anzac biscuits + a bit of a ramble

We are a pretty big biscuit household, by which I mean: we really like them.



Last week was Anzac Day in Australia, and as we often do, we baked some Anzac biscuits. Actually we're quite obsessed with Anzac biscuits, and will happily eat commercially made biscuits all year round (some Woolies and Coles make vegan Anzac bikkies - in fact the Woolies near Brunswick Station has vegan Anzac biscuits in a normal size, and then non-vegan mini Anzacs).

Please note that by law, Anzac biscuits have to be referred to as biscuits. They're not allowed to be called cookies. There's also a specific list of ingredients, Anzac biscuits aren't allowed to have things added in, like sultanas. That makes them not Anzacs!

My favourite piece of the policy is this bit:

It should be noted that approvals for the word 'Anzac' to be used on biscuit products have been given provided that the product generally conforms to the traditional recipe and shape, is not advertised in any way that would play on Australia's military heritage, and is not used in association with the word 'cookies', with its non-Australian overtones. For instance, an application for Anzac biscuits dipped in chocolate would not be approved as they would not conform with the traditional recipe.

It's so strictly policed that Subway in Australia had to drop Anzac biscuits from their menu, because they couldn't make them close enough to the required ingredients.

So here is a legally allowed recipe! We got it from Deborah at Larvatus Prodeo, who got it from her mum. I reproduce it here now so I can access it all the time - this recipe worked out just great and now we have plans to bake as often as possible, because we love Anzac biscuits.

Also my sister makes a pretty awesome Anzac biscuit, the recipe which I will get from her one day. (hint)

Anzac Biscuits
originally posted by Deborah at Larvatus Prodeo

ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup of sugar
1 cup rolled oats
125g nuttelex
large tablespoon golden syrup
1 tsp bicarb
2 tsp boiling water

method



Combine flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a large bowl. Melt together the nuttelex and the golden syrup - I did this by melting the nuttelex in the microwave, and mixing in the golden syrup. Dissolve the bicarb in the water, and when it has finished, mix it into the nuttelex and golden syrup. Now mix everything together! You may end up using your hands (I often do).

Deborah suggests dividing these out into approximately teaspoon sized balls, then squishing them down. But I am a big fan of larger Anzacs, so I suggest some large tablespoon (OR EVEN BIGGER) balls, then squishing them down.

Then bake them at 180C for about ten minutes. Let them sit for five before transferring to a cooling rack (this exercise really reminded me that I require a second of these). Store in an airtight container, unless you like your Anzacs soggy. Also don't store them in a container with some spare muffins, again, unless you like your Anzacs soggy.

EAT THEM.


not the right temperature

lamingtons

After the success of lamington cupcakes, I thought I would turn my hand to actual lamingtons to take to a picnic. After spending the early evening at the Cap S, and a late night visit to Planet Books before walking home, late Friday night I prepared the sponge, using the same recipe as previous, and pouring it into a square pan greased with nuttelex. I also put down some baking paper across the bottom. I left the sponge to cool overnight, covered by a clean tea towel.

Early Saturday morning, before I wandered in to Northbridge for my Chinese class, I sliced the sponge into sixteen squares, and prepared the chocolate dip. Rather than the spread I used for the cupcakes, this time I made a very watery concoction, definitely something one could describe as a liquid rather than icing. I’m not sure of the exact proportions, but it was something like two cups of icing sugar, four teaspoons of cocoa, and a quarter(ish) of a cup of hot water. More chocolate water than chocolate icing, definitely. Again, I left each lamington to soak for several seconds, coating well each side in chocolate, before dipping into the bed of coconut.

This recipe is not yet perfect, but it is definitely adequate for those vegans longing for lamingtons, and I (and D, and our friend Simon) were quite happy to nom several on Saturday afternoon.

lamington cupcakes

Not only was yesterday the first day of Chinese New Year (YAY), but it was also Australia Day. I mostly did CNY things, but I did also bake some lamington cupcakes, because lamingtons are one of my favourite snacks ever, and one I've not had in years. I used to love buying them from the local bakery on the way to school every morning, if I was very lucky they'd have the ones with the chocolate sponge, they were fantastic. I also used to love the fundraising drives, where you'd order a box or five of delicious, soft lamingtons, and mum would always put at least a box in the freezer, to save for darker, less delicious days when there were no fresh lamingtons to be had.

I baked these as cupcakes because I wasn't sure how the recipe would hold up as a sponge cake, especially as I saw several vegan sponge recipes that were all "it will fall apart!" And it seemed to work for Carla a few weeks ago. They were satisfying, but I think I'm ready to give proper lamingtons a go, because they really do need to be six sides of deliciousness.




Lamington Cupcakes

ingredients
2 cup SR flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup castor sugar
3 chinese soup spoons applesauce
50gm or so of nuttelex
¾ish cup of milk

method
Cream together the sugar, applesauce and butter. Combine with sifted flourand baking powder. Slowly mix in the milk.

Divide in to twelve cupcakes, and bake at 180C for 17 minutes.

Leave to mostly cool. Whilst cupcakes are mostly warm but heading towards cooled, dip in chocolate mixture (leave to soak for thirty seconds to a minute), and coat in desiccated coconut. You may need to cool in the fridge for half an hour to solidify the chocolate, depending on the ambient temperature. In Perth yesterday it was pretty warm!

chocolate mixture
1 cup icing sugar
¼ish cup of boiling water
2 tbl cocoa powder

Mix together until suitably runny.


NOTE regarding the Chinese soup spoons: these are perfect for egg substitution, I tend to use one overflowing spoon of applesauce per egg in a biscuit and cake recipies. They're something like a dollar from your local Chinese grocer, or use a soupspoon:tablespoon with a ratio of 1:1.5

wattleseed damper

Last week I was wandering through Woolies (aka Safeway) and saw some ground wattleseed, and decided to try it. Wattleseed is from (Australian) Acacia plants and has a high protein content, but I very rarely see them in recipes and things. Due to its nutritional value, it's been used in bush bread made by Australian Aborigines for a long time, so I decided to try bush food with bush food and give damper a go.

Damper is one of those things, everyone knows about it and generally likes it and vaguely knows how to make it, but nobody ever eats it. It originated as a campfire food, because the ingredients were so simple and wouldn't go off before you could use them. You'd just mix it all together and chuck it in a little oven in the fire. I have this feeling that I've had it cooked this way before, but my camping and bushbashing days are long over, so I can't be sure.

This is a recipe, but it can hardly be called mine, simply because it's pretty much the same all around, with occasional additions of a tiny bit of sugar, or substitutions of milk for water.



Wattle Seed Damper

ingredients
3 cups self-raising flour (sifted)
1 heaped teaspoon salt
80 grams of margarine (Nuttelex)
1 quarter of a cup of ground, roasted wattle seeds
just under one cup milk or water

method
Soak the wattleseeds in a little bit of water whilst you rub the nuttelex in to the flour. Then add in the salt. Make a well and pour in the milk and the wattle seeds. Mix in, and then knead thoroughly. Mould into a ball, and bake at 200C for about 35-40 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when you tap it.

Leave to cool, and either cut or pull apart. It is good with a little nuttelex melting in, but is also good dry.