The Simple Things - 04.2020

EATING WELL

Orange and caraway

seed cake

Seed cake is one of several recipes

in Ellen’s book that uses caraway

seeds as a flavouring, which suggests

that caraway seeds were fairly easy

to get hold of at this time. It is a

pungent flavour that I love when

there are just a few seeds scattered

through a cake, but that may become

overwhelming if you add too much.

I added orange zest and an orange

drizzle because I love the flavour

combination of caraway and orange.

150g softened butter

150g caster sugar

Zest and juice of one orange

3 eggs

150g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp caraway seeds

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 Line a 20cm cake tin with baking

parchment and heat your oven

to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.

2 Cream together the butter, sugar

and orange zest until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating

the mixture until they are fully

incorporated before adding the next.

3 Sieve the flour and baking powder

over the mixture, then add the

caraway seeds and salt and mix well.

4 Tip into the cake tin and smooth

down. Bake for 25-35 mins, or until a

cocktail stick pushed into the centre

of the cake cannot be moved from

side to side within the cake. Use the

cocktail stick to make small holes

all over the surface of the cake.

5 Mix the orange juice with the icing

sugar to make the drizzle, then use

a pastry brush to paint it all over

the surface, repeating until all

of the drizzle has been used up.

6 Leave the cake to cool in the tin

for about 10 mins and then turn

out and leave to cool completely

before slicing and eating.

Egg flip

This was the least familiar of the

recipes in Ellen’s book: a hot beer

and egg foamed-up drink? Hmm,

tempting. In fact, I made a few

tweaks here after researching other

egg flip recipes, as they suggested

rum and spices in addition to Ellen’s

very frugal sounding straight beer

and egg recipe. The result is far

more than the sum of its parts,

a spicy, creamy, silky drink, and

brilliantly, monstrously frothy.

Serves 2

500ml bottle of ale

Stick of cinnamon

Nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

40g brown sugar

50ml dark rum

1 Heat the ale to nearly boiling

point with the cinnamon stick

and a few gratings of nutmeg and

leave to infuse for 10 mins.

2 Beat together the eggs and sugar

until creamy, and then pour in the

warmed ale, beating all the time.

Add the rum, and then pour the drink

backwards and forwards between

two saucepans until it is frothy.

Pour into glasses and drink.

EATING WELL

Orange and caraway

seed cake

Seed cake is one of several recipes

in Ellen’s book that uses caraway

seeds as a flavouring, which suggests

that caraway seeds were fairly easy

to get hold of at this time. It is a

pungent flavour that I love when

there are just a few seeds scattered

through a cake, but that may become

overwhelming if you add too much.

I added orange zest and an orange

drizzle because I love the flavour

combination of caraway and orange.

150g softened butter

150g caster sugar

Zest and juice of one orange

3 eggs

150g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp caraway seeds

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 Line a 20cm cake tin with baking

parchment and heat your oven

to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.

2 Cream together the butter, sugar

and orange zest until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating

the mixture until they are fully

incorporated before adding the next.

3 Sieve the flour and baking powder

over the mixture, then add the

caraway seeds and salt and mix well.

4 Tip into the cake tin and smooth

down. Bake for 25-35 mins, or until a

cocktail stick pushed into the centre

of the cake cannot be moved from

side to side within the cake. Use the

cocktail stick to make small holes

all over the surface of the cake.

5 Mix the orange juice with the icing

sugar to make the drizzle, then use

a pastry brush to paint it all over

the surface, repeating until all

of the drizzle has been used up.

6 Leave the cake to cool in the tin

for about 10 mins and then turn

out and leave to cool completely

before slicing and eating.

Egg flip

This was the least familiar of the

recipes in Ellen’s book: a hot beer

and egg foamed-up drink? Hmm,

tempting. In fact, I made a few

tweaks here after researching other

egg flip recipes, as they suggested

rum and spices in addition to Ellen’s

very frugal sounding straight beer

and egg recipe. The result is far

more than the sum of its parts,

a spicy, creamy, silky drink, and

brilliantly, monstrously frothy.

Serves 2

500ml bottle of ale

Stick of cinnamon

Nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

40g brown sugar

50ml dark rum

1 Heat the ale to nearly boiling

point with the cinnamon stick

and a few gratings of nutmeg and

leave to infuse for 10 mins.

2 Beat together the eggs and sugar

until creamy, and then pour in the

warmed ale, beating all the time.

Add the rum, and then pour the drink

backwards and forwards between

two saucepans until it is frothy.

Pour into glasses and drink.