Breakfast Eggs and Pancetta Bread

Cooked this for some sleepy-over pals one morning. So impressed as it looked almost as good as pictured in the Donna Hay magazine – and it was declared delicious and a definite winner for the brekky menu. I have added a few extra herbs etc to the original recipe so feel free to suit your own tastes.

You can prep your toppings and pre-measure your flour the night before.

Then in the morning, just activate the yeast, knead the dough, 

rest it -   and yourself -    for 20 minutes   -  top, bake, eat.  Enjoy!

Needs about 1 hour from start to ‘eat’.

10 minutes preparation including yeast activating.

10 minute dough making and kneading

20 minute rest

5 minutes for rolling and topping the bread

12 – 15 minutes cooking

Serves 4 – 6 as breakfast    or    8 as part of a breakfast buffet

Donna Hay uses a 25 cm square baking dish. 

I prefer a 22cm x 30cm rectangular tray with a decent depth to hold the bread and toppings.

Ingredients

1 ¼ teaspoons (7 gram sachet) dry yeast

1 teaspoon caster sugar

2/3 cup warm water -   not boiling hot or it kills the yeast

1 ½ cups OO flour sifted (superfine flour) plus extra for dusting

1 teaspoon salt

½ tablespoon Olive Oil plus extra for drizzling

6 eggs

8 slices pancetta – roughly sliced    or   thin sliced bacon – chopped   if you prefer

Handful of cherry tomatoes – halved

80 – 100 gram grated gruyere cheese

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

½ teaspoon thyme leaves

1/3 cup basil leaves

Small amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling over the top

OPTION   Grinding of pepper and scattering of sea salt flakes

Method

Preheat oven to 220o C

In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and water.  Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and olive oil.

Add the yeast mixture to the flour mix and combine to form a dough.

Use a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until elastic and smooth.

Put in a large bowl, cover with clean towel and set aside in a warm place for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes:

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to fit your baking dish and place in the non-stick baking paper lined dish – pushing the dough into the corners.

Make small impressions in dough top and crack the eggs into these dents.

Scatter with the pancetta pieces and upturned tomato halves.

Sprinkle over the chilli flakes, herbs, basil and gruyere cheese.

Lightly dust with grated parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and touch of rubbed sea salt flakes.

Finish with a very fine drizzle of Australian Olive Oil.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until golden. 

Serve immediately!

TIPS and HINTS

the night before:

Prepare and measure most of your ingredients.

Line your baking dish with non-stick paper using my ‘Lazy Peg’ method blogged previously

                                                  Enjoy!   Colleen

Breakfast Pancetta and Eggs Bread

Cooked this for some sleepy-over pals one morning. So impressed as it looked almost as good as pictured in the Donna Hay magazine – and it was declared delicious and a definite winner for the brekky menu. I have added a few extra herbs etc to the original recipe so feel free to suit your own tastes.

You can prep your toppings and pre-measure your flour the night before.

Then in the morning, just activate the yeast, knead the dough, 

rest it -   and yourself -    for 20 minutes   -  top, bake, eat.  Enjoy!

Needs about 1 hour from start to ‘eat’.

10 minutes preparation including yeast activating.

10 minute dough making and kneading

20 minute rest

5 minutes for rolling and topping the bread

12 – 15 minutes cooking

Serves 4 – 6 as breakfast    or    8 as part of a breakfast buffet

Donna Hay uses a 25 cm square baking dish. 

I prefer a 22cm x 30cm rectangular tray with a decent depth to hold the bread and toppings.

Ingredients

1 ¼ teaspoons (7 gram sachet) dry yeast

1 teaspoon caster sugar

2/3 cup warm water -   not boiling hot or it kills the yeast

1 ½ cups OO flour sifted (superfine flour) plus extra for dusting

1 teaspoon salt

½ tablespoon Olive Oil plus extra for drizzling

6 eggs

8 slices pancetta – roughly sliced    or   thin sliced bacon – chopped   if you prefer

Handful of cherry tomatoes – halved

80 – 100 gram grated gruyere cheese

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

½ teaspoon thyme leaves

1/3 cup basil leaves

Small amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling over the top

OPTION   Grinding of pepper and scattering of sea salt flakes

Method

Preheat oven to 220o C

In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and water.  Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and olive oil.

Add the yeast mixture to the flour mix and combine to form a dough.

Use a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until elastic and smooth.

Put in a large bowl, cover with clean towel and set aside in a warm place for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes:

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to fit your baking dish and place in the non-stick baking paper lined dish – pushing the dough into the corners.

Make small impressions in dough top and crack the eggs into these dents.

Scatter with the pancetta pieces and upturned tomato halves.

Sprinkle over the chilli flakes, herbs, basil and gruyere cheese.

Lightly dust with grated parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and touch of rubbed sea salt flakes.

Finish with a very fine drizzle of Australian Olive Oil.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until golden. 

Serve immediately!

TIPS and HINTS

the night before:

Prepare and measure most of your ingredients.

Line your baking dish with non-stick paper using my ‘Lazy Peg’ method blogged previously

                                                  Enjoy!   Colleen

Thai Pumpkin and Kaffir Lime Curry

This is one of my favourite ‘bubble away on the stove and add bits to it’ recipes. Nigella’s recipe was the inspiration and foundation of this very flexible recipe that I continue to alter depending on what is hiding in the fridge. The lime which is squeezed over just before serving, gives it a real lift and zing.

If there is any pumpkin curry left over, it tastes even better the next day!

Please don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients. 

Just put in the essential flavours, with the pumpkin, plus your choice of any extra vegetables, then let it bubble away and stir occasionally.  See the options list for Nigella’s Seafood additions to this dish.

The pumpkin in the photo is not very chunky - sorry – I got a bit distracted reading / looking at Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks   http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/stories/yotam-ottolenghi    and the pumpkin wasn’t the only thing that turned to mush…

Preparation  15 minutes

Cooking        20 – 25 minutes (which is just stirring and adding now and then)

Serves  4 – 6  depending on how many extra veggies / chickpeas you add.

Ingredients

1 kg pumpkin – peeled, and cut into bite-size pieces.  You can also use pre-roasted pieces – just add in a bit later than you would the raw pieces as pre-cooked would need less cooking time.   -  see Tips and Hints

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste. 

(depends on your preference – start with 2 teaspoons if you prefer it quite mild, allow to cook and maybe add another teaspoon a bit later - jot down how much you like to use)

400 ml tin of coconut milk

1 litre Chicken Stock (salt reduced) or you could use Vegetable stock (salt reduced) if preferred

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

3 tablespoons Brown Sugar  or  Caster sugar

3 lemongrass stalks, cut into thirds, and squash and bruise the sections with knife handle. You can finely finely slice a little of the white base to add if you like

6 kaffir lime leaves:   3   have the middle vein removed and super finely shredded. 

The remaining 3  – crush a bit in your hand and then add in whole leaves

½ Red capsicum - diced

1 cup peas (frozen is fine)

Handful fresh beans – trimmed

Couple of handfuls of red lentils – these will almost disappear and thicken the curry

1 ½ teaspoons turmeric

Red chilli – finely sliced  or shake of chilli flakes (leave out if you prefer it milder)

Juice and zest of 1 lime

Coriander leaves or parsley leaves. And / or  Finely sliced shallots

PLUS   Cooked Rice to serve  -  see Tips and Hints

You can also add to the base curry mixture  -   any of your preferred choices (all or some – whatever you like) such as these suggestions:

½ cauliflower  –trimmed and cut into bite size bits

Broccoli – bite size pieces

Chickpeas – either 1 tin well rinsed and drained or similar amount of pre-cooked

3 little shakes of Dashi powder (optional) – comes in sachets – sorry the amount is not more specific

Baby spinach leaves

Pakchoi or bok choy  - sliced or shredded

SEAFOOD OPTIONS:  (as Nigella does in her recipe – but I don’t)

You could include peeled prawns and/or boned salmon fillet cut into bite size pieces. Cook these first in the pan, remove, cook the curry and then add the seafood back in at the end to warm through.

Method

Use a large wide stove-top pan.

Skim the thick part of the coconut milk from the tin and heat in the pan with the curry paste. 

When it starts to sizzle,(don’t let it burn) mix well and add the remaining coconut milk.

Stir in the Sugar, Fish Sauce, Lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, Turmeric, Chilli, (Dashi if using)

Add the stock and stir well.  Bring to gentle boil.

Add the raw pumpkin pieces and any other raw vegetables that need longer cooking time.

Stir the red lentils through the curry.

Add the red capsicum if using.

Reduce heat to a steady simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.

If the curry seems to be getting too thick add some more coconut milk or water or stock.

If using pre-cooked pumpkin, add in after curry and vegetables have cooked for about 10 mins

When almost finished cooking – remove the lemongrass stalks and whole kaffir lime leaves.

If using - add the chickpeas, green peas and green beans

Stir and then add the spinach, bok choy etc. and allow to wilt.

If using seafood - Gently stir through the pre-cooked seafood to warm through.

Once warmed, take off the heat and Stir in the lime zest and the squeezed lime juice.

Taste and if necessary add a little pepper or salt as needed.

Sprinkle the chopped coriander / parsley / shallots over.

Serve over rice with extra lime wedges if desired.

TIPS and HINTS

When cooking rice, cook more than needed.  Freeze in small portions that will defrost in no time. 

Remove from freezer and reheat to serve under this curry - easy!

and

Save and freeze (in small easy to defrost portions) some roasted pumpkin to use in this recipe - makes for a quick base for your curry.

                                    Enjoy! Colleen

Lavosh

Speedy, delicious and easy to prepare. This sesame and oregano lavosh from Annabel Langbein means you can create impressive crackers that rival those expensive store bought types at a fraction of the cost.

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup whole meal flour
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup water

Extra salt flakes and extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat oven to 165 degrees Celsius
Line oven tray with baking paper.
Combine the flours, sesame seeds, oregano and salt in a bowl.

Combine oils and water together and add to the dry ingredients, stirring to form a soft pliable dough.

Divide the dough into 4 portions.

With a floured rolling pin and board, roll each piece as thin as possible. Cut each rectangle into strips measuring about 4cm x 17cm and roll again.  They should be virtually see-through.

Carefully place strips on lined oven tray, brush with extra oil and sprinkle over salt.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until crisp and pale golden.

Cool and store in airtight container.

Perfect for the festive season!

Mamma Marmalade

How to line a cake tin - the lazy way

I am aware of how completely lazy this idea is, however sometimes my failure at paper cutting in Kindy haunts me and thwarts my endeavours.  This supremely lazy cake tin lining is only suggested for those times when you want to make a cake on the quick-quick and when outer appearances are not paramount.

Grab lots of clean clothes pegs.

Tear off sufficient kitchen baking paper (the nonstick variety) to generously line your cake tin.

Gently prod the paper into place.

Sometimes it helps if the tin has had the tiniest wipe of water prior to inserting the paper.

Prong as many clothes pegs all around the edge as needed to hold in place.

Some minutes later and surprisingly quickly, the paper simply surrenders to it's new shape.

Remove the pegs and pour in your filling.

I always have a supply of pegs in my kitchen drawer (some are still in the laundry!)
Pegs are really helpful around the kitchen and,  regardless of the odd looks from the family, I use them in a multitude of ways to secure items. 

Happy Baking ...

                                                                Enjoy!   Colleen

Christmas Cake and Pudding step by step. Part 2 - Chopping the Dried Fruit

Previously, we  posted about " Preparing the Dried Fruit for use in Christmas cakes and Puddings ". 

The fruit has bathed in the rum for a couple of months and it is now about 10 weeks before Christmas.

So, it is time to chop up your soaked Christmas fruit ready for baking later on. 

Be sure to play Neil Diamond's "A Very Cherry Christmas" CD whilst working through this preparation stage. I can guarantee no-one will come near to disturb your singing and dancing time. Aah! Lovely.

This is the easiest part and helps you feel prepared for the baking stage.
There is not a lot of chopping needed. The aim of this stage is to roughly chop your fruit so it is evenly sized for even cooking, but still identifiable as dried fruit.  Please do not over-process. Because of the liquid, it will soften very quickly and you want it to just start to adhere together a little. 

But, If you decide you want to use some fruit to make a fruit pate`  or some fruit-mince then it can be chopped finer.

Method

There are a couple of options for chopping the steeped fruit.

First option.

Use a bench food processor with a strong motor and large bowl with a sharp blade attachment. 
Be sure all parts have been thoroughly cleaned.
Tip all the soaked fruit and any remaining liquids into the processor bowl.
Pulse for a few seconds at a time - this will be very quick. So stay with the processor.
If necessary, carefully use a scraper to loosen the fruit from the blade and do another quick pulse to ensure all the fruit has been chopped.
Empty back into the bottle, re-seal and clean thoroughly around the bottle to remove any stickiness.
Repeat for each reserved bottle.

Second Option.

Leave the fruit mixture in the bottle. Place the bottle on a damp towel on a solid surface to help stop it moving about.
Remove the lid and using very clean kitchen scissors, snap the scissors through the fruit to chop evenly (as per previous suggestion).
If unable to cut in the bottle, use a clean bowl and snip through the fruit, then return fruit to the bottle.
Empty back into the bottle, re-seal and clean thoroughly around the bottle to remove any stickiness.

Repeat for each reserved bottle.

Then

Once you have ensured bottles have been properly re-sealed and clean, pop them back into a dark corner of a cool cupboard until ready to cook those cakes and puddings.

                                                              Enjoy!  Colleen

Lemon Luscious Cheesecakes in little Jars

Thank YOU!   In addition to our wonderful and dedicated Email Subscribers, Twitter, FaceBook and Circle followers - our little blog has ticked over the 10,000 Hits milestone!  It was just over a year ago that we embarked on our recipe sharing journey - so THANK YOU for your continuing support and interest in our Blog - we really appreciate your interest and feedback.  

and now  ...   a fitting Celebration No Stress Dessert!

The perfect dessert option for our Diner en Blanc menu would be a great inclusion for any picnic occasion – (or anytime!) – easy, pre-prepared, portable in lidded jars and no mess – and no leftovers – guaranteed delicious! It is also excellent prepared as a regular single cheesecake.

My take on Nigella’s recipe adds a few drops of Limoncello and our best tip is use a lemony lemon curd and ‘taste taste taste’, add the lemon juice slowly in drops til the flavour is perfect for you.

We have a lovely local tradition in my neighbourhood – on Election Voting Days, the School and Church groups have fundraising stalls that sell the most delicious chutneys and divine home-made Lemon Curd. I ensure I stock up on these necessities! Lemon Curd is the heart of this recipe – so a big thank you to all the cooks who supply our community fairs and school fetes – Yum!

Preparation:  25 - 40 minutes (once the ingredients are at room temperature)

Baking:  None!

Chilling:  6 hours minimum, preferably overnight

Makes:  1 regular size (22cm tin?)  or  4 - 6 - 8 jars, as depends on size of jar

Ingredients

Base

1 packet biscuits – 150 gram -  I used Anna’s Almond Thins 150g but any ‘Digestive’ or plain ‘Arnotts Nice’ style biscuit are fine. For a regular ‘tin’ cheesecake use 250 gram packet. See ‘Tips and Hints’ below.

Melted butter –  for 150 gram of biscuits, melt 40 gram of butter but you may not need that much. If using 250 gram biscuits, increase the melted butter to 90 gram.  See ‘Tips and Hints’ below.

Small shake of ground cinnamon – not too much

Almond flakes – about 30 gram – lightly chopped – you want smaller pieces but not powdery

Dessicated coconut - about 30 gram

Filling

500 gram Cream Cheese cubed and softened to room temperature

350 gram Lemon Curd – room temperature – it needs to taste good, don’t bother with a bland one

Zest of one lemon but it must be very very finely grated so not to stick between teeth!

NB - Reserve the lemon as you may need to add some of the juice – a drop at a time later on

And also

These additional measurements will depend on the flavour of your lemon curd, so as a guide

Pinch icing sugar

Half a pinch of sea salt

¼ teaspoon of Limoncello – Italian Lemon Liqueur

A little of the juice of the reserved lemon

Method

Base – similar for both jar and single styles.  See Tips and Hints for more details.

Crush the biscuits and add the flaked almonds, coconut and cinnamon. Mix to combine.

Slowly add the melted butter for the desired consistency.  VIP See Tips and Hints below.

Sprinkle lightly into the jars. Do not press down. Leave on bench whilst preparing Filling.

Filling – same method for both jar and single cheesecake

Put the softened cubed Cream Cheese in the bowl of an Electric Kitchen Mixer and beat til soft.

Add the lemon curd and lemon zest and beat to combine, increasing speed to incorporate some air. 

Now the fun bit

Taste.

Add as you think needed – tasting all the time and mixing well after each small addition

– pinch icing sugar, dash of seasalt, dash Limoncello and few drops lemon juice.

When you are happy with the flavour, gently spoon the mixture into the jars

Refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Suggested options

Perfect on their own but you could offer raspberry coulis or whipped cream or sliced fresh berries as special extra toppings.

Serving ideas

Jars – wide enough for guests to easily get a spoon in.  Firm fitting secure lid.

Glasses – great option for at home BBQs etc.  Just ensure the glass is thick and sturdy enough to cope with guests scraping the spoon around your glass. 

Once, for a different recipe, I used those double walled Bodum glasses – lovely – except the dessert base had hardened to the glass and my very strong guest broke through the glass wall attempting to remove the dessert – lucky I had a spare dessert! Not an event I would care to repeat.

Tips and Hints

Biscuit crumbs

–       if serving in a jar or drinking glass container: 

it is important the crumbs are a damp but loose sand texture – you do not want the crumb base to set hard or it will be too difficult to scoop out during eating. So it will need less melted butter. You want to moisten the crumbs and have a looser texture that does not ‘set’ in the bottom of the jar. The addition of the flaked almonds helps keep it looser.  Also, don’t pack or press it into the bottom of the jar.  Keep it loose and fluffy texture.

-        if serving as a regular whole cheesecake: 

increase the amount of biscuit crumbs and the amount of melted butter because you will need to cover the tin base and crumb will need to set firm to give a strong base. You can push and press it firmly into the base so it will adhere together. Chill in fridge whilst preparing Filling.

Transporting Cheesecake Jars to the picnic

Ensure the lids are firmly secured, cheesecakes have been well refrigerated then place in the coldest part of the esky.  We do not recommend eating dairy products that have been kept unrefrigerated for extended periods. You know the rules: keep the esky well stocked with ice and in a shady cool spot and eat these treats within a food-safe time.

Enjoy!  Colleen

Pork and Chicken Terrine

I forgot how easy this terrine was to make. It has an 80's retro feel as well as being delicious and portable. This made it an excellent starter for our Dinner en Blanc menu.

Ingredients
250g bacon
250g veal steak
125g pork fillet
125g chicken fillet
3 bay leaves
2 large onions
2 cloves garlic
125g pistachio nuts
1 egg
1 tablespoon canned green peppercorns (rinsed)
2 tablespoons brand
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
salt & pepper
2 slices ham

Method
Trim rind from bacon.
Place bay leaves at the base of loaf tin (measures 9cm x 22cm)
Line tin with bacon rashes leaving them drop over the sides
Mince veal in a food processor until fine, place in a mixing bowl.
Process chicken and pork, add to the veal.
Process onions and garlic, add to minced meats.
Add pistachios, egg, peppercorns, brandy, basil, chopped parsley, salt & pepper to minced meats, mix well to combine.
Spread half of the mixture on the base of the bacon lined loaf tin.
Cut ham into thin strips, layer on top of minced meats, spread remaing mixture on top of ham.
Fold over bacon and add additonal bacon to cover.
Place tin in a baking dish, add enough water to the baking dish to come half way up the side of the loaf tin.
Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in a moderate oven for 1 1/2 hours.
Refrigerate over night weighting the terrine with foil wrapped tins from the pantry (e.g. tomatoes, beans) this results in a firmer texture for the terrine. 

Mamma Marmalade 

Creme Caramel

This is a great party favourite no final preparations simply remove from the fridge and invert onto serving platter. All the work done ahead of time.

Ingredients

160g (2/3 cup sugar)
60ml (1/4cup water)
900ml milk
1tsp vanilla essence
6 eggs at room temperature
2 egg yolks at room temperature
160g (2/3 cup) caster sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
Fold tea towel into base of a roasting dish
Put sugar and water in a small saucepan.  Cook on low heat stirring until sugar completely dissolves.
Increase heat and bring to the boil, do not stir. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until caramel is a rich golden colour. Take care not to burn.
Remove from heat and pour into a 20cm round cake tin.
Don't use non stick and do not grease pan. Swirl the tin to evenly sop read the caramel.
Place on the tea towel in the roasting pan.

Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, do not let boil.
Stir in vanilla essence.

Place eggs and egg yolks and extra sugar in a heatproof cup/bowl with a pouring lip.
Use a fork to combine.  Gradually add the heated milk whilst stirring constantly.
Pour custard onto the caramel in the cake tin.
Cover with foil.

Place roasting dish on middle oven rack and pour hot tap water into pan until it comes half way up the outside of the cake tin.

Reduce oven to 160 degrees C and bake for 60-70 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean or with a little softly set custard on it.

Remove tin and set aside for 2 hours, chill for 6 hours or overnight.
To serve, run a thin sharp knife around the side of the pan and invert onto serving platter.

Mamma Marmalade

Parisian Amour Flourless Chocolate cake

Just too delicious.  The recipe is from ‘French Ties’ by Jane Webster and I found it beckoning to me in Gourmet Traveller Magazine.

Whilst the recipe is simple, it does require care to achieve the sublime indulgence. I prefer weight measuring rather than cups for accuracy here.   The flavour of the chocolate and butter influence the final result so it is worth using quality ingredients for this recipe.

Preparation   15 - 20 minutes

Cooking          20 - 25 minutes

Ingredients

125 gram quality Unsalted butter – softened and cubed

200 gram quality Dark Chocolate – I used Callebaut 70% callets

100 gram caster sugar – sifted to remove any lumps

Small Pinch of sea salt flakes (this is my addition – original recipe does not use this)

50   gram cocoa powder -  though I prefer to only use 40 gram  - sifted to remove any lumps

3 eggs – lightly beaten

For dusting:  Icing sugar OR  Sugar Snow  OR cocoa powder  OR edible silver stars

Method

Grease and carefully line 20cm cake tin (this is one time I take care lining the cake tin properly).

I use a 20cm tin with a removable base.

For the mixing, I use a large, deep pyrex bowl and a Stab mixer with a whisk attachment.  I find this gives me more visual accuracy and quick control of the mixing rather than using a Bench electric mixer.

Recipe says to  Preheat the oven to 180oC. 

Although I find I only need to preheat mine to 170 oC.  

(for mine - that is on the Fan Assist mode, NOT fan forced).

Melt the chocolate and butter very gently until just melted.  You can either use the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water on the stove, being careful not to get any water in the chocolate. 

Or, you could melt together using the microwave set at 30% power and stop/start until just melted.  Don’t walk away - or it will seize and be awful.  Regular gentle rocking of the bowl helps to mix.

Never use a wooden spoon to stir chocolate as it retains moisture – a heatproof silicone spatula is fine.

Once the chocolate and butter are melted together, it should be just warm but not overly hot.

Add the sugar and whisk to remove any graininess.

Add the cocoa and salt and do a small whisk to combine.

Now add the eggs and whisk again.  The batter will be thick but retain some air.

Gently pour the batter into the prepared tin and very gently smooth the top.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Original recipe says 25 minutes, but you will need to see what works for your oven.  Cake is ready when it springs back when lightly touched in the centre.

I find 20 minutes results in a slightly ‘fudgy/brownie’ type middle of the cake – a little soft.  If you prefer a firmer result then aim for 22 – 25 minutes depending on your oven. 

Allow to cool in the tin on a cake rack for at least 15 minutes.

Remove – very carefully – allow to cool a little and place in an airtight container.

It will dry out if left out for too long.

Decorate as desired and serve with raspberry coulis, whipped vanilla cream or mascarpone.

                                     Enjoy!   Colleen

Diner en Blanc Brisbane 2013

Thanks to everyone - volunteers and guests who helped make Diner en Blanc Brisbane 2013 #blancBNE such a fun and enjoyable night!  So many clever, creative and even a few slightly wacky folks all combined to highlight the light-hearted, cheery, zany and elegant white sparkly vibrancy that pulses through Brisbane. 

Our menu was made up of lots of small tastes - some recipes already on the blog.  Others to follow soon - Enjoy!

                                  

                              Menu                            

       Le Dîner En Blanc   Brisbane     2013   

    

Pour Monsieur et Mademoiselle

Hors d’Oeuvre

Macadamias, toffeed golden with exotic spiced honey

Smoked Eggplant Dip– fragrant with cumin, coriander and paprika

Entrée

Pork and Chicken Terrine with Home-made Mango and Paw Paw chutney,

With accompanying Baguette, cornichons and pickled onions

Main Course

Succulent Coconut Poached Chicken Thai Salad

Dessert

Parisian Amour Flourless Chocolate Torte

Petite Lemon Limoncello Cheesecakes à confiture

Raspberry Coulis

With choice of  Mascarpone  or  Whipped Vanilla Cream

 

Cheese Platter

Selection of Matured Australian Cheeses,

Quince Paste, Fruits, Seasonal Berries,

Decadent Chocolate Truffles

and Honey Macadamia Nougat

                                           Bon Appetit                              

Devised and Designed by:   feedyourinnercook@blogspot.com.au