How To Make Chocolate Ganache

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ganache

Very often I don’t bother icing cakes because I am lazy. Making icing takes time, putting it on the cake takes time (and it takes even more time if you want it to all look pretty) and actually, washing up from the icing making takes time and effort.

However, most cakes are actually better if you do bother. And it might come as a surprise to know that making a chocolate ganache is much quicker than messing around with icing sugar.

Firstly, you have to commit yourself to paying a little bit of attention because you are going to microwave your chocolate. If we were to start using a bain-marie for this, it would take a long time and we’re here to be quick.

These quantities make enough chocolate ganache for a 1lb loaf cake but would also do for a 23cm round cake.

Take 50g of dark chocolate and 50g of unsalted butter, chopped, and melt in the microwave. I do this in 30 second bursts on full power and I hover by the microwave, keeping a beady eye on what is going on. After each burst, I give the chocolate and butter a stir and decide whether or not it needs another full 30 seconds or not. I suggest the first time you do this, you check more often than you think. If you melt chocolate this way regularly enough you’ll get a feel for it – but a mid-melt stir or two remains essential.

Allow the chocolate and butter mix to cool slightly and then stir in one generous tablespoon of pure (NOT thickened!) cream. Give it a really good stir – the mixture will start to thicken and in no time it will be at the right consistency to spread on your cake.

There may even be a little left for a taste test of your own …

The Little Leaf and Bean, Blackwood

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date of visit: Friday 11 May 2012

I’ve been to The Little Leaf and Bean (LLB) once before when, if I recall correctly, I had a coffee and a very good slice of a chocolate and vanilla cream cake. I also knew it was child friendly, so when it came to organising a play date (I never know if these are for the parents or the children …) it was an obvious choice.

The play date was set for 9am which was a brilliant idea until I turned up and realised I hadn’t had breakfast. LLB does all day breakfasts – I opted for the house made muesli which was supposed to come with vanilla yoghurt. I don’t like flavoured yoghurts so I asked if they had plain – unfortunately not, so it was just milk for me. The muesli came with the milk on the side, as well as a decoratively cut kiwi fruit. It cost $7.95 and, while it wasn’t a massive portion, it was big enough for my breakfast and it was really good muesli. Big brownie points for not making it too sweet.

The babies enjoyed fruit toast and baby cinos and, after a little walk, we came back and had cake (an orange-almond affair) and more coffees.

LLB has a (free) wireless hotspot and a good sized outdoor seating area. Inside it’s very cosy – some reasonably tightly packed tables and chairs and a couple of sofas tucked in a corner. All in all, a lot more friendly and welcoming than Artisan!

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Spiced Cauliflower

- Alex 2 Comments


spiced cauliflower

My newest cookbook is The Hairy Bikers’ Best-Loved Recipes. I’ve read through it (yes, I do do that) a couple of times and noted lots of recipes I’m keen to try.

The cooler weather in Adelaide has meant we’ve started thinking about stews, so later in the week you will be able to read all about Dave and Si’s sausage and bean stew.  But let’s start with what we served as a side to it – spiced cauliflower.

I love all brassicas (broccoli and brussel sprouts are two of my all time favourite vegetables) but Andy finds cauliflower really boring. He doesn’t even really like cauliflower cheese! We had a small piece in the fridge that I was keen to use up and this recipe, although for a whole head, is easy enough to shrink to fit.

Begin by heating some oil in a frying pan or (in my case) wok. Add some chilli flakes (or ground chilli), ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and freshly ground black pepper. For a whole head, the recipe calls for 2tsp of each spice – but really it’s a case of using however much you like.

Fry the spices for a few moments then add your cauliflower florets and stir fry, ensuring the florets are well coated with the spice mix. You can buy your spices from https://ravensoriginal.com/ this website. 

If you have some tamarind paste, stir it into some boiling water (as a rough guide, you’ll need at 250mL for one head of cauliflower) and pour this into the pan.  If you don’t, just use the boiling water.  Add a splash of vinegar and a pinch of salt and then pop on a lid and cook until the cauliflower is tender.  Remove the lid when it’s almost done so any excess liquid can evaporate off.

Don’t be tempted to skip the vinegar – particularly if you don’t have tamarind.  With this dish, it’s really important you have the sour, acidic component to set up the spices.  And yes – this is spicy, but you can always cut out or reduce the amount of chilli you put in.

Delicious and too easy!