I love citrus flavoured cakes. I love how grated peels bring freshness and aroma while baking in the oven. Often times, citrus makes cakes a little less rich than they actually are. I have baked a number of citrus based cakes in past (see here and here) and they all turned to be wonderful morning tea cakes and/or afternoon pick-me-up. In addition to adding citrus in my cakes, I have grown fond of substituting butter with cooking oil. Don’t get me wrong, I still love butter. However as a spontaneous baker, the process of softening or melting butter can feel like a chore sometimes. You probably realize that I don’t have many baking recipes that require softened butter on this blog. I’m afraid to say that I’m not a purist when it comes to baking.
I came across this wonderful recipe from Gourmet Traveller on Lemon and Olive Oil loaf cake. The ingredient list is simple and it is something I can whip up whenever I feel like a break from my week days routine. Yesterday, I felt the need to bake for relaxation. It was a nice end to a hectic day with a fragrant and moist loaf cake.
Lemon, Poppy Seed & Olive Oil Loaf Cake
Recipe tweaked slightly from Gourmet Traveller
(Fits a standard sized loaf tin)
What you’ll need:-
- 200g (7 ounces) caster (fine) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk
- 250 ml (1 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice and finely grated rind of 2 lemons (about 300g)
- 300 gm (2 cups) plain flour, sieved ** I did not sieved mine
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds *optional*
- Icing sugar for dusting *which I have omitted*
plus a handheld electric mixer
Method:-
Preheat oven to 180C. Using a handheld electric mixer, whisk sugar, eggs and a pinch of salt until thick and pale (3-4 minutes). Set aside. In a large jug, combine milk, oil, lemon juice and rind and whisk to combine (Note – Don’t be alarmed that the milk appears to be curdled after adding the lemon juice. It happens when you mix milk and lemon juice together and it does not affect the texture of the cake). Gradually add milk-oil mixture to egg mixture, whisking until just combined. Using a spatula, fold through flour and baking powder. It’s okay if there are small lumps in the batter. Transfer the batter to a baking paper lined loaf tin (make sure you grease the uncovered surface with some olive oil) and bake until golden and cooked through for 55 minutes to an hour. Cool in tins (5 minutes), then transfer to a flat plate. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature. It is best eaten on day of making.
Written on
June 4, 2013 by
Emily
My previous posts have been fairly meaty so I thought it would be good time for me to jam pack more vegetables in our diet as well as on my blog.
My modus operandi with vegetables is stir fry with garlic and oyster sauce. Yawn. I know.
But, do not worry, I won’t bore with garlic and oyster sauce vegetable stir fry. Not today anyway ha!
I love Thai green curry, mainly because I love all kinds of coconut-based curries. A tablespoon of Thai green curry paste and 210 ml (7 fl ounces) of light coconut milk are all you’ll need to make 600g (21 ounces) of green vegetables to taste out of this world. A comforting bowl of vibrant and crunchy green vegetables infused in flavourful coconut broth, can I ask for one more bowl please?
I almost wrote this is down as a vegetarian dish. However, a lot of store bought Thai green curry paste contain fish sauce, which is not vegetarian friendly obviously. I have managed to find a brand that does not have any seafood product. For non-vegetarians, you can add brown sugar and fish sauce to amp up the flavouring of the curry. As for vegetarians, salt and brown sugar should do the trick. The brand I used was Thai Gourmet (the link here is to show how the bottle looks like – please note I did not get the paste from this website) which is available in most chained supermarkets in Australia. A tablespoon of this brand’s green curry paste is sufficiently spicy and flavourful. So I feel there is no need to add any more fish sauce or brown sugar.
Thai Green Curry with Sugar Snaps, Asparagus & Broccolini
2 to 3 servings with rice
What you’ll need:-
- Cooking oil – I used canola oil
- 200g (7 ounces) asparagus, trimmed & sliced diagonally into 3 parts
- 200g (7 ounces) sugar snaps, deveined
- 200g (7 ounces) broccolini, trimmed & sliced into 3 parts
- A pinch of salt
- 2 tbsps of water
- 1 tbsp Thai green curry paste (adjust to taste) – I used Thai Gourmet brand
- 210ml (7 ounces) light coconut milk – I used Ayam Brand
- A handful of fresh basil (about 7g/ 0.2 ounce)
- Sliced red chilli as garnish – optional
Method:-
Add a little oil onto a large pan. When the oil is fairly hot, add asparagus, sugar snaps, broccolini and water with a pinch of salt and saute until the vegetables are slightly tender and become vibrant green. Transfer the vegetables onto a plate and set aside. In the same pan, saute the Thai green curry paste over low heat until fragrant. I will not add oil at this point because there is already oil in the paste. Stir in the coconut milk and turn the flame to medium-high until it starts to boil. Turn the flame to low and mix the vegetables in the coconut broth. Allow the vegetables to cook in the broth to your desired tenderness. Turn off the flame and stir in the basil. Garnish with some sliced chilli before serving. Serve immediately with rice.
Written on
May 28, 2013 by
Emily
fussfreecooking
fussfreecooking
