xmas week 2024 - chocolate caramel tart with a peanut crust

xmas week 2024 - chocolate caramel tart with a peanut crust

5 Dec 2024

Welcome to Xmas Week 2024. This year I have a mix of goodies to share with you - cake, cookies, tarts and a showstopper or two. Today we're starting with this chocolate caramel tart with a peanut crust, topped with peanut brittle that was inspired by this recipe I found in a copy of Delicious magazine. There are a few steps involved but the dulce de leche, the pastry and the peanut brittle can all be made ahead of time.

I've made 2 versions of this tart. For the first version I used the peanut crust recipe from the magazine and homemade dulce de leche using this David Lebovitz recipe. The filling is an oldie and a goodie from the late Valli Little. I found the peanut crust very crumbly and hard to work with but the end result was delicious. I returned to the kitchen to rework the recipe and for tart number 2, I adapted my regular shortcrust pastry recipe using salted peanuts instead of almond meal. It was a dream to work with but the peanut flavour was very subtle. In the future, I'll just use my regular almond shortcrust pastry recipe. 

I was time poor when I made the second tart, so instead of making my own dulce de leche I used shop bought. It didn't really set so there is ever a tart number 3, I will definitely find time to make my own dulce de leche.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17cm tart. Note you will only use half the pastry but it freezes well. 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.

Chocolate caramel tart with a peanut crust - makes a 17cm tart. 
Peanut butter shortcrust pastry

¼ cup icing sugar
25g salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped or almond meal
200g plain flour
pinch of sea salt flakes
110 g cold unsalted butter, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cold water

Filling
250g dulce de leche, homemade or shop bought
150g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1 egg and 1 yolk (reserve the white)
120ml thickened cream
75ml milk

optional - 50g salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped 

Peanut praline
1/3 cup (50g) salted peanuts, roughly chopped
2 tbs caster sugar

To serve
200ml thickened cream, whipped
Sea salt flakes

Pastry
Combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, and whiz for a few seconds until well combined and the peanuts have broken down. Add the cold butter and whiz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and sufficient cold water and whiz until a soft dough just starts to form around the blade. Remove the dough from the food processor and gather the pastry into a ball; flatten slightly before wrapping in plastic and placing in the fridge. Refrigerate the pastry for 30 minutes. 

Roll out the pastry to a 5mm thickness on a lightly floured bench top or a silicon sheet. Lightly grease a 17 cm tart ring and place on a baking sheet. Line the tin with the pastry and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Remove the tart from the fridge and trim the edges then line the pastry shell with baking paper and pastry weights or uncooked rice. Blind-bake for 40 minutes, then carefully remove paper and weights and bake for 5 minutes or until pastry is dry. Transfer pan to a wire rack, let the crust cool while making the filling.

Reduce oven to 160°C, conventional. Lightly brush the cooked tart shell with egg white and place in the oven for 5 minutes or until the egg white has dried out then place on a wire rack to cool. 

Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, not letting the bowl touch water. Allow to melt and then stir until smooth. Remove from heat and cool. In a separate bowl, gently whisk the eggs to just combine (don't allow to froth).

Heat cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat until just below boiling point and then pour over eggs, stirring. Return to pan over low heat and stir for about 5 minutes until thick. Pour through a sieve over the bowl of chocolate, stirring gently until smooth.

Spread the 250g of dulce de leche over the pastry and top with a few sea salt flakes. If you like, you could top the caramel with some extra salted peanuts. Place the tart shell on a baking tray and pour about 2/3 of the mixture into the tart shell. Carefully place the tray onto the centre rack of the oven then pour the rest of the chocolate mixture into the tart until it just reaches the edge of the pastry. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until just set. Leave the tart in the switched-off oven for 1 hour with the door closed. Remove and cool completely before serving. I like to refrigerate the tart until serving time as it makes it a bit easier to slice.

Peanut brittle
Line a small baking tray with baking paper. Arrange salted peanuts in the centre in a single layer. Place the 2 tbs caster sugar and 1 tbs water in a medium fry pan over medium-low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and cook, without stirring, for 4-5 minutes until a caramel colour. Pour over peanuts and set aside to cool and set. Roughly chop.

You can bake the tart the day before serving, stored in an airtight container. When ready to serve, dollop the whipped cream over the tart. Serve sprinkled with praline and a few sea salt flakes. 

The tart was a definite crowd pleaser and there were complaints from my workmates that the tart wasn't big enough. Don't worry, I shared the second tart with them as well.

See you all again tomorrow with another bake for Xmas Week 2024.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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lemon raspberry and almond ricotta cake

lemon raspberry and almond ricotta cake

1 Dec 2024

I wasn't plannning to make this  lemon, raspberry and almond ricotta cake but with 250g ricotta cheese in the fridge about to reach it's due by date I needed to use it up and quickly. I looked online for inspiration and came up with this Donna Hay recipe and thankfully I had all the ingredients at hand to make this elegant little cake.

I made pastry on Saturday and as I already had the food processor out, I made the bulk of the cake in the food processor, making the cake even easier to put together. I just whipped the egg whites in my stand mixer before folding them through the batter. I also decided to up the raspberry quotient a little because I don't think you can ever have too many raspberries. 

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17cm cake. If you'd like to make a larger cake refer to the original recipe. 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.

Lemon, Raspberry and Almond Ricotta Cake

Ingredients
60g unsalted butter, softened
110g caster sugar
1 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
120g almond meal 
120g fresh ricotta
75g frozen raspberries
¼ cup (25g) flaked almonds
Thick or double (thick) cream (optional), to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 170°C, conventional. Line a 17cm round cake tin with non-stick baking paper.

Place the butter and 1/3 cup (75g) of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 4 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the lemon rind and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Fold through the almond meal and ricotta.

In a clean bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold a spoonful of whipped egg white into the almond mixture, then gently fold in the remaining egg white until combined. 

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle with raspberries and almonds. Bake for 1 hour or until firm and golden around the edges but with a slight jiggle in the middle. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin. Don’t be scared by the uncooked appearance of the centre of this cake when it’s just out of the oven. As the cake cools, it will set to the most deliciously moist texture.

To serve, place on a cake stand or serving plate. Serve with cream, if desired. 

So easy to put together yet so delicious and naturally gluten-free. 

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

Bye for now, 

 Jillian

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rhubarb streusal cake

rhubarb streusal cake

23 Nov 2024

Do you remember a while back I mentioned it was time to revisit some of my old favourite recipes? Well this rhubarb streusal cake is one of those recipes. I first made a version of this cake back in 1983 or thereabouts. In 2009 I shared photos of the cake but back then I didn't include the recipes on the blog as my typing skills were non existent.

My very kind next door neighbour gifted me a beautiful bunch of rhubarb a few months back which inspired me to revisit the recipe. I was a bit swamped at the time so I froze some of the rhubarb waiting for the right time came. I put the cake together last Saturday and before too long the kitchen was filled with the comforting smells of brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon.

Here’s the recipe for you adapted from this Canadian Living recipe which makes a small loaf cake or 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 a larger cake please refer to the original recipe.

Rhubarb Streusal Cake
Topping
150g brown sugar
15g chopped pecans
2 tsp plain flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
15g unsalted butter melted 

Cake
60g room temperature unsalted butter 
100g brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
150g plain flour
½ tsp bicarb soda
½ tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
90 ml buttermilk
125g chopped rhubarb

Topping
In bowl, combine brown sugar, chopped nuts, flour and cinnamon. Using a fork, stir in the butter until crumbly; set aside.

Cake
Grease and line the base of a small loaf tin or 17cm round tin with baking paper; set aside. Preheat oven to 180°C, conventional. In large bowl, beat the butter with the brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy; beat in the egg.

In separate bowl, sift together flour, bicarb soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, making 3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of buttermilk. Fold in the chopped rhubarb then scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the batter with the reserved topping.

Bake the cake in the centre of the preheated 180°C conventional oven for 1 to 1 and 1/4 hours or until well risen and golden or when cake tester inserted in the centre of cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the tin on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before turning out. Serve warm or cool. 

I shared the cake with the neighbours who'd gifted me the rhubarb but not before I tucked away a few pieces for the cook. I haven't made this cake for a long time but it was so tasty that it won't be too long before I make it again. I think it would be just as delicious made with plums, apples or even pears.

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

Bye for now,

Jillian

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chocolate rum maple pecan pie

chocolate rum maple pecan pie

18 Nov 2024

When I bought Beatrix Bakes : Another Slice by Natalie Paull, this chocolate rum maple pecan pie was the first recipe I bookmarked. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it was the perfect time to make the pie. 

I've made this pie twice now, once with buckwheat pastry (not a fan) and the second time with a simple shortcrust pastry. I made a smaller pie the second time round, so the quantities have been adjusted (just click on the link above for the original quantities) and I also needed to adjust most of the baking temperatures to suit my gas oven. Natalie recommends baking the pie at 130°C but as my oven only has 'low' followed by 160°C, I baked my pie for 40 minutes at 160°C then 20 minutes at 170°C. 

Here’s the recipe for you which makes a 11 x 33 cm rectangular pie. 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.

Chocolate Rum Maple Pecan Pie - filling adapted from a Natalie Paull recipe
Pastry
60 grams cold unsalted butter
150g plain flour
Pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons iced water

Filling
125g whole pecans
185ml pure maple syrup
110g demarara sugar (I used a mix of caster sugar and light brown sugar)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk (reserving the egg white to seal the tart shell)
65g unsalted butter, super soft
40ml cream (35% milkfat)
15ml dark rum (or extra maple syrup for booze-free)
10g Dutch cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla paste
pinch sea salt flakes

To finish
200ml thick cream (45% milkfat)
10ml dark rum (optional)
3g vanilla paste
Pinch of sea salt flakes

Method
Combine the butter, flour and salt in a food processor. Gradually add sufficient water until a dough form around the blade. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Roll out to fit a 11 x 33 cm rectangular tin then refrigerate the shell for at least 1 hour before blind baking. Hold a little of the excess dough to patch any cracks after blind baking. 

To blind bake, preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional. Trim the edges of the pastry with a sharp knife then cover the dough with a piece of aluminium foil (dull side down), tucking it snugly into the corner of the tin. Fill the lined tin with caster sugar, rice or baking beans. Place in the oven on a baking tray, then reduce the heat to 165°C and bake for 50–60 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5–10 minutes so the base crust is a biscuity brown colour.

For the filling, heat the oven to 130°C/160°C, conventional and scatter the pecans onto a shallow baking tray. Bake for 25–30 minutes until they’re just starting to darken on the outside and are the palest brown inside – cut or snap one open to assess. Set 15 g aside for the end decoration and use the rest for the filling. Keep the oven on 130°C/160°C and set a rack on a low shelf and remove the upper racks.

Set up a double boiler: heat 5 cm deep water in a 20 cm saucepan to a low simmer and choose a heatproof bowl large enough that the base won’t touch the water when resting on top of the saucepan. Weigh all the remaining ingredients, except the pecans, into the bowl and whisk together thoroughly. The butter and cocoa will be lumpy, but all will melt and combine together as it heats.

Set the bowl over the double boiler and whisk occasionally until the mix thickens and the chocolate and butter melt. This should take around 10 minutes. The mix will read 55–60°C on a digital thermometer and will look like a lustrous brown milkshake. Take care it doesn’t overcook and get chunky/curdled at any stage. Scrape the filling into a jug.

If the mix does start cooking firm at the edge, act fast. Take the bowl off the double boiler and whisk vigorously to release the steam and regulate the temperature. If the mix gets very overcooked, strain out the cooked egg chunks and whisk the drained filling into a fresh whole egg.

Place the blind-baked crust, still in the tin, on a shallow baking tray. If there are any large cracks or dipped sides, soften some leftover dough and gently patch any large fissures – taking care not to press hard and break the crust. Meticulously brush a light layer of the egg white on the inside of the tart to seal any fine cracks, then bake for 3 minutes to seal the egg white.

Bring the tart crust back out and crush the toasted pecans with force in your hands while letting them fall onto the base of the crust. Par-crushed pecans give the top a nougaty texture and make cutting the tart easier than whole pecans. Return the crust to the oven. Carefully pour the filling into the crust, being careful not to overfill. Tease the pecans back up to float on the surface with your finger or a spoon, ensuring there are no pecan-less gaps on the top.

Bake for 50–60 minutes at 130°C/160°C. The wobble check is different for this pie because of the crusty nut raft: touch the top of the pie to feel how cooked it is below. If liquid and jiggly, bake longer. Gently peel off a pecan from the centre to check underneath – it will look like a stable yet soft cream. There should be gooey residue on an inserted skewer (85°C internal).

Cool at room temperature for a least an hour (2 is good) or chill for a chewier bite. To finish, whip the cream with the rum, vanilla and salt and pile onto the centre of the cooled pie. With an offset spatula, gently spread the cream over the pie, leaving a 6 cm border all around so you can see the pie goodness underneath. Hold a handful of the reserved toasted pecans in your fist and crush them as you let them fall onto the cream.

To serve, cut gently through the cream, pecan top and side crust with a fine serrated knife, clean the knife, then cut through fully along the slice line to chomp through to the base.

This went down a treat both at work and at home and just fyi, the whipped cream topping is not an optional extra.

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

Bye for now,

Jillian

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a cake for midsummer

a cake for midsummer

10 Nov 2024

It might not quite be mid summer here in Sydney but apricots have appeared in the fruit shop and raspberries are plentiful. I've had this Nigel Slater recipe for a Cake for Midsummer bookmarked for quite some time. This recipe uses peaches and blueberries but other versions I found online have used apricots and raspberries.

I topped the cake with fresh apricots and some frozen raspberries whilst for the batter I used some frozen apricots I found buried in the freezer. Using frozen fruit rather than fresh meant I had to add an extra 10 minutes to the bake time but the cake still came out nice and moist.

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 a larger version, please click the link above to the original recipe. 

A Cake for Midsummer adapted from a recipe by Nigel Slater 
Ingredients
4 apricots

1 tbs caster sugar
115g unsalted room temperature butter
125g caster sugar
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
115g self-raising flour
Pinch salt
65g almond meal
40mls milk 
125g fresh or frozen raspberries
2 tbs flaked almonds

To serve

Icing sugar

Method
Grease, flour and line the base of a 17cm springform cake pan with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 175°C, conventional.

Halve and pit the apricots. Thinly slice 2 of the apricots and sprinkle with 1 tbs of caster sugar. You'll use these apricots to decorate the cake. Coarsely chop the remaining apricots and set to one side. 

Cream the butter, sugar, lemon rind and vanilla together in a stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs lightly, then add to the creamed butter and sugar a little at a time, pushing the mixture down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. If there is any sign of curdling, stir in a tablespoon of the flour.

Sift the flour and salt together into a small bowl, then stir through the almond meal. With the mixer on a low speed, add the flour mixture in two or three separate batches. Add the milk (if needed) and once it is incorporated stop the mixer and gently fold  the chopped apricots and 1/3 of the raspberries through with a spatula or a wooden spoon.

Scrape the mixture into the cake pan, levelling the top, and then decoratively arrange the sliced apricots and the remaining raspberries over the batter, then sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Place the cake on the centre rack of the preheated 180°C conventional oven and bake for an hour and 10-20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Test with a skewer and if it comes out relatively clean, then the cake is done. 

Leave the cake to cool for ten minutes or so in the tin, then run a thin spatula around the edge and slide it out onto a plate. Just before serving, dust with icing sugar.

I love Nigel's simple but delicious cake recipes and this one was a beauty.

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

Bye for now,

Jillian

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pineapple and coconut cake with fluffy cream cheese icing

pineapple and coconut cake with fluffy cream cheese icing

4 Nov 2024

I'm constantly time poor these days, so my bakes of late have been simple affairs. This is what drew me to this recipe for a pineapple and coconut cake with fluffy cream cheese icing from 'Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking' by Danielle Alvarez with Libby Travers. 

Danielle's recipes are always jam packed with flavour and to make this pineapple and coconut cake, I needed nothing more than a bowl, a can opener and a wooden spoon. It was supposed to be a 2 layer cake filled with cream cheese icing and bedecked with dried pineapple flowers but life got in the way and it morphed into a slab cake. I ramped up the coconut flavour by using dried coconut milk powder in the cream cheese icing and the end result was nothing short of lush. 

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17cm square 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 a larger version, please click the link above to the original recipe. 

Pineapple & Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese Icing 

Ingredients

220g crushed pineapple in juice (1/2 tin)
1 egg
165g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
75 ml neutral oil
45g desiccated coconut
125g plain flour
35g wholemeal flour
 ¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb of soda 
 ¼ tsp fine sea salt

Fluffy cream cheese icing
125g full fat softened cream cheese
125g unsalted butter, squidgy soft 
pinch salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
40g dried milk powder/dried coconut milk powder
125g icing sugar

To decorate
30g toasted coconut flakes
15g dried pineapple pieces (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C conventional. Grease and line the base of a 17cm square cake tin with baking paper. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pineapple (including the juice), eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. In another mixing bowl, combine the desiccated coconut, flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Tip the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk to combine. 

Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin.

Icing
Place the cream cheese, butter, milk powder, salt and vanilla extract in the bowl of electric stand mixer. Sift the icing sugar over the top. Beat with the paddle attachment for 6-8 minutes on speed 4 (below low) until pale, and fluffy. Store covered in the fridge until needed. If refrigerated, rewarm in the microwave in 20-second bursts until softened.

Lift the cake onto a platter or board, removing the baking paper from underneath. Spread the icing over the cake and finish with the coconut flakes and pineapple pieces, if using. 

It might have been a bit less glamorous than initially planned, but as expected this cake was delicious.

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

Bye for now,

Jillian 

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