Recipe for Lumberjack Cake

I've just made this cake which was a total hit at Nic's work smoko today. Not only did it look a million dollars it tasted damn good and was nice and moist in the centre. Phew! Thats always a worry first time you try a new recipe. Word is Nic was OK to leave his company but I had to remain on smoko cake baking duty! I guess this is a sure fire recipe.

Sometimes I follow recipes and wonder why the recipe says "do this, do that" but you never know why so have added in some tips. Enjoy.

Lumberjack Cake

2 apples, peeled, cored & diced

1 cup dates chopped

½ cup dried apricots chopped

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup boiling water

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

75g unsalted butter

150ml vege oil (canola, sunflower)

1 egg

1 ½ cups wholemeal flour

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

TOPPING:

60g unsalted butter

½ cup lightly packed brown sugar

½ cup milk

½ cup shredded coconut

Line a 20cm round spring tin with baking paper or spray heavily with oil. Turn oven to 180C no fan.

Combine apples, dates, apricots in a glass or metal bowl (retains heat) and add baking soda and cover with the freshly boiled water. Leave for an hour to cool.

Beat butter, sugar & essence in bowl for 5 mins until fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined but don’t overdo.

Add flour & baking powder (don’t ever bother sifting wholemeal as its chunky anyway and adds volume) & mix with a folding action.

Pour mixture into tin. Bake in oven at 180C for 40 mins. Check at 30mins if your oven runs a bit hot.

While cake is baking, make topping by combining butter, sugar, milk & coconut in a saucepan. Stir over a low heat until sugar is dissolved.

Remove cake from oven & spread with topping. Also sprinkle 3 tbsp of Auntys Muesli on top as done in the pictured cake. Bake for a further15-20mins or until topping is brown.

Remove cake from tin after cooling for 15 mins.

Serve in generous portions.

Quack

"Yes Oscar there are some ducks"
" Well they are in the cage because they are going on a holiday"
"Where? Well there is this nice local family that own the Happy Sun restaurant that will come and collect them soon"
" Yes Oscar they have duck eggs on the menu".

Baking for Generations

Sometimes while I am baking for my Sunday market my mind drifts away to when I was little and my mother baked a mountain of afghans, caramel squares and yo-yos for our school packed lunches for the week. And I would eye up the cake mix lurking in the shadows and pouncing on egg beaters and wooden spoons dripping with chocolate biscuit mix or blobs of jam off the bench that didn't quite make it into the yo-yo.

And I think it was all the relished kitchen time with my Mum that has made me want to bake traditional homemade treats for the market.
Here we have a young baker/taster in the making.

Bircher Muesli

A lot of people ask me what the difference is between Bircher Muesli and regular muesli. So here is my understanding of it all!

Muesli was introduced around 1900 by the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his Swiss hospital, where a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables was an essential part of therapy. The original Bircher muesli recipe was soaked in cream overnight but this recipe is a more healthy version.

Aunty's Bircher Muesli

Serves 4

2 cups Aunty's Deluxe Macadamia Muesli or Classic Fruit
2 cups natural yoghurt
Juice of half a small lemon
1/2 cup grated apple
1/2 cup coarse chopped strawberries or berries in season


- Mix ingredients, divide into 4 bowls and refrigerate overnight.

Garnish the four bowls with;
- 1 peeled sliced organic kiwifruit
- 1 tablespoon Manuka honey

Serve immediately.

Its Bastille Day!

Bonjour mes amies!I thought Id send out a Happy Bastille Day to all the guys & gals at Petit Paris who have their delicious and colourful stall next to mine each Sunday.

Mmmm patissierie - JM is now making them and the lovely Alice now mans (or womans) the stall. Check out JMs handiwork.



There goes the diet - again!

Winter in Taranaki

Its currently 8degrees but feels like 5 degrees. But the sun is out and the snow on the mountain is stunning.

Will be a fresh start for tomorrows Farmers Market. Brrrr!

Here's a delicious recipe using Aunty's Deluxe Macadamia Muesli which has juicy cranberries and sultanas in it as well as local spray free macadamias.

Aunty's Berry Nice Crumble

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

4 green apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup Aunty's Natural Deluxe Macadamia Muesli
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup plain flour or gluten free flour
75g/2.6oz butter - softened and chopped
200g/7oz mixed fresh or frozen berries (blackberries and raspberries are best)
Extra 1 tablespoon caster sugar

Method

- Preheat oven to 200°C/392°F
- Place apples, caster sugar, lemon juice and water in a medium saucepan.
- Stir to combine. Cover and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until apples are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, combine Macadamia Muesli, brown sugar and plain flour in a medium bowl. Add butter, using your fingertips rub butter into dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.
- Combine cooled apple mixture, berries and extra caster sugar together, then spoon into a medium baking dish (approx. 30cm x 15cm x 5cm deep).
- Sprinkle crumble mix evenly over fruit. Place baking dish onto a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or until crumble is golden.
- Serve warm or chilled with yoghurt or ice cream. YUMMO!

Menu!

So I have BORROWED my 18mth old sons blackboard to display what home baked goodies I have on offer at my market stall. Do you like it? My Sticky Date & Apricot muffins continue to sell out each week. They are HUGE in size and I top them with yummy muesli. This week I ditched the Banana Loaves (boring!) and introduced the world to the tastes of Blackberry & Cinnamon Apple mini loaves. I think the berries on top were pretty tempting.


I did save one for Busker Pete who played some mean accordion toons raising money for the Neurological & Stroke Foundation. Good one Pete!