Upside-down Chocolate Caramel Nut Cake

Irresistible.  All our forbidden treats in one totally yummy chocolate cake. Take it from me, it is scrumptious.

upside-down chocolate caramel nut cake

It was tea party time again and I wanted to do something nice for my faithful little group – we have been meeting for nigh on 15 years and these girlfriends are very special. 

teatime

We have lost one of our number to faraway Canada and another, still here, has a superpowered job at a top high school so always has meetings.  But the 5 of us who remain  love to get together: the drill is basically 2 tuzlu/savoury, and 2 tatlı/sweet. Not that we stuff ourselves but we enjoy experimenting and talking recipes. And the husbands just love the leftovers....

I have been lusting to make this recipe
I have been lusting to make this recipe ever since my aunt gave me this fabulous cookbook on my very last day in Australia: Northern Beaches Cooks. I should say ever since I spied the picture in this book. It uses three types of nuts including macadamia which we don’t get here. Never mind, I said to myself. I will just substitute hazelnuts. And it was just fine. Although with macadamia it is probably even better. You do need to have the brown sugar though: white will not work.

Ingredients for Upside-down Chocolate Caramel Cake 

Serves 12

(Can be made one day ahead)

125g butter, chopped

1 cup/200g firmly packed brown sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup/150g self-raising flour (in Turkey, my friends all say kekun works perfectly)

¼ cup/40g plain flour

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/3 cup/35g cocoa powder

100g dark chocolate, melted

¾ cup/180 ml milk

Caramel nut topping

40g butter

¼ cup/50g firmly packed brown sugar

2 tbsp pure cream

2 tbsp chopped unsalted macadamias (or hazelnuts)

2 tbsp chopped pistachios

2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Double cream to serve (optional)

upside-down chocolate caramel nut cake

Method

·        Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a deep 20cm round cake pan and line with non-stick paper.

·        For the caramel nut topping: combine butter, sugar and cream in a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil then remove from heat. Pour caramel mixture over the base of the prepared pan.

·        Combine nuts on a baking tray and roast in oven for 5 mins or until golden brown. Sprinkle over the caramel and freeze while preparing the cake mixture.

 



the nutty topping



 

·        For the cake mixture: beat the butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer for 5 mins or until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.

·        Stir in sifted flours, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa.

here they are ....

 

Add chocolate and milk  and mix until combined. Pour cake mixture over the caramel nut topping.

a beautiful batter

·        Bake in oven for 1hr 10mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Stand in tin for 15 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

·        Serve with a dollop of cream if desired.



<>

 

thanks to Ros Moore who contributed this recipe to
Northern Beaches Cooks - I love it, Ros!



I actually served this cake with beautiful fresh tarla ie from the field strawberries!

Afiyet olsun!

Bahçevan Köftesi or Gardener's Meatballs

Back from London and back to much simpler fare! But also back to much warmer temperatures, blue skies, and what’s more, NO RAIN!

bahçevan köftesi/gardener's meatballs

So here we are again in Istanbul:

This year’s snail-like advance into spring still signifies a giant leap forward in terms of vegetables. I feel like saying a heartfelt so long, farewell to spinach and turp or turnips, for example, and can hardly wait for those summer courgettes, aubergines and especially those big fat juicy tomatoes. But I am too impatient: still a bit to go before those appear.

a typical selection of tencere yemek
 at a little place in Beyoğlu

This recipe is one of those veggie combos that Turkish cuisine excels at.  Those of us who live in Turkey are familiar with colourful local esnaf restaurants that serve tencere yemek or trayfuls of different dishes and display them with joy in their windows at lunchtime. This dish is like one of those: eminently expandable, economical, and with a taste that gets better the longer it waits.

I

 think the name of it, Bahçevan Köftesi – Gardener’s Meatballs -  just sounds so fresh and appetizing, a joy not only to behold but to eat after our weeks, no months, of lentils, chickpeas and the like!  You will also see the very similar Bahçevan Kebabı made with small pieces of lamb or mutton instead of the köfte.

Ingredients for Bahçevan Köftesi or Gardener’s Meatballs

(adapted from 'Cibalikapı - a traditional Istanbul tavern')

Serves 6

200g minced beef or lamb

1 small onion, finely chopped in the food processor

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 sprigs parsley, chopped finely

1 egg

2 tbsp finely crushed breadcrumbs

1 tbsp breadcrumbs

⅛ tsp cumin/kimyon

⅛ tsp red pepper flakes/pul biberi

⅛ tsp allspice/yeni bahar

⅛ tsp dried thyme/kekik

Freshly ground black pepper and salt

For the stew:

1 med potato, cubed

1 med aubergine, peeled in strips and chopped in chunks

1 med onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 med carrot, diced



preparing the vegetables

1 tsp tomato paste/domates salçası

2 med tomatoes, chopped (I used a jar of my own bottled tomatoes)

1 lt/4 cups hot water

¼ cup cooked peas (fresh, tinned or frozen)

2 long green peppers (çarliston biberi), seeds removed, chopped

Olive oil for frying

Method

·        Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F.

·        Place meat and onion in a mixing bowl. Add garlic, spices, egg, breadcrumbs, and parsley.



all the ingredients for the köfte

Knead ingredients together well. Form meatballs by rolling into walnut-sized balls. Place onto a greased oven tray and bake for 20 mins.

about to go in the oven

·        NB You could also fry the meatballs if you prefer.

For the stew:

·        Fry potato and aubergine in hot oil then set aside.

like this

Fry onion in the same olive oil until golden.  You may have to add more oil. Add garlic, stir and add carrots. Sweat carrots a bit, add tomato paste and cubed tomatoes and continue to stir. After vegetables absorb tomato paste, add water and cook for 10 mins. Add peas and green pepper, and cook for 5-10 mins. Transfer vegetables and liquid to an ovenproof serving dish, and add the meatballs.

here it all is

·        Bake for 20 mins and let stand for 10 mins before serving. The excess liquid will be absorbed.

·        Serve with rice and salad.

delicious gardener's köfte

Comments

1.     I thought the liquid was going to be far too much but after I let the dish sit for a while, it was nicely absorbed into the meat and vegetables.

2.     I think the recipe is too fastidious in specifying ⅛ tsp for all those spices. Use your judgment and add accordingly. You will know instinctively just how much to add.

This is an easy and tasty dish that the family will love! Try it, why don't you?

Afiyet olsun! 

London, a Pork Chop and Me

pork chop on a bed of coleslaw

This is what I had for lunch today.

I didn’t cook it. Instead I ordered it, anticipated it, gazed at it, ordered mustard for it, and then demolished it........mmmmmmmmm.

For those of us who live in Turkey, we do get used to not having pork but we don’t forget it. Oh no we don’t!

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
The Sainsbury Wing is to the left, just out of this picture.

So here we are in London just for a few days. Today we met one of TT’s longlost cousins for lunch in the National Dining Room, the Sainsbury Wing, at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I recommend it highly: just look at the menu for a start:

today's seasonal menu

Very seasonal and oh so English. You can see what I chose at a glance!  I have no idea what spelt is though. Maybe I missed something there? The place is great, service excellent (we had a Greek Cypriot waiter!) and the food just what it promises.

TT had the delicately presented starter below: scallop carpaccio with blood orange and nasturtiums. Actually, now I look at it, I see a tiny pansy and some pomegranate seeds too.

it's pretty, isn't it?

It ‘s great to be in London again but the weather is diabolical: it has rained and rained all day. Thank goodness we brought a brolly!

a very wet Trafalgar Square



The National Dining Room, the Sainsbury Wing:

what a great place for lunch on a rainy day!

Piyaz: a Traditional Bean Salad

piyaz

For an authentic accompaniment to kuru köfte, the recipe for which is here, you should try piyaz.

It’s true you will see köfte everywhere served with chips, and garnished with a slice of red tomato and a green pepper, true harmony on a plate, but they go beautifully with this bean salad which will always be on offer in  köftecis, traditional köfte places.

Now, Turkish salads may be miracles of freshness and seasonality, but very often the dressing, if any, is a let down. The classic is olive oil and lemon juice with salt and pepper usually added at the table. But I nearly always find that there is something lacking in the combination and it’s disappointing.

Here is where piyaz differs: the most important ingredient after the beans of course, is VINEGAR! The beans soak in it for a couple of hours and this combined with the other ingredients gives it a really zingy taste. It couldn’t be easier once all the right ones have been assembled and prepared, including boiling a couple of eggs: the end result is a delicious colourful salad ready to serve alongside any grilled meat but especially Turkish köftes!

delicious freshly-made piyaz

 I have made piyaz using both the dried beans and a tin of pre-cooked white beans. Which one was a)easier b)better? Yes, go for the tin every time and save yourself a whole lot of time and bother. Buy several in fact, get the large size, and keep them in the store cupboard for a rainy day. Ideal for when you are called upon to ‘bring a dish’!

Piyaz: Bean Salad

Serves 6

1 large tin pre-cooked white beans, drained

½  cup vinegar

1 onion, sliced very finely

1 large tomato, chopped or sliced, or 4-5 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced (I used a çarliston biberi, a long sweet one)

the chopped green pepper and sliced onion

12 black olives

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup olive oil

Salt to taste

Method

·        Place the drained beans in a bowl and pour the vinegar over them. Leave for 2 -3  hours depending on time. Drain.

·      Take the slices of onion and sprinkle with salt. Knead the onion and salt with your hands so that the bitter juices are released. Place in a sieve and rinse under cold running water. With your hand, squeeze out the remaining water. NB this is a time-honoured Turkish way of treating onions and I recommend it.

·        Add the onion, parsley, pepper to the drained beans and season with salt.  Pour the olive oil on top. Arrange the bean mixture on a salad plate and garnish with the tomatoes, the sliced pepper, olives and eggs.

It’s as easy as that!

piyaz

Afiyet olsun!

What to do with Artichokes or Enginar

an enginarcı at the Selami Çeşme pazarı, my local Monday market

Everything may be a bit late this year but enginar or artichokes are indeed ripe and out there, readily available on street corners and at the markets alike.  Do you know them? Here in Turkey or at least Istanbul, they are beautifully prepared and sold ready-to-go in plastic bags full of lemon water to prevent them from discolouring.  Right now they cost between 2.50TL- 3.00TL for one. They are a real delicacy with a subtle taste that we never tire of.

Turkish-style, there is just one way to prepare them which is zeytinyağlı: I have nothing to say against it. In fact, I am doing this myself every 10 days or so at home these days. Click here to find out how to do it.

classic zeytinyağlı enginar/artichokes in olive oil

 The other traditional seasonal way is to cook them with bakla or broad beans. For this recipe, click here.

BUT change is in the air: radical, this. Generally speaking, Turks like their food done in the time-honoured way and ne’er a deviation shall there be. So when I happened to be at the very popular Divan Pub by the Marina in Kalamış with a couple of friends a few days ago, I was delighted to see that they were celebrating Enginar Günleri or  Artichoke Days. Actually it's on for the whole month of April so you can still catch it.

A few words about Divan: the name has a very definite upmarket ring to it. This particular branch has the most desirable position right by the sea and you feel pretty special to be sitting there enjoying it all basking in the sun as we were.  In a way, Divan is one of those people-watching places ...not cheap but worth it once in a while.

I loved the fact that the artichokes were being prepared in slightly different ways, like this:

you can see clearly that the artichoke hearts have been cooked first and then grilled

grilled artichoke with rocket salad

 artichoke carpaccio which I had  - and enjoyed although I did
feel there could have been more enginar!

 
The other choices were enginar dolması - artichokes stuffed with the usual rice dolma filling, and a grilled artichoke soup which sounded interesting as it had pistachios in it. Unfortunately I couldn't persuade either of my friends to have it!

I was really delighted to see the delicious enginar being used in more creative ways which we can easily try at home.

Why not buy some today and prepare them differently for a change?

Or, of course, go to Divan and eat them there while you can!

Afiyet olsun!

Jaffa Drizzle Loaf

This is one cake I am really going to rave about.

Just look at this picture: how does it look?

jaffa drizzle loaf

It was every bit as it looks: light as a feather, delicious, moist, and just the kind of cake you want to bake – and serve! Make it today, now!

How do you feel when you spot a recipe that appeals to you on all levels? I instinctively feel that I just have to make it! I love making cakes and that’s when it becomes disastrous for our waistlines.  It’s better to have friends coming round .... or into the freezer it goes. It’s kind of like off with his head ...

just right for your table: jaffa drizzle cake

So  I made this and it was just great. If you are having friends or family round this Easter weekend, I highly recommend adding this cake to your teatime table or sofra as they would say in Turkish. The recipe comes from a special little supplement from BBC Good Food April 2012. As you know, I am a keen fan of their recipes which is why I didn’t hesitate.

Ingredients for Jaffa Drizzle Loaf

Serves 8 – 10

140g/5oz butter, softened

200g/7oz self-raising flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

200g/7oz golden caster sugar ( as usual, I used regular toz şeker)

3 large eggs at room temperature

6 tbsp milk

Finely grated zest 1 large orange

TO FINISH

3 tbsp orange juice

50g/2oz golden caster sugar

50g/2oz dark chocolate

Method

·        Pre-heat oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.

·        Butter and line the base of a 1.2 litre loaf tin. Put all of the cake ingredients into a bowl and beat with a hand whisk or wooden spoon for 3-5 mins, until light and fluffy. Spoon the mix into the tin and level the top.

adding the 3 eggs to the rest of the ingredients

the mix is spooned into the prepared tin and is now awaiting the oven

·        Bake for 40-50 mins, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Meanwhile, gently heat the orange juice and sugar in a small pan, stirring until dissolved. When the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and spoon over the orange mix. Leave to cool in the tin, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

the cake after being drizzled with the orange mix

·        Break up the chocolate and melt over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave on Medium in 30 sec bursts. Drizzle over the cake and leave to set.

iced and ready to serve!



afiyet olsun!



Make it today! You and the family will love it!