punge

cherry jam

It's a sad fact that cherry trees in the UK are in decline, we've lost 90% of our cherry orchards in the last 50 years and now import 95% of the cherries we eat. I've had a good look around where I live, and sadly, most of the cherry trees are ornamental, yielding little or no fruit, and the fruit it brings is incredibly sour. Luckily, near where Nick's parents live there are a few very good places for cherry foraging, so this weekend we went a-raiding and came away with about 3kg of delicious, delicious cherries. We've saved about 30 seeds and plan to plant them up, then out, when it looks like they can fend for themselves.

With so many cherries we had meant to make jam, freeze some for cherry liquor, and some for tarts and pies. We got a bit carried away though and saved very few for liquor, and started making jam with the rest before we remembered the tart and pie plan. Oh well, guess we'll just have to go back and collect some more...

I've calculated the ingredients on a "per kilo of fruit" basis. Should work with any soft fruits.

Cherry Jam, makes ~1.3 litres, 2.3 pints

Ingredients

1kg (2.2lbs) cherries, de-stoned weight

770g sugar
1 sachet (13g) pectin

115ml (1/2 cup) water

35ml (2tbsp and 1tsp) lemon juice

Method

Place a small plate in the freezer, this will be used later to test whether the jam has reached setting point.

To sterilise your jars, immerse them in boiling water before drying in the oven on a low heat (~130°C, gas mark 1-2, 260°F) for approximately 10 minutes. Sterilise the (metal) ladle, funnel and/or perspex measuring jug you will use for pouring the jam into the jars in the same way.

Bring the fruit, water and lemon juice to the boil in a large saucepan and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until the fruit is tender.

Reduce the heat and add the sugar and pectin, stirring until dissolved.

Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a rolling (rapid) boil. Boil for 20-30 minutes.

To test readiness, spoon a teaspoon of the jam onto the chilled place and place in the fridge for 1 minute.

Remove plate from fridge and push your finger through the jam. If the jam in front of your finger wrinkles and generally feels jammy, it's ready, otherwise give it another 5 minutes boiling time and test again, repeating until setting point is reached. Remove the froth/scum on the surface with a spoon - this will result in a clear jam with a much nicer texture.

Pour into your sterilised jars, et voila! Jam!

cherry liquorice cupcakes

Apparently it was national cherry day 3 days ago (16th July), something that was drawn to my attention by the botanical baker blog. As it happens, we had foraged some cherries that were sitting happily in the freezer only a few days before that. I love cherries, and I'm really looking forward to more foraging this weekend in a spot in Lincolnshire we know to be fantastic, and the jam-making that follows.

I don't know where the idea came from but I was convinced that cherries and liquorice should go well together. This proved to be yet another combination that, when suggesting it to Nick, was met with a pause, a confused-disgusted look, and a quiet escape of "um...". But I have faith. Scouring the internet for liquorice/cherry cake recipes I wasn't that surprised that I couldn't find the combination already there. Nor was I surprised that liquorice cupcakes do, most commonly, contain liquorice. But I don't have liquorice at home and it's rare that I want to go shopping, especially as my car's MOT has expired and isn't booked in for its test 'till Tuesday, which it'll probably fail so miserably that it'll be sayonara to Mike II. But I digress.

Apple & Spice mentioned that liquorice cake using melted/disolved liquorice has a treacle flavour to it, so I figured that using treacle should imbibe a liquorice taste too. Sweetapolita.com described an aniseed extract frosting that didn't repel the liquorice-haters but was satisfying liquorice-y for it's admirers.

Sweetapolita also nicely links liquorice with almonds, which everyone knows goes well with cherries. I felt a mix of treacle and star anise (I know star anise isn't the same thing as aniseed, but both have a liquorice taste) would be the best way to go to avoid the treacle making the cake too dense and sticky but give it enough moisture.

I couldn't decide between a liquorice cake with cherry frosting, or a cherry cake with cherry jam filling and a star anise frosting. I actually started preparing the star anise-infused milk for the frosting before changing my mind and using it for the sponge instead. So here it is, my non-liquorice liquorice cake with cherry frosting. The recipe is for 6 cupcakes, as I have a tendency when trying out recipes to decrease the batter to the minimum possible (i.e. 1 egg's-worth), so multiply up for your "needs"! If you want to make an 8" cake instead of cupcakes then triple the quantities given below (both for the batter and frosting), baking for the same amount of time as cupcakes in two sandwich tins.

This cake is light and airy yet moist, and while some people can't taste the anise at all (freaky taste-buds, Andy!), for others it's quite pleasantly noticeable. Either way, everyone who's tried it has loved it, including two non liquorice-lovers! Enjoy!

Lydia's cherry liquorice cupcakes
(suitable for liquorice-haters!) makes 6

Ingredients
Cake Batter
60g (2oz) margarine or butter
60g (2oz, 1/4 cup) caster sugar
1tbsp treacle (blackstrap molasses)
1 large egg
1 tsp almond extract
115g (3/4 cup) self-raising flour
60ml (1/4 cup) milk (or 40ml = 2tbsp+2tsp milk if you have an electric grinder for the star anise)
1 star anise, ground (~1.5tsp ground), if you don't have a grinder, use 2-3 star anise

Cherry Frosting
90g (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
180g icing (1 cup confectioner's) sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
1tbsp kirsch/cherry liquor (cherry juice/flavouring/extract should also work)
40g fresh/tinned cherries (stoneless weight, approx 20 small cherries), chopped

With a swirly frosting as pictured, you should still have some frosting left at the end, so you can get away with decreasing the quantities slightly. If you're doing a thinner coating of frosting (i.e. spreading it on) you can get away with making just half of the frosting quantity.

Method
If you have an electric grinder, grind your star anise to a fine powder and set aside and ignore the simmering milk stage. Otherwise, simmer the star anise in the milk for 10 minutes and allow to steep, cooling, for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 160°C (electric/fan, 180°C gas - mark 4, 320-350°F).
Line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases / line 2 8inch sandwich tins with greaseproof paper or grease with butter and coat with flour (if you have springform tins).

Beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat to incorporate.
Fold in the flour (with the ground star anise if you had a grinder), then the treacle, almond extract and 40ml (2tbsp and 2tsp) of the milk (remove whole star anise if used, you can strain out the ground star anise if you wish, but it's not necessary).
Divide among the cases and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the centre of the cake(s) are firm and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool fully before frosting - for the cake, cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before transferring, upside-down, on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.
Add all the liquid (if your cherries have seeped liquid, then add this too but subtract the amount from the amount of kirsch you add so that the total volume of liquid added does not exceed 1tbsp and 1/2 tsp, otherwise the frosting will be too runny, and is very likely to curdle) and the chopped cherries before beating again until incorporated. Be careful not to overbeat the frosting as it will become runny.

Yum!

cold-brew coffee cake

With a small tub's worth of last week's frosting surviving the week's biscuit needs, salted caramel buttercream was always going to be the frosting of choice for this week's adventure. And having come across the idea of cold-brew coffee a few months ago, I've been meaning to try a batch for a long time. Cold-brew coffee is brewed over 12-24 hours at room temperature before use, and because no hot water comes into contact with the coffee grounds, the acids aren't leached into the liquid, resulting in a much smoother taste, and fewer gastric side effects. For those interested in the caffeine content, cold-brew coffee also contains less caffeine than hot-brewed coffee gram for gram. The main reason for cold-brewing coffee over hot-brewing and then cooling is that coffee that's gone cold tastes rank, owing to the bitter acidic compounds that are extracted with hot water. So for a decent iced coffee, this is the way. I'm not sure it matters as much if you're using it in a cake, especially as the subtler flavours in coffee that you get to taste with the cold-brew method, were you to drink it instead of bake it, are masked by the other cake ingredients. I've certainly used hot-coffee-gone-cold in cakes before and not had any problems with it, but hey, I was making some anyway.

The first attempt at this cake ended up with a very subtle coffee flavour, especially delicious straight from the fridge with slightly hardened frosting. Personally I wanted something more unmistakably coffee-ee, which the second batch was, though it mellowed over the next day. The recipe is for the full strength cake, but if you prefer a weaker version, decrease the amount of coffee used throughout the recipe by half. This cake has a couple more stages in it's making than other cakes - the cake is drizzled in a coffee/sugar syrup mixture which needs to be made beforehand and cooled, and the salted caramel frosting requires the caramel to be made and cooled beforehand too. It's worth it though.

Best a day after baking and frosting, and I imagine it would only get better over the next few days, but I can't personally vouch for that.

Lydia's Cold-Brew Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake Batter
120g (5oz) butter
300g (1 1/3 cups) caster sugar
2 eggs
120ml (1/2 cup) coffee (see below)
240ml (1 cup) plain yogurt
300g (2 cups) plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Coffee
Cold-brew method: 300ml (1 1/4 cups) coffee grounds, 300ml water
or hot-brew-gone cold method: 240ml (1 cup) coffee grounds, 300ml off-the-boil water
or 240ml (1 cup) coffee made with espresso powder/wholebean instant coffee powder, I'd make double strength from what the manufacturer recommends as a starting point.

Sugar Syrup
60ml (1/4 cup, 4 tbsp) caster sugar
60ml water

Salted Caramel Frosting
125g (scant 2/3 cup) caster sugar
60ml (1/4 cup, 4 tbsp) water
80ml double cream or cream substitute like Elmlea
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g (10oz, 2 1/2 sticks, 1 1/4 cup) unsalted butter - softened (if you haven't the time to let it soften at room temperature, you can cut it up into small cubes and whisk it with a hand held mixer, or beat it in a standing mixer until softened)
300g (1 1/2 cups) icing/confectioner's sugar

Method
To make the cold-brew coffee, mix the grounds and the water, let stand for 10 minutes and mix again. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours (I had time for a 15 hour wait) then strain and pass through a muslin cloth/cheese cloth to strain out the silty muck.

If making hot-brew-gone-cold method, brew as normal and leave to cool.

For the sugar syrup, bring the sugar and water to the boil in a pan while stirring to dissolve. Leave to cool.

To make the drizzle for the cakes, combine 1/4 cup (60ml, 4 tbsp) of sugar syrup with 1/4 cup of the coffee (if making the weaker version of the cake, make the drizzle up as described here, but use only half of it).

Preheat the oven to 170ºC, (325ºF, gas mark 3, electric oven, 180ºC - 350ºF gas 4 for gas oven).
Line two 8 inch tins with paper (a butter/oil and flour coating doesn't work quite so well for this cake).
Whisk the butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in the eggs.
Add coffee and beat until smooth. It will be very runny at this stage.
Add half the flour and mix well before adding half the yogurt.
Repeat with the remaining flour and yogurt.
Add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar, and beat well.
Divide whatever batter avoids death by immediate eating between the two prepared baking tins and bake for 45-55 minutes (now's a good time to make the frosting), until the centres spring back and a skewer comes out clean. It'll have a fizzing sound when baked if you listen closely.

Immediately skewer it all over and pour the syrup/coffee mixture over the cakes (1/4 cup, 4 tbsp, for each layer. If you're making the weaker version of the cake, use only 2 tbsp per layer).
Allow to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack, upside down, to finish cooling.

For the salted caramel frosting, dissolve the caster sugar in the water over a low heat, before turning the heat up and cooking for 2-3 minutes. The caramel will be bubbling, slightly golden in colour, and thickened. Slowly pour in the cream while stirring - be careful as it will splatter. Once mixed, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt and allow to cool. Whisk the butter with the icing sugar until light and fluffy, then add the cooled caramel and blend until just combined.

To assemble, sandwich the two cake layers together with frosting, and cover with a thin layer. Refrigerate for about an hour before adding a second, thicker layer of frosting. This 2-stage process gives a "crumb coating" and will help prevent stray cake crumbs from appearing on the outside of the cake. It's not strictly necessary, but it does look neater, especially with such a crumbly sponge.

Enjoy chilled, with yet more coffee, either brewed the normal way, or using what remains of the cold-brewed coffee, diluted around 1:4 with cold water/ice/milk and a dash of sugar syrup to taste.

salted caramel coconut cake

Following on from last week's warm spice cake with black pepper in the frosting, I really wanted to make a salt and pepper cake this week, admittedly because I think it sounds cool. I think it'll taste awesome too, think spicy gingerbread topped with salted caramel frosting. Mmmmm. I don't know why I didn't go for that in the end, perhaps because the weather in the UK is finally starting to look like the July it is and a gingerbread/caramel combination is a bit too wintry for right now. In any case I had salted caramel on my mind, and with the allotment bursting with strawberries, something was calling me to combine the two together. In my mind, the sponge could basically go one of two ways to support such a flavour combination without overpowering it, either a plain vanilla sponge (not really my style), or coconut. Coconut it is :)

So here it is, a somewhat cacophonous sounding combination of flavours - coconut cake topped with salted caramel buttercream and balsamic vinegar & pepper-glazed strawberries. The flavours combine exceedingly well, each subtly announcing its presence before bowing out to allow another flavour to come in and say "Hi!". I'm glad it happened, I think it's lovely, and will go very nicely with a good cup of Earl Grey.

Lydia's Salted Caramel Coconut Cake
Ingredients
Cake batter
3 eggs
175g (0.8 cups) caster sugar
125g (1 scant cup) plain flour
190g (2 scant cups) shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting
125g (scant 2/3 cup) caster sugar
60ml (1/4 cup, 4 tbsp) water
80ml (1/3 cup) double cream or cream substitute like Elmlea
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g (10oz, 2 1/2 sticks, 1 1/4 cup) unsalted butter - softened (if you haven't the time to let it soften at room temperature, you can cut it up into small cubes and whisk it with a hand held mixer, or beat it in a standing mixer until softened)
300g (1 1/2 cups) icing/confectioner's sugar

Filling & Topping
150g (~1/2 cup) strawberry jam
7 medium strawberries, cut into chunks
2 tsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar
4-5 twists black pepper (freshly ground)

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C / Gas 4 - electric oven, slightly higher if using gas).
Line two 8 inch pans (for springform pans, a light brushing with vegetable/sunflower/canola oil and coating of flour will be fine, otherwise line with greaseproof paper).

Place eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk over a simmering pan of water (make sure the water level is low enough that it doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl) until thick, creamy and the whisk leaves a trail when lifted out.

Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract and continue whisking for 2-3 more minutes.

Gently fold in the flour and coconut with a metal spoon, being very careful not to over-blend - otherwise the cakes won't rise well and will turn out quite chewy. Don't worry too much if you do overdo it though, it'll still taste delicious, it'll just give your jaw more of a workout!

Divide the mixture between the two pans, levelling with the spoon. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until firm to the touch.

Cool in tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks (upside-down) to finish cooling.

To make the buttercream, dissolve the caster sugar in the water over a low heat, before turning the heat up and cooking for 2-3 minutes. The caramel will be bubbling, slightly golden in colour, and thickened.

Slowly pour in the cream while stirring - be careful as it will splatter. Once mixed, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt. Allow to cool (you can pour the salted caramel sauce onto a plate and place in the fridge or freezer - this will take about 5-10 minutes to cool sufficiently).

Whisk the butter with the icing sugar until light and fluffy, then add the cooled caramel and blend until just combined. I find that if using a standing mixer, it's best to turn the mixer off and add the caramel to the buttercream in one go before continuing to blend, otherwise the caramel gets caught on the paddle and doesn't mix into the buttercream as quickly, which can result in a runny, over-beaten frosting.

To assemble the cake, spread the jam over one layer of cake, top with a generous dollop of salted caramel buttercream and place the other layer on top. The sponge itself can be quite dry as it's meringue based, so it can afford a really generous filling! For the smoothest finish, cover the cake in a thin layer of buttercream and allow this to set in the fridge for ~30 minutes before covering the cake again in the remaining buttercream. This first layer acts as a "crumb coat" and prevents cake crumbs from "spoiling" the smooth appearance of the finished cake. This is mostly important if you've had to trim the cakes in any way, but if you're not bothered by a super-smooth finish, then you can bypass this step and coat the cake in one, thicker layer of buttercream.

Combine the strawberries with the sugar, balsamic vinegar and pepper, and spoon over the top of the cake, drizzling with the rest of the balsamic glaze that clings to the bottom of the bowl. You can also sprinkle the top of the cake with some more sea salt to add a pleasantly salty crunch.

Tuck in!

warm spice cake

Two of my nephews are graduating from university this year, and both from the fair city of Bristol, which is one of several awesome cities on the planet. The family descended on Bristol this past weekend for a celebratory gathering, and as is tradition, everyone brought a dish with them to share. In honour of one of my graduating nephews having spent some time in Sri Lanka recently, I wanted to make a chai latte cake, with a cardamom-based sponge topped with chai-spice buttercream. With its warm notes of cinnamon, ginger and cloves, evoking a "snuggle in an armchair" mood particularly apt for the wet and cold summer the UK is currently knuckling down through, what's not to love? There are many variations in the spices used in Indian chai-wallah, and it varies from region to region, so there's a lot of scope for experimentation. I liked the sound of using black pepper, to bring out a fiery note, and because it's just plain cool to say "oh yeah, there's pepper in the frosting."

As it turns out, what I came up with didn't taste chai-ee or latte-ee at all, and certainly not reminiscent of any sort of hot beverage when presented next to my niece's ridiculously good coffee macaroons, but rather took on a life of its own. I was slightly concerned that the spices were overpowering and would not be well received, but the praise just kept on coming! It turns out that this recipe's a winner, and boy am I stuffed now.

This cake is best described as a warm spice cake, with very strong cardamom and clove overtones (the amounts of these spices could easily be reduced if you want more input from the other spices). It's best served with a hot mug of coffee or tea, and enjoyed nesting down in a plush armchair with a good book.

Lydia's Warm Spice Cake
Ingredients
Cake batter
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (if you're grinding it fresh, about 30 pods should do it)
1 2/3 cups (360g) caster sugar
2 cups (275g) plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8oz (200g) butter/baking margarine (I use Stork) - butter at room temperature and unsalted
1/2 cup (125ml) milk (I use skimmed - 1% fat, but any sort is fine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs, lightly beaten

Frosting
1 brown tea bag, steeped in about 100ml fresh-off-the-boil water, for about 10 minutes
~2 tbsp milk
2 1/2 cups (500g) icing sugar (confectioner's sugar in the US)
14oz (350g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tbsp + 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp + 1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground black pepper (not so finely ground that it looks brown, if you have very finely ground pepper I suggest you start with just 1 tsp and adjust from there based on your own taste).
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C / Gas 2 - electric oven, slightly higher if using gas).
Line two 8 inch pans (for springform pans, a good rub with butter and coating of flour will be fine, otherwise line with greaseproof paper).

Combine cardamamom, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in the mixer bowl, then beat in the butter, milk and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Continue to beat while adding the eggs.

When just combined, pour into the two prepared tins and bake for ~45 minutes, until the top is lightly browned, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. The cake shouldn't wibble - if it does, it's not done yet. You'll also know it's perfectly done when there's a fizzing sound (like a glass of soda) if you listen closely.

Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes, then turn out, upside-down, onto wire racks to finish cooling. It also helps to place in the fridge for an hour or overnight (or freezer for half an hour if you're in a rush) before cutting and frosting.

To prepare the frosting, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the spices and vanilla extract.

Make up the tea-infused water with enough milk to yield 120ml (scant 1/2 cup) and, once cooled, slowly add to the frosting while beating. If the mix starts to curdle, stop adding the liquid and add a little more icing sugar, about 1/4 cup (50g).

To assemble the cake, level the tops of the cakes with a sharp knife if necessary (which it might not be, if you let them cool upside-down), and slice each cake layer in two. Sandwich your now-four-layer-cake together using the frosting, and finish off by covering the top and sides with frosting too. If you're piping rose-swirls as I've done here, you'll probably need all the frosting, otherwise cover and refrigerate any that remains for naughtiness with cookies at a later date.

Enjoy!

lacy bakes

This year, Nick's grandparents celebrate their 60th anniversary. His family are scattered as far as Sweden and San Fran (ridiculously cool I know, and we've taken much advantage of this, spending time in such amazing places with the most amazing people!), so getting everyone together for such a momentous event is not easy. But most of the family was able to get together earlier this year and I was honoured to be asked to bake a cake for Pat and Arthur. As it was such a special occasion, we wanted an elegant cake that would be a showstopper in itself, so we opted for a two-tiered affair in white. Knowing they were firm favourites, the top tier was red velvet cake, and the bottom carrot cake, both from The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook, with a white chocolate buttercream. Searching for wedding cake inspiration uncovered this lacy number on Belle Amour, and it was love at first sight. I mean, look at the detailing, all those beautiful hours of love spent toiling over this magnificent cake, the texture screaming "touch me! STROKE ME!!!", and no matter how many other tabs I opened and liked the look of, this one kept calling me back. How hard could it be, right? As it turns out, it's not as hideously complicated as at first it looked, but my god does it take a lot of time. I have a tendency to underestimate the time required for almost every cake I bake, but it's not something that's ever bothered me. Until 2am, and the hundredth-or-so plunge of the cutter onto the icing, when my fingers were screaming in agony, and only half the cake was done. In these dark moments it's hard not to give up and just eat the thing, or at the very least have a design rethink and claim that "half-finished" is a very real style (and, incidentally, very fashionable). But the sugar-induced headache was already raging and, by pure coincidence, so would be the sugar-induced insomnia, and I was sort of nearly there anyway...

3am rolled by and I'd reached a stage where the cakes could be packed up, leaving the last bit of detailing between the tiers and around the base until the next evening when we arrived at Nick's parents, helped along with a glass or two of wine. The cake was topped off with a few sprigs of sugarpaste lily of the valley, which Pat had worn in her hair for the wedding all those years ago. Sadly these weren't handmade as it was too short notice, but the store-bought ones (from The Craft Company, but not currently available) worked well.

I knew it was all worth it when someone squealed "she MADE that?!!". Happy days :)

For Pat and Arthur, thanks for being an inspiration to us all.

P.S. This cake works well in the most unlikely of colours too, a friend requested this Jonathan Saunders (S/S12, so I'm instructed) -inspired combo for her birthday last month, in her favourite red velvet / white chocolate buttercream pairing. The simplified lace effect was much quicker, and just as nommy!

pistachio petit-four cake

On Saturdays and Sundays, Nick and I typically spend the mornings fighting the aphid population on the pepper plants in the greenhouse on our allotment, and trying to mouse-proof the very same greenhouse. So far, on both counts, we've failed. One thing we've finally learned though, is that after a morning at the allotment, a mug of coffee (tea in Nick's case) and slice of cake is even more welcome than normal, though it's kind of embarrassing to admit that it's taken me this long to figure out that this means that baking needs to happen on Friday night, otherwise it's a trip to Earlsdon Co-Op, and nice though Co-Op cakes are, they're no match for home-made beauties. So on Friday I hunted down a couple of mouth-watering recipes and ruthlessly cut them down to one - THE one, THE cake of this weekend, and THE one I absolutely wanted to make. Pistachio petit-four cake, from Sky High, via Smitten Kitchen, with a pistachio sponge layered with apricot conserve, marzipan and dark chocolate ganache, and topped with more of the very same. Yummy sounding and nothing to do with it being the only one I had all the ingredients for, honest.

I was SO looking forward to this cake, I love pistachios and marzipan. Based on comments on Smitten Kitchen I decreased the ganache amount and used a combination of 70% chocolate and plain chocolate, and made a top-coat for a smooth finish, using a white chocolate ganache, to lighten the flavour contribution from the chocolate. And actually, despite my worry that the chocolate would still be too rich and overpower the pistachio-marzipan combination, it really paired very well with the sponge, and added a satisfying stickiness to the final slice. And this cake gets better with age, if it lasts that long...

If there was one improvement I could make, I think that next time I'll substitute the ganache filling/topping for a buttercream, laced with ginger syrup, to lighten and sharpen the overall texture and flavour. It's a personal choice though as I've never been a massive fan of ganache, but I'll see whether Nick's "Mmmmm, mmnice" expert judgement goes up a rank or two with the buttercream substitution before deciding which version makes it into my repertoire (though who am I kidding, if I prefer the buttercream, it's going in).

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