Lest We Forget

Today I went to a potluck lunch at work to farewell a co-worker who is going on maternity leave. She's having a boy so the theme was of course BLUE but you'd be forgiven for thinking the theme was teal. We had bluberry loaf, blueberry muffins (my contribution), a vanilla cake with blue icing and blue lamingtons as well as some savoury items; although who'd think there would be such a thing as too much sugar?

Tomorrow is ANZAC day which is a day of commemoration for those who died in the service of their country. The poppy is an international symbol of rememberance and explains the decoration on the star of the lunch - an ooey gooey citrus cake. I'm pleased to be able to share the recipe with you.


Sonya's Lemon and Orange Crumble Cake

Ingredients
Cake:
1 ¾ cups self raising flour
3/4 cups caster sugar
90g/approx. 3 ounces unsalted butter, chopped
Finely grated rind of one lemon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Filling:
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour/cornstarch
90g/approx. 3 ounces unsalted butter, chopped
Sifted icing sugar/powdered sugar for dusting

Method
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C/320 degrees C
Line the base and sides of a 20cm/8 inch round springform tin with baking paper
Put the flour, sugar, butter, rind and eggs in a food processor and pulse to combine
Press 2/3 of the mixture into the prepared tin, reserving the remainder
For the filling:
Put the juices, sugar, cornflour, eggs and butter into a medium pan and stir over a low heat until the mixture comes to the boil
Reduce heat and cook for 2-3 minutes
Remove and stand for 10 minutes to cool
When the citrus filling is cool pour it over the mixture in the tin
Crumble the remaining cake dough on top
Bake for 30-35 minutes
Stand on a wire rack before removing from the tin
Dust with icing sugar

Hay Hay it's Donna Day - #19 The Clafoutis Edition

Is it a batter? Is it a sponge? Is it a custard? No - it's clafoutis!

Bon Marshall is the happy hostess of this round of Hay Hay it's Donna Day and I was delighted to see that she chose something that I've wanted to make for ages - clafoutis. Originally from Limousin in France, clafoutis is traditionally made with unpitted cherries. Donna Hay's version, which Bron selected, is made with plums and chocolate or should that be prunes et chocolat?

My blog friend Tammy recently made her clafoutis and she altered the recipe slightly and used a combination of milk and lite cream instead of just cream. Since I'm always trying to make my recipes a little healthier I thought this was a great idea. I also thought that the cup of chocolate that the recipe called for was a little over the top, especially if you're going to the bother of using less cream! I probably only used about a 1/4 of a cup. In hindsight the amount was perfect for my taste but I should have left it in bigger chunks. Like Tammy, I used canned black doris plums.

You can find the original Donna Hay recipe on Bron's blog.


I loved this recipe, the rich chocolate and the tart plums were an outstanding favour combination and the recipe was quick and easy to do. I am keen to try other variations over my winter entertaining season.

LiveSTRONG with a Taste of Yellow - 2008

My blog friend Barbara over at Winos and Foodies is hosting an event in support of Lance Armstrong's LiveSTRONG day which is a one-day initiative to raise awareness and funds for the cancer fight. LiveSTRONG Day 2008 will occur on Tuesday, May 13.

Barbara's event is called A Taste of Yellow and requires participants to make something involving a yellow ingredient. Last year I made an inedible yellow cake, a banana cake with lemon glaze and a yellow lentil curry. This year I'd like to share with you a delicious side dish that my sister-in-law made for me recently. It is a really good accompaniment to fish.

Sicilian Peppers

Ingredients
4-6 peppers - a mixture of red, yellow and orange. Don't use green ones as they are a bit bitter
3 cloves garlic
Olive oil
1 tablespoon capers - rinsed and drained
6 anchovy fillets
1/2 cup mixed olives of your choice - I used pitted kalamata olives and some pimento stuffed green olives
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
De-seed peppers and slice into thin strps
Slice garlic
Saute peppers and garlic in olive oil until caramelised
Add capers, anchovies and olives and stir to combine
Mush the anchovies up a bit if necessary (see note below)
Finish off with the wine vinegar
Serve warm or at room temperature

Note: 1. The original recipe called for 6 tablespoons of olive oil and I about died when I saw SIL cooking with that much oil. OK I know that olive oil is the good kind of oil but you sure don't need that much. I used about a tablespoon and it was plenty. 2. If you have anchovy haters at your dinner table don't tell them what's in the dish and they'll never know. The anchovies mush up to nothing if you stir them in well and then all they do is give a subtle depth to the flavour.


I dedicate this recipe to my family and friends who have been touched by cancer.

When Life Gives You Plums....

.... Make plum jam!


I was given a big bag of plums from someone at work and thought I would make a batch of jam. Although I’ve been making chutneys and relishes for regularly for the last few years it seems like a frillion years since I made jam. Things were going great, my jars were sterilised, my fruit and sugar bubbling away.


... and then my mum phoned me – right in the middle of the “stir constantly” stage. Frick on a Stick! After a brief conversation I went back to my jam making; stirring, stirring stirring. I looked at the timer on the microwave and thought – great, only seven minutes and 23 seconds to go. WRONG! I’d forgotten to put the timer and was looking at the actual time on the microwave clock. Who knows exactly how long I’d been stirring; I know I started it when the news still on and that finished at 7.00 pm. The recipe called for cooking the jam for 18 minutes so I think I may have overdone it, just a tad.


Frick on a Stick on a Brick! ……my mother phoned again as I was pouring the jam into the jars. “What part of I’m in the middle of fricking jam making don’t you understand mother??? “ She got her own back when I phoned her later and managed to time my call to be right in the middle of her favourite soap - “What part of I’m watching Coronation Street don’t you understand?” she asked. I love you mum!

Actually it didn't set quite as hard as I thought it might. Mum tells me that the trick is to stir a little hot water into the jar and then keep your jar in the refrigerator. Another idea I read for overcooked jam is to use it in thumbprint cookies. I think Dorie Greenspan has a recipe in her book Baking: from my home to yours.

An article in a recent Essentially Food magazine on homemade preserves suggested that you should write down the time you start to cook something. Usually with cake baking it’s not so much of an issue because you can test for doneness with a skewer or see if it’s starting to brown or pull away from the sides of the tin. I usually go by the smell but sometimes by the time you can smell a cake it’s already overbaked. Given that I’ve forgotten to put the timer on twice in two days I think that writing down the time may be a very good suggestion to adopt.

My most recent timerless cooking fiasco before the plum jam was a chocolate cake which I ended up giving to the birds because I didn’t want my baking reputation at work to be besmirched. While I was breaking it into pieces I suddenly had the thought that I could have just split it, filled it with whipped cream and put a really nice ganache on top and that would probably have offset the dryness but by then it was too late. Oh well, never mind.

To make this a bit of fun, a free (and pre-loved/read I might add) cooking magazine to the first commenter who can tell me who I stole my expletive from.

Plum Jam
based on the Edmonds Cookbook recipe

Ingredients
2 kgs/approx 4 1/2 lbs plums
1 1/2 cups water
6 cups sugar

Method
Place all together in a large pot
Bring to the boil
Skim out stones and skins as you go
Boil rapidly, stirring constantly, for 18 minutes or until jam tests set
(to test jam drop a teaspoon of jam onto a chilled saucer and leave for a moment. If you can run your finger through it and leave a clear trail your jam is good to go)
Bottle in sterilised jars