Clodagh McKenna’s Orange Pistachio Yogurt Cake @NDC_ie #foodaware

clodagh orange pistachio

Yields 8 Servings
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time1 hr
Total Time1 hr 30 mins

This is one of my favourite cakes at this time of the year. It’s a much needed burst of sunshine. Deliciously light, and moist due to the natural Irish yogurt. You can make a gluten free version by simply using gluten free breadcrumbs. You can substitute the pistachios with hazelnuts, roast the hazelnuts before you add them to the cake, it enhances their flavour. It will last for one week, but not sure you will have any left for to test me on that!

To serve:

Decorate with 50g roughly chopped pistachios and the zest of one lemon on top. Serve with a dollop of natural Irish yogurt

Ingredients checklist
50 g slightly stale white breadcrumbs
100 g almonds, ground
100 g pistachios
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
150 g caster sugar
125 ml sunflower oil
200 ml natural Irish yogurt
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
Ingredients checklist for the citrus syrup
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C / Gas 5.

Grease a 20.5cm (8in) round and 5cm (2in) deep tin and then lightly dust with flour.

In a large bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, almonds, pistachios and baking powder.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs with the caster sugar. Continue to whisk while pouring in the vegetable oil, followed by the natural Irish yogurt.

 

Next stir the liquid pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the orange and lemon zest.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and into the pre-heated oven.

 

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the cake is golden brown. To ensure cake is done, insert a skewer into the center – if it’s ready, the skewer should come out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate.

 

Meanwhile, make the citrus syrup. Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan and bring gently to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely. Simmer for 10 minutes or until thick.

 

While the cake is still warm, pierce it several times with a skewer, then spoon the hot syrup over the cake, allowing it to run into the holes. Leave to cool. Spoon any excess syrup back over the cake every now and then until it is all soaked up.

 

Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top, and the zest of one orange. Serve with natural Irish yogurt

https://ndc.ie/recipe/clodaghs-orange-pistachio-yogurt-cake/

 

Flahavan’s Oaty White Chocolate Cheesecake Tart☘️ #foodaware

This dessert is oat of this world!

Serves 10|Takes 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For the base
1 & 2/3 cups of Flahavan’s Rolled Oats
1 cup of toasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup of butter, plus extra for greasing the tin
1/3 cup of soft brown sugar
1 tbsp honey

For the cheesecake topping
1 & 1/3 cups of good quality white chocolate, broken into pieces
1 & 1/4 cups of sour cream
1 cup of cream cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice

To decorate
2 tbsp Flahavan’s Rolled Oats
2 tbsp hazelnuts, roughly halved
3 tbsp soft brown sugar
½ tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup of berries of your choice – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, redcurrants or blackberries
1 ripe fig
A few thinly sliced grapes

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 320°F. Grease a 9-inch, round, straight sided tart tin with removable base and line the base with a circle of baking parchment.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter, honey and sugar for the cheesecake base over a low heat stirring until combined. Leave to cool a little.

Meanwhile, place the hazelnuts in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Mix the Flahavan’s Oats with the hazelnuts and stir in the melted butter mixture until fully combined. Press the mixture into the prepared tin using the back of a spoon and push evenly up the sides to form the crust.

Place the cheesecake base in the oven for 15 mins. Once baked, remove from the oven and smooth over the mixture again with the back of a spoon pushing the mixture up the sides again if it has slipped down.
Place the tin in the fridge to cool completely (this should take around 30 minutes).

When the base is cool, make the cheesecake filling by melting the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of hot water (making sure the base of the pan does not sit in the water). Once melted, leave to cool for 10 minutes – the chocolate should be liquid but not too hot.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and cream cheese until fully combined. Next, add in the melted chocolate and whisk.

Pour the filling over the cooled base and, using a small spatula, spread it into a smooth, even layer. Place the cheesecake in the fridge for around 6 hours, until completely set.

To decorate, start by toasting the remaining Flahavan’s Oats and hazelnuts in a small frying pan over a medium heat, moving them around the pan for approximately 3 minutes, until completely toasted and golden brown. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice, and cook for around 1 minute until fully melted and combined. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool.
Remove the tart from the tin by gently heating the edges to release it – you can do this with a cloth soaked in a little hot water – and slide the tart onto a serving plate. Gather together the berries, figs and toasted Oats and arrange as you please. Slice into wedges to serve, and enjoy

.

http://www.flahavans.com

Lemongrass Coconut Cake by Rachel Allen #foodaware


By Rachel Allen Celebrity Chef
More from
Rachel Allen’s Cake Diaries


A quirky combination. The end result? A scrumptious cake for all to enjoy.
Ingredients
4 stalks of lemongrass, base and tops trimmed, outer leaves removed but reserved for the syrup (see below)
250 g (9oz) caster sugar
4 eggs
200 g (7oz) butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
125 g (41/2 oz) desiccated coconut
125 g (41/2 oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
greek yoghurt or creme fraiche, to serve
for the syrup
reserved trimmings and outer leaves of the lemongrass (see above)
75 g (3oz) caster sugar
23cm (9in) diameter cake tin with 6cm
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F/Gas 3). Butter the sides of the cake tin and dust with flour, then line the base with a disc of baking parchment.
Slice the lemongrass stalks quite thinly into rounds about 3mm (1?8in) thick, then place in a food processor with the caster sugar and whiz for 1–2 minutes or until the lemongrass is finely puréed and very aromatic.
Add the eggs, butter and coconut and whiz again until combined, then sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the machine, whizzing very briefly just until the ingredients come together.
Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40–45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. While the cake is cooking, make the syrup.
Roughly chop the lemongrass trimmings, place in a saucepan with the sugar and 75ml (3fl oz) of water and set over a high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes before removing from the heat and leaving to infuse.
When the cake has finished baking, take it out of the oven and let it sit in the tin for 10 minutes. Loosen around the edges using a small, sharp knife and carefully remove the cake from the tin before transferring to a serving plate.
Reheat the syrup, then pierce holes all over the cake with a skewer and pour the hot syrup through a sieve onto the cake, moving the pan and sieve around as you pour so that the syrup covers the top of the cake. Allow the cake to cool down completely.
Serve with a dollop of natural Greek yoghurt or crème fraiche.

Kerrygold Rustic Raspberry Tart #foodaware

rustic rasperry tart

Serves:

4 to 6 servings

Sweetened fresh raspberries make a wonderful filling, but the star of this dessert is the buttery, flaky crust baked with all-natural Kerrygold Butter. It holds the fruit and creates a delicate tart that begs to be placed next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoyed with loved ones after a delicious meal.

Clodagh McKenna‏, My Carrot Cake with Orange Blossom frosting recipe #foodaware

Makes 1 Cake (10 portions)

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs

140ml/5floz vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

220/7oz light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

350g/12oz grated carrots, (grated weight)

100g/3½ oz golden raisins

100g/3½ oz walnuts, chopped

200g/7oz self-raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the orange blossom frosting 

300g/10½ oz cream cheese, chilled

70g/2½ oz butter, at room temperature

300g/10½ oz icing sugar, sifted

1 orange, zest only

2 teaspoons of orange blossom water

METHOD:

1.          Preheat the oven to 180°C and oil and line a 13 x 23cm loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

2.        For the carrot cake: beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, grated carrot, raisins and chopped walnuts.

3.        Sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and bring the mixture together using a wooden or large metal spoon until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If you’re using a ceramic baking dish then you’ll need to add 15 minutes to the cooking time.

4.       Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for about five minutes before removing. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

5.        For the orange blossom frosting: beat the cream cheese and butter together in a bowl until well combined. Add the icing sugar, orange blossom water and finely grated orange zest and mix until the frosting is smooth and thick. Using a palette knife, spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake, dipping the knife into a bowl of hot water if the icing is hard to spread out.

6.       Decorate with orange zest on top of the frosting.