Persian Love Cake

Persian Love Cake is probably the plainest looking cake I bake, but is a favourite of many friends and family.
This cake has a tart like base and a moist cake on top.
It is also gluten free.


3 cups Almond meal
1 cup Brown sugar
1 tbs cornflour
120g butter
2 eggs
150~200ml greek yogurt
1 tsp cardamon powder
2 tsp rosewater
slivered pistachios

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Line a 20cm cake tin.

In a large bowl, combine almond, sugar, cardamon powder and cornflour.
Put cubed butter pieces into the bowl.
With tips of your fingers, squash butter into the mix until most of the butter pieces are invisible and it looking like damp sand.  You can do this in a food processor, but I find this process therapeutic and enjoyable.

Scoop half of the above into the cake tin.
Squash the mixture down into the base with the edges slightly raised.
This part will become like a tart base.

Put eggs and rosewater into the bowl with the remaining almond mixture.
Add half the yogurt and mix in well.
You want the mixture to look wet enough, but not too runny.
Adjust the texture of the batter with the remainder of yogurt.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin.
Sprinkle some slivered pistachios over the top and bake for 20~40 minutes.

The length of baking time will depend on the oven.

It is done when the top is golden.

Vanilla Kipfel

For the last 10 years or so, I have been baking vanilla kipfel in December.  These biscuits are very buttery and almondy.  They crumble and melt in your mouth.

Plain flour 180g
Almond powder 90G
Icing sugar 50g
Salted Butter 150g

Set the oven temperature to 150 degrees celsius.

Process all the ingredients in a food processor for 30 seconds or so.
The dough is not dough like.  It resembles damp sand.

Take about a golf ball size powdery dough in your hand and hold it until the butter melts enough so you can shape the dough into a crescent.  Repeat till all the dough is used up.

Bake for 15~18 minutes.

When they come out of the oven, shift plenty of icing sugar over them.

Fudge Brownies marbled with Peanut Butter

Of all the sweets I bake, I am asked for the recipe for my nutty fudge brownies the most.

Instead of mixing nuts (usually macadamia) in, I marbled this batch with peanut butter in attempt to use up the unloved jar in the pantry.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Melt 100g butter and 200g dark chocolate together.
Mix in 1 cup of brown sugar followed by two eggs.
Add 1/3 cup of sour cream.
Fold in 1/4 cup of cocoa and 1/4 cup of flour.  (it can be wheat flour, GF flour, or almond meal)
Fold in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.

Line a brownies tin with baking paper and pour in the batter.
Dot the surface with as much peanut butter as you like.
Using a knife, draw lines through the peanut butter for marbled effect.

Baking time really depends on your oven.
20 to 30 minutes or until the batter doesn't wobble when you shake the tin.

I can usually tell by the smell and the way it looks.

Enjoy.

Chat 10 Looks 3's Crack

I made Crack for my book club on the weekend and several people asked for the recipe.  This post is dedicated to my beloved book club members.

I joined a Facebook group called Chat 10 Look 3 a couple of months ago when a recommendation popped up on my Facebook feed.  It had a picture of Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb.  It caught my attention straight away as I had watched their "When I get a minute" on ABC iview a while ago and absolutely loved it.  It also said "If you liked Helen Garner and Yotam Ottolenghi, this was a group for you."
As it happens, I was reading Helen Garner's "Everywhere I look" at the time and have been a fan of Yotam for a couple of years.  I thought, I obviously qualify to join this group.

So, I joined and immediately realised that I have found "my people".
There are over 26,000 members and they are constantly posting their book recommendations and showing off what they have baked.

These were also post after posts of Crack.  It seemed making Crack was a kind of initiation to become a true Chatter.  So, I downloaded the recipe and have baked it.  I loved it so much, I have made it may be about 5 times since.

Recipe (slightly altered by me)

One packet of Salada (there are two packets in a box)
200g butter (salted)
1 cup brown sugar
200g dark chocolate
nuts, dried cranberries, freeze dried raspberries, salt flakes

Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Place single layer of salada crackers on the tray.
Heat butter and brown sugar in a saucepan.  Let it boil and whisk until emulsified.
Pour over the crackers and smooth all over with a spatula.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes taking care not to burn the caramel.

Whilst the caramel is still hot, sprinkle chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate all over the caramel and leave to melt for a couple of minutes.  Use a spatula to smooth the chocolate all over.
Sprinkle nutes and dried fruit of your choice and a good pinch of salt flakes.

Gingerbread Man Biscuits

We usually spend Christmas with my husband's parents, but we are not able to travel to the Barossa Valley and they can not travel to us in the Mountains this year.  Thus a request for my Gingerbread Man came from my mother in law.
She brings her traditional German touch to our Christmas celebration each year and we shall miss it this Christmas.

125g butter (salted)
100g brown sugar
125ml golden syrup
1 egg yolk
400ml plain flour
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice

If the dough feels a little sticky, dust plenty of flour when rolling it out.
bake in 170 degrees celsius oven until golden brown.

Rocky Road

I meant to post this before we for Far North Queensland, things got rather hectic..
So, finally I am home in time for your to make it for Christmas.

Ingredients
200g  Dark Chocolate
100g Butter (I used cultured butter and added half a teaspoon of salt)
1 cup  Rice bubbles
Half to three quarter of a packet of Marshmallow
1 pannet Raspberries or a cup of pitted cherries or both
Nuts of your choice (almonds work well)

Melt chocolate and butter together.  You can put them in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or stick it in the microwave like I do.

Then put the rest of ingredients and give it a quick mix.
Pour over a prepared tray lined with baking paper or cling wrap.

Chill in the fridge until set.

Enjoy!

Moist Fruitcake

Today I was very proud to be asked for no less than 3 recipes at my Choir's Christmas lunch.

After abandoning this blog for a long time, I decided to resurrect it as a method of sharing my recipes  with my English speaking (reading) friends.

1. Moist fruitcake (this post)
2. Decadent rocky road (next post)
3. Chocolate cake (I realised that I have already posted this one.  It's the one before this post)


'
I discovered this recipe over 10 years ago in my American Cake book.
As I do with most recipes, I make all kinds of alterations and by the time I am satisfied with it, it hardly resembles the original.

A
Mixed dried fruit 500g
Dried apricots  100g
Marmalade  100g
Water 300ml
Cultured butter 180g
Salt 1tsp
Raw sugar 300g

B
90ml brandy or rum
3 eggs

C
Plain flour 375g
Baking powder 1tsp

Nuts for decoration

Put all ingredients A in a medium sized saucepan and put on medium heat.
Once everything dissolves and it begins to boil, turn down to heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Put it aside and let it cool down a little.

In a large bowl, put B and half of A together and whisk.
Add C into the bowl and mix till smooth.  Add the rest of A and mix again.

Pour into a prepared cake tin and decorate with pecan nuts or walnuts.
I usually divide it into two or three smaller tins.

Bake at 170C until for approximately 40 minutes.
Depending on the size of your tins or your oven, the baking time differs.
Always check with a skewer to see if the cake is cooked through.


I wish you Blue Mountains ladies a nice cool baking day between now and Christmas.