Matcha Cake with Cherry Juice Icing

On Wednesday, it was my friend Karen's birthday.  To help her to celebrate the occasion, I made the Matcha Cake with Cherry Juice Icing from Simply Nigella. You can also find the recipe online here.

The matcha cake is a chiffon cake, so it is light and airy and fluffy:

The green cake is then decorated with pretty pink icing made from icing sugar and cherry juice) in my case, taken from a jar of Morello cherries):

Karen said she loved the cake, which makes it a win in my book!

TWD - Smoky, Cheesy Cookies

This week's Tuesday with Dorie recipe is Smoky, Cheesy Cookies.  These cookies comprise a flaky pastry flavoured with smoked gouda and cheddar cheese, and spiced with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.

I cut my cookies 2" in diameter, making them a little larger than Dorie's recommended size.

These cookies are absolutely delicious - flaky, light, cheesy with just the right kick of spice.

To see what everyone else made this week and what they thought of it, visit the LYL section of the TWD website.

Strawberry Watermelon Cake - Black Star Pastry

One of my colleagues had been urging me to try the Black Star Pastry Strawberry Watermelon Cake, so on a recent trip to Sydney, I took the plunge and did so.  I agreed that it was delicious.

I was then urged to try and replicate the Strawberry Watermelon Cake as a dessert for our upcoming team lunch.  Yikes!!

The recipe for the Strawberry Watermelon Cake in online here, so you are not guessing as to the cake's composition.  There are lots of steps, and I'd say it takes a little skill to be able to make this cake. 

Whilst my finished product was not perfect, I was pretty happy with it, and everyone who tried it liked it (even the sceptics who, like me, thought that watermelon in a cake was weird).

Here is a slice from the cake:

My notes on the recipe are as follows:

• I used a 9" springform tin as my "collar", lining the base with foil and the sides with acetate.
• Only make three quarters of the dacquoise recipe to make two meringue discs - you do not need four discs for one cake, and I found that there wasn't quite enough meringue to make four sturdy discs anyway. 
• I used a watermelon wedge and assembled the pieces like a jigsaw puzzle rather than pay for a whole watermelon to cut single thin disc of watermelon.
• I used heated apricot jam to glaze my fruit.
• I skipped the rose petal décor, as they taste like nothing and are expensive.
• Macerate the strawberries and grapes in rosewater for 15 minutes befor placing on the cake.
• Use a hot knife to slice the cake, as it tends to squash when you cut it otherwise.
• I just used crushed pistachios rather than the speciality item, slivered pistachios, as I can buy ordinary pistachios from the supermarket.

If you give this cake a go yourself, let me know!  Have fun with it.

TWD - Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookie Bars

This week’s Tuesday with Dorie recipe is Chocolate Pecan Pie Cookie Bars.  These comprise a shortbread base topped with chocolate pecan pie filling.

These bars are absolutely scrumptious. (Sorry Good Food Guide, this word is perfect in this context.)

To see what everyone else made this week and what they thought of it, visit the LYL section of the TWD website.

Aquafaba Meringue Ghosts for Halloween

It is Halloween, the night of ghouls and ghosts and trick or treating. To celebrate Halloween, I decided it was time to try my hand at making aquafaba meringues, which I could then fashion as ghosts.

Aquafaba means “bean water”, and is the liquid from a can of chickpeas. The protein from the chickpeas leaches into the liquid, giving it similar properties to egg whites. This makes it ideal for making vegan meringues.

To make aquafaba meringues, whip 160ml of aquafaba with a pinch of cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add a teaspoon of vanilla essence, then gradually beat in 1 cup of white sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Pipe the meringues using a piping bag onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, and bake in an oven pre-heated to 120 degrees Celsius for an hour and a half or until the meringues are set. Remove the meringues from the oven and allow to cool on the tray.

Once the meringues are cooled, add eyes to make ghosts by slightly melting the base of chocolate chips against the side of a warm kettle, and sticking to the meringue melted side down.

Happy Halloween!

Perfect Banana Cake with Maple Cinnamon Glaze - QBC

This fortnight’s Queen Baking Club challenge is Perfect Banana Cake - the recipe is here.

The Perfect Banana Cake is not too sweet and not too banana-y.

It is an easy cake to make, and Queen suggests a number of variations. I added the Maple Cinnamon Glaze, which added a delicious contrasting caramel layer to the cake.

This cake would be perfect with a cuppa for a mid-day treat.

You can join the Queen Baking Club on Facebook.

Rhubarb, Rosewater & Custard Tart

Rhubarb and custard is such a classic combination.  As a child, I didn't like the slightly bitter edge of rhubarb's taste, but as an adult, I can appreciate it against sweeter background notes, and I adore its gorgeous ruby red colour.

A little while ago, the New Zealand Cuisine magazine newsletter featured a recipe for Rhubarb, Rosewater and Custard Tart.  It sounded too good to pass up, so I duly made it.

The rhubarb is roasted in the oven, and in the original, it is used to top a custard tart, which is baked separately.  I decided to embed my rhubarb in the tart instead, so I cut it more finely than in the recipe.  Although not as pretty as having the rhubarb separately on top, I think it turned out well:  

To make this tart, you will need:

500g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
200g sugar
1 teaspoon rosewater
300ml milk
125ml cream
4 eggs, 1 separated 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 x 23cm tart shell, unbaked 

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Put the rhubarb into a baking dish and sprinkle with 75g of sugar.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft.  

Remove the rhubarb from the oven and sprinkle it with the rosewater.

Put the milk and cream and heat it until just before it boils.  

In a large bowl, whisk together the 3 whole ggs, the yolk from the separated egg, the remaining 125g of sugar, the vanilla and the salt.  Whisking continuously, slowly trickle the hot milk into the egg mixture until well combined.

Brush the bottom and the sides of the unbaked tart shell with egg white and put it into the oven for one minute to set, then remove it from the oven.  

Put the rhubarb into the base of the tart shell, them pour the custard on top.

Put the tart into the oven for 20-25 minutes to bake, or until set and slightly wobbly in the centre.

Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Slice and serve!  I did not use all of the rhubarb in the tart, so I served the tart with some extra roasted rhubarb on the side and a little cream.