Thursday, July 14, 2016

Gooseberry hazelnut cake

Get
70g organic almonds
300g organic hazelnuts
8 tbsp agave nectar
3 eggs separated
125g unsalted butter
about 100g light spelt flour
1 packet Weinstein baking powder (5 level tsp)
250g fresh ripe red gooseberries (or Cape gooseberries)

Do
Grate the almonds and hazelnuts coarsely.
Preheat the oven to 190°.
Beat the soft butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it is smooth. Beat in alternately the egg yolks and 5 tbsp agave nectar. Beat well into a soft mixture.
Add the flour mixed with the baking powder a tablespoon at a time while beating. Beat well.

Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add the remaining agave nectar and continue beating until very stiff.
Mix some of the egg white under the mixture to keep it soft and moist.

Click images to enlarge
Fold in some of the nut meal into the mixture gradually.
Fold in the remaining egg whites. Fold in the remaining nut meal.

Butter a 28 cm baking form and dust it with a little flour.
Add the mixture to the form and spread it evenly.

Decorate with the gooseberries. Dribble a little agave nectar on the fruit
Bake on the 2nd shelf from the bottom for 25 minutes. Cover it with paper. Turn the oven down and bake for a further 30 minutes at 120°c. It should be golden-brown on top. Test with a thin knife that it is cooked. The knife should come out clean. If it is not clean, return covered to the oven for another 10 minutes and then test again. Turn off the oven. Allow the cake to cool in the oven.
Remove from form onto a cake plate when cool.
Store in a linen cloth.

Cape gooseberries dreaming
Tip
The tangy sour gooseberries compliment the sweet nut cake. Cape gooseberries (Physalis peruvian) could be used in the southern hemisphere.

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