1. Whip Cream. 2. Top with Fruit.
Cake and dessert when you have little or no time to make cake or dessert.
Hello! Thank you for being here for newsletter No. 18.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re already a subscriber, a fellow follower of all that is exciting and engaging about the world of baking with whole grains.
If this is your first time here, you can expect musings, commentary, ideas and inspiration concerning the act and art of baking, including its more esoteric bits and pieces.
If you would like to subscribe so that you receive this newsletter directly to your inbox as soon as it’s published, then let me help you with that…
Time, time, time.
Arguably the most luxurious ingredient one has. You can’t buy it, you can try to make it, but sometimes you have to accept that your stash is low and might be for the foreseeable.
That’s where I’m at right now, and there is no sign of things letting up until the end of June at the earliest (this is optimism). So to preserve any modicum of sanity remaining, I’m not beating myself up about it.
I genuinely love writing each newsletter, but some weeks, I feel I can't do the subject justice or go into all the details I’d like. I'm pretty sure plenty of Substack writers feel the same. This is a low-key side hustle that I enjoy, a hobby of sorts, the pursuit of writing about food-related topics, curious recipe development and sharing experience and knowledge.
Likewise, the 600 or so readers that receive this newsletter each week enjoy the hobby of reading and possibly baking (most likely baking). But do any of you have time to make the recipes? Of course, some do (I know, you tell me, you show me, I love it and encourage it), but many of you won't; maybe you don't want to/need to/have time to, and perhaps you get enough enjoyment from the non-recipe specific content.
Either way, there's an argument for cutting us all some slack this week. The relationship between your spare time and the amount you care for something is sometimes inverse, seemingly unable to coexist positively. So instead of bringing you the content and recipe I had planned, I'm sharing some inspiration by way of recent cakes and desserts that have taken little to no time to throw together but have been no less meaningful or enjoyable for it.
Forget multiple tins, slicing the cake into layers and multistage fillings and components. I’m here for all that; I love that, really I do. But it’s only fun when there’s time for proper planning and execution. And when there isn't, there are always moments when you want to mark a special occasion. So for these moments, consider the slab cake your saviour.
Grab the biggest cake tin or baking vessel you own (a 9 x 13 inches is good for a crowd) and reach for the most straightforward cake recipe you know (a wet into dry affair, or a basic cream butter + sugar, add eggs, fold through flour…).
Scale it up or down using this handy guide and bake.
Whip fresh cream to soft peaks, deposit it onto the cooled cake and swoosh away.
Top with fresh fruit, a jam or curd and something texturally intriguing…think meringue, crushed toasted nuts or biscuits.
The same approach can be used with a tray or shortbread, cut or break a random once baked and proceed with steps 3 and 4 above.
Or forgo the cake or shortbread entirely and head straight to steps 3 and 4. Proceed to put it in a little glass and serve for low-effort je ne sais quoi.
It's worth noting that inspiration and new ideas are not mutually exclusive. I know these ideas are not groundbreaking, and they are not meant to be. They are merely reminders that the small act of whipping cream and adorning it with fresh fruit is the simplest way I know to mark an occasion like you had all the time in the world when you didn't.
Sometimes it's less about what we make or how we make it and more about why and who we share it with.
And when you're short on time, the essential thing is to spend what you do have with the people you want to be with, so this week, I'm skipping town on an unplanned, spontaneous early evening train ride to enjoy a meal with my best friend that I haven't cooked and to check out a friends new creation, a bakery that encapsulates all the themes we love to discuss here. I’ll add some info on all the good things that filled me up from the trip below; I’d recommend them to everyone.
If your time allowance is positively positive and you're looking for something more involved, then I suggest a search around the small archive of recipes published so far. They range from relatively quick and easy to those requiring more time and energy with more planning and headspace.
My fast favourites include these small-batch scones and this shortbread. With a pinch more time on your side, this cake is by far one of my best, and if you want to go all out and the rhubarb is still thriving where you are, consider this pie the answer.
London in the sun is always fun.
Alongside providing the local community with the best-baked goods around, Helen will host workshops at the bakery focusing on sourdough bread and laminated pastries using stoneground flour sourced directly from farmers and millers with whom she has built purposeful relationships.
I’ll be joining Helen to teach a seasonal pie workshop at Eric’s this autumn; we'll construct and bake pies using the best fruit the season offers and discuss how to incorporate regional wholegrains for the most flavourful pie crusts.