Pilates and cake
I was lucky enough to have the very talented and fantastic Pilates instructor, Shira Yellinek, from On the Move Pilates Studio come and give a talk on Pilates and its benefits at my daycare. Shira was going to give a talk after dinner time and I thought, What do I make for this evening to accompany the talk? And I decided upon sweet spice-infused chai tea served with a most delicious, moist, melt-in-your-mouth rhubarb and hazelnut cake. But I was wondering, How can I possibly marry a cake to Pilates? How do I make a story out of this?
As Shira begins to talk and explain the importance of Pilates and how it is a way of life I thought, Eating cake is a way of life too. Every night after dinner you eat a piece of cake, every time you want to celebrate you make a cake.
Pilates strengthens your core,tones and firms your body. Mmmmm, cake too has an effect on your body, it will give you extra cushioning on your toosh for when ever you have to sit on an uncomfortable chair.
Pilates can heal and repair your body, as it did for Shira when she suffered an injury. Cake has healing powers too every time you’re down or not feeling right, cake is always there to comfort you...
Pilates is so good for your body on so many levels, but you also need to give the body a rest so it can recover, heal and strengthen; in other words you shouldn’t go crazy and do Pilates every day three times a day.
Wow, The same goes for cake; don’t eat cake everyday, the parallels are uncanny!
EVERYTHING in MODERATION that’s why I post one cake a week and that is how how, my Facebook friends, you marry Pilates and cake and may it be a long and fruitful union!
So next time after your Pilates class if you’re going to make an afternoon treat make it a rubarb and strawberry buckle.
If you want to know more about Shira you can check out https://www.onthemovement.com
This recipe comes from the Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine and it is such a fantastic afternoon tea
I have made it many times over the years.
Ingredients
250 gm each rhubarb and strawberries, coarsely chopped
110 gm each caster sugar and rapadura sugar (½ cup) ( I used 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar)
160 gm softened butter
2 eggs
220 gm plain flour
40 gm hazelnut meal
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon
165 ml buttermilk
To serve: crème fraîche
Hazelnut topping
80 gm rapadura sugar (see note) I used brown sugar
40 gm plain flour
40 gm coarsely chopped hazelnuts
20 gm butter, melted
Method
Preheat oven to 170C.
For hazelnut topping, combine ingredients in a bowl, then freeze until required (this stops the topping melting into the cake when it’s baked).
Combine rhubarb and strawberry in a bowl with 1 tbsp of each sugar and set aside.
Beat butter and remaining sugars in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes), add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in dry ingredients then buttermilk. Stir in one-third of rhubarb mixture, spoon into a 24cm-diameter cake tin buttered and lined on the base with baking paper.
Scatter over remaining rhubarb mixture and hazelnut topping, bake until a skewer inserted withdraws clean (1¼-1½ hours).
Cool in tin for 30 minutes, then on a wire rack to room temperature.
Serve with crème fraîche.This cake needs NOTHING to accompany it. It's perfect by itself.
Love,
Nava.
PS - I love hearing from you! Let me know how it went and feel free to spread the word/passion/love, the more the merrier!