#146 Strawberries & Cream Loaf cake
Hello, welcome! How are we? (I hate that I can’t hear your replies! Really, are you ok? Are you thriving (YAY!) or plodding? Either way, accept a hug from me, and may I recommend you go and make your favourite drink, grab a biscuit too, or a couple pieces of chocolate, a lump of cheddar if you’re team savoury, then go and sit in your comfiest chair, for 5 minutes minimum, drink in time, drink in your actual drink (slowly), relax, just be. Then go and ‘life’ again. It may feel 10% less difficult).
… can I also recommend cloud bathing… let me explain; this involves lying, or sitting outside, fully clothed (do dress accordingly; if it’s chilly, wear a coat), and bathing in some steal-y cloud-shine. It’s actually very pleasant, very airy, and birdy, fresh, mindful, exquisite. Also good for post-viral rotten-ness, it turns out.
… and I know this because, I’ve still been feeling quite ghastly, just a residual, inexplicable tiredness and wobbliness post snot-fest etc. And a moment of cloud bathing at the start of the week was quite the tonic I needed.
As was a visit from our friends, we had a lovely, simple day on Monday: good food, a walk and (lots of) chatting. I rustled up a few recipes from TCC archive - a riff on my OG Greek Salad, (SO undemanding, SO good!), the roasted veg ricotta puff tart from a couple of weeks ago, and my tiramisu roll cake - each better than I remember them to be - ALSO, to wash it all down, a super excitable focaccia (recipe from pastry Queen, Hope) - isn’t this the funnest bread ever?
I should also add that the leftovers from this feast were all DIVINE. A day or two extra infusion time for the salad resulted in XXL flavour, the reheated tart tasted even better, how so? I froze half the focaccia and have defrosted chunks throughout the week - still bubbly, soft, super yum. And tiramisu always benefits from an extra day or two of marination time, doesn't it? Yes, all very lovely…
… predictably, this loveliness was interrupted midweek with various kitchen calamities. It all started with a blizzard of cocoa powder, spawned by my overzealous effort to whisk said cocoa powder into a brownie/cake (a Br-ake??) batter, the result? A flurry of brown talc all over myself (even up my nostrils), and in every kitchen crevice imaginable - actual HELL to clear up, (you’ll be happy to hear that the resulting brownie-cake - Br-ake, I come up with the catchiest names for these things, don’t I??, was untroubled by this disaster and will be making its way to you post haste!!). This annoyingness preceded three epic cake failures, like really bad!!! - I’m not even sure why I was trying these cakes in the first place which made the frustration even greater. And for completeness, a couple of liquid incidents, starting with a deluge of a milky coffee, showered over myself, the microwave and the worktop - heartbreak - and later, I power-hosed the same area of the kitchen with lemonade. So, I have mainly spent the latter half of the week, crying over dense cakes and on my hands and knees mopping up sticky liquids…. which has been super-fun…. NOT!
Luckily, this week’s recipe (below) IS super fun! I have FINALLY settled on my perfect dense-and-buttery-but-also-soft-and-with-a-spot-of-fluffiness (rolls off the tongue), vanilla sour cream cake, optionally topped with a swoopy crème faîche cream and fresh (absolutely STUNNING) British strawberries! I’m proud of this one and really hope you like it too!
Other little joyous morsels from the week….
… firstly some useful, enlightening, inspiring titbits:
This article in ‘The Spike’… a useful reminder to us all to stop apologising for ourselves. I’m so guilty of it. Always being sorry for myself, for my existence, for being a bit s**t at life, for not excelling or thriving, for not doing what society expects, for not being a good enough friend, daughter, baker. This candidly written piece feels like a helpful memo to stop being sorry for things that you’re not truly sorry for. Believe in yourself (easier said than done, I KNOW), believe in your work, lead with conviction (if you don’t, others will doubt you too, and they shouldn’t!) and save ‘sorry’ for the times when you really do put your foot in it.
This post by Ella Risbridger - not only do I lack confidence and constantly apologise for myself; I’m also a chronic perfectionist - it’s a really unhealthy combo. I don’t do some stuff for fear of being bad at it. Thus, I love this sentiment from Ella, that the process of making things, creative stuff, anything actually, is about learning, it’s about developing new wires in your brain and finding your own edges… yes, there’s beauty in being a beginner and sucking at stuff.
Blackbirds, Robins (song thrushes too), are apparently the earliest of early birds who start the dawn chorus! (Answering my own question about this from a few weeks back!)
Sharing other people’s happiness… I really believe that happiness is infectious, feed off others, spread it on.
… also, shared passion. Talking about the things you love, with people who also love those things; magical, don’t you think?
THIS: “You are the only you. Own it, rock it, feel it, embrace it, love it, be it”
And now for some more DELICIOUSNESS
Tiramisu coffee from Volcano coffee (another genius blend from Volcano! SO yum).
Roasted courgettes… niche, I agree, but I’m totally fixated on roasted courgettes.
….also, pointed red peppers. I bought one from M&S midweek that was almost purple, the MOST elegant, enticing colour. And absurdly sweet, crisp, delicious. Yes, I’m getting excited about peppers and courgettes.
Roasted/baked/oven poached apricots - my current go-to porridge topper. BIG yum.
… all summer fruits, strawberries, raspberries (the fat ones in each case), peaches (a doughnut peach is a first class-specimen), cherries (the darker their skin the yummier?).
Chocolate and cherries… especially in cake form (and melted).
A snippet of the FRUITY goodness... plus more choccy content.
Right, that’s it… we are DONE, Substack is shouting at me for rabbiting too much.
I’m sending all the love, as always, and massive hugs,
Steph X X X
Strawberries & Cream loaf cake.
OK, this cake… wow did I go on a journey to get to this point. But I’m pleased to report that I’ve settled on my version of perfection. A buttery, vanilla pound cake, flavoured with a little honey, and sour cream for added richness and tang. It’s SO soft, so buttery, dense but with a touch of fluffiness. Unfrosted, it keeps for days, the kind of cake you keep going back to for a sliver - one to get you through the week, an emotional support cake, you know?
The swoopy tangy cream and strawberries give it some elegance, a mouthful of summer, very ‘Wimbledon’, I think?
You could alternatively just drape the cake in a simple water icing (incidentally, I love adding a touch of extra virgin olive oil to my water icing to temper the sweetness - such a nifty trick, I think).
In terms of recipe notes - just take your time with this one. Make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature, cream the fats and sugars well!! Slowly add the eggs ensuring each addition emulsifies fully, and be gentle as you fold through your dry ingredients/ the sour cream. This is the epitome of ‘simple’ done well.
I can’t wait to hear what you think… enjoy!
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