whine & dine

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I’m really more of a cook than a baker. I like the heat of the kitchen, the reliance on taste, sight, smell and feel to prepare and execute a dish whose flavours meld together on a warmed dinner plate, hastened by that rush of adrenaline where everything has to be brought together, seasonings corrected, and plated to be served in the last 60 seconds. But it’s not to say that I don’t enjoy baking – baking to me is something to be done on lazy afternoons, or in the middle of the night. When I have a craving that needs to be satiated, or when I want to gift someone with a homemade present (a plate of pasta really wouldn’t survive sitting around for a couple of hours, wrapped up in foil, before it is consumed), it is usually to baked goods that I turn.

Another of bunny’s friends recently gave birth, and it’s become a habit of mine to bake something for the family (hopefully to be shared by all of us!) when we visit the new baby. Along with the loot that I brought home to Hong Kong from our recent trip to Singapore, I also acquired The Cake Book by Tish Boyle. Now, I’ve already got a number of baking/dessert tomes, but having one fully devoted to cakes is my idea of heaven. I love this book not just for the way that the recipes are sorted, but also because of the clear and precise instructions, and the beautiful results I’ve had so far.

This cake is really a ginger pound cake, baked in a bundt cake pan for an elegant presentation, which is soaked with a ginger syrup while it’s still warm. Once cooled, I whipped up a ginger-crème fraïche frosting to punch up the presentation a little, and garnished it with the leftover slices of crystallized ginger that already went into the cake itself. It turned out beautifully – both in terms of flavour and presentation – with the subtle heat of ginger complemented by the tart fragrance of the lemon. The cake itself is very moist and has the tenderest of crumbs; in short it’s what all pound cakes should taste like!

Note: The original recipe called for sour cream, not crème fraïche, but I couldn’t seem to find any, which is why I made the substitution. Feel free to revert to the original – I’ve used the latter in my recipe below as it’s what I used. I also used the leftover to make the frosting, so if you’re buying sour cream for the cake, feel free to use it instead for the frosting in equal amounts. Just omit the lemon juice (which I added as crème fraïche is a little less tart), unless you feel that you need to loosen the consistency, which can also be done by adding milk.

Lemon Ginger Bundt Cake
(Based on the Lemon-Soaked Ginger Pound Cake recipe in The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)

Ginger Pound Cake:
302g all-purpose flour
57g cake flour
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
227g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
350g granulated sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
30g peeled grated fresh ginger
80g finely chopped crystallized ginger (plus more to serve)
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
242g crème fraïche

Lemon Syrup:
80ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
133g granulated sugar
20ml water

Ginger-Crème Fraïche Frosting:
115g icing sugar, plus more for dusting
15g peeled grated fresh ginger
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
80g creme fraiche
pinch of salt

Start by making the cake: Position a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the inside of a 10 inch bundt pan generously, then dust with flour, shaking the excess out. Set aside.

Sift together the flours, ground ginger, baking power, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy; 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and colour; 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30-40 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Beat in the grated ginger, crystallized ginger, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low, add the sifted flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with crème fraïche in two additions. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert it onto the rack set over a baking sheet.

Meanwhile, make the syrup: Combine the lemon juice, sugar and water in a small non-reactive saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves; 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from heat. Using a pastry brush, dab the syrup generously all over the surface of the warm cake, allowing it to soak into the cake before reapplying. Dab any syrup that has dripped onto the baking sheet onto the cake. Let the cake cool completely.

To frost: Sift the icing sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Place the grated ginger into a four-layer square of cheesecloth/muslin, and squeeze to extract the juice. There should be about 1 tbsp of ginger juice. Combine this with the rest of the wet ingredients and salt, whisking to form a smooth, thick liquid, then whisk it into the sugar until there are no more lumps. Drizzle it over the cooled cake, allowing the frosting to drip down over the sides, then scatter over some thin slices of crystallized ginger and allow it to dry at least 30 minutes before serving. Once dry, dust the cake with icing sugar.

The cake will keep for 4 days in an air-tight container at room temperature, or refrigerated for up to a week.

Yield: One 10-inch bundt cake, which serves 10-12.