My ‘Welcome Home Cake’

Well, after being away from home for quite a few weeks I started to miss a few things.

Lots of little things actually, like the pattern and feel of my favourite morning coffee mug, the chilli peanuts I’m inexplicably addicted to at 5pm every afternoon, fresh ricotta, fruit, looking out my kitchen window, and … well the list does go on a bit!

For me, cooking is always something I miss a lot too. There was one recipe that I kept thinking about - Grandmother’s Pastry Ring from Marcella Hazan’s cookbook, The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. I promised myself that I’d make it as soon as I got home and so I did. Getting into the kitchen is one way I know I can say ‘ahh, I’m home’.

Why this recipe? Well without analysing it too much I think it’s because it’s so basic - made by hand, with ingredients I always have around and I find the rather rustic, unsophisticated presentation a great counterbalance to the fussy, fancy food you sometimes can’t escape when travelling. Apart from that I simply enjoy eating it and you might too.

As you can see from the photograph (taken before it all disappeared) it’s a cross between a biscuit and a cake, quite dry really, but for me just the right texture and flavour - not too sweet and perfect any time of the day with a cup of tea or coffee - or sherry (see My Tips below) -

Grandmother’s Pastry Ring

Ingredients

• 115g butter
• 450g plain flour
• 170g castor sugar
• 3 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• Zest of one lemon - remember to wash the lemon really well
• 4 tablespoons lukewarm milk
• 2 eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190C
2. Cover a biscuit tray with baking paper
3. Melt the butter without getting it too hot
4. Put the flour, sugar, melted butter, baking powder, salt, lemon peel in a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon
5. Add the warm milk and then 1 egg plus the white of the second. Keep aside 1 teaspoon of the second yolk (to brush the pastry before it goes in the oven) and then add the rest of the second yolk to the mix too.
6. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients and then turn onto a very lightly floured work surface so as to knead lightly for a minute or so.
7. Roll the pastry into a long sausage about 5cm thick
8. Place onto the biscuit tray and then join the ends to make a ring
9. Mix the little bit of egg yolk with a teaspoon of water and brush the entire pastry ring with the mixture.
10. Place tray on an upper shelf in the heated oven
11. Bake for 35 minutes - it should have doubled in size
12. Cool on a rack

My Tips

1. I add sultanas to the mix - sometimes I soak them in sweet sherry for a hour or so to plump them up. Drain them before adding to the mix when you’re adding the lemon peel. I then drink the sherry with a slice of the ring when it’s cooked.
2. Don’t be tempted to overcook the pastry - I find that if my oven temperature is right then 35 minutes is just fine
3. To stop it drying out too quickly, store in an airtight container

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