Open gardens and delicious cakes are a match made in heaven and the perfect treat for garden visitors. Geoff Stonebanks shares two of his popular and delicious recipes for sweet and savory summer bakes.
Anyone who knows me and my garden will know that cakes and gardening are synonymous. Every good garden visit has to be accompanied with a tray of delicious tea and cake.
That being the case here’s a couple of suggestions as to what has gone down well at Driftwood in recent years! Because of the nature of the way I operate the garden now, all the cakes I sell have to be able to be frozen and defrosted the night before visitors arrive, they can book their choice at time of booking or say they will take pot luck on what’s available on the day. Either way, my cakes are a popular part of a garden visit to Driftwood by Sea.
Many of the comments provided on TripAdvisor following visits to Driftwood inevitably mention the cakes too, like the ones below from last summer.
Rae Knight from Sissinghurst wrote in August 2024:
“Although we visited very near the close of the garden’s open season, it was still astoundingly beautiful. The variety of textures, colours and layers delight as you turn every corner. And as for Geoff’s cakes – oh my heavens – the polenta cake was out of this world. I’ve had to look up a recipe and already recreated it at home. The funds raised for charity are phenomenal and Geoff is to be congratulated for his generosity of time and expertise.”
While Jackie and Peter wrote in July 2024:
“We visited this beautiful garden on the hottest day of the year so far. What a delight it was, with something to see and ‘wow’ at every turn. Geoff gave us an informative talk about how the garden started and expanded and is truly passionate about his garden. So much thought and planning has gone into his garden and there is much to admire. Will be recommending to friends. Sitting in a shady spot with delicious homemade cake and plentiful Yorkshire brew, rounded the visit off perfectly. Thanks Geoff, we will be back next year.”
Raspberry Bakewell Cake
Ingredients:
- 140g ground almonds
- 140g softened butter
- 140g golden caster sugar
- 140g self-raising flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250g fresh raspberries
- 2 tablespoons flaked almonds
- Icing sugar to sprinkle on top
This is a really easy cake to make, it freezes well and can be served warm or cold. I tend to portion it up before freezing, using rectangles of cellophane to separate the pieces, making it much easier to take it out, portion by portion the night before my visitors arrive.
Heat your oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line and grease a deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Throw everything (apart from the raspberries), ground almonds, butter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla extract into a food processor and combine well.
Next, spread half the mix into the cake tin and smooth over the top. Then, scatter the raspberries across the mix and spread the remaining cake mixture roughly on top. I sometimes find this easier to do with my fingers. Next up, scatter with flaked almonds and bake for 50 mins until golden brown. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin. At this point it can be frozen in pieces or as a whole. To serve, defrost and dust with icing sugar. Delicious.
Ricotta Cheesecake
A popular savoury treat I used to sell when I had public open days in the garden was a simple ricotta cheesecake with salad garnish.
Ingredients:
- 1kg whole ricotta
- 185 ml olive oil
- 185 ml lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons thin strips lemon zest
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 25 gm finely shredded basil leaves
- 50 gm sun blushed tomatoes roughly chopped
A key element is to remove the packaging from the ricotta and drain it overnight, in the fridge, in a plastic colander, placed over a bowl making sure the bottom of the colander does not touch the base of the bowl. Cover with cling film.
The next day, preheat oven to 250 degrees C. Line a baking tin with greaseproof paper and a little olive oil. Transfer the ricotta into the baking tin and brush the top with a little olive oil. Bake for about 30 mins, until it feels firm and golden around the edges.
Mix the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic and basil in a bowl and season. Serve ricotta decorated with sun blushed tomatoes and pour on dressing.
This is such an easy recipe, I used to drain the night before an event and bake the morning of the event.
These are just 2 of many different recipes, both sweet and savoury that I have sold over the years at my garden openings or served to friends.
Why not give them a go? Happy baking and gardening.
