Rosh Hashanah Inspired Apple & Honey Loaf Cake (Dairy Free)

Kath September 10, 2018

After the research I have done and all I have seen about honey cakes at this time of year, I am quite willing to admit this one isn’t particularly traditional. It is however exactly the kind of honey cake I have been looking for.

I first heard of honey cake through the Rosh Hashanah chapter in Nigella Lawson’s book ‘Feast’. Nigella’s recipe uses golden syrup instead of honey, which for a novice like me at the time was a little confusing. Nigella explains that is just how she likes her honey cakes, with no honey! I have since seen a multitude of recipes for honey cake, and whilst all looking delicious, they all contained at least one ingredient I couldn’t eat - black tea, coffee or orange juice. So I never made them. I did make Nigella’s and whilst it was good (and I would make it again), knowing it wasn’t a very traditional honey cake meant I still had to keep searching for the right one.

Then last month I was making a carrot cake for my Dad’s birthday (recipe from Katie Quinn Davies book ‘What Katie Ate’), and as I was grating the carrots and measuring out the honey I thought, maybe this could work with apples instead of carrots? It then occurred to me that the combination of apples and honey would be perfect for Rosh Hashanah since they are so symbolic for that holiday. The recipe would also be perfect for me if it worked, as it didn’t contain any black tea, coffee or orange juice.

So I tried it. And it most definitely works! For the original cake I made, I added honey to the cream cheese icing as well and it was just so good - the recipe for that cake is in my newly released eBook (which is all about baking cakes with seasonal fruits, yum!). You can get a copy by clicking here or scrolling to the bottom of this post.

After a little deliberation about the icing on the cake - icing on Rosh Hashanah honey cakes isn’t very traditional and mostly considered unnecessary, and the dairy content of the icing would make the cake not kosher depending on the context in which it was served - I opted for a icing free loaf cake. You can brush a little honey over the warm cake if you wish, but this is completely optional. The cake works so well with and without the icing, and I can tell I will be making this many more times!

Apple & Honey Cake with Honeyed Cream Cheese Icing - Recipe in Seasonal Cakes & Bakes eBook

Rosh Hashanah Inspired Apple & Honey Loaf Cake (Dairy Free)

Ingredients:

75g panela sugar (or light/dark brown sugar)

125ml canola/vegetable oil

125ml honey (+ 1tbsp extra, optional)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

225g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarb soda

1 tsp ground ginger

3 small/medium apples (I used Pink Lady variety)

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line a 20 x 10.5 cm (approx.) loaf tin with baking paper so some of the paper hangs over the sides.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, oil, honey, eggs and vanilla.

Then add the flour, baking powder and ginger. Sift in the bicarb soda and whisk together until combined.

Peel and grate the apples. Place a few layers of paper towel inside a medium bowl and place all the grated apple inside it. Squeeze out as much juice from the grated apples as possible using the paper towel. Then add the apples to the cake mixture and mix to combine.

Transfer to the prepared tin and bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the cake is springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the tin immediately, using the overhanging baking paper to do so. Place on a wire rack, and brush extra honey over the top if using. Serve warm.

Low FODMAP Easter Spiced Brioche Scrolls

Easter Spiced Brioche Scrolls (Low FODMAP)

Kath March 30, 2018

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is enjoying celebrating Easter/Passover/the long weekend! It’s about 30 degrees Celsius here in Sydney, so it kinda seems odd that it’s Easter and technically meant to be Autumn. I am very much looking forward to the weather cooling down and really getting back into the kitchen again. Summer was hot here this year, and it definitely kept me away from the kitchen after the necessities of cooking for Christmas were over. Slowly I am finding moments in the kitchen, mostly to prepare for the work week, but also gradually getting back into the habit of baking and cooking purely for the joy if it.

This long weekend I plan to make my annual lot of hot cross buns and have my first foray into making matzo ball soup. I’m thinking these are the best dishes of the two religious holidays celebrated this weekend so it is only fitting to give it them both a go. I have tried Matzo ball soup only once before, so I have been looking through my cookbooks and comparing the recipes from the likes of Yotam Ottolenghi and the Monday Morning Cooking Club to get all the tips and advice possible! Here’s hoping it goes well!

But now on to the scrolls!

A couple of weeks ago I was generously sent some of The Healthy Baker’s Low FODMAP Plain Flour, so I decided that I would use that in my Easter baking and see how it goes.

Since receiving this flour I have done a little research on the low FODMAP diet, and suffice to say the diet cuts out quite a few things across all food groups.

The low FODMAP diet was developed by Monash University and aims to provide relief for those suffering IBS. Luckily the diet isn’t intended as a long term thing, rather a 6 or so week program to determine what high FODMAP foods someone may be reacting to. They can then reintroduce other high FODMAP foods to their diet and continue to minimise those that still act as triggers.

For these scrolls I have used a tried and tested brioche recipe so I could compare how they turned out using this new flour. And honestly, there is no comparison. The texture of the brioche is exactly the same as using regular plain flour. Which is great as it means everyone can enjoy all sorts of homemade baked goods without compromising on the quality of their bakes and not having to feel unwell after. I have tried to make these as hot cross bun inspired as possible by adding the same types of spices as I would to my hot cross buns. You can however use whatever combination you like, or in keeping with these being low FODMAP and for Easter, use dark chocolate instead.

To make these scrolls Low FODMAP not only can you use The Healthy Baker’s flour but also substitute dairy milk for almond. I was also going to add dried fruit to the dough to make the scrolls even more like hot cross buns, but as dried fruit are high FODMAP I have left them out this time - so I guess these brioche scrolls can be like a better version of a fruitless hot cross bun for Easter!

To get an idea about what other foods are low or high FODMAP check out the Monash University website which as some really good resources.

Easter Spiced Brioche Scrolls using The Healthy Baker's Low FODMAP Plain Flour

Ingredients for the Dough:

250ml milk (use lactose free for Low FODMAP)

10g dried yeast

75g caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

485g Healthy Baker Low FODMAP Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting

75g unsalted butter, cubed and softened, plus extra for greasing

Ingredients for the Filling:

85g unsalted butter, softened

120g panela sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp mixed spice

1/2tsp ground ginger

1/4tsp ground cardamom

Pearl sugar*, optional

Method:

In a small saucepan warm the milk over low heat until lukewarm. Add the yeast, sugar and eggs and stir to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour then the milk mixture and mix on a low speed until the ingredients are starting to combine and a dough is beginning to form. Increase the speed to medium-high for 5 minutes. Add the butter and mix on medium speed until it has been incorporated into the dough, and the dough is smooth and elastic.

Use some butter to lightly grease a large bowl then place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough is rising prepare the spiced sugar for the filling by combining the panela sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger and cardamom in a small bowl.

Once the dough has doubled in size, lightly flour your work surface and place the dough on top. Gently roll the dough into a rectangle (approx. 25 x 48 cm) allowing it to remain about 1 cm thick.

Spread the softened butter over the dough then sprinkle over the spiced sugar mix. Roll the dough from the long edge to form a log, then cut into about 12 pieces. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and place the cut scrolls on the sheet in rows leaving room in between each so they can rise. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise again for about 30 minutes until the scrolls have doubled in size.

While the scrolls are rising, pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Once the scrolls have doubled in size, sprinkle with pearl sugar if you wish, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

Serve warm and if there are any leftovers freeze them in zip lock bags to enjoy later.

*Pearl sugar (or nib sugar) does not melt at high temperatures and can be used to decorate baked goods. It can be found at specialty food shops.

Reference: The Cook and Baker by Cherie Bevan and Tass Tauroa (Murdoch Books, 2015), p.124.

Thank you to The Healthy Baker for providing me with some of their fantastic Low FODMAP Plain Flour!

Festive Gingerbread Pavlova (Gluten Free)

Kath December 21, 2016

Up until about a week ago, I wasn't feeling festive at all. Christmas not only felt a while away, but the previous one still felt so recent. So recent, I wasn't feeling in any way inspired to create or bake something new for Christmas. All I could think of was the gingerbread cake I made last year, which I really liked and the many pavlovas I made made in the years previous to that (the most recent Christmas Pav being this one). So, after mulling this over for a little bit, and starting to slightly freak out that Christmas would come and go without me posting any Christmas related recipe here, it suddenly dawned on me that the perfect Christmas dessert this year would be a combination of my favourites from previous years. And thus this Gingerbread Pavlova was born.

I am so happy with it, and have almost single handedly eaten most of it myself (calories don’t count at Christmas, right?). I know I have a few Pavlova recipes floating around on the blog, but the base of this recipe (my Grandma’s) is very special to me, and I seem to never cease to come up with new adaptations of it. Pavlova was something my Grandma often made at Christmas, and was her go to Summer time dessert. For me, despite not having too many family Christmas traditions, Pavlova is definitely a dessert that must be on the table for it to be actually Christmas for me.

My only other Christmas food traditions (or requirements) are a ham, some gingerbread biscuits and a rather large quantity of white cherries. The only other traditions we have that I can think of are that whether the presents are from Santa or not, and whether we are actually adults now or not, the ‘Santa’ presents can only go under the tree after we go to bed on Christmas Eve. None of this being very organised and putting them out early. Like the time, a decade ago Mum and I were away for Christmas and Dad put the presents out a day early. My brother was extraordinarily unimpressed and still to this day mentions how Dad did it all wrong. It’s funny how the things we grow up with still mean so much later in life and have become a family tradition, whether it makes sense or not!

I really enjoyed hearing about the Christmas traditions of others on the most recent My Open Kitchen podcast (series 2 episode 2). I listened whilst baking and it definitely got me thinking about my family’s traditions and got me feeling much more festive. If you have some time before the big day, I definitely recommend giving it a listen. I also really enjoyed Nigella Lawson’s ‘Seasonal Sound Bites’ Christmas podcast series. I never tire of listening or watching Nigella talk about food, and her eloquent musings on Christmas were definitely no exception.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and a great new year! Thanks for following along with my kulinary adventures this year, see you in 2017 - happy baking!

Gingerbread Pavlova

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

250g golden caster sugar (or caster sugar)

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tsp ground ginger

1tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp all spice

1/4 tsp maple essence

20g cornflour

To decorate:

300 ml pouring cream

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 punnet red currants

4 small star shaped gingerbread biscuits, optional. I used this recipe, which will make about 70-80 small star shaped biscuits.

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper, and trace a circle approx. 26 cm in diameter (I used a dinner plate).

In a clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites for 5-6 minutes, whilst gradually adding the sugar. Add the vinegar, vanilla and maple essence and beat until the mixture is stiff and glossy.

Sift cornflour and spices over the mixture, and gently fold to combine.

Place mixture onto the tray in the middle of the drawn circle. Push the mixture around to form a circle, leaving a small border around the edges. Try to keep the edges a little higher than the middle so any filling can sit comfortably in the middle later.

Turn the oven down to 125 degrees Celsius, and cook undisturbed for 1.5 hours.

After 1.5 hours, turn the oven off and leave the pavlova to cool completely in the oven (or overnight).

If decorating as pictured you will need to create a gingerbread man stencil. Do so by tracing a medium/large gingerbread man biscuit cutter on to a piece of baking paper (big enough to cover the surface of the pavlova). Cut out the inside of the gingerbread man, so you are left with the piece of baking paper with a gingerbread man shaped hole in the middle.

Just before you are ready to serve the pavlova, whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Fill the centre of the pavlova with the cream, and smooth the middle a little. Place the gingerbread stencil over the cream, with the gingerbread man centred in the middle of the pavlova. Carefully sift the cinnamon over the cut out, then carefully remove the stencil. Use three red currants to give the gingerbread man some buttons, then use the remaining red currants to decorate the rim on the pavlova (where the edge of the cream and pavlova meet). Add the gingerbread biscuits and serve.

How to Make Mini Fruit Mince Tarts for Christmas

Kath December 20, 2015

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is enjoying the final lead up to the big day!

Here is my final festive recipe - star topped mini fruit mince tarts. I first made these two years ago, and was very sceptical as to whether I would like them. I don’t usually like fruit mince pies, or anything else that has dried fruit in it to be honest. So I was extremely surprised when I liked these tarts.

I made them so small as I think something like this needs to be small and dainty. The flavour is quite rich and I thought a little mouthful was all that was needed. You can make them bigger by using cupcake pans, or fruit mince pie pans if you have one. Use a larger cutter to cut out the pastry (about 7cm), and a larger star cutter for the tops. Making the mini version should get you about 60 tarts - which is good if you are feeding a crowd! Making them a bit larger should get you about 30 tarts.

The pastry for this recipe has been spiked with some extra festive flavours, but it can be a little harder to work with than normal pastry. I found it to be much softer, and the day I made them was about 35 degrees Celsius, so I had to refrigerate the pastry quite often to keep it from melting!

I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season, and a great new year!

Mini Fruit Mince Tarts

Ingredients for the Fruit Mince:

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated

110g currants

120g sultanas

70g slivered almonds

85g mixed peel

80ml maple syrup

90g brown sugar

60g unsalted butter, chopped

80ml butterscotch liqueur/schnapps

1 egg, lightly beaten

white sugar, for sprinkling

icing sugar, for dusting

Extra butter or canola oil spray, for greasing

Ingredients for the Pastry:

400g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

300g cold unsalted butter, chopped

90g brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Begin by placing the apple, currants, sultanas, almonds, mixed peel, maple syrup, brown sugar, butter and butterscotch liqueur in a medium saucepan over low heat. Mix to combine and leave on a low/medium heat until all the liquid as been absorbed. Stir occasionally.

While the fruit is cooking, prepare the pastry. In the bowl of a food processor place the flour, butter, ginger and cinnamon. Process in short bursts until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the eggs and vanilla and process until the pastry forms a ball.

Turn out on to a well floured work surface and bring the dough together. Divide the dough in half, and roll each to about 5mm thick in between sheets baking paper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Once the fruit has absorbed all the liquid, allow the mixture to cool completely before using.

Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius, and prepare at least four or five 12 hole mini muffin trays by lightly spraying them with canola oil or greasing with butter.

Using a 4.5-5cm fluted biscuit or scone cutter, cut rounds out of the halves of dough (re-roll (and chill if necessary) to use up the scraps). Tease each round out a little with your fingers, gently place into the muffin trays (they should only fill each muffin hole about halfway). Place the trays in the fridge for about 15 minutes to chill (longer if you are working in hot/humid conditions).

Once the pastry is ready, fill each case with a teaspoon of the fruit mince. Then using a (very) small star cutter, cut stars out of the remainder of the pastry (re-roll (and chill if necessary) to use up the scraps), and gently place on top of each tart.

Brush each tart with egg wash, and sprinkle with white sugar. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the tarts are lightly golden in colour.

Once cooked, allow to cool for 5 minutes in their tins before removing the tarts to cooling racks. Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.

Reference: Donna Hay Magazine Issue 74 December 2013/January 2014, p.135.

Festive Gingerbread Cake

Kath December 16, 2015

This cake is guaranteed to bring lots of Christmas cheer to your Christmas Day feast, with minimal effort. If you are going all out with your main course for lunch or dinner on the big day, an easy and festive cake like this one could be just what you need to make the Christmas preparation a little easier.

I have been using this recipe for a few years now, after a good friend of mine showed me the original recipe about three years ago. The original recipe is for gingerbread cupcakes with a maple cream cheese icing. I go back to it again and again, as it is easy and just a little different from other cupcakes I tend to make. And at this time of year, it makes a great festive addition to any occasion.

This year I decided to adapt the recipe a little, and make it into a larger cake. I love how the cake has turned out, as with the addition of red currants, it looks a little like a Christmas pudding and very festive! I know red currants can be hard to find (I was just lucky to come across them), so you could substitute them for smaller cherries or cranberries. I also used maple extract in the icing (which I found a few months ago at Salt Meat Cheese), but maple syrup (the pure kind) would work too, you might just have to up the amount of icing sugar you use.

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season! Let me know what you bake, I’d love to see photos of what you create to celebrate the holidays!

And if you are still looking for some Christmas baking inspiration, here are some links to a few older posts, including my Epic Pavlova from last year, that might help you decide what to bake this holiday season!

Epic Christmas Pavlova

Gingerbread Biscuits

White Cherry Frangipane Tart

Festive Gingerbread Cake

Ingredients:

250g softened unsalted butter

200g brown sugar

2 eggs

310g molasses

230ml water

410g plain flour

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarb soda

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground all spice

canola oil spray, for greasing

Ingredients for Icing:

160g (approx.) icing sugar

1-2 tsp maple extract

red currants, to decorate

Method:

Grease a large bundt tin (around 2 litre capacity, approx. 24-26cm diameter) with the canola oil spray and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Then beat in the water and molasses.

Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb and the spices and add to the mixture. Beat on a low speed until the flour begins to combine, then beat on a medium speed for 2 minutes or until mixed well.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, then turn the oven down to 160 degrees Celsius for a further 20-25 minutes (this should prevent the cake forming a ‘peak’ on what will be the base of the cake), or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, before turning onto a cooling rack.

For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then add the maple essence one teaspoon at a time, stirring well. The icing should have a nice smooth consistency. If the mixture needs more liquid add a little water and mix well. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake, allowing it to fall over the sides. Decorate with red currants.

Reference: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/gingerbread-cupcakes

Homemade Marshmallows (Gluten + Dairy Free)

Kath December 10, 2015

I have always loved marshmallows. I would eat them by the bowlful as a kid, much to my Mum’s dismay. I’d often melt them in the microwave, add Rice Bubbles, and eat them like a massive LCM (or rice crispy treat), but with much more marshmallow!

Then while I was at uni, a friend introduced me to Sweetness the Patisserie in Sydney, who make their own marshmallows, known as Sweet Mallows. They are made with natural flavours, and come in an amazing variety of flavour combinations. These homemade, (much) more natural versions of the marshmallows you buy in the lolly isle at the supermarket, make you never ever want to eat the supermarket variety again.

I then stumbled across the below recipe in the recipe book from the Parisian confectioners, À La Mère de Famille (check out this post for more on the Parisian confectioners). Its not an overly complicated recipe, you just need to be organised, work quickly and have a sugar thermometer. So once I bought a sugar thermometer, there was nothing stopping me finally making marshmallows for myself!

The flavour combinations are really quite endless, and I think they make cute gifts (cue impending holiday season!). The flavour of the marshmallows develops a lot after a day or so, so I would recommend making them a day or two in advance before giving them as gifts. They also require tossing in the icing sugar and potato flour mix more than once over the first couple of days, particularly in humid conditions. They will otherwise absorb the first lot of icing sugar and potato flour quite quickly and become wet and sticky. And let’s face it, its always handy when you are making gifts, or just cooking generally, to have things that can be prepared in advance!

Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients for Raspberry Marshmallows:

15g gelatine sheets

100g raspberry pulp

20g water

50g mild honey

240g sugar

100g egg whites

1 tsp freeze dried raspberry powder, sifted, optional

75g icing sugar

75g potato flour/starch

Ingredients for Passionfruit Marshmallows:

15g gelatine sheets

70g strained passionfruit pulp

40g water

50g mild honey

240g sugar

100g egg whites

1 tsp freeze dried passionfruit powder, optional

75g icing sugar

75g potato flour/starch

Method:

Place the gelatine in bowl of cold water, and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Then drain and set aside.

Place the egg whites in a bowl, and have everything ready to whip them once the sugar syrup starts to heat up (see following step).

In a large saucepan heat, the raspberry pulp or passionfruit pulp, water, honey and sugar until it reaches 114 degrees Celsius on a sugar thermometer. The sugar syrup will start rapidly boiling and increase in size, so make sure you use a large enough saucepan. This shouldn’t take too long, so once the mixture starts to increase in temperature, start whipping the egg whites on a low/medium speed.

Once the sugar mixture has reached 114 degrees Celsius, and the egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks, gently fold the sugar mixture and gelatine in to the egg whites.

Increase the speed of the mixer (medium to high speed), and allow the marshmallow to thicken and cool. This will take a few minutes. Add the freeze dried raspberry powder or passionfruit powder, if using, and continue to whip the marshmallow until it has cooled to at least 40 degrees Celsius. Whilst the marshmallow is thickening and cooling, lay a sheet of baking paper on a clean dry surface and generously dust with combination of the icing sugar and potato flour.

Once the marshmallow has thickened and cooled, pour it onto the prepared surface and spread into a rectangular shape, about 1.5-2cm in thickness. Dust with more icing sugar and potato flour, and leave to set.

I found it didn’t take very long for the marshmallow to set, but leave it about 30 mins to be sure - it will be set when it bounces back when pressed and the outside area dusted with the icing sugar and potato flour is no longer sticky. You may need to dust the marshmallow more than once depending on the humidity.

Once the marshmallow has set, cut into cubes, and toss cut marshmallows in a bowl filled with icing sugar and potato flour. Cut cubes of marshmallow may need dusting a couple more times as the first lot tends to be absorbed after a few hours (particularly in humid conditions). Keep a bowl or container of the icing sugar and potato flour handy so the marshmallows can be re-dusted if needed.