Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunny Sunflower Cake

Vincent Van Gogh was all kinds of crazy… and it wasn’t just from licking paint brushes. This tormented artist suffered from a list of afflictions ranging from frontal lobe epilepsy, bi-polar disorder, hyperphagia to a self-induced addiction to toxin-laden absinthe….plus he was a redhead who liked to hang out in the sun.

It is a wonder he was able to create such bright and beautiful art instead of chasing imaginary green fairies with a hatchet in women’s clothing (you gotta be crazy to dress up your hatchet).

His physician prescribed digitalis for Van Gogh’s epilepsy. A common side effect to this prescription drug is to see everything in yellow, which could explain the seemingly sunny disposition of his famous Sunflower paintings. That raving lunatic sure painted pretty flowers.

To brighten your spirits try this crazy delicious Sunny Sunflower Cake with lemony icing. Consult your physician before eating this cake with any prescription medications.

INGREDIENTS

dry ingredients

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

wet ingredients

1 cup butter, melted

Plus more butter for greasing

¼ cup runny honey

1 cup sugar

2 egg, beaten

1 cup sunflower seeds, shelled

zest of 2 lemons (save lemon juice for icing)

100 ml cream or milk

For icing

½ cup butter, soft at room temperature

pinch of saffron

4 cups of icing sugar

juice of 2 lemons

pinch of salt

PROCEDURE

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Butter up a 9-inch round cake pan.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Tip in the melted butter, honey, sugar, egg, cream and lemon zest. Mix thoroughly until smooth, then stir in the sunflower seeds.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and blap the whole thing in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the lemon icing. Cream the butter (and optional saffron) using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment until it is light and fluffy. Alternate by adding a quarter of the icing sugar and a quarter of the lemon juice until it is all thoroughly incorporated. Keep in the fridge for later.

Set the cake aside to cool for 20 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely before icing. Cut the cake in half horizontally to and put some icing between the layers before covering the whole thing in the remaining icing. Keep in the fridge until ready to eat.

Serves 8 people and goes nicely with a cup of tea or some absinthe.