HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO THE FOOD DEPT

The food dept has turned 1! WOW!
Hip hip hooray it's our first birthday! It's a year since our very first post and what an amazing year we have had. Thank you everyone for supporting and following us and sending your wonderful messages and comments. We have really enjoyed working on our shoots, and we are sure you will agree the fun and friendship we experience on our days shooting translates to the blog. To celebrate we have created this divine red velvet layer cake.

Thanks to photographer: Noel Mclaughlin 

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Red velvet layer cake with fresh raspberries and mascarpone icing

This fabulous cake has a little history for us. It all started with Anne Marie's mother Toni who made it for one of her five children's birthdays'. It was so popular amongst the Cummins family that Anne Marie made it for her Sydney hairdresser, Renya Xydis to try. Now Renya's family adore the cake and place regular orders for the cake, for their parties and birthday celebrations. Whenever Anne Marie makes this cake, it is quickly eaten (followed by lots of ooh's and ahh's) and then people ask for the recipe. So when it came to deciding on the perfect 1st birthday cake for the food dept, there was no contest, but to make this indulgent, creamy layer cake. In Anne Marie's word's "It's a show stopper cake!" Bon apetit!

Makes 1 x 20cm cake, serves 10 (or 8 people with a sweet tooth!).

• 125g butter, room temperature

• 1½ cups caster sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1½ cups plain flour

• 2 tablespoons corn flour

• 2 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 tablespoon red gel food colouring

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• 1 teaspoon white vinegar

• 1 quantity Mascarpone icing

• 2 punnets raspberries

• white chocolate curls, to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (360ºF). Grease and line the base and sides of 2 x 20cm cake pans.

2. Combine the butter, caster sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

3. Sift together the flour, cornflour and Dutch cocoa and set aside.

4. In a jug combine the buttermilk, red colouring and vanilla, whisk well.

5. Add half of the sifted flour mixture and half of the buttermilk mixture to the creamed butter mixture, stir well.

6. Add the remaining flour and buttermilk mixtures and mix through.

7. Combine the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar together and add to the cake mixture, mix well.

8. Divide the mixture evenly between the 2 cake pans and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked when tested.

9. Remove from the oven and allow to stand in the cake pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a cake cooler lined with baking paper and turn the cakes over so they are the right way up. Cool completely.

10. Wrap the cakes in plastic and place in the freezer for 45 minutes until firm. Remove from the freezer and cut each cake in half to form 4 layers.

11. Place the first layer of the cake onto the serving plate and spread over 2/3 cup of the Mascarpone icing. Break open the raspberries so they are flat and arrange evenly over the icing. Repeat with the icing and raspberries for the next 2 layers of cake and top with the final layer of cake. Pack extra icing where needed into the layers of the cake to make it even and straight sided.

12. Divide the remaining icing in half. Spread half of the icing over the cake to form a crumb coat. Recoat the cake with a fine layer of the remaining icing and decorate with chocolate curls. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Mascarpone icing

This beautiful icing is what makes the red velvet layer cake. If you have any left over, Sally's hot tip is to pipe it into sweet pastry shells, top with a raspberry or blueberry and sprinkle with icing sugar. YUM!

• 375g cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1 ½ cups icing sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 375g mascarpone

• 450ml thickened cream

1. Combine the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the mascarpone and beat until smooth. Add the thickened cream and beat until smooth and creamy.

2. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the icing and use as required.

White chocolate curls

 Makes 3 large curls

• 150g white chocolate, melted

1. Cut 2 strips of baking paper (20cm x 10cm). Using 1/3 of the melted chocolate brush onto one strip of the paper, repeat with remaining chocolate and paper.

2. Lay the chocolate-coated paper strips over a bottle or jar and allow to set in the fridge.

3. Once set, peel away the paper and use as required.

TOMATOES - Make mine a bloody Mary... and double the dirty. Sunday is the perfect day for you to try the food dept's dirty bloody Mary with green olive grissini, it's one of many ways to use your tomatoes.

Want more of our Italian recipes?
Get your March copy of ABC delicious. magazine on newstands or go to
http://www.deliciousmagazine.com.au


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Tomato and rosemary focaccia with basil oil

The vibrant colours in this focaccia are so Italian, bellissimo!
Make 1 x 32cm focaccia.

• 500g bread flour

• 2 teaspoons dried yeast

• 1 teaspoon salt flakes

• 300ml warm water

• olive oil spray, for greasing

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 400g medley mix tomatoes

• extra, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves

• extra, sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

• Basil oil, for serving

1. Combine the flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Using a dough hook turn the mixer onto low and combine the ingredients.

2. Gradually pour in the combined water and oil while the mixer is still running. Increase to a medium speed and ‘knead’ the dough for 5 minutes.

3. Turn the dough onto the bench and lightly oil the mixing bowl with spray, return the dough to the oiled bowl and roll the dough around so that it is coated in oil. Cover with a clean tea towel and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. A warm windowsill or over a sink of hot water works well if it’s a cool day.

4. Once the dough has doubled in size turn onto the bench and knead for a few minutes until the dough is back to its original size.

5. Pour half of the extra oil into a 32cm ovenproof frying pan. Roll out the dough to the approximate size of the frying pan and lift into the pan. Cover again with a clean tea towel and place back in a warm spot for another 30 minutes until it has again doubled in size.

6. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF). Using your fingers push indents into the dough, covering the surface. Push the tomatoes into the indents, evenly spaced. Brush liberally with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary and extra salt flakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and sounds hollow when tapped.

Serve warm with Basil oil.

Basil oil

Makes 1 cup.

 

2 cups basil leaves, approximately 1 large bunch

1 cup olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1. To blanch the basil, place the basil leaves into a heat resistant bowl, pour over boiling water and stand for 10 seconds. Drain immediately and plunge into a bowl or iced water, allow to stand for a few minutes until cold.

2. Drain the basil leaves and thoroughly squeeze out the water, combine with the oil, salt and pepper in a small processor and blend until the basil is pureed.

3. Strain using a fine sieve and store in a clean jar, in the refrigerator for up to a month. Return to room temperature before serving.

food dept. fact: For a more rustic basil oil, leave the oil unstrained.

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TFD’s dirty bloody Mary mix 

Makes 4½ cups (6 drinks).

• 1 litre tomato juice

• 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

• 2 teaspoons salt flakes

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• juice 1 lemon

• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

• ½ - 1 teaspoon tobacco sauce, or to taste

• 1/3 cup brine from green olives

1. Combine all ingredients in a large jug and whisk to combine.

2. Store in the refrigerator until required, for up to 1 week.

TFD’s dirty bloody Mary

Makes 1 drink.

• 2 lemon wedges

• celery salt, for glassses

• 3/4 cup TFD’s dirty bloody mary mix

• 2 tablespoons vodka

• 1 stalk cucumber

 

1. Using one of the lemon wedges, wipe the rim of a glass and dip into celery salt, set aside.

2. Pour the Bloody Mary mix into the prepared glass and top with vodka, garnish with cucumber and remaining lemon wedge. 
Serve with Green olive grissini.

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Green olive grissini

Makes 25 sticks.

• 350g jar green olives, drain and reserve the juice for the TFDs's dirty bloody mary mix

• 2 tablespoons baby capers in brine, drained

• 1 clove garlic

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC (400ºF). Combine the olives, capers, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small food processor and process to form a paste.

2. Lay the sheet of puff pastry on its plastic liner onto a chopping board. Using a ruler to guide you and a pizza wheel, cut 1cm strips of the pastry, trying to keep the strips together.

3. Spread 2 tablespoons of the green olive paste onto the sheet of strips. Take each strip and give it 2-3 twists and then place onto a lined oven tray.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray. Store in an airtight container.

food dept. fact: Store left over green olive paste in a jar in refrigerator for up to 1 month, use on bruschetta, pizzas or through pasta.


THANK YOU! We would like to thank the generous people at Moratis for supplying us with the fresh, juicy, plump tomatoes for this story.
http://www.moraitis.com.au/