Grief control. Knitting, cakes and chicken tray bakes

Grief. It’s a strange thing. Different very time. Why did I think I’d feel the same after my dad died as I would after my mum did?

I guess it is (blessed) inexperience. But it has been so much harder.

Anyway. I’m out the other side of (most of) it now. And I have a very neglected blog.

I haven’t been sewing as much as normal. But I have been doing some cooking and knitting.

So. Let me tell you about it. Starting with the cakes first because my dad had a sweet tooth.

The cakes

Lemon and ricotta cake

Delicious on its own or with blackberry and strawberry compote and ice cream as a dessert.

• 250g unsalted butter, diced and softened
• 220g (1 cup) caster sugar
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 250g ricotta
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 220g almond flour
• 75g (1/2 cup) SR flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 160C (fan). Grease a 23 cm springform pan and line the base with paper
2. Cream butter and sugar with zest until pale and creamy
3. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well in between
4. Beat in ricotta, a little at a time
5. Whisk almond flour, flour, baking powder and salt separately
6. Reduce speed, add vanilla, the dry ingredients and lemon juice to the mixture, and mix until combined
7. Whisk egg whites separately until stiff peaks form and then carefully fold egg whites into cake mixture
8. Spoon into tin, smooth surface and bake 50-60 minutes

This delicious moist cake recipe is from David Herbert’s column in the 25-26 July 2020 issue of the Weekend Australian magazine.

 

Persian love cake

This is a super easy gluten free cake that is deliciously moist and with fabulous spicing. Super pretty too, especially when you fortuitously have Persian fairy floss in your pantry and use it for decoration!

Adapted from Poh Bakes 100 Greats

• 300 g (3 cups) almond flour
• 185 g (1 cup) caster sugar
• 220 g (1 cup) firmly packed soft brown sugar
• 120 g (generous 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 250 g Greek-style yoghurt
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 teaspoons rosewater
• 4 tablespoons flaked almonds
• 4 tablespoons pistachios, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan).
2. Grease a 24 cm springform pan and line the base with paper.
3. Combine the almond flour, caster sugar, brown sugar and melted butter in a food processor until you have an even, sandy consistency.
4. Divide the mixture in two and tip half into the pan. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the eggs, yogurt, salt, cardamom, and rosewater to the remaining crumb mixture and whisk until there are no lumps.
6. Pour over the crumb base and sprinkle the flaked almonds and pistachios over the top.
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes

Serve this cake with a dollop of Greek yoghurt – it helps balance out the sweetness

The pistachio and almond topping makes this cake very attractive. No need for pink fairy floss to make it pretty – it already is!

 

The chicken tray bakes

Moroccan chicken tray bake

This is another one of David Herbert’s recipes from the Weekend Australia Magazine – the 13-14 June 2020 issue.

• 4 tablespoons harissa paste
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 6-8 chicken pieces (David recommends skinless thighs – I’ve made this a couple of times, every time with something different – skin-on Marylands, skin-on thighs and skinless chicken chops – all good)
• 2 red onions, quartered
• 2-4 zucchini, cut into 2 cm slices
• 8 capsicum pieces from a jar
• 50g whole blanched almonds  (I used flaked)
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley (I just picked the leaves off)

Couscous

• 175g (1 cup) instant couscous
• zest  half lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• seeds from half a pomegranate
• 2 tablespoons sultanas ( I used currants)

1. Preheat oven to 180C (fan)
2. Mix harissa and vinegar in a large bowl.
3. Add chicken pieces, onion  and zucchini and gently mix to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer to a large roasting pan and cook uncovered for 25 minutes, turning halfway.
5. Add capsicum and almonds and cook a further 10 minutes or until chicken is tender
6. Meanwhile, make couscous:
   • Put couscous in heat proof bowl and add 350mL boiling water, stir, then cover and leave for 5-7 minutes.
   • Stir through Zest, garlic and herbs; drizzle with oil
   • Add pomegranate seeds and sultanas and toss well
   • Season with salt and pepper
7. Scatter chicken with parsley and serve with couscous and lemon wedges (I made a space in the roasting pan, piled the couscous in, added lemon wedges and served it straight from the pan)

I highly recommend this – so simple and yet so delicious. It is almost my favourite chicken tray bake recipe.

Sheet pan chicken tikka

This queen of all tray bakes from Smitten Kitchen is still my favourite.

The version below is double the recipe (recipe serves 4) and so well and truly smothered in coriander and pickled red onion that you wouldn’t know there was chicken and potato and cauliflower underneath.

• For the chicken
  • 4 cm piece of ginger, peeled and minced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 fresh green chili seeded and minced
  • 1/2 cup yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 kg chicken thighs or drumsticks (skin-on, bone-in)
• For the vegetables
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4-6 potatoes, peeled if desired, cut into 2 cm chunks
  • 1 small cauliflower, cut into 2 cm-wide florets
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• To finish, if desired
  • A few thin slices of red onion
  • Lemon wedges
  • Salt
  • Dollops of yogurt
  • A few tablespoons roughly chopped coriander, parsley or mint

1. Combine ginger, garlic, fresh chili, yogurt, salt, and spices  in bowl. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat evenly. Let marinate for 15 minutes or up to a day, covered, in the fridge.
2. Preheat oven to 180C.
3. Add potatoes, cauliflower, salt, cumin and olive oil to the roasting pan and toss together with your hands until evenly coated.
4. Remove chicken from marinade and leave excess behind. Make spaces in the vegetables for chicken parts throughout the pan.
5. Roast in oven for 20 minutes, then toss the potato and cauliflower to ensure they’re cooking evenly, and return the pan to the oven for 10 to 20 minutes more (i.e. 30 to 40 minutes total roasting time), until chicken and vegetables are cooked through.
6. While it roasts, if you’d like to use lightly pickled onion rings on top ( it adds colour and a nice tangy fresh zip to the dish) separate the rings and toss them in a small bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Set aside until needed.
7. When chicken and vegetables are cooked, top with dollops of yogurt, herbs and scattered the above onion rings all over.
8. Serve right in the pan.

Truly delicious!

 

The knitting

This winter I finished off two long term WIPs.

A cable hat

This is from Moda Vera Mawson yarn and the pattern was on the ball band.

Memorable mostly for my daughter’s delight in the truly terrible photos of me modelling it (actually I have to admit that it was a lot of fun taking these photos).

But also memorable because I finished this off in the hospice at the bedside of my beloved father. Plus I used a cute label from KATM.

A lacy shrug

This one was started on holiday in Yorkshire – that’s Richmond castle in the background! It’s the wrap from pattern #5954 in Wendy Aran with Wool yarn, both purchased in a little shop in the middle of Leicester.

Happy holiday vibes to this one.

I don’t have any ‘good’ modeled shots of me wearing this (this is as good as it gets), but it was worn a lot WFH over winter. It is one of those great things to add for a little bit of extra warmth whilst sitting in a chilly home office.

The sewing

I know. Its time to get back to sewing…

Coming to the blog soon..

Banana bread

I know, I know, why the big deal about banana bread? There are thousands of recipes out there.

Well, that’s the reason. Thousands of them and I can’t remember which one of them was the one I used last time and really liked.

This one is adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s jacked up banana bread and it is terrific.

• 3 ripe bananas, smashed
• 75 grams melted salted butter
• 190 grams brown sugar (this much sugar makes it more cake like than bread, next time I might dial  it down a bit)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon spiced rum (apparently this is optional and Deb suggests bourbon. I used Sailor Jerry, because there was no bourbon in our house and I could not bring myself to use the single malts in banana bread)
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (Deb uses only 1 teaspoon but I love cinnamon)
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg (again more than Deb )
• Pinch of ground cloves (I forgot to use this, but I will next time. I love all the spices)
• 190 grams plain flour

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
2. With a wooden spoon, mix melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and rum.
4. Sift the flour with the spices, salt and bicarb soda , then  mix into the wet ingredients
5. Pour mixture into a buttered 10 x 23 cm loaf pan.
6. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean.

Delicious. Not sure how long it keeps. This loaf was all gone within 2 days.

He Cooks [pork pies]… She Sews [a BurdaStyle shirt 04/2013 #138]

For all the cooking He Who Cooks does and She who Sews eats, you’d think she’d return the favour and does some sewing for him, wouldn’t you? The odd pair of boxers and an apron now and then just doesn’t cut it.

This is another way of saying I finally made Chris a shirt.

I don’t think he really enjoyed being on the other side of the camera!

I used a cotton from Spotlight and BurdaStyle 04/2013 #138

I compared the pattern to his RTW shirts to find his size and traced off a 98. Burda’s size charts would have put him several sizes bigger. I didn’t check the sleeve length against his RTW shirts. And you’ll find out below why that was a mistake.

I was very pleased with how the sleeve tower placket came out

I got him to try the shirt on before I added the cuffs. The sleeves seemed too long. Rashly I chopped off 8 cm, and lost lots of those lovely tower plackets. The sleeves are now a bit short. Perfect for me though. Just saying.  This pattern also has narrow cuffs and a slim collar. Also perfect for me. Not that I’ve been wearing it. Much.

What about those Pork Pies?

Chris’s were based on a recipe for Raised Pork Pies from Valerie Barrett published in  BBC’s Good Food, July 2013.

The filling

Pastry top being added

Crimped edge and a hole to add the aspic through after baking

Egg wash (and 21 because it was for a 21st birthday picnic for a talented pastry chef @lyndarella47)

Just out of the oven

And then calamity struck.

Those pies came out of the tins very reluctantly. In fact one didn’t come out at all, as a pie. The other sort of came out in one piece, albeit looking much more rustic than intended. Yes that is a bobbin case in the background.

All’s well that ends well though. Only one pie was really needed for the picnic and the filling from the other one was absolutely delicious in a salad!

 

 

 

 

Little Christmas cakes in baked bean tins

I know. Its halfway through January and no-one. No. One. cares about Christmas cakes. But they were so cute. I just couldn’t not blog about them.

This is almost entirely the work of He who Cooks. The sewing related contribution was very minor, and only added the finishing touch. Yes. It was cutting the ribbon and securing in place with a pin.

So. What did He who Cooks do?

Well. Baked bean tins are the perfect size for cuteness optimization.

Adding exactly the same amount of cake mix to each tin is greatly facilitated by the scientific method (AKA using scales to measure mass)

Here they are, ready for the oven with their brown paper coat fastened with a kitchen string belt.

A glazed fruit and nut topping. Much easier than icing!

Viola!

Cooking and sewing!

The recipe was from Butcher Baker Baby

Christmas Cake
12 mini (small baked bean tin) cakes

200g glace cherries
500g mixed dried fruit
500g sultanas
zest of one orange
200ml sherry  (He who Cooks used a mixture of sherry and whisky)
225g butter, softened
225g dark brown sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
225g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp mixed spice
50g whole almonds

1) Put cherries and other dried fruits plus zest in bowl and soak in sherry overnight.

2) Line the cake tin: Lightly grease base and sides. Line sides with a double thickness of baking paper that stands 5cm above tin. Make 1 cm cuts at base to help it lie flat. Line base with double layer of paper.

3) Preheat oven to 150°c. Whisk butter and sugar for 5 min till light and fluffy. Whisk in eggs slowly. When almost added, whisk in some flour to stop it curdling. Fold in flour, spices, fruit and almonds. Spoon into lined tin and make a small dip in the middle of the mixture. Wrap tin in a double thickness of brown paper and tie with piece of string. Cook for 60-90 minutes.

 

 

Zucchini fritters with salmon, lemon slice and orange muffins. All gluten free

Are you lucky enough to have a group of likeminded sewers, creative knitters, crocheting geniuses, embroidery queens and other crafty people to share your obsessions with?

I am. And they are fabulous.

My group has a very healthy emphasis on delicious food and wonderful conversation as well as endless cups of tea and craftiness. One of the crafty people is a coeliac, so gluten free food is the go.

This is what we enjoyed this week:

Zucchini fritters with smoked salmon

Ingredients

• 4 cups grated zucchini (about 3 small to medium sized zucchini)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup gluten free flour
• oil and/or butter for shallow frying (we used a mixture of both)

1. Drain the zucchini in a strainer for 10 minutes then place in a clean dish towel and wrap up tightly and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. It’s amazingly green! Yay for chlorophyll! (mix the green juice with the left over lemon juice from the other things you’re cooking, drink it and feel like a super hero)
2. Add zucchini and the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Drop and flatten slightly a spoonful of batter onto hot pan

4. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned. Even better, get He who Cooks to cook the fritters. If he is wearing his favourite old green jumper, even better, it looks great in the photos.

.

5. Place cooked fritters onto a plate lined with a paper towel then continue with the rest of the batter.

6. Enjoy immediately with sour cream and smoked salmon, garnished with coriander or refrigerate the leftovers and scoff the next day while you’re cooking dinner.

Makes 12. (I made 1.5 times the recipe because I had lots of zucchini. That’s why I had leftovers)

Recipe from sugar free mom

Lemon and Coconut Slice

It’s winter in Australia. My sister in law is over run with lemons. I had to make a lemon slice! Lucky I love anything with citrus. Yes pity my poor family and friends.

• Crust
  5 T coconut oil
  3 T maple syrup
  2 cups shredded coconut
  1 cup almond flour
  1 pinch salt
  2 egg whites (save the yolks for the lemon curd)
  
• Filling
  3 eggs + 2 egg yolks
  6 T maple syrup( or if you run out like I did, 1 T maple sypup and 5 T honey)
  1/3 cup lemon juice + 1 T zest (around 2 lemons)
  1/3 cup almond flour
  

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
   
2. Melt coconut oil in a saucepan on low heat. Add maple syrup, shredded coconut, almond flour and salt. Stir around until everything is combined. Remove from the heat.
   
3. Crack two eggs, save the egg yolks for later and add the whites to the sauce pan while stirring. Keep stirring for about a minute. The mixture should be quite sticky now.
   
4. Line a 30×20 cm baking dish with baking paper and pour the coconut mixture into it. Use your hands, a spatula or the backside of a spoon to flatten it out. Press it down firmly so it becomes quite compact.
   
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes
   
6. Beat the eggs and the 2 egg yolks until frothy. Add the rest of the ingredients. Beat for two more minutes.
   
7.  Pour the mixture over the baked crust in the baking dish. Bake for around 16-19 minutes or until edges are light brown and center is set. Let cool for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing up the bars.
   
8. Cut into roughly 3 x 3 cm rectangles. Dust with icing sugar.
   

Recipe from  green kitchen stories

Yummy moist little orange cakes

This is my boiled orange almond cake that I make. All. The. Time. ( ask my long suffering family). This time I baked it in muffis cases and topped with He Who Cooks’ fabulous almond brittle: flaked almonds cooked in a pan with butter and sugar. Quantities? Don’t ask? He never measures).

I love this recipe!

Gluten free lemon friands

Thank you for all your lovely comments about Felicity’s Formal Frock made from Funky Fabric with some Flares of Frustration but now Finally Finished.

Clearly, I like F-words, and need to keep using them.

Words like Friands.

These were made by He who Cooks. And they were Fabulous!

Ingredients

• 180 g butter melted, plus extra for greasing
• zest of 2 large or 3 medium lemons
• 200 g pure icing sugar
• 80 g gluten free plain flour
• 125 g almond meal
• 5 egg whites, lightly whisked
• flaked almonds to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat fan forced oven to 165°C (180°C for conventional oven)
2. Grease 12 hole friand tin with extra melted butter
3. Combine melted butter and lemon zest, then sift in icing sugar and flour, and almond meal ( if it will go through the sieve)
4. Add egg whites and mix until combined and smooth
5. Spoon into the holes of the friand tin and top with flaked almonds.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 12.

Recipe from For my Senses

Delicious with raspberries too.

Perfect autumn fare!

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.

 

 

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.