C'Obs: Mulling over a Raspberry Mousse cake

Just before the candles are lit.
Yes that is a watermelon left rare, small but sweet

For the first time in many years I have had enough time to bake the birthday cakes, and yet Petal plead with me not to last September- 'she really didn't want me to go to any trouble and would just love a New York cheesecake from Tesco'. She didn't add 'covered in lolly decorations but I knew what she meant.

Willow, is more philosophical, doesn't even inquire, she's happy just to have the strawberries if the cake is too 'ambitious'.

Lighting her own candles is the real treat.

This attitude towards my cooking is often displayed with the comment - 'What did you do to this?' after the first mouthful or so of the evening meal. This is not said in a supportive, Darryl Kerrigan (from The Castle, a 1997 Aus film) sort of way, full of wonder at my creativity and skill. The paella(Spanish risotto) last night is a perfect example of this, buried within the perfectly tender pearls of rice glossed with turmeric, smoked paprika, peas, onions, tomatoes and garlic, there were ... artichokes! The question is routinely delivered with a sense of doom - of old favourites tampered with - of fear even. The trouble is that I get a bit bored in kitchen and I have found the only thing that motivates the production of yet more food is a bit of adaption.

This is the age for the Provisional license and Driving instruction int the UK. She can book her practical test for her full licence as soon as she feels confident. No Ps! Hopefully she won't get Noddy as her instructor.

Notice I don't go so far to say creativity - I don't have the talent, skills or knowledge to come up with new stuff - I just fiddle with other people's ideas. And birthday cakes are the perfect opportunity.

http://www.sprinklebakes.com

Willow loves the berry fruit over here so I found a Red Velvet Valentine cake from Sprinkle Bakes recipes and their Chocolate -Raspberry Bavarian Torte (http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2012/08/chocolate-raspberry-bavarian-torte.html) Robyn from addapinch.com supplied recipes for strawberry syrup and Strawberry buttercream frosting. Surely putting all these different deliousnesses together must be a wonderful thing.

*First lesson from the cake - Things that are good by themselves may not be when combined. Eg Chocolate and broccoli. (I don't think that even Jamie Oliver could pull that one off.) Luckily I had time to think about it for a couple of days and decided that it would be far too red to substitute the red velvet for the chocolate cake.

Long time fan.
This bought at their
Portabella Rd store.

**Second lesson from the cake - Procrastination can have a positive effect - time to think and delay impulse is not a bad thing. (Do not pass this on to any secondary or uni aged students)

Deciding to use a Hummingbird Bakery chocolate layer cake recipe I set about making it. The oven lies. Not having a meat thermometer I can't prove it but the evidence of bake times vs product shows that the number dialed on the thermostat is an invitation for its best effort rather than and indication of the temperature inside. It also has a hot corner - turning spongy type cakes during cooking is not really advisable.

***Third lesson from the cake - Perfect conditions are rare - make the best of what you've got. I find this lesson particularly difficult to swallow.

The next day it was time for the Mousse. I was also making an Avocado paté for the Tapas. Two things that had to be set and 'turned out'. I felt the adrenalin surge in the face of a likely oozy humiliation. To begin with a raspberry puree had to be made. Basically just jam without quite so much sugar. Straining the seeds out after a 10 min simmer was the hardest part. Gelatin was soaked in Chambord then whisked into the warm puree. When it had cooled down it was folded into whipped cream.

****Fourth lesson - Don't let the possibility of embarrassment prevent you from trying. How boring would life be without responsible risk.
*****Fifth - The easiest wrong to swallow is the little in the lot of good and if you want to get rid of it you might have to sacrifice some of the good. This is at the bottom of the alcohol dilemma for me. Some say it tastes good, it helps them relax, some have definite health benefits, helps you fit in with the crowd(not just for teens - some adults get a bit thingy if you turn down a drink too) BUT for people with sugar issues, bordering depressive tendencies or addictive personality issues - is the terrible plight of alcoholism worth it?
******Sixth - It's important to let things cool down before confrontation. Charging into a situation hot headed will melt everybody's best efforts.

The cake layers were now retrieved. Three were made for a tall cake but the imagined tower wasn't going to be. Place the first layer in a slightly larger springform tin with a circle of baking paper on the base and a collar around the side. Ladle enough raspberry mousse over the cake so that the gap between the cake and the tin is also full. Sit the next layer of cake on top of the first (topped with 1cm of mousse). Repeat the ladling. I realised that there was not going to be enough mousse to use the third layer of cake so poured all the remainder over the second. Tap the cake tin carefully on the bench to make sure there aren't any large air pockets. Cover with a double layer of clingfilm but don't let it touch the surface of the cake. Refrigerate until set (3-4 hrs).

*******Seventh lesson - Don't let your wishes, dreams or imagination ruin reality. How many times have we missed the beauty and joy around us because of discontent, disappointment and discouragement. Start with a dream but then make the best of now.
********Eighth - Plan ahead, think through the task and be prepared. The old adage, 'a poor workman blames his tools' is all very well but having the right gear is essential to do many tasks well. It is remarkable how thinking through the action improves its real performance. The wrong sized tins would have proven a disaster.
*********Ninth - Correct faults with a gentle spirit.

Prepare the topping by whipping cream with some icing sugar and enough strawberry syrup to colour and flavour the cream without losing it's fluffy consistency.

**********Tenth lesson - More is not always better.

The moment of truth! Take the set cake from the fridge and remove the cling film. Heat a knife in hot water and dry well, use it to run around the edge of the Mousse - only the top edge should still be touching the side of the tin. Unclip the spring and remove the side of the tin. Next take the cake plate and place it on top of the cake. Holding plate and the base of the tin in place firmly - inverse them. Remove the base and peel off the baking paper. Top with the prepared cream, decorate and return to the fridge until time to serve - make sure you have prepared a space before carrying it over. Lesson eight!

***********Eleventh lesson - a steady heart and a steady hand will unveil great things.

The cake was carried with candles alight to the celebration. Willow's IB friends from Impington all sang Happy Birthday in their own tongues. The Italians and Spanish use the name in stead of 'to you' every time and the German seems to manage to fit in a lot more syllables than any one else. The candles were blown, the birthday wish made, the cake cut, served and devoured.

************Twelfth lesson - Embrace the opportunities of change. Willow was sad that her closest kin and friends were not able to share in the cake but had a great time with the lovely people she has met over the last few months. Change does not mean discarding the past but opening up to more.

Be greedy for life.

Share all the best bits.

Even through the hard times you will find cause for celebration.

John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
By taking away fear and self absorption by opening our minds to a universal theme of salvation and God's original design, Jesus has allowed us to have our cake and eat it too.

After School on her birthday - Louise cake and Lolly cake made from NZ rations sent in the Christmas box

Charlie loves parcel time

Party boy in his sparkly costume

The Ingredients:
Chocolate Sponge - (70g softened unsalted butter, 350g soft light brown sugar,) creamed: add 3 large eggs one at a time, 80g 70%cocoa solids chocolate- melt and mix in, (225g plain flour, 1.1/2 tsp bicarb soda, 1/2 tsp salt) sift, (225g sour cream, 2tsp vanilla extract, 2T instant coffee up to 240ml boiling water (or same measurement of expresso)) mix. Add dry mix and wet mix alternately to creamed mix with electric beater on low until a smooth batter. 20-25mins @ 180degrees C. 3 pans for 3 layers.
Strawberry Syrup - 2C sliced fresh strawberries, 1/2 C castor sugar, 1/4 C water
Raspberry Puree - 700g frozen Raspberries, 3/4C castor sugar, 1/3C Chambord, 14g gelatin
For Mousse, whip 2C double cream and 1T icing sugar, fold in puree.

Avocado Pistachio Paté
1 1/2 C mashed avocado, 125g cream cheese, 2 green shallots chopped, 1tsp minced garlic, 1tsp lemon juice, salt and ground black pepper to taste, 6 fat, pitted Halkdiki Olives chopped, 2T chopped pistachio nuts. Process all but nuts until smooth. Line a bowl(2C capacity) with clingfilm. Press the nuts into the bottom. Spoon in the paté, smoth the top flat and tap bowl on bench to remove air pockets. Set in fridge for 3hrs, Can be made a day ahead. Serve with herb toasts.

Artichoke Dip
1 100g jar chargrilled Artichokes 1/2 drained, 400g tin cannellini beans drained, 2T mayo or 5T plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 C water cress leaves(washed). Process until creamy. Add the leaves near the end so they remain a little coarse. Serve with sesame or poppy seed crackers.

Carolyn's Mushroom Paté - no mould needed! The kids loved this too - the comment was 'finally some food that tastes of something' Apparently the bland English cooking isn't going down too well with the Europeans.

250g Dark mushrooms, 120g Butter + Dash of olive oil, salt and pepper, ¼C Chives, 2T Thyme chopped fresh leaves, 2T Whole seed mustard, 500g Cream cheese, Extra butter + neat thyme sprigs for decoration.

*Sauté sliced mushrooms in the oil and some of the butter with salt and several grinds of pepper. When brown add the remainder of the butter and melt into the mushroom mix. Leave in the pan off the heat to cool. Place cream cheese, herbs and mustard in a food processor, pour over mushroom mix. Whiz until smooth. Spoon into 4 clean 1/2C dishes. Melt extra butter without boiling – place thyme sprig on the surface of the pate and pour over butter till 2-3ml. Refrigerate for 3hrs.

This trifecta of dips(green, white and black(ish) could be used for a fundraiser for the Syrian refugees if you put them in rectangular containers and put three red stars along the middle white stripe.

Re-reading Now:

She ASKED for the beginnings of a classic library
Miranda's Bio for a little break between Dante and Homer
She's started with Greer's Female Eunuch

I Am Rosemarie by Marietta D.Moskin -

I got it through the Arrow book club (Scholastic) at Sefton Primary School in 1979.

I was so excited yesterday because a copy of my favourite book in Form 1 finally arrived after months of trying to track it down. It was reprinted after the original but is out of print again. Some copies are selling for over US$70, this is an ex library book. My original copy was lent to my headmaster in my first year of High School along with the project I did for it as an example to the following years and I didn't get them back.

This book - as gruesome as it is - opened my eyes to the plight of those suffering from abusive governments with hateful qualifications for humanity. I think it also made me realise that History happened to people and wasn't just a series of interesting stories. This book also helped me spot similar themes in the future dystopias I would enjoy reading. The best in this genre I've read in recent years is Feed by M.T.Anderson. Concerned about Consumerism and the nanny state? This book will make your wonder some more.