Gingernuts
Delicious, easy and very very moreish
Ingredients:
* 800 g all-purpose flour
* 1 tblsp baking powder
* 4 tblsp ground ginger
* 2 tsp ground star anise
* 1 tsp sea salt
* 300 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 200 g dark brown sugar, packed
* 2 large eggs (approx. 100 g), at room temperature
* 225 ml un-sulphured molasses
* 225 ml Golden Syrups
* Zest of two lemons
Instructions:
1. Prepare Dry Ingredients:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, star anise, and salt until well combined.
2. Cream Butter and Sugar:
- In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and dark brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add Wet Ingredients:
- Beat in the egg until fully incorporated.
- Add the molasses, golden syrup and lemon zest, mixing on high speed until combined.
4. Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures:
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed until a soft dough forms.
5. Chill the Dough:
- Divide the dough into two equal portions. Shape each into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Chilling the dough enhances flavour development and makes it easier to handle.
6. Preheat Oven:
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Roll Out Dough:
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disc of dough to a thickness of about 6 mm. Keep the other disc refrigerated until ready to use.
8. Cut and Arrange:
- Use round cutters to cut out desired shapes. Transfer the cutouts to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 cm apart.
9. Bake:
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn dark golden.
Honeycomb
I once worked at Arpège for the mercurial M. Alain Passard. His mille-feuille was the reason I wanted to work there. Lighter than any puff pastry I’d ever had, it was like eating a block of crunchy bubbles.
Honeycomb
Where too much is barely enough. Makes only one 20 × 20 cm (8 × 8 in) slab
I once worked at Arpège for the mercurial M. Alain Passard. His mille-feuille was the reason I wanted to work there. Lighter than any puff pastry I’d ever had, it was like eating a block of crunchy bubbles. One of the secrets was to cut away most of the exterior to leave the caramelised honeycombed interior. It was this idea that I wanted to achieve with this confection. It took Lauren, pastry chef at Marque, and me some weeks to achieve the result. The recipe was everyday but it turns out, like everything else extraordinary, the secret was the sum of many tiny details.
18 g (3⁄4 oz) bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
150 g (51⁄2 oz) liquid glucose
65 g (21⁄4 oz) honey
415 g (141⁄2 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
Line a 20 × 20 × 5 cm (8 × 8 × 2 in) baking tin with baking paper and warm it in a 100°C (210°F) oven.
Sift the bicarbonate of soda into a small bowl and set aside.
Put the glucose, honey, sugar and 75 ml (21⁄2 fl oz) water in a large, deep, heavy- based saucepan and stir to combine. Wipe the side of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush to prevent any sugar from sticking to the side and burning.
Turn the heat to medium – once the pan is on the heat, do not stir the sugar mixture as it will crystallise.
Bring the mixture to 155°C (310°F) using the services of a good digital thermometer
Remove the pan from the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda all at once.
Whisk quickly but thoroughly, ensuring the bicarbonate of soda is evenly dispersed through the sugar syrup. The mixture will instantly start to rise, but do not panic – whisk a little longer.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. The honeycomb will rise rapidly in the tin before setting. Do not move the tin before the honeycomb has had a chance to cool and set or the volume will disappoint.
Leave to cool for 1 hour minimum to achieve a hard-crack texture. Use a large serrated bread knife to remove the smooth outer layer and leave the aerated centre.
Buttermilk high-top loaf
The culinary timeline of white Australia is relatively short. In terms of bread, it is only very recently that the general population started to enjoy the delights of other cultures.
I think it was 1990 before I had focaccia for the first time. Those were heady days, when everything was new to me.
As a country kid of the ’70s, I would be sent to Nino’s deli down the road for fresh bread. There were three choices: tank loaf, square loaf and high-top. Same bread, different shapes. This recipe trades on that memory and, with the addition of buttermilk, perhaps improves it.
Buttermilk high-top loaf
makes 2 loaves
The culinary timeline of white Australia is relatively short. In terms of bread, it is only very recently that the general population started to enjoy the delights of other cultures.
I think it was 1990 before I had focaccia for the first time. Those were heady days, when everything was new to me.
As a country kid of the ’70s, I would be sent to Nino’s deli down the road for fresh bread. There were three choices: tank loaf, square loaf and high-top. Same bread, different shapes. This recipe trades on that memory and, with the addition of buttermilk, perhaps improves it.
1.2 litres (41 fl oz) buttermilk
1 kg (2 lb 3 oz/62⁄3 cups) bread flour
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) plain (all-purpose/31⁄3 cups) flour
15 g (1⁄2 oz) fresh yeast
15 g (1⁄2 oz) Murray River pink salt
Pour the buttermilk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Sift the flours together into a bowl. Rub the yeast into the flour then add the mixture to the buttermilk. Mix on slow speed until a rough dough forms. Add the salt and mix on medium speed for 15 minutes.
Place a clean cloth over the bowl and leave in a warm spot for 11⁄2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. If it’s a cold day, warm the oven (or use the proving function if it has one) to 50°C (120°F), turn it off and put the bowl inside.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
You will need two 23 × 13 × 7 cm (9 × 5 × 23⁄4 in) loaf (bar) tins.
Place two balls seam side down, into each tin. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to prove in a warm place for another 11⁄2 hours or until the dough reaches the tops of the tins.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
Add a small tray of water or use the steam/bake function of your oven
Bake the loaves for 15 minutes until the top is golden. Reduce the heat to 170°C (340°F) and bake for a further 25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 90°C (194°F). Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Adapted from a recipe by Mark Best ‘Best Kitchen Basics’ Published by Hardie Grant
Basque Baked Cheese Cake
Basque Baked Cheese Cake
1kg Philadelphia Cream Cheese [room temperature]
6 whole eggs
335 gms castor Sugar
400gms Sour Cream
Zest 2 lemons
2 tablespoons cornflour
1/2 tsp salt
Pre-heat Oven to 200c
Line the base and sides of a 22cm Spring form tin with baking paper [glad bake is best] Leave the sides extending 2-3cm above the top.
Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and place in a blender with the other ingredients.
blend until smooth
Pour into the prepared tin
Bake for 50-60 minutes until there is a slight wobble in the centre and the top of the cake is dark brown
It will rise during cooking and may crack around the sides. Don’t worry. This is normal.
Leave to cool to room temperature before serving [around 2-3 hours minimum!]