Feeling Blue? Cake will make it better.

Apparently cake releases endorphins that make you feel a surge of pleasure and triggers the release of insulin into the bloodstream, which in turn clears out all of the amino acids in the bloodstream except for tryptophan. In the brain, Tryptophan is converted into serotonin. Therefore cake can also comfort by producing serotonin which is the happy hormone. No wonder cake makes the world a happier place.

I have also been reading recently that eating blueberries can also elevate your mood and protect your memory [so you can remember all those fun times back in the days of your youth!]. So I thought why not try combining the two?

Blueberries are my favourite berries and I can demolish a punnet within minutes without assistance. Sometimes they are good with some yogurt and some oats and nuts for an alternative breakfast. I've have on occasion heated them up with some caster sugar and a shot of vanilla extract to make a compote to pour over cold ice cream as a fast dessert option, but I have never baked with them before. So I decided to have a go at a Blueberry Cake.

These little nuggets of anti-oxidants and shots of Vitamin C are generally regarded as a super food and are very healthy. However I am in no way suggesting that this is a nutritious or healthy cake because of the inclusion of berries! You can pretend it counts as one of your 5 a day if it makes you feel any better but the recipe calls for almost a whole pack of butter and just as much sugar!

I found the recipe in Delicious magazine as a tray bake but I tweaked it slightly in that I used lemon, orange and lime juice and zest instead of just lemons. I also used a round spring form tin instead of a square tin and I bunged everything in a food processor rather than using an electric whisk.

The result was a wonderfully fluffy and light cake with a tang of citrus. The blueberries unfortunately all sank to the bottom giving the cake a squidgy base but a crispy top with citrus icing gave it a contrasting texture. I personally think baking them took away the blueberry-ness from the berries and I wish I had kept some behind to garnish the cake with at the end, for a burst of fresh juice when biting into the slice. Still pretty tasty though - one of the rare occasions when one of my cakes has been good enough 1st time round to make into the blog instead of multiple tweaking and testing sessions!

Ingredients:

250g self raising flour
225g caster sugar
225g softened unsalted butter
200g blueberries
1 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
3 tbsp milk
grated zest of 3 lemons / zest of 1 lemon + 1 orange + 1 lime

Icing:

Juice of the lemon, the orange and the lime [or the 3 lemons if only using lemons] mixed and heated with enough caster sugar to your liking - then cooled to make a pouring syrup.

200g of Icing sugar

Equipment:

Food processor
Grater/Zester
Greased/Lined tin
Pre-heated oven to 180 degrees C

Method:

1. Measure out the dry goods [sift the flour and baking powder] and make sure the butter is soft [leave it in room temperature or heat for 30 seconds in the microwave].

2. Place dry ingredients and wet ingredients in the food processor and blitz until a batter forms.

3. Scrape the mix out and then fold in the berries.

4. Scrape the mix into the lined tin and place on the middle shelf and turn the oven down to 170 C degrees. Bake for 35-45min until golden on top and set.

Unfortunately, I opened the oven door too soon [after 35min] and the cake had risen beautifully but was still very soft on top. So I left it in the oven for another 10 minutes - which meant I had let hot air out of the oven and so the cake fell ever so slightly in the middle once it was taken out - oh well - you live and don't learn!]

5. While it cools on a rack make the syrup.

6. Poke a few holes in the cake and pour a tablespoon of the syrup into each one.

7. Once the cake is cool, mix the rest of the syrup bit by bit to the icing sugar to make a runny paste.

8. Drizzle the icing over the cake and leave to set for about an hour.

I've had to give most of this cake away as a Friday treat for hungry office workers. It's too good not to share and too tempting to have hanging round the house.

Next time I make it I may omit the citrus syrup and use blueberry compote as the syrup/dressing and garnish it with uncooked berries for presentation. I wonder if I can make blueberry icing.. hmmm.. It's a good cake - just needs loads more blueberries to really kick the blues to the kerb!

 

Going out for an English

Ahh the English countryside. There's nothing like the glorious rolling hills of green when the sun shines. Just for a day or two, a few weekends ago, we had some intermittent sunshine. This not only brought out the sudden urge to get out of the city but also to explore a bit of the rural gastronomy that I've been dreaming about. Last month, my delicious magazine came with a small guide to good food outside of Londinium and the closest place on the south west list was in Stuckton near Fordingbridge - at the edge of the New Forest. It was a 2 hour drive from South London but worth the round trip for a superb 3 hour Sunday lunch!

This place, The Three Lions [Restaurant with rooms] reinforced my faith in good local English produce and good British grub in a hearty location. It was in a very pretty area and the inside of the restaurant was very cosy and homely and inviting. I'm not sure I was convinced about having to be seated in the corridor to choose from the menu board and then only being seated at our pre booked table when the food was ready to be served but hey that's their system and I guess it works for them. It was rather sweet that this family run place had all their teenage kids taking orders and checking tables were being looked after.

I had the last asparagus and wild mushroom starter that was left and jolly good it was too! Yum. Seasonal. Succulent. Sublime. And you could just tell it was picked locally rather than flown in from Mexico as it tasted incredibly intense & fresh... well I hope it was anyway - I didn't ask! The bread that came with the table was certainly home made [I did ask] and so I would hope everything else was home grown too!

The main of Dover Sole and garlic was divine as was the finger licking jus that it came in - I could have mopped my plate clean with the home made oat bread. I was particularly impressed that someone in the kitchen had taken care to give each vegetable side dish that came with the main some careful love and attention, making them stars in their own rights rather than some overcooked or underwhelming afterthought. My dessert was a trio of home made sorbets [mango, lemon and raspberry] - which was bursting with fruit and a perfect light end to a slow Sunday lunch.

My husband had the bacon and anchovy starter followed by the lamb which he said was tender and full of flavour. I liked the fact his main had some fresh garlic flowers on the plate! He then opted for the Three Lions St Clements tart with a lemon posset which he declared his new favourite dessert! I may have to search for the recipe on line or write to them!

 

 

Very good food, excellent service and a pleasant atmosphere - what more could you ask for?
And apparently they have rooms - I do hope I get a chance to stay there one day!

Check out...
http://www.thethreelionsrestaurant.co.uk/ for yourself...

No Butter No Flour Chocolate Orange Tort

OMG I have finally found a cake that has no butter & no flour but lots of fluffy chocolatey deliciousness! I was very pleased to find a torta recipe in the Moro cookbook which surprisingly didn't use any butter. It was their Spanish Almond and Orange Torta. I made it and it turned out to be a crowd pleaser. The torta was basically eggs and ground almonds with a separate orange syrup to pour into the cake for moisture, which I thought was a really nice touch.

So I tweaked the recipe and added cocoa because orange and chocolate make for good bedfellows. All the fluffiness comes from the egg whites and that means that you do need an electric whisk to beat the egg whites or else it's quite tiring with just a hand whisk! This is a gluten free dessert for your Coeliac Friends or those on a low carb diet. This is my guilt free chocolate cake treat and it doesn't last long if within my reach!

Chocolate, Orange and Almond Torta

Ingredients:

225g of Ground Almonds
250g of Caster Sugar
25g Good Quality Cocoa Powder
6 large eggs separated
2 oranges zested

Syrup:
4 oranges segmented and juiced
Caster Sugar to taste [add gradually and however much you like to get the sweetness you want - the amount will vary depending on how much juice you get out of the oranges and how sweet they are naturally]
1 whole cinnamon stick

Serve with Vanilla Ice cream and mint or the segments of orange and the syrup... or both!

Equipment:

Electric whisk
Spring form tin
Grater
Sieve
Pre heated oven

Method:

1. Measure everything out, sifting the ground almonds and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Grate the orange zest.

2. Separate the eggs - easier to do when they are cold but better to cook when they have come to room temperature. Make sure the bowl in which the whites go into is washed, cleaned and dried really well so there is no grease in the bowl. This helps the egg whites to stiffen quickly when beaten. Otherwise it takes ages!

3. Grease, flour and line a spring form tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

4. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until fluffy - it will be quite a stiff mix.

5. Whisk the egg whites until stiff.

6. Mix the ground almonds and the cocoa with the yolk and sugar mix along with the orange zest.

7. Then mix in a third of the whites and fold in gently with a metal spoon.

8. Add the rest of the whites in slowly and fold in gently [it's quite tiring on the wrists as the mix is very stiff at first but the gradual addition of the egg whites loosen it up].

9. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and place the tin into the oven on the middle shelf turning the heat down to 180 degrees and bake for 55-60 min.

10. Make the orange syrup while the cake bakes. Segment the oranges and save the juice. Squeeze out the juice out of the pulp and place into a small pan with a stick of cinnamon and about half a cup of caster sugar [or add a few table spoons gradually to taste] and simmer on a low heat to thicken. Pour into a serving jug and set aside to cool.

11. Check the cake at 55 min - and it's ready if the top feels set. Take it out to cool then release the tin turn/flip over and take the base off. Then flip back onto a serving plate.

12. Poke some holes into the cake with a wooden skewer or a chopstick and then carefully dribble some syrup into the holes. Serve the rest of the syrup on the side. You can also serve the cake with ice cream and the orange segments!

Guess what I'm having with my nice cup of Yorkshire Tea right now? Mmmmm.....chocolatey goodness.

Easy Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake:

I've been hunting for an easy carrot cake recipe for quite some time without success. There are hundreds of recipes on line and they are all very different. I've tried a few and never quite liked the icing or the been impressed with the results until recently. I found it in someones blog - then I tweaked it till I was happy with my version.

The reason I chose this particular one was simply because I had the ingredients in the cupboards and also because it's a no butter recipe. The fat comes from oil - so I substituted monosaturated rapeseed oil which is so much better for you than saturated fats in butter. I've also decided to omit the icing as there is no need for all that butter and icing sugar on top. The cake is not overly sweet and can be served with icecream/custard especially when hot out the oven!

The cake won't rise very much but the slices are moist and more-ish. This is the third time I've made it and it works a treat. It's so easy - all you have to do is measure out the ingredients, mix gently by hand and bung into the oven for 25-30min. Minimum of fuss and maximum in taste... and goodness!

Ingredients:
125g of Self raising flour sifted through a sieve into a mixing bowl
125g of Soft brown sugar
125g of Grated carrots [about 2 medium sized carrots peeled and grated]
125g of Monounsaturated oil like rapeseeed oil*

25g of dessicated coconut
25g of chopped walnuts
25g of raisins

1tsp of cinnamon
A pinch of salt
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
2eggs

Equipment:
Pre-heated oven to 200 degrees C [fan]
Weighing machine
Grater
Greased Floured Springform cake tin lined with baking paper
Sieve

Note: the recipe I found on line didn't use a raising agent so my 1st attempt was quite flat. I used 1 tsp of baking powder in my 2nd attempt and it was slightly higher but the 3rd attempt with 1 tsp of bicarb worked best. They are both levening agents and cannot be used together but bicarb works better if the cake batter is acidic which I think it is with the carrots in... I think it will always rise better if you also have a good oven that doesn't lose heat and if you don't prematurely open the oven door and let air in!

Method:

1. Measure out everything and put all the dry ingredients into a bowl along with the nuts, grated carrots and raisins

2. Add the eggs and gently mix together before adding the oil and making sure it is all combined well

3. Scrape the batter into the tin and pop into the oven on the middle shelf and turn down the heat to 180 degrees

4. Take out and rest after 25-30min when the top is golden

5. Remove from the tin and serve warm with cold icecream or cold with hot custard

[*Monounsaturated fats are good for health as they help reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol i.e.LDL which is the bad stuff, but they do not reduce high density lipoprotein aka HDL cholesterol - which is the good kind. They are linked with healthy diets that reduce the risk and the rate of coronary heart disease...

Of course the sugar, raisins and the coconut attribute to the richness of this cake but it's one of the healthiest ones going I reckon due to having no butter and no butter based icing on top. It also has the nutrients from the carrots like Vitamin A and Fibre along with good fats from the nuts! So there's no need to feel guilty when tucking into this treat - just go easy on the icecream or custard!]

Sunday Rules

The French have apparently just discovered long lazy Sunday lunches spanning into the night, but not too late into the night, before Monday morning blues take over. They are calling it Drunch [drunken lunch?] This is according to the latest Sunday Times Magazine.

Get with the programme I say. The British have been doing long Sunday lunches from before time began. A good Sunday session can start with a late breakfast [bloody Mary anyone] or a late boozy lunch. When you actually start lunch depends on how long you are slow cooking your food and you can drink till it is bedtime if you so wish!  It’s fun to get your friends and family together, analyse the weekend shennanigans and eat slowly for hours. It makes the start of the working week that much more bearable. To be honest as far as I am concerned, all the rules go out the window on the day of rest. Why limit yourself? Why not Brunch, Drunch then a midnight snack? or how about Breakfast in bed and then supper at any of the thousands of gastropubs we have these days?

This weekend my Sunday involved a small breakfast at home with the papers, followed by a 2^nd breakfast [!!] at a funky cafe featuring baked eggs and delicious barista made coffees. What a treat! This meant that lunch was not needed and indeed postponed to an early supper...sigh!  so many meal opportunities on a lazy sunday! Instead of going slow roasting, this time I opted for a speedy Sunday Supper.

 

Rack of Lamb with Harissa, Couscous Salad, and Asparagus with a parsley & yogurt dip:

Ingredients:

Rack of Lamb: Marinated with garlic, rosemary and harissa paste [You can buy this paste from supermarkets in a jar and store it in the fridge. It's a Moroccan chili paste with bags of flavour]

 

Couscous Salad:

Couscous – half a small pack in a deep bowl

Tomatoes – finely sliced

Red Onion – ¼ finely sliced

Pitted Black Greek olives – handful, sliced

Olive oil

Lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon

Basil [handful chopped up]

Salt and Pepper [to taste]

Asparagus

Dip:

Yogurt [plain]

Parsley

1 clove of garlic crushed

Salt and Pepper

Olive oil

 

Method:

1.       Marinade the lamb with rosemary, crushed garlic and harissa paste and set aside

2.       Make the tomato salsa and set aside

3.       Prepare the asparagus i.e wash and snap off the woody ends

4.       Crush the garlic, chop the parsley, mix with yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and season to taste

5.       When you are ready to eat grill the rack for 10 minutes and boil the kettle

6.       Pour boiling water over the couscous – about 2cm of water above the level of the couscous. 

        Then cover with cling film and ignore for 10 minutes.

7.       Take the rack out and slice into chops

8.       Heat a table spoon of oil in a frying pan and fry the chops 2.5 minutes on each side then set aside to rest. Deglaze the pan with water and reduce to a thick sauce and drizzle this over the chops.

9.       Add the salsa to the couscous and season with salt. Mix well. Drizzle with olive oil.

10.     Char grill the asparagus [this is better than frying or boiling and dry grilling brings out the flavours and makes it more intense] then drizzle with olive oil when it's off the heat and serve with the yogurt dip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are a few components to this meal but as long as you’ve got everything prepared, then the actual cooking does not take long. In fact it was eaten pretty quickly too! Leaving plenty of Sunday left for lounging around in pyjamas, listening to some tunes and reading a good book!



Chilli Con Carne with Chipolte Chilli & Chocolate

Chilli Con Carne

I’m not a huge fan of chilli con carne but I saw a Hairy Biker Recipe which looked more interesting than your usual run of the mill variety. They used minced beef as well as diced chunks of beef. They also used different types of beans and finished the dish with a chunk of dark chocolate to temper the heat and deepen the taste.

So I decided to have a go and tweak their recipe to my own specifications. I found chipotle [smoked dried jalapenos] in a local supermarket and decided to add another dimension with scotch bonnets. I also used cayenne and dried red chilli flakes! 4 different chilli hits for an entirely personal take on Chilli. Now you may think that’s too much – so use less of each or use whichever type you want. I think the smoked chipotle is a key ingredient for an authentic Mexican take on this dish but it’s not always easy to find.

 

Ingredients:

Diced Beef

Minced Beef or horsemeat [which ever you find]
2 Large Onions peeled and diced
2 Large Carrots peeled and diced
2 Cloves of Garlic sliced
1 dried Chipolte Chilli [whole]
1 tsp of red chilli flakes
1 tsp of cayenne [optional]
1 tsp of smoked paprika – hot [optional]
A very fine slice or two of the scotch bonnet pepper - use with caution [!!!]
1 tsp of thyme
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tbsp of agave nectar
1 tbsp of tomato puree
2 tins/packs of chopped tomatoes
1 pint of chicken stock [oxo cube will do]
1 can of cooked beans [drained] – I used Haricot
3 cubes of dark chocolate [I had 50% cooking chocolate in the cupboard; Hairy Bikers use 70%]
Rapeseed oil [to fry the meat and veg in]
Salt and pepper [to taste]
Fresh Coriander/Parsley chopped - for garnish

 

It’s a very long list of ingredients. This type of list usually puts me off a recipe. Luckily, I had all the stuff in my store cupboard and some you can easily substitute e.g. use sugar instead of agave nectar, any other cooked beans/pulses instead of haricot beans, opt out of using the scotch bonnet. or the cayenne.

Essentially the idea is to cook it slowly like a stew. So brown the meat in batches. Soften the onions and carrots. Add the meat and the spices. Then add the tomatoes, stock and all the ingredients apart from the chocolate, coriander and the beans. Simmer for 2.5 hours – 3 hours. the longer you cook it the better it will be and softer the meat. Stir the chilli occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan adding water if it looks too dry. Check for seasoning and add the beans, chocolate and green herbs in the last 15minutes.

The chilli tastes better the next day and the heat mellows a little overnight.

Serve with boiled white rice and a mouth douser like yogurt. I made a avocado and red onion salad with plain yogurt dressing to balance out the heat with a cool relish.

This is one pot slow cooking ideal for the weekend. A large batch like this will last a few meals or some of it could be frozen for one of those school nights when you are too tired to cook.