SHERRY - NOT JUST FOR TRIFLE

This was a densely, deeply, darkly chocolaty cake, it should have been perfection - but I overcooked it!!

I should have followed my instincts - but instead I followed the recipe!!  My oven usually takes much longer than any recipe specifies to bake anything, but in this case I should have taken the cake out sooner than specified.  I actually did check (so I can't even blame the oven- and man has that oven had it's fair share of blame heaped on it!!!).  I did the testing with the spaghetti bit - but I should have taken the cake out of the oven while it was still moist (less than a brownie but more than a cake) and not have waited until it came out clean.  Doooh!

That said, this cake is a keeper.  I served it at a party with a number of other desserts - it was a good addition to the spread.  The key to this cake is the raisiny, rich cream that is served along side it.  They compliment each other to perfection.

I am trying to use some of the cook books I have stockpiled - my new rule is that I can't buy a new cook book until I have cooked two recipes from an unused one (my cook book buying rules are very similar to my diet rules in that they change to suit whatever temptation is in front of me!!!!)  This is my second foray into Diana Henry's "Crazy Water Pickled Lemons" (the Preserved Lemons were the first) and I have plenty more "post-its" sticking up waiting for attention! (I stick in a "post-it" when I fancy a recipe, not very tidy)


Chocolate, Hazelnut and Sherry Cake with Sherry-Raisin Cream

150g             Dark Chocolate
75g               Butter
125ml           Dry fino sherry
6                   medium eggs - separated
160g             caster sugar
150g             shelled, toasted hazelnuts - coarsely chopped
55g               self-raising flour
55g               cocoa

Preheat oven to 180 C
Prepare a 22cm (8 1/2 in) spring form cake tin.  I line mine with parchment.

Melt the butter, chocolate and sherry in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Allow to cool slightly.
Whisk the egg yolk with the sugar until light and glossy.
Add the chocolate mixture and 70g of the hazelnuts.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Fold some of these whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it.
Then fold in the rest, alternating with the sifted flour and cocoa.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes.*
When a skewer comes out slightly (very slightly) moist remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes - then turn out onto a wire rack.

* Diana says after 50 minutes "test the cake with a skewer and if it comes out clean, it's done; otherwise leave in for another 5 - 10 minutes"

Sherry-Raisin Cream

250g            raisins
250ml          oloroso sherry (I used Pedro Ximenez)
300ml          double cream
60ml            Greek yogurt
60g              icing sugar

Heat the raisins in the sherry in a small pan.
Turn off when just under boiling point - leave to plump up and cool.
Whip the cream and add the yogurt and sugar to it.
Add the plumped up raising and any remaining sherry.

To serve dust the cake with icing sugar and scatter the remaining 70g of  chopped hazelnuts over it.
Plate up with a dollop of  sherry cream on the side.

 

TRUELY TASTY TOMATOES

Sometimes the really simple salads are the best.  This salad was an afterthought I just threw a packet of baby spinach in a bowl sprinkled over some semi sun(oven)dried tomatoes with their oil, olives  feta cheese and balsamic vinegar, it was really good.  Each and every flavour was distinct and they complimented each other beautifully.  Couldn't be easier or tastier!

A few years ago my wonderful friend K. gave me a gift of a days cookery course with Kevin Dundon in Dunbrody House.  We had a great time - and learned loads.  Although even Kevin was unable to teach me how to chop onions properly, I really wish I could chop onions properly (you know with the flying knife the way the chefs on telly do it!!)

One of the handy basics Kevin covered was Oven Dried Tomatoes, they are incredibly easy, and the slow cooking intensifies the flavour of the tomatoes (and can actually give some flavour to our awful supermarket specimens).  I have simplified the recipe a little over the years, and this is what I do:

Oven Dried Tomatoes

10          Tomatoes  (or about 40 cherry tomatoes)
4 tbsp     Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4             Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp     Chopped Fresh Thyme

Quarter the tomatoes or cut into eight if very large (cut cherry tomatoes in half)
Measure the oil into a small bowl and grate the garlic into the oil (this prevents the garlic charring)
Place the tomatoes in a roasting dish and sprinkle with the thyme.
Drizzle the garlicy oil over the tomatoes and leave in a warm oven for a few hours.*
They are ready when they have a slightly dried texture at the edges.
Store in a jar covered with extra virgin olive oil in the fridge.  (This oil is wonderful in salads)


*Kevin said to put the tomatoes into the oven after cooking the Sunday roast, and that the tomatoes would cook in the residual heat.  I have found that this is not enough to dry the tomatoes, and I roast them in a low (about 100 C) oven for  3 hours.

CAN IT BE THIS EASY??

Barbados Cream is the first recipe I made when How to Eat (Nigella Lawson) came into the house, and I have been making it for every party, dinner party and bun fight ever since!!

It goes with everything, be it a bowl of fresh fruit (love it with strawberries) a cake (great with any chocolate) or even a pie or crumble - versatile should be its middle name!!

The other attraction to this dessert is the praise, it comes in bucket loads when you serve Barbados Cream!!  I could not tell you the number of people who have told me that it is delicious and ask for the recipe, when I tell them what to do they look at me very sceptically (they think I'm hiding some essential information) something this good should not be this easy.

The recipe consists of equal quantities of Greek yogurt and double cream, topped with a heavy layer of good brown sugar, allow the sugar to meld into the creamy mixture for 24 hours.  The result is a fudge like cream, totally delicious.

You can ring the changes with the yogurt - it is good with a creamy vanilla or a coconut yogurt.  I don't think most fruit yogurt would work though.

                                         Here is the finished Barbados Cream on the left.


Barbados Cream


300ml               double cream (ordinary cream is fine in Ireland)
300g                 Greek Yogurt (Glenisk organic is really fantastic)
75g                   soft brown sugar (enough for a thick layer over the cream mixture)

Beat the cream until softly stiff (not too stiff though)
Fold in the Greek yogurt.
Transfer to your shallow serving dish (you want as large a surface area as possible)
Sprinkle thickly with the sugar (as above)
Cover with cling film and store in the fridge overnight (24 hours is best)
Wait for the praise!!!!!!!

You can of course change the amount of cream and yogurt you use to suit what you have in the fridge and/or the size of your dish - just keep them approximately equal portions of each.

Enjoy!

MUFFIN Vs MUFFIN

I was wondering would a raspberry muffin count as one of your "five a day"?  I'm desperate here folks!!!!!

Seriously though, there is something about a fruit laden muffin that makes them feel like a (slightly) virtuous treat - think of all the vitamins!  I have been on a bit of a fruit muffin quest of late and have two of my current favourites to offer to you*.  The ones above are from Nigella.com by Casey, they are really easy and make up a good big batch (they also keep very well), they were originally banana muffins but I think the raspberry works particularly well with raspberries.

I came across the second of my recipes on Chef Dennis's blog and had to give them a go the minute I saw the recipe - which called for blueberries (I thought I had a box of blueberries in the freezer, but they somehow morphed into raspberries!!!) Dennis called these the best muffins he had ever made, so you'll know why I had to try them.

You are probably wondering why I am giving two recipes for the same confection - I have found it handy to alternate between the two recipes, depending on what is in the larder and fridge.  More importantly they are both excellent - too hard to choose between them!!




Casey's Super Moist Muffins

3           cups self raising flour
1 1/2     cups caster sugar
3 tsp      baking powder
2           eggs
1           cup vegetable oil
1 1/2     cups natural yogurt
1           cup fruit (mashed banana/raspberries/etc)

Preheat oven to 160 C
Prepare muffin tin with paper cases (I made 12 mini muffins and about 8 medium sized ones)

Mix dry ingredients
Mix wet ingredients
Add the wet ingredients to the dry - as always don't over mix.
Spoon into the prepared muffin cases.
Bake at 160 C for 20 - 30 minutes (until a skewer comes out clean)





Chef Dennis's Blueberry Muffins

2            cups flour
1            cup sugar
1/2 tsp   baking powder
1/2 tsp   bread (bicarbonate of) soda
1/2 tsp   salt
2 cups   blueberries (or raspberries) fresh or frozen
3           lightly beaten eggs
1           cup sour cream/Greek yogurt
1/2        cup oil
1 tsp     vanilla

Preheat oven to 200C
Prepare muffin tin

Mix dry ingredients
Add blueberries and toss.
Mix wet ingredients.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ones, barely mix.
Pour into prepared muffin tin.
Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes.

Enjoy.

*These muffins probably retain top billing, but then there is chocolate involved!!!!

IT'S COLESLAW JIM BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT!!

I'm in need of something savoury - I have a bit of a sugar headache after the last number of posts!!

I saw Tyler Florence making this coleslaw on his Tyler's Ultimate programme and thought it looked really interesting, an alternative to the usual cabbage and carrot coleslaw.  I love coleslaw (particularly if there is a high carrot to cabbage ratio) but am always on the lookout for unusual, tasty salads.  This salad stands out on a table, the vibrant colour really does deliver on it  promise - it tastes really delicious.  The goats cheese in the dressing is a wonderful sharp contrast to the mild and slightly sweet taste of the squash.  The pecans are crunchy flavour filled morsels scattered through the salad offering both a textural and taste complexity.  The recipe called for some dried cranberries, but I found these to be just too sweet - the squash is sweet enough as it is.  This is my version:

Butternut Squash Coleslaw

150g          creamy goats cheese (not the type with rind)
2 1/2 tbsp  honey
4 tbsp        extra virgin olive oil
4 tsp          cider vinegar
1                lemon  juiced
2                medium squash
1/2 cup      toasted pecan nuts

Mix the cheese, honey, oil, vinegar and lemon juice and adjust to your taste if needed.
Remove the narrow top from the squash (use the bulb portion (with the seeds) for something else)
Peel the squash top and julienne it - the food processor is great for this.
Combine the squash and dressing and nuts.
Season to taste.

Enjoy.

HANDY CONVERSION CHART

AMERICAN                                     IMPERIAL                       METRIC



1 cup flour                                             5oz                                    150g

1 cup caster granulated sugar                 8oz                                    225g

1 cup brown sugar                                 6oz                                     175g


1 cup butter/margarine/lard                    8oz                                      225g


1 stick butter                                         4oz                                     110g

1 cup sultanas/raisins                             7oz                                      200g


1 cup currants/cranberries                     5oz                                        150g

1 cup ground almonds                          4oz                                         110g

1 cup golden syrup /honey                    12oz                                       350g



I found a version of this chart over on Like Mam Used To Bake  and I thought it was a great idea - I have printed it out and stuck it to the inside of my baking press (cupboard).  I am particularly happy to have the stick of butter measurement here, and I find it really hard to get that simple conversion into my thick skull!!!!

P.S. No reason for the photo of the calves other than I think they are so cute (even when they have kept me awake all night!!!)

Please forgive the fact that the chart is all over the place!!!!!!  I just can't figure out how to get it right.

BROWNIES TEN

Imagine we are up to double figures on the brownie count - and there are so many more to try!!

These are the mint chocolate brownies I made last week - as we had some "After Eight" Easter eggs* left over from the chocolate overdose that is Easter (the boys wouldn't be big fans of mint chocolate)  I decided the coffee morning would be a good opportunity to experiment.  And I have to say it was a success - I received more texts about these brownies than anything else I served!!!

I used the brownie recipe from the Avoca Cafe Cookbook (2) and I am really looking forward to making them again with plain chocolate, they were pretty much perfect texture wise - you can see from the photo just how crispy the top was, and the center was as moist and squidgy as you could wish for.  The mint chocolate brought a surprising element to the cake which was delicious, I am looking forward to using other flavoured chocolate (or just flavouring it myself!!) coffee, orange, chili all spring to mind.

The recipe called for you to whisk the eggs and sugar for quite a long time, I haven't ever done this making brownies before.  Actually I think as this whisking probably contributed to the wonderful texture I will do it in future (time allowing!!)

This recipe makes a large pan of brownies,  it says that it makes 8 - 12,  if so they would be huge, really huge!!  I probably got twice that number.


Mint Chocolate Brownies

225g            butter
225g            dark mint chocolate (you can use plain of course!!)
4                  eggs
225g            brown sugar
110g            plain flour
80g              nuts (I used mint chocolate pieces)


Preheat oven to 170 C
Prepare a  30x20cm pan with parchment paper (or grease and line it)

Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Whisk the eggs and sugar for about 10 minutes until very thick and pale.
Stir in the chocolate mixture. 
Fold in the flour and chocolate pieces (nuts)
Pour into the prepared tin.
Bake for 30-35 minutes - or until the center feels slightly firm, and the top has a lovely glaze.
Remove from the oven and cover with a damp tea towel, leave to cool on a wire rack.
When cold cut into squares.

Enjoy.


*For anyone not familiar with After Eight Easter Eggs - they are a mint flavoured dark chocolate.  They do not contain fondant (After Eight wafers have a lovely mint fondant in them).