I know I know, ‘Tarts R Us’…that is what I could call this blog quite easily…and no other jokes in the tart arena are acceptable to me…so watch out! I did this during the week to great acclaim at the office and have to say that the sliver I managed to get before literally turning around and finding the entire thing GONE…was divine…in fact, as with a lot of my better creations, I have been dreaming of another one, so here it is! With dinner guests arriving any minute, this was so quick and easy, seasonal and stunning to look at…I mean really, don’t you think? The colours of the fruit, the vanilla glaze…toasted almond pastry, what more could a tart ask for?

NEED:

100g toasted almonds

40g sugar

110g unsalted butter

220g plain flour

1 egg yolk

1tsp mixed spice

1 tsp vanilla essence

caster sugar to taste

500g sliced pitted fresh apricots

350g pitted fresh cherries

DO:

Place cooled almonds into Thermomix bowl with sugar and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10.

Add butter, flour, egg yolk, mixed spice and vanilla essence. Blend together for a few seconds on speed 7. Continue blending with short bursts on the Turbo button until the mixture forms a crumbly dough. Tip out onto Silpat mat and bring together with hands to form a disc. Place in freezer for up to 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Roll pastry out using cornflour to prevent sticking to a large round on baking paper. Place sliced apricots and cherries into centre of pastry and sprinkle liberally with caster sugar. Fold edges of pastry up and over around the fruit to form a crust.

(It can be quite rough and in fact is very forgiving…so don’t be too alarmed if it looks a little rustic! Stick back together where necessary with a few pinches as needed.)

Bake for 25-35 minutes until pastry is fragrant and centre is bubbling, and fruit is well cooked. Cool slightly before drizzling with a little vanilla essence, some milk and enough icing sugar to form a thick consistency ‘glaze’.

Dust with icing sugar and ideally serve with ice cream and or cream!

Well it was tough, but someone had to eat it! Luckily I made this one at work and the office staff were happy to oblige…otherwise my ever increasing girth would be even girthier! My sister Kerri provided me with some of her lovely fresh figs and of course I had to blog about them! I took on the fig challenge, just as I took on the chocolate challenge, thinking of so many options that my hips ached! ANYHOO, this is the end result, and it smelt so amazing as it was cooking that I had frequent visitors into the demo kitchen to see what was for morning tea…those spoilt children!

Toffee Crusted Fig  and Marzipan Tart

Pastry NEED:

100g toasted almonds

50g sugar

130g unsalted butter, cubed and frozen

1tsp vanilla essence

½tsp cinnamon

Pinch salt

210g plain flour

1 egg yolk

1-2tbsp ice cold water

Pastry DO:

Place toasted and cooled almonds with sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 8.

Add butter, essence, cinnamon, and salt and mix for 5 seconds on speed 7.

Add remaining ingredients and with dial set to closed lid position mix for 10 seconds on Interval speed.

Turn out onto lightly floured Silicone mat and knead into a tight disc.

Place disc into flan tin with removable base and with floured hands press out and up edges to fully line tin. Place in freezer while you prepare the filling.

Vanilla Scented Marzipan NEED:

130g sugar

1 whole vanilla bean

130g blanched almonds

1tbsp cornflour

1 small egg white

DO:

Place sugar and vanilla bean into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 8.

Add almonds and mill a further 10 seconds on speed 8.

Add cornflour and egg white and mix together for approximately 30-40 seconds on speed 5, scraping down sides of bowl if necessary.

When marzipan has formed a reasonable dough, turn out onto corn floured silicone mat and roll out using rolling pin. Lay on top of lined flan tin and cut excess away. (Reserve excess.)

Fig Tart NEED:

Enough fresh figs to line flan dish of choice when quartered

250g mascarpone cheese

1 egg

15g raw honey

Reserved Marzipan

Fig Tart DO:

Place figs carefully on top of marzipan, arranged cut side up centrically.

Place remaining ingredients into Thermomix bowl and mix for 8 seconds on speed 7. Spread over figs.

Bake in preheated 180ºC oven for 30-35 minutes until just wobbly in centre. Leave in oven to cool. Chill before topping with toffee.
Toffee Crust NEED:

150g caster sugar

50g honey

Enough water to dampen sugar

Toffee Crust DO:

Place all ingredients into heavy based pan and heat to a medium temperature stirring only occasionally.

When all sugar has dissolved, increase heat to high and bring to the boil without stirring.

Remove toffee from stove when it has reached the hard ball stage and is caramel in colour. Drizzle over completely cold tart and allow to set.

I know, I know, a little lengthy, even fiddly, but oh so worth it in the end…yes the rear end!

Yes, The Full Willy! As in Willy’s Wonky Chocolate…its a long story, but after watching the amazing Willy on SBS and being totally charmed by the romance of it all, I happened to visit my sister and found that her husband had gone ahead and ordered some of Willy’s amazing chocolate and whats more, he GAVE me some, bless his cotton socks! They cost a little more than the average chocolate bar (well a lot more actually) and in an effort to honour such a gift (and chocolate perfection) I pondered again and again what I should do with such a precious commodity! I felt like the proverbial kid in a candy factory and couldn’t quite decide between good and gooder…but here we go. A combo of several faves of mine, brioche, almonds and of course, good old Willies Wonky chocolate.

NEED:
1 batch Brioche dough

1 beaten egg for glaze

100g Willys 100% cacao bar (or unsweetened dark chocolate in the absence of excellence!)

150g caster sugar

150g almonds

150g clotted cream

2tsp vanilla essence

1tsp almond essence (optional)

DO:
Line 2 trays with baking paper and set aside. Make brioche as directed and rise overnight. Bring dough to room temperature before using as follows;

Roll dough out to large rectangular shape.

Spread filling on as evenly as possible. Fold half dough lengthways into centre of rectangle. Bring other half in to meet it in center. Fold those ‘pockets’ in on top of one another to make a long layered length of dough.

Cut across into equal widths (see pic) and place onto prepared trays. Brush with egg wash. Place into cold oven (to facilitate another rise) and bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown at 200-220C. Cool slightly before eating…though to burn ones tongue on molten chocolate inside fragrant brioche is akin to sadistic pleasure…not that I know about all that stuff!

To make filling;

To make filling place chocolate (in chunks) into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9. Add sugar and almonds and mill a further 20 seconds until the fat is actually starting to be released from the cacao and almonds and the mixture starts to form a rough dough.

Add cream and essences and mix a further 10 seconds on speed 7. Spread this on dough and proceed as directed above.

So Willy, here’s hoping this meets your high standards! Amazing story, amazing chocolate,and now amazing Chocolate Brioche (at least I like to think so…thanks Stu!)

I always imagined post Arnies corny line that if I should ever have an Italian Restaurant, it would be called Pasta La Vista…in the absence of such an occurrence, this is probably the next best thing. I LOVE homemade pasta and of course with the help of Thermomix, nothing could be easier. I dashed home from work, whipped up a  batch of dough, let it rest whilst I searched for the arm to my pasta roller, and after working up a sweat as I scoured cupboards and drawers with no luck, gave up on the home made and quickly cooked some fettucine I had in the pantry, still did an outstanding sauce and yes, we were eating in no time. As for the lost art of rolling pasta? Hasta la Vista baby!

NEED:
40g fettucine per serving, cooked as directed on package

300g butternut pumpkin cubed and roasted

handful fresh herbs of choice

3 cloves garlic

50g romano cheese

150g pine nuts toasted in dry pan

juice 2 lemons

kalamata olives

few semi dried sundried tomatoes

100g Danish feta

sea salt and EVOO to taste

DO:
Roast pumpkin and set aside.

Place herbs into Thermomix bowl and chop for a few seconds on speed 7.

Place garlic and cheese into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9.

Add pine nuts, juice and enough EVOO to make a fairly thin pesto. (I used 100g)

Toss pesto through warm pasta, add olives, tomatoes, roasted pumpkin and then crumble feta over the top. Drizzle with additional EVOO and garnish with a few fresh herb leaves. Eat immediately.

Pasta is always stunning served with fresh French Sticks…with or without the garlic butter.  Looks like I’m going to need a Ciabatta recipe up here, if I’m going to help keep European Union relations in good shape! And no I didn’t find the rest of the pasta roller…looks like I’ll be needing a brand spanking new one!

Well I have a work related injury, and it is impeding my typing, but never my cooking! I sliced my fore finger open like I was filleting a fish! OUCH…a roll of paper towel, nausea attack, visit to the Doc for super glue and butterfly tapes later, I am typing with great difficulty. With an enforced day off (strictly Doc’s orders)I had been thinking about going to the movies today, but the treat that I would have taken had I actually got there, took priority and here it is! A bit of a combo with a couple of processes, I was inspired by one of my fave Australian food bloggers, Not Quite Nigella’s post before Christmas for Salted Pretzel Chocolate Toffees, (which incidentally is probably the first recipe from another blogger I have actually  cooked in quite a while to rave reviews)!! I always have good intentions and an ever growing cooking list, but something else always comes up!

Nutty Caramel Popcorn with Pretzels and Chocolate

NEED:
125g raw macadamias

125g raw almonds

Couple of handfuls of salted pretzels

1pkg microwave popcorn

400g brown sugar

170g cream

100g unsalted butter

pinch sea salt

Dash of rum or other alcohol of choice

2tsp vanilla essence

125g whie chocolate buttons

125g dark chocolate buttons

2tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

DO:
Place nuts onto baking tray and place into cold oven set to 200C for 10 minutes. Remove and chop roughly (without slicing fingers if at all possible!) Set aside.

Spread pretzels on two large silicone mats (Silpat), divide nuts equally between them. Cook popcorn as directed on packaging, remove ‘old maids’ and divide between mats.

In heavy based saucepan, place sugar cream, butter, salt and rum if using. Cook on a low heat stirring occasionally (Induction level 6) until sugar has melted without any grainy residue. Increase heat to around 8 and bring to approximately 260F (Please use a Candy thermometer if you have one for an accurate result.) If you don’t have one, use the hard ball test.

Add vanilla and quickly stir into caramel, pour over popcorn and nut mix, spreading quickly to cover as much of the popcorn etc as possible. Allow to cool.

Place white chocolate buttons into clean pan with 1tbsp of coconut oil. Melt on Induction 2 until it melts completely. Drizzle over 1 tray of mixture.

Repeat with dark chocolate buttons and remaining coconut oil. Drizzle over the other tray and if you have enough, drizzle or flick on top of the white chocolate tray to add a little extra pizazz! Allow to set completely before breaking into pieces and storing in the fridge.

These are beautiful as gifts, wrap in clear cellophane bags and won’t you be the favourite friend, aunty, neighbour, blogger…? Go to, blogees and then come back on here and tell me about it!

Maple Banana Coconut Fritters

Well it would seem that you are all on holiday, while I remain slaving away in the kitchen…come on kids, comments make me zing! We are half way through January, almost the week of my birthday…(yes I have been counting backwards from 40 which will see me reach my very early 30’s!) It has been an exciting week for me professionally with job offers flying left right and centre, plus the goal for my fiftieth year (woops did I really admit that??) is to produce my own cookbook and I have been assessing what is needed to begin that process. (Clearly not the least of which is a professional behind the camera! The point and shoot school of photography will hardly satisfy!) It will be on sale this time next year as I turn the actual FIVE OH…no!

SO to the task at hand. I have my family joining me for Sunday dinner as usual and I also have some bananas that need eating, as well as some to die for homemade Vanilla bean ice cream churning happily away. (Does anyone else recycle their vanilla beans??) What better to accompany Vanilla bean Ice cream than a light banana and coconut tempura fritter? Nothing I can think of!

Tempura is best made with sparkling spring water, of which I am fresh out, so I used icy cold still water, but nonetheless, excellent results. Tempura is a batter with a ratio of 1:1 and best left lumpy as opposed to having a smooth consistency. The right temperature oil when frying is also important as this will eliminate a greasy end result. Approximately 180oC or 350oF is perfect.

TEMPURA  Batter; the Thermomix way!

NEED:
150g white rice
2 egg whites
1 tbsp icing sugar
200g ice cold sparkling water

DO:
Place rice into Thermomix bowl and mill for 60 seconds on speed 10.
Add remaining ingredients and gently combine by setting dial to closed lid position. Mix together for approximately 10 seconds on Interval speed. If there are still lumps that is fine.
Set aside as you prepare the rest of the dish.

To make Coconut Banana Fritters;
Heat enough Extra Virgin Coconut oil in deep pan to temperature. If you drop a little of the batter into the pan, it should brown up in around 40 seconds. Any hotter or faster and you will get a burnt taste.

Slice bananas diagonally, about 1/2 banana per serving, roll in shredded coconut and then dip quickly in the prepared batter. Put straight into the hot oil and allow to cook until golden. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on a double layer of paper towels.
To serve, place 2 or 3 fritters onto large plate, dust with icing sugar, dollop ice cream in centre, drizzle with real Maple Syrup, add a few shreds of coconut if desired and devour immediately.

After many requests and many more half started New Year’s Posts (some of which will see the light of day, time permitting) this was a recipe I could get up on here quickly before the half way point of the first month of twenty ten was staring back at me. If last year was anything to go by, this year will feel like about 2 months, and I’ll be adding Christmas recipes before I can finish singing Auld Lang Syne! Never one for weight loss resolutions, this will certainly not help in that department, but what the hell, Lets Get Fat this year!

NEED:
Handful Italian parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 tbsp olive oil
15g cornflour
500g diced beef
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp fish sauce
100-120g sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 batch Shortcrust pastry (see below)
1-2 sheets puff pastry

DO:
Place parsley into Thermomix bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 7. Set aside.
Place garlic, onion and oil into Thermomix bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 8. Sauté for 5 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 1.
Add parsley, cornflour, beef, sauces and mushrooms to Thermomix bowl and cook for 10 minutes at 100ºC on speed 1.
Cool completely before making pies.
Pre-heat oven to 200ºC.
Roll shortcrust pastry out to 2mm thickness and line 6 large muffin holes in ‘Texas’ size muffin tin. Double line the base of each pie, by re rolling pastry and cutting to suit. Place in freezer until use.
Fill lined pie shells with cold mixture, top with puff pastry top. Cut cross slit in pastry and cook for 30-35 minutes until golden and puffy. Allow to cool slightly before removing from tray. Serve hot.
Shown is a below average pic of a single pie, using a ceramic pie dish…or if you prefer to skip the whole shortcrust base thing, do so, use the ceramic pie dish (or dishes for individuals) and just use Puff Pastry as a topper…YUM!

Shortcrust Pastry…always easy in the Thermomix, but if you are Thermomix-less, feel free to buy or simply make by hand. Remember the colder your butter/hands/workbench the better. I have a fantastic new book Ratio by Michael Ruhlman which you should all rush out and buy…you will never need a recipe for pastry again, but for those of you without that book, this is for you;

NEED:
200g plain cake flour
100g unsalted butter cubed and chilled
pinch sea salt
just enough icy water to bring together

DO:
Place flour, butter and salt into Thermomix bowl and blend for a few seconds on speed 6 until mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Add water through hole in lid as you continue to blend on speed 5 until pastry forms a ball. Remove from bowl and mold into flat disc. Chill whilst you make filling.

Pumpkin Avo Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Christmas Day and the kids have just left…feeling cruisy, the food was stunning and even though the kitchen is still in need of some cleaning, it is pretty OK. Thought I would quickly write this one down and put it up…nothing like obsession when it strikes at the least likely times! Hope you all had a great Christmas and like me, are looking forward to a fantastic 2010! (Of course this had to wait till New Year’s Eve, until I could organise a card reader to upload pics to my iMac, which despite the frustrations, is absolutely FANTASTIC! So now I owe you all a Happy 2010 as well as long overdue Merry Christmas.)

Pumpkin and Avo Salad

NEED:

700g peeled and seeded pumpkin
salt and cracked black pepper

Oil spray
100g mixed salad leaves
100g almond slivers
1-2 avocados, cut into wedges
1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced
Handful basil leaves
Dressing:
80g raw honey
2tbsp seeded mustard
80g white wine vinegar
sea salt and pepper to taste
240g EVOO

DO:

Preheat oven to 200C. Slice the pumpkin into thin wedges and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spray with oil spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast for 20-25 minutes or until tender and caramelised. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
Arrange the pumpkin on a serving plate with salad leaves, almonds, avocado, Spanish onion and basil.
Drizzle with dressing and serve.

To make dressing place honey, mustard and vinegar into TM bowl and cook for 3-4 minutes at 100C on speed 2-3 with MC off. Add seasoning to taste, EVOO and mix for a few seconds on speed 5-6 until blended. Refrigerate until ready for use.

White Christmas with Candied Clementines

Fresh Pesto

With about 3 weeks to go till ‘you know what’, now would be a good time to start planning a few gifts for special people that come from your very own kitchen. I personally love to both give and receive homemade treats particularly if they resemble something straight out of the David Jones food hall! I have a few ideas already posted on here, so bookmark this page as it will guide you to a few of those.

Have you checked out the price of Pesto’s lately? When freshly made from a delicatessen or specialty store, they not only come in ugly plastic containers, you might as well open your wallet and allow them to help themselves! SO try this recipe for Pesto and purchase some pretty jars from your favorite home-wares store, tie with ribbon, and perhaps include a pkg of gourmet dried pasta. Voila, beautiful homemade gift!

Another idea is a fragrant box of crackers…try these on for size. Wrap in a tube, add a wedge of favorite cheese and a jar chutney (no recipe on here yet!)…gift two sorted!

I think my almost absolute fave at Christmas is Panforte and if I say so myself, this is an excellent recipe! Slice into thin wedges, dredge generously with icing sugar, wrap in cellophane, lots of ribbon…several gifts, if you manage to resist eating them yourself!

Most people anticipate some cookies/biscuits at some point throughout the season, and these are extraordinarily good and kind of more adult than not! You can find gusseted cellophane bags quite easily at this time of year, which are perfect for gift wrapping them. A little ribbon, a tag, perhaps even a copy of the recipe attached and again, easy gifting!

Today’s new offerings are so cute! Very DJ and oh so easy!

NEED:

zest 1 lime

370g pkt white chocolate melts

45g organic extra virgin coconut oil

6-7 whole glace clementines OR 170g glace orange slices

30g coconut chips (available at Asian stores)

50g puffed rice

50g craisins

DO:

Place zest and choc melts into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9.

Add coconut oil and melt together for 6 minutes at 37oC on speed 1-2.

Meanwhile, dice the glace clementines/oranges.

Add all remaining ingredients and mix for 20-30 seconds on Reverse + speed soft.

Spread into lined 15cm baking tin and refrigerate. When completely set, turn out onto chopping board and slice into thin slices. OR to gift wrap as in picture, slice to fit acetate box of choice and tie with ribbon.

Recipe Two; (‘two in one post’ I hear you cry! It is Christmas after all, and I do love all my commenters…take note those of you who silently lurk!) is for Passionfruit Curd, an excellent gift for all occasions, so pretty when in a clear jar, decorated with ribbon and perhaps given with a fresh loaf of Brioche! Oh Heaven!

NEED:

Zest 1 lemon

Juice 2 lemons

200g unsalted butter

220g caster sugar

1whole egg and 3 egg yolks

pinch salt

1 tin passionfruit pulp or fresh pulp from 2 passionfruit

DO:
Place all ingredients except passionfruit pulp into Thermomix bowl and cook for 10 minutes at 80oC on speed 4.

Check consistency to see if you are happy with its spreadability! Add a few minutes at the same temperature if necessary.

Add passionfruit pulp and stir through for 5-7 seconds on reverse + speed 3 until combined. Decant into pretty glass jars or use drinking glasses then cover with cellophane or fabric. Keep refrigerated until gifted. These should keep for around 2 weeks in the fridge. It makes a stunning filling for mini tarts. Use a sweet shortcrust pastry recipe and line mini tartlet pans with pastry. Dollop some passionfruit curd into each case and bake for approximately 10-15 minutes until golden and fragrant.

So Merry Christmas all…I am off to Bali soon and with Christmas a few days after I get back, I am not sure I will make it back on here before. Be safe, cook up a storm and for Pete’s sake (whoever Pete is?) leave a comment to make my blogging day! (‘blogging’ in that sentence can be substituted with any word of your choice!)

Crostini with Pepper Cheese

With summer virtually here, the boating season has truly begun, and never one for chips and bought dip, here is something easily prepared in advance. It is a terrific Christmas dip or spread as well, and certainly rates high on the easy meter. I can see myself lounging on the front of the boat as it skims crystal clear water effortlessly, waving wildly at the kids to pass me a crostini…before they’re all gone. Hmmnn some things are better eaten at home, but this one is for our boat buddies everywhere,  just in case you ever get a day out, without the hungry mob!

Pepper Cheese with Crostini

NEED:

1 long French breadstick

50g Parmesan

A few pepper corns

100-130g roasted red capsicum (from jar or do your own)

2 spring onions/shallots halved

40g drained capers

2tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp chilli powder

1 clove garlic

200-230g whole milk ricotta

140g cream cheese

Pinch sea salt

A drizzle of EVOO plus extra for brushing

Juice 1 lime

Additional sliced spring onion/shallot for garnish

DO:

Pre heat oven to 200-220ºC. Line a large tray with baking paper.

Slice breadstick in 2cm thick rounds, brush with EVOO generously and bake for 8-12 minutes until golden around the edges. Set aside.

Place Parmesan and peppercorns into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9. Set aside.

Add capsicum, spring onions/shallots, capers, paprika, chilli powder and garlic and blend together for 10 seconds on speed 6.

Add cheeses, salt and a little EVOO and blend a further 10 seconds on speed 6.

Decant into serving dish, drizzle with additional EVOO, lime juice and garnish with sliced spring onions/shallots before serving with crostini.