Banana and Coconut Cupcakes

Children parties can make the most confident of bakers quake in fear when it comes to nuts. They have become a no-go area. My niece Quin, who started high school this year, told me they are not allowed to bring any food with nuts in it to school because one of her classmates has such extreme allergies. I can’t help feeling sad about all these childhoods bereft of peanut butter sandwiches. But, there is good reason, as demonstrate by the recent local news story of the boy with nut allergies on cadet camp who died when his rations included peanuts.

As regular readers would know, my wee niece, Grace, is a celiac and so I am always on the lookout for a good gluten free recipe. Her mum (and my sister, Susie) is also on the gluten free wagon at the moment. There are many flourless cakes and cupcakes which use ground nuts. I love them but am aware that they are no good for taking to kids parties for Grace.

So last week when I spied a gluten free banana and coconut cupcake recipe on La Tartine Gourmande, I wanted to try it out for Grace and Susie this weekend. But it was my nephew Cooper’s first birthday party and I was worried lest any of the other kiddies had nut allergies. So I wasn’t brave enough to bake them with ground hazelnuts.

The other challenge in the recipe was quinoa flour, which I don’t have in my GF flour repertoire. When baking gluten free, I try to bake food that everyone will love and that does not have too many unusual flours for me (or other home bakers). These cupcakes also have buckwheat flour, which I quite like. The other gluten free flour I love baking with is soy flour. I decided to substitute it for quinoa flour and, inspired by Ricki’s quinoa cupcakes last year, I decided to try substituting cooked quinoa for the hazelnut flour.

For those who have not yet encountered it, quinoa is a small grain, a bit like rice but chewier and more nutritious. The quinoa I have used previously has always been fine when cooked without rinsing but the one I bought last week was organic Royal Quinoa grain (‘a protein superfood from the Andes Mountains’). When I started tasting it to check if it was cooked, it was quite bitter as I have read that quinoa can be. It was fine once I rinsed it but begs the question, how do you know if the quinoa is bitter or not? After all, who wants to taste dried quinoa!

Lastly I iced the cake with my new icing gun. After my first attempt at using this icing gun with my nutella cupcakes, I am now starting to get the hang of the toy. It was much quicker than using a piping bag, although it was a bit tricky to take apart at the end to wash it. I love the look of a fluffy pile of frosting even though I am not so keen on eating all that icing. But for a kids party, I thought these pretty cupcakes were just the trick.

The party was this afternoon and chaotic but fun. Cooper is too young to really understand but he couldn’t resist sampling some of the birthday cake. His parents had bought him a very groovy Wiggles birthday cake. It looked so cute and the dense flourless chocolate cake tasted delicious. And that lovely red icing was just too tempting. It amused us to find him with red icing smeared all around his mouth. The wee rascal!

The table was groaning under the amazing array of food. Dips, spring rolls, arancini balls, cheese, vegetable sticks, grubs, cupcakes, chocolate sponge cake, hedgehog, fairy bread, chocolate peanut butter slice, scones, caramel tart, honey joys and I am sure I have missed a few others. The Wiggles were the theme of the day with lots of wiggles plates and cups etc.

Sylvia (who was in her harness the whole time I made the cakes, but not when I was icing) is now an old hand at parties after her first one last week. She wore her little red dress and breeches that my sister, Chris bought her in Paris and looked very smart. She even got a party bag of lollies at the end of the day with all the other kids. In fact, there was so much food that no one left without a swag of goodies.

I found the banana and coconut cupcakes a little sweet but I think that this is needed with gluten free baking because the flavour of the wheat flour is missing. For that reason, the classic flavours of banana and coconut also enhanced the taste of the cupcakes. The dessicated coconut gave a nice texture which I suspect hid the quinoa as everyone who tasted them was surprised when I mentioned it. I think the quinoa gave them a bit more body and I liked it so much I would like to try it in savoury muffins.

Grace turned her nose up at them when I said they were banana and wouldn’t taste them but Susie thought they were great, especially the icing. Others seemed to like them too. I really enjoyed the cupcakes but would probably prefer them without the icing or with cream cheese frosting. Icing is mandatory at a kids party unlike nuts. I am sure Cooper would have enjoyed smearing it across his face if given the chance.

In an ironic twist, I am sending this to PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds who is hosting the Let’s Go Nuts event, founded by Aqua. Yes, after all my talk about nut-free baking, I have realised that coconut might be considered a nut as it is the theme of the event this month.

Banana and Coconut Cupcakes
(adapted from La Tartine Gourmande)
makes about 36 mini muffins

Wet ingredients:
¼ cup dried quinoa
½ cup water
3 bananas, mashed
2 eggs
⅔ cup packed (100 g) dark brown sugar
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Dry ingredients:
1 cup soy flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
⅓ cup dessicated coconut
2 teaspoon baking powder

To decorate:
2¼ cups icing sugar
¼ cup coconut milk
2 tbsp butter
few drops yellow food colouring
banana chips
extra dessicated coconut

Preheat oven to 180 C. Prepare cupcake trays by greasing or lining with cupcake papers. If you use silicone trays like me you don’t need to prepare at all – other than hunting down where the husband last hid them when putting the dishes away!

To cook the quinoa, place in a small microwave proof container and cover. Microwave for about 2 minutes at a time until the quinoa is cooked. Mine needed rinsing and took about 7 minutes and needed to be drained a little. Alternatively cook quinoa as you usually do.

Place quinoa and remaining wet ingredients in a bowl and lightly whisk with a fork. Mix with the dry ingredients til combined. Spoon into cupcake trays. Bake for 20 minutes or til a skewer inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Sit 5 minutes, turn out and cool on a wire tray.

To make icing, mix together icing sugar, coconut milk and food colouring to make a fairly stiff paste. Pipe or spread on cupcakes. Break up the banana chips and place a piece in the top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with coconut.

On the stereo:
Spektral Magik: Art Abscons

A Tale of Carrot and Feta Dip

Once upon a time I worked washing bottles in a scientific laboratory (soaked in soapy water, 15 rinses under tap water and 4 under distilled water, baked in a hot oven). I got paid to get up early and wash dishes. But today I did it for love (rinsed once in soapy water) while reciting Spike Milligan silly verse, On the Ning Nang Nong to Sylvia in the rocker beside me while Zinc miaowed at the door and the Reindeer Selection played on the stereo. How times change.

I rarely do the dishes early in the day, or any time of day but the head dishwasher, E, is still poorly. I had thought it was a man-cold but he spent yesterday in bed and never once turned on his computer or picked up a guitar. Now that is a serious cold! (Don’t worry the doctor has ruled out swine flu, which is just as well given that The Australian newspaper has declared Melbourne the swine flu capital of the world!) Meanwhile I have had a pressing deadline with a work project that never seems to end. So the house has been a bit more chaotic than usual.

But at the end of the dishes when I put Sylvia down to sleep, I was able to enjoy some carrot and feta dip on Andre’s Honey Wholewheat Sourdough Bread for breakfast. I have been in need of a good healthy dip but this one appeared on my bread through serendipity. So while I eat my breakfast I thought I would share the tale of the dip.

It started when I was skimming the search terms on my stats and saw someone looking for a recipe for a sweet potato and feta risotto. While I don’t have such a recipe on my blog, I thought it might be about time I did. (I haven't made the risotto yet but I am planning to.) So feta went on the shopping list.

Then I saw that Lysy had made a carrot and basil soup with roasted carrots. This seemed an exceedingly wise way to get the best flavour out of carrots and would be perfect paired with some of the feta I was buying for the risotto. Mmmm Carrot and Feta Soup. Righto, in they go (as the Dingo says in Wombat Stew)!

Then I thought that I might add some walnuts to the risotto because they went so well in my beetroot risotto. I heard someone recently saying that they always had walnuts in the pantry and it occurred to me that this is a nut I just don’t eat enough. The walnut takes me back to my childhood when I often encountered it in cakes or ate it crushed with vegemite in a sandwich. Fresh local walnuts in their shells are in the shops right now and I just need a nutcracker so I can buy some. Alternatively, I have considered using a heavy heel of a shoe as we used to do sometimes when I was young. Mmmm. Carrot, Walnuts and Feta Soup. Righto, in they go!

Then Cindy and Michael of Where’s the Beef have clocked up 800 inspiring posts and asked for ideas for warming winter recipes for winter, with the winner getting a giveaway. The winning recipe was Jo‘s Roasted Cumin and Pumpkin Soup. The idea of roasting cumin with the carrots appealed. Mmmm. Carrot, Walnut and Feta Soup with roasted cumin. Righto, in they go!

Then it occurred to me that it might be even better if I used chickpeas rather than walnuts because I decided I needed the walnuts for baking and pesto and other yummy recipes. Chickpeas are lower in fat and go so well with carrots in falafels. Mmmm. Carrot, Chickpea and Feta Soup. Righto, in they go!

Then I remembered sprinkling dukkah on carrots after being inspired by a meal at Rumi. I still have the jar of dukkah and always need excuses to use it. This seemed an excellent opportunity. The middle eastern spice mixture would go well with the carrots and feta. It would also make a lovely garnish for the soup when I photographed it for my blog. Mmmm. Carrot, Chickpea and Feta Soup with Dukkah. Righto, in they go!

Then yesterday I was all prepared to make my soup for lunch. But I decided to take Sylvia to the library in the morning for Rhyme Time.Afterwards I bought a few bits and pieces including a loaf of lovely sourdough from Andres to go with my soup. Alas, I was tempted by a cauliflower cheese pastie and was hungry enough by the time I got home to eat it for lunch. It wasn’t until later in the day that I started roasting the carrots in a wave of procrastination. By then, lunch had well and truly passed. So had my urge for soup. I decided to make a dip. Mmmm Carrot, Chickpea and Feta Dip! Fickle? Moi?

The dip was a huge success. The carrots were roasted until they were a soft charred shadow of their former selves. The roasting cumin smelled glorious. The dip was pleasingly orange and full of texture. The spice was a little warmer than I would prefer (maybe a bit less cayenne pepper next time) but not overwhelming. It spread nicely on a slice of bread and was great with a vegie burger and some roasted onion, mushroom and kale (which got a little charred while being abandoned in favour of feeding Sylvia) in a sandwich. So I will leave you with some doggerel about my dip, with apologies to Wombat Stew (just to prove I have been awake too early, too long and should be in bed).

Carrot dip, feta dip
Beany, cheesey
Oh so pleasey
Carrot dip

Carrot dip, Feta dip
Tasty, spicy
Oh so nicey
Carrot dip

Middle Eastern Carrot and Feta Dip
Makes about 2-3 cups

7 medium carrots (about 750g)
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
seasoning
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100g feta
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dukkah (optional)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Trim, peel and roughly chopc carrots. Toss carrots with oil, seasoning and cumin seeds in a roasting dish. Roast for 1 hour at 220 C, giving the dish a good shake about every 20 minutes. Add chopped garlic and roast an additional 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Blend all ingredients in food processor til mostly smooth with just a little texture. Eat with Andres wholewheat honey sourdough loaf.

On the stereo:
Son of Evil Reindeer: the Reindeer Selection

Club Penguin Birthday Cake

It’s been a while since I made a fun novelty cake. A year, in fact, because the last year has been so draining. But as Maddy’s birthday came around again, I offered to make a cake. We decided to make a Club Penguin cake because this is one of her favourite websites at the moment. I was pleased with the end result because it was created from looking at pictures on the web rather than following any guidelines, so I thought I would share my story of making the cake for anyone looking for tips.

It took a little organisation to get down to Geelong early with Sylvia in tow and decorate the cake – ably assisted by Maddy and Grace – before the lunchtime party. E was feeling poorly and stayed at home in bed. So my mum was invaluable in looking after Sylvia and walking her in the pram so I could concentrate on the cake. She even finished off the cake while I fed Sylvia.

I enjoy having the kids helping me because it gives them extra pride in the cake but this was not a cake they could help a lot with because it needed fiddly work filling icing in small areas. But Maddy and Grace helped with brushing crumbs, mixing icing and decorating the little cakes that we used for the candles. It was a mess but I was amused by such youthful exuberance.

Even with Sylvia being so well-behaved (until we left my mum’s place) my mum and I were a little late for the party. (My dad had already taken the party girl home.) I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the cake and pavlova and tarts in the back seat of the car when I we went from my mum’s to Susie’s place. I was quite worried what my car might look like if I had to brake suddenly. Fortunately we got there with all intact.

As usual there was heaps of good food. I also took along the gluten free brownies. Susie made a plateful of cute tea cups out of tic toc biscuit saucers topped by a marshmallow, a freckle and half a lifesaver for a handle (see the picture on my GF brownies post). My mum made some beetroot and goats cheese tarts, a delicious quince cake and a pav as well as the family's latest favourite GF cupcakes. (I even had to take one home for E who loves them.) Susie’s mother-in-law made her trademark trifle.

The party was lots of fun. Maddy loved her cake. This was the party for family so Maddy still had lots of fun and food to look forward to with her friends at her bowling party during the week. My sister Fran amused us when she arrived with her partner John and his parents because they had run into them on the drive down (not literally). My little nieces Grace and Ella had Arthur bear with them who was visiting from kindergarten. There were quite a few little kids about including my brother’s baby Cooper crawling about and my oldest niece Quin who was enjoying playing with the Hannah Montana wig.

It was Sylvia’s first party. She had a lovely time in a black watch tartan dress and purple stripey tights. I couldn’t resist giving you a little peek! When we arrived she slept for a while in the midst of the bustle and then woke and got lots of cuddles and photos. But this is a food blog, so enough about my wee girl. Here is the low down on the cake:

How to make the Club Penguin birthday cake

As usual, I made the cake the day before. This is easier for handling the cake as well as meaning I don’t have to rush so much on the day. The cake I made was the same as the one I used for my Green Gourmet Giraffe Cake. I made it all chocolate so I used 3 tbsp of cocoa and omitted the lime flavourings.

I baked one lamington tray (28 x 18cm or 11 x 7 inch) cake with wheat flour and set aside about a third of the butter/sugar/egg mixture to add gluten free flour instead of wheat flour. The gluten free mixture went into the mini muffin pans and made about 20. This was very useful in having 7 cupcakes for candles and for distracting the girls with decorating these while I concentrated on icing the penguin. We also had some gluten free cakes for Grace to eat while Maddy was sampling the trimmings of the large. She loved them despite me forgetting to add baking powder so they weren’t well risen.

The first task was to draw the penguin picture on an A4 sheet of paper – this is about the size of the lamington tray cake. I then searched for a skewer to punch the pattern onto the cake. My mum didn’t have any! We looked for something sharp and thin. She finally found the tool that you can see Maddy holding above the picture. I pricked the outlines of the picture onto the cake and then took the paper off. It looked a little like a join the dots picture.

Place your cake on the plate you will use. My mum had a lovely happy birthday plate we were able to use. But I have previously used a flat baking tray – if it is coloured from frequent use, you can cover it with foil. Once, the cake was in place, I used a sharp knife to trim the edges to get the penguin shape. Then we used a dry pastry brush to clear away as many crumbs as possible – so they don’t get mixed up in the icing (frosting) mixture.

Next we mixed the icing. I just mix icing sugar (confectioners sugar), butter and water but we found that this mixture was too yellow for the white part of the picture (see the comparison in the photo) so I had to mix just icing sugar and water for this one. I made a fairly thick paste so it was a little difficult to spread. But I found that it kept its shape this way and could be smoothed with a knife dipped in hot water. For yellow and blue icing I just used a few drops of liquid colouring. The yellow icing for the feet was a little runny and kept pooling on the plate.

I used the pricks over the cake to get the outlines for the different colours. I spread on the white, then yellow and then blue colours. Once the icing was on, I used the knife in hot water to smooth it all. The most challenging bit was around the edges of the flippers. My mum did some smoothing and said she found it easier to use a wet finger to spread some of the more difficult areas rather than the knife.

Then it was time for the final touches. I used two dark smarties for the eyes. Any round dark lollies or candy would probably do. I also used a sharp clean knife to make the line across the mouth on the yellow beak. Once we got to my sister’s place we put the little cakes around and stuck the candles in them.

On the stereo:
Pink (can’t remember the name of her album that the girls were playing but there was a fight over it)

Awesomely Delicious GF Pumpkin Brownies

This weekend it was my niece, Maddy’s, birthday party. It was a great opportunity to take down a batch of awesomely delicious gluten free brownies for my gluten free niece and sister to sample.

I have been searching for a good, simple, vegan gluten-free brownie. It is not that I have vegan gluten free friends and family to cook for. Rather, I love my chocolate baking so much that it matters that I have a good recipe on hand for all occasions. These brownies are exactly what I had in mind. Dark, dense, fudgy, decadent and yet using flours many of us have in our cupboards (rice and corn flours) and replacing eggs with pumpkin. There is even a nut-free option. How much better could it get!

I first made them a few weeks back when my mum gave me some pumpkin and loved them so much that they didn’t last long. I took some to my friend, Cheryl’s, place when I went for lunch. They are rich enough that a tiny square is all you need, although you might find yourself wanting more because they are so good. Even the mixture tastes so good that there is no concern about them being undercooked. The first time I baked them 20 minutes and the second time I baked them 40 minutes (to get a little more chewy crispness on the top). Both times they tasted excellent.

A few notes on the ingredients. The recipe had been posted by Hannah and Sarah. Hannah had used pumpkin but Sarah had used banana. I find mashed pumpkin easier to come by in my kitchen than banana but would like to try the latter too. The first time I used regular cocoa and the second I used dutch cocoa. It was far darker and richer the second time around, so I would be happy enough with regular cocoa in future. The nuts are optional and good with or without. The second time I left them out because I was taking them to a kid’s party. I also substituted cornflour (or cornstarch) for potato starch which worked fine.

There was a fine spread at the party (you can see some of it in the photo) and we were all spoilt for choice. My gluten free sister and niece liked the brownie but found it very rich. I still find it very moreish and was happy to take a few leftover pieces home. Actually took quite a swag of goodies home but Sylvia beckons so I will write about that later when I tell you about the birthday cake!

Awesomely Delicious GF Brownies
(Adapted from What Smells So Good and Bitter Sweet)

⅔ cup cocoa powder
⅓ cup corn flour (also known as cornstarch)
⅓ cup white rice flour
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
⅓ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup canola oil
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup mashed pumpkin (or 1 large banana)

optional:
1 tsp ground wattleseed or coffee
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup chopped peanuts or other nuts
⅓ cup choc chips or chopped chocolate

Grease and line a 15 x 15 cm square cake tin (this is what I have but it was a slightly bigger tin in the original recipe). Preheat oven to 180 C.

Combine the pumpkin, oil, brown sugar oil and vanilla (if using) in a small bowl with a fork. Mix remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl and add the pumpkin mixture. Stir to combine.

Spoon into prepared tin and smooth top with the back of a spoon. Bake for 20-40 minutes, depending if you want it more fudgy (20 min) or crumbly (40 min). It should be a little cooked and crispy on top but I didn’t bother with a skewer as it is ok if fudgy inside. Cool in the tin.

On the stereo:
Electro playlist: various artists

Soup and Cake for Lunch

Yesterday I was wondering what Jarvis Cocker thought about the death of Michael Jackson. Sylvia and I had a relaxing day after a busy week. We had done a little socialising, been into my office, had her 4 month check and immunisations. But yesterday we spent most of the day at home. It was a day to hang the washing on the line, make soup and listen to talkback on the radio.

Everyone was talking about the death of Michael Jackson as though it was the most important thing to happen last week. Even more important than UteGate, our weird and wonderful Australian political scandal where the leaders of the government and opposition spent a lot of hot air telling each other to resign over cronyism and a faked email.

While I am sad when any human dies, I didn’t think the death of Michael Jackson was as momentous as some of the media commentators would have us believe. I was never a fan. Of course I tried to do the moonwalk but never even bothered to perfect it. The song I remember most fondly is Ben, a sweet song about a rat. I think I liked it particularly because it reminds me of going to see sentimental movies such as Storm Boy and Benji on school excursions. I think that Ben was also on the album my dad bought, thinking it was a woman singing!

E mentioned that no one does covers of Michael Jackson songs. No covers but I can think of a spoof that amused me when it was a hit. Weird Al Yankovic’s single Eat it was number 1 in Australia. I loved the line “Have some more yogurt, have some more spam / It doesn't matter if it's fresh or canned / Just eat it”. One of the high profile Michael Jackson stories that comes to mind for me is when Jarvis Cocker wiggled his bottom at Jacko and ended up in jail overnight. So you see why I was wondering about what Jarvis thinks now!

But when it comes to posterity, I feel that the Farrah Fawcett haircut has every bit as much claim to history as the moonwalk. It seemed sad that no one was talking about her. When I was a child Farrah Fawcett was the picture of glamour for young girls like me. So I was more saddened by her death on the same day as Jacko.

These were some of my thoughts as I listened to the radio while I ate lunch. Sylvia was kicking on the rug with her toys and I sat beside her to eat. While many days I have a dull lunch of peanut butter sandwiches, I was pleased with my efforts yesterday. I made soup and had home made cake and fruit after.

The soup was an easy one, inspired by my recent onion soup and a yen to try cooking with that beastly vegetable, celeriac. It is one of those unusual vegetables that fascinates me but I am never sure what to do with it. I had found its ugly face impossible to resist in the supermarket so I had to use it.

I roasted the vegetables and pureed them with the last of my home made stock from the freezer. I added some yoghurt but next time I might try milk or cream because the sourness of yoghurt was a little strong for the subtle root flavours, although I did like the creaminess. The celeriac had a pleasant nutty mild celery flavour. It was an easy soup to make while looking after Sylvia because it required very little attention (unlike my wee girl).

After the soup I had a slice or two of Cheese and Apple Cake. I had seen it on Not Quite Nigella. It is worth reading Lorraine’s post for the amusing reflections on historic recipes. She found this recipe in a National Trust cookbook. Lorraine used pears but I fancied apples. I omitted the almonds but have put walnuts in the recipe as I think I might use those next time.

The idea of cheese in a sweet cake intrigued me. But despite the strong smell of cheese from the cake box each time I open it, the cake does not taste as strongly of the vintage cheddar cheese as I had hoped. Nor could I taste the apple much either. In fact the cake was mostly buttery and sweet. Just E’s type of cake but not so much mine. I’d prefer the apple and cheese without the sugar. Although I did like the occasional chewy bits of cheese. It is just the right sort of cake to have for an afternoon tea with a cuppa. Or to sandwich between some soup and an apple for lunch.

Celeriac, Potato and Watercress Soup
Serves 3-4

1 celeriac, peeled and chopped
4 small potatoes, chopped
1 onion, peeled and halved
slurp of olive oil
seasoning
500ml stock
1 cup water
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bunch watercress, roughly chopped
¼ cup yoghurt or cream or milk

Place celeriac, potato, and onion in roasting dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle some seasoning over it. Roast at 220 for about an hour or til soft. Trasnfer to large saucepan. Add stock, water and garlic. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add watercress and stir a couple of minutes till wilted. Puree with hand held blender. Stir in yoghurt, cream or milk.

Cheese and Apple Cake
(Adapted from the National Trust Historic Cake Recipes via Not Quite Nigella)

125g butter
180g caster sugar
2 eggs
225g green apples (I used 2 small granny smiths), peeled
120g good cheddar grated
3 tablespoons plain yoghurt
60g chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup wholemeal spelt flour (or wheat flour)
1⅓ cups white wheat flour
⅔ cup cornflour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder

Heat the oven to gas mark 4/180 C/350 F. Grease and line a 2lb-loaf tin.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Grate apples over bowl so the juice goes in as well as the flesh. Discard the cores. Stir in cheese and yoghurt and walnuts if using. Fold in flours, bicarb soda and baking powder till just combined.

Spoon batter into the prepared tin. Bake for about 1 hour until a skewer inserted comes out cleanly. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

On the stereo:
New Wave playlist – various artists

Hellenic Republic – land of the lotus eaters

Recently we have had the pleasure of watching the two series of the 1970s British television series, the Lotus Eaters. The title is derived from Greek Mythology where those who ate from the Lotus Tree lost the desire to return home. When we first booked to eat out at Hellenic Republic in East Brunswick for E’s birthday (and Sylvia’s first restaurant meal), we made many jokes about being Lotus Eaters. Having eaten there twice this year, I can confirm that it is that good!

Hellenic Republic seems to be riding on the zeitgeist. The culinary genius behind the restaurant is George Colombaris who has become a household name in Australia thanks to his stint as a judge on Masterchef Australia. One friend recently said she would leave her husband for him. He has inspired such a following with his passion for food. We first visited in April before the Masterchef phenomenon, but when we visited last weekend with my siblings, all the staff wore t-shirts saying ‘George says, yeah’ to advertise a charity cooking event. There was no ignoring his celebrity status, which seems well-deserved when you taste the excellent cooking.

The space is furnished with an elegant minimalism. It is large and light with the kitchen open to the public and wine on tap (so my sister tells me). The menu is interpersed with choice words of wisdom from Greek mothers on the menu. Look up and you will see large fisherman baskets and rows of wooden chairs hang from the ceiling. But what catches the eye are the tables crowded with boisterous families sharing plates of good food. It nicely reflects the menu’s modern take on Greek taverna food.

The service was excellent. The staff were friendly, prompt and ready to help with any query. Visiting with a baby in a capsule and also with my nephew who needed a high chair posed no problems. And the prices were quite reasonable for the quality of the food.

On both visits with family, we arrived first and, by the time the group had arrived, I had the order ready. It is a menu made for sharing plates of food. On E’s birthday my mum was a little late but my dad had taken the wrong train and didn’t arrive until champagne was being served. Excellent timing!

We had a lovely spread of pita bread, tzatziki, kefalograviera saganaki (grilled haloumi served warm with peppered figs), fasolakia (green beans with feta and pine nuts), patzari (beetroot roasted in cumin served with yoghurt), gemista (vegetables stuffed with a herbed rice) and krokos yaourti briam - greek vegetable stew with saffron yoghurt. Stand out dishes were the saganaki which was sizzling hot and crisp, and the wonderful textures and flavours of crisp green beans with pine nuts and feta. We didn’t have dessert on that night as E’s birthday cake was waiting at home.

Last weekend, we had already ordered the olive, pita bread and melitzanosalata (eggplant dip) before my brother Andy arrived with Erica and baby Cooper, and had almost finished it by the time my sister Fran and her partner John blew in. I was too hungry to wait. E was most displeased that I ordered eggplant dip because it is not his favourite vegetable but he gallantly tried it. He pronounced it superb. The dip was silky smooth and smoky and tasted a treat with the wonderful soft chargrilled pita bread.

Since our last visit I had seen the tiganites patates on other blogs and they looked like the most delicious crispiest chippies which came in a cute claypot lined with retro printed paper. So they were high on my priorities this time. They were as good as I had hoped. I also had to have the green beans with pine nuts and feta again. We also ordered the domathakia (stuffed vine leaves) and lots of lamb spit, pita bread, saganaki and tzatziki. I mention the lamb spit because I hesitated when I asked the waitress if I had ordered enough and she suggested two rather than one lamb spits. Not a good decision for a vegetarian to make! The rest of the table agreed with her and E – emboldened by his eggplant discovery – overcame his lamb-aversion and found he loved the dish.

I was ready for dessert this time. Possibly because Sylvia, who had slept through her first visit, decided she needed to be in my arms this visit and take it all in. This is great if you are trying to reduce your calories, because a baby in arms slows down the eating. Admittedly, I didn’t do too badly.

We ordered loukoumades (greek donuts with nuts and attiki honey) and baklava yianniotiko. The baklava was heavy with walnuts and sugar rather than many layers of pastry soaked in honey. Not my favourite baklava, especially when I bit into the decorative clove. But I loved the donuts. I wasn’t keen after the syrup soaked donuts at Baba. Fortunately Fran had ordered the Hellenic Republic doughnuts before and recommended them. They were crispy fried balls with a fluffy inside (almost as good as the Victoria Market doughnuts) served with a pool of honey at the bottom of the plate. It was heavenly to dip the doughnuts into.

I am looking forward to another visit to Hellenic Republic. Two excellent meals there have firmly fixed it in my memory as the land of lotus eaters. In years to come, Sylvia can be proud of this being her first restaurant outing.

Hellenic Republic
434 Lygon Street
Brunswick East 3057
Tel: 03 9381 1222
http://www.hellenicrepublic.com.au/

The Amazing Chocolate Cake in a Mug

A few nights back E needed chocolate and I needed little encouragement to try a new chocolate cake recipe. We both had boring snoring work to do on our laptops and I had a mind to avoid mine more than he did. Besides Sylvia wouldn’t sleep so I had her with me in her harness.

E had already decided he would have a hot chocolate but there was no milk. Then he spied the nutella jar but it was empty. So I thought I would surprise him. There are very few cakes that I would attempt to make while carrying Sylvia about. But a 5 minute cake in a mug was possible.

Yes, you heard right! I thought it was a typo when I saw Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella (and yes she of the Ultimate Chocolate Cake Event) posting a Chocolate Mug Cake. Surely she meant to type Chocolate Mud Cake, I thought! I was wrong. She mixed and cooked the cake in the mug in the microwave and ate it with a spoon. Simplicity itself.

When I first tried it, I used yoghurt and decided to make a version with no baking powder. (See the photo below.) Note it came away from the side of the cup when I cooked it 2 minutes but did not in the other photos when I cooked it 1½ minutes. Lorraine’s photo of the cake with baking powder looked like it had exploded in the microwave. But it was a little dense and the yoghurt flavour wasn’t quite right.

Tonight I made it again with milk, less sugar, less cocoa and self raising flour (if you don’t have self-raising flour you just need about half a teaspoon of baking powder). It was excellent. Light, fluffy, chocolatey and even a little undercooked on the bottom, which didn’t matter in a warm cake.

We ate it with spoons with Bach playing in the background. As an aside, one of E’s favourite DVD series at the moment is Classical Destinations. It is a travel show which visits sites with links to famous composers. This week we watched the one about Bach and he raced straight out to buy some of the works featured on the show. As an aside to the aside, my grandfather told us that we are related to Bach so I feel a particular affinity to his music.

Enough asides. Back to the cake. E was most impressed to have a cake appear beside him on the desk. He didn’t finish it the first time when it was a little heavy. But tonight, when I hoped I might have to help him, he ate it all.

I am sure I will be making it again. In fact, this is a dangerous discovery. This must be the ultimate quick-fix chocolate cake! Perfect for cravings, heartbreak and spontaneous dinner parties. Bad for those trying to follow a healthy diet. You don’t even expend much energy doing dishes. This warm chocolate cake is all too easy and tempting. The only saving grace is that it makes such fortunately small portions. Go on. Try it. I dare you to resist!

Chocolate Mug Cake
(adapted from Not Quite Nigella)
Makes 2

4 tablespoons self raising flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 heaped tablespoon Dutch cocoa
4 tablespoons chocolate chips
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
1 egg

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Lorraine just mixed it in the two mugs to avoid any more dishes than necessary. I used the tablespoon measure to mix which was my contribution towards minimal dishes. Divide batter between two microwave oven proof mugs (no greasing needed). Lorraine put gladwrap (cling film) on hers but I kept forgetting and it cooked ok without it.

Place one cup at a time in the microwave for 1½ to 2 minutes on medium or 50% power. Check after 1 minute and 1½ minutes to see if the cake looks cooked, given that the cake will continue to cook just a little when it comes out.

Cool 5-10 minutes and eat with a spoon. You can serve this with cream or my favourite honey and cinnamon yoghurt but it tastes delicious unadorned.

On the stereo:
J.S. Bach’s St Matthews Passion (Highlights)