Chefette's Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie is something I have always been curious about as a keen foodie, you can't watch an American TV show centered around Christmas or Thanksgiving that doesn't feature the humble pie. It is such a strange concept for me, putting pumpkin in a pie, and given that it has just been Thanksgiving in the US and having many American friends, I had to try making my own. Pumpkin was initially used in American pies as a filler, but gradually over time, people loved the taste so much that it became the "star" of the dish. Now to be completely frank, this was the first time I have made Pumpkin Pie and eaten it, so I have no idea whether it tastes the way it should, but upon serving I had clean plates, which is always a good sign, so it could not have been all that bad. Also it is so easy peasy and such a lovely taste of winter! Special shout-out to my Missourian friend Amber for her invaluable Pumpkin Pie advice ;-) So here's my take on Traditional American Pumpkin Pie.

(Note I used a shortcrust pasty to line my pie dish, but after tasting, next time I make this, I think I'd use a biscuit base, similar to what you would use in a cheesecake) 

Biscuit Base

500g Sweet Biscuits (Marie, Rich Tea, Digestives etc)

250g Butter

1. Crush biscuits in food processor until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.

2. Add butter to food processor and blend until combined.

3. Press biscuit mixture into a lined spring-form cake tin or pie dish.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

1kg Pumpkin (any kind) I also used a sweet potato as part of my 1kg for something different.

1 397g tin of sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

50g butter

1. Boil pumpkin with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar until soft.

2. Blend pumpkin in food processor until smooth.

3. Add all ingredients (eggs last)

4. Pour into prepared pie base.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C until the center become firm.

(I baked mine for about an hour and ten minutes, but it was quite deep and large, so timing will vary from pie to pie. If it is starting to brown, cover with foil to finish the baking)

Best served with whipped cream and nuts! Happy Baking! xxx

Chiffon Cake with Meringue Frosting

Hello cakelets! This week I bring to you maybe my favourite recipe ever! Until a few weeks ago I had never even heard of a chiffon cake until I watched "The Great British Bake Off" so I thought it would have to be the next cake on my agenda. Now part of my caking and baking is to look at a standard base recipe and either change quantities, add or remove things to make it my own and hopefully better, so I can pass it on for all to enjoy. Chiffon cake is the lightest and fluffiest cake I have ever made and it worked perfectly with the fluffy meringue frosting. It is one of those cakes which when you cut into it leaves no crumbs behind and when you bite into it, and it practically dissolves when you eat it, it's like eating a big fluffy vanillery cloud... if one could ha!

Chefette's Chiffon Cake & Meringue Frosting

1 ½ cups plain flour

½ cup corn flour

1 ½ cups caster sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ cup vegetable oil

7 eggs separated

¾ cup cold water

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 165°C, and grease and line your cake tin/s with baking paper.

2. Sift flour, sugar and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and make a well.

3. Add oil, egg yolks, water and vanilla to the well, fold mixture until smooth. Set aside.

4. In an electric mixer beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff.

5. Gradually add egg white mixture, to the other ingredients, carefully folding in with a spatula. (It is crucial to fold rather than mix to ensure the air is left in the cake batter.)

6. Pour mixture into cake tin/s and bake until a skewer comes back clean or when cake springs back. 

(The timing will depend on the size of your cake tin, for example, I divided my mixture into 6 small portions for baking in sandwich tins and each took only 10 minutes or so.)

Meringue Frosting

(This is the first time I have used Meringue Frosting and credits to my cousin from Back In G-Town for the recipe. It is a difficult frosting to pipe with because it is so soft, which is why the piping looks a bit shabby. I think this kind of frosting is best with a “rustic effect”)

2 cups caster sugar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 egg whites

1. Place the sugar, water and ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar into a saucepan over high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 mins.

2. Place egg whites into an electric mixer with the remaining ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.

3. With the motor running gradually add the sugar mixture and beat until thick and glossy (Keep beating until it is fairly thick.)

(Frosting is best used right before serving and should be kept at room temperature)

Now if you want to make a rainbow version of this cake like I did, please see this post for assembly instructions!

Meringue Frosting in action!

Layer upon layer upon layer...

Voila.... Finished product!

Silly me forgot to take a photo of the inside with the SLR until the day after. So this is the day after, following a very windy car trip which is why it is a little bit wonky and melted haha! I just wanted to show the inside colours really.

Happy Caking! xxx

Salted Caramel Latte

If you're starting to feel the cold like I am over here in the UK, or if you're a genuine coffee enthusiast, you will love this recipe! I have never craved Starbucks so much in my life as I have since being over here, but as you will know these coffees can become uber pricey. I worked out that if I was to have a Starbucks coffee every week day in the UK, that would be $25 AUD in coffee alone! I have been addicted to the Salted Caramel Mocha lately, but I am finding them a bit too powdery, so I have come up with this recipe for my own for a Salted Caramel Latte which you can make at home for a fraction of the cost. Obviously this recipe is to my tasting so you can obviously modify the quantities to your own liking!

Salted Caramel Latte

(Makes 1 Large Mug)

1 cup warmed frothed milk

1/3 cup of percolated coffee

1 1/2 tsp toffee sauce

1 shot of caramel syrup

Pinch of course ground rock salt

Canned whip cream for topping

1. In the mug or cup in which you will drink your coffee from, place the toffee sauce, caramel syrup and pinch of rock salt and mix to combine.

2. Add your desired amount of hot percolated coffee to the mug and mix with the toffee and caramel.

3. Using a plunger, froth the warm milk and pour into the coffee mug.

4. Make sure you have a nice layer of milky froth on top of the coffee which will allow the cream to float on top rather than sink and melt straight away.

5. Pipe a generous amount of whipped cream on top of your coffee.

6. Drizzle some toffee sauce on top of the cream and add a tiny pinch of salt to complete this yummy winter warmer.

One of my favourite things about this coffee is the smell that it leaves in the room hours after drinking, delicious indeed! 

Devilled Chicken

Hello chefettes! Apologies for the lack of posting lately. As some of you may know, I have moved to the UK, so I have been BUSY, BUSY! I have been here for almost two months now, I have done lots of eating out, so only now, I have started getting back into the kitchen. The food here and grocery stores are quite different to what is available in Australia, but I'm hoping to bring you some new and exciting recipes from the UK which you can try at home. So I bring you my first recipe from England... Devilled Chicken! I thank Waitrose for the inspiration for this recipe. Now I have made some variations from the original recipe and when I first saw the ingredients I was less than inspired, but when it all comes together, this chicken dish is SO flavourful and easy, I'm sure it'll become a staple in your home as it is becoming in mine. Now if you have peeps in your house or little kidlets who don't like spice, you can either reduce the amount of Cayenne Pepper or cut it out completely!

Devilled Chicken

8 chicken thigh fillets (or any chicken pieces)
3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 tbsp Tomato Sauce (Ketchup)
3 tbsp Apricot Jam
1 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt & Pepper to season

1. Preheat oven to 180°C, and arrange chicken pieces on a baking tray so they are not touching.
2. Combine Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, jam, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper.
3. (This step really depends on how much time you have) You can either pour the marinade over and pop straight in the oven OR you can pour the marinade over and leave chicken in the fridge until required.
4. Bake in the oven until browned, for example for my 8 chicken thighs I baked them for 45 minutes. (Larger chicken pieces may need extra time)
5. Best served with loaded jacket potatoes!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, I LOVE it! Now I haven't personally tried this yet, but I think this would be great on the BBQ and would really bring out those flavours!

I'm not sure why my iPhone insisted on taking such a dark photo, but the chicken was more of a dark red in "real life" and not so charred looking!

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

This is a pretty hot cupcake item at the moment. They look so cute and you know any little person's eyes would light up with excitement at the thought of eating this...

Now I have no shame in saying that I used a packet mix :-O I was scared they weren't going to turn out, and a packet mix was such an easier alternative.

This is what I used to make my little monsters...

Firstly I baked my Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Muffins into some blue cupcake cases.

Whist they were cooling I made the googly eyes. I laid out my Nestle White Melts and with a little melted chocolate on the side I proceeded to stick on currants with the melted chocolate acting as my "glue".

I cut my cookies into halves and then I coloured half a bag of shredded coconut with some Blue Queen Food Colouring.

I then cut a triangular incision which removes some of the cake into the bottom part of the cupcake, this is where the cookie sits, I also cut a slit towards the top of the cake for the eyes to sit in.

Once cakes have been frosted with a plain blue frosting, dip the entire cupcake into the coconut until generously coated.

Hold the bottom of the cake firmly so the cookie can securely be inserted. Using the slit made at the top of the cupcake, insert two of your already prepared eyes.

They are so much easier than what they look, and it is priceless to see these served up a a kids birthday party. They are definitely a hit! 

 

Rainbow Velvet Cake

The rainbow cake seems to be the "it" cake of the moment, it's all over the internet and you can't go on Pinterest without being bombarded by pictures of this delectable and colourful creation. I brushed it aside thinking it would be more stress than what it is worth until my cousin from Back in G-Town  made one for her Little Miss' 4th birthday! She inspired me to attempt one for my baby cousin's second birthday, and I'm glad I did. It is certainly not as hard as it looks, and this my friends, is a cake that vanishes, because everyone wants to try a piece because it looks so fun!

So I used an old faithful recipe of mine found here, for classic Red Velvet and I quadrupled it to ensure I had enough cake batter.

I made a lush chocolate frosting to go with it as I decorated with Kit Kats, and I wanted a blended look, but the standard tends to be a white frosting.

Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Frosting

Ingredients

750 grams unsalted butter 

6 cups sifted icing sugar

4 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste

375 grams dark chocolate

Method

1. In an electric mixer using the paddle attachment whip butter for 7 minutes on medium speed until pale and fluffy.

2. Turn mixer down to low speed and add icing sugar, vanilla and milk until combined.

3. Mix on medium setting for a further 6 minutes and add melted chocolate slowly.

4. Butter-cream should be very fluffy and pale.

Now back to the cake, I did five coloured layers so I divided the batter equally into five bowls before adding any food colouring. Once in the five bowls I coloured them all nice and brightly.

A word of advice... bake this cake to a size in which you have two tins, trust me it's a much quicker process.

Bake each colour one by one and allow to cool, they will look like coloured pancakes at this point.

Start by placing your first cake layer down and spreading with the frosting and repeat the process until you have something that looks like this.

With any cake I do, I always do a crumb layer of frosting i.e. a very thin layer of frosting over the whole cake which catches all of the cake crumbs before I put I nice clean layer of frosting on top. After I have done the crumb layer I put the cake in the fridge to slightly harden before I do the "good" layer.

After I had done the good layer of frosting I broke up four family Kit Kat blocks to stick around the border. Then I covered the top with loads of M and M's and tied it all up with a decorative ribbon.

It is definitely one to try out, even if you're not comfortable, start small, do three layers, use a packet mix, it's all about experimentation!

Happy Baking All xxx

Chocolate-Chip Cookies (Subway Style)

Chocolate chip cookies are one of the first things I remember cooking at home and at school back in the day. Having a bit of a passion for baking, it's quite often the simple things that I have been striving to perfect like boiling an egg (I struggled with this for years haha shame) or in this case, baking the perfect chocolate chip cookies. 

In this past week I think I have tried four different recipe variations, it's been like an Arnott's factory over here, luckily there is always somewhere to bring these sweets and tasty treats. I wanted to create a nice crunch on the outside with a chewy center, much like your Subway cookie variety. 

I am pleased to say that I think I have finally nailed the chocolate chip cookie! I felt like Monica in the Friends episode where she baked for days trying to find the perfect cookie recipe, until she found it on the back of a Nestle packet, alas, you won't find this recipe on your chocolate chip packet, so please see below. Once again, happy baking and please tell me how you go! xxx

Chefette's Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups Plain Flour

¾ cup of Self-Raising Lighthouse Cake and Biscuit Flour

170g butter

1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

½ cup white sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups milk chocolate chips (I use Cadbury) 

Method

1.   Preheat the oven to 170°C and line two trays with baking paper.

2.   In an electric mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla.

3.   Once combined, add both the egg and egg yolk. Mixture will be nice and creamy and should resemble a coffee coloured buttercream.

4.   Add the flours and mix either by hand or on low in electric mixer with the paddle attachment.

5.   Add chocolate chips either by hand or with a wooden spoon. (Cookie dough will be much less dense than a regular cookie dough.)

6.   Use a tablespoon to measure and roll dough into balls, then slightly flatten with your palm to resemble a patty.

7.   Place dough patties on to tray and be careful to leave enough room to spread out, because they will!

8.   Bake for 10-17 minutes or until cookies become lightly toasted on the edges. If you prefer your cookies with a little more crunch, bake until they are completely golden brown, similarly if you prefer them chewier, bake them for a little less. (Make sure you experiment with a couple of cookies first to see how you like them cooked.)

9.   Allow to cool in trays for a few minutes before transferring them to wire cooling racks (as the shape will be distorted if they are handled whilst piping hot.) Serve and enjoy!