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.

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.

Chocolate & orange cheesecake

I came home the other day super stressed (thanks work, I love you but sometimes you kill me!) and with an intense hankering for cheesecake. Unwilling to go out and buy a cheesecake I decided to make one knowing full well it wouldn't be done by the end of the day. I also knew the next day would be busy and so coming home to an almost finished cheesecake would be good. Knowing I would be able to finish it the next day made me very happy because at least it meant I would have finished something over that course of the week.

I've written before about the wonders of stress baking and my attitude hasn't changed. Baking (or doing anything productive really) is a great way to unwind after a busy week.

Sure, baking is sometimes really stressful in itself but it's enjoyable and distracting stress that results in tasty treats. The other benefit of stress baking late at night is that you get to have something tasty, decadent, and downright bad for you for breakfast. Like cheesecake. Cheesecake for breakfast is like the grown up version of ice cream or doughnuts for breakfast.

This cake is crazy rich, as many cheesecakes are. The chocolate glaze however takes it to the next level so it may not be for everyone. However, if you're after something decadent this is an unmistakable winner.

The recipe is predominately from Tartelette with the super sweet chocolate topping coming from Gourmet Traveller.

Chocolate & orange cheesecake

adapted from Tartelette & Gourmet Traveller
Makes one 26cm (10") cheesecake

For the base

• 125g butter, very cold and cut into cubes
• 40g sugar
• 150g plain flour
• 10g cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line the base and sides of a 26cm (10") springform pan.

Work the butter, sugar, flour, and cocoa with a food processor or your fingers until it resembles damp sand. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and using your fingers or the back of a spoon press it firmly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 40 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack without removing it from the pan.

For the cheesecake batter

• 500g cream cheese, softened
• 70g butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons creme fraiche
• 125g sugar
• Zest of one orange
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour, sifted
• 3 eggs, seperated

Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Place a large toasting tray full of freshly boiled water on the lowest rack of the oven. Position another rack in the centre of the oven.

Combine the cream cheese, butter, creme fraiche, sugar, orange zest, and cornflour in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat on medium-low to combine, being careful not to incorporate too much air. Add the egg yolks on at a time beating until just combined between each addition. Set the cream cheese mixture aside.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the cream cheese mixture.

Pour the batter over the prepared base. Wrap the springform pan tightly in aluminium foil. Place the springform pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours. When the time is elapsed, turn the oven off and open the door a crack. Allow the cake to cool in the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight.

For the chocolate topping

• 185ml water
• 130g castor sugar
• 15g citruspectin
• 30g liquid glucose
• 75g 70% cocoachocolate, roughly chopped

Heat the water in a small saucepan to 60°C, add 25g of sugar and all the pectin, whisk continuously until the mixture comes to the boil.

Add the glucose and remaining sugar, continue to whisk until the mixture once again comes to the boil and starts to thicken. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Pour the chocolate mixture over the prepared cheesecake. Cool to room temperature then cover with cling wrap, being careful that it does not touch the surface, and refrigerate until set.

Date, walnut, raisin, & red currant bundt cake

The best thing about Christmas is that it gives everyone a good excuse to get together and be merry. There's eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing. Hopefully there's good times had by all. And where there's all these things there's got to be dessert, and where there's dessert, there's me.

I'm always after an excuse to try new recipes, or to make something that feeds more than two people. Whenever I get together with my friends I always look forward to making a bundt cake. As I've said before, I'm not really a fan of fancy iced cake (unless there's mousse involved somewhere). On the whole, I prefer my cakes to be full of nuts and best served with a cup of coffee.

This cake fits the bill perfectly. It's dense but not dry. The fruit throughout adds flavour and texture, and syrup glaze makes it intensely orange-y.

The original recipe called for cranberries but as it was Christmas eve the day I made this cake there were none to be found anywhere. Instead I substituted dates, raisins, walnuts, and fresh red currants. Really you could use anything you like. I found the addition of fresh red currants added am intense bite to to the cake which I enjoyed but the cake would be fine without them. Not everyone has gardening obsessed parents who give them all kinds of free stuff.

The recipe itself is very simple and quick, which is excellent when you've decided you want to make a cake on a whim.

Date, walnut, raisin, & red currant bundt cake

(adapted from Genesis of a Cook)
Makes one 10-12 cup bundt cake

120g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 medium orange
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
220g (2 cups) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
160ml (2/3 cup) buttermilk
50g (1/2 cup) fresh dates, chopped
50g (1/2 cup) walnuts
40g (1/4 cup) raisins
2 medium sized bunches of fresh red currants, or 40g (1/4 cup) dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Thoroughly grease and flour a 10-12 cup bundt tin.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk thoroughly.

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until it is light a fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the orange zest and vanilla bean seeds and beat until well combined.

Reduce the mixer to low, add half the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add half the buttermilk and continue to mix until combined. Add the remaining half of the flour, and then the buttermilk. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the dates, walnuts, raisins, and currants.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a rack and let it cool for at least 20 minutes before glazing. Once cool, transfer the cake to a serving plate.

Orange Glaze

130g (1 cup) icing sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest

For the glaze, combine the ingredients in a small pot over low heat. Whisk the glaze until the sugar has dissolved then pour glaze over cake. Serve at room temperature.

Orange & coconut syrup cake

It's hard being an obsessive baker when only two people live in your house. Actually, hard is probably the wrong word, the baking bit is easy whether you live in a household of two or ten. The hard it is finishing what you make, particularly on the weeks you don't have people around for whatever reason.

Luckily for me, we seem to have an endless number of people coming and going from our house so most things get eaten fairly quickly. Whipping out a slice of cake makes guests feel comfortable and welcome and it also prevents me from having any unwanted leftovers. It also means I can start on whatever recipe next strikes my fancy without feeling guilty.

I do try to reduce the quantity of most recipes but I'm either paranoid that I'll reduce too much or there's only so small a recipe will go. This recipe falls into the first category, I didn't want to reduce it too much just in case it was delicious (which it was) and I wanted to eat more than one slice of it (which I did). The original recipe made one 26cm (10 1/2") cake, mine makes one 20cm (8") cake. I probably could have reduced the quantity further (down to two eggs, from five) but I'm not sure I have a cake tin that small. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't because it there's all the more for me.

This cake is kind of surprising. Most coconut cake I've made contain desiccated coconut whereas this one contains shredded. As a result the cake has bits of coconut that you can feel as you bit into it throughout. It's weird but nice. I think it works well as the cake itself is super moist due to syrup, the shredded coconut gives it a noticeable texture.

Orange & coconut syrup cake

(adapted from Eating in by Philip Johnson)
makes one 20cm (8") cake

200g (7 oz) Greek-style yoghurt
70g (2.4 oz) cream cheese
90g (3 oz)unsweetened shredded coconut
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
120g (4 1/4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
190g (6 3/4 oz) caster sugar
3 eggs
120g (4 1/4 oz) self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Orange Syrup

120g (4 1/4 oz) caster sugar
Juice of 1 orange

Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Grease and line the base of a 20cm (8") spring-form cake tin.

In a food processor or a blender combine the yoghurt, coconut, cream cheese, orange zest, and juice. Process until smooth, then set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold through the yoghurt mixture, incorporating it well. Sift the flour and baking soda over the top, then fold through.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven.

While the cake is cooking, prepare the orange syrup by combining the sugar and just enough water to cover it in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange juice, then remove from the heat.

Drizzle the syrup over the warm cake in a steady stream until it is absorbed, using a pastry brush to distribute the syrup evenly if necessary. Cool the cake to room temperature before removing from the tin. When ready to serve, slice and serve with ice cream.

Savarin with poached pears

Some things are so weird. This is one of them. It's so bizarre that I'm at a loss as to whether or not I like it. This is apparently savarin, I've never had (or made) savarin so I'm not sure if it's supposed to be as weird as my rendition is.

Probably more knowledgeable folks that I will have eaten savarin before made by someone who actually knows how to make it - someone who knows good and bad. Someone who is decisive about their likes and dislikes.

I feel I should like this because taste-wise it's rather nice, but texture-wise it's just weird. There's so much syrup in it that it's completely squishy. I'm not a squishy food kind of girl - I can't stand things like bread and butter pudding - the way the liquid filled solid thing squelches around in my mouth. Good description there?

Anyway, looking at the picture (not my picture, the picture in the magazine) there's looks just as squishy. That's good, I suppose?

Though I'm umm-ing and ahh-ing about the savarin, I am definitely not torn about my feeling towards the poached pears. They're delicious, and this is coming from a girl who claims not to enjoy red wine. They're sweet, pretty, soothing delicious.

Savarin with poached pears

(from Gourmet Traveller & Decadence by Philip Johnson)
makes 8-10 savarin and 8 poached pears

For the savarin

175g plain flour, sifted
2 teaspoons caster sugar
3/4 teaspoon dried yeast
125ml lukewarm milk
2 eggs, at room temperature
60g butter, softened and coarsely chopped
30g raisins

Preheat the oven to 180°C, butter eight 7cm savarin moulds or six 10cm bundt tins.

Combine flour, sugar, yeast, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. With the mixer on low, add the milk and the eggs and mix until smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Add the butter and beat on medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and homogeneous, about 8-10 minutes. Add the raisins and mix to combine. Then half-fill the prepared savarin moulds or tins and stand in a warm place until risen, around 10-15 minutes. Bake until golden and well risen, about 6-10 minutes. When cooked, turn the savarin out on to a wire rack, piece each one several times with a thin skewer, then transfer to a deep tray.

For the syrup

250g caster sugar
500ml water
60ml light bodied red wine

While the savarin is rising, begin the syrup.

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the red wine, then pour the syrup over the cooked savarin. Stand, occasionally turning the savarin, until they are puffed and saturated, or 5-6 hours.

When you are ready to serve, transfer the savarin to a non-stick pan and pour over any remaining syrup. Warm gently over low heat. Serve with poached pears or ice-cream.

For the poached pears

Zest of 1/2 lemon, peeled into strips
1 cinnamon stick
100g caster sugar
375ml (1 1/2 cups) light bodied red wine
250ml (1 cup) water
4 ripe but firm pears, halved, peeled, and cored

Combine the lemon zest, cinnamon stick, caster sugar, wine, and water in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved, then reduce to a simmer. Immerse the pears and cover with baking paper and a plate to keep them submerged. Poach for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.

Allow the pears to cool in the poaching liquid, then transfer them to a bowl and set aside. Strain the poaching liquid through a fine sieve and return to the saucepan - discarding the aromatics. Return the pan to medium heat and simmer until reduced by one-third. Pour the syrup over the pears and refrigerate until required.

Brown sugar sponge cake with cream cheese icing

Always make sure your camera battery is charged before you set up a photo. In fact, always make sure your camera battery is charged before you even think about taking pictures. Don't go to check if it's charged after you've set up a picture. Worst of all, don't set up a picture, discover your camera battery isn't charged, charge it for under 10 minutes, and expect to be able to take more than 6 shots. Just don't do it, it won't work, you'll just be disappointed.

Can you tell I just did this? In fact, I do it all the time, I rarely charge my camera battery unless I actually need my camera and, as you would expect, when I actually need my camera is when I want to take photos. But I can't because I forgot to charge the battery, as usual. You would think I would just get into the habit of charging my camera after I use it. Or, even forbid, keeping one battery charged at all times. That's right, there's more than battery... and they're both flat. All the time.

This cake is pretty flat too, but that's only because it's small. Small and delicious. So delicious I wanted to be able to share more than one picture of it with you, but I can't because I forgot to charge my camera battery. Surely I'm not the only one like this?

I made this cake for J because he likes sponge cake and I normally don't. I do, however, like brown sugar and cream cheese. J likes brown sugar and cream cheese too so this keeps us both happy.

I wouldn't say this is a sweet cake, in fact it's rather tart. That'd be the pomegranate molasses I decided to add on a whim. The pomegranate molasses I explicitly went out to buy for a reason then promptly forgot what that reason was. My life has a bit of a theme at the moment and that theme is forgetting things.

Anyway, I'm glad I didn't forget to take this cake out of the oven. Really glad.

Brown sugar sponge cake with cream cheese icing

(adapted from Gourmet Traveller
makes one 20cm cake layer

3 eggs, at room temperature
40g (1.5 oz) brown sugar
40g (1.5oz) caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
75g (2.5oz) plain flour, triple sifted
1/16 teaspoon baking powder (or just a pinch)
30g (1 oz) butter, melted then cooled

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter one 20-diameter cake tin, then line the base with baking paper.

Whisk the eggs, sugars, and vanilla using an electric mixer on high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume and holds a trail, about 60-8 minutes.

Sift half the flour and the baking powder over the egg mixture, and fold gently through. Sift over the remaining flour and fold to combine, then fold in the butter.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cake is dark golden and the centre springs back when gently pressed. Cool slightly in tin and then turn out and cool complete on a wire rack.

For the icing

125g cream cheese, at room temperature
250ml (1 cup) pouring cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
30g (1 oz) brown sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until it is soft and malleable. Swap to the beater attachment, then add the cream, vanilla, pomegranate molasses, and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until required.

To assemble the cake

Slice the cooled cake horizontal into two equal halves. Remove the top half, then spread the lower half with cream cheese icing. Sandwich the two halves. Ice the outside with remaining icing mixture, then refrigerate until required.

Sour cream coffee cake

So, this cake was supposed to be more a BBQ. A BBQ that I never attended, a BBQ that I made potato salad, juice, and a cake for. Why I didn't attend, I'm not sure - these things happen. You know those times when you just don't feel like doing anything or going anywhere? I had one of those. It was nothing to do with the company, or the weather, or my inability to choose something to wear. I had no reason not to go, except sometimes I'm slack.

So, I felt a bit bad about not going. Rather than sulking about my own inaction, I decided to have a piece of cake.

After my slice of cake I felt better. Why? Because this cake is amazing, it's so delicious that it makes you wonder how something can possibly be so delicious. it's one of those things that makes you stop and think how damn amazing it is that a few simple ingredients can be combined to create a myriad of different things. Or maybe that was just my weird mood talking. Either way, it's a fascinating world.

It's not secret that delicious things make me happy, and making me happy is what this cake did exceptionally well that day. It's definitely going to be promoted to 'one of my favourites' status. The texture is spot on and the contrast between the nuts and the cake crumb making for a fun eating experience.

You should definitely add this too your repertoire.

Next time I'll share (and take better pictures!), I promise.

Sour cream coffee cake

(from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri)
makes one 25cm (10 inch) tube cake

For the filling

1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
100g (4 oz) walnut pieces, coarsely chopped

For the batter

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
140g (5oz) butter
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 large egg yolks
225g (8 oz) sour cream

Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 160°C (325°F), grease a 25cm (10 in) tube pan and set aside.

For the filling, combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts in a small bowl and set aside.

For the cake batter, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir well, by hand, to mix. Add the butter, then beat at a low speed until the mixture is a smooth heavy paste, 1 to 2 minutes. If you find your mixture is too crumbly add a tablespoon or two of water.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sour cream until well combined. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium and beat 1/3 of the egg mixture into the butter and flour. Beat for 1 minute.

Stop, scrape down the bowl, and then beat in another half of the egg mixture. Beat for 2 minutes. Repeat with the last of the egg mixture.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using rubber spatula, give the batter a final mix to ensure everything is combined.

Scrape half the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Scatter the nut and sugar.

mixture over the top. Scrape the remaining batter over the sugar and nut mixture and smooth the top.

Bake the cake until it is well risen and firm, and a tooth pick inserted next to the central tube comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Invert a rack over the tin and turn the cake out. Cool the cake completely before slicing.

Pear & hazelnut torta

I seem to have an obsession with pears. Every second recipe I make seems to involve pears in some way or another. I suppose it's the season, pears are everywhere at the moment and I have too many to just eat. It's alright though because I can always find something to use them in. Last week it was an over-abundance of oranges, this week it's pears. I hope it's cherries and strawberries next week but that's unlikely!

This cake is really simple and tasty. It's by no means beautiful and lacks visual wow factor as it's all the same shade of brown but I'm a firm believer that taste trumps prettiness any day. It's best served on the day it's made as it gets uglier the more it ages. My pictures were taken the morning after the cake was baked and by then it was already losing visual appeal. Still, it tastes just as good as it did yesterday.

On another note, this cake is actually supposed to be baked in a fluted tart dish with a loose bottom, which would no doubt add to it's visual appeal immensely. My garage door jammed up the other day, leaving me with only the tins I had in the house (yes, the cake tins live in the garage...). Luckily I had a spring-form pan the right size but if I were to make this again it would definitely be made in a tart pan!

I have to say it was nice to have a cake that used nut meal that wasn't almond. The hazelnut meal used in this recipe is a nice change from the ever present almond meal, though you could use almond meal if you prefer the taste. I'm sure it would still be good but a bit less nutty.

This is the kind of cake I would serve if I were having a casual meal with simple wholesome food. It's not rich and overpowering and it's not so decadent that you can only have a small slice. It's the kind of cake it's okay to have a hearty slice of and feel no shame or guilt. it's by no means good for you but it looks almost as though it could be.

Pear & hazelnut torta

(from Delicious Magazine, May 2009)
makes one 26cm cake

100g (3.5 oz) hazelnut meal
110g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons extra
50g (1/3 cup) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
60ml (1/4 cup) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
80g (2.8 oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 ripe pears

Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Lightly grease the bottom of a 26cm (10 inch) tart pan or spring-form cake tin.

Combine the hazelnut meal, sugar, flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl until they are just frothy. Whisk in the milk, vanilla, and cooled butter. Pour the egg mixture into the nut mixture and stir until well combined. Scrape the resulting batter into the prepared dish. and spread out evenly.

Peel, quarter, and core the pears. Cut each quarter into 4 to 5 equal pieces. Fan the slices slightly and then transfer to the top of the batter. Repeat with remaining pear slices. Sprinkle the extra sugar over the pears.

Bake the torta for 25-35 minutes, or until the batter is firm, puffed, and golden. If the top colours too quickly over it loosely with foil.

Transfer to a wire rack sift a thick-ish layer of icing sugar over the top. Allow to cool to lukewarm and then release from the pan. Sift more icing sugar over the top just prior to serving, if required. Serve with whipped cream.

Gâteau à l'orange

J and I were given a giant bag of oranges, and by giant I mean giant. 10 kilos kind of giant. 10 kilos between 2 people is an a lot of oranges. It's just lucky that I like oranges a lot, and we're now down to the last 20 or so oranges. That's still a lot of oranges but I've got plans.

We've made a lot of juice, which is good because I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately and oranges make you strong... or something like that. Either way, there's only so much orange juice one can drink.

So, when life gives you oranges, make orange juice and then orange cake.

Orange cake is, in my view, one of the most underrated cakes. It's so underrated that none of my cook books had a single recipe that called for orange juice rather than just orange rind. Luckily the internet delivered better results leading me to this recipe from Passionate about Baking. I'm glad I found this recipe as I feel it will quickly become one of my favourites.

If I were to make this again I would make it in a larger pan. The recipe recommends a 16cm (6 inch) pan and even though I made mine in a slightly larger 18cm (7 inch) pan it was still to small and the cake peaked far to much. Next time I'll use a larger 20cm (8 inch) tin instead.

So, if life gives you oranges, make this cake.

Gâteau à l'orange

(recipe from Passionate About Baking)

250ml (1 cup) freshly squeezed orange juice
zest of 1 orange
100g (3.5 oz) butter, softened
100g (3.5 oz) sugar
150g (5.3 oz) flour
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons Cointreau
a pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F), grease and line the base of an 20cm (8 inch) cake tin.

beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer until lightened in colour and texture, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, taking care to thoroughly combine each yolk before adding the next one. Beat until smooth.

Add the Cointreau and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Reduce the speed mixer to low and add the flour gradually. Mix well. Pour in half the orange juice and all the orange rind. Mix until just combined.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt to firm peaks. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until the cake is deep orange and firm to the touch.

Remove cake from the oven and slowly pour the remaining orange juice on to the cake whilst it is still warm. Cool in tin for 20 minutes and then unmold and place on a wire rack. Serve with icing sugar.

Gingerbread

My oven can be relied on to do one thing and that's be unreliable. If a recipe says "bake for 30 minutes" it's a guarantee that the bake time will be anything but 30 minutes. It doesn't matter if the oven is up to temperature or that it took 30 minutes last time. My oven is the king of inconsistency.

So, naturally, the first time I made this I shouldn't have trusted my oven, or the cake tester for that matter. They both lied. I tested it and then took it and went to turn it out of the tin and "splat!" runny cake mix all over the bench.

Of course, I reacted in the most mature way possible. I stamped and let out a large whine. Yeah, mature.

Normally I'd give up and just spend the rest of the day sulking but not this time. The oven was already hot, the recipe was simple to put together and I even had a spare loaf tin. As they say, Try and try again.

The second attempt was a success. The Cake/quickbread cooked all the way through - thankfully. I don't think I would have been able to handle another failure.

This is a really simple recipe but it's nice and comforting. It tastes like gingerbread but in loaf form which works well for me because I adore ginger. As it cooks it fills the house (well, my tiny house at least.) with the most wonderful smell. Definitely going to make this again!

Gingerbread

(from Delicious Magazine: Sweet)

100g (3.5 oz) unsalted butter
100g (3.5 oz) treacle
100g (3.5 oz) golden syrup
110g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
200g (2 cups) self-raising flour
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 eggs
125ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease and flour a 26cm x 7cm (10" x 3") loaf pan.

Place the butter, treacle, golden syrup, and sugar in a pan over medium heat. Stir to melt the butter and then set aside to cool slightly.

Sift the flour and spices into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk.

Fold the slightly cooled syrup into the flour and then add the egg mixture. Stir to combine, then spoon or pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in tin for 5 minutes and then turn out on to a wire rack. Serve warm with ricotta or butter.

Pear & yoghurt cake

Some cakes have the potential to be the most amazing cakes; they have the potential to be so delicious, and light, and full of flavour. They promise you that they'll fulfil all your cake related dreams and then they let you down.

Or rather, you let them down. You mix up the ingredients, or you mix it wrong, or you combine everything in the wrong order, or you take it out of the oven too early.

Yet the cake refuses to fail you, like a loyal puppy that tries and tries and tries. You screwed up but the cake refuses to suck. Even after all the issues it's still pretty delicious. Or as delicious as a cake with issues can be.

This cake is one of those cakes. It's a mess but it still tastes pretty good. Admittedly, I did have to chop the middle out because it wasn't cooked properly. Patience is not a virtue that I often have so naturally I removed the cake from the oven too early. I didn't realise until after I'd un-moulded the cake that the centre wasn't cooked. I swear I checked it, I may not have checked it properly or thoroughly but I checked it. lesson learnt, check things properly and be patient.

So, in short - this would be an amazing cake if I'd cooked it properly but it's not because I screwed up. The bits that are cooked are amazing though, the rest of the cake is significantly less nice.

I've included the recipe even though it's unlikely that anyone will want to try it after my disaster. That said, I know that I will be trying is cake again sometime in the future!

Pear & yoghurt cake

(adapted from Decadence: Desserts by Philip Johnson)
makes one 20cm cake

145g unsalted butter
165g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
250g self raising flour, sifted
35ml milk
165g greek yoghurt
2 pears, peeled cored, and chopped

Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F). Grease and line the base of a 20cm spring-form cake tin with baking paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. beat in half the sifted flour, then all the milk. Add half the yoghurt and mix well to combine. Gradually add the remaining flour and yoghurt and mix until just combined. Lastly, fold the pears through.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool on a a wire rack.

Daniel's apple & pear cake

Sometimes books lie, sometimes books say "best served warm" and it's a lie. A horrible, horrible, disappointing lie.

I served this cake, warm as suggested, at a friend's house. I took a bite and thought to myself "oh boy, what have I made?! I'm so sorry!" I pushed my plate aside and watched everyone (well, everyone except the boy who didn't like pears) finish their bit. And then I watched half the people (that's a whole two!) go and get another slice. Weird, maybe they were just humouring me?

When I left that night there was still a bit of cake remaining, so I took it with me. I shoved it in the fridge, feeling bemused as to why there was so little left. I didn't like it, why should anyone else?

This morning when I got up I tried the cake again tried because I thought I should give it another shot. It was delicious, absolutely delicious. The just cooked egg taste of the night before was gone. Gone without a trace. In it's place stood a rich, almost custard like, cake. So good, so pleased.

I think I'm going to go finish off the last two slices now.

Daniel's apple & pear cake

(from Wicked: Desserts from your Favourite Chefs by Delicious Magazine)

Cake

275g (9 3/4 oz) butter, softened
250g (8 3/4 oz) brown sugar
200g (7 oz) plain flour
3 eggs, at room temperature
100ml (1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) milk
2 small pears, peeled, cored, and quartered
3 small apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
100g (3 1/2 oz) almond meal
85g (3 oz) hazelnut meal

Topping

115g butter
200g caster sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs

thick cream, for serving

Grease and line the base and sides of a 24 cm springform cake pan.

For the cake, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy and all the sugar has dissolved. Fold in the flour until combined. Add three of the eggs, one at a time, and stir until smooth. Add the milk and stir until well combined and batter is smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).

Arrange the apples and pears over the batter. Sprinkle the almond and hazelnut meal over the fruit.

For the topping, heat the remaining butter and sugar with the cinnamon in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat. Lightly whisk the 4 eggs and gradually add to the butter mixture. Whisk until combined.

Pour the topping evenly over the cake mixture and bake in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the top comes out clean and the top is firm and brown.

Serve warm or cold depending on your preference, top with cream.

Caprese with coffee glaze

I'm not a fancy person most of the time, I like my food simple but delicious. I like my cake rich but not too sweet. I like this cake, a lot. Especially with the coffee glaze, coffee and chocolate is a combination that can't be beat.

This cake is moist, dense, and chocolate-y. All good things, it's perfect with a cup of coffee. It belongs in a café. I would love to have a café near my house that served cake like this one. My wallet, on the other hand, would not.

I'm finding more and that I cannot justify buying cakes from cafes. The knowledge that most of them are factory produced and shipped over 1000 kms (600 miles) to cafes in my city (rightfully) horrifies me. I think this speaks volumes of many of the cafes in my city that, undoubtedly, make delicious coffee but insist on serving awful mass produced cake. It makes me feel like such a snob but I can't help it. I suppose this isn't really a bad thing to be snobby about though!

Caprese with coffee glaze

(from The Four Seasons of Italian Cooking by A.J. Battifarano and Alan Richardson)
makes 8-10 servings

115g (4 ounces) semisweet chocolate
115g (4 ounces) butter
75g (1/2 cup) sugar
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) degrees. Butter a 20 cm (8") round cake tin and line the base with a round of baking paper. Butter the paper and lightly coat the pan with flour.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water and let cool to room temperature.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a electric mixer at a high speed until it is light anf fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Combine the almonds with the melted chocolate and blend the mixture into the batter. Add the flour and mix on a low speed until completely combined. Wash and dry the beaters.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites at medium speed until they are stiff but not dry. Using a large rubber spatula, stir one quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, being careful not to over blend.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre fo the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then unmold and cool completely.

Serve with coffee glaze.

Coffee Glaze

1 teaspoon instant coffee
30ml (1/8 cup) boiling water
35g (1/4 cup) icing sugar, sifted

combine instant coffee with boiling water and whisk until all lumps are gone. Pour coffee mixture into the sifted icing sugar and whisk until smooth.

Viennese raisin coffee cake

If I were a better person I wouldn't know what this cake tastes like. I wouldn't have leveled it solely so I could have a bite and I would be horrified if someone told me they'd done so. But I'm not a better person, so I went ahead and leveled it. Worst of all, I'm not horrified with myself. I'm sitting here telling myself I needed to test it before it went out the door, but I know that's not the case.

We've all been there, right? You've just a made something new, and it's a recipe that you've been wanting to make for ages but it's not for you - you're not even going to be in the city when it gets served. So, you sneak a bit.. right? You consider the best way to try it without it being noticeable. In this case, cutting off the bottom worked quite well. It's a bundt cake, I think it's entirely unnecessary to do so, but at least I now know what the cake tastes like and it sits nice and flat on the plate (it was pretty flat before, mind you.)

Needless to say, the cake tastes delicious. I knew it would from the beginning it would. It's everything I like about cakes. The cake itself is incredibly soft, it insides are like a pillow. Oh, how I wish I could show you the insides but cutting a slice is going too far. Just trust me. Or, buy The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri just so you can see a photo of the inside.

This cake requires the eggs to be separated, and then the whites are whipped to peaks and folded into the batter. This technique results in a wonderfully light cake with enough structure to support it during baking.

The cake is flavoured with lemon and raisins, I personally feel it could do with a teaspoon or two more lemon zest but I intend for it to have a lemon syrup when it's served so maybe not.

Viennese raisin coffee cake

(from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri)
Makes one 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 inch) bundt cake

1 2/3 cups flour (spooned into dry measure and leveled off)
2 teaspoons baking powder
225g (8 ounces) butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated
160g (1 cup) raisins, tossed with 1 tablespoon flour

Grease and flour one 10 to 12 cup kugelhopf or bundt tin. Set the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 180°C (350°F).

Stir the flour and baking powder together and set aside.

Combine the butter and 3/4 cup of sugar int he bowl of an electric mixer. Beat, with the paddle attachment, on a medium speed until soft and light, about 3 to four minutes.

Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla, followed by two of the egg yolks.

Beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Once combined, stop and scrape down the bowl and beater.

Beat in two more eggs, followed by another half of the remaining flour. Stop and scrape. Repeat using the remaining egg yolks and flour mixture.

Pour the egg whites into a clean, dry mixer bowl. Place on the mixer with the whisk attachment and whip until the egg whites are very white, opaque, and beginning to hold a very soft peak. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip int he remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a slow stream. Continue to whip the egg whites until they hold a soft, glossy peak.

Fold 1/3 of the egg whites unto the cake batter to lighten it, fold in the floured raisins and then the remaining egg whites.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake until well risen and deep golden, and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out dry, 45-50 minutes. If the cake is baked in a shallow bundt tin it may be ready 5 minutes sooner.

Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then on to a rack to cool completely.

Lemon Syrup

1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water
Juice of one lemon

Combine the caster sugar and water in a small saucepan and, over a low heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved. Increase heat and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off element and stir in the lemon juice.

Drizzle over cooled cake to serve.

Torta di mele di fattoria

I have a confession to make, this confession is the reason I do not like this cake. I have to confess that I cannot stand the taste of eggs. The faintest hint of sulfur-y eggs and I'm immediately turned off.

Last week I had my first boiled egg and, I can tell you, it won't be the first of many. The sheer eggy-ness of it was astoundingly unpleasant. I'm assuming eggs are an acquired taste?

I should have known this cake would taste faintly of eggs but the picture in The Four Seasons of Italian Cooking made it look so delicious. So delicious that I ignored the part of me that said "this will taste of eggs". And, needless to say, it tasted of eggs. the eggy taste isn't overwhelmingly by any means but even a little hint is too much for me. Others enjoyed it though. In fact, they keept sneaking in and stealing bits. I'm okay with that, I'm not going to eat it.

I did give it a chance, I really did. I didn't take my first bite and refuse to finish it because it tasted like eggs. No, no. I made it through a piece and a half - and that's pretty good. Many in a few years I'll make this again and adore it.

I'd just like to note that the measurement conversions in the book this recipe is from are terrible. According to the book 250 grams is the equivalent of 8 ounces, when it reality 225g is much closer. There's inconsistency throughout the recipe to the point where I'm not sure what unit of measurement is the correct one. The recipe below is merely the measurements I used - who knows, maybe I needed more of something and less of something else!

(I've just been informed that the eggy-ness of this cake dies down once it's properly cooled and it becomes significantly more apple-y. Maybe it was a success after all?)

Torta di mele di fattoria

(from The Four Seasons of Italian Cooking by A.J. Battifarano and Alan Richardson)
makes 8-10 servings

5 apples
2 large eggs
225g (1 cup) sugar
55g (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
125 mls (1/2 cup) milk
100g (3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), grease and and line a 28cm (11") cake tin or deep dish pizza tray.

Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Slice the apple sections crosswise into very thin slivers.

Beat the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl with a wire whisk until the mixture has lightened and increased in volume. Stir in the flour, then add the milk, butter, and vanilla. Blend the mixture throughly. Quickly stir in the baking powder and then fold through the apples.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake on the flour on the floor of the oven (or on the lowest rack, if you cannot bake on the floor) for 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to the centre rack and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through and golden and a skewer comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Yellow cake with raspberry butter-cream

I haven't iced a cake since my birthday, so last night when I had the desire to make a cake and then ice it I decided to run with it - despite the multitudes of other things I had to do. Also despite the fact that I've never made a cake in my current (awful) oven.

I made the cakes last night, leaving them to cool whilst I slept. The cakes weren't perfect, in fact when they came out of the oven they were pretty terrible looking. I don't know why, but there was about a 2.5cm (1") difference between the sides of the cakes. They were mega slanted. Taste wise, they're fine. Just a simple vanilla butter cake.

Normally I'd just level the cakes and be done with, but if I'd leveled these cakes I'd be leveling off half the cake. Instead I plonked them on top of it each, with the small sides lining up with the tall sides. Surprisingly, the assembled wonky layers resulted in a fairly even cake.

This is the first time I've made egg based butter-cream, I generally tend to avoid icing cakes because I don't like butter-cream made purely with butter. This butter-cream was considerably more effort than just pure butter and icing sugar but it's definitely worth the extra time. It's not that the recipe is complicated, it just takes a bit longer. It's also one of those recipes that makes you really appreciate having a stand mixer and a good whisk.

I added a bit of raspberry syrup into my butter-cream, purely because I had it on hand. You could use any flavouring you like.

Yellow cake with raspberry butter-cream

Yellow cake

(adapted from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri)
makes two 23cm (9") round layers

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
170g (6 ounces) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk

Set the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 180°C (350°F) Grease and line the bases of two 23cm (9") shallow cake tins.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

Combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until lightened in colour and texture, 3-4 minutes.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Decrease the mixer speed to the lowest and add half the flour mixture. Stop and scrape down the bowl and beater.

Beat in the milk and after it is absorbed, beat in the remaining flour.

Stop and scrape down the bowl and beater. Increase the speed to medium and beat the batter continuously for 3 minutes (I think I forgot this step!)

Divide the batter equally between the 2 pans and smooth the tops. Bake the layers until they are well risen and golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. The tops of the cakes should feel firm when pressed in the center with a finger tip.

remove pans from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Unmold cakes, turn right side up again, and cool completely on racks leaving baking paper on the bottoms.

Silky smooth butter-cream

(adapted from The Art & Soul of Baking)
Makes about 2 1/2 cups

2 large egg whites
295g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
225g (8 ounces) butter, very soft but not melted
1/2 cup raspberry syrup or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl a bowl and hand whisk to blend. Bring 1 inch of water to a gentle boil in a medium saucepan. Place the bowl over the simmering water and heat, whisking constantly so that the whites do not scramble, until the mixture reaches 71°c (160°F) on a thermometer. Be sure to remove the bowl from the heat when taking the temperature so the eggs don't over heat while you set down the whisk. If the temperature is not hot enough, rinse the thermometer under very hot water, dry and set aside, then put the whites back over the heat.

Once the correct temperature is reached, remove the mixture from the heat and whip on high speed until it has cooled to room temperature. The mixture will be light and billowing, and resembles marshmallow fluff.

On medium speed, add the soft butter a couple of tablespoons at a time. Allow each addition to blend in fully before adding the next. Halfway through, stop the mixture and scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula. Continue until all the butter has been added and the mixture resembles velvety mayonnaise. Gradually add the raspberry syrup or vanilla and blend well.

Don't worry if your butter cream initially looks broken, according to the recipe there is nearly always a point when it looks awful. Continue adding the butter and beating until it looks how it should.

Cinnamon & pear cake

It's nice to be inspired by other bloggers, especially when they inspire you to make something as yummy as this. Once again, this recipe is taken from Technicolor Kitchen. The recipe, again, initially comes from Donna Hay. It's funny getting recipes from an Australian magazine, from a blog that isn't Australian - especially when you own the original magazine it came from.

This cake is quite nice, though it definitely needs to syrup poured over the top at the end. Without it, it's a bit too plain. The recipe is very simple, though I found the number of pears requested by the recipe (initially 3) to be too many, 2 would suffice assuming Australian pears aren't exceptionally large or something along those lines. A bit of ice cream on the side wouldn't go amiss either.

Cinnamon & pear cake

(adapted from Donna Hay Magazine #14)
serves 8-10

2 pears, cut in half, then each half into four wedges, seeds removed
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
184g (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened
55g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
55g (1/3 cup)dark brown sugar
3 eggs
225g (1 1/2 cups + 1 1/2 tablespoons) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon all spice
80ml (1/3 cup) whole milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F); generously grease and line the bottom of a deep 23cm (9in) fluted flan/tart pan with a removable bottom.

Combine the pears, honey and lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until the pears are just tender. Drain the pears, reserving the poaching liquid.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg over the butter mixture, beat in at a slow speed just to incorporate. Fold through the milk.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and arrange the pears on top. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Carefully remove the cake from the pan while still warm, spoon over the reserved poaching liquid and serve immediately.

Orange & poppy seed cake

I've never made an orange and poppy seed cake before, though I've certainly eaten them. I ate one last week and it inspired me to make my own. This is an incredibly simple cake, so there's not a lot to go wrong. Making the batter takes around 10 minutes and then it's just a matter of popping the cake in the oven and wandering off to an hour. The cake then rises beautifully and does it's thing. Easy.

This cake definitely needs to be made in a deep sided tin because it rises so much, I can only imagine the awful mess you'd end up with if you used anything shorter than 10cm (4") in height. There's nothing worse than making delicious cake and then having to leave it sitting on the bench, teasing you, while you scrub out the oven. Yuck.

This cake is very simple, both in technique and flavour. That's not a bad thing but it does require the syrup to bring it do life. Without it it's just too plain. If I make this again, I'm going to try putting some honey into the syrup, mmm.

Orange & poppy seed cake with orange scyrup

Orange and Poppy Seed Cake

(adapted from Simple Essentials: Fruit)
serves 10

250g (8 oz) butter, softened
220g (1 cup) granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
300g (2 cups) self raising flour, sifted
125ml (1/2 cup) milk

Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F), grease and line the bottom of a square 22cm (8 1/2") cake tin.

Combine the poppy seeds, orange rind, and flour in a bowl and set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.

Reduce speed to low, or mixing by hand, add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Once combined, add half the milk. Add the remaining flour and, once combined, the pour in the remaining milk. Milk lightly to combine.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top Bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack or remove from tin and eat warm.

Orange Syrup

220g (1 cup) granulated sugar
250ml (1 cup) freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest of two oranges

Place the sugar, orange juice, and zest in a small saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 7-8 minutes or until syrupy. To serve pour the syrup over the cake.