Launching A Plateful Prints (!) and a Recipe for Clementine and Cardamom Drizzle Cake

With cardamom and honey yoghurt cream

I’ve always loved art. Both creating it myself, but also buying and gifting it; whether that’s a postcard from a gallery shop, a hand-drawn birthday card, a limited edition print from a favourite artist, or haggling for a painting at an antique market. Overtime, my boyfriend (also very into art) and I have collected a real hodgepodge which fills our very small flat with character and colour at every turn.

The idea of combining my love for art and food into a project has always both excited, intrigued and scared me and I’ve decided that now is the time to take the plunge.

I’ll be releasing three limited edition prints seasonally, this felt most aligned with how I cook and eat, inspired by scenes from my kitchen, dining table, or travels during that time of year. Each print will have an accompanying post on Substack whether that be a recipe, food story, or how-to guide.

This Clementini print is one of the three prints. The original photo was taken at Mercado di Sant’Ambrogio during a trip to Florence with my mum in October. It’s made using oil pastel and coloured graphite and is available in both A4 and A3 as a giclée print on 210gsm Innova Décor Smooth Art Paper, printed in Islington.

If you’d like to buy this Clementini print (or others), head over to my Etsy shop. I think they’d make the perfect Christmas gift for the foodies in your life - yourself included!

Enough shame(ful)less self-promotion, onto the recipe!

As much as I love a crisp apple or pear I always miss the absence of summer fruit and the juiciness it brings. Oranges, clementines and satsumas are, therefore, a Christmas food miracle to me. A small, juicy stop gap between the fruitless winter months and the bounty of summer, a literal ray of sunshine amongst the seemingly endless grey of this time of year.

Inspired by my mum and mine’s trip to Florence, I thought I could make a seasonal twist on the classic lemon drizzle loaf. With the addition of warming cardamom, this is a perfectly zesty and aromatic cake for having people round for tea over the festive season.

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Clementine and Cardamom Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

For the sponge: 

225g sugar

3 clementines, zest

225g butter, softened 

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract 

250g self raising 

2 tsp baking powder

3tbsp yoghurt 

100ml milk 

 For the drizzle: 

1 lemon, juice 

10 cardamom pods, seeds podded and crushed 

125 granulated sugar 

For the cardamom yoghurt cream: 

200g yoghurt 

200ml double cream

1 clementine, zest 

1 tbsp honey 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C and line a loaf tin with butter and parchment. 

2. Place the sugar in a bowl with the clementine zest and rub between your fingers so that the zest is fragrant and beginning to turn the sugar orange.

3. Add the softened butter, and cream these together for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.

4. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing vigorously between each addition. You can add a tablespoon or so of the flour if it begins to split. At this stage, also add the vanilla extract. 

5. Add the flour and baking powder and stir until combined, then add the yoghurt and milk and gently mix. The batter should be a nice plopping consistency, so add a splash more milk if need be! 

6. Plop into the prepared loaf tin and smooth over the top. Place in the oven for around 60-90 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted and the sponge feels springy to touch. You may need to lightly cover the top with foil halfway through baking to avoid the top burning before its fully baked. 

7. Meanwhile, make the crunchy drizzle topping by mixing the juice of one of the zested clementines with the rest of the drizzle ingredients in a small bowl. 

8. Once ready, remove the cake from the oven and poke some holes in the top using a chopstick or something similar. Pour the zesty drizzle all over the cake and leave to cool completely in the tin to let the sponge soak it all up. 

9. To make the cardamom yoghurt cream, whisk the double cream to soft peaks, then fold through the rest of the ingredients.

10. Once cooled, slice the loaf and serve with a dollop of cardamom cream on top. 

BUY YOUR PRINT HERE!