Dont you want me Baby.....?

Well friends it would seem my hopes of TV superstardom are to be dashed once again. Despite a cracking audition vid (courtesy of Mr PK’s very clever cousin, who kindly brought his filming expertise, amazing kit and extreme amounts of patience to my kitchen for the price of a sponge cake) and potential writers cramp filling out an extensive application form I am not to be the next NZ Hottest Home Baker……..sigh.

I am must say I thought I might at least warrant an audition, but perhaps there was a surplus of competent baking woman my age (“cough cough”) with a taste for floral aprons & nary a tattoo to be seen clamouring to appear on screen?

I shall not however waste a perfectly good film, if you would like step by step instructions in the Art of the Sponge, please ignore the references to auditions and sugar companies & enjoy….

At least I got to feel like Nigella for five minutes………..

Ellerslie’s Slightly Lukewarm but still Enthusiastic Baker xx

Afternoon tea, make mine cake......

Friends coming for afternoon tea, and as per usual I am running late . I made these great Vege muffins, but wanted something sweet, quick yet special . The answer, an old fashioned jam and cream sponge.

I don't know why I don't make sponge cake more often, it was just delicious. Light, delicate, yet still feeling like proper cake, perfect for visitors. And so easy! Although two year old Matt was much more interested in the icing sugar than any actual cake.......

Growing up I don't really remember Mum making sponge cakes. Dad played cricket with a man whose wife Barbara made the ultimate sponge. Mile high and light as a feather, she would always turn up for functions with her signature and no one else was about to compete! Mum's Black Forest Cheesecake was her signature, I must say a sponge is a heck of a lot quicker to make........

Sponge Sandwich  (based on the Edmonds Cookbook.....of course)

3 eggs

Pinch of salt

125 gr sugar

Splash of vanilla extract

25 gr cornflower

50 gr plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat your oven to 190C . Beat the eggs, with the salt, sugar and vanilla (or use vanilla sugar). I use the Kitchen-aid, but you could also use an electric hand beater, or a whisk. I know the whisk works because the finest sponge I ever made was with a small balloon whisk. Looking at my bingo wings I should have kept making them. 

Beat until the mixture is very thick, pale and fluffy. Fold in the cornflour, flour and baking powder VERY gently with a metal spoon. Spoon into two 20cm sandwich tins, greased and lined with baking paper. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Cool for a couple of minutes then turn onto a wire rack to cool. Peel the paper off and when cool fill with good tangy raspberry jam and fresh whipped cream. Dust with icing sugar

If you look at the picture above you can see the marks where the top layer has cooled on the wire rack, to avoid, flip over when you first turn out of the tin!

Be my Madeleine...

I don't usually advocate recipes that require very specialized equipment. Most of us don't have enough storage as it is, never mind filling it up with a plethora of seldom used gizmo's. But of course rules are made to be broken, and when my sister (vintage magpie!) gave me a lovely old french madeleine tin for Christmas I was rather pleased.

These lovely little cakes were made most famous by the French writer Proust. In his novel "In Search of Lost Time" the narrator refers to them in a passage about involuntary memory. On tasting a madeleine he is instantly transported back to his Aunt's bedside, where as a child he tasted the little cake dipped in her tea.

I cant honestly say they hold any such associations for me, mine was a childhood of lamingtons, pavlova and mellowpuffs, but I think the idea is entirely valid. Whenever I make the spiced fruit biscuits Mum used to make for our school lunches I am right back sitting on a bench at playlunch, throw a mince pie into the mix and it really is school days all over again......

Essentially these are a very delicate tender sponge cooked in tins shaped like a shell. I made this recipe up as I had great limes to use and wanted a slightly tropical flavour. I would like to try a version using coconut also, maybe in place of the ground almond. The nuts add a moistness, but can be left out if you cant/wont eat nuts.

Madeleine's don't keep well, so I would not suggest these as a tin filler, but for a special treat, maybe afternoon tea, or with coffee after a meal they are just right. And very easy to make, using no special equipment other than your lovely tins.

Lime Vanilla Madeleine

This recipe makes 24 little cakes

2 eggs

1/3 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste (or use vanilla sugar and omit the paste)

1/2 cup plain flour

1 tbsp ground almonds (optional, use an extra tbsp flour if you don't have almonds)

1 tsp baking powder

Grated zest of a lime

95 grams melted butter

Preheat the oven to 180C

Beat the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale. Add the vanilla paste if using and beat again.

Sift in the flour and baking powder, the add the almonds and lime zest (they wont go through the sieve) and fold the mixture together gently. I have come across a few recipes that say beat in the flour but I think this gives you tough cakes and funny peaks when they are cooked.

Add the melted butter and fold in. Spoon about a dessertspoon  of the mixture into your tins, which you have first buttered and floured. I just use a pastry brush dipped in the melted butter and brushed all over the tins. Then using a tea strainer or a teaspoon sprinkle over some flour and shake the excess out over the sink. This stops the cakes sticking.

Cook for 7-10 minutes until the cakes are coloured but not too dark. They will start to pull away ever so slightly from the tins. Leave to cool for a few minutes before using a little knife to gently loosen the edges, before you lift the madeleine's out. You will think they have stuck, but don't stress, they will peel off the tin.

The sponge is beautifully tender, and the delicate shell pattern is really pretty. Not flashy like a cupcake, but understated and not overly sweet. The lime flavour comes through against the vanilla, and the ground almond gives a moistness also. I ate four with a cup of tea, bliss.......

You can buy madeleine tins at kitchenware shops, but do keep a lookout in vintage shops , online auctions and Hospice and Salvation Army shops. Both of these organisations do amazing work in New Zealand, and by shopping at their shops you are supporting that work. I have had recent personal experience of the help Hospice can be at a difficult time, and they deserve every cent that comes their way. 

So take along unwanted items, old clothing, books, housewares etc. You get some extra space, and someone else ultimately benefits. I recently sent along about a hundred food magazines from the last few years. Mind you Mr PK's language was not very charitable when he tried to lift the box into the car.........

Check out this guide to vintage shops in Auckland

Afternoon Tea, and a bit of a pickle......

What a lovely weekend! Fab weather, and a great time catching up with friends, and meeting new ones. Mairi from over at toast and I ventured to West Auckland to meet up with pease pudding and enjoy a delish Afternoon Tea at her kitchen on the amazing west coast. Do I have kitchen envy? Yes I do.
Did I scoff cakes, sandwiches (including cucumber, yum) tarts (both sweet and savoury) and scones with homemade jam? Oh yes I did.

If you want to enjoy a beautiful spread, with some unusual teas (the Valentine, scented with chocolate and rosebud was my fav), keep checking her blog for dates, don't miss out.....
Aside from the spread, it was also a treat to meet fellow bloggers, also attending was Sasa from sasasunakku, this is a beautiful blog, so it was cool to meet the clever bean behind it. Allison also had a couple of charming local friends along, so we had a great time talking (I know, a bunch of clever girls in a room and we talked a bit, who knew?) eating and supping, a very civilised way to spend the afternoon.

Lets bring back afternoon tea! It is such a brilliant relaxed way to entertain. One of my sisters is particularly crafty, and I love the idea of having "craft soirees" (or stitch 'n bitch if you prefer...) , sitting knitting, sewing or whatever, while enjoying cakes, sandwiches and tea (and a crafty bubbly?).......obviously I would be on food and beverage duty, me crafting usually ends in tears, sometimes of frustration, sometimes because I have sewn over my finger, either way I am better in the kitchen.......


So I wont be crocheting my own bikini this summer, and now it is warm the hottie cover I have been knitting (for five years) isn't likely to make a Xmas stocking. I can however, create my own edible gifts. A fav of the men in my family , and me, is gherkins. Also known as dill pickles, these are a fairly polarising item, but we love them.
The gherkins themselves are ridiculously easy to grow , and the actual pickling process takes about 15 minutes of very low stress labour. I have four plants I picked up at the garden centre growing in recycling bins. They require little more than good soil and plenty of water. The great thing about gherkins is you can make jars as the fruit ripens, rather than having to do it all in one hit. I did a jar the other day, and will do another in about a week when the little fruits ripen up.....

Pickled Gherkins - recipe from Homegrown 2 by NZ Gardener magazine

6-10 Gherkins
a clove of garlic per jar
fresh dill (if you don't have fresh use 1 tsp dill seeds)
1 tbsp pickling spice
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp salt
1 1/4 cups white vinegar
1 1/4 cups water

Put the garlic clove and dill into a clean jar, then squash in as many gherkins as you can. The liquid will
 be enough for one jar, so multiply accordingly. Put the spices into a muslin bag (or use a piece of cloth or an old undyed hankie and tie the top with string). In a small sauce pan put the spice bag, with the sugar, salt, vinegar and water. Simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes, then bring to the boil and pour over the pickles. Seal the jars, your pickles will be ready in 4 weeks.

Heaven with cold meat, on a burger, chopped into potato salad.........or eaten standing in front of the fridge, right from the jar.