My reason for posting this festive cake today is not only a holiday related one. I’m very excited to finally announce that Masha and I are working on our second cookbook, scheduled to come out in the Fall of 2017, published by Roost Books. The working title is Simply Vibrant, which quite accurately describes what the book will be all about. Like in The Vibrant Table, the recipes in this book will focus on healthful, whole foods ingredients, with a new key element of simplicity. This time around, I’m giving lots of thought to practicality, quick preparation and accessible ingredients, all under the umbrella of seasonality. We have lots of hard work ahead – you can always follow along with the trials and errors on Instagram, #simplyvibrantcookbook.
Now it’s time to celebrate with cake!
This cake started with a craving I had for one of my favorite childhood treats, the rum baba. When I was a kid in Russia, I would often buy the sweet, raisin studded, glazed pastry on my walk home from school. To this day, I go crazy for any baked goods that contain raisins.
This cake has all of the properties of the rum baba and more. The batter is based on spelt dough with pear and sweet potato puree, which makes it very moist. Adding to that, the raisins are plumpened through soaking in rum or orange juice. The finishing touch is a glaze that I’m quite proud of – Miso and Orange Glaze, enough said.
Wishing Happy Holidays to you and your family, cheers to 2016!
I created this recipe as part of a healthy recipe package for Food & Wine online, see the detailed recipe here.
Natalia says
This news made my day! Congratulations, Anya and Masha!
Thanks for the recipe, if this was inspired by well-known ‘baba’, i need to make it!
Much love and happy holidays!
Anya says
Thank you Natalia and Happy Holidays :)
Nesrien says
Hello Anya!
What kind of miso do you use?
Thank you!
Anya says
Hi Nesrien,
I use sweet white miso for this – Miso Master or South River Miso brand.
Nesrien says
Thank you!
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says
Awesome!! Congrats on the new cookbook :D
This cake looks delicious, really love all the flavors in here! Especially the orange miso glaze–mmm…
Amy | Lemon and Coconut says
Congratulations on the forthcoming book! It is sure to be so incredibly beautiful and refined I will be looking forward to it!!! :)
Julia says
Congrats on making the next book! This one will surely find its way on my shelf, too ;)
Dawn says
Congratulations!!! You never cease to amaze with your creations. Ive been looking for a cake to grace the Christmas table, this looks sensational. Thank you for sharing.
Евгений says
Привет Аня! Не буду писать по-английски, знаю что понимаешь по-русски, хотя мне бы практика не помешала. Ленюсь, да и глаза уже слипаются, поздно в Иркутсе. Классный рецепт. Я конечно же не буду его сам готовить, ну а вот на блог к тебе буду заглядывать почаще, чтобы теперь уже и writing практиковать, когда буду комментировать. Успехов в кулинарных шедеврах!
Roxana Moroianu says
It looks so good!Congrats!
Natasha says
This looks so amazing!! I look forward to seeing your cookbook! xx
http://www.chestnutandacorn.com
Gena says
I absolutely can’t wait for the new book, Anya. Congratulations — so exciting!