A Cake That Eats Like A Hot Toddy

Meyer lemon-almond-tonka bean cake with a rum soaker to provide some vitality for deep winter

meyer lemon, tonka bean & rum make a v. good team

**PSA** Before I get to the juicy, citrusy bits of this post, I want to mention a little update for anyone based in NYC (perhaps I’ll bring this workshop elsewhere soon…looking at you, CPH)—I am hosting my inaugural workshop, EMBODIED EATING, on Sunday, March 2nd 1-3:30pm at Good Move Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. One intentional, impactful afternoon where you can expect the following:

• align your eating habits with seasonal foods and nutrients (ready your body for that winter-to-spring transition)

• unlock daily routines for a gentle internal reset (release excess water retention, let go of pent up stress/emotions, balance blood sugar, boost digestion & sleep, reset energy flow and mood, release brain fog, steady hormone cycles)

• awaken your senses with self-care cooking (how to shop, cook & eat with ease and in alignment with the seasons)

• take home a seasonal recipe booklet (core ingredients & nourishing staples, warming dishes for reawakened energy & stability, salads & veg for vitality and vibrancy…among others)

• breathwork & floor movement

• nourishing conversation, seasonal snacks & a tasting of my favorite things from the greenmarket

SIGN-UP HERE! (and feel free to contact me with any additional questions)

Ok, onto today’s post…about CAKE / COCKTAILS.

I was in the shower yesterday morning thinking about writing out the recipe for this cake and having had a few hot toddy’s this past week in one of many attempts to clear my compromised sinuses (alcohol kills everything right?), I realized that this cake actually EATS like a hot toddy. Soaked good and wet with booze, light and lifted by seasonal citrus, and grounded with depth from homemade toasted almond flour...this cake is bright enough to provide some desperately needed sunny vitality for the cold slog and snow of February, sturdy enough for the Superbowl (sorry, I realize this post a bit late to the game, but perhaps for next year), and sexy enough for Valentine’s (or galentines or just Friday the 14th).

I’ve been making variations of this cake for over 3 years now, while we were all still in the throws of the pandemic. I don’t quite recall what sparked me to put this combo of ingredients together, but I’m guessing it was part out of necessity (using some excess citrus lying around) and part out of experimentation (I had just bought some of Anson Mill’s gorgeous gluten-free flour blend and wanted to do something with it), and part out of a need to bring some sultry waves of baking joy to my life during the lowly grey weeks of winter. And out of that mixture comes this versatile cake - make it gluten-free or not. Grab whatever bottle of dark liquor you have lying around (I’ve used rum, bourbon and cognac to date). Swap in or out whatever citrus you wish (originally I used grapefruit and Buddha’s hand*), and in later versions, ventured over to Meyer lemon and even fragrant bergamot. The only fixed ingredients I would suggest here in the recipe below are the tonka beans which I’ve talked about before and the hard-toasted almonds which give the cake a toothsome density, kind of like a sturdy quarterback (Mahomes) or tight end (Kelce). I say “hard-toast” because taking the almonds almost over the edge brings out this cravable richness and slightly smoky sweetness to the almonds. It pairs beautifully with alcohol and citrus and creates a certain level of intrigue to the cake (possibly beneficial on Valentines). The salty creme fraiche whipped cream is the topper pulling the rum soak and the cake together. Rum, citrus, warmth from almonds (not necessarily temperature) blend just as in a hot toddy to give us a little boost (emotional or psychical) when needed. Bottom line, this cake is a touchdown, and the extra point. Recipe is just down below.

*Side note: not heard of Buddha’s hand? (see image down below) It’s a member of the citron family and literally looks like a bunch of fingers. It’s highly aromatic and a bit magnetizing (in a similar way as quince). You can eat the entire fruit and it lends itself to all sorts of preparations and uses (zested, pickled or fermented, candied, made into compote or infused into cream or milk for pastry cream or ice cream…to name a few).

a quick winter citrus primer