Cake It Away!

Honey Cardamon Dark Chocolate MUD Cake.

With a Sour Cream Ganache... 

Sugar and Spice and all things nice. 

A richly decedent cake with a sweetly spiced spin of cardamon pods and natures most natural sweetener, honey. 

This is a mud cake for the chocolate lovers, the cake itself is even doused in cocoa powder for a perfect finish. This is a technique i've learnt over the years. It can give your chocolate desert that extra glamour and professionalism, and takes away that awful floury look some cakes have. 

This cake gets better with age... like most things. 

Recipe:

Ingredients.

Ingredients: 

200g Dark Couverture Chocolate 

320 mL of warm water

250g butter (Extra for tin 20g)

1 Vanilla Bean

2 Tbs Honey

1.5 tsp of cardamon. 

2 eggs

180g sugar

200g Self Raising Flour 

40g Cocoa powder (Extra for tin 20g)

Prepared tin 

Ganache ingredients:

100g dark Chocolate 

100g sour cream

1tsp honey

1/2 tsp of ground cardamon.

1/4 tsp of salt. 

Method. 

1. Turn your oven to 150 degrees and get a large cake tin. 

2. Line the tin with melted butter then place in the fridge to set. 

3. Brush it again with another layer of butter then toss it with cocoa powder to cover the inside of the tin. (See photo) Leave in the fridge.

Chocolate mixture for batter.

4. For the cake batter, put the water, chocolate, butter, vanilla pod, honey, and cardamon (ground or whole pods) into a saucepan and cook over low heat until all is melted and well combined. Then leave to cool for 15 minutes.

5. Put the cooled mix into a mixing bowl and add the sugar. Beat until dissolved then add the eggs one by one. 

Cake batter in tin.

6. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring the mix together then pour into your prepared tin. 

7. Put in the oven and cook for 1-1.5 hours, or until a skewer comes out cleanly. 

8. Cool the cake on a wire rack. 

Cake cools on wire rack.

9. While it cools prepare your Ganache by putting all the ingredients in a saucepan. Cook on low flame for 4 mins, or until combined an creamy. 

10. Put the cooled cake on a serving plate and cover in your ganache, then leave to set. 

Afternoon tea is served....  

That is if you can't wait for dessert.

How Many Do You Do???

Weet-Bix, Banana and Raspberry Loaf!! 

I went on a whim and decided to add some Weet-Bix to my banana bread, for that extra kick of whole grain goodness. And it worked well! Also with the addition of some oats this loaf is densely rich in whole grains that release slowly for longer lasting energy. A great morning snack for kids, or even a breakfast option if you're on the run. And the batter isn't too bad to eat either! 

Recipe: 

125g unsalted butter softened (cut into small cubes)
115g brown sugar
2Tbs honey
2 eggs 
200g bananas (roughly 2)
100g rasberries (frozen is fine)
250g self raising flour 
50g rolled oats
2 WEET-BIX (roughly chopped)
1tsp Baking Powder 
2 tsp Nutmeg
100 ml milk. 





Method. 

1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees, and line a loaf-tin with paper or melted butter and flour.  
2.Cream the butter with the sugar and honey until the sugar has dissolved. The mixture will be white in appearance. 
3. Add the eggs one by one and combine with the mixture. 
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and fold them through, then finish with a good fast stir and the batter is ready. 
5. Pour the mix into the loaf-tin and 'Wack-it' Flat on the base three times to get rid of unnecessary bubbles. 
6. Cook in the oven for 40-50 minutes, using a skewer to see if it is cooked all the way through. 
7. Serve warm with or without butter. 

Aussie Kids are Weet-Bix Kids. so why not take it to the next level! 

http://foodsnobco.blogspot.com.au/

Thank you to

Weet-Bix

For the use of their delicious ingredients. 

The Samwich...

The Croque Monsieur 

AKA: 

SAMwich! 

Otherwise known as..

Manwich.

The Croque Monsieur is a devilish decedent toasted sandwich that oozes with cheesey goodness. There is nothing quite like it. The toasted rich bread that's filled with a delicious bechemel sauce spiced with nutmeg is the secret to this golden treat.

 In fact it's so good it might have you yelling out... Supercalafragalisticexpialadoshus! 

The Samwich is:

Simple&Delicious

Here's a quick video to run you through it.

And a recipe for that extra push!

Recipe: 

Ingredients:

Bread

Ham

Cheese

Butter

50g plain flour

50g butter

250ml milk. 

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt. 

Salad to serve. 

Method:

1. Melt your butter, and add the flour to cook. 

2. After 1-2 mins slowly add the milk 100mL at a time and whisk out the lumps.

3. Leave to cook to a good thick consistency and set aside

4. Assemble the sandwich by buttering both sides of the bread then filling the inside with the béchamel, cheese and ham.

5. Grill it in a pan on both sides till golden brown 

6. Put it in a 180 degree oven for 10mins

7. Serve HOT with a salad. 

Lick your lips, this is a SAMwich at its Finest! 

The best thing since sliced bread.....

Caramelised Garlic Bread.

The smell that captures a nose to attention is a fresh dough of bread cooking in the oven. No smell is better, or fresher, or warmer than the intense rich beauty of a freshly baked loaf of bread. 

But when we take even this smell to the next level with caramelised garlic wedged between the fluffy pillows of soft white bread,  there is no stopping the small droplets of saliva that will fall from the side of ones mouth. 

Everyone deserves to make bread at least once in their lifetime, and this recipe is an easy good start!

Recipe:

500g Bread Flour

8g Yeast

1 table spoon of olive oil

10 g salt

350ml water. 

6 garlic cloves

1 Tbl brown sugar

thyme & sage

25g butter

75 ml white wine. 

Garlic method:

1. Saute of the garlic in a small saucepan with olive oil for 2 minutes. 

2. Add the sugar, herbs and wine and let it come to the boil.

3. Mount with the butter and leave covered to braise for 3-4 minutes. 

4. Puree in a blender and set aside.

Method: 

Step 1. 

1. Combine all dry ingredients together. then slowly incorporate the water and oil with a wooden spoon. 

2. Knead the dough in a machine, or by hand for 8-10 minutes so that it becomes a ball and is elastic to touch. 

Step 2. 

3. Leave covered with plastic wrap in a warm place, until it's doubled in size- approx 20-1hour. (I left mine on top of the hot water system covered in a tea towel.) 

4. Knock the dough back and knead it out flat like a pizza.

5. Spread the garlic mixture evenly over the dough, then bring together to form a ball.

Step 6.

6. Oil a tray with olive oil and flour and place the ball of dough in the centre. 

Step 8.
7. Dust the ball with Flour then make a cross with a knife through the centre. 

8. Leave to prove uncovered in a warm place until again double in size.- pull the corners together to make a four leaf clover shape. 

9. Cook at 220 degrees for 10-15 minutes and serve warm.

Slice it big or Slice it small it will not disappoint, and with a four leaf clover on top will give luck as well! 

How to Poach an Egg!

Why's it got to be so hard? 

When it's so EASY! 

Poaching an egg is not something only Heston Blumenthal can master, its easy peasy and a fantastic way to eat your eggs for breakfast. That delicious gooey centre that streams out gold yolk is what we all strive for and it can be done! Just a little preparation and you can have this such egg on your plate! My biggest tip would be try not to fiddle too much, let the eggs chill for a bit and the vinegar and water can do all the work. Your eggs should turn out cafe quality if you follow the rules!

But here's a demo, just to help you out that little bit extra. 

Poached Eggs with tomato and Toast.


Ingredients: 
2 eggs
2 tbs White wine Vinegar
1.75 L water
Toast
Cherry tomatoes sliced in half.
Garlic clove, chopped up finely.
Parsley chopped up finely.


Method: 

1. Bring the water up to the boil and turn on your pan for the tomatoes.
2. Once the water has boiled add the vinegar and drop the heat down.
3. Meanwhile toss your tomatoes in olive oil and cook slowly in the pan.
4. When you have small bubbles in the water stir the pot to make the water rush on its own.
5. Crack the 2 eggs in the centre of the pot and let them sit.
6. After a minute, push our spoon through the water, avoiding the eggs to prevent them from breaking, and get the water moving around the egg.
7. Once the white is cooked and hard, and the yolk is still soft to touch (about 2-3 mins) Remove the eggs and place on paper towel
8. Serve on toast with rocket and cooked tomatoes.

Take a dive into the golden yolk!