Carol Picks the Recipes

In the past, the hostess has chosen a theme and everyone chooses what they would like to bring. This time Carol stumbled upon this fabulous book, Afternoon Tea by Susannah Blake and decided to send out the recipes she fancied for us to bake and bring along. it was great to recieve a recipe in the mail that maybe you wouldn't normally fancy - and the results? Well let the pictures speak for themselves!

Caramelized onion pastries, made by Carol. These biscuits were super short and tasty and topped with delicious onions, parmesan and thyme. Absolutely fantastic!

Summer Berry Tartlets by Sherrise. Crisp almond pastry filled with a mix of sour cream and lemon butter topped with fresh berries.

Dark chocolate, prune and armagnac mousses by Nadia. The white chocolate cases were a fiddle to make, but the filling was very rich and the presentation worth the extra effort.

Macaroons by Christina. I made three varieties of these tasty cookies - Hazelnut with frangelico filling, Almond with a lemon curd filling and Pistachio with a chocolate filling.

Vanilla and strawberry millefeuilles by Sheridan. Delicate pastry filled with homemade vanilla custard and grand-marnier strawberries. Yum.
This is the lemon butter made by Christina to fill both the macaroons and the berry tartlets. I decided to package it up with a Cookteasesr logo - just for fun.

*Please note: Carol also made an orange and almond cake - and while it tasted good - it looked bloody awful - and this cookteaser reserves the right to not post ugly food photos!

Cream Cheese Swirl Blondies

Blondie Batter
125g butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 ¾ cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla

Cream Cheese Swirl
180g cream cheese
¼ cup caster sugar
2 tbsp butter, soft
2 tbsp flour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract


1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line a buttered 8 inch square baking pan with baking paper, allowing a 2 inch overhang. Set aside.
2. For the blondie batter, beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until well combined and then add the dry ingredients, and beat on low speed, scraping down sides, until well incorporated.
3. For the swirl, place all ingredients in a separate bowl and beat until just smooth.
4. Spread half the blondie batter into the prepared tin. Spoon two thirds of the cream cheese mix on top and spread evenly. Alternate dollops of the two remaining mixes over the top and then gently swirl with a butter knife to create a marbled effect.
5. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs, but is not wet, about 35 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Cream Cheese Swirl Blondies

Blow me a kiss...or three!

Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Sandwich Selection: "Mock" Chicken, Ham Spread and Asparagus Rolls

Mock Chicken Sandwiches a la Eleanora Cull
Mum says that in her day, no supper party would be complete without a platter of these tasty sandwiches. They don’t taste like chicken, look like chicken, or even smell like chicken, but I love them!

1 onion, diced
2 roma tomatoes, skinned and diced
2 Tbsp butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp mixed dried herbs
Salt and Pepper

In a medium saucepan, melt 1 tbsp butter and gently sauté onion until soft, but not brown. Add tomatoes and herbs, salt and pepper and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the eggs, and continue to stir with a wooden spoon until mixture thickens. Add the remaining tbsp of butter and keep mixing until melted and combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Spread generously on white bread.

Asparagus Rolls
Another one of Mum’s favourites.

Asparagus spears (canned of course!)
Crustless bread and butter
Salt and Pepper

Do you really need a method? Just roll em up, and fasten with a toothpick.


Ham Spread

This recipe comes from one of the original Cuisinart food processor cookbooks, and was sent into the American Magazine ‘Gourmet’ by a lady named Stephanie Gordon Hogan, from New York. The recipe has become a standard request in her home at holidays and other special occasions.

200g leg ham, chopped
250g cream cheese
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp ground cloves

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Serve with bread or crackers. Makes about 2 cups.

Victoria Sponge Cake

Date and Walnut Rolls

Lamb Koftah with a Cucumber, Mint and Lemon Yoghurt Sauce

Trio of Dips: Beetroot, Chargrilled Eggplant & Split Pea and Coriander, served with Turkish Bread

Poppyseed cookies

Saffron and Pistachio Orange Tea Bread

Preparation time: 30 mins plus 30 mins standing time
Cooling time: 1 hour
Makes 8

Melted butter for greasing
1 orange, juiced, zest finely grated
½ tsp saffron threads
185 butter, chopped
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
¾ cup sour cream
1 ½ cups plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup pistachios, finely chopped
1 cup sifted pure icing sugar
2 Tbsp hot water or milk

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Brush an 8-hole mini-loaf tin with melted butter, then line bases and sides with baking paper. Heat orange juice in microwave on high for 30 seconds. Add saffron, set aside to soak for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, blend the butter, zest and sugar in a medium bowl until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Stir in sour cream. Fold through sifted flour, bicarb, ½ cup of the pistachios and saffron juice until combined. Spoon mixture into holes and smooth surfaces. Bake for 45 – 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into cakes comes out clean. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
Put icing in a medium bowl, and then add enough water or milk to form a thin paste. Spoon a little icing over cakes and sprinkle with remaining pistachios. Stand for 20 minutes for the icing to set before serving.

Dolmades

Dolmades - Stuffed Vine Leaves (makes 24)

(adapted from The Curry Club’s Favourite Middle Eastern Recipes by Pat Chapman)

30 vine leaves (to allow for breakages)
Olive oil

Stuffing:
200g cooked and cooled rice
50g onion, chopped and fried (about ½ a small onion)
50g pine nuts, toasted and chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tbsp sultanas and/or dates, chopped
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp allspice
½ tsp aromatic salt
1 tsp white sugar
¼ tsp sumac

1. Mix the stuffing ingredients together. The mixture should be cold and sticky enough for 24 vine leaves.
2. If the leaves are fresh, destalk and wash them. Blanch them in boiling water for 15 seconds. Strain and allow to cool. If the leaves are vacuum-packed or jarred in brine, you will need to wash out the brine in several cold water rinses.
3. Put the vine leaf flat on a work surface. Put a dollop of filling in the centre of the leaf part. Fold in the side leaves then roll it up like a little spring roll. It should be about 5 x 2 cm.
4. Oil an oven tray with the olive oil. Place the dolmades on it with the tip of the rolled leaf downwards. Do not squash them; just let them touch each other lightly. Brush them with olive oil and cover the tray with aluminium foil. Put into a preheated oven at 150˚C and cook for 20 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Nadia’s Notes:

· A HUGE regional variation on this recipe. I cobbled a few recipes together to make these.
· They were pretty easy, once I got the hang of rolling them. The biggest challenge was getting the vine leaves out of the jar! They are actually tougher than they look.
· I was surprised at the oven method of cooking them. I also read instructions for simmering them in liquid and using uncooked rice or orzo as fillings – obviously the simmering method would be required to cook the rice or orzo.
· I really felt the addition of tomato ketchup was wrong however in the end, it somehow tasted really good. Still seemed strange, though.
· These dolmades tasted quite fresh and did not have that oiliness you get with purchased ones. Yummy!

Walnut Baklava

450g walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
350g butter, melted
1 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 package phyllo pastry

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine and set aside walnuts, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon.
Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom and sides of a 10x14" (about 1-2" deep) pan with melted butter. Open the phyllo dough and layer 6 whole leaves in the pan, buttering each layer as you go. (The edges will extend over the side.) Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture over the sheets. Cut the remaining phyllo dough in half.
Layer 8 half sheets, buttering each layer. Each sheet will be an inch or so short, so stagger the sheets from corner to corner to cover the whole pan. Spread 1 cup of the walnut mixture. Repeat 8 sheets and walnut mixture twice. You will end up with 4 layers of nuts. Layer the remaining half sheets on top, buttering each layer. Brush the top with the remaining butter. Trim the edges off.
Score halfway through the layers with a sharp knife to form a diamond pattern. This is done now since it will be very fragile after it's been baked.
Bake 1 hour or until golden brown.
15 minutes before the baklava should be done, mix 1 cup sugar, water, and lemon juice in a sauce pan. Cook syrup over a medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add the honey and vanilla, and stir until well blended.
Remove the baklava from the oven and finish cutting through the layers where scored previously.
Pour the syrup over the hot baklava. Cool. Let it sit for at least 24 hours (lightly covered -- but not in the refrigerator) -- longer if you can resist the temptation.

Konafa

Aunty Val's Shortbread

250g butter
¾ cup icing sugar
½ cup cornflour
2 cups plain flour

Method
Cream butter, add icing sugar & beat until light and fluffy. Add sifted flours – mix well.

Knead lightly and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to a 1cm thickness.

Cut desired shape and place on baking tray.

Bake at 160C for 30 min (Keep an eye on them to prevent over-browning).

To serve, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Almond Nougat

2 cups sugar
1 cup liquid glucose
½ cup honey
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup water
2 medium egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
125g butter, softened
100g blanched almonds, toasted
200g Turkish delight
Edible rice or potato starch paper

Put sugar, liquid glucose, honey salt and water in a pan, stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Bring to boil, cook until mixture forms a hard ball when tested in a small amount of water (126C on a sugar thermometer) approximately 8 minutes.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Pour one quarter of hot syrup in thin stream over the egg whites, beating constantly.

Continue beating until mixture is thick enough to hold its shape, 3–5 minutes. Cook remaining syrup until a small amount of syrup forms brittle threads when dropped in cold water (154C). Pour remainder of syrup over meringue in a thin stream, beating constantly until mixture is very thick. Add vanilla and roughly chopped butter, and beat until thick. With a wooden spoon, fold in almonds and Turkish delight. Turn mixture into a 28cm x 18cm lamington tin that has been lined with edible rice paper, and smooth out with a spatula. Place more rice paper on top and gently press down. Allow to cool. When nougat is firm, turn out and cut into squares. Keep refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Now, I did encounter some problems making this. It was very sticky and very messy. At first I didn't think it was worth the clean-up, but when I tasted it, I quickly changed my mind. I think a great deal of the flavour was due to the honey I used. My friends Romy and Glenn produce the beautiful Elixir Raw Honey and in this recipe I used the Jarrah honey.

I also used a saucepan too small for the job, and almost had catastrophic results, but hey, you only do that once!

Chocolate Tart

Crust
150gm plain flour
60gm caster sugar
1 tbs cocoa powder, plus extra to dust
1 large egg
60gm unsalted butter, softened
30gm dark chocolate melted
crème fraiche, to serve

Filling
200gm good quality chocolate, melted 2 large eggs
300ml thickened cream 50ml milk
100gm caster sugar few drops vanilla extract

Method
Sift flour and cocoa with a pinch of salt.
Using electric beaters, cream butter and sugar in a separate bowl until pale and thick. Mix in egg and chocolate, then beat in flour mixture and knead gently to a smooth dough. Dust hands with flour and form dough into a flat disc. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30minutes. Preheat fan forced oven to 190°C. Lightly grease a 22cm loose bottomed tart pan.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured board to just larger than the size of the pan. Use to line the pan pressing into the sides. Trim to fit. Chill for 20 minutes.

Prick the base, line with foil and blind bake. Sit pan on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and bake for a further 5 minutes.

For the filling, brush a third of the melted chocolate over the tart base. Bring the cream and the milk to the boil in a pan, then slowly pour onto remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla, then combine with chocolate cream.

Place the tart on a baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven and pull half way out. Pour in the filling and ease the shelf back in. Bake for 45-50 minutes. The filling will wobble, but sets in the pan. Cool and dust with good quality cocoa. Serve with crème fraiche.

Serves 6-8

Brioche

Makes 12 (from The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking by Brother Rick Curry)
For the brioche
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
¼ lb butter
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
½ cup warm milk
3 ¼ - 3 ½ flour

For the egg glaze
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

Combine the yeast and water in a small bowl, stirring until dissolved. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Cream the butter in a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt, eggs and egg yolk and mix thoroughly. Add the milk and yeast mixture. Beat for 10 minutes, gradually adding flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out on a lightly floured surface. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary to prevent stickiness.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk – about 1 hour.

Grease 12 small brioche molds.

Punch down the dough. Turn out again and gently knead for 2 minutes. Divide dough into twelve portions. Shape into balls and place into molds, twisting a small portion of dough to form traditional ball shape on the top of the brioche. Place molds on a baking tray and cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in bulk – about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. To make the egg glaze, mix the egg yolk with the milk. Brush each brioche with the glaze. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool or serve immediately with preserves.

The Sicilian Twist:
Serve warm brioche with icy lemon granita. Break pieces of brioche and place in a tall glass and scoop granita over.
Another variation: Lop the top off the brioche and scoop out a little of the inside. Use the brioche as a bowl for a scoop of gelato, preferably hazelnut. Eat the bowl which becomes sodden with delicious hazelnut ice-cream. Enjoy.

Christina’s Award-winning Date Slice

Pastry
2 ¼ cups SR flour
1 ½ tbsp caster sugar
135g butter, cut into cubes
Pinch salt
1 egg and 1 egg yolk
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water (more if required)

Filling
250g pitted dates, chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
grated zest and juice of 1 orange
¾ cup water
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

Icing
60g butter, softened
juice of 1 lemon
2 cups icing sugar


To prepare the pastry, place the flour, salt, sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until combined and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Combine the egg, yolk, lemon juice and 1 tbsp of the water and add to the flour mix. Pulse until the pastry just comes together, and only then add the additional water if required. Finish combining the pastry by hand with a very light knead, and then allow the pastry to rest while preparing the filling.

In a saucepan, combine dates, sugar, water and the grated rind and juice from the lemon and orange. Bring the mixture to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add spices and allow to cool. Check the consistency, it should be easy to spread, so add a little water to loosen the mix if required.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Roll out half the dough and press into a slice tin that is lined with parchment paper, making sure that the crust goes up the sides of the tin to contain the filling. Spread the filling evenly over the base and then roll out the other half of the pastry and place on top, trimming the edges as required. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
For the icing, combine softened butter and grated lemon rind in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar and add the juice of the lemon. Continue to beat until the icing is well combined and then add a splash of milk so that the icing is silky smooth and of a spreadable consistency. Cover the cooled slice generously with lemon icing. Cut into squares and enjoy!