Category Archives: Desserts

Pear and blueberry cake

August 4, 2013 6:08 pm / Leave a Comment /

Pear & blueberry cake

This is a really delicious cake recipe which I found last year and used with fresh nectarines.

As it’s Winter now, and not a nectarine in sight I am cooking it today with steamed pears from the steam oven and fresh blueberries.

I always seem to prefer cakes that have either buttermilk, sour cream or yoghurt in them.  It gives them a really moist, dense crumb that I prefer.  I particularly love cooking with buttermilk and have some other lovely cake recipes that I will do here one day.

The addition of the orange and lemon rind in this cake really lifts it with the fruit.  The perfect cake for a Winter afternoon tea.

Ingredients:

2-3 pears, peeled, cored and quartered
handful of fresh blueberries
200g butter
1 cup castor sugar
rind 1 orange and 1 lemon
3 eggs
1 2/3 cups Self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup Buttermilk

Method:

  1. Grease and line a 24cm tin.
  2. Preheat oven to 160° Fan Forced
  3. Make sure your fruit is ripe otherwise use the recipe above.
  4. Cream butter, sugar and rinds until light and fluffy
  5. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
  6. Sift dry ingredients and fold into creamed mixture alternatively with the buttermilk
  7. Pour into prepared tin and place the fruit over the top.
  8. Bake for 70-75 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

The fruit will sink in this recipe so top with some fresh fruit and icing sugar to serve.

Serve with whipped cream.  Yummy!

Nectarine cake:  Same as above except use 4 ripe nectarines which have been quickly plunged into boiling water.  Peel them and cut into wedges and sprinkle with a little sugar while you are making the batter.

Posted in: Baking, Cakes and Biscuits, Desserts

Steamed pears

August 3, 2013 4:17 pm / 2 Comments /

Steamed pears

I have done the Winter fruit salad here with pears in it but this time I just need some pears for a cake.  If your like me and don’t always anticipate when you need to buy your pears so they will be perfectly ripe to bake with then the steam oven is a life saver.  I need these to only be half-cooked to go on the cake before baking.  They cook really well in the steam oven and retain their shape so you don’t end up with a bowl of mush.

This is so quick and healthy with no added sugar.  Also great for baby too if they are cooked until soft and mashed.

There isn’t really a recipe.  Just peel and core the pears and pour over the juice of half to one orange.  You can also add some of the orange rind and a cinnamon stick if you like.

Cook @ 100°C for 10 minutes for very hard green pears.  Less if they are riper.  Test with a metal skewer and cook a bit longer if you think they need it or you are after softer fruit.

Posted in: Breakfast/Brunch, Cooking for baby, Desserts, Dinner parties, Steam Oven

Quinces in the steam oven

August 1, 2013 2:43 pm / 12 Comments /

Quinces in the steam oven

I have been cooking quinces for about 30 years, long before they became ‘fashionable’.  Before I cooked them that very first time I had been asked a question and it has stuck in my mind for all these years.  It is amazing what we retain isn’t it?  We were having a few days skiing in Hotham in Victoria and I got chatting to this lady about food and cooking when she asked me “So what colour are your quinces when you cook them?”  I actually hadn’t cooked them at that stage so that is when I learnt the secret.  “Not like apples, she said.  Long and slow”.

I have another recipe here when I cooked them covered with foil, with verjuice for 5 hours.  This is quite a different recipe.  Quinces need a long slow cooking time to change them from hard yellow fruit to a rosy pink colour.  They can still be cooked and are edible if you stew them like apples but you wont get that colour change.

The colour wont be as dark as the previous recipe but they are still delicious.

Ingredients:

4 medium quince (early Winter is the best time of year for availability)
1 Lemon, juiced
3 tbsp. Sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 strips of lemon rind

Method:

  1. Fill a large bowl with cold water and add the juice of the lemon.
  2. Cut quinces into quarters and if large, cut again into eighths.  Remove all the pips and cores as these are tough and unpleasant to eat.  Be careful, they are very hard to cut and core.  There is no need to peel them if the skin is good.  Just scrub them and place them into the water as you work, the lemon will stop them turning brown.
  3. Drain completely.
  4. Cut again now into thick slices.  If you don’t want them to break up, leave in larger pieces.
  5. Lay into the solid stainless steel baking tray, sprinkle with sugar add lemon peel and broken cinnamon stick.  Toss to mix with your hands.  There is no need to add any liquid as you will get enough from the steamer as it’s cooking.
  6. Steam uncovered at 100°C for 2 hours.  If you have a steamer with a water bottle you will need to re-fill it after 90 minutes.

They will be very soft and a pleasant ‘orange’ colour and lovely juice from the steam oven.  You would definitely not have been able to achieve this result and flavour by cooking on the stove top.

Delicious served warm or at room temperature with ice cream, custard or for breakfast.  You can also use them in this delicious Steamed Pudding recipe.

 

Posted in: Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Steam Oven

French Almond & Raspberry Tart

July 14, 2013 5:19 pm / Leave a Comment /

Dessert for Bastille Day!

French almond & raspberry tart

Easy if you make the French Sweet Pastry beforehand.  Honestly, you can let this pastry rest for a couple of days.  It is very forgiving, it even freezes well but remember to take it out of the freezer the day before to defrost in the fridge and then bring it out to warm a little about half an hour before rolling.  It is deliciously short and perfect for this tart.  I made a 26cm tart so the quantity of pastry was perfect for this size.

The quantity of the filling is enough for a 30cm tin.  If your tin is smaller, don’t try to use it all or you will have a disaster.  The remainder will keep in the fridge in a covered container for about 3 days so you can make some little mini tarts another time with the rest.

Roll out the pastry and line a 26cm tart tin with a removable base.  Chill while you are making the filling.  This tart does not require the base to be blind baked provided you follow the oven instructions.

Preheat oven on Conventional, Fan Assisted or Super Fan Forced @ 160°C  (you need the bottom element on for the pastry to cook on the base)  Don’t use Fan Forced alone as that has the heat only coming from the rear of the oven.

Place an oven tray on the closest rack to the floor of the oven.   Never place directly on the floor.

Filling:

250g unsalted butter, softened
250g ground almonds
250g icing sugar, sifted
1/4 cup cornflour
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
3 large eggs (70g)
1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier or Rum
1 punnet of fresh raspberries.  You can also use other fruit such as blueberries, ripe pears, pitted cherries or fresh dates.

Method:

  1. Beat softened butter, rind and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy.
  2. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
  3. Now add the ground almonds, cornflour and liquor.
  4. Mix well and spoon into uncooked, prepared tart base.
  5. Level out with a spatula and place the raspberries in an attractive pattern over the top.  Press them into the mixture just a little.
  6. Bake for 40 minutes.  Let it cool in the tin completely before removing and placing on a large plate.
  7. Dust with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream.

The filling was really moist, not dry like some almond tarts can be.  Everyone said it was pretty amazing 🙂

Posted in: Baking, Desserts

Stewed Rhubarb

July 8, 2013 7:11 pm / Leave a Comment /

The problem with rhubarb is when you cook it on the stove you turn your back and a minute later you have a boiling pot of sloppy rhubarb…. Ok if you want a puree not so if you want it to actually resemble chopped rhubarb!

Stewed rhubarb

A Steam Oven is great for this as it cooks gently and retains it’s shape, 2 minutes @ 100°.  Some of the smaller pieces will break up so select a bunch with fat stems if you want it all to stay in pieces.  Heaps of variations on this basic recipe.  You could add apples, blueberries or a little glacé ginger would be fantastic.  Adjust your cooking time with the addition of other fruit.  See my Stewed Apples for timing.

Ingredients:

1 bunch Rhubarb, trimmed and chopped into 2cm size pieces
2 tablespoons of honey or to your taste
1 Cinnamon stick, broken in half + 1/2 teaspoon of ground Cinnamon
Splash of Verjuice
A couple of peels from the rind of a lemon or orange

Method:

  1. Wash Rhubarb well and slice.  Place into solid Steamer tray, drizzle with honey, add other ingredients.
  2. Cook as above, 2 minutes @ 100°C

If you don’t have a Steam Oven then add 1/2 cup water and bring to the boil in a saucepan stirring carefully, simmer for 2-3 min only as rhubarb will soften very quickly.

Delicious for breakfast or dessert with Vanilla Yoghurt 🙂

 

Posted in: Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Steam Oven

Steamed Winter Fruit Salad

June 29, 2013 10:30 am / Leave a Comment /

Something I love about Winter is cooking with dried fruit.  Whether it be with Pork, warm Winter puddings like Sticky Date, or baked apples stuffed with all sorts of things. The other thing I love is combining dried fruit with fresh fruit and spices and making something comforting like this dish.  So easy cooked in the Steam Oven which will retain the nutrients, and with no added sugar this recipe is bound to be a favourite!

Steamed winter fruit saladIngredients:

3 Pears, peeled and quartered
A few peelings of orange rind
3 Star Anise
2 Cinnamon sticks, broken
8 Dried Figs, soften with boiling water poured over for 1/2 hour before cooking OR extra 5 minutes first in the Steam Oven
Handful of Prunes
Juice 2 Oranges

Method:

  1. Place everything in a solid steamer tray.  Make sure that the star anise and cinnamon are covered with liquid.  Cook at 100°C for 10 minutes or until soft.
  2. Pour into a large bowl to serve.

Great for breakfast or dessert. Delicious served with perhaps a Sheep’s Milk or Vanilla Yoghurt.

A split Vanilla Bean would also be an lovely addition as would also be some fresh dates!

Recipe adapted from Miele.

 

Posted in: Desserts, Steam Oven

Sago Pudding with Gula Melacca & Coconut Milk

June 27, 2013 4:27 pm / Leave a Comment /

I saw Poh Ling Yeow do this recipe on Everyday Gourmet and I was amazed how the Sago looked so different than it did when my mother made a terrible version of ‘Lemon Sago’ as kids that was gooey and tasteless.

I also wanted to try to cook sago in the Steam Oven as I can’t find anyone who has done it.  Please contact me if you have!

Poh said to use plastic moulds, I guess that makes it easier to remove.  The only ones I had were some little Tupperware ones left over from when my kids were little that I use to set jelly in.  I think they are so cute as the recessed top became a little well for the Gula Melacca 🙂

Sago pudding

This is the recipe link http://www.everydaygourmet.tv/recipes/496-sago-pudding

So instead of boiling 8 cups of water I initially tried Sago with 2 cups water, cooked in the Steam Oven for 20 minutes with fresh Pandan leaves tied in a knot for extra flavour.  Disaster, gluey just like mum’s!  It still tasted ok, the Gula Melacca and Coconut milk mixtures are delicious.

Next attempt, 4 cups of water, cooked in the Steam Oven for 10 minutes.  Be quick, don’t let it sit in the water at all.  Result was better – it’s the overcooking that makes it sludge.  You still need to run lots of cold water through it at the end but it’s now plump, sago pearls like Poh had and not a claggy mess.  Still more like a jelly I thought but I love any Asian desserts so it was worth a try.

I am glad I tried Sago in the Steam Oven, it certainly beats having a dirty, sticky pot to wash as the solid steamer tray is easier to clean up.  The more recipes I develop for the Steam Oven the more I understand it and that’s what I want everyone to do….. 🙂

Posted in: Desserts, Steam Oven, Thai

Buttermilk panna cotta & quinces

June 26, 2013 6:50 pm / 4 Comments /

Buttermilk panna cotta with quinces

Buttermilk Panna cotta – Lighter and not as sweet as your traditional Panna cotta.

Ingredients:

50g Castor Sugar
200ml cream
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out
3 leaves Gelatine
500ml Buttermilk

Method:

  1. Heat sugar with half the cream  and the vanilla bean and stir well.  Bring almost to the boil and remove from heat.  Cut Vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.  Put the seeds back into the hot cream and cover the saucepan with a lid to infuse for at least 10 minutes.
  2. While you are waiting for that fill a large bowl full of cold water and soak the gelatine leaves.  They will go soft and invisible and only need to be squeezed out in your hand after about 5 minutes.  Add them to the warm cream/vanilla mixture, remove the vanilla pod and stir well to dissolve into the mixture.
  3. Add the rest of the cream then the buttermilk and pour into 8 x 1/2 cup moulds that have been lightly brushed with a vegetable oil or lightly sprayed with a cooking spray.

image

Set aside in the refrigerator to set.  These can be made the day before.

To serve fill a small bowl with hot tap water and emerge them into the warm water carefully not allowing any to get over the top.  Shake them well and they should easily turn out onto your serving plate.

 

Slow baked Quinces with Verjuice

Ingredients:

3 Large Quince (early Winter is the best time of year for availability)
1/2 cup Verjuice
1/2 cup water
1 Lemon, juiced
3 tbsp. Sugar
1 tbsp. butter

Method:

1.   Fill a large bowl with cold water and add the juice of the lemon.

2.   Cut quinces into quarters and if large, cut again into eighths.  Remove all the pips and cores as these are tough and unpleasant to eat.  Be careful, they are very hard to cut and core.  There is no need to peel them.  Place them into the water as you work, the lemon will stop them turning brown.

3.   Drain completely.

4.   Lay into a flat dish in one layer, sprinkle with sugar, water and verjuice.  Toss to mix with your hands.

image

5.   Add small knobs of butter.

6.   Cover tightly with foil and bake at 130°C for 5 hours.

They now should be a dark rosy colour and the sugar slightly caramelised.  Test about half way through, sometimes when I decide to add some lemon juice they actually need a bit more sugar.  You can also add a cinnamon stick, some lemon peel and more water if you would like more syrup 🙂

Delicious served warm or at room temperature with Ice Cream or Custard.  They went very well with the Panna cotta which are not super rich or sweet.

A great thing to have baking in the oven whilst you are slow cooking some meat!

Gluten free Almond Tuiles

Ingredients:

1¼ cups Almond Meal
small pinch salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
113g Unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup castor sugar – this is a reduced amount of sugar to the original recipe but they were still pretty sweet
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Method:

  1. Beat softened butter with castor sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
  2. Add egg beating well.
  3. Preheat oven to 130°C Fan Forced
  4. Mix in almond meal, baking powder and salt to form a soft but sticky mixture.
  5. Form into balls the size of a walnut.
  6. Cover baking tray with baking paper.  Put mixture onto paper and with the back of a warm teaspoon squash them into cookie size circles leaving lots of space for spreading. I did about 6 at a time.
  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  They must be golden all over otherwise the centre won’t be cooked and will stick.  Keep and eye on them in the oven from time to time so they don’t over cook.  It is tricky, you have to get them at just the right time.
  8. Remove from oven and let them sit for a while on the tray until you can feel they firm up and can be lifted.  They should still be pliable enough to mould onto a rolling pin or bottle as you can see in the pic here.

image

Let them cool completely and store carefully in an air tight container.

Posted in: Desserts

Quince & Golden Syrup Steamed Pudding

June 22, 2013 8:54 pm / Leave a Comment /

Years ago another family favourite was this old recipe for Golden Syrup Steamed Pudding.  The addition of orange rind and juice makes it special but now with quince it’s even better!

I used some quince left over from my previous recipe “Baked Quinces in Verjuice“.  You do need some already cooked for this recipe, if you haven’t got any then cook some in the Steam Oven earlier or the day before.  Remember quinces cooked for a shorter time don’t have quite the depth of colour as the long slow cooked version but because they are cooked again in the pudding the result will still be fabulous.

This is the first time I have done one giant pudding, usually I do small individual ones.  The timing on individual ones would be about 20-30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes as it depends on the size of the dishes.

Quince & golden syrup steamed pudding

1 pudding basin, about 6 cup size

Ingredients:

½ cup Golden Syrup
About ½ cooked quince, cut into thin slices
125g butter, softened
1/2 cup castor sugar
grated rind 1 orange
2 eggs
1½ cups Self Raising Flour
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup milk
½ cup extra finely diced cooked quince

Method:

  1. Grease pudding basin well.  Add Golden Syrup.  Slice quince thinly and fan around the base on top of the Golden Syrup.  Overlap the slices slightly so you will get a lovely pattern on the top when it’s turned out.
  2. Cream butter, sugar and orange rind.  Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
  3. Mix in sifted flour then orange juice and milk.
  4. Fold through diced, cooked quince and pour into prepared pudding basin.
  5. Cover with two layers of baking paper (or a lid if you have one) and secure well.

SAM_0020

6.     Steam on level 1 on the ordinary rack at 100°C for 90 minutes.
7.     Let it rest for at least 5 minutes.
8.     Turn out onto a large plate and serve with lots of cream or ice cream…. Yum 🙂

Now you have a Steam Oven you can cook this easily without the pot on the stove and messing around with all the boiling water, keeping an eye on it, topping it up and washing up afterwards!  Remember you have 90 minutes in the water chamber before it will ask you for more water so you can easily get on and do something else whilst it’s cooking.

*    If you don’t have a steam oven then bring a large pot of water to the boil with enough water so it comes half-way up the side of the pudding basin.

Lower the pudding in and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 1½ hours making sure the water is topped up to it’s original level.

 

 

Posted in: Desserts, Steam Oven

Old fashioned Apple Sponge Pudding

June 11, 2013 1:54 am / Leave a Comment /

One of my family favourite recipes.  I originally wrote this recipe in a book when I was just 12 years old.  It was even originally in Imperial measurements!

You can pre prepare this recipe up to the stage when you add the egg and milk so it takes just 2 minutes then to mix it together and pop into the oven.  SO easy the kids can do this one and it will become a family favourite just like it has in my family 🙂

Serves 4-6
Apple sponge pudding

Ingredients:

2 cups stewed fruit.  I used the Stewed Apples from the Steam oven recipe
1 cup Self-Raising Flour, sifted
1/4 cup soft butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

  1. Grease a pie dish or baking dish, medium size about 4-6 cup capacity.  Pre heat oven to 160 o Fan Forced or 180 o Conventional
  2. Place fruit in dish.
  3. Sift flour, rub in butter with fingertips until flour resembles bread crumbs.
  4. Add sugar
  5. Mix egg and milk with a fork, add vanilla
  6. Stir into flour mixture, mix well and pour over fruit.
  7. Bake 30-40 minutes until browned.

Serve with cream or ice-cream. Yum 🙂
image

Posted in: Desserts