Recipe 34, 35, 36 - Friendship Cake

It gets to a stage where simple cookies and slices from the supermarket just does not cut it when you want to something special for your friends. On Friday I was invited over to a friends place, who always puts on a spread for me and others when we are over. I feel bad when I show up there empty handed all the time and so decided on Thursday night that I would bring something to her instead (Also helps when I am a few recipes behind in the blog as well!).

So here is Recipe 34, 35 and 36. Friendship Cake, Mock cream and White icing. My friendship cake is based very loosely off the lemon madiera cake - this is my own recipe!
(I deem this my "Friendship cake" as I had no idea how this would turn out and only a friend would eat it- regardless of how bad it was. But in truth it came out very well!)

Friendship Cake

Friendship Cake 1st Stage - cooked!

200g butter softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp lemon rind
2 tsp lemon juice
4 eggs
1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp Baking powder


METHOD

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in lemon rind.
2. In a separate bowl beat eggs until thick 
3. Sift flour and baking powder together
4. Add the flour mixture and egg mixture into the creamed mixture alternately. Just as you are about to add the final amount of egg, also add the lemon juice.
5. Stir to mix.
6. Spoon the mixture into a greased lined 20 cm square cake tin. Bake at 180c for 40 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched (sometimes depending on the oven this may take a bit longer - mine takes closer to 50 minutes)
7. Take out of oven and leave in its tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

After the cake has cooled for a couple of hours, slice into two horizontally and add the mock cream

Mock Cream

100g butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla essence (or 1 tsp grated lemon rind)

METHOD

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
2. Add milk and vanilla (or lemon rind)
3. With an electric beater beat until thick and pale like cream (this took close to 10 minutes to get the right thickness)

After the mock cream has been made, spread evenly over the bottom half of the cake and with care, place the top back on the cake. It is now ready to have the final touches!

White Icing

2 cups icing sugar
1/4 tsp butter, softened
2 tbsp water (approx)
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD

1. Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add butter.
2. Add sufficient water to mix into a spreadable consistency. Flavour with vanilla essence.

This icing comes out white, so you can add any food colouring to it to get a pretty colour. I used yellow for my cake. This recipe for icing is so basic you can just replace the vanialla essence and add something else to get different flavours. e.g. cocoa for chocolate icing, instant coffee (dissolved in the water) to get coffee flavour, orange rind, the list goes on.

Finally to add to the look of the cake, I used marshmallows and yellow M&M's to creat flowers. By cutting one marshmallow horizontally 4 times (once in half and then those halves in half again) you get beautiful petal shapes. Then add a yellow M&M in the middle and Voila! You get the first and completed image :)
 

Fail!!

I don't want to put this on my blog, but as I mentioned in my first ever post for this challenge - all recipes tried regardless of how they turn out, will go up here.
The one thing I can be proud of is that I can bake. I can cook excellent cakes and cookies, in fact a lot of the time I make my own recipe up. So to have a cake FAIL as badly as this one did has me completely stumped as to what went wrong.

Marble Cake

3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g butter melted
2 tbsp boiling water
1 tbsp coca
2 to 3 red food colouring.

METHOD

1. Beat eggs until thick. Gradually beat in sugar until mixture is very thick and white.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together and then fold into egg mixture.
3. Fold in butter and boiling water.
4. Divide mixture into three equal parts. Into one-third stir the cocoa, to the another third the red food colouring and leave the last third plain.
5. Spoon the mixture in diaginal stipes into a greased and lined 20cm square cake tin. 
6. Using a knife twirl together the three mixtures. 
7. Bake at 190c for 20-25 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Leave in tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. 

It's such a simple recipe so I am completely baffled as to why it failed like it did. I did try a new tin (one of those silicone ones) this time- wondering if the heat of a normal tin dissipates with these silicone ones so it doesn't get so hot? Going to have to try my neverfail cake and then at least I will be able to work out what went wrong.

Recipe 24: Lemon Meringue Pie

Recipe 24- a favourite in our household, although the first time I made this the lemon's I used was so sweet (or sour) that literally, you had to let the slice of pie to "air" before eating, otherwise your face would suck in! So a note- if you do decide to make this, make sure you taste your lemons and if they are exceptionally sour, don't use the full amount stated in the ingredients, instead replace it with a bit more water e.g. instead use 1/4 cup of lemon juice and a cup of water.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Base: 
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (previous recipe)

Filling:
1/4 cup cornflour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon rind
1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup of water
3 egg yolks (put the egg whites in a separate bowl for the topping)
1 tbsp butter


Topping:
3 egg whites
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence


METHOD

1. On a lightly floured board roll out the pastry (if not already done so) to a 6mm thickness. Use to line  20cm flan ring. Trim off any extra pastry
2. Bake blind (see techniques) at 190c for 20 minutes.During this time do steps 4,5,6. after 20 minutes proceed to 3 (then go to 7).
3. Remove the bake blind material and return to the oven for 1 minute to dry out pastry base. While pastry is cooking make the filling.
4. Filling: Blend cornflour, sugar, lemon rind and juice together until smooth. Add water then cook ovr medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly.
5. Remove from heat stir in yolks and butter.
6. To make the topping: Beat eggs whites until stiff but not dry, beat in sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until very thick and glossy. Stir in vanilla. You know when the meringue is ready when pulling out the beater it forms peaks that do not fall over.
7. When the 1 minute is up, add the lemon filling and pile on top the meringue.
8. Return to the oven and bake again for 10 minutes or until golden.

Recipe 14: Lemon Sour Cream Cake

I readily admit that sometimes I give blondes a bad name and  today might be one of those days. For the past fortnight I have been wondering why my husband has been sitting there saying that perhaps I should only do one recipe a week, other than the fact that he is one who dreads coming home to see what concoction I have come up with that day. I seem to be okay at making sweets and cakes, but the main dishes are failing me - something I clearly need to work on.

So what do I do for recipe number 14? I go back to a tried and true cake recipe I use numerous times, because a) it lasts in the fridge for weeks as well as freezes beautifully and b) its citrus so my husband actually eats it.

This is another adaptation from the Edmonds Cookbook  I add more sour cream than the original recipe, as well as use the whole lemon (original recipe calls for only 2 tsps of lemon rind), as I hate wastage.

Lemon Sour Cream Cake

125g softened butter

1 lemon

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sour cream (approx 250ml)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160c (I use 140-150c on bake, as I find that my cakes tend to get a burnt bottom when left for a while to cook at greater temperatures, no matter how high I put the cake in the oven!)
2. Grate half the lemon finely, beat butter, lemon rind, sugar and eggs together until light and fluffy. 
3. Squeeze all of the lemon into the egg mixture stirring quickly to avoid any curdling.
4. Sift baking powder and flour together and fold the ingredients into the egg mixture alternately with the sour cream so you get a nice smooth mixture.
5. Pour mixture into a greased and lined 20cm round cake tin. Bake at 160c for 45 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.
6. Leave in tin for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

The cookbook recommends for this cake to just be dusted with icing sugar, but I like to ice it with Cream Cheese Icing (Recipe for that can be found on the 3rd of January).

Now I should really start focusing on Main dishes again, as much as my husband dreads it, I really need to learn how to cook!

Recipe 7 & 8 - Tomato & Basil Sauce and Meahini Pasta

I am definitely enjoying finding grassroot recipes. Its amazing to know that most of the recipes I do find, I have a majority of the ingredients here in my pantry or in the vegetable patch that I have just started growing. At the moment I am using dried herbs instead of fresh as my basil is a bit too small to be ransacked. But hopefully in coming weeks I will be able to use it. Also looking forward to using my lettuces, capsicums, chilli's and tomatoes by end of February.
Hitting two birds with one stone today. Firstly am going to try to make a Tomato and Basil Sauce adapted from the Edmonds Cookbook again and then incorporate it with an adapted Italian Skillet Supper Recipe that I found on ifood.tv . IF the sauce works out! Hopefully this will hide the Zucchini enough that my husband won't notice at all.

Tomato and Basil Sauce

2 tblsp Oil

1 tsp of crushed Garlic (I used garlic from jar- however if fresh add it straight away with the onion)

1 Onion, chopped

400g can Tomatoes

1 1/2 tblsp Cornflour

1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup of water

1 tsp sugar

salt

pepper

1 tblsp freshly chopped Basil

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add Onion, cook until onion is clear.
2. Puree tomatoes and juice in a blender (I used a stick blender)
3. Combine cornflour and tomato paste in the water.
4. Add the tomato paste combination, pureed tomatoes, garlic and sugar to the saucepan. Bring to the boil. Season with sale and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in Basil.

Meahini Pasta 

(Creative name huh? Meahini -Meat crossed with Zucchini - to hide from my husband!)

500g lean ground Beef
1 Onion, chopped

2 tsps of crushed Garlic

1 tsp dried Basil or Oregano

1 cup Pasta

1 medium Zucchini, peeled and chopped (I used the stick blender for half of it)

To make a sauce for this:

1 1/2 cups tomato pasta sauce

1 1/2 cups chicken stock or beef stock 

(I used the Tomato & Basil Sauce instead)

METHOD

1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Add onion, garlic and basil or oregano; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
2. Add tomato pasta sauce and stock; bring to a boil. (In my case I added 2 cups of the Tomato & Basil sauce I created.)  Stir in pasta; reduce heat, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini; cook, covered, stirring occasionally, adding more stock (or adding more sauce) if needed, for 5 to 7 minutes or until pasta and zucchini are tender.

RESULTS:
The Tomato & Basil Sauce came out lovely- but not a deep red that I expected from all other tomato sauces I have brought in the past, maybe due to the amount of preservatives and colour they add .... I used more water than stated in the recipe (about a cup) and so it did get a bit runny, but that's because I was planning to use it for my Meahini. I wouldn't have added the extra water and I am sure it would have been awesome for normal tomato sauce- although not sure how long it would keep for in the fridge...
The Meahini Pasta came out nice enough, although even with all the herbs and my awesome sauce it was quite bland in flavour. I added a bit of Parmesan for a little bit more bang.

Recipe 6: Zucchini Provencal

As per one of my previous posts, I am completely stock piled up on Zucchinis. Worse off, my husband hates eating them and so the challenge is to try and make it into something yummy that he will eat. I found this recipe in the Edmonds Cookbook (my lifeline) but for courgettes. So another adaptation...

Zucchini Provencal

1 tblsp Oil

1 Onion
2 tsp of crushed Garlic
1 Zucchini, thinly sliced
1 tin of crushed Tomato (approx 400g)


METHOD

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan, Add onion and cook until the onion is clear. 
2. Add Zucchini witha pinch of salt and a grind of pepper
3. Add tin of tomato and crushed garlic (If using freshly crushed garlic- not one from a jar, add at the beginning with the onion), Stir, Cover and cook over a low heat until tender (approx 15-20 minutes)

So many Carrots... Recipe 3&4

Every week, due to my inability to leave the house and go grocery shopping with a 3 month old, I get the local milkman from Aussie Farmers Direct to deliver fresh veges, milk, bread and sometimes meat to my house. Aussie Farmers Direct is a free home delivery service providing fresh products that are 100% Australian owned and produced. Their main goal is to help the Australian farmer win the battle against the large multinationals by delivering a broad range of products direct to the consumer, cutting out the middle man like Coles and Woolworths, means products are delivered faster, fresher and straight to me making the humble farmer win in the long run.

It's the best decision I have ever made and now there is absolutely no excuse now not to cook food everyday.

Every Thursday and Friday I receive my deliveries. Friday is generally milk, cheese and meat, but Thursday, well, I am always excited for Thursday deliveries as I get a box of seasonal vegetables.

Carrots and Zucchini's apparently must be in season at the moment! As the last few weeks I have received so many of both that literally its the first thing I see when I open my fridge door, leading to inspiration for my first recipe for 2011 - Carrot Cake.

The below recipe is adapted from the Edmonds Cook Book - a Classic New Zealand recipe book that has been around for 90 years. There are some quantities I have changed and ingredients I have added and omitted after a bit of research. The original recipe stated you needed pineapple as well, but I did not have it in the house.

Jossy's Carrot Cake

3 Eggs
1 cup of Oil (I used virgin olive oil- nothing too pungent)
2 cups of Flour (NOT self-raising)
1 cup Sugar
3 tsps Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
3 cups of Carrots
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
1 tblsp grated Orange rind

I used more than 3 cups of carrots- as I had so many... grated 6 big carrots- which would have been most probably been 5 cups, so I had to add more oil into the mixture (the original recipe states only 1/2 a cup).

METHOD
First of all, peel and grate the carrots so you have them on hand, Grease and/or line a tin approximately 23cm round AND Pre-heat oven to 160 C (They say 180 C in the recipe, but my oven seems to run a bit hotter as its fanforced)

1. Beat eggs until thick, stir in half a cup of the oil.
2. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into the egg mixture and combine.
   
3. Fold in carrots, walnuts and orange rind. Add the rest of the oil if the batter is really stiff, the batter shouldn't be runny, but shouldn't be so dry that its powdery either.
4. Spoon mixture into tin
5. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Leave in tin for 10-15 minutes (take it OUT of the oven!) before turning out into a wire rack .

The recipe recommends to ice with cream cheese icing... so already I am off to a flying start for the week! 2 recipes in one day.

Cream Cheese Icing

Direct from the Edmonds Cook Book

2 Tblsp butter, softened
1/4 cup Cream cheese
1 cup Icing sugar
1 tsp grated lemon rind

METHOD

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Mix in icing sugar and lemon ring, beating well to combine.

I'm a huge fan of citrus and so is my family, so I also added a bit of lemon juice into the icing mixture and then added a bit more icing sugar. I worked out that you can't have it too runny otherwise it falls off the cake!

So the final result

- Jossy's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing -

The cream cheese icing is a bit yellow due to the amount of lemon rind and juice I put in!