Tuesday Treat: Springin' It

It may be Madrid, but that doesn't mean it's sunny - you know what they say about the rain in Spain, after all. The wind coming down from the mountains is cold and smells of snow. It would be light in the mornings if not for the heavy rainclouds. My woolly socks and sweaters can't get packed away just yet, and after a long morning at work, nothing but a bowl of hearty stew will do.

It's been a long winter, and I am so ready for the renewal that comes with spring. I want light and warmth. I want to smell fresh grass and earth. I want to wear bright, lightweight clothes. I want to drink coffee and have breakfast on my balcony.

spring on a plate

I can't make the sun rise earlier, but I can, fortunately, bring some spring flavours into the kitchen. I made this cake recipe in muffin cups. For the sauce, I heated up a mixture of straw- blue- and raspberries and used a bit of arrowroot powder to thicken. I left out an egg and added a little more lemon juice, baking soda and baking powder to compensate. I also used a combination of sweeteners, since Tall Guy doesn't tolerate xylitol very well. I encourage you to try it, especially since you're probably feeling a tad skeptical due to the main ingredient! Trust me - the texture is very cakey - probably the lightest, cake-iest texture of all flour substitutes I've tried. I've made it twice - no one has guessed, and I'll never tell... Next time, I'm planning on trying it with maple syrup and without lemon to see if I can get a maple chômeur type thing going on. How good would that be?