Foodie Lass Do you want to be a confident baker?
Sift is the perfect book for you, whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned baker wishing to try out new baking recipes.
The cover design and the title speaks for itself, conjuring up the idea of sifting flour in the process of baking. I remember helping my grandma baking and using a wire sieve with a wooden handle to sift the flour into the baking bowl and using the same technique to use to finish a topping of a sponge cake with icing sugar.
Nicola Lamb’s Sift is a well-written and well-documented cookery book on the techniques and elements of baking. It guides the reader through the important elements of baking and also gives excellent advice how to implement these stages.
I like the idea of the book providing chapters that give you explanations on the science of baking (which is quite unusual for a baking book). The recipes are organised on how long the bakes take to create.
If you are under any time constraint for baking then you can dip in and out of Sift – whether you are looking to bake quick cookies, or a more complicated recipe for a layer cake or even wish to spend a weekend on a more difficult baking project.
Here is an interesting recipe to try for all nut lovers as well as readers who are looking for a cake recipe for a celebration.
Ricotta, Hazelnut and Marmalade Choc Chip Cake Recipe
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Serves 8
Equipment
20cm loose bottomed cake tin
Techniques
Baking with Nuts
Creaming
Ingredients
340g jar marmalade with shreds
165g butter, softened
Zest of 1 orange
165g caster sugar
250g ground hazelnuts
70g ground almonds
3 g baking powder (about ¾ tsp)
155g whole eggs (about 3)
330g ricotta
2g flaky sea salt (about ½ tsp)
100g dark chocolate chips (about 0.3–0.5cm)
Topping
Strained marmalade from above
90g orange juice
45g caster sugar
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Line the tin with baking paper
2. Heat the marmalade and pass through a sieve, retaining the marmalade and shred separately. Set aside.
Or
3. To make in a stand mixer, cream the butter, orange zest and caster sugar together. Add in the eggs and beat with the paddle attachment until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Next, stir through the ground nuts and baking powder. Finally, fold through the ricotta and salt, along with the marmalade shred and chocolate chips.
4. Pour into the cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 50 minutes until springy to touch and very deep golden. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes before adding the glaze.
5. To make the glaze, heat the strained marmalade with the orange juice and sugar in a saucepan. Bubble for 1 minute, then leave to thicken, until it can coat the back of a spoon, at about 30°C.
6. Pour the glaze over the still-warm cake and leave to completely cool in the tin for 1–2 hours. You can put it into the fridge to help the top set. This cake lasts in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Sift is an excellent book for any aspiring baker or just as an original foodie gift – beautifully photographed and illustrated with 100 baking recipes to choose from.
Recipe extracted from SIFT by Nicola Lamb (Ebury Press, £30)
Photography by Sam A Harris.
Ricotta, Hazelnut and Marmalade Choc Chip Cake
Ingredients
- 340 g jar marmalade with shreds
- 165 g butter softened
- Zest of 1 orange
- 165 g caster sugar
- 250 g ground hazelnuts
- 70 g ground almonds
- 3 g baking powder about ¾ tsp
- 155 g whole eggs about 3
- 330 g ricotta
- 2 g flaky sea salt about ½ tsp
- 100 g dark chocolate chips about 0.3–0.5cm
- Topping
- Strained marmalade from above
- 90 g orange juice
- 45 g caster sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Line the tin with baking paper
- Heat the marmalade and pass through a sieve, retaining the marmalade and shred separately. Set aside.
- Or
- To make in a stand mixer, cream the butter, orange zest and caster sugar together. Add in the eggs and beat with the paddle attachment until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Next, stir through the ground nuts and baking powder. Finally, fold through the ricotta and salt, along with the marmalade shred and chocolate chips.
- Pour into the cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 50 minutes until springy to touch and very deep golden. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes before adding the glaze.
- To make the glaze, heat the strained marmalade with the orange juice and sugar in a saucepan. Bubble for 1 minute, then leave to thicken, until it can coat the back of a spoon, at about 30°C.
- Pour the glaze over the still-warm cake and leave to completely cool in the tin for 1–2 hours. You can put it into the fridge to help the top set. This cake lasts in the fridge for 3-4 days.
