A recipe for John Julian, one of England’s leading pottery studios

Anthony is an avid pottery enthusiast with several beautiful pieces in his collection. He recently was asked to create a recipe for John Julian after expressing his admiration for their famous pestle-and-mortar on social media. Anthony's love for Nigel Slater, one of his favourite cookbook authors, led him to discover John Julian.

Anthony is a big fan of mixed spice. He's taken his love for this flavorful blend to the next level by creating his own unique version.

(c) John Julian

Mixed Spice

Baking never really springs to mind when we think of a pestle-and-mortar. We tend to use shop-bought ground spices instead of grinding spices ourselves. For many bakers, freshly ground spices can bring a cake to the next level. There can be a complete difference in taste and texture. Whole spices, stored properly, last longer than ground spices. Make up only small amounts of spice blends at a time and store them in an airtight jar (like a jam jar or Kilner jar) in a dark, cool cupboard. I prefer to buy my spices from Asian stores, speciality food stores or a spice merchant because they tend to have a high turnover of spices, so they are always fresh. My rule is to buy ‘little and often’, instead of spices at the back of your cupboard that you will never use. I also try to buy organic, where possible.

Mixed spice, also known as pudding spice or winter spice, is one of my favourite spice blends that reminds me of Christmas time. Although we typically use it only during the festive season to make our Christmas bakes, I use it year-round in biscuits, cakes, and ice creams. I also love to add it to roasted fruits and occasionally even in some savoury dishes.

When making any spice blends, I like to weigh my spices as it delivers consistency.

Ingredients

Allspice berries, 10 grams

Whole cloves, 5 grams

Whole coriander seeds, 5 grams

Mace blades, 5 grams

Fennel seeds, 5 grams

Ginger powder, 5 grams

Nutmeg, freshly grated, 5 grams - grate with a Microplane or fine grater

Cinnamon, freshly grounded, 5 grams

Method

Weight out all your spices first. Place a dry, shallow pan over medium heat and add the allspice berries, cloves, coriander seeds, mace blades and fennel seeds. Toast for 2 minutes.

Add all the warm spices to the mortar along with the rest of the spices, and slowly grind them to a powder with the pestle.

It will take some time to grind, about 2 to 3 minutes, so turn on a favourite tune or podcast. There will always be a few spices that will not grind down, so I sieve out these pieces before storing them in a jar.

Spiced Parsnip and Apple Cake

with a Highbank Orchards organic apple syrup, mascarpone cream and toasted hazelnuts

1 x 900g / 2lb loaf 

Ingredients

for the cake

Soft brown sugar, 150 grams

Sunflower oil, 150 ml

Organic eggs, 3 medium size

Vanilla extract, 5 grams

Plain flour, 125 grams

Baking powder, 10 grams

Ground almonds, 50 grams

Mixed spice, 10 grams

Flaky sea salt, crushed, 2 grams (pinch)

Parsnips, washed, top and tailed, coarsely grated, 200 grams (I tend to grate with skin on)

Eating apple, cored and coarsely grated, 100 grams (I tend to grate with skin on)

Hazelnuts, roughly chopped, 75 grams

Sultanas, roughly chopped, 50 grams

for the topping

Mascarpone, 250 grams

Highbank Orchards organic apple syrup, 30 grams (you can use maple syrup if you cannot get it)

Hazelnuts, roughly chopped, 20 grams

Highbank orchards apple syrup, 10 grams – for drizzle 

Method

Preheat your oven to 170°C/Fan 150°C/Gas 3. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, sunflower oil, eggs and vanilla extract together and whisk together until light in colour. Use your electric mixer if you have one. Fold in the plain flour, baking powder, ground almonds, mixed spice, and flaky sea salt using a plastic spatula.

Then, stir in the grated parsnips, apples, chopped hazelnuts and sultanas. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Use a plastic spatula to make sure you get all the mixture in.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from the loaf tin, as the cake will be very moist and might break.

To make the icing, beat the mascarpone and apple syrup together until combined. Using a small spatula or knife, spread the mascarpone evenly on top of the cake, making ripples so the hazelnuts and more apple syrup will have groves to stay on top. Sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts and drizzle over the maple syrup.

I love to eat this the day after baking as the spices mellow, and the flavours develop.