BLAT

It was lunch time and I was feeling rather ravenous so you can imagine my disappointment when I opened the fridge to find it was virtually empty (we are planning to do the shopping this afternoon...). I did manage to find two tomatoes, some bacon and a pile of dough which was left over from the pizza dough I made the other night.

Thankfully we have lettuce growing the garden and Kevin had picked our baby zucchini so we had enough for a decent sandwich at least. BLAT (bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich) perhaps? I think so...

Now off to do the grocery shopping...Happy Saturday everyone.   

For pizza dough recipe click here.   

Pear and Ginger Cake

I love any city that doesn't have wind blowing all the time. So pretty much any city that isn't Wellington. I've lived in Wellington longer enough to call myself  a Wellingtonian and whilst I am proud to be one, I will never enjoy or like wind. There's something annoying about being blasted into my car when I go to hop in it and that constant wind swept look I seem to have day after day. Ahhh Wellington, or should I say Newlands? which seems to be the windiest suburb in Wellington. I obviously know how to pick the good locations. Thankfully for me, food makes even the windiest day tolerable. The types of food depends on the day and what I feel like, but all in all, food soothes my angst towards the wind, and angst towards anything for that matter. 

This particular windy day, the only thing that it going to make me happy is pear and ginger cake. I love everything about pear and ginger together and this cake makes the cut for a blustery, cold and bitter day. 

I'd suggest you try making this on the next windy day you have to soothe your soul. If you're in Wellington, this will be needed often.

Pear and Ginger Cake

First:

 Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of a 22cm springform cake tin with baking paper.

Cream butter, brown sugar and maple syrup until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs a small amount at a time to avoid the mixture curdling.

Dissolve baking soda in the milk

Sift flour, baking powder and ground ginger into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, mixing carefully until combined. 

Spoon mixture into prepared tin.

Peel and slice two pears.

Then arrange over the mixture, overlapping a little to ensure that the whole cake will remain covered once cooked.  

Bake at 180 degrees for 40 - 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted to the cake. 

  

Wait for the cake to cool and slice. Serve with custard, maple glaze, yoghurt or what ever tickles your fancy.

It truly does make all the wind in the world seem okay....

Pear and Ginger Cake

Ingredients

• 150g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 ripe pears
• 
  

• Method

   Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of a 22cm springform cake tin with baking paper.

   Cream butter, brown sugar and maple syrup until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs a small amount at a time to avoid the mixture curdling.
  
   Dissolve baking soda in the milk. Sift flour, baking powder and ground ginger into the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, mixing carefully until combined. Spoon mixture into prepared tin. Place the sliced pears on top of the cake.
  
  Bake for 40-45 minutes until cooked. A skewer inserted into the middle of the cake will come out clean. Place cake on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the cake tin.
  
   Serve warm with custard, cream or ice cream.

- From 'Food in a minute' 

Summer time = Easy Living

Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a swell time over the silly season. It seems strange that it's been and gone, but I guess time flies when you're having fun and enjoying the niceties that summer brings (berries, berries berries...). 

My Christmas was spent at my parents house with siblings, in-laws,  nieces, nephews, my nana, and friends. It was busy day filled with good food, tennis and 'adventure walks' (the best kind) with my nieces. 

How did you spend your Christmas? Did you go overboard on the berries like we did? I think my mum spent close to $100 on berries this year. And we ate them all. This gives you an idea how important berries are in my family. 

Long may summer last.

2013, may you be filled with glorious food and lots of it. 

Token Gifts

So, what was it that I had planned for the Refrigerator Cookies:

Christmas gifts of course!

The perfect 'token' gift. 

Flakey Melt-in-Your-mouth Pie

On my 23rd birthday, Kevin bought me a pie maker. Yeeep a pie maker. You can imagine my surprise when unwrapping this 'thoughtful' gift. I mean, it's not every day you get given a pie maker - by your boyfriend. It's not exactly the most romantic of presents, but then Kevin can have his un-romantic moments. Can you relate? Clearly it was his way of telling me to 'make him some pies'. Thanks Kev. Unfortunately three years has gone past, and not a lot of pies have been made. Sorry Kev.

I do like my pie however, and one night when Kev and I were sitting in front of the T.V.,we became sold on a delicious looking pie that flashed before us on the T.V. screen. 

"Mmm Pie. Man I want Pie" Says Kev (currently starving). 

And that is how the love for this pie came about...

The pastry used for these pies is heavenly. HEAVENLY. When you bite into the pie, you are hit with a flakey crunch which then soon melts in your mouth. It's pretty dang amazing and no doubt has something to do with the 1/3 sour cream, 1/3 butter. The other 1/3 is flour. 

We fill these babies with slow cooked chuck steak, onions, carrots and some guinness. Mmm!

Fkakey Melt-In-Your-Mouth Pastry

Ingredients: 

200g chilled butter

250g flour

1/2 cup sour cream 

How to:

Chop up butter and add to the flour in a large bowl of an electric mixer or food processor. Process until mixture resembles large bread crumbs. 

Add sour cream and process until mixture just comes together. 

Form into a disc shape, wrap in gladwrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes (chilling pastry prevents the pastry from shrinking). 

Roll the pastry out and cut into circles (to fit muffin tins of your choice. We used a texas muffin tin which makes 7). You will need a circle for the bottom and a larger circle for the lid. 

Fill with filling of your choice and then top with the lid.

Brush lightly with a beaten egg and slice a whole through the top to allow the pie to breath whilst cooking.

Bake at 180 c for 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

Serve with T. sauce (tomato sauce) - this is a must .

Beef Onion and Guinness Pie

(or Flakey Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pie)

Filling

• 100ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 5 onions, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 1.5kg trimmed chuck steak, cut into 5cm pieces
• Salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper
• 1 carrot, cut into large chunks
• 440ml can Guinness
• 1L home-made beef stock
• 1 egg, beaten
• Tomato sauce, to serve

Maggie Beer’s Sour-Cream Pastry

• 200g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ cup sour cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional).

2. For the pies, add 40ml olive oil to an enamelled cast-iron casserole, then add the onion, garlic and thyme and cook over low heat (use a simmer mat, if necessary) for 40 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Increase the heat to medium-high, add bay leaves and cook until the onion is dark and caramelised. Add the flour and cook stirring often for 3-4 minutes.

3. Season the beef generously with salt flakes and ground white pepper. Heat remaining 60ml of the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat, then cook the beef in 2 batches until well browned on all sides. Add the carrot and cook for 5-6 minutes or until golden. Add ¾ of the Guinness and cook for 5 minutes. Tip beef and Guinness into onions. Use remaining Guinness in can to deglaze the beef pan, scraping all the brown bits from the bottom, add to the onions.

4. Pour enough beef stock to cover the beef and vegetables and bring to the boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid, then transfer to the oven and cook for 2-2.5 hours or until tender. Leave to cool to room temperature. Remove the chunks of beef and carrot to a board and chop into 1cm pieces, then return them to the onion gravy. Refrigerate until cold.

5. Meanwhile, to make the sour cream pastry, place the butter and flour and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle or food processor, then blend until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Gradually add the sour cream, mixing until the pastry just comes together. Shape into a disc, then wrap in plastic wrap then chill for at least 20 minutes.

6. Grease 6 holes of a muffin pan with a little olive oil. Roll out the pastry to 3-5mm thick, using a little extra flour for dusting. Cut out six rounds about 4cm bigger than the muffin holes for the pie bases and six rounds 2cm bigger than the muffin holes for the pie lids. Place a pie base in each hole, then press in in lightly with your fingers, and draw the pastry up the mould a little so the pastry is 1cm above the mould. Fill each hole with some of the beef mixture, brush edges with water, then top each with a pastry lid and crimp the edges to seal in the filling.

7. Brush the pastry tops with beaten egg, cut a small hole in the centre of each pie for steam to escape. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Turn out and serve with tomato sauce, if desired.

(From Master Chef Australia)

Refrigerator Cookies

It's been a productive weekend here at the Sears' household: The window sills are now clean, the tinsel is up, the floor is vacuumed, the mountain of dishes (that have amounted due to a broken dishwasher) are done, the house has been waterblasted, the Christmas dinner part has been and gone, the Christmas service at church has been attended, the open homes have been visited, the cookies are baked and the pie filling for Tuesday is currently cooking.

What did I enjoy the most?
(Oh, why thank-you for asking) I thoroughly enjoyed making and discovering Refrigerator cookies. These beauties are so simple and basic, leaving much room for a bit of creativity and sparkle.

I made a batch of basic dough, split it into three bowls to make three different flavours - sugar coated with shaved almonds, chocolate and peanut covered, and cranberry and coconut.

During my third helping of eating the raw mixture, memories of eating raw sweet pastry from the Christmas mince pies we used to make with mum when I was little came flooding back. The mixture tastes just like it! Pastry biscuits? Mmm, yes please.

Here is what they turned out like.

I'll be back soon with my plan for these little sweet 'rounds' of joy.

"Refrigerator Cookies"

250g butter (softened)
1 cup icing sugar
2 1/2 cup flour

Beat butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in flour. Divide mixture into three bowls. Add what ever flavour you would like e.g. 1 table cocoa, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, cranberries, almonds, etc.

Next, knead the dough until smooth and roll into a log and cover in gladwrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove rolls from fridge and 'slice' the cookie rolls. Place each biscuit on a tray with baking paper and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees.

For Chocolate and and Peanut covered cookies:
Melt chocolate and chop nuts. Dip ends or top of cookie into chocolate mixture then chopped nuts. Leave to cool on baking paper.

Coconut and Cranberry Cookies:
After you have separated the mixture into three bowls, add 1/3 cup coconut, 1/4 cranberries and 1 tbsp water to the basic mix.

Sugar coated and Almond Cookies:
Once you have removed the cookie rolls from the fridge, lightly wet the roll with water then roll in sugar until coated well. Slice the dough then place shaved almonds on the cookies, pressing them lightly into the cookie so they don't come off easily.

Lemon Meringue Slice

This is pure lemon-deliciousness and is a must try for anyone who loves lemon. Recipe to come soon...

Pancakes For One

 

One weet-bix, about 3/4 cup muesli, a few canned peaches and a good dollop of yoghurt is pretty much what I have eaten for breakfast everyday for a really long time. A really long time. Yep, I'm definitely a creature of habit - even I was going out for brunch I'd have to at least have a couple of weet-bix to line my stomach for what was coming. Some may call me a wuss or a creature of habit but regardless -yesterday morning something in the wind changed because I felt like something a little more heavy than my usual cereal saga. I wanted Pancakes. Badly. AND I didn't even want weet-bix to start off. I know! Shock horror. Quite a big deal and may have the potential to become a regular thing. Did you know they don't even take much longer to prepare than my usual cereal breakfast? 

If you're already thinking I'm pretty weird it gets worse. I wanted peanut butter and plums of my pancakes - together. Yes, that's what that brown gooey thing on the side of my plate is. But before you judge, may I just say that this is an extremely tasty combination? I dare you to try it. It has the sweet, tangy, savory taste going on all in one go. Mmm! To be fair I did use Pics' really good peanut butter (only the most ahhmazing peanut butter ever made).

While I was eating this one, my other pancake was waiting patiently in the pan and to my delight was super crispy when I came to eat it. All it needed was a good drizzle of maple syrup and - deliciousness in my mouth. 

Pancakes For One:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup buttermilk or milk with one tsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 egg
a sprinkle of rolled oats
*NB

Blend together to make a smooth, pourable batter. Add more or less flour to create this consistency. Lightly grease a heavy pan and cook ladlefuls of mixture over a medium heat. Once the pancake bubbles, turn over. Makes about 4 medium sized pancakes.

*NB: Because it was early morning time, I didn't add any extra butter in the mixture (just lots to the pan) and the sweetness came from the toppings. If you'd like it extra sweet, add 2 tsp sugar and 1 tablespoon butter, melted to the mixture.

If you have mixture left over, cook it up and leave the pancakes in the fridge for the next day, or freeze them and toast them.

Pot Luck Dish

I seem to have a love/hate relationship with pot-lucks. I love them when I have the time/can be bothered to conjure up something to take yet seem to rather dislike them when I have no time, no ingredients or feeling too lazy to make anything. Thus this then results in feeling guilty when my supermarket item sits awkwardly next to a home cooked item made by someone who was slightly more organised than I.

I have a pot-luck dinner to go to tonight and fortunately I had the time, the desire aaaand the ingredients to make something.

I did have to be fairly creative however when choosing something to make as we have just moved house and my baking ingredients are spread out everywhere.

I decided to go with these little babies from my sister's blog and this chocolate no-bake slice which allowed me to use up three half empty packets of biscuits and the rest of some cereal.

Both are fairly effortless and stress-free which is ideal for a lazy public holiday day.

Apricot Truffles


Ingredients:

250g dried apricots
1/4 cup white sugar
rind of one lemon/orange*
2 Tbsp orange juice*
1/2 cup dessicated coconut, more for rolling

Chop the apricots roughly, then put in a food processor with the sugar rind, and juice. Process until chopped finely. Then add the coconut and process until firm. Roll into small balls (one batch makes about 20) then roll in extra coconut. Keep in fridge till firm.

I didn't have a lemon or orange rind so substituted these for a teaspoon of marmalade. Instead of the orange juice I used one tablespoon of lime and one table spoon of lemon juice (from a packet - no judging..).

 Chocolate No-Bake Slice
 
Makes 24
175g butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp cocoa powder
250g of any cereal, biscuits etc.(I used a combination of squiggles, oreos, weetbix and muesli)
½ cup dried cranberries

Icing
3 tablespoons Cocoa
11/2 icing sugar
2 tablespoon nutella
40g butter, melted

Line a 17cm x 27cm slice tin with nonstick baking paper. Place butter, golden syrup and vanilla in a saucepan and heat until butter has melted. Process cereals/biscuits in a food processor. Add cocoa, and cranberries and pour into butter mixture. Stir to combine. Press to cover the base of prepared tin.

Icing
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine making sure there are no lumps. Spread with a hot wet knife or spatula onto the base. Leave for 1 hour to set. Cut into bars with a hot knife.

 

I hope you are having a happy Waitangi day (or happy Monday if you're not from kiwi land).

Chocolate Mud Cake

There are three days between my sister-in-law's birthday and mine. In addition to several other celebrations, we had a small get together over tea and cake to mark the date. 

I made a Chocolate Mud Cake with a pink butter cream icing. This cake is one that I often make with the children at work and is dairy free (excluding the icing!) and also relatively cheap to make. 

I have a wee fascination over different 'icings' at the moment and have looked far and wide for a good butter cream icing - I am sad to say that I have failed to find one that has set me to contentment. All the ones I have tried seem to be way to thick, or make way to much. Although it took some serious trial and error, I have concluded that all recipes for butter cream icing fail to include the fact that much milk or cream is needed! I was pretty happy when I discovered  a perfect creamy buttercream by adding way more milk than was suggested in the recipes. Something for you all to note: Add more milk/cream and don't be afraid! 

Anyway, enough about icing and more about cake. I like cakes that are richly moist and velvety and that melts in your mouth. If you have similar tastes buds then this is cake you should make. 

Chocolate Mud Cake

(I doubled this recipe and divided the mixture into two tins to create two layers. Do whatever takes your fancy)

1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 Tbsp cocoa 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 rice bran oil (or any vegetable oil)

1 cup cold water

1/2 cup chopped chocolate melts (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease and line a cake tin. 

Measure and combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Make a well in the dry mix and slowly fold in the wet mix, being careful to rid the mixture of any flour balls (eww). Pour mixture into prepared cake tin and bake for 30 minutes or until cake skewer comes out clean when inserted. 

Ice with the icing of your contentment. For a buttercream icing see recipe below:

Pink Buttercream Icing

230 grams (2 cups) Icing sugar (confectioners sugar, powdered sugar)

120 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

milk or cream

Pink food colouring

Cream butter until creamy and pale. Add vanilla and then gradually add the sugar, mixing to combine. Add as much milk until you get the consistency you want. I think I used about 1/3 cup but will depend on the temperature in your kitchen. 

You want the icing to be light and fluffy. I find using a mixer for this job pretty useful, but a good strong hand should do the trick also. 

Don't forget to add the food colouring - Not to much if you want a pale pink colour. It only takes a smigin to do the trick. 

Use this icing to decorate the cake to your sweet heart's desire. 

CakeJoy

Hello!

I know, I know, I've been doing a TERRIBLE job at keeping in touch, sorry - truly I am. But late is better than never, right?

I thought I should update you on my exciting news...I finally started a cake stall at the Frank Kitts Markets. I called it cakejoy. If all goes well, I may just think of changing my blog name to cakejoy or perhaps start a new blog especially for cakejoy. What do you think?

The week leading up to the market was a bit of a stress (I wouldn't advise doing this on top of a full time job) but it was still uber fun and I loved every sweet (and not so sweet) bit of it.

I think I've caught the bug and I can't wait to have my next stall. I'm hoping to maybe have one twice a month. Ideally every week would be awesome, but just not feasible whilst working another job as well. Maybe if little cakejoy makes me heaps of money then I'll be able to...

The salvation army church down the road were so kind to lend me their commercial kitchen for a very cheap donation - thanks again SVA!

Want to see what it looked like? 

I apologise about the photos, they're not the greatest. 

What was on the menu?

Mini Key Lime Pie

Mini Pecan Pie

Peanut Butter Cookie Parcels

Triple Chocolate Brownie

Vanilla Ruffle Cake

Chocolate Cake Pops

Mocha Meringue Kisses

Nutty Nostalgic Cookie Mix Gift Bags

So looking forward to my next stall! I'm hoping to go bigger and better next time. Will keep you posted!

 xx