Malaysian Vegetarian Curry in the USA for MZ

28 Jun

One of the things M really wanted when I was cooking for her was a vegetarian curry. This is what I came up with, given the ingredients I could source in her part of the world!

Curry and rice must be one of the most ultimate comfort foods for us. Theres something about the warmth and heat – the pedas and the panas – that sends a glow to the soul. Its relatively easy to make as long as you take a couple of things into consideration: make sure you think about the vegetables you are adding, and ensure they all get proper and respectful cooking time; fry the spices – you want them to release their volatile oils and infuse their scent into the whole house; make sure there is some protein in the curry as vegetarian food like this needs to be balanced; think about colour, size and texture when you choose your vegetables; and finally, know your heat (spice) limit, and stick to it!

For a curry feeding 4 – 6 people, you will need:

  • 2 – 3 tbsp peanut oil (or a mix of canola and roasted sesame oil if you cant find peanut, coconut oil is also nice)
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • Thumb sized portion of ginger, minced or grated
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 red chili (or more, according to your taste) minced fine (with or without seeds, according to your heat desire)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp  good quality red curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp each: cumin + coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1 star anise
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 – 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
  • 2 – 3 leaves limau perut or curry leaves
  • 1 potato, peeled and cubed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 yellow squash, washed and cubed
  • 2 – 3 small carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium head broccoli, separated into small spears
  • 1 can light coconut milk
  • Handful of frozen peas
  • 1 packet baked tofu (or chickpeas if you cant find baked tofu)

Heat in a large pan or saucepan, over medium heat, heat oil until almost smoking. Add onion, garlic, and ginger, and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Let onion soften, this should only take a few seconds. Add red chili, stir again, and check if oil has all been absorbed. If it has, move all ingredients to the sides of the pan, so you make a well in the centre, and add a little bit more oil. Add the curry powder and spice powders and fry until they separate from the oil and the scents have been released. You will know when this happens!

As soon as the spice powders have fried, stir all together, add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, lemongrass and limau perut and stir. Add the potatoes, and stir to coat. Let the potatoes fry for a minute, and brown a little bit. Once the potatoes have browned, add a little water, and add the squash, carrots, and broccoli in stages, stirring to combine well. Add the coconut milk, and allow all the vegetables to cook to lightly cook (you dont want them boiled, but more like lightly poached).

Taste for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper if needed. I have also added some brown sugar (tiny pinch) to add a deeper resonance if necessary.

Add frozen peas and baked tofu and allow to heat through. Taste again.

I always think curry is best reheated gently the next day, once all the flavours have had a chance to get acquainted. And always try and serve it warm, not piping hot – you destroy any flavour if you serve it boiling hot.

Serve with brown rice and enjoy memories of home and family and heat and humidity.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Review – Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio

28 Jun

My friend, goddessmoments, had posted a photo on her FB page which showed what looked like an amazing restaurant that has just opened in Solaris Dutamas, Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio. We decided that we wanted to try it out and made plans to go today. They are open from 9 – 6pm, breakfast being baked goods and from 3pm onwards, tea and cakes. There was not a huge lunchtime crowd there (yet) but once people get to know the quality and level of cooking thats available, you will probably have to end up making reservations! Its a small place – about 6 – 8 tables, with seating outside that is not prime at the moment because of the construction going on next door. There is also a huge open plan kitchen where Nathalie runs cooking classes (AngelKitten and I are going for a macaron class soon!) as well as an organised professional kitchen which you can see from the seating area.

When we arrived at 2pm, we were greeted and seated quickly. The menu is simple – 5 or so of each starters, main courses and desserts, as well as a small children’s menu. I love reading menus, and this one did not disappoint. You can see the mind of the chef working in the menu, and it was intriguing. The place settings are beautiful and simple, yet elegant and functional. It made us feel welcome, and everything we needed was accessible immediately.

Nana and AngelKitten ordered juice, which came in beautiful little individual carafes. AngelKitten had orange (which I think may have been blood orange) and it was superb – the essence of orange, tart, sweet, sour, perfection. Nana had pineapple, which was sweet and gorgeous. I love the care and thought that has gone into the presentation here. It makes you feel special.

They served us gorgeous, crusty baked rolls, with sweet butter sprinkled with sea salt. I think you can tell the quality of a chef’s kitchen by their attention to details like the bread – and this one was perfect.

I had a starter for my mains – the eggplant three ways. It was wonderful! First there was a little toast with savoury eggplant and raw tuna. Just an astonishingly lovely combination of flavour. Then there was an eggplant ice cream – savoury, cold, a hint of sweetness, silky on the tongue and wonderfully challenging for those of us who think of icecream as dessert. For me as a cook, it was a great exploration of seeing eggplant in a different way. And finally, there was a beautiful eggplant jelly, with an eggplant and cream espuma or foam. It was my favourite. The creamy dusky flavour was essence of eggplant, and made me think of making an eggplant soup that would have those flavours in it. Not only was this a mouthwatering dish, but it was visually stunning.

Nana’s main course was the duck confit. He said it was delicious. Beautifully cooked duck, orange, and caramelised onions. He loved the balance of flavours, and the satisfaction of a hearty meal that was presented absolutely beautifully.

AngelKitten was looking for a simple main course so she could concentrate on dessert. She ordered from the children’s menu (since she is 12 plus 8!) and had the bolognaise tagliatelle. It was a very large portion for a child’s size! But she said it was really good – tomato-y but not too much so, meaty and flavourful without being too complex. Exactly what a child’s palate wants. She really wanted to try the chicken nuggets reimagined, but they did not have them, so we will have to go back again!

And finally there was another starter, salmon blini with lemon grass cream and a salad. Beautiful, simple, light – the lemongrass cream was sparkling – such a taste sensation with the silky unctuous salmon! Stunning presentation too.

And then… came dessert! AngelKitten and I had done what we always do – check out the dessert menu first, and then thought about the main course! She had an utterly superb orange creme brulee with caramel sauce, and a blood orange sorbet. Such lovely contrasts – the icey cool sharpness of the sorbet – light and airy – sweet yet tangy – and the creamy sweet meltingness of the creme brulee. The whole plate was so well thought out. Everything complemented and contrasted in interesting ways. A delightful crunchy tuile sat atop the sorbet, sharp and crackly and sweet, light and icy and tangy. The creme brulee sat on a vanilla cookie crust – the texture of the crust the perfect balance to the richness and wobbly delights of the creme. So very very very good, and so satisfying.

I had the trio of desserts – a consideration of how different chocolate can be! First there was a rhubarb and tarragon crumble with a white chocolate espuma. The rhubarb crumble was tart and soursweet, the crumble with hints of cinnamon. The chocolate here only highlighted the different taste sensations of the fruit, and was definitely a supporting character. Then there was a  macaron – I chose the caramel, though I should have probably chosen the chocolate for unity of plate! I didnt regret it though – the caramel macaron was astonishing – a delight, a whisper of macaron, and a bold flavourful bittersweetsalty caramel licked in the centre. I could bathe in that caramel and be happy. And finally, a tiny, delicate chocolate tart, with a fragile vanilla crust. But it had a huge chocolate flavour – intense dark smoky notes. Wonderful.

All in all a brilliant meal. As a cook, it inspired me to think of different balances and ways to present food. As an eater, it appealed to the sensualist in me.

Was there anywhere we could find fault in this lovely new restaurant? Well, yes actually. The only uncomfortable note of the entire meal was the seating – outside seats were very low, and we could not sit there because of the noise and pollution from the construction. Inside was beautiful, but they had inexplicably chosen high, sharp bar seats and high tables. Very uncomfortable and difficult to get in and out of. The seats were the only thing in the restaurant that did not encourage you to stay a while and enjoy. Honestly, after an hour or so of sitting, they were painful.

Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio changes its menu every month, so we will definitely be back next month to try more mouthwatering delicacies. It is exciting and very happy making to see such a high level gourmet space opening up in KL. Its wonderful to be able to explore the food mind of a serious chef through her menu. Thank you Nathalie for creating such a sumptuous gourmet experience!

PS – Try the macarons! We brought back a large box – couldnt resist!

Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio – Unit 4-1-5 – Solaris Dutamas – Jalan Dutamas – 50480 Kuala Lumpur – Tel : 03.62 07.95 72

Homepage

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Mushroom and Chili Pasta

27 Jun

Angel Kitten asked if we could have some chili in the food (I think I might make a veg curry soon…) It made me think about why I havent made a lot of spicy chili dishes. I think its because when I was quite small, I was in the kitchen with my Kak Gee. She was preparing a meal for an embassy function, and she had some sesame seeds next to the chopping board where she was preparing the chili. I was sneaking finger-fulls of the sesame seeds, and of course accidentally consumed some chili seeds as well. Oh my good goddess, they were so bloody hot! I cried my 5 year old eyes out! I think I have been nervous about cooking with chili ever since! But I decided today I was going to face my fears (unlike the England team), so AngelKitten and I had a chat and dreamed up a pasta we wanted.

We thought up a mushroom, chili and blue cheese pasta, because we were so enamoured with the blue cheese bread pudding from the other night. However, once we started cooking, the blue cheese just didnt go with the chili and mushrooms, so we left it out. This is an example of cooking on the fly 😉 If we had stuck with our initial daydream pasta, it would have tasted totally crap (kind of like England’s play) so we adjusted, and it was yummilicious.

This follows a basic pasta outline that I have used before. Infused oils, seared mushrooms, sauce, and quick mixing with angel hair. Mainly its what you do with your similar ingredients which changes the taste, flavour and texture.

For 6 people you will need:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil + 2 tbsp for cooking
  • 4 red chilis (NOT chili api)
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 10 – 12 portobello mushrooms
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Butter
  • Red wine
  • 1 packet or less angel hair pasta

Put olive oil in a clean small bowl. Clean your chilis, and cut off tops, and (depending on the heat you prefer) clean inside – split chili in half and clean out chili seeds and stringy bits with the tip of a butter knife. Be careful here because the chili seeds are the most hot part of the chili and you could do harm to yourself if you rub your eyes or mouth while doing this job. The more chili seeds you leave, the hotter the finished dish will be. Dice the chili finely and put into the olive oil to infuse.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add minced garlic. Let it soften. Clean and chop the mushrooms roughly. Add about half to the hot oil (the garlic should be sizzling) and sear it – mixing it well in the oil and making sure that it burns a bit. Add the sugar to encourage caramelisation. As the mushrooms burn slightly, add the rest. This will encourage the mushrooms to let go of their juices. Add a few splashes of red wine and a couple small slices of butter to the top of this mushroom mixture, and a wonderful rich sauce will start pooling at the bottom of the pan. Add all the chili and olive oil and mix through for richness and heat. Season with salt and pepper and taste to adjust seasoning.

If you want it creamy, feel free to add milk or cream, but it really doesnt need it.

Prepare 3/4 packet or so of angel hair pasta. Drain. Add pasta to pan with tongs and mix well. Enjoy your comfort food even if your team does crap 😛

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Roasted Sweet Potato

27 Jun

You dont really need a recipe on how to roast a sweet potato do you? For each person, get one sweet potato. Rinse the potatoes, making sure to scrub off all the dirt. Poke holes in the potatoes with the tines of a fork, and rub well with sea salt and olive oil. Place on a roasting tin, or cookie tray, and put in a hot oven (about 180 C) for about 35 – 45 minutes, or until a knife enters the potato like butter. For sweet potatoes (and if you can, source out the brightly orange fleshed Japanese organic sweet potato – we couldnt find it at the shops yesterday, but its a firm favourite) the trick is to serve with cold sweet butter, and soy sauce, and encourage everyone to mash away! The juxtaposition of salty soy, creamy butter, and fleshy sweet potato is indescribably wonderful. A party in your mouth!

Tags: , , , , , , ,

World Cup Salad + Sesame Soy Honey Ginger Dressing

27 Jun

So we are having a feast while watching the England – Chermany game.

We knew there was going to be a lot of emotion, and tension, so decided to make lots of delicious comfort food. Salad, with the bessssst salad dressing ever, roasted sweet potato and butter and soy, and angel hair pasta with mushrooms and chili. Lots of posts tonight!

The salad is composed of:

  • 300 grams yellow and red cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 large packet rocket
  • 1 small head lettuce
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 ear of corn
  • Macadamia nuts
  • 4 – 5 small onions in vinegar (or 1/2 small white onion)
  • Edible flowers

Rinse tomatoes and cut in half. Tear salad into bite sized pieces and rinse well. Peel and chop avocado. Slice corn off the cob (tis wonderful raw). Toss in a handful of macadamia nuts.  Slice vinegared onions in half, or finely dice half a small onion. Ensure edible flowers are clean, and add. Toss together, making sure that some of the flowers are face up on top.

Make your salad dressing. This is the best dressing there is, and easy to make, but quantities depend on you. I will give you a rough estimate:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 -4 tbsp suchi seasoning or sushi wine vinegar
  • 3- 5 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 -3 tbsp Japanese mayonaise
  • 3 cloves of garlic, grated
  • Thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp mustard
  • 4 – 6 tbsp soy sauce

Mix together well, and taste and adjust to your liking.

I adore this sauce. I use it as a dipping sauce for vegetarian chicken pieces or sausages. Its great on any salad – from mushroom salad to potato to a wonderful mixed salad as above. You could even use it in a sandwich if you like. You could add some peanut butter for extra protein if you need it. Or some seaweed seasoning. Or toasted sesame seeds. Use your own sense of taste, and what you like, and adapt it for your own pleasure.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Green Pasta for MZ+BSA

27 Jun

While visiting M a few months ago, I was able to cook in her wonderful kitchen (using knives that a friend of BSA had hand made!) and enjoy all the bounty and amazing-ness that was Whole Foods! I could so live in that place!

One of my favourite concoctions was this green pasta. BSA seemed to like it enough that he went for thirds (or was that fourths?). Either way, it is made with the freshest and greenest veg you can find. Feel free to adjust, though these go well together. The mushroom adds a warm muskiness that holds everything else together.  This dish bursts with energy and vibrancy, and its so delicious. Simple, and not creamy either, which is satisfying without being overwhelming.

You could serve this with all sorts: couscous, rice, even a toasted brioche, but angel hair pasta, to me, has the delicacy that this dish needs.

Feeds 4 hungry people

  • Approximately 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 5-7 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 250 g mushrooms
  • 2 cups baby spinach, thinly sliced into ribbons
  • 2 cups artichoke hearts
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup white wine (or alternatively, veg stock and lemon juice, if you dont want alcohol)
  • 1 cup broccolini (or other type broccoli) roughly chopped
  • Few leaves fresh basil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup or so parmesan and more to serve
  • Angel hair pasta

Start with about half the olive oil, or enough to thickly coat the bottom of a large non stick pan. You should have a green gold puddle. Add more olive oil as needed while cooking. Turn heat on low.

As oil heats, throw in all the thinly sliced garlic. It will infuse the oil, and add depth to the flavour of the finished pasta. Watch as garlic gets soft but dont allow it to brown.

Meanwhile peel and slice the mushrooms, and add to pan, putting heat up to medium low. Stir well and encourage the juices of the mushrooms to let go.

Prepare spinach by taking leaves, rolling them into little cigar shapes, and cutting into ribbons. Add to pan and saute to wilt.

Roughly chop artichoke hearts, and add to the pan. Stir all ingredients together, to introduce them to one another and immediately add wine (or veg stock/lemon juice). Allow to braise for a few minutes, and check for flavour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Note: I usually add white pepper to this dish so as not to whack all the delicate flavours over the head with ground black pepper.

Roughly chop broccolini, and add it to the steaming pan. Turn off heat after a few minutes. Use a light hand with this recipe and work quickly. You want your ingredients to cook, but you dont want them to boil and leach all their flavour and freshness. Remember that the heat will continue cooking the vegetables for quite a while after you take the pan off the fire.

Tear a few leaves of fresh basil in half, or crush them between your fingers to release their amazing scent and oils. Add to the pan and mix all together.

Cook angel hair pasta, reserving 1/2 mug of cooking liquid. Drain pasta. Mix vegetables and pasta together by adding pasta to the vegetables rather than vice versa. Use tongs and mix well. Add a little of the pasta cooking liquid if you think its too dry. You might want to add some lemon juice or another splash of wine. Grate parmesan lightly over and mix well.

You could use many different vegetables for this beautifully delicate dish. Asparagus comes to mind, as do peas, rocket, french beans.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

My Kitchen

26 Jun

I have always wanted a huge kitchen, with an island where I can stand and cook, an Aga, or a big six burner professional oven (or ovens), and a dining nook. I can see the kitchen of my heart in my mind’s eye. And it is fantabulous! Its a place to hang out, chat, eat, laugh, share. Its an extension of my cooking philosophy and my way of living – casual yet passionate, full of pleasure and joy.

The reality? My kitchen is so small that if I stand in the middle of the (possibly 8 foot) square room, and hold out my arms, and slowly turn a circle, I can touch all the edges of the room – the fridge, the oven, the sink and the stove top. The kitchen is crammed with cupboards and storage, and still, there are some things (like my professional ice cream maker, or the huge cast iron pot) which just dont fit in – and therefore find space snuggling elsewhere in the apartment.

Dont get me wrong, I love my kitchen. I know where everything (well, most everything) is, and I can produce some pretty phenomenal food from here. I love it for its windowed view of my garden airwell, for its compact efficiency, and for its double sink. But if you stick more than 2 people in the kitchen, no one can move!

So I thought I would give you a “tour” of my kitchen, beloved, bedraggled, and slightly battered though it is, its mine, and I love it!

The fridge is immediately on the left, as you walk in. The front is covered with magnets – hooks and clips and things I love. This view shows my two favourite – a hook magnet, holding the most awesome pot holder from my sister – its by Annie Taintor and says, “Resentment is the secret ingredient” – made me laugh out loud when she gave it to me! And the second is a clip which holds whatever recipe I am working on at the moment. A useful trick for hands free checking of recipes while cooking.

Above the fridge is the bookshelf which houses may be a third of my cookbooks (I didnt realise I had so many!) and some store cupboards for things I dont use very often. I have a step ladder to help me get up there! I love my Mah Meri Kitchen God wood mask – he protects me and ensures that everything that comes out of my kitchen is delicious!

Going in a circle, after the fridge comes the oven, and then the countertop. Well, its more like a fully stuffed area where all the immediate cooking stuff is. Stand mixer, kettle, toaster. Bottles of olive oil, wine, and home made vanilla essence. My knife rack, which holds my most used work knives, not my obsessional ancient Sabatier which I collect, and take out every now and then to caress. My spice shelf – holds the usual suspects, grinding pepper, white pepper, fleur de sel, Maldon, vanilla, smoked paprika, herbs of various kinds. Its a mess, but its an organised mess, and I know where everything is!

Next to the countertop is my double sink (a lifesaver!) and big windows looking out onto my airwell garden. I love this view, and my gorgeous Tord Boontjie lamp which hangs outside. This airwell is where PutPut and Kai (the cats) hang out all the time (their litter is hidden in a long wooden bench) and it gives much needed light and air to a very small space.

Just to the right of the door leading to the airwell garden (and my self contained washing machine + drier – another lifesaver!) are my most used pans, and my oils and seasonings – sesame, truffle, and varied olive oils, canola, red wine, apple cider, and white vinegar, balsamico, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce. Mmmmmmmm. Delicious!

All in all, a compact and slightly (okay, very) messy space. But it works for me, and its efficient. I would love a bigger place, but until then, this is my solace and my joy – my very own kitchen!

Tags: , , ,

Spinach + Blue Cheese Bread Pudding (Unplanned)

25 Jun

AngelKitten + N came over tonight to watch the Brasilians and the Portuguese play a very boring final match of their group stage, and I had promised them beans on toast! One of my favourite easy dishes that you dont really have to think about. I thought of jazzing it up with a poached egg on top. Going all out! Well, when I checked my cupboard, all those cans sitting so certainly in the cupboard were soup – no beans! Oh no! What to do?! From this moment of panic, delicious dishes are born. I did a quick once over of what I had in the fridge and freezer, and decided to make a savoury bread pudding. I had eggs, milk, cream, blue cheese, onions, garlic, old good bread, and a packet of flash frozen spinach. It took about 10 minutes to assemble, 30 minutes to bake, and it was REALLY good. Much better then the second half that we watched!

This dish can serve about 6 greedy or 8 polite people. I baked it in a cake tin, so you could cut it like a quiche (or cake!) and it was perfection.

  • 1/2 cup half and half (or 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup cream, which is what I used)
  • 5 eggs
  • 12 – 16 slices days old bread
  • Blue Cheese (I used that Irish classic Cashel Blue – rich, creamy and sublter than most blues)
  • Packet of frozen spinach
  • Tiny bit of butter + small glugg of olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
  • 1 white onion, finely diced
  • Oregano
  • Salt + pepper
  • Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 180C.

In a shallow bowl or container, beat half and half with eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Toast your bread, if you can. I didnt and it made a very unctuous bread pudding, but if you like the deeper flavours of toasted bread, and if you have the time (I was trying to get it done quick quick), then by all means toast away!

Make some blue cheese sandwiches: divide your bread in half, and lay one set on your working surface. Finely slice the blue cheese (I tried to get the creamier bits as I didnt want to be overwhelmed with the blue flavour, but do as you like best) and layer sparingly over one set of bread. Cover with second set, and trim off the crusts. Poke fine holes in the sandwiches with the tip of your knife, and lay them in the cream and egg mixture. Set aside to soak up.

Defrost your spinach. I dont believe in microwave ovens, so I dont have one, and obviously, if you can get fresh spinach, this would be best, but hey, I was working on instinct here! I used a large frying pan, and about 1/2 cup of water, and slowly defrosted over medium heat. When the spinach is fully defrosted, drain, saving the water. It will be spinach-y and delicious.

Use a little bit of butter and olive oil in the same pan, and over low heat slowly soften the onions and garlic. Season with oregano and salt and pepper. Once the onions and garlic are glossy, add the spinach, just to heat through.

Butter or spray olive oil in a large cake tin. Using your hands, take the eggy sandwiches, and tear about half of them into smaller chunks, lining the bottom of the tin. Layer about half of the spinach mixture on top, and repeat, ending with spinach. Pour about 1/4 cup of the spinach water into the remainder of the egg and half and half mixture, and pour all over the top of your bread pudding. Grate a bit of cheddar cheese (or other browning/melting cheese like parmesan) over the top, and pop in the oven for about half an hour. The bread pudding should puff up and get brown and golden on top.

Serve immediately, though Ezril tells me its delicious cold too!

Enjoy!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

South African Cheese Bread

25 Jun

The cheese bread is also called picnic bread in South Africa, and its so so so tasty. It’s a batter bread, and can be made up in a few minutes without much effort. South Africans take this on long car journeys or on picnics because the bread itself is good enough to eat without any filling or stuffing or even butter. Its fantastic out of the oven, and even better the next day toasted. Its usually made with uncooked chopped bacon, for flavour and fat, so I added different vegetables, spices and fats to replace that flavour and richness loss.

This is the ultimate journeymans bread. One slice is sustaining, nourishing, loving and satisfying. It has almost a puddingy quality to it – thick spoon bread or almost popover bread quality. When I was adapting this for vegetarian consumption the big stumbling block was how to replace the about 1 pound of bacon, which adds fat, and a smokey taste. I have substituted the bacon with additional butter, the full complement of buttermilk, and smoked paprika and roasted peppers. I think this tastes awesome – and you don’t have to be sad about eating Babe!

  • 3 – 4  cups flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder (not soda)
  • 1 cup chopped spring onion
  • 4 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese
  • 8 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
  • fresh coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon chili sauce
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • 1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • Optional: About ½ cup chopped roasted red peppers

Preheat your oven to 170 C. Grease 2 bread tins very well.

Prepare your melted butter. In a separate bowl, beat your eggs, and mix in the salt, pepper, paprika, chili sauce and mustard.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, onion and cheese loosely with a fork, and then lightly combine the egg mixture and melted butter with the flour mix. You should have a pretty stiff dough. Don’t overmix, or you will have a very heavy loaf, but try and make sure everyone is acquainted.

Add the buttermilk one cup at a time, and mix well. This should look like scone dough. Taste for spice, salt, heat. Adjust accordingly.

Divide mixture equally between the bread tins.

Bake about 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Turn out and cool on a rack.

Delicious warm, amazing the next day when the flavours have melded, and freezes like a dream. Stunning toasted.

If this version is too spongey for you, add about 1 cup more flour for a more cakey version.

Photo copyright U-en Ng

Tags: , , , , ,

Paul’s Black Forest Birthday Cake

24 Jun

Since I posted the best cookie recipe ever, I thought I would stick to that sweet theme today, and post my dear friend, Paul’s birthday cake. Paul liberated me as a cook many years ago when I presented him with his first Black Forest Birthday Cake. I was shy because the cake was a bit wobbly, and listed to the side. When I told him this, he laughed and said to me that that was the perfection in my cakes – he could tell they were home made and created with plenty of love and sayang BECAUSE they were a little imperfect, and they were full of my energy and my love. I realised that people taste and see and feel and smell the love that you put into food, and it doesnt have to be visually perfect for it to be satisfyingly lovingly perfect. He made me a braver and more confident cook, and when he was here for his birthday, I couldnt resist making him another Black Forest Cake – this one even MORE wobbly than the last!

This cake is a bit of a major undertaking, BUT its easy peasy if you make it in stages. I made the alcoholic version, but you could easily substitute cherry juice in place of cherry brandy, and have a delicious non-alcoholic cake as well. Make the cherry filling, and cherry sauce the day before. You can bake the cake up to two days ahead as well. The whipped cream should be prepared on the day of serving, though if you really need to, you can make it up to a day ahead, given that its stabilized with agar agar.

Cherry filling + Cherry sauce

  • About 5 – 6 cups cherries, pitted (I used fresh frozen because we had none in the shops)
  • 1 bottle cherry brandy (or 1 bottle cherry juice or other dark berry juice)
  • Sugar (to taste)
  • Water
  • Vanilla
  • Cinnamon

In a large bowl, drain and defrost the cherries. Pour off any juice into a measuring cup. You should have about 2 cups. If you don’t, make it up with water (or cherry brandy!).

Pour the juice into a small saucepan, add about 3 tablespoons of sugar and about 1 cup of cherry brandy. Boil until syrupy. Cool and refrigerate.

Meanwhile, put the cherries in a large saucepan and add:

  • 1 – 2 cups cherry brandy
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Boil until cherries release their juice, and the entire beautiful heap becomes soft and jammy. Cool. Pour about 1/2 cup of brandy over and refrigerate.

Chocolate sauce

  • 3 bars of extra dark, bittersweet chocolate,
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 3 tbsp butter

Break the bars into small chunks, and put all in a small saucepan, over very very low heat. Stir until melted.

Keep aside until ready to assemble cake

Chocolate buttermilk cake

Prepare 3 baking pans, lining the bottom with parchment paper, and buttering bottoms and sides. Preheat oven to 170 C

Beat together:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cup sugar

until fluffy, creamy and light yellow.

Beat in

  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tbsp vanilla
  • About 1/2 cup of melted chocolate (which you have put aside)

To this mix, beat in

  • 3 cups flour mixed with 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt and 1 cup cocoa powder

alternately with

  • 2 cups buttermilk

Taste. If its not chocolately enough for you, add up to 1/2 c cocoa or melted chocolate.

Divide equally between 3 cake tins, and bake for approximately 10 – 15 minutes each tin, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool, in the tin and if you are not using the same day, refrigerate, wrapped tightly in grease proof paper.

Whipped cream

Beat together

  • 4 – 5 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp vanilla

As the mixture just reaches stiffness, add

  • 1 tsp agar agar to every cup of cream

Whip until very stiff peaks hold. The agar agar acts as a vegetarian gelatin – it ensures the whipped cream holds its stiffness and does not leak or become watery. It can stay this way for hours and hours and there is no added taste or influence from the agar agar.

Assembly

Turn 1 cake onto serving platter, and with a fork, poke holes in the cake … everywhere! Brush the reduced cherry (brandy) sauce on to cake, and if you like sprinkled with a little more neat cherry brandy.

Cover with a thin layer of chocolate sauce, then spread the cake with a layer of whipped cream. Heap cherries on top, and sprinkle with crumbled chocolate (I use Flakes).

Repeat for remaining layers of cake, finishing with whipped cream along top and sides, sprinkles of chocolate and maraschino cherries if you like.

Refrigerate for at least two hours (and up to 12) to let the cake set well before serving.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →