I can't recall when I first came across lamingtons, it wasn't when I travelled to Sydney, it wasn't when I made friends with Aussies nor was it when it was Australia Day! It kind of came into my consciousness and then I saw them in unlikely spots like browsing through London's Borough Market. What's not to like, coconut, chocolate icing and a victoria sponge-like inside!
When I last went back to London, I somehow craved these as a co-worker (an Aussie) posted her home-made lamingtons on facebook. After searching all the local artisan/farmer's markets I found a version at Crosstown Donuts, however they were in donut form as opposed to the traditional squares - either way it was delicious!
Donna Hay is an Australian a cookbook author and I came across her books years ago so I know I can rely on her for simple, straight forward recipes.
Yay or Nay: Nay
So much time spent but not much in return!! I was so disappointed in this recipe as so many things did not turn out how I expected. I only halved some ingredients yet it yielded waaaay less or waaay more than I needed. The batter was anemic looking, the icing was too runny, the coconut messy and complicated and the mess! The MESS! Not worth making again, I will be buying them instead or do without them unless I really really really want them.
While flicking through this month's Good Housekeeping magazine I was instantly inspired by this recipe for Best Outlaw Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream by Daphne Oz. It conjured up memories of my friend's mum's version, plus I had a few leftover carrots which I would happily sacrifice!
If you don't know already, Daphne is Dr. Oz's daughter and is on the lineup for TV's The Chew. I have watched the show before but her recipes never really stuck out to me. Apparently this is from her book The Happy Chef which I have no real desire to get but worth looking at if this recipe is any good. Now,
I'm not usually a fan of celebrity/TV chef meals as I feel like they're
not that original and never end up being that tasty either but you
can't go wrong with carrot cake right?
Yay or Nay: Nay
I deliberately did not make the frosting as I am not a fan of it. There were a few ingredients missing such as the molasses and I subbed whole wheat flour for all plain flour, and dark brown sugar for light brown sugar which could have affected the final result. It didn't have a whole lot of carroty/cinnamon flavour, the cake was moist when it came out but dried up pretty quick. This recipe required quite a lot of ingredients and steps to it, I'm sure there are simpler recipes that are much tastier in my opinion!
Last week was a bit of a dud week in terms of new recipes. I had a whole stack of new recipe books but being snowed under by work I had to resort to fail proof dinners. This coming week there will be a new and interesting recipe that I haven't ever made before so I'll be leaving my comfort zone on that one.
Meanwhile, I love The Great British Bake Off (TGGBO) and the colder nights mean catching up on the latest series and being inspired by some delicious baked goods. One of the most recent technical challenges is one of my favourites, the Bakewell tart. I love the almondy taste of frangipane and a crispy, buttery base all tied together with fruity raspberries. I have cake slash tart as I don't really like icing so with the cake recipe I get to have the bakewell flavours without all that excess sugar. I could have made it without the base but it wouldn't be a tart without one! So I combined the two together; the tart base was from here and the cake from here!
Yay or Nay: mid-Yay to the cake, Nay to the base
The base was more crispy and flaky as opposed to buttery and crumbly for me so I had to give it a Nay. For a savory pie this recipe would have worked better, I admit that I did add more water and less butter than the recipe but I think I was expecting more of a shortcrust. The cake however was good, held together although hard to spread when wet. There wasn't a huge almond taste to it (I didn't have any almond extract) so was mild but worked as a vanilla-like sponge. I would however, put waaaay more raspberries in it as I thought I covered the middle but once it was baked they disappeared a little.
While back in London, I definitely had the nostalgic feeling for a good ol' British Afternoon Tea. So I enticed an old work colleague to go to Browns to have a spot of tea and cake. We tucked into scones with clotted cream and jam, salted caramel profiteroles, lemon curd bars, red velvet cake and let's not forget the sandwiches; salmon and cream cheese, egg salad and traditional cucumber! As nice as it was, I was looking for something more classically British which meant I had to bake something myself once I got back to the U.S.
When I saw the Raspberry Bakewell Cake I was definitely excited to make it, I mean, it ticked the boxes of a tart berry combined with a sweet sponge. Plus Bakewells and almond slices are some of my faves - especially the Mr Kipling variety!
Yay or Nay: Yay
As you can probably tell from the picture, it looks a little dry (it has been laying out for a day or two!). Despite the fact that I overbaked it, it was still pretty tasty. The tartness of the raspberry works well with the almond and not-so-sweet sponge. Perfect for afternoon tea!
