Sam's Kitchen

Tag: dessert

• Citrus and Apple Rose Tea Cake

  Posted at 4:40 pm by samskitchen, on May 7, 2016

  

  It’s Mothers Day tomorrow. A wonderful day that gives us the opportunity to thank our Mothers for all they gave and are still giving us, make them feel special, loved and cherished. A day to celebrate motherhood, give gifts of love and receive them back. Share the joy and pride of being a mother with our mothers, grandmothers, sisters and girlfriends. It’s the day that celebrates giving life!

  This rosy cake is for all you darling Mothers and Mothers to be.
  Wishing you all a day filled with love and happiness, and may you all feel cherished and appreciated. Happy Mothers Day!!!

  

  

  

  The cake is made with both lemon and orange zest and juice and has a delicious citrus aroma and taste. The texture is light and soft.
  Tastes exceptionally delicious served warm with a generous dollop of double cream.

   

  Ingredients

  200g butter cubed and brought to room temperature
  200g caster sugar
  4 eggs room temperature
  1 tbsp orange and lemon zest mix
  1/2 cup orange and lemon juice mix
  1/4 cup milk
  350g self-raising flour
  1 cup almond meal ( ground almonds )
  4 apples halved and cored

  To Serve  

  Icing sugar
  Double cream or thickened cream

  Method

  Preheat oven to 175C.
  Line and grease a 24cm round cake pan.

  In a bowl of a stand mixer beat butter and sugar until white and creamy.
  Add eggs one at a time ( ensure eggs are at room temperature ), beat for 1 minute with each added egg.
  Add self-raising flour, almond meal, lemon and orange zest and juice.
  Fold gently with a spatula.
  Pour the mixture into prepared cake pan.

  Slice apples thinly using a mandoline or a very sharp knife.
  Place in a bowl, add lemon juice and enough water to cover the top.
  Microwave for 1 minute on high or till apple slices are pliable.
  Drain and leave to cool.

  Arrange apple slices into different size roses. To make roses, swirl one apple slice into a little tube and place it into the cake batter, then keep adding one “petal” at a time till the “rose” reaches the desired size.

  Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or till middle is set and a skewer comes out clean.

  Dust with icing sugar if desired.
  Serve warm with double cream or thickened cream.

  

  

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  Posted in Sweets | 21 Comments | Tagged afternoon tea cake, apple cake, apple roses, baking, beautiful cake, cooking, dessert, easy recipe, morning tea, mothers day, recipe, sweets, tea cake

• Hazelnut and Chocolate Biscuits

  Posted at 10:52 am by samskitchen, on March 27, 2016

  

  Happy Easter to all you lovely folk! This is what my inner Easter Bunny brought us this Easter – four ingredient chocolate cookies; made with just hazelnuts, egg whites, sugar and cocoa. They are light, a little bit chewy and have a yummy chocolatey – nutty taste.

  

  And they make the perfect foodie gift!

  

  Ingredients

  3 large egg whites
  300g icing sugar sifted and extra for coating
  350g hazelnut meal ( ground hazelnuts )
  4 tbsp dutch cocoa ( or any other good quality unsweetened cocoa )

  Method

  Preheat oven to 160C.
  Line a cookie tray.

  In a bowl of a stand mixer beat the egg whites to a soft peak stage, then gradually add the icing sugar and continue beating for a few minutes. The mixture will resemble a soft runny marshmallow.

  Sieve the cocoa and mix with the hazelnut meal, gradually add it to the egg white and sugar mixture while folding in gently. You will end up with a soft cookie dough.

  Roll out 26-28 little balls (about the size of a walnut) and roll them in icing sugar.

  Place them on a lined cookie tray and bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and move to a cooling rack.

  Cool, and enjoy. They go beautifully with both coffee or tea.

  

  The mixture will resemble a soft runny marshmallow.

  

  Sieve the cocoa and mix with the hazelnut meal and gradually add it to egg white and sugar mixture while folding in gently using a spatula.

  

  

  

  Roll out 26-28 little balls and roll them in icing sugar.

  

  Place them on a lined cookie tray and bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.

  

  Remove from oven and move to a cooling rack.

  

  A perfect yummy gift 🙂

  

   

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  Posted in Sweets | 5 Comments | Tagged afternoon tea, baking, biscuits, cookies, dessert, easy recipe, glutenfree, hazelnuts, nut cookies, recipe, sweets

• Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake

  Posted at 3:35 pm by samskitchen, on March 26, 2016

  

  For the pear and chocolate lovers a little easter treat – Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake. With a light texture, not overly sweet and a distinctive chocolate taste it’s a pure indulgence served warm with a big dollop of double cream or vanilla ice-cream.

  I would highly recommend using only ripe pears or poaching the greener pears for a little while before baking or you are likely to end up with undercooked pears and clashing textures of soft and luscious cake and harder pears. So if you bought green pears, simply leave them on the kitchen counter for a few days until they ripen and before using them.

  Using good quality chocolate is essential as it is going to directly affect the taste of the cake. Try using chocolate that has at least 55% cocoa for a more distinctive and richer chocolate taste.

  I coated the pears in demerara sugar for their big granules and effective look, but using white or brown sugar is perfectly fine.

  Sprinkle the cake with few pinches of sugar just before serving it.

  

  

  

  

  Ingredients
  
  3 ripe pears
  120g unsalted butter cubed
  150g good quality dark chocolate
  4 eggs
  1 cup brown sugar
  1/3 cup plain all purpose flour
  2 cups almond meal
  2 tbsp dutch cocoa
  1 tsp baking powder
  1 tsp vanilla essence
  1/3 cup demerara sugar

  Double or thick cream, or vanilla ice-cream to serve

  Method

  Preheat oven to 175C.
  Grease and line a 22cm round cake pan.

  Peel, halve and core the pears.
  Cube the butter and break the chocolate into small pieces, then place them into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 min or till the chocolate has melted, stirring every 30 seconds to prevent burning the chocolate.

  In a bowl of an electric mixer beat the eggs and sugar till thickened and has reached a creamy consistency  5-8 minutes on high.

  

  Sieve in the flour and baking powder into the eggs and sugar, using a spatula gently fold in.
  Add the almond meal and cocoa in 2-3 batches folding in gently.
  Pour cooled chocolate and butter mixture along with vanilla essence and gently fold in.

  

  Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.

  

  Coat the pear halves in demerara sugar and arrange them on top of the batter.

  

  

  Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in a pan. Serve warm with a good dollop of double cream.

  

  

   

   

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  Posted in Sweets | 11 Comments | Tagged almond cake, almond chocolate cake, baking, chocolate cake, dessert, easter, Easy, pear and chocolate cake, recipe, sweets

• Cookies and Pistachio Dark Chocolate Rocky Road

  Posted at 4:04 pm by samskitchen, on November 8, 2015

  

  Ah oh, Christmas is almost around the corner and it’s time to get edible Christmas goodie gifts ready!

  Get started with this yummy – easy to make Rocky Road :).

  

  I made a big slab of this yumminess yesterday.

  

  Cut them into squares and wrapped in cellophane to give as gifts.

  

  Ingredients

  250g marshmallows cut in half ( I used kitchen scissors )
  1/2 cup lightly toasted pistachios, roughly chopped
  1/2 cup lightly toasted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
  1/2 cup dry cranberries
  2 ( 55g each ) chocolate coated bars of Turkish delight cut into bite size squares
  1 cup butter cookies or any other cookies of your choice roughly chopped into bite size pieces
  2 ( 200g each ) good quality dark chocolate bars
  2 tsp peanut or canola oil
  Extra chopped pistachios for topping ( optional )

  Method

  Prepare a lined with a cling film tray or any square or rectangular dish at about 5 cm dip.
  Break chocolate into a small pieces, place into a heat proof bowl, add oil and melt over a double boiler or in a microwave. If melting in a microwave stir every 30 seconds to avoid over drying.
  In a very large mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients together.
  Pour melted chocolate over the dry ingredients mixing spontaneously till all covered in chocolate. Move the mixture into the prepared tray. Spread evenly gently pressing into place. Sprinkle the top with extra chopped pistachios and refrigerate for 2 hours or till set. Enjoy with coffee, tea or just by itself as a naughty snack 🙂 xx

  The little fingers photobombing was completely unexpected, but it was so cute that I decided to use this picture here. My little cheeky assistant is always there with me 🙂

  

  

  

  

  

  Line your tray with cling film to make it easy to remove once Rocky Road is set

  

  

  

  Perfect edible Christmas gift!

  

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  Posted in Sweets | 6 Comments | Tagged chocolate, dark chocolate, dessert, marshmallows, recipe, rocky road, sweets

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• Follow me on Insta for more foodie inspirations :)

  The honey sunset and intense sweet smell of daffodils. Weather can be so deceptive here in the south west. I think even the plants believe in the arrival of spring, but there is still another month and a half to go before spring makes its official calendar arrival. I’m in anticipation of it and of getting dirt under my fingernails planting vegetables and pulling weeds. #springiscoming #sunset #wherewomencreate #margaretriver #southwest #theartofslowliving

  Humble can look fancy too. I’m slowly, but steadily gearing up for my cookery workshops from my home kitchen here in Margaret River. The fancy pasta and the humble bread are both on the menu. I’m thrilled to be bringing women together to create, to share and to learn together in a relaxed and safe space. It will be a small group of 6-8 and very much hands on workshops where each person will be able to have my full attention. Once everything is set up, I will be posting here on my social media as well as my website from where all the bookings can be made. If there is anything that you would like to learn from me in the future, please drop a line and I will see what I can do 💐#pasta #workshops #cooking #pelmeni #foodphotography #homemade #fromscratch #forkyeah #thefeedfeed #food52 #margaretriverfood #perthfood #perthfoodgram #cookingclasses #foodnetwork #wherewomencook #ihavethisthingfordarkness #dumplings #australiafood #seasonalsimplicity #bonappetit #pastaofinstagram #lifeandthyme #yahoofood #hautecuisines

  While sun was setting, I was rolling the dough and shaping the little dumpy dumplings filled with a mixture of beef and pork, garlic, onion, garden herbs and grated carrots, pul biber (because there is ton of it in my party now ), salt and black pepper. The dough was something in between of Italian and Azerbaijani. 2 eggs, 1/2 cup water, pinch of salt and 3 cups of 00 flour. I like how there is a bite to it once it is cooked, but still it has softness to it and is easily pliable when shaping. The cutest little ceramic bowl you see here is another beautiful creation by @river.ceramics . I just can’t get over at how stunning Jolene’s creations are. And no wonder, so much passion and love goes into each and every piece. #productphotographer #foodphotography #dumplings #pelmeni #foodfluffer #wherewomencook #lifeandthyme #littlestoriesofmylife #ihavethisthingfordarkness #foodnetwork #forkyeah #margaretriverfood #perthfood #perthfoodgram

  Victoria sponge, chocolate ganache and honeycomb. It can’t be wrong! It’s a textural heaven. For the Victoria sponge 225g sugar+160g butter whipped to creamy consistency. add 2 tbsp cake flour ( that is out of 225g in total), whisk well then add eggs, 1 at a time (4 in total), then add rest of the flour and 3 tbsp hot water ( both added gradually and folded with spatula) bake in a buttered and lined rectangular cake pan at 150C fan forced for about 50 min or until cooked through. For the ganache melt 500g dark chocolate in 500ml thickened cream ( I used double boiler, but microwave should be ok too with 30 second intervals while mixing in between the intervals). Cool to room temp or until thickened before topping the sponge. For the honeycomb 60g honey, 400g sugar 140g liquid glucose, 100 ml water, nearly 1 tbsp baking soda. Place honey, sugar, liquid glucose and water into a pan, mix and bring to 145 C, add baking soda and whisk well. Pour into prepared ( lined with baking paper and sprayed with oil) high edge tin and leave to cool without moving. Break into pieces once cooled and store in an airtight container.

  My quick bread ratios: 7-8 g active dry yeast dissolved in 350g lukewarm water, 1/4 cup light olive oil (about 50ml), 525g unbleached bakers flour, 10g salt. Knead, knead, knead for at least 10 min. Allow to double in size around 2 hours. Shape into a tight ball, place into a cast iron pot and leave covered for 30 min or until nearly doubled. Spray with water, dust with flour, score and bake with the lid on at 230C for 25 min, uncovered at 200C until golden brown, another 20 min. Cool and enjoy. #bread #recipe #homebaker #thebakefeed #wherewomencook #thefeedfeed #food52 #margaretriverfood #perthfood #perthfoodgram #australiafood #forkyeah #foodnetwork #foodfluffer #ihavethisthingfordarkness #lifeandthyme #fromscratch

  T brought the most beautiful Geraldton Wax home. It smells sweet and citrusy and the taste of it is nearly identical to kaffir lime leaves, but I’m yet to try using it my cooking. Also, just between all of us, after scrolling through some images T said that I have a face of a stern teacher. How outrageous of him! No more fresh bread for dinner! #foodphotography #wherewomencreate #foodfluffer #still_life_gallery #margaretriver

  Today was a little sunnier but still cold and the only things that are keeping me warm is tea and baking. This is orange and almond cake with orange syrup and orange blossom cream. 6 eggs, 1 cup caster sugar (can be raw sugar), 2 1/2 cups almond meal, 2 oranges ( boiled 3 times. First time bring to boil and tip water out, repeat same step the second time and for the third time boil them over a low heat for at least 1 hour, tip water out and leave to cool) Blend cooked oranges to purée Whisk sugar and egg on high until fluffy (around 8 minutes) Fold all ingredients together, pour into greased and lined 24cm cake pan and bake at 160C fan for about 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin. It is best served drizzled with orange syrup and cream. #baking #foodphotography #thebakefeed #foodfluffer #foodgawker #huffposttaste #beautifulcusines #ihavethisthingfordarkness #homebaker #perthfood #australiafood #lifeandthyme #forkyeah #williamsonoma #margaretriverfood #thefeedfeed #foodnetwork #wherewomencook

  It has been raining cats and dogs all day. We woke up to thunder, lightning and heavy rain. Kids were so excited about it, and even more so when I started reading the forecast from the bureau of meteorology about expected gale winds, warnings of falling trees and powerlines and the dangers for the little baby lambs out in the fields. Bad weather has now stormed away, but left us with heavy clouds and rain, so as a result of all of this wet mayhem, I spent the day baking. These are blackberry jam scrolls shaped in a little more fancier way. I added fresh raspberries on top and it has given them mouthwatering tang. The little vessel you see in my hands is a creation of my very talented friend Jolene @river.ceramics . If you haven’t seen Jo’s beautiful creations, I recommend you to visit her page and have a look. You will find some incredible, unique handmade pieces. I’m so excited and grateful to be working with you, Jo! Thank you 💐 #foodphotography #productphotography #scrolls #homebaker #foodfluffer #wherewomencook #wherewomencreate #foodnetwork #lifeandthyme #margaretriverfood #forkyeah #ihavethisthingfordarkness #thebakefeed @river.ceramics #ceramics #creativephotography

  Wholemeal Buns. I have posted a recipe for these before, but though to share it again incase some of you haven’t seen the older post. These are my go to buns when I make burgers. The milk and butter add softness to the dough. You can add a little bit of olive oil too and it will make the dough even softer. There are several ways of achieving more tenderness in the crumb and of which I’m going to be talking once my bread making workshops take off. Hopefully it will be happening soon. 250ml lukewarm water 125 ml lukewarm milk 1 sachet (7g) dry active yeast 1 tsp sugar 8g salt 100g whole meal flour 400g plain flour 50g softened butter (not melted) 1 egg for egg wash 1 tbsp sesame seeds In a bowl mix milk, water, yeast and sugar, allow to sit for 10 minutes ( this time will skies the yeast to wake up). Then add both flours and salt, mix well into a dough. Once your dough has formed add butter to it and knead well until butter has completely incorporated and the dough feels elastic (5-8 minutes). Your dough should feel soft but not too sticky. Lightly oil a bowl and place your dough into it, cover and set in a warm spot for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Once your dough is ready, lightly oil your hand and the bench you are going to work on ( use scales if you prefer accuracy) divide your dough to 8 equal size pieces ( mine were about 114-115g). Shape your dough pieces into balls ( I usually pre-shape and then shape again 10 minutes later, they hold their shape better then). Space your dough balls leaving enough room between them so they don’t bake into each other too much. Cover with a damp towel and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes, they should almost double. In the mean time while waiting, prepare and line a baking tray, preheat oven to 200C. In a bowl lightly whisk the egg and brush gently over the buns, then sprinkle with seeds. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Turn your tray around mid way through baking to allow an even bake.

• samskitchenblog.com

  • One Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Bake July 2, 2017
  • Chocolate and Hazelnut Babka April 16, 2017
  • Lamb and Quinoa Tabouleh with Tangy Pomegranate Molasses Dressing January 17, 2017
  • Minty Avocado Choc-Chip Ice Cream January 15, 2017
  • Thai Fish Cakes January 7, 2017
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