I copied this wee recipe from the Gourmet Traveller Magazine a couple of weeks ago while we were at a cafe' in Martinborough - the old paper napkin comes in very handy. I can say that they are absolutely delicious, however, I will make a few little subtle changes next time. I found the mixture was a little stiff, so I added a little more golden syrup, gently warmed and about 2 tsp water. They are beautifully spicy and the addition of the rhubarb compote along the top makes them even more tasty and the sweetness of the comppote compliments the spicy cake. The recipe calls for unslated butter, but I just used normal butter.
COMPOTE:2 stalks rhubarb, sliced thinly ( I sliced on the diagonal) 55g caster sugar 1 tbsp water. Combine rhubarb, sugar and water in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat. Reduce to low, cover and cook about 8 mins till rhubarb is soft.
Cream butter and golden syrup, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift over the flour, baking powder & spices. Stir well. Spoon into greased mini loaf pans ( the tray with eight) and then spoon 2 tsp of rhubarb compote along each centre. Bake at 180C for 12-15 minutes. I found that it was better to create a small "groove" along the length of each loaf and then put the copote lengthwise into the groove. The couple that I tried, without making a groove tended to have the rhubabr compte spread to the sides as they rose, whereas the grooved ones managed to keep the compte more concentrated in the centre. They were very moist, spicy and well worth making.
griffo4,
Jul 10, 2:55am
Thanks cooks l have a bit of rhubarb left in the garden and was wondering what to do with it l made the limoncello trifle for tomorrow and it looks nice
cookessentials,
Jul 10, 3:06am
You will enjoy these if you like spicy. I just cut on the diagonal and fairly thin. Let us know what you think of the limoncello. I nearly bought some at La Bella Italia when we were down there last weekend. They also do jars of little sponge type cakes soaked in the stuff- they are pretty potent but ever so tasty.
griffo4,
Jul 11, 1:22am
Well the limoncello trifle went down a real treat with everyone with lots of requests for the recipe and l used the marscarpone my neighbour made for me and it is very smooth so it was great Thanks for posting both recipes l will hopefully make these this week as the frost has made the rhubarb look a bit droopy
cookessentials,
Jul 11, 3:22am
Glad it was well received. Now, an update on the spicy baby cakes. They are quite firm today, so i zap them in the microwave for 20-25 seconds ( to suit your taste) and they are slighly warm and soft again. I reckon that they would be nice with perhaps dates that have been cooked in a saucepan till soft, as a change from the rhubarb. You could cook the dates in a little orange juice for added flavour. This way, you could do them as a single serving size dessert ( like a sticky date pudding) and served warm with a little home made toffee sauce and vanilla bean ice cream
griffo4,
Jul 11, 4:23pm
Drooling already at the thought of that cooks l won't get time today as to many farm chores but will copy and paste this suggestion onto bottom of recipe and hopefully one day this week l will get time, the sun is shining so l will do as much as possible outside today
cookessentials,
Jul 11, 5:22pm
A glorious day here today, we have a good thick layer of snow on the mountains and hills and clear blue skies- goodness knows why we could not have had that yesterday! ! We went out for lunch yesterday to a great restaurant that we have been to a few times now called Bloom at the Murdoch James estate in Martinborough. I had saffron papparadelle with salmon and calamari which was loveyl and a glass of local sauvignon blanc.
griffo4,
Jul 12, 3:23am
Fine here yesterday but cold wind and l have these rhubarb butter cakes in the oven now and the smell is great so looking forward to eating them l used 200mls of golden syrup and warmed the butter and g syrup in thea little and it was nice and moist
griffo4,
Jul 12, 4:35pm
Really nice and moist and they went down well for pudding thanks cooks
cookessentials,
Jul 25, 9:40pm
Glad you enjoyed them griffo.
griffo4,
Jul 25, 10:29pm
Thanks for sharing we had them over 4 nights and they were just as good on the last night and topped with a friends marscarpone that she makes they were just the best l am drooling now thinking about them, lol
l made the Standing Room Espresso Rhubarb Crumble Slice out of yesterdays Sunday Star Times and they are nice but your recipe is still tops but my rhubarb plant has gone on holiday so will have to wait for them to start up again
cookessentials,
Jul 25, 10:53pm
I did wonder what they would be like. Our rhubabrb is non existent at the moment too, might have to put a couple more plants in. I bought about three sticks from the Sunday market and they were lovely and red.
cookessentials,
Aug 14, 5:31pm
I have the collectors addition of the Australian Masterchef magazine, so thought I might try some of the recipes from there and report back here. This thread could be goody for those of us trying something a bit different and we can report back and add the recipe for others to try?
greerg,
Aug 14, 5:39pm
Sounds like a great Idea Pam - there was something on Masterchef the other night that I would really have liked the recipe for. If my aged brain ever recalls what it was I'd love it if you could find it. Just reading your comments about Martinborough has jogged my memory. I'm betting yours is the lovely cooking shop my daughter and I visited during the mid year uni holidays last year. Could you have been responsible for the condiment gun she seized on because it was "so Michael - his three favourite things in the world - tomato sauce, mustard and guns! '? Shame on you. Luckily it has gone to an all boys flat in Dunedin and I don't have to think about what its doing. Other than that it was a great shop and I came away with several little somethings.
cookessentials,
Aug 29, 1:50am
No, if you were in Martinborough, it would have been "Mint"- they have a bit of everything, including antique and vintage cookware with a bit of new stuff thrown in. We are in Masterton.
cookessentials,
Aug 29, 2:06am
Torta di mele
This, again, is a recipe from Gourmet Traveller Magazine....this particular magazine I bought while in Melbourne recently and it is their Italian collectors addition. The "cake"was a delicious dessert that we had liast night with guests staying overnight.
50g walnuts 1kg Granny Smith apples ( ABOUT 6) peeled, cored and sliced thinly 120g unsalted butter 3 eggs 165g muscovado sugar- They did not stipulate which one, so I used light. 110g raw caster sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 100ml milk 1 cup plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 120g dried figs, finely chopped 100g pine nuts, roasted 1tbsp icing sugar 1 tsp cinnamon
Lemon Syrup: 1/2 cup honey juice 1 lemon,strained.
Preheat oven to 180C Spread walnuts onto a baking tray and roast until golden (6-7 mins)coo, then process 9in foood processor until finely ground. Set aside till required. Combine sliced apples, lemon juice and rind in a bowl, toss to coat and set aside. Grease a 24cm springform tin with 1 tbsp of the butter and dust with walnuts. Whisk eggs, 110g muscovado sugar, caster sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy.Melt remaining butter and add to egg mmixture with milk,flour and baking powder, then stir to combine. Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the springform tin,arrange a third of the apples on top,sprinkle with half the figs and pine nuts. Repeat, finishing with apples.Combine cinnamon, remaining muscovado sugar and icing sugar and scatter over top of cake. Bake until firm ( 1 hour 20 mins) Cool in pan for 20 mins.
SYRUP: Heat honey in a pan over medium heat and simmer for 5 mins. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Turn cake onto a platter,drizzle with warmed syrup and serve with a little whipped cream.
Now, I didn't use the syrup because ii did not have any honey so i cannot say what it is like with it. It went down well and everyone was most impressed. I would certainly make it again.
indy95,
Aug 29, 9:41pm
Well, have just read through that recipe, cookessentials and I think all my resolutions about going low-carb have suffered a considerable setback. I already have so many cake recipes that I could bake a new one every week for at least 2 years without repeating anything but that is definitely going into the collection. Thank you for posting it.
cookessentials,
Aug 29, 10:00pm
You are welcome indy. Have followed a lo-carb regime since March 2006, however, I have learnt to introduce some carbs back into my life for a good balance without added kilos!. I think so long as it is an occasional treat, you will be fine. I like the above recipes as they are not too sweet and of course, I do enjoy something slightly spicy too.
winnie231,
Aug 29, 11:02pm
Pam - the Torta di mele sounds divine! I'll keep it in mind for when I need to make a dessert :)
cookessentials,
Aug 29, 11:22pm
You could make it for Mr Delish Rae!
novices,
Aug 30, 9:29pm
The Limoncello trifle sounds delicious.Where do I find the recipe
cookessentials,
Aug 30, 9:56pm
Here you go novices - a copy and paste from the "Desserts" thread which I have also bumped up.
LIMONCELLO TRIFLE
For griffo
1 cup (220g) caster sugar 100ml limoncello 300g blueberries 1/2 tsp arrowroot 5 eggs, separated 250g mascarpone 1/3 cup (4 tbs) lemon curd 1 Madeira cake, cut into 2cm-thick slices Whipped cream, to serve 1 tbs toasted flaked almonds, to serve
Place 100g of the caster sugar in a saucepan with 300ml of water and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove 1/3 cup (80ml) of the sugar syrup and place in a bowl with the limoncello, stirring to combine. Set aside. Add the blueberries to the remaining sugar syrup and cook for about 2 minutes over low heat or just until they begin to release some of their juice. combine the arrowroot with 2 tablespoons of cold water and stir until smooth. Add to the blueberries and cook, stirring, for a further minute until thickened. Set aside and allow to cool. Place egg yolks and remaining 120g caster sugar a bowl and beat until pale and thick.
Beat in mascarpone and lemon curd.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggwhites until soft peaks form, then gently fold them into the mascarpone and lemon curd mixture. Place a layer of pandoro or madeira sponge cake slices in a 1.5-litre glass serving dish, brush with some of the limoncello syrup, then spread with one third of the mascarpone mixture. Drizzle with one third of the blueberries and their syrup.
Repeat the layers, then top with a final layer of cake. Brush with the syrup and top with the remaining mascarpone (reserving the remaining berries for garnish). Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Just before serving the trifle, top with whipped cream, scatter over the reserved blueberries and sprinkle with flaked almonds.
griffo4,
Sep 4, 3:56pm
Cooks l have just made the torta di mele and have just drizzled the syrup over it for a family lunch today so l hope it travels well but it smells so nice and the honey/lemon syrup tastes really nice l used the honey from my hives which tastes stronger than shop bought stuff but the lemon gave it a real kick as well l will let you know how it went later and l have made the salmon quiche as well l have been waiting to make the quiche for a while now so looking forward to trying that as well Thanks
cookessentials,
Sep 4, 7:08pm
Thanks griffo, it certainly has a delicious smell and I am sure it will be enjoyed by all.
griffo4,
Sep 4, 10:03pm
Well so many asked for the recipe for both and l have a ? about the torta di mele Where do you add the walnuts? l put them in the cake mix but then thought after do they go on top of the apples with the pinenuts and figs? Thanks again l earned lots of points today for these, and everyone went back for 2nds
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.