581. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and butter a round 23cm (9in) cake tin. 2. This is a 2-bowl cake. In the first bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, and leave to one side. 3. In the second bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer or wooden spoon until it’s pale and fluffy. Add the orange zest and vanilla, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.4. Add a third of the flour mix to the wet ingredients and use a spatula to fold it through until there are no floury pockets. Alternate additions with the buttermilk, making sure you finish with flour. 5. Spoon the batter into the buttered tin, and give it a tap to smooth the top. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. 6. Meanwhile, heat the orange juice with the tablespoon of sugar in a small pan, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat. 7. When the cake is baked, leave it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before pricking it all over with a toothpick or skewer. While it’s still warm, transfer the cake to a cooling rack or plate, pour the syrup over and leave it to soak through.Serves 8–10For the cake240g (1¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour½ tsp fine sea salt1½ tsp baking powder½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) 110g (scant ½ cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing200g (1 cup) golden caster sugarfinely grated zest of 1 orange1 tsp vanilla extract2 eggs240ml (1 cup) buttermilkFor the soaking syrup5 tbsp orange juice1 tbsp golden caster sugarIn Italy or Greece, you order a coffee and – with a bit of luck – you’ll get a bit of cake without even asking for it. The people who do not expect you to drink your morning coffee without cake are my people. I’ve spent many an hour determining what it is that makes a cake right for 8am and I suspect the answer is probably: nothing. But in the end I settled on: buttermilk. Here it is, then: a sunny finale to any breakfast feast or chapter, followed by five more ways to do it. May your coffee supply always be ample. ONE PERFECT BREAKFAST CAKE (AND HER PERFECT PALS)59This is one adaptable cake. For starters, you can switch the zest and juice to blood orange, grapefruit or lemon. Just make a straight swap, or double the zest for more pronounced flavour. Alternatively...Pistachio, lemon and rose› Swap the orange zest for the zest of 2 lemons.› Fold 100g (1 cup) of chopped pistachios into the final batter.› Swap the orange syrup for lemon–rosewater syrup (2½ tbsp lemon juice, 4 tbsp rosewater, 1½ tbsp golden caster sugar). Blackberry and almond› Take out the orange zest. › Swap the vanilla extract for almond extract. › When you’re ready to spoon the batter into the tin, add half, followed by 100g/¾ cup fresh blackberries, followed by the other half of the batter.› Swap the orange syrup for lemon syrup (5 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp golden caster sugar).Vanilla and cardamom› Take out the orange zest.› Add an extra ½ tsp of vanilla and the crushed seeds from 6 green cardamom pods.› Swap the orange syrup for vanilla syrup (5 tbsp water, ½ tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp golden caster sugar). Chocolate orange› Double the orange zest.› Add 100g (3½oz) of dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks – fold them through the final batter.› Keep the orange syrup the same. Cinnamon latte› Take out the orange zest.› Add 2 tsp ground cinnamon and 3 tbsp cold, very strong coffee.› Swap the orange syrup for sweet coffee (5 tbsp cold, strong coffee, 1 tbsp golden caster sugar). ALL FOR ONE AND ONE BREAKFAST CAKE FOR ALL1241. Add the olive oil to a large sauté pan and set it over amedium heat. When the oil’s hot, put the chopped onion, carrot and celery in the pan, and stir well. Cook for 10minutes, stirring frequently, until soft. Add the choppedgarlic to the pan and keep going for 2 more minutes. 2. Then add the tomato purée, stir well and cook for abouta minute, or until the purée shifts to a rubier shade of red.3. Add the minced beef to the pan, breaking it up withyour wooden spoon as you stir. Cook it for 5 minutes, until evenly browned, then add the Marsala to the pan, and cook until it’s almost all evaporated. Now add thecanned tomatoes, dried thyme, and some salt and pepperto the pan. Stir, and then bury the cinnamon sticks andbay leaves.p.t.o.Serves 5–62 tbsp olive oil1 onion, finely chopped1 carrot, finely chopped1 stick of celery, finely chopped2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped1 tbsp tomato purée500g (1lb 2oz) minced (ground) beef100ml (scant ½ cup) Marsala400g (14oz) can of chopped tomatoesThis dish is (to be crass, but ultimately factual) a Greek lasagne, with three layers. The bottom layer is traditionally made up of ziti, which is a long tubular pasta – the shape of penne, the length of spaghetti. It’s fun, but only available from specialist suppliers, so if you can’t get it, don’t worry – any tubes will do. Next comes a layer of meat sauce, and then – obviously – a cheesy top. So far, so lasagne. Let’s get even crasser, then. Pastitsio is what you’d get if your classic Saturday night lasagne found herself at a crossroads in her life, went on an island-hopping odyssey (without pre-booking any hydrofoils), and came back a changed woman – much more vivacious, shinier hair. The meat sauce is turned up nine notches with sweet Marsala, cinnamon and prunes, and the topping isn’t just béchamel – it’s yolk-enriched pecorino béchamel that bibbles and wibbles – a very fine cheesy, custardy crown. I’ve eaten pastitsio on the beach in Greece and it’s a surprisingly ideal seaside lunch. It tends to come not-too-hot so as to keep its layers in check, making its cross-section a real ‘I’m on holiday’ sight to behold. The ziti in particular slices up a treat. Speaking of which, if you’re lucky enough to have several oven dishes to choose from, go for depth over width, so you can really showcase those layers. You go, pastitsio – get it, girl.PASTITSIO1251264. Turn the heat down to low, put the lid on the pan andleave it to simmer for 20 minutes. Then, take the lid offand let it simmer for 5 more minutes. Stir through thechopped prunes and 15g (½oz) of the chopped parsley, putthe lid on, and pop the pan to one side.5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted wateruntil just al dente (it’ll cook a bit more in the oven). Whenit’s done, drain it well and add it to the bottom of youroven dish. Leave it there until you’re ready for it.6. To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a largesaucepan over a medium heat. 7. When it’s melted, add the flour, and stir with a woodenspoon until smooth and beautifully beige.8. Add the milk bit by bit (about 100ml at a time), stirringall the while and switching to a whisk if it gets lumpy.9. Once you’ve added all the milk, take the sauce off theheat and stir through the grated pecorino, followed by thenutmeg and some salt and pepper.10. Now, reach for your egg yolks. Give them a quick mixwith a fork, and then add a scant tablespoon of béchamelto them, mixing continuously so the yolks don’t scramble. Repeat this 3 more times to carefully warm up the yolks. Then add the yolk mix into the pan of béchamel and stirreally well. Leave it to one side. 11. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400ºF/Gas 6.12. To assemble the pastitsio, crumble the feta andsprinkle the remaining chopped parsley into the waitingpasta. Then add half of the egg whites and toss reallyvigorously with your hands so that all of the pasta has metsome egg white.13. Stir the rest of the egg whites through the meat sauce, and spoon that on top of the pasta, spreading it out withthe back of your spoon to form an even layer.14. Top with the béchamel custard and sprinkle theParmesan on top.15. Bake in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes, or untilthe top is evenly browned. 16. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing andserving. 1 tsp dried thyme2 cinnamon sticks2 bay leaves5 pitted prunes, finely chopped25g (1oz) parsley, chopped450g (1lb) ziti (or another pasta of your choice, ideally tubular)115g (4oz) feta4 egg whites30g (1oz) Parmesan, gratedsalt and black pepperFor the béchamel90g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter70g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour900ml (scant 4 cups) milk80g (2¾oz) pecorino, grated¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg4 egg yolksNext >