How to add zest to your life

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.


That's right its Daring Bakers time again!!! This month was cheesecake. Oh how I lurve cheesecake. My only issue is that it is too rich for me to consume it in the quantities that make my taste buds sing. We were allowed to flavour it however we wanted provided it was still cheesecake. You'll find the recipe below as well as my adaptations. This months target audience were Choristers. We spent Easter Sunday watching movies, eating a fantastic roast veal lunch (direct from the farmers market) and devouring this gooey lime cheesecake with a chocolate crust. It took 2 days to eat and was well worth the urge to hurl (yes, I ate that much of it and no, I did not hurl. the 4kgs I put on that weekend can attest to it.)
The only thing I would do differently would be to alter the cooking time. Mine was still runny in the middle. I think if I raise the temp to 200C and keep the time the same it should fair better.
My kitchen now owns a new scan pan 32cm (read gigantic and just fits into my oven) pot for waterbath and a new 9 inch springform tin to match. It fills a 9inch perfectly too.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs (digestive biscuits work just as well)
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup cocoa (add in with crumbs)

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

Replace last three wth the following

zest of 3 limes

juice of 2

2Tbsp lemoncello

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Excuse me whilst I drown until a pile of work

I've become a very bad blogger.

It's been almost 2 months since I got back and all I have to show for it is that one measly post. Anyone would think that I've been incredibly unproductive. Well I haven't. Since I've been back I've done quite a bit of baking/cooking. Unfortunately there are no photos to show for it so you'll have to deal with descriptions instead.

The list so far

- Daring Bakers Valentino Cake flavoured with blood oranges
- Gluten Free Chocolate Raspberry Marbled Mud Cake (still needs tweaking)
- uber mac and cheese (realising that my cheese sauce always splits and I never know why)
- This months Daring Bakers challenge
- Coconut and Lemon Chiffon Cake (have I mentioned how much I lurve chiffon cake?!)
- uber mashed potato (add caramelised onion and fresh tomato and I'm in heaven
- Easter Sunday lunch roast veal Om nom nom nom nom nom
- Pretzels (they didn't brown at all but still tasted good)

To come

- This months Daring Cooks challenge
- last months daring bakers challenge (I really need to make the lasagna!)
- the oatmeal raisin cookies from Baked
- beef/lamb stew

and soo much more.

The chiffon cake is currently in the fridge getting nice and cold so when I slather it with coconut cream I don't end up with crumbs in my crust. Then again it would serve me right considering I hopped in the shower and forgot it was in the oven. Luckily I remembered just as the shampoo washed out so I was able to jump out, rescue it from the oven and jump back into the shower :D

below are more photos of my trip.

I'm back!

See it really did break!

It's been ages since I was last here. The main reason is that I went on a fantastic overseas holiday. I hit New York for a week, London for a day then hopped over to Italy for two weeks. As a result I have a lot of trouble eating Australian cheese now. The mozzarella in Italy was amazing, so good in fact that I went to the Vic Market on Saturday and ordered some. Whilst waiting for it to arrive I tried buffalo mozzarella. It lasted less then 12 hours........

Any way time to spam you with my latest creation. This is a recipe from Jess and her mother. I highly advise eating it with rice or pasta to soak up the sauce.

Directly pasted from my inbox as typing it all out required patience.

Calderada

How much of ingredients you get kind of depends on how big your pan is. I could only fit two layers of stuff in my pan. But here are the basic ingredients.

Basically you need:

Lamb

White wine (Yalumba unwooded chardonnay works well but whatevs, just make sure it's dry and doesn't taste like piss)

Vinegar

Paprika

Dried Bay Leaves

Olive Oil

Parsely

Tomatoes, or a tin of tomatoes

Capsicum

Potatoes

Onions

Garlic

Salt

Cloves

Marinate the meat (I used two chump chops) in vinegar, salt and paprika, with just enough marinade to coat the meat and a little left over. Marinate for the time it takes to chop everything else (big slices, not diced, except for the onions and garlic)

Fry off the onions and garlic in a heavy-based pot (like a casserole, or in my case, a bessamer pot) until soft. Switch off the heat.

Cut the meat into bite-sized chunks.

In the pan, layer like this:

Meat

Potatoes

Capsicum

(if you remember) Tomato

Bay leaves

2 cloves

If you fail like me and forget the tomato, just layer everything else, say "Oh crappy crap" and pour a tin of chopped tomatoes over the top.

Fill to about 3/4 (if in doubt, a little more rather than less) with white wine, and then pop a handful of parsely in on top (don't bother chopping it, just the whole bit, stalks and everything). Grab the olive oil and pour some on so there's a thin film of it.

Put back on the stove and bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 or so hours (at least an hour and a half) until the meat falls apart and the potatoes are hard on the outside but nice and fluffy on the inside :)

Serve with rice and modafila (which is for another day, i.e when I've asked my mum for the recipe...it's basically spinach but interesting).

Hope you enjoy :)

Jess

Now for the photos!!

I went, I ate, I drank, I bought the book and never wanted to leave

The bestest salad in the entire world

Light, Crisp and a broken whisk

It's that time of the month again!!

That's right. Daring Baker challenge time. For once I was prepared and got this done weeks ago. It was so simple that if it wasn't for work, I would have made them several times over.
This months challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of Ix umruehren aka Kochtpf. They have chosen Tuilles from The Chocolate Book by Angelique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
The challenge involved making one of the above recipes and matching it with something light. I chose to bake classic Tuilles, as it was my first time, and paired them with the mango mousse from last months challenge. This month was bake off month! Last October the challenge was Pizza which happened to coincide with a friends birthday. So we had a pizza night. It was on this night that my good friend Jess decided that she wanted to be a Daring Baker too! It's taken a few months, admittedly live got in the way, but Jess and I have finally had a challenge bake off.. The organisation was done very professionally. We didn't once refer to what we were doing as 'nudge nudge, wink wink' or 'uber top secret flute things'............we're both flautists............No. Not at all...

So we decided to team up this month and have a crazy night of baking. The result. Many, many, many tuilles, giggles and confusing online conversations with other friends.
You'll find the recipe we used below. I decided not to make butterflies, instead I just grabbed and offset spatula and started spreading. From memory, I used limes, lemons, rolling pins, egg cartons and there were attempts at cones.

The are definitely only so many tuilles one can eat at midnight. The rest were left until the next day where they became much chewier after absorbing moisture over night. Chewy but still good.

I won't spoil what Jess filled hers with however, some of it did end up in my tum tum.

The broken whisk mentioned in the last post was the direct result of trying to make the mango mouse. Sometimes, good old fashioned muscle just doesn't work! There's a photo lurking somewhere....


65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

My trip

Its been mentioned before but here it is again.

I'm going on my first overseas holiday!!! :D


Although I've been overseas before, I was 6 and it wasn't a holiday. We moved house. This time around I'll be in New York for a week and then its straight to Italy for another 2. The only down side is that I'll be getting back a day or two after honours starts. I miss all the orientation stuff, which can be made up another time so who cares!

If anyone has any must see places at either of my destinations, please let me know.
Whilst in Italy I'm hitting, Naples, Venice, Trieste, Florence, Pisa, Rome and Orvieto (hopefully).

I'll try to keep things updated as I go but no guarantees. Facebook and lj are your best bet.

Things I've done in 2009

So far in 2009 I have made new friends, tried real Portuguese food thanks to Jess and broken my whisk.

The new friends were found on Beach Trip! I went away with a group of people primarily from Monucs (Monash Uni Choral Society). The rest of the posse was made up of people from the Sydney, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide equivalents with a few non choristers thrown in the mix. I was one of the non-choristers.

Cooking for 50 people each night was an interesting experience.

Some people don't seem to understand that there are many ways of helping the cook. Chopping is one way. Hanging around, talking and keeping her company is another way. All 4 methods will get you on her good side and off the dish duty list.

The whisk died during a battle with egg yolks and corn flour.

Woe!

Caramel Cupcakes of Goodness

Its that time of the month again! Challenge time!!!!

Firstly I must apologise for being late. I had them baked, iced and even eaten by the due date but, with all the hectic rushing around I completely forgot to post! So here I am 4 days late. But hey, better late then never right?

This months challenge was Caramel Cake with Caramelised Butter icing from Shauna Fish Lyndon of Eggbeater. It was chosen by our lovely hosts Dolores, Alex and Jenny.

I decided to make mine gluten free and in cupcake form as they are easier to eat and hold their shape better sans gluten. If you wish to make these using wheat flour, just substitute the gf flour for g flour. These ones came out quite dense which everyone loved. Once of our coeliacs took one home to her sister, who then proceeded to lick the icing off in front of their mum, who was quite jealous.

Many other Daring Bakers said that the icing was way too sweet for them. As I'm really not a big fan of super sweet icings I started with the lower amount of caramel and added more cream for consistency. So I probably ended up with 30ml of Caramel and closer to 90ml of cream. Mine were possibly quite dense because I did everything except the icing by hand. Using electric beaters for the cake would have resulted in a lighter texture.

Still tasted pretty damn good though!

What to do with all that left over syrup.......


CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

142g unsalted butter at room temperature
280g granulated sugar
½ tsp/2.5 ml kosher salt
80ml Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperature
splash vanilla extract
286g gluten free all-purpose flour (my preferred mix is store bought)
1/2 teaspoon/2.5ml baking powder
240ml milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F/176c/gas mark 4

Butter one tall (5-6/2 – 2.5 inch deep) 23cm/9-inch cake pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}

Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

CARAMEL SYRUP

450g cups sugar
120ml cup water
240ml cup water (for "stopping")
In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.

When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
454g confectioner’s sugar/icing sugar, sifted
60-90 ml heavy/double cream
10ml vanilla extract
30-60 ml caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light