How about a cake missing its main three elements?

Is anyone else loving the smell and sight of spring? I walked through an abandoned apple orchard today and as I entered the narrow gap, startled a young doe.  Blossoms were beginning to erupt but it will be several weeks yet before the whole orchard comes into bloom.  Walking down a path lined with pink blossom trees, I remembered the day a funnel of petals were gracefully swirling around me as I cycled to work. It is times like that where I realise and appreciate not just how breathtakingly splendid creation is, but also how transient. Walking down the same path today, the trees are still pink but missing most of their delicate blooms, which were instead adorning the green grass below.

Sitting here still giddy from the sun, I want to share with you yet another gluten free recipe. SPLAT! duty was last week, with the additional request, that not only that these should be gluten and dairy free but now also egg free. So the main components of a cake is basically, dairy (butter), wheat (flour) and eggs.  What happens when all three elements are removed? Some trawling through websites later and I found a perfect recipe on a food forum found here. I am a bit against gluten free flour although must admit it is good in a pinch, but they cost so much I've taken to making up my own mix.  I tend to use 1 part gram flour to 3 parts rice flour. I suspect fine cornmeal (polenta) can be used in place of rice flour too as that is cheaper still! When I get round to trying it, I will report back. Basically I find gram flour adds structure to a cake and acts in many ways as flour does. Its only downfall is its pungent taste when used in too high a proportion and undercooked; blend it with neutral flours though and it acts as a cheap alternative to gluten free flour.

Wandering down South Park today, we encountered a bright red ice cream van. One Mr. Whippy ice cream later, I happily stroll home, with the sun warming my hair celebrating the promise of more such days to come .  Below is my adaptation of the recipe provided in the link above.

Pear Cupcakes
(Makes 12)

Ingredients:

• 25g/1oz Gram Flour
• 75g/3oz Rice Flour
• 1tsp Baking Powder
• 0.5tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 50g/2oz Brown Sugar
• 1 Ripe Pear, grated
• 2Tbsp Golden Syrup
• 4Tbsp Sunflower Oil

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to GM5/190C/375F
2. Sift the dry ingredients (minus sugar) into a bowl to remove lumps, stir in the sugar and mix to combine.
3. Finely grate the pear directly into the bowl, discarding the resultant lump of skin and pips and mix until well combined.
4. Pour 1Tbsp of oil oil into the bowl then measure out 1Tbsp of golden syrup then repeat with the oil then golden syrup, then add the last 2Tbsp of oil. This helps the syrup not to stick to the spoon! Beat or whisk the mixture until well combined then spoon equally between 12 cases. 
5. Bake for about 25 minutes until browned and springy to the touch. 

A Perfectly Civilised Brownie

It's the weekend and I go back to my home town. An urge has been teasing my brain for a while, but cake or biscuits is not what I'm craving. They're just not chocolatey enough... Then one night I'm having a sugar-loaded conversation and I realise what I'm really craving is a soft, rich and gooey brownie.  A fun and longer than necessary trip to the supermarket with my candy loving boy and we're in the kitchen having fun throwing whatever we found into the silky mix of dark chocolate and butter. Putting the ginger marmalade and chocolate loaded mix into the oven, we waited in suspense until the timer beeped that 8 minutes was up. Yup. I did say 8. I got so carried away I failed to read my own handwriting which actually said 30 minutes. The result was a barely solid, sugary gooey puddle which we happily scooped with our fingers. So attempt one failed, and it took me a whole train journey back to Oxford and an extra day to find out why.

I've never failed so badly before so this did sting my inner baker's ego a bit, so much so I wanted a take two. I found myself in my kitchen a few days later, determined to make this recipe work.  I wanted orange and spice, and lots of chocolate.  So back to my notebook I went, reading everything through just to make sure I knew what I was doing, which is when I noticed my error. Suddenly it all made sense and I was calling myself all kinds of silly, but that's okay, I could now proceed with my experiment, confident in a higher chance of success.

Leftover Christmas mixed candied peel came out, crystallised ginger, ground ginger, an orange, extra dark chocolate... all went onto my worktop as I pondered proportions. I decided to err on the side of caution for ground ginger, but added the zest of a whole orange.  I wanted a warm spice mix, but humbled by my weekend disaster, I thought I would keep it simple for now. The result? A warm adult brownie, with bits of ginger and orange playing on the senses. Some tweaks I would consider next time is slightly less mixed peel, more ginger, some mixed spices and a shorter baking time for a softer, gooier brownie. The addition of a handful of nuts is another possibility, maybe walnuts or macadamia...

A Perfectly Civilised Brownie
(Makes about 20-24 squares)

Ingredients:

• 50g Plain Flour
• 100g Butter
• 2 Eggs
• 100g Dark Chocolate (70%)
• 175g Granulated Sugar
• 1 Level tsp Baking Powder
• 25-50g Stem Ginger, chopped
• 25-50g Mixed Peel
• 1tsp Ground Ginger
• Zest of 1 Orange

Method:

1. Line a 18x28cm/17x11" tin with baking parchment and pre-heat the oven to GM4/180C/350F.
2. Mix the ginger, mixed peel and ground ginger together and set aside.
3. Melt the butter and chocolate together, along with the zest over a double boiler until melted. Beat the mixture until silky smooth.
4. Remove from heat and beat in the eggs one at a time then the ginger, peel and spice mix until well combined.
5. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 25-30 minutes until firm to the touch.
6. Cool for 10 minutes and cut into squares.

Cookies and milk go together like...

So lately I've been going through a bit of a nibbling phase, roaming around my house trying to find something to graze on, except... grazing is pretty hard to do when there's no food in the house. Two weeks ago is when I thought I needed to go food shopping, one week ago I thought I seriously need to buy food and today? I still had no food. What's a sick girl to do? Too ill to buy food, too peckish to sit at home without restlessly roaming the house, all that I found were sultanas which were kind of nibble food, porridge oats which are definitely not nibble food and a sealed block of chocolate I feel too guilty about breaking into since it was bought for baking.

Tired though I was, baking was my only option to stop myself going mad, so I stayed in the kitchen thinking about what I could do to fix this dire situation I was in. Flapjacks were considered, but with my sore throat, I didn’t think they were going to go down too well, cakes were another option, but then again they just didn’t seem to fit the bill for once… My mind drifted to the chewy cookies I made recently and I realised I haven’t just been craving nibbles; I was craving chewy cookies! Being house bound, I wanted less sweetness and more wholesome cookies so opted to tweak the basic recipe to yield chewy oat cookies, sweetened by sultanas and chocolate chunks. The result was just what I was hoping for – a cookie full goodness, not overly sweet and satisfied my bad case of the munchies.

Chewy Fruit and Oats Cookie
(Makes 24 small)

Ingredients:

• 150g Plain Flour
• ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 90g Butter/Margerine
• 50g Dark Brown Muscovado Sugar
• 100g Granulated White Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 25g Mixed Fruit/Sultanas
• 50g Dark Chocolate, chopped
• 100g Oats, lightly toasted (optional)

Method:

1. Place the butter in a large pan and melt over a low heat. Meanwhile mix the flour, oats and bicarbonate of soda together well. Set the butter aside to cool slightly.
2. Beat the sugar into the butter followed by the egg.
3. Stir in the flour mix until well incorporated, then fold in the chocolate and fruit.
4. Level the mixture then cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Pre-heat the oven to GM5/190C/375F
6. Drop teaspoon sized balls onto a baking sheet (I put about 8 on a small tray well spaced) and flatten.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges have just about turned golden. They'll continue to cook on the tray for 1 minute then cool on a wire rack.

Chewy Triple Chocolate Almond Cookies

What is it about cookies and biscuits that is just so moorish?  Especially when it's not quite cheery enough to ponder outside unless absolutely necessary. One cold weekend I found my mind drifting to the kitchen; it is the natural place to drift to when the house feels empty and cold.  A rummage through the treasure trove and I have myself a promising start for a cheerful batch of cookies.  The night will be filled with dancing, but in the meantime I can bake.

I found this basic recipe on the endless resource pool that is Google in my first year of university, and now lovingly return to it with some modifications.  Scooping out chunks of cookie dough is just so satisfying, feeling the mixture stickily mould in my hands into balls of scrumptious goodness.  After affectionately flattening the discs, they spent a short time basking in the oven to come out as large discs of chewy heaven.  The house is now a warm, glowing haven filled with the sweet scent of chocolate and warm thoughts...

Chewy Triple Chocolate Almond Cookies
(Makes about 20)

Ingredients:
325g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
175g Butter/Margarine
100g Dark Muscovado Sugar
200g Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Egg Yolk
100g Whole Almonds, chopped
50g Dark Chocolate Chips
50g White Chocolate Chunks
Method:

1. Place the butter in a large pan and melt over a low heat. Meanwhile mix the flour and bicarbonate of soda together well.  Set the butter aside to cool slightly.
2. Beat the sugar into the butter followed by the egg and egg yolk.
3. Stir in the flour mix until well incorporated, then fold in the chocolate and almonds.
4. Level the mixture then cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Pre-heat the oven to GM5/190C/375F
6. Drop walnut sized balls onto a baking sheet (I put about 8 on a small tray well spaced) and flatten.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges have just about turned golden.  They'll continue to cook on the tray for 1 minute, then cool on a wire rack.

Savoury Canapes and a Gluten-Free Cake

A view from my bedroom

Like many others in the South of England I woke up find a surreal wonderland blinking back at me in the late morning sun. You know how when your part of the world is just blanketed with this smothering, fluffy, white sheet, how the light quality subtly changes but it takes a while to realise the cause?  I love that feeling, it's not very often one gets to experience it, all too soon the chaos of snow catches up with us and we soon wish it gone again.  Although laughed at when I first bought them, my new snow grips have proved to be a Godsend.  Unlike many I have the freedom to roam around the outdoors relatively freely, to really enjoy the snow without fear of slipping ungracefully - not to mention probably painfully on to my unsuspecting behind! With my magical shoe attachments, I was free to buy food for my house Christmas meal with pleasure, not to mention collect my missing button from a lovely elderly woman down the road who I work with.  With that I will stop going on about how much I love my shoe chains and talk about things related to my blog, that's right food.

Gluten-free Layered Chocolate Cake with Clementine and Cognac Whipped Cream

I love December, it's the season of festive eating not to mention the one time it's perfectly acceptable to pile on the pounds without comment.  So far I have had several Christmas dinners in the form of Latin-style tapas, traditional four-course vegetarian meal Exeter-College style with carol singing in-between courses, Asian buffet and two house ones in the guise of "practice" and "real".  Other things I get excited about this season are the carol services by candlelight and festive craft evenings where delectable canapés are served around talented women.  This year I failed to make an appearance due to going on a last minute dancing weekender which was fantastic, but not before leaving my canapé contributions for the church.  Last year I went for tomato and basil puff pastry stars but this year I went for slightly more daring and chose: savoury filled mini palmier, goats cheese filled profiteroles and mini cheese and tomato filled scones (Recipe below).  My house mate and I were just discussing how at first sweet things are gushed about but without fail, the savoury (unless they're boring dry sandwiches) bites will always go first, why is that?

My Canapé selection for the Craft Evening

I had great fun making the canapés, especially the palmier which were easier to do than I imagined.  They will definitely be made again.  The Profiteroles as you can see from the photos are unfilled, and I don't recommend filling them until they're ready to be served as they then can't be re-crisped in the oven.  Upon saying that though I tried one (or five) filled after a day and although not crispy they still had a wonderful taste and texture, they're just that bit nicer straight out the oven.  With that I leave you with a handful of canapé recipes, and a cake recipe which is coeliac friendly that I made for our "real" house Christmas dinner.

Layered Chocolate Cake
(Serves 10)

Ingredients:
Cake:

• 250g Dark Chocolate (around 70%)
• 190g Butter/Margerine
• 3Tbsp Rum
• 125g Ground Hazelnuts/Almonds
•  - Flour can be used if not required to be gluten-free
• 5 eggs
• 190g Granulated Sugar
• 1tsp Baking Powder
• 4-6Tbsp Apricot Conserve
• Icing to dust

Cream:

• 300ml Double Cream
• Zest and Juice of 1-2 Clementines
• 1Tbsp Brandy

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to GM3/160C/325F and line a swiss roll/baking tin
2. Over a double-boiler, melt the chocolate and butter together gently, stirring until smooth and glossy.  Remove from heat and stir in the alcohol if using.
3. Meanwhile, whisk eggs and sugar together until the mixture thickens and falls in thick ribbons rather than a thin stream.
4. Gently fold in chocolate mixture until no streaks remain and repeat with the flour.
5. Pour into the tin and level, then drop carefully from a height of about 10-15cm to remove large air bubbles and bake for 20-30 minutes until a skewer comes out with a few crumbs on. Leave in the tin to cool for 5 minutes.
6. On a cooling wrack, place a liberally pierced baking paper to line it and transfer the cake onto it to cool completely.  Score across the long part of the cake to divide it into three equally.  
7. Once cool, cut one slice and transfer to serving dish/board. Beat the apricot to loosen and spread liberally across the sponge.  Top with a second piece of cake and repeat with the jam and top with the final piece.  Trim the ends to neaten and dust with icing sugar and Clementine zest.
8. Cream: To make the cream, pour everything into a jug and whisk until soft peaks form.

Homemade Tomato Paste

(Makes enough for all canapés listed)

Ingredients:

• 400g Tinned Tomatoes
   -plus swill water - 1/4 can
• Olive Oil
• About 100ml of red wine
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Garlic Clove, crushed
• 1 Carrot, finely ch

Method:

1. Gently fry the onion and garlic until softened.
2. Add the wine and bubble away for a few minutes and add the tomatoes with a 1/4 can water to swill out the can. Bring to the boil and simmer moderately partially covered until reduced by half.
3. Blend roughly to thicken the sauce.  I used this one batch for my mini pizzas, palmier and scone filling.

Savoury Palmier
(Makes lots)

Ingredients:

• One block Puff Pastry (500g)
• Sundried Tomato Paste or Homemade Tomato Paste (as above)
• A few Basil Leaves, shredded
• 50g Soft Goats Cheese, crumbled
• A few Black Olives, finely chopped
• 100g Mature Cheddar Cheese, finely grated
•  Salt and Pepper

Method:

Left to right: Unbaked, puffing up in the oven to the finished palmier

1. Cut the pastry block into 4 lengthwise so you end up with 4 long thin strips.
2. Roll out each separately on a lightly floured surface until about 3mm thick - try to roll so that the rectangle shape is maintained.
3. Spread two of the rolled out sheets thinly with tomato paste, sprinkle thinly with a mix of olives, basil and goats cheese. On the other two sheets, spread moderately with grated cheese, salt and pepper.  Maybe add some very finely chopped onion, chives or shallots. 
4. Roll lengthways from both ends so they meet in the middle and fold over each other.  Roll lightly into shape and chill for 5 minutes in the freezer, wrapped in cling film. 
5. Slice just less than 1cm thick and lay out on a non-stick baking tray. Reshape if necessary by pulling apart the rolled bits a bit and pinching the fold lightly to form a heart.
6. Bake in a pre-heated oven GM7/220C/430F for about 20-25minutes until golden.
7. Cool on a cooling wrack and pack into airtight tins.  These can be re-heated before serving by giving them 5 minutes in a hot oven (at least GM6/200C/400F)

Mini Star Cheese, Chive and Mustard Scones

(Makes lots)

Ingredients:
Scones:

• 175g Self-Raising Flour
• Salt and Pepper
• 25g Butter
• 1 Med Egg, beaten
• About 30ml/2 Tbsp milk 
• Handful of Chives, chopped
• 1-2 tsp Wholegrain Mustard
• 75g Mature Cheddar Cheese

Filling:

• About 4 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• About 50g Full-fat Cream cheese
• Chives or Shallots, finely chopped

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to GM 7/220C/425F and grease a baking tray.
2. Mix together the flour, salt and pepper then rub in the butter.  Reserve a handful of cheese for the topping and stir in the rest along with the chives.
3. Add the egg and enough milk to make a soft dough.  Roll out to about 1.5cm/0.5" thick and use mini cutters about 1-1.5cm/0.4-0.5" diameter to cut out as many shapes as possible and place evenly on the baking tray.  These will not spread much so you can happily put lots on, just make sure there's a bit of a gap between each.
4. Brush the tops with milk then sprinkle with cheese and bake for 8-10 minutes until risen and golden.
5. Leave to cool then cut in half. Spread one side thinly with tomato paste, the other with cream cheese.  Sprinkle some shallots or chives on and sandwich together. 

Mini Wholemeal Pizzas

(Makes 15-16)

Pizza Dough:

• 100g Plain flour
• 100g Wholemeal flour
• 1tsp/7g Yeast
• 125ml Warm water

• Homemade Tomato Paste or tomato purée
• Spinach, sliced thinly
• Cheddar Cheese, finely grated
• About 8-10 Black olives, finely chopped
• 1-2 Shallots, finely chopped

Method:

1. For the dough: Mix the yeast and water together, combine all the dry ingredients together and pour in the yeast mix and mix to make a dough. 
2. Transfer to a surface, lightly floured if necessary and knead until smooth - about 5 minutes
3. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes and proof.
4. Pre-heat oven to GM9/240C/465F. 
5. Divide into 15-16 balls, and flatten into discs.
6. Spread with tomato then top with cheese, shallots, olives and spinach.  Don't over-top or it'll go all soggy and horrible.
7. Bake for 10-20 minutes until the cheese is all melted and the base look slightly golden.

 

Savoury Filled Profiteroles

(Makes about 30)

Ingredients:

• 60g/2.5oz Plain flour
• 50g/2oz Butter
• 150ml Cold Water
• 2 Large Eggs
• Salt and pepper

Filling:

• 500ml Cream
• 100g Goats Cheese
• Pinch of salt
• Handful of chopped chives
• Ground Black Pepper

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to GM6/200C/400F.
2. Melt the butter and water together as fast as possible then remove from the heat.
3. Beat in the flour until a ball forms.
4. Beat in the eggs gradually and continue beating until a creamy and shiny mixture results.
5. Season then pipe onto two greased and dampened baking trays.  Each ball should be about a teaspoon's worth of Choux pastry.  Leave at least 2cm between each all - I fit about 15 per tray.
6. Bake for 10 minutes then increase the oven temperature to GM7/220C/425F and bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden.
7. With a pair of scissors, cut the profiteroles at the top to let steam escape and cool on a wire rack.
8. Meanwhile make the filling: Mix together the goats cheese, cream and chives together.  Season with salt and pepper then whisk until thick enough to pipe.
9. When cool, pipe each profiterole with the cream mixture.  

Hazelnut Fudge

This weekend, my rock n' roll friend celebrated her birthday in a pub situated (to me anyway) in the middle of nowhere, and it was a fantastic night - what with a skittle alley, giant connect four, friendly people and of course, dancing! If you want to check this dinky pub out, it is called The Red Lion situated in Islip, Oxford.

I was having one of these "I keep losing time to do things" day, and needed to rustle up a quick birthday present. Luckily for me, I was looking up gift ideas last night and remembered a favourite easy fudge recipe which can be found on the Waitrose website in their handy recipe archive. Below is my adaptation of their fruit and nut version. I decided on a gift-packaged batch of homemade fudge with a homemade birthday card containing the recipe.  As the fudge is really rich, I cut the slab into small cubes and wrapped them in tissue paper, tied with a bow and placed into a box made from arty paper - which I then promptly threw into my handbag as was late and had to find said friend's obscure habitat! Typical... Anyway, this recipe makes lots, and I had to freeze the remaining condensed milk.  I hope it will be OK! I feel the outcome of it will probably warrant another post.  In the mean time though I leave you with a quick and easy fudge recipe which does not require the faff of a sweet thermometer! 

Hazelnut Fudge

(Makes lots)

Ingredients:

• 200g Good dark chocolate
• About 200g Sweetened condensed Milk
• 100g Icing Sugar, sifted
• 50g Hazelnuts, finely chopped
• 1Tbsp Frangelico/Hazelnut liqueur (Optional)

Method:

1. Line a 21x21cm tin or similar with baking parchment.
2. Heat up about 1cm water and place a heat-proof bowl over the pan, making sure the base does not touch the water.  Melt the chocolate pieces and condensed milk together gently and stir until all melted.
3. In the mean time, if hazelnuts are whole, either crush or chop with a knife or pulse blitz in a processor, but make sure you do not over-process!
4. Remove the melted chocolate mixture from the heat and stir in the liqueur if using then add the nuts and icing sugar and mix until well combined.
5. Spread the mixture into the lined tin, level out and dust with sugar and cocoa then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours preferably until firm. 
6. Cut into cubes, re-dust with sugar to avoid sticking and enjoy!

Orange and Lemons...

For a short period in October, the theme appears to be orange and black - you guessed it, it's around the time of Halloween.  I really dislike this combination, although I am a huge fan of the saffron orange which just conjures up the impression fiery warmth and life.  Another reason why I love the colour orange is that it reminds me of the fruit as well, which comes in beautiful gluts at this time of the year.  Naturally then, this glut will feature somewhere in the form of a cake, and this happens to be one of my all time favourite cakes.  Tunisian orange cake was first introduced into my hemisphere as I worked at Harbour Lights behind the bar.  It is in effect a light citrusy sponge drenched in an orange syrup and tastes much better the next day as the flavours mingle and time has allowed the sponge to really absorb the syrup.  The recipe was found in a Waitrose Kitchen magazine (Oct '10) as a feature of a family-run cafe called The Main Street Trading Company which resides in Scotland.  If you're ever around the area, check it out, it looks so inviting!  In the meantime though, I leave you with their recipe.

Tunisian Orange Cake

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 45g Polenta
• 200g Caster sugar
• 100g Ground almonds
• 1.5tsp Baking powder
• 215ml Olive oil
• 4 Eggs, lightly beaten
• Zest of 1 Orange
• Zest of 1 Lemon

Syrup:

• 45g Granulated sugar
• Juice of 1 Orange
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1/4 of a large cinnamon stick

Method:

1. Line the base of a 19/20cm cake tin with baking parchment and grease the sides with some oil
2. Mix together the dry ingredients of the cake: polenta, almonds, baking powder, caster sugar and zest.  Beat the eggs and oil together, then whisk into the dry mixture.
3. Pour into the prepared cake tin and put into the cold oven.  Switch on the oven to GM 5/190C/375F and bake for 50-60 minutes, until lightly golden and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.  Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.  
4. Meanwhile, put the granulated sugar, orange and lemon juices and cinnamon stick into a pan and heat until all the sugar is dissolved, stirring often. 
5. Skewer holes all over the cake and pour the syrup over the cake gently, giving the cake time to absorb the liquid.  Place a baking tray underneath the cake to catch the juices!

Autumn Harvest - Apples

Finally, we have come to this beautiful time of year again where the temperature is starting to fall, the air is slightly crisp and the leaves are gradually donning their gilded coats of golds, russets and saffron.  Autumn is my favourite season visually, in terms of the smell in the air - slightly toasty and earthy and of course the abundance of delicious food.  Cue, plump squashes, leafy spinach, chard, various stoned fruits and of course rosy apples and juicy pears!  Goodbye Mediterranean, hello homey comfort food.

Last week, my house mate and I went scrumping for apples in the derelict orchard down our road which our wonderful nature loving neighbour brought to our attention.  Previously we have drenched our shoes as we trudged about picking brambles and plums in the wet forest, so this time we had the bright idea (well at the time) or wearing flip flops which resulted in a slightly treacherous session in the forest among the clumped nettles, thorny bramble vines snaking across the floor and vertical twigs grappling to skewer our feet.  All in all though,  some tree climbing and clever dodging later, I was triumphantly walking home with my apple bounty.  At home though, after filling a bucket, the problem arose of what to do with it all?

So in the near future, expect lots of sweet apples treats to be popping up!  So far, I have made rum soaked apple layer cake (yummy but ugly), apple crumble (naturally), apple cupcakes, apple and custard muffins, potato and apple boulangère (Not recommended) and the list will hopefully go on.  Until next time, I leave you with an apple and custard muffin recipe adapted from my M&S cakes books.

Apple and Custard Cakes:
(Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

• 90g Butter
• 110g Caster Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 110g Self-raising flour
• 30g Custard Powder
• 2Tbsp Milk
• 1-2 large apples (200g total), cored and thinly sliced
• 1Tbsp Extra butter, melted
• 1Tbsp Ground cinnamon
• 1Tbsp Sugar

Custard Filling:

• 1Tbsp Custard Powder
• 1Tsp Sugar
• 125ml Milk 

Method:


Custard Filling:

1. Mix a little milk with the custard and sugar to form a paste.  Heat the remaining milk, mix with paste and heat gently until thickened.  Cover and leave to cool.

Cake mix:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/GM 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Beat together butter and sugar and custard powder until soft and creamy, then whisk in eggs gradually.
3. Whisk in the milk and fold in flour until just combined (a figure-of-eight motion with the whisk is very effective).
4. Divide half the mixture among the paper cases, top with custard, then finish with distributing the last of the cake mix among the 12 cases.  Top with sliced apples, pressing in slightly and bake for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine 1Tbsp sugar with ground cinnamon and set aside. 
5. Turns cakes onto a wire rack, brush with melted butter then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mix. Leave to cool on the wire rack or serve warm.

Mmmm, cupcakes

Wow, it really feels like it's been a while since I updated this blog.  On the bright side though, it must mean I am actually becoming busier and my blog addiction is subsiding somewhat... but on second thoughts, I'm completely happy to be blogging again so maybe it hasn't subsided that much!  Over the last week, it seems as if I have been baking every day in one form or another.  Gingerbread men were cut, cupcakes for picnics and birthdays were whipped up, shortbread ducks and stars were created and a frugal hotpot made from the contents of my magical fridge which still does not look as if it is emptying any time soon.

I have not been the most organised of humans this week, so I thought it would be safer to stay indoors as much as possible to minimise being a danger to myself.  I felt it was going to be one of these weeks.  So far I had managed to mistake a friend coming over on Monday when it was actually Tuesday,  triple-booked myself on said Tuesday, having to reveal my embarrassing blunder to get myself out of two appointments and proceeding to cook an awful lunch for a friend who I was meant to have met Tuesday but postponed until Wednesday...  And today I had an enjoyable walk into town (so far so good...) to the Gloucester Green food market with my friend.   This was my first trek to the market in what feels like months (and it probably was) and I was greeted by a beautifully colourful sight.  Casually sitting on the tables were summer squashes, and other modest vegetables but the fruit stand was a glory to look at: mounds of rosy cheeked apricots, succulent plums, peaches and nectarines, towering punnets of cheap cherries, raspberries and blueberries.  I was also excited to see raw beetroot, which I was inspired to give a go by Designer from our weekend together.  Whilst queueing,  I managed to lose a £2 coin which was upsetting and hit by a sudden downpour of water which has somehow collected in the tent top.  I was rather fuddled by this as I had not realised it had rained today, but it was still sunny when we left the market, so we had time for tea in a Coffee Republic and proceeded to miss the dry spell and got poured on as we ran to Waterstones for shelter.  Quite a feat considering I was lugging an impressively heavy food laden backpack and my friend a bag of delicate soft fruits!  A leisurely read of the River Cottage Preserves Handbook later and a tentative glance outside the second storey window, and we were ready to brave the walk back home which promptly led to a blister forming which became ripped and painful, successfully rendering myself incapable of dancing tonight.  Every cloud has a silver lining though, we ended up curling up to watch Singing in the Rain instead which I had forgotten how much I had loved.  So it looks like my week of bad luck hasn't run dry yet, let's hope tomorrow will be better!

I do like to digress, but back on topic, below are two recipes for mocha cupcakes and shortbread.  I missed my friend's birthday over the month of July due to caring for my mum so I made him a very belated mocha cupcake and mini duckie shortbread instead.  The Shortbread recipe was based on a Delia Smith Recipe which can be found on her website - I just replaced the cornmeal with rice flour as I found cornmeal weirdly chewy the last time I used it.  I love all kinds of shortbread but my favourite are the thin and crispy ones which make me feel more saintly until I realise I have just eaten the whole batch.  The mocha cupcakes I kind of made up on the spot using basic cupcake knowledge.  I wanted to use coffee, so increased the flour to 125g from 100g, but added the standard 25g cocoa.  I used about 2 Tablespoons of hot coffee in the end, so wasn't quite sure how they were going to turn out!  After a 15 minute wait of suspense, the cupcakes came out wonderfully moist and soft.  I really recommend them if you're a coffee lover. With that I leave you and hopefully I'll make it to update again soon still in one piece!

Mocha-Choca Cupcakes
(Makes 16-18)

Ingredients:

• 100g Margarine
• 125g Self-raising flour
• 25g Cocoa
• 2Tbsp Very Strong coffee
   - I made mine with 3tsp coffee granules in 4Tbsp hot water
• 2 Eggs
• 45g Dark eating chocolate 
• 15g Butter
• 80g Icing sugar

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4/180C/350F Cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy
2. Gradually whisk in the eggs
3. Carefully and gradually whisk in the coffee - don't worry if it curdles a bit - just add some flour
4. Mix together the flour and cocoa, then fold into the mixture until just incorporated
5. Spoon teaspoon mixtures into cupcake cases until 3/4 full
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and the sponge bounces back when lightly pressed.
7. Leave to cool and make the chocolate icing
8. Melt the butter and chocolate together over a double boiler or carefully in the microwave.
9. Stir in the icing sugar and add enough coffee (preferably hot) to make the icing either spreadable or piping consistency.
10. Pipe or spread onto the cool cakes and leave to set.  Before it sets, I added some white chocolate stars to the frosting.   

NB: With the chocolate icing, I only made enough for about nine of my cakes as I: i) prefer some un-iced and ii) only wanted to ice a few for my friend's birthday presentation.  Just double the recipe (chocolate, icing and butter) to cover all the cakes.  If you are spreading, you'll probably have enough with just the half recipe.  I use cheap dark chocolate for this as I still get a glossy frosting and the sugar content works better than expensive dark chocolate which tend to be more bitter.

Shortbread Thins

(Makes about 2 trays worth)

Ingredients:

• 40g Rice Flour
• 75g Plain Flour
• 40g Caster sugar
• 75g Margarine or Butter
    - I used half of margarine and butter

Method:

1. Pre-heat Oven to gas mark 2/150C/300F
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light
3. Add the flour and rice flour, mixing to form crumbs.  Push the mixture together with the wooden spoon or your hands until it resembles a crumbly ball of dough.  
4. Roll out thinly - about 3mm and cut out shapes with a cutter
5. Place on a non-stick/greased baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until just golden.

A Weekend in Bridgwater

Vegan cupcake with raspberry butter cream frosting

Last weekend I visited Designer in her home town near Bristol.  The train journey up was surprisingly smooth, but alas I can not say the same about the journey back due to a mix of badly labelled and positioned trains and confusion over stations, which led to mad bolting towards unknown platforms and hopping on random trains.  I know. Mad. Returning to Oxford only half an hour later than expected though was acceptable to me and overall the weekend was a wonderfully packed one full of baking, eating, baking, drinking, baking, make-over, films and fruit picking.  Did I mention baking?  What more can one ask for?

Beetroot Risotto with crème Fraîche and dill

Arriving late Friday evening, we settled down to a beautiful beetroot risotto made by Designer, which was a stunning characteristic blush red.  Washing it all down with a small glass of Rhône, I can happily concede the weekend had well and truly started.  We had a lazy start the next day, watching Saturday morning cook shows on the TV whilst it showered in the grey outdoors.  I had to admit I was hoping for a sunny day - but I speak too soon.  As we were leaving to go find a Pick Your Own (PYO) Farm, the sun blazed out and burned the remaining clouds away, leaving us to a beautifully bright and mild day with a playful wind teasing us.  After getting slightly lost down a maze of brambles-lined country road, a friendly local redirected us to the PYO, which turned out to be closing the very next day due to reaching the end of their season.  Determined, we trundled down the extensive farm looking for raspberries and gooseberries and found both.  A fun, albeit slightly prickly session later, we left with a punnet of white and black gooseberries and sinfully sweet raspberries, basking in the sun with a farm-made ice cream.  A short drive later and we found ourselves walking down beside the locks, gazing at the canals, blackberry bushes and sloe berries.  It was too early to pick anything yet so no foraging, but the delicate purple blackberry flowers were a delight to look at nonetheless.  We enjoyed the last of the sun for the day sitting outdoors enjoying a traditional cream tea whilst watching a wasp trying to engulf a jam splodge.  Quite amusing really!  Supper that night was a lovely simple dish of smoked salmon, prawns and lemon spaghetti dish in a crème Fraîche sauce, this time accompanied by a Rose Pinot Grigio.

PYO Farm showing raspberries and black gooseberries

As evening approached, we perused gingerbread recipes and finally alighted onto one found the in the Hummingbird Bakery Book.  Instead of using the specified list of spices though, we substituted the equivalent amount in gingerbread mix, lovingly made up by Designer's mum.  The smell was divine, and we hadn't even baked them yet.  Patiently we tucked the dough into the fridge to allow the flavours to develop over-night as we turned to making grilled pepper salsa which tasted heavenly with toasted pitta strips and tortilla chips, which we happily munched with Pinot Grigio and watching Disney's Beauty and the Beast.  Tonight was finished with a rich chocolate mousse hiding brandy-soaked black cherries in the bottom, with delicate almond macaroons we made earlier along with the mousse.

 Cream Tea by the Locks

Sunday morning was a relaxed affair, once again watching addictive cookery shows and sipping tea.  Eventually we naturally migrated to the kitchen to start some much anticipated baking.  Upon commenting on the sadly steep continual rise on dairy products, especially butter, we settled for vegan chocolate cupcakes adapted also from the Hummingbird bakery with the intent of decorating them in butter cream later.  The mixture resembled a stiff chocolate paste, resembling more brownie than chocolate cupcake, but in the oven it went with the two of us each believing it would not rise due to how heavy it looked.  In the meantime though, we had fun rolling out the gingerbread dough and making little boys and girls.  A check on the cupcakes and to our delight, the mixture had ballooned and we had cute round cupcakes waiting to come out, trading their oven space with the gingerbread people.  We watched part of Gigi, one of my all time favourite musicals before realising that time really wasn't on our side.  Off to the kitchen we ambled to get started on decorating.  A hilarious session later, we finally had icing the right consistency to pipe: white glace for the gingerbread people and a raspberry tinted butter cream for the cupcakes.  With the kitchen a tip, although filled with lovely aromas and baked treats, I realised I was about to miss my train if we didn't leave pronto.  A fast pack-up later (in which time, Designer had thoughtfully layered some gingerbread friends into a box for me) we were out the door speeding towards the station which mercifully was a short distance away.  With the arrival of the train, our weekend together came to an end, and we said our farewells.  I was about to embark on a complicated journey home, on a mission to reach my church service on time; Designer was headed back to her now "slightly" chaotic kitchen and I had gingerbread friends to keep me smiling all the way home.

 Gingerbread Making Fun

Project Frugal: Day Two

I went to one of the numerous charity shops dotted around Headington a few days ago to gaze at their used books. I love the Helen & Douglas House charity shop which I walk past every time I decide to visit the local shops and it is one of those places where you can find beautiful items at cheap and cheerful prices. Automatically, the moment I enter a charity shop I bee-line to the books first. This time I plonked myself on the floor in front of the cookery books and happily started rummaging through them. The great thing with cheap cookery books is the freedom to buy books that are normally unaffordable in a shop which usually ends up with just a handful of practical recipes anyway. It is also a good way to try out new authors who I wouldn't normally choose to read, enter: Nigella Lawson. I love her TV Series when I happen to catch them, but I would say she is definitely aiming for the middle class audience who wouldn't blink an eye going to Waitrose to buy their finest ingredients. Not that I dislike Waitrose, I actually adore the place, but once again have to be sensible about what I end up buying, and I manage it with varying degrees of success.

 Uncooked Blackberry and Rhubarb Crumble

Going back to the point of this post though, I spotted a dirty copy of Nigella Lawson's book: How to Eat within the mass of Good Housekeeping and novelty cookbooks, and glanced through it.  I must say I was prejudiced but once I started reading the first few pages, I discovered I really love her writing style.  I was right in that she loves her designer food, and seems have an obsession with mentioning this one brand of eggs every few pages or so, but surprisingly her ingredients, although sometimes extensive were perfectly attainable, replaceable or easy to miss out with easy to follow steps.  Expecting a hefty price tag I was happy to see a sticker displaying £2, which I thought was a bargain even if I only ended up reading the book for pleasure.  As soon as I got home I tucked into the book and spotted a handful of recipes already I would love to try and which surprisingly with a little tweaking fit my frugal project. 

Rhubarb

For lunch today I decided to use my butternut squash up which has been hiding in my cupboard for the last few months.  I had decided to try Nigella's butternut squash and pasta soup (recipe below), but missed out the white wine as I didn't have any.  The resultant soup was a beautiful hue of orange, enhanced by the pureed butternut squash and tasted wonderful.  Simplicity really is the key sometimes I feel.  I made enough for two, but looking at the thin broth thought I might actually have to go for seconds.  Toward the end of my lunch though, I barely has room to finish it, lovely though it was.  Another winner in my book! I enjoyed this soup with some grated mature cheddar on top and nothing else.

My foraging bounty

Later on, I strolled down to work to get some books and on the way home took a detour to pick some blackberries as I was having a friend over tonight for dinner and a thrifty card making session.  The walk was pleasant despite the light spattering of summer rain which cooled me down a treat.  The only thing I would change next time would be not to wear a silk chiffon dress, apparently silk and brambles don't mix well.  Going home with a huge grin on my face, I snagged some lavender as well and hopefully tonight will turn out good with a free meal for two.  After much thought this afternoon, I decided against risotto and decided to make a vegetable toad in the hole instead with boiled sweet heart cabbage, potatoes and green beans with a blackberry and rhubarb (from the garden) crumble to finish (recipe below).  The dinner was a success, plates were cleaned and dessert was served with a toffee ice cream (what I found in my freezer) - so much a success I forgot to take photos until a good way through dessert.  Sated, we went upstairs to finish our night making birthday cards. Total cost spent today? Nothing.  Hurrah!

Butternut Squash and Pasta Soup:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients: 

• About 250g Butternut squash, peeled and cubed (1cm)
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 Small Onion, chopped finely
• 60g Soup Pasta (E.g. Stellette)
• 2Tbsp Mature Cheddar
• 1/2Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Stock Cube
• 600ml Boiling Water
• Pepper

Method:

1. Cover the base of a medium heavy based pan with oil and add the onion to it.  Fry the onion gently for 5-10 minutes covered until soft and translucent and stir often to prevent browning.  I added a bit of water towards the end to add some steam.
2. Add the 1cm cubes of butternut squash to the pan, coat in the onion mixture and fry for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the stock, water and bay leaf, stir to dissolve the cube and bring the whole lot to the boil then simmer gently for around 10 minutes, covered.
4. Take out a ladleful of the soup and blend until smooth and return to the pot, then add the pasta shapes turning the heat up to return the soup to a rapid simmer.  Continue to cook for 10-12 minutes until the pasta is tender.  Season with salt and pepper and serve in bowls garnished with grated cheese.

Vegetable Toad in the Hole: 
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 50g Plain flour
• 100ml Milk
• 1 Egg
• 2Tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 Small Onion, chopped into 8 wedges
• 1 Clove Garlic, crushed and chopped
• 2Cups worth cooked or frozen mixed vegetables (sweetcorn, carrot, peas, green beans, etc...)
• 1 Tinned plum tomato (or 1 fresh)
• 1Tbsp Fresh Herbs
• Knob of butter
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper 

Method:

1. Make the batter by whisking together the egg, milk, mustard and some salt and pepper to taste.  Add the flour and mix together to form a thick batter.
2. Pour enough oil to cover the base of a small oven dish and preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200C/400F.  Heat the oiled dish in the oven for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the butter and a bit of oil in a pan and saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato and beat apart with a wooden spoon and then add the vegetables, herbs and mustard.  Mix altogether and season to taste.
4. Take the dish out of the oven, pour the batter to cover the base and spoon the vegetables into the middle of the dish.  Return to the oven for another 30-35 minutes.
5. If you've made crumble, put that in the oven too.

Blackberry and Rhubarb Crumble:
(Serves 2)

Crumble with Toffee Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 200-300g blackberries
• 1-2 stalks Rhubarb, chopped into 3cm lengths
• 5Tbsp Plain flour
• 1-3Tbsp Oats
• 25-30g Butter
• 4Tbsp Sugar
• 1Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1tsp Ground Cinnamon

NB: I didn't actually weigh any of the ingredents, I tend to make crumble by feel.  I like my crumble to be buttery, so if the mixture holds together when you squeeze a handful without leaving grease it's my perfect! Also I just filled 2 ramekins with blackberries, so don't take the above weights literally.


Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the butter with the flour, white sugar and oats with your fingers until you achieve a bread crumb consistency.  Taste the crumble, if it's too floury add some more butter, too greasy then add more flour, too plain, add more sugar! It's right when it tastes yummy.  Season with ground cinnamon
2. In a pan, add a tablespoon of water, the rhubarb and the brown sugar.  Heat with the lid on until soft - about 3-5 minutes.  You can even skip this step and just put the rhubarb straight in with the blackberries but it mean you can fit less fruit in the ramekins.  Remove from heat, add the blackberries and mix together then distribute between two ramekin.  I used Le Creuset heart shaped ones.
3. Top with as much crumble mixture as possible and bake for 30 minutes or so in a hot oven.  About Gas Mark 6/200C/400F.