Bakewell Cake

It has been a very social fortnight with not one, but two big parties held at my flat. Though we haven't quite had the 'barbecue summer' we were promised, Mother Nature was kind enough to turn the taps off on the both occasions. The day of our engagement party was a little nerve-wracking. We were expecting around thirty for a barbecue in the garden. It poured on and off all morning and we spent the time setting things out and then racing out to bring them all in again. Fortunately, the afternoon was largely dry and we had a great day.

My cousin's hen party was a week later and we were even blessed with a few rays of sun - quite a bonus!

On both occasions, I'd been busy in the kitchen. The flower-sender did the barbecuing, but I did all the salads and a serious amount of baking. Strawberry cupcakes and chocolate brownies were popular, but my personal favourite was a deeply almondy Bakewell Cake. Like Bakewell tart, only in cake form. I made it for a friend whose birthday happened to fall on the day of our party and she seemed pretty chuffed with it. Of course, I gave the leftover cake to her to take home but I have to confess I was rather sorry to see it go. I think I'll have to bake it again soon.

As with so many of my favourite recipes, this came from BBC Good Food. I made a couple of adjustments though. I much prefer raspberry jam to cherry so filled it with this. I also chose to ice the cake so it looked more like my idea of a proper 'Bakewell tart'. Despite what the picture at the end of this post might lead you to believe, it was wonderfully moist and sticky in an amost marzipanny sort of way.

Bakewell Cake

Based on this recipe from BBC Good Food

Ingredients

200g butter, softened (plus extra for greasing)
200g golden caster sugar
100g ground almonds
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp almond essence
4 large eggs, preferably free-range

1/2 jar good quality raspberry jam
175g icing sugar
approx 5 tsp lemon juice
5 glace cherries

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grease and line the bases of 2 20cm round cake tins.

2. Using an electric mixer if you have one, cream together the butter and sugar until pale. Add the ground almonds and eggs, one by one. Fold in the flour and baking powder. Add almond essence and mix well until you have a smooth batter.

3. Spoon into the two tins (equally) and try to smooth the tops as best as possible.
Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until the cakes are springy on top. DO NOT be tempted to open the oven to check on them until at least 25 minutes has passed!

4. When cooked, cool cakes in their tins for a few minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

5. Once cool, sandwich together with the jam. Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl and mix with the lemon juice until smooth and thick. Spread icing over top of cake - it doesn't matter if it drips down the sides a bit. Decorate with halved glace cherries.

Pork tenderloin with a mustard and herb crust

What a long time without posting! I can only mumble feeble excuses and try to win you back with promises of pork tenderloin, bakewell cake and a great paella.

The past few weeks seem to have been a whirlwind. I had never realised that getting engaged would be such a social activity! So many friends have invited us to dinner, plus we've been busy organising our engagement party. Added to this, we've been dealing with the insurance companies trying to get back the money for the items that were stolen on holiday. So far we've been completely unsuccessful. Much as I could now embark on a long rant about the insurance blighters, I think it is best for all of us that I keep my feelings to myself.

Despite the problems, we have bought a new camera. Not the SLR we're saving up for, but an interim point and shoot that seems to be doing the job reasonably well. It is taking me a while to adjust to the new device so apologies all round if my photos aren't up to scratch over the next few posts! I'll get there in the end.

I rarely cook pork.

Actually, this isn't entirely true. I have something of an unbridled passion for sausages. It verges on the shameful. Fortunately, a cure may be to hand. Following our engagement barbecue at the weekend, we have a grand total of 50 sausages lying in wait in the freezer. I fear I may be sick of sausages come the autumn... Never knowingly under-catered. That's my motto...

But pork in its pure, untouched form? I rarely cook it. Yet I always thoroughly enjoy it. I'm training myself to experiment more with this deeply satisfying meat, especially as it is reasonably good value.

This is a Delia recipe. I followed it to the letter and I have to say it was really rather good. Pork fillets rolled in a mustardy, herb crust and served with an onion and mustard sauce. It looked impressive for a dinner party but was actually a cinch to make after work. Easy as pie. I served it with new potatoes and greens - we all agreed it was very tasty.

Roast Tenderloin of Pork with Mustard and Creme Fraiche Sauce
From Delia Smith's 'Pork' recipe book
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 good sized pork fillets
1 large egg
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, peeled
large handful curly parsley
4 heaped tbsp white breadcrumbs

For sauce:
1 dessertspoon each of wholegrain and Dijon mustards
1 tbsp creme fraiche
knob of butter
1 onion, finely chopped
11 fl oz dry white wine

1. Pre-heat oven to 190C. Trim the fillets of as much fat and sinew as you can.

2. Beat egg together with the mustards and pour into an oblong dish, long enough to hold the pork fillets.

3. Chop the garlic and parsley together finely. Add breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and then spread out onto another long dish.

4. Roll the pork fillets in the eggy mixture first until they are entirely coated. Then roll them in the herby crumbs before setting each one onto a greased baking tray.

5. Roast the fillets in the oven for 30 minutes (or until cooked through). Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes.

6. Meanwhile make the sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook the chopped onion for around 10 minutes until soft and golden brown. Add the white wine and bubble for about 10 minutes to reduce slightly.

7. Add the creme fraiche and mustards and simmer very gently for a further 5-10 minutes.

8. To serve, carve the pork into thick slices and pour over the sauce.

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Strawberry and marzipan tartlets

Am back from holidaying in Tuscany and Lake Annecy in France. We had a wonderful time though it sounds like the weather was much better here than in chilly, windy and frankly rather damp Tuscany! I'd love to be showing you photos of the fantastic scenery and, more importantly, the superb food we enjoyed but alas, we fell prey to some rather greedy burglars who broke into our apartment one night and stole (amongst other things) both our cameras from our bedroom whilst we slept!

Despite this somewhat traumatic incident, we had a cracking couple of weeks. Much of it was spent either in the cucina or at the table, feasting on the best of Italian produce and indulging in some superb French restaurants. I'm stuffed!

Sadly, the incident means that it may be a short while before I'm back up and posting regularly. We've the insurance to sort out and then the purchase of a new camera. We hope to get a point-and-shoot to tide us over before hopefully investing in a proper grown-up SLR. I'd be interested in any recommendations!


In the meantime, here is a simple yet tasty summer tart that I made before we left. The night, in fact, that the flower-sender proposed.

It hardly warrants a full recipe as it is so simple. Basically, all you do, is buy some ready-made puff pastry. Roll it out and cut into little squares or rectangles. One per person. Using a knife, lightly score a line around half an inch in from the edge all the way around. Prick the pastry lightly with a fork.

Roll out some marzipan and lay a slice over the centre of each tart. Arrange sliced strawberries on top, then brush the lot with melted butter. Sprinkle with caster sugar and then bake at 200C for around 25 minutes.

Lovely served with ice cream, or just regular cream.

Nigella's gleaming maple cheesecake

Are you paying attention?

I have something important to announce. I always have your best interests at heart and, in the name of the greater good I simply had to try out this cheesecake recipe. Now, here is the important part. Are you listening? I have just one thing to say and it is of vital importance...

MAKE THIS CHEESECAKE. NOW.

It will do you good, I promise... Ok, so perhaps it won't actually physically do you much good, but I'm fairly sure that it will release endorphins or some other equally mood-enhancing energies.

I have made a Nigella cheesecake before and, at the time, waxed lyrical about its perfect silky texture. I'm certain that cooking a cheesecake in a waterbath is the only way to achieve such sensuous perfection and I vow never to go back. This one is made very much the same way - you simply need to make sure that the tin is completely watertight by wrapping it in several layers of foil. It really is worth it.

I've always loved the flavour of maple syrup since first discovering it when a Canadian friend of the family came to stay when I was a child and bought gallons of the stuff as a present. In this cheesecake, the maple effect is two-fold. First there is a gentle maple flavour within the cheesecake itself and then, the entire thing is liberally doused with the stuff. This gives the finished pud a glorious shiny sheen and is decadent sweet contrast to the bite of the filling.

Ideally, you should make this the night before you want to eat it (and up to two days ahead if you want to get ahead!). Importantly, the cream cheese really must be room temperature if you are to achieve that silky Nirvana for which you've been searching.

I served this at a dinner party I held and even managed to win over a couple of cheesecake-haters. Give it a try, I'm sure you'll be thrilled with the results...

Gleaming Maple Cheesecake
from 'Nigella's Christmas'
Serves 8

Ingredients

For the base:
8 digestive biscuits
75g pecan halves
75g soft butter

For the filling:
3 x 200g packets of cream cheese, at room temperature (this is VITAL)
50g sugar
2 tsp cornflour
125g maple syrup, plus more for drizzling
4 eggs
1/2 tsp cider vinegar or lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 170C.

2. Blitz biscuits in food processor, add the pecans and do the same until you have crumbs. Add the butter and whizz until it all comes together. Press into the bottom of a 20cm springform tin and pop in the fridge to chill.

3. Clean food processor. Then add cream cheese, sugar, maple syrup, cornflour. Whizz together and with the motor running, add the eggs one at a time. Add vinegar/lemon juice and mix until you have a smooth batter.

4. Take tin out of fridge and line the outside of the tin with a double layer of extra strength foil - bring it right round under the base and up the sides. If you are worried, you could wrap a layer of ovenproof cling film before doing the foil.

5. Pour in the filling mixture and pop in a roasting tin. Boil the kettle and fill the tin until the water comes half-way up the side of the tin. Bake in the oven for around 1 1/4 hours, until the cheesecake is set on top but still wobbles a little in the middle.

6. Take roasting tin out of the oven and carefully lift out the cheesecake. Peel away the foil layers and cool on a wire rack. Once cool, chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or preferably over night.

7. Let it come to room temperature before releasing from tin when ready to serve. Pop on a serving platter and pour maple syrup all over the top!

I am away on holiday for the next 10 days - we're off to Tuscany! Normal service will resume on my return...

A lovely asparagus and quails egg salad

I'm always on the look out for simple starter ideas. When I have guests it is always here that I fall down. Usually I don't bother and just make some nice nibbles and canapés, or I'll whip up some smoked mackerel or chicken liver paté and invite everyone to dig in. But occasionally, a proper starter is called for. Here is where I fall down. I usually want something that can be made in advance, or that is very simple to prepare so that I can focus on the other parts of the meal.

This little salad fitted the bill perfectly - simple but extremely tasty and just the thing to whet the appetite without being too copious. I found the basic recipe here on the Waitrose recipe site which I have only recently discovered.

I cooked the quails eggs and asparagus a little in advance and just assembled at the last minute. It was pretty and summery and I'll be making it again.

Asparagus and quails egg salad
Serves 8


5 sticks asparagus per person (normal size, not asparagus tips)
16 quails eggs
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large bag mixed salad leaves (rocket or baby leaves are good)
1 large bag watercress

1. Snap the asparagus stems at the end to get rid of woody part and then plunge into a pan of boiling water. Cook for around 4 minutes, until just tender. Drain and then lay stalks out on plates to cool.

2. Place quails eggs in a pan of cold water. Bring to boil, remove from heat and leave to stand for 30 seconds before removing the eggs and peeling them under cold running water.

3. Whisk together the mustard, garlic, vinegar and oil with a good pinch of salt and some black pepper. Put salad leaves and watercress in a large bowl and pour over half the dressing. Toss the leaves to coat and then divide between eight plates.

4. Toss the asparagus in the remaining dressing and pop 5 bits on top of each pile of leaves. Cut quails eggs in half and arrange four halves on each plate. Serve and enjoy!

No ordinary lasagna

This is no ordinary lasagna.

What is different about it, you may well ask. It looks fairly normal. A rich, tomatoey meat sauce on the bottom, a layer of bechamel and then some egg lasagne. Repeat and top with a decent sprinkling of Parmesan. Pop in the oven for a good half an hour and serve with a fresh salad and some garlic bread.

I've been fooling you. There is nothing extraordinary about the make-up of this lasagna. It was good. But nothing particularly unusual. What is special about this lasagna was that it was while I was creating it, the flower-sender asked me to marry him.

Some girls dream of elaborate, romantic proposals involving paths of rose petals, beautiful views or expensive meals. Not me. I could think of nothing more perfect than being asked in my favourite place: my kitchen!

Needless to say, after asking 'are you serious?', I did say 'yes'.

Chicken, sweet potato and coconut curry

I have a huge backlog of recipes to post. Just because I've been a little quiet of late doesn't mean that I haven't been busy in the kitchen! There is a delicious monkfish paella, a chocolate and pear pudding, a sublime maple cheesecake, a meaningful lasagne, a simple asparagus starter and a strawberry tart.

It has gone chilly again and last night I had a couple of friends round for supper and decided to make this easy curry. It is ideal for a quick but impressive meal post-work, when time is of the essence. On a day with a few more free hours, I'd prefer to make my own paste and grind my own spices, but here time was of the essence. This curry is full of good things but you could add all kinds of other vegetables. Some broccoli might be nice, or even some green beans.

This curry is loosely based on this one from BBC Good Food, but I've made a fair few changes. This is quite mild so next time I might use a hotter curry paste, or even add a little chopped chilli to give it a touch more fire!

Chicken, sweet potato and coconut curry with cashew rice
Serves 6

Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts (or six smaller ones), cut into bite-sized chunks
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 onions, sliced
2-4 heaped tablespoons medium curry paste (according to taste)
8 tbsp split red lentils
600 ml chicken stock
2 400ml cans coconut milk (I used the low-fat kind which was fine)
2 large bags fresh spinach
1 can chickpeas
2 mugfuls of frozen peas
Large handful fresh coriander
2 handfuls cashew nuts
basmati rice

1. Heat sunflower or vegetable oil in a large pan or wok and then add the curry paste. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the onions and fry for a couple more minutes.

2. Add chicken, sweet potatoes and lentils to the pan and give a good stir to coat with the curry paste. Once everything is well coated and the chicken has started to brown, pour over the stock and coconut milk.

3. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes, until the potato is soft (but still holding its shape) and the chicken is cooked through.

4. Whilst the curry is simmering, prepare the rice according to the packet instructions or your preferred method. In a dry pan, roast the cashew nuts. Take care not to burn them. When nicely toasted, turn them onto a chopping board and roughly chop.

5. When the curry is cooked, add the spinach and chickpeas and give everything a good stir. Cook for another minute or so, until the spinach has softened into the curry.

6. To serve, mix the cashew nuts and half the chopped coriander through the rice. Sprinkle the rest of the coriander on top of the curry and serve with the rice and possibly some naan breads.