Pinata Cake

Posted on August 6, 2013 by DemeterG

pinatacake1

 

OK, so I know it looks like a giant tea cosy. But I wasn’t sure what kind of cake to do for the boy who doesn’t like cake. The result, after lots of Googling, was the pinata cake. A hollowed out cake filled with lollies. Unfortunately the icing was starting to get a but warm as I got to the top and started looking a little melty.

IĀ used a Dolly Varden mold for the cake. Thanks to the DB for getting it from the cake shop for me and having to go through the torture of explaining to the lovely sales lady that no, he didn’t need the dolly to go with it. I had not really explained what a Dolly Varden Cake was šŸ™‚ Also a thank you for baking the cake for me as I was running short of time. What a guy <3

The original idea was based on a post by Claire K.pinatacake2

Posted in Cooking | Leave a comment

Confit Garlic

Posted on July 26, 2013 by DemeterG

We use this garlic at work for all sorts of things and I just had to make some to have at home. We used it in the DB’s famous garlic mash the other day and it was just divine. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for ages.

confitGarlic

To use, get a clean spoon and get out as many as you need and mash, then add to whatever needs garlic. I use them for roasts, aioli, dressings…. anything at all that needs garlic.

Ingredients:

Garlic cloves – as many as you want to do
Vegetable Oil – enough to just cover the cloves

Method:

Preheat oven to 140ĀŗC

Peel the garlic cloves and place in an oven proof container. Pour in vegetable oil until just covered.

Bake in the oven for 1Ā½ – 2 hours.

Store in the fridge until needed.

Posted in Basics, Recipes | Leave a comment

Raspberry & White Chocolate Steamed Pudding

Posted on July 18, 2013 by DemeterG

 

RaspPud3

I had a fairly simple meal planned for dinner and asked the DB what he would like for pudding. Being the smart ar$e that he is, he asked for raspberry, knowing that there were none in the fridge and it was not raspberry season. What he didn’t plan on was my resourcefulness and I came up with a lovely steamed raspberry and white chocolate pudding using the raspberries that I had in the freezer from my mother and the DB’s mother’s raspberry jam. Problem is, now he’ll expect me to deliver every time he comes up with something on the fly………………

The nice thing about this dessert is all the white chocolate sinks to the bottom, which then becomes the top when you invert the pudding.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

70g brown sugar
55g soft butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon milk
55g raspberries
50g white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons raspberry jam (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180Ā°C

Grease two individual pudding dishes or large teacups also work well.

Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg and vanilla extract.

Fold in the flour and milk.

RaspPud1

Stir in the raspberries and white chocolate.

Place half the raspberry jam into the bottom of each pudding dish and push it up the sides slightly. Spoon the batter evenly between the two dishes on top of the jam.

Cover with lids or seal with foil. Place into a deep baking tray.

Place the try in the oven and then fill it halfway up the sides of the dishes with boiling water.

Cook for 1 hour. Invert onto serving plates and serve with ice cream or cream.

RaspPud2

Posted in Desserts, Puddings, Recipes | Leave a comment

My First Test……………

Posted on July 18, 2013 by DemeterG

I have been a bit busy lately with work, school and home and have a heap of recipes to blog but just haven’t quite got there. This last week I have been getting ready for my first assessment at school. We are being tested on soups, sticks, sauces, salads andĀ appetisers. I have six hours to make 3 litres of brown chicken stock, 1Ā litreĀ of fish stock, 2 portions of concomme, 2 portions of potato soup, a 2 egg hollandaise (including clarifying the butter first), 2 portions of a side salad, 2 portions of a main salad and 4 portions af three different finger foods. All in six hours. Piece of cake…….???? Hopefully……….

I have been looking at what salads I will do. Sure, I could just do a simple pear and parmesan salad, but I would like to do a little more than that. My chef at work suggested a Panzanella Salad and I was also thinking a roast pumpkin, feta and chorizo salad. So stay tuned for those to be posted, as I will be practicing them this week.

Today I practiced my 2 egg hollindase and clarifying the butter. The DB is a fan of eggs benedict, so he was very happy to taste test the final product. It isn’t as hard as it sounds, but it is time consuming if you reduce the vinegar and clarify the butter from scratch.

So stay tuned for some salad and appetiser recipes to be (hopefully) posted soon!

 

Posted in Ramblings | Leave a comment

Triple Layer Chocolate Malteezer Cake

Posted on June 12, 2013 by DemeterG

3Ccake4

I wanted to make a chocolate cake with different layers and3Ccake5 flavours, but that would compliment each other. After spending a bit of time Googling “triple chocolate cake”, I decided on the following: The bottom layer is a heavy, richĀ MississippiĀ mud cake, the middle layer is a malted milk chocolate cake, with a chocolate ganache/custard in between. The top layer is a white chocolate mousse. It is all surrounded by chocolate finger biscuits and topped with malteezerĀ® chocolates. Chocolate overload much? Nah, when is there ever too much chocolate šŸ˜‰

This is best baked and partly assembled the day before, the mousse set overnight and decorated the next morning.Ā It will go quicker if you have 2 x 22cm springform pans.

Ingredients:

Missipippi Mud CakeĀ from ninemsn: I made a half recipe

Chocolate Malt CakeĀ from Bakergirl: I made a half recipe

White Chocolate Mousse: I used a 2/3 recipe

Chocolate Ganache/Custard: I made a half recipe

3 x 200g packets chocolate finger biscuits (extra to allow for broken biscuits and ones that are swiped when you are not looking….)
350g malteezers (extra to allow for broken, chipped and some for the cook)

Method:

Bake the Missipippi Mud and the Chocolate Malt Cakes and allow to cool. Put the Missippipi Mud Cake back into the springform pan (lined with baking paper) and cover with a layer of the Chocolate Ganache custard. Top with the Chocolate Malt Cake.

3Ccake1Make the white Chocolate Mousse and pour over the top, to make the third layer. Allow to set in the fridge overnight. Don’t worry if the mousse runs down the sides of the chocolate cake (as it may have shrunk a little on cooling). This is ideal, as it gives something for the chocolate finger biscuits to stick to.

3Ccake2The next morning, carefully remove the sides of the springform pan and you are ready to decorate.

Place chocolate finger biscutis around the outside and top with malteezer’s. For the final touch, wrap a ribbon around the sides and tie in a bow to stop any biscuits falling off before you are ready to demolish all that hard work.

3Ccake3

Posted in Baking, Cakes, Recipes | Leave a comment