Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar
These fabulous cakes are showstoppers. I served them on pretty plates, with their ruffled parchment paper still attached. Everyone fell in love. Here is my list of recipes to try next: Prawn, pea and potato tagine, Baked goat’s cheese wrapped in walnut pastry with fig relish, and some lovely fruit cakes.
Happy anniversary, Lea and Howie.
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Strawberry ricotta cakes
There should be a word to describe the way the soft texture of this cake matches the flavour of the vanilla, strawberries and almonds in it. But that word doesn’t exist, so the only way to know how incredibly good this cake tastes is to go into the kitchen and make it. If you come up with a word for it, drop us a line.
For the best results, pull all the cake ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before you start. It will make your baked cakes fluffier and tastier.
115 g / 4 oz butter
125 g / 4 1⁄2 oz / generous 2⁄3 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
2 tbsp cornflour or potato flour
175 g / 6 oz / 1 3⁄4 cups ground almonds
200 g / 7 oz / scant 1 cup ricotta
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
1 lemon zest a pinch of salt
400 g / 14 oz / 4 cups strawberries
2 tbsp vanilla sugar (made from mixing sugar with the empty vanilla pod)
Makes 6 small, 9-cm / 3 1⁄2-inch individual cakes, or you can use a 22-cm / 8 3⁄4-inch round tin for a single large cake
1. Heat your oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/gas mark 5. Line the cake tins with baking paper (we like to use a circle of baking paper pushed into each tin).
2. Use a large flat spoon or a mixer with a paddle attachment to cream the butter and the sugar together until fluffy and creamy. Slowly add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add the cornflour, ground almonds, ricotta, seeds from the vanilla pod, lemon zest and salt, and mix well to form a smooth batter.
3. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and gently fold into the cake batter till well combined. Transfer the batter into your pre-lined tins – about 120 g / 4 1⁄4 oz in each.
4. Remove the green stems from the strawberries and, depending on their size, cut into halves or quarters. Arrange them in a formation on top of each cake and sprinkle with the vanilla sugar. Place the tins on a tray in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes, then rotate the tray and bake for a further 10 minutes before serving.
5. These cakes can be served warm straight from the oven or kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. Bring back up to room temperature to serve.
Excerpted with permission from Honey & Co. at Home by Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich, Photography by Patricia Niven (Pavilion).
Tracey Zabar's Chocolate Chip Sweets: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes is available here.
A delectable collection of innovative chocolate chip recipes by world-renowned chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers
Tracey Zabar's One Sweet Cookie Cookbook is available here.
A delicious collection of cookie recipes from extraordinary chefs, pastry chefs, and bakers. A great gift sure to delight anyone who loves to bake.
