The cheat's Tiramisu

Last week I reinvigorated my cake decorating skills to make a three layer (single tier) birthday cake for two colleagues. There was plenty of left over sponge, and that sponge which had been trimmed to level off each layer. So, rather than waste it, I froze it, figuring I'd find something to make with it at a later day. Well that day came today.

I've always been a fan of a rich, strong Tiramisu, but I rarely have the time or inclination to make a full dish from scratch. So if you're like me and want to find the quick and easy way to make things, here's the recipe (minus quantities as I do!) for you!

Brew some good quality coffee and allow it go cold. Mix in some Frangelico and Kahlua to taste.

Tear off a chunk of the sponge and place in the bottom of the bowl/glass. Pour over some of the coffee mixture to allow the sponge to go nice and soggy. Add some crumbled bits of Milk Coffee biscuits on top (I was hoping this would add some crunch to the Tiramisu but it just added to the sponge density with the absorption of the coffee - oh well).

Using Philadelphia Cream for Desserts, spread a nice even layer over the top of the sponge/biscuit. Pour a little coffee mixutre on top to ensure the flavour is strong.

Repeat the process starting with another layer of sponge, and finally finish with Cream and some crumbled biscuit and sponge bits.

Dig in and enjoy!

Yuen's Haul

In my last blog post, about Malaya Corner, I mentioned doing some Asian Grocery shopping at Sunnybank. The main grocery store there is Yuen's... a treasure trove of goodies in strange packaging and the occasional purchasing mistake!

Most recently I collected some of the following sweet treats:

Green Tea Oreos - these are like the Vanilla Ice Cream versions we have in Australia, with that menthol buzz to the mouth, but also an underlying matcha flavour

Mochi - usually I pick up a variety of sesame, taro, fruit flavours and chocolate mochi

Pocky (and in this instance, the Pandaroo version "Stix") - I couldn't find any mango or green tea mousse this time, but thought a bit more of a decadent version would suffice - the double chocolate (chocolate stick dipped in chocolate.) For the record the Stix are nowhere near as nice as the original Pocky.

A packet of Pandan Pudding mixture also made its way in to the shopping haul this time. The pudding mix required combining with boiling water then refrigerating in desired moulds. As this was being served for dessert, it was pleasantly set in Martini glasses.

The pudding had a lovely coconut flavour without being excessively sweet and a blanc mange texture, albeit slightly more gelatinous. For added taste and texture, coconut jelly cubes were added. Oh yes, and the pudding was a distinctive green colour!

Pumpkin Soup and Chicken Caesar Salad

Saturday night's dinner was a bit of a mash together. Nobody wanted anything heavy and the warm day meant nobody really wanted anything hot either. Looking around the kitchen, I decided on making a big pot of pumpkin soup and a chicken caesar salad.

Now remember when I said I don't use actual recipes.... below is all a guesstimate as to quantities used!

I will confess, I love Butternut pumpkin. Rarely will I buy any other variety. I cut up about 1.2kg of Butternut in to approx. 3cm cubes and roasted at 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the flesh becomes soft but not baked hard.

One leek sliced finely with a couple of tablespoons of butter in a medium heat saucepan to allow the leeks to soften but not colour. Add two medium potatoes (peeled and diced to 1cm cubes) and 1L salt reduced chicken stock (you can use vegetable if you like.) Add the baked pumpkin and two tablespoons of honey, and bring to a rapid simmer. Leave simmering until you can see the potato pieces starting to crumble in the stock and the pumpkin starts to mush up. Remove from heat, put lid on saucepan and allow to stew in its own warmth for about 15 minutes. Blend to a puree (I find I have to do this in two batches in my blender.)

You can add cream if you wish at this stage, or just a good dollop of sour cream (or cooking Philadelphia) when serving. The dishes in the image are served with chives from the garden.

Caesar salad has never been a favourite of mine. I think perhaps I consumed a dish once with a vile rendition of sauce on it and it put me off the thought of eating Caesar salad for quite some time. But I noticed we had a rather large Cos lettuce in the fridge, and knowing this household, the lettuce would normally go off before it's even looked at.

I decided to make my own version of Caesar sauce - one whole egg, two tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar, two tablespoons of Dijon mustard and four anchovy fillets with some of the oil from the jar all whizzed up in the micro blender. When the mix comes together, add a grind of salt and pepper and slowly drizzle in about a 1/4 cup of good quality light olive oil. Remember, all quantities give and take depending upon how it tastes and works for you!

The salad was simply a stack of chunky Cos lettuce, toasted slices of Turkish bread, shaved parmesan cheese, crispy pieces of bacon, soft boiled eggs, quick cooked slices of chicken breast, anchovy slices and the sauce.

Disfrute de su comida (or something, in Spanish!)

Arkadia English Breakfast Tea Latte

A couple of years ago I became aware of the brand Arkadia for their range of instant chai latte and hot chocolate powders. I've since noticed that several beverage outlets use their Chai Spice product for both chai tea and latte. The benefit to the Arkadia products is that you can simply use hot water or hot milk - and this goes for any of their tea/latte or chocolate mixes.

One of my favourite products is the Matcha Green Tea. It's quite a unique product for anyone who hasn't experienced the more traditional Matcha teas of Japan, and can be rather daunting to anyone unaccustomed to a bright green milk drink!

Through a promotional opportunity on the Arkadia email list I was sent a sample of their latest product in development, English Breakfast Tea Latte.

The instructions for the sachet were to add 170ml of pre-boiling water to the powder. This made for a sufficient quantity of tea.

The aromatics gave a definite English Breakfast tea aroma and the latte component made for a traditional milky froth on top of the drink. But I have to say the flavour was a little strong for a latte drink, and yet still a little milky to be a tea drink. As a tea drinker I wouldn't be inclined to purchase this variety because I prefer a very flat traditional tea taste. I can see where Arkadia are headed with their market and hope it brings about some new developments with their beverages but I think I'll be sticking to their Chai.


You can connect with Arkadia on their Facebook page or Twitter.

Please note, I have not been asked to promote the company or their products. In fact I asked on their Facebook page if I could mention the development of the English Breakfast Tea Latte on this blog but I didn't get a response.

(and I still don't know why Blogger isn't inserting my images as per their saved rotation!)

White Wings Lemon Meringue Pie

I confess that my biggest cravings are always for a piece of Lemon Meringue Pie. But, unfortunately it always seems to be a craving which remains unsatisfied no matter how simple or extravagant the attempted fix is.

So when I saw the White Wings Lemon Meringue Pie packaging on the supermarket shelf, I thought "why not?"

The required ingredients for the mix were far fewer than I had expected: One egg (separated), water. That's it. The mixture comes in three parts: the base, the lemon filling, the meringue topping.

The 2 and half tablespoons of water added to the base mixture seems very sparse, and the dough is quite tough to work with. In hindsight, I think I would prefer to make my own shortcrust base if I were to make the pie again. Nevertheless, there was enough base to adequately fill the Pyrex dish. The base was refrigerated.

The lemon mixture, with egg yolk and water, was quick to bind and gave a strong aroma of lemon essence. It would be a nice modification to add some lime juice and zest as recommended on the packaging. The filling was baked for only 30 minutes at 170 degrees (my oven is rather hot and quick.)

As the filled pie was removed from the oven to cool, the meringue mixture was combined with the egg white and water as required. The meringue came together very quickly and formed nice solid peaks. There was more than sufficient mix to completely cover the pie with a nice central dome.

Since the oven was still exceptionally hot, the meringue took on colour within around 7 minutes and baked through very evenly.

Taste result: a very nice lemon meringue pie for eating on the day of baking and the subsequent day. However, the base would not allow for keeping any longer than that - it began to taste plastic like and was quite tough.

 

p.s. I have no idea why Blogger isn't uploading my photos in saved rotation - I apologise for the requirement to tilt your head!

Vietnamese and Japanese inspired feast

The Central Markets in Adelaide have a lot to answer for!! The "old" food court as we refer to it, on the Western side of Moonta Street, has the best place for Vietnamese food I've come across. Over the years I became a great fan of dish #11, or, bun cha gao, and consequently I have developed my own version of the meal to suit my tastes and cooking styles.

Essentially I see the dish like a big cold roll opened out in to the bowl! We have shredded lettuce, cucumber, mint leaves and bean shoots under some rice vermicelli, julienned carrot, snow peas, a beef and onion in lemongrass mixture, and topped with fried shallots and crushed cashews.

As mum doesn't eat a lot of meat, I also make the dish with spring rolls to either top the noodles or to serve on the side.

A chilli vinegarette is poured over the dish and by the time you finally get to the bottom of it, the remaining vegetables and noodles are in a sweet and sour soup.

 
A meal at a Japanese restaurant on Brisbane's Southbank inspired the tofu dish I make to accompany the Vietnamese feast. Agedashi tofu is a fried (age) tofu in a fish (dashi) stock sauce. Because of mum's intolerance to fish I avoid the dashi component. But I have developed a gorgeous silky sauce to pour over the potato starch fried firm tofu pieces - equal parts mirin and ponzu (citrus soy), with chopped spring onions and chilli. 
 

By the time the hot starchy crust on the tofu has softened in the sauce, it leaves a sticky gooey texture on the bottom of the tofu piece and it absolutely melts in your mouth.

The meal is very fresh, very 'clean' eating (apart from the fried tofu - but it's hot, shallow oil so it doesn't absorb much). It's also the kind of meal which expands as you eat it... and there never seems to be an end in sight!

 The final feast:

Tomato and Chilli Salsa

Every couple of months I make up a batch of this Tomato and Chilli Salsa. It's great to just leave in the tub in the fridge then add to the side of your plate with chicken, beef, pork, fish, actually just about anything. It's also great to use as a dip with crackers and cheese platter or to add some zing to your toasted sandwich for lunch! The chilli components are entirely optional if you prefer something a little more gentle on the palette.

You may begin to notice I'm not really a fan of using quantities in recipes (unless it is for a specific baking recipe like cakes and pastries and finer items), hence the below list doesn't give a lot of detail. I'm hoping most people can judge whether a "good dollop" is the appropriate quantity or a "smidgen" is more suited to the recipe!

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• Onion - red, white or brown, chopped
• Garlic - crushed or minced
• Chillies - chopped, optional
• Ginger - grated
• Tomatoes - peeled and seeded, chopped
• 1 Cup lightly packed soft brown sugar
• 1 Cup basil - chopped
• 1 Cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 Cup dry sherry
• Sweet chilli sauce

 Method:

1. Soften the onion, garlic, chillies, ginger in the oil. Do not allow to brown.
2. Add the chopped tomato pieces. Remember, a salsa is quite rustic, so there's no need to be fine and delicate with the ingredients. The original recipe I sourced this from suggested to peel the tomatoes too but I find the skin adds more texture to the final product.
3. Once the tomato is warmed through in the mix, add the remaining ingredients: basil, sugar, vinegar, sherry and a good couple of tablespoons of chilli sauce.
   
   
4. Stir until well combined. Reduce to a simmer and allow to thicken and become dark and syrupy over the next 1 to 2 hours. The mix will require stirring frequently to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
5. The salsa will continue to thicken on cooling so it's fine to turn the heat off with a bit of liquid and softness still in the mix.