on top is optional. It was as full on as it sounds and I can’t confidently say that I’d get one again. But I’m glad I tried it! I can see it being quite a comforting dish on a cold, rainy day.
When in Portugal, a custard tart a day is mandatory and my favourite tart of the trip was from a place called Castro. The filling was silky smooth, not as sweet as some others I tried and the pastry was perfectly crisp. It’s pretty hard to find a ‘bad’ pastel de nata so if you see one as you’re wandering around, go for it.
Back to normal life this week and I’ve got a lovely loaf cake recipe for you all using one of my favourites spices. If you’re even slightly familiar with my recipes or have any of my books, then you’ll notice how much cardamom makes an appearance in lots of different ways. I just love it! It’s so bright and fragrant and has the ability to lift even the most average of bakes. And it’s quite versatile too, working in harmony with lots of different flavours. You can use cardamom with anything from coffee to citrus to chocolate and custards. She really is that girl! A little goes a long way and to get the best flavour, I always recommend buying the green pods whole and then grind up the seeds yourself in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. The smell alone is just divine!
In other news I picked up some juicy Kesar and Alphonso mangoes from the loveliest stall in Tooting this week and will be bringing you lots of mango deliciousness in the next newsletter.
Enjoy!
Benjamina x
Full on layer cakes can be a lot of effort. Sometimes I just need something a touch more low key but still with a little bit of oomph. To me, loaf cakes immediately feel homely and low effort. Simply slicing it in half and filling with jam and cream makes it feel more special without doing the most.
I filled mine with some blackberry and bay leaf jam that I had from the London Borough of Jam. I initially planned to use raspberry but this worked out so well, adding some gentle herby notes and making it feel a little grown up. Use whatever jam you have to hand; I see this working particularly well with cherry jam or even rhubarb. I also mixed some creme fraiche in with the double cream and I loved the way it lightened it up, and brought an extra tang, making everything feel quite summery.
RECIPE
equipment : 1 2lb/900g loaf tin
serves 8
40g neutral oil
230g caster sugar
3 large eggs
100g crème fraiche
1 tsp freshly ground cardamom
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
220g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
80g unsalted butter, melted
To fill:
250ml double cream
75g crème fraiche
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 tbsp jam of choice
1/2 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to dust
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the sugar, eggs and oil to a bowl and mix well to combine. Stir in the crème fraiche, ground cardamom and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Tip this into the wet ingredients and mix gently until smooth. Stir in the melted butter. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 55-60 minutes until the cake is well risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before filling it.
To make the filling, add the cream, crème fraiche, icing sugar and vanilla to a bowl and whip until just thickened with soft peaks. Once the cake has cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to slice it in half lengthways. (When slicing, you want to aim for a point that looks just above halfway to account for the domed top.)
Spread the jam on the bottom half and top with the whipped cream. Place the second half of cake on top and dust with icing sugar before serving.
