Gâteau Mary MacKillop

Saint Mary’s gateau goes global
The canonisation might be over, but the cake goes on.
The delicate gateau created by international pastry chef Jason van Leuven in honour of Australia’s first saint has excited media around the world, with a massive jump in hits on his website for the recipe and coverage from Poland to Belgium to Cleveland, Ohio.
“It’s great to see this interest in a recipe featuring ingredients that are so important to the local community in the south east,” Jason said.
“It gives people thousands of miles away a taste of South Australia.”
In creating the confection made with local almonds, olive oil and lavender, Jason is honouring a centuries-old tradition of pastry chefs to pay homage to the great names and those in high office through the invention of special desserts in their name.
“The great patisserie chefs of Europe, from Careme on, delighted in pushing their skills to the limit in honour of their patrons,” Jason said.
In this case though, while Jason has created a version for his fellow professionals to conjure with, he has also produced a recipe well within the reach of home cooks and made it available on his website.
“I hope that many Australian cooks will try the recipe at home and make it each year to commemorate this special event and a very special woman,” he said.
“There is a sense of family in traditions like these, just as there is in the special foods we serve at Christmas and Easter. I like to think there will be families next year in the kitchen together, making this gateau to share and remember our first Saint.”

The recipe is available to all on Jason’s website at www.vanleuven.com.au and has been created with both professional and home cooks in mind.

For further information, contact Jason van Leuven on 0448 229 883 or email admin@vanleuven.com.au.

Gateau Mary MacKillop
Ingredients
350g caster sugar
270g or 9 egg whites at room temperature
85g flour
200g almond meal
120g butter melted
125g extra virgin olive oil from the limestone coast

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC in a Fan forced oven).
Melt the butter and olive oil together then set aside to cool while you separate the eggs and weigh the sugar.
Place the egg whites and caster sugar in a mixing bowl with a paddle and slowly mix for two to three minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. It’s important not to aerate the egg whites and sugar.
Put the almond meal and flour in to the mixer and switch on to the slowest speed while pouring the melted butter and olive oil in the mixer. Make sure the butter and olive oil is still warm but not too hot; if it has gone cold, just warm the butter up a fraction.
Once the all the ingredients are combined it’s time to prepare the moulds. I prefer to use small muffin tins lightly oiled and dusted with almond meal to prevent sticking.

Spoon the cake batter almost to the top of each muffin mould and cover the top of the batter with a generous amount of sliced almond.
Place them in the middle of the oven and bake for at least 25 to 35 minutes or until completely golden brown. Once out of the oven let them cool in the tins for five minutes. Carefully demould the almond cakes and let them cool on a wire cooling rack.

The Lavender Cream
250ml fresh cream
1 teaspoon of dried lavender for cooking use or 4 fresh flowers
20g icing sugar

Method
Place the cream in a bowl with the lavender and leave overnight in the fridge to cold infuse. The next day after the cakes have been cooked and cooled, remove the lavender using a strainer and whip the cream and sugar until stiff. Simply spoon the cream onto the cakes and top with freshly toasted almond. What a fantastic Spring morning or afternoon tea!

Van Leuven Culinaire, Artisan chocolatiers and bakers
2B Gore Street, Naracoorte SA 5271
PO Box 1359 Naracoorte SA 5271
www.vanleuven.com.au

The text of this article has kindly been provided to The Foodologist by Lee Welch from The Write Alternative. Thankyou to Lee.