Burnt sugar cake

I am trying out a recipe for burnt sugar cake. It smells rather like angel delight, butterscotch flavour. I will ice it tomorrow and post some pictures. It is basically a sponge with a burnt sugar syrup, both in the cake and the icing... because sugar is good.

brownies

not quite an edible stonehenge

Very well reviewed, by consumers, the most recent batch of brownies. Fancy having a go at making them yourself? The recipe is here.

Tip: stick to the cooking time, to get maximum chocolate intensity and the proper fudginess.

Classic carrot cake

The Australian Women's Weekly recipe for carrot cake is easy to make and not as sweet as some - don't worry it is still nice and sweet. The recipe calls for 2 tsp of mixed spice, but I like to add an extra tsp of cinnamon, which makes it really punchy. See what you think - this recipe is a repeater.

I'll find the pictures of my first effort - I used two sandwich tins and put some icing inside as well as out, because I am greedy. I use the citrus fudge icing.

I tried it with sunflower seeds, because I didn't have any walnuts and it was not good, by the way.

'icing just right this time mum'

Carrot cake

Preparation and cooking time – 1hour 35 minutes

1 cup / 250 ml vegetable oil

1 1/3 cups / 250 g firmly packed brown sugar

3 cups / 220 g firmly packed, coarsely grated carrot (about 6 medium carrots)

1 cup / 120 g coarsely chopped walnuts
3 eggs

2 ½ / 375 g self-raising flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp mixed spice

Preheat the oven to 160 C

I used two 23cm tins and bake for 40 mins

• Grease deep 23 cm round cake tin, lining base with baking parchment
• Put carrot and nuts in large bowl,  and sift flour, bicarb and spices together, keep to one side
• Beat oil, sugar and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy. Transfer mixture to large bowl with carrot and nuts, stirring, adding flour mixing well
• Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake cake for about 1 ¼ hours, covering loosely with foil or parchment halfway through cooking, to prevent it browning too much on top
• Stand cake for five minutes before turning it onto a rack to cool

If you can stand it, this cake is better if left for a day to mature.

Baba ghanoush - aubergine puree

Back to the beautiful aubergines, I find them irresistible. I grilled these on the hob, letting the smell of charred skin fill the kitchen. Once they were charred all over, I wrapped them in silver foil and let them sit, to cool. As they cool they continue to cook, and the skin loosens even more, and some fluid leaches out of them. You can see in the picture that there is still some steam coming out of these - I was in a hurry.

So, once the aubergines are cool enough to handle you rub off the charred skin. Then cradle the denuded aubergine and squeeze it gently, a slimy liquid will come out, keep squeezing, tenderly , but don't pulverize the flesh. Take off the stalk and set aside. Prepare all your aubergines like this - in the picture are three smallish aubergines. I cooked them and made them into baba ghanoush and ate it, so, no pictures.

Today I have one small aubergine, and so that's what I'm using for a step by step recipe. I make this aubergine puree for parties and for an easy meal, following Claudia Roden's recipe, from a Book of Middle Eastern Food, which is a culinary treasure trove. Here it is: 

This rich cream is a combination of two strong flavours: the smoky one of aubergines prepared as below, and the strong taste of tahina sharpened by lemon and garlic. It is exciting and vulgarly seductive. The ingredients are added almost entirely to taste, the harmony of flavours depending largely on the size and flavour of the aubergines used. The quantities below give a fairly large amount, enough to be served as a dip at a party.

Serves 8

·         3 large aubergines

·         2 cloves garlic, or to taste 

·         salt

·         ¼ pot tahina paste or less

·         3 lemons, or more to taste

·         ½ tsp ground cumin (optional)

·         2 tbs finely chopped parsley, a few black olives or a tomato, thinly sliced, to garnish

Cook the aubergines over charcoal or under a gas flame or electric grill until the skin blackens and blisters. Peel and wash the aubergines, and squeeze out as much of the bitter juice as possible. Crush the garlic cloves with salt. Mash the aubergines with a potato masher or a fork, then add the crushed garlic and little more salt, and pound to a smooth, creamy purée. Add the tahina paste and lemon juice alternately, beating well or blending for a few seconds between each addition. Taste and add more salt, lemon juice, garlic or tahina if you think it is necessary and, if you like, a little cumin. Pour the cream into a bowl or a few smaller serving dishes. Garnish with finely chopped parsley and black olives, or with Arab or other bread (pitta), as a salad or as a party dip.

If you can't be bothered to make it yourself, you can buy it in a tin!

Tahini makes a nice dip too, but here it is just an ingredient. I use just about a third as much tahini as aubergine.

charred and hot

wrapped in foil

cooled and ready to peel

Scones

The other day I felt the need for scones, partly because of a lack of bread in the house. 

In a bowl I mixed the fat into the flour, using a  with my new pastryblender. Souring the milk with some lemon, and mixing it through quickly, into a ball, andthen whacking the soft dough onto the marble for a spot of light rolling, and cutting out with new colourful cutters.

Result

Carrot cake with citrus fudge icing

I made this cake from the Australian Women's Weekly collection, and got rave reviews. It was being eaten so fast that Steve nearly missed out, being away until four days after baking. He ate the last slice with gusto, and made the comment, with a slightly surprised tone that did not go down well with the cook, that it looked really professional.

This cake was easy to make and behaved beautifully in the oven, despite my managing to misread the recipe and add the sugar with the flour. I like a forgiving recipe, one that can take a bit of stupidity in the cooking and still turn out well. My review of the recipe other than this is that it needed more spice. I know my mixed spice is quite fresh, so I will bake it again to see if adding more makes it perfect. The other thing that might improve it, but is likely to be harder to manage is that it may well be better if it sits for at least a day. That kind of thing requires hiding places for cakes, and even those who can't  find their proverbial with both hands seem to have an innate skill at hunting down cake.

I used the fudge icing recipe I always use, substituting juice for milk. The trick is to stir the zest into the icing sugar, then add the hot melted butter, beating all the time, then add the hot juice in a slow stream, beating like mad, to make sure the juice is mixed in thoroughly with the butter sugar mixture. If you do get lumps use a hand blender to get rid of them. The alternative is too boring.  A wooden spoon in a two litre jug is my preferred approach. The icing may become liquid. Sit it in cold water then refrigerate, beating it again before spreading it over the cake.

So give this a go, because it is a lovely cake.


Citrus fudge icing


This is enough for the top or the middle of a 9" cake


250g icing sugar
75g unsalted butter
3 tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

1. finely grate the zest
2. sift icing sugar into bowl with the zest
3. cut the butter into thin slices and heat slowly, until completely melted - do not boil
4. pour hot melted butter into the sifted icing sugar, beating as you pour, until it is all taken up by the sugar
5. heat the juice in the pan (I use the same pan... without washing)
6. pour the hot juice into the sugar/butter mixture, beating as you pour, until it is one silky mixture
7. let the icing cool until it stiffens, beating it again before using it

• to apply the icing to the cake have a tall mug full of freshly boiled water, use a palette knife or a large knife
• spread the icing quickly, spreading it with the hot knife - as soon as the icing starts to drag on the knife, clean off the remaining icing and dip it into the hot water again
• continue until the icing is applied

Pancake day!

We have already started the day with pancakes. Very nice. Supper will be more of the same. I am going to make a mixture with spinach, onion and chicken, roll the mixture up in pancakes, snuggle them all up together in an oven dish, pour over some white sauce, and then heat the lot up in a medium oven. I may sneak in some mushrooms.

My  pancake mixture works well, if I say so myself, give it a go. It makes about 12 pancakes, depending on the size of your pan.

Cooking pancakes can be a bit anti social, and hot. I like to make a pile and then reheat them.

Recipe

ingredients (alternative measurements at bottom of the recipe - cups, oz and mugs)

·         125g flour

2 eggs

125ml milk

125ml water

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp sugar

pinch salt

oil for pan

   Method

• sift flour into large bowl (I use a plastic jug and stir it with a whisk)
• add sugar and salt
• make a well in the middle, crack the eggs into it and add the oil
• stir it all together vigorously
• add liquid bit by bit, beating all the time until smooth (if it isn't smooth, resort to the hand blender)

I use a heavy based frying pan, which is not non-stick. I have a heatproof pastry brush and a little pot of oil, and I brush the pan between each pancake. I use a small ladle, which measures about 1/4 cup. I don't like non-stick, and I think the pancakes taste different if you pour the batter into a thin layer of hot oil.

It might seem obvious how to cook pancakes, and if you've got it down pat, ignore this. If you're like me, and sometimes end up with a thick layer of batter sticking to the pan then read on.

Heat the pan for a couple of minutes before starting the pancake cooking, and get the pan good and hot, then  brush with oil quickly and pour in the batter - just enough to coat the base of the pan. You'll know the pan is hot enough, because the batter starts to cook straight away, roll it around the pan to cover the whole base. Once the pancake starts to bubble a bit and the edges curl, it's ready to turn. Watch the pancake bubble a little bit, then remove it from the pan. And so on.

I turn the gas down a bit once the pan is hot, otherwise it gets too hot, and the pancakes stick.

Other stuff

if you don't have scales, or can't be bothered, about one mugful of flour and half/half mugful of milk/water is the right amount, adding a tiny bit more liquid. Providing it's an average mug, and I'm not debating what's average. The mixture should be like thin cream, coating the back of a spoon.

Since we have chickens, and I like things eggy, I sometimes go mad and add another egg.

Valentine's menu - tart

Valentine's Day is a lot of pressure, if you let it be. If you are alone you can feel like a failure, if you are with a partner the range of anxiety you can feel is vast. Food is a good sidestep. As my expanded waistline can tell you. I like straightforward food, and I shall be making a heart-shaped version of my apple tart.

You don't have to use apples, tinned apricots are also terrific. Or plums - see other pic.

It is a labour of love, and that is why it is good for Valentine's Day. Serve hot or cold, and enjoy yourself.

PS
there's no need to roll this pastry - you can just press it into the tin, and use whatever alcohol you like, or none!

Citrus fudge icing

Icing is lovely when judiciously used, and can make a cake, both in terms of looks and flavour. If there is too much icing a cake can become sickly - although there is, of course, no obligation to eat it. Making a 'fudge' icing means you get a crunchy outside and soft inside, and using lemon juice gives a wonderfully sharp tang to go with the sweetness, which is especially good with a cake like carrot cake. This is a good alternative to a cream cheese frosting. It keeps better too, although that isn't an issue with carrot cake as a rule, since it seldom lingers.


Citrus fudge icing


This is enough for the top or the middle of a 9" cake


250g icing sugar
75g unsalted butter
3 tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

1. finely grate the zest
2. sift icing sugar into bowl with the zest
3. cut the butter into thin slices and heat slowly, until completely melted - do not boil
4. pour hot melted butter into the sifted icing sugar, beating as you pour, until it is all taken up by the sugar
5. heat the juice in the pan (I use the same pan... without washing)
6. pour the hot juice into the sugar/butter mixture, beating as you pour, until it is one silky mixture
7. let the icing cool until it stiffens, beating it again before using it

• to apply the icing to the cake have a tall mug full of freshly boiled water, use a palette knife or a large knife
• spread the icing quickly, spreading it with the hot knife - as soon as the icing starts to drag on the knife, clean off the remaining icing and dip it into the hot water again
• continue until the icing is applied

Frozen veg...

It's bitingly cold out, and yesterday a serious wind chill gave a real disincentive to going out. Fortunately on a previous shopping expedition I had picked up a bag of frozen spinach to replenish my stock (spinach and peas in the freezer at all times), and I was tempted into buying some diced veg 'for stewing', which included large pieces of winter stalwarts: turnip, swede, celery, carrot, and onion. Unlike most of my friends, I do like peeling and chopping, I find it therapeutic. At the end of a busy day it is best to leave me to it, I am told I have a slightly threatening air when I'm grumpy and holding a knife. Still, even enthusiasts of the menial culinary task of veg prep can imagine there is a short cut, and on that basis I gazed on the diced winter veg with pleasure, dreaming of quick veg stew, veg curry, veg soup, and popped it into my basket.

So, yesterday I decided on soup. Lots of garlic - fresh - olive oil on a low temperature, and the kitchen filled with a heady aroma, joined by some mixed herbs (dried) and I felt optimistic. In went the veg, along with some stock and the lot boiled merrily away for 12 minutes. Tasting the soup, all was good once a little salt was added. Then I tried a carrot, followed by a bit of swede and a bit of turnip. The feeling in my mouth was nothing but fibre, more suitable for rope or possibly paper making than eating. Flavour: nil. I was gutted. Everything was cooked through, the liquid was great, and I wanted some soup, so I threw in a tin of tomatoes, let the lot bubble away again for five minutes and then blended the lot. And ate it with a good piece of toast.

Verdict: fresh winter root veg is the only way to go.