The layering process begins!

Smorgastarta Up Close and Personal!

Okey, so if you are on board with me here….this is what you are waiting for to finish off this creation. It really is impressive and a lot of fun to serve. There are a lot of ideas for decorating, I went with Swedish (sort of) but for lots of other ideas head on over to this The Kitchn post. There were mixed reactions at the most expected Grand child in history’s baby shower, some people were disappointed it wasn’t sweet, others were so taken by the idea that is was savoury, they couldn’t wait to dig in. Slicing it is the trick, so be brave, but use a serrated edge to get through all the layers and serve in thin wedges if possible. We loved the left overs more the day after the Baby Shower, and I think it was because all the flavours had melded together. Therefore, this is a perfect party food to do ahead…way ahead.

Hope you post pics over on Facebook if you do this…go on…you know you want to!

Fillings;

NEED:

4 hard boiled egg yolks

100g mayonnaise (For Foods Sake has some amazing Mayo options, and I did use a home made garlic, spring onion and lime option)

100g pickled gherkins

60g red onion

250g cream cheese

100g smoked salmon

Juice 1 lime

Murray River pink salt flakes to taste

DO:

Place egg yolks, and mayonnaise into Thermo bowl and blend 4 sec/speed 6. Add gherkins and onion and chop 3 sec/speed 4. Add remaining filling ingredients and blend 6 sec/speed 6. Remove from bowl and set aside. Clean bowl if you want a white ‘frosting’.

Frosting;

NEED:

500g sour cream

500g cream cheese

DO:

Place sour cream and cream cheese into Thermo bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 7. Insert butterfly and whip for 30 sec/speed 4. It should be fluffy and aerated. Remove from bowl and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.

Sliced cucumber

Sliced chicken breast fillet, ham or other cold meats of choice

Caviar

Sliced hardboiled eggs

Butter

Sliced onions

Beetroot

Stuffed olives, black olives

Parsley leaves to garnish

Cherry tomatoes to garnish

Other garnishes of choice

You must have sparkling mineral water to brush the bread layers with.

ASSEMBLY:

Remove the crusts from all the loaf, including the top, leaving only the bottom crust.

Slice the bread loaf into 3 or 4 layers horizontally.

Spread a little of the frosting onto the serving plate you will use. Stick the bottom layer of loaf onto this plate.

Brush this layer with a generous amount of mineral water. Butter it and then spread with some of the filling. Top with other meats, cheeses, vegetables of choice. Top with next layer and repeat, until all layers of bread are used. Do not overfill the layers between the sandwich as it will make it difficult to cut.

Completely brush the whole sandwich cake with mineral water. Frost it using all the frosting you have and pipe rosettes on the top like you would a cake around the outside circumference. Decorate the top with as many garnishes as you would like.

Arrange individual parsley leaves on the outside of the cake. Garnish the base with cherry tomatoes, and add any other garnishes of choice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

The mineral water helps the consistency become easier to cut and more cake like.

I am missing a few accents in the title, this Swedish sandwich cake is actually spelt, Smörgåstårta and is of course a salute to all things sandwich…and so pretty! Which is why it appealed to me in the first place. I have (as some of you know) reached the ripe old and mature age of Grandy hood…and so there has been a baby shower and as we are expecting a little girl to be welcomed into the Holder family, the baby shower had to be appropriately pretty and this fit the bill exactly! Rather than fiddle around with patching loaves together to fit the round cake that I was after, I decided to make my own bread, so this is part one of Smörgåstårta, (cue the drum roll….) The Loaf!

NEED:

60g fresh yeast

200g brewed Crio Bru liquid

200g water

3 tbsp malt powder  as found in For Foods Sake

2 tbsp honey

400g wholemeal flour

400g bakers flour

3 tbsp Crio Bru dry granules (As opposed to reserved wet granules from your morning cuppa)

Pinch salt

DO:

Place yeast, Crio Bru liquid, water, malt powder and honey into Thermo bowl and warm 2 min/37ºC/speed 1.

Add half each of the flours and all the Crio Bru granules. Blend 15 sec/speed 6.

Add remaining flour a little at a time, kneading 1 min/Interval after each addition, to a total of 4 minutes. If your machine is struggling, remove half the dough, knead 2 min/Interval. Remove from bowl, repeat with remaining dough and knead the two amounts together by hand on a Silpat mat. Wrap tightly and allow to prove.

Line the base of a 23cm spring form tin with baking paper and grease the sides.  Shape dough into a large round and place into tin to rise. Preheat oven to 220ºC. Bake 20-25 minutes or until well risen, golden and sounding hollow when tapped. Cool completely before cutting into 3-4 layers. (This will depend on how much rise you managed to achieve!!)

I actually made this loaf the day before and then filled it and frosted it on the day of serving. I would definitely do it that way again and recommend you do the same if possible. OH, and the bread would be perfectly fine as just plain old bread…I confess I ate the crusts (which are removed for  Smörgåstårta and I smothered them in fresh butter, as I hi-hoed into making the sandwich!!) 

Part two, which consists of basic method of construction, fillings, and frosting is coming soon…stay tuned.

Dried Chia Seed Cereal

Dried Chia Seed Cereal

As previous posts have mentioned, I am all for convenience and as school starts again (can you believe we are Term 2 with winter looming already??) and as the mornings down under are getting cooler, and as my daughter has developed a gluten intolerance, this was a yummy solution that takes no time  on a busy morning. Filling, nutritious, gluten free, and you can add fresh fruit, berries, honey, dairy free milk, milk, cream, mascarpone to dress it up or down as much as you want. The flavours improve over a few days as the vanilla and cinnamon do their thing, so try and resist at least that long. The beauties of Chia seeds are well discussed here at our friends Honest to Goodness. And the best thing of all? So filling, there has been documented weight loss in this household…not mine of course, but amongst other family  members who care….I either need to eat it more frequently, or stop eating other stuff all together….hmmmn, what to do?

NEED:

70g rapadura or coconut sugar

1/2 stick cinnamon

1 roasted vanilla bean (see the best selling cookbook, For Foods Sake for all the benefits of this little trick!)

100g buckwheat

100g almonds

250g chia seed (any colour)

100g Inca berries (we have discussed these before!)

60g Crio Bru granules of choice

DO:

Place sugar, cinnamon stick and roasted vanilla bean into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Tip into jar you will use to store cereal mix.

Place buckwheat into Thermo bowl and mill 3 sec/speed 6. Add to jar.

Place almonds into Thermo bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Add to jar.

Add chia seed, Inca berries and Crio Bru to jar and give it all a good stir.

To prepare mix 3 tbsp mixture with approx 1/4 or 65-70g boiling water, stir and let stand for a few minutes. Stir and add toppings and milk of choice!

YUM…

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is a conversion request…and I must say, well received in this household. The pastry is my recipe and the idea of puff on the top as well…love it! Easy and delicious, watch this space, pretty sure this will show up on Spin A Dinner  the thermomix app of all apps it would seem…At the moment sporting over 30 recipes and fast on it’s way to another 30 at the rate I’m going!! Did you get yours yet? Both iPad and iPhone versions are going M.A.D. We are so wrapped that you are so wrapped! AND…hold onto your hats, the Android version is close…how close? Not close enough I hear you cry…but coming, so stay tuned, and go and let me know on Facebook, how much you want this to happen. (Need to feel the love right now kids!!)

Anyhoo, thanks for the email Douglas…here you go. Chicken Pot Pie at your service…

NEED:

Parmesan Shortcrust;

60g parmesan, cubed

A few peppercorns

1 tsp paprika, ground

60g butter

220g plain flour

1 egg yolk

1 pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

30-50g ice cold water

Filling;

75g butter

100g onion, halved

40g flour

Generous pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

2 tsp powdered greens (optional)

100g carrots, sliced thinly

1-2 stalks celery, sliced

300g water

2 tbsp Chicken Stock Powder (recipe in For Foods Sake)

500g chicken fillet, cubed

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

100g frozen peas

50g milk (optional)

To finish pie; 2 sheets commercial puff pastry

DO:

Place parmesan, peppercorns and paprika into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Add butter and flour and blend 6 sec/speed 6.

Add yolk and salt and a little water and blend 5 sec/speed 5. If dough is coming together there will be no need to add more water. If still crumbly, just add a little more water and blend further 5 sec/speed 5 until dough forms a mass.

Remove from bowl and form into a disc on floured Silpat mat. Wrap and place into fridge whilst you make filling.

To make filling place butter, onion, flour and salt into Thermo bowl and chop 4 sec/speed 5. Saute 5 min/Varoma/speed 2.

Add powdered greens, carrots, celery, water and Chicken Stock Powder to Thermo bowl and cook 10 min/100ºC/Reverse/speed 2.

Add chicken and pepper and cook 5 min/100ºC/Reverse/speed 2.

Add peas and milk and stir through 3 sec/Reverse/speed 2.

Preheat oven to 200ºC.

Line a deep pie or casserole dish with the Parmesan shortcrust. Fill gently with the chicken filling. Top with puff pastry being sure to tuck and seal the edges. Cut a cross in the centre of the pie for steam to escape. Bake 35-40 minutes until top is puffed and golden.

Leave to cool for around 10 minutes before serving.

Choc Molten Pots uncookedOozing Choc Molten Puddingsssss

Oozing Choc Molten Puddingsssss

Not kidding…these have truffles in the center…so if you are on a diet, don’t read any further. You will just be tormenting yourself. Yes, just call me the devil.

You don’t have to make the truffles, but you may want to…they add such a chocolatey hit to this already amazing dessert. You will never go back to boring old chocolate cake again…at least not on my watch! In the process of doing a desserts book (you did read that correctly) I have had many many desserts that I felt were wrong for the project, but not wrong in any other way. When I say ‘wrong’ I mean, too long, too complicated, too hard to write without the benefit of pics to explain…etc. Our new little project will be up and running soon, so stay tuned for all the versions of dessert you ever wished for, in one handy location! In the meantime, be getting on with this hey?

NEED:

1 pre made batch Crio Bru Truffles (well you only need 6 actually, so that’s the upside…you also get truffles at the end of it!)

Enough butter to grease 6 small ramekins

Enough premium cocoa to dust 6 small ramekins

150g sugar

50g butter

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

4 eggs

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

50g plain flour

350g dark chocolate, melted

DO:

Preheat oven to 200ºC and butter each ramekin very well. Dust generously with cocoa. Set ramekins aside on a baking tray.

Place sugar into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add butter and blend 10 sec/speed 4.

Add vanilla, eggs, salt and flour. Blend 10 sec/speed 5.

Add melted chocolate that has been slightly cooled. (I used microwave, but induction cooktop is excellent for melting chocolate as well. Of course it can be done in your Thermo, but it can be quite slow and you would need to do this first.)

Blend 10 sec/speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat.

Divide mixture between the prepared ramekins. Push a truffle (without any nuts or other coating FYI) into the centre of each and cover with pudding batter.

Bake 10-12 minutes until still springy to  touch.

Use a knife to loosen outer edges of cake and turn upside down to serve.

Serve with cream, mascarpone or ice cream to taste. Dust with additional cocoa if desired. You can refrigerate these fully assembled, but uncooked until ready to serve. It is best to eat them hot, straight from the oven. They may take a little longer if being cooked straight from the fridge.

Choc Mint Ganache Tart

This was truly awesome…thank you dearest Tweak Editing….Chris, our editor for For Foods Sake sent me this recipe and asked for a Thermo version…well here it is…absolutely amazing, and totally easy. Be amazed. Be prepared to make it again. Go to the gym so you can eat another piece with less guilt. Or not. But a second piece you will definitely have…trust me! I have seen another version of this over at the Recipe Community from Splendiferous Thermomix, using my fave choccie product of all time (do I need to mention it by name?) Crio Bru. This is the every day, garden variety, without the Crio…she beat me to it! I swear!! (We’ll talk later Karyn!)

NEED:

Crust;

60g sugar

250g flour

130g butter, cubed

2 tbsp premium cocoa powder

1 egg yolk

A little iced water

Filling;

300g white chocolate callets

150g cream

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

2 tsp peppermint oil

Ganache;

200g Lindt Dark Mint Intense chocolate, in pieces

200g cream

DO:

To make crust, place sugar into TM bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Add flour and butter and blend 6 sec/speed 6.

Add remaining crust ingredients and blend 5 sec/speed 5 or until a ball is formed.

Press into 26cm pie or flan tin with removable base and place into freezer for around 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line the crust with baking paper. Using pie weights, rice or beans, blind bake 15 minutes. Remove weights and cook further 10 minutes until fragrant and crust is well cooked.

Cool.

TO make white filling place all ingredients into TM bowl and melt 5 min/50ºC/speed 1. Scrape down if necessary and stir until all callets are melted.

Pour into cold baked pie shell. Place into fridge until well set.

Place Ganache ingredients into clean, dry TM bowl and melt 5 min/50ºC/speed 2. Pour over filling and set completely before cutting into wedges to serve.

Chorizo Crepes…bring on the fried egg!

I keep telling you all to make Umami…this recipe will work without it…but is doubly nice with it! (SO go ahead, make my Umami!!) It was a busy day, the boy (17 and 6 feet something or other) was hungry…I was tired, I had a few ingredients in the fridge, one of which was umami, and the other was chorizo…and I always have eggs. What to do?? Growing lads need actual food, not a salad with an egg…starch, carbs, grunt!! So, this was the result. Too dark for a great pic, so once again Instagram came to the rescue. Bless you Instagram, and bless you Umami…I mean really. This was outstanding. (And in no time flat!!)

NEED:

1 batch Savoury Crepes from Spin-A-Dinner or Dinner Spinner

50g Parmesan, cubed

50g Havarti cheese, cubed

2 cloves garlic

Handful Italian parsley

110g chorizo sausage, cut into pieces

100g brown onion, cut into pieces

200g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp Umami paste

1 fried egg per pancake

DO:

Make pancakes and set aside.

Place cheeses, garlic and parsley into clean and dry Thermomix bowl and mill 8 sec/speed 8. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place chorizo and onion into Thermomix bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl and add mushrooms and umami paste. Saute 10 min/Varoma/Reverse/speed 2.

Fry eggs to order as your pancakes are eaten.

ASSEMBLE:

Place a pancake on serving plate, sprinkle with cheese mixture, then top with chorizo mixture. Top with a fried egg and add a few fresh snippets of parsley. Wrap each edge of the pancake into the centre and eat hot. An easy, easy dinner, that kids will love…if you use a mild chorizo!

Crio Bru Easter Eggs with Pistachio Almond Paste Filling

You knew this had to be coming didn’t you? Really…it was only a matter of timing. And wait for it…if you blink you may miss it…Easter is upon us. I know, I know, I was just posting Christmas recipes but a moment ago, but here we are, the big pink bunny is on his way, camping trips, school holidays, over indulgence in all things chocolate…so this recipe is healthy. NOT KIDDING…totally healthy, just don’t eat it all at once. You too may be bouncing all over more than any bunny I’ve ever come across. Full of natural energy, go read about Crio Bru’s amazing benefits HERE and then proceed with confidence. Any flavour of the Bru will Do! Enjoy these Eggcellent eggs…oh and Hoppy Easter! (Sorry…please eggcuse me!)

NEED:

100g Crio Bru dry granules

100g Rapadura sugar

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

65g cacao butter

Pinch Murray River pink salt

Paste Filling;

100g pistachios, shelled

40g almonds

50g Rapdura sugar

10g cacao butter

Pinch Murray River pink salt

Additional almonds and pistachios to garnish

Easter egg mould or other mould of choice

DO:

To make chocolate shells, place Crio Bru granules and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 20 sec/speed 10.

Add vanilla bean paste, cacao butter and salt and blend 10-15 sec/speed 6 until a chocolate paste forms. Spread into moulds of choice and place into fridge.

Without cleaning bowl, make paste by placing pistachios, almonds, and sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Add cacao butter and salt and blend 20 sec/speed 8, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Fill each shell with the filling, placing a few of the additional nuts into the centres as desired. Finish off with additional nuts, making sure that you press them into the filling so that they will set into the egg.

Refrigerate.

Remove from moulds. Wrap and gift…or slice it to eat, or, well, put it on a plate and do a Seinfeld and get the knife and fork out! (But remember, it is very, very dark and rich and full of antioxidants and energy!)

Chicken Vindaloo

I love curry…you may have noticed…I love spicy food; you may have noticed. I love chicken dishes; you may have noticed. So combine them all and I am in hog heaven…well…you know what I mean. Fragrant and amazing, don’t stop here, try this mixture with lamb, beef or (shhhh, dare I say it?) pork…It’s not too often you hear of a Pork Vindaloo but I am taking a stand and saying, go ahead…pork it up! But chicken works just fine…more than ‘just’ actually! Yum.

NEED:

1/2 tsp each ground, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cloves, cardamom, fenugreek, cayenne, mustard, ginger and black pepper

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp sweet paprika

20g Fini EVOO

150g brown onion, cut in pieces

20g fresh ginger, peeled

8 cloves garlic

500g tomatoes, cut in pieces

20g red wine vinegar

900g chicken thigh fillet, cut in large pieces

Steamed rice to serve

DO:

Place all dry spices into Thermomix bowl and heat for 5 min/Varoma/speed 2. Scrape down sides of bowl.

Add oil, onion, ginger and garlic and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Saute 5 min/Varoma/speed 1/MC off.

Add tomatoes and vinegar and cook 10 min/100ºC/speed 2.

Add chicken and cook further 10 min/100ºC/Reverse/speed 1.

Serve with fresh coriander, sliced chillies and chopped cucumber and tomato. A little dollop of plain yoghurt is nice with this too…and the obligatory steamed rice or quinoa.

Dutch Donuts with Orange Jelly

There is not much that can make me pass up a fresh, hot donut if offered…and this recipe from a friend of mine has been raising money for schools, sporting clubs, church organisations, from their kitchen to their whole township for years. They have been known to make the dough the night before, get up whilst still dark and cook these babies, so that they can distribute to the waiting trucks and cars that line the country road outside their house, to ensure they get a serving before they are sold out…that is how good they are. Legendary stuff…and once you make them you will appreciate why. Never more for you the mundane and somewhat chemical taste of a widely popular purchased donut. Sorry, but I have now made it impossible for you to buy a donut again…these and only these are the donuts of choice forever more. (Move over Krispy Kreme, the Dutch Donuts are in town!)

NEED:

100g sugar
30g fresh yeast
2 eggs
½ tsp ground nutmeg
260g warm water
50g butter
Pinch salt
600g bakers flour
Flavorless oil for deep frying
Icing sugar to dust

DO:

Place sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.
Add yeast, eggs nutmeg, water, butter and salt and blend 1 min/37ºC/speed 4.
Add flour and mix 6 sec/speed 8. Knead 4 min/Interval. Set aside in floured Silpat mat and allow to double in size.
Roll out into large rectangle and using scone cutter, cut into rounds and set aside to double again.
Heat oil to 165-170ºC (use a thermometer for accuracy. The perfect temperature prevents the donut from absorbing fat when cooking!) before placing donuts into hot oil. When they are golden and puffed, remove quickly and place onto paper towels to cool slightly.
Dust generously with icing sugar whilst still warm.
Serve with a bowl ganache for dipping if desired…or with jam or jelly of choice.