Sweet Tooth Experiments

Monthly Archives: April 2014

Rice and Almond Tart

Posted on Posted in Tarts .

rice tart

Rice and Almond Tart

If you are a fan of almonds and want to try a recipe with a very interesting and unique texture then this tart is for you.

I’m not really a big rice eater nor almond, however incorporating rice in a tart seemed interesting and got me wanting to experiment.

This tart is not super sweet but goes very well with a dollop of cream or ice-cream on the side for a filling sweet treat.

rice tart

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of rice milk
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 1 tsn cinnamon
  • ½ cup medium grain rice
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup almond meal
  • ½ tsn almond essence
  • 1 tbsn lime rind finally grated
  • 1 x 28cm sweet short crust pastry shell or store brought sweet crust pastry.

 

Method:

  1. If using store brought pastry, roll out on a lightly floured surface and transfer pastry into a lightly greased 25cm loose-bottomed tart pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. If you are using a bought tart shell omit this step.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200c.
  3. Line the pan with baking paper and fill with rice (this is called blind baking which stops the center of the pastry in the tart rising).
  4.   Bake for 15 minutes, remove paper and rice and cook for a further 5 minutes until ever so slightly browned.
  5. Place milk, sugar and cinnamon in a pan and stir over the stove on low until the sugar is dissolved. Boil, add the rice then simmer covered, stirring every 5 minutes for 25 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Cool.
  6. Blend the rice with a mixer/food processor until smooth.
  7. Mix the rice mix, eggs, almond meal, almond essence and rind in a bowl.
  8. Pour into the pastry shell and cook on 180c in the oven for 20 minutes until golden.

 

Notes:

  • This can be served with cream or ice-cream.

 

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Hummingbird Cake

Posted on Posted in America, Cakes .

Hummingbird Cake recipe

Hummingbird Cake

I actually just realised, I love pineapple but don’t recall EVER making a cake with this ingredient…

Being a fan of making different and traditional recipes I became familiar with an American cake treat – the Hummingbird cake.

There are actually quite a few variations of this cake, some with carrot, some with banana, some with walnuts, some with pecans. However, after doing a little investigating I managed to track down the original recipe that was created by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of North Carolina in February 1978!

Needless to say I opted for the ingredient mix that she used, however my recipe has key shortcuts and little tweaks to enhance the flavour. Outcome = This cake is sooo tasty. Think banana cake with a hint of a spiced carrot cake twist (thanks to the cinnamon and nuts).

Hummingbird Cake recipe

Ingredients:

  • 440g can of pineapple
  • 180g butter
  • 275g white sugar
  • 1 tsn vanilla essence
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 medium banana
  • 90g desiccated coconut
  • 80g pecans
  • 300g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsn cinnamon

Icing

  • 370g cream cheese
  • 60g butter
  • 150g icing sugar
  • 30ml pineapple syrup (reserved from earlier)

 

Method:

  1. Grease and line a 23cm round cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 180c fan forced.
  3. Drain the can of pineapple reserving the juice for later.
  4. Using a food processor process the pineapple pieces until coarsely chopped.
  5. Process the pecans.
  6. Process the banana until smooth.
  7. Using electric beaters beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating in between each addition.
  8. Stir in the pineapple, banana, coconut and pecans until combined.
  9. Add the flour and cinnamon, stir to combine.
  10. Pour mix into the cake tin, level out with a spoon and bake for 50 minutes or until the skewer in the center comes out clean.
  11. Let the cake stand for 15 mins then transfer onto a cooling rack.
  12. To make the icing add all the ingredients into a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
  13. Using electric beaters beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Place in the fridge until cake is cooled.
  14. Cut the cake in half, spread icing in the center, then the remainder of the icing around the outside of the cake.

 

Notes:

  • Decorate with any leftover pecans or you can do what I did which was place white sugar in a pan on the stove until it caramelises. Then using a fork place in the caramel and swirl over the cake in a circular motion until the caramel is used up.
  • You can replace the pecans with walnuts.
  • Or if you wish, you can replace the banana with a grated carrot.

 

Ingredients

Hummingbird Cake recipe

Step 11

Hummingbird Cake recipe

Step 14

Hummingbird Cake recipe

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See the original 1978 recipe at http://www.southernliving.com/food/entertaining/hummingbird-cake.

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Sweet Potato and Orange Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

Sweet Potato and Orange Cake recipe

Sweet Potato and Orange Cake

Hello sweet potato again. This is the second time this ingredient has popped up in my blog (a la sweet potato chocolate brownie posted in January 2013).

Believe it or not but this cake actually tastes very similar to carrot cake, however don’t have any identical ingredients…I must post my carrot cake recipe at some stage. It took me a few different recipes but my version is something else!

If you’re a fan of oranges you will definitely like this as the orange flavor is much stronger than the sweet potato.

orange

Ingredients:

  • 1 ¾ cups plain flour
  • 2 tsn baking powder
  • 1 tsn bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsn ground cinnamon
  •  1+ ¾ cups brown sugar
  • ¾ cup sultanas
  • 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
  • 500g sweet potato grated
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 orange (you will need 2 tbs of finely grated orange zest and 1 tbsn of the juice from this)

Icing:

  • 50g butter
  • 250g cream cheese
  • 1 tbs finely grated orange zest
  • 2 cups icing sugar

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line a 25cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon, sugar, sultanas, walnuts and potato in a bowl, stir to combined.
  3. In another bowl beat eggs, butter, zest and juice. Pour wet mix into the dry mixture, stir to combine the batter.
  4. Pour into pan and bake for 45 minutes. Following decrease the oven temperature to 160c and bake for a further 30 minutes or until a skew inserted in the cake comes out clean.
  5. Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack.
  6. Make the icing recipe by combining the ingredients together, beat until glossy and smooth
  7. Cut the cake in half and spread half the icing in the cake and the remaining on top of the cake.

 

Notes:

  • I’m not a massive fan or walnuts and have made this many times by omitting this ingredient where the cake turns out perfectly fine.
  • There is not much orange in this cake but don’t be tempted to add more in. You will be surprised how strong the orange taste is with the little amount in the batter.

 

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White Chocolate Icing

Posted on Posted in Icing .

This may just seem like another icing recipe but I guarantee you if you try this icing it will be one of the most amazing icings you have ever tasted!

Once you try this icing you will never make another white cholocate or butter cream icing again!

 

white chocolate icing

White Chocolate Icing

 

Ingredients:

  • 3 egg whites
  • 160g white sugar
  • 300g butter at room temp, chopped.
  • 180g white chocolate, melted.

 

Method:

  1. Stir egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a pan of half filled simmering water for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Whisk with electric beaters until soft peaks form and the mix has cooled down slightly.
  3. Add the butter one piece at a time, beating in between each piece until the mix has become thick and creamy.
  4. Now beat in the melted chocolate until glossy.
  5. Refrigerate for 20 minutes then pipe away.

 

Notes:

This recipe makes enough icing to cover a 21cm cake or 24 medium sized cupcakes.

 

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