rosemary – Ink Sugar Spice

Hello, it’s March already. Where did February go? It’s not like I’ve been doing anything other than working and staying home. Hope you are safe and well.

This new recipe produces crackers that are so tasty, just the right level of crispy (that is, they don’t dislodge your fillings) and are deceptively quick and easy to make.

It is easiest to make them with a pasta machine, but you can prepare them with a rolling pin, so don’t worry if you haven’t got a pasta sheeting gadget.

One last thing to add, I know not everyone likes mustard (I’m not a huge fan myself) but do try them with the mustard in as it adds a real umami pep to the flavour which doesn’t come across that ‘mustardy’ if you know what I’m trying to say. If you can’t bring yourself to add the mustard powder substitute a hot paprika instead.

Equipment

Two large baking trays, lined with parchment/baking paper
Large bowl
Pasta machine or rolling pin
Sharp knife
Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

250g plain flour (spelt can be used instead of wheat if you prefer)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (each about 6-7cm long)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder
1 teaspoon of freshly milled black pepper
90ml water
35ml extra virgin olive oil
Extra flour for dusting

Method

Wash and dry the rosemary (if you think it needs it) and strip the leaves off the stalks
Turn the oven on to 180C fan/ 200C conventional oven
Mix all the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, mustard, pepper) and the rosemary leaves
Make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and water and start combining. You may want to use a fork or a Dutch dough whisk for this, but hands are good!
Bring it together and try not to overwork it – knead just enough to combine it so it forms a ball
Set up your pasta machine or roll out by hand. You’ll probably need a little extra flour for dusting your work surface if you’re rolling by hand, but I’ve found this dough goes through the pasta machine quite well without extra flour. If you think it needs it though as it’s sticking, use a little.
Roll out (either method) to about 1.5mm thickness – with these crackers you are limited by the thickness of the rosemary leaves and the height of the cracked pepper. Basically, roll out as thin as you can

Cut into rectangular strips, about 4cm x 20cm

Lay them on the prepared baking sheets. They don’t need much space between them as they don’t expand much
Bake for 13-15 minutes. The crackers should be starting to turn brown and will have bubbled up in places
Transfer to a wire rack to cool
Great eaten with dips (such as Pesto and roasted butternut squash dip) or olive oil or as a main meal accompaniment

March 4, 2021 by Ink Sugar Spice Categories: All seasons, Baking, Biscuits, Food, Herbs, StartersTags: crackers, easy, quick, rosemary, savoury, savoury biscuits 2 Comments

This is a totally gluten free cake. It’s moist, delicious and makes a fabulous dessert served with cream, crème fraîche or ice cream as well as being a highly eat-able cake. I’ve also made it without baking powder, but rather bicarbonate of soda and vinegar.

It had been a while since I last made a polenta cake, and I really do love them. There is a trend at the moment to make layer cakes as elaborate as possible at home, which are impressive and wonderful (and I’m not adverse to succumbing to this level of showstopping-baking myself when I have the time), but sometimes you just want a really perfect, ‘proper’ old school single layer cake. One that’s so rich it can double as dessert. Yes, I could’ve made a loaf cake or a ‘granny cake’ (as one of my friends refers to cakes like cherry and Dundee) but I referred to an old Italian recipe I’ve had for years. I had just dragged a (reusable) bag full of lovely-looking oranges and lemons back from the greengrocers so it seemed fortuitous to make one. As I’m prone to playing about with standard recipes, I thought I’d ‘up’ the syrup a little by adding in the anise and honey.

For anyone interested in the chemistry of baking, I have substituted the customary baking powder for bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. I felt this was more authentic to the base vintage Italian recipe – at the time this was noted down baking powder was not available, or at least a rarity. Bicarb and vinegar produce the chemical reaction needed to raise your cake: traditionally baking powder is bicarb + cream of tartar (or substitutes). As long as you have the right ratio this soda and acid combination will do the trick of chemical leavening. Follow my recipe as I’ve written it and it will work, or alternatively just use 1 teaspoon baking powder and omit the soda and vinegar.

Notes

Makes a 20cm cake, so enough for eight very hungry people or ten more typically-indulgent diners.

Equipment

Large bowl
Citrus zester/microplane and juice squeezer
20cm cake tin with a loose bottom, greased and lined with baking parchment
Food processor
Heavy based medium saucepan
Skewer

Ingredients

Unsalted butter – 220g
Caster sugar – 220g
Ground almonds – 130g
Fine polenta – 150g
Bicarbonate of soda – 1/2 teaspoon
Cider or white wine vinegar – 2 teaspoons
Blanched (ie skinless almonds) – 60g
Eggs, large – 3
Orange zest – zest from 1 orange

Ingredients for the syrup

Lemon juice – juice from 1 fresh lemon (minus pips!)
Orange juice – juice from 2 fresh oranges (minus any pips too!)
Orange – one orange sliced thinly and any pips removed
Honey – 1 tablespoon of your choice of honey
Star anise – 1 whole pod

Plus a few rosemary flowers to decorate

Method

Put the oven on to 180C fan / 190C conventional
Whip the butter and sugar together until fluffy and lightened in colour
Whizz up the blanched almonds in your food processor – you want them in small pieces but not as fine as the ground almonds (doesn’t matter if a bit of it becomes very fine)
Add the ground almonds and your chopped/processed almonds, polenta and bicarbonate of soda and fold together
Now add the vinegar and orange zest and fold again
You must now act fairly quickly – do not walk off between the last step and getting the cake in the oven, as the vinegar and bicarb will be already starting to react
Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the top over as level as possible
Pop straight into the oven for 30 minutes
After 30 minutes, turn down the temperature to 150C fan / 170C conventional and bake for about another 30 minutes (test after 20 minutes), until the cake is firm but not solid (it shouldn’t spring back quite as much as a ‘normal’ sponge cake but will have a little bounce)
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin
Prepare the syrup by placing the sliced oranges in the bottom of the saucepan and covering with the orange and lemon juice and pop in the star anise pod
Turn the hob up to a medium-high heat
After a minute or two, add the honey – the reason I say to wait is that because the juice is now warm and it will be easier to put the honey in. The heat will allow the honey to slide cleanly off the spoon
Turn up to allow the liquid to boil and let it boil for 2 – 3 minutes until it is reduced
Remove the orange slices and leave to cool on a plate for a minute or two
Remove the star anise pod and discard
Spike some holes in the cake (all over the top) with a skewer to allow the syrup to sink into the cake
Pour half of the syrup onto the cake, allowing it to drain into the holes
Arrange the orange slices on the top of the cake and pour over the rest of the syrup
Add the rosemary flowers if using
Once the cake is cooled, remove from the tin
Serve as you would any other cake or turn it into a delicious dessert by serving with a generous helping of ice cream (or should that be gelato?), crème fraîche or clotted cream