Nutella Swirl Pound Cake

Nutella Swirl Pound Cake

A buttery, tender pound cake swirled with Nutella.

Yield: 1 loaf poundcake

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs, room temperature preferred
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• 3/4 cup Nutella, warmed*

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Spray 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Set aside. In another medium size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Set that aside as well.
3. In the bowl of a standmixer, or using a handheld mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. With the mixer running on low speed, add the egg/vanilla mixture and continue to beat until smooth and light in color. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter is very thick and very sticky. Do not overmix the batter.
4. Spread 1/3 of the batter into prepared loaf pan. Spread 1/2 the Nutella on top. Nutella is very thick and hard to "spread."  I used my clean fingers to help smooth it out on top. It doesn't have to be perfect. Repeat with another 1/3 of the batter and the rest of the Nutella. Top with remaining batter.
5. Bake the pound cake for 50-60 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil after 25 minutes to avoid the top and sides form browning too much. Slight browning is OK. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out free of cake crumbs (with some Nutella). The original recipe stated 1 hour and 15 minutes, but that was much too long for my cake. I fear it would be burnt and dry. 50 minutes is how long mine took, but yours may take longer.
6. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing and serving. Cake stays soft, moist, and fresh stored at room temperature for up to 6 days.

*I like to lightly warm the Nutella before layering it into the pan. I simply microwave it for about 15 seconds. This makes it easier to layer into the batter, as well as helps prevent it sinking to the bottom of the pound cake.
Adapted from Food & Wine.

Malaysian Beeｆ Rendang

 Malaysian Beeｆ Rendang

Ingredients

Meat

1.25 kg gravy beef or chuck steak, cut into 3-4 cm pieces

Rempah

3 medium brown onions, peeled, roughly chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly sliced
2 1/2 Tbs ground coriander
1 1/2 Tbs ground fennel
1 1/2 Tbs ground cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper
10-15 dried chillies, seeds removed, cut into small pieces, rehydrated in hot water for 20 minutes (reserve 1 cup chilli water for cooking)
4 stalks lemongrass, white part only, dry outer layers removed, finely sliced
3 cm galangal (fattest part), peeled and finely sliced
3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1 Tbs tamarind paste – easily found in a jar at supermarkets or Asian grocers
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Other

1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
6 cardamom pods
800 ml coconut milk
1 cup reserved chilli water
150g kerisik (150g desiccated coconut required - see method)
Extra brown sugar and salt to balance at the end

Method

Combine all rempah ingredients in a blender and blitz into a smooth paste. Pour into a large mixing bowl together with beef and mix thoroughly. Cover, refrigerate and leave to marinate overnight or for 2 hours at minimum.
To cook, transfer meat into a large non-stick saucepan. Add remaining ingredients except kerisik and cook uncovered on a low to medium heat until half the liquid has evaporated. Stir occasionally to check the mixture is not catching on the bottom.
To make kerisik, simply dry toast 150g desiccated coconut in a medium frypan, tossing regularly until it develops a deep golden brown. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder to grind into a grainy paste.
Add kerisik and cook until the rendang develops into a dark brown with most of the liquid evaporated and beef tender. This should take 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice and fresh cucumber.

Strawberry & Cream Cheese Tart

Strawberry & Cream Cheese Tart

• 1 1/3 cups plain flour
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 90g butter, chilled, chopped
• 1 egg
• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon rum
• 500g small strawberries, hulled
• 1/4 cup strawberry jam, warmed

1. Step 1
   Process flour, caster sugar and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg. Process until pastry just comes together.
2. Step 2
   Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth. Press into a 10cm (diameter) disc. Wrap in greaseproof paper. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Step 3
   Place a baking tray into oven. Preheat oven and tray to 200°C. Roll out pastry on a floured surface to a 5mm-thick round. Line a 3cm deep, 19cm (base) loose-based tart pan with pastry. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
4. Step 4
   Line pastry case with baking paper. Fill with raw rice. Place onto hot baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are light golden. Remove baking paper and rice. Bake for a further 8 to 10 minutes or until pastry case is light golden. Set aside to cool.
5. Step 5
   Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sour cream, icing sugar and rum until smooth. Spread mixture in cold pastry case. Top with strawberries. Brush with warm jam. Cover. Refrigerate overnight. Serve.

Crispy pork with sticky five-spiced pineapple

• 700g piece pork belly
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small (1kg) pineapple, peeled (see notes)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (see notes)
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 100g green beans, trimmed, thickly sliced diagonally
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts, trimmed
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Lime wedges and fresh coriander leaves, to serve
• 1. Step 1
     Preheat oven to 220C/200C fan-forced. Line a roasting pan with foil. Place a wire rack in pan. Score the pork rind, in a criss- cross pattern, at 1cm intervals. Rub rind all over with half the salt, then the oil (see notes). Cut pork into 6 evenly sized pieces. Place on wire rack. Sprinkle with remaining salt. Roast for 45 minutes or until pork is just cooked through and crackling is golden and puffed. Set aside to rest.
  2. Step 2
     Meanwhile, thinly slice pineapple into 12 rounds. Place sugar, five-spice and soy sauce in a large, deep non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 3 minutes or until reduced by half and thickened. Remove from heat. Add pineapple to sauce, turning each piece to coat well. Set pineapple aside, in sauce, to cool.
  3. Step 3
     Place green beans in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Stand for 5 minutes or until bright green and tender. Drain. Refresh under cold water. Drain. Pat dry with paper towel. Place beans, bean sprouts and green onion in a bowl. Toss to combine. Divide pineapple between serving plates. Top with bean mixture and drizzle with a little sauce. Top with pork. Drizzle with remaining sauce. Serve with lime wedges and coriander leaves.