“When Hearthe first opened its doors, a rosella basil cake was one of three signature cakes on offer. Many people loved it, but I felt that the texture was somewhat unresolved. The marshmallow was difficult to cut, the cake was too tall, and the rice crispy base didn’t slice cleanly,” says Christopher The. “Although the flavours were lovely, it was clunky to eat. I took the cake off the list until I was able to perfect it. This is how Rosella wagon wheels were born.”
“I used to buy Wagon Wheels at my school canteen. They consist of marshmallow and raspberry jam sandwiched between two biscuits. The whole thing is then dipped in chocolate and eaten with your hands.As a cake slice, the rosella basil cake may not have worked, but as a wagon wheel, everything just made sense. The cake is much thinner, the marshmallow is sandwiched between the biscuits and, because it is eaten with your hands, you don’t need to cut it.”
“I’ve included gin in the marshmallow, but feel free to leave this out if you want a kid-friendly version.”
Equipment:
twelve egg rings, twenty-four 8cm cake rings
Ingredients:
Basil cake
20g basil leaves
350g caster (superfine) sugar
3g fine salt
2g baking powder
2g bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
240g plain (all-purpose) flour
200g extra-virgin olive oil
300g full-cream (whole) milk
165g whole eggs (approx. 3 eggs)
zest of 1 lemon
Gin and tonic marshmallow
16g powdered gelatine
145g tonic water
225g caster (superfine) sugar
240g glucose
12g gin (optional)
50g rosella flowers, chopped
Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 30×20cm sheet pan.
To make the basil cake, add the basil leaves and sugar to a food processor and pulse until the basil is finely chopped and the sugar is green. Transfer to a bowl, then add the salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and flour. Add the oil, milk, egg and lemon zest and whisk until combined. The batter will appear runny but will bake dry. Transfer to the pan and bake for 20 minutes. The cake will give off a lot of steam, so keep the door slightly ajar to release it.
Remove and cool in the pan before unmoulding. Trim the cake sheet flat and cut out twelve 7.5cm circles with a round cutter.
For the gin and tonic marshmallow, combine the gelatine and tonic water in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Do not turn on yet. Add the sugar, glucose and 60g water to a saucepan and stir. Brush down the side of the pan with water until no sugar remains above the waterline. Cook over high heat to 114˚C. Turn the mixer to medium speed and slowly pour in the hot liquid, avoiding the whisk as much as possible. Once slightly cooled, increase to high speed and mix until light. Add the gin (if using) and mix. Fold in the chopped rosella. Oil twelve egg rings and place on a lined baking tray. Fill with marshmallow and refrigerate to set.
Crunchy white chocolate discs
500g white chocolate
Roughly chopped
500g feuilletine softened
500g puffed rice cereal
Ermine (supplementary recipe follows)
Gin basil oil (optional)
leaves of 1⁄2 bunch of basil
100g grapeseed oil
100g gin
Method:
To make the chocolate discs, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a bain-marie. Stir in the feuilletine and puffed rice. Line a tray with a silicone mat, oil the cake rings and place on the mat. Pour in chocolate mixture to about 3mm thick. Refrigerate until needed.
To make the gin basil oil, blend the basil with grapeseed oil until smooth. Add gin, blend briefly, and store in a container. Brush the cake discs with the oil, ensuring it soaks through.
Unmould the chocolate discs and place twelve on a tray. Spread desert lime ermine on the discs and attach a basil cake disc to each. Warm the jam to a spreadable consistency, spread on the cake, and top with a marshmallow disc. Add more jam and top with another chocolate disc. Chill to rest.
Temper the remaining white chocolate, mix in the dried rosella (if using), and dip the bottom third of each wheel. Stand them on baking paper at an angle and let set. Garnish with edible flowers.
Supplimentary recipe:
Desert lime ermine
60g Desert lime syrup
10g plain (all-purpose) flour
100g butter, softened
Desert lime syrup
100g desert limes
200g caster (superfine) sugar
Method:
To make the ermine, whisk the syrup and flour in a saucepan over low heat until thick like pudding. Cool completely with plastic wrap on the surface, then beat in a mixer. Gradually add butter, beating until incorporated.
To make the syrup, boil sugar with 200g water. Remove from heat, add desert limes and cool. Refrigerate overnight, then strain the syrup and reserve the limes for another recipe.
Modern Australian Baking by Christopher Thé (Hardie Grant, RRP $60.00) is out now and yours to purchase from great Victorian booksellers such as Readings and Hill of Content.