Pizza Dough Without Yeast

When I look at all the photos of food I took on my trip, I start wondering how I’m going to get them sorted and put on my blog;  a) make a few photo collages and put them all in one post, b) categorise photos by theme or country and write in several posts, c) find photos that match with food I cook and weave stories around it each time, d) ….. (any other ideas?)

Well, I’d always thought ‘a’  would be the most efficient way to do it until the idea of having my holiday stories stretched out by savouring them over an extended period came along. Hopefully, I will be ready to go on my next adventure by the time I’ve gone over most of my holiday photos.

(Pizza + Wine) x 2 + Trevi Fountain =  Love
Pizza + Trevi Fountain x 2 = Sick

Yes, I had a lot of pizza and panini for sure. The quickest, easiest and cheapest meal of all time. What makes pizza in Italy so different from one you eat outside Italy? How can pizza go wrong? How do you define the good pizza? Some say it is dough and some the quality of mozzarella. What about the combination of flavours?

It might be true that anything you eat at a beautiful piazza would taste good because it is the view you pay for that makes it taste so good. Eating through your eyes!

The pizza in Florence was definitely better than Rome as was  everything else,  more generous and fresh toppings, and in large rectangular shape. Florentine cuisine seems to be simple and solid-  no frills like the people there?

Some say pizza in Naples is simply the best,  with its fame of being the birthplace of Pizza Margherita symbolising the Italian flag: red (tomato), white (mozzarella cheese), and green (basil), but I’m not sure if no cheese means the best, then it deserves it. Neapolitans are certainly not big cheese eaters. I regret not having tried many pizzerias in Naples, though, I was getting tired of pizza as I travelled down to the south from Venice. However, the point where I the excitement of finding good pizzerias went out the window was after my street snatch incident. Two young guys on a scooter shocked me by grabbing my bag while driving by, but I managed to hold onto it and saved everything I had including my precious camera. From then on, I got scared of walking around alone and I couldn’t risk getting into trouble again.

Two days later, however, I decided to give it another go and started off toward one of the most famous pizzeria, Da Michele, which serves only two types of pizzas, Margherita and Marinara. I always thought marinara sauce contained some kind of seafood, but the origin of marinara sauce is that it is the sauce that was made in Naples for the sailors when they returned from the sea. There seems to be a huge emphasis on how good pasta is defined by such simple sauce.

In my opinion, the secret of a good pizza lies in its crust; fresh, hand-tossed, thin but not crispy like biscuit (not Domino’s Thin n Crispy type), light and airy crust. Then a good combination of fresh ingredients comes next. My attempt to make the first pizza since my return crumbled when I found that the yeast I had kept in the fridge past its use-by date. Would it still usable? I wasn’t sure, so I quickly thought out an alternative dough recipe that didn’t require yeast, but self-rising flour, milk, olive oil and herbs. I used whole wheat flour, though.

As it turned out, it had more like a cross between tart and pizza, which was quite interesting, let alone quick and easy, yet tasty!

I threw in leftover Spanish ham, which my CS guest bought for me the day before, but it baked it for too long and came out way too crispy. *Disappointed*

Ham, Cherry Tomato, Rosemary Tart- like-Pizza

But the next one came out well and the smell was just mind-blowing. There is no need to mention about the taste…..:) It is absolutely a beautiful combination.

Caramelised Fennel&Onion, Spinach, Goat cheese Tart-like-Pizza

After a long, long break…

At first, I thought I would be glued to the chair in front of my computer, writing about how wonderful my holiday in Europe was as soon as I am back in Sydney, when the memories are still warm and fresh. To my surprise, it has taken a few weeks to write this first post. I have been slacking off a bit, stretching the 6 weeks of holiday to 6 months while going through my holiday photos. Although the time in Europe had been a lot of fun, I felt so glad to be back to the homeliness and familiarness before I set out on a big adventure on my own. Only until I realised what I came back to seemed no longer the same as before I left. Except the return of the London Eye copycat to drag more people out to cold Darling Harbour for the winter remained unchanged.

I guess everyone find it hard to get back to the old routine after a long holiday and I remember someone saying it is impossible to ever get back to the same routine you had before holiday and you don’t have to because you won’t come back from travel as the same person anyway. I wonder if I have changed, and if anything, I hope the changes have been positive ones.

The only negative part that bothers me sometimes since my trip is that having tasted so many good cheeses in France and Italy, I keep being disappointed by the Australian cheeses I used to buy here. Now I am more careful about choosing the right cheese, then again, it you look at it in another way, I have been buying less soft cheese and trying to indulge in quality cheese every now and again since I can’t keep up with my cheese craving without breaking my bank account.

<Fig and Walnut Biscotti>

During what I call ‘Travel through my stomach’, mainly France, Spain and Italy for my culinary discovery,  I had seen, eaten and taken pictures of so much food, but what I had realised towards the end of the foodie trip was that the essence of the joy I had came from coming across interesting people along the way and sharing different cultures and ideas. Thanks to this great website, Couchsurfing, I was able to have the beautiful memories to treasure for the rest of my life and the new perception on the world, people and life. After all, my trip had turned into a journey of humanity as time went on. I will probably bring the exciting topic of couchsurfing again in later posts, something for people who don’t know about the site should look forward to, as I am planing to share  some photos from my trip for trivial food talks that connect with the adventures I had through crashing on people’s couches across Europe.

<Fig and Walnut Biscotti>

I was so lucky to be in France and Italy when fresh veggies and fruit were in abundance, especially figs and cherries were so delicious and cheap that they were a must-have for a picnic. Hmm…a fig wrapped in a slice of prosciutto.. one of the best food pairings I had found. Back in Sydney, however, figs make only a brief appearance in summer and they aren’t quite as cheap. Anyway, we have a plenty of dried imported figs available all year around, which I like snacking on for my calcium and fibre intake. So the first thing I did after I arrived at home was to stock up dried fruits and nuts for the week and bake some cookies for my sweet teatime treat. These biscotti have been approved by my French guest that I received a couple of weeks ago although she gave two thumbs up for my oat cookies- she was probably biased against Italian biscuits, being French All that talking of figs has led to me actually eating dried figs while writing this. Munch, munch…

The recipe below is a version adapted from Smitten Kitchen and I sneaked in wholemeal flour and honey.

Fig and Walnut Biscotti

Makes approximately 24 biscotti

1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup dried Turkish or Calimyrna figs, quartered
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons or 3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1/2 a large orange (I used a clementine)
1 3/4 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon. ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown and fragrant. Allow the walnuts to cool completely

2. Place the walnuts and dried figs in a food processor and process until they are finely chopped.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula occasionally. Beat in the vanilla and the orange zest.

4. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture to form a somewhat firm dough. Add the walnuts and figs and beat until thoroughly combined. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and chill 35 to 40 minutes or until completely firm.

5. When the dough has chilled, lightly grease a baking sheet. On a floured board, use your palms to roll the piece of dough into a log the length of the baking sheet. Place the log on the baking sheet.

6. In a small bowl, beat the egg white with a fork until frothy. With a pastry brush, glaze the log with some egg white and sprinkle it with granulated sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (this took longer in my oven, but everything seems to these days), or until the log is lightly golden brown, firm to the touch and just beginning to crack slightly.

7. Allow the log to cool on the cookie sheet until cool to the touch, about 40 minutes. With a serrated knife, slice the biscotti, slightly on the bias, into 1/2-inch slices. Lay the slices on the cookie sheet in single layer (I always end up needing a second baking sheet in this step, as they have a lot more surface area); Return the biscotti to the oven and cook for 20 more minutes, or until the biscotti are toasted and crisp.

Store the biscotti in an airtight container. They will keep up to about 2 weeks.

<Conmeal and Nut Biscotti>

As I was clearing my hard drive and putting files on to my new external hard drive to save some space- you wouldn’t believe how big the size of my food folder is- I stumbled across more photos of biscotti I made a few months back when I was fantasying about sitting around at a market selling my own biscuits at a market while reading a book. I had come up with some interesting recipes for biscotti at that time and I remember this was one of the nicest combos that was incredibly aromatic with rosemary and anise fragrant and had a good crunch.

I usually use honey for my biscuits and cookies because home-made goodies are meant to be healthy, otherwise it is much easier and cheaper to just buy commercial ones. No?

Cornmeal-Nut Biscotti

Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen biscotti

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped, blanched almonds
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped skinned hazelnuts
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fineley grated orange or lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup sugar or 1/3 honey
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon anise seeds
• 2 large eggs
• Egg wash made with 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, stirring occasionally, until they a lightly golden around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack (keep the oven on)

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and add the orange zest and rosemary. Let cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer set on low speed, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and anise. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. add the cooled, melted butter mixture and mix to combine. Stir in the nuts. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

With wet hands, (this really does help) form the dough into a log 2 inches wide and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the log with egg wash and bake until it is a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let it cool on a wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees F.

Using a serrated knife, slice the log on a diagonal into 1/4 inch-thick pieces. Arrange the biscotti on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets and dry them in the oven until crispy, about 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack.

Strawberry Cream-Best Patisserie in Sydney

This is one of my favourite parisserie in Sydney, which is located on Victoria st in Darlinghurst where many good cafes and restaurants can be found. I wish I could get a flat next to the shop and reach my hand out of the window to get nice and fresh croissant every morning. Not even that, just looking at the seductive looking pastries and cakes is as satisfying.

On my last visit there I had ‘Sour cherry strudel’ with mocha, which I almost died in delight eating it. It truly put all other cherry strudels that I had tried before to shame. It tasted very original, no cheese or cream, stuffed with so much cherry filling inside that you could taste the sourness right through, which was the reason I chose the dessert in the first place, to taste the fruit and sourness, not just gooey filling wit starch, sugar or gelatine or what not. Besides, I enjoyed the taste of cinnamon bursting in my mouth enhancing the sourness of cherries.

I nearly ordered another one to eat in the same sitting, but to save myself from embarrassment of being seen as a greedy pig, I bought it and took it home to have after dinner. The next day my palate still craved more sourness, so once I was in the mood I tried making my own light and fresh version of cherry strudel with filo pastry which I had handy. Here is Nancy’s Extra Sour Cherry Strudel.

I cut down on the amount of starch in making the cherry filling since I didn’t want the gooey texture. I just wanted the nice natural flavour; maybe, the fact that I had been watching the second series of ‘The Rome’ that week somehow caused my craving for bitterness, sourness and rawness.

If you are up for some fresh, light and healthy dessert which is quick and easy to make, this is well worth considering. It is so easy you don’t even need a recipe! Yet, the most satisfying dessert ever!

Carrot Mandarin Cupcake

It’s been a long and hard few weeks for me trying to sort out personal issues. With all- rather almost- sorted, I feel more at ease and more love for things around me, though there are still things crawling inside your head, popping in and out every now and again, persistently holding the position of a constant reminder for whatever it wants me to become or do. If that means a privilege of being human, I’m willing to take it gracefully, further, enjoy it gratefully.

Nobody really mulls over decisions. I think deep down everyone makes decisions instantly, they just spend justifying them.

- quote from French Letters -

However, one thing over which we takes a lot of time to come to a decision is creating an interesting combination for a nice cake. There’s no excuse or justifying for deflated cake or mismatched frosting or the cake that tastes so bad that nobody wants to eat. I’d been trying different variations on traditional carrot cake recipes; I think carrot cake is one of the things that can never go wrong.

<Carrot Mandarin Cupcake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting>

Of all this latest version of my carrot cake seems to deserve a place on my signature recipes list.  Not only did a mandarin match with the colour of a carrot, but also its aroma complemented that of a carrot so beautifully eliminating the characteristics of the root vegetable, adding more of fruitiness and tropical aroma to it. The modified cream cheese frosting with distinctive citrus flavour was a perfect marriage with the cake, and the candied mandarin peels made as an attempt to confirm its unique character and not to let it be underestimated for its affinity with others alike.

I’ve been enjoying oatmeal in my backing, and oatmeal seems to give moist and lightness to baked goods. Because I know how healthy and fresh  my goodies are, nothing can stop me reaching for another, another and another. Nowadays it is so hard to be satisfied with any bought cakes, especially with the unnecessarily and sickly sweet frosting, which puts a lot of people off. The sweetness of my frosting was JUST right.

Carrot Mandarin Cupcakes
makes mini 30 cupcakes or medium 15 cupcakes / 350 degree oven

2-3 medium mandarins
2 cups finely grated carrot
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar or adjust to your sweetness up to 2 cups as the original measurement
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all purpose flour and 1 cup oatmeal or 3 cups flour
1 or 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup dried currents(optional)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of allspice
pinch of ground nutmeg

1. Toast nuts in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the oven, let them cool, then chop coarsely.
3. Peel mandarin skin with a peeler carefully since it’s softer than lemon and hard to peel and puree in a blender or food processor. Measure out 1/2 cup of the liquidy pulp. Save the rest for frosting.
4. Peel, rinse, then grate carrots finely. Add oatmeal in buttermilk
5. In a large bowl, combine mandarin pulp, carrots, eggs, buttermilk&oatmeal, vanilla, sugar, and vegetable oil.
6. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
7. Fold flour mixture into the carrot mixture.
8. Fold in nuts.
9. Scoop out into cupcake papers.
10. Bake at 350 degree oven for ~20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting with Lemon and Mandarin

1 packet of Philly cream cheese
30g butter
2-3 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed mandarin juice
zest of 1 lemon

*Double the recipe for more generous frosting

1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours.
2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment.
3. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy.
4. Add half of the sugar and the orange juice. Beat until combined.
5. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Candied Mandarin Peel

In a sauce pan, add peels, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 water and cook until peels turn translucent. Drain well and roll them on caster sugar. Allow to dry.

Happy Easter!

Hello, Wheatbix!

They are such good eaters, just like me who would eat anything and almost EVERYTHING!

Of all the animals I grew up with, cats, chicks, dogs, rabbits, gold fish and turtles, rabbits were the ones I was the most attached to. I loved feeding them and watching leaves disappearing into their mouth so quickly that it always gave me giggles. They are such good eaters, just like me who would eat anything and almost EVERYTHING! No wonder why they are such good breeders, too. I learned that female bunnies can conceive a second litter of babies while still pregnant with the first. Duh! That makes me wonder whether that has something to do with a bunny being a sexual symbol. Here is extra information for those who has wondered about Easter symbols and never got around to looking them up.

So CUTE!!!

Wiki: The Western name for the festival of Easter derives from the Germanic word Eostre. The pre-Christian Saxons had a spring goddess called Eostre, whose feast was held around 21 March. Some believe that Ēostre was associated with eggs and hares, and the rebirth of the land in spring was symbolised by the egg.  The Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ was ideally suited to be merged with the Pagan feast of Eostre, and many of the traditions were adopted into the Christian festivities.

The Easter Bunny is a mythical character depicted as an anthropomorphic rabbit. In legend, the creature brings baskets filled with coloured eggs, candy and toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter.

The Easter Bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have its origins in Alsace and southwestern Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1600s. The first edible Easter Bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar.

Feel like you’ve got smarter? Then, let’s move on to a dumb foodie chat.

<Quick n Easy Hot Cross Buns>

On Good friday morning the first thing I realised was that I forgot to get hot cross buns yesterday, though I had already had some. So I thought, ‘Why not bake my own?’ Of course, I wasn’t going to go through the leavening process with yeast, so I decided to make cheaters’ hot cross bun.

You wouldn’t have been able to tell they were yeast free quick hot cross buns by the look, hadn’t I told you they were, would you?

But the texture, which was more like scones, would give away the truth, although they had the same taste as the real ones. I thought I could make them more often to have with afternoon tea, without the cross on them.

They must be enjoyed with a good dollop of butter. Love butter! We’ve got to love butter, the real food. I love xxxxxxxx after eating butter

Since it’s an Easter theme, I’ll add another goodies I made for Easter, the Easter Biscuits, which most people are not aware of. According to my research, they are a Greek tradition, and in most western countries they are known as shortbread or vanilla biscuits. I think when it comes to the Easter theme shapes and decorations carry more importance than other aspects.

These are quite basic biscuits with butter and fruit flavour, but I found them really nice and addictive. If I had known they would turn out this nice I could have double the batch. The biscuits were gone in the blink of an eye. Definitely a do-it-again.

< Happy Easter Biscuits>

I cut the amount of sugar by half and added more currents for sweetness. I, being playful, made a little effort to have a cross on each biscuit to be more suitable for the occasion. But the paper that I cut out was too thin to hold the shape before it got all soggy, and my hand was a bit shaky and sugar flew all over the place, destroying the already set crosses on the adjacent biscuits.

But still, you can make out a cross on some of the biscuits, and the rest if you look hard enough.

Easy Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 50g cold butter, chopped into small cubes
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/3 cup sultanas * I used currents and a bit of citron peel
• 3/4 cup milkFor the cross
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tbsp apricot jam

Here’s how

1 Preheat the oven to 220C. Line an oven tray with non-stick baking paper. Sift the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and ground cinnamon into a large bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and sultanas. Make a well in the centre. Stir in the milk using a knife and mix until the dough starts to form beads.

2 Gather the dough together with floured hands and transfer to a lightly floured benchtop. Gently press the dough out to 2cm thickness, then use a 7cm cutter or the rim of a glass to press out rounds of the dough. Gather together any off-cuts and press out again to 2cm thickness for more rounds. Place the rounds close together in neat lines on the tray.

3 Mix the flour and water in a small bowl until it forms a smooth paste. Carefully spoon the paste into a small plastic bag, then snip off the corner to form a small nozzle for a piping bag. Pipe crosses over each bun.

4 Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the buns are risen and golden on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

5 Heat the apricot jam with 2 teaspoons of water until smooth. Brush the glaze over the buns, then set aside to dry. Serve the warm buns with lashings of butter and a cup of tea.

Easter Biscuits

Makes approximately 24.

110g unsalted butter, softened
110g caster sugar * 60g for my biscuits
zest of one lemon
1 large egg, separated
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
225g plain flour
55g currants * 70g
3 tbsp milk, approximately
extra caster sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 3. Grease a large baking sheet.

Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest together until pale, light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk.

Mix the cinnamon and flour together; sieve directly onto the creamed mixture. Fold the flour into the mixture, adding the currants half-way through. Add as much milk as is necessary to make a stiff dough. Knead lightly in the bowl until it all comes together nicely and is smooth.

Wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 5mm thickness. Cut out rounds with a 7.5m diameter fluted cutter. Transfer to baking sheet. Leave a few centimeters between the rounds; they won’t spread much. Bake for 10 minutes. In the meantime, whisk the egg white until frothy. Remove sheet from the oven and brush the top of each biscuit with the egg white and sprinkle each with some caster sugar. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Black Forest+Tiramisu

Finally I’ve got round to posting this grand project of birthday cake. I clearly remember a lot of ‘um’s  and the doubting looks on people’s faces when I first broke my bold attempt to combine the two of my, probably everyone’s favourite desserts. It’s a perfect dessert choice for those who can’t decide what they want to eat. *two for the price of one*

Raspberries were used instead of cherries in the black forest part, still with layers of chocolate cake, and a layer of lady fingers soaked in coffee syrup and special mascarpone mixture, which is tiramisu part,  snuck into the middle layer as you see here.

It was finished off with fresh cream frosting and fresh raspberries. Lining the sides with half of lady fingers, rather than covering it with frosting, is a good idea, since that makes it easier to keep the cake from getting messy when it gets knocked about.

This luscious cake is also a sad reminder of my old camera, which just gave up its life while I was taking these pictures, though, I am still glad that I got to score some photos before my camera suddenly went blank. What I was told about the cause of my camera’s death is that it had reached the end of its life after having been abused by the food-a-holic owner for 3 years without a day’s break.

This cake is by far the best cake I’ve ever made, and also the example of making the impossible possible. I must call this ‘The Cake Ultimatum’, but still should think of a better name that it truly deserves. Any suggestions? This will be definitely put on the top dessert menu if I ever get the chance to have my own little cafe in the future.

Although I didn’t like that photo, I felt obliged to show what it looked like inside. I couldn’t take any more shots after that one for the reason I had already mentioned before; that is basically the last work of my old camera. So it is in a way memorable to have it seen, I think. Thanks My Old Cam for getting me into the world of photography! And thank you for putting up with my abuse and obsession.  I had a wonderful time with you for many years until you had decided to have a rest. I won’t forget you.*V*

Banana Pineapple Bread

Just a quick post today as a response to a recipe request….  of this incredibly moist and delicious bread.
This recipe is a make-over of  traditional banana bread, giving it a fruitier flavour as well as an interesting look.

I baked two loves; one to keep, the other to take to school. It quickly disappeared in the matter of second in the class. It was given ***** out of 5, so it must have been good. Being asked for a recipe would be one of the moments that make sacrificing the growing arm you get from all the whisking worthwhile.

So for this recipe I put extra teaspoon of cinnamon and even sprinkled some over the topping of banana and nuts because I’m crazy about cinnamon.

This recipe will definitely go to my to-do-again list. I’m not very keen on bananas, especially eating them by themselves. It probably has to do with the myth that they give you constipation unless eaten with milk, which I heard as a child. Of course, it’s a bull***. Bananas have many health benefits, and I know for a fact that a banana diet is a big hit among Japanese women. But for me, I’ve got to have them with cream, yogurt or any kind of dairy product, or cinnamon.

Banana Pineapple Bread

A few weeks ago I baked a chocolate banana swirl cake, which was another twist to the conventional recipe, but I’ll tell you that this is definitely the winner. Banana and pineapple go perfectly together. I’ve been having this for breakfast for the last few days, and it keeps me going right up until lunchtime without feeling peckish as I usually do. So I guess banana diet works! OR it might be because of the extra slice I end up eating not being able to resist the yummy thing and reaching for more and more.

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon - *2 tsp
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cups sugar – *½ cup
1 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
*1/3 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped

* is my own variation

Instructions:

1. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In another mixing bowl, beat together oil, sugar and the eggs, then vanilla and beat until well mixed.

3. Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients and add banana (leave 1/2 cup, mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon for topping), and stir until moistened. Don’t overbeat.

4. Pour batter into two greased and floured loaf pans *(use smaller loaf pans — 6×3-inch, or use several mini loaf pans). Pour the leftover banana over the batter and sprinkle the nuts.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 – 50 minutes or until loaves test done.

Note: * Since I didn’t have small loaf pan I used the normal 20×10 loaf pan and I made one

Summer Cake Parade

Mango Lime Cheesecake (unbaked)

I feel a chill through my bone sitting out on a balcony in the evening, as the  season of abundant mangos is giving way to the season of pears, figs , quince, mushrooms, nuts and lots of root vegetables such as parsnips, fennel and celeriac. So I decided to make something to drag out the last perfume of  summer by baking this.

You’d make a big mistake if you dismissed this recipe as just an ordinary cheesecake. There are four things that make cake far better than others.

1. Baking free, therefore, hassle free, Quick n Easy!

2. Egg free (Is it good? Cholesterol free? Just leave it at that for now)

3. Yoghurt added, therefore healthy and light

4. Healthy almond crumble base, no ordinary biscuit, therefore, low-carb

5. Can be eaten slightly frozen, taste a bit like gelato ice cream, perfect for summer days

Does the list sound convincing enough to read on?

It have never occurred to me to peel mangos with a peeler before. It was so handy-dandy.

Mango Lime Cheesecake (Unbaked)
Adapted from A Daily Obsession

250 g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
60g sugar – increase the amount up to 120 depending how sweet tooth you have, but since it’s a healthy cake there’s no point doing that

1 1/2 cup mango puree
200 ml mango yoghurt – or heavy cream for creamier taste
100 ml heavy cream, whipped

1 cup  Arnotts Wheat Shreds
1/2 cup almond meal
50g butter, melted

1 1/2 T gelatine powder
60 ml water

juice and zest of 1 lime

Method

1.Process the biscuits into crumbs and mix with almond meal. Add butter and mix well, then press it into the base of a 22 cm/8 1/2″ round springform pan. Bake at 180′c for 10 mins. Cool it before pouring in the mouse.

*If you want the simple way out, just get some sponge cake and line it to 1 cm thick.

2.Whip cream cheese and sugar in your machine until light and fluffy.

3.Mix mango puree (keep 3 T for glaze) and yoghurt with a metal spoon until well-blended and fold into (2).

4.Mix gelatin powder and water in a small metal cup and set this over a pot of boiling water (double boil it) until the gelatine dissolves. Let it cool and mix it well into above mango mixture. Leave this mixture in the fridge while you do the next step. This will help set the mousse later.

5. Whip the cream until stiff and fold it into the mango mixture until well-blended. Finally, whisk the mango mixture and the gelatine syrup quickly into a mousse. Let it set in the fridge.

Other Ingredients:
mango slices and mint leaves for garnishing
2 t gelatine powder
2 T water
3 T (~30 ml) mango puree

6. Slice some mangoes for garnishing. Make a glaze by mixing gelatine powder with 2 T water and double-boil it until gelatine dissolves. Add the mango puree and mix well. Pour glaze (keep 1 T for the sliced mangoes) onto the top of the set cake, decorate the cake with the mango slices and spoon retained mango glaze over them. Put cake back into fridge to chill.

7. Keep cake chilled until ready to serve. That’s it!

I kept the cake in the freezer, sliced, and left each slice to thaw for 10-20 mins before eating. I couldn’t tell if I was eating ice cream or cake, a bit of both I guess. It definately cooled down my hot(?) body, hot hot? or hot, hot? The latter. *Cheeky *

Pineapple Layered Coconut Cake with Passionfruit frosting

This is  a real geeky photo.

I often take pictures in the morning before I head off to work in case I don’t have time for my food shots in the afternoon. I would do anything to get my shot with natural lighting. One Friday morning I hurriedly took a picture of the cake, which I was to take to school that day, so I couldn’t be bothered about the settings and just grabbed the toys at my arms reach and a plastic knife for a laugh. I hope George Lucas might come across this photo and offer me a fortune.

Enjoy this summery, fruity dessert with nice champaign!

Ingredients (serves

• 125g butter, softened
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 large lemon, rind finely grated
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut

· Pineapple Cream Layer

• 400g can pineapple
• 200 ml heavy cream, whipped
• 1 lemon, rind finely grated

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 6cm deep, 9cm x 19cm (base) loaf pan or 22 cm springform pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until sugar is dissolved. Add lemon rind and half the egg. Beat well. Add remaining egg and beat until well combined.
3. Using a large metal spoon, gently stir flour, milk and coconut into butter mixture (do not over-mix). Spoon mixture into prepared loaf pan. Smooth surface. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes in pan. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Make lemon icing: Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add sour cream and lemon rind. Stir until well combined. Pour icing over cake. Allow to set. Serve.

Passionfruit Cream Cheese Frosting 

• 30g butter, softened
• 80g cream cheese, softened and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 passionfruits

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and icing sugar together. Don’t over beat the frosting.
2. Fold in pulp from one passion fruit. Mix well.
3. Swirl frosting on cupcakes. To decorate, squeeze some pulp on top.

Next on Butterfly …..“Black Forest+Tiramisu”, which has proved my culinary intrepidity and is considered to be by far the greatest work. Stick around for the masterpiece.

Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon Muffin

Here’s the book I’ve been reading recently. It started off dry and too descriptive, but is getting more exciting. The main character gets stranded on a traffic island near a motorway for days, badly injured after his car plunge over a road barrier. At first getting rescued by passing cars seemed all simple and easy, but things turn out very different, making him realise how urban infrastructures and technology isolate people, not only physically, but also emotionally, and how much people are neglected in this modern world.

We are turning ourselves into an island in the end, I wonder, with the selfishness and expectations from others that would distance us from each other, without us even realising.

This book coincided with the accident that had my foot twisted, so that made following the stories of his physical as well as mental challenges seem quite appropriate. When you are hurt and restricted in physical activities , you feel frustrated and vulnerable, and find yourself relying on others. You can easily put blame on others for what is happening or has happened to you, but the real question is “how much can others actually help you?” It all, in the end, comes down to how much you trust yourself and how resilient you are psychologically to be able to get through the difficulties you might face along the way.

My injury is stopping me from doing a lot of things I enjoy doing at the moment. There has been quiet fights inside me and I’m learning to compromise and give up certain physical pleasures, but at the same time, I get to do things I would not do otherwise, such as taking time and reading, so it hasn’t been all bad.

Reading this book somehow reminded me of the short film called “Mankind is No Island”, which I showed to my students and got quite good reactions, and it is about the isolation and neglect of human beings. I was impressed by the way it was filmed and edited, quite clever.

Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon Muffins

I’ve been having this cinnamon frenzy lately and baked this muffins twice in a week, with lots of cinnamon! This healthy muffins are so moist, I wonder if oatmeal has something to do with it, and its sweetness comes from raisins, actually sultanas, which I used for this recipe, so it’s also guilt free. The second time, I added 1/3 cup of dark chocolate bits for extra excitement and it worked well.

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup quick oats – I ground rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk – if you don’t have it on hand, add 1 tsp lemon into 1 cup of milk and let it stand for 5 mins.
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins or sultanas
1 teaspoon cinnamon and extra to sprinkle over the baked muffins

Instructions:

1. Combine oats and buttermilk in a small bowl. (Allow to stand for a few minutes while you mix the rest of your muffins.)

2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring to mix.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add egg, mixing well. Add milk/oats mixture and mix well. Add the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in raisins.

4. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

* I doubled the recipe and made 18 bigger muffins the second time.

So moist, So delicious, healthy and satisfying! What a way to start the morning!

Chocolate Ricotta Tart with Almonds

If you have been following my blog long enough, you probably know my weakness for ricotta cheese. I’d eat it on toast with honey, or with banana, or with both and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Sometimes I’d eat it by itself with honey or banana. I just can’t have enough of it. It’s a perfect way to kick start a morning. I really liked ricotta on pumpkin sourdough bread.

Seeing that the big tub of ricotta I hadn’t managed to finish would go off, I searched for ricotta cheesecake recipes, but what I caught my eyes was this luscious looking tart. I was a bit hesitant to go ahead by the sound of ‘tart’, which requires working with dough and waiting, but above all, I didn’t have a tart mould. So, instead of going out and buying one, I decided to bake in a cake mould.

I may have forced my luck by baking a tart in a cake mould and infuriated the God of Tart because my mind got somewhat distracted and forgot to par bake the tart pastry before pouring in the ricotta filling. Bugger! So I ended up with the tart mould with the texture not crunch, but rather close to brownie. Except for what could be an unforgivable mistake by the law of a pâtissier, the tart-turned-to-brownie still managed to pass the judgement of the people on whom I force my baking.

The next time I try this recipe I would leave out the dark chocolate bits in the filling so that I can taste more of ricotta cheese, or replace chocolate with cherries – that might be nice…..:-D

Chocolate Ricotta Tart with Almonds

This amount is for a 22 cm round tart mould, flan-style
pastry:

• 160 g self-raising flour
• 20 g cocoa powder
• 80 g fine caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 110 g butter, diced
• half of a small egg

filling:

• 250 g ricotta cheese
• 40 gr fine caster sugar
• grated rind of one orange or lemon
• 1 teasp vanilla essence
• 1 and a half egg
• 100 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 50 g chopped almonds

————————————————————————————-

Mix up the dark chocolate biscuit dough

Just put flour, cocoa, salt and sugar in a bowl and mix well using a fork. Add the diced butter. Rub it into crumbs. Then add half of an egg, slightly beaten, to moisten the dough. Keep it in the fridge for 30 mins. Put it on a floured surface, put a piece of baking paper on top and roll it out to a bigger-than-the-mould circle. Drape it over the mould, use a (blunt) knife to remove excess dough. I used the trimmings to make a lattice. Put the mould in the fridge for 30 mins.

Baking the tart mould

Bake in a pre-heated oven, 180°C, for about 25 minutes. Leave to cool  for 30 mins while making the filling.

And the light ricotta filling is next

Beat the ricotta with a spoon till it’s creamy. Mix in the sugar and the orange rind and the vanilla essence. Then beat in the eggs. When completely blended, stir in the pieces of chocolate. Spoon into the tart mould. Use up the leftover dough in any form you’d like. Scatter with almonds.

Baking

Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, let it cook for at least an hour before unmoulding

Getting back with Yeast

I haven’t worked with yeast since I made this so called ‘a seedy bread wannabe’. It pretends to be seedy by wearing a coat of various seeds, but when you look inside the loaf, seeds are nowhere to be seen – because I ground them You would probably be asking me why I quite often grind nuts or seeds.

Well, I don’t like seeds getting stuck in my teeth for a start, and the dough with seeds or nuts is hard to kneed – they’d fly all over the place.

The slices look quite nice under the morning sunlight. Nothing would beat eating the freshly baked bread by itself with a dollop of butter.

I used to bake all different kinds of bread back in Windy Welly, either by hand or with a bread maker. Using a machine saved a lot of time and energy going into the kneading, which is the reason why I have such strong hands and fit upper arms. *! !* One thing I miss about Welly is that it was so easy to get all sorts of flour such as rye, millet, soy and about a dozen others.  Coming home with bags and bags full of different types of flour, working out in my head what to bake was a fun part of my life in Welly.

But here in Sydney it’s harder to come across a flour speciality shop, and I haven’t really found a shop that sells a big variety.  Ever since my experience with fennel bread and blue cheese at ‘Taste’, I had been planning to make it myself.

I have made Bavarian Rye Bread with Caraway a few times before, and it used to be everyone’s favourite to have with cheese.

Seeing dough rising is the best part in bread making. Below is the formula I made with Mood, Size of dough and Time.

M=(S/T)²

It explains that whether I would be in good or bad mood depends on how much the dough rises.

So was I in good mood in the end that day? What is your guess?

Yeah, I was in prettty good spirits that day, he he ;-O It could probably have compared with having won a lottery.

Rye Raisin Bread with Fennel

Some people who was lucky enough to get their hand on this gorgeous, aromatic bread would recognise the blue cheese. I hope you liked my instant setting for the photograph. One day I rushed home after work only to have the photo taken during daylight, and on the way home I compulsively bought some flowers, which I wouldn’t get even for my birthday! But only for the sake of a photo! Do you think I’m getting too obsessed?*:-$*

It’s all right, I suppose, because nice looking photos seem to make extra efforts worthwhile. Besides, tt doesn’t happen very often that I go that far, anyway. You can start worrrying when you see a cake display or cupcake  stand on my blog. I spotted them at a kitcheen store and nearly bought them.

Mango Ginger Lime Coconut Bread

Mango Ginger Lime coconut Bread

Any baked goodness couldn’t sound more tropical than this! This bread was an absolute hit among those few who was lucky enough to sample some of it, and by far the most delicious bread in every way. This put the previous pear honey bread whose picture had been due to be published some time in the near future to shame, although there is still a chance that it will be seen on this blog. But it won’t make as glamorous an entry as this mango bread.

I’m pleased that I finally got to use special paper sheets and extra props I bought a couple of months ago, though, they are not from a speciality store. One of the things that make me different to people enslaved by consumerism is that I’m not a follower of mainstream culture. I don’t just buy things because other people have them, and likewise I don’t just go to any restaurants on the top lists of restaurant guides because they are always crowded. Making something different with what I have and finding something from somewhere people wouldn’t normally look seems to give far greater satisfaction.

But there’s one thing for which I don’t mind being a copycat is producing mouth-watering pictures of food. Sometimes I get the feeling that I’m becoming so obsessive with photographs that I would wonder whether I cook to eat or cook to take pictures. *confused*

A lot of my inspiration on photography comes from this site, ‘What’s For Lunch Honey’, which is run by a professional food writer&photographer. I wish my blog could look like hers. Ha Ha :-O

Recipe:

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours By Dorie Greenspan, pg. 45

Fresh Mango Ginger Lime Coconut Bread:

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup flavourless oil, such as canola or safflower oil (I used Canola)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup light brown – (1 cup seems fine unless you have a sweet tooth! )
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups fresh mango, cubed
  
• 3/4 cup golden raisins – (I only put 1/2 cup because I didn’t want them overpowering mango)
  
• grated zest of 1/2 a lime
• 1/2 cup, more or less, fine dessicated coconut – (no flakes!) – optional
  

Getting Ready:

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° .

Butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess.

Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.

Whisk the eggs and oil together.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

Rub the brown sugar between your palms into the bowl, breaking up any lumps, then stir it in.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, switch to sturdy rubber spatula or wooden spoon and mix until blended. The batter will be very thick (really more like a dough than a batter (She’s not kidding!)) and not easily mixed, but persevere, it will soon come together.

Stir in the mango, raisins and zest.

Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake the bread for 1 ½ hours, or until it is golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. (If the bread looks as if it’s getting too brown as it bakes, cover it loosely with a foil tent.) Transfer the pan to a rack and cool 5 minutes before running a knife around the sides of the pan and unmold. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

Sieve some of the icing sugar on top and serve!

• This bread tastes even better the next day. A night to allow the flavors of the fruit and spices to infuse gives the bread more aroma and body.

Storing: Wrapped in plastic wrap or stored in a air-tight container the bread will keep for 4-5 days at room temperature (and taste better each day!).

Pepitas Chilli Chocolate Cookies

Another recipe using Lint chocolate… would I get a special reward from the Lint company for its promotion if they saw my blog? Last week I took a packet of this Lint chilli to school for my students to try. Adventurous ones didn’t hesitate to try, but some were quite wary of its taste and reluctant to try at first. Convinced by my persistent persuasion, they took a small piece with mixed feelings of curiosity and precaution, and then I saw their face breaking into a smile that told how surprised there were by its unusual, interesting flavour. “Wow, it’s nice!” “Where can I get it?” They started to respond with excitement. It’s nice to feel that I can be the first to give some new cultural experience to people from different parts of the world.

Some healthy cookies for the week- Pepitas, full of essential minerals such as iron and zinc, and omega-3. they have well-known health benefits including lowering cholesterol level, preventing kidney stones, prostate cancer and mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. They are a great choice for a snack. Dump popcorns and chips! *BTW, I’ve just emptied a whole packet of Smith chips myself*

This recipe is taken from the Cuisine magazine and I gave it a few changes to make it sound ‘Nancy’s’. Sugar is cut down by half and dark chilli Lint chocolate replaces normal chocolate to give the tingling sensation. My idea comes from the fact that these seeds are popular in Mexico and Mexicans love chilli. So why not?

I also ground 1/2 cup of pepitas and added it to the flour mixture to give it nuttier flavour and smother texture – I’ve learnt that some people don’t like chewing whole nuts.

Ingredients

go to the original recipe

• 125g unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup soft brown sugar – less if you are looking for an extra healthy treat
• 1 1/2 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 80g dark chocolate, roughly chopped - Lint chilli for my cookies!
• 1/2 cup pepitas – lightly roasted
• 1/2 cup ground pepitas
• 1-2 Tbs milk – I didn’t measure it exactly. I just added some at the last minute because I increased the amount of flour. So don’t be afraid to improvise.

My recipe yields about 24 cookies instead of 12 -15. I had more people to feed.

Method

Preheat oven to 170C.

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, oats, chocolate and seeds.

Place spoonfuls on the baking tray and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. Leave room for the biscuits to spread. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden-brown.

Cool completely on a rack. Store in an airtight container.

Blueberry Dark Chocolate Muffins

“Adult Only” What a great name to emphasise 100% pure taste of natural ingredients! You got the joke? If not, your mind is not impure as mine, I guess. “wink”

I was introduced to this dark chocolate sorbet one day, and let me tell you, it was absolutely mind blowing. The taste was so rich that it took me some time to be convinced that it was sorbet not ice cream. I also loved the name ‘Serendipity’. Have you seen the film? This ice cream company is an Australian family owned business and is dedicated to making the best quality ice cream with unique flavours all made with super natural ingredients. There is supposed to be over 100 flavours in stock including Durian, Halva or Licorice ice creams, and Blood Orange, Gin & Tonic, or Passionfruit & Chilli sorbets. . Wow!

I’m a big fan of dark chocolate and now I can’t stand the funny tingling sensation on my tongue I get from milk chocolate. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I often get my students to try this 85% chocolate and some would just get put off by this bitter taste and never touch it again. 70% is as far as they can go. My favourite flavours are chilli, mint and cherry almond.

I often use this dark chocolate in my baking. I like the contrasting taste of the dark chocolate and sweet fruit. I’ve so far tried dark chocolate with apple, pear, strawberry and blueberry. I really the blueberry dark chocolate combo.

I hear fireworks, which seem to be coming from China Town, I wonder what they were for. Anyway, I tried to get rid of the shadows to disguise the fact that I’m an owl cook who cooks under the moon light. Almost 90% of my blog photos have shadows and I’m not very happy about that.

Luckily, I had a chance to take some decent photos with natural lighting. I’m sure you can see the huge difference that natural sun light makes.

These muffins are butter free, not that I deliberately tried to avoid using butter, but it was quite intriguing to find that healthy muffins could taste so good, I mean really good, not just acceptable for the excuse of being healthy.

This recipe is named Volcanic Blueberry Chocolate Muffins from ‘The Sugar Bar’, but I made some changes to my preferences and what I had at the time. Although my muffins didn’t pop and look different to the ones on that blog, they were good as far as the texture and taste goes.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 white sugar (don’t be too generous with this) - I put only 1/2 cup
a pinch of salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg
cinnamon sugar (you can prepare this yourself with your own measurements. I used storebought cinnamon sugar)- I skipped this.
1/3 cup full-cream milk
a punnet blueberries – frozen blueberries are ok too!
dark chocolate morsels – substituted for Lint 85%

Preheat oven to 200dCelsius. Grease your muffin cups.
Combine your flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Make a well in the centre.
Place the oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg (already whipped) and enough milk to fill the cup to the brim.
Pour into the well and mix with flour mixture. Do not overmix or the batter will become overly stiff.
Fold in the blueberries. Add a few shakes of cinnamon sugar (approx 1 tsp) and as much dark chocolate as you like. The more the merrier i’d say but not too much that you can’t taste the blueberries any more.
Fill the muffin cups all the way, do not be afraid that the muffins would end up too heavy and rise in an ugly fashion. These turned out just fine like perfect volcanoes.

Sculpture by the Sea 2008

An annual event held along the coastal walk from Bondi to Tamarama,
featuring sculptures by artists around the world.

Cherry White Chocolate Cake

Special cake for a very special person…..

There is no more excuse for me to go out and be spoilt with nice food, wine and entertainment since my special visitor has left. I made this welcoming cake as a surprise, but it didn’t become a surprise because I got caught in the middle of the secret project – ‘F’ came in while I was decorating the cake. I panicked a bit, and because of that, my gorgeous ‘white chocolate cream cheese frosting‘ is not in its best shape. Despite the little flaw, I was quite satisfied with how it looked in the end.

Tah Dah~

I used a simple vanilla cake recipe from the internet instead of sponge cake, which turned out perfectly, with the nice smooth top, no cracks or bumps. I didn’t need to cut the cake in layers and put the bottom-side up in order to have a flat top.

I put in a bit of more work to give it a sweet look to match with ‘F’’s sweetness. Some cupcake decorations came in handy for that. I’m sure you would feel like eating your computer screen by now. But sorry, you will have to hold it in because I don’t want to be blamed for whatever might happen to your computer. *he he*

Here you go. Have a slice. Cherries look a bit squashed, he he, it didn’t fit in my cake container- It was taller than I expected. I have to say that this cake was one of the most luscious cake I had ever had, and I couldn’t stop myself going ‘Mmm, Mmm, Mmm~~~~~~~’ for each mouthful.

I’m definitely going to make this cake again. Next time I try this I will make sure I use fresh cherries – oops, I gave away the secret by accident, didn’t I? How could you dare to use tinned fruit? Well, they are not in season and I couldn’t get fresh ones. While writing this post, I looked up the cherry season and found that a town called ‘Young’ holds the National Cherry Festival every year from Nov 28th to Dec 7th. I might check it out when it comes close. I haven’t done much travelling for a long time and I’m starting to get itchy feet as the weather warms up.

Cherry White Chocolate Cake

for the cake
recipe from foodbeam.com

160g flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
83g butter, softened
130g caster sugar
2 eggs
seeds from half a vanilla pod – I used 2 tsps of vanilla extract for my cake
160ml sour cream – I substituted it for 120ml of butter milk, but it turned out ok.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
Place the butter and sugar in a bowl an cream together.
Add the eggs and vanilla seeds and mix. Add the dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream, mixing well after each addition.
Pour the cake batter into a lined 18×22cm rectangle cake tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn onto a wire rack until completely cold.

layering and decorating the cake

Put whipped fresh cream on the first layer and spread as many as cherries you have-the more the better!
Spread more fresh cream on the top and sides
Cover the sides with toasted almond

for white chocolate cream cheese frosting
from pragmatic me

100g white chocolate
150g cream cheese

Melt the chocolate and mix with cream cheese
Decorate the edges of the cake with a pipe