Raspberry and Lime Spongey Mess

After an easy dessert? Got a sponge cake in the cupboard? (That was a joke…but you can run down to the shops right?) Most of this recipe can be quickly made and kept in the fridge for a desparate occasion…or go ahead, make a plan and make it as though you meant to…but either way? Delicious…go on, tell me all about it.

NEED:

Lime Butter;
Zest/juice 4 limes
120g sugar
160g unsalted butter , cubed
4 eggs

Berry Lime Coulis;
300g red berries of choice, fresh or frozen
65g sugar
Finely grated zest 1 lime
Juice 1 lime

Passionfruit Cream;

600g cream
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste
Pulp 2 passionfruit (grenadilla)

Assembly;
450g sponge cake, cubed
Additional raspberries to garnish

DO:

Lime Butter;

Place lime zest and sugar into mixing bowl and mill 15 sec/speed 10.

Add butter and chop 5 sec/speed 7.

Insert Butterfly and add all remaining Lime butter ingredients. Cook 10 min/80ºC/speed 4. Remove from bowl and set aside. Cool.

Make Lime Berry Coulis.

Place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and cook 8 min/90°C/speed 1.

Blend 1 min/speed 6.

Strain through fine mesh sieve and refrigerate until use.

Whip chilled cream with sugar and vanilla in clean dry Thermomix bowl, with inserted butterfly 10-20 sec/speed 4.

Add passionfruit pulp and incorporate gently 4 sec/speed 4.

 Assembly;

Place cubes of sponge cake into large glass serving bowl, or several individual glasses. Drizzle with a little Berry Lime coulis. Dollop with Lime Butter and Passionfruit Cream. Repeat layering until all ingredients are used ending with cream. Garnish with raspberries. Serve chilled.

Crio Misu

I confess I have more than one Thermomix bowl…in fact I have more than two…but I am not admitting to more than three….hahaha!

This recipe is easier with more than one bowl, but I have tried to write it as though I had only one bowl! So it was easier for me, than it will be if you only have one bowl, but perservere, or phone your local thermomix consultant and order a second bowl and blade set. You will wonder what you did without it before.

As for how many servings this recipe makes, I am thinking around one on a good day and probably up to twelve if you can stop eating it yourself. The trouble with blogging BEFORE Christmas is that I make all this great stuff and we eat it before Christmas is actually here…but I am feeling the Crio Love here and this may just have to be re-made…mascarpone added to the shopping list…again! Merry Crio Christmas all!

NEED:

50g Crio Bru granules

500g water

30g chocolate or coffee liqueur of choice (great home made recipe here)

50g dark chocolate

100g pure icing sugar

3 egg yolks

500g mascarpone cream cheese

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

2 egg whites

18 Italian sponge fingers

400g cream

Icing sugar and premium cocoa to dust

DO:

Make a strong Crio Bru brew. Place crio bru and water into Thermomix bowl and cook 10 min/90ºC/speed 2. Strain and pour into flat lasagne dish or other flat deep sided dish. Add alcohol, if using to this liquid.

Reserve 3 tbsp of the brewed Crio granules.

Place chocolate into dry Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place sugar and yolks into clean, dry Thermomix bowl and whip 4 min/50ºC/speed 3.

Add mascarpone and vanilla bean paste and blend gently 10 sec/speed 4. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Insert Butterfly and place egg whites into clean, dry Thermomix bowl and whip 3 min/50ºC/speed 3. Remove butterfly and add mascarpone mixture back into Thermomix bowl. Blend 10 sec/speed 5.

Assemble Crio Misu by placing the sponge fingers into the cooled Crio Bru liquid. They will soak it up almost immediately. Use the full amount of liquid. Sprinkle the reserved Crio Bru granules across the top of the sponge fingers.

Top with the mascarpone mixture. Spread the milled chocolate across the mascarpone custard.

Insert butterfly into Thermomix bowl (no need to wash) and add cream. Whip until soft peaks form, 10-20 sec/speed 4.

Spread cream on top of custard. Dust generously with cocoa. Make shapes or a pattern with the icing sugar if desired.

Allow to stay in fridge overnight or several hours before serving.

This is easily made in individual serving glasses as well.

Cheesey Sable Bites

I love a good sable, and normally think of them as sweet or as the base of a cheesecake or tart…so these are a savoury take on a sable. Crumbly, buttery, little bites of yum, they are perfect for the Christmas entertaining platter. Get out the dried fruit, a few nuts, some good cheese and these…or box them up and use them as gifts. Maybe save the egg whites and go ahead and make that Crio Bru Pavlova you are dreaming about!

NEED:

50g mature Cheddar

30g Parmesan, plus extra

100g unsalted butter, cubed

120g SR flour, plus extra

2 egg yolks, hard boiled

50g fine polenta

Pinch sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Sesame seeds to garnish

DO:

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line a baking tray with paper.

Place cheeses into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 1o.

Add remaining ingredients except seeds and blend 6 sec/speed 6.

Tip out onto floured Silpat mat and push together with hands.

Roll into small balls and place onto prepared tray. Sprinkle with seeds and extra grated Parmesn. Flatten with a piece of baking paper between the biscuit and the MC to form rounds.

Bake 8-10 minutes until golden and fragrant.

Ice Cream Cheese Christmas Pudding

Well it is summer down under folks…so that is what we do here! Similar in everyway to a traditional Christmas pudding, this is just frozen and gluten free! (And with the benefit of Crio Bru, I think we can safely call it a health food!) A little planning is required due to the soaking of the fruit…and I am not talking about myself when referring to either the soaking or the fruit…let us be clear. I have been as frantic as the rest of the world with things to attend, shopping for all and sundry, plates of goodies to provide, and sometimes up to 3 functions on a single day, but this was seriously so easy that you can whip this up and be serving it on the 25th without any dramas at all!

NEED:

60g each dried cherries, craisins, raisins

60g each glace cherries, figs, apricots

A few pieces glace citrus

Zest each 1 lemon, orange, finely grated

80g brandy or rum

60g left over brewed Crio Bru grounds (the soft sludgey stuff)

60g chopped chocolate

50g sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 whole nutmeg

1/2 tonka bean (optional)

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground ginger

250g cream cheese

Juice each 1 lemon, orange,

200g cream

300g milk

DO:

Place all fruits, zests and brandy or rum (or both!!) into an insulated bowl and stir to cover. Allow to soak for around 2-3 days, stirring occasionally.

Add Crio Bru grounds and chopped chocolate to fruit mixture and set aside until use.

Place sugar and all spices into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add remaining ingredients except fruit/chocolate mixture and blend for 30 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat.

Add fruit, chocolate mixture and incorporate 5 sec/Interval. Stir by hand to finish, ensuring that fruit is separated and well coated in the ice cream mix.

Line 1-2 pudding bowls (or deep bowls) with baking paper, pushing the paper against the walls of the bowls, so that the surface is flat. If you have big folds of paper, the mixture will get inbetween and you will lose some of it when unmoulding.

Pour mixture in and freeze for at least 24 hours. To serve, dip basin into bath of cold water, and up turn onto serving platter. Remove paper, garnish with holly, fruit, nuts, chocolate syrup, or whatever takes your fancy.

The options for this are highly adaptable; if you don’t like nutmeg, leave it out, if you don’t like glace cherries, leave them out, but replace them with same quantity of something else and so on…if you don’t like chocolate, I can’t help you…and if you don’t have Crio Bru, you need to get on to it immediately before Christmas is upon us!

Crio Bru Chocolate Truffles

You knew this had to come right? If there is Crio Bru Gelato, and Crio Bru Pavlova then clearly there needed to be Crio Bru Truffles…it was only a matter of time. They are easy enough, but chill the mixture in a flat tray for easier handling…and chill the whole mix inbetween if it gets too hard to work with. Either that, or just eat it out of the tray….skip that pesky rolling it into truffle stage; and go straight to the eating stage!

NEED:

200g cream

50g Vega Reál Crio Bru (you can use other flavors, but this is the strongest chocolate hit!)

40g coconut palm sugar or other sugar of choice

200g Margaret River Origin Chocolate of choice (I used Papua New Guinea, Trinitario beans 64%!)

Bits and pieces for rolling; chopped nuts, extra Crio Bru, and cocoa

DO:

Place cream, Crio Bru and sugar into Thermomix bowl and infuse 10 min/80ºC/speed 2. Allow to cool and infuse for around 10 minutes.

Add chocolate and reheat 5 min/80ºC/speed 2. Whip 30 sec/speed 3. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat if necessary. Spread into a flat tray and chill for several hours. Press a piece of plastic wrap or baking paper down onto the surface of the chocolate to prevent a skin forming.

Use a small ice cream scoop or a melon baller to form small round truffles. Roll in bits of choice. Add an old chocolate box and you’re on your way to the wonderful Crio gift your family are all waiting for!

EVOO and Hazelnut Shortbread

Well it wouldn’t be Christmas right? Seriously, what is the festive season without a piece of crumbly, buttery, (scratch that!) melt in the mouth, rich shortbread? Add chocolate and well…I’m there! (Was there ever any doubt about that point?) Using EVOO instead of butter, this version is not strictly shortbread but has that same rich ‘short’ texture that is a result of no eggs and a decent amount of fat content. (Indeed, what is Christmas without a decent amount of fat content??) The hazelnuts make it so fragrant and delicious that I think you will agree that this recipe will make next years Twelve Recipes of Christmas.

NEED:

200g hazelnuts, toasted and skinned

60g La Perruche sugar cubes or equivalent

30g icing sugar

Pinch sea salt

Zest 1 lemon

90g flour

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

90g Fini EVOO

Approx 50g chocolate and additional EVOO, melted until liquid

DO:

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line a 20cm square baking tin with paper that comes up over the sides for easy removal.

Place nuts, sugars, salt, and zest into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add remaining ingredients except chocolate and blend 10 sec/speed 5-6.

Press into prepared tin and bake 20-25 minutes until golden and fragrant. Reduce oven temperature to 160ºC and bake further 5 minutes.

Cool completely.

Flick with melted chocolate and allow to set. Cut and serve.

Crio Bru Pavlova Stack

I made this for my dear old dad’s birthday. I had been planning such a creation for while, ever since seeing a picture on Pinterest which I pinned (yes folks, yet another social networking thing I have become enamoured with!) So this is a bit of copy, but yet my own invention…Happy 80th father of mine!

NEED:

Pav Layers;

240g sugar

6 egg whites

1 pinch cream of tartar

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

25g Coco River Crio Bru granules

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

Filling;

2 tbsp sugar

900 mls cream (1 & 1/2 cartons)

25g Cocoa River Crio Bru granules

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

500g strawberries, sliced

DO:

Preheat oven to 140ºC. Line  3 trays with baking paper and mark 20cm circumference on each piece of paper. Set aside.

Place sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 1o. Reserve 2 tbsp for cream filling.

NOW (may the Gods not strike me dead!!)….plug in your handbeaters…or kitchen aid and place the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar into a clean dry non plastic bowl. Beat until foamy. Add vinegar to bowl.

Add milled sugar a little at a time until you have a stiff meringue and there is no longer any grains in the mix. (Test this by rubbing a little mixture between your finger and thumb.)

Fold through Crio Bru granules and vanilla bean paste with large sweeping motions, preferably with a metal spoon. Divid mixture between the 3 circles on prepared trays. Cook for 40-50 minutes until meringue is crisp and risen. Cool in the oven with door slightly ajar.

To make filling place all ingredients except strawberries into Thermomix bowl, insert Butterfly and whip for 20-40 sec/speed 4 or until soft peaks form.

To assemble, place a little dollop of cream onto centre of serving plate. Push one meringue circle onto the cream. This will hold it in place.

Spread that meringue with 1/3 cream mixture. Place a few sliced strawberries on top, then add the second meringue. Repeat with 1/3 cream and  strawberries, finishing with the final meringue, cream and strawberries.

Refrigerate and allow to soften a little for a few hours. (This will make it easier to slice.)

Christmas Stollen

I cannot believe it; I have blinked and Christmas 2011 is here! Phew, what a year…can I just recap?

• Turned 50, but don’t tell anyone! I went to Phuket with the whole family (and that in itself is a story!)
• Went to Dubai and worked with George Calombaris, as my alter ego Candy Liscious the failed beauty queen.
• Thermomix in Australia launched the Asian cookbook, which I had been working on for a long time.
• Went to Melbourne and spent a couple of days with the amazing Dani Valent on the In the Mix shoot.
• Then went to Germany and Switzerland as part of the International Jury for a beautiful new Vorwerk Cookbook, out soon.
• Completed the recipes and photo shoot for the Thermomix in Australia 2012 Calendar available now.
• My number four child went to the States to study.
• I LEFT THERMOMIX in Australia! (Phew, thats a biggie, so deserved capitals!) July 4th, need I remind you, Independance Day, was my last day at head office and if you thought I was busy thus far, can I just mention…things then went into overdrive.
• Had a 3 part skype interview with Super Helene from SuperKitchen Machine, arguably the most prolific and up to date blogger on all things Thermomix. (Which interview served to press the fast forward button on a number of things! Seriously, if you want the thermomix world to know about something, just mention it to Helene, she probably knows it already, but she can spread the word faster than anyone.)
• Created a Dinner Spinner, a small book consisting of 21 recipes that you can create yourself in a Thermomix, which in one week, sold 700 copies …and many more to go yet!
• I also got all jiggy and wrote, and styled a cookbook called For Food’s Sake which has 160 pages, full colour pictures for every recipe (80 of those) and is so gorgeous, that I can scarcely stand the excitement. It will be available on here really soon, as well as in good bookstores and also online at Hub and Spoke or at my cooking classes!
• Speaking of which; I started running my own advanced cooking classes using Thermomix. These have been held in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Perth and Mandurah to sell out crowds of amazing lovely people. It has been my pleasure to meet some fantastic people who are truly as passionate about the Thermomix and making great food as I am.
• Started importing a chocolate product called Crio Bru to Australia which is the most amazing healthy yummy product around and if I can put it into food or recipes, I will…but perhaps you know that already? I totally love it, and so do thousands of other happy customers. We will be in retail outlets just as soon as I can take a minute to help my very valuable marketing guru business partner more than I am at the moment!
• I opened two online shopping carts…(HUGE! When I say ‘I’, I mean the royal ‘we’…) Thanks honey!
• Have plans in place for another exciting project to be launched hopefully before December 25th…but you never know! Stay tuned…
• Started working for Kleenmaid in Australia, and am truly impressed by their new range of products which are about to get installed into my kitchen Monday. We have already had some successful sales as a result of my running classes in their amazing Sydney showroom, so thank you for that, and for believing that I would not get involved with anything that was less than excellent!
• I have been approached on an almost weekly basis by other appliance companies and I am still considering some offers…when the travel options to Italy and Germany are secured, so will be the deals! (hahaha)
• I have happily welcomed Heilala vanilla, Margaret River Chocolate Factory, Fini Olive Oil, Lighthouse Flour, and fantastic branding from Braincells to the Cooking with Tenina team.
• The other team Tenina members that I have to mention are Hub and Spoke publishing and Scott Print. I just love getting the phone calls from Hub and Spoke and mentioning casually in conversation, ‘just talking to my publisher’ or ‘please hold for a second, my publisher is calling’…you get the idea…still makes me smile/downright grin!
• And last but not least, the guy that got all this web stuff started for me, made me join Twitter when it was still something that only birds did, and now screens my calls because there is always something new I need him to add, remove, fix from any and all of my sites, the very patient, Luke Holder, nephew, son, dad, inspirational Tech guru!

Sorry to put you through all that, but hey, what a year no?

I am looking forward to a great 2012 but before we can get there, we have the little matter of Christmas to attend to…so to the job at hand.

I would like to introduce you to some of the better Christmas recipes I have on here…there are now quite a lot, but here are my picks! (Well for this year anyhoo!)

ONE:

Pistachio Marzipan Christmas Trees

A little sneaky one from this year. Pistachio Marzipan, which I have to say has 100’s of applications and may just start showing up in all sorts of recipes from here on in…If you do not like marzipan, do yourself a favour and give this a go…it is not like any marzipan you have ever tasted.

TWO:

Toblerone Dip

Toblerone Dip…The fruit at Christmas in Australia is fantastic, so joosh it up a bit with this one. Simple enough to whip up in no time, and impressive enough to make your guests come back for more.

THREE:

How about a little tradition? I make this every year and this year I have made it and tweaked it, so essentially, this is a new recipe! Aren’t you lucky? Stollen is buttery, almond and fruit laden with just a hint of in this case, pistachio marzipan…there I go again with that marzipan…its the new Umami…for Christmas this year. All the good recipe blogs are wearing it!

FOUR:

Sugar Roasted Plum Salad

Well its all about sugar plums…so this had to make the cut. For me the lead up to Christmas is about eating yummy light meals that will get me through in between the myriad of parties and eating festivities that dominate the calendar at this time of year, so Sugar Roasted Plum Salad is delish, light and a great mid week lunch or an accompaniment to something more substantial on the weekend.

FIVE: Make a date with these rolls and you won’t be disappointed in love!! I enjoy a little sweetness with savoury from time to time and for some reason at Christmas time, we do that a little more often. (Think glazed ham, cranberry sauce etc) So these Date rolls go extremely well with Christmas Dinner, or lunch, or just after with left over sliced ham, turkey or both.

SIX:  I make these every year, without a doubt. They make the cutest presents ever and of course I can but for a fleeting moment, imagine that I am in Italy…that far away place that I still have never been to…is there anyone out there willing to send me? I pledge to bring back more than just a big smile, recipes and knowledge to share. Siena Cake originates from, well, Siena and  is sticky, fruity, and far nicer than anything you can buy.

SEVEN:

White Chocolate Christmas

When it comes to gifting food, I am not short on ideas and I did a post last year about just this, so not strictly a recipe on its own, but a great post that just may get you thinking about how clever you could be with a little prod, some cellophane, curling ribbon and a Thermomix…Gourmet Gifts couldn’t be easier…go on, go see.

EIGHT: Whilst we’re on the whole giving gifts from the kitchen routine (and white chocolate as well), these Minty White Choc Truffles were an instant hit at our house and I must say, I have had a lot of great feedback about them as well. Easier than running to the shop and fighting the crowds…prettier and more personal.

White Chocolate Minty Truffles

NINE: You can’t go past a great cookie recipe at Christmas and this is a bit of a grown up version of a Choc Chip cookie. Developed way back in my original Kleenmaid days, these are even easier in the Thermomix.

TEN:  Time for a quick salad? Red and Green Salad will always look festive and is so easy, I can barely call it a recipe…it is more of a suggestion. Enjoy on a hot day pre Christmas, throw a steak (or a prawn) on the barbie and you’re away!

ELEVEN and TWELVE: I don’t think Christmas can be complete without a little gingerbread…am I right? So even though these just went up on here, you must agree, they deserve a mention in the twelve recipes of 2011…I am hoping at some point to contruct a gingerbread house out of this cookie recipe, but with the big day fast approaching, I am not confident it will be this year it shows up! The flavored sugar recipe is delish as a Christmas tweak to anything requiring a little sugar, so think whipped cream, coffee, Crio Bru, your partner….you get the idea.

So from me, to you; and from Cookingwithtenina on Facebook, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May you all have the time to Celebrate and Bake, and to feel the spirit of the season and may you all look forward to a wonderful 2012. (Cue the Christmas carols here….)

 

Garlic Prawns

I have been asked for a recipe for Garlic Prawns a few times, and as much as I love them, I am a great believer in a high heat to cook them quickly and to brown them up a bit. Of course, if you over do the brown, you have bitter garlic…so that is where Thermomix can really come into its own. So…combined with a little Light Lemon Risotto, this recipe is quick, easy and delicious. It should have perhaps featured in Dinner Spinner…but then, what would I put up here for you all to stay tuned?

NEED:

Handful Italian parsley

6-8 cloves garlic

20g Fini EVOO

700g green prawns, shelled

30g brandy

Sea salt and pepper to taste

30g cream

Lemon juice and zest to taste

DO:

Place parsley into Thermomix bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 7. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place garlic and EVOO into Thermomix bowl and chop 4 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides of bowl and saute 5 min/Varoma/speed 1.

Add prawns and cook 5 min/Varoma/Reverse + speed 1 with MC off.

Add brandy, seasoning and cream and cook 2 min/Varoma/Reverse+ speed 1 with MC off.

Add parsley through hole in lid in the last 20 sec of cooking time, just to incorporate or stir through after.

Serve over Light Lemon Risotto with lashings of fresh lemon juice, and finely grated zest over; or on simply their own with fresh crusty bread if desired.

Gingerbread; hearts in this instance!

Ever the perfect cookie at this time of year, they can be quite problematic..so here we have a simpler version, more like a shortbread I suppose or a pfeffernusse of sorts, or even a cross between the two. I think these are a little easier to roll and cut than most gingerbread as the dough is more workable because of the absence of molasses or treacle. And I  might say, a little grown up with a bite of pepper every now and again. Enjoy…and can I say it yet? Merry Christmas Baking…

NEED:

210g unsalted butter

1 batch Sugar and Spice

Pinch sea salt

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

380-400g plain flour

1 tsp lemon extract or oil

DO:

Place butter, sugar and spice, salt and vanilla into Thermomix bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 5.

Add remaining ingredients and blend 10 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and tip out onto well-floured silicon mat. It will be fairly unmixed and crumbly. Knead together by hand into a flat disc. Place into fridge for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line 2 baking trays with paper.

Roll dough out to ½ cm thickness and cut using cookie cutters of choice.

Bake 10 minutes until fragrant and golden.

Allow to cool on trays.

Brush with glaze while still warm. Decorate with piped icing, or  other decorations of choice.

Glaze

 NEED:

40g caster sugar

30g water

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

1 tsp gelatin powder

DO:

Place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl making sure that they do not get dumped onto the top of the blades.

Cook for 4 min/70ºC/speed 1. Cool slightly.

Brush onto cookies. Do not touch the glaze once brushed onto the cookies as it will mark very easily.