Welcome to my very first guest post on Orgasmic Chef!  I’ve been a bit under the weather with first one thing and then another and I was so pleased that Anuradha from Bakerstreet.tv (@bakerstreet29) agreed to do a guest post for me.  I’m tickled pink to share this wonderful cupcake recipe with you because I think she’s a wonderful baker.

I’ve known An for a while now and I’ve really enjoyed watching her blossom as a blogger and on Twitter.  She is always first to sign on to help another blogger with project and she does a fantastic job with Muffin Monday.  Please visit her blog post and tell her you saw her here?  That would make me feel really good because she’s been so nice to offer to help.  Her photos remind me so much of Donna Hay style. Here’s her post!

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I’m thrilled to guest post for Maureen today. This is my first ever guest post and it is my absolute pleasure to write one for my very talented friend, Maureen. I’ve always admired her work. Her blog Orgasmic Chef says a lot about who she is. Her love for cooking and experiments with flavors shows in the results: mouthwatering food she shares with us week on week.

Unlike so many professionals, she not only creates her own signature recipes but also doesn’t mind sharing her secrets with the world. Even her misadventures in the kitchen evokes empathy!

Extremely excited when Maureen asked me, I instantly had a million ideas running through my head because she left it entirely up to me to decide what I should bake for her. There were several options but I jumped when she suggested cupcakes. I almost never get a chance to bake them since I am baking muffins week after week for Muffin Monday. And yes, even though cupcakes and muffins are technically very different, they’re still distant cousins in the same family.

I love cupcakes. They are tiny bites of manna. And there are no pangs of guilt should you try a tiny little cupcake. Right?

What I’m baking for Maureen today are Vanilla Almond cupcakes with a maple cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes are unbelievably delicious. There are two very simple flavors put together in a soft and moist cake. Perfect to share with a friend.

 

Last week when I was at the farmer’s market the pineapple grower and I started chatting and he asked me if I had ever roasted a whole pineapple.  I hadn’t but it gave me a great idea.  Roast a pineapple and make sorbet out of it.  It was delicious.  It’s different than pineapple sorbet made from fresh or canned pineapple.

I love cooked pineapple, especially with ham but I’ve never roasted the whole pinapple. I’ve always grilled or fried it.  I have to tell you, your entire house will smell of sweet roasted pineapple.  It was fantastic!

I loved this.  This sorbet has so much pineapple in it that it doesn’t freeze rock solid so it’s easy to eat.  Roasting the pineapple first makes it really sweet.  I added some sugar but I think next time I will taste the roasted pineapple before just plonking the sugar in.

No skills are needed to make this sorbet but it does take a bit of time and an ice cream maker.  Start by preheating the oven to 200° C or 400° F.  Cut the leaves off the top of the pineapple if your pineapple came with leaves and place it in a roasting pan.  Roast til soft for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  My pineapple wasn’t huge so it only took 1 1/2 hours.  Then let it cool.

Once the pineapple is cool, cut the outside layer off and cut out the little brown things and then cut the pineapple in quarters and remove the core and discard.  Roughly cut the pineapple and place it in the food processor with a simple syrup made from 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water.  I only used about 1/3 cup of syrup but you might need more or less.  My sorbet was definitely sweet.

Then I added 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/4 cup of water.  I added water until I thought it looked like sorbet.  I suppose it will depend on how roasted your pineapple would be and how dry it ended up.  Whiz in the processor for a few minutes to break down all the pineapple fiber and then place in the refrigerator to chill.

Once cold, place the sorbet mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze.  You’ll love it!

When I make this again I’m going to try adding a bit more water or roasting the pineapple for a shorter length of time and make popsicles out of it.  Yum !!

 

 

It’s been a really busy week for me and I haven’t had anywhere near the time I need in the kitchen.  Cooking for me is a need in the same way writers need to write and artists need to paint.  I’m just not happy unless I have that creative outlet.  We had old friends from southern Australia visit this week and because it’s June we ate hefty wintery food and I wanted a light dessert that wouldn’t be filling.  Meringue is really versatile and my guests say it’s like eating sweet air.

I’d made fresh strawberry ice cream and I had egg whites left over and that always spells meringue at our house.  I decided to make rectangles because I have this lovely rectangular plate and I wanted to use it.  Never mind that the size of my meringues were larger than would look good on the plate, it was still a good idea. A round plate did just fine.  Next time I’ll measure the plate!

My meringues are only room temperature egg whites and caster or superfine sugar – that’s it.  Whip the egg whites til foamy and then add the sugar very slowly and beat until you rub some of the mixture between your fingers and there’s no gritty sugar left.  Then shape into layers on baking paper and bake in a low oven til they’re crunchy on the outside and moist and fluffy on the inside.

I have visited some wonderful blogs this week and want to share them with you.  Veronica’s Cornucopia has a delicious Pound Cake made with Condensed Milk and I can’t get this recipe out of my head.  I will have to make it soon or I won’t get any sleep.  Kissed By Sweets made the cutest little donut holes from a recipe she found for Mini Donut Muffins.  If you like donuts these look really easy to make. For thirsty people who love watermelon and pomegranate, Chef in Disguise posted a recipe called Watermelon Pomegranate Dream that puts these two flavors together brilliantly.  Finally, if you’re a raspberry lover and a blueberry lover like I am, then you won’t be able to resist Blissfully Delicious’ Fresh Berry Tart.  The berries sit on lovely pastry cream and would be perfect for a summer night’s dessert.

 

 

I was cleaning out the freezer and found some raspberries from summer and thought maybe a tart with these and some apples with a streusel topping with flaked almonds.  I was on  a mission!

Do you ever lose things in your freezer?  I have a friend who inventories (and dates) everything in her freezer and keeps it posted on the outside. I can only dream about EVER being that organized.  She does the same thing with her pantry but keeps that inventory in a notebook she takes with her to the grocery store.  Yeah, I couldn’t live with her either but she’s great fun on a night out.

It’s not often I make something without getting a recipe first.  Sometimes you just suck it and see how it turns out.  Turned out mighty fine!  My crust recipe is always good and I figured the filling couldn’t be too difficult.

Since my berries were frozen and I wanted to make the tart NOW I put them in a sauce pan and melted them until all their royal goodness oozed out. The color of raspberries is almost as exciting as eating them just off the vine.  It’s a marvelous color.  …and yes, I overfilled the tart.  I couldn’t help myself.  I’ll do better next time.  Right now I’m full of apple raspberry tart.

Here’s how I made it.

 

 

When they named this recipe they certainly didn’t go wrong thinking it should be made for royalty. It’s so good.  It’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s chocolatey and perfect when you want to wow your guests.  I used to make this for my son when he was growing up.  If he ever asked for “my cake” I knew it was always this one he wanted.

I don’t make it often because I can’t stay away from it.  I foiled myself this time though, I served it for dessert at dinner the night after I baked it and then I froze the rest in slices.  Now when I’m having a HUGE craving, I will eat just one small piece.   Remarkable restraint on my part.

It’s fairly easy to make — there aren’t many ingredients in a cheesecake.  Once you have the crust done it goes pretty fast.  The original recipe calls for a cookie type crust but I’m partial to a graham cracker crust on this cake.  Either one would be good though.

 

When I said the cake was rich, it’s got 3 packages of Philly cream cheese and a cup of chocolate chips, 6 eggs and a cup of sour cream.  When they said “royal” dessert they were thinking BIG.

 

 

Sounds decadent, doesn’t it?  It’s made out of free range eggs, so it’s got to be healthy, right?  This is not a dessert you’d make for every day but it’s a stunning finale for a light dinner party meal. Because it’s made out of meringue, you might think it’s a light dessert too, but don’t let it fool you.  There’s lots of yummy cream on it.

There’s a story behind this dessert.  When I first moved to Australia we had what I lovingly refer to as “the first parental visit” to our home for dinner.  I’m a pretty good cook and I wasn’t the least bit concerned but my darling husband was fretting.  He wasn’t fretting in a big way but I could tell he wanted this to go well.  He’s the baby of the family and has always been a bit spoiled.

He wanted his parents to like me and I am American – you know, of those gum chewing Americans you see on TV.  I’m not kidding.  All Americans live in big cities and they chew gum — that was my inlaws’ impression of me before they ever met me.  I have no idea where the gum chewing came from, but I suspect it was on TV.  I laughed it off and said, “Look, all they have to do is meet me and they’ll like me, I promise.”

Him:  What are you serving for dinner?

Me:  Oh.. maybe the pork fillet with apple onion marmalade (it was my fave at the time)

Him: You don’t know what you’re cooking yet??

Me:  No, why?  It’s just dinner for God’s sake.

Him:  You haven’t met my mother, it’s never just dinner.

Me:  I should expect the inquisition?

Him:  Not that bad but you’ll be judged by what you serve and how you serve it.

Me:  Then it’s their problem not mine.

Him:  Oh right, I can see a disaster looming.  Seriously, what ARE you going to cook?

Me:  Ok, I’ll make the pork and I’ll serve a pavlova for dessert

Him:  Have you ever made a pavlova?  That’s a pretty Australian dessert.  It took my mother years to perfect hers. You can’t serve a dessert you’ve never tried, especially to my mother!

Me:  It’s a dessert.  I can read a freakin recipe.  Will you calm down?

Him:  Can you make a cheese platter up just in case the pav doesn’t work out?  Can you do it for me?

Me:  (while rolling my eyes out of my head)  Yes, dear, I can do that for you.  Stop fretting. They will like me.  I’m a likeable person.  You like me, don’t you?

And that’s how it went.  Pavlova is a dessert created for the famous Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova during one of her visits to Australia (or New Zealand – both countries claim the dessert as theirs).  It’s similar to a cake but made out of meringue.  Dry on the outside by soft, moist and delicious on the inside.  Think lemon meringue pie without the lemon or the crust. It’s topped with heaps of whipped cream and on top of the cream are berries or other fruit and on top of that, drizzled passionfruit pulp.  It’s easy to love what we lovingly refer to as a “pav”.

I decided I’d “Americanize” the pavlova (notice I didn’t type Americanise – it still doesn’t seem normal even after all these years) and instead of the standard whipped cream, berries and passionfruit, I’d make chocolate whipped cream and add chopped roasted hazelnuts.  Oh, and I’d make it two layers.  You don’t want to hear what he had to say about that!

There are several schools of thought about how to make a pavlova and everyone has a different idea.  When I first looked up how to make a pav all those years ago I found a recipe that said, “keep it simple” and I’ve done that every time.  Some recipes call for vanilla, cornstarch (cornflour) or vinegar – I’ve never used anything but egg whites and sugar and mine come out yummy every time.

Then I whip cream and add chocolate syrup. How much?  Until it looks chocolatey.  I need to be better at developing recipes.  I’m pretty good at the creating but I’m not so good at the writing down what I did bit.  I change something every time.  It’s not a good look when you’re telling people how to make something to say, “add syrup until it looks chocolatey.”

When the layers are cool I spread the whipped cream on the bottom layer, sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts over the cream and drizzle some chocolate syrup over it.  Then it gets a bit tricky.  You have to pick up the top layer of pavlova and rip the baking paper off and set it down on top of the cream without breaking the delicate pavlova in the process.  If you are careful it works just fine, just don’t toss it around like a bowling ball because it’s quite fragile.

Once the 2nd layer is in place, I put the rest of the cream on top and finish with the rest of the chopped hazelnuts and drizzle with the chocolate syrup and it’s a beautiful dessert.

Now for the rest of the inlaws story.  My dessert looked just like this but I put it in the fridge behind something hoping hubs would forget and he did.  The parentals arrived, we had a lovely dinner and I brought out the dessert. MIL was duly impressed and did the oohing and ahhing.  I served his mother, his father and me pieces of pavlova.  I brought John a plate of cheese and crackers and said, “I told you I could read,” and told his mother the story.  There was much laughter and my dear husband had two pieces of pavlova and sat there beaming.

Don’t be afraid of trying this recipe or any recipe.  Cooking is never a contest — it’s about sharing food with family and friends.  This is a sweet dessert so you don’t need a very big piece.

Here’s the recipe!

 

 

The other night I was cooking dinner and decided that the meal was good enough and I didn’t need to make a dessert.  After dinner, however, my stomach yelled, “Hey, what’s for dessert??”  You’ve heard that call too, I’m sure.  So what do you make in a hurry before the moment passes?

You make a fresh strawberry tart!

I always keep store bought puff pastry in the freezer. One of these days I’ll make my own and it will be much better but til then it’s puff pastry that comes in a roll and lives in my freezer.

Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

I could have used a shortcrust dough and made a freeform tart but frozen puff pastry takes only a few minutes to prepare.  I cut the pastry into squarish rectangles and if I’d been worried about looking brilliant I would have cut a 2nd layer for the raised edge.  For the two of us I just folded it over and used this little free range beauty to egg wash the tarts.

I egg washed them and placed them in the fridge for about 10 minutes.  Not sure why but I always do.

After I took the tray out of the fridge I spread strawberry jam as the bottom layer.

Then I put a thin layer of ricotta cheese and placed strawberries that I’d cut in half on top of that and then a dot of ricotta on top and drizzled with caramelized balsamic vinegar.

When I was at my last cooking class I bought some pastry dough cutters like this one.  I cut out the leaf and placed it on the baking sheet and sprinkled demerara sugar on top and baked them for about 8 minutes.  I added them to the tops of the tarts just for a bit of decoration.

This tart would be great with any berry or fruit or combination. I think I’ll try it with stewed rhubarb and strawberry next time.

 

 

Are you like me and you weave your way through food blogs and recipe sites and  photo just strikes you right in the gut??  and your gut says, “Hey, make that for me!”  So you do.

 

Well that happened to me this morning.  I was looking at a photography site and there was this picture of baklava, the Greek pastry we all love so much, just sitting there on the screen DARING me to bake it.  I had the dough in the freezer and all the other ingredients so I was off to the races – the cooking races as it were.

I began by heating the oven to 150C and spreading the walnuts and pistachio nuts on a cookie tray and toasted them for about 7 minutes – just enough to bring out the flavor and because Maggie Beer said I should always do that with walnuts.  (Thanks Maggie, you’re my foodie hero)

Next I prepared my work area so everything would be at my fingertips.  Maybe it’s a throwback from my years working in manufacturing but the fewer movements I have to make, the better my cooking turns out.  I never have to wonder what I’m looking for and everything gets put together in the order it should be.

Here’s my favorite Baklava recipe: