Winter baking can be boring. You're tired of the tried and true flavors of chocolate, vanilla and some kind of spice. You long for something summery and fruity. That taste of summer baking can be had even on a wintry day.It;s just adding fruit into the mix.
Regular contributor Melissa Clark wrote bout this in her A Good Appetite column in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section.She is a jam enthiusiast from her earliest days , going for just the jelly i na jelly doughnut. As an adult, like many cooks, she appreciates a good jam. Any fruity concoction is a welcome relief during cold snowy days.Its brings back sun kissed orchards during July and August. She does recommend using only jams because they don't melt under high temps like jellies do. There''s also the plus of having real fruit bits laced among the crumb.she gives two recipes, ones for a light and airy lemon pudding along with a one bowl jam doughnut cake. Ms. Clark recommends using thick, dark hued jams such as blueberry,blackberry and raspberry to give a nice contrast to the pale yellowness of the cake. What about marmalade?It has a tendency to be like jelly, meaning the jelly itself will disappear once itsbake and will leave only the flavor and orange bits.
The baked lemon pudding is a contrast in colors and flavors.Even though it is a pudding there is a quarter of a cup of flour added to give it body. Two large lemons go into it. They have to be juiced and zested.Use three large eggs and separate ten. (Unfortunately egg substitute doesn't;t seem to work here.) the whites have to be beaten into a meringue almost and added to the batter. Again for the jam, you can use any flavor but the blueberry goes well with the lemon.Pour one half cup into a bowl to loosen it. Spread dollops of it over the batter once the batter is poured into a shallow buttered baking dish. It's baked in a 350 degree Farenheit oven for thirty to thirty -five minutes. Once cooled, then dust some confectioners sugar on top. Ms. Clark's cake recipe is more of a Bundt cake with a buttery glaze drizzled on top. The batter is a rich one producing a dense crumb thanks tot he three eggs, half a cup of melted butter and a quarter of a cup whole milk. There is that cakey doughnut look and feel thanks to dusting the buttered pan with a cinnamon sugar before baking.The batter is poured in in two parts. After halfway filling up the ring create an indentation and then dollop in a quarter cup of blackberry jam, spreading it evenly thought out the trench circle.Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for forty to fifty minutes. Brush with more melted butter and then a generous dusting of more cinnamon sugar.
These jam rich gems are perfect for brinigng back the taste of summer. Bake these cakes to enjoy them on a cold wintry day. A slice will liven up an afternoon with hot tea.
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