I've subscribed to both Gourmet Traveller and Delicious magazines for almost ten years now, but of late I've been increasingly frustrated with their repetitive content and the amount of advertising that keeps creeping into each new publication. So towards the middle of last year I made a conscious decision to pull back and have since ceased both subscriptions.

Nowadays I look for inspiration amongst the many and various food blogs out there and have been pleased with the rich content that is freely available to me. I have also treated myself to a couple of new and inspiring cookbooks as I felt that I needed to challenge my skills and broaden my cooking base.

You can imagine then how surprised I was when a girlfriend recently handed me a copy of the latest edition of Dish, which is a New Zealand, based food and wine magazine. While I was flicking through magazine I was suddenly reminded of the earlier Donna Hay publications all those years ago, before it too became inundated with senseless, distracting ads.

I'm already a huge fan of Bron Marshall and am an unashamed New Zealand wine lover, so I guess it was no surprise that I should fall head over heels with Dish magazine. Hence, the recipes in Dish are appealing and simple to follow. The layout is rich and inviting and for less than you would expect every back copy of Dish is now available as a digital magazine.

By now you all know where I'm going with this, no?

Yes, I succumbed and am thrilled to say that I am now a proud Dish subscriber!

I  know I know I'm just a sucker for a beautifully presented magazine, but dare I say it, not just any old magazine.



Torta Gianduja - Chocolate and Roasted Hazelnut Cake

Adapted from - Dish

Ingredients

200g roasted hazelnuts

200g unsalted butter, cubed

200g 70% dark Lindt chocolate

5 organic eggs, separated

200g golden caster sugar

The grated zest of an orange

50ml of Frangelico



Method



1. Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and grease and line the base of a 24cm spring form tin with baking paper.

 2. Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground, but leave them with a little texture.


3. Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the butter and chocolate has fully melted carefully take the bowl off the heat and stir in the hazelnuts and orange zest and then set aside to cool. Meanwhile beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
 

4. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Using a large metal spoon gently fold in about a third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Then gently fold the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain, being careful not to over mix. Pour the mixture into the prepared spring form tin.


5. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a crust forms and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and release and remove the pan sides. Slide carefully onto a serving platter and allow to cool before serving.



6. Dust the cake with a light sprinkling of icing sugar before serving it with a huge dollop of pure double cream or some gelato di panna.






A Mediterranean Feast of the
Mythic Islands of Malta & Sicily

June 7th-17th, 2011
Ten day fully escorted gastronomic tour

 
Download 'A Mediterranean Feast' 2011 Tour Brochure ( 111kb pdf)

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