LEMON SOUR CREAM CAKE

Easiest.  Cake.  Ever.
Perfect for brunch, afternoon tea, summer picnics or for no reason at all!

LEMON SOUR CREAM CAKE
Taken right off the page from Donna Hay / Entertaining.  

4 oz butter, room temp.
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 TBLS grated lemon rind
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups plain AP flour (sifted)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8 x 8 pan.
Place butter, sugar and lemon rind in a stand up mixer and beat until light and creamy.
Add eggs and beat well.
Fold in flour, baking powder, sour cream and lemon juice.
Immediately place into cake pan and bake for 40 minutes or until cake is fully cooked when tested with skewer.
Dust with either super fine castor sugar or powdered sugar and serve warm with cream.

No. Boxed. Mixes.

I was at the market, in the baking isle, and I saw brownies, mmm, brownies... They looked so good, so chocolate-y, so easy. I instantly grabbed a box and tossed it to my cart. It was with me for quite a while, staring up at me, we were very happy together. This box stayed with me a long while, making it all the way to the checkout line and almost onto the belt, when I realized what I was doing... STOP! I grabbed the box just before it was scanned, and ran it back to the baking isle, right where I had found it. Sorry, I can't do this...it's not you, it's me. I had committed a minor sin in the culinary world... Even when it seems so much more convenient, so much easier, you must stay strong and repeat after me: NO. BOXED. MIXES.

I promise you, these brownies are really simple, quick to mix and it's so much more rewarding to make something this good from scratch. I try to always have dark chocolate, butter, flour, and eggs stocked and ready. If you are well prepared, then this brownie heaven can be yours, too!

Dark Chocolate Brownies

Adapted from Donna Hay, Entertaining.

8 oz. butter (2 sticks)

8 oz. dark chocolate

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Fleur De Sel to sprinkle on top before baking.

Preheat oven to 350.

Place butter and chocolate in a sauce pan over very low heat and melt, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl until light and thick. Fold the egg mixture with the melted butter and chocolate.

Add flour and baking powder and gently fold through.

Pour mixture into a greased 8 x 8 pan ( I line my pans with parchment after I butter the pan).

Sprinkle some Fleur de Sel on top of wet mix.

Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes, or until set.

Allow to cool and dust with either cocoa powder or powdered sugar.

Makes about 1 dozen squares.

No chocolate for you, Auggie : )

Brioche with Chocolate Centers

There is really only one cookbook that truly gets me inspired to step out of my comfort-zone, dig in and try something new. Maybe it's the amazing photos or the simplicity in her recipe writing, but either way, Donna Hay has my number and my kitchen is much better for that! Each time I flip through one of her books or magazines, something inevitably jumps out at me and I'll do whatever it takes to make it as soon as possible. In this case, it was driving to the local grocery this morning, practically in my pjs, to get some butter.

I am no great baker and have never made brioche. But something about tiny little brioche tins and a thought of melted chocolate in the center of eggy, doughy bread got me out of bed earlier than usual today...

Brioche with Chocolate Centers

From Donna Hay, Entertaining, 2003.

Makes 8

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup warm milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 TBLS sugar

2 egg yolks

4 oz butter, chopped and softened to room temp

8 large chunks dark chocolate, about 1/2 oz each, ( I used Valrhona)

Place the four and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Place the milk, vanilla and sugar in a separate bowl and mix until combined.

Add the milk mixture and the egg yolks to the flour mixture and beat on med speed until dough forms a smooth ball.

Continue beating, adding butter a little at a time, until incorporated and well beaten.

Cover the dough and set aside for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

ALTERNATIVE METHOD (my method)

Mix flour mixture and milk mixture in a bowl until a soft dough forms.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

Add butter, a few pieces at a time, and knead until combined.

Cover the dough and set aside for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Once dough had doubled in size, knead on lightly floured surface until soft and elastic.

Divide into 8 equal sized pieces and flatten slightly in your hand.

Place a piece of chocolate in the center of each piece and fold over dough to enclose.

Place the brioche in 8 greased and well - floured brioche tins.

Cover and set aside for 1 hour, or until the dough had doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the brioche are golden brown.

Serve warmmmmmmm.

Naturally Flavored Vanilla Vodka

I cleaned out my spice drawer the other day and found a few vanilla beans hidden in the back. Score! This was an exciting find as I had just browsed a Donna Hay, (love her!), book of mine and saw a simple way of infusing vanilla bean into vodka. There are artificially flavoured vodkas out there, but I am somewhat of a purist and don't love the idea of fake flavouring, in any form. The recipe I have called for a whole bottle (750 mL) of vodka and 3 vanilla beans. I wasn't sure I was ready to sacrifice a whole bottle to this experiment, so I cut in into a third to see if this was something I might like. Well, one week in the sun, plus an overnight stay in the freezer, and this newly flavoured spirit is a welcomed addition to our liquor cabinet. Serve over ice, or if you can't handle that, (like I can't), it is especially delicious with ginger ale, sort of a grown up vanilla cream soda.

Vanilla Vodka

From Entertaining, by Donna Hay, 1998.

750 ml (24 fluid ounces) of vodka

3 vanilla beans, split

Place the vanilla beans in the vodka and allow to infuse on a windowsill for at least one week. To serve straight, freeze overnight, prior to serving. Serve the vanilla vodka over ice with tonic, soda, or ginger ale.

Want to get even further away from artificially flavoured stuff? Make your own ginger ale!

Ricotta, Spinach and Parmesan Tarts

If you are looking for some culinary inspiration, check out anything by Donna Hay. Her recipes are simple, yet elegant and the photographs are amazing. She has a magazine that comes out a few times a year as well. I just love her food - here is a quick tartlett you can serve along a salad or soup, or snack on any time. Be sure to squeeze all liquid out of spinach, otherwise these will be too moist and the result will suffer.

1 lb fresh ricotta
1/3 cup sour cream
pinch salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
cracked black pepper
pinch fresh nutmeg
1 lb fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 chopped toasted pine nuts
1 TBLS fresh herbs - I like parsley, chives and dill

Preheat oven to 350.
Process ricotta in food processor until smooth.
Place ricotta, salt, sour cream, egg, pepper and nutmeg in bowl and mix well.
Place spinach in dry saute pan and a TBLS of water and cook down, about 3 minutes. Chop and drain all liquid out of cooked spinach.
Add spinach, parmesan, pine nuts and herbs to ricotta mixture.
Spoon mixture into greased muffin pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden.
Makes 8 - 12.
Adapted from Donna Hay Entertaining, 2003.