“If you ever see me at the supermarket, chances are I’ll have a caramel mud cake in my basket. It is my favourite mass-produced treat and resolutely non-guilty pleasure. Alas, so many attempts to re-create it left me disheartened – until I dabbled with chicory, a caffeine-free coffee substitute. When mixed with dark brown sugar, chicory imparts butterscotch-adjacent notes. The sticky, finger-dipping-good dark caramel ganache really ties the whole cake together, so I have allowed for more than this cake needs. Warm any excess to pour over ice cream.”
“Pink-icing-and-coconut-strewn buns were my Friday school canteen treat. My adult finger buns are back from a Sicilian sabbatical and studded with dried fruit, zingy with lemon frosting and topped with crunchy and bright fresh pistachio. Enjoy them with a slick or slice of very good cold butter inside.”
CHOCOLATE PRUNE BABKA
MAKES 1 LOAF
“If you don’t have a mixer or yours can’t effectively knead this small dough batch, then supplement the dough development with a few extra post-mixing folds”. Begin this recipe a day ahead. You’ll need a 25-29cm × 10cm × 7cm loaf pan.
SWEET YEAST DAY BEFORE DOUGH
130ml tepid water
20g fresh yeast or 7g sachet dried yeast
50g egg (approx. 1 egg)
20g egg yolk (from approx. 1 egg)
50g unsalted butter, cool and pliable, diced
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
280g baker’s flour
2 tbs (30g) wholemeal plain flour
1 ½ tbs (30g) light brown sugar
2 tbs (20g) dried milk powder
2 tsp vodka
Cooking oil spray, to grease
PRUNE CHOCOLATE FILLING
60g pitted prunes
50g dark chocolate (50-60%), roughly chopped
30g unsalted butter, squidgy soft
Grated zest of 1 orange
1½ tbs (30g) dark brown sugar
1½ tbs (10g) Dutch cocoa powder
25g egg (approx. ½ egg, yolk and white, lightly whisked – use the rest for the pre-bake egg wash)
BROWN SUGAR GLAZE
Juice of 1 orange (from filling)
¼ cup (60g) light brown sugar
Add the water to the bowl of an electric stand mixer and stir in the yeast until dissolved. Add the egg, egg yolk, butter and vanilla, then weigh the flours, sugar and milk powder on top. Add a heaped ½ tsp fine sea salt and the vodka last. Knead for 10 minutes on speed 4 (below medium), stopping to scrape the dough a few times. At times, force the butter into the dough with your spatula to encourage it to cohere. It will be a sticky, slumpy mass (not a ball). Look for an elastic response (it should bounce back when poked) and a fibrous appearance when you scrape the dough during the kneading. The dough will start to rise up the dough hook at the end of the kneading. Let go of the clichéd goal of a tight
