Bakingbliss
BelINDAÕ S FlOURleSS COCONUT AND ChOCOlATe CAke
4 Remove the muffin tin from the fridge and fill the moulds just over two-thirds of the way up the sides. Place three halved blackberries on top, cut-side down, and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 210C/fan 190C/gas 6 Ð starting with a high oven temperature and then bringing it down is the way to achieve the lovely brown crust you want Ð turn the tray around in the oven for even cooking, and continue to cook for another 8 minutes, until the edges of the friands are golden brown and the centres have a slight peak and spring back when gently prodded. Set aside to cool before removing them from their moulds: you might need to use a small knife to help you release the sides. 5 If you are icing the cakes, place 60g of blackberries in a small bowl with the water and lemon juice. Use a fork to mash them together, then pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to extract as much fruit juice as possible: you should get about 60ml. Sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl, pour in the blackberry juice and combine to make a light purple runny icing: it should just be thick enough to form a thin glaze on the tops of the cakes. 6 Spoon the icing over the cakes, spreading it to the edges so that it runs down the sides. Do this on a rack, if you can, as icing them on a plate or sheet of paper means that the icing will pool at the bottom. Place 2 small blackberries on each friand, set aside for 20Ð 30 minutes to set, then serve. Once iced, theyÕ re best eaten on the same day. COOKÕ S TIP We use a regular muffin tin here, but all sorts of moulds work: large muffin tins, mini-muffin tins, rectangular or oval moulds (as shown in the photo). n PeR FRIAND 328 cals, fat 18g, sat fat 8g, carbs 36g, sugars 31g, protein 5g, salt 0.12g, fibre 2g
Belinda’s flourless coconut and chocolate cake every month or so we gather in the test kitchen with our pastry chefs. ItÕ s an open forum, with the chefs presenting their offerings, which we then taste and discuss. ItÕ s always exciting, as ideas are constantly being improved and implemented. This cake was a product of one of those meetings, brought to the table by Franceska Venzon, herself inspired by Belinda JefferyÕ s version of the cake. WeÕ ve played around with the shape Ð baking it in a loaf tin Ð and added a chocolate ganache, but the base is all BelindaÕ s. ThereÕ s something about a cake showcasing its flourless-ness or glutenfree nature which can often make it sound a little bit worthy. Unfairly so, in a case like this, where the feeling of eating it is the very opposite of Ô free-fromÕ : itÕ s utterly buttery and decadent. Serves 8 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 1 hr 200g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing 250g caster sugar 60g desiccated coconut scraped seeds of 1 vanilla pod ¼ tsp salt 4 large free-range eggs 180g ground almonds For the water ganache: 60g cooking chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped into 1cm pieces 25g caster sugar 25g liquid glucose 3 tbsp water scraped seeds of ¼ vanilla pod 25g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 2cm cubes 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease the base and sides of a 900g loaf tin
or 23cm round springform tin and line with baking parchment, then set aside. 2 Place the butter, sugar, desiccated coconut, vanilla and salt in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on a medium-high speed, until pale and fluffy: about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low, add the ground almonds and mix until just combined. 3 Scrape the mixture into the cake tin and bake for either 40 minutes if using the loaf tin, or 50 minutes if using the round tin, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool in the tin before inverting onto a serving plate. Set aside until completely cool. 4 Make the water ganache when you are ready to serve. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Put the sugar and glucose in a small saucepan and place over a medium-low heat. Stir to combine and, when the sugar has melted, increase the heat to medium and bring to the boil, stirring gently from time to time. Continue to boil for about 7 minutes, until the colour is a pale amber. Remove from the heat and carefully pour in the water. DonÕ t worry if the mix seizes: just return the pan to the heat, add the scraped vanilla seeds and stir gently and continuously until it returns to the boil and the sugar has melted again. 5 Remove from the heat and wait for a minute before pouring the water-caramel over the chocolate. Allow to stand for about 3 minutes, then whisk to combine. Add the butter, a couple of cubes at a time, whisking after each addition. Continue until all the butter has been added, whisking to combine until the consistency is that of golden syrup. Spread the ganache over the top of the www.vegetarianliving.co.uk
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15/11/2017 13:22