Tag Archives: Ruth

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Flourless Chocolate Cake

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Submitted by Ruth

Ingredients

Reduced-Fat Dairy Spread, melted to grease ½ c. cocoa powder
1/3 c. hot water 2 tsp instant coffee powder
2 tsp boiling water 100g pkg almond meal
½ c. caster sugar 3 eggs, separated
Strawberries, washed & sliced

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).  Brush a round 22cm (9″) base measurement cake pan with melted dairy spread to lightly grease.  Line the base with non-stick baking paper.
  2. Combine the cocoa powder & hot water in a medium bowl.  Combine the instant coffee powder & boiling water in a cup.  Add the coffee to the cocoa mixture & stir until combined.
  3. Add almond meal, sugar, & egg yolks to cocoa mixture, & stir until well combined.
  4. Use an electric beater to whisk egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form.  Use a metal spoon to fold a spoonful of egg whites into cocoa mixture until combined.  Gently fold in remaining egg whites until just combined.
  5. Pour mixture into prepared pan.  Place cake pan in a roasting pan.  Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to reach two-thirds of the way up the side of the cake pan.
  6. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.  Remove cake pan from water bath & set aside for 20 minutes to cool  Turn cake onto a wire rack & remove paper.  Set aside for another 20 minutes or until cooled to room temperature.  
  7. Cut cake into wedges & carefully transfer to serving plates.  Serve with strawberries

Caramel Brownies

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Submitted by Ruth

Ingredients

½ c. self-rising flour 1/3 c. plain flour
150g unsalted butter, softened 1 ¼ c. soft brown sugar
2 eggs 1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract 75g walnut halves, chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).  Lightly grease a 20cm square (8″) tin & line the base with baking paper.
  2. Sift the flours together into a bowl.  In a large bowl, beat the butter & the sugar until light & creamy.  Add 1 egg, beat well & add 1 tbsp of the flour mixture.  
  3. Beat in the second egg, milk, & vanilla.  Fold in the remaining flour & ½ c. walnuts. Spoon into the tin & smooth the surface.
  4. Scatter the top with the remaining chopped walnuts & some extra brown sugar.  Bake for 30-45 minutes.  Allow to cool in the tin.  
  5. Carefully turn out & cut into squares.

Stewed Rhubarb Tarts

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Submitted by Ruth

Ingredients

1 bunch rhubarb (~5 stalks) ¼ c. brown sugar
2 cinnamon quills 1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 star anise 1 c. cold water
1 batch sweet shortcrust pastry 13.2 oz. (375g) semi-sweet chocolate
1 pkg. custard powder strawberries
white sugar

Directions

  1. Rhubarb by ksbuehler on FlickrSlice the rhubarb thinly and put it, the brown sugar, water, & spices in a saucepan on lowest heat for about an hour, with the lid on, until the rhubarb has totally collapsed. Strain the liquid into a bowl or jug. Remove the cinnamon & star anise & then set the rhubarb aside to cool.
  2. Create a batch of sweet shortcrust pastry (see link for recipe). Once you’ve mixed it all up, put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
  3. Roll out your pastry & place in your tart or pie dish. Cover with parchment paper & fill with rice or baking weights & bake for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool while melting chocolate.
  4. Melt 375g (about 13.2 oz) of semi-sweet good quality chocolate. When the chocolate is melted, pour it into the base of the tart. Don’t fill it too much, you want just a thin layer. Refrigerate until chocolate sets.
  5. Make custard. You could do this from scratch, or use 1 box of custard powder & make according to the directions on the package.
  6. Once your chocolate/pastry has hardened, put a layer of the cooled rhubarb on top of the chocolate. Pour the custard over the rhubarb & put in the refrigerator to set. You need the custard to set to about the firmness of Jell-O before you top with strawberries.
  7. Decorate the top with strawberries. It’s hard to say exactly how many you will need, but about three baskets should do it. Once the custard has set, layer the strawberries, halved, on top of the custard in a circle starting from the outer edge until right in the middle. Make a second layer on top to cover any visible gaps where you can see the custard.
  8. Sprinkle with fine white sugar & put back in the refrigerator. The strawberries will absorb the sugar & turn into a sort of glaze. If you want to get fancy, you can use a dessert torch to heat the sugar & caramelize it into a nice crust. Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Chef’s Note: You can omit the rhubarb and use more strawberries to turn this into just a strawberry tart.

Fairly Simple Fish

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Submitted by Ruth
Serves 2

Ingredients

2 large fish fillets, bream or snapper 3 tbsp sweet soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine 2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger, or grated fresh large bunch coriander
1 lime, sliced thin 1 lemon, sliced thin
salt pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Combine soy, rice wine, brown sugar & ginger in a small bowl & mix to combine.
  3. Add fish to bowl & allow to marinate for about an hour.
  4. Lay out a large length of aluminum foil on the bench (you can use two sheets of the same length to make is stronger).
  5. Rip apart the coriander & lay into the center of the foil.  Layer the lime & fresh lemon slices over the top of the coriander.  Lay the marinated fish into the center of the coriander/lemon/lime bed.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
  6. Layer another sheet of foil over the top of the fish & fold in all sides of the foil tightly to make a fully air tight parcel.
  7. Place on a cookie sheet & bake in the oven for 15 minutes.  When you open the foil the fish should have changed color & be firm to the touch.
  8. Serve with steamed rice & stir fried vegetables.

Basic Tomato Sauce

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Submitted by Ruth
Serves 2

Ingredients

5 truss tomatoes, skinned, diced, & crushed 2 tbsp tomato paste
large handful of oregano large handful marjoram
small handful parsley small handful basil
small package pine nuts ½ c. button mushrooms, diced
1 medium onion, quartered salt
pepper 1 c. vegetable stock or broth

Directions

  1. Slit the skins on the tomatoes & put them in boiling water for a minute to get the skins off.  Once skinned, put them in the blender to crush them.  Add tomato paste to thicken it.  Set aside.
  2. In a food processor, pulse the onion, herbs, & pine nuts until neatly smooth.
  3. In a nonstick pan, cook the mushrooms & onion/herb mixture with a bit of vegetable stock until translucent, then add the tomatoes.  Cook for about 1 hour on a very low simmer until reduced by about ¼.

Chef’s Note: When serving I add a chicken breast with all fat removed, thinly sliced & dry grilled, & some heart healthy bacon dry grilled.