As aforementioned, Sunday was the day o’ three baked goodies, with the rosewater sponge being the best rated by all who ate it.

I followed Feast on Scraps’ recipe, which was really simple. It’s basically an adapted sponge, which rises really well and as Laura wrote, it makes for a bloody big cake. All the more to eat, mmm. Definitely don’t scrimp when pouring the boiled rosewater syrup on before icing it — it makes it more moist, and certainly adds to the flavour.

There was a slight change to mine, however — I actually followed Hummingbird Bakery’s cream cheese icing recipe rather than Laura’s, as I was running low on caster sugar by that stage. Their recipe as follows:

300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold

I just rinsed a whole lemon of its juice, grated in some rind, and bob was indeed my uncle.

Why a picture of a jug of roses for this post? Well would you believe me when I said the cake disappeared so quickly that I forgot to take a snap of it?

Nonetheless! Thanks to the generosity of Moro’s chefs, I can make them all at home! And cook I did, with the dark chocolate and apricot tart. They said you can use the apricot paste “amradeen,” found in Lebanese shops, but I chose to chop up dried apricots finely instead.

While the recipe calls for 180g of apricots, I actually used 500g — I wanted a really strong taste to match the bitterness of the dark chocolate layer, and after scoffing half the tart since making it, I’m so glad I did.

No, wait — it was only a third of the tart, as I gave our neighbour two slices. Phew — conscience saved!

For this recipe, you’ll need to have created a sweet pastry shell beforehand. Moro’s recipe calls for:

140g plain flour
30g icing sugar
75g butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk

Flour and icing sugar should be sifted together, then mixed together with the butter thrown in. When it resembles breadcrumbs, throw in the egg yolk and add some milk if it looks too dry. Shape into a ball, wrap in clingwrap, and stick in the fridge for an hour. When that hour’s up, grate the pastry into a greased tin, and then pop it in the fridge for half an hour. Once the time is up, stick it in an oven at 220 degrees, for 10 – 15 mins.

Filling recipe:

180g apricot paste, or dried apricots. I used 500g, which I strongly recommend.
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
135g unsalted butter
110g dark chocolate
2 large eggs
60g caster sugar

Chop dried apricots finely, and pop in a small saucepan along with the water and lemon juice. Simmer for five minutes or so, until it gets smoother and more paste-like. If you’re using the paste, do the same thing. Then, puree in a blender until it’s smoother. I didn’t worry too much about getting all the lumps out, as wanted some texture. Spread the paste onto the cool tart shell, and leave to set for 15 mins or so.

Prepare a bain marie with two saucepans, and place the chocolate and butter in the top saucepan. While it’s melting, whisk the eggs and sugar together until light, and then fold into the chocolate mix. Once fully melted and mixed, spoon it over the apricot tart, and bake in the oven for 25 mins, at 180 degrees. I gave pulled mine out a little early, and it had a nice wobble to it. The first night, I served warm with creme fraiche, and the next day (after it had been in the fridge) it was even better served cold.

This is definitely one of the better desserts I’ve made, and has soared straight up to the top of my baking repertoire. It’s also lit a firecracker under my backside, as I’m now desperate to make a date at Moro (or its tapas little brother, Morito) with Gemma and Darika ASAP.

]]> http://katherinehannaford.com/2011/01/03/food-diaries-moros-dark-chocolate-and-apricot-tart/feed/ 3 http://katherinehannaford.com/2010/10/18/recipe-sweet-potato-and-aubergine-subji/ http://katherinehannaford.com/2010/10/18/recipe-sweet-potato-and-aubergine-subji/#comments Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:06:22 +0000 Kat Hannaford http://katherinehannaford.com/?p=140 Continue reading →]]> The literary highlight of my month is, without a doubt, the Observer Food Monthly. I rip that plastic wrap off with unrestrained glee, and get busy flipping through the pages, tearing out recipes for my scrapbooks whether I’m in bed, in the pub, or in the bath. Nigel Slater and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are personal favourites, but I do love the various guest chefs they trot out.

Yesterday’s was less recipe, and more OFM Monthly Awards — which was a tad disappointing, but the Best Reader’s Recipe caught my eye. Sadly it hasn’t been uploaded yet to the website, but until then you can get it here via my condensed rehash. I’ll pop a link in when it’s finally online.

Maya Glaser’s Sweet Potato and Aubergine Subji With Red Onion and Coriander Raita

Recipe says enough for 2 – 3 people, but I think it’d serve four.

It took me about an hour to make, but I had to scurry around four different shops for over half an hour, trying to find garam masala and ground cardamom! It’s a very easy recipe, but I would suggest ensuring you had all the ingredients ready before starting.

It’s not too hot, with the raita tempering it slightly. I’m not a fan of onions (let me rephrase that: I LOVE onions but onions don’t love me — I get horrible stomach cramps), so went easy on them, but by all means, go for it if you can handle them!

Curry ingredients:

2x medium onions
4x garlic cloves, crushed
small chunk of garlic
1tsp cumin seeds
1 – 2 green chili peppers, chopped
dash of olive oil
2tsp garam masala
2sp turmeric
1/2tsp ground cardamom (I used cardamom pods, and just mortar ‘n pestle’d them)
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
handful coriander, chopped
1x large aubergine, chopped into cubes
2x sweet potatoes, chopped into cubes
2 handfuls spinach, chopped

Raita ingredients:

half pot natural yoghurt
1/2 garlic clove
1/2 red onion
handful coriander
squeeze lemon

Method:

Fry onions, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds and chili in olive oil.
Stir in garam masala, turmeric and cardamom, then chopped tomatoes and half the coriander.
Simmer 5 – 10 mins, add aubergine. Simmer for 20 mins, then add sweet potato. Simmer for further 20 mins.
Add spinach, simmer until wilted. Add coriander.

Meanwhile, make the raita by combining the yoghurt, garlic, red onion and coriander with squeeze of lemon in bowl.

Serve with rice (but don’t let it get gluggy like mine went…I got sidetracked watching an episode of Kath & Kim. Whoops!) and perhaps a naan if you’re feeling naughty.

Christina’s Domestic Sluttery recipe for smoked garlic and mushroom risotto looked very decent and easy to make, however as we’re a strict no-white-wine household, I had to use some merlot we had lying about. I usually only use red wine in mushroom or beetroot risottos, as it makes it a more cloying, winter-suitable risotto. While it’s late-May, I could sense some bad weather coming last night, so it made us feel pretty snug.

Instead of using parmesan cheese like Christina’s recipe called for, I used goat’s cheese. I also roasted up some portobello mushrooms for the side, and boiled some English asparagus. Over the top of the asparagus I drizzled some Australian truffle oil. It’s expensive stuff, and we’re down to our last bottle (I’ve already request Mum bring over a bulk lot when they arrive in a few weeks), but it really suits asparagus well.

Quick (for risotto), and very easy. Certainly made watching the last episode of Lost a heck of a lot better. (And the leftover risotto was excellent the next day, shaped into fritters, rolled in plain flour, and fried in oil. I even put a fried egg on top of Jim’s cakes).

Link: Christina’s Domestic Sluttery risotto recipe.