A long time ago, when I was taking my first steps on the road to chefdom and devouring cookbooks like there was no tomorrow, I came across a charming little book on a charming little subject: Little Cafe Cakes, by Julie Le Clerc, featured miniature versions of cakes and other small sweet delights. The idea appealed to me for some reason. Why do the Japanese love bonsai? Why do some people collect model cars? Maybe they give us a sense of greatness, reducing an object that is usually too large to hold in one hand or, in the cake's case, swallow in a mouthful or two. Is it some kind of ego boost, or is it that small things are more aesthetically pleasing? The most convincing explanation to me is that mini versions mean you can have many more of them than you'd otherwise dream of.
Whatever the reason, as a now mature proprietor of a business that prides itself on its cakes, I can tell you that bonsai cakes and other one-to-three-bite items are taking over. Gone are the days when you went to a cake shop for a slice of this or a chunk of that. Today, everyone wants small, compact, cute: cupcakes, muffins, tartlets and cookies; truffles, bars, brittles and bites. These cutesie little sweets have obvious advantages and appeal. They're convenient both to sell and to carry (they're ideal for picnics), they look good, they don't dry out as a cake does when you cut off a slice, and they prove that you actually can have your cake and eat it – or at the very least another one just like it.
Blackberry and star anise friands
Un-iced, these baby cakes are made for the cookie tin – they keep well and are ideal for grabbing on a whim. Iced, they would not look out of place in the poshest of afternoon tea selections. Makes 10.
340g egg whites (10 egg whites)
100g plain flour
300g icing sugar
180g ground almonds
2 tsp star anise, finely ground
⅓ tsp salt
Grated zest of ½ lemon
220g unsalted butter, melted and left to cool, plus extra for greasing
150g blackberries
For the icing (optional)
70g blackberries, plus 10 extra, to garnish
2 tbsp water
300g icing sugar, plus extra to dust
Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3. Use melted butter to brush the bottoms and sides of 10 mini loaf tins (4.5cm high x 9.5cm long x 6.5cm wide), or similar small baking tins, and chill. Put the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk to froth them up a bit; don't whip them completely. Sift the flour, icing sugar, ground almonds, star anise and salt, add to the egg whites and stir until incorporated. Add the lemon zest and melted butter, and mix just until the batter is smooth and uniform.
Pour into the baking tins, filling them two-thirds of the way up. Halve the blackberries and drop into the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven, leave to cool a little, take out of the tins and leave until completely cool.
To ice the cakes, put the berries and water in a small bowl and use a fork to smash the fruit in the water. Pass through a fine sieve, pressing the pulp against the sides. Pour three-quarters of the purple juice over the icing sugar and whisk vigorously to a uniformly light-purple, runny paste. It should be just thick enough to allow you to brush it over the tops of the cakes, and will set as a thin, almost see-through coating on top with some icing dripping down the sides. (If not, add more juice.) Place a blackberry on each friand and dust with icing sugar.
drive from www.guardian.co.uk