LOLA'S: A Cake Journey Around the World E-Book

LOLA's Bakers

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Discover 70 popular cakes from across the globe, brought to you by London's famous bakery. From American and Middle Eastern delicacies to European delights –bake your way across the continents with this exciting range of recipes.

Leseprobe

LOLA.S

A CAKE JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD

LOLA.S

A CAKE JOURNEYAROUND THE WORLD

70 of the most delicious and iconic cake recipesdiscovered on our travels

photography by

STEVE PAINTER

For ‘Omi’ Vera Budwig devoted Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother, whose delicious recipes have always inspired us to cook and bake.

Mario and Asher – Lola’s Cupcakes

Design, photography and prop styling Steve Painter

Editors Kate Eddison and Alice Sambrook

Head of Production Patricia Harrington

Art Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Publisher Cindy Richards

Recipe writer and developer Julia Head

Food Stylist Lucy McKelvie

Indexer Hilary Bird

US recipe tester and conversions Cathy Seward

First published in 2017

by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 East 116th Street

New York NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

Text © Lola’s Cupcakes Ltd.

Design and commissioned photography © Ryland Peters & Small 2017. For other picture credits see page 191.

eISBN: 978-1-78879-001-7

ISBN: 978-1-84975-809-3

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

CIP data from the Library of Congress has been applied for. A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Notes

• Both British (Metric) and American (Imperial plus US cup) measurements are included for your convenience, however, it is important to work with one set of measurements and not alternate between the two within a recipe.

• Eggs and butter should be used at room temperature.

• All spoon measurements are level, unless otherwise specified.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperature. Recipes were tested using a fan oven. If using a conventional oven, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for adjusting temperatures.

• All butter is unsalted, unless otherwise specified.

• All eggs are free-range and large (UK) or extra-large (US), unless otherwise specified. Recipes containing raw or partially cooked egg should not be served to the very young, very old, anyone with a compromised immune system or pregnant women.

• When using the zest of citrus fruit, try to find organic or unwaxed fruits and wash well before using.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the world of Lola’s baking

Cakes of the world

Storecupboard essentials

Tools and basic equipment

Specialist equipment and ingredients

Baking tips

THE RECIPES

Northern Europe

Southern Europe

The Middle East and Africa

The Americas and the Caribbean

Australasia and Asia

Index

Acknowledgements

Welcome to the world of LOLA.S baking

Lola’s is a business with a simple aim: to handcraft the most delicious cakes you have ever tasted, using only the finest fresh ingredients. It is run with passion and creativity by Asher Budwig, a fourthgeneration baker who grew up watching his father Mario establish the enormously successful chain Millie’s Cookies. A knack for baking and entrepreneurial spirit clearly runs in the family, as Asher’s grandmother and great grandmother also ran a pâtisserie and café in the 1940s in Colombia. With such a talented family of bakers, it is no wonder that Lola’s continues to go from strength to strength.

Initially famous as the go-to place for stylish and delicious cupcakes, Lola’s has expanded its range of baked goods. As well as fabulous cupcakes, they now offer a new and exciting range of large cakes to share and celebrate with, taking great inspiration from cakes around the world. A multi-national company, Lola’s team of highly skilled bakers cover many countries, and all cultures add something different to the Lola’s baking repertoire.

In this book, Lola’s pass on their baking expertise with a deliciously diverse selection of recipes. From classic sponges to pastries, sweet breads, gateaux and traybakes, there is something for every baker, whether a simple cake to serve with mid-morning coffee or an extravagantly decorated party centrepiece. To help you on your baking journey, a helpful difficulty rating for these recipes indicates the level of skill involved: one whisk means the recipe is quick, easy and ideal for beginners, two whisks means the recipe has a few more steps to follow, and three whisks means the recipe will be quite advanced or time-consuming. However, nothing in the book is out of reach for the home-baker, even the cakes with three whisks are managable enough when the steps are followed with a little patience and care. There is also a selection of gluten-free and dairy-free cakes just to make sure that no one is left out! What are you waiting for – get your apron on and start your cake journey with Lola’s.

Cakes of the world

Lola’s bakery would like to take you on a deliciously sweet journey through Northern and Southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Australasia and Asia, all through the power of cake.

In these pages, you will find flavours and textures from afar that we hope will conjure up memories of trips past, or may even inspire you to travel further.

Food in itself is powerfully evocative, and can take you right back to a particular place and time as if it were yesterday. A vivid memory of a taste, texture or scent can all help to shape our adventures in life.

We can all remember an event as a child that ended in an unforgettable sweet treat. Perhaps it was the first French éclair from a real pâtisserie or a piece of rich chocolate cake at the local café.

Julia, our head recipe developer for this book, has such fond memories of holidays spent in France with daily runs to the patisserie to buy a tempting slice of tarte aux pommes. More recently, a hunt for the perfect mud cake inspired by an elusive version tasted in Australia – harder than you may think! What is clear is the significance of food, and often in particular cake, in our lives.

From East to West, everyday to avantgarde, cake of some kind has a place in most cultures. By sharing some of the most famous cakes from each country and snippets of the stories and legends behind them, we hope to express the heart-warming part that baking plays in bringing people together to share something homemade and full of tradition.

Although many of our recipes are loyal to classic methods and ingredients, we know how important traditional versions can be to a culture; therefore we are not trying to recreate ‘Nona’s’ tiramisu word for word, instead we are here to open your senses to new and exciting flavours that the world has to offer. We like to give our own special Lola’s touch to many of the recipes and bring some of them up to date where we see fit.

Cakes carry so much symbolism and meaning for a culture and can be inspired by many things: significant ingredients, public holidays, celebrations or events in history. Important cakes have taken centre stage at social events for centuries. We have found that the key prized ingredients for each culture vary dramatically across the continents; for example, the Russian love for honey, the German love of Kirsch and the Greek fondness for lemon and olive oil have all inspired cakes in this book. What’s more, there are huge variations in the textures, styles and decoration of cakes around the world.

This book covers them all, from the light cakes of Southern Europe such as the Genoise Sponge with Raspberries (see page 71), to the sometimes denser cakes of Northern Europe such as Parkin (see page 23) or Stollen (see page 48). Cakes from the Middle East often feature a richness that comes from being soaked in syrup with plenty of spices and dried fruits, in keeping with the wonderfully fragrant surrounds and methods of cooking in these countries. The cakes of Africa tend to heavily feature nuts and fruits, such as the Peanut and Banana Cake (see page 117). Across the Atlantic we have wonderful creations from America, which tend to be sweet and often spongebased. Undoubted world-renowned classics such as Red Velvet Cake (see page 123) and New York Cheesecake (see page 124) are iconic in their own right. Travelling further south to the Caribbean, they unsurprisingly take huge inspiration from the abundance of spices and tropical fruits. Strong flavours give these bakes wonderful warmth much like the tropical islands themselves. Next, we travel across to Australasia, where the bakes are more European in their history. Sponges laced with macadamia nuts or dark/bittersweet chocolate give slightly denser bakes in Australia and New Zealand. Finally, delicate yet exotic flavours such as matcha, sesame and mango, feature in the bakes of Asia.

Despite the vast variations in textures and flavours throughout this book, what remains the same all the way through is the pleasure that can be taken when eating that first bite. This feeling is universal the world over – pure happiness and escapism. What better way to travel the world than from your kitchen – and no jet lag!

Storecupboard essentials

Here is a list of some basic ingredients that feature throughout the book and how to use them. Baking is a science, and when combined correctly, these simple components can create wonderful things.

FLOUR

The variety most commonly used in our recipes is plain/all-purpose flour; it makes beautiful light sponges and is readily available. On occasion we instruct to use self-raising flours, which include a pre-mixed raising agent. For our American bakers, we sometimes suggest cake flour; this is a fine, light blend of flour commonly found in the US but not so readily available elsewhere; it has a low protein content so is great for making light sponges. Wholemeal/whole-wheat flour is used when we want a coarser texture and wholesome taste to cakes, it is usually combined with a little plain/all-purpose flour too. Occasionally, cornflour/cornstarch or polenta or fine cornmeal is used in place of or as well as flour, both of these are gluten-free and give a shorter more crumbly texture to your cake. For some cakes we have used white strong/bread flour, which contains a lot of gluten and gives a bouncy bread-like spring.

BUTTER

It is best to take butter out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before using to allow it to come to room temperature. We always use the unsalted variety, unless stated. This means you can be in control of the salt content of your baked goods. Sometimes we will instruct to add a little salt, where needed, as it can really lift the flavours.

EGGS

We use large UK or extra-large US free-range eggs in all our recipes. Again, we find that adding eggs at room temperature gives the best results.

SUGAR

Caster/granulated sugar is the most frequently used in baking for its neutral flavour. Light soft brown sugar gives a richer, more caramel-like flavour, but will add moisture and result in a heavier bake. Dark soft brown sugar has a strong treacly flavour – ideal in fruit cakes or gingerbread. Icing/confectioners’ sugar is used mainly in frostings and finishing of cakes. We also sometimes use honey to sweeten in place of sugar.

RAISING AGENTS

Baking powder is a common addition to our bakes. A ready-made mix of cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda/baking soda, it reacts with heat to produce carbon dioxide bubbles. If you don’t have baking powder to hand, bicarbonate of soda/baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients such as lemon juice to similar effect.

VANILLA EXTRACT

Used in the majority of our bakes, this must be the extract variety and NOT the synthetic essence sometimes found in stores. Proper vanilla gives a mellow, sweet scent to your bakes.

Tools and basic equipment

When baking, it is important to read through the recipe before you start and make sure you have the right equipment to hand. The last thing you need is to get half way through a recipe and realize that you don’t actually own a whisk! We have compiled a list of indispensable equipment for the home-baker.

RUBBER SPATULA

Useful for scraping down the bowl and incorporating ingredients into a batter.

SIEVE/STRAINER

Important to remove any lumps from dry ingredients and to remove seeds from fruit purées.

BALLOON WHISK

Useful when whipping cream or egg whites and for folding these into icings/frostings or batters.

A GOOD SET OF SCALES

We prefer to use electronic scales as they are accurate at measuring liquids and solids. Baking is a science so it is important that your ingredients are accurately measured.

A SET OF MEASURING SPOONS

Again, crucial in keeping measurements exact and for adding baking powders or spices.

A SELECTION OF MIXING BOWLS

One large and a few smaller heatproof bowls.

STAND MIXER

A stand mixer is every home cook’s dream! We all covet the beautiful vintage mixers we see in the shops, however, there are cheaper models on the market that do just as good a job and are very reasonably priced. A stand mixer cuts baking preparation time in half; however, with a little elbow grease all our recipes can be made by hand. Most mixers will come with a paddle attachment, which is what we use when mixing our batters. Occasionally, we will use the whisk attachment, mainly when beating eggs with sugar.

HAND-HELD ELECTRIC MIXER

A hand-held electric mixer, the cousin of the stand mixer, is essential when whisking egg whites over heat, and it can be used instead of a stand mixer when preparing our batters. A very useful piece of kit, it is relatively inexpensive to buy.

A VARIED SELECTION OF CAKE PANS

We mainly use 23-cm/9-inch round loose-bottom or springform cake pans, as these produce a good-sized sponge and allow you to release the cakes easily and cleanly, which is particularly useful for delicate gateaux and layered cakes. Smaller 20-cm/8-inch round cake pans are useful for dainty teatime cakes such as a Victoria Sponge (see page 20). Other pans used in this book include loaf pans for making things like the Banana Bread (see page 120) and a square or rectangular brownie pan for traybake-style cakes such as Nanaimo Bars (see page 132). If you don’t have exactly the correct pan size to hand, you can experiment with the pan sizes that you do have, but remember to adjust cooking times and temperatures accordingly.

BAKING PARCHMENT

This is an essential piece of kit in our kitchens. We like to use a silicone-lined, non-stick paper as this gives us certainty that our cakes will not stick while baking. You can also buy pre-cut circles and squares that neatly fit into the base of your pans in various sizes.

PALETTE KNIFE OR METAL SPATULA

We often instruct to use these for spreading frosting onto cakes neatly and evenly.

Specialist equipment and ingredients

Most equipment and ingredients in this book are readily available to the homecook. There are a few things, however, we have not been able to locate within our local stores and may require you to shop online or use a specialist baking outlet.

BUNDT PANS AND MOULDS

Some recipes in this book feature cakes baked in special European-style Bundt pans. Most of these ornately-shaped cake pans are now readily available from good cookshops and even homeware departments. We have found that we get brilliant results from the silicone versions as they give a really clean edge to the shapes. However, the traditional-style metal pans also work well as long as they are greased properly (see below).

CAKE RELEASE SPRAY

When using intricate cake pans such as the Bundt pans, we have found that using a cake release spray really helps to remove the cooked cake quickly and easily. The spray really gets into the nooks and crannies of the pans, where standard buttering can sometimes fail.

PIPING NOZZLES/TIPS

You can buy piping nozzles/tips quite easily in stores. However, we like to source our piping nozzles/tips online because we find that the nozzles/tips supplied in home-baking kits can be too small. But please do experiment as you go, the style of finish is really up to you.

PIPING/PASTRY BAGS

We like to buy large disposable piping/pastry bags – a personal preference and a lot less mess when cleaning up! However, you can also buy a re-usable version, these tend to be made of strong material and are great for piping stiff icings. A third option is to construct a piping/pastry bag out of baking parchment – simply cut out a large triangle, roll into a cone shape and tape or staple to secure. You can also choose to forgo a piping/pastry bag altogether and just spoon or spread icing on instead. There are only a few cakes, such as the Millefeuille (see page 64) where the piping/pastry bag is really essential to the overall structure of a cake.

FOOD COLOURING

These can vary hugely from brand to brand. Most colourings for the domestic market are based on natural colourings, which, in our experience, do not give vibrant shades. We would advise to try online retailers for when brighter colours are needed. For example, the food colouring used in our Red Velvet Cake (see page 123) is sourced online as most domestic colours, in our experience, do not give a vibrant enough red shade to cut through the brown cocoa and chocolate in the sponge.

Baking tips

BATTERS AND MIXING

There are a few stages involved in preparing the perfect cake batter. We hope by providing you with a few tips, your baking experience will be simple and stress-free!

The most important thing to do before you start is make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature – we can’t stress how important this is! Take butter and eggs out of the fridge 20 minutes before you start. If you are short on time, you can bring cold eggs up to room temperature by placing them in a bowl filled with tepid water. Cold butter can be cut into small pieces and placed in a very low microwave or saucepan to soften. Do not leave raw eggs at room temperature for longer than 30 minutes, and use immediately once at room temperature.

The first stage with most of our recipes is to ‘cream’ the butter and sugar together. This really just means to beat the softened butter with the sugar and incorporate a little air. If you have time, this can be done by hand with a wooden spoon, but it is much quicker and easier to do it in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or using a hand-held electric whisk and large mixing bowl.

Next, we add the eggs, one at a time, mixing slowly until incorporated. Do not worry if your mixture curdles after adding the eggs, this is very common and will normally be rectified once you have added the dry ingredients.

The dry ingredients are then added, but these must be sifted well first. At this stage, you can add any extras, such as nuts or chocolate.

We also use an ‘all-in-one’ method where all the ingredients are added at the same time and given a thorough mix to produce a smooth batter.

Finally, do not forget to preheat your oven at least 15 minutes before you plan to bake, and resist the urge to open the oven door until the baking time is complete. All these steps should help ensure your finished product is perfect.

ICINGS/FROSTINGS AND FINISHES

There are many different types of icing to try in this book. Every cake you create will look slightly different to the last one, but this is the best part about home-made cakes and hand-decorating them! We have used a mixture of buttercreams, cream cheese frostings, simple glazes and chocolate ganaches in our finishes. The toppings have been paired with the cakes to create the best flavour combinations possible. For example, the cool cream cheese frosting works well with the rich chocolate in the Stout Cake (see page 36) and a slightly sour Greek yogurt topping works well on the sweet Honey and Orange Cake (see page 87). Some cakes like the Brazil Nut Cake (see page 144) are simple everyday cakes that don’t need a topping. Occasion cakes like the Banoffee Cake (see page 27) are finished with luxurious toppings (often piped) for a decadent finish.

Northern Europe

Victoria sponge ENGLAND

Parkin ENGLAND

Coffee and walnut cake ENGLAND

Banoffee cake ENGLAND

Marmalade cake SCOTLAND

Chocolate whisky cake SCOTLAND

Bara brith WALES

Stout cake IRELAND

Speculoos cake NETHERLANDS

Oliebollen NETHERLANDS

Dutch apple cake NETHERLANDS

Black forest cake GERMANY

Stollen GERMANY

Sacher torte AUSTRIA

Apple and sour cherry strudel AUSTRIA

Dobos torte HUNGARY

Babka POLAND

Marble cake DENMARK

Tarte tatin FRANCE

Paris-brest FRANCE

Millefeuille FRANCE

Victoria sponge ENGLAND

A real British classic. In our opinion you can’t go wrong with a slice of Victoria sponge and a cup of tea as an afternoon treat. Here we have decorated our cake simply with a traditional dusting of icing/confectioners’ sugar, however, you can choose to add fresh berries and cream for a more decorative finish. Whichever way you choose to adorn your cake, we are sure you will enjoy it!

CAKE

225 g/2 sticks butter, softened

225 g/1 cup plus 2 tablespoons caster/granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 eggs

225 g self-raising flour/1¾ cups cake flour mixed with 4 teaspoons baking powder, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

FILLING

140 g/1 cup fresh raspberries

2 tablespoons raspberry jam/jelly

80 g/½ cup fresh strawberries, stalks removed, finely chopped

200 ml/⅔ cup double/heavy cream, lightly whipped

TO DECORATE

1 teaspoon icing/confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 x 20-cm/8-inch sandwich cake pans, greased and lined with baking parchment

MAKES 1 MEDIUM CAKE

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.

This cake uses an all-in-one method. Place all of the cake ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand-held electric whisk and large mixing bowl) and beat slowly to mix the ingredients together. Once mostly incorporated, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Give the batter another good mix for 10–20 seconds to make sure all the flour has been incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Turn out and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

While the cakes are cooling, make the filling. Place the fresh raspberries into a bowl and, using a fork, mash them lightly to break them up slightly and allow the juices to run. Stir in the jam/jelly and finely chopped fresh strawberries, mixing until blended. Set aside. In another bowl whip the double/heavy cream to soft peaks.

Place one cooled sponge the right way up on a serving plate. Spoon the raspberry filling on top, spreading it almost to the edge. Turn the other sponge over and spread two-thirds of the cream onto the bottom (flat side) of this sponge, spreading it almost to the edge. Now take this sponge and carefully invert it cream-side down onto the raspberry layer – with a gentle press you should see the cream and jam/jelly filling at the edges of the cake. It does not matter if some of the filling oozes out.

Finish by dusting generously with icing/confectioners’ sugar to decorate. You can of course decorate the sponge in any way that you choose. Take a large slice and enjoy!