Whatever ales you..


(Little ale spelt cakes)

It is Day 4 in the world of this happy vacationer. So far, she has made plans to go to the beach, remembered to water the plants (twice), cleared the pantry of all heinously expired bottles and jars, reorganised her sock drawer and at the end of a long satisfying day, cracked open a beer. To bake with.

Three bites of an ale cake later and she’s searching for her phone to tell her best friend how tasty these cakes are; how much she loves her and how sorry she is that they haven’t met up for nearly 6 months. Work, y’know.

How she finally picked up a paperback on Day 1 and felt light headed with the pleasure of reading. Or on Day 2 when she woke up and played Lisa Hannigan loudly while dancing in the kitchen.

And when the ale cakes were gone, she used the leftover beer to make a small amount of sorbet. Bittersweet beer sorbet topped with salted candied peanuts, enjoyed one slow spoonful at a time.


(Beer sorbet with candied peanuts)

Yep, vacation’s going pretty well.

Little ale spelt cakes :
(based on a recipe by Jill Dupleix)

80g butter
300g sultanas
90g brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
130g pale ale, or beer of choice
1 egg
160g spelt flour

Preheat the oven to 180’C. Grease a mini popover or mini muffin pan.

In a pan, add the butter, raisins, brown sugar, spices, bicarbonate of soda and beer. Bring to the boil, stirring, then remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.

Once cool, whisk in the egg and then mix in the flours with a spatula. Divide the mixture between the muffin or popover holes.

Bake for 14 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool before removing cakes from pan.

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16 Comments »

  1. leaf (the indolent cook) said,

    November 1, 2011 @ 3:50 pm

    Good to know you’re enjoying your time off. Those little ale cakes have a gorgeous deep and brooding quality to them. And that sorbet looks so refreshing!

  2. Laura said,

    November 1, 2011 @ 4:11 pm

    Lovely cakes! I am glad you are enjoying your time off, and I loved reading your narrative of it.

  3. Rosa said,

    November 1, 2011 @ 6:02 pm

    Those cakes look so promising and pretty! And that sorbet sounds amazing.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  4. Hannah said,

    November 1, 2011 @ 7:28 pm

    Whatever else you do: keep this up. Keep up the joy, the calm, the rejuvenation, and the deliciousness. Happy holidaying!!

  5. shaz said,

    November 1, 2011 @ 9:49 pm

    Awww, bliss! Glad you are having such a good holiday Y. The cakes look wonderful but the beer sorbet sounds even better. Bookmarking that idea.

  6. The Sweetest Vegan said,

    November 2, 2011 @ 2:57 am

    These remind me of a rock cakes recipe I made once. So simple and good.

  7. B said,

    November 2, 2011 @ 3:27 am

    Damn, look what I’m missing!

  8. Helene said,

    November 2, 2011 @ 6:22 am

    I have never made a cake with ale. I would have drank the ale instead of making sorbet 🙂 Love the pics.

  9. Ayden @ Himalayan Salt said,

    November 2, 2011 @ 1:00 pm

    So instead of 130g of pale ale… can we add like, 500g? 😉

  10. Y said,

    November 2, 2011 @ 4:40 pm

    Ayden @ Himalayan Salt : Yes, but only if you want cake soup!

  11. shez said,

    November 2, 2011 @ 5:19 pm

    Your first picture of the ale cakes was so moodily shot that I thought, perhaps, that the holiday spirit hadn’t quite kicked in yet. Glad to hear that the plants (and your good self) have received a good watering and that there are bright water-side days (with books! and music!) aplenty in store.

  12. Hannah said,

    November 3, 2011 @ 2:21 pm

    I’m so intrigued by the beer sorbet! That is a tricky one… One of the single biggest failures of my ice cream book so far was attempting to make beer ice cream with caramelized pretzels. It tasted… Kinda barfy, to be honest. Yikes. And still, yours somehow seems awesome!

  13. Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said,

    November 3, 2011 @ 9:31 pm

    I’ve definitely never had beer sorbet and am suitably intrigued…

    And you sound like you’ve settled well into blissful vacation mode – enjoy!

  14. InTolerantChef said,

    November 4, 2011 @ 2:00 pm

    Oooh the cakes sound so good, but I’m intrigued with the beer sorbet! I’m makeing a gin sorbet next week- must be holiday and festivitiy time with ice and alcohol! Have a great break!

  15. Sneh | Cook Republic said,

    November 7, 2011 @ 12:09 pm

    Love the recipe and the photos. Very curious about beer sorbet. Thanks for sharing Yuie!

  16. lemonpi » Lemon speculoos ice-cream, ale poached peaches said,

    November 19, 2011 @ 3:59 pm

    […] Beer sorbet (Because after an exhausting day trying to get rescued from a deserted island, everyone deserves an […]

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