Gerbeaud Slice (Hungarian Zserbo)

"Gerbeaud" (Zserbo in Hungarian) is perhaps the best known pastry in Hungary and has a history of 125 years. The slice originated from the legendary Gerbeaud Cafe in the heart of Budapest, Hungary, one of the most traditional and famous cafe-confectioners in Europe. It is baked for celebrations and special occasions such as birthdays and weddings. The word "Gerbeaud" is never translated as it 'understood' that if you order it at the Gerbeaud Cafe you will know what it is. It is made up of thin, tender layers of sweet yeast dough alternating with ground walnuts and rich apricot jam. Rick Rodgers has a fabulous recipe and history of Gerbeaud in his wonderful book - Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

This is my mother-in-law's interpretation of the recipe - she doesn't use yeast. Instead she uses half self-raising flour and half plain flour. I have been making it for several years now and it is not as dry as the yeasted version. It is a little fiddly to make but well worth the effort. (The dough doesn't have any sugar as the filling is very sweet).

For the dough:

250g unsalted butter

250g self-raising flour

250g plain (all-purpose flour)

225g sour cream

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or rum.

Filling:

200g castor sugar

200g ground walnuts*

400g apricot jam**

For the chocolate couverture:

100g Callebaut bittersweet chocolate (70%), finely chopped

1/3 cup castor sugar

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Mix together the butter, sour cream, salt, rum (or vanilla) and flour. Knead for a few minutes until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into three portions. Chill for 20 to 30 minutes to make it firmer and easier to handle.

For the filling, mix the castor sugar, ground walnuts and apricot jam together. Set aside.

Now for the fiddly bit. Roll out each piece of dough to fit a lamington tin (approximately 18cm x 30cm). I draw the shape of the tin on baking paper, roll out each piece of dough to cover the shape, cut around the shape, then transfer to the tin over the back of the rolling pin, pressing the dough into the corners to fit. Alternatively, you can trim the edges neatly to fit the tin as you put it in (but not as easy as the first method).

Using the back of a large spoon, gently spread with half of the filling. The dough underneath has a tendency to move. Just push it back into place as you go. Roll out another layer of dough and fit into the pan, and spread with the remaining layer of filling. Cover with the third layer of dough. Brush the top with water and prick all over with a fork.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let it stand until it cool (over an hour). Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen any caramelization. Hold a long rack over the pan and invert to unmold the cake. Leave the cake upside down (smooth side up) and let it cool completely.

For the chocolate couverture (once the cake has cooled) in a small saucepan, bring the chocolate, sugar and water to the boil over medium heat, stirring often. Boil until a sugar thermometer reaches 104°C (220°F), 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until it is melted. Cool the chocolate couverture slightly until it just starts to thicken but is still pourable. Work a little faster here as the couverture will start to set. Let it ooze over the edges. Don't be fussy as this is trimmed off later. Refrigerate the cake until the chocolate sets.

When set, using a sharp knife dipped into hot water, trim the edges off neatly and cut into 24 pieces (The remnants are possibly the best bits as the walnuts and apricot jam mix will be caramelized and rich).

*I use vacuum packed walnuts from Australian Organic Walnut Products, so fresh and wonderful. There is no comparison with stale bitter supermarket varieties. I was using walnuts from my mother-in-laws walnut tree but due to the drought here in Victoria, Australia, the walnuts are all tiny and black in side.

**Use the best quality apricot jam you can find - one with the consistency of a jam that your grandmother would have made (lovely and thick and full of fruit).

Dulce De Leche and Walnut Brownies

I've wanted to make David Lebovitz's Dulce de Leche Brownies for some time. I also needed something nice to take along to our extended family for our Easter celebration. I just happened to have a tin of Nestlé Top'n'Fill Caramel in the pantry in anticipation of making them one day. I was ecstatic when I saw the Nestlé Top'n'Fill Caramel on the supermarket shelf. I didn't know it was available. My mum use to make caramel (dulce de leche) from Nestlé condensed milk by putting it in the pressure cooker. It's a wonder it didn't explode.

I've adapted David Lebovitz's recipe for Australian measurements.

Makes 18 pieces.

125g unsalted butter, cut into pieces

170g Callebaut bittersweet chocolate (70%), finely chopped

1/4 cup (25g unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

3 large eggs

1 cup (200g) castor sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (140g) plain flour

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

250g Nestle Top'n'Fill Caramel (dulche de leche)

Preheat the oven to 175C (350°F). Line a 18cm x 30cm tin with baking paper and grease with non-stick spray. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat then add the chocolate pieces, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Stir in the eggs one at a time then stir in the sugar, vanilla, flour and walnuts until it is all incorporated.

Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin. Drop spoonfuls of the caramel, evenly space, over the brownie mixture, swirling the caramel with the back of a knife. Spread the remaining brownie mixture over the top, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining caramel over the top and swirl slightly to get a nice pattern. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is slightly firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

If they last, they will be much nicer the next day. Delicious!

Date and Walnut Roll

I was browsing through the Australian Women's Weekly "MIX - cakes, muffins, biscuits + puddings" when I came across the Date and Walnut Rolls. I hadn't eaten this since I was a child. It reminded me of my mum and baking every Sunday. It is delightful with lashings of butter and jam.

This recipe requires two loaf tins and makes 20 slices.

60g butter

1 cup (250ml) boiling water

1 cup (180g) chopped seeded dried dates

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 cup (220g) packed brown sugar

2 cups (300g) self-raising flour

1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Butter two 8cm x 19cm nut roll tins. Line the bases with baking paper and spray the insides of the tins with non-stick baking spray.

Stir the butter and the water in a medium saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped dates and bicarbonate of soda. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined.

Place the tins upright on a baking tray, spoon the mixture into the tins (just over half way each) and replace the lids. Bake the rolls for 45 to 50 minutes. Stand for 10 minutes then remove the ends of the tins and shake tins gently to release the rolls onto a wire rack.

Cauliflower Soup

Now that the weather here in Melbourne is starting to get cool, it makes sense to cook up a batch of quick and easy soup in the evenings.

2 tablespoons butter

2 medium onions

1 clove of garlic

1 medium cauliflower

1 large potato

1 ½ liters chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

chopped broad-leaf parsley

Hungarian Paprika

Dice the onion and garlic and sautè in the butter until they are translucent. Coarsely chop the cauliflower and potato and add to the onions. Cook for a few minutes then add the stock. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the cauliflower and potato are soft, approximately 20 minutes. Using a blender, blitz the soup until it is smooth and creamy. Serve garnished with the paprika and chopped parsley.

Variation: Replace the cauliflower with broccoli and garnish the soup with grated gruyer cheese.

Hungarian Plum Dumplings (Szilvas Gomboc)

These homely, simple looking plum dumplings belie the rich combination of sweet juicy angelina plums wrapped in a soft delicious potato dough. They are boiled in salted water then rolled in buttery toasted breadcrumbs and sprinkled with icing (confectioners) sugar. They are time consuming to make but well worth the effort as can be seen by the number of posts on the Web.

My son requested these as it is part of his Hungarian heritage (Nagymama would often make them for him). I have used the lovely recipe from June Meyer's Authentic Hungarian Heirloom Recipes, a book well worth investing in. There is also a lovely blog by Maggie on Dog Hill Kitchen that has a wonderful description and great photography.

Hungarian Beigli - Celebration Cake

Beigli are the traditional Hungarian walnut or poppy seed roulades seen at Christmas time, Easter and for wedding celebrations. They have a firm tender crust, a crackled exterior and a moist filling. Extra fruit is added to the filling to give it extra moistness.

In his wonderful book - Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague - Rick Rodgers explains how the rising of the dough is carefully modulated with refrigeration to get a nice tight crumb. In the old days it would have been snowing outside and finding a nice warm place would have been harder than it is today.

I learnt to make Beigli from my Hungarian mother-in-law (Nagymama - or grandma in English) who is now 84. Nagymama didn’t have the luxury of a KitchenAid or mixer and painstakingly made 32 rolls each year.

I have taken it upon myself to bake them for the family, even though I am from an Anglo-Saxo Australian background of four generations. It has become part of my children’s heritage that they love very much. Of all my extended Hungarian family of over 50 members, only my son and one nephew have also learned to make Beigli. I am very proud of Andy and Tom for this as it is no light undertaking (even more experienced bakers suffer anxiety in front of their ovens each year - will the pastry crack, will it crumble when cut?). For this reason, if I make them for the other family members, I won’t let them have them before Christmas as they get eaten before the big day. Andy has been known to eat two whole rolls in a day before Christmas Day.

The walnut is most popular, but poppy seed lovers swear by there choice. My photo doesn't do teh beigli justice. Beigli are usually set out in alternating poppy seed and walnut layers. You need both to display nicely on the platter.

The measurements for this recipe are a little odd as Nagymama gave them to me originally as decagrams which I have adapted.

This recipe makes 4 rolls

Ingredients for the dough:

560gm plain flour

210g butter

60g icing sugar

10g fresh yeast

200ml milk (room temperature)

pinch salt

beaten egg yolk to glaze.

Mix the milk and yeast in a small bowl and leave to froth for 10 minutes. Blend butter, flour, salt and sugar then add the yeast mixture. Mix until the dough is smooth and leaves the side of bowl clean. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and let it rest for half an hour.

Roll out each piece into a 12 x 14 inch (30 x 35cm) rectangle.

Spread each piece with filling leaving a 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) border all around and roll up tightly lengthwise, pinching seems closed. Transfer, seam side down, to a baking dish with 5cm (2 inches) between rolls. Brush with the beaten egg yolk. Leave overnight in the refrigerator. Brush with egg yolk again. Let stand for egg to set then poke holes with a skewer. This is to let the steam escape while the beigli are cooking and help prevent splitting

Bake in a moderate oven 180C 30 – 45 mins or until brown. Don’t open the oven until after 20 minutes.

Make walnut beigli first as the poppy seed will make the walnut look dirty if used first.

Walnut mixture (enough for 2 rolls)

250g walnuts

1/2 cup plain sweet biscuit crumbs (or cake crumbs or bread crumbs)

250g pure icing sugar

50g raisins

1 Tbs apricot jam

100 ml milk

Put the milk in a pan with the sugar and bring to the boil. Add other ingredients. Let cool.

Poppyseed mixture (enough for 2 rolls)

250g poppyseed

1/2 cup plain sweet biscuit crumbs (or cake crumbs or bread crumbs)

250g sugar

1 Tbs apricot jam

50g raisins

100 ml milk

Put milk in a pan with sugar and bring to the boil. Add poppy seeds and raisins. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Then stir in other ingredients. Let cool.

The beigli can be stored once cooled. Don’t cut the logs until you are ready to serve them. To serve, arrange the slices on a plate slightly overlapping like roof tiles, alternating poppy seed and walnut. The rolls can be kept for up to a week wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in an airtight tin.

World's Longest Lunch 2009 - Crown Riverside, Melbourne

It's Miss Patricia's birthday (not saying which one - but it was the Big One) and we have taken her to the World's Longest Lunch 2009 at Crown Riverside - A celebration of Italian inspired cuisine - Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Presented by The Age.

On arrival we are handed a bottle S. Pelligrino and of a glass of Opheilia Sparkling. On each seat was a recyclable shopping bag from 'The Age' filled with goodies and brochures. To nibble on, there were large jars of olives, pickled peppers, and bowls of artichokes, stuffed peppers and marinated boccocini cheese with little tomatoes.

Can you spot Miss Patricia!!

Entree - an antipasto plate with proscuitto, salami, baked roma tomatoes, char-grilled vegetables, asparagus, marsala melons and shaved parmesan.

Main course - Grilled beef tenderloin with Tuscan herb crust on field mushroom and almond broccolini with cannellini bean salad.

Dessert - Zuppa Inglese with Alkermes Liqueur, candied fruit, glazed cherries and amaretto biscuit.

Beverages -

Ophelia Sparkling

Juliet Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc

Juliet Pinot Noir

Juliet Moscato

James Boag's Premium

S.Pellegrino, Acqua Panna and Sparkling Fruit Beverages

Coffex Coffee

A Sydney foodie and fellow blogger down for the day.

Musical Chefs - They don't only cook for us.

And the wine kept coming!

Italian Music while we dine.

'J' spots Jill Dupleix

What a great day for all!

Fig, Star Anise and Rosewater Jam

I've have just made Jackie Middleton's (Prahran Market's Harvest - best of the season) Fig, star anise and rosewater jam . It is divine and so quick and easy. I will be making other goodies soon to go with it which I will post.

(Jackie Middleton has asked us all to please suppport Handmade Help. They are looking for contributions to a cook book that they are putting together in aid of the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal)

Fig, star anise and rosewater jam

500g figs, rough chopped no larger than a 10c piece

500g CSR jam setter sugar (already has apple pectin and citric acid in it)

1 star anise pod

2 bay leaves

4 drops rosewater.

Cook the figs with the star anise and bay leaves gently, until the figs just start to soften and break down, stir constantly.

Add the jam sugar and cook stirring for 4 minutes.

Remove from the heat and test the setting stage.

If it is set, remove bay leaves, add the rosewater, mix well and store in sterilised jars.

Orange Sour Cream Poppy Seed Grand Marnier Cake

This is an absolutely lovely moist cake. It looks fantastic & tastes even better. I usually make this recipe as a large cake using a kugelhopf tin (8 cup/2 litre). You could also use a fluted ring tin.

I also love the idea of having individual little cakes for everyone to enjoy. It makes one feel as if it is a treat especially for you.

Large or small?

I found the Baker's Secret 12 cup mini bundt pan with the same shapes as a kugelhopf tin and fell in love with it. I had to add it to the cake tin collection of which there are already too many. As my dear friend Pat was having a party for her Big One and as we have both made this cake for ever so long, I thought having baby cakes would be a nice twist on an old favourite. The original recipe came from an old Australian Vogue Magazine from the 1980's.

Baker's Delight kugelhopf tin and mini bundt tins

I have made it recently for my daughter but I used 200g of poppy seeds (as stated in the original recipe) which made it a bit heavy, so I have gone back to using 100gm.

Orange Sour Cream Poppy Seed Grand Marnier Cake

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

3 egg yolks, beaten

200g sour cream (not light)

*grated rind of 1 orange (see note below)

1 3/4 cups (265g/8 1/2 oz) self-raising flour

100 - 200g poppy seeds

3 egg whites

pinch of salt

Syrup:

3/4 cup castor sugar

juice and zest from 2 oranges and 2 lemons

3 tablespoons Grand Marnier (or Contreau)

pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Butter and flour the tin.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter then cool it. Combine the sugar, egg yolks, sour cream and grated orange rind in the mixer bowl. Add the melted butter and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the sifted flour and poppy seeds (rather than sifting the flour, a quick alternative is to use a whisk to aerate the flour).

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold firm, but not dry peaks. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of this meringue to wet the mixture then gently fold in the rest into the mixture until it is just incorporated.

For the mini bundt tins, use a piping bag to pipe the mixture evenly into the molds, filling them 3/4 full (or turn the mixture into the kugelhopf tin if making a larger cake) . Bake the mini bundt cakes for 20 minutes (1 hour for a larger tin) or until a skewer inserted in to the centre comes out clean. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out.

Syrup:

Combine the orange and lemon juice, Grand Marnier, sugar, salt and zest in a small saucepan. Heat stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil without stirring , then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until you have a nice thick syrup. Let the syrup cool slightly then gradually spoon the syrup over the hot cakes until it is absorbed. Arranged the candied orange and lemon zest over the top of each cake. Let the cakes cool and then serve with thick cream or alternatively, store covered in the refrigerator.

In the original recipe, the syrup was simmered for only 5 minutes. I found the longer simmer gives a more luxurious taste to the syrup.

*Make sure you wash and dry the oranges and lemons before removing the rind as they've been waxed during packing. To remove the rind, use a zester for strips and a grater for fine rind. You can also use a vegetable peeler then use a sharp knife to cut fine strips. Only use the orange outer layer. Don't use the pith as it is bitter.