​Janet’s easy orange cake

A last minute invitation and a friend whipped up this cake to bring for dessert. Absolutely a surprise and totally delicious! Thanks Janet.

Ingredients
1 orange quartered, cored and seeds removed
220g caster sugar
125g butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs at room temperature
225g SR flour

Orange syrup
259ml strained orange juice (fresh or bottled is OK)
270g orange marmalade
80g sugar

Method

1. Preheat over to 180C lightly generate and line an 18cm cake pan.
2. Put the orange, sugar, butter and eggs in a food processor and process till orange is finely chopped.
3. Add the flour and process till just combined.
4. Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.
5. Remove from oven and set aside for 2-3 mins before turning out.
6. To make the syrup
7. Place orange juice, marmalade and sugar in medium saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently, uncovered, for 5 mins or until syrup reduces slightly.
8. Drizzle warm syrup over cake and serve warm or at room temperature with icecream or cream.

Chook's note: I have made this quantity in a few small cake tins. Perfect for one or two. If baking as small individual cakes, put syrup in small containers sufficient for small servings.
This recipe works every time, it’s easy and quick. It also freezes well as does the syrup - just heat through in the microwave when ready to serve. It’s is a winner!

​Thinking about yummy things and gifts for Festive season.

Don’t panic! there’s still lots of time before Christmas. I just thought I’d get the creative juices trickling with a few ideas.
These can be used as gifts or for your table. I have a collection of pickles and chutneys as well as other delicious goodies. You may not want to make all the pickles but think about making small quantities and giving a selection in pretty little jars as a gift to friends or neighbours.

I will be back to you with recipes for the items below soon but in the meantime I have a couple f simply cake recipes to share with you. Coming up pronto if not sooner!

• Rich butter shortbread
• Rosemary shortbreads
• Cheese straws
• Christmas cakes a deux
• Panforte
• Quince and rosemary jelly
• Chutneys
• Lime pickles

​Yummy sandwich fillings!

On the road our lunches are usually sandwiches and I'm always looking for new delicious fillings. So please share your favourites. Does anyone use watercress or nasturtiums? I’d be in how you prepare the leaves. I have seen recipes that say to wash and then soak in water and vinegar. Any ideas? Please email me pingingchook@gmail.com (yes this account is me, Heather, and is up and running)

Here are a few of my and Lindsay’s favourites.

• Curried tuna and onion (I simply sweat a little onion in butter, add curry powder and cook for a minute or two then stir through drained tuna)
• Pate and red capsicum
• Chopped chicken, cucumber and mayo
• Brie, cucumber and onion
• Brie, red capsicum and capers
• Curried egg with wasabi mayo
• Home cooked corned beef with pickles 
• Grated mozzarella, capsicum, mayo and mustard
• Salmon and onion
• Tuna, onion and cheese
• Cucumber and cheese - tasty (or cream if you prefer)
• Cheese and good zingy chutney
• Prawn salad - chopped prawns with a slop of zingy mayo, finely diced celery and capsicum

Zingy mayo - simply add a dash of wasabi, chilli or Tabasco sauce to your favourite mayo.
If you’re a lettuce lover then throw that in too but remember it will lose its crunch if you prepare your sandwiches ahead.

Chook's note: Sandwiches can be dry or mushy, but you don’t want them soggy either. Creating a balance is critical. Depending on the thickness of the bread, I like to add a smear of mayo and maybe Dijon mustard for a little moisture and a hint of zing.
I rarely add tomato to sangers because it tends to make them too wet - unless you’re going to eat them straight away. (A flash back here to the kitchen when I was growing up. Mum usually had a crust of bread or two on the side while making sandwiches. Tomato or beetroot were usually sitting draining on these.) But back to the red sandwich vege. I have replaced tomato with red capsicum. Tasty and moist and adds a bit of crunch.
Go easy on the herbs as they can be a bit overpower. Having said that however I love chicken with a generous topping if fresh coriander leaves. Yum!
Onion adds great depth of flavour to many fillings but use carefully. Too much will spoil the main flavour.

Prolong: I hated sandwiches as a child at school. So my darling mum tried to temp me by creating surprises - apple, cinnamon and sugar, honey cut into tiny bit sizes, beetroot which I loved, and Milo!
I was a finicky eater; look at me now - can you believe that?!

Fennel Braised in Orange Juice

This can be served as a vegetable dish warm or cold as a salad.
Another of the delicious recipes Lamb's Ears and Honey, Thanks Amanda.

Ingredients
2 large bulbs of fennel
2 oranges
50 mls good quality olive oil
¼ cup currants
¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
salt
pepper

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 160C
2. Chop the hard end off the fennel and slice in ½-1 cm slices, toss in a baking dish with the olive oil and season to taste.
3. Add grated zest and juice of one orange, combine well.
4. Cover dish with aluminium foil, but leave a gap at either end of the dish for steam to escape.
5. Place in oven and cook, stirring every half hour or so. Do not let it brown or dry out.
6. After 1½ hours add the juice of another half orange and the currants, stir, cover and cook for another ½-1 hours, until the fennel is very soft, but not mushy.
To serve, freshen the dish up with juice from the other ½ orange and a bit more zest. Sprinkle with toasted almonds.
Serves 5

​Almond and Orange Zest Dense Butter Cake

This is one of Amanda McInerney's of Lamb's Ears and Honey. Thanks Amanda. I just love your recipes. You can subscribe to her blog from the website. ​http://www.lambsearsandhoney.com 
​
Ingredients
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg
170 gms butter, melted, then cooled slightly
1 tsp almond extract
½ cup almond meal
1 cup plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
zest of one orange
½ cup flaked almonds

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 175C. Grease and line a 23cm cake pan.
2. Beat the sugar and egg well together in a large bowl.
3. Beat in cooled, melted butter until all combined. (If the butter is too hot it will cook the egg.)
4. Stir in almond extract, orange zest and almond meal, then add flour, baking powder and salt, stirring until just combined.
5. Pour into prepared cake pan and sprinkle top evenly with the flaked almonds.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the cake to loosen it. Cool on a cake rack.

​Boiled Fruit Cake

This is the recipe for the cake I posted last with thanks to Merran Green from DreamPot
This has been a winner with all who have tried it.

Ingredients
'The hot gooey bits' - Group 1
375g mixed dried fruit
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
125g butter
1 tsp mixed spice (I used 1/2 tsp of Garam masala, it was all I had)

'The rest' - Group 2
1/2 cup sherry or whatever strong liquor you have on hand (I used Whiskey liqueur - delicious)
2 lightly beaten eggs
2 tbsp marmalade
1 cup SR flour
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
3-4 tbsp blanched almonds to taste

Method
Combine Group 1 ingredients in saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 mins. Cool
Mix in liquor, beaten eggs and marmalade, then fold in dry ingredients.
Spoon into greased 15 cm cake tin or large loaf tin greased and lined with foil.
Cover the pan with greased foil and secure well.
Place in large DreamPot on 3-4cm trivet and carefully pour 5-6 cups of hot water around the pan to come halfway u the side of the pan. Cover with lid and bring to the boil.
Gently boil for 30-45 mins (I prefer a longer time).
Check from time to time to ensure the pot hasn't boiled dry. Then place in large DreamPot, close the outer lid and leave for 3-4 hours.
Allow to cool with the lid off before removing the pan. Allow cake to cool before turning it out.
It's a moist yummy cake.

Chook's note: this could easily be cooked in a conventional oven but you would need to keep temperatures low and cook about 2-3hours - check your stove requirements.

​Icky Sticky pudding plus ....

We have just spent time catching up with family in Perth and as is the customer we all got together and ate! Way too much of course but there were a few thibgs not to be missed Natalie's Icky Sticky Puddings and gluten free Sultana loaf. Thanks Nat!

The Puddings
* 340 gm date
* 2 tsp bicarb
* 500 ml water
Bring to the boil then cool

* 340 gm brown sugar
* 120 hm butter
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 4 eggs
* 340 g SR flour

Combine the ingredients above then add the cooled date mixture.
Bake at 150 degrees for 1 hour or for muffin size puds, bake for 25-30 mins.

Mandatory sauce to serve
* 400 gm brown sugar
* 200 ml cream
* 250 ml butter
Heat together till thick.

For gluten and lactose free version use gluten-free flour and substitute cream with coconut cream. Serve with whipped coconut cream (drain the liquid off a can of coconut cream and whip the solids). This version tastes just as yummy.

Sultana Loaf - easy peasy
Another gluten-free sweetie from Nat.

1. Soak 375 gm sultanas overnight in 400 ml apricot nectar
2. Add to 2 cups SR gluten-free to the fruit-nectar and mix.
3. Bake at 200 degree for 30-35 mins.

Spread with butter or serve as is.