The Shared Kitchen by Clare Scrine
Clare Scrine is a self-taught home cook, cookbook writer and lover of feeding others – her new cookbook, The Shared Kitchen, celebrates unfussy and flexible food, inspired by the simple joy of cooking using what you already have.
Words: Hande Renshaw I Photography: Yaseera Moosa
Spanish potato & leek tortilla with easy tomato chutney from The Shared Kitchen. Photo: Yaseera Moosa
The recipes in The Shared Kitchen are plentiful and packed with flavour, but mostly still simple enough for beginner cooks,’ says Clare Scrine. Photo: Yaseera Moosa
Brisbane-based Clare Scrine has been creating recipes to share for over ten years. Making and sharing food started from young age - nominating herself as a ten year old for the role of family birthday cake maker.
Clare’s new (and second!) cookbook The Shared Kitchen is all about reducing waste and saving precious fresh ingredients from the bin and also channelling the therapeutic joy of cooking.
‘Any time I heard from someone that my [first] book helped them get back to cooking, or that their share house used it each week to inspire their own house dinners, I’d be filled with a distinct overwhelming feeling of imposter syndrome mixed with a deep sense of joy,’ says Clare.
The Shared Kitchen invites readers into share houses around Clare’s home city of Meanjin in Brisbane, with recipes created from the shared kitchen in Clare’s own home.
‘Sharing a home with friends who become family, and strangers who become friends, has undoubtedly been the greatest gift of my twenties,’ she shares.
The book includes 16 chapters, focused on vegetarian and vegan dishes, all featuring common staples; from apples to zucchinis – showcasing new ways to put these stapes in the spotlight and save them from ending up in the compost.
Below we share a recipe from the book: chocolate & zucchini cake with luscious cream cheese icing.
Golden carrot falafels with hummus & flatbreads from The Shared Kitchen. Photo: Yaseera Moosa
‘Sharing a home with friends who become family, and strangers who become friends, has undoubtedly been the greatest gift of my twenties',’ says Clare Scrine. Photo: Yaseera Moosa
Cooking and sharing food with others is celebrated in Clare Scrine’s new cookbook, The Shared Kitchen. Photo: Yaseera Moosa
Chocolate & zucchini cake with luscious cream-cheese icing from The Shared Kitchen - recipe below. Photo: Yaseera Moosa
“The process of making food for others, be it a simple dinner with the housemates or a big spread with friends, calms anxiety and gives me a distinct sense of grounding when little else can.”
CHOCOLATE & ZUCCHINI CAKE WITH LUSCIOUS CREAM CHEESE FILLING
I promise you can’t actually see, taste or smell the zucchini in this cake. Instead, the vegetable adds moisture and helps to create a really beautiful classic chocolate cake that makes a perfect celebration centrepiece when loaded up with berries and slathered in the best icing ever. It’s easy to handle, including to slice and fill with extra icing, and will keep fresh for days in the fridge. Coffee adds a depth of flavour and additional moisture to the batter, but you won’t taste it unless you make an extra-strong cup.
Serves 10–12
INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
150 g (51⁄2 oz) sour cream
250 ml (1 cup) vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
170 ml (2⁄3 cup) black coffee, cooled 2 tsp vanilla extract
270 g (2 cups) finely grated zucchini (courgette) (from 2–3 zucchini)
325 g (1 3⁄4 cups) brown sugar
1 tsp salt
300 g (2 cups) self-raising flour
1⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
90 g (3⁄4 cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
375 g (3 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar
85 g (2⁄3 cup) good-quality cocoa powder
150 g (51⁄2 oz) salted butter, at room temperature
375 g (13 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
TO FILL & TOP
250 ml (1 cup) double-thickened (dollop) cream
400 g (14 oz) cherries and mixed berries
SWAPS
Cherries and berries – poached pears, or fresh plums or figs
Coffee – hot water
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) fan-forced. Line two 25–30 cm (10–12 in) springform cake tins with baking paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, cooled coffee and vanilla until well combined and a little frothy. Add the zucchini and stir well to combine. In a separate large bowl, combine the sugar, salt, flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined, ensuring you scrape right to the bottom of the bowl to mix well. Distribute the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins, then transfer to the oven and bake for 25–35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of each cake comes out mostly clean. It’s important not to overcook the cakes, so keep a close eye on them. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes, then snap off the sides of the tins and leave to cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare the cream-cheese icing. Sift and combine the icing sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and set aside. In a separate larger bowl, beat
the butter with electric beaters until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat until incorporated and smooth. Add the icing sugar mixture in two batches, beating well to combine after each addition.
Place one of the cakes on a serving stand or plate. Top with a thin layer of icing, using the back of a spoon or a knife to spread and swirl the icing so that it’s flat and evenly distributed. Spread the cream over the top, then arrange about half the berries over that. Carefully add a thin layer of icing to the remaining cake, then place, icing side down, on top of the berries, pressing gently to ensure it sits flat. Top the cake generously with the remaining icing, spreading it all around the cake with a flat spatula or spreader. Top with the remaining berries and serve.
