What’s Cooking

“So let’s give the soups a rest” says my faithful reader. Well how about a simple cake to have with coffee or tea? One thing I’m looking forward to almost as much as eating is cooking. This one is on the list.

Almond Olive Cake
From: Unknown
Serves 6/8
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
5 whole eggs
7 oz white sugar
3 1/2 oz extra virgin olive oil
7 oz Ground almonds
1 oz All purpose flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 325F
Grease a 9″ pan and line with parchment paper
Beat eggs and sugar until mixture is a pale lemon colour.
Leave mixer running
Add the olive oil in a slow stream
Add ground almonds in small batches
Add flour in three portions
Pour into a prepared pan
Place in rack position 4 and bake for 40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

If you want to go all piss-elegant, the cake can be studded with almond slivers on top prior to baking and dusted with icing sugar before serving.

The word for today is:
Almond
^1.1 A deciduous tree (Prunus dulcis) in the rose family, native to Asia and northern Africa and having alternate, simple leaves, pink flowers, and leathery fruits.
^1.2 The ellipsoidal kernel of this tree, either eaten as a nut or used for extraction of an oil for flavouring.
^1.3 Any of several other plants, such as the Indian almond, especially those with fruits or seeds suggestive of the almond.
Middle English almande, from Old French, from Late Latin amandula, alteration of Latin amygdala, from Greek amugdalē.

What’s Cooking

Apparently it’s been a bumper year for blueberries here on the Island so I thought I’d make a Blueberry Lemon Loaf to use up part of a quart. I did have a recipe for a wonderful blueberry pie with a custard base but damned it I can find it. However this is an easy and tasty possibility for these tasty little berries.

Blueberry Lemon Loaf
– serves 6-8
From: unknown
Prep time – 12 minutes
Baking time – 50-60 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) oil (coconut, vegetable or canola)
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (230 grams) sour cream or plain Greek yogourt
2 large eggs
2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (150 grams) blueberries
2 tsp flour

Drizzle:
1 cup (120 grams) confectioners’ sugra
2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan
In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, sour cream, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until fully combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Toss the blueberries with 2 teaspoons of flour to coat and then gently fold into batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. If needed cover loosely with foil for the last 10-15 minutes to stop excessive browning.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes in the loaf pan. Remove from the loaf pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Once it has cooled, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice. Star with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and whisk well. If it is too thick slowly add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. You want the glaze to be thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to set up on the loaf.
Drizzle the glaze on top and spread it around.

This is good as either a breakfast loaf or as a snack with coffee or tea. One occasion I have made two (you have to use up those blueberries) and sliced one and frozen it to have on hand. And it is equally as good if frozen blueberries are used.

The word for September 20^th is:
Loaf \lōf\: [noun]
^1.1 A shaped mass of bread baked in one piece.
^1.2 A shaped, usually rounded or oblong, mass of food.
^1.3 A portion of bread baked in one lump or mass; a regularly shaped or molded mass of bread; hence, any shaped or molded mass of cake, sugar, or the like.
From Middle English lof, laf, from Old English hlāf (“loaf, cake, bread, food, sacramental bread”), from Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz (“bread, loaf”), of uncertain origin.