2020-04-01 delicious

PHOTOGRAPHY

CHRIS COURT

STYLING

KIRSTEN JENKINS

MERCHANDISING

EMMALY STEWART

I LOVE...

BOMBED

BAKES

NORMALLY,I LIKETOsmuglycelebratemyculinarysuccesses
here.But,forthebakingissue,I feelI should finally come clean
aboutmybakingfails.Heregoes...
Notcheckingtherecipe:Cookingin frontofanaudience
canleadtoallmannerofdisasters,whetherit’sleavingthelid
unsecuredona liquidiserandsplatter-paintingthestage,or
turningouta cakeandthesludgy,uncookedmiddleplopping
onthebench.I’vebeentheretoo– realisinghalfwaythrough
shootinga masterclassthat the butter for my banana bread
hadbeendoubled.
Andthen,onlyrecently,I wasin SouthAfricadoinga raftof
demos,anddrewa terrifyingblankin front 1500 peoplewhen
I cametomymicrowavedpudding.Forthelifeofme,I couldn’t
rememberthefirststep.Luckily,myfriendanddelicious. regular
WarrenMendeswaswithme,andstartedmixingthebutterand
sugarasa cluetogetmestarted.AftertheshowI thinkhe
mighthaveasked,somewhatcruellyI felt,whetherthiswasthe
firstsignofmyAlzheimer’skickingin.Thenhelaughed.
Hestoppedlaughingthenextday,in anotherdemo,whenhe
mistakenlycombinedthebutterandsugarfortherecipefeatured
in thiscolumn.Later,I gavehima brochurefora nicefacilityfor
theelderly.I didn’tlaugh.Ageingisn’ta laughingmatter.
Ingredientmishaps:Thentherewasthetimewewereat
anotheroverseasfestivalandweweremakingmypeanutbutter
cookiesthathaveneverfailedwhenI’vemadethemhere,
whetheronstage,onthetelly,orathome.Wemadethemthe
morningoftheshowandtheyturnedoutlikeoilywarmpuddles
ofdisaster.ThepeanutbutterI wasgiventousewassocheapit
wasmainlypalmoil,andthecookiesmeltedin theoven.It took
a manicrushtoa local supermarket for some half-decent Kraft
tosortthatout.
Theunlinedcakepan: It onlytakesyouonceignoringthe
recipebecauseyoucan'tbebotheredtolinethecakepan(and
thusendingupwithhalfthecakeleftin thepan)foryoutotake
thisbakinginstructionseriously.In fact,I havenowbecome
quiteevangelicalaboutthis.Betteryet– investin springform
pansandslip-bottomflancasesforallyourfancybakingneeds.
Thecakewithoutsugar:Doneit.Disaster!Chewy, dense,
nogoldencarmelisededges.It alsotastedpants.
Iwillleaveyou,however,withoneofmybakingsuccesses–
a ridiculouslyrich,fudgytorterecipe that doesnot start with
creaming the butter and sugar...

It'snotalwayssmoothsailingin thekitchen,

somethingMatt Preston knows all too well.

BUNDY& COKECHOCOLATETORTE WITH

SMOKEDBUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

SERVES 8-10

4 cups(1L)Coca-Cola

(^1) / 4 cup(60ml)Bundabergrum
300gdark(70%)chocolate,roughlychopped
200gunsaltedbutter,roughlychopped
4 eggs,atroomtemperature
100gcastersugar
(^1) / 4 cup(30g)almondmeal
1 tbs(15g)plainflour,sifted
Sea salt flakes and creme fraiche, to serve
SMOKEDBUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
150gbrownsugar
175mlpure(thin)cream
60gunsaltedbutter
2 tspapplecidervinegar
(^1) / 2 tsp liquid smoke (optional), from specialty stores
Placethecolain a mediumsaucepanovermedium-highheat.
Bringtotheboil,reduceheattolowandsimmerfor45-50minutes
untilthickenedandreducedtoabout100ml.Watchattheendof
thistimeandstirtostopthemixturecatchingandburning.
Removefromtheheatandcoolslightly.Ina smallbowl,mix40ml
ofcolasyrupwiththerum,reservingtheremaining60ml.
Preheatovento180°Cfan-forced.Greasea 20cmspringform
cakepanandlinethebaseandsidewithbakingpaper.
Placethechocolateandbutterin a medium-sizedmicrowave-
safebowl.Microwavefor2 minutesoruntilbutterhasmelted.
Setasidefor2 minutes,thenstiruntilchocolateis meltedand
mixtureis smooth.Coolfor5 minutesatroomtemperature.
Addtheeggs1 ata timetothechocolatemixture,whisking
aftereachaddition.Addcolaandrummixture,castersugar,
almondmealandflour.Lightlywhisktocombine.thenpour
mixtureintopreparedpanandbakefor30-35minutesuntilfirm
whenpressedandjustcookedthroughin themiddle.Restin the
panfor 30 minutesatroomtemperaturebeforeserving.
Forthesmokedbutterscotchsauce,placethebrownsugar,
cream,butter,vinegarandliquidsmoke,if using,in a medium
saucepanovermedium-highheat.Stirwitha whiskuntilthebutter
hasmeltedandmixtureis combined.Bringtoa simmer and cook
for5-6minutesuntilreducedslightly.Setaside.
Placetorteona largeplatteranddrizzlewithsmoked
butterscotchsauceandreservedcolasyrup.Sprinkle with salt
flakes and serve with creme fraiche on the side.
I’M LOVING.
44 delicious.com.au