" iT'S RUBY WAX !..." - & Edith's Cinnamon Chocolate Cake

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ #37       “…RuBy Wax“

‘ Travelling over the mountain…Of an Anglicized  Austro-Anglo-American comedienne ’

Television does not play a mega part in my day-to-day existence.

Me , the maker-of-‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’  somehow  am ALWAYS BUSY: …busy  cooking…busy  writing…busy thinking of what next to entertain You, the reader, with….busy  working… busy  with daily life…busy with family…busy  worrying… busy  fixating on nonsense… busy  writing letters to “Top Management” of  BloodyPack’nPiysupermarket  about  their standards gone, and letters to LG  Appliances South Africa because they do not import spare parts for household appliances over 5 years old! … busy , just BUSY!  

And when I have a short moment, I might revert to watching some TV …No! never the  *! *agro-aggressive $$$ *!**   violence which our TV channels  adore, but I shall not bore you with all that I do enjoy… just to say I can’t resist *ANYTHING **  with RuBy Wax!

RuBy Wax ?     Welllllll , just ‘google’ her…and Wikipedia does a marvelous profile of ‘Miss Wax’! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Wax  

Naughty-‘n-nice!  – ‘Miss Wax’!   ... an “Anglosized”-by-choice, Anglicized-accented,  of Austro-American descent (whew! What a mouthful!) …comedienne, with a wicked ‘butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth’ smile  and off-the-wall humour .  

We  know her most of all for that BBC series “Ab Fab” …(you know! - with Eddie and Patsy and Saffie…)

I  recently  glimpsed an advert, local, that RuBy Wax! was due to perform a one-woman show at our local Camps Bay’s Theatre  On The  Bay  – what better birthday gift for ‘My M ‘ (and Me ), than for us to schlep from the depths and protection of Cape Town’s sedate Suburbia, over 2 mountains, all the way to the Other-Side-Of-The-Peninsula  , to that Atlantic  Seaboard  suburb… Camps Bay!

And so we did!  For one evening, we escaped our fairly quiet suburban bliss.   We traversed the boulevards of Suburbia, wending our way along the slopes of the backside of Devil’s Peak  Mountain, past the University, and around that winding highway, along that mountain pass De Waal Drive, skirting high above the periphery of Cape Town’s City Centre, climbing the steep streets through the cosmopolitan sought-after suburbs surrounding the City Centre, them lying in the sloping shadow of Table Mountain, up, up over the saddle between Table Mountain and Signal Hill , and over, down into the abyss of the Atlantic  Seaboard  and the never-still nightlife of Camps Bay …

And there We  were! ……We’d arrived !

And not a familiar face amongst them! …just 20 minutes from home.

Truly the other side of the world!

Sshhhh… the lights have dimmed ….there she is!

It’s..oh-my-goodness! …. It’s R-R-RuBy WAX , on stage…live, real…ALMOST in touching distance!

AND SO TO RECIPES…

Edith Wax’s Cinnamon Chocolate Cake …

So! Who, in goodness name, was Edith Wax?...I discovered her on a very worn page of my very, very, very favourite  cookbook published around 1960 and handed down from ‘Generations Other’, to find itself comfortably on my shelves…..

…..and have had a love relationship with her name for longer than I might want to remember! Edith Wax donated her delicious chocolate cake recipe….which always caught ‘Mavis’s  eye, and remains a staple in My repertoire !

The aromas wafting from my oven, of butter and cocoa and cinnamon, sets the salivary glands into mass-action!  Not to even mention Edith’s delumptious whipped cream filling , flavoured with finely ground almonds, cocoa and coffee, and icing sugar, then scattered with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon and lightly pan-toasted slivered almonds!

This is a smallish cake, baked in 2x 20cm round  baking tins.

THE PREP!

Remember to do your mise en place!...

I make sure first that my “mise en place” (pronounced “ miz ɑ̃ plas”), is done!  - it’s a French phrase - literally means:  "putting in place" -  ….I suppose it’s the ‘pre-preparation’

Have all your ingredients ready, on the kitchen counter, and all your utensils too.  By measuring your ingredients before you start, makes baking so much easier!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar

115g (¼ lb) butter

3 ‘extra large’ size eggs (I use “jumbo” size)

1¼ cups cake flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ standard measure cup cocoa

A pinch of salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

½ cup water

Ingredients for Cream filling:

1 cup whipping cream

4 Tablespoons icing sugar

3 Tablespoons finely ground almonds

1 Tablespoon cocoa

½ teaspoon cold strong coffee

To decorate : Onto the top of the cake, scatter: 

   2 Tablespoons lightly pan-toasted slivered almonds

METHOD:

1)    Line the bottom and sides of your baking pans with greased and floured baking paper.

2)    Preheat the oven to 190˚C (375˚F)

3)    Sift all the dry ingredients into a separate bowl.

4)    With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for at least 10 minutes till light, and pale in colour.

5)    Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition.

6)    Then reduce the speed of you mixer, and add some flour mixture, alternating with some water, add the vanilla, ending with the flour mixture last, until well blended.

7)    This is a thick batter;  scoop into the 2x prepared baking tins.

8)    Bake at 190˚C in the middle of the oven for just 20 minutes.(it might only need 18 minutes)

9)     Remove, and leave to cool for 10 minutes before gently turning the pans over to cool on a wire cake rack…this will help to flatten them too if they have risen in the middle!

10)          When completely cold, in a clean dry bowl, whip the cream, and fold in the rest of the filling ingredients into the whipped cream.

11)          Spread this between the layers, to sandwich the 2 layers together.

12)          Then, on the top, either spread the rest of the cream filling , and scatter with the toasted slivered almonds …

EDITH WAX's  CINNAMON CHOCOLATE CAKE

OR:

If you prefer a dry top,rather sift 1 tablespoon icing sugar, then a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and scatter a generous amount of lightly pan-toasted slivered almonds instead of the cream filling on the top.

CINNAMON CHOCOLATE CAKE

 MMMmmmmmmmmm!

     Enjoy….I KNOW  you will !

                      ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’

PS

To view ‘ COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ s ‘ previous blogs:

Just scroll up to the top right, and click on any month to see hilarious earlier blogs:

……...” Crisp Creamcheese”, 

-        “ ‘Mavis’s Breasts”,

-        “ To Eat an Artichoke”,

-        “Jewish Chicken Soup”……

-        “Preserved Goose” 

-        “MUIZENBERG -Teatime on the beach!”

-        and more!...

-                   I love December’s “Fanny Cradock”!

Join her Facebook ….she likes friends

….or send her a mail…a favourite recipe too @

cookingwithmavis@gmail.com

 ‘til next time…

   ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’

Raiding the emergency groceries… Blog # 36 by 'cookingwithmavis'

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’#36    ‘Raiding the emergency groceries…’

RAIDING THE EMERGENCY GROCERIES…

The number of winters I’ve survived and cooked through in Cape Town, you’d think by now, I’d be forewarned that our winter arrives unannounced:

BAM! WHOOSH! …a sudden 1-day torrent of wind and rain…not too cold, precedes the sudden chilly nights which appear from no-where!

We all get colds and flu, as no-one wants to change from summer clothing immediately to winter hues!  So with nasal blues and heavy heads we begin our winter!

Oh my gosh! Winter…WINTER!...comfort food, I have to quickly drop all that I’m doing, in order to make thick veggie soup!

I  am too lazy to rush to BloodyPack’nPiyClaremont supermarket , so I just have to see what emergency supplies my  well-stocked kitchen might surprise….

UP, up that 2-step ladder I climb, to reach the deepest darkest depths of the top grocery cupboard, to search for suitable soup ingredients… I come upon 2 tins of asparagus…no, no!...just recently served You  that  “ Baked Asparagus” dish(blog # 25) , so  s-s-s-somethingggg else to find..Yes!

T-o-m-a-t-o-e-s!!!! ... AND  the puree too! A perfectly good base to add to those fresh-produce staples always readily found in my fridge..the onions and potatoes and carrots and celery (NO  soup is a soup without CELERY!)…and dried legumes..ah-ha! Vacuum sealed and ready to soak - my “mise en place”  for the start of winter!

…And by-the-way, those first rain  showers in Cape Town cause untold panic, when we step out in the first few downpours , heavily clad in layers…sweaters and coats and umbrellas too, but truly, those early days are mild and still warm..for clothing, light, and perhaps a little rain-proof too!

And so to recipes…

THICK HEARTY VEGGIE SOUP

HEARTY THICK VEGETABLE SOUP -
 a WINTER STAPLE!

What I found in my supplies….

THOSE DRIED LEGUMES...

A mix of dried legumes…well I assume that all are ?...

The standard ready dried “soup mix” being:

2 cups of mixed dried:

Brown lentils, red lentils, yellow split peas, butterbeans / or black-eye beans, kidney beans and pearled barley. (or just mix your own.)

2 large onions sliced

3 to 4 medium potatoes, peeled and grated

5 medium carrots, peeled and grated

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced (across the width)

A handful of chopped parsley

1x 410g can of peeled tomatoes (can use 6 fresh ripe tomatoes instead)

1x small can of concentrated tomato puree

Pinch of marjoram and oregano (optional)

Salt and black pepper to taste

A generous 50g or more butter

4 cups veggie stock (can use 2 tablespoons powdered stock in 2 cups boiling water)…can use a good chicken stock too!

A further 6 to 8 cups boiling water added to the pot

'MISE-EN-PLACE'  for  THICK VEGGIE SOUP

METHOD:

PREPARED INGREDIENTS FOR
 THICK VEGETABLE SOUP:
Soaked dried legumes, vegetable stock, grated potatoes,
tomato puree, chopped celery, chopped parsley, pinch herbs,
butter, canned tomatoes, grated carrots & sliced onions.

1) Soak the dried legumes in 4 cups boiling water, leave soaking for at least 6 hours – or easier overnight. When ready to use, drain off the water, rinse in a strainer, and leave aside while you prepare the fresh vegetables…

2) Prepare all the vegetables for the pot.

3) Into a large pot, gently melt butter, then add all the veggies – onions first, then add the legumes, tomato puree and all other ingredients.

4) Add the stock and extra 8 cups boiling water.

5) Bring to a quick boil, then turn the heat down to low,  to simmer with the lid on, for 1 ½ hours

When cooked, season to taste.

Then you have a CHOICE!

1) Enjoy this marvelously, thick, textured soup as is…a whole meal!

OR

2) When cool, blend till smooth…reheat, and ‘tis too, delicious!

* ♫*!* And for them-of-You who have just discovered ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’… see how ‘Mavis  got her name…in blog #9 (“Clora….”)  

- You might even discover the simply scrumptious Semolina-and-Rosewater cake in blog #3 (“Running away from ‘Mavis…”) Mmmmmmmm!!!

And ooh-la-lahhh..what about MAVIS’s  BREASTS?..that’s  blog #8          

PEEK-A-BOOB

Until next time…

   ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’

' MAVIS in a candy store.....blog # 35 by 'cookingwithmavis'.

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’#35   “….‘Mavis in a candystore…..”

  'MAVIS IN A CANDY STORE......

We’d escaped our banal and suburban lives in Cape Town, for a weekend once more, in Bredasdorp , but THIS time, with trrrrrrrrrremmmmenndous  restraint, as ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’   was instructed NOT to bring, nor prepare, ANY food to take with!....

After all, if all those “Permanent Bredasdorpians” are able to survive without starving in the daily grind of their countryful lives, sure there’d be enough food   … e-enough variety too, for us to purchase upon-our-arrival , a wholesome weekend’s worth of ‘frugal supplies’!

FRUGAL?... ‘Frugal supplies’ ???  ...well, YES!  ...a huge challenge for us to only buy just  exactly  what we’d need  for 2½ days, and have little-if-no-leftover wastage!

And so it was, with that same trrrrrrrrrremmmmenndous  restraint,  that I agreed to accompany Friend Lee -and-friends  - under the most terrible duress  of not knowing what culinary choices lay before us. Quel horreur!

A-ha! ...we’d been alerted to Saturday morning’s special fresh produce market-to-be,  at  ‘ The Red Windmill ’ farmshop, midway between Bredasdorp and Napier.    Food!   Of course, this being the perfect reason to travel the distance  - and so glad we did!  

Forget about all that healthy-homegrown-gloriously-farm-fresh- variable-variety-of-veggies… ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ , out of the corner of an eye, glimpsed upon a doorway where beyond , lay retro sweets heaven!  

And so, ‘MAVIS made a bee-line for the tiny Candy  Store  abutting the entrance of that rural, “Cape Dutch Revival” Circa1925  building, being   ‘ The Red Windmill ’, to be transported back to childhood…to ‘1950 s’-style logo’s and wrappers, from •polka•  dots to candy  stripes ……a purposely-bespoke chosen stock of retro sweets…proudly curated by vibrant blonde owner “Les”…from beaded sweet necklaces to sherbet powder.

“ Cool BeanS SweetS ”, in its petit corner, was of ego, hUGE…and pleasure-making too;  worth every short minute spent there…BEFORE I  was called away , having been reminded of our Saturday morning deadline to get to the ‘Five Rand Store’  back in Bredasdorp! 

  …..CandyLovelyCandyLovelyCandyLovelyCandy…..

And so to recipes…

           

         MICHELLE’s  AUNT’ s

HAZELNUT  MERINGUE GATEAU

Single portion of  HAZELNUT MERINGUE GATEAU
with COFFEE CREAM & CAPE GOOSEBERRIES

This is an “everyone’s dessert”  - a perfect end to any dinner party, but we traditionally serve this on last night of Passover...

I prefer to make individual-portion gateaux , as they are both easy to serve, and I do think that they look splendidly elegant!

MERINGUE  INGREDIENTS : 

4 egg whites

200g (1 cup) castor sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

130g toasted hazelnuts finely chopped (okay to use walnuts if you can’t find the other)

***  (Usually, rule-of-thumb is to use 60g castor sugar per egg white – I used less in this recipe, but if you want a stiff meringue, with higher sides, use 240g castor sugar PLUS 1 Tablespoon extra for luck!)

METHOD :

Remember to have all your “mise en place” (pronounced “ miz ɑ̃ plas “ ), laid out on your workspace!   All your ingredients, mixing bowls, baking tray too  - it’s a French phrase - literally means:  "putting in place" -  ….I suppose it’s the ‘pre-preparation’…….

1) Pre-heat the oven to 150*C

2) Spread the raw whole hazelnuts WITH the skins on, onto a baking sheet, and ‘toast’ in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool.   Then chop quite finely in a food processor.

3) Meanwhile, very lightly oil a large oven tray/baking sheet, and line the bottom with baking paper. Very lightly, oil this too.( If you put too much oil, just wipe off with kitchen paper towel!)

4) With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites till stiff.

5) Add castor sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition, till the meringue mixture is thick and shiny, then add the next tablespoon of castor sugar, and repeat till you have a very thick meringue.

6) Slowly and gently, fold in the vanilla, and the ground toasted hazelnuts.

7) I fill a large “Ziploc” strong(freezer) plastic bag, making sure all the air is out at the top, and use this as a DISPOSABLE piping bag, by snipping a small (½cm piece off a corner, to pipe the meringue through)

8) I pipe a circle of hazelnut meringue mixture about 6 cm in diameter and pipe extra on top, to heighten the sides....remember to leave enough space between each meringue to expand while baking! It will make at least 12 individual  rounds.

 

MIXTURE FOR HAZELNUT MERINGUES

BAKED TOASTED HAZELNUT MERINGUE

This  yields 6 individual double layer portions .

If you want a higher-sided thicker meringue mixture, see *** above ↑ . You should have at least 10 deep meringue shells, to fill with cream filling.

9) Bake at 150*C for 20 minutes, switch oven off, and then cool the meringues IN the oven overnight / or for 4 hours, to dry.

DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!

10) When cold, remove carefully off the baking paper.

FILLING :

2 cups (500ml) fresh cream, whipped to stiff consistency

2 Tablespoons icing sugar

2 teaspoons cold very strong coffee / or Brandy

Fruit of your choice (sliced peaches / fresh raspberries)  – I used fresh Cape Gooseberries

Note: sweetened chesnut puree is super too, as first layer of your filling, onto the meringue, then cream on top of it.

METHOD FOR FILLING

1) Whip cream, then gently fold in the icing sugar, and coffee / Brandy.

2) Spoon whipped cream mixture onto the crisp meringue, and decorate with your choice of fruit, sprinkle some grated chocolate and a little powdered ("icing-") sugar over, and serve!

 ‘till next week,

….’COOKINGWITHMAVIS’

                             CandyLovelyCandy..