Simply baking… cakes!

I wish I could get a MPG file of the Simply Baking theme toon.  As soon as it comes on, it makes me bounce more than George Calombaris in the Masterchef kitchen.  I’m going to do a YouTube search.  I need this in my iPod – I think it will go well in a shuffle with Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

Today I am excited to report that Nutter is wearing the bright orange shirt that could well be the one he was wearing in the first episode I ever saw.  He is excited to report that he will be making cakes. With a Nutter twist, of course.

The Nutter magic, after the jump…

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This version of the old classic is described as “light and floofy”, which may well be the twist for all I know. I’ve never had a pineapple upside down cake before, but it must be the day for it. The uncharismatic woman on the show Sugar was making HER twist on this today, using APPricot marmalade. Does everybody say APPricot, and I’m an outlier with my ape-ricot pronunciation? I wonder…  Anyway, back to the business at hand.

110g butter
200g dark brown sugar
half a fresh pineapple
1 can (450g) pineapple rings
12 glace cherries

4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
pinch salt
110g caster sugar
85g flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Melt the butter and then add the sugar with the aim of making a lovely, lovely syrup. The estimated syrup arrival time is one or two minutes, which I think is wildly optimistic. If you’ve studied the opening credit sequence, though, you’ll probably have concluded from Nutter’s madcap expressions -as I have – that he is an optimistic chap. Let’s press on. With some fresh pineapple. Don’t be alarmed by this! It’s just going to be a garnish, as Nutter prefers those canned pineapple rings (which we see nestled alongside some glace cherries – feel free to be alarmed by those).

Here’s a tip for you which makes more sense than the “should be heavy for it’s size” tests of ripeness, which I never do understand having no innate sense of how heavy something should be for it’s size: a ripe pineapple’s leaves will come out fairly easily if you tug on them. I’m not sure how the fruit’n'veg guy will feel if you start yanking on his pineapples, but if you’re discreet you could well get away with a lovely fresh piece of fruit. Of course, I did read recently that a lot of places are now chopping the tops OFF their pineapples. No idea why – perhaps they are easier to crate up that way… or is it part of a sinister plot to fob unripe pineapples onto the punters? Hmm.

Slice off the top and bottom and then remove the skin. Cut the pineapple in half lengthways and then check on your syrup. Slice the pineapple into what looks like 1cm slices and toss in the syrup to warm through, then remove from the syrup.

Nutter tells us that glace cherries are regarded as a little daggy by professional chefs, but he admits to quite liking them. In fact, he raids the cherry stash when he gets the midnight munchies. For reals.

Get your loose-bottomed pan and line it with teflon paper, then place the pineapple rings around the tray. The finishing touch is a cherry in the hole of each ring. He does look a bit embarrassed doing this, or perhaps he’s rueing the fact that his cherry stash is now depleted. Pour the syrup over the pineapples (and cherries!) whilst talking about how you don’t actually do very much baking any more.

Pop your egg yolks in a bowl and whisk in the lime zest. In a separate bowl, whisk up the egg whites with a pinch of salt. Add the caster sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time and whisk until it’s about double in size (he’s not going the full meringue). Nutter is using a hand whisk, but he says we can use a food processor or one of those whisky things, chuckle chuckle. Fold a bit of egg white into the yolks, then pour that back into the whites. Apparently the whites loosen up the yolks and you’re able to get more out of it or something. Look, just follow the instructions and you’ll be fine. Mix the eggs bits together but – again, advice for all situations – DO NOT OVERWORK! Throw in the flour and baking powder, which you have – of course! – sifted already. If you haven’t… you have no business calling yourself a cook. Fold the flour in gently, but make sure you don’t leave any flour pockets. Pour into the tin.

Put it into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until it breaks slightly when you press it (so, don’t press it too much). To ensure your cake turns out properly, pray for the Nutter magic. You probably don’t need to light something flammable with your lighter at home as he does here, though.  It is probably an effect that would have been better off done in post-production.  Having said that, this is not a show where post-production is evident.  Place a plate over the top, turn, and it should be lovely. Decorate with the toffee’d fresh pineapple although, to be honest, I wouldn’t worry too much about this step (and by “this step”, I mean “doing the whole fresh pineapple thing at the beginning” – although you will need the syrup. Seems a bit of a hassle to go through for some garnish around the edges).

= = = = = = = = = = =

The Ultimate Passion Cake

4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
110g dark brown sugar
2 tbsps maple syrup
300ml sunflower oil
170g flour
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp bi-carb soda
450g grated carrots
110g chopped walnuts

Butter cream
300g caster sugar
1-2 tbsp water
4 egg whites
100g butter, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Crack the eggs into a bowl. Put the caster sugar into a pan on the stove with a couple of tablespoons of water. Give it a swirl every so often. Add the vanilla essence, brown sugar and maple syrup to the eggs and beat to combine (he uses an electric hand mixer). Once those ingredients are combined, add the sunflower oil, turn up the speed and mix a bit more. Apologise for the noise of the beaters, and then remember to swirl the pan before it’s… oh, it’s too late.  Never mind.  A bit of burnt sugar never hurt anyone.

Sift the dry ingredients onto a designer plate that is almost as pretty as the shallow bowl that caused so much trouble last week. Add in three batches to the egg and oil mixture – doesn’t that sound unappetising! – folding in gently. Remember to avoid overwork but get rid of flour pockets. Actually, you can mix ruthlessly during this process, apparently.

Test the syrup – you want it to be at the soft-ball stage. Whisk the egg whites until fluffy and talk about the time you worked in the Alps. Make a little glass raising gesture to mime having a few bevvies and reveal that this cake was used as a stomach liner. The ultimate passion cake? I think not. This is a good time to reveal that all this mysterious egg white action is working towards an Italian meringue, which is going to serve as a much less “gaggy” butter-cream than just butter and sugar. While the egg whites are still a-whisking, pour the caramelised sugar syrup slowly into the mixing bowl, but take careful aim; you must pour the syrup over the eggs, not down the sides of the bowl. Got it? Oh, and make sure you don’t use a plastic bowl for this.

Back to the cake. Add the carrots and walnuts to the batter. It will look “a bit strange”, according to Nutter (cat vomit, for anyone who’s ever had cats). Never mind. Just pour it into what looks a bit like a brownie pan, and then pop into the oven. It’s going to take around 45 minutes.

To finish off the butter cream, pop the cubed butter, bit by bit, into the still mixing meringue. The heat of the mixture will melt the butter.

Take the cake out of the oven, turn it out of the tin, and cut it in half. Nutter’s going to freeze one half and serve 5-6 people with the other.

Spoon the butter cream into a piping bag and pipe some rosettes around the edges. Put it in the fridge to solidify the cream. Squeeze some passionfruit over the un-creamed centre “for that extra indulgence”, according to Nutter, or “so that the name Ultimate Passion Cake is not completely false advertising that disguises the fact that this is a carrot cake without sultanas”, according to me.  Enjoy.

Related posts:

1. Simply Baking – souffles (with that Nutter twist)
2. Simply baking – a Nutter, bar none
3. Cheesecakes, with a Nutter twist – Simply Baking

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.