madbaker | (no subject)

This week's Resolution Recipe: Election Cake.
The history is that "women would make it in massive quantities to encourage men to vote and come to town hall meetings."
Today you can either celebrate the results with it, or have something easier to swallow. I make no partisan judgments here.

Day 1:
240 ml whole milk at room temperature
1/4 cup sourdough starter
2 1/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup white wheat and 1 1/4 cup white)
2 cups dried fruit (I used dried cherries, currants, and apricots; also one fresh Spitzenberg apple, which was "Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple at Monticello". That seemed appropriate... Jefferson was the first to use negative campaigning in a Presidential election.)
booze to cover (I used brandy; I had planned to use rum, but we were out of the generic stuff and I didn't want to use the high-end cocktail-grade rum for this.)

Combine milk and starter; mix thoroughly. Add flour and mix vigorously until the starter is consistent and smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Allow to ferment for 8-12 hours at room temperature.
Mince the fruit, warm the booze over low heat for a few minutes, and soak the fruit. Cover and let rehydrate for at least overnight.

Day 2:
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggses
1/3 cup whole-milk yogurt
1/4 cup honey
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp warm spice blend (I used: 1 1/2 tsp each cinnamon and true cinnamon; 1 tsp each mace and nutmeg; 1/2 tsp allspice; 1/4 tsp cloves.)

With a paddle attachment in a stand mixer, cream the butter very well; then add sugar, mixing until light and fluffy. Add the eggses one at a time on medium speed. Mix in the honey and yogurt. Change the paddle to a dough hook. Add the sponge and mix just until incorporated. Combine all of the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated; do not over-mix. Drain the fruit, reserving the liquid, and fold into the mixture the fruit and 2 Tbsp of the reserved fruit-soaking booze.

Grease a bundt pan and pour in. Let rise for 2-4 hours (I had to go 4) until the cake has risen by 1/3 of its volume.

Heat the oven to 375 and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30-45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean (it took 45). Cool completely. Brush the remaining fruit booze over the top, wrap, and let sit for a week before the election.

Dust with powdered sugar or glaze with some sort of icing (I used lemon - 3 Tbsp lemon juice, somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar whisked together), slice and eat as the results come in.

What worked: It's a spice cake with fruit in it. Unlike traditional fruitcake, this is designed to be edible. It was not overly sweet. The dried fruit was nice and the fresh apple added a lot of moistness. The lemon icing added a nice flavor. I made it a week earlier and wrapped it in plastic to let the flavors meld; it was not at all dry after a week in the fridge.

What didn't: My starter is a bit sluggish right now and the sponge ended up both too thick and not particularly rising. It did spring by 1/3 in the oven though. I didn't have enough fruit-soaking booze left over to use afterwards, so I brushed the cake with some Cherry Heering. The added lemon icing completely soaked in so it was invisible half an hour later.

Will I make it again? Eh, I might pull it out in two years if I remember. It was more of a stunt than a real keeper.