Prue Leith’s Favorite Type of Cake (And Why She Rarely Makes Them)
At 84, Prue Leith’s career shows no signs of slowing down. His extraordinary journey includes chef, culinary educator, culinary school founder, Michelin star restaurant owner, author, kitchen and homeware designer, and of course, his most internationally known role in as the beloved host of “The Great British Bake Off”. In an interview with Town & Country, Leith shared many valuable tips and personal opinions with fans, including her favorite type of cake.
After years of judging and trying potentially hundreds of gourmet and complex baked goods, Leith’s favorite cake is the humble and rustic Italian Lemon Polenta Cake. A gluten-free dessert that swaps flour for earthy cornmeal and hazelnut ground almonds, lemon polenta cake combines these dry ingredients with sugar, eggs, olive oil and large quantities of lemon juice and zest. It is aromatic, sweet and slightly tangy with a unique crumbly, chewy and coarse texture. The tasting table offers an orange-infused olive oil and polenta cake if you prefer that to lemons.
Leith recognizes that baking takes a lot of time and deliberate effort, so carving out a few hours in her tireless schedule to bake a cake is a luxury she can rarely afford. She told Town & Country: “If I really want to make a cake, I’ll probably make a lemon polenta or an orange polenta cake.” She goes on to admit that she doesn’t cook for herself and her husband, “because we’re both slightly overweight, and partly because I’m very busy.”
Read more: 30 Types of Cakes, Explained
Learn more about Prue Leith’s favorite cake and her baking tips
Although a prolific cookbook author herself, Leith supports her colleague Ruth Rogers who, with the late Rose Gray, features a recipe for lemon polenta cake in their cookbook “River Cafe Cookbook”, named after their Michelin-starred restaurant. Since she so rarely makes cakes, Leith is unequivocal about making Rogers and Gray’s recipe “because it’s the best: it’s a classic lemon polenta cake.”
Leith’s tip for making the best lemon polenta cake applies to baking in general. She says baking is an exact science that must be executed exactly as directed in a recipe. The slightest deviation in measurements, proportions and order of steps could have disastrous results. Simply put, to make a good cake, “read the recipe and do exactly what it says.” This means you can move away from improvisation and experimentation to more indulgent recipes like savory stews or soups. Of course, the cake recipe itself must come from a reliable source, prompting Leith to make the final remark: “You need to buy a decent cookbook.”
Generally, you should read the recipe several times to understand the order of things. The ingredient list should be the first step in preparing your cake, prompting you to first gather and measure each ingredient for efficient and correct mixing. Preheat the oven before preparing your dough, so you can slide it straight into the oven, and resist the urge to open the oven door until the specified baking time is complete.
Read the original article on the tasting table.
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