Foodies go nuts in cooker competition

No, Andrew Marshall and Aimee Cameron didn't lose their minds while whipping up their culinary delights, but their theme ingredient was, you've guessed it, nuts.

For the second time in as many weeks it was the humble friand that hit the spot and claimed victory for the chef responsible.

The Land's associate editor Andrew Marshall's skills in the kitchen generally don't go much beyond successfully cooking raisin toast, boiling eggs, or eventually dishing up a half reasonable bowl of spaghetti bolognaise.

Needless to say his first challenge was finding a recipe that sounded fancy, but could be tackled by a complete Masterchef novice.

Friands seem to fit the bill (especially once he worked out they were basically fancy-titled cup cakes).

This recipe takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 25 to cook, (plus a trip back to the supermarket to get "icing sugar mixture", which he now knows is different to "pure icing sugar".

The most difficult degree of difficulty factor in the kitchen was separating egg whites from yolks. Several yolks did not want to separate and had to be sacrificed in the process (the judge is still deliberating on whether Andrew should lose points due to speculation his wife helped with the egg whites.)

In an effort to hedge his bets, Andrew also served up a tasty little offering befitting his limited cooking skills of Nutella-filled white bread club sandwiches, which were to be dipped in cream.

For The Land copy control staff member Aimee Cameron really enjoys cooking.

"One of my favorite things are raspberries so I knew I had to include them some how," she said.

"This is my best friends recipe she uses for her baking company, and they always turns out amazing.

"Although mine didn't turn out 100 per cent - with the middle not cooking properly (I'll blame a faulty oven) they were still good with the white choc, raspberries and macadamias.

"The recipe is so easy and quick to make!"

105g (3/4 cup) pecan halves

6 egg whites, lightly whisked

185g unsalted butter, melted

230g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar mixture

75g (1/2 cup) plain flour

2 tablespoons maple syrup

10 pecan halves, extra

1 tablespoon maple syrup, extra, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush ten 125ml (1/2 cup) capacity, oval friand pans with melted butter to lightly grease.

Place pecans in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl and add the egg whites, unsalted butter, icing sugar mixture, flour and maple syrup. Stir until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans. Top each with a pecan half. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool. (To freeze, see below.)

Serve brushed with a little extra maple syrup, and cream..

250g butter

4 eggs

1½ cups light brown sugar

2 cups plain flour, sifted

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup white chocolate, chopped

200g raspberries, fresh or frozen

100g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 20cm x 30cm baking dish. Line dish with baking paper.

Place butter and brown sugar in a large saucepan and cook over low heat until butter is melted. Remove and set aside to cool slightly.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add vanilla essence. Sift in flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until well combined. Stir through chocolate chips, raspberries and macadamia nuts.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes. Cool slightly before turning out and cutting into squares.

The Land's cookery competition continues next week.