Greengage, Cobnut and Stem Ginger Cake
Harvest is a word that I associate with the rosy blush of autumn, just the very sound of the word conjors the crisp crunch of tiny British apples and juicy bite of plums. No doubt I’ve been influenced by many a school assembly of yore, worshipping at the alter of the harvest festival, whereby we were instructed to shun the actual harvest and instead gather non perishables that lends, to me, dusty store cupboard connotations and rather random, occultish images of straw sculptures. Still though, harvest has remained synonymous with this period, even if my associations with it have changed.
This year, post fig excitement, I’ve mainly been inspired by the combination of greengages and cobnuts, both insistently and persistently catching my eye at the little grocery store by Herne Hill station. When ripe, it seems almost a crime to do anything more with them than to serve together simply with a dollop of Greek yoghurt. The humble greengage almost glows with an internal iridescence that’s more ethereally beautiful than any stained glass window; subtle shades of peachy yellow through bright to dusky, blueish green. Cobnuts are cousins of the hazelnut and akin in flavour but taste fresher and brighter when they’re new, as they are in the shops right now.
It wasn’t a mistake to serve them grilled on toast with a little Comte as a post dinner savoury. Or with a chunk of Comte and a glass of light Jura red. That may just happen again since I brought over 1.5 kilos of the cheese back with me from Jura….(more on that trip when I have a little more time and on harvest too)
This week I decided to try something a touch more elaborate, spurred on by a craving for cake, my current flavour obsessions leading the way. I based this on a plum and hazelnut recipe on the Daily Mail website, not my usual source of anything, but the ratios seemed ok and fruit/nuts interchangeable, I added a smidge of stem ginger for some warming spice that’s not immediately apparent but builds gently on the finish.
Greengage, Cobnut and Stem Ginger Cake – Makes 10 large wedges
- 200g butter at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 4 large eggs beaten
- 120g self raising flour
- 80g wholemeal spelt flour
- salt
- 200g cobnuts – roasted and blitzed in a food processor – retain a handful of whole for the top
- stem ginger chopped finely plus syrup
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 punnets greengages
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a 25cm ish spring form cake tin with baking paper.
Roughly stone and chop the greengages from one of the punnets (250g)
Add the caster sugar and butter to a large bowl and cream together until smooth. Gradually add in the eggs, beating to combine after each addition. Fold in the flours, baking powder and a pinch of salt and finally stir in the chopped greengages, cobnuts and stem ginger (I used just 3 pieces plus a drizzle of the syrup but add more or less to taste), reserving a couple of tablespoons of ground cobnuts for topping.
You might also like: N’duja, Goat & Ewe’s Cheese, Truffle Honey & Sage Toastie
Pour batter into the cake tin. Stone and halve greengages from the 2nd punnet and lay on the cake surface, cut side down. Mix reserved ground cobnuts with the demerara sugar and sprinkle over the top then finish by scattering over the remaining whole cobnuts.
Bake in the centre of the oven for around 40-45 or until the surface is crisp and golden and an inserted knife comes out clean.
I served simply with a big dollop of natural Greek Yoghurt
