I want to take a gift to my nephew and his little family who have all been ill when we visit them in Plymouth tomorrow. I'm thinking cake. But healthy cake. In Sarah Britten's wonderful book "My New Roots" I find a recipe for her birthday cake - Blood Orange and Chocolate. The photograph is luscious - two different cakes - four layers alternating orange and chocolate, sandwiched together with a chocolate, date and orange frosting.
In the end I decide to keep it simple and just make the chocolate layer. Except it turns out not to be simple - the recipe is perfect, the cakes rise beautifully in the oven and look fab. But when they are cool and I come to turn them out of the tins they crumble and half the mixture sticks to the bottom. For as long as I can remember now I always line cake tins with greaseproof paper even when the recipe says just grease them. Like this one does. So for once I follow the recipe. I grease but don't line the tins. Cake disaster.
Not even sure I can rescue one layer and smother all irregularities with the date icing. I'll decide tomorrow when I've had a think about it. Luckily tonight I also baked her recipe for Banana Bread Granola which is knobbly and chunky with coconut shards and walnuts and fragrant with whizzed up bananas and maple syrup. Quite addictive. And luckily there is enough left to take them a boxful if the cake doesn't pan out.
I'd still like to make the Blood Orange and Chocolate cake in all its glory for another occasion, for a special birthday. If I was in Sardinia I'd bake it for my niece.
Happy Birthday for tomorrow, sweet niece.
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