The “5 a day” campaign was created to improve the nation’s health by encouraging us to eat more fruit and vegetables. We are not campaigners, nor are we claiming that the following five cakes will improve your health. We eat fruit and vegetables because we like them, and we make these cakes because they are delicious. But if you are inclined to believe that these five are better for you than other cakes, we will not ruin it for you.
Putting fruit or vegetables in the batter adds plenty of flavor and moisture to your cake, but should be done with care—too much moisture will ruin it, and while a tiny earthy note is nice, nobody wants their cake to taste too veggie or (God forbid) healthy. The five here have proved a big hit with our customers, perhaps all convincing themselves that a slice of cake can count as one of their “5 a day.”
Icing is a bone of contention in our kitchen: Sarit is against, I am wholly in favor. I think most cakes need at least a finger-thick layer of frothy icing on top. We’ve kept the following cakes dairy-free, but if you’re an icing fiend like me, here are two that work well with these cakes. Both can be made either in a mixer or by hand (we use a mixer).
Makes enough to top 1 cake
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g confectioners’ sugar
300g full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
Place the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment and cream together on a medium speed until very light and fluffy. Keep mixing as you feed in the cream cheese a little at a time until fully incorporated. Do make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature (you can heat it for about 10 seconds in the microwave if it is fresh from the fridge), as this gives a nice fluffy texture to the icing.
Makes enough to top 1 cake
200g mascarpone cheese
150g full fat cream cheese
150g confectioners’ sugar
50g/ml heavy cream
seeds from 1 vanilla pod
Place all the ingredients in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment. Cream together on a slow speed until the icing thickens. Don’t use a whisk or you risk splitting it.