It’s often said that we should aim to learn something new each day. Be it a fact, a new word, or hone a skill. Whatever it is, it’s so rewarding to put those little grey cells to work to then be able to build on that another day. Just the other day I made my first attempt at spinning sugar. Initially the spiral shapes were nowhere near successful but eventually, after a little perseverance, the technique, although not polished, was refined. Ok, it’s not earth shattering and certainly won’t solve any of the problems which face the modern world, but it was a little triumph in the world of Angela!
GBBO and The Bloggers’ Bake Along hosted by Jenny over at Mummy Mishaps has given me the excuse and encouragement to try new baking techniques and different flavour combinations, from building my first gingerbread house, making Danish Pastries, attempting daquiose for our first Marjolaine, and even making my first video for these sweet Yorkshire Puddings.
This week’s semi-final episode was no different. In fact all three of the bakes this week would have seen me challenged and learning something new in some shape or form. The signature bake was to produce 24 savoury palmiers, the technical bake saw the remaining four bakers make a Savarin, and the showstopper challenged them to make 36 small and dainty fondant fancies. I must admit that all three of the bakes in this week’s episode, patisserie week, enticed me from the puff pastry of the palmiers, the deliciousness of the savarin to the potential prettiness of the fondant fancies. But realising that we have a savarin tin somewhere in the Only Crumbs Remain kitchen we chose to use it for its correct purpose, rather than making bundt cakes with it!
Now, Paul’s savarin recipe looked amazing having been flavoured with an orange syrup and topped with colourful berries and Chantilly cream, but wanting to change it up a bit I opted to go with a slightly different flavour combination and decoration style. Having tried lemon and thyme together in a sweet bake for botanical week, with a lemon meringue pie with thyme pastry, we (or rather I) decided to try the same flavour combination in this savarin cake.
The cake smelt amazing as it emerged from the oven, the savoury notes of the thyme being evident though not overpowering. The thyme was also used in a homemade lemon and thyme curd which I made to drizzle over the top of the finished savarin. Let’s face it, if you fancy trying this curd it’ll have to be homemade as it’s very unlikely that you’ll find it on the shelf at your local supermarket! The wonderful sharpness of the lemon, which we all know and love, was still present but the delicious notes of the fresh thyme was quietly evident making a beautifully change to the usual curd.
Although the sugar shards looked great on the bakes in the GBBO tent, I chose to push myself a little further by attempting a technique new to me and spun some sugar into spiral shapes. After reading Desserts by James Martin about spinning sugar, covering the floor with reams of newspaper, closing the kitchen door whilst our feline friend slept on the sofa, and putting my concentration head on I was ready to give it a whirl.
I must admit that it took me a while to collect enough spirals of spun sugar to decorate our savarin cake, and some perseverance was required after almost calling it a day when I seemed to have stalled at collecting just two. But then something clicked and I was on a roll making spirals relatively easily. Happily these were made without too much mess to the kitchen surfaces and no burns being made to my hands and arms!
So what did I learn when attempting to make spun sugar spirals?
- Cover the floor with newspaper,
- Shut all animals, children and babies, and other vulnerable people out of the room, (remember melting sugar is hot and can easily cause burns),
- The viscosity of the melted sugar is relevant when spinning sugar, whether it’s to be spun into spirals or even shaped into nests, cages or pulled. You’re aiming for it to be the thickness of golden syrup,
- When the sugar cools down too much it can be reheated to allow you to spin some more,
- Any shapes which are rejected can be put back into the pan to be reheated if you want,
- Sadly, the sugar work doesn’t last long depending upon the humidity levels. It soon begins to return to caramel, therefore the shapes need to be made just before serving.
After making my sugar spirals and realising that they don’t last long (perhaps an hour, though I wasn’t timing it) I googled the subject and came across these forums here, here, and here where I learnt:
- Sugar and isomalt are different things and therefore react differently when being heated and spun,
- consider using some corn syrup or liquid glucose in the melted sugar to aid with the stretch and bendiness of the sugar,
- place an unwrapped hard boiled sweet onto plate for a few hours (or over night). If it starts to go sticky fairly quickly your spun sugar will therefore not last long either,
- consider storing the spun sugar in an airtight container with some dessicant or silcan gel sachets (ensuring it doesn’t touch the sugar work!)
To be honest I was more than happy with our Lemon and Thyme Savarin Cake. The cake itself was absolutely delicious, being light moist and packed with lemon flavour and subtle notes from the fresh thyme. The sweetness of the white chocolate and mascapone frosting work beautifully against the sharpness of the lemon, though the lemon and thyme curd didn’t really bring the ‘drizzled’ look I was aiming for once it was applied. It was fabulous to eat, even Mr E echoed this by going for a second slice! Aesthetically both Mr E & I felt that it looked good too, although the
by the time he had returned home from the office the spun sugar wasn’t
in its prime!
So let’s get to it and baaaaake
with white chocolate & mascapone frosting, lemon & thyme curd,
candid lemon slices and completed with spun sugar spirals. Savarin is a light yeasted cake which once cooked is soaked with flavoured sugar syrup.
Hands on time: up to 2 hours Cook time: 20 – 25 mins Yield: 1 x 23cm cake, serves 10 – 12
Specific Equipment
23cm Savarin / bundt mould
For the Savarin Sponge
- 300g Plain Flour
- 50g Strong White Bread Flour
- 50g Caster Sugar
- 10g Instant Yeast
- 2 Lemons, finely grated zest of
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves, gently washed, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Milk
- 6 Eggs, Large
- 180g Butter, unsalted & very soft, plus extra for greasing
For the Lemon and Thyme Curd (optional)
- 42g Butter, unsalted
- 75g Caster Sugar
- 1 Lemon (ideally unwaxed), finely grated zest & juice
- 1 Thyme Sprig, gently washed
- 1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
For the White Chocolate & Mascapone Frosting
- 130g Mascapone, full fat
- 130g White Chocolate, melted
For the Syrup and Canid Lemon Slices
- 300g Caster Sugar
- 2 Lemons, juice of
- 150ml Water
- 1 Lemons (ideally unwaxed)
For the Spun Sugar
- 130g Caster Sugar
Notes:
a) Depending upon the humidity of the room, the sugar work will soon spoil, therefore make it just before serving.
Pin it for later, Lemon & Thyme Savarin Cake:
This post has been shared with:
The Bake Off Bake Along co-hosted by Ala at This Particuar and Amanda at Rhyme & Ribbon
Helen at Casa Costello
This is incredible! I love your sugar work – so fine. I also love your philosophy to learn something new each day – I heard today of someone who wanted to learn one new skill per month but even a little thing every day seems wonderful. Thanks once again for joining in with #BakeoftheWeek x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Awe thank you Helen. I really enjoyed making the spun sugar, though i must asdmit that the thicker pieces were a lot easier to handle – it's so delicate and brittle! I do try to learn something new – invariably it's nothing too exciting – perhaps a fact or something like that but occassionally I like to try a new skill – so earlier this year I larnt to throw clay on a potters wheel. i've still a way to go on that to be described as competant though!
Angela x
woodenwindowsills
I LOVE your spun sugar, it's amazing! I've managed messy sugar work in the past but yours is seriously neat! Alice xx
http://www.woodenwindowsills.co.uk
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thank you Alice 🙂 it was definitely a bit of trial and error to be honest, but then after a while of playing with it and then re-heating I noticed the consistency where I was getting better shapes.
Thanks for your lovely comment Alice,
Angela x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
Oooh Angela your savarin looks and sounds delicious! I love lemon and thyme so I'd love a huge slice please x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
It's a great flavour combo isn't it, I'd send you a huge slice one Kirsty but it was that yummy it's been devoured, not even a crumb left! 🙂
Thanks for your lovely comment,
Angela x
Kathryn
This looks stunning!! Love the sugar work on top!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Kathryn,
Angela x
Kate Glutenfreealchemist
Well done! The flavours in this Savarin sound amazing. Love the thyme addition with the lemon and anything with white chocolate and mascarpone has me hooked straight away. Love the idea of 'candid' lemons. I hope they were as outspoken as they look!
Your spun sugar spirals are brilliant! Shame they didn't last long, but having made sugar work, I too was shocked at how quickly it disintegrated, especially when 'fixed' into a moist cake. x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Kate 🙂 It's amazing how well thyme works in a sweet bake when accompanied by lemon, and I couldn't agree more about white chocolate & mascapone frosting – serious yum! Haha, do you think the lemon slices look outspoken?! To be honest I think I sliced them a tad too thick but they were still lovely and certainly brought something extra to the bake.
It's amazing (and disappointing) how quickly spun sugar spoils isn't it, but I guess if it's made just before it's required you can still get that 'wow' effect. I took the cake to my parents the day after I made it for them to have a look and enjoy a slice with me and all that was left of the spun sugar was brown blobs where the spirals had sat!
Thanks for your lovely comment Kate,
Angela x
Lucy Allen
Oh this is so beautiful Angela, the lovely,flavour of the cake, your piping and your lovely sugar spirals! What a fantastic bake.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thank you so much Lucy,
Angela x
Cathy
This looks like a work of art, so pretty and I love the flavour combinations. That sugar work is amazing x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou Kathy, I was really pleased with the effect the sugar work had on the aesthetics of the cake,
Angela x
Amanda
It looks glorious, I think! x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Amanda 🙂
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Looks like you got a fabulous rise on yours. Its been a trip down memory lane for me as its years since I made savarin. I do like your choice of flavours – candied lemon yum! And you went as far as making such pretty caramel curls which makes it looks so pretty much nicer than the shards they used on Bake Off
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
I was pretty happy with how well it rose Jacqueline despite all of the weight of the butter in it. Ooh it sounds like you've made one as well this week for the BakeAlong, I'll be round to have a read 🙂
Angela x
Nico @ yumsome
I love savarin (and rum baba, which is basically the same cake) but haven't had it for donkey's years… you may have just given me an excuse to make it again!
Your sugar spirals are brilliant… it's as though the whole cake is throwing up its (metaphorical) cakey arms, and shouting, "Wheeeeeeee, look at meeeeeee, I'm so happyyyyyyyy!" 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Go on Nico, take a walk down memory lane and bake one (or even the rum baba).
Hahaha, I loved the way you described the sugar spirals, it really made me chuckle :-),
Thanks for your lovely comment Nico,
Angela x
Eb Gargano
Wow, Angela – this is really impressive – I love your spirals and the flavours in this cake just sound gorgeous. Totally agree with the idea of learning something new everyday…and very easy to do if you are blogging. It's very rare a day goes by when I don't learn something new! Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare 🙂 Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
🙂 Thank you so much Eb. It's amazing how well the thyme works with the lemon even in a sweet bake. Ooh I love learning something new Eb, even if it's just a small thing – but I totally agree there's always something to learn when blogging!
Thanks for your lovely comments Eb,
Angela x
Sarah James
I'm loving your GBBO bakealongs Angela. Your savarin is beautiful, I love the idea of the lemon thyme flavour, a delicious combination. I've never tried spinning sugar spirals, they look perfect. x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Lemon and thyme is just great isn't it, i can believe it's taken me so long to try it in a sweet bake though! The spun sugar took a little patience (and time) but once I'd worked out the best viscosity to attempt the spirals things certainly sped up….you'll have to give it a whirls when you have chance Sarah,
Angela x
Jenny
i must admit had I had more time last week, I was going to attempt a savarin as i thought a gin and tonic flavoured one , with lemon, could work, but i was up against it time wise and I don't actually one a proper tin! . However, having seen yours and read about how delicious it is, I am thinking that I am going to have to make one some day soon, because it just looks fabulous! I love reading about who you made it and of the scrumptious flavours you incorporated into it. It is very impressive and i love the sugar work x x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Ooh a gin and tonic themed savarin sounds amazing Jenny, but I know what you mean regarding the time front. I always plan my week out and expect to achieve X,Y & Z but invariably something or someone needs my help and then I've usually lost half a day here and there. hey ho, guess that's life.
Ooh yes, you definitely need to pop it to towards the top of 'need to bake' list.
Aw thankyou Jenny, I was really pleased with how well it finished up 🙂
Angela x
Mandy
Angela – your bakes are so impressive! This looks and sounds both delicious and stunning – yum!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
You're far too kind Mandy, but thank you anyway 😉
Angela x
Gina
That looks and sounds amazing!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thank you Gina,
Angela x
Anca
The sugar spirals looks amazing, perfect shape. I like your savarin and the flavours sound great too.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Anca
Angela x
Hannah Spannah CB
I think this looks stunning and I'm so jealous of your sugar work- I've never tried it before but am not confident!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thank you Hannah 🙂 You know what, so was I! But I had a little read of it in James Martins book (if you recall he always seemed to finish his bakes with spun sugar) and decided to give it a whirl. I did the spirals because it seemed less messy, where as I'd no doubt make a real mess and no doubt burn myself if I tried to flick sugar back and forth to make fine bundles of spun sugar. Give it a go Hannah when you have a spare hour to play with it, I'm sure you'll end up with some amazing shapes 🙂
Angela x