Aussie Treat: Pavlova Cake

Normally I don't have a sweet tooth and so I don't eat sweets all that much. I will crave it from time to time but rarely do you see me eating anything too sweet. I can't have any chocolates nowadays for some reason I can't have it. Well when I went to this Patesserie with a friend of mine to buy him some sweets there was this delightfully colorful cake that was displayed. I was intrigued.

When I asked the woman behind the counter what kind of cake it was she told me it was a Pavlova cake named after a famous ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova that toured here in Australia and in her honor this cake was made for her (New Zealand says that they made the cake first and it originated there so there's conflict in that part between the two countries). It's a meringue on the outside and fluffy white cake on the inside topped off with fresh fruits. It looked delish so I bought a piece and boy was my tastebuds in for a treat. It was so fluffy, light and not too sweet that normally would make me spit it out. I was hooked, I had 3 pieces of cake and bought a whole cake to go home with like a fatass I am.

But here is a recipe for the Pavlova Cake:

PAVLOVA CAKE:

Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1 g salt
200 g white sugar
8 g cornstarch
5 ml lemon juice
295 ml heavy whipping cream
60 g confectioners' sugar
355 g fresh strawberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment. An easy way to do this is to draw around the outside of a 9 inch pan with a pencil.

2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar gradually, while continuing to whip. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch; lightly fold into meringue with lemon juice.

3. Spread a layer of meringue to fit circle on parchment, approximately 1/4 inch thick. With remainder of mixture, pipe or spoon swirls around the edges to form a shallow bowl shape.

4. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 1 hour. Turn off oven, but leave meringue in oven for an additional 30 minutes. When cool, the meringue should be hard on the outside, and slightly moist on the inside.

5. In a large bowl, combine the cream and half a cup of confectioners sugar, and whip until thickened. Decorate with fruit of your choice; strawberries are excellent.

Photo Credits and Recipe: http://www.aussiecynic.com/

http://www.allrecipe.com/ http://www.24-7partypaks.com.au/

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Aussie Treat: Lamington Cake

I had a real treat this past weekend. I was out in Vaulcluse with my newly found cousins here in Sydney visiting their older sister who just moved to a new flat. Well we went to this delightful little coffee shop around the corner from where they live and I had my first bite of a Lamington cake.

Some of you are probably like "A what cake????". Well trust me you're not alone, I said the same exact thing too. The name doesn't sound so appetizing but the cake looks way better than the name. It was supposedly named after Baron Lamington the governor of Queensland from April 1896 - December 1901. They should've came up with a better name for the cake to match how yummy it looks.

The cake is a white sponge cake dipped in chocolate and sugar with coconut on the outside. The inside is filled with jam and cream. Sounds a lot better than the name right? Well here's a recipe for it.

SPONGE CAKE

3 eggs
1/2 cup castor sugar
3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup cornflour
15g (1/2oz) butter
3 tablespoons hot water

Beat eggs until thick and creamy. Gradually add sugar. Continue beating until sugar completely dissolved.
Fold in sifted SR flour and cornflour, then combined water and butter.
Pour mixture into prepared lamington tins 18cm x 28cm (7in x 11in).

Bake in moderate oven approximately 30 mins.
Let cake stand in pan for 5 min before turning out onto wire rack.

CHOCOLATE ICING

3 cups desiccated coconut
500g (1lb) icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
(extra cocoa can be added, according to taste)
15g (1/2oz) butter
1/2 cup milk

Sift icing sugar and cocoa into heatproof bowl.
Stir in butter and milk.
Stir over a pan of hot water until icing is smooth and glossy.

Trim brown top and sides from cake.
Cut into 16 even pieces.
Holding each piece on a fork, dip each cake into icing.
Hold over bowl a few minutes to drain off excess chocolate.
Toss in coconut or sprinkle to coat.
Place on oven tray to set.

Fill the inside with your choice of jam and cream. Trust me it's even better with these two things added on.


Recipe found on Aussi-Info.com
Pictures found on : aussiethings.biz & taste.com.au

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