Aussie Tucker
Here are a few
favorite Aussie recipes.
Some with rather unique ingredients. Enjoy!
ANZAC Biscuits
These are an old time favorite. I grew up on Anzac's, as I am sure most Aussies did. They
got their name from being made for, and sent to the Aussie soldiers of the Australian & New Zealand Army Corp. I am sure there are many recipes with many slight variations.
You will need.
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup caster sugar
125g butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons boiling water
Method
1. Preheat oven to slow 150 Celsius. Brush 2 oven trays with melted butter. Place flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a large mixing bowl, stir until combined.
2. combine butter and golden syrup in small pan, stir over high heat until melted. Mix soda with boiling water, add to melted butter and syrup. Add to flour mixture, stir until combined.
3. Shape level tablespoonful of mixture into balls and flatten slightly; Place onto prepared trays, about 6 cm apart.
4. Bake 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Remove from oven, stand 2 minutes. Loosen biscuits and cool on wire rack.
Damper
I first had damper when I was in primary school. We learned about how the drovers and stockmen used to make this 'no yeast bread' out in the bush. The authentic way to cook this is to wrap it around a stick and cook it over an open fire. We did that in school, that was when I learned how good ovens really were
You will need
3 cups self raising flour
1-2 tablespoons salt
90g butter, melted
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
extra milk for glazing
extra flour for dusting
Method
1. Preheat oven to moderately hot 210 C. Brush an oven tray with melted butter. Sift flour and salt into large mixing bowl; Make a well in the
center. Combine butter, water and milk and add to flour. Stir with a knife until just combined.
2. Turn onto lightly floured surface; knead 20 seconds or until smooth. Transfer dough to tray; press out to a 20cm round.
3. Using a sharp pointed knife, score into 8 sections 1 cm deep. Brush with milk; dust with flour. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to 180 C. Bake 15 minutes or until damper is golden and sounds hollow when tapped.
Damper should be eaten hot, excellent with butter and golden syrup or honey.
Lamingtons
All I can say about lamingtons is they are fantastic. They are a big hit for fund raising in Australia, as they are a bit fiddly and time consuming to make, but everyone loves them. That's why every fund raising event that has sold lamingtons has always sold out. I adore them, I'll even fight my grandfather for them. *haha* One suggestion though, if you can make them with Cadbury (Australian) cocoa do so, as the
flavor is much different than Hershey's cocoa which is the predominant brand in the USA.
You will need.
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/3 cup corn flour
185g butter, softened
1 cup castor sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
ICING
4 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
30g butter, melted
2/3 cup milk
3 cups desiccated coconut, approx.
Method
1. Preheat oven to moderate 180 Celsius brush a shallow 23cm square cake tin with melted butter. Line base and sides with baking paper. Sift flour and
corn flour into large bowl. Add butter, sugar, essence, eggs and milk.
2. Using electric beaters, beat on low speed 1 minute or until ingredients are just moistened. Beat mixture on high for 3 minutes or until mixture is free of lumps and increased in volume. Pour mixture into prepared tin; smooth surface. Bake 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean when inserted in
center of cake. Leave cake in tin for 3 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
3. Using a serrated knife trim top of cake until flat. Trim crusts from sides of cake. Cut cake into 24 squares.
4 To make icing; Sift icing sugar with cocoa. Combine with butter and milk in a medium heat proof bowl. Stan bowl over pan of simmering water, stirring until icing is smooth. Remove from heat. Place coconut on a sheet of grease-proof paper, or on a baking tray. Using forks, roll a piece of cake in the icing, allow excess to drain. Roll cake in coconut, place on wire rack. Repeat until all pieces are done.
HINT: It is easier to cut the cake if it is made the day before. The cake will not be as crumbly while you are cutting it.
Pavlova
This is a wonderful treat and not difficult to make. This is very Australian, although apparently there is some dispute between an Australian and an New Zealander that both believed they were the inventor. I don't really care, it's good, and that's what counts. basically I think that Australia and New Zealand are close enough neighbors and have so many similarities it should be a 'shared' dish between the two.
You will need.
2 teaspoons corn flour
4 egg whites
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (USA = extract)
1 teaspoon vinegar
cream for whipping.
Method
1. Preheat oven to very slow 120 Celsius. Brush a 32 x 28cm baking tray with melted butter. Line base with paper; grease paper. Dust lightly with sifted
corn flour, shake off excess. Using a 20 cm round cake tin or pan lid as a guide, mark a circle in the
center of prepared tray. Place egg whites in a small dry mixing bowl. Using electric beaters, beat for 1 minute or until soft peaks form.
2. Add the castor sugar gradually, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating consistently until mixture is thick and glossy and all the sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla essence and vinegar, beat until combined.
3. Spread mixture onto marked circle on prepared tray. bake 1 1/14 hours or until pale and crisp. Cool completely in the oven, with door slightly ajar. When pavlova is cool, slide a flat bladed knife underneath and carefully ease pavlova onto a serving plate.
4.Spread whipped cream over the top of the pavlova, and fruit such as strawberries, or grated chocolate if desired.
Scones
Scones are just about the same as what the Americans call 'biscuits'. I think this is a Southern thing, and not as common in the North. However, the method is different but the ingredients are basically the same. But in the US, they eat biscuits with a meal the way we would eat dinner rolls. Most commonly they eat them for breakfast with a white sauce called 'milk gravy'. In Australia we eat our scones for 'afternoon tea', with
'Devon shire teas'. I know that the Americans reading this have no idea what I mean. Afternoon tea is a 'snack' that is taken in the afternoon, around 4pm (ish) that usually consists of a drink of hot tea or coffee and a sweet treat, like cake or, scones with jam and cream. It's probably more common with the older generation, but as a youngster I sure did love afternoon tea time with my Grandmother or
Aunt, especially as they were both fabulous cooks. A 'Devon shire tea' is a hot cup of tea and scones with jam and cream. If you went to a tea room and ordered a
'Devon shire tea' that is what you would get. It's rather yummy.
You will need
50g butter or margarine
2 cups Self Raising flour
1tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar (optional)
200 ml milk
Preheat oven to 260C (500F). Sift flour and salt. Rub in butter and add sugar if used. make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in a,, the milk. Mix with a knife or spatula to a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured board, kneed lightly. Gently pat out to an oblong shape of 2 cm thickness. Cut with a 5 cm floured cutter, flouring each time before use. Place on a lightly greased and floured tray. Brush with milk and bake for approximately 10 - 12 minutes. when cooked lift onto a cake cooler, cover with a clean dry cloth if soft scones are desired.
Pumpkin Scones
You will need
60g butter or margarine
1/4 cup castor sugar
1/2 cooked mashed pumpkin
1 egg
2 1/2 cups Self Raising flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2-2/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 220C (410F). Cream butter and sugar, add pumpkin and mix together thoroughly. Add egg, sifted flour and salt. Mix into a soft dough with the milk and turn onto floured surface. Pat or roll out to a 2 cm thickness. Cut with a 5 cm floured cutter, flouring each time before use. Place on a lightly greased and floured tray. Brush with milk and bake for approximately 15 ins or until browned.
. Some of Australia's favorite and unique recipes are made with some ingredient that the USA, (an quite probably other countries) just do not have. There are ways to get some of these unique ingredients in the USA.
. If you wish to try these Aussie treats and you need to obtain some ingredients, send me an e-mail and I will let you know how and where you can get them.
Below you will see a list of some words that will need explaining. Many simply translating from the Aussie term. Some however can not be substituted at all.
The USA does not have COPHA. Crisco is NOT the same, some think that it is, but I assure you it will not work as a replacement for copha. Copha is not simply a vegetable fat, or shortening. There is no substitute for copha unless you find something that is EXACTLY the same. Copha is made from coconut oil and as a result it has certain unique properties. You might find it in certain countries under another name but make sure it is made only from coconut oil.
Confectioners sugar is not the same as ICING SUGAR either, for some reason in the USA confectioners sugar contains cornflour. Icing sugar in Australia does not. Odd, but true.
Also, flaked coconut is not the same as DESICCATED COCONUT. Firstly desiccated is MUCH finer than flaked and because of this it can make a big difference to Australian recipes that call for desiccated coconut. Also flaked coconut in the USA is sweetened, in Australia it is not sweetened. This also must be taken into account when cooking.
I have not found a substitute for GOLDEN SYRUP either. Golden syrup is NOT the same as dark corn syrup, or any corn syrup. It is made only from sugar cane and it is also much thicker than any syrup product found in the USA.
CONVERSIONS:
Some ingredients and terms differ in the USA so I have made a list of helpful things to know. I hope you find them useful!
TERMS:
cake cooler---wire rack
cake tin---baking pan
essence---extract
greaseproof paper---wax paper
lamington tin---13"x9"x2" pan
ring tin---tube pan
baking tray---cookie sheet
serviettes---napkins
INGREDIENTS:
capsicums---bell peppers
stock cubes---bullion cubes
castor sugar---superfine sugar
corn flour---cornstarch
copha---white vegetable shortening
biscuits---cookies
desiccated coconut---shredded coconut
icing sugar---confectioners sugar
glace cherries---marichino cherries
flour (plain)---all purpose flour
flour (self raising)---self rising flour
flour(wholemeal)---whole wheat flour
gelatine---unflavoured gelatine
ghee---clarified butter
king prawns---jumbo shrimp
mince meat---ground beef
rock melon---cantaloupe
scones---biscuits
shallots---scallions
sultanas---seedless white raisins
paw paw---papaya
tomato sauce---ketchup
lolly gobble bliss bombs---cracker jacks
pumpkin (butternut)---butternut squash
bacon rashers---bacon strips
bi-carb soda---baking powder
I had a lot of fun, finding out the difference between the above mentioned terms and
ingredients. I'm still learning a few new ones everyday
Conversion Table: (Temperatures)
British and American to Australian Cup and Spoon Conversion
Australian----- British/American
1 Tablespoon---3 teaspoons
2 Tablespoons---1/4 cup
1/4 cup---1/3 cup
1/3 cup---1/2 cup
1/2 cup---2/3 cup
2/3 cup---3/4 cup
3/4 cup---1 cup
1 cup ---1 1/4 cup
15g------1/2oz
20g------2/3oz
30g------1oz
60g-----2oz
90g-----3oz
125g-----4oz
155g------5oz
185g-----6oz
220g----7oz
250g-----8oz{1/2lb}
Oven Temperatures
Electric---- Celsius----Fahrenheit
Very slow--120----250
Slow---150----300
Mod slow----160---325
Moderate---180---350
Mod hot---210---425
Hot----240---475
Very Hot---260---525
Gas----Celsius-----Fahrenheit
Very slow--120---250
Slow----150---300
Mod slow---160---325
Moderate---180---350
Mod hot---190---375
Hot--200----400
Very Hot ---230---450