Inspire Me with the Perfect Marriage

It's not every day you can say you've met a couple who are perfect for each other but last weekend it happened, quite spontaneously yet it was clearly meant to be. Introducing... pumpkin and fresh thyme quiche!

When thyme heats up, the aroma takes you on a journey. I made a half n' half large shallow quiche - one side pumpkin & thyme, the other ham, oven roasted red capscium & fetta. Next time I'm heading straight for the roast pumpkin, fetta and thyme. I put the same on a freshly made pizza base the other night and it was so delicious and light I almost imploded with pure joy! Grab your favourite quiche recipe, oven-roast some pumpkin tossed in a little olive oil, then add it into the quiche pastry shell. Add the egg mixture and pick fresh thyme leaves and scatter over the top and bake. It's that easy.

The second recipe... "Best Ever" chocolate cake. It's a big call but it's lighter than a mud cake but not as light as a sponge. Easy to make and great for afternoon tea or lunchboxes.

"Best Ever" Chocolate Cake

I'm always a little skeptical when I see a claim such as "best ever" but I made this cake three times last weekend and it was wonderful each and every time. By using cocoa, you keep the fat content down but still get the lovely chocolately flavour. Anyway...

First... Mix together 125g butter, 1/2C castor sugar & 1/3 icing sugar with an electric mixer until colour changes to a pale creamy colour. Add in 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4C blackberry jam and mix again until combined. (I've also used dark cherry and also raspberry.)

Second... Sift 1 1/4C self-raising flour, 1/2C cocoa, 1 tsp bicarb soda into butter mixture. Fold together with 1C milk until it just comes together.

Third... Pour batter into a greased 20cm cake tin and put into a 180C oven for 40-45 minutes. Leave to stand for 15 mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with icing or ganache or sifted icing sugar and strawberries. YUM!

Chocolate Butter Cream

50g dark chocolate finely chopped

25g butter

3tsp cream and 1/4C icing sugar into a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth & glossy. Spread over cake.

Ganache

2/3C cream

200g dark chocolate chopped

1/3C castor sugar over low heat until mixture melts and is smooth. Brush 1-2tbsp of melted jam over cake and then ganache. If ganache is too runny, wait a few minutes for it to stiffen slightly.

Cake recipe courtesy "Epicure Chocolate" compiled by The Age, 187 pages of wall-to-wall chocolate. Bliss...