There are hazelnuts toasting in a cast-iron pan on the hob. They rattle as I shake the black pan back and forth in an attempt to get them to colour evenly. The only other sound in the kitchen is the purring of the food mixer bringing butter and sugar to soft peaks for a cake that will, I hope, taste and smell of autumn.
I spend a good 10 minutes cutting dried figs into small nuggets, then letting them steep with a few glugs of brandy – nothing special, just something to give a festive backnote to my cake. Every cake is a celebration. Slices of sweetness to pass around among friends and family, to welcome a guest to the kitchen or even just to treat oneself. This one is to celebrate autumn and the return to home-baking, to the season of deep orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, a fire in the grate and something in the oven.
While the oven is on, I bake the first sweet potatoes of the autumn. I grill some peppers to mash with olive oil and ground chilli to make a spicy accompaniment. (I actually make twice the quantity in the recipe so I still have some for tomorrow.)
Those who don’t like the heat of the red pepper rouille can use maple syrup and crisp snippets of bacon to crumble over the top. These dishes are something of a test run for a Halloween supper, for which the hazelnut cake will be well suited.
Fig and hazelnut cake, orange curd cream
A good, nubbly textured cake, not too sweet. One that will keep for a day or two.
Serves 8
dried figs 250g
brandy 3 tbsp
butter 250g
light muscovado sugar 125g, plus extra
golden caster sugar 125g
shelled hazelnuts 200g
eggs 3
self-raising flour 70g
For the cream:
double cream 250ml
orange or lemon curd
You will also need a deep, 20cm cake tin, preferably springform, with a loose bottom.
Roughly chop the figs – I like them about the size of a hazelnut in its shell – then put them in a bowl with the brandy and set aside.
Cut the butter into small pieces and beat together with the sugars until light and fluffy. Even using a food mixer this will take a good 5 minutes. You want a smooth mixture, the colour of latte.
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4 and line the base of the cake tin with baking parchment. Tip the nuts into a dry, shallow pan and toast over a moderate heat until golden, regularly shaking the pan so the nuts colour evenly.
Tip half the nuts into a food processor and process to a fine crumb – the same texture as ground almonds, then set aside. Add the remaining nuts and grind them less, to retain a crunchy quality.
Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them lightly with a fork, then introduce them a little at a time to the creamed butter and sugar, beating thoroughly between each addition. Tip in both lots of hazelnuts and the figs and mix lightly.
Gently add the flour to the creamed mixture, incorporating it thoroughly but lightly, then transfer to the lined cake tin using a rubber spatula. Smooth the top gently so it doesn’t form a peak during cooking. Bake for about 50 minutes until lightly firm in the centre, covering the top of the tin with foil for the last 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, then leave for 20 minutes to settle before running a palette knife around the edge and unlocking the springclip. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
To make the curd cream, pour the cream into a mixing bowl and beat with a whisk until it starts to thicken (but not so thick it will stand in peaks). Stir in the orange or lemon curd, just enough to marble the cream. Don’t overmix.
Sweet potatoes, rouille
The sugary flesh of a sweet potato responds rather well to the vibrant, spicy notes of a red pepper rouille. I use garlic, ground chilli (in the form of Aleppo pepper, but use whatever ground chilli you have) and a little red wine vinegar. It’s a simple dressing that works just as well with grilled steak or aubergine, too.
Makes 4, serves 2
red peppers 400g
olive oil
garlic 2 cloves
skinned almonds 75g
Aleppo pepper 1 tsp
paprika 1 tsp
lemon juice of half
red wine vinegar 2 tsp
sweet potatoes 4, medium sized
You will need a grill pan or baking sheet with a shallow rim. Brush the peppers with a little oil, then grill them, turning occasionally, until their skins are blackened here and there, and the peppers have started to collapse. This may take a good 10-20 minutes or so.
Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6, wipe the potatoes and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes until the potatoes are soft to the touch and have started to leak, their sugars caramelising on the baking sheet.
While the potatoes bake, make the pepper sauce. Place the blackened peppers in a sealable plastic bag or a plastic box with a tight lid. This will loosen their skins. After 20 minutes, remove the peppers and pull away their skins. Discard the stems and seeds and put the flesh into a food processor bowl.
Peel and add the garlic to the peppers together with the almonds, Aleppo pepper, salt, paprika and some lemon juice. Process to a rough-ish purée, then add the vinegar. Taste and add more lemon juice if you feel it needs it.
Split the baked potatoes, squeeze them to form a deep hollow, then drop in a spoonful of the pepper sauce.
This article was amended on 30 October 2023 to include instructions for when to add the figs into the mixture in the recipe for the fig and hazelnut cake.
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