Chocolate fig and hazelnut fudge cake

I'd been waiting for a good excuse to make this cake from the 'Gourmet Traveller' for some time and what better excuse than a good friends birthday. It was the combination of fig, chocolate and hazelnuts which first captured my interest. To me these three ingredients sounded like a match made in heaven....and well it turns out that they were. This recipe makes a fairly large round cake, however i made a smaller, higher cake (see note). The result - a cake which is very nutty in texture, extremely moist, sticky and oh so rich. It's becomes even more divine in chocolate goodness, when topped with rich, silky smooth, dark chocolate ganache. The 'Gourmet Traveller' suggests serving this cake simply with the chocolate ganache and candied oranges, however since I was making it for a birthday and for a birthday girl who loves her cakes (and decorating them), I thought that a little decoration wouldn't go astray. I will definitely be making this cake again but next time I won't be waiting for an excuse to do so. HAPPY BIRTHDAY EGYPT!!

Chocolate fig and hazelnut fudge cake with hazelnut praline and toffee shards

Adapted from - Australian Gourmet Traveller

Serves 14

Cake

250ml (1 cup) muscat or brandy

300gm (11/2 cups) dried figs, coarsely chopped

420gm (3 cups) hazelnuts, roasted, peeled

250gm unsalted butter

300gm caster sugar

6 eggs

250gm dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70% cocoa cooking chocolate)

35gm (1/2 cup) fresh bread crumbs

To Serve double cream

Ganache

75gm (1/3 cup) white sugar

125ml (1/2 cup) pouring cream

150gm (1 cup) dark compound chocolate

1. Combine muscat and figs in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10minutes or until figs have absorbed muscat. Cool
2. Preheat oven to 160C. Process hazelnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add fig mixture, hazelnuts, chocolate and breadcrumbs and stir to combine. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased and baking paper lined 26cm spring form cake pan. Bake for 55minutes or until skewer withdraws lean. Cool in pan, remove and place cake on a wire rack over a tray.

3. For ganache, place sugar in a heavy based saucepan over low heat and cook, without stirring, until sugar has melted, add cream and stir. Add chocolate and stir over low heat until melted and the mixture is smooth, then pour oven cake, smoothing with a palette knife. Cool. Serve at room temperature with double cream.

Note - I used a 24cm spring form tin and baked cake for 1hr 30mins.

Decorations -

Hazelnut Praline

150gm hazelnuts, roasted and skins removed

175gm caster sugar

60ml water

Spread hazelnuts on a tray lined with baking paper. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan, stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, cook until dark caramel (aprox. 5minutes), pour over nuts. Stand until cool and set (10minutes), process in a food processor until finely ground. Sprinkle over ganache around the edge of the cake.

Toffee Shards

175gm caster sugar

60ml water

Combine sugar and water in small saucepan, stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Pour onto a tray lined with baking paper, place another piece of baking paper over sugar syrup, then using a rolling pin, roll the toffee syrup out till thin. Stand until cool and set (10 minutes). Remove baking paper and break toffee into shards. Stand shards on top of cake to decorate.

Eggplant, goat's cheese and spiced onion salad

Roasted vegetables make for a great winter salad and this is no exception. The combination of roasted eggplant and the intensely spiced onions cooked with cumin and cinnamon give this salad a real Middle Eastern feel. Topping the salad off with goats cheese and mint makes for a fantastic combination of flavours, the mint really giving the salad a freshness and lift. It would be great served with grilled meats (especially lamb) or as part of a mezza.

Eggplant, goats cheese and spiced onion salad - 'Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine'

Salad

2 (about 760gm) eggplant

1 tbls extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve

1tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup loosely packed mint leaves

80gm goat's cheese

Spiced onion

2 tbsp olive oil

2 spanish onions cut into wedges

6 cloves of garlic, lightly bruised

1 tbsp ginger finely grated

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 tsp dried chilli flakes

1/4 cup water

To taste - castor sugar

Pre heat oven to 160c fan forced. Cut eggplant length ways into wedges and place onto an oven tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with cumin and roast for 1hr or until tender. Cool to room temperature.

For spiced onion, heat oil in a saucepan, add onion and garlic, season with sea salt and saute over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until softened. Add ginger and remaining spices and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced. Season to taste with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and castor sugar. Cool to room temperature.

Arrange eggplant on serving plate, spoon over spiced onion (I only used about half the amount of spiced onion as it has quiet an intense spice flavour), torn mint leaves, drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Sliced Mushrooms with Fresh Mozeralla & Thyme

This recipe is perfect for serving as part of an antipasti with a few drinks. It's an easy little recipe, with minimal preparation and takes no time to cook. The combination of the earthiness of the mushrooms with the fresh thyme and milky mozzarella make it very moorish. Exact measurements are not really crucial in this recipe, you can make as much or little as you want, the below is just a guide.

Sliced Mushrooms with Fresh Mozzarella & Thyme - Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver

2 big hand fulls of fresh Mushrooms, thinly sliced (I used swiss brown but porcini, shiitake, portobello would also suitable)

2 5ounce balls of fresh Mozzarella torn into small pieces

A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Heat Grill on medium.

Clean mushrooms with damp cloth or pastry brush and slice thinly. Arrange them in a single layer on a large oven proof platter. Tear the mozzarella into course bits and scatter over mushrooms. Scatter over thyme leaves, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Slide the platter under the grill, and cook checking frequently for 3-4mins, or until cheese is melted, bubbling and golden in spots.

Serve with crusty bread.

Note - Cook mushrooms on plate you are serving them on.

Old Time Pear Tart

My weekend in Daylesford! Food, wine, friendship and a challenge to bake something that I've always wanted to bake but hadn't yet...'Old Time Pear Tart'! This recipe was part of a 'Tarts and Pastry' demonstration class I went to at 'The Essential Ingredient Cooking School' conducted by pastry chef of 'Bakery D Chirico', Louis Vaussenat.

This French style tart has a beautiful rich buttery almond patee sablee short crust shell, with a creamy custard and caramelized pear filling and is topped off with ground cinnamon adding a perfect spicy smell and taste to the tart. I will definitely be making this superb classic sweet tart again and again.

A big thank you must go out to Bec (Kecca), for her help, the beautiful photo's she took of my creation and for the use of her kitchen...the best kitchen I've cooked in.

All in all a great weekend and a challenge successfully completed!

'Old Time Pear Tart' (made with almond pate sablee) - Louis Vaussenat
Makes 1 tart
100g pure icing sugar
300g eggs
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
500ml thickened cream
liqueur to taste optional
4 pears halved, poached in a light sugar syrup then cut into small pieces
100g castor sugar
2 tbls unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good quality honey
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or you can use a few drops of vanilla essences)
300g almond pate sablee
cinnamon powder
icing sugar for decorating

Almond Pate Sablee - Makes 1 tart shell
300g butter, softened
200g pure icing sugar, sifted
300g eggs
500g plain flour, sifted
50g almond meal, sifted
5g salt

Mix together the butter, icing sugar and salt until combined and light. Incorporate the egg, a little at a time, then the flour with almond meal. If dough is still to sticky add a little more flour but don't overwork. Bring together to form a flat disk, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night to rest.

Light sugar syrup for poaching pears
1cup castor
3cups water
halved pears

Combine sugar and water in a large pot and heat on medium until sugar has dissolved. Add peeled and halved pears, reduce heat to low and gently poach the pears for about 15mins. Allow pears to cool in syrup before cutting into smallish pieces discarding stems and core.

Method
To make the vanilla cream - Place the icing sugar, eggs and vanilla seeds in a stainless steel bowl whisking to combine. Pour in the cream, whisking further to thicken. If desired, add liqueur to taste. Set aside until required.

To make the caramelised pears - Firstly poach the pears in a light sugar syrup (see recipe above). Melt butter in heavy based pan, add sugar and allow to caramelise until it becomes a light golden brown colour. Add the vanilla, honey and pears, continue to cook and caramelise a little further, then remove the pears from the caramel and set aside until ready to use.

To assemble the tart - Pre heat oven to 180c (fan forced). Roll out the rested pate sablee to 4mm thickness. Line and grease a cake ring or flan tin and bake for 20 minutes. Once par-cooked, set aside to coll. Reduce oven temperature to 150c.
Note - lip pastry over ring or tin so it does not shrink

Once cool, arrange the caramelised pears in the base of the pastry shell, top with the vanilla cream, filling the entire pastry shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder, then cook in the warmed oven for 40mins or until just set. Allow to cool before dusting with icing sugar.

Chocolate & Coconut Balls

This one is for the kids!

The first time that I made 'Chocolate & Coconut Balls' was at primary school in Grade 3. It's a classic, kid friendly recipe that the little ones will enjoy making. And well lets be honest as an adult I still like 'Chocolate & Coconut Balls'.

Recipe - Chocolate & Coconut Balls
250 gm Marie Biscuits (1 packet)

1 tin (395g) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 tbs cocoa

desiccated coconut for rolling.

Crush biscuits with a rolling pin till fine crumbs, then place into a large mixing bowl with condensed milk, cocoa and mix well. Take heaped teaspoons of mixture, roll into balls then roll in coconut. Refrigerate till firm (about 30mins).

Orange & Date Scones

Scones, jam and cream is how I grew up having scones. Then after going to a cafe in Malvern called 'Our Kitchen Table', I discovered these flavoursome scones which were a combination of orange and date.

Unlike the traditional round, dainty scones my mother made, these scones have a very sticky dough, are cut into squares (so the dough is worked less), are large in size and have a very light and slightly crumbly texture.

A few tips directly from Natalie Jefferson, the owner of 'Our Kitchen Table' are a) to make sure your hands are wet whilst mixing the dough, as it is quiet sticky and this will help give a smoother shape in the end and b) to make sure you zest the oranges directly into the mixing bowl and over the cooked scones so that the flavoursome oils fall onto the scones and are not wasted on the chopping board.


Recipe - Orange & Date Scones ('Our Kitchen Table' 134 Burke Rd, Malvern)
Makes 15 large scones

1100gm sieved plain flour
100 gm caster sugar
50 gm baking powder
100gm butter softened
2 oranges
2 cups pitted dates roughly chopped
500ml cream
500 ml whole milk
icing sugar to dust

Sieve flour, sugar, baking powder and fine zest of one orange into a large bowl. Rub the butter using your whole hands, to work the butter evenly through the flour mixture. Add the dates and mix through. Then make a well in the centre.

Add milk and cream into the centre of the well and using your hands, mix together quickly, then knead very briefly to stiffen the mix. The mix will be moist/sticky, and you'll need to clean your hands when finished.

Using a stiff scraper, remove dough onto a well greased large baking tray, then with damp hands shape into a 5cm high by 15cm wide by 25cm long rectangle.

Using a large damp knife cut dough into 5 x 3 (15 scones) squares and by sliding the knife under each scone separate the scones by at least 5cm from one another.

Bake in pre heated oven at 180c for 30mins until golden. Remove from the oven, push together immediately, dust liberally with icing sugar, then using a zester, zest the remaining orange directly over the top of the scones.

Best eaten warm with a big slab of butter.

Note - this recipe can be halved. If so cut the dough into 2 x 4 (8 scones)

Afghan Biscuits

Afghan biscuits are a classic New Zealand recipe, popular amongst Kiwi's and my family alike. They are a crunchy thick biscuit, flavoured with cocoa powder, topped with chocolate icing and traditionally walnuts. I was making these for a friends birthday and thought smarties wold make them more fun and colourful. Very addictive and simple to make.

Afghan Biscuits - 'Our Kitchen Table' 134 Burke Rd, East Malvern, Vic. Aust.

200g butter softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups plain flour

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup corn flakes, slightly crushed

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Chocolate ganache or icing

Roughly chopped walnuts

Pre heat oven to 180c and line baking trays with non stick baking paper.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift together flour and cocoa and mix into butter mix. Fold in coconut and corn flakes. Roll into balls and place onto baking trays. Bake for 15-20mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire racks.

Once biscuits have cooled, ice with a good dollop of chocolate ganache or chocolate icing and decorate with chopped walnuts or smarties (as pictured).

Note - I used approximately 40-50gms of mixture for each biscuit which yields about 12 biscuits. Alternatively, roll heaped teaspoons of mixture into balls which will yield about 30 biscuits.