It’s back to School with the Sunbeam Academy

Good Food and Wine Show is coming to Brisbane this weekend! (Nov 4-6) and with it, comes the highly popular Sunbeam acadamy.

Jump into the Sunbeam Kitchen and get your hands dirty in one of the delicious, hands-on classes while testing out Sunbeam’s latest innovative products.

Learn how to perfect the skills of professional cupcake baking and decorating at the Cupcake Making class or master the art of making espresso and texturing milk at a Home Barista Skills class

Cost

$35 – Cupcake Decorating

$30 – Coffee School

Please note – this cost does not include entry into the show. A Celebrity Theatre ticket will need to be purchased also to gain entry into the show.

Book tickets at the cupcake academy link – http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=GFWSSUNB11&v=CVN

I’ve been thinking about layer cakes a lot recently, with billowing clouds of fresh cream sandwiched between layers of sponge positively dripping with caramel sauce a particular favourite.

But then I came across multi-coloured layer cakes which presented a new, even better focus. I researched rainbow cakes, Neapolitan cakes, pink blush offerings that were all so very beautiful, but all owed their towering beauty to quite a lot of food colouring.

This got me thinking about natural colours and the idea for a choc, coffee, vanilla creation came into focus. But on investigating further, I soon realised that most recipes call upon three different cakes to be made.

Now the thought of spending a beautiful sunny Sunday whisking and beating and baking three separate cakes really did seem like far too much of a hassle and so a far more simplified version which required only one batter split into three was created.

Not on is it then easy to prepare but the layers bake in just ten minutes and bake flat so there is no cake dome to cut and flatten.

Nice and easy, job done and the results…not too shabby.

RECIPE

150g butter

15g vanilla

145g sugar

150g (3 large) eggs

200g self-raising flour

150ml cream

30g instant coffee

50g cocoa

Icing

250g butter

200g icing sugar

90ml milk heated and mixed with 15g instant coffee then cooled

130g dark cooking chocolate melted and cooled

Firstly prep three 20cm round pans by lining with baking paper – it will make the method a lot easier later on.

1, Start by whisking the butter, vanilla and sugar together until pale and fluffy then add in the eggs and mix well.

2, Next sift in the flour then divide the mix into three equal portions, (if following the recipe that will be about 200g each).

3, Heat the cream then divide it also into three – mix the instant coffee into one, the cocoa into the next and leave the third plain.

4, Mix one amount of liquid into each batter portion and mix. This will give you a chocolate batter, one of coffee and one of vanilla.

5, Spoon into the pans and spread across the base (it will be pretty thin).

6, Bake all three at 160°C fan forced for just 10 minutes then let cool.

7, Meanwhile, make the icing by beating the butter and sugar together until white.

8, Slowly add in the milk and beat well between each addition.

9, Start layering the cake together by placing the chocolate layer on the bottom, then spreading over a little of the icing before adding the coffee layer. Ice again then top with the vanilla cake.

10, Next, mix the cooled chocolate through the remainder of the icing and spread around the sides and top of the cake to finish.

This wonderfully moist cake would technically keep for a few days but I’m not really sure as it didn’t last 24 hours in our house. The only alteration I’d make for next time would be to perhaps use a swiss meringue icing instead, as with all the extra icing between the layers it did end up a little sweet for our taste (eg. you couldn’t comfortably eat two large slices in a row).

All the family has arrived which brings with it a definite change in routine. Breakfast, lunch and indeed afternoon tea are all now sit down affairs, as much for the logistics of feeding the masses as for the opportunity to stop, catch up and mull over memories past.

With that comes a need for vastly increased food stocks, (for us, namely pasta, prosciutto and green, green olive oil) along with plenty of delicious sweet treats.

So along with lemon tarts and an orange cake, we felt the need for something bite-sized, sinful and ultimately very chocolatey.

Cue these super-easy, one bowl biscuits that can be whipped up in no time and come with plenty of variations. Try throwing in half a cup of finely chopped walnuts, some glace cherries or flavouring the ganache with your favourite liqueur.

Also, these tasty morsels are made on custard powder which provides an almost shortbread-like crumb that works just so well to create a crisp yet crumbly biscuit. Topped with an indulgent choc/coffee ganache, they are (unfortunately) most moreish and perfect for eating with coffee for morning tea, after dinner or as a mid-afternoon pick-me up.  

250g butter

70g icing sugar

260g plan flour

70g custard powder

40g cocoa powder

1, Start by creaming the butter and icing sugar together until creamy.

2, Then add in all the sifted ingredients and mix.

3, Roll into balls, place on a tray and flatten then bake at 180°C for 12-15 mins.

Easy!!

To ice, mix 125g butter with 125g dark cooking chocolate and melt gently. Add in 45ml (one short black) coffee then let cool until it’s of a spreadable consistency.

I never really got Oreos. They were so huge in American pop culture that when they first arrived in Australia we all went a bit crazy, but to be honest they just didn’t deliver the super dreamy, creamy über chocolate hit I was expecting. Perhaps it was a case of massively overblown expectations but give me a Tim Tam any day.

So when the cookies and cream flavoured cupcake started doing the rounds, there wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm in the Australasian Baker test kitchen and any potential recipes always got filed away somewhere near the vegie soup ones (as opposed to the triple choc fudge layer cake options).

However this week we thought we’d give them a crack and needless to say, we once again kicked ourselves for missing out for so long on these incredibly moist, indulgent cakes.

Originally we played around with the idea of a chocolate cake base but decided that it detracted too much from the biscuits themselves and the whole concept of ‘cookies and cream’. So instead we went with a vanilla base that was loaded full of biscuit pieces and made on cream instead of milk for added flair. The icing too is cream based so doesn’t keep as long as buttercream but really adds a subtle flavour profile that just works sooooo well when packed full of biscuit crumbs.

Recipe:

115g butter

10g vanilla

110g sugar (½ cup)

2 eggs

130g SR flour

90mls pure cream

2 packets chocolate cream biscuits (around 300g)

Icing

375ml pure whipping cream

120g cream cheese

45g icing sugar (3 tbsn)

10g vanilla

10 extra biscuits, crumbed

To decorate: mini oreos – look cool but not essential

 1, Take six of the chocolate cream biscuits and twist them apart, placing one half in each of 12 baking cups. Break the rest into large chunks and set aside.

2, Next, cream the butter, vanilla and sugar together in a stand mixer.

3, Slowly add the eggs while beating on low.

4, Sift the flour, then add it in several additions alternating with the cream and stir to combine.

5, Then stir in the biscuit chunks.

6, The mix will be quite thick at this point so divide it evenly between the 12 baking cups (about 2/3 full) then firmly hit the tray a few times on the benchtop to settle the mix.

7, Bake for 15-17 minutes at 180C.

For the icing, whip the cream cheese until soft then add the cream, sifted sugar and vanilla and whip together until stiff peaks form. Stir in the biscuit crumbs and pipe onto cakes.

We’d spent the morning making spicy, flavourful Merguez sausages by hand, an undertaking that was as satisfying as it was rewarding and one we decided that we should do far more often.

As they lay on the bench all trussed in neat little bunches (not as hard as it seems thanks to a few U-Tube videos) we decided that our handiwork was too good not to share and so invited round a few friends for an impromptu lunch.

This meant some good bread was needed and these little flat breads proved just the thing. With their shiny golden crust, soft white crumb and just a smattering of cumin they hinted at the exotic spices of the sausages but in no way overwhelmed or overpowered, leaving the tasty little meaty morsels to star.

As the bread finished off in the oven, we threw a little fresh salad, some Greek yoghurt and our sausages onto a platter then headed out to sit under the trees.

Cue a few cold bevvies, some relaxed tunes and our late lunch in the sunshine was what all meals should be made of.

RECIPE

Ingredients

840g white flour

25g salt

30g cumin, ground

15g yeast

30g honey

525g warm milk

Egg to glaze

Mix flour, salt, yeast and cumin then add honey and enough milk to form a soft dough.

First Rise: Work the dough for ten minutes then leave to rise until double in size.

Knock back then divide into 12 portions, roll each portion out then flatten to about 2cm thick. Brush with egg. 

Second Rise: 20 minutes

Bake: 220 Celcius for 15-20 minutes

Yield: 12 pieces

When I got married, we wanted a simple, country-style wedding just like our grandparents would have had. No fancy DJ, no $10,000 dress, just beautiful flowers, great food, lovely family and of course lots of cake (but keeping with the theme, my mum and I made it together).

So when giving away favours, we didn’t want a token gesture that would be thrown out soon after, or extravagant gifts that would run into thousands of dollars.

Instead, we decided on offering what we do best – baked treats made with love from recipes that have been in the family for ever. So in little white boxes tied with sage green ribbon we placed one square of chocolate brownie and one of caramel pecan slice – both family favourites that were very well received.

With its biscuity yet moist base, delicious thick, chewy caramel topping and scattering of white chocolate, the pecan slice is a real winner. It also has great cut-and-keep abilities which makes them ideal for picnics, school lunches and even weddings.



Recipe

200g plain flour

80g brown sugar

180g unsalted butter

100g pecan meal

Topping

180g brown sugar

125g unsalted butter

60ml golden syrup

30ml cream

250g pecans, roughly chopped

White chocolate to decorate

1, Heat oven to 180 degrees and prepare a 21cm x 30cm tin.

2, Blitz all base ingredients together until just combined and crumbly.

3, Press down into the pan and bake for 20 minutes until golden.

4, Meanwhile make the topping by melting butter on medium heat then add the sugar, syrup and cream, mix, then bring to the boil before reducing and stirring for a further few minutes until cooled just slightly.

5, Stir in the pecans then keep warm until ready to use.

6, Once the base has been cooked, let sit for five minutes then pour the filling over the top evenly.

7, Bake for 15 minutes, cool completely then decorate with white chocolate if needed.

Cupcake pans at the ready – RSPCA Cupcake Day is just around the corner!

On Monday 15 August 2011, cupcakes will be the sweet du jour as thousands of animal lovers get behind RSPCA’s annual fundraising event. NBIA is once again supporting this wonderful event, so if you want to be involved, contact us now to register your baking business.

The wonderful Kathryn Sutton of the famed Sparkle Cupcakery in Sydney was kind enough to let us publish this recipe from her new book, Sparkle Cupcakes: The Little Black Book – full of puppy love it is a wonderful recipe for the special four footed someone in your life and a great way of helping out such a brilliant cause.

Fluffy, delicious and full of dog food! It’s not your typical cupcake, but it will certainly get tails wagging and tongues salivating. Sparkle Cupcakery in Sydney has created this delicious cupcake for your pooch which is made entirely from dog-friendly ingredients, including spelt flour, honey, chicken stock and ground meaty dog food. Yummo!

Ingredients

250g (8oz) spelt flour

10g (/1 3 oz) baking powder

60ml (2fl oz) vegetable oil

140g (42 / 3 oz) eggs

65g (2/1 6oz) honey

100ml (3½fl oz) chicken stock

50g (12 / 3 oz) canned dog food

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas mark 2-3.
2. Sift spelt flour and baking powder together in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix vegetable oil and eggs and add to the flour mixture.
4. Add honey, chicken stock and dog food. Mix well.
5. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes
6. If you like you can finely chop some meaty dog treats. Dip the cooked pupcakes in honey and sprinkle the dog treats over the top.   
7. You can also use carob as a topping.

Recipe from: Sparkle Cupcakes: The Little Black Book by Kathryn Sutton. New Holland. RRP $29.95

With thanks to Caesar the mighty Labrador (and ex-RSPCA pup) for allowing us to use these images of him.

NBIA is an official sponsor of RSPCA Cupcake Day and we are delighted to announce that Australian Bakels will be our event supporter.  Australian Bakels will be providing 2kg bags of cupcake mix free of charge to all bakeries who want to participate in the event, with the proceeds of cupcakes sold on the day going to RSPCA.

Last year more than 40 bakeries took part, raising over $5000 towards RSPCA.  This year, more than 15,000 workplaces and schools are expected to participate in baking and selling cupcakes with the goal of raising $2.5 million for the charity.  RSPCA relies on community donations for 98% of its operation costs, so every single cupcake sold makes a difference!

To your bakery as an official Cupcake Day for the RSPCA Bakery and receive your free Australian Bakels cupcake mix, please contact us on 07 3831 5961, or email Kimberley at Kimberley@nbia.org.au.

If you are a home baker or baking enthusiast, you are still more than welcome to partake, simply go to the RSPCA website to register your interest.

I have had a longstanding love affair with the humble brownie, a seemingly never ending quest for that perfect fudgy, squidgy, dense, dark, not overly sweet conglomeration of chocolate, eggs and sugar.

Certainly my criteria for what constitutes perfection are precise, having been refined over the years to an exacting list that even the most discerning brownie aficionado would be hard-pressed to process further.

Put quite simply, I’m after a moist, fudge-like base that is firm, incredibly dense and certainly not gooey or cake-like topped with that lovely flaky film of shiny chocolate crust and boasting a few chunks of pure chocolate thrown into the mix for good measure.

While I’ve indulged in many a perfect example (see below for more information on the incredible Dello Mano) I’m yet to find a recipe that satisfies.

I have tried many, many, many recipes over the years, the majority resulting in a consistency that is far too cake-like and nowhere near the dense, fudgy perfection of my dreams.

So I put it to you, what is your favourite brownie recipe? I’d love to hear from you and reproduce a selection of them on this blog. They can be classic fudge as mentioned here, a contemporary twist on flavours or an entirely different consistency, (even cake-like if you wish!) but it must be one that you think works a treat.

Please also include a short description, any photos you may have and a few words on why you love the recipe so much.

If your brownie recipe is well-kept family secret, in that instance, even a few hints, tips or ideas would be much appreciated.

Finally, for inspiration and to get started you could do a lot worse than to visit the incredible Bien and Deb of Brisbane’s famed Dello Mano. Not only are they beautiful people, but they create some of the finest luxury brownies I’ve ever had the good fortune to taste. They have also just launched a new celebration cake – indulgent layers of their classic brownie layered with a rich chocolate ganache – heaven!

A good slice of a dense, chewy, flavourful rye can immediately conjure so many memories. A pastrami sandwich hastily slapped together on a hire car bonnet (using only a Swiss army knife) while driving through the Black Forest, a particularly indulgent dinner of eggs, caviar and champagne or a Croque Monsieur, German Style literally dripping with cheese.

While not that common in Australia, rye bread is the staple of many a European country and brings a huge amount of flavour, along with a massive shelf life and just one or two slices of this dense bread will keep you going for hours!

The recipe below is from the wonderful Eric Ramonda of Banneton Bakery in Brisbane, Australia. Not only is it a rye, but it’s a sourdough, so while the recipe is a little difficult to get your head around if you’re new to baking, you can be assured that the result will be one of the finest examples for this style of bread anywhere – traditional, flavourful and just what a rye bread ought to be.

To baker’s notes, rye bread is best eaten after 24 hours as it may taste a little uncooked if it is still fresh out of the oven. Furthermore, gluten cannot be worked in rye as there is not enough of it (instead, gums known as Pentosans are present in the dough which binds it together). This makes it a good option for those with a low gluten tolerance level (though it is certainly not gluten free).

Also, please note that if you do not already have a starter culture, this recipe will take at least a week.

Recipe

1000g rye flour

800g rye leaven – see second recipe below

24g salt

900ml water

300g rye berries (also known as whole rye grains or kibbled rye), soaked for 24 hours then simmered for 2-3 hours and cooled.

1, Knead all ingredients together for a few minutes – ensure the dough temperature is at 26°C to control the rising (do this by altering the water temperature to equalize the temperature of the flour)

2, Divide equally into bread tins. Don’t be afraid if dough is a very soft and sticky consistency – that’s the way it should be.

3, Proof for around two hours or more (depending on the ambient temperature). If it is a cold day, perhaps pop the tins into the oven at 25 degrees.

4, Bake at 210°C for 75 minutes for a 1kg loaf. Check colour of bread after 45 and if getting too dark lower oven temperature to 200.

5, To check if the bread is baked enough, take it out of the tin and tap the bottom; if it sounds hollow it’s a good indication it’s cooked.

Yield: 3 loaves

Levain or Starter Culture Process

-          Soak dry currants, sultanas or even fresh apples in water for one to two weeks.

-          When some mold starts to appear on the fruit and the smell turns slightly sour, discard the fruit and keep 300ml of water.

-          Add 500g of rye flour and knead for few minutes by hand.

-          Put in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth.

-          After 24 hours, the dough should have fermented.

-          1^st refresh: Keep 300g and add 300g of rye flour with 400ml of water.

-          Knead for few minutes, then put in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth.

-          Let it ferment for another day.

-          The 2^nd fermentation should be quicker.

-          2nd refresh: Discard excess, keep 300g and add more flour as per above.

-          Knead for few minutes then let the starter ferment for another 8 to 10 hours.

-          At that stage, you have a “chef”.

-          This means that your starter is ready to ferment a bigger batch.

-          It contains enough yeast to provide adequate fermentation, but the bacteria responsible for the flavor will take several more weeks to develop.

Keeping your starter:

-          If you use your Levain every day, then you do not need any particular care.

-          Just refresh it at the end of each day and use it the following day.

-          If you use it once a week, keep it in a fridge or cold room and refresh it twice before using it

Tips:

-          The more starter you put in your refresh, the quicker it will ferment.

-          It might have a very sour flavor the following day.

-          You can slow it down by putting a ratio of 1 part starter 4 parts flour.

-          You can add 1% salt to it (don’t forget to adjust the final recipe)

-          In the final dough, use between 300g to 450g of starter per kilogram of flour in the recipe.

-          Taste your starter every day to assess the differences.

Adapted from Claire Berman’s recipe from the excellent website www.thisglutenfreelife.org - a great source of gluten free recipes of both sweet and savoury application so please check it out for further inspiration or simply click here to go straight to the post.

Savoury gluten free recipes (including bread) are a most challenging beast. After a lot of experimentation we finally settled on this recipe, based largely around a version from the ‘This Gluten Free Life’ website. It has a great texture (nothing even like a crumbly cake), a good crust and with a few big-flavoured toppings, is a pretty respectable alternative.

Like with all gluten free baking, there is a fair bit of variation with results due to the unforgiving nature of the flour blends – some doughs end up too wet, others too dry.

So to try and minimise this as much as possible, we’ve listed the brand of gf flour used in production down the bottom of the recipe (even though as a rule, we don’t list brands). I’m sure others would work just as well but for the sake of standardising results, we’ve done so on our gf posts.

Recipe:

12g Active dry yeast
2g Sugar
472g Warm water (110 F)
800g Gluten-free flour
12g Xanthan gum
12g Salt
480g Eggs (8 large)
120ml Extra-virgin olive oil
12g Cider vinegar

Pizza sauce

Mozzarella

Yield: 10 large pizza breads

1, Mix the yeast and sugar in with the warm water then leave to sit for around 10 minutes or until frothy.

2, Meanwhile sift the flour with the xanthan gum and salt into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

3, When the yeast mix is frothy, add it along with the eggs, oil and vinegar. Mix on low until combined then on med-high for one minute until a very sticky, moist dough has been formed that is just slightly lightened in colour.

4, Use a scraper to tip onto a clean bench. Divide the dough into 10 pieces, then shape on trays into flat rounds, about 1.5cm high, using floured hands.

5, Let rise for 1 hour (they will only increase slightly in size, but the dough will ‘soften’ in texture), then bake for 15-20 minutes at 200°C.

6, If topping with pizza sauce and mozzarella or any other variation – keep the ingredients light and simple, and only add them for the final five minutes of cooking.

• Gluten free flours differ slightly between blends, therefore add the last of the wet ingredients slowly so as to ensure the dough is not too wet – a dough you can just pat into shape is what you’re after.
• For all our Gluten free recipes we used FG Roberts Plain Flour which is a mix of Maize Starch, Tapioca Starch, Soy Flour and Rice Flour.