Pecan Pie

I have been using pecans all week! After my hummingbird cake recipe I had them out and decided to make a pecan pie... along with this yesterday my senior baking apprentice tried the maple pecan muffins from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. The smell coming out of the oven was amazing... yum it was like a Canadian breakfast!

Well so I found a really nice recipe a while back and have tried other's since and this has been the best. I doubled the filling as I have a Bakers Secret High Wall Crispy Tart Pan, it didn't quite reach as high as I would have liked first time round.

Pecan Pie 

PASTRY INGREDIENTS:

• 225g of plain flour
• 2 Tbsp of icing sugar, sifted
• 125g of butter, chopped
• 2 1/2 Tbsp of cold water

 PIE INGREDIENTS

• 140g of butter
• 200g of brown sugar
• 280g of golden syrup
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• pecan nuts (I don't measure as I place the pecans in a pattern, original recipie calls for 115g of pecans chopped)

METHOD:

• Place flour, icing sugar and butter in a bowl. Rub butter between fingertips until resembles breadcrumbs. Add cold water and roll into a ball. 

• On a floured bench roll out pastry to cover your tin: base and sides. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 180°C.
• Take pastry from fridge, line pastry with baking paper and blind bake for 10 minutes. 
• Remove baking beans (manufactured, rice, beans or lentils)  and bake for a further 10 minutes. The pastry should only be a very light golden. Remove from oven and make filling.

• Melt butter, brown sugar and golden syrup until sugar has dissolved.
• In a separate bowl whisk eggs and vanilla extract.
• Remove from heat. Give syrup around 10 minutes to cool slightly and add in egg mixture slowly, yet beating fast.  
• If the eggs are not mixed in properly the heat can cook them and the egg will separate in the pie. It will look like scrambled eggs.
• Strain filling as you pour into base to avoid any lumps or bits of egg. 

• Arrange pecans in circles starting from the outer edge and making your way in. I think this can tend to look better than the chop and mix style. However if your pushed for time chop and mix away.

• Once all pecans are placed, bake in oven for 35 minutes or until set. The pie will rise and then sink down. The center should be just set.

 

Happy Birthdays

Okay I have about 3 posts ready to go I just need some photos. Got so busy this week that I didn't get a chance to take pictures. Which is a little disapointing as I made so much this week, along with that as well is I decided to try a new creme brulee recipe for my birthday - ah no. It wasn't anywhere near as nice as the original one I found, I managed to salvage it for my lovely birthday dinner but it went all bubbly on top and then sunk. It didn't taste terrible but it didn't look good, also it had brown sugar instead of caster which meant it was hard to cover the top because brown sugar clumps.

I did get a cute photo of my neice Hannah helping me.

And this is right before she decided to find out why that blue flame was making my brown sugar melt by putting her finger directly under...oww! Thankfully she made it unharmed but wasn't enjoying the process as much and let Aunty take over soon after.

So coming soon: pecan pie, blender banana bread and an interesting experiment of mine.

TTFN

Hummingbird Cake

Ok yum! I love banana's and with banana's being $16.99 at the moment it is a rare occasion to bake with them. Fortunately there is a small grocer close to home that had them for $8.99. They were bruised and spotty beyond all recognition which makes perfect for banana baking!

I decided to make a hummingbird cake from of course where else The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook! One of my favourites I think the reason being is all the recipes from there are flawless! So this is without adaption, pretty much. 

Oh by the way, sorry, the pictures aren't fantastic, it was late afternoon and the sun was like blaring through the window and my camera had a nasty red battery flashing at me...

The Hummingbird Bakery Hummingbird Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 300g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 300ml vegetable oil
• 270g peeled bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp of ginger
• 300 plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 100g tinned crushed pineapple
• 100g pecans, chopped, plus extra for decorating

ICING INGREDIENTS

• 600g icing sugar
• 100g dairy soft butter
• 250g cream cheese

METHOD 

• Grease and line 2 8" round spring form cake tins.
• Preheat oven to 170C.

• Beat the caster sugar, eggs, oil, bananas and cinnamon until incorporated.
• Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add this slowly to the wet mixture, followed by the vanilla, and mix until incorporated. 
• Fold in the pineapple and pecans.

• Divide batter between tins and bake for 30-35 minutes.
• Allow to cool before removing from tin.

• Beat the icing sugar and butter until well mixed.
• Add the cream cheese all in one go and beat on high for 5 mins until light and fluffy.
• Ice the cake, one tier at a time. Smooth out with pallet knife and decorate with pecans. 
• ENJOY!

Chocolate Cake

Now this isn't your dense mud cake, ganache frosting kind of cake. I am still on the journey to find one such as that. This one rather is more of a light sponge cake still with the rich chocolatey flavour and still really yummy especially for birthday cakes.

The Family Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 115g of butter, softened
• 280g of brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 225g of plain flour
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp of bicarb soda
• 40g of cocoa powder
• 225ml of milk

 ICING INGREDIENTS

• 450g of icing sugar
• 150g of dairy soft butter*
• 60g of cocoa powder, sifted
• 80ml of milk

METHOD

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Line two 8" round spring form tins with baking paper. 
• In a bowl beat butter and half (140g) of the  sugar until pale and creamy. 

 This is one my junior baking aprentice did and it is nice and creamy pale.

• In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and vanilla, gradually beating into mixture.
• Add remaining sugar beating until all combined.
• Sift in the flour, cooca, bicarb and baking powder and fold in, alternating with the milk. 
• Mix until smooth and divide between two tins evenly.

•  Bake for 30 minutes. Leave to cool in tin, as the cake is so moist it is quite delicate :)
• Allow to cool completely before icing.
• To make the icing beat butter and icing sugar until well combined. Add cocoa and milk and mix on high spead until icing is light and fluffly. If you just beat until incorporated the icing will still taste yummy but in icing the sides the cake will come with it. I know this from experience, so at beat icing for at least 5 minutes.

• Ice the first layer of the cake by turning the cake's top onto the bottom. I find it easier icing the sides on the first layer. If you wait until both layers are on the icing is usually uneven and you can see the edge. Ice the second layer and decorate.
• I used a 6 star piping nozzle.

•  In the past I have also melted dark chocolate and using a fork in quick motions back and forth waved chocolate in a cross hatch pattern over the top.

Handy Tips: Lining a round cake tin

Okay well was going to post a cake recipe but rather than having a 2 page method I thought I would begin with the basics.

After making a egg free and dairy free cake for my niece a couple years back and having half of the cake stuck to the tin and the other half in crumbles on my cooling rack I decided then and there it was time to put the effort in and do things properly. After 2 years of lining my cake tins it takes 2 minutes to line the tin, the cake comes out beautifully and is a breeze to clean.

1. So depending on the size of your baking paper divide the paper into 3 or 4 even sections just with a tiny nick along the paper. Two of these I normally use (as I normally make 2 tier cakes) and the other one/s I keep in my pantry making it just that easier next time round.

2. Begin to cut roughly the length of your bench, take the tin that you will using and roll the paper like a swiss roll around the edge of the tin. Getting an idea about the length cut your sections to that length.

3. You should now have 3 or 4 long strips of baking paper. On each one fold the long edge over about 1-2cm. Take your scissors and make cuts every 1-2cm along the folded edge.

4. Take your tin and spray it with canola or grease with butter. Place your strip around the sides of the tin rubbing the paper to stick to the oil, with the folded edge on the base.

5. Get another sheet of baking paper and place your tin on top. Using a pencil (as pen doesn't work to well on baking paper) trace the shape onto the paper. Cut out your circle shape and place over the top. This will keep those little tabs down and stop batter from seeping through the gaps.

 WA-LA

Devonshire Cupcake

Okay well I know this isn't on the my favourite list of things to eat list and I also know I make fun of my family everytime something comes out of the oven and I hear the words "that's my favourite!" but this is one of my favourite recipies as well.

I don't make it all the time because I can't always be bothered with the stabilized whipping cream, but having just made them I am reminded they are well worth the effort!

The Devonshire Cupcake

(an adaptation of the Hummingbird Bakery vanilla cupcake) 

 Oh by the way these look cute with a strawberry 

on top but I forgot to take a photo... and they've all been eaten.

CUP CAKE INGREDIENTS:

• 120g of plain flour
• 140g caster sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 40g of butter at room temperature (this is important!)
• 120ml of milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 7 heaped teaspoons of strawberry jam
• 7 fresh strawberries

STABILIZED WHIPPING CREAM INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tsp of gelatin
• 30ml of cold water
• 1 1/2 cup of whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of icing sugar
• 1tsp of vanilla

METHOD

• Pre-heat oven to 170°C
• Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl and beat until a sandy consistency is reached.

•  Gradually add half of the milk and beat until just incorporated.
• Whisk egg, vanilla  and remaining milk in a separate bowl. (the reason being is cupcakes can not be over mixed as they become tough and not fluffy so the more mixed the ingredients are before going into the batter the less mixing overall.)
• Pour egg mixture into batter and beat until smooth. (Don't over mix.)
• Divide mixture into 7 patty pans in a 12-hole muffin tin. (Recipe says makes 12 but the standard patty pan size in Aus must be bigger and therefore only makes 7.)
• Bake for 25 mins. My oven is exactly 25 minutes and no longer, they should just begin to go lightly golden around the edges.

• Traditionally cup cakes are not the muffin dome shape most people assume, you should have a fairly even slab to pipe your icing on.
• Allow to cool.
• Using a knife or apple corer remove the center of the muffin and fill with a teaspoon of your favourite jam. 

• For the whipping cream, you need to trust me and follow the instructions word to word. I have made this about 3 times. The first time was perfect, the second time I was a little bit slack and it didn't turn out at all. So pay attention!
• Place a metal or glass bowl in the freezer along with your beaters for around 10 minutes.
• Combine gelatin and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until just dissolved and solution is clear and runny. Continue to scrape down sides to avoid crystals around the edge. 
• Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly but do not allow to thicken.
• Pull your bowl and beaters out of the freezer.
• Whip cream, sugar and vanilla in bowl until just beginning to thicken. On low speed gradually add gelatin mixture in a thin stream. Once combined beat on high until cream is thick and smooth. You can make this in advance and place in fridge but you will need to rebeat cream before piping.
• Stabilized cream keeps its thickness but air pockets begin to form throughout cream.

• Pipe cream on cupcakes (#5 nozzle), starting from the center and working your way out to create the 'rose' shape. Garnish with a fresh strawberry. 

Someone boil the kettle!

Portuguese Custard Tarts

First Recipe. I thought I would start my first few posts on my favourite treats to eat.

1. Creme Brulee

2. Portuguese Tarts

3. Banana and Passionfruit Cake

To begin with I made some portuguese tarts the other day! Delicious. Creme Brulee will be coming soon as it is my birthday in a couple weeks and it is so on the menu! This recipe is adapted from Women's Weekly Cafe Favourites and is a single batch compared to what I normally make, as the minute they are out of the oven they begin to go missing from the tray.

Portuguese Tarts
Makes 24 mini tarts (as pictured) or 12 medium tarts.

INGREDIENTS

• 100g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 3 eggs yolks (I'll have a recipie soon for some delicious friands so keep the egg whites)
• 180ml of milk
• 150ml of cream
• 1 vanilla bean
• 5 cm strip of lemon rind
• 1 sheet of ready-rolled butter puff pastry 

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Grease one 24-hole mini muffin tin.
• Remove puff pastry sheet from freezer, allow to defrost.
• In a small saucepan mix eggs yolks, sugar and corn flour to form a smooth paste. 
• Gradually add milk and cream until combined. 
• Split a vanilla bean lengthways and scrape seeds into cream mixture, along with lemon rind. 
• Stir custard over medium heat until it has has reached a thick consistency.
• Fold pastry sheet in half and on joining ends fold back onto itself, like a swiss roll. Divide the pastry log into 24 pieces.

• Roll out pastry rounds on a lightly floured surface and place in muffin tin.
• Remove strip of lemon from custard and spoon custard into pastry cases.
• Place in oven for 10-12 minutes.
• My Favourite Part! 

• Using a blow torch wave flame gently over top of tart until desired colour on top is reached. If you don't have a blow-torch you need one! They are awesome! For those that don't pre-heat the grill and place the tarts under the grill. Keep an eye on them!