Fig Jam

Autumn! I've been waiting all year for this recipe, waiting for all the figs from my friend's fig tree to ripen so that I could make my favourite jam in the world. Now yours too. What's not to love about fig jam? It's great on toast, on scones (not my scones though...). It's delicious on ice-cream and adds a bit of sweetness to a really sharp piece of cheddar. 

I received a text from my friend saying the birds have eaten most of the figs, but I could have the 6 that were salvageable? I also received a photo of the figs. While they looked pretty nice, I could see at once there were not enough to make jam.

I went to the Queen Victoria Markets instead to get my figs. The Vic Market is a great spot to shop, and going there gave me the chance to talk with fruit and veggie growers about the poor state of figs because of the lack of rain. Or it was spiel to get me to pay a bit more for the figs? I am so naïve.

So anyway, here is a simple, yet pretty foolproof recipe for fig jam. I halved the recipe that's here and I still ended up with a dozen jars. 

Fig Jam

5.5 kg figs
3 lemons
4 kg sugar

The night before:

Cut figs into rough pieces, chop the lemons finely (include the pulp but remove the seeds) and leave overnight with half the sugar. 

Day of cooking:

In the morning (or whenever), bring the mixture to the boil and add the rest of the sugar. Simmer and reduce until jam has reached its setting point. 

To test the jam has set, place a saucer in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then spoon a little of the jam onto the dish, let cool and tip it to the side. If it runs slowly down the plate (or not at all), it’s set! If not, keep simmering. 

Remove the jam from heat, let stand for about 10 minutes, then pour into sterilised jam jars.

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For those of you who are not in Australia, please find here a selection of Measurement & Temperature Conversion Charts which should help with the accuracy of your own cooking. 

Mrs Barr's Blow Away Sponge

This cake, oh what can I say. This cake was so light and fluffy and delicious, and so easy to make. I think I understand why it's called a Blow Away Sponge, it was so very light, with a slightly almost flaky crumbly exterior. A bit of jam, a bit of cream, a cup of tea and it's easy to imagine that pure bliss exists in the small moments containing these things. 

Mrs Barr’s Blow Away Sponge

4 eggs

¾ cup corn flour

¾ cup sugar
2 tsp. plain flour
½ tsp. bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
Pinch of salt
Vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 160°C. 

Grease baking tins with butter.

Separate yolks from whites. 

Beat whites with salt and essence. Add sugar and beat until stiff.

Beat yolks well, add to egg whites and beat more. 

Sift dry ingredients three times, after the third time fold into the egg mixture with a knife.

Cook for 20 minutes.

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For those of you who are not in Australia, please find here a selection of Measurement & Temperature Conversion Charts which should help with the accuracy of your own cooking. 

Marshmallow Cake

On a really hot day in the middle of summer I cooked this abomination of a cake. My mum had just driven over with my cats who she had been minding for me while I settled into my new home upon returning to Melbourne. It really was too hot to leave the house for any length of time, so I thought I'd bake. Note to self, baking on a really hot day is a very very stupid thing to do. 

When I say abomination of a cake, I mean it. Nothing went right - the cake base crumbled to bits because it wasn't really a cake, and the smell produced by the 'real gelatine' honestly had me thinking that something had died outside and the stench was wafting in. I couldn't even taste it. So I made my mum do so, and while she tried to be polite, her screwed up face told me all I needed to  know. 

Also, not a marshmallow to be seen in the list of ingredients. Again with the erroneous naming conventions of these recipes. Was marshmallow so luxurious that this ersatz version was all that could be managed? Cornflakes again make an appearance though. 

Cake base fail.

Marshmallow Cake

1 cup self raising flour

¾ cup brown sugar

1 cup coconut

1 ½ cup cornflakes

Pinch salt

Vanilla essence

115g copha

Preheat oven to 160°C

Melt copha, then mix through all the dry ingredients. 

Press firmly into a cake tin and cook in the oven for about 15 minutes. 

Let cool then pour the Marshmallow Topping over the cake. 

Marshmallow Topping

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 tbsp. gelatine

Pinch cream tartar

pink or red food colouring

Bring all the ingredients (except for the food colouring) to the boil and boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and cool completely. Beat until white and thick, add pink colouring and pour over cake.

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For those of you who are not in Australia, please find here a selection of Measurement & Temperature Conversion Charts which should help with the accuracy of your own cooking.