Eat My Words turns two
Eat My Words was born two years ago today. Back then Boris was breaking rules, an egocentric American was ruling Twitter, and I was on a diet. Little has changed.
In a bid to avoid the Terrible Twos we’re going all out this week with Negroni sponge birthday cake.
Anyone got any hand sanitiser? This one’s filthy.
This week’s album:
Baduizm by Erykah Badu
Only 25 when this was released, Badu paved the way for a new genre: Neo-Soul. Badu said of the album “It’s an expression of me and the way I feel. ‘Badu’ is my last name, ‘izm’ is what should get you high, and Baduizm is the things that get me high. Using my power to get to where I need to go to do the creator’s work - that’s what I’m here for. And I’m still fly.” V cool.
Birthday cake with an Italian twist
The Italian in this week’s recipe comes from the sponge we’re going to create which is called Genovese/Genoese/Genoise (named after the city of Genoa in north-west Italy).
A Genovese sponge doesn’t use a leavening agent (e.g. yeast or baking powder) like a standard sponge does. Instead its structure comes from whisking whole eggs and sugar together until lots of air is incorporated. This creates an incredibly light sponge that has great structure and is perfect for smothering in syrup.
Which is where my good friend Negroni comes in.
Is there a better sight?
Genovese sponge is almost always used to make a layered cake because its structure can support itself even after absorbing lots of liquid. Normally you’d soak it with an alcohol/fruit liqueur, and Negroni (or Negroni-flavoured syrup in this case) seemed the obvious choice to celebrate our birthday.
We’ll take all the ingredients of a Negroni (gin, Campari, and red vermouth) and add some fresh orange juice and sugar to make a wonderfully boozy-sweet liquid for coating the sponge.
Some whipped cream and fresh berries will finish us off, bringing the whole thing together really rather nicely.
What you need
The below serves 10. It takes 30 mins to prep and 40 mins to cook (plus some cooling time).
CAKE
85g unsalted butter
170g caster sugar
6 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 pinch of sea salt
150g plain flour
NEGRONI SYRUP
1 orange (juice only)
50ml gin
50ml Campari
50ml vermouth
5 tbsps caster sugar
TO FINISH
450ml double cream
2 tbsps icing sugar (plus extra for dusting)
2 punnets of fresh berries
Ready, steady, cook
1. Line the bottom of a 22cm cake tin with greaseproof paper. Butter and flour the sides, then preheat your oven to 160°c (no fan).
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan until slightly browned (browning it adds a deliciously nutty note to the cake).
3. Add the eggs, sugar, and salt to a mixing bowl (if you have a KitchenAid/stand mixer then use the bowl from this). Beat together and place it over a bowl which has a couple of centimetres of simmering water in it (don't let the bottom of the mixing bowl touch the water). Continue to whisk until the mixture reaches about 40°c (slightly above body temp).
4. Once warmed, add in the vanilla and transfer the bowl to the KitchenAid/stand mixer (or use an electric handheld whisk). Whisk until the mixture has tripled in volume and become light and fluffy. This will take up to 10 mins.
To test if it’s ready, the mixture should leave a ‘ribbon’ or ‘trail’ behind when you lift the whisk from the mixture.
5. Sift in half of the flour and carefully fold it into the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Next, slowly pour in the melted/browned butter (being careful to not pour in any burnt milk solids) while gently whisking at the slowest speed. Now sift in the remaining flour and fold into the mixture.
Note: take care to fold gently and not over-mix things. We want to retain as much air in the mixture as possible.
6. Transfer the mixture to the greased and lined cake tin, then place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 35-40 mins (or until it springs back when pushed in the centre / a skewer comes out clean when inserted).
7. When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 mins. Now remove the cake from its tin and leave the cake to completely cool on a wire rack.
8. To make the negroni syrup, add all your ingredients to a small pan and gently heat until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
NOTE: alcohol of this strength is very flammable and will flambé if touched to a flame. Flambéing is fun, just be careful.
9. When the cake is completely cool, trim the top to level it out and then slice the sponge into three equal parts. Turn the top piece you trimmed upside down. Use this as the bottom of the cake, and use the bottom piece as the top.
Brush the negroni syrup onto one side of each slice of sponge (be generous). Whip the cream and icing sugar to soft peaks (don’t over-whip) and spread on top of the now boozy sponge. Scatter over the fresh berries and layer the sponges. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar and you’re good to go.
Final thought
Heard the good news? Pre-orders coming soon.
Enjoy your time in the kitchen.
Fraser
Painting a pretty picture?
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