My Birthday Cake

Even though my Birthday was quite a few weeks back now I feel like I have to blog  the delicious cake and recipe which I need to save here just in case it enters the World of Lost Recipes one day.

Introducing Flourless Almond Cake
Recipe given to me by Anne (no blog) some years ago now and it is well and truly used

I found this French Caster Sugar sourced from Champagne-Ardenne which was really sparkly (above and below) and whipped up beautifully. 

For information on French Caster Sugar go over here 

All stirred and whipped ready for the oven

And about ready to blow out the candles

Hip Hip Hooray

**RECIPE**

Anne's Flourless Almond Cake

Mod oven 170c for 40 minutes

25cm Spring Tin

Vanilla

8 Egg Whites/Yolks

1 C Caster Sugar

Vanilla

200g Almond Meal or Ground Hazelnuts

Flaked Almonds

Icing Sugar for dusting

**METHOD **

Grease Tin

Whisk Egg Whites

Add Sugar and Vanilla

Gently fold in Yolks then Almond Meal

Sprinkle Flaked Almonds

Bake and then dust with Icing Sugar

Thanks so much Anne, I love this Recipe.......it is a real favourite!!!

Bon Appetit......Dzintra

Cup Cakes for Lidija...Gluten Free of course!!!

Last week it was our little Grand-daughter's First Birthday and the night before we travelled up to see her I thought I would make a Carrot Cake with Honey Cream-Cheese Frosting...

Into the cupboard and I spotted these very cute Paper Baking Cups that I bought a couple of weeks ago...couldn't resist them... and they can be used for muffins also plus desserts...
So I thought I'd do Cup Cakes instead of a large cake...

Just as well I had pecan nuts in the cupboard...here they are having a quick roast...I love the smell of nuts roasting!!!

All out of the oven...and here they are!!!

Seeing it was a First Birthday...sprinkles!!!

I have made this cake before but these ones were much moister than a large one...


And for anyone who'd like to try...below is the recipe...

CARROT CAKE WITH HONEY CREAM-CHEESE FROSTING
GLUTEN FREE
Preparation time...20m
Cooking time...1 hour
Serves 8

1 and a 1/4 C pure light olive oil
1 and a 1/4 C light brown sugar
4 eggs
3 C coarsely grated carrot
1 C toasted Pecans...roughly chopped
2 and a 1/4 C gluten-free SR Flour
1 t Bicarbonate of Soda
1 t mixed spice

HONEY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

250g Cream Cheese
2 T honey
1/4 C pure Icing Sugar...sifted

1. Pre-heat oven to 180c. Line base & sides of 23cm springform tin with baking paper.
Beat oil, sugar and eggs in the large bowl of an electric mixer until thick and creamy.
Add carrot and pecans.

2. Sift in flour, bicarb and mixed spice, then stir with wooden spoon until combined.
Pour mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60m, or until cake starts to shrink from the sides of the tin and the top bounces back gently when touched with your fingertips.
Stand for 10m before inverting onto a wire rack to cool.

3. To make frosting...
Beat cream cheese, honey and icing sugar in the small bowl of an electric mixer until smooth.
Spread over top of cooked cake...

~Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens~

I found that the cup cakes only took about 20m to bake...
Think I'll make these more often now...as they probably will last better that a full cake for us...seeing I'm the only Gluten Intolerant one around here...

If anyone does make them I'd love to know how you go...
Happy Baking...Dzintra♥

Birthday Dinner!!!

Here I am...back after 4 days of wonderful birthday celebrations and being utterly spoiled...what more could a gal ask for...I hope you had a wonderful one as well MichCherieI made my own cake...a gluten free Harry Potter buttercake...complete with jelly beans...little chocolate chips...and yep...they're gluten free as well together with chocolates to indulge the sweet tooth in us all...

Can't help it...I am a fan of Harry Potter...I bought rubbers, colouring books, pens, scrapbook, folder...even handed one of my assignments in my cookery course in a Harry Potter folder!!!


Following on from last week...here we are at Waterview at lunchtime...our table overlooking the well known Clyde River...well known for some of the cleanest oysters on the East Coast of Australia...

I didn't get our lunch pics as Fiona and I were too busy indulging...our Host very generously gave me...with compliments...a small bottle of bubbly...

Here is my Dessert...Mascarpne Cream with Poached Pears and Sesame Tuille...scrumptious...and complete with a gold candle!!!


And Vodka and Lime Tart...

Thank You Mitch for looking after us so well!!!


I bought myself this fabulous book...


Dinner the following evening at On The Pier

Tempura Prawns, Spiced Plum Sauce and Lemon


One of the meals...Char Grilled Beef


Greek Salad...

Fat Chips with Lime Aioli...

Vegetables...green beans, broccoli...at first look I thought they were accompanied by potatoes but they were the sweetest stickiest onions...

Sticky Rice with Mint Anglaise Sauce...

And at the end of it all this wonderful Happy Birthday on a plate...

this tasted like an apple sauce...and very yummy!!!

Thank You for looking after us so well!!!

There are a few more food pics on my other blog if you want to check it out...just click here

This is one of the best birthdays I have had...and now I sound like a big kid!!!

It's back to my course next week to do more at the Training Restaurant...till next time have a lovely week...Dzintra ♥

Easter~Asian Duck...And It's Birthday Eve!!!

What absolutely glorious weather we have just had this Easter...sunshiney days...catching up with Family and Friends...Thought I would post up my coloured eggs for this year and a couple of fish dishes... Eggs dyed with red onion skin...and of course couldn't resist the chocolate variety as well!!!
Blue-eyed Trevalla on a Lemon Potato Salad...very, very tasty

Pan Fried Bream...

Asian Duck from my TAFE course...Micki has requested this recipe, so here 'tis...

ASIAN DUCK WITH PISTACHIOS AND RED WINE ~Serves 7~

7 pieces of duck

375ml orange juice

2 cloves of garlic~ crushed

1/2 small chilli~crashed

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 bunch coriander~chopped - leave some for garnish

50ml sesame oil

30g ginger~grated

3 shallots~finely chopped

1 clove garlic

50ml beef stock

125ml red wine

2tsp red wine vinegar (you could even start off with 1)

soy sauce *

125gm pistachios

250g butter

3 cucumbers

50gr rocket leaves

METHOD

• Score duck breast
• Marinate in the orange juice, garlic, chilli and coriander, cover and regrigerate
• Heat sesame oil, when hot, seal duck skin side down. Once cooked set aside
• Add garlic, ginger and onions to pan juices and caramelize
• Add red wine vinegar, soy sauce and pistachios, reduce by half
• Add butter and stir through

Serve on a bowl of shaved cucumber and rocket leaves~ drizzle reduction over and garnish with the coriander

*soy sauce ~ perhaps start off with 2 tsp as this amount was not specified

* This recipe was used at our TAFE Restaurant night and handed in by a student who said it came from Gourmet Traveller

This really is a delicious recipe...and if you get to try it I would be interested in how you went!!

And last...but not least...today is Birthday Eve for me~and my 2 Friends Fiona and Josephine are taking me out to Waterview ~ the newest Restaurant in town!!! I am really looking foward to this...so Cheers to you all!!!