Rosemary syrup cake with mead cream

SERVES 8 // PREP TIME 25 MINS // COOK 1 HR 10 MINS (PLUS CHILLING)

“I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I find a really good cake hard to beat,” says George Wintle. “I quite like adding savoury and earthy elements to desserts – I think it gives a bit more complexity rather than having layers and layers of sugar.”

2 lemons (400gm)

4 eggs, at room temperature 150 gm caster sugar

250 gm almond meal

¾ tsp baking powder Rosemary flowers, to serve MEAD CREAM 200 ml liqueur mead (we used Maxwell liqueur mead) 325 ml milk 40 gm butter 80 gm caster sugar 4 egg yolks 30 gm cornflour 1½ tbsp plain flour 1 sheet platinum-strength gelatine (3.5gm)

ROSEMARY SYRUP 150 gm caster sugar 50 gm honey 3 large sprigs of rosemary

1 For the mead cream, place mead liqueur in a saucepan and boil over medium heat until reduced by half (10 minutes).

Set aside. Heat milk and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted and milk is hot. Whisk sugar and eggs in a bowl until thick and pale. Whisking continuously, slowly add milk mixture. Return to pan, then sift over combined flours and mix well. Soak gelatine in a small bowl of cold water until soft (5 minutes).

2 Return pan to medium heat, whisking until mixture is thick and flour is cooked (3 minutes). Whisk in reduced liqueur and drained gelatine, then strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cover surface closely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming and refrigerate until firm and cold (1 hour).

3 Meanwhile, for lemon cake, prick lemons with a skewer, place in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil until very soft (30 minutes), topping up with boiling water if necessary to ensure lemons remain submerged. Drain. When cool enough to handle, quarter lemons and remove seeds, then process until smooth.

4 Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease an 8 x 180ml (¾-cup) mini loaf pan. Line holes with baking paper, so that paper reaches 3cm above the rims. Using a stand mixer, whisk eggs and sugar until very thick and pale (5 minutes). Sift together almond meal and baking powder. Gently fold in puréed lemon and almond-meal mixture into egg mixture until just combined. Divide cake mixture among holes of prepared pan. Bake until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean (30 minutes). Cool cakes in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

5 Meanwhile, for the rosemary syrup, combine sugar, honey and 200ml water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Simmer until reduced slightly (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and stand for 3 minutes. Add rosemary and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain and set aside.

6 Remove cakes from pan and brush liberally with rosemary syrup. Transfer chilled mead cream to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle and pipe over cakes. Serve drizzled with remaining syrup and sprinkled with rosemary flowers.

“George is one of the most passionate, driven and professional young cooks I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. When he’s not in the kitchen, he’s researching new techniques, methods and ingredients,” says Oakridge co-executive chef Matt Stone.