christmas collection 2012 - walnut kipferl

christmas collection 2012 - walnut kipferl

18 Dec 2012

This recipe comes from an old Maureen Simpson recipe book called Australian Cuisine, which I’ve had for years. Maureen was the Australian House and Garden magazine food editor many years ago and this old cookbook is filled with good old fashioned recipes and some funny things that were probably the height of fashion in the 80’s.  

These cookies are a traditional Austrian Christmas treat and I’ve no idea why it’s taken me so long to get round to making them. I’ve seen similar recipes using ground almonds instead of walnuts and I’m sure that the kipferl would taste equally good made with ground pecans.



They’re really easy to make and I whizzed up the batch of kipferl in my food processor in just a few minutes. I also have some dough in the freezer ready for baking as I’m making little bags of these to give to my friends this year.The first packet has been delivered and eaten and I’m told they were delicious. Having eaten half the batch myself I’m inclined to agree!



Here's the recipe for you.

Walnut Kipferl
from Australian Cuisine by Maureen Simpson printable recipe
125 g (4 oz) butter
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
100 g walnuts
1 cup plain flour plus 1 extra tablespoon
icing sugar
1 vanilla bean

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Put walnuts into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Set to one side. In a small bowl or food processor, cream the butter, caster sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy. Add the flour and walnuts and mix to form a dough.

Take small pieces of dough and roll between the palms of your hand to form little rolls tapered at one end. If the mixture is too sticky you may need to add a little extra flour. Place the rolls onto lined trays and form into crescents.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly coloured. Allow to cool for a few minutes before placing on a cooling rack. When the kipferl are cold, place on a sheet of greaseproof paper and lightly dust with icing sugar. Turn over and repeat on the other side. Place the kipferl into a jar with the vanilla bean and seal tightly. Makes about 30.



See you all tomorrow with another recipe from this year's Christmas Collection.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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christmas collection 2012 - lemon cranberry bundt cakes

christmas collection 2012 - lemon cranberry bundt cakes

17 Dec 2012

When I started compiling recipes for the 2012 Christmas Collection the first item on my list was this recipe for Lemon Cranberry Bundt cakes. I toyed with the idea last Christmas but ran out of time so wrote the idea down on my kitchen chalkboard.



I used my favourite lemon cake recipe for the base, added some cranberries to the mix for a bit of zing, doused the cakes in lemon syrup then crowned the little cakes with a drizzle of lemon glacé icing and some chopped dried cranberries.



I thought they looked really festive with their little crown of red. I’d hoped to use red currants for decoration as they usually appear in the fruit shop at this time of year but so far there’s been no sign of them.



Here’s the recipe for you.

Lemon Cranberry Bundt Cakes printable recipe
Cake
1 lemon, rind grated
110 gm (½ cup) caster sugar
½ level teaspoon baking powder
125 gm (4 oz) unsalted butter
2 large eggs
150 gm (1 cup) self raising flour
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
A few tablespoons plain yoghurt
Optional - dried cranberries for decoration

Method
Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF. Grease and flour 6 mini bundt tins.

In a food processor, pulverise the sugar and the lemon rind. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add with the butter and eggs to the food processor. Process the mixture until a smooth batter forms. If the mixture is looking a bit thick, add some yoghurt to the mixture. Remove the batter from the food processor and transfer to a medium bowl. Gently stir in the cranberries.

Spoon or pipe the mixture into the prepared tins and bake at 170º/325ºF for 20-25 minutes or until the cakes are risen and golden. The cake should spring back when gently pressed with your finger.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a rack. Turn the cakes onto a serving plate and spoon the warm syrup over.

When the cakes are cool, ice with the lemon icing and top with coarsely chopped dried cranberries.

Syrup
150 gm (⅔ cup) caster sugar
The juice of 1 lemon ~ 50 mls

To make the syrup, mix the sugar and lemon juice together in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Lemon Glace Icing
1 cup sifted icing sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
15 gm (1 tablespoon) softened unsalted butter

In a small bowl combine the icing sugar with the lemon juice and softened butter and beat until smooth. Place the bowl over a pan of hot water (or you can microwave on high for ~ 10 seconds) and beat until glossy.



I’ll be back tomorrow with another recipe from the 2012 Christmas Collection, so see you then,

Jillian

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the christmas collection 2012 - macadamia shortbread stars

the christmas collection 2012 - macadamia shortbread stars

12 Dec 2012

A few weeks ago I dragged out the Christmas baubles as it was time to start shooting this year's Christmas Collection.



This year's Collection is a mixture of old favourites and some new finds. These shortbread stars were essentially a way to use up leftovers I had lurking in my freezer. Do you remember the caramel macadamia cheesecake I made a few weeks ago? These shortbread stars are made from the leftover shortbread base I had stored in my freezer.



You'll notice there's a definite star theme going on this year. I'll have to invest in some new Christmas themed cutters because I must have at least 5 or 6 star shaped cutters and not much else.



I decided to fashion them into an edible garland.



I also used the mixture to make some little shortbread hearts which I sandwiched together with a blob of jam.

Here's the recipe for you.
Macadamia Shortbread Stars printable version
100 g (3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup finely ground toasted macadamia nuts
3/4 cup plain flour
icing sugar

In a food processor combine all the ingredients together until a soft dough forms around the blade. Otherwise in a small bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. Add the flour and the ground macadamia nuts and combine until a soft dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 170° C/325º F and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper to about 3 mm. Using a star shaped cutter, cut out star shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue to cut out stars. Place the stars onto the trays leaving about 2 cm between each star to allow for spreading.

Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the stars are lightly coloured. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before placing on a wire rack. If desired, make small holes in the shortbread with a skewer so they can be strung. When the stars are cool, lightly sprinkle with icing sugar.

Makes about 2 dozen but the number made will depend on the size of the star cutter.

I'll be back again next week with a daily new Christmas treat for you including the recipe for those cute little lemon cranberry bundt cakes.

See you all again next week,

Jillian

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central park, new york

central park, new york

10 Dec 2012

Although I was only in New York for 6 days I took quite a few pictures whilst I was there. Todays photos are from Central Park.



A few years ago I saw some engagement photos which were taken at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park. The terrace was recently restored and it looked gorgeous so I immediately bookmarked it as a place to see when I was in New York. I didn't know what a popular location it was.



I arrived around lunch time and the place was packed as a group of B Boys entertained the crowd. I took some photographs but they weren't the kind of photos I wanted to take. A few days later I left my hotel room bright and early in an effort to beat the crowds.



I arrived in time to catch some beautiful early morning light and to see all the dog walkers and early morning joggers enjoying the park. I was also able to get the serene photos I was seeking.



I made sure to save some of my precious black and white film to shoot a few scenes of the park.

See you all again on Wednesday with the first recipe in this year's Christmas Collection.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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union square, soho, the bowery and chelsea

union square, soho, the bowery and chelsea

5 Dec 2012

Doing a shopshoot is a great way to see a city and to explore new locations. The night before the Michele Varian shopshoot, I sat down at a local cafe with my copy of The Stylists Guide to NYC to plot my route for the day. Sadly I left the book behind in the cafe and it was never seen again!

The day started out a bit grey and dreary but I went ahead with my plans to visit the Union Square Green Market.



I love seeing the way people shop and the food they eat.



I seemed to spend quite a bit of time around and about Union Square, in no part due to the presence of ABC Carpet and Home, J. Crew and Fishs Eddy.



What a fabulous place ABC Carpet and Home is. I loved everything I saw and wanted to move in!


After visiting Michele Varian I spent the afternoon exploring the lower East Side where I spied this great building made from cast iron.



Then it was back on the subway to Chelsea to buy some food at the Chelsea Market before walking the High Line.



My friend 'Little One' set me a challenge. When she was in New York in May she'd hidden a MMOA token on a bird feeder on the High Line and I had to track it down. I searched high and low but couldn't find it anywhere. Later on we discovered the bird feeder was a temporary art installation which had been dismantled by the time I made it to New York.



It didn't really matter because the walk was such a beautiful experience.



I just loved the old industrial buildings, the sympathetic plantings, the elegant street furniture and the occasional unexpected pop of colour. I wonder whether there's a similar hidden treasure in Sydney?

Less than 2 weeks now 'til my last working day for 2012. Roll on the weekend!!

Jillian

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a sneak peek - xmas 2012

a sneak peek - xmas 2012

3 Dec 2012

I was a busy little beaver during weekend, baking lots of goodies for Christmas. I'm hoping to bring you a full week of Christmas baking but I still have 1 more item to bake and photograph. I haven't had a chance to write up any of the recipes so until I do, I hope this sneak peek will suffice.



See you all again later in week with some more images from New York.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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