Chocolate orange crème caramel

I wish I could make a perfect crème caramel, with beautiful smooth sides and the perfect amount of caramel pooling on the top and around the edges but I can't. I can make a tasty, delicious crème caramel but like most things I make it always has a certain degree of wonky-ness about it. In some ways it's quite charming but in others it's not the desired effect.

I read somewhere that having your caramel perfectly solid when you pour the custard into the ramekin helps achieve the smooth texture. So I attempted that. I poured the caramel into the ramekins, took a shower, got a haircut, and did a little bit of shopping. A few hours later, I made the custard. Surely, I said to myself, the caramel will be set by now and I'll have beautiful, smooth crème caramels.

Well, apparently not. There must be some other trick I'm missing and if you know it (or any old wives tales about perfect crème caramels) I would appreciate some insight. Because, seriously, mine are pitted like nobody's business. They're adolescent crème caramels and they really want to become smooth skinned adults.

On the plus side though, they are delicious and taste just like jaffas.

Chocolate orange crème caramel

Adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet

Makes four 125ml custards

For the custard

• 340ml(1 1/3cups) full cream milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Zest of 1 orange, grated
• 2 large eggs
• 115g (4oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped

For the caramel lining

• 85ml (1/3 cup) water
• 85ml (1/3 cup) water
• 135gg (2/3 cup) sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

To flavour the custard

Heat the milk, sugar, and orange zest in a medium saucepan over low heat until the mixture begins to simmer. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to steep for 1 to 1/2 hours, until the orange flavour is strong.

To make the caramel lining

Pour the water into a small saucepan and add the sugar and cream of tartar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear.

Increase the heat to high and boil the syrup rapidly until it turns a deep golden brown. Remove from the heat and immediately divide the caramel among the cups, swirling to distribute the caramel halfway up the sides. Set the cups in a roasting pan and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

To make the custards

Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and position an oven rack in the centre.

Uncover the saucepan of lime-infused milk and place it back over medium heat. Reheat until the mixture begins to simmer.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. pour about 1/2 a cup of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Once blended, whisk in another 1/2 cup. Then, slowly pour in the rest of the milk mixture. Add the chocolate and continue to whisk until it is completely melted through.

Strain the mixture into a jug and discard the zest. Divide the custard among the cups in the pan. Pull out the oven rack, place the pan on it, then pout enough boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides. Cover the pan in aluminium foil, ensuring it does not touch the top of the cups. Push the rack back into the oven and close the door. Make the custards for 30-40 minutes or until the centres are no longer wobbly

Remove the foil and then the pan from the oven, being careful not to splash water on to the custards. Immediately remove the cups from the water bath and place them on a rack to cool. Once cool, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate or at least 4 hours, until cold.

30 minutes before serving, remove the custards from the refrigerator and allow them to sit at room temperature. To unmold the custards, run a small knife around the edge of a cup. Place a serving plate over the top, then, holding the two together, invert the. The custard should slide out on to the plate. Repeat until all the custards are unmolded.

Tiramisu

Until last year I'd never had tiramisu. I'm not quite sure why not, I'd just never tried it. It's such a classic dessert and yet I'd never even tasted it.

Last year I made it, bu never photographed it because it was huge, and in a pie dish, and kind of fell apart when it was dished. It was also all eaten before I got the chance to even attempt to make it aesthetically pleasing.

This time, I decided to make an effort to ensure at least some of my tiramisu was dressed up enough to be photographed. As result, my photos are some what misleading. This recipe actually makes a rather large tiramisu and I didn't serve it all in cute, tiny glasses. No, that would have involved a lot of washing up and me actually having enough small, glass ramekins - which I don't.

I don't know if this is the best tiramisu recipe out there as I have no benchmark to compare it to. However,, my untainted palette thinks this is very good, extremely rich, and best enjoyed in small to medium quantities with friends.

Tiramisu

From Goons with Spoons

Makes one 22cm x 33cm (9" X13") cake

• 4 eggs, separated
• 250ml (1 cup) heavy cream
• 110g (1/2 cup) white sugar
• 125ml (1/2 cup) port
• 250ml-500ml (1-2 cups) espresso or strong coffee
• bittersweet chocolate, grated
• mascarpone cheese
• about 30 ladyfingers

Add two teaspoons of sugar to the hot coffee, set aside to cool.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks by hand until they lighten in colour, about 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar and port, whisk until completely incorporated.

Simmer about an inch of water in a small pot, place the bowl of egg yolk mixture on top; make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Heat the egg yolk mixture, whisking the entire time. Allow the custard to thicken to ribbon stage, about 5 minutes, it should fall off the whisk when you lift it and remain on top of the custard for a moment.

In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone until smooth. Add the custard and whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream to soft peaks. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture; ensure there are no streaks in the mixture.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites to firm peaks. Fold the beaten egg whites into the mascarpone mixture. Set aside.

Pour the coffee into a medium sized shallow bowl. Place the dish you'll be putting the finished tiramisu in next to the bowl of coffee. Dip a ladyfinger into the coffee for a second, flip the ladyfinger to the other side for another second, then pull it out and place it in the serving dish. Try to avoid letting the coffee drip off the ladyfinger. Repeat until you have a layer of ladyfingers covering the bottom of the serving dish.

Spread a generous layer of mascarpone cream over the top of the lady fingers. Sprinkle the cream with a layer of chocolate. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers, cream, and chocolate. Cover the tiramisu and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Lemon & plum cake

Despite the cold at the moment it's still plum season and as result I've inadvertently ended up with a huge bucket of them. Initially they went into my mouth, then this cake, and finally into jam as a way of keeping them around for longer. Despite how nice they were, there's only so many plums two people can eat in a week. I would write about the jam but it's quite a simple process and cake is much more fun.

This cake served as a good way to turn the plums into something different once you've reached the point of having eaten too many on their own. Originally an olive oil, lemon, and cherry cake I decided to add my own twist on it. Out with the olive oil and cherries, in with the macadamia oil and plums. The plums definitely take a back seat to the lemon, as the cake is extremely lemony making it a simultaneously sweet and tart experience.

Macadamia oil isn't strictly necessary as I'm not sure how easy to find it is outside of Australia, and in all honesty the only reason I used it was because I couldn't find walnut oil at my local shops. I'm sure you could even use a mild olive oil as the recipe intended. I didn't as I'm not sold on olive oil in cakes.

Lemon & plum cake

Adapted from Desserts by Pierre Herme by Pierre Herme & Dorie Greenspan

Makes one 25 cm cake

• 1 3/4 cups plain flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 100g (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted but still warm
• 2/3 cup macadamia oil
• 1 cup fresh plums, pitted and chopped

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter a 25cm (10") round springform pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder together,set aside.
3. Place the sugar and chopped lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Rub the ingredients together between your fingers until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Fit the bowl to the mixer with the whisk attachment in place. Add the eggs and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale and thick, about 3 minutes.
4. Set the mixture to its lowest speed and beat in the milk. Add the sifted dry ingredients, beating only until they are incorporated, then add the lemon juice, warm melted butter and macadamia oil. Beat until the ingredients are just blended.
5. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with enough plums to cover the batter, the pour the rest over the top. Smooth the batter with a spatula.
6. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, or until it is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately unmold it. Invert the cake so that it is the right way up and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, dust with icing sugar and serve with mascarpone.

Lime cheesecake ice cream with gingerbread

The weather is finally warm enough for ice cream here in Australia, so once again it's time to start making it. Homemade ice cream is exciting because you can make whatever flavour you like. There are barely any restrictions when it comes to what you can make at home. Super fun.

I have this terrible, terrible love for this incredible bad for me lime cheesecake yoghurt they sell at the super markets. There's nothing good in it whatsoever; it's got tons of sugar and an odd fake flavour about it. This weird yoghurt, that I love but shouldn't, inspired me to make this ice cream.

Luckily this ice cream doesn't have a weird fake flavour about it. It's much nicer than cheesecake flavoured yoghurt I hold so dearly. The creamcheese and lime complement each other nicely, and the gingerbread on the side go pretty well too. All and all a lovely treat, perfect for the spring weather.

If I were to change anything about this recipe it would be to infuse lime peel in the milk. I thought about doing it for my ice cream but totally forgot about it by the time I got around to making the recipe. Infusing the lime with the milk would make the lime taste much stronger and, in my view, much more delicious!

Lime cheesecake ice cream with gingerbread

From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Makes about 700ml

• 225g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon lime
• 250ml sour cream
• 125ml full cream milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

Cut the cream cheese into 1cm pieces. Zest the lime directly into the blender or food processor, then add the cream cheese, sour cream, milk, sugar, and salt and puree until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator until cold.

Once cold, strain the cream cheese mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Transfer the strained mixture into an ice cream maker and cheese according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Once frozen, transfer to a container and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours.

Pumpkin & walnut cake

It's been a good long while since I've posted but in my defence it's only been partially due to laziness. The main cause was in fact that I've been on holidays. I have one more post already lined up after this one, using photos I took and edited about a month ago. In the rush of getting ready to go away I didn't get a chance to write an entry.

Last month I visited the USA for the first time and had a wonderful series of first experiences. I didn't the typical tourist thing and went to Las Vegas and Disney World, then scooted up to Washington DC and New York City. Each place was so different and enjoyable in it's own way. I ate amazing food everywhere except Disney World (sorry, Disney!). The rich variety of food available was astounding. I don't know if I went anywhere particularly famous but that's irrelevant.

I also went on a bit of a supermarket tour, just because. I visited both the saddest looking supermarkets and the most impressive. In the end I felt a bit envious of the variety of places to buy groceries in the USA, it's hard not to when you come from a country that is essentially dominated by two major players. I 'premium' supermarkets in the USA are so much nicer than the ones here, but the less 'premium' ones are far worse. I suppose you can't have it all.

It's a bit mean to say but I'd always heard food in the USA wasn't great so I went with a few prejudices. I have to say though, on first the night there were blown away. I won't let anyone tell me food in the USA is bad ever again!

When I was over there I had the most delicious pumpkin cake so when I got home I naturally had to make some for myself. This isn't the recipe for the one I had but it's just as tasty.

Pumpkin & walnut cake

From The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Makes 6 one cup bundt cakes

• 125g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 60g coarsely chopped walnuts
• 2 eggs
• 165g brown sugar
• 110g macadamia oil
• 240g puréed pumpkin, fresh or tinned

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and lightly flour 6 one cup cake tins of any shape.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and walnuts. Whisk to blend.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and oil until very smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the pumpkin and beat until just smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat until it is just moist.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake tins and cake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the thickest part comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the tins then invert on to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.