Blackberry & Apple Loaf

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I've made this cake before but I didn't write a post, however it turned out so well again this time that I thought it deserved a mention. I really like this cake because it's so easy to make - you don't need to cream the butter and sugar together, just rub them together with the flour like when making a crumble. It's also lovely and moist but it has a crunchy topping for a great texture contrast.

Also this time I used blackberries that Steve and I picked from our local hedgerows, so that made it a bit more special. I'd frozen the berries and it worked just as well as the first time I'd made the cake. To freeze berries is incredibly easy - just wash the fruit and drain really well. Then I cover large baking trays with cling film to stop the berries from sticking to the trays and then just pop them in the freezer for about an hour or until they're hard and then pop them into freezer bags. The berries can be used straight from the freezer in this cake.

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
The recipe is from BBC Good Food, but I tweaked it slightly by using soft brown sugar instead of muscovado and using 75g less sugar as I always reduce sugar in cake recipes. The apple gives it enough sweetness and makes the cake lovely and moist.

I also used a silicone loaf pan which is slightly wider so my cake wasn't as deep, so it cooked more quickly.

you can find the original recipe here

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: a 1.7 litre loaf tin 

• 250g self-raising flour
• 175g butter (I used Stork, at room temperature)
• 100g soft brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 rounded tbsp demerara sugar
• 1 small Gala apple, (not cored or peeled)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 orange, finely grated zest
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 225g blackberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C. Butter and line the bottom of a 1.7 litre loaf tin (no need to do this if using silicone). In a large bowl, rub the flour, butter and brown sugar together with your fingers to make fine crumbs. Measure out 5 level tbsp of this mixture into a small bowl for the topping, and mix into it the cinnamon and demerara sugar. Set aside.
2. Coarsely grate the apple down to the core and mix in with the eggs and the zest. Stir the baking powder into the rubbed-in mixture in the large bowl, then quickly and lightly stir in the egg mixture until it drops lightly from the spoon. Don't overmix.
3. Gently fold in three quarters of the berries with a metal spoon, trying not to break them up. Spoon into the tin and level. Scatter the rest of the berries on top. Sprinkle over the topping and bake for 50 minutes and then cover loosely with foil and bake for a further 30 minutes. When done the cake will feel firm, but test with a skewer.
4. Leave in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out, then cool on a wire rack. Peel off the paper before cutting. Will keep wrapped in foil or in a tin for up to 2 days.

Grow your own Sweetcorn 2011

Well it's certainly been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog! I haven't had a lot of time since I began working full time in London, so cooking and blogging about it has definitely taken a backseat. But I have still made time for some vegetable gardening so I thought it was about time I wrote about it! I also now have a smartphone, so taking photos and posting should be a bit easier and less time consuming!

This is the first time I've tried growing sweetcorn and it's going pretty well I think as it's blocking the view out of the kitchen window! I grew these plants from seed. They were an online freebie so I didn't get to choose the variety but they are called "Extra tender and sweet F1 hybrid" which sounds promising. They were easy to grow from seed: I just put them in 3inch pots filled with seed compost, watered, covered with cling film and left them in my mini greenhouse.

They sprouted really quickly and I put the seedlings into the raised bed when they were about 6inches tall. I read that you have to plant them in blocks so that they can pollinate properly, so I squeezed 8 plants into my 50cm x 1metre raised bed. I've got spring onions, carrots and dwarf beans growing in the spaces in between the sweetcorn and I don't think they've been competing too much for space or nutrients. I started off by feeding everything Miracle Gro, but then I read sweetcorn likes tomato feed so I switched to a weekly feed of that instead.

This is one of the cobs emerging a couple of weeks ago. I found it amazing how it suddenly appeared in the side of the trunk of the main plant. Each plant has 2 cobs growing so we will be eating quite a lot of sweetcorn quite soon!

Apparently they are ready to eat when the silks have turned dark brown and when you pierce a nice plump kernel a milky liquid is released.

Cherry Pie

 

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

In July we went to Garsons Farm in Esher and we picked some lovely cherries. I pitted them and then put them in the freezer, intending to make a cherry pie. Since it’s bank holiday weekend and the weather has been a bit miserable, I thought it was the perfect time to make my pie.

 

I already knew I was going to use my favourite sweet pastry recipe - pâte brisée – but I made a double batch so I could freeze some to use for another pie. I made the pastry the day before and kept it tightly covered in the fridge. Then I took it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before I needed to use it, to allow it to soften up to make it easier to roll out.

 

But it took me a little longer to find a recipe I liked for the filling. Nearly all of the recipes I found said to just mix the cherries with sugar, some cornflour and other flavourings and place straight onto the prepared raw pie crust. But I didn’t like this idea as I thought it might be too watery and make the pastry soggy.

 

Then I found a recipe on The Food Network website and the method of cooking the cherries first with the sugar and cornflour until the mixture was nice and thick seemed ideal. I didn’t have enough cherries, so I adapted the recipe quantities by reducing the amount of sugar and cornflour.

 

My filled pie before baking – the filling is thick and delicious!

 

 

Since I had less cherries than the recipe stated, I used a slighter smaller 7-inch metal pie dish.

 

My pie took longer than 50 minutes to bake – more like 70 minutes – as the pastry underneath was still a little bit underdone. But after 50 minutes the top looked really lovely and golden brown, so to stop it burning I covered the pie with some foil.

 

TASTE TEST:

This was the first time I’d ever made a cherry pie and I was pretty impressed. The recipe for the filling was incredibly easy and it worked a treat. I will definitely use this method for other fruit pies, as I have a stash of blackberries and blackcurrants in the freezer.

 

Everyone liked the pie, although Steve said the cherry flavour could have been stronger – but he thinks this is because he’s used to a very synthetic cherry taste from shop-bought products. I personally thought it tasted quite strongly of cherries!

 

Sadly I’ve not got any more cherries in the freezer, but I will try using Hartley's Fruit Filling Black Cherry which comes in tins, as I’ve read it’s very good.

 

The recipe below is how I made my pie – you can find the original recipe on the The Food Network website.

 

 

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: round 7-inch tin

 

Sweet Pastry Ingredients (makes enough for 2 pies):

• 500g plain flour
• 30g sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 200g butter, chilled

 

Sweet Pastry Directions:

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
2. Put the sugar, butter and eggs in the well and gently rub into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs, then press the dough together to form a ball of dough until it is smooth and pliable.
3. It’s a good idea to let you pastry rest before cooking. You can either roll the dough out on a lightly floured board until it is about 3mm thick and line your tins and then chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or stick the whole lot of dough in the fridge to use the next day.

 

Filling Ingredients:

• 3 cups frozen cherries
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tablespoons cornflour
• ½ Tablespoon butter, to dot
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar, to sprinkle

 

Filling Directions:

1. Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries release considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from the heat.
2. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornflour together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well.
3. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornflour.

 

Assembly Directions:

1. Preheat the oven Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C.
2. Use your favourite pie dough recipe. Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 7-inch pan.
3. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of bottom crust. Place top crust on and flute the edge of the pie. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.
4. Bake for about 50-70 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Chocolate fudge brownies with Chocolate Drizzle

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

Even though I thought I’d found the perfect brownie recipe with my Best Ever Chocolate Brownies recipe, I still like to try new recipes to see if there is one better.

 

Steve’s Mum picked me up a recipe card from Tesco’s for their Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Drizzle and it looked extremely good. I liked the fact it contained less sugar (I always add less than the recipes state anyway) and a bit more flour. Even though I like brownies to be squidgy, they can sometimes be too squidgy and almost runny.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

As I stated, I used less sugar – 200g instead of 225g – and I used a mixture of half soft brown sugar and half caster sugar.

 

I didn’t have enough dark chocolate, so I substituted some with milk chocolate, which I think gives a good balance anyway. The milk chocolate was used for the chunks mixed in at the end and also for the chocolate drizzle. I didn’t need to add any water to the drizzle as it was runny enough.

 

I used a different sized tin than what the recipe stated. I used a 9-inch square metal disposable box which are the perfect size for baking brownies as they’re quite deep. I lined the tin first with a strip of non-stick baking paper to make the brownies easier to remove.

 

TASTE TEST:

Everyone loved these brownies and Steve’s Mum said they were the best she’d ever tasted! So I think I’ll be using this recipe from now on!

 

I think I could reduce the sugar even more next time, especially as I used part milk chocolate which is quite sweet anyway.

 

I’ve written the recipe as I made it – you can find the original on the Tesco website.

 

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: square 9-inch tin, lined with non-stick baking paper

 

Ingredients:

For the brownies

• 175g (6oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• 140g (5oz) butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs
• 100g (4oz) caster sugar
• 100g (4oz) soft brown sugar
• 100g (4oz) plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tbsp cocoa powder
• 50g (2oz) milk chocolate, chopped into little chunks

 

For the chocolate drizzle icing

• 25g (1oz) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
• 2tbsp double cream
• ½ tsp golden caster sugar

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C. Line a 9-inc square tin with non-stick baking paper.
2. For the brownies: Place the dark chocolate into a small heavy-based pan with the butter. Melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
3. When the chocolate has cooled, whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, until thick, pale, fluffy and almost doubled in volume. Pour in the cooled chocolate, then gently fold in. Sift over the flour, baking powder and cocoa and gently fold in. Carefully stir in the chopped milk chocolate, without over-mixing.
4. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and lightly spread it into all the corners. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the middle is just set and the top is slightly crusty. (If still wobbly in the centre, leave a bit longer.) Remove and leave until completely cold before removing from the tin.
5. For the icing: Put the chocolate into a small heavy-based pan with the cream and sugar. Melt over a low heat very briefly, just until the chocolate starts to melt, removing it before it boils. Drizzle over the brownies (I found using a whisk was the best way to get a random drizzle) then, when set, cut into 16 squares.

 

Cook's Tip

Leave the brownies in the tin until completely cold, as they'll crack if turned out too early.

Blueberry Crumble Cake

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

In the Isle of Wight Steve and I found this little eating place by the crazy golf in the Rylstone Gardens. They had loads of lovely looking cakes and we tried a Cherry Crumble Cake the first time we went there. It was so nice that we went back and tried the Apple Crumble Cake, which was just as nice. I said I would try and recreate something similar when we got home.

 

I found a recipe in my BBC Good Food 101 Cakes and Bakes book for Blackcurrant Crumble Squares and I’ve adapted it.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

Instead of blackcurrants I used blueberries as we had a lot in the fridge to use up, but I only used half the amount the original recipe stated. I used a 10 inch round silicone tin instead of a 12 x 7 inch oblong tin.

 

For the crumble topping I reduced the amount of plain flour and added some ground almonds and omitted the lemon zest as I didn’t have any. I also reduced the amount of sugar in both the cake and the crumble topping.

 

TASTE TEST:

Everyone loved this cake! Even Steve’s Mum loved it even though she’s not a fan of crumble. The cake was lovely and soft and moist and the crunchy crumble topping made a great contrasting texture.

 

This cake was a lot thicker than the slices we ate in the IOW, but it was still really good.

 

 

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: 12 x 7 inch oblong tin or 10 inch round tin or 9 inch square tin, lined and greased if not using silicone

 

Ingredients:

for the cake:

• 115g softened butter (I used Stork Margarine in the tub)
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 280g self raising flour
• 125ml milk
• 100g blueberries

 

for the crumble:

• 100g caster sugar
• 70g plain flour
• 15g ground almonds
• 50g butter (I used Anchor)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon (or electric hand whisk) until pale and fluffy, then whisk in the egg and beat until incorporated.
3. Sift the flour into the bowl and pour in the milk, then carefully fold them into the mixture until fully combined but do not overmix.
4. Spoon into the prepared tin and spread evenly, then sprinkle the blueberries on top.
5. Mix together the sugar, flour and ground almonds. Rub in the butter until the mixture is crumbly, then sprinkle on top of the blueberries.
6. Bake for 45 minutes until the topping is golden and crunchy.
7. Leave to cool in the tin.

Blueberry and Lemon Friands

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I found this recipe on the BBC Good Food website about a year ago and printed it off, but I’ve only just got around to making them as I just happened to have all the ingredients in the house. It’s a shame I never tried the recipe earlier as they are absolutely delicious. The cake is extremely light and moist and the fresh tang of lemon zest and the blueberries gives them a ‘Summer’s here!’ taste.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

I used 3 large egg whites instead of medium because we only use large eggs. They had been frozen and I defrosted them overnight in the fridge, then I left them at room temperature for about an hour before using.

 

Instead of using non-stick friand or muffin tins, I used my new silicone cake cases that Steve’s Mum bought me from Wilkinsons. They worked really well as they held their shape when I put the cake mixture in and so I just put them on a baking tray to make it easier to get them in/out of the oven. Once baked, the cakes were easy to pop out of the silicone cases, but I did think that they retained the steam as the cakes were cooling and this made the bottoms of the cake slightly soggy.

 

The silicone cases are the size of fairy cakes cases, so I managed to make 7 cakes instead of 6. I have tried making these in paper fairy cases and I managed to make 12, but they were very thin/shallow and not as good as when I used the silicone cases.

 

TASTE TEST:

Well these went down a complete storm! Steve’s Dad doesn’t like almonds, so I warned him before he tried them that they were made of mainly ground almonds, but he tried them anyway and he said they were probably the best cakes I’ve made!

 

I will definitely make these again, but they will be considered a once-in-a-while treat as I think they’re expensive to make because they’re made of ground almonds and blueberries aren’t cheap either. Plus they’re just over 300 calories each!

 

• 100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 125g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 25g plain flour
• 85g ground almonds
• 3 medium/large egg whites
• 1 unwaxed lemon, grated rind only
• 85g blueberries

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. Generously butter six non-stick friand or muffin tins. Melt the butter and set aside to cool (nuke in the microwave for 35-40 seconds).
2. Sift the icing sugar and flour into a bowl, add the almonds and stir together.
3. Whisk the egg whites in another bowl until they form a light, floppy foam. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, tip in the egg whites and lemon rind, then lightly stir in the butter to form a soft batter.
4. Divide the batter among the tins (using a jug was the easiest way). Sprinkle a handful of blueberries over each cake and bake for 15-20 minutes (mine took 20 minutes) until just firm to the touch and golden brown.
5. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack. To serve, dust lightly with icing sugar.

Banana and Walnut Loaf

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

I’m not a fan of Gregg Wallace, but when I saw his recipe in the May issue of BBC Good Food magazine for Banana and Walnut Loaf I just had to try it as it looked so nice.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

I used my silicone loaf tin (as there was no need to grease or line it) instead of a lined greased loaf tin.

 

I used 100g instead of 140g of caster sugar as I wanted to cut some calories and I thought it would be sweet enough with the 4 very ripe bananas.

 

I added some freshly grated nutmeg and ground cinnamon to the recipe as I like those spices in banana cake as I think they compliment the banana flavour. I was quite conservative in my measures and I couldn’t really taste the spices, so I would add maybe 1 tsp instead of ½ tsp of cinnamon, and ½ fresh nutmeg instead of ¼ of a whole seed.

 

Due to a slight ‘error’ in the recipe, I omitted the milk. It was listed in the ingredients, but it wasn’t specifically mentioned in the directions, so I missed adding it to the mixture. However, the cake batter looked perfectly alright when I poured it into the tin, so it was a good consistency without the milk.

 

I also changed the method very slightly so that more ingredients are added together and therefore less mixing is involved, resulting in a better textured cake. I’ve also added my own tips to the method. The original recipe should be posted on the BBC Good Food website next month and I will link to it then.

 

TASTE TEST:

Well I have to say this was the lightest, fluffiest banana cake I’ve ever tasted! I’m not sure how much difference the milk would have made, but I won’t even bother adding it next time because the cake was perfect as it is.

 

Steve and I ate it whilst it was still warm from the oven and it was delicious! Gregg Wallace suggested serving it with vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce, which sounds like a great dessert.

 

• Makes: 1 loaf that cuts into 8 slices
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: a 2lb loaf tin, greased and lined with baking paper or a silicone loaf tin

 

Ingredients:

• 100g softened butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 225 plain flour, sieved
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ – ½ of freshly grated nutmeg seed
• ½ – 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 50g walnuts, chopped (original recipe said 85g)
• 50ml milk (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. In a large bowl mix together the butter, sugar and egg with an electric handheld mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Using a spatula gently fold in the flour and baking powder until they are half mixed in, then add the bananas, walnuts and milk (if using) and carry on gently folding in until all the ingredients are combined – do not overmix or the cake will be tough and heavy.
4. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and then bang the tin on your counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
5. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack before removing from the loaf tin.
7. The loaf can now be wrapped tightly in cling film and frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost and warm through before serving.

 

 

Tips For Perfect Cakes Use butter and eggs that are at room temperature to prevent your mixture curdling. If this happens, add a tablespoon of flour with the eggs and then continue. After you’ve added the flour don’t overmix as this will stretch the gluten and result in a tough cake. After you’ve filled your tin with the cake mixture, tap it on the counter to remove any air bubbles.

The best Carrot Cake

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

This recipe makes a gorgeous Carrot Cake and is much better than the Rachel Allen one I made! Steve’s Mum declared it the best Carrot Cake she’s ever tasted (and she’s quite the expert!), hence the rather arrogant title! The texture is moist and light, plus the walnuts give a nice crunch.

 

It’s such a simple cake to make and doesn’t require much effort as it’s made with oil, so there’s no creaming of butter and sugar necessary.

 

I don’t like coconut, but you can’t taste it in the cake and it gives it a better texture, so it’s worth adding. The walnuts are optional of course, but we had some knocking around the house as Steve’s Mum always buys the ones in their shell for Christmas and they never get eaten unless I use them in baking!

 

 

There was a bit of a debate in the house about which icing people preferred, so I covered half with a simple buttercream (Steve’s choice) and half with a runny royal icing (Steve’s Mum’s and my choice) as we had some leftover from last week’s birthday cake decorating.

 

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: a greased and lined 8 inch square tin

 

Ingredients:

• 150ml (¼ pint) sunflower oil
• 100g (4oz) light soft brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 75g (3oz) golden syrup
• 175g (6oz) self raising flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 100g (4oz) carrots, grated (approx. 1 med-large sized carrot)
• 25g (1oz) desiccated coconut
• ½ Tablespoon walnuts, chopped

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and golden syrup using an electric hand mixer.
3. Add the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda, carrots, coconut and walnuts and gently fold into the mixture with a spoon until well incorporated. Don’t overmix as this will make the cake heavy.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. A skewer inserted should come out clean. If it’s not done yet, return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes. If the cake is getting too brown then lightly cover with a sheet of foil.
5. Cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

 

To make the buttercream icing for half the cake: Beat 25g (1oz) soft butter until pale and creamy. Add 100g (4oz) of sifted icing sugar and just enough milk to create a soft and fluffy icing. Beat well then spread on top of the cooled carrot cake.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• You can freeze the cake un-iced

French Apple Tarts

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

These tarts look really pretty and elegant and are tasty to boot! The filling is frangipane, but it doesn’t taste too strongly of almonds which is what puts me off things like Bakewell Tart.

These taste great on their own, but would be even better with some custard or home-made ice cream.

• Makes: 12 tarts
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C
• You will need: a 12 cup shallow bun tray

Ingredients for the pastry:

• 185g (6.5oz) plain flour
• 15g (½oz) sugar
• 90g (3.5oz) butter, cut roughly into pieces
• 1 egg yolk
• pinch of salt
• 1-3 Tablespoons of water

Ingredients for the filling:

• 90g (3.5oz) butter, softened
• 90g (3.5oz) sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 level Tablespoons flour
• 90g (3.5oz) ground almonds
• 2 small dessert/eating apples
• hot apricot jam to glaze

Directions for the pastry:

1. Sift the flour onto a board and make a well in the centre.
2. Put the sugar, butter and egg yolk in the well and gently mix in with the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add about 1 Tablespoon of the water and bring the dough together gradually - don't try and force it together, just add a little more water. Knead very lightly until you have a smooth dough.
4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured board until it is about 3mm thick.
5. Using a cutter that is a little bigger than the holes in your bun tray, cut out 12 discs of pastry. Line your bun tray, prick the bases with a fork and chill for about 30 minutes.
6. Bake at Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C for about 15 minutes until light golden brown and the cases can be removed from the tin (but don’t remove them as you need to cook the filling!).

Directions for the filling:

1. Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, add the egg yolk and beat well.
2. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating well after each addition. Mix in the flour and ground almonds.
3. Put roughly a heaped teaspoon of the filling into each pastry case, but don’t overfill them.
4. Peel the apples, cut them into quarters and remove the core. Cut them into very thin slices but keep them together. Press the apple slices down on the board to fan them out, but still keep them together. Carefully place a few slices of apple onto each tart and press down into the filling.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until the apples are tender and the almond mixture has set.
6. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
7. Brush the tops with hot apricot glaze.

COOK’S NOTES:

• Making individual tarts, you will have some pastry and filling leftover.
• If you wanted to make one large tart: you would need to blind bake the pastry using baking beans for about 20 minutes. After adding the filling and apples, bake the tart at Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C and bake for a further 15-20 minutes.
• Choosing a cutter: my bun tins were 7cm in diameter, so I used a cutter that was 7.8cm in diameter, which was a perfect fit.
• Preparing in advance: you can make the pastry and the filling the night before and store covered in the fridge. Follow the pastry directions up to Step 5 but cover with cling film to stop it drying out. It is actually better for the pastry to be cooked from chilled (prevents it from shrinking), so you can pop the whole tray straight in the oven when you’re ready to cook.

Lancashire Hotpot

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

This is such a simple dish with few ingredients, but it tastes absolutely amazing. The lamb is meltingly tender and the carrots and onions give a lovely sweetness to the gravy. I can’t take the credit for the original recipe as it’s James Martins’, but I have made it a bit healthier by not using dripping and I left out the kidneys as I don’t like them! The recipe I’ve written is basically half the original, as I only wanted to cook for 2 people.

I’ve made this a couple of times and I really recommend using a mandolin slicer to cut the potatoes so that they are really thin and cook evenly.

I started off the cooking in a large saucepan and then transferred everything to an ovenproof dish, but ideally you want to use a flameproof casserole dish to retain all the flavours.

• Serves: 2
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C
• You will need: a shallow flame & ovenproof dish

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 450g stewing lamb, cut into large chunks (I used shoulder)
• 1 medium onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tablespoon plain flour
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 250ml lamb or chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 400g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 25g melted butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a flameproof casserole dish or in a large saucepan. Add the lamb and brown (if cooking a large amount then do this in batches), then put onto a plate and set aside.
2. Fry the onions and carrots in the pan with until golden. Add some salt and pepper at this point. Sprinkle over the flour, allow to cook for a couple of mins, shake over the Worcestershire sauce, pour in the stock, then bring to the boil. Stir in the lamb and bay leaf, then turn off the heat. If you’ve used a saucepan then put the stew mixture into an ovenproof dish, then arrange the sliced potatoes on top of the meat, then drizzle with the melted butter. Cover, then place in the oven for about 1½ hrs until the potatoes are cooked.
3. Remove the lid, brush the potatoes with a little more melted butter, then turn the oven up to maximum heat to brown the potatoes (could take up to 30 mins), or finish under the grill for 5-8 mins until brown.

Thai Massaman Curry

MUNCH RATING: 5/5
This is more of a stew than a curry, but it’s delicious and there is just enough spice to make your tongue tingle. The sauce is thick and even though it contains the obligatory coconut milk, the tamarind gives it a nice zing, so I don’t find it as sickly as normal Thai Red Curry. Steve doesn’t normally like potatoes, but they’re a common ingredient in this dish, and he really liked them in this as they soaked up a lot of flavour from the sauce and were nice and sweet.

I’ve found that Massaman/Mussaman paste isn’t that widely available in your average supermarket, so I bought mine from www.bartspices.com (it is also available from Waitrose). I’ve also bought a different brand from a Chinese supermarket, which was better value but wasn't nearly as good as the Barts one. The paste usually contains chilli, shallot, tamarind, coriander and lemongrass and it is Muslim in origin.

I adapted this recipe I’d saved from one of Steve’s Neo Magazines. I slow-cooked this is my Tefal 4-in-1, but you could cook it on your stove top or in the oven for a couple of hours.

• Serves: 2 very generously with rice (or 4 if serving with starters or other dishes)
• Tefal 4-in-1 Slow Cook: 6-9 hours
• Tefal 4-in-1 Rice Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil for frying
• 500g stewing beef or lamb*
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 350g new potatoes, washed and cut in half (new potatoes hold their shape better, I used Charlotte’s)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons massaman curry paste (I used Bart’s)
• 400ml can coconut milk (I used reduced fat)
• 200ml vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons tamarind paste (I used Bart’s)
• 2 Tablespoons dark soy sauce (or fish sauce)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar

Directions:

1. Heat a Tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and fry your meat until brown and sealed. Put into your slow cooker.
2. Fry the onions, potatoes and garlic until golden brown**. Add these to the slow cooker.
3. Add a little more oil to the pan, then fry the curry paste on a high heat for a couple of minutes, until it smells really fragrant.
4. Take the pan off the heat, then add the coconut milk and stir it in really well. Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
5. Add the stock, tamarind paste, soy/fish sauce and sugar, then boil the sauce for 5-10 minutes to thicken until it has reduced by a third.
6. Add the sauce to the slow cooker and stir well to coat all the ingredients in the pot.
7. Close the lid and check you have the slow cooker set for 6 hours cooking time.
8. Transfer the curry to a large pan and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken the sauce a bit more.
9. Meanwhile cook the rice in the cooker, which should take about 20 minutes.

*It is most commonly made with beef, but I used lamb as that’s what I had in the freezer. I used 1 inch cubes of frozen lamb, which I cut into smaller 1 cm pieces after I’d browned them in the pan (this makes the meat more tender and it goes further!).

**For the best results it’s important to brown the meat, onions and potatoes. I have tried adding potatoes without browning them first and it just wasn’t as good!

Chococcino Cake

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

This recipe is from BBC Good Food and I made this for Mother’s Day and it went down very well! The chocolate sponge is lovely and moist and the coffee topping and filling is very creamy with just the right amount of coffee flavour. I only made half the amount of filling/icing (as 2 tubs of mascarpone seemed like far too much!) and it was plenty. This is definitely one of my favourite cakes.

Ingredients for the sponge:

• 200g soft, butter, plus extra for greasing (I used Stork)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 85g good-quality cocoa powder (I used Bournville)
• 140g self-raising flour
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/Gas 4.
2. Grease and base-line 2 x 20cm non-stick round sandwich tins with baking parchment, then lightly grease the parchment.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a large bowl, and then tip in all the other sponge ingredients.
4. Using an electric whisk beat everything together until smooth (I just put everything into a food processor and mixed until smooth).
5. Divide the mix between the cake tins, then bake for 20-25 mins until cooked and golden.
6. When cool enough to handle, remove the cakes from the tins, then leave to cool completely on a rack. 

Ingredients for the filling and icing:

• 2 x 250g tubs mascarpone
• 85g golden caster sugar
• 4 tbsp very strong coffee dissolved in 4tbsp of water
• 50g dark chocolate, for grating 

Directions for the icing:

1. Beat the mascarpone and sugar together, then beat in the coffee.
2. Use half the mix to sandwich the cakes and spread the other half over the top, swirling with the back of a spoon to make pointy curls.
3. Finely grate the chocolate over the top, then serve. 

Half the icing:

• 1 x 250g tub mascarpone
• 40g golden caster sugar
• 2 tbsp very strong coffee dissolved in 2tbsp of water
• 25g dark chocolate, for grating

COOK'S NOTES: 
I made the cakes a day in advance and wrapped them in foil, so they stayed nice and moist. I iced them the next day and kept any leftover cake covered in the fridge as I didn’t want the mascarpone icing to spoil.

Panko Chicken Nuggets

 

It's been a while since I've blogged on here because I've only recently had a kitchen to do any proper cooking! The hotel we stayed at for our first month in San Francisco only had a microwave and toaster so creating culinary delights was pretty limited. Two staple meals were Jacket Potato with Canned Chilli and Packet Rice with chopped up Frankfurters.

So here is the first recipe I've made in our new apartment which is worth blogging. I'm a big fan of Panko breadcrumbs which are impossible to get hold of in the UK unless you visit an Asian supermarket, but they're everywhere in the US so I might stock up and take some home with me! They're really worth getting as they give a really crunchy coating - if you've ever had Chicken Katsu Curry at Wagamamas then you'll know what I mean.

This recipe also calls for buttermilk which is used in a lot of American recipes but also difficult to find in the UK. However after watching a programme over here called Good Eats (a new favourite!) I learned you can make your own buttermilk. Just add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to every 1 cup of milk, mix and leave to stand for 15 mins until slightly thickened and then use.

I have also made this recipe without buttermilk by simply coating the chicken pieces in a little bit of oil (I used olive oil for flavour) so that the breadcrumbs stick to the chicken.

I know I said before that I hated the cup measurement system, but that was before I had measuring cups! Now I really like using this method as it's so much quicker and easier than using scales. I do have a conversion page on my blog but it's not very comprehensive so I'll try and add to it. However if you see some measuring cups then I recommend you get some - I saw some in Sainsburys for about £3 before I came to the US.

Serves 2 greedy people (served with potato wedges and veg)

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 pound (that's 3 small) boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breast), cut into bite size pieces
• 1 -1.5 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Whisk the egg and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Soak chicken pieces in egg mixture while you gather remaining ingredients.
2. Meanwhile, in another shallow bowl combine panko with paprika, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Lift chicken from buttermilk, letting excess liquid drain back into the bowl, then dip into panko and turn to coat on all sides.
4. Carefully place chicken in oil and cook until they are golden and crispy and cooked through, about for 5-10 minutes per side.
5. If you have the oven on to make potato wedges then you can transfer the chicken onto a baking sheet and pop them in the oven to keep warm/finish cooking whilst you cook your veg.

TIPS:
The buttermilk and egg mixture is enough for 1 pound of chicken. Adjust amount of breadcrumbs accordingly.