Nagi's Perfect Orange Poppy Seed Loaf Cake - With Cream Cheese Icing/Frosting

Nagi has done it again.  This is a really easy-to-make, and delicious cake, from her latest cookbook Recipe Tin Eats: Tonight.  Well, we won't talk about the plagiarism scandal again, but the saga continues.  And Nagi (Maehashi) won the Illustrated Book of the Year Award for this book last week, so things seem to be going in her favour.

I love poppy seeds, well all sorts of seeds in fact, so this was a winner for me.  I always thought it was hilarious when they started irradiating (is that the word?) poppy seeds, because apparently the baddies were making drugs out of them.  Really? :=)  Hilarious.  Who knew you could?  

And did you know that here in Tasmania, they grow 50% of the world's opium poppies?  I remember driving past the poppy fields in Tassie one time; the fences were very low, so you could easily hop over them.  I wonder if electric currents would shoot out at you, or crazy guard dogs, if you tried it?  Don't worry; I didn't try it. 

let me at it!

Serves 8-10:

ingredients:

300g./10.6 oz plain flour

2.5 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt (Nagi says cooking salt, but I stick to sea salt flakes)

2 Tbs poppy seeds

2.5 Tbs orange zest (3-4 large oranges)

250 mL/8.5 oz fresh orange juice

185 mL/6.3 oz neutral vegetable oil  (I used grapeseed)

3 large eggs, taken out of the fridge to warm up before using

200g./7 oz caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract/paste

For the cream cheese icing:

100g./3.5 oz soft cream cheese (from the tub, not the block)

190g./6.7 oz soft icing mixture (not icing sugar), sifted, if you can be bothered

1/4 tsp vanilla extract/paste  (but I added more)

2 tsp orange zest (+ extra to decorate, if you fancy)

a handful of flaked almonds (optional) to decorate

orange!

vanilla!

Method:

Turn on your oven to 180C/360F to heat up

Grease your loaf tin (24cm x 13.8 x 7cm) with oil or butter, and line with baking paper   see Notes

Grab a large mixing bowl, and add the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds, and give it a good whisk!  

Now grab a medium mixing bowl, wherein you will place the orange zest, juice, oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla, and whisk this thoroughly

Pour/scrape this wet mixture into your floury mixture, and whisk till lump-less (Nagi says no longer than 10 seconds!!, but I might have been reckless with my 15 second whisking)

Then you pour/spoon your batter into the prepared loaf tin

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or till the skewer comes out clean

Now let it sit in the tin for 10 minutes to relax, then it goes onto a wire rack to achieve zen - and breathe ...

When cool, you want to spread out that icing over the top of the cake

Which is just all the ingredients into a bowl, grab your wooden spoon (you know how I love a wooden spoon, my friends) and ...

Stir together, and slap the mix over the top of the cake (oddly, Nagi gives the full title of the cake here)

Throw on the added orange zest and flaked almonds if using, and serve a slice with a cuppa!

you guessed it :=)

Notes:

This is a regular 9 inch loaf tin, for you Imperial measurements fellas!  Is it rude of me to say how ironic it is that the U.S. still uses imperial i.e. old-fashioned British measurements?

ingredients gathered

whisk your wets

give it a good whisking - watch out for those lumps :)

pour into your prepared loaf tin

beautifully baked

stir up the icing

throw on some almond flakes if you wish

serve with a cuppa

yep poppy seeds

Pistachio And Chocolate No-Churn Ice Cream aka Dubai Chocolate Ice Cream

I've read that it's becoming difficult to buy pistachios due to the Dubai chocolate craze.  Thankfully, I was able to buy a packet of shelled, unsalted kernels from a local (and expensive) grocer.  I'd thought about making an ice cream version, so I googled it.  Lots of versions came up, but some made a chocolate ice cream, to which they added the pistachio paste.  But I wanted mine to be green!

So this is my version of a Dubai pistachio and chocolate ice cream, using pretzels rather than kataifi.  To be honest, I couldn't be faffed finding the kataifi, and frying it up in butter!  "Salted pretzels will give texture and a bit of umami flavour", says I to myself.  (And you happily get rid of your aggressions with the bashing.)  So I made some chunky pretzel dust instead.  

There are a few steps to making this, but none are onerous, or particularly time-consuming.  You can do a bit at a time, or even some steps the day before.  Just whack it all together at the end, and freeze!  Be aware this is not a smooth ice cream, but has rather a grainy, and kinda/almost savoury facet to it.  But still delicious!

    

yep, looks fairly green, and a bit grainy :=)

Makes around 1.5L/51 oz:

ingredients:

70g./2.5 oz pistachios, toasted and chopped  see Notes

100g./3.5 oz pretzels, smashed with a muddler or rolling pin

200g./7 oz pistachio paste or cream  see Notes

40g./1.4 oz tahini   (I used hulled)

2 Tbs icing sugar  (for the paste mixture)

500 mL/17 oz thickened cream   see Notes

1-2 tsp vanilla extract   (I like lots!)

2 Tbs icing sugar (for the cream mixture)

a tin of condensed milk (395g./14 oz)

150g./5.3 oz chocolate bits/drops/buttons, or chop up a block!

Topping:

190g./6.7 oz dark and milk chocolate (your choice of % of each)

100 mL/3.4 oz thickened cream 

1-2 Tbs mascarpone (optional)

a handful (several tablespoons?) of toasted, chopped pistachios

a scattering of sea salt flakes (optional)

pistachios

pretzels

Method:

First toast your nuts (stir often) in a small frypan over a low heat, till they smell nutty, darken a wee bit in colour and start to make a popping sound - is that normal?  'Cos mine definitely popped!  And let 'em cool, then chop 'em up - as big or small as you like

Pretzel dust is next: take a big ziploc bag, tip in the pretzels, grab that muddler and whack 'em till you have a chunky dust: Do up the zip/seal first, you precipitate/reckless lot :=)

Scoop the pistachio paste and tahini into a medium mixing bowl, along with the icing sugar, and give it a whizz with your electric hand beaters - just to make a smooth(ish) paste/mixture

Now grab a large mixing bowl, pour in the cream, and add the vanilla and icing sugar

Give this a good whizzing, till you have soft but firm peaks - does this make sense?

Pour/spoon in the condensed milk to the cream (see how they reduced the size of the tin by 2 grams?  Cheeky!) and mix again till nicely combined

And spoon the pistachio mixture into the cream mixture, and give it another whisking till smooth

Stir thru' the chocolatey bits/drops/ chunks, the pretzel dust, and the nuts 

Spoon into your loaf tin lined with a generous amount of freezer film, or into an ice cream container with a lid (mine holds 1.4 Litres) - so I put the rest into a small container and gave it to our Persian friend who said it was soooo delicious, and made her day!

Pop into the freezer for an hour or so to firm up, before you add the topping - which you make by melting the chocolate and cream in a small-ish saucepan

Give it a good stir, and let it cool for a couple of minutes before adding the mascarpone, if using

Spread it thickly over the top of the ice cream (maybe even stir some of it thru the ice cream), scatter on the extra nuts and sea salt flakes, then back into the freezer (preferably overnight) till firm

Once again, I am letting you know this is NOT a smooth ice cream; it's kind of nutty and a bit chunky and grainy but delicious!

yes, you can use 2 of these, instead of the tin

Notes:

I suggest buying pistachio kernels that are shelled and unsalted

You can buy either pistachio paste or cream.  The paste is 100% nuts, with no additives so quite savoury in taste, while the cream has added sugar and oils 

I used thickened/whipping cream which has a minimum 35% milk fat - I had some leftover soft cream cheese too, so I added 2 Tbs, but not necessary at all!

Try this with your fave nut paste and nuts!  Be a rebel; doesn't have to be pistachios, 'cos they are dear, and may be hard to find

toast your nuts, baby!

and smash those pretzels!

ingredients gathered

whizz up the pastes and icing sugar

pour this mixture into the whipped cream mixture

I used white chocolate too!

melting the chocolate and cream for the topping

ready for the freezer

start scooping :)

rich and nutty, so scoop away :=)

Crispy Haloumi Pearl Couscous Salad

Haloumi or halloumi?  Apparently, halloumi is for the cheese that actually comes from Cyprus (and is a mixture of cows', sheep and goats' milks), so haloumi it is!  Not sure I've ever had pearl couscous before (or maybe I did many moons ago), so this was a new experience.  (I did in fact end up buying both sorts of cheese!)

Did I ever tell you my story about having breakfast in a Greek café in Nafplio?  Mr P. and I had breakfast down by the water, where we ate yoghurt and honey.  Oh my word!!  If you like the taste of billy goat ...  that yoghurt was a bowl of horror.  Reminds me of buying scrumpy (rough farmhouse apple cider) in Somerset (or was it Devon?).  Oh boy, I reckon they'd thrown a handful of cow dung into the apple press :=)    

This is a recipe from Tonight by Nagi Maehashi, the well-loved Aussie cook.  Some of you may know of her through her website, and her cookbooks.  She is in the middle of a plagiarism barney at the moment, as she is accusing a Brisbane baker of stealing a few of her recipes.  And a couple of other cooks are up in arms too.  Someone suggested the 'naughty' cook had just typed in a request to ChatGPT for recipes - tee hee :=)  

Just FYI, a list of ingredients isn't under copyright, but your prose - how you write the method - most certainly is!  So that's why I always re-write the method, and give attribution to the original cook.  I remember there was a local foodie/blogger/entrepreneur who would add fabulous recipes to her website, but they were very VERY clearly those of Nigella Lawson!!  You simply cannot mistake Nigella's voice, ever!  When I called her out on it, she just basically said: "Oh yeah."  Without the slightest bit of guilt or remorse!  Grrrrrrr!

crispy, herby, fresh and delicious

Serves 4:

ingredients:

Pearl couscous:

1 Tbs EV olive oil

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or grated

165g./6 oz pearl couscous

375 mL/12.7 oz vegetable or chicken stock

1/4 tsp sea salt flakes

Lemon Dressing:

3 Tbs lemon juice

80 mL/2.7 oz EV olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped or grated

1 tsp sea salt flakes

1/4 tsp black pepper

Crispy honey-glazed haloumi:

1 Tbs EV olive oil

400g./14 oz haloumi, cut into 1.5 cm/0.6 inch cubes

2 tsp honey (or maple syrup, says Nagi, but I guess you can use whatever syrup you like)

Salad:

100g./3.5 oz baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped or torn into wee pieces   see Notes

3 tomatoes, chopped up and seeds removed (or not, as you please)

2 cucumbers, sliced lengthwise then chopped into small pieces   see Notes

2 spring (green) onions aka shallots/scallions, finely sliced

1 avocado, cut into small cubes   see Notes

6g./0.2 oz mint leaves, chopped   see Notes

5g./0.2 oz coriander or parsley leaves, chopped

2 Tbs dill, chopped

Method:

For the couscous:

Grab a large saucepan, pour in the oil and place over medium heat

In goes the garlic, and cook for 20 seconds

Heat goes up to high; stir in the couscous for one minute

Now add the stock and salt

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover with a lid

Simmer for ten minutes, or till the liquid has gone

And tip the couscous into a bowl, and let it cool down for around 30 minutes - don't worry if it turns into a solid block!

For the dressing: grab a jar, put the ingredients inside, and give it a good shake!

Now for the haloumi:

Grab your large, non-stick frying pan, and put it over a medium-high heat

In go the haloumi cubes, and you toss 'em till light golden

Then drizzle over the honey or syrup, and toss for another minute

Pour out into a bowl to cool a bit, while you make the salad

For the salad:

You now pour half the dressing over the couscous, and give it a toss

Tip in the salad ingredients, and the rest of the dressing (I snuck in chives, parsley and coriander rather than dill and mint - Mr P. and I are not fans)

Give it all a really good toss, and cast on the haloumi

Garnish with some more chopped herbs if you feel inclined

baby spinach leaves

Notes:

Nagi doesn't say what type of cukes, so does she mean those long English ones or the short, squat ones, or the short and thin ones?  Who knows?  I just went for Lebanese cukes, which are kinda short

Nagi is very precise about her cube sizes, but I reckon just go for whatever size you fancy

Avocadoes are not ripe at the moment, so I fudged it with a green capsicum

Not such a big fan of spinach, so I used about 60g.!

FYI, the haloumi weeped a fair bit while frying, so I spooned out the excess liquid so it became crispy, rather than going into a big sweat

red tomatoes

ingredients gathered

stir in that couscous, let it boil, then simmer for about 10 mins.

and it's done

cool that couscous and chop that cheese

crispy and golden!

shake that dressing

and chop those cukes!

couscous into the bowl

and add the salad

and in goes the dressing 

top the salad with the crispy haloumi

eat!

spring onions

cucumbers

Joining in with Jo from BKD Cookbook Club; this month's theme is recipes from celebrity chefs! 

In My Kitchen - May 2025

Did everyone have as mad an April as we did?  There was so much happening: birthdays galore, medical and other appointments, short stories to write for competitions, blog posts, and general living.  

As Mr P. is the President and I am the Vice-President of our local Historical Society, we attend two meetings a month, and do the various bits and bobs that go along with that.  And of course, we had gone away at the start and end of the month, and I had the bronchitis which knocked me out of things for a couple of weeks.  How the heck did we get everything done?

I usually bake Anzac biscuits for Anzac Day (25th April), but as we were going away the next day (actually on Anzac Day), I decided to give it a miss this year.  I have sometimes made 5 or 6 dozen biscuits!  They hold a service just near our local Historical Society each year, which is widely attended, so we headed there, then headed south for our weekend away (in honour of Mr P.'s birthday).

 

passionfruit butter cake for Mr P.!  (bought in)

I'm looking forward to a quiet May, hopefully!  But I have a feeling that ain't gonna happen :=) 

In My Kitchen:

a few more goodies from the local Japanese store

Love the Pikachu furikake jar.  And it's so tasty!  The Kit-Kats were 'adult' flavour apparently, which meant little to no sugar.  I liked 'em!

Easter chocs from Coco88

and a few more chocs, and some local honey

oh yes, another cookbook! Donna's latest

more herbs and seeds from Herbie's Spices

and some goodies from a new Asian store

I thought they were little lollies top-left, but no, it's some sort of Rubik's cube, and the tiny beads are meant to zip around all over the place.  Mr P. and I could NOT get them to move at all :=)  But happily, there were some wee lollies lurking in the orange cardboard packet.

I love Gewurzhaus goodies!

We visited their shop when in Melbourne recently.  It was heavenly.  I bought some real cinnamon, as normally I buy Dutch cinnamon which is of course cassia rather than the real stuff.

I bought some coffee pods at a new (for us) coffee shop on the Southside

and I made citrus cordial for Mr P.

and I made hummus with lots of garlic!

and a friend gave us Easter treats

and the curveball: I bought her at the Logan Art Gallery - a ceramic lizard
Artist: Alysen Moloney 

c. Sherry M.

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