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Photography by Matt Russell

Recipe | Migliaccio (Shrove Tuesday Cake)

Iona Bower February 13, 2024

Traditionally baked in Campania, Italy, for Shrove Tuesday, its name is from the miglio (millet) once used to make it, now replaced by semolina.

Serves 12

Ingredients

400ml whole milk
¼ tsp salt
180g semolina
60g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
3 medium eggs
250g caster sugar
250g ricotta, drained
Zest of 1 unwaxed orange
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp orange blossom water
100g dark chocolate chips
Icing sugar, for dusting

To Make

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/ Gas 4. Grease a 23cm springform tin and line with baking paper.

2 Put the milk, 400ml of water and salt in a pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and gradually add the semolina, whisking vigorously. Keep whisking for 2-3 mins to produce a thick paste, then take the pan off the heat and, while hot, add the butter. Stir well, then pour into a wide tray. Line the surface with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.

3 Put the eggs and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk at high speed until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture looks pale and frothy. With the mixer still going, add the ricotta, a spoonful at a time. Remove the plastic wrap from the semolina and break into chunks. While the mixer is still going, add the chunks to the egg mixture in batches, making sure each one is incorporated before adding more.

4 Add the orange and lemon zest, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange blossom water to the mixture and whisk.

5 Add the chocolate chips and fold in by hand with a spoon or spatula.

6 Spoon the batter into the tin and level the surface. Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 85-90 mins, or until the edges start browning and the surface turns golden with large cracks; it’ll have a slight wobble if shaken. Leave the cake to cool in the tin – it’ll deflate as soon as it leaves the oven, but this is normal. Once cool, transfer to a serving plate and dust with icing sugar before serving.

Cook’s note: Migliaccio can be stored in an airtight container or the fridge, but it should always be wrapped in plastic wrap to avoid drying out. It’s best served at room temperature.

Taken from Giuseppe’s Easy Bakes by Giuseppe Dell’Anno (Quadrille). Photography: Matt Russell

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In Eating Tags Shrove Tuesday, pancake day, cake in the house, issue 140
Comment
Rhubarb and custard crepes

Rhubarb and custard crepes

Recipe: Rhubarb and custard crepes

Future Admin February 16, 2021

We're never ones to approach Pancake Day in a halfhearted manner., particularly not this year of all years. Why settle for lemon and sugar when you can dress up your crepe with this continental take on a classic English treat? Shrove Tuesday never tasted quite this good before.

Rhubarb and Custard Crepes

Ingredients
800g pink rhubarb
120g caster sugar
120ml water
140g plain flour
1 egg and 5 egg yolks
2tbsp melted butter, cooled
Pinch of salt
550ml milk
2 level tbsp cornflour
1 vanilla pod
300ml double cream

1. Preheat oven to 170C (150 fan), 325F, gas 3. Trim rhubarb, place in an ovenproof bowl and cover with 25g sugar then water.
2. Bake for 30-40 mins.
3. For the crepes, sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the egg, 1 egg yolk, melted butter, 15g sugar and salt, whisking all the time and then add 300ml gradually milk gradually at the end. Leave to rest for 30 mins.
4. Make custard by whisking together the other egg yolks, 80g sugar and cornflour until pale and creamy. Halve vanilla pod and remove seeds. Place pod and seeds in a pan with the cream and 250ml milk. Bring to boil while whisking, then add to egg mixture. Return to pan. Stir over gentle heat until it thickens. Remove pod and let cool.
5. Grease a frying pan, pour in a ladleful of batter and spread thinly. Cook until top of crepe is set, then turn carefully and cook on reverse. Keep warm as you make the rest. Serve filled with custard and rhubarb - and a side of custard.

Recipe from Pancakes, Crepes, Waffles and French Toast by Hannah Miles (Ryland, Peters & Small), first published in issue 20 of The Simple Things.

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More pancake posts:

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In Eating Tags Pancake Day, Rhubarb and custard crepes, Shrove Tuesday, the simple things
Comment
Photography: Cathy Pyle

Photography: Cathy Pyle

Know more about | Pancakes

Iona Bower January 24, 2020

A few pancake facts to impress your fellow Shrove Tuesday diners

  • The most expensive pancake ever sold was created by a Manchester hotel in 2014 and included lobster, champagne and caviar and was yours for just £800.

  • The world’s largest pancake also originated from Manchester. Made in 1994 it weighed a whopping three tonnes and had to be flipped and edible to qualify. At 15 metres in diameter there was definitely enough to go around.

  • The French have some unique traditions when it comes to crepes. Some families throw the first crepe of the year at a wardrobe and if it sticks you have to leave it there for 12 months. A quicker update than a lick of paint, we suppose.

  • The first pancake race happened in Olney, Buckinghamshire in 1445 and was for ladies only. The annual race is still going strong and will take place on 25 February this year.

  • When it comes to pancake records Dominic ‘Mike’ Cuzzacrea holds two separate crowns. In 1999 he completed a marathon at Niagara Falls in 3 hours, 2 minutes, and 27 seconds while battling winds and flipping the pancake once every 1.8 seconds for the duration of the entire race. He also holds the record for highest pancake toss of 9.47 metres in 2010, beating previous record holder, celebrity chef Aldo Zilli.

  • And finally, if you want to know how to flip a pancake without getting it stuck to the ceiling, the good people of Newcastle University’s STEM blog have worked it out for you: To flip a pancake a metre in the air we need a launch velocity of 4.4 metres per second. If our launch velocity is over 6 metres per second however, our pancake will get stuck to the ceiling! We also have to be fast to catch the pancake as it falls back down or we could be left with pancake on the floor! For a flip of a metre we only have 0.9 of a second to catch our pancake. We can calculate the air time (t) of our pancake using the following equation: t = 2v/g

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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In Fun Tags issue 92, February, Pancakes, Pancake Day, pancake recipe, pancakes, Shrove Tuesday
Comment
Featured
  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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