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Archive for October, 2010

May You Never Steal, Lie or Cheat and the Guinness Chocolate Cake

Posted in Bake, tagged , , on October 7, 2010| 34 Comments »

May you never steal, lie, or cheat, but if you must steal, then steal away my sorrows, and if you must lie, lie with me all the nights of my life, and if you must cheat, then please cheat death because I couldn’t live a day without you.

Cheers!

The Irish… surely know their toasts…

 

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Guinness Chocolate Cake

 

They also know their food photography.

I don’t drink nor like anything alcohol, but was inexplicably drawn to this recipe from Katie Quinn Davies on her blog What Katie Ate.  Had it not been for the stunning picture of THAT chocolate cake , I would have never given this recipe a second thought.  But it looked so interesting… Guinness AND chocolate?!? Could it be the only way I could ever enjoy a drink was if it was mixed with chocolate?  Apparently so. Here is what Katie had to say about the recipe.

I chose this cake as I’m a mad keen baker but even more so because I love the strange reaction from people when they hear its name.  They always ask “Chocolate and Guinness?? In a cake?! You’re kidding?!”  Also, it’s nice to introduce a bit of quintessential “Irish-ness” or “Oirish-ness” from my homeland into my cooking especially to my Aussie mates for a laugh, so I often make this cake when I’m going to a BBQ or dinner party if asked to bring a dessert as it’s quite the norm to “bring a plate” here in Oz. To most people, and still myself even after 30 years of living in Ireland, Guinness is an acquired taste.  I honestly find it too bitter for my palette to drink alone.  So when I initially made this cake a good few years ago, I was super surprised to find there is no lingering taste from “the black stuff” whatsoever and I was totally bowled over by the incredible moistness of the cake.  Honestly I really think it’s one of the best chocolate cake recipes out there.  It is heavy, so I would never be tempted to add anything to the middle of the cake or layer it and add frosting inside.  The essence with this cake is to keep it simple and don’t complicate it, enjoy its subtlety.

And yes, the Irish certainly know their chocolate cake.

 

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Guinness Chocolate Cake

 

Guinness Chocolate Cake

  • 250 grams unsalted butter
  • 250 ml Guinness
  • 75 grams Dutch process cocoa
  • 275 grams flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 400 grams sugar
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 150 ml sour cream
  • 1 vanilla bean, scrapped

Frosting

  • 300 grams cream cheese
  • 150 grams icing sugar, sifted
  • 150 ml cream, whipped
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 c (fan forced). Add the butter, cocoa and Guinness to a saucepan. Warm over a medium heat and stir until melted. Set aside for around 5 to 10 minutes to cool.
  2. Mix the flour, baking soda and sugar in a mixing bowl and pour in the Guinness mixture, lightly combine. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla beans and beat everything until well combined. The batter should be thick and dark in chocolate color.
  3. Pour into a greased 22 cm by 9 cm angel food pan (I used 12 cupcake containers and 4 mini cake pans) and bake in the oven for about an hour. You need to be diligent in checking the cake. According to Katie the cake is very moist inside so you need to use your judgement regarding the skewer test. Do not leave in the oven until the cake has totally dried out – just cook long enough so there is no uncooked cake on the skewer but there may be some moist crumbs sticking to it. With smaller containers like mine the cupcakes were done in 15 min while the mini pans were done in 20.
  4. Leave to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from the cake tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

  1. Place the cream cheese into the bowl of a mixer and beat on low-medium using a whisk attachment. Whisk until the cheese is smooth and there are no lumps.
  2. Gradually add the sifted icing sugar and beat gently to combine. After 2 to 3 minutes, stop the machine, scrape any excess frosting from the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed until lump free. Remove from the mixer and fold in the whipped cream.
  3. Place the cake on a cake stand and add the frosting, spreading out just to the edge without going over the side until the cake resembles a pair of creamy black stuff! (Katie’s words – not mine!)

 

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Guinness Chocolate Cake

 

Guinness Chocolate Cake on the Thermomix

  1. Place the butter, Guinness and cocoa in the TM bowl and heat for 3 minutes at 80c on speed 3 to melt. Allow to cool for around 5 minutes.
  2. Add the flour, baking soda, and sugar and mix on speed 5 for 10 seconds.
  3. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla beans and mix on speed 6 for 20 seconds until very well combined.
  4. Pour into pans (see above) and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180c (fan forced) until done.

Frosting

  1. Insert the butterfly. Place the cream in the TM bowl and beat on speed 4 around 30 seconds. (Check every 15 seconds – you want the cream to be semi-stiff peaks, not butter!
  2. Remove the cream from the TM bowl and place in a regular bowl. Now add the cream cheese and icing sugar (without the butterfly attachment) and mix on speed 7 for 10 seconds until very smooth.
  3. Fold the cream cheese/icing sugar mixture on to the whipped cream.

Stumble It!

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How to spot a Filipino… (Salted Red Egg and Tomato Salad)

Posted in Cook, tagged , , , , on October 6, 2010| 39 Comments »

Salted Egg and Tomato Salad

Salted Egg and Tomato Salad

There was once a rather funny email that went around talking about ways to identify if someone was Filipino.  Among 175 signs, I was guilty of my favourites were:

  • You collect items from hotels or restaurants as “souvenirs”
  • At Immigration, when they call out ‘Maria’, you and 46 other women stand up (my Mom, two sisters and almost all aunts and cousins have Maria as a first name)
  • You unwrap Christmas gifts very  carefully, so you can save and reuse the wrapping (and especially those bows) next year.
  • You hate to waste food…(a)  Even if you’re totally full, if someone says they’re going to throw away the leftovers on the  table, you’ll finish  them. (b) You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing.

And of course, if you think someone claiming to be Filipino is not, ask them where something is.  If they use their fingers to point to it then you can confidently declare “Impostor!” as all Filipinos point with their lips and not their fingers!

The entire list is found here.  If you’re Filipino, the list is worth reading for a good laugh.  If you aren’t Filipino – have a read and see whether any of the traits are true of the Filipinos you know.

This is salad is undeniably Filipino as well.

No exact proportions for the recipe here folks – that’s how effortless this dish is.  It’s made with salted eggs, red onions and the juiciest tomatoes you can find. Sometimes the salad is dressed with olive oil, cilantro or mangoes – but they are optional.  What isn’t optional however, is that this is always served as an accompaniment to many Filipino dishes like adobo, grilled seafood or meat,  and always with a big plate of rice!

Stumble It!

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Dare Me …. Tomislav’s Basmati Risotto with Prawns

Posted in Cook, Dare, tagged , , , , , , , on October 4, 2010| 44 Comments »

Basmati Risotto with Grilled Prawns

Basmati Risotto with Grilled Prawns (Tomislav Restaurant)

Is it persistence or stubbornness? Maybe both?

When I have an idea in my head, I’ll do whatever it takes to get it (all within legal means of course!) and I never back down from a dare.  Ever.

Every now and again these two traits can get me into trouble.  Like the time I confidently told my sister that I could get ourselves into the Qantas First Class lounge only to be evicted twenty minutes later as we were about to take a sip of our coffees (she never has forgiven me for that).

But more often than not, I try to channel these traits more noble pursuits.  Like finding a way to get a recipe for a dish I really enjoy, or getting a seat at a restaurant that is booked months in advance or experimenting with food or gadgets I’ve never used.

Introducing: Dare me…

This idea was born out of a conversation between me and my husband.   We were having dinner at Tomislav Restaurant the other night and I was blown away with the Basmati Risotto with Yamba Prawns.  “I wish there was a way to get my hands on this recipe.”  I told him.

“I dare you ask the chef for it.”  He said.  “You seem to get your hands on many of the recipes you like.” he added.  I wasn’t able to ask Chef Tomislav for the recipe that night (he had not yet arrived) but I managed to find the recipe anyway.  I made this dish twice in two days.  Yes, it was that good.  The first time I made it over the stove top, adding the chicken stock gradually as you would a regular risotto.  The next day I made the basmati risotto using the thermomix.  I’m pleased to report both techniques work as well as each other.

So here’s the first of hopefully a series of posts called : Dare me.

If you’re looking for a recipe that you really love – then dare me to find it for you. Just drop me an email or a comment at the end of this post and I’ll turn your craving into a fun challenge and get you that coveted recipe!

Tomislav’s Basmati Risotto with Prawns

  • 250 grams good quality Basmati Rice
  • 1000 to 1500 ml good quality hot chicken stock (homemade is best)
  • 125 grams unsalted butter
  • 10 ml soy sauce
  • 40 grams acidulated butter (see below)
  • 2 tablespoons mascarpone
  • Lemon Juice
  • Chopped Nori roll (1 sheet)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped chives
  • 200 grams prawns, chopped

Regular Method

  1. Place the butter in a wide surfaced pan and melt. Add the rice and toast for around 3 minutes until the butter is slightly browned and nutty. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. Add the chicken stock (I only used 1000 ml but the recipe calls for 1500 ml) a little at a time and stir continuously for around 15 minutes. The rice will still have a little bite and remember that the dish will not be as creamy as a risotto using regular risotto rice.
  3. Once the rice is cooked, finish the dish by stirring in the soy sauce, acidulated butter, mascarpone, lemon juice, chopped nori roll and chives. Season with more salt and pepper if needed
  4. Grill the prawns and top the risotto with grilled prawns and grated lemon zest.

Using the Thermomix
FYI: I halved the recipe on the Thermomix

  1. Heat the butter at 100c on speed 3 for 2 minutes.
  2. Add the rice and heat for 5 minutes using the butterfly attachment on reverse and speed soft.
  3. Add the stock (I added 500 ml for 125 grams rice but feel free to add more stock if necessary towards the end of the cooking time) and continue to cook (butterfly attachment, reverse, speed soft) for 15 minutes.
  4. Add the soy, acidulated butter, mascarpone, lemon juice, nori and chives and give it another stir for 5 or so seconds on reverse, speed soft.
  5. Top with grilled prawns and lemon zest and serve immediately.

Acidulated Butter

  • 100 grams unsalted butter
  • 50 grams basmati rice

In a pan, melt the butter and add the rice and cook until nutty brown flavour is released. Pass this through a sieve. Set aside.

  • 90 ml white wine
  • 90 ml white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 finely chopped onion
  • 100 grams butter

Combine the onion, white wine and white wine vinegar and heat in a pan and reduce until the pan is almost dry. Take this off the heat and whisk in the butter until the butter is emulsified. Pass through a sieve.

Mix both butters and leave to set in the fridge for around 8 hours. You will have enough for several batches and this lasts a few days in the fridge.

Stumble It!

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