This cake was inspired by a dream I had where Stephen Fry made a chocolate and beetroot cake for me. I had never heard of that combination before, but a little digging came up with this recipe. Sadly, Stephen Fry didn't serve it to me when I made it!
It's not for the fainthearted as the uncooked beetroot has quite a strong, earthy taste but it makes a change from plain chocolate cake.
Ingredients
250g butter, softened
325g dark muscavado sugar
4 medium eggs
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa
300g fresh beetroot, finely shredded
115g 70% cocoa chocolate, grated
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Preheat oven to 180C.
In a bowl, mix together the softened butter and muscovado sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat the eggs and add them to the butter mixture gradually, mixing well.
Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder into the cake batter and stir well.
Add the grated beetroot to the cake mix together with the grated chocolate. Stir well to combine and add the vanilla essence.
Transfer the mixture to a buttered 23cm round cake tin and bake for 50-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes away cleanly.
This is quite a moist cake so depending on your oven, it may take a bit longer - don't worry, just cover the top of the cake loosely with foil to prevent it from burning.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Beefy dog biscuits
This was the special treat that I put into my Christmas hampers for Jasper, Bruno and Daisy (aka Moog). By all accounts, they loved them and as there is nothing particularly strange in them they can be eaten by anyone brave enough!
This recipe makes about 60 dog biscuits but they last forever in a ziplocked bag. The brewers yeast is essential and can be found in any health food shop. Baking yeast cannot be substituted as it is harmful to dogs.
Ingredients
375g plain flour
360g wholewheat flour
240g coarse wheatbran
120g cornmeal
8g garlic powder
15g brewers yeast
60g milk powder
710ml beef broth
Preheat oven to 150C
In a large mixing bowl combine the white flour, whole wheat flour, cracked wheat, cornmeal, garlic powder, brewer's yeast and instant milk.
Stir in 500ml of broth and mix the ingredients well using a wooden spoon. The dough should be very stiff. Gradually mix in the remaining 210ml broth to make a bread-dough consistency.
Roll the dough out to about 1cm thickness on a floured worktop. Cut out biscuits into any shape you want, cat shapes will probably go down well!
Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 45 minutes.
Turn oven off and leave the biscuits in the oven for at least 6 hrs or overnight so they are really hard.
This recipe makes about 60 dog biscuits but they last forever in a ziplocked bag. The brewers yeast is essential and can be found in any health food shop. Baking yeast cannot be substituted as it is harmful to dogs.
Ingredients
375g plain flour
360g wholewheat flour
240g coarse wheatbran
120g cornmeal
8g garlic powder
15g brewers yeast
60g milk powder
710ml beef broth
Preheat oven to 150C
In a large mixing bowl combine the white flour, whole wheat flour, cracked wheat, cornmeal, garlic powder, brewer's yeast and instant milk.
Stir in 500ml of broth and mix the ingredients well using a wooden spoon. The dough should be very stiff. Gradually mix in the remaining 210ml broth to make a bread-dough consistency.
Roll the dough out to about 1cm thickness on a floured worktop. Cut out biscuits into any shape you want, cat shapes will probably go down well!
Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 45 minutes.
Turn oven off and leave the biscuits in the oven for at least 6 hrs or overnight so they are really hard.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Ho-Ho-Hot Chocolate
I had never thought of making my own hot chocolate mix before. Which is crazy as I love the spiced hot chocolates that come out at Christmas time and have panic-bought loads of packets in the past so that I have enough to take me through January!
This is so easy as to almost not be a recipe. You do need a food processor to make it otherwise the chocolate would be a nightmare to grind finely enough.
Ingredients
150g good-quality 70% cocoa chocolate
125g Green and Blacks cocoa powder
140g granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground clove
Break up the chocolate into individual squares.
Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until mixture is powdery.
Be careful not to overprocess as the mixture will get hot and begin to melt!
Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. To turn it into hot chocolate, add 2 tbsp of the mix to a mug of hot milk.
This is so easy as to almost not be a recipe. You do need a food processor to make it otherwise the chocolate would be a nightmare to grind finely enough.
Ingredients
150g good-quality 70% cocoa chocolate
125g Green and Blacks cocoa powder
140g granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground clove
Break up the chocolate into individual squares.
Place all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until mixture is powdery.
Be careful not to overprocess as the mixture will get hot and begin to melt!
Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months. To turn it into hot chocolate, add 2 tbsp of the mix to a mug of hot milk.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Sweet spiced pecans
These are incredibly moreish spiced nuts that are a lot cheaper than buying the ready-made honey-roasted nut selections that come out every Christmas. They also make the whole house smell amazing and Christmassy while they are cooking.
You can get big bags of nuts from any health food shop for quite good prices.
Ingredients
500g pecan nuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg white
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 150C
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg white until it is foamy but not stiff.
Add sugar, cumin, cayenne pepper and cinnamon and mix until combined. Add pecans to egg-white mixture; stir with rubber spatula until all nuts are coated.
Spread nuts evenly over 2 baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the coating is golden brown and dry.
Cool nuts on baking sheets until they are cool enough to break up (as they might have stuck together while baking)
Store in zip-lock bags or tupperware for up to 2 weeks.
You can get big bags of nuts from any health food shop for quite good prices.
Ingredients
500g pecan nuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg white
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 150C
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg white until it is foamy but not stiff.
Add sugar, cumin, cayenne pepper and cinnamon and mix until combined. Add pecans to egg-white mixture; stir with rubber spatula until all nuts are coated.
Spread nuts evenly over 2 baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the coating is golden brown and dry.
Cool nuts on baking sheets until they are cool enough to break up (as they might have stuck together while baking)
Store in zip-lock bags or tupperware for up to 2 weeks.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Ricciarelli
I am making Christmas hampers this year for people, so the next few posts are things that will be contained within them. I have to be able to send them across to the UK in one piece so they need to be hardy and able to stand the week or so they will be out of refrigeration, awaiting Christmas morning.
These Italian almond cookies are really simple and impressive. They're fun to make and are also gluten free. The only tricky thing can be finding the almond flour for them. I have a lovely Italian bakers nearby where I can buy this but health food shops should have it. Almond flour is more fine than ground almonds, so at a push, you can make almond flour from grinding blanched almonds in a food processor until they are very, very powdery.
Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp bitter almond extract
For rolling you need an additional cup of icing sugar.
Preheat oven to 150C
Mix the almond flour, icing sugar, cornflour and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.
Beat the egg white separately until they are stiff and fold them into the almond mixture.
Add the almond extract and stir until you have a soft dough. You should be able to pinch off a piece of the mixture and roll it into a fairly tight ball so if you feel your mixture is too soft, add extra almond flour.
Cover a clean worktop with a small pile of icing sugar.
Form one tablespoon of dough into a small ball, coat in the sugar, and flatten it out slightly so you have a lozenge shape.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet covered with a silicon baking mat. Just before placing in the oven, press a clean fork down in the middle of each cookie to create an indentation.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until light gold in colour. You don't want to over-cook these cookies as the joy of them is in the chewy texture.
The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
These Italian almond cookies are really simple and impressive. They're fun to make and are also gluten free. The only tricky thing can be finding the almond flour for them. I have a lovely Italian bakers nearby where I can buy this but health food shops should have it. Almond flour is more fine than ground almonds, so at a push, you can make almond flour from grinding blanched almonds in a food processor until they are very, very powdery.
Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp bitter almond extract
For rolling you need an additional cup of icing sugar.
Preheat oven to 150C
Mix the almond flour, icing sugar, cornflour and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.
Beat the egg white separately until they are stiff and fold them into the almond mixture.
Add the almond extract and stir until you have a soft dough. You should be able to pinch off a piece of the mixture and roll it into a fairly tight ball so if you feel your mixture is too soft, add extra almond flour.
Cover a clean worktop with a small pile of icing sugar.
Form one tablespoon of dough into a small ball, coat in the sugar, and flatten it out slightly so you have a lozenge shape.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet covered with a silicon baking mat. Just before placing in the oven, press a clean fork down in the middle of each cookie to create an indentation.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until light gold in colour. You don't want to over-cook these cookies as the joy of them is in the chewy texture.
The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
French Baguettes
This baguette recipe uses a poolish which means that you have to start preparing it the night before. It's worth the work as a first foray into using ferments, although I will keep the ferment going for a day or so longer next time to get a more intense flavour.
There is no need to use special equipment for this bread. A couche would be great for letting the bread rise, but until I have a bigger kitchen, a well-floured tea-towel does the job.
This recipe will make 4 good sized baguettes.
Ingredients
Poolish -
300g strong white bread flour
300g water
1/2 tsp instant yeast (4g fresh yeast)
Dough -
605g strong white bread flour
300g water (slightly warm to the touch)
12g salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast (8g fresh yeast)
All the prepared poolish
Prepare the poolish at least 12 hours in advance. Mix together the flour, yeast and water until the mixture has the consistency of a smooth batter. Cover with cling film and a tea-towel and let ferment in a warm place overnight.
The next day, the poolish will have risen and look bubbly and smell faintly alcoholic.
Mix the dough by combining the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add all the poolish and the water and mix together until it starts to form a dough.
Turn the dough out onto the work surface (not floured! If you haven't already, get Richard Bertinet's book, Dough. It's an amazing resource on how to knead dough)
Knead the dough for around 8-10 minutes, until it comes away cleanly from the work-top and is smooth, supple and pliant. Coat the dough lightly in flour and shape into a ball.
Place the dough in a mixing bowl and cover with a tea-towel. Let the dough rest until it is nearly doubled in size, around 1hr to 1hr and a half.
Pre-heat your oven at this point to 200C.
Once the dough has doubled, gently remove it from the bowl and knock it back on the work suface.
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (I weigh each one to be sure, as it helps with the second rising if they are all exactly equal) Shape the four pieces into rounds and let rest for a further 15 minutes.
Shape each piece of dough into a baguette shape by rolling the round into a sausage shape and folding each length onto the other, creating a seam at the bottom of the baguette that will give it strength.
Place each baguette into a fold of well-floured tea-towel on a baking tray. Ensure that there is a fold of towel between each baguette, so they don't stick to each other, and that there is room for the baguettes to rise.
Cover the shaped baguettes with another tea-towel and let rise again for an hour in a warm place (I use the hob-top, away from the oven door so they get the general warmth with none of the direct heat).
Once the baguettes are risen, score the tops with a razor blade and transfer carefully to a baking sheet for putting in the oven.
Baguettes get their crisp, chewy crust from being baked in a moist, steamy oven so I place a roasting tin with 200ml of water in the bottom of the oven about 10 mins before I am going to bake the baguettes. This gives the oven plenty of continuous steam.
Bake the baguettes on the middle shelf for 20 minutes until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the base.
Cool on a wire rack and then eat with cheese and wine!
There is no need to use special equipment for this bread. A couche would be great for letting the bread rise, but until I have a bigger kitchen, a well-floured tea-towel does the job.
This recipe will make 4 good sized baguettes.
Ingredients
Poolish -
300g strong white bread flour
300g water
1/2 tsp instant yeast (4g fresh yeast)
Dough -
605g strong white bread flour
300g water (slightly warm to the touch)
12g salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast (8g fresh yeast)
All the prepared poolish
Prepare the poolish at least 12 hours in advance. Mix together the flour, yeast and water until the mixture has the consistency of a smooth batter. Cover with cling film and a tea-towel and let ferment in a warm place overnight.
The next day, the poolish will have risen and look bubbly and smell faintly alcoholic.
Mix the dough by combining the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add all the poolish and the water and mix together until it starts to form a dough.
Turn the dough out onto the work surface (not floured! If you haven't already, get Richard Bertinet's book, Dough. It's an amazing resource on how to knead dough)
Knead the dough for around 8-10 minutes, until it comes away cleanly from the work-top and is smooth, supple and pliant. Coat the dough lightly in flour and shape into a ball.
Place the dough in a mixing bowl and cover with a tea-towel. Let the dough rest until it is nearly doubled in size, around 1hr to 1hr and a half.
Pre-heat your oven at this point to 200C.
Once the dough has doubled, gently remove it from the bowl and knock it back on the work suface.
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces (I weigh each one to be sure, as it helps with the second rising if they are all exactly equal) Shape the four pieces into rounds and let rest for a further 15 minutes.
Shape each piece of dough into a baguette shape by rolling the round into a sausage shape and folding each length onto the other, creating a seam at the bottom of the baguette that will give it strength.
Place each baguette into a fold of well-floured tea-towel on a baking tray. Ensure that there is a fold of towel between each baguette, so they don't stick to each other, and that there is room for the baguettes to rise.
Cover the shaped baguettes with another tea-towel and let rise again for an hour in a warm place (I use the hob-top, away from the oven door so they get the general warmth with none of the direct heat).
Once the baguettes are risen, score the tops with a razor blade and transfer carefully to a baking sheet for putting in the oven.
Baguettes get their crisp, chewy crust from being baked in a moist, steamy oven so I place a roasting tin with 200ml of water in the bottom of the oven about 10 mins before I am going to bake the baguettes. This gives the oven plenty of continuous steam.
Bake the baguettes on the middle shelf for 20 minutes until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the base.
Cool on a wire rack and then eat with cheese and wine!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Lemon Cookies
These were the non-spiced cookie that I provided for the wedding.
They are like a lemony shortbread and are great with a cup of tea as they are light and vibrant.
This recipe makes around 20 small cookies
Ingredients
115g butter, softened
115g caster sugar
1 lemon (rind and juice)
1 egg
342g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
Preheat oven to 170C.
Cream the butter, sugar, lemon rind and lemon extract until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and lemon juice gradually, beating well between each addition. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and add enough milk to form a dough. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Roll out dough on lightly floured worktop to 1 cm thick and cut using whatever cutters you like.
Place on baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until pale golden brown.
Cool on wire rack. These cookies will keep for around 1 week in an airtight container.
They are like a lemony shortbread and are great with a cup of tea as they are light and vibrant.
This recipe makes around 20 small cookies
Ingredients
115g butter, softened
115g caster sugar
1 lemon (rind and juice)
1 egg
342g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
Preheat oven to 170C.
Cream the butter, sugar, lemon rind and lemon extract until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and lemon juice gradually, beating well between each addition. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and add enough milk to form a dough. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Roll out dough on lightly floured worktop to 1 cm thick and cut using whatever cutters you like.
Place on baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until pale golden brown.
Cool on wire rack. These cookies will keep for around 1 week in an airtight container.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Maple Syrup Buttercream
This is an amazing icing for really making you feel autumnal! The maple syrup also gives it a nice, warm colour.
I used it on the Stem Ginger Cake but it would be just as good on a plain sponge cake or a fruit cake.
This recipe makes enough to cover a 18cm round cake.
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup soft light brown sugar
113g salted butter, softened
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
In a mixing bowl, beat the sugars and butter together until light and creamy.
Add in the maple syrup and vanilla and beat together until fully combined. Add in the milk until you have an easily spreadable icing.
Can be kept refrigerated for up to 1 week.
I used it on the Stem Ginger Cake but it would be just as good on a plain sponge cake or a fruit cake.
This recipe makes enough to cover a 18cm round cake.
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup soft light brown sugar
113g salted butter, softened
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
In a mixing bowl, beat the sugars and butter together until light and creamy.
Add in the maple syrup and vanilla and beat together until fully combined. Add in the milk until you have an easily spreadable icing.
Can be kept refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Stem Ginger Cake
This is the recipe that I used for the wedding cake for Joe's manager.
It's rich, moist and is actually a lot better after being kept in an airtight container for a couple of days. It's great served plain as a teatime cake but even better iced with Maple Syrup Buttercream for a more indulgent treat!
Ingredients
270g self-raising flour
115g butter
115g dark muscavado sugar
115g treacle
115g golden syrup
250ml full-fat milk
85g preserved stem ginger, grated
1 egg
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
Preheat the oven to 160C.
Mix the flour, bicarb and all the spices in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Heat the sugars, treacle, syrup and milk in a medium saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to just below boiling point.
Add the shredded stem ginger to the flour mixture, then pour in the liquid mixture, beating well to avoid any lumps.
Add the egg and stir in to combine. The mixture will be the consisitency of a thick pancake batter.
Pour this into a buttered and lined 18cm round cake tin and bake for 50 minutes-1 hour, or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out fairly clean.
Leave to cool completely in tin before turning cake out.
It's rich, moist and is actually a lot better after being kept in an airtight container for a couple of days. It's great served plain as a teatime cake but even better iced with Maple Syrup Buttercream for a more indulgent treat!
Ingredients
270g self-raising flour
115g butter
115g dark muscavado sugar
115g treacle
115g golden syrup
250ml full-fat milk
85g preserved stem ginger, grated
1 egg
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
Preheat the oven to 160C.
Mix the flour, bicarb and all the spices in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Heat the sugars, treacle, syrup and milk in a medium saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to just below boiling point.
Add the shredded stem ginger to the flour mixture, then pour in the liquid mixture, beating well to avoid any lumps.
Add the egg and stir in to combine. The mixture will be the consisitency of a thick pancake batter.
Pour this into a buttered and lined 18cm round cake tin and bake for 50 minutes-1 hour, or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out fairly clean.
Leave to cool completely in tin before turning cake out.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Swedish Gingerbread Cookies (Pepparkakor)
So somehow I ended up agreeing to do the wedding cake of Joe's manager. I'm not sure how it happened, but I've been told that I offered willingly!
She was having an autumn-themed wedding so we settled on gingerbread cookies and lemon cookies for the main body of the cake, and a small gingerbread cake on top for ceremonial cutting.
This led to about 6 prototypes of gingerbread cookie, trying to get the texture that we were looking for. We needed the cookie to be crispy, so it would survive being out in the air all day and also keep the shape of the cookie-cutters.
This was the winning ginger-cookie recipe. I will also post the others as they were all lovely, but just not suited to what we needed the wedding cookies to do.
You need to make the dough the evening before as it needs to be very chilled to be able to roll it out as thin as it needs to be. I separated the dough into 4, and wrapped each log of dough in clingfilm to make it easier to roll out the next day.
This recipe makes about 60 thin cookies, using a medium cookie cutter.
Ingredients
300g butter, softened
250g caster sugar
150g soft brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp grated lemon rind
300ml golden syrup
300ml double cream
1100g plain white flour
3 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tbsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarb of soda
Sift the spices and the baking soda into a small bowl.
In another larger mixing bowl, mix butter with the two sugars.
Add the spice mixture and the egg.
Add the lemon rind, golden syrup, cream and finally flour. The dough will be fairly sticky – don’t worry as it will solidify a lot in the fridge. Refridgerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
The next day, preheat your oven to 180C.
Take out one log of dough at a time and roll to about 1/2 cm thickness and cut the cookies with whatever cutters you have. The dough becomes very sticky again quite quickly, so you need to work quickly. Make sure to flour your worktop and cutters well. Don't worry about the excess flour on the bottom of the cookies, this is easily brushed off when they are baked.
Bake the cookies for 8- 10 minutes. You want them to be a rich golden colour when they're done.
Cool on a wire rack. The cookies keep for about 3 weeks in an airtight container.
She was having an autumn-themed wedding so we settled on gingerbread cookies and lemon cookies for the main body of the cake, and a small gingerbread cake on top for ceremonial cutting.
This led to about 6 prototypes of gingerbread cookie, trying to get the texture that we were looking for. We needed the cookie to be crispy, so it would survive being out in the air all day and also keep the shape of the cookie-cutters.
This was the winning ginger-cookie recipe. I will also post the others as they were all lovely, but just not suited to what we needed the wedding cookies to do.
You need to make the dough the evening before as it needs to be very chilled to be able to roll it out as thin as it needs to be. I separated the dough into 4, and wrapped each log of dough in clingfilm to make it easier to roll out the next day.
This recipe makes about 60 thin cookies, using a medium cookie cutter.
Ingredients
300g butter, softened
250g caster sugar
150g soft brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp grated lemon rind
300ml golden syrup
300ml double cream
1100g plain white flour
3 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tbsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarb of soda
Sift the spices and the baking soda into a small bowl.
In another larger mixing bowl, mix butter with the two sugars.
Add the spice mixture and the egg.
Add the lemon rind, golden syrup, cream and finally flour. The dough will be fairly sticky – don’t worry as it will solidify a lot in the fridge. Refridgerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
The next day, preheat your oven to 180C.
Take out one log of dough at a time and roll to about 1/2 cm thickness and cut the cookies with whatever cutters you have. The dough becomes very sticky again quite quickly, so you need to work quickly. Make sure to flour your worktop and cutters well. Don't worry about the excess flour on the bottom of the cookies, this is easily brushed off when they are baked.
Bake the cookies for 8- 10 minutes. You want them to be a rich golden colour when they're done.
Cool on a wire rack. The cookies keep for about 3 weeks in an airtight container.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Brioche Croissants filled with lemon curd
These brioche croissants were the first thing I made with my new Kenwood mixer the day it arrived.I had trouble making brioche before as the dough was so wet, it was impossible to knead without adding loads of extra flour which completely changed the texture of the dough.
With the dough hook on the mixer though, it wasn't a problem.
The dough will be really wet, and needs the overnight rising time in the fridge but is wonderfully easy to work with the next day.
Homemade lemon curd is the only way to go on these, if you don't like lemon curd you could do fill these with Nutella or just leave them plain.
Plus you look like a domestic goddess when you casually whip up a batch of soft, fragrant croissants on a Sunday morning!
The recipe makes about 16 croissants.
Ingredients
250ml (1 cup) whole milk
50g (1/4 cup) sugar
4 eggs
875g (3 1/2 cups) bread flour
1 tbsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
330g (1 1/2 cups) soft butter
16 tsp lemon curd
Egg wash - 1 egg and 1 tbsp water
Pour milk into a saucepan and heat till lukewarm.
In a large bowl add sugar and warm milk. Add 250g (1 cup) of flour, mix till smooth.
Add lightly beaten eggs and mix completely.
Add in instant yeast and another 250g (1 cup) of flour. Continue to mix. Add in salt and another 250g (1 cup) of flour. Mix till the dough comes together.
If it is still looking really wet (like pancake batter) then add the last 125g (1/2 cup) of flour at this point.
Knead dough for using dough hook on mixer. I kneaded mine with the dough hook for 5 mins until it started to look more like a bread dough. If you don't have a mixer then you can knead this by hand, but be prepared that it is a very wet dough and you don't want to add too much flour or you will ruin the texture. I would add an extra 1/4 cup of flour while kneading *at most*
Place dough back into bowl if kneading by hand.
Add a quarter of the soft butter to the and mix together. Once the butter is completely incorporated add another quarter of butter, continue until all the butter is mixed in.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place into fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
The next morning, sprinkle your work surface with flour and divide the dough into two. Roll one half of the dough out into a 15 inch circle and cut into 8 triangular pieces.
Add a tsp of lemon curd to the wide part of each triangle and roll the dough up into a crescent/croissant shape. Start at the wide end and roll towards the tip. Pinch the sides tightly to prevent all the lemon curd escaping.
Repeat with other half of dough and place rolls onto floured baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 40 mins.
At this point you could brush with egg wash if you wanted shiny, golden croissants. I didn't have the extra egg when I did them but I will make sure to do it next time.
Place rolls in pre-heated 350F/170C oven for 15-17 mins until light golden brown.
Allow to cool and then serve with lots of tea!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Lemon Curd
This lemon curd is amazing and so easy! It adapts well to different fruit as well so there is no reason why you couldn't make lime, orange or even grapefruit curd!It's also suitable for use in baking as well as on toast (or just eaten from a spoon)
The lemon curd comes out tart and not too sweet which is what I look for in a lemon curd, if you want it a bit sweeter you can of course add some more sugar.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons lemon zest (about 2 lemons worth)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2 or 3 lemons)
1 1/2 cups sugar
8 tablespoons butter
2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar.
Bring just to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes, you'll notice the yellow colour getting darker at this stage.
Add butter and stir until it has melted and combined. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Beat eggs into cooled lemon mixture until well blended.
Return to heat and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, 10 to 20 minutes or until mixture thickens and coats spoon (it usually takes about 20 mins for me to get the consistency I want, but just keep an eye on it).
Remove from heat.
Pour into prepped, clean jars (I put them in the oven on about 170C/350F while I'm stirring the eggs in as this sterilises the jars and means they don't crack when the hot lemon curd goes into them)
Seal the jars with the lids while hot, and allow to cool before putting into the fridge.
Store in the fridge for up to a month.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Raisin-Oat Cookies
These are Joe's favourite cookies. He requests them a lot! They are chewy, spicy, easy to adapt and consistently delicious.
Hype over with, onto the recipe!
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar (or any brown sugar will work fine)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 + 1/2 cups porridge oats
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat the oven to 175C (350F)
In a bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
Combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets
Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light golden.
The cookies will look like they are underdone but this is necessary for them to be chewy.
Leave to cool on the baking sheet for a little while before removing them and be careful when you do as they'll be kind of crumbly.
Recipe makes about 15 cookies.
Hype over with, onto the recipe!
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar (or any brown sugar will work fine)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 + 1/2 cups porridge oats
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat the oven to 175C (350F)
In a bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
Combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets
Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light golden.
The cookies will look like they are underdone but this is necessary for them to be chewy.
Leave to cool on the baking sheet for a little while before removing them and be careful when you do as they'll be kind of crumbly.
Recipe makes about 15 cookies.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Cream Cheese Icing
This is a really simple and light icing that you can use for Carrot Cake, Double Chocolate Loaf Cake or any cake or muffin that needs a unobtrusive icing.
It's best if you keep this in the fridge and ice the cake just before serving, but it's ok at room temperature in an airtight container.
This recipe will make enough icing for the top of a loaf cake. It's simple to increase or decrease the amount, just remember to keep the proportions the same.
Ingredients
50g soft cream cheese
25g butter, at room temperature
25g icing sugar
In a bowl, beat all the ingredients together until smooth.
It's best if you keep this in the fridge and ice the cake just before serving, but it's ok at room temperature in an airtight container.
This recipe will make enough icing for the top of a loaf cake. It's simple to increase or decrease the amount, just remember to keep the proportions the same.
Ingredients
50g soft cream cheese
25g butter, at room temperature
25g icing sugar
In a bowl, beat all the ingredients together until smooth.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Carrot Cake
This carrot cake (originally from Baking Bites) is amazing. It's easy to make, moist, nicely spiced and just everything you could ever hope for in a carrot cake.
I should know, as carrot cake has always been one of my favourites. It also has enough substance and flavour that you don't need icing but I will publish a recipe for simple cream cheese icing that works really well with this cake.
The recipe is quite flexible if you are missing a couple of ingredients - I've made it with different fruit juice depending on what I've got in the fridge and it's always been tasty.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups demerara sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted and left to cool
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 - 3 medium carrots, grated
Preheat the oven to 175C.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs with a handwhisk until smooth and the mixture has changed to a lighter colour.
Stir in the melted and cooled butter, orange juice, vanilla, spices and salt. When it's all combined, sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Stir gently until you have a smooth batter with no visible flour.
Stir in the grated carrot and make sure that it's well combined with the rest of the mixture.
Scrape the cake mix into a greased standard loaf tin (but this cake can be baked in a square baking pan or even muffin cases)1
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes away clean. Be careful when opening the oven to check on the cake as it can sink in the middle!
Remove from the tin and cool.
1. If you are using this recipe for muffins, then you will only need to bake them for 25-30 minutes.
I should know, as carrot cake has always been one of my favourites. It also has enough substance and flavour that you don't need icing but I will publish a recipe for simple cream cheese icing that works really well with this cake.
The recipe is quite flexible if you are missing a couple of ingredients - I've made it with different fruit juice depending on what I've got in the fridge and it's always been tasty.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups demerara sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted and left to cool
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 - 3 medium carrots, grated
Preheat the oven to 175C.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs with a handwhisk until smooth and the mixture has changed to a lighter colour.
Stir in the melted and cooled butter, orange juice, vanilla, spices and salt. When it's all combined, sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Stir gently until you have a smooth batter with no visible flour.
Stir in the grated carrot and make sure that it's well combined with the rest of the mixture.
Scrape the cake mix into a greased standard loaf tin (but this cake can be baked in a square baking pan or even muffin cases)1
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes away clean. Be careful when opening the oven to check on the cake as it can sink in the middle!
Remove from the tin and cool.
1. If you are using this recipe for muffins, then you will only need to bake them for 25-30 minutes.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Mexican Soup
This recipe is so quick and tasty and is an excellent veggie alternative to chilli. It's fresh and spicy and lovely served with cornbread or tortilla chips.
It'll serve around four people but heats up fine the next day (leaving off the garnishes).
Ingredients
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 medium red onions, chopped
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
2 cans of kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 cups (375g) corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 vegetable stock cube
2 cups (500ml) water
1 1/4 tsp cumin powder
2 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp chopped jalepeno peppers
1 tsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Coriander, chopped (as garnish)
4 tbsp sour cream
OPTIONAL
1 chorizo sausage, diced
1 avocado, sliced
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When hot, add the onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, cinnamon and jalepenos. Cover and let cook for around 6-8 minutes, stirring to make sure the onions don't stick.
If you are going to be adding the chorizo, fry this in a little oil in a separate pan and place to the side when crisp and nicely coloured.
Add the remaining ingredients with the exception of the chorizo, avocado, coriander and lime juice to the pan. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.
Just before serving, stir in the lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in large bowls, garnished with the coriander and a tbsp of sour cream for each bowl.
If you are adding chorizo and avocado, pile them on top at this point.
It'll serve around four people but heats up fine the next day (leaving off the garnishes).
Ingredients
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 medium red onions, chopped
6 large cloves garlic, minced
1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
2 cans of kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 cups (375g) corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 vegetable stock cube
2 cups (500ml) water
1 1/4 tsp cumin powder
2 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp chopped jalepeno peppers
1 tsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Coriander, chopped (as garnish)
4 tbsp sour cream
OPTIONAL
1 chorizo sausage, diced
1 avocado, sliced
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When hot, add the onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, cinnamon and jalepenos. Cover and let cook for around 6-8 minutes, stirring to make sure the onions don't stick.
If you are going to be adding the chorizo, fry this in a little oil in a separate pan and place to the side when crisp and nicely coloured.
Add the remaining ingredients with the exception of the chorizo, avocado, coriander and lime juice to the pan. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.
Just before serving, stir in the lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in large bowls, garnished with the coriander and a tbsp of sour cream for each bowl.
If you are adding chorizo and avocado, pile them on top at this point.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Spaghetti Bolognese
I would describe this recipe as just about foolproof.
This recipe will feed about 6 people. I usually make enough for 6 and then freeze excess portions as bolognese keeps really well frozen.
Ingredients
750g (1.6 pounds) steak mince
3 large carrots, grated
1 large red onion, diced
125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
4 tbsp tomato puree
6 cloves of garlic
2 cans of chopped tomatoes (400ml cans)
250ml (1 cup) red wine
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 vegetable stock cube
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp Tabasco
salt and pepper to taste
250ml (1 cup) milk
Firstly, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the diced onions and grated carrots to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes, making sure they don't stick to the pan.
Push the carrot and onion mixture to the side of the pan and add the steak mince. Brown the mince, stirring everything together. If you have bought lean steak mince, you shouldn't get too much fat from the mince. If you do find that the mixture is looking a bit greasy then you can strain some of the fat away.
Add in the chopped garlic, oregano, basil and the garlic powder and stir thoroughly.
When everything is browned, add in the tomato paste and combine with the contents of the pan.
Now add the red wine. This may seem like a lot of red wine but the alcohol will cook off and it gives it a rich flavour that is hard to get with anything else.
Add the Worcestershire sauce, crumbled stock cube, Tabasco and the cans of chopped tomatoes.
Lastly, add the milk. This is my secret addition to bolognese that I usually don't tell people about!! I promise that it won't make your sauce creamy but just gives it a bit of va-va-voom!
Reduce the heat and simmer for at least 45 mins but the longer you can leave it cooking the better. Make sure and stir occasionally to ensure that the sauce doesn't stick but as it's quite liquid you don't have to worry about going away and doing something else while it's cooking!
Taste and season the bolognese with salt and pepper while it's simmering.
You can serve this with spaghetti or to be honest, any pasta shape that you like. Make sure and sprinkle plenty of grated Parmesan cheese on the spaghetti bolognese before serving.
This recipe will feed about 6 people. I usually make enough for 6 and then freeze excess portions as bolognese keeps really well frozen.
Ingredients
750g (1.6 pounds) steak mince
3 large carrots, grated
1 large red onion, diced
125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
4 tbsp tomato puree
6 cloves of garlic
2 cans of chopped tomatoes (400ml cans)
250ml (1 cup) red wine
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 vegetable stock cube
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp Tabasco
salt and pepper to taste
250ml (1 cup) milk
Firstly, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the diced onions and grated carrots to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes, making sure they don't stick to the pan.
Push the carrot and onion mixture to the side of the pan and add the steak mince. Brown the mince, stirring everything together. If you have bought lean steak mince, you shouldn't get too much fat from the mince. If you do find that the mixture is looking a bit greasy then you can strain some of the fat away.
Add in the chopped garlic, oregano, basil and the garlic powder and stir thoroughly.
When everything is browned, add in the tomato paste and combine with the contents of the pan.
Now add the red wine. This may seem like a lot of red wine but the alcohol will cook off and it gives it a rich flavour that is hard to get with anything else.
Add the Worcestershire sauce, crumbled stock cube, Tabasco and the cans of chopped tomatoes.
Lastly, add the milk. This is my secret addition to bolognese that I usually don't tell people about!! I promise that it won't make your sauce creamy but just gives it a bit of va-va-voom!
Reduce the heat and simmer for at least 45 mins but the longer you can leave it cooking the better. Make sure and stir occasionally to ensure that the sauce doesn't stick but as it's quite liquid you don't have to worry about going away and doing something else while it's cooking!
Taste and season the bolognese with salt and pepper while it's simmering.
You can serve this with spaghetti or to be honest, any pasta shape that you like. Make sure and sprinkle plenty of grated Parmesan cheese on the spaghetti bolognese before serving.
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