Australia Day: Traditional Lamington

I guess this post will come to you all a little late in the day (I really need to get my act together) but HAPPY AUSTRALIA day to all my fellow Australians. It’s been a while since I posted but I thought Australia day would be a good time to get back into the swing of things.

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This year has been busy so far as we’ve just recently moved house. Yes, unfortunately we had to vacate the first house we moved into when we arrived in Melbourne. We loved our sweet little home and I have so many fond memories from there and so many amazing food creations came out of that kitchen. However, to help me get over the move, we found a beautiful new house to move into, in the same suburb. I’m now well and truly over the old house, and am quite happy being a complete home-body over this long weekend! It’s also been a good time to test out the new kitchen.

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So I thought I’d test the oven this long weekend with a traditional Australian recipe – the Lamington. I had planned on changing up the recipe slightly but time just got away from me (not particularly because I was busy but because of my favourite past time – procrastination). So, these are just some straight up, nothing fancy, super tasty, lamingtons (although I have still been dreaming of my Nutella Lamintons I made on the blog – recipe found here).

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Also here, I thought I’d just share with you some snaps I took while I was away in Tassie over the Christmas/holiday break. We went took a bit of a drive up the east coast to camp at Coles Bay and do the walk into Wineglass bay. This would have to be my most favourite places in the world. I’ve seen a lot of beaches on my travels and I still don’t think any other place is quite as clean and beautiful as Wineglass bay. Stunning. There’s also a great wine region on the drive up to Coles Bay that we popped our heads into called Miltons. We stopped for a quick wine tasting – they’ve got a really great Pinot Grigio. Augh take me back. And now look – it’s Australia day already.

Happy Australia Day again.

x e.

 

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The stunning Wineglass Bay

 

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Coles Bay at sunset

 

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Coles Bay at sunset

 

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Wineglass bay

 

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Miltons Winery – East Coast Tasmania

 

Traditional Lamingtons

175g self raising flour, sifted

1 rounded tsp baking powder

3 eggs, at room temperature

 175g butter, softened

175g castor sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

1/4 cup cocoa

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

1 tbsp butter

 

2 cups coconut flakes

 

1. Preheat oven to 170ºC .

2. In a large bowl add sifted flour and baking powder, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and butter and mix well until combined.

3. Lightly grease the pan and divide the mixture evenly (I used a pan with small rectangular shapes or place it into one large square pan). Place it in the oven for 15-20 mins depending on the size of the pan. You should be able to smell the cake when it’s ready and the tops should be golden brown. Remove from the oven when cooked and cut into bite size pieces once cooled.

4. It’s best to leave the cakes overnight (normal recipes use day old sponge cake) so the cake is a little firmer. Next mix the cocoa, icing sugar, water and butter and stir until smooth. Pour the coconut into a small bowl. Take a fork and insert it into the cake half way and spoon the cocoa mixture over the cake, then dip it into the coconut to ensure it’s completely covered. Repeat with the remaining cake. Let sit for an hour or so to ensure the moisture sets back through the cake.

5. Best enjoyed on Australia Day after a delicious BBQ!

By On 26/01/2015 In Food With No Comments Permanent Link to Australia Day: Traditional LamingtonPermalink

Loose Leaf

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I’m extremely fortunate to be friends with a lot of crazy-talented folk. A few posts back I mentioned my friend Wona; she’s an incredible florist with years of experience and awards under her belt. I was lucky enough for her to make the bouquets, lapel pins and arrange the flowers on the arbour for my wedding. The end result was ah-maaazing! Seriously, you throw a few ‘loose’ ideas at her and she’ll make it come to life!

 

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About 6 months ago – yes this is how long I’ve been meaning to post about this – Wona and Charlie opened their beautiful plant and flower shop, Loose Leaf. Here Wona builds her sculptural pieces and holds her classes. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make a beautiful bouquet she is the woman to contact! Not only limited to bouquets and flower arrangements, she also holds a number of other really unique classes. Last winter she held other classes like traditional Korean arrangements, tall table arrangements, bridal bouquets, bridal table arrangements, as well as more sculptural classes like working with cane to create table settings or wreaths.

 

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As well as Wona’s classes, Loose Leaf also have a great selection of indoor, outdoor plants, and flowers. I’m sure if you read a few big blogs like The Design Files, Broadsheet, Three Thousands, etc, you may have read a bit about the shop and Charlie and Wona. Everyone goes bananas about them, and when you visit the space, you’ll understand why. It’s just got that sort of zen feeling that makes you just want to linger there for a while.

 

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So, when Wona asked me if I’d like to pop around to make a bouquet, one-on-one with her help, I jumped at the chance. Wona’s knowledge is so extensive, its incredible the amount I learnt, just in the few hours I was there. After 2-3 hours, I walked out with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I’d ever seen! She talks you through the structure of flowers, how to build a bouquet and how to use the different foliage for support; it’s like building a house! Anyway, I couldn’t have been happier with the end result; and they seemed to last forever too! Thank you Wona for your generosity.

 

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If you’re in the Collingwood area, pop in. They’re open from Tuesday to Saturday, 9-6pm.

Loose Leaf – Plants and Flowers
31 Sackville Street
Collingwood, 3066

Today I don’t have a recipe, but just some images from the Loose Leaf shop. I hope you enjoy!

x e.

 

By On 12/11/2014 In Other With No Comments Permanent Link to Loose LeafPermalink

Socca with Roasted Tomatoes and Caramelised Onion

Bonjour!

I can’t believe it’s been four months since I posted here. I’ve practically deserted the blog but it hasn’t been just for the hell of it. A few big things have been happening behind the scenes here. I look forward to sharing a bit more with you in the next few weeks but here are the top three things that have taken up a lot of time/effort/mental capacity:
1. A few months back I had to reapply for my job as I was a contractor and the job was made permanent. The good news is that I was successful! Thank goodness. A massive weight off my mind.
2. I went away on holiday for three weeks to Vietnam and Bali, which was just incredible. The food, the weather, the people. I have never eaten so much incredible food in my life – big call I know, but true.  I promise there will be more on this at a later post. I’m STILL working on the photos, two months later. I haven’t had a chance to get around to them…
3. ..because I’ve had some food styling/photography work that I’ve been busy working on in my spare time. I’ve been doing this work when I’d normally be photographing/writing for my posts here, so I haven’t had time to do both. :( Something’s got to give and unfortunately, it was the blog. A girl’s gotta have a little R&R time!

 

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Anyway, onto the recipe! I’m really excited to share this one with you because it’s something I’ve grown up with but very few people have heard of. I’ve been wanting to post it here on the blog for a while. I photographed it a few months ago but it’s been sitting on the bottom of my to do list – sorry. I’ve mentioned it to a few of my chef or foodie friends but nobody ever knows what I’m talking about. So, I thought it was a bout time that I share this with everyone here…

My Grandmother, Mémé Doule is originally from Menton, which is the last town on the French Riviera before you pass the boarder into Italy. From one point in Menton, if you look one way you can see Italy, and if you look the other way you can see Monaco and Nice. It’s a pretty sweet spot to holiday too. My family would always make the train trip to the next Italian town for the amazing fresh fruit and vegetable, cheeses,cured meats, coffee – and the list goes on – at the big market. Anyway, this recipe for Socca is a traditional street food that’s served all around the region, especially  Nice and Menton, all the way to Genoa.

 

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When I was little, I’d visit my Grandparents on weekends where my Mémé Doule would cook us a delicious lunch. There are a handful of recipes she’d make for us and this was one of them – Socca. Normally if you buy Socca in Nice, it’s usually served as is. At home my Mémé Doule would always serve it with an amazing green salad – seriously, her salads are incredible – and soy sauce, which is very unconventional but weirdly really nice. I thought I’d serve it here with some delicious caramelised onions, kalamarta olives and roasted tomatoes. It’s almost a bit like a bit of a mish-mash between the French pizza called Pichade* and a Pissaladière. The good thing about Socca is it’s gluten free; it’s made from chickpea flour. It’s a great alternative to use as a pizza base – and takes half the time to prepare too.

Anyway, I’m glad I’ve broken the dry spell with a spin on one of my favourite childhood foods. I miss you all and I’m so glad I’m back from the dead!

x e.

*Also another traditional recipe from Menton)

 

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Socca with Roasted Tomatoes and Caramelised Onion 

1 cup (130g) chickpea flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (280ml) water
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

300g cherry tomatoes
800g white onions cut finely
2 tbsp thyme
½ tsp white wine vinegar
¼ cup kalamata olives, pipped and cut in half
salt & pepper
olive oil
basil to serve

 

1. Mix together flour, water, salt, cumin, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil and let rest, covered at room temperature for two hours.

2. Meanwhile to cook the topping, place tomato halves onto an oven tray and drizzle some olive oil and some salt and pepper. Place into a preheated of 130°C and roast for 25 minutes. They shouldn’t be completely dried out when you take them out.

3. In a large fry pan, heat up a good glug or two of olive oil and add the onions to the pan. Add thyme, salt, pepper and cook on high heat stirring for about a minute. Reduce the heat to low and let the onions cook for a further 20 minutes. The onions should be a light golden colour. Once onions are cooked, add vinegar and stir through. Place off to the side until the socca bases are ready.

4. In a large, heavy based oven tray, pour a good glug of olive oil and place in the oven at 180ºC. Leave the pan in the oven until it’s hot and the batter is ready. Carefully pour the batter into roughly 14cm circles and return to the oven.

5.  Bake until the socca is firm and beginning to blister and turn a golden colour on the outer edges. Cook the remaining of the batter the same way, adding a little extra olive oil each time to prevent sticking.

6. Once all socca bases are cooked, pile the caramelised onion on top of each one and pile on the olives, roasted tomatoes and a small sprig of basil. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes just before serving to ensure it’s served at the right temperature.

 

By On 30/10/2014 In Food With 2 Comments Permanent Link to Socca with Roasted Tomatoes and Caramelised OnionPermalink

Pimm’s Cocktail with Homemade Ginger Cordial

Last week we had the opening of Deja View Cinema, and oh my, it was awesome! Fantastic turnout, such a great vibe. The beloved ‘John Candybar’ was a hit! We opened with a bang, featuring Terminator 2 on Thursday night and Gremlins 2 on the Friday (which I had never actually seen – Seb does all the programming). Both movies were amazing to watch with a big audience, super fun. Check out the program and pop down sometime! More info at deja-view.com.au.

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Righto, so back to the post… Quite a few months ago (I’m talking over 4 months) the kind people at Pimm’s sent me a bottle of the good stuff, along with a recipe to their famous cocktail and few other little bits and bobs. Unfortunately life and weddings got in the way and I haven’t had a chance to blog about this until now. Sheesh!

Two weeks ago I photographed some recipes for client work, one of which was for this delicious Homemade Ginger Cordial. I had some in the fridge leftover from the shoot, so I thought I’d use it in this cocktail. Of course you can use store bought ginger beer but if you’ve got a spare hour (tops!) you could quite easily whip up a batch (which makes about 1.25 litres) that should last a while. I added a little extra freshly grated ginger to this last batch which gave it a bit more bite, but if you’re not a big fan of ginger I’d stick to the regular recipe. On a side note, this is a pretty strong cocktail but compliments a sunny afternoon perfectly!

Enjoy!

x e.

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Ginger Cordial

6 tbsp fresh grated ginger6 cups water4 1/2 cups sugar4 tsp citric acid3/4 cups lemon juice

1. Combine ginger and water into a large saucepan and bring to the boil for 10 minutes. After this time, strain out ginger (a normal strainer should do the trick) and add sugar, citric acid and lemon juice. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Next you’ll need to sterilize bottles. To do this wash the bottles in hot soapy water, rinse and let drain. Place bottles into a cold oven and turn onto 110ºC. Let the oven heat to up to this temperature and then once it does, turn the oven off and leave the bottles in for 10 minutes. Take bottles out of the oven and once they’ve cooled slightly add the cordial to the bottles. Simmer all bottle caps in boiling water for two minutes, drain and screw onto bottles.

3. Pour in syrup into the sterilised bottles and seal. The cordial can be consumed immediately. Once opened keep stored in the fridge.

 

Pimms + Ginger Cordial Cocktail

60ml Pimms40ml ginger cordial30ml dark rum
mineral waterorange, slicedapple, slicedmint, to serve

1. Add Pimms, ginger cordial and rum in a large glass with sliced orange, apple and ice cubes. Top up with mineral water and a sprig of fresh mint.

Potent but delicious!

By On 26/06/2014 In Drinks With No Comments Permanent Link to Pimm’s Cocktail with Homemade Ginger CordialPermalink

Potato, Leek & Baby Courgette Soup

Oh baby it’s cold outside! And this soup is perfect to warm you up as the temperature drops. Lately I’ve been loving really simple soups and one of my favourite classic recipes is the Potato and Leek. I happened to have some baby courgettes from a trip to the farmers market. They were just beautiful and were the last of the season! I had to include them in this soup as they were just screaming to be used. Normal Potato and Leek soups often use cream but I quite often substitute it for yoghurt. I always have a tub of Greek yoghurt or natural yoghurt in the fridge for times like these. I think it’s a great healthy option instead of cream, which is often unnecessary.

I also have to apologize for the lack of blog posts of late. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been busy photographing for another job, which I look forward to show you all soon. ALSO, season two of Deja-View is just about to kick off! After last years success, the cinema (and the John Candy Bar) is back, bigger than ever!

“COLD NIGHTS. CANDY BAR. CLASSIC VHS IN HIGH DEF. SEQUELS. SECRET SCREENINGS. NOW SHOWING.”

Pop over to the website to check out the full listings of screenings. My personal favs are Terminator 2 (classic!), Gremlins 2, Man with Two Brains (Steve Martin is a genius), Stargate (still great!), Waynes World (of course) and a special Christopher Walking Appreciation Night. I’ve watched about 60% of the the movies to help out as ‘research’ and can guarantee they all stand the test of time. So have a look at the line up and book tickets now to avoid disappointment.

x e.

 

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A delicious, nutritious soup to warm you up on these cold nights.

 

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Potato, Leek & Baby Courgette Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
20g butter

2 leeks, pale section only, halved and thinly sliced
2 baby courgettes, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed
1kg desiree potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped

1 liter chicken stock
1/2 tsp ground cumin
750ml water

250ml Greek yoghurt + more to serve

Fresh chives, finely chopped, to serve
1.  Add oil and butter in a large pot in medium heat and add leek and garlic. Stir to coat, reduce heat slightly and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add courgettes to the pan in the last 5 minutes whilst cooking the leeks and continue to stir occasionally.

2.  
Add the potato, stock, water and cumin to the pan. Turn heat up to medium-high heat, cover and bring to a simmer. After 5-10 minutes, reduce heat to medium and cook, for 25-30 minutes. After this time, test potatoes to ensure they’re tender and set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

3.  Add yoghurt to soup and stir through. Use a stick blender to carefully blend soup until smooth. Be careful – it’s still hot!

4.  Season with salt and pepper. Ladle among serving bowls, add a dollop of yoghurt, sprinkle with chives and serve immediately.

By On 10/06/2014 In Soups With No Comments Permanent Link to Potato, Leek & Baby Courgette SoupPermalink

The ‘Sebily’ Wedding

Brace yourself people.

Disclaimer: This isn’t a food post but I really wanted to share these photos with you. I apologise now for the onslaught of images but who doesn’t love a wedding huh? As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been busy editing the ‘Sebily’ wedding photos that my two extremely talented friends Jeremy Howell and Anne-Sophie (aka Sasufi) took for us. I was blown away with the amazing shots they got, they really nailed the brief! Again, I’d like to thank all our friends for helping out leading up to, and on the big day…

Wona Bae (Loose Leaf)
Charlie Lawler (Open Season)
Anne-Sophie Poirier (Sasufi)
Simon & Jenna Hipgrave (The Hungry Workshop)
Deanne Hibberd (Grattans Flowers)
Steve Baker (Death by Chandelier)
Simon Kemp (The Drunken Admiral) & Brierlie Godfrey-Kemp (Queen of Tarts)
Rob Cordiner (Smalltime Books)
Sophie Curtain (Full Drop Co. & Sophie Curtain)
Ash Winch (Ash Winch)

What a clever bunch of cookies! Oh if only I could relive that day again and again and again…

 

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Above: Cake by Queen of Tarts & styling by Adeline & Lumiere

 

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Above: Party favours – a choice of a ‘Date Night Popcorn Kit’ or our own tea mix (we drink a lot of tea!). Bouquets by Wona Bae and table flowers by Seb’s Mama, Leonie. Styling by Adeline & Lumiere

 

 

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Above: getting ready to get hitched!

 

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Above: The ‘I dos’. Leading up to the wedding I thought I just wanted to get ‘the boring bit’ out of the way so we could
celebrate but this was my favourite part of the day!

 

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Above: Our amazing bridal party, baby Florence and my Mémé Doule. 

 

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Above: beautiful photos by Sasufi and Jeremy.

 

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Above: the location of the wedding was just stunning. Tasmania is just so beautiful!

 

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Above: Group shot! The best Best Man speech ever, cake cutting, the ICE-CREAM VAN and the diamond piñata!
(Cake cutting and piñata shots thanks to Rob Cordiner on his 35mm film camera.)

 

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Thank you. I love you all.

x e.

Ps. Next post will be back to usual. I’ve got a super delicious recipe for you that I’m really excited about sharing.

By On 29/04/2014 In Other With 5 Comments Permanent Link to The ‘Sebily’ WeddingPermalink

Easy Miso Ramen with Homemade Noodles

Saturday was a beautiful day which was spent walking down Smith Street, browsing in a few of the beautiful furniture and homewares stores and finishing up having an early dinner at Shop Ramen. This place is one of my favourite places to eat, especially when you want a good, healthy and cheap feed. I have to admit, I don’t eat a lot of Japanese so I’m no connoisseur but Shop Ramen’s ramens are the best! I particularly love the vegetarian Ramen they make with cashew milk as they use the tastiest little marinated mushrooms I’ve ever eaten. I don’t even like mushrooms but they are too good to push to the side.

My impromptu dinner at Shop Ramen had me inspired to make my own ramen at home. I was so inspired I went home and researched to find a delicious recipe I could make my own. But my excitement soon turned and I became quite daunted by the task; Japanese food really isn’t my forte and I didn’t know what I’d got myself into! But, me being the sort of person I am, I had to press on. I’d also decided to make my own noodles as we received a pasta making machine for our wedding. I was keen to get it out of the box and make it look well used!

After looking at loads of recipes, I finally decided keep it simple (at least for my first attempt) and make a really simple miso ramen, also known as Shoyu Ramen. Overall the result was a success! It was super delicious and I’d highly recommend making it when you’ve got some homemade stock after a roast.

x e.

 

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Easy Miso Ramen with Homemade Noodles

Feeds 4

Stock

8 cups homemade chicken stock (about 2 cartons of store bought stock)
2 carrots, chopped
6 spring onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2cm square ginger, sliced
3 tbsp mirin
2 x 6g packet of miso soup
1 sheet of nori
enoki mushrooms

Garnish

2 eggs
6 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 sheet of nori, thinly sliced
handful of bean shoots
pinch of sesame seeds

1. Add stock to a large stock pot and add all ingredients in and let cook for a good 30 minutes

2. Meanwhile, boil eggs for 7 mins for the correct consistency and cut in half. Prepare all garnish ingredients and start making the noodles.

3. When you’ve cooked the noodles, prepared the garnish and the stock is done, divide the noodles between four bowls. Add stock and garnish each bowl with half an egg, bean shoots, enoki mushrooms, chopped nori and some sesame seeds.

 

Noodles
1.5 cups plain flour
2 egg
1.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp water
1. Place dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre  and beat eggs and water inside. Slowly combine all ingredients until it comes together in a dough.

2. Once combined, place the dough on a clean work bench dusted with flour. It should be a little stiffer than bread dough. The dough is ready when your hands become fairly clean and the dough isn’t too sticky. Add more flour if need be and keep kneading.

3. When you think the dough is at the right consistency, roll it through your pasta machine on the thickest setting. If it feels a little sticky still, add some more flour, fold over and roll it through the pasta machine again. Move the settings down each time so it becomes thinner than pass it through the noodle or spaghetti setting when it’s thin enough. If you mess it up the first time, roll it out and start again!

4. Place noodles in a pot of boiling water for 1-2 mins max, strain and add to your ramen just before serving.

By On 10/04/2014 In Soups With 3 Comments Permanent Link to Easy Miso Ramen with Homemade NoodlesPermalink

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing + Introducing Emily Godfrey!

I was just about to say, it feels like an age since I last posted but that’s because it has been! Three whole months since the Amsterdam Gingerbread House I made… golly! I’m so sorry it’s been so long but unfortunately, planning a wedding takes up a lot of time. It’s even more time consuming when you plan on making and crafting everything yourself (with the help of some good friends of course). Yes I had quite a few crafternoons with some very creative friends who helped me cut, sew, tie and glue together a whole lot of decorations for the big day. Without them we couldn’t possibly have had the beautiful wedding we were so fortunate to have.

Just over two weeks ago I finally said ‘I do’ on our fourteenth anniversary. Yes! Fourteen years and I’m now officially Emily Godfrey. We were seventeen when Seb asked me out at the school fair and have been inseparable ever since. We got hitched on the beautiful Tasman Peninsula at Cascades Colonial on the Sunday of a long weekend, and lucky for us we had beautiful weather. The night before the wedding we organised a BBQ and pop-up drive-in movie night on-site at Cascades Colonial – needless to say the ‘John Candybar’ was in full swing with popcorn and lollies on offer. It was a great way to keep everybody’s ‘powder dry’ for the following day and still have an entertaining night! It’s not too often you can watch a great movie projected onto the side of a convict mess hall in the middle of nowhere – huh?

I’ll write a little more about the wedding in my next post (hopefully I’ll have some of the photos to share then) but for now I thought I’d share pictures of our wedding invites – they were a bit of fun. Seb, the cleaver little minx, designed our wedding invitations (in 3D with pink and green 3D glasses!), RSVP, information, map and thank you cards – I absolutely loved them. Our very talented friends Simon and Jenna at The Hungry Workshop were kind enough to print the invitations for us and they looked absolutely amazing! If you ever need wedding invitations designed or printed then these are the guys you need to talk to – they’re the best!

On that note, I’d like to to thank everyone who helped us out along the way; I dedicate this post to you guys. Seb and I are both so, so lucky to call you our friends. Our day was just as amazing as we had imagined, and it couldn’t have been possible without all your help – you know who you are ; )

Anyhoo, this weeks recipe is a Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake with Strawberry Buttercream which was roughly based on a pound cake recipe I found in my book The Art of French Baking. It’s one of my favourite books. My brother gave it to me which makes it extra special. I had a dig around for a strawberry cake recipe as I had a punnet of strawberries in the fridge… little did I know that strawberry cakes don’t really exist! After looking at a few Strawberry Buttercream recipes I decided I could use some of the strawberry syrup to swirl into the cake, and… it was delicious! The Strawberry buttercream is amazing and tastes incredible.

So this weekend, why not invite your friends around and bake for them. Friends are very special people, and what better way to show the people you love than to cook for them :)

x e.

Ps. I found my love heart bake tin at the Evendale Market in Tassie. This place is fantastic, aaaaaand they still only charge 20 cents entry! Love Tassie!

 

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3D Wedding invitations: designed by Seb at Open Season, printed by the talented Hungry Workshop

 

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3D Wedding invitations, RSVP & thank you cards: designed by Open Season, printed by the talented Hungry Workshop

 

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left: wedding favours – loose leaf tearight: thank you cards – designed by Open Season, printed by the talented Hungry Workshop

 

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Strawberry Syrup

1 cup strawberries, hulled and chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
muslin cloth (optional)

 

1. Add strawberries, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil

2. Let simmer for about 10 minutes then remove from heat and let cool. If you prefer a smoother syrup without the annoying little seeds, use some muslin cloth to strain the mixture.

 

 Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

based on the recipe by Ginette Mathiot – The Art of French Baking

300g plain flour
300g butter, melted
240g sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

 

1. Preheat oven to 160*C. Grease two 20cm cake tins.

2. Melt butter and set aside to cool. Measure out the flour, sugar and separate the eggs.

3. Whisk egg yolks and sugar for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is pale and double in size. Slowly fold in flour, vanilla extract and butter a spoonful at a time until combined.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Once whisked, gently fold egg whites into the yolk mixture.

5. Pour in a quarter of the cake mixture into each pan and add 3 tablespoons of strawberry syrup into each. Add the remaining mixture into the pans and gentle swirl the batter with a knife 4 or 5 times (you don’t want to over mix). Place in the oven and bake for 30-40mins or until golden brown.

 

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
4 cups of icing sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons strawberry syrup

 

1. Beat together butter and 1/2 cup of icing sugar at a time until all sugar is completely combined. Slowly add the strawberry syrup a tablespoon at a time and then bean on high for about 15 seconds.

2. Pace a small amount of buttercream icing between the two cakes and continue to decorate the outside with the remaining mixture.

Enjoy!

By On 26/03/2014 In Baking With 5 Comments Permanent Link to Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing + Introducing Emily Godfrey!Permalink

Amsterdam Gingerbread House!

Merry Christmas everyone! Festive season is well and truly here – and I’m loving every minute of it. I’m a Christmas freak if you haven’t figured that out already! I’ve even discovered a radio station on our digital radio called ELF radio, playing Christmas carols 24/7. Amazing!

This weekend we went to a big Christmas BBQ, which was a great excuse to catch up with friends. I’ve been so busy lately, I feel like I’ve hardly seen anyone. Anyway, the lead up to Christmas is a great excuse to get everyone together before we all disperse off to our little pockets of the globe.

 

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In the spirit of Christmas, I thought I’d make a gingerbread house to take to the BBQ. Now this take a little planning and foresight, as I don’t have much time of an evening. You really have to make it over a few nights – it took me three! The first night I made the cookie dough. The following night I cut out and baked the walls and roof, and the final night was spent doing the fun bit, decorating. Let me tell you, it’s not for the feint hearted; my right hand had cramped from icing for a few straight hours. BUT all in all it was TOTALLY worth it. It was a hit at the party, in all it’s two-story-Amsterdam-style glory! Damn it was cute!

 

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I made my first gingerbread house two years ago – which you can see over here. I also recently shared it on instagram. It was then that somebody told me that it’s tradition to smash it with a rolling pin? Not sure how much fact there is in that, do you know? Anyway, as I made the damn thing, I get to SMASH it! Let me tell you, it takes quite a few whacks to demolish it – quite the sturdy feat of architecture. You can see the image below at the point of impact! Well, I guess you’ll have to wait another two years to see my next one (every year is a bit too much me thinks!).

Are you going to try your hand at making one this year? Let me know if you do! I want to see photos!

x e.

ps. I’ve also included some photos of us from a couple of weeks ago  in Tassie finding the perfect Christmas tree!

 

 

 

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The smash!

 

Gingerbread House

3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
185g butter, chopped
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 egg whites
3 cups icing sugar

 

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine flours, ginger, cinnamon, sugar and butter. Mix until it resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk golden syrup and eggs together in a jug and add to the dough mixture until it just comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until well chilled.

2. Roll dough, 1 portion at a time, between 2 sheets baking paper until 5mm thick. Remove top layer baking paper. Using cardboard cut-outs as a guide, cut shapes from dough.

3. Line 4 baking trays with baking paper. Place gingerbread on trays. Bake, 2 trays at a time, for 15 minutes or until firm. Cool on trays.

3. Make royal icing: Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar, beating constantly until thick.

4. Once gingerbread has cooled pipe and decorate the walls and roof. Once decorated, use icing to join the walls to the plate & the walls together (you may need an extra hand or cans of food to hold until icing dries). Use icing to attach roof to walls, using cans to support roof (to prevent it from slipping off walls) until icing dries completely. Use any sweets to finish decorating! Have fun!

By On 17/12/2013 In Christmas, Food With 4 Comments Permanent Link to Amsterdam Gingerbread House!Permalink

Christmas Presents: Homemade Granola

Christmas is just around the corner folks! Crazy – I know but it’s true. I’m super unorganised at the moment in practically every aspect of my life: with the blog, organising the wedding, work, so I haven’t even thought about Christmas baking. In fact, I’m trying to be super healthy this year (especially with the wedding around the corner) so my baking will be very limited this year – booo. In saying that, we’re going to a big Christmas BBQ this Saturday so I’m planning on baking to my hearts content (get it out of the system) and everybody else can eat it for me. Happy days!

 

 

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I just love baking. I’ve got a few ideas running around the top paddock, but for now I’ve got this little brekky’ recipe for you. Granola is one of my favourite treats in the morning. It’s pretty special when people make their own home batch for you too. This is a super healthy version, it’s not too sweet but contains all the nutty goodness you’d expect from a delicious granola. Pop it in a nice big jar with some pretty ribbon and you’ve got yourself  a lovely homemade gift from the kitchen. Christmas can’t get much better than that!

Also, just a quick reminder that the Adeline & Lumiere Christmas book is available for sale over here at my Etsy store. It’s only $25 and makes a perfect stocking filler for the one you love, a colleague’s kris kringle, or heck, just a little something something for yourself! It’s also available to buy in-store at the Hill of Content Bookshop, a new shop called Melbournalia (I want everything in there) and in Dymocks Hobart.

Till next time gadgets…

x e.

(ps. 15 days till Christmas!)

 

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Christmas Presents: Homemade Granola

 

150g dates, pitted
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
95g quinoa
40g  pepitas
50g almonds, chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon30g shredded coconut
handful of crasins (or sultanas)

 

1. Preheat oven to 150ºC and line two trays with grease proof paper. Put the dates into a medium size bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Let sit for 20 minutes to soften. After this time, add dates (keep the water) to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Add the water a little at a time and stir by hand until combined.

2. Place rolled oats, quinoa, pepitas cinnamon and almonds into a large bowl. Pour the date mixture over the top and stir well until it has coated all oats and quinoa. Spread the oat mixture out over the two trays and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

3. Stir the granola then place back in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, add coconut and crasins then let cool. Store in an air tight container and consume within two weeks.

By On 10/12/2013 In Breakfast, Food With 2 Comments Permanent Link to Christmas Presents: Homemade GranolaPermalink
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