I've always wondered what Marie Antoinette must have been thinking when she uttered these cold words. She truly couldn't have been so foolish! It has been suggested that her intention wasn't as cynical as is generally supposed. French law required bakers to sell loaves at fixed prices and fancy loaves had to be sold at the same price as basic breads. This was aimed at preventing bakers from selling just the more profitable expensive products. The let them eat brioche (a form of cake made of flour, butter and eggs) would have been a sensible suggestion in the face of a flour shortage as it would have allowed the poor to eat what would otherwise have been unaffordable. It's rather a mouthful, so to speak, but if the phrase had been reported as 'let them buy cake at the same price as bread' we might now think better of the French nobility.
Alas for poor Marie.
Anywhoo-This past weekend I attended an 'art wake' as part of Eyedrum's amazing Dead Flowers show. I missed the actual procession from beautiful, historic Oakland Cemetary, but I've heard it was fantastic. My friend Susan made this cake. It is AMAZING. So much so that I hardly dare share it as I hope it becomes a signature creation of my own. Savory cake-lord what could be better.But, my teachers in primary school said it's good to share, and I always got satisfactory marks in that column, so why change things now. Please do enjoy.
Susan Cipcic's Rosemary-Lemon Cake
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp rosemary, fresh or dried
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
½ cup sugar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 tsp grated lemon rind
¼ cup currants or raisins [I used golden raisins, chopped]
Cooking spray
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup confectionary sugar
Preparations:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; set aside. Combine the ½ cup sugar and olive oil in a large bowl; beat at high speed of a mixer for 2 minutes. Add yogurt, extracts, egg & egg white; beat for 1 minute. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed until well-blended. Fold in rind & currants or raisins. Pour batter into a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden and cake springs back when touched lightly in center.
While cake is baking, combine confectionary sugar with 3 tbsp of lemon juice. If it is too thick, add some drops of water until it is a desired consistency. Pierce cake lightly with a fork several times.
Spoon glaze over cake.
Cool on a wire rack.
Eat.
Remember to be a good little child and share!
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