Sunday, June 8, 2014

Just Bent


Once again I have put aside my blogging for far too long. I really enjoy sitting down and putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, but something else always needs doing and the blog goes down to the the bottom of the the very long list. Today is different; my wonderful staff gave me the day off and I decided to enjoy a spot of baking and a spot of cleaning, and before you say anything, I actually enjoy cleaning, sad but true. I love to play music really loud and sing while I clean, but mostly I love the finished product, a clean house.  And finally before a glass of wine and some left over restaurant food, I am going to write my blog.


I thought I would start with a yummy recipe which has been adapted from AWW, this is the moistest gluten free cake that I have ever made and it is incredibly tasty. I made this yesterday at home and added orange blossom water to make it a little more Mediterranean,  changed the sugar to brown,  also adding baking powder to make it a little lighter. You can add ginger or dates, I sometimes add organic ginger syrup. I enjoy cooking at home, even if my kitchen is a little small. Home is where I find peace and serenity, a happy little haven in the bush complete with my pets and the native animals.

Gluten free pistachio and almond cake



Ingredients
125g pistachio kernels
3 cups almond meal
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 eggs
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
250g butter melted, cooled
3/4 raw sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder (gluten free)
Oil for brushing pan

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 160 degrees fan forced.
Brush cake tin around 250mm x 150mm in size.
Grind pistachios (keep around 30 to place on top of cake)
Using a whisk combine ground pistachios, almond meal, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl.
Beat eggs lightly, melt butter and combine.
Pour into almond mixture and stir to combine.
Pour batter into greased pan.
Place pistachios on top of batter.
Cook for around 35 minutes. 
Meanwhile place raw sugar, honey and water in saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, uncovered for about 2 minutes.
Pierce cake with toothpick and pour hot syrup on to cake.


Just Bent

I have decided to change the name of my blog from Bent on Food to "Just Bent" as I want it to reflect the many things that make up the "bent" brand and concept.  There are some exciting new products and initiatives coming up as we celebrate 10 years in business in 2014 and I want to be able to blog  about both my businesses along with anything else that may make its way to the "bent" stable. I also believe that values and beliefs are very important when creating and delivering a brand and I would like to share some of the values that make up "bent". I will be blogging about life and the lives of those who cross my path. We will talk food, wine, music, sustainability, travel, home decorating, business, coffee, lifestyle and anything that pops up. I will also share some of my favourite blogs, I hope you can follow my journey.
Cheers,
Donna