yum!

black forest gateaux cupcakes ...

maybe it's because i'm a child of the seventies but i really do love black forest gateaux!  you hardly ever see it on restaurant menus any more and then when you do, it never really lives up to my expectations - yes, i'm getting fussy in my old age :)

so, i decided i would make it for myself.  but, not wanting to eat a whole gateaux to myself, thought that a few wee cupcakes might be kinder to my waistline.

and they were just delish!  the sponge was chocolatey and moist, there were tons of gooey cherries and a (un)healthy dollop of cream and dark chocolate to top it all off - i will definitely be making these again!

if you fancy having a bash, here's a rough recipe (i halved these amounts and got seven large cupcakes) ...

for the sponge:
340g/12oz golden caster sugar
340g/12oz unsalted butter
6 eggs
240g/8½oz self raising flour, sifted
100g/3½oz cocoa

= cream the sugar and the butter together until light and fluffy.
= beat the eggs in one at a time.
= fold in the sifted flour and cocoa powder.
= half fill the cupcake cases with this mix and bake at 170 oC / 325 oF / gas mark 3.  i think i left them in for about 15 mins before checking them.
= to test if they are ready, insert a skewer into the middle, if it comes out clean, they're done!  if not, pop them back in the oven for a few mins and test again.

for the filling (i was lazy here and bought ready-made, but it was very tasty!):
a can/carton of morello cherry pie filling
2 tbsp kirsch

= reserve a little of the liquid from the pie filling and mix with the kirsch.
= pour this over the cupcakes so that it soaks into the sponge.

= once the cupcakes are cool, carefully remove a core of sponge from the middle of the cupcake.  try to leave a little sponge in the base so that it doesn't fall apart when you remove the case to eat it.
= fill the middle of the cupcake with the pie filling, don't fill it right to the top as this will give you space to put a wee slice of sponge back on the top.
= slice the 'plug' of cupcake you removed so that you have a thin disk of sponge to place on top of the pie filling.
= eat the remaining sponge pieces - you don't want it to go to waste!

for the topping:
600ml/21 fl oz double cream
200g/7oz dark chocolate 
couple tsps of the pie filling

= whip the double cream until stiff and plonk a dollop on top of the cupcake.
= grate some dark chocolate over the top of the cream.
= add a wee blob of the pie filling to top it all off.

stand back to admire your handywork and ... enjoy :)

yummy mincemeat

for 6lb mincemeat:

120g (350g) seedless raisins
8oz (225g) sultanas
8oz (225g) currants
4oz (110g) cut mixed peel
4oz (110g) dried prunes, chopped
12oz (350g) soft brown sugar
1lb (450g) cooking apples - peeled, cored and grated
8oz (225g) shredded suet (i use the veggie version)
grated rind and juice of 2 oranges
grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
2oz (50g) almonds, chopped
2oz (50g) pecan nuts, chopped
1 tbsp (15g) mixed spice
1 tsp (5g) freshly grated nutmeg
5 fl oz (150ml) brandy

1. mix all the ingredients together, except half the brandy, in a large ovenproof bowl and cover. leave to stand overnight.


2. the next day, preheat the oven to 110C/225F/Gas Mark 1/4. cover the bowl, with foil or lid and place in the oven for about three hours.

3. allow to cool, then mix in the rest of the brandy and put into sterilised jars.

if possible, the mincemeat needs to mature for at least two weeks before using. once sealed, it can keep for at least a year.


a wee p.s.

i have tweaked this recipe slightly over the years and usually use half of all of the ingredients, apart from the two oranges and two lemons and the spices which i use the full amounts of.

i also usually use double the amount of brandy - adding half when mixing all of the ingredients together and then the remainder the next day, before it goes in the oven. and i check on it once an hour to give it a stir around and enjoy the lovely christmassy smell.

oh, and i never seem to be organised enough to make the mincemeat in time to let it mature for two weeks, it tastes fab when used straight away though :)

a roman day out

a bit of nicer weather (before the snow came back recently!) encouraged us to go out roman hunting the other day! in an archaeology type way, no violent past-times here!

we really do live in a fantastic part of the country, so much to see and do and learn.

so, we headed off to look at roman forts along the gask ridge and here's what we saw ...

lovely straight roman roads to walk along!

muir o'fauld watch-tower

another lovely path leading to ardunie watch-tower

then on to kirkhill

with lots of lovely foresty stuff along the way

this looked like an archway into a secret world (well, to me anyway, perhaps i'd had too much fresh air at this point!)

lovely, lovely, soft willow

and more time to stop and stare at mushrooms

in amongst all this we also managed some bird-watching and saw yellowhammer for the first time! along with: starling; fieldfare; rooks and jackdaws and chaffinches a-plenty all avoiding the buzzards circling overhead.

after lots of fun and fresh air we headed home to a fantastically warming, tasty tea of leek and potato gratin (with added quorn, what a lovely day :)

oatcakes

so, if the recipe says medium oatmeal, and all you have in the cupboard when the notion to bake oatcakes comes upon you, is pinhead oatmeal, that'll do?

right ... ?

won't it ... ?

apparently the answer is no!

i've had this recipe for a while and only just got round to making it, it worked okay-ish with the pinhead oatmeal but i think i'll get some medium oatmeal in for the next time.

> ingredients
225g medium oatmeal, plus extra for dusting
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp unsalted butter
150ml water

you can also add herbs/pepper/spices/25g cranberries/25g nuts for added flavour or texture

> method
1. heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
2. put the oatmeal, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl and mix well.
3. if you are adding anything for flavour, add this now.
4. heat the butter and water in a small pan until the butter melts.
5. make a well in the centre of the oatmeal mix, pour in the liquid and use a palette knife to bring everything together. the mix will seem quite wet at this stage but the oatmeal will gradually absorb the liquid to form a soft dough.
6. lightly dust your work surface with some of the spare oatmeal.
7. tip out the dough and roll out to about 5mm thick.
8. use a cookie cutter to stamp out the oatcakes.
9. brush any excess oatmeal off the surface and transfer the oatcakes to a baking tray.
10. bake for about 20 minutes, turning the oatcakes over every five mins or so. when cooked they should be crisp and lightly golden.

happy pancake day!

> ingredients
120g plain flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
210ml milk
90ml water
1 tbsp vegetable oil

> method
1. put the flour and salt into a bowl and mix together.
2. make a well in the flour/salt and crack in the two eggs.
3. in a separate bowl, mix together the milk and water.
4. beat the eggs into the flour with a wooden spoon.
5. gradually beat in the milk and water mix to get a smooth liquid, with a creamy consistency.
6. stir in the oil and leave to stand for 30 mins before cooking.
7. add a little oil to a hot frying pan
8. pour in some of the pancake mix, how much depends on how thick you like your pancakes!
9. cook until set and then flip to finish cooking the other side.
10. serve with your favourite filling (lemon and sugar for me).
11. eat while cooking the next one!

not much in the way of a pic for this one, too busy making and eating, making and eating, just an empty plate to show how tasty they were - bliss :)

hummus

so the healthy eating regimen has finally kicked in, now all i need to do is find time to fit in some exercise and i might start to shift my winter layers (extra pounds unfortunately, not clothing!).

i love home-made hummus, and it feels especially healthy when i have it with rice cakes, seriously tasty.

and if i feel like i can spare a few more calories, i top it with grated cheese - yum!

i lost the recipe yonks ago so each time i make it, it tastes slightly different but here's a rough outline.

> ingredients
a 400g can of chickpeas
two cloves of garlic
juice from one lemon
100ml tahini
25ml olive oil

and you can add paprika to taste if you wish.

> method
1. drain the chickpeas.
2. pop all ingredients in the blender and blitz.
3. taste and add more garlic/olive oil/tahini/paprika if needed.

ta-daa! now you need never eat store bought hummus again :)

easy fruit cake

this never lasts long when i make it!

my friend's mum gave me this recipe years ago, in fact the measurements are still in ounces :)

> ingredients
12ozs mixed fruit
4ozs brown sugar
4ozs butter
1/2 pint water
2 eggs
8ozs self raising flour
4ozs cherries
2tsp mixed spice

and when i make it at christmas i swap brandy for the 1/2 pint water, and normally chuck in a little more just in case - nobody enjoys a dry cake now do they?

> method
1. place fruit, sugar, butter and water in pan. bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins.
2. allow to cool then add mixed spice, cherries and beaten egg. stir in the flour.
3. turn mixture into a greased loaf tin.
4. bake for one and a half hours at 150oC / 300oF / gas mark 2.

see, told you it was easy :)

for hawthorn

so, these are kind of made-up-as-i-went-along and cobbled-together 'recipes' but they seemed to work!

i used a small baking tray (20cm x 30cm x 3cm deep) which i lined with baking paper for both.

oaty bake thingies

>ingredients
100g butter
150g sugar (leave out if you prefer your slices chewy rather than crunchy - it caramelises the syrup)
8tbsp golden syrup
200g porridge oats
100g chopped, mixed nuts
100g raisins
100g chopped chocolate

> method
pre-heat the oven to 190oC.
melt the butter, sugar (if you're using it) and golden syrup gently in a pan.
stir in the oats, nuts and raisins.
allow to cool slightly and add the chopped chocolate.
spread the mixture onto the baking paper lined baking tray.
pop into the oven for about 10/15 mins.
allow to cool.
pop in the fridge for 5 mins and slice.
eat (lots!)

crispie cake slices

>ingredients
100g rice crispies
50g chocolate, chopped
50g sugar
6 tbsp syrup
25g butter
25g cocoa powder
250g chocolate for the topping

>method
gently melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan.
remove from the heat and add the 50g of chopped chocolate, cocoa and rice crispies, stirring well.
scoop out onto the baking paper lined baking tray and level with the back of a wooden spoon.
allow to cool.
pop in the fridge for 5 mins.
slice and eat (lots!)

... if you want a layer of chocolate on top (why not make some with, and some without?)
place a pan of water on the stove to boil.
find a heat-proof bowl which fits on top of the pan, but make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the surface of the water.
break the 250g chocolate into smaller pieces, add to the bowl and place on top of the pan.
once the chocolate has melted, very carefully (hot bowl, hot melted chocolate and steam!) remove the bowl of melted chocolate and pour over the crispie mix.
allow to cool.
pop in the fridge for 5/10 mins, slice and, well, you know what happens next ...

yikes ... it wasn't until i was typing these up that i realise they seem more like recipes for heart disease! but, i did make them for m, for energy and sustenance during a 24 hour cycle race in the forest, in january, in scotland. given the amount of these i've consumed it looks like i've got a lot of cycling to do!

cooookies!

a bit more of a conventional recipe today!

we've somehow managed to chomp our way through all of the biccies m bought in his moment of madness before christmas so i got to do some baking today :)

a work-friend gave me this recipe, i think it appeared in a magazine a few years ago to give folk easy baking ideas for charity bake-sales.

i love this recipe because you can add anything you like to it and the cookies (pretty much) always turn out delish. i usually make two different types at once so the pic shows chocolate chip for m and sultana and hazelnut for me :)

> basic ingredients
250g softened butter (i use the microwave for this!)
140g caster sugar (i prefer brown sugar for the taste and texture)
1 egg yolk (sometimes i add two, makes for a softer cookie)
2tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour

> method
heat the oven to 180 oC/fan 160 oC/gas mark 4.
mix the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.
add the egg yolk and vanilla and briefly beat to combine.
sift in the flour and stir until the mixture is well combined, use your hands to bring the dough together if needed.
now add your extras! i'm a bit easy-oasy when it comes to measuring - just keep adding until it looks right :)
mix well, and if the mixture looks a little dry, add the second egg yolk or a tiny splash of milk.
lightly grease a baking tray.
depending on the consistency of your final mix, you can either roll the dough out and use a biscuit cutter to cut your shapes or, if your mix is a little softer, just scoop out a ball of the dough and pop onto the baking sheet, making sure to flatten it slightly.
pop them into the oven for between 10 to 15/20 mins, again this will depend on the consistency of your cookie dough. probably best to check after 10 mins and if a knife comes out clean, you're good to go.

these are heavenly when eaten still warm!

bird cake!

as in a cake for the birds, not a cake made from birds!

well, it might not look too appetising to me but our feathered friends have been scoffing this as fast as i can make it. we've still got a load of snow and ice (will it ever go away?) so as well as our usual seed-feeder, i've started putting food out for the birds twice a day.

as i wasn't really baking this year (m went mad in the grocery store and bought enough sweets, choccies, crisps, snacks, cakes, pies to last a lifetime) i thought i would use up all of the dried fruit, the nuts, the suet that i wouldn't be using. i also found some pinhead oatmeal and some muesli i didn't really like very much and added some bird seed. it all got chopped up, then i melted some vegetable suet in the microwave, poured it over the dry mix and hey-presto! this gets chopped into smaller chunks and put out with some seed and chopped apples mixed in.

we've gone from a few birds visiting the feeder to a veritable flock who wait for us in the tree when we go out now. the binoculars now have a permanent home on the window-sill, as much to be on the look-out for next-door's cats as to enjoy watching the birds.

chocolate cake

this cake was so tasty it didn't even last long enough for a photo! best to eat this one when it's still warm from the oven ...

ingredients
> cake
2 eggs
3tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup self raising flour
2tbsp sunflower oil

> sauce
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup hot water

method
put the oven on to about 180 oC.
lightly oil your cake tin (about 8" will do), i use a loaf tin.
sprinkle in the ingredients for the sauce, don't worry about sieving or mixing - just bung it all in the tin.
put all of the ingredients for the cake into a mixing bowl and mix it all up until you get a thick, gloopy batter.
pour a cup of hot water into the cake tin, on top of the dry sauce ingredients.
stir it gently.
now pour the cake batter in (no more stirring or poking about, that's really all there is to it!)
pop it into the oven for about twenty minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the cake.
if you put the cake tin onto a baking tray before putting it into the oven, it'll help catch any sauce that runs out over the top of the tin while it's cooking (learnt that one the hard way!).

i can't remember where i printed off the original recipe from but part of the instructions say that it is ready when the sauce looks gloopy and slightly volcanic which is a perfect description!

i sometimes add a different flavour by grating in some green & black's maya gold or you could add a few drops of flavouring or something like rose water.

i usually up-end the loaf tin onto a plate so that the lovely, gooey sauce runs all over the cake, slice it up, bung on some cream/ice cream and serve :)

beetroot chutney

a work friend kindly gave me this recipe when i mentioned to her that we were growing our own beetroot this year. it really is an unbelievably simple recipe but the end result is divine - i can totally recommend a cheese and beetroot chutney sandwich :)

ingredients
3lbs fresh beetroot
1.5lbs cooking apples
2lbs onions
1lb sugar
1tsp salt
1 pint regular malt vinegar
1tbs lemon juice
0.5tsp ground ginger

i did kind of tweak the quantities as i was making it, using slightly less suger and fresh rather than ground ginger too, but you can change according to your own tastes.method
anyways, you chop up all the ingredients (as fine or as chunky as you prefer) and put them in a big pan.
bring to the boil.
simmer until the mixture has reduced and become a bit thicker.
while the chutney is cooking, you can be sterilising your jars.
once the apple and beetroot has softened and the mixture is nice and gloopy, put it in jars and seal.

the amounts given above are enough to fill about twelve jars. also, i think i only waited about a week after putting in jars to have my first taste and it was delish.but, be warned, it can have a rather surprising (or it was for me anyway) effect that will be noticed the next time you, ahem, go to powder your nose!!!