Dont ever give up! Donna Hay Chocolate Layer Cake

Since its easter and easter always reminds me of Chocolate, i thought i would do a flash back to the Donna Hay Chocolate Layer Cake. The Cake of all Cakes, the cake that nearly got the better of me. But i didn't back down i was going to master this cake.

I am going to share the link for the recipe with you and give you some hints.
http://www.masterchef.com.au/four-tier-chocolate-layer-cake.htm

I originally followed the recipe from the 50th Issue Donna Hay Mag but i cant find that link to share with you. So i found the Masterchef version instead- notice there are hardly any steps to recipe? It wasn't until i saw Donna Hay hosting a masterclass on Masterchef that all the hidden steps where revealed!

My first attempt tasted amazing and looked not so amazing it was limp and looked like the leaning tower of cake. You can ask my good friends Jassie Fizzle Out and Kris Eye is for Image just how sad it looked. I was so embarrassed that they even saw the cake- they popped over and i had lost track of time.
I gave them a quick taste and threw it in the bin, even thou they told me not too.

If you want this cake to be a masterpiece you need to add the following steps.
1. Make for cakes instead of 2
2. Slightly freeze the cakes and cake the tops off.
3. So you don't get any cake breaking off while spreading the icing, use cake 1 upright, cake 2 upside down, cake 3 upside down and cake 4 upside down.
4. Measure out your icing equally.
5. Place it in centre and in soft motions work it to once cm from the rim

The result:

I could have bought a really cool cake, that would have costs less and not taken up a 2 whole days but the comments i got from friends and family was totally worth it- plus i think mine looks better than the masterchefs link ;)

Give it a crack for Easter!

Easy Peasy Japanesey (Cheap Eats)

Ingredients:

Beef (Fillet Steak)
Zucchini (Cubed)
Mushrooms (Sliced)
White Cabbage (Sliced)
Sushi Rice
Rice Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce Marinade or Home Made (see below)

Salad Dressing
Japanese Mayo
Thousand Island Dressing
Mirin (Sweet Cooking Sauce)

Teriyaki Sauce (Home Made)
30g Caster Sugar
2 TBLS Japanese Soy Sauce
2 TBLS Japanese Saki
2 TBLS Mirin (Sweet Cooking Sauce)
2 TBLS Sesame Seeds

Added Extras: Garlic and Chilli

Notes: Initially you spend a little bit buying all of the Japanese ingredients but once you have them they will last ages, try and get to an Asian grocer as you will save quite a bit. We eat this meal every week without fail. If you have a rice cooker and a wok i recommend using them. If not, try microwavable rice it works every time and a really hot pan. It may look like a lot but once you have made this once you can do it in sleep.

I make my own sauces now but i used to buy everything ready to go in a packet, for an extra 2 minutes effort you can really taste the difference in making your own sauces. Give it a go, just remember to TASTE.

Instructions:
If you are making your own sauces, start with the Teriyaki.

Teriyaki Sauce: Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together- if you are adding Chilli and Garlic do so now. Slice the beef into thin slices, pop it in with the sauce and set aside.

Salad Dressing:
Two Large Squirts of Jap Mayo, One Medium Squirt of Thousand Island and 1TBLS of Mirin- Stir Well.

Veggies:
Slice the Mushrooms (I buy already sliced mushrooms lazy), cube Zucchini put in a bowl and set aside. Slice/Shred Cabbage on a 45 degree angle put in another bowl and drizzle with Rice Vinegar & Mirin- dont not add the dressing yet.

Cooking:
The Rice takes the longest to cook so put that on before you do anything else, if you have a rice cooker it will keep warm until you need it otherwise pop it in the microwave with minutes to go from completing the dish.

Add 1/2tsp of Sesame Oil to a Wok/Hot Pan, add Zucchini & Mushroom with a dash of Soy Sauce and stir fry for about 3 minutes, take out of Wok/Pan. Get the Wok/Pan hot again add the Beef and stir fry for 5 minutes to get the sauce nice and sticky.

Now that everything is ready its time to plate up, i call this style of plating 4 corners as there is something different in each corner of the plate. Don't forget to add your Salad Dressing!!!

Beef Pops (Beef & Pineapple Skewers)

Ingredients:
Diced Beef
Fresh Pineapple
Bunch of Parsley
Garlic
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
S&P
Bamboo Skewers

Dice the Beef & Pineapple to your liking (i prefer big even chunks 2cmx2cm)
In a food processor blitz: half a cup of olive oil, bunch of parsley, 2 Garlic Cloves & 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar with a pinch of S&P.

Mix half the mixture in with the Beef and put in the fridge to marinate for 3hrs. Once the beef has marinated assemble the Beef and Pineapple on the skewers and BBQ to your liking (i like it medium, which is about 3 minutes each side.) Serve on a plate, drizzle the other half of the marinate over the skewers or serve as a dipper.

Hints:
Vegetarian- Replace the Beef with Tofu or Button Mushrooms
The Beef Pops are even more delicious cooked the day before and served cold

Let me introduce.

This blog will mainly showcase 2 things:
Being the Lady of the House (cooking, cleaning, shopping, entertaining)
Operating Dash Gold Coast   (my small speciality events company)


The reason i am starting this blog is because of my life long friend Fizzle Out thanks for the push lovely!