Cajun and Creole Recipes
Acadian Syrup Cake
Ken Smith, the executive chef at Upperline restaurant and an avid home baker, often serves this spiced, cane syrup-sweetened cake. On special occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas he pairs it with a sauce made from satsumas, a clementine-like citrus fruit that grows in Louisiana and is available in the late fall.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, + more for the pan
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups dark cane syrup, preferably Steen's brand
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
- Confectioners' sugar, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch round metal cake pan and line bottom with buttered parchment paper. Sprinkle in a little flour; turn and tilt pan to coat the inside. Invert pan and tap out any excess flour. Set pan aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, cloves, salt and pepper.
- In another bowl, whisk together syrup, oil, and egg.
- Beat in one-third of the flour mixture followed by one-third of the soda mixture into the syrup mixture; repeat twice more, to make a smooth batter.
- Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.
- Let cake cool completely in pan.
- Invert cake onto a plate; dust with confectioners' sugar.
Attribution
This article was first published in Saveur magazine October 9, 2008.