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The combination of pineapple, salt and tamarind was part of my childhood in Malaysia. In fruit salads and the famous Penang laksa, the mix of sweet, tangy, salty and acidic is so vibrant and distinctive that, for me, it is almost synonymous with the country of my birth and, more importantly, its incredible range of foods and flavours. Naturally, then, I wanted to recreate that in a cake. The choice of an upside-down cake was obvious when thinking about pineapple, and adding tamarind to the caramel felt an exciting addition to the flaky sea salt we all know and love. I have always been intrigued by the fact that small children, my own included, who seem so sensitive to spice in anything else, love gingerbread cookies, which have such a robust flavour profile and warm spiciness. When my boys were going for a birthday sleepover, I had the idea of translating Nigella Lawson’s chocolate Guinness cake into a ginger version, replacing the stout with ginger beer. It was a very successful experiment – the cake retains all the damp luxury of the original, with a backbite of ginger that engages intriguingly with the chocolate. The children loved it, as did the adults.
Chocolate ginger beer cake
The kind of ginger beer you use will make a difference here, so try a few and see which you like best. Once baked, the flavour of the ginger dissipates somewhat, so err on the side of a ginger beer with a strong presence. I like Fever-Tree.
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 25 min
Makes 16 squares
For the cake
250ml ginger beer
250g unsalted butter, sliced into about 6 pieces
60g unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
250g caster sugar
130g soured cream
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
270g plain flour
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the icing
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
100g icing sugar, sifted
100ml double cream
50ml ginger beer
Flaked chocolate, to garnish
Grease and line a 20cm square or round cake tin with baking paper, and heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Combine the ginger beer and butter in a large, wide saucepan large enough for the whole cake to be mixed in, so about three-litre capacity. Set it over a medium heat and stir gently until the butter melts. Off the heat, sift in the cocoa powder and sugar, whisk to combine, then leave to cool for five minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the soured cream, eggs and vanilla in a jug, then pour into the ginger beer mix and whisk gently. Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into the batter and whisk gently until smooth and combined. Pour the batter into the lined tin and bake for about 55 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove, leave to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, put the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-low until smooth. Turn down the speed to low, add the icing sugar and beat for about 30 seconds, until incorporated. Add the cream and ginger beer, turn up the speed to medium and beat for one to two minutes, until thick and smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
To serve, use a spatula to spread the icing thickly over the cake. Scatter the flaked chocolate over the top, then serve. The un-iced cake will keep for about two days, but, once iced, it’s best to eat on the same day.
Pineapple pudding cake with salted tamarind caramel
Tamarind concentrate comes in different forms, from thick and dense to thin and watery. For this cake, choose a Thai liquid tamarind concentrate – it is milder, sweeter and smoother in texture than the Indian style, which tends to be strongly tangy, earthy and chunkier, and more suitable for curries and chutneys.
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Cool 30 min
Serves 6-8
1 small pineapple (about 1kg)
For the caramel
50g unsalted butter
100g soft dark brown sugar
60g Thai liquid tamarind concentrate
½ tsp flaky sea salt
For the batter
160g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
50g room-temperature unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
1½ tsp fennel seeds, lightly toasted, then finely ground (optional)
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white, both at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
120ml double cream, plus extra to serve
Line the base and sides of a 5cm-deep and 20cm-round solid cake tin with baking paper. Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple, then stand it on one end. Following the contours of the pineapple, remove the peel by slicing it off, from top to bottom, then quarter the pineapple lengthways. Cut away the hard central core and remove the black “eyes” by slicing deep V-cuts on either side of them. You should now have four long pieces, weighing about 600g in total. Cut each piece from the short side into small, thin, fan-shaped pieces (about 5mm) and put them in a bowl. Set aside while you prepare the caramel.
For the caramel, combine the 50g butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan on a medium heat and stir until both have melted and the mixture just begins to simmer. Stir in the tamarind, then bring back to a simmer, take off the heat and stir in the salt. Carefully scrape the caramel into the lined tin, then arrange the pineapple slices on top, overlapping them so there are no gaps. When the base is covered, overlap a second layer of pineapple on top, then set aside.
Heat the oven to 195C (175C fan)/380F/gas 5½. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl.
Put the butter, sugar, lime zest and fennel seeds (if using) in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high for two minutes. The mixture will be somewhat lighter, but not exactly fluffy at this stage, because of the relatively small amount of butter.
Add the egg, egg white and vanilla, and beat on medium speed for about a minute, until fully combined. Turn down the speed to low, add a third of the dry sifted ingredients and half the cream, then mix for a few seconds to combine. Repeat with another third of the flour and the remaining cream. Finally, incorporate the last of the flour and mix on low speed until smooth.
Scrape the batter carefully on top of the pineapple and smooth with a small spatula to form an even top. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the cake is lightly golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit undisturbed on a rack for at least 30 minutes for the caramel to settle, then invert it on to a platter. Serve with cream on the side.
Napkin cakes with blackberry and white chocolate cream
When Sweet, the book I co-authored with Yotam Ottolenghi, came out in 2017, I was invited to talk about baking on a baking podcast called Flour Hour, hosted by Jeremiah Duarte Bills and Amanda Faber, who were both contestants on The Great American Baking Show. Inevitably, I spoke a lot about my baking process and journey, but, to be honest, I was more interested in hearing Jeremiah speak about his own specialty, namely Portuguese baking. My interest piqued, I then signed up for one of Jeremiah’s online baking tutorials and was delighted to discover that we were making guardanapos, gorgeous little cakes named after their resemblance to a folded napkin. Jeremiah filled his with doces de ovos, a traditional sweet egg cream, but, delicious though they were, I couldn’t help thinking about a folded Victoria sponge napkin filled with cream and jam. So here’s my version, with homemade blackberry and lime jam and a white chocolate cream. If you want to make it easier, fill the sponge napkins with a simple vanilla-whipped cream and store-bought jam of your choice. I won’t judge.
Prep 10 min
Chill 3 hr+
Cook 1 hr 45 min, plus cooling
Makes 12 individual cakes
For the fresh blackberry and lime jam
600g blackberries, halved if large
200g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lime, plus 2 tbsp juice
For the white chocolate cream
100g white chocolate buttons, or chopped into 1cm pieces, if in a block
100ml pure (double) cream, plus 160ml extra
For the sponge cake
70ml full-cream milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
4 eggs, separated
50ml sunflower oil
40g plain flour
35g cornflour
¼ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp cream of tartar
70g caster sugar
To serve
Icing sugar, for dusting
To make the jam, put the blackberries in a medium pan and cook over a low heat for about three minutes, pressing on the fruit as it cooks, until you have a soft pulp. Add the sugar and lime juice, stir until the sugar dissolves, then turn up the heat to medium-high and boil for 20-25 minutes, until the setting point is reached (105C on a sugar thermometer). Off the heat, stir in the lime zest, then leave to cool completely.
To make the ganache, put the white chocolate in a medium bowl. Put the cream in a small, heavy-based saucepan on a medium-low heat, cook until just starting to simmer, then pour over the chocolate. Leave to sit for three minutes, so the chocolate softens, then gently stir until the chocolate is melted and fully combined. Cover and refrigerate for about three hours (and for up to three days), until cold.
To make the sponge, heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and line the bottom of a large, roughly 40cm × 33cm baking tray with baking paper; do not line or grease the sides.
Combine the milk and vanilla bean paste in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, then set aside and cool to tepid.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and oil together, then add the tepid vanilla milk. Whisk to combine, then sift in the flour, cornflour and salt, and fold in.
Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high to soft peaks. Still whisking, drizzle in the sugar a tablespoon at a time, then keep beating for another minute or so, until firm peaks form. Using a large hand whisk, gently fold about a third of the egg white mix into the yolk mix, then fold in the remaining two-thirds. Swap the whisk for a large flexible spatula and gently fold until the egg white mixture is fully incorporated.
Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared baking tray, using a palette knife to smooth the surface, then bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when lightly pressed. Transfer to a rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
Run a small knife all around the sides of the cake, then lightly dust the top with some sifted icing sugar. Place a large piece of baking paper on top of the cake, then put a large board on top and flip over to release the cake. Carefully peel away the original sheet of baking paper, which will now be on top, then cut the cake into 12 even 10cm squares.
To complete the white chocolate filling, put the chilled white chocolate ganache in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the remaining 160ml cream and whip on medium-high until it thickens to soft waves.
To assemble, place a spoonful of the white chocolate cream in the centre of each square, top with a spoonful of the jam, then gently fold over the sponge diagonally, so that two points join. To serve, arrange the cakes, slightly overlapping, on a serving plate and dust lightly with icing sugar.
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These recipes are edited extracts from Baking and the Meaning of Life, by Helen Goh, published by Murdoch Books at £26. To order a copy for £23.40, go to guardianbookshop.com
