BERRY HAZELNUT CELEBRATION CAKE

Meringue Cake - 2 layers
(for 3 layers see bracketed quantities)
2 egg whites (3)
1-1/2 cups castor sugar (2-1/4)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (3/4 tsp)
1 teaspoon vinegar (1-1/2 tsp)
1 teaspoon cornflour (1-1/2 tsp)
4 Tablespoons boiling water (6 Tbs)
50g ground hazelnuts (75g)
Filling and Topping
600mls cream (250ml for filling & 350ml for top & sides of cake)
185g dark chocolate
1/4 cup water
500g berries (raspberries, strawberries mulberries - whatever you have)*
* Apricots or pineapple and passionfruit would be really nice instead of berries too, or another fruit with a bit of acidity.

Step 1: The Cake

1. Preheat the oven to moderate (140-160 degrees celsius)
2. Place all meringue ingredients in electric mixer bowl (I use a Kenwood mixer with the whisk beater)
3. Beat mix on high speed for approx. 15 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved and meringue is very stiff.
4. While the meringue is beating, prepare trays (2). Cut enough baking paper to line the trays, and draw a 20cm circle on each piece of baking paper (or greaseproof paper).
5. Lightly spray the paper with oil spray, and dust with cornflour, shaking off the excess.
6. When meringue is ready, divide the mix into two and spread on the papered trays, within circles drawn.
7. Sprinkle the meringue circles with ground hazelnuts, and with a knife swirl the nuts into the meringue.
8. Smooth the tops of each meringue cake and bake in oven for approx. 40 minutes or until the meringue is crisp to touch (it will still be nice and chewy on the inside).
9. When cooked, remove from the oven and cool on the trays. When completely cold, remove the baking paper from the cakes.

Step 2:  Decorating the cake

1. Whip the cream
2. Wash and hull the berries (if using strawberries, slice in half lengthwise)
3. Chop the chocolate (or pound it in a mortar, with a pestle - very satisfying!).
4. Place chocolate and water in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and stir until melted.
5. Place first layer of the meringue cake onto a serving plate, flat side down.
6. Spread thin layer of melted chocolate over the meringue.
7. Spread a layer of whipped cream over the chocolate, and cover with berries, leaving enough to decorate the top of the cake also.
8. Spread the underside of the second meringue cake with melted chocolate, and place chocolate side down on top of the first,
9. Cover the top (and sides if desired) of the cake with more whipped cream, and decorate with berries.
10. To finish, drizzle melted chocolate over the cake in thin streams.
11. Refrigerate until serving. This cake may be prepared several hours before serving. It serves 6-8 people.

NOTE: The pic shows the cake I cooked for a friend's birthday with 3 layers - I increased the meringue recipe by 1-1/2 times to do this. I didn't increase the filling/topping quantities, except for the fruit - I just spread cream and chocolate a bit thinner.

Best Banana Cake

This lovely moist cake is a great way to use overripe bananas. When my bananas look too ripe to eat fresh, I just throw them into a plastic bag and into the freezer, and they're ready for when I make this cake!

Ingredients:
125g butter, melted (using a 50% less fat butter like Devondale Light is successful too)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 eggs
3-4 medium bananas (very ripe)
1 level teaspoon bicarb soda
2 Tablespoons milk (approx.)
1-1/2 cups Self-Raising Flour, sifted
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to moderate (180 degrees C / 350 degrees F)
2. Dissolve the bicarb soda in the milk.
3. Mix together eggs, sugar, milk and bicarb, vanilla, sugar, in a food processor or blender - process well.
4. Add roughly chopped bananas and melted butter - process.
5. Add flour and process till mix is smooth. If using 4 bananas you can add a little more flour (about 1/4 cup), but it's OK without it too.
6. Pour mix into greased and lined baking tin. This mix will make a 23cm round cake, or 2 loaf cakes (see picture).
7. Bake for approx 35-45 minutes, depending on size of tin, until cake cooked.
8. When cool, ice the cake with lemon icing/frosting, and top with chopped walnuts or coconut.

NOTE: Of course, the cake also can be made successfully by hand mixing or using a normal kitchen mixer, such as a Kenwood or Sunbeam mixer.

My Favourite Christmas Cake

 If you're not like me (last minute Christmas cookery is a specialty of mine!), and want to make your Christmas cake early, I can recommend this recipe. It is by far my favourite Christmas cake, and terribly addictive once made and tasted. It freezes well.

My favourite Christmas cake

 
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1 kg mixed fruit (or 250g. chopped Raisins, 125g chopped glace cherries, 125g chopped mixed peel, 250g. Sultanas, 250g. Currants)

125g. chopped blanched almonds

2/3 cup brandy OR orange juice 

210g. plain flour

60g. self raising flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon mixed spice

250g butter

250g. light brown sugar

2 tablespoons marmalade OR dark jam, 1 dessertspoon vanilla essence

4 eggs

Optional Topping: see below.

1. Line an 8" round cake tin with two layers foil and two layers greaseproof paper. Mix all the fruits, peel and nuts together and sprinkle with the brandy OR orange juice.
2. Sift together the flours, salt and spices.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add the jam and vanilla essence and beat again.
4. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each one, then alternately add the fruit and flour mixtures.
5. Mix thoroughly.
6. Place the mixture in the prepared tin. Topping 1: Decorate top of cake with blanched almonds, or whatever takes your fancy. (I got a bit carried away when I decorated the cake pictured above!) 
   Topping 2: see step 8 below.
7. Bake in a slow oven for approximately 3½ hours. Cool in tin.
8. Topping 2: The day before you use the cake arrange on top of the cake pieces of your favourite nuts, e.g. walnuts, almonds, pecans - cherries, glace pineapple, ginger, Raisins and Sultanas.
9. Make a toffee glaze by boiling together equal quantities sugar, water and sieved apricot jam. Drizzle this over the fruit 'n nut topping and leave to set.

Fruity Crumble Cake

Fruity Crumble Cake

Ingredients for cake

• 2 cups Self-raising flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 30g butter
• 1 egg
• ½-1 cup sultanas
• 1 cup milk
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 finely chopped or grated Granny Smith apple

Ingredients for crumble topping

• ½ cup plain flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 30g butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat fan-forced oven to 200°C.
2. Sift together SR flour and baking powder into a bowl.
3. Add sugar and sultanas and mix together.
4. Rub butter into flour mix until it looks like breadcrumbs.
5. Beat egg and milk together, pour into bowl and mix well.
6. Add lemon juice and apple, beat well until cake mix is smooth.
7. Pour cake mix into a greased and lined 20-23cm (8-9”) square cake tin.
8. For topping, mix together flour, cinnamon and brown sugar in a bowl.
9. Add melted butter and mix until well incorporated, then separate topping into small lumps with fingers.
10. Sprinkle topping over cake mix in the tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked. After 30 minutes test with a skewer in the centre of the cake. If cake is cooked the skewer will come out clean; if not return the cake to the oven and test again in 10 minutes.
11. This cake is best cut into squares, rather than thin slices, and is nice served warm with cream as a dessert, or left to cool and served for morning or afternoon tea.

Fruity Nut Zucchini Muffins

Fruity nut zucchini muffins

(makes 24 small muffins or one 19cm cake)

2 cups SR flour

1 egg, and 1 egg white (or 2 eggs - I had an egg-white that needed using)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup apple sauce or mashed stewed apple

3/4 level teaspoon bicarb soda

1/2 cup grated zucchini (packed firm)

3/4 level teaspoon mixed spice or cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup currants or cranberries

1/2 cup crushed pineapple

1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar for 1 minute using an electric beater.
3. Stir bicarb soda into apple sauce (it will froth), then add to bowl.
4. Add walnuts, currants, zucchini, pineapple and mixed spice to bowl and combine all ingredients.
5. Gently fold flour into mixture in one go. DO NOT BEAT as this will make the cake tough.
6. Spoon mixture into greased muffin pans or patty cake papers. You should get 24 muffins from this mix.
7. 
   
8. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until firm to touch in centre.
9. Allow muffins to sit 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire cake rack to cool.
10. Optional: You can also use the mix for a cake, and bake in a greased 19cm cake tin for 35-40 minutes.