Black Forest Tiramisu

For the first time in many years we celebrated Christmas without our family. During the past Christmases, we would either visit my parents in Malaysia or Mr J's parents would visit us from Holland to escape the European winter and soaked up the sunshine in the Australian summer.

Our dear friends Miss A and Mr G were in the similar situation. They decided to host the Christmas lunch and invited us over for a feast. I came up with the idea of making this Black Forest Tiramisu for the lunch as both of them lived in Germany for eight years before residing in Sydney.

The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. We have visited the area once on our way to Chamonix two years ago.

Black Forest, Germany

Black Forest Tiramisu

This Black Forest version of Tiramisu is inspired by the Black Forest Cake which is originated from this region, and so, by name and reputation at least. It is known as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (literally "Black Forest cherry torte") in German and is made with chocolate cake, cream, sour cherries, and Kirsch (cherry brandy).

Black Forest Tiramisu (Serves 8)

Ingredients

• 1 chocolate sponge cake (Recipe follows)
• 1 cup strong espresso coffee
• 2 tbsp Kirsch
• 2 eggs
• 75 g caster sugar
• 250g Mascarpone cheese
• 300 ml double cream
• 1 cup cherries, pitted and halved (soaked in 1/2 cup of Kirsch for at least 2 hours or overnight) + more cherries for decorations
• Grated dark chocolate
• Shaved dark chocolate for decorations

Method

1. Mix the espresso coffee with 2 tbsp of Kirsch.
2. Drain the cherries that have been soaked in the Kirsch for at least 2 hours.
3. Combine the eggs and caster sugar in an electric mixer and whisk together until thick and light. The mixture should be thick enough to leave a trail on the surface.
4. Put the Mascarpone cheese into a large bowl. Stir in a little of the egg mixture. Fold in the remaining egg mixture. Fold in the double cream. Stir in the cherries.
5. Cut the chocolate sponge cake to fit the size of the base of the individual serving glasses or the large serving bowl.
6. Line the bottom of the glass with a layer of chocolate sponge cake. Drizzle the espresso coffee and kirsch mixture over the chocolate sponge cake.
7. Sprinkle over a thick layer of grated dark chocolate, then spoon Mascarpone mixture on top (3-4 tbsp, enough to cover the chocolate sponge cake). Level the surface.
8. Repeat the layers until it reaches the top of glass.
9. Decorate with the remaining grated dark chocolate. Cover and chill for 4 hours.
10. Decorate with a few of the whole cherries and shaved dark chocolate before serving.

Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe

Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 75 g (2 1/2 oz) plain flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 150 g (5 oz) self-raising flour
• 6 eggs
• 220 g (7 oz) caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180C (350F). Lightly grease a rectangular (30 x 20 cm) cake tin and line the bases with baking paper. Dust the tins with a little flour, shaking off any excess.
2. Sift the flour together three times onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Beat the eggs in a large bowl with electric beaters for 7 minutes, or until thick and pale. Gradually add the sugar to the egg, beating well after each addition. Using a large metal spoon, quickly and gently fold in the sifted flour and 2 tbsp boiling water.
3. Spread the mixture into the tin and bake for 25 minutes, or until the sponge shrinks slightly from the sides of the tin. Leave the sponge in their tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Note: The secret to making a perfect sponge lies in the folding technique. A beating action, or using a wooden spoon, will cause loss of volume in the egg mixture and result in a flat heavy cake. The sponge cake can be frozen up to one month in freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Matcha (Japanese Green Tea) Tiramisu

I woke up one morning with this crazy idea of combining two of my favourite desserts into one: Matcha Ice Cream and Tiramisu. For now, please enjoy the recipe of the Matsha Tiramisu.

Matcha (Japanese Green Tea) Tiramisu

Matcha (Japanese Green Tea) Tiramisu (Serves 8)

Ingredients

• 1 cup strong Japanese Green Tea
• 2 eggs
• 75 g caster sugar
• 250g Mascarpone cheese
• 300 ml double cream
• 1 packet Savoiardi sponge fingers (you can replace them with sponge cake)
• Matcha powder
• Chopped pistachios

Method

1. Combine the eggs and caster sugar in an electric mixer and whisk together until thick and light. The mixture should be thick enough to leave a trail on the surface.
2. Put the Mascarpone cheese into a large bowl. Stir in a little of the egg mixture. Fold in the remaining egg mixture. Fold in the double cream.
3. Cut the sponge fingers to fit the size of the base of the serving glass.
4. Line the bottom of the glass with a layer of sponge fingers. Drizzle green tea over the sponge fingers.
5. Sprinkle over a thick layer of matcha powder, then spoon Mascarpone mixture on top (3-4 tbsp, enough to cover the sponge fingers). Level the surface.
6. Repeat the layers until it reaches the top of glass.
7. Decorate with the remaining matcha powder and sprinkle generously with chopped pistachios.
8. Cover and chill for 4 hours.

Sicilian Orange Cake

I love baking cakes with fruits. I have posted my favourite recipes for Blueberry-Lemon Cake and Apple-Cinnamon Cake. Now on to this Sicilian Orange Cake which is the best orange cake I have tasted so far. This verdict is further confirmed by all my friends who have tasted it.

This Sicilian Orange Cake is the famous orange cake from the once popular Café Agostini owned by Margie Agostini, in the heart of Sydney ’s suburb for the rich and famous, Woollahra. Customers have often been heard to say that “Margie’s orange cake is to die for”.

I found this recipe on Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape Cookbook a while ago but was surprised to find out how this recipe was linked to Australia:

Rick Stein: "To be accurate, I suppose this cake should be known as Margie Agostini's orange cake. It was her signature dish at her greatly missed Caffe Agostini in Woollahra in Sydney. It seemed to me to be just made for Sicilian oranges. The recipe came from an article in the Times by Jill Dupleix, although I had eaten the cake at the cafe a few years earlier and I thought it was amazing. As Jill says, it has to be the richest, moistest, butteriest and yet lightest orange cake in the world."

Sicilian Orange Cake Recipe

Makes 1 x 22-cm cake, to serve about 8. (Adapted from Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape)

Ingredients

• 250 g lightly salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
• 250 g caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
• 250 g self raising flour
• 85 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
• For the icing:
• 125 g icing sugar
• 5 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 22-cm clip-sided round cake with non-stick baking paper.
2. Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating very well between each one, if necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat in the orange zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice.
3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly buttered foil.
4. Leave the cake, in its tin, to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the sides and base of the tin and peel off the paper. Put it onto a serving plate.
5. For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, and leave to set. Serve cut into slices, and store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Tip: Why not turn this Sicilian Orange Cake into these cute little Orange Cupcakes for the little people?

Chorizo Sausage, Mushroom and Green Pea Risotto

It's Autumn in Sydney. Chilly and windy today. My hubby Mr. J and my daughter Little Miss C have gone for her soccer (football) training in the evening. I quickly whipped up this quick and easy no fuss risotto. They gobbled up their plates of steaming hot risotto as soon as I served them up on the table! Perfect winter warmer. YUMMY!!

Chorizo Sausage, Mushroom and Green Pea Risotto Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 6 large button mushrooms
• 2 Chorizo sausages, sliced
• 1 cup green peas
• 6 cups hot chicken stock
• 6 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Additional Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Method

1. Heat half the oil in a saucepan over moderate heat and pan fry Chorizo sausage until lightly browned 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan.
2. Reduce heat to medium and pan fry onions and mushrooms in remaining oil, 2 minutes. Add rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
3. Add 1 cup of stock at a time, stirring until absorbed before each new addition (about every 5 minutes). Continue until rice is tender, about 25-30 minutes. Stir in Chorizo sausage and peas in the last 5 minutes.
4. Stir in Parmesan cheese and season to taste. Serve immediately.

Chicken Osso-Buco Style

What's in a name? Osso Buco is the Italian name both for veal shanks and the classic Milanese method of cooking them: They are first braised with aromatic vegetables and tomatoes, then enlivened with a last minute sprinkling of lemon peel, parsley, and garlic. You can achieve the same delicious flavour - in much less time - with chicken.

Chicken Osso-Buco Style Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 chicken thigh fillets (skin, fat and bone removed)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large onion
• 4 medium carrots
• 1 large celery stalk
• 1 x 400g can diced Italian tomatoes
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Method:

1. In a 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs; sprinkle with salt. Cook until golden on all sides. Transfer to bowl.
2. Meanwhile, on cutting board, coarsely chop onion. Dice carrots, and celery. To drippings on skillets, add onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes, or until vegetables are lightly browned.
3. Return chicken thighs to skillet; stir in stewed tomatoes. Heat to boiling over high heat.
4. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 25 minutes, or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with tip of knife. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and grated lemon peel.

Note: The secret to these full-bodied dishes is cooking the chicken in two-steps. First sear it in hot oil to seal in juices and create a rich, browned flavour. Next simmer it, covered, in liquid until tender and cooked through. Pair these saucy dishes with vegetable purees, polenta, or risotto, to soak up all the delicious juices.

Source: The Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Cookbook.

Tiramisu

Tiramisu needs no further introduction. But, there are so many different recipes out there, which is 'THE BEST'? Everyone has their own favourite but I strongly urge you to give mine a try. It's easy and no cooking is required. Just mix and stir and in the fridge you go.

I have been using this recipe for more than 10 years and my friends often request or even 'bribe' me for my Tiramisu when they are invited over for dinner. Don't you reckon it tells you something about my Tiramisu?

Tiramisu (Serves 8)

(I used Mary Berry's Tiramisu recipe from her 1995 cookbook as a base recipe. I improved it in many ways to give it a more modern twist .)

Ingredients

• 1 cup strong black coffee
• 2 tbsp Marsala wine (you can replace it with Brandy, Whisky, Kahlua or Bailey)
• 2 eggs
• 75 g caster sugar
• 250g Mascarpone cheese
• 300 ml double cream
• Cadbury drinking chocolate powder* (See note at bottom of post)
• 1 packet Savoiardi sponge fingers (you can replace them with sponge cake)

Method

1. Mix the coffee with Marsala wine.
2. Combine the eggs and caster sugar in an electric mixer and whisk together until thick and light. The mixture should be thick enough to leave a trail on the surface.
3. Put the Mascarpone cheese into a large bowl. Stir in a little of the egg mixture. Fold in the remaining egg mixture. Fold in the double cream.
4. Cut the sponge fingers to fit the size of the base of the serving glass.
5. Line the bottom of the glass with a layer of sponge fingers. Drizzle coffee and Marsala wine mixture over the sponge fingers.
6. Sprinkle over a thick layer of chocolate, then spoon Mascarpone mixture on top (3-4 tbsp, enough to cover the sponge fingers). Level the surface.
7. Repeat the layers until it reaches the top of glass.
8. Decorate with the remaining chocolate. Cover and chill for 4 hours.

Note: You can use any brand of drinking chocolate powder. You can also use chocolate chips and chop them in a food processor until they form a powder with some larger pieces of chocolate for texture. I prefer to use chocolate powder it gives me the 'melt in the mouth' feeling.

Fig Sorbetto

I just received my new ice cream maker today! I have got to try it out. Flipping cookbooks, flipping food magazines..... FIG! Another of my favourite fruit. It's almost at the end of the fig season. I was lucky to be able to find some at one of my local fresh fruit and vegetable store.

Close your eyes when you first taste this sorbetto - it will take you to some exotic place. I often wonder how something so simple to make can taste so very good. - Valli Little

Need I say more?

Fig Sorbet Recipe

(Recipe adapted from Delicious Magazine March 2009 issue by Valli Little) Serve 4-6

Ingredients

• 12 ripe figs, trimmed
• 200g vanilla sugar* (see note at bottom of post)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 200ml thickened cream

Method

1. Process the fig (there's no need to peel them), vanilla sugar and lemon juice in a food processor until well combined. Add the thickened cream and pulse until smooth.
2. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions.
3. Alternatively, Pour the mixture into a shallow container and freeze for 2 hours or until frozen at the edges. Remove and beat with electric beaters, then return to the container and refreeze. Repeat 2 or 3 times. Serve scoops of sorbetto in glasses.

Note: I used cinnamon sugar instead of vanilla sugar. To make your own vanilla sugar, store any leftover vanilla beans (once you've used their seeds in another recipe) in your caster sugar container. After 2 days, the vanilla flavour will have infused the sugar. Substitute regular caster sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Spaghetti Marinara with Garlic and White Wine Sauce

Every evening it's the same dreaded question: What's For Dinner? This may be fine for a lazy evening dinner.

Spaghetti Marinara with Garlic and White Wine Sauce Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 500 g Spaghetti
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed
• 125 ml dry white wine
• 375 g marinara seafood mix (fish, squid, prawns, and mussels)
• 4 tbsp chopped parsley
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8 - 10 minutes until just tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and garlic, and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes until softened but not coloured.
3. Pour in the white wine and boil to reduced the liquid in the saucepan to about 2 tbsp, stirring constantly. Add the seafood mix and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add half of the parsley and heat through.
4. Drain the spaghetti thoroughly, and add to the seafood mixture, stirring well to combine. Season with salt and black pepper to taste, and serve at once, sprinkle Parmesan cheese and garnished with the remaining chopped parsley.

Black Forest Tiramisu

For the first time in many years we celebrated Christmas without our family. During the past Christmases, we would either visit my parents in Malaysia or Mr J's parents would visit us from Holland to escape the European winter and soaked up the sunshine in the Australian summer.

Our dear friends Miss A and Mr G were in the similar situation. They decided to host the Christmas lunch and invited us over for a feast. I came up with the idea of making this Black Forest Tiramisu for the lunch as both of them lived in Germany for eight years before residing in Sydney.

The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. We have visited the area once on our way to Chamonix two years ago.

Black Forest, Germany

This Black Forest version of Tiramisu is inspired by the Black Forest Cake which is originated from this region, and so, by name and reputation at least. It is known as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (literally "Black Forest cherry torte") in German and is made with chocolate cake, cream, sour cherries, and Kirsch (cherry brandy).

Black Forest Tiramisu

(Adapted from Winter In The Alps Cookbook by Manuela Darling-Gansser)

Ingredients

• 1 chocolate sponge cake (Recipe follows)
• 1 cup strong espresso coffee
• 2 tbsp Kirsch
• 2 eggs
• 75 g caster sugar
• 250g Mascarpone cheese
• 300 ml double cream
• 1 cup cherries, pitted and halved (soaked in 1/2 cup of Kirsch for at least 2 hours or overnight) + more cherries for decorations
• Grated dark chocolate
• Shaved dark chocolate for decorations

Method

1. Mix the espresso coffee with 2 tbsp of Kirsch.
2. Drain the cherries that have been soaked in the Kirsch for at least 2 hours.
3. Combine the eggs and caster sugar in an electric mixer and whisk together until thick and light. The mixture should be thick enough to leave a trail on the surface.
4. Put the Mascarpone cheese into a large bowl. Stir in a little of the egg mixture. Fold in the remaining egg mixture. Fold in the double cream. Stir in the cherries.
5. Cut the chocolate sponge cake to fit the size of the base of the individual serving glasses or the large serving bowl.
6. Line the bottom of the glass with a layer of chocolate sponge cake. Drizzle the espresso coffee and kirsch mixture over the chocolate sponge cake.
7. Sprinkle over a thick layer of grated dark chocolate, then spoon Mascarpone mixture on top (3-4 tbsp, enough to cover the chocolate sponge cake). Level the surface.
8. Repeat the layers until it reaches the top of glass.
9. Decorate with the remaining grated dark chocolate. Cover and chill for 4 hours.
10. Decorate with a few of the whole cherries and shaved dark chocolate before serving.

Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 75 g (2 1/2 oz) plain flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 150 g (5 oz) self-raising flour
• 6 eggs
• 220 g (7 oz) caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180C (350F). Lightly grease a rectangular (30 x 20 cm) cake tin and line the bases with baking paper. Dust the tins with a little flour, shaking off any excess.
2. Sift the flour together three times onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Beat the eggs in a large bowl with electric beaters for 7 minutes, or until thick and pale. Gradually add the sugar to the egg, beating well after each addition. Using a large metal spoon, quickly and gently fold in the sifted flour and 2 tbsp boiling water.
3. Spread the mixture into the tin and bake for 25 minutes, or until the sponge shrinks slightly from the sides of the tin. Leave the sponge in their tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Note: The secret to making a perfect sponge lies in the folding technique. A beating action, or using a wooden spoon, will cause loss of volume in the egg mixture and result in a flat heavy cake. The sponge cake can be frozen up to one month in freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature for about 20 minutes.