Flourless chocolate cake difficulty ** #81

Cuts into: 12

Preparing time: 25 minutes 

Cooking time: 60 minutes 

 

Ingredients:

• 125 g blanched almonds 
• 125 g Brazil nuts 
• 225 g plain dark chocolate 
• 225 g slightly salted butter 
• 4 eggs, separate 
• 225 g golden caster sugar 
• sifted cocoa powder 

1. Put the almond, Brazil nut and chocolate in a food processor and process until consistency of ground almonds
2. Beat together the butter, egg yolks and 175 g of the sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy
3. Stir in the chocolate mixture
4. Whisk the egg whites in a large clean bowl with a hand-held electric whisk until peaking 
5. Gradually whisk in the remaining sugar, a spoonful at a time
6. Stir a quarter of the mixture into the creamed mixture using a large metal spoon 
7. Add the remaining egg whites and stir gently to mix 
8. Spoon the mixture into a greased and lined 23 cm loose-bottomed or spring-form cake tin and level the surface 
9. Bake in a preheated oven, 160 C(325 F),Gas Mark 3, for about 60 minutes or until just firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean
10. Leave to cool in the tin, then remove the ring and base and dust with sifted cocoa powder 
11. Serve with fresh raspberry compote, if liked 

For the raspberry compote, to serve as an accompaniment, put 75 g fresh raspberries, 40 g caster sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan. Cook for about 5 minutes until the raspberries are soft and mushy. Strain through a sieve into a bowl and stir in a further 225 g raspberries. Mix gently until coated in the sauce. Chill until ready to serve. 

Enjoy! :-)

 

Iced fig slice difficulty ** #80

Cuts into 12 

Preparing time: 25 minutes 

Cooking time: 60 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 225 g ready-made puff pastry 
• 175 g slightly salted butter 
• 175 g caster sugar 
• 200 g self-raising flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 eggs 
• 6 figs

For the icing: 

• 100 g icing sugar 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a greased 23 cm square shallow baking tin or small roasting tin 
2. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans 
3. Bake in a preheated oven, 200 C(400 F),Gas Mark 6, for 15 minutes 
4. Remove from the oven, and remove the paper and beans 
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 180 C(350 F),Gas Mark 4
6. Beat together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs in a bowl until pale and creamy 
7. Spoon over the pastry base and level the surface 
8. Arrange the figs over the top 
9. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until risen and golden 
10. Leave to cool in the tin 
11. Make the icing 
12. Beat together the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl to make a smooth, spoonable icing 
13. If necessary, beat in a dash of water or extra lemon juice 
14. Drizzle the icing over the cake, then cut into squares or fingers.
15. Enjoy! :-)

Scones with jam & cream difficulty ** #79

Makes 10

Preparing time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 12 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 225 g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 40 g slightly salted butter, chilled and diced
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar 
• 125 ml milk, plus extra to glaze

To serve

• strawberry jam
• clotted cream

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl or food processor 
2. Add the butter and rub in with the fingertips or process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs 
3. Add the sugar and milk, reserving 2 tablespoons of milk, and mix or blend briefly to a soft, slightly sticky dough 
4. Add the reserved milk if the dough feels dry 
5. Knead the dough lightly on a lightly floured surface until smooth, then roll out to 1.5 cm thick 
6. Cut out 10 rounds using a 5 cm plain biscuit cutter, re-rolling the trimmings to make more 
7. Place slightly apart on a greased baking sheet and bush with milk 
8. Bake in a preheated oven, 220 C(425 F),Gas Mark 7, for 12 minutes until well risen and golden 
9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool 
10. Split the scones and serve topped with jam and cream. 
11. Enjoy! :-)

Chai teabread difficulty * #78

Cuts into 10

Preparing time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 75 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 5 chai tea bread
• 300 ml boiling water 
• 250 g self-raising flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 150 g light sugar
• 300 g mixed dried fruit
• 50 g Brazil nuts 
• 50 g butter 
• 1 egg

1. Stir the tea bags into the measurement water in a jug and leave to stand for 10 minutes 
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, dried fruit and nuts in a bowl 
3. Remove the tea bags from the water, pressing them against the side of the jug to squeeze out all the water 
4. Thinly slice the butter into the water and stir until melted 
5. Leave to cool slightly 
6. Add to the dry ingredients with the egg and mix together well
7. Spoon the mixture into a greased and lined 1 kg or 1.3 liter loaf  tin and spread the mixture into the corners
8. Bake in a preheated oven, 160 C(325 F),Gas Mark 3, for 75 minutes minutes or until risen, firm and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean 
9. Loosen the cake at the ends and transfer to a wire rack 
10. Peel off the lining paper and leave to cool
11. Spread the top with Chai Cream Frosting, if liked 

How to make 

For chai cream frosting, to spread over the cake, put  50 ml milk and 3 chai tea bags in a saucepan and bring to the boil.Remove from the heat and leave the tea bags to infuse in the milk until cold. Discard the tea bags, squeezing them to extract the liquid. Beat together 200 g cream cheese and 25 g very soft unsalted butter in a bowl until smooth. Beat in the flavoured milk and 75 g sifted icing sugar. 

Enjoy! :-)

Coffee & walnut cake difficulty ** #77

Cuts into 10

Preparing time: 25 minutes 

Cooking time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder 
• 1 tablespoon boiling water 
• 175 g slightly salted butter, softened 
• 175 g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs 
• 175 g self-raising flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 50 walnuts, finely chopped, plus extra walnut halves to decorate 

For the buttercream 

• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons boiling water 
• 100 g unsalted butter, softened 
• 150 g golden icing sugar 

1. Dissolve the coffee in the measurement water 
2. Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder in a bowl until pale and creamy 
3. Beat in the coffee and chopped walnuts 
4. Divide the mixture evenly between 2 greased, base-lined and floured 18 cm sandwich tins and level surface 
5. Bake in a preheated oven, 180 C(350 F),Gas Mark 4, for 25 minutes or until firm to the touch 
6. Loosen the edges, turn out on to a wire rack and peel off the lining paper 
7. Leave to cool 
8. Make the buttercream 
9. Dissolve the coffee in the measurement water 
10. Beat together the butter, icing sugar and coffee in a bowl until smooth and creamy 
11. Use half the buttercream to sandwich the cakes together, then spread the remaining buttercream over the top and decorate with the walnut halves. 
12. Enjoy! :-)

Red onion & herb soda bread difficulty ** #76

Makes 1 loaf 

Preparing time: 15 minutes, + standing 

Cooking time: 30 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 325 ml milk, + extra if required 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 small red onion
• 1 egg 
• 250 g plain white flour, + extra for dusting 
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda 
• 25 g mixed herbs, such as parsley, chervil, dill and chives 
• 40 g butter 

1. Mix together the milk and lemon juice in a jug and leave to stand for 5 minutes 
2. Stir in the onion and egg 
3. Put the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl and stir on the herbs 
4. Add the butter and rub in with the fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs 
5. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl and add mix to the dough, add a little bit more milk if the dough feels dry 
6. Shape the dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface, then place on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly 
7. Dust generously with extra flour 
8. Using a sharp knife, cut a 2.5 cm deep cross through the top pf the dough 
9. Bake in a preheated oven, 200 C(400 F),Gas Mark 6, for about 30 minutes until risen and deep golden 
10. The base of the bread should sound hollow when tapped 
11. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
12. Enjoy! :-) 

Candied pecan twists difficult *** #75 

Makes 24 

Preparing time: 15 minutes 

Cooking time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon egg white 
• 50 g pecan nuts 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar 
• 5 tablespoons golden caster sugar 
• 375 g ready-made puff pastry
• plain flour, for dusting 

1. Whisk the egg white in a bowl to break it up 
2. Add the pecans and coat thinly in the egg white 
3. Sprinkle in the vanilla sugar, turning the nuts to coat, then spread out on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment 
4. Bake in a preheated oven, 160 C(325 F),Gas Mark 3,for about 5 minutes until beginning to colour 
5. Leave to cool, then finely chop 
6. Increase the oven temperature to 220 C(425 F),Gas Mark 7
7. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar on the work area
8. Roll out the pastry on the surface to a 25 x 15 cm rectangle 
9. Sprinkle the pastry with another tablespoon of the sugar and roll in gently 
10. Halve the pastry and place one piece on top pf the other
11. Flatten slightly with the rolling pin and sprinkle with another tablespoon of the sugar and the chopped nuts
12. Roll out again to a 24 cm square, lightly flouring the work surface of the mixture is sticky 
13. Sprinkle with another tablespoon of the sugar and roll gently 
14.  Trim the edges, cut in half, then cut each half across into 2 cm wide strips
15. Twist each strip several times and place slightly apart on a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment 
16. Sprinkle the remaining sugar along each twist 
17. Bake  for about 20 minutes until puffer and golden 
18. Transfer to a wire rack to cool
19. Serve with Vanilla Cheesecake Dip, if  liked 

Recipe for Vanilla cheesecake dip

1. For vanilla cheesecake dip, to serve as an accompaniment, beat 200 g mascarpone cheese in a bowl to soften 
2. Then beat 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
3. 2 tablespoons caster sugar and 4 tablespoons single cream 
4. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy!