Tagged for a Meme

Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms has tagged me for a meme. It consists of a series of questions, some of which are a little different to the usual meme questions which makes it all the more fun.

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. I love the 1st and 3rd films and this one was pretty good too.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden – It’s a fascinating read about the life of a young girl growing up to be a Geisha in Japan. Its based on a true story and is a real eye opener.

3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
I used to love Cluedo as you actually had to try and solve the mystery each time rather than just leaving it to chance.

4) FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
Fresh! (UK Food Magazine)

5) FAVORITE SMELLS?
Lemon drizzle cake, Ground cinnamon & mixed spice, Amaretto, Nuts lightly toasting in the oven, Just baked bread, Melted dark chocolate, When my mums making marmalade, Nutella, Chestnuts, Stewed apple, Marzipan, Fresh rosemary & thyme…too many.

6) FAVORITE SOUNDS?
Rain pattering against the window – I find it very relaxing.
The wind rustling through the trees and bird song.
Good music.
The oven buzzer – something’s ready to eat.
Silence.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Guilt - Realising or knowing you have done something wrong or upset someone else.

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Either ‘what shall I have for breakfast?’ or ‘Nuts is that the time!!?’ when I have woken up too early in the morning. (I hardly ever manage to go back to sleep)

9) FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
Don’t really eat fast food. But chips from a fish and chip shop are far better than I can make at home.

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
Ohhh a hard one! It changes quite a lot. At the moment Harvey or Oscar for a boy and Hermione for a girl.

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D......
How much is a lot? I’m taking it to mean enough to be very comfortable. In which case I would buy a lovely house in the countryside with a huge kitchen complete with a walk in pantry and lots of gadgets. I would also give some to my family and go sightseeing round America and visit its many bakeries and cupcake shops.

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
No. That’s not to say I drive slowly, I just like to stick to the speed limits.

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
No.

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
I think storms are amazing things and actually quite nice to listen to when you are safe and warm in bed.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
I still have my first car. It’s a greeny/blue Ford KA.

16) FAVORITE DRINK?
Water. Boring but true and I drink more of it than anything else. Peppermint tea is nice too and I like Cider for a treat.

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
Write a book (novel) or daydream about what I’m going to do in the future.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yes! And raw too!

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
I have never dyed my hair but I have been contemplating trying out a chestnut coppery colour.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Bedford – families home
Sheffield – for university
Leeds – on my uni placement year

21) FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
None. Not a sports fan at all.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Elle at Feeding My Enthusiams has a wonderful blog full of tempting recipes and amusing stories. She has a great writing style that makes you smile and feel as though she is talking to you face to face.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Carpet and boxes filled with baking tins that won’t fit in the kitchen

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Yes.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Mornings, I’m always up early.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Sunny side up, although preference would be poached.

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?
On my bed with a good book (recipe or novel) or in a squishy armchair watching a good film.

28) FAVORITE PIE?
Apple with plenty of cinnamon

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Hazelnut – it’s fantastic!

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
I couldn’t say. It depends on who reads it first and who has time to write first. I am tagging:

Gigi of Gigi Cakes
Anna of Cookie Madness
Deborah of Taste and Tell
Beth of Jam and Clotted Cream
Anne of Anne’s Food

Tales and Tastes of Marrakech

I’m back from my visit to Marrakech with my sister and wow what an experience. It was a bit of a culture shock at first as even though I had been told what to expect, it didn’t really prepare me for actually being there. I had been told we would get hassled walking down the streets, with people wanting us to look at their shops. I assumed this meant they would call out to us, not actually grab you by the arm and drag you over to their stall or follow you thrusting leaflets in your face.
We got off to a bit of a shaky start on our first day there. We were walking near the main square, which is where the locals have all their food stalls in the evenings, when we were surrounded by swarms of people all offering us menus and trying to get us to go to their stand. We didn’t actually want anything to eat and so were trying to escape when a man suddenly appeared with a long (unwelcome) snake which he wrapped around my sisters neck and then started demanding money for a photo. A woman then appeared by my elbow asking if I wanted a henna (dye) tattoo. I kept saying ‘no’ and she insisted it would only be a ‘small flower’ but I still said no and turned back to my sister. The woman then grabbed my wrist anyway and drew out what looked horribly like a syringe and aimed it at my hand. I pulled my hand away in alarm but not before she had made a long streak across my hand. I grabbed my sister who had somehow managed to free herself from the snake and we made a hasty retreat back to the safety and tranquility of our Riad feeling very overwhelmed.

Thankfully we soon became used to what to expect and found that by walking on by with your eyes averted or simply raising your hand to the side of your face with a sharp ‘non’ (they mostly spoke French) was the most effective.

The people hassling aside, the sites and sounds of Marrakech were amazing. They have Moroccan music playing in the streets wherever you go from early morning until late at night. The air is hot and humid and mingled with spices and the landscape a dusty terracotta colour that’s dotted with palm trees. Right in the centre of the Medina they have a mosque with a large tower which can be seen (and heard) wherever you are. At set times throughout the day loud chanting would suddenly start from the main tower, which could be heard over the whole city thanks to its 6 large megaphones, calling people to prayer. 4 – 5 smaller towers dotted around the outskirts of the city would then repeat the chanting of the main tower. This happened about 7 times a day, starting at 5am and ending around 10:10pm. We soon learnt to recognise the times of the calls “Ah the first chant after lunch, it must be quarter to two!” I loved hearing the chanting and it really added to the whole culture of the place.

The Riad (like a B&B) where we were staying was like a little piece of paradise compared to the hustle and bustle of the streets. It was cool and quiet and had a lovely roof terrace with comfy seats and an awning which made it a great place to sit in the mornings to enjoy breakfast and in the evenings with a book when there was a welcome breeze.

Breakfasts was a simple yet tasty affair which comprised of French baguette and soft doughy pancakes studded with holes, similar to Pikelets, which was served with jam and butter and accompanied by freshly squeezed orange juice. I have since learnt that the pancakes are called Beghrirs.
Lunch and dinner proved more difficult. Everywhere we went had the same food on offer which consisted of omelette, tagine or couscous. Now you may think ‘what else did you expect?’ but I did expect some variety not just in dishes but also in flavours. Nearly everywhere had the same flavour combinations and we saw about three restaurants that even had the same printed menu! Plus its not the best place to go if you are vegetarian I don’t think they understand a diet of no meat or fish. At lunch I could have plain omelette or omelette and chips and even then one turned up full of ham despite always asking if they were vegetarian. In the evenings I could have a Tagine aux Sept Legumes (seven vegetables) which I though meant it would contain seven different vegetables, but turned out to be seven pieces of vegetable consisting of carrot, courgette and a yellow coloured potato. Or I could have Couscous aux Sept Legumes which was exactly the same vegetables as in the tagine only with a bit of couscous underneath and if I was lucky some tomato on top. It got rather boring after a few days and I was amazed that despite their easy accessibility to numerous spices they tasted quite bland. My sister, who’s not vegetarian, found the same thing although she did have more options. I had envisaged couscous dishes flavoured with lots of aromatic spices and containing things like raisins, apricots, nuts and chickpeas. I don’t mean to make it sound awful, but it wasn’t quite what I was hoping for.

One day we ate at a street stall which I was thrilled to find was offering some different foods. We had bread, olives and a tomato pesto style dip to start and then griddled aubergine and spiced sweet potato cakes to follow. The potato cakes were particularly good as they were well spiced.
The highlight of any meal for me was always the mint tea. I have been drinking mint tea for a few years, which usually consists of teabag, hot water and a mug but in Morocco they do it oh so much better. They use loose dried mint leave which give off a wonderful aroma when rubbed between your fingers. These are heated with some water and sugar in a special silver teapot set over a flame. This is then brought to the boil and left to steep before being slowly poured into pretty little glasses from a height. It pours out a golden amber colour with a slight green hue and fills the air with its minty aroma. I had never had it sweetened before but it’s fantastic! So soothing and comforting. I’m not sure if its bad luck to only serve it to one person but whenever I order it they always poured out two glasses. My sister didn’t like it but I was more than happy to make it disappear.
In the evenings a few women begin wandering the streets selling macaroons. These are not your dainty small French macaroons but they larger, flatter, chewy outside squidgy centered macaroons. These macaroons were studded with shredded coconut which became more apparent the more you chewed and released the oils, they were delicious.
One of the most interesting parts to explore were the Souks. These are a maze like collection of alleyways and narrow streets which are crammed full of small shops selling almost everything you could think of – ornate metal lanterns, colourful silky slippers and scarves, spices, wooden spoons, leather bags and belts, decorative wooden boxes, glasses, teapots, carpets and jewelry. The stretched for miles, snaking off in different directions and yes, we did get lost but we just keep wandering until we saw something we recognised. All the sellers expect you to barter over the price of the item you want to buy and will sometimes even go down to 20% of the original price they quoted you, so you should never accept their first offer. However, we discovered that if you ask a price of something they take this as meaning you are going to buy it, so you need to make sure you definitely want it before beginning conversation or else they get annoyed.
We also ventured further a-field and explored El Badi Palace which is now mostly in ruins and watched over by the many storks nesting on its walls.
The Marjaroelle Gardens which were owned Yves Saint Laurent and house plants from 5 different contents all beautifully displayed and surrounded by exotic plants in bright blue, orange and yellow pots.
The Palmary which contained acres of palm trees in sandy desert like surroundings. Another plus point to this is that you can explore them on camel back!

Profiteroles

Everyone was wanting a little treat for after dinner and profiteroles got a unanimous vote. The nice thing about making the little choux buns is that you can fill and top them with whatever takes your fancy. My family and I went the traditional route of fresh whipped cream or ice cream topped with lots of rich chocolate sauce. Filling them with crème patisserie and topping them off with caramel turns them into elegant croquembouche and piping the choux pastry into logs will result in éclairs. Choux buns can also be stuffed with savoury fillings so they are extremely versatile.

When you making choux pastry it is important to have all your ingredients ready as the pastry (which is more like a batter) requires lots of vigorous beating after adding each ingredient is added to keep it lump free. It can then be piped or spooned onto a baking sheet where it then puffs us and become hollow during baking. It’s a good idea to splash your baking tray with water before baking the buns as the resulting steam produced helps the buns rise. You must also pierce a small hole in the top of each bun to allow the steam to escape as soon as its out of the oven or else you risk them turning soggy.

These little buns are quite simple to make but look impressive enough to serve for guests. They are best eaten the day they are made, but this didn’t prove to be a problem in my house.

Profiteroles
(Recipe by Delia Smith)
Ingredients
60g strong plain flour
150ml water
1 tsp caster sugar
50g butter
2 eggs

For the filling
250ml double cream, vanilla ice cream or crème patisserie

For the chocolate sauce
100g dark chocolate
1 tbsp golden syrup
100ml milk

Method – for the choux buns
Heat the oven to 200C. Grease and line two baking trays and set to one side.
Weight out the flour and sugar together and place onto a sheet of greaseproof paper that you can pick up easily in order to add the flour quickly later on.
Break the eggs into a cup and whisk lightly.
Heat the water and butter together in a pan until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil then remove from the heat.
Quickly shoot in the flour and sugar and beat until the flour has been completely worked into the water and the mixture has turned thick and glossy and is forming a sticky ball in the middle of the pan – around a minute.
Gradually beat in the egg a little at a time until silky smooth.
Now run your baking trays under the tap so that water droplets cover the surface.
Using a teaspoon, dot spoonfuls of batter over the baking trays, leaving a 1 inch gap. Alternatively you could pipe blobs using a piping bag.
Bake for 10 minutes in the 200C preheated oven, then increase the temperature to 220C for a further 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, they should be crisp, puffed up and golden brown in colour.
Transfer the buns to a wire wrack to cool, piercing a small hole in the top of each one to allow the steam to escape. The hole will be covered in chocolate sauce later.

For the chocolate sauce
Break the chocolate into small pieces and add to a pan along with the golden syrup and milk.
Heat very gently, stirring frequently until the chocolate has dissolved.
At this stage it will look far too liquid but keep stirring it over the heat, allowing a few small bubbles to appear. It will suddenly start to thicken, at which point remove it from the heat and continue to stir until you have a thick glossy sauce.
Can be used straight away or left to cool to room temperature.

To assemble
Whip the cream into soft peaks.
Pipe or spoon the cream into the centre of the choux buns and pour over the chocolate sauce.
Makes 25 choux buns

I’m off on holiday to Marrakesch with my sister very early tomorrow morning, so there won’t be any posts for the next 10 days or so.

Ratatouille Wraps

These are my favourite wraps to eat for lunch or for a light dinner. They involve making a finely diced ratatouille mixture which is allowed to thicken more than usual to produce a spoonable consistency. This is then cooled before being used to fill a tortilla wrap which has first been spread with hummus and crisp lettuce and topped with a little scattering of grated cheese.

The ratatouille is not a traditional recipe as I have also included a little spice, not to add heat but just to bring a depth of flavour. The red onion and pepper provide a wonderful sweetness that works well with all the other flavours. All the different textures of the soft tortilla, creamy hummus and crisp lettuce work so well together. I think they taste best when ratatouille mix has been allowed to cool to room temperature, but I don’t see why you couldn’t use it when warm with a toasted tortilla to match. They may not look much but they taste delicious.

Ratatouille Wraps
Ingredients
1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small tin chopped tomatoes
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 red pepper
1 large carrot
1 large courgette
6 black olives
2 tsp soft brown sugar
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
½-1 tsp curry powder

To Serve
Tortilla wraps
Lettuce
Grated cheese
Hummus

Method
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic and add to the pan. Sweat the onions and garlic gently for 5 minutes until they beginning to soften.
Dice the carrot and pepper into 1/2 cm dice, add to the pan and cook for 10 minutes before adding the roughly diced courgette.Pit and finely chop the olives and stir into the pan along with the tomatoes, herbs, sugar and spices and two tbsp water if your tomatoes are not very juicy. Allow the ratatouille to simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and the tomato sauce has become thick and sticky and all excess liquid has evaporated.
Leave to cool.
To make the wraps, spread the tortillas with a layer of hummus and cover with a layer of torn lettuce leaves. Spoon a quarter of the ratatouille mixture down the centre of the wrap. Grate over a little cheese of your choice.
Fold one end of the tortilla in over the filling and then roll into a log shape. Secure with a cocktail stick and serve with salad.
Makes 4 wraps


On another note I have now finished my year work placement and have just moved back home for the summer and am surrounded by boxes – how I’m supposed to fit a whole flats worth of stuff into my room I don’t know! I will really miss working, I loved being part of a team and treated like an equal. I’m not looking forward to returning to the stigma of ‘a student’ for my final year of uni. Thanks to everyone who helped and supported me throughout my last year, at times it was a challenge, but I can’t believe its now over.

Daring Bakers May Challenge – A Cake to Sing About: Light & White Opera Cake

When I saw this months challenge I was thrilled as it’s a cake I have heard lots about but never attempted to make myself. As I read through the recipe and its many stages and components – sponge, syrup, buttercream, ganache, glaze – I began thinking “Ekk this looks complicated.” However, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. If you can make a whisked sponge and a buttercream then you can make this cake. You do need a free afternoon to create it, but it’s a very pleasant way to spend a few hours, especially when it’s blowing a gale outside and you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful cake that will get ‘ohhs’ and ‘ahhs’ from your friends and family.

Traditionally an Opera Cake is dark and flavoured with rich chocolate and coffee but in honour of the approach of summer and with a nod to the LiveSTRONG day in America (fighting Cancer) our Opera Cakes were to be light in colour and flavour. I was initially a little disappointed at not making a traditional Opera cake, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I became – there are SO MANY flavour variations you can make when not tied down to coffee or chocolate. In the end I decided to make an almond joconde sponge, a zingy lemon syrup and a floral lavender buttercream.

I halved the recipe and made a rectangle cake rather than a square, but I still had the three layers. I also bypassed the optional ganache stage and replaced this with a layer of marzipan to tie in with the almond joconde. I also tinted the buttercream a pale lilac colour to resemble the lavender. I kept the white chocolate glaze and wrote ‘Opera’ on top with a little glaze that I tinted purple. That thistle looking thing at the end was meant to be a stalk of lavender, just squint a bit.
I was delighted with how the cake turned out. The sponge was so soft and floatingly light, very reminiscing of an angle cake, look at all those little air bubbles! It had a wonderful almond flavour, that really worked well with the zesty lemon syrup. I have just realised that I forgot to add the melted butter to the batter, but it doesn’t miss it. The lavender buttercream was really good and added a wonderful subtle floral bloom in the mouth. I have never used lavender in baking before, but I’ll definitely be using it again.

Thanks girls (Lis, Ivonne, Shea & Fran) for choosing such a wonderful cake – I would never have attempted it without the push. Be sure to check out the other Daring Bakers creations.

Lemon Lavender & Almond Opera Cake
For the joconde
6 egg whites
30g caster sugar
225g ground almonds
150g icing sugar
6 whole eggs
70g plain flour
45g butter
1½tsp almond extract (my addition)

Preheat the oven to 220C and position the oven racks in the top third and bottom third of the oven. Line two 12½ x 15½ inch Swiss roll tins and grease with the butter.
In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they are doubles in size and foamy. Add the caster sugar, a tablespoon at a time, while whisking until the egg whites have become thick and glossy. Set to one side.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, icing sugar and ground almonds until thick and creamy, about 3 minutes. (I also added almond extract at this point)
Sift over the flour and mix in gently. Do not overwork.
Take a third of the egg white mix and fold into the almond mix to slacken it. Then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites, being careful not to knock out too much of the air.
Melt the butter and fold into the batter.
Divide the mix evenly between the two tins and spread out into an even layer.
Bake for 5-9 minutes until lightly golden brown and springy to the touch.
After removing from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the pans, cover the tops with a sheet of greaseproof paper and turn out onto a wire wrack.
Peel away the base of greaseproof paper, but then leave it covering the cake and allow to cool.

For the syrup
125g water
65g caster sugar
2 tbsp of your choice (I used zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon)

Add all the ingredients together in a pan, stir and bring to the boil.
Allow to bubble for 1 minute until the sugar is all dissolved and then remove form the heat and set aside to cool

For the buttercream
100g caster sugar
60g water
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
200g butter, softened
1 vanilla bean or flavouring of your choice (I used 3 dried lavender stalks)

Combine the sugar, water and flavouring of choice in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Allow to cook, without stirring, until the syrup has thickened and reached around 105-110C.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg and egg yolk in a clean bowl until they become thick, pale and doubled in volume.
Slowly drizzle the hot syrup down the side of the bowl, containing the eggs, beating continuously. Do not pour the syrup over the beaters, or you’ll end up with spun sugar.
Continue to beat the mix until it become glossy, thick and cool to the touch, around 5 minutes.
Gradually beat in the softened butter in small chunks until all combined.
Add any other flavouring e.g. vanilla extract, and beat again. (I tinted mine a lavender purple colour)
Place the buttercream in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up to a spread-able consistency, stirring every 5 minutes so as to set evenly.

For the white chocolate ganache top (Optional)
(I replaced this layer with a layer of marzipan)
200g white chocolate
240ml double cream
1 tbsp flavouring of your choice

Melt the chocolate and 3tbsp of the cream in a small saucepan until smooth. Stir in your flavouring of choice.
Beat the rest of the cream until softly whipped. Fold into the melted chocolate and allow to sit and firm up before using.

For the glaze – only make this when you are ready to use it immediately
110g white chocolate
120ml double cream

Melt the chocolate cream together until smooth.
Whisk gently and allow to cool for 10 minutes until started to thicken and use immediately while still warm and shiny.

To assemble the cake
Trim the sides away from the joconde sponges. Cut each sponge into one square and one rectangle (one 10inch square and one 10x5 inch rectangle). You will end up with two large squares and two rectangles that when joined together will make a third 10inch square.
Place one of the cake square on a serving plate and drizzle over a third of the syrup.
Spread on a third of the buttercream and top with the two rectangles, to form another square.
Add another third of the syrup and butter cream and top with the final cake square.
Spoon on the rest of the syrup and spread over the rest of the buttercream.
Chill in the fridge until firm.
Then spread the top layer with the ganache (I used a thin layer of marzipan instead)
Make your glaze and pour over the top of the cake, smoothing it to the edges of the cake and leaving to set in a shiny layer.
Do not touch the glaze once it starts to set or else it will loose its shine.
Store in the fridge until required.
Serves 20

Vanilla Cut Out Cookies

Every once in a while the need for a simple plain cookie is called for and these cookies fit the bill perfectly. They are very crisp with just the right amount of sweetness and a subtle flavour of vanilla.

The dough was great to work with. I thought at first there was too much flour, but a little kneading and it soon became a smooth soft dough. It needs to firm up in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling but I left mine in the fridge overnight and baked them the next morning for extra freshness.

The cookies keep there shape well when baking, meaning they are ideal for cutting into shapes for decorating. I posted these cookies off to my little cousin for his birthday along with a few tubes of coloured icing as I thought he would have fun decorating the cookies himself, so I only have pictures of the undecorated cookies.

Vanilla Cut Out Cookies
Recipe from Food Beam blog
Ingredients
185g butter
225g caster sugar
1½ tsp vanilla extract
350g plain flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Make sure the butter is soft and cream it together with the sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat again.
Sift over the flour and then work the mixture into a dough using a wooden spoon and finally your hands to form a slightly sticky ball of dough.
Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until required.
Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough until around 5mm thick.
Cut out a variety of shapes and place on the baking tray, leaving a 1-2cm gap between each one.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until just turning lightly golden brown.
Allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool.
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Decorate as you wish.
I got 40 cookies of various shapes and sizes.

Liquorice Cupcakes

I like the flavour of liquorice but I find I have to be in the right mood for it. I had some liquorice Pontefract cakes sitting in my kitchen that I had bought when I fancied some but had never finished them all. It got me wondering if there was anything I could bake with them and my mind immediately turned to cupcakes. After a hunt through some cookery books and a browse on the internet I was amazed to find no reference to a cupcake containing liquorice anywhere, although plenty suggest it as decoration. By this point I had become determined to make cupcakes containing liquorice and so decided to see what I could create myself.

I decided to melt the liquorice in order to add it into the cake mix and as it’s quite a thick and sticky substance by nature, I melted it slowly in a pan with some butter. This worked, although the liquorice refused to dissolve into a smooth consistency, but it did turn extremely soft and mushy which meant it still distributed evenly when beaten into the rest of the cake batter.

I was expecting the colour to be an inky black, but it actually turned more of a milk chocolate colour. The batter was also quite….elastic, is the best word for it, and I was worried that it would bake flat and hard but it actually baked up wonderfully tall and light.

The flavour of the cupcakes is quite subtle at first bite, but it builds up a treacley/molasses flavour with a slight tongue tingling sensation I always get when eating liquorice. I wanted the flavour of the liquorice to be the most prominent and so simply drizzled them with a little plain icing to add a touch of sweetness. I was really pleased how the cupcakes turned out and would love to try baking it into a layer cake, maybe paired with raspberry or lemon buttercream for an interesting twist. These are a must try for any liquorice fan.

Liquorice Cupcakes
Ingredients
2 eggs
75g caster sugar
110g butter
110g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
120g soft liquorice
2 tbsp milk
Icing sugar for decoration

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C and line a muffin tin with paper cases.
Chop the liquorice into small pieces and place in a small pan along with the butter.
Melt slowly, allowing the butter to completely melt and the liquorice to go very soft. It will not dissolve completely, but this is ok.
Beat the eggs and sugar together until doubled in volume and pale in colour.
Add the liquorice mixture and beat well until well incorporated.
Sift over the flour and baking powder and beat again.
Add the milk to thin down the mix and spoon into the muffin cases, filling three-quarters full.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool before drizzling with a little icing made by dissolving icing sugar in a little water.
Makes 10

Cherry & White Chocolate Cookies

After a request from someone at work for a Monday Munchers treat involving cherries and white chocolate I came up with these cookies. Not very adventurous I’ll admit, but delicious none the same. They had a crisp outer edge with a bendy/chewy centre which was a nice change from the soft cakey cookies I made them last time.

I based the cookies on a recipe from the King Arthur Flour Company, only I halved the recipe and altered a few of the ingredients. I baked the cookies in two batches and the first batch spread far too much and they ended up joined together like some sort of crazy paving, I think it was because I tinkered with the recipe, but I added more flour and the second batch turned out much better. The recipe below includes the added flour.

I used dried Bing cherries which are un-dyed and quite tart, but this went well with the chunks of sweet white chocolate.

Cherry & White Chocolate Cookies
(Recipe adapted from the King Arthur Flour Company)
Ingredients
115g butter
100g light soft brown sugar
75g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ beaten egg
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
175g plain flour
75g white chocolate
75g dried cherries

Method
Heat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Cream together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla and beaten egg.
Sift over the flour and bicarb and beat until well incorporated.
Chop the chocolate into small chunks and fold into the batter along with the dried cherries.
Place tablespoons of the cookie dough onto the baking tray, leaving a 2inch gap between each one. Slightly flatten the dough into a rough round.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden around the edges.
Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.
Makes 18 cookies

Wholemeal Goats Cheese Scones

I had some very pungent firm blue goats cheese in the fridge that was maturing at a rate of knots and needed using up. I contemplated melting it into sauce for pasta but feared this would be too overpowering and so decided to use it to make cheese scones instead.

I used self raising wholemeal flour as I think the wheat-ier flour coped better with the flavour/strength of the cheese than white flour would have done.

It is important not to overwork a scone mixture or else your scones will turn out sense and flat. They also don’t need much rolling out as the mixture must be left thick to give a taller scone. It is also important not to twist the cutter when cutting out the scones, or else they will bake twisted and unevenly, a sharp tap on top of the cutter will give you a much cleaner finish.

The scones were lovely eaten warm from the oven; the cheese was still soft and melty and they made the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of lunchtime soup. They also tasted good when spread with a little chutney and I bet onion marmalade would be great too – no extra cheese required!

I wouldn’t recommend making these with a soft mild goats cheese, as this would dissolve into the dough and the flavour would be lost, but any strong leftover firm cheese should do it.

Wholemeal Goats Cheese Scones
Recipe adapted from Delia’s Vegetarian Collection by Delia Smith
Ingredients
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
½ tbsp milk
70g firm goats cheese (strong)
175g wholemeal self raising flour
½ tsp mild chili powder
25g butter
1 egg

For the top
20g firm goats cheese
Milk for brushing

Method
Preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Sieve the flour and chili powder in a bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour using the tips of your fingers. Lift the mixture up above the top of the bowl and let it fall back in to aerate it at the same time as working the butter in.
Stop when the butter is evenly distributed and the flour has formed small crumbs.
Beat the egg, yoghurt and milk together in a small bowl and then pour over the flour and crumble in the goats cheese.
Use a knife to start working the liquid into the flour and then switch to your hands to bring the mixture into a soft ball of dough. Do not knead the dough like you would bread.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour and gently roll out the dough until it is 1inch/2.5cm thick.
Cut out rounds using a 6cm cutter, pressing down sharply for a clean cut. Do not twist the cutter or else your scone will rise twisted when baked.
Place the scones onto the baking tray and brush the tops with a little milk and scatter over a little more cheese.
Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes until risen, golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
Transfer the scones to a wire wrack to cool slightly.
Best served warm and eaten within 2 days.
Makes 6 scones.

Waiter There’s Something in My….. Breakfast!

WTSIM is a monthly event hosted alternately by Jeanne of Cook Sister, Andrew of Spittoon Extra and Johanna of The Passionate Cook. This month Johanna chose Breakfast as the theme and my entry is Crisp Cinnamon Granola.

Granola with a generous dollop of yoghurt has to be my favourite thing to have for breakfast. I just love how it’s crispy yet chewy. Fruity, nutty and oaty. Slightly sweet, lightly spiced and wholesome. I love to eat it in my pajamas curled up in bed on a lazy weekend. It must also be served in a mug (much easy to hold in bed) and eaten with a teaspoon to make it last (I hate eating anything using big spoons).

For this batch I used a base of jumbo oats, porridge oats, wheat flakes and …cornflakes. I added a mix of seeds, brazil nuts and hazelnuts along with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and vanilla. After toasting goji berries, dried blueberries and the must have classic of dried banana chips were stirred through to complete my granola.

I ate some whilst still warm form the oven and was intrigued to find that the cornflakes had become a little chewy rather than going crisp. However I think this is actually preferable as it adds another interesting texture and they ended up tasting remarkably like crunchy nut cornflakes after being baked in the syrup coating.

I added quite a bit of cinnamon to the mix, but there is just something about warm toasted nuts and oats and ground cinnamon that I adore. The aroma and flavour is (in my opinion) a match made in heaven.

Crisp Cinnamon Granola Ingredients
100g jumbo rolled oats

50g porridge oats

100g wheat flakes
100g cornflakes

25g linseeds

30g pumpkin seeds

35g brazil nuts

30g hazelnuts

2½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp natural oil

3 tbsp honey or 2tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp hot water

30g dried blueberries

30g goji berries

30g dried banana chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl weigh out the oats, wheat flakes, cornflakes and seeds.

Chop the brazil nuts into quarters and the hazelnuts in half and add to the oats along with the cinnamon.

Thin down the golden syrup in the water, stir in the oil and vanilla and then drizzle it over the oaty mixture.
Mix well, ensuring everything is lightly coated.

Scatter the mix onto the baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes until it’s starting to smell toasted.

Remove from the oven and give everything a good stir to ensure even toasting.

Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes more.

Remove from the oven. Crush the banana chips into large chunks and stir through the warm oaty mixture along with the blueberries and goji berries.
Leave to cool before storing in an airtight container.Eat in bed from a mug using a teaspoon – go on try it!

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