Kent Be Bothered
Jul. 30th, 2023 10:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Kentish Cherry Cake.
"We have Henry VIII to thank for Kentish cherries. He ordered the fruit trees to be planted in the county, which has been associated with them ever since - though only around a tenth of the original 5000 hectares of cherry orchards remain."
250 g cherries (Sweet or sour? It makes a big difference)
100 g unsalted butter, softened
100 g sugar
2 medium eggses
100 g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
50 g ground almonds
1 Tbsp milk
powdered sugar, for dusting
Heat the oven to 350° F. Grease a shallow 20 cm round cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Cut the cherries in half and remove the stones. Pat the cherries dry with kitchen paper and leave to one side.
Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggses one at a time. Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture and fold in. Toss 3/4 of the cherries with the ground almonds, then fold them gently into the batter. Stir in the milk.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin and gently smooth the surface. Scatter the remaining cherries over the top and press them lightly into the mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cake is risen and golden, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
What worked: It was okay with some vanilla ice cream. It didn't particularly rise, but it apparently isn't really supposed to. It kept well for tea during the week and was better warm.
What didn't: We used frozen sweet cherries; canned sour cherries would have provided a better flavor - excuse me, flavour - if we'd been able to find them. I believe that most Kentish cherries are sweet these days but I have not verified that.
This was somewhat boring. It needed a dollop of almond extract, perhaps.
Will I make it again? No. So far I've been pretty disappointed with this batch of recipes. At best they've been British stodge.
That quote is true but not complete. Apparently the Roman invaders of 43 AD remarked on wild cherries already growing in Kent - so while Henry is responsible for expanding Kentish cherry production (along with his waistline), he did not invent it.
"We have Henry VIII to thank for Kentish cherries. He ordered the fruit trees to be planted in the county, which has been associated with them ever since - though only around a tenth of the original 5000 hectares of cherry orchards remain."
250 g cherries (Sweet or sour? It makes a big difference)
100 g unsalted butter, softened
100 g sugar
2 medium eggses
100 g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
50 g ground almonds
1 Tbsp milk
powdered sugar, for dusting
Heat the oven to 350° F. Grease a shallow 20 cm round cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Cut the cherries in half and remove the stones. Pat the cherries dry with kitchen paper and leave to one side.
Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggses one at a time. Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture and fold in. Toss 3/4 of the cherries with the ground almonds, then fold them gently into the batter. Stir in the milk.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin and gently smooth the surface. Scatter the remaining cherries over the top and press them lightly into the mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cake is risen and golden, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
What worked: It was okay with some vanilla ice cream. It didn't particularly rise, but it apparently isn't really supposed to. It kept well for tea during the week and was better warm.
What didn't: We used frozen sweet cherries; canned sour cherries would have provided a better flavor - excuse me, flavour - if we'd been able to find them. I believe that most Kentish cherries are sweet these days but I have not verified that.
This was somewhat boring. It needed a dollop of almond extract, perhaps.
Will I make it again? No. So far I've been pretty disappointed with this batch of recipes. At best they've been British stodge.
That quote is true but not complete. Apparently the Roman invaders of 43 AD remarked on wild cherries already growing in Kent - so while Henry is responsible for expanding Kentish cherry production (along with his waistline), he did not invent it.
