Bottle gourd stir fry

Filipino cuisine is making waves around the globe which makes me proud.  Just recently, I wrote a post about a pop-up afternoon stand up event in Sydney delighted the palates of the locals with the introduction of classic savoury and sweet Filipino dishes. There's quite a few of these Filipino restaurants now in Sydney and it's getting a good following from locals, not just fellow Filos or Pinoys as we usually called ourselves. 

The well known amongst the community is La Mesa along Goulbourn Street, Haymarket.  It has been around since 2002 and previously located in Dee Why.  In 2012 they moved to Haymarket and have since created a good following of locals and tourists.  The decor is reminiscent of an old fashioned Filipino home - a mix of contemporary and classic Filipiniana decor.  The serving platters are all home-grown Filipino vessels flown from the Philippines. Sizzling Fillo in Lidcombe boasts of authentic Filipino dishes served in big portions enough to share amongst 3-4 people. The place invites locals and those who will travel a few kilometres to partake of the generous servings and Saturday night karaoke.  Eating and singing - two of Filipinos favourite things to do.  Sizzling Fillo also boasts of a regular "boodle feast"- a buffet of selected classics served on "your" table on a bed of banana leaves.



My favourite is Cafe Manila in Kirribilli - a small cozy cafe serving traditional Filipino dishes suited to the western palate - leaning away from traditional starchy dishes and the portions are just right. The interior is very minimalist and the tables are quite small creating an intimate experience for the diners. Chef Ricky Ocampo is always in the house serving up dishes with a smile as if you are a guest at his home. The menu is lean and the food is well presented on the plate.  Chef Ricky is one of local Filipino featured in the SBS Food Safari Filpino Food.


Another one in north shore is Pamana Cafe and Filipino Restaurant in Chatswood.  The place is cafe style with tables for two, up to ten.  The menu is more extensive with a range dishes from breakfast to dinner, entree to desserts -  a variety of traditional Filipino dishes both savoury and sweet.  They also offer "boodle feast" on select days. Although the location is quite away from pedestrian traffic, it has since opening in 2013 gathered a local following.


Now this dish is not something you'd see in any of the menus from these restaurants.  This is a super simple dish that's not worthy of a restaurant feature but definitely worth the 30 minutes that you spend to cook it. The thing with Filipino dishes is, if its easy enough to cook at home, you won't find it at restaurants.  We (Filipinos) when at these restaurants, usually order dishes we seldom cook at home, or not at all.


Bottle gourd is an indigenous vegetable in the East Asian region.  It is commonly called "upo" in the Philippines or calabash in some western countries.  The bottle gourd has a lot of health benefits and in some countries, they juice is used to encourage weight loss.


I love the simplicity of this dish.  Almost pedestrian.  You only need 5 basic ingredients.  And can even make it vegetarian by omitting the pork.


Here goes.

Ingredients

250-300 grams pork, cut into cubes

1 piece bottle gourd, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 cup water

1 tablespoon cooking oil

salt and pepper to taste

fish sauce (optional)

Method

In a medium sized skillet, heat the oil and cook the pork pieces until crispy.  Set aside.

In the same pan, saute the onions and garlic and cook until fragrant, not burned.

Add the tomatoes and stir until soft.

Add the bottle gourd slices and water and bring to boil.

Season with salt and pepper, or fish sauce is using. Season to your taste.

Turn down heat and simmer until the goured is soft and cooked.

Add the crispy pork slices on top.

Disclaimer: The feature on the mentioned restaurants is a simple feedback from the writer's experience dining at these establishments.  Dining at the restaurants were to the writer's own expense.  This is not a paid feature.  The feature is written to assist locals and tourists who may be looking for Filipino restaurants within Sydney metropolitan. 

The "Baked" gluten free brownies with raspberries

I'm a sucker for brownies.  And brownie recipes.  There can never be just ONE brownie recipe and I thought that I will never reach my limit for trying new ones.   Until I found this.  345g of pure dark chocolate goodness with some espresso mixed in and voila!  I've struck gold through my social network!

I only found this "Baked" brownie recipe through Selina who I virtually met on Instagram and makes these brownies by the hundreds.  Well, hundreds of squares that is.  The rich, dense, dark look of the brownies on the photos got to me.  And I could not stop thinking about these brownies until I actually bought some espresso powder and made them.  Now I don't just think of them, I make them every so often just to eat at home.  I use gluten-free flour which makes it even more dense and rich, and also add some raspberries for that sour factor.  It's sensational! 

This recipe is adapted from The Baked : New Frontiers in Baking via The Browned Eye Baker

Ingredients

1 and 1/4 cups gluten free flour*

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder*

345g dark chocolate 70% preferred, coursely chopped

250g unsalted butter, chopped into cubes

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 and 1/2 cups caster sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups frozen raspberries (optional)



Method

Preheat oven to 175*C

Grease and line the base and sides of a 9x13 pan with baking paper.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, salt and cocoa powder. 

Melt the butter, chocolate and espresso powder in a large bowl over a pot of simmering water.  Stir until the chocolate and butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Turn off heat but keep the bowl over the pot.  And add the sugars to the chocolate mixture and stir with a spatula or a whisk until completely combined.  Remove from heat.

Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and stir with a spatula until just combined. Add the remaining 2 eggs and continue to stir until eggs are incorporated into the batter.

Add the vanilla and stir.  Do not over mix.

Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture in 2 to 3, and gently fold with a spatula.

Pour onto the prepare tins. Scatter and press the raspberries on top of the batter (if using).

Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs.*

Tips and tricks:

* If you prefer the original version, use equal amounts of plain flour.  I used the local (Woolworths) brand gluten free flour which is a combination of tapioca starch, maize, corn and rice flour.

* I usually don't test with a skewer but when the top looks matte-like (not shiny) I take them out of th oven.  

Chicken curry - Filipino style

About three months ago, we went back to Manila to attend a much awaited wedding in the family.  The wedding was beautiful and everyone, and I mean every single person,  was in tears - (actually bawling-like-a-baby is a better description) as the doors to the church opened and the beautiful bride started her slow walk to the altar.  Right then and there, time seemed to have stopped and the march down the aisle happened like in a movie - slow motion and the camera focus is on the bride and the rest are just a hazy background.  My girls were part of the entourage as junior bridesmaids, and my oldest was one of the readers in the mass.  We knew of the wedding months back, but originally hubby was the only one attending purely for economic reasons.  He was booked for months ahead.   A week before the wedding, we took out the credit card and booked the whole family.  What the heck!  Weddings only happen once and family is important and this is a big day!  It was a magical day.


Fast forward to the trip, we also booked a few days to HK  (Disneyland included) and the girls were thrilled.  We don't often get to go on holidays because of hubby's work schedule and it was a welcome energizer to relax and just enjoy the trip.   Of course while in Manila, we ate all the food we missed, went to historical places for the girls' benefit, caught with family and friends.  A grand time doing simple things.  


Don't you love it when spur of the moment decisions become real?  Sometimes, we don't need to plan too much.  We just go with the ebb and flow of where our emotions take us and trust that everything will turn out magical.


Back to this simple recipe for a Filipino style chicken curry.  This is one that we always eat at home.  I've brought this to potluck lunches and at work and they are always a hit.  Another dish which people ask the recipe for.  So here it is.
 

Ingredients

1k chicken thigh fillets, sliced into portion sizes

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (or any cooking oil)

1 onion, sliced

2-3 knobs ginger, finely jullienned

2-3 teaspoons curry powder*

1 can 400ml coconut milk

2 medium sized potatoes, cubed

2 carrots, cubed

1 red capsicum, cubed

fresh corianer for garnish

Method

In a large bowl, coat the chicken thigh fillets with the turmeric powder.  Let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

 Using a large shallow skillet or pan, heat the oil then cook the onions and ginger until soft and fragrant.

Add the chicken fillets and sear until slightly brown.

Add the curry powder and stir to coat the chicken fillets.

Add the coconut milk, stir and bring to a boil.

Add the vegetables, stir and then bring to a boil.  

As soon as it boils, turn down heat to a LOW simmer, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, take off lid and continue to simmer for another 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice.

Tips and tricks:

* You can use other chicken parts (breast, wings, drumsticks), but adjust cooking time.

* Option to add dried chillies when serving or fresh chillies for a spicy and hot version.

* Add more or less curry powder to suit your liking.  I have used Keen's and Hoyts both Australian brands and the tastes is always the same.  Please note that the curry powder for this recipe is the not the Thai yellow curry paste. 

* You can completely make this vegan / vegetarian by omitting the chicken and just use purely vegetables.  You can add sweet potato, cauliflower, eggplant or zucchini. 

Browned butter M&M and chocolate chip cookies (gluten free version)

 

A few years ago, early on in my blogging (through a different blogging platform) adventure, I wrote about my experience raising daughters and triplets for that matter.  They were still toddlers when we arrived in Australia and my eldest was 8yo.  It was a struggle adjusting to life without a nanny (called yaya back home in the Philippines) and suddenly facing the task of parenthood upfront.    Back in the PI, with a full time job and the luxury of having help around the house and with the kids, it was so easy to escape the responsibilty of being a parent, except when really necessary - taking them to their monthly pediatrician visits, attending school meetings and functions, organising birthdays, etc.    It was the standard of living for any working parent/s.   Those little milestones during the day are missed and forgotten, because we were not home.  We were both working.  

When we moved to Australia, it was not easy.  All of a sudden, I had to deal with my tween's dramas and the toddlers' tantrums, when all I had in my head was the idea of playing at home, dabbling with playdough and paint, quitely helping with homework, preparing home cooked meals, a spic and span home and all around having a grand fun time.  I must have had the idea of a 50s housewife wearing my hair in a bun and donning an apron with homebaked cookies wafting in the air from the kitchen oven.  Of course, there were a lot of dramas and crying and not wanting to go to school, not wanting to drink milk, potty training, dealing with getting sick, cleaning up after getting sick, dealing with the ups and downs of girl hormones - pre-teen and then teenhood, and more. 

Now that the girls are maturing, there is less yelling in our home and more conversations. Their beautiful personalities are coming through and they are they own person.  My eldest now 17 year old has slowly adjusted to her monthly hormonal roller coaster and there is less angst and moans and grunts and more words exchanged.  Although I missed having to lecture her about having her period and period pains and all other growing up topcis (no thanks to Healthy Harold).  And the girls while still adjusting to tweenhood, their interests is making me and hubby jump from one fad to the next - from One Direction to Rainbow Looms, to camps and sleepovers.  

Parenting, as it is - multiples or not, is a responsibility that is beyond anything.  There's a lot of hit and miss, trial and error, and even books and so-called experts tell us we're doing something wrong or right or we're this, and we're that and that our kids will grow up needing regular psychiatric meetings.  There is a lot of parenting books out there, parenting articles saying all these and before, I used to read them all, and then compare my kids developments to others.  Bad idea.  The truth is, we (parents) each have our styles and there is no cookie-cutter approach to a single child.  Each child is unique and usually, the parent style suits the family dynamics.    

These days, I wear my hair short.  There is the aroma of cookies (and cakes, and brownies) wafting from the kitchen oven.  We play Monopoly and Boggle more and watch reruns of Friends on TV.  We watch movies together (from Frozen to 100 Foot Journey).  There is the occasional groans and I-didn't-hear-you episodes, little dramas that add spice to our family, but over all, I think we're approaching a higher order of parenting in our own little way. 

 This recipe is adapted from Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

225g salted butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups + 2 tablespoons gluten free flour*

2 (heaping) teaspoons espress powder (or coffee granules)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup mini M&Ms

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 180*C

In a bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.

Melt the half of the butter in a pan until golden (with brown bits in the bottom).  Transfer to a small bowl including all the brown bits. Do not burn.  Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the brown and caster sugar until combined.

Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and beat until mixed through.

Add the cooled melted butter and continue to beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl every now and then, until incorporated.

In three batches, add the flour mixture while continuing to beat the dough.  

Using a small ice cream scoop, or teaspoon, scoop dough onto a parchment lined (or if using silicone mat) baking tray. 

Chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.

 Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden.

     

Tips and tricks:

* I used a local (Woolworths) brand free from gluten flour which is a combination of tapioca starch, maize starch corn flour and ice flour which made for thinner and crispy cookies

* Use regular plain flour like PW if you're not avoiding gluten

* Bake in 160*C oven for longer if you prefer more golden cookies

Baked maple pears with toasted pistachios

No more whingeing around here of being too cold.  We have been blessed with warm air and clear blue skies.  And so I am catching up on some needed writing and blogging as it is the end of September, and we are halfway through to spring.  Spring cleaning at home and the backlog of recipes and photos to post.  

We have revamped our veggie garden as the seedlings planted in winter did not survive and to take the easier route, we bought some ready-to-plant veggies from the local nursery.  Hopefully, there will be some harvest of French beans, eggplants, strawberries, Habanero and birds eye chillies soon.  Our calamansi plant is finally showing some fruits after last year's drought.  This makes me very happy as any Filo would be.

And now catching up on some blog posts, this recipe is the easiest dessert there is that you can bring to any potluck party.  The idea to make this was initially to make it for a vegan at work who was retiring.  And I also brought this to a work birthday lunch and ever since, people have asked for the recipe and they have made it at home with spectacular results.   It's really easy.  I love easy dishes.  Those that you prep and then you just wait for the magic to happen.  Be it a slow braised on the stove, or a baked maple pear in the oven.  You prep it and you wait for an hour.


The recipe is adapted from an old cookbook from my shelves - Marie Clare Fresh + Fast Simply Delicious Healthy Food

To make these baked maple pears

Ingredients:

7 Corella pears, halved and cored*

3 tablespoons real maple syrup

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil*

1 cup toasted pistachios, roughly chopped

1 cup creme fraiche or whipped cream

Method

Preheat oven to 180*C

Cut a thin slice from the skin side of the pears to give them a flat surface.

Place the pears onto a shallow baking dish, skin side down.

Drizzle olive oil and the maple syrup onto the pears.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour.

The pears should be tender when a butter knife inserted comes out smoothly.

Serve with the creme fraiche or thickened cream on the side, and the toasted pistachios.

Tips and tricks:

* The original recipe called for unsalted butter to rub on the pears.  I used olive oil as I brought it for someone who is vegan.

* You can use other pear varieties. Corella pears tend to be tougher than most so it cooks for an hour.  Other pear varieties are tender and may be baked for less than an hour.

* You can make as many or as little as you like, just adjust the maple syrup to your requirements.

Gluten free fudge brownies with raspberries

A month ago, we had experienced a tragic loss in the family.  An aunt who is very close to my heart was in an accident during Typhoon Glenda in mid July, which led to her passing.  It was a matter of days and everything happened so quick that we barely had time to process it all in.  And being overseas did not make it any easier.  I was constantly on the phone with my cousins, anticipating good news after the accident, and then after the sad news came, it was a matter of waiting.  There were no wounds or scars but pain can be felt from thousands of miles away.  The day she was laid to rest, I could feel a knot in my throat, in my chest and the only comfort was tears.  Tears that kept flowing sporadically.  While cooking.  I’d be sitting in the lounge and tears just flowed.   It was hard to say good bye.  My only consolation was the time spent with her when we went to Manila the last week of May.  It was brief but full of laughs and memories that I hold onto now.  She hugged me so tight and asked me not to go back to the city yet.

I look back at how she was a big part of my life growing up.  She was the aunt who let us kids browse through her records and play ABBA on repeat, The Beatles and the Bee Gees.  Later on, she’d support us with our love for Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran and Rick Astley.   Taught us dance moves that we would use for pretend beauty pageants she’d host at her place.  She was the aunt who knows secrets you’d never tell your parents.  When I broke up with a boyfriend, she was the first one on the phone – inquiring, asking, consoling. She meant a lot to the nieces and nephews she’d help and spend time with growing up, as she did not have a family of her own.  She was single.  But had a family who loved and supported her till the very end.  She was 61.

Loss is a difficult experience and it brings out humanity’s vulnerability. For days I felt really uneasy, fearful even.  My head felt literally off centre and I found myself with bouts of anxiety – while driving, while at work, while cooking.  My thoughts were filled with so much negative energies that I felt like I could just collapse while walking or doing some chores.  All of a sudden, I am back in that dark space late 2012 when I experienced a panic attack.  It’s a dreadful place to be.  My headspace was so dark that I could only see shadows.  But I’m thankful for family and friends who unknowingly pull me up from the abyss I created for myself with the simple words and actions they do every day.  As simple as picking me up for a yoga session, or calling up to say hello.  Those surprise hugs from behind and words that say “I love you” indirectly.  I am back to meditation and yoga and walking.  It clears up my headspace and puts me in a calm state.  Baking gives me that too. And so does reading.  And writing.  Coping with loss, we move on and try to grab onto distractions to keep us busy and preoccupied with new things, not because we want to forget. But because we want to mask the pain.

So I've been trying new things in the kitchen.  Pinterest and Instagram inspires me.  There is endless talent in IG alone and there's always something new to try because someone else baked/cooked/made it.  And for weeks now, I've been trying different brownie recipes - gluten free, with fruits, with more chocolate, with more nuts, etc.  And this is one of them.



As I write this post I can still feel a subtle knot in my chest and in my throat as I remember her.   She will like this for sure.  She loves dark chocolates.

This recipe uses gluten free flour and inspired from taste.com.au

Ingredients

 200 grams dark chocolate, 70% cacao, roughly chopped

200 grams salted butter, cut into cubes

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

270 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) caster sugar

115 grams (3/4 cup) gluten flour 

(or a combination of 1/4c corn flour, 1/4c tapioca starch, 1/4c rice flour)

35 grams (1/3 cup) Nestle Plaistowe Dutch processed cocoa

1 125g punnet of raspberries, half roughly chopped the rest leave as whole

Method

Preheat oven to 160*C.

Lightly grease and line the base and sides of a square brownie pan.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, flours and cocoa powder.  Set aside.

On the stove, place a saucepan half filled with water and bring to a low simmer.

Put the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl, and place over a sauce pan making sure the base is not touching the water.  

Stir with a rubber spatula until chocolate and butter has melted into a smooth and shiny consistency. Let it cool slightly - not hot to the touch, but warm.

 In a measuring jug (or a medium sized bowl), beat the eggs and egg yolks.

Using a whisk or a wooden spoon, add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and stir until incorporated.  About a minute of mixing by hand. 

Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour onto prepared pans.

Distribute whole raspberries on top of batter and scatter and sprinkle the chopped ones.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Crumbs should cling to the skewer when you do the test.

Set aside to cool for 6 hours or overnight.

Slice into equal squares.

Tips and tricks:

* I used Nestle Plaistowe dutch processed cocoa because that's why I  had at home.  Also it makes for darker brownies.  Any cocoa variety will do.

* Any kind of fruit would work well with this brownie recipe, even nuts.  So this is a great base brownie recipe.

Hazelnut spread - homemade Nutella

We have been contemplating on getting a pet for some time.  Actually years now.  But living in a rental has its limitations.  And a pet is one of them.  Even with the good relationship we have with our real estate agent, we have not attempted to get one - for many reasons: not getting approved, costs, space, sitting when we go on holiday, etc.

This Easter we stopped contemplating and we got ducklings for the girls (the 10yos) each, from the market.  The poor little things were crammed in a box filled with about 50 of them and they looked so adorable as ducklings are. If you have been following me on Instragram, you would have seen this Easter post. - 3 ducklings (named Anchor, Buttercup and Pato - a Tagalog word for duck) and 3 chicks (named Salt, Pepper and Ginger).  They were so cute!   Well the having-a-pet-to-care for did it. It was a good exercise of responsibility for the girls. They woke up early to bring them out of the cage, hose and clean the cage, prepare some newspaper and mulch for the cage flooring, refill food and water.  And everyone was happy.  It became a happy little routine during the school holidays and early on when term 2 started.

Fast forwad the third week after Easter - one just went out.  Died.  Right before my very eyes.  One of the girls was home sick that day and we were out the back, getting some sun just sitting and admiring the cuteness.  Then Anchor just sat down, closed its eyes and never stood up.  We lifted it up and it was lifeless.  You can imagine the reaction from my daughter.  It was a mix of sadness and fear, anxiety and grief.  She cried like there was no tomorrow.  It was heart breaking.  When the two other girls came home from school, it became it even worse.  There was more loud crying, more tears, more questions, screaming.  There was grief.  Gloom.  Mourning.  For a good half hour, it was continuous.  Big sister came home and helped consoling the grief stricken.  Hubby and I were speechless.  Overwhelmed.  I cried too.  We did a small memorial out the back.  Juliana who was at home sick that day was the only one brave enough to watch as we dug a hole in the backyard and buried the poor thing.   She put down a flower.  No more loud cries, but there were tears.  That night, lots of hard questions were asked.  We tried best to answer them without adding any more tears.  There were still tears come bedtime.


After a few days, the other duck appeared to look tired and was not as active as in previous days.  That night after dinner, Buttercup sat in the cage lifeless. Not again.  So for another half hour, there was another round of intense crying, tears, screms.  There were no more questions. But the tears kept flowing.  The house was quiet. We dug another hole. 


It's been a week since and Pato is thriving, enjoying being the lone duck amongst the chicks.  They're a happy bunch of fowls, grazing in the backyard during the day, and cuddling together at night.  The girls are happy now and that episode has been put behind but never forgotten, for sure.  We hope to give them a new home soon, as the real estate agent will not allow fowls because of the possibility of pests.  The girls don't mind.  They know that whatever time left their pets have with us are happy times and moments that they can keep. 

Moving on to happier episodes.

This hazelnut spread is the best thing we've ever done in the kitchen.  We made this twice already during the school holidays.  The girls used most of it for their sandwiches as you would with Nutella, and I've used them for my hazelnut buttercream icing for a birthday cake. 

How easy?

You get some hazelnuts.

Roast them in the oven.

Skin them using tea towels or soak them in water and peel them off by hand.

Process the nuts and ingredients in a processor.

And voila!  The best hazelnut spread you'll ever need.  100% hazelnut not 13% like that famous spread you get from the supermarket.

Word of caution though.  Roasted hazelnuts are kryptonite.  It's hard to stop when you start eating them!

And this hazelnut spread?  Well, the flavour truly shines.  You might even leave that other brand for good. 

This recipe is adapted from Michelle from the food blog Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

300 grams (or 2 cups) hazelnuts

100 grams (or 1 cup) icing sugar

35 grams (or 1/3 cup) Dutch processed cocoa*

2 tablespoons vegetable oil*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes

Method

Preheat oven to 180*C and line a cookie sheet or tray with baking paper.

Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer and roast in the oven until dark brown, 10-12 minutes.

Take off from the oven and leave to cool.

Take the skins off the hazelnuts. Cool the roasted hazelnuts.  Once cooled, rub between you palms and separate the skinless ones in a separate bowl.

Place the skinless roasted hazelnuts in the food processor and process until the natural oils of the nuts are released.  4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides with a spatula every few minutes.

Add the icing sugar, cocoa powder, vegetable oil and sea salt flakes.

Continue to process until you get a smooth and glossy consistency.

Transfer into a clean sterilised jar with a tight fitting lid.

Tips and tricks

* In Australia, you can get the Nestle brand Dutch process cocoa from any local supermarket;

*  The original recipe called for hazelnut oil.  We used vegetable oil as hazelnut oil is hard to find.  I have recently found them from a wholesale shop, and they cost $16.50 for a 500ml bottle.

* To take the skins off hazelnuts takes quite a bit of time.  You can opt for several methods, including what we did, or these:

1. Using tea towels, rub the hazelnuts inside the two or one folded tea towel and rub until the skins come off;
2. Transfer the warm hazelnuts into a bowl of cold water and slip the skins off with your fingers;
3. Boil the roasted hazelnuts in a water with a mixture of baking soda, then run in cold water (we tried this option the first time, but I found it did not work for us)
4. Follow Michelle's process and place them in a bowl, cover with a same size bowl and shake until you get all the skins off.

* More detailed instructions on how to skin hazelnuts from Fine Cooking.

This hazelnut spread is so good, you would even want to eat it by the spoonful!  And here's a a thought for those homemade Christmas gifts you've been planning to make. This, is going to make you famous with friends.

And by the way, here's a pic of our happy backyard campers.  If you're in Sydney and are interested to adopt these funny and lovable feathered friends, let me konw.  We'd love for them to go to a good home.

L-R: Salt, Ginger, Pepper and Pato (duck)

Flourless chocolate cocoa cake

Birthdays always mean cake.  Whether it's for a person, a pet or a blog. 

Today is adobo down under's 6th birthday!  Well, blogiversary as its called in the blogosphere.  And what an excuse to make a special cake!  Who else needs an excuse to bake and eat cake?

Not long ago, this was just a recipe journal and it has evolved into something more.  Looking back, there has been so many learnings.  From other blogs and fellow bloggers.  From photography to writing, to styling and being obsessed with op-shopping (second hand thrift stores).  While my photography and food styling is not at par with the best of them, I'm just as happy that there's a day like this to celebrate and bake and eat cake. 

Now what cake to make?

I have been off sugar for a while now (no I have not quit sugar entirely as I still eat rice and lots of fruits) and have been cutting down on gluten (just a personal choice), I wanted to make something that's gluten free and which the girls will love.

And this flourless chocolate (espresso) cake from Martha Stewart was staring down at me from my FB timeline.   I made this cake with the espresso substituted with cocoa powder, as I don't want the girls bouncing off the walls from caffeine.  And it is indeed "flourless"!  No almond meal or any nut flour here.

Ingredients

45 grams unsalted butter

170 grams dark chocolate

6 eggs, separated

1 cup caster sugar, divided into half cups

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 170*C.  

Invert the bottom of a 22cm spring form tin.  Line the bottom and sides with baking paper and then grease the baking paper with canola spray or butter.  Set aside.

Place the chocolates and butter in a bowl.  Melt the butter and chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water until smooth.  

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until thick and pale (ribbon stage).

Add the cocoa powder, salt and continue to beat for another 1 minute.

Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and beat for another minute. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy.

Add the sugar gradually, and continue beating/whisking until stiff peaks form.

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 3 batches.

Spoon the batter into the prepare pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.  

Once cool, loosen the side of the pan with a butter knife and remove the sides.

Transfer to a serving plate and slice away.

 

This cake is rich and dense and surprisingly not so sweet.  It's the perfect pair to a good cup of coffee or tea, and to celebrate a birthday.

Happy blogiversary adobo down under!

And thanks guys!  For sharing in the celebration.  Now does anyone want cake?