Café Mocha Walnut Cake

Chocolate and coffee are always a great mix, especially when it comes to cake. This cake combines walnuts and coffee with a thick chocolate frosting top, dusted with cocoa. Perfect to slice  and share with friends.

What you need:

175g light brown sugar, 175g, self raising flour, 175g soft unsalted butter, 3 eggs, 50g of chopped walnuts, two heaped tsp of coffee diluted or one espresso shot, 1 tsp baking powder. On Top: chocolate frosting (melted chocolate, butter and icing sugar creamed together), half walnuts.

Preheat the oven to 180c

Simply cream together the sugar and butter until combined well, add in the flour and baking powder, sieved, the eggs,  chopped walnuts and coffee. Mix together until you form a light brown cake batter. Spoon into a cake tin. For this one I chose a loaf tin for easy slicing. Place in the oven for 30mins or until the cake is springy. Let it cool and top with chocolate frosting and half walnuts.

Nice to share.

Pea and Mint Soup

What I really love about this soup is the refreshing mint and the creamy yoghurt. It is a really filling and satisfying dish which goes great for lunch or even dinner. I do also have a little mint obsession, from tea to cakes, to chocolate to toothpaste. I just really love mint (^-^)

What You Need:

2 cloves of garlic sliced , 5 tablespoons of rough chopped mint , 50g butter, 2 tbsp olive oil, 750g garden peas, 750ml vegetable or chicken stock , 400ml natural yoghurt, 1 egg yolk, 1 table soup of flour.

First melt the butter in a large saucepan with the oil and then add the garlic, heat on a simmer until golden and then stir in half of the mint. Now add the peas and stir into the garlic oil, finishing with half of the stock and then simmer for 5-10 minutes. After transfer the pea mixture to a blender and blitz until smooth. Notice the deliciously green colour. (^-^) Trasfer back to the pan.

In a separate bowl prepare the yoghurt. Add the yolk and flour and whisk, now whisk in the yoghurt, followed by the rest of the stock. Whisky together until everything is combined well. Now add the thinned yoghurt to the processed peas in the pan. Gently stir in and set the pan on a medium heat. Before the soup starts to bubble/boil take it off and serve warm with some nice bread and an extra drop of yoghurt on top.

Green is good.

Almond Fingers

Almond fingers really are one of my favourite sweet  treats. i remember at Glastonbury festival,  the food which I brought (well stuffed into a camping bag) consisted was these. Thankfully It did only rain on the first night, but unfortunately my tent was cheap and leaked… but it was o.k I had my almond fingers as comfort food, and the festival was great. This recipe makes 15.

What You Need:

200g ground almonds, 100g caster sugar, 1 zest of orange, 2 drops of almond extract, 2 eggs, 1tsp baking powder, Icing sugar to dust.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl to form a pliable dough. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and icing sugar. Take around a tablespoon of dough and form a cigar shape, roll in icing sugar and place on the tray. Do this until you have used all the dough. Then place in the oven for 15-20mins. Take out, cool and then serve.

Best with mint tea (^-^)

Old Fashioned Ginger Lemonade

There is nothing better than the warming flavour of Ginger, especially on a dark windy crisp autumn evening. The ginger tones and the bitter lemon taste complement each other perfectly, and a good non-alcoholic punch, or add a sneaky drop of your favourite spirit or use in a cocktail (^-^)

What You Need:

1 unwaxed lemon roughly sliced and zest, 30g finely chopped ginger, 250g light brown sugar, 950ml Water

Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan, not all the water keep 250ml to one side. Boil up the ingredients whist continually  stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once boiling turn down to a simmering heat for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and  leave covered over night. The next day strain the mixture and bottle or pour into a jug, chill and then serve.

enjoy.

Apple and Cranberry Mincemeat

There is nothing better around christmas time than a warm mince pie and a glass of mulled wine. So in preparation for christmas it’s always good to make your own mincemeat to fill the mince pies rather than shop bought. It always tastes better ad you now exactly wants gone into it, so you don’t have to eat anything nasty. For me mince pies remind me of christmas eve, sitting by the the tree and playing monopoly with my family.

What You Need:

90ml Brandy, 75g soft light brown sugar, 200g peeled and grated apple, 75g chopped walnuts, 170g dried cranberries, 2 and a half tsp of mixed spice, 75g raisins, 75g sultanas, Juice and zest of one lemon, Juice and zest of one mandarin, 1tsp Almond Essence, 1tsp vanilla extract.

(This recipe should make around 1 jar or 24 mince pies)

First take half of the brandy and the brown sugar and stir on a low heat until dissolved. Then add the grated apple and mix, letting the apple soak in the syrup. Then add in all of the dried fruit, walnuts, fruit juices, zest and mixed spice and stir. Set the mixture on a medium heat, press it firmly down with the back of the spatula and simmer for 30mins. After take off the heat and cool. Once cool add the rest of the brandy, almond and vanilla. Pot into a warm jar or set aside to make mince pies.

A simple Christmas treat.

Walnut Cracking

Today i started on the bag of walnuts, cracking them open and revealing their scrumptious centre. A perfect seasonal nut, ideal for christmas. so expect many recipes to come which involves the walnut!

Spinach Gnocchi

Yummy, easy and much better than shop bought! A perfect winter warmer dish which is also quite fun to make. The traditional Italian pasta, potato dumpling combination. This recipe makes around 50-70.

What you need:

600g Marie Piper Potatoes, 350g Spinach, 150g Plain flour (plus extra for dusting), 1 egg yolk, Black Pepper & Sea Salt

Simply peel and cut potatoes and simmer in a boiled pan of water for 20mins, when nice and soft drain and evaporate the moisture from the potatoes in the hot pan and mash to a nice smooth consistency, set aside to cool. Now wilt the spinach leaves in a pan on medium heat until soft. Scoop out the spinach onto muslin and squeeze the liquid from the spinach, as much as you possibly can. Now finely chop the spinach and add to a mixing bowl.

In the mixing bowl add to the spinach, the mashed potatoes, flour, egg yolk and seasoning. Mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined together. Now take  take a lined tray and dust with flour (also dust your hands). Simply take small amounts of the dough and roll into chocolate truffle sized balls, do this until all the mixture has been turned into little balls (^-^) Now take a folk and gently press the top of each ball. To cook, fill a pan of water and turn to simmer just before boiling point. Cook the gnocchi in tens, so there is enough room for them to move around. once the Gnocchi has floated to the top it has cooked.

Serve with olive oil and garlic, or grill with melted cheese.

Banana Tart

My Family sat down today to a lovely traditional pork roast dinner, which was lovely. So I decided to make a dessert for everyone. I was a bit dubious at the start as for starters when it comes to pastry making I feel a little devil is sitting on my shoulder watching me screw up, and secondly cooked bananas have never been my taste, ever since eating a tin foil wrapped hot banana with chocolate sauce on a very cold and wet camping trip with the Cub Scouts when I was a child. However, a new challenge is always good, and I will never perfect my pastry making skills unless I keep practising, and the result was not bad at all, but quite delicious!

What you Need:

Filling: 7 bananas, 100g of butter, 1/2 cup of water, 1tsp of mixed spice ( cinnamon, coriander and cloves), 2tsp vanilla extract, 1tablespoon of caster sugar. Syrup : 4 tsp butter (melted) 1/2 tsp of mixed spice

(For the pastry I followed a simple short-crust pastry recipe, which I let rest in the refrigerator for one hour and the rolled out and baked blind)

Preheat the oven to 180c

Simply, slice four bananas and add to a saucepan with the water, butter, vanilla, spices and sugar. On a low heat gently heat and watch the the butter melt and the bananas soften, until it forms a nice thick sauce. Set aside to cool. Then pour into the awaiting pastry case and even out with a spatula. With remaining bananas chop and arange on the top of the mixture. Place in the oven for 10mins.

Whilist in the oven prepare a light syrup with melted butter and mixed spice. Once the pie is heated take it out and pour over the syrup and spinkle the top of the tart with sugar. Pop the tart under a hot gril for 2-3mins, or until golden brown.

Serve hot with a dollop of fresh cream. (^-^)

Lemon Meringue Cake: Cook of the Month

I have decided once every month to review one recipe from one cook and one cookbook. For me the most important thing about anotehr persons recipe is if it actually does work the way its wrote down. Hopefully by picking  a recipe from a certain cookbook or cook, I can improve my own skills, inform others and review recipes and books for future reference.

This month I have decided upon Nigella Lawson’s Meringue Cake from her book Feast. This book really is an essential for any person in kitchen, so much detail and helpful hints, for all season, celebrations and dinners. So I do have high hopes and expectations for this recipe.

I am really happy how this came out, it looks just like the picture in the book. I did have some difficulty getting the sponge mix into the cake tin as it was very thick. I think for a dinner party of luncheon his cake would impress.

You can find the recipe for this cake on Nigella’s website or in her excellent book Feast. If anyone has any suggestions of what I should do for next month please let me know (^-^)

Lemon Curd

A nice simple  and sweet recipe for everyone’s favourite jam. I remember eating lemon curd at my Great Grandparents after school when I was young. My granddad would watch horse racing and smoke his pipe while my Nana made me jam sandwiches, tea and a bourbon biscuit. This recipe makes one jar (2 lemons a jar, I would say).

What You Need:

2 Lemons (rind and juice), 2 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, 150g preserve sugar, 100g unsalted butter.

First whisk the eggs and sugar until combined. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the egg mixture and the lemon juice and rind. On a low heat, keep stirring the yellow sweetness until thick, take off the heat and cool. Put the mixture in a nice sterilised recycled jar, store in the refrigerator. You could also try the recipe with limes, cranberries or tangerines for delectable variety.

Simple and Sweet, Lemon Curd-tastic.