Valentine's Day... a load of rubbish if you ask me! I spent the evening with my man and some of my closest friends at a free Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

We had an excellent time, hogged a bit too much of the grass, and ate way too much.
We all brought along something to share. Iron Chef David with the help of Iron Chef Jason brought along an amazing dips and cheese spread. That's my man, Iron Chef Rob wearing a toe guard napkin so he didn't dip his feet in the food!


I made a ricotta, tomato and basil torte found on the Taste website. Iron Chef Jason has gone on record for saying "best tart ever". Not only does it look impressive, it tastes delicious too! Recipe is posted below for you all.
Perfect for picnics or lazy lunches in summer. Pre-cut made it easy and mess free.

Then during the interval we enjoyed some dessert.
Heart shaped cookies from Aldi, famously seen on Not Quite Nigella's blog last year. I wanted to do the cupcakes but I just didn't have time between work and going out.
And a little something special, heart shaped fruit on the fruit kebabs.


Ricotta, Tomato & Basil Torte
Taste Website

Prep Time: 25-85 mins
Cooking Time: 60 mins

Olive oil, to grease
500g fresh low-fat ricotta
100g creamy feta, crumbled
3 eggs
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked, finely shredded
375g grape tomatoes, halved
Fresh basil leaves, extra, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly brush a 22cm (base measurement) springform pan with oil to grease. Release the base from the pan. Place a sheet of non-stick baking paper over the base allowing the sides to overhang. (This makes the tart easier to remove once cooked). Secure the base back into the pan.

2. Use an electric beater to beat the ricotta, feta, eggs and garlic in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the basil. Transfer the ricotta mixture to the prepared pan and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface.

3. Arrange the tomato, cut-side up, on top of the ricotta mixture. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until set and golden. Set aside to cool completely. Place in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm.

4. Release the base from the pan. Use the paper to slide the torte onto a serving plate. Top with extra basil leaves to serve.

Serves 8.

You'll have to excuse the photography yet again! Not my best work, however this tart was just delicious!

I thought this was going be to ridiculously sweet when I licked the spoon of the marshmallow topping. However it turned out to be just perfect! The base with the almond meal, compliments the marshmallow and jam topping, and proved to be just the perfect combination. Not to mention it looks spectacular!

Marshmallow & Jam Tart
Donna Hay

1 block ready-prepared shortcrust pastry (or you can make your own like I did)
60g butter, softened
65g caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup almond meal
1 tablespoon plain flour
topping:
200g pink marshmallows
60g butter
2 tablespoons milk
120g white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup strawberry jam, warmed
1 cup shredded coconut

1. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 20 x 42cm rectangle 3mm thick. Line a 12 x 35cm loose-bottomed rectangular fluted tart tine with the pastry and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Add the egg, almond meal and flour and mix well to combine. Spoon the mixture into the tart shell and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on a wire rack.

3. To make the topping, place the marshmallows, butter and milk in a small saucepan over low heat and stir continuously until the mixture is smooth. Remover from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Top the tart with the mixture, spoon the jam down the centre and sprinkle over the coconut.

Serves 8

You'll have to excuse the not so great photography for this one. I was in a rush taking photos and preparing for the breast cancer party. I had this recipe in my recipe folder for sometime and finally got to make them.

They were just delightful! So light and simple to make, they were a huge hit. One of my guests said "I'm in love with your lamingtons!!" which is always a good sign. Some people said they were delicious although they would have liked some jam and cream with them.

A better picture and the recipe can be found on Taste.com.au

Pink Lamington Mountains

Taste Website

85g packet raspberry jelly crystals
2 x 22cm-24cm round unfilled sponge cakes
1 cup (90g desciccated coconut)

1. Stir crystals with 1 cup (250ml) boiling water in a large heatfproof jug with a metal spoon to dissolve. Stir in 200ml cold water, pour mixture into a shallow dish and chill for 1 hour until jelly starts to set.

2. Meanwhile, cut each sponge cake into 8 wedges, then remove the brown crust.

3. Put coconut in a shallow dish. Dip each sponge wedge into the jelly mixture, then roll in the coconut to coat.

Makes 16

Voila! Bon Appétit!

his month I took part in my first Daring Bakers challenge.
What a challenge it was! Although I was rather excited by the prospect of making chocolate eclairs, once I printed out and read the 5 or 6 pages of instructions my enthusiasm slowly slipped away.

I set aside a whole day to complete these as I wasn't sure how long and how fiddly it was going to be. I ended up with quite a lot of eclairs, so I passed some onto my neighbors and my eclair eating friend Alana. Then I wished I hadn't given so many away because I wanted to eat them all! Luckily I did share them though since they aren't really the healthiest thing.

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs

Cream Puff Dough
(see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.

2. Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3. Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1. Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2. The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.

3. Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.
2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1. In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.

2. Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.

3. Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4. The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined bakingsheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2. Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3. Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4. Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2. Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly
 in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water • ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1. Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2. It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

You can check out other member's results at http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/

I wonder what next month's challenge will be! Wish me luck!!

Saturday is my favorite day of the weekend. You can sleep in and know that there is still one more sleep in till you have to face the music of being at work again. So what could possibly make my Saturday better? .... chocolate of course!

I tore this recipe out of a magazine a while ago and dug it out just recently. Since it had frozen raspberries and I had some left over from my raspberry mousse, I thought I would use the leftover raspberries and give this recipe a go. I also wanted to bake something to try out my new camera, so I hope you enjoy the photos.


My aunty traditionally makes her brownies with walnuts and sometimes cranberries so I thought this one with white chocolate chunks and raspberries might be a nice change.

They taste very nice when they are warm and straight out of the oven. I think if you served them with a scoop of ice-cream it would be a nice dessert at a dinner party.
I'll be keeping this recipe on file for future baking adventures.

This weekend has been a milestone; my first official dinner party as hostess. And luckily for me it went extremely well!!
The original plan was for everyone to bring a dish and we would all share, but in the end I said I'd just bang a pasta bake in the oven and everyone else would bring along other complimentary foods to with the pasta.
I wanted a dish that could suit everyone: 5 meat eaters, 1 vegetarian, 1 vegetarian who must have gluten free goods and no dairy. It was a bit of a challenge but 3 separate pasta bakes were made: 1 with wholemeal pasta no cheese, 1 with pasta and cheese, 1 with cheese and bacon.

The table was set, complete with place cards and menu:


Iron Chef David brought along a lovely selection of dips, unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of them for here as I was too busy tinkering away in the kitchen. Made favorite dip would have to be the spicy pumpkin as I had never seen a pumpkin dip before I was intrigued to try it.

Iron Chef Kiran made some Indian vegetarian dumplings served with sweet chilli sauce. I also forgot to take a photo of this as I was busy organising the pasta! Must learn my lesson for next time!!

Iron Chef Alana brought along an adapted version of a Donna Hay Greek Salad and 2 amazing garlic breads:


Iron Chef Rob made some delicious meat balls that he slow cooked overnight. I'm so glad there were leftovers so I could have them again for dinner!

My pasta bake was taken from my favourite source at the moment; the taste website.
As I mentioned earlier I made a few alterations here and there to suit everyone. I left out the celery and added mushrooms instead which helped to enhance the flavour. Had to season the sauce a bit more and added some tomato paste for extra richness.
Rave reviews from everyone, this recipe is a keeper!
Here is the original recipe:

Tomato & Basil Pasta Bake

300g dried wholemeal fusilli pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1 leek, pale section only, halved, washed, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
1 celery stick, ends trimmed, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
2 tbs shredded fresh basil
120g (1/2 cup) fresh low-fat ricotta, crumbled
Shredded fresh basil, extra, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water following packet directions or until al dente. Drain. Return to pan.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the leek, carrot and celery, and cook, stirring, for 6 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

3. Add the tomato and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in the basil. Season with pepper.

4. Add the tomato mixture to the pasta and toss to combine. Transfer to a 1.5L (6-cup) capacity ovenproof dish. Top with ricotta. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Top with extra basil to serve.

Serves 4.

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Then of course, what dinner party is complete without dessert?
Iron Chef Tristan brought along some chocolates, lollies and marshmallows.

I made the famous chocolate cheesecake slice from Donna Hay (recipe has already been blogged here). I also attempted an "Apple Crumble Slice" from the taste website. Although rather crumbly it was delicious! I would definitely make that again too!

Had a bit of a photo session with the brownies.

Apple Crumble Slice

2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice
180g butter, chilled, chopped
2 tablespoons chilled water
4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1/2 small lemon, juiced
1/3 cup sultanas
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 3cm deep, 16cm x 26cm (base) slab pan. Line with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends. Process flour, brown sugar, mixed spice and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons chilled water. Process until mixture just comes together, adding more water if required.

2. Wrap 3/4 cup dough in greaseproof paper. Refrigerate until firm. Press remaining dough into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden. Allow to cool completely in pan.

3. Meanwhile, place apples, caster sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until soft and pulpy. Allow to cool completely. Stir in sultanas.

4. Spoon apple mixture over pastry base. Coarsely grate chilled dough into a bowl. Add oats and coconut. Stir to combine. Sprinkle over apple mixture. Bake slice for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool completely in pan. Serve.

Makes 18 slices.

Eh Voila! Bon Appétit!

I made these on Saturday for some of my favorite people, and they went down a treat! If you are going to make the lemon slice, i suggest making it the day before as the base has time to soften a little and soak up some of that yummy lemon flavour!

Lemon Slice
By Donna Hay

1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cups plain flour
120g butter
1 tablespoon milk
topping
1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour
2/3 cup cream
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups caster sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
3/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius. Process the sugar, flour, butter and milk in a food processor until the mixer comes together. Press into a 20cm x 30cm slice tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 25 mins or until golden brown.
To make the topping, whisk together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of the cream until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in the remaining cream, then the eggs, sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice. Place in a saucepan over low heat and cook, whisking for 6 mins or until mixture thickens slightly. Pour over the base and bake for 5 mins or until the topping is just set. Cool in the tin. Cut into slices. Makes 24 slices.

I sifted some icing sugar over the top to make them a bit more mouth watering!


Chocolate Cheesecake Brownie
By Donna Hay

185g butter, melted
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup plain flour (sifted)

cheesecake
285g cream cheese, softened and chopped
4 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius. Place the butter, cocoa, sugar, eggs and flour in a bowl and mix well until smooth. Spoon into a 20cm square slice tin lined with non-stick baking paper.
To make the cheesecake, process the cream cheese, sugar, and eggs in a food processor until smooth. Place large spoonfuls of the cheesecake mixture on top of the chocolate mixture and swirl with a butter knife. Bake for 45-50 mins or until set. Cool in the tin. Cut into slices. Makes 16 slices.

I only used 250g of cream cheese and it tasted fine! A bit of sifted icing sugar over the top is optional.