Blackberry Friands

01-09-2016 Local Black Bookalmond, berries, blackberry, breakfast, cake, dessert, financiers, friand, friands, muffin, nuts, recipeLeave a comment

The Summer-girl-at-heart side of me might be in full denial right now, but the truth is, Autumn is right around the corner.

You can feel it in the way the night comes back a little bit earlier with every day that passes, in the first squashes of the season popping up on the market stalls, and, more importantly, in the blackberry bushes bending under the weight of berries.

Now, I’ve already confessed my (sort of wild) love of foraging, and as a result, blackberries have been gathering in my fridge over the past few weeks…

… only one thing to do. And that is, of course, cake! #whatelse

Blackberry Friands | Cake + Whisky

Just as I was pondering what to do with all those berries, I remembered the delightful, light as a cloud little bundles of joy Chef Luc Morbihan baked for us as a part of our Lobster Masterclass in Saint Malo.

Blackberry friands it was, then!

The rich, nutty flavour of almonds and hazelnut butter balances the tanginess of the berries perfectly and makes it the perfect treat any time of the day!

Make a batch this weekend, I’m sure you’ll find them berry good!

Blackberry Friands | Cake + Whisky

Blackberry Friands (serves 6) – adapted from Michelin-starred chef Luc Morbihan’s recipe

Ingredients:

50g of almond powder
110g of caster sugar
45g of plain white flour
110g of egg white (about 3 medium eggs)
75g of butter
a handful of blackberries

1. In a big bowl, combine the almond powder, caster sugar and flour.

2. Add the egg white.

3. Cook the butter in a really hot pan until it turns brown and smells nutty, then add it to the batter. Mix gently, then set aside for at least an hour in the fridge.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Butter the moulds, pour the batter into them, then pop some fruit on top of each of them.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes (until the edges turn golden). Serve warm or cold, with a coulis or some ice cream.

PIN FOR LATER:

Orange and Cardamom Galette des Rois

11-01-2016 Local Black Bookalmond, cake, cardamom, dessert, Epiphany, frangipane, Galette des Rois, orange, pie, recipe3 Comments

Eating super healthy might make sense after the whole Christmas over-eating. That’s what sensible people would do.

But the French think otherwise. On the other side of the Channel, January is the season for Galettes des Rois (Kings cake).

Orange & Cardamom Galette des Rois | Cake + Whisky

Traditonally eaten for Epiphany on January 6th, Galette des Rois is an indulgent puff pastry and almond cream pie (frangipane).

It contains a porcelain figurine, and the person who receives it becomes King or Queen.

But with great powers (and any paper crown) comes great responsabilities and the newly crowned monarch will have to offer his/her people a drink or host the next king cake party, hence the whole shebang lasting well onto January… (but then it means more cake, so why would I complain?)

Orange & Cardamom Galette des Rois | Cake + Whisky

Orange & Cardamom Galette des Rois (serves 6-8)

Ingredients: 1 block of all-butter puff pastry, 60g butter, 125g ground almonds, 125g caster sugar, 3 eggs, zest of an orange, 4 cardamom pods (shell removed and crushed into a fine powder), 1 egg yolk

1. Heat the oven to 200C/fanC180

2. Divide the puff pastry in half, roll out each piece and cut into a 25cm round. Put one round on a baking sheet.

3. Beat together the softened butter and caster sugar. Stir in the ground almonds, orange zest and crushed cardamom seeds, then beat in the 3 eggs.

4. Spoon the mixture over the pastry, spreading it evenly. Brush the edges of the pastry with water, then cover with the second piece, pressing the edges to seal.

5. Mark the top of the pastry from the centre to the edges like the spokes of a wheel, then brush with the beaten egg yolk.

6. Bake for 25-30 mins until crisp and golden.

Carrot and Almond Cake

23-08-2015 Local Black Bookalmond, baking, cake, carrot, carrot cake, cooking, dessert, food, recipe4 Comments

Sunday’s cake day! Or at least, it’s one of my favourite excuses to get baking!

Carrot and almond cake | Cake + Whisky I’ve been back home for just a few days and I’ve spent every hour trying to find a way to use up all the vegetables we’ve goten in the garden. However, a tomato cake was hardly a possibility, so I turned to a small bunch of carrots for today’s baking experiment…

Carrot and almond cake (serves 6-8)

250g carrots, 2 big eggs, 100g sugar, 50g self-raising flour, 110g almond flour, 2.5 cL vegetable oil, pinch of salt, a handful of dry cranberries

1. Wash the carrots, peel and grate them.

2. In a big bowl, wisk the sugar and eggs together.

3. Add in the flour and almond flour and mix thoughroughly.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until thoughroughly combined.

5. Pour the batter into a buttered and floured cake tin and bake for about 35 min at 180°C.

Are you a carrot cake lover? If you have a favourite recipe, send it my way!

Lemon almond cake

04-05-201527-04-2015 Local Black Bookalmond, cake, cooking, dessert, food, gluten-free, grain-free, lemon, recipes7 Comments

I have just made the best lemon cake ever. Yes, EVER! 🍋 Oh, and it also happens to be the easiest cake recipe ever. Yes, even easier than my favourite chocolate brownies. No it didn’t think it was possible either.

Basically, it’s a lemon equivalent of the best chocolate fondant you can think of. It’s so moist and zesty and addictive you’ll never want to put your spoon down.

If you don’t want to get addicted, you should stop reading now. And you most definitely shouldn’t give this recipe a go. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!For 4 (reasonable) people (or 2 much less reasonable ones…), you’ll need:

100g of sugar

50g of melted butter

100g of almond flour

2 eggs

Zest of 1 lemon + juice of 1/4

Combine the sugar and the almond flour.Pour in the melted butter.Add the eggs.Mix it all together until well combined, then add your lemon zest and juice and mix again. Pour your batter in muffin tins (I used mini-loaf ones instead) and bake for 20 minutes at 180 °C. And that’s it.Eat them by themselves.Or you could top them with whipped coconut cream…Look at that! SO MOIST!!