Tropical Fruit Cakes

Why Tropical Fruit Cakes?

The first seasons peaches are popping up in fruit shops and mangos are starting to fill the shelves.

The sweet smell of warm weather fruit is one of the first signs that months of barmy weather are on the way.

Based on a classic carrot cake recipe, with the addition of passionfruit, pecans and coconut, these cakes are easy to make - with only one bowl needed.

Like all good carrot cake recipes, these cakes are super moist, topped with a smear of cream cheese icing, but tastier with the addition of sweet passionfruit and toasted coconut.

You can easily make these cakes into one cake by substituting the cake patties for a 23cm spring form cake tin.

Ingredients
250ml sunflower oil
220g caster sugar
3 eggs
250g self raising flour, sifted
1 carrot, grated
zest of 1 lime
zest of 1 orange
pulp of 3 passionfruit
50g shredded coconut, toasted
60g pecans, roughly chopped

Icing
pulp of 4 passionfruit
3 tablespoons caster sugar
50g unsalted butter, very soft
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup icing sugar, sifted


Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place 24 medium patty cases on a tray or resting in a muffin tray (alternatively line a 23cm spring from cake tin).

In a bowl add the oil and caster sugar and whisk to combine. Add the eggs and whisk until incorporated. Fold in the flour followed by the carrot, citrus zest, passionfruit, coconut and pecans. Stir to combine but make sure to not over work.

Divide the mixture amongst the patty cases filling halfway.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Alternatively bake the whole cakes for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, in a small saucepan combine the passionfruit pulp and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the passionfruit is syrupy.

Take off the heat and allow to cool.

In the meantime, in the bowl of an electric beater, place the butter and icing sugar. Beat for 5-8 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Divide the icing amongst the cool cakes and drizzle with ½ teaspoon of passionfruit syrup.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Bon Appetite.

Make Your Own... Cheats Pizza

With our every increasingly busy lives it is important not to forget about the important things in life – good food.

At the end of a long day, I find it more than important to have a tasty meal that takes minutes to prepare.

A cheats pizza is the answer. Pita bread makes a perfect base - that is crispy and crunchy and puffs in the oven like a real pizza dough.

While simple to prepare, you can make this pizza as simple or gourmet as you like.

Try Gorgonzola and caramelised onion with rocket, or paper thin sliced potato with rosemary, pecorino and finished with truffle oil.


Ingredients
4 small Lebanese bread (wholemeal is my favourite)
2 tablespoons pesto
1 cup grated mozzarella
½ cup grated Parmesan
4 slices pancetta
2 vine ripened tomatoes, sliced in wedges
torn radicchio leaves
extra virgin olive oil

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C.

Line two baking trays with foil. Lay 2 pitta breads on each baking tray leaving 3 cm at least between each.

Divide pita breads with pesto making sure to leave a 1.5 cm border around the edge. Scatter with two thirds of the cheeses and top with torn pancetta slices.

Cover with remaining cheese and place in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the pita bread is crisp and golden and the cheese starts to bubble.

Remove and top with tomato wedges, radicchio leaves and a drizzle of oil.

Season and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Bon Appetite

Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

Why Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork?

I love slow cooking – the meat is always tender and the flavour incredible. While I love slow cooking for both the flavour and ritual (the waiting game of checking on the dish, covering it with more juices and giving it lots of tender loving care), I like most of us do not have such valuable time.

Let me introduce the pressure cooker. A somewhat forgotten piece of kitchen equipment - that if used correctly will give tender and deliciously tasty results in record time.

One of my favourite dishes to cook in the pressure cooker is pulled pork. Perfect in winter mopped up with its own juices and just as tasty in the warmer months in a crusty bread roll.

Pulled pork is an America barbecue favourite. Traditionally a pork shoulder, bone in, that is brined for 8-12 hours and then cooked very slowly for up to 12 hours, regularly being brushed with a home made barbecue rub until the meat is tender and pulls apart with a fork.

Best eaten with its pans juices on a crusty white bread roll, pulled pork is dish to become obsessed with.

My pressure cooker version is just as good if not better because it marinates and cooks with 11/2 hours!

Ingredients
1 standard pressure cooker
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
¾ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons cider or white vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 x 330 ml bottle beer
1 x 2 kilo boneless pork shoulder
white crusty bread rolls

Grind the spices together in a spice grinder until fine. In a large bowl mix together the ground spices, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons ketchup, vinegar, garlic and beer. Season well with salt and pepper.


Cut your pork in half to fit comfortably in your pressure cooker.

Place the pork in the marinade and rub to cover. Refrigerate and leave to marinade for 20 minutes.

Place a metal steamer or small wire rack on the bottom of your pressure cooker. This will prevent the pork stewing in the marinade and sticking to the bottom of the pot.

After the pork as marinaded add to the pressure cooker with all the marinade. Top with 1 cup of water and place over a medium heat.

When the liquid comes to a simmer cover with the lid and turn the heat to medium low ( or until your pressure cooker reaches medium high pressure.

Cook for 1 hour.

Turn off the heat and cool until pressure has reduced.

When safe to open the lid remove the pork and the metal steamer.

Skim off any fat from the marinade and return to a medium heat. Add the remaining tomato ketchup and simmer for 10- 15 minutes, stirring, until the sauce is a little thickened. (There will be more than enough barbecue sauce for all of the meat – for a quicker version reserve 2 tablespoons and reduce with a tablespoon of tomato ketchup until slightly thickened.)

Meanwhile remove the fat from the pork and discard.

Using two forks or your fingers shred the meat and place in a bowl. Pour over as much barbecue sauce as desired and serve in a crusty white bread roll drizzled with more barbecue sauce.

Divide left over meat in freezer bags with sauce and freeze for up to 1 month.


Will make enough pork for up to 8 medium bread rolls

Bon Appetite