No, this is not a declaration of some strange new bedroom activity involving breakfast cereals, but rather two different ways you can serve muesli – a wonderfully fresh and tasty Bircher muesli, and a crunchy, full of flavour toasted muesli/granola that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways!
Toasted muesli is a wonderful thing to have on hand – if you make it yourself, then you can be aware of exactly how much fat/sugar/fibre etc you’re putting in, which means that you can add it to your breakfast menu as relatively healthy choice that is wonderfully tasty and can be customized to suit your own tastes! Best of all, it’s extremely versatile – you can have it on its own with milk, throw a handful on top of a fruit cereal to diversify the flavours and textures in the dish, or just serve it with yoghurt for a high-energy fuel to get you through the morning 
Toasted Berry Granola
(adapted from ‘Healthy Appetite‘ by Gordon Ramsay)
Ingredients (serves 4-5)
250g jumbo rolled oats
60g flaked almonds
60g pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
60g sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 pinch salt
60g unsalted butter
6 tbsp honey
Zest of 1 orange
80g dried cranberries
80g dried blueberries
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, then combine the rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaked almonds, ground ginger and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Measure out the dried blueberries and cranberries into a separate bowl and set aside.
2. Melt together the butter and honey, then stir in the orange zest and then pour over the oat mixture and stir well to make sure it is combined and the oats are evenly wettened. Spread the oat mixture onto a lined large baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to ensure the mixture toasts evenly. Once the oats are fragrant and lightly golden, remove from the oven.
Do not wait till the oats are dark golden in colour – remember that the mixture will retain heat and therefore continue to cook for another 5 or so minutes after it has been removed from the oven. If you get them perfectly toasted in the oven, they could be on the burnt side by the time they’ve cooled.
3. Allow the oats to cool and crisp up on the baking tray, then remove to a large mixing bowl and stir in the dried cranberries and blueberries. Once the oats are completely cool, store in an airtight container and place in a cool dry place.
I keep a small tub of this in my drawer at work since I bring in a small tub of yoghurt and piece of fruit for breakfast (which needs to be had at work when I’m leaving the house at 5am every day!) – combined, they make a delicious, healthy and high energy food that gets me through to lunchtime
Now, this is the healthiest of all mueslis around – bircher muesli. All muesli is derived from this original creation by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner, which was created in the 1900s. The overnight soaking of the oats makes them easier to digest, and the natural honey to sweeten, along eith the fresh fruit and cultures in the yoghurt means that this dish really is nothing but full of goodness and perfect fuel for the body.
Bircher Muesli
(from ‘Healthy Appetite‘ by Gordon Ramsay)
Ingredients (serves 4)
200g rolled oats
350mL skim milk
1-2 large Fuji apples (or any similar firm, sweet apple)
1-2 tbsp honey
150mL low-fat natural yoghurt
50mL natural/fresh apple or orange juice
Fresh berries and chopped nuts to serve
1. Put the oats in a bowl and pour over the milk and give a stir to evenly mix through, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1hr, though ideally overnight.
2. Coarsely grate the apple over the oats, discarding the core and pips, then add the honey and yoghurt and stir well to combine. If the oats are too thick at this stage, slowly pour in the juice while stirring till the mixture is a bit wetter.
3. Serve in individual bowls, and top with fresh berries and chopped nuts and enjoy as a healthy, filling but quite light start to your day!
Be warned, the soaking of the oats does make them quite goopy, so this dish will be great for you if you don’t mind the texture of porridge-style dishes. If this texture does bother you, just presoak the oats for 1-2hrs in natural unsweetened orange or apple juice to soften them slightly instead
Technorati Tags: muesli, granola, bircher muesli, recipe, breakfast, oats, healthy appetite, Gordon Ramsay
Over the years, I’ve made many many cakes that the family and I have greatly enjoyed (though some have been better successes than others), but the problem is that the times that I repeat those recipes tend to be few and far between.
Why?
Well, simply put, my penchant for buying new cookbooks means that I’m always falling in love with new and different cookbooks, with their shiny new pages and drool-worthy photos, so that the older and familiar ones tends to take a back seat when looking for something exciting to make.
So, when you’ve got a book that shows you how to make marvellous masterpieces with minimal effort, is it any wonder that ‘enamoured’ would be a complete and utter understatement for how I feel about it?
When you break it down – it really couldn’t get more simple. A plain madeira cake, poached pears, an apricot jam glaze, chopped pecans and some simple spun sugar on top. The elements aren’t that impressive on their own, but once combined, become this otherworldly beautiful poached pear halo cake.
And tell me, how could anyone resist a cake that would make angels sing? 
Poached Pear Halo Cake
(adapted from The Home Guide to Cake Decorating by Jane Price)
Ingredients
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 large eggs
100g self-raising flour
100g all-purpose flour
3 tsp milk
5-6 beurre bosc or packham pears (5 if they’re large, 6 if they’re small)
1/2 a lemon
1L water
200g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3 tbsp apricot jam
2 tbsp chopped pecans
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp glucose or light corn syrup
1. Firstly, prepare the pears by peeling the skin off, then cut the bottom of the pear level so it sits upright. Using a melon baller, cut out the core of the pear from the underside.
2. Place the water, 2 strips of lemon rind, 1 tsp lemon juice, cinnamon stick and sugar into a large pot and stir whilst bringing to the boil. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, reduce the heat so that the water is simmering, then add the pears and mostly cover the pot with the lid. Poach the pears for 5 minutes on each side (or till soft enough to poke with a fork), then turn off the heat and allow them to cool in the syrup. Once cool, drain thoroughly on some paper towels.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Beat together the butter and sugar till light and creamy, and sift the two flours together.
3. Add the eggs to the creamed butter, beating well after each addition, then fold in the flour till combined. Add the 3 tsp of milk and quickly stir into the batter till it is smooth.
4. Once the batter is smooth, grease an 18cm springform cake tin then line with non-stick baking paper along the bottom and sides. Spoon in the batter and smooth it out till it is evenly spread.
5. Carefully add the pears to the cake batter, gently pressing each pear down till you hit the bottom and leaving about 2-2.5cm from the edge of the tin (my pears were so big I didn’t actually have room!!). Place the cake into the preheated oven and bake for 60-80 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. In the meantime, heat and strain the jam and chop your pecans.
Once the cake has cooked, remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to cool.
WARNING: The pears have a bit of a tendency to tip over during cooking, so keep a close eye on them and right them each time they look like they’ll fall over. It’s a pain in the butt, but the end product is worth the misery
Also, this cake is extremely delicate, so a springform pan is necessary as inverting this cake is just not an option.
6. Get ready to make the halo (aka spun toffee). Oil the handle of a wooden spoon, then prop over a counter top with something weighing down the end. Line your floor with lots of newspaper.
Prepare a bowl of ice water, then bring the caster sugar, water and glucose to the boil, not stirring but occasionally swirling the pan so the sugar cooks evenly. Once the sugar cooks to a light amber colour, quickly remove from the heat and dip the base of the pan into your ice water to stop the cooking process.
Once the toffee starts to cool, use a fork (or two) to dip into the toffee and pull out a string, then carefully flick it back and forth over the spoon handle, redipping into the pan as necessary. If the toffee gets too thick or hardens, you can warm it slightly over low heat for it to become liquid again. Once you have a substantial amount, gather into a large halo that will be large enough to go around the edge of the cake.
7. Carefully arrange the halo so it sits around the circumference of the cake, then repeat step 6 to make a smaller halo that will sit inside as a smaller halo
8. Serve it up, and listen to the rapturous ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ as your lucky recipients look on at your masterpiece warning, spun toffee is NOT easy to eat, so it works better if you wait till it melts…or just mush it into your cake 
Technorati Tags: cake, celebration cake, caramel, toffee, cake decorations, pears, sweets, desserts, recipes
I know, I know, I totally suck, right?
I mean, it’s not *that* hard to put up a new blog post… it’s just…well, you know this whole ‘life’ thing that gets in the way?
I promise I won’t leave you stranded for so long again, I *will* try and do better…and as a peace offering, how about some kiwis?
The green and golden kiwi fruit are two extremely strange and plain fruit when viewed from the outside, but once you look beyond the skin, you’re introduced to a wonderfully floral, sweet, tropical flavour that can spice up any fruit platter.
Now, most folks are probably familiar with the green kiwi and its wonderfully sweet and yet tart flavour…however I’d like to take this opportunity to present to you the golden kiwi – a firm favourite of mine. As you can see in the photo above, the fruit is slightly differently shaped, but the differences don’t end there. The skin of the golden kiwi is actually barely fuzzy, and a quick scrub under running water will render a fruit that can be eaten skin and all.
As for the fruit itself, well, it’s so different from the flavour of the green kiwi that you’d be forgiven for not thinking them to be in any way related! The golden kiwi has a much sweeter and more tropical/floral scent and flavour, with none of the tartness of its green cousin!
Not only do kiwis taste terrific, but did you know about some of their wonderful health benefits?
1. The humble kiwi has far more vitamin C than an equivalent measure of oranges would have
2. The kiwi contains antioxidant elements unique in their ability to protect human cells from oxygen-related damage/degeneration
3. The kiwi is also an excellent source of polyphenols, and a good source of vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, and copper, all of which may function individually or in concert to protect the blood vessels and heart.
Now, what better way to take advantage of these wonderful flavours and health benefits than in a energy-packed kiwi and strawberry smoothie?
Kiwi and Strawberry Smoothie
Ingredients
2 golden kiwi fruit, peeled and roughly chopped
2 green kiwi fruit, peeled and roughly chopped
6-10 ripe strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1/2 cup natural unsweetened yoghurt
1/2 cup low fat/soy milk
1 tbsp honey
Place all ingredients in a large jug and blitz with an immersion blender (regular blender is fine, just more a pain in the arse to clean!) until well blended and the mixture is thick and creamy. Serve chilled, and garnish glass with a big beautiful strawberry
This is one of those ‘non recipes’ – it’s really so easy that to call it a recipe seems a bit silly…but if you happen to have some strawberries and kiwi fruit rolling about the kitchen, why not give it a try anyway?
Technorati Tags: kiwi fruit, strawberries, smoothie, drinks, fruit, healthy
Others who have tried this recipe:
For someone who proclaims that they aren’t a chocaholic, I sure seem to post a lot of chocolate recipes! Am I just in denial? Perhaps somewhere under this hardened exterior lies a sweet, gooey, intense rush of chocolate love?
Maybe I should just take a deep breath, step forward and admit it – my name is Ellie, and I’m a chocaholic.
To be honest, I’m not the world’s biggest chocaholic. I don’t find myself constantly craving it’s cocoa kiss, nor am I driven to seek it out very often. However, when there’s a freshly baked chocolate cake (or a beautiful chocolate truffle) in my vicinity, the smell enters my nose and my eyes roll back into my head with pleasure as my senses are awakened.
Anyone who knows what I’m talking about understands what I mean when I say that chocolate is a beautiful thing.
This being my very last week at my workplace (and Friday being my last day ever), I decided to treat my coworkers by making them this very special chocolate cake. I’ve made this cake for many special occasions before, so I thought it only appropriate for this to be my farewell cake, a nice way to go out with a bang and leave my friends and fans with a final touch of sweetness from me to them
Though it is super impressive, the beauty of this cake is that it is utterly foolproof and easy enough for even the most inexperienced baker to make. Moist, fluffy, rich, and intensely chocolatey – despite all the other chocolate cake recipes there are in the world (and we know that there are as many of those as grains of sand on a beach!) I know that I need no other than this to last me the rest of my days…
Chocolate Mud Cake
Ingredients
Cake
200g butter, chopped
200g good quality dark cooking chocolate, chopped
30g cocoa powder, sifted
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
60ml (1/4) cup water
1 tsp vanilla essence
220g caster sugar
3 eggs (room temperature)
115g self-raising flour, sifted
Ganache
150g good quality dark cooking chocolate, roughly chopped
125ml (1/2 cup) thin cream
1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C, then line a cake tin with baking paper (this cake is fragile and moist so you’ll need the paper to be able to remove it from the tin – greasing the cake tin is not enough).
2. Combine butter, chocolate, cocoa, coffee powder, water & vanilla essence in a medium saucepan. Whisk over low heat till smooth & well combined. Set aside mixture till it is lukewarm.
3. Beat sugar & egg together till pale and creamy. Slowly add the lukewarm chocolate mix whilst continually beating with an electric hand whisk, then add the flour and beat till combined and the mixture is light and fluffy.
4. Pour mix into prepared cake tin and bake for 55 mins, or till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it.
5. Set cake out to cool in tin for 15, then remove from cake tin and turn on a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make ganache, combine chocolate and cream in heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of bowl). Stir occasionally, till mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside for around an hour, stirring occasionally till it has cooled and thickened to a spreadable consistency.
7. Spread ganache over cooled cake. Set aside for 30 mins or till ganache is firm, then serve!
This cake is one that tastes better if slightly aged, so if you are planning ahead then try and make it around 2-3 days before you intend to serve it. You can leave the iced cake in the fridge for up to a week, and just remove it about an hour before you serve it to soften the cake and ganache and bring them to room temperature.
Technorati Tags: baking, chocolate, cakes, recipes, dessert, sweets
Others who have tried this recipe:
- Katie from Apple & Spice
- Thanh from I Eat Therefore I Am
- Rilsta from My Food Trail
Whew – what a long day!
To be honest…it does serve me right for leaving the baking of our father’s day cake to the very last minute… In Australia, we celebrate father’s day on the first Sunday in September every year, and though I always remember it, for some reason I always persist in leaving the preparations till the last possible moment – at which point I must run around like a headless chook in order to get everything ready on time!
I had originally planned on making profiteroles – they are my father’s absolute favourite dessert of all time, plus I could create a magnificent towering croquembouche with them so it had been a sound plan in my mind.
That is, till I remembered that my father’s dentures means that anything like the toffee which is used to create a croquembouche would create havoc in his mouth. Well, i could still make the profiteroles, but as a croquembouche was a no-go, another impressive cake had to be devised to sit as the centrepiece to the table.
A quick browse of my more recent cookbook acquisitions led me to this marvellous creation – dense but fluffy dark chocolate cake, stuffed with ruby red strawberries, white chocolate and whipped cream…all combined to create a decadent dessert that would still be somewhat light enough in flavour so that it would not overwhelm the tastebuds.
The resulting cake looked…well, pleasant enough, but not particularly spectacular. That was, until the family crowded around to see the first slice. And OH, what a slice it was – fluffy, light layers of dark chocolate cake, studded with glimpses of red strawberries peeking out from white chocolate cream, covered with a snow white layer of cream and big juicy strawberry halves.
With the family declaring this to be a worthwhile celebration cake, I think it’ll definitely make some repeat appearances in our kitchen in the future
Black & White Choc Strawberry Gateau
(adapted from The Home Guide to Cake Decorating by Jane Price)
Ingredients for cake:
125g cream cheese
60g unsalted butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
100g dark/bittersweet chocolate, melted
250g all-purpose flour
185g caster sugar30g cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
185mL cold water
Ingredients for white choc cream:
125g white chocolate, broken into small pieces
120g cream
Additional elements for assembly:
300mL thickened/heavy cream
250g strawberries, rinsed and dried and roughly chopped
100g whole strawberries, rinsed and dried, and carefully chopped in half
Baking the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F), line a 20cm cake tin with non-stick baking paper, then set aside. Using electric beaters, beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar in a bowl till light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the melted chocolate till the mixture is smooth.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb soda, then use a large metal spoon (or silicone spatula) to fold it into the cream cheese mixture alternately with the water. Gently mix till smooth, then pour into the lined cake tin.
4. Smooth the surface, then bake for 45-50 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool.
5. Once the cake has cooled, use a serrated bread/cake knife to cut the cake into three layers. Place the bottom layer onto your plate, then cut four long strips of baking paper and place them around the bottom so that the plate is protected from potential cream drops.
6. Melt together the white chocolate and cream, then cool till it reaches a spreadable consistency. Meanwhile, beat the additional 250mL thickened cream. Once the white choc ganache has cooled, use an offset spatula to spread a thin layer on the bottom layer, then top with chopped strawberries, then carefully spread a layer of whipped cream on top of that. Place second layer on top, then repeat.
7. Clean your offset spatula, then carefully ice your cake with a thin layer of whipped cream, and garnish with halved strawberries, a dusting of cocoa powder, and serve
Technorati Tags: Jane Price, strawberries, chocolate cake, Father’s Day, celebration, baking, recipes
