Recipe: Kingston Cheesecake

If you spent your childhood in Australia, you will recall the excitement of the opening of a packet of Arnotts Assorted Creams. Everyone had their favourite, I was (and still am) very fond of a shortbread cream but my first pick was always a kingston.

A few years ago someone introduced me to the idea of a super kingston - formed by sandwiching two Anzac biscuits together with Nutella. It is pretty darn delicious and as I made a batch of Anzac biscuits this week I remembered it and it inspired me to create this cheesecake.

This isn't so much an invention as a combination of existing recipes. The base is a standard Anzac biscuit which I got from a Woman's Weekly cookbook and the Nutella cheesecake is a Valli Little recipe from the April Delicious Magazine. However I will take credit for combining them into one decedent dessert.

A couple of tips. To make getting your cheesecake out of the pan and off the baking paper easier, I put the base of the tin in upside down and rather than cutting the paper to size, do a square of paper (so the the edges stick out of the tin). You will need someone to give you a hand as you have to lift the base up a bit to get it to lock into place but it forms a flat base rather than the little dip.

When you take it out of the tin, you can then use the corners of the baking paper to lift the cake onto your serving plate, then you just roll the paper up underneath the cake and it comes out smoothly as shown in the picture. Hopefully that makes sense, let me know in the comments if it doesn't.

Finally, I got a great tip from the cream cheese packet that I've included in the recipe below which is to have a bowl of hot water in the base of the oven as you cook. It stops the crust from burning by keeping the oven a bit more moist.

Kingston Cheesecake

Base
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Filling
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tbs plain flour
500g cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
300ml thickened cream
200g Nutella


Preheat oven to 140oC. Grease a 23cm springform tin and line with baking paper.

Combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a large bowl.

Combine butter, golden syrup and water in a small saucepan, stir over a low heat until smooth, stir in bicarb soda.  Mix into the dry ingredients.

Press the mix evenly into the base of the tin and up the sides leaving about a 1cm gap to the top of the tin (it will puff up to the top of the tin as it bakes). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, flour and cream cheese for 3-4 minutes until smooth. Add the vanilla, eggs and cream and beat for 1-2 minutes or until combined. Add the Nutella and beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth.

Pour the mix into the tin, it should fill to near the top of the biscuit mix.

Place into the center of the oven and put a bowl of hot water on the bottom of the oven. Bake for 1 hour or until almost set in the centre. Turn off the oven and leave with the door slightly ajar for 2 hours or until cooled completely.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.

Recipe: Armenian Cake

One of the great things about being an adult is earning money that you get to spend as you please. One of the downsides of being an adult is that you realise you need to spend said money on totally useful, unexciting things like bills. And you get excited about spending money on things that your child self would consider the most boring thing in the world.

A few months ago we spent the equivalent of a flight to Europe and back putting insulation in our ceiling. I was so excited I took pictures of the guys on the roof.

Before and After

This week I paid for my oven to be professionally cleaned. Again I took photos and told everyone around it. Even more mortifyingly adult, I keep finding myself wandering into the kitchen to gaze adoringly at it.

It is funny how your priorities change over time. As teenagers my friends and I used to always meet at Sportsgirl. These were the days before everyone had mobile phones so picking a popular shop meant we had plenty to look at while we waited for the one person who was inevitably late. Over time we moved our meeting place to Portmans and then to Cue. Then one day someone suggested we meet in the home-wares section of David Jones. I mark that as the tipping point. The day we all realised that as adults we would prefer to spend money kitting out our kitchens than our wardrobes.

These days I have a pretty fantastically equipped kitchen, although it is only lack of storage that stops me buying more. In fact to reach the square cake tin I use to make this recipe requires taking about 10 other things out of the cupboard first.

But onto the cake. After admiring my clean oven for awhile the urge to bake in it took over. This cake has been a favourite for many years. I love the crumbly base and the toasted almonds on top. And I really like that it cuts neatly into little squares that I don't feel too guilty at eating. I have no idea what makes it Armenian, this recipe has been a handwritten entry in my mother's cookbook for as long as I can remember so if anyone knows where it comes from let me know!

Armenian Cake

2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 cups brown sugar
125g butter
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 egg beaten
200g natural (unpolished) almonds

Pre-heat your oven to 170 degrees. Grease and line a 8" square cake tin.

Mix the dry ingredients together and rub in butter. Halve mixture and press ½ into the base of the cake tin.

Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the milk. Add it and the beaten egg to the remaining half of the dry ingredient mix and beat until well combined.

Gently pour on top of the dry ingredients already in the tin. Top with nuts - I tend to put them in neat rows but you can arrange as you like, just place them gently so that they don't sink too much.

Bake for 1 hour. The top will end up a dark golden brown colour.

Cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

Carrot Cake Day

On Saturday I got up at an indecently early hour to return a favour for the chief architect of my built by friends pergola, by handing out how to vote cards for his Mum who was running in the local council elections.

At what was quite literally the crack of dawn I rugged myself up and headed out into the country to a small local church whose hall had been turned into a polling station for the day.  When the sun shone and the wind dropped, it was actually quite nice standing out there, but for the other 95% of the time I was very glad of my thermals, parka and gloves.

Over the course of the morning it became clear that there were two pressing concerns for the electorate, who was going to fix the local roads and where on earth was the sausage sizzle.  Not being a local myself, the second of these issues was of most concern for me.  After all, what is an election day without a fundraising sausage sandwich?

Luckily at around 10am, a team of what appeared to be crack sausage sizzle operators turned up to set up the stall which they did in world record time.  Not only did they have the usual sausages in white bread with onion and tomato sauce, this was a full fundraising stall with hand knitted goodies and loads of cakes that would have made the CWA (Country Women's Association for those not from Australia) proud.

My shift went till 11, but before I dashed home to change for a wedding, I happily gobbled up a sausage sanga and bought a carrot cake.  I love carrot cake, it is definitely in my top 5 cakes, maybe even in the top 3 depending on my mood, so I was very happy to get it home and enjoy a slice with a hot cup of tea before frocking up for the wedding.

Little was I to know but that would not be the last carrot cake of the day.  After the very romantic ceremony and lovely reception, the wedding cake was served.  It was, you guessed it, carrot cake!

You can never be quite sure what a day will bring, but a day that brings me this much carrot cake is a good day by any measure.

Mmmmm Muffins

Do you know the muffin man, The muffin man, the muffin man,
Do you know the muffin man, Who lives in Drury Lane?

Now I may not know the muffin man but this evening I became the muffin woman as I set about turning some of my blackberry bounty into sweet treats.

I came late to muffins, they just weren't really eaten in my house, but eventually the world wide love affair with the muffin caught up with me.  Given the choice of two, I would still probably choose a cupcake over a muffin, but for its ability to carry the flavour of a luscious berry, you can't beat a muffin.

I did slightly miscalculate when making them however, as my muffin pans are smaller than the recipe and as a result I have a voluminous quantity of muffins to share!

However with kilos of blackberries to get through, muffins on their own aren't going to make a dent.  So there is blackberry vodka infusing, I am intending to whip up a batch of blackberry icecream and maybe some blackberry sauce to top it off.  Even with all those treats there are still going to be blackberries in the fridge.

A surfeit of blackberries, now that is a problem I don't mind having!

Cheesecake

"Nothing is more important than cheesecake."

A quote from a colleague today who clearly has his priorities in the right order! Cheesecake might seem a bit frivolous at a time like this and to be honest, I've spent the past 24 hours glued to the news of the floods on TV, radio and the internet, not to mention the personal accounts on the Vogue Forum, but our cheesecake break was as much about sanity as it was about Martin's birthday.

The flood crisis is so great that it is difficult to think or talk of anything else. But my chocolate ripple cheesecake and our terrible rendition of "Happy Birthday" (our office really needs to hire someone with a great singing voice to carry the rest of us) was a lovely break. It was yummy, it was comforting and for a few minutes at least we talked food rather than floods.

I hope you found a few moments distraction today.

Apple Torte

I love to cook and my gorgeous parents know this well, so for Christmas they got me a Kenwood Chef stand mixer. Lack of having a stand mixer since I moved away from home has not stopped me baking, but it makes such a difference. Properly creaming butter is simple. Whipping eggs and sugar till they are "pale and creamy" is a snap. So of course, my rate of baking is increasing markedly.

Last night I decided to make a cake which had got brilliant reviews on one of the blogs I regularly read "Apples Under My Bed". She herself had discovered it on the fabulous blog "Greed Gourmand" who it transpired had found it on a third blog, "Cook Almost Anything". It was difficult not to get distracted by each wonderful blog as I undertook my quest for the recipe, but at last it was found.

The fabulous cake in question is the Apple Torte. It may not be the most visually attractive cake, but it is delicious. It is one of those recipes where you wonder if it is going to work as you assemble the ingredients. Somehow, the 6 finely sliced apples just seem too voluminous, the delicious batter not quite enough, and the addition of pine nuts unusual in a sweet thing. But it all works.

The beneficiaries of all this baking activity are my colleagues. There were very few people in today, in fact only 5 cake eaters, yet half of it had disappeared before lunch, and the rest followed in rapid succession. This recipe is a keeper.

Afternoon Tea

I think there is something hugely indulgent and utterly enjoyable about those in-between meals that have been created simply for socialialising and enjoying food. Brunch, supper and of course, morning and afternoon tea. While formality can be imposed, I find people are generally more relaxed. You aren't eating to fulfill hunger, it is to enjoy tasty morsels and the company of others.

Afternoon tea comes with many traditions, the correctly brewed pot, scones - light and fluffy topped with lashings of jam and cream, finger sandwiches, cake cut into bite sized mouthfuls. They all contribute to an indulgently lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Today I hosted an afternoon tea to thank those who had supported me through Frocktober. There were many tasty treats including a lovely cake from my Mum and gorgeous sandwiches and cupcakes from my friend N. We sat, chatted, enjoyed the food and were hugely entertained by N's 18 month old who demonstrated just how many blueberries a small boy can eat (the answer, is apparently all of them!)

It was such a lovely afternoon, what a brilliant way to round out a weekend.

Trying something new

This blog was to be accompanied by a picture of a cake - unfortunately the team in the office ate it too fast!

You know how it is when people rave about some place and you mean to go but never get there? For ages I've been told how fantastic the Flute Bakery at Fyshwick is. For those not native to Canberra, Fyshwick is an industrial suburb. It is full of factories, plumbing suppliers, furniture stores and (being Canberra) a wide variety of adult and XXX outlets. But in the midst of this is a fantastic french bakery.

People rave, so today as I had to be in the area, I stopped in and bought afternoon tea for the team. It was a passionfruit meringue pie. It looked spectacular and tasted even better. As I mentioned, it was swiftly gobbled up as even those on diets abandoned them for a Friday afternoon sugar hit.

But I have managed to secret away these gorgeous little macaroons. Have you noticed the macaroon craze that seems to have hit lately. Well I'll admit it, I've never had one. The Flute had a wide variety so for dessert tonight I have chocolate cherry and raspberrry vanilla to try.

The other delicious offerings on display had me very glad that they are a long way from my usual haunts and are not open on the weekend - regular visits would not be good for my waistline!

Chocolate Cake

This is the remains of a rather delicious chocolate cake that I made for a birthday at work.

We are a new business so are still setting in place our traditions. This was our first work birthday and the cake went down very nicely.

It is one of those tried and true recipes, from a Family Circle treasury of chocolate cakes originally I think. I usually make it into cupcakes and this is actually the first time I've made it as a cake in a long time but it was well worth it.

If you are in a chocolate cake mood, here is the recipe.

Chocolate Fudge Cake (from Family Circle)
4oz (125g) butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2/3 cup cocoa
½ cup hot water
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 cup milk
1 ¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
Chocolate Vienna Icing (recipe follows)

Beat butter until creamy, add sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Blend cocoa in hot water to make a smooth paste. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Add vinegar to milk to sour.

Sift together flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and add to creamed mixture alternately with sour milk. Stir lightly but thoroughly.

Pour into two greased 20cm (8in) sandwich tins and bake in a moderate over 30 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly pressed.

Cool in tins for 10 minutes then turn out and allow to cool completely.

Fill and ice with Chocolate Vienna Icing. Decorate with chocolate curls if desired.

CHOCOLATE VIENNA ICING
Beat 125g butter until creamy. Sift 2 ½ cups icing sugar and blend 3 tablespoons cocoa with 3 tablespoons hot water smooth. Add the icing sugar to the butter alternately with sufficient of the cocoa mixture to bake desired spreading consistency.