May 28, 2012

Chocolate Yoghurt Cake

Oh dear have I been neglecting my poor blog. This last month has been a bit of a whirlwind of activity that I didn’t have an evening to myself to sit down and write. I’ve missed it and have been making some nourishing, wholesome goodies to put up here but before I get to those, how about some cake?

Cakes have never been my forte and boy did that become more obvious when we started the Cake Club two months ago. My flaws were right up there on a cake plate on display for all to see. Not a great look but one that is amendable. I think and hope dearly!

A couple of weeks ago, my boss came into work with a slice of chocolate cake that himself and his kids had made for mother’s day. I was given a slice to test the goods, I jumped at the chance. I told myself I would have one mouthful and then share the rest but the minute I opened the box, the deep aroma of rich cocoa filled the air and I devoured it like a crazed lunatic. Soon after, I demanded the recipe and ran home to bake it. A bbq/baby shower came up with some of T’s colleagues and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to brush up on my cake skills. I was right. I replaced the plain flour with Spelt, making it friendly to my tum and also adding that extra fluffiness to the cake. The natural yoghurt paired with spelt flour makes it moist and moreish.

Chocolate Yoghurt Cake

100g Dark Chocolate

150ml boiling water

275g Spelt flour (sifted twice)

3/4 tspn baking powder

1 1/2 tspn bicarbonate of soda

175g unsalted butter

275g soft brown sugar

3 large eggs

150ml natural yoghurt (I used closer to 200ml)

1 tspn vanilla essence

Frosting

175g Unsalted butter

350g Icing sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

1-2 tbsp strong coffee

To decorate – cacchous

 

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease two 10 inch springform cake tins.

Break Chocolate up and place in a bowl, pour the boiling water over the chocolate and whisk like the clappers

*note* The combination of water and chocolate won’t seize or split if you whisk it the minute the minute the water hits the chocolate. I was very apprehensive when I first read through the recipe but it works.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and bicarb twice.

In a third mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, beat in eggs one at a time.

Pour in chocolate and beat for one more minute

Mix in the flour, yoghurt and vanilla.

Separate the mixture into the two tins.

Bake for 30-35 minutes depending on oven .

Whilst the cakes are baking, make your frosting (I did this the day after the cakes were made to let them sufficiently cool down)

Cream the butter in a mixer, gradually add in the icing sugar, cocoa powder and the coffee essence.

Using a good palette knife, ice the top of one cake and then place the second one on top. Ice all around the cake and decorate with cacchous to make it all lovely and pretty!

Enjoy with friends, because that’s the best thing to do with cake!!!

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April 23, 2012

Clandestine Cake Club

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On Saturday the very first Clandestine Cake Club in Australia was held. It was a small gathering of some very enthusiastic cake lovers. There was a collection of all different types of cake and much ooh-ing and aah-ing at the different designs, flavours and textures. No one cake looked or tasted the same. We all got to sample some cake and take it home to gobble for later. Bonus!

Orange Layer Cake with Persimmons Cream Cheese and Whiskey Chocolate Ganache

Red Wine and Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache, Pears and Fig Jam Glaze

Caramel Apple and Pear Polenta Cake

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

We each got to do a little presentation on our cakey goodness and give a run down of what we did and where the ideas came from….

Liv telling us all about her Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Trying to do my best to explain the idea behind the Orange/Persimmons/Whiskey Cake.

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Cake makes Bri a little giddy ;)

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Jacqui going through the inspiration for her delicious Chocolate and Red Wine Cake!

After outdoing ourselves with the cake scoffing, we chilled out and chatted about puppies, cake disasters and then Paul from Urban Locavore arrived with a box of goodies for Jacqui.

Paul had some cake and told us all about the ideas behind Urban Locavore, where it stemmed from and what the plans for the future are. Perth is so lucky to have someone like Paul and the Urban Locavore guys rooting for local producers and encouraging people to reduce food miles by buying local.

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Stay tuned for the next Clandestine Cake Club to be announced. We’re pretty excited about the ideas for the next one!

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April 18, 2012

Blue Manna Crab and Butternut Risotto

Also known as Swimmer Crabs and Sandies according to the guys at Fisho fish stall, these Blue Manna Crabs have a vibrant intense blue colour flowing all the way down their accents, the main body or carapice is is a mix of purple and browns. This description of the crab means these ones are boys. You can also tell their gender on the back of the carapice, where there is a V-shaped flap it is a boy. The girls are blue all over with a U-shaped flap, they also have sweeter meat and come at a more costly price.

Freshly caught on Saturday morning down in Mandurrah, we bought our crabs at lunchtime at the Subiaco Farmer’s Market. Four crabs (1kg) for $15. Bargain! Blue Manna Crabs do not survive long after they have been taken out of the water. By the time we bought them they were dead. They will last up to two days in the fridge if you don’t want to cook them immediately, otherwise pop them in the freezer. There should be no fishy smell off them, just fresh seawater.

I couldn’t resist using these immediately, I have never cooked with crab before and having only ever eaten crabs claws in the past, I thought it was time face my squeamish demons and cook up the boys in blue. I couldn’t stop fawning over there amazing colours and imagining them at work in the ocean. With a bit of research done, I was armed with my crabs and a pot of salted boiling water. Popped them in and cooked for 5 minutes. Be sure to remove any scum with a slotted spoon. We cooked two crabs at a time and then immediately placed them in a bowl of ice cold water. Doing this ensures that the crabs do not continue to cook on after you have taken them out of the boiling water. After watching a couple of online videos on how to shell these babies, we set to work. We managed to extract about 3oog meat between the four crabs. We did have a lot of fun shelling the crabs, despite snagging my thumb on a claw. The meat was gorgeous and we couldn’t help gobbling up some whilst we were working.

While we were busy crabbing, I popped a whole butternut squash, skin and all into the oven at 200°C for 35 minutes. Remove, leave to cool on a wire rack and then the skin should fall off easily. Scoop out the seeds and set aside. The butternut squash weighed about 650g and once cooked, I had 460g flesh.

 

 

Follow these steps that lead to an amazing risotto dish….

200g cooked crab meat

460g roast butternut squash, chopped

1 tbspsn unsalted butter

Glug of olive oil

1 large white onion

2 tspns thyme

225g arborio rice

160ml crisp white wine

1.25 ltrs chicken stock

60g freshly grated parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

 

Heat the butter and olive oil together in a saucepan, add in the diced onion.

Cook for about 15 minutes, until the onions start to caramlise. Add in the thyme.

Pour in the rice and coat with the onion mixture.

Add in the wine and allow the rice to absorb the liquids.

Slowly start to add in the stock, continuously stirring.

Never let the rice stick to base of the pan.

Once the rice has absorbed the liquid, add more in, about 1/2 cup at a time until all of the stock has gone.

This should take about 20 minutes.

Take your chopped butternut squash flesh and add it in to the mixture. The risotto will take on a bright amber colour.

Sprinkle in the crab meat and parmesan.

Stir for a few minutes and serve with some chopped chives and parmesan.

 

I think this is just the beginning of my adventures with shellfish. Have you ever cooked crab before and if so, what type?

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April 17, 2012

Lemon and Blueberry Cake

Remember in my last post when I waxed lyrical about the cool weather, the crisp breeze becoming more prevalent and the Autumn season settling in? It has definitely stayed cooler than previous weeks, but the sun is still out in full force and those famous Western Australian blue skies are shining for all to see. I haven’t seen a drop of rain in weeks. I’m totally happy with this weather, it’s the kind that I can get used to. All year round. But that will never happen. So I am reveling in this sunny, Autumn weather and enjoying the cool evenings whilst they are here. Before the real cold sets in. I am looking forward to a bit of rain though!

Something pretty exciting is also happening next weekend. A fellow foodblogger and myself are setting up the very first Clandestine Cake Club in Perth, in Australia actually. We are pretty excited about it. A few months ago I read this post and loved the idea. Indulging in cake in secret, ooh that does sound wild! So without further ado, head on over to Lynn’s site and check out all of the details. We have space for you cake lovers out there in Perth and it is sure to be a fun afternoon.

And on to the cakey goodness. This recipe came about from the theme for this month’s Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, LEMONS. I love lemons! and what do you do when life (or your local farmer’s market) gives you lemons, why you join in the fun and get making, baking, creating. I have been slowly veering, begrudgingly, away from baking with sugar and being a bit more creative with what goes into my cakes. I recently spent time flicking through this website gaining inspiration for some new dishes to make. I had some different varieties of gluten free flours lying around so thought that a gluten free cake should be on the cards. When I adapted Tina’s recipe to what I had in the cupboard, it turned out majestic. Paired with some candied lemons which I yoinked the idea from on this post. It turned out to be a magical wonder of moist, slightly sweet and very yummy cake.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The cake is sugar free and the lemons have been candied in agave syrup. Feel free to exclude them, it just looks and tastes great with them.

Ingredients

2 Ripe bananas

200g fresh ricotta

1 Egg

75g unsalted butter

2-3tbsp real agave syrup

1tsp Vanilla essence

50g Ground almonds

100g Buckwheat flour

30g Rice flour

1tsp Baking powder

2tsp Cinnamon

50g Pecans, roughly chopped

120g Frozen blueberries

Zest of one lemon

Candied Lemons

100ml Water

50ml Agave nectar

1 whole lemon, sliced

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a small loaf tin with baking paper and some butter.

To make the candied lemons, place the water, agave syrup and lemon slices in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the rinds have softened. Leave the lemons to one side and reserve the syrup.

In a stand mixer, blend together the bananas, ricotta, egg, butter, maple syrup and vanilla essence.

Add the ground almonds and mix well.

Combine the flours, baking powder and cinnamon and add to the mixture.

Stir in the chopped pecans and blueberries.

Don’t mix for too much longer (like I did) after the the blueberries have been added as they will melt into the mixture (like mine did).

Spoon the mixture into the lined loaf tin. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, for the last 15 minutes, place a piece of tinfoil over the cake to prevent the lemons from burning.

The cake should be done when a toothpick comes out almost clean. The cake will be moist, but not overly sticky.

Drizzle with syrup and enjoy with a cuppa!

This recipe was created for the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop. Jennifer from LeDelicieux is hosting this month’s Hop. She is an avid lemon lover!! Head on over to her page and check out some more exciting lovely lemon treats.

I am experimenting with gluten free flours these days. I’m excited about the recipes I have tested and look forward to posting them. Have you ever tried baking with gluten free flours?

c.a. xx

P.s. Don’t forget to vote in the Best Australian Blog Awards – People’s Choice Awards. Carolanne’s Kitchen has been nominated. Simply select the blog/s you want to vote for, hit next until you are prompted to enter in your name and email address and click done. Thanks guys!

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April 16, 2012

Best Australian Blog Awards – People’s Choice Awards

Great news folks! Carolanne’s Kitchen has been nominated for the Best Australian Blogs – People’s Choice Awards. I am so excited to be one of the many nominees, there an were an outstanding 1,024 nominations this year. Each year, the Sydney Writers Centre holds the Best Australian Blog Awards and there have been some admirable and inspirational blogs out there that have topped the posts.

I would love it if all of you guys head on over here and cast a vote for Carolanne’s Kitchen. Follow the simple instructions and then enter in your name and email address. Don’t forget to click done to ensure your vote has been cast.

I appreciate all of you who have supported me since I began blogging and it is a great feeling to be up there with some of the best Australian blogs out there. The staggering number of nominations this year just goes to show that blogging is constantly on the rise.

To follow the action on Twitter, search #bestblogs2012 and you will find more information.

You can cast your vote from anywhere in the world. Voting is open until May 9th at 5:00pm EST.

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April 5, 2012

Purple Carrot Cupcakes

We have really began to notice the change in seasons this week, Autumn came with days of grey skies and threatening clouds. Raining every evening and blustery at night. For some reason, I quite enjoy this kind of weather. I find comfort in the cool weather after the intense months of heat. Perth gets one of the hottest summers in Australia and being Irish, I definitely noticed it. My pale skin is over sensitive to the heat so I spent much of my time ducking into the shade and holding out for the Fremantle Doctor to come dancing breezily into town in the late afternoon. Now, however I wake up to grey skies and look forward to being greeted by a refreshing breeze when I step out of my front door.

Another bonus to Autumn is the abundant fruit and vegetables that are on offer. I noticed the markets were looking a little empty these past few weeks, the carts of stone fruit have diminished, those vibrant strawberries and blueberries are slowly beginning to disappear. The summer fruits are nearly gone. They have been replaced with sturdy root vegetables like odd looking pumpkins. The fruits of Autumn are some of my absolute favourite, dainty apples, feminine pears and figs and my new obsession, persimmons! I love them, their colour is amazing and they pack a bounty of taste. I recently put them into a fruit crumble and it blew me away how well they melted softly into the crumb still retaining their gorgeous sweet taste. These will definitely be featuring on the menu this Autumn.

Enough of the persimmon, he will get his day. Now, onto a more robust friend of mine. The purple carrot. Ever since my first sighting of these odd looking fellows at the markets, I bagged a load of them, brought them home and experimented. My dear, the colour they exude is phenomenal. We had purple tinted cottage pie last week, which was full of earthy, intense flavours. I was attending the recent TedxPerth event on Monday and the only criteria to gain entry was to bring some nibbles. I made up a batch of Purple Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. How Divine!!! At one stage when we were waiting to leave, I was perched by the entrance, basket in hand about to make my escape when a random guy came up with a mouthful of cupcake and said ‘You have amazing cupcake skills’ and happily tottered off back to his friends :)

For the recipe I followed Marian Keyes recipe for carrot cake cupcakes with a few minor alterations and a different topping.

Recipe:

Cupcakes

50g hazelnuts, roasted and skin removed & chopped

150g purple carrot, grated

150g muscovado sugar

2 medium eggs

150ml olive oil

150g spelt flour

1 teaspoon bicarb of soda

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Line a 12 hole cupcake tin with cases. Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Beat the sugar, eggs and oil together until it is dark and resembles a rich caramel.

Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda twice and fold into the egg mixture.

Grate in fresh ginger and sprinkle in cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add in the chopped hazelnuts and grated carrots.

Divide the mixture between the 12 cupcake cases. These beauties will rise up quite high but still remain moist and springy to the touch.

Pop in the oven and bake for 22 minutes.

Place tray on a cooling rack and leave to cool for a few minutes then remove cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

330g cream cheese

2/3 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and mix until it appears silky and tastes divinely sweet.

Scoop mixture into piping bags and beginning at the outside, create decadent swirls of frosting goodness!

Enjoy these with friends if you can manage to share them ;)

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March 31, 2012

Goodtimes

The place which I call home is a majestic, rugged land of wild haired beauties, fireside chats and welcome faces. This place is Sligo. Sligo sits snugly into the North West of Ireland.  A coastal town home to magnificent waves and a hive of activity when it comes to artisanal food producers. I love telling people about this magical land.

I have been living away from home for nearly three years now and the further I move and the longer I stay away the more I long to be back having fireside chats with my folks, embracing the wild winds of Strandhill. What I do love hearing though is of the magnificent happenings in Sligo these days. People are harnessing their skills and working together to show Sligo off to it’s full potential. Some of these are the likes of Jane and Myles Chambers in Shell’s Cafe who frequently show off fresh local produce paired with style and a bounty of taste.. Shells is of the first places I go to when I get a chance to go home.

Others like Peter Clyne are joining the local surf talent and showing the world what is sitting on the shores of our beaches. Peter caught the action during last winter 2011 and teamed it up with ‘It’s Ok to be Normal’ from The Gorgeous Colours (they are actually pretty gorgeous too). I hope you enjoy is as much as I did. I may have had a little tear watching the stunning images and how amazing Peter portrayed the true beauty of the surf, Sligo and the good times.

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