A Few of My Favourite Things !

So given the choice of making either a chocolate cake or a honey cake, my 4yo replies “Um, how about a chocolate-honey cake’. Well, why not?

The recipe for the cake is an adaptation from the UK Food Network. It produces a moist cake with a crusty exterior that you just want to break off and eat while it’s warm.

Ingredients:
180g butter, softened
375g caster sugar
2 eggs
180g mascarpone
1 tsp vanilla essence
400g plain flour + 2.5 tsp baking soda
180g melted Belgian dark chocolate
225ml buttermilk

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs, 1 at the time, beating well after each addition.
3. Add mascarpone and vanilla; mix well.
4. Alternately mix in dry ingredients and buttermilk and melted chocolate, beating well after each addition.
5. Pour into paper cupcake cups and bake for 20 minutes until skewer comes out clean.
6. For frosting, beat 150g butter with 3tbs honey and about 2 to 3 cups soft icing sugar. Top with crushed, raw cocoa nibs.

Most people know it as baklava or baklawa but we call it ‘batlewa’ – a much softer sound and well suited to these sweet pastries. I’m partial to Lebanese batlewa as I find that it’s not as syrupy sweet as, say, Greek baklava. When I was first introduced to it, I would have to travel all the way to Sydney Road for pastries from either El Faiha Sweets or Balha’s Pastry. A small family-run business, El Faiha held a special place for me. Apart from the fact that I would often be handed a lady’s finger to eat on my way out, I found that their pastries were just that bit better. Balha’s is a bigger place with a wider range though and I think customers often let that sway them away from the smaller shops.

A few years ago, there was a commotion in the community when Abla’s Patisserie opened an equally large shop in Preston that also sold spectacularly decorated cakes and chocolate gifts. There was now competition for Balha’s, who then moved to a swish new location further up Sydney Road. It looked wonderful but the fact was their service was generally surly and I did not have felt comfortable walking in by myself. What a joy it was to visit Abla’s and, more recently, to have them open up a shop at Prahran Market – a 10 minute drive from me (before moving house, sob sob).

My latest venture to Abla’s in Prahran Market (after making an FB comment and winning a platter) was made last week to pick up a box of batlewa for mum to take to relatives in Malaysia – two beribboned boxes that made it safely and received gratefully. Their chocolates are not yet up to the standards of Al Baba Sweets or Patchi but, oh, the delicate crispness of the lady’s fingers (my all time favourite batlewa), mini date-filled ma’amoul (shortbread pastries) and barazi (sesame biscuits) – ahhh, heaven with a cup of tea. Now I just need to find out if they make knafe bi jibn…

My father-in-law called several times this week to remind us that he had some fresh figs for us. The birds would have started attacking them so he had to get them off the tree in a hurry, and knowing my lot for figs, made sure that some were saved for our household. The last harvest resulted in a fig & ginger jam, but this time they went into making little fig tartlets and some saffron-scented figs. I I had any left , I would certainly be devouring them with some prosciutto but alas, they are all gone. These organically grown figs were ripe enough that they wept a little juice onto the plate and would split if pinched too hard – perfection.

Fig Tartlets

8 fresh figs – sliced thinly
1 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup icing sugar
1 egg
80g unsalted butter , melted, cooled
2 tbs Pedro Ximenez sherry
zest of 1 lemon
mini tart shells

1. Mix all the ingredients (except figs and casings) together well and spoon into tart casings.
2. Layer fig slices on top.
3. Bake at 175C until tops are golden brown (around 25 minutes).
4. Serve warm or cold with cream or ice-cream

Saffron-Scented Figs

a pinch of saffron
1 tbs honey
250ml water
1 cinnamon stick
fresh figs (you can substitute dried figs)

1. Put all ingredients (except figs) into a pot and bring to boil.
2. Turn heat down and simmer until the syrup thickens slightly.
3. Add figs and continue simmering, basting figs occasionally, until figs are soft (around 15 minutes)
4. Spoon over yoghurt and serve for breakfast or snack or dessert

The Cookie Man at Chadstone does a white chocolate, cranberry and lime cookie that has wormed its way into my heart. There was a stage when I had a one-a-visit habit that was getting difficult to conquer. Then, all of a sudden, they stopped making it. For a few months. In desperation, I googled for a similar sounding recipe but, can you believe, did not end up making it for a few months myself. Maybe it just was not the right season for white chocolate, cranberry and lime cookies.

Then, right after our recent house move, I went searching through my recipe archives for something to make for my new neighbour. I was reminded of the buttery delicateness of these lime-tinged treats – problem solved. I altered the recipe slightly, as I am wont to do, and threw in handfuls of white and dark Lindt chocolate, as well as some chopped almonds. Half the recipe was rolled into logs and placed in the freezer for a future date and the rest baked immediately for afternoon tea with the lovely Jeanette.

A week later, more baking ensued and these ended up travelling with me to training. Is there a better way to regain energy after a hard session?

White & Dark Chocolate, Almond and Lime Cookies

(makes 36)

225g unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lime
2 tsps lime juice
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
340g white & dark chocolate pieces
50g chopped almonds

1. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy
2. Add eggs, vanilla extract, lime zest and juice and mix well
3. Fold dry ingredients into wet.
4. Bake at 175C for 12-15 minutes

We have had the most awesome family week in the lead up to the new year. We had a loose plan of the activity we would be doing each day and were blessed with perfect weather for every one of them. Last Wednesday, we took a drive up to Silvan’s U-Pick Berry Farm in the morning. It was cool and quiet when we caught the bus from the carpark to the orchard. Armed with a bucket each and a plastic container for the more delicate berries, we set off to the boysenberry patch. Avoiding the thorns, we picked carefully and ate recklessly – boysenberry-stained lips and tongues and fingers. Eventually, we moved onto the blueberries then the raspberries and finally the cherries. By the time we returned, 2 hours later, the carpark was full to the brim and there were queues of locals and tourists waiting patiently for the buses.

Back home now, I marinate 5 cups of boysenberries with 1/2 cup sugar, a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of nutmeg and 3 tbs pre-soaked sago for 1 hour. This mixture is scooped into a pie tin lined with shortcrust pastry then topped with a pastry lattice before being brushed with beaten egg. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes, then another 30 minutes with foil over the top to stop the pastry lattice from burning. Cool before eating so that the filling does not ooze out. We served it with ice cream as it was quite tart (more sugar next time).

Bananas are finally getting to be affordable again – an important and essential pantry item for those with little people in the house. It’s easy to grab at the last moment before you head out of the house and it prevents those ‘I’m so hungry and can’t wait another moment‘ tantrums (which happens quite a lot with my boys – the ‘I’m so hungry moment‘, I mean, not the tantrums). So, we get a bunch of bananas each week and prices range from 99c to $1.98/kg at the moment – pretty affordable in comparison to $20/kg or whatever it got up to. However, summer conditions also means that our bananas are ripening pretty quickly, sometimes faster than we can eat them. But, just in the nick of time, I’ve found the perfect solution for slightly over-ripe bananas that suits the heat and humidity we have been experiencing. No, not banana bread – that needs an oven and a whole lot of other ingredients. I’m talking about a frozen banana ice cream. A really quick and easy treat that I whip up with the help of my almost 4yo, then I send them both outside to enjoy every lick.

Here’s what you need to do: slice a banana and place onto a plate (trust me on this step as it’s a lot trickier to peel a frozen banana). Freeze for about an hour or two until solid then place the slices into a blender. Pulse until it comes together as a creamy mixture. You can experiment with adding other fruits (as we did with mulberries here), honey, a squeeze of lemon, peanut butter or spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. Ultra-delish and awesome treat for those who are dairy-intolerant.

Okay, so it’s a BIG claim. But I’m going to make it anyway. I have just made the World’s Best Banana Muffin. There. That’s it. Done.

What made it so good? Was it the buttermilk, the caramelised bananas, the addition of dark chocolate pieces? Whatever, it worked and it worked so well that I made two batches in one day. It worked so well that my son who was ‘helping’ me to hold onto his cousin’s container of muffins sneaked pieces of it while we were driving over until there were just crumbs left. All I gotta say is you HAVE to try this recipe. I know that everyone has their own best banana bread, or muffin, or cake, but really truly -this is it.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 or 3 mashed bananas
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tbs rice bran oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 3/4 cup SR flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
cinnamon & nutneg
80g butter
1/4 treacle or agave syrup
1/4 cup semi-dried bananas
1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces

1. Beat the sugar & butter until thick and pale, then add eggs and continue beating for a few minutes.
2. Add the mashed bananas, buttermilk, oil, treacle/agave syrup, vanilla extract, semi-dried banana and dark chocolate pieces
3. Stir in dry ingredients until just mixed
4. Bake at 175C until done (skewer comes out clean)

This one started as a flourless orange cake, however I had a surplus of lemons one time and decided to substitute one citrus fruit for another. It’s a really simple recipe that calls for boiling two whole lemons (or oranges) for an hour, then adding them whole (minus the pips) into the cake. It results in an ultra-moist cake and depending on how much lemon you use, a sticky-icky, eat-with-a-spoon cake. I find that two whole lemons gives you a stickier cake than 2 whole oranges does so you can use 1.5 lemons instead if you want to be able to hold a slice with your fingers. This time, I also replaced 50g of almond meal with desiccated coconut and this can also help it to be less sticky.

2 whole lemons
250g almond meal (you can substitute 50g of this with desiccated coconut)
250g caster sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp baking powder

1. Wash lemons well then cover with cold water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 hours then drain and allow to cool before processing into a pulp (remove pips first)
2. Cream eggs and sugar until thick and pale
3. Fold in almond meal, lemon pulp, baking powder until just mixed
4. Bake at 170C for 1 hour until skewer comes out clean
(For a short cut, you can process the lemons, then add all your other ingredients into the food processer. I found that this worked pretty well too)
5. Decorate with butter cream if you wish

I love baking with my 3.5 year old and he LOVES baking with me, because he gets to crack the eggs, mix the ingredients with a whisk and, most importantly, lick the spoon (and scrape the bottom of the bowl) at the end of it all. The problem I have with baking is that you have to find enough mouths to eat – does anyone else face the same issue? My little boy would love to scoff as many biscuits as he can get away with but the spoilsport-mummy that I am doesn’t allow that to happen!

We have baked this recipe many times now, with my son getting to decide what dried fruits to add each time. It’s from a newspaper clipping about Emily Rose, who like me is forever reading labels and putting things back on the shelf because they have too many (bad) ingredients. She’s created recipes that use rice bran oil instead of butter, honey instead of sugar and wholemeal instead of white flour but they don’t taste like ‘health’ foods.

This is our go-to recipe for biscuits right now and probably will be for a long while yet! Also handy for those times when you don’t have any eggs and still want to make biscuits.

In the middle of putting this post together, I decided to try Emily’s chocolate chip biscuit recipe (this one does include an egg) and I can report that it’s a winner too. I will include my adaption of both recipes below for those who have been asking for them.

Orange, Cardamom and Fig Biscuits

1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
1/3 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup rice bran oil
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp grated orange rind
2 tbs freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup dried figs (you can substitute any dried fruit eg raisins, cranberries)

1. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, coconut, oats and ground cardamom) together
2. Mix the wet ingredients (oil, honey, orange rind, orange juice) together
3. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together and add the figs , then let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
4. Roll into small 20 or 50c sized balls and place on lined tray
5. Bake at 170C for 15 minutes until golden brown

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 egg
1/2 cup rice bran oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
2/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (70%)
1/3 cup chopped roasted almonds

1. Beat the egg and mix in the oil
2. Dissolve the honey in water and mix with egg/oil
3. Stir dry ingredients (coconut, flour, chocolate, almonds) in
4. Stand mixture for 10 minutes so that it’s less sticky, then roll into balls and place on lined tray
5. Bake 180C for 15 minutes until golden brown

My little boy has turned one!

Some days seem to go so slowly when you have a little baby to care for, but now I can hardly even remember what it was like to hold my newborn. He’s crawling after his big brother as fast as he can and almost ready to take his first steps. His first word, spoken this week, was ‘Bella’ – my beautiful Russian Blue cat who has just been adopted by my brother & his girlfriend.

We celebrated with family this weekend and I wanted to make a special cake for him. There was something about a robot cake that seemed appropriate, so I baked two square cakes using the Buttermilk Birthday Cake recipe from Nigella’s How to be a Domestic Goddess and Planet Cake’s Vanilla Cupcake recipe. The buttermilk cake is a cinch to work with when you need to cut shapes out. A couple of rectangular blocks pieced together and I had the beginnings of a robot sitting down. He was propped up against the vanilla cake and I used this for the birthday message. The worst part about decorating children’s cakes is having so many leftover lollies (mine usually end up in the bin otherwise they might end up in my mouth). I wrote the message by piping melted chocolate onto baking paper and allowing it to set before placing the letters individually on the cake. This way any mistakes can easily be corrected.

I’ve been a fan of cake pops since seeing them on Bakerella’s (who has just received a kidney transplant from her mum) site. Watching her tutorial, I thought you needed candy melts to make them so I didn’t bother as I thought these weren’t available in Australia (although I have found them since). For Zac’s birthday, however, I really wanted to try making them. Out of sheer laziness, I searched for a one-pot chocolate cake to bake but ended up with this one. I used G&B’s 70% dark chocolate and wanted to devour the entire cake before it even had a chance to cool down. After crumbling the cake, I mixed in some peanut butter frosting adapted from Smitten Kitchen (which I’ve converted to metric measurements below). After shaping the mixture into even, golf ball sizes, a chopstick dipped in melted chocolate was inserted into each. These were left to harden in the fridge before being dipped entirely in dark chocolate, then drizzled with white chocolate. They looked beautiful in makeshift vases of jars and tasted like a decadent brownie. Not too messy to eat either!

Peanut Butter Frosting (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1. Beat cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy
2. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy
3. Beat in peanut butter until thoroughly blended