eater

vanilla ice cream

2012-01-06T04:27:00.000-08:00

This year I've been figuring out how to make ice cream and it was a proud moment when Grace said, Mum let's always make our ice cream now. That's not to say my ice cream has always met with her approval - there was a lemon ice cream that was too lemony and a frozen yoghurt with horrid bits of nutmeg. Still, most of the time now I get kid approval. I've decided that I like custard based ice creams the best but I make mine with whole eggs as I can't bear the thought of wasting all those egg whites. However I'm beginning to think I might get better results with just egg yolks as apparently you can heat them to a higher heat without curdling. Something to test out one day. I have also found that if your custard is just about to curdle and is no longer silky smooth it could still turn into acceptable ice cream. So if in doubt, churn it and see.

I keep the bowl for the ice cream maker in the back of the freezer so it is ready any time I get the urge to make ice cream or hot night slushies. I have also learnt that it is good not to overfill it. Or an ice cream monster starts coming out the top. Or it doesn't freeze efficiently. We have a 1.5 litre Cuisinart machine and although it does a good job, I would buy the 2 litre one if I was choosing one now.

I mostly use half milk and half cream as Grace doesn't like too much of a fatty mouth feel - I often use pouring or thickened cream. If I was using double cream I might up the milk ratio a bit. I have started adding a bit of honey for extra smoothness and it tastes lovely with the vanilla. 3/4 cup of sugar is really enough for 3 cups of liquid but we like our ice cream quite sweet it seems. So you could reduce the sugar a bit. Real vanilla is totally worth it and I bought some from here. Price and quality were both much better the the shops. Had to buy 50 or so beans but oh, to have an abundance of vanilla! And what better way to use it than in vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

1 vanilla pod
3 large eggs
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 tablespoon of honey
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of thickened or pure cream

To make

Combine the milk, cream, sugar, honey, the seeds and pod of the vanilla in a saucepan and heat, stirring a bit, until it just trembles and starts to steam.
In a good sized bowl, beat the eggs.
Remove the vanilla pod from the cream mix. (I wash and dry to steep in vodka which is my experiment in making vanilla essence - I've heard of them being added to sugar jars too).
With the beater going, add a little of the hot cream mix to the beaten eggs and keep beating. Gradually add the rest of the cream mixture while beating. I use the electric hand beater but a whisk would be fine.
If the eggs are a bit organic and look as though they have been fertilised and have little embryos I strain the custard mix at this stage.
Place mix back in saucepan and stirring constantly, cook until the mix coats the back of a spoon and is steaming. Don't let it boil. If I thought I had overcooked the custard or it looked lumpy I might strain at this stage too - but mostly I don't.
Place in a plastic container for the fridge and when it has cooled a bit place in the fridge.
In a couple of hours or the next day, add the chilled mixture to the ice cream maker as per the instructions. It normally takes about 35 minutes and I place it in a clean plastic container and into the freezer until we are ready to eat it.

ginger beer

2011-11-18T16:31:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to make ginger beer for ages. Something to drink when every one else is drinking proper grown up drinks which I mostly avoid because for a whole lot of boring reasons I am a very cheap drunk. There are lots of recipes out there for ginger beer - I cobbled this one together based on what I read, the equipment I have and what makes sense to me. It's still a work in progress but comes out very drinkable most of the time. Don't be tempted to add more yeast for more fizz - I ended up with some bottles on the back step that brewed for two weeks and by the end they were quite alcoholic and very nasty tasting. The best batches taste like a designer ginger beer with a very smooth mouth feel. Some have said it is a little sweet and my dad has said that it's not fizzy enough but others have said it is very good. I think this ginger beer tastes best after it has been in the fridge for about a week. However I've read some accounts that say to keep homemade ginger beer no longer than 3 days. So like you know, all care and no responsibility. But I certainly haven't suffered any ill effects from leaving it longer. I use 2lt plastic orange juice or smaller soft drink bottles which means that the pressure can build with no risk of a dangerous explosion. It is also very mildly alcoholic.

You will need
Preserving pan, saucepan or other receptacle with a lid and at least 3lt capacity
4 x 2lt plastic orange juice bottles or similar
4 cups white sugar
6 tablespoons of grated or finely sliced ginger
1 scant teaspoon dried yeast
juice and some zest of 4 big lemons (use more lemons if they are small)
water
sultanas or sugar

Stage one
Place the ginger, lemon juice and zest in recptacle of choice (I use my jamming pan). Cook the sugar with some water until it is dissolved. Add to ginger/lemon mix. Stir. (Or boil the sugar, lemon and ginger in some water and allow to sit after coming off the heat - this will lead to a stronger ginger taste) Add enough cold water to bring the temperature down to tepid. Add the yeast and stir. Cover with lid and leave somewhere for about 24 hours or until there is good yeast activity - the top will bubble a bit.

Stage two
Strain the mix. I use a colander and then a fine strainer. Divide between the four bottles and add cold water leaving a little room at the top. Add a teaspoon of sugar (I use brown sugar at this point for the colour but it doesn't matter) or a couple of sultanas. Screw the lids on tightly and put on a shelf somewhere. This is when the yeast action together with the pressure of a closed lid will cause carbonation. I've found it takes a bout a day and that the bottle will be bulging. At this point pop the bottles in the fridge to slow the process down and chill for drinking. The ginger beer is ready to drink at this point but will taste even better in a few days.

broad bean dip

2011-01-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

Really more an idea than a recipe. I made this with the last of our home grown broad beans. Big and tough beans they were and I think the floury texture of fully grown broad beans is what made this dip really nice. Quantities are sort of feel as you go. I also usde thyme and mint because that's what we had and they worked really well.

You will need

broadbeans
yoghurt
lemon juice
olive oil
garlic
thyme
mint
salt and pepper

Pod the broad beans and cook in boiling water until tender. Cool enough to remove the tough outer skin of the broadbeans (this is essential and won't take as long as you think). Blend broadbeans, garlic, a good squeeze of lemon juice, a couple of spoons of yoghurt, some olive oil and the herbs. It should take on a smooth texture. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Eat. Yum.

chocolate swirl cheesecake slice

2010-04-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

I've recently discovered that cheesecake is popular at social gatherings but as it is hard to cut into lots of pieces, it can be difficult to serve. And besides, it is so rich that most people only want a taste. So cheesecake slice fills that little niche.I wouldn't use cooking chocolate in this, it will be nicer with good quality eating chocolate. Doesn't have to be green and blacks, just whatever is on special that week.

Crust

2 x 250g packet of arnotts chocolate ripple biscuits (not plain brand)
250g of melted butter

I crush my biscuits inside a cloth bag with a rolling pin, but if you have a food processor, that would make it a whole lot easier. Just don't crush them too fine. Or your crust won't have texture. Stir in the melted butter. Line one or two slice tins with baking paper, letting the edges hang out. I use two tins, each about 23cm square but a larger slice tin would be fine. Pressed down the base should be about 2-3 cms. Place biscuit mixture into tin and press down with back of spoon, then cover with a sheet of baking paper and roll with a flat sided glass. This will make the base nice and firm. Place in fridge while you make the filling.

Filling

2 x 250g blocks of Philadelphia (or similar) cream cheese softened (back in the day when we had a microwave, I would cut it into chunks and zap briefly)
200ml pure cream
1 tablespoon of gelatine dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water and cooled
I cup caster sugar (I have used plain white sugar and it works fine, you just have to beat it for longer. Brown sugar would also work fine and taste lovely)
the juice of 1 orange, strained
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (the one from the supermarket is fine but get the extract not the essence)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
100g dark chocolate
100g white chocolate

Beat the cream cheese in an electric beater until there are no lumps. Add the sugar and dissolved gelatine and beat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cream and vanilla and mix gently. Beat the mixture on medium speed until very soft peaks form. Melt the white and dark chocolate over simmering water or in the microwave. Divide the cheesecake mixture and add the dark chocolate and cinnamon to one and the white chocolate and orange juice to the other. The white chocolate mix might need some more time in the beater to come together. Spoon big dollops of each mix onto the crust and then make swirling patterns with a knife or a skewer. Place in fridge to set for at least four hours. To serve, lift out of the tray by the baking paper and cut into squares with a heavy knife.

NB - I put this in the on New year's eve as it wasn't quite firm enough to cut. It was delicious frozen too. Nice on a hot night.

can't be stuffed banana bread

2010-04-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

This has to be the easiest, and I mean really, really easy, easiest baked good I have ever made. Seriously the hardest bit is peeling the bananas (which I guess can be almost tricky if they are frozen or very black). I do believe Grace could make this recipe pretty much by herself if she was keen, except she told me she doesn't like it because it has too much banana in it. Everyone else has said it is very nice. This bread also keeps very well in the fridge (and would freeze well), so I tend to double the quantity and make two loaves. Perfect for using up very ripe bananas. It is quite sweet, so I reduced the sugar quite a bit from the original recipe and I think you could reduce the sugar even more depending on how sweet the bananas are.

Last time I made this, I included some vanilla, some fresh nutmeg, some cinnamon, sultanas and a few leftover walnuts we had floating around the cupboard. The time before I put the scant remains of a packet of chocolate chips in. Sultanas are always good. But the optional extras are entirely optional, the bread still tastes lovely without them.

Ingredients

2 bananas
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour (I use wholemeal)
pinch salt

2x
4 bananas
tablespoons of golden syrup
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups of self raising flour
pinch salt

possible optional extras

vanilla extract
nutmeg - best cut from a whole nutmeg with a sharp knife - a whole different taste experience
cinnamon
orange zest
chocolate chips
sultanas
chopped walnuts

To make

Line two small loaves with baking paper or grease well. Preheat oven to 180C.
Using a good size mixing bowl, mash the bananas.
Add golden syrup and sugar. Stir. Add egg, flour and pinch of salt. Mix well. Add in any optional extras. Mix well.
Pour into loaf pans and bake for about 30 minutes or until skewer tests clean.
Rest in tin before turning onto a rack to cool. Store in fridge wrapped in the baking paper and a plastic bag or tea towel.

How easy was that! The perfect snack as it is or with a touch of butter.

ps - it is called "can't be stuffed banana bread" because the weekend I first made it, G was suggesting (quite strongly) that I make something with the rotting bananas we had. They were so awful I thought it wouldn't work so I used the most basic recipe I could find. Because I really couldn't be stuffed. And lo it was good. A few adaptions and changes, and there we have it.

fig and almond tart, with orange and chocolate

2010-03-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

I used to make almond and fruit tarts regularly when we had the cafe and thought that this year I might make one with apricots or peaches, or berries even. But the fruit and the urge never seemed to combine and the almond meal sat in the back of the fridge mocking me. Then one day about three weeks ago, I knew I had to make a tart that weekend. So I made a big batch of pastry (enough for two tarts still in the freezer) and enough almond filling for two tarts (all gone). When I went to the shop to get some peaches, well .... they were as hard as rocks and I knew in my heart that they would disappoint. But there were some figs. Gooey white figs. Cheap. So I bought more than I thought I could possibly use and me and the tart, we were on.

As I started assembling the filling, I had two brainwaves. What about some chocolate? Just a little bit. As it happened there was 70g of Lindt 70% in the fridge. Only because someone had given it to Grace and therefore I wasn't allowed to eat it all. But Grace was happy with just a piece and said I could use the rest. Then I thought, oh I know, the almond filling really needs a citrus note. Lemon would be too sharp, but orange would be good. Having no oranges in the house and reluctant to go to the shop again, I looked wistfully out the laundry window at our neighbours laden orange tree. Oranges that just fall to the ground and rot. So, I went and knocked on the door. He seemed a bit embarrassed - perhaps he'd been napping in his underwear - and said that the oranges were sour but to help myself. So I did. And they were perfect.

Indeed I think I would say that the tart was pretty close to perfect. It finished cooking just before we went to dinner in the park. Later I dashed home and collected it. We ate it all.* The kids didn't even get a look in.**

You will need

A good plateful of ripe figs, peeled or not according to your preference. I peeled on this occasion.
1 tablespoon give or take of orange zest (no white bits) finely chopped
50g dark chocolate - 70% cocoa or more, finely chopped (eg Lindt or Black and Greens)
1 quantity of frangipane
1 quantity of biscuit crust

To make

Preheat oven to 180C and grease a 28cm tart tin.
Line tart tin with biscuit crust. No need to roll it out. Just press it in with your fingers. Try not to make it too thick anywhere. Trim.
Bake (absolutely no need to bake blind) until crust starts to colour and puff up a little.
While tart crust is baking, prepare the frangipane. If you are using some plain frangipane from the fridge or freezer, add the orange zest and mix well.
Peel figs. Or not. Try not to eat too many.
When tart crust is ready, remove from oven and press out any really puffy bits with the back of a spoon.
Scatter the chopped chocolate on the base of the tart.
Dollop spoonfuls of frangipane in the crust.
Place figs on top.
Bake until almond filling doesn't wobble very much in the middle. Or a bit longer if you would like the tart to be very firm. I quite like a bit of goo in the middle.
Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes before removing from tin.
Delicious warm with cream. Or cold the next day when to tart would have firmed up.

* This tart was shared between 16 adults, but really there are 8-12 good serves. Between 16 the slices were a bit measly.
** But I made the kids a chocolate beetroot cake this weekend which was received with a great deal of enthusiasm. Recipe is still under development.

frangipane

2010-03-07T15:58:00.000-08:00

This is a lovely filling to use in a fruit tart. Sometime I have ground the nuts myself which makes for a more textured filling with a lovely fresh taste. Most of the time though, I use ground almonds from Hassoons, which has them in the deli section. It's important to use fresh ground nuts, not ones that have been sitting around in a supermarket for ages. As for the sugar, well white sugar gives a paler colour and is good for delicate flavours but brown sugar is nice too.

I've given quantities for one for two tarts. As the mixture keeps for a few days in the fridge or you can be frozen, I tend to make the bigger mix. Which works better in the kenwood. And means I can make another tart with half the faffing.

You will need

1x
125g butter
150g caster or brown sugar
200g ground almonds
2 eggs
flavouring such as finely chopped orange or lemon rind, 3 tablespoons of brandy or some other liquor.

2x
250g butter
300g caster or brown sugar
400g ground almonds
4 eggs
flavouring such as finely chopped orange or lemon rind, 6 tablespoons of brandy or some other liquor.

To make

Cream the butter and sugar and add any flavourings
Beat in the eggs
Mix in the ground almonds
Tarts filled with frangipane should be baked at 180C until the top is golden and the centre feels cooked (or nearly cooked if you don't mind a slightly gooey tart).

carrot dip

2010-03-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

I started making this dip when we had lots and lots carrots in the vegie box. I think it's pretty nice with pide and olives. Others in the family are less enthusiastic.

You will need

2 or 3 large carrots grated (depending on the size of your fry pan)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
2 or 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped.
1/2 cup thick European style yoghurt, although it works fine with normal plain yoghurt
olive oil to thinly coat the pan
black pepper

To make

Gently cook the grated carrot in the fry pan on a low to medium heat with the olive oil and a pinch of salt until the carrots wilt and change colour.
Add the garlic, cumin and coriander and cook for a little longer.
Allow to cool (or the yoghurt will curdle in the next step).
Add the yoghurt and some black pepper.
Blend the cooled mixture with a blender or bamix.
Refrigerate for an hour or two before eating to let the flavours develop.

tofu burgers

2009-09-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

We first tasted these tofu burgers at Emily and Eamon's one night and I was totally surprised at how delicious they are. Since we have taken over Mim and Tom's place in the neighborhood tofu collective for a while, we've had to get a bit more imaginative with using tofu. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of tofu but these are great. Especially made with beautiful fresh tofu. The recipe comes from an article in the epicure section of The Age a while back.

I've made a few changes, just using things that are more common in our household and reduced the quantity. I also think that they hold together a bit better if you put an egg in them, but they are totally fine without an egg. As Gerard says, they really don't need an egg nutritionally. Serve with bread, salad and sweet chilli sauce. Or with greens, grilled eggplant and mushrooms. They are very filling. And pretty nice the next day, cold for lunch too.

Ingredients

about 350g of firm tofu, patted dry
1 egg (very optional)
1 sheet of nori, shredded finely with scissors
a small onion, diced
1/2 a cup of breadcrumbs
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp neutral oil for frying (we use grapeseed)

To make

Put half the tofu, the shredded nori, the diced onion, egg (if using), sesame seeds, tamari or soy sauce and sesame oil into a blender or bamix container and process until the tofu is fairly smooth.
Crumble the rest of the tofu into a bowl and mix with the breadcrumbs and processed mixture.
Shape into nice flat burger shapes with your hands.
Allow to sit for about ten minutes before cooking so they firm up a bit.
Fry in a little bit of oil and turn when they have a crisp outer. It's best not to crowd them as they can be a bit delicate while cooking, especially if you don't use the egg. They can also be barbecued.

pumpkin pizza with rosemary scented slow cooked onions, mushrooms and olives

2009-08-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

I think we've finally found a good pumpkin dinner. And it uses a big onion. Excellent when the vegie box sends a surfeit of onions and pumpkin.

Ingredients

a 12 cm wedge of Jap pumpkin
a big brown onion
a sachet of tomato paste
2 heaped soup spoons of roast garlic paste
3 or 4 mushrooms
some pitted olives
some grated mozzarella cheese
some dried or fresh rosemary
a serve of ready made pizza dough (when I make pizza dough I make enough for 3 pizza dinners and freeze it)

To make

In advance

Get the pizza dough out of the freezer sometime before lunch to allow it to defrost (unless you have a microwave, in which case you can defrost it that way).
Peel and cut the pumpkin into slices about 1a nd a 1/2 cm thick. Place on a oiled tray and bake in medium hot oven until soft all the way through and starting to loose a little moisture.
Slice the onion into rings and place in a heavy frypan on a low heat with a smidge of olive oil, some fresh or dried rosemary and a sprinkling of salt. Cover and cook on a low heat. Stir occasionally. The onion should collapse and turn a kind of golden colour without burning. When it's nearly done, cook for a short while without a lid to allow some of the moisture to cook off.
Pit the olives and slice the mushrooms.

To assemble

Oil the pizza trays.
Roll and press out dough.
Splodge some tomato paste and roast garlic paste onto each pizza. Mix together and coat pizza bases with the back of a spoon.
Arrange pumpkin slices, mushrooms, olives, onion and rosemary mixture on each pizza. Cover thinly with mozzarella cheese.
Bake in a hot oven, rotating at the half way mark. About five minutes before they are ready, slip the pizzas off their pans (I use a flat baking sheet to handle the pizzas when doing this) and bake directly on the oven rack to crisp up the bases.
Remove from oven, slice and serve.

roast garlic paste

2009-08-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

This was a staple when we had the cafe. I'd like to say it was my idea, or my creation, but it wasn't. One of our cooks suggested this and once we tasted it, we never stopped making it. It can be used in so many ways. We used to add about a teaspoon to each stir fry, it's nice on dry biscuits and toast if you like garlic, you can add it soups. But perhaps my favourite use is on pizza bases. Which was what got me thinking about making it the other week. I was making a potato and rosemary pizza with mushrooms and olives and found myself thinking, now if I just had some parmesan cheese and roast garlic paste....

So anyway, I was at Hassoons where I buy a few vegies that don't come in the box and they had some lovely purple garlic. Big pungent cloves. It was from Mexico and so not local, but it was a lot nicer than the wimpy garlic from China which is very tedious to make garlic paste from.

Ingredients

at least 4 heads of garlic
lemon juice
fresh chili
olive oil

To make

Cut the tops of the garlic heads (don't worry if some cloves are exposed and some aren't) and place the heads in a roasting tray. Sprinkle with salt. Roast at about 170C - 180C until the garlic is soft and brown carmelly bits are emerging from the garlic cloves. Allow to cool. Peel each clove and place in a bucket or food processor. This bit can either be very sticky and fiddly or quite easy depending on the garlic. Sticky is more annoying but you will have a better product in the end. Resist the temptation to just squish the garlic out, you will only get half as much paste that way.

Once you have all the garlic, add some chopped chili, a squeeze of lemon and a small slosh of olive oil (for four big heads of garlic I would probably use about half a hot chili and half a lemon). Blend to a paste with a bamix or in a food processor. Scrape into a container and refrigerate. Keeps for a good while, not sure how long - we've never had it around long enough to go off.

sweet potato (or pumpkin) cake

2009-07-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

After getting far too much pumpkin in the vegie box one week, I started casting around for other ways to get the family to eat it. So I made this cake and it was pretty good. Then we had an even bigger excess of sweet potatoes and this cake, made with sweet potato, is really, really good. On the day it's made, this cake has a fluffiness from the sweet potato that's just gorgeous. However, it also keeps for days in the fridge, which is just as well because it is a filling the cracks kind of cake. But the texture does become more solid. Still good, but solid and sturdy.

Ingredients

125g of butter
1 cup of brown sugar, or fine raw sugar for a more orange colour
1 to 1 and 1/2 cup of cooked but not too watery mashed sweet potato or pumpkin (I cook it in not too much water until soft and then drain well. Microwaving would also work well here.)
1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, allspice and powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of yoghurt
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of sultanas
2 cups of self raising flour
2 eggs
juice of one lemon
icing sugar
a little butter

To make

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 22cm (or 24cm) springform cake tin.
Cream butter and sugar until well combined (no need to worry about it being pale and frothy).
Add the eggs and beat some more. Add the yoghurt and sweet potato and beat some more.
Add the flour, spices and vanilla and beat some more.
Stir in the sultanas and walnuts.
The mixture will be quite solid for a cake, but don't worry about that. Spoon into cake tin, smooth the top and bake for about an hour.
Remove from oven when cake tests clean or springs back to the touch. Sit in tin for about five minutes and then de-tin, remove paper and place on a cake rack. This is very important for this cake otherwise it develops an unpleasant pudding like texture.
Make a lemon icing with the juice of the lemon, about a teaspoon on melted butter and enough icing sugar to make an easily spreadable icing. Apply the icing while the cake is still a little warm for the dripping down the edges effect. A thin chocolate icing is also nice, but the lemon is better.

lentil and barley soup

2009-05-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

The soup season is well and truly upon us and this one is my favourite. The one I make again and again in various permutations. The one I almost never get tired of eating for lunch or dinner. Goes particularly well with some crackers or dried toastie things with brie, (even the cheap safeway one which can be quite nice close to or just past its useby date). I like this soup best with the pieces cut small and not pureed. The family like it semi pureed which I do with the bamix. G insists on having sauteed mushrooms on top, because well, a meal isn't a meal unless it contains mushrooms.
Anyway here it is, it goes without saying that quantities are a guide.

Ingredients
2 stalks of celery
1 brown onion
1 medium carrot
several good big strong cloves of garlic
1 cup brown lentils (no need for soaking)
1/2 cup of pearl barley
1 tin of diced italian tomatoes
a good handful of herbs from the garden if you have them, mostly parsley with some smaller amounts of thyme, rosemary, sage and some oregano
2lt of water
To make
Finely dice the celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Saute in your soup pot with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Add the tomatoes, lentils, barley, water and half the herbs (if you have them) tied in a bouquet garni. Chop the rest of the herbs finely and set aside. Cook for about half an hour or until the barley is tender. Remove the bouquet garni, add the chopped herbs. Blend with the bamix if a blended soup is your preference (it does disguise the green vegetable factor - which in our house is a plus). Taste for seasoning and serve.

lemon and lime cheesecake

2009-05-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

I do love an unbaked cheesecake. Made with cream cheese, cream and gelatine. And a crushed biscuit crust. Part of me feels like I should like the baked cheesecake more, but I really do prefer a well made unbaked cheesecake. Something to do with the creamy, slightly wobbly texture. Trashy but oh so nice. I don't tend to make them very often as they are not vegetarian due to the gelatine.

The success of this recipe depends on beating the cream cheese until it is very smooth before adding anything other than a little lemon or lime juice. And in getting the balance between the sugar and citrus right. I like to hover on the edge of danger here, but others around me prefer it if it isn't too lemony.

Crust

I x 250g packet of arnotts ginger nut snaps (not plain brand)
125g of melted butter

I crush my biscuits inside a cloth bad with a rolling pin, but if you have a food processor, that would make it a whole lot easier. Just don't crush them too fine. Or your crust won't have texture. Stir in the melted butter. Place a piece of baking paper on the bottom of a spring form cake tin and clip together. Brush all around with oil or melted butter. Press biscuit mixture into tin and press down, including right into the corners with the back of a spoon. Place in fridge while you make the filling.

Filling

2 x 250g blocks of Philadelphia (or similar) cream cheese softened (back in the day when we had a microwave, I would cut it into chunks and zap briefly).
200ml pure cream
1 tablespoon of gelatine dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water and cooled
3/4 caster sugar (I have used plain white sugar and it works fine, you just have to beat it for longer. Brown sugar would also work fine and taste lovely but I quite like the pale colour of this cheesecake)
the juice of 3 or 4 lemons and or limes, strained.

Beat the cream cheese in an electric beater until there are no lumps. If the cream cheese is a little hard, adding a small amount of the lemon juice will help. Add most of the remaining lemon/lime juice, the sugar and the gelatine and beat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cream and mix gently. Taste for citrus/sugar balance. Add more citrus and/or sugar if necessary. When you're happy with the taste, beat the mixture on high speed until soft peaks form. Fill the crust, nearly to the top, and place back in fridge. The cheesecake will be ready to eat the next day. If there is any filling left over, place in a small bowl and have as a secret snack later that night. Yum.

To serve, run a knife around the edge of the tin and loosen the outside. The cheesecake should be easy to pick up with the baking paper. The baking paper will peel back easily once a cake slide or spatula is placed under the cake.

lemon slice

2008-07-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

I'd forgotten how nice lemon slice could be. Especially when made with homegrown lemons picked straight from the tree. Mmmm. The scent of fresh lemons. Lemon oil on your hands. For me the key to this recipe is the huge amount of lemon zest. The original Women's Weekly recipe had just one teapoon. I've doubled the original recipe, because what would one do with a leftover half tin of condensed milk anyway?* The doubled recipe makes enough to take for morning tea at work and some for home. Or for a good showing at a cake stall. And it contains three table spoons of lemon zest which in my view adds a certain excitement.

You will need:

For the slice
1 cup (or tin) of sweetened condensed milk
250g butter
500g Marie biscuits (2 packets)
3 tablespoons grated/zested/finely chopped lemon rind with no pith attached. I use a sharp vegetable peeler and then chop with a knife
2 cups dessicated coconut

For the icing
3 1/2 cups of icing sugar
6 tablespoons of strained lemon juice
30g butter
coconut to put on top (if I have it I used the standed or flaked one here)

To make
Wash lemons and prepare lemon zest.
Crush Marie biscuits. I don't have a food processor so I place the biscuits in two plastic bags and bash and roll with the rolling pin. This is how my mum did it when I was a kid. But a food processor is also quite effective, just don't over process. Some lumps are good for texture here.
Mix biscuit crumbs, lemon zest and coconut.
Melt butter and condensed milk together. Stir and add to the dry mix. Combine well.
Line a big roasting or slice tray(s) with baking paper. Pour in slice mix. Place a piece of baking paper over the top and press down with hands. Then use a flat sided glass to roll out and compress well. Place in fridge.

Juice enough lemons to provide 6 tablespoons of strained juice.
Melt butter.
Mix juice butter and icing sugar together until it has a smooth consistency.
Ice the slice and sprinkle with coconut. Press down gently with that bit of baking paper from before.
Refrigerate overnight and then lift out of pan and cut into small(ish) squares with a big knife.

* I know, I know. One could eat half a tin of condensed milk. Or let your child eat it. Or fight the cat for it. Or turn it into lemon cheesecake mix and repeat as before.

gingerpeople

2008-07-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

Grace was very excited when I said we were going to make gingerbread men for the fun day. There's a Richard Scarry video that she watches sometimes which features slightly scary gingermen. I thought it would be a fun thing we could do together; it was and it wasn't. First there was the bad taste when she sneaked a lick of the spice mixture and then the (not badly) burnt finger when she tried to taste the syrup mixture. That said, the rolling out of the gingermen and the icing of them was greeted with much enthusiasm. As was the eating.

However, I have to say that as far as eating goes, I'd prefer a softer textured gingerbread. Dark and slightly chewy on the outside. These were quite hard and would be really good for Christmas tree hanging and as small gifts. Recipe is adapted from Biscuits, The Good Cook, Time-Life Books 1982. For the cake stall, I made a double quantity and that was heaps, with some over for home.

You will need

125g brown sugar
125g golden syrup or honey (I think molasses would work well too if you like the taste)
1tsp ground cinnamon
some fresh nutmeg
some mixed spice (actually I might leave the mixed spice and nutmeg out next time - the recipe called for 1/8 ground cloves instead, which I didn't have)
1 tsp fresh grated ginger (I'd be tempted to add more next time, but I love ginger)
1 tsp powdered ginger
90g butter
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
500g plain flour
pinch salt
1 lightly beaten egg
glace icing made from icing sugar, a tiny knob of butter and hot water and then coloured with lurid food colourings

To make

Dissolve the sugar, honey or syrup, spices and butter over a low heat and slowly bring to gentle boil. Cool to room temperature and add the baking powder. It will froth a bit.

Make a well in the middle of the flour and salt. Add syrup mixture and the egg. MIx well and ten turn onto a floured board and knead until it all comes together. Wrap in plastic or grease proof paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll the cooled dough to about 3 mm thick and cut into shapes. Bake in a preheated oven 170C oven for 8-10 minutes or just until they start to colour.

When the gingerpeople are cool, ice with icing from an icing bag or using a plastic bag with a small corner cut off.

apricot jam

2007-12-31T01:24:00.000-08:00

I've always had problems with apricot jam, but from now on, this is my method. I'm so absurdly pleased with how this turned out. The big change to how I've made apricot jam in the past is to soften the fruit first in a few cups of water. Stirring well. This reduces the risk of the sugar catching or burning before the fruit has pulped. For some of my thoughts on jam making in general, see here. Especially the bit about having someone else looking after small children. And the big pot.

Ingredients

2-3 kilo of apricots including some that are on the green side

white sugar, the same weight as the prepared fruit

juice of two lemons (optional, but perhaps at the end)

jars and cellophane covers

To make

Wash fruit being diligent to remove all insects and birdshit.

Wash jars in hot soapy water and rinse in vinegar water (or better yet run them through the dishwasher).

Place jars on a tray in warmed oven and turn the heat off.

Stone fruit and cut out any blemishes or bird damage.

Weigh fruit and make a written note of the weight of prepared fruit.

Place fruit in big pot with several cups of water, bring to boil and stir and watch to make sure none of the fruit catches or burns and that just a little liquid remains.

Once the fruit has softened and become pulpy, turn off the heat and allow it to cool slightly.

Add equal weight of sugar (from your note) to fruit and bring back up to the boil.

Stir occasionally, making sure fruit is not sticking.

It should take about twenty minutes or so but this will depend on how much water needs to be boiled off.

When the jam is nearly ready the bubbles become thicker and when you stir into the corners there are little explosions of heat.

Remove jam from heat and test for set by putting a little on a plate, allowing to cool and pushing your finger along the plate through the jam. The jam will set if it wrinkles when you do this.

Taste for sweet sour balance. I added the juice of two lemons to a six kilo mix and it made the flavours sparkle. I imagine some fruit would need this and some wouldn't, so doing this step at the end makes sense to me.

Allow to cool slightly before skimming, pouring into prepared jam jars and sealing with cellophane.

Clean up and maybe shower away all the sugar and sweat, have a long cold drink and give yourself a big pat on the back.

Sago plum pudding

2007-12-30T23:03:00.000-08:00

This is the pudding my Nan used to make. Now Mum makes it and I guess, but hopefully not for a long time, it'll be my turn. I did make it once but didn't dissolve the sago properly and spilt all the brandy over the back of my car on the way to lunch. A subject for a few jokes that day, especially as I was working as a cook then.

Not sure about the quantities here. I think Mum makes two so there'll be leftovers for breakfast on boxing day. Mmm. Also need to get the recipe for the sauce. It's a great recipe though, puddinging but not too heavy.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of sago
1 cup of milk
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 cup of raisins (or mixed fruit?)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg

To Make
Soak sago in milk overnight.
Melt butter.
Add wet and dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour into a greased (greased and lined) pudding container and set on a trivet and boil in plenty of water for three hours.
Rest slightly before turned out and setting alight with warmed brandy and eating with spice sauce, crean and icecream.

Lemon tart

2007-11-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

I love lemon tart and it's quite easy to make. I use a tart tin with a removable base; the wider, flatter tin if the tart has to be served soon after baking or is serving lots of people. But I think the deeper tin gives a nicer result with a higher ratio of curd to pastry. The lemon curd filling I use is pretty much as described in the Cook's Companion. The pastry is super easy, indeed it's not even proper pastry, it's a biscuit crust. I usually make the larger quantity and freeze what I'm not using. Then when I need to make a tart, break off a piece, whack it in the microwave to soften and then press it into the tart tin. However, I've recently realised that if you like a crisp pastry, the filling needs to be added while it's still warm. Either straight out of the oven or baked the day before and warmed up (I'm pretty sure that would work, my theory being that the lemon curd starts to cook quicker and not soak into the pastry if it's already warm).

First, make the base as described here. Then for the filling, you will need:

3 large (or up to six small) lemons
6 eggs
250g casor sugar
200 ml pure cream

Preheat oven to 160 C

Wash the lemons in warm soapy water, rinse and dry well. This is really important if the lemons have supermarket wax on them. Less so if they're from a tree out the back.

Peel the zest (ie the yellow part of the skin) from the lemons being careful not to get any of the white pith. If you do get some pith, cut it out because it's yucky and will add bitterness rather than zing. I use a sharp potato/vegetable peeler with light strokes. It's tedious but worth it.

Chop the lemon rind into pieces and then grind them very finely with some of the caster sugar. I have an old electric coffee grinder that I use for this. A food processor or bamix nut grinder works just as well. If you have neither, then chop the lemon rind as fine as you can with a knife. I dislike pieces of rind in lemon tart, so this is an important step for me.

Juice lemons and strain the pips and pulp out.

Mix juice, lemon rind, sugar, eggs and cream in a big bowl with a ballon whisk or similar. It doesn't have to be beaten, just really well combined.

Taste for sweet/sour balance and add a little more sugar or lemon juice if necessary. I like my lemon tart to hover on the edge of sour and if it tastes just a little sweeter than I'd like raw, it will usually be just right after baking. That said, if I'm baking for people I don't know or for a big group, I might make the filling a teensy bit sweeter than I'd really prefer. G likes it better this way too.

Place the warm baked tart tin on a tray in the oven and pour the filling into the case. When I remember I do this step with the tart base pretty much the oven to stop having to carry it across the kitchen.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until almost set. Allow to cool for about half an hour before serving or it will fall apart. Yummo.

chocolate self-saucing pudding

2007-09-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

Based on the recipe from Cooks Companion. Less sugar, plain brand cocoa (just don't use drinking chocolate with sugar in it), self-raising flour, brown sugar all the way through and more water. And no nuts, which just seem plain wrong to me in a pudding of this kind. Works fine if you forget to put the egg in. As I discovered tonight (come to think of it the mixture did seem a bit dry). But better with the egg. And ice-cream. Although cream will do. Really, really easy.

Ingredients

pudding
a scant cup of self-raising flour
pinch of salt
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa
1/2 cup of milk
40g melted butter
1 egg
some vanilla
a shake of cinnamon

topping
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa
1 1/2 cups of biloing water

To make

Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the kettle on. Grease a small deep baking dish. Mix all the pudding ingredients together. No need to use a beater. A spoon or small whisk will do.Sprinkle the dry topping ingredients over the top. Pour on the boiling water. Bake for about 30 minutes or until top is firm. Sit for 5 minutes (because the sauce will be really, really hot) and then eat with cream and/or icecream.

golden syrup dumplings

2007-07-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

I adore these. They remind me of my childhood in the best possible way. We also made them at the cafe during winter and they were a bit of a hit; some people coming in especially on the days they were on. Which I think is a bit odd, because they are super easy to make and really best freshly cooked (although I do like them cold for breakfast, another childhood memory). G on the other hand, thinks they are horrid and a perfect illustration of bad anglo/australian cooking. Maybe it's the lemon. For me they have to be lemony.

It's really a boiled scone recipe and like with scones, it's important not to overhandle them. Quick and light is the way to do it.

Ingredients

For the dumplings
I cup white self-raising flour
pinch of salt
about 50 g butter
about 1/4 cup of half milk, half water

For the syrup
1/2 a cup of sugar
3/4 cup of golden syrup
juice of one reasonable sized lemon
2 cups of water

To make the dumplings

Chop the butter into small pieces and rub into flour and salt, lifting to aerate. Don't worry if tt's not compltely even.

Make a well in the centre of the mix and add in the milk/water mixing with a knife as you go, until you have a medium consistency scone like dough.

Knead very lightly and briefly in the bowl. Just enough to make the mixture cohere.

Roll into balls the size of a twenty cent piece (but round). The balls need to be reasonably smooth and well stuck together. Sit on a plate while you make the syrup.

To cook and serve

Bring the syrup ingredients to a slow boil in a medium size saucepan.

Drop balls into boiling syrup one at a time. They will puff up and double in size quite quickly.

Don't overcrowd them, I usually cook the dumplings in two batches, adding a little extra water to the second batch.

Move gently with a spoon to make sure they don't stick together.

Cook for three to four minutes or until they are done in the middle.

If you are not serving them straight away, store the dumplings on a tray and the remaining syrup in a separate container. They reheat pretty well in the microwave.

Serve 2 or 3 per person with a little extra syrup, warm and with cream or icecream. I like either and it's hard to pick which one, but unlike some in my family, I think cream and icecream together is an abomination. I tend to go with the icecream here. Hot, cold. Very sweet.

Red lentil, tomato and sweet potato soup

2007-06-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

This would have to be my second favourite soup. After lentil and barley with herbs from the garden. I developed this based on something I had at a friend's house back when I had the cafe. A reliable seller at lunch, it was a bit fancier then, with coconut milk and coriander (powder and fresh as as garnish). These days I tend to do a simple version, although sometimes I add coriander, cummin and a touch of chilli. A couple of weeks ago though I had a beetroot from the garden already washed and peeled in the fridge. I chopped it up and threw it in. Extra sweetness and an earthy undertone. And the best colour. Really, really good.

Ingredients

a medium sweet potato (peeled and sliced)
a tin of Italian chopped tomatoes
a big onion
garlic (I use about half a head if it isn't that strong, but we like garlic here)
grated ginger (about a teaspoon or two, enough to give a zing without being overpowering)
a cup or so of red lentils
a big old beetroot (optional but really good, peeled and diced)

To make

Roughly chop the onions and garlic. Saute with the ginger in some olive oil with a pinch of salt. This would be the point when I would also add powdered coriander or cumin if I was using them.
Add the tomatoes and saute briefly.
Add about a litre and a half of water, the red lentils, the sweet potato and the beetroot.
Cook at a slow roll until everything is good and tender. Blend with the bamix. Check for salt, although I find if you add some at the beginning it tends not to need any at the end but everyone is different with their salt.

And there you have it. Ridiculously easy and very nice for lunch or dinner.

crinkles

2007-06-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

These biscuits are from Still Life with Menu, ( Mollie Katzen, Ten Speed Press 1988) one of my favourite and most influential cookbooks. I've only made them once before and they are sensational. Don't be put off by the presence of molasses, it really works in these and is offset by the other sugar and spices. G suggested they needed ginger which I forgot and will definitely be adding next time. Please use the two different types of sugar, it does make a difference.

Ingredients

125 butter
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teasponn cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ginger
2 cups white self-raising flour
1 to 2 tablespoons additional white sugar

To make

Preheat oven to 170C. Line two biscuit trays with baking paper (I re-use mine because I'm cheap).

Melt the butter. Add molasses, which may need a quick zap in the microwave to flow well enough for measuring. Beat the egg and add to cooled butter and molasses mixture.

Mix dry ingredients (except white sugar). Add the wet ingredients and mix. Use your hands to bring together into a soft dough.

Roll pieces of dough into small truffle sized balls. Dip in white sugar. Place on baking tray. Squash before baking (Grace loved doing this).

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until they puff up and fall down. Bake until darkish brown if you like a crisp biscuit. A beigey colur of you like a soft centre. I did some of each which is pretty unavoidable in our oven anyway.

Cool on a teatowel. Eat with soothing cups of tea.

Pear and coconut upside down cake

2007-05-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is a variation on the easy chocolate cake recipe. I first made it last week to use up some manky pears that been in the fridge a few days too long. The consensus was that it was pretty nice, although I thought it was a bit sweet and could do with some citrus notes, hence the orange. Mum thought lemon would be too strong but I'm not so sure. I'm also thinking that other possibilities might be; the inclusion of dark chocolate chips, mixing some yoghurt in with the milk (I often do this with pancakes), lowering the sugar content, cooking the pears in red wine or port, perhaps using some honey, including some other spices and or nuts. Not all at once, but one variation at a time. Anyway, I had some doubts with this cake after a fraught mixing process in which my helper tried to eat the butter and sugar before it got mixed into the cake, but once again, this cake was lovely. Even if I do say so myself.

Ingredients

4 ripe but not too soft packenham pears
1 navel orange
1 1/3 cups of self-raising flour
1 1/4 cups of firmly packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons of dessicated coconut
125 butter at room temperature (or softened in the microwave)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
2/3 milk
some extra butter and sugar for the upsidedowny part of the cake

Making the cake

Line and grease a 22cm springform cake tin. Preheat the oven to 180C.

Using a vegetable peeler or zester, scrape the orange part of the orange rind from the orange and chop finely. Discard any pieces that have white on them.

Core the pears and cut into eights. Add the orange juice and about a table spoon or so of sugar depending on the sweetness of the pears. Cover and cook in the microwave for about three minutes on high until the pears are just translucent.

Place the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric beater on high until the mixture is pale(r). It will not achieve a silky texture because of the coconut, but it should look kind of glossy.

Sprinkle about a table spoon of brown sugar on the base of the cake tin. Dot with thin slices of butter (less than a tablespoon all up). Arrange the pears over this, reserving the syrup for later. Cover with the cake batter and gently smooth the top.

Bake for about an hour or until a knife comes out of the middle of the cake cleanly. Rest for at least ten minutes before turning onto a serving plate.

Heat the remaining syrup in the microwave on high for three to five minutes or until it is gooey. Spread over cakes, smoothing with a knife dipped in hot water if necessary. Serve with cream.

Easy chocolate cake

2007-05-13T05:17:00.000-07:00

This is adapted from a cake featured in the Sunday Life section of The Age newspaper back in 2004. It has become my standard, we need a cake today, cake. I use milk instead of water and tend to ice it with a glace icing instead of ganache, partly because I like icing sugar icings and partly because it seems to suit this cake. This is as easy as making a packet cake. Really.

Cake ingredients

1 1/3 self-raising flour
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups of brown sugar
125g butter at room temperature (or softened but not melted in the microwave)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2/3 cup milk

Making the cake

Pre-heat oven to 180C, line and grease a 22cm cake tin (I use a tin with a removeable base).

Measure and place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Beat with an electric beater until the mixture is pale and silky looking, like with packet mixes.

Pour into the tin and smooth out. Bake for about an hour or until a knife pierced into the centre comes out smoothly. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before de-tinning onto a serving plate. (I know I should put it on a rack to cool but rarely do as we often eat this cake fairly warm.)

Icing the cake

1 teaspoon very soft butter
icing sugar
unsweetened cocoa
water to mix

Mix ingredients until you get a thick and smooth icing. I usually use about half a 250 gram pack of icing sugar with cocoa to taste. For best results let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before icing.