- Makes 1 x 9 inch cake - Ready in 2.5 hours (including cooling time) -
*uses up 200g (5 -6 large handfuls) of spinach leaves *
This cake is just so unbelievably GREEN! It requires no food colouring to achieve this hue, just a lot of spinach...which is great if you are over-run with the stuff. Supermarket bagged spinach also works well. This cake mixture can easily be turned into cupcakes - for example these very green and very cute 'Halloween Monster Cupcakes'.
Gather together…
200g fresh spinach leaves, about 5 -6 large handfuls (with the stalks removed and discarded before weighing). They can be large or small leaves, but they must be fresh NOT frozen.
4 medium eggs.
1/2 cup (64g) of olive oil / rapeseed oil.
1.5 cups (340g) of white sugar (white granulated or white caster - either is fine), sieved.
1 tsp vanilla extract (the Taylor & Colledge brand is fairtrade certified / the Dr Oetker brand is alcohol free).
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (I keep slices of lemon in the freezer to use as ice cubes in drinks - so I just defrost six frozen slices in the microwave and use the juice squeezed from them).
2 cups (240g) plain flour (sieved).
3 tsp baking powder (sieved).
1/2 tsp salt.
Serve with...
EITHER (if your mascarpone has a 'high' 43%+ fat content)...
3 tbsp (50g) icing sugar, SIEVED.
250g tub full-fat mascarpone, it must have a fat content of at least 43% (Morrisons and Tesco mascarpone works well) or else it will split and go liquid-y when it is mixed with the icing sugar.
OR (if your mascarpone has a 'lower' i.e. under 43% fat content)...
125g mascarpone cheese.
300ml double cream (MUST be double cream as it needs to whip up, DO NOT use Elmlea).
1 tsp vanilla extract.
2 tbsp (30g) icing sugar.
Get cooking…
1. Oil-grease and line (and re-grease) the base of a large, 9 inch( 23cm) circular loose-bottomed spring-form cake tin - reusable, cut-to-size cake-tin liners from Lakeland work well.
2.Wash the 200g of fresh spinach really well (unless it is labelled 'ready to eat'), drain in a colander and squeeze out the excess water, then pat dry with an old (clean) tea towel.
3.Put the spinach in a deep-sided large jug and add the 4 medium eggs and the 1/2 cup of oil, and blitz really well with a handheld chopper for 1 - 2 minutes, until so there are no obvious bits of spinach leaf visible - this helps to release the vivid green colour of the leaves.
4.Preheat the oven to 180 C (160 C fan) or Gas 4.
5. To the bright green liquid, sieve in the 1.5 cups of white caster / granulated sugar. Also add the 1 tsp of vanilla extract and the 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. Stir well to combine, for about 1 minute with a metal / wooden spoon, or use an electric mixer.
6. Sieve in the 2 cups of plain flour, sieve in the 3 tsp of baking powder and the 1/2 tsp of salt. Stir to just combine - don't over mix at this point or the cake will be tough once baked.
7. Pour the batter (it is very runny) into the prepared 9 inch spring-form tin.
8. Bake for 50 minutes and then test by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean then the cake is fully baked. If not, bake for 5 minutes more, but don't over-bake!
9. Allow the cake to cool in its tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes then gently slide a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the tin, before unclipping the spring-form mechanism.
10. Release the cake onto a wire rack to fully cool. You MUST allow the cakes to cool completely (for 1 hour in a cool room on the wire rack) before decorating, or else the topping will slide off!
12. Meanwhile, check the fat content of your mascarpone...
12(a). If your mascarpone has a 'high' 43%+ fat content: Into a medium bowl, SIEVE the 3tbsp of icing sugar (otherwise your filling will have unsightly clumps). Add the 250g mascarpone and stir VERY gently for up to 30 seconds. This simple two-ingredient filling ONLY works if your mascarpone has a very high fat content to stabilise the mixture, a lower than 43% fat content will mean the filling quickly becomes runny and leaks out of the cake.
12(b). If your mascarpone has a lower than 43% fat content, add double cream to stabilise it: In a medium bowl, place the 125g mascarpone, the 300ml of double cream and the 1 tsp of vanilla extract and mix with a handheld whisk for about 30 seconds. Sieve in the 2 tbsp of icing sugar and stir until fully mixed, this will take about 1 minute. It will be very runny at this stage - fear not. Then use an electric whisk for 2 - 5 minutes, until firm peaks form.
13. Spread the mascarpone-mixture icing over the cake and decorate with a handful of crumbled cake (a tablespoonful of unseen cake, taken from the centre of the underneath of the cake will ensure the crumbs are really green - the green-ness is lost by the heat of baking on the edge of the cake).
14. Keep this cake in the fridge (due to the mascarpone) and eat it up within 3 days.
This recipe was adapted slightly from the 'Spinach Cake' recipe, on the gorgeous 'When Feta Met Olive' website. My cake is made I using more of an all-in-one method, the blitzing is done with the addition of the eggs and oil to help it along and I've decorated it with mascarpone, for ease and deliciousness.