Eccles Cakes

One of the hardest parts I find in cooking at the moment is finding a good use for those odds and ends that hang around in the fridge and cupboards – lurking. The hard rind of cheese, a lemon with no zest, an end of cucumber or deserted half pot of pesto. It is a lot harder to find inspiration when things look a little but dreary or half-empty, as opposed to looking at shiny new ingredients and packets. But when the UK throws away 8.3 billion tonnes of food every year, costing the average family £680 a year – I definitely realise that using up odds and ends is important. Plus, when bakes as delicious as these come out of it, what’s the problem!? Today I avoided wastage by turning a leftover ‘wodge’ of puff pastry into a delicious batch of Eccles cakes. Eccles cakes are not a cake at all, but a dried fruit and sugar mixture wrapped in puff pastry and baked. Eccles cakes are also an old-fashioned British treat so I thought they would be an appropriate bake during British Food Fortnight! The Eccles cakes were delicious – consisting mainly of butter, sugar and dried fruit how could they not!? The filling was almost good enough to eat on its own, but when surrounded by crackly, slightly caramelised golden pastry it went to another level. Quite addictive! This Delia recipe here is very similar to the Rachel Allen one I used – the difference being I used some all-butter puff pastry instead of making some flaky pastry. Enjoy :)

 

Celebration Chocolate Log

People who know me know that I’m not fussy with pudding. Crumble, pie, a cookie, a tart, – I’m with you. But there are certain occasions that just cry out for something a bit extra special. Occasions like, perhaps, a second blogoversary? Or, reaching 100 posts? Or…both? Yes, Teen Baker is in the midst of celebrating both these milestones! I realise I am slightly late with celebrating these on the blog, and am a little over 100 posts now – but hey, when there is a cake this good around, who is complaining? And this cake is definitely this good. With nearly half a litre of cream and half a kilogram of chocolate I had no doubts that this was the perfect cake for my 2nd and 100th celebrations ;)
This cake is from Orlando Murrin’s book called A Table in the Tarn which I have used before a while ago and now shall certainly be using again. Intended for Christmas or New Year, this cake is decadence on a plate. It consists of…
- chocolate cake layer
- chocolate/cointreau mousse layer
- chocolate cake layer
- chocolate/cointreau mousse covering
- chocolate ganache coating
- chocolate shavings and strawberry topping
Can you say YUM?
Now, this cake is a celebration one not just because of the calorie count but because of the time it takes. Each step is only 5-10minutes, but most steps end in ‘Now refrigerate for 2 hours until firm’. Perhaps some of these firming-up periods are unnecessary, but with the large scale ingredients involved I was determined not to ruin this cake and followed it to the T. My favourite part of this was the chocolate and Cointreau mousse because it was so silky smooth, rich and deep with flavour. I would definitely like to make just this component again for a dessert, although as it is so rich it would have to be in very small servings! The cake layers are very thin and have a brownie-like texture which is great for supporting those thick layers of mousse. All in all – a resounding success! Because the recipe is so long and special, I don’t feel I should post it here but do buy the book or I think it would be easy to create using your own log with your favourite recipes for a rich chocolate cake and mousse. Happy Baking!

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Surprises. My Mum can’t stand them – from who’s left Strictly Come Dancing to a surprise birthday present, she just needs to be in the know. But I think there can be good surprises: finding £5 in your pocket, a day forecast to be rainy turning out sunny, a botched up recipe turning out well after all! My good surprise today was a gift in the post… This book was destined to give good results – the recipes are from the WI  after all! As with all cookbooks, I flicked straight to the dessert/puddings/baking section (or in this case, all four of them – the book is organised by seasons!) and of course found plenty of gorgeous things I look forward to trying. But what also struck me about this book was the fabulous collections of soups that came at the start of each season. So many varieties of and new twists on tomato soup, but also dozens of vegetable, fish, bean and meat soups. Plus, with our summer weather slowly slipping away and the rain creeping in I thought I better get practising a truly delicious winter repertoire! I forgot that I had already made a carrot soup, but this version was different in every way: taste, appearance, texture, cooking style and the flavours involved. This soup also taught me the important message of seasoning, something I knew I need to learn more about. After taking the first spoonful, I was concerned that the soup was a bit bland and the carrot goodness wasn’t coming through. The trick? After pureeing, hit this soup with A LOT of black pepper. There is no point being shy here, just taste as you go along and slowly the flavours appear! Gorgeous. I was a big fan of this soup. Because of the true carrot flavour, you just know this soup is good for you. A large amount of coriander adds heat and the amount of work required from you is minimal. How could you not be a fan? This soup is from the Spring section of the book, which is a couple of seasons away for me, but I found it just perfect for a rainy Autumn afternoon. Enjoy!

Carrot and Coriander Soup from Best-kept Secrets of the Women’s Institute

Ingredients: 25g (1oz) butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
25g (1oz) plain flour
1 litre (1.25pints) chicken or vegetable stock
450g (1lb) carrots, grated
2tsp chopped fresh coriander (I probably used double this)
salt and LOTS of freshly ground black pepper
cream or yoghurt, to serve

Method:
1. Melt the butter in a pan and soften the onion and garlic slowly.
2. Blend in the flour and then add the stock gradually, stirring all the time over a low heat.
3. Add the carrots and coriander. Bring the soup to the boil and then let it simmer for 15minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and adjust seasoning. Pour into a food processor and blend until smooth.
5. Divide between four bowls and add a swirl of yoghurt/cream to serve.

Spinach and Feta Pastries

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you spinach, make spinach and feta pastries!

I was recently fortunate enough to receive a gift of a large bag of home grown spinach from the garden of my Mum's close friend Jan. Fresh, vibrant, bursting with colour - I knew this gift would not be waiting long to be used. After a Bank Holiday trip to the Suffolk seaside inspiration had dutifully struck. Thanks to hot pastries bought from Lawsons Deli and eagerly consumed on the beach, this spinach had been found a use! Once home, the cooking began. 

Mixed with salty, crumbly feta cheese (my current favourite thing: joining lunchtime salads every day.) and wrapped in flaky flaky puff pastry: these were ready. Well, after a speedy 15-minute trip to the oven - these were ready. The pastry rose, the feta melted and the spinach darkened. Just to warn you - these give a  big hit of spinach flavour. As someone still learning to love spinach in forms other than cannelloni, they occasionally erred on the too-spinachy side. However, they were balanced nicely with sweet tomato salad and I know for anyone who likes spinach they are delish. So next time you find spinach lurking in your kitchen? You know what to do :)

Spinach and Feta Pastries
As these were based on Lawsons Deli pastries and a gift of spinach, I didn't use exact measurements, so these are rough approximations. These quantities made 6 pastries, with two per serving for a main meal. You can easily scale the numbers up or down for different amounts of people.

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
200g carefully washed (no one wants soil in a pasty), destalked and cooked spinach
1 egg
150g feta cheese
1tbsp mint, finely chopped
1tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
250g puff pastry
1 more beaten egg

1. Preheat the oven to 190'C.
2. Saute the onion and garlic slowly in two large knobs of butter until the onion is softened and golden. Meanwhile, squeeze all excess water out of the spinach and chop into more bite-size pieces with a large pair of scissors.
3. Take the onion off the heat and add in all the remaining ingredients other than pastry. Season well and taste, then add more of whatever is lacking.
4. Roll out the pastry very thinly and cut into 10cm squares. Place a large tablespoon of the spinach mix into the centre of each pastry square. Brush the edges with beaten egg and bring up to the top, pinching together diagonal edges and twisting the corners. Brush the whole top with more egg.
5. Place on a baking tray and bake for 15-20minutes until the pastry is risen and golden and the feta is melted. Serve warm with a salad in the sunshine and enjoy! 

The Blueberry Muffin

The blueberry muffin is thought of by my family as a classically American treat - whenever we travel to the USA my Dad always eagerly anticipates fantastic breakfasts finished off with a moist and fruit-heavy muffin. Along with treacle tart and coffee cake, muffins rank amongst his favourite ever bakes. In our recent trip to America, the muffin adapted to become our perfect afternoon tea treat. Bought from a Wal-Mart and carefully packed and brought to the beach the huge, blue juice stained delacies filled the afternoon gap perfectly  Once we returned to rainy England, we weren't quite ready to give up the muffin habit and so to the kitchen I was headed...

After a couple of baking flops recently, I wanted to be certain that these muffins would be a success. I have certain authors in the cookery book cupboard who I head to when looking for a reliable recipe for a true classic. These authors also tend to be the ones who have several books on the shelf, all with a particular favourite well-thumbed page. Examples include Rachel Allen, Delia Smith, Mary Berry, Nigel Slater and, in the case of todays recipe, Nigella Lawson. Just one look at the chocolate brownie page in our Nigella book FEAST shows the many many times it has been used (and the many many times brownies have been enjoyed in my household). Nigella's book How To Be A Domestic Goddess is full of delicious and irresisitible and so turning to it today I was certain there would be a decent blueberry muffin - and I was not to be disappointed.

Whilst perhaps not quite as large as their Wal-Mart relations, these muffins were good. Completely loaded with blueberry goodness (the more fruit involved = the more muffins acceptable to eat at one sitting!) and with crackly demerara sugared tops - I was happy. And with a recipe yielding 12 best-eaten-on-the-day-made muffins - I was settled!

Blueberry Muffins from How To Be A Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson
Ingredients: 75g unsalted butter, melted
200g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
75g caster sugar
pinch salt
200 ml buttermilk — (or 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 100 ml semi-skimmed milk, or 200ml milk and 1tsp vinegar)
1 large egg
200g blueberries ( I used 250g, which made them extra blueberry-y!)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200'C. Melt the butter, and set it aside to cool.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl
3. In a measuring cup beat together the buttermilk, (or yogurt and milk), egg, and melted butter
4. Using a wooded spoon and a light hand, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix gently to combine
5. Don’t worry about lumps; the important thing with muffins is that the mixture isn’t overworked
6. Fold in the blueberries, again keeping mixing to a minimum
7. Spoon into the muffin tin & bake for 20 minutes, by which time the muffins should be risen and golden and firm on top

America...

Next on our Washington trip the food tourism momentarily took a backseat as we headed to the Washington Monument, built in memory of George Washington and standing at 555feet tall! We were a little nervous about reaching the top of this imposing building, but it was most definitely worth it in order to enjoy the views from the 'summit'...

In the middle here are the war memorials and the Lincoln Memorial: all beautiful, moving and interesting to wander around, even in 110'F heat. This holiday was my first ever time to Washington DC and the trip up the Washington Monument confirmed to me what an intriguing, diverse and beautiful city it really is. It was hard to pull ourservelves away from the views! After this cultural activity, it was time to return to the business of food. We headed to the fantastic Good Stuff Eatery run by Spike Mendelsohn  (PS thank you to the charming couple who explained to us - some very confused Britons! - exactly how American self-service works!) where we enjoyed the most delicious and calorific milkshakes ever...

On the top we have a Dulce de Leche milkshake, with dulce de leche painted up the sides. Underneath is the Malteser milkshake with dulce de leche and chocolate stripes up the sides and a layer of maltesers at the base as well as throughout. I stress that we also ate savoury food - Obama Burgers - and were left completely stuffed by the end! A perfect day in  Washington and wonderful memories to take with us as we moved on to new East Coast areas...