Let me ask you a question. How do you stay connected with your most treasured memories?
For me, baking, food and music take me back to the moments and feelings I cherish from years’ past. I never want to forget how it felt to be a carefree child. How it felt to eat a pastry in a piazza in Rome. Or how it felt to share a meal with the people I love who may no longer be here.
As I sit at my desk typing this newsletter, I have The Very Best of Billy Joel playing in the background. It was one of my Dad’s favourites. When I play it today, I think about the many moments I heard it when I was young. During a dinner party, or on a warm Thursday evening when Dad would wind down with a glass of wine in the living room. The doors and windows would be open to cool the house down, while Billy (or more often, Jethro Tull) played louder than Mum would have liked.
I cherish these memories and how they make me feel when I think about them. I remember the comfort and love I felt as a child – something we often don’t appreciate until we’re much older.
Then I remember the anticipation I felt on Thursday nights for Friday to arrive, which also happened to be lunch-order day at school! Mum would give me an envelope filled with a couple of dollars (I’m showing my age now!) with my order handwritten on the front. The thought of that Hawaiian Pizza Single and strawberry Big M arriving in a brown paper bag at lunchtime still fills me with glee!
All of this – and so much more – comes flowing back when I play Billy Joel.
And it’s the same with baking. When I bake it’s often inspired by a memory of a person, a place, a moment in time. Baking is how I recreate a feeling.
This is something I innately knew but couldn’t so clearly articulate until a few weeks ago. I recently spoke about this with the incredible Natalie Paull, AKA Beatrix Bakes, on my podcast Bakeology. While we were sat on my couch sharing some cake for breakfast, Nat reflected on recreating the iconic Australian Sara Lee cheesecake from her childhood.
When Nat was creating her recipe, she said she didn’t want to her version to be the same Sara Lee cheesecake. “I wanted it to make me feel like that Sara Lee cheesecake made me feel,” Nat said
For Nat, it’s about the feeling, rather than the taste.
We went on to speak about recreating Oreos to really drive the thought home.
Nat - “It's like if we're re-creating something like an Oreo…you don't want it to be exactly like what comes in a packet.”
Adam – “Yeah. Because you just buy the packet, right?”
Nat – “That's right. That's right. And you want it to be that feeling.”
The penny dropped. Of course it’s about the feeling!
In an upcoming episode of Bakeology, Emiko Davies recounts a story of trying to recreate her grandmother’s iconic pineapple custard tart. Despite her best efforts and intentions, she couldn’t get the taste right. But on reflection, it wasn’t about the taste. It’s about stoking the flames of a feeling based on a memory.
For years I’ve been recreating bakes I grew up with, unconsciously thinking it’s the taste I’m looking to recreate. While this is obviously important – I mean, no one wants a dry, flavourless cake - it’s the feeling I’ve been chasing this whole time.
It seems like such a small shift in perspective, but it’s one that for me is incredibly profound. This is why I love baking so much. It’s so much more than something delicious to eat. There’s history, connection and feeling in every bite. We just have to be open to experiencing it.
If you’re to hear my chat with Nat or Emiko, you can listen to Bakeology on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere else good podcasts are found.
Orange and Fennel Chiffon Cake, with Whisky Oranges and Salted Honey Cream
All I can say is that this dessert snowballed quickly. What started as an idea for a simple cake rapidly turned into the ultimate dinner party dessert.
Inspired by the passion for fluffy cakes that Nat during our Bakeology episode, I knew I wanted to put a spin on one of her iconic sponge recipes. I of course couldn’t go past the queen of all sponges, the Chiffon Cake.
Nat’s recipe is foolproof and results in a towering cake that seems to defy the laws of physics. How can something so tall be so light?! I’ve taken her recipe and added a small flavour twist by including orange zest and roughly ground fennel seeds. It’s a flavour match made in heaven. And this cake in its solo glory is worthy of any dinner party or afternoon tea.
But here’s where the snowball started to gather speed down the mountain.
While I was thinking about what to do with the leftover oranges, I had a sudden flash back to the dinner parties from my childhood. One of Mum’s most famous desserts was Whisky Oranges with whipped cream. This simple, fresh, delicious dessert was a guaranteed crowd pleaser. I have the fondest memories of those nights and this dessert. And with one of Dad’s whisky bottles perched patiently on my liquor shelf, I knew what I had to do.
But what about the cream. With all the fresh, light sweetness of the oranges and the cake I knew I needed something lush, with an edge of salt to tie everything together.
(The snowball is hitting terminal velocity now!)
And so, my Salted Honey Cream was born. You will likely use more honey and salt than you think is needed, so add it gradually until you hit that sweet spot of sweet and salty that this dessert needs.
For me, the sweet spot is when you can taste a slight murmur of salt behind the honey. Think of the salt as the backup singer to the honey. Essential, but it never outshines the main act.
The Whisky Oranges and Salted Honey Cream are perfect when you need a quick, stress-free dessert. When you have more time up your sleeve, I encourage you to try the Orange and Fennel Chiffon Cake. These three recipes together are pure dessert heaven.
WHISKY ORANGES
Ingredients
8 oranges
165g caster sugar
100ml water
60ml whisky
Method
Start by segmenting your oranges. To do this, I use the method I learned from Thanh Truong AKA the Fruit Nerd, but you can use any method you like.
For Thanh’s method, position your orange so the point where the stem attached to the orange is facing up. Place you knife just to the side of the stem-point and slice off a large cheek. Repeat this on the other side of the stem-point. Then slice the two semi-circular wedges still attached either side of the stem point. You should be left with two large cheeks of orange, two semi-circles of orange and the core (which you can discard or have as a snack).
Cut each orange cheek into four wedges. Using a small, sharp knife, place the wedge on its side and run the blade between the orange flesh and the pith to create a perfect, pith-free orange wedge. If any pith remains on the wedge, simply trim it off. Put the segmented oranges in a large bowl and set aside while you get on with the whisky syrup.
For the syrup, place the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Whisk on a low heat until the sugar is dissolved, and then turn up the heat to medium and bring the syrup to a gentle boil. Boil for 10 minutes or until the syrup turns a light caramel colour. Watch the pot closely, as the caramel colour can arrive quite suddenly. As the caramel colour starts to appear, give the pot a little shake to swoosh the syrup around, encouraging an even caramel.
Once the syrup is a deep golden hue (reminiscent of the whisky you’re using), take the pot off the heat and add the whisky. Be very careful adding the whisky, as it will make the syrup splutter. Swoosh the syrup around the pot again until the spluttering subsides, and the whisky is fully combined.
Leave the syrup to cool for 10-15 minutes in the pot before pouring over the segmented oranges. Stir the oranges so the syrup is evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
SALTED HONEY CREAM
Ingredients
300g thickened cream
3-4 tablespoons of honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
Method
Place the cream, salt and three tablespoons of honey into a medium bowl and whisk to medium peaks.
Taste the cream to see if you would like to add more honey or salt. Add any extra honey or salt and whisk to combine (I used the full 4 tablespoons of honey and an extra pinch or two of salt). Taste again and add more honey or salt if you wish. Once you’re happy with the flavour, whisk to stiff peaks. Cover the cream and place in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
For a simple dinner party dessert, spoon some oranges into serving glasses and top with a dollop of cream.
For a more decedent dessert, serve the oranges and cream alongside a slice of my Orange and Fennel Chiffon Cake.
ORANGE AND FENNEL CHIFFON CAKE
Ingredients
200g plain flour
40g corn flour
15g baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
300g caster sugar
300g egg whites (from 8-10 eggs)
140g egg yolks (from 5-7 eggs)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
190ml buttermilk
110ml vegetable oil (canola, sunflower etc)
Zest of three oranges
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds, roughly ground
Method
Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C. Make sure you have a 25cm angel food cake / chiffon cake tin (this is the tin I have).
Sift the plain flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Grab another large bowl and sift the flour mix into the second bowl. Finally, sift the flour mix back into the original bowl and set aside. The mix should have been sieved three times.
Weigh the caster sugar into a bowl. Take out two tablespoons of the sugar and place in a small bowl to use with your egg whites. Place the larger amount of sugar next to the sieved dry ingredients.
In another large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, oil, buttermilk and orange zest to combine and set aside.
Place the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted a whisk attachment. Sieve the cream of tartar over the egg whites and then whip on high (speed 8 on a KitchenAid) until the whites start to stiffen.
With the mixer still running, add the two tablespoons of reserved sugar in four portions and whisk to stiff-medium peaks.
Sieve the two bowls of dry ingredients (the sugar, and the pre-sieved flour mix) over the egg yolk mixture and gently whisk to create a loose batter. Add one-third of the whipped egg whites to the batter and fold to combine. Then add the remaining egg white and gently fold until there are no streaks of egg white in the batter.
Gently pour the batter into the un-greased chiffon cake tin. There should be a gap of about 4-5cm between the batter and the top of the tin. This cake rises very impressively, so be careful not to over fill the tin or the cake will overflow as it bakes.
Bake for 55-65 minutes until golden, risen, and set when you gently press the top of the cake.
As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, place the neck of a sturdy, heat-proof bottle into the funnel of the chiffon tin and, with the confidence of an Olympic diver on a 10m diving board, flip the tin so it is upside-down and resting on the bottle.* Leave the cake in this position for 2-3 hours to cool.
To release the cake, place the tin on its side. Insert an offset spatula or a thin butter knife down the side of the tin. Holding the spatula or knife at a slight angle, run it around the edge of the tin. There’s no need to run the spatula around the centre funnel.
Once the cake is released from the sides of the tin, remove the base from the rest of the tin and place it on the bench. Run your spatula or knife between the cake and the bas to release the cake from the base. Finding the confidence of that Olympic diver again, invert the cake onto a cake plate. The cake should slide off the funnel and land softly on your plate.
Dust with icing sugar and serve with the Whisky Oranges and Salted Honey Cream (if using). Any leftovers will keep for two days, gently wrapped in plastic wrap. The Whisky Oranges and Salted Honey Cream will keep for up to 5 days in seperate containers in the fridge.
* If you’re like me and don’t own any bottles that are skinny enough to fit into the chiffon tin funnel, it’s time to get creative. You’re after an item that is sturdy enough to balance the cake for several hours, yet skinny enough to fit into the funnel. The best I could do was our Moka Pot, which worked a treat!
Stay sweet,
Adam x
How fluffy, and boozy. Just like me.
One of the tastiest cakes (and most definitely the lightest and fluffiest) I’ve ever had the joy of devouring 🤩