by Steve Lunavich | Mar 2, 2018 | Recipes
This caramel is not your conventional childhood sugary treat. As this one uses beer, it does impart a more robust flavour for those adults used to alcohol or for kids that live in areas like Lakemba, Frankston, or anywhere where the dole office is like the local church. The taste on the palate is comparable to most marriages I know. Starts off sweet, goes smooth for a bit and by the end becomes a little bitter. But rest easy, the bitterness in this is a good thing as according to Toohey’s Brewery Australia, TED’s is a “A highly refreshing dry lager with low bitterness and a light malt body”. So, there is no chance this sweet delight will turn that bitter that it takes your kids and uses them as pawns..
It’s origins were not born out of a love for beer. It was from my lust for sugar and all things caramel. I had a couple of Tooheys Extra Drys (TED’s) there in the electronic chill cupboard for a few months and one day I opened the fridge and it hit me, the can of beetroot fell off the top shelf and straight on to my ingrown toenail. Faaaarrrrrk! I needed something to take my mind off the pain. And as I looked up to the shelf where the beets once sat, there it was.. Alcohol!
I did what any red blooded, potentially morbidly obese male would do in a moment like this.. Take the beers and make caramel,,
Here’s what you’ll need:
700mls of TED’s beer (2 x stubbies)
500g sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean extract
Heavy cream
1 – Empty the beers into a pot, make it a decent size to avoid spillage from boiling.
2 – Bring to boil, avoid stirring and reduce temperature to allow for a gentle rolling bubble, like lava
making its way down the side of the volcano and into the meadow. Not a violent bubble, like lava
making its way down the side of the volcano and into the meadow, destroying every living thing that
stands in its way. After a couple of hours it will start to thicken.
3 – When it is able to stick to a metal spoon take it off the heat. Allow to cool for a bit before
adding the vanilla and cream.
4 – How much cream you add is up to you. I used about half of a cup to give it a smooth creaminess.
5 – I found that the little bitterness at the end subsided over the week it sat in the fridge. It did
get better and better.
Give it a shot. You wont be disappointed. This will not be my last foray into the beer-cross-caramel saga… This is BEERAMEL
by Steve Lunavich | Feb 28, 2018 | Recipes
“Spring Rolls are so last season, These Summer Rolls take the cake.. and wrap it in filo” – Johnny Depp‘s gardener
Born out of my insatiable food lust to wrap all things in filo and watch on repeat my favourite cooking shows on the food channels, I was happily immersed in the end credits for Pirates Of The Caribbean, Dead Mans Chest when I decided to sail back to my beloved cooking channel. To my horror Man vs Food was not on as the TV guide had promised, my poor 80″ UHD screen had been hijacked by that shite ‘Mystery Diners’! My inner pirate raged “Aaarrrrgghhh! Such blaspheme! How dare ye pillege my pixels. Tis’ has no place on ye food channel” Unfortunately, I couldn’t make that Charles dude walk the plank. So I did the next best thing.. I walked to the kitchen… aaaarrrrghhh
On opening the larder I stumbled upon a treasure trove of delectable left over delights. Madeira cake, chocolate, nuts, dried fruits and more chocolate. Instantly my imagination soared to the horizon. Follow that star to the land of munchies. But first, I had one last thing to procure. So before I set sail to for the equatorial summer of Fat Mans Chest, I collected the bounty and made my way across to the fridge. Immediately it caught the attention of my right eye (the other was covered by a patch), there it was.. the filo pastry!
“Ahoy there mother f**ker! I feel a binge eat comin’ on. Set sail.. We have some deep frying to do..”
Summer Roll Cigars
Filo Pastry
Chunk of Madeira Cake
Big handful of Dark Chocolate
Same with White Chocolate
A heap of Pistachios nuts
Dried fruit (optional)
Glace Cherries (also optional)
Peanut oil for Deep Frying or Vege oil
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor except filo. That would be counter productive
2. Blitz till coarse
3. Taking one sheet of filo at a time, keeping the remaining sheets covered with a damp cloth to avoid
drying out the rest.
4. Spread one half of filo with butter using a basting brush, fold in half to make a smaller rectangle,
square shape
5. Place equal amounts of filling on each sheet and roll into cigar shapes
6. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown and drain on a rack
Serve with homemade ice cream, Baileys ice cream or any ice cream for that matter or dipping chocolate
Aye, she be hot, luscious, Gooey & fudgy
by Steve Lunavich | Feb 5, 2018 | Recipes
Mum’s Banana Cake, BEST EVER!
“This cake is dark like Denzel, rich like Oprah, dense like Kanye & moister than grandma’s panties at a Tom Jones concert” – Rolling Stone Magazine stockist Barry
Besides being known for knocking out some mean bikies, my Mum is also known for knocking out some mean cakes. This one is always a knockout. My Mum’s best ever banana cake! One of the best parts of my childhood it never disappoints.
I would not have a clue how long this cake lasts for in the fridge, because it always disappears after being cut. Served just with whipped cream is the way to go or, caramelise a banana and top with a good drizzle of cajeta (mexican caramel) or duche de leche (Spanish caramel)
This mix is for one cake. It usually gets doubled. Dont even try to triple or quadruple it, because it just doesn’t turn out right for some reason
Preheat Oven to 350 degF / 180 degC
- Cream 4oz butter, 3/4 C Sugar & 1 egg
- Mix in 2 RIPE mashed bananas & 1/4 milk
- Add 1/2 C plain flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder & pinch of salt
- Bake for 30mins. The cake should be dark and come away slightly from the pan. Should be moist as
