A Cake for my Parents
My parents met at teacher’s college. They got married thirty-five years ago in January. So I congratulate my parents on thirty-five years of marriage (and also for having me, obviously).
My parents bought a house in the middle of the hill in Coolum, about thirty-four years ago. I grew up in this house. This was my home. My parents renovated this house for thirty-four years. They sold this house at the end of 2020.
2020 was not an easy year for anybody. It was a different year - a year like no other. I certainly never thought I’d live to see a pandemic, let alone one of this scale. Many of us lost jobs, lost time and were just generally lost. Some of us found things along the way, like running or baking or sewing.
My parents found a new home, a new community, a new project. The lake house is a house like no other. It’s perched on a hill and somehow has not slipped down it and into the lake below. My mum has scattered orchids and herbs all over the hill, and my dad has built a shed and a kitchen. Staying at the lake house is like camping. The kitchen and bathroom are only accessible by venturing outside and traversing down a dark path. The shower is literally a shower - there’s no room for towels or clothes in there. The one room I spend a majority of my time in is the kitchen. The kitchen faces the lake and has huge windows spanning the lake facing wall. When you cook, you can see the kingfishers and pelicans dancing on the lake and the rain coming across it. It’s like a movie.
My parents have their own thing. You can always tell when something has been made by my mum or built by my dad. They have always wanted to build and have something uniquely them. My parents get to build a dream home. They are starting from the foundations and making a new lake house. A lake house that will be their new home.
They celebrated thirty-five years together this January. In thirty-five years they have raised three human children and three dog children. They have become grandparents to Yuki. They have renovated a house, sold a house and bought two properties. They survived three kids going to university and getting degrees, and (eventually) jobs. They might not approve of everything that we do but they are there to support us and encourage us regardless. So here’s to thirty-five years of the greatest partnership of all time, my parents. May they keep batting for at least a half century.
Ginger Kiss Cake
My mum used to ask my dad to get sweet things for her when we had run out of supplies at home. Dad would rush off and come home with chocolate, cookies or caramel slice. Sometimes he would bring home a ginger kiss. A ginger kiss is mock cream sandwiched between two ginger sponge biscuits.
Ginger kisses were my favourite of the treats he would bring home. I have put a spin on the ginger kiss and reworked it into a cake. This cake is three layers of coconut vanilla sponge with ginger cream and mango curd filling. It’s a simple cake. All the best things are simple.
The recipe below is for my cake and mango curd. The ginger cream I used for the filling can be found in Joanne Chang’s Pastry Love page 334. Mainly because I had it leftover from the macaroons I made for my sister. It is a little more involved than other recipes. If this is too daunting - a combination of whipped cream, icing sugar and freshly grated ginger would work too.
Mango Curd
1 large mango / 2 medium mangoes (peel and cut up, put in blender and puree. Puree should measure around 1 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
40 ml lemon juice
2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
115 g cubed, cold butter
Ginger Cream (this is not my recipe, it’s from Pastry Love - Joanne Chang pp. 334)
240 g whole milk
35 g plain flour
200 g caster sugar
225 g butter (softened, I use salted butter but the recipe specifies unsalted - it’s not my jam)
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger (I used about 2-3 Tbs because I dig ginger)
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (recipe uses extract)
1/2 - 1 tsp salt (the og recipe uses 1/4 tsp)
Cake
40 g cornflour
60 g whole wheat flour
140 g plain flour
50 g dark muscovado sugar
220 g raw caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
120 g butter
125 ml grapeseed oil
1 Tbs vanilla
2 whole eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
160 g natural yoghurt with juice of half a lemon
50 g coconut flakes
60 g desiccated coconut
Cake Soak
125 ml coconut milk
1 Tbs coconut flakes
To make the Curd
Whisk all the ingredients except the butter in a medium, heavy based saucepan.
Place the saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.*
Reduce the heat to low and add the butter one cube at a time and stir with a wooden spoon until thickened.*
Place in a sterilised jar or a mixing bowl with plastic wrap touching the surface (so no skin) and place into refrigerator for use later on.
The Cream (this is a strange recipe, it’s more technical but worth the work… if you scared y’all can whip some cream with some icing sugar and grated fresh ginger)
Place milk and flour into a saucepan over a medium heat and whisk to thicken and becomes pasty, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and scrape into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or use a hand mixer. Let it sit for about an hour (I let it sit for 40-50 minutes), paddling every 10 minutes to cool it down.
Once at room temperature, begin to paddle the mixture on a low speed and then gradually add the sugar until it is incorporated.
Add the butter piece by piece with the mixer on low. Basically add a piece of butter once the piece added before is fully incorporated.
Once all the butter is combined, add in all the ginger, vanilla and salt. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 6-8 minutes. The mixture will look curdled and clumpy at first, DON’T STRESS it will eventually come together and be creamy and perfect.
If you store the icing in the fridge you go to beat it again, before use.
The Soak
Combine all ingredients. Set aside until assembly.
The Cake
Preheat oven to 175’C and prepare a quarter baking sheet, or three 6-inch cake pans.
Place flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the paddle until combined.
Add in the butter and mix until butter is well distributed.
With the mixer on medium low, gradually add the oil and vanilla. Then add the two whole eggs and mix well. Follow with the egg yolks.
Reduce the speed to low and add in the yoghurt/lemon juice liquid. Mix until you have a smooth batter.
Remove the mixture from the stand mixer and fold the coconut through.
Divide into the three pans or pour batter into the baking sheet. I used a baking sheet and baked it for 25 minutes, if using three pans, 18-22 minutes.
Once baked, allow to cool. If in a baking sheet remove from tin and cut three 6-inch rounds out. If in three tins remove from tins.
ASSEMBLE
I used a cake ring an acetate sheet to assemble my cake, but you can use plastic wrap and a springform tin without a base (it will need to be 6 inch). Place the ring on a plate and line the sides with plastic wrap, ensuring the plastic comes up above the sides in case your cake is higher than the ring.
Put the first cake round in the ring. Brush the cake with a third of the soak. Put a third of the ginger cream on top of the soak making a dam in the centre. Spoon the curd into the dam (as much curd as reasonable if it overflows it will come out the sides of your cake, there will be leftovers and that’s excellent for you. You can use the leftovers as jam in jam drops, on toast/scones or as a topping on a pavlova or tres leches cake).
Place the second round on top of the first cake and repeat step 2.
Place the final cake round on top of the cakes. Put the cake soak on then frost with ginger cream.
Once the cream is smooth, sprinkle the circumference of the top cake with flaked/shredded coconut.
Notes:
I check to see if the sugar has dissolved by rubbing some of the liquid between my fingers, if there is any graininess then the sugar is not yet dissolved.
Important to add butter gradually so the mixture doesn’t split/curdle. You can determine if the mixture is thick by checking the back of the wooden spoon, if the mixture coats it well and doesn’t run off the spoon immediately (there is viscosity) then you have achieved the right thickness.
You could add some passionfruit to the curd or decorate the top of the cake with it for some extra tropo flair
You could add some white rum or Malibu to the cake soak to give it an adult flavour
You can change the mango curd to jam and cream, then coat with chocolate ganache and make it into a lamington cake
FINAL THOUGHTS…
Okay so life update, I bought a bike. I’m going to do a triathlon. I just need to get on it. I finally got the right cleats and I should be able to ride it now. I feel like I have to re-learn the art of bike riding.
In other news, I have began Below Deck. It’s an experience. I love the chefs. Chefs are treated like royalty, like just under the captain. I gotta get me a boat and be a yacht chef.
From your flour child,
Amelia xx
