Today’s theme is Cooking with Wine. I mean, what’s not to like about that? Food and Wine: It’s the original match made in heaven. So, how about raspberry and muscat cake?
Scholossadler Wines are on board to provide some incredible wines and expertise: my dish should pair rather nicely with their almost-dessert-wine Rheinhessen.
I will bake a cake with wine. It wasn’t the most obvious choice, even for me, but after some jotting down of various wines and possible flavor pairings, it seemed that a sweet, fruity muscat was the place to start. After a brief tasting session (all in the name of research, of course) I decided that raspberries would complement the wine perfectly – the raspberry and muscat cake. With the addition of almonds and a little vanilla essence, my flavor palate was complete.
I was lucky enough to have a whole day to myself, simply to be and do and bake. I passed the morning happily pottering in the kitchen, then in the early afternoon (but at 5 o’clock somewhere), I sat in the sunshine with a slice of raspberry and muscat cake and a glass of wine. It was pure bliss.
The almonds give the cake a nutty and slightly biscuity texture, but it should be soft and springy. The muscat adds a rather pleasing and surprisingly fragrant frisson! This would be perfect for a garden party or afternoon tea on a summer’s day, served with some fresh cream. This is my raspberry and muscat cake recipe! To indulge in the rich sweetness of Muscat cake, you can perfectly pair it with the refreshing tartness of homemade Raspberry Sorbet.
Raspberry And Muscat Cake
Ingredients
- 4 oz caster sugar
- 4 oz butter
- 8 oz plain flour
- 2 oz ground almonds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp muscat
- 1 tbsp milk
- A few drops of vanilla essence
- Fresh raspberries to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180oC.
- Grease and line a small, deep cake tin (one with a springform base is best)
- Cream the sugar and butter together
- Beat in the eggs with a little of the flour
- Fold in the dry ingredients, incorporating lots of air.
- Stir in the muscat, milk and vanilla essence.
- Pour into the tin and place several raspberries on the top.
- Bake for about an hour. Check with a skewer to see that it is cooked all the way through.
- Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
