Mrs. Palk's Smashing Saffron Cake with Lemonade

Once upon a time, a young boy turned 11, and on that day he discovered that he had a great and magical destiny, that he was destined to defeat the ultimate evil, and that he would have companions with roles of their own to play in the battle. No, I'm not talking about Harry Potter (though we can, any time!). I'm talking about someone who came a good 30 years earlier, young Will Stanton and his companions Jane, Simon, and Barnabas Drew. 

The Book

Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series is admittedly very similar to Harry Potter, but darker, and infused with Arthurian mythos. So it's no real surprise to anyone who knows me that I cherish these books beyond reason. Interestingly, the first book, Over Sea, Under Stone, doesn't include the "chosen one" of the series. Instead, we're introduced to Will's future mentor, Merriman Lyon, and his perfectly normal, non-magical human family, the London-based Drews.  It's pointed out he's not really a blood relative of the Drews, but has been a friend of Mr. Drew's for so long that the children call him Uncle Merry.  What starts out as a family holiday to Cornwall quickly turns in to much more than Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew bargained for.  You see, Great Uncle Merry (Gummery!) is part of an ancient race known as the Old Ones of the Light, and he is in Cornwall to find a powerful treasure that will aid in the battle against the Dark--that is, if the dark doesn't find it first.

The Drews are left out of the loop on most of this. They love and trust Merry, and are good at heart, so as things progress, they have an innate understanding that they must do what is asked to help these forces that must remain mysterious to them. As the series continues, Will is introduced and fully inducted into his place as the last born Old One, and he and the Drews, along with Bran Davies, a Welsh boy with a mysterious past, join forces to face the full force of the Dark in a final battle for it all.

Over Sea, Under Stone, which is where this dish comes from, evokes a kind of childhood adventurousness that I am sure any fellow 70's born kid can relate to. If you watched The Goonies and dreamed of finding your own treasure map, or read books like The Black Cauldron and the Chronicles of Narnia, and wished Robin Hood and King Arthur could be proven real, this series will take you there again.  And to compare The Dark is Rising one more time to Harry Potter, the books age along with the children. A greater understanding of the world seeps in as the mortal children get older and experience some of the pain the Dark can bring on. Because much like Delores Umbridge's black heart made her an excellent tool for old Voldy, the Dark preys on those with anger, bitterness and hatred in their hearts, and uses them for their own ends.

Significant Moment in Food
"'Saffron cake', Mrs. Palk said proudly, 'you won't get that in London".

On a more cheerful note, Over Sea, Under Stone paints a vivid picture of life on the coast of Cornwall. The Cornish accent is written phonetically, so you can hear the musical dialect in your head.  Susan Cooper's vivid descriptions put you right there among the fishing boats, hopping along rocks at low tide, and exploring the home the Drews have rented, known locally as The Gray House. 

Early on in their stay, the children are trapped indoors by the rain.  Bored, the kids idly tease and taunt each other, gaze out the window and talk about sailing, then explorers, and then have the brilliant idea to explore the house and all it's hidden nooks. It's on this exploration adventure the Drew children make the discovery of a map, and find themselves part of Uncle Merry's mysterious treasure hunt.  Under strict orders not to touch anything personal that's been put away by the houses owner, they set out with a tea packed by the housekeeper, Mrs. Palk,

Mrs. Palk packs them "freshly baked scones cut in half, thickly buttered and put back together again, a packet of  squashed fly biscuits, 3 apples, and a great slab of dark, yellowy orange cake, thick and crumbling with fruit." She finishes it off with a big bottle of homemade lemonade. Hungry yet? I know I am. Every time I read this book, I picture those buttery scones, wonder what the hell squashed-fly biscuits are (a crunchy cookie with currants, #thanksGoogle), and fantasize about saffron cake.

Saffron cake is a Cornish specialty, something novel that the London-born Drews have never experienced. And it seems the very thing for energetic children, dusty and sweaty and tired in that way one can only get from a hard day of attic exploration and adventure in the sea air.  Cornwall was well known for tin mining, and it is believed that Phoenician sailors brought saffron to Cornwall to trade for tin. Like so many traditional foods, it seems this one was invented for the sake of frugality--eggs were very expensive, and an infusion of saffron was used in place of rich egg yolks to give this cake a yellow color.  However, I did find some articles stating that some areas of Britain were able to cultivate saffron, and that there were a few thriving farms, so perhaps that led to this becoming a common tea cake. Dried fruit obviously is cheaper and lasts longer than fresh. 

The Recipe

After reading many blogs and articles, I decided to use the BBC's posted recipe. I figured they've probably done even more research and testing than me. Also, it saves me the trouble of asking 20 strangers if I can use their recipe on this blog.   I actually divided the recipe and  made two loaves, because I'm gluten free but Seth and Dex are not. I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour, so the recipe and measurements are exactly the same.

Here's the direct link to the recipe on the BBC's website.

Ingredients

1 tsp saffron strands
125ml/4½fl oz milk
500g/1lb 2oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp dried, fast-action yeast
pinch salt
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
250g/9oz cold butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
250g/9oz caster sugar
300g/10oz currants
50g/2oz candied peel
200g/7oz clotted cream, to serve (I skipped this)

Method

Grease a 1kg/2.2lb loaf tin with butter.

Heat the saffron strands and milk in a pan over a medium heat until the milk mixture has turned yellow and is almost simmering. (oooh, pretty colors.....)

In a bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt and nutmeg until well combined.

Add the butter and sugar and rub in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.


Stir in the currants and candied peel until well combined. (I couldn't find candied peel anywhere! So I made my own. There are many recipes out there if you can't find any in the store.)

Pour over the saffron-infused milk and stir until the mixture comes together as a soft dough.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth.

Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf tin. Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 30-45 minutes, or until risen.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Transfer the saffron cake to the oven and bake for 45 minutes to one hour, or until the cake is pale golden-brown and has risen.

Set the cake aside to cool slightly, then turn out of the loaf tin onto a plate and cut into slices. Serve with clotted cream.

My lemonade was kind of thrown together. I used the juice of 4 lemons, 1/2 cup sugar, and approximately 30 ounces of water.   I think that's kind of subjective, some people like it very sweet, we like it kind of tart.

And voila! The finished product. So, how was it? Not going to lie, it did not meet my fantasy expectations. It was much denser than I imagined and not very cake like at all.

It also was incredibly sweet. You'll note that the recipe calls for 9 ounces of butter--that's 2 sticks plus two ounces. That combined with all the sugar made it almost like eating marzipan or something. It was too much for me but Seth loves it. Dex took one bite and was done.

I'd like to say I'll play with this recipe and try again, but it's a bit too labor intensive and expensive to make for one person in my house to enjoy.  Mrs. Palk's pride in her dish does make sense, given how complex it was to make this 100% from scratch. The lemonade is great, though!

I hope you enjoyed this inaugural post. If you have an idea for a future post, let me know below!