Hello festival/hello lemon, ricotta and poppy seed cake

Lemon, ricotta and poppy seed cake

Well, what can I say; it’s festival time here in Edinburgh again. The world’s largest arts festival is on my doorstep, literally, Boy don’t I know it. The price of a pint has doubled and walking down the road seems busier and more touristy than the face painting stall at Disney Land. The poncho brigade is out in force.

Despite all my dour negativity I am actually hugely excited about this year’s festival mainly owing to the fact that some of my very closest friends back in the city for a little while. It’s nice just to know they are about and not hundreds of miles away in different cities and countries. I feel so lucky to have such awesome pals. It is making me smile just thinking about them and the things we have planned over the next few weeks.

Another benefit of the festival is that in amongst the dross there are some real gem performances out there. Here is a list of the events I’m going to, my Edinburgh Festival 2011 recommendations if you will.

Ben Howard – folksy, finger picky guitar on communion records (08.08.11 – been and gone)

The Animals and Children Took to the Street – 1927 Theatre Company (19.08.11 – 28.08.11). Eerie animation come cabaret come awesomeness. Stylistically and thematically impressive. The guardian describes it as “restrained malevolent tastefulness”.

The World According to Bertie – Andy Jordan Productions (11.08.11 - 29.08.11). This play is adapted from an Alexander McCall Smith book. I know it is going to be amazing as it has one of my amazingly talented friends in it.

Sold – (12.08.11 – 29.08.11). Devised theater based around human trafficking. It is supported by and features the smart graduates from Central School of Speech and Drama where Laurence Olivier and Judy Dench studied.

Andy Parsons - (20.08.11-28.8.11) Comedian with a funny voice.

Part of living in Edinburgh is finding your self extremely popular during the month of August. We have been hosting A LOT this week and have wheeled this cake out on a couple of occasions. This is the best lemon and poppy seed cake recipe I have ever tried. Hand on heart. This cake is wonderfully light, rich but still tart.

Lemon, ricotta and poppy seed cake (adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days)

For the sponge -

190g caster sugar

190g butter, at room temperature

3 large eggs

190g plain flour plus extra for dusting

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

4 tbsp poppy seeds

zest of 2 lemons

25 ml milk

80g ricotta

For the lemony syrup –

juice of 1 lemon

50g caster sugar

Preset the oven to 170 degrees C.

Grease a loaf tin with butter and dust with flour.

With an electric whisk cream the sugar and butter together for a few minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.

In a separate bowl add the flour, salt and baking powder together.

Add a 1/3^rd of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir in.

Add a further 1/3^rd of the flour to the mixture and stir in.

Add in the milk and stir.

Add the remaining flour and into the mixture and stir.

Add in the zest and ricotta and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the greased loaf tin and cook for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the sponge comes out clean.

While the cake is cooking you can get started on the lemony syrup.

Add the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml of water to a small pan.

On a medium heat bring to the boil and remove from the heat when the syrup has reduced by half.

When the cake is cooked, leave to stand for a good 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cook completely.

Add the syrup whilst the cake is still hot.

Enjoy.

Raspberry and ricotta hotcakes

Raspberry ricotta hotcakes

Pancakes; who says they are just for Shrove Tuesday? I seem to forget about them shortly afterwards and never think about them till I happen to wander across a random crepe stall in the summertime when they pop up during the festival. Despite my neglect of pancakes for the majority of the year I do so love them, especially all warm and straight out the pan.

I found this recipe in a book that I was given for Christmas. The said book is called the “Cheese Course” by Fiona Beckett. It's a pretty good read if you ever come across it, all sorts of interesting information about washed rinds et cetra et cetra if you are in to all that stuff. 

The recipe section however was a bit confusing to me. Let me explain... it is a book on specialty cheeses, how they are made, how best to store them and how to pare them with specialty wines but the recipe section is mainly how to cook cheese on toast. I'm pretty sure someone that was interested in food enough to buy a book solely devoted to artisan cheese might have surely mastered the humble cheese on toast by this stage? 

Anyways there was one good find in the form of this recipe. A hotcake is essentially a posh pancake. The ricotta adds flavour but could also weigh the mixture down; by adding whipped egg whites it makes them supper light and fluffy. They make a very romantic brunch but I had them just because.

Raspberry and ricotta hotcake - serves a greedy 2

adapted from the "cheese course"

200g raspberries

6tbs caster sugar

110g ricotta

2 eggs, separated

75ml milk

60g plain flour

1/2tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

butter

Put half the raspberries in a pan with 2tbs of the sugar and over medium heat cook for about 4 minutes until the rasps have softened and you have a thin syrup. Once ready put to one side.

In the meantime mix the ricotta, the remaining sugar, ricotta and egg yolks.

Add the milk and stir well.

Sift in the flour, salt and baking powder.

Beat the egg whites with an electric whisk until stiff.

Add one spoonful of the egg whites into the ricotta mixture to loosen it, then fold in the rest gently.

With a frying pan on a low heat wipe a little butter onto a piece of kitchen towel and wipe that over the pan.

Add more butter as required when cooking the hotcakes.

Enjoy with the raspberry syrup and some double cream if you are feeling decadent.

Footnote- I wish the photo could do their yumminess justice but I really struggled to make these hotcakes look sexy. Suggestions welcome.