Why is there a bicycle pump in our bedroom and Louise Cake

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Living with small children means that you may find particular accoutrements of childhood in your bedroom.

Definition of a grown up bedroom : The place where the so called ‘magic happens’. (Yeah right.) A serene escape from the world, lush with soft furnishings in soothing contemporary prints. Flickering soy candles abound and the room is resplendent with enough Europeans pillows to well, make a European happy. (Not a husband as they will defiantly and often state ‘I hate all these cushions, they have no effin point anyway.’)

In our boudouir today I found:

A bicycle pump, a small soccer whistle, a paint with water book, a pretend plastic childrens winner medal, one grotty little boys sock and a teeny tiny plastic toilet.

The magic that happens in our bedroom is ‘how the hell did this crap get here and why?’

The other magic that happens in our household is how quickly tasty treats can be gobbled up by said small children. Especially Kid 1 who eats as if he is part of a family of ten and is afraid of missing out on his fair share.

This slice is one of those goodies, an old school New Zealand classic comprising of a thin layer of biscuity cake (or is that a cakety biscuit?), a sandwich layer of tart jam, topped off with another thin layer of coconut meringue. I have no idea who Louise was but man, that chick had it going on in the ideas department.

My memory could be playing tricks but a hazy recollection of this slice oozing with homemade apricot jam in the middle, is knocking around the old brainbox. The original recipe has been slightly cheergermed by using wholemeal spelt flour, raw sugar and knocking back the sugar quantity a tad.

Unfortunately, the cupboard was bare of home made jam, hence, store purchased jam was used. Some of Mums homemade stuff would have been like, totally ace. (Mum??)

LOUISE CAKE

WHAT YOU NEED
Base
70g butter, room temperature
55g sugar (panela, raw caster sugar, rapadura)
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
150g wholemeal spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Topping
4 tbsp raspberry or tart red jam
2 egg whites
80g sugar (I used organic panela, an unrefined sweetener made from evaporated sugar cane juice)
55g desiccated coconut
Extra coconut for sprinkling

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 170 and line a shallow 30 x 21 cm or 12 x 8 inch tin with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light then beat in the egg yolks and mix thoroughly.
Add the lemon juice, then sift in the flour and baking powder and mix to a firm dough.
Press the dough evenly into the prepared tin and spread over the jam. You don’t need a thick layer.
Beat the egg whites until stiff then gently fold in the caster sugar and the coconut using a metal spoon. Spread carefully over the jam, trying to keep an even thickness. Sprinkle with a little more coconut.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the coconut is just turning a golden brown. (As I used raw sugar, it does get a bit browner.)
Remove from the oven and cut into squares whilst still warm.
Store in an airtight container, makes 12 squares.

Recipe slightly adapted from ‘Ladies: a Plate.’ By Alexa Johnston

Ginger cat crunch

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Kid 2: In the olden days did they use to eat ginger cats?
Me: Ummm no, dear, why?
Kid 2: Oh, what about when they needed ginger?
Me: Well, ummm, actually, ginger is from a plant.

His relief is palpable. For those of you who were also concerned as to the true origin of ginger, you can all breathe a sigh of relief.

The lads adore this Ginger Crunch. A crisp and crunchy biscuity slice topped off with a spicy thin layer of icing. I have made two small changes to a recipe from a beloved cookbook that the mothership once gave me. The book, ‘Ladies: A Plate’ is a gorgeous conglomeration of classic New Zealand baking recipes.

Ginger Cat Crunch

WHAT YOU NEED
The Base
80g coconut sugar (or raw caster sugar, rapadura)
200g wholemeal flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking powder
115 g butter

Icing
55g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tsp ground ginger
55 g icing sugar, sifted

HOW YOU DO IT
Base
Preheat oven to 180C and line a shallow 30 x 21 cm tin with baking paper.
Put all the dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse briefly to combine them. Drop in the butter and process just until the mixture forms fine crumbs. (You can do all this by hand, rubbing the butter into the flour but this is easier!)
Pour the crumbs into the tin, spread them out evenly and press down firmly using your fingers to compact them slightly. They will stick together properly as they bake.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the mixture is a pale golden brown.

Icing
While the base is cooking, put the butter, golden syrup and ginger into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring. When they are melted and combined, tip in the icing sugar mixture and mix to a fairly runny consistency.
Remove the base from the oven and immediately pour on the icing. Spread it evenly over the surface with a spatula.
Cut the mixture into fingers or squares, leave to cool then break it apart along the cuts and store in an airtight container.
Makes 12 squares or about 16-20 fingers.

Note, to make it really crunchy you can make it thinner than I did. My mixture didn’t quite fill the whole pan so the slice was more, ummm, slicey than super crunchy.

Recipe slightly adapted from ‘Ladies: A Plate. Traditional home baking.’ By Alexa Johnston

Please note, no ginger cats were harmed in this recipe