Belated Christmas Post

What is a christmas feast without a christmas pudding?
But what do to when your christmas season is actually 40 degree celcius, and the family is not a big fan to the rich traditional christmas pudding in this weather?! Well, a Panettone pudding is the answer. Panettone is a buttery fruit bread, that is widely available during the christmas month, the italian eat it like a fruit toast, but it can also be made into very delicious dessert like the panettone pudding. I like to invest in a good quality one from my local deli, with extra fruits and liqeur.

Christmas Panettone Pudding

Ingrediant:

• 700g panettone
• 30g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
• 50g Apricot Jam ( or more )
• 50ml Rum
• 50ml Cointreau
• 600ml Milk
• 600ml Thincken Cream
• 4 eggs
• 125g sugar
• 100g almond flacks
• 150g red currents
• icing sugar

Method:

1. Remove the top and bottom bits of the Panettone, thickly slice the panettone, so it's about 1cm thick. You can cut the bread into any shape you like, i cut mine into triangular in shape.
2. Preheave the oven to 170 degree celcius, lightly grease a 1.5 litre oven proof dish.
3. Lightly spread jam and butter on each slice of panettone, lay slices, slightly overlapping, to fill the dish.
4. In a big jug, whisk the milk, cream, eggs, sugar and liquer together until combine. Pour the custard mixture over the panettone, until it is completly covered.
5. Let the pudding soak for at least 15 mins before put it in the oven.
6. Scatter almond flakes on top of the pudding, and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 mins, or until set.
7. Cool the pudding in the dish slighly, and decorated it with red current. Dusting if off with icing sugar, serve warm with store bought brandy custard.

It can also be serve cold, if the mercury is rising!!

My Fav Cake

Carrot cake have always been my favourite cake, but i have not lay my hand to bake any because i was so afraid that i would fail. But as sydney weather suddenly change from 45 degree to 16 degree in just 1 day, i decided to start my 2009 baking with my fav cake. To my relieve, this cake is so yummy that i polish it off about half myself!! and the frosting is the best frosting ever!! The best part is that it is virtually like baking a muffin, ( no beating, no creaming, just add wet ingrediant into dry ingrediant ). I strongly suggest that you try to bake this if you're a carrot cake lover like me!

Maple Carrot Cake

Ingrediants for the cake:
-200g ( about 2 ) carrots, finely grated
-1 cup SR flour
-1/2 cup P Flour
-1 tsp bicarb soda
-1 tsp ground cinnamon ( more if you like cinnamon)
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-3 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingrediants for the frosting:
-250g cream cheese ( I like to use the lightest version, taste wise, it really doesn't make much diffrence, but your waist line will thank you for that! )
-2 big tbsp of Maply Syrup
-4 big tbsp of icing sugar
-100g pecan nuts for decoration

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degree celcius. Grease and line a 20cm round cake pan.
   Sift SR flour, P flour, bicarb soda, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
2. In another bowl, or a big jug, combine the vegetable oil, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla. whisk together until combine.
3. Gently pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stir until just combine. Fold in the finely grated carrots.
4. Pour cake mixture into the cake pan, smooth surface with the back of spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
5. Cool the cake in pan, and remove cake from pan while cool. Leave the cake to cool completely.
6. To make the frosting, just combine the soften creamcheese, maple syrup and icing sugar together, and chilled it in the fridge for about 10 mins.
7. To assemble, cut the cake in half horizontally, spread the frosting on top of the cut-side, and sandwitch the 2 cake together. Frost the top side of the cake with the remaining frosting and decorated it with peacan nuts. ( or your desired nuts )

The cake is very moist and soft, and it taste even better the next day!!!!