Cute Recipe Cards

One of the presents I was given for my birthday this year is this really cute collection of recipe cards from boygirlparty.com.

I am now filled with the urge to buy the whole range of cards - apart from these adorable owls they also come with cats, dogs, and hummingbirds!

Now I just need something equally pretty to store these in, and neater handwriting so that I can actually read my own directions...


To the kitchen!

Lemon and Sourcream Donuts

This recipe is grabbed from Tartelette, who I encourage you check it if only for Helen's absolutely beautiful food photography. She used Meyer lemons in her recipe, which aren't exactly easy to come across here in Perth, Australia. However, regular lemons are just delicious in this surprisingly easy recipe.

The preparation time is about ten minutes (I know because I was baking brownies at the same time and the timer was running), but the dough needs to sit for about an hour before it is used. Originally I thought that I should have made a double batch, as it looked like there was hardly any batter. Don't be fooled though, as the donuts expand hugely while they are frying.

While Helen says that she uses a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop for spooning the donut batter into the pan, I think that this might be too big. I ended up using a teaspoon, and still ended up with donuts that were two bites large. I found that when I made larger donuts that their outsides would burn while the interior was still goopy. Of course, my candy thermometer decided to go on strike, so I just had to do some guesswork with the temperature of the oil. This may have contributed to my inability to make large donuts.

I used a large, shallow, heavy bottomed pan, which I think was a mistake. Next time I will use a pot, as it will mean that I won't need to use so much oil in order to generate the depth that these donuts need to fry in - I think I ended up using around 5 cups in the end!

One thing that you need to be aware of is that while these donuts have a very short preparation time, they do take a while to cook, simply because you can only fry 4 or 5 at a time. I served these as dessert for a dinner party, and ended up just passing them around in lots of three so that they could be enjoyed while they were still delicious warm and crispy. They were a huge hit - everyone was stuffed from the mains (it was a potluck style dinner and we had way too much food!), yet these all got gobbled up.

I'm quite keen to try out different flavorings with these donuts - other citrus flavors or shredded strawberries or maybe even lavender. I'd also like to experiment with injecting a little bit of lemon curd in the middle of these.

Lemon and Sourcream Donuts
Makes about 20

1 cup (125 gr) all-purpose flour

1 cup (140 gr) cake flour*

2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (100 gr) sugar

4 oz (120 gr) sour cream

2 large eggs

zest and juice from one lemon

1 tablespoon (15 gr) olive oil

Canola oil for frying (about 1 cup or 250 ml)

Powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, sour cream, eggs, zest and lemon juice, and the olive oil until smooth. Add the reserved flour mixture, and stir with a spatula until the mixture is smooth.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the batter for about 1 hour.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large heavy bottomed cast iron pan or Dutch oven until it reaches 325F/162C. Scoop the batter using an ice cream/ cookie scoop, or a teaspoon, and fry 4-5 at a time without overcrowding the pan (reduces the oil temperature and makes the donuts greasy). Fry each batch for 4-6 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Allow to sit on a paper towel for a minute before coating with sifted powdered sugar.

*I didn't have any cake flour so I just substituted normal flour and cream of tarter - Place 2 tablespoons of cream of tarter at the bottom of a 1 cup measuring cup, then fill the rest with flour.

To the kitchen!

Potato and Leek Soup

This is one of my favorite soups. I actually went on and bought a blender specificially so that I could make this soup!

I've said before that I don't like brothy soups, and with this recipe I often make something that is closer to mashed potatoes than soup. Luckily it is extremely easy to turn this soup into whichever consistency you like best.

Homemade chicken broth is always fantastic, but I just use premade chicken broth. Get one without salt, though, otherwise the resulting soup will be very salty (especially if you add bacon).

There's not much else to say about this, as it is fairly straight foward. If you have the ingredients (which I didn't when I made this), garnish with creme fresh or sour cream, parsely and bacon bits (I didn't have any for this photo).

Potato and Leek Soup

Serves 4-6

Olive oil

1 large onion

3 large leeks

3 large potatoes

Chicken broth

Milk

Garnish:

Sour cream

Parsely

Bacon

Peel and dice onion. Sautee over a low heat in a large deep pan, or a heavy bottomed pot.

To prepare leeks, chop off the base and green leafy part. Cut leek in half lengthways, then peel the outside layer off and discard. Rinse the leek under water to remove any bits of grit or dirt. Dice the clean leeks and add to the onion.

While the leeks and onions are cooking, peel and dice potatoes to 1/2 inch sized chunks.

When the leeks have begun to soften, toss in the potato chunks. Pour in chicken broth until the potatoes are just covered.

If you are using bacon, dice it into small chunks and fry until crispy.

Turn up the heat and bring to boil. Boil until the potatoes are cooked through.

With a slotted spoon, scoop potatoes, leeks and onions into a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Dispose of the leftover broth.

Spoon the mixture back into the pot or pan. Over a low heat, add milk slowly until the soup is the desired consistency and heated through.

Serve, and top with a scoop of sour cream, bacon, and parsely, if desired.

To the kitchen!

Light Milk Scones

These scones are delicate and fluffy, and very easy to make. It really helps to have a food processor, otherwise simply work the chilled butter cubes into the dry ingredients by using two knifes and crisscrossing them through the mixture. I actually find that using two forks works a little bit better, as it makes the whole process simpler.

Be careful not to overwork the batter, as it will lead to tough scones. Bake them as soon as they are cut, or formed using rounds - the secret is to work as quickly and as lightly as possible. Make sure that the oven is properly preheated, as it is the intense heat that makes the scones rise.

You can brush scones with a little beaten egg or milk just before they go into the oven if you are after a shinier top.

I tend not to use sugar in this recipe, as I prefer a delicate scone flavor that can be added to with toppings. These are delicious served with whipped cream and jam, (Australian style!) or just with butter. Also, they can be mixed up a bit with the addition of some citrus gratings or some candied ginger.

Light Milk Scones

Makes 8 or 9 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3/4 cup whole milk

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 F/ 230 C.

Whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and sugar (if using) together in a large bowl. Alternatively, measure into workboal of a food processor fitted with steel blade and pulse until blended.

With fingertips, pastry blender, 2 knives or forks, or the steel blade of a food processor, cut or process butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few slightly larger butter lumps.

If making by hand, make a well in the center and pour in milk. Working quickly, blend ingredients together with a rubber spatula into a soft, slightly wet dough. If using a food processor, pour milk through feed tube and pulse until dough starts to gather into a rough ball.

Turn dough onto a well-floured work surface.

Quickly roll or press dough to thickness of 1/2 inch. Use a light greased and floured 3-inch biscuit cutter to stamp dough with one decisive punch, cuttin close together to generate as few scraps as possible. Or you can just use a sharp knife and cut the dough into even squares. If there are any scraps, push them together so that edges join, and firmly pinch edges to make a partial seal. Pat the remaining dough till it is 1/2 inch thick, and continue to cut into rounds or with a knife.

Place dough rounds 1 1/2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake until scones are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.

Serve immediately.

To the kitchen!

Creamy Ham and Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is a classic Italian short-grain rice dish filled with smoked meat, vegies, and most importantly, cheese. Some recipes turn the risotto cooking process into an exhausting effort requiring constant stirring. Luckily, this one adapted from The Best Recipe requires only a little bit of effort, is pretty quick, and is always delicious.

When the rice is done, stir in a little bit of extra liquid (water or stock), as the sauce will set up a bit when served. Abrorio rice is the typical risotto rice, but you can use any other medium or short-grain rice, if you like. Risotto really is a flexible dish - any flavour combination can be added. I like ham and mushroom because it is fairly simple, but I have made risotto with all sorts of ingredients - including prawns (which I fry in a seperate pan, and then add at the very end).

One of my favorite things about this dish is it gives me a perfectly valid reason to crack open a nice bottle of white, even if I'm home alone!

Creamy Ham and Mushroom Risotto

Serves 4 as a main course, or 6 as a first course

2 tablespoons butter

4 ounces fresh wild, or portabello, mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2-4 ounces country ham, pancetta, prosciutto, or other flavorful cured meat, minced

2 cups Abrorio rice

salt

5 cups chicken broth (or 1 can low-sodium broth mixed with 3 cups water), room temperature

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 - 1 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add mushrooms, and saute until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Set aside.

Heat oil in a heavy pot 10-12 inches in diameter. Add onions and ham; saute, stirring occasionally, until onions soften, 3-5 minutes.

Stir in rice and 1 teaspoon salt or to taste.

Add 3 cups broth and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until pan bottom is dry when rice is pulled back with spoon, 8-10 minutes.

Add wine, stirring frequently until absorbed. Then add 1/2 cup broth at a time, stirring constantly, until each addition is absorbed.

Cook until rice is creamy but still somewhat firm in the center (add water in 1/2 cup incrememts if broth runs out), 10-12 minutes longer.

Stir in mushrooms and cheese.

Serve either on a wide platter or individual plates, with extra cheese passed seperately.

To the kitchen!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

To me, the perfect chocolate chip cookie is oversized, thick, soft and chewy, with large chunks of chocolate and nuts. This recipe is from The Best Recipe, a book which I love because before every recipe, the logic of the ingredients is explained.

For instance, in this recipe, beginning with melted butter, instead of softened, means that the proteins in the flour grab onto the freed water molecules to form elastic sheets of gluten, and the gluten equals chewy! The second egg yolk also acts as a tenderizer, contributing to the squishy softness of these deliciously moist cookies. Another way to ensure that these cookies stay soft is to pull them out before they actually look done. Remember, they will continue to cook on the tray thanks to the ongoing heat from the pan and the sugar within the cookies.

Instead of using chocolate chips, I like to buy chocolate bars (dark chocolate, usually) and chop them up. The chunks of chocolate contribute to an interesting texture, and any smaller shavings sprinkle through the cookies making the chocolate distribution more even.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 18 large cookies

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (180 g) butter, melted and cooled till warm

1 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F/ 165C. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.

Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined.

Stir in chips and nuts to taste.

Roll or spoon 1/4 cup cookie dough into a bowl. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halve 90 degrees and, with jagged surface facing up, join halves together at their base, again forming a single ball. Be careful not to smooth the dough's uneven surface. Place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball.

Bake for roughly 15-18, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until the cookies are light golden brown and the edges start to harden, yet centers are still soft and puffy.

Cool cookies on sheets. When cooled, peel cookies from parchment, and enjoy while still warm.

<

To the kitchen!

Cherry Clafoutis

I am the sort of person who loves to go out with friends for breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, coffee, dinner, late dinner ... Basically, I enjoy catching up with friends while eating something delicious that I don't have to clean up afterwards! Unfortunately, my plans for a breakfast catch-up this morning were spoiled by the fact that my car is currently in at the shop getting repaired, so I am transportless! So instead of borrowing my housemate's car (yet again), I decided to invite my friend Lauren over for breakfast.

I went browsing on the internet for inspiration, trying to figure out how to use the very limited supplies in my kitchen. Luckily, I remembered that I had a whole bunch of frozen cherries in my freezer, bought with the intention of making smoothies. So when I stumbled across a mention of clafoutis, and how simple it is to make, I knew I had a possibility.

I had never had a clafoutis before this morning, so wasn't sure what to expect. The high ratio of eggs to flour means that this dish is a lot more custardy than I was expecting (which was something akin to a baked pancake). My housemate, Andrew, described it as being very similar to a bread pudding in texture. The baked cherries infused the whole dish with a rich flavor, and the bottom of the clafoutis had a nice caramelly crunch to it. A lot of water came out of the cherries while they were cooking initially, which meant that my clafoutis didn't have a thick layer of caramel at the bottom of the pan, which is what I think is meant to happen.

All in all, this was a succesful experiment, resulting in a delicious breakfast catch-up with minimal effort required on my part! I plan on trying this recipe again when stonefruit come into season.

Cherry Clafoutis

Serves 3-4

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 pound/ 450 grams cherries - if they are fresh, then remember to pit them!

butter

2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Either medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, salt, and sugar (2 tablespoons).

Mix in the wet ingredients - eggs, milk, and vanilla. If you are using a blender or food processor, be sure to scrape down the sides midway. The consistency of the batter should be smooth, and very liquidy. Put to the side while you prepare the fruit.

In a large (9 inch or 23 cm) heavy, nonstick, ovenproof skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Make sure that the melted butter coats the bottom and sides of the pan.

When the butter has melted and is beginning to bubble, add the cherries. Cook cherries until they are coated with butter and are beginning to soften.

Sprinkle the pan with the second 2 tablespoons of sugar, and allow the sugar to disolve into syrup, stirring occassionally. This should only take a minute or so.

Pour the prepared batter over the cherries.

Bake for 20 minutes. The clafoutis will puff up and set, and be golden brown around the edges. Ignore the temptation to open the oven during the baking process, is this supposedly causes the clafoutis to collapse.

Serve immediately! You can dust with powdered sugar, or serve with yogurt or creme if you want to make the dish look a bit more elegant.

To the kitchen!

Inspirational Cakes!

I have just spent the last hour or so trawlling through the cake submissions over at Threadless Cakes. Some of these cakes are absolutely amazing - it's very exciting to look through the process of different cakes.

Here are a few of my favorite designs (so far!). T-Shirts are shown first, cakes are second.

These are just a tiny sampling of the amazing designs over there, so go have a look!

To the kitchen!

Browned Butter Vanilla Cupcakes

I found this delicious cupcake recipe over at Baking Bites, and it has become my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe. The browned butter gives the cupcakes a really great rich and unique flavor which has everybody asking what the secret is!

These cupcakes are fantastically easy to make - no creaming required! I usually double it, as this recipe only makes a dozen, which is never enough.

I like to use a cream cheese frosting with this, sometimes mixing in a bit of grated lemon into the frosting for a twist. If you're going to use something different, stay away from overly sweet frostings, as they will easily overpower the delicate flavor of the cupcakes.

Browned Butter Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes roughly 12

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Line baking pan with cupcake liners.

Melt butter in a small saucepan and cook over low-medium heat until butter has turned an amber color and smells toasty, but not burnt. Be carefuly, because the butter will darken very quickly once it starts, and may bubble over easily if not watched. Pour from saucepan into a small bowl, scraping all the browned bits from the bottom.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

In a medium bowl, whisk together cooled butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Pour into dry mixture and stir until just combined.

Distribute batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. I use an ice cream scoop in order to ensure even distribution of batter, and also to minimize drips.

Bake for 16-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. The tops of the cupcakes will spring back when lightly touched.

Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

To the kitchen!

Cream Cheese Frosting

I love cream cheese frosting - if I could I would put it on absolutely everything.

My favorite thing about it is that you can add just a splash of flavoring, a few grates of a rind, and give the frosting a whole new twist in order to suit any cake base!

A few tips that I found over on culinarycafe.com are that overbeating will cause the cream cheese to break down and produces grainy and soft frosting. Also, they recommend using cold, not softened, cream cheese, in order to produce a better texture. It's something that I've found works pretty well.

This recipe is my own, adapted from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook, a favorite at my grandparent's house growing up.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cold

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons milk (if needed)

Using a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth.

Gradually add in a powdered sugar, a cup at a time, beating until smooth. If you are having trouble incorporating the sugar smoothly, drizzle in a little milk in order to soften up the frosting.

Stop blending when the frosting is evenly mixed, smooth, and spreadable. Be careful not to blend too much or your frosting will not hold its shape!

To the kitchen!

Foolproof One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm a huge fan of baking cupcakes, because they're so much easier to parcel out to friends. A cake split between three people is a lot less pretty than a batch of cupcakes.

These cupcakes are originally a Martha Stewart creation, and she’s usually pretty spot-on when it comes to recipes. Still, I was suspicious at first - how can something so simple be tasty? Surely there should be some whipping or creaming in there somewhere? But I'd promised my little sister something home-baked, and her friends at the boarding house were getting hungry. What better way to test out a new recipe than on a bunch of picky teenagers?

This has become my go-to recipe for a simple chocolate cupcake. I’ve made it several times now, in varying sized batches (once I needed 100!) and they’ve all turned out tender, moist, and delicious.

A tip on scooping cupcakes into liners: I use an ice cream scooper, with a lever to force the batter out. It works fantastically, minimizes the drips on the baking tray, and leads to pretty standard sized cupcakes!

Foolproof One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes roughly 24

¾ cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1 ½ cups plain/ all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

¾ cup warm water

¾ cups buttermilk*

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F/ 175C. Line baking pan with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the dry ingredients - cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add the wet ingredients - eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.

Mix the batter with a spatula until it is smooth, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Be careful not to overmix, as this will cause the finished product to be sort of tough and spongy, with tunnels or holes.

Divide the batter evenly among liners - fill each until it is about 1/2 full (one ice cream scoop).

Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan if needed. The tops of the cupcakes will spring back when lightly touched.

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Finish off with a delicious frosting! My favorite pairing is Chocolate Cream Cheese, but for this batch I was low on ingredients so what you see is a simple Cream Cheese frosting.

*If you don't have buttermilk, substitute milk with a tiny bit of lemon juice or vinegar added. Allow the milk to sit a minute or two before adding it to the rest of the batter in order to allow reaction time.

To the kitchen!