macadamia nut brittle

macadamia nut brittle

27 Jan 2014

It's the Australia Day holiday here today and I thought about bringing you something very Australian like lamingtons or pavlova. Instead I've gone a little lateral to bring you macadamia nut brittle. This was on my list of Christmas candies but I just ran out of time so here it is, better late than never.



Did you know the macadamia nut is native to Australia? Growing up in Brisbane we had a macadamia nut tree in our back yard. I don't ever remember using them in cooking but I used to love cracking the nuts open with a brick. Thankfully these days they're available at my local shops already shelled and good to go.



The recipe is based on this one I found with a few tweaks. 



Macadamia Nut Brittle
150 g coarsely chopped unroasted macadamia nuts
pinch salt
heaped ½ teaspoon bicarb soda
½ teaspoon water
½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup water
½ cup light corn syrup
25 g butter

Heat the oven to 180°C. Place the nuts on an oven tray and cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Lightly sprinkle the nuts with salt and set to one side.

Line a 7 x 11 inch tin with baking paper; spread the nuts evenly over the paper and keep warm in the oven.

In a small bowl, mix the bicarbonate of soda with the ½ teaspoon water, the ½ teaspoon vanilla and set to one side.

Mix the sugar, the ¼ cup water and the corn syrup in a large saucepan. Cook over a medium heat stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking until the mixture turns a light golden brown. 

Immediately remove from the heat and quickly add the bicarb mixture and the butter. The mixture will foam up.Tilt the saucepan from side to side about 10 times to incorporate the butter then pour the toffee mixture over the nuts; quickly spread about 1/4 inch thick. 

Cool completely, at least 1 hour before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container.



The brittle was easy to make and even easier to eat. Once again I managed to polish off most of the brittle without much help at all.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekends. 

See you all again next week,

Jillian

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summer berry jam

summer berry jam

20 Jan 2014

We're in the height of summer here in Sydney with very hot days. That means berries have made their way into my local fruit shop. Now summer berries like raspberries and blackberries are never cheap in Sydney but when a punnet costs less than the GDP of a small African nation, I'll buy a few.



I have no idea why, but I suddenly decided it was time to make some jam. I think it has something to do with me now owning a digital thermometer which has made me brave. I like making jam but I do tend to over cook it terribly. I remember the time I made plum jam which was closer to plum toffee by the time it was bottled. It was completely inedible and I had to throw it out. 



When I looked through my freezer I found a few packets of frozen berries lurking so I made this jam using fresh blackberries and strawberries combined with frozen, defrosted blueberries and raspberries. I used this recipe but halved the quantities, added a vanilla pod and slightly modified the technique. It made a lovely runny, flavoursome jam which I served with some freshly baked scones.



Here's the recipe for you. It made two 400 mls pots of jam.
Summer Berry Jam
2 cups white sugar
1 lemon

375g strawberries, washed, dried, hulled and quartered if large

100g blackberries, washed, dried

1 vanilla pod

100g raspberries, washed, dried

100g blueberries, washed, dried

To sterilize jars, wash in hot soapy water and rinse. Place the jars and lids in a deep saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring water to the boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes. Line a baking tray with paper towel. Remove the jars using metal tongs and allow to air dry or dry with a clean paper towel.

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Place the sugar on an oven tray and warm the sugar for 15 minutes. Meanwhile place a saucer in the freezer to test the jam’s setting point.

Juice the lemon and reserve the seeds. Place the seeds in a small piece of muslin and tie with kitchen string to secure. Combine the strawberries, blackberries, lemon juice, lemon seeds, the vanilla pod and sugar in a shallow saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until jam is reduced by one-quarter.

Remove the lemon seeds and vanilla pod from the jam then add the raspberries and blueberries. Cook, stirring occasionally for a further 5 minutes or until jam has reached it’s setting point (105°C). To check when jam is set, remove the jam from the heat and place a spoonful of hot jam onto the chilled saucer. Return to the freezer for 1 minute. Run your finger through the jam to test if it wrinkles and jells. If it doesn't, return to the heat for a further 5 minutes then repeat the test.

Take the jam from the heat and allow to cool for a minute or 2 before spooning the hot jam evenly among the sterilized jars. Seal immediately then turn the jars upside down for 2 minutes before turning upright. Set the jam aside to cool completely before labelling and dating.



It's Australia Day next weekend and I'll be on pavlova duty. I'm making a pavlova to take with me to dinner so if I get a chance I'll take a few snaps to share with you.

See you all again next week,

Jillian 

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crème caramel

crème caramel

13 Jan 2014

Do you have a recipe you no longer make but you can't think of a good reason why you ever stopped? Well you can put crème caramel into that category. I had Flan Casero, the Spanish version of crème caramel, while I was in Tasmania and it reminded me just how much I love caramel and custard. Making crème caramel has been on my to-do list ever since. 



To make a good crème caramel you need just a few key ingredients - milk, cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Traditionally I think the custard was made using milk alone but I like a little bit of cream to add some luxury to the dish.



The custard is easy to make so the only thing slightly tricky about this dish is the caramel. Too pale and there isn't much flavour in the caramel, too dark and it will taste burnt.



You'll need to bake the custard gently in a water bath cos you don't want to end up with bubbles in the custard. Some recipes use hot water but I used cold water in mine.

Here's the recipe for you -
Jillian’s Crème Caramel Recipe - serves 4
Custard
250 ml (1 cup) milk
150ml (⅔ cup) cream
1 egg
2 egg yolks, extra
2 - 3 tbl caster sugar
1 vanilla bean

Caramel
½ cup caster sugar
⅔ cup water

Place the milk and cream in a saucepan and add the vanilla pod, split in half lengthways. Bring the mixture to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave the milk to infuse with the vanilla for 1 hour. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk mixture.

To make the caramel, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook until the mixture is dark golden. Pour into 4 x ¾ cup-capacity (180ml) greased ovenproof dishes and rotate to cover the base and sides. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the caramel is set.

Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F). Place the egg, extra yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Gradually add the milk mixture to the eggs, whisking to combine. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a jug then pour into the prepared dishes. Carefully place the custards into a shallow baking tray, before pouring enough water into the tin to come half way up the sides of the dishes. Cover the dish with foil then bake the custards for 35 - 40 minutes or until just set. They will firm up as they cool. Remove the foil and the custards from the dish and allow the custards to cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove the crème caramels from the fridge 30 minutes before serving. To unmould the crème caramel, run a palette knife around the edge and gently ease the custard away from the side of the dish with your fingers. I also found dipping the ramekin in hot water for 1 minute to loosen the caramel really helped with the unmoulding process. Carefully turn out on to a plate to serve.



I hope you give this recipe a try because these little crème caramels were delicious.

P.S. if you're looking for more of my recipes, my latest Delicious Bites post is on decor8. You can find the recipe for the apple and cranberry yeast cake here.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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happy 2014 and a plum crumble cheesecake

happy 2014 and a plum crumble cheesecake

6 Jan 2014

Well hello every-one and Happy New Year. It was lovely having a break but boy, did those 2 weeks fly past. In that time I've driven to Brisbane and back; done lots of baking and lots of eating; spent New Year's Eve on the beach at Manly; done a bit of shopping at the sales and I've been hard at work putting together a travel album from my trip to Tasmania.



Just before my Christmas break, I put together this cheesecake for a work mate's 50th birthday celebration. 



I literally threw this together one Sunday and as it was for a birthday, I couldn't cut a sneaky slice to photograph. I did manage to snaffle a sliver to try though.



There's something magical about the combination of tart plums, the smooth texture of the cheesecake filling and the surprise crunch of the walnuts in the crumble topping.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 16cm cake. To make a 23 cm cake you'll need to double all ingredients. The cooking time stays the same.
Base
2 tbl caster sugar
¼ cup pecans or walnuts
½ cup Plain Flour
60 gm (2 oz) unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

Crumble Topping
Additional ¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180⁰C/350⁰F. Grease and line the base and sides of a 16 cm spring-form tin with baking paper.

In a food processor, combine the sugar and the nuts and whiz until the nuts are finely ground. Add the remaining ingredients and process until combined and a soft dough forms around the blade. Press about ⅔ of the mixture into the base of the prepared spring-form tin, bringing it slightly up the sides. 

Combine the remaining shortbread with the coarsely chopped walnuts to make a crumble topping and place in the fridge.

Bake the shortbread base in the preheated 180⁰C oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Set to one side and allow the base to cool.

Topping
4 ripe plums
1 tbs caster sugar
½ tsp cinnamon

Increase the oven temperature to 200⁰C/400⁰F. Halve the plums, remove the seeds and slice thinly. Place the sliced plums into a small bowl. Sprinkle the plums with 1 tbs caster sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon. Set to one side.

Filling
1 x 250 gm (8 oz) packet of cream cheese, softened
1 egg
Scant ¼ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tbl yoghurt or cream

Put the remaining ingredients into the food processor and whiz until smooth. Pour the filling over the cooked base and then layer the plums over the filling. Scatter the crumble topping over the plums. 

Bake the cheesecake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes before lowering the temperature to 170⁰C/325⁰F. Bake the cheesecake for about 45 minutes or until the filling is almost set. Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the turned off oven. Remove the cake from the oven after another hour. When cool, the cheesecake can be stored in the fridge.



I hope you enjoy the recipe.

See you all again next week,

Jillian

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seasons greetings

seasons greetings

23 Dec 2013

Well, it's almost Christmas here in Brisbane and I'm just about cooked out for the year. I have a few traditional goodies to share with you though, recipes for fruit mince pies and gingerbread, items I pretty much bake every year.



I saw a recipe for a gingerbread star wreath in Country Style magazine and I was inspired to make one of my own. I made up a batch of gingerbread and baked the wreath using half the mixture. It looked lovely but I had my doubts about it's strength and when I tried to hang the wreath, it fell apart. What was I to do other than eat every single last gingerbread star from which the wreath was made? Having eaten half a batch of this gingerbread solo, I can assure you this is one delicious gingerbread recipe. 



With the remaining gingerbread I made some cute little gingerbread people which I decorated with Royal icing. Heres the recipe for you, very, very slightly adapted from here.

Gingerbread (adapted from Country Style Magazine December 2013)

125g (4 oz) butter, at room temperature 

½ cup lightly packed brown sugar 

½ cup golden syrup 

1 egg yolk

2½ cups plain flour 

1 20 ml tablespoon ground ginger 

1 teaspoon mixed spice

½ teaspoon ground white pepper 

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°C Lightly grease and line 2 baking trays. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest. 

Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll it out until it is about 4mm thick. Use cutters to cut out shapes. Place the shapes on the baking trays about 3 cm apart. Knead and roll out any leftover dough to repeat the process. For shapes to be used for hanging decorations, use a skewer to make a hole in the top of each shape. 

For gingerbread decorations, bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

In the current issue of Donna Hay magazine there's a recipe for mince pies using a brown sugar pastry, a riff on this recipe. The recipe inspired me to add a little brown sugar to my usual pastry recipe.

Instead of a caster sugar topping I used raw sugar for some extra crunch and added some nuts to the filling.




They are delicious so I'm glad I made 16 of these little Christmas morsels.

Here's the updated recipe for you.

MINCE PIES (makes 16)
Pastry
125 gm (4 oz) butter

60 gm sifted icing sugar

30 gm brown sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1⅔ cup plain flour

⅓ cup corn flour (cornstarch)

¾ tsp baking powder

Filling

410 gm bottle or 1¼ cups fruit mince
1 green apple, peeled and grated 

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

30 gm (1 oz) melted butter

1 tbl thick cut orange marmalade

1 tbl coarsely chopped almonds or toasted macadamias

Topping

1 egg white, lightly beaten 

Raw sugar

Shallow round based patty tins

Pastry

Cream the butter with the sugars. Add the egg yolk and beat well. Sift the flours and baking powder together and stir into the creamed mixture. You may need to add a little cold water to form a soft dough. Knead lightly on a floured board. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour

Filling

Put the fruit mince into a mixing bowl. Add the apple, the grated rind the melted butter, the marmalade and the chopped nuts and mix until well combined. You’ll need about half of the fruit mince mixture for this recipe. I put the leftover fruit mince back into the jar and keep it in the fridge to use later.

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Roll the pastry out thinly and cut into rounds. Line the lightly greased patty tin with the pastry. Cut the same number of slightly smaller circles to fit the tops of the pies. Put 1 - 2 teaspoons of fruit mince into each pie then moisten the edges with the beaten egg white. Make a small slit in each pastry lid or cut out with a small cutter. Top each filled pie with a lid and press edges of pastry well to seal. Glaze with the beaten egg white and sprinkle the raw sugar over the top of the pies.

Bake the pies in the preheated oven for 20 – 30 minutes or until golden brown. Brown sugar pastry colours quickly so you may need to cover the pies for the last 5 minutes of the cooking process to ensure the bottom crust cooks through. Cool the pies for 10 minutes before removing from the tray and placing on a wire cooling rack. When completely cool, store the pies in an airtight container. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

P.S The lovely star is from Kylie at Paperboat Press.

Before I take a 2 week break from blogging, I'd like to wish all my blog readers and their families, a safe and happy time over the festive season. Looking forward to sharing some more recipes and chatting with you all again in 2014.

Until then,

Jillian

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white chocolate and rosemary nougat - 5 days of candies - xmas 2013

white chocolate and rosemary nougat - 5 days of candies - xmas 2013

20 Dec 2013

So here it is, the final recipe in my 5 days of candies and it's a doozy. One of my all time favourite Sydney restaurants is Sean’s Panaroma down at Bondi and it's where I first tried this white chocolate and rosemary nougat about 10 years ago. It was absolutely delicious and I've been meaning to make it ever since.

I have Sean's recipe tucked away in one of my recipe boxes but the effort involved in locating it (we're talking a 6 foot ladder here) was way too much for me at this time of year, so I tracked down a version on the internet. I decided to change some of the proportions in the recipe, so I can’t promise this is exactly the same as Sean’s version.




You need a stand mixer to make nougat and as I didn't own one until recently, the recipe was put to one side until now. I've never made nougat before so I held my breath and crossed my fingers that it would turn out okay. I accidentally overcooked the syrup so the nougat is much firmer than I would have liked but it still tastes delicious. I still have most of the ingredients in my pantry, so once I'm back home from my Christmas break I'm going to make this again because this is one recipe I do want to master. 

Here's the recipe for you adapted from Sean Moran’s ‘Let It Simmer’.
Ingredients
100 g white chocolate, chopped

4 sheets confectioners’ rice paper
440g (2 cups) caster sugar
½ cup honey
1 cup liquid glucose
¼ cup water
2 egg whites
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 sprigs rosemary leaves picked and finely chopped
100 g dried strawberries, chopped
100 g candied orange rind, coarsely chopped
100 g toasted pistachio kernels
100 g white chocolate, chopped
100 g unsalted butter, chopped

Place the chocolate in the freezer to harden. Line a 7 x 11 inch cake tin with half the rice paper. Preheat the oven to 100°C. Place the dried fruit and nuts in the oven and keep warm. Divide the caster sugar, glucose, honey and water between two small saucepans. Place both on the stove and cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Beat egg whites and salt in an electric mixer until firm peaks form. Increase heat on the saucepans and bring to 125°C on the sugar thermometer. Remove both from the heat and pour the first saucepan into the egg white mix in a steady stream while the motor is running. 

Heat the second saucepan to 155°C and gradually add it to the egg white mix while beating. Add butter and beat until combined. Stir through the warmed fruit and nuts, the cold chocolate, the vanilla and rosemary and working quickly pour mixture into the prepared tin. Smooth surface and cover with the remaining paper. Refrigerate until cold and then cut into desired sized pieces. Store the nougat in an airtight container at room temperature.
I'll be back briefly on Monday but then I'll be taking a 2 week break from the blog until Monday January 6 2014. I'm a bit cooked out at the moment so I'm taking a break to recharge my cooking batteries and to spend Christmas with my family.

By the way, if you haven't had enough of my recipes already this week, my Delicious Bites recipe for Pavé aux Chocolate recipe is featured here on decor8. It's a very old recipe for an easy, tasty dessert. After I photographed it for the column, I took the cake into work and it disappeared in a flash, which is always a good sign.

Have a great weekend and see you soon,

Jillian

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