Date and Walnut Loaf March 23, 2010

I realized that my last few postings on Facebook were mainly about food. I can’t help it, I need something to occupy me during the day while I await the arrival of the bubba.

I’ve been keeping busy trying to re-organize my load of recipe magazines. Scanning, tagging, filing. However, the more I look through them, the more I find myself wanting to experiment.

I found this recipe this morning and thought I’d give it a go, since I have all the ingredients on hand.

• 250g pitted dates, roughly chopped
• 1 cup (250ml) boiling water
• 90g butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups (225g) self raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts, plus 2 tbsp extra for topping

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree celcius (or 160 fan). Grease and line a 21cm x 11cm loaf pan
2. Soak dates in water, cover and stand for 5 mins, until dates soften.
3. Cream melted butter and sugar until well combined. Stir in vanilla and egg.
4. Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice with a pinch of salt. Fold into date mixture, then fold through walnut.  Spoon mixture into prepared pan and scatter over extra walnut. Bake for 45 mins, until skewer comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan for 5 mins, then turn out onto wire rack to cool. Slice and serve with butter, if desired.

After the taste test by my husband, this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Home-made Bread Loaf January 28, 2008

Having been home for the last few months, I decided to attempt the frightful world of breadmaking.  Like others, I’ve often had the fear of baking bread.  Even when I use to own a breadmaker, the bread came out quite hard, and extremely doughy.  Here’s a brilliant recipe for making your own loaf at home.   Especially if you like the soft Japanese loaf bread, light and fluffy.

Ingredients:

• 250 grams of bread flour
• 140 mls of milk (low fat is ok)
• 50 grams of unsalted butter
• 25 grams of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of instant yeast

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and knead til doughy and smooth.
2. Proof dough in a mixing bowl for 1 hour. Cover bowl in cling film.
3. By this time, the dough should have doubled in size. Punch out the air and divide the dough into 3 balls. Place the 3 dough balls back in the mixing bowl and cover with cling film. Proof for another 30 mins.
4. Grease a pullman tin (loaf tin with cover. Available at specialised baking stores).
5. Take one ball of dough and roll out with a rolling pin. Roll up tightly (swiss-roll style) and repeat for other 2 balls of dough.
6. Place the 3 pieces of dough in the pullman loaf tin and proof for another 30 mins. In the meantime, pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
7. Bake for 30 mins. Remove tin cover to let bread top brown for another five mins.
8. Remove from loaf tin and let it cool before cutting.

VOILA!

Not that hard eh! After this successful attempt, I’ve gained more confidence in baking bread. Will update with new bread recipes and pictures too.

Warm, Fuzzy Pear & Almond Tart December 3, 2007

There’s nothing quite like this. In fact, my partner has decided that this is the best “cake/tart” that I have ever made.

And in the spirit of X’mas, I will share this superb recipe with you.

Pastry Recipe
200g (1 2/3 cups) plain flour
100g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
2 tbs cold water
Plain flour, extra, to dust
*I added in a tablespoon of custard powder for a richer tasting pastry. Makes a difference!

Pear & Almond filling
125g unsalted butter, softened
140g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
125g (1 1/4 cups) almond meal
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
3 ripe pears, peeled, cored, thickly sliced (depending on the depth of your tart pan, I only managed to squeeze 2 pears in)
2 tbs flaked almonds (I omitted this)

Method
To make the pastry, place the flour, butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and water, and process until dough just starts to come together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until just smooth. Shape into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the pastry to a 3mm-thick disc. Line a round 30cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry and use a small sharp knife to trim any excess. Prick the pastry base with a fork. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and fill with pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Place on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Remove the paper and pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Bake for a further 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 190°C.
To make the almond filling, use an electric beater to beat together the butter, sugar and almond meal in a medium bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs and lemon juice and beat until just combined.

Arrange the pear slices over the base of pastry case. Spoon the almond filling over the pear and smooth the surface. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until tart is golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.

Cut the tart into wedges and place on serving plates. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

Notes & Tips
You can prepare this recipe to the end of step 4 up to 1 day ahead. Store in an airtight container.