One Saturday I was chanting to myself, in between bouts of praying “Please let it work, please let it work” and then alternating it with “Why won’t it work?”. For this was the very first month I was co hosting a Daring Baker’s challenge. Angela from A Spoonful of Sugar contacted me in April this year and asked if I would co-host August’s with her. I put the Dobos Torta to the back of my mind until Mid July when I realised that we only have a couple of weeks to go. And these were 2 weeks in which we were moving house so I had to get my bottom into gear and fast!
Angela set about trying to make the cakes and after three cakes, came up with a solution that combined two recipes, one from Rick Rodgers Kaffehaus book and one from Cafe Chocolada. I then set about making it following the recipe to see whether it was easy to follow. I had one rather spectacular fail due to a miscommunication where the original recipe said to use 50g of caster sugar which was about 1/4 of the amount actually needed. I will admit there was much gnashing of the teeth and swearing that day before I took a deep breath in, rebaked a brand new layer and figured out the best way to do the toffee without it cracking or developing toffee wisps.
Was the final cake all worth it? It’s a delicious cake indeed. As for the actual number of layers, I’m sure every Hungarian household has an opinion about the best number. Some say 5, some say 14. After putting the 5th layer into the oven, all I can say is I’m so glad that we went with Rick’s number of 5.
I was so impressed by my fellow Daring Baker’s enthusiasm and verve and special thanks must go to Audax who helped out enormously when Angela and I couldn’t get to the forum to answer a question. We pushed the button so to speak and sat back and waited. Would there be responses of “Oh please god no” or similar? We breathed deeply -the overwhelming response was positive. Over the next few days and weeks some beautiful creations were made while flying the Daring flag proudly. The aspect that vexed most was probably the caramel layer which I admittedly found the most difficult. Also humid weather is never great for toffee and those Daring Bakers in more humid climates had issues with it turning gummy which toffee tends to do when there is moisture in the air. Of course you can’t please everyone and some didn’t like the torta but of course everyone has different tastes. Nevertheless there were some gorgeous creations and check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll for a glimpse into the Dobos Torta, daring style!
I must also thank my wonderful suppliers of vintage and chic display domes and forks Teena and The Second Wife. Don’t they have great taste?
So tell me Dear Reader, are you a calm cook or is there swearing involved when things go wrong?
Oh and today I am also featured on the SBS newsletter as their Featured Foodie! They asked me some fun questions like which chef would I marry, work for and fire! 
The August 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers’ cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
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August 27, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
I hope Vegan readers will not take offence but Vegan cakes and stylish Italian fare don’t appear synonymous. Veganism, at least to my thinking, is often associated with some sort of sacrifice (although Vegans would probably deny this) but for my palate it means the sacrificing of a lot of my favourite foods. I do have Vegan relatives and friends and it can be hard when trying to think of a cake that will satisfy their requirements but is also palatable and isn’t so hard that it can be used a weapon (although I have to say I’ve seen a few great looking Vegan chocolate cakes on blogs). This cake surprisingly answers that call and it’s also good if you happen to have a roundtable of people with food allergies and intolerances as chestnut flour does not contain any gluten.
I stumbled across this idea when trying to figure out what to do with my remaining chestnut flour. I had just over 400grams of it and this was just calling out to me given that it required 400grams of flour. I read and re-read various recipes. There were no eggs, not much butter or oil and barely any sugar. Was this correct? I thought I’d have some faith in it and just try it anyway. It was also alarmingly easy to make. Just a bit of sifting and mixing and half an hour in the oven.
I did warn readers that as we are moving and we’re trying to eat as much as we can out of the cupboards to avoid moving it all, that there might be some strange recipes coming up. This is an example of running out of sultanas and replacing them with cherries which I thought tasted delicious. And not a prawn head in sight.
The cake itself is a lovely texture although it’s not light and fluffy. It’s flat in appearance and thicker in texture, sticks to the tongue and palate and tastes almost like a lightly sweetened chestnut puree. As it’s supposed to be thin (about 1cm) and not rise I found that the recipe below made enough for two heart shaped cakes so feel free to halve the recipe below if you have a smaller tin. I toasted some fresh chestnuts and added them on top. Responses to this cake were mixed. Some people just didn’t get it while chestnut lovers did. I wouldn’t say that this is the most popular cake I’ve made and it may not appeal to everyone but I liked the nuttiness and creaminess of the chestnuts. It looks rather alarming at first – people have described it as looking like a cracked sidewalk but have faith. I did and was duly rewarded.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever toyed with or have become a vegetarian or vegan?
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August 10, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Sashimi porn-yes.
I should start off with a warning about portions at Sushi Suma. Only visit here if you are starving, and even then only go if you’ve taken the precautionary measures and arranged for an emergency stomach compartment or a switch with your dessert tank. Servings here are legendarily huge and service, well it’s an in and out, stuff-em-full sort of place. Four Supermodels could probably share a dinner box and I am including those annoying Supermodels that keep telling us “Oh yes I hardly ever diet! I eat as much as I want”.
This evening we are supposed to meet Rose and Ronald at 6.30pm but we are 15 minutes late. Rose and Ronald have been kicked off their table downstairs in the restaurant and have been asked to wait upstairs in the bar area. We are given a copy of the menu and we order the items upstairs with the no nonsense man with the keypad. In order to expedite turnover, orders are taken upstairs and when the food and table are ready, diners are guided downstairs. Despite there being a bar and having a captive, waiting (and thirsty) audience, there is no bar service as the no nonsense man (we assume the owner) is busy corralling diners. Luckily we are waiting less than 10 minutes when we are shown downstairs. It’s a curious layout, the dining area is small and the kitchen is comparatively huge – larger than the dining space. As we sit down, with the super tightly laid out tables, Rose comments about how loud it is.
Complimentary Appetiser
This vermicelli noodle salad is lightly seasoned with a sweet, vinegary taste.
Complimentary Agedashi Tofu
The complimentary agedashi tofu is a nice surprise as everyone receives one. It’s delicious and one of the better ones I’ve had with a perfectly seasoned sauce (I often find the sauce isn’t flavoursome enough) but this is just right.
Kaiso Salad $8.80
We’re given our Kaiso salad and the size gives us an indication of things to come. It’s huge with a mound of shredded cabbage and thick and thin seaweed. The seaweed itself isn’t highly seasoned or flavoured but the salad has a light dressing over it and a scattering of sesame seeds.
Cream Croquette with crab meat $6.80
The items I went crazy for in Tokyo were Cream Croquettes. These are small croquettes filled with the creamiest potato. I can’t really see or taste any crab meat but I do see a couple of corn kernels.
Other diner’s plates are set down next to us and we are aghast at how big they are. The Katsu meal at the table next to us had 8 huge pieces of katsu and their Tempura had a large variety of food. We see why the sizes are legendary.
Sushi Deluxe $16.80
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July 15, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Even though I’m Australian I know I don’t do a lot of native Australian foods. Not because I don’t like them – on the contrary – but ingredients aren’t particularly easy to come across. However markets and food festivals are often places where you can pick up native Australian bushfoods such as Wattleseed or Lemon Myrtle. I came across a stall at the Easter Show called Barbushco where they offered us small slices of a Lemon Myryle cheesecake they had made in order to demonstrate how to use their spices. We were instantly smitten. Light and fluffy and with that aromatic Lemon Myrtle scent (much like Lemongrass or Lemon Verbena), it was a fabulous Australian take on a lemon cheesecake.
I’ve made plenty of baked cheesecakes in the past but never an unbaked cheesecake. I was surprised at how easy it was (having put aside a whole afternoon to make it only to find that it was done within 40 minutes) in comparison. The different, lighter texture as opposed to the thick, creamy baked cheesecake texture was something not to eschew but to embrace at times where lightness and ease will do. The ground Lemon Myrtle is a pretty green shade as the leaves are used and they impart such a delicious sweet lemony aroma. If you’re unable to get Lemon Myrtle then you can always substitute it with a good quality lemongrass powder or Lemon verbena. Or alternatively, you could use any kind of sweet sauce like a caramel sauce swirled through, a berry or fruit puree or your favourite chocolate bar chopped up into small pieces and stirred through.
As a whole cheesecake, it is a little shallower than your normal towering hunk of baked cheesecake and this is no surprise given that it only uses 250grams or 9 ounces of cream cheese. The ratio of crust to filling is also more equal than say a typical cheesecake so the first thing I thought of was a cheesecake slice where sturdiness and a thicker base is a desirable and necessary feature. Mr NQN was so in love with this idea that I decided to make the slice version the next day. It was a fabulous slice and out of the two shapes, I preferred it in the squares as this was easy to pop in a lunchbox.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you prefer a baked or a non baked cheesecake and what is your favourite Cheesecake flavour?
Also in some very exciting news, I have made it to #2 on the Top Australian Women Bloggers list!
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July 7, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Picture this: it’s cold, you’re in your pajamas and the heater is on and you’re all rugged up for bed. Outdoors seems like a forlorn, lonely cold tundra and you’d rather gnaw off your foot than go outside. But a chocolate craving strikes you so intense that you beg your flatmate/husband/dog to go out and fetch you some chocolate cake. Of course they don’t and you’re left contemplating eating the box of chocolate flakes with a spoon and wondering why on earth you don’t have a “Break Glass in Case of Emergency” slice of chocolate cake.
Then I have a good crutch for you. It went round the internet a while back and I’d heard varying descriptions from heinous to delicious so I didn’t bother making it. Then a friend Nic who is a new mum to baby Xavier and doesn’t have a lot of time to pfaff about the house making cakes put me onto it. I admit I fiddled with the recipe just to make it a bit more luscious and whilst it won’t replace a quintuple chocolate cake, it’s a damn fine replacement for it when times are tough, desperation is harking and the chocolate withdrawal symptoms won’t cease.
Baking powder version
You can also use baking powder in which case it will be lighter (simply add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to each mug when you add the flour) but it will spill over so place it on a plate before microwaving it and just be aware that it won’t look as pretty. The cooking time of course depends on the microwave you have. At 2 minutes, mine wasn’t dried out at all and still moist and had a lovely layer of chocolate and a molten layer of chocolatey goodness at the bottom. However mine is not a particularly powerful microwave so setting it at medium, which is what I melt my chocolate on, was perfect. To me, the cooking time is crucial and if you have a particularly powerful microwave, 1 – 1 1/2 minutes will probably do you just fine (and they do cook further on standing remember). I couldn’t resist of course and served it with a cafe au lait ice cream that I made a while back-if you have ice cream it’s a delicious addition. And with that my chocolate craving subsided. And don’t like chocolate cake? Try my blogging buddy JdG’s Lemon & Coconut version here at Play With Your Food! Newsflash: I’ve found that if you add baking powder but cover it with Glad Wrap then it won’t spill over yet is lovely and fluffy.
This is also my entry to Gel’s Kitchen’s No Time To Cook May 2009 challenge! 
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May 29, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
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