Recipes

Feijoa & Walnut Chocolate Cake

A layer of dark chocolate icing gives this moist feijoa cake a touch of indulgence.

This recipe never fails, and makes a rich, moist cake. It’s also one of the easier feijoa cake recipes I have found. There’s no need to cream the butter and sugar or add eggs one-by-one as you do with most recipes.

The chocolate butter icing can be kept in the fridge for a few days. Bring to room temperature and beat again until smooth before icing your cake.

Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes Serves: 6-8 slices

INGREDIENTS 2 cups feijoas, peeled and diced 100g walnut pieces 150g sultanas 200g sugar 100g butter, melted 1 egg 150g flour 1 heaped tsp baking powder ½ tsp each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, green cardamom and allspice 3 tbsp good quality Dutch cocoa

Icing: 50g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids) 100g unsalted butter, softened 200g icing sugar milk

METHOD Heat the oven to 180°C. Line and grease a 20-22cm diameter cake tin. Mix the feijoas, walnuts, sultanas (or goji berries) and sugar in a large bowl. Beat the egg and melted butter together in a small bowl, then stir into the fruit and sugar mixture. Add the flour, baking powder, spices and cocoa powder. Stir lightly until just combined. Do not overwork the mixture. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin before turning out onto a cake rack. Leave to cool completely. To make the icing, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the surface of the water. Once melted, remove and allow to cool until the chocolate no longer feels hot to the touch. Beat the butter in a bowl until soft, then gradually beat in the icing sugar. Fold in the melted chocolate until completely incorporated. If the mix is a little stiff, add a few drops of milk. Spread evenly over the top of the cake and decorate as desired.

Feijoa Chutney

This is a two-step, skin-on chutney with bite, perfect to use up the abundance of Feijoa’s at this time of the year.

Makes: 4-5 x 400g jars (approximately) Time: 3-3.5 hours (plus resting overnight)

INGREDIENTS 1kg feijoa (approx. 20-30 fruit, depending on size) 2 onions, chopped 1 small lemon, zest and juice 2 fresh red chillies 1½ cups brown sugar 2 tsp garlic salt ½ cup red wine vinegar 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tsp cardamom powdered 1 tsp cumin seeds

METHOD

The night before you make the chutney, top and tail the feijoas, cut them in half, then into quarters, then into 7-8 slices.

Place in a large casserole with a lid (or a roasting dish covered with tinfoil) to keep the moisture in. Add the onion, lemon zest, and juice.

Chop the chillies finely (de-seed them if you wish) and add them, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Stir, cover, then let it sit overnight.

The next morning, place the casserole or dish in a pre-heated oven (180°C) and cook for 2-3 hours with the lid on. Stir every half an hour. It will thicken and turn a dark-brown caramel colour. If the chutney is not thick after two hours, it needs a further hour.

Pour into sterilised jars, and seal with sterilised lid. Keep it hidden in a cool, dark place for a couple of weeks to let the flavours really meld into each other. If you’ve sterilised your jars and done everything right, this chutney should keep for at least 12 months – and in face improves with age Note, once opened, keep in the fridge and use within a week or so.

Feijoa Crumble Slice

This Feijoa Crumble Slice is the perfect way to celebrate feijoa season! It's a quick easy slice with an oaty base, feijoa filling and a crumble topping that's perfect served as a warm dessert or as a lunchbox snack!

Ingredients Base + crumble 2 cups (280g) flour ½ cup rolled oats ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon cinnamon ⅛ teaspoon salt 125 g butter, softened ½ cup (100g) brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Feijoa filling 2 cups feijoas, scooped out of the skins (approx 12-15 large feijoas, or 20 small) 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 TBSP flour ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Base 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line a 20cm/8" square baking tin with baking paper.

1. Whisk the flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon & salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or other large bowl beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until combined.

3. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until the mixture comes together.

4. Add 2 ½ cups (350g) of the mixture to the prepared baking tin. Set aside the remaining mixture. Using your hands or the back of a spoon, press the mixture firmly into the tin. Bake for 12 minutes or until just starting to go golden brown around the edges.

5. While the base is baking, prepare the filling. Roughly chop the feijoas and add them along with the sugar, flour and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix together.

6. Once the base has cooked, remove it from the oven and immediately pour over the feijoa filling. Spread it evenly over the base.

7. Using your hands, crumble the remaining dough mixture over the fruit filling. It doesn't matter if the crumbles are big, small or all different sizes.

8. Put the slice back in the oven for a further 20 minutes, or until the crumble topping is starting to go golden brown.

9. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with ice-cream and caramel sauce, or allow to cool in the tin before slicing and serving as bars.

10. Slice will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.