Red Velvet Cake

Published article Monday 1^st April 2013 featuring myself in the April/May issue of “Xcite” C.ex Group Magazine presenting my “Red Velvet Cake” is displayed below with story and recipe.

This is my modern version of this classic American cake with the addition of marble white chocolate and click here to see the technique for marble chocolate.

Chocolate Marbled Tiles

Marbled chocolate can be used to enhance a cake or a dessert and only your imagination limits your choices. Break the chocolate into pieces and place them around a cake or as a decorative piece for a dessert.

Graham Cracker

The original graham cracker was made with graham flour which is a combination of finely ground unbleached wheat flour containing the wheat bran and germ coarsely ground which is then added back in providing nutrition and flavor. Graham crackers were created by Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham in 1829 in New Jersey and the biscuits started out as unsweetened or mildly sweetened, however they are commonly known as a sugar biscuit.

Chicken à la King

This is a classic American dish consisting of diced chicken, mushrooms, green peppers and pimientos in a cream sherry sauce served on toast. Traditionally this recipe contained green bell pepper but you can use green peas instead and an alternative to toast is a use puff pastry shell. Whichever way you serve this dish it is a brilliant comfort food packed full of flavours and here is my current version.

Ice Cold Angel Cocktail

This is a supreme and delicious cool summer afternoon cocktail and is also a great mocktail without the rum.

Avocado and Dill Dip

This is a very healthy and good versatile dip, easy and quick to make when unexpected guests arrive.

Hot Cross Scones

At Easter it is normal to eat hot cross buns, but these scones are much easier to make and deliver the same flavours.

Grissini Breadsticks

These classic Italian breadsticks are normally the size of a pencil and crispy. The legend tells us a baker (Lanzo Torinese) created these sticks in northern Italy. Pizza dough can be used to make these breadsticks however dryer dough is normally preferred. The dough is rolled out by hand and placed on baking trays and seasoned. Grissini are often presented at the table in restaurants as an appetizer or combined with ingredients such as prosciutto in an antipasto plate.

Baked Eggs with Passata, Bocconcini and Basil

Passata di pomodoro is an Italian uncooked tomato puree without skin and seeds. A number of these tomato sauces are chunky and others are smooth. It is an incredibly versatile cooking ingredient used in soups, stews and sauces and many other dishes. I am using a smooth passata for this recipe.

Red Velvet Gateau

Red Velvet cake is traditionally a bright red or red brown colour layered cake with a cream cheese filling and the reddish colour is achieved by adding red food colour. Classic ingredients are buttermilk, butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder and beetroot or red food coloring. The reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa and also keeps the cake moist and light. The red color would have been more pronounced before the alkaline Dutch Processed cocoa powder was widely available. The modern popularity of this cake is also credited to the 1989 movie Steel Magnolias in which the groom’s cake, which is a southern American tradition, is a red velvet cake. At present the cake again has become more and more popular in any form and shape.

Piri Piri Chicken with Potato Rosti and Tomato Salsa

Piri Piri is a hot spice mixture suggestive of the famous sauce from Portugal with a rich and unique blend of warm earthy spices, lemon, lime, herbs and vegetables bringing a spicy, tangy character to chicken and fish dishes. So turn up the heat with this Piri Piri chicken with potato rosti and tomato salsa dish.

Classic Drinking Chocolate

A traditional warm drink containing chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon the original unique way it in which it was served was with a stick of cinnamon in the cup, the hot chocolate poured delivering a calming drink.

Potato Rosti

Rösti or Röschti is a classic Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes and is normally served to accompany other dishes. Rösti is made with cooked or raw coarsely grated potato and depending on the frying technique other fats are added such as butter seasoned with salt and pepper. If no fat is used, oil or butter need to be used for the frying. The grated potato mixture is shaped into rounds generally measuring between 3 and 12 cm in diameter and 1 to 2 cm thick. Rösti is frequently formed inside the frying pan and pan fried, but can also be baked in the oven. Although basic rösti consists of nothing but potato, extra ingredients are occasionally added, such as bacon, onion, cheese, apple or fresh herbs.

English Digestive Biscuits

This classic biscuits were produced in the late 19th century when they were created to increase fiber in people’s diet. They are delicious with a cup of tea or coffee and excellent to use crumbled and mixed with butter as a base for sweet cheesecakes.

Apple Cinnamon Tea Scones

These scones are made with a classic combination of apple and cinnamon and excellent with a cup of tea.

Oysters Kilpatrick

This seafood dish is extremely popular in Australia and is featured on many menus all year around. As they say “The world is your oyster” you either love or hate them or are perplexed by their derivation. There is an abundance of variations of this dish, nevertheless they all contain oysters, bacon and Worcestershire sauce. I would recommend using a hot grill or broiler to avoid overcooking the oysters. The recipe appeared in 1968 “The Margaret Fulton Cookbook”. The tangy spicy taste of Oysters Kilpatrick are an old favorite way of eating oysters and the myth tells us that it is of Irish origin. The bacon is finely chopped and sautéed until crisp in its own fat. Breadcrumbs are added and the mixture spooned over oysters in their shell and grilled. Oysters Kilpatrick is served with a sauce made by mixing double cream with some Worcestershire sauce. In Ireland, the best oysters come from Galway Bay and a popular way to serve them is in a steak and kidney pie.

It is hard to find the origin of Oysters Kilpatrick, however the legend tells us Paddy was a youthful and hard working Irishman dwelling in a coastal village in Ireland. Daily he would pole a heavy old punt out to sea then work a heavy iron grapple to bring up the sand oysters which he sold to the local ice works. He was a man of regular habits and always arrived home each day at a certain time. Sadly, Paddy did not realise the heavy grappling was taking a toll on a faulty heart. One day he failed to come home, so his wife contacted the Police to investigate. They rowed out and found Paddy dead in the punt beside him a huge grapple full of oysters he'd tried to hoist aboard. Next day headlines in the 'Irish Times Newspaper' said... 

"OYSTERS KILL PATRICK"

This is the popular way of making this dish

Coffee and Walnut Gateau

This is a gorgeous tasty coffee cake appropriate for any celebration as a dessert.

Tenderloin Roast with Thyme Mash and Pink Peppercorn Sauce

Roasting beef tenderloin is sometimes a challenge that only experienced cooks would undertake as it is one of the most expensive cuts of beef and also one of the least forgiving. A tenderloin roast demands precision compared to a stew that can cook for hours. When the roast is properly cooked with a seared surface like a radiant mahogany colour, a tender center and running with beefy juices, it is one of the most regal, festive and complete enjoyable meat a cook could serve. The leftover roast beef can be used for sandwiches with thickly added creamy horseradish and onion, reason enough to attempt cooking this fillet roast.

Beef tenderloin cooks quickly and you can rub it down with salt, garlic or herbs and let it rest in the fridge overnight or even a couple of hours ahead this technique will bring out its deep beefy flavour. Sear it thoroughly all over and once the meat is burnished transfer the pan to the oven and let it finish roasting. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the middle of the meat and when the meat reaches 58ºC take it out of the oven and let it rest before carving.

Daiquiri Cocktail

The unique Daiquiri was a mixture of rum, lime and sugar served over ice. The Daiquiri has developed into a sub family of drinks such as Martini and Margarita. The common denominator is rum, lime and a sweetener, though from there anything goes such as mixed in the blender, extra fruit or herbs. Constantino Ribalagua, the bartender at Havana’s La Floridita was nicknamed La Catedral del Daiquiri and blended the drink with shaved ice creating the frozen daiquiri. This was Ernest Hemingway favourite drink and Ribalagua created a sugarless Papa Dobles for Papa Hemingway. He apparently could wade a dozen of these at one sitting and of course standing is not an option after a dozen frozen daiquiris.

Thyme and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I absolutely love the flavour, texture and appearance of any well made potato mash and this mash is great served with beef roast.

Lemon and Fruit of the Forest Quick Bread

This pleasant sweet bread is easy to make with a crumb similar to a cake and is perfect for breakfast or morning tea.

Spicy Caraway and Spring Onion Cheese Scones

This is an incredibly full of flavour savoury scone and is excellent for in between snacks or as accompaniment to a soup.

Baked Eggs with Bacon Capsicum and Parsley

Shirred eggs are a classic breakfast dish and a wonderful alternative to any breakfast containing eggs. Baked eggs can both a comforting and stylish dish. For individual servings of baked eggs use any ceramic baking dishes such as ramekins, cups or soufflé dishes which are suitable to hold the eggs with other ingredients. The eggs can be baked nestled in other foods such as rice, vegetables or sauces, however these ingredients should be heated before the eggs are added for faster and even cooking. Simply make indentations in the food with the back of a spoon and place the eggs.

Chicken Roulade Medallions

The poached chicken roulade in this recipe is sliced and lightly fried in butter.

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Dip

This is a straightforward easy salmon dip you can make in 60 seconds in a food processor.

Alligator Cocktail

This is a very nice refreshing cocktail for a hot summer day.

Chicken and Mushroom pie

This is an excellent pie with crispy pastry and tastes great with potatoes of any kind or shape.

Chicken and Mushroom Casserole

Chicken always works well together with mushrooms in a dish and this dish is enhanced with the addition of tomatoes.

Cheese Mustard and Parsley Scones

These savoury cheese scones are excellent in between snacks or as accompaniments to a meal.

Fruit of the Forest Mousse Cake

The excellent flavours of strawberry, blackberries and strawberries in combination with chocolate, cream and sponge truly express themselves in this cake. The decoration is inspired by the way I decorate my Black Forest Cake.

Salmon Cream Cheese filled Choux Pastry Swan

This is an excellent first course with an array of flavours including avocado, smoked salmon, cheese and fire roasted red capsicum.

Fire Roasted Red Capsicum Dip

This excellent dip is also great as a spread for sandwiches.