wEeKeNd GeTaWaY - 3 Last Day

...Before going to bed last night I wanted to make a special treat. Rum Layer Cake for breakfast. It is just the kick we needed to start a very cold day up here in Lake Simcoe. Which by the way - catching fish is not the only thing I caught. A COLD! Is what decided to catch me on the last day, here. But I pushed through and completed my weekend fishing getaway. Even through there was no power, today and I could not use my telephone 95% of the time I was there! Who knew? 

250g unsalted butter
60g caster sugar

10 egg yolks60g caster sugar
1 Tbsp brandy/rum
2 Tbsp condensed milk

66g cake flour
1 tsp mixed spice (use a good one)
1/4 tsp baking powder

4 egg whites
30g sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

Preheat oven to 190C.
Grease and line the bottom of a 7inch square tin.
Place the empty tin into the oven for 5mins.

Cream butter and 60g sugar until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and 60g of sugar until frothy and pale in colour. Add in brandy and condensed milk. Whisk to blend.

Fold in the sifted flour and egg yolks mixture alternately into the butter mixture. (I used an electric beater on low speed).

In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Add in sugar and cream of tartar. Continue to whisk at high speed until stiff peaks.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the butter batter. Gradually fold in the rest without losing much of it's volume.

Spoon about 2 Tbsp of batter into the hot tin. Spread evenly.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven until golden brown.

Remove from oven. Use a fork to prick some holes on the cake.
Continue to spoon another 2 Tbsp of batter into the tin and spread evenly.
Switch oven to grill mode. Bake until top has browned. Repeat process with grill mode until all mixture is used up.

Remove the cake from tin and set aside to cool, placing the cake on a wire rack, up side down. Cake will fall off once cooled.

~|Notes|~
♥ For a better effect : when baking last 3 layers of the cake, but tin on bottom rack of the oven. Bake until golden brown and cook, it would take a longer time.
♥♥ Do not line the sides of the tin with parchment paper, I did that and regretted so. The paper tend to come off after some time, yielding an even smaller cake.
♥♥♥ Use 2 heaping tablespoons of batter. The previous layer should be completely covered by the batter. Initially used 2 Tbsp and the layers were not distinct.
♥♥♥♥ When spreading the batter onto the hot previous layer of the cake, batter tends to melt and turn watery, which is perfectly fine.

The whole day was spent on the ice above the lake and I have to stay that this time around I was not as scared as yesterday. I mean, the thought that the ice could break under you when the holes are drilled through the ice to get to the lake. That water is so bloody cold, so it truly scared me to death but I managed to SMASH that fear! YEAH me. For sure this is something that I would have never dreamed of doing but it is one for the Travel Book to be logged into.


The wind is howling, the air is soooo cold and the sun is shining with a few clouds rolling around in the sky. Conversations and laughs are amazing and many fish are being caught for dinner.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/2 cup fresh multi-grain breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 (about 200g each) thick white fish steaks (such as blue eye or kingfish)
• olive oil cooking spray
• steamed green beans, boiled chat potatoes and lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Combine breadcrumbs, parsley, parmesan, lemon rind, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir to combine. Drizzle mixture with oil. Stir until breadcrumbs are coated in oil.
   
2. Press breadcrumb mixture onto flesh-side of fish fillets to form an even topping.
   
3. Place fish, skin-side down, onto a baking tray. Spray with oil. Bake for 15 minutes or until crumbs are light golden and fish is just cooked through. Serve with steamed beans, potatoes and lemon wedges.

               

The drive home was just what you may think (those who know me well and know how much I hate being in the car for such a long time) I slept the whole way home. I think I may sleep for a whole day to recover for this weekend and it will be great!

It really was a great weekend and to be able not to think about all the bad things in my life - this was the break I needed. Thank you, BMR and friends. This was a kind of weekend that I will not forget and it was filled with some pretty funny stories.

Milky