Lemon and raspberry occasion cake

Cherry and hawthorn blossom adorn the cake

Sometimes you make an occasion cake, that has to look good, as well as taste good. I think I hit the mark with this one.

The cake is a basic sponge with equal weight of butter, sugar, eggs and flour, in this case four eggs set the weight. You can average an egg as 60g, so work that out if you like. The cooked cakes are cut in half and there are three layers of filling, each one had lemon curd, overlaid with cream and the cake above had raspberry jam. Someone said it was too tall, and it did have four layers, but then it was for an occasion.To stop the cream squirting out the side I laid raspberries to hold it in. Really, when all the layers were stacked up the whole looked a bit wobbly. A good ganache coating covers a lot of sins and that's what this cake got, white chocolate ganache.

I used a palate knife dipped into boiling water and dried, which makes it easy to move the ganache around, spread it where it needs to go. I can do piping but I don't enjoy it, and I think you end up with too much icing. So I go for a nice slather, and then in this case I draped spring flowers across it, bird cherry and pink hawthorn, both of which are edible if you wanted to eat them. The main thing is that they aren't toxic, and they look lovely.

Around the top of the cake I sprinkled lemon zest and freeze dried raspberry and added fresh raspberries around the base and dusted the lot with icing sugar.

 

reverse crumble chocolate dessert

Raymond Blanc’s reverse crumble chocolate dessert is something I've come across while cruising the interweb for chocolate cake recipes, because who doesn't? It looks pretty good. Overnight chill needed, and not much flour, so the current shortage of the stuff might not put you off, so long as you can get cream, butter, milk and eggs.

If you substitute gluten free flour in the crumble, you have a gluten free dessert. 

Method

Grease an 8”/20cm cake ring, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and sit the ring on it

Set the oven to 160 fan oven 170 normal oven

For crumble

35g butter unsalted, cold

35g sugar demerera

pinch of salt

30g flour (gf if you like)

1/5 tsp cocoa powder

Combine to a breadcrumb texture to make a crumble and bake in oven 170 for 10-12m

for choc cream

90ml whipping cream

150ml full fat milk

155g 70% choc broken into pieces

1 egg

• heat the milk and cream together to almost boiling
• start beating the egg gently then slowly pour hot milk into the beaten egg continue beating to combine.
• add the chocolate to the hot egg/milk mixture and keep beating slowly until the chocolate has melted completely, which may take a few minutes.
• allow the mixture to cool then pour over the crumble base and leave to chill in the fridge overnight

Just before serving

• slip the cake onto a plate
• loosen the edge of the cake with a hot knife and remove the ring before serving

custard tart

A custard tart is certain joy in my house. Custard is true alchemy in the kitchen, as the uncooked egg and cream mixture transforms into something wobbly but sliceable. A wobbly pleasure in a crisp crust, or even with a soggy bottom. We aren't discriminating. This is not a tart to be thrown, but to be eaten. 

I have always loved the type of custard tart that you often get in sandwich shops or greasy spoon cafe as well. I mean the supersized for one person type, with piped custard, about the size of a clenched fist. That kind of custard tarts doesn't use egg custard, but rather a very low tech version of creme patissiere, using some kind of gelling agent, often a rather violent yellow. It isn't a health food.

Baked custards are a high protein high fat food, supposedly easy to digest, and used to be a go to food for invalids. No chewing needed. It's also a way to use lots of eggs, I am looking forward to getting some new chickens, once we have sorted out the fox proofing. However, I am not making custard tart for anyone's health. I am not sure it counts as a health food when you are getting plenty of protein etcetera from the courses preceding it. 

So, why custard tart now? Well, I had some left over pastry, and friends were coming to share a meal provided by Bhavna Sweet Mart, our local South Indian. Our usual fare, bhel poori, dahi vada and a couple of vegetarian curries, along with veg samosas and a tub of their delicious fresh chutney. I felt I needed to make a bit of an effort, show willing. And as the other half of the pudding was plums from the neighbours' tree (I'm allowed), I thought I'd make a custard tart instead of going labour free and buying in ice cream. Ok, I could have made ice cream, but custard tart beckoned.

So the debate began, milk or cream for the custard? Most recipes seem to favour cream, it is all in the name, it makes the mixture richer, or indeed creamier. Having carefully bought too little (it looked like a large pot to me), I added some butter to my mixture. It worked okay in terms of flavour and texture, but the purist in me blames the bubbles in the final tart on the butter. Or it might have been my putting the oven on a bit high, so hard to tell. You can make a great custard with milk and eggs, however it might be an idea to increase the egg content.

Feel free to make your own mistakes, if only to comfort me a little. Even with basic culinary errors and other types of carelessness, a custard tart is hard to mess up if you take it step by step, and rewards the eater. Of course, if you don't want a soggy pastry bottom you can avoid this completely by cooking your custard in pots, in which case to help the heat be distributed evenly, use a bain marie.

If you use a dish with sloping sides, I think it looks better... I didn't have one to hand. Also, it may sound obvious, but don't overfill the pastry case, it is amazing how much spills as you walk towards the oven if you do. Not that I would know. 

If you are baking your pastry blind, pinch the edges of the pastry, to give it a thicker lip. This helps keeps the custard in and it adds a welcome crunch when bitten into.

Recipe

you'll need a 9"/22cm pastry case which has been baked blind

set oven to gas mark 5 375F/180C

Ingredients for the custard

3 large eggs, plus two egg yolks

1 pint/500ml single cream

2oz/50g caster sugar (call it two flat tablespoons of sugar)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1tsp grated nutmeg

Method

• Sprinkle a couple of pinches of nutmeg over the prepared base.
• Put the cream into a pan and heat it until it is almost simmering, and leave to cool a little.
• Put the eggs and yolks together with the sugar in a heatproof bowl or jug.
• Beat the egg mixture gently, making a loose mixture, pour on the warmed cream, mixing gently, adding the vanilla essence and a healthy pinch of nutmeg.
• Pour the custard mixture into the pastry case, and sprinkle the remainder of the nutmeg over the top of the tart.
• Move the tart carefully and put into the preheated oven.
• Cook for 35 minutes, until the mixture is a golden colour, and firm to the touch in the middle.

You can eat the tart hot or cold, as you like. Enjoy the wobble. You can share it with 3-5 friends, depending on how much they like it.

PS

Oh, and by the way, I have made this without heating the milk or cream and it works just fine.

custard or creme brulee, and how much cream in creme?

Kitty decided to make her signature dish tonight, as the chickens have been laying well, and the eggs are stacking up. As usual nothing is straightforward, she mysteriously decided to try out Nigella's version, sending her dad out for more cream, then panicking because she didn't know if the mixture was thickening. It was. Now it is chilling in lots of pots in the fridge, because it is a stove top pan type custard, rather than a baked custard cooked in a bain marie.

It is quite a neat idea letting the custard set rather than worrying about the wobble factor as your mixture sits and steams. However, Kit's tried and tested recipe - which she forgot was carefully written out here, uses cream and milk. More economic, no need to send dad out for cream.

how to use thirteen eggs

despite a coffee spillage, still looks good

The chickens have been laying very well, four eggs a day since the days started getting longer. One day it was five, however the next day only three, so that balanced out. Despite a soft shell issue, which means two eggs have been lost this week, that still makes a hell of a lot of eggs. 7x4=28 after all. So, 26 eggs in one week. I haven't managed to flog any (didn't really try), so today saw me baking. Carrot cake which needs 3 eggs, tart a l'oignon also three, plus two for the pastry, and tortilla which used five. Here are some pics.

If I fill the pan full it takes ten eggs and at least eight potatoes, and then I can't turn the tortilla over, as it's too heavy.

slightly low, but I can't lift the pan if I fill it full

carrot cake, with a hole from which a walnut got nibbled

I used a long loaf tin for the carrot cake. It would have been better to leave it to sit for a day.....

Cake meets trifle, smiling

Many people think cake making is a mysterious art. This seems to be driven by an unhappy equation: desire for cake over failure in baking. I have experienced this, in the distant past, when I forgot essential ingredients like baking powder or sugar, and more recently when a cake failed to meet my expectations. Fortunately on these latter occasions, the enthusiasm of those eating the cake reduced my disappointment.

Making cake requires a degree of concentration, and the core ingredients, usually these are fat, flour, butter, sugar and eggs, with flavourings. The basic sponge recipe is for every egg you should use 60g each of flour, sugar and butter. For a 20cm/8" cake (top and bottom) I use six eggs. That is a handsome cake, enough for 8 greedy people who really like cake.

cake meets trifle, birthday treat

Everyone should have a birthday cake on their birthday. It is a small offering, it is a chance to take a god-like pause. Birthdays come around more often than weddings, or at least weddings where you are the bridegroom or bride. In Schultz's Peanuts, Linus always took a day off on his birthday, I used to read the cartoon strip and think that it looked a bit boring. Now I think it is a small gesture of indulgence, and one that we should all try, some time.

As someone who bakes cakes, I greedily grab the chance to make that moment happen. Last week I made chocolate nemesis for my friend, Alex. Today I am making a concoction I call cake-meets-trifle for my pal Margo. It's a cross between a Victoria Sandwich and a trifle, but I've junked the custard. Nothing else about this cake is reduced. It is not a cake to eat without a plate and cutlery, unless you like licking your fingers and wearing a bib.

Recipe follows with pix.

Chicken with tarragon sauce, mushrooms, mash, sticky carrots and leeks

Daughter two, for whom this blog was started, is cooking tonight with a friend. She found a recipe on the BBC website, however it was written in a rather complicated way, so I have rewritten it to make the process easier. I included a cooking sequence, to help the process along.

In the traditional manner the original rice in the recipe has been junked and mash is being made. The other veg is a lovely combination of carrots with leeks. The oniony nature of the leeks adds flavour and the cooking process leaves the vegs coated in a lovely, slightly sticky buttery residue. In our house we refer to carrots like this as caramel carrots. Other recipes I've seen use lemon juice, maybe honey, or sugar, but I like the sweetness you get from the veg itself.

For the chicken ·          2 tbsp butter ·          1 tbsp olive oil ·          1 free-range chicken breast, skin removed ·          200ml/7fl oz hot chicken stock For the sauce ·          100ml/3fl oz dry white wine ·          1 shallot, finely chopped ·          250ml/9fl oz double cream ·          handful chopped fresh tarragon ·          1 tsp Dijon mustard ·          salt and freshly ground black pepper For the chestnut mushrooms ·          1 tbsp butter ·          1 tbsp olive oil ·          1 garlic clove ·          5-6 chestnut mushrooms, chopped ·          1 tbsp double cream

Shopping list PER CHICKEN BREAST 3tbsp butter 2tbsp olive oil 1 chicken breast 1 mugful hot stock 1/3 mugful dry white wine 250ml double cream (1 mugful) Tarragon 1tsp Dijon mustard 1 clove garlic Pepper Salt Potatoes Milk Nutmeg 5 carrots 5 leeks Preparation sequence Start by preparing the carrots and leeks and set to cook, peel the potatoes, cut them into small chunks to cook quickly,  then make the sauce, and set aside, then start cooking the chicken, as it simmers prepare and cook the mushrooms, fitting in mashing the potatoes.

Mashed potatoes

·          Cook the potatoes thoroughly

·          Mash with butter and warmed milk, adding a good pinch of nutmeg, and pepper and salt to taste

Caramel carrots and leeks

A patent recipe for delicious slightly sticky veg. Ingredients for three people.

5 medium sized leeks

5 medium sized carrots

·          Peel carrots and cut into fine slices

·          Prepare leeks, cut into 3cm long slices, wash

·          Put carrots and leeks into a pan with a knob of butter, pepper, salt and enough water to cover (only just cover)

·          Put onto the heat and bring to the boil, simmer vigorously with the lid off, until the carrots are cooked

·          Make sure the veg doesn't burn, but only add moisture a spoonful at a time

For the chicken

·          2 tbsp butter

·          1 tbsp olive oil

·          1 free-range chicken breast, skin removed

·          200ml/7fl oz hot chicken stock

For the sauce

·          100ml/3fl oz dry white wine

·          1 shallot, finely chopped

·          250ml/9fl oz double cream

·          handful chopped fresh tarragon

·          1 tsp Dijon mustard

·          salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the chestnut mushrooms

·          1 tbsp butter

·          1 tbsp olive oil

·          1 garlic clove

·          5-6 chestnut mushrooms, chopped

·          1 tbsp double cream

Chicken 

·          Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat.

·          When the butter is foaming, add the chicken and fry for 3-4 minutes, turning once, or until golden-brown on both sides.

·          Add three to four tablespoons of the hot stock (reserving the remaining stock for the sauce), reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook the chicken for 12-15 minutes, turning once, or until the chicken is completely cooked through.

·          Remember to baste the chicken regularly during cooking with the stock and chicken juices

Sauce

·          heat the white wine and chopped shallot in a non-reactive saucepan for 2-3 minutes, or until the shallots have softened

·          add the remaining hot chicken stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the volume of liquid has reduced by half

·          add the double cream and tarragon and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes

·          stir in the Dijon mustard and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

·          set aside and keep warm

Chestnut mushrooms

·          heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat until the butter melts

·          add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for 4-5 minutes, or until golden-brown

·          Add 1 tbsp double cream and cook gently until heated through

To serve

·          cut the chicken into thick slices, and arrange them into a fan shape on a serving plate

·          drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve the mushrooms alongside

quiche basics, or flan if you will

I cooked three quiches on Monday, it'll pass, and had to think a lot about the egg/milk magic that makes quiche work. It is a basic savoury custard, and even though when you put it that way it seems less tempting, bung it in a pastry shell, add a few other ingredients and stand back to watch people scoff it down.

Quiches, or mini quiches are standard fare at lots of gatherings. Make them and people imagine you are a culinary genius, and why not? Grab a packet of ready made pastry, use it to line some well buttered tart tins, shallow ones are easier, but make sure you get the pastry/filling ratio right. You can guarantee an easy exit by cutting squares of baking parchment (crumpled and flattened out again to make it sit well into the corners) to pop under the pastry. Hey, go ultra rustic and don't bother to have circles of pastry, cut it into squares and let people enjoy some toasty corners, just avoid burning them, because noone likes a charred pastry corner. Make your egg mixture, put in your other ingredients and pour it on top. Fill to just under the top of the pastry and cook.

Basic quiche filling proportions: one large egg to 100ml cream or milk

Add seasoning: pepper, salt, herbs

to vary the quiches you add some solid ingredients such as:

• roasted veg, such as peppers and onions
• cheese and ham (or bacon, cooked)
• steamed broccoli florets 
• spinach and goats cheese
• mushroom and leek

These should be cut into suitable sizes to get variety in each mouthful, and vegetables need to be almost or completely cooked beforehand.

Cook mini quiches for about 20 minutes at gas mark 6/ 200 C/ 375F, or until golden and risen.

If you don't want to use pastry, line your quiche with thin slices of courgette, making sure to line the case with baking parchment, and perhaps to make the quiche mixture a little more eggy.

Creme brulee

Creme brulee is an indulgence at the end of a meal. Or at the beginning of the day, if you have some left over and you are fridge raiding. It's a baked custard with a cristallised sugar lid, so you break through the crisp dark caramel into the soft and creamy custard, and when you put a spoonful in your mouth you get the ultra smooth vanilla flavour against the almost bitter shards of sugar.

It's not hard to make, just needs a little thinking ahead. And if you have a blow torch, involves the pleasure of playing with fire.

It's one of Kitty's favourites, taken from the BBC website, and already mentioned in a previous post. She does it, without vanilla pods and all that scraping, she just uses a natural vanilla essence. It uses a mixture of milk and cream, which makes it a little bit lighter.


You'll use a roasting tin, or similar, four large ramekins and a blow torch (or grill).


Ingredients

450ml/16fl oz double cream

50ml/2 fl oz whole milk

a few drops vanilla extract

5 free-range eggs

75g/2½ oz caster sugar, plus 40g/1½ oz more, for the topping

Method

• Set the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.
• Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Only the yolks are used in this recipe, so you can use the egg whites for another dish or freeze them for future use.
• Pour the caster sugar into the bowl with the yolks. Whisk together the egg yolks and the caster sugar until they start to get paler, and are well combined, the mixture will thicken a little.
• Pour the cream and the milk into a saucepan, put on a medium heat and bring to just below a boil.
• Stir in the vanilla extract and simmer.
• Pour the cream and milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Stir thoroughly for a minute or two to mix everything together and make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Ladle the brûlée mixture into ramekins, or any little heatproof pots.
• Put the crème brûlées into a deep baking tray and pour hot water into the tray. It should come about halfway up the pots. This is a bain marie.
• Put the baking tray and contents into the preheated oven and cook for about 30-35 minutes. They need to be firm, but will have a little wobble.
• Allow to cool, then chill. Chilling them will make the caramel work better. If you can’t wait just go to the next step.
• For the topping, sprinkle the rest of the sugar on top of the brûlées – if you do it in two stages you’ll get a stronger crust. Heat the surface with a mini-blowtorch until it forms a layer of caramel.

When you're ready - eat.