Caravan

Afternoon tea (or coffee) is one of our favourite times in the restaurants. After the hum of lunch has quietened, the dining rooms are left with those enjoying that second or third bottle of wine and lingering business meetings. This makes way for a new wave and a calming transition in the rooms, the laptops come out again and the spaces are once more filled with workers, coffee drinkers and those in need of a sweet or savoury afternoon pick-me-up. Of course, our kitchen stays open all day, so any or all of these people may order something from the menu proper, or may have decided that it’s the perfect time for a cocktail and a pizza. But we like to ensure that we have a couple of additional daily baked morsels to offer customers, especially those who may want to grab and go.

The recipes in this chapter definitely fall into the more decadent category, but we try to avoid highly refined sugar and sweeteners and, where we can, favour the use of unrefined golden caster sugar, whole cane sugars, raw honey, maple syrup or other natural sweeteners, such as dates. At times the use of refined caster sugar is unavoidable, as its consistency and stability is sometimes hard to match, though it is always in our minds to ‘keep it clean’. However, we also value the importance of ‘keeping it real’ and still enjoying an occasional delicious sweet treat.

RECIPE LIST

ROSEMARY, JAMÓN AND CHEDDAR SCONE

A warm savoury scone straight from the oven, slathered in butter, is a wonderful thing. This scone is particularly wonderful as it fills the kitchen with the delicious aromas of rosemary and jamón as they are cooking. As with any recipe like this, use it as a guide. The base scone recipe can adapt easily to accommodate other flavoursome combinations. Bacon, thyme and cheddar or feta and spinach could also work well, so feel free to experiment.

Do not overwork the scone dough once it has come together: the less you work the dough, the lighter the end result. Another tip is not to let the egg wash hit the sides of the scone – keep it on the top surface only for a more even rise.

1 Preheat the oven to 175°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2 In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and both flours to a crumb-like consistency. Add the salt and baking powder and mix together.

3 In a food processor, blend the jamón and rosemary to a fine crumb and then add to the flour mixture. Add the cream and milk and mix till just combined. Now add the cheese and mix until just combined.

4 Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and shape to a flat piece about 2cm thick. Cut into 8–12 pieces, depending on how large you like your scones.

5 Transfer to the lined baking tray and carefully brush the tops of the scones with beaten egg. Bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes.

6 Eat while still warm with lashings of butter.

Rosemary, Jamón and Cheddar Scone

SALTED CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES

As with most baked goods, these are best served as soon as they come out of the oven: still gooey and with the chocolate chunks melty and soft. You can make the dough in advance and store it in the freezer; just wrap tightly in a double layer of cling film. At home, we always have a batch of dough in the freezer and pull it out when we feel like something sweet after dinner or have an afternoon tea date planned.

You’ll find a recipe for almond butter in our Larder section (see here), but there are increasingly a growing number of good-quality, organic nut butters available, so of course feel free to use these if you don’t have your own batch of almond butter to hand. Feel free to play around with other nut butters too, we’ve also made this recipe with cashew butter and it was equally delicious.

1 Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

2 In a stand mixer, combine the butter, almond butter and muscovado and caster sugars. Whisk on a high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

3 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Turn off the mixer and remove the bowl from the stand. Add the baking powder, sea salt, flour and cocoa powder and mix together gently with a wooden spoon. Finally fold through the chocolate buttons.

4 Divide the mixture into 12 equal parts and roll each part into a ball; place on the lined baking tray, spaced out as they will spread as they cook. Flatten each ball lightly with the palm of your hand so it is about 2cm high. Bake the cookies for 12–14 minutes.

5 Remove from the oven and sprinkle over a little extra sea salt. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

6 These will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container.

Salted Chocolate and Almond Butter Cookies

CHOCOLATE, ESPRESSO AND HAZELNUT BROWNIE

Over the years we have produced countless versions of the chocolate brownie. They are particularly popular in our restaurants and on our takeout counters in the afternoon, when customers seem to like a little indulgence with their coffee. We have given them an extra hit of energy by adding espresso to the mix; you can of course omit this, but we urge you to give it a try as we think it adds great flavour to the final result.

1 Preheat the oven to 150°C and butter and line a 20cm square baking tin, at least 3cm high, with baking paper.

2 Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Mix together until melted, then set aside to cool to room temperature.

3 In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together the eggs and sugar on medium speed until the mixture has doubled in volume and is a pale colour. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes and then bang the bowl a couple of times on the work surface to knock out some air.

4 Add the flour to the mixing bowl and fold in by hand until all the flour is mixed in. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and cooled espresso, if using, to the bowl and fold through until completely combined. Finally fold the hazelnuts through the mixture and pour into the prepared tin.

5 Before placing in the oven, drop the baking tin a couple of times onto your work surface to knock out further air. Bake for 30–35 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out with mixture on it, but the mixture is warm to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave in the tray to cool.

6 You can eat this the same day but for a super-fudgy brownie (which we love and is how we serve them at our restaurants), leave the brownie in the tray in the fridge overnight and cut into squares the following morning.

Chocolate, Espresso and Hazelnut Brownie

ORANGE AND ALMOND TEACAKE

We have been making this cake for years. It is so easy and everyone loves it. We have made it with clementines, blood clementines, blood oranges and pretty much every type of orange – all with great results. We always used to make it round but we are currently having a loaf moment – it works just as well and has been a happy resident on our takeout counters for some time now.

In the restaurants, we place finely sliced oranges on top of the cake, sprinkle them with sugar and then caramelise with a blowtorch; it’s just for presentation but it does looks great.

1 Remove any green stalks from the oranges and place them whole and unpeeled into a pan. Cover with water, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, making sure you top up the water from time to time so that the oranges are always covered.

2 Remove the oranges from the water and put them into a food processor, skins and all. Blend to a paste and then transfer to a bowl – you need about 375g purée. Set aside.

3 Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a 23 × 13 × 7cm loaf tin with baking paper and brush with olive oil.

4 Blend the sugar and eggs in the food processor (no need to clean the bowl) for about 1 minute until thick and creamy.

5 Add the orange purée, almonds and baking powder and pulse to combine. Do not over mix; you only need it to be just combined.

6 Pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin and then bake for 1½ hours. Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes. Carefully remove the loaf from the tin, remove the paper and serve with crème fraîche, yoghurt, honey or whatever tickles your fancy.

7 This cake will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature or in the fridge, for up to 5 days.

Orange and Almond Teacake

SWEET POTATO AND CINNAMON TEACAKE

This is the perfect teacake to make in the winter months as you can use any squash, pumpkin or sweet potato. The combination of the earthy sweet potato and buttermilk gives the cake a rich, tangy sweetness. This delicious, spicy cake goes perfectly with a cup of tea (or coffee!) in the afternoon.

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 23 × 13 × 7cm loaf tin with baking paper.

2 Pierce the skin of the sweet potatoes with a fork a couple of times, place on a baking tray and bake for 1–1¼ hours, turning halfway through cooking. You want a completely soft potato that will be of a purée consistency. Scoop the flesh out into a bowl and discard the skins. Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C.

3 In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

4 Place the sweet potato, oil, buttermilk and caster sugar into a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until you have a smooth purée. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.

5 Now add the dry ingredients and mix on slow speed, just until a smooth batter is formed. Do not overwork the mixture.

6 Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake for 1 hour. You can check to see whether the loaf is cooked by piercing it with a wooden skewer. If it comes out clean, the teacake is cooked.

7 Remove the teacake from the oven and allow it to cool for 5–10 minutes in the tin. Then remove from the tin and let it cool on a wire rack.

8 This is best eaten the same day, but will keep for at least 3 days in an airtight container or in the fridge. Make sure you bring it up to room temperature before serving.

Sweet Potato and Cinnamon Teacake

DARK CHOCOLATE AND MISO CARAMEL WITH TOASTED SESAME SEEDS

This recipe was inspired by a trip to Japan, where we found an amazing shop that served only caramels. They were the most exquisite little paper-wrapped parcels of all different flavours, packaged in such a beautiful way, as is often the case in Japan, where aesthetics are part of the fabric of society. The caramel shop didn’t, in fact, have a miso-sesame version, so this is our ode to Japan and its beauty by way of the sweetest, softest little morsels. Store this in the fridge and serve it cold, as it can get a little melty in your fingers due to the high chocolate content.

1 Line a 23 × 13 × 7cm loaf tin with baking paper and brush lightly with a neutral vegetable oil.

2 Heat the cream in a small pan to scalding point (just before it comes to the boil) and then turn off the heat.

3 Meanwhile put the caster sugar and water in a separate small pan and place over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Continue to cook the sugar until it starts to colour, swirling the pan from time to time to evenly distribute the coloured parts of sugar with the rest.

4 As the caramel reaches a dark amber colour (at around 175°C, if you have a sugar thermometer), remove it from the heat and allow to stand for a minute before pouring in the warm cream (be careful as the cream may bubble and sputter). Return the pan to the heat and boil for 2 minutes. Again remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate and then the miso.

5 Once all is combined, carefully pour the caramel into the lined loaf tin and sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Set aside to cool and then place in the fridge overnight.

6 Turn out onto a chopping board and cut into 3cm squares. If you want to, wrap the individual caramels in baking paper. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Dark Chocolate and Miso Caramel with Toasted Sesame Seeds

BANANA AND COCONUT STREUSEL CAKE AKA COFFEE CAKE

This cake is inspired by 1950s America, when most self-respecting households would have a coffee cake available for guests at all times. We felt as a self-respecting coffee house and roastery that we should also have a coffee cake in our repertoire. The use of the bundt cake tin definitely gives this cake the necessary retro feel, as does the optional glaze. We also decided to add a streusel as is common in Germany, another country with a rich tradition of coffee cakes and coffee houses. The walnut streusel adds a delicious crunchy sweet layer and a lovely look when you slice it as it snakes its way around the centre of the cake.

1 Preheat the oven to 170°C and butter a bundt cake tin.

2 In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light, around 4–5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Now add the vanilla and buttermilk or sour cream and mix to combine.

3 In a medium bowl combine the flour, coconut, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and whisk to remove any lumps. Add this flour mixture to the batter in the stand mixer and mix on low speed until combined. Finally fold in the mashed bananas to combine.

4 To make the streusel, put the coconut palm sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Add the diced butter and then pinch and squeeze the ingredients together until they form a crumble. Now add the walnuts and rub into the crumble.

5 Sprinkle half the streusel mixture into the bottom of the bundt tin and press down firmly with your hands. Pour half the batter over the streusel and spread evenly with a cake slice or knife. Sprinkle the remaining streusel evenly over the batter, then pour in the remainder of the batter.

6 Bake for 50–60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

7 To make the glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually add the milk, stirring as you go. Next stir in the lemon juice; you want a pourable consistency that is not too thin, so add more milk if you need to. Drizzle over the cooled cake so that it falls down the indents. Allow to set for at least 30 minutes, then serve with a cup of Caravan coffee.

8 This will last in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Banana and Coconut Streusel Cake aka Coffee Cake

AFTERNOON TEA