FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD: August 2012

Monday 27 August 2012

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE CRUMBLE

The blackberries were almost finished when I went to pick some in the hedgerows last week.
A few weeks ago when they were at their height, I mentioned to Doreen I was unsure what I could make with them. She suggested an apple and blackberry crumble.
I used to make this years ago but as Howard finds blackberries too acidic I haven't made it for a long time.

Ingredients

4 oz (110 g) whole almonds
3 oz (75 g) chilled butter
6 oz (175 g) self-raising flour, sifted
apples
blackberries
(I normally used approx two parts apples to one part blackberries)

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

Wash the blackberries thoroughly.
Peel and core the apples before cutting them into thickish slices and tossing them in the baking dish with the sugar and blackberries.

Place the butter, sifted flour and sugar in the processor and give it a whiz until it resembles crumbs.
Next add the almonds and process again until they are fairly finely chopped but with still a few chunky bits.

Sprinkle the crumble mixture all over the fruit, spreading it right up to the edge of the dish. Use the flat of your hands to press it down quite firmly all over, then finish off by lightly running a fork all over the surface.

Bake the crumble on the centre shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes, by which time the apples will be soft and the topping golden brown and crisp.

Leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

HOWARD'S BIRTHDAY CAKE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! XXXXXXXX

Ingredients

4oz (110g) butter (must be at room temperature)
4oz (110g) caster sugar
2 large eggs
4oz (110g) self-raising flour

Grease and line two 7 inch (18cm) sponge tins (at least 11/2 inches (4cm) deep)with greaseproof paper.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 3, 325F (170C).

In a medium-sized mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together.
Beat the eggs and add to the mixture.
Fold in the flour until you have a mixture that should drop off the spoon, if it doesn't then I add one or two teaspoonfuls of milk.

Divide the mixture equally between the prepared tins.
Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes.

Remove them from the oven, then turn them out on to a wire cooling tray.
Leave the cakes to cool completely before sandwiching them together with jam and fresh cream before sifting a little icing sugar over the surface.

CHOCOLATE PROFITEROLES

I was going to make profiteroles on Howard's birthday for part of his celebration meal, but we ended up eating his birthday cake for dessert instead.
Tonight Howard and I had family to dinner so I decided to make them this evening, serving the profiteroles for dessert along with a cheesecake.

Ingredients

2½ oz (60 g) strong plain flour
1 level teaspoon caster sugar
2 oz (50 g) butter, cut into small pieces
2 large eggs, well beaten
½ pint (275 ml) double cream, whipped until thick
½ lb (225 g) plain chocolate

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C)

Put 5 fl oz (150 ml) of cold water in a medium-sized saucepan together with the pieces of butter, then place the saucepan over a moderate heat and stir with a wooden spoon. As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture comes up to the boil, turn off the heat immediately, as too much boiling will evaporate some of the water. Then tip in the flour and sugar – all in one go – with one hand, while you beat the mixture vigorously with the other.

Beat until you have a smooth ball of paste that has left the sides of the saucepan clean – this will probably take less than a minute. Then beat in the beaten eggs – a little at a time, mixing in each addition thoroughly before adding the next – until you have a smooth, glossy paste.

Hold the greased baking sheet under cold running water for a few seconds then tap it sharply to get rid of excess moisture. This will help create a steamier atmosphere, which in turn helps the pastry to rise.
Place teaspoonfuls of choux paste on the baking sheet, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) between them.
Bake on a high shelf in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
Then increase the heat to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C) and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the choux buns are crisp, light and a rich golden colour.
It's very important to pierce the side of each choux bun to let out the steam before cooling them on a wire rack.

Melt the chocolate, together with three tablespoons of water, in a basin fitted over a saucepan of simmering water (being careful that the base of the bowl does not touch the water). Stir until you have a smooth sauce.

Just before serving, split the choux buns in half then fill each one with a teaspoonful of whipped cream before joining the halves together again.
Pour the melted chocolate over them and serve immediately.

CHEESECAKE

Every time I make this cheesecake I rarely wait for it to cool before eating a slice, for I find it equally nice to eat while it's still warm. Howard prefers cheesecake to be as cold as possible so I let his portion rest in the fridge for 24 hours.
Fruit coulis may be the most common topping for cheesecake but for me, spreading chocolate over the top can't be beaten.

Ingredients

2 oz (50 g) butter
8 digestive biscuits
12 oz (350 g) cream cheese, such as Philadelphia
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 large eggs
3 drops vanilla extract

Melt the butter.
Crush the biscuits until they are fine crumbs before combining them with the melted butter.
Press the biscuit mixture evenly over the base of a lightly oiled, 8 inch (20 cm) springform tin.

Beat the cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar together until smooth and free from lumps.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture feels firm in the middle. The cheesecake will shrink slightly from the sides of the tin but this is normal.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool. To serve, loosen the base from the side of the tin and decorate the top of the cheesecake with the topping of your choice.

CHEESECAKE

Of the two cheesecake recipes I've posted here, this is Howard's favourite and the one which I tend to make the most.
The fact it doesn't have to be baked means it's quick to make, setting to a firm texture in the fridge.

Ingredients

125g digestive biscuits
75g soft butter
300g cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
60g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250ml double cream

Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until beginning to turn to crumbs, then add the butter and whiz again to make the mixture clump.
Press this mixture into a 20cm springform tin; press a little up the sides to form a slight ridge.

Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.
Lightly whip the double cream and fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
Spoon the cheesecake filling on top of the biscuit base and smooth with a spatula.

Put it in the fridge to set for at least six hours.

VANILLA ICE CREAM

When I first started experimenting with making ice cream nine years ago this was the first recipe I used. Despite researching other recipes over the years this is still my favourite, although I sometimes use 250ml of single cream and 250ml of double cream in an effort to lighten the calories.

Ingredients

500ml/17fl oz double cream
100g/3½oz caster sugar
4 tablespoons of water
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Whisk the cream until it reaches the point where it resembles soft folds.
Over a low heat dissolve the sugar in the water.
Place the egg yolks in a basin and begin whisking, trickling in the sugar syrup as you go.
Continue whisking until the mixture is thick and mousse-like.
Add to the cream but be careful not to over whisk.
Pour into an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.

MY CARMELISED APPLES

3 apples
25 grams of butter
25 grams of sugar

Peel, core and slice the apples.
Pour the caster sugar into a non stick pan and let it melt over moderate heat until it goes slightly golden brown in colour.
Stir in the butter and sliced apples, stirring well to ensure that the apples are thoroughly coated in the mixture.
Turn down heat to low and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD

When Doreen mentioned how it seemed to be impossible to buy chocolate custard any more, I decided to search for a recipe.
Delia Smith is the first cookery writer I always turn to, with Nigella Lawson being a close second, so I was pleased to find that Delia had exactly what I was looking for.
This was delicious served with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

5 oz (150 g) dark chocolate (75 per cent cocoa solids), broken into pieces
1 pint (570 ml) whipping cream
6 large egg yolks
2 oz (50 g) golden caster sugar
1 rounded teaspoon cornflour

Place the broken-up chocolate, along with 5 fl oz (150 ml) of the cream, in a large heatproof bowl sitting over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Then, keeping the heat at its lowest, allow the chocolate to melt slowly – it should take 5-6 minutes. Remove it from the heat and give it a good stir until it's smooth and glossy, then remove the bowl from the pan and let the mixture cool for 2-3 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks, caster sugar and cornflour together in a separate bowl until they are thick and creamy.
Heat the remaining cream just up to simmering point and pour it over the egg-yolk mixture, whisking as you pour.
Return the whole lot to the pan and continue to stir over a gentle heat until it thickens – this will take 2-3 minutes.

Next, whisk the melted chocolate and cream together until completely smooth, add a little of the custard mixture to it and continue to whisk it in. After that, add the remaining custard, whisking until everything is really smooth.

This was delicious served with vanilla ice cream.

BANANA CUPCAKES

Tonight Howard and I are munching our way through one of two loaves of banana bread which I've just baked, for I was determined to start using up the twenty two bananas sitting on our kitchen worktop.
By coincidence, Doreen sent me this recipe for banana cupcakes today - perfect timing.....
Eighteen bananas left.
And counting.

Ingredients

125 g butter
125 g caster sugar
2 eggs
125 g plain flour
2 tbsp baking powder
2 small/medium bananas,mashed

Preheat oven to Gas 4, 180.C, 350.F. Line a bun tin with 12 cupcake cases.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Gradually beat in the eggs until mixture is smooth.
Fold in flour, baking powder and bananas.
Divide between cases and bake for 20-25 minutes.

NIGELLA LAWSON'S CHOCOLATE CHERRY MUFFINS

When Doreen sent me the recipe for banana cupcakes I realised that it's been a long time since I made cupcakes or muffins. For some reason I've preferred to bake cakes in recent years.......perhaps it's because cakes are more substantial, I've never been someone who likes delicate food! There's something dainty about a cupcake, unlike a slice of cake.
However, I used to make these wonderful chocolate cherry muffins from my favourite Nigella Lawson cookbook - "How to Be a Domestic Goddess". That book taught me how to bake and substained me through the pressure of baking professionally.
Nigella iced these muffins, but as I never did I've omitted the icing from the recipe.

Ingredients

125g soft unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
300g morello cherry jam
150g caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
150g self-raising flour
12-bun muffin tin and papers

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on the heat to melt.
When nearly completely melted, stir in the chocolate. Leave for a moment to begin softening, then take the pan off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and chocolate are smooth and melted.
Add the cherry jam, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon and when all is pretty well amalgamated stir in the flour.
Scrape and pour into the muffin papers in their tin and bake for 25 minutes.
Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.

DENSE CHOCOLATE LOAF CAKE

I've two recipes for chocolate cake which I go back to time and time again. This is probably my second favourite recipe as far as taste is concerned.
However, when it comes to the issue of ease of preparation, then this is definately my favourate cake to prepare for it's easy and quick to do so.

Ingredients

225 g soft unsalted butter
375 g dark muscovado sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 g best dark chocolate, melted
200 g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas5.
Grease and line a 23x13x7cm cm (9x5x3in) loaf tin.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs and vanilla, beating in well.
Next fold in the melted and cooled chocolate, taking care to blend well but do not overbeat.
You want the ingredients combined: you don't want a light airy mass. Gently add the flour, to which you've added the bicarb, alternately spoon by spoon, with 250 ml of boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter.
Pour into the lined loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 170C/gas mark 3 and cook for another 15 minutes. The cake will still be a bit squidgy inside, so an inserted cake tester or skewer won't come out completely clean.
Place the loaf tin on a rack and leave to get completely cold before turning it out. It improves if left for a day or so before eating. This cake will probably sink in the middle because of its denseness.

DOREEN'S FAMILY GINGER CAKE

"I found the recipe tucked inside one of my cookery books. It is handwritten and I'm not sure whose handwriting it is as the style is old fashioned so it could be one of my Auntie Mary's recipes, I know it's wasn't written by my mother although it could be one of her recipes as Mary and her were sisters, so who knows."
I love recipes with a history

Ingredients

12oz Self-raising flour
6oz Sugar
4oz Margarine or Butter
1 Egg
1 Cup of milk
1 ½ Teaspoons of Ginger
1 Teaspoon of Mixed Spice
1 Tablespoon of Golden Syrup
Optional 2oz Sultanas/Raisins

Beat egg and milk together.
Cream butter and sugar together and mix in syrup.
Mix flour and spices together.
Gradually add flour and beaten egg/milk to butter mix mixing thoroughly.
Fold Sultanas/Raisins into mix.
Pour mix into a shallow square well greased tin (7 inch).
Cook in a moderate oven (350-375F / Gas 4) on the middle shelf for approximately 1 hour or until golden brown.
Turn out to cool and cut into squares – sprinkle with caster sugar.

CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

Muffins are much more dense in texture than cupcakes. For that reason these chocolate muffins are the only muffins I make, but then than as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to any chocolate sponge - be it cakes, puddings, cupcakes or muffins - the more dense and rich the better.

110 g unsalted butter
200 g dark muscovado sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
50 g dark chcocolate, melted and cooled a little
100 g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
125 ml boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/gas mark 4.

Cream the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs and vanilla, beating in well.
Next fold in the melted and cooled chocolate, taking care to blend well but do not overbeat.
You want the ingredients combined: you don't want a light airy mass. Gently add the flour, to which you've added the bicarb, alternately spoon by spoon, with 250 ml of boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter.
Pour into 12 muffin paper cases in a muffin tin.
Bake for 30 minutes, remove from the tin and cool on a rack.

NIGELLA LAWSON'S NORWEGIAN MOUNTAIN BREAD

Although I haven't made this bread yet, as soon as I read this recipe of Nigella Lawson's, I was reminded of her Lazy Loaf which I have made in the past and blogged about earlier.
However, I suspect this loaf will be a lot denser for it contains rye flour.

Ingredients

250ml milk or buttermilk
250ml water
250g whole-wheat flour
50g rye flour
7 g active dry yeast
50g rolled oats (not instant)
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
8 Tablespoon blend of any of the following (preferably all of the following):
wheat germ
sunflower seeds
flaxseeds (linseeds)
pumpkin seeds
wheatbran

Mix the milk and water together in a measuring cup and combine all the other ingredients in a large bowl.
Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, stirring all the while, to make a sticky mixture.
Butter your loaf pan well, scrape the dough into the pan, sprinkle a few extra seeds and oats over the surface of the bread and place in a cold oven.
Turn on oven to 225F/100C and after 30 minutes, turn it up to 350F/175C for one hour.

SWEET AND SALTY CRUNCH NUT BARS

We were watching Nigella Lawson's cookery programme "Kitchen" tonight, which is based on recipes taken from her latest cookery book of the same title, when she made these bars - they sound delicious and a must-do over the weekend....
She used my favourite Green and Black's milk chocolate which is the perfect blend of dark and milk chocolate in one bar.

Ingredients

200g milk chocolate
100g dark chocolate
125g unsalted butter
1 x 15ml tbsp golden syrup
250g salted peanuts
2 x 80g Crunchie bars

Melt the butter and the golden syrup a low heat in a heavy based pan.
Break up the chocolate and add to the golden sludge.
Put the peanuts into a bowl.
Break and crumble the Crunchie bars and add to the peanuts.
When the chocolate mixture has just melted, pour it over the combination of nuts and honeycomb and stir together.
Pour into a disposable foil tray. Spread the mixture out, flattening it as much as you can with a spatula.
Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before cutting into chunks or wedges.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

I often make bread and butter pudding for supper, sometimes sprinkling mixed spice over the bread.
Although traditionally this is made with plain white bread, I always use fruit loaf for it adds more flavour.
I took this photo just before the pudding went into the oven. It came out golden brown with the custard well risen above the sides of the stoneware dish.

Ingredients

8 slices bread (from a small loaf)
2 oz (50 g) butter
½ oz (10 g) candied lemon or orange peel, finely chopped
2 oz (50 g) currants
10 fl oz (275 ml) milk
2½ fl oz (60 ml) double cream
2 oz (50 g) caster sugar
grated zest ½ small lemon
3 eggs
freshly grated nutmeg

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).

Butter the bread and cut each slice of buttered bread in half – leaving the crusts on.
Arrange one layer of buttered bread over the base of the baking dish.
Sprinkle the candied peel and half the currants overthe bread then cover with another layer of the bread slices and the remainder of the currants.

In a glass measuring jug, measure out the milk and add the double cream.
Stir in the caster sugar and lemon zest, then whisk the eggs, first on their own in a small basin and then into the milk mixture.
Pour the whole lot over the bread then sprinkle over some freshly grated nutmeg.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
Serve warm.

MY APPLE SPONGE

Apples are a fruit which I never eat raw. Usually I prefer to stew apples and eat them with vanilla ice-cream. or incorporate them into a recipe.
This is my favourite recipe for apple cake, we often eat this warm for supper.

Ingredients

2oz (50g) butter (must be at room temperature)
2oz (50g) caster sugar
1 large egg
2oz (50g) self-raising flour
1 tablespoon of milk
3 apples

Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade.

Grease and line a 14 inch cake tin.
Peel, core and thinly slice the apples.
Layer the apples on the bottom of the tin.
Place the other ingredients in a food processor and blend well.
Pour the mixture on top of the apples and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Serve while warm.

GLUTEN FREE BREAD

This is the recipe I used when I made gluten-free bread for Howard last year.
As always I used Dove's Farm organic flour, in fact I got this recipe from the back of the packet of their white Gluten-Free flour.

Ingredients

1kg/36oz Gluten Free White Bread Flour
1 tsp Salt
4 tsp Quick Yeast
4 tbsp Sugar
700ml/20floz Milk
2 tsp Vinegar
6 tbsp Oil
4 Eggs

In a bowl mix together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar.
In another bowl beat together the milk, vinegar and eggs.
Add the flour and mix to form a sticky dough.
Spoon the oil over the mixture and bring it together into a ball of dough.
Put the dough into a 1kg/2lb bread tin.
Leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
If the dough spreads over the sides of the tin gently press it inwards and upwards to form a domed top.

Bake in an oven pre heated to 220°C/Fan200°C/425°F/Gas 7 for 50/55 minutes.

BANANA AND CHERRY LOAF

When Doreen mentioned she wanted to make her own banana loaf again I immediately asked her for the recipe for I've had difficulty in the past finding one for banana loaf that worked.
Although Doreen's recipe includes cherries I left them out. As usual when baking a cake I used wholemeal self-raising flour.
I also doubled up the quanity of ingredients and made two loaves, the first of which Howard and I ate warm straight away.
It was absolutely delicious so I suspect the second loaf will be ate very quickly. I'm not surprised that Doreen does the same......

"I need to make two each time as whenever I made one it went so quickly, it was virtually gone before it had time to cool.
You are very welcome to have a go at the Banana Loaf, I’ve never had a problem making it other than it killing my arms mixing the ingredients, not sure how it will turn out with wholemeal flour but its worth a try.
This was one of my mum’s recipes that my sister copied for me many years ago and is written on a rather scrappy bit of paper."

Ingredients

4oz Glazed cherries, washed and chopped (I leave the cherries out as I don’t like glazed cherries)
2 Ripe bananas
8oz Self raising flour
Pinch of salt
6oz Light soft brown sugar
4oz Soft margarine (I’ve used butter before)
2 Large eggs, beaten

Pre-heat oven – Gas 3 (325F/160C)
2lb Loaf tin
Brush tin with melted fat/margarine and line base with a piece of greaseproof paper cut to fit and greased.

Sift flour and salt into mixing bowl, add margarine, sugar, beaten egg and chopped cherries.
Peel and mash bananas with a fork then add them to the mix as well.
Using a wooden spoon (preferable), stir the ingredients together (makes my arm ache) and when combined beat for a minute or two to incorporate some air.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin, spread the surface level then hollow it out slightly.
Bake loaf on the middle shelf of the oven for 1¼ to 1½ hours or until a warmed skewer or sharp knife inserts into the loaf and comes out clean.
Leave loaf in tin to cool for about 15 minutes then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely.

STRAWBERRY MERINGUE LAYER CAKE

This cake brings back many memories for me of Belfast in the 1980's, more so than any other food. It was what I chose every time I went into "The Upper Crust" in Lombard Street, along with a cup of coffee. Their coffee was virtually undrinkable but all the food was freshly baked on the premises every morning resulting in long queues out the door onto the street every lunchtime.
For years the recipe eluded me but I finally found it in Nigella Lawson's "Forever Summer".
The first time I baked the cake I was surprised to find that the sponge is quite dense and moist, almost like a pudding sponge rather than a lighter cake sponge. The denseness is necessary though in order to support the meringue surrounding it.

Ingredients

125g plain flour
25g cornflour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
100g very soft unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of milk
50g flaked almonds
375ml double cream
250g strawberries

Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade.

Line, butter and flour two 22cm springform tins.

Weigh out the flour, cornflour and baking powder into a bowl.
Cream the butter and 100g of the caster sugar in another bowl until light and fluffy.
Separate the eggs and beat the yolks into the butter and sugar, saving the whites to whisk later.
Gently fold in the weighed-out dry ingredients, add the vanilla, then sir in the milk to thin the batter.
Divide the mixture between the two prepared springform tins.
Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add the remaining 200g caster sugar.
Spread a layer of meringue on top of the sponge batter in each tin and sprinkle the almonds evenly over.

Bake for 30-35 mins, by which time the top of the almond-scattered meringues will be a dark gold.

Let the cakes cool in their tins, then spring them open at the last minute when you are ready to assemble the cake.

Whip the double cream then hull and slice the strawberries.
Invert one of the cakes on to a plate so that the sponge is uppermost.
Pile on the cream and stud with the strawberries.
Place the second cake on top, meringue upwards and press down gently to secure it.

TRADITIONAL WHITE LOAF

Although it has been suggested to me in the past that I buy an electric bread maker, I know that it would take all the enjoyment out of breadmaking for me.
Working with yeast may be a lengthy process but seeing the dough rise is an important aspect of it. Kneading the dough by hand is too labourious though, so I use my food processer for this step.
This is the recipe I've always used for a plain white loaf. I've tried replacing the milk with water but found that the bread lost it's rich taste.
Traditionally butter is used rather than vegetable oil but I use sunflower oil as it's lower in fat.

Ingredients

500 grams white bread flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of quick yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar
300 ml of warm water
1 tablespoon of sunflower oil

Put all the dry ingredients in a food processer and pulse until blended.
Add the oil to the water, turn on the food processor and pour the oil/water blend into the processor until the mixture forms a dough. Continue to process until a smooth pliable ball is reached.
Remove the dough from the food processor, place it in a bowl covered with a teatowel and leave in a warm draught-free place until it doubles in size.
Return the dough to the food processer and knead briefly.
The dough should be shaped then placed in a greased 2lb loaf tin to rise for 25 - 30 minutes.
Place in an oven preheated to 220 degrees centigrade/gas mark 7 and bake for 40 minutes.

LAZY LOAF

Yesterday I made a loaf of soda bread using Waitrose's Organic Malted Grain Bread Flour for the first time. However I found that not only did I not like the taste, but it's a flour which is so full of wheatflakes, bran and malt that it produces a loaf which is too dense in its texture for my liking.
This became apparent from the time I turned the dough out onto the cast iron skillet for although it rose quickly, it didn't rise much. Nor did baking the loaf increase it's lightness therefore I ended up with a heavy bread which tasted strongly of malt - not one of my favourite flavours.

Wasteing a bag of flour doesn't appeal to me though. Therefore I intend to use it in Nigella's Lawson's recipe for bread made with muesli for when I made this loaf in the past I found that the taste of the bread was mainly determined by the muesli rather than the flour.

Ingredients

200 grams of muesli
325 grams wholemeal bread flour
1 x 6 gram sachet of easyblend yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
250 ml of skimmed milk
250 ml of water

Mix the muesli, flour, yeast and salt in a bowl.
Pour in the milk and water then stir to mix.
It will be like a thick porridge.
Transfer to a greased 2lb loaf tin.
Place in a cold oven immediatedly turning the oven up to 180 degrees centigrade/gas mark 4.
Bake for one hour until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
Although this is a dense loaf it makes excellent toast.

IRISH SODA BREAD

This is the recipe for soda bread I've been using a lot recently for I find it the most basic in terms of ingredients.
I often exclude the butter and substitute water for the skimmed milk which results in quite a dry bread, but the addition of Lurpak quickly remedies that.

Ingredients

500 grams of wholemeal flour
1 level teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
50 grams of butter
275 skimmed milk

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade/
375 degrees farenheite/gas mark 5

Take a large bowl and mix all the ingredients into it, then rub in the butter until it is thoroughly blended.
Mix in the milk, first with a spatula and then with your hands, until you have a soft dough.
Knead it briefly in the bowl then transfer the dough to a floured worktop and shape it into a round mound.
Using a knife, score the top of the dough quite deeply making a cross.
Leave the loaf for about 10 or 15 minutes.
Place it on a greased baking sheet and bake it for about 45 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
Allow the loaf to cool and serve it as fresh as possible.

TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA

TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA

500 grams of wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon of salt
275ml of buttermilk

Take a large bowl and put the flour and salt into it.
Mix in the milk, first with a spatula and then with your hands, until you have a soft dough.
Knead it briefly in the bowl then transfer the dough to a floured worktop and shape it into a round mound.
Using a knife, score the top of the dough quite deeply making a cross.
Leave the loaf for about 10 or 15 minutes.
Place it on a greased baking sheet and bake it for about 45 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
Allow the loaf to cool and serve it as fresh as possible.

IRISH OATMEAL SODA BREAD

My first attempt at soda bread was with Delia Smith's recipe for Irish Oatmeal Soda Bread which is a very rich bread in terms of taste, no doubt helped enormously by the addition of an egg.
It is a variation of the traditional Irish Soda bread.

Ingredients

175 grams wholemeal flour
50 grams plain flour
50 grams pinhead oatmeal
25 grams wheatgerm
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 egg
275ml buttermilk
a little extra flour for dusting

Take a large bowl and mix all the ingredients into it, then rub in the butter until it is thoroughly blended.
Mix in the milk, first with a spatula and then with your hands, until you have a soft dough.
Knead it briefly in the bowl then transfer the dough to a floured worktop and shape it into a round mound.
Using a knife, score the top of the dough quite deeply making a cross.
Leave the loaf for about 10 or 15 minutes.
Place it on a greased baking sheet and bake it for about 45 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
Allow the loaf to cool and serve it as fresh as possible.

MRS COLE'S WHEATEN BREAD

When I first wanted to make my own wheaten bread I asked Angela for Mr's Cole's recipe for I knew it would be hard to beat.
The fact Mrs Cole uses sunflower oil instead of the traditional butter surprised me. However the addition of wheatgerm in her recipe didn't for it seperates this bread from the very similar traditional Irish soda bread recipe.
To me, what a loaf of bread tastes like depends entirely on the quality of the flour. I only use organic flour for this reason, the one I use most at the moment is Dove's Farm Barleycorn flour but I've a new bag of Waitrose's Organic Malted Grain Bread Flour which I've never tried before.

Ingredients

450 grams of wholemeal flour
50 grams of wheatgerm
2 tsp of brown sugar
1 tsp of baking soda
2 tsp of sunflower oil
pinch of salt
275ml of buttermilk

Mix all the dry ingredients together then gradually add the oil and buttermilk.
Divide between two greased loaf tins.
Bake at 175 degrees centigrade for 30 minutes and then at 150 degrees centigrade for a further 30 minutes.

ICE CREAM CAKE

I don't think a cook's job should be to deceive, but there is something appealing about the fact that this looks and tastes as if it were incredibly hard work and yet involves no more than a bit of stirring. You must, though, serve a warm sauce with it - the crowning glory - and I've certainly given you options below.

To be frank, you can choose different biscuits, different nuts and nobbly bits to mix in with the ice cream and given crunch, texture and sudden shards of flavour. I find it hard to believe, however, that this could be in any way improved. Sorry, but that's just how it is.

Ingredients

2 Litres Vanilla ice cream

100 Grams Honey roast peanuts

200 Grams Peanut butter morsels (or nestle swirled milk chocolate or chocolate chips of your choice)

1 Crunchie bar broken into shards and dusty rubble

150 Grams Bourbon biscuits broken up into crumbs and rubble

1 Batch Chocolate sauce hot

1 Batch Butterscotch sauce (or chocolate peanut butter sauce)

Method

Let the ice cream soften either in the fridge for a while, or out in the kitchen.

Line a 20cm springform tin with clingfilm, both in the bottom and sides of the tin so that you have some overhang at the top.

Empty the slightly softened ice cream into a bowl and mix in the peanuts, 150g chocolate and peanut butter morsels or chocolate chips, Crunchie shards and 100g of the Bourbon biscuit crumbs.

Scrape the ice cream mixture into the springform tin, flattening the top like a cake, cover the top with clingfilm and place in the freezer to firm up.

Serve the cake straight from the freezer, unmoulding from the tin and pulling the clingfilm gently away, before putting on a plate or cake stand. Let it stand and soften for about 5 minutes before cutting.

Sprinkle the top of the cake with the extra 50g of chocolate and peanut butter morsels or chocolate chips, and the remaining Bourbon biscuit crumbs.

Cut into slices and serve with the butterscotch and chocolate sauces, letting both dribble lacily over each slice. If two sauces sound like too much trouble - they-re not - just opt for the chocolate peanut butter sauce. It's hard to find an argument against it.