Almond Cake with Rosemary Ice Cream
and a little supper club summary
Hello dear subscribers,
It’s been a while! And I am sorry for the radio silence.
If you don’t follow my Instagram, you won’t have been abreast of the deluge of photos documenting the run up, evening of and aftermath of my latest supper club, which happened this Saturday at Jusu Brothers in Notting Hill.
The sun emerged, we threw open the windows, poured the white fig leaf negronis and spilled out onto Westbourne Grove. Lily (of Spicy Stems) transformed the room into an elegant meadow of spring flowers, filling the tables with sweet pea and love-in-the-mist and luring in passers-by with windows framed with giant, coral-red peonies. Our guests feasted on sweet brioche, asparagus agnolotti and wild garlic poussin, and we served almond cake with rosemary ice cream and apricot, followed by dark chocolate pistachio brittle for dessert. Wine flowed aplenty, and we were lucky enough to have The Winery supply a delicious, refreshing pairing for all the courses. It was completely surreal to see three months’ of work in the pottery studio brought to life, as our guests dined from 146 mish-mash homemade @ceramicsophia plates and bowls.
This was the first time that I had attempted hosting anything of this scale, and it was incredibly special to experience all the moving parts come together into a fully-fledged, five-course, 42-person supper club. I was bowled over by the dedication, professionalism and elegance of my team, Lily and Julia, and touched by the genuine enthusiasm and gratitude expressed by all our guests. It felt like a real collaboration, and it felt awesome.
We were lucky enough to have Sam Harrison at the photography helm, who perfectly captured the warm, spring-like energy of the evening (if his photos are anything to go by, it looked like everyone had quite a nice time… 🤞). Here is a link to his beautiful pictures.
If you missed out / like the look of the evening / didn’t get enough the first time round, keep your eyes peeled for announcements about the NEXT SUPPER CLUB! You’ll hear here first.
I am sharing the recipe(s) for the pudding that we served on Saturday, which seemed to go down quite well.
Almond Cake, Roasted Apricot and Rosemary Ice Cream
Serves 10
for the ice cream
4 egg yolks
175g caster sugar
500ml double cream
250ml whole milk
3-4 sprigs of rosemary, tied into a bundle
a drizzle of olive oil
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and mousse-like.
In a saucepan, add the double cream, milk and rosemary and bring to a simmer. Slowly add the beaten egg-sugar mix to the pan in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Continue to gently heat the mixture until it is thick and custard-y, and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool before straining into a clean bowl. Leave for 4 hours (or ideally overnight) in the fridge.
Next day, churn in an ice-cream machine according to the machine’s instructions (mine takes 20 minutes, and doesn’t fully set). Pour into a desired container, drizzle with olive oil and leave to finish setting in the freezer.
for the almond cake
4 large eggs, divided
150g sugar
1 lemon, zest and juice
120ml extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp rosewater
300g ground almonds
1/2 tbsp baking powder
a handful of flaked almonds
icing sugar to finish
Line and grease an 8 or 9-inch round, springform pan. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar and the egg yolks (save the egg whites in a separate bowl) until light and foamy.
Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, rosewater, and olive oil. Beat for a further two minutes.
Add the ground almond and baking powder, and continue to mix until combined and smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into the cake batter.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the flaked almonds, then bake for a further 10-15 minutes, until set and golden. Allow to cool before removing from the tin. When you’re read to serve, dust with the icing sugar.
for the apricots
10 apricots
1 tbsp rosewater
1 tbsp runny honey
Half and stone the apricots and arrange, curved side down, on a baking tray. Drizzle with the rosewater and honey and roast at 180 degrees C for 30-40 minutes. You want them soft and catching at the edges, but not falling apart.
Slice the cake, scoop the ice-cream and assemble your three pudding components on individual plates. Tadaa!