The Sweet Smell of Success

Ever since Jade bought me this little jar of sweet smelling deliciousness they have just sat on my spice shelf. I've been a little bit intimated by these curious beans as although I've heard about them and done a little research, I was slightly unsure about how to get them into me cooking, should I treat them the same as a vanilla pod or nutmeg? And just why are they illegal in the US?

So what are tonka beans anyway?
To answer this I consulted the food oracle - Alan Davidson's 'The Penguin Companion to Food'.  A fruit from the Leguminous tree found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guiana and Brazil. Described as having an aroma and flour somewhere between hay and vanilla - although I dispute this. I think it's more like vanilla/cinnamon/apricot.

They were banned in the US back in 1954, due to them containing a chemical which can cause kidney damage when taken in large doses, but you'd need to consume over 30 beans and it's also the same chemical which in found in other spices which are not banned within the US?! The wrinkly, dark skinned bean is hard and smells beautifully before it's even grates or warmed. As well as being used in cooking it's also widely used within the perfume industry.

So, I finally bit the bullet and decided to have a go at making a Tonka Bean flavoured cake for my Sister's Birthday. After doing a bit more routing around on Google I decided to grate them into my tried and tested Victoria Sponge cake mix from my River Cottage Everyday book. Some people suggested using one bean whilst other say a teaspoon of grating so I decided that I'd try two grated beans which looked about a teaspoon full (very scientific!)
 

I can completely understand why this ingredient is revered by the perfume industry, it's smell lingers from the moment you open the jar to when the finished cake sat on the cake stand. The taste is lovely too, I was concerned I may have overdone it and the taste would be overpowering, but it wasn't, it's a completely unique taste, utterly delicious.  I complimented the flavours of the tonka beans with a filling of fresh raspberries and Morgan Spice infused whipped cream - a winning combination!

I finished it off with some simple icing sugar decoration using another present, this time from my Sister. A set of Jamie Oliver stencils.

 A special Birthday cake for a very special Sister :-)