Midnight Martian Magic

07/11 MIDNIGHT MARTIAN MAGIC

 

I'm not superstitious, but the endless depth and unfathomable unknown of space has the power to terrify and rapture. I also believe that midnight is the witching hour, a time brining change for better... or worse. On the stroke of midnight between the 17th and 18th of August I was born into the world, proof there is no way to avoid calamity. The fate of this cake was torn by these forces. Baking by the moon at midnight conjured a magic brining the cake back from inevitable disaster.

The fruitcake cauldron method was taught by Prof. Lawson, albeit an improvised recipe which got lost in the space between cake and brownie. I set out to bake a decorated Bundt* cake. But living up to its name, it ended up sticking to the ancient tin and loosing its molding. A frustrated sleep later the cratered top was remedied with a thick buttercream. Supernaturally reborn, this Bundt of a cake resembles interstellar rings but tastes truly magical.

*Bundt: NOUN def. someone/thing that is a bit shit, missing core aspect, frivolous ornamentation, pot-plant holder. A ring-shaped cake made in a fluted tube pan, called a Bundt pan.


Ingredients (all approximate) - 

3 eggs

200g Self-raising Flour

200g Muscovado (Dark) Sugar

200ml Honey
175g Unsalted butter

1 Whiskey Shot

100g Dark Chocolate

200g Raisins

75g Dried Apricots (chopped fine)

Pinch of salt
1 tsp Ground Coffee

2 tbls Orange Marmalade
 

*I haven't found the buttercream recipe yet, but any French one will do so long as it isn't sickly sweet.


What I did - Oven preheated to 160degrees

My midnight cooking usually starts with a cast iron pot. This is no exception and the whole cake mix is made in the one cauldron, a fruitcake secret passed on from Nigella. Tumble the raisins, apricot, honey, sugar, marmalade, salt, coffee and whiskey into the pot and simmer over a low heat. Stir constantly until you have a glistening fruit mixture, when combined turn heat off. Chop the chocolate finely so that it melts with ease. Stir it as it succumbs to the heat creating a gleaming aromatic lacquer.

Leave the mix to cool and prepare the baking tin, I use a 25cm Bundt tin which reduces the depth of the cake and for such a dense mix ensures an even bake. Make sure you line the bottom and flour the sides, avoid all my mistakes. Then measure out the flour, and beat the eggs in a bowl.

Give the mix a stir, if there is any steam rising let sit longer to cool. Add the eggs quickly beating them before they cook. When combined add the flour and beat again. The mix morphs into something much lighter and should be set in the tin immediately. Level the mix and bake for 1.5 hours. Don't be hoodwinked by the subtle rise, it will cook through and have a dark shiny crust.

Unmold the cake and leave to cool until the morning. I wasn't happy with the botched Bundt bits, so I found a French buttercream recipe to landscape the top. I used cocoa and alien black-sugar to blast one side of this Martian fruitcake like a solar flare. Le voyage dans la lune 🌝

JG

Note: Best served in thin slices with coffee or tea, something to manage the intensity. Unless you feel wine-in-the-bath indulgent.