Bake a conversation: Mulberry Cakelets
Ingredients for cake will soon be available to be foraged on the wayside. I am blessed with mul- and juneberries growing in my city backyard in early summer, while blackberries make their appearance in late summer.
Mulberries have become one of my favorite berries. Not only do they taste delicious, but they are also wonderful role models for the art of joyful resistance. They staunchly resist capitalist commodification in that the individual berries do not ripen at the same time and, once ripened, refuse long-distance transport.
We humans should learn a lesson from this nonchalant elegance of resistance.
Mulberry Cakelets
(Based on this recipe from Bon Appétit)
Foraging for berries in the (urban) wild might not be for everyone. Thanks to homegrown berries from own or neighborly gardens you might not even have a need to put your forage shoes on. For everyone whose primary food source is the supermarket, there is good news: these cakelets can be made with store-bought blue-, rasp- or blackberries – fresh or frozen.
Ingredients
For the batter
125g (1 cup) flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
200g (1 cup) sugar
60g (1/4 cup) butter, melted
60g (1/4) yogurt or sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoon lemon zest
For the garnish
100-120g (2/3 - 1 cup) mulberries
1 tablespoon raw sugar
Directions
Bowl requirements
A medium mixing bowl for the flour mixture. A large mixing bowl for the butter-sugar-egg-mixture.
Before getting started
Equip a muffin tin with liners (makes 12). Preheat oven to 350°F.
(You can also bake the batter in a 8 or 9” spring form pan.)
First step
In the medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. In the large bowl mix eggs, egg yolk and sugar. Mix in the stand mixer for about 2 minutes.
Second step
Add butter, yogurt, almond extract, and lemon zest to the egg-sugar mixture. Add dry ingredients and mix until no flour is visible anymore. Fill batter into pan and garnish with a few berries.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes (muffins) / 40 minutes (springform).
If desired, sprinkle muffins (cake) with raw sugar half way through the baking time for a little crunch.