Falling for Autumn
I love this time of year, with its warm golden light and lack of outdoor expectations. We’re deep into autumn now, and as the leaves begin to drop and winter is but an icy breath away, Christmas vibes are in the air, too. During the more gloomy days that autumn brings, it’s the perfect time to cosy up and embrace the cold weather by unpacking the cosy winter woollies, lighting an open fire and, of course, enjoying the warm glow of flickering candlelight.
Night starts to fall by mid-afternoon but I usually have a candle burning on my desk from morning light. I never need much of an excuse to light a candle, or to set the table for a special feast. I like to embrace low light all year round but I always feel it works particularly well in autumn.
The vast majority of the dried grasses and seedheads I’ve decorated with have been foraged from long muddy walks (and the teasels from near the shoreline at Seaford Head), which is a joy - partly because I love to bring nature into the home, but also because I’m a bit of a tight wad! The dahlias are some of the last still flowering in our garden
For me, autumn and winter are the most exciting times to cook and I’m always on the lookout for recipes that promise to fortify, and warm the soul. In the cold, we all need comforting and the humble soup is my go-to dish at this time of year.
The broth on the menu for our late harvest birthday celebration is a spicy sweet potato and carrot combo that I’ve tweaked over the past couple of years and that includes a compelling combination of earthy turmeric and fiery ginger - both of which have healing properties that I hope may help stave off the inevitable winter lurgies.
If it’s autumn, there has to be a pudding (to be honest, at any time of year there has to be a pudding in my book). This cake is based on a recipe for carrot and walnut from the brilliant new book by Kim-Joy (Baking with Kim-Joy: Cute and Creatives Bakes to Make you Smile) that my husband bought me for my birthday (after much heavy hinting) for my birthday and I’m more than a little bit obsessed with.
It is quite involved but it’s deceptively easy to make. I covered mine with American buttercream then piled up some fresh figs, blackberries and blueberries, along with a few springs of rosemary (a little bit of greenery always goes a long way but I wouldn’t recommend eating it with the cake - it’s there to look pretty) and extra toasted walnuts. I had no idea before I started how I would arrange them but piling them up in the middle and allowing them to spill out towards the edge seemed to work - and fit with the loose harvest theme, I think.
Oh, and I made some herby butter with some of the leftover Asian micro herbs that I used to garnish the soup with. I had intended to bake some soda bread (my favourite because it uses buttermilk rather than yeast and is super quick and easy) but, alas, I ran out of time, so we made do with one of Waitrose’s finest offerings!
Here’s how I made the rest:
Spicy sweet potato and carrot soup with ginger and turmeric
Ingredients
One large onion
Four or five medium sweet potatoes
Half a dozen medium carrots
50 grams of red lentils
1.5 litres of vegetable stock
Two cloves of garlic
Two teaspoons of garam masala
Two thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger
Two teaspoons of turmeric powder
Half a teaspoon of hot chilli powder
Two teaspoons of ground coriander
One teaspoon ground cumin
Vegetable or groundnut oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 C (fan)
Slice the sweet potatoes in half (I peeled mine but you don’t have to) and place on a baking tray. Season and sprinkle with one teaspoon of garam masala and one teaspoon of ground coriander. Roast in the oven for approximately forty minutes, turning and shaking half way through. Meanwhile, chop the onion and fry in couple of tablespoons of oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Once the onion is soft, add the garlic and fry together for one minute. Add the rest of the dry spices and the fresh ginger. Add the lentils, then stir in the carrots and fry over a low heat for five to ten minutes, then add the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for around twenty minutes. Once they’re ready, roughly chop the sweet potato and add to the broth. Use a hand blender or put into a food processor in batches and whizz until smooth. You may need to add some more liquid at this stage - which could be either water or stock. Season to taste, then add more spices if necessary. Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt, nigella seeds and some chopped fresh herbs. I used coriander and spicy purple radish micro herbs.
Carrot and Walnut Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
Unsalted butter for greasing
275g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
425g soft brown sugar
A pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 medium eggs
320g grated carrot
310ml vegetable oil
100g tinned prunes (in fruit juice), stones removed then chopped
110g chopped toasted walnuts (extra for decorating if desired)
For the icing:
550g unsalted butter at room temperature
800g icing sugar
Milk to thin
Method
Preheat the oven to 170 C (fan). Grease and line three 20cm (approx) cake tins (I only have two so I had to do the third cake in a separate batch). Lay the walnuts on a baking tray and toast for between five and ten minutes. Watch them closely.
Mix the flour and baking powder in a large bowl. To a stand mixer (or another large bowl), add the oil, sugar, salt and vanilla extract and beat until there are no lumps in the sugar. Add the eggs one by one and beat well after each one. Turn the mixer down low and add the dry ingredients slowly.
Next add the chopped, toasted walnuts, grated carrot and prunes and fold in by hand. Measure out the cake batter as evenly as you can between the cake tin. Bake for 35-40 minutes in the middle of the oven. When the cakes are baked, leave them in the tins to continue cooking for five minutes once they’re out of the oven. Run a knife around them and turn out on to a cooling rack. Peel off the greaseproof paper and leave to cool.
Meanwhile, make the buttercream icing by beating together the butter and sieved icing sugar. Then gradually add a very small measure of milk until the consistency is how you like it.
Once the cakes are cool, divide the mixture between the layers and cover the surface of the cake (there will be enough icing here to cover it completely but I chose the “naked” look. Decorate with fresh fruit and a few more of the toasted walnuts.
