Cherry Cheese "Christmas Wreath" Pound Cake

This cake was inspired by the cover of this month's Coles magazine, which actually uses an instant butter cake mix. I decided to make the cake even more festive by making a cream cheese pound cake bursting with fresh cherries, drizzled over some orange glaze icing and decorated it with more cherries! A generous dusting of icing sugar always creates a pretty snowflake effect, and to complete the Christmas wreath look, I added a sprig of mint leaves which I picked from the garden.

Little Hilary insisted on "framing" the photo with Christmas decorations...

This cake is perfect with a cuppa for afternoon tea, and is fantastic when served warm with that delicious orange glaze icing. The cream cheese in the cake adds more of a "creamy" texture to the cake, and not so much of flavour. The recipe I used called for maraschino cherries, but I substituted with fresh cherries instead. I reckon you can use cranberries too if you like. I must admit, the trickiest part was trying to keep the cherries from falling off the top of the cake as I was taking pictures of it. Other than that, this cake is really easy to make and is sure to impress your family and friends this Christmas!

  

Cherry Cheese "Christmas Wreath" Pound Cake
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract (I subtituted with 1 tsp almond essence)

1 1/2 cup maraschino cherries (or substitute with fresh pitted cherries), drained and halved

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Fresh cherries for decorating

Icing sugar for dusting

Sprigs of mint leaves

Orange glaze icing:

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

About 2 tbsp fresh orange juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325F (165C). Grease and flour an 8 inch tube/bundt pan. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Dredge the well-drained cherries in 1/4 cup flour, then gently fold into batter. Spread into prepared pan and level the mixture with a spatula.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60-80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.              
4. Once the cake has cooled, combine the ingredients for the orange glaze icing in a bowl until you get a smooth mixture that is not too runny. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and arrange fresh cherries on top. Add a sprig (or more) of mint leaves. Dust liberally with icing sugar. This cake is best served slightly warm (a few seconds in the microwave works great!).

Tip:

I didn't have a cherry-pitter. So, in order to pit the cherries, I first removed the stem, then inserted the end of a chopstick from the top of the cherry and pushed it straight through the centre until the pit/seed popped out below. Gets a little messy but it does the job! Alternatively, just use a sharp knife to cut around the seed, twist the cherry halves apart and pry out the seed with your fingers.

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Apple Frangipane Tart

 

So, I was telling my friend Samuel the other day that I made fish head curry three times in a row prior to posting the recipe for it last week. I explained that I couldn't get it to taste the way I wanted it to, and I couldn't possibly share a recipe for something I'm not happy with. I got it right on the third attempt though, after I figured out who the culprit was - it was the fish curry powder with the Candlenut! So I changed that, made my own curry paste and it turned out almost exactly like I wanted it to.

Some dishes are a little tricky to master especially when doing a copycat dish, and you just can't place your finger on the secret ingredient. I remember cooking Korean Fried Chicken at least five times before I was happy with the results. That included experimenting with various recipes for the dipping sauce until I finally achieved the right balance. There are also those dishes that are in WIP, for example, attempting to make laksa from scratch. I just couldn't get it right even after adding MSG (doesn't MSG usually solve everything?), and so I've put that on the backburner. In the meantime, I'm getting my laksa fix at Alice's Makan (which I went to today!), or some other decent laksa joint in Sydney. Uh-oh, have I digressed? Read on.

I made this heavenly (oh yeah!) apple frangipane tart last weekend, and for the record, this was my second attempt. The first time, I used Buttersnap cookies for the base, and I found it way too sweet, plus the added egg made the crust a little chewy and cakey. I was aiming for a light and crispy crust instead, and achieved that by using a basic shortcrust pastry with the addition of amaretti cookie crumbs. And it wasn't too sweet either as no sugar was used in the crust. There was already sweetness coming from the frangipane filling, complemented by the tartness of the apple slices. I was thrilled when I took the tart out of the oven, and it looked and smelt amazing, until....

My joy was short-lived. In my haste to remove the piping hot tart from the pan, Murphy's Law happened. The tart did a miraculous backflip onto the edge of the table, with half of it landing onto the chair. My heart just sank. Ouch. The photo above is what I managed to salvage from the table, which probably explains why it looks the way it does. It was a delicious tart nonetheless. Find the recipe after the jump.

This picture below is version 1.0 of the tart, where I used Buttersnap cookies for the base, hence the darker caramelized colour on the crust.

Here is the recipe for the best-ever apple frangipane tart. Best consumed within the next day. If refrigerated, reheat in the oven for a few minutes, and serve with whipped cream if desired.

Apple Frangipane Tart

Tart Crust:
1 1/4 cup plain flour
1.5 oz (40g) finely crushed Amaretti cookies
1/2 cup (125g) butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp iced water

Frangipane:
3.5 oz (100g) unsalted butter, softened
3 oz (85g) icing sugar
1 cup (100g) almond meal
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp apricot jam + 2 tsp hot water, microwaved for 20 seconds

Method

In a food processor, blitz the flour, Amaretti cookies and salt until well mixed. Add butter and pulse until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. With the motor running, slowly add the water until  the dough starts to come together. Press the dough between your fingers and if it sticks together, it's ready. Don't add too much water or else the dough will be too soft.

Turn the dough over to a lightly floured surface and gently knead until it form a smooth ball. Press into a disc and place it in a 9 inch fluted loose-bottom tart pan. Use your fingers to line the base and sides of the pan. Refrigerate it for 1 hour until it's firm. Then prick it all over with a fork.

Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Bake the tart crust in the middle rack for 15 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove and let it cool.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Next, prepare the frangipane. Place the butter in a mixing bowl and stir with a spatula to soften it. Stir in the icing sugar, followed by the almond meal and mix well. Finally, add the vanilla and eggs and stir until evenly mixed through. Spread it evenly onto the base of the tart crust.

Slice the apples very thinly and arrange them over the frangipane filling. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake in the middle rack for 45 minutes until the apples start to lightly brown at the edges. Remove from oven and brush with apricot jam. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Melting Moments with Raspberries and Cream

These melting moments are absolutely heavenly! So good. Light, buttery, creamy and melts in your mouth. The balance between the sweetness from the vanilla buttercream and the tartness of the raspberry jam is perfect. These delightful little sandwich cookies were so popular that I had to make a second batch the day after, which I brought to work the next day only to have them all devoured by everyone. I guess the main difference between this recipe and others is that this uses custard powder, which gives it a sweet scent and flavour. It also uses baking powder which results in a light and crumbly texture. I can declare that this is now my favourite melting moment recipe, and if you try it out, I bet it'll be your favourite too! Also, don't forget to check out the recipe for quick and easy Raspberry Jam in my previous post. You can prepare the jam and refrigerate it a few days ahead until you're ready to make the cookies.

Melting Moments with Raspberries and Cream

Adapted from Masterchef Australia

Ingredients

180g (6oz) unsalted butter
60g  (2oz) icing sugar, sifted
60g (2oz) custard powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
180g (6oz) plain flour

Buttercream:

100g (3.5 oz) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup icing sugar, sifted

Raspberry jam (click here for Raspberry Jam recipe)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line two oven trays with baking paper.

2. For biscuits, cream butter for two minutes in an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Add icing sugar and custard powder and mix until combined. Sift the baking powder and flour together then add to the dough and mix well. Roll dough into 10g balls (about 1 tsp), place on a baking paper lined baking tray and press each ball with a fork to leave an indent. Bake biscuits for 14 minutes or until light golden. Stand on trays 5 minutes to cool then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. For buttercream, whisk butter and vanilla until smooth. Add icing sugar and beat until mixture forms a paste, the consistency of thick icing. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle.

4. To assemble, place a spoonful of jam on the base of half the biscuits. Pipe buttercream in a circle onto the base of the other half of the biscuits. Gently press one of each biscuit together to form a melting moment. Dust with icing sugar before serving.                            

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Microwave Raspberry Jam

I used to have this idea that only little old ladies who live in the countryside make jam in their kitchens, which is why I have never made jam before until now! The microwave method of making jam is awesome and saves you so much time. Not only that, but it only uses 3 ingredients and there is no setting agent like pectin required either. However, it does use lemon rind during the cooking process, and that perhaps helps to set the jam, since citrus fruits contain a high concentration of pectin. The lovely thing about this jam is that it's bursting with pure fruity flavour from the raspberries, it's like eating a raspberry concentrate. It tastes so much better than commercially manufactured jams.

You can use fresh or frozen fruit in making the jam, and in any combination of fruits  you like. I've used frozen raspberries here, and they were simply fantastic. Make sure you use a large Pyrex bowl for this as the jam will triple in volume as it cooks in the microwave, and you surely wouldn't want jam all over the turntable. The recipe is from Taste which uses 500g of fruit. I used only 350g of raspberries and scaled down the amount of sugar and lemon used proportionately. You can use other types of berries, stone-fruits like plums, peaches and apricots, or try pineapple or mangoes. Use these fruits in combination if you like and personalise your own jam. They make great gifts too!

Microwave Jam

Ingredients

1 lemon, halved

500g (1 pound) fruit remove stone or stalk and chop fruit

1 1/2 cups (335g) white sugar

Method

1. Juice the lemon. Place fruit, lemon juice and the rind halves in a large microwave safe bowl. Cook, uncovered, on High/100% power, stirring occasionally for 6 minutes.
   
2. Add the sugar and cook on High/100% power for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes, or until the jam reaches setting point. (To do this, cool some jam on a chilled saucer and run your finger through it. If the jam wrinkles and stays separate it is ready to bottle.)
   
3. Discard lemon rind and spoon the hot jam into a clean jar. Invert for 2 minutes then turn upright to cool.

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Apple and Blueberry Shortcake

Granny Smith Apples are currently in season (in Australia, that is) and I couldn't resist buying some in case I had sudden cravings for apple desserts. I love using apples for baking, and some of my favourites are Apple Crumble and Dutch Apple Cake, which I have made over and over again. My original intention with these lovely green apples was to make an Upside-down Apple Cake, which is absolutely decadent. However, the recipe makes quite a large cake and is best eaten on the same day. All I wanted was a slice or two, and not having to eat apple cake everyday for the rest of the week. It's just too sinful. Instead, I found a recipe for Apple and Blueberry Shortcake in Bills Food, a cookbook by Bill Granger (I was puzzled why it was spelt Bills and not Bill's, and G speculated that some people might take it to mean "Bill is Food" instead. Hmmm....).

This shortcake looks somewhat like an apple pie since it's essentially apple filling enclosed in pastry, except that it's not really pastry but perhaps more like cakey shortbread. I substituted the blueberries with a mixture of blue, red and blackberries (I bought a bag of frozen mixed berries) which is why the apples in the picture above are tinged with red from the raspberries. This shortcake makes a wonderful teatime treat, and is also a delicious way to end a meal on a sweet and fruity note.

Apple and Blueberry Shortcake
Adapted from Bills Food

Ingredients

4 large Granny Smith apples
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup blueberries (or mixed berries if you like)
Demerara or raw sugar, for sprinkling
Whipped cream, to serve

Method

1. Peel and core apples, then cut each one into 16 slices. Put them in a medium saucepan with zest, sugar and 2 tablespoons water, then cover and stew on low heat for 10 minutes or until just tender but not mushy. Stir or turn the apples occasionally to prevent the ones at the bottom of the pan from overcooking.
2. Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Sift in flour and baking powder and stir until combined. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide into two and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Roll each half of the dough into a 8 1/2 inch round. Grease and line the base of a round 9 inch springform tin. Press one round into the base. Spread the apples over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge. Sprinkle with berries. Place the other round of dough over the top and press the edges to seal. Brush the top with water and sprinkle with sugar.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes before removing. Serve warm with whipped cream.

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