We test out recipes from Poh Bakes 100 Greats
Earlier this week we roadtested different recipes from Poh Ling Yeow’s new cookbook, Poh Bakes 100 Greats, and invited Poh to come in and select the best one!
Here are the results of our final Readings bake-off for 2017…
Michael Wallace made ‘Flourless Chocolate Cake with Guinness Ice Cream’ (pg. 140):
Poh’s recipe proved pretty, pretty tasty. I’d baked flourless chocolate cakes with almond meal before, but never a completely flour (or flour-substitute) free recipe. Despite accidental overcooking the cake remained moist and rich in chocolate flavour. The recipe for the Guinness Ice Cream was super easy – a four ingredient custard heated and thickened in the microwave. Both recipes were flavoursome and straightforward – worth returning to.
Judges’ comments: Poh was struck by the presentation of both components of this dish – there was not even a crack in the cake! Both these dishes require care and caution, and each were implemented skillfully to achieve outstanding results.
Jo Robin made Turkish Delight (pg. 178):
I love Turkish Delight, but haven’t made it before. The inventiveness and complexity of the recipe was quite surprising. I’d describe the recipe as a crash course in food chemistry, and I look forward to a better outcome next time! It tasted great though, the honey, rose water and pistachios delivered the authentic flavours of real Turkish Delight.
Judges’ comments: The Turkish Delight was presented perfectly and with a supreme flavour.
Anthony Shaw made ‘Lumberjack Cake’ (pg. 195):
Having tried lumberjack cake and loved it, I was excited by the prospect of making it with the help of Poh’s beautiful new cookbook. The recipe was simple to follow and although it had three components, it was fairly easy to make. The result was a caramelised tasty treat of cakey goodness.
This is the second cake I have made from Poh Bakes 100 Greats, having previously cooked her recipe for Baumkuchen, or German Tree Cake. Both of them look amazing and taste even better – thanks Poh.
Judges’ comments: This cake was very well cooked – flawlessly moist and the caramelised topping created an appealing crunch. This recipe is heavy and difficult to get right as the centre can be soggy. But this one was evidently cooked with a deft hand.
Judi Mitchell made ‘Persian Love Cake’ (pg. 168):
Rose water, cardamom and saffron are such evocative aromas and on a warm Melbourne night seemed to fit perfectly – even having the oven on! I loved preparing this cake. The layers of smells as each step came together were great – from the buttery sugar almond crumb base to the final garnish of rose petals. Poh’s ‘bung-in-and-stir’ method meant this was a very straight forward cake to make with few dishes to wash at the end – hooray! I enjoyed getting my hands into the crumb/cake base mixture and feeling the ingredients turn to sand. Mixing the batter ingredients was simple with a hand whisk and the final result was a moist, delicious cake with delicate flavours and a yummy caramelised base. Served with Greek-style yoghurt this is definitely one to make again!
Judges’ comments: The texture and taste was delectable. The gorgeous presentation here received special mention for the use of exquisite rose buds.
Claire Atherfold made ‘Ann’s Cherry Ripes’ (pg. 107):
Initially I was a bit overwhelmed by the choice of amazing recipes in Poh’s new cookbook and couldn’t decide which one to try my hand at, but then I turned the page to Ann’s Cherry Ripe. This recipe holds a soft spot in Poh’s heart with inspiration coming from her mother-in-law Ann, and funnily enough it jumped off the page at me for a similar reason – my mum is also an Ann by name and she loved her Cherry Ripe Chocolate bars and baking. Unfortunatelym Mum isn’t able to bake for herself anymore because of her early onset Alzheimer’s, but I could and if it all worked out perhaps bring some to her for the festive season too.
The recipe is super easy, quick and only a few ingredients required – even a ‘non-baker’ like me could manage it. And it smelled so good while in the oven that my husband couldn’t wait to cut it up to try. He pestered me so much in the end I let him crack one out of the tin.
Judges’ comments: This dish was an absolute treat to eat. The cook was praised for ensuring that each step was created with diligence, and the result is… well… is there any left?
Editor note: No!
Lian Hingee made ‘Apple Caramel Cheesecake’ (pg. 148):
Apple and cheese is one of my favourite food combos, so I knew I wanted to make the (amazing looking!) Apple Caramel Cheesecake as soon as I saw the recipe. It has quite a few different components, including a brandy caramel sauce and apples which have been cooked in a syrup, so it’s definitely one of those plan-ahead recipes, but the instructions are really clear and very easy to follow. I liked the addition of toasted pecans in the base, which gave it a nutty flavour and a bit more texture, and the cheesecake itself was delicious.
Next time I’m going to make about 17 times more caramel sauce… not because there wasn’t enough (there definitely was) but because it was DELICIOUS, and would be amazing on a huge variety of things. I’m thinking I’ll make a few bottles of it to give as gifts this Christmas.
Judges’ comments: This was the most technical of the dishes offered today and was perfectly executed. The presentation was stunning. The different parts of the dish were created with flair and expertise. This is truly a wonderful dessert.
Bronte Coates made ‘Brutta Ma Buoni – Ugly but Good’ (pg. 170):
We have four chickens at my home which means I am forever rich in eggs and I like to seek out recipes that use this prized ingredient. This one has six (the whites at least) and I was also caught by the description of ‘ugly but good’. It was incredibly easy to follow the recipe and I always love seeing egg whites transform into a glossy castle-like structure with stiff peaks. Mixing hazelnuts into the meringues gives them a lovely delicate flavour and the final result was delightfully chewy.
Judges’ comments: These meringues have a surprise texture and are chewy and moreish. These gems are closer to a nougat texture than a pavlova creation and the effect is truly brilliant.
Kara Nicholson made ‘Malaysian Pineapple Tarts’ (pg. 50):
I have never eaten these before and was intrigued as to how they would taste. The pâte sablée was easy to make and work with but melted very quickly with too much handling. I didn’t have proper Malaysian moulds but used a flower shaped cookie cutter and made indentations with a skewer. It really helped to put them in the fridge to firm up before baking. I didn’t do this with the first batch and they just melted into a blob. I learnt so much from this recipe and they were delicious!
Judges’ comments: Poh was delighted that the cook had added her own touch of brilliance to this dish. The added mint leaf on top of each tart gave the tarts a bright fresh addition.
Jan Lockwood made ‘Honey Cardamom Nut Bars’ (pg. 37):
It was so difficult to choose what to make from this lovely book. Everything looks beautiful and the ingredients are just a little bit different from the average baking recipes. I plumped for the Honey Cardamon Nut Bars from page 37, which are now called ‘Sticky Fingers’ in my house… Just our luck to have a heatwave hit on the night of bake-off so having the oven on wasn’t pleasant. But it was only 20 minutes or so until the slab of sweetly fragrant nutty goodness was golden and ready. Keep the bars cool so they don’t deconstruct and the baking paper wrap tied up with string is practical as well as visually appealing. Deliciously exotic and a healthy treat.
Judges’ comments: Poh was blown away by the presentation of these nut bars. She commented specifically on the fiddly nature of securing wax paper around bars that scream with Middle Eastern flavours.
And the winners are…
First place: Apple Caramel Cheesecake
Second place: Lumberjack Cake
Third place: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Guinness Ice Cream
Thank you so much to Poh for her recipes and judging expertise, pictured here sleeping off her food coma…
