Thermolicious

Cinnamon Pear Surprise Muffins

2013-05-12T22:52:00.001+08:00

I came back from a brisk early autumn morning running session yesterday and had a craving for a warm moist muffin (or 2!). So, these were born from a mix of muffin recipes, cafe inspiration and a need to make them interesting enough for the kids to want to try them. The latter being the reason for the "surprise" and the fact that I again have many an Easter egg left over from the chocolate excesses of Easter (see my previous Easter posts on Chocolate Prune Muffins and Double Chocolate Muffins).

Ingredients
100g raw sugar
3 medium pears (giving about 300g peeled and cored pear - doesn't have to be exact)
1 egg
60g canola oil (or vegetable/sunflower oil)
180g milk
120g Self Raising Flour
100g Wholemeal Flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
2 tblspn extra raw sugar
1/2 tspn extra cinnamon
12 mini Easter eggs (unwrapped)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin tin.
3. Add sugar to TM bowl. Grind for 3 seconds on speed 9 to make caster sugar. Set aside.
4. Add pears to TM bowl. Chop for 3 seconds on speed 5. Set aside.
5. Add egg, oil and milk to TM bowl. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 5.
6. Add flours, baking powder, cinnamon and caster sugar to TM bowl. Mix for 5 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides with spatula.
7. Add chopped pears to TM bowl. Mix for 10 seconds on reverse speed 2 with aid of spatula.
8. Spoon two tablespoons of mixture into each muffin hole. Then place an Easter egg into the middle of each. Spoon remaining batter over the eggs to cover them.
9. Combine extra sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the muffins.
10. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until tops spring back when you touch them.
11. Leave to cool for 5 minutes or until you can safely remove them from the tin.
12. Place on baking rack to cool or enjoy them warm with a hot cup of tea!

Variation: Instead of having one chocolate egg in the middle, you could just add chocolate chips throughout the muffin, by adding 50-100g milk chocolate buds (or broken easter eggs) when adding the pear.

Mango Lime Tart

2013-03-19T21:36:00.000+08:00

To me, nothing tastes more like summer sunshine than a beautiful luscious juicy mango. Combine this with a silky lime custard on a crisp short crust pastry and you have a great summer afternoon sweet treat.

I found the original recipe at Good Housekeeping. A geometrically stunning dessert which was so easy to re-create.

Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients - short crust pastry

50g raw sugar

190g plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

110g cold butter cut into 2cm cubes

3 tablespoons ice water

Ingredients - lime pastry cream
1tsp lime rind

65g raw sugar

250g milk

2tbs corn flour

25g butter

Decoration
2 mangoes (peeled and sliced 1/2cm thick into long boat shaped pieces - see pic).
1 kiwi fruit (peel and slice middle into a 1/2cm thick circle/oval)

To make short crust pastry:
1. Add raw sugar to TM bowl. Grind for 10 seconds on speed 9.
2. Add flour, salt and butter. Mix for about 10 seconds on speed 6 until mixture resembles bread crumbs.
3. Set dial to closed lid position. Add water gradually and knead for 20-40 seconds on interval speed until it comes together to form a dough. (Add more water if necessary).
4. Empty out onto a Thermomat or glad wrap. Flatten into a disc, wrap and place into the fridge for about an hour to rest and firm up.
5. While dough is resting make the lime pastry cream (see below).
6. After dough has rested, preheat oven to 200C.
7. On a lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 28cm circle.
8. Transfer it to a 23cm x 2.5cm round tart pan with removable bottom.
9. Press dough into bottom and up the side of the pan and trim until level with rim of the pan.
10. Freeze shell 10 mins to firm the dough slightly.
11. Line tart shell with foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans (make sure the lining goes over the side so that the edges are protected). Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights, and bake about 15 minutes longer or until golden. (Recover rim with foil if browning too quickly).
12. Cool in pan on wire rack.

To make lime pastry cream:
1. Place lime rind in TM bowl. Add sugar. Grind for 10 seconds on speed 9.

2. Add milk, cornflour and butter. Cook at 90c for 5 mins on speed 4.

3. Remove from TM and place in a bowl to cool with clingwrap on its surface to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate until cold (at least 1 hour).

Putting it together:
1. Spoon cooled pastry cream into cooled tart shell and spread evenly.
2. Arrange mango slices on top with kiwifruit slice in the centre.
3. Remove tart from pan and place on serving plate.
4. If not serving straight away, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Tip: Only slice it up when ready to serve as the custard is quite soft (which adds to the lusciousness of the dessert) but which means it will run a bit once sliced.

Chilli Sauce

2012-02-21T21:25:00.002+08:00

Suprisingly, this is my first batch of chilli sauce since I got my Thermomix (2 years ago!) (I used to make my chilli sauce in very large batches to make the effort worthwhile).

The Thermomix made it all so simple and the colour is so much more vibrant than cooking it on the stove top.

My recipe is a "bit of this" and a "bit of that" and of course a lot depends on the amount of heat in your chilli (the rule of thumb being the smaller they are the hotter they are. They also take the longest to prep for chilli sauce - because you need to cut the tops off them and that is always more fiddly!)

As you can see the ones that I mainly used were the medium sized ones but this still resulted in quite a spicy sauce even when combined with 1kg of tomatoes!

Ingredients
250g brown onions (approximately 2 medium)
60g ginger (approximately 5cm knob)
30g garlic (approximately 1 large bulb of garlic cloves)
330g chilli (after removing tops)
1kg tomatoes
70g raw sugar
1 tsp salt
60g apple cider vinegar

Method
1. Place onions, ginger, garlic, chilli and tomatoes in TM bowl. Chop on speed 7 for 10 seconds.
2. Add sugar, salt and vinegar. Cook for 45 minutes on Varoma temperature, speed 1. Place rice basket on top to prevent spitting.
3. Decant into sterilised jars.

Especially good with chicken dishes and in a stir fry!

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies with Pecan Crumble Topping

2012-01-15T23:12:00.000+08:00

Brownie Mission #3

I had two zucchinis laying idle in my crisper, mainly due to the fact that I rarely cook with zucchini because my kids don't eat it ... but now they do! (albeit unbeknownst to them).

I had heard of chocolate zucchini cake, but I thought I would venture on another brownie mission (see #1 and #2) and found Grandma's Chocolate Zucchini Brownies on All Recipes.com. I am so glad I did! The brownie is soft and moist and a little bit fudgy and goes perfectly with the crunchy crumbly nutty chocolatey topping. And of course one slice probably counts for at least one serve of vegies!

Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients
150g pecans
750g zucchini (approximately 2 large zucchinis)
200g + 2 tbsp raw sugar
125g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
300g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp salt
100g chocolate chips

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 19cm x 28cm cake tin or a large square tin with baking paper.
2. Place pecans in TM bowl. Chop for 2 seconds on speed 5. Set aside.
3. Place zucchini in TM bowl. Chop for 10 seconds on speed 4-5. Put into rice basket and put rice basket on top of a bigger bowl to drain.
4. Place 200g sugar and butter into TM bowl. Cream for 1 minute on speed 3.
5. Add vanilla extract then add eggs one at a time with TM going at speed 3-4 until all combined (approximately 30 seconds).
6. Use spoon to push excess juice out of zucchini (freeze the juice for the next time you make a soup and use in place of water). Place zucchini in TM bowl.
7. Add flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate soda, salt. Mix for 30 seconds on speed 5 until combined. Use the spatula to assist if necessary.
8. Pour into prepared cake tin.
9. Mix 2tbsp sugar and the chocolate chips into the bowl with the chopped pecans.
10. Sprinkle on top of the cake.
11. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
12. Cool on cake rack, cut into squares and enjoy!

Steamed Teriyaki Toothfish with Broccoli & Rice

2011-10-30T22:13:00.001+08:00

A one "pot" wonder when you want something simple, quick and tasty. When I was throwing this together for dinner I wasn't intending to blog it but it turned out so well I wanted to keep a record of it so that I could add it to our regular dinner schedule!
Ingredients
4 thin toothfish steaks (approx 150-180g each)
45g light soy sauce
45g mirin
15g sake or chinese rice wine
1 tsp sugar
uncooked rice (up to 2 cups)
250g broccoli
1 spring onion or a couple of garlic chives
Method
1. Place fish in shallow bowl / casserole dish.
2. Place soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar in TM bowl. Mix for 20 seconds on speed 2. Pour over fish to marinate (at least 10 minutes). No need to rinse the TM bowl.
3. Whilst the fish is marinating, wash rice and place in steamer basket; wash broccoli, chop into florets and place in Varoma bowl.
4. Put a sheet of baking paper onto the Varoma tray.
5. Place fish in one layer onto the baking paper. Reserve marinade.
6. Place rice in steamer basket in TM bowl. Add 900g water.
7. Put TM lid in place. Place Varoma bowl, Varoma tray and Varoma lid on top of TM. Steam at Varoma temperature for 16 minutes, speed 4.
8. Remove rice.
9. Check whether fish is cooked (will be cooked when the flesh is opaque and a butter knife slides easily into it), otherwise cook for a few more minutes (this is not an exact science as cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the steak and how cold it was before you started cooking it).
10. At the same time check whether broccoli is cooked to your liking, otherwise cook for longer until cooked to your liking. Again, not an exact science. Depends on how big you cut the florets and how crisp / tender you like it.
11. When vegetables and fish are cooked, set aside. Add reserved marinade to the bowl with 50mls water and chopped spring onions or garlic chives. Mix at 100C for 4 minutes on speed 2. Pour over fish.
12. Serve fish, rice and broccoli together. Enjoy!

Variations: Try it with salmon steaks or fillets. Swap the broccoli for spinach, cabbage or beans or any combination of them.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Scrolls

2011-09-24T22:57:00.000+08:00

Pumpkins are plentiful and so I am baking with them again!

Here is a healthier version of my Cinnamon Buns because not only does it have pumpkin in it (as a substitute for a lot of the butter and sugar) but also uses some wholemeal flour! Thank you LivLife for the recipe.

Ingredients
120g pumpkin, peeled and chopped roughly into 3cm chunks
185g milk
40g butter
15g honey
2 tsp dry yeast
280g bakers flour
150g wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2-3tbsp extra butter, melted
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method
1. Place pumpkin in TM bowl. Chop for 10 seconds on speed 5. Cook at Varoma temperature for 10 minutes on speed 3. Puree for 10 seconds on speed 8.
2. Add milk, butter and honey. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 3.
3. Make sure temperature of TM bowl is not more than 50C then add yeast, flours, salt and nutmeg. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 7. Knead for 3 minutes on interval speed.
4. Remove dough from TM bowl and place in a large bowl. Cover and leave for at least 1 hour or until double in size.
5. Roll out dough to about 1cm thick. Spread melted butter over it and then sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar evenly over it.
6. From the long edge roll the dough like a swiss roll then cut into 2-3cm rolls. (Have a look at my Cinnamon Bun post for scroll making pics). Place into a greased or lined baking dish with space between them to allow them to grow in size. Leave for at least half an hour or until doubled in size.
7. Preheat oven to 200C.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes until nicely brown.
9. Devour whilst warm!

Chocolate Chip Brownie

2011-08-30T22:37:00.001+08:00

Brownie Mission #2

Okay so I've been a bit AWOL since declaring my first Brownie Mission but I am back with a goodie! Saw this one on a Foodbuzz Top 9 and just had to try it - particularly because they were declared to be "the best brownies in the world". Not quite akin to my Betty Crocker goal (as per my Brownie Mission statement) but really quite close.

Here is my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients
150g milk chocolate easter egg (or choc chips)
120g dark chocolate
200g unsalted butter
4 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
150g raw sugar
75g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
100g walnut pieces (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 20cm x 30cm cake tin with baking paper.

2. If using leftover easter eggs, chop milk chocolate on speed 7 for 3 to 5 seconds until it resembles choc chips. Set aside.

3. Place dark chocolate in TM bowl and grate for 5 seconds on speed 8.

4. Add butter. Melt for 3 minutes at 50C on speed 3-4.

5. Add eggs, vanilla and raw sugar and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4.

6. Add flour, salt, choc chips and walnuts (if using) and mix for 20 seconds on reverse speed 3.

7. Pour into cake tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8. Can be left to become completely cool in the tin and dust with icing sugar, or remove and eat warm with icecream or double cream if you can't wait!

Variations: For a darker richer brownie use dark choc chips instead of milk choc chips. For a thicker brownie, use a 20cm x 20cm cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Chocolate Prune Muffins

2011-08-14T21:56:00.001+08:00

Yes I know this might sound like an odd and unattractive combination, but I was looking to add some fibre to my toddler's diet.

The prunes make the mixture look nice and chocolatey and you can't really taste them. The original recipe is actually a cake but I wanted a quick baking / easy to freeze snack and so made them in muffins tin.

The toddler only got plain un-iced ones, but I fancied them up a bit for my older kids (including hiding a little surprise in the middle!)

Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients

150g pitted prunes

65ml boiling water

140g oil

200g raw sugar

20g cocoa powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

250g buttermilk

375g plain flour (I used 200g wholemeal, 175g white)

2 1/2 tsp bicarb soda

2 tsp baking powder

12 small easter eggs, wrapping removed (optional)

Method

1. Soak prunes in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease muffin tins. (I used 1 x large muffin tin and 2 x mini muffin tin).

3. Place sugar in TM bowl, grind for 3 seconds on speed 9. Set aside.

4. Place prunes and buttermilk in TM bowl. Blend for 10 seconds on speed 7.

5. Add oil, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, eggs and vanilla. Mix for 5 seconds on speed 5.

6. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix for 15 seconds on speed 4 with the aid of the spatula.

7. Spoon mixture into muffin tins. For the larger muffins, if you want to add the easter egg in - spoon a heaped tablespoonful of the mixture into the muffin tin. Place the easter egg in the middle and top with another heaped tablespoonful of mixture.

8. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes for mini muffins and 18-20 minutes for larger muffins, so that when you push it gently in the middle the muffin springs back.

Icing: Dust with icing sugar or make a chocolate ganache (100g chocolate, grated 10 seconds speed 8, add 30g cream, melt together 2 minutes 50C speed 4) and spread over the top.

Variations: Add chocolate chips - white, milk or dark to add extra chocolatieness to it!

Pumpkin Scones

2011-08-01T22:44:00.000+08:00

Pumpkin is such a versatile vegetable. Not only is it great for soups and roasts and baby's first food, it is great in baking. And it's perfect for the Thermomix because most recipes require the pumpkin to be cooked and pureed first.

Here's a traditional use for pumpkin in baking - a staple of the Australian country kitchen (and my freezer!) It's also healthier than the common white scone as the moistness of the pumpkin means less butter/fat is used. (Less fat = eat more!)

Ingredients
300g pumpkin, peeled, de-seeded and chopped into rough 3cm chunks
100g raw sugar
60g butter
1 egg
420g self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
milk, for glazing

Method
1. Preheat oven to 230C.
2. Place pumpkin in TM bowl. Chop for 5 seconds on speed 6. Cook for 10 minutes at 100C on speed 2.
3. While pumpkin is cooking prepare cake tins. I used 2 x 20cm round tins - lightly greased.
4. Once pumpkin is cooked, puree for 30 seconds on speed 8. Set aside.
5. Place sugar into TM bowl. Grind for 3 seconds on speed 9.
6. Add butter. Mix for 30 seconds on speed 3-4.
7. Keep TM on speed 3-4 and add egg.
8. Add cooked pumpkin and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4.
9. Add flour and salt. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 6. Knead on interval speed for 1 minute.
10. Mixture will be quite sticky. Turn out onto well floured board and flatten to about 2cm thick. Using a floured 5cm cookie cutter (or the TM measuring cup) cut out scones and place into tins, slightly touching each other.
11. Brush lightly with milk then place on second from top shelf in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until golden. You may want to rotate the tin after 8 minutes if your oven is a bit one sided (like mine!) to get even browning.

Enjoy plain or with a bit of butter (even better with MYO butter from the TM - see EDC p12).

Cutting tip: If you can't be bothered with the scone cutting and don't mind a more free-form shape - just take heaped tablespoonfuls of dough and place slightly apart from each other on a grease proof paper lined baking tray (this actually results in a slightly moister scone because the extra flour is not used in the shaping).

Leftover tip: Can be frozen. Separate before freezing if you want to be able to snack on one (or two!) at a time. To defrost just leave on a benchtop to bring back to room temperature (or use the microwave defrost bread function).

Chicken, Chorizo, Spinach, Mushroom & Broccoli Pasta Bake

2011-07-26T21:54:00.001+08:00

This is my take on Mac & Cheese (with a few extra ingredients!)
A one dish dinner for the whole family - nutritious enough for the 14 month old toddler and tasty enough for the hubby. Even my fussiest eater (Miss 6) liked it (I suspect it was the bacon topping that did it!). Out of all my Thermomix creations this is by far my family's favourite (if measured by how quickly it was demolished) and it even has half a kilo of vegetables in it! The added bonus (and to the relief of hubby) is that there is hardly any washing up.

Ingredients - Topping

3 slices wholemeal bread

100g bacon

1/2 tsp paprika

15g olive oil

Ingredients - Filling

200g cheddar or mozzarella cheese

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 onion, peeled and halved

20g olive oil

150g mushrooms

1/2 tstp freshly ground black pepper
400g milk

400g stock or 400g water + 1 tbsp of vegetable stock concentrate (EDC page 17)
200g dry pasta (spirals, elbows, macaroni or penne)

200g broccoli, cut into small florets

250g chicken thigh or breast, sliced thinly

1 chorizo sausage (approx 100g), cut in half lengthwise and sliced thinly

100g spinach, roughly chopped

Method

If using the oven for the final step, preheat oven to 200C.
1. If your cheese isn't grated, chop it into 2-3cm cubes, place in TM bowl and grate for 7 seconds on speed 8. Set aside.

2. Place all topping ingredients in TM bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 6. Set aside.

3. Place garlic and onion in TM bowl. Chop for 3 seconds on speed 7. Scrape down sides.
4. Add olive oil and saute for 3 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 1.
5. Add mushrooms. Chop for 4 seconds on speed 4.
6. Add pepper, milk and stock. Cook for 8 minutes at 100C on reverse speed soft.
7. Add pasta and broccoli. Cook for 6 minutes at 100C on reverse speed soft.
8. Add chicken, chorizo and spinach. Cook for 3 minutes at 100C on reverse speed soft. Use spatula at the start to help incorporate and stir the meat and spinach into the sauce.
9. Place mixture into oven proof baking dish. Spread the top evenly with grated cheese and then the bacon/breadcrumb topping.
10. Place into preheated oven for 20 minutes until topping is golden and crispy, or place under a hot grill for 4 minutes (but keep an eye on it as can get burnt quite quickly!)

Variations:

1) Eat it as a pasta dish without the cheese and topping. If so, at step 8 cook for a further 2 minutes until pasta is tender.

2) Eat it without the topping and just melt the cheese over the top.

3) Already have leftover cooked or roast chicken and/or steamed veg? Just add them in at the last step for 1 minute to warm through before putting in the baking dish.

Substitutes: Try using cauliflower or pumpkin instead of broccoli; or ham or salami (or more bacon!) for the chorizo.

Chocolate Crumble Cheesecake

2011-07-13T22:02:00.000+08:00

Here's a recipe that combines two things that I love - Chocolate and Cheesecake! Perfect for the Thermomix as all three components can be made in it and you only have to wash it once.

Thank you CaffeIna for the recipe. Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients - crumble topping
75g raw sugar
75g butter, cubed
150g plain flour
15g cocoa powder

Ingredients - crust
100g raw sugar
150g butter, cubed
1 egg
250g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
15g cocoa powder
pinch of salt

Ingredients - filling
150g raw sugar
100g butter
5 eggs at room temperature
500g ricotta

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line the bottom of a 23cm springform pan.
2. Make the topping first. Place sugar in TM bowl. Grind for 3 seconds on speed 9. Add remaining ingredients and mix for 10 seconds on speed 6 so that the mixture resembles chocolate breadcrumbs. Set aside
3. Make the crust next. Place the sugar in TM bowl. Grind for 3 seconds on speed 9. Add the remaining ingredients and mix for 15 seconds on speed 6. Press into springfom pan, ensuring it comes all the way up the sides. Use a small glass to help give you an evenly pressed base and sides.
4. And finally, make the filling. Place sugar in TM bowl. Grind for 3 seconds on speed 9. Add butter and cream for 2 minutes on speed 4. With the TM on speed 4, add the eggs one at a time until all incorporated. Add the ricotta and beat for 5 seconds on speed 5 to obtain a smooth creamy mixture.
5. Pour the filling into the crust. Top with the crumble and bake for about an hour or until the middle of the cheesecake stops looking wobbly.
6. Leave in tin until completely cool before removing sides of springform pan. Enjoy!

Baby & Toddler Meals

2011-07-07T22:16:00.000+08:00

At its incarnation (some 30 years ago) the Thermomix was purely a baby food maker (the "Bimbi"), and what has made me love my Thermomix even more (if that is even possible) is how much I have enjoyed using it to cook for my baby.

So this post is dedicated to baby recipes (which with a bit of salt and a little less pulverising can actually be converted to yummy nutritious adult comfort food!).

Purees

for Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Carrot - place 300g of peeled and roughly chopped veg into TM bowl. Chop on speed 6 for 5 seconds. Cook for 10 minutes at 100C on speed 2. Then, if necessary, puree to desired consistency on speed 7.
for Potato - place 300g of peeled and roughly chopped potato into TM bowl with 100g water or milk. Cook for 10-15 minutes at 100C on speed 1. Then, if necessary, mash to desired consistency on speed 3-4 (no higher than this otherwise it will become gluey).
for Broccoli, Cauliflower - place 300g of washed florets into TM bowl. Chop for 5 seconds on speed 5. Add 50g water. Cook for 7 minutes at 100C on speed 2. Then, if necessary, puree to desired consistency on speed 8.
for Apple, Pear - place 300g of peeled or unpeeled, seeded and quartered fruit into TM bowl. Chop for 10 seconds on speed 5. Cook for 8 minutes at 90C on speed 4. Puree to desired consistency on speed 8.

Chicken and vegetable pasta

1. Place 1/2 onion and 1 garlic clove in TM bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 7.

2. Add 400g vegetables. If they are hard vegetables like carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, celery broccoli, cauliflower, turnip, parsnip put them in first and chop for 3 seconds on speed 7. Then add the soft vegetables (eg zucchini, mushroom, capsicum) and chop for 3 seconds on speed 5. Caution - only add small amounts of strong tasting vegetables like celery, turnip, parsnip and green capsicum.

4. Add 30g olive oil and saute for 7 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 1.

5. Add 200g chopped tomatoes, 600g water or chicken stock (see EDC p18), 100g full cream milk, 200g chicken fillet (cut into 4 pieces) and a handful of washed herbs (eg parsley, sage, thyme, basil).

6. Cook for 10 minutes at 100C on reverse speed slow with the MC inclined to prevent spitting.

7. Remove cooked chicken and set aside.

8. Add 200g pasta shells and cook for 15 minutes at 100C on reverse speed soft or until the pasta is sufficiently soft.

9. If you wish, add up to 100g quick cooking vegetables like spinach, corn kernels, peas, sliced beans in the last 7 minutes of cooking.

10. Blend on speed 4 to desired consistency with the aid of the spatula, then set aside into large bowl or Thermoserver.

11. Place cooked chicken pieces back into TM bowl and shred on reverse speed 4 for 5 seconds or until sufficiently well shredded.

12. Combine shredded chicken with pasta with the aid of the spatula.

13. Serve and watch your baby/toddler gobble it up!

Variation for adults: Only cook pasta (see para 8 above) for 10 minutes and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Beef and vegetable risotto

1. Place 100g rump in TM bowl. Set dial to closed lid position, then press Turbo twice until beef is minced. Set aside

2. Place 1/2 onion and 1 garlic clove in TM bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 7.

3. Add 20g olive oil and saute for 2 minutes at Varoma temperature speed 1.

4. Add minced beef and saute for a further 3 minutes at Varoma temperature speed 1.

5. Insert butterfly in TM bowl and add 160g washed long or medium grain rice. Saute for 1 minute on reverse speed soft.

6. Add 650g water or chicken or beef stock (see EDC p18), 400g diced vegetables (eg carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, mushrooms, zucchini, red capsicum) (the harder the vegetable, the smaller the dice)

7. Cook for 30 minutes at 100C on reverse speed soft or until rice and vegetables are sufficiently soft.

8. Remove butterfly and then blend to desired consistency on speed 4 with the aid of the spatula.

Flavour tip: Using leftover unsalted roast vegetables (eg carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, onion) will greatly enhance the flavour profile of this risotto.

Variation for adults: Only cook rice (see para 7 above) for 15-17 minutes until just tender and add salt, parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Leftover tip: Freeze individual portions for quick and easy feeds. When reheating add a little bit of extra water as the pasta/rice soaks up a lot of moisture when left to sit.

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Slice

2011-06-27T22:08:00.000+08:00

Brownie Mission #1

(Background) I was at a friend's place for a playdate and she brought out a plate of fabulous looking brownies, which tasted even better than they looked. Never one to be shy of asking for a recipe, I was surprised to learn that they were courtesy of Betty Crocker! Now Betty Crocker used to be my best friend in the pantry until I got married (yes even way before my TM acquisition). Hubby (who's mum is a fantastic baker) said cakes from scratch taste so much better than those from the packet. And I tended to agree, that is, until, I tried those Betty Crocker brownies! So now I am on a mission to replicate the fantastic fudgy goo-iness of them without having to buy the pre-mix.

If you have a great brownie recipe that you want to share, feel free to send it to me (whether in TM format or not) and I will happily (and lovingly) put it through my TM test kitchen (and tastebuds!)

In the meantime, I thought this Caramel Pecan one was a good way to start. I took my inspiration from recipes posted by Burn Me Not and Cook Like a Champion. I didn't have caramel but I did have caramel filled chocolates from my Cookbook Adventure #12 that I wanted to use up (rather than devour all by myself).

The chocolate / caramel component made this a bit too dense to call it a brownie, but it is a really delicious slice (albeit one that you slice vertically rather than horizontally)! The roasted pecans combined with the salty caramel make it very more-ish and very hard to stop at just one piece!

Here's my Thermotalk version:
Ingredients
80g pecans
180g dark / milk chocolate (yes, I am still using up Easter Egg Chocolate!)
100g unsalted butter
50g raw sugar
50g brown sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
90g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
100g caramel filled chocolates
50g pouring cream

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a 20cm x 20cm tin with baking paper, leaving some overhang over two sides so that you can easily remove after cooking.
2. Place pecans in TM bowl and chop for 2 seconds on speed 5. Then roast for 5 minutes on Varoma reverse speed 1. Set aside.
3. Place chocolate in TM bowl and grate for 10 seconds on speed 8. Add butter and melt together for 2 minutes at 50C on speed 3.
4. Add sugars, vanilla and eggs and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4.
5. Add flour and salt and mix for 5 seconds on speed 5.
6. Pour mixture into baking tin.
7. Without washing TM, place caramel chocolates into TM bowl and grate for 5 seconds on speed 10. Add cream and melt together for 90 seconds at 50C on speed 3.
8. Add half of the pecans and mix for 10 seconds on speed 2.
9. Pour pecan caramel mixture onto cake batter and use spatula to swirl through cake batter.
10. Sprinkle remaining pecans on top and bake for 40 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean).

11. Cool in tin, remove, slice and eat! Store in an airtight container for up to a week (if not consumed before then!)

Chinese Ravioli (aka Wontons)

2011-06-23T15:02:00.000+08:00

So I was shopping with child no.2 the other day and as we walked past the refrigerated section, she pointed at the packets of ravioli and said "can we have that Mum?" B.T. (Before Thermomix) I probably would have just picked up the packet without a thought (and without even looking at the ingredient / preservative list!), but in my TM mindset I thought - how hard could it be to make that?

It wasn't hard (particularly with the TM making the mixture), but it was a bit time-consuming and fiddly, but the more I made the faster I got, so next time I reckon I could give Jamie Oliver a run for his money!

So how did I end up making Chinese style ravioli rather than the Italian type? Well my daughter actually wanted to eat it in a broth style soup rather than with a sauce, so I thought a wonton in the shape of ravioli would make sense, and also I had just seen a wonton wrapper recipe in the new A Taste of Asia TM cookbook so I was doubly inspired to give it a go.
Using my pasta maker to roll out the wrappers made them fabulously thin - just remember to use a lot of flour to prevent it sticking.

I didn't have any pork in the freezer (which I understand is the traditional wonton filling) so used chicken thighs instead and took my inspiration from a recipe by Honey and Spice.

Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients
450g chinese cabbage, roughly chopped
1tsp salt
7 dried shitake mushrooms
400g chicken thighs, chopped into 3cm cubes
2cm knob of ginger
3 cloves garlic
3 spring onions
couple of garlic chives (optional)
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tsp white pepper
Approx 100 wonton wrappers

Method
1. Place mushrooms in a bowl of hot water.
2. Place cabbage and salt in TM bowl. Chop on speed 5 for approximately 5 seconds or until all cabbage is finely shredded. Use spatula to assist if necessary.
3. Place rice basket into a slightly larger bowl and place cabbage inside. Set aside to allow the water in the cabbage to leach out.
4. If you are making your own wonton wrappers, give the TM bowl a quick rinse and then make wonton wrapper dough. Set aside.
5. Place chicken into TM bowl. Mince on speed 7 for 10 seconds. Set aside.
6. Place ginger, garlic, spring onions and garlic chives into TM bowl. Chop for 3 seconds on speed 7.
7. Squeeze water out of mushrooms and add to TM bowl. Chop for 3 seconds on speed 7.
8. Squeeze water out of cabbage and add to TM bowl, together with chicken, sesame oil, soy sauce and white pepper. Mix for 5 seconds on reverse speed 4.
9. Place mixture onto wonton wrappers and make any shape that you want. Check out this website for wonton folding techniques.
10. Cook in hot soup for 3 to 4 minutes or freeze for another day.

German Apple & Pear Cake

2011-06-14T22:54:00.000+08:00

Cookbook Adventure #13 - "Du jour"

Winter has finally arrived (judging by today's rain and brisk temperature!) and apples and pears are in their prime. Perfect for this cake (my second adventure from this cookbook - slightly more adventurous than my first).

Easy to make, healthy, rustic and ideal for afternoon tea or as a light dessert after a heavy winter meal.

Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients
120g butter
120g raw sugar
2 eggs
150g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored
1 pear, peeled and cored
extra 50g raw sugar
1tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 22cm springform tin.
2. Place sugar in TM bowl. Grind on speed 8 for 3 seconds.
3. Add butter to TM bowl. Mix for 30 seconds on speed 4.
4. Insert butterfly and mix for 90 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides and mix for another 90 seconds on speed 4.
5. Add eggs one at a time whilst on speed 4. Scrape down sides after all eggs added.
6. Add flour, baking powder and vanilla. Mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds.
7. Spread batter into base of tin.
8. Slice fruit thinly and combine with extra sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest.
9. Arrange fruit on top of cake batter.
10. Bake for about 1 hour or until done when tested. Leave in tin for 5 minutes and then leave to cool on wire rack.
11. Serve with whipped cream (make it a bit fancy by adding 1tsp cinnamon!) or custard (see page 155 of EDC) or icecream (see page 150 of EDC) or just by itself.

Potato Crusted Silverbeet, Leek and Feta Quiche

2011-06-06T22:47:00.001+08:00

My fruit & veg delivery this week (AKA my "Mystery Box" (for all you Masterchef fans)) contained this huge fresh and vibrant looking silverbeet and a very nice looking leek. Along with that came the usual kg of potatoes which we sometimes struggle to finish within the week. So when my googling found this recipe, I was very excited.

But I should have googled a bit further and figured out exactly what kind of potatoes I was dealing with. So my lesson learnt from today's cooking expedition is "Know Your Potato"! (More information can be found at the Cook and the Chef.)

The crust (apart from the top) didn't turn out quite as crusty as I hoped but the filling was silky and tasty and the potato did complement the leek (which I had used instead of red onion).
Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients (Crust)
800g floury potatoes, scrubbed (floury is important!)
1 egg
1 clove of garlic
3 tbsp melted butter
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients (Filling)
25g parmesan cheese
250g silverbeet leaves

1 leek, roughly chopped (or red or brown onion)

1 tablespoon thyme (or rosemary - but I would use less as it is a stronger flavour)
1 clove of garlic
30g olive oil
250g sour cream
150g feta cheese
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
freshly ground black pepper
5 eggs
8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Method
By doing things in the following order, you will only have to wash the Thermomix once - at the end!
1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line base and sides of 24cm springform tin (I didn't line the sides and had a bit of trouble removing it - but then again this could be due to my inappropriate potatoes!)
2. Place parmesan cheese into TM bowl and grate for 3 seconds on speed 8. Set aside.
3. Place garlic clove into TM bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 7. Place into a large bowl.
4. Add 1 egg, melted butter and salt and pepper to large bowl and whisk lightly.
5. Grate potatoes (I left the skin on and didn't really notice it in the final product - so this definitely saved time from the original recipe which required them to be peeled).
6. Squeeze the grated potatoes to remove excess water and add to the egg mix and combine well.
7. Press the mixture into the tin, bringing it up the sides.
8. Bake for 30 minutes, until crisp and golden (my potatoes took almost an hour because of their high water content).
9. Place the silverbeet in the TM bowl. Chop on speed 5 for 3 seconds.
10. Cook at 100C for 5 minutes on reverse + speed 1.
11. Remove silverbeet and place in steamer basket and press with the back of a spoon to drain excess water.
12. Place leek, thyme and garlic in TM bowl. Chop on speed 7 for 3 seconds.
13. Add oil to TM bowl and fry at Varoma temperature for 5 minutes on speed 1.
14. Leave to cool with TM lid off for about 5 minutes.
15. Add cooked silverbeet, sour cream, 100g feta, mustard, pepper and eggs into TM bowl. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 5.
16. Pour filling into cooked potato crust. Sprinkle 50g feta over the top followed by the parmesan cheese. Dot the tomatoes on top.
17. Bake for 35 minutes or until the filling is firm to touch. (If the top of the crust is starting to go too brown before the filling is set then cover the edges with foil to protect it).
18. As suggested by food4thought gourmet you might want to carefully remove the sides of the springform pan as soon as most of the filling is set, so that you brown the lower outside of the crust during the remaining cooking time.

Variation: You could use a standard blind baked short crust recipe for the crust (eg from page 119 of the EDC). Just skip steps 3 to 8 above.

Lemon Vanilla Choo-Choo Train Cake

2011-05-31T23:26:00.001+08:00

Cookbook Adventure #12 - Party Cakes for kids

This is more a cookbook decoration adventure than a cookbook recipe adventure (since the recipe required "1 1/2 packets of cake mix".) But who needs cake mix when you've got a Thermomix?!

I was given the link to Thermomix Never Fail Cupcakes and converted it to a whole cake recipe with a few tweaks to the method and some additions.

Here is my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients
250g raw sugar
rind of 1 lemon
340g butter
6 eggs
400g self raising flour
2tbs milk
2tsp vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line cake tins. I used a 9cm x 22cm x 7cm loaf tin and a 20cm x 30cm x 5cm cake tin.
Place sugar and lemon rind into TM bowl. Grind on speed 8 for 3 seconds. Add butter and mix for 2 minutes on speed 4. Scrape down sides and mix for a further 1 minute on speed 4 until light and creamy.
Add eggs one at a time whilst the TM is on speed 4. Scrape down sides after adding 3 eggs and then continue adding remaining eggs one at a time.
Add flour, milk and vanilla essence.
Mix on speed 4 for 30 seconds.
Place into tins. Bake until golden on top and skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean - the loaf tin took about 25 minutes and the larger cake tin about 35 minutes.
Once baked leave for 5 minutes and then remove from tins and cool on racks before icing.
(This recipe can be halved.)

For the icing I used a Thermomix conversion of a copha-buttercream icing from Gastronomy. The icing was a bit stiff and hard to work with for a winter birthday but I would have no hesitation at using it in summer (when it's been 40C outside) and my previous attempts at a pure buttercream icing have been a melty mess!

Happy Birthday Sam!

Double chocolate muffins

2011-05-23T21:18:00.000+08:00

Cookbook Adventure #11 - Sweet & Savoury Muffins

Hubby said he had a craving for chocolate muffins and given our excess of leftover Easter chocolate I was only too happy to oblige.

I've had this cute little recipe book for years. It was an often used one in my early baking days - muffins being one of the easiest and quickest treat for a hungry amateur cook.

I have to admit that I was slightly sceptical as to whether the Thermomix would achieve the right texture for a muffin - the trick to muffins (as some of you experienced bakers would know) being a very gentle short mix - otherwise overstirring = tough muffins.

But shame on me for my lack of faith! They were moist and soft and everything you could want in a chocolate muffin.

Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients
200g milk chocolate chips (or easter eggs!)

150g butter

3 eggs

180g milk
270g plain flour
50g cocoa
3 tsp baking powder
130g brown sugar

Method
1. Preheat oven to 190C. Grease muffin tin or line with paper cases. Makes about 12-15 (depending on the size that you want).
2. If using easter eggs - place them in TM bowl and chop into choc chips for 1-2 seconds on speed 5. Set aside.
3. Place butter in TM bowl and melt for 3 minutes on speed 3 at 50C.
4. Add milk and eggs and mix for 10 seconds on speed 5.
5. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, sugar and choc chips and mix for 5 seconds on speed 4 with the aid of the spatula. Check to see whether all ingredients are just combined, otherwise mix for another couple of seconds. Take care not to overmix!
6. Three-quarters fill each hole in the muffin tin.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly touched.

Variation: Use white chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate.

Sausage Rolls

2011-05-16T21:28:00.000+08:00

I was a reluctant attendee of school holiday care in my childhood, but I do have them to thank for sparking my early interest in cooking and this is when and where I started making sausage rolls. After that I would bulk make them a couple of times a year with my Mum, and now they make a weekly appearance in my kids' lunch boxes, as well as at their birthday parties and byo plate events!

I didn't want to put the word "healthy" in the title, as if you have ever made (or seen the making of) puff pastry I think those words are mutually exclusive, but because they are chock full of vegies they are healthier than the ones that come in the refrigerated/freezer section at the shop.

Talking about vegetables, one reason this makes it on to Thermolicious is because now that I have the Thermomix, the sausage rolls don't contain that tasty bit of grated knuckle anymore!

The other reason - I am always asked for the recipe for them (which there isn't a real written down one, being one of those foods that you can make from 'a little bit of this and a little bit of that') but anyway here goes:

Ingredients

100g breadcrumbs

300g carrot

200g onion

2 garlic cloves

100g zucchini

200g red capsicum

750g sausage mince (best sausage mince is from your local butcher)

750g lean beef or premium beef mince

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

4 tbsp tomato sauce

1 egg

salt and black pepper

approximately 10 sheets of 20cm x 20cm puff pastry (you can make your own, but even Jamie Oliver on his 30 minute meals show (episode 21) said he didn't think it was worth the effort for the home cook!)

extra egg for egg wash

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line baking trays with baking paper.

2. Take puff pastry out of freezer and leave on benchtop to thaw.

3. If you don't already have breadcrumbs, use fresh or frozen bread, place in TM bowl and chop for 15 seconds on speed 8. Set aside into a large bowl.

4. Place carrot, onion and garlic into TM bowl and chop for 3-5 seconds on speed 7 until finely chopped. Scrape down sides and chop for a few more seconds on speed 7 if necessary. Place into strainer basket (which should be placed over another slightly larger bowl or plate) so that excess juices can drip through.

5. Place zucchini and capsicum into TM bowl and chop for 3-5 seconds on speed 5 until finely chopped. Add to strainer basket. Use the back of a spoon to squeeze excess juice out of the vegetables (this is to prevent the juice leaching out during the baking process).

6. If you are using lean beef, mince it by placing semi-frozen cubes of beef in TM bowl and chopping for 8-15 on speed 7.

7. Place all ingredients in the large bowl with the breadcrumbs and mix with your hands. (If you are making a half batch you could place all the ingredients in the TM bowl (once they are chopped/minced as per above) together with the condiments and the egg and mix for 30 seconds on speed 4 with the aid of the spatula, until well combined.)

adult size

8. To make sausage rolls cut pastry into half (adult size) or thirds (child size) or fourths (really mini!).

child size

9. Place meat mixture lengthwise across the pastry slightly before the middle of each portion. Roll tightly to encase the meat.

10. Place on baking tray ensuring seam side is on the bottom. Repeat with remaining meat and pastry.

11. Brush with egg wash, cut the rolls with a sharp knife (but you don't need to separate them) and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown (and delicious!).

Tip 1: Try adding other vegies in place of those listed above. Just remember to chop the hard vegies (eg carrot, onion, sweet potato, pumpkin, celery) separately to the soft vegies (eg mushrooms, zucchini, capsicum).
Tip 2: Not enough pastry but you've got leftover meat? Make meatballs!
Tip 2: Freeze sausage rolls for school lunches or byo plate days. Just take out of the freezer and reheat at 150C for 20 minutes.

Choc Fudge Brownies (with a twist)

2011-05-10T22:28:00.000+08:00

Cookbook Adventure #10 - Deceptively Delicious

This is the newest book in my collection and even though I am reluctant to obtain any more cookbooks (see my first Cookbook Adventure post), when I heard about the recipes in this one from a dance school mum (amazing what you learn sitting around waiting for your children during their extra curricular activities), I just couldn't resist.

Now I am a big fan of including vegies in all food and have done so for years (getting 5 serves a day into kids and even hubby can be difficult), but this book takes it to a totally different level. Essentially it is based on batch cooking vegetable purees and then including them into everyday foods where other ingredients disguise the taste of the vegetable.

So you can start with this:

and together with a few other ingredients, you can produce this:

Interested? The Disney website has the original recipe and here's my slightly adulterated (and a bit more wicked) Thermotalk version:

The vegetable purees
Ingredients
5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise into thin sticks
1 bunch of spinach, washed

Method
Place 600g water into TM bowl. Place carrot sticks into Varoma receptacle and tray, each in a single layer. Steam at Varoma temperature for 20 minutes on speed 2 or until carrots are tender. Remove carrots and steam spinach at Varoma temperature for 3 minutes on speed 2.
Reserve a small amount (about 20g) of steaming water and remove the rest from the TM bowl. Place steamed carrots into TM bowl and blend for 20 seconds on speed 6 or until you get a smooth puree. Remove carrot puree and set aside.
Place steamed spinach into TM bowl. Blend for 20 seconds on speed 6 or until you get a smooth puree. Remove spinach puree and set aside. If making brownies immediately after making the purees there is no need to wash the bowl.

The brownies
Ingredients
100g dark chocolate (I used 85% Lindt but next time I would use the 70% Lindt)
30g butter
120g carrot puree
120g spinach puree
120g brown sugar
20g cocoa powder
2tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
110g plain wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
60g milk chocolate chips (or smashed Easter eggs!)

Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 20cm x 20cm tin with baking paper.
Place chocolate into TM bowl. Grind for 20 seconds on speed 8. Add butter to TM bowl and melt at 50C for 90 seconds on speed 3.
Add carrot, spinach, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and egg. Mix on speed 5 for 30 seconds.
Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds.
Add chocolate chips and mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds.
Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool completely in the tin. Decorate with sprinkled icing sugar or drizzled milk chocolate ganache (see EDC page 160 (but substitute dark chocolate for milk chocolate to get the contrast in colours)). Cut into squares or bars.

Serving tip: best eaten at room temperature (apparently if eaten warm you can taste the spinach). Due to the vegetables' moisture content, the brownies get fudgier and more dense the longer you keep them. I love the fudgy texture but my kids were more keen on them when freshly baked and lighter.

Japanese Cabbage Salad

2011-05-02T21:10:00.000+08:00

Since I mentioned that I made some Japanese salads (plural) in a recent post, I thought I should follow up with the other salad that I made for our sushi night.

This salad doesn't sound all that glamorous but it is deceptively delicious AND stunningly simple to make. The combination of garlic, ginger and spring onion gives a really fresh hit to the tastebuds and is complimented by the crunchy nutty sweetness of the almonds and sesame seeds. An incredibly healthy (only 15g of oil!) but surprisingly flavoursome salad.

I found the original recipe on All Recipes.com and here is my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients
1 clover of garlic
1cm knob of fresh ginger, peeled
15g sesame oil
30g rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
750g cabbage
150g spring onions
150g slivered almonds, toasted
50g sesame seeds, toasted

Method
Place garlic and ginger in TM bowl. Chop for 3 seconds on speed 8. Scrape down sides.
Add sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix for 30 seconds on speed 2.
Add spring onions. Chop for 3 seconds on speed 7.
Add cabbage. Chop for 5 seconds on speed 4.
Pour into serving bowl and sprinkle with almonds and sesame seeds.

Double-Decker Mud Cake

2011-04-25T00:29:00.002+08:00

Cookbook Adventure #9 - The Australian Women's Weekly "chocolate cakes"

Happy Easter!

I offered to make dessert for Easter Sunday dinner, so of course this was the perfect cookbook for this adventure. Some colleagues kindly gave it to me in place of a birthday card given my predilection for all things chocolate!

This double-decker mud cake was a winner from the start and it may turn out to be an Easter regular (or for a post Easter "use up all my kids' easter eggs" baking frenzy).

The original recipe can be found on the Australian Women's Weekly website and here is my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients

150g white cooking chocolate

250g butter

220g raw sugar (original recipe had 440g!)

250g milk

225g plain flour

75g self raising flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 tbsp cocoa powder

500g milk cooking chocolate

210g cream

Method

Preheat oven to 150C. Grease two deep 20cm round cake pans; line bases and sides with baking paper.

Place white chocolate in TM bowl. Grate for 5 seconds on speed 8.

Add butter, sugar and milk. Mix at 50C for 3 minutes on speed 2.

Add flours, vanilla and eggs. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 5.

Pour half of the mixture into one of the prepared pans (half is when you can just see the pointed end of the TM blade sticking out of the remaining mixture in the TM bowl).

Add cocoa and mix for 10 seconds on speed 5.

Pour into other prepared pan.

Bake cakes for about 50 minutes or when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Stand cakes in pans for 5 minutes then turn cakes, top-side up onto a wire rack to cool.

Wash the TM bowl and then make the frosting.

Place milk chocolate in TM bowl and grate for 7 seconds on speed 8. Add cream and heat at 50C for 4 minutes on speed 3. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for about an hour (or until spreadable), stirring occasionally.

To put the cake together - split each cooled cake in half. Place one layer of cake on serving plate. Spread with milk chocolate mixture. Repeat layering alternating colours. Cover top and sides of cake with remaining chocolate mixture.

Decorating the top of the cake is optional. The Lindt white choc bunny was just perfect for this occasion.

But of course it had to be shattered to be shared!

Cleaning tip: After making the frosting make yourself or your choc loving child a yummy hot chocolate by placing 150ml of milk into TM bowl and heating at 70C for 4 minutes on speed 2. This will ensure every last skerrick of chocolate is consumed and the TM bowl will only need a quick rinse afterwards!

Japanese Mayo & Potato Salad

2011-04-19T22:03:00.003+08:00

It was sushi night at our place and I decided to make some Japanese salads to compliment it.

Hubby makes the best sushi (as vouched for by many friends and family). Unfortunately this is one thing the Thermomix can't do!

Potatoes were plentiful in my pantry and so potato salad seemed an obvious choice. And what's Japanese Potato Salad without Japanese Mayonnaise? We are usually an ardent fan of Kewpie Mayonnaise, but in my Thermomix mindset of course I had to have an attempt at making it. Found this recipe at Bella Online but have tweaked it to my taste.

Mayonnaise
Ingredients
1 egg at room temperature (very important!)
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp karashi hot mustard (which I didn't have so used hot english!)
1 tsp white sugar
250g canola oil

Method
Insert butterfly. Place all ingredients except oil into TM bowl. Mix for 1 minute on speed 4. With blades rotating on speed 4 and MC in place, slowly drizzle the oil into the lid (should take about 6 minutes to incorporate all the oil).
Store in a sterilised jar. To be the on the safe side most recipes say that it keeps for a couple of days but I have kept it for 2 weeks (just try to use fresh eggs and wash it before cracking).

Potato Salad

This recipe is based on a recipe posted by Just Hungry, however I have again varied the ingredients a bit for taste and texture, and of course used the Thermomix for the whole process! Here it is in Thermotalk:

Ingredients

4 firm medium sized potatoes, scrubbed

2 small carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise

1 small cob of corn, peeled and cut into 3cm length cobs

1 egg

1 stalk of celery

1 small onion or two spring onions

100g Japanese mayonnaise
Salt and pepper

Method

Place 500g of water, 1/2 tsp of salt and a pinch of sugar into TM bowl. Insert simmering basket and place potatoes and egg into it. Place corn and carrots into Varoma receptacle and place Varoma into position. Steam cook for 25 minutes on Varoma temperature speed 1. After 15 minutes remove the corn and egg and set aside. Continue cooking the potatoes and carrots for the remaining time. Once cooked remove simmering basket and throw out water.

Peel potatoes whilst warm (use a kitchen towel if necessary). Peel egg.

Place onions and celery into TM bowl. Chop for 3 seconds on speed 5.

Roughly break potatoes, carrot and egg into half and add to the TM bowl.

Cut corn kernels off corn cob and add to the TM bowl (give remaining cob to a teething baby as a tasty and healthy rusk!)

Add mayonnaise and salt and pepper to TM bowl. Mix for 10 seconds on speed 4 or until chopped to the texture that you prefer.

Best eaten at room temperature (so if you do refrigerate it, remember to take it out at least 10 minutes before serving).

Cooking order tip: If you are making the mayonnaise and the potato salad on the same day, then do it in the following order to minimise washing up:

Cook potatoes, egg, carrots, and corn.
Rinse out steaming water and dry TM bowl.
Make mayonnaise.
Remove the mayonnaise to a sterilised jar but don't worry about washing the TM bowl.
Complete the remaining steps for making the potato salad.

Choc Chip Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-12T21:39:00.002+08:00

It's Easter time and I've been busy hot cross bunning! (If you count 3 batches baked in 10 days as busy). The recipe is in the EDC (page 117 sans the choc chips). However I've decided to post my own version which came about purely by accident!
When making my first batch of the season I didn't realise my TM cord was caught up under one of its legs and resulted in serious weighing errors (something one should have learnt in Thermomix 101!) I only discovered this once I had put in the milk and was weighing in the flour so there was no going back. As I hate waste, I didn't throw it out but plowed ahead and did it all by "feel". It produced the best batch I have ever made. And therein lay the problem - I was not sure I could recreate it because of the errors! Anyway a couple of experiments (and many calories) later, I think I have it.

So here's my Thermotalk version of this month's "hottest" bun:
Ingredients
400g milk
60g raw sugar

15g dry yeast (4 tsp)

650g bakers flour
2 tsp salt
90g butter
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
200g mixed dried fruit (or your own favourite combo of any or all of sultanas, raisins, currants, cranberries, cherries, mixed peel (but don't use more than 20g of this unless you really like the orange/lemon rind taste))
Approximately half a cup of dark chocolate chips
Extra butter

Method
Place milk into TM bowl and cook for 2 minutes at 60C on speed 1.
Place remaining ingredients (in order of the recipe list) into the TM bowl except the dried fruit and choc chips, and mix for 6 seconds on speed 7.
Place dried fruit into the TM bowl and mix for 10 seconds on speed 5.
Set dial to closed lid position and knead for 4 minutes on Interval setting.

Dough before first prove

Remove from TM bowl and put into a bowl to prove. As the dough is quite sticky, use buttered hands to make it easier to remove from the TM bowl.

Doubled!

Put in a warm place to prove for 1 to 1.5 hours until dough more than doubles in size.
Grease a large baking tray (30cm x 40cm) (you can use baking paper but I find that I get a better bun if it is baked directly on the tray).

With buttered hands pull off enough dough for a dinner roll size bun, press 4-6 chocolate chips into the base and fold over to enclose and create a smooth top on your bun. Makes about 24.

Buns before second prove

Place onto baking tray about 1cm apart so that they have room to grow. Cover and let prove for about an hour until the buns are touching each other.

Crossed & ready for the oven

Pipe with crosses and bake in a pre-heated oven at 220C for 12 minutes or until a golden colour. Leave oven on.

Brush with hot sugar syrup and then place back into the oven for another minute to set the glaze.

Piping Mixture
Place 50g water, 40g plain flour, 1/2 tsp light olive oil and a pinch of salt in TM bowl and mix to combine for 30 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides if necessary and mix again until mixture is smooth and of pancake consistency. Pour into a piping bag (or a ziplock/freezer bag and snip a tiny bit off the corner) and pipe out the crosses onto the buns.

Sugar syrup
Dissolve 3 tbsp raw sugar in 3 tbsp of boiling water by stirring vigorously.

Best eaten straight from the oven whilst warm! Still good to eat a day later, and if (in the unlikely event) you have any leftover pop them in the freezer for a yummy snack another day.

Upside Down Blood Plum Tart

2011-04-05T21:39:00.000+08:00

Cookbook Adventure #8 - "food fast"

With plums in season I couldn't resist finding a recipe which used them. In particular blood plums, because of their velvety redness, which when cooked looks fabulously vibrant.

So I delved through my recipe book collection and found this recipe, which was perfect as I also had some almonds to use up. And the added bonus was that it promised to be fast (as per the name of the book) ... it was!

Photo from p108 of food fast

This recipe book was my first marie claire cookbook (I now have three large ones (all by Donna Hay) and 4 small ones) and I've always loved how each recipe has a delicious looking photo to accompany it (I like to know what the cooked product is supposed to look like!)

In this instance, since I was making dessert for 8 people, and couldn't be bothered mucking around with 8 individual bowls, I thought I would experiment with doing it in a flan tin. I know, a bit risky with an untested recipe, but the occasion was not a do or die and the result was worth the risk!

Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients
4-6 blood plums (depending on what will fit into your tart tin), stone removed
165g almonds
160g raw sugar
190g butter, cubed
85g plain flour
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 200C.
Grease a flan or tart tin and line the bottom with non stick baking paper. (Check out Jamie's website for an easy way to make a circle of baking paper (aka a "cartouche"). I learnt this from watching his first tv series!)
Cut plums into six even segments and place into the tin in a circular pattern or however you want it to look when turned upside down!
Place almonds in TM bowl. Grind for 10 seconds on speed 8. Set aside.
Place sugar in TM bowl. Mill for 3 seconds on speed 9.
Add butter, mix for 20 seconds on speed 5.
Add flour, eggs, almonds and vanilla and mix for 30 seconds on speed 4.
Spread mixture evenly over plums in tin. Smooth top to make it even.
Bake for 20 minutes or until filling is puffed and golden.
Leave in tin for 5 minutes and then turn out onto the serving plate to cool.

Eat by itself or serve with Thermomix vanilla bean icecream (see EDC page 150 but use a real vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste and not just vanilla essence.)

Variation: Try substituting yellow nectarines or golden peaches for the plums.