WILD AT HEART
Use nature’s flavours to take your baking to the next level
Add a touch of the wild to your baking.
Rose Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’ve always thought that adding anything but chocolate to cookies was sacrilegious, but then I made these and that changed. They’re seductive and musky-perfumed, but not overly so.
2¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
150g unsalted butter
¾ cup light brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon rosewater
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate ½ cup chopped walnuts
Fleur de sel, for finishing
Rose petals to decorate, optional
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Put the butter into a medium-size saucepan set over medium-low heat. Heat, stirring often, until melted. Pour into a large bowl then add in the sugars and whisk until combined. Whisk in the egg, followed by the rosewater and vanilla.
Tip in the dry ingredients. Beat with a wooden spoon until a soft dough has just begun to form, then mix in the chocolate and walnuts. Cover and chill until firm, 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, set racks in the lower and upper thirds of an oven. Preheat to 180oC. Line two baking trays.
Using a scoop or tablespoon, portion out evenly sized amounts of the dough. If you’re using a spoon, use your hands to roll them into balls. Divide between the prepared sheets, placing them a few inches apart for spreading. You should be able to fit 8 to 10 per sheet. Sprinkle with a little fleur de sel. You can set leftover dough balls aside to be
baked later, or store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Allow to stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before baking from frozen.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets between the upper and lower thirds of the oven halfway through, until golden, the edges crisp but the centers still soft. Let the cookies stand on the sheets for a few minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool further. Makes 16-20
Late Summer Cake
This is a fleshy cake made with a large amount of ground almonds and studded with fruit. It’s adaptable and can take whatever other fruit you like.
1½ cups ground almonds
½ cup flour
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
200g unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of ½ orange
1 cup berries
1 cup sliced stone fruit, cut into 6mm pieces Streusel (see right)
Icing sugar, for finishing
Preheat the oven to 180oC. Grease and line a 21cm loaf tin, leaving a slight overhang of baking paper on both sides.
Whisk together the almonds, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Pause to scrape down the bottom and side of the bowl.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate each addition, then mix in the vanilla and orange zest.
Lower the speed and tip in the dry ingredients. Beat until a soft and aerated batter has formed, no more than a few minutes. Fold in the fruit. Scrape into the prepared pan, using an offset palette knife to smooth it out, then scatter with a handful of streusel.
Bake for about an hour, until golden brown. A skewer inserted into the middle should not come out clean, but with a few moist crumbs attached to it. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before lifting it out and onto a wire rack to cool further. Dust with icing sugar to finish. Makes one loaf
Streusel
I often make a double batch of this and store it in the freezer until needed.
¾ cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
70g unsalted butter, cold and cut into
12mm cubes
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Toss in the butter cubes. With your fingers, begin to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until large, damp clumps have formed. Use at once or seal and store in the freezer for up to three months. It can be used from frozen. Makes about 1½ cups