Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake

Tabitha likes pink.  Also cake.  Pink cakes are top of the list.  Moist, dense rhubarb cake, with a crunchy, sweet topping, dotted throughout with bright pink 'jewels' of rhubarb, is a favourite here.

It's a lovely cake, very nice warm, and also really excellent on the second or third day.  I found it here.  Now, I've never met a cake I didn't like, but this is certainly one of my favourites:

Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake

60g softened butter

300g brown sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Grated zest of one lemon

2 eggs

150g plain flour

150g self raising flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

350g sour cream

One bunch of trimmed rhubarb (around 350g), cut into 1cm slices

50g brown sugar, extra

1 teaspoon cinnamon, extra

Prepare a 24cm springform tin by lightly greasing, then lining the base and sides with baking paper, extending a few cm higher than the sides of the tin.

Beat together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until very well combined.

Beat in the eggs, then stir through the dry ingredients with the sour cream.

Fold through the rhubarb.

Carefully spread the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smoothing the top.

Sprinkle the combined extra brown sugar and cinnamon generously over the top of the cake - it will be a thick coating.

Bake at 160 degrees for around 1 1/4 hours, or until a cake tester comes out clean from the middle.

Allow to cool a little in the tin, then serve either warm (with custard!) or at room temperature with cream.

It's a good cake to bake with a little helper, as it does not require a delicate touch, and stirring in the rhubarb pieces can be done with a good deal of firm stirring.

Sponge Cake

Sponge cake - I often think of it as a lighter, fluffier version of a scone, in the sense that its primary purpose, in my view, is a Best Supporting Food role, as a vessel for excellent jam and thick Chantilly cream.

I also like a passionfruit sponge, absolutely bursting with cream, and generously topped with sweet and tart passionfruit icing, which sets ever so slightly, cracking a little when you bite into your featherlight slice.

But for an accompaniment for a cup of tea, when the biscuit tin is empty, a sponge cake is really no effort at all, as long as you take the easy option and use electronic beaters!

I use a few recipes for sponge, depending on what mood I'm in, and what ingredients are in the cupboard.  Sometimes I add a drizzle of melted butter, with or without a little hot water, for a slightly more flavourful sponge, which will also keep a little better (possibly into the next day, but not much beyond).  Sometimes all of the flour is substituted with wheaten cornflour, or a custard powder is added.

For this cake, I kept fairly simple, but I flit between a few recipes - Australian Women's Weekly, Maggie Beer, Stephanie Alexander, CWA, even my old Home Economics textbook (Cookery the Australian Way) all feature excellent sponge recipes.  

Grease and line two round 20cm cake tins - I like heavy aluminium, I am not fond of non-stick for sponges, as the tins are too dark and lead to over browning.  Line the sides if you can be bothered, coming 4cm above the rim, to protect the tops from over browning (I didn't bother this time).

Whisk together 4 room temperature eggs with 2/3 cup caster sugar on medium high speed for about 7 minutes, or until very thick and will hold a ribbon when the beaters are lifted out.

Meanwhile, sift together 1/3 cup each of plain flour, self raising flour and cornflour.  Sift them three times.

Transfer the beaten eggs and sugar into a nice large bowl, and sift the flours over the top of the mixture.  Using an incredibly light hand, gently but thoroughly fold in the flour - you do not want to loose any of your air, but you need to make sure the flour is incorporated properly.  Cooking folk lore would have you do things such as folding the mixture in next to an open window with a light breeze, or whilst walking around the garden.  Some recommend avoiding talking while you fold.  Personally, I recommend just doing it and not worrying too much!

Using a scale if possible, evenly divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins, then spin them on the flat bench, to use centrifugal force to even the tops of the mixture.

Bake at 180 degrees for around 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and they are just starting to pull away from the sides of the tins.  Do not open the oven door for at least 18 minutes, or you risk the sponges sinking into a disappointing pancake.

Remove from the oven, cool for just a minute, then run a sharp knife around the edges (if you haven't lined the sides).  Pop them out onto a wire cooling rack covered with a tea towel (to prevent the rack making marks on the cakes) then turn them over again onto their bottoms to cool.

They won't take long to cool.  Meanwhile, whip your cream, add a little caster sugar.  Place one sponge cake on a serving stand or plate, and spread generously with good jam (raspberry, traditionally), then a thick layer of cream.  Top with the other sponge cake, and sieve some icing sugar over the top.

A few additional notes...

A layer of berries (matching the jam, and either intact or lightly crushed) in between the jam and cream is always a good addition.

Some people turn the bottom cake upside down, so that the 'bottoms' of each cake are adjacent to the jam and cream.

For a passionfruit sponge, fill the cakes with cream, then top with an icing made from passionfruit puree (fresh or tinned) mixed with icing sugar, and a little orange juice or water if you need more liquid.

To slice, use a sharp serrated knife (such as a good bread knife) and wipe clean with a hot damp cloth in between cutting each slice.

Sponges don't keep very well, so please eat it all.  Pop a slice or two on a plate, and drop off to a neighbour if you really can't finish it yourself.

A competition sponge is supposed to be 4cm tall.  Of course, it doesn't matter one bit when you're just making a cake for home, but it's useful to have a rough idea of how much your cakes should rise.  Much less than 4cm tall, and you might want to think about why - did you over mix?  Was the oven hot enough?  The cakes pictured here are exactly 4cm tall.

A thick layer of excellent raspberry jam:

See how the bottom layer appears flatter than the top?  This is simply because I took this photo about half an hour after serving the cake, and a sponge cake is so light that the weight of the jam and cream compressed the bottom layer a little!

We're back! Have some fried chicken!

We've been back from the trip for a few weeks now.  I am just trying to work up the motivation to blog the holiday tales and photos!  In short: it was a spectacular trip, we all had a ball.  Photos will come soon, as will some more tips and advice based on our experience.

In the meantime, here is a quick recipe for Buttermilk Pan Fried Chicken, just because!

Marinate chicken parts (on bone, with skin - either a whole cut up chicken, or a bunch of thighs and drumsticks) overnight in buttermilk.  About 600ml with a good dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Prepare a spice mixture - I use roughly 2 tablespoons salt flakes, 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a heaped teaspoon of cayenne pepper, half a teaspoon of pepper, a teaspoon of dried parsley, and a tablespoon or so of mixed herbs (dried thyme, sage, rosemary).

Remove chicken pieces from the buttermilk and lightly shake them off.  Sprinkle liberally with the seasoning mixture - it's better to apply directly to the chicken, rather than mix into the flour, as some of the spices burn if they hit the hot oil right away.

Dredge chicken pieces thoroughly in self raising flour, shaking gently to remove the excess, then sit on a wire rack for ten minutes or so, to allow the crust to set.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (for preference, as it retains heat very well), or a large frying pan or enamel cast iron pan, and add enough shortening (such as Crisco) or oil (canola, peanut or coconut), or lard (from free range pork) to come about 2cm deep.  Organic, rendered lard would be my first choice, followed by Crisco (as it is highly refined, you don't really get an oil taste from it - advice from Alton Brown, and I would never argue with AB!), followed by the other oils.  Adding a good amount of saved bacon fat is a good idea, too, for flavour.

When frying, to minimise mess, use a mesh splatter shield, and if you can be bothered (it's certainly quicker than cleaning up oil from everywhere) shield your cooking surfaces with tin foil, and cling film on the splash back - see a photo below.

Bring the oil to 160 degrees celcius, then add the chicken pieces.  You'll probably need to do this in a couple of batches, but don't worry about keeping them warm - the cooked pieces will stay nicely hot for a good 15 minutes or so!  Besides, most fried chicken connoisseurs swear that it is best at room temperature, anyway (hence its popularity as a picnic food in America).

Don't raise the heat to compensate for the drop in temperature when you add the chicken - the pan should hold enough heat.  Cook on the first side for about 10 - 12 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until both sides are deeply golden and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 74 degrees celcius (breast pieces, and pieces without bone, will cook faster, so remove them first).

Drain on a wire rack (or pull out your oven rack and use that on the bench if you don't have enough wire racks) - never on paper towels.  This allows the grease to drain away, and your chicken will stay crispy.

A word about fat - fried chicken is not fatty and unhealthy.  When foods are fried correctly (meaning that the internal temperature sits above boiling, so the liquid in the food forces its way out as steam, preventing oil from entering the food), fried foods absorb very little oil, particularly foods with a high moisture content (such as chicken, zucchini, fish etc).  Check out Good Eats: Fry Hard for really brilliant information about frying food in general.

Serve with buttery mashed potatoes, flakey buttermilk biscuits, peppery greens, cornbread, milk gravy or any combination.  Be sure to cook enough to stash some leftovers in the fridge!

Buttermilk marinade, seasoning mixture, flour and chicken:

Seasoned chicken pieces:

Dredged pieces, resting before frying:

My gorgeous 100+ year old Griswold #10 cast iron skillet, freshly seasoned:

Fried chicken and mash:

Crunch.

Chicken Sweetcorn Soup

Soup for breakfast.  Yes please.  Light on the stomach, many also contain a reasonable amount of protein.  Most can be prepared ahead of time, and simply reheated in the morning, making them a quick and simple breakfast.

Miso soup is an obvious choice - with cubes of silken tofu, plenty of wakame and your preferred rich red miso or soothing white miso.

Clear chicken broth, on its own or with fluffy matzo balls, cooked white rice or thin noodles.  The perfect breakfast for when you are feeling poorly.

Vegetable soup, with soft pieces of zucchini, pumpkin and kidney beans.

Tomato soup with a side of thickly buttered slices of toast.

Chicken sweetcorn soup, with silky strands of egg and plenty of fresh herbs is also a delightful breakfast.  Here is the one I love, recipe from Godmother Sophie.  It is beautifully aromatic ("so fragrant!" says Tabitha), with fresh ginger, sesame oil, coconut oil, star anise and fresh herbs.  It also contains plenty of chicken, and is quite filling without being heavy.

Chicken Sweetcorn Soup

1.5 litres chicken stock

3 chicken breasts

Sesame oil

Coconut oil

2 star anise

1 inch piece of ginger, finely sliced or grated

2 cans of creamed corn

3 - 4 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Fresh Vietnamese mint or coriander

In a medium saucepan, gently fry the ginger in some coconut oil and a little sesame oil until fragrant.

Add 1 litre of boiling chicken stock and the star anise, heat to a low simmer, add the chicken breasts and poach on very low heat (the liquid surface should be barely moving) for around 15 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are cooked through (74 degrees at the thickest part).  

Remove the chicken, let cool a little, then shred or slice.

Add the creamed corn to the soup, and the soy sauce (you can add more if you prefer it to be saltier - taste it first).  Add the chicken meat.  Add more hot chicken stock to reach the preferred consistency - probably between 1-2 cups.

Bring the soup to nearly boiling, then add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly for a minute.  Remove from heat.

To serve, ladle into bowls then drizzle with a little extra sesame oil, and top with plenty of chopped fresh Vietnamese mint or coriander.

Serves around 6.

Socks, Truffles and Beetroot Lips

Godmother Sophie knitted both myself and Tabitha some beautiful socks for our birthdays - truly, these photos do not do them justice, they have a beautiful lacey pattern up the ankles on mine, and on Tabitha's as well as on her feet.  Sophie is so talented!  Tabby and I have been doing a special "crazy sock dance" together whenever we both have them on, jitterbugging all over the rug.

One of Tabitha's greatest joys in life is being allowed to scrape out the ice cream maker bowl after I've made a batch.  It's really incredible how clean she can get it.  Just cream, milk, egg yolks, vanilla bean and a bit of sugar, so I am happy to let her enjoy this treat.

Recently hosted an evening dessert night for local mummas from our ABA (Australian Breastfeeding Association) group.  There were about a dozen women, plus a few wee babes in arms.  It was really a lovely night!  I made a large flourless chocolate cake (recipe here, although I do it in a larger springform these days), a pain au chocolat bread and butter pudding (recipe below) and a steamed golden syrup sponge pudding (recipe here).  Oh, and vanilla ice cream (recipe here).

For the pain au chocolat pudding, simply slice up 4 stale large pain au chocolat croissants (about 1cm thick), place in a buttered 1.5 litre shallow dish. 

In a medium saucepan, heat together 500ml thickened cream with 500ml full cream milk until nearly boiling.  

Remove from heat, then pour into a bowl containing 1 egg, 4 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of caster sugar, whisking the whole time.  

Add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, then pour over the pain au chocolat slices, leaving to sit and soak for about ten minutes.

Bake at 160 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the pudding is softly set.

In other food adventures, The Daddy recently brought home a truffle.  He was terribly excited, but I felt such pressure to cook something fancy with it!  I am not a fancy sort of cook, so I reached out to some of my clever friends (including Miss Kitty-Cat) and ended up using the truffle for the following:

- Two roasted chickens with butter and thinly sliced truffle under the skin;
- Toasted sandwiches with pane toscano bread, Gruyere cheese, truffle roast chicken and plenty of truffle slices (which the children both loved!);
- Simple risotto with chicken stock (infused with truffle slices) and shaved truffle over the top
- Scrambled eggs with truffle-infused eggs, and fresh truffle over the top;
- The final scraps of truffle were whizzed up with some nice organic unsalted butter in the food processor and frozen in a log, to be sliced and melted over asparagus, poached eggs etc. later on.  I might try making a hollandaise sauce with the truffle butter.

So there you go - if you find yourself in possession of a 70g truffle, keep calm and proceed as above!

My darling little Tabitha is becoming camera shy - so I am getting plenty of gorgeous shots of her silky hair from the back.

Zach, however, remains cheerful and keen for photos - even when he's covered in food.  Perhaps especially when he's covered in food.

Chubby hands covered in roasted beetroot:

Beetroot makes his lips so pretty and pink!

Zachary was off his solids over the last few days - with teeth numbers 7 and 8 making their way through, his mouth has been too sore for chewing, so he has been filling himself up with lots of nice milk.  The Baby Led Solids approach of 'food is for fun until they are one' is most reassuring at times like this.  I know that he is getting everything he needs from breastmilk (he's 95th percentile for weight, and 4cm taller than 98th percentile for height, so he's obviously thriving), so if he wants to stick to milk for a week, that's just fine.  This will also be helpful on our Europe trip (four days until we leave!) - if we are out and about, he will be happy with plenty of milk.

Accidental Low-Allergy Cooking: Banana Pancakes and Two Eggless Biscuits

Pancakes that are outrageously simple and also nutritious, dairy- and gluten-free?  These are a breakfast staple in our household, for The Daddy and I as well as the children.

For these Banana Pancakes, per person (approximately three small pancakes), mash a large, ripe banana and beat in one egg.  Add a tablespoon of buckwheat flour, mix to combine.

We usually also add a scant teaspoon of LSA meal, and a good shake of cinnamon as well.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, and cook for a few minutes on both sides until cooked through.  I recommend sticking with small pancakes (around 12cm diameter or smaller), as they are easier to flip that way.  You can also make them with just egg and banana, but the buckwheat adds flavour, body and makes for easier flipping.

I love Bob's Red Mill organic buckwheat flour.  I get it at my local independent supermarket - they carry a dizzying array of specialty flours - but Bob's Red Mill products are also available from lots of healthfood stores and online retailers.

Tabitha and Zachary have their banana pancakes with fresh strawberries or blueberries.  The Daddy and I love them with maple syrup, and bacon on weekends!

The other day, I made two batches of biscuits which were both, by pure coincidence, egg free.  So I thought I'd post the recipes here.  I am not normally a good 'something-free' cook, as most of my recipes contain lots of butter, milk, eggs, flour or all of the aforementioned, but it is handy to have a few such recipes up one's sleeve, as more and more children are allergic to various things these days.

The first recipe is for homemade arrowroot biscuits.  Similar in texture to a shortbread, but much lighter in flavour, these are an incredibly versatile biscuit, perfect for icing and decorating, or for an 'everyday treat' sort of biscuit for small people.  They are also delicious served alongside a cup of tea - three or four small biscuits is just about right.

Little Arrowroot Biscuits

150g plain flour

60g arrowroot flour or tapioca flour

70g icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

50g thickened cream

60g or a little more canola oil

Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl.  Using a fork to mix, slowly add the cream, then the oil.  You will need to mix very firmly and for a reasonably long time.  The mixture should be very crumbly, and only come together when you pinch some together with your fingers.  You may need a little more cream or oil, but first try mixing for longer to make sure the liquids are thoroughly worked through.

Using your hands on a sheet of baking paper, press out about 1/3 of the mixture at a time, to a uniform thickness of around 3-4mm.  Use a small cookie cutter, and cut out shapes, re-pressing down the remaining mixture as required.  You will get around 50 small cookies - my cutters are around 3cm across.  Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper (you can put them close together, as they will not really spread) and bake at 180 degrees for around 8 minutes, or until they are just slightly changing colour.

Let them cool on a wire rack, then store in an airtight tin.  They will happily keep for a good week or so.  They are a good little biscuit to ice, as well.

The second biscuit recipe is one I have posted here before - here - but I am posting the recipe again, for the purposes of having both eggless biscuit recipes together in one place.  These are delicious little chocolate chip cookies made with condensed milk.  They are most delicious when fresh from the oven, but perfectly acceptable for a day or two afterwards as well.

Highlander Biscuits

Cream together 115g softened butter with 55g caster sugar, until light and fluffy.

Beat in 2 tablespoons of condensed milk (note - these are NZ metric tablespoons, so only 15ml each), and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Sift together 170g plain flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and work into the creamed mixture, along with 60g of milk or dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate).  Once you have a crumbly mass of dough, tip it onto the bench and lightly knead it together into a rough ball.

Roll teaspoonsful of the dough into balls, and place them, spread apart, onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Press each ball down to flatten somewhat with a fork.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes at 180 degrees.  They should be lightly golden on the bottoms, and barely coloured on the tops.

Cool in a rack, and store in an airtight tin.  This makes around 25 - 30 small cookies for me.

One final sweet dish, which contains egg and dairy and gluten, and is incredibly quick and delicious - my golden syrup Hasty Pudding.  Recipe here.  We've been eating it quite often lately, in the cold evenings of Melbourne winter, and it really hits the spot, with plenty of cream or ice cream.  Make it tonight - it's a one-bowl, melt-and-mix kind of affair, perfectly manageable to throw together after dinner on a chilly night.

A new pair of Baby Legs leggings for Zach - these are really handy for babywearing, as you can slip them on and off according the temperature (for example, if you are going in and out of air conditioned places on a hot day) without disturbing or unwrapping baby.  We're off overseas next week (more about that soon) and I think Baby Legs will be brilliant for all the on-off-on plane action.

Also a few mini pots of CJ's Butter - truly the best and most delicious smelling range of nappy cream / all purpose moisturising balm.  I am never without a little pot of it - current favourite scents include Narwhales and Unicorns, Warm Vanilla Cake and Blueberry Crumble.  The little sample pots are the perfect size to throw into a handbag or nappy bag.

A Visitor, and Snacky Dinner

We had a visit from "Great Aunt Penelope" this week.  She is not really anyone's Great Aunt, in fact she is a friend of my mother's, but we have bestowed the title on her as an honour.  Tabitha is incredibly fond of her - Penelope runs a ballet school, and teaches children Tabitha's age, so she is wonderfully fun with littlies.  She also brings beautiful presents and sends gorgeous postcards from France, so Tabby thinks she is marvellous.

Tabitha and Penelope singing nursery rhymes:

Lots of tea, and warm apple cake, and cheeses with olive bread.  Perfect for 11am, or any time.  Someone asked where my purple cup was from - they are Limoges with platinum edging, available from many places.  They come in the most beautiful jewel-box range of colours.  I love them because they make any everyday cup of tea feel like an occasion.

Beautiful knitted cat for Zachary, and a French ragdoll for Tabitha.  Called Sarah, she says.

Zachary got stuck into the goat's cheese and olive bread.

Also pears - clever boy, he knows that pears go well with cheese!

I always dissect bouquets when they are seemingly on their last legs - I pluck out any of the surviving blooms, and pop them into smaller jars, discarding the rest of the arrangement.  From my birthday arrangement, I have salvaged several full white roses, divided into two jars, and many beautifully wavy lengths of Snapdragon blooms, below.  Snapdragons are a lovely flower to have indoors - just pluck off the bottom blooms as they wilt, and the top parts continue to open and bloom for ages.

'Snacky' dinner time - when The Daddy isn't home for dinner, often I just put together some bits and pieces for myself and the children to nibble on.  Actually, I thoroughly enjoy these sorts of haphazard suppers!  Tonight, grilled sage-marinated lamb cutlets and tomato chutney, fried buttered mushrooms with thyme, and some mashed sweet potato with butter and loads of cinnamon, spread onto toast.

Zach loved his lamb cutlet!

Tabitha ate her dinner in a tutu.  Why not?

Perhaps it sounds off, but I love mashed vegetables as a toast or sandwich spread.  Often, I use avocado in place of butter, but lately (in the Winter, I suppose) I have been thickly spreading sweet potato, pumpkin or cauliflower mashed with plenty of butter and cinnamon onto toast or sandwiches.  Quite delicious!

I am in a bit of a vegetable rut.  We so often have roast veggies, or steamed beans, broccoli or asparagus, or honey mustard carrots, or cauliflower cheese, or mushrooms, or stir-fried bok choi, or salad veggies.  What else is good?