A Peace of Cake

Earlier this year, I spotted a competition on the side of This Water to win, amongst other prizes, signed copies of a dvd called The Day After Peace.  I texted in, and was lucky enough to win on my very first attempt.  That DVD, a documentary by British filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, is all about what happens when one person starts a movement, a movement for a global day of Peace.  That day, Peace Day is September 21^st, adopted by the United Nations in 2001 as an annual day of global ceasefire & non-violence.

  

Ocado, has joined forces with the non-profit organisation behind the documentary, Peace One Day and Great British Chefs’ Alfred Prasad, Executive Chef at the world famous Tamarind in Mayfair, to inspire mini masterchefs to participate in Peace Day 21 September. Working together to create the simple, yet delicious Sri Lankan Love Cake' recipe, Ocado is encouraging families across the UK to unite for peace in the kitchen. The tasty initiative calls for mums and dads and their little sous chefs to bake and share their cake with family and friends.

Made with delicious ingredients, including honey, fragrant ginger and rose water, the online grocer has pledged to donate all sales profits from the recipe ingredients of this tasty traditional Sri Lankan delicacy to Peace One Day.

If you want to get involved & make your own Love Cake, you can use the link above to order the ingredients directly from Ocado, and follow the recipe and video instructions below. I'll be honest here, I haven't had chance to try it out yet, but I'm planning to over the weekend... Watch out for a future blog post to find out how I got on!  It looks a fairly simple process, and I love the idea of jelly babies in a cake!

Alfred Prasad’s Sri Lankan ‘Love Cake’ Recipe

This wonderfully simple cake is a Sri Lankan delicacy made with love at birthdays or special occasions.  A legacy from the Portuguese rule in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the cake is a great combination of dried fruit, nuts and spices. 

Ingredients:
o   150g unsalted butter

o   350g caster sugar

o   6 medium eggs

o   3 tablespoons honey

o   2 tablespoons rose water

o   Grated zest of 1 orange

o   Grated zest 1 lemon

o   1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

o   1 teaspoon ground cardamom

o   1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

o   200g unsalted cashew nuts, chopped coarsely [optional]

o   250g coarse semolina

o   50g glacé cherries [can be replaced with wine gums or jelly babies]

o   25g  mixed peel

o   25g crystallized stem ginger

o   Icing sugar to dust 

Method:

1.      Preheat the oven to 150˚C/300˚F and line a 25 x 30 cm (10 x 12 in) cake tin with baking paper. 

2.      Dice 150g of unsalted butter and leave in a warm place to soften.

3.      Once soft, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. 

4.      Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well. 

5.      Add honey, rose water, zest, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon. Use a spatula to gently fold through

6.      Next fold through the cashew nuts, semolina, glacé cherries, mixed peel and crystallized ginger until combined. Do not over mix.

7.      Turn into prepared tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until pale golden on top. The cake comes out best in a slow-cook process and should ideally feel chewy on top and moist in the middle. 

8.      Allow the cake to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes.

9.      Turn out of the tin, and when completely cool dust with icing sugar.

Alfred Prasad Love Cake Great British Chefs from Great British Chefs on Vimeo.