Lemon cream cake

Just before Christmas, I did a fridge audit and found a pot of cream and a lot of lemons that I didn't want to waste.  Cake being my favourite thing to make (although oddly, not my favourite thing to eat), I turned to my baking books for a lemon cake that would also use up the cream. 

In one way, my mission failed - I didn't find a cake containing lemons and cream.  However, I did find a lemon yoghurt cake in The Golden Book of Patisserie.  I have often read about people substituting yoghurt for cream - so why not substitute cream for yoghurt?  And a cake was born.

This cake was perfect for my needs, as it used up the entire pot of cream, and had a lovey subtle lemon flavour.  It didn't use as many lemons as I would have liked, but there are not many sweet treats that are going to do that.

This cake disappeared pretty quickly at work, even at a tme when everyone was saturated with Christmas goodies, so I think that is a good sign.

If you, like me, have some lemons and cream lying around, begging to be used, you can make this cake as follows:

2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
125g butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3 eggs, separated
250ml cream (or yoghurt!)

icing sugar, lemon juice (my basic recipe)

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius.  Grease and line with baking paper a 9" round cake tin, and grease the baking paper.  

Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl.

Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your finger tips in a stand mixer bowl.  (I added this step as Iknow it enhances the monon flavour.)  Add the butter and beat the butter and sugar together until pale, smooth and creamy.  Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to the stiff peak stage.

Fold the egg whites into the cake batter with a rubber spatula, being careful not to knock the air out of them.  Scrape the batter into the greased, lined cake tin, and even off the top.  Place the cake into the oven to bake for 35-45 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the tin for  5 minutes before unmoulding onto a wire rack.  Allow to cool completely.

Combine the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make a spreadable icing, and spread over the top of the cooled cake with a metal spatula.  Decorate if desired.

Baked stuffed zucchini

On Friday night, I had friends over for dinner while their kitchen is being renovated.  On the menu was Jamie Oliver's Asian-flavoured version of cook-in-the-bag chicken, an old favourite of mine from his Happy Days tour (not the leek and mushroom one that is all over the web), followed by Long and Slow Apples from French Fridays with Dorie.

My friends grow vegetables, so I was the recipient of a very large zucchini.  You can't generally buy zucchini that big, so I thought I would try something new - stuffed zucchini.  A quick Google search later, and I came up with this recipe.  The only changes that I made were to substitute the lamb mince for beef mince, the rosemary for tarragon (I couldn't buy rosemary at the supermarket - how weird is that?), and the parmesan for Dutch smoked that I had in the fridge.

I really enjoyed the end result - it was a hearty meal that didn't take ages to prepare, and used up the entire zucchini.  I think I would add a touch of chilli next time to make the filling sing, but recommend this as a nice change.  My interest in stuffed vegetables is now piqued, and on the same night  that I made this, I saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall make baked butternut squash which looked equally delicious - perhaps another dish to add to my repertoire.

FFwD - Long and Slow Apples

It's French Friday with Dorie, and this week the recipe is Long and Slow Apples.  I wish that my week had been long and slow, but instead it has been full on, and all rather a blur.

The name of Long and Slow Apples is rather apt for this dish, as it is long and slow, not only in cooking time, but in preparation - it took me an hour to peel, core and slice the apples, then arrange them in layers with butter and spiced sugar in 4 ramekins.  After two hours in the oven, with the apples lightly compressed under an empty ramekin, the apples cook down into this:

Certainly, the end result is tasty, comprising soft apple layers in almost caramelised sugar, but is it worth the time?  I'll leave that an open question.

I served my apples warm with raspberry swirl icecream rather than the ginger cream suggested in Around My French Table.  I have friends over for dinner tomorrow, and will be serving the apples again for dessert, but this time, they will be chilled.  It will be interesting to see how the chilled version contrasts in flavour and texture.

To see  what the other group members thought, visit the LYL section of the FFwD website in due course.

WWDH - Bacon and Roasted Tomato Omelette

Wednesdays with Donna Hay is back for 2013, and this week, I am kicking things off with Donna Hay's Bacon and Roasted Tomato Omelette.  The recipe is online here.

This is such an easy but terrific recipe - it has the key ingredients in a fry up, but is so much healthier because it is sans added fat.  The only fat comes comes from frying the bacon, over which the egg and chive omelette mixture is poured.  The cherry tomatoes are roasted in balsamic vinegar and sugar, giving them a lovely sticky sweetness.  I skipped the rocket.

I enjoyed this omelette as a light main meal, but it would also be perfect for breakfast or lunch, making it a truly versatile dish.

To see what Chaya, Margaret and Kayte thought of this recipe, visit their websites on Wednesday East Coast US time.  

BWJ- Pizza with Onion Confit

Welcome to Baking with Julia for 2013!  Our first recipe is Pizza with Onion Confit, hosted by Paul of The Boy Can Bake.

I was in two minds about making this one - I am not a huge fan of onions, and I remember that the onion pizza from FFwD was a little meh.  However, I  needn't have worried - these onions pack a flavour punch, as the onions are slow cooked with red wine, red wine vinegar, cassis and thyme.

What can I say?  This was really fabulous straight out of the oven.  The crust, baked on a pizza stone in a very hot oven, was crispy and light, and the topping of onion confit, and in my case, goat's cheese (coated in ash) and cherry tomatoes was just the ticket.

My only tip is - don't leave this til the last minute, as the dough has two risings over three hours, and the onions are supposed to take an hour to cook (I ran out of liquid twice so I stopped sooner).

To see what the other BWJ bakers thought of this recipe, visit the LYL section of the website.

Newmarket Hotel, St Kilda

No French Fridays this week, as I am on vacation.  Instead, I will share my experiences at the Newmarket Hotel, St Kilda.

The Newmarket Hotel is situated in a renovated warehouse, and although it is rather unassuming on the outside (so unassuming that you can easily miss it), on the inside, it has a funky 1970s feel, with leather chairs and plaid carpets and garlic hung from the ceiling in bunches.  The large, airy open space inside was buzzing, and we enjoyed drinks at the bar while we waited for a table.

The menu at the Newmarket Hotel surprised us, in a good way.  While the name of the establishment does not make you think "Latino street food", that is the best way of describing the menu, which is full of tacos, tortillas and spices. 

I went to the Newmarket with my friends Veronica and Christian at Saturday lunchtime, and we shared all of the dishes. 

Veronica ordered the blue corn quesadilla with braised zucchini blossoms & queso Oaxaca ($17):

This dish was the pick for me - it was unlike anything I have ever had before, and was smashingly good.

Christian ordered the quinoa, corn and summer squash salad ($12):

This one was not so much for me - I think it lacked a little kick, but if you like quinoa, this may be for you.

I ordered the soft taco with wood roasted bone marrow, chimichurri & ranchero style brisket ($8):  

This was also delicious, with the soft, melting bone marrow creating a rich sauce.

We decided to live large and ordered dessert - namely, the chocolate & banana cazuela with salted caramel & almonds (min 2 persons, $14pp):

Hey - you say salted caramel and I am there.  This was as fantastic as it looks, and a serve for 2 among the 3 of us was plenty - this is very rich.

If you are looking for somewhere different to go on a lazy weekend afternoon that caters to vegetarians, then you can't go wrong with a visit to the Newmarket Hotel in St Kilda.  

The Newmarket Hotel
34 Inkerman Street
St Kilda  VIC
Phone:  +61 3 9537 1777

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you and your family.  Hope that 2013 brings you every good thing.