Category Archives: Cakes And Biscuits

Last minute Christmas cake

December 23, 2017 3:05 pm / Leave a Comment /

GIFT VOUCHERS FOR IN-HOME COOKING CLASSES NOW AVAILABLE FOR CHRISTMAS!  Please email me, trudy@cookwise.com.au for more information.

Emergency Christmas cake

If you are like everyone else and Christmas has sneaked up on you this year then this Last minute Christmas cake is just what you need to mix together to get you into the Christmas spirit.  Like our Best-ever Pudding here, we do like dark, rich, un-iced cakes.  Funny about that, you grow up in a family that either has cakes with icing or without.

I can remember my mother telling us that she didn’t have time to make a Christmas cake months ahead.  If she missed a particular week in November at the latest, that was it we didn’t get one!  Pity she didn’t know about this recipe in those days as we really disliked dry, purchased cakes and it spoilt Christmas not to have a cake to eat.

So if you have the need for a last minute Christmas cake then try this recipe.  The brandy-soaked dried fruit and fruit mince fast-track the mixture to give it all the qualities that a cake that has been baked months ahead.  You can, if you wish, make it way ahead of time if you prefer and keep it in an air tight container.

Happy Christmas to you all and thank you for your support during the year.  Watch this space as I try to do some more exciting things next year 🙂

Ingredients: 
530g mixed dried fruit
70g mixed peel
75g dates, chopped
75g pitted prunes, chopped
½ cup brandy
410g jar fruit mince
250g butter, melted then cooled
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2 cups plain flour
1 cup self raising flour
2 tsp mixed spice
blanched whole almonds to decorate
extra ¼ cup brandy (optional)

Method:

  1. Soak the dried fruit in half cup of brandy, covered overnight.
  2. Line a deep square 22cm tin with 2 layers of brown paper and 2 layers of baking paper.  Extend the paper 5cm above the top of the tin as shown.
  3. Preheat oven to 120°C Fan forced and set rack at the bottom rack in the combi oven or above centre in a conventional oven.  I use the combi for this type of baking as it is a more accurate temperature than my conventional oven and a smaller cavity to heat, therefore being more economical to run.
  4. Mix bottled fruit mince into the brandy-soaked dried-fruit.
  5. Stir in butter and sugar and mix well.
  6. Add eggs and sifted dry ingredients and mix well.  Spread mixture into tin and smooth top.
  7. Decorate with blanched almonds as shown.
  8. Bake for 2¾ hours or until cooked when tested.  Brush cake with extra brandy if required and cover whilst still hot with foil.  Wrap in a large towel and let cool in tin overnight.  If you are not brushing it with extra brandy then remove from tin, cool and place in an air-tight container.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Cakes and Biscuits, Christmas cookery

Gluten free orange & almond cake

June 27, 2016 9:37 am / Leave a Comment /

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Always on the look out for gluten free cake recipes, my gluten free friends say this is the best cake ever!

Taste your orange puree once cooked.  You must use Navel oranges that have thinner pith.  If the oranges are not very sweet or the pith is too thick then you will have a bitter cake.  I thought my oranges were really bitter and I added another half a cup of sugar.  The cake was perfect, not too sweet but still that ‘tart’ taste you want in this type of cake.  When I cooked it again my oranges were OK but I still added ¼ cup extra sugar and it was perfect, not too sweet.

More of a ‘dessert cake’ it was light, fluffy and was delicious served covered in whipped cream and chopped, toasted pistachio nuts and a few edible rose petals.  The perfect cake to serve after a Middle Eastern lunch.

Ingredients:

480g Navel oranges (I used 3 small ones) or 1½ large
6 x 70g eggs, beaten
220g castor sugar plus ¼-½ cup (see note above)
250g almond meal
1 tsp baking powder

Method:

  1. Boil whole oranges covered in water for ½ hour.  Drain and replace water.  If you are using large oranges you will have to cook two whole.  I ended up with a little over 500g.
  2. Boil oranges for another 1 hour.  Drain and set aside to cool to room temperature.  You can do this the day before.
  3. Puree in food processor and set aside.
  4. Beat eggs and sugar together until pale and creamy with an electric mixer until they reach the ‘ribbon’ stage (at least 10 minutes)
  5. Fold through oranges, baking powder and almond meal gently trying not to beat the mixture too much but ‘folding’ it to keep the eggs aerated.
  6. Grease and line a large 23cm springform tin. Go to the trouble of lining the sides of the tin as well, extending about 5cm above the tin.  It is a large cake, you may need this extra height to hold the mixture in the tin.
  7. Bake for 55-60 minutes on Cake Plus in Miele combi with the fan cover in place or on Fan Forced @ 160°C.  I found I had a more even cake when I cooked it with the fan cover on as this does restrict the fan a little and is usually removed when baking cakes.
  8. Test with a skewer.  Mine took 60 minutes.  It is a very moist cake but the skewer should come out clean.
  9. Allow the cake to cool upright in the pan. Do not attempt to turn out. When cool, remove the sides of the tin and the baking paper.  Move onto a cake plate and cover with whipped cream and nuts.

This is a big cake that will easily serve 12-14 (less for all the seconds that everyone will want!).

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits, Desserts, Gluten free

Theresa’s apricot cake

October 19, 2015 3:37 pm / 2 Comments /

Apricot cake

This is a favourite family recipe that means Summer to us.  It was made regularly by a very special lady who made it for us when we visited her in her home in Templestowe, Melbourne.  She would go outside and collect a few ripe apricots that had fallen from her tree and whip this up in no time.  She was Austrian, loved to entertain and passed away some years ago but the memory of her and her wonderful cooking still remains with us all 🙂

Ingredients:

125g butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
rind 1 lemon
2 eggs
2 cups self raising flour, sifted
milk to make soft batter

Method:

  1. Beat butter and sugar until pale.
  2. Mix in lemon rind and eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla.
  3. Fold in sifted flour with enough milk to make a smooth batter.  If you have used unsalted butter it will need a pinch of salt added with the flour.
  4. Spread into flat slice tin.  Top with halved apricots skin side down.
  5. Sprinke with a little sugar and cinnamon if apricots are not ripe or if you like these flavours.
  6. Bake 160° Fan Forced 30-45 minutes.
  7. Dust with icing sugar when cold.

Delicious served for afternoon tea or dessert with whipped cream. 🙂

 

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits, Desserts

Flourless chocolate cake

November 9, 2014 11:57 am / Leave a Comment /

Flourless chocolate cake

Julie, the Home Economist from Ilve Appliances in Sydney sometimes makes this delicious cake as part of their cooking class.  I enjoyed it so much when I tried it that I extracted the recipe from her.  She new the ingredients off by heart which is always impressive.  Now that’s a good cook!

I am melting the chocolate and butter in the steam oven here but the rest of the cake is cooked in a traditional oven on Fan Forced.

Another gluten-free option to have up your sleeve for when you need that special dessert.

Ingredients:

180g Lindt, 70% dessert chocolate
100g butter
1  1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup almond meal
4 eggs, separated

Method:

  1. Grease and line a 20cm springform tin.
  2. Melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth, you can do this in the steam oven following the link above or in a bowl over a simmering pot of water.  Let it cool.  If you are cooking the cake in the combi, wipe out the steamer now so it will dry before cooking.
  3. Beat egg yolks and sugar until soft and creamy.
  4. Fold in cooled melted chocolate, mix well then add almond meal.
  5. In a separate bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Don’t overbeat they should be a medium hold.
  6. Gently fold into chocolate mixture starting with one spoonful of the egg white to work it in then very gently with the remainder.
  7. Bake @ 160°C Fan Forced for 1 hour.

Add whipped cream and berries to the top of the room temperature cake to serve. Yum

Note:  Even better if warmed slightly before serving and the cream added at the last minute.  Do not serve cold from the refrigerator.

 

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits, Chocolate, Desserts, Gluten free, Traditional Ovens

Quick apple cake

October 17, 2014 10:02 pm / 2 Comments /

Quick apple cake

This recipe is from Stephanie’s ‘The cook’s companion’ book that she signed for me when I was working at the cooking school in Mosman.  Since we have a few copies I have since given my daughter this copy and it has almost become our family bible!

I tried to change the recipe but it wasn’t as good as Stephanie’s original.  The soaking of the apples in brandy gives this cake a really lovely ‘taste’ and it’s so quick and easy to make at the last minute when you have unexpected guests.

Be careful not to overcook it.

Ingredients:

2 cups peeled and chopped eating apples (thin slices seem to work better)
2 tbsp. apple brandy or regular brandy
140g unsalted butter, melted
160g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
120g castor sugar

Method:

  1. Soak the fruit in chosen alcohol for 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 180C fan forced.
  3. Butter and line a 23cm springform or round cake tin.
  4. Melt butter and allow to cool.
  5. Sift flour, baking powder and salt.
  6. Beat eggs and sugar in a mixer until thick and fluffy.  At least 5 minutes.
  7. Fold in flour mixture gently then drizzle in melted butter.
  8. Now fold in the apples and any liquid, give it a good mix and pour into prepared tin.
  9. Bake for 25-30 minutes until well browned and a skewer comes out clean.
  10. Dust with icing sugar when cold.

Serve warm or cold with cream. Delicious 🙂

Note:  The cooking time in a fan forced oven is much less than the original recipe.  Really only 25 minutes cooked in an oven with an electronic thermostat (not a knob with temp marked on the oven) compared to 40 minutes in Stephanie’s recipe cooked at 200°C.  Remember smell is a really good gauge that a cake is cooked and the kitchen smells wonderful when this is cooked.

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits

Rhubarb & coconut cake

September 25, 2014 8:45 pm / 3 Comments /

Rhubarb & coconut cake

This is a really old, quick recipe that one of the girls use to cook for an oven demo.  She gave me a copy of the original page from the Australian Women’s Weekly and it’s from 2002!  Goes to show that good recipes never go out of fashion.

I thought this would be a nice cake to serve for a friend’s birthday lunch, the addition of the rhubarb and texture of the coconut works really well.  I always love cakes that have fresh fruit included as there is no need for any icing (but a dusting of icing sugar doesn’t go astray).

I have discovered that if you use thin sticks of rhubarb and slice them all the same, smaller size say 1-2 cm each then it doesn’t all sink to the bottom.  With the rhubarb visible on the top then there is no need to add the icing sugar.  I have also decreased the sugar from the original recipe and it was still delicious.

Ingredients:  Serves 10-12

1½ cups Self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
1¼ cups desiccated coconut
125g butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten lightly
½ cup milk
½ tsp vanilla essence
½ cup chopped rhubarb (thin stalks, cut about 1-2 cm)
2 stalks rhubarb, extra
2 tbsp. Demerara sugar (or enough raw sugar to sprinkle over)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C Fan forced
  2. Grease a 20cm round cake pan and line the base with paper
  3. Combine flour, sugar and coconut in a medium size bowl
  4. Stir in butter, eggs, milk and extract until combined
  5. Spread half the mixture into the prepared pan, scatter rhubarb over mixture
  6. Cover with remaining batter
  7. Arrange remaining rhubarb over top of cake.  Sprinkle with Demerara or raw sugar.  I didn’t use it all.
  8. Bake for approximately 1 hour.
  9. Rest in pan for 5 minutes before turning onto a rack to cool.

Serve with whipped cream 🙂

 

 

 

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits

Pear and ginger upside down pudding

September 18, 2014 1:54 am / 3 Comments /

Pear & ginger upside down pudding

I have been cooking this cake/pudding for years and everyone loves it.  It was a recipe I discovered in an old Vogue Wine & Food cookbook in the 80’s and is always delicious.  Moist, spicy and served warm it is the perfect end to a casual lunch or dinner.  It is worth the little extra effort to warm it before serving.

Be careful that the pears need to be ripe and not too large as the batter will not cover them.  There isn’t actually a large quantity of batter so be mindful of this.  You could slice the pears and arrange decoratively over the base of the pan if necessary.

Ingredients: Topping

60g butter
100g soft brown sugar
4 small-medium ripe pears, peeled cored and cut in half lengthwise
Pecans or walnut halves

Gingerbread:

125g Plain flour, sifted
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarb-soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)
1 tsp ground ginger
small pinch ground cloves
125g soft brown sugar
1 egg beaten
½ cup milk
60g melted butter
90g Golden Syrup

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C Fan Forced.  Line a 22cm tin with baking paper.
  2. To make the topping:  Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Be careful that it doesn’t burn.  I have just melted the butter in the base of the pan while the oven is preheating but the sugar didn’t melt and the result was not as good.
  3. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and arrange pears upside down, core side down and place a nut in each core place.  If you have anymore space scatter a few extra nuts around or between the pears
  4. To make the gingerbread:  Sift together all the dry ingredients
  5. Combine the egg, sugar, golden syrup, milk and cooled butter
  6. Stir into the flour mixture
  7. Beat well for 1 minute until smooth and pour over pears.
  8. Bake in pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes
  9. Allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a large plate.

Serve with cream 🙂

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits, Desserts

Favourite orange & poppy seed cake

July 4, 2014 10:04 am / Leave a Comment /

Orange & poppyseed cake

This is my favourite cake for a crowd.  The buttermilk makes it moist and the orange flavouring and poppy seeds make it special.  It would easily serve 20 and if you warm it just a little before serving and accompany it with syrup and cream it is the perfect cake for a posh lunch or afternoon tea 🙂

Ingredients:  Large cake serves 10-20

225g unsalted butter
1½ cups sugar
4 eggs separated at room temp
Grated rind 2 oranges + extra 1 for syrup below
1½ tsp vanilla
2¾ cups Self Raising flour, sifted
1 tsp bicarb-soda
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup poppy seeds

Orange syrup:  Prepare whilst the cake is cooking.

Place 3/4 cup water, juice half a lemon, 1½ cups sugar and grated rind 1 orange & lemon in a small saucepan.  Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes.

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to conventional 180°C, lower shelf position or 160°C Fan forced
  2. Grease a large 26cm fluted ring tin with melted butter and dust with flour.  This produces a nice crust.
  3. Cream butter and sugar and beat well.  Add yolks one at a time.
  4. Mix in rind and vanilla
  5. Fold in sifted flour and bicarb alternatively with buttermilk then poppy seeds
  6. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not over whipped
  7. Fold gently into mixture with a large spoon or whisk and pour into tin.
  8. Bake 55 min until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Cool in tin 5 minutes
  9. Pour over a little of the lukewarm syrup over the hot cake and reserve the remainder for serving on the side.  If I make the cake ahead of time I just brush some syrup over an hour or so before serving and put the strands of the zest over the top.  Sometimes I dust it with icing sugar just before serving.

Delicious warm with extra syrup and whipped cream 🙂

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits, Desserts

Chocolate baklava

June 10, 2014 3:18 pm / 2 Comments /

Chocolate baklava

I took my family to Alpha restaurant in Sydney for a joint birthday celebration in April and this is one of the desserts we chose.  Although I have made baklava on numerous occasions I had never made a chocolate version before.  Everyone loved it so I thought it fitting to make my version for our Greek dinner party.

My version is somewhat different than the typical baklava.  More lemon and less sugar, it doesn’t have that overly sweet hit at the back of the throat that you can get with a lot of middle eastern, syrupy sweets.

My original recipe came from our ancient Greek cookbook from the 80’s that we had in Melbourne.  It really is authentic but I always cut back on the quantities of oil and sugar in the recipes to fit with our tastes.  Eating a plate of something swimming in oil or burning your throat just because it’s ‘authentic’ in my opinion is crazy.  My children and friends just love my baklava and that’s what is important to me.

Served with just plain vanilla ice-cream I think that this chocolate version will also become a favourite!

Ingredients:

375g packet fresh Filo pastry
350g melted, unsalted butter
300g chopped walnuts
250g dark choc chips
1/4 cup sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon

Syrup:

3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
2-3 strips lemon rind plus juice 1 lemon
1 stick cinnamon
2-3 whole cloves plus extra for ‘pinning’ the top layers together.

Method:

  1. Mix all syrup ingredients together in a medium size pot.
  2. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

For the baklava:

  1. Chop walnuts and chocolate chips together briefly in a food processor.  This helps break up the chocolate and bind it with the walnuts.  Don’t over-process, you don’t want the nuts to be dust.
  2. Add the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
  3. Melt butter slowly without boiling.  Cool slightly.
  4. Open filo pastry packet and lay on the end of damp tea towel.  Cover with the other end to stop the pastry drying out while you work.
  5. Line a tin 23cm x 32cm with double layer of baking paper that can extend up the sides for you to use as a handle to remove when cold.
  6. Brush the bottom of the pan with melted butter and start laying your filo on the base.  Depending on the exact size of your tin I brushed half a sheet of filo, folded it over to half and it almost fitted into the base of my tin.  I was about 2cm short on one side but layered them alternatively over this ‘gap’.
  7. Layer about 4 of these doubled, halved sheets on the base and then start layering with spoonfuls of the nut and chocolate mixture.  It shouldn’t be thick, just evenly covered.
  8. Cover each layer with two folded layers of filo and repeat until all the choc/nut mixture is used up.
  9. Now butter and layer the remaining sheets for the top.
  10. Butter the top well and with a sharp knife cut right through the whole thing into diamond shapes.
  11. Pour remaining butter over, stud the centre of each diamond with a whole clove to keep it together and bake in a slow, fan forced oven @ 130°C for 50 minutes then 150°C for 15-20 minutes more until golden brown.
  12. As soon as it comes out of the oven, pour over the syrup that has been strained to remove the whole spices.
  13. Set aside to cool.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream.  Delicious!

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits, Chocolate, Desserts, Party Food, Pastry

Chocolate brownie

April 21, 2014 1:44 pm / Leave a Comment /

Chocolate brownie

Easter is always a great time to cook those favourite, old chocolate recipes.  We have a couple of afternoon parties to attend and it is always better to take something home made.

Moist and yummy this is a great recipe.  You can substitute the walnut pieces for chocolate chips if you want a greater chocolate indulgence!

Ingredients:

1 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar (using castor sugar will give better texture)
3/4 cup cocoa
3 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp vanilla
1 cup choc chips or Californian walnuts chopped (don’t use the bitter ‘baking walnuts’)
Plus chocolate topping ingredients below

Method:

  1. Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar and cocoa
  2. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.
  3. Beat all together well to try to dissolve the sugar.
  4. Sift plain flour and baking powder together and add to mixture
  5. Mix in the vanilla and choc chips or chopped walnuts
  6. Pour into a greased slice tin and bake at 160°C Fan Forced for 30 minutes max.  It will be a little soft and puffed in the centre but that is ok.

Chocolate Topping:

100gm Dark cooking chocolate
1/4 cup sour cream

  1. Melt chocolate in the steam oven in a bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap @100°C for 1 minute.
  2. Add sour cream and stir well until combined
  3. Cool slightly and spread over cooled chocolate brownie.

Chill and slice into squares to serve 🙂

I used ‘normal white sugar’ and there was a little sugar remaining in the texture.  Some people like this in a brownie so try castor sugar and beat it well if you don’t want this.

 

 

 

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits, Chocolate, Easter