Topic 8

Eggs

There are some food images you see, and you know instantly you have to reproduce the dish.  For me, this was just such a recipe. I had considered making the torte for topic 7 “Celebration” but with the cute little Easter eggs on top and an egg based chocolate mousse I decided that it would be equally suited to the egg theme.

My confession however is that I didn’t use a cookbook, for this weeks “Cookbook Challenge”.  The recipe came straight from the Free Coles Autumn Magazine. So I guess the big question is it as luscious as it looks… and the answer, absolutely!

Ingredients:

Base

150gm Oreo Cookies

40gm butter (melted)

60gm salted peanuts

Mousse Layer

250gm milk chocolate

50gm dark chocolate

½ cup cream

4 eggs separated

10gm sachet unflavoured gelatin

¼ cup boiling water

¾ cup caster sugar

Ganache Layer

¾ cup dark chocolate melts

½ cup smooth peanut butter

40 gm butter

Method:

Line a spring form tin with plastic wrap.

Place the butter, Oreos and peanuts in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Press the mixture into the base of the prepared tin and refrigerate.

Heat cream in the microwave and add the milk and dark chocolate. Stir until the mixture is smooth. If necessary microwave again in 30 second intervals.  Once the chocolate mixture is smooth, whisk in the egg yolks.

In a small bowl add the boiling water to the gelatin and combine the two until the gelatin has dissolved.

Add the gelatine to the mouse mixture and stir until it is well combined.

Using an electric mixer and a clean bowl beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy and all the sugar has been incorporated.

Fold the egg whites gentle through the chocolate custard. Until just combine, try not to reduce the volume of the mousse by stirring.

Pour the mousse over the base and return the dish to the fridge.

To make the ganache, firstly melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat.  Add the peanut butter and then the chocolate and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth. Remove the ganache from the heat and allow it to completely cool at room temperature.

Pour the ganache over the torte and refrigerate for at least two hour prior to serving.

Remove the tin and decorate with Easter Eggs and shaved white chocolate.

Enjoy!

This really is an easy dish, and so decadent and rich!

Week 6

Topic American

Key Lime Pie, it is such a cute name!

This dessert had always intrigued me because at one stage it was obviously popular, and I heard it mentioned a lot but never had the opportunity to try it.  Now I don’t hear it mentioned so much, and I still haven’t tried it.  So anyway, that was what precipitated the making of this dessert. My curiosity finally got the better of me and since I don’t seem to see it on a menu anywhere I realized I was going to have to bite the bullet and make it myself.  So this seemed like the obvious choice for the "American Cookbook Challenge." After a lot of research it seems that there really is only one way to make Key Lime Pie and the ingredients really don’t seem to vary from recipe to recipe.

Now, I know in making that comment I will get a million variations on the recipe, so feel free to send them to me and I will happily make (and eat) them all. One common variation I have noticed is the choice between a cream topping on the pie or a meringue.  I went with the cream and I was really pleased I did.  The pie is very sweet! I would have found the meringue too sweet on the top where as the cream cut through the sweet and tart flavour.

My biggest problem with the Key Limes is that they only grow in the Florida Keys, so I couldn't make and authentic pie.  I substituted Key Limes for regular limes, but I am assured the flavour shouldn't vary too much.

I did have one little mishap making my first pie. I will share so that no one else goes down the same path.  I really thought at the outset that the pie should be a gorgeous light green! I presumed it would get the green from the lime rind so I added extra rind to get some colour in the tart. Mistake! Too much rind will make the tart too strong and tarty. Stick with the rind quantities below.

Prior to making the second tart I did some further research and found that the colour of key lime pie is a gentle cream colour, with the only green being flecks of rind.  One article also warned not to add green food colouring.  I admit I had almost been tempted, and now that I have seen some Google images I am so relieved that I didn’t.

Now if I have made this pie sound difficult I am sorry.  It is the easiest pie I have made! Simple and delicious.

Ingredients:
Crust
200g digestive, nice or wheatmeal biscuits
1 tablespoon caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, melted
Filling
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 x 395g can sweetened condensed milk
150ml thickened cream
4 limes juiced (1/2 cup juice)

*zest of 1 lime only :)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Spray a tart tin with cooking oil.
Place the biscuits in a food processor and process. Add the sugar and melted butter and process until combined.
Press the mixture firmly into the base and up the sides of the tart tin. Use a glass to ensure the crust is firmly in place. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.
Whisk the eggs, condensed milk, cream, lime zest and lime juice until smooth. You can continue to use the cleaned food processor. Pour into the biscuit crust.
Bake for 40 minutes or until filling is just set. Cool the tart on the bench and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to serving. Add cream and serve.

Check out what everyone else made for the "American Challenge" 

http://community.jeroxie.com/groups/cookbook-challenge/ 

Week 2

Citrus

When I first started this site I really didn’t make a lot of desserts. As time goes on I find I am choosing desserts for most themed topics. Somehow I get more satisfaction out of preparing and photographing a sweet, rather than a savoury item.

So for this weeks Cookbook Challenge topic being “Citrus” I toyed with the idea of a “Duck l’orange” for about a millisecond, and then went straight to the sweet section of my mind.  I do like a nice orange cake, especially orange and poppyseed muffin but that’s a little plain. I wanted something sticky and desserty… and so the Orange Syrup Almond and Polenta Cake was born, a hybrid of many recipes.

The cake has a fantastic texture which is due to the flourless crumb. It is beautiful and light, with just the almond meal and citrus zest giving the cake its flavour. The real zing comes from the warm orange sauce.  The sauce is poured over the cake turning it into something which resembles a summer pudding more than a plain cake.

Ingredients:

225g butter, softened

225g caster sugar

3 large eggs

225g ground almonds

grated rind of 2 oranges

100g  polenta

½ tsp baking powder

Orange Syrup:

100g caster sugar

grated rind of 2 oranges

450ml orange juice

2 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

5 cardomon pods (bruised)

100ml water

2 tbsp cornflour

Preheat the oven to 145 C for a fan forced oven. Grease cake tin.

Beat the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs one at a time.

Add the orange rind, almond meal, polenta and baking powder and mix until combined. Spoon into the cake tin and level the top.

Bake for 1 hour or until firm and golden.

Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes to cool, then turn out onto a serving platter.

Orange Syrup:

Combine orange juice, rind, sugar and spices in a saucepan and bring to the boil while stirring. Simmer for 1 - 2 minutes.

Turn the heat off and allow the spices to steep in the liquid while the cake cooks. Combine the water and cornflour and reserve for later use. Once the cake is cooked remove the spices from the sauce. Turn the heat to low and warm the orange syrup once again. Add the cornflour mix and stir until the syrup thickens.

Serve the syrup over the warm cake.

This cake would be delicious served with ice-cream.