I’m sure anyone who’s a bit of a cake-baker knows this story - you’ve made a lovely little teacake or sponge to be enjoyed…and while it tastes marvelous, for some reason or another (perhaps, you’ve baked a sticky date cake which the family have been much more drawn too *cough cough*) there’s a few pieces that have lasted longer than they should have, and rather unfortunately they’ve begun to get a bit dry and a bit stale.
Well, when it happens to bread, the solution is easy - turn the bread into breadcrumbs! But what to do when the leftovers aren’t exactly going to work with making some sort of fried fritter thing, hmm?
This was the dilemma that I was faced with a few weeks ago. After making my own birthday cake - a magnificent genoise sponge filled with fresh fruit and cream (which I couldn’t photograph as I finished it an hour before the frantically last-minute birthday dinner), I was left with 2 layers of sponge that had to be left out of the cake due to their already being too much. I carefully stored them in an airtight container in the fridge with a notion that I’d use them to make some sort of trifle-y thing later on.
If it hasn’t been made obvious by now, my memory is absolutely SHOCKING, so guess what? I forgot about the leftover sponge pieces! Honestly, it truly is a wonder that my head remains attached to my neck, even though they’re physically bonded I swear I would’ve forgotten one or the other on a bus by now…
Anyway, back to the story. A week later when I was doing my fortnightly cleaning of the fridge, I stumbled across the container of cake and immediately felt the colour rise in my cheeks (well, I felt the blush, thanks to my olive complexion it probably couldn’t be seen!) - whoops! I had actually planned on making muffins that day, but I figured that I should probably do something with the rather dry pieces of sponge before they went bad…after all, I am my mother’s daughter, and if there’s one thing she’s taught me, its waste not, want not!
Though the original plan had been to make some sort of trifle, I had no cherries of the canned or fresh variety at home and really didn’t feel like making the trip out to the store just to get some…and to be completely honest, I had really had my heart set on muffiny goodness, so I sat and stared at the cake as I pondered on my current dilemma. What on earth could I do in order to use these cake bits to make some delectable thing that could fulfill my muffin cravings?
Well, since a trifle was no longer on the menu, I decided that my creation would most likely be baked, and so I began to crumble the dry cake till I had a bowl of fine cake crumbs that I was left staring at.
Ok, so I admit it - I actually didn’t know what the heck I was doing, and crumbling the cake just seemed like a good idea at the time! However, once I had crumbled the cake, things sort of fell into place…looking at the bowl, it was obvious that some wet ingredients would need to be added in order to bring it together into some sort of mixture, so an egg was added. Hmm, too dry, perhaps another egg? After which I was concerned about it turning into some sort of cake-crumb omlette, so I got out the milk and cream and debated with myself before throwing caution (and calorie counting!) to the wind and added a good dollop of cream.
At this stage, I was pretty pleased with how things were looking, but it needed more. A finger dipped into the forming batter confirmed that, yes, a little added sugar would probably be a good thing, so I added one and two spoons, stirred them in and tasted again. Yup, definitely coming along alright, but how about texture? After all, while the batter tasted great, it was just a smidge on the boring side!
As walnuts are a constant in my pantry, I grabbed a small handful of those, gave ‘em what for and tossed them in as well, then decided to add some vanilla and sultanas just for the sake of it.
I have to admit that when it finally came time to put these in the oven, I was as nervous as all heck…I’d never actually done any haphazard baking like this before and since I wasn’t doing any sort of adapting or research, I didnt even know what temperature or for how long they should be baked.
In short - what the HECK was I doing?!
Nonetheless, it was far too late to back out now, so into the waiting oven the ramekins went, as I plonked myself down in front of the glass door to anxiously watch and wait. And wait. And wait.
Amazingly, the little beauties did me proud as the puffed and browned, and when a skewer stuck in the middle confirmed the lack of egginess, I pulled them out to take a bite - and proceeded to burn my tongue. After a few expletives and an ice cube had worked some magic on the burn, I decided to try again, being cautious enough to blow on the spooned bit before taking it into my mouth.
And I have to admit here that it was too dry. Tasted great, but I wanted something a bit spongier and moister. Whilst I thought custard would’ve been great, I couldn’t be arsed making any now, so I grabbed some cream from the fridge and poured it over the waiting ramekins. Seeing the little puds drink up the cream like a man out of the desert, I giggled as I poured some more, only stopping once the cream started to pool on top, the cake no longer able to absorb anymore. As it turned out, this final step gave me these wonderful little cakes which fulfilled my muffin cravings and my calorie intake for the day!
So, if you’ve got some plain cake lying about the house and want to use it up rather than tossing it out, may I suggest this recipe? Its not gourmet and its certainly not fancy, but its just right for fulfilling the needs of a sweet tooth and saving those last few scraps of cake!
Cake Crumb Pudding with Walnuts and Sultanas
Ingredients
2 cups finely crumbled cake crumbs
2 medium sized eggs
1/2 cup cream
2-3 tbsp caster sugar (depending on how sweet the cake crumbs are)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sultanas (golden raisins)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Flaked almonds and more caster sugar for the top
Cream or ice cream, to serve
1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
2. Mix together the cake crumbs and the eggs, then stir in the cream till well combined. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix again.
3. Add the walnuts and sultanas and mix till well combined, then spoon into ramekins till 2/3 full and sprinkle flaked almonds and caster sugar on top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before pouring over some cream to be absorbed by the still-warm cakes. Enjoy with a pot of herbal tea to make up for the giant calorie injection you’re about to have 
Technorati Tags: muffins, puddings, cakes, recipes, baking, sweets, desserts
About to leave for Info Society exam.
Am feeling as neurotic as a squirrel which has lost all its acorns the day before winter.
*insert random, endless stream of expletives here*
If I survive, when I get back, there’s a recipe in it for you lot! So think of me as I try to breathe…
Being a nut myself, I’ve always had a fondness for nuts - of the edible and non-edible (i.e. human) variety, so whenever I see a recipe that celebrates the rich, meaty goodness that nuts are all about, I have a tendency to go weak at the knees.
When I saw these on Helen’s blog, that was my immediate reaction, and since walnuts and pecans are always about in my home, I immediately raced off to make them, much to the dismay of my mother. You see, she is also a nut-fan, and though there are many health benefits that come from them, they are kinda offset by the sheer calorie count of desserts such as this. Nonetheless, she put in a stellar effort and polished off half the batch that night, saving the rest to share with her golf buddies the next day.
Seeing this as an outright success, I proceeded to make them again and again…actually, it was probably the fourth time I made these that I was actually issued with an official ban - that’s how irresistable my family found them! So, though I can no longer make them myself, hopefully I can pass the buck and share the delightfulness that is these nutty little tartlets!
(Sorry for the short post, but I have an exam on Wednesday that I am madly studying for…expect the next post after then!)
Pecan, Walnut & Golden Syrup Tartlettes
(Adapted from Helen)
Sweet Short Crust (from Alice Medrich)
Ingredients
120g unsalted butter
1/4 cup caster sugar
Pinch of salt
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose/plain flour
To make the crust - preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, then mix together the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla, then add the flour and mix till well combined - this is a very crumbly dough so don’t expect to be able to knead it or roll it out. Press it into your tart tins thinly and evenly, prick all over with a fork, then bake for about 20 mins, or till they begin to go lightly golden in colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, and lower oven temperature to 160 degrees C.
Pecan, Walnut & Golden Syrup filling
Ingredients
125g chopped walnuts
125g chopped pecans
2 large eggs
75g butter, melted
100g light brown sugar
100g golden syrup **
In large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and golden syrup. Add the melted butter and mix to combine.
In a seperate bowl, mix together the chopped nuts, then divide them evenly between the tart shells and then place them on a baking tray. Carefully spoon the egg mixture over the top, being careful not to overfill them, then carefully transfer the baking tray with filled tarts into the middle tray of the oven and bake for 20-25 mins, or till the tart shells are a deep gold colour and the filling has set.
Remove from the oven, place the tarts onto a cooling rack and allow to completely cool before enjoying with a ridiculously decadent scoop of whipped cream or (my favourite) pecan ice cream on top!
** Golden syrup is a liquid sweetener along the lines of maple syrup and honey - it is thick, sweet and very viscous. However, its flavour is quite deep and intense, with a hint of spiciness which makes it quite difficult to substitute. If you cannot get any in your area, I’d suggest replacing it with a combination of honey + molasses/treacle, or maple syrup + molasses/treacle! You’ll have to play with the quantities to find a balance that you like 
Technorati Tags: tarts, desserts, sweets, pastry, nuts, recipes
In case you hadn’t guessed by now, I am without a doubt the birthday cake baker in my household (and yes, this includes my own). Most of the time, it’s a position that I relish, getting to ask family members and the occasional friend what kind of birthday cake they would like, then doing my darndest to create a delicious cake for them.
However, other times…
Ugh.
I probably need to provide a little background here to explain just why (usually my and my brother’s) birthday cakes so often cause me dismay.
Despite my increasing level of skill in the kitchen (practice, she is the key!), there is one mistake that I have been extremely prone to since my early days of baking. That is, for some reason, I completely forget to add the flour to my cakes. Yes, this has happened far more than once, and no, it appears that I don’t always learn from my mistakes.
Sometimes I catch the cakes in time - I’ll be halfway between the bench and the oven when realizing that the measured and sifted flour is still sitting back where I left it, and I’ll scurry back quickly and stir it into the the rest of the cake batter already sitting in its lined tin, hoping to god that I don’t completely mix out all the air whilst doing so. Other times, well…did I ever tell you about the unintentional batch of brownies?
Yeah, didn’t think so. It was about 4 years ago, and I’m still too traumatized to share that particular tale.
Anyway, as my brother’s birthday started to creep up, I began my pestering to find out what I should make for his birthday cake:
Me: “So, Morticia (my affectionate name for the bastard), have you thought about what cake you want for your birthday yet?”
Martin: “Errr…not really…”
Me: *irritated sigh* “Well, could you have a think about it and let me know so I have enough time to make it?”
Martin: “Yeah yeah yeah…”
He sounded just a touch irritated at this point, so I decided to let it go for now, then promptly forgot about it till the day before! In a panicked flurry, I started madly going through cookbooks and trying to pick a cake at about 6pm at night, and finally coming across an idea that I thought might please, I bolted out to propose it to the almost-birthday boy.
Me: “Morty, Morty! I think I got it!”
Martin: “What?”
Me: “The cake! So, I was thinking, a coffee-flavoured genoise with mocha hazelnut cream - ”
Martin: “Too rich! I already said I just want a banana cake!”
- cue surprised eye boggling -
Me: “Since when??”
Martin: “The other day! I told you its my favourite cake, and I don’t want anything fancy or rich…”
Riiiight…so a banana cake that wasn’t fancy or rich. The problem wasn’t the banana cake, so much as it was trying to find something a bit more special than the heavy, stodgy cake that served as my usual love-child of a banana loaf and cake, that couldn’t be overly heavy or rich for the sensitive palate of my calorie-counting brother.
After doing a bit of searchig on the internet, I came across a recipe that sounded pretty promising - with over 87 positive reader reviews, that’s saying something, right? So I made it as per the instructions, then dipped a finger into the batter to test for sweetness. YEARGH. My tastebuds felt overwhelmed by the sugar assault, and I felt a wave of depression wash over me - if the batter tasted sweet to me, who is undoubtedly the sugar fanatic of the family, then it would be FAR too much for my brother who rarely indulged in anything sweeter than a piece of fruit (with his weakness being the occasional single piece of chocolate!)
So what on earth is an older sister to do?
I decided to bake the cake anyway, and so stuck it in the oven and proceeded with the rest of the birthday meal celebrations. It was only once the cake had left the oven, been iced and coated in coconut that I then started to eyeball it and feel that lead weight in my stomach really pull downwards. After all, I only have one younger brother, did I really want to serve him with a birthday cake that would be far too sweet for him to be able to enjoy and indulge in?
Half an hour later, I decided that the answer was no, and so I urged my weary bones to get up and try making another one. I sifted, stirred, mixed and poured the batter into the lined cake tin, and whilst my tired self vaguely noticed that the batter seemed a bit…well, thin…I didn’t give it another thought as I popped it into the oven.
In all honesty, it wasn’t till 10 minutes later, as I was enjoying a well-earned cigarette outside on the patio that an image of the sifted flour suddenly flashed through my mind and had me screeching back into the kitchen like a bat out of hell. I dashed over to the oven, pulled down the door then hastily pulled back as I fought the instinctive urge to grab the hot pan with bare hands (hey look - I *did* learn something from burning my hand after all!), grabbed the tea towel and carefully pulled the cake tin onto the oven top. I looked warily at the bubbling mixture and wondered whether it would still work, but at this stage was so beyond caring that I rather unceremoniously dumped in the flour, gave it a hearty stirring with a spatula then slapped it back in the oven to bake for another 30 minutes.
And believe it or not, it actually worked! Now there’s a sturdy cake recipe for ya!
As much as I love baking birthday cakes, I’m really quite glad that there are no more to worry about for the rest of the year. After all, with the upcoming stress of the holiday cookie baskets, another birthday cake and I might start going prematurely grey!
Banana & Walnut Cake with Lemon Butter Frosting
Ingredients
3/4 cup brown sugar
110g softened butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup mashed overripe bananas (the blacker the skins, the better)
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Lemon Butter Frosting
100g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup pure icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup moist shredded coconut
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C, and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar till light and fluffy, then gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition till the mixture is once again light and creamy.
3. Dissolve the baking (bicarb) soda and baking powder into the sour cream, then immediately fold through the egg/butter mixture, working lightly and quickly till the two are well combined.
4. Add the banana and chopped walnuts and stir in till evenly combined, then quickly and carefully fold in the flour till just combined, then spoon into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.
5. Leave cake to cool, and meanwhile beat together all the ingredients of the frosting except for the coconut. Once cake is completely cook, smooth on the frosting and layer with the shredded coconut.
Technorati Tags: cooking, baking, recipes, cakes, sweets, banana, fruit
I have to admit that the response to my mother’s Korean recipes has been utterly overwhelming - so much so that I’ve been pestering her over the past few months to start writing down her recipes into some sort of cookbook. Unfortunately, since she cooks instinctively and by memory, the idea of having to sit down and document all her kitchen fiddlings doesn’t exactly fill her with joy…something I could kind of predict as she has taken to sighing in a most despondent fashion whenever I plonk myself next to her and pour whatever ingredient is in the palm of her hand into one of my measuring implements.
Actually, reading that paragraph over, it kinda strikes me as no wonder that my mother has taken to calling me the kitchen pain in the ass. Heh.
Anyway, here’s the second banchan post, and this time I have for you two different kind of myolchi (fried dried baby anchovies), miyok joolgi (sauteed seaweed strands) and kong jjang (stewed black beans).
Also, please note, there is a high probability that these flavours are not going to be exactly the same as the ones you’ve tasted at whatever Korean restaurant that you went to, the reason for that is that every person makes these according to their own or their family’s tastebuds. These are OUR family recipes, and I know of no other so if you want others, you’ll have to find another Korean person to complain to!
(Yes, I know that last paragraph is a little rude, but it comes in response to one complaint from a reader that my mother’s kimchi didn’t taste exactly like the one she had at her local JAPANESE restaurant. Do I need to point out the problem here? Also, I blame part of my aggravation on the fact that I have a week till my exam and am sorely behind in my study)
Okay, we have two different types of myolchi that my mother likes to make - both are sweet and crunchy, but one is plain while the other is spicy. Both are wonderful, so much so that my brother often enjoys just grabbing a bowl of warm rice and heaping these on top, stirring them through and enjoying the resulting mixture as a snack!
Ingredients (for plain myolchi)
1 - These come in a wide variety of sizes, but we find the tastiest ones for this dish are the tiny little ones about the size of baitfish. If you can’t find these, then the ones for panfrying will be fine. Just be sure you don’t use the ones for soup stock as they will not work here. |
Ingredients (for chilli myolchi)
1 - These come in a wide variety of sizes, but we find the tastiest ones for this dish are the tiny little ones about the size of baitfish. If you can’t find these, then the ones for panfrying will be fine. Just be sure you don’t use the ones for soup stock as they will not work here. |
| 1. Put the dried anchovies into a colander and give it a good shaking to shake out any of the loose anchovy powder - leaving this powder in will make the dish chalky and gritty.2. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan, then add the baby anchovies and garlic and saute till the anchovies and garlic are toasted and fragrant.3. Add the sugar and malt syrup to the pan, and stir it through over the heat till the mixture has thickened and is well mixed together.
4. Remove from the heat, stir through the toasted sesame seeds then allow to completely cool before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge. |
1. Put the dried anchovies into a colander and give it a good shaking to shake out any of the loose anchovy powder - leaving this powder in will make the dish chalky and gritty.2. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan, then add the baby anchovies and garlic and saute till the anchovies and garlic are toasted and fragrant.3. Add the gochujjang, sweet chilli sauce, sugar and malt syrup to the pan, and stir it through over the heat till the mixture has thickened and is well mixed together.
4. Remove from the heat, stir through the toasted sesame seeds then allow to completely cool before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge. |
Now this is a slightly more uncommon banchan, and it has had a rather lukewarm reception from those who have come over for dinner and been unfamiliar with it. However, it is a gorgeous way of preparing this particular kind of seaweed (wakame strands) for consumption, and the soft yet crunchy texture teamed with the salty, garlicky flavour makes for an unforgettable dish which is definitely one of my favourites!
Ingredients
500g sliced wakame strands, preserved in salt2
5-6 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 - this is the name of the dish, so if you can’t find it, ask your local Korean/Japanese grocer if they stock ‘miyeok joolgi’
1. Soak the salted wakame strands in water for about 10-15 minutes, then give them a good rinse and drain the water. Give them a good wash in two more changes of clean water.
2. Slice them into comfortable lengths with a pair of scissors as they will be quite long, about 10cm long is a good length.
3. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, then saute the strands with the crushed garlic over medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 1 tbsp fish sauce and stir through. Give it a taste, and if it needs a bit more salt, add the second tbsp of fish sauce.
4. Stir through the toasted sesame seeds, then allow to completely cool before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
Now this dish has been driving me insane, purely because I’ve been searching for the English translation of the type of bean used to make it and for the life of me I cannot find one. I also have not spotted this outside of Asian grocery stores, so unfortunately if you aren’t close to a well-stocked Asian grocery, then I’m afraid this isn’t one you’re going to be able to replicate.
My mother is absolutely adamant that these aren’t black soybeans, so I’m just going to go with Asian black beans for now - if you look on the packet, the best ones to get will say ‘(with green centres)’ on the front, under the title. The next batch we buy, I’ll be sure to get a picture of the Chinese writing on the packet and perhaps someone can help me with the translation?
Ingredients
1 pk black beans with green centers (approx 350g)
1 cup light soy sauce
1 cup water
1-2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 - 1 tbsp Korean malt syrup
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1. Wash the beans to remove any dust or debris, then rinse them under clean water and drain them.
2. Combine soy sauce and water in a pot, then add the beans and boil without the lid on for about 15-20 mins, or till the beans are half cooked and the liquid reduced to about 1/3 of a cup.
3. Add 1-2 tbsp of white sugar, continuously stir as you continue to boil the beans till most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and add the malt syrup and toasted sesame seeds, stirring to evenly coat. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
Technorati Tags: banchan, Korean cuisine, recipes, side dishes, food, vegetables
