There’s something therapeutic about making cake

Posted on August 30, 2020August 30, 2020 by Tina

Today’s cake is inspired by Israeli food blogger Keren Agam https://www.instagram.com/keren_agam/?hl=en who I discovered through my lovely friend Hagar who has been spoiling us with Rugelach and Challah and all manner of baked treats. If you want the English version of her recipes (and you will) go to her blog using Chrome and click translate. I added a little lemon juice/icing sugar drizzle after baking to add a bit more punch.

What is it about making cake that is therapeutic?

One part nostalgia- there is something about the sense of smell that is one of our earliest and deepest memories. It is connected to our long term memory in ways we are not even conscious of. One of my favourite food memories is my mum making Chicken Everest by Charmaine Solomon, a roast chicken, covered in spices, fragrant yet delicate, cooked in a bag to contain the juices and keep it moist. I used to request it all the time.

My grandmother was also a fan of Charmaine Solomon, and I was surprised to discover that my grandmother’s famous Christmas cake recipe was actually from the pages of a Charmaine Solomon classic tome, first published in 1976, The Complete Asian Cookbook. Rich with eggs, spices, almonds, semolina and fruit, sticky with ginger, lemon zest, rosewater…truly delicious and unrelated to a dry fruitcake studded with sultanas alone.

One part scientist- whether it is the fascination of watching bicarb fizz in water, or a yeast mixture rise and turn bubbly or a cake grow and set in the oven, there is something exciting about watching and smelling these changes in the kitchen.

I’m often amazed when making a cake that one minute the kitchen will smell of nothing much, then the next it will smell slightly sweet and ‘cooked’ a little caramelised but in a good way, this is often when I know the cake is done, even if the timer hasn’t gone off yet. if you leave it to go longer (maybe you’re in the shower etc and don’t notice the smell) it will start to smell like a darker caramel and eventually burn (ask me how I know). As well as the colour of the cake and the time recommended it’s good to keep a nose out for this change in smell too.

Many people don’t realise most baking recipes are not written for a fan-forced oven so if you don’t have a non-fan setting (which is my preference for baking as it is more gentle and even) you should drop the temperature by 10-20C from say 180C to 170C. Using an oven thermometer would save many a cake from being dry and overcooked as some ovens run very hot.

One part greedy glutton- I’m just talking about myself here ok? One of the main joys of being able to make something at home is to have something fresh, warm, straight out of the oven, and exactly what you were craving- it is such a pleasure.

One part superfairy- there is something about being able to make something special for someone who you know will enjoy it and know it will make them feel appreciated and looked after. It doesn’t have to be sweet either, some of my favourite food gifts have been salty sour pickles to be eaten alongside a curry or a bag of lemons to be turned into lemon curd or preserved lemons, or an invitation to pick olives that will turn into treats for months.

So if the mood takes you take your nostalgia, scientific discovery, gluttony and super fairy powers into the kitchen, clear some time and space and enjoy making yourself or someone you like something delicious.

Passionfruit cake

Posted on August 9, 2012May 30, 2020 by Tina

I have become obsessed with this cake, after testing it for the CWA challenge at work. It is a delicious and moist cake with the refreshing flavour of passionfruit to lighten it up. I have made a few changes to make it my own as the original had a tendency to crack. I bake mine at a lower temperature for longer which helps it not to crack as much, it still cracks a little, but settles back to almost flat with just a gentle dome. I’ve also cut the raising agent by replacing some of the self raising flour with plain flour.

Passionfruit Cake

(adapted from a CWA recipe)

Cake

250g butter, softened
220g (1 cup) caster sugar
3 eggs (room temperature), separated
200g self raising flour
100g plain flour
180ml (3/4 cup) buttermilk
1/4 cup passionfruit pulp

Passionfruit icing

1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon full cream milk
1 to 1 ½ tablespoons sieved passion fruit pulp

Pre heat oven to 160C conventional. Grease a 20cm aluminium round cake pan with softened butter, line the base with a round of greased baking paper. Dust base and sides lightly with flour and firmly tap out any excess flour.
Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with a scraper paddle until light and fluffy, this can take 5-8 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time until combined.
Add passionfruit pulp to buttermilk, combine sifted flours in a bowl. On low speed, add buttermilk and flour alternately to mixer bowl until just combined.
Beat egg whites with a whisk until soft peaks form. Fold into cake mixture with a large kitchen spoon or spatula in two batches.
Spread mixture into prepared pan, level the top and tap firmly on the bench. Bake in oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 or until cooked in the centre and golden on top. Stand for 5-10 minutes before turning onto a clean tea towel on a baking tray. Remove baking paper from base of cake if it has come out of the tin. Leave upside down to cool for 10 minutes if you want a flattish top. To invert, place a serving plate or baking tray on the cake and use the baking tray to support the cake. Hold together and carefully flip so the serving plate is on the bottom.
For passionfruit icing, stir icing sugar, milk and enough passion fruit pulp to form a thick icing. Keep bowl of icing covered with cling wrap until ready to use so it doesn’t form a skin.
Once cake has cooled, ice top with passionfruit icing. You can ice while warm but the icing will run down the sides of the cake.

N.B.
If you don’t have buttermilk you can replace it with 140ml full cream milk mixed with 2 tablespoons natural yoghurt
This cake is really good straight out of the oven, and it looks quite pretty when the icing runs down the sides 🙂

Peanut and salted caramel macarons

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Tina

I’ve just tested a recipe for macarons. They worked perfectly first time, so need to share…
The recipe is from Ottolenghi. If you want a fabulous in depth discussion on macaron making… visit this page: http://bravetart.com/blog/MacaronMyths

Pipe the mixture onto baking trays and allow to ‘skin’ or set for 15 minutes to half an hour.

Bake at 160-170C fan forced for about 12 minutes until golden and the macarons release from the tray when lifted with a palette knife. Allow to cool completely before moving.

Fill with peanut and salted dulce de leche (caramel) filling and sandwich macarons together. Allow to set for a few hours.
Munch!

Lemon & almond syrup cake or Rose's 'Golden Dream Cake'

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Tina

Candied lemon peel roses

Lemon and almond syrup cake with white chocolate buttercream
There was such a delicious feast at Iain and Jules’ engagement party that we didn’t get through all of the cake, what a shame, we had to divvy the rest up to scoff at home.
Jules, I need recipes for the adobo pork and chicken, and the vermicelli noodles, yum!
This recipe is from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s amazing book, ‘Rose’s Heavenly Cakes’. I picked up so many great tips from her perfectly tested and detailed recipes. Everyone loved the lemon peel roses. One small person was heard asking ‘can you eat them?’. Cute. Of course you could, but mine were a little on the firm side. Next time I would try to take a little less white pith with them as I peeled them as I think they were a little stiff.

Doughnuts

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Tina

A weakness of mine is a trip to Haberfield for cheese, salami, prosciutto, olives, passata, Italian bread – that’s the official list; and then there’s those few items that always seem to make their way into my bag, sometimes for sharing, sometimes not. Custard filled doughnuts, amaretto-soaked cherry-filled almond biscotti from Sulfaro, cheesecake from Pasticceria Papa… but the doughnut has to be my favourite.
That’s why I was so excited to find a feature on doughnuts in my newly favourite magazine, Feast. Love the food features and the background stories. There’s so much info, it seems like a bargain. I had to try their version of custard doughnuts, Bola de Berlim, from Portugal, but I’ve twisted it slightly. The dough I’ve made the same as the recipe but for the creme patissiere I used Stephanie Alexander’s version which uses cornflour instead of plain flour, and I used tonka bean instead of vanilla bean for something different. Yum. You can buy tonka beans at Herbie’s Spices in Rozelle. Credit goes to Olivia Andrews and Jerrie Redman-Lloyd for a flawless recipe that’s easy to follow.
This seems dangerous, to be able to make doughnuts on a whim. 🙂
I’m off to Marrickville organic markets tomorrow to check them out. Maybe I can ease my conscience with some nice fresh produce.

Guava, Strawberry and Custard Apple Snow Egg

Posted on October 9, 2010 by Tina

They say it’s good for kids to have to self esteem right? But what happens when they grow up and start to think they can take on the world? When they boast quietly to their friends about what they can do? Their friends call them on it, that’s what. This is what happened to me recently, after torturing my friends with tales of testing the snow egg recipe and how delicious it was, and what time I had made it in, they decided I should consider bringing it to our next party. No, no, I said, are you mad? And anyway, my Sunbeam ice cream maker has died again, for no apparent reason. Oh. Disappointment reeks. ‘Well, maybe…’, I think, I could get that Kitchenaid mixer with ice cream making attachment I’ve been dreaming about for my birthday. After all, Grandma’s lovely old Kenwood mixer is about to stop mixing any day now, plus I can’t find the dough hooks and it would be so nice to make bread at home…ah the justification.
So yes, I agreed to the madness that is bringing snow eggs to a dinner party. Saner to do it at home, but only marginally. Let me just say this. Yes, I tested this recipe under competition conditions and did it in a short period of time, but this is nigh impossible to replicate at home. Who wants to cook under that kind of pressure at home? You want to relax, have some music on, do it properly.
If you, like me, have had your ego stroked and are considering the task of snow eggs for dessert- give yourself a few days in advance to shop, prepare the components ahead of time (I’ll tell you which ones) and you will make your life easier. Let me tell you that you will still be scared about ruining the maltose tuile on top but you get to play with a blow torch so it’s worth it.

Strawberries and Guavas give this granita its coral colour

The Guava Fool (a mixture of vanilla custard, double cream and guava puree)

A small scoop of ice cream is placed in the centre of two meringue halves and the tuile is melted on top with a blow torch. Btw, I used glucose here instead of maltose as I had run out and it worked really well as a direct substitution.

Oh Snow Egg, you look so easy on youtube…

If you are working during the day and only have evenings to prepare, I would recommend doing the shopping 3 days before, the ice cream, granita and puree 2 days before, the vanilla custard and maltose tuiles the day before (keep in an air tight container between layers of baking paper). The meringue you should make on the day as it has a tendency to deteriorate if left around for too long- it is not a fully baked meringue, it is only poached for about 15 minutes so is still softish.
Remember, you can always just make the custard apple ice cream, which is delicious. I won’t put the recipe up as it already on several sites on the web. Just do a search for Peter Gilmore’s snow egg and you’ll find it.

Billy Kwong

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Tina

The salted peanuts whet our appetites. I’d love to know if these are cinnamon sticks or cassia bark…

Lightly steamed oysters with ginger, shallots and soy

Chinese pickled vegetables, sweet, salty and sour with crispy wonton skins sprinkled with schezuan pepper & salt

Bugtail wontons with schezuan chilli oil

Crispy prawn wontons with a sweet Vietnamese style dipping sauce

Slow roasted lamb pancakes- peking duck style. The home made sauce was tasty but a little too thin for the application, it dripped everywhere! I am not a big fan of ‘thickened’ sauces (apart from gravy) as a general rule, but here it needs it.

A standout crispy pork belly dish. Salty and moreish, with a refreshing coleslaw packed with fresh herbs to balance the richness of the meat.

The silken tofu was delicate and beautiful with a poached egg in the centre of the plate.

Crispy skin duck with citrus sauce

Stir fried mushrooms, fresh, flavoursome, delicate and a wonderful foil to the rich meats we ordered.

Pears poached in red wine with sour cream and almond praline- cleansing and light

Darwin Dreaming

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Tina

As soon as the balmy sea air at Mindil Beach hit my face, I relaxed. Sustained by treats from the stalls at the Mindil Markets, there was too much to choose from; Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian, and Roadkill stalls all competed for my attention. Do try the Ice Kachang dessert if you can find it.
Enthralled by the hard-to-find-in-Sydney Thai vegetables at Rapid Creek Markets, along with a great selection of meat and other ingredients at the Greenie’s real food store that I visited far too many times than a 10 day trip justifies.
Thai Massage, an Iyengar yoga class outdoors that bordered on Bikram’s style, local Indigenous art and music, the Darwin festival, and my new favourite clothing designer, Gita.
I can’t wait to go back to Darwin, if only to recapture that breezy vibe.

Sunset at Mindil Beach Markets

Even in the dry season, Darwin gives you a nice sweaty glow…

The view from The Wharf, a great place for dinner

Fish & Chips, Laksa and Som Tam at the Wharf

John Butler rocked the Darwin Festival

Deliciously cooling pools at Buley Rockhole

Florence Falls, a deep black pool beneath a waterfall filled with amorous fish

Filicudi

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Tina

A few weeks ago we went to Filicudi, an Italian restaurant that came highly recommended by a colleague. So highly recommended in fact that discussion of my future firstborn arose. Don’t worry I didn’t promise anything.

Fiore di Zucchini. These were beautiful and cheesy, but starting with garlic bread and then these was not really a good plan considering we ended up having three courses.

Gnocchi Ragu- tender succulent gnocchi with a simple sauce studded with meat chunks.

Penne Granchi (blue swimmer crab in a ‘pink’ sauce is how this dish was described). This was probably my favourite dish, it absolutely tests the love in your relationship- if you’re willing to share this one then you know you’re on to a good thing.

Costolette d’Agnello. Marinaded lamb cutlets (garlic, rosemary and olive oil?) grilled to the customer’s liking (medium to medium-rare) on a bed of soft polenta that was neither dry nor bland.

Baileys Creme Brulee. With enough Baileys added to the mix so that you can actually taste it. The top was satisfyingly hard and shattered on a firm whack of the spoon.

Written up on the specials board quite simply as ‘Mascarpone’. Described by the waiter as a house special, it was magnificent, a rich, creamy, liqueur-laden tiramisu. I want to go back and try the Pere Filicudi- poached pears.
I also think the pizzas are worth trying as we saw several people walk past, arms laden with pizza boxes looking quite pleased with themselves.
BYO is accepted, and for $2 per person is fantastically reasonable.
Filicudi
11 Ramsay Rd, Fivedock
9713 8733

Chocolate Confession

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Tina

I have an apology to make. I have been very tardy with keeping this blog up to date. “What have I been so preoccupied with?” you may rightly demand. Well, ever since Easter I have been eating chocolate, on my couch, in pyjamas. Green & Black’s organic, once deemed too expensive, now just politically correct and a downright pantry staple. The Maya is midway between dark and milk (around the 54% mark) and has a hint of orange and christmas spice. Not bad at all. The milk is also a touch darker than your average milk (34%) so has a little more of a cocoa hit but without the bitterness of a dark. Ok, shutting up now. Sad, but what was once a treat is now an obligatory indulgence both anticipated and satiated.
I have also been sucked into watching Master Chef, however like my friend’s 4 year old son, have an aversion to the trauma of Thursday night eviction night. “But mummy, will we ever see them again?” says a concerned little voice with watery eyes. It’s just too confrontational and drawn-out ‘biggest loser’ style. Hurry up AJ, I mean Sarah, get us to the master class. Inspiration and instruction are where these types of shows can earn credibility by doing some good as well as just entertaining the masses.
But who am I to criticise, I’ve got my chocolate to distract me 🙂