chocolate hazelnut ricotta cake

chocolate hazelnut ricotta cake

11 Mar 2022

 

I've had this Ottolenghi and Helen Goh recipe bookmarked ever since I purchased Sweet. This recipe is adapted from the Baked hazelnut ricotta cheesecake recipe in the book. 

 

They describe it as a cheesecake but really it's just a cake that's has ricotta as an ingredient, hence the name change. I decided to make a single cake rather than the small cakes in the book so changed the proportions a little and added a little bit of baking powder to ensure the cake rose. This is my second time making the water ganache. The first time I made it the mixture seized but this time it worked like a charm.

 

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17cm cake. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C.

 

Ottolenghi chocolate hazelnut ricotta cheesecake – makes one 17cm cake

Ingredients

150g toasted skinned hazelnuts

20g (1½ tbs) plain flour

80g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

50g almond meal

½ tsp baking powder

113g (4oz) room temperature unsalted butter, cubed

125g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs, separated

200g ricotta cheese 

pinch salt 

 

Water ganache  

50g 70% dark chocolate roughly chopped into 2 cm pieces

20g sugar

20g light corn syrup or glucose

35mls water

¼ tsp vanilla bean paste

20g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes. 

 

To serve 

Icing sugar 

 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, conventional. Grease and line the base and sides of a 17cm cake tin with baking paper, which should rise 2cm above the sides of the pan, then set aside. 

Roughly chop 25g of the cooled nuts and set aside—they will be used to garnish—and place the remainder in the bowl of a food processor, along with the flour. Process until finely ground, then tip into a medium bowl. Place the chocolate in the food processor, pulse to form large crumbs and add these to the hazelnuts and flour. Add the almond meal and the baking powder mix together and set aside; the texture is a bit rustic here, which is what you want.

Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Turn the speed to low, add the chocolate-nut-flour mixture and continue to mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the machine and stir in the ricotta and salt. Transfer the cake mixture to a separate large bowl and set aside. 

 

Wash and dry the bowl of the electric mixer very well before adding the egg whites to it. Beat the whites on medium-high speed until stiff and then use a large spatula to fold the egg whites, in two or three batches, into the cake mixture. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin, leveling the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out more or less clean; it might have a few crumbs attached but should not be wet. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Remove the cake from the pan, peel away the paper and set aside. If you are making one large cake and it is a bit cracked on top, don’t worry; just turn it upside down leveling the base of the cake if needed. 

To make the water ganache, place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Put the sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Stir to combine and, when the sugar has melted, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring gently from time to time. Continue to boil for about 5 minutes, until the color is a pale amber. Remove from the heat and carefully pour in the water; don’t worry if the mixture seizes. Return the pan to the heat, add the vanilla bean paste and stir gently and continuously until it returns to a boil.

Remove from the heat and wait for a minute before pouring the water-caramel over the chocolate. Allow to stand for 5 minutes and then whisk to combine. Add the butter, a couple of cubes at a time, whisking after each addition. Continue until all the butter has been added, whisking to combine until the mix is smooth and shiny. I needed to warm the mixture over a double boiler to ensure the butter melted. Set aside to cool and thicken before using. 

 

Just before serving sprinkle the top of the cake with icing sugar then spoon the ganache over half the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Sprinkle with the reserved hazelnuts and serve. 

 

The cake will keep for 3 days covered in the fridge. Bring back to room temperature just before serving. 

The cake was very well received at work with one colleague saying it tasted like a light and fluffy Ferrero Rocher.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian
 

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lemon yoghurt and olive oil cake

lemon yoghurt and olive oil cake

1 Mar 2022

Last weekend I had a date with my friend's 2 year old twins. The girls are both cake connoisseurs so I knew I needed to bring along something that was quick to make, not too sugary and would stand up to their scrutiny. 

 

 

Aran Goyoaga is the Queen of Gluten Free baking but I didn't want to make a gluten free cake. I find rice flour a bit chalky so I decided to adapt her glazed lemon yoghurt and olive oil pound cake recipe by putting the gluten back in. I changed the technique a little and also changed the proportions as I wanted to make a smaller cake. As expected the cake turned out perfectly and the girls loved the cake though I suspect it was the icing they were really keen on.

 

Here's the recipe for you which makes a small loaf cake. If you'd like to make a gluten free version please refer to Aran's original recipe or just swap the plain flour with a gluten free flour blend. For all my recipes I use a 250 ml cup, a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60 g eggs. My oven is a conventional oven so if you have a fan-forced oven you may need to reduce the temperature by 20°C.
 

Lemon yoghurt and olive oil cake – adapted from an Aran Goyaga recipe
Ingredients 

Cake
100g (⅔ cup) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch table salt
65g (⅔ cup) almond meal, any lumps broken up
135g (scant ⅔ cup) caster sugar
3 tsp finely grated lemon rind
2 eggs
80g extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp vanilla extract
75g whole-milk yoghurt

Icing 

10g melted butter
120g (⅔ cup) sifted icing sugar
2 to 3 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
20g finely chopped pistachios, for topping

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease and line the base and sides of a small loaf pan with baking paper.

Sift the flour, the baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Stir through the almond meal and set to one side. In a large bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon rind until fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl and stir to combine. Drizzle in the oil and the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Add the flour in batches alternating with the yoghurt and stir until a smooth batter has formed. 

 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then using the baking paper remove the cake from the tin and place onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely before icing. 

 

Icing
In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth and lump-free. The icing should be pourable but not runny. Pour the icing over the top of the cake, letting it run over the edges. Wait a few minutes for the icing to set before sprinkling with the pistachios. The cake will keep at room temperature for 3 days.

 

 

 

I've already made this cake twice now and I took the second loaf into work. It was moist and delicious with a perfect crumb and no-one knew just how little effort was involved in its making. 

 

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen. 

 

Bye for now,

 

Jillian

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sourdough cinnamon rolls

sourdough cinnamon rolls

21 Feb 2022

Now that I have an active starter I've been converting some of my favourite bread recipes into sourdough recipes. I thought I'd start with these cinnamon rolls adapted from a Sarah Keiffer recipe. I wasn't sure how much sourdough starter I'd need to use with a sweet enriched dough so I searched the internet and found a suggested figure of 30% starter to flour. I also tweaked the quantity of filling and icing a little bit because I figured you can't have too much of a good thing.

These cinnamon roll always rested overnight in the fridge so they take the same amount of time to prepare as the yeasted version. The only additional step is making sure your starter is bubbly and active and ready to use. I normally feed my starter the night before I prepare the dough so it's ready to go in the morning.

As this was my first time making a sweet roll leavened with sourdough I was a bit concerned the finished rolls might have tasted a bit too sour. I did bake an off cut and without any icing and scant filling, there was a discernable tang but once filled and topped with cream cheese icing, they tasted delicious.

Here's the recipe for you which makes 8 or 9 rolls. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Sourdough cinnamon rolls
Dough
2 large eggs, at room temperature
50 mls milk warmed to 29°C
30 mls honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
255g plain flour
90g sourdough starter, fed and active
½ tsp salt
75g room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling
50g unsalted butter at room temperature
100g brown sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs almond meal
Pinch salt

Icing
30g unsalted butter at room temperature
60g cream cheese at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
90g icing sugar, sifted
Pinch salt

Method
Place all the wet ingredients into a jug and stir to combine. Place the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer and using a wooden spoon or spatula mix in the wet ingredients. Cover the bowl and sit for 20 minutes.

Add the sourdough starter and salt to the bowl, then using the dough hook, mix for about 5-6 minutes until the dough starts to come together and all clumps have disappeared. The dough should start to pull from the sides of the bowl but it will not completely remove from the bottom. With the mixer on low, add the butter one piece at a time, waiting to add each until the previous is absorbed. When all the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough until all the little butter pieces are incorporated and the dough is very smooth and elastic - this could take around 8-10 minutes. The dough should feel tacky.

Scrape the dough into a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Turn the bowl and repeat this folding again. Continue 6 to 8 more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the bowl with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding 3 more times, for a rise time of 2 hours and a total of 4 foldings. Put the covered bowl into the fridge to thoroughly chill. I normally refrigerate the dough overnight and fill the rolls the following day.

The following day mix the filling ingredients in a small bowl to form a smooth paste then set aside. Roll the cold dough out onto a lightly floured work surface to about an 8 x 12 inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula or a butter knife spread the filling over the dough, leaving about a 1-inch (2.5-cm) border along one short side. Starting on the short side covered in filling, tightly roll the dough up into a log until you reach the end that doesn't have any butter or filling. Pinch the clean end of dough to the log to seal closed. Using a serrated knife trim the edges and then cut the dough into 8 or 9 roughly equal pieces.

Grease and line the base of a 9 by 13-inch (23 by 33-cm) pan or a 26cm round pan with baking paper. Place the rolls in the pan and cover with plastic wrap to prove somewhere warm (around 25°C) for 2 to 3 hours until increased in size by at least 50%. The dough will relax and puff up during this time. They're ready to bake when the dough feels very soft and light—give the dough additional time to prove if necessary.

While the rolls are proving, preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Bake the rolls on the centre rack for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned on top and cooked through in the centre.

While the rolls are baking, make the cream cheese icing. Cream the butter, cream cheese and vanilla together either with a wooden spoon or with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and a pinch of salt and mix until completely combined. 

When the rolls are golden, transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Using an offset spatula or table knife, apply a thin layer of the cream cheese icing, using about one-third of the mixture. Let the rolls cool for another 15 to 20 minutes then top with the rest of the icing and serve.

These rolls didn't last very long. Thankfully I still have one stashed away in the deep freeze for a rainy day. 

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen. 

Bye for now, 

Jillian

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marzipan plum cake

marzipan plum cake

As it's plum season here in Sydney I made my annual plum cake. You, dear readers, really seem to like plum cake and this recipe is one of my most visited. This year I thought I'd mix it up a bit and try out a new recipe.

 

I used a Mikkel Karstad recipe as my inspiration and topped the cake with plums instead of the apples used in the original recipe. Good quality marzipan is hard to find in Sydney so I decided to make some using this Trine Hahnemann recipe from her book, Scandinavian Baking. I wasn't sure whether to use raw almonds or blanched almonds to make the marzipan so I used half and half.

The cake is made entirely in a food processor so it's really easy to whip up. Here’s the recipe for you which makes a 17cm cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. If you'd like to make an 8 inch cake then refer to the linked recipe for quantities but extend the cooking time because plum cakes take a long time to bake.

Plum and marzipan cake - adapted from a Mikkel Karstad recipe from Copenhagen Cult Recipes by Christine Rudolph and Susie Theodorou.
Marzipan
100g almonds

20g icing sugar, plus more to dust

Method
Whizz the almonds in a food processor until they become a paste. Add the icing sugar, whizz again, then add 10ml of water and whizz for a final time. This makes about 130g marzipan.

Ingredients
6-8 plums, pitted then quartered
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs raw sugar
125g unsalted butter, softened
125g soft brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g marzipan, chopped
2 eggs

¼ cup plain flour
Pinch salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbs raw sugar, for topping the cake
Crème fraîche or double cream, to serve

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease and line the base of a 17cm tin with baking paper. In a bowl, toss the plum slices with the cinnamon and sugar, then leave for at least 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, add the butter, sugar and vanilla to the marzipan in the food processor and process until smooth. Gradually add the eggs, then the flour, salt and lemon rind. Spread the batter into the prepared tin and top with the plum slices then sprinkle over the extra tablespoon of raw sugar. Bake for 1 hour or until set and the fruit has caramelised. If the fruit is browning too much, cover with foil and cook the cake until set in the centre.

Cool for 1 hour then serve warm or at room temperature with crème fraîche or cream. 

There is no rising agent in the cake so it's quite dense. I took the leftovers into work and it was declared ' sensational'. Whilst still warm it's a bit more pudding than cake but as it's so delicious, I just know I'll be making this cake again. 

 

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen. 

 

Bye for now, 

 

Jillian

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olive sourdough loaf

olive sourdough loaf

12 Feb 2022

As you know, I fell down the sourdough rabbit hole at Christmas time. Once I managed to get a viable starter it seemed silly not to keep using it. However I really don't eat much bread so I only bake a loaf every week or two. I start the process Friday night when I feed my starter; I prepare the dough on Saturday then bake the loaf on Sunday. I slice the bread the day it's baked, freeze it and defrost the slices as needed.

Last year a workmate introduced me to the delights of sourdough olive bread. I've been using the Tivoli Road Baker recipe book as my sourdough resource and as soon as I spied the picture of their olive loaf I knew I had to make it. 

 
 

Every time I make sourdough bread I'm convinced it will be a disaster. As I'm still a novice, I find the sticky dough a bit hard to wrangle so I reduce the water quantity in the dough to a level I can just about manage. I downsized the recipe to make a smaller loaf and as I don't own a proving basket, I proved the bread in a loaf tin. The loaf tin was a bit too big for the amount of dough so when I turned out the loaf it looked a bit sad and flat. 

 

 

However once in the oven the magic happened and before too long I had an pretty nice looking loaf of olive bread. I managed to exert self control and waited for the bread to cool down before slicing into it and it was just perfect!

 

If you'd like to make your own sourdough olive bread, here’s the recipe for you which makes a medium size loaf. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

The marinated olive recipe makes more than you need. Just keep any leftovers in the fridge then bring them to room temperature before using.

Sourdough olive bread, adapted from the Tivoli Road Baker
Marinated Olives
125g green olives, pitted 
125g black olives, pitted
1 sprig rosemary leaves picked and coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 sprig oregano leaves picked and coarsely chopped
1/2 lemon, zested and quartered
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Method
The day before you mix the dough, drain the olives well and put them in a bowl with all the marinade ingredients. Mix to combine, cover and leave at room temperature to marinate overnight.

Tapenade
Before you mix the dough, place 75g of olives from the marinade in a blender and blitz until you have a coarse paste. The coarse chunks will add texture and give the bread an extra olive hit. Place in a fine sieve over the sink to drain any excess liquid and then mix to combine with 100g of marinated olives.

Starter Build
40g starter
20g baker’s flour
20g wholemeal flour
40g water

Method
Around 4–6 hours before you plan to mix your dough, combine the starter, flours and water for the starter build, mixing well to combine. You will use 70g of this for the dough; retain the rest for maintaining your starter.

Dough
70g starter
250g baker’s flour
70g wholemeal flour
200g water
6g salt
100g marinated olives
75g tapenade
15g baker’s flour
15g semolina

Method
At least 30 minutes before you plan to mix the dough, combine the flours and water in a large mixing bowl. Mix them with your hands until thoroughly combined, and then cover with a damp cloth and set aside for the autolyse.

When the starter is ripe and bubbly, mix it with the flour and water, sprinkle over the salt and finish mixing the dough. I normally use my stand mixer and mix for 5 minutes using the dough hook. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for at least 30 minutes, before your first set of folds

Dust the remaining olives with some of the flour and semolina to coat. This will make it easier to incorporate them into the dough and distribute them evenly. As you do the first turn and fold add the olives and the tapenade, ensuring they are evenly distributed. Complete three sets of folds, resting the dough in between each one for 30–45 minutes. After your last set of folds, cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave to prove at room temperature for 2–3 hours.

Scrape the dough onto the bench; pre-shape the dough, cover with a damp cloth and leave it to rest on the bench for 15–20 minutes. When the dough has relaxed, shape the dough as desired, then place it seam side up in a lightly floured proving basket. Cover with a damp cloth and place in the fridge overnight, until ready to bake.

An hour before you plan to bake the loaf, place a Dutch oven onto the centre rack of your oven then heat to it's maximum temperature. When it's time to bake, invert the loaf onto a piece of baking paper; lightly dust the top of the loaf with semolina then score a few times with a razor blade or a sharp knife. 

 

Carefully place the loaf into the Dutch oven using the baking paper as a handle and place the lid on top. Bake the loaf for half an hour with the lid on, and then remove the lid and bake for a further 20-30 minutes or until you have a nice golden crust. Once baked, tip the bread out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

 

 

It's delicious as is or served topped with cream cheese and smoked trout and it also made a killer toasted cheese and tomato sandwich!

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen. 

Bye for now, 

Jillian

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apricot and cream cheese yeasted cake

apricot and cream cheese yeasted cake

7 Feb 2022

 

You know the old saying that a camel is a horse designed by a committee? The same might hold true for this cake. I had a batch of Sarah Keiffer's gooey cinnamon roll dough in my freezer. I had apricots in the fridge which I'd planned on freezing but then wondered if I could combine the 2 things into a single item. 

 

I checked through my cookbooks and found 2 yeasted apricot recipes that appealled.The first was Julia Busuttil Nishimura's apricot yeasted cake whilst the second was Claire Saffitz's recipe for apricot and cream brioche.

 

I didn't have any creme fraiche but I had cream cheese in my fridge so I decided to go down the Claire Saffitz route. I used the cream cheese filling from an apple galette recipe I made a few years ago and rather than honey syrup, I made a batch of vanilla syrup. 

Would all the disparate elements fall in line to make a delicious dish I asked myself? There was only one way to find out. I defrosted the dough, mixed the filling, sliced the apricots and gave it a whirl.

 

Ideally you'll need to start the recipe the day before serving and the cake is best served the day its made. Here’s the recipe for you which makes a 23cm cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Apricot Cream Cheese Yeasted Cake

Dough

2 large eggs at room temperature

90 mls milk, lukewarm

30 mls honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups (300g) plain flour 

1 tsp yeast

½ tsp salt

75g room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 

Vanilla Syrup

40g sugar

40mls water

½ tsp vanilla bean paste or ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Cream Cheese Filling

125g cream cheese, at room temperature

1½ tbs caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1 egg, lightly beaten

Topping

12 apricots, halved pitted then quartered

¼ cup caster sugar

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

Dough

Grease a large bowl. Combine the eggs, milk, honey and vanilla in a large liquid measuring cup.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour, yeast, and salt and stir on low to combine. Add the egg mixture and mix on low to combine. With the mixer on low, add the butter, one piece at a time. When all the butter has been added, increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough, until all the little butter pieces are incorporated, 1 minute. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl. The dough will be very sticky and you will need a spatula to scrape the dough into the bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Turn the bowl and repeat this folding again. Continue 6 to 8 more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the bowl with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat this series of folding 3 more times, for a rise time of 2 hours and a total of 4 foldings. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Vanilla Syrup

Place the sugar and water into a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower to a simmer and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture has slightly thickened. Take off the heat and stir through the vanilla bean paste or vanilla pod and seeds. Allow to cool completely before using.

Assembly

Flour a work surface and knead the dough 10 to 12 times to activate the gluten. Shape the dough into a ball, cover the top lightly with flour, and cover with a tea towel and let come to room temperature.

Grease a 23cm springform tin and line the base with baking paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 26cm circle. (Do not flour top of dough.) Lift the dough and place it over the base of the springform tin, making sure the dough is even and completely covers bottom of the tin. Fold and press the outside edges in a diagonal pattern to create a crimped edge then clip the sides to the base of the tin. Cover and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes or until puffy.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. In a small bowl mix the cream cheese with the sugar, the vanilla and a tablespoon or two of the beaten egg to form a smooth paste, then spread in a thin layer over the dough. Arrange the apricot slices decoratively over the cream cheese.

 

In a small bowl combine the sugar with the lemon rind. Sprinkle most of the sugar mix over the apricots, leaving a little to sprinkle over the edge of the pastry. Brush the edges of folded over dough with the remaining beaten egg before sprinkling with the sugar mix. 

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the apricots are soft and the dough is risen and golden. Once the tart comes out of the oven, gently brush the vanilla syrup over the whole tart, repeating every 10 minutes until all the syrup has been absorbed. 

 

 

The tart is best served on the day it’s made but can be refreshed in the microwave for 10 seconds the next day.

 

My neighbour really enjoyed my 'experiment' and thought the cake was a bit panettone like.

 

 

The topping for the cake is really delicious but I thought there was a bit too much dough for the filling. Next time I'd make it using a pizza tray adding perhaps 50% more filling for a better balance. Otherwise the cream cheese and apricot combination would make a killer gallete filling and I'm hoping I get the chance to make one before the apricot season has ended.

 

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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