Buttering the Dough

Oven Ready Scrolls

Ready to Eat

I am hoping that although a pedestrian recipe, this will appease those who seem to call the office regarding said Cheesey Mite Scrolls…and whilst I am all for Vegemite (used to eat it by the spoonful in my wasted youth) on this occasion I omitted it. BUT please, use your noggin and add Vegemite at will, in great dollops if desired, simply spread on dough prior to proceeding with the remaining instructions, (possibly omitting the pepper).

OH, and By. The. Way.  I have a new camera, thus the not so pedestrian pics…and so many of them. My DH is trigger happy. Hopefully this means my own book is closer than ever to being realised, if I can just get my head around another learning curve…am I too old for all this and dear readers…will you buy it? Let me know.

CHEESEY SCROLLS

NEED:

510g bakers flour

2tsp dried yeast

40g EVOO

good pinch sea salt

300g warm water (tepid)

40g melted butter

300g mixed cubed cheeses of choice (I used Dutch Leydon, Vintage Cheddar and Grana Padano ~ or good Parmesan)

Generous amount of cracked black pepper

DO:

Make dough by placing flour, yeast, EVOO, salt and water into Thermomix bowl and mixing for 6 seconds on speed 6. With dial set to closed lid position, knead for 2 minutes on Interval speed. Wrap tightly in Silpat mat and allow to prove until doubled.

Meanwhile place all cheeses into Thermomix bowl and mill for 7-8 seconds on speed 8.

When dough has risen, preheat oven to 220C.

Use a little of the melted butter to prepare a rectangular baking dish.

Roll dough into a large rectangle and brush with more butter.

Spread almost all of the cheese on the dough being sure to cover all the edges. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.

Roll into large sausage shape and then cut through using pastry scraper. Turn filling side up and arrange in baking dish next to each other so there are no gaps.

Drizzle with remaining butter, top with remaining cheese and cook for 20 minutes or until golden. (Do I need to say it?) SERVE HOT!

Chocolate Butter Tart with Walnuts

What else is there…really? If you want a decadent dessert, they usually include those three, and of course, add a few toasted nuts and chocolate and you really have the whole dessert ‘thang’ going on! I know this is a bit of recurring theme on this site, but just as there are no new stories, there are no new recipes…its just the method and ratio’s that differ. So go for a run, and if you still feel like eating this, go ahead and make it, but only eat a small, small sliver…and at your own risk!

Caramel Nutty Tart

NEED:

Pastry;

60g sugar

pinch salt

35g walnut halves

85g blanched almonds

230g plain flour

100g unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg

DO:

Place sugar and salt into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10.

Toast nuts in 200C oven for 10 minutes or until fragrant and cool.

Add nuts to Thermomix bowl and mill for a further 3 seconds on speed 8.

Add remaining ingredients except the egg and mix for 5 seconds on speed 7.

Add egg and mix for a few seconds on speed 7 or until a pastry forms.

Tip out onto floured Silpat mat and push together into a tight disc. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out and lining a 23cm flan tin with removable base with pastry. Prick bottom with fork and place into freezer for at least 30 minutes. Bake in preheated 170C oven for 25-30 minutes until golden. Cool.

NEED:

Filling;

1 cup mixed walnuts and pecans, toasted (as above) and roughly chopped

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup syrup (golden, maple or corn)

1/4 cup water

130g unsalted butter

50g cream

50g mascarpone cream cheese or creme fraiche

DO:

Place sugar, water and syrup into saucepan and on a low heat dissolve sugar, stirring occasionally. Brush down sides of saucepan with wet pastry brush to remove crystals as they form.

Once the mixture is a clear syrup, increase heat to induction 6-7 (steady simmer) and cook without stirring until the syrup becomes a deep yet clear amber colour. (approximately 8-10 minutes) Continue to brush sides of pan with wet pastry brush as needed. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients except nuts. Stir vigorously to incorporate. Cool.

Stir through nuts and pour mixture into pastry shell. Refrigerate until set and completely cold.

NEED:

Chocolate Glaze;

100g dark chocolate (70% or higher)

120g cream

DO:

Place chocolate into Thermomix bowl and mill for 8 seconds on speed 10.

Add cream and melt together for 2-3 minutes at 60C on speed 3.

Pour over the top of the cold tart, spreading to just the edges of the filling, leaving the top of the pastry rim bare.

Set completely in fridge before cutting to serve, in, as I said, THIN slivers!

Dark Chocolate Cardamom Kiss

You know me, LOVE ice cream, particularly home made…and when there are about 4 ingredients…even better! (Well that’s if you don’t include the dipping ingredients.)

A little fiddly. I’ll be honest…but soooo cute! Impressive, if that’s what you’re after, and really, with a little patience, NOT that hard…just like I said, fiddly!

So a few tips;

• Make the ice cream well in advance of dipping and make sure you have made the small balls and frozen them separately for at least 24 hours.
• Use food handling gloves for easy rolling of the ice cream into balls.
• Place each ball into a mini muffin tin…its amazing how much easier that makes it!
• Do each colour separately and replace the un-dipped balls into the freezer between preparations!

The recipe…

NEED:

400g coconut milk

500g whipping cream

75-80g honey

4-5 cardamom pods

DO:

Place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and scald for 15 minutes at 80oC on speed 3. Allow mix to cool completely before removing cardamom pods and placing into ice cream churner. Follow manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately or freeze until solid and form balls as required. Dip as desired and serve as finger food dessert.

Of course if you have no ice cream churner…not a problem. Freeze mix in ice cube trays and then simply place cubes into your Thermomix and whiz up for around 30 seconds or so until thick and rich and creamy! Return to freezer and then continue with rolling and dipping if desired as directed.

To dip, use around 50g chocolate, or white chocolate and melt with 1 tsp of coconut oil until liquid…add flavours/colours as desired, toss ice cream balls through each batch individually (work fast) and return to freezer immediately. If you are rolling kisses into anything after coating, be doubly quick. (coconut, coloured sprinkles, crushed pistachios, etc etc)

Each 50g chocolate will coat approximately 4 walnut sized ice cream balls. The total recipe will yield around 30-40 balls…I confess I only did half the mix, we ate the rest drizzled with passionfruit pulp…it is everything ice cream should be; the whitest, creamiest, fluffiest mouth taste ever.

Pictured are dark chocolate rolled in coconut, lime zest in white chocolate, frozen raspberry in white chocolate, plain dark chocolate. As you can see, to roll on top of dipping adds dimension. I would recommend only 1-2 per serving, but of course…everyone WILL want to try them all! Sorry, that’s just how it is!

Well this post had to happen sooner or later…and I guess it’s officially sooner! I have managed to go through all my posts and look what I found! I could start a tart and pie shop, clearly! Any potential partners out there, send me a message and I’m ready to go!

First up in my self imposed round up, and most recently added, the free form tart with fresh apricots and cherries can be found here. Tart (in the true sense of the word) sweet, a little nutty, and so EASY!

Then there was the fresh fig and honey tart, with a touch of marzipan…and just to add a dimension, toffee topping!

Of course, no Australian food blogger could have a complete site with out the good ole Meat Pie post…enjoy!

Simple, fruity, great pastry…what more could you want in a fruit pie? Well vanilla bean of course. One of my faves…(aren’t they all?)

If you come here often, you will know that Lemon is almost as good as chocolate to me…thus the Lemon Olive Oil Tart…which if you never cook anything else from this site, you must do this one…promise me now!

Got no time? Need dessert quickly? This is the one for you…no pastry, but a flan none the less…and a little international as well!

Oh that’s right…you know how I said the Lemon Olive oil tart was my fave?? Maybe not, maybe it’s this one…Buerre Noisette….Burnt Butter is my new fascination at the minute, seriously good stuff…calories worth eating!

Kind of a cross between a cheesecake and a sweet pie, this will become a family favorite…it would be in our house, if I allowed myself to make it again! Some pies should only be eaten once…for the sake of the arteries that is!

Never shie away from a fruit you don’t know…put it in a pastry shell and voila, easy dessert…(and completely delish!)

Another Lemon slash cheesecake slash pie cross worth eating…(again…aren’t they all??)

OK OK, Chocolate meets almonds head on…and they both WIN! Chocolate pastry, chocolate filling (with almond frangipane) topped with chocolate ganache…can’t really go wrong if you are a chocolate lover!

Now for a rare look at a savoury option…hang on to it whilst you can, there may never be another!

Strawberries, Luscious Lime, crispy pastry, a true summer tart…try it today!

Sorry, but there’s more and of course chocolate is involved…easy peasy, chocolate squeezy!

And here comes another traditional tart…or pie…The quintessential Lemon Meringue Pie.

I could of course keep going, and was in fact surprised (though why I don’t know!) by the sheer number of pastry delights on here…I stopped here as there are many others, but they are less recent and perhaps not as well done as I would like them to be. (Time for an upgrade or two I suppose!) Cut to the chase I hear you cry…recipe recipe recipe….OK!

So to today’s offering…you wouldn’t believe it…chocolate again, pecans are the nuts of choice and not my recipe, but stunning in every way…lactose free, unless butter bothers you. All the components of decadence required by chocolate and nuts and the best darn pastry a Thermomix can mix!

Adapted from Willies famous recipe, it is a chocolate pecan tart. Now before you shriek at the sheer number of sugar grams, remember I was using pure cacao and I have to say, it was a chocolate hit like no other. (Being Easter weekend, I know what I’m on about here folks!)

NEED:

Pastry:

100g raw sugar

200g plain flour

100g unsalted butter frozen and cubed

2 egg yolks

1tsp vanilla essence

Filling:

180g pure cacao (Or reduce sugar and use 70% dark chocolate)

50g unsalted butter

75g caster sugar

160g pure maple syrup

3 eggs

100-120g pecan halves

DO:

Pastry:

Preheat oven to 190oC and butter a 23cm loose bottomed flan tin. Set aside.

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

Add flour and butter and mix together for 6-7 seconds on speed 8.

Add vanilla essence and yolks and mix for a further 6-7 seconds on speed 6 or until pastry forms soft balls.

Tip out onto floured Silpat mat and bring together with hands into large disc shape. Roll out using floured rolling pin and line prepared flan tin. Place in freezer for at least 15 minutes. Remove, line with baking paper and weights (rice, beans or proper pie weights) and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove weights and bake a further 5 minutes until pastry is no longer shiny. Remove and cool slightly before filling with prepared filling.

Filling:

Place cacao into Thermomix bowl and mill for approximately 10 seconds until powdered.

Add butter, sugar, and maple syrup to Thermomix bowl and melt for 6 minutes at 50oC on speed 1.

Add eggs through hole in lid and beat in for 30 seconds on speed 8. Scrape down sides of bowl if necessary and repeat. You will have a thick mousse like consistency.

Place pecans into prepared pastry case, scrape filling on top and spread with spatula. Bake a further 10-15 minutes until set in centre. Chill completely before serving with lashings of cream…kind of necessary due to the dense nature of pure cacao.

Well it IS Easter after all. Slightly healthier than some of the other chocolate options around at the moment, and based on the use of very good ingredients, this should not scare you too much! Risotto is one of the most amazing canvases to which you can add flavour after flavour…and chocolate of course is just a flavour…I have added orange as well as the combination is always fantastic!

If you want to use Cointreau or another dessert wine, simply substitute for other liquid…a spoonful of powdered espresso adds depth of flavour as well. So Hoppy Easter to all, and please, make sure you all eat too much chocolate…cos the next excuse to do so is a looong way away.

NEED:

180g dark chocolate in pieces

zest 1 orange

40g butter

350g Arborio rice

100g Amaretto

1 tsp vanilla essence

1L  milk

1 chopped segmented orange

150g sugar

cream to taste

DO:

Place chocolate and orange zest into Thermomix bowl and mill together for 10 seconds on speed 10. Set aside.

Place butter, rice and Amaretto into Thermomix bowl and saute for 3 minutes at 100oC on Reverse + speed 1.5. (Don’t ask, just find a spot between speed 1 and 2 and relax!)

Add remaining ingredients except chocolate and orange zest, and cream to Thermomix bowl and cook for between 17-19 minutes at 100oC on Reverse + speed 1.5.

Pour in insulated bowl removing any fibrous pieces from the orange, and stir chocolate and cream through. Garnish with white chocolate curls and serve whilst still hot.

OK OK, a little late for that famously Chocolated out day for lovers, but this is just a rework of an oldie on here, and it was for the Steam Oven a long time ago and in another galaxy! Named lust for obvious reasons, (which will become apparent once you have made and eaten this sinful confection!) you will NOT, I repeat NOT ever think of chocolate in quite the same light ever again. Try some of the variations, but (sigh) I just keep going back to the Jaffa Pots.

I need to revisit a lot of content on here, and in light of the fact I am off to Sydney on Sunday (stay tuned in on Twitter) to work with chef Mark Best, as well as tripping off to Singapore the week after that, I felt that a redo was a great option to keep you all coming back!! So here you have it. You can double the mixture quite easily and make sure you tweak a change or two each time you do it!

NEED:

140g dark chocolate in chunks

300g cream

20g caster sugar

1tsp vanilla extract (or other flavorings of choice, see Options)

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

10-12 small dishes or ramekins

DO:

Place chocolate, cream, sugar and vanilla into Thermomix bowl and heat together for 3 minutes at 50ºC on speed 1.

Insert Butterfly and with lid closed, drop eggs and yolk into hole in lid as you mix for 1 minute on speed 2. Place MC on top and increase to speed 4 after you have added the eggs and yolk.

Divide between small dishes (Dariole moulds work well) and place them into the Varoma dish and tray.

Lightly rinse Thermomix bowl and fill with 1 litre of water. Set Varoma into position and cook for 20 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 2.

Place choc pots into fridge until cooled before serving warm or cold dusted with cocoa and with berry/mint leaf garnish and additional whipped cream if desired.

OPTIONS:

Jaffa Choc Pots: Add zest 1 orange and a dash of optional Cointreau

Coconut Crème Pots: Replace dark chocolate with white chocolate and cream with coconut cream. Add a dash of almond essence.

Baileys Crème Pots: Replace dark chocolate with milk chocolate, omit sugar and add a dash of Bailey’s liqueur.

Espresso Pots: Add a shot of espresso to chocolate whilst melting. Or add 1tsp espresso powder at the same time as vanilla extract.

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!

Christmas Ice Cream Torte

I know that sounds crazy to my northern readers, but as the temperature starts to head into the 30′s (Celcius that is), our thoughts down under turn to Christmas, and ways to keep the feasting cool and casual, around the pool or water somewhere, somehow…what better conglomeration than Ice Cream and Christmas Pudding? Great in the centre of your Christmas table or really charming as individual serves, this recipe is a beauty, if I say so myself. More of a torte than a Christmas pudding, a piece d’resistance after a stunning meal, and a must to start off my Christmas ramblings for 2009. Hard to believe how fast the year has gone, but lets stay away from that topic shall we? SO with no further ado, let the cooking begin…2009 Christmas here we come!

Christmas Ice Cream Torte

NEED:
1 recipe Raspberry Coulis from Everyday Cooking for Every Family (Thermomix book)

230g butter shortbread biscuits (I recommend Walkers for the butter content.)

55g toasted blanched almonds

55g sugar

2 eggs

300g chilled cream

½ tsp rosewater (optional)

50g craisins

50g shelled pistachios

150g each pink and green Turkish delight, cubed (available at specialty stores)

DO:

Make Raspberry Coulis and cool.

Pre heat oven to 180ºC. Line the base of a 13cm spring form pan or for individual tortes, butter a muffin or friand tin and set aside.

Place shortbread biscuits and almonds into clean Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10.

Push into pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Place sugar into clean and dry Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 10. Insert Butterfly.

Add eggs and cook for 6 minutes at 60ºC on speed 3.

Pour into separate bowl and chill.

Pour cream and rosewater into Thermoimix bowl and whip for 10-20 seconds on speed 4 until soft peaks form. Fold by spatula into chilled custard and then fold through remaining ingredients except Coulis.

Pour into base and then pour Coulis on top. Stir through with a skewer to create a marbled effect.

Freeze for 4 hours or more before serving.  Garnish unmoulded torte with fresh berries, mint leaves and additional pistachios or Turkish delight pieces as desired, and dust with icing sugar.

General Tips

To assist with serving, place in fridge 20 minutes before unmoulding and slicing.

Honey Pecan Ice Cream

Well you may have noticed a few changes around here…not least of which is the stunning new site which is still getting altered bit by bit by my very helpful nephew Luke! (Thank you) Of course, being the almost complete computer illiterate that I am, there may be more errors than not, but I believe it has all been brought over from the other site and should look better, feel better and of course, therefore BE better than ever before! So…please enjoy. I have also changed (finally), the name of my site, which was a little dated according to my very helpful fellow foodie Matt and hopefully this will find its mark! Same recipes, same chit chat, but much prettier and easier to navigate. I actually have a new home kitchen to show off on here as well, but that will wait for another day when I have had the professional photo shoot!

Today, as I languished in long awaited sunshine, my thoughts naturally turned to ice cream, and as we have had a recent honey harvest, I knew a honey ice cream would be a real treat…honey and pecan to be precise, so brace yourselves…one serving of this will never do, and it is so easy that I’m almost embarrassed to call it a recipe!

NEED:
3 eggs
75g fresh honey
300g milk
300g ice cold whipping cream
150g toasted pecan nut pieces

DO:
Place eggs and honey into Thermomix  bowl and blend for 1 minute on speed 3.
Add milk and cook for 7 minutes at 90oC on speed 4. Cool completely.
Place cream into Thermomix bowl and whip for 20-40 seconds until holding stiff peaks.
Fold through nuts and cooled custard by adding all to the Thermomix bowl and gently stirring together on Reverse + speed 3.
Place into metal tray or bowl and freeze for several hours until solid. Soften in fridge for around 20 minutes  before serving.

Not very sweet, creamy and oh those toasted pecans…very adult ice cream…the kids will stay away in droves, but that is the idea after all!