Little Box Brownie

A Baking Blog from Melbourne, Australia

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Chai and Caramel Pear Tart

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Pear Tart

Are you a coffee drinker? I’m not I can’t stand the stuff. Coffee has the most amazing aroma though it really is quite deceiving, it smells so sweet and caramelised yet tastes so incredibly bitter. If I do drink it I have to add in piles of sugar and I prefer to use my sugar intake a little more wisely on something I enjoy eating….. such as cake!!! More than a few years ago I was with someone who ordered a chai tea. I remember smelling it thinking wow that smells amazing with all the Indian spices and to my surprise tasted equally as good, so from then on in I have been a chai convert, swapping my hot chocolates to a Chai tea. Sometimes though it is a bit of a hit and miss with chai as there are different forms of the tea, you can get syrups and powders, but my favourite would have to be the actual tea spices, when they are infused into the milk and some honey added. Yum its like a warm comfort drink, perfect for the winter. I have wanted to use it in my baking for ages as I see all these wonderful chai recipes on other sites so finally decided to give it a whirl in this next tart I came up with.
If you don’t feel like making the tart, as it does require a bit of time, the poached pears are amazing on there own or would be perfect with some creamed rice:)

Chai and Pear Caramel Tart
 
Pastry
150g butter
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 tablespoon water 
 
Pears
5 small pears  (all the same size)
3 cups water
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons chai tea (I used T2)
 
Caramel
50g butter
390g sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tbsp golden syrup 
 
Topping
1/2 cup thickened cream
50g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
Bouquet garni of chai*
1 cup plain flour
1 egg
 
pre heat oven to 170C
 
To make the pastry, place the butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg into a food processor and pulse until fine breadcrumbs form. Then add the egg and water, pulse until a dough starts to form. Turn onto a floured surface and knead gently until smooth. Place in cling wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30mins (now is the ideal time to start the pears). Remove from the fridge and roll out until about 2mm thick, turn into a 25cm lined round tin and blind bake for 10 mins. Remove the beans and bake for another 10mins. set aside
 
Peel the pears and then place into a saucepan with the water, sugar and chai. Let this simmer for about 30minutes on a medium heat or until the pears are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside. 
 
To make the caramel place the butter, condensed milk and golden syrup into a saucepan, and on a medium heat boil until the mixture becomes golden brown. Make sure you constantly stir otherwise it will stick to the bottom and burn.
 
To make the topping, Place the cream, butter, sugar, golden syrup and the bouquet of chai into a saucepan and slowly simmer until the ingredients combine, and the chai infuses into the mixture. Remove from the heat and remove the bouquet. Stir in the flour and the egg until well combined.
 
To assemble, pour the caramel into the tart case, then place the pears in so they are evenly spaced. Pour in the topping and bake for 45 mins or until cooked.

*chai tea wrapped in muslin and tied with string, you could also use two chai teabags.

Pear and Chai Tart

Salted Carmel and Chocolate Macaroons

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These little baby’s are my arch rival, I just can’t make a perfect macaroon to save my life. This next recipe is as good as its going to get, they’re a little bit bumpy, but these baby’s have feet, whoooooohoooooo, finally they have feet, no not the type of feet there going to get up and walk out on me but a little bubble foot like all good macaroons should.
Every time I try to make them something goes astray, it probably has something to do with my inability to follow the instructions, after the first three batches you would think I would learn but sadly no. I was telling one of my most loyal readers that I just couldn’t make them, and the next thing I know she had bought me a cookbook on Macaroons (Thanks G) So after reading through that I have learn’t a few secrets and worked out a recipe that some how miraculously worked. The secret is italian meringue and man oh man do I love the Italians for this one. If you make macaroons with an italian meringue, by pouring hot liquid sugar into the egg whites rather that using sugar straight out of the packet, it works. Well it works for me and as the saying goes if it can work for me it can work for you.
I did read that chocolate macaroons are the hardest and trust me to want chocolate ones, but really who can resist chocolate?

Chocolate Macaroons
 
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
4 egg whites
1 3/4 cups almond meal
1  cups icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
 
Caramel Sauce
 
1 1/2 cups of sugar
50ml water
60ml cream
60ml golden syrup
125g butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
 
Pre heat the oven to 160C
 
Place the sugar and water into a saucepan and heat until the sugar melts and boil for about 4 minutes, brush the sugar down from the sides with a wet brush so the sugar doesn’t crystallise.
 
In and electric mixer beat the egg whites until they form peaks, slowly add the hot sugar syrup while constantly whisking. Whisk until the mixture is glossy.
 
Sift the icing sugar, cocoa and almond meal in to a bowl then slowly fold this into the meringue mixture a little at a time. Place into a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle and pipe 2.5cm rounds onto a lined baking tray. Set these aside until the the tops of the macaroons are firm to touch approximately 30mins.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the macaroon bases are firm.
 
To make the caramel filling, Place the sugar and water into a saucepan on a medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves and it starts to boil. Let it boil until the syrup turns a golden colour. Then remove from the heat and stir in the cream, golden syrup, butter and salt. Be careful not to burn yourself as the mixture will bubble up and let off steam. Leave the caramel for 10mins to cool slightly and spoon onto the macaroons.
 
Makes 12

Caramelised Banana Cake

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I had great intensions of eating these bananas when they where young, yellow and beautiful yet once again I have let them wilt, turn brown and die only to be reborn as an amazing out of this world banana cake. I’m sure you are with me when I say whoooo hooooo banana cake.
The cake is really moist and quite light and fluffy. The cake itself is not overly sweet but the caramel topping makes up for that, it gives the cake an amazing warmth, just what you want in time for winter, mind you it would be perfect all year around. I have to say I am quite impressed with this cake. It was after all a throw anything in to the mixture cake and I think it turned out pretty Supercalifragilisticexpialidociously well, I think the sour cream I added in to the mixture just for the fun of it really worked a treat. Ok so I’m proud as punch go on give it a go.

The trunk that I photographed the cake on is an old trunk that sits in the front of my studio. It was my dad’s old school trunk, it has K Purvis stamped on to the front of it. I’m not quite sure how he moved it cos it weighs a tonne, but he would cart this thing off to boarding school with him back in the day when he was a wee lad:) He said he also took it to sea when he was a cadet engineer, so this trunk has quite literally been around the world. Oh the stories I’m sure it could tell. 🙂

Caramel Banana Cake
 
Topping
 
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup of cream
2 bannans
 
Cake
 
100g butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 ripe bannans 
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 eggs
2 cups self raising flour (gluten free or plain)
 
Pre heat oven to 190C
 
To make the topping, sprinkle the sugar into a 20cm round cake tin, then pour over the cream. Cut up the two bananas into pieces about 3mm thick and lay them over the cream and sugar. Set aside
To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar together. Mash up the banana’s with a fork and add along with the sour cream, vanilla essence and eggs then stir through. Sift in the flour and stir until well combined. Pour over the bananas and bake for 40mins or until cooked.
 
Serve hot straight from the oven.
 
 

Gluten Free Apple and Berry Cake

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A good friend of mine is gluten intolerant and I continue to make cakes that have gluten in them, so to make up for constantly making food she can’t eat, I made her a cake she can.
I don’t think I could do it, not eat gluten I mean, I love my bread and cakes to much. I know there are all these special products and flours you can buy these days but imagine going to the local bakery and not being able to buy a loaf of bread or a cake. Thats my kind of nightmare.
I am going to try to experiment with different flours as the flour I used tasted like it had to much soda in it, Ally said she couldn’t taste it, so I think you must just get use to the taste. If anyone out there knows if it was the flour I used or just the way it is with all gluten flours I would love to know. Also can you recommend a good Gluten free flour to use?

Enjoy xxx

 
Gluten Free Berry Cake
 
150g butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup treacle
3 eggs
2 cups gluten free self raising flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
2 small apples (grated)
1 cup of berry’s fresh or frozen 
 
Pre heat the oven to 170°C
 
Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the treacle and the eggs and stir to combine. Sift in the flour, cinnamon and ginger. Add the grated apple and berry’s.
Pour the mixture into a lined 20cm cake tin and cook for 50 minutes or until cooked.
 
Serve with cream and crushed berries