Susan phoned me to let me know that my order of almonds had arrived.
We decided to do Sunday lunch to exchange some conversation and produce. She
would also bring the mountain fynbos honey for Judy that we would take to Cape
Town. Michael headed off on the yearly game hunt early on Sunday morning and
could not join us.
His presence was missed but his absence held the promise of
future culinary delights and we gladly raised a glass to a good hunt.
With an instruction from Susan not to make dessert, because
she was bringing a surprise early birthday cake, I focussed on the rest of the
meal. Having found kaiings at the butchery, I decided to make a kaiings and
smoked snoek couscous starter and rolled rib of lamb with roasted brinjals and
potatoes for the main course.
The surprise birthday cake was a Cardamom Cream Cake. The
cake was decorated in “naked cake” fashion (leaving the sides unfrosted).
Susan’s own words describe the reason for this approach best.
“I am into this look at the moment because I love the rustic look. It’s the way
you can view the ‘anatomy’ of the cake and especially in the case of this cake.
The naked look held down the mega-caloric monstrosity of a cake! Less to end up
making one’s own nakedness not a pretty sight to see!!! Ha!”
Looking at the nutritional analysis of the cake it might
have been our last birthdays.
“Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
1126 calories; 64 grams fat; 38 grams saturated fat; 1 gram
trans-fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 118 grams
carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fibre; 80 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 187
milligrams cholesterol; 663 milligrams sodium.”
We were gladly seduced by the decadence of this amazing cake
and in true Susan fashion she made some of the ingredients herself, like the
ricotta cheese, to create another masterpiece.
The cake was decorated with homemade candied pink rose
petals and crushed pistachios adding to the exotic deliciousness.
What a stunning cake for a special treat!
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