BEST CAKE

Marian Burros's Italian Plum Torte, from the NYT via Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients:

4 oz (1 stick) butter, softened

3/4 c sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

4.75 oz (1 c) AP flour

1 t baking powder

large pinch salt

12 Italian plums, halved and pitted

2 T granulated sugar

1 t ground cardamom

Methodology:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8" square glass dish.

Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add eggs and mix thoroughly.  

Mix dry ingredients and stir into wet ingredients.  Spread evenly in dish and cover with fruit, pressing into batter slightly.  Sprinkle with sugar and cardamom.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until golden and puffed.

RHUBARB SHRUB

 From Christina Chaey's Gentle Foods Substack newsletter

Ingredients:

2 c rhubarb stalks, sliced 1/2" thick, divided

1 c (200 g) sugar

1/4 c water

1 c vinegar (sherry or rice)

Methodology:

Place half the rhubarb in a heatproof bowl.

Combine the remaining rhubarb, sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to simmer over high heat, stirring occasionally.  Scrape mixture into heatproof bowl with remaining rhubarb and stir to combine. 

Let the mixture sit at room temperature for a few hours, stirring occasionally. 

Add vinegar and stir to combine.  Taste and add more sugar or vinegar as you please - it should be equal parts sweet and tart.  Cover the container and chill mixture for at least 24 hours, up to 3 days, until you're happy with the flavor. 

Strain the shrub and store for up to 6 weeks, refrigerated.  The solid pieces of rhubarb are great for snacking or stirred into yoghurt. 

Serve by stirring a few teaspoons into a glass of seltzer. 

SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE

Recipe adapted from The Wednesday Chef

Makes approx. 6 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

6 Seville oranges, well scrubbed.  Weigh in grams and note the weight.
Approx. 980 g granulated sugar, or the same weight as the oranges
2 vanilla beans, cut in half lengthwise and seeds scraped
1 Meyer lemon, juiced


Methodology:

Cut the oranges in half, and juice through a mesh strainer into a large, non-reactive pot.  Remove the pips from the strainer and tie up in a cheesecloth bundle.  Place the bundle in the juice-filled pot.  Scrape out the remaining fruit pulp from the strainer and add to the pot.

Cut each orange half into thirds, and then cut those strips width-wise as thin or thick as you'd like.  Place these in the pot as well.  Top with water in the same weight as the oranges, or approx. 1 liter.  Leave to soak overnight, or up to 24 hours.

Bring the pot to a boil and simmer gently with the lid on for around 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or until the peel is soft and nearly translucent, stirring occasionally.  Remove the cheesecloth bundle and squeeze well to remove any remaining juice.

Pour the sugar and lemon juice into the pot and simmer, lid off, until the marmalade reaches 218°F.  Mix in the vanilla seeds, then cut the pods into 3 or 4 segments each and add them into the pot.  Stir well.  Pour into sterilized jars, making sure each jar has a piece of vanilla bean, and tighten the lids.  Turn upside-down and leave to seal on the counter for 12 hours.  Once sealed, clean off the jars, label and store. 


To sterilize jars:

Wash with hot water and soap.  Rinse and allow to dry.  Place upright on a baking sheet in a 275°F oven for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, boil the lids for 5 minutes.

BERGAMOT OLIVE OIL CAKE with RHUBARB COMPOTE

A 2/3-volume recipe adapted from food52.com's Maialino's Olive Oil Cake

(volume adapted to fit in a standard loaf pan)

Ingredients:

Loaf        9" round

167 g       250 g       flour

233 g       350 g       sugar

1 t           1 1/2 t      kosher salt

1/4 t        1/4 t         baking soda

1/2 t        1/2 t         baking powder

142 g        285 g       olive oil*
2              3              eggs

203 g        305 g       milk

1 t            1 1/2t       citrus zest

40 g          60 g         bergamot (or orange) juice, ~ 1/2 fruit

40 g          60 g         limoncello

Methodology:

Heat the oven to 350°F.  Grease a standard loaf pan and fashion a sling out of parchment paper to cover the bottom and sides.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, soda and powder together.  Transfer to a small bowl.  In the large bowl, whisk the eggs and olive oil together to emulsify.  Add the milk, zest, juice and liquor.  Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.  Run a knife around the edges of the pan and lift the cake out by the parchment sling and cool.  Serve sliced with fruit compote or ice cream.

*The first time I made this, it seemed almost ludicrously (albeit deliciously) oily.  I have since successfully reduced the oil to 142 g (which is 2/3 of 1 c of oil, rather than the original 190 g, which is 2/3 of 1 1/3 c oil).  The cake is still very moist.


CITRUS GLAZE:

1/2 t organic blood orange zest
2 T blood orange or bergamot juice
1 T limoncello
1/4 c powdered sugar, sifted

Mix all ingredients and pour slowly over the cake.

ROASTED RHUBARB COMPOTE:

Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients:

2 lb rhubarb, ends trimmed and cut into 2" segments*

1/2 c red or white wine

2 t vanilla

1/2 c sugar

Methodology:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Place the fruit pieces into a 9" square glass baking dish.  Pour over the wine and vanilla, and sprinkle with the sugar.

Roast until very tender, about 30 minutes.  Don't stir, as this will break up the fruit.

Set aside until cooled to room temperature, then serve over the above cake or ice cream.  Store the fruit and syrup together in a jar in the fridge.

*or a mixture of rhubarb and whole strawberries, equalling 2 lbs.