Sunflower Seed Cake

A golden cake that defines September with a unique mellow flavour and all the sunny celebrations of sunflower seeds. I enjoy making this cake around this time of year as it reminds me, not only of Autumn and the passing of the seasons but of a renewed spirit of reflection and giving thanks.    

      

Sunflower Seed Cake 

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makes 16 squares

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

1 cup superfine sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon maple flavouring

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

2/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and line the bottom and sides of a square cake baking tin.

Place the butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the maple flavouring. 

In another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together; then add the sunflower seeds. Then fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture and alternate adding the sour cream. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tin and smooth the top. 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 to 40 minutes or until well risen and firm. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.   

Caribbean Tropical Fruit Loaf

If you to serve something a bit different this holiday weekend, you may enjoy this super moist and deliciously crumbly Tropical Fruit Loaf. I found this recipe in a pile of recipes I seem to be hoarding. It came for the Guardian newspaper therefore the measurements are in grams you will need to do some conversions or if you have a scale, all the better to put that kitchen scale to use, will make it easier for measuring the ingredients. 

Caribbean Tropical Fruit Loaf

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350g dried tropical fruit (mango, banana, papaya, pineapple)

50g caster sugar

200ml white rum

40g crystallized ginger

half a teaspoon allspice

175g unsalted butter, softened

175g caster sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

50g corn flour

200g plain flour

A handful of toasted coconut curls

Soak the fruit in the rum, sugar and about 200ml boiling water for as much as 3 days and as little as overnight.

Preheat oven to 150ºC/300ºF. Prepare a loaf tin about 10cmx20cm, by lightly buttering and flouring it. I also lined the tin with baking parchment paper.

When it comes to making the cake - drain the fruit, keep the liquid, and roughly chop or blitz in food processor - however do not over blitz into small pieces.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the eggs, one by one until totally incorporated. 

Sift the baking powder, flour and cornflour together and fold into the batter (butter mixture). Now turn in the chopped fruit, leaving a little to sprinkle on top of the cake. 

Tip in the mix, sprinkle over the remaining fruit and put int the middle of the oven on a tray. 

Cook for about 1 hour, until it passes the skewer test and as that's happening reduce the remaining rum syrup on the hob in a little pan to a loose glaze.

Fold in the coconut curls into the brown sticky syrup and then once you've taken the loaf from the tin, spoon gently over the top.

NOTES: I didn't have any crystallized ginger so that was omitted. Also I did not chop the soaked fruit as I like larger pieces of fruit. I added grated orange rind to the batter. And to punctuate the rum flavour I added a dash of rum flavouring. I used British mixed spice as I had no allspice. Cornflour, sometimes in British baking it means cornstarch, however reading the recipe a few times and placing it into context I understood it to be actual cornflour not cornstarch or cornmeal. 

As far as the baking time... you may have to allot for more time. I followed the recipe, 300ºF oven for 1 hour, however found that the loaf was not ready and did not pass the skewer test. Back in the oven it went for another 30 minutes and after that another 15 minutes. The loaf baked for the recipes' initial 1 hour plus an additional 30 minutes plus another 15 minutes equalling 45 minutes; making the total baking time 1 hour and 45 minutes in a 300ºF oven.

And because I felt like it... when the loaf was slightly cooled, with a toothpick I gently poked the top of the loaf and squeezed the juice from half of an orange over the top and then made a simple drizzle icing to go over the the top rather than the syrup that was stated in the recipe.

Have a great long weekend everyone! - JD 

Mug Cakes *Chocolate*

We have all heard of mug cakes and probably have tried to recreate one in a moment of late night noshing or as a sweet tooth pacifier. The very thought of a mug cake ushers an autumnal... wintery feel. They appear easy, as long as you have a few pantry ingredients plus a mug and a microwave. Most of the recipes consist of chocolate. 

This cookbook offers 4 different types of mug cakes... chocolate basics, two-flavours, melt-in-the-middle and swirls. Regardless, all seem quick and easy. In a matter of seconds or a few minutes you have a sweet treat in a lovely mug. What more can be said about mug cake because basically it is cake! just cooked in a microwave rather than an oven. 

Mug cakes are for anyone and everyone and microwave cooking may be a bit unpredictable so having a trial and error attitude is best. Breaking away from the traditional chocolate mug cake, I wanted to share the recipe for  a White Chocolate & Raspberry mug cake with Matcha Green Tea. 

White Chocolate & Raspberry Mug Cake with Matcha Green Tea

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for 1 mug - 5 minutes (prep + cook) - 800 watts

Ingredients:

1 slice of butter 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick (30g/1oz)

6 squares of white chocolate (30g/1oz)

1 egg

2 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar

5 tablespoons s plain all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon matcha green tea 

Middle & Decoration:

5 fresh raspberries

In a mug: 

melt the butter with the chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds (800 watts).  

Beat the mixture until smooth, then allow it to cool slightly. One by one, whisk in the egg, sugar, flour, baking powder and green tea.

Push 4 raspberries into the middle of the mixture. Cook in the microwave for 1 minute 40 seconds (800 watts).

Decorate with 1 raspberry. Allow to cool for 1 minute before eating. 

Although I still prefer to bake an oven cake, here was our attempt at the classic cocoa mug cake. No bad... quite spongy and chocolatey. I anticipate creating more of these in our future.    

Have a great weekend everyone! - JD