Meeta’s Monthy Mingle theme for March had me a bit stumped. Savoury cakes? I wasn’t sure I had a recipe for one. I’d made a zucchini cake recently which I quite liked, but it was definitely more a sweet. On the list of contenders were a spinach and ricotta crepe cake and a savoury bread pudding. Then I chanced upon a recipe for a polenta bread (cake?) that seemed to fit the description.

Yellow-as-the-sun, the beauty of this bread, which is somewhat like a traditional cornbread (without the bacon drippings or lard) is that it is easily customised. Suggested additions include sprinkling grated parmesan over the top before baking, or you could even fold some chopped olives and grilled capsicums into the batter.

I made a few changes when I attempted this recipe, firstly omitting the rosemary and also substituting the buttermilk for the same amount of lactose-free milk with a dollop of yogurt mixed in. The resulting batter, which I poured into a loaf tin was quite runny but rose a treat in the oven. Lightly toasted slices of this loaf accompanied a tasty dinner of Coq a la Biere from Michel Roux’s Le Gavroche cookbook.

Stephanie Alexander’s Rosemary and Polenta Bread :
(serves 6-8)

extra virgin olive oil
2 cups coarse polenta
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons freshly minced rosemary
1/4 cup cream

Preheat oven to 220’C. Brush a 24cm square x 5cm deep tin with oil and line it with baking paper. In a smaller bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and rosemary together. Pour buttermilk mixture into polenta and stir only until combined. Spoon batter into tin, spreading it evenly. Pour cream evenly over top and put pan into oven. Bake until a knife inserted in centre comes out dry and clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve at room temperature for a sustaining lunch or slice thinly to have with drinks. It is also good toasted.

Swish. Yesterday I got my hair cut. It’s been at least three months since I last visited Christie, who makes miracles happen with the wave of a comb and a small pair of scissors. My work timetable is so eratic that often I don’t get round to making an appointment until finally I’m forced to front up to the hairdressers, gasping through hair as wild as a bramble bush, “Cut my hair. Now. Please!” And for the rest of the day, my hair feels like I’ve just stepped out of a Salon Selectives ad. Swish swish. It’s so magical I don’t want to sleep on it that night. B kindly suggests the use of a geisha pillow. Yeah, so the next morning, I’ll have great hair, but a crazy crick in my neck that would force my head to be tilted at a disturbing angle. Hmm.. I might consider that for next time..

Anyhow, it’s day two, and it’s still swishing along as I walk to the shops to pick up some dried fruit for a cake. I had been browsing through this week’s issue of Good Living when I came across a recipe for cherry cake, and suddenly, I had a strong urge to bake a cake. Making a few adjustments according to personal preference (I used dried cherries and raisins instead of figs and apricots, and flaked instead of chopped almonds), this cake was ready in less than the recommended 85 minutes baking time, and a slice of it was devoured in even less time than that. From fork to mouth. Swish swish.

Cherry Cake :
(Helen Whitty adapted this recipe from an issue of AGT)

125g dried apricots, coarsely chopped
125g dried figs, coarsely chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
4 egg whites
1 whole egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
60ml Amaretto
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
250g black cherries, drained

Preheat oven to 180’C. Combine dried fruit, almonds, flour and half the sugar in a bowl. Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form (not as stiff as a meringue), then add the whole egg, oil, Amaretto, vanilla and almond extracts. Stir the egg and dried fruit mixtures together very carefully, add the cherries and mix gently.

Line the base of a buttered loaf tin, spoon in the mixture and bake for 85 minutes (or until cooked when tested with a skewer). Place tin on a wire rack before turning out to cool.

At last. I’ve made kulfi. I don’t know why it took me so long. It’s the easiest ice-cream to make, and probably the cheapest too. No purchasing of expensive ice-cream churning equipment required, no making of pate a bombe for parfait, no getting the freezing vessel out every couple of hours to whisk like mad. Just a simple bringing together of all the ingredients in a bowl, pouring into moulds of your choice, and playing the waiting game.

Traditionally, kulfi is made by boiling and reducing milk, then adding sugar and flavourings (pistachio or mango being the most commonly used flavours). An easier and equally delicious alternative is to substitute the milk with readily available condensed milk. The recipe I used, from Ajoy Joshi’s Indian Home Cooking, calls for the kulfi to be set for at least 6 hours, but the batch I made was ready in a little under that. Which was handy, because I’m not a terribly patient person.

Kulfi reminds me of J, a friend I’ve unfortunately lost contact with. We met on our first day at our first year of uni. She had the most amazing eyes and a really sweet smile that made everyone warm to her. I had streaky blue hair, and a penchant for wearing Smashing Pumpkins t-shirts and petticoats. Half due to necessity (there weren’t many girls in our course) we somehow made a connection and despite being intrinsically rather different people, we spent a really fun year being the J and Y posse. Later I transferred to a different uni and we eventually lost touch over the years.The last time I saw her was at her engagement party. But not long before that, we arranged to meet at a Sydney Food and Wine Festival food fair. She spied someone walking past with kulfi and soon we were catching up over pyramid shaped ice-creams on sticks.

The suggested accompaniment to this kulfi was a rich cream sauce. As the kulfi itself is quite rich, I think something a little more simple like a raspberry or rose petal sauce would work just as well.

Saffron and pista kulfi :
(for 10)

large pinch saffron threads
1/2 cup milk, heated
1/3 cup pistachio nuts
3 tablespoons green cardamom pods (lacking this, I used a good pinch of ground cinnamon)
1 2/3 cups sweetened condensed milk
3 cups double cream

In a bowl, combine saffron and hot milk and set aside for 10 minutes. Place pistachio nuts in a food processor and process until finely chopped. In a spice grinder, grind cardamom to a powder.

Place condensed milk and cream in a bowl. Stir until well combined; do not whisk or beat. Add pistachio nuts, saffron and milk mixture, and ground cardamom. Stir until well combined.

Divide mixture among 10 ramekins with a 1/2 cup capacity. Place in freezer until ice-cream is frozen, about 6 hours. Cover ramekins well and keep in freezer until serving.

To serve, briefly dip each ramekin in a bowl of hot water. Invert a serving plate on top and invert plate and ramekin to unmold ice cream. Top with sauce and serve immediately.

Note: You can make ice cream up to 2 weeks ahead. Wrap well to prevent flavours being absorbed from other foods in freezer.