tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46634461141147307122024-03-14T08:51:35.928+11:00KatiecakesKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-27051892506003902522013-10-04T18:50:00.001+10:002013-10-04T18:51:33.238+10:00Is eating five pieces of caramel slice a bad thing?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsDDKgPpCWA/Uk5_1dvB_KI/AAAAAAAACSQ/JNY9_4lo7xc/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsDDKgPpCWA/Uk5_1dvB_KI/AAAAAAAACSQ/JNY9_4lo7xc/s1600/image.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
I had no intention of blogging about caramel slice when I made it for a family get-together yesterday. I've made it plenty of times before, after all - I've broken away from my self-imposed edict of trying new things for the past few weeks - and there are plenty of outstanding caramel slice recipes out there, not least of which is <a href="http://littlepud.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/no-ordinary-caramel-slice.html" target="_blank">Larissa's extraordinary caramel slice.</a><br />
For all that yesterday's caramel slice went over a treat - I ate two pieces and I'm pretty sure my sister-in-law ate four (hi Amanda!) - I wasn't really happy with it. I was in a bit of a hurry and forgot to sprinkle some salt over it, which of course makes all the difference to sweet dishes, and I felt I'd undercooked the base slightly, leaving it lacking in crunch.<br />
Then lying in bed after the get-together, I had a brainwave: since I'm melting butter for the base anyway, why not take it a step further and make brown butter for that extra depth of flavour? And, while we're increasing the nutty flavour, why not toast the coconut before mixing it into the base?<br />
Fired with enthusiasm, I revised <a href="http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2010/02/brown_butter_spiced_crisp.php" target="_blank">how to brown butter</a> and dived into caramel slice for the second day in a row. It's a hard life, but someone's got to do it, right? And the added depth of flavour that came from the toasted coconut and brown butter made it worth the extra few steps in the method. I ate three pieces just to be sure!<br />
<br />
<b>Caramel slice</b><br />
<br />
1 cup desiccated coconut<br />
1 cup self-raising flour<br />
1/2 cup caster sugar<br />
125g unsalted butter<br />
<br />
Caramel filling<br />
395g can condensed milk<br />
20g unsalted butter<br />
2 tbsp golden syrup<br />
Pinch salt<br />
<br />
150g dark chocolate<br />
Optional: Peanuts<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 180C. Place coconut in a slice pan and toast for a few minutes - when the kitchen smells like a Bounty bar, pull it out of the oven, give it a stir and then return it to the oven until lightly brown. Place toasted coconut in a bowl and then wipe out the slice pan and grease and line it with baking paper.<br />
Sift flour into the bowl with the coconut and stir together with the sugar. Brown the butter and pour the bronzed liquid into the dry ingredients, then mix well. Press into the base of the slice pan and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool while you make the filling.<br />
Combine condensed milk, butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring the whole time - for about 8-9 minutes or until lightly caramelised. The mix will thicken and have a distinct caramel taste when it's ready.<br />
Pour the caramel over the base, smooth it with a spatula and sprinkle the salt over, then bake for 10 minutes. Let it cool again before melting the chocolate, pouring it evenly over the slice and smoothing with a spatula. If you're using the peanuts, sprinkle them evenly over the chocolate (or under the chocolate, if you prefer).<br />
Put it in the fridge for 10 minutes to set before attacking, or using a hot, dry knife to cut it into slices if you're going to be civilised.<br />
<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-71765294387539870972013-09-06T18:56:00.002+10:002013-09-06T18:56:37.243+10:00The miracle of the marshmallow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-drFAwZuvvlY/UimKsrEgeCI/AAAAAAAACRU/I9Pcp9b2l_0/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-drFAwZuvvlY/UimKsrEgeCI/AAAAAAAACRU/I9Pcp9b2l_0/s1600/image.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The thing I love most about baking is its alchemy - watching basic ingredients transform themselves into something completely different. Something greater than the sum of its parts.<br />
<br />
Take meringue. Just egg whites, beaten to within an inch of their life, and with caster sugar added little by little, and they magically transform into a delicate, magical meringue.<br />
Then add a hot sugar syrup and you've got a whole new level of alchemy - the marshmallow.<br />
<br />
Fast Ed of Better Homes and Gardens<a href="http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/tv-and-video/video/watch/18719014/peanut-butter-and-jam-marshmallows-ep-31-30-08-2013/aulifestyle-better-homes-and-garden-fast-ed/" target="_blank"> made marshmallows last week</a> and I carefully followed his recipe, even down to the peanut butter and jam flavouring. Since Eddie mentioned that time is of the essence in this recipe, I carefully measured out all of the ingredients and got them ranged on the kitchen bench in convenient locations based on the order the recipe called for them, Yes, I truly reached a whole new level of baking nerdiness.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hopLbK5sM5k/UimKtCYdcII/AAAAAAAACRY/OSCm7brJ7yU/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hopLbK5sM5k/UimKtCYdcII/AAAAAAAACRY/OSCm7brJ7yU/s1600/image.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soft and light</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
But once I was organised, the whole recipe took about 30 minutes to go from egg whites and honey (yes, honey - the great thing about the Fast Ed marshmallow recipe is that it uses basic ingredients rather than call for glucose or agave syrup or what-have-you) to thick and fluffy meringue.<br />
<br />
Before I folded through the peanut butter and jam, I put some unflavoured marshmallow in a separate lined tin and left both overnight to set. Next day, I used a hot knife to cut squares of marshmallow and roll them in a mixture of icing sugar and potato starch (Ed uses cornflour, but I had potato starch in the cupboard) and it was time for the big taste test.<br />
<br />
The marshmallows really did turn out miraculously light and fluffy and, while the peanut butter and jam ones were tasty and fun, my favourites were the unflavoured ones - the honey taste shone through and the ethereal texture was the star of the show.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-88245359734079939732013-08-27T21:20:00.000+10:002013-08-27T21:20:48.483+10:00Ending a hoodoo ... Sort of<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmjjPy1BsIo/UhrEWbSx-9I/AAAAAAAACQg/b48fKKADqlU/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmjjPy1BsIo/UhrEWbSx-9I/AAAAAAAACQg/b48fKKADqlU/s1600/image.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Like Greg Norman and the majors, I have a long and fraught history with apple cakes. In fact, you could say they're my bogy cake.<br />
The only apple cake I have had even the slightest hint of success with is <a href="http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2003/10/my_grandmothers_pear_cake.php" target="_blank">Clotilde's grandmother's pear cake</a>, a beautifully simple yet impressive cake that, as she promises, tastes even better the next day. I think one of the reasons that cake succeeds where so many others have failed (apart from being idiot-proof) is that it's so carefree - the recipe specifies that if bits of apple stick to the pan, just scrape them out and plop them back on the cake! How can you go wrong?<br />
Sadly, it hasn't been the case with all the others I've tried. The first apple tea cake I ever attempted passed the skewer test with flying colours, looked delicious as I unmoulded it - then the whole middle section, which had stayed liquid despite an hour in the oven and the skewer test, gushed through the rack and on to the bench. It took me a while to get over that one.<br />
Then I made an apple spice tea cake for my workmate Stacy's birthday from a cookbook that's never failed me before. Mindful of the liquid centre debacle, I left it in the oven for a full 15 minutes longer than the recipe said, skewer-tested it three times - and then dropped it as I tried to unmould it.<br />
But, like Norman struggling back for one last British Open, I was determined not to let the cake beat me. And I had a recipe I'd torn out of one of those free supermarket magazines to attempt.<br />
This cake required a hell of a lot of mucking about - I counted four bowls and two dishes on the bench at one point, plus the usual measuring cups and sifter - but it tasted great as I licked the bowl, so I slid it into the oven with a light heart. Until I noticed the thin batter was dripping out of the bottom of the springform tin as it cooked. Luckily it was a slow drip, so not too much batter was lost before the cake cooked enough to seal the leaks.<br />
In the end it came out of the tin fully cooked and in one piece, and it was light and delicate - enough of a win that I took it to share at work a few days later.<br />
The original recipe called for the apples to be tossed in 2tbsp Grand Marnier, which I replaced with orange juice as I don't like the taste of alcohol in cakes. But I found the orange taste overwhelming, so I've left that step out of the recipe below.<br />
So I'm not declaring the hoodoo over just yet. But at least this time I've made the cut.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Apple and custard tea cake<br />
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">550g Granny Smith apples</span></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1 1/4 cups plain flour, plus 2tbsp extra</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup caster sugar, plus 1tbsp extra</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2tsp baking powder</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2tsp salt</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">3/4tsp cinnamon, divided</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup canola oil</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup milk</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2 large eggs </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tsp orange zest </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1 tsp vanilla extract</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2 large egg yolks</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Sifted icing sugar, to serve</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a 23cm pan.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peel, core and quarter the apples and chop into chunks. Set aside.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Whisk together the 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup caster sugar, baking powder, salt and 1/4tsp of the cinnamon.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, whole eggs, orange zest and vanilla.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth, being careful not to over-mix.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Transfer one cup of batter into a small bowl and mix the last 2tbsp of flour in. Whisk egg yolks into the batter in the large bowl and stir in apples.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Transfer the apple batter into the cake tin and press the apples down to submerge them. Pour the reserved batter evenly over the apple batter.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In a small bowl, mix the remaining caster sugar and cinnamon together than sprinkle evenly over the batter.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pan and carefully unmould the cake.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Dust with icing sugar and serve with double cream. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-55023779576473316682013-08-15T18:12:00.002+10:002013-08-15T18:13:32.136+10:00Treading gingerly <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_739AzIjsI/UgyLNr3rIoI/AAAAAAAACPs/jIq7WhEuf1Y/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s_739AzIjsI/UgyLNr3rIoI/AAAAAAAACPs/jIq7WhEuf1Y/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Well, what a week it's been. Last weekend I was all geared up to make ice cream, but I had so much running around to do that taking a whole day to churn (I can't justify the cupboard space an ice cream maker would occupy) became impossible.<br />
Then the past few days were such a shemozzle that ice cream just wasn't going to cut it - I needed cake. Preferably some sort of filling, warming <i>cakey</i> cake.<br />
The cake I chose, gingerbread loaf, is one that I've paused on many times while flipping through the recipe folder, but somehow other cakes have always called to me more loudly. It's very quick and easy to make and I loved it, although it's not a cake that will be to everyone's taste; it has quite a dense, almost dry texture that still manages to stay fluffy inside a deliciously crunchy crust. I increased the ginger a little and, if you like ginger, another teaspoon wouldn't be overwhelming.<br />
The original recipe suggests dusting it with icing sugar, but I've been dreaming about lemon icing for the past few days and, frankly, I think it would be a little too dry without some sort of icing or glaze. It has a lovely caramel flavour, so it'd also be nice with a syrup poured over it when it's straight out of the oven to enhance that sticky gingerbread quality.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lpxbmgbXjpY/UgyLNju6-NI/AAAAAAAACPw/GOFoGmIUxN4/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lpxbmgbXjpY/UgyLNju6-NI/AAAAAAAACPw/GOFoGmIUxN4/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Gingerbread loaf with lemon icing </b>(adapted from a Donna Hay recipe)<br />
<b><br /></b>
1/4 cup golden syrup<br />
1/4 cup honey<br />
3/4 cup brown sugar<br />
1/2 cup milk<br />
1 3/4 cup plain flour<br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
1 tsp baking powder<br />
2 tsp ground ginger<br />
65g butter, chopped<br />
1 egg<br />
<br />
1 1/2 cup sifted icing sugar<br />
3 tsp boiling water<br />
3 tsp lemon juice<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 160C. Place honey, golden syrup, sugar and milk in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until all combined and the sugar is dissolved.<br />
Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger and butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (I used a KitchenAid, but you could use a food processor or rub in the butter with your fingertips like a crumble). Add the syrup mixture and beat until smooth, then add the egg and mix until well combined.<br />
Pour into a lined loaf tin and bake for an hour, or until it passes the skewer test.<br />
Turn out on to a rack and allow to cool before icing.<br />
For the icing, put the icing sugar in a bowl and stir in the water and lemon juice, a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you want. This icing sets hard quickly so pour or spoon it over the cake as soon as you're happy with it.<br />
<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-17445764885491408042013-07-26T18:00:00.001+10:002013-07-26T18:00:26.398+10:00Unfinished business<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D6H6fI_qHps/UfImOdC-aII/AAAAAAAACOo/LW-CtU3ZhUA/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D6H6fI_qHps/UfImOdC-aII/AAAAAAAACOo/LW-CtU3ZhUA/s1600/image.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
WHO knew it's been almost three years since I stopped posting on this blog? Not blogging doesn't translate to not baking, as followers of my Facebook and Instagram feeds can attest. (While I'm here, the complaints on social media about people who obsessively post pictures of their food make me sad. I post pictures of food and I'm not ashamed to admit it!)<br />
<br />
One of the reasons I stopped blogging is that I have a very bad habit - I don't depart from my favourites very often. Not for me the adventurous MasterChef-style experimenting with food; I know what I like and I like to bake it regularly. Brownies? Check. <a href="http://katiecakes09.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/ultimate-chocolate-cake.html" target="_blank">Chocolate cake? </a>Check. Cheesecake? Check. Macaron tower? I'll be over here with the brownies, thanks very much.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MiA7z_8KzW0/UfImOpSpeQI/AAAAAAAACOs/rEhU1wWoulo/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MiA7z_8KzW0/UfImOpSpeQI/AAAAAAAACOs/rEhU1wWoulo/s1600/image.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
But trying new recipes can produce outstanding successes, such as these chocolate lace crisps I made yesterday after having the recipe on my shelf for, ooh, about five years. When I bit into this crunchy yet delicate biscuit, I thought, "I can't believe it's taken me so long to make these."<br />
<br />
It inspired me to tidy up the folders of recipes I've torn out of magazines and printed from the Internet over the years, and frankly I was embarrassed to see how many recipes I've loved the look of, brought home and then promptly ignored.<br />
<br />
And so I vowed to start blogging again, which I hope will help inspire me work through this pile of unbaked recipes. Unless I have a request for an old favourite, I will only bake these untried goodies and I'll blog the results, success or disaster. Here we go!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-4484143683931172742010-04-09T19:54:00.003+10:002010-04-09T20:30:55.580+10:00Don't panic!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/S78BdDLziDI/AAAAAAAAB3s/ucUqaGNzSmw/s1600/Meringue+in+oven+007.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458082871978985522" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/S78BdDLziDI/AAAAAAAAB3s/ucUqaGNzSmw/s400/Meringue+in+oven+007.JPG" /></a><br /><div>THE other week I decided to make an apple custard teacake to take to my mum's place. I'd torn the recipe out of Good Living a year or so ago and never gotten around to making it, but I had a few Granny Smiths in the fruit bowl that needed to be eaten, so it seemed like the perfect fit.</div><br /><div>Filled with enthusiasm, I began with the custard. I heated the milk and vanilla until it was steaming but not boiling; whisked the egg yolks with the caster sugar until thick and creamy; carefully poured the hot milk in a thin stream over the yolk mixture until it was combined and smooth; filled the sink with ice water in case of any sudden curdling; then transferred the would-be custard back in to the saucepan and stirred over a low heat.</div><br /><div>Then - <strong>panic!</strong> I turned away to check on the time, stopped stirring, and a dirty great lump appeared, right in the middle of my milky mixture. Thank God I filled the sink, I thought, and plunged the saucepan in the cold water and beat until the mixture smoothed out again.</div><br /><div>The only trouble was that now I had a smooth mix, but it was still the consistency of milk, not - as my boyfriend thoughtfully (and helpfully) pointed out - the consistency of custard. And certainly not like the custard his mother used to make. I'd panicked too early, he suggested.</div><br /><div>I made the custard cake anyway but it was not like I had imagined it to be, so this week I was determined to make custard until I bloody well got it right ... or at least until it was like Dicko's mother used to make.</div><br /><div>As I often do in times of stress, I thought: What would Nigella do? And pulled <em>How To Eat</em> off the shelf. Sure enough, Nigella knew. She recommends using single cream, or pure cream as it's called on my supermarket shelf, and she's incredibly helpful in offering up both a set recipe and a set of guidelines on the quantities of ingredients used.</div><br /><div>For every egg yolk used, Nigella says, you'll need 100ml of cream and a heaped teaspoon of caster sugar. You can either infuse the milk with a vanilla pod or stir in about a teaspoon of vanilla extract at the end.</div><br /><div>Determined not to panic, I took a deep breath and began. 200ml of cream, heated almost to boiling point, was poured on top of two egg yolks and two teaspoons of sugar that had been whisked together (in the KitchenAid; yeah, I'm lazy) until thick and lightened in colour. Then I washed and dried the saucepan, as Nigella recommends, poured the mix back in and started stirring over low to moderate heat.</div><br /><div>It would take 8-10 minutes, Nigella said, and after eight minutes I had, well, milk. But I was determined not to panic, and I kept stirring. Then 10 minutes had gone past. I still had milk. There was swearing. I still had hope, though: it smelled like custard. Surely I hadn't done anything wrong - had I?</div><br /><div>I kept stirring, and lo and behold, after 12 minutes there was a visible thickening. I could hardly dare to believe it. Did I have custard? I kept stirring until the 15-minute mark, took it off the stove and gave it a good solid beating in the cold water in the sink.</div><br /><div>"That looks more like the custard Mum made!" Dicko said encouragingly.</div><br /><div>I popped it into the fridge to chill and made a few meringue nests out of the two egg whites I'd saved from the custard. Then it was the moment of truth: the custard came out of the fridge and I swirled the saucepan. No movement! I stuck my finger in (yes, lazy <em>and</em> disgusting) and it tasted like custard. I took it over to Dicko for the final say.</div><br /><div>"That's the custard Mum used to make!"</div><div> </div><div>As you can see from the top of the post, we had it on top of the meringue nests with some berries. Best pavlova ever.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-69072456089433615822010-01-01T16:02:00.004+11:002010-01-01T16:58:42.183+11:00Merry Christmas and a happy new oven!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sz2H9xoTq1I/AAAAAAAABq4/4livt8lLD3A/s400/IMG_1244.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421639021788113746" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>PLEASE forgive my long silence. The last few months of 2009 passed in a whirl of renovating, moving and swearing - the last item, obviously, caused by the first and second items!<div><br /></div><div>Part of the move, however, was having a whiz-bang new cooktop and oven installed. I cannot describe the hours I lay awake at night agonising about the cooktop and oven: what if I'd measured the holes wrong? What if the new appliances arrived and were the wrong size, the wrong shape, the wrong voltage? What if I just picked the wrong ones? My God, the stress!</div><div><br /></div><div>But they arrived, and they fit (with a bit of tweaking) and for two weeks I was too scared to do anything more difficult than boil the kettle on the cooktop and toast a sandwich in the oven (which, might I point out, has a special setting for grilling small things like sandwiches or a single chop; I love my oven). I would sit for minutes on end gazing lovingly at the stainless-steel wondrousness of the business end of the kitchen, but I couldn't quite work up the courage to use any of it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Luckily, Christmas came along. </div><div><br /></div><div>Every year I take some sort of dessert to my family Christmas, whether I've been asked to or not. I'm not sure whether that makes me a fabulous guest or a really annoying one. This year I was determined to make cupcakes, to give me a chance to use my brilliant <a href="http://katiecakes09.blogspot.com/2009/08/top-score.html">cupcake carrier</a>, and in keeping with the Christmas theme I settled on rocky road cupcakes. </div><div><br /></div><div>To test out both the cupcakes and the oven, I did a test run the week before Christmas, obsessively reading the oven instruction manual to make sure I had the cakes on the right shelf, the right tray, so on and so forth (attentive readers may have noticed that "she'll be right, mate" isn't really part of my vocabulary).</div><div><br /></div><div>And lo and behold, the cakes (carefully placed on the middle shelf, on a wire rack) rose perfectly evenly, perfectly brown and perfectly cooked. New oven, welcome to the family.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sz2H-UlCPBI/AAAAAAAABrA/mEHXWpENnFc/s400/Rocky+road+cupcakes.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421639031169629202" /></div><div><b>Rocky road cupcakes</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Makes about 20</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>To make the cupcakes</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Two quantities of <a href="http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=226">Nigella's easy peasy cupcakes</a></div><div><br /></div><div>2 tbs cocoa powder</div><div><br /></div><div>(The recipe says one quantity makes 12 cupcakes. I found it only made 10, or 11 slightly smaller ones, but I do use a Texas cupcake tin, so that probably explains it.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Once you've made your cupcake batter according to Nigella's recipe, spoon half of it into 10 patty-lined cupcake holes. Put those in an oven pre-heated to 200C, and to the remainder of the batter add the cocoa powder and beat well. </div><div><br /></div><div>Spoon the chocolate cupcake batter into the patty pans and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>To make the milk chocolate rocky road</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>150g milk chocolate</div><div>150g dark chocolate</div><div>150g marshmallows, quartered</div><div>100g glace cherries, quartered</div><div>a healthy sprinkling of desiccated coconut</div><div><br /></div><div>Melt the chocolates together and mix in the marshmallows, glace cherries and coconut. Go by eye - if the chocolate looks too runny, toss in a few more marshmallows, cherries, nuts or whatever.</div><div><br /></div><div>Do the same for the white chocolate rocky road, but with 300g of white chocolate.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>To assemble</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>Using a sharp, pointed knife, cut a circle in the middle of each cupcake and scoop out the inside, as if you are making butterfly cakes. The cake innards can be frozen to make a trifle, or just left in the pantry and eaten over the next few days if you're anything like me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Use two teaspoons to pile a generous scoop or two of rocky road into each cupcake - white chocolate rocky road for the chocolate cupcakes, milk chocolate rocky road for the vanilla cupcakes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dust with sprinkles or other decorations if desired and allow to set at room temperature.</div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-90510588656306729222009-10-30T17:15:00.004+11:002009-10-30T17:48:58.275+11:00The ultimate chocolate cake<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SuqL1R8yOrI/AAAAAAAABqo/rhnmVfr5Wns/s1600-h/Best+cake+ever.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SuqL1R8yOrI/AAAAAAAABqo/rhnmVfr5Wns/s400/Best+cake+ever.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398280850824641202" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">WHO would have thought that the <a href="http://katiecakes09.blogspot.com/2009/07/room-for-one-more-on-bandwagon.html">ultimate chocolate cake</a> would be lurking right under my nose all these years?</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">It’s been quite a few years now since I, while poking through a newsagent’s to escape a sudden shower, spotted a <i style="font-style: italic; "><span style="font-style: italic; "><a href="http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/cookbooks/">Women’s Weekly</a></span></i><a href="http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/cookbooks/"> </a>Chocolate Cakes cookbook, half-hidden behind dodgy wedding magazines and a couple of stray birthday cards thoughtfully posted on the wrong shelf by a bored toddler. I bought it, of course – hello, a book devoted entirely to chocolate cakes? Come on – but for some reason, every time I thought to bake something from it, I got distracted, didn’t have the right ingredients … the list went on.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Then, a month or so ago, on a night when I was home alone and feeling peckish, I picked it up, glanced at the recipe for the family chocolate cake and thought, what the hell? It wasn’t the sort of recipe I usually make – no creaming of butter and sugar, my favourite part of the baking process – but I pulled out a saucepan, stirred the melting butter and baking powder mixture assiduously to ensure it didn’t boil over, and held my breath as I slid the quite-liquid batter into the oven.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">But when I’d iced it, sliced it and taken my first bite – my god. I inhaled the (rather, um, large) slice I’d cut and it was all I could do to stop myself from eating the rest of the slab. It was soft, moist, still warm, thanks very much, with a slightly caramelised crunch on the top that melted into the fudgy icing. It was so good I pulled out the laptop and emailed pictures to my boyfriend at work: “OH MY GOD YOU SHOULD <i style="font-style: italic; "><span style="font-style: italic; ">SEE </span></i>THE CAKE I JUST BAKED”. It was just as good the next day, too: still soft and moist, with a deliciously fudgy interior to make up for the lack of straight-from-the-oven warmth.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><span style=" ;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">It was so good, in fact, that I made it again not a fortnight later. This time with the help of my four-year-old niece, who I hoisted up on to my hip so she could stir the buttery icing mixture before she sat on the bench and sifted the icing sugar over the bench, over us, into her mouth - and even into the bowl. </span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SuqL1oUAInI/AAAAAAAABqw/JHfYPnBeGBI/s400/Ultimate+chocolate+cake+3.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398280856827601522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SuqL1R8yOrI/AAAAAAAABqo/rhnmVfr5Wns/s1600-h/Best+cake+ever.JPG"></a></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SuqL1R8yOrI/AAAAAAAABqo/rhnmVfr5Wns/s1600-h/Best+cake+ever.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SuqL1R8yOrI/AAAAAAAABqo/rhnmVfr5Wns/s1600-h/Best+cake+ever.JPG"></a></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b>Family chocolate cake</b></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Adapted from the <i>Women's Weekly</i> Chocolate Cakes cookbook</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">1 cup water</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">1 1/2 cups caster sugar</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">125g butter, chopped</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">20g cocoa powder</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">1/2 tsp bicarb soda</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">1 1/2 cups self-raising flour</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">2 eggs, lightly beaten</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b>Chocolate fudge icing</b></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">90g butter</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">1/3 cup water</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">1/2 cup caster sugar (I used slightly less)</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">1 1/2 cups icing sugar</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">1/3 cup cocoa powder</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a 22cm round cake tin</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Place water, butter, sugar, sifted cocoa powder and bicarb soda in a medium-large saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Watch it, it will bubble up.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Transfer to bowl of mixer (or medium bowl) and allow to cool.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Add sifted flour and egg and beat until batter is smooth and a paler colour.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Pour into tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Top may brown rapidly - it can be covered with a piece of foil but I really like the crunchy top</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Let the cooked cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">For icing, place water, sugar and butter in a saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a small bowl and gradually beat in the butter mixture. It will be very liquid.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Refrigerate, covered, for about 30 minutes or until thickened to your satisfaction.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">Beat with wooden spoon until spreadable and pour over cooled cake.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p></span>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-27349424802653233752009-10-16T19:05:00.007+11:002009-10-16T19:35:21.663+11:00Around the world for a pie<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/StgvP6Hj4qI/AAAAAAAABqY/fn2n70xZHxc/s1600-h/Pie+on+a+plate+2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/StgvP6Hj4qI/AAAAAAAABqY/fn2n70xZHxc/s320/Pie+on+a+plate+2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393112504121680546" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">HERE in Sydney, the past few weekends have been a sporting smorgasbord.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Three weeks ago it was the AFL Grand Final. Two weeks ago it was the NRL Grand Final. This weekend just gone was Australia’s biggest car race, the Bathurst 1000.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What else is a girl to do but make meat pies to go with the frolicking on the field?</span></span></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">You’d be hard-pressed to find anything more Australian than a meat pie, but it’s the joy of the internet era that I made </span><a href="http://chocolateandzucchini.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Clotilde’s</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2009/05/easy_olive_oil_tart_crust.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">olive oil pastry</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> for the bases of my pies. I had been planning to try out Maggie Beer’s sour cream pastry but a bit of forgetfulness at the shops on Saturday morning ruled that out, and there’s something very 2009 about using a Parisian pastry for an Aussie staple.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It was fabulous, too, may I say, especially for someone who tends to have a heavy touch with pastry – easy to knead and roll out and beautifully short and flaky in the finished product, with the herbs - I used oregano, coriander and a touch of cumin - adding a lovely bit of flavour.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: normal; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The filling originally called for two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and the flavour was a little overpowering, so I’ve knocked it down to one tablespoon in my recipe below.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Served with mashed potatoes, peas and a generous slathering of tomato sauce (which I forgot to take a picture of - what an amateur!) it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than anything you could get at the footy.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Oh, I almost forgot - I had a bit of filling left over after making the pies, which I have whacked in the freezer with the thought of making a nice easy pasta bake in the next week or so. </span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/StgvROYea_I/AAAAAAAABqg/bk4XBUdtjW4/s320/Meat+pies.JPG" /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Meat pies</span></b></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Makes 4 individual pies</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 tbs olive oil</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 large brown onion, finely chopped</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 carrot, julienned</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 zucchini, diced</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A generous handful of button mushrooms, chopped</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">500g lean beef mince</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 tbs cornflour</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3/4 cup beef stock</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3/4 cup tomato sauce</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 tbs Worcestershire sauce</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 tbs barbecue sauce</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 tsp Vegemite</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 quantity Clotilde's olive oil pastry</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman'" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 egg, beaten</span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and vegetables and cook until onion is soft. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Add mince and cook, breaking up lumps with a wooden spoon, until browned. Toss in cornflour and cook, stirring for 1 minute.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Add stock, sauces and Vegemite to mixture. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes or until thick. Allow to cool.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Preheat oven to 220°C.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Make the olive oil pastry, divide into quarters and roll out to fit four 10cm pie plates. Allow to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">When the pastry is ready, scatter some breadcrumbs on the base (this helps to soak up the juices and keeps your pastry from going soggy) and spoon in the cooled mince mixture.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cut puff pastry sheet into quarters and use a little water to stick each quarter on a pie, cutting pastry to fit.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Brush with beaten egg, season and use a sharp knife to slit the lid to allow steam to escape.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div><br /></div></span><p></p></span>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-90130965954139588192009-09-11T20:36:00.004+10:002009-09-11T21:34:13.455+10:00A taste of support<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sqo0Yzn28GI/AAAAAAAABqQ/EttYUEPUWd4/s1600-h/Lance+Armstrong.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380170305626370146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sqo0Yzn28GI/AAAAAAAABqQ/EttYUEPUWd4/s320/Lance+Armstrong.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><div>ON MY <a href="http://katiecakes09.blogspot.com/2009/07/religieuse-experience.html">trip to France</a> earlier this year, I headed to Monte Carlo for this year’s Grand Depart of the Tour de France.</div><br /><div>The steep, cobblestoned streets were full of excited cycling fans milling about, checking out the sights, ogling the giant superyachts in the harbour, staking out their positions for the start of the time trial that would begin the three-week race.</div><br /><div>And each and every one, all 40,000 of them, was wearing a yellow <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/">LiveStrong </a>wristband. Every person there knew the story of the cycling star who had won seven Tours de France, the toughest sporting event in the world, and - a harder battle yet - had fought, and beaten, 14 cancerous tumours. </div><br /><div>Each and every one knew Lance Armstrong’s story and had come to see his return to the race that has almost become synonymous with his name. When he flew past us on his way up the first hill of the time trial that summer's day in Monte Carlo, the cheer that went up was defeaning.</div><br /><div>The thing about Lance Armstrong's story that I think reaches most people, cycling fans or not, is this: I bet every person in Monte Carlo to watch his return to the great race would know someone with cancer. Everyone bought a yellow wristband and wore it proudly to show that they might not be able to come up with the cure for cancer, but they were going to support the fight any way they can.</div><br /><div>That, too, is why I'm writing this as part of <a href="http://www.winosandfoodies.com/">Barbara from Winos and Foodies</a>' annual <a href="http://www.winosandfoodies.com/2009/08/livestrong-with-a-taste-of-yellow-2009.html">LiveStrong With A Taste Of Yellow Day</a>, along with dozens of other bloggers from around the world. We might not be able to cure cancer by cooking, but we can show our support and love with a lemon cake or two. And with support like that, this battle against cancer is a fight we must win.</div><br /><div>While I’m on the subject, can I urge every woman out there who hasn’t done so yet to talk to their doctor about having the cervical cancer vaccine. I know there's been a lot of talk about possible side-effects, but I have had the entire course, experienced nothing worse than the usual pain from an injection, and am so happy to be doing one extra thing to help stop cancer's spread. And since experts now think it <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/cervical-cancer-vaccine-for-younger-women-approved/story-e6freuy9-1225758017322">helps older women</a>, and maybe even men, as well as the younger women at whom the vaccine has previously been targeted, clearly the <a href="http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,25956017-1702,00.html">benefits far outweigh the risks</a>. Please, <a href="http://www.cervicalcancer.com.au/">go get it today</a>; put a note on your phone calendar and go back for the full course of three shots. It's seriously well worth it.<br /></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380170298544864946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sqo0YZPfvrI/AAAAAAAABqI/F0zlz6JV2Zk/s320/Lemon+butter+cake+1.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><strong>Lemon butter cake</strong></div><br /><div>This is one of my favourite cakes because it's bloody easy and bloody versatile. I made it today as a simple lemon butter cake with lemon icing, but it also works really well as a syrup cake and it works with any type of citrus.</div><br /><div>125g butter</div><div>1 cup caster sugar</div><div>2 eggs</div><div>1 cup self-raising flour</div><div>1/2 cup plain flour</div><div>1/2 cup milk</div><div>1/2 tsp salt</div><div>the rind of a large lemon</div><br /><div>Preheat oven to moderate and grease and line a loaf tin.</div><br /><div>Cream butter well, add sugar and beat until combined and mixture is almost white.</div><br /><div>Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.</div><br /><div>Sift flour and salt and add alternately with the milk.</div><br /><div>Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cake springs back and a skewer comes out clean.</div><br /><div><em>for lemon butter icing</em></div><br /><div>80g butter</div><div>1 cup icing sugar</div><div>1 tbs lemon juice or to taste</div><br /><div>Cream butter well. Sift icing sugar and beat into butter. Add lemon juice and beat until the icing has reached your preferred taste.</div><br /><div><em>for lemon syrup</em></div><br /><div>Juice of that large lemon you zested earlier</div><div>1/4 cup caster sugar</div><br /><div>Mix juice and sugar together and stir until sugar dissolves. When cake is cooked and still warm from the oven, pour lemon juice mix over the top. Leave to cool in tin.</div><br /><br /><div><br /></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-61009385137826111582009-08-29T21:16:00.007+10:002009-09-07T21:53:15.222+10:00New tricks<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SpkSFLda8TI/AAAAAAAABp4/vGrehF9Nuzc/s1600-h/Scarf+Ted.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375347510428234034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SpkSFLda8TI/AAAAAAAABp4/vGrehF9Nuzc/s320/Scarf+Ted.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>WHEN it comes to non-fattening crafts, I've always been a cross-stitcher.</div><br /><br /><div>It's a wonderful craft, intricate enough to demand your whole concentration but simple enough to be relaxing. The only trouble with it is that it's not really very practical - all of my nieces and nephews have cross-stitched birth notices, and my mum has a vast array of pieces, of varying quality, but there are only so many pieces of cross-stich you can fob off on friends and family.</div><br /><br /><div>So I had to find a new hobby and, since I suck at knitting, I thought I'd try my hand at crochet. I bought a kit and optimistically signed myself up for a one-day Learn To Crochet class at a local needlework store so I would have some idea of how to follow the "easy-to-follow" instructions in my flash new kit.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>After about an hour in the class, though, I was just about ready to fall back on my cross-stitched cushion and sob like a little girl. The room in which the class was being held was freezing, my hands were numb and while all the other women around the table were halfway through their first granny square, I was staring at a line of knotted yarn that looked like it'd fallen off HMS Endeavour.</div><br /><br /><div>What the hell was I doing wrong? Buggered if I knew. Buggered if the teacher knew either - she would unravel the chain of knots I'd spent the past half-hour working on, make a few complicated passes with her hands and return my yarn, magically transformed into proper crochet, then pat me soothingly on the shoulder and head off to the next bewildered student.</div><br /><br /><div>I honestly thought about just putting my mass of knots on the table and walking out, but then, almost like the magic rubbed off on me, something clicked. It clicked with five minutes until the end of the class, but there it was - I knew how to create a double crochet stitch.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And that's what is in the picture at the start of the post - a scarf, made entirely out of double crochet stitches. It's a bit wobbly at the ends, and the <a href="http://www.thewaysidechapel.com/">Wayside Chapel's </a>winter appeal will probably benefit from the next few things I try to make, but I was so proud of my first attempt at crochet I had to mention it.</div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-80556318471152084552009-08-29T20:42:00.004+10:002009-08-29T21:42:46.308+10:00You have to cook this recipe<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SpkIHcfRwmI/AAAAAAAABpw/SAh0WI-Sa8E/s1600-h/Malteser+cake+2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375336554242884194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SpkIHcfRwmI/AAAAAAAABpw/SAh0WI-Sa8E/s320/Malteser+cake+2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />I HAD to drop everything and flick straight to Outlook when I got an email from my friend Edie with that subject line. <em>You have to cook this recipe that I saw in a CWA cookbook</em> - how could I resist?<br /><br />Edie lives in Tasmania, two hours' flight from me in Sydney, but she knows me well, and sure enough my eyes lit up as I read this recipe for Malteser cake.<br /><br />The original recipe called for vanilla Fruche, but I couldn't find it at the shop so I settled for a mixture of normal vanilla yoghurt and sour cream, which I had in the fridge and which had the added benefit of giving the cake a soft, light crumb. The Maltesers melt through for fantastic little pockets of moist, gooey goodness and the white chocolate on top just finishes it off nicely. It was <em>very </em>hard to stop at one piece!<br /><br />The only problem is that Edie can't come over for a piece - emails and virtual cake and coffee just isn't the same.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SpkIG8v7IPI/AAAAAAAABpo/a3R3Xk3gdOg/s1600-h/Malteser+cake+1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375336545722769650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SpkIG8v7IPI/AAAAAAAABpo/a3R3Xk3gdOg/s320/Malteser+cake+1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Malteser Cake</strong></div><strong></strong><br /><em>Adapted from the CWA Cookbook</em><br />1 cup self-raising flour<br />3/4 cup caster sugar<br />4 tbs cocoa<br />150g sour cream<br />150g vanilla yoghurt<br />2 eggs<br />2 tbs vegetable oil<br />165g Maltesers<br /><br />Preheat oven to 175C and grease an 18cm square tin.<br />Sift flour and cocoa into a bowl and add sugar.<br />In a separate bowl, mix together sour cream, yoghurt, eggs and oil.<br />Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine. Fold through Maltesers.<br />Pour mix into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.<br />To decorate, melt white chocolate by microwaving it for a minute on 50% power. Stir and repeat until fully melted.<br />Pour into a plastic sandwich bag, snip the corner off and drizzle melted chocolate over cake before cutting into pieces.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-35203643648728705482009-08-22T21:20:00.006+10:002009-08-22T21:48:58.432+10:00A time of change, and cake<div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/So_YIqoZo9I/AAAAAAAABpQ/NMIeKCdEq3Y/s1600-h/Chocolate+mug+cake+after.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372750523870585810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/So_YIqoZo9I/AAAAAAAABpQ/NMIeKCdEq3Y/s320/Chocolate+mug+cake+after.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>IT FEELS like I haven't had time to scratch myself the past couple of weeks.<br /></div><br /><div>You know how you go through times where it seems every second of every day has a task allocated to it, with at least three others piled up behind waiting for your attention? Yeah, it's been a bit like that for the past month or so. And it seems to have been the same for everyone I know - are the planets all lining up or something? Everyone seems to be going through massive change.</div><br /><div>It's even gotten to the point where, when I do manage to get into the kitchen, I'm too harried or too tired to experiment with new and fun baking experiments, falling back instead on old favourites or stuff that I know I can make quickly.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Luckily, though, my mate Alice forwarded me a recipe that's been doing the rounds of the email lately - the five-minute chocolate mug cake, which is seriously perfect for sudden, late-night cake cravings. If someone were to be prey to sudden cake cravings, that is. <em>I</em> wouldn't know about that sort of thing.</div><br /><div>Ahem. Anyway, I tried the five-minute cake on the spur of the moment, just before I had to start getting ready for work, so I can confirm it lives up to its name. It's not the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten - it's a bit like a big muffin, really - but hey, what do you want for five minutes' work? And don't discount the fun of watching it go around in the microwave (below).</div><div><br /> </div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372751458624523250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/So_Y_E3Gy_I/AAAAAAAABpg/J_exO_X7Oi8/s320/Chocolate+mug+cake+during.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Five-minute chocolate mug cake </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372750540785533762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/So_YJppPQ0I/AAAAAAAABpY/SWCStzUeNf8/s320/Chocolate+mug+cake+before.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Serves one happy woman, or two people if she is feeling generous</div><br /><div>4 tbs flour</div><div>4 tbs sugar</div><div>2 tbs cocoa</div><div>1 egg</div><div>3 tbs milk</div><div>3 tbs oil</div><div>3 tbs chocolate chips (optional, although I thought they made this cake)</div><div>a bit of vanilla</div><div>a large mug (and I mean large - see how much it rose!)</div><div> </div><div>Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.</div><div>Pour in milk and oil and mix until combined.</div><div>Add chocolate chips and vanilla, stir to combine, and microwave for 3 mins on high (at 1000 watts; cook for longer if the microwave is less powerful).</div><div>Eat as soon as it won't burn your mouth.</div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-87989160846438360302009-08-16T11:41:00.007+10:002009-08-16T12:01:57.425+10:00Top score!<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SodlG1vALKI/AAAAAAAABpA/7S4K_7tAUsk/s1600-h/Cupcake+carrier.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370372248840449186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SodlG1vALKI/AAAAAAAABpA/7S4K_7tAUsk/s320/Cupcake+carrier.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>I GOT into work the other day to find a cupcake sitting on my desk. <p></p></div><div>Obviously this was pretty damn exciting all by itself – it was chocolate, no less – but when I went over to thank the bringer of the cupcake, my lovely boyfriend, there was even better news in store. <p></p></div><div>The cupcakes, it came out, had been delivered in a massive cupcake courier that was now sitting, lost and lonely (and completely empty – it’s like a flock of vultures fighting over a carcass when food enters my office), on the mail desk. <p></p><br />Well! Forget the cupcake, this was far more important. A few polite inquiries about the possible future of the cupcake courier later (the office assistant was going to throw it in the bin! The very idea), I was lugging it back to my desk happy as a clam. <p></p><br />Later that night, when I pulled it out from under the desk to head home, my seatmates’ eyes nearly fell out of their heads. <p></p><br />As regular beneficiaries of my baking adventures, they were pretty excited about the courier in itself – but as blokes, it took them all of about five seconds to come up with a different use for it. <p></p><br />“You could fit 12 beers in there!” Danny said. “The ice goes in the cupcake hole and then the beer goes on top!” <p></p><br />For the moment, though, I think I’ll stick to cupcakes, and these carrot ones are one of my favourite cake recipes. <p></p><br />The carrot is a pain in the rear end to grate, I have to admit, but the end result is so moist and flavourful I always forget about my scratched knuckles as soon as the cake is iced.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370373228876934210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sodl_4p6LEI/AAAAAAAABpI/hIgb5p4-v4I/s320/Carrot+cupcake.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><p></p><p><strong>Carrot and walnut cake</strong></p><p>Makes 12 cupcakes</p><p>2 cups plain flour</p><p>2 cups caster sugar</p><p>2 tbs cinnamon</p><p>2 tsp baking powder</p><p>2 tsp bicarb soda</p><p>3 cups grated carrot (roughly four big carrots)</p><p>1 cup vegetable oil</p><p>4 eggs</p><p>1/2 cup walnuts, chopped</p><p>Cream cheese icing</p><p>250g cream cheese</p><p>80g butter, softened</p><p>1 cup icing sugar, sifted</p><p>1 tbs lemon juice OR 1 tsp vanilla extract</p><p>Preheat oven to 180C. Line cupcake tin with patty pans.</p><p>Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine.</p><p>Add grated carrot, oil and eggs, mixing until the dry ingredients are moistened and then beating eith an electirc beater for two minutes. Mix will be quite runny.</p><p>Fold in the walnuts and spoon into pans.</p><p>Bake for 25-30 minutes and cool on a rack before icing.</p><p>For icing, beat butter and cream cheese together in an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in icing sugar and flavour and beat until light and fluffy.</p>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-27793905648710104272009-07-31T17:30:00.005+10:002009-07-31T18:06:10.294+10:00The pastry experiment<div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SnKka8ghA9I/AAAAAAAABow/Sy3cU1Feamg/s1600-h/IMG_1151.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364530888977744850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SnKka8ghA9I/AAAAAAAABow/Sy3cU1Feamg/s320/IMG_1151.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>EATING all those fabulous French pastries, as well as reading about fabulous French creations, inspired me to try to tackle one of my great baking fears: pastry.<br />Yeast, I’m fine with. Meringue? No worries. But the thought of making pastry, for some reason, sends me all to water.<br />Or it did, I should say, until I sucked it up, set an afternoon aside and had a go at creating these apple frangipane tarts.<br />Before I even pulled my apron on, several hours were spent sitting in front of the bookshelf, surrounded by piles of cookbooks and the laptop, searching for just the right recipe for both the tart shell and the frangipane base.<br />Frangipanes appear to go one of two ways: cakey or creamy. Since I didn’t have any cream in the house and it was cold outside, I went with a cakey, Bakewell tart-style recipe from my favourite cookbook, <em>The Essential Baking Cookbook</em>.<br />Recipes for a basic shortcrust pastry are all very similar, so, armed with a mix of recipes from the baking bible and Tartelette, the other baking bible, I was set to go.<br />Five hours later, the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it. There was flour on the floor, pastry scraps on the bench (and the floor) and I think I used every bowl in the house. I wish I’d taken a photo ... although on second thoughts, it's probably best not to have any photographic evidence. Geez it was fun though.<br />And how did they turn out? Well, the pastry was a bit tough in places (I got a bit nervous that it wasn’t coming together enough and I think I added too much ice water) and the frangipane rose more than I was expecting, turning my artfully arranged apple pieces into the Mongolian steppes rather than the delightful roses I was hoping for. But they tasted pretty good. </div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364531462270792130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 304px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SnKk8UMOscI/AAAAAAAABo4/_1vvDKVkT-k/s320/Apple+frangipane+tart+3.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Apple frangipane tart</div><br /><div>Quantities enough for one 20cm tart, or (as I did) two 9cm tarts and a freeform attempt with the leftovers</div><br /><div>Shortcrust pastry</div><br /><div>1 cups plain flour<br />90g unsalted butter, chilled, chopped</div><div>2 tsp caster sugar</div><div>2 tbs ice water</div><div>1 egg yolk</div><br /><div>Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in sugar. Add butter and, using your fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture until it looks like breadcrumbs. (You can use a food processor, in fact most recipes suggest it, but I don't have one.) </div><div>Make a well in the middle and add egg yolk and almost all the iced water. Mix with a flat-bladed knife and add the rest of the water if it seems dry.</div><div>Turn out onto a floured surface, pat into a disc and wrap in cling wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.</div><div>Divide the pastry into three and roll it out between two sheets of baking paper to cover the base and sides of the tin you're using. Gently transfer into greased tin and refrigerate again to rest.</div><div>Blind bake shells in a pre-heated 180C oven for 10 minutes, remove the paper and baking beads and then bake again for 7 minutes or until golden and dry.</div><div>Allow to cool.</div><br /><div>Frangipane</div><div>90g unsalted butter</div><div>1/3 cup caster sugar</div><div>2 eggs, lightly beaten</div><div>Several drops almond essence (amount to taste)</div><div>2/3 cup almond meal</div><div>1/3 cup self-raising flour</div><br /><div>Cream butter and sugar with electric beaters until light and creamy and add the egg and almond essence, beating thoroughly after each addition.</div><div>Fold in the almond meal and sifted flour with a metal spoon.</div><div> </div><div>Spoon the frangipane into the tart shells and arrange sliced apple on top. Brush apple with a little melted butter and sprinkle sugar over the top.</div><div>Bake for 35 minutes, or until risen and golden.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-52972608966444658712009-07-22T16:23:00.005+10:002009-07-22T16:58:55.589+10:00A religieuse experience<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sma3PHePFhI/AAAAAAAABoc/kCaivBqB_50/s1600-h/Laduree+goodness.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361173876762940946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sma3PHePFhI/AAAAAAAABoc/kCaivBqB_50/s320/Laduree+goodness.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>IT'S not just a bad pun (what can I say? Comes with the territory). I have had the closest thing to a religious experience I'm probably ever likely to experience and it was all down to - of all things - the French.</div><br /><br /><div>See, I went to France a little while ago and one of the highlights of a too-short trip was a visit to <a href="http://www.laduree.fr/">Laduree</a>, a Parisian patissierie that's been in business since 1862.</div><br /><br /><div>When I visited, on a Sunday, the <em>salon de the</em> was packed with very excited-looking women munching their way through vast arrays of delicacies, while the queue for the cake store <em>a emporter</em> - or takeaway - was out the door. Since that gave everyone time to survey the magical range of goodness behind the glass counter, I've never seen people happier to stand in a queue.</div><br /><br /><div>Much frantic deliberating later, I walked out the proud possessor of a <em>religieuse chocolat</em> (on the right in the above picture) and a<em> Saint-Honore pistache fraise; </em>or, as the Laduree website describes them, cream puff pastry [with] chocolate confectioner’s custard and puff pastry, cream puff pastry, light pistachio confectioner’s custard, strawberry stew, strawberries [and] pistachio Chantilly cream. </div><br /><br /><div>I only know they were the best things I've ever eaten. </div><br /><br /><div>The pastry was crisp and flaky, giving way in the profiterole to a gush of smooth, chocolatey custard with the added bonus of a mini-profiterole filled with vanilla <em>creme patissiere </em>on top.</div><br /><br /><div>The <em>Saint-Honore's </em>layers of pistachio cream and custard<em> </em>were saved from being sickly-sweet by the fresh strawberries and a secret heart of strawberry coulis, buried under the mounds of green-tinged cream.</div><br /><br /><div>The only problem was, they weren't big enough.</div><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361174564573988786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/Sma33JxKx7I/AAAAAAAABok/9RrM8JTROig/s320/The+aftermath.JPG" border="0" /></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663446114114730712.post-23749697875219622082009-07-20T19:16:00.001+10:002009-07-20T20:46:03.044+10:00Room for one more on the bandwagon?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SmRDZikMKEI/AAAAAAAABnY/gc5X6ntFyGc/s1600-h/Donna+Hay"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360483562532120642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SmRDZikMKEI/AAAAAAAABnY/gc5X6ntFyGc/s320/Donna+Hay%27s+chocolate+cake.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>SO I'VE been pondering starting a blog for a while now.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>I'm not the kind of cook who <a href="http://chocolateandzucchini.com/">whips up astonishingly good meals out of her head</a>; I can't admit to making <a href="http://tartelette.blogspot.com/">sweets so beautiful they make you sigh with longing.</a> I can't <a href="http://grabyourfork.blogspot.com/">take a beautiful picture</a> and, God help me, I didn't even watch <em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MasterChef</span> Australia</em>! What business do I have gibbering about baking goodness among such talent?</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>But baking makes me happy, it's as simple as that. Trying new things, playing with dough and icing, revisiting old favourites, is a joy that's guaranteed to leave me feeling at peace with the world (well, when things go well). It never fails to amaze me that you can take butter, sugar and flour and finish with something that's completely different each time, something that's greater than the sum of its parts. And so I'm jumping on this bandwagon despite my baking faults, despite the fact the rest of the known world started a blog about 10 years ago, because it seems like the food blogging community is wide, kind and (hopefully) very forgiving.</div><br /><div>Anyway, enough philosophy; bring on the cake! </div><br /><div>Among my many life quests is to find myself a go-to chocolate cake recipe, learn it off by heart and always have the ingredients for it in the pantry. Oh sure, I have specific favourites - the chocolate fondant, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">flourless</span> chocolate cake, the chocolate fondant, the citrus cake, the chocolate fondant - and there's always a go-to recipe of the moment; if you rang me right now and said "I'll be at yours in an hour", there would be a chocolate cake waiting for you (or at least in the oven) when you rang the bell. But is it the best cake ever? Is it MY cake, the cake I can go to my grave being known for? Not quite yet.</div><br /><div>Of course, looking for MY cake means I have to make, and taste-test, a lot of cakes that could be contenders. Somehow I manage to cope with this crushing burden.</div><br /><div>I made this cake for my brother's birthday (which is around Easter, hence the egg decoration ... I did say I'd been pondering starting a blog for a while) and judging by the speed with which it disappeared, it's a fairly solid contender for MY cake. But the search continues.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360489099875287282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xFnqaaeCDAo/SmRIb2xrgPI/AAAAAAAABno/DIJPFsri-Vo/s320/Easter+chocolate+cake.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>Basic chocolate cake (adapted from <a href="http://www.donnahay.com.au/">Donna Hay</a>)</div><br /><div></div><div>Makes 1 20cm round cake, 12 big cupcakes or 24 mini-cupcakes.</div><br /><div>125g butter</div><div>3/4 cup caster sugar</div><div>2 eggs</div><div>1/2 cup milk</div>1 1/4 cups self-raising flour<br />2 tbs cocoa powder<br />100g dark chocolate, melted<br /><br />Icing<br /><br />80g butter<br />1 cup icing sugar<br />1 tbs cocoa<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 160C and grease and line the tin of your choice. Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Sift the flour and cocoa in and beat until combined. Fold through the milk and melted chocolate and pour into the tin. Bake until cake springs back in the middle and is cooked when you test it with a skewer.<br /><br /><br />To make the icing, beat the butter until light and creamy. Sift in the icing sugar and cocoa and beat until combined. If you make the cake as cupcakes, or want to layer the icing in the cake, make double the amount.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09934780364405658007noreply@blogger.com0