{"id":4435,"date":"2019-04-12T15:42:49","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T15:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/?page_id=4435"},"modified":"2019-04-12T15:43:28","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T15:43:28","slug":"durham-dark-ale-soul-cake-by-ladan-cockshut","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/?page_id=4435","title":{"rendered":"Durham Dark Ale Soul Cake, by Ladan Cockshut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recipe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>175 g plain flour, sifted<\/li><li>100 g cold butter<\/li><li>100 g granulated sugar<\/li><li>1\/4 tsp mace<\/li><li>1\/4 tsp cloves<\/li><li>1\/4 tsp nutmeg<\/li><li>1\/4 tsp cardamom<\/li><li> 1\/2 tsp ground saffron, take several strands of saffron and grind in  mortar\/pestle with half tsp granulated sugar (it should resemble a  slightly yellow-white powder) <\/li><li> 100 g of mixed fruit, such as dates, cherries, currants, raisins,  chopped apricots, and mixed peel, soaked in 3 tbsp dry Spanish sherry  Ale froth from a small glass of dark Durham ale (pour the ale into a  glass and scoop out the ale froth), such as Evensong (Durham Brewery) <\/li><li> 3-4 tbsp of dark or ruby ale, such as Durham Brewery&#8217;s Evensong or Old Tom <\/li><li> 12 walnut or pecan halves (optional) <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> Method <br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Put fruit in a bowl and add sherry. Leave to stand whilst mixing the rest of the ingredients.<\/li><li>Preheat the oven to 200 C (180 C fan).<\/li><li>Cut the butter into the sifted flour, until the mixture has a crumblike texture. (You can use a food processor for this part, but I found doing it by hand seemed to make the cake taste better; plus that seems more authentic for a historic recipe.) Add sugar, ground saffron, and spices, stir until well combined. <\/li><li>Spoon in ale froth from glass of ale onto the flour-butter mixture and stir in.<\/li><li>Add sherried fruit and 3-4 tbsps of the ale from the glass to the mixture, until the dough feels like a soft cookie dough or pastry dough.<\/li><li>Roll out the cakes to about 2 cm thick. Using a round cutter, cut out a dozen cakes. Alternatively, spoon mixture into mini foil dishes (such as the ones used for mince pies).<\/li><li>Put the cakes onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment.<\/li><li>Chill the cakes for 30-40 minutes in the fridge.<\/li><li>Using a knife, cut a deep cross (+) shape into the dough.<\/li><li>Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. If desired, press a walnut or pecan half onto the middle of the cake.<\/li><li>Bake in oven for 20-22 minutes, until the cakes are golden.<\/li><li>Leave to cool before serving.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<p><!--EndFragment-->For me, what makes these cakes is the warming, slightly bitter edge of the ale contrasting with the flavoursome aromatics and spice added. You will need a mortar and pestle to make the most of the saffron being used. Don&#8217;t be shy about the saffron as it will really enhance the flavours. My Durham spin is the critical ingredient: The ale! The Durham Brewery\u2019s Evensong or Old Tom are fantastic ale options for this recipe, but barring that, a fine ruby ale should suffice. I found adding a pecan to the top of each cake gave it a nice bit of crunch, too, though I realise that\u2019s modernizing the recipe quite a bit and is, thus, optional. The cakes should have a chewy, soft texture. Taste testing reveals that the flavours deepen over time, so should be best about 2 days after baking. Keep in a sealed container in a cool place. (And just a side note: These cakes have been loved by human and dog alike and seem to disappear very soon after baking.) <br \/><br \/><\/p>\n\n\n<p><br><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recipe 175 g plain flour, sifted 100 g cold butter 100 g granulated sugar 1\/4 tsp mace 1\/4 tsp cloves 1\/4 tsp nutmeg 1\/4 tsp cardamom 1\/2 tsp ground saffron, take several strands of saffron and grind in mortar\/pestle with half tsp granulated sugar (it should resemble a slightly yellow-white powder) 100 g of mixed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3919,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4435","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P67HiV-19x","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4435\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reed-ne.webspace.durham.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}