Almond cakes with sugared apple icing

I went to the movies last weekend and what a big disappointment it was: what seemed to be a very interesting idea was completely ruined and became a silly, silly movie.

I got home and felt like baking a cake - to avoid getting disappointed again, I used one of DH’s recipes and the result was a batch of adorable little cakes with a delicious apple scented icing.

Almond cakes with sugared apple icing
from Donna Hay magazine

½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (162g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup (120ml) whole milk

Sugared apple icing:
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (162g) caster sugar
¼ cup (60m) clear apple juice

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter twelve ½ cup (120ml) capacity muffin pans.
Place the butter, caster sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well. Sift the flour, almond meal and baking powder over the butter mixture and mix in low speed to combine. Fold through the milk. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans and bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on a wire rack.
To make the sugared icing, place the sugar in a bowl and gradually add the juice, mixing, until you get the desired consistency.
To serve, spoon the sugared icing over the cakes – do it as close to serving time as possible.

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe above, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans and got 7 cakes

Passion fruit cream pots

My sister and I are completely different when it comes to our look: I’m short and my skin is very, very pale, covered with freckles, while she’s tall and her skin has a beautiful bronze tone, similar to my dad’s. But at the essence we’re very much alike: we both love baking, are huge fans of citrus flavors and I’ve recently discovered that she’s into the same kinds of movies I like. :)

At their essence these passion fruit pots are similar to their little lemony brothers – cream, fruit juice, sugar – but at the same time are very different in terms of flavor and texture: a bit creamier and sourer.

Passion fruit cream pots
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

200ml heavy (whipping) cream
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) passion fruit juice*
3 tablespoons passion fruit pulp, with seeds, to serve

Combine cream and sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil over medium heat and simmer, stirring continuously, until sugar dissolves (4 minutes). Add passion fruit juice, simmer to infuse (4 minutes), remove from heat, cool slightly, divide among four 100ml-capacity glasses and refrigerate until set (1½-2 hours).
Top with the passion fruit pulp and serve.

Serves 4

* For passion fruit juice, process pulp in a food processor, then strain through a fine sieve (discard solids)

Blueberry and pistachio toasted muesli

After parading five hundred tons of sweets around here I thought it was time for something a little bit healthier – but it had to be good, because food that tastes like cardboard is definitely not allowed on this blog. :)

This muesli is delicious and easy to make – even if you and your oven are not very close friends. :)

Blueberry and pistachio toasted muesli
slightly adapted from Donna Hay magazine

60g unsalted butter
⅓ cup (80ml) honey
2 ¼ cup (258g) rolled oats
½ cup (70g) slivered almonds
¾ cup (75g) sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup (170g) dried blueberries
½ cup pumpkin seed kernels (pepitas)*
¾ cup (105g) chopped pistachio kernels
milk, to serve
plain yogurt, to serve

Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Place the butter and honey in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the butter is melted.
Place the oats, almonds and coconut in a large bowl, pour over the butter mixture and toss well to combine. Spread evenly over the base of a baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Stir and bake for a further 5−10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Allow to cool and stir through the blueberries, pumpkin seeds and pistachios. Serve with the milk and yoghurt.
The muesli can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

*I used sunflower seeds instead but did not like the result

Serves 6-8.

Silver poppy seed cake trifle

How can a trifle made with a slice of a very tender cake, topped with cream and berries and sprinkled with toasted almonds go wrong? Exactly – it can’t.

The same way a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley directed by Mr. Scorsese just can go wrong – it has got to be one of the best things I have ever seen.

If you haven’t watched “Shutter Island” yet, do yourself a favor and run to the nearest movie theater. :)

Silver poppy seed cake trifle
from Baking for All Occasions, presentation inspired by Nigella’s lemon-raspberry plate trifle


Cake:
2 ¼ cups (315g) cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
½ cup (60ml) well shaken buttermilk
¼ cup poppy seeds
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
200g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
4 large (120ml) egg whites, lightly beaten

To serve:
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced lengthwise
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 180°C/350°F. Lightly coat a 32.5x22.5x5cm (13x9x2in) pan (quarter sheet pan)* with butter/nonstick spray, and line the bottom with parchment paper, coating the paper as well. Then flour it, tapping out the excess. Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a small bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the milk with the vanilla bean just until lukewarm. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk, scrape the seeds from the bean into the milk with a small pairing knife and discard the pod. Pour the vanilla flavored milk into a small bowl, add the buttermilk, poppy seeds and lemon juice, and stir to blend. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it is lighter in color, cling to the side of the bowl and has a satiny appearance, 30-45 seconds. Add the sugar in a steady stream, then stop the mixer and scrape down the gritty, sandy mixture clinging to the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat on medium speed until the mixture is very light in color and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg whites, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated before adding more – this is especially important for egg whites because a large percentage of an egg white is water. If at any time the batter appears watery or shiny (signs of curdling) stop the flow of egg whites, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the batter looks smooth again. Then return to medium speed and resume adding the egg whites. Continue to beat, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once or twice, until all the whites have been added and the mixture is fluffy.
On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing after each addition until incorporated. Stop the mixer after each addition to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and with a rubber spatula spread the batter from the center outward, creating a slightly raised ridge around the outside rim (since heat is conducted faster near the metal rim, mounding the batter around the edges ensures the cake will bake more evenly and will be more leveled).
Bake the cake until raised and golden, 38-42 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, carefully unmold onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

Assembling the trifle: cut the cooled cake in thick slices and place on small serving plates. Top with 2-3 tablespoons of the whipped cream, a few strawberry slices and sprinkle with the toasted almonds.

* I halved the recipe above and used a 10x20cm (4x8in) loaf pan

Serves 8-10

Coconut ice cream

I wasn’t going to post another coconut recipe so soon, but this a revolutionary ice cream: I’ve made it several times already by my husband’s request – the same husband who’ll only eat either chocolate or stracciatella ice cream. That’s quite something – almost a solar eclipse. :)

The recipe comes from here, but I first saw it on Valentina’s blog.

Coconut ice cream
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

½ cup (50g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 ¼ cups (300ml) heavy cream
1 ¼ cups (300ml) whole milk
½ cup (100g) demerara sugar
6 egg yolks
1 tablespoon dark rum*

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Spread coconut on a baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, until golden (4-5 minutes). Transfer to a medium saucepan, add cream, milk and demerara sugar, then bring to the simmer over low heat. Simmer for 1 minute, remove from heat, cover and stand for 25 minutes to infuse.
Meanwhile, whisk yolks in a heatproof bowl to combine, then add cream mixture, whisking continuously to combine. Return to pan and stir continuously over low heat until mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon thickly (5-6 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl placed over ice, pressing solids to extract all liquid (discard solids), stir in rum and cool completely. Chill for 4-5 hours.
Freeze in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions and freeze until required.

* I have made this ice cream with and without the rum and we prefer it without the liquor

Makes 800ml

Peach, raspberry and almond crumble

I’ve read that Viggo Mortensen will be playing Sigmund Freud on David Cronenberg’s next movie – such great news. I love both gentlemen working separately, but together they’re even more wonderful.

Here’s another great pairing: peaches and raspberries. It was my first time trying them together, but certainly won’t be the last.

Peach, raspberry and almond crumble
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

300g peaches (about 2)
45g frozen raspberries
1 ½ tablespoons demerara sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Almond crumble:
2/3 cup (93g) all purpose flour
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (70g) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1cm pieces
3 ½ tablespoons demerara sugar
1 ½ tablespoons flaked almonds

For almond crumble, preheat oven to 200°C/392°F. Combine flour and butter in a medium bowl and rub with your fingertips until fine crumbs form. Add sugar and almonds, mix to combine and set aside.

Cut peaches into wedges and combine with remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Divide among two 1 cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof baking dishes, top with almond crumble and bake until golden brown (25-30 minutes). Serve immediately with double cream or ice-cream.

Serves 2

Chocolate, pistachio and orange-blossom truffles

I was watching some music videos with Joao last Sunday and told him that even though I’ve loved Queen for as long as I can remember not until when I was an adult I realized that the blond girl on this video was Roger Taylor. :)

What can I say? There are things we learn late in life. Like choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate when making truffles. :)

Chocolate, pistachio and orange-blossom truffles
slightly changed from Australian Gourmet Traveller

300g dark chocolate (58% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped – I used 70%
200ml heavy cream
1 tablespoon orange-blossom water*, or to taste
½ cup (70g) pistachio kernels, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
½ cup (45g) Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

Combine chocolate and cream in a medium saucepan, stir over low heat until melted and smooth (4-5 minutes), stir through orange-blossom water and 50g pistachios. Pour into a shallow tray and set aside to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (2-3 hours). Finely chop remaining pistachios.

Mix remaining chopped pistachio and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Roll about ½ tablespoon of the mixture into rough balls. Roll the truffles on the cocoa/pistachio mixture and gently shake to coat. Truffles will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 10 days.

* I could not feel the orange blossom water flavor – you might want to add a little bit more

Serves 15 – I made 2/3 of the recipe above and got 23 truffles

Rum and raisin muffins

I told you a while ago that my relationship with raisins had began to change – and I think there’s no turning back. Maybe that has got to do with the fact that they are drenched in booze... :)

These muffins turned out really tender and the rum flavor wasn’t overpowering; they are not too sweet, so add a bit more sugar if you feel like it.

First the cookies, now the muffins – next, ice cream. :)

Rum and raisin muffins
from The Joy of Muffins

1 cup (155g) dark raisins
½ cup (120ml) white rum
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, cold but not too firm, chopped
1 cup (260g) plain yogurt
1 egg
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
icing sugar, to serve

Soak the raisins in the rum overnight.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F; line 18 muffin pans with paper cases.
Drain raisins, reserving rum. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl. Cut in butter until coarse meal forms – I rubbed it in the dry ingredients using my fingertips. Mix in raisins.
In a small bowl or jar, whisk yogurt, egg, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of rum until smooth. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in mixture. Mix with a fork just until incorporated. Fill muffin pans ¾ full and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
Let cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Makes 18 – I halved the recipe above, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffins pans and got 7 muffins

Honey drop cookies

I’ve received a gift from one of my readers: a new banner for my blog! Isn’t it gorgeous?

I was so thrilled when she offered to make a new banner for me – and she was really patient with all my emails and questions and doubts about choosing the photos... :)

Samanta, my dear, thank you for the banner, I absolutely loved it. You are so sweet! Sweeter than these cookies. :)

Honey drop cookies
slightly adapted from Donna Hay magazine

180g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 ½ cups + 2 ½ tablespoons (375g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup honey

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Sift over the flour and baking powder and mix to form a smooth dough.
Roll 1 leveled tablespoon of the mixture into a ball and place 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and then using the end of a wooden spoon make an indent in the center of each cookie. Fill each indent with ¼ teaspoon of honey, return to oven, and bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 60 - I halved the recipe above and got 23

Pineapple coconut cakes with pineapple syrup

I heard a song on the radio yesterday that reminded me of my childhood days, when I spent wonderful vacations at my aunt Maisa’s - I used to sing that song while pretending my aunt’s floor polishing machine was a microphone... :) I was 8 back then.

Later on, once I’d started cooking and baking, she’d let me prepare whatever I wanted in her kitchen, savory or sweet – that was so much fun. One of the cakes I used to bake was a simple yellow cake with pineapple slices on the bottom of the pan – everyone loved it. These little cakes reminded me of the one I used to bake at my aunt’s, but are much simpler and equally delicious – the addition of coconut makes them extra special.

Pineapple coconut cakes with pineapple syrup
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Cakes:
65g unsalted butter, softened
75g caster sugar
1 egg
90ml buttermilk
¾ cup + ½ tablespoon (110g) self-rising flour
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
¼ cup (25g) sweetened shredded coconut
40g pineapple, finely diced

Pineapple syrup:*
350g pineapple, coarsely chopped
130g caster sugar
3 small limes, juice only
50ml white rum

For pineapple syrup, combine pineapple, sugar, lime juice and ½ cup (120ml) water in a saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until syrupy. Cool, add rum and strain, discarding solids (or eat them, like I did). :)

Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F. Butter and flour ten 1/3 cup (80ml) brioche or dariole pans.
Beat butter and sugar using an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, add egg and buttermilk and beat to combine. Stir in flour, the two types of coconut and pineapple, then spoon mixture into prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and a skewer withdraws clean. Turn cakes from moulds, pour over half the syrup and cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature with remaining syrup.

* too much syrup; half of this amount is enough for all the cakes

Makes 10 – I halved the recipe above and got 12 mini cakes (6 using 3 tablespoon capacity star shaped pans + 6 using 1/3 capacity muffin pans)

Lemon glazed madeleines

My favorite director has been making good money at the box office with his new movie: the trailer made me insanely curious, the plot seems really interesting and the cast is full of good actors – if I were an actress I’d work for Scorsese for free. :)

From one favorite to three more: madeleines, lemons and Pea’s blog.

Lemon glazed madeleines

3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups (175g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
9 tablespoons (126g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature, plus additional melted butter for preparing the molds

Glaze:
1 cup (140g) icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

Brush the indentations of a madeleine mold with melted butter. Dust with flour, tap off any excess, and place in the fridge or freezer.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, whip the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt for 5 minutes until frothy and thickened.
Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and fold in using a rubber spatula.
Add the lemon zest to the cooled butter, then dribble the butter into the batter, a few spoonfuls at a time, while simultaneously folding to incorporate the butter. Fold just until all the butter is incorporated.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Batter can be chilled for up to 12 hours.)
To bake the madeleines, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F.
Plop enough batter in the center of each indentation with enough batter which you think will fill it by 3/4’s. Do not spread it.
Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cakes just feel set. While the cakes are baking, make a glaze in a small mixing bowl by stirring together the icing sugar, lemon juice, and water until smooth.
Remove from the oven and tilt the madeleines out onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.
Drizzle glaze over madeleines. Allow glaze to set.

Makes 24 cookies – I made 1/3 of the recipe (but added the zest of 1 whole lemon anyway) and got 15 using 1-tablespoon capacity pans

Apple and cinnamon mini pies

Thank you all for your votes and lovely comments – you guys are the best!

The award nomination may have been a huge surprise to me, but your reaction to it was not – you’ve supported me right from the start and have become a very important part of this blog. It is wonderful to share my kitchen experiments and love for food with you – it really makes my days a whole lot better. :)

Speaking of surprises, these mini pies looked and sounded simple – and indeed making them was not hard – but I did not imagine the filling would be so good.

Apple and cinnamon mini pies
filling adapted from Donna Hay magazine, pastry from Modern Classics Book 2

Pastry:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
1/3 cup (75g) cold unsalted butter, chopped
1-1 ½ tablespoons iced water

Filling:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
2 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoon golden raisins
½ teaspoon corn starch
½ teaspoon water
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon milk
granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Start by making the pastry: process the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. White the motor is running, add enough iced water to form a smooth dough and process until just combined. Knead the dough lightly, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Now, prepare the filling: place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until melted. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon and raisins and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cook for 5 minutes or until the apples are just tender. Place the corn starch and the water in a bowl and stir to combine. Add to the apple mixture and cook, stirring, for a further minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter four 9cm tartlet pans.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of non stick baking paper, until 3mm thick, and cut eight 12cm circles from it. Line the prepared pans with four of the dough circles – make sure you leave a tiny overhang of dough. Divide the filling between each pan and top with the remaining dough – make sure you seal the filling well inside the tartlets, sticking the overhand of dough and dough circle together, pressing the edges with the back of a spoon; otherwise the lid might get loose after the pies are baked.
Use a small kitchen knife to trim the excess and to score the tops of the tartlets. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sugar.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Makes 4

Pineapple mint sorbet and Saveur’s Best Food Blog Awards

I had a wonderful surprise yesterday: Technicolor Kitchen has been nominated for best baking and dessert blog on Saveur’s Best Food Blog Awards!! How amazing is that? I can hardly believe it. Please, vote for me! :)

Can you imagine how much I talked about last night? My poor husband. :)
I had to have a scoop of this sorbet to chill out – I adapted the amount of ingredients from a DH pineapple sorbet recipe, but the idea of adding mint was Joao’s.

Pineapple mint sorbet
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

1/3 cup + 2 ½ tablespoons (84g) caster sugar
½ cup (120ml) water
400g peeled pineapple
handful of mint leaves
3 tablespoons lime juice

Prepare the basic sorbet syrup: place sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 1 minute. Set aside to cool completely, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
Process the pineapple until you get a thick juice. Add the mint and process until finely chopped. Combine the pineapple juice, lime juice and syrup in a bowl and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions until the sorbet is just firm. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for 3-4 hours.

Serves 8

Orange cake

One of the movie trailers I saw at the theater last week was for the remake of “Clash of the Titans” – the original is one of my all time favorites. I remember watching it dozens of times on TV throughout my childhood and teen years – after I turned 11 and started cooking and baking, I’d always make something especially for the movie session, and there was an orange cake I’d repeat to exhaustion back then; unfortunately, I never kept the recipe.

What a lovely surprise it was for me to find this recipe in one of my old magazines – it is really, really similar to the one I used to make as a girl and brought me such fond memories from those afternoons.

Orange cake
from Donna Hay magazine

½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (162g) caster sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups + 2 ½ tablespoons (225g) all purpose flour, sifted
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder, sifted
1 tablespoon milk
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
4 tablespoons orange juice

Orange icing:
1 ¼ cups (175g) icing sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons orange juice
zest of 1 orange, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°; butter a 20x10cm (8x4in) loaf pan* and line with baking paper; butter the paper as well.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add the flour and baking powder and mix well. Add the milk, orange juice and zest and mix until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool completely on a wire rack, then carefully unmold.
To make the icing: combine the sugar and orange juice in a small bowl and mix to form a smooth paste. Use a palette knife to spread the orange icing over the cake and top with the zest.

* the cake almost did not fit the pan – I recommend using a slightly larger pan

Serves 8-10