So it's been a while since my last post- a pretty awful long time. Moving to a new city and studying again can do that to you. My new city you ask? Is Auckland... a city which I am really excited about. There is so much on offer here. Including the French Farmers Market at La Cigale, Parnell. On Sunday I picked up some figs! Something you'd rarely see in the colder Christchurch climate. With contemplation about what I'd make..
A fig and almond tart it was, courtesy of Donna Hay.
I left them on the counter for a day... bad move! Make sure to store them in the fridge.
Makes 2
1 block store-bought puff pastry, thawed and halved
75g butter, melted
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup plain flour, sifted
7 figs, quartered
1/3 cup caster sugar, extra
Preheat oven to 200C.
Roll out pastry halves into long rectangles. Place on baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper or silicone parchment.
Using a small, sharp knife score a
1cm border around each sheet.
Place the butter, sugar, eggs, ground almonds and flour in a
bowl and mix well to combine.
Spread half the mixture over each pastry sheet.
Place the figs and extra sugar in a bowl and toss gently to
coat.
Top the pastry with the figs and bake for 20-25 minutes or until
puffed and golden.
I was never expecting this experience to be easy. I’ve heard a number of times that it takes years and years for the top French chefs to produce a crisp coat, yet soft centred macaroon; but I brushed that thought aside and powered forth with optimism. The recipe was read and read again, with eager anticipation that somehow this would help. But I must say the critics were right- they didn’t look the part. However, combined with the cream butter filling they were amazing! The moral of this story- do not judge a book by its cover! And not to give up... but then again there are so many other culinary conquests...
Pink Vanilla Macaroons
Makes 18 whole macaroons
75g ground almonds
115g icing sugar
2 large egg whites
50g caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
A few drops of pink food colouring
Icing:
55g butter, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
115g icing sugar, sifted
Place ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor and process for 15 seconds. Sift the mixture into a bowl.
Line two baking trays with baking paper. In order to make it easier and to get nearly symmetrical circles I traced around a 3.5cm circular cookie cutter on the underside of the baking paper.
Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually whisk in the caster sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, to make a firm glossy meringue. Whisk in the vanilla extract and food colouring.
Using a spatula, fold the almond mixture into the meringue mixture one third at a time. When all the almond mixture is incorporated, continue to cut and fold the mixture until it forms a shiny batter with a thick, ribbon-like consistency.
Pour mixture into a piping apparatus and pipe 36 small rounds onto prepared baking sheets. Tap the baking sheets onto the work surface to remove air bubbles. Leave a room temperature for around 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Bake macaroons for 10-15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes. This is the result after ten minutes:
Lesson 1: Lower the temperature to 140°C. The result after ten minutes:
You might not be able to tell- they were pink but uncooked in the centre.
Once cooked, leave to cool for ten minutes then carefully peel off baking paper. Leave to cool completely.
To make the filling, beat the butter and vanilla extract in a bowl. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until smooth and creamy. Use to sandwich pairs of macaroons together.
There are probably a number of factors that influenced the success of this recipe- maybe it was that I didn’t use fresh eggs whites (there’s always a supply of them in the freezer from when making recipes using the yolks), or that I over mixed the meringue-almond mixture? If anyone out there can recommend something please let me know! Or maybe I’ll just use another recipe...
This recipe has been taken from the book Nigella Christmas, and adapted to what was available in the pantry. After watching Nigella prepare this delicious looking cake on her Christmas TV series, I was instantly transfixed and absolutely had to make it. So on Amazon.co.uk (my regular cookbook supplier) I went. However the book only arrived after Christmas so here it is for you to enjoy- better late than never!
Incredibly Easy Chocolate Fruit Cake
Serves 10-12
350g prunes, chopped (I used a mezzaluna to chop- much easier)
150g raisins (the recipe says 250g but didn’t have enough so substituted with the currants)
275g currants
175g soft butter
175g dark cane sugar
225g honey
125ml Kahlua (the recipe says Tia Maria or other coffee liqueur)
Juice and finely grated zest of three small oranges
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 eggs, beaten
150g plain flour
75g ground almonds
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Decoration- I just used dessert almonds and a sprinkling of icing sugar.
Preheat oven to 150°C and line a 20cm round, loose-bottomed cake tin.
Put fruits, butter, sugar, honey, Kahlua, orange juice and zest, spice and cocoa powder into a large saucepan and gently bring to boil.
Simmer for 10 minutes. Take off the heat and let stand for 30 minutes.
Once cooled, add the beaten eggs, flour, ground almond, baking powder and baking soda, and stir to combine.
Pour fruit cake mixture into prepare cake tin. Place in oven and bake for 1 ¾-2 hours hours.
After this time the top of the cake should be firm but have a shiny sticky look. (I followed these instructions but felt that the cake looked a little over cooked- harder and darker around the edges. Would probably recommend to go on the lighter side for oven time.)
Put the cake (still in its tin) on a wire cooling rack. Once cool, take it out of the tin. If you don’t want to eat it immediately, wrap in greaseproof paper and then foil. Store in an airtight container.
Nigella says you can make this cake up to 2 weeks ahead and store it in an airtight container, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Verdict: Delicious (as predicted). As you can see, it didn’t last long!
