St Clements Orange Syrup Cake and Pistachio Kulfi

One of the standout recipes that I have turned to several times over the last year is a majestic orange cake baked in a large Bundt pan.

It is bathed in an orange lemon syrup which trickles down into its pores. It is a sticky, buttery, citrus-y, and overall, irresistible confection. The name is just as regal as the cake itself -- St Clements Orange Syrup Cake. I've taken it to potlucks and picnics, and served it to visiting friends. I've taken it to a work gathering, and to friends' homes as a homemade hostess/host gift. It falls into the category of "visiting cakes" that Dorie Greenspan once wrote about, in the sense that it is sturdy enough to travel well. In her backstory accompanying the recipe for a visiting cake, Dorie Greenspan wrote that visting cakes also come together so  speedily that you could start mixing the batter the moment you spied visitors coming up the walk. By the time they were settled in your home, the cake would be ready to serve.  

The St Clements Cake is certainly not a last rush cake.  Making the syrup takes time, as does the greasing of the Bundt pan. It is important to get the butter and flour (or cooking spray) into every nook of the pan to get the cake out in a single swoop with no cracks. I grease my Bundt pans with a vengeance. I draw on a skill that I picked up as a corporate lawyer many years ago - attention to detail. It feels good to know that proof-reading legal documents into the small hours as a twenty-something wasn't an entirely meaningless exercise. 

I would call the St Clements Cake a Deluxe Visiting Cake. It does more than visit - it draws oohs and aahs.  

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God has a strange sense of humor. What a cruel joke for a lover of baking (and baked goods) to have a child who makes a face when presented with a cupcake. Ice cream is one of my daughter's favorite things, and so I have ventured tentatively into the world of frozen treats. I am yet to buy an ice cream maker - I can see us going through tubs and tubs of ice cream at a concerning frequency. And so I've turned to recipes that don't require churning. Kulfi is an obvious place to start. Here's a picture of a pistachio saffron kulfi I made the other day. I daresay it's better than store bought varieties that tend to be skimpy on pistachios. I went rogue with the nuts (which I love). I can be very lazy in taking notes. My notes on the kulfi are comically bare. Here's a version of what I jotted down - reduced  3 cups of milk to 1.5 cups and blended it until smooth. Bloomed saffron in some of the warm reduced milk, and then mixed it into the rest of it. Cooled this mixture, and meanwhile beat a pint of heavy cream to soft peaks. Mixed the condensed milk and the reduced milk, and folded in the whipped cream, and pistachios, and froze the whole thing in a loaf pan lined with parchment for easy removal. It was good and worth a repeat.

I've never thought of combining the two but as I type this post I realize the kulfi and St Clements Cake may be a match made in heaven. It's a wedding you will want to be at.