Comfort cakes

JANUARY disease is upon me. Sitting quietly one afternoon, there was a snap, crackle and pop, an alarming smell of electrical burning – and one blown up modem. End of internet. Diagnosis proved that water had permeated the cable connecting the outside unit to the indoor modem and the whole length needed to be replaced. Then the car’s suspension gave way – an inevitable result of months of negotiating roads pitted with potholes – and things critical to safety like tie rod ends and steering knuckles had to be replaced.

Added to that are school fees. A new one on me is backpay for attachments! The young man in question is training to be a diesel mechanic and after waiting almost a year for his institution to find him a position has spent the last year at NRZ working on heavy engines. Needless to say the attachment gives you nothing – not even for transport – and now that he is back at school they are demanding back pay of $50 a term for having ‘arranged’ this privilege! Peculiar system but, as usual, no choice if you want to continue.

Deciding to take comfort in cake I met a friend at almost always busy Pistachio in Borrowdale which seems to hit the target for its market of mostly leisurely ladies, with freshly squeezed juices ($4), very pretty salads decorated with flowers and micro herbs, quiches, tarts, sandwiches and a glorious looking selection of cakes. I took home a little lemon loaf and two pretty chocolate cupcakes ($10 all in). They didn’t taste nearly as good as they looked with most of the effort in the décor over a pretty ordinary base. Didn’t try the cheesecake or chocolate mousse cake spectacularly decorated with fresh roses ($5 a slice) and decided to stick to home baking.

My daughter-in-law makes a sublime cheesecake and I love trying out cakes made with fragrant combinations of fruit and spices with light toppings or sticky syrups. Previously I have shared a tasty cardamom cake and my grandmother’s dark sticky gingerbread. Other good memories involve fruit cakes made with whole pears and brazil nuts or dates and pecans. Butter is usually essential for a light and flavourful cake — but interesting also to try out coconut oil or pecan nut butter and fruit bases like bananas, grated carrots or apples softened with cinnamon and star anise.

One of my favourites is a simple concoction of semolina and yoghurt saturated with lemon and rosewater syrup. Its one I make time and again — virtually fool proof and is always a winner for dessert or to accompany coffee or tea.  First make the syrup. Gently dissolve 250g caster sugar in 350 ml water and 4 TP fresh lemon juice. Bring to a vigorous boil and cook until it has the consistency of golden syrup (about 10 mins – or 108° C if you have the luxury of a sugar thermometer.) Cool and add a few drop of rosewater which gives a Middle Eastern lift conjuring up images of Arabian nights and cool palm filled courtyards.

Make a batter with 250g semolina, 250g caster sugar, ½ tp bicarb of soda and 350 ml thick yoghurt. Add 60 ml melted butter and beat well. Scrape into a well greased tin – I usually use a square one and bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 180° C. When done remove from oven, cool for about 10 minutes – cut into diamond shapes in the tin and pour the cooled syrup slowly over the cake. It should be saturated but not soggy and keeps well. Guaranteed to keep the blues away.

g.jeke@yahoo.com