We’ve never been big on Halloween in our house, but the novelty hasn’t escaped our son Zac (4.5 yrs) so we’re getting in the mood.  It’s so much fun once you decide to run with it!  Still, I wasn’t prepared to bake with pumpkin so carrot will have to do.  I’ve been wanting to try this Bill Granger (who else?) recipe for a while and it’s very possibly the best carrot cake I’ve ever consumed. To give it a Halloween theme I simply looked up the Martha Stewart website (again, who else?!) and there it was – caramel cobwebs!  Not as difficult as they may first appear in writing.

Carrot Cake
200g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
200g grated carrot
250g soft brown sugar
3 eggs
250ml (1 cup) light-flavoured oil such as sunflower
100g sultanas
100g chopped walnuts (I did mine with a hand blender kit so the kids didn’t get chunks of walnut)
zest of one orange

Cream Cheese Frosting
250g (one packet) of cream cheese, softened
30g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125g (1 cup) icing sugar, sifted

Caramel Cobwebs
Unsalted butter, to spread on the baking paper
125g (I cup) sugar
Martha adds a licorice spider garnish but I added mine with a bit of photo wizardry!

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and lightly grease & line a 24cm springform cake tin.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a large bowl and stir in the carrot (I grated mine straight into the bowl).  Make a well in the centre.

Whisk the sugar and eggs in another bowl (or your Kitchenaid bowl) and slowly whisk in the oil.  Pour into the well in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Fold in the sultanas, walnuts and orange zest.

Pour into the tin and bake for approx 1 hour or until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean. My cake was ready after 45 mins so make sure you check at intervals.  Leave in the tin for 5 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth.  Gradually add the icing sugar and beat until smooth.  Spread over the cooled cake.

To make the cobwebs, lightly butter two large sheets of parchment paper and set aside.  Prepare a large ice water bath and set aside (in a large lasagne dish worked best).

Pour 3 tablespoons of water into a medium heavy-bottom saucepan and add the sugar.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, untilt he sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear.  Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup comes to a boil.  Wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush two or three times during the process, to prevent crystals from forming.  Let the syrup boil, gently swirling the pan occasionally, until it’s amber in colour (medium amber).

Immediately remove from the heat and set the pan into the ice water bath to stop the cooking.

Working quickly, drizzle caramel with a spoon onto the buttered parchment, forming something resembling a cobweb.  It takes a few to get them looking realistic!  If the syrup is thin and runs too quickly, let it cool a few seconds longer.  Alternatively, if the syrup is thick and hard to work with, reheat it gently.  Let stand until cooled and hardened.  Place on the cake!

Zac just happened to put his ‘bat’ pyjamas on, so I couldn’t have planned the photos any better.  The cake got the two thumbs-up from everyone and I was so impressed with the textures.  Success! Ha, ha, haaaaa.

I’m sitting here watching ‘Food Safari’ and the lovely Maeve is immersed in Egyptian cuisine. I’ve always preferred eating with with bread instead of cutlery…alas, I’m the offspring of a New Zealander & an Australian of English decent, so I have no traditional dishes to share (with any merit). Now Luke Nguyen is preparing an amazing Pomelo salad with fresh mud crab and dried shrimp. I shouldn’t watch SBS when all I have to offer is a simple lasagne!

Still, this is the perfect dish for Spring. It’s prepared without bechamel sauce so it tastes really fresh and light for a meal that is normally quite heavy. You MUST use fresh lasagne sheets or please cook another dish. Once you’ve tried fresh you’ll never buy dried again, no matter how authentic the brand. ‘Latina Fresh’ make fresh sheets and they’re stored in the fridge section of your local supermarket.

3 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
500g cherry tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt
600g fresh lasagne
12 thick slices top-quality leg ham
750g (3 cups) fresh ricotta
450g fresh buffalo mozzarella or baby (bocconcini), torn or sliced
100g parmesan cheese, grated
fresh pepper
extra olive oil & basil leaves to serve

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Empty the tins of tomatoes into a saucepan with the cherry tomatoes and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 25-30mins. Add the garlic, olive oil and a generous pinch of salt, then cook another minute.

Cut the lasagne sheets to fit a 25 x 35cm dish (10 x 14inch) ovenproof dish. Lightly grease the dish with olive oil and spread with 3 tablespoons of the tomato sauce (it doesn’t look like much). Top with the lasagne sheet(s) and then approx one eighth of  the sauce. Tear and scatter an eighth each of the ham, ricotta and mozzarella over the sauce. Repeat the layers until the pasta, sauce, ham and cheese have been used. Sprinkle parmesan, salt & pepper over the top and drizzle with the extra olive oil.

Cover the lasagne with foil and bake for 20 mins. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 mins or until brown. Scatter with basil leaves to serve.

A Pinot from NZ would go well with this dish. Now, there’s a reference to my heritage! Enjoy~love Fleur

When I was young, apart from Barbie I was right into Strawberry Shortcake.  Part of the debut collection was also Blueberry Muffin, her blue-haired friend.  What many of you may not know that Strawberry Shortcake’s nemesis was named ‘Perculiar Purple Pie Man’ and he was far too scary for most parents to purchase!  I’m not sure what I did to persuade my Mom, but he was a part of my collection in addition to his female side-kick, Sour Grapes, and the whole collection of dolls may still be in Mom’s garage (waiting for me to sort out).  I wonder if they still smell sickly sweet!  Although NOT sickly sweet, this pie pays (a strange?) homage to my childhood toys.  Mom, I promise when I’m in Perth in November I’ll go through all of my things before Olive outgrows them!  AND I’ll cook you this pie if blueberries are on special.  NB: it takes 4 punnets of blueberries which can make it an expensive dish if they’re at full price ($7-$9).

Blueberry Pie

pastry~
500g plain flour
60g icing sugar
pinch of sea salt
360g unsalted butter
130ml sour cream

filling~
500g blueberries
115g castor sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 medium egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tablespoon white, demerara or raw sugar to sprinkle

to serve~
pouring custard or double cream

To make the pastry, sift the flour, icing sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to combine then add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Add the sour cream and pulse until a dough ball forms.  Of course, you can do all of this by hand if you prefer.  Divide the dough in half, shape into balls and wrap each in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 30 mins before using.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Unwrap one pastry ball and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 4mm thick round.  Use to line a 23cm pie tin, lightly pressing the pastry into the corners, then trim the edge (leave a 2-3cm overhang as the pastry will shrink).  Tip:  use your rolling pin to carefully lift the pastry into the pie tin.  Roll out the other pastry ball to a similar round and place on a board, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until needed.  Meanwhile, place the pie tin lined with pastry in the freezer for at least 15 mins.

For the filling, toss the blueberries with the castor sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and cornflour.  Scatter evenly on the pastry base.  Brush the rim of the pastry case with egg yolk, then lay the pastry round (from the fridge) on top to cover the pie.  Trim and press the pastry edges together firmly to seal, then crimp the rim with a fork dipped in flour.

Brush the top with egg yolk, sprinkle with sugar and make 5 small incisions in the lid.  Stand the pie tin on a baking tray and bake for 15mins, then reduce the heat to 170 degrees  and bake for a further 35mins or until golden.  Allow to cool before serving.

As you can see, I’m no baker but anyone can get away with a ‘rustic’ version of a pie!  Love Fleur X

Yes, it’s getting later every week….who’s idea was it  to design our blog around certain days of the week?  Oh, it was mine. I thought this structure would afford me some discipline and routine in the scheme of a week raising two precious children and running a household.  Never mind, there appears to be only one follower who catches me out (you know who you are, Fiona!) and I’m not sure how on earth she knows what day it is when her Bella is still breastfeeding 3 times per night, she has another bubba under 2 AND she’s gone back to work!!!  Rather than give you the recipe I mentioned earlier in the week – our oat & chocolate cookies – I want to offer Fiona and all of the other stretched Mum’s out there, the best replacement take-away meal. It literally takes around 10 minutes to prepare, it’s absolutely delicious and the whole family will enjoy it, I promise.  This recipe will also only cost a few dollars since most households have the sauces already on hand.

Stir-fried rice noodles with chicken & (snake) beans

450g flat or rice noodles (most supermarkets carry “rice stick” noodles in their Asian aisle)
2 tablespoons mild-flavoured oil such as sunflower
600g chicken mince
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g snake or green beans, topped & cut into 2cm lengths (small for the little’uns)
60ml sweet chilli sauce
50ml fish sauce
60ml dark soy sauce
60ml light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
handful of Thai basil or standard basil leaves

Prepare the flat rice noodles according to the packet instructions. Normally this is boiling them for 6-8 mins.

Prep the sauce – combine all of the sauces and sugar in a bowl.

Place a wok or frying pan over a high heat and add the oil. Brown the chicken mince, stirring frequently, then add the garlic and beans. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Add the sauce & sugar mixture and stir well. Add the prepared rice noodles and toss to combine.

Remove from the heat, stir through the basil and serve in bowls. For some great kiddie fun, serve in noodle boxes with chopsticks.

Love Fleur x