Cooking today

I am in birthday mode again. It's July and birthdays are abound. Mickey's was on the 5th, Billy-Joe's is on the 27th, and the Bunny's is on 7th August.........so I get to enjoy making lots of decadent stuff, and what's better I get to do it all in my brand, spanking, new, divine, awesome kitchen........... I love spending time in it.

Photography by Luke Burgess

Melt-and-mix chocolate chunk mud cake

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 200g butter, chopped
• 300g good-quality dark chocolate
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup self-raising flour
• pure icing sugar, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 6cm deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Line with baking paper.
2. Place butter, 200g chopped chocolate and hot water in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until smooth. Add cocoa to warm chocolate mixture. Stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla, caster sugar and egg. Sift flour over chocolate mixture. Stir gently to combine.
3. Pour half the batter into cake pan. Chop remaining chocolate and sprinkle half over batter. Top with remaining batter and chopped chocolate. Bake cake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging.
4. Allow cake to cool completely in pan. Remove and dust with icing sugar. Serve.

Notes & tips

Variation: You could ice the cake with rich chocolate icing or spread with ganache (see related recipe), if you prefer.
Note: This cake keeps well for up to 1 week stored in an airtight container lined with baking paper.

I make a ganache to put on top. Just melt chocolate and mix cream in it. You need a fair bit of chocolate.........it goes hard, but not too hard and it's yummy.

Source

Super Food Ideas - December 2005 , Page 115

Recipe by Janelle Bloom

Super Food Ideas - December 2005

Have been cooking up a storm

I have been cooking quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, since the completion of my kitchen. But I have been slack with photos. I baked some Chocolate profiteroles (out of the packet) while the kitchen was being done, I have a post on my other blog.

I have this favourite meal from the local Thai restaurant. It's a Yellow Chicken Curry and it's delicious and different from any other curry I have ever had. It's quite sweet and the sweet potatoes in it, add a really yummy wholesomeness to it.

I made the curry paste with a mortar and pestle and cooked the curry in the crock pot. I always brown the chicken and the onions first. To me that is the secret of the crock pot. My brand new crock pot was destined for Ebay until I worked this one out. I can't stand food that has been stewed without that caramelisation happening first. Whatever I make in the crock pot, even soup, I always make sure the meat or the onions are browned off first. I always deglaze the pan too, so that all that brown flavour isn't wasted.

I took a base recipe I found on the internet and then changed it as the flavour wasn't what I was trying to emulate.

Thai Yellow Curry Paste

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 yellow chillies, depending on desired spice level (if unavailable, substitue 1-2 red or green chillies- I desseded these as my kids were eating the dish too, for us I would leave them in)
• 1 brown onion
  
• 1 generous slice ginger
  
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. ground coriander (grind seeds yourself with a coffee grinder or pestle & mortar)
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
  
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinammon
  
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons tumeric
  
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice (or the juice from 1/2 a lime)
• Tin Coconut Cream

I would cook the above in the crock pot, without the cocounut cream. There is enough water from the deglazing of the pan. I added about 1kg of sweet potato. Add the coconut cream just to heat it through at the end. Cook in the crock pot for about 3-4 hour is enough. I cooked mine for 61/2 hours and although it was delicious, the chicken was falling apart, I like it when the chicken is still in large hunks.

Delicious.