Recipes
SPICED MANGO TARTE TATIN
This is a twist on the French classic upside-down apple tart, Tarte Tatin. Puff pastry is used instead of the traditional shortcrust and coconut sugar with its natural soft toffee flavour notes blend with the spices to creates a buttery caramel.
Recipe
This is a twist on the French classic upside-down apple tart, Tarte Tatin. Puff pastry is used instead of the traditional shortcrust and coconut sugar with its natural soft toffee flavour notes blend with the spices to creates a buttery caramel (if not available substitute with brown sugar). A hint before you start, make sure the pan fits into the oven and the surface is clean and not well-worn, so the fruit does not stick to base.
Makes a 22cm round tart. Serves 8
Have ready a serving platter with raised edges, large enough to hold the tart and any cooking syrup.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Have ready a 20 cm diameter heavy based frying pan that fits comfortably into the oven
Scatter the sugar evenly over the base of a dry frying pan (an enamelled cast iron pan is ideal) over a medium-high heat until the sugar starts to melt around the edges and caramelises, about 1-2 minutes. Keep a careful watch and gently rotate pan to swirl to caramelise the sugar evenly (avoid stirring as causes the sugar to crystallise) , about 1 minute. Quickly remove pan from heat, add the butter, spices and salt and swirl to melt and combine well.
Arrange the mango segments flat side facing upwards (rounded side facing downwards) packed closely to completely cover the caramel layer over the base. Place the chilled pastry circle on top, then working quickly and gently tuck the pastry edges in with a spoon. Score the pastry 3 times on top with point of a sharp knife to allow steam to escape when baking.
Ingredients
350g ready-rolled quality butter puff pastry (23cm sheet Careme pastry used), cut to a 22cm round
2 large or 3 medium ripe mangoes, peeled, core discarded, cut into wedges
75g coconut sugar (or raw caster sugar)
50g unsalted butter
Pinch sea salt flakes
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Quality coconut ice-cream or vanilla ice-cream, to serve
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FRESH PINEAPPLE AND BANANA HUMMINGBIRD CAKE WITH SWEET LABNE
A moist cake flavoured with the tropics of coconut and fresh banana and pineapple. It’s simple to make, an easy mixing of the wet ingredients into dry.
Recipe
A moist cake flavoured with the tropics of coconut and fresh banana and pineapple. It’s simple to make, an easy mixing of the wet ingredients into dry. The only thing to plan is draining the yoghurt the day before to create the beautiful sweet labne. This adds a layer of freshness and tangy-ness instead of the usual super sweet cream cheese icing. Layer the cakes for an impressive presentation or serve as a single cake to enjoy during your coffee breaks or lunch box fillers and freeze the other.
Makes two 20cm round cakes (serves 8)
Start making the sweet labne the day before. Line a sieve with muslin or a clean ‘chux’ cloth and sit comfortably over a deep bowl. Tip the yoghurt into the lined sieve and fold any overhanging cloth across the top of yoghurt. Transfer to the fridge and allow yoghurt to drain for 24 hours.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan-forced 160°C). Grease two 20cm round cake tins and line the base with baking paper.
Cut away the peel from the pineapple, remove the core and cut flesh into chunks. Place the pineapple flesh in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped (crushed), but do not puree. Measure 250g (1 cup) of the crushed pineapple including juice and set aside. Enjoy eating any remaining pineapple. Return the food processor bowl to the machine.
Sift the flour baking powder, spice and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the nuts and coconut. Set aside.
Place the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in the bowl of food processor and blend until well combined and creamy in texture, about 2 minutes.
Pour the egg mixture, banana and pineapple into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly with a spatula to combine. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake tins. Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked when a skewer comes out clean when tested. Remove from the oven, set aside for 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When ready to decorate, remove the drained yoghurt from the fridge. Tip the yoghurt into a bowl , sprinkle over the brown sugar and stir with a spatula to combine well, the sugar will dissolve while stirring. Discard the drained liquid and the cloth can be cleaned and dried for use again. Place one of the cake bases down on a serving platter. Spread about ¾ cup of the sweet labne evenly across the top, then sit the other cake on top. Spread the remaining labne over the top in a decorative pattern. Scatter over pineapple crisps or toasted coconut flakes, to decorate the top.
To store: The un-iced cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. The cake will keep for up to 4 days in a sealed container in the fridge. It is best served at room temperature. Note that the pineapple crips or coconut decor will soften while stored in the fridge.
Ingredients
½ ripe medium pineapple (about 500g)
250g (1 2/3 cups) plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
pinch sea salt
½ cup walnuts (or pecans, or macadamia nuts), roughly chopped
25g (1/3 cup) shredded coconut
185ml (3/4 cup) light olive oil (or sunflower oil, or rice bran oil), plus extra for greasing
220g (1 cup) raw caster sugar
2 eggs (size 70g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas (about 200g peeled), mashed
Sweet labne:
750g Greek natural yoghurt (full fat)
(75g) 1/3 cup brown sugar
Dehydrated pineapple chips (or ¼ cup toasted flaked coconut), for garnish