Bake with Michelle Darmody: The flavour of vanilla
Vanilla is very often a listed ingredient in baking recipes, it is not always essential but it provides a back note to the other flavours, it mellows out a recipe and adds a subtle sweetness.
It is handy to have in your store-cupboard as it can be added to many different cakes and desserts. I often add some vanilla and ground cardamom to my morning porridge.
It is worth buying the real thing, as opposed to a synthetic flavouring.
I usually go for the organic brands as they use a natural form of vanilla. It is expensive but a little goes a long way.
You can also buy the thin, dark pods rather than the liquid extract. These come directly from the vanilla plant which is derived from an orchid. They keep for up to a year and add a more intense vanilla flavour to baking.
Keep them stored in an airtight container or jar in a cool, dry place away from heat and light.
You can also make your own vanilla extract by slicing three of the vanilla pods lengthwise and placing them into 150mls of vodka and then setting the bottle aside for two months.
The vanilla will dissolve into the alcohol, then the alcohol will evaporate when it is baking. You are left with pure vanilla flavour in your cakes.
When baking with the fresh pods you will be asked to add the sticky centre of the pod into the cake, almost always the outer casing is discarded. But these too have some flavour.
You can place them into an airtight jar and then cover them with icing sugar. Set aside for a few weeks and the sugar will become infused with a very subtle hint of vanilla.
It is lovely dusted over freshly baked shortbread biscuits or used to make icing.
Vanilla and Blueberry Angle Cake
10 egg whites
1 tsp of cream of tartar
A pinch of fine sea salt
1 tbs of lemon juice
1 vanilla pod, sliced lengthwise and the sticky interior scraped out
300g of caster sugar
125g of plain flour
100g of blueberries
150g of icing sugar
1 tbs of orange juice
1 tbs of blueberry compote
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a bundt tin well. Set it aside in a cool place.
Whisk the egg whites until frothy and then sieve in the cream of tartar and sea salt.
Add the vanilla and sieve in 200g of the sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks form.
Mix the remaining sugar with the sieved flour and add this to the mixture very slowly, fold it in so you do not loose too much air. Fold in the blueberries.
Scoop the mixture into your prepared tin and bake the cake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin for twenty minutes then gently remove it onto a wire rack. Run a shape knife around the tin if necessary. Allow the cake to cool fully.
Whisk the icing sugar with the orange juice and blueberry compote. I make the compote by stewing blueberries and a little honey then liquidising it. Add more compote to get the right consistency. Pour over the cooled cake and let it drip down the sides.
Vanilla, elderflower and poppy seed buns
130g of golden caster sugar
150g of soft butter
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp of vanilla essence
20 mls of elderflower cordial
150g of self-raising flour, sieved
100 of poppy seeds
Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees and place 12 bun cases into a bun tin. Beat butter and sugar until really light and fluffy.
Mix the eggs with the vanilla and cordial. Slowly add this to butter and sugar making sure to regularly scrape the sides of your bowl.
If the mixture begins to separate add a spoon of flour. Add in flour a mix slowly until everything is well combined. Stir in the poppy seeds. Scoop the mixture into the twelve bun cases and bake for fifteen minutes until golden and baked through.
Vanilla and jam cake with buttercream
250g of soft butter
240g of caster sugar
5 eggs, lightly beaten
2 vanilla pods, sliced lengthwise and sticky interior scraped out
100g of natural yogurt
330g of self-raising flour
6 tablespoons of raspberry jam
150g of soft butter
280g of icing sugar
1 tbs of milk
The zest of a lemon
1 tsp of some beetroot powder or pink colouring
Pre heat the oven to 180C and line two 8 inch round cake tins. Either springform or loose based tins are the best. Beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. It is best to be patient with this phase and make sure to get lots of air into the mixture.
Mix together the sticky vanilla, the eggs and the yogurt. Add a third of it gently into the sugar mixture. Use a spatula to get it well mixed, making sure none of the sugar mixture gets left on the sides.
Gently add another third of the mixture and combine it completely. If the batter begins to separate stir in two tablespoons of flour. Stir in the remaining egg mixture and then sieve in all of the flour.
Stir it in gently and again make sure everything is really well combined. Scoop the mixture into the two prepared tins and bake until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool for ten minutes in the tin, then place onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut each cake into two discs. Spread the jam on three of the discs and sandwich them all together. Use a little more of the jam to seal the outside of the cake.
Mix half a tablespoon of jam with twice as much warm water and brush this onto the exterior of the cake and allow to soak in.
To make the icing whisk to make the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the milk and lemon zest.
Add colouring — I use beetroot powder — to a third of the icing.
Spread the pink icing on the top of the cake and a few inches down the sides. Ice the bottom of the cake with the cream coloured icing and with a pallet knife gently mix the two colours on the cake to cause a gradation in colour. Decorate as you wish.
