Meringue Layer Cake

We're almost one month in to 2014 and Lush and I really should have a resolution to make this a dedicated blogging year. Working in our favour is that I now have access to my own kitchen. Not that I didn't have a kitchen before, but now there is no one else to get annoyed by the mess I leave behind. Working against us is our natural ability to be consumed by the cooking and the eating and forget about the photographing and writing! Wish us luck; we will need it!

Using this kitchen freedom, I have been making an effort to cook regularly and have started hosting dinner parties again! A dinner party with friends usually involves a rich, chocolate brownie or a pudding that smells good enough to overpower the lack of any attempt (or success) at decoration and presentation. But no more!

This is my attempt a meringue layer cake that to be honest was more of a learning experience than a success. Things to remember with meringue:

• Don't make it on a humid day (you'll notice mine is quite flat)
• Make sure to beat your eggs well to get as much air as possible
• Assemble the cake no more than 30 minutes before you eat it. The creme patisserie will make the meringue soft and you don't want to lose the crunchy chewiness
• Most of all, even when it fails, it's still delicious and good friends will lie and agree with you

Ingredients

Meringue

• 6 egg whites (save the yolks for the creme patisserie!)
• 300g cater sugar
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 cup pecans, finely processed
• Seasonal Berries (preferably not frozen as they will be too wet)
• Icing sugar to dust

Creme Patisserie

• 300ml full fat milk
• 30g unsalted good quality butter
• pinch of salt
• 60g unrefined caster sugar
• 30g plain flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Meringue

1. Preheat the oven to 140ºC. Line 3 baking sheets with baking paper and trace the bottom of a loaf tin onto each
2. Beat the egg whites until there are stiff peaks. Then slowly add the sugar a spoonful at a time, make sure to beat well after each addition. 
3. Gently fold through the vinegar, vanilla and pecans. Making sure not to knock the air out of the eggs as you go.
4. Divide the mix between the 3 baking trays. Stack each meringue thick to get it as chewy as possible
5. Bake for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and leave the meringues in it to cool.

Creme Patisserie

1. Beat the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and thick ribbons form when the beaters are lifted
2. Seive the flour over the top and mix until smooth
3. Put the milk, butter, salt and vanilla in a medium sized, non-stick saucepan.
4. Bring the milk to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and pour a ladle full over the eggs. Stir quickly until smooth. Repeat until about half of the milk has been incorporated
5. Pur the egg and milk mix into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
6. Bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat for 3 minutes
7. Cover the surface with gladwrap or baking paper so that a skin doesn't form

Assembly

1. To assemble, place one of the meringues on a flat plate and spread with a third of the creme patissiere. 
2. Scatter a layer of berries, top with another of the meringues and repeat

Enjoy!

Glutton

Burma Lane

What: Burma Lane
Where: 118 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect when it came to Burmese food. I simply assumed it was going to be very similar to other south-east Asian cuisines. Upon investigation, I found out that the main influences in Burmese cuisine are Chinese, Indian and Thai due to Burma’s bordering neighbors, combined with a slight western influences due to colonization and trade.

What we ate:

ENTREE (shared of course)

• Kun Sar Thi - Betel leaf w/ chicken, shallot, peanuts, green mango & Sichuan pepper
• Crispy soft shell crab w/ dandauk salad & sour chilli (WOW)

MAINS (shared of course)

• Pickled tea leaf salad - tea leaves, tomato, peanuts, sesame seeds, crunchy broad beans & cabbage (AMAZING)
• Scallops & BBQ pork wok fried w/ yellow noodles, Chinese celery & coriander
• Prawns cooked in banana leaf w/ spices & herbs

DESSERT
(I must admit these were not my favorite, largely due to my preference for western desserts)

• Sago & coconut pudding w/ coconut & seasonal fruits
• Pandan, coffee & coconut jelly with coconut sorbet 

Review

Given the wide variety of cuisine in Melbourne generally, I don't think I would personally add Burmese to my standard rotation. But as their website states: it really is "Fresh, Vibrant and Deliciously Different!"

Give it a try - after all variety is the spice of life.
(apologies for the picture - I only remembered to take a picture once we had finished)
Lush

Pumpkin Tart with Parmesan Crust

It has been far too long since my last post; as always my thanks to Lush for holding down the fort in my absence.

Since I last wrote, I have returned to Melbourne and my indulgent / non-gymming / expensive (!!) ways. This recipe epitomises that sentiment using more butter than anything else I've made this year. Having said that, this is probably my most successful batch of pastry ever (pastry is a nemesis of mine). Partly because I actually followed the recipe, but mostly because I used this fantastic rolling pin. This isn't a plug, but a big thank you for this great gift that makes sure my pastry is an even thickness and the right size for the first time ever!

I have taken this recipe from the Australian Gourmet Traveller with a few little tweaks. It does have a long prep time as there are multiple restings of the pastry required, but the crumbly texture is worth it. My suggestion is to pick a rainy day, buy a nice bottle of red (3/4 for you, 1/4 for caramelising the onions) and potter away.

Pumpkin & Goat's Cheese Tart with Parmesan Crust

Serves 8

Ingredients

Tart Filling

• 750g pumpkin cut into bite size pieces
• 50ml olive oil
• 6 thyme sprigs, plus extra to serve
• 150g goat's cheese (e.g. chevre), coarsely crumbled
• 40g butter, coarsely chopped
• 3 onions thinly sliced
• 150ml red wine (you can use white but I preferred the colour contrast)
• 1 egg lightly beaten

Parmesan rough puff pastry

• 225g plain flour
• 40g finely grated parmesan
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 2 tsp fennel seeds crushed
• 225g cold butter coarsely chopped

Method

Parmesan Puff Pastry

Sift flour and a pinch of salt into a food processor. 

Add parmesan, thyme and fennel seeds and pulse to combine. 

Add butter pulsing until mixture resembles very coarse crumbs. 

Tip onto a bench, make a well in the centre and add 100ml iced water. Mix together until dough just comes together. 

Form into a disc, wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate to rest for 20 minutes.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 1.5cm thick rectangle. 

Then fold the shortest ends together to meet in the centre and fold in half again to form a book fold. 

Wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate to rest for another 20 minutes You will need to repeat this twice more. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until required.

Preheat oven to 180C. 

Scatter pumpkin in a single layer on trays lined with baking paper, drizzle with oil, scatter with thyme, season to taste and roast until just tender (approx. 30-35 minutes). Set aside to cool.
Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium heat, add onion stirring occasionally until tender.

Add wine, stir occasionally until evaporated and set aside to cool.
Roll pastry out onto a lightly floured surface to a 5mm thickness.

Cut out a 25cm-diameter circle, place on a lined baking tray and refrigerate to rest for 30 minutes

Score a border, 1cm from the edge, to halfway through pastry. 

Prick inside border with a fork, spread with onion, scatter pumpkin goat's cheese

Roll edge slightly to contain the filling. 

Brush edge with beaten egg and bake until golden and cooked through (approx. 25-30 minutes). 

Sprinkle remaining thyme over the top and serve either hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Glutton