LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2017

BASICS  DATES WITH DESTINY

This cake was a winner in our test kitchen. It has a slight earthiness that is offset by the dates. We use the spoon-in and level-off meth- od to measure our flour and sugar in baking and it makes a difference in a cake like this. Using red beets will make the cake red. Replace beets with carrots for another take. CAKE 1 tbsp (15 mL) ground ginger 2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder 2 tsp (10 mL) salt 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda 4 eggs ¾ cup (175 mL) granulated sugar ¾ cup (175 mL) brown sugar, firmly packed 2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla 1 tsp (5 mL) grated lemon rind 1½ cups (375 mL) vegetable oil 4 cups (1 L) shredded peeled yellow beets 1 cup (250 mL) chopped dates ¼ cup (60 mL) chopped crystalized ginger BEET & DATE CAKE 2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour ¼ cup (60 mL) whole wheat flour

WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE ICING 3½ oz (105 g) chopped white chocolate, about ½ cup (125 mL) ½ lb (250 g) block style cream cheese, softened ½ tsp (2 mL) grated lemon rind 1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease two 9-inch (23-cm) round cake tins and line the bottom with parchment paper. 2 Sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, ginger, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a large bowl. Set aside. 3 Beat eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and grated lemon rind and mix well. Add oil in a slow steady stream until well combined. Toss beets, dates and ginger into flour mixture until well coated. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Divide batter between prepared cake tins. 4 Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until cake is deeply brown, has pulled away from the edges

of the pan and a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run the edge of a knife around the edges to loosen and turn out onto a rack to cool. 5 For icing, melt white chocolate in a micro- wave-safe dish in 20-second increments, stir- ring in between, about 1 minute. Cool to room temperature. Cream the cheese, white choco- late and lemon rind using an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. 6 Spread half the icing over the first layer of cake, top with second layer and spread remain- ing icing on top. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 12

WHAT TO SERVE Sperone Marsala Fine I.P. DOC Dry

LCBO 44628, $13.90 Campari Aperitivo LCBO 277954, $28.10

82  FOOD & DRI NK HOLIDAY 2017