An almond orange charlotte

Almond Charlotte Cake

Flavours in a cake are just as vital as textures. This is a personal favourite that I created during my covid Zoom classes. It is not a staple of my old Parsi cuisine, but we do enjoy almonds!! When fresh and warm, the cake is great without the filling or fruits, but the cheese filling adds elegance and flavour, making it an ideal party dish. The recipe can simply be halved. It may be difficult to produce a tiny quantity in a cake mixer, but it will work fine with a hand beater.

Alternatively, cook the whole recipe in a large bundt pan and fill the centre cavity with the filling, serving the peaches and any extra cream on the side.

 

Makes 2 almond Charlotte cakes of 6 cups each
22 cm/ 8 1/2 -inches x 6 cm/ 2 1/2 -inches

Preheat the oven to 175 °C | 350 °F

Prepare the pans with butter and flour 

Baking time 30 minutes

Charlotte Cake with sweet cheese and peaches

For the Cake

In a bowl cream together

170 g/ 6 oz salted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
zest of one orange

Add  2 large eggs, one at a time

Keep creaming until pale and light -5 minutes. Lower the speed to stir and add the dry and wet ingredients.

Dry ingredient bowl 

2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup finely ground almonds

Wet ingredient bowl

6 oz/ 175 ml orange juice
4 oz/ 120 ml milk
4 oz/ 120 ml golden syrup or honey

Remove and scoop into two prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until the skewer is clean. 

Cream cheese filling

250 g/ 8 oz cream cheese 
12 tbsp icing sugar
177 ml /6 oz whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Whip the cream cheese. Add the icing sugar and continue to whip until light and fluffy.
On a high speed with the beater on add the cream in a slow stream ensuring it is being whipped up. Add the vanilla extract to taste. 

Chill, and scoop on to the Charlotte, top with sliced peaches. Serve.



Tips

You must butter and flour the pans carefully. The cake will break when overturned if it sticks.

The full quantity can also be prepared in a Bundt pan –  which may need extra baking time as it is a deeper cake. If making them in charlotte pans, divide the batter equally to bake them evenly.

While testing the cake always helps, the cake is done if it has left the sides of the pan.

A cream cheese that has a slight sweetness works best for this. It should be at room temperature to keep it smooth.To beat the cream, however, it must be cold.

Almond Orange Charlotte with a sweet cheese filling and peaches, can also be prepared with mascaporne cheese and figs.

 Photo credit Niloufer Mavalvala

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself via email, in independent book stores across the world and on Amazon India.

The Route to Parsi Cooking: From Pars to India and Beyond is a two-time award winning book. It has been self published in June 2024. Email at theroutetoparsicooking@gmail.com

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 4-time award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and has gone into its second print in 2022. 

The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition is a two-time award winning cookbook. It was published by Spenta Multimedia India and is available on Amazon India and through email order at thevegetarianparsi@gmail.com.

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.

Peach and Ricotta Cheesecake

Cake with Ricotta and Peaches

 

 

This cake is an easy to prepare cheesecake made up of ricotta. It may not be very smooth and silky, but it has wonderful flavours and is perfect for a last-minute dessert. The base is prepared in a food processor, baked, and topped with the filling that is then baked further.

Serve it warm or cold, it is your own preference.

Serves 12 

23 cm | 9-inch spring form pan, lined with parchment. Butter the pan.
Preheat the oven to 160 C |325 F

500g/ 1.1 lb peaches, prepared sliced and drained, kept aside

For the base crust

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
1 large egg

In a food processor, using the pulse button, bring all of the above together. Overturn it in your pan and press it down with the back of a spoon evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until the base is baked through. It should be slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately place the peaches all around in a ring, keeping aside a few to decorate on top.

Filling 

250 g/8 oz ricotta cheese, room temperature
6 tbsp cream combined with a few drops of lemon juice; stir to thicken.
2 large eggs 
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In the same food processor (unwashed works fine), blend until completely smooth the cheese, thickened cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Pour over the peaches gently and place them in the oven, lowering the temperature to 148 C |300 F. Bake for 30 minutes, until just set. The centre will have a jiggle while the edges will be golden brown. Allow it to rest for at least an hour to set and cool before garnishing with the remaining peaches. 

Tips 
Keep the peaches on a paper towel to drain completely. This ensures the pastry does not get soggy. While not all fruits would be suitable for this recipe, plums and pineapple are the two best substitutes I have tested. Apricots are also a perfect combination. Fresh fruit is always recommended. It needs to be blanched, peeled, cooled, and sliced before being used.

 

Ricotta may remain granular. If you prefer it "textured," keep it cold before blending it in the processor. Do not overcook it as it will get dry and crumbly. 

 

If you do not have a springform pan, use a glass pie plate to bake and serve it. This cake will not overturn from an ordinary cake pan.

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.

Photo courtesy Farah A