Cherry and almond Cake

Ahh...it is mid June already and work ramping up which explains my lack of posts. But that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. I have been making plenty of yummy comfort food during these colder months, usually on a Sunday where I can slow cook and eat the leftovers on Mon & Tue.

What have I been making I hear you ask? One week it was vegetable stew, the next meatballs, then beef bourguignon (yes I had to look up how to spell that!), then osso bucco. I think last week was the only weekend when I didn't make comfort food. Which reminds me I have ox tail lurking in the freezer (I intended to cook it last week but didn't manage to).

God bless my cast iron dish! I didn't take any photos because I was always too hungry and if I lingered about the food will get cold. Plus I don't have a fancy SLR so the shots will most likely turn up a blur.

I did end up baking cake one weekend and yes I did take a photo.

Cherry and almond Cake

Ingredients
100g butter
½ cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g almond meal
½ packet of frozen cherries
¼ cup milk

Method
1. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time until combined.
2. Into this mixture sift the flour, baking powder and almond meal. Add cherries and milk, and mix.
3. Bake in a 160c oven for approx. 45mins or until golden.

Seriously, this cake is easy. Also in true me style, as in 'one that never follows a recipe', I've found a basic almond meal cake recipe and added a few bits and pieces to call it my own.

Peach and Yogurt Cake

Ingredients

150g butter

¾ cup caster sugar

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind

3 eggs (room temperature)

1 cup plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted

¼ cup natural yogurt

3 peaches (can also use nectarines), sliced

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160c.

2. Cream the butter, sugar and lemon rind until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Add the flour, baking powder and yogurt and beat until just combined.

4. Line a cake tin with baking paper and pour the mixture into the tin. Top with the peach slices and bake for 1 hour or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Chocolate & Cranberry Cake

Ingredients
100g Butter
100g Dark Cooking Chocolate
3 Eggs, light beaten
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Self-raising Flour
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup Almond Meal
3/4 cup Caster Sugar
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180c or 160c fan. Line and grease a cake tin.

2. Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan on low. Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.

3. Mix the eggs and sour cream until combined. Then pour into the butter and chocolate mixture. Mix well.

4. Put flour, cocoa, baking powder, almond meal, sugar and cranberries into a large mixing bowl. Mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Pour in chocolate mixture and mix until combined.

5. Bake for approx. 30-45mins.

Pierre Herme

My friend, ‘the cake baker’, pointed me in the direction of patissier Pierre Herme from France. “Let me google”, I replied and my-oh-my ... yum! Even the chocolate bars sounds delicious.

TABLETTE CHOCOLAT NOIR AU CITRON ET À LA BERGAMOTE: (A bar of dark chocolate lightly flavoured with lemon and bergamot, with bits of candied lemon.) Reminds me of earl grey tea chocolate since earl grey contains bergamot.

TABLETTE AZUR: Chocolate bar with a chocolate yuzu ganache filling with bits of candied grapefruit.

Plénitude: chocolate macaroon, dark chocolate chips with pure sea salt, bitter chocolate mousse, bitter chocolate ganache, crunchy caramel

Millefeuille Montebello: Pistachio and Raspberry Millefeuille

Tarte Infiniment Vanille: sweet tart dough, white chocolate and vanilla ganache, biscuit moistened with a vanilla juice, vanilla mascarpone cream)

Chocolate Raspberry Hazelnut Cake

Sometimes when I make things up the photos and the story don't always end up here, mainly because it turns out slightly weird and I wouldn't recommend the recipe to anyone. It is to my delight this time, its actually really really good.

I took the base recipe for a plain sponge cake, halved that (it was for two sponge cakes) and added a few extras. I had it in my mind I wanted to make a chocolate raspberry and hazelnut cake. As I started to pour the mixture into the tin, I realised it was abit gluggy so in order to make it moist I added about half a cup of milk.


The baking time for the original sponge cake took only 20mins at 180c. From experience I knew the baking time for my cake will take longer because I've added a liquid ingredient and additional ingredients but after 30mins my cake was still runny in the middle. So I turned down the heat, to prevent burning on the sides, and baked it for 50mins (checking every 15-10mins).

Since the mixture was so gluggy to begin with (almost like brownie mixture), I thought the result would be like a brownie but no! It was so soft and airy (must have been the milk!). Needless to say, am very chuffed with the result. The best cake I've ever made up...


Chocolate Raspberry and Hazelnut Cake

Ingredients
150g butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup self-raising flour (or 1 cup plain flour + 2 tbsp baking soda)
1/2 cup raspberries
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 handful hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup milk

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 160c.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla and beat in eggs one at a time until combined.

3. Mix in flour and cocoa powder. Then add milk. When combined mix in hazelnuts and raspberries.

4. Pour into a cake tin and bake on 160c for approx. 50mins. It is recommended that you check the cake after 30mins, then every 15-10mins after that until baked.

Adriano Zumbo Patisserie

The most awesomeness cakes on earth! Ever!

I have only heard about this place this year through many of the Sydney food bloggers. I drool at the keyboard every time I read a blog about Adriano Zumbo's and/or looked at the photos of the most amazing and inventive cakes. I had to make a trip to Balmain!

The shop is located on Darling Street, a few shops up from Woolworths, 1-2 blocks up from Balmain markets. It is a very small shop, single file only, and you will have to wait as I did for a few minutes out the door. The cafe is located a few doors from the shop, don't worry it's easily spotted by good signage and the crowd. The famous macaroons are $4 (I think) and cakes are $6-$8 but boy are they worth every cent.

I got there around 12.30pm on a Sunday and half of the cakes were already gone. So my suggestion is get there early (they open at 8am). There is not much time for decision making as you can't see what's there until the line reaches the counter. There's no description of the macaroon flavours, so you'll have to ask. The description of the cakes are a bit long so I just pointed. It is probably best to do some research on the food blogs to see which cake you want to get (if there are any left). I missed out on the 'lollipop' cake and the biscuit 'legs in the air' one. The cakes are very rich, so a little goes a long way.

Macaroons

I really wanted to try the popcorn one and the sticky rice one but half the macaroons were sold out when I got there. Clockwise from top L-R:
Liquorice - the aniseed flavour not over powering and if you look close enough there were specks of liquorice in the filling.
Chocolate - I am sure there were something to it other than chocolate but I couldn't remember what the guy said and I bought it because it was colourful. Nonetheless, it was as awesome as the others.

Lemon and chilli - This was fantastic! It tasted like lemon cheesecake with a hint of chilli.

Quince - The flavour was subtle and the colour was pretty.

Cakes

I can't remember the actual names of the cakes so I'm going to invent my own. Clockwise from top L-R:

Passionfruit mushroom (because it looks like one)

The dome is made of passionfruit mousse with a surprise sprinkling of nuts and vanilla inside. There is a layer of, I think, milk chocolatey hazelnut 'something' and biscuits 'cobble stones' on the bottom.

Passionfruit and coconut deliciousness

I bought this cake because looked so light, like the marshmellow on top, and it was just really cool. It reminded me of winter and snow. The two pieces were the same inside but just coated differently. Top layer was a chocolate mousse, then I think a white chocolate mousse, passionfruit curd, chocolate coconut biscuit and a very thin layer of chocolate at the bottom. I am not sure if I'm reading too much into it but the lightness of the cake reflects on the presentation. Light as snow and marshmellow.

Coke can (sorry about the side view. Silly blogger flipped it and I can't flip it back)

This cake contains dark chocolate mousse (really good dark chocolate) layered between crisp dark chocolate with a cocoa-berry liquid center. No, this is not just another self saucing 'ra ra ra'. I am most amazed by the concept of this cake.

When you put your knife/fork into the cake, the chocolate gave a beautiful 'crack' sound - similar to when you open a can of soft drink. The chocolaty-red center immediately oozes out (I advise a plate). The chocolate mousse and the crisp layers are wonderfully chocolaty. I started to eat the outside and discovered the red coating/dusting had a tang, almost like a fizz to it - like soft drink. The concept of a can of soft drink is captured in a cake!

My (hopefully correct) descriptions doesn't give it justice. You have to go eat it to understand what I'm talking about. Good thing is I have an excuse to go there again next week! Stay tuned for more.

Coconut Cake

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter, at room temperature
215g (1 cup) caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly whisked
200g (1 1/3 cups) self-raising flour, sifted
50g (2/3 cup) shredded coconut
1/2 tsp baking powder
125g (1/2 cup) sour cream

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Brush oil to grease. Line the base of a round 23cm (base measurement) cake pan and side with non-stick baking paper.

2. Place butter, sugar, egg, flour, coconut, baking powder and sour cream in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.

3. Spoon mixture into the pan and smooth surface.

4. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in the pan for 5 minutes to cool before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Chestnut Cake

This cake is made with sweeten chestnut puree. If using unsweeten chestnut puree, use 150g caster sugar instead.

Ingredients
1 jar Bonne Maman chestnut cream (avilable at DJs)
25g butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs, separated
50g caster sugar
25g self-raising flour

1. Preheat a fan forced oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm diameter cake tin with greaseproof paper.

2. Put the chestnut purée into a small pan and warm gently over a very low heat for 5 minutes. Beat in the butter, then add the vanilla essence.

3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Set aside. Whisk the yolks until they begin to lighten in colour then gradually add the sugar, whisking until the mixture is thick and white.

4. Fold the chestnut purée mixture into the yolk mixture, then sieve in the self-raising flour and fold in. Finally, fold in the whisked egg whites.

5. Tip the mixture into the tin, smooth the top, and bake for 35-40 minutes until firm and set. Leave to cool completely in the tin. The cake will sink a little.

Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Photo coming soon!

Ingredients
288g white sugar
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
118g melted butter
250ml warm water
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs then add in the melted butter and whisk to combine. Add in the water and vanilla, stir.
3. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combine.
4. Pour the batter into a greased cake tin and bake for 30mins.
5. When cooked, lay out on a baking rack to cool completely before spreading with ganache.

For the ganache
150ml thick cream
300g of dark cooking chocolate

1. Melt the chocolate until smooth. Keep the chocolate warm by sitting the bowl on top of a large pot of hot water.

2. Pour the cream into a small pot and on a low heat until the cream start to bubble. Immediately, take it off the stove and add to the melted chocolate. Whisk to combine. The ganache should be thick and glossy. Spread onto the cake and serve.

Chocolate Sponge Cake

This cake doesn't rise, so don't be alarmed when cooked and its butter free.

Ingredients
4 egg whites
2 egg yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Line a cake pan and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks with the vanilla until combined. Set aside.

3. Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Then beat in the egg yolk mixture until combined - be careful not to over mix at this stage.

4. Sift flour and cocoa powder and fold lightly into the egg mixture.

5. Bake in a 180 degree oven for 10-15mins or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Turn onto cake rack to cool.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Makes 20 x cup cakes or 1 x 18cm cake.

This combo may sound weird but the end result is a moist, soft cake with a deep, dark colouring (looks very chocolaty). Similar to a carrot cake, you can’t taste the beetroot. If you don’t mention it, no one will know it’s got beetroot in it!



Ingredients
50g cocoa powder
90g plain flour
90g self raising flour
250g caster sugar
3 small cooked fresh beetroot
3 eggs
200ml vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment
Food processer/blender

1. Clean any excess dirt off the beetroots and wrap each one in foil. Roast the wrapped beetroot in a 180 degree oven for 30mins - 40mins. Unwrap and carefully peel off the skin. Leave to cool.

2. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees. To make cupcakes; line a muffin tray with cupcake patties. To make a cake; butter and flour an 18cm round or square cake tin.

3. Sift the cocoa, plain flour and self raising flour into a bowl. Mix in the caster sugar and set aside.

4. Puree the beetroot in a food processor/blender. Add in the eggs, one at a time, then add the oil and vanilla and process until smooth.

5. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the beetroot mixture into the well. Lightly mix, using a rubber spatula and pour into the prepared tin.

6. For cup cakes; bake for 15mins - 20mins, for cake; bake for 40mins (or until skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean). The cake won't rise a great deal and the top may crack. Allow to cool before decorating with frosting.

Chocolate frosting
1.5 cups icing sugar
25g unsalted butter, softened
100g dark cooking chocolate, broken into pieces
milk as required
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. To make frosting, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Melt the chocolate using either a double boiler or using the microwave.

3. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Add in milk to beat until smooth and soft. Decorate as desired.