cake and other things

Dear readers,

I’m sorry about my absence of late. I’ve wanted to squeeze in a post (I can’t count how many times I’d click on the blog wishing I had something to share), but May was just the kind of month where there was never enough time. The next thing I knew it was the first day of winter – and I had caught the obligatory cold that comes along with it. Which a few days of honey-lemon tea and chicken soup fixed.

But I’m happy to report as of next week my finals will be finished, I’ll be on my long awaited break, and there will definitely be a recipe. For now, I leave you with pictures of leftover birthday cake (I’m 19!), which I’ve been consuming at a ridiculous rate. I actually had full intentions to bake my own spectacular ruffled-purple-frosting-covered-vanilla-buttercake, but Dad was very insistent on getting the cake himself. And really, if there are two cakes in my fridge, chances are I will devour finish one of them entirely on my own. I’m already feeling a little happier writing this post, despite how short it is.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

daring bakers: maple mousse filled pecan nest

Intent on spending my one week mid semester break catching up on some work, baking and getting more posts up on the blog, I made out a list of all the spectacular things I would bake. The first were a batch of raspberry jam doughnut muffins, fluffy and golden with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar, but not one decent photo to show just how lovely they were. Approaching the Easter long weekend, I made a batch of hot cross buns with a recipe that hasn't failed me for the past two years; but they came out slightly undercooked. Convinced my kitchen  and camera were in no mood to co-operate with me, I waited a few days until embarking on this month's challenge, creating an edible container to hold maple mousse. I completed the challenge with almost no hiccups, but when it came to sitting down and writing this post, I hit complete writers block.



What I've learnt from this challenge is not try and make your own crust. I was convinced I could make a very simple dump into a bowl and mix pecan crust with a combination of ground pecans, sugar, flour and butter. I pressed the mixture into two cake tins and put them in the oven, hoping for the best. Once they were baked and cooled, I took out the latch on the first tin and the whole crust collapsed. Although, I had some sort of bakers luck on my side, because after about 20 minutes in the freezer, the second crust came out of the tin crack free, standing on it's own. Clearly the recipe needs some tweaks, so if you do go ahead and make this, a basic pie or tart crust sturdy enough to hold a thick filling will work fine.

The second component of the challenge, the maple mousse follows a slightly different technique than most mousses; stirring the bloomed gelatine into heated maple syrup, then folding the whipped cream. It yields a beautifully light in the mouth mousse, but still rich and creamy. I did find the mousse a bit too sweet, but it may just be a personal preference, because my grandma finished the leftover mousse almost all on her own :).



This tart is a little more complicated than things I'd usually make, but like me if you have a day to spare, baking is the way to go. The pecan crust is just barely sweetened, and the oat crumble gives a nice crunch, separating the mousse and the macaroon layer. The macaroon layer was a last minute addition, I wanted something to make the tart 'nest' like and inspiration struck in the confection isle of Woolworths where I saw a package of something with toasted coconut over the top. Molly's recipe comes together so easily, essentially stirring everything together in the one pan, shaping then baking. It's chewy and sweet, balancing right between the crisp crumble and creamy mousse. It was definitely a fun challenge, so a big thank you to Evelyn. 

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at The Daring Kitchen!

chocolate filled ginger cookies

I bought a scale last week. It's blue and bright, shaped like a plate, and yes, it was the highlight of my week. I've been experimenting with cookies since, because cookie experimenting is what one does when they purchase a scale. You see, ever since I came across the basic ratio for a cookie, it's been at the back of my head to buy a scale and make some. The basic ratio for any cookie is 1-2-3, 1 part sugar, to 2 parts fat, to 3 parts flour. It's fairly simple to follow, and means you can make any substitutions, as long they adhere to the ratio.

The first batch of cookies I made were chai inspired ones. The cookie dough itself came together easily; a basic mixture of wholemeal flour, butter and sugar with the addition of cinnamon, cardamom and black tea leaves. I don't know whether I had my expectation set too high, but the cookies simply lacked in something. Not enough spices and sugar left them a little bland, and the texture was off - not quite chewy, not quite crisp either.



They lacked in what my year nine history teacher would call oomph. 

Any time someone would sounds a little bored and monotonous he would exclaim "Stop, Stop! Put some oomph into it!".



A few adjustments later, these chocolate filled ginger cookies hit the spot. I increased the sugar and ginger, ensuring they're in no way lacking in the flavour department, and rolled them out much thinner, resulting in lightly browned, crisp cookies. And each one is sandwiched with a ginger spiked chocolate filling, adding just enough sweetness to bring it all together. I think they're my new favourite cookie.

daring bakers: hazelnut meringue filled yeasted coffee cake

There's been a lot of hazelnuts around here lately. It's not on purpose, just every time I stumble on a new baking project that requires nuts, I'll find myself buying another bag of hazelnuts. I'm known to do this sort of thing with all things I really like, I'll repeatedly listen to one song for a week, or I'll make the same lunch every day for a week. Repetition is my form of love. But enough about my strange tendencies, let's talk about this cake.

It's a meringue filled yeasted coffee cake, layers of buttery bread with sweet meringue in the middle. Upon reading the recipe I thought the meringue would form into it's sugary crispy state when baked, but that's where the beauty of this cake lies. The bread itself is nice, not too sweet at all, slices in even pieces and as the daring bakers' have shown, it works beautifully in sweet and savoury recipes. But hiding in the midst of this unassuming bread is this beautiful meringue filling. I folded ground hazelnuts into it, and once baked, the hazelnuts absorb some of the sweetness, as well as the centre of the bread. The meringue forms into a moist, almost sponge-like filling. It's perfect inside this coffee cake.



It also makes excellent toast. The bread hardens up a little in the fridge, but lightly toasted in a pan over the stove, the bread softens up and the hazelnuts become a little more roasted. You could spread yours with butter if you'd like, but I've enjoyed mine with a drizzle of honey.

The original challenge was to make a wreath shaped cake, but a few bakers were saying the filling leaks out, so I went with a braid instead, which is much simpler to make than it looks (photos and directions in the recipe). The dough is lovely to work with, sticky at first but after a few minutes of good kneading it turns to a soft, but firm dough. After it's first rise it's fairly easy to roll out into a rectangle, and in no time at all you'll have a loaf of this warm, simple and light cake. I also love that such a wide variety of fillings can be used, from fruit to chocolate to nuts and savoury combinations of cheese and ham. Thanks Jamie and Ria for hosting this month's challenge!



The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

For Japan With Love

It's still difficult to comprehend the enormity of the disaster that has hit Japan. My grandmother lived in Japan for a few years in the 1960s. She's been to a lot of places, but it's always been Japan that she speaks most fondly of. She's always told me how humble yet strong the people are, and as a foreigner it was a country she felt completely welcome to. Their strength is still evident, from the 85 year old woman who outran the tsunami on a bicycle, to the 4 month old baby found safe and alive under the rubble.

I get a feeling of helplessness every time footage of the tsunami sweeping through comes on. Houses swept away like leaves, boats being broken by the same ocean they sail freely on. But we can help.

Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours came up with a simple idea - a bloggers day of silence on March 18th. Below are links to the chosen charity of For Japan With Love, as well as other organisations that are helping the relief effort. I'm sure you've heard it before - but any amount will help, and do spread the word :)

The Japan for Love page has a link to donate to Shelter Box, an organisation that delivers boxes of aid with enough supplies for a family of ten.

Save the Children are providing immediate humanitarian relief in the form of emergency health care, and setting up bases to help the most vulnerable families and children.

Australian Red Cross are providing earthquake and tsunami affected areas with emergency relief, equipment and recovery assistance. They're also sending aid workers to assist longer term disaster management operations.

Medecins Sans Frontiers have sent over a team of ten in Sendai that have set up mobile clinics and are providing emergency care to the elderly.