upside down blood orange drizzle cake

upside down blood orange drizzle cake

28 Sept 2020

When blood oranges appeared in my fruit shop last month I bought a few so I could make an upside down blood orange drizzle cake.



I pretty much followed this upside down lemon drizzle cake recipe, changing the proportions and adding some home made blood orange marmalade to the mix. I'm glad I did.



I like to prepare as much as I can before baking. Butter weighed out and chopped; flour measured and sifted; orange grated and juiced. I wasn't feeling very well so I threw the cake ingredients into the food processor and once the cake was in the oven, I found the carefully grated orange rind still in the fridge. Thankfully the blood orange marmalade was rind heavy and I added blood orange juice to the cake batter then doused the cake with orange syrup or else it wouldn't have tasted of blood orange at all.




Don't do what I do. Thankfully the cake came out moist and very orange flavoured, so I had nothing to worry about. It was delicious!



Here's the recipe for you, which makes a medium loaf cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.



Upside down blood orange drizzle cake
Topping
One small blood orange, thinly sliced
2 tbs raw sugar
4 tbs water

Cake
150 g unsalted butter (at room temperature) plus extra for greasing
135 g caster sugar
1 large blood orange, rind grated 
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
3 large eggs
150 g self-raising flour
⅓ cup almond meal
Pinch sea salt
60 mls blood orange juice

Syrup
2 tbs caster sugar
60 mls blood orange juice 

Method
To make the topping, place the blood orange slices into a small saucepan with the sugar and water. Bring to the boil then watch closely for 10 – 15 minutes or so until the water has almost evaporated and the orange slices are sticky. Set aside.

Cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base and sides of a medium size loaf tin with baking paper.

Cream the butter, caster sugar and rind until pale and fluffy, then beat in the marmalade, followed by the eggs. Fold in the flour, ground almonds and a pinch of sea salt then fold through all the juice. You can do this in a stand mixer or a food processor.

Lay the reserved orange slices and any syrup over the base of the tin then gently spoon the cake mixture over the orange slices, trying not to dislodge them. Bake for about 50 minutes till risen and golden. Insert a metal skewer into the cake to see if it is ready. If it comes out clean, the cake is done; if it has mixture sticking to it, then it needs a few minutes longer. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside.

Syrup
Right towards the end of the cake’s cooking time, combine the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring just to simmer, cooking until the sugar has dissolved. Spike the top of the cake then spoon over the orange and sugar mixture. Leave to cool. When cool invert the cake and remove the baking paper. If the cake is domed, carefully level the top of the cake with a serrated knife first, so it will sit flat.

If you can't find blood oranges, you could make the cake with regular oranges but I would use half orange and half lemon juice in both the cake batter and the syrup, just to cut down the sweetness.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

Read more

blueberry lemon curd tartlets

blueberry lemon curd tartlets

21 Sept 2020

Blueberries are plentiful at the moment and they pair very well with lemon. I had a new tartlet tin to try out, the Bakemaster 12 cup shallow pan from Everten, so I decided to make some mini blueberry lemon tartlets. 





I've provided recipes for the pastry and the lemon curd, but you could always buy both the pastry and lemon curd if you're pressed for time.



If you’re going to make your own lemon curd, you’ll need to make this first to allow time for it to set. The almond pastry makes more than you need for the recipe but it freezes very well.

Here’s the recipe for you which makes 12 small tartlets. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C.

Blueberry lemon curd tartlets

½ quantity almond short crust pastry

⅓ cup lemon curd

½ cup cream

1 tbs caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 punnet blueberries, washed

Optional - a few sprigs of mint leaves, washed

Lemon curd
2 egg yolks
½ cup caster sugar
⅓ cup lemon juice
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
60 g (2 oz) softened unsalted butter

Lemon Curd
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, juice and rind in a heatproof bowl until just combined. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook on medium high for 5 - 6 minutes, whisking every minute, or until the curd thickens to the consistency of whipped cream. Strain the curd through a fine sieve. Add butter to the lemon curd a little at a time, whisking well between additions. Cover the curd with plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill and set (at least 4 hours or overnight).

Almond shortcrust pastry 

1⅓ cup plain flour 

¼ cup almond meal
¼ cup icing sugar 

Pinch salt
110g/4 oz unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons of iced water 

 

Place flour, almond meal, icing sugar, salt and butter in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. With the processor still running, gradually pour in enough of the egg mixture until the pastry starts to form a ball. Stop the processor, tip out the dough and form it into a disc. Wrap in plastic and pop in the fridge to rest for 40 minutes. 

Thinly roll out half the dough on a floured surface. Use a large round cutter to cut out 12 pastry circles. Place the pastry into the tart shells, docking the base and sides with the tines of a fork. Cover the tin, then return the tin to the fridge and refrigerate for a few hours, or until the pastry is firm.

Preheat the oven to 190C°. Line each tartlet shell with a cupcake liner then fill the liner with baking beads or dried beans. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 12 minutes or until the edges of the shells are golden brown. Carefully remove the cupcake liners and baking beads and return the shells to the oven for 5-7 more minutes until the bottom of the shell is lightly coloured. Cool a little before removing the shells from the tin and place on a rack to cool.

 

Gently whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. To assemble, just before serving fill each shell with a teaspoon of lemon curd, a dollop of cream and a sprig of mint if using.

I hope you enjoy these little sweet treats. 

See you all again next week. 

Bye for now,

Jillian

Read more

potato rosemary olive oil focaccia

potato rosemary olive oil focaccia

14 Sept 2020

Have you noticed an explosion of focaccias on the internet of late? 




Focaccia used to be very popular in Sydney then fell out of favour quite some time ago. When I was in Liguria 2 years ago I tasted authentic focaccia for the first time and it looked and tasted nothing like the focaccia I'd been served in the past. It was much thinner, crustier, saltier, oilier and altogether way more delicious. It was served as a snack at my Ligurian accommodation and it was so moreish I kept going back for more.



I looked online for a version which best approximated the focaccia I'd had in Liguria. In the end I mashed together 2 different recipes to come up with this version. It's an overnight rise version that uses a tiny amount of yeast so you have to be patient. I liked the idea of topping the focaccia with potato slices and rosemary so that's what I did. It tasted pretty good and I ate the whole thing myself, although not in one sitting I hasten to add. 



While it's best served on the day, I froze the leftovers and warmed them in the toaster as a snack and on another occasion I sliced the focaccia and used it to make open faced sandwiches. Either way it still tasted pretty good. 

Here’s the recipe for you which makes an 8 x 12 inch focaccia. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.



Potato, Rosemary and Olive Oil Focaccia adapted from here

Dough

300mls lukewarm water

¼ tsp yeast

1 tsp honey

400g plain flour

9g fine sea salt

⅓ cup olive oil 

Flaky salt for finishing

Topping

2 new potatoes, washed and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin as they need to be really thin)
A few sprigs of rosemary, roughly chopped and drizzled with a little olive oil

Method

The night before making the focaccia mix the water, yeast, and honey until the yeast has dissolved. In a very large bowl, whisk flour and salt together to combine and then add yeast mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until just incorporated and then scrape the sides of the bowl clean. Add a little olive oil to the bottom and top of the dough - just enough to cover it entirely, so that the dough doesn't dry out during rising, and can rise evenly. Cover with plastic wrap. Leave out at room temperature to ferment for 12 to 14 hours until at least doubled in volume.

The following day spread about 2 tablespoons oil evenly onto a 8 x 12 inch rimmed baking sheet.

When dough is ready, use a spatula or your hand to release it from the sides of the bowl and fold it onto itself gently and then pour out onto pan. Using oiled hands gently stretch the dough to the edge of the sheet by placing your hands underneath and pulling outward. The dough will shrink a bit; so you may need to repeat the stretching once or twice over the next 30 minutes.

Add a generous drizzle of olive and use your fingers to make dimples all over the surface. Add the potato slices and push them in slightly, then sprinkle the rosemary over the surface.

Prove the focaccia for a further 45 minutes or until the dough is light and bubbly. Thirty minutes into this final proof, adjust rack to centre position and preheat oven to 220°C. Place a baking stone on the rack or invert another sturdy baking sheet and place on rack. Allow the baking sheet to preheat until very hot, before proceeding with baking.

Sprinkle the focaccia with flaky salt. Bake for 15 minutes directly on top of stone or inverted pan until bottom crust is crisp and golden brown when checked with a metal spatula. To finish browning the top crust, place focaccia on upper rack and bake for 15-20 minutes more. 

Remove the focaccia from the oven. Drizzle another tablespoon of olive oil over the hot focaccia and let it soak in and rest in the tin for 10 minutes. Remove from tin and place on a rack to cool or straight on to the chopping board as its best eaten warm.

It tasted delicious warm from the oven and I can see I'll be making this focaccia time and time again.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

Read more

upside down lemon drizzle cake

upside down lemon drizzle cake

7 Sept 2020

I've had this Nigel Slater recipe for a demerara lemon drizzle cake bookmarked for ages. Sophie Hansen makes an upside down variation, so I thought I'd give that technique a go.



I don't believe a lemon cake can ever be too lemony as evidenced by this recipe which contains both lemon rind and lemon juice, a layer of candied lemon slices then finally its doused with a lemon syrup.



The cake is very easy to make and although I've written instructions for a stand mixer, I made this cake in the food processor in about 5 minutes flat. Slicing and cooking the lemon slices took longer.



Here's the recipe for you which makes a small loaf cake. If you'd like to make a larger cake, just double the cake and syrup quantities and bake for the same length of time. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20ºC.



Upside down lemon drizzle cake adapted from a Nigel Slater recipe

Topping
One lemon, thinly sliced
2 tbs raw sugar
4 tbs water

Cake
1 large lemon, zested
125g unsalted butter, softened
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
100g self-raising flour
Pinch of salt 
25g almond meal 
30 mls lemon juice

Syrup
1 tbs caster sugar
30 mls lemon juice 

Method
Preheat the oven at 180°C. Grease and line a small loaf tin with a piece of baking paper.

To make the topping, place the lemon slices into a small saucepan with the sugar and water. Bring to the boil then watch closely for 5-10 minutes or so until the water has almost evaporated and the lemon slices are sticky and translucent. Set aside.

Juice the zested lemon. Set aside 30 mls of juice for the syrup. You’ll use the rest in the cake batter. For the cake, combine the butter, lemon rind and sugar in the bowl of an stand mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Sift together the flour and salt into a small bowl then stir in the almond meal. Fold through the batter alternating with the lemon juice (don’t worry if the mixture looks like it’s curdling a little). If the batter is looking a little dry you can add a spoonful of milk or yoghurt to the mixture



Lay the reserved lemon slices and any syrup over the base of the tin then gently spoon the cake mixture over the lemon slices, trying not to dislodge them. Bake for about 45 minutes till risen and golden. Insert a metal skewer into the cake to see if it is ready. If it comes out clean, the cake is done; if it has mixture sticking to it, then it needs a few minutes longer. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside.



Syrup
Right towards the end of the cake’s cooking time, combine the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, cooking until the sugar has dissolved. Spike the top of the cake with a skewer then spoon over the lemon and sugar mixture. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then turn out onto a serving platter, removing the baking paper. Serve warm or at room temperature.



This cake was so moist and delicious. The only thing I'd do next time is to make the cake 50% larger because you can't have too much of a good thing.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

Read more