Bitchin' Kitchen #3: Olfactory Baking

Anyone who knows me well will tell you, artificial pink grapefruit is my favourite scent. Actually, real pink grapefruit is delicious as well: in fizzy drinks, in body sprays, in scented lotions and lip glosses. The only thing I can't stand about pink grapefruit, ironically, is its taste: it is a nagging dislike that I've maintained since childhood and cannot manage to get rid of. So, while it is extremely unlikely that you will ever see me begin a grapefruit diet or drink a glass of grapefruit juice, pink grapefruit flavoured diet soda frequently occupies my fridge and the distinct, fruity, refreshing scent wafts daily from my bathroom.

In fact, were a person to take a cursory look through my apartment, they would find pink grapefruit of the following varieties: body lotion; deodorant; body spray; body butter; lip gloss; body wash; candles; bath bombs; bubble bath; kitchen cleaner; scented room spray; diet soda; sorbet; and, most importantly, concentrated perfume. For the better part of the first year of our relationship, boyfriend insisted that pink grapefruit was "my smell": any time he caught a subtle whiff of it he thought of me, as it was the only scent I ever wore.

Lately, though -- while my love of pink grapefruit has not wavered -- the appeal of other aromas has steadily grown on me. Jasmine, for example, is delicious in tea and relaxing in the bathtub; vanilla is delicious when mixed into conditioner; and lavender is so sweet and refreshing in room spray and frothy hand soap. Lavender, in fact, has been popping up everywhere lately: lavender meringues (which are my new favourite cookie); lavender body spray (which is nice in small doses); lavender-freesia room deodorizer (again, within reason); and lavender-rosemary lamb loin (which is a recipe I'm convinced I must try). And so, when boyfriend's mother's birthday popped up this weekend, I threw caution to the wind and decided to mix lavender into my baking.

The following is a recipe for a basic vanilla angel food cake, into which I have mixed lavender and vanilla bean. The result is a light, subtle, and still deliciously fat-free cake that is equally fabulous alone or covered with fresh berries and thick whipped cream.


Hawaiian Lavender and Tahitian Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake

You will need:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup egg whites (about 12), at room temperature

1 tsp. Cream of tartar

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 whole vanilla bean

2 Tbsp dried lavender blossoms

Vanilla beans can be purchased from any grocery store with a decent spice section. Lavender can be a little harder to find, but it is usually available in bulk in most tea shops, where you can buy it to mix in to various teas to your own preferred concentration.

Preheat oven to 325F. 

Sift flour, icing sugar and salt into a bowl. The sifting process is important as it removes large chunks from the flour and sugar and ensures a light, fluffy consistency (which prevents the egg whites from being bogged down).

 In a food processor, process granulated sugar until fine, about 20 seconds. What I've done, however, is used berry sugar: it is a finer grind than regular sugar (used in jams and delicate desserts). This avoids me having to process regular granulated sugar and generally make a mess.

Separate egg yolks from whites. Normally, you can buy cartons of egg whites from the grocery store and simply use these; I, however, had a blonde moment and completely forgot. So, boyfriend will be eating a lot of yolk-based pastry for the next few days.

 In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. 

Gradually add finely ground sugar a little at a time (about 1/4 cup at a time or so), beating at high speed until whites are stiff bit not dry. 

Blend in vanilla extract. 

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in flour mixture about 1/4 cup at a time, just until blended. 

Using a sharp knife, cut the vanilla bean pod in half lengthwise. Holding a half, open side up, against the board, scrape the knife along the inside with enough pressure to remove the black seeds (but not enough to scrape the fibrous bits of pod onto the knife). Repeat this process with the other half.

As a side note, the pods can be retained and used to make your own liquid vanilla extract: just chop them coarsely and drop them into a fifth of brandy. Seal tightly in a jam jar and keep at room temperature. Once you have at least three chopped pods mixed in, and the mixture has sat for at least two weeks, you can use the liquid part as a brandied vanilla extract (the brandy makes it creamy and fragrant). Don't remove the pods as you are using the liquid, as this will alter the quality of your product.

Now, the one difficult thing about mixing in vanilla beans at this point of the recipe is that they are quite wet and oily and tend to stick together. Mixing brusquely would spread them through the cake batter, but as this is angel food cake mixing would ruin the consistency (you need to fold only at this point). What you can do is spread them out on a plate and let them dry for a couple of minutes, then rub them between your fingers to sprinkle them over the surface. This tends to work well (just make sure you don'd let them dry out completely as you'll lose all of your flavour).

Sprinkle the 2 Tbsp of lavender blossoms over the top as well. Fold in just until combined. 

The batter should be very lightly spotted with vanilla beans, with no obvious patches or heterogenous portions.

Pour batter into an un-greased 1” tube pan and smooth the top. It is important that you try to drop the batter in to the pan as evenly as possible, as it is quite thick at this point and you want to touch it as little as possible.

Use a knife to gently cut through batter to remove any large air bubbles. 

Bake on the middle rack for about 45 minutes, until golden. Immediately invert cake pan onto its raised feet (or hang it upside down over the neck of a bottle). Let cake hang until completely cool.

To serve, turn cake pan right side up and gently run a knife along all sides. Repeat this process, pushing very gently against the cake as you go, without squishing or ripping it. Invert it again over a plate (the cake should fall out gently in one piece). If the cake doesn't fall out, resist pulling at it as it is likely to tear. Instead, repeat the knifing and flipping process until it comes out.

Serve alone, or with ice cream, whipped cream, drizzled melted white or dark chocolate, and/or fresh berries.