This appears to be quite an old video but I've only just seen it. It's very impressive!
Saturday 19 February 2011
Sunday 13 February 2011
1. Hazlenuts - Apple & Hazlenut Cake #1 - my version
I have neglected my blog lately. I think it's down to a combination of a rotten cold and a touch of the January blues. Now the weather is slightly warmer and night time doesn't begin at 4pm I feel alive again!!
I've made two versions of this cake. The first time I tried it I didn't have some of the ingredients for Niki Segnit's recipe so I used it as a base and then added my own touches. I then got all the proper ingredients and followed the recipe exactly (see next post).
Ingredients
I had a slightly bigger tin than the one in the recipe so I scaled it up by 50%. This is for a 23cm round springform tin.
150g roasted, skinned and ground hazelnuts
4 medium Bramley apples
Juice of half a lemon
150g very soft butter
150g light brown soft sugar
2 large free range eggs
3tsp baking powder
185g plain flour
50g dark chocolate
Line your cake tin with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan oven/gas mark 4.
Method
I used a slightly different method from that in the book and it goes like this...
Grind up the hazelnuts in a food processor and set to one side. Make sure you take a good long sniff at this point - the rich and warm aromas of the nuts are released (especially if you've roasted them yourself) and smell wonderful.
Take a big bowl, fill it with water and add the lemon juice. Peel and core the apples. Cut into quarters. Halve each quarter and then cut each piece into 4. Place in the bowl and set aside.
Beat the sugar and butter together until fluffy. (I should say that I don't work for Kitchen Aid, it is my new toy that Joe got me for Christmas. Haven't done much baking without it since!).
With the beater still going, add the eggs one at a time making sure the first is fully incorporated before breaking in the second.
Sift together the baking powder and flour and add to the mixture. Keep beating until fully combined.
Next stir in the hazelnuts.
Next drain the apples and stir these into the mixture. It will seem like there is way too much apple for the amount of mixture but have faith! Keep stirring to get as much of an even distribution of apple/mixture as possible.
Spoon into the prepared baking tin, pop in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes.
Leave to cool in the tin for 15 to 20 minutes and then very carefully transfer to a cooling rack. With all the fruit it is a very moist cake so it breaks easily (note chunk missing at 7 o'clock!).
Put a few centimetres of water in a saucepan and bring to a very very gentle simmer. Break up the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl and suspend this over the saucepan. It's important that the chocolate melts slowly or it will seize and turn grainy so make sure the water doesn't boil and make sure the bowl isn't touching the water.
Once melted, drizzle the chocolate over the cake and leave to set.
When I drizzled on the chocolate I regretted adding so much and I thought its bitterness would overpower the other ingredients but when I tried a slice I was really surprised at how the apples, hazelnuts and chocolate complimented each other (just as Niki Segnit promised!).
I've made two versions of this cake. The first time I tried it I didn't have some of the ingredients for Niki Segnit's recipe so I used it as a base and then added my own touches. I then got all the proper ingredients and followed the recipe exactly (see next post).
Ingredients
I had a slightly bigger tin than the one in the recipe so I scaled it up by 50%. This is for a 23cm round springform tin.
150g roasted, skinned and ground hazelnuts
4 medium Bramley apples
Juice of half a lemon
150g very soft butter
150g light brown soft sugar
2 large free range eggs
3tsp baking powder
185g plain flour
50g dark chocolate
Line your cake tin with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan oven/gas mark 4.
Method
I used a slightly different method from that in the book and it goes like this...
Grind up the hazelnuts in a food processor and set to one side. Make sure you take a good long sniff at this point - the rich and warm aromas of the nuts are released (especially if you've roasted them yourself) and smell wonderful.
Take a big bowl, fill it with water and add the lemon juice. Peel and core the apples. Cut into quarters. Halve each quarter and then cut each piece into 4. Place in the bowl and set aside.
Beat the sugar and butter together until fluffy. (I should say that I don't work for Kitchen Aid, it is my new toy that Joe got me for Christmas. Haven't done much baking without it since!).
With the beater still going, add the eggs one at a time making sure the first is fully incorporated before breaking in the second.
Sift together the baking powder and flour and add to the mixture. Keep beating until fully combined.
Next stir in the hazelnuts.
Next drain the apples and stir these into the mixture. It will seem like there is way too much apple for the amount of mixture but have faith! Keep stirring to get as much of an even distribution of apple/mixture as possible.
Spoon into the prepared baking tin, pop in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes.
Leave to cool in the tin for 15 to 20 minutes and then very carefully transfer to a cooling rack. With all the fruit it is a very moist cake so it breaks easily (note chunk missing at 7 o'clock!).
Put a few centimetres of water in a saucepan and bring to a very very gentle simmer. Break up the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl and suspend this over the saucepan. It's important that the chocolate melts slowly or it will seize and turn grainy so make sure the water doesn't boil and make sure the bowl isn't touching the water.
Once melted, drizzle the chocolate over the cake and leave to set.
When I drizzled on the chocolate I regretted adding so much and I thought its bitterness would overpower the other ingredients but when I tried a slice I was really surprised at how the apples, hazelnuts and chocolate complimented each other (just as Niki Segnit promised!).
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