Christmas cake

My quest for the best Christmas cake to bake this year is over. The winning recipe was for a Whiskey cake which is easy, moist and fruity.
Mary Jane from Milly's Kitchen Shop in Ponsonby generously divulged this recipe.

There is need to soak the dried fruit beforehand, or cream the butter and sugar. You simply boil, simmer and stir. But what set this cake recipe apart was that it contained loads of ginger and apricots which are two of my favourite ingredients.

Before putting it in the oven I made a decorative pattern with almonds on the top so I wouldn’t need to bother to ice it. The batter was dense enough to prevent them from sinking. After baking I brushed a little more brandy over the top.

It’s a light fruitcake which I think is perfect for summer weather. It did need to be cut carefully with a sharp knife. I served small slices of it with tiny glasses of ice cold home- made limoncello. It went down so well that there’s not much left! I will make another.

Next time I bake this cake, instead of a pattern of almonds I’d like to try another easy topping from Delia Smith which she created for people who don’t like the extra sweetness of icing. For this brush the cake with a glaze made by heating a heaped tablespoon of apricot jam and two tablespoons of brandy. Make a pattern of toasted pecans, Brazil nuts and walnut halves over the top of the cake. Then glaze again.

To keep the cake moist I’ll wrap it in glad wrap before storing it in an airtight tin. Hopefully we’ll be able to resist further temptation so it will last the distance until Christmas day.

Whiskey Cake

Thanks to Mary-Jane from Milly’s Kitchen shop
https://www.millyskitchen.co.nz/
for this great recipe

Put into a saucepan:
 ½ lb butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1+¼ lb mixed fruit (I used sultanas/
raisins/apricots)
1 pkt ginger (finely chopped)
* (I put apricots and ginger in food processor to chop)

Bring to the boil and simmer a few
minutes
Take off stove and add 1 tsp baking
soda and let cool about ½ hour.
Beat 2 eggs well and add to mixture.
Stir in 2 cups sifted flour, and add
1 tsp each vanilla/lemon and almond
essence
2 tblsp. Whiskey (I used brandy)
Mix and put in 8” square tin lined with
Baking paper.
Cook at 300F for about 1 ½ hours,
dependent on oven, check after
1 hour.

Quail eggs with Dukkah

Movember Sprouts

It's Movember again, when men are encouraged to talk about the fact that there are diseases unique to them, such as prostrate cancer. I'm proud of my rellies and friends who are joining in and growing bros.

From what I have read - and I’m no medical expert - it would seem that cruciferous vegetables, especially broccoli, could be players in the prevention of prostrate and colon cancer. Small quantities of broccoli sprouts may protect against cancer as effectively as much larger quantities of the mature vegetable. It’s a chemical they contain named sulforaphane that is reputedly the effective anti-cancer agent.

As I write, a bunch of them are growing in a jar on the windowsill in my kitchen - a perfect spot as it is light, but not too sunny. Harsh sunlight can fry sprouts!

I picked up my sprouting skills at a recent sprouting session held at IE produce in Takapuna, my local organic and fresh produce shop. Katrina Wright, the managing director of “The Wright Sprouts” had come up from Hawke’s Bay for the presentation and tasting.

At the sprouting session we learned, not only how to grow them, but got to taste a whole lot of different sprouts such as those made from adzuki beans, sunflower and broccoli seeds seeds, chick peas, blue beans, alfalfa and mung.

This is how you grow these mini super foods. The process is the same for different sprouts but some take a day or two longer to sprout than others.

How to sprout:

• Soak the beans overnight.
• Put in the lidded jar
• Put the jar upside down, or as Katrina does leave it to drain at an angle in the dish rack.
• Rinse once in the morning and once at night
• Sprouts need light but don't put them in direct sunlight or they will cook
• The sprouts will be ready to harvest in 3-5 days

Home Made Pesto

Summer is on the way at last and the days are getting longer. In the early evening, if friends drop by it will soon be warm enough to be out on the deck leisurely sipping a glass of wine and enjoying some pre dinner snacks.
Two of my favourites snacks are made with pesto, a classical Italian sauce. Freshly made pesto is more fragrant and tastes so much better than that out of a jar from the supermarket.

Traditionally it was made by grinding the herbs with garlic, nuts and coarse salt with a pestle against the sides of a mortar, a laborious task. Purists may still want to do it that way but in the food processor it only takes a few seconds to reduce all the ingredients into a smooth and silky sauce.

The secret of making a good pesto is to use a good olive oil and nuts which are fresh so it’s best to avoid those from the bulk bins. Stale or rancid nuts will spoil it. Lightly toasting the nuts improves the flavour.

The green herbs, the olive oil and the nuts in pesto all add up to a healthy food. Macadamias are rich in monounsaturated fats, Brazils in selenium, almonds have healthy unsaturated fats and walnuts are the omega-3 nut.

Pesto Genovese (the original pesto) is made with basil and pine nuts but there are lots of other possible combinations. Green herbs such as mint, parsley, coriander and rocket can be used and baby spinach. Different nuts also give different flavours.

I made several batches of pesto this weekend. We did a tasting of 3 kinds of basil pesto made with Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts and almonds. The Brazil nut pesto was the favourite with a good texture and flavour. The macadamia pesto also appealed, it was smoother but a little oilier. The almond pesto would have been better if I had skinned the nuts first. The texture was a little rough. I also made a walnut pesto with rocket instead of basil which resulted in a peppery flavour. A squeeze of lemon juice enhanced it.

Any leftover pesto won‘t go to waste. It keeps well in the fridge for a week or so with a splash of olive oil over the top to keep it from drying out. Store it in a tightly sealed container. If you want to keep it longer you can freeze pesto in an ice cube tray.

One snack I often make is based on a recipe from BBC Good Food by Rick Stein. He cuts puff pastry into little squares and spreads each with pesto. First a half cherry tomato goes on top followed by a little more pesto ,a fine asparagus spear, a sprinkle of grated parmesan and a dribble of olive oil. Then he seasons them well with rock salt and pepper and bakes them in a hot oven slightly spread apart so they have room to puff up) for about 5-8 minutes until the pastry is golden and the cheese has melted.
Instead of asparagus I use whatever there is in the fridge at the time such as thinly sliced mushrooms or sliced yellow pepper or a sliver of bacon or may garnish each square with finely chopped basil once baked.

Pesto Recipe

Here is the basic recipe I used and its nutty variations. It makes a moist pesto which is how I like it. Decrease the amount of oil if you want a firmer mixture. Do experiment further by substituting different herbs or nuts.

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
¼ cup of a good olive oil.
About a dozen nuts (brazil/macadamias/walnuts/ almonds)
3 cups of basil leaves
4 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan
A squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
Rock salt and black pepper to taste.
Method:
Put the garlic, nuts and basil in the food processor and process briefly until these are finely chopped. Then start to gradually pour in the olive oil. You can add more or less depending on the consistency you want.
Scrape the mixture into a bowl, stir in the freshly grated parmesan, and season to taste.

 

Small Plate of Mushrooms

Kerstkransjes

The Dutch don’t do anything by halves. Father Christmas comes twice! First up the first Father Christmas who is called Sinterklaas ( St Nicholas) arrives in Holland on December 5. I remember him from my childhood as a tall imposing figure dressed in a red cape with a bishop’s mitre on his head and saddled on a white horse.

Running alongside would be his servant Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) wielding a mattenklopper (carpet beater) to smack children who had been bad during the year, and throw small treats to those lucky ones who had been well behaved. Not PC by our standards today!

During the night, with his assistants, the good saint would ride his white horse on the rooftops and deliver children’s presents through the chimneys. St Nicholas still arrives by boat from Spain each year. His arrival is shown nationwide on Dutch TV.

St Nicholas was re-invented in America as the more jovial and rotund Santa Claus. Santa now also visits Holland at Christmas so kids get two lots of presents!

Neither country, however can lay claim to be the home of the original Santa. St Nicholas was actually born in Turkey, and lived from 280-342. Born into a rich family, but orphaned early, he spent his inheritance giving money to the poor and needy. He became the Bishop of Myrah and the patron saint of children and sailors. A folk festival was begun in his honor which was a time to celebrate but also to give to the poor.

When I was a kid I only knew about Saint Nicholas and had never heard of Santa Claus. Christmas for us was a Christian festival and a time to have a family get together. There were always real candles burning on Christmas trees. The soft flickering lights, and the smell of fresh pine leaves still linger fondly in my memory. Times change, Today Holland is largely a secular country and Christmas is generally celebrated with a special family dinner on Christmas day and presents under the Christmas tree.

Like immigrants from other countries the Dutch brought some of their food traditions with them to New Zealand and they became treasured family recipes. My mother’s recipe for banketstaaf ( almond roll), a traditional Christmas treat is one I will be making again this year. The almond filling is similar to almond paste but it is a coarser mixture. It tastes better if you let it rest in the fridge for a few days before using. Then it is encased in flaky pastry and baked until golden brown.

The recipe is easy to make but beware! The first time I made it I didn’t seal the pastry well enough so as it baked the almond filling escaped all over the oven tray. Since then I have been more careful and made it again successfully.

The second recipe is for kerstkransjes (little Christmas wreaths). I like them flavoured with lemon and sprinkled with sugar, but they can also be decorated with flaked almonds or chocolate icing.
They are fun to make with kids, and they make great Christmas tree decorations, although in our house we have to hang them above dog height or our lab will sniff them out and demolish them!

Banketstaaf: Almond Roll

Amandelspijs (Almond Filling)
Ingredients:

125 gm sliced almonds
125 gram castor sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
the grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Method:
1. Whizz the almonds and sugar in the food processor till almonds are ground.
2. Tip into a bowl and add the egg, lemon zest and juice.
3. If possible wrap in glad wrap and store in the fridge for several days before using.
Banketstaaf:
Ingredients:
300 gm amandelspijs
300 gm flaky pastry
Apricot jam
Candied fruit
Method:
Roll flaky pastry out to a rectangle (40 cm long, 10-12 cm wide)
Make the almond paste into a long sausage shape 3 cm shorter than the pastry so the pastry can be folded over it.
Roll the pastry around the almond filling so it is completely encased. Seal the joins carefully with water.
Put on an oven tray with the seam underneath.
Brush the top with some egg yolk.
Cook at 200 degrees C for about 25 minutes till golden brown.
Melt some apricot jam,
Brush jam over the top of the roll while it is still warm.
Decorate with some candied fruits.
Nicest eaten while still warm, but can also be served cold.

Kerstkransjes (Little Christmas wreaths)

Ingredients:160 gm butter
120 gm sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 egg yolk
250 gm flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
A few drops of vanilla essence
Pinch of salt
Extra sugar for sprinkling ( I use Chelsea Organic Raw Sugar)
Red/green ribbon .

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Whizz until small clumps form. Then put into bowl and knead into a ball.
Let the dough rest in the fridge for ½ hour.
Roll out to a thickness of 4 mm.
Cut with a fluted scone cutter into round shapes.
Cut the centers out (I use the top of a small bottle for this, but some cooks prefer the end of a wooden spoon)
Sprinkle cookies with extra sugar.
Put on a baking paper lined oven tray.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes in a moderate oven till just starting to brown..
Thread ribbon through when cold.
Hang on Christmas tree,

Blueberry Watermelon and Ginger Fruit Salad