I can’t let the Royal Wedding go by unacknowledged, I just can’t. The internet will be stuffed with fantasic sugar creations, marzipan figures and the crafting of chocolate into wedding bells, confetti and trees(?), if this morning’s news is anything to go by.
Well, I say (and I have a pavlova up my sleeve for Friday, so I’m not totally dissing the sugar), say it with vegetables.
Roasted Royal Vegetables.
My husband suggested calling it ‘The Onion Flag’. He lowered his head in shame, but it is a relatively successful title. Off with his head anyway.
Continue reading 'Right Royal Roasted Veggies'»
A crunchy apple slice, no less! This recipe is by Alexa Johnston, a New Zealand cook. My friend Kara sent me the link to her website and told me how great the recipes are – I’m so glad she did!
I wanted to ensure crunchiness and indeed these slices did stay crunchy for three days for me, but I baked them in a slightly larger baking tin and, unusually for me, I didn’t line it with baking paper. They came out much thinner, as a result, but stayed crunchy for longer. Brilliant for lunch boxes and horribly more-ish for snacking purposes. Sorry about that. Essentially it’s apple pie in a bar-cookie/biscuit-convenient-style. Yeah, that is dangerous.
Maaaaaaaaaake them…
Continue reading 'Apple Slices'»
I’ve wanted to make a beery-chocolatey cake for ages as a result of seeing a bottle of Young’s Double Chocolate Stout and knowing it was destined for baking. Throw into that desire, the Chocolate Hearts I had sent to me and the deal was done. I saw Nigella’s recipe for a Guinness chocolate cake in ‘Feast’, but was worried it would sink dramatically in the middle and didn’t know whether my little heart could take a sinking cake again.
Then I saw one (that was pretty much the same) on Epicurious and saw the amount of reviews, which led me to Smitten Kitchen.
That was a long journey, but good recipes almost always involve this. Is it worth making? Would I make it again? Yes and yes. In fact, I made another batch the next day, so that should tell you all you need to know.
Continue reading 'Chocolate, Double-Chocolate Stout Cupcakes'»
So I got this lovely e-mail from Yasir on behalf of the lovely people of Dr Oetker and they were sweet enough to send me some Dr Oetker goodies to try out.
Chocolate Regal Ice , Draw and Dip Egg Decorating Kit, Chocolate Hearts, Citrus flavour Sprinkles, Soft Sugar Pearls and Cake Release Spray (I think this is a new product, so I’ll link to it once I can find one 
)
You can find more information on Dr. Oetker products via their Facebook page. Check me out there too, whilst you’re at it 
The next blog post will show you the lovely looking – and tasting – Chocolate Hearts. What a difference a little decoration makes…
These meringues are exactly what I like in a meringue – pure white, crisp but with a marshmallowy, sometimes slightly chewy middle. They generally crack or even ooze a little in the oven, but that’s probably why I love this Baker and Spice recipe so much because that’s exactly what I like. None of those powdery dry meringues for me, thank you. How can just two ingredients make such joy?
They are perfection just as they are and are elevated to a decadent treat with some berries and a little… a lot of whipped cream.
I wasn’t aware for a long time of the many differing ways to make meringue, but I soon discovered that this method where you heat the egg whites and sugar in a bain-marie, then whip until cool is a ‘Swiss Meringue’. It’s the only method I use now. Do let me know your thoughts!
Continue reading 'Swiss Meringues'»
May I introduce you to Apple Doodle? Thank you. We had this a lot during my childhood and I never tired of it. It’s a sponge sweetened with golden syrup and punctuated with the sharpness of Bramley apple; served, of course, with lashings of Bird’s custard. The golden syrup adds a surprisingly significant extra layer of flavour to it – takes it from the standard baked sponge pudding to one with a real character.
Continue reading 'Golden Syrup Apple Doodle'»
A quick and easy way to make risotto? Sounds good to me! And indeed it was good – not as creamy and unctuous as a stovetop risotto, but very pleasing none the less.
Far be it for me to imply less than greatness from such a respected man as Bill Granger, but I think you have to change your expectations with this recipe. It may be called ‘risotto’, but it isn’t – it’s more of a wet rice dish. It’s simple in cause – it’s the constant stirring of the rice that creates that inherent creaminess, so you simply can’t expect that of a dish with barely any stirring at all.
I will, however, stand up for it and say that it was a lovely quick supper recipe and, let’s face it, you can subtract or add pretty much whatever ingredient you fancy. It is a bit on the bland side, so you can jazz it up with herbs, other vegetables, stronger cheeses – whatever tickles your fancy.
Continue reading 'Bill’s Baked Risotto with Chicken and Asparagus'»
As promised in my initial Fish Fight post, some more local fish caught by my clever husband to showcase the local, sustainable fish available to us here in the UK.
Dear little Dabs. They are little, by the way, so either have one each for lunch with bread or be sure to have it with a filling side for dinner. You could easily eat two… Beautifully delicate, soft, lightly flavoured flesh and it cooked in six minutes – that’s going to be a winner every time. If you like Sole (I have a sole one-liner that I always perform when anyone mentions sole – do ask if you wish me to share) you’ll LOVE Dab.
Have you tried Dab?
Continue reading 'Hugh’s Fish Fight – Dab'»
My Mum and Dad made Marmalade and it was too good a blogging opportunity to miss. It’s a very British thing, Marmalade – that combination of bitterness and sweetness – but frankly, toast is unthinkable without it.
It’s not hard to make; just time-consuming. Oh and you need a preserving pan. A saucepan just won’t take the quantities. Have a go – you’ll feel incredibly proficient and your friends and family will love you forever if you’re kind enough to share it round…
Continue reading 'Mum’s Marmalade!'»
This month’s Cake Slice Bakers vote winner was the Graham Cracker Choc Chip snacking cake.
It certainly looked interesting with only 1/4 cup flour, but 1 cup of biscuit (cookie) crumbs. This gave it an unusual texture – a large crumb reminiscent of a nut-based cake, but quite coarse. Can’t say I was wildly enthused by it, but for a very quick-to-make cake that yields a modest amount, well, it’s pretty much perfect for lunch boxes.
It was supposed to have a frosting that was buttercream with marshmallow fluff mixed in; this was a bridge too far for me and so I left it unadorned. It was plenty sweet enough and I just didn’t see what the frosting would bring to the party.
So there you have it. A snacking cake by title, a snacking cake by nature. It hasn’t blown anyone away, but has been received as a perfectly acceptable cake bite. ‘Tis what it is.
And can I just reiterate how fast and inexpensive it was to put together. This is the kind of lunchbox gap emergency that I would be prepared to whip up at 9pm. *edited to add: just freshly baked, it was very nice indeed, 6 hours later…hmm. It’s really firmed up and is very dense, so I’m not so sure now*
Check out the other bakers’ opinions at the Cake Slice Bakers Blogroll.
Continue reading 'Cake Slice Bakers – Graham Cracker Choc Chip snacking cake'»
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