Edd Kimber’s Espresso Caramel Cake

The final week of the year is upon us, and who better than the brilliant baker Edd Kimber who writes one of my favorite baking blogs,The Boy Who Bakes. Edd is also the winner of the first season of The Great British Bake-Off and the author of numerous cookbooks, the latest being One Tin Bakes Easy (Amazon, Bookshop), which was also one of my favorite cookbooks of the year.

Every time I’m in London, I reach out to Edd for his latest recommendations on bakeries, local artisan chocolatiers, and restaurants I must try out. Yup, they’re always spot on! Edd’s also my go-to person for advice on baking when I’m working on something complex and need a sounding board. I’m absolutely stoked to have Edd Kimber with us here to talk about his new book, One Tin Bakes Easy (Amazon, Bookshop), and his Espresso Caramel Cake (recipe follows) is an excellent cake for your New Year’s Eve celebration.

this recipe

Nik: “One Tin Bakes Easy” takes a marvelous and unfussy approach to making some of the most elegant desserts. What made you write this book?

Edd: Whenever I write a book, I feel it needs a purpose; it’s never simply a collection of recipes. When it comes to baking, I tend to find that purpose is eliminating a barrier to entry. So many people will say, “Oh, I’m a cook; I can’t bake,” and I’m on a mission to convince people that anyone can bake. My last book, the original ‘One Tin Bakes’, trying to solve the equipment issue. As someone who writes recipes for a living, one of the most frequent questions I receive is, ‘I want to make your recipe, but I don’t have that tin. Can I use something else? Food writers so often assume a lot from their readers, and often they don’t think about the equipment a home cook or baker will have. To eliminate that problem and that particular barrier to entry, I wanted to write a book that used only one piece of bakeware, just one tin. This book is a follow-on to that idea, but I also wanted to make the recipes even easier to give people some confidence in the kitchen regardless of how much they’ve baked in the past.

Nik: This book delves into vegan and gluten-free baking. How was that process of recipe development different from your previous books?

Edd: I’m neither vegan nor gluten-free (although I am eating more and more vegan food), but many of my friends are, so the thought behind those recipes was making them as accessible as possible whilst not having to buy a whole new set of ingredients, I wanted to keep it simple. Gluten-free recipes use a store-bought gluten-free flour blend, vegan recipes use just one egg substitute, and then common dairy replacers. I wanted you to be able to make a vegan or gluten-free recipe without needing a whole host of ingredients you’d never use otherwise. Testing the recipes was definitely a steep learning curve, and the recipes needed more testing than normal, but I always want to ensure the recipes work, so it’s worth it.

Nik: What are some of your favorite vegan and gluten-free substitutes that should be on people’s radars?

Edd: My favorite substitute is ground psyllium husk, used as an egg replacer. It forms a really strong gel and is completely tasteless; it’s the best egg replacer I’ve tried. You can’t buy it in many supermarkets, but it lasts forever and is easy to buy online. Vegan butters have also made massive improvements recently, and I’m excited that you’ll likely be able to get vegan butter that is basically identical to dairy butter.

Nik: What tips do people need to remember when buying vegan chocolate?

Edd: Vegan chocolate is a veritable minefield of varied quality. There is some great and gross vegan chocolate, so it’s a good idea to find one you truly love. To that end, I mainly stick to dark chocolates because they’re vegan naturally (unless cross-contamination in the factory occurs), and the quality is generally higher.

Nik: What is one ingredient and kitchen tool you think more bakers should often use?

Edd: This is particular to American bakers, but I will never stop evangelizing the benefits of baking with a scale. They’re cheap to buy and make baking easier, quicker, and with less washing up as an added benefit. Thankfully I think scales are becoming more and more common in American kitchens, but until the emails asking me to convert my recipes to cups, I’ll stop. I’ll continue to preach the benefits of an electronic scale.

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