“A cake that has it all: sweet, sour, fluffy, sugar-crusted crunch and luxurious filling. And then the sponge! Sunshine gold to lift any mood. My secret is ground turmeric in the batter, offsetting the sweetness. The idea for the lemon mascarpone centre came from Tonia George in a magazine cutting I have held onto for 15 years. I will be forever grateful to her, as this might just be my favourite cake.”
SPICE SWITCH: “For the cardamom, lemon and ginger drizzle, substitute the turmeric and poppy seeds in the sponge with the ground seeds of 5 green cardamom pods.”
SPICE SWITCH:“Use 2 tsp garam masala or a mixture of 1½tsp ground cinnamon and½ tsp ground allspice. I like to add salt for that salty-sweet vibe.”
“Get ready for the most addictive snack, with a cloak of butter caramel and an intense cacophony of warming spices. I particularly like the mustard seeds here; they are rarely used in sweet preparations, but they have a nutty aroma that works well with popcorn, and release a snap of sharp heat if you happen to bite one.”
Spice is often the party girl; the loud, bold, exuberant element in the mix. Indeed ‘spicy’ has become synonymous with racy and spirited, and sometimes that is exactly what we want from our food. A generous swirl of woody-sweet cinnamon elevates a simple bun; pistachio-green baklava is made otherworldly by the headiness of rosewater; and a truly fiery gingerbread is thunder and wonder in
