In my thermomix: gluten free chocolate cherry cake

Those who know me well know that I often rave about my thermomix. It was a 40th birthday pressie fairly recently (well, maybe not that recently...) and while I don't use it as much as many owners, I can't imagine my kitchen without it. 

My favourite recipe in the basic cookbook that comes with it is easily the Torta Caprese or flourless almond cake. I've made it countless times and it has always been a huge hit. Most people are shocked when they realise it's gluten free as it is ridiculously moist and bursting with flavour. It's also incredibly simple, quick to prepare, and could easily be made by those of you unfortunate enough not to have a thermi. I've made it as is in the book, as well as adding orange zest, various liquors, and extra whole almonds to give it a different texture. 

I mixed it up again when I made it on the weekend as I was very kindly given a massive box of beautiful cherries by Cherry Growers Australia and Brisbane Produce Markets. I am a bit surprised that I had some left for baking, as cherries are amongst my favourite fruits, but even I can't eat 2kg of them on my own. Although I tried hard!

What you need

250g dark chocolate, chopped (I always use a good quality 70% chocolate)

250g almonds

200g sugar (I use raw and blitz it a bit, but you could use castor too)

150g butter at room temperature

6 eggs (59g)

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp cocoa

300g cherries, pitted and cut in half (this allows for a few to be eaten) 

What you do 

• Preheat oven to 180c
• Grease a 20-22cm tin and line with baking paper
• Pop the chocolate into the thermi bowl and chop for 5-10 seconds on speed 8. Set aside in a separate bowl
• Put the almonds into the thermi bowl and chop for about 10 seconds on speed 6. Add to the bowl with the chocolate
• Place remaining ingredients into the thermi bowl and mix for 20 seconds on speed 7
• Add chocolate and almonds and mix for about 30 seconds on speed 6 until it has all come together
• Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin, sprinkle half the cherries on top
• Pour over the other half of the mixture and top with the remaining cherries 
• Bake for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. Check at the hour mark. You want it to be not fully cooked, so it has a lovely fudgy centre.
• Once cooked, cool in the tin, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours. Try not to be tempted to cut it before it is completely cool. 
• Serve with more fresh cherries, cream or ice-cream

If you don't have a thermomix, you can easily make it using another type of mixer. Either hand grate the chocolate, or blitz it in a food processor, buy almond meal, use caster sugar and mix the rest as per the order in the directions above. 

Actually, if you don't have a thermomix, just go and get one. Or at least start saving!

What's your favourite ingredient to add to a chocolate cake recipe?

Disclaimer: The cherries (and a fabulous easy to re-use box and bag) were gifted to me by Cherry Growers Australia and Brisbane Produce Markets. Thank you. 

In My Kitchen November 2012

I'm an In My Kitchen newbie this month - after reading so many others for many months I decided it was time to jump in!

To break with tradition, the first pic is In My Garden - WE HAVE CHICKENS!!! Just in case you don't follow me on twitter or Facebook :)

This one is hubby doing a bit of chicken wrangling this afternoon as three of our four ESCAPED. I was not happy. They are massacring the veggie garden. Hopefully his latest trip to Bunnings will sort it all out later today!

But despite being naughty, two of our beautiful chooks are providing us with breakfast, almost every day. YAY! Hopefully the others will start to lay soon too.  All in their own time...

Mmmmm cheese. This is a few of what is currently in the fridge. Yes, I'm a bit addicted. I also have ricotta, fetta, cheddar, parmesan and a few dregs of a blue I bought in Adelaide earlier in the month - it reached the stinky-shoe-smell stage just as I arrived back in Brisbane. Pretty sure the other passengers on my flight didn't need to smell that. Olympus haloumi is a favourite, and also made locally in Brisbane. The yellow and red cheeses are from Maleny Cheese (I really must go there one day!). These three I picked up at the Good Food and Wine Show recently. The organic Brie style is a favourite I get from Woollies every now and then.

And to go with the cheese, a selection of crackers. I LOVE the Sakata wholegrain - gluten free and soooo good. I always pick up a few packs when they are on special. The ones in the box are Fig crackers - gorgeous with a soft ripened cheese like a Brie. I'm also eating a rosemary cracker from the same company which I love. The square bikkies are Kurrajong Kitchen's lavosh bites (egg and yeast free), also picked up at the GFWS recently. They are about to increase their range in IGAs and other independent stores, so keep an eye out.

A big thanks to Emma from Chobani for sending a box of one of my new favourite yogurts. I love the 2% the most, and use it for a load of savoury dishes - most recently for tandoori chicken and a cucumber and mint raita. Hubby loves the small flavoured ones. I've been a fan since tasting them in the US a couple of years ago - I love them even more now they are made in Melbourne. Check out their success story - what a man can do with a dream :)

I'm a volunteer speaker for the Heart Foundation so when I saw they had a cookbook out by Pete Evans, I had to buy it. Especially when I found out $8 from the sale of each goes to raising awareness of heart disease. It's only $20 - it would make an excellent Christmas pressie.

I love fresh garlic - this is Australian grown, and picked up the farmer's markets in Brissie last week.

Aren't these little matryoshka dolls cute? They are also practical as they are a set of measuring cups. Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for giving me these for my birthday a couple of years ago. 

Cherries scream Christmas to me. And while I am in NO WAY ready to acknowledge that it's nearly that time of year, I was very happy and grateful to receive this gorgeous box of cherries from the Brisbane Produce Markets recently. A big thanks to them and especially to Cherry Growers Australia for providing them to me. Our cherry season is far too short, so stock up now so you don't miss out. I must say I was pretty happy to discover hubby and Mr12 are not cherry lovers. More for me. YAY!

I love these preserving jars. They are some of mum's that I inherited last year. I have many childhood memories of them being used - not just for food! Mum was a keen maker of preserves and jams and sometimes pickles and chutneys. I'm determined to use them - maybe not all of them as there are over 100 of varying shapes and sizes! I've used a few so far as vases, to make fermented tomato salsa, for mango chutney and I've gifted a few (filled with food of course!) to family members who also miss mum.

Last but not least - my thermomix. Otherwise known as the wonder machine. This makes life in the kitchen SO much easier! Most recently used to make gluten free chocolate cherry brownies. Perfect for the person who loves to cook AND the person who hates cooking :)

Well, that was fun! If you want to peek into other kitchens, check out Celia's list at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

What are you using in your kitchen this month??

Disclaimer: The Chobani yogurt and the cherries were sent to me. THANK YOU. Everything else featured I purchased or acquired as mentioned in the post.

Zumbo bake at home - And the winner is...

A huge thanks to everyone who entered this competition - the overwhelming flavour winner is clearly salted caramel. A flavour I also love!

I entered you all into a random number generator, and the winner is Jo! I'll be in touch to arrange delivery of your prize in the next few days.

I'm fairly sure your sweet tooth will love these - let me know what you think. And even with your perceived lack of baking prowess, I'm sure you'll be able to make the brownies. They are very easy!

New bake at home by Adriano Zumbo - and a competition

Everyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely hate packet mixes and am fairly scathing of most people who use them to bake a cake. Let’s face it. It’s not that difficult to mix some flour, milk, sugar, egg and butter in a bowl to get a cake. With real ingredients that taste great. Not much different from adding a few ingredients to a packet mix and, yes, you guessed it, mixing it in a bowl. Usually with added preservatives, and often a substandard taste.

So when I was asked to trial acclaimed chef Adriano Zumbo’s new bake at home packet mixes, my instant reaction was to say no. But I was intrigued. I, too, had marveled at the macaron tower on Masterchef. Stared in awe at the V8 cake. Winced in pain with Julie when she kept scalding her fingers on the caramel for the ginormous croquembouche.

So why not I thought. 

His range of four includes two macarons (passionfruit and salted caramel), chocolate brownies and the chocolate mirror cake. Now I love to bake, and consider myself to be quite competent [we don’t mention the forgotten butter incident much these days…], but as I’m not the target market for these goodies [did I mention I really don’t get the fuss about macarons?], I invited a few friends over to help. By which I mean bake. While I swanned around drinking champers and taking photos.

mmmm bubbles.... 

So a huge thanks to Fiona, Sherryl, Cathie and Brad for agreeing to take on the Zumbo challenge. 

I must say, as someone who has never made macarons, but who has heard loads of horror stories, these seemed quite easy. We did have a few glitches, generally due to the cooks not reading the instructions properly before starting to bake (not naming names here...). And the other main thing I would suggest is to whip that meringue mix to within an inch of its life. Just when you think it is finished, whip it some more. And maybe a bit more. Otherwise you might end up with something that looks a bit flat. Like a pancake. Which you don't want. 

Piping out the macarons. This technique was excellent. Maybe next time turn the paper over so you don't eat red pencil... 

A bit pancake like - needed more whipping :) 

These were an almost perfect first effort - check out the little "feet" 

The other key step is to leave the meringue mix to stand for 10 minutes. The whole 10 minutes. VERY IMPORTANT. But in the end they looked great and got 2 thumbs up from everyone - if you love sweet you will love these. 

The finished macarons - the darker yellow were the salted caramel, paler yellow the passionfruit.

One of the things I liked most about these packet mixes was the helpful "Must do's from Zumbo" tips on the back of the box. If you are a baking novice, check out the videos on his website - they are excellent. The box also has a QR code to scan for video instructions. This impressed me more than anything and is a great tip that many other companies can learn from. 

We also baked the brownies. Extremely easy, and surprisingly, very tasty. My only gripe with these was that I almost fell into a sugar coma after eating a tiny piece. Very, very sweet. I should add that I am the type of baker to reduces sugar in recipes by 25-50%, something that can't be done with a packet mix. 

The finished brownie. Loved the chunks of chocolate. Next time I'll add some pecans. mmmm 

So the overall verdict? Not something I would buy or rush to eat. Far too sweet for me, and a few too many preservatives in the pack for my preference (they make me go a bit loopy), but necessary for this type of product. BUT a GREAT idea for novice bakers who want to try the macarons in particular. 

If you are keen to try these, I've been given a great Adriano Zumbo hamper to give away to one lucky reader (in Australia only please). The hamper includes each of the packet mixes and a copy of Adriano's latest book Zumbarons.

To be in the running, let me know what your favourite flavour of macaron is in the comments below. Please also pop me an email so I can get in touch easily if you win.  

The competition closes 5pm Brisbane time, Monday 12 November 2012. 

Disclaimer: These products and the prize were provided to me by thesoup.com.au on behalf of Zumbo Baking.  

Top 5 tips for preparing for Eat.Drink.Blog. Or any food bloggers conference

Only four sleeps until I get on a plane to Adelaide for Eat.Drink.Blog, the annual conference for Australian food bloggers. AND I CAN'T WAIT!

This will be my third food bloggers conference and I would like to say I've learned from the first two. Which I have.

But perhaps one of the most important things I've learned is to be a bit organised before I go. And to find out who will be there and get to know a bit about them.

This was highlighted to me at the first conference I went to - BlogHerFood 2010 in San Francisco - after a delightful conversation with the absolutely charming Dorie Greenspan. Except I had no idea who she was. Until later. Much later. When I got back to Australia later. I may have even bragged about my baking ability. I'm blushing just thinking about it. She was very gracious. And no doubt stifling a few giggles during our chat.

So my #1 tip before you go to a food bloggers conference is check out who else is going! For Eat.Drink.Blog. you can find this out here. Check out their blogs, write a few comments, say hi via twitter [using #edb2012 so others can follow along] or on facebook.

Tip #2 - pack appropriately - don't forget to take a camera, phone, necessary charging devices, business cards (or installing the app Bump on your iPhone). I have been known to pack, and carry, every electronic device I own. All I plan to take to Eat.Drink.Blog is my iPhone, a small point and shoot camera [although I am so in love with instagram/hipstamatic/pixlromatic and the camera feature on my new iPhone I may not even bother with my real camera], my iPad, and a small notebook and pen. Gone are the days of lugging my laptop around at conferences. Especially as at BlogHerFood I think I was also carrying about 8kg of conference loot around! [thank you sponsors!]

Don't forget to pack comfy clothes - we will be eating. A lot!

Tip #3 - be willing to talk to people and get to know them. Work out how to describe yourself and your blog with confidence - have a bit of an "elevator pitch" so you can describe your blog in about 10-15 seconds. A food bloggers conference is not the time to be shy! Dig out your inner extrovert and say hi to people - even if you have no idea who they are! Also be willing to try new things - including new foods. One of the social events at BlogHerFood was sponsored by the American Pork Board - I tried [all in the name of research of course!] bacon ice-cream, chocolate coated bacon, chocolate bacon martini, amazing pork belly  and more...

Still not sure about Bakon Vodka...

How beautiful are these slices of golden beetroot? 

Tip #4 - familiarise yourself with the program and work out what sessions you want to go to - especially if there are concurrent sessions. Especially familiarise yourself with the food bits. Don't eat too much for lunch, or too many cakes at afternoon tea, if there is a massive dinner planned [yep, learned this one from experience...]

The FABULOUS food styling session at EDB 2011

 Tip #5 - be well rested! Something I preach but don't practice. I was severely jetlagged at BlogHerFood [not a great idea]. I also suspect I'll be quite sleep deprived at Eat.Drink.Blog as my final uni assignment is due the day before. And it's barely started. And yes, I should be writing it now, instead of writing this post!

Conference treats - soooo yum!

Are you going to Eat.Drink.Blog? What are you most excited about? What do you want to learn from it? The whole program looks absolutely fantastic - a massive thanks to the whole organising team, and of course to the wonderful sponsors without whom this just wouldn't happen. Special thanks to the gold sponsors, the South Australian Government and the SA Tourist Commission.

Miguel Maestre's beetroot cured trout - and a giveaway!

Every year I love going to the Good Food and Wine Show to sample a range of different and often new [or at least, new to me] foods. 

This year the show looks like an absolute cracker! [pun intended :)]

It's on at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre Friday 9 - Sunday 11 November.

This year many of the old favourites are back, including the celebrity theater [this year with Ainsley Harriott [swoon], Maggie Beer, George Calombaris, Manu Fieldel and Matt Moran], cheese and wine masterclasses and the Chef’s book signings. There are also a few new activities that looks SENSATIONAL!

I am especially excited about the Cheese Alley presented by Kurrajong Kitchen [anyone who knows me won’t really be surprised by this!]. This part of the show has been developed following feedback – get there early as it’s expected to be busy, busy, busy. I’m looking forward to tasting my way through a heap of cheese styles - fresh, soft white and washed rind styles, to cheddar and blue. Am salivating already.

I’m also really excited about the macro Healthy Living Zone, which includes a dedicated Gluten Free section. Chefs and nutritionists including Tobie Puttock, Lola Berry, Rowie Dillon and Kemi Nekvapil will give you ideas on healthy meals to cook – and recipes to take home.

WIN!

To get you in the mood, Lifestyle FOOD Chef's Table have provided me with one of Miguel Maestre’s recipes, along with a double pass to Miguel's Lifestyle FOOD Chef's Table session on Sat Nov 10 @ 3.30pm.

Miguel in action! [photo provided by Lifestyle FOOD chef's table]

Beetroot cured Trout

Serves 4

What you need:

• 
1 side trout pinboned, skinless


• 500g sugar


• 500g salt 


• 2 chillies


• 2 star anise


• 5 limes juiced and zested


• 2 lemons juiced and zested


• 150ml fresh beetroot juice

• 40ml Bertolli Extra Light Olive Oil

• 4 bunches dill

• 50ml pure creme fraiche

• 50ml trout roe

• 1 horseradish root

• Put trout in a deep tray

What you do:

• Blend all ingredients in a food processor (except for crème freche, trout roe and horseradish) to make the marinade, saving two bunches of dill

• Rub trout with the mixture and marinate for 3 hours

• After 3 hours wash the trout fillet

• Cut trout in half longways, sprinkle with chopped dill

• Roll in to cylinders. Leave to rest overnight

• Serve with creme fraiche, trout roe and fresh horseradish

• Serve with a glass of champagne

To win  a double pass to the Good Food and Wine show which includes a double pass to Miguel's Lifestyle FOOD Chef's Table session on Sat Nov 10 @ 3.30pm leave a comment below saying which part of the Good Food and Wine Show you are looking forward to the most and why. You can check out the program here. 

You'll also need to email me your answer so I can contact you if you win. I'll choose one winner. The competition closes at 5pm EST on Monday 29 October.

Disclaimer: The Good Food and Wine Show donated these tickets and also gave me free tickets to attend. 

Eggplant love - moussaka

I was at the West End markets on the weekend and they had the most beautiful looking eggplants. I just couldn't resist buying a couple, with the intent of making some baba ganoush for our dinner guests on Saturday night. One of the things I love most about eggplant is the colour - which is also the colour of our couches.

Anyway, for a whole range of reasons [mainly that I decided to cook a Mexican feast for dinner], I didn't make it.

So when it came to planning dinner for tonight, I thought "aha! I'll make moussaka!". Or, as my hubby has been calling it, Nina Mouskouri! [Yes, he makes me laugh every day :) ]

About 45 minutes in, I did wonder what I was thinking! Anyone who knows me well [i.e. since my undergrad uni days] knows that white sauce and I are not friends. AT ALL. Partly because I lived on tuna mornay for a year or two and the white sauce was always lumpy. But, you know, it was cheap. Today the smell of tinned tuna makes me gag. 

Back to the Nina Mouskouri. I had forgotten how long it took too cook, and starting it at 6pm meant there was no way we'd be eating by 6.30pm. And I was STARVING! But it was absolutely worth the wait. And the hassle of the white sauce. Mega thanks to the lovely tweeps who talked me through what to do with the sauce - @HereIAmLoulou, @lordphantom, @packetnetworks, @blackvalo and @peterpanwine. Gotta love twitter for dinner help! And so many other things... 

Check out that gorgeous white sauce!! 

What you need:
2 large eggplant, sliced about 1cm thick
1 tablespoon vegetable oil [grapeseed or ricebran are best]

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

600g lamb mince

420g can diced tomatoes

1 tsp cinnamon

1tsp fresh rosemary


50g butter

60g plain flour

2 cups milk

80g grated cheese (I like Pizza Plus)

What you do:

I have a non-stick teppanyaki plate on my stove so I cook the eggplant slices on that without any oil. You could also use a non-stick fry pan, or bake them in the oven on a tray liked with baking paper. They take about 7-8 minutes on each side on a medium heat, I turn them every few minutes. 

While the eggplant is cooking, cook the mince and tomato filling. Heat the oil in a large-ish frypan [medium heat], add the onion then the garlic and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the mince and cook for about 5-6 minutes until it's cooked through. Use a wooden spoon to break the mince up, and stir regularly. Once the mince is cooked, add the tomatoes, cinnamon and rosemary. Mix it all together, turn the heat down low and simmer with a lid on for about 20 minutes. 

Pre-heat the oven to 180c. 

After the mince has been simmering for about 15 minutes, make the white sauce. 

Place a medium sized saucepan on the stove on a medium heat. Add the butter. Once the butter has melted and is bubbling, add the flour, stir quickly with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Turn the heat down slightly and stir until the roux is bubbling. Keep stirring for about 3 minutes then gradually add the milk - at this time swap the spoon for a whisk, and gently whisk the milk into the roux, until all the milk has been added. Whisk gently for about 7-10 minutes until it heats up and thickens. Once it has reached the consistency of a thickish custard, remove it from the heat.

To assemble the moussaka layer in the following way:

• add one third of the eggplant to the bottom of a lasagne dish
• cover with half the sauce
• one third of the eggplant
• half the sauce
• one third of eggplant
• white sauce
• sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. This allows the white sauce to thicken up a bit so it doesn't ooze everywhere. 

Serve with steamed greens or a side salad. 

Serves 6. Which means we have leftovers for lunch - yay!

Moussaka 

Are there any dishes that you put off making because of an ingredient or a particular process?