Exclusive:
A popular green vegetable that we usually eat with sausages and fish fingers can also make light, fluffy and nutrient-packed bakes that taste as good as they look…
Peas, glorious peas! They are easily the most useful frozen vegetable and what’s more, because they’re frozen so quickly after picking, they retain their flavour, texture, colour and nutritional value.
Garden peas are the classic choice. They’re picked at their peak to give a delightfully sweet, green, tender sphere. Petis pois can be a separate cultivar or they can be the same variety of pea as those sold as garden peas but, as the name suggests to those who have studied a little French, they are smaller. This is because they’re picked earlier, before full maturity, which gives a sweeter flavour and a more tender skin.
It’s easy to relegate peas to simply a veg spooned on the side of a main meal but they really are incredibly versatile. They also don’t have to be merely stirred through as an afterthought. Easy to blitz into a smooth purée, they can make a simple sauce more animated or blitz them briefly to finely chop them when incorporating into cakes and other bakes. And if they already feature heavily in your culinary line-up, here are some new favourites to add to your repertoire.
Pea Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Carrots, courgettes and beetroot are all well-tested in sweet bakes, but I’ve not seen much around when it comes to using peas. I’m surprised because their flavour works well and the bright green colour doesn’t dull during baking which is especially true in these muffins.
MAKES 12
Ingredients:
175g (6oz) frozen peas
150ml (5fl oz) sunflower or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
250g (9oz) self-raising flour
175g (6oz) caster (superfine) sugar
FOR THE FROSTING
75g (2 1/2oz) butter, softened
125g (4 1/2oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
200g (7oz) full-fat cream cheese
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4. Place the frozen peas in a heatproof bowl and cover with freshly boiled water to defrost. Leave for a few minutes, then drain.
- Tip the peas into a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Pour the oil into the food processor with the peas and blitz further until well combined.
- Tip the pea purée into a bowl and beat in the vanilla extract, eggs and milk. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a bowl and mix in the sugar. Make a well in the centre and stir in the pea purée until everything is just combined – it doesn’t matter if there are a few specks of flour.
- Put 12 paper cases into a muffin tin and divide the muffin mixture between the cases.
- Bake the muffins in the hot oven for 20–25 minutes or until the muffins have risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack and leave to cool.
- While the muffins cool, make the frosting. Put the butter into a large bowl and sift in the icing (confectioner’s) sugar, then cream together until smooth and light, around 5–6 minutes with an electric beater. Using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold or mix the cream cheese into the beaten butter and sugar until just combined. It’s important not to beat too vigorously here as the cheese can loosen and make a wet frosting.
- Chill until needed. Once the muffins are completely cool, spoon or pipe the frosting on top of the muffins.
Pea Cake with Coconut Frosting
When you cut into this cake, you’ll immediately notice the striking contrast between the green sponge and white frosting. The peas don’t overwhelm the flavour, instead they add a little sweetness to the sponge and a vibrancy of colour. When it comes to sweet things, coconut is one of my all-time favourite flavours; even though you don’t use much of the extract, it’s worth investing in otherwise the flavour won’t be quite so intense. A small bottle goes a long way.
SERVES 10–12
225g (8oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the tin
175g (6oz) frozen peas
200g (7oz) caster (superfine) sugar
4 eggs
250g (9oz) self-raising flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
Toasted coconut flakes or fresh grated (shredded) coconut, to garnish (optional)
FOR THE COCONUT FROSTING
300g (10 1/2oz) butter, softened
600g (1lb 5oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
120ml (4fl oz) coconut cream
3/4 teaspoon coconut extract or natural flavouring
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4. Grease two 20-cm (8-inch) cake tins (pans) with butter and then line with parchment paper.
- Place the frozen peas in a heatproof bowl and cover with freshly boiled water to defrost. Leave for a few minutes, then drain. Tip the peas into a food processor and pulse until as finally chopped as possible but not puréed. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light, fluffy and doubled in volume. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour after each egg to stop the mixture from splitting. Gradually fold in the remaining flour then mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Fold in the chopped peas.
- Divide the cake batter between the two tins and bake in the hot oven for 20–25 minutes until the sponges are golden, risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and leave the sponges to cool in the tins for 15 minutes before removing them from the tin and leaving to cool on a wire rack until completely cool. While the sponges cool, make the frosting. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then fold in the coconut cream and coconut extract until combined. Chill until needed.
- To assemble, put one of the sponges onto a serving plate or cake stand then spread one-third of the frosting on top. Place the second sponge on top then use the remaining frosting to coat the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with toasted or fresh coconut, if you like.
This is an adapted extract from The Frozen Peas Cookbook by Samuel Goldsmith (Murdoch Books), £18.99
