Pete Fred

Portokalopita.... I'd seen this described as sort of a Greek bread-and-butter pudding. It's crushed, dried-out filo pastry mixed with a custard and, once baked, drenched in an obscene amount of orange syrup. It was surprisingly light, and the orange flavour really popped. I'll definitely make this again. Served with some tangy Greek yoghurt to balance the sweetness it was a real winner...

After a week of rhubarb regret, time to heed Escoffier's advice and keep it simple... Poached rhubarb with a vanilla crème anglaise. Too good.

Today's adventure in rhubarb is from Claire Saffitz (watch her make it here)... This has rhubarb three ways: chunks, strips on top, and puree in the batter. Unfortunately it was no triple-whammy. She says it's a moist cake, but I'd say wet. And the strips on top just turned stringy. Forgettable. So that's me done with rhubarb cakes. Not worth the bother. 🤷‍♂️

If you fancy a slice of cake, Kristin Rosenau's Pumpkin Espresso Cake is rather good.

Rhubarb, Marmalade and Rosemary Cake by Diana Henry... This was an improvement on Sunday's rhubarb cake but still didn't illicit more than a shrug. The rosemary was totally invisible - maybe it's one of those things where you only notice when it's omitted - and there was a marmalade-iness to the cake element without it being too forward. It was pleasant enough with a bit of crème fraîche, and it's a not-unattractive cake, but I'm unlikely to bother again. There's one more rhubarb cake I might have a go at, but so far this little adventure has only confirmed for me that the best way to eat rhubarb is cooked simply (poached) and served as an accompaniment or with some custard.

My little rhubarb patch has started delivering its bounty. After a quick ebook scan to see if there was anything intriguing, I settled on the Rhubarb Crumb Cake from Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi... It was disappointing, unfortunately. As it started to rise at the sides, the crumb topping was displaced into the centre, and the rhubarb all sank, resulting in a bit of a mushy bottom where the fruit released its moisture. I had no sour cream so substituted creme fraiche thinned with a little milk, so maybe that was part of the problem. But the batter was still fairly thick and I expected it to support the rhubarb. I might make a couple of adjustments and give it another go just to satisfy my curiosity. One positive takeaway, though: the addition of sumac to the crumb topping was very good. I'll definitely be doing that again.

I was teasing @Katie Meadow 🙂

Adapted from a recipe by Anthony Demetre... 1 L whole milk 150g cream (35% fat) 100g butter, diced 120g sugar 180g short grain rice 5 kg raisins (optional) Bring the milk, cream, butter and sugar to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Pour into an ovenproof dish, add the rice and stir with a fork to distribute evenly on the base. Bake at 130C/265F for 90 mins. Do not stir if you wish to preserve the skin. Test for doneness by nudging the dish. If there is a gentle wobble under the skin, remove from oven. If it looks too liquid, cook a little longer. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the residual heat to finish cooking. Best served warm(ish) accompanied by huge bowls overflowing with raisins. 😉 I used carnaroli (risotto) rice. Arborio is good, too. Your dish needs to be at least 1.7 L (7 cups). The original recipe used a cast iron pan to bring everything to a simmer on the hob, which was then transferred to the oven to bake. It's important to spread the rice evenly to avoid pockets of dense rice. I flavoured mine with tonka but vanilla is more traditional. My 90 minutes took it to a point where there was no wobble, which is why I feared it might be stodgy. But it wasn't, being firm but light, with a creaminess towards the bottom. I liked this textural difference from a regular stovetop rice pudding. If the skin isn't as developed as you'd like, whack it under a moderate grill until you're happy. I recommend eating it somewhere between lukewarm and warm for best texture and flavour (30-60 minutes out of the oven). If chilled, any leftovers benefit from a few minutes in a low microwave.

I enjoy a stovetop rice pudding from time to time but I think I was a kid the last time I had a baked rice pudding, so this was a bit of a nostalgia trip... When I scooped it out I thought it was gonna be a little stodgy and heavy, but it was surprisingly light, with a nice creamy bit towards the bottom. Plus the skin, of course. Must do this type more often.

I've been on a bit of a fritter frenzy in the last week or two. Once there's a can of oil on the go, might as well make the most of it and cross off a few things in the 'to-do' folder. Choux beignets... Leche Frita, cubes of vanilla pastry cream coated in breadcrumbs and tossed in cinnamon sugar... Kuih Kodok (Malaysian banana fritters), simply mash together banana, egg, sugar and flour... Ricotta fritters (Nigella Lawson), just ricotta, egg, flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon... Schenkele (Alsatian beignets), which was basically a deep-fried cookie... I liked all of them but, let's face it, you could deep fry a flip-flop and it'd taste good.

The Peanut Butter Sandies in Christina Tosi's 'All About Cookies' caught my eye. The 'flour' in the cookie is Rice Krispies blitzed to a powder... ...but she says you can make it from pretzels, cookies, nuts, or other cereals. So I made some from oats... The difference in thickness is just down to me fiddling around with the bake. I've never had a sandie before and these were a nice alternative to the usual soft and chewy peanut butter cookie. I preferred the slightly grittier (sandier!) Rice Krispie version, but they weren't too dissimilar.

A fruitcake from Raymond Blanc... This contained raisins, cranberries and sour cherries. The batter was made by the reverse creaming method and produced quite a crumbly texture that reminded me of a Gateau Basque. It was good. For anyone who's seen Raymond's television series and remembers "Adaaaam!", there's a cute story to go with the cake... "Once upon a time there was a Cornish woman who loved to cook. Lilian Gladys Johnson was her name. She baked lots of cakes, and one of her favourites was a fruitcake. She called it her 'cut and come again cake', and it sat on a table, but not for long because her family helped themselves, cutting a slice ... and coming again, for another slice, or a pinch of moist crumbs. Well, with all that baking she was lucky to have a helper, her little grandson Adam. It was there, in the kitchen with his grandmother - and with his mother - that young Adam discovered a real enthusiasm for cooking. He grew up to become a chef. The story is sweeter still because I am proud to call Adam Johnson my protégé. I am also honoured to share that recipe for his grandmother's cut and come again cake."

I took a Beetroot and Ginger Cake (Ottolenghi) to a small gathering... It's pretty similar to carrot cake but makes a nice change. You can't really tell from the lighting but the colour of the beetroot is quite vibrant (due to adding vitamin C powder to the batter).

I do not, unfortunately. But I doubt it's anything too fancy. Possibly just a light caramel deglazed with cream, then Poire William liqueur and/or the pear roasting juices mixed in. Something like this, maybe, but sadly no photo.

I saw this ginger cake with pear caramel the other day and thought it looked good. From a Michelin starred restaurant, so feel free to award yourself one if you pull it off.

@ElsieD I don't see why not. Any nut butter would work, I guess. I've never done it myself with this recipe, but have swapped peanut butter successfully for tahini in hummus. @TdeV I increased the tahini to 100g (mine is the dark type). The mix-in were: 125g dates/prunes/dried figs; 50g raisins/dried cranberries; 100g walnuts; 40g dessicated coconut; 50g seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin). I prefer a chewier flapjack so use 225g oats and keep the dried fruit and nuts chunky for a variety of texture. And salt! Double the recipe for a 9 x 13-inch tin.

This jar of tahini won't eat itself so I returned to an old favourite: Halva flapjacks (oat bars)... It's based on a Dan Lepard recipe, but I increase the tahini and stuff it with add-ins, in this instance: dates, figs, prunes, cranberries, raisins, walnuts, coconut, and seeds (sesame, sunflower and pumpkin). They keep well, and if you squint hard enough are almost healthy.

Yup, a dozen 55g (2 oz) cookies. And when is it not a good idea to double a recipe!? 😉

That's the one (although I only had non-jumbo oats and I threw in a few more dates). I rolled 55g of cookie dough into balls. For the thicker ones I flattened them into Ø 6 cm discs and baked at 180C. For the thinner ones I flattened them into Ø 7 cm discs and baked at 160C. They don't spread much. Thanks for the Lebovitz cookies. I shall add them to my adventures in tahini. 🙂

Now that I have a pot a tahini to use up, I took the opportunity to make some tahini and date cookies by Benjamina Ebuehi that had been on my to-do list for a while... They were good, with a nice chew and a pleasant halva flavour. Simple to make and vegan, too, if that's your thing. A couple of adjustments for larger, thinner cookies... But overall I preferred the thicker ones.

Update: I gave some to a colleague who loved it, and her husband said it’s the best cake he’s ever eaten. To be fair, neither knew what tahini was before I told them (!) so they may have simply been dazzled by the novelty, but just goes to show…

It's a pleasant cake, just not quite what I was expecting. The fudginess is partly down to immediately inverting the cake to flatten it. There was a bit of dome so I think I would reduce the leavening next time, or maybe just level it with a knife. The topping is lovely, and the white chocolate chunks in the batter caramelize on the base of the tin... It's very easy to make and something a bit different for a curious baker. Recipe here.

Tahini Cake with Lemon and White Chocolate from Honey & Co at Home... I'm usually a fan of Honey & Co creations but this was a bit of a mixed bag. The topping was delightful (mascarpone, cream cheese, cream, sugar, vanilla, rum). I could've (and did've) eaten it by the spoonful. I was less convinced by the cake, though. It was a little too fudgy and I doubt I would've known it was tahini if I hadn't poured it in myself (the recipe they riffed on was originally peanut butter so perhaps that works better). It was certainly different. Maybe it'll grow on me. Dunno. 🤷‍♂️

Rose Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookie by Thalia Ho... The rose didn't really come through. It might be the brand of rosewater, but I'd definitely have to up it if I bothered again (although it's tricky to judge the balance between 'a hint of' and full-on skin toner).

How to turn stale cake into Danish truffles. (A pinch of salt and a generous hand with the jam and booze won't do you any harm either. 😉)