Feine Erdbeer Torte...Strawberry Cake from Dr.Oekter

Macaroons

I made these pink macaroons from The Australian Women's Weekly 'Cookies' book. My first attempt at macaroons I was very happy that they turned out correctly!

The Age / Dymocks Luncheon with Bill Granger at Zinc Federation Square

This is my mum with Bill Granger, we went to a lunch yesterday at Zinc Federation Square to promote Bill's new book 'Feed Me Now'. The food all from the new book was delicious!

After the lovely lunch we heard what bill has been doing for the past year, including opening up a restaurant in Japan. He signed books, happily posed for photo's and thanked every table for coming. It was a great day!

Japanese Christmas Cake

Ingredients:

For sponge cake:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour



• 2/3 cup sugar



• 1 Tbsp milk



• 3 eggs



• 1 1/2 Tbsp butter

For topping:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream



• 4 Tbsps sugar



• Strawberries

Preparation:

• Whisk eggs in a bowl.



• Place the bowl over warm water in another large bowl and whisk further.



• Add sugar little by little.



• When the egg mixture becomes light yellow, sift flour and add to the bowl.



• Mix the flour lightly in the egg mixture.



• Mix butter in warm milk.



• Add mixture of melted butter and milk in the batter and stir gently.



• Preheat the oven in 350-degree.



• Place baking papers inside of a round cake pan (18cm).



• Pour the batter in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 25-35 minutes.



• Remove the cake from the pan and cool it on a rack.

Rhubarb Apple and Vanilla Jam

I can't walk past gorgeous Rhubarb so I snaped it up without a thought. What to use it for? after a quick internet search I found this recipe: http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.com/2006/08/sugar-high-friday-22.html


Ingredients

• 500g Rhubarb chopped into small pieces
• 500g Granny Smith Apples cut into cubes
• 1 cup water
• 850g Sugar, I used organic raw sugar
• 1 lemon jucied
• 1 Vanilla bean cut in half

Method

• Mix all ingredient's into a pot on a low heat, and cook for 15mins.
• Mush rhubarb and apples togther. (I used a barmix to assist in this process)
• Use a pastry brush dipped in water to keep sugar from burning on the side of your pot.
• Skim scum off the jam.
• Check for setting after 30- 40 mins by dipping a spoon into the jam and then drawing a line on the back of the spoon if the line stays seperate it's at the setting point.
• Put the jam into an easy pour large jug, and pour into clean jam jars I used 3.
• The heat from the jam sterilises the jar and if your using a jar like mine it will seal itself.
• Store jam in the fridge, because it has no pectin in it.
  

Cool drink

Plum Kuche

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour


• 2 tsp baking powder


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 75g Unsalted butter at room-temperature


• 3/4 cup brown sugar


• 2 large eggs


• 1/3 cup vegetable oil, I used rice bran oil


• zest of 1 orange


• 5 plums halved

Method

• Pre-heat oven 180.
• Cream together Brown Sugar and butter.
• Combine eggs one at a time, vegetable oil and zest of one orange.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
• Pour into a 20cm square pan and place plum halves on top.
• Bake for 40 minutes.

Note: I have also made this into a crumble, buy crumbing together flour, sugar and butter and spreading over plums, insure to cook for long if making a crumble.

Strawberry Spongecake

This was a great way to use strawberries!
I used a Nigella recipe for sponge cake, from her How To Eat book. It was delicious, but next time I want an sponge with more of a light consistency this one was made with a food processor therefore didn't have the texture I wanted.

Banana Bread

This is my favorite recipe from the book 'Apples for Jam'.

Ingredients:

• 125 g butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 medium ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 3 tablespoons milk
  

Method:

• Pre heat oven to 180 degrees C, butter a 12 x 4 inch loaf tin.
• Cream butter and sugar until smooth and whisk in bananas.
• Add eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and a pinch of salt, whisk well.
• Sieve in flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and milk and fold in until smooth.
• Scrape mixture into tin and bake for about 50minutes until skewer when inserted into centre of bread comes out clean. Turn onto rack to cool.

Baked Cheesecake

Oma’s Baked German Cheesecake


This is an heirloom cheesecake, I ensured that I learnt to make from my 85 year old grandmother. A favorite dessert in our family.

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 250g Plain Flour
• 115g Sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon juice
• 125g butter softened
• 10g baking powder
  

For the filling:

• 200g sugar
• 125g butter softened
• 1 tbs Semolina
• 4 eggs
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 500g or 750 g Quark (which you can find at some European butcher's and organic shops)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Oma’s note
You can use either 500g or 750g quark. For 500g quark Oma adds cream and milk until you can taste a balance in the batter.

Method:

• Pre heat oven to 180°c
• Line and butter a spring form tin. I used a nine inch.
• Mix together all ingredients listed for the base, then press into the bottom flatten using a cup measurement or glass, to get a flat surface you can also build the base up the sides to give you an edge.
• Set aside base, then mix sugar, butter, semolina, eggs, lemon, quark and vanilla for the filling, taste the mixture, it should have a creamy lemon taste, if it's too lemony for your taste add cream, to creamy add more lemon. pour mixture into the pan then bake the cheesecake for 60 minutes.
• You should let it cool and then put it in the fridge overnight, but its delicious warm (If your impatient like me!).
  
  
  

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes using the following recipe, found on the cover of bonappetit magazine. however I omited the raspberry jam in favor of lemon cupcakes with lemon icing and a raspberry to contrast all that lemon (plus I really love raspberries). These are really delicous and the icing tastes like sherbet.



Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 4 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 12 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
• Fresh raspberries (for garnish)
  

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 3 teaspoons lemon peel in large bowl until blended, then beat until fluffy and pale yellow.
• Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition.
• Beat in half of flour. Add buttermilk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice; beat to blend. Beat in remaining flour.
• Drop 1 rounded tablespoonful batter into each muffin liner. Spoon 1 teaspoon raspberry jam over. Cover with remaining batter, dividing equally.
• Bake cupcakes until tester inserted halfway into centers comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack.
• Meanwhile, whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel in small bowl. Spoon half of icing over 6 cupcakes. Whisk 1 tablespoon raspberry jam into remaining icing. Spoon over remaining cupcakes. Let stand until icing sets, about 30 minutes. Garnish with raspberries.