Blackberry jam crumb cake

Not one to be afraid of massive amounts of ingredients – I have made this cake, after all – I must confess that I almost gave up baking the cake on the photo. Almost. Reading the recipe with a calculator on hand I shrieked at the idea of using nearly 400g of butter, 500g of sugar and – my goodness – over 700g of flour in one single cake; a recipe that would pretty much empty my entire pantry. :)

But then I thought that the cake would be huge and that I would be cutting it in several squares to feed all my coworkers – twelve of them – so I decided that they could handle 60g of flour each + a little butter and sugar. To this day no one has complained about it – and I found this cake one of the tastiest I’ve baked so far.. ;)

Blackberry jam crumb cake
slightly adapted from The Weekend Baker, inspired by Valentina’s cake

Topping:
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, chopped
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (132g) light brown sugar, packed
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 ½ cups minus 1 tablespoon (340g) all purpose flour

Cake:
2 ¾ cups (385g) all purpose flour
1 ¼ cups + 2 ½ tablespoons (280g) superfine sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup blackberry jam – or use your favorite flavor

Start by making the topping: in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir well and break up any sugar lumps. Add the flour and mix until well blended and pasty. Put it in the fridge while you make the batter.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 32x22cm (13x9in) baking pan**.
Now, the batter: in a large bowl, combine the flour, superfine sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine them thoroughly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter and vanilla until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently stir with a rubber spatula just until blended – do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Gently spread the jam over the batter. Top the jam layer with the topping, breaking up the pieces as you go, sprinkling it evenly over the jam, forming a generous layer.
Bake until the cake springs back when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and set the baking pan over a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

*homemade buttermilk: place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk. Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

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

Serves 15-18

Chocolate chip cookie cake + classics, destroyed or revamped

One of my all time favorite songs is New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle”; my reaction to Frente!’s version for the song was sort of like “Stop! Stop! You’re ruining a classic!” – as much as I hate to admit it I can be pretty conservative sometimes. If you’re going to revamp with a classic, do it right, ok? Go ask Fine Young Cannibals for advice or something. :)

Unlike Frente!, Flo Braker has taken a classic to a whole new – and wonderful – level: chocolate chip cookies in cake form. Delicious, easy and very fast to put together and it yields a lot: great for sharing.

Chocolate chip cookie cake
from the beautiful and delicious Baking for All Occasions

2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (131g) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (340g) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (115g) pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 32x22cm (13x9in)* baking pan, line it with foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides; butter the foil as well.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and, using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Add the butter and continue to mix on low just until small, moist crumbs form – they will look similar to streusel – about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until the mixture begins to form a cohesive dough. Increase the speed to medium just as you add the chocolate chips and nuts and beat just until they are incorporated into the dough, 20-30 seconds.
Spoon dollops of the thick dough onto the prepared pan, then spread with a rubber spatula. Place a large piece of plastic wrap over the dough and, using your hands, distribute it evenly onto the pan.
Bake until the cake is golden brown and feels more solid than soft when pressed in the center, 37-40 minutes – be careful not to overbake; it will firm as it cools.
Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack.
Very gently, using the foil overhangs as an aid, loosen up the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert it onto the wire rack, peel off the foil, then invert in again onto a cutting board. Cut into slices or squares to serve.

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

Makes 18 to 42 servings, depending on the size – I got 32 sticks

Avocado ice cream and things my mom would love

While certain things instantly remind me of my mom, others make me think of her because I am sure she would love them if she was around. The food shows I watch on a regular basis, for instance: I know that Bill and Nigella would be her favorites (not Gordon; mom hated swearing); dishes like these, because of her deep love for tomatoes; and this avocado ice cream, for all those afternoons when we shared a bowl of avocados sprinkled with sugar and lime juice after I’d finished my homework.

Avocado ice cream
slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop, inspired by Ana Elisa’s ice cream

500g ripe avocados
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) superfine sugar
¾ cup (180ml) sour cream*
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
¼ cup (60ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon lime juice
generous pinch of salt

Slice the avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and cut into small pieces. Transfer to a blender or food processor, add the sugar, sour cream, heavy cream, milk, lime juice and salt and blitz until smooth. Taste the mixture and adjust the sugar and/or lime juice if necessary.
Freeze immediately in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

* 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

Makes 750ml

Fennel seed and onion loaf

I’ve been trying to find a way to convince you to bake this bread but all I can think of is that it tastes delicious and goes really well with a glass of ice cold beer (which is always a winner imho). :)

Oh, and the leftover slices are great lightly buttered and toasted on a nonstick frying pan. There - I hope you give it a try.

Fennel seed and onion loaf
slightly adapted from the always gorgeous Australian Gourmet Traveller

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (90ml) olive oil, divided use
1 onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, plus extra for dusting
3 ½ cups (490g) all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
4 teaspoons (12g) dried yeast
2 teaspoons superfine sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (240ml) warm water
milk, for brushing
crushed coarse salt or sea salt, for sprinkling – I used Maldon

Heat ¼ cup (60ml) of the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, add onion, sauté until very tender (6-8 minutes), stir through fennel seeds, cook until fragrant (1 minute), remove from heat, season to taste and cool.
Combine flour, yeast, sugar, fennel mixture and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix to combine. With motor running, add water and remaining oil, knead until smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes), then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover and rest in a warm place until doubled in size (30-45 minutes).
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line a large baking sheet with foil.
Knock back dough, divide in half and roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into a 35cm (14in) long cylinder. Place onto prepared baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap, stand until risen (15-20 minutes). Brush with milk and scatter with extra flour, fennel seeds and coarse/sea salt. Bake until golden and cooked through (25-30 minutes), then cool completely in the pan over a wire rack. Store in an airtight container until required. Bread is best eaten on day of making.

Serves 6 – I halved the recipe above and made a 30cm (12in) loaf of bread

White chocolate, lime and candied kumquat truffles and two kinds of recycling

Hollywood has been recycling some of the movies I loved watching on TV as a kid; last night at the movies I saw the trailer for the new “Conan the Barbarian”, which, to be honest, did not impress me much – for starters, they do not have James Earl Jones as the villain. :)

I’ll stick to recycling food – isn’t it much better? Needing to use up the candied kumquats left from the cupcake recipe, I made truffles – and they turned out absolutely delicious.

White chocolate, lime and candied kumquat truffles
based on a truffle recipe from the gorgeous The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle

1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
225g (8oz) good white chocolate, finely chopped
finely grated zest of 1 lime
1 ½ teaspoons lime juice
heaping 1/3 cup finely chopped candied kumquats*
icing sugar or cocoa powder, for rolling

Place cream and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until creamy and smooth. Remove from the heat, add the lime zest, juice and kumquats and mix to combine. Set aside to cool, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. Using a small cookie-scoop or a small spoon, make truffles with 1 slightly rounded teaspoon of ganache per truffle and roll into the icing sugar or cocoa. Place in fluted paper cases and serve.
Truffles can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.

* remove the kumquat slices from syrup and place over a wire rack; set aside overnight to dry, then chop

Makes about 25 truffles