In this recipe for Sweet Potato Spice Cake from 2016 Chef to Watch Ruby Bloch from Meauxbar, Cavan, and Sylvain in New Orleans, Ruby infuses elements from both restaurants’ menus. She uses maple syrup, a childhood favorite of hers, and sage, which adds an earthy element to the crème anglaise.
“You could bake this Sweet Potato Spice Cake almost like banana bread, and it would work really great with the sweet potato purée as a spread or dip,” Ruby says. “If you want to roll it, the thinner the better.”
Sweet Potato Spice Cake
2016-08-16 05:39:13
Serves 8
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- Pinch ground cloves
- 1½ teaspoons plus a pinch of salt, divided
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar, divided
- ⅔ cup maple syrup, divided
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup boiling water
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 1½ cups)
- Zest of 2 oranges
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Sage Crème Anglaise (recipe follows)
- Orange Meringue Shards (recipe follows)
- Brown Butter Powder (recipe follows)
- Garnish: maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, allspice, cloves, and pinch salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat ⅓ cup brown sugar and ⅓ cup maple syrup at medium speed until smooth. With mixer running, slowly add oil. Add half of beaten egg, and beat until combined. Discard remaining egg. Add half of flour mixture, and beat until combined; add remaining flour mixture.
- With mixer on low speed, add ½ cup boiling water, and beat until combined. Add lemon zest; beat to combine. (Batter should be loose.) Pour batter onto prepared pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 8 minutes. Let cool in pan.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potato, and cook until tender. Drain. In the work bowl of a food processor, combine sweet potato, orange zest and juice, melted butter, lemon juice, remaining ⅓ cup maple syrup, remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and remaining 1½ teaspoons salt; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Let stand until cool.
- On a piece of parchment paper, turn out spice cake. Slowly peel off parchment. With an offset spatula, spread sweet potato mixture in a thin layer (you may have a little left over). Starting on one end, slowly roll cake tightly. Refrigerate in parchment for at least 1 hour to let set. Slice to desired thickness. On serving plates, place layers of Sage Crème Anglaise, and top with cake slices, Orange Meringue Shards, and Brown Butter Powder. Garnish with maple syrup, if desired.
Louisiana Cookin https://www.louisianacookin.com/
Sage Crème Anglaise
2016-08-16 05:40:38
Serves 8
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (250 grams)
- 1 cup whole milk (250 grams)
- ⅓ cup sugar (75 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- 4 large egg yolks
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring cream, milk, sugar, and salt to a simmer. Submerge sage leaves in hot liquid for 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to the container of a blender, and process on high until sage leaves are chopped very fine, about 30 seconds. Strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve back into saucepan.
- In a large heatproof measuring cup, place egg yolks. Heat milk mixture over medium heat until a candy thermometer registers 175°; whisk half of milk mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Immediately whisk yolk mixture back into saucepan, and cook, whisking constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 175°. Strain liquid and refrigerate.
Louisiana Cookin https://www.louisianacookin.com/
Orange Meringue Shards
2016-08-16 05:41:25
Serves 8
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites (60 grams)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (10 grams)
- Zest of 2 oranges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites at high speed until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. While beating, slowly add sugar. Continue beating until meringue forms shiny, stiff peaks. Gently fold in orange zest. Spread meringue in a very thin layer on prepared pan.
- Bake until very dry, about 2 hours. It will crack when cooled. Let stand until cool, and break into shards.
Louisiana Cookin https://www.louisianacookin.com/
Brown Butter Powder
2016-08-16 05:42:21
Serves 8
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ to 1¼ cups maltodextrin powder, plus more as needed (see note)
- Salt
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat until browned bits form. Pour into a shallow heatproof dish, and freeze for 5 minutes. In the work bowl of a food processor, combine brown butter, ¾ cup maltodextrin, and salt; pulse until a powder forms. Add additional maltodextrin as needed to reach desired level of powder.
Notes
- Maltodextrin is available at some nutrition stores.
Louisiana Cookin https://www.louisianacookin.com/
