Brown sugar tarts

In our house whenever I make something with pastry the excess always gets made into jam tarts; regardless of the pastry type, and they usually disappear in less time than they take to make.  This recipe will require its own pastry but you can use a pack of shop bought if that is your want. 
Last Sunday in the You magazine Tom Parker-Bowles printed a diary of what he had eaten for the week and one item that caught my eye was a brown sugar tart, something that I have never heard of.  I found a simple recipe on cooks.com but discovered that the filling mix made twice what I needed so I have adjusted it for here, this will make 12 -1 8.   Don't worry if you don't have enough filling for all your tarts cases, just make some jam tarts!

BROWN SUGAR TARTS

 

If you're making your own pastry keep it plain because the filling is very sweet.

Rub 4oz butter or marge into 8oz plain flour then bring to a dough with 3 tbsp. or so of cold water.  I whizzed mine up in a food processor in two minutes.  Knead briefly till smooth then wrap and chill for 30 minutes.  Roll it out and line your tart tin.  Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

 

• 2oz butter
• 8oz brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

 

Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl and blend well.  I did mine in the Kenwood and it came out as a very smooth paste like sponge before you add the flour.

Fill the tart cases half full then bake for 20 - 25 minutes till pastry is cooked and filling is as above.

 

WARNING - Remember how hot the jam is when you take jam tarts out of the oven, well this filling contains a lot of sugar too.  Let them cool down a bit.



Cinnamon spice cake

There's a craze on the other side of the pond called the Cinnamon Challenge where young people try to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon whilst their friends film it.  Why would you want to ingest a spoonful of dried tree bark however fragrant?  Needless to say several have ended up in hospital with respiratory problems and a lot of them find that the spice does actually burn the back of your throat when eaten in this way.  A much nicer way to get your cinnamon hit is in this cake.  Cinnamon is usually used in fruit cakes but this is a very light sponge that suits dried fruit haters like me much better.  The original recipe called for a filling of cream cheese beaten with icing sugar and orange zest but I used orange buttercream instead, this doesn't then need to be refrigerated.

CINNAMON SPICE CAKE

 

 

• 6oz butter, softened
• 6oz golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 6oz self raising flour, sifted
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp mixed spice
• milk
• 1 egg white
• 2oz soft light brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2oz ground almonds

 

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5

Line the bottom of two sandwich tins with baking paper and lightly oil the sides

Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy

Mix the eggs in a separate bowl then beat into the mixture a little at a time.  Add a tbsp. of flour if your mixture curdles.  It shouldn't if you cream it properly to start with but its not a problem

Fold in the flour and spices adding enough milk to achieve a soft dropping consistency

Divide the mixture between the two tins and smooth the top with a spatula

Whisk the egg white till still then add the brown sugar, almonds and cinnamon

Spread this mixture over one of the cake tins without pushing it into the mixture

This will be the top layer

Mine took exactly 20 minutes to cook but you're looking for them to be risen and golden and feel springy to your fingertips

Allow to cool in the tins for a few minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool

Fill as you will and enjoy.  Sprinkle a little icing sugar over the top if you wish



Plum and amaretti semifreddo

Semifreddo is an Italian ice cream dessert that literally translates as semi-frozen.  This recipe uses plums and soft Amaretti biscuits.  The plums are cooked but try to get the ripest ones you can.  Soft Amaretti biscuits are available in most supermarkets and aren't as sweet as the hard ones.  I bought Sainsbury's own which cost £1.85 a bag, there will be some left over to snack on.  If you make this in a metal tin you will need to line it with cling film because of the plums acidity and a possible reaction with the metal.  I made mine in a ceramic dish so didn't need to line it.  The beauty of semifreddo is that it still freezes with no need to churn and still comes out lovely and smooth.  We felt that the Amaretto was a bit lost in this recipe but remember that alcohol doesn't freeze well so don't add too much.  This was an exceptional dessert though and went well with the almond shortbread.

 

PLUM AND AMARETTI SEMIFREDDO

 

 

• 450g/1lb ripe purple plums, halved and stoned
• 350g/12oz sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 300ml double cream
• 1 tbsp. Amaretto liqueur
• 85g/3oz soft amaretti biscuits, broken up

 

Line a 30cm x 2ocm (12x8") tray with cling film.

Put the plums in a pan with 2 tbsp. water and 110g/4oz sugar

Cover with a lid and stew until soft, mine took 20 minutes

Allow to cool slightly then blitz with a hand blender

Pass through a sieve to remove the bits of skin and allow to cool.

Put the remaining sugar in a pan with 150ml/5 fl oz of water and dissolve over a low heat then boil for five minutes

To make the meringue base, whisk the egg whites till stiff and then with the beaters still running carefully add the hot syrup whilst whisking until thick and smooth.

In another bowl whisk the cream to soft peaks then gently fold in the liqueur, plum pulp, biscuits and meringue.

This will give you the pink finish of my photo.  If you would rather a rippled effect then add the plum pulp last and don't mix so thoroughly

Pour into the prepared tin and cover with cling film then freeze until set

To serve, remove from the freezer five minutes before you need it.





Peanut butter chicken curry

Last night's dinner went down well with everyone looking for seconds; always a good sign, and no one guessed what the secret ingredient was in the curry sauce - peanut butter.  Yes, this was a peanut butter chicken curry and it was delicious.  The taste was very much like chicken satay and it was very easy to make.  I made the sauce the day before because everyone knows that curries and casseroles always taste better the day after, then added the chicken and heated it through on the night.  For dessert I made a Plum and Amaretto Semifreddo which I served with the almond shortbread.  A semifreddo (half frozen) is an Italian ice cream dessert which you may have tried at Pizza Express as they do one in their range of tiny desserts with coffee.  I shall put the recipe on the next post but for now here is the recipe for the curry, its very hard to make a curry photo look appetising!  This recipe will serve up to six people.

PEANUT BUTTER CHICKEN CURRY

 

 

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 2 tbsp. good curry paste
• 4 tbsp. crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tbsp. tomato puree
• 500g carton of passata
• 400g tin of coconut milk
• 400ml chicken stock
• about 400g of cooked chicken, shredded

 

Put the onion and garlic into a food processor and chop until almost mushy

In a wok or deep sauté pan heat the oil and fry the mixture until it starts to brown then add the curry paste and cook for a minute more

Stir in the peanut butter and fry until the oil starts to separate and the sauce has darkened

Stir in the tomato puree and passata and cook for a minute, stirring to prevent sticking

Add the coconut milk and stock and gently simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the shredded chicken and simmer until heated through

I added a generous teaspoon of lazy chilli to mine becau8se I thought it lacked bite so season to your own taste, you may prefer it mild.



Almond shortbread

Tonight we're entertaining our good friends Chris and Gary who are so hard to pin down that we're doing it midweek instead of at the weekend like we usually do.  The menu is going to be Peanut Butter Chicken Curry followed by Plum and Amaretto Semifreddo with almond shortbreads.  Here is a simple recipe that I used for the shortbread, it is very easy and the finished article just melts in your mouth, enjoy...

ALMOND SHORTBREAD

 

 

 

• 125g/4oz butter, softened
• 55g/2oz golden caster sugar
• 150g/6oz plain flour
• 50g/1oz ground almonds
• almond essence

Cream the butter, sugar and essence together until pale and mousse like

Stir in the flour and almonds to achieve a smooth soft paste

Turn out onto a floured work surface and roll very gently to 1cm/ 1/2 inch thick

Cut into rounds or fingers and put onto a baking tray then chill for 20 minutes

After 10 minutes preheat your oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5

Bake in the oven till pale golden, mine took 13 minutes and one was a little singed.

This recipe made 11 x 2" round shortbreads.



Deep pan pizza pie

Back in the day before Pizza Express took over the world our pizza parlour of choice was the Chicago Deep Pan Pizza Company.  Nowadays Pizza Express is my favourite but last week in the Metro there was an article about deep pan pizza with a recipe so I decided to revisit it.  The mixture made enough for two pizza pies and a flat one.  The finished article looked and tasted like a big version of the mini deep pan ones you buy from the freezer department and went down well here.  This o0ne's for you Ollie as your mum asked for more savoury recipes!

DEEP PAN PIZZA PIE

 

 

The dough

• 3/4 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp dried active yeast
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 20g butter, melted
• 500g strong white flour
• 50g grated cheddar cheese
• 310ml warm water

Tomato sauce

• 2 red onions sliced
• thyme
• tin of tomatoes
• a garlic clove chopped (or a tsp Lazy Garlic)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• seasoning
• 1 tbsp. olive oil ( I used garlic oil)

 

Melt the butter.

In a jug combine the warm water, sugar and yeast and leave to stand for 15 minutes

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt and grated cheese so that its evenly distributed

Pour in the yeast mixture then the melted butter

Knead for a few minutes then roll into a large soft ball

Cover with a damp tea towel or loose cling film and place in a warm place to rise to double its size (mine took an hour and a half in the airing cupboard which is why I haven't told you to preheat the oven yet!)

 

You can make the tomato sauce now or in advance as I did.
In a saucepan heat the olive oil over a medium heat then add the onions and cook till soft
Stir in the garlic and thyme.  a few minutes later add the tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 45 minutes.
Season to taste then blend and allow to cool.  I found the sauce a little lacking in something that was rectified by a good squeeze of tomato ketchup.
For the meatballs on top I skinned three pork and sweet chilli sausages from Tesco and mixed the filling with some mild chilli powder and paprika.  When it comes to toppings the world is your oyster.  For the cheese I used Tesco pre-grated pizza cheese which is a blend of mozzarella and cheddar.  Their grated chilli cheese is also good if you want a bit of a kick.

Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 9

When the dough has risen slice it into two and press into the base of two buttered deep pans or cake tins preferably 20-25cm in diameter.  I used my new 20cm loose bottomed heavy cake tins from Sainsburys (£7 each).  I also found that there was too much dough so about a fifth of it got rolled out to make a flat pizza too.
Spread generously with the tomato sauce and add the cheese and toppings of your choice. 
Turn down the oven to 190C/375G/Gas 5 and put your pizzas in immediately.
Cook for 25-30 minutes till risen and golden brown.  Best to check after 20 minutes so they don't burn.  My youngest son liked the crust the best.  Here they are ready to go.





Salted caramel cheesecake

Salted caramel seems to be all the rage nowadays which is a little ironic after all the years of being told how bad salt is for our health.  So now we have salt reduced in all our food and even Marks and Spencer baguettes are becoming tasteless, I bet if they offered both the public would soon show them what we prefer.  This recipe was printed in You magazine in 2010 but I never got round to making it.  Dinner was at the in-laws on Saturday night and I was asked to make a dessert so I dug this one out.  Ironically the only person who didn't like it was my mother-in-law, huh, make your own next time!
I must admit although the flavour was delicious the texture of this cheesecake wasn't too my liking.  I'm not a big fan of desserts made with gelatine and prefer a cheesecake that clings to my teeth. 

SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE

 

• 150g HobNobs or similar (I used the chocolate ones)
• 50g butter
• 6 gelatine leafs
• 1/3 tsp sea salt
• 400g cream cheese (2 tubs of Philadelphia did for me)
• tin of Nestle Caramel
• 1 tsp black treacle
• 300ml double cream

Break up the biscuits of your choice and blitz them to crumbs in your food processor
Melt the butter in a small pan then add the crumbs and mix well
Press into the base of a loose bottomed cake tin at least 7cm deep to form the base and chill
Cut the gelatine into broad strips, place these in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak for five minutes
Drain off the water and add another couple of tablespoons of clean water to cover them, add the salt and stand the bowl in a bigger one of boiling water then stir for a few minutes until the gelatine has dissolved.
Blend the cream cheese, caramel and treacle together in a large bowl using a wooden spoon till smooth, giving it a quick whisk if necessary.  I used a fork to make sure all the cream cheese blended.
Blend three tablespoons of the mixture, one at a time, with the gelatine solution then add this back to the cream cheese mix and combine thoroughly.
Whisk the cream to soft peaks and fold into the cheese mix in two halves
Pour over the base and smooth the top with a metal spoon
Cover with cling film and chill for several hours or overnight till set.
When ready to serve run a knife round the edge and release from the tin.
I grated some chocolate over the top but if you're really a salt fan then coarse ground sea salt with its large granules would look good too.
Blend the



Butterscotch cake

My next day neighbour has asked me to post more savoury recipes on here as her teenage son is getting into cookery and wants to be a chef.  Tomorrow I shall be attempting home made pizza for the first time but for today here is a really simple cake that takes minutes to make.  Leave out your butter overnight and let it get to room temperature and it will blend in minutes.  I'm not a fan of lining cake tins but this one requires it as you will discover if you don't!  This recipe was originally posted on mydish.co.uk by Jail Bird! in 2009 but the quantities given for the topping meant it was merely glazed so I have adjusted it so you get a decent thick butterscotch layer.  The sponge is very light and soft and it did occur to me that it would taste good with a drop of rum to flavour it.  Maybe next time....

BUTTERSCOTCH CAKE

 



• 175g soft butter
• 175g soft brown sugar
• 175g self raising flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1tsp baking powder

For the topping

• 150g butter
• 15 tbsp. soft brown sugar
• large tin of evaporated milk

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4
Butter and line a 28 x 18 x 5cm tin (or similar, mine was 23 x 19cm)
Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl or food mixer and blend till well combined and smooth
Pour into the prepared tin and smooth the top
Bake for 30 minutes or until risen and golden, mine took 35 minutes.
Allow to cool in the tin.

Now the good bit.  Put all the topping ingredients into a pan and heat till the butter melts then boil for four minutes or until it thickens.  Pour over the cake and if you wish sprinkle it with nuts or fudge bits or something.  You will be glad you lined the tin when it comes to getting it out, enjoy.

Milk and sugar muffins

Doesn't everybody love a muffin?  Here's a recipe that was published in the You magazine last week that I've just made.  Don't be put off by the amount of coffee in this, you can't taste it in the finished item and I don't even like the stuff.  Sadly you can't taste the coconut either, what you get is a really soft sweet muffin with a taste of its own.  This is a really easy recipe that takes about ten minutes to make.  If you've got a bowl with a pouring lip like the ones Marks and Spencer sell then use it, filling up the paper cases was fiddly as this is quite a wet mixture and I got it all over the top of the baking tin.  Obviously if you can't get espresso just make some strong black instant and as with all recipes you can substitute white caster sugar for golden etc.

 

MILK AND SUGAR MUFFINS

 

 

 

• 80ml milk
• 100ml cold espresso (2 espresso cups or 1 lungo from a Nespresso machine)
• 80g butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 250g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 200g golden caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 25g desiccated coconut (bet you thought it was 2 s and 1 c too)
• 100g white chocolate drops
• Demerara sugar for dusting

 

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and arrange 12 muffin cases in a tin

Whisk all the wet ingredients with the eggs in a large bowl

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bigger one except 1/3 of the chocolate drops

Pour the wet into the dry and mix till there is no trace of flour, it should look wet and lumpy

Fill the paper cases to about 2/3 full, it will make twelve.  Sprinkle the reserved chocolate drops over the top followed by a generous dusting of Demerara sugar.  You may notice mine are naked because I didn't have any.

Bake until risen and crusty, mine took exactly 30 minutes

If any survive being eaten warm they will apparently keep well overnight covered loosely.



Beef, black beans and rice

I managed to find some black beans for today's dinner.  They sell them in large branches of Sainsbury and they come in cartons ready cooked.  You can buy them dry too but need to soak them overnight and cook them before you use them.  They taste like kidney beans with a softer shell.

So with no further ado here is a Southern delicacy from the USA that is actually quite healthy too.

BEEF, BLACK BEANS AND RICE

 

• 2 tbsp. oil (I used garlic flavoured)
• 1kg lean minced beef or turkey
• 1 cup of chopped onions (or a bag of ready chopped)
• 2 chopped green peppers
• 1 clove of garlic, minced (or a teaspoon of lazy garlic)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. prepared mustard
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• dash of cayenne pepper
• cup of tomato sauce
• 2 cups of cooked black beans (2 cartons)
• rice

Heat the oil in a large pan

Add the mince, onions, peppers and garlic and sauté until tender and the mince is browned

 In a small bowl combine the lemon juice, mustard, chilli powder, soy sauce, cayenne and a little tomato sauce and whisk till thoroughly blended

Stir in the rest of the tomato sauce and add to the pan

Add the beans and cook for 20 minutes until the flavours are well combined

This is about when you should be putting your rice on to cook so they're ready together.

 

This is one of those recipes that you can play with at will.  I added one of those new beef stock jellies to mine and some salt as I thought it lacked a little something but everyone enjoyed it.  This quantity will serve six people comfortably with 2oz of rice per person.

 

Plum and cinnamon cake

First of all an apology for not posting anything last week, we were broad-blind with no Internet for five days.  Apparently BT had made changes in the green footway box and not synched our broadband access with it.  Thank goodness for 3g which kept me in touch with my email but blogging on an iPhone is a bit hard core for me. 

Anyway today back in the kitchen and this week's delight is a plum and cinnamon cake.  I was intending to make this with tinned plums because they seem to have so much more flavour than the mass market fresh ones but Tesco don't even have a space on the shelf for them any more.  Fortunately they had some ripe ones that were actually soft instead of being like tennis balls and reduced to clear so I used those.  They didn't have black beans for the dish I'm cooking on Sunday either, do I have to shop elsewhere now?

 

PLUM AND CINNAMON CAKE

 

 

• 200g (7oz) ground almonds
• 6 good sized plums (about 500g/18oz)
• 200g (7oz) butter at room temperature
• 200g (7oz) golden caster sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 200g (7oz) self raising flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. Demerara sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4

Line the base of a 23cm (9in) loose bottomed cake tin with baking paper

Roughly chop half the plums and halve the rest

Cream the butter and sugar to that mousse like consistency

Beat in the eggs one at a time, don't worry too much if the mixture curdles, just add a little flour

Fold in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon

Stir in the ground almonds and finally add the chopped plums

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and top with the halved plums skin side up

Sprinkle over the Demerara sugar and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and firm

Leave to cool in the tin for at least 15 minutes before removing

 

NOTE:  My oven which is a little unreliable took a lot longer than 45 minutes to cook this.  I ended up turning it down a little and putting some foil over the top to get the middle to cook.  Watch out that the centre hasn't just crusted leaving the middle undone.  A good prod with a skewer should help you make your mind up!  The plums cooked beautifully and were tender and moist.

 



 



Traditional Spanish almond cake

When I was a child no one had food allergies that we knew about but nowadays they seem to be a big problem.  My daughter in law has an intolerance for gluten and dairy and so with that in mind here is a recipe for a cake that is gluten and fat free but still delicious.  This is a traditional Spanish almond cake, it is usually decorated with a cross within a shield in honour of Santiago but my template making skills didn't extend to the shield.  A cross is of course appropriate today.

TRADITIONAL SPANISH ALMOND CAKE

 

 

• 4 eggs, separated
• 175g (6oz) golden caster sugar
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• 200g (7oz) ground almonds
• pinch of salt

 

Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180C/350F

Butter and line a 22cm loose bottomed cake tin

Whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt until soft peaks form. 

Whisk in half the sugar a tablespoon at a time

In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar and cinnamon until thick and the mixture leaves a trail when the beaters are lifted out

Fold in the almonds followed by the egg whites

Pour into the tin and bake for 50 minutes or until the cake is firm to the touch

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for ten minutes before removing then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely

Dust with icing sugar

As you can see the top will sink slightly but this is normal

 

This cake has a delicate almond flavour but if you like you could add almond essence or more cinnamon to your own taste.  It might even work with a lemon flavour.  My wife was amazed that you could make a cake this good with no flour of butter.