Our Chinese New Year feature recipe from Spice Temple - Rockpool’s January 2010 Newsletter

Rockpool News – December 2009 – Christmas Edition

Serves 8

This is an absolute cracker. Easy to make and it looks fabulous all white. There is something really alluring about fresh cake and cream — it takes me back to my childhood, when the local cake shop made all their cakes that way. Those days have long passed, sadly. Don’t look at this recipe and say ‘this is too long for me’. It involves just making a cake, stewing some fruit and whipping cream. It started out life as a quick version of Black Forest Cake, but once you have perfection, why add more cherries and lots of chocolate? Good cooking is all about knowing when to stop. You’ll love where we have stopped.

Cherries in brandy
750 g fresh cherries, pitted
250 ml brandy
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Cake
225 g unsalted butter, softened
225 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon natural almond extract
9 eggs, separated
250 g dark chocolate, coarsely grated
125 g plain flour, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
100 g ground almonds

Filling
180 ml kirsch
375ml single cream, whipped to stiff peaks

Icing
750 ml single cream
125 g icing sugar, sifted

To make the cherries in brandy, put the brandy and sugar in a pan over low heat and stir continuously, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to the boil. Add the cherries, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the cherries are quite tender, but still holding their shape. Remove the cherries from the liquid using a slotted spoon, and set them aside. Increase the heat to medium and simmer the liquid for 5–10 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has evaporated and you have a syrup (be sure to watch the syrup towards the end of the cooking time so it doesn’t burn). Toss the syrup with the cherries and set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, to make the cake, preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease three 23 cm round cake tins, and line the bases and sides with baking paper. Put the butter, 170 g of the sugar and the vanilla and almond extracts into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the egg yolks, beating until incorporated. Fold in the combined chocolate, flour, baking powder, salt and ground almonds. Beat the egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer until frothy. Add the remaining sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture in three or four batches. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake tins, and smooth out the surfaces with a spatula.

Bake the cakes for 20 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow the cakes to cool briefly, then turn out onto wire racks lined with baking paper. Cool completely.

To assemble, place one cake upside down on a cake plate. Drizzle with one-third of the kirsch, then spread with half the cream and sprinkle with half the cherries. Place another cake on top and repeat the process. Place the last cake on top, and drizzle with the remaining kirsch. For the icing, whip the cream and sugar together until soft peaks form, then frost the top and sides of the cake. You now have a big beautiful white cake. Yum!

A recipe straight from the Spice Temple menu, also featuring in our March 2009 newsletter.

Shredded Lamb with Salted Chilli at Spice Temple

SHREDDED LAMB WITH SALTED CHILLIES
Serves 4 as part of a shared banquet.

Master Stock:
650ml Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing)
225g rock sugar
315ml light soy sauce
3 litres water
50g ginger, chopped
15g garlic, sliced
15g green shallots, chopped

Bring all ingredients to the boil.

Lamb:
Trim the lamb shoulder of excess fat and place into the boiling master stock.  Braise the lamb until it is very tender, remove the pot from the heat and allow the lamb to cool in the stock.  Remove the lamb when cool and shred roughly with your fingers.

Shredded Lamb with Salted Chillies:
10g salted red chillies
30ml peanut oil
5ml sesame oil
30ml chicken stock
10ml light soy sauce
5g white sugar
5ml rice wine vinegar
3 green shallots, sliced into rounds

Place 100g of shredded lamb onto a plate and mix all other ingredients together.  Pour this mixture over the lamb and serve.

This delicious butter is ever-popular on the Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne menu, make it at home and serve it on your favourite steak.

Steak with Cafe de Paris Butter

CAFE DE PARIS BUTTER

125g unsalted butter, softened
15ml vegetable oil
1/4 white onion, finely diced
10g Indian style curry powder
1 small handful parsley leaves
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 anchovy fillets
1/2 teaspoon baby capers, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 small handful basil leaves
1 small handful thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 egg yolk

To make the butter, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and curry powder over low heat until soft and fragrant.  Set aside to cool.
Process all ingredients until just combined.  Adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Roll butter into a 4cm diameter log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
Any unused butter can be frozen if it is not going to be used within a week or so.