Weekend Cooking: What I Baked in April

And just llike that it is the end of April! The month seems to have gone very quickly, maybe because we were away for a week of it!

Here's what I baked in April:

Carrot, Walnut and Ginger Cake - This is one of our all time favourite cakes. I was thinking about making something chocolatey for Easter, but we ended up deciding that the Easter Bunny would be happy with a carrot cake right. You can see the recipe for this one here.

Upside Down Pineapple Cake - I have made a bit of a foolhardy decision which is that I am going to make something inspired by each episode of Great British Bake Off this season. Originally the idea was to do the technical bake but on week 3 I decided that might be too hard, so now it is just something from each episode. The challenge on week 1 was to make individual upside down pineapple cake, but I didn't have individual ramekins so I made one big cake using a Nigella Lawson recipe. It wasn't as pretty as hers because I didn't have the right size tin and I think our pineappple rings might be bigger than those in the UK but it was delicious and easy enough to make.

Irish Soda Bread - this is another GBBO inspired bake. The weather is getting colder here, so last weekend we made a Beef and Pepper Stew in the pressure cooker that the recipe says to serve with dumplings. We have done it with dumplings previously, and another time with a pastry lid, but this time we served it with freshly baked soda bread! This is bread that is super quick and easy to make so I think we will do this again.

Spicy Apple and Ginger Self Saucing Pudding - We had friends around for dinner last weekend. we served up this Pork and Fennel recipe and then for dessert we had one of our favourite desserts from last winter. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo but everyone enjoyed it.

Weekly Menu

Saturday: Crispy Skin Pork Belly with Caramelised Apples
Sunday: Beef and Pepper Stew with soda bread
Monday: Zucchini Parmesan and Tomato Risotto
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Pork Nachos

Thursday: Takeaway
Friday: Leftovers from lunch!

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

Weekend Cooking: National Fairy Bread Day

Today I am going to be posting about an Australlian culinary classic that doesn't necessarily make much sense to other nationalities (except maybe Dutch people, but more on that lately). The reason for posting about this today.....Tuesday is National Fairy Bread day.

In my last job I was known as the queen of fairy bread, a title which came about because of a joke. One of the things that I miss about working at home is the opportunity for shared morning teas, or taking your baking treats into work, so you don't have to eat at all. It was something that we definitely loved at my old job. And it wasn't only the actual morning tea to look forward to, there was also the pre morning tea conversation where we all talk about what we might make!

During one of these pre-event conversations, we were all talking about what we would bring, and I jokingly suggested I would bring fairy bread, which once upon a time was staple of an Australian kids party. Once we had explained to the people who didn't grow up here and then reassured them that it is actually really good, the idea took hold and I decided to actually do it.

What I didn't expect was the reaction from people when they saw it on the table. There were several IT guys who were VERY excited that there was fairy bread on the table, and it made lots of people smile, to the point that I ended up taking it for shared morning teas several times (hence my honorary title) and then felt the need to say, you know I can actually cook right?

So, what actually is fairy bread? Firstly let me be very clear here - there is little to no nutritional goodness in this! 

Fairy bread is very easy to make, but you can still get it wrong.

Firstly, you start with the freshest sliced white bread you can find. If you are making it for yourself at home it's fine to use supermarket sliced bread, but if you are taking it to a special occasion then it involves a trip to the local bakery to buy a freshly baked loaf.

Secondly, you spread a nice even layer of margarine on those bread slices - not butter because you don't want to tear those nice soft slices of bread.

Then you take hundreds and thousands and generously shake them all over the bread. The challenge is to get it mostly on the bread and not all over your bench tops, floor etc, because you can still be finding those suckers a week later if you aren't careful. 

Now, for some people you can apparently put sprinkles on but for me it has to be hundreds and thousands. Also, save your fancy sprinkles for cupcakes because this is not the time for them. Just your run of the mill store bought do the job. 

What's the difference between sprinkles and hundreds and thousands? The picture below are sprinkles, and the picture above is fairy bread with hundreds and thousands on - so the difference is one is lines and the other is balls.

The final step is to cut the bread into quarters - triangles only. Never squares. Squares just don't look right, or taste right for that matter.

I mentioned that the Dutch might understand fairy bread a bit more than other nationalities. This is because they have something that is kind of next level sprinkles, called vruchten hagel. Vruchten hagel are sprinkles that come in a variety of flavours including milk and dark chocolate, fruits of the forest and aniseed. There could be other flavours but those are the ones that I know of.

My husband, who is really my Dutch boy as both of his parents emigrated to South Africa from the Netherlands, before he, in turn emigrated to Australia (luckily for me!), buys a box of these whenever he can. 

He often has these on toast for breakfast - sacrilege - see the first step above!!

Happy National Fairy Bread day on Tuesday!

Weekly dinners:

Saturday: Eggplant Moussake
Sunday: Porchetta, Fennel, Rachicchio and Orange Salad
Monday: Steak,mushrooms, peas, broccoli
Tuesday: Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken
Wednesday: Pasta Carbonara
Thursday: Chicken stir fry
Friday: Roast beef and gravy rolls

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

Weekend Cooking: April Bakes

April feels like it has been long right? Even as I just looked at this post I was like has it really been this month that I made the first thing on this list. It feels like it could have been 2 months ago, instead just this month.

This was my first full month of working from home. We definitely took advantage of that when it comes to baking, which inevitably leads to eating but we won't talk about that too much!

Even with some shortages in the shops, we have pretty much been able to get a least one pack of butter and one pack of flour when we need it so we have been able to make everything that we wanted to.

In this month I tried some simple new recipes, revisited some old favourites and challenged myself a little. I think the challenging myself is the one where I need to do some more work. Now that there is no longer the monthly Bake it Box arriving, I need to find somewhere that gives challenging bakes, with good instruction that are achievable. Anyone have any ideas?  Maybe I need to start doing some bakes from the people I follow on Youtube, but I do think I possible need to find some more inspiration.

In other news, one of the major biscuit (cookie) companies in Australia has started releasing their recipes for their most famous biscuits. Maybe I might try some of them next month. I guess we will have to wait and see.

So here's what I did make in April (with links where I have them).

Puff Pastry Cream Squares - I shared the recipe for these a few weeks ago. They are easy and delicious. I can definitely see myself making these again

Chocolate Brownies - Bill Granger's chocolate brownies have been my go to recipe for a number of years now, and this was as good as ever! I do still need to get used to cooking this in my current oven.. In the old one I had to leave it in the over for around 50% longer than the recipe states. In my current oven, I do not!

No Knead Bread - We thought we would join in with all the cool kids and make bread this month. We have been doing this no knead bread for a couple of years now. It is super easy, delicious and makes the house smell amazing. The only thing with this version is that you have to decide yesterday that you want to eat it today. There is a 2 hour version that we have tried too, but this recipe isn't too taxing either.

Lemon Coconut No Bake slice -If I am in a coffee shop and in the mood, I will often pick up one of these slices. I had no idea that it was no bake though. Melt some ingredients and then mix and set. Super easy and tasty. I think I would use real lemon juice in the icing next time though. (recipe)

Easter Egg Rocky Road slice -  This was  my challenge myself recipe this month. Even then you just have to follow the instructions really. You start with a shortbread base, then make marshmallow and top with a melted chocolate, mini easter eggs and turkish delight. The recipe I have linked to includes nuts but I always leave these out because we have an allergy in this house, not that my son the manboy ever tries what I cook but still! Better to be safe than sorry.

Very sweet but delicious and fun to make! (recipe)

Choc Banana Bread - This is my other go to Bill Granger recipe, and was the second ever post I shared for Weekend Cooking. I had a bit of an issue turning it out of the pan this time, but it still tasted as good as ever!

I went to take a photo of the quarter of this today, but the container has disappeared into the manboy's room and presumably been eaten!


Have you been baking up a storm this month?

I am sharing this post with In My Kitchen

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Weekend Cooking: Brioche buns

My sous chef and I enjoy cooking together, and we have been experimenting with making bread over the last year or so. We are big fans of the no knead bread recipe that I have previously posted

The other week we were watching Masterchef Australia(which we never miss) and in one of the team challenges they made a  Smoked Salmon on Brioche dish. We haven't done the smoked salmon part, but we have now made the brioche a couple of times, and it's really delicious and not too difficult given that most of the kneading is done in the stand mixer. We also haven't put the sesame seeds on, but we will one day I'm sure.

Brioche Buns

400g 00 flour, plus extra to dust (we are just using normal plain flour)
35g caster sugar
14g / 2 sachets dried instant yeast
3 eggs
40ml olive oil
1 tsp fine salt
3 tsp black sesame seeds
3 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp salt flakes
30g butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place the flour, sugar and yeast in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix briefly. Add 2 eggs, oil and 185ml water. Mix on high speed for 6 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add fine salt and beat for a further 1 minute to make a smooth but sticky dough. Portion dough into 6 balls and place on a lightly floured work surface.

Knock the air from each ball of dough and gently roll to form a smooth ball. Place balls on a paper lined tray, leaving space between each. Lightly dust a large sheet of cling film and place over the balls to cover completely. Set aside, in a warm place, to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

For the egg wash, place black and white sesame seeds in a small bowl, mix to combine and set aside. Place remaining egg and salt flakes together in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Brush the risen balls of dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with mixed sesame seeds. Place in oven and bake until the surface of the buns are golden, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and while buns are still hot, brush lightly with melted butter. Set aside to cool until serving.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Weekend Cooking: 2 Hour No Knead Bread

A couple of months ago I posted about how excited we were to be making our own bread, especially seeing as there was little effort require.

The only thing with that recipe was that it required a long time, usually somewhere between 12 and 18 hours. It tasted delicious, but you couldn't just decide on a Sunday that you wanted fresh bread, you had to decide on Saturday that you wanted bread for Sunday.

I happened to see this recipe somewhere. Eventually I tracked it down to Jenny Jones' website. I was pleased because whilst this still has minimal effort, it also takes 2 hours at most, and the bread was still good. If I had to pick which was the better bread taste and texture wise, it would probably be the recipe that takes loner but this was way more achievable on a regular basis.

We intend to maybe try the no knead bread rolls at some point in the near future.

2 Hour No Knead Bread

• 3 cups bread flour (all purpose works too)
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet/7 grams)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups hot water (up to 130° F)
• (about 2 Tablespoons extra flour for shaping)

Instructions:

1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water until it’s well combined.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
3. After 40 minutes, place a 3 to 6-quart Dutch oven with lid in a cold oven and preheat to 450° F.
4. After the dough has rested for the hour, place it on a well-floured surface and sprinkle with a little flour. Using a scraper fold dough over 10-12 times & shape into a rough ball.
5. Place in a parchment paper-lined bowl and cover with a towel or another bowl. Let stand on counter top for 15 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes, carefully, using oven gloves, lift the parchment paper and dough from the bowl and place gently into the hot pot. (parchment paper goes in the pot too) Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 minutes, remove lid and parchment paper. Return, uncovered, to oven and bake 10 more minutes.

**I would post a photo but my SD card has died on my phone and that is where the photo is! Maybe another time.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.

Weekend Cooking: No Knead Bread

I have long been a fan of Great British Bake Off and by extension I now watch anything that Paul Hollywood is in. 

A couple of years ago now I was watching Paul Hollywood's City Bakes, and there was an episode set in New York. There were two segments that caught my attention. The first was when he mixed chocolate brownies and cheesecake together, which I do intend to try and make at some point in the future, and the second was when he learnt how to make no knead bread.

Now, I loved the idea of making bread, but it definitely feels like something that is too hard to do. All that kneading and having to get the gluten stretched to the right point, and rising. See, just thinking about it is challenging.

Anyway, not all that long ago I happened across that episode again and this time the BF was watching so it was agreed that we would try to make it. And, oh my goodness, it was good.

Now, to be fair, this isn't the kind of bread that you decide that you want to make now and eat later today. The most important ingredient is time. On the 3 occasions we have made it so far we have started it on Saturday morning and eaten it for Sunday brunch, but it is totally worth the time investment, because it looks and tastes amazing, and there is very little physical effort involved.

There is a video that you can watch from Paul Hollywood's show here (sorry can't embed it) but there is another video

We have recently found another version which apparently only takes 2 hours so we may well give that a try soon too.

 No Knead Bread

3 cups (400 grams) all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for the work surface
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons (8 grams) salt
1 3/8 cups (320 millilitres) water
Cornmeal or wheat bran, as needed



1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and mix with your hand until you have a wet, sticky dough. This should take roughly 30 seconds. You want it to be really sticky.

2. Cover the dough and bowl with a plate, towel, or plastic wrap and set aside to rest at warm room temperature for at least 12 hours and preferably about 18 hours until the dough is roughly double in size. You’ll know the dough is properly fermented and ready because its surface will be dotted with bubbles and take on a darkened appearance. This long, slow fermentation is what yields the bread’s rich flavor.

3. Flour your work surface. Turn the dough onto the surface in one blob. The dough will cling to the bowl in long, thread-like strands and it will be quite loose and sticky. This is exactly what you want. Do not add more flour. Instead use lightly floured hands to gently and quickly lift the edges of the dough in toward the centre, effectively folding the dough over onto itself. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round. You don’t knead the dough.

4. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal. Place the dough, seam side down, on the towel and dust the surface with a little more flour, bran, or cornmeal. Cover the dough with another cotton towel and let it rise for about 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will be more than double in size and will hold the impression of your fingertip when you poke it lightly, making an indentation. If the dough readily springs back when you poke it, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

5. A half hour before the dough is done with its second rise, preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Place a heavy pot and its lid (whether cast iron or enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. We use cast iron

6. When the dough is done with its second rise, carefully remove the pot from the oven and uncover it. Also uncover the dough. Lift up the dough and quickly but gently turn it over into the pot, seam side up, being very careful not to touch the pot. Cover the pot with its lid and bake for 30 minutes.

7. Remove the lid and bake until the loaf is beautifully browned, which take 15 to 30 minutes. Carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a wire rack to cool.  It should sound hollow when it is tapped on the bottom.


Try to resist eating it before it is cooled, but it will be tough as the bread smells amazing.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.