Category: Desserts


Jan
2015

Nutty Nutella Cake… with a Meringue Topping

categories: Ancho, Cake, Chocolate, Icecream, Meringue, Sorbet, Spice Peddler

Just as we finish a good meal with something sweet, so shall we round out the month of madness with one of the kookiest recipes I’ve seen lately.  And here it is:

Nutty Nutella Cake
Nutty Nutella Cake

Looking at that photo, I know what you are thinking.  And you know what?

Some of you are mean!!!!

Have you been taking lessons from my family?

So these are not the best looking cakes in the world.  There is a definite dip in middle of all of them.  The texture is kind of rough….then again….that rough texture is also kind of crispy and there is a delicious fudgy layer in the middle. And who doesn’t love a fudgy layer?

Nutty Nutella Cake2
Nutty Nutella Cake2

But remember the Twinkie Defence?  I’m about to launch the Picnic Defence. The Picnic is one of the best chocolate bars ever. Chocolate, caramel, wafer, peanuts.  So good.  The only problem?  It looks like a big old turd.

 

But so good to eat.

And the Nutty Nutella Cake is the Picnic bar‘s next door neighbour in “Dammit we taste so much better than we look” Street.

You know what else makes this cake so special?  I’ll tell you in a moment but first, let’s take a walk down Pronunciation Avenue and talk about Nutella.  In Australia ( and I believe England), we call this super delicious chocolate hazelnut spread Nut-ella.  Because it’s made of nuts.  And….ella.  Ella being an Italian euphemism for a shit ton of sugar.

However, definitely on The Splendid Table Podcast and I’m sure a few others I listen to, I have heard Americans call this stuff Noo-tella.

WTF?  I can get over that whole tomato / tomayto thing.  But Noo-tella is a step too far.
It’s NUT-ella.  End of.

Nutella Cake3
Nutella Cake3

I first found this recipe on the Masterchef site.  However, it has since been taken down.  Only a picture remains. And yep, phew…Matt Preston’s cake is as ugly as mine…

http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes

Possibly even uglier.

But I was able to find a copy in Matt Preston’s latest book and in the same spirit of adventure in which I made muffins from ice cream and flour a few years back I decided to give it a whirl.  And you know what else….there’s obviously some weird psychic connection between Matty P, and me because in the same book, he has a recipe for “bread” made from you guessed it, ice cream and flour!

So, you wanna know what’s in these ugly but delicious sweet treats?

Nutella Cake Ingredients
Nutella Cake Ingredients
  • Nutella…or if you’re cheap like me, supermarket brand hazelnut spread.
  • Eggs
  • Vanillla

That’s all folks.  C’est tout.  Three ingredients.  To get this….

Nutella Cake 4
Nutella Cake 4

And you know what?  That little dip….don’tcha just want to fill it up with all sorts of deliciousness?

I went for a contrast – still warm cake with some of my ancho berry sorbet and a couple of leaves of chocolate mint – direct from the garden!!!

Nutella Cake and Ancho Sorbet 1
Nutella Cake and Ancho Sorbet 1

But you could have any flavour of ice cream, or some salted caramel sauce..or even some normal frosting…

DSC02387Or what if you added a big dollop of nutella into the dip and then made a meringue over it?  OMG.  I am so making that….stay right here.  I”ll be back…..

Just got to fill these cakes….

Filled Nutella Cakes
Filled Nutella Cakes

Then whip up a meringue….

Meringue top
Meringue top

And bung ’em in the oven for a bit….

And then…..

Meringue Topped Nutella Cake
Meringue Topped Nutella Cake

I am giggling like a little girl and dancing round my kitchen.  My, face, my hands, my camera are all smeared with chocolate and meringue and am feeling both a little nauseous and like I have died and gone to heaven….

We only had three of the cakes left and I have just eaten two of them….they were that good!!!!

Scuse the fingers….but you’re lucky there are any photo’s I was so busy shoving these into my gob taste-testing to ensure the highest possible quality standards.

Nutella Meringue Cake2
Nutella Meringue Cake2

And look at that…the light as air toasty on top meringue, the oozy melty nutella and the cakey base….

What a way to end the month!!!!

I am racing to get this out because I am heading up to the sunshiney Gold Coast very early tomorrow morning for a couple of days – sadly mostly work and not much play – but by the time I can post again it will be February….which is as scary as hell.  Where did January go????

Have a great week where ever you are and what ever you get up to.

 

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Nutella Meringue Cake

Nutella Meringue Cake
Print Recipe

A delicious chocolate cake with a base of three ingredients. Good by itself or topped with your favourite flavours for a super delicious treat!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Cake

  • 4 large eggs
  • 240g Nutella or chocolate hazelnut spread of your choice
  • 1 tsp vanilla

For the topping

  • Additional Nutella – 1 tsp per cake
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2cup of sugar

Instructions

For the cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 175C.
  2. Lightly grease your cupcake liners and place in a tray.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs on top speed until they have tripled in size (approx 6 minutes but this will depend on the power of your mixer).
  4. Place the Nutella in a metal bowl with the vanilla extract and stir over a pan of boiling water until the Nutella softens. (You can also do this in a microwave – use a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute, stirring every 15 seconds).
  5. Turn the mixer down to low and drop spoonfuls of Nutella into the egg mixture. Repeat until all the nutella has been added and the Nutella is completely mixed in.
  6. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula to ensure there is no Nutella sticking to them and stir a few times by hand.
  7. Pour the Nutella mixture into the prepared cases, filling them about 3/4 full.
  8. Bake for approx 15-20 minutes until a skewer inserted into a cake comes out clean.
  9. The cakes will look lovely and round when they come out of the oven but they will collapse as they cool.
  10. Once cool, add a spoonful of Nutella into each dip.

For the Meringue

  1. Separate the eggs and place the whites in a clean, dry bowl.
  2. Beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
  3. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy.
  4. Spoon or pipe this mixture onto the cakes.
  5. Place under preheated grill for 1-2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Alternatively, use a culinary blow torch to lightly grill the meringue

Notes

  • This cake is also great topped with a scoop of your favourite icecream, would be awesome with a salted caramel, berries and cream etc.
  • I used a coconut oil spray to grease the cupcake liners which added the slightest hint of coconut to my cakes.
  • The meringue quantities above will cover an entire batch of cupcakes.

 


Jan
2015

Surprise! Orange Chicken Salad

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Chicken, Jello Salad, Jelly, Orange

OMG. I was downloading some photos from my camera of the Ice Iced Vovo when I found all the photos  I had taken of the Orange and Chicken Surprise Salad. I had totally forgotten about it. How,  I do not know.   I’m sure I didn’t drink THAT much over the holiday period.  I’m equally sure you will agree that the Orange Chicken Surprise Salad should be unforgettable (in every way).

Given that I have named January the month of crazy, it seemed fitting to post it here.  I totally had something else in mind to close out the month and we may yet get there.  But this had to get a mention.

It looks quite pretty.  Like a lovely orange jello dessert.  But wait!  A surprise lurks within.

Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad
Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad

Not much of a surprise as the name pretty much gives it away….(There must be some sort of term for that….is it a paradox? A tautology?  Someone smarter than me please tell me….) But  hiding under that innocent orange jello exterior is a chicken salad.  A rather tasty chicken salad to boot.

Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad2
Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad2

The idea of mixing sweet jello and savoury items kind of freaks me out.  It should not work.  It freaks me out even more when, like this, the result is actually pretty tasty.  Mind you, I loaded the jello with lemon juice so it was not as sweet as the original recipe dictated which may have helped make it a bit more palateable to my taste.  The original recipe is below:

Orange and Chicken Surprise SaladThe hardest thing about this recipe is getting the layer of jelly on the top the right thickness.  My cup sank way too deep the first few times, requiring some melting and resetting of the jelly.  It was still a little bit thin in this version and it kind of fell into a heap when I cut  into it.

Orange and Chicken Surprise Salad
Orange and Chicken Surprise Salad

But all up, this was a success.  The jelly actually added a light tangy touch to the salad which was refreshing both on a hot day and after the heavy meals of Christmas.

My version, which includes cranberries and tarragon is below.

I’ll be spending this week working on my post to celebrate Australia Day….I’m venturing into the best left alone arena of “things people eat when drunk”  and, believe me, whether I love it or hate it, it’s going to be a doozy!!!

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Orange & Chicken Surprise Salad

Surprise Orange and Chicken Salad
Print Recipe

Surprise! Hidden beneath the layers of tangy orange and lemon jelly is a super tasty chicken salad.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Jello

  • 2 packets orange jello
  • 2 1/2 cups orange juice
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup boiling water, just off boil

For The Salad

  • 11/2 cups finely diced cooked chicken
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped tarragon
  • 1/2 tbsp chopped chives
  • 1/4 cup (about a handful) of cranberries, chopped
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 1 stick of celery, diced
  • more lemon juice to bind, if needed
  • salt and pepper to taste

To Garnish

  • 1 orange peeled and segmented
  • Mint leaves
  • Cranberries

Instructions

  1. Combine the jello, fruit juices and boiling water, stirring until the jello melts. Place in fridge to set.
  2. When about half set place a small bowl into the jello and weigh it down (baking beans are ideal if you have them, otherwise use rice or beans or anything else you have to hand).
  3. Chill for several hours until very firm.
  4. Meanwhile combine all the salad ingredients and season to taste.
  5. When the jelly is set, take a sharp knife and dip it in hot water. Dry the knife then ease all around the small bowl. You may need to dip it in the water a couple of times.
  6. Once the bowl is removed pack the chicken salad into the cavity. Put foil or a plate over it and chill until firm.
  7. When ready to serve, place the mould in hot water to loosen the jelly, it only needs to be in there a short time. Then turn it out and garnish with the orange segments, cranberries and mint leaves.

Notes

  • If your cup sinks too low in your jelly mould like mine did, place the bottom of the mould in hot water. The jelly will melt. Keep the mould in the water until you get the level of jelly you desire then place back in the fridge to reset.

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Jan
2015

The Ice Iced Vovo with Ancho Sorbet

categories: Ancho, Desserts, Icecream, Raspberry, Spice Peddler
Ice Iced Vovo 4

 All right, Stop.  Collaborate and listen, I am back with a brand new invention….

Thanks to my lovely friends at the Spice Peddlers we are mixing up the flavours of Mexico with an Australian icon to create a dessert that has more contradictions than a Katy Perry song.

This baby is hot and it’s cold, it’s sweet and it’s sour,it’s crunchy and gooey, it’s pretty in pink but it packs a wicked punch and it’s fruity and boozy…ok, technically, those two aren’t opposites but this is awesome and fucks with your head in the best  possible way. Et voila, the Ice Iced Vovo.

Ice Iced Vovo 4
Ice Iced Vovo 4

  But first, for those of you not familiar with the Iced Vovo, it is probably the most legendary biscuit in Australia. 

Well….right behind the Tim Tam. And the Anzac.

We are a nation of biscuit lovers.

Anyhoo..it’s right up there. 

Iced VovoAccording to the Arnott’s Biscuits website:

An Iced VoVo is a lovely biscuit topped with two strips of pink fondant and a strip of strawberry jam, all sprinkled with coconut – a symphony in pink!

A much smaller symphony in pink than what I remembered from my childhood but a symphony in pink nonetheless.  Anyway, forget about them for a while.  Think of this as a play. Australia has exited stage left.

Because we need to talk about sorbet.  More specifically this sorbet which I made from some ancho chillies (sent to me by my friends at the Spice Peddlers), some raspberries, tequila and lime.  Enter Mexico stage right….

Ancho Sorbet

So I whipped up the sorbet.  And it was delicious Mind you, with those ingredients how could it not be?

It is really good just on it’s own. 

Ancho Berry Sorbet
Ancho Berry Sorbet

 But anyone can have ice cream in a cone.  It tasted great,  but I was feeling a bit blah about the presentation. I actually made this ages ago but because I didn’t love it, I found it really hard to write about.  When I feel that way about most things, I just don’t write about them.  But this one haunted me, I had to write about it but the cone just seemed so boring.

So, after pondering about it for a few weeks, I thought maybe an ice cream sandwich would be a bit more interesting.  So I hightailed it down to the supermarket to buy some biscuits.  I had in my head something like a shortbread or those cats tongues?  And then I saw the Iced Vovo’s. 

So I had my components.  My first idea was a very simple ice cream sandwich:

Ice Iced Vovo 1
Ice Iced Vovo 1

 This looked great and was pretty much what I wanted.  However, the main problem with it was that when you bit into it all the sorbet oozed out over your hands.

Ice Iced Vovo 2But it was good, it had the flavours and a normal person would have probably left it there.  Luckily for you, I ‘m not normal.  I liked the sandwich better but was still not absolutely inspired.  Then, this morning I was writing my journal and it came to me….

The strip of jam down the middle of the vovo was the same colour as the sorbet….so what if…..you took a biscuit, any biscuit and you put a  little line of sorbet down the middle?  Then instead of fondant what if you took some of those little baking marshmallows….hmm…how would you stop them rolling off?  What if you toasted them?

If there was a problem, yo, I’ll solve it. Check out the hook while my djay revolves it.

Ice, Iced Vovo

Ice Iced Vovo 3
Ice Iced Vovo 3

These are best eaten straight away, when the marshmallow is still gooey and before the sorbet melts…so good…and once you’ve made the sorbet it takes about 3 minutes to make. Super easy, super good.  Seriously the hardest part is making sure the marshmallows don’t fall off the biscuits as you put the tray in the oven!

I ‘m going to be thinking up some more kooky recipes for the rest of the month of crazy.  Have a great one whatever you do.  Meanwhile, enjoy the duclet tones of Mr Robert Van Winkle AKA Vanilla Ice.

 

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Apr
2014

Raising The Salad Bar Part 2 – Melon Surprise x 2

categories: 1970's food, Apples, Celery, Grapes, Jello, Jelly, Rockmelon, Salad, Tuna

Shortly after you start reading vintage recipe books, you start becoming attuned to certain words as being signifiers of something truly awful.

Any recipe with the word “Surprise” in it usually falls slam bang into this description.  Believe me, nine times out of ten, the surprise isn’t one of the happy, happy, joy, joy variety.

For instance, my mum used to make something we used to call tuna surprise.  I found this recipe for something very similar in an old magazine.

Tuna & Almond SurpriseIt is sans the potato chip topping which was always the best bit of mum’s tuna surprise but I guess I can forgive that when the Shaun referred to was none other than my main man Shaun Micallef.

What?

I’ve been doing this a couple of years now and I’ve never spoken about my huge girly love crush on this man?  For those of you who do haven’t  had the pleasure, imagine the wit of John Stewart combined with the silver foxiness of George Clooney and you’re in the ball park…

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoz6kZsjc3s

Anyway, enough about my obsessions…ok, no, just one more.  It’s my blog, I guess I can do what I want….

Ok, so before this turns into the gushy, girly Shaun Micallef hour…lets talk about Melon Surprise.

Melon Surprise
Melon Surprise

But before we go there can we just stop for a moment and look at my ever so cute pins? Bought at Daiso…how adorable are they?

Melon Surprise2
Melon Surprise2

So the melon had pins in it because…surprise….this ain’t no normal melon!!!!

Because  when you cut it open….look what’s inside!

Melon Surprise 3
Melon Surprise 3

Grapes in Jello folks, grapes in jello!

Hands up who was expecting something really disgusting?  Wait a few minutes….it’s coming.

But in a real surprise, the Melon Surprise turned out to be pretty damn super.  To my taste, more of a dessert than a salad but  still pretty damn good all the same.

Melon Surprise 4
Melon Surprise 4

Ok…so  by the way, both of these recipes come from the “Elegant First Courses” section of Salads For All Seasons in which  Rosemary Mayne-Wilson tells us that

“The recipes in this section are designed to excite the eye, delight the palate and stimulate the appetite”

And sure, the Melon Surprise does all of these things.  As you can see I tool some liberties with the flavour of jelly and the colour of the grapes.

Melon SurpriseTime did not permit me to peel the grapes.  There is not enough time in the universe to induce me to do that.

Next up, we have Surfer’s Paradise Melon.

Let’s take the ingredients for this individually shall we?

Rockmelons – sure.

Celery – why not?

Grapes…worked in the Melon Surprise.

Apples – I’m getting a bit excited, this is looking Waldorfy…

Mayo…yep, its a Waldorf with Melons.  That sounds great!

But wait…there’s more?

Oh yeah, Walnuts right?  Waldorf with Melons.  Awesome.

What?  What do you mean the final ingredient isn’t walnuts?  How can we have Waldorf with Melons without Walnuts?

Oh, I see the quirky bit, the RMW spin is that it’s not walnuts.  So what is it?  Almonds?  Cashews?  Pistachios?

It’s what?

Yeah…that’s what I thought you said…..

Ok…look, I just want to doublecheck.

You said tuna right?

Like in the fish?

Oh for the love of God….why?

Incidentally, the tuna and fruit combo must be vibing in some retro space because recently the lovely Erica from Retro Recipe Attempts was guesting on Mid Century Menu and made some Tuna Apple Sandwiches.

In the blurb for this salad RMW says:

“When Australians are overseas, few requests are made for them to contribute to food stalls and fairs…it is assumed that our cuisine is either too dull to be considered or just an offshoot of English cooking…However, if there is a request for an Australian dish, one friend always serves this grand melon appetizer”

I suspect she’s confusing cause and effect…

If anyone turned up to my food stall or fair with a mix of canned tuna and rockmelon, I’d probably ban their whole nation too.

However, here it is….

Surfer's Paradise Melon Salad
Surfer’s Paradise Melon Salad

It looks pretty good doesn’t it?

And truth be told, it was not disgusting.  It had a nice crunch and it was…palatable. I might have actually liked it without the rockmelon…

Surfer's Paradise Melon Salad2
Surfer’s Paradise Melon Salad2

One thing?  If you ever plan on making this, when you mix the rockmelon and tuna together, it looks huge.  There is a mountain of Surfer’s Paradise Melon Salad such that you think you’ll  never be able to eat it all.

I had for lunch at around 12:30.  And, believe me, by 5:00pm I was ready to gnaw the leg off my chair.  Because when you think about it, this is what it is:

Surfer's Paradise Melon Salad IngredientsThanks company I am not going to name (but hint, their name is pretty clearly displayed in the photo) for only putting half a can of tuna into a can of tuna.  I guess that’s why it’s called light….And the rest of it is just fruit and celery so I guess you know, from a weight loss perspective this is win-win.  You won’t want to eat it but when you do, it probably has all of about 3 calories.

Surfer's Paradise MelonAnd just so I’m not deterring tourism to our lovely Gold Coast, I can almost guarantee that no one in Surfer’s Paradise is eating this…do not let this dissuade you from coming.

By the way, I just signed up for 100 Happy Days and will be regularly tweeting my happy snaps.  You can follow my progress on Twitter or join up.  To find out more, click the link:

http://100happydays.com/

I”m going to spending my week finding things that make me happy. Make yours fabulous whatever you do!

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Dec
2013

(Almost an) Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad

categories: 1970's food, Avocado, Desserts, Jelly, Lemon, Lime, Mayonnaise, Strawberries

Remember way back when I made the Spaghetti Bolognese that had the chicken livers in it?  You know, “the best Bolognese ever” that prompted me to implement the “Don’t ask, don’t tell rule?” into all future cooking ventures?  Well, it happened again this week with the Almost Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad, and we’ll definitely go there but first….

Topaz and Ruby Fruit Salad
Topaz and Ruby Fruit Salad

You might be looking at the above picture and wondering why the featured item is called an Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad.  Because emeralds are green right?  Any fool knows that. And, you might assume that, this is one of those quirks of vintage cookbooks that I would normally mock mercilessly.

Unfortunately, wrong and wrong.

Sometimes, the fault lies entirely with me.  I’ll pause while you pick your jaws up off the floor.  But just to prove a point, let’s count all the ways I failed to notice a fairly crucial part of Nancy Spain’s recipe for Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad.

1 The name.  Emerald and Ruby.

2 Nancy also very kindly provides a picture of said Emerald and Ruby fruit salad.  And even more kindly, it is one of the pictures in the all colour cookbook that is in glorious technicolour.  And yep, it’s green.

Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad
Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad

3 The recipe quite clearly states that layer 1 consists of lime jelly and strawberries.

Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad

4. Emeralds are green.  Even failing all of the above.  Logic would dictate that the Emerald layer of the Emerald Fruit Salad would be green.

So, given all that  and that I trotted all the way to the shops and bought some lime jelly specifically to make my Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad, how on earth did I manage to use lemon i.e. yellow jelly in the first layer?

I know .  I was astounded at my level of dumbfuckery too.  Feel free to roll your eyes and face palm as much as you want.  I deserve it. But once you’re done, let me introduce you to my…(erm..just hold on a moment whilst I google yellow gemstones….) highly delicious  Topaz and Ruby Fruit Salad.

Topaz and Ruby Fruit Salad
Topaz and Ruby Fruit Salad

It still looks pretty but…doofus mistake right? It also then really threw me for the second layer.  I had lime jelly left.  But, now the recipe called for lemon jelly.  Dilemma – use the lime jelly and hope it turns out ok?  Or head back down to the shops and buy some more lemon jelly?  In the end, I bought more lemon jelly.  I figured the avocado, mayo and salt combo was going to be enough of a sell even using the correct recipe.  Who knew what would happen if I threw the lime into  the mix?

Topaz and Ruby Fruit Salad
Topaz and Ruby Fruit Salad

So, now to the next part of this saga.

I live with the fussiest eater in the world.  And high on the lengthy list of foods he doesn’t eat are avocado and mayonnaise.

So, I was kind of surprised to get a phone call at work on Monday, after making this on Sunday.

“You know that jelly thing?”

“Uh huh”

“I saw you put the avocado in”

Fuck it.  Now I”m going to have to eat the whole thing myself. I’m going to be eating jelly until Easter.

“But I took some to work to have for  snack and…it’s surprisingly good.  What else is in there?”

Oh…ermm…jelly.  Lemon Jelly.

“Just lemon jelly and avocado?”

Yeah..pretty much…bit of lemon juice…

“Wow…who knew…it’s really good”

Good.  I’m glad you like it.

I’m going to hell.  I really am.  But you know, it also kind of proves my point.  Tonight if I served up a salad containing avocado and mayo, it would be left on the plate. And he would probably eat two slices of the Emerald and Ruby Fruit Salad for dessert to make up for it.

Just as long as no one tells him what’s in it.

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