vanilla snap biscuits: a delicious little cookie

a pile of vanilla snap biscuits

These are easy to make and so nice and snappy to the bite. Its a Donna Hay recipe from “Modern Classics 2″ 

recipe: 

• 185gms butter
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• icing sugar to dust

How to make: 

• Preheat the oven to 180 c
• In a food processor mix the butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth
• Add the flour, egg and egg yolk and process until the mixture forms a soft dough
• Take the dough out the processor and knead slightly bringing it together in ball and wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface or between 2 sheets of baking paper until about ½ cm / 5mm thick
• Cut the dough into approximately 7cm rounds
• Place the dough rounds on a baking sheet that has been lined with baking paper or silicone baking sheets
• Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until golden brown 

Remove the biscuits carefully from the baking tray and allow them to cool on a wire cooling rack as they have a tendency to carry over cooking and could turn too brown once removed from the oven (I generally cool all biscuits on a cooling rack).  

When cooled, dust them with some icing sugar or decorate as desired. 

cooling on a rack

chocolate cake with chocolate frosting: this may be the ultimate

this could be the ultimate chocolate cake

It’s decadent, dark and delicious and may well be the ultimate chocolate cake.  It’s baked slowly on a lower temp to deliver a gooey, dense texture that teeters on the edge of ‘brownies-ness’ sending you straight into chocolate heaven. Dont expect airy, fairy, light and fluffy, this is a solid cake that will easily bowl anyone over.

Its one the best chocolate cake recipes I have come across and is sits firmly in my top three of all time.  It was voted as a BBC website winner, and is one of GoodFoods top 80 best ever recipes. I can see why.

I have made it twice using less chocolate than the recipe calls for (i.e. 180gms), and used an everyday, less extravagant dark chocolate and cocoa powder, and its still exceptional. I also added vanilla extract (not in the original recipe) which I find very necessary to enhance the chocolate flavour. 

The next time I make it I will use the full 200gms of my standard Belgium couverture and Dutch processed cocoa powder.  I shudder with excitement thinking how good that will be. 

Recipe: 

• 180 – 200gms dark chocolate
• 200gms butter
• 1 tbsp instant coffee
• 85gms self raising flour
• 85gms plain flour
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200gms dark muscovado sugar
• 200gms white sugar (original recipe is with golden caster sugar but we don’t get that in sunny South Africa)
• 25gms cocoa powder (about 4 ½  slightly heaped tbsp)
• 3 large eggs (room temp)
• 75ml buttermilk (5Tbsp)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

How to make:

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees c / fan 140 c
• Grease a 20cm round cake pan or spray with a cooking spray and line with baking paper
• Break the chocolate into pieces into a small pan and add the butter
• Dissolve the coffee with 125ml of cold water and then add to the butter and chocolate mixture and melt altogether over a gentle heat – do not boil
• When its all melted together set aside to cool
• In a bowl sift the 2 flours and bicarb
• Add the sugar and cocoa until it’s all combined
• In a separate bowl beat the eggs until light and fluffy
• Add the buttermilk and briefly beat together
• Add the cooled chocolate and egg / buttermilk mix to the dry mix and fold it all together by hand
• Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour 25 minutes – 1 ½ hours. Check by piercing the cake with a small sharp knife or skewer – it should come out clean.  The top of the cake will be firm and may have a few cracks

 Allow the cake to cool in the tin.

 When its completely cool, remove from the tin and peel off the paper.

Cut into 2 or 3 horizontally.

 Ice the cake with the chocolate frosting:

 Chocolate frosting:

 This recipe comes off ‘Nigella’s Feast’ TV show and is incredibly easy and awesome:

 Recipe: 

• 175gms chocolate
• 75gms butter
• 1 Tbs corns syrup or golden syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup / 125ml sour cream
• 2 ½ cups icing sugar (300gms)
• I added 2 tsp of instant coffee granules dissolved in 2 tbsp of rum (I love rum with chocolate and think coffee makes chocolate frosting more chocolatey)

How to make:

• Break the chocolate up into pieces and melt in a double boiler with the butter
• When it’s all melted together add the syrup and the cream and stir through to combine
• Put the icing sugar into the food processor and whiz or alternatively if you are using a beater, sift the icing sugar into a bowl
• Mix or process the chocolate mixture with the icing sugar until it all combined

I added the coffee and rum at the final stage and found that it totally enhances the chocolate flavours. 

Or you could make the Ganache as per the original GoodFood recipe:

•  200gms chocolate
• 284ml double cream (pouring)
• 2 tbs caster sugar

 Heat the cream and sugar n a pan until its about to boil and then pour over the chopped up chocolate pieces in a separate boil and mix until its melted and combined and smooth.

fig and blue cheese tartlets

black fig and blue cheese tartlet

I made up these little tarts with some leftover pastry I had lying around.  I had a few ripe black figs that have been begging to be combined with blue cheese and pastry. Make up a batch of short crust pastry (a savoury version is better) or just line some tart cases with ready rolled puff pastry.

recipe: for 6 – excluding pastry (extrapolate up or down as necessary)

• 4 eggs
• 250 ml cream
• a block of blue cheese of choice – I like gorgonzola or Simonzola

How to make:

• preheat your oven to 180 degrees c
• line your tart tins with pastry (as per above) and bake for about 10 minutes (I don’t find it necessary to bake small pastry tarts ‘blind’ first)
• beat the eggs and cream
• when they have just turned golden remove from the oven
• crumble some blue cheese into the bottom
• put half a fig in the tart
• cover 3/4 to the top with the egg and cream mixture
• add the other half a fig and another crumble of blue cheese
• place the tarts on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, until firm and set and golden brown

This recipe and quantity would work for a single 23cm tart.

toasted coconut bakewell tart

toasted coconut bakewell tart

This is a nice coconut bakewell tart, developed by Alan Coxon.

recipe:

• short crust pastry (ready-made frozen or make your own which is preferable)
• 5 Tbsp raspberry or strawberry jam
• 140 gms  caster sugar
• 140 gms butter softened
• 3 eggs
• 85 gms desiccated coconut
• 60 gms  flour
• 1 tsp almond essence (I used caramel essence)
• extra coconut to sprinkle on top and icing sugar to dust

how to make:

• preheat oven to 180 degrees C
• line a 23cm tart tin with ready-made short crust or make your own and bake blind until golden
• allow to cool slightly and then spread the jam over the pastry base

cover with raspberry or strawberry jam

• cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy
• add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each addition
• fold in the coconut, flour and essence by hand and spread over the pastry base with jam
• cover the top with a layer of coconut

covered with snowy coconut

• bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch
• when cooled, dust with icing sugar

If you like coconut this is a winner recipe.

earl grey tea scones

earl grey tea scones 1

I love the idea of earl grey tea  flavoured scones, so I adapted a recipe I found in the Feb 2010 ‘Olive’ magazine.  In retrospect I need to find and make up the perfect scone recipe, and then start playing around with infusing other flavours. Anyway……

I liked this recipe as its simple and makes a small batch, and I believe scones should be eaten straight out the oven.

recipe:

• 225gm flour
• 2tsp baking powder
• 75gm salted butter
• 2 Tbsp caster sugar
• 1 egg beaten
• 90ml buttermilk or milk
• (optional – 2 x earl gray tea bags)

how  to make:

• pre heat oven to 200 c (I had my oven on the standard 180 degrees, which is why I think they didn’t rise as much — aaaah we learn together)
• * prior to making…….I heated the milk in the microwave for a minute and infused the  tea bags in this, and then allowed the milk to cool
• mix the flour, baking powder and butter in a large bowl and rub with your fingertips until the mixture is like breadcrumbs
• add the egg and milk / buttermilk, bit by bit until you have a firm dough, trying not to overwork it and just bringing it together (I was very cautious here as this is the important part, but found the dough to be a bit too sticky)
• turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a circle around 2cm thick, giving a quick pass over with a rolling pin
• cut out scones using in 5-6cm cutter, with a quick scoop and no twist, and place on a non stick baking sheet (I love silicone baking sheets) and brush the tops with milk/ buttermilk

lightly pressing out the scones with a cutter

• bake for 12-15 mins until risen and cooked

They tasted absolutely delicious, which is why I’m including here despite not rising as well as expected.  I think the temperature had a part to play, so I will make these again, baking them at 200 c and using buttermilk instead (which apparently makes a lighter scone).

The earl grey tea flavour is very subtle and I am not sure if it really adds value once you have put the mandatory butter and dollop of jam on (also cream if you are being very decadent).  I’m parking final judgement on this one as my scone perfecting journey continues.

warm and ready to be eaten just as the rain came down

madeleines

light and lemony madeleines

Perhaps it’s just my burning desire to bake cakes, especially new and challenging cakes, or my trip to Paris where I fell in love with them, or the vintage pans which I inherited, but for a long while I have wanted to make Madeleines.  

my kitchen - getting ready to make madeleines and follow the recipe directly off my laptop

After a bit of research to find a recipe that has the wonderful mix of easily accessible ingredients and convenient method that I look for, I found it on Epicurious. Quite a few recipes I came across were quite complicated.  I initially thought I would start out with  Joel Robuchon. He’s brilliant and French and has Michelin stars, but his Madeleine recipe in ‘The Complete Robuchon’ is complicated in that it uses six egg whites (what will I do with all those yolks?), almond flour and has an added stage of refrigerating the batter for an hour before baking (I’m impatient).  Perhaps all these things will make a better Madeleine, and maybe as I advance on my baking journey I will go down this road, but for today I opted for an easier recipe to feel my way around the starting point. 

i love my kitchen

You will need 2 – 3 12 holed Madeleine pans (I have two, so reused one of them for the second round)

 I made 34 Madeleine’s from this recipe

 Recipe:

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, or 175gms for the metric amongst us melted and cooled, plus additional for brushing molds (I used a baking spray which I always find works perfectly)
• 1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) – I sifted twice, once to measure and the second time when you sift into the batter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest (I didn’t have lemons so added a tsp of lemon essence)
• Icing sugar for dusting

How to make:

•  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and spray the moulds with baking spray, or grease with a bit of butter and dusted flour
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt
• Beat eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until light and foamy, about 30 seconds with a standing mixer or 1 minute with a handheld, then beat in vanilla. Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating constantly at high speed, and continue to beat until the mixture is tripled in volume, about 3 minutes with standing mixer or 5 minutes with handheld
• Sift the flour mixture in 3 or 4 batches over egg, folding in each addition by hand with a spatula until just combined – do not over mix
• Then fold in the zest and 3/4 cup melted butter.
• Spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter into each mold (they will be about two-thirds full) and bake in the middle of the oven for 10 – 12 minutes, until golden around edges and a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes total.
• Turn the Madeleines out by gently pulling them out the moulds and cool on a cooling rack
• Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cooled.

I found these to be very easy to make, light and lovely to eat. The sweetness is balanced. I would like to experiment with variations, and think that a lemon or orange syrup drizzled over could add a lot of value and will try this……chocolate, more vanilla, lavender…..

I also stumbled upon quite a bit of debate on whether they need to have a hump or should be flat…..its not conclusive, but my opinion is that they should be flat, and the lightness achieved through the integrity of the recipe vs. a raising agent.

a tablespoon per mould

just out the oven

cooling on the rack

lightly dusted

very easy chocolate brownies

intense chocolate - very quick and easy to make

  A choc-a-holic (well actually more a choc-a-freak, since I’ve never met anyone as into chocolate as he is), friend of mine found this amazing recipe on-line last year and sent me the link.  It looked too good to be true and I just had to bake a batch.  

The first time I made them they came out perfectly and I could not believe how quick and easy they are to knock up.  They are intensely chocolatey and very dark, so be warned.  I have made them on two subsequent occasions and the results were not quite as good, but yet very well liked by the respective ‘eaters’.   

Admittedly the second time I made them I added additional milk chocolate pieces which perhaps made them too heavy. I’m very fussy when it comes to baked things, and for me they are not exactly what I perceive to be a perfect brownie in texture, they are slightly too chewy but some people may find this a pre requisite.  

I took the third batch I made on holiday with me and they tasted pretty good two weeks after being baked.  They kind of ‘matured’, as chocolate baked things tend to do, and went a bit harder.  

The choc-a-holic connection says he keeps them in the fridge which gives them a nice fudgey vibe, which sounds nice.  

As these are really all about the chocolate, the quality that you use is important.  I use unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder (the best) and a 70% Belgian chocolate (Callebaut) which I buy in callets (choc chips) as they are just easier to work with.  

recipe:  

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 70%)

how to make:  

• pre heat oven to 165 degrees c (325F)
• put all dry ingredients into a bowl
• add the eggs and melted butter and mix until combined
• do not over mix
• scoop  out into a baking dish lined with baking paper, gently pressing the mix into the corners

ready to go in the oven

• bake for 30 minutes
• allow to cool in the pan – then gently remove and cut into squares

cooling down in the pan after baking

These may not be (in my humble opinion) THE best brownies I have ever eaten, but they must be right up there amongst THE easiest to make. And they are pretty yummy.  

Anyone can do these. Add nuts if you like, I prefer nuts (preferably walnuts) in my brownie.  

PS: I took these to friends the day after they were baked and they were completely devoured and thoroughly enjoyed. I do think they taste better a day or a few days after being baked. 

The blog from which this recipe originates is:  

<a href=”http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/2009/07/how-to-make-perfect-brownies/”>http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/2009/07/how-to-make-perfect-brownies/

light fruit cake (my christmas cake)

a lovely light nutty fruit cake

It’s hard to decide what  my absolute favourite cake is as cake for me is its own food group.  I love cake. Fruit cake is definitely very high up on this list.

I prefer a slightly lighter cake with lots of fruit and nuts. And from a convenience perspective I could not be bothered to boil all the fruit. I tried this recipe last year for christmas and it was exactly the way I like it so I made it again at the end of October on stirring Sunday (the Sunday you are supposed to bake your christmas cake for optimum maturation prior to Christmas).  Ok I’ve gone a bit over this but it doesn’t matter, it made it to my birthday and became the ‘official’ cake.

recipe:

• 230g golden sultanas (you could also use raisins or both)
• 180g candied pineapple – coarsely chopped
• 100g candied orange – slices coarsely chopped
• 50g crystalised ginger chopped
• 230 whole cherries
• 50g whole almonds toasted
• 50g brazil nuts
• 50g cashew (or pistachio)
• 50g hazelnuts (toasted skins off)
•         Total = 200g nuts (any mix and I dont always toast)
• 230g cake flour sifted
• 230g caster sugar
• 230g butter – room temp
• Zest and juice of half a lemon
• Zest and juice of half an orange
• 4 large eggs
• Pinch salt
• 60ml (1/4 cup brandy) – plus more

how to make:

• preheat oven to 140 degrees
• double line a 20cm round cake tin
• Mix all fruit and nuts in bowl with a little of the flour to prevent sticking together
• Cream the sugar and butter in a  mixer
• Add zest
• Add the eggs one at a time – mix well after each addition
• Add the remaining flour & salt (i always sift my flour when baking) 
• Stir in fruit and nuts, lemon and orange juice and brandy 
• bake for 2 ¾ – 3 hours or until when a skewer is inserted into the cake it comes out clean
• when cooled turn the cake out and sprinkle with brandy
• wrap tightly and store in an airtight container until ready to serve
• I sprinkle on a bit of brandy about every 10 days or so 

When I made the cake I had enough ingredients to make another so I used the same ‘cake part’ ingredients, and then I just added around 200gms of any nut I had plus more raisins and cherries than the recipe called for.  I also used a mix of candied fruit (pear, apricot etc) and it turned out wonderfully and was extremely fruit and nutty.  I loved it!

nice with a few bubbles at brunch

so delicious

sliced

slow roasted tomato tart with caramelised onions and gruyere

tomatoes about to be slowly roasted

This recipe evolved over the day as I was cooking all the other things for my birthday.  When I have a lot of tomatoes that need to be used up, I roast them either with a few herbs or with garlic and onions and then normally whizz into a delicious tomato sauce (for pasta, chicken, fish etc). Slow roasting them is another solution. I cut about 10 tomatoes in half, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled generously with thyme and maldon salt and roasted at 150 degrees for about an hour and a half.  The flavour of the tomato intensifies so dramatically it really is worth the time and effort on this one.

roasted and ready

I doubled the recipe below as I made a 30cm tart. 

recipe:

• pastry:
• 200gm flour
• 100gm butter
• 50gm parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 egg
• filling:
• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbs brown sugar
• a knob of butter
• 50 gms of guyere cheese grated
• 5 tomatoes
• olive oil
• thyme

how to make:

• Cook the tomatoes as per above
• To make the pastry, whizz the flour and butter in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the parmesan, then the egg, and bring together to make a dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 minutes
• roll the pastry out to cover a 23cm low tart tin (I doubled the pastry to make a bigger tart and found that I had too much) and bake blind for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the baking paper and beans etc and bake for a further 5 minutes. Allow to cool a bit
• melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and gently fry the onion until soft.  Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar and cook for a few more minutes until the onions are nice and gooey (do either one or two onions)
• spread the caramelised onion over the bottom of the tart, sprinkle over 80% of the cheese, then layer the slow roasted tomatoes on top, cut side up and sprinkle over the remaining 20% of the cheese.
• bake for about 20 minutes @ 180 degrees

This was a complete success and not only does it look beautiful, the intense tomato-ie-ness, the sweet onions and the nutty gruyere marry so well together.

succulent and crunchy tart

The pastry is  really easy to make an has a nice crisp texture (reminiscent of a cheese straw)– so I will definitely use this again.  I had a bit extra as I doubled the recipe, so made another small tart and filled this with some odds and ends from my fridge, onion marmalade, courgette slices, feta, olives and gruyere.

an extra tart with bits and pieces lying around

marie’s very quick and easy lemon meringue pie

My stepmom Marie is a superb baker and cook and we chat endlessly about the recipe’s we have found or would love to make. I am blessed to be a part of a family that are as obsessed about cooking and eating as I am (well some of them anyway….)

While on holiday M whipped up (literally in a matter of minutes) a very delicious lemon meringue pie. It’s intensly sweet and lemony and hits the carb craving button with such force and jet propels you straight into instant gratification (be warned this is only for the very sweet toothed among us).

recipe:

• 1 packet of tennis biscuits smashed up into crumbs
• about 100gms butter (enough to mix with crumbs so they stick together) – melted
• 1 tin of condensed milk
• 3 lemons (juice from 3 and zest from one)
• 3 eggs separated
• 4 tbs sugar

how to make:

• preheat oven to 150 and grease a pie dish
• line the dish with the biscuit crumb and butter mixture – press down
• mix the condensed milk, 3 egg yolks and  juice from 3 lemons and zest from 1 lemon together and pour into the pie base
• whip the 3 egg whites until stiff peaks,  then add the 4 Tbs sugar and whisk for a couple of minutes and then spread on top of the lemon mixture
• bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the meringue is golden brown, then turn the oven down to 140 and bake for a further 10 minutes

So easy and tasty.