Pear frangipane tart

This is a very easy dessert to make, especially if you use ready made pastry.  I made this after twelve hours at work and felt like a celebrity chef as my lovely wife had prepared all the ingredients for me.  She could have made it too but baulked at making the frangipane.  The recipe I used; courtesy of Marks and Spencer magazine, uses the toffee poured over the tart but I wasn't impressed.  I'd keep it and pour it over if required.  I used Anchor ready made pastry for the first time and was quite impressed, two days later and its still retained its crunch.

PEAR FRANGIPANE TART

 

• 50g butter
• 3tbsp soft brown butter
• 4 Conference pears peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
• 250g ready made pastry

For the frangipane

• 100g butter, softened
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 30g plain flour
• 100g ground almonds
• 1 tsp almond essence

Preheat your oven for 190C/375F/Gas 5 and place a baking sheet or tray on the top shelf
Whilst it is heating up melt the butter and sugar together in a pan till the sugar has all melted.  Put the pear slices into the pan and cook for two minutes on each side
Sieve the pears into a bowl and reserve the toffee syrup
Roll out the pastry and line a 25cm loose bottomed tart tin.  Prick it all over with a fork.  Line with baking paper, fill with baking beans and bake blind on the sheet for 20 minutes.  Remove the paper and beans and set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 189C/350F/Gas 4

To make the frangipane.
Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy
Beat in the egg and almond essence
Fold in the flour and ground almonds.
Spread the frangipane in the tart case then arrange the pear slices on top
Bake for about 30 minutes until golden and just set.
If the middle won't brown cut a circle in the middle of a sheet of baking paper and place it on top and the middle should brown nicely without burning the edges.
Remove from the oven and after ten minutes pop the tart out of the tin.  The pastry should be cooked and golden brown

If you like pour the toffee syrup over the tart or if you prefer put it in a jug and serve separately.  The tart is equally as nice warm or at room temperature.



Chocolate chip scones

This is another recipe poached from the Brown Eyed Baker that I have tested and translated into English.  Unlike cookies you don't want to eat these warm, scones need to be allowed to cool and solidify to be at their best and of course the chocolate needs to reset too.  Like cookies though these are quite nice to pick bits off every now and again.  Mine didn't rise as much as a I expected but they were delicious and at the end of the day that it was what matters the most.  I've put chocolate chips in the ingredients but I always prefer to take a large knife to a chocolate bar or two and make chunks.  Its cheaper and more effective.

CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES

 

 

• 1lb of plain flour
• 4oz sugar
• 4tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 12oz chocolate chips
• 600ml double cream (large pot)
• melted butter
• additional sugar

Preheat your oven to 375F/175C/Gas 5
Lightly grease two or three baking trays
Stir together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl
Stir in the cream until all the ingredients are moistened

Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until a soft dough forms
Divide the dough into three equal balls and flatten each ball into a disc about 6" across

Cut the disc into six equal triangles and place them on the greased baking trays leaving a good inch between each one

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar, I used Demerara

Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Carefully remove to a wire rack to cool and enjoy.



Beef and bean chipotle chilli

This chilli uses chipotle paste rather than chilli powder.  It is readily available in supermarkets, Discovery have a 100g jar in their range.  It imparts a smoky taste to the chilli with just the right amount of bite.  Not enough for my son who thinks if you don't sweat its not chilli!  If the chilli is too runny for you at the end of cooking add a sprinkle of thickening granules which gives it a creamy feel as well as thickening.  Having made this last night I thought it would also be good with the addition of some chorizo or chunks of diced ham.  And what about adding coconut milk instead of water?  Now there's a thought. 
This recipe will comfortably feed six with rice.

BEEF AND BEAN CHIPOTLE CHILLI

 

• I tsp oil, chilli if you've got it
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 500g pack of lean beef mince
• 1/2 jar of chipotle paste, about 50g
• 1 tbsp. of Cajun or Creole seasoning
• 2 x 400g tins of mixed bean salad, drained
• 1 x 400g tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 beef stock cubes ( I used Oxo)
• 4 squares od plain chocolate (or more)

Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion till softened
Add the beef and cook with a little black pepper and salt till browned
Add the chipotle paste and Cajun seasoning and cook in for a minute
Tip in the beans and tomatoes then crumble over the stock cubes
Add a can of water, stir and simmer for 20-30 minutes till thickened
Add the chocolate and stir till melted then serve
Like most chilli this will keep for several days and improve with age.



Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies

Everywhere you go nowadays you are faced with the combination of chocolate and chilli but chilli isn't the only warming spice that works with chocolate, try it with cinnamon and you'll find an even nicer blend.  Cinnamon adds spice without heat and responds to the sweetness of the chocolate in a way that has no effect on chilli.
This is a great recipe to make if you want warm cookies in the morning as the dough needs to be chilled for a few hours and overnight is perfect.  Knock it up in the evening, pop it in the fridge then bake them in the morning.  The chilled dough is also easier to handle and doesn't stick to your hands.

CHOCOLATE CINNAMON COOKIES

 

• 40z butter at room temperature
• 4.5oz golden caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla essence or paste
• 5oz plain flour
• 1oz cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 5oz (150g) milk chocolate, roughly chopped

Cream the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy
Add the egg and vanilla and beat together
Sift in the flour, cocoa, cinnamon and baking powder and fold in at the lowest speed to form a dough
Stir through the chocolate, remove to a bowl, cover and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight
When you're ready preheat your oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5
Lightly grease a couple of baking tray
Roll your dough into balls about the size of a walnut (or 30g/1.25oz)

Place onto the trays and bake for 12-14 minutes until risen and cracked, they don't spread very much so do it all in one batch if you have room.  I did mine on two trays.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes then place on a wire rack to finish

Apparently these will keep in an air tight container for a few days but I have never known home made cookies to last that long!



Baked chicken and rice

I have been making this for many years and it is a definite family favourite.  It is one of those recipes that you can easily vary and stretch to feed as many as you like.  For that reason it has never been written down, I just made it up and continue to make it.  This recipe is more about relative quantities than exact amounts and it always works.  I prefer to use chicken thighs because they have more flavour and the bone keeps the meat moist as it cooks.

BAKED CHICKEN AND RICE

 

• Two chicken thighs per person
• 2-3 oz of easy cook long grain rice per person
• double the volume of hot chicken stock
• butter
• curry paste

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6
Generously butter a big enough casserole dish
Pour your uncooked rice into a measuring jug and note the volume
Remove the rice and make double that volume of hot chicken stock
Put the rice into the buttered casserole and pour over the stock
Melt some more butter in a frying pan and add curry paste, I use one dessert spoon for six thighs
Seal the chicken thighs on the cut side then turn over and brown the skin
Place the chicken skin side up on top of the rice and stock mix
Place into the oven and ignore it for an hour
The skin will crisp up beautifully, the chicken will be moist and the rice will be light and fluffy and will have absorbed the colour and flavour of the butter and curry paste
None of this is ever thrown away, everyone loves the leftovers too especially the rice that gets crispy on the top edges



Apple Crumble Cake

I did this for lunch today and wasn't sure how it would turn out but it was a great success, everybody loved it including I hope my sister in law who has just taken the last bit for her boyfriend and herself for tea.  This is such an easy cake and the result is delicious and you will find that surprisingly it is not especially sweet either.  Serve it with custard, cream or ice cream

APPLE CRUMBLE CAKE

 

FILLING

• 1kg Bramley cooking apples (four large ones)
• 1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of dried cloves
• 75g light brown sugar
• 25g butter, diced
• 2 tbsp water

SHORTCAKE MIX

• 225g self raising flour
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 125g butter, chilled and diced
• 1 egg, beaten

Butter an 8" loose bottomed or spring tin
Peel, core and roughly dice the apples and place in a saucepan with the rest of the filling ingredients
Cover and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, till you have a thick jammy consistency with a few lumps of apple in it (this took me 35 minutes)

Preheat your oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5
Place the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and blend to a crumb like texture
Add the egg and very briefly pulse to moisten the crumbs
Scatter half of the mixture over the bottom of the tin
Pour over the hot apple mixture then top with the rest of the crumb mix

Bake for 25-40 minutes until it is an even golden colour
Remove from the oven, run a knife round the edge and leave to cool in the tin
Dust with icing sugar before serving if you like



Kitchen Sink Cookies

My thanks to the Brown Eyed Baker who told all her followers about 'Compost Cookies' so called because everything goes into them.  I have tested and adapted her recipe for UK readers and prefer to call them 'Kitchen Sink Cookies' because they contain everything except ....
Its likely that you won't have all the ingredients but I promise you its worth getting them in because these cookies are great, chewy and crispy, salty and sweet. 
They don't last either, left on the table after dinner guests kept breaking off pieces and popping them into their mouths, they are pretty irresistible.
The recipe specifies chocolate chips but I preferred to buy a bar of chocolate and cut it into chunks, a far better result for a little effort.  I also couldn't lay my hands on butterscotch chips so used fudge chunks instead.  This is the sort of recipe you can do whatever you want with, try adding peanuts or desiccated coconut for example.

KITCHEN SINK COOKIES

 

Digestive mixture

• 30g digestive biscuit crumbs (about 2 biscuits)
• 1 tsbp milk powder
• 1.5 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 15g butter, melted
• 1 tbsp. double cream

For the cookies

• 225g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 225g butter at room temperature
• 200g granulated sugar
• 125g soft brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. light corn syrup ( or try golden or maple)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g chocolate chips/chunks (see above)
• 75g butterscotch chips
• 40g rolled oats
• 2.5 tsp ground coffee
• 50g potato crisps
• 50g mini pretzels

Prepare the digestive mixture
In a small bowl stir together the crumbs, milk powder, sugar and salt
Whisk together the cream and melted butter then add to the dry ingredients
Toss with a fork until the mixture is evenly moistened then set aside

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt
In the mixing bowl of a Kenwood or similar combine the butter, sugars and syrup and cream till soft and fluffy
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla then continue to beat for another 5 minutes
Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mix till the dough just comes together
Still on low speed add the chocolate, butterscotch, digestive mixture, oats and coffee and mix until just incorporated
Add the crisps and pretzels and do the same again
Using an ice cream scoop or a 1/3 cup measure place scoops of dough onto baking sheets lined with baking paper
Pat the tops flat, cover with cling film and chill for at least an hour

After 45 minutes preheat your oven to 375F/180C/Gas 5
Remove the cling film
Bake for about 15 minutes until the edges are just turning brown
They will spread out and probably meet so as they cool just gently run a knife along the joins to separate them
Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets