It's alive...!

I'd like to be able to say that I had some sort of fabulous, life-changing goings on that meant I was temporarily unable to write posts... like I was stuck on a tiny island with no oven, only a basketball for company and had some sort of epiphany... unfortunately that's not really the case. I think it was much closer to a work-stress induced writer's block combined with a really ridiculous number of extra-curricular activities.

Mostly, I started this job where I had visions of showing people how wonderful policies really are, and then they would naturally get as much joy out of their correct application as I do. Call me naïve but this reality has not eventuated and the people I work with now don't seem to understand, leaving me a bit of a sad sack and not inclined to bake. Their loss I say.

Anyway, things are looking up. With almost no effort at all (beyond complaining, that is) I'll soon be shot of the job so all of a sudden, there's two batches of brownies on my bench. Before we get to those however, here's something I made for dinner with my Gran a little while ago. There are endless recipes for Chocolate Almond Tortes around but this one seemed to combine the good points of most of them - rich but somehow not too sweet and great for winter nights. Sorry about the dodgy picture, there were screaming kids in the vicinity. It was chocolatey and didn't ditch in the middle like some can.

Flourless Chocolate Torte   

1 tsp instant coffee powder
125g butter
150g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup caster sugar
200g ground almonds

Oven at 180c
                                              
20cm round cake tin, lined with baking paper

Melt the butter, chocolate and vanilla together, then stir in the coffee powder until it dissolves. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Separate the eggs making sure none of the yolk gets into the whites. Beat the egg whites and about half the sugar together until soft peaks form. Then in a separate bowl, beat the yolks and the rest of the sugar until thick and light in colour.

Gently fold cooled chocolate mixture into the egg yolks, then fold in the almonds. Then gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in two lots. Fold in until just combined (If you don't know what I mean by folding, look here... it's a skill for life).

Carefully spread the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes. Cover and allow to cool in the pan.

How to make family discussions incomprehensible

Christmas in my family is one of the happy times of the year where I get to organise my family and write as many lists as I please. Usually this means telling my father and brother where to show up and what food to bring but for my mother it also usually means some intense discussions about exactly who's getting baked goodies, what kind and how much chocolate we needed to buy. Our conversations probably don't make a lot of sense to spectators because we tend to give our biscuits nicknames.

One of our most frequently used recipes is Bugs. What we mean is this recipe for Italian almond biscuits, not the creepy kind of bugs. Bugs are a beautiful but simple-tasting treat that are always popular and can be made ahead of time. They also look a bit like caterpillars which I thought was pretty tops as a kid. Everyone seems to love them and they are gluten-free.

See, it really is big!

The only bad thing about bugs is that they require a large star-shaped piping flute. I've never seen them in the shops and I'm pretty sure my mum's is about 30 years old. That being said, you could probably pick one up at a specialty cake-making store. Or you could use a large, smooth piping tube instead, I've seen those around.





Italian Almond Biscuits
250 gms ground almonds
1 cup pure icing sugar
whites of 2 large eggs
1/2 packet of red glace cherries, quartered

Glaze
2 tsp gelatine
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp water

Combine the almonds ad icing sugar and then mix in egg whites until well combined. The mixture should be a firm paste but if you think it's too dry, add a teaspoon or so of water (not too much!).

Spoon the mixture into a strong fabric piping bag fitted with a large star piping nozzle and pipe 4cm caterpillars onto trays lined with baking paper. Push a little bit harder at the start to give each caterpillar a nice, fat bottom.

Push a piece of cherry firmly onto the end of each biscuit (so it looks like a head/nose).
Cover the biscuits loosely with foil and leave to dry out for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.
Bake biscuits in oven at 180c for 8-10 minutes until just starting to turn golden.

For the glaze
Put gelatine, sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir while bringing to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, brushing down the sides of the pan.
Brush cool biscuits with glaze and allow to dry for a few hours.

And so it begins

Now that it is actually December, I can happily admit that it's time to start doing Christmasy things.
I started making Christmas truffles, slices and biscuits years ago and it's nice to know that people look forward to them. I thought I'd put a few favourites up cause I guess none of them are family secrets or anything... I don't think.

The first thing I've made is almond clusters because they'll keep longest. These babies are awesome because they're ridiculously easy and everyone likes them. The only bad thing is you'll need mini patty papers but they seem to be popping up in shops much more than they used to.

Almond Clusters
200 - 250g slivered almonds
200g dark chocolate (about 40% chocolate)
Mini patty papers

Pour the almonds into a large tray and bake in the oven at 160c until they're lightly browned (about 8 minutes but keep an eye on them). Allow to cool.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or a double saucepan then stir in the almonds. Spoon teaspoons of the mixture into the patty papers and allow to set. Don't put them in the fridge to set unless it's really hot, the chocolate won't be as shiny.