Danish Dream Cake (Drømmekage)

 

I made this cake for the first time as part of the Australia's Biggest Morning Tea fund-raising event at work. It's rather stressful cooking or baking for other people whom you know are going to judge you and your food. I tried to think of what cake would appeal to most people, and the magic ingredient is *drumroll*.... coconut! Australians love coconut (the shredded type) which is probably why lamingtons are so...Aussie.. though not as Aussie as Tim Tams and Vegemite. Coconut is also widely used in Asian cuisine. In fact, some of the people at work commented that it was a Filipino cake, and I said no. This was a Danish Dream Cake. Totally different continents. (I think they might have confused it with Biko, a Filipino dessert made with sticky rice and coconut, though sounds delicious too).

 

The word "Drømmekage" literally means "dream cake", and is apparently a traditional Danish cake consisting of a genoise sponge with a coconut caramel topping that is baked until caramelized and golden brown. I think my favourite colour has to be caramel. Not just any caramel, but dark and deliciously brown caramel. The cake was lovely and not as sweet as I thought it would be. It must be the salt in the caramel that tones down the sweetness, and on top of that, I also added coffee to it. Coffee and caramel makes for amazing smells in your kitchen! You have to let the cake cool down for an hour before cutting it, but just an hour and no more than that. As a reward, you will get to savour the sweet, juicy crusty edges of the cake which is still slightly warm from the caramel that has melted over the sides and covered it with sticky chewy goodness. This is a cake that would be perfect for a crowd, best eaten in small portions (over and over). Please find the recipe below.

 

 

Drømmekage – Danish Coconut Dream Cake

(from ‘Scandilicious – Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking’ by Signe Johansen, Saltyard Books)

Adapted from Usingmainlyspoons

 

4 medium eggs
300g golden caster sugar (I used 250g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g butter, melted
150ml buttermilk (or just plain milk)
300g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Topping

200g butter (I used 150g)

200g light brown soft sugar

150g dessicated coconut

100ml milk

1 heaped teaspoon vanilla sea salt (I used half teaspoon salt with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

1/2 tbsp instant coffee granules/powder (optional - I added this)

 

Method

 

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas mark 5. Line a 20x30cm deep rectangular cake pan (I used a 23x23cm pan) with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang to help remove the cake later. It helps to have the paper extend above the sides of the tin a little to contain the topping later.

 

Melt the butter and leave to cool a little. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, and mix with a whisk to distribute the baking powder.

 

Using an electric mixer beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together until thick and pale, the batter should form a ribbon when the whisk is removed from the bowl. This will take several minutes on high speed.

 

Pour in half the melted butter and buttermilk and sift half the flour onto the batter. Fold the batter together with a large metal spoon, trying to incorporate as much of the flour, butter and buttermilk without knocking out the air from the eggs.

 

Pour in the remaining butter and buttermilk and sift over the remaining flour. Fold the batter as above.

 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cake has doubled in size, looks light golden brown in colour and is firm to the touch. A toothpick inserted into the cake should also come out clean. You want to be sure it has baked thoroughly and will bear the weight of the topping to come.

 

Whilst the cake is baking make the topping by adding all the ingredients into a medium saucepan set over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent the sugar from burning. Cook for 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened and some of the liquid has evaporated. It will reduce a little and also change colour to a slightly darker shade of brown. You want something thick enough that it will spread over the surface, and not run too much or it may seep into the cake.

 

Once the cake is out of the oven turn the temperature up to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7. Spread the topping evenly over the cake, return to the oven and bake on the upper-middle shelf for 5–10 minutes until the topping is a toasted deep golden colour. Cool in the tin before cutting into squares with a serrated knife (I used a bread knife). The top of the topping should be caramelized and chewy, while the coconut beneath is juicy, sweet and addictive! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Sticky Baby Back BBQ Ribs

Costco is one of my favourite places to shop at (well, okay, most of my favourite shopping places revolve around food and groceries). I remember watching a documentary about Costco and how they source for only popular or quality that are tried and tested by them, and they carry a limited number of brands for each product line. This makes it easier for the consumer when deciding which brand to choose (as too many brands may confuse the consumer who might end up not buying anything!).

I saw a couple of brands for BBQ sauce and decided on Sweet Baby Ray's (after all, there's only a fifty-fifty chance I bought the wrong one!) mainly because the label stated "Award-winning", dotted with four red stars (not only my kids love stars on their homework, I have an affinity for stars too when it comes to food and product reviews). The other brand had some Japanese sounding name to it which I can't remember, plus there was a mad picture of a Japanese guy on it. My, my, my.... these ribs were possibly one of the best I've had, and almost as good as Tony Roma's. I highly recommend this, especially the sauce which turns lovely and sticky after a few minutes under the grill. It's easy to prepare, and easy clean-up afterwards too!

Sticky Barbecue Ribs
Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients

1.8kg (4 lbs) American-style pork ribs (get meaty ones, not too lean or bony)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1-2 cups Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue sauce

Method

Preheat oven to 160C (300F).

Mix together the sugar and spices to make a dry rub. Apply rub to ribs on all sides.

Lay ribs on two layers of foil, shiny side out. Lay a layer of foil on top of ribs and roll and crimp edges tightly, edges facing up to seal.

Place on baking tray and bake for 3-4 hours or until meat is tender and starting to shrink away from the ends of the bone. Remove from oven. Heat the broiler or oven grill.

Remove ribs from the foil, and place on a clean layer of foil on a metal rack or pan, bony side up. Brush on some BBQ sauce. Grill for 3-4 minutes until sauce is cooked on and bubbly.
Turn ribs over and brush on more sauce and grill again until sauce is bubbly and caramelized (this makes it sticky and finger-licking good!). Serve immediately.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Nasi Ayam (Chicken Rice)

 

Hainanese Chicken Rice makes a regular appearance on our dinner table almost every Sunday evening. We would make a big batch of it so that it will last for the next couple of dinners. It's easy, simple and the kids hardly complain about it (unless it stretches out to the third or forth time in a row, then there'd be the occasional whining "Chicken rice? Again....?"). And so, I decided to try out a different version of chicken rice which is more Malay style, with the addition of spices like cinnamon and star anise. The chicken is rubbed with kecap manis before roasting it in the oven, which gives the skin a touch of sweetness.

 



Nasi Ayam (Chicken Rice) Recipe

Ingredients

1.8 kg chicken marylands (drumstick and thigh) - reserve the chicken fat for the rice
1-2 tbsp margarine/butter

Marinade:
3 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Broth:
2 litres water
2 cloves garlic
2 slices ginger
500g chicken bones/wing tips
1 medium onion, quartered
1 large carrot, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Coriander stems/roots
Coriander leaves for garnish

Rice:

3 rice cups (approx 2 1/4 metric cups) of jasmine/basmati rice, rinsed
2 tbsp margarine/butter
2 pieces of chicken fat
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 slices ginger
1 star anise
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves
Chicken stock/broth
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
1 pandan leaf
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Chilli sauce:

3-4 red chillies, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger, grated
2-3 tsp white vinegar
2-3 tbsp chicken broth
Salt and sugar to taste

Chilli soy sauce:

Mix some kecap manis with chopped bird's eye chillies.

Method

Marinate the chicken by rubbing the salt and pepper all over, followed by the kecap manis. Leave refrigerated for 2-4 hours.

Prepare the chicken broth next. Bring water to the boil in a large pot and add garlic, ginger, chicken bones and onions. Simmer for 1 hour. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 190C. Rub some margarine/butter over and under the chicken skin. and roast the chicken for 45-50 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove and chop into pieces.

While chicken is roasting, cook the rice. Heat up some margarine in a pan and fry the chicken fat for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon and cloves to fry. Add in the rice and fry until rice is well coated with the mixture. Pour into rice cooker and add the chicken broth until it comes up to the mark on your rice cooker. Add lemongrass, pandan leaf and stir in salt to taste. Start the rice cooker, and once cooked, fluff up the rice with a fork.

To the remaining broth in the pot, add carrots and coriander stems/roots. Simmer for 10 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with coriander leaves.

To prepare chilli sauce, blend everything in a blender and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve rice with chopped chicken, cucumber and tomatoes, chilli sauce, chilli soy sauce and chicken broth.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad