Food, Finds & Forays
Hey there....
How’s your week been? Mine’s been a week so today’s instalment is short but sweet, literally.
After a huge day in the garden on Saturday I spent Sunday afternoon sitting in an emergency department with my son followed by another afternoon doing the same on Tuesday ( he’s fine thankfully ). However that little combo has slayed my back flaring up a relatively dormant little arthritis problem so abbreviated, today’s little letter is. But when you need a little pick me up what better antidote could there possibly be than cake? Whiskey and Orange Cake to be precise. I hope you like it, especially if you avoid dairy, it's a cracker.
All those aimless hours in a hospital ED left me with loads of scrolling time and a few nuggets for you to try as well as a couple of great reads for your Christmas holiday/gift lists.
And finally a few links to help fundraising for the devastating flood disasters dotting rural Australia right now.
Again thanks for reading and my apologies for the abridged version of Food, Finds & Forays today. Hopefully the drugs kick in quickly and we resume normal programming next week. But until then there’s cake.
Have a great weekend,
S xx
Food
My Dad, always loved a little nip of whiskey after dinner. Not a big glug or many glasses of such just a little splash, neat, to relax him and warm him up he’d say. He had his own bottle on the bar at his local footy club and a bottle at his local freemason’s lodge. It was part of his persona and one of the things his friends and I remember fondly about him. He also loved cake, until the day he passed away he fondly enjoyed a ‘sliver’ of cake. The nostalgic flavours of his favourites remained one of the things his dementia addled brain never was able to ravage as I reflected on here.
Waddling around these last couple of days with a stiff sore back needing heat packs and a little something to offer some comfort I was reminded of my dad’s small daily rituals of a dash of warming scotch whiskey and cake, usually enjoyed separately. Well I’ve rolled them together. Warming rich malty whiskey and fresh squeezed orange juice warmed with honey and poured over dark squishy sultanas and currants. Combined with brown sugar and butter and the usual cake suspects I’ve created a light fluffy cake that feels like a warm hug.
Both warming the whiskey and cooking it again in the oven cooks out any alcohol content so if for any reason you need to avoid that this will still work for you. The whiskey creates a richness to the flavour rounding out the almost caramel like notes of the dried fruit and honey rather than that usual harsh burn of a strait drink of the spirit. This cake is also dairy free for anyone needing to avoid that too.
Ingredients:
80 gm sultanas
80 gm currants
Juice and zest of an orange
100 whiskey
1tb honey
½ tsp bicarb soda
2 eggs
120 gm brown sugar
1 tsp vaniaa
75 gm butter melted and cooled
180gm self raising flour
¼ tsp salt flakes
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Method:
Preheat oven to 180c. Line and grease a 19 cm springform pac.
Combine dried fruit, orange zest, nutmeg and bicarb soda in a medium bowl set aside. In a small saucepan combine whiskey, juice and honey and warm over medium heat until small bubbles begin on the edges of the surface. Immediately pour over fruit mixture and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Using a stand mixer with whisk attachment mix eggs, sugar and vanilla on medium high until lighter in colour and frothy. Drizzle the melted butter in while still whisking and mix briefly until its combined but before it splits, mere seconds.
Gently tip flour and salt in and using a hand balloon whisk fold into egg mixture until almost combine. Pour in fruit mixture and all the liquid and continue folding together briefly.
Pour into prepared tin and bake 40 minutes.
Cool in tin five minutes then remove from spring form and cooling completely on rack. Serve dusted with icing sugar and if you’re really feeling fancy a drizzle of caramel like this one.
Finds & Forays
Many hours sitting in waiting rooms this week means many hours scrolling, I don’t want to think what my iphone screen time report will look like this week. A few beauties stopped me in my tracks and are on the to cook list. This spicy easy dinner will be a hit with my lot. Not sure if this veg number will be but I’ll love it and will come back to it for Christmas entertaining. Likewise this dip which is my husband’s idea of food hell, and my idea of food heaven, venus and mars right there. Reading is the other great way to keep busy in those busy waiting rooms. I finished this much anticipated stellar sequel this week and LOVED it. I also whizzed through this light aussie read this week. I’ve enjoyed all of the author's books previously and this was no exception.
Finally yet more talk of weather. We’re all so sick of it aren’t we. I don’t remember a wetter period than the one we’re getting through. Easy for me to say from Melbourne though, what’s been particularly awful is the devastation it’s brought to rural Australia. Areas not as often touched by flooding are being inundated, repeatedly. All the rivers are full as are the flood plains, there’s just nowhere for the water to dissipate to. There’s a number of campaigns organised to aid flood relief particularly for the gorgeous central west of NSW. If you’re in a position to help and feel so inclined this beautiful piece is being auctioned for relief for sweet little Molong and this initiative for the town of Eugowra. And of course there’s always Rural Aid the all-round charity for rural Australia.
