Tag: cake

Zumbo for Beginners: The “It Mayo Shock You” Cake

For my birthday recently I was delighted to receive several cookbooks that I had been hankering after. As I have recently had to buy a new bookcase to store my ever increasing stash of cookbooks, I vowed to do more than just look at the pretty pictures and actually cook a proper amount of recipes from each book. My resolution was strengthened by the fact that holidays start in three weeks and after that I will have no colleagues/students to give my excess food to and my ever expanding waistline will soon begin to rival the equator. Fact.

And lets face it, with this selection how could you not be dying to have a crack at the recipes?

Anyway, back to the story. After the serendipitous meeting of Zumbo the other weekend (see here), I was determined to make something from the book, no matter how hard the recipes looked. The first recipe I opened to was this “It Mayo Shock You” cake and after the initial URGH reaction to the thought of mayo and chocolate (both of which I love but previously only separately) I was intrigued by the relative simplicity of the recipe.

Love the full page photos but intrigued by the continuous presence of tiny people. Any ideas?

I used the Kewpie Mayonnaise which is available at most supermarkets

(I also like to eat this squeezed on carrot sticks… mmmm…)

Yep. Equator. Told you so.

All you do is mix all the ingredients together then stir in the raspberries. So far so good…

The recipe made two small loaf cakes and my tins were a little too small so I had extra batter to make some cupcakes. No point in letting the excess go to waste!

Good lord, these cakes looked and smelled so good coming out of the oven

So the cakes came out fine, but then I hit a snag. I should have known that all would not be as it seemed. To go over the cake the recipe called for a chocolate glaze that seemed simple enough, but required the making of a mirror glaze which required an ingredient called Pectin NH. I’m familiar with normal pectin as ive used it in jam making many times before. One voice in my head said “go ahead lazy bones, just whack some jamsetta in and be done with it” while the other voice said “Katie, do you really think that someone with this degree of expertise in finnicky ingredients would just use normal pectin? Nuh uh.” For once, I made the right decision, as I found out later on that you cannot substitute normal for NH as they are totally different and act differently under heat. So I decided to admit defeat and use a normal chocolate ganache with raspberries on top of my cake.

But, I had my own secret weapon.

Ok, so not quite so secret, but pretty cool nonetheless. These babies are pretty much popping rocks and I thought I would put them on top of my ganache to give it a bit of a Zumbo lift.

You just have to remember that the star dust will lose its poppyness after it comes into contact with moisture so you don’t want to put it on your ganache before it has set.

This was quite possibly the lightest yet richest chocolate cake i’ve tried so far.

It was impossibly light. It was impossibly chocolaty but without being overly sweet.

Smothered in rich ganache with the pop of raspberry and the magical mouth popping star dust, this was the dessert of champions!

So, unfortunately I couldn’t fully reproduce the recipe as it was written, but I feel an immense sense of achievement just from making the cake. Next on the list are the “toasted lammyjammit” and the “honey comb-over” yes, I am going to work my way up to the much much more challenging ones. Baby steps peeps.

So, my lovelies, what is the craziest dessert you have ever made or eaten? Did you do a fist pump in the air when you completed it? I may have…

It Mayo Shock U – From Zumbo by Adriano Zumbo

Ingredients for the Cake

291 g japanese mayonnaise

210g caster sugar

6g vanilla extract

300g plain flour (sifted)

6g baking powder

5g bi carb soda

65g unsweetened cocoa powder

285g water

165g fresh raspberries plus extra for decoration

Method

1. Mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vanilla for 3-5 mins until the sugar begins to dissolve

2. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the mayo mix. Mix on a low speed to combine

3. With the motor running, add the water and mix until combined (beware of the splatter potential though, I don’t know if I didn’t use a big enough bowl or of the mixture was just super wet but I ended up with cake batter everywhere!)

4. Remove the mixer and carefully stir the raspberries through using a wooden spoon or spatula

5. Pour into two small loaf tins (7.5 X 7.5 X 20 cm) that have been greased and lined with baking paper

6. Bake on 170 degrees celsius for 45 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out just a little moist

7. cool the cakes in the tins and turn out carefully, making sure that you leave them the right way up

Ganache

I was super lazy and just melted some dark chocolate and then added some cream until I had the right consistency. You could always just pour melted chocolate straight on as well I suppose. Super super chocolaty!

Then garnish with raspberries and strawberry star dust!

Quarter Century Celebrations and the Quarter Life Crisis

Time passes. We get older, and this year saw me approaching the grand old age of 25. However, with the impending arrival of this number I have been hearing increasingly about an interesting phenomenon. Ever since I read about the concept of the ‘Quarter Life Crisis’ I have thought about my 25th birthday with a curious combination of concern and excitement. As far as I can gauge, the Quarter Life Crisis is a result of Gen Y’s predilection for indecision and general faffing around before getting down to business. Apparently after spending years studying at university we get out into the workforce and realise that we hate our jobs and in fact want to go back and study something entirely different. We then have a bit of a melt down while realising that we have to take a significant pay cut and either have to move back home or continue living at home while we redirect our lives. This is often accompanied by a major relationship meltdown/marriage crisis/body clock crisis and a slow realisation that we will never again fit into the clothes that we fit into in our teens. Depressed yet?

Well, I hate to be the optimist but my 25th birthday earlier this week was accompanied by none of the above. Instead, I feel quietly content in my career, my relationships and, well, I am a little flabby but only because i’ve been eating so much amazing food over the past few weeks. So on that note, let me share with you some of the lovely happy things that happened on my birthday.

First, the cake.

Amazing creation bought from a bakery in Five Dock by my co workers.

Not only does it look amazing and say my name, but inside it is cake and icecream! Hooray!

Second, the cake.

Hang on, rewind, ANOTHER cake? You bet!

This one purchased by my mum from the Pure Gelato shop in Croydon Park. Another ice cream cake, this one was chocolate and hazelnut and absolutely delicious! Well worth the flab.

Then there were some chocolate cupcakes. As in, chocolates in the shape of cupcakes! Also delicious. I was also given a box of the most delicious chocolates in the world, Haighs’ Violet Creams which silly me didn’t take a photo of. Oops.

I received many beautiful gifts, although I only took photos of the food related ones to post here. The boyfriend gave me a beautiful set of mis-matched tea cups and saucers and hostess apron which should all get their own post soon(ish). His family gave me some lovely serving dishes and the Country Show Cookbook pictured above. Lucky we recently bought a new bookshelf to house the ever growing collection of cook books! My mum also gave me (among other things) the two other cook books above, The Birthday Cake Book and Zumbo by Adriano Zumbo. The former has given me many ideas for future cakes while the latter have given me much food for thought but has left me in abject terror at the prospect of actually attempting to make one of these magnificent creations. Watch this space!

Which leads me to my last picture which is pretty cool…

Mr Adriano Zumbo himself! Who I met at The Lakes while watching the Australian Open Golf Tournament. One of my idols and all time favourite chefs Who would have thought it? I almost fell off my chair in surprise! Just as charming as he is on tv, he was very gracious and lovely to talk to. Although I didn’t really do much talking.

I was a little bit star struck.

So, all in all, it was a pretty damn good birthday but i’m still stuck on what I should be doing for my quarter life crisis? I feel like I shouldn’t let this opportunity for legitimate drama pass me by. Do you have any suggestions my lovelies?

Spiced Pound Cake and teachable moments

 I would like to begin this post with a picture of the delicious crunchy bits that form on the top of some cakes. Enjoy.

Now back to business. Sometimes during the course of a lesson we are lucky to get what we call a ‘teachable moment’. When something unexpected happens (inside or outside of the classroom) from which we can draw a moral, life or course related lesson. Sometimes it’s as simple as seeing what can happen when you swing on your chair – and inevitably fall off and crack your head. Sometimes it’s as complex as discussing the international ramifications of a tragedy such as 9/11. It can be anywhere along that spectrum and it gives the lesson a bit more of an edge and relevance that you hope will leave the students with a lasting impression and a more insightful view of themselves and the world around them.

As i’m a very slapdash cook (and person!), my kitchen disasters often lead to such ‘teachable moments’ in which I realise an important lesson. I don’t often post the recipes that don’t work out. Don’t get me wrong, this recipe is amazing and my lesson is nothing to do with this cake. It is more to do with cutting corners….

It starts with basic cake ingredients. A few eggs, a little butter and sugar…

Then we put the batter into a bundt pan. Trust me, everything tastesbetter as a bundt!

And then we have a delicious fragrant, spicy pound cake!

This cake doubles as a room freshener as the smell of the spices wafting out of the oven while it bakes fills the house making everything smell delicious.

So where’s this ‘teachable moment’ I hear you ask?

well, its nothing to do with the deliciously soft and spongy interior to this cake

or the way its moist innards contrast with the crunchy munchy exterior

instead, my lesson was…

never skimp on greasing the pan.

I said I was lazy and often cut corners. I wing it and fly by the seat of my pants. Sometimes I don’t grease the pan properly. This time, it bit me in the ass. Hard.

While still tasting delicious, I couldn’t help but feel sad for my mangled cake and wonder if it would have tasted even better if I had shown it a tiny bit more love and care and taken time to grease the pan properly. Que sera.

So, my lovelies, what baking (or life) lessons have you learned when you were least expecting it?

Spiced Pound Cake Recipe – Adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients

230g unsalted butter

650g caster sugar

5 eggs

240ml full cream milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

400g flour

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream until light and fluffy

2. add the eggs one at a time mixing well before adding the next

3. beat in the milk and vanilla extract until well mixed

4. Stir the spices, bicarb and salt into the batter until well combined

5. Pour the batter into a bundt tin and bake in at 170 degrees celsius for 60-70 mins or until golden brown

Enjoy!

Pretty In Pink

While I absolutely love to bake and decorate cakes I am the first to admit that I am still only an amateur. Which is why i’m always surprised and alarmed when people ask me to cook something for them for a party or occasion. I normally dirty ice fondant covered cakes with buttercream but earlier in the year decided to experiment with using ganache. I had incredible trouble creating a smooth base for the fondant so the first cake I tried was bumpy bumpy on top and just generally not that great (i’m definitely my own worst critic!). In an effort to curb my ever expanding waistline I brought it into work where the pink/yellow combination caught the eye of the lovely Maryanne who said he daughter would love something similar for her birthday.

This is what I came up with

I was a bit apprehensive about making a proper cake for people I didn’t really know. I couldn’t think of anything worse than disappointing a beautiful little girl on her birthday! In fact, I will admit that I had several cake related nightmares in the lead up to creating and delivering this cake. One involved trying to bake a cake but finding that when I opened the carton of eggs, each egg that I picked up had either a massive crack in the shell or a hairline fracture that made the egg unusable. This picking up and discarding of eggs must have gone on for hours in my dream because I woke up terribly frustrated and upset and needed to go to the fridge and check all my eggs again. I also had dreams of dropping the cake, having to swerve violently when driving and ending up with a smooshed cake.

I should have had faith after seeing the batter. How yummy does it look!

Three layers with chocolate fudge filling

Then dirty iced with chocolate ganache. I know its not super smooth but it is a whole lot smoother than my last cake!

Under a layer of pink fondant

Then finished of with pink and blue hearts as requested by the birthday girl.

From all accounts the cake arrived at the party in tact and was swiftly demolished. The birthday girl was pleased with her pink and blue vanilla and chocolate and everyone was happy. Phew! No cake wrecks for me… yet!

So, my lovelies, can you remember having a delicious/good looking cake for your birthday? I remember my mum making me an amazing pink princess castle for my birthday (good old AWW childrens birthday cake cookbook!). Or did you have a cake wreck? Spill the beans!