Re-Inventing the Lamington 2014 Day Three: Crème de Menthe Lamingtons

Look, I am not a food stylist; I don't know why I decided to put these lams in a rocks glass and yes, I know the lighting is terrible. But frankly, when you're looking at making and baking ten different kinds of lamington over two days in grey and blustery February, you have to just go with whatever you can get. It works for me. That is all I can really ask for.

Now: I know that more often than not, my lamingtons involve a liqueur from my drinks cabinet, and that it must seem like I am always drinking. I honestly am not. It's just that I love a good cocktail, and before I discovered that it was never going to get any better than Tanqueray martini (twist, always a twist), I allowed my cupboards to get somewhat full. The lamingtons help me work through my stockpile.

Crème de menthe is a bit of a bugger as you can't really do much with it, and I don't have an ice crank, so frappé is never really an option. So I feel good about using it here and freeing up space. For gin and vermouth.

I will be totally honest though: these lams didn't really do it for me. I love the fact that they were glazed, as opposed to chocolate coated, because that makes for a better texture, but mint and coconut is not a combo that I would lay my life on the line for.

Perce loved them.

Oh, and I am dedicating these lamingtons to the gorgeous and helpful staff at the Washington branch of American Apparel in South Beach, Miami. The way they pronounce 'menthe' as 'menth' and not 'mont' gets me every time. Cute.

Remember that you still have time to Re-Invent the Lamington yourself, and win a beautiful prize. Get to it.

Crème de Menthe Lamingtons 

You will need:

1 x batch Coconut and Vanilla Bean Chiffon Cake

300g icing sugar, sifted
50ml crème de menthe

100g dessicated coconut

1. To make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling film and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into 24 cubes, or as many as you like/can.
2. Make the glaze: mix the crème de menthe and icing sugar together until smooth. If you need to thin it down a little more, use a few drops of hot water from the kettle. Set the coconut in a dish.
3. Dip each cube of cake into first the glaze and then the coconut. Set aside on a wire rack to dry out and do your best to ignore the funky colour the coconut turns. (They look like alien cakes.)

Re-Inventing the Lamington 2014 Day Two: Amaretti Lamingtons

I have a friend, Natalie, who, like myself, gets stressed over the sorts of things that others think are hum-drum and don't even bat an eyelid over. We worry too much about what people think. Mind you, conversely, I think we both handle the tough stuff that would turn some people into screaming banshees quite well and with a minimum of fuss, so I guess it balances out in the end.

We have a turn of phrase, if you will, that we dust off to calm each other down in times of panic and drama. We say it in our pitch perfect Northern accents (we're both from the best part of the country originally), and it goes like this:

'Look, Duck: if I had a pound for every time I did something I shouldn't, well then I'd probably have about a tenner.'

It works for us.

Of course, nobody gives me a pound when I do something to be regretted later. And nobody gives me a pound when I do something right either. I think I definitely deserve a pound or two for coming up with these lazy person's lamingtons though -  No baking. Declassé liqueur. Italian glamour. These have it all.

I adore Tia Maria and so does Perce. We have it on the rocks and so should you. But it's also great for soaking cakes to add coffee flavour and sweetness. I used it to moisten some of the hard amaretti biscuits we got given stacks of for Christmas to make these beautiful 'lamaretti' and it has been what can only be called a triumph.

Don't forget: lamingtons are not just for me to re-invent. You can have a go yourself and maybe even win a prize!

Amaretti Lamingtons

You will need:

12 hard baked amaretti (not the soft ones labelled 'morbidi')
100ml Tia Maria
200g milk chocolate
100g dessicated coconut

1. Melt the chocolate and set aside cool slightly. Set the coconut in a dish. Pour the Tia Maria into a small dish or bowl.
2. Dip the amaretti into the liqueur and shake off excess. Then dip each wet cookie into the chocolate and roll in the coconut.
3. Set aside on a plate or rack to set before eating.

Re-Inventing the Lamington 2014 Day One: Clotted Cream Lamingtons

 

I'm just going to give it to you how you want it with the lamingtons this year: full throttle, fast and nasty. It's Valentine's Day after all - let's treat ourselves.

I got the idea for these lams from a Twitter conversation I had with Dom and the good people at Rodda's, who make the clotted cream that everybody dreams of pretty much every night of their lives.Well, be honest with yourselves - I know what you think about when nobody's watching.

Even when I was younger and thought I didn't like cream (I've been wrong about a lot of things in life, especially things I've thought I wouldn't like... but most of those aren't blog suitable topics), clotted cream always had me salivating. It's rich, smooth and fatty to the point that it seems light and dreamy. But then, pretty much 100% of the time, I think that full fat dairy products taste as though they're low fat even when they aren't. It's one of the food world's great magic tricks.

These lamingtons draw on everything I have learnt from three years of re-inventing. They're chiffon cake, which is flavoursome and soft, even straight from the fridge; they are coated in real milk chocolate, which gives a crisp carapace, the perfect counterpart to their fluffy interior; they are filled, and gorgeously so. I think they might just be perfect, a lamington that the 2nd Baron Lamington really would be proud of. Well, I wouldn't let him call them 'bloody, poofy, woolly biscuits', that's for sure.

That's a 'bloody, puffy, woolly' moustache you have there, Baron Lamington.

Remember that you still have time to Re-Invent the Lamington yourself, and win a beautiful prize. Get to it.

Clotted Cream Lamingtons

You will need:

1 x batch Coconut and Vanilla Bean Chiffon Cake

300g milk chocolate (or plain if you prefer)
1 pot of clotted cream
100g dessicated coconut

1. To make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling film and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into eight rectangles. You can eat the trimmings later.
2. Melt the chocolate either over warm water or in the microwave. Set the coconut in a dish.
3. Now you have a choice: you can either slice each piece of cake through the middle and sandwich with clotted cream before dipping in chocolate and coconut, which is tricky to do neatly but keeps the filling as a nice surprise, or you can dip the cake cubes first into the chocolate, then roll in coconut and slice them when the chocolate has set, before putting them together again with clotted cream. My preference is for the second method, as it gives the lamingtons more of a dessert feel. But I am giving you the freedom of choice.

Re-Inventing the Lamington 2014

 A preview. You won't believe what kind of a lamington this is!

Oh God. It's happening again.

Owing to public demand (I hate you all), I will once again be baking crazy lamingtons in 2014. I am typing this on an iPad in a hotel room, so given how not user friendly these things are, I know you'll understand why I am just going to direct you to the original post to find out what I am talking about if you don't already know. (You get to bake with me!)

Now that you and I are on the same page, let's jump to the beat. Audience participation: this is a competition. I have a prize for you to win. This year I cannot decide by myself which of two items I would rather give away. So, leave a comment or tweet me @peterdelicious. The most popular item will be the one that I offer as a prize.

 Potential prize 1 of 2.

Since this is a baking blog, I wanted to have a related prize. So, inspired by a recent email from my aunt, telling me I had nice bundts, I thought the Nordic Ware (read: top quality) original six cup bundt would be a perfect temptation to get you all baking.

Potential prize 2 of 2.

However, I also know that lots of my readers already have enough kit and caboodle in their kitchen to sink a battleship. So the other item I had in mind was one of the gorgeous Iittala glass cake plates I recently bought for myself in Helsinki. They are true works of art, especially the apple green version you see here. Trust me. I had no idea of the reputation that Finland has for glassware until I started flying on our new Helsinki route. I think this would be a lovely prize, since most people never treat themselves to nice things, and these beautiful dew drop dishes really make dessert special.

So leave a comment and let me know which you want! Then I can get things moving.

I will start posting my lamingtons for ten days, starting February 14. (We missed the usual January schedule owing to, uh, business and procrastination.)

Okay, the yucky part: the rules.

Firstly, the competition is open to all. Wherever in the world you are. Royal Mail will go anywhere I ask them to, dammit.

Maybe I'll just copy and paste from last time actually. I really hate this iPad.

1. Come up with a Re-Invented Lamington recipe. Bake it, and photograph the results.
2. If you have a blog, write a post about it (I am going to do a post linking to all entrants after the closing date) and send me a link. The contact email address is at the top of the page, or you can leave a comment on this post, with a link in it.
3. If you don't have a blog, you can still enter: just email me the photo and, if possible, the recipe. I will still feature your entry on this blog.
4. Deadline 28 Feb. I will post all the entries in a Lamington Round Up, and will pick a winner. Or rather, a judge I get to do it for me will. I hate the pressure so have someone in mind to do it for me.
5. If you are on Twitter or Instagram,  use the hash tag #lamingtons2014. Makes it easier for me to find them. I will retweet all entries via Twitter. My username is @peterdelicious.
6. Have fun. Be creative!

Chocolate Biscotti and a Big Question

 

2014: delicious.

I think we're too far into the New Year now for me to legitimately still be able to wish you and yours a happy and joyous 2014, but since my biggest resolution for this coming year was to raise hell, I feel secure throwing caution to the wind and ignoring protocol. Happy New Year, guys.

I started 2014 as I seem to start every year: feeling like death.There's something about the date December 31 that just turns me into an animal, and I don't remember a great deal other than pomegranate cosmopolitans (seasonal!), dinner and shouting at my party guests to pull up the rug because I was going to dust off my R. Kelly. TBH, I often wonder how I still have friends. I think they like the cocktails.

I thought we'd start the year with a simple recipe, but before we get to that, I want to review my resolutions from last year and make some new ones. You'll remember I wanted to:

1.  Make more time for family. I live so far away from them that they probably think I forget about them, even though I don't.
2. Be nicer to my husband. I don't want to get divorced. 
3. 'Date Night' - at least one every time I'm home. If it's good enough for Barack and Michelle...
4. Not be so obsessed about saving set amounts of my salary each month. I need to enjoy myself as well as take care of the pennies!
5. Work on the side project I've been procrastinating about for far too long now.
6. Knit myself a sweater. It is time.

How did I do? I definitely remember trying with numbers 1 and 2. 4 was amply achieved, and I did quite well with 3 as well. But 5 and 6 are failures. They need to be reinstated as 2014 Resos.

This year, I want to:

1. Work on the side project I've been procrastinating about for far too long now.
2. Finish my sweater. It is pissing me off that I can't wear all that gorgeous merino.
3. Make Twitter a part of my life. (@peterdelicious) I joined, and hate it so far. Come hang out and make me like it.
4. Raise hell. I have been too good for too long. Realistically, I probably won't be that bad. But I might swear on here a bit more.
5. Be nicer. Be positive. Be the sort of person people like. 

We'll see how we go. I must get that sweater out.

OK, I also have a question for you all to answer. In the comments. Or you could tweet me! New for 2014! Basically, shall I Re-Invent the Lamington again this year? I will not have time to follow my usual schedule running up to Australia Day, but I know that last year I got comments and a couple of emails from people who were disappointed that I didn't go in for a fourth year. So I might do it at the end of the month instead. I can do that. It's my game.

Should I once again cover my kitchen in coconut? Will you bake along?

While you think on that: chocolate biscotti.

Chocolate Biscotti

You will need:

250g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
200g granulated sugar
100g almonds
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, bicarb and nuts. I never chop them, but if you don't want chunks of almond in the biscotti, either chop them finely now, or leave them out.
2. Break in  the eggs and add the vanilla, and using your hands (keep one clean and outside the bowl, so that you have a clean hand for emergencies), mix carefully to a dough. You can add a splash of milk if everything looks dry, but it should be fine. Take your time, and mix well.
3. Form three small baguette shapes from the dough, each the width of two fingers. Put the dough baguettes on a parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15 minutes at 190°C, then remove from the oven and slice the baguettes into biscotti. Bake the slices for another 5 minutes in the oven on the baking sheet, then turn them over and bake again on the other side for 5 minutes.
5. Cool on a wire rack. Store airtight.

Maple Spice Chocolate Roll Cake with Caramelised Nuts

 

Possibly the best recipe ever to be posted on Delicious Delicious Delicious...

So, several weeks ago, our friends Lucy and Rich asked us over for dinner. They have a toddler and I never know how they manage to get him bathed and in bed, cook a three course meal and host dinner in a lovely clean house for all of us on a Wednesday evening, but somehow they consistently manage. I suppose it's possible that they lock the little one up in a cage upstairs, tired and dirty, but if that is what they do, they won't be able to get away with it for much longer because he's going to start talking soon. Therefore, new tactics might prove necessary in coming months.

 

I confess that I ate quite a lot of these and had to caramalise more. Sue me.

Anyway, last time we went round, the pudding was hands down the best thing we've eaten for ages - a spiced pumpkin and caramelised pecan pie, with maple syrup whipped cream. I am going to say that last part again, in case you missed it, and also because it gives me great pleasure: maple syrup whipped cream.

I haven't been the same person since, and knew without a doubt last week that I had to come up with some kind of cake (I'm no pie guy) that would make this maple and spice combination the star of the show. I am quite excited to present this bad boy, the result of my efforts, to you all for your approval.

I have rather lazily simplified the whole spice fandango, unlike the pie Rich made: there'll be no fine grating of nutmegs for this beauty. I noticed in Miami that lots of shops were selling 'pumpkin pie spice'; we don't get that here, so I opted for Schwartz's  'mixed spice', which has a little bit of everything you want in it. This made me feel really nostalgic, because my Mum's spice rack was always full of those cute little spice bottles, with their distinctive shape and lids.

I also seem to remember she always had celery salt in plentiful supply. I'm wondering as I type this if she was a secret Bloody Mary drinker the whole time? It would explain a great deal.

Anyway, I hope you try this. The spiced chocolate and nuts go so well with the maple whipped cream that it would be a pity if you never found it in you to whisk a few egg whites. If you can't be bothered with the rolling, simply bake the mixture in a 20cm greased and lined deep-sided tin for around 25 minutes, and when cool, frost with the whipped cream and top with the nuts. For me, it's the Swiss roll, every time.

Maple Spice Chocolate Roll Cake with Caramelised Nuts

You will need:

35g cocoa plus a little extra for dusting
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp Schwartz mixed spice
30g unsalted butter
60ml boiling water
135g sugar
6 eggs, separated
  
A generous handful of pecans and walnuts
50ml maple syrup

250ml double cream
125ml maple syrup

1. Pre-heat the oven to (you guessed it!) 180°C. Cut a generous piece of baking parchment (you want some overhang at the edges, to assist in rolling later), grease it well and lay it on a regular sized shallow sided baking tray. Mine measures 45cm by 30cm, so that's what I mean by 'regular'. You can make this as a round cake too - see above.
2. Put the cocoa, vanilla, mixed spice, butter and boiling water into a small bowl and stir until the butter has melted and you have a thick, brown cream. Set aside for a moment.
3. Beat the egg yolks and around half the sugar until creamy, pale and thick. This will take around three to five minutes with a regular hand whisk, a little less if you use machinery. It's your choice, and we're all friends here, so don't think I'll judge you for pulling out the stand mixer.
4. Whisk the egg whites in another, large bowl. When they start to froth, start adding the remaining sugar gradually, continuing to whisk until they reach the stiff peaks stage.
5. Now, we amalgamate. Add the cocoa slurry to the yolk mixture; stir until well mixed. Then fold the egg whites into the chocolatey egg yolks. Fold gently and keep at it until there are no streaks of white left and all is chocolate brown in colour. Pour the mixture onto the parchment-lined tray, spread it out using a spatula, and bake for just under twenty minutes. It will be light and springy when done.
6. Wet a clean tea towel and ring it out well. Take the cake out of the oven and, leaving it in the pan, place it on a cooling rack to cool. Sprinkle a little cocoa powder evenly all over the cake and cover with the damp dish towel. Allow to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a dry pan, over a low flame. Just warm them through, stirring often. When nicely toasted (don't let them burn!), add the 50ml maple syrup and stir to coat them as it heats up. Turn them out to cool onto a piece of baking parchment and then chop them into small chunks.
8. Whip the cream until softly peaking; add the syrup and whip just a little more. Then, remove the tea towel from the cake and spread the cocoa dusted sponge with the maple cream. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts. 
9. Gently roll up the cake, using the parchment to lift, peeling it away as you go. This is much easier than it sounds so do not be scared as the cake is very flexible. This will keep in the fridge for at least three days. Serve generously in thick slices.Yum!

Zest + River Cottage, Cardiff Marriott

Parsley Salad, with Crab, Soft Boiled Egg and Garlic Mayonnaise

Shock horror: I am going to do a restaurant review.

I get a lot of promotional emails through my blog, usually asking me to review things. I tend to ignore them, since I have had a few annoying experiences in the past when PR types try and control what I write and get angry when I write what I want to anyway. I have never done restaurants on here, largely because in the main I find blogger restaurant reviews so unbearably cringe-inducing to read (everybody starts talking about how well-excecuted the dishes were - blurgh!) and I assume my readers feel the same way I do. So this review isn't going to be like that.

I have made no secret of my adoration for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on these pages. I love the man. His River Cottage team have been working with Marriott Hotels to develop new, sustainable ways to serve diners at the hotel chain's restaurants, and Cardiff is one of two pilot hotels trialing the scheme. The emphasis is on local (within a 60-mile radius) suppliers and producers, seasonal menus that change daily and organic produce. I know that doesn't sound like the sort of thing you'd find at a hotel restaurant (and believe me, I stay in enough hotels to know that!), so you'll just have to take my word for it when I tell you it is really happening. And, if it works well in Cardiff, the new restaurant format is going to be rolled out nationally, bringing the taste and ethos of River Cottage to Marriott customers all over the UK.

Percy. Oh, and Pollock with Red Cabbage, Apple and Horseradish.

Rainbow Carrots and Potato Gratin with Anchovies and Fennel.

I am suitably impressed to want to share this with you. But rather than give you a (yawn!), blow by blow account of the meal we enjoyed, I think I'll instead just focus on the core areas that matter to me as a customer.

Service

Well, after all, I do work in the service industry. It makes sense to start here.

I don't know how to say this without sounding really down on Cardiff, but the staff were wonderful. I don't think I have ever eaten at a restaurant in this city where the employees were friendlier and more polite, or as knowledgable about what they were serving. It really reminded me of the actual River Cottage Canteen in Axminster: Caroline, our server, took time to explain to us where the ingredients in each dish came from and recommend side dishes to complement our choices, based on what seasonings and flavours were dominant in the main courses we ordered. She really knew the menu and it was obvious that the team care and are enthusiastic about the new concept.

Venison. Yum.

Food

I have to say that it was really difficult to choose from the menu, because each dish had at least one gorgeous sounding seasonal ingredient. There were five or six different options for each course to choose from, and a definite simple, fresh feel to everything. Brilliantly, and in true River Cottage style, fish and seafood was well represented. I had a crab and parsley salad to start (which I shall be recreating at home!), and pollock and mussels were on the main course list. Hugh has spent years trying to raise awareness about over-fishing and championing pollock as a delicious alternative to cod, so it was good to see it on the menu (and our plates).

Our mains were delicious - we had lamb and fish - but I think you alway expect that in a restaurant. What really made us want to go back to Zest were the starters and puddings. I already mentioned my salad; Percy chose cold venison with crisp fried garlic and mushrooms. It was beautiful and a truly appetising way to start a meal. Caroline also told us that the restaurant now bakes all their own bread and brought us some salt topped focaccia to nibble on between courses, with organic Calon Wen butter.

I remember the desserts at River Cottage Canteen were lovely: simple and uncomplicated, but just treaty enough to be impossible to turn down. They're the same at Zest! We chose panna cotta (that was nicer than mine, boo!) with apricots and biscotti, and sticky date pudding with homemade ice cream. They were lovely. I'll be telling everyone about them for weeks!

Panna Cotta.

Local suppliers

I shall be honest: this is something I like to know about and would choose a restaurant because of. I find it so irksome that in Wales, where we have the best lamb in the world, so much of what you see in the supermarkets comes from New Zealand. How does that make financial sense? It's ridiculous.

At Zest, the lamb and pork comes from Slade Farm, just down the road in Bridgend. The fish comes from Cardiff Market (less than five minutes walk from the restaurant) and the vegetables are from Wales too. I can't tell you exactly where from, since I have forgotten, but Caroline will be able to let you know, I am sure. Nothing is imported from far-flung corners of the globe, and if the chef can't get something because it isn't in season and at market, the menu gets changed.

Sticky Date Pudding and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.

I thoroughly recommend a visit, and am hoping that Marriott adopts this concept in all of its hotels. I can't tell you how many times I have been exhausted after long flights and had to force myself, begrudgingly, to leave the hotel to get dinner when I am away on trips. If all hotel restaurants were this good, I wouldn't have to.

Disclosure: We were the guests of the Cardiff Marriott hotel and as such our meal was complimentary. However, we are already planning to go back!