Jasmyne Tea

Upside-Down Sticky Banana Cake

This cake is a thing of beauty. Disillusioned by years of average banana cake, I didn't think I could get excited over it again until I tried this recipe. The cake itself is fluffy and gorgeous, the bananas turn out golden and beautifully caramelised on top, and the caramel topping slowly permeates through the whole cake if you leave it long enough. Served warm with a dollop of ice-cream, you might find your faith in banana cake restored as well.

Upside-Down Sticky Banana Cake
Recipe received from my SIL Melissa

INGREDIENTS

Cake
180g self raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 medium ripe banana
2 tbsp sour cream
2 large eggs
180g brown sugar
90g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
60g unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 large, just-ripe bananas

To Serve
vanilla ice-cream

 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, fan forced, and grease a 23cm round cake tin. Set it aside.

2. Make the caramel topping by melting the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and adding the brown sugar and salt.  Stir occasionally for a few minutes or until glossy, then take off the heat. Pour caramel into the prepared tin, coating the bottom evenly.

3. Peel and thickly slice the bananas, and place the slices into the bottom of the tin, covering as much of the caramel as possible. Set the tin aside.

4. Mix together the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the banana and then mix in the sour cream.

5. In a third bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until fully combined, for about 2 minutes. Add the butter and vanilla and mix for another couple of minutes (if you have a food processor, use it!). Add the egg mixture to the banana mixture and stir to combine. Then add this mixture to the flour bowl and mix thoroughly.

6. Carefully pour the cake mixture over the banana slices in the cake tin, and bake for 40-45 minutes until the cake is golden. Cake should spring back when pressed gently in the centre.

7. Remove cake from oven, and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edges of the cake, then place a serving plate over the tin and flip the tin and the plate over. Leave the tin upside-down on the plate for 30 seconds, then gently lift the tin. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes or so, then serve with ice-cream.

Chocolate Cake with Whipped Ganache

In my cooking experience, I've mangled many a recipe. Often it's from not having the right ingredient and trying to substitute; sometimes it's because Stephen has snuck up behind me and added an extra pinch of salt or sprinkling of raisins because he doesn't think I'm doing it right. And sometimes, I have no idea why it hasn't worked out.

Take this birthday cake for example. The chocolate cake recipe is a favourite of mine, and has become a staple - no problems there, it turned out dense and moist the way I like it. The chocolate ganache, however, was being bitchy and we couldn't work out why it wasn't thickening. After many attempts at cooling it down, we finally decided to try whipping it - I mean, it IS half cream, why the hell not?

As you can see, the results were favourable:

If you don't know how to make ganache, here's a handy little recipe. Then, when it's cool to the touch but not thickened to the point of usual ganache, whip with a hand-held mixer for 30 seconds to a minute. Spread promptly onto cake of choice!

Gary Mehigan's Apple Strudel

Hi Everyone, Stephen here.

It has been a few months since I've posted anything here. Balancing two jobs and a full time PhD only leaves me spare time to spend with Jas. Now that the uni semester has ended I've got a bit of time on my hands and started catching up on the latest Masterchef season.

About two weeks ago in their masterclass Gary Mehigan had cooked an apple strudel with a vanilla custard and I knew I had to give this recipe a shot. It reminds me of a few great memories: apple strudel in Poland and Germany whenever I went with my dad; when he would make it himself at home when I was young; and more recently the friends I was staying with in California would make strudel in the mornings. And its a perfect dish for the weather we are facing over the next couple of months.

Apple Strudel with Ice-Cream and Vanilla Bean Custard

The recipe can be found on the Masterchef website here

INGREDIENTS

Strudel pastry

• 225g plain flour, plus extra for kneading
• 1 whole egg
• 125ml warm milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 30g butter, melted

Apple Filling

• 5 pink lady apples
• 60ml brandy
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup flaked almonds
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¾ cup (165g) brown sugar
• 125g fresh sourdough breadcrumbs
• 60g butter, melted for brushing
• Icing sugar, for dusting
• Double cream, to serve

Vanilla Custard

• 300ml pouring cream
• 200ml milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
• 5egg yolks
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• 25g corn flour

Method

Strudel Pastry and Apple Filling

1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced.

2. For pastry, place flour, egg, milk and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough paddle and beat at a low speed to combine. Add butter, increase speed and beat to a smooth dough. Turn onto a lightly floured bench and knead until smooth, elastic and doesn’t stick. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and allow to rest for 35-40 minutes.

4. For filling, peel, core and quarter apples. Roughly cut into medium chunks. Place in a bowl with brandy, cinnamon, raisins, almonds and lemon zest and toss to combine.

5. Reserve 1/3 of each brown sugar and breadcrumbs and set to one side. Add the remaining brown sugar and breadcrumbs to the apple mixture, toss to combine and allow to sit, covered, for flavours to infuse.

6. Sprinkle bench with flour, roll out dough to a rectangle approximately 40x60cm and very thin. Take a 60cmx80cm piece of cloth or clean tea towel and sprinkle with plain flour. Use a rolling pin to help you transfer the pastry onto the cloth and gently pull pastry by the edges until it is transparent. Ensure thick areas are worked to a similar transparency and dough isn’t sticking to the cloth. Trim edges.

7. Sprinkle pastry with reserved breadcrumbs and sugar, then spoon apple mix down the length of the pastry in a rectangular shape 3-4inches wide and piled up high. Sprinkle apple and pastry with reserved breadcrumbs and brown sugar.

8. To roll, use the cloth to fold the ends of the pastry over apples to encase, fold the sides of the pastry over to seal and roll up loosely into a thick, plump and elongated strudel shape.

9. Transfer to a baking paper-lined oven tray and brush with melted butter. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden and pastry is crisp.

10. Allow to cool slightly before dusting heavily with icing sugar.

 
Vanilla Custard

11. Place cream, milk, vanilla pod and seeds in a saucepan over a medium heat and just bring to the boil.

12. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick and pale. Whisk in corn flour, pour half of the hot cream into egg mixture, whisking continuously. Pour into remaining cream mixture and return to a medium low heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl placed over a bowl of iced water and stir custard until cooled to room temperature. Pour into a serving jug.

13. To serve, cut strudel into thick pieces and serve with a drizzle of custard and a dollop of thick cream.

Oliebollen

I've been eating these for years, but I never knew what they were called until a month ago. Every year we used to drive the 8 hours (then 5 hours when they fixed the highway) to Albury to visit my grandparents, and the hours of boredom and fighting with my brother on the way were compensated by a batch of freshly fried Dutch doughnuts at the Sunday Trash & Treasure Markets.

The taste, smell and texture of those doughnuts are implanted in my memory forever - they have a beautifully crisp outer, and fluffy, soft innards. Studded with raisins and dusted with a liberal amount of icing sugar and cinammon, they were probably the ultimate comfort food of my childhood.

Recently I found the recipe here, and thought I'd give it a go - it was only when I fried a batch of these that I realised these Oliebollen were the doughnuts of my youth.

Oliebollen

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp sugar
2 small packets of dry yeast
4 cups flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1 peeled and grated Granny Smith apple
1/2 cup of raisins or sultanas
8 cups vegetable/sunflower oil

Icing sugar
Ground cinnamon

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the teaspoon of sugar into 1/2 cup (120 ml) of warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top, stir, cover with then allow to stand for 10 minutes.

2. Mix together the flour and sugar in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs as well as the yeast mixture. Warm up milk in the microwave for approximately 30 seconds until lukewarm. Add half of the milk to the well in the flour and mix until all ingredients are combined. Add the rest of the milk and whisk until smooth.

3. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel and allow to rise in a warm area for about an hour. Once the dough has doubled, stir in the salt, apple and raisins.

4. Heat the oil in a large, deep pan or in a deep fryer. To check whether the oil is at the right temperature, stand the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil. If little bubbles form around it, the oil is ready.

5. Use two tablespoons to form and handle the dough, as well as a slotted spoon to remove the Oliebollen from the hot oil. Quickly dip the two tablespoons into the oil and form small balls of the dough with the oiled tablespoons, then carefully scrapeand drop the dough into the hot oil. Fry at least 6 Oliebollen at a time, but don't crowd the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides, carefully flipping when required. Drain on a tray lined with paper towels.

6. Sieve powdered sugar over the Oliebollen as well as a dusting of ground cinnamon, and serve warm.

Sweet Cheese Pie with Poached Quince

If there is one recipe you make from Turkey: Recipes and Tales from the Road by Leanne Kitchen, it has to be this one.

This book, although pure food porn, also has some amazing recipes that really show us that there's more to Turkish cuisine than pide and adana. The pictures (and the stories!) are colourful and vibrant, with a sort of rustic charm that really makes me want to visit Turkey.

Source

This pie is decadent and sweet, with a super crispy filo crust encasing a silky smooth ricotta mixture, flavoured delicately with lemon and vanilla. The oven poached quince lends its unique flavour and sweetness to the dish, matching it perfectly and making everyone reach for seconds.

Sweet Cheese Pie with Oven-Poached Quince
*Adapted from Turkey: Recipes and Tales from the Road by Leanne Kitchen

INGREDIENTS
Sweet Cheese Pie
220g caster sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
700g firm fresh ricotta cheese
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
2 eggs
2 1/2 tbs icing sugar
125 mL pouring cream
1 1/2 tbs sifted plain flour
8 sheets filo pastry
125g melted butter

Poached Quince
3 quinces, peeled, cored and halved
330g caster sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
625 mL boiling water

1. For the oven-poached quince, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Arrange the quince halves in a high-edged baking tray in a single layer, and scatter over the sugar. Pour over the boiling water, add the cinnamon sticks , then cover the dish with aluminium foil and cook for 45 minutes.

2. Turn the quince halves over and cook for a further 45 minutes, until the quince halves are tender. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the syrup. Cut the quince into wedges to serve, retaining the syrup.

3. For the pie, combine the caster sugar with the water in a saucepan over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Leave to cool.

4. Process the ricotta, vanilla seeds, eggs, lemon juice mixture and icing sugar in a food processor until smooth. Add the cream and pulse until just combined. Add the flour and pulse until smooth, then set mixture aside.

5. Brush a 24cm round baking dish with melted butter. Place a sheet of filo pastry in the base of the dish and brush liberally with butter (keep the remaining filo sheets under a damp tea towel to prevent it drying out). Repeat with the rest of the filo pastry,  placing each sheet at an angle so that the overhang evenly lines the dish.

6. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the pastry case, and fold the overhanging pastry over the filling to cover. Tear up a leftover sheet of filo pastry and scrunch up the pieces to fill in any gaps in the middle of the pie. Bake the pie in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes, or until golden and slightly puffed. Remove from the oven.

7. Spoon the reserved quince syrup over the top of the pie, then leave to cool to room temperature. Cut the pie into slices and serve with the quince on the side.

Sticky Date Cake with Butterscotch Sauce

So apparently there are people out there who have never had sticky date  pudding.

"What sort of deprived childhood did you suffer through to not ever have had sticky date pudding?!?!?!" I yelled at Stephen. In front of his mum.

Oops.

Despite my chronic foot-in-mouth disease, Stephen's mum graciously deigned to try this totally awesome sticky date cake, smothered in a sexy butterscotch sauce. It's thick and luscious, and gorgeous when served warm. All in all, not a bad specimen to have as your first sticky date experience.

Sticky Date Cake with Butterscotch Sauce
*Adapted from Bill Granger's Best of Bill

INGREDIENTS

300g medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 tsp bicarb soda
70g diced unsalted butter
170g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 lightly beaten eggs
185g self-raising flour, sifted
185g soft brown sugar
200mL cream
150g unsalted butter, extra

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and grease and line the base of a 20 cm spring-form cake tin. Put the dates in a saucepan with 250mL of water and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes until the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarb and 70g of butter; set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

2. Transfer dates to a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, vanilla and eggs and stir well. Fold in the sifted flour until combined, then pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes (check if it's cooked with a skewer inserted in the middle). Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.

3. For the butterscotch sauce, heat the sugar, cream and extra butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook over a low heat for 3 minutes, then pour over the sticky date cake to serve.

Pistachio Cake with Orange Blossom Syrup

Sigh. I wish everything was as easy as this pistachio cake. Life has been throwing me a few curve-balls lately, leaving me with almost no time to myself. Financial, family and work issues have all arranged to meet up at the same time and bite me in the arse. When I feel like things are starting to get me down though, I often lose myself in baking. There's something so comforting in the fact that if I follow a set of instructions step by step, I'll achieve the desired result.

This cake was light and airy, melting on the tongue. The pistachio throughout the cake was subtle and earthy, but also lent some crunch. The orange blossom syrup had a delicate, whimsical flavour that went well with the cake, and the figs on top were from Stephen's grandmother's tree and were beautifully fresh and vibrant.

Pistachio Cake with Orange Blossom Syrup
*Adapted from Bill Granger's "Best of Bill"

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole pistachios, peeled
6 eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 plain greek yoghurt
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Salt
1 cup extra caster sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp orange blossom water
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare a 26 cm springform tin with baking paper. Process the pistachios until finely ground, then set aside.

2. Beat the egg yolks with half a cup of caster sugar until pale and thick. Fold in the yoghurt and oil, then sift the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt over the mixture and fold through with the pistachios.

3. Beat the egg whites until soft, fluffy peaks form, then gradually add the remaining half cup of sugar and beat until firm peaks form. Fold half the egg white mixture into the pistachio mixture, the fold in the other half. Pour into a tin and bake for 30 minutes or until springy in the centre and a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.

4. Meanwhile, put the extra sugar, juice, and water into a saucepan over a low heat and stir constantly until dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 10 minutes, then allow to cool slightly before adding the orange blossom water.

5. Remove cake from the tin, and spoon the syrup over it while it is still warm. Serve with figs.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Layer Cake

If there were ever a definition for "sometimes" food, there would be a picture of this cake next to it in the dictionary. Unfortunately, the picture wouldn't be particularly good since I ran out of batteries and back-ups for my camera, and had to use my iPhone.

This cake was part of Stephen's birthday present (the other half were awesome seats at Cirque Du Soleil in September), and it took me all day to make it. It's a pretty simple cake recipe, but it's the assembly and waiting for the cake layers to cool that takes the most time - especially since I only had one cake tin at the time.

This badass cake is a tribute to the wonders of peanut butter - three layers of a simple, moist chocolate cake, separated by peanut butter buttercream, then topped with a chocolate and peanut butter ganache. The original recipe found at Bird On A Cake called for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but I had trouble finding them on short notice, so I used Maltesers instead and they worked a treat. Just make this cake when you're expecting a lot of guests, because it's addictive and you'll want to scoff the leftovers.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Layer Cake
*Adapted from Bird On A Cake

Chocolate Cake
INGREDIENTS

1 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare three 20cm springform cake tins. Bring a small pan of water to a boil and keep it simmering while you mix the other ingredients.

In a large bowl combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and beat with mixer until combined.

Add 1 cup of the boiling water and beat for 1 1/2 minutes with mixer. Pour the batter into pans and bake for roughly 20 minutes (until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean).

Peanut Butter Buttercream

INGREDIENTS

1 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups creamy peanut butter
4 cups icing sugar
approx. 1/3 cup milk

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, add the milk a little at a time and beat, alternating between the sugar and the milk until frosting is light and fluffy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache

INGREDIENTS

1 cup dark chocolate chips or melts
4 tablespoons peanut butter 
1 cup double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a metal bowl. Heat cream over medium heat, then just before it boils take it off the heat and pour over chocolate chips and peanut butter. Let sit for 2 minutes, then slowly stir until the chocolate and peanut butter is melted and the mixture is thoroughly combined. Stir in the vanilla, then allow to cool to room temperature.

Assembly

Take a large 230g bag of Maltesers. Trim the cake layers so that they are even. Spread peanut butter buttercream on the first cake layer, then top with the second cake layer. Spread more buttercream on top of the second layer, then place your third cake layer on top. Cover the whole cake with buttercream, then stud the bottom of the cake with Maltesers. Chop up about a third of the packet of Maltesers, then use them to top the cake. Pour ganache on the top of the cake, and smooth it with a spatula if needed. Garnish the top by piping on the remaining buttercream, then top with Maltesers.

Easy Bombe Alaska

Stephen has a love of fire and explosives that worries me sometimes. Give him a box of matches or a blow torch and he'll be occupied for hours; once he even spent hours scraping off the dust of dozens of boxes of sparklers to fill up a Galliano bottle, bury it halfway, then set it alight.

So when he found out that a Bombe Alaska needed to be doused in alcohol and then set on fire, he got a bit excited. He made plans to make it one evening with his sister, and it was a roaring success.

They started with a fluffy, airy cake base, and topped it with creamy vanilla ice cream that had been mixed with berries. Then luscious, glossy meringue was spread over the two and blow torched until lightly browned, and scalding Grand Marnier was poured on top and lit aflame. It looked spectacular, and tasted even better.

Easy Bombe Alaska

INGREDIENTS

1 litre vanilla ice cream
420g tin of black cherries, drained, halved
100g butter, softened
6 eggs, separated
110g caster sugar
100g self raising flour
25g almond meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cream of tartar
220g extra caster sugar
1 cup Grand Marnier

1. Leave ice cream at room temperature until softened, and mix in the cherry halves. Spoon into silicon muffin molds, pressing firmly, and freeze.

2. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Mix the butter, egg yolks, flour, sugar, almond meal and vanilla until smooth with no lumps. Divide equally into muffin pans with molds the same size as the ice cream molds. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, and leave to cool in the pan.

3. Beat egg whites in a metal bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add cream of tartar and a pinch of salt, and beat until fully incorperated. Gradually add extra sugar and beat on high until mixed in.

4. Place the cakes on individual plates, and top with the ice cream (leave it to thaw a little before placing it on top of the cake).

5. Spread the meringue mixture over the ice cream and the cake at about a 2cm thickness, then torch lightly until golden brown.

6. Pour the Grand Marnier into a small saucepan, heat until just before boiling. Quickly spoon over the meringues and use the blow torch to set desserts on fire.

Note: Take care not to overdo the alcohol, avoid spillage, and be aware of any flammables like tablecloths or curtains nearby.

Orange Chocolate Cake

I noticed just now that my blog is woefully inadequate in the ways of chocolate! I find this strange, considering Stephen is a massive chocolate fan and Tim Tams are my best frenemy. When we were given Best of Bill by Bill Granger for Christmas this year, we knew that his chocolate mandarin cake was definitely going to make it onto the blog - it was just a matter of when.

You see, lately Stephen and I haven't had much time to cook (or clean/eat/sleep/bathe), mostly because of this new addition to our little family, which we bought the day we got back from the States:

Meet Caesar!

Luckily he's big enough to live outside now, and without the need to chase him around the house as he steals a pair of Stephen's socks, triumphantly keeping them out of reach, we have more time to devote to our shared love of cooking/eating.

This cake was such a pleasure to devour. Mandarin was out of season, so we used orange, but it turned out quite well. As with most of Bill Granger's cakes, the eggs were separated and the beaten egg whites folded into the batter, making for a lighter, airier cake with a luscious, silken mouth-feel. The chocolate had a slightly bitter edge, emphasising the sweetness of the orange.

Orange Chocolate Cake
*Adapted from Best of Bill by Bill Granger

INGREDIENTS

250g 70% dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
250g unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
6 eggs, separated
115g caster sugar
3 tablespoons flour, sifted
25g almond meal
Zest and juice of 2 oranges

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Prepare a 23cm springform cake tin. Melt the chocolate and butter in a metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir over the heat until just melted, being careful not to overheat - remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until lightly combined. Add the chocolate mixture gradually, stirring constantly. Using a large metal spoon, fold throught the flour, almond meal and orange zest and juice.

3. Whisk the egg whites in a clean, dry metal bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the egg whites in with the batter with a metal spoon until barely combined. Fold through the rest of the egg whites.

4. Bake for 35 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Transfer to a plate and dust with some cocoa powder. Serve with orange slices.

The cake will firm up when cool, so don't worry if it's a little undercooked. Enjoy!