Monday Bake - Pomegranate Loaf Cake

What a lovely day I have had today (I will ignore the large pile of ironing for a while longer while I type this!)

I have a Twitter friend @DottyCookie who weaves willow.   She had tweeted a picture of a beautiful miniature obelisk - I had my "me wantie" hat on straight away and tweeted her to order one.  We had spoken before about meeting in Cambridge for coffee at Michaelhouse so this was a perfect opportunity.  She tweeted me to say she would be "the one with the willow tree!" and was waiting outside for me.  It was lovely to meet @DottyCookie, we chatted over coffee and I had a delicious scone.  As with my other twitter minimeets it feels like we have known each other much longer.   Michaelhouse is a café in the beautiful St Michaels church with a stunning stained glass window.

But more importantly, look at my obelisk.....

Isn't it beautiful?  I have decked it with fairy lights and it will live indoors over Christmas but I will put it in the garden in the spring.

Then this afternoon I went round to CrochetfriendS for coffee with CrochetfriendR.  I made an experimental pomegranate cake to take with me.  I got two pomegranates in my fruit box last week - I ate one and then decided to use the other one in a cake.  I made a madeira cake and then reduced some pomegrantive juice to made a syrup to drizzle over the top. 

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
175g margarine
175g caster sugar#
3 large eggs
125g self raising flour
50g ground almonds
1 orange - zested and juiced

200ml pomegranate juice
50g granulated sugar

100g icing sugar
Handful of pomegranate seeds

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180c/Fan 160c/GasMark4
Line a 2lb loaf tin with a loaf tin liner (I use Lakeland)

Place the margarine and sugar in a large bowl, cream with an electric whisk until light and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time beating well between each one.

Stir in the orange zest, fold in the flour and ground almonds.

Spoon into the tin and cook for about 1 hour.

As soon as the cake goes in the oven place the granulated sugar, pomegranate and orange juice in a small pan, heat gently until the sugar is dissolved - allow to cool. 

When the cake is cooked (when an inserted skewer comes out clean - if it doesn't pop
the cake back in the oven for another 5 minutes - then check again - repeat as necessary)

Leave it in the tin and immediately prick the cake with a skewer several times and spoon
over the drizzle - leave a tablespoon of syrup to add to the icing.

Leave to cool in the tin.

Mix the icing sugar and remaining syrup to make an icing that is thick enough to sit on top of the cake. Pour over and scatter with the pomegranate seeds.

Dust with icing sugar.

 

 

In my head I thought the drizzle might make a sort of marbled pattern inside.  Hmmmm it perhaps needs tweeking!  Maybe next time I will just ice it and decorate with the seeds.
 
I took my knitting round today as I am knitting some secret Christmas presents and trying to get them finished.  So I have to confess I haven't picked up my crochet hook for a few weeks.    CrochetFriendS is making an Attic24 robin and CrochetFriendR made a very long foundation chain!  There was a roaring fire and I could have curled up in front of that for the rest of the day - sadly I went home as there were boring household jobs to be done....

Hope to see you next week.

Bakebakegirl

Today's top three Christmas songs:

1. Stop The Cavalry - Jona Lewie
2. Christmas Time - The Darkness
3. I Believe in Father Christmas - Greg Lake