This is my birthday week and it’s been off to a wonderful start! But there are lots of recipe updates for you!!!
I also wrote about the joy of using canned Indian mangoes for Taste and there’s an easy mango pudding topped with pistachios that I love to eat all the time. If you haven’t tried Indian mangoes, they are the best in the world and you can buy the canned ones at Indian grocery stores. It’s a game changer for me when I miss and crave that sweet heavenly taste and aroma.
One of my all-time favorite cookbook authors and food writers from the UK, Diana Henry (who has a gorgeous new cookbook out, How to Eat a Peach which you must get) said my upcoming book SEASON was one of the two books she was really looking forward to this year in an interview with Publisher’s Weekly. I was blown away by her kindness and generosity and it made me so happy to have her support.
I got to cook with the always lovely Nigella Lawson and we made the Turkish eggs from her book that I shared here a couple of weeks ago. Video and story coming soon to the San Francisco Chronicle!
Yotam Ottolenghi’s and Helen Goh’s lemon pound cake
This recipe comes from Sweet by authors Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (Ten Speed Press, 2017). It is one of my favorite versions of the classic lemon and poppy seed poundcake because of it’s perfect textured crumb.
- Yield: one 8 in/20 cm cake
Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tbsp/225 g granulated sugar
1/2 cup/120 g sour cream
5 Tbsp/70 g unsalted butter, cubed plus extra for greasing
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
finely grated zest of 3 lemons (1 Tbsp)
1 1/2 cups/170 g all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
For the glaze
3/4 cup/90 g confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 325F/165C. Grease the loaf pan and line with parchment paper, then set aside.
2. Place the eggs and the granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment in place and whisk on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale and frothy. Add the sour cream and continue to whisk for about 2 minutes, until the mixture has combined.
3. In the meantime, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest, and set aside.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl, then use a rubber spatula to fold this into the egg mixture before folding in the butter, poppy seeds, and zest.
5. Spoon the mixture into the loaf pan so that it rises three-quarters of the way up on the sides. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Do not open the door to check the cake during the first 45 minutes of baking.
6. To prepare the glaze, whisk the confectioner’s sugar with the lemon juice in a bowl.
7. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, spreading it over the top so that it sinks in and creates a nice coating. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Leave to come to room temperature before serving.
3 Responses
Happy Birthday Week, Nik!! 😄
Lots of great stuff happening this week for you – enjoy and have a Happy Birthday! Like Diana Henry I’m eagerly awaiting your book…
Yummy, happy birthday and happy feasting of course.