Sandra Reynolds | Her Love of Food | Edition 1
Growing up in the UK, my childhood Christmases were always – with one glorious snowy exception – spent indoors. With a focus around colour and abundance to ward off howling winds and darkening grey skies outside, it was the season of spice, of warming heat, of bright pops of colour on the tree and in our meals. But then we moved to Australia, and nothing about Christmas was ever the same.
It took us ages to adapt.
These days, I haven’t so much thrown out tradition as created new traditions of my own. Christmas is a decidedly relaxed affair – instead of spending hours in a hot kitchen over a roast no-one has an appetite for in mid-summer, we graze on seafood and salads. Long gone as well, is the Christmas Pud. For while I adore it, there are other desserts that are way more popular, including this Persian Love Cake, paired here with a trans-formative strawberry and rosewater ice cream.
Packed full of pistachios, almonds and Christmas spices, this is a much lighter take on a Christmas pudding. It’s a ridiculously easy to make one bowl wonder and can be made well ahead of the big event. It’s such a lovely – and gluten-free – cake reminiscent of baklava, that it prompted me to make this ice cream, based around another old love of mine – Turkish delight, also a Christmas fave – and it is such a spectacular addition that I always have to give the recipe to those who try it.
For if I tell you dear reader that people routinely drive across town to sit at my table and eat it, then you know it will be a hit with the people who are now gathering around your table. And isn’t that what tradition is all about?
Persian Love Cake + Strawberry and Rosewater Ice Cream Recipe…
PERSIAN LOVE CAKE
INGREDIENTS
550g almond meal
300g raw sugar
300g brown sugar
180g butter, softened
3 eggs, lightly beaten
375g Greek-style yogurt, plus extra to serve
1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
45g pistachios
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180⁰C. Combine almond meal, sugars and butter in a bowl, then rub with fingertips until coarse crumbs form. Spoon half the mixture into a lightly buttered and baking paper-lined 24cm-diameter springform pan, gently pressing to evenly cover the base.
Add egg, yogurt and spices to remaining mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Pour over prepared base and smooth the top.
Roughly chop and then scatter pistachios around edge of the cake.
Bake until an inserted skewer comes out clean (45-50 minutes.) Cool completely in the cake tin on a wire rack to room temperature, then remove from the cake tin. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Serve slices with scoops of the ice cream whenever the mood takes you. There are no rules after all.
STRAWBERRY, POMEGRANATE AND ROSEWATER ICE CREAM INGREDIENTS
500g ripe strawberries
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
100g pomegranate - flavored Turkish Delight
1 liter best-quality vanilla bean ice cream
1 tsp rosewater
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180⁰C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Wash and hull the strawberries, cut them in half and place on the baking tray. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over them, scatter 1 tablespoon of caster sugar over the fruit and roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes or until they are starting to release their juices. Place in a bowl of a food processor or use a stick blender to blend the fruit and juices to a smooth liquid.
Chop the Turkish delight into 1 cm sized chunks and add, with the rosewater, to the fruit mixture.
Take the ice cream from the freezer and allow to soften for 10 minutes. Place the ice cream in a large bowl and stir through the strawberry mixture until the ice cream is darkly pink. Pour the mixture into a loaf tin or clean ice cream container and return to the freezer. It will keep for weeks of course – if you can leave it that long.