Backstage baking - something for everyone

Mary-Anne Blades, Associate Principal Flute - Simple Crustless Plum Tart

A David Herbert recipe from The Weekend Australian Magazine

Ingredients:

• 150g soft butter
• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 200g ground almonds
• 1/3 cup Self Raising Flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 plums, stoned, halved and sliced
• 2 tablespoons flaked almonds
• 2 tablespoons apricot or plum jam

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Grease a 23cm, deep tart tin.
3. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, ground almonds, flour, vanilla extract in bowl: spoon into tin.
4. Cover with plums. Scatter over flaked almonds; bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
5. Melt jam with a little water; brush over tart; cool.
6. Remove from tin, cut into slices.

Serves 8.

John Keene, Associate Principal Double Bass - Classic Chocolate Cake

One of Nigella’s recipes that I love making. Serves eight.

Ingredients:

Cake

• 200g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
•  ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 40g best-quality cocoa powder
• 175g soft unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 150ml sour cream

Icing

• 75g unsalted butter
• 175g best quality dark chocolate (broken into small pieces)
• 300g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 125ml sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Line and butter two 20cm/ 8-inch sandwich tins with removable bases.
3. Put all the cake ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream - into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter.
4. Whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.
5. Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake for 35mins (checking at 25) until a thin skewer, comes out clean.
6. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins.
7. To make the icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water.
8. While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl.
9. Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar.
10. When you're done, you may need to add a little boiling water - say a teaspoon or so - or even some more icing sugar: it depends on whether you need the icing to be runnier or thicker (or it may be right as it is). It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off.
11. Choose your cake stand or plate and cut out four strips of baking parchment to form a square outline on it (this stops the icing running on to the plate). Then sit one of the cakes, uppermost (i.e. slightly domed) side down. Spoon about a third of the icing on to the centre of the cake half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the two together.
12. Spoon another third of the icing on to the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way.
13. Spread the sides of the cake with the remaining icing and leave a few minutes till set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.

Helen Tuckey, Viola - Zucchini Bread

From Sarah Guppy, wind-surfing and vegie gardener friend of the Tuckeys

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 ½ cups sugar or 2 cups honey
• 3 cups wholemeal flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated zucchini or squash

Method:

1. Blend eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar (or substituted honey) together until fluffy.
2. Fold wholemeal flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and zucchini into mixture
3. Bake in 2 greased and floured loaf tins at 200°C for one hour
4. Serve buttered. Freezes well.