British Food

victoria sponge cake with lemon curd

January 23, 2012

 

Victoria Sponge Meyer Lemon Curd 650

What to do with some of that meyer lemon curd you made last week? Why put it in a cake of course!

I spent many a sneaky moment last week with my head buried in the fridge swiping spoonfuls of lemon curd straight from the jar. It’s that good, I needed no vehicle other than my trusty spoon.

But as delicious an activity as that was, I thought I might should find a more imaginative way to consume the second jar tucked away in my fridge. And so…cake!

This is a fun and delicious twist on the classic Victoria sponge cake (which is sandwiched with cream and jam). Instead of adding vanilla to the batter, I used a teaspoon of lemon zest although I don’t think the vanilla would go amiss now that I think of it. You could also use a teaspoon of lemon extract though honestly, the lemon curd provides all the tangy zing you need.

Victoria Sponge with Lemon Curd 650

Victoria Sponge Cake with Lemon Curd

Ingredients

  • knob of butter, melted
  • 1 cup (8oz) butter, softened
  • 1 cup (8oz) sugar
  • 4 large free-range eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 cup (8oz) all-purpose flour, sifted (you may need a bit extra)
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Lemon curd, for the filling
  • Powdered sugar, to dust

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Gently heat the knob of butter in a pan and brush two 8 inch cake tins with the melted butter. Line the bottom of the two cake tins with a circle of greaseproof paper.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, using an electric whisk or a wooden spoon. Beat well to ensure you get lots of air into the mixture.
  3. Beat in the eggs one at a time. You want to avoid the mixture curdling, so that it stays airy. If it does curdle, add a tbsp of flour. Add the lemon zest and stir gently to combine.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients using a large metal spoon (this will cut into the mixture better than a wooden spoon). Be careful not to over-mix it. Pour the mixture equally between the two cake tins and level.
  5. Place in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cakes are well-risen, spring back when pressed gently with a finger and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place onto a wire rack and let cool completely, about an hour.
  6. Spread a thick layer of lemon curd on top of one of the cakes and sandwich the other on top. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

perfect roast potatoes

December 21, 2011

In British households the roast potato is king at Christmas. No other cooking method can live up to the shining glory of a great roast spud.

I had a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the whole mashed potato at Thanksgiving thing, because in many other respects Thanksgiving dinner looks like the British Christmas dinner. Why were people eschewing the roastie?! I couldn’t wrap my head around it. But it’s okay. You can have your T-Day mash if I can have my Chrimbo roast potato.

If you can’t tell already, I’ve been thinking a LOT about this recently. Christmas is a-coming and Dan and I have been charged with planning two Christmas dinners, which we’re mightily excited about. You could say I’ve got my game face on when it comes to serving up really good roasties.

So, what makes a great roast potato? To me it must be fluffy on the inside and wonderfully crisp on the outside.

There are a few secrets I’ve discovered to really perfect roast potatoes:

> par-boil your potatoes for just a couple of minutes so they’re nice and fluffy before you begin.

> give them a vigorous shake as you drain them which will help the fluffiness, as will dusting them with a teaspoon or two of flour.

> make sure your oil or fat of choice is really, really hot before you pop the tats in the pan.

Taking inspiration from my friend Tyler, I’ve decided that cooking said tats in goose or duck fat adds a luxurious twist that is wholly appropriate for something like Christmas dinner. You don’t need it for great roasties, obviously, but it adds a blooming lovely depth of flavour. Lu-xu-ry.

I got more help on technique from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Angela Nilsen.

If all this seems like far too much fuss for a potato then you, my dear, have never had an outstanding roast potato. It’s a thing to truly be revered and adored. The things food dreams are made of.

Will you be having them with your Christmas dinner this year? Tell me your secrets to perfect spuds!

Perfect Roast Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1 kg/ 2.2lbs potatoes (I recommend these UK varieties: Maris Piper, Cara, Kind Edward – and these American: Russet or Yukon Gold), peeled and cut into fairly small even-sized pieces
  • 100g/ 3.5oz duck or goose fat, or 100ml/3½fl oz olive oil (Clancey’s in Linden Hills is a great resource in Minneapolis)
  • 2 tsp flour
  • Sea salt, to serve

Directions

  1. Place an empty roasting tin in your oven and heat it to 200C/400F.
  2. Put your potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Add a large pinch of salt and bring to a rolling boil. Once the water comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and leave the potatoes for 2 minutes. While they are par-boiling, add your fat of choice to the roasting pan in the oven to get nice and hot.
  3. Drain the potatoes in a colander, shaking them around enough to fluff them up a bit and give them a rough texture. Add the flour and shake to cover evenly and thinly.
  4. Carefully place the potatoes in the roasting pan – the hot fat will sizzle intensely so watch out! – and turn them over so all sides are covered in fat. Spread them in a single layer, making sure they have plenty of room.
  5. Roast the potatoes for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn over. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes, then turn them over again, each time making sure they are well coated with fat/oil. Put them back in the oven for another 10-20 mins, or however long it takes for them to get really golden brown and crisp. The colouring might not be even, but that’s fine. Some darker sides and some lighter are ideal.
  6. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with salt and serve straight away. Serves four, as part of a meal.

Note: If your potatoes seem too oily when you remove them from the oven, feel free to put them on a paper towel for a couple of minutes to soak up some moisture.

borough market, london

December 5, 2011

Borough Market is one of my favourite places to go in London. It can be pretty intensely busy but if you get there early enough you have the run of the land to wander stall to stall trying samples of everything imaginable.

From olive oils, hummus, jams, mustard, olives, and cheeses (we fell head over heels for a Caerphilly [Wales represent!] and so bought it for our awesome hosts since we couldn’t bring it home), to Turkish Delight, bread, quiches, and chocolates. It’s basically a food lovers heaven.

As well as green grocers, fish mongers, butchers, and artisan traders, there’s also an incredible selection of food vendors selling things like curries, hot sandwiches, and pies.

We bought an amazing hot dog from Boston Sausage and a haloumi veggie burger from The Veggie Table which we raved about for days afterwards. I’d also highly recommend Pie Minister (best name ever?) whose selection is epic (they have locations in other parts of the country too!).

I’m just still kind of sad I didn’t get my face around one of those pork pies. I mean look at them!

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