lemon – Page 4 – Sweet Tooth Experiments

Jasmine Honey-Lemon Bombe Alaska

Posted on August 24, 2015 Posted in Cakes .

Jasmine Honey-Lemon Bombe Alaska

This recipe is such a beautiful surprise cake.

I have taken the traditional Bombe Alaska model of cake, ice cream and meringue and placed an Asian twist on it.

Green tea, chai, earl grey and rosemary are some ingredients I have successfully baked with in the past so I decided, after a friend was telling me how Jasmine was her favorite tea I would experiment.

Why Jasmine was so appealing was due to this ingredients being so beautiful and interesting in scent. Therefore, I went to my local Asian grocer and purchased a bag of Jasmine flowers for me to experiment with.

By using my super fluffy cake base recipe (the same sponge cake recipe as my Blueberry Cardamom Pudding – yet to be posted), making things super easy by buying vanilla ice-cream (why reinvest the wheel when we already have 3 elements to this dish) and honey infused meringue this dish will look very impressive indeed.

Outcome = super delicious but not too sweet.

Ingredients:

Sponge:

4 egg
145g sugar
4 tsn corn flour
145g self raising flour
1 tsn butter
80g water
2 tsn lemon zest

Ice-cream:

500g vanilla ice-cream
100g cream
20g jasmine flowers
25g honey

Meringue:

4 egg whites
100g sugar
2 tsn honey

Method:

Using oil spray cover 6 large muffin tin holes 8cm in radius.
Layer each hole with 2 sheets of cling wrap, ensuring the holes are well covered and there is overlap.
Place the flowers into a saucepan with 100g cream and on a low heat simmer until steam appears and the flowers have soaked up majority of the cream. Do not boil.
Place the mix into the food processor and blitz until almost smooth.
Add the ice-cream and blitz until the ice-cream is smooth and the flowers are evenly distributed through the ice-cream.
Place the honey in the microwave for 30 seconds to thin out then pour into the ice-cream mix until well combine.
Pour the ice-cream in the holes and tap the tin to remove air bubbles, place in the freezer.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 180c degrees and line a 20cm x 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Beat the eggs in a bowl with electric beaters until thick and creamy.
Add the sugar slowly while beating until the sugar dissolves.
Triple sift the flours into the egg mix and fold until just combine.
Add the butter to the boiling water and stir to combine.
Add the lemon zest and stir.
Once the butter mix has cooled pour into the egg mix and fold until just combine.
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool in the cake tin and turn out on a cutting board.
Using an 8 cm cutter cut our 6 circles the same size as the muffin tins.
Place the cake circle over the top of the ice-cream and lightly push with your fingertips.
Place the tin back in the freezer for 3 hours to set.
Beat the eggwhites with electric beaters until soft peaks form.
Add the sugar slowly on a high speed followed by the honey that has been placed in the microwave for 30 seconds to thin out and beat until thick and glossy.
Turn the cakes with the ice-cream out onto plates.
Cover the ice-cream with the meringue mix, ensuring complete coverage.
Using a blow torch slightly brown the meringue.
Enjoy!

Jasmine Honey-Lemon Bombe Alaska recipe

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Lemon Earl Grey Cake with Lavender Orange Blossom Frosting

Posted on August 4, 2015 Posted in Cakes .

Lemon Earl Grey Cake with Lavender Orange Blossom Frosting

This would have to be my 4^th attempt at baking with Earl Grey and gosh has it turned out. This cake was so tasty that it didn’t venture past my fridge (usually I take my baking to work, friends houses or give to family). But nope, I ate the whole thing it was so good.

Finally an early grey recipe that made me smile.

The cake itself is not super sweet, however works brilliantly with the sweetness and amazing flavour combination of floral lavender and orange blossom.

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 tbsn earl grey tea (6 teabags)
330g sugar
300g self-raising flour
2 tsn vanilla essence
7 eggs
110ml lemon juice
150g butter
1 tsn cream of tartar

Icing:

200g butter
1 + ½ earl grey tea
240g icing sugar
1 + ½ orange blossom water
¾ tsn lavender

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 175c degrees and line a 25cm cake tin wit baking paper.
Place the contents of 6 teabags into a food processor along with half the sugar (165g) and blitz until well combined.
With electric beaters whisk the sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and beat until combine.
Add the lemon juice and melted butter and whisk until combine.
Place the egg whites into a new bowl and beat with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar and cream of tartar and beat until glossy and thick.
Triple sift the flour and add to the lemon mix. Using a hand whisk softly whisk until combine.
Add the egg whites in 2 patches, folding until only just combine.
Pour into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 50 minutes of until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Meanwhile make the icing my beating the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the contents on 1 + ½ earl grey teabags (1 + ½ tsn), orange blossom and using a mortar and pestle grind some lavender until in powder form.
Beat until smooth and fluffy.
Place the cake on a cake rack until cooled.
Top with the icing and serve.

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Multi-layer citrus cake

Posted on August 18, 2014 Posted in Cakes .

Multi-layer citrus cake

I have absolutely no idea where this recipe came from and what possessed me to go crazy experimenting with variations of citrus fruits in a cake.

I had been investigating to find the best possible buttercake recipe to be able to use as a base for some of my recipe experiments and after finally creating a recipe that I though was amazing I started to think of ingredients I could add.

As mentioned above I don’t know what made me think Citrus, however, I was on a run and came up with the concept of creating heaps of different citrus fruit layers for a cake using only zest and seeing what the taste outcome would be.

I did try many different layers, tangerine, lime, lemon, mandarin, orange, grapefruit and clementines. The outcome orange, lemon, mandarin and lime are the tastiest combination that packs a flavour punch in every bite!

Ingredients:

Cake:

260g butter
2 cups sugar
 4 eggs
1 + ½ cup cake flour
1 + ½ cup plain flour
1 tsn baking powder
½ tsn bicarbonate soda
1 cup milk
1 tsn vanilla essence
1 lime (you will need 2 tsn of zest)
1 mandarin (you will need 2 tsn of zest)
1 lemon (you will need 2 tsn of zest)
1 orange (you will need 2 tsn of zest)
Green, yellow and orange food coloring (optional)

Icing:

270g butter
3 cups icing sugar
1 tbsn milk

Method:

Grease and line 2 x 24cm cake tins and pre-heat the oven to175c.
Using electric beaters, cream butter and sugar for 5 mins until creamy and smooth.
Add eggs one at a time beating between each addition.
Sift in the flours, powder and soda. Add the milk and vanilla beat on slow until just combined (do not over beat).
Divide the batter equally into 4 bowls.
Add the lemon zest and yellow food coloring to one. Lime zest and green coloring to another bowl. Add mandarin zest and orange to another bowl and the orange zest to the last.
Pour 2 bowls batter into 2 tins and bake for 15mins until a skewer inserted come out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 mins then place on a cooling rack.
Using the same tins pour the last 2 batters into the tins and bake for 15 mins.
Cool in ban for 5 mins then place on a cooling rack.
To make the icing beat the butter, sugar and milk for 10mins until fluffy and creamy.
Once the cakes are cooled place the orange layer onto a plate and spread a layer of icing on top. Add the lemon layer and top with icing. Add the mandarin layer and top with icing then the lime layer. Top with icing and using the remainder of the icing spread around the sides of the cake.

Notes:

I have made my site’s butter cream icing, however just tripled the quality.

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Lavender and Lemon Cheesecake

Posted on August 4, 2014 Posted in Cakes .

Lavender and Lemon Cheesecake

So for a while now I have been super interested in baking with lavender. I have heard many stories how it’s a tricky ingredient that can be ever so overpowering to the point where it tastes like your eating soap or perfume.

I figured if I baked a cake with lavender I would need another ingredient that also has a strong flavour so they could complement each other.

After doing some research I came across many cake variations featuring lavender and almond, lavender and lemon, lavender fairy cakes, even lavender and blueberry. However these were all cupcakes or cakes…this got me thinking…introducing my Lavender and Lemon Cheesecake

Ingredients:

250g plain sweet biscuits (I used Nice)
150g butter
100g sugar
1 tbsn edible lavender
3 tbsn cornflour
750g cream cheese
2 eggs
100ml double cream
1 lemon (for ¾ of the zest)
4 drops purple food colouring

Method:

Grease and line a 24cm spring-form cake tin and preheat the oven to 180c.
In a food processor process the biscuits until fine. Melt the butter and mix with the biscuits.
Press the mix into the tin and cook for 10 mins or until slightly golden.
Place the base aside to cool and turn the oven up to 200c.
Place the sugar and lavender in the food processor and process until the lavender is fine like the sugar.
Combine the lavender sugar, cornflour and cream cheese in a bowl and beat with an electric beaters until smooth and creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition.
Add the cream, zest and food coloring, beat until smooth.
Pour the mix in the tin and with a spoon smooth the top – bake for 40 mins or until the top is brown.
Remove from the oven and let the cake cool. Now place in the fridge for 3 hours to set.

Notes:

I have decorated with a sprinkle of icing sugar.
You can use full fat thickened cream instead of double cream if you cannot find double cream.

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Ingredients

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Orange Lemon and Chocolate Cannoli Tart

Posted on June 15, 2014 Posted in Tarts .

Orange Lemon and Chocolate Cannoli Tart

I have this absolutely awesome Cannoli recipe where I usually cheat and buy the Cannoli shells from my Italian grocery down the road. I buy the shells as I’m not a fan of deep frying food and to be honest try to opt for the more healthier versions of sweets if I can.

Now, my Italian grocery has recently been taken over and I don’t like my chances of being able to get my hands on the usual traditional Italian products I have in the past. So I had a though…What would happen if I tried to make my awesome Cannoli’s in a tart instead of the fried shells?

Sweet pastry is quite simple to make (especially if you have a food processor) therefore by turning my Cannoli’s into a tart I won’t have to deep fry or make my own shells.

The outcome – This by far would have to be one of the best sweets I have made in a long time. The only difference from my Cannoli recipe is I added an egg and baked this version and OMG I had people telling me how much they adored my tart that had never commented on my baking before.

Ingredients:

Pastry

2 cups flour
½ cup white sugar
½ tsn salt
2 tsn cocoa powder
100g butter
1 egg
1 tbns milk

Filling

375g ricotta
165g icing sugar
1 egg
I lemon
1 orange
100g 70% cocoa dark chocolate

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 175c and spray a tart tin with oil.
Place the flour, sugar, salt and cocoa powder into a food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
Dice the butter into small pieces and process until combined.
Add the egg and milk and process until combined.
Wash hands and turn dough out into a ball onto baking paper.
Using a rolling pin roll the dough into a circle shape and place into the tart tin and place tin into the fridge for 20 mins.
Place the ricotta, egg and icing sugar into a bowl.
Grate the chocolate, orange zest and lemon zest into the bowl.
Stir until all ingredients are combined well.
Spoon the mix into the tart tin and smooth the top.
Place into the oven and cook for 25 mins or until the party is browned and the filling has puffed up a bit.
Once cooked let the tart cook before removing from tin.

Notes:

If you don’t have a food processor combine flour, sugar, salt, cocoa ponder and diced butter in a bowl. Rub butter with dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs. With your hands mix in the egg and milk until the dough is formed.

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Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

Posted on February 18, 2014 Posted in Cakes .

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

So Lemon Meringue Pie is a classic ultimate favorite of mine. Cheesecake can also be unbelievable if the right recipe and ingredient combination is used. Both these 2 sweet indulgent treats are very popular to both the sweet and more savory taste buds.

As I am always asked to bake cheesecake and lemon pie I decided the only way I would make these is to incorporate them together. This way if the outcome is incredible I can post the recipe on this blog and share the awesomeness for others to bake and experience.

So introducing the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake. Now let me pre-warn you, once I put this cake out it was gone in 10 minutes, the quickest of my cakes to disappear. Many people missed out and I am told this is my best cake yet…

Ingredients:

Base:

375g butternut snap biscuits
100g butter

Filling:

¼ cup water
4 tsn powered gelatin
280g jar lemon butter
500g cream cheese
¾ cup thickened cream
110g white sugar
½ lemon zest

Meringue:

Extra 80g water
Extra ¾ cup white sugar
3 egg whites

Method:

Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
Add the biscuits and butter into a food processor and process until well combined.
Spoon mix into the cake tin and line the walls and base with the biscuit mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.
Put the water and gelatin into a bowl and whish with a fork until well combined.
Microwave for 30 seconds or until dissolved, cool.
Whisk lemon butter until smooth. Add 4 tsn of the gelatin mix to the lemon butter and whisk.
Beat together the cream, cheese, sugar and zest into a bowl with an electric whisk for 5 minutes until smooth.
Pour cheese mix over the base.
Spoon the lemon mix over the cheese layer.
Place cake in the fridge for 3 hours minimum.
Put extra water and sugar into a saucepan on medium heat cook stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Increase to high and place a candy thermometer in the sugar mix. Cook until the temperate hits 120 degrees then remove off the heat.
With electric beaters whisk the egg whites on medium until soft peaks form.
Increase speed to high, while beating in the sugar syrup in a steady stream. Beat for 10 minutes or until thick and glossy.
Remove the cake from the tin and place onto a plate.
Spoon the meringue onto the cake and blow torch the meringue until golden brown on top, serve.

Notes:

If in a hurry place the cake in the freezer for 45 minutes instead of 3+ hours in the fridge to set quickly.

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Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake

Posted on February 5, 2014 Posted in Cakes .

Photographer: Margaret Paola Minero

Lemon, Basil and Olive Oil Cake

Gosh, if I remove the word ‘cake’ from this Lemon, basil and olive oil title you would swear I am making a pasta sauce!

Don’t let this fool you, this cake produces the most amazing texture that can only be described as more fluffy that a sponge cake but cheesecake like, yep seriously (a friends words not mine)!

Separately lemon and olive oil in cakes is quite common (olive oil thanks to the likes of the carrot cake popularity). However, basil…this is the first time I must say I have come across this ingredient in a cake, therefore of course I had to make it.

Believe it or not this cake is a winner, especially to the everyday taste bud that doesn’t have a sweet tooth obsession as bad as mine (in other words it is sweet but not chocolate caramel layer cake sweet).

We already know these flavors work, why not give it a try!

Ingredients:

180ml olive oil
16 basil leaves
4 eggs separated + an extra yolk
170g white sugar
Finley grated zest of 1 large lemon
2 tbsn + ½ tsn of lemon juice
1 pinch salt
175g plain flour
1 tsn cream of tarter

Syrup:

10 basil leaves
60g white sugar
4 tsn lemon juice

Method:

Place the oil and basil in a pan on the stove on high until the basil starts to sizzle and crisp up. Once you hit this stage take the pan off the heat and leave aside to cool.
Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 180c.
Beat the egg yolks and 1/3 of the sugar until thick and pale.
Add the cold oil, zest, juice and salt and beat to combine.
Gently fold (be very gentle) the flourinto the batter until just combine.
In another bowl beat the egg whites and cream of tarter until peaks start to form. Now add in the remaining sugar and beat until mixture is thick and glossy.
Place a large spoonful of egg whites in to the batter and gently fold to loosen the batter up.
Once lose fold in the remaining egg white mix very very gently.
Spoon the batter into the cake tin and smooth the top.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes than transfer onto a cooling rack.
Now for the syrup, combine all ingredients into a pan with 80ml water and stir on the stove on medium until the mix is reduced to a nice syrup consistency.
Dust the cake with icing sugar and spoon the syrup over the cake, serve.

Notes:

I whipped up some thickened cream with 2 tbsn of icing sugar and brought 250g strawberries that were mixed with 2 tsn of icing sugar and 2 tsn lemon juice. I then piped the cream and placed the strawberries on top of the cake before the syrup was spooned on the cake to decorate. Lastly I placed a few basil sprigs in the center for the look.
The reason I say very very gently is because there is no self-raising agent in this cake. The rise of the cake comes from the egg white and cream of tarter combo you have beaten, so if you are not gentle enough the cake will loose its rise (old school raising styles going on here)!