Snowy Sundays




This morning, I had my first taste of winter. Big, soft dreamy flakes of snow falling from a dove-grey sky, onto cobblestones in the quiet stillness of a Sunday morning; a place of winter calm amidst the buzz of the city.

Perhaps it’s the cold that’s been steadily descending into my apartment, but I have craving comfort food for the past few weeks. Deep dishes of soup, rich curries and of course, my mom’s kichri, a one-pot dish full of lentils, rice and vegetables. And cakes – warm cakes with rivers of caramel and fudge, moist cakes  studded with nuts, crumbly coffee cakes with pecans and fruit. Christmas eating can start before Christmas, right?

My friend N had a potluck last night and I took the opportunity to make a cake that I’d been eyeing for a while, from a cookbook authored by the owners of a fantastic restaurant in Victoria, BC, called Rebar. The food there is mostly vegetarian or vegan, but they do incorporate some seasonal fish into their dishes, which are divine; I have no hesitation in saying that it is one of my favorite restaurants. This cake is unabashedly rich; butter, cream, cashews and coconut are featured prominently, and the result is a gooey, sweet, crunchy masterpiece (which should be enjoyed in small quantities, if you can manage it).

Oat spice cake with coconut-cashew crown
From the ‘Rebar Cookbook’ by Audrey Alsterberg and Wanda Urbanowicz

Ingredients

Cake
-       2 cups of rolled oats
-       2/3 cups unsalted butter, softened
-       1 cup brown sugar
-       1 ½ cups boiling water
-       ½ cup unbleached flour
-       1 tsp baking soda
-       1 tsp cinnamon
-       1 tsp allspice
-       ½ tsp salt

Topping
-       1 cup brown sugar
-       ½ cup unsalted butter
-       ½ cup whipping cream
-       2 cups coconut, toasted
-       1 ½ cups cashews, roasted

1.     Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9” springform pan and set aside.

2.     Combine the oats, butter, sugar and boiling water and blend together thoroughly. Set aside.

3.     In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and spices. Add the dry mix to the wet mix and fold them gently together.

4.     Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

5.     To make the topping, toast the coconut until lightly browned and fragrant. Combine all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan and heat the mixture until the butter melts and all is well blended.

6.     Pour the mixture on top of the baked cake while it’s still in the springform pan.

7.     Carefully place the cake until the broiler for about 2 minutes, until the topping turns golden brown. (I looked away for a second, and caught the cake just in time!!). Cool for about 30 minutes and serve.


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