Choux pastry and very ripe bananas

This Friday dawned in Blackheath, it was crisp and sunny and the Rhododendrons and wildflowers were all in flower so I shunned the kitchen to get outside and enjoy the sun and great outdoors. We headed over to Leura and out on the Mt Hay road to take a walk out to Lockeys Pylon. We had a very pleasant amble out stopping to look at various skinks, geckos and wildflowers along the way and ended up at a cliff edge overlooking the Grose Valley and back towards Blackheath. Around the same time we could also see a thunderstorm coming across from the north east and had to make great tracks back to the car. We had a distant hope to get back to the house to get washing off the line but we were too late. Thunder lightening, hail and a few downpours later we were back at the house and I had a missed provisions to get started on this weekends baking.

When I first got Jacqueline Mallorca's book I was very excited by the chocolate eclair recipe. I knew choux pastry could be made gluten free as I'd tasted a custard puff at the gluten-free bakery in Liechhardt - Healthy Feast. So I thought I'd give it a whirl this weekend at Blackheath. While in town I'd also purchased a oven thermometer as the oven had no proper temperature dial. A bit tricky for cooking and baking, especially when a recipe calls for a hot oven that then needs to be lowered!  And as I found out, even with a temperature gauge, the classic old oven at Blackheath was still a challenge as it has both a top and bottom heating element which made for slightly uneven temperatures. Well at least now I know that in the future to go with one rack and bake in the middle of the oven. This attempt was also my first ever attempt at making choux pastry so I was a little uncertain about dough texture and how much they might rise or puff. Hence instead of 12 even shapes I had three very large puffs and 4 more moderately sized but oddly shaped puffs. Note to self be sure to use FLAT trays as puffs expand and baking tray side will distort shapes.

Having said that maybe I was in a more generous mood about my first attempts at choux pastry and chocolate eclairs. Maybe its the holiday mountains atmosphere!  Anyway once I'd split the puffs, inserted some sugared cream and dipped the tops in dark chocolate that I thought that the finished product didn't look half bad. And after dinner Neil and I were quick to sample one each. Well actually maybe I had two but who's counting? Next time I won't skimp on the cream and might try and find a recipe for chocolate custard that can be teamed with cream as well. Divine! Just as well we went visiting neighbours on Saturday and took them two large samples as a treat too otherwise I could have scoffed the lot. Oops. Note to self better work extra hard in the pool and at the gym. Anyway here's the recipe and keep an eye out for further experimentation with this recipe.

Chocolate Eclairs (The wheat-free kitchen by Jacqueline Mallorca)
makes 12
1/4c brown rice flour
1/4c tapioca starch
1 tsp sugar
3Tbsp (55g) unsalted butter
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
3/4c heavy cream
1/2tsp vanilla essence
3Tbsp icing sugar
60g dark chocolate
2tsp canola oil

1. Preheat the oven to 205. Line 2 large baking sheets
2. Sift flours and sugar together and set aside.
3.  Combine butter, salt and 1/2 c water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, remove from the heat and add the flour mixture all at once. Place the pan over low heat and stir hard with a wooden spoon until mixture dries out a little and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time. The mixture will look lumpy at first but persevere until the past is smooth and just holds its shape, about 2 minutes.
5. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 2 1/2cm tip and pipe out 12, 8cm fingers. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190C and bake for a further 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
To fill
6. Beat the cream until it starts to stiffen, then add the vanilla and sift in the icing sugar. Continue beating until soft peaks form.
7.Combine the chocolate and canola oil and melt over hot water. Stir to make a smooth mixture.
8. Split the eclairs horizontally and cover the bottom halves with the whipped cream. Dip the rounded side of the tops in the chocolate and place over the cream. Refrigerate until serving time.
Baked: Friday 22nd October 2010

The rest of the weekend was spent checking out junk shops and sewing. Both were in aid of next Friday's Mad Men cocktail party. Neil was searching for vintage records and an outfit. I was searching for glassware and a cake and pie server. I was also attempting to whip a dress using a vintage pattern. I had grand plans for some lovely pink and grey plaid material for a Joanie style wiggle dress but when I looked at the pattern and noted that it had 8 pieces to sew together and match the plaid, including a seam down the centre I thought it might be a bit beyond my very beginner sewing capabilities! Luckily I had a couple of metres of another plain dusky pink corduroy that should work fingers crossed. Anyway I'm still working on that one but should be able to report more next week.

Anyway come Sunday morning it was still raining s we decided to not linger too long and left Blackheath just after 1pm. This meant we got back home at a reasonable hour and get ready for the working week. Oh and of course I could also squeeze in a bit more kitchen time. When we got home I noticed that our fruit bowl was loaded up with very ripe bananas which was just perfect as I'd also been eyeing  off a recipe in the Australian Women's Weekly cookbook for banana bread. Its packed full of bananas, coconut and sunflower, linseed and almond meal and it smells absolutely divine when baking. I say if you've ever got to sell or rent a place just bake a loaf of this bread and you'll have people queuing up to sign up on the dotted line! It also has the added advantage that it is also dairy and egg free so suitable for any of your vegan friends. And if you happen to be doing any heavy exercise like paddling up the Hawkesbury River - go Dee - its also packed full of energy and protein! Well and it tastes pretty good too! And it keeps well in the fridge and can be sliced and toasted too. I think it might be a keeper. I was half tempted to throw in some dark chocolate chocolate chips but I ended up leaving it for another time. However if anyone gives it a go be sure to let me know.  Happy baking.  

Banana Bread (The gluten-free cookbook, by the Australian Women's Weekly)

makes one 11x21cm loaf
2Tbsp desiccated coconut (or shredded)
1 1/2c mashed overripe bananas (approx 3 large bananas)
1 1/4c firmly packed brown sugar (less is OK too!)
1/2c vegetable oil
2tsp baking powder
1tsp mixed spice
2 1/2c desiccated coconut extra (shredded)
1 3/4c linseed, sunflower and almond meal

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease loaf pan and coat base and sides with desiccated coconut, shake out excess.
2. Combine banana, sugar, oil, baking powder and spice in a large bowl, stir in extra coconut and meal. Spread mixture into pan, smooth surface.
3. Bake bread for about 55 minutes. Stand in pan for 10 minutes, turn topside up, onto baking paper covered wire rack to cool.
Note: this bread is good sliced and toasted and can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
Baked: Sunday 24th October 2010

Low chemical baking, skirt making & cycling

Well some Friday baking days are corkers and others are just plain average. And it stands to reason that if last Friday was a corker then its unlikely that this one would be one too. So maybe even before I started I was destined for AVERAGE. Unfortunate but true. This Friday co-incided with Friday Mummy Club and as our dear host, Lyn, is bravely undergoing the elimination diet, I decided to try my hand at some old tried and trusted recipes that are low chemical. I know how hard this diet is as I was on it about four years ago to work out if food chemicals and intolerances had any role in my health problems. Alas after 6 months or more of hard grind no real answer was found other than that I tended to react to everything in large doses. Maybe I'm just a little bit irritable? Anyway enough about me... this is about food!

So in keeping with the theme I headed to my bible for the elimination diet "Friendly Food - Food for life cookbook" put out by the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy  Unit. From it I chose a sweet treat and a salad that featured heavily in my diet during this time. First cab of the rank was the gluten free pear muffin closely followed by the pear and bean salad. See pears, when they are ripe, peeled and cored are the only allowed fruit at the beginning of the diet so they feature heavily in this book. Unfortunately when I went to bake the muffins I had bought plain instead of self-raising gluten free flour and silly me made the mistake of putting too much baking soda in when adding the raising agents. So although they looked good and had a good texture they tasted crap. Sorry Lyn. This is such a shame as I know this recipe is a winner as I've taken them to a few meetings and they got devoured quite readily. So to atone for my silly mistake I re-baked them on Wednesday morning for a treat during the conference that Lyn and I were attending. Phew this time they came out well and greatly received as a gluten free alternative to fruit! Healthy but not that exciting compared to the splendid array of other tasty treats on offer.

Gluten Free Pear Muffins (Friendly Food by The Royal Alfred Allergy Unit)

makes 12

2c (300g) Gluten free self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4c (140g) brown sugar

160ml rice drink (or milk or soy milk)

80ml canola oil

2 eggs

2 ripe pears, peeled cored and mashed

1. Preheat oven 180C and line 12 hole muffin tray.

2. Sift flour and baking powder in a large bowl, whisk in brown sugar.

3. In a separate measuring jug mix oil, rice drink, egg then add mashed pear.

4. Add wet mix into dry mix and mix gently with a metal spoon. Spoon evenly into prepared muffin tin and bake for 18-20 mins

Now these muffins are rather moist so they don't really last that well and are best eaten in the first day or two. Having said that it is a recipe that can easily be halved so that you're not left with 12 muffins to eat by yourself in one or two days. Mind you've if you've got friends and family to share them with I'm sure that will get eaten.  

Now the next recipe that I made was the Pear and Bean salad from the same book. Unfortunately I forgot to write the recipe down from the book before I loaned it to Lyn. Anyway I will have a stab at it as I  can remember the ingredients and rough quantities but I can update the quantities when I get access to the book. Also I reckon salads aren't really that precise! One other word before I give you the recipe. The elimination diet is very particular about many things like how things are cooked, preserved and how they are packaged. For those on the diet you'll know what I mean and you'll remember that tinned pears are a bit of a staple if you can't eat other fruits.  Tinned pears need to be in sugar syrup not natural juice as the latter means they are cooked up with bits of peel, stem and pips which will increase the food chemicals. Unfortunately in the fruit canning industry a decision was made to no longer make tinned pears in sugar syrup which I'm sure has been a bug bear for those people out there with food chemical intolerances. I was outraged when I couldn't buy them. Sometimes you really just don't have the time to poach pears when you just don't have a ripe pear. Anyway I still really wanted to make this salad so I bought pears peeled and cored them and poached them in sugar and water. Alternative if you do have ripe pears you can use them instead. Or if you're not worried about food chemicals and intolerances feel free to use tinned pears in natural juice, its probably healthier.

Pear and bean salad (roughly from Friendly Food)
1/2c mung beans
200-400g of beans (use your favorites red kidney, soya, chick peas)
2 shallots chopped
50g green beans cooked and sliced
2-3 tinned pears quartered
2Tbsp poppy seeds
chives
dressing
1 clove of garlic crushed
1tsp of citric acid
canola oil
water
salt to taste

1. Mix all salad ingredients except the poppy seeds in a bowl. Be gentle with the pears
2. In a measuring jug whisk dressing, and pour over salad. The longer the salad sites the flavours enhance so it can be refrigerated overnight before eating. Add poppy seeds just before serving.

Now it wouldn't Friday Mummy club with out a loaf of bread and this time I added a 1/2c of LSA to the usual bread mix, which turned out nicely. Thanks Lyn for the suggestion of using LSA (linseed, sesame and almond) meal. I also decided to make another cold lunch dish - zucchini slice although I thought I'd add a for extra vegetables like carrots, mushrooms and shallots and exclude the bacon as we had a few vegetarians coming along too. Now this dish is gluten free but not low chemical.

Zucchini and carrot slice (adapted from Irresistibles for the Irritable by Sue Shepherd)
2 large zucchinis grated
1 large carrot grated
4 large flat mushrooms
2 shallots chopped
1/2c rice flour
1/4 cornflour
200g cubed fetta (or 150g tasty cheese)
8 eggs, lightly beaten
2Tbsp canola oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a shallow baking tray approx 16x26cm)
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl then press into prepared baking tray.
3. Bake for 20 - 25mins or until firm and golden. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Can be served warm or cooled.

Anyway I must say the salad and the slice were definitely edible but just as well one of the other mothers had cooked a really lovely Orange Almond cake for dessert so they weren't subjected to the very salted muffins! And as always lunch was a good excuse to catch up with friends and their little ones. And how quickly the little ones are growing up!

Now before I sign off for this week, I thought I better mention how my sewing endeavours are going, especially as they are a weight maintenance program for an avid baker! The rest of the weekend was devoted to exercise and sewing. I did a few laps on Saturday morning in prep for the Whitehaven Beach ocean swim and celebrated the advent of spring with the annual Spring Cycle from North Sydney to Homebush Bay on Sunday. A good balance for the indulgence of Friday's lunch. As for my sewing I'd decided to have a go at making my own made to measure pattern for an a-line summer skirt with guidance from a sewing book. I must say on reflection that my sewing efforts were on par with my cooking efforts, average. Mind you I did get some feedback from a colleague at work that attempting to make your own pattern is a little ambitious, especially for such a green horn as myself so its not that surprising that I made a few mistakes in my skirt. I didn't quite get the pattern right as I tended to measure a bit too generously and misunderstand directions, especially when trying to attach the waistband. However having said that I do now have a skirt, made from cool fabric I picked up from the op shop, that is light and suitable for a FAT day!  I wore it to work yesterday and everyone loved the fabric :)

Right that's about it for this week, not a corker of a week, but an average week. Not to mention a bit late too, but sometimes life gets in the way!

Baked Friday 15th October 2010

More biscuits and cake.

Well this week I felt like I was getting back into the swing of things. Friday dawned and I was down at the beach doing a spot of boxing. Then after doing the grocery shopping I was back in the kitchen whipping up a tasty treat to take when visiting friends and their new offspring. Not 100% over the cold and cough but back up and running while also out and about catching up with friends. I decided to remake the coffee, date and walnut cake from a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to see what the taste was like with the proper amount of coffee in the cake and add some coconut to the streusel. I also thought for presentations sake I'd give a round tin a go. The taste testers thought it was good and I thought it looked better. What do you think?

I also managed to squeeze in a spot of sewing as I hemmed up a skirt I'd make the previous weekend out of an old pair of brown cords. Not bad for my first sewing project since high school.

We even went out on Friday night for a wee bit of culture for a art talk and classical music at the Wagner Gallery in Paddington followed by some Japanese in the Junction. Very nice indeed.  However I must admit come Saturday morning I just couldn't sleep in past 6am so went for a swim and did a measly 22 laps and then spent the rest of the day recovering from lack of sleep and energy!

Anyway Sunday arrived and after a lazy morning, a wee bike ride and a couple of friends party to celebrate their anniversary - Congratulations Nick and David - I though I best get into the kitchen to bake this weeks new tasty treat. Now last week I mentioned a recipe from Jacqueline Mallorca's 'Wheat free cook' but I didn't have all the ingredients. Anyway I stocked up on the essential peanut butter and choc-chips when I did the grocery shopping of Friday so I could make the peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. The recipe is easy to make, although I must admit I resorted to my old hand held beater to mix the butter, peanut butter and egg as I couldn't seem to get the butter to cream up by hand with a wooden spoon. Maybe I'm just too lazy? Anyway the final batter looks a bit oily but they cook OK and don't spread too much like some other biscuits. They taste pretty good although I only got to take a couple to work on the bike for a second opinion. Maybe if there is any left I'll take some on Wednesday to Ride 2 Work.

Peanut butter - chocolate chip cookies (by Jacqueline Mallorca in the Wheat-free cook)
makes 20
1/2 stick unsalted butter softened (56g)
3/4c creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1/2c packed brown sugar
1/4c fine brown rice flour
pinch of salt
1/4tsp baking powder
1/2c dark chocolate chips
1/2c chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line two large baking trays.
2. Cream butter until smooth, beat in the peanut butter, then the egg. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt then add to the butter mixture and stir to blend.

3. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. The dough will be soft and sticky but it can still be handled with spoons or your hands to make medium flat discs on to the prepared trays. Bake until golden and just set, 12-15 minutes. Let stand on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Baked Sunday 10 October 2010.

Public holiday baking - coffee walnut biscuits

Its been a bit of a wet long weekend so we've been pottering around a bit at home and one thing I've missed is not having any baked treats to nibble on with an afternoon cuppa. So come Monday morning I thought I might do an extra bit of baking to celebrate the long weekend. Also if I had any leftovers they'd still be fresh enough to take to work.

So after I put on a loaf of bread to go with the pea, ham and vegetable soup I'd made the previous day, I began flicking through my latest cookbook. First I came across a recipe for peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies which looked really tasty but I didn't have enough peanut butter. Oh well, I put it on the shopping list and will be sure to have a go soon. Next I came to a pecan -espresso cookie recipe for which I had most ingredients although I didn't have pecans but thought I could substitute walnuts. Walnuts went quite nicely with the coffee cake so should work on here. Now this book, "The wheat-free cook - gluten -free recipes for everyone" by Jacqueline Mallorca is American so I first had to do some conversions for butter weights as she uses 'sticks' of butter. Thanks to google I found out that 1 stick = 133.6g. In addition I though I might add a couple of teaspoons for cocoa to get a mocca kind of flavour. I wasn't too sure about rolling the dough into finely chopped nuts but I gave it a go. And on second thoughts after tasty the final product I think I'd add the nuts to the dough so you get a more nutty texture throughout. Also I'd add more cocoa, say 2 tablespoons to get more of a mocca flavour. Although one thing I'd do is use a bit less flour (suggest 2/3 cup of cornflour instead of 3/4 cup) and maybe 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum as they only just held together and are a bit crumbly. Anyway here is the recipe minus the amendments as I'll wait till I try them again to test it properly to see if it works any better. Hope you enjoy them anyway.

Pecan- espresso cookies (The wheat-free cook by Jacqueline Mallorca)

makes about 30
1/2c packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (170g)
1 large egg yolk
1c brown rice flour
3/4c cornstarch/cornflour
pinch of salt
2tsp instant coffee (espresso)
1c pecans (walnuts) finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300F/150C fan forced or 170C. Line two large baking trays.

2. Combine brown sugar and butter in a mixer/food processor until smooth fluffy cream. Add yolk and mix well.

3. Whisk flours, sea salt, and coffee in a separate bowl then add to butter mixture, mix to make a soft dough.

4. Spread chopped nuts of a work surface. With a teaspoon of dough make a small balls with your fingers and roll in chopped nuts. Flatten lightly so nuts stick then place on baking sheets allowing room for spread. Chill for 10 minutes. Bake until light tan and just set, 18 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

Baked Monday 4th October 2010

English muffins

This week I had planned to make the English muffins again for breakfast, hopefully getting them right by using the proper raising ingredient - baking soda and a deeper egg ring to get a good thick or high muffin. I woke up super early on Friday morning, I can't wait for daylight savings to start, so I thought I'd make a loaf of fruit bread then make the muffins for breakfast before going to the osteopath. However I think 5am is just too early and my brain was super addled from lack of sleep and the tail end of a head cold.

You see I had got 45 minutes into the first rise for loaf and nothing had happened. Then I got to thinking and wondering. Had I put the yeast in? Nope I don't think I did! Anyway, I added the yeast and set it out to rise again and it did a reasonable job.  However, this delay had put me behind schedule and I didn't have enough time to make the muffins for breakfast and Neil was going to have to bake the bread for me. When I got back from the osteopath I noticed that I'd also burnt the tamari nut mix I had in the oven before the bread was due to go in. Also the fruit loaf was looking a bit dense indicated that it didn't quite get enough rising second time round. At that point I decided to give up doing any further baking for the day!

Saturday morning dawned and I'd managed to sleep in past 6am which is really good going for me! Just as well as I needed it. Anyway it meant I could get into the kitchen at a reasonable time and with a clear head and give the muffins another go. The batter is rather simple, especially when you remember to use baking soda and not baking powder. After a quick whisk it was nice and thick and smooth. I varied from the recipe as I used deep non-stick eggs as I couldn't find 3 1/2 inch muffin rings and I really was keen to use the suggested alternative (cut rings from tin cans!) Now this makes it a little trickier when trying to flip them as the use of non-stick rings means that the muffin will slide out with ease. So I just lifted them up on egg flip, took of the ring and used my finger flip them over onto the frying pan, and then quickly slipped the egg ring back over to keep the batter in. Easier said than done and you don't always get a smooth transition but hey I like rustic looking (read raggedy edged) muffins.

Also, when it comes to eating the muffins, I really don't think you need to wait for them to cool. Actually they taste rather good still warm with butter and jam or butter and Vegemite! Yum. However they can be cooled, stored wrapped in the fridge and then toasted, which I did for lunch with ham, tomato and cheese! Delicious indeed and a nice change from bread or corn thins. Anyway here is the recipe, enjoy!

Rice flour English muffins (the wheat-free cook, by Jacqueline Mallorca)

makes 5-7
unsalted butter
2/3c white rice flour
plus extra for muffin rings and non-stick frying pan
1/3c tapioca sugar
1tsp sugar
1tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1tsp canola oil
1/2c plain yogurt

1. Butter the insides of five 3 1/2 inch muffin rings (or if you have non-stick deep eggs rings these work just as well) and dust with rice flour. (Dipping them in the flour is the easiest way to do this)

2. Whisk the rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and whisk in the canola oil and yogurt.

3. Place a non-stick fry-pan/griddle on medium heat, and set the muffin rings in place. Sprinkle a little rice flour on the pan/griddle surface inside each one to prevent the muffins from sticking.

4. When the pan/griddle is hot, add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir well to form a puffy batter. Half fill each muffin ring smoothing the surface and dust lightly with additional rice flour. After a minute nudge each ring with a spatula to make sure  it isn't sticking, and continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Holding tongs in one hand and a spatula in the other, pick up each ring (the muffin won't fall out - actually if your using non-stick egg rings they will!) and place on the spatula. Reverse the muffins back onto the pan/griddle and continue cooking until the second side is browned and the muffin is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a rack. When the rings are cool enough to handle free the muffins with a knife blade and let cool completely. Split (never cut) by inserting the tines of a fork horizontally around each muffin and pry apart for optimal cragginess. Then toast and eat with your favorite muffing topping. The muffins will keep for 2-3 days wrapped and refrigerated or they may be frozen.

Baked Saturday 2nd Oct 2010

Baking for the birthday boy

My apologies everyone for beinga week behind on my baking rambles. I blame my ill heath, computer problems and the fact that we're watching Twin Peaks! Anyway here it is.

Friday dawned and I didn't know what to do. I wasn't well enough for boxing down at the beach as I still had my head cold. I had no appointments or friends coming round at all. I hadn't planned anything to bake, other than a birthday cake for Neil but his birthday wasn't until Sunday. I tried to con him into having an early birthday cake so we could eat it over the weekend but no he wanted it on his actual birthday! Doh. And since I hadn't done any exercise for two weeks I decided I couldn't bake anything else in the meantime.  I was at a loose end not knowing what to do. Luckily over the last couple of weeks I'd been scouring op shops and second hand book stores for new reading material and had amassed over 30 books to read! So I took to a sunny spot on the couch and read to my hearts content.

Two new additions came from Ariel bookstore. One was a sewing technique book which was bound to come in handy as I learn how to use my new Singer. Another weight watching device to distract me from the kitchen. And of course the second book was bargain gluten free cookbook - "The wheat-free cook - gluten free recipes for everyone" by Jacqeline Mallora.  The latter provided a few hours of entertainment, flicking through and reading various recipes. I can see a few recipes will end on this blog at some stage! Come Saturday morning my self imposed ban on baking was broken when I decided to make something out this book. Its a got a good section on bread, of which all but one don't use yeast and are quick to cook. I was somewhat taken with the idea of rice flour English muffins as an alternative to fruit toast for breakfast. I gave them ago but had problems with the batter which wasn't that fluffy. Silly me had gotten confused with baking powder and baking soda. And the egg rings where no way near big or deep enough to make a good muffin. Anyway I'll try them again soon with new muffin rings and the proper use of baking soda!

Now to the birthday cake. I'd quizzed the birthday boy for a request but he wasn't that decisive so I ended up asking for favorite ingredients or theme and he came up with date and walnut. Funny that, its also one of my favorite combinations too, especially when chocolate is added as well. Anyway since it was Neil's choice I wouldn't add chocolate so I had to hunt for a cake recipe with date and walnuts. Sticking with my books, I came across a recipe that looked interesting in Sue Sheppard's "Gluten free Kitchen" for a Coffee and Pecan cake which I though could be nicely adapted to a Coffee, date and walnut cake. The dates could be mixed in with the dissolved coffee and baking soda to soften them up and walnuts would be a simple substitution for pecans in the strusel topping. I also halved the sugar in the cake and used brown sugar instead of caster. Anyway the cake just made it out of the oven in time before we headed over to Glebe and a birthday breakfast with friends at the cafe near the Maritime Museum. Coffee and birthday cake would be after a trip around the museum and walk back to Glebe. It went down a treat, even if I didn't quite get the quantity of coffee right in the cake it tasted more caramel than coffe and dateore dates. I'd have to get that right another time. Anyway here is the adapted recipe.

Coffee, date and walnut cake (Adapted from The Gluten Free Kitchen by Sue Sheppard)
1c chopped dates (more if you fancy)
1 1/2Tbsp instant coffee  (oops just realised I only put 2tsp!)
3Tbsp boiling water
1tsp bicarb soda
160g unsalted butter
1/2c brown sugar (or 1c caster sugar if you prefer)
3 eggs
130g rice flour
35g cornflour
30g tapioca flour
2tsp baking powder
1tstp xanthan gum
1/2c sour cream
pure icing sugar for dusting
walnut streusel (or pecans)
40g unsalted butter
1/2c brown sugar
1 1/2tsp ground cinnamon
2tsp instant coffee
1c walnuts roughly chopped (or pecans)

1. Pre heat oven to 180c. Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin.
2. In a small bowl add chopped dates, coffee, baking soda and boiling water. Allow it to fizz and stir until dates are softened.
3. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl, until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.
4. Sift the flours, baling powder and xanthan gum and whisk until well combined. Fold the flours, coffee and date mixture and sour cream into the butter mixture until well combined. Pour batter into the baking tin, smooth surface and bake for 35minutes.
6. Meanwhile prepare the streusel topping by beating the butter, brown sugar, coffee and cinnamon well until creamy.  Stir in walnuts.
7. After the cake has baked for 35-45 minutes spread the streusel topping evenly over the top of the cake, cover with foil and bake for a further 10-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Baked Sunday 26th September 2010

Unfortuantely we weren't that good at taking photos, not even one of the birthday boy with his cake, so here are just a few of the leftovers.