Things that make Kitty Coles' heart sing

An exclusive recipe for you, scroll down for an “any cake cake”. The incredible Kitty Coles has worked on almost all my cookbooks which is how we first met, on set. If you have any of my books, you’ll perhaps notice her in the photos or see me reference her where I talk about my fave green sauce ‘mojo verde’ which she taught me in her adopted sunny home of Mallorca.  After working on the great and the good’s books, Kitty now has her own published recipes out which you can check out here and here or in your local bookshop.  Thanks for sharing this recipe Kitty and for answering the “things that make your heart sing” questions below. Over to Kitty!

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Three cupboard ingredients that make your heart sing and why?

Tahini - weather it's sweet or savoury I think a really good quality pot of tahini goes a long way for flavour. I helped Imad (of Imad Syrian kitchen) write his book and we ate a lot of tahini together! For breakfast, He used to make me a bowl of tahini topper with date syrup and sesame seeds- then bring a stack of freshly baked flat breads to dip it in. Still to this day it's such a fond and delicious memory. I often top my porridge with this too, trust me - try it! (Also try my tahini lemon possets from book...!)

Really good extra virgin olive oil - my parents live in Mallorca and there is nothing that doesn't taste good finished with the best of Mediterranean Olive oil. Especially freshly baked bread, a perfect summer tomato, salt and olive oil.

Mustard - I find myself wanting to put mustard in a lot of things. I use ALOT of mustard....! Dressings, sauces, dolloped on the side for dipping, sandwiches. The list is endless.

(Also Rigatoni Pasta! rice! Jarred Beans of course!!)

Three fridge ingredients that make your heart sing and why?

Herbs, I really can't live without herbs. They are the one thing that can really make a dish. I'll die with a bunch of parsley in my hands.

Butter - of course! I love to make butter dressings on occasion- switching out the olive oil for melted butter (see examples in my book like toasted pine nut butter dressing over roast squash, or the spiced butter dressing over roast vegetables) Why is it just so delicious in every form. I love you butter.

Leftovers! Most commonly roast chicken, some form of cooked potato,and something from another cook book shoot/ or something I've been testing from home. My fridge is unlike normal people’s - there’s alot of random things.

Three freezer ingredients that make your heart sing and why?

I'm always making chicken stock from a roast chicken so there will never not be a few tubs of that in my freezer.

Peas - I cook for a job so I’m always getting back late after cooking all day and craving a big pile of vegetables. I love a simple omelette with a pile of peas for a solo dinner. They are a life saver and underrated in their deliciousness.

I often make my any cake recipe, but divide it between 2 tins. One for now and one for later. So there’s often a spare cake for a desperate time.

Go-to recipe for when you’re knackered?

I think I just said it above, but I love an omelette with various sides. I’d say my most common is rice, omelette, some sort of seasonal greens and chilli oil in a bowl. Or my scraps pasta from my book!

Go-to recipe for when you want to treat someone?

Is there anything that says I love you more than a roast chicken? I think someone bringing out a bubbling, golden and crisp roast chicken to the table is cooking at its best. Then sending them off with a tub of leftovers for their lunch the next day. That's a treat!! Or I do really love my steak and smash onions and pickle salsa from my book....!!

Restaurant in London that makes your heart sing?

I don’t like anything fancy when I go out so I’d say Canton Arms or the French house are my London favourites. But I also love eating out alone. So places like Koya soho for a solo lunch at the bar.

Restaurant in the UK (outside London) that makes your heart sing?

I think I have to say Worton Kitchen Garden. It's complete chaos there and I love it. Go from spring- October and you'll find Green houses and fields filled with fruits, vegetables and flowers. They make/ grow everthjng themselves (including rearing their own pigs etc) and think it's magic. Big platters of proper food that's been made a lot of love and hard work.

Restaurant abroad that makes your heart sing?

I think it has to be Meson can Pedro in Mallorca. All the waiters are round bellied and over 50 and it's always busy and hectic. I've been going there my whole life for suckling pig and Arroz Brut (literally translated at dirty rice). It's Rice soup made with stock, rabbit, veg etc. A big brothy rice soup. They serve it to table piping hot in a huge terracotta pot to share and it's one of my favourite dishes in the world. I think it's also one of the largest restaurants in Spain?!

Or can I say just sitting on the beach with my gas cooker and a few ingredients?There's no restaurant in the world that can beat that.

What you love about the recipe we are sharing of yours?

So - I'm actually a very lazy cook. And this recipe came from me just always using the same cake recipe for anything and everything. It's fool proof and easy (i made it when my sister had a baby with a nutri bullet to beat the butter and sugar, with no other equipment as she doesn't cook and it worked great...!). I’ve probably made over 100 types of cake from this batter recipe and they've all been great. The point is to you can make in to any cake you like, and flavour it however you like. It's great for using up those sad apples in the fruit bowl, chopping them up and prodding them in to a tray bake. Or maybe some berries that are looking sad?

Make 2 little loaves - have one for tea and give another to a friend. Freeze one and eat one etc. the list goes on and on and on and that's why I love it.

There is no wrong answer to flavour it! Dont be sacred to experiment. I think I'll try a few dollops of marmalade next time I'm baking it. Served with some whipped scream and extra sliced oranges.

Any Cake Cake

This is essentially a cake recipe for all. It’s really easy to make and can be adapted in any way you want, hopefully meaning no trips to the shop will be needed! It’s a great way to use seasonal fruit, but it’s also perfect for using up those bags of frozen fruit you’ve got hiding in the freezer or that one apple that’s looking quite sad in your fruit bowl.

I’ve developed this recipe to be fail-safe – it should always be perfectly risen and light because of the reaction between the yoghurt, lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). This reaction produces carbon dioxide, which causes the cake to rise, much like soda bread (fun science fact for you!).

110 g (4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
Demerara sugar, for the tin
300 g (101⁄2 oz/scant 21⁄2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
11⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Pinch of salt
125 g (41⁄2 oz/generous 1⁄2 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
Juice of 1 lemon, plus the zest of 2 lemons if you want a more intense lemon flavour
3 medium eggs
220 g (73⁄4 oz) plain 5% fat yoghurt
2–4 tablespoons milk (if your yoghurt is thick set)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (optional but recommended)

Flavour variations
3 cardamom pods, bashed open and seeds crushed or 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon ground ginger or 2 balls of stem ginger, chopped, plus 1 tablespoon stem ginger syrup
50 g (13⁄4 oz) flaked (slivered) almonds, toasted, half stirred in with the flour and half sprinkled on top

Fruit toppings
200 g (7 oz) strawberries, halved or quartered
3–4 plums, halved and stoned
100 g (31⁄2 oz) fresh or frozen cherries (pitted if fresh)
1 cooking apple or 2 eating (dessert) apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1 cm (1⁄2 inch) wedges
100 g (31⁄2 oz) frozen raspberries or blackberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (400°F). Line a 23 cm (9 inch) springform round cake tin (pan) with baking parchment or grease liberally with butter and coat with Demerara sugar.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, plus any spices you want to use (see opposite).

In a separate bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest, if using, with a hand-held electric whisk or in a stand mixer using the beater attachment until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides as you go – this should take about 3–4 minutes, but it will depend on how soft your butter is.

Add the eggs one by one, beating between each addition, until the egg is fully incorporated and the mixture is light and creamy.

Now add a quarter of the flour mixture and fold it in with a spoon, followed by a quarter of the yoghurt and lemon juice, folding again. Continue alternating additions until both are used up. The key is to not overmix! The less mixing you do, the lighter the sponge will be, so just gently fold in the ingredients until there are no more patches of yoghurt or flour. If needed, loosen with a little milk until the mixture is creamy and drops easily from a spoon.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and top with your chosen fruit topping (see opposite). Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Adaptable baking times
This mixture is easily adaptable for different shapes and sizes of cake tin (pan), just follow the guidelines below.
2 x 20 cm (8 inch) round tins for a sandwich cake: bake for 20–25 minutes
26 cm cake tin: bake for 30 minutes
12-hole muffin tin (for large muffins) or smaller 24-hole cupcake tin: bake for 15 minutes
30 x 20 cm (12 x 8 inch) sheet pan: bake for 30 minutes
900 g (2 lb) high-sided loaf tin: bake for 50–60 minutes at 160°C fan (350°F)
2 x 450 g (1 lb) loaf tins: bake for 40 minutes at 180°C fan (350°F)

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Make More With Less is out now and you can order it here!