This Lemon and Poppy Seed cake is a delicious addition to afternoon tea! We have a fabulous number of lemon trees at Vineyard Cottages and of course they all ripen around the same time. We zest, juice, peel and dehydrate lots through the winter to save for the summer months. Lemon cake is always a family favourite in our house and this is a great way to use up the pots of yoghurt left over from breakfast.
Felicity O’Driscoll from the brilliant Auckland book store Cook The Books recently posted a fabulous lemon cake recipe on the ever popular Lazy Susan Facebook Page. There are so many varieties and options for great lemon cake but when I first cake to NZ I was introduced to lemon and poppy seed as a combo and I have been in love with this since.
Top tip! If you soak the poppy seeds in milk or lemon juice and water it really brings out the flavour and softens the outer casings. The poppy seeds give a subtle pepper flavour to the cake which may sound weird but it really enhances the flavour of the lemon
1/4 cup
Milk
4 Tbsp
Poppy Seeds
Rind of 2
Lemons
200g
Butter
3
Fresh eggs
3/4 cup
Caster sugar
2 1/4 cups
Plain flour
2 tsp
Baking powder
1/2 cup (125ml)
Sour Cream or yoghurt
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 25cm ring pan or loaf pan and line the base with paper.
Soak the poppy seeds in the milk for a min of 10 minutes and up to an hour.
Beat the softened butter, 3 tablespoon lemon rind and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.
Sift the flour and baking powder into another bowl. Add flour to the butter mixture in two batches, along with the sour cream or yoghurt, poppy seeds and milk.
Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
If you want to add an additional lemon zing, while cooking the cake make a lemon syrup. Combining the 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and simmer for 5 minutes. Add any remaining lemon zest. Spoon the hot syrup over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven (use a skewer to poke holes for the syrup to soak into). Leave in the pan to cool. This isn’t essential. We love it without syrup, but it does all a little extra to an already delicious cake.
Serving options:
Best served with yoghurt or creme fraiche.
Lovely in the summer with raspberry or strawberry ice cream or mango sorbet.
Makes lovely muffins. Pour half into a lined muffin tin, add a dollop of cream cheese and add the rest of the mix.
Farro is an ancient grain packed full of nutrients. It is high in protein (always a tick in the box) fibre and antioxidants. Years ago I was introduced to it when I was working with Sabato and it’s been a staple in our cupboards ever since. Even Nigella gave it the thumbs up in Nigelissima where her recipe for farro risotto had everyone ditching the rice for a while and swapping to this fabulous grain.
I use it a lot for salads in the summer and as a base for using up ingredients in the fridge. Last week I had a pot of ricotta to finish up, some lemons, peas and a jug of chicken stock. With a gale blowing outside the window it was the perfect required lunch! This Smoked Chilli Farro Risotto is a delicious winter warmer packed full of protein and nutrients and is perfect for a crowd.
Farro doesn’t melt together like arborio rice. It will go creamy like porridge if cooked long and slow but I quite like the almost chewy texture before that stage. Experiment as you will!
Rinse the farro in warm water and soak while you prep the other ingredients.
Bring the stock to boil and lower to a gentle simmer.
in a sauté pan or deep frying pan, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft and golden
Drain the farro grains and add to the onions and garlic. Stir to heat through and combine. Add the wine / sherry and stock and cover with a lid or foil. Simmer for 30 mins on low stirring occasionally. Stir in the zest, peas and chilli flakes and season to taste.
Crumble in the ricotta and turn the heat off. Leave to rest for a min and serve. I usually add a touch more chilli, a good drizzle of olive oil and some chopped parsley to serve. Of course this dish would be perfect with a pile of parmesan sprinkled on top – but I’d eaten it all!
Double and quadruple the Smoked Chilli Farro Risotto to feed the masses!
We have served this for our conference guests and it is always a winner! Try it, add chicken or salmon, any vegetables you like and definitely parmesan!
This is the recipe for the easiest loaf of bread you will ever need to make! You’re welcome.
Before Covid19 pulled everyone back into the kitchen, many people were terrified of making bread. Generations ago, a loaf of bread might have been made daily as a staple task to feed a family. In 2020, we all rediscovered the pleasure of creating a simple loaf. At Vineyard Cottages, this recipe kept us baking throughout the Level four lockdown. While the government kept reiterating there was no shortage of bread and we shouldn’t be panic buying flour, I ordered way too much from the cash and carry and dished it out to family and friends in zip lock bags via our letter box.
This is the easiest loaf to get your bread confidence bubbling. It is a plain white loaf, not a complex sourdough or raw grainy anything. The white bread police will not like it – who cares!
The biggest tip I can give you is, get really good quality flour, it makes a difference. And be patient, don’t rush the process.
Preheat the oven to 180
Ingredients
1KG Strong White Flour
650ml luke warm water
21g instant yeast
1tablespoon sugar or honey
2 teaspoons of salt.
1 tablespoon of olive oil
I use a Kitchen Aid and dough hook for making bread. It speeds things up and on days when I’m racing around, it’s a cleaner process. But during lockdown I get stuck in with my hands and allow the monotonous motions of kneading as a way of winding my brain down.
Add all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and turn to combine. If you are using honey dilute in the water, or add the sugar to the dry mix. Using a dough hook mix all of the ingredients together. Either knead by hand or in the bowl until the dough is smooth, pliable and soft. Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and pop in a draft free warm spot. The airing cupboard is perfect!
Once the dough has doubled in height gently knock the air out of it and place in a floured loaf tin or on a baking sheet to prove for another 20-30 mins.
I always add a ramekin of hot water into the oven to create some steam. This helps the crust to crisp up and gives an even colouring.
Put the loaf in the middle of the oven. Bake times with vary between 30 & 40 mins.
A great baker once told me that his dough changes every day depending on the weather. Some days it cooked faster, some days slower and always took a little courage to know when to take out of the oven. From his wise words I learnt to leave the bread a few mins longer than I initially thought to take out of the oven. You know when it’s ready, when you tap the loaf and it sounds hollow.
Try and leave to rest and cool before cutting a slice and slathering in butter! It’s hard, but worth it!
This recipe for Sweet Chestnut Ice cream was sent to me by one of our fabulous Spanish wwoofers. Racquel claimed to be terrible in the kitchen, but turned out many delicious dinners for us to share. One of our favourites was a tuna empanada pie with a yeast dough. I could have eaten all of it from the tin!
On another occasion she made croquettes from our left over beef casserole, with the direction from her mum in Galicia. Oh how we missed her when she left amongst the chaos of Covid in 2020.
As we head into the depths of Autumn, I looked up the recipes she sent me from Spain when she returned to her family. It was autumn in Spain and they were harvesting chestnuts in her region. One of the joys of having people share our home is the sharing of family recipes. This has become one of my favourites.
This was the recipe she sent for Sweet Chestnut Ice Cream:
Ingredients:
500g chestnuts.
400ml milk cream.
2egg whites.
150g sugar.
2 tablespoons of icing sugar.
Instructions:
1.-Cook the chestnuts (without the first lay) in water for 15 min.
2.-Drain and put in a bowl.
3.-Add 150 ml of milk cream and mix until make puree.
4.-Put the sugar in a saucepan, add 50ml of water and cook until make syrup.
5.- Add the syrup to the puree and mix.
6.-Let cool.
7.-Assemble the remaining milk cream.
8.-Add the icing sugar to the milk cream assembled and mix.
9.-Also assemble the egg whites.
10.-Slowly mix the chestnut puree with the assembled cream and the whites.
11.-Put in the freezer 45min.
12.-“Beat” with the electric mixer and return to the freezer 30min more.
13.-“Beat” again.
14.-Keep in the freezer at least 4 hours.
15.-“Beat” before serving. (You can add a few small pieces of chestnut to the mixture before putting in the freezer for the first time)
I’m looking forward to this on a rich chocolate cake later on this evening!
If you’re a sweet chestnut fan, check out our chestnut pesto recipe.
Every year our one tree gives us about a kilo of chestnuts. I start off loving them and by the end of the kilo, I’m over it.
This year after the first pick I decided to try them in a pesto. We have lots of garlic, Olive Oil and herbs all produced here, so as far as cheap and easy eats go, this was one of the best. Pesto is a staple in our fridge. Whether it’s one of the delicious Sabato made pestos or one we have made at home, it is an quick add to a meal to jazz it up.
The most important thing is to make sure the chestnuts are roasted properly and that all your digits are in place after you score through the outer casing of the nut. If you don’t cross the top of them, you will end up with an exploding chestnut in the oven and a huge mess. They also turn into little nuclear bombs likely to inflict pain by bursting on you.
Carefully cross the top of the chestnut with a sharp knife and your wits about you. The cross needs to be long enough that you can easily pull the shell off the chestnut once roasted. If it’s not, it can more fiddly than necessary. Roast in a hot oven until you can smell them and the shells have began to curl away. Whatever you do, let them cool!
I used a handful of the best herbs I could find which included parsley, oregano, chives and thyme. I also added some silverbeet for depth and colour and of course lots of vitamins and minerals and to smuggle green vegetables into my husband. The end result a delicious creamy garlic chestnut pesto!
Pesto
150g roasted and peeled chestnuts
3 cloves of peeled garlic
One cup of washed and finely chopped herbs and greens
1/4 cup hard cheese. (I used Grana as we didn’t have any Parmesan – WHAT!)
Salt
Good Quality Olive Oil about half a cup
Start with a big pestle and mortar. Bash the garlic with some olive oil and salt into a smooth paste. Chop the chestnuts into smaller pieces and bash around in the garlic mix.
Grate or finely chop the cheese – I prefer the adventure of getting a larger chunk of cheese in a good pesto, so just roughly chopped and bashed in the pestle.
Chop the herbs and greens down to a manageable size and add to the mix.
Keep adding the olive oil bit by bit and season to taste at the end. Depending on how you like your pesto, add oil to suit.
You can of course make this in a processor, it would just be smoother.
Rough chop pasta.
I’ve been making us a pasta dish once a week and this is a really simple one when you have little time.
100g 00 flour
1 fresh as possible egg.
On a clean smooth surface make a mountain with the flour and turn it into a volcano by making a big whole in the middle to add the egg. Mix the egg into the flour. I start using a fork and bring the flour into the egg initially and then get stuck in with my hands. Kneed the pasta into a smooth pliable dough and leave to rest under a bowl for at least 30 mins.
Depending on the humidity and the temperature, you might need a little olive oil in the dough. I don’t use water though.
Once the pasta has rested flour your surface and rolling pin and roll out. You can use a machine – I have given up as it ends up taking much more time unless you are wanting to create an even spaghetti or tagliatelle.
Roll the dough turning regularly, lightly flouring as you go if needed. To get a thinner pasta (this takes practise) roll the dough around the rolling pin, making sure there is sufficient flour to stop it sticking and roll the layers together. It provides a very even sheet of pasta. This was about 2 mm thick by the time I finished
Fold in half and in half again and chop into strands. Gently open up with your fingers and pop into salted boiling water.
It will take minutes to cook.
Drain, catching the last few drops of the cooking water in the saucepan. Add back the pasta and chestnut pesto and turn to combine.
Two things :
1. If you haven’t discovered Pasta Grannies on Facebook, you need to. Just watching their intuitive handling of the dough has been a wonderful learning experience.
2. This is a really rough recipe and it worked for this garlic loving household. Experiment and make it work for you. It’s I’d had my way I would have added chilli to the chestnut pesto, but the husband said no!
If you are a fan of chestnuts, check out this delicious ice cream recipe
Many moons ago, my dear girlfriend Vic announced while we were having our weekly noodles, that she was going to make a clafoutis for dessert for the weekend. It was our monthly Sunday gang lunch and Vic was the queen of great puds.
“A what?” I’d asked whizzing through the recipe index in my head until I vaguely remembered a custardy thing. “Oh good.” My enthusiasm wasn’t ripe enough for Vic.
“Yes an apricot clafoutis.” She was adamant, dessert was therefore decided. Vic was pregnant at the time and the bump was affectionally known as Joan. I suggested if bump turned out to be a girl maybe Clafoutis could be in the mix as an unusual girls name. Vic, her husband and I had recently had a very funny night in a local Japanese restaurant trying to conjure up the right name for the baby to be. She frowned at me at the mere suggestion of a dessert for a baby’s name. But I had visions from then on in of Vic having a daughter named Clafoutis and bellowing instructions across fields at various pony club rallies, “Kick on Clafoutis!” Very silly but kept me giggling for a very long time.
The Apricot Clafoutis was delicious and there was none left once the gang got stuck in. Thankfully Vic went on to have a little boy called Felix shortly after.
Roll forward a decade and Chef Des Harris is in the VC kitchen planning a meal for a fabulous tour group staying with us for the night. We wanted to use the seasonal fruits, especially the plums hanging on the trees at VC and the moment he said “how about a Clafoutis?” I had to stifle the giggles.
As one could only expect from Des the plum and blueberry clafoutis we served for the guests was out of this world. Incredibly easy to make, light and delicious and with that tell tale sign of silence around the table, followed by a chorus of “yums” and “that was amazing” I knew we were onto a winner.
Chef has kindly shared his version of this dessert with us here. I am looking forward to trying an autumn version with persimmon and spices. Maybe I’ll name my next dog Clafoutis?
Makes 6-7 (10cm Spanish tapas dish)
Ingredients
225g cream
½ teas vanilla essence
3 egg yolks (size7)
126g castor sugar
½ lemon zest
37g gluten free flour (Edmonds)
4½ egg whites (size7)
Pinch of sea salt
2 punnets of blueberries
75g sour cream or crème fraiche
150g cream
Icing sugar to taste plus icing sugar for dusting
Method
1. For the batter whisk together the yolks, sugar and lemon zest until light and creamy.
2. Heat the cream and vanilla essence together until almost boiling.
3. Slowly whisk the scalded cream onto the creamy yolks and sugar.
4. Put back into the saucepan and on a low heat cook the cream anglaise to 80 degrees stirring with a wooden spoon continuously.
5. Once the creme anglaise is thick whisk the gluten free flour into it.
6. Transfer into a bowl set over ice or alternatively refrigerate until cold.
7. Once cold proceed to whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt until thick but not dry.
8. Fold together with the cold cream anglaise maintaining as much volume as possible.
9. It’s best to leave the mix to relax in the fridge for 2-3 hours before baking.
Baking and finishing
10. Set the oven to 180 degrees with the oven rack set in the middle of the oven.
11. Lightly coat the inside of your shallow ramekins / baking dishes with kitchen spray.
12. Generously add blueberries and ladle to the top with the batter.
13. Cook the clafoutis for approx. 12 minutes until risen, golden & set
14. While waiting, whisk together the creams until soft peak, adding a little icing sugar to taste if you wish.
15. Serve the clafoutis hot from the oven dredged in icing sugar with the cream to the side.
