Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (31 page)

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Place the tin in the oven and bake the cake for 30–35 minutes until it is risen and golden brown. Transfer the tin to a
wire rack and leave the cake to cool for at least 20 minutes before eating.

When ready to serve, remove the lardy cake from the tin. Slice the lardy cake, place on plates and spoon the orange caramel over.

Gloucester lardy cake with orange caramel

Dark beer and dark chocolate go so well together. They have a very similar bitter taste and when that is combined with a little sugar it makes an excellent cake. At the pub we
serve this with a shot glass of dark quadruple ale. The muscovado and malt cream is my nod to the malt taste in the beer.

Serves 8

For the muscovado and malt cream

For the chocolate and ale icing

First, make the muscovado and malt cream. Mix the muscovado sugar, malt extract and salt together in a bowl. Whisk in the double cream until it holds a soft peak, then cover and
chill until needed.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and grease a 25cm metal terrine. Put the cocoa powder in a bowl, stir in the dark ale and leave to one side until needed.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder together and also leave to one side. Beat the soft dark brown sugar and butter together until soft and creamed. Beat in the
eggs, one at a time. Beat in the cocoa mix, then add the flour mix, little by little, and beat it in, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Place the tin in the oven and bake the cake for 30–35 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out
clean and the cake comes away from the sides. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool on a wire rack. When it is cool, remove it from the tin.

While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate and ale icing. Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, without letting the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Add the
chocolate and stir until it melts. Beat the icing sugar and butter together in another bowl until a soft paste forms. Gradually beat in the dark ale, then fold in the melted chocolate. Spread the
icing over the cake and leave to set.

Slice the cake and serve with the muscovado and malt cream.

Chocolate and ale cake with muscovado and malt cream

Here you go – this recipe is a fun risk to be undertaken when you’re feeling brave and bold. We bake this cake in a kettle barbecue, which gives it a fantastic smoky
taste. Granted, it is a little unconventional to bake in a barbecue, as the heat is difficult to regulate, but the result gives a completely new dimension to the cake. Once you master this
technique you will be baking all sorts of dishes on a barbecue.

Don’t worry if you haven’t got a barbecue, however, as the cake also bakes beautifully in an oven and you get the smoky taste from the smoked butter, which you can
source on the internet.

Serves 6–8

Light a barbecue and leave the coals to become glowing. Alternatively, preheat the oven to 180°C/ Gas Mark 4. Grease a 25cm springform cake tin, line the base with baking
parchment and then flour.

Beat the sugar and both butters together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one by one, then beat in the egg yolks and maple syrup. Sift over the flour and beat it in.

Pour the batter into the cake tin and smooth the surface. Place on the barbecue rack, close the lid and wait to see what happens. Just keep checking the cake until a skewer
inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake comes away from the edge of the tin.

Or, if you don’t want to live life quite that much on the edge, place the tin in the oven and bake the cake for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes
out clean and the cake comes away from the edge of the tin.

However you bake the cake, though, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Turn it out and peel off the paper, then leave it to cool completely. Serve
cut into slices with a little maple syrup spooned over.

Tom’s Tip

It’s important the coals are glowing grey and not red hot when you put the tin on them, or the cake will burn on the bottom. To be on the safe side, rest the tin on a couple
hot bricks until you get the hang of baking over coals.

Barbecued maple cake

This super-moist cake is made with oil instead of butter and brioche crumbs instead of flour. The result is just amazing! The whole dish has a slight Asian tilt and the green tea
sorbet is very refreshing and clean. The sorbet is equally enjoyable with a cup of tea or served on its own for dessert.

Serves 6–8

For the green tea sorbet

For the poached plums

To make the green tea sorbet, place the water, glucose syrup and sugar in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from
the heat and whisk in the tea powder and lemon juice. Leave the sorbet mix to cool completely.

When the sorbet mix is completely cool, pour the mix into an ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Place in a freezerproof container and freeze
until it’s time to serve.

Meanwhile, poach the plums. Tie the cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a piece of muslin. Place the water, dark rum and sugar in a saucepan
over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the muslin with all the spices, lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Place the plums in an heatproof bowl, pour the
spiced poaching liquid over, add the spice bag and leave to cool completely. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until needed.

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 130°C/ Gas Mark ½ and line a 900g loaf pan with baking parchment. Mix the caster sugar, brioche crumbs, ground almonds, sesame
seeds and baking powder together in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs in a bowl, then whisk in the tahini paste, rapeseed oil and sesame oil. Beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to make a
cake batter.

Pour the batter into the loaf tin. Place the tin in the oven and bake the cake for between 45 minutes and 1 hour until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean and the
cake comes away from the edges of the tin. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out and peel off the paper. Return the cake to the rack to cool completely. It will keep for up to
2 days wrapped in kitchen foil in an airtight container.

Slice the cake and serve with the green tea sorbet and poached plums, drizzled with maple syrup.

A refreshing change from more ordinary gooseberry fool or gooseberry crumble – it is like a sweet stew with dumplings, and it really captures the taste of summer. I think
gooseberries are one of the most underrated and underused fruit that we have in Britain. Their season is not that long, so make the most of it!

Serves 4

For the elderflower dumplings

For the sweet cheese

To begin the elderflower dumplings, place the water and 300g of the caster sugar in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Place the
elderflower heads in an heatproof bowl, pour over the boiling syrup and add two-thirds of the lemon zest and juice. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to one side to cool completely.

Place the gooseberries and the 150g caster sugar in the washed pan over a medium heat and gently simmer, stirring, until the gooseberries have broken down and you have a lovely
purée. You may need to add a little more sugar, depending on how tart the gooseberries are. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave to one side.

Meanwhile, finish the elderflower dumplings. Mix the breadcrumbs, suet, the remaining 55g caster sugar and the remaining lemon zest and juice together. You may need to add a
little water or the elderflower syrup to make the paste a bit moister. Shape into 12 dumplings.

Uncover the elderflower syrup and remove the flower heads, then return it to the boil. Add the dumplings to the pan, reduce the heat to low and gently poach them, uncovered, for
35–45 minutes until they are puffy.

To make the sweet cheese, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and ground mace together. Cover and chill until needed.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Remove the dumplings from the syrup and place them on the baking sheet. Place
the baking sheet in the oven and bake the dumplings for about 10 minutes until they start to become crisp and lightly brown.

To serve, reheat the gooseberries until just warm, if necessary. Spoon into a bowl, add a couple dumplings, a spoonful of the sweet cheese and a few elderflowers to decorate.
Drizzle a little of the elderflower syrup over the top and serve.