The Miscellaneous Cook

Le Cordon Bleu London- Boulangerie Day Course

2010-12-18T22:12:00.000Z

I feel really lucky to have been able to do this course in French bakery. I went in the summer, it was around July this year. I took a day off work to do it and I LOVED it. I will let the pictures do the talking!

Wild Fungi

2010-12-18T22:00:00.000Z

I was watching Masterchef here in the UK and there was a task for the chefs to prepare wild mushrooms. I had never tried it before, or really even eaten them. I've tried a few different varieties, but never wild ones. It had me thinking about them all week afterwards, and I wanted to try preparing and cooking them.

I went to Borough Market (have I mentioned it is my favourite place in the world?!) and one of the grocer shops there sells a large variety of wild mushrooms. I didn't even know the names of them. But the black ones are trompettes, the ones in the bottom left corner are oyster, the orange ones are Chanterelles and there are some chopped up King Oyster mushrooms in there too.

Most of them could be wiped or brushed clean but the black trompettes needed to be washed twice and tap water to remove the dirt as they are hollow down the middle. You should have seen all the dirt come out of them! Once prepared, I chopped a small clove of garlic, chopped some fresh parsley and grabbed some double cream from the fridge. In a pan, with some butter and olive oil I sauteed the garlic a bit and added the mushrooms and cooked them for about 3-4 minutes till tender. Then I added a bit of salt and pepper to taste and added a dash of cream then finally the parsley to finish..

The end result was SO delicious, Pete & I ate them as a side dish to our fish for dinner.

I'd highly recommend trying to prepare and cook wild mushrooms. I once found it daunting but if you buy them from a trusted source, then there isn't too much to worry about.

Mum's Butter Cake Revisited

2010-12-18T21:24:00.001Z

I tried to make my Mum's simple butter cake last year and it turned out flat, but it kind of tasted alright. I even posted it on here even though it didn't looks that nice! Anyway, last weekend I tried again and I also asked my Mum about the recipe and if there was anything I needed to know that I may have missed that caused the flatness. And it was the measurements of the flour! She uses "heaped" cups rather than levelled ones. Mum!!! You can't do that! Anyway, I have tweaked with the recipe so that the cups are more accurate (I dislike using cups as opposed to proper weight measurements, but a lot of US and Australian recipes use these measurements).

250g salted butter

¾ cup castor sugar

6 eggs

2 tbs milk

2 cups (level) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes until the butter/sugar mixture turns lighter. Add the 6 eggs and vanilla and beat for a further few minutes.

Add sifted flour and baking powder a bit at a time, along with the milk. Beat very slowly & minimally until just combined.

Pour into a greased cake tin and bake in the oven for 55 mins.

And the picture below shows a much nicer cake. Yes, it is very plain and simple, but that's what this cake is all about.

During the summer I met...

2010-12-12T18:51:00.000Z

...Michel Roux Jr! He is a world renowned French-British chef here in London. We went to Taste of London again this year at Regent's Park and at the Le Gavroche stand Michel was there helping out. I was very much star struck and managed to say thank you and also said how much we enjoyed it at Le Gavroche when we went the year before. Hehe. He is really friendly!

A few photos of what we ate from the Le Gavroche stand, chicken terrine and braised beef dishes:

Ginger Pig Butchery Class - Lamb

2010-06-20T18:08:00.003+01:00

I was at London's Borough Market one lunch time during the week, where I noticed at the Ginger Pig butcher there was was a sign advertising butchery classes. I knew I wanted to do it straight away! I went back to work and hopped on to their website and checked out the details. They also offer Pork, Beef & Sausage making classes, as well as the Lamb class that I chose in the end. I signed up and paid for my place in a class, which was last week on the 17th June.

I was the first person to turn up at the very nice Marylebone shop. Not longer after all other 13 participants showed up, I found myself to be the only female in the class too! It seemed to be a very blokey thing to do with your mates, which I wasn't expecting to be honest! I was a bit nervous, but I think I got over that pretty quickly. We were told to put on our white butcher's coats and wash our hands and the class began.

We were given a talk about where the sheep are raised and bred - on the North Yorkshire moors. They are all free-range and there are a number of breeds - which in fact don't determine the flavour of the meat. It is what they are fed which contribute to their flavour. Interesting!

Three lambs were hanging by their hind legs up in the shop. Definitely not for the faint hearted/queasy/vegetarian. I am neither of those, and found it fascinating to see whole (well almost) animal hanging there. We were challenged to hold the whole lamb for 20 seconds, I tried with the help of Perry, the butcher - and damn, it's pretty heavy! He went through each of the parts of the lamb. It definitely looks very different as a whole animal compared to what you may see butchered and possibly in packets at your local supermaket! We were given pieces of lamb to look at. Some pieces dark and dry looking - meat that has been aged, giving it more flavour. A lot of people are put off by the look of discoloured, dark meant. But I'm not now! We were then given, in turn the knife and sometimes the saw to butcher the lamb. I had a few goes, with guidance and again found it amazing following the shape of the animal, bones and learning the names of all the parts of the lamb.

The butchering part was informative, fun and enjoyable. After all three lambs were butchered, we were all given a shoulder of lamb to bone ourselves. Perry showed us now - he made it look so easy. The bones he removed were white and clean! I actually managed to do it, with some guidance, and my proud rolled shoulder of lamb is shown in the photo above. We got to take it home with us. The only trouble I had was trying to get the knots rights to tie the string around the meat - mine kept coming undone!

Afterwards, we were treated to wine, slow cooked shoulder of lamb with mash, some very nice mint sauce and bread and butter pudding. A lovely end to my first encounter to butchery and I loved it more than I thought I would! It reminded me of how much I love food, cooking and eating. I would highly recommend this class to anyone who may also share a passion for these things.

Wholemeal Fruit Cake

2010-05-01T21:33:00.001+01:00

I found this recipe on the back of a packet of wheat bran! I made it this evening - it's really tasty & moist. It was so simple and contained no added sugar. I'm trying to make my fortnightly baked goods a bit healthier, without having to sacrifice taste. I don't think I will ever omit lovely things like eggs and butter all the time. I just think goodness like fibre, for example found in wheat bran, oats and flax/linseeds are overlooked in conventional baking. So I thought I'd try this recipe out!

Ingredients:

200g wholemeal flour

25g wheat bran

200g raisins or sultana

2 large eggs, beaten

75g butter melted

250ml orange juice (unsweetened)

1 tsp cinnamon (the original recipe asked for "mixed spice", whatever that is?!)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

3 tbs flaked almonds for sprinkling over the top

You will first need to soak the raisins/sultanas in the orange juice overnight. I popped it into the fridge in the morning and started baking this evening. The raisins soak the juice up a bit and will look plump & juicy.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease or line a loaf or round cake tin.

Sift the flour and combine with the wheat bran, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Take the melted butter (make sure this is relatively cooled) and combine with beaten eggs and the raisin/juice.

Make a well in the flour and pour the liquids in. Using a spatula, combine the whole lot with quick swift folds. Try not to over-mix, as this will make the cake dense and heavy. Pour mixture into the tin. Top the mixture with the flaked almonds and place into oven.

Bake for 50 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

Ricotta Muffins

2010-02-20T19:08:00.006Z

I made these a few weeks ago and they were amazing! Party sweet and part savoury, and not overly sweet. They were a nice balance.

The recipe is thanks to Smitten Kitchen, one of my favourite cooking blogs! Visit Deb's website to find the recipe.

Peperki Polneti - Macedonian Stuffed Peppers

2010-02-05T22:05:00.004Z

My boyfriend's family are from Macedonia and one of my favourite dishes his Mum makes is Peperki Polneti. This is sweet peppers, usually the red, yellow or orange variety stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, vegetables and rice. There are a lot of different variations, and mine has my own twist on it.

These are the just-stuffed peppers (step 7 below). I haven't added the sauce/liquid to the dish at this stage.

The peppers are stuffed and then baked in the juices from the meat mixture and served with a generous serving of plain yoghurt. My good friend who is Hungarian told me she loves it with sour cream - I think that would be a great alternative as well!

Ingredients:

6 medium sized red, yellow or orange peppers / capsicums

500g minced pork and beef (250g of each)

1 carrot

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 zucchini / courgette

handful of mushrooms

1 organic beef stock cube

1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs

3 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup cooked rice

3 tbs olive oil

1 large tomato, sliced.

1. Preheat the oven to 190C. With a sharp knife, cut out the stems of the peppers, discard and remove seeds and white membranes from inside.

2. Boil a large pot of water and parboil the peppers for 5 minutes. Drain them well and stand them upright in a suitable casserole dish.

3. Dice the carrot into small cubes, along with the zucchini. Slice the mushrooms finely.

4. Dice onion, garlic and cook in olive oil on med to high heat till they are soft. Add the carrots and stir fry till they are half cooked and then add the mince meat. Break it all up into small bits as it cooks. Let it brown and then add the zuchinni, cook some more and then add the mushrooms.

5. Lower the time temperature to low-med. Add the salt, pepper and mixed herbs to taste a little at a time. Be sure to taste and add more if required. Then add the tomato paste and mix it well.

6. Add the cooked rice and the beef stock cube (crumbled) and add about 2/3 cup water and stir and let it simmer for 10 minutes, then take it off the heat.

7. With a tablespoon, slowly spoon the mixture, trying to avoid the liquids, into each of the peppers. Push down with the back of the spoon to ensure the mixture is packed in well. Be gentle and try not to break them! Top each pepper with a slice of tomato to cover.

8. You should have a bit of mince mixture and liquid left over. Pour this remaining liquid and meat into the dish so it fills almost halfway up. If you find there is not much liquid left, add a bit more water to the mixure, add some additional tomato paste and stock cube and combine and add to the dish.

9. Leaving the dish uncovered, put it into the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until lightly brown and liquids bubbling.

10. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes if you can wait! If the liquids are too runny, add some cornflour mixed in cold water to thicken. Then serve each pepper with a spoonful of mince and sauce and a nice big blob of yoghurt!

Scones

2010-01-23T23:56:00.001Z

I've been so lazy with this blog, I'm going to be updating it a bit more from now on, I promise! I have been cooking, just not blogging my recipes.

So I've been baking scones over the past few months and most recently, this morning for my wonderful friends Kelly & Simon who has just been married and spent part of their honeymoon visiting in London. I made plain and raisin scones and they were gobbled up in no time (always a good sign!). I'm sad they have left already...thanks for staying with us guys!

These scones I made on Christmas day and my brother Tim took this shot:

P1100312.JPG
Originally uploaded by raptor_tk

I always tend to make savoury cheese scones, but the base recipe is the same:

225g plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
65g butter, cubed and at room temp
a pinch of salt
150ml milk

For plain/raisin/sweet scones add:
1 1/2 tbs tbs caster sugar
3 tbs raisins or sultanas

For cheese/savoury scones add:
75g grated cheese (or about half a cup)
a sprinkle of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 200C.

Mix flour, salt, baking powder and either the sugar for sweet scones or cayenne pepper for savoury ones. Sift the mixture into a bowl.

Rub the butter into the mixture until you get a crumbly consistency.

Mix in the raisins or cheese and the milk until you get a soft dough.

Flour your work surface and roll out the dough to about 2.5 cm. Cut the scones using a cutter, I just use a glass upside down and cut out circles that way! Lay each scone evenly spaced on a tray lined with baking paper.

Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden.

Serve sweet or plain scones with butter and jam, or if you're feeling indulgent, with clotted cream and a cup of tea (oh.my.god!). Cheese scones are delicious with butter. They don't tend to keep well overnight, so eat them straight away whilst warm.

Buttermilk Choc Cake

2009-09-06T18:24:00.000+01:00

I've adopted this recipe from my Berry Buttermilk Cake recipe. I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but it turned out really nice. Really moist and chocolatey! I altered the recipe a little, but it is almost identical.

Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
60 grams unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cups light brown muscovado sugar or caster sugar will be fine
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
150 ml buttermilk
50g of good quality cocoa or freshly grated 100% cacao

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Cream the butter and sugar together until it becomes light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla essence and the egg and beat well for a couple of minutes.

Add the buttermilk, cocoa & flour (sifted) in 3 batches one at a time and mix slowly until all mixed in. Grease the cake tin and add the batter.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes and check it. If it needs a bit longer put it back in and ensure a skewer comes out clean when tested. Allow to cool on a rack and serve with double cream.

I didn't even ice the cake and you know, it didn't even need it! There was a crispy choc crust on top, like you find on brownies sometimes....mmm. We've almost finished it and it's only the next day! Yum...

Buttermilk Berry Cake

2009-07-11T23:22:00.001+01:00

I love this recipe, I've baked this cake twice already and it is seriously great! Very simple and helpful if you have buttermilk on hand, if not then you can make it with regular milk and just add vinegar to it or mix plain yoghurt with milk.

We're seeing our friends tomorrow for lunch and I'm going to give them 6 cupcakes I've made from this recipe. I made a cake for us too at the same time :-).

Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
60 grams unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cups light brown muscovado sugar or caster sugar will be fine
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have any, use milk & natural yoghurt OR milk & 1 tbs vinegar)
1 cup berries of your choice (eg. blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. You can use frozen as well. I used blueberries the first time, and mixed strawberries and blueberrries the second time, both lovely.)

Preheat the oven to 190C. Prepare the berries if neccessary, I chopped the strawberries but kept blueberries whole.

Cream the butter and sugar together until it becomes light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla essence and lemon zest and beat a little longer.

Add the egg and beat well for a couple of minutes.

Add the buttermilk and flour in 3 batches one at a time and mix slowly until all flour/buttermilk is mixed in. Grease the cake tin and add the batter. Arrange the berries on top, being careful not to put too many in the middle. Scatter them evenly and sprinkle a teaspoon or two of caster sugar over them. I have read that if you use raspberries, make sure you put the open "hole" end of the berry on top so it doesn't sink to the bottom of the cake whilst cooking. I found my batter a good consistency so my fruit didn't sink, some berries went halfway which is ideal. All a matter of trial and error really!

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes and check it. If it needs a bit longer put it back in and ensure a skewer comes out clean when tested.

Baby Artichokes

2009-06-27T20:51:00.000+01:00

I bought some baby globe artichokes from the farmer's markets last weekend. Never cooked them myself before, and never really knew how to prepare them.

Well I did some research and steamed 6 little ones up and tossed them in salt and butter. Really really good! So much better than those jar or tinned ones, usually pickled in some sort of vinegar mixture. Fresh is definitely best!

Before I start explaining, I'll make a point to say I used baby artichokes, not the big ones! There is more preparation involved with the bigger ones.To start, snap off the outer petals until you reach the light green ones. Using a knife, cut off the first half an inch off the tops. Halve or quarter them as you like. Note that they will discolour quickly so do this quickly and get them into the steamer straight away. Otherwise keep them in water with lemon or vinegar to keep for a little while.

I've only tried steaming them so far, and steamed them for about 10-12 minutes and they should be tender when you put a knife into one. You can also grill, stir fry, bake them...lots of ideas! Once done, toss in some butter and salt. You can really taste the flavour of them this way.

Changes to my Chocolate Cake Recipe

2009-06-27T20:27:00.000+01:00

I found my chocolate cake to be a bit crumbly and dry in texture, it wasn't that bad really but it was annoying! I want a moist chocolate cake. I did some googling and found that it may be that I used too much flour and I could also add some milk to the mixture too. Apparently different types of cocoa can also make the cake mixture drier than others. I've altered my recipe slightly and baked the cake today. I've just taken it out of the oven and now waiting for it to cool. 'Looks' moist but you can never really tell until it's completely cooled.

Here are the new ingredients:

175g softened butter
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs
125g self-raising flour, sifted
50g of cocoa, sifted (I used 100% solid cacao grated finely)
2tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1tsp vanilla extract
2tbs milk
pinch of salt

Prepare following my directions here.

UPDATE: The cake is really moist - I tried a piece and the changes seem to have worked! I also added milk chocolate pieces throughout but they seemed to have sunk to the bottom and melted way! Oh well :-)

Asian Style Duck

2009-06-21T20:21:00.000+01:00

I tried this recipe out a few weeks ago with two duck breasts and two leg/thigh pieces. I cooked the two different parts separately since the breasts are quite quick to cook and the legs take longer. Both turned out really nice. I want to try a whole duck next. They sell them at Waitrose where we shop, so it's not going to be hard to get hold of. I marinated the pieces for 3 hours, but I think overnight would be better. I was so happy with how it all turned out, looks alright doesn't it? And duck breast is best when slightly pink. The legs were done in the oven for about 2 hours, so the meat was really moist and tender (drool!). The flavour was really nice, not too rich, gamey or fatty like it can be when bought. Definitely worth the hard work!

Ingredients

6 pieces of duck - breasts and legs or a whole duck would also work too.

For the marinade

75g palm sugar or light brown sugar

3 tbs water

6 stars of star anise

2 thumbs fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

6 tbs sweet soy sauce/Ketjap Manis

3 tbs chopped coriander

1 tbs sesame oil

½ tsp dried chilli flakes, or to taste

To prepare the duck

Trim any excess fat from the duck pieces, but dont remove too much because it will be needed to keep the duck moist whilst cooking.

Score the breast skin in a criss-cross pattern.

For the marinade

Melt the sugar in a pan with the water and star anise. When the sugar has melted, take the pan off the heat and add the other marinade ingredients.

Allow the marinade to cool completely before thoroughly coating the duck breasts on both sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or preferably overnight. Remove from the fridge around 20 minutes before grilling.

Cooking

Duck is most tender when cooked pink, so be careful not to overcook. If cooking the breasts only, sear each side of the duck breasts for a minute or so each side. The put into an oven that has been pre-heated on 180C for 10 minutes only. Once done, let them sit for 10 minutes and them carve into slices and serve on plates.

If you are cooking the duck thighs/legs, which I did as well as breasts, then you will need to take more time cooking them. Plan ahead and time it so both breasts and legs finish at the same time. You don't need to brown the legs first, so put them into a oven dish and cover with foil, and add a little of the marinade into the dish. Preheat the oven to 160C and let the duck legs cook for 1.5 hours. They will turn out very tender. After 1.5hrs, take the foil off the dish, turn the heat up to 190C and pour the liquid off into a bowl. It is a mixure of sauce and duck fat, skim off the fat (there is a lot!) and reserve the sauce. This is delicious on the duck and rice later on. Let the duck cook further on 190C for another 20 minutes, let it brown a bit. Once done, take it out and it is ready to serve.

To serve

Carve each breast on an angle into 2-3 pieces and scatter with fresh, chopped coriander leaves. Serve with rice or noodles, preferably with a nice vegetable stir fry. Top the duck with the sauce saved from the cooking of the legs.

Homemade Pastry

2009-06-18T20:27:00.000+01:00

I found this recipe for an oil based pastry a few months ago. I've only made it twice, but both times with success! It is seriously SO easy, and really tasty. I've made quiches with the pastry both times. I didnt have to "blind" bake it first either. The result is a surprisingly flaky pastry. It most resembles the bottom of a pie-kind-of-pastry, but it's kind of lighter. Almost shortcrust, but not. The first time I made it, I used olive oil and it was nice with the olive flavour present. I used corn oil next, as recommended in the original recipe and it turned out even flakier and delicious - so try corn oil if you can get hold of it. I will probably try pies next!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 dash salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil (corn is the tastiest)
5 tablespoons cold tap water (EXACTLY 5!)

Directions;

Measure the flour carefully and put it in a large bowl. Add the dash of salt and stir it with a fork.

Pour the oil in and stir and zig zag the fork through the mixture until pea sized clumps form.

Add the cold water over the mixture evenly and stir and mash with the fork just until it all balls together. I use my hands and clump it into a larger ball, I hardly knead it, just squash it into a ball without any rolling.

Wipe the countertop with a damp cloth and spread a piece of wax paper on it so it doesnt move underneath. Add mmore water if it doesnt stick.

Form a little more than half of the dough into a disk and place it on the wax paper. Cover it with another piece of wax paper.

Roll the dough with a rolling pin from the center out in all directions, keeping it as circular as possible.

Periodically do the following:.

Peel off the top piece of wax paper, then lay it gently back on top of the crust.
Using the bottom piece to lift it, turn the crust over, peel off that piece of wax paper, lay it back down again and continue rolling.
Continue the peel-replace-flip-peel-replace technique until your crust is about two inches bigger than your pie pan.
IMPORTANT: Peel-replace-flip-peel -- then use the bottom piece of paper to lift the crust and place it over your pie pan. Gently peel off the wax paper.
Use the same technique to roll the top crust.
As you prefer, you can leave the top crust whole, cut it into strips for lattice, or whatever.
OPTIONAL: Brush the top crust with milk and/or sprinkle it with sugar. Havent tried this myself yet, but I guess it could be a base for a sweet pie or tart if we used sugar!

Bake according to your pie directions. I bake a medium sized quiche on 180C for 30 minutes.

Hope it works out for you as it did for me!

Mum's Butter Cake

2009-06-07T22:14:00.000+01:00

I baked Mum's all time favourite butter cake this weekend. It's very buttery and delicious. It turned out nice but a little flat! But I think this is due to the smaller eggs I used, plus I moved my tray down a level - perhaps it all contributed to the dense texture. I will definitely try again soon and report back the results!

250g salted butter

¾ cup castor sugar

6 eggs

2 tbs milk

1 & 1/3 cup self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes until the mixture is white. Add the 6 eggs and beat for a further few minutes.

Add sifted flour a bit at a time, along with the milk. Beat slowly until combined.

Pour into a greased cake tin and bake in the oven for 55 mins.

Banana Loaf

2009-05-15T22:47:00.000+01:00

I'm having a quiet night at home on my own tonight - perfect for baking! I had some ripe bananas in the fruit bowl and decided to try making this cakey banana loaf.

Ingredients:

125g butter
175g unrefined soft brown sugar/light muscovado sugar
2 eggs
280g plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
125ml milk
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1tsp vanilla extract
75g pecan nuts, chopped (use any nuts of your choice)

Heat oven to 180C. Oil or line a loaf tin.

Cream butter and sugar together, until smooth. Add one egg & vanilla essence and beat well, add the second and continue to beat. Sift in half the flour with the bicarbonate of soda and salt, and mix well. Mix in the milk and then the remaining flour.

Mash the bananas and then fold them in to the mixture with pecans. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and level the top with a spatula.

Bake for about an hour until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin before turning out. Enjoy nice big slices whilst warm or cooled. Yum!

Market to market...

2009-05-13T21:46:00.000+01:00

I made this tomato & mozzarella salad last night. I bought three different varieties of tomato from my favourite market in London: Borough Market. They are a rainbow of colours which range from orange, green to a dark red/green. All fresh & ripe and they look amazing! I couldn't resist buying a few when I was there in my lunch break.

I love markets and feel so "at home" in the hustle and bustle. I love buying weird and wonderful looking produce and attempting to cook them. I try to visit markets while I am travelling overseas - and want to make a bigger effort to do so from now on.

Keep an eye out for more of my market goodies!

Chocolate Cake

2009-04-26T18:17:00.000+01:00

I'm baking a chocolate cake for Pete & I this evening. It's in the oven now & it smells really good. I used some of this 100% Venezuelan cacao (cocoa) that we have had in the pantry and haven't used for baking yet. I think the recipe would be fine to use normal powdered cocoa also.

Ingredients:
175g softened butter
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs
150g self-raising flour, sifted
50g of cocoa, sifted (I used 100% solid cacao grated finely)
1tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

For simple chocolate icing

100g (3½oz) of dark chocolate or cocoa (if using unsweetened cocoa, add some icing sugar to taste.
100g (3½oz) of chopped butter

1. Heat the oven to 180C . Lightly grease a 20cm round cake tin with a bit of oil or butter.

2. Cream sugar & softened butter, add vanilla essence. Then add the eggs and beat for another minute.

3. Add dry ingredients and mix with spatula briefly, then use mixer to combine further for only a minute or so.

4. Spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 40 minutes. The cake is cooked when it looks well risen and golden; the top should spring back when lightly touched with a fingertip. Another test is to insert a skewer into the centre of the cake - it should come out clean.

5. Let the cake sit in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove on to a rack to cool. When cool, ice the cake and enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Tea Cake

2009-04-18T20:29:00.000+01:00

I'm going to my friend's place for lunch tomorrow and I've just baked this cake to bring along. It has come out looking delicious and can't wait to try it! It was pretty easy to make, I made it a little bigger than what is set out so I multiplied the ingredients x 1.5.

Ingredients
95g butter
½ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg
1¼ cups self raising flour
½ cup milk

Topping
1 to 2 apples, peeled and quartered
melted butter
1 dessertspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Make sure the butter is at room temperature but not melted (if it is melted you won't get the right consistency). Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the egg and vanilla essence, and beat well.

Sift flour 3 times and add to mixture, alternately with milk. Beat until combined.

Spread the mixture evenly into a round 20cm (or rectangular tin) greased and lined shallow baking pan.

Peel, core and quarter your apples. Slice the quarters thinly and place over lapping slices in a wheel fashion on the top of the cake mixture. Brush the apples with some melted butter.

Place in the middle of the oven and turn the temperature up to 190°C. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave for 5 more minutes, checking to see if the cake is cooked by gently pressing the centre to see if it bounces back (or inserting a skewer stick comes out clean). Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the baking tin for a further 10 minutes.

While the cake is baking, mix the ground cinnamon with sugar for the topping and sprinkle over top of cake.

Enjoy with a cup of tea!

The Best Muffin Recipe

2009-04-13T17:27:00.000+01:00

Makes about 12 muffins.

I've started baking lately, and started off with muffins - I found this recipe and have been using as the base for all my muffins so far. They are nice and fluffy because of the buttermilk. I started off with blueberry, then I made banana and choc chip and this afternoon I will make raspberry and white chocolate. Here are the ingredients:

325g plain flour (sometimes I use half wholemeal and half white flour, makes it a little healthier, works well)
2tsp baking powder
½tsp bicarbonate of soda
185g unrefined caster sugar (I use less sugar (125g) if using choc chips or anything else sweet)
300ml buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1tsp vanilla essence
100g butter or 100ml oil (I started using oil instead of butter just to make it a bit better for the heart!)

Customise your muffins with whatever you like, 200g of blueberries or raspberries, a very ripe banana (mashed), choc chips, lemon zest...whatever you like - just improvise!

1. Heat the oven (I use fan-forced) to 190°C. Grease muffin tins.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and a pinch of salt into a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla essence and melted butter together. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Don't over-mix the batter. The batter should not be smooth. Fold through any extras like fruit or choc chips.
4. Divide the mixture evenly between the cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and eat whilst warm!

Creamy Vegetable & Chicken Pies

2009-02-09T15:36:00.002Z

These pies are easy to make, relatively healthy and very tasty! I've started making them for dinner tonight and when I'm back from the gym, all I have to do is pop them in the oven and wait for them to get piping hot. This recipe serves two adults. I made two regular sized pies and two mini ones, as seen in the photo.

Ingredients:

- 250g or 1 cup of cooked chicken. You can use a leftover roast chook, pan fry a chicken breast or two, or whatever chicken meat you can find and cook up.

- 2 tbs olive oil

- 1 leek or medium onion

- 2 cloves garlic chopped

- 1 medium carrot diced in small cubes

- 4 mushrooms, diced

- 1 small handful or green beans, chopped

- 1/3 zucchini diced

- sprig fresh thyme, bay leaf or whatever herbs you like

- 1 can of light evaporated milk (use cream or make a white sauce if you like, but this is a bit healthier & easier!)

- 1/2 chicken stock cube crumbled (preferably organic) or used a small carton of liquid stock. This ingredient can be omitted if you like, since the chicken itself already adds flavour.

- 3 tsp cornflour to thicken.

- puff pastry sheets, thawed in the fridge.

1. Cook the chicken if not already cooked and put aside. Season with S&P.

2. Cook the leek, garlic and herbs in a frying pan until soft, add all the vegetables and stir fry until slightly softened. Then add the chicken and combine all. Add some cracked black pepper.

3. Next add the can of evaporated milk (use only half if using liquid stock), stir and bring to simmer. Then add the crumbled stock cube and combine (or add 150 ml of liquid stock, if using liquid instead of cubes). Stir and let it simmer.

4. Mix cornflour with a little cold water, mix well and pour into chicken & vegetable mixture. The sauce should thicken. Once it has, turn off the heat and let it cool for 30 mins.

5. Get four ramekins or pie dishes and dish out the filling into them. Ensure the filling is completely cooled.

6. Cut the puff pastry sheets into the same size as the pie dishes, and seal the top of it with the pastry, pushing the edges down with your fingers on the edges. Use a knife to cut two small slits into the lid of each pie to allow hot air to escape.

7. Keep in fridge until ready to cook or bake in the oven on 160C for approximately 25 mins minutes but keep an eye on the pies just in case. When pastry is golden brown, remove from oven, sit for 5-10 mins and then enjoy!