Brody Cakes

In my quest to find healthy nutritious food that my toddler will happily sit down and devour in the manner he used to devour his food, I have been inspired by a muffin recipe I read in Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious.

My thought process has been that if the food resembles a cake, he will more than likely give it a go and that seems the be the most challenging part at the moment (getting him to try something, even foods he previously loved, is impossible). The 3 parties we attended on the weekend have led me to this thinking and I’m willing to give anything a go.

The recipe published by Jessica was for a sweet muffin, and the one I have created is for a savoury ‘cake’ – quite adult friendly too.

BRODY CAKES makes about 30 pattycake sized cakes

Ingredients

Batter

2.5 cups plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup milk
2 eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil

Filling

6 rashers short cut middle bacon, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 carrot grated
¼ green capsicum, finely diced
¼ cup pureed pumpkin
¼ cup pureed sweet potato
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp. mixed dried Italian herbs

Grated mozzarella, salt and pepper for topping

1. Combined all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and gradually add to the dry ingredients until it all just comes together. Set aside

Note: be careful to not over mix the batter as this will make your muffins tough.

3. Fry bacon and onion in a little vegetable oil until bacon the bacon is crispy and the onion has become translucent.
4. Add the carrot and capsicum and fry until soft.
5. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin, sweet potato, parmesan and herbs. Add the bacon mixture and stir to combine.
6. Add the fillings to the pre-prepared batter and mix until just combined.
7. Spoon into muffin tins and top with grated mozzarella, salt and pepper.
8. Bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.


For the little ones – allow to cool. For the big ones – enjoy while hot!

If you have any flavour combinations you would like to share or improvements to this recipe – please feel free to post them in the comments section!

Now… Go Get Your Bake On!!!

Unexpected Deliveries, Exciting News

This week the postman has been kind. I have been lucky enough to receive TWO awesome packages in the mail and both were delivered much earlier than I expected.

The first is a new book, not quite a cookbook (though there are recipes in it) more like a design book. I was reading over one of Bakerella's blogs a few weeks ago and she was writing about her friend who had a book out - Amy Atlas - Sweet Designs. She previewed the book on her blog and something about it just hit me ka-pow! This is what I want my table to look like at every party I have. Sometimes I feel totally creative and in control of my food pursuits - things turn out exactly how I imagine them in my head.... and then other times, I am totally lost.

I decided this book would be a good investment for future parties. Something to inspire me in those lost moments... and I do have a first birthday party coming up to cut loose on... soooo watch this space!

BTW - I purchased this book on Amazon and it was really reasonably priced. About A$17 for the book and A$9 for postage from the US. Pretty happy with that.

My other delivery is very special. It came all the way from the Raspberry Butterfly in Stockton and consists of some very crucial cake decorating supplies. My number one son (I only have one) is turning one very soon and for his birthday my sister and I are attempting to make a monstrous circus train cake. To make the cake as bright and happy as we want it to be will require some particular colour products - oil based powders, edible black texta, silver dusting powder and bulk royal icing. I ordered this 2 days ago and its already arrived - I was in total shock when the delivery lady arrived early this morning and all for a flat shipping rate of A$8!!


Now I'm all set to start working on the components of my unique train creation.

If you have just read this blog and feel inspired, then... Go Get Your Bake On!!

Australia's Angel - Pavlova!

In response to a request from one of my lovely and talented readers (Ellie - you know who you are), I am posting my recipe for a never fail Pavlova. This recipe has been passed down to me from my mum, and both my sister and I now make it almost as well as she does.

Sometimes I opt for a traditional version....

........and sometimes I get a bit creative, this one was for Australia Day.













Actually, I make this quite a bit as it's one of my husbands favourite desserts, but because I hadn't planned to blog it so soon, I don't have many pics to load - just the two above. Next time I make it I will take progress shots to accompany the instructions.

If you want to impress your friends at the next dinner you host, but don't want a lot of last minute mucking around - then this is ABSOLUTELY the recipe for you. This is a hard shell Pavlova with a soft marshmallow centre. If you can swing it right, you can even get a nice chewy layer to the centre - just the way hubby likes it.


PAVLOVA

Ingredients

4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp white vinegar


Method

1. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar, best until dissolved; gradually add remaining sugar, beating well after each addition.

2. When sugar has dissolved, add vanilla and vinegar, beat for 1 minute to just combine the mixture. Mixture should be very thick and glossy.

HOT TIP: to test if all the sugar has dissolved, rub a little bit of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger, if it feels grainy - keep beating. The grainy feeling is sugar that has not dissolved.

3. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Mark a circle on the paper, approx 18cm in diameter. Spoon the meringue onto the tray in the middle of the circle and spread it out to the edges of the circle. Make sure you build up the sides where required, you should have a circle of meringue about 18cm in diameter and 8cm high.

4. Smooth the sides and top of the Pavlova. If you want a decorative finish, like my traditional one above, take a butter knife blade and make grooves around the side of the Pavlova, scraping the meringue that gathers on the knife back on to the top of the circle. Smooth the top again.

5. Bake in a very slow oven (100 degrees) for approx 1.5 hours. The Pavlova should be firm to touch. Turn off the oven and leave the Pavlova inside to cool, with the oven door ajar.

6. When the Pavlova has completely cooled, take a sharp knife and run it around the inside edge of the top of the Pavlova. The crisp top should fall slightly onto the soft centre. This creates room for your topping.

Pavlova is best topped with fresh whipped cream and a selection of fruits. You can also substitute the fruit with broken up chocolate covered honeycomb - mmmmm delish!!!


Now..... Go Get Your Bake On!!


Recipe first published in the Australian Women's Weekly The Great Dessert Cookbook, 1974.

Persian Love Cake

Yes, you read correctly. This week I baked love.

The recipe for Persian Love Cake was given to me this week by an adorable friend that I have had for many years, the delightful Miss Kel. We caught up for a long overdue lunch and discussed, among other things, the..... 'Go Get Your Bake On' blog. She mentioned she had in her possession a fabulous gluten free recipe for a cake that, was.. well...love. Even better, the recipe didn't involve chocolate. Finally, when she told me the name.... I was IN!!

So Miss Kel, this blog is dedicated to you and your Persian Love Cake.

Personally, the jury is still out for me on this cake. I love the concept, a love cake - aphrodisiac in cake form - does life get any better??? But the aphrodisiac qualities come from nutmeg (believed by the Arabic, Chinese and Hindu cultures), more than a tablespoon of nutmeg, which I find to be a really strong flavour. The cake is yum, it has a crispy crunch in the base that comes from the raw sugar which then combines with an interesting tang in the creamy cheesecakey filling, but I am not sure that I am that sold on nutmeg.

I made this cake and took it to a very special party today, the collective first birthday party for all the babies in my mothers group. With all the brightly coloured yummies on the table, the old love cake looked a little boring, but those that took a piece said they enjoyed it and asked for the recipe, soooo I'll let you be the judge.

Its also supposed to be served with honey and vanilla spiked greek yoghurt. When I sampled mine with the suggested accompaniment I found it to be too tart and over powering. Next time I would probably skip the side serve of yoghurt and just have it solo.


PERSIAN LOVE CAKE

Ingredients

3 cups almond meal
1 cup raw sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
120gm unsalted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature
2 eggs
250gm greek yoghurt, plus 250gm for serving (optional)
1 heaped tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
45gms pistachios
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
2 tbsp honey


Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 23cm springform cake pan with baking paper.

2. Combine almond meal, sugars, salt and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

3. Spoon half of this mix into the springform pan and using the back of a spoon, smooth out so that the mixture evenly covers the base of the pan.

4. Add eggs, yoghurt, nutmeg and cinnamon to the remaining crumb mix and pulse until just combined. Pour this mix over the prepared base. Scatter the pistachios over the top of the cake (they should not sink) in any patter or design you like.

5. Bake for apporx 30-35 minutes, or until golden (need to watch this as mine got a little toasty). Leave the cake to cool in the pan and serve with the extra greek yoghurt mixed with the vanilla seeds and honey.





HOT TIP: I was unable to remove the baking paper from the bottom of my cake without the cake breaking at the sides. In case you have the same problem, make sure you cut the paper for the bottom of the pan to the exact size and that way you won't even see it when its on a serving plate.

Apparently this cake freezes really well and the flavours intensify by day 2 or 3. I've only just made the cake so I can't comment on that.



NOW...... Go Get Your Bake On!!

p.s. apologies loyal readers for the quality of photos in this blog. Something has happened to my camera and these are all I was able to salvage.

Bugs Bunny? Easter Bunny??.... Honey Bunny!!

Inspiration this week comes from none other than the cute as pie Easter Bunny and the cuter than pie husband of mine.

In the lead up to Easter this year I found myself idling my mornings away by watching a lot more daytime TV than I normally would or is probably healthy. This is largely due to the fact that we ere anchored to home this year and not galavanting across the countryside taking advantage of all the public holidays. Ho hum.

Anyway, one particular morning I was enjoying some quality time with my hubby, sipping a lovely warming cup of tea and looking at, but not really watching, the TV. A segment came on that jokingly suggested it was going to make a snappy Easter treat for the Easter Bunny. We all know the diet of the Easter Bunny consists of the primary staple - carrots, so it wasn't hard to figure out they would be making carrot cake. How much carrot cake the Easter Bunny actually consumes, I'm not so sure about, but it was a cute tag line nonetheless.

So here we are, curled up on the couch watching the segment and we see that the end result is a monstrous cake, four layers all jam packed with thick luxurious cream cheese frosting. The slice they cut could barely stand up it was so big, totally over indulgent - just the way we like it in this house. I was enjoying the segment wrap up and thinking to myself - gee I haven't made carrot cake in ages, when my darling turns to me and says, "Why don't you ever make me yummy things like that?? Instead of all those boring biscuits you keep making and writing about". Wow, he made my day. I can't believe he actually reads my blog! Ha Ha Ha

Luckily he mentioned my blog instead of just referring to my biscuits as boring and in doing so earn't himself his very own batch of my 'See In The Dark Carrot Cakes'. This recipe is packed full of carrots, pecans and pineapple and doesn't have any of those yucky plumped up sultanas you sometimes find hidden in this gorgeous vegie delight. Its very simple to make, turns out perfectly every time and the cream cheese frosting is the perfect consistency for piping to make your cakes look like store bought treats.

Because our household is so health conscious, you will notice that I tend to make things in mini. I find making cupcakes in stead of large cakes is much better for a couple of reasons: 1. you can freeze them and take our perfect morning tea portion sizes when ever you want; 2. its very easy to give away half a batch of cupcakes than half a cake. The cupcakes make the recipient feel like they were made just for them. Half a cake makes them feel like an after thought; and 3. cupcakes can be made into gorgeous little works of art, big cakes require a LOT more effort to achieve the same thing. So that's why I tend to make things in mini, and this week is no different Individual carrot cakes instead of one big cake.

See In The Dark Carrot Cakes (Makes 24)

INGREDIENTS

Cake....

4 Eggs
3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Apple Sauce
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
125gm Crushed Pineapple (drain off some of the excess juice)
3 Tsp Vanilla Essence
2 Cups Plain Flour
2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
3 Cups Grated Carrots (use the large side of a grater)
1 Cup Chopped Pecans

FROSTING....

1/2 Cup Butter (softened)
125gm Cream Cheese (softened)
3 Cups Icing Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence

METHOD

Cake....

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat together eggs, oil, apple sauce, sugars, pineapple, and vanilla on medium speed. Adjust speed to low and mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Once combined increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Reduce speed to low again and add carrots and pecans. Mix until just combined.

3. Pour mixture into muffin tins lined with paper or foil liners. Fill each liner 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 min. Let cakes cool completely in tins. Once cooled, remove to a wire cake rack.

Frosting....

1. In the medium bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Depending on how you want to frost the cakes, you may need to add more cream cheese or icing sugar to get the consistency you want.

2. Frost the cakes in the fashion that best reflects your mood.

I used a size 1 star tipped nozzle and piping bag.

Now..... Go Get Your Bake On!!

Hoppy Easter Every Bunny!!!

A sick little bub has resulted in baking being on the back burner this week in favour of cuddles and mummy time. BUUUUTT in between a walk around our lovely Lake Burley Griffin and a coffee with Master Brody, I have managed a little bit of free time in the kitchen to whip up these quick little easter treats.... I hope you like them.

They are oh so simple to create, just use the basic chocolate spiders recipe (see below) and instead of making little piles, spoon the mixture into the bottom of muffin tins to create a little nest shape. To stop them from sticking to the muffin tins I have used freezer wrap (you can find this at the supermarket in the same spot as the foil and gladwrap) or you could always just use gladwrap. Once you have filled the tins, pop them into the fridge to set.

Once set, remove from the fridge and top with a little easter chick and a candy coated egg (sometimes called birds eggs). I remember seeing these little candy covered eggs in the supermarket and they were made by Cadbury but when I went looking yesterday I couldn't find any, so I got these ones from Darrel Lea. They are a little bigger than I would like but they do the trick.

Now, if you can't get your hands on some fluffy little baby chicks, you could always try them with some solid chocolate chicks.... still cute.

Now.... Go Get Your Bake On!!! Chocolate Spiders Ingredients 200gm milk chocolate 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter 1 pkt Changs original friend noodles Method 1. Melt chocolate and peanut butter together and mix until it is a smooth paste. 2. Add noodles and mix to coat them well.

Joey 1, Chocolate Chips 0

Ok, so I purchased this little purple bag of delights with the intention of making my chewy, double choc cookies. Honestly I did, buuuuuut it's Friday night, I'm home alone, the baby is in bed and I'm in need of something dark and sweet to keep me company. Yep, my will power is weak and I have nibbled away at this packet of Cadbury choc chips. I will add them onto my shopping list again so I can make those cookies, promise. But in the meantime, nom nom nom, mmmm I LOVE chocolate. Now, all of you sitting around with nothing to do.... Go Get Your Bake On!!!

That Little Tart!!

The recipe for this chocolate tart is a gem that I got many years ago from my beautiful bestie Aims (a truly wonderful cook). The pastry is light and not too sweet and the filling is a moist fudgey chocolate that just melts in your mouth.

Ingredients

1 quantity pastry (see below)

Filling

150gm butter
30gm plain chocolate, chopped
6 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp instant coffee powder
3 eggs
250gm caster sugar
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (essence will do fine)

Method

1. Allow the pastry to come to room temperature. Knead it briefly then roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Use the pastry to line the prepared tin, rolling it out quite thin. Chill the pastry shell while preparing the filling.

Hot Tip: make sure that the pastry is rolled nice and thin, if the pastry is too thick the tart becomes dry.

2. Put a baking sheet in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 180 degree (fan forced).

3. For the filling, gently melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, cocoa powder and coffee, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Set aside.

4. Beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is creamy and blended, then add the soured cream, golden syrup and vanilla extract. Stir in the chocolate and butter mixture.

5. Pour the filling into the pastry shell. Bake on the hot baking sheet in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the filling puffs up and forms a crust. Remove the pie to a wire rack to cool. The filling will sink a little and may crack slightly as it cools.

6. Before serving, decorate the pie. A dusting of icing sugar and a fanned strawberry is an impressive but simple adornment.

Tart tin size: 3.5 cm deep, 23cm diameter, loose base flan tin, greased.
Storage: keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator

Hot Tip: I recommend serving it with a velvety smooth ice cream or cream to complete the chocolate hit. In this picture I've varied the recipe a little and made individual tarts. The pastry quantity makes about 18 tart cases and the filling is enough to fill at least 24 tarts. Alternatively you can make one large tart and some smaller individual ones.

Pastry

Ingredients

190gm plain flour, sifted
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
100gm chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp iced water

Method

1. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Blend the egg yolk with the water and fork it lightly into the mixture until it sticks together.

Hot Tip: Its very easy to make this pastry in a food processor. Add all the dry ingredients and blitz. Then add the butter small amounts at a time, followed by the egg and water.

2. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in clingwrap and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out the pastry and line the flan tin. Chill while making the filling.



I'd love to hear your hints and tips for making this tart a success or any variations you come up with........ NOW Go Get Your Bake On!!!!

Macarooned

Yep... you guessed right... I am going to be Macarooned in a deserted kitchen.... stay tuned to find out what flavour takes my fancy.

Now.... Go Get Your Bake On and whip up some Honey Joys for the weekend!!!

Ah Honey.. The Joy

Honey Joys - an oldie but a goodie and an excellent, simple recipe to kick off this blog!

Crunchy golden cornflakes and thick sticky honey are the stars of this recipe and manage to complement each other in an unbelievably sweet way.

You will need....
4 cups cornflakes
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp sugar
60gms butter

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees (fan forced)

2. Place medium sized patty cases into cupcake/muffin tins (recipe makes approx 30 Honey Joys)

3. Measure out cornflakes into a large bowl and set aside.

4. In a small saucepan combine honey, sugar and butter and heat until butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

5. Pour the butter and honey mix onto the cornflakes and stir well to combine.

6. Place spoonfuls of the mixture into the patty cases. Place into the pre heated oven and cook for 8-10 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the cupcake/muffin tins.

Once the Honey Joys have cooled they should be crisp and crunchy and look a little something like this....

The day I got my bake on

A lot of the fond memories from my childhood revolve around a kitchen, my parents kitchen to be more precise.

They feature my mum slaving away over a hot stove to feed our hungry family of six. When I was old enough to don an apron and wield my own wooden spoon, these memories evolved and include Mum beginning the lifelong task of sharing all her recipes and culinary skills with me.

If I am to be honest, my mum is actually the inspiration for everything thing I do that is creative - cooking, sewing, knitting, painting (you get the idea), so at this point it's important that I dedicate this blog to her, soooo: "To Mum, Thank-you and I love you (and I hope one day there will be more followers of this blog than just you xx)".

And so this blog has been created, with the intention of sharing my love of cooking as well as the recipes and skills I have learnt, with all of you, as my Mum did with me. I'll be cooking a feature item once a week (or as often as I can with my little bub entertaining me most days) and posting the recipe along with my hints, tips and pics for future success.

I am well aware that I am not an expert in the kitchen, but I have learnt a lot over time and with the collective knowledge of myself and my foodie friends, I'll also be happy to answer cooking questions that may be plaguing you in your own crusade to conquer your cookbook.


So.... Go Get Your Bake On!!!!