Cherry, Coconut & Tahini Cake and an Orange, Brown Butter Cornmeal Cake
Some recipes from the archives
Hello Friends,
Firstly, apologies that this is coming a day late but I’m writing this to you as I sit on a very early train departing from Seattle and heading to Portland, Oregon. The slightly criminal 7am departure time means an instant coffee and a Twix from the train cafe for breakfast. Less than ideal but the offerings were slim and I needed something hot and sweet to tide me over for the 3 hour ride. This is my first time on the west coast of the US and although it’s been a speedy flying visit as part of my book tour, I’ve really enjoyed it and definitely need to come back again to explore properly.
It’s been truly wonderful meeting so many of you! Still blows my mind a little bit that there are people on the other side of the world baking my recipes and buying my books. Getting to chat to people and hear how much they’ve enjoyed my work has been so encouraging and heart warming!
Things kicked off in NYC last week and what a beautifully chaotic city it is. Nothing ever stops. Like ever. And I love it. I’m quite proud of how much I managed to squeeze in over four days. I ate a LOT. Travelling solo makes it tricky to try lots of different dishes, especially in a country where portions are very generous. But I did my best! If you are visiting soon, here are a couple of highlights that you may want to include. (Worth noting that it wasn’t my first time in city so I wanted to try places I hadn’t been to before)
FanFan Doughnuts. So glad I made it down to Brooklyn for these doughnuts. As soon as I walked through the door, the smell of warm sugar and fried dough put the the biggest smile on my face. There were lots to choose from but the Danny Boy was a favourite - a ring doughnut glazed with a brown butter salted caramel.
The Thai tea cookie at Ceremonia Bakeshop. Another Brooklyn spot! Went for breakfast burritos with a friend but it was the sweet treats that I enjoyed most. Amazed at how much the tea flavour flavour came through in the cookie. If you’re in the area, Pies and Thighs is another spot round the corner that I’ve been to before and loved the chicken biscuit sandwiches.
Pizza at L’industrie in the West Village. Definitely worth the hype. I went for the pepperoni slice and it was gorgeous. Thin crust and great tomato sauce. The only thing I would change would be losing the extra parmesan that gets shaved on top. It might work better with other flavours like the burrata or fig but I didn’t need it.
Hot Honey Pepperoni Slice at Mama’s Too. This was a random find but they tend to be the best. I walked past this place in the West Village (they have a few branches) and saw a line coming out of the door so I popped in. The hot honey square pizza was so good! Great if you prefer a thicker, doughier pizza and the honey had a proper kick to it.
Los Tacos No.1. You’ll probably see this place on every ‘where to eat in NYC list’ and I loved it. It was actually the first thing I ate after I landed and dropped my stuff at the hotel. If you need a cheap, quick meal, this is a perfect option. The pork adobada tacos were so juicy and spicy. Just wish I had more time to try the other options.
I’m yet to squeeze in some food spots on the West coast but I’ll let you know in the next newsletter places I tried that stood out.
So, given that I’m away and without access to a kitchen, I thought that it’d be great to share a couple of recipes from the archives. We all love new and shiny things but it’s nice to be reminded of some old favourites. It’s great to be able to come back to recipes I’ve not baked in a while and remember why I loved them in the first place.
So today, I’ve got not one, but two cakes for you. My orange & brown butter cornmeal cake from an old 2021 Guardian Feast column and my cherry, coconut and tahini cake from my second book. I’ve not made either in ages so this is just as much a reminder for me to bake them again as it is for you.
Lots of love from sunny Portland,
Benjamina
CHERRY, COCONUT & TAHINI CAKE
This cake is in my book, A Good Day to Bake. It’s a lovely little coconut-y cake with a warm tahini flavour and studded with pops of cherries and a pretty glaze. I usually make this in a 6 inch pan because it’s such a cute size and you get chunky, deep slices of cake. But you can also bake it in an 8 inch pan - it’ll just be more shallow and will need a shorter bake time.
RECIPE
serves 8
equipment: 6 inch cake tin
120g unsalted butter, softened
150g light brown sugar
40g tahini
2 large eggs
130g plain flour
50g desiccated coconut
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
90g cherries, pitted and halved
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
For the glaze
40g cherries, pitted and halved
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
100g icing sugar
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C. Grease and line a 6 inch cake tin.
Using a stand mixer or electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the tahini and beat for another minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, coconut, baking powder, cardamom and salt. Pour the mixture into the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
Spoon the batter into the tin and add the cherries on top along with the sesame seeds. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
To make the glaze, add the cherries and lemon juice to a small bowl and mash with a a fork. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve, squeezing and pressing to get out as much juice as possible. Add the icing sugar to the juice and mix until you have a smooth, pourable consistency.
Once the cake has cooled, drizzle over the glaze.
ORANGE & BROWN BUTTER CORNMEAL CAKE
Sometimes, cake for breakfast isn’t a completely bad idea. The trick is to go for something that isn’t overly sweet or covered in lots of frosting, and that can hold its own alongside a good, strong coffee. This is one of those cakes: zingy with plenty of citrus zest, yet warm and toasty from the brown butter.
Serves 8
equipment: 8inch/20cm cake tin
120g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
Zest of 2 large oranges
2 large eggs
80ml milk
2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable or sunflower)
100g plain flour
75g fine cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Icing sugar, to dust
METHOD
Grease and line an 8 inch / 20cm round cake tin. Heat the oven to 160C fan/180C
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, then let it cook, stirring occasionally, for three to five minutes, until it starts to smell nutty and the colour turns a golden brown. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to cool, making sure to also keep the little brown solids.
Put the sugar and orange zest in a large bowl, then rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips, until it looks like wet sand. In a separate bowl or jug, whisk the eggs, milk and oil, pour into the sugar bowl and mix to combine.
Into a separate bowl, sift the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, bicarb and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until smooth. Stir in the cooled brown butter, then pour the batter into the prepared tin.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool completely before dusting with a little icing sugar and serving.
Hi, why the Tahini in the cake, I've never heard of that before!