Maggie Cooper's Christmas Cake

It will soon be Stir It Up Sunday, the day when people traditionally make their Christmas cakes and puddings so that they have time to mature for Christmas.  I decided to take a jump on them by making my Christmas cake this weekend.

Every year, I try to make a different Christmas cake recipe.  The results are mixed, but the unknown is part of the fun.  This year, I chose a recipe from Maggie Cooper that I found in The Toowoomba Chronicle, but which is also reproduced here.

To make this Christmas cake, you first make a fruit mince, two cups of which is reserved for mince pies:

My fruit mince had been happily soaking in brandy for around three weeks, so I was confident that it was time to make the cake.

The recipe says to use a 20cm round cake tin, but that is not anywhere near big enough.  I used a 25cm round cake tin, and as you can see I still ended up with an enormous cake that filled the tin:

The other key change that I made to the recipe is to use a commercial gluten free flour mix in place of the plain flour, as some of my recipients are eating gluten-free.  I am a little nervous as to whether this will make the cake crumbly when sliced, but I won't find out for a few weeks yet.  The cake seemed to hold together well once it had cooled and was unmoulded, so I am hopeful that it will be just fine.

If you are planning on making your Christmas cake soon and that this one might fit the bill, you will need:

Fruit mince

425g raisins
250g pitted dates

250g pitted prunes 

250g glacé cherries

115g glacé pineapple

125g dried apricots

50g glacé ginger

850g sultanas

375g dried currants

200g mixed peel (I left this out)

3 medium Granny Smith apples 

1 x 250g jar marmalade

2 tbsp finely grated orange zest

60ml lemon juice

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 tbsp mixed spice

350ml brandy 

Peel, core and grate the apples.  Chop the larger fruit finely.  Put everything into a big plastic mixing bowl with a lid, and shake well to combine.  Keep the container in a dark place and shake every few days for at least four weeks (or three, in my case).

Christmas Cake

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

120g brown sugar

5 large eggs

60g melted dark chocolate

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp almond essence

2 tsp glycerine (I used glucose instead)

2 tbsp raspberry jam

Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon

250g plain flour 

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1 quantity fruit mince (above) minus 2 cups 

1/2 cup brandy

Grease and line the base and sides of a 25cm round cake tin with baking paper and preheat your oven to 150°C. 

In a stand mixer, beat the butter until pale and creamy, then beat in the brown sugar until well combined.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the the chocolate, essences, glucose, jam, lemon zest and lemon juice.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, mixed spice, ground ginger and salt together. 

Add 1/3 fruit mince to the cake batter, then 1/3 of the dry ingredients, and fold in gently with a wooden spoon. Repeat twice more until all of the dry ingredients and fruit mince have been incorporated into the batter.

Scrape the cake batter into the prepared cake tin, and tap on the bench a few times to remove any air pockets. Tie a triple thickness strip of newspaper around the tin with string (this will help to prevent the outside of the cake burning).

Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for 3 to 3 and 1/2 hours or until cooked through.

Take the cake out of the oven and prick the top of it  all over with a fine skewer.  Pour the additional half a cup of brandy over the top of the cake. Take the newspaper off the cake tin and allow the cake to cool completely in the tin.  Once cooled, take the cake out of the tin, but leave the baking paper on (I disobeyed this so I could photograph my cake). 

Wrap the cake in a double layer of alfoil and store in an airtight container in a dark cool place for at least a month before Christmas.

You can ice the cake with royal icing or marzipan and fondant before serving, if desired.

Otto Ristorante, Brisbane

On Friday last week, I made the trip to Brisbane to visit dear friends that I had not seen in some time.  It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Brisbane, and I was escaping the grey, cold misery of Melbourne, so I was very excited.

First up, I caught up with my friend Rowan for lunch.  I am out of touch with Brisbane venues, so I asked Rowan to choose our spot for lunch.  He chose Otto Ristorante, a modern Italian restaurant set in a quite new office building on the fringes of the Brisbane CBD.

If you pause outside before entering Otto, there is a magnificent view over the Brisbane River to the Story Bridge:

I was wowed when I entered Otto, as I was greeted by their gorgeous colourful bar:

While waiting for Rowan, I ordered a glass of the Kris Pinot Gris ($12) to enjoy.  I just loved the lush purple felt ceiling fans pirouetting madly on the ceiling of the bright, airy dining room:

We were seated at a table next to a plate glass window, giving us an uninterrupted view of the Brisbane River.

For entrée, I ordered the Crudo de Pesce del Giorno - raw kingfish, rockmelon, cucumber, lime and crème fraiche ($30):

This dish tasted as light and pretty as it looks - a marvellous starter.

Rowan went for the Capesante - Hervey Bay scallops, corn, sugar snap peas, pancetta and pickled mushrooms ($30):

Next up, we ordered pasta mains.  I ordered the strozzapreti with braised lamb shoulder, broccoletto, smoked onion and parmesan ($40):

It was rich and satisfying, though I probably should have ordered the entrée size, as I was quite full afterwards.

Rowan ordered a daily special comprising a spinach pasta with parmesan ($36):

During our meal, we were entertained by the EA18 Growlers practising for Riverfire the following evening (the plane is the white splodge in the left of the frame): 

You can see what a marvellous day it was from the colour of the sky.

The service at Otto was efficient and friendly.  I had a small suitcase, being fresh off the plane, and they kindly stored it for me out the back of the restaurant during lunch.

Otto is a terrific venue for a special occasion or business lunch - or a marvellous splurge.

Otto Ristorante

4/480 Queen St

Brisbane Qld 4000

Phone: (07) 3835 2888

TWD - Maple-Star Anise Cookies

For Tuesdays with Dorie this week, I made Maple-Star Anise Cookies.  These cookies contain ground star anise, cinnamon and ginger.

Dorie said they would spread - and boy, did they spread.  I made sure that the dough balls for the cookies were small and evenly spaced, but it made no difference - I ended up with this:

I had planned to give these cookies to friends as gifts, but thought twice about it after getting this result.  However, after tasting the cookies, I decided to go ahead.  These cookies taste amazing, even sans the cream cheese frosting that Dorie suggests to sandwich them together with.

I subbed the whole wheat flour for buckwheat flour so that I did not end up with another bag of hardly used flour in the pantry.  I also find that whole wheat flour often smuggles pantry moths into the house, so I declined to go there.

To see what the others made this week, visit the LYL section of the TWD website.  

Lolly Cake, a Hangi and New Zealand Treats

Recently, I went on vacation to the north island of New Zealand with my family.  Like last time, I took the opportunity to try some unique New Zealand treats.

There are a few Kiwis in my office, and more than one had never heard of Lolly Cake.  I decided to make it my mission to bring them up to speed on Lolly Cake, and bought some Eskimo sweets in New Zealand to do just that.

Eskimos are foam marshmallow sweets in pink, yellow, white and green colours, made by Pascall.  The packet states: "These cute little guys chill out in New Zealand.  You would think they would prefer somewhere colder but it's a good job for us they don't!"

Lolly cake is New Zealand's answer to Hedgehog - it is a refrigerator cake made with Eskimos, malted milk biscuits, condensed milk, butter and coconut.  It is a melt and mix jobbie, so anyone can make it.

If you are curious enough to make it, the recipe is as follows:

1 packet Eskimo lollies (or ~200g other foam lollies, like bananas)
1 x 250g packet malted milk biscuits (graham crackers would also work well here)
200g condensed milk (~ 1/2 can)
120g butter
dessicated coconut sufficient to roll the cake in

Break the Eskimos into bite sized pieces with your hands, and crush the malted milk biscuits roughly into crumbs with the end of a rolling pin.  Put the Eskimo and biscuit pieces together in a large bowl.

Melt the condensed milk and butter together in a saucepan until smooth, then pour over the crumbs and Eskimo pieces.  Mix together until well combined.

Turn the mixture out onto a long piece of cling film, and using the film for assistance, roll the mixture into a long log roughly 5cm in diameter.  Roll the log in dessicated coconut until the outside is thoroughly coated, then wrap the log back in the cling film and refrigerate for a couple of hours until firmly set.  

Cut the log into coins ~1cm wide and serve.

While in New Zealand, we attended a hangi at Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua:

The guy on the right is our chief, hence the huia feathers in his hair.  A hangi is actually the pit where food is cooked on heated stones.  The above photo shows the vegetables and meats (fish and lamb) cooked in the hangi.

The hangi was served to us non-traditionally in a warm dining room away from the rain and cold, with plenty of sides and condiments:

There was also dessert of pavlova, peaches and butterscotch pudding (also non-traditional) afterwards.  I sat next to a lovely young couple from California who had spent the day zorbing.

I love visiting supermarkets in places outside of Australia, and New Zealand was no exception.

I bought this apricot and ginger jam at Pak'n'Save in Rotorua:

I also bought the Eskimos plus Lolly Scramble (assorted wrapped lollies) and a Party Pack (assorted jubes) at Pak'n'Save:

In Countdown in Rotorua and Napier, I picked up these unusual flavours of Whittakers chocolates, which we pay a small fortune for here in Australia:

My favourite is still the Nelson Pear and Manuka Honey that I had bought in Australia for double the price.

While in Napier, I bought the very cool Six Sisters Café teatowel that you can see at the top of this post.  The Six Sisters are six identical houses of different colours built along Marine Parade, one for each of a gentleman's daughters.  These days the houses are occupied by various activities, including the café.  

At the café, I also bought these three slices for my family to share:

Left to right, they are coffee and cashew, peanut butter and jelly, and ginger crunch.  The latter was the winner for me.

At the Wellington Underground Market, Mum bought me this Conitos La Casa from the La Casa Alfajores stand:

It comprises a chocolate biscuit, atop which is a maraschino cherry and a mound of dulce de leche.  The whole lot is then enrobed in chocolate:

Delicious!! It is an Argentinean treat.

While in Wellington, we had breakfast at Columbus Coffee on Sunday morning.  I could not go past the pancake stack with grilled banana, bacon and maple syrup:

At another café, I bought this wonderful Deep Spring Pear and Passion Mineral Water with only 73 calories:

I wish that we'd get this drink here in Australia.  So good, just like a soft drink without all the calories.

So there you go - a quick culinary hop through the North Island and a takeaway Kiwi recipe to try.

TWD - Smoothest, Silkiest, Creamiest, Tartest Lime Tart

This week's Tuesday with Dorie recipe is Smoothest, Silkiest, Creamiest, Tartest Lime Tart.  As the name of this dessert indicates, it is a lime tart filled with a strongly tart lime filling, that has been strained of zest and any lumps and bumps from the cooking process to make it smooth.  

The ingredient which makes this tart smooth and silky is the very thing that I did not like - butter.  Lots of it.  The filling comprises a custard made from lime-zest flavoured sugar, eggs and lime juice.  Once the custard is sieved,  a lot of butter is mixed in.  From my perspective, it gave the tart a greasy, buttery mouth-feel, a little like Swiss meringue buttercream, and that put me off.

The tart case is made from Dorie's sweet tart dough, which as always I just pressed into the tart pan rather than rolling it, just because it is easy.  Dorie says that using all of it via the pressed in method will make the tart case thick, but I don't care - can you get too much of a good thing?

I haven't had any taste-testers for this tart yet (after all, I may be the only one who thinks the filling is too buttery).  However, sadly, my dislike of the buttery mouth-feel and the exorbitant cost of limes ($20/kilo) means that this tart will not be a repeat in my kitchen.

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

Bistro Gitan, South Yarra

For my birthday this year, Tim asked me where I would like to go to dinner.  Three years ago, we had gone to 25 Toorak Road, a lovely French restaurant, so I nominated to repeat the experience.  Sadly, 25 Toorak Road is no more, so Tim nominated three other French restaurants for me to choose from.  

I selected Bistro Gitan, as having done my research, I liked the sound of the atmosphere and the location, and the service and food also received great reviews. 

Bistro Gitan did not disappoint.  It is located in a Victorian building opposite leafy Fawkner Park, and has a warm, cosy atmosphere, enhanced by an open fireplace:

The restaurant is a collaboration between Melbourne restaurateur, Jacques Reymond, and his children, and its name means "Gypsy".  The food draws from French bistros, with Spanish, Italian and Mediterranean influences.

The service was charming from start to finish, with the front of house staff being friendly, informative and efficient.

We started our meal with three "petite" dishes to share.  First up was the escargot with garlic butter and almonds ($15): 

We ordered this because neither of us had ever tried escargot before.  Before the dish arrived, I was anticipating a Pretty Woman moment.  However, with the chefs wisely knowing that the majority of us have no idea how to eat snails out of a shell, they came served in a little dish with individual wells, sans shell.  I enjoyed the escargot, but will have to admit the overwhelming taste was garlic, so I am not sure if that means I like snails or not.  The toast served with the escargot was perfect for soaking up all the beautiful garlicky, buttery sauce left in the wells.

Next up, we ordered on the daily specials, pork rillettes with pickled onion, cucumber and cornichons ($10):

This was delicious, though we could have used a couple of extra slices of toast so that there was enough to spread the glorious rillettes on.

Our other petite dish was another daily special, carrots with pistachio and yoghurt ($8): 

The carrots were tender and sweet, and complemented by the creamy yoghurt and crunchy pistachios.  This was another lovely dish. 

Onto main courses, and Tim ordered a 250g grass fed eye fillet steak with pommes Pont Neuf (aka French fries) and Gitan dressing ($44), served medium rare:

I ordered a daily special, barramundi with fennel, white beans and peas ($40):

I loved the crispy, flavourful skin on the flaky barramundi, and the choice of vegetables was subtle enough that the flavour of the fish was not overwhelmed.

We also ordered two sides - the beautifully smooth spinach a la crème ($9):

and the steamed seasonal vegetables ($9):

Of course, no birthday dinner is complete without dessert.  I ordered the quince tarte tatin ($16) -

The pastry was beautifully caramelised and crunchy, while the quince was perfectly jammy.  Delicious!

Tim ordered a citrus dacquoise made with pistachio, and yuzu sorbet ($16):

Tim was not as enamoured of his dessert as I was with mine, and felt that my dessert was the pick.  Having a small taste of Tim's dessert, I would have to agree.  It wasn't bad by any means, but just wasn't as good as the tarte tatin.

We had a lovely evening at Bistro Gitan, and I would happily return there. 

Bistro Gitan

52 Toorak Road West

South Yarra VIC 3141

Ph: (03) 9867 5853