Sweet Tooth Experiments

Monthly Archives: May 2015

Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake

Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

You may have noticed across the past few months I have been baking consistently with figs.

Not until last year had I eaten one, let alone baked with this fruit.

Generally when I see fruit that I have never baked with I always like to do my research and make up a few variations of recipes (half the time they don’t make the blog…hello startfruit, dragonfruit, cantaloupe, guava cake experiments (and the list goes on).

It seems fig is one of the special fruits which seems to work so well, additionally with so many flavour pairings.

Thinking in an Italian baking head space (ricotta, espresso etc) I ended up coming up with the flavour pairing of coffee, hazelnut, fig and caramel. Which actually work a treat!

This cheesecake is very much for the sophisticated palate and is super additive!

Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

 

Ingredients:

  • 250g caramel biscuits (I used Lotus)
  • 100g butter
  • 250g dried figs (12)
  • 2 tbsn orange liquor
  • 330g cream cheese
  • 150g sugar
  • 500g ricotta
  • 2 eggs
  • 90ml espresso coffee
  • 100g hazelnut meal

 

Method:

  1. Pre heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 22cm spring form cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Place the biscuits and butter in a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  3. Pour the mix into the cake tin and press with fingers over the base of the tin until flat.
  4. Place the tin in the fridge to harden.
  5. Dice up the fig coarsely and place in the saucepan with the liquor and 130g of water on a medium heat.
  6. Place a lid on the pan and let the mix boil.
  7. Once boil remove the lid and stir constantly until the water is absorbed and the figs have started to breakdown.
  8. Place the mix into the food processor and process until the figs are blitzed and resemble a paste.
  9. Spoon the fig mix over the biscuit base and place back in the fridge.
  10. Using electric beaters whisk the cream cheese and ricotta until smooth.
  11. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar until pale and creamy.
  12. Add the egg mix, hazelmeal and coffee into the cheese mix and whisk until well combine.
  13. Pour the mix unto the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes.
  14. Turn off the oven and leave the door slightly open.
  15. Once the oven is cold place the cake in the fridge to fully set for 2 hours.

 

Noes:

  • I used Lotus branded biscuits for the base. If you cannot fine caramel flavored biscuits Arnott’s Nice biscuits would be a good replacement.
  • I decorated the cake by scattering roasted hazelnuts and icing sugar over the top.

 

Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

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Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

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Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

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Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

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Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

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Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

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Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

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Fig Hazelnut and Coffee Cheesecake recipe

Notes

 

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Pumpkin Date Maple Bread

Posted on Posted in Bread .

Pumpkin Date Maple Bread

Pumpkin Date Maple Bread recipe

This next recipe was an idea that came from combining banana bread and pumpkin cake to make a pumpkin bread, however I put an interesting twist on this.

Instead of using pureed pumpkin I have opted for something a little different by using pumpkin soup.

Yes this does sound weird…most of my recipe do, however this bread sliced and toasted with butter is sooo moreish, it will have you saying banana bread what?

The soup makes the texture extra smooth and is cuts out the process or baking and blitzing up fresh pumpkin.

The maple syrup, nuts and dates works magic with the palate of pumpkin.

 

Ingredients:

  • 260g cream of pumpkin soup
  • 120g brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 40g butter
  • 120ml maple syrup
  • 80g dates
  • 130g walnuts
  • 180g self raising flour
  • 270g flour
  • 1 tsn mixed spice
  • ½ tsn group cinnamon
  • ½ tsn ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsn ground ginger
  • 10g oats

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 21cm x 10cm loaf tin with baking paper.
  2. Using electric beaters whisk the soup, sugar, eggs, melted butter and maple syrup in a bowl for 3 minutes until creamy and smooth.
  3. Place the dates in a food processor and blitz until diced.
  4. Place the walnuts in a food processor and blitz until diced.
  5. Place the dates, 100g of the walnuts, the flours and spices in the mix and whisk until well combine.
  6. Pour the mix into the tin and top with the remaining 30g of walnuts as well as the 10g of oats.
  7. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
  8. Rest in the tin for 5 minutes before placing on a cooking rack.
  9. Once cooled sprinkle extra maple syrup over the top, cut unto slices and serve with butter.

 

Pumpkin Date Maple Bread recipe

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Pumpkin Date Maple Bread recipe

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Pumpkin Date Maple Bread recipe.

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Pumpkin Date Maple Bread recipe

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Pumpkin Date Maple Bread recipe

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Vegan Chocolate Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

 Vegan Chocolate Cake

Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe

Recently I have had a few friends decide to go sugar free and have been complaining that all the sugar free sweet treats taste like cardboard and cost a fortune.

Seeing me eat chocolate is making them go red (we always want what we cannot have).

So I decided to make the ultimate easy, healthy, sugar free cake that caters for a range of intolerants and has easy to access ingredients (I’m not going on a road trip just to buy coconut nectar when I can go to Coles for a better alternative)!

By tactically using natural sweetener and fruit puree I have been able to keep the fat and sugar content really low while still producing a really rich and moreish cake.

As mentioned I have tried to cater for a range of people so created this cake egg, sugar, butter, chocolate and lactose free.

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 200g flour
  • 110g cocoa powder
  • 2 tsn baking soda
  • ½ tsn salt
  • ½ tsn ground cinnamon
  • 60g oil
  • 100g apple puree
  • 150ml water
  • 250g agrave nectar
  • 60g banana
  • 1 tbsn orange zest

Frosting:

  • 60g cocoa powder
  • 120ml orange juice
  • 135ml agrave nectar
  • 2 tsn orange zest

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200c degrees and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. In a bowl sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir until combine.
  3. In a food processor place the oil, apple, water, syrup, banana and zest. Blitz until well combine.
  4. Pour the wet mix into a bowl and add the flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Whisk with a hand whisk until well combine.
  5. Pour the mix into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes.
  6. In a bowl place the icing ingredients and with a hand whisk beat until well combine.
  7. Once the cake is cooked leave in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.
  8. Once the cake has cold spread the icing on the top and decorate with extra orange zest.

 

Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe
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Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe
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Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe
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Baked Ice-Cream Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

 Baked Ice-Cream Cake

Baked Ice-Cream Cake Slice recipe

For ages I have been meaning to make a cake that is the simplest to make imaginable. A cake that is fool proof and has only a few steps so my ‘not so savvy’ baker friends can produce a successful creation.

Now I have baked with many liquid ingredients over the years, soda, yoghurt, cordial, alcohol you name it so it’s no surprise that I have gone down the melted ice-cream avenue for this recipe.

However this is not as silly as it sounds. Ice-cream is made of cream/milk, eggs, sugar (sometimes vanilla and salt). Looking at these ingredients these are all core ingredients in a cake batter where all that is missing is the flour….So if I melt my favorite ice-cream and mix it with flour I could produce the most simplest, fool proof, amazing tasting, flavor adaptable (use which ever ice-cream you desire) 5 minute cake.

Hello success!

Baked Ice-Cream Cake Slice recipe
 

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 500g ice-cream (I used Salted Caramel Popcorn flavour)
  • 225g flour

Icing:

  • 330g ice-cream
  • 160g butter
  • 180g icing sugar

 

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 25cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Place the ice-cream in a bowl and leave to melt completely.
  3. Add the flour to the melted ice-cream and with a hand whisk stir until well combined.
  4. Pour the mix into the cake tin and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
  5. Meanwhile to make the icing place the ice-cream in a saucepan on the stove on a high heat.
  6. Stir for 5 minutes until the mix becomes a thick caramel, set aside.
  7. Beat the butter and icing sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
  8. Add the cooled caramel and using the electric beaters again beat until well combine and fluffy.
  9. Once the cake is cooked leave in the tin for 5 minutes then on a cooling rack.
  10. Once the cake is cooled cut in half horizontally and top each cake layer with the icing.
  11. Place one layer on top of the other and enjoy.

 

 

Baked Ice-Cream Cake Slice recipe
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Baked Ice-Cream Cake Slice recipe

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Baked Ice-Cream Cake Slice recipe
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Baked Ice-Cream Cake Slice recipe
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Baked Ice-Cream Cake Slice recipe
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Cordial Cake recipe
Cordial Cake recipe

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