Jamaican Buttermilk, Apple and Ginger Cake – resistance is futile !

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An oldie, but a goodie

When the virtue of patience was being dished out, I was too darned impatient to wait in line. If only I’d known...

... You see, the thing with Jamaican Ginger Cake is, that while it takes under an hour from start to finish, it is best wrapped and left for 24 hours for the flavours to develop.

All those spices smell so good. I know from experience that I will probably unwrap a little corner to take a peak - just to make sure the Alchemy is working... (I’ve been know to dig up seeds to see if they have started developing roots yet...).

Before you know it, I’ll be cutting a wee slice - just a taste - and that tiny taste will call for another... the irresistible warmth of the spices... the tender sticky crumb and I’ll never learn just how good it can be when I include that missing ingredient, patience!

Up the ginger quotient by increasing the amount of allspice and fresh ginger to taste. A little finely chopped stem ginger stirred into the batter also heats things up a bit.

Will I be able to resist this time? We’ll see...

For one irresistible 1 x 2lb loaf you will need...

... to preheat the oven to 160˚C

Ingredients

a little butter for greasing a 2lb loaf tin

225g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon of ground allspice* (not mixed spice!)

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon fine table salt 

100g treacle

100g golden syrup

100g dark brown sugar

100g butter

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

125mls buttermilk**

150g unsweetened stewed apple***

1 egg, beaten 

Method

Grease and baseline a 2lb loaf tin (or line with a loaf tin liner).

Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground spices and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Weigh the treacle and golden syrup directly into a medium saucepan and add the sugar, butter, fresh ginger and vanilla extract and place over a low heat just until the butter has melted into the other ingredients. Remove from the heat immediately – at no point should it simmer or boil.

Meanwhile, mix together the buttermilk, stewed apple and beaten egg. Add this mixture to the flour mixture in the bowl and stir with a whisk until combined into a thick batter.

Melt, mix, stir, pour - it's that simple !

Add the warm mixture from the saucepan and whisk until combined into a smooth, fairly runny batter. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and transfer to the preheated oven.

Bake for 40 minutes or until well risen and the surface bounces back when lightly pressed. A cocktail stick inserted in the middle should come out clean, with no crumbs clinging. (Replace in the oven for a further 5 minutes if necessary and test again.)

Leave in the tin until completely cold, then remove from the tin and wrap in a layer of baking paper, then in cling film. Leave for at least 24 hours for the flavours to develop before cutting into thick slices and devouring with a decent cup of tea or coffee.

It is not the most beautiful cake in the world, but a dusting of icing sugar works wonders against the dark crumb of the cake, or you could drizzle with a water icing made according to the instructions on the packet.

 

Not the most beautiful cake in the world. A dusting of icing sugar works wonders !

*Allspice is a gorgeous warm aromatic dried berry – also called Jamaican Pepper – I grind the berries as I need them as they have a longer shelf life than ready ground – and there is the bonus of the lovely aroma they release when crushed.

Mixed spice is ... um... a mixture of spices.

**If you don’t have buttermilk, simply use the same amount of fresh milk to which you have added a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

***For the stewed apple, simply peel, core and slice a large Bramley apple or similar (prepared weight approximately 200g. Place the flesh of the apple in a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water, apple juice or cider. Place over a medium heat. Cover and allow the apple to steam in its own juices – stirring occasionally - for about 15 minutes or until completely soft and the slices of apple can be easily mashed with a fork. Mash to a reasonably smooth puree and leave to cool before using as above.

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Mixed... Spice Up Your Life

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I've been filling the kitchen with the rich warm smell of Mixed Spice a lot lately. It is the baking equivalent of a big fat hug. Mixed Spice is a blend of warm sweet spices which has been used in British and Irish cookery since the early to mid-19th Century. It was widely used by the time The Lancet of January 3, 1852, did a study, calling out more than half the sample group of grocers tested, for adulterating the blend with "farinaceous matter" including sago, wheat and potato flour, among other things. It noted at the time that the adulteration of Mixed Spice was linked to its high value. It features in a lot of Christmas baking, and has become an essential ingredient in Hot Cross Buns (which have been around a few centuries longer).

According to The Lancet, it should - at the very least - contain allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. It can, in addition - contain caraway seed, cayenne pepper, coriander seed, mace and nutmeg.

Here is the combination I use:

1 tablespoon allspice berries

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a fine lump-free powder. Place in a small glass spice jar, and store with the rest of your spices, in a cool dry dark place. 

Essential in Hot Cross Buns (click on link for recipe) and Clootie Dumpling.

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Ginger-roasted Rhubarb Cake with Vanilla Crumble Topping – catch it while you can!

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A sheaf of plump rhubarb has sat pride of place on the kitchen table for the past week. The world is its oyster. It could be anything it wants to be...  but it is just sat there. It needs direction. Here are a few ideas as to what it might become...



The world is my oyster apparently ...

 A career as rhubarb fool would be fun and rather light-hearted, but it looks like serious rhubarb to me.

Perhaps a career as a crumble or a tart? A little too serious maybe - and besides tarts and crumbles are wintery food and look at that beautiful sunshiny day!

Well then, how about rhubarb and vanilla ice cream? Delightful, but it’s only April and while sunshiny, it’s hardly ice cream weather is it? Let’s save that one for another occasion.

I know! This sheaf of rhubarb has everything it takes to become a successful and delectable ginger-roasted rhubarb cake. Oh alright, I’ll throw in a vanilla crumble topping too.

For approximately 10 servings you will need...

Ginger-roasted rhubarb

300g rhubarb, cut into bite-sized pieces

75g Muscovado sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

Sugar and spice - ginger-roasted rhubarb

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

1          Combine all the ingredients in a shallow pie dish and bake for 20 minutes in the pre-heated oven, stirring carefully once or twice during cooking so that the rhubarb is evenly coated in the syrup that is generated. When the cooking time has elapsed, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Meanwhile, prepare the vanilla crumble topping.

Vanilla crumble topping

120g butter, chilled and cut into about 10 cubes

75g plain flour

75g rolled oats

50g Muscovado sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1          Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz in short bursts until roughly combined. Chill until ready to use. (The quantities given make about twice as much crumble topping as you’ll need for this cake but it freezes beautifully for next time.)

2         Next, make the cake batter.

Cake batter

200g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

a pinch of salt

175g caster sugar

100mls sunflower oil

50mls freshly squeezed orange juice (or milk)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or rose water)

2 eggs, beaten

a small knob of butter for greasing the tin

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C

1          Butter and baseline a 23cm (9 inch) sandwich tin.

2          In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine the first 4 ingredients.

3          In a measuring jug or batter bowl, combine the oil, orange juice, vanilla extract and eggs and add to the bowl of dry ingredients, mixing until well combined.

4          Pour half the batter into the prepared tin. Drain any excess syrup from the rhubarb (this is good spooned over ice cream) and scatter the cooled pieces on top of the batter, leaving a small margin around the edges. Spoon the remaining batter on top. Don’t be too fussy about covering up all the rhubarb as you'll be covering it with crumble.

 5         Scatter the crumble mix over the top and bake in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes or until well risen and golden on top. A cocktail stick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.  





Catch me while you can!



This is really good served slightly warm, with a dollop of whipped cream, and is even better the following day when the flavours have had a chance to develop (but it rarely hangs round long enough for that to happen).



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Yaki Gyoza – exceptionally good for the human soul

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From the first moment I tasted Yaki Gyoza, I was addicted. The pan-fried crust of the dumpling wrapper... the succulent filling... the simple dipping sauce, it was love at first bite.

Yaki Gyoza - Japanese for Utterly Delicious

While Gyoza is the Japanese name, these little dumplings are thought to have originated in China more than a thousand years ago, with the first mention in literature describing them as “being exceptionally good for the human soul”.

Living in the depths of beautiful County Wicklow presents a major hindrance to my Gyoza addiction – I live in the-middle-of-nowhere. Well, in the-middle-of-nowhere-near-an-Asian-restaurant-that-serves-these-divine-morsels.

To avoid complete withdrawal, I’ve created a gyoza package – wrappers, filling, sauce – from scratch. I’ve chosen a pork filling. You could use any meat or fish, create a vegetarian version, or even fill them with fresh fruit and deep-fry them for a dessert version.

A haiku: Yaki Gyoza / Also known as potstickers /Always delicious

For approximately 30 dumplings you will need...

Gyoza Wrappers
200g plain flour
75g corn flour
½ teaspoon salt
165 mls boiling water (approximately)

1                 Place the plain flour, corn flour and salt in a stand mixer, with a dough hook*. Slowly add the boiling water, mixing all the time. Keep adding the water and mixing until there is no dry mixture left and the ingredients come together in a soft smooth ball. You may not need all the water, or you may need a little more – it depends on the weather and on the flour you are using. Continue mixing for a further 5 minutes. (*You can mix this with chopsticks, then knead by hand for 5 minutes once the mixture forms a ball but it is pretty labour-intensive).

2                    Cover the dough and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to cool and rest.

3                    What follows is my non-traditional way of making the wrappers, but hey, it works! On a work surface liberally dusted with flour, roll the rested dough out to a thickness of about 3mm (about the thickness of a €1/£1 coin.

4                    Using a 7cm (3”) cookie cutter, stamp out rounds of the dough, then roll these rounds out to approximately 10cm (3 ¾”)  in diameter, making the edges slightly thinner than the centre. This helps keep the dumpling from splitting during cooking. Stack the prepared gyoza wrappers, dusting with flour between layers to prevent them sticking, and wrap in clingfilm. Chill until ready to use.

Gyoza Filling (Pork)

80g cabbage, shredded, finely chopped and sprinkled with ½ teaspoon fine table salt
400g minced pork (ground pork)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 fat cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin or sake
¾ teaspoon fine table salt
a pinch of caster sugar
80g spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
5 dehydrated Chinese mushrooms, soaked in boiling water until soft, then drained and finely chopped
 

On the way to becoming exceptionally good for the soul

1                    First, prepare the cabbage: once you have sprinkled the cabbage with a ½ teaspoon of salt, set aside for about 30 minutes. Then, wrap in a clean tea-towel or cheesecloth and wring the moisture out.

2                    Place the pork in a mixing bowl and add the ginger, and garlic. Mix well – hands are best (if you are squeamish about this task, use food-grade gloves or mix in a stand mixer). Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin/sake, salt and sugar, mixing well between additions. The meat should be a sticky paste.

3                    Add the prepared cabbage, spring onions and mushrooms and mix well. To test the mixture for seasoning, fry a small piece until cooked through, taste and adjust as necessary. Chill the raw mixture until ready to use.

Soy far, soy good

To assemble the gyoza (right-handed instructions - swap obviously if you favour the left)

1                    Sprinkle a tray with flour and fill a small bowl with cold water.

2                    Place a wrapper in your  left hand, so that the edge touches the tips of your fingers. With your right hand, place approximately a teaspoonful of the mixture in the centre of the wrapper. Don’t over-fill or the dumplings will be difficult to seal and will burst during cooking – less is more! Leave a margin of about 1.5cm (½”) around the edge of the wrapper. Moisten the edge with a finger dipped in cold water.

3                    With your right hand, fold the gyoza into a crescent, wedging it open at the top with your index finger. You are now going to pleat one side of the crescent: with your free hand, pinch the left side together. With your right index finger, make a small pleat and with your left thumb and index finger, pinch the pleat, gluing it to the opposite side of the crescent. Continue making small pleats along the edge, pinching them closed until the crescent is completely sealed. The theory is that the pleats allow the filling to expand, making the dumplings less likely to split when cooking. It is probably a good idea to have the kitchen to yourself as you will probably swear profusely during the first few gyoza, but by the 3^rd or 4^th dumpling you will be getting the hang of it. Well done you!

4                    Place the finished gyoza on the floured tray, with the pleats at the top. Cover the tray of finished gyoza and place in the freezer so that the dough has a chance to firm up before cooking – 30 minutes will be sufficient. You could of course transfer the firmed gyoza in a freezer bag and freeze until needed.

We ain't the prettiest gyoza ever, but we're pretty tasty!

Note: If you are utterly confused at this stage, watch this guy. It is easier to do than to explain.

To cook the gyoza: 

1                    My preferred way is to rub the surface of a lidded frying pan with some kitchen paper dipped in a little cooking oil. Pre-heat over a medium heat.

2                    Place the gyoza in the pre-heated frying pan, making sure they don’t touch. Add enough boiling water to the pan to come to a depth of about 3mm. Place the lid on the frying pan and let them cook in the steam for about 5 minutes.

3                    Remove the lid and allow any remaining water to bubble off. Add about 2 tablespoons sesame oil to the pan, lifting each gyoza so that the oil can seep underneath. Let the gyoza sizzle for about 3 minutes or until the base is golden brown. They are ready to eat right now, however I prefer to fry each side for a further minute so that they too are crisp and golden.

Serve immediately with this simple dipping sauce:

Time for a quick dip!

Dipping Sauce (per person)

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar (or wine vinegar)

a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

 

Mix – it really couldn’t be simpler.

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