Happy Friday everyone,
Here in London, the British summer is in full swing, i.e. it hasn’t stopped raining for the past two months. Or is it the past two years? Can’t quite remember. After almost a decade in this country, I can now say with confidence that rain has been a staple of my British residency.
To stay true to the British summer, I’ve come up with this Pimm’s Hollywood-inspired cake. To me, nothing shouts the months of June through to September better than a large glass of Pimm’s mixed with lemonade and all its accompaniments (mint, cucumber, orange and strawberries) and, of course, wearing a turtle neck (well, it’s cold, isn’t it?).
You might be baffled by the Mandala-like picture above, although it gives you in a hint as to what is in the cake. But, actually, cucumber in a cake tastes no weirder than carrot in a cake. The flavour is very subtle and the freshness from the cucumber comes through. It also makes the cake very moist.
I have also managed to include all the other trimmings (check the recipe below). As for the lemonade, I tried to mimic its flavour with white chocolate and lemon zest in the icing. I must say, it worked out quite well.
By now you may be wondering about the reference to ‘Hollywood’ in the title. Unless you’re a ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ fan like me, I can’t really hold this against you (although I do fail to understand why not everybody is addicted to this Classic Hollywood film ;-)).
Singin’ in the Rain is simply enchanting and its aesthetics never fail to amaze me. It is set in the late 1920s and this cake is an homage to one of the amazing dresses that Debbie Reynolds wears in the film. Now that you’ve got the full picture, you’re ready to bake!