Christmas dresses for my nieces

When I said the blog would return to garment sewing, I didn’t say that all my Christmas sewing was over!

Reindeer Retro Dress

Before the final fitting (after which, the hem went up about 10 cm)

Pattern: BurdaStyle 02-2011-101

I’ve made this pattern before, for Felicity.

One of the 13 year old nieces likes retro styles, so this was an easy pattern pick for her.

Size: 36-44, I made a 38 with a 36 waist and a small bust adjustment. I did the small bust adjustment ‘properly’ using the slash and overlap technique (the By Hand London blog has a good post on both small and full bust adjustments)

Fabric: Christmas quilting cotton for the bodice, cotton gingham for the contrast neck and sleeve edges (from the inherited part of my stash) and rayon shirting for the skirt from Gay Naffine’s workroom.

Changes I made:

I raised the neck by adding 15 mm extra to the base of the neckline scoop so that it was not as deep and about 10 mm to the side neck to decrease the width and adjusted the back neck up about 15 mm too.

I cut the back skirt with a centre back seam and moved the zip to the centre back.

But the main change was, of course, to add those contrast neck and sleeves edges.

I cut these out like a facing and interfaced them. I ran a line of stitching on the outer edge, clipped and pressed the edge in. Then I stitched them to the neck edge right side to wrong side.

Trimmed the seam (aren’t those reindeer cute?),

then flipped the ‘facings’ to the right side and topstitched them down.

This is how it looks from the inside

And, to finish it off, I added a button tab and a button to the back neck

Patchwork Birds Sundress

(that’s a small part of the cooking reference library belonging to He Who Cooks in the background of this photo)

Pattern: BurdaStyle 05/2010 #114

Size 34-42, I made a 34 with a small bust adjustment. Not ‘properly’ this time: I folded out half of the dart width in a wedge up to the neck, then gathered the smaller amount of width here rather than darting.

Fabric: Christmas quilting cotton, with cotton bias tape (from the inherited part of my stash) as a flat piping and lined with a soft cotton batiste, also from the inherited part of my stash.

This is a cute pattern.

 

And to top of all that cuteness, just look at these Rudolph chocolate tartlets!

For the tartlets you’ll need:

• 250g packet of Butternut Snap Cookies (a delicious buttery cookie made by Arnotts)
• 65g unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup single cream
• 200g dark chocolate

1. Place 12 biscuits over each hole of a twelve hole round based tartlet tin. Bake for 2-3 minutes at 180°C or until soft. Remove from oven then carefully press softened biscuits into tin to mould into a cup shape. Allow to cool. Remove from tin and transfer to serving plate. Repeat with remaining biscuits.
2. Place butter, cream and chocolate in a saucepan over very low heat. Stir constantly until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until cool but not set – about 20 minutes.
3. Fill biscuit cases with 1 heaped teaspoon of chocolate mixture then place in refrigerator for 20-25 min or until set and ready to serve.
4. To turn these chocolate tartlets into Rudolph tartlets, you’ll need regular and mini marshmallows for the eyes and faces, jaffas for the noses and pretzels for the antlers. Cut the marshmallows in half and press them into the chocolate filling cut side down. Stick the jaffas on with a dot of chocalte icing, and use the same icing to add pupils to the mini marshmallow eyes.

recipe from Taste

They taste good too!

Chai Carrot Cake and Floral Nettie

This blog needs to be renamed from He Cooks… She Sews! to He Cooks…. She Shops, She Bakes and (just sometimes) She Sews…

The Shopping.

See previous post.

The Baking.

Chai Spiced Carrot Cake:

• 3 eggs
• 175g honey
• 125g gluten free SR flour (2/3 cup)
• 155g grated carrots (2 to 3 carrots)
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200g almond meal

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (150°C fan forced). Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
2. Put all the cake ingredients in a large bowl, mix until well combined, then carefully pour the batter into the cake tin. Yes, that’s all you have to do!
3. Bake for 40 minutes.

Recipe adapted from My Petite Kitchen Cookbook by Eleanor Ozich (Murdoch Books) accessed at redonline.co.uk

I iced mine with the same cream cheese icing as the ‘real’ red velvet chocolate cup cakes then sprinkled a mixture of pepitas, sesame and sunflower seeds on top.

The Sewing.

Another Nettie bodysuit

Worn here with Burdastyle’s soft pleated waist skirt 05/2011 #116A

Pattern: Closet case Nettie Body Suit.

Size: 2-18. Same as last time; graded from a size 12 shoulders to a 14 bust, then 10 waist and then out to 12 hips.

Fabric: A slinky polyester knit from Spotlight. The knit version of silk chiffon. Utterly horrible to sew.

This fabric has 80% stretch widthwise but only 40% lengthwise. Heather Lou says at least 50% stretch both ways is needed for the fabric to work as a body suit.

So I decided to experiment.

Not always a good idea. But hey, what was the worst thing that could happen? Sewing it and then having to chop it off the bottom to make a regular top?

I added 4 cm total to the length of the front and back pieces

• 1 cm just below the scoop neck( just below the armscye)
• another 1 cm mid way between armscye and waist,
• another 1 cm just below waist
• the last 1 cm between the waist and the bottom edge/hip

I also added 2 cm to the sleeves, but turned up the hem 1 cm more than the instructions, so really just 1 cm extra length.

It worked! This bodysuit is firm fitting but comfortable enough to wear.

 

And whats next?

I need to sew some of those lovely new fabrics.

First up is a ‘poodle’ coat for Felicity. The plan is to use this fabric

in BurdaStyle 10/2012 #131, without the scarf

Fabric sale coming up: you need a chocolate cup cake!

• “Real” red velvet chocolate cake.
• Celebrity chef recipe.
• Beetroot.
• Dark Chocolate.
• Cream cheese icing.

Resistance was futile!

These were made with Poh Ling Yeow’s recipe from her new cookbook Same Same But Different. Poh made hers as a 20 cm cake, with the cream cheese icing in the middle and chocolate ganache on the sides and top.

I made cupcakes.

Delicious, moist, earthy, not-too-sweet dark chocolate cupcakes with lemon cream cheese icing.

Cake batter

• 300g (2-3 large) beetroots
• 3 large eggs, whisked
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 125g unsalted butter
• 100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
• 200g caster sugar
• 220g plain flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking soda, sifted
• 100g drinking chocolate powder, sifted

Cream cheese icing

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (120g) icing sugar, sifted
• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

1. Roast the beetroot at 180°C for 30-45 minutes in a casserole dish with a lid and a little bit of water in the bottom of the dish. Cool and then rub the skins off. Your skin will go a lovely pink colour but don’t worry. Betalains (beetroot pigments) are very water soluble and the colour will wash off easily!
2. Weigh out 250g of beets, then pulverise with a food processor. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. If the beets are still warm, let them cool before you add the eggs or you’ll have the most gorgeous coloured scrambled eggs you’ve ever seen.
3. Adjust oven to 170°C (or 160°C if its fan-forced).
4. Melt butter, take off the heat and whisk in the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth, then add to beetroot mixture and wizz in the food processor until combined.
5. Sift the flour, baking soda and drinking chocolate powder into a medium to large sized bowl, mix in the caster sugar,then add the chocolate beetroot mixture and stir until just combined. I wish I had taken a photo at this stage. The cake mixture was a glorious deep dark red.
6. Pour into patty pans and bake for 25–30 minutes. This recipe makes 19 cup cakes.
7. To make the cream cheese icing, beat all the ingredients except the lemon juice until very pale and fluffy. Add the lemon juice last and beat until just combined.

If you’re in Adelaide this week, make some of these and eat them in front of the fire.

You need to prepare yourself for Gay Naffines fabric sale.

Where: 29-31 Hamley St, Adelaide

When:

• Friday 4 July, 9 am to 5 pm
• Saturday 5 July, 9 am to 4 pm
• Sunday 6 July, 11 am to 2 pm

 

See you there.

 

 

Christmas fruit cake in June

Being baked on the winter solstice makes it Christmas cake doesn’t it?

Even when the winter solstice is in June? The cake can’t help being in the Southern hemisphere can it?

Whatever.

This isn’t ordinary fruit cake anyway. Its delicious.

And very easily made gluten, dairy and refined sugar free, if that’s what you need to do.

 

Honey sweetened Christmas cake with cranberries, hazelnuts, apricots and figs

• ½ cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 250 g jar (a eensy bit more than ¾ cup) apple sauce
• 5 cups of mixed dried fruit (I used 1 cup each of cranberries, apricots and figs, and 2 cups of sultanas, the figs and apricots got chopped to about sultana size)
• ¼ cup brandy
• 3 large eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 ¼ cups gluten free SR Flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• grated zest of 2 oranges and 1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 150ºC
2. Line the base of a cake tin with 4 circle layers of newspaper and then a sheet of baking paper. (I used the motoring section. I’m sure this is an important detail). Line the sides too. I used baking paper on the sides, not newspaper as well
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt together the oil and honey. Add the apple sauce and dried fruit, stir to coat well.
4. Continue to cook on low, while stirring until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Then add the brandy and stir some more.
5. Add the fruit mixture to the remaining ingredients and mix until very well combined.
6. Pour into the prepared cake tin and smooth out evenly.
7. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean once inserted.

Recipe adapted from Petite Kitchen

 

Delicious with a cup of tea in front of the roaring fire while listening to the rain.

Or as part of a cheese platter after that difficult jigsaw is finally complete…Its time to reclaim the coffee table!

Cheese and fruit cake you say?

Try it, I say!

 

 

Autumn baking and Downton Abbey dress WIP

Ginger nuts

This great recipe is thanks to Jorth.

• 200g butter
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 2 cups raw sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten (or 4 eggs -see update note below)
• 3 1/2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
• 6 teaspoons ground ginger (yes, I know that’s a lot, but ginger nuts need to be gingery!)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

1. Preheat oven to 180 C and line baking trays. This recipe makes 60 biscuits. I used three trays in the first bake one and two in the second.
2. Melt the butter and syrup together in a saucepan.
3. Add the sugar and beaten eggs to the melted butter mixture.
4. Sieve the flour, baking soda and ginger together to mix and then add that too.
5. Mix together well. My mixture was a bit dry. Looking at my biscuits and Jorth’s, I think my less perfect and more cracked at the edges biscuits are because I should have added some liquid or another egg. Or perhaps its because I used raw caster sugar, and more might have fitted in the cup. I should have trusted my instincts and added another egg. They are very yummy though!
6. Roll into balls about 3cm diameter, place on trays and squish flat with a fork. Sprinkle the tops with a little extra raw sugar. I used demerara sugar, because raw caster sugar is too small to look good
7. Bake for 12 minutes.

These are deliciously crisp the next day. Perfect for dunking in a cup of tea.Or hot milk before going to bed. Or cold milk after school. Or..

 UPDATED August 2020

This is what they turn out like when you double the amount of eggs

Stickier dough. I blobbed them onto the baking tray rather than rolled the dough into balls. And there was no way you could squish them with a fork without removing half the dough. So I didn’t do that either. Or sprinkle with sugar.

But they are delicious! Soft and chewy.

Berry cream cheese coffee cake

This recipe is from Food Wanderings in Asia

I fell for Jo-Ann’s strawberry version whilst ‘researching’  on Pinterest. Her photos are delicious!

Butter Cake & Crumb Topping

• 2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (a mixture of two parts of cream of tartar to one part of bicarbonate of soda)
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup blanched almond flakes

Cream Cheese Filling

• 250 g (a bit more than 8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg

Berry Filling

• 2 cups frozen raspberries and blackberries, thawed
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons water
• 1.5 teaspoons cornflour

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a 20 cm round spring form pan with baking paper.
2. Prepare the berry ‘jam’. Combine the cornflour and water. Add the berries and sugar to a pan and cook over low heat until the berries release their juices (about 5 minutes), then add the cornflour mix and stir until well combined. Stir for another minute or two until it has thickened. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the cake.
3. Prepare the cream cheese filling. Beat the cream cheese on medium speed for about 30 seconds until smooth. Add in the sugar and egg and beat until well combined. Set aside.
4. Prepare the cake. Rub butter into the flour and sugar together in a bowl. Measure 3/4 cup of the mixture and set aside (this will be the crumble topping). Add the baking soda and baking powder to the remaining mixture and mix well. In another bowl, beat the sour cream, egg and vanilla extract until well blended. Stir gently into the flour mixture until just incorporated. Set aside.
5. Put it all together. Spread the batter in the pan, about 1 cm higher up the sides and leaving a 1 cm border around the edges (like making a well). Pour the cream cheese mixture over the batter, being careful not to go beyond the border. Spread the berry jam on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup crumbs over the berry filling and top with the almond flakes.
6. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes before removing the cake.

This is a bit of a time consuming recipe. It’s not light in texture or calories, but makes a delicious cake.

 

Downton Abbey dress (BurdaStyle 08-2013-109)

Like the cake, this is a time consuming project too.

Lots of different fabrics (stretch cotton, silk chiffon, velvet, satin lining) and notions (button, piping, velvet ribbon, zip, iron on interfacing and organza).

It should be worth it in the end though… Just like the cake was.

 

 

Dude food and Jungle January tussles

He who Cooks doesn’t seem to have trouble with his ingredients having strong opinions.

Not enough minced meat for burgers? Some of those spicy sausages in the fridge will lose their skins for the cause.

My fabrics, however, can’t seem to behave.

This Silk Chiffon is horrified that a Cotton Twill from Ikea might even dare to think she can join Ann’s Jungle January.

“You’re not even a real zebra print” huffs Silk Chiffon. “And you’re not garment fabric, just cotton twill for curtains. How could you think you can possibly leap to the front of the queue?”

“And your pedigree is even worse” says Silk Chiffon in disdain. “You’re from Ikea, not a fashion designer like me”

Cotton Twill is starting to believe elegant Silk Chiffon.

Perhaps She who Cooks won’t let her to join the herd.

“I would be so good as a skirt” she whispers. “Think of all the stuff you already have that would coordinate with me. I know I’m not a real zebra print but…” Her voice starts to trail off as she hears Silk Chiffon starting to snort derisively.

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas

There’s a wreath on the front door.

thanks to Gardenmamas terrific tutorial, Felicity’s excellent execution and my fabulous fabric scraps

The tree has been decorated.

This important event required Felicity and Rory to wear appropriate clothing. And one of the decorations put on her party dress too.

He who Cooks is constructing a gingerbread village.

The gingerbread recipe is from Australian Good Taste December 2009.

Beat 250g butter, ¾ cup brown sugar and ⅓ cup golden syrup until pale and creamy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Gradually stir in 5 cups plain flour sifted with 1 ½ tablespoons ground ginger, 1 ½ teaspoons bicarbobate of soda and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. Knead until smooth. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180°C. Divide dough in half and roll out between two sheets of baking paper until 5 mm thick. Transfer to lined baking tray. Overlay a template for the walls and roof shapes and lightly mark the dough. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. While still warm, cut out the shapes.

And another reason I know its getting close to Christmas?Next week it’s going to be 40°C (over 100 °F).

Cappuccino cake

Yes, more baked goods!

(If you are here for the sewing, click away now! or scroll to the bottom to see what’s in progress..)

with my sister-in-law’s gorgeous red roses (Papa Meilland– stunning to look at and to smell)

Ingredients

• 220g butter, softened
• 220g caster sugar
• 220g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon coffee granules (instant coffee) dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Grease and line two 20 cm round sandwich tins.
3. Put all ingredients and a pinch of salt in a bowl and mix until combined (don’t over beat, just make it smooth).
4. Divide between tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

To make icing, dissolve another tablespoon coffee granules in 2 tablespoons boiling water then beat with 200 g softened unsalted butter and 400 g icing sugar until smooth and pale. Use half to sandwich the cakes together and the rest for the top. Dust with cocoa.

Recipe from David Herbert, The Weekend Australian Magazine October 19-20, 2013

 

Metric to imperial conversions and other explanations:

• 220 g =8 ounces
  
• 20 cm = 8 inches
  
• 180°C =350°F
  
• 200g = 7 ounces
  
• Self-raising flour is plain flour with a raising agent added. Convert plain (all purpose) flour to self-raising by adding one teaspoon of cream of tartar (tartaric acid) and half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to every cup of plain flour.
  
• Baking powder is a mixture of two parts ( e.g. two teaspoons) of cream of tartar to one part teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (e.g. one teaspoon)
  

This cake has an excellent effort to impact ratio; a small amount of work for a large amount of yum. My guess is that it would also be excellent as cupcakes too.

Sewing stuff

This fabulous Maggy London fabric (from Gorgeous Fabrics) is being constructed into BurdaStyle 08-2012-113 and 08-2012-111 for Felicity.

Hopefully there will be a photo shoot on the weekend..

School lunch box food

Bland, a bit stodgy but very moist and the kids like them.

Just right for back to school tomorrow (pity we already ate them all…)

Ingredients

• 125g (one stick) butter
  
• 1 cup caster sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
  
• 1 cup plain yoghurt
  
• 1 1/3 cups plain flour
  
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar.
   
2. Add eggs one at time beating well after each addition.
   
3. Fold in the mashed bananas and yoghurt.
   
4. Sift together the flour and baking powder and then fold gently into the yoghurt mixture until just combined.
   
5. Spoon mixture into 12 1/3 cup muffin cases or a greased 22 cm (8 1/2 inch) springform pan.
   
6. Bake 180°C (350°F) for 25 minutes or 40-50 minutes for the cake.
   

Recipe adapted from Australian Good Taste – February 1997 , Page 79

Orange and poppy seed cake

Can I offer you a slice of sunshine? Moist orange and poppy seed goodness?

This recipe is from the September 2007 issue of Australian Good Taste, Page 114

Cake

• 125ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice (1 orange wasn’t enough, two oranges were plenty)
• 130g (1/2 cup) Greek-style natural yoghurt (that’s the secret of this cake’s moistness, methinks)
• 60g (1/4 cup) poppy seeds
• 250g butter
• 270g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar
• 2 tbs finely grated orange rind (about three oranges)
• 4 eggs
• 340g (2 1/4 cups) plain flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 25cm (top measurement) kugelhopf pan.
2. Combine the orange juice, yoghurt and poppy seeds in a small bowl.
3. Cream butter, caster sugar and orange rind.
4. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until just combined.
5. Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and mix
6. Add the yoghurt mixture and mix in.
7. Bake in oven for 1 hour

Icing

• 1 orange
• 150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar
• 1 tbs fresh orange juice

1. Zest the orange,
2. Combine the icing sugar and extra orange juice in a bowl until smooth.
3. Pour over the cake and sprinkle with the orange zest.

If you’re worried about the zest drying out, you could do what He who Cooks did (as always, he improves my cooking): combine a bit more orange juice and caster sugar in a saucepan and heat on low until the sugar is dissolved, add the zest to coat it in the sugar syrup and then add the zest on top of the icing.

It was delicious with a dollop of double cream flavored with Grand Marnier. Eating it on the lawn with the spring sunshine on my back might have helped..

Recipe from Australian Good Taste – September 2007 , Page 114

 

Instead of baking (and eating cake in the sun), I should have been sewing. These two garments are cut out and waiting for me…

Camel stretch cotton as this skirt (without the pockets): Burdastyle 08-2011-122

Patterned silk as this blouse (without the ruffles): BurdaStyle 07-2010-121

 

Little lemony syrupy polenta cakes

Craft night at my place = gluten free yummy things (one of the crafty peeps is a coeliac). Tonight we had individual serves of nachos and these little cakes.

The cakes have that distinctive grainy polenta texture with moist lemon syrupy goodness.

Lemon polenta syrup cakes

• 160g unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup fine polenta
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups almond meal
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced.
2. Grease a 12-hole, 1/3 cup-capacity muffin pan with butter. Remember to grease just outside the holes too.
3. Cream butter and sugar with lemon rind
4. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Mix polenta, almond meal and baking powder and then add to butter mixture with lemon juice and mix gently.
6. Spoon mixture into prepared holes. It will come almost to the top of the holes. Smooth tops.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
8. Cool in pan for at least 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack over a baking tray.

Lemon syrup

• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Combine sugar, lemon rind, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons cold water in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved.
3. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Carefully pour syrup over cooling cakes on the wire rack.

from Super Food Ideas – May 2009

And what’s on my sewing machine?

BurdaStyle 10-2012-118 in a navy and oyster striped stretch cotton

I’m not doing the bias cut layout for the front skirt, but placing the thicker navy stripes of the fabric at the hem. I’m using the thick stripes on the sleeves too, and made them short sleeves, not ¾ length as in the photo. Its looking good so far!

 

Nutmeg cake

This wonderful cake is even better with some cream.

This latest version was made in the evening after work for a colleague’s birthday the next day, in between a load or two of washing, and other domestic stuff. It really is that easy!

It is good as a cake to have with coffee (that was us today, happy birthday Kate!), or as dessert with some butterscotch sauce, ice cream and poached fruit.

Here’s the original post by Chris [with my changes]:

I have a cake recipe from Joan Campbell (Vogue Food and Wine cookbook, 1991) that I have used over and over in emergencies, there are just a few ingredients and they all go into a food processor, nothing fiddly, not much to wash up and a cake that works every time. [that is, if you cook it the right length of time…]. I fluffed it once by pulling the cake out too early and it of course sunk in the middle. Luckily I had some hazelnuts on hand so I quickly roasted them, piled them in the middle, drizzled honey all over and ta da a new cake… phew that one was close.

Nutmeg Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups brown sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 2 cups flour sifted
  
• 125g butter
  
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  
• 1 cup of milk
  
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
  
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  

Method

1. In a food processor, combine sugar, baking powder and flour and then rub in butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs [this means do it all in the food processor: add 2 cm cubes of cold butter to the dry ingredients in the food processor and process].
   
2. Spread a little less than half [a third? enough to give about a 1cm thick layer] onto the bottom of a greased 20cm spring form pan. Set aside
   
3. Add the soda, milk, egg and nutmeg to the remaining mixture and mix on low speed just until combined.[Use a container you can shake liquids in, like a Tupperware Quick Shake, and “lightly beat” the egg by adding it to the milk and shaking, then add the soda and nutmeg, shake a bit more then pour the lot into the food processor and mix]
   
4. Pour onto prepared crust [Blanch finely sliced pear in the microwave and add to the top of the batter, sprinkle some more nutmeg on top]
   
5. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 180°C for 60 minutes.
   

Winter comfort food

Let’s start with dessert

Chocolate cake

I think you know what my priorities are. Yes. Chocolate is one of them. It’s a vegetable with lots of antioxidants. What’s that you say? Something about fat and sugar? Surely not!

This is the second time I’ve made this cake. First time was for craft night and exactly to David Herbert’s recipe. There were 8 lovely crafters and everyone had a slice. There was more than a quarter of the cake left.

Second time was in a smaller tin just for Sunday lunch (5 people). My cut down recipe was a little less than half of everything and is just right for a 16 cm tin. It also looks cute on He Who Cooks new mini cake stand. This time there was half a cake left. Its very rich!

Cake
70g butter, plus extra, melted, for brushing
90g dark chocolate, broken up
2 large eggs
90g granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder (I make this by combining two parts tartaric acid with one part sodium bicarbonate).
70g ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
50g caramel chips

• Preheat oven to 170°C (mine is fanforced, 180°C for regular ovens).
• Line base of a 16cm-round springform tin with baking paper; and butter the sides ( squish a small piece of butter all the way round with your fingers).
• Melt butter with chocolate carefully in the microwave (mid to low power, check every minute or so and stir, until smooth).
• Crack eggs into a mixing bowl then add sugar, baking powder, almonds and vanilla. Mix to combine.
• Pour in chocolate mixture and beat until creamy, then fold in chocolate chips.
• Pour into tin, place on an oven sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes (don’t do what I did: set timer for 20 and then another 5 and another 5. The top should spring back when pressed. Mine almost did and I thought it should be cooked because the full size one was in this time so I took it out. Gooiness ensued. I did have fennel roasting in the oven at the same time. Perhaps that changed the timing?)
• Remove from oven and leave to cool for 1 hour.

One way to disguise the sunk-in centre:

Topping
25g butter
50g dark chocolate, broken up

• For topping, melt chocolate and butter and drizzle over top. Leave to set for 2 hours.

Roast lamb for main course

He Who Cooks put a crust of garlic, re-fried beans and taboulleh (parsley, onion and cracked wheat salad) on the lamb and roasted it on a rack above a bed of borlotti beans with stock, cherry tomatoes, diced celery and carrot. He also roasted root vegetables (heirloom carrots, butternut pumpkin and potatoes) in the same pan.

Pork Belly starter

• Rub Chinese five spice liberally over the skin of the pork belly.
• Use a slow cooker to braise the pork belly for about 4 hours in a 50/50 mix of cider and soy sauce (enough to come up the sides about 1 cm).
• Drain the fat off and then reduce the cooking juices on the stove top with a splash of port until thickened slightly.
• Crisp pork belly skin up in a hot oven.
• Slice and serve with a drizzle of the reduced sauce and blanched greens (we used slivers of snow peas and the outer leaves of young brussels sprouts).
  

A fabulous Sunday lunch.

Now its time to go up to the sewing machine and make a casual winter coat (BurdaStyle 12-2011-114). In a boule style, to give plenty more room for more cake and other comfort food.

Burda uses faux fur, but I’m going to use this poly wool knit.

Looks like it’s going to be a great Sunday!

Chocolate mousse cake with coffee icecream

This is why elastic waists were invented.

Chocolate Mousse cake

• 500g dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoon (T) golden syrup
• 125g unsalted butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 T caster sugar
• 1 T plain flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 220°C. Grease and line a 20cm round spring-form cake pan.

Melt the chocolate, golden syrup and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

Beat the eggs with the sugar until very thick and pale (about 10 minutes on high with an electric beater). Gently fold in the flour then fold in the melted chocolate mixture until combined.

Pour into the cake pan and bake for 12 minutes. (Yes that’s all! It will be cooked at the edge but runny in the middle, but don’t worry).

Remove cake tin side from cake pan and transfer the cake to the fridge for 1 hour to cool (this is were the runny middle turns into a cake).

Coffee icecream

• 500 ml double cream
• 395g tin condensed milk
• 30mL espresso (a double shot)
• 2 T Kuhlua

Whisk everything together until soft peaks form and then freeze for 6 hours. No churning required! Serve straight from the freezer.

Yum. The cool sweetness of coffee icecream, the crunch of crostoli and the gooiness of chocolate mousse in a cake.

Would you like a piece?

 

Cake from Valli Little, icecream adapted from Nigellas version

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb

Felicity cooks rhubarb again.

Apple and rhubarb crumble was our lovely dessert today after roast lamb. As you can see, not much was left over.

Fruit base

Peel and quarter 4 large apples with the Ikea apple cutter [because it is fun and functional], then cut further into pieces about 2 cm long.

Add a nice chunk of butter to a fry pan [probably at least 50 g, we like butter in this house] and cook the apple in butter after sprinkling a few tablespoons of sugar over the fruit and putting a lid on the fry pan [in other words, cook the fruit in the way you normally cook fruit].

Chop about 300 g rhubarb into randomly sized pieces [i.e. roughly chop] and add to the apple once the apple is almost done.

Crumble

Add 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 cup plain (all purpose) flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon ground ginger to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Add 100 g butter in small pieces and pulse again until the mixture is like course breadcrumbs. Then add an egg and pulse a bit further to incorporate it. Place over warm fruit and bake at 170oC for 20 minutes.

Serve with pouring cream and custard made by your brother (his speciality) to your appreciative family and Grandad. Bask in their compliments and miss out on having to do the dishes like normal. But do them anyway because you are so sweet.

[Crumble recipe modified from Stephanie Alexander’s The Cooks Companion]