Lemony nectarine cake + Bill Condon

I always say that a good director can get blood out of a stone – that is why I had a feeling that “Breaking Dawn” would be the best movie of the Twilight saga. I adore some of Bill Condon’s work – both "Gods and Monsters" and "Kinsey" are part of my list; he got a good performance out of Brendan Fraser – a miracle! – and made it possible for me to stand Beyonce and Eddie Murphy for two long hours. :D

Now, the cake: very tender, with a delicious lemon hint. I think that a few raspberries scattered over the batter with the nectarine slices would be a good idea.

Lemony nectarine cake
slightly adapted from the always gorgeous Donna Hay Magazine

175g unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (162g) granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
¼ cup (65g) plain yogurt
2 nectarines, sliced
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) round baking pan, line the bottom with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Place the butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6–8 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the mixture. Add the yogurt and beat until just combined.
Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Top with the nectarine slices and bake for 50-60 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan, over a wire rack, for 15 minutes then carefully unmold. Remove the paper then invert the cake again. Cool completely and dust with icing sugar before serving.

Serves 6-8

Vanilla bean and blueberry mini cheesecakes

My initial idea was to make Nigella’s peanut butter cheesecake – that was why I bought several packages of cream cheese after all. Peanut butter cheesecake with a milk chocolate glaze... Yum, yum. But I had a surprise after opening the peanut butter jar: it was almost empty; I was furious for a couple of seconds then remembered that I’d had several spoonfuls of peanut butter lately. Too many, I guess. So I went after another cheesecake recipe and found one on my currently favorite dessert bible. The blueberries were the icing on the cake (I apologize for the lame pun – I just couldn’t help it). ;)

Vanilla bean and blueberry mini cheesecakes
adapted from the wonderful Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful

Crust:
1 cup (100g) graham cracker or digestive cookies crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
300g cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup (100g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds removed with the back of the knife
2 large eggs
½ cup (120ml) sour cream*
generous ½ cup fresh blueberries

Start by making the crust: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter four 1-cup (240ml) capacity mini cake pans (mine have removable bottoms).
Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar in processor. Add melted butter; process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pans. Place pans onto a baking sheet and bake until crust is set and deep golden, 6-8 minutes. Cool crust while making filling. Maintain oven temperature.
Now, the filling: place the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla seeds, eggs and sour cream in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Divide the filling evenly among pans. Sprinkle the filling with the blueberries. Bake until set around edges, and center moves slightly when pan is gently shaken, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely over a wire rack then refrigerate uncovered for 3-4 hour or overnight. Carefully unmold and serve.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I left mine on the counter overnight – on a cold night – and it was beautifully thick and silky the next morning)

Makes 4

Nigella’s everyday brownies

These are called “everyday brownies” but that doesn’t mean you can eat them every day – that would be nice, though. ;) Or you can just pretend you never read my post and eat them on a daily basis – who am I to judge, anyway?

For some reason the chocolate chips sank to the bottom of the pan, but let me assure you that it did not make much difference as far as flavor is concerned – it just bothered me, the baker; I don’t remember anyone saying anything about that while tasting the brownies. ;)

Nigella’s everyday brownies
from the gorgeous and delicious Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home

¾ cup (68g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks/140g) unsalted butter
1 ¾ cups (306g) packed light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
170g (6oz) milk chocolate, chopped into small nuggety chunks (or 1 cup chips)
confectioners' sugar, to dust, optional

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F; lightly butter a 32.5x22.5cm (13x9in) baking pan, line with foil leaving an overhang in two opposite sites then butter the foil as well*. Whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and pinch of salt in a bowl; set aside.
Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon (still over a low heat) to help it blend with the melted butter. Stir in the flour mixture - when mixed (this will be a very dry mixture, and not wholly blended at this stage), remove from the heat.
In a bowl or jug, whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract and then mix into the brownie mixture in the pan. Stir in the chopped chocolate and quickly pour and scrape into the prepared pan, spreading the mixture with a spatula then bake for about 20-25 minutes. It will look set, dark and dry on top, but when you feel the surface, you will sense it is still wibbly underneath and a cake tester will come out gungy. This is desirable.
Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely before cutting. Sift with icing sugar before serving.

The brownies can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in airtight container (will keep for total of 5 days).

* I made the exact recipe above using a 20x30cm (8x12in) pan

Makes 20

Chestnut cakes with raisins, almonds and honey

After making Alice Medrich’s chestnut pound cake several times I thought I should find another recipe for my chestnut flour – that was when I found these adorable little cakes on one of my old Gourmet Traveller issues. They looked so perfect! I had to bake them. The cakes turned out incredibly tender – I had to be very careful while unmolding them – and delicious. I never thought I’d say that, but Alice’s chestnut cake – which is one of my top favorites – has found some serious competition... ;)

Chestnut cakes with raisins, almonds and honey
adapted from the always amazing Australian Gourmet Traveller

1/3 cup (50g) golden raisins
100g unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (150g) superfine sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
65g chestnut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
100ml whole milk
3 tablespoons flaked almonds
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, extra, melted, for drizzling
honey, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour four 1 cup (240ml) capacity mini cake pans.
Place raisins in a small bowl and pour enough hot water to cover. Set aside.
Beat sugar and butter in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Sift in all purpose flour, chestnut flour and baking powder, stir to combine, stir in milk, then spoon into prepared pans.
Drain raisins, pat dry on absorbent paper and combine in a bowl with the almonds. Scatter over cakes, drizzle with the melted butter and bake until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean (25-30 minutes). Cool cakes in pans over a wire rack for 10 minutes then carefully turn out onto the rack. Cool completely.
Drizzle cakes with honey before serving.

Makes 4

Spicy tomato soup with crispy grilled cheese

I must start this post by saying that I love canned tomatoes – they’re a great pantry staple and I always have a couple of cans around. But even though I use them to make tomato sauce all the time I wasn’t very fond of the idea of using them to make soup – for absolute no reason, since I’d never tried canned tomato soup in my life. For a moment I thought “Oh my goodness, I’m becoming my husband!” – the one who hates food without even tasting it first – and that, my friends, is NOT going to happen. :)
So I made the soup, tried it and felt like a fool for avoiding it for so long – it tasted really good and comforting. But the addictive component of this meal is the grilled cheese: my two favorite things in the savory world, bread and cheese, heavenly combined in a crunchy, delicious way. I’m in eternal debt with Barbara Lynch. :D

Spicy tomato soup with crispy grilled cheese
adapted from the beautiful and very well written Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition

Soup:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 x 400g (14oz each) cans plum tomatoes
generous pinch of sugar
7-8 fresh thyme sprigs
1 ¼ cups (300ml) boiling water
very generous handful of basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream, to serve
dried oregano, to serve

Grilled cheese:
½ baguette
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon dried oregano, plus more to serve
1 cup good melting cheese, grated, such as Fontina (what I used) or Gruyère

Start by making the soup: heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender. Add the tomatoes, breaking them with the spoon, followed by the sugar, thyme and the water and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Add the basil, season lightly with salt and pepper and let cool briefly before pureeing the soup in a food processor or blender, in batches if necessary. Pass the soup through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the solids with a ladle (Barbara Lynch’s advice: “save the pulp – it’s delicious on crostini or baked eggplant”). Keep the soup on low heat while you make the grilled cheese.
For the grilled cheese: preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Have ready two large baking sheets so one can nestle into the other. Line one of them with baking paper.
With a serrated knife, cut the bread into 6mm (¼ in) slices (if necessary, place the bread in the freezer for a while to make slicing easier). Place the slices on the prepared baking sheet.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the oregano. Brush half the bread slices with the butter and place the buttered side down, in contact with the baking paper. Divide the cheese evenly among the buttered bread slices. Cover the cheese with the remaining bread slices and brush the top with the butter. Place a large piece of baking paper on top of the sandwiches and stack the second baking sheet on top of the paper.
Bake until the bread is golden and crisp, 15 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and peel off the paper. Remove the sandwiches from the baking paper.
Ladle the soup into bowls, cover with some crème fraîche and a sprinkle of oregano and serve it with the grilled cheese.

Serves 2