Baking for blokes on Father’s Day

By Lyn Potter

This week the hunt will be on again for the perfect Father's Day gift. For guys who have a sweet tooth Baking for Blokes. DIY in the Kitchen could be a good one. Steve Joll, the author, was motivated to write it because “it seems that in this modern enlightened age you can paint rainbows, cut your hair like David Beckham, quaff wine and plant a veggie garden - but baking is still seen as a woman's domain.”

I agree with him, it's time for a change. Blokes deserve their turn in the kitchen. One of the nice little memories I have of my own dad (who never cooked and rarely touched a tea towel when I lived at home but mended his ways later on in life) was one afternoon when he donned a chef's white hat and invited my son into the kitchen for a cookie baking session. They may have got covered in flour but they had a lot of fun and the results were eagerly devoured.

Baking for Blokes is a practical book. What it lacks in pretty pics is made up for in clear directions. The ingredients are readily available and only a basic tool kit is needed. The only essential power tool is a handheld electric beater.

Steve advises blokes not to dress up in an apron but to adopt a baking towel (otherwise known as a tea towel as the ultimate baking accessory which can be used to wrap, grab, wipe, cover and flick)

He has also devised a DOD system to grade his recipes on a scale of 1-5 based on ease of speed and preparation One is dead easy, and 5 is lengthy and very tricky but actually all of them are quite achievable for even beginner baking blokes if they are willing to follow Steve’s step by step instructions carefully.

The recipes include a whole range of yummy cakes, muffins, biscuits, pies and quiches with blokey names such as chocolate weetbix slice, scroggin, sultana rock cakes, big fish pie and bourbon chocolate truffles.

For a Father's Day feast (which blokes will hopefully want to bake themselves) I'd recommend the smoked salmon and broccoli quiche which is easy to make and tastes really good. Steve chose to rename it ‘Man Fish and Iron pie.’ He reckons that salmon males are very manly fish as they battle their way upstream for thousands of kilometers warding off predators along the way, just to impress the chicks. And broccoli is packed full of iron. So very blokey as well.

The quiche could be served with a freshly tossed green salad and some garlic bread. And for dessert what could be nicer than the lemon fudge cheesecake that was Steve’s very own creation for a big bake-off judged by the head of a multi-award winning restaurant. Although the grand prize was taken by a woman who baked some chocolate chip biscuits I think you’ll agree that for a bloke it was a pretty good effort!

I asked Steve who will be wearing the tea towel and what will be cooking at his house this Father’s day. He tells me that he will certainly be doing his crepes because there’s nothing like pancakes and maple syrup on a Sunday morning. And he has spotted a couple of bananas in the bowl that may need to be turned into a cake before too long!

As for who’ll be wearing the tea-towel he has this to say:

Baking for Blokes (DIY in the Kitchen)
Author: Steve Joll
Publisher: New Holland
RRP $29.99

Steve has kindly shared his recipes for the Broccoli and Salmon Quiche (otherwise known as Man Fish and Iron Pie) and the Lemon Fudge Cheesecake.

Broccoli and Salmon Quiche

Steve's advice: Use the right kind of smoked salmon. You don’t want the slivers of cold-smoked stuff; you want a chunk of wood-roasted salmon (available in the fish section of the supermarket) that comes pre-packed in 100g or 200g packets.

As with any other pie or tart, it’ll help avoid sagging or drooping pastry if you put the pastry back into the fridge once you’ve pressed it into the dish.

Degree of Difficulty: 3, Serves 6–8

Ingredients

• Savoury short crust pastry (see page 94. You need about half of what the recipe makes.)
• 2 eggs
• 250 ml cream
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• 200 g uncooked broccoli, chopped into small pieces
• 200 g smoked salmon, shredded with a fork

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Prep a 23 cm pie dish by greasing the inside of it with butter.

3. Lightly flour the bench and roll out the pastry to the same size as the pie dish (allowing enough for the sides). Line the bottom and sides of the dish with the pastry, pressing it gently into the dish. Jab evenly around the base with a fork a dozen or so times.

4. Bake blind for 10 minutes (see page 114).

5. While that's happening, whisk together the eggs and cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper until they’re nice and smooth.

6. Spread the chopped broccoli and shredded salmon around the base of the pie.

7. Pour the eggy mixture over the top and stick the lot in the oven.

8. Bake for 20 minutes.

Lemon Fudge Cheesecake:

A little plastic cling film goes a long way to saving your butt on this one. Line the cake tin as instructed so you can pull out the cheesecake when it’s set.

Suggestion: Before serving the cheesecake, chuck it into the freezer for 20 minutes and then grate lemon zest over the top. Honest to God, it’s unbelievable.

Degree of Difficulty: 4, Makes 8ish

Ingredients

Base:

• 1 x 250 g packet wine biscuits
• 125 g butter, melted
• 1 heaped tablespoon cocoa

Topping:

• ¼ cup lemon juice (no pips)
• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
• 250 g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk, well chilled
• 1 cup cream

Method

1. Make the topping first. Warm the lemon juice in a small pot and when it gets hot enough (but not boiling) stir in the gelatine to dissolve it. Set the pot to one side.

2. To make the base, melt the butter and cocoa together in a pot over a low heat.

3. Blast the biscuits in a food processor until they’re fine crumbs. Pour the crumbs into the pot and mix thoroughly.

4. Line a 20–21cm cake tin with a large sheet of plastic cling film so there’s lots of overhang (this will help pull it out afterwards).

5. Press the biscuit mixture into the bottom of the cake tin.

6. To make the topping, combine the cream cheese, caster sugar and the lemon/gelatine mixture into a food processor and blend until smooth.

7. Tip in the chilled evaporated milk and blend a little more.

8. Whip the cream until thick and fold it into the mixture until well combined.

9. Pour the mixture onto the crumb base.

10. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight.