Mum's biscuits - Jam Drops

There's nothing as comforting as food that your Mum made when you were growing up. I can't really define why that is, but perhaps it is because it reminds you of a much more carefree time when someone else did the hard job of making sure that you were fed, clothed and stayed healthy.

Mum often baked for us when we were young to save money - it was cheaper for her to make us treats rather than buy them. Something that often made an appearance in the biscuit tin during my childhood was jam drops, known more commonly as thumbprints in the US. These are shortbread-like biscuits filled with a daub of jam for colour and extra flavour. As a child, Mum often let me help to make the jam drops. My job was to make the thumbprint and fill it with jam. Unfortunately, I often got into trouble for either making the thumbprint too big, or putting too much jam in the thumbprint, or both. Oh well, it was still fun, and I think that I enjoyed "helping" better than eating the finished product back then.

I made jam drops for work last Friday. It seems that other people like jam drops too, because even though mine weren't the prettiest biscuits in the world (I think I needed a little more butter), they went like hotcakes.

The recipe that I used is not Mum's - that lives in her head. This recipe is from Day to Day Cookery by L Downes, my old home economics cookbook. It is as follows:

120g butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 3/4 cup self raising flour

pinch of salt

jam of your choice (I used apricot)

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease 2 large cookie trays with butter or spray with cooking oil.

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, then stir through the vanilla essence. Fold in the sifted flour and salt and mix to form a stiff dough. Roll the dough into balls and place on the cookie sheets, about 2 cm apart. Using your thumb or finger tip, make a hollow in each ball, and fill the hollow with a daub of jam (not too much otherwise it will cook out). Bake the biscuits in the oven until golden (about 15 minutes). Cool the biscuits on the trays. Store in an airtight container.

Beautiful Bones - Blackberry almond yoghurt cake

Susan from Food Blogga is hosting an event this month called Beautiful Bones to promote awareness of osteoporosis, in conjunction with the US National Osteoporosis Awareness Month. For this event, Susan has asked us to post about a calcium-rich recipe during the month of May.

Being a baker, I chose to make a Blackberry Almond Yoghurt Cake for my entry. The recipe is by Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini. I have stayed faithful to the original, except that I used blackberries rather than raspberries, and only used half the amount of berries. I laughed when I re-read Susan's rules about entering, in which she mentions calcium rich foods. I intended to use yoghurt and almonds for their calcium content, but until I checked out Susan's post, I had no idea that blackberries are also calcium rich - so I accidentally used three calcium rich foods in the one cake, simply because I didn't have raspberries but I did have blackberries in the freezer.

If you want to make your very own calcium rich blackberry almond yoghurt cake, you will need:

1 cup plain yoghurt

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted

1/2 cup almond meal

3 eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

150g blackberries (or double the quantity if you want to cover the surface of your cake)

Preheat your ovent to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake tin (I used an 8 inch square).

Combine the yoghurt, oil and sugar in a bowl using a wooden spoon. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and almonds, then stir into the egg mixture in 3-4 tranches.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared cake tin, and top it with half the blackberries, then repeat. Bake in the oven for approximately 50 minutes until cooked through when tested with a skewer. Remove the cake from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the tin before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve as is, or with cream or icecream. Enjoy!

Thanks to Susan for hosting Beautiful Bones, and I look forward to the roundup of calcium rich recipes.

Amy's birthday - Pink raspberry cake

Today is Amy's birthday. Amy is in my team at work, but as she only works two days a week (so that she can look after her lovely daughter), I brought in her birthday cake yesterday.

This cake is a white cake with raspberries through it. The recipe is from Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake for her Shimmering Pink Cake. However, I decorated it using plain glace icing (effectively icing sugar and water), and stuck on some pre-made chocolate shapes that I had piped, and filled them in with jelly for a "stained glass" effect (the colours from which unfortunately leached just a bit into the surrounding glace icing). I also put a few drops of rosewater essence into the icing, which gave it a lovely musk flavour.


I didn't dye my cake pink - I thought that the raspberries made it pink enough.

Everyone liked this cake, and I was especially glad that the birthday girl herself approved.

Happy birthday Amy!

Daring Bakers - White Chocolate Opera Cake

May's Daring Bakers Challenge is being hosted by the Daring Bakers co-founders, Lis (La Mia Cucina) and Ivonne (Creampuffs in Venice), and co-hosted by Fran of Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie and Shea of Whiskful. They have chosen a recipe that seemed very challenging indeed - a white chocolate opera cake. Why was this recipe challenging? (a) I have never made an opera cake before; (b) the recipe was quite long and seemed confusing at first; and (c) it uses vast quantities of that notoriously temperamental ingredient, white chocolate.

However, I am glad that I bit the bullet and made it, even though I would never have dreamed that I could make this previously, because it tasted DEVINE! I was a bit worried with all that butter, cream and white chocolate that it would be overly sweet, but the combination of the cake constitutents balance each other out so that it is just superb. Definitely not a Weight Watchers cake, but everything in moderation, I always say, and in moderation, this cake is worth every calorie.

I left the jaconde the original almond flavour, made a lemon flavoured syrup to soak the jaconde using lemon zest (which I strained out of the syrup before adding it to the cake), a lemon buttercream using lemon zest, a brandy flavoured mousse and the original white chocolate glaze. After the cake had set, I used a bit of reserved buttercream to attach my "chocolate decor" (love that term!) to the cake - hence the little "dots" that you can see in the close-up shot.

Despite my initial apprehension, the only hurdles that I met in making this were (a) I originally used Cadbury Dream to make the mousse - it melted into a very odd looking substance, and even though the mousse tasted OK, it took on a grainy, oily appearance, hence I binned it and started again using Plaistowe cooking chocolate; and (b) the white chocolate glaze set almost as soon as I poured it onto the cake, so it is neither very glossy nor smooth. My friend Charet tells me that a hot knife would remedy this; however at the time I was so nervous about mixing the the glaze with the mousse while trying to spread it, I wasn't keen to play with it too much.

I loved the buttercream in this cake - it is easily the best tasting buttercream that I have ever had, with no greasy mouthfeel that I generally associate with buttercream. Although the recipe was rather involved, calling for a candy thermometer to "cook" one stage of the buttercream to a particular temperature, I had not problems with achieving a satisfactory result.

I served this cake for dessert when I had Charet and Marco over for lunch. I had plenty left over, which I took to work for morning tea and to my friend Veronica's for dinner, as leaving me alone with a cake like this is way too much temptation for me. They loved it, some saying it was my best cake yet.

If you would like to make your very own opera cake for a special occasion, you can find the recipe at one of the hosts' sites.

This month, the Daring Bakers are invited to dedicate their posts to Barbara of Winos and Foodies, a former Daring Baker, host of a Taste of Yellow, a LiveSTRONG blogging event. Barb is a wonderful, strong lady who has shown bravery and character in the face of life's challenges, and to whom all Daring Bakers can aspire. Barb, this cake is for you - it is full of lemon with a distinctive upbeat yellow vibe that I hope you'll love.

Jumble bumbles - Laws of the Kitchen Turns One!

Today is the first birthday of Laws of the Kitchen - my how time flies when you are having fun. I can't believe that I have now been keeping this blog for a year - especially as it took me two years to actually getting around to doing it.

It has definitely been a fun blogging year! I have a record of many of the things that I have made over the last 12 months, together with miscellaneous ramblings that remind me of certain things. I have also met a bunch of like-minded people who have food blogs and from whom I have learned all sorts of things. Not only have I learned new recipes and cooking techniques, but I have learned about other cultures, lashings of history and some new vocabulary, and had some insight into the lives of some very talented people all around the world. How cool is that??

To celebrate the first birthday of Laws of the Kitchen, I have made spiced biscuits called Jumble Bumbles from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookies book. As well as the letters and numbers photographed above, I used the remaining dough to make biscuits in the shape of scottie dogs, Australia, butterflies, hearts, stars and tulips. They were rather fiddly to make, but the end result is very cute.

To make jumble bumbles, you will need:

125g cubed and softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.Place the butter, sugar and egg in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until well combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the golden syrup, then add the dry ingredients in two batches, stirring to combine and form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead. Place the kneaded dough between two sheets of baking paper and roll out until it is 5mm thick, then place in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius, and line and grease cookie sheets. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator, and cut dough into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place the cookies into the prepared cookie sheets, and bake for about 15 minutes until just turning brown around the edges. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets.

To decorate the cookies, make a royal icing by combining one lightly beaten egg white, 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar, 2 teaspoons plain flour and enough lemon juice to make a thick icing. Tint the icing whatever colour you fancy, then ice the cookies, sprinkling with lollies if desired. Enjoy!

Slow cooked pork pie

On the cover of the March edition of the BBC's Good Food magazine, there is a photograph of an amazing looking, hearty winter dish, which I learned was a herby lamb cobbler. I bought the magazine on the strength of that photo, and set out to make the cover dish.

I was a bit shocked to read that the original dish contained 963 calories and 60g of fat per serving, so I modified it by substituting the butter rich "biscuit" top for reduced fat puff pastry - making mine a pie rather than a cobbler. I also used pork neck instead of lamb neck, because I bought a huge piece of it from the Queen Vic Market on spec. Hence, instead of a herby lamb cobbler, I ended up with a slow cooked pork pie!

I have to say that the meat filling of this dish is just devine - the filling is not thick, but it is rich and flavourful. I would definitely make this again, with or without the top.



If you fancy giving this a whirl, you will need:

1 tablespoon oil
200g bacon, cubed
900g pork neck, cubed
2 large onions, peeled and diced
3 carrots, sliced into chunks
350g button mushrooms
3 tablespoons plain flour
3 bay leaves
bunch of thyme
350ml red wine (I used a Lindemanns Shiraz)
350ml beef stock
Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
Reduced fat puff pastry sheets to cover the top of the pie

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a large frypan, heat the oil and fry the bacon until crips. Add the pork and cook until brown. Remove the meat from the pan, then add the onions, carrots and mushrooms to the same pan with the meat juices in the bottom. Cook the vegetables over high heat until they strat to brown, then add the flour. Return the meat to the pan, add the bay leaves and thyme, and pour in the wine, stock and a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then place the mixture in a casserole dish in the oven and cook for one hour and and twenty minutes.

Once this time has expired, remove the casserole dish from the oven and top the meat with puff pastry, pushing it firmly onto the top of the meat. Brush the puff pastry with a beaten egg, then return the pie to the oven for a further 45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove the pie from the oven, stand for around 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken, then serve. This pie is perfect for a cold winter's night (of which we have already experienced a few!), as it is rich and warming.

Sugar High Friday - Citrus - Marzipan and Lemon Cake; Marmalade Cake

The amazing Helene of Tartlette is hosting Sugar High Friday (founded by Jen, The Domestic Goddess) this month, and she has chosen a citrus theme. Hooray!!! I am a citrus lover, and I particularly love those astringent beauties, lemons and limes. You have until 25 May to participate, and all that you have to do is make a dessert featuring citrus. Helene herself has posted several citrus desserts since announcing this month's theme, demonstrating that with flavours this good, the hard part is knowing exactly what to choose.


After much deliberation, I decided to make a most wonderful looking marzipan and lemon cake from May's Delicious magazine, with the recipe by Aussie cook Belinda Jeffery. You cannot really taste the marzipan in the finished cake, so all haters of marzipan icing can breathe a sigh of relief. The cake is surprisingly delicate, sweet and light given the amount of butter in it, and it is very difficult to stop at just one slice. The flaked almonds on top give the cake a wonderful crunchy texture which complements the lemony cake beneath. Best of all, this cake is quick and easy peasy to make, because Belinda's directions use a food processor.







If you like the look of this cake and want to make it, you will need:


190g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
220g sugar
200g marzipan, cubed
5 eggs
280g softened butter, cubed
Grated zest from 3 lemons
1/2 teaspoon almond essence
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence
50g flaked almonds


Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Line and butter a 23cm springform pan, and dust the inside of the pan with a light coating of plain flour.


Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor, pulse briefly until combined, then place into a bowl and reserve.


Put the sugar and marzipan in the food processor and pulse until they form crumbs. Next, pulse the eggs through the mixture in the food processor, one at a time, and once all the eggs are in, pulse for a minute to combine well. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is thick and the butter is well combined. Add the zest and essences to the batter and pulse briefly. Finally, add the dry ingredients reserved earlier, and pulse until just combined.


Pour the battter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the top of the cake with the flaked almonds. Bake the cake for about an hour until done when tested with a skewer. Remove the baked cake from the oven, cool it in the tin for 10 minutes, then release the sides of the springform pan, invert the cake almond side down onto a flat plate, then use the plate to put the cake right side up onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Belinda suggests dusting the cake with icing sugar and serving with cream, but I served it as is, and it was delicious! Thanks to Helene for hosting SHF this month. If you want to be transported to citrus heaven, check out the other 129 entries in this month's SHF here and here.

I made another citrus cake, this time a marmalade cake by Nigel Slater that I saw on Margaret's Kitchen Delights. Margaret's cake turned out way better than mine. Sure, mine tasted OK, but what you can't see in this glamour photo of my cake is that it sunk terribly in the middle. The recipe warns that it will sink slightly, but mine developed the most enormous dimple right down the middle - perhaps it was laughing at me! The cake tastes fine, but it is definitely not one that I could serve to company because of its imperfection. Maybe I'll try it again to see if I can keep the tart yet sweet marmalade flavour while eliminating the dimple.