Choux pastry

Choux pastry is something that I always thought was super difficult and for the first few times I made it, I could never get if right when using it for eclairs or profiteroles.

My pastry would either sink every time and I would end up with flattened choux pancakes or they would rise only the tiniest bit and end up rock hard.

But those that know me will tell you I'm not a quitter so as I wasnt having luck with just reading recipes from books, I turned to YouTube to watch the process and I've succeeded after watching a few of the basic  "do not  break rules" I think it's safe to say I've cracked the basic  choux pastry and can now share it on here with you.

 The "do not break rules" are listed at the bottom of the page after the recipe

For this batch of choux I made up some creme diplomat filled profiteroles topped with milk chocolate ganache and I got almost 30 profiteroles, or you can use this same recipe for my classic eclairs.

To make 25-30 profiteroles you will need :

225ml water
150g plain flour
115g unsalted butter at room temp and cut into cubes
4 medium eggs at room temp
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• Start by preheating your oven to 180c fan. Line 2 large baking sheets with greaseproof paper and set aside.
Place the butter, salt, sugar and water in a pan. On a low heat melt the butter, stirring frequently, once it has melted turn up the heat very slightly.

• As soon as the water comes to boiling point  ( don't actually let it boil) take the pan off the heat, add in all the flour and stir together vigorously with a wooden spoon. It will look all clumpy and may not look like it will combine but keep going and you'll end up with a sticky and wet dough.

•  Place the pan back on to a low heat, and continue stirring until the wet dough starts to clump together and comes away from the sides of the pan and is all glossy and smooth

• Take the pan off the heat and transfer to another bowl, and leave to cool for a few minutes. Whilst the dough is cooling, crack the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk together well

• When the dough has slightly cooled, take the eggs and beat them into the dough a little at a time. Each time you add a little of the egg ensure it's all incorporated and the dough turns to a smooth batter.

• To check that the batter is the right consistency, hold up your wooden spoon with a little of the batter, if it's really stiff and clumpy then you need to continue adding the egg. Once the batter droops and forms a "V" shape and doesn't fall off the spoon and holds its shape that is the perfect consistency.

• Mix together one final time for a minute to ensure you have a smooth glossy batter

• Transfer the batter into a piping bag and pipe round blobs onto the trays. I managed to get 28 blobs. Dampen the tip of you finger with a little water and gently press down on any bits of the batter that are sticking up on the top

• Bake the profiteroles for 20 minutes at 180c, then turn down the heat to 160 and bake for a further 5  minutes till crisp and golden.

• Remove from the oven and leave them to cool completely before filling them with your choice of fillings. You can also freeze them if you wish to have them made up ahead of time, just pop them in the oven to crisp back up and fill once they've cooled

Below are my " do not break rules " and honestly as long as you follow them, you'll ace choux pastry. 


1  As with all baking ensure that your eggs and butter are at room temperature as this just helps ensure they mix easily and efficiently 

2 cutting the butter into cubes means that the butter should all melt at the same speed so that when  the water reaches boiling point you shouldn't have odd clumps of butter floating around

3 When waiting for the water to reach boiling point, you don't want to let it boil as this means the water will begin to evaporate which means less steam once choux is in the oven and it's the steam that helps them puff up and rise 

4 Whisking the eggs beforehand means you can control how little or much egg you add in as well the egg whites and yolk being combined fully as I've found that just adding  whole eggs straight in means clumps of egg in the batter and also it can result in over mixing the batter which will result in tough choux pastry

5 However tempted you are, do not open your oven door as all the heat and steam will escape and your lovely choux will collapse

Yorkshire Parkin

Parkin is a cake traditionally associated with Yorkshire & is especially  eaten on bonfire night & through the winter.

It is a recipe that is very quick to make and the real patience comes after baking as it's one that should be left for anything up to 5 days before consuming it as the flavours develop and deepen resulting in a lovely sticky and fiery cake full of flavour.

For 14-16 peices you will need :

200g butter
1 large egg
200g golden syrup
85g treacle
85g light soft brown sugar
100g medium oatmeal
200g self raising flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp all spice
4 stems of ginger ( with syrup reserved)

• Start by melting the butter, sugar and both syrup & treacle in a pan on a low heat. You don't need to let it simmer or reach boiling point. As soon as it's all melted, remove from the heat and set aside

• In a bowl combine the flour, spices And oatmeal and stir together till it's all incorporated.

• Chop up the stem ginger as roughly or as finely as you like and stir into the flour

• Whisk the egg and add into the cooled melted butter mixture. Add all of this into the bowl with all the dry ingredients and stir till all evenly combined.

• Pour the mixture into a 22cm square greased & lined tin.

• Bake at 140c fan for 45-50 minutes until the cake feels firm and slightly comes away from the edges of the tin.

• Leave to slightly cool, and whilst in the tin brush the top of the cake with the ginger syrup from the jar of stem ginger

• Once completely cool, cover the whole cake with greaseproof paper and place in an airtight container for a minimum of 3 days ( if you can resist ) and serve on it's own or as my kids have it, with hot custard

Gingerbread men

Ginger bread men are something I have never (yes never.. you read that right) ever made in my entire time since discovering a love of baking, but I thought an attempt was well overdue and now I have attempted them I know they will be appearing in my kitchen quite possibly all year round.


I decorated mine simply with an outline of royal icing and added a simple smile, and three dots for buttons. You can go as detailed as you wish, let the kids go all out with colours or go classic and keep them totally plain.

To make about 6-9 gingerbread men you will need:

75g soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp treacle
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp  ground ginger
1/4 tsp all spice
95g butter
1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
235g plain flour

• Place the butter, both syrups, sugar, soda bicarb and water into a saucepan and melt on a low heat, stirring together to ensure the mixture doesn't stick or start to burn. Once melted remove from the heat and leave to cool 
• In a bowl, add the flour and all the spices and stir together. Slowly add the cooled syrup mixture and stir together with a wooden spoon. Once all the syrup mixture has been added, use your hands to bring the dough together and ensure there are no bits of flour that haven't been mixed in properly
• Leave the dough to completely cool, trying to roll it out and handle it will be difficult whilst it is warm and it will just tear. I left mine for about 25- 30 minutes, alternatively you can place the the dough in the fridge to cool it quicker, for about 15 minutes. Ensure you wrap it in cling film if you're placing it in the fridge.
• Once the dough is cool enough to handle, flour your work top and rolling pin as this is a dough that will easily stick and you want to try and handle it as less as possible so that you're not over working the dough.
• Roll your dough out to 3-4mm thick if you want biscuits that are thin and snappy or for softer and thicker gingerbread roll out to 4-6mm thick. Use gingerbread cookie cutters to cut out your gingerbread men, or whatever shapes you fancy.
• Bake them on a greaseproof lined tray, in a preheated oven at 160c (fan) for 10-12 minutes or until the edges just slightly colour.
• Leave to slightly cool once removed from the oven, then place onto a wire rack to completely cool before decorating as desired

Mint chocolate brownies

Brownies are something that I dont actually make that often, I'm not really sure why in all honesty as they are actually so easy and you can make up all sorts of flavours from the classic sticky chocolate to out of the box rocky road brownies.

I decided to go with mint chocolate brownies this time around as we are in December which for fellow foodies and bakers means Christmas preps, and I think mint is a classic flavour for this time of year.


For my mint chocolate brownies you will need :

250g unsalted butter
250g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
4 large free range eggs
250g caster sugar
2 heaped tablespoons self raising flour
2 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder
1 bag aero mint bubbles
1 box mint matchmakers

• Start by preheating your oven to 160c (fan), grease and line a 20cm tin.
• Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a simmering pan of water. Once melted, set aside to slightly cool.
• Whilst the melted chocolate is cooling, whisk together the eggs and caster sugar in a freestanding mixer or an electric whisk. The eggs should be pale and fluffy and almost double their volume.
• Stir in the cooled melted chocolate, and stir through gently to combine. Sieve over the cocoa powder and self raising flour and carefully stir together until all the flour is mixed in and their are no lumps.
• Pour the mixture into the lined tin and spread out evenly. Take the mint aero bubbles and gently press them into the batter - I used about half the packet. Then take the matchmakers, roughly snap them up and scatter all over the top of the brownie batter- I used almost the whole box
• Bake the brownies in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until crisp on the top and just slightly soft.
• Leave to cool slightly before cutting. Serve warm with Ice cream or cooled completely on their own.

Pan fried Cajun salmon

This is quite simply a quick and easy but unbelievably delicious meal that is perfect for lunch or even dinner.

I made this to serve 4, I bought a large fillet with the skin on and cut it into 4 chunks but you can buy it pre cut into pieces if you prefer. I did a live video of this as when I made it the first time round quite a few friends were asking for a live tutorial on facebook, and have only just got round to posting the recipe a year later after a friend requesting it again. 

You may notice that apart from the portions of salmon per person I have not noted down amounts of the seasoning as at the time of making the recipe I didn't measure anything out. I just ensured the pieces were all coated generously for maximum flavour

so for a serving of 4 portions of Cajun salmon you will need:

4 pieces of salmon with the skin on

Cajun seasoning

salt

pepper

2-3 garlic cloves

a small bunch of fresh thyme

butter

olive oil  

• Start by cutting 3 slits along each piece of fish. Place the pieces onto a large flat plate or even a chopping board. Sprinkle the pieces with a generous amount of the Cajun seasoning and a good pinch of salt. Rub the seasoning all over the skin and flesh side ensuring every piece is well covered
• Into a non stick frying pan, add a little olive oil- just enough to cover the base. Let the oil heat up till it's quite hot, warm oil will result in soggy and oily skin which is the last thing you want with this dish as the crispy skin with the seasoning is what makes the salmon so delicious.
• When the oil is nice and hot, add in the garlic cloves, fresh thyme and knb of butter and stir through the oil. 
• Place 2 pieces into the pan skin down and gently using a fish slice, press the pieces down so they come directly into contact with the pan and are nice and flat. Let them cook skin down for about 5- 8 minutes or until the skin is crisp and golden
• Whist the first 2 pieces are cooking, switch your oven on to it's lowest setting. This is so as your first 2 cook you can transfer them to the oven so they stay warm whilst the final 2 pieces cook. You dont want or need to be baking or further cooking the salmon in the oven
• Once the skin has crisped up on the first 2 pieces and flip them over flesh side down onto the pan. Cook the flesh of the fish on a slightly lower heat as the high heat will cause the flesh to overcook and burn quite quickly. I found the flesh took just a little over 5 minutes. 
• Once the first 2 pieces have cooked, transfer them to the oven so they stay warm and cook the other pieces in the same way. Serve with baby new potatoes and steam veg or however else you wish - we had ours with tender stem broccoli an asparagus cooked in my griddle pan all charred and crispy

Vegetable Lasagne

In a bid to to up the amount of vegetables we eat as a family, a few weeks ago I thought I would try out something new for our dinners as a family - to have a vegetable based meal for our dinner at least 3 times a week. It hasn't been easy let me tell you but we are managing to stick to it.

One dish that I have made that even the kids devoured was vegetable lasagne. As a family we have always stuck to the classical meat lasagne and as of yet I haven't even attempted a moussaka due to both my kids not being so keen on aubergines but after them loving this, moussaka is on the to do list.


To make my vegetable lasagne for a family of 4 you will need:

1 red onion
2 aubergines
2 bell peppers (I used 1 red and 1 yellow)
4 cloves of garlic cloves crushed or 1 tbsp garlic paste
2 courgettes
500g chopped mushrooms
small bunch of basil
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
a generous handful of cheddar cheese
40g Italian hard cheese
2 tsp sugar
7-8 lasagne sheets (I used fresh sheets for speed and ease of cutting them to fit my dish)
1 batch of my cheese sauce 

• Start by preparing your vegetables. Wash as required and chop the courgette, aubergine into small chunks. Slice the bell peppers and the red onion.
• Heat a large heavy based pan with a drizzle of olive oil and add in the garlic cloves/paste. Cook the garlic till just coloured and softened, and add in all your vegetables with a large pinch of salt.
• Cook the vegetables on a medium heat, stirring intermittently until they start to brown and slightly caramelise
• Whilst the vegetables are cooking, make up a batch of my cheese sauce. You can find the recipe here
• Once the vegetables have cooked, add the tomato paste, sugar, chopped tomatoes and about 180ml-200ml of water. Simmer the vegetables on a medium heat until you have a slightly thickened but not dry mixture. Chop up half of the bunch of basil, add to the vegetables  and stir through.
• Now to layer up the lasagne. Start with a layer of the vegetables at the bottom of an oven proof dish. Pour a little of the cheese sauce to just cover the vegetables. Cover this layer with the lasagne sheets- each of my layers took 3 fresh sheets.
• Repeat this process until the last layer is lasagne sheets. Pour the cheese sauce over the top, ensuring the whole top layer is covered. Sprinkle the top with the cheddar cheese and Italian hard cheese and bake in a preheated oven 200c (fan) for 35-40 minutes or until the cheese layer has melted and is golden brown 
• Just before serving, chop up the remaining basil and scatter over the top of the lasagne and serve.

 

Sticky ginger cake

When it's cold and dark outside and we are well and truly into the swing of winter I love nothing more in the evenings than curling on the sofa with a blanket, a good book & a wedge of cake to make me all warm and fuzzy inside

My sticky ginger cake is perfect for this time of year as it's definitely sticky, moist and with the addition of both stem & ground ginger it's packed full of flavour & sure to warm you up from the inside .

To make an 8 inch round you will need :

8oz self raising flour
8 oz soft dark brown sugar
3 tbsp golden syrup
4 medium eggs
8oz butter
4 -6 peices stem ginger chopped up
2 tsp ground ginger 
Stem ginger syrup ( from the jar that the stem ginger is in )

• Start by melting the sugar, butter, golden syrup and treacle in a pan on a low heat. You don't want to simmer or boil it at all. As soon as everything has melted take it off the heat and set aside to cool.

•Grease and line a loose bottom 8 inch round tin, and set aside. Separate the syrup from the jar of stem ginger and reserve for later.

•Preheat your oven to 160c, ( fan )Chop up the stem ginger and add into a bowl with the flour, eggs, ground ginger and all spice

• Add in the cooled butter mixture and whisk everything together for a minute or two until the mixture is light and fluffy & everything has combined evenly.

• Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in for 40-45 minutes. To check the cake is cooked use a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake to check- it should come our clean. Another way of ensuring it's cooked is the cake edges coming slightly away from the tin.

•Leave the cake to slightly cool, leaving it in the tin. When the cake is just warm to to the touch, carefully poke holes over the top of the cake and pour over the reserved ginger syrup.

• Let the cake cool completely and remove from the tin. If you can ( I couldn't) leave the cake in an airtight container over night or a whole day if you can as this will help the flavours develop further and result in a richer & stickier cake .. Serve with hot custard or just on it's own.. Either way it is scrumptious

Chilli & cumin plait loaf

I think it's safe for me to say now that bread and I are friends and I'm finally getting a bit more confident in experimenting with flavours and ingredients. After making my simple bloomer loaf   I thought I'd be a bit brave and experiment with some Asian flavours added into it and try a plaited version.

With my first attempt I used just white bread flour but thought it could with a bit more depth so i switched half of the white flour for wholemeal. The wholemeal definitely improved the flavour but i think it also along with the addition of the cheese slowed down the proving time - maybe any of you that are more experienced in bread making could shed light on this.

After a couple of attempts to get the amount right with the spices, I finally got a version i was happy with and it went really well with some roasted red pepper soup, and it tasted even better the next day with just a little hummus as a snack

So here is my recipe for my chilli and cumin 3 strand plaited loaf:

250g white bread flour
250g wholemeal bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried yeast
3 tbsp olive oil
11/2 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tsp cumin seeds
A good handful of extra mature cheddar cheese
2 tsp black onion seeds
315-320 ml cold water

• Start by adding the flour to a bowl, add the yeast to one side, and the salt opposite to the yeast - this stops them from interacting and activating the yeast before the dough is formed. Add the chilli flakes, grated cheese and the cumin seeds into the bowl
• Pour the oil into the middle of the flour. Slowly add in the water and mix all the ingredients together using your hands - you may not need all the water.
• Keep adding the water until you get a soft and slightly sticky - but not wet dough.
• Lightly oil your work surface - i used 2 tablespoons. Turn out the dough and use both hands to knead the dough till it's smooth. It may take a little longer than the dough for the simple bloomer due to the cheese and cumin seeds.
• Place the dough back into a clean bowl, and cover with lightly oiled cling film, (this helps the dough to stop sticking to the cling film if it touches)
  and leave it to rise till doubled in size - it took almost 2 hours which was possibly due to my kitchen being quite cold at the time and the extra ingredients adding a bit more weight to the dough
• Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the dough back by gently punching the dough to knock the air out.
• Lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough again for a couple of minutes, then divide into 3 equal pieces
• Roll each piece into a sausage shape about 30cm long. Line the 3 together, onto a grease proof lined baking tray, each with about a finger space gap. Gently bring the top of all 3 together and press them together so that they all stick together
• To make the plait, take the right strand and diagonally place it over the middle strand. Then take the left strand and again diagonally place over the middle strand. Repeat with the right strand and again with the left and keep on doing so until you reach the bottom of the strands. Pinch the 3 strands together at the bottom and tuck the end of the plait underneath.
• Brush the top of the plait with a little water and sprinkle the black onion seeds all over the loaf. Leave the loaf to prove again till doubled in size.
• Preheat your oven to 200c, and bake for 25 minutes then lower the temperature to 180c and bake for a final 15 minutes. Once cooked it sound hollow when you tap the base, leave to cool on a wire rack and serve with soup or as desired.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

My ''When you've always been a crumble kinda girl'' Apple pie

I have always been an apple crumble kinda girl, not sure why, but it's probably because I learned to bake it at school and loved it so much I never even thought of trying alternate versions.. Until now. Whilst trying to muster up a bit more motivation and to push myself out of my comfort zone of cakes and cupcakes, I decided to trawl Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration. 

Apple pie was one of the desserts that was popping up consistently, so it seems to be the dessert to indulge in as we head into the cold crisp winter evenings. 
So Apple pie it was .. and oh my I think I have been converted and may just be on team pie as well as team crumble... I dont think I could ever choose one over the other now.. It really was lip licking delicious. I tweaked mine from a combination of a few different recipes and the recipe below is what i ended up with

So to make my My ''When you've always been a crumble kinda girl'' Apple pie to serve 6-8 people you will need:

For the Filling

1 kg apples (mixture of cooking and eating apples)

3 tbsp lemon juice

55g Butter

100g Soft Light Brown Sugar

2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp cornflour
4 tbsp water

For the Shortcrust Pastry

340g Plain Flour

Pinch of Salt
2 tbsp Caster Sugar

240g Butter, cubed and cold

2-3 tbsp cold water

20g Demerara Sugar
beaten egg to seal & glaze 

• Peel and core the apples. Roughly chop into 1cm chunks. Stir in the lemon juice - this will help reduce them discolour

• Heat the butter and brown sugar over a medium heat. Once melted, add in the apples. Mix together the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water and add to the apples, along with the cinnamon. Stir and cook over a medium heat until the apples are soft but not mushy. add Taste and add more cinnamon or sugar, if you feel it is needed. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

• Into a food processor, place the plain flour, salt, caster sugar and cold butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add in the water and give it another quick blitz. Lightly flour your work surface and bring the dough together using your hands. Do not knead it as this will result in a tough dough and not the crumbly texture needed. Wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes to half an hour.

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan) Take a 20cm oven proof dish*. Cut the dough into half, roll out one half on a floured surface to roughly half / 1 inch  thick. Line your dish making sure the pastry overlaps the edges.

•  Add the apples, and level them ensuring they evenly fill the tin. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg. Roll the second piece of pastry, and place it top of the apples making sure it again overlaps the edges of your dish. Trim the excess with knife and seal the edges down by crimping with a fork.

• Brush the egg wash all over the pie lid and edges. with the beaten egg. If you're feeling creative,use the left over pastry to cut out designs... I did an apple with leaves going all around the edge. Brush your decorations with eggwash. Sprinkle the top with a generous amount of  demerara sugar. Make 3-4 small cuts in the top of your pie- this will help in releasing steam and stop the pie form cracking/ bursting as it is cooking . Bake for for 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve as you wish 

* I used my 20cm loose bottom cake tin. I lined the bottom with a sheet on greaseproof paper so to make it easier to lift the cake off the base once it had cooled.

fruit scones

Scones are probably one of the first things I ever learned to bake and even now i love the simplicity of them and how they still taste delicious everytime.

The recipe i use now has slightly changed from what i used growing up, but definitely this recipe gives me the best tasting and textured scones to date.

These are the classic sultana scones, but you can swap them for glace cherries, rasins or chocolate chips or even leave them plain if you prefer

To make 12-15 scones you will need 

250g strong bread flour
250g plain flour
5 level tsp baking powder
80g unsalted butter
80g caster sugar
250ml milk
2 medium eggs
100g sultanas/choc chips/glace cherries 

• Preheat your oven to 200c (fan) and line 2 baking trays with grease proof paper
• Place your flour, butter, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and rub the mixture together with your fingers till you get a breadcrumb like consistency. Add in your chosen fillings at this point, mix them through
• Add in eggs and half the milk and mix together to combine everything. Add the rest of the milk a little at a time combining the mixture until you get a soft (but not wet) dough. You may not need all the milk
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes till you have a smooth dough.
• Roll out your dough to about 2 and a half cm thick and use a 5and a half cm cookie cutter to cut out rounds. Re roll any remaining dough and cut out more rounds.
• Brush the tops with beaten egg and leave to rest for about 5 minutes.
• Bake in the  oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and they have risen. 
• Serve toasted with butter or with jam and cream

 
 

sun dried tomato soda bread

Soda bread is a fab bread to start off baking with if you're not confident in bread but want to make a start and build on your skills. It's also great as its so simple to put together, a variety of fillings would compliment it. This bread doesn't require any kneading whatsoever, and you don't have to let it prove at all, it literally takes less than an hour in total.



for my sun dried tomato soda bread you will need:

500g bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda bicarbonate
400ml buttermilk*
3-4 tsp dried italian herbs
4-5 tbsp parmesan/ italian hard cheese
6-8 sundried tomatoes chopped  

• Preheat your oven to 180c, (fan)If you're making your own buttermilk, start by making that first and leave to aside.
• Add all the other ingredients to a bowl, stir together just so that the tomatoes distribute evenly
• Slowly add in the buttermilk using a wooden spoon till everything is just combined
• turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape the dough into a round. Place onto a grease proof lined baking tray. Cut a deep cross in the middle of the round
• Bake for 40 minutes until doubled in size and golden. It should sound hollow when tapped from the bottom.
• Eat/serve as desired.

*I made my own by adding 3 tsp of lemon juice straight into the milk - leave the milk to sit for 10 minutes once you've added the juice for the milk to become buttermilk

My go to cheese sauce

Quite simply this is my go to cheese sauce .. perfect for using in lasagne, my alternate linguine carbonara or any dish that requires a cheese sauce

You will need:

3 level tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp butter
50 grated cheddar cheese 

100g red Leicester cheese 
2 dairylea cheese slices
1 tsp ground black pepper
1tsp onion salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 litre whole milk

• In a medium sized pan, melt the butter on a low heat. Add in the flour & stir till combined and you have a smooth, slightly thick  paste.

• Cook the flour for 2-3 minutes then pour in the milk, and turn up the heat to medium.

• Whisk the milk until the flour has combined and there are no lumps. Leave the heat on meduim and add all the rest of the ingredients.Continue to whisk until all the ingredients have combined.

• Leave to simmer for a few minutes till you end up with a semi thick sauce, check the seasoning of onion salt & pepper & adjust if need be. Leave to cool and it will thicken up slightly more & if need be add a little more milk and whisk once again to thin as you need just before using

Alternate carbonara

Carbonara is always one of those dishes that I've wanted to try but quite obviously being Muslim the ham is a no no, so I decided to make up a dish as similar as possible that I could to it.

I decided to replace the bacon for halal Turkey bacon, and used my go to cheese sauce.

For my carbonara to serve 4-6 people you will need

450g linguine/spaghetti
8-10 rashers turkey bacon sliced
2 tsp garlic granules / 1 clove crushed garlic
A double batch of my go to cheese sauce

• To start, boil the linguine as per packet instructions. Drain, but save a little of the pasta water as this will help the pasta stay silky and al dente, rather than dry and rubbery when all the water has been drained. Set aside

• In a frying pan, fry off the rashers & garlic in a tbsp of oil. When using bacon no oil is needed as the fat helps crisp and cook the rashers, whereas with the smoked rashers they are cooked but need a little help to crisp up, stir into the linguine.

• Pour the cheese sauce over the linguine ensuring all the strands are coated well. Serve with garlic  bread, and garnish with vegetarian parmesan if desired

My ' kinda but not really ' chicken parmgianno with cous cous

Have you ever wanted to cook a certain dish but you don't have every single component of the dish but you still go ahead with it anyway ?

That's exactly what happened with this recipe, I was really craving chicken parmgianno but didn't have all the ingredients so made do with what I had and the recipe below was the end result.

I hope you'll not only give it a go but enjoy 'my not really chicken parmgianno' 

To serve 4 people you will need

2 large mugs full of cous cous
3 chicken breasts
1 red bullet chilli
200g breadcrumbs
40g peri peri seasoning
2-3 tbsp vegetarian parmesan
1 large whisked egg
Cherry tomatoes
2 medium onions
1 tbsp Garlic paste/granules/3 crushed clovez
700g pasta sauce
2 handfuls spinach leaves
50g mozzarella

• Start with the cous cous  measure  out 1 large mug full of plain cous cous into a bowl. The good pinch of salt and pepper and 1 red bullet chilli deseeded and finely chopped. Add in 2 ( of the same mug ) mug full of fresh boiled hot water and then cover with cling film and leave to soak.

• For the chicken .. 3 chicken breasts butterfly cut then cut in half so you ended up with 6 pieces.
In a large flat plate mix the breadcrumbs with the powdered peri peri seasoning, and  vegetarian parmesan

• Dip the chicken in whisked egg then coat in the breadcrumb mix. Shallow fry the chicken peices till golden brown & cooked completely. Leave aside to cool.

• In a heavy based pan saute 2 medium (chopped ) onions  along with a tbsp of garlic paste/granules/3-4 crushed cloves, and half a tsp salt till golden brown.

• Add a good handful of cherry tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are just soft. Pour in about 700g of your choice of pasta sauce - I used dolmio basil & tomato.

• Simmer till slightly thickened then add in a few good handful of spinach leaves. Let the leaves wilt then add in the chicken. Scatter over some mozzarella all over the top, place under the grill till cheese begins to melt.

• Serve on top of the cous cous & sprinkle extra parmesan shavings on top if desired

Aubergine Guvec

This recipe was a bit of a 'throw together and hope it tastes alright' kind of dish, since i had some aubergines chopped and frozen and didn't want to do a traditional Asian vegetable curry.

So i thought of some Turkish dishes that I've tried in a couple of restaurants and came up with aubergine guvec which is basically roasted aubergines and bell peppers in a harrisa based sauce, with chickpeas for texture and to make it go that little bit further.

This is perfect to eat on its own as a light snack or light lunch or for dinner as we did with rice or cous cous.

For my aubergine guvec to serve 4-5 people you will need

3 large aubergines cut into chunks
2 bell peppers cut into chunks
2 mediuim onions diced
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
3-4 tbsp harissa paste
1 x tin of chopped tomato
1 x tin chick peas drained
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika
Squeeze lemon juice
Fresh coriander to garnish

• Start by preheating your oven to 180c (fan) and place the aubergine and bell papers on a baking tray and bake until they are cooked and beginning to go crispy and golden. Remove from the oven once cooked and set aside
• Lightly fry off the onions in a little olive oil till soft and they start to go l golden brown. Add in the salt, garlic and ginger paste, stir through till the garlic and ginger paste begin to take on a golden colour and the onions are slightly darker in colour.
• Add in the curry powder, with a splash of water and stir the curry powder through and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes, then add the tomatoes and the harissa paste, smoked paprika and the cayenne pepper. Pour in about 100ml of water and then add the chickpeas straight in.
•Leave the chickpeas to simmer on a low heat for about 10-12 minutes or until they have softened slightly but take care not to let them start to disintegrate.
• Once the chickpeas have softened, add in the aubergines and bell peppers and carefully stir through- I used a metal fish slice as this helped to stop the aubergines and peppers keep their shape and to not turn into a mashed consistency.
• At this point the dish should be quite dry and most of the water should have completely reduced, and is ready to serve. You can leave it dry as it is or add a splash of water to loosen the consistency a little.
• Just before serving, garnish with a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh chopped coriander. Serve with rice, cous cous or pitta bread.

Mocha Cake

It's no secret that i love a good cup coffee and love cake, so unsurprisingly coffee cake is one of my all time favourite cakes. My mocha cake came about over the weekend as I had spare chocolate buttercream and latte flavoured icing sugar so I thought of mixing the 2 flavours to make what would essentially be a mocha if I were making it up as a drink


No surprises i was pretty pleased with the overall result, so here is my take on a mocha cake

To make a 7 inch round cake you will need:

Equipment
1x 7 inch round loose bottomed cake tin
greaseproof paper
spatula

For the cake
4oz self raising flour
2oz dark cocoa powder
6oz golden caster sugar
6oz softened margarine
3 medium eggs
3 tbsp olive oil

For the chocolate buttercream
3oz softened salted butter
4oz icing sugar
2oz dark cocoa powder

For the coffee buttercream
3oz softened salted butter
6oz vanilla latte flavour icing sugar*
OR 6oz icing sugar with 1 tbsp of coffee powder
OR 1 tbsp coffee powder dissolved in 1 tbsp of cooled boiled water


For dusting
cocoa powder
crumbled Cadburys Flake

• Preheat your oven to 160c (fan assisted), grease and line your cake tin with greaseproof paper on the bottom and a collar round the inside going all the way around.
• Place all the ingredients for the cake into a bowl and mix either using a freestanding mixer or hand held electric whisk until you have a smooth fluffy batter.
• Pour the batter into the cake tin and level the top of the batter with either a spatula or a breakfast knife
• Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes until the cake has risen and springs back when lightly pressed in the middle. Alternatively, insert a skewer into th centre of the cake, and if it comes out clean the cake is ready, if not then leave for a few minutes. Once cooked, set aside and leave to cool completely
• Whilst the cake cools, make both the buttercreams. To make the chocolate buttercream place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a hand held electric whisk (make sure you start off on the slowest speed to stop the icing sugar from flying everywhere) unitl the ingredients have all incorporated smoothly and you have a spreadable consistency. If the mixture is too stiff, add a tablespoon of milk to loosen the mixture.
• In a separate bowl, do the exact same for the coffee buttercream
• Once the cake is completely cool, split the cake into 2 halves using a large knife or a cake leveller
• On the bottom half, using a spatula, spread the chocolate buttercream so that it almost meets the edges of the cake all the way round (i leave a slight gap from the edges as when the top half is placed ontop, as you lightly press it to secure it in place, the buttercream will spread to the edges and not spill out)
• Place the top half on to the bottom half carefully ensuring the edges meet, and lightly press the top to ensure it's secured in place.
• Spread the coffee buttercream again using a spatula** all over the top of the cake, and if you've any left over, all over the sides of the cake. Dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder, sprinkle the crumbled flake all over and serve 

*For the vanilla latte flavoured icing i use flavoured icing made by sugar and crumbs icing, which is readily available from most cake supply stores and online
** If you dont have a spatula, you can always use a breakfast knife

Simple bloomer loaf

You know when you love to bake pretty much anything, but there's always the one thing that you just cant seem to crack ? Well for me it's been bread, to the point of being in tears of frustration at something always going wrong and in the end just keeping well away from it ...


And then came my application for The Great British Bake Off. Having applied for the 3rd time this year, and thinking like i did the previous year,  that i wouldn't hear anything, I didn't even give practicing it as a thought just in case.

But low and behold I got the call to go to the first round of auditions and just as much as i were dreading it, the applicants were required to bake a loaf of bread. To cut a long story short I  have never baked as much bread in those 2 months of the application process than i have in my whole life and thankfully nearly 6 months on i can say that bread and i are friends, and no longer sworn enemies.


So if the thought of baking a loaf fills you with sheer dread (like it did me) give this simple bloomer a go.. It's a small loaf so the dough is easy to work with, and cooks in less than an hour so you're not waiting for what feels like forever for it to cook


To make a simple bloomer loaf you will need:

500g bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried yeast
3 tbsp olive oil
315-320 ml cold water

• Start by adding the flour to a bowl, add the yeast to one side, and the salt opposite to the yeast - this stops them from interacting and activating the yeast before the dough is formed.
• Pour the oil into the middle of the flour. Slowly add in the water and mix all the ingredients together using your hands. 
• Keep adding the water until you get a soft and slightly sticky - but not wet dough.
• Lightly oil your work surface - i used 2 tablespoons. Turn out the dough and use both hands to knead the dough till it's smooth and shiny.
• Place the dough back into a clean bowl, and cover with lightly oiled cling film, (this helps the dough to stop sticking to the cling film if it touches)
  and leave it to rise till doubled in size - mine took just over an hour and a half  
• Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the dough back by gently punching the dough to knock the air out.
• Lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough again for a couple of minutes, and roll into a chunky baton/ cylinder shape or if you find it easier just into a round, and tuck in the edges neatly.
• Place the shaped dough onto a greaseproof lined baking tray. Cover again with either cling film or a large clean carrier bag and leave again to rise till doubled in size - The second prove took 2 hours for me*
• Once your bloomer has doubled in size, sprinkle the top with water, then a little flour and gently rub all over the top being careful to not knock out the air. Then cut 3-4 diagonal slashes across the top about 1-2 cm deep.
• Preheat your oven to 200c, and place a tray of water at the bottom of your oven, this helps the bread to get a nice crusty top, put the loaf in and bake for 25 mins, then lower the temperature to 180c and bake for a final 15 minutes. Once cooked it sound hollow when you tap the base.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * With the proving of your dough, it may take longer or quicker depending on how cold or warm your environment is. My kitchen is very cool first thing in the morning which is when i normally start my dough for any bread 

sweet potato jackets with feta & rocket salad

My sweet potato jackets are basically my sweet potato wedges with feta turned into jacket potatoes - jazzed up a with crispy sea salted skin, rocket leaf salad &  either tabouleh or cous cous



For my sweet potato jackets to serve 4 people you will need

1 sweet potato per person
70g rocket leaf salad
200g feta cheese

To season
sea salt
cracked black pepper
olive oil
lemon juice

• Start by steaming or par boiling the potatoes till they are cooked through, but not over soft and mushy.
• Drain any excess water, pat the potatoes dry, brush each potato with olive oil and season with the sea salt and the cracked pepper - rubbing in the salt and pepper into the skin.
• Place the potatoes on a baking tray or dish, and bake at 220c (fan assisted) for 10-15 minutes or till the skins are crispy and golden.
• While the potatoes are baking, take the rocket leaf salad, sprinkle a little sea salt over the leaves and a little lemon juice. Mix together well and set aside. Break up the feta and place in a small bowl or plate.
• Once the potatoes are ready, cut each potato open, add in a little of the feta, then the rocket leaves and finish with a little more feta and serve. 

I often serve extra rocket salad and feta separately in a bowl as my kids absolutely love to much on it if it's on the table going spare, and i'll serve a little tabouleh or cous cous on the side to keep it light but filling at the same time

Chicken Tikka wraps

This is a dish that's always a hit no matter how many times a week i make it, as well as being super easy and you can always switch up the wraps for a mixed salad instead if you're wanting something lighter but just as tasty


For my chicken tikka wraps to serve 3-4 people you will need

700-750g boneless chicken - cut into medium chunks
5 tbsp yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
4 -5 tbsp tandoori masala powder/paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp olive/vegetable oil

To dress :
green leaf/ mixed leaf salad
cucumber
tomatoes
sauces of your choice

• Simply mix all the ingredients into a bowl (apart from the dressing)
• Leave to marinate for a minimum of 1/2 an hour or if you can overnight to let the tikka masala absorb into the chicken
• Bake the  chicken in the oven for 35-40 mins at 200c fan / 180c conventional oven till completely cooked through and the chicken starts to char slightly 
• Serve in your choice of naan, pitta bread or tortilla wraps, garnish with the salad and your choice of sauces. Alternatively serve with just a load of salad for a lighter meal.  
• My kids love the chicken once it's completely cool in bread as a sandwich for their school packed lunch or shredded in cous cous

My 'Kinda Red Thai' prawn curry

So this is one of those recipes that i threw together, and didn't follow any kind of set recipe or instructions and hoped for the best - hence the 'kinda thai' title as i used ingredients and flavours typically found in Thai curries. The husband thoroughly approved so I'm happy with that  


 For my Kinda Thai curry to serve 2 -3 people you will need 

200-250g cooked prawns
2 medium onions
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
100g red thai paste
2-3 lime kafir leaves
1 lemon grass stalk
2 tbsp tomato puree
1-1 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes 
1 tin coconut milk
300g pre cooked egg noodles

To garnish:
spring onions
bean sprouts
1-2 red chillies
ginger 
fresh coriander

• Start off by finely chopping the onions and saute in a little olive till lightly brown, then add in the salt, garlic paste & ginger paste.

• Add in the lemon grass stalk (i peeled off the first outer leaves, snapped the stalk in half then added)  and the kafir lime leaves, stir for a couple of minutes to let the flavours absorb, then add in the chilli flakes, red thai curry paste and the tomato puree. 
• Finally add in the cooked prawns, the coconut milk & enough water to just cover the prawns. 
• Leave to simmer for a few minutes on low heat then add in the egg noodles
•  Just before serving finely slice all the garnishes except for the beansprouts - i just snapped them in half, chop the coriander then sprinkle all the garnish over the curry and tuck in

Basic buttercream

I often get asked by friends & family for a simple buttercream recipe so i thought I'd share my go to recipe

The amount below will easily  cover 10-12 cupcakes, but can also be used to fill & crumb coat a sugar paste/fondant covered cake. Depending on the size of your cake you may need to double or even triple the amount below

To cover 10-12 cupcakes you will need

8oz salted butter ( soft at room temp)
16oz icing sugar

° Sift the icing sugar into a bowl & add the butter

° Using an electric hand held whisk or using a freestanding mixer ( I use my free standing mixer) mix the butter and icing sugar on a  slow speed  ( to stop the icing sugar flying everywhere)

° Once the majority of the icing sugar has incorporated, turn your mixer/hand held whisk up to a faster speed till you have a smooth & fluffy mixture. For it to be pipeable i always add 3-4 tbsp of milk & mix again. At this point I add flavorings

For vanilla flavour .. add 2-3 tbsp vanilla extract or seeds from a whole vanilla pod

For choc buttercream replace 3 oz of the icing sugar for cocoa powder or alternatively add in melted choc

For strawberry buttercream I add about 4-5 tablespoons strawberry nesquik powder or strawberry Angel delight

For oreo buttercream i in a good handful of oreo biscuits but blitz them in my food processor till really fine and mix into the buttercream - this would be perfect for filling but maybe no so much for crumb coating as there may still be chunks of biscuit that would you a lumpy surface if covering a cake with sugarpaste/fondant

For coffee buttercream replace 2 oz of the icing sugar for fine powdered coffee or 2-3 tsp of coffee granules mixed with 1-2 tsp of cooled boiled water- I add it straight in with the icing sugar

For other flavours just experiment as you go 😍

Chicken & chick pea masala pasties

Chicken & chick pea masala pasties are always a hit with all my family, and since getting the hang of making my own puff pastry I'll happily whip up a batch at any given chance, so handing them out to friends as well as family during ramadhan was the perfect excuse to indulge in batch loafs

So here's the recipe if you'd like to give them a go.

To make a batch of 6 -8 pasties you will need
1 batch of my home made puff pastry or 2 sheets of ready roll pastry and 1 batch of my chicken & chickpea masala

• Start by ensuring your block of pastry is chilled & cold but not rock solid. Cut the block in half, put one half to a side or back in the fridge till later use.

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the block out to a large square, to about an inch thick. Cut the large square into 4 equal peices. If you're using the ready rolled sheets just cut both sheets into 4 equal squares.

• Taking one of the squares, fold it in half lightly and open it up. Use the line through the middle as a guide for the middle of the pastie

• Take 2 -3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture and place in the middle of the square. Brush the bottom edge and sides with a little bit of egg wash, and fold the top half of the sqaure over the filling, ensuring all 3 edges meet as neatly as possible

• Pierce 2 sets of holes in the top of the pastie using a fork - this will help the steam escape during cooking. Seal all the edges by gently pressing them with a fork.

• Repeat the above process with the remaining squares and the remaining pastry dough. Place the pasties on greasproof lined baking trays, brush the tops of each pastie with egg wash  and bake in a fan assisted oven at 180c for
20 -25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown & serve 

*** if you have any filling remaining, and run out of pastry dough,  you can freeze the filling & save it for another time. Ensure that any filling you defrost is used uo completely as you cannot re freeze thawed meat***