Cookbook Challenge (Citrus) - My Mother-In-Law's Madeira Cake

I should be working on my 3rd or 4th cookbook challenge but I'm so disorganise that I only manage to finish the 2nd challenge. But it's better to be late than never right? Hopefully I can catch up, work on the 3rd challenge next week and 4th the week after. Wish me luck!

The theme for the 2nd challenge is Citrus. I love this theme because I jus simply love lemon and lime. Do you know I can actually eat fresh lemon and I enjoy it. Especially when having fish and chips, I can squeeze the juice onto the fish, peel away the skin and eat the pulps away.

For this challenge, I chosen My Mother-In-Law's Madeira Cake by Nigella Lawson How To Be a Domestic Goddness. I'm visiting a ex-colleague tomorrow and felt this will be a great gift. Not nice to turn up empty handed.

I added more lemon and poppyseed into the basic recipe. So it can also be consider as Lemon Poppyseed cake. I have never came across poppyseed till I stayed in Aust. Bought a pack of poppyseed and kept it the pantry but never managed to use it till now. Poppyseed is actually banned in Singapore, I had never seen it available. In fact, a SG blog which I followed experienced Central Narcotics Bureau knocking on her door and confiscated all her poppyseed. Is it really necessary? It's for own consumption anyway.



Did a taste test just now when it had cooled. Smell lemony but find it a bit dry. Quite crunchy on the outside. Taste a bit like pound cake, guessing due to the amount of butter used.





My Mother-In-Law's Madeira Cake


240g softened unsalted butter
200g caster sugar , plus extra for sprinkling
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 large eggs
210g self raising flour
90g plain flour
23 x 13 x 7cm loaf tin, buttered and lined


Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar, and add the lemon seat.
Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of flour for each.
Then gently mix in the rest of the flour and,finally, the lemon juice.
Sprinkle with caster sugar (about 2 tablespoons) as it goes into the oven, and bake for 1 hour. (mine was done before 1 hour)
Remove to a wire rack, and let it cool in the tin before turning out.


Variation:
For lemon poppyseed cake, add the juice of another half lemon and a tablespoon or two poppyseeds. I added two tablespoons.

Scones

"I'm craving for scones. Should we drive to Miss Marple tomorrow morning?" Minister asked this morning.
"I can try bake some scones if you don't mind being my guinea pig. I have never tried baking scone before. But can't expect me to produce ones which are the same as Miss Marple." I warned.

 Scones served with Miss Marple Jam without Cream

Few hours later at 3p.m. "I'm really craving for scones. Do you want to bake some and we have it for afternoon tea?? We can have it with Miss Marple Jam" Minister asked.
"OK" I answered. Entered the kitchen with my How To Be A Domestic Goddness bake book in hand. Pre-heated the oven while I measured the ingredients. Mix everything together to form a dough, keeping in mind not to over work it and be gentle unless I want to feed my Minister with rock hard scone instead. Rolled the dough flat and cut into round shape using a cutter. Pop into the oven for 10mins and hot, delicious scone is really for tea.



It's my 1st time making scone and was really surprised how easy and fast it was! The recipe called for cream of tartar and that's the only baking ingredient which I never used nor buy. Went online and manage to search for substitute using baking powder. Felt it shouldn't really matter or make any different by substituting as it's just to make the scone light and fluffy. I also halved the recipe as I don't think we will be able to finish 12 scones as what Nigella stated. In the end, I still ended up with 12 scones. Most probably because I rolled the dough too flat. Reminder to myself: To have higher scone, don't roll the dough too flat.

"You like it?" I asked after Minister took the 1st mouth-full.
"Oh Yeah!" He answered as he went for the 2nd scone.

Success!!!

Muffins Or Cupcake?

Muffin or Cupcake? What is the main different and how do I know I did end up with muffin when I use a muffin recipe and cupcake when I use a cake recipe?


I baked another batch of Chocolate Chip Muffins on Queen's Birthday before I get on to prepare next day lunch box. Found another Nigella's recipe which is fast and easy from Sarah's blog link. This recipe uses oil! Hooya! I'm just too lazy to weigh the butter and melt it or take my beater out and beat butter and sugar together.


All it need is a wooden spoon, a large mixing bowl and a measuring cup. I start by preheating the oven while gathering all the ingredients. Place all the dry ingredients into the bowl and combine all the wet ingredients into a large measuring cup. Pour the wet into dry ingredient and mix everything together using the spoon. Think most important while making muffin is try not to over mixed the batter which I find it extremely hard! Lumpy batter = Good muffin. 


Minster love the muffins. Anything with chocolate chips, he will like it. Easy to please right? I took 2 muffins to work and gave 1 to my colleague. He had it for tea and send me a sms after praising it's a nice muffin. I didn't tell him it's a muffin. Does it mean I manage to achieve the correct texture of a muffin? Or cupcake is still not such a huge thing here down under?

Johnnycakes

Johnnycakes with maple syrup and banana

We were I was planning to go to the Farmers Market at Collingwood Children Farm this morning. CL doesn't seem to be interested when I suggested to him last night. In fact I had suggested a thousand times and never make it to one. Plus we slept really late as a result of started watching a movie late.

CL suggested to have cereal for breakky since we had a heavy dinner last night. But cereal is our usual breakky during the weekdays as we tend to spend time sleeping more, quick shower and breakky before rushing off to work. Since we were not required to go to work, I suggested to have pancakes.

Filpping through Nigella cookbook How to be a Domestic Goddess. Found a recipe that consist of a mixture of plain flour and either cornmeal or polenta. So far, only tried making pancakes with plain flour so found this recipe very interesting. Since I had polenta in the pantry, I decided to give Johnnycakes a try.

I halfed the ingredients as it state the amount makes 30-35 pancakes. We definitely won't be able to finish all!

 I ended up with a pan full of pancakes which was just the right amount for us although I could easily eat a few more...hehe

Both of us loves this pancakes! It's yellow instead of white coz of polenta. The skin is a bit crunchy.....it is suppose to be...no idea. It can be pretty fluffy but I thinned it during cooking.

This is definitely our favourite pancake recipe!!

Butter Cut-Out Biscuits

I'm sick again *sigh* and I took bloody long time to recover! Am I really getting old???? Honestly at present, I'm not 100% fully recover yet. I had being eating congee since Wednesday. Started off with very sore throat which is much better today -> fever -> body ache -> slight cough which is getting worst -> a bit of block nose. ARGH!! I did practically nothing except sleep, sleep, follow by more sleep for the past few days except today.

I'm feeling much better + CL got called back to work last minute. Which leave me alone at home with all the free time. I decided to bake. Chose to try Butter Cut-Out Biscuits by Nigella (How to be a Domestic Goddess)

My first time baking cut-out biscuits. I halved the ingredients so that I will not end up with too much biscuits. End result, I love it! It's effortless.

Since X'mas is coming, using X'mas theme shaped cookies cutter wasn't a bad idea. I even tried icing them with white, red and green.

Bicuits before icing

Biscuits after icing (not too bad for my 1st attempt isn't it?)

The icing smell and taste a bit strange. I don't really like it. But I did follow what instructions stated. Just mixing the sicing sugar with not really boiling water. Hmmm Is it because of the brand of icing sugar I use? Anyone able to help me with that???

Evening Entertainment: Nigella

Before the shift, I bought Nigella Feasts DVD which was on discount; cost less than $16 and I immediately grabbed it. It was 1 of the DVD which I have being waiting for special offer. It was a pretty good deal considering there are 2 DVDs in the pack. It has being my dinner companion for the past few dinners with CL working starting night shifts. I shouldn't have any complain when I'm watching a cooking episode while having dinner right? I had finished the whole program.

Noted a few stuff about Nigella.

• She is always eating!!! Or because she's always eating just for this cooking program?
• She's kind of messy when she cook which is totally opposite from me. I know the place can be clean up after the therapy (yes, I consider cooking and baking a therapy session) but I just can't stand the kitchen being terribly messy while I'm on the stove.
• All her recipes are quick, simple and definitely easy. Knew that for quite sometime after trying the recipes from Nigella Express.
• She loves biting her food (especially chocolate) from the side instead of front main 2 teeth. Her way of protecting her teeth from chipping?
• Her cooking style is very different from Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay (who I both think are clean in the kitchen). Is that coz both are consider chef and she a cook?
• She loves cooking peas straight out from the package frozen.

I will definitly find some time and re-watch the whole program again. This time round, with my recipe book and pen to jot the recipes down.

Currently, I'm also hooked on The Chef and The Cook on ABC. Very different style of cooking and mixing all kinds of ingredients. The DVD will be the next item to look out for during my trip to JB-HiFi.

I also added 2 cooking books to my collection. Received a 30% discount voucher from Borders and couldn't resist not using it. Pick up a Jamie Oliver, Jamie's Dinners and also a Singapore/Malaysia cookbook Shiok!

This book has a history behind it. I 1st came upon it a month ago at Borders Toorak. Though it was exactly what I have being hunting, I didn't purchase it because it was damaged. The 2nd time I saw it, it was again damaged!Found out it's because the way it's being binded. The body and cover had become 2 separate pieces. Did a check and found out that was the only one copy available. I was advise by the staff to check at the payout counter whether can they offer a special price. Initally I was only offered 10% discount. I can't decide whether should I continue hunting or just get it. The lady was nice enough in the end offer me 30% discount since I had the voucher for the other book(I'm actually only allow to use the voucher on 1 item). I walked out of Borders happily with 2 books costing me less than $50.

How To Be A Domestic Goddness

Finally!!!!! I got myself the book I wanted "How To Be A Domestic Goddness" by Nigella Lawson. I heard a lot of good reviews on this book and wanted to get my hands on it. Especially I had started baking a lot more. When I received Borders 30% discount vouchers thru email on Friday morning, I know I definitly need to make a trip down during the weekend and get myself the book. It only cost $38.50!!! and I'm a happy girl who is going to spend my evening flipping thru and target what to bake next. hehe