a few of our favourite things...

Miriam: Whittaker's Chocolate has featured on Lovely Wee Days before, with their Berry & Biscuit and Ghana Peppermint both getting mentions. The peppermint is normally my favourite in their range, but now this Peanut Butter is a close second. Worth a try if you're a fan of peanuts.

Becs: Well they wouldn't win any prizes at an A&P show, but they are plentiful and delicious!  My crop of tomatoes this year has suffered from watering restrictions, a poor summer, and general neglect. Despite this I have been picking a good haul every few days.  My enthusiasm for preserving has waned a bit by now, so I have moved onto the minimal effort option - roasted tomato sauce.  No recipe needed, just fill a few oven trays with roughly chopped tomatoes, sliced onions, peeled garlic and any other veg you have lying around.  I throw in a few sprigs of rosemary and some fresh bay leaves.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and sugar.  Slow roast for a couple of hours at 160 c until the liquid is cooked out.  Blend up and freeze for a deliciously concentrated pasta sauce.

a few of our favourite things...

Becs: I know Whittakers has featured here before but they do make great quality, affordable chocolate. My current favourite is their new Berry and Biscuit (love the name!) Basically like black forest but not as sickly sweet as the Cadbury version. If you live in the South Island Whittakers is on special this week at New World for 2 for $6, I for one will be stocking up on their Dark Ghana for last-minute Christmas baking.


Libby: I tried this Paneton sweet short pastry at a Julie Buiso class in Auckland a few months ago. Yes, even the professionals use the bought stuff sometimes and why not when it's this good? It has a lovely biscuity texture and comes pre-rolled so it's very easy to use. After finding it wasn't available in anywhere in Wellington I asked Moore Wilson (several times!) if they could please find room in their freezer to stock it. I also emailed Paneton to ask if they could get Moore Wilson to stock it. And a few weeks later I heard back to from Paneton to say Moore Wilson had come round! Wellingtonians, you've got me to thank for this one!

I used some to make these delicious wee frangipane-topped fruit mince tarts... cut pastry into circles, press into the base of muffin tins (or shallow patty tins if you have them), spoon in a tablespoon of fruit mince (I used Ruth Pretty's recipe here), top with a dollop of frangipane (cream 50g butter and 50g sugar, add an egg and 50g ground almonds) and slivered almonds and bake at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes.

chocolate cake for Daisy

It was Daisy's birthday party on the weekend.  I had briefly contemplated the construction of a Dorothy the Dinosaur cake, but decided against it in favour of the angst-free option combining three of her favourite foods - chocolate, strawberries and marshmallows (mamos). The cake was Nigella's Chocolate Guinness cake - over the past few months this cake has cemented itself as my new favourite. Nigella describes it as damp and delicious,which covers it perfectly.

I paired it with Alice Medrich's fast fudge frosting -  this was the first time I had tried this unusual  method of making icing and I loved it.  The cocoa-based frosting can double as a chocolate sauce if melted down,and it had a beautifully glossy,  gooey texture, just as chocolaty as ganache but without the richness. The frosting recipe below makes enough to generously sandwich and ice this cake.

We ate the cake with the fresh strawberries and mamos, a spoonful of berry compote and a dollop of cream. So delicious. Served this way the cake will feed around 20ish people.  Next year = no doubt Dorothy or her 2012 equivalent as requested by a more knowing Miss D will grace the brithday table.

Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake

250ml Guinness

250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa
400g caster sugar
140ml sour cream  or yoghurt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2.5 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C, and butter and line a 23cm springform tin.


Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.

Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.  

Fast fudge frosting

120g unsalted butter

1.5 c sugar
1.5 c cocoa
1.5 c cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a saucepan,melt butter. Stir in the sugar and cocoa. Gradually stir in the cream. Heat over medium heat, stirring till everything is mixed well and is smooth and hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and a pinch or two of salt, to taste.Set aside to cool. (I left it overnight, after which it was the perfect consistency to spread.)

Daisy made the most of her proximity to the abundance of marshmallows...

Happy Birthday Daisy x

Yummy Yummy Yummy

A guest post from Sarah, Daisy's Aunty 'Raree'

Being housebound with all the snow on Monday, Daisy and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to bake a batch of cookies, or "yummy yummies" as Daisy refers to them! At the word "baking" Daisy was off to haul her special step stool over to the bench. We chose to make a popular Jo Seagar recipe for chocolate chunk oat cookies. Daisy was on quality control, tasting each ingredient as it went in. She would have been quite happy to devour all the raw mixture and I had to be quick to keep little hands out of the bowl. It was lovely and cosy having the smell of baking wafting through the house as the snow fell outside (as cliched as it sounds...)



Chocolate Chunk Oat Biscuits (Jo Seagar) 

Ingredients

• 250g butter, softened
• 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1.5 c flour
• 1.5 c rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 250g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Beat butter, condensed milk and sugar together until light and creamy.

Add flour, rolled oats, baking powder and chocolate chunks.

Flatten spoonfuls on the prepared oven trays and cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown

Daisy tucked into her cookie as soon as it was cool(ish...) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Judging by the lack of cookies left in the jar, the rest of the family have been enjoying them too.  

           

            

 Daisy was a little unsure of the snow at first, but once she realised she could eat it she was away laughing.

Bourke Street Bakery's chocolate and prune brownie

Chocolate and prunes are one of my favourite flavour combinations and they work so well together in this chocolate and prune brownie from the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook. The prunes lend a delicious, chewy richness to the brownie, which is closer to the fudgey end (as opposed to the cakey end) of the brownie spectrum.

To make the prunes extra-delicious, you soak them in brandy for three days before using. I reduced the quantity of prunes to 250g of prunes, simply because the prunes I buy come in 250g bags. Adding more wouldn't hurt but 250g seemed enough, even to a prune-lover like me. I also halved the amount of soaking-brandy to 100ml as I don't like the alcoholic burning sensation that booze-soaked dried fruit can give. A little heat is pleasant but I don't like burning! Feel free to adjust the quantities to suit your tastes.

Don't do what I did and slice into the brownie within minutes of it leaving the oven. Try and be patient and leave it to cool. It'll be much easier to slice.

Next time I bake this I'll make it in a bigger tin. I used a 16 x 26cm (rather than the 20 x 30cm stated in the recipe) so my brownies were solid, square bricks rather than slim, elegant fingers.

If you're ever in Sydney, visit the Bourke Street Bakery (in three locations) or their "little sister" Central Baking Depot. It is one of the loveliest bakeries I have ever visited - one of those places where you need take at least one friend with you so you can try lots of different things between you... and take away a wee treat with you for later on! On one (brief) trip to Sydney I visited three times so I could work my way through as many of their delightful cakes and pastries as possible!

Chocolate & prune brownie

Adapted slightly from the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook

250g pitted prunes

100ml brandy (or congnac or hot tea)

55g plain flour

40g unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

300g dark chocolate

80g butter

300g caster sugar

4 eggs

100g sour cream

Place the prunes in a bowl, pour over brandy (or other liquid of choice), cover and leave for three days.

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a baking dish (20cm x 30cm).

Sift flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.

Place chocolate, butter and sugar into a stainless steel bowl and sit over a saucepan of simmering water (bot touching base of bowl) and stir until melted.

Cool chocolate mixture then get your beaters ready and add the eggs, one-at-a-time, beating after each addition. Add flour and mix to combine, then add sour cream, chocolate melts (if using) and prunes with any remaining soaking liquid.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until just set. Cool completely in the tin before turning out and slicing with a hot knife. Store at room temperature... for as long as it lasts!

Thursday baking - chocolate hazelnut cake

Ray McVinnie has a weekly recipe feature in the Sunday magazine that comes with the Sunday Star Times. I always read his recipes, but (perhaps because his food is particularly un-photogenic) they never really appeal. A few weeks ago he had a cake feature which looked interesting, So I made this chocolate hazelnut cake. I agree with Ray that the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts go well together, but sadly, my results with this cake were disappointing. There's no raising agent in the cake, so it's very dense. Perhaps I overcooked it, but my version was very dry, and certainly needed a high ratios of cream to cake. I foolishly cooled my cake on a wire rack, which left indented lines on the top. Ray recommended serving the cake warm, which did help improve it, but not enough for my liking. Not that I'll be making it again, but it could be improved with a coffee syrup poured over it, or it would make a good base for a trifle or fudge cake. Here's the recipe... Chocolate Hazelnut Cake 6 eggs 250g caster sugar 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 50ml extra virgin olive oil 200g finely chopped New Zealand hazelnuts 150g chopped dark chocolate 175g flour whipped cream, for serving. Preheat the oven to 175C. Butter and line a 24cm cake tin with baking paper. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale, creamy and thick. Stir in the oil, then hazelnuts, chocolate and flour. Pour into tin and cook for 30minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, then remove from the tin and allow to cool completely.

thursday baking - vanna's chocolate cake

Vanna's chocolate cake - Kate Fraser, Week 34

I made this chocolate cake for dessert and was expecting great things given how involved the method was but I have to say I was disappointed. It wasn't chocolately enough - the recipe calls for 150g of dark chocolate but no cocoa, and even though I added a couple of tablespoons but it still wasn't enough.


I made a couple of other changes to the recipe. I didn't add the 1 tablespoon of marmalade as specified, mainly because I didn't have any but also because I can't imagine how a tablespoon of marmalade would add anything other than annoying chunks of citrus peel. Yuk. I also iced the cake with chocolate ganache (150g chopped dark chocolate stirred into 150mls of hot cream) rather than the icing in the recipe. This was a good idea. The ganache and the raspberries were the best part of this cake.


Although the recipe says it's suitable for both good cooks and novice bakers I have to disagree. Unless you wanted to include every possible technique in one recipe - melting chocolate, creaming butter and sugar, whipping egg whites, folding etc... it also creates enough dishes to dishearten even the most experienced of kitchenhands. The recipe also claimed this cake was quite sticky and keeps well but I didn't agree with this either - I found the texture more "chalky" that moist. Perhaps I over cooked it? But I'm not willing to try again - there are better chocolate cake recipes out there.


So now that I've completely rubbished this recipe I'm not going to bother writing it up but will instead leave you with some pictures. This was one of those cakes that looked better than it tasted:

a few of our favourite things

Miriam: When I lived in the UK a few years back I was introduced to Green & Blacks chocolate, which may in part be responsible for the 'Heathrow injection' I experienced (i.e. weight gain!). This chocolate is now stocked in most supermarkets in N.Z. which is wonderful, if eaten in moderation. My all time favourite flavour is their Mint Fondant, which isn't stocked here... perhaps that's a blessing!

Becs: Something we have been enjoying lately is aioli. So easy to make and so delicious. We ate it last night with salt and pepper squid, and tonight with cheesey polenta fries. I like to blanch the garlic first so it has a smoother, sweeter taste (similar to roasting but quicker and easier.) Just boil the separated cloves with skin on for 5 minutes or until soft. To make a generous cupful of aioli put 2 egg yolks in the food processor with 1/2 tsp dijon mustard, the juice of half a lemon, 1/2 tsp salt, freshly ground pepper and 3-4 cloves of the peeled, blanched garlic. Blitz it up, then slowly drizzle in 1 c of vegetable oil while the engine is running, add it slowly until it forms a lovely thick mayo. Nice with most things!

Libby: I've been enjoying the last of the seasons New Zealand navel oranges, they're now being overtaken in the supermarket by their Australian counterpart. Not nearly as delicious. Their thick skins mean the easiest way to eat them is sliced into quarters and eaten from the skin, I've also been peeling and slicing lots into a crunchy spring salad of blanched asparagus & broccoli, baby spinach and toasted almonds. YUM!

Chocolate pudding

Simply called "chocolate pudding, this recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours. You can find the recipe here. "Chocolate pudding" makes me think of the stodgy self-saucing variety that we used to love whipping up in the microwave. But this chocolate pudding is on a completely different level - its more of a dense chocolate mousse, deliciously rich, with a lovely smooth velvety texture.

The pudding only contains modest amounts of butter, sugar and chocolate and surprisingly, given the texture, no cream. The combination of milk and cornflour seem to give it the creamy texture. It's not all that nutritious though - I entered the recipe into the FSANZ Nutrition Panel calculator/generator and was bitterly disappointed!

The recipe requires lots of pouring mixtures between saucepans and the food processor so it pays to read the instructions all the way through to avoid making a wrong move. But in saying that, its not at all difficult to make. You just have to be prepared to wash a big pile of dishes once you're done!

We enjoyed the pudding with some less-than-perfect early season strawberries and a spoonful of softly whipped cream. But it's even better with some beautifully ripe raspberries and a little Cyclops sour cream.

thursday baking - chocolate, raspberry & coconut slice

As we bake our way through A Treasury of New Zealand Baking

This post comes from our newest Thursday Baker - Jessica.

As a long-time fan of Louise Cake, I was keen to try this version of the traditional slice which has the addition of cocoa in the shortcake base, and grated chocolate in the meringue mixture. Unlike Miriam, I am also a lover of all things coconutty, especially when paired with chocolate (I've been known to eat a disgustingly-large amount of Whittakers coconut rough in one sitting) so was interested to see if this was a baking revelation.

I found the lay-out of this recipe a little confusing and almost misread it and put an entire cup of sugar in the base mixture. I have amended it below to have sugar listed twice, with the first measure to be added to the base and the second to the meringue topping. The original recipe also suggested using 3/4 of a cup of raspberry jam. I thought this sounded a little excessive given the sweetness of the other parts of the slice and so reduced it to 1/2 cup, which I thought was more than ample, and in fact would probably reduce it even further in future.

Chocolate, Raspberry & Coconut Slice, Fiona Smith Week 27
125g butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs separated

1 1/2 cups standard flour

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup raspberry jam

1/2 cup sugar

100g chocolate, grated

1/2 cup long-thread coconut (I toasted this in a pan first as I always think it makes it taste nicer, especially if it's been in your cupboard for a while)

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Grease an 18 x 28cm tin and line with baking paper. Cream the butter and first measure of sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together and mix into the creamed mixture. Spread into a prepared tin. Top with raspberry jam.Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, then slowly beat in the second measure of sugar and then beat until stiff. Fold in the grated chocolate and coconut. Spread this mixture over the jam. Bake for 30minutes, or until the meringue is golden and firm. Cool and slice in the tin. Store in an airtight container for 3 days.

I decided to compare this recipe to my trusty old Louise Cake recipe, courtesy of the Edmonds cookbook. The basic recipe was actually identical other than having 1/2 a cup more flour in the base and 3/4 of a cup more coconut in the meringue. I think if I was to make this recipe again I would use the Edmonds quantities of flour and coconut, as I think this would have resulted in a less crumbly base and a more prominent coconut flavour. Also, I'm not sure the additional hassle of grating chocolate for the meringue was worth the effort, however I did like the chocolatey taste of the base. All in all, I'm not sure I'm a convert to this new recipe. Although quite delicious, I think I'll be sticking to the traditional Louise Cake in the future.

old school baking

Some recent baking with a retro theme...classic ginger crunch from Chloe's blog, and an old favourite, St Mary's chocolate cake from our school days. The ginger crunch is a recipe for GC purists with the requisite thin biscuity base, rather than the substantial slabs more often seen in cafes these days. Delicious. Although I do also love the oaty version made famous by Takaha's Wholemeal Cafe.

The chocolate cake recipe was the one provided for the baking competition at our primary school flower shows, and is a perfect tin filler - whipped up in a flash with one bowl, and reliably good without being too rich or fancy. The incredible chocolate icing makes it a bit more special, this is truly the BEST way to top an (everyday sort of) chocolate cake. Although sometimes we used to cut the cake in half, sandwich it together with mock cream and dust the top with icing sugar. How's that for nostalgic...


I made a coffee cake too, with walnuts in it, something else we used to make a lot as kids. The recipe is over at pod and three peas, and the cake provides more retro deliciousness.



St Mary's Chocolate Cake


1 c milk
4 eggs
150 melted butter
2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp cocoa
2 c sugar
2 c flour


Combine wet ingredients in a bowl and beat well. Add dry ingredients and mix to combine. Bake at 180c for 1-1 1/2 hours.

communication cookies

At work, I teach a couple of group sessions on communication skills, with a focus on developing skills of negotiation and assertive communication. As a bit of fun, I put people into pairs, give one person 3 biscuits and the other none, then let them negotiate how the biscuits will be shared.

Although it's a new group each time, I always like to bake something different. There's a big pack of macadamia nuts burning a hole in my freezer at the moment, so I made some old favourites; white chocolate & macadamia nut cookies. I think this is another recipe that I got from Becs way back in our high school days, when this combination was all the rage (we'd probably scoff them after having a smoked chicken, cranberry and brie panini). I still love the texture of the macadamias and the richness of the brown sugar and golden syrup all combined with white chocolate and buttery goodness. An oldie but a goodie!

White chocolate and macadamia cookies

200g butter
1 3/4 cups of brown sugar
1 heaped tbsp golden syrup
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup macadamia nuts
king sized block white chocolate, chopped

Cream butter and sugar. Add golden syrup. Mix in dry ingredients, chocolate, vanilla and nuts. Roll into balls and lightly flatten. Bake for around 12 minutes at 180C. Makes approximately 2 trays.

Here are the biscuits all packaged up and ready to be negotiated for!

chocolate and orange

I love chocolate and orange together, and often make a delicious cake using these ingredients, but for some reason had never thought to combine them in a cookie. One of the girls brought a freshly baked batch of these cookies to playgroup recently, and we all loved them. Soft and cakey* with an intense orange flavour and huge chunks of dark chocolate. The first time I made them however they turned out totally different, and were crispy* and shortbready like the condensed milk style chocolate chippie recipe. Nice in their own way but not the result I was after. I quizzed Sarah and found out her secret...she uses olive oil spread in her baking instead of butter. The batch today was perfect.

*for a comprehensive analysis of the different cookie 'camps' have a look at this post on Nessie's blog! Depending on mood I fluctuate between all three cookie camps...crispy, cakey and chewy.

orange chocolate chunk cookies

200g olive oil spread - need at least 65% fat content so avoid the 'light' versions (or sub for butter if you prefer crispy cookies...)

1/2 c brown sugar

2 c self-raising flour

zest of 2 oranges, finely grated

juice of 1-2 oranges
200g dark chocolate, cut into chunks

Beat the olive oil spread and brown sugar till creamy. Mix in the flour and orange zest, and enough juice to make a soft dough, more or less won't hurt. Finally stir in the chocolate. Roll into balls and place on a lined baking tray, flatten slightly. They don't spread too much, puffing up more instead. Bake for 2o minutes or so at 180 c until golden.

A few of our favourite things...

Libby: This delicious Mela apple juice is made in small batches in the Wairarapa and only available in the lower North Island. It's made from different apple varieties depending on the season - this particular bottle is made from Granny Smiths. It's very sweet, so is lovely mixed with ice and some sparkling water.

Miriam: I'm not normally one for buying lollies or chocolate - as generally I'll bake when I feel like something sweet, but when I want an instant sugary treat, I can't resist munching on peanut M&Ms. I love the crunch and taste! But unfortunately they are rather moreish, it's hard not to finish the packet.

Becs: I loved this handmade felt and fabric cuckoo clock the moment I laid eyes on it whilst browsing the felt site last year when I was pregnant. The handiwork is so detailed and perfectly put together; can you see the little squirrel sitting on a toadstool pouring himself a cup of tea from a red polka dot teapot?! The clock hangs on the wall above Daisy's cot, much to her delight.

baking swap

I used the can of duche de leche I made in the slow cooker to make chocolate caramel brownie. I used the recipe for "caramello brownie" from Enjoy! by Sophie Gray but instead of making caramel using condensed milk, butter and golden syrup I used the pre-caramelised condensed milk.

The recipe said to pour some of the brownie into the tin and then alternately pour in the caramel then use a skewer to swirl. In hindsight, it would have worked better if I'd poured in the brownie then poured the caramel over before swirling together. Doing it as the recipe said resulted in patches of caramel on the bottom of the tin that didn't set and it all merged together creating a dense, chewy, chocolately mess. I was hoping it would turn out like the Floridita's chocolate caramel brownie you buy in slabs from Moore Wilson but it wasn't to be. You couldn't distinguish the caramel from the brownie in my version.

As luck would have it, Dad was in Wellington for a meeting on Wednesday so the brownie was shared between Wellington and Christchurch. I packed up a little box of brownie and left it at the hotel reception for him to collect after his meeting. Waiting for me was another little box containing some of Becs deliciously yeasty crumpets and the best muffins I've ever eaten made by Sarah. Thanks to Dad for providing the same-day courier service.

Baking swaps a such a good idea. You only have to bake one thing but get to try several! Becs attended a baking swap afternoon tea a couple of Christmases ago where everyone took along a tin full of something and the recipe, and went home with a tin full of everyone else's baking. Something organise for later in the year perhaps!

All boxed up and ready for its journey South...

Tarte-Gateau Poire Chocolat

In preparation for my visit to Paris next month (!) I have been reading "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris", a delightful guide to where to eat in Paris written by Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate & Zucchini. I haven't organised a meal-by-meal itinerary, (and don't think my travelling companion will appreciated it if I do) but have noted a few places that would be nice to visit.

Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris has a few recipes sprinkled throughout so as a "warm-up" to prepare ourselves for what awaits us in the patisseries of Paris I made a "Tarte-Gateau Poire Chocolat" (pear and chocolate cake-tart ), a recreation of a similar sweet treat from La Boulangerie par Veronique Mauclerc.

This recipe has great potential and I look forward to making it again with a few adaptations: I found the pastry too buttery and flaky, so next time will make a biscuit-y sweet short crust; I will use vanilla instead of rum in the poaching syrup as I couldn't taste the rum (which is good as I don't like rum anyway); and I will make sure my pears are properly ripe.

I served the cake-tart with a spoonful of sour cream (the delicious Cyclops sour cream) and whipped cream mixed with a little brown sugar. Of course, it did nothing to cut through the richness of the tart and my travelling companion could barely cope with it all, struggling his way to the last mouthful! I don't know how he will fare in Paris!

Here's the recipe as I made it:
Pastry:
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon ice-cold water
25g sugar
2 cups flour
125g butter

Poached pears:
25g sugar
45ml dark rum (I will use a teaspoon of vanilla paste next time)
2 ripe but firm pears (I used beurre bosc)

Chocolate filling:
25g flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
125g bittersweet dark
75g butter
100g sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk (saved from pastry)

Beat egg yolk, water and sugar and set aside. Combine flour and butter in a food processor until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk mixture and process until the dough just comes together. Add a little more water if you need to. Turn out onto a floured surface and bring together into a ball, flatten and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Now poach the pears: Combine water, sugar and rum and bring to a simmer. Peel, halve & core pears. Cut each half into 3 pieces. Ad pears to the saucepan and similar until tender (recipe says 4 minutes, mine were in for 10 and were still rock-hard). Remove from syrup and drain until needed.

Remove dough from fridge and roll to fit your tin (I used a long rectangular tin). Chill for 30 minutes before baking blind for 10 minutes (I should have left it in for longer).

Prepare chocolate filling: Combine flour & baking powder and set aside. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, add the sugar and mix well. Mix in the egg and egg white, stirring between each addition. Add the flour mixture and stir again.

Pour the chocolate filling into the prepared tart shell and press the pears into the filling. Return to oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until the filling is just set.

Leave to cool before serving.

A cake for chocolate-lovers

I think this chocolate fudge cake is the most chocolatey chocolate cake I have ever eaten! It's from the beautiful Ottolenghi cookbook. I took it to a friends place for dessert and everyone seemed to enjoy it (some even went back for a second slice) but it did leave most of us feeling slightly ill. Not surprising as it consists of little more than sugar, butter, two types of chocolate and eggs.

I usually adapt recipes to suit what I have in the cupboard but this time I followed the recipe to the letter - using two types of chocolate and going to the trouble of buying light muscovado sugar and unsalted butter. This wasn't really necessary as I'm sure one type of chocolate and regular brown sugar would have worked just fine but I was on a mission to re-create the cake as pictured in the book. (I'm enjoying the leftover muscovado sugar on porridge.)

I baked the cake in two stages as per the recipe as it was meant to result in two layers: one firmer and more cakey, the other moussy. I wasn't able to distinguish any layers in my cake. If making again I would just bake the cake in one go (this option is also offered in the recipe). It would save a couple of hours of time as you have to wait for the first layer to cool before pouring the second layer on top and baking again.

We ate the cake with softly whipped cream with raspberries folded through as in the raspberry cheesecake brownie recipe. Fresh raspberries would be perfect with this cake if available or some of Bec's berry ice cream as the whipped cream just added to the richness.

A delicious, but incredibly rich cake.

Chocolate fudge cake

240g unsalted butter, cubed
265g dark chocolate (52 percent cocoa solids), chopped
95g dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa solids), chopped
290g light muscovado sugar
4 tbsp water
5 large eggs, separated
pinch of salt
cocoa powder for dusting

Place chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl large enough to accommodate the entire mix. Put the brown sugar and water into a saucepan, stir to mix and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Pour the boiling syrup over the butter and chocolate and stir well until melted. Stir in the egg yolks, one at a time. Set aside until it cools to room temperature.

Beat egg whites and salt to a firm but not dry meringue. Fold into chocolate mixture a third at a time until incorporated.

Pour two thirds of the mixture (about 800g) into a greased, lined 20cm springform tin. Leave the rest of the batter until later. Bake at 170 degrees C for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Flatten the top of the cake with a palette knife. Pour the rest of the batter on top and return to the oven for 20-25 minutes. The cake should have moist crumbs when checked with a skewer. Leave to cool completely in tin before removing. Dust with cocoa powder and serve.

The cake will keep, covered, at room temperature for 4 days.

Thursday baking - crunchie bar shortbread

As we bake our way through A Treasury of NZ Baking...

This recipe jumped out at me when I first flipped through the Treasury. A shortbread recipe with ground almonds and big chunks of smashed up Crunchie bar. Yum. I have made these twice now, the second time with self raising flour as we had run out of regular flour. This resulted in chunky cookies rather than crisp shortbread, these were ok but rather ordinary, and I preferred the texture of the shortbread.

The second time I also used half chopped Crunchie bars and half chopped Crunchie bar chocolate block (you can see the difference on the chopping board below...) and it was better with the chopped bars as you get more honeycomb, which melts as they cook so provide a lovely toffee-ish crunch. It looks cool too.

This shortbread would be a fun recipe to make with kids, who I am sure would love to smash up the crunchie bar. Next time I make this (and there will definitely be a next time) I think I will double the recipe, in order to keep one roll of dough in the freezer for last minute baking.

Crunchie Bar Shortbreads - week 10 (Claire Aldous)

250g butter, softened
1 c icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp rice flour
3 tbsp cornflour
70g (1 pkt) ground almonds
2 x 50g Crunchie bars


Preheat oven to 175c and line 2 trays with baking paper. Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Combine the remaining ingredients except the Crunchie bars, and add to the butter mix. Beat to combine.

Put the Crunchies in a plastic bag and crush roughly with a rolling pin. Gently mix this through the dough, taking care to not crush the larger pieces - you are after a range of sizes.

Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and flatten lightly with a fork. (I rolled the dough into a log, chilled it and then sliced it into rounds) Bake for 12 minutes, rotating trays halfway through to ensure even cooking. Leave shortbreads on the tray for 5 minutes to firm up before transferring to a rack to cool.

This makes about 24

A few of our favourite things...

Miriam: A couple of years ago, Becs gave me this lemon/lime squeezer as a birthday present. You place half the citrus, cut side down in the squeezer, then squeeze. The citrus is turned inside out, thus extracting every last bit of juice. There are wee slits in the bottom that don't allow any pips to creep through - genius!

Libby: Free rosemary! There's no need to grow your own rosemary in Wellington as it grows like a weed all over the place. It's particularly abundant just down the hill in Thorndon where I know of several spots I can pick a sprig or two from when I need it. This sprig was finely chopped along with a clove of garlic and lemon zest and sprinkled over a wintery beef and vegetable casserole. Yum!

Becs: At home we have a 'chocolate drawer' that is always full of packaged sweet treats, as well as chocolate for baking. You would think this drawer would be a constant temptation, however for some reason most of the time this doesn't seem to be the case, and often things remain in it for months or even years. However one recent addition to the chocolate drawer that I find impossible to resist is Whittakers Ghana Peppermint. I have always loved Whittaker's plain Ghana block for baking with, but this deliciously dark chocolate with the addition of a flowing peppermint centre it is seriously good. It is impossible to stop at one piece...

the MOST delicious cake

This Chocolate, Orange and Almond cake is one of my new found favourites. The recipe was emailed to me last year by my friend Anna, who had enjoyed it at a work morning tea courtesy of a colleague. I was impressed by her rave review, and baked the cake that very evening. I then forwarded the recipe to Libby who did the same, so within a few days the cake was enjoyed in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch! Since then it has been made many times and has found a place in all our baking repertoires.

It is a variation on the ever popular flourless Orange and Almond cake, that those adhering to a gluten free diet are probably sick of the sight of...however the addition of some dutch cocoa and a layer of dark chocolate ganache take this recipe to new heights. It is moist, light and nutty, rich but not too sweet, as it contains whole oranges. This is the sort of cake that makes the kitchen, and indeed the whole house smell utterly delicious while it bakes. It is incredibly easy to make, being blended up in the food processor; the only forethought required is the precooking of the oranges. Often I will boil two extra oranges, puree them and freeze to use the next time I make this cake.

Everyone who tries it seems to love it, and will probably ask you for the recipe. The recipe is from Nigella Lawson.

Chocolate, Orange & Almond Cake

2 oranges (thin skinned)
6 eggs
200g ground almonds
250g castor sugar
50g dutch cocoa
1 tsp (heaped) baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Put the whole oranges in a saucepan, cover with water and simmer for around 2 hours or until soft. Cut into quarters, and blend (skin, pulp, pith and all) to a fine pulp in the food processor. Add the eggs, followed by the remaining ingredients. (I like to roast whole almonds and blitz them in the food processor, I think the texture is much nicer and nuttier this way than using preground almonds.)

Pour cake batter into a 25cm cake tin that has the base lined with baking paper, and bake at 180c for around 45 minutes. Cool in the tin, then pour over chocolate ganache. This is quickly made by heating 150ml of cream in the microwave until nearly boiling, then adding 150g chopped dark chocolate, stir to combine until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Leave ganache to cool a little, so it will thicken slightly and be easier to pour or spread over the cake.