This Sunday was April first, April Fools’ Day. When Andrew
had his back turned, changing a record, I splashed soya sauce into his coffee. It
was a giggly, silly, rainy afternoon.
It was also a perfect afternoon to have a long, lazy drawn
out lunch. We had a friend, Daemon, come over. I made some fat chunks of tuna braised
in chickpeas, and a crunchy green salad.
I also made this David Tanis cake. It’s dense and interesting.
Works wonderfully with strong coffee and some oranges.
A note on the book: It’s called Heart of the Artichoke, and I love, love, love it. For the most
part, it’s built on menus – spring, summer, fall and winter menus, and menus
for large groups. I sometimes use David
Tanis’ books as launch pads for my own menus. If, for instance, I already know
I’m making roast chicken, I’ll go see what Tanis serves with his roast chicken.
It gives me ideas, if not a recipe itself.
Here’s a sample of what Tanis’ menus look like. From his
Spring Menus, “Reclaiming Arugula”:
-Fennel Soup with a
Green Swirl
-Pork Scaloppine with
Lemon, Capers, and Chopped Arugula
-Zucchini Pancakes
-Italian Spice Cakes
-Tangerines
There was arugula
and fennel in the salad I served that afternoon, but if I was in keeping with
this menu, it was accidental. I did, however, serve tangerines.
Italian Spice Cake
Adapted from a David Tanis recipe in Heart of the Artichoke
A wonderful thing about this cake is that you barely get
anything dirty. Once you’ve simmered your sugars in a large saucepan, you can
mix the rest of the ingredients directly into it. You never end up dirtying a
bowl.
The list of ingredients is long, but it’s mostly the spices.
If you’re missing one or two, don’t rush out and buy it just for this cake. A
small omission won’t make that much difference.
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
¼ cup honey
The zest of an orange
The zest of a lemon
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of grated nutmeg
A pinch of cayenne powder
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup golden raisins
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup unbleached white flour
½ cup almond flour
Pre-heat the oven to 375 F. Grease a 9 or 10 inch tart pan
with butter.
In a large saucepan, bring the water, sugar and honey to a
simmer for a minute or two.
Take off the heat and mix in the zests, the spices and the
cocoa. Now add the eggs, mixing to a smooth, uniform consistency. Now, add the
nuts and raisins, and stir. Finally, add the flours, alternating between the
two types.
Pour the batter into the cake pan, and smooth in all
directions with a wooden spoon. Bake it for 30 to 40 minutes, or when a
toothpick comes out dry. After about ten minutes of cooling, unmold the cake,
and set on a cooling rack. This cake is good the day after, too.
A quick note to readers:
I’ve been told that there’s a glitch on the comment section
of the blog. If you try to leave a comment and it doesn’t work, please send me
a quick email, dianeeros@gmail.com . I’ll
see if I can resolve this. Or just write to say hello! Thanks.
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