Recipe - Orange and Almond Syrup Cake

This is a recipe by Rachel Allen from Rachel Allen's Cake Diaries - I did tweak it a little to get some Cointreau involved J http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/22850/orange-and-almond-syrup-cake

Ingredients

·       Cake

o   200 g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

o   300 g caster sugar

o   2 tbsp. orange zest (assume 2 oranges)

o   200 g ground almonds

o   4 eggs, beaten

o   ¼ cup Cointreau

o   150 g plain flour, sifted

o   1 tsp. baking powder

o   pinch of salt

·       For the syrup

o   2 oranges, juiced

o   ½ cup Cointreau

o   100 g caster sugar

·       For the icing

o   75 g butter, softened

o   100 g dark chocolate, in drops or broken into pieces

Method

1.       Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper and spray with Cooking Spray.

2.       Place the butter, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl and beat together until soft and creamy. Add half the ground almonds and continue to mix, then add the eggs, a little at a time, making sure they’re well mixed in. Add the Cointreau.

3.       Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and add the rest of the almonds, folding these in until combined. Tip the cake batter into the prepared tin, spreading it out and levelling the top with a spatula or palette knife.

4.       Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with just a small amount of moisture sticking to it.

5.       For the syrup: While the cake is cooking, make the syrup. Place the orange juice, Cointreau and sugar in a saucepan. Stir until mixed and bring to the boil. Allow to boil for just 1 minute, then remove from the heat and set aside.

6.       When the cake is cooked, take it out of the oven and let it sit in the tin for just 5 minutes. Loosening around the edges using a small, sharp knife, carefully remove the cake from the tin and transfer to a serving plate.

7.       Straight away pour the hot syrup over the cake - reheat the syrup if it has had a chance to cool down. Leave to cool completely while soaking up the syrup.

8.       For the icing: Place the butter in a heatproof bowl with the chocolate and set over a saucepan of simmering water.

9.       Leave just until melted, stirring occasionally, then pour the icing over the cake. This is a wet icing so don’t worry if it drips down the sides of the cake. Let the icing set and then decorate with pieces of crystallised orange peel, if you wish.

Recipes - Fig + Butternut Squash + Marinated Kale Salad With A Balsamic Reduction

Fig + Butternut Squash + Marinated Kale Salad With A Balsamic Reduction

Serves

4-6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

·         1 small butternut squash

·         several figs, quartered

·         a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

·         salt + pepper

·         the juice of ½ a lemon

·         a bunch of kale (about 4 cups), center ribs removed and chopped

·         1/2 cup of really good balsamic vinegar

·         a shallot, thinly sliced (preferably with a mandolin)

·         hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds

Method

Roast the butternut squash:

ü  Pre-heat the oven to 400º.

ü  Peel the butternut squash and slice it into cubes. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

ü  Cook for 30-40 minutes until the squash is tender.

ü  Remove from the oven, and set aside.

While the squash is roasting, prepare kale and figs, and make the balsamic reduction:

ü  Place the chopped kale in a bowl, squeeze the lemon over the kale, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and massage the kale using your hands. Set aside until you’re ready to serve.

ü  Place a medium sized frying pan over medium heat and place a little bit of olive oil in the pan. Sear the figs for a couple of minutes on each side until they begin to caramelize, remove and set aside. Then, in the same pan, add the balsamic vinegar and reduce to half. It should thicken up and look like a syrup. Remove from the heat and set aside while you assemble the salad.

Assemble the salad:

ü  Place the figs, squash, and shallots on top of the marinated kale. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over top, and finish with the hemp and pumpkin seeds. Give it a little toss and serve.

This recipe is from  http://www.whatscookinggoodlooking.com/whats-cooking-good-looking/2013/10/7/fig-butternut-squash-marinated-kale-salad-with-a-balsamic-re.html

Recipe - Cauliflower & Spiced Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients

• 2 medium (about 2kg) cauliflower cut into bite sized florets
• 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
• 400g chick peas
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 brown onions, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 400g low fat natural yogurt
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C. 
2. Place the cauliflower on two baking trays and drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the cauliflower until golden and starting to crisp up at the edges.
3. Roast the chick peas
4. In a dry frypan, heat the cumin and coriander until fragrant. Add some olive oil and saute the onion until golden and then add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the spiced onion mix to the chick peas while they are still warm.
5. Cool the chick peas and cauliflower. Once cool, add the yogurt, baby spinach, coriander, mint and salt and pepper and add a drizzle of olive oil to help it come together. Toss gently to distribute.
6. Optional: squeeze lemon over

Inspired by this recipe

Recipe - Lime Syrup Coconut Cake

Lime Syrup Coconut Cake

I make this often and it never fails to be a hit J

Prep 20 mins | Cook 50 mins | Serves 8

·         250g unsalted butter, chopped (at room temperature) 

·         1 cup caster sugar 

·         1 tsp vanilla extract 

·         4 large free-range eggs (at room temperature), whisked 

·         1 cup desiccated coconut 

·         1²⁄₃ cups self-raising flour, sifted 

·         ¹⁄₄ cup milk 

·         ¹⁄₃ cup thick Greek-style natural yoghurt + extra to serve 

·         1 tsp fine lime zest

·         LIME SYRUP 

o   4 limes 

o   3⁄4 cup caster sugar 

o   3⁄4 cup water

·         STEP 1 Preheat oven to 170°C/150°C fan-forced. Grease and line a 22cm (base) round spring-form cake pan with baking paper.

·         STEP 2 Using electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and vanilla on high until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs until combined. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold in coconut, flour, milk, yoghurt and lime zest until well combined. Pour mixture into pan and smooth surface. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and cooked through when tested with a skewer. Stand in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to slightly cool.

·         STEP 3 Meanwhile, to make the lime syrup, using a vegetable peeler, remove rind from 2 limes then trim off white pith. Slice rind into thin strips. Juice all 4 limes. Combine ²⁄₃ cup lime juice, lime rind, sugar and water in a small heavy-based saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 4-5 minutes until syrupy.

·         STEP 4 Place cake onto a large serving plate. Gently prick cake with a skewer then slowly drizzle over the hot lime syrup. Set aside to cool completely. Slice and serve with thick natural yoghurt.

Recipe and image taken from http://www.sydneymarkets.com.au/recipes-and-produce/recipes/lime-syrup-coconut-cake.html#.VJDqPyuUdNk

Recipe - Jamie Oliver's Epic BBQ Sauce

I tried it ... I liked it! Very rich so a little goes a long way.

Next time I make it though, I'll be scaling back the orange though as the flavour of the orange was more intense than necessary.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/recipe/my-epic-bbq-sauce/

Recipe - Parsley Pesto