This is the story of a cake that almost wasn’t eaten. I made this simple chocolate peppermint cake from scratch to take to my friends at the newspaper where I work as a journalist. Then, the next morning, the usual pandemonium to get out the front door ensued and cake got left behind. Poor cake. Continue reading
I had such an urge to bake a chocolate bundt cake this morning. I was planning to bake shortbread but some invisible force was telling me to create a cake with chocolate and rum that I thought – who am I to argue with the Jedi-minefield that is permeating my kitchen? Continue reading
Many moons ago, in another life, I used to eat a chocolate chip muffin every day for breakfast. I commuted from one side of Sydney to the other and at the train station at my destination there was a muffin shop. I would alight, grab a behmouth of a choc chip muffin that probably had 10 gazillion calories and eat it on the walk to work.
It wasn’t until I started baking that I realised muffins weren’t supposed to be the size of a toddler’s head. Also, muffins are about a healthy a breakfast as birthday cake. Continue reading
My mum can grow lavender like nobody else can. While I buy and plant pot after pot that slowly withers and dies hers flourishes through little more than neglect and the occasional picking of a few stems.
I adore lavender, not lest because it is so bee-friendly. And as we (should) all know by now, no bees = no me.
It is also wonderful to cook with. I have posted recipes previously for lavender and honey cupcakes https://thehungrymum.com/2015/05/26/lavender-and-honey-cupcakes/
and lavender and lemon cake https://thehungrymum.com/2014/07/18/how-to-make-lavender-and-lemon-cake/
I wondered how it would pair with chocolate – the answer, in case you’re curious, is very well indeed. I am somewhat of a novice fudge-maker but I was very happy with these results.
I think a batch of chocolate lavender fudge in a tin would make a lovely ‘thinking of you’ or ‘welcome to the neighbourhood’ gift. At Christmas it would also make a pretty addition to the dessert table.
I tweaked a recipe from Boulder Locavore, here’s the original: http://boulderlocavore.com/chocolate-lavender-fudge-with-salted-caramel-top/
If you need to buy lavender for this recipe ensure it is food-grade. You may have to seek it out at specialist food shops – don’t grab a bunch from your florist or garden centre as it is important to only use blooms that haven’t been sprayed with any chemicals.
GATHER:
2 ½ cups dark chocolate, chopped
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lavender, finely snipped with scissors
sprinkle best quality salt – I used vanilla salt
LET’S GET TO IT:
Spray a 20cm x 20cm slice pan with non-stick spray then line with non-stick baking paper, allowing overhang.
In a medium glass or ceramic bowl place the chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and butter. Chose a pan on which the bowl will snugly fit, then fill the pan about a third of the ay with water. Place bowl on top, heat to a simmer, then stir the mix until melted and smooth.
Remove from heat then scrape into pan. Carefully tap on bench a few times to remove air bubbles, then sprinkle over the lavender and salt.
Cool in the fridge overnight, then slice into small squares to serve.
I adore chocolate mousse but am often put off by the thought of having to make a big ole mess in the kitchen. When I found a recipe that doesn’t involve separating eggs or using every bowl in the house I was sold. Continue reading
I am the whitest girl you will ever meet but I feel that the addition of the brackets to this blog post sound like something Snoop Dog would rap. Or not – see previous comments RE white girl.
The reason I added these key words is when I’m on a mission to find a new baking recipe I am often hobbled by the little words that are usually hidden two-thirds of the way through the recipe ‘allow dough to chill in fridge for 2 hours.’ Ain’t no-one got time for that when school pick-up is looming. Continue reading
I am going through a spicy and sweet stage. I always thought of spicy as something to have at dinner – laksa, anyone? – but as my love of baking increases, so does my curiosity with combining different tastes.
My light bulb moment with this spicy Mexican chocolate tart came one night when I was looking in the pantry for a nightcap of spiced rum and a nibble of chocolate.
I saw a bottle of my favourite tequila sitting alongside some dark chocolate and cinnamon and lo and behold – a glamorous dessert was born. The flavours of Mexico – spice from the cinnamon, heat from the chilli, tequila – shine through.
It goes without saying that this is an adults-only dessert – even if your young ‘un has a taste for chilli the fact that the tequila isn’t cooked off means it isn’t suitable.
This recipe is made of up several different steps, all of which can be done a day before you want to serve the tart. All the steps are simple and fuss-free, yet the finished product looks (and tastes) luscious.
If you do nothing else I would recommend making the candied red chilli the night before. This gives the sugar syrup and chilli a decent getting-to-know-you time, resulting in a better, less harsh flavour.
Ensure you deseed the chilli to remove most of the heat, and use big chillis, not the teeny heat-packing birds eye variety.
I used the excess sugar syrup left-over from making the candied red chilli to dress a chocolate cake – I will share that recipe soon.
This tart can serve 8 generously, or 12 if you cut into smaller squares.
GATHER:
Dough:
115 grams butter, melted
¼ cup caster sugar
1 ¼ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Tequila chocolate ganache:
125 grams best quality dark chocolate, chopped roughly
½ cup pouring (single) cream
1- 2 tablespoons tequila – the amount required will depend on the quality of your liquor.
Candied red chilli:
1 large red chilli, deseeded and cut into fine strips. You will only use about 1/3 of the chilli
150 mL water
150 grams caster sugar
LET’S GET TO IT:
Candied red chilli:
Make a sugar syrup by combing the water and sugar in a small pan over a low heat. Stir frequently until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for 20 minutes (stirring and scrapping the bottom) until syrup is thick and reduced.
Remove from heat then add sliced red chilli to pan. When pan and syrup are cool cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight.
Dough:
In a large bowl stir together all the crust ingredients with a spoon until a soft dough forms – this should take about one minute.
Spray a 35cm x 4cm rectangular tart pan with removable base with non-stick cooking spray and press the dough all over the base and up the sides of the pan. Using the bottom of a glass helps with this.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Remove plastic wrap from tart and use a fork to prick the pastry base all over.
Bake for 20-24 minutes, until lightly golden.
Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Ganache:
In a small saucepan place the chocolate with the cream and stir over a low heat until melted, thick and glossy – keep a close eye on it as you don’t want it to burn or boil. Allow to stand 15 minutes, then stir in the tequila, tasting as you go.
Stir to combine.
To assemble:
Remove chilli from syrup (you don’t need the syrup) and place chilli on sheet of baking paper.
When pastry base has cooled to room temperature pour in the ganache (give it a quick stir first) then decorate the top with the candied chilli.
Slice in thin wedges to serve.
I never used to like rum, and I certainly never used to drink it. Then the Hungry Dad went through a rum phase – which has now progressed to an obsession with whisky – and I was corrupted.
And it turns out that rum and cake is a wonderful marriage. I love baking with booze but chocolate and rum are just destined to be together. Continue reading
I was looking for an important note on the fridge the other day and was confronted with a rainforest worth of paper. Photos. Drawings. Receipts. Notices from school / Brownie Guides/ dancing. And a recipe torn from a magazine for chocolate dessert cookies.
Naturally I abandoned the search for said note and immediately set to work making these bickies. Continue reading
So I was trawling Twitter one day in lieu of doing some chores and found a cookie swap hosted by the creative types at Real Housemoms, {I love} My Disorganised Life, and White Lights on Wednesdays. This had my name all over it so I jumped on board!
the hungry mum 