Waffles

20 Comments / breakfast, pudding /

A while back I was reading Nancy’s wonderful blog Good Food Matters and she was saying about the memories created by a waffle maker (check out the post, it really is lovely), now my own daughter had asked me about waffles that very week, asking me what they tasted like and whether  I could make her one.  I don’t own a waffle maker, and it is nigh on impossible to make a waffle without an iron.  My parents asked me what I would like for Christmas, so I asked for a waffle maker.  It was delivered to my door in October – a lovely early Christmas present.

Since then I have been experimenting with different recipes.  Some with whipped egg white, some without, some with buttermilk, some with plain milk. Anyway, I have found that whipping the egg whites does make the waffle a bit lighter, but it also requires another bowl and a bit more work. Buttermilk does add a lovely back note, but it means you have to make sure you have buttermilk in the house.  For these reasons here is the recipe I now use most often.

I haven’t stopped experimenting though and I intend to try yeast waffles soon, and chocolate waffles and buckwheat waffles (like Nancy’s).  I made potato waffles the other week, which were good but not perfect and so require a bit more experimentation before they appear here.

The waffle maker will not be a gadget that sits at the back of our cupboard any time soon and hopefully one day I will be able to write a post like Nancy’s.

200g plain flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tbsp baking powder
200ml milk
squeeze of lemon juice
60g melted butter
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Method

Put the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl.  Measure the milk and add the squeeze of lemon juice. Pour the milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and eggs into the flour mixture and whisk well until combined.

Heat the waffle maker or iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions and pour in the mixture and cook until well browned.

Eat warm with butter and maple syrup, or chocolate spread, or jam, or marmalade or anything else that you fancy.

They can also be frozen and warmed through by placing in a toaster or back into the waffle iron.

PS I forgot to say, but if you are looking for further waffle inspiration then check out Mangocheek’s wonderful suggestions for something a bit beyond the basic waffle.

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Plenty of baking going on

12 Comments / The Ordinary Cook /

It has been a busy week.  My youngest daughter turned 4, much to her chagrin, as she would like to stay 3 if that’s alright with everyone else. I have been baking away getting ready for her family party.  The lucky thing had two parties, one at the soft play centre with her friends and one at home for grandparents, aunts and cousins.

I made a cake, a train covered with pink marzipan, but my novelty cake making skills aren’t up to much so I won’t embarrass myself by putting up a picture of it.   Suffice it to say it wouldn’t have got far down the track had it needed to! My first attempt at a novelty cake was a number 1 for my eldest’s first birthday, I was asked if it was a truck or a hammer.  How badly can you do a number 1?  Well, pretty badly it seems.

I made lots of things for the party, most of which have been posted before  such as Aga baked ham, sausage and sage pie and crispie cakes.

I fetched the medlars out of the garage yesterday and most have now bletted so I hope to make jelly and fudge in the next day or so. Wish me luck.  I will report back with the results.

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Ginger cake

25 Comments / cake /

“But baby it’s cold outside” – indulge me for a moment and imagine that I am actually Cerys Matthews and I have the rather lovely Tom Jones serenading me.  Oh well, maybe not.  Still it is cold outside.

On a day like this the only decent place to be is in front of a fire, wrapped in a blanket eating something comforting.  What could be more comforting than a sticky piece of ginger cake?  Well, very little actually.

This cake is good on the day it is baked but it is even better wrapped in foil and left for a couple of days until it reaches its sticky peak.

I am submitting this entry to A Slice of Cherry Pie’s Snowy Day Bake Off because we could all do with a little comfort when the weather is so bitingly cold. If you are reading this on the other side of the hemisphere – you lucky, lucky folk!

This time I have added pieces of stem ginger into the mix, which gives a lovely zingy bite to the cake, but if you don’t happen to have any in the cupboard, feel free to leave it out.  You can also use all plain flour if you don’t have any spelt flour, or use wholemeal flour in the place of the spelt.

This recipe is adapted from Mary Berry’s Gingerbread in The Aga Book, So I always use my small Aga roasting tin which measure 30cm x 20cm.  I line it with foil and grease the foil lightly.

100g (4oz) butter
100g (4oz) soft brown sugar
100g (4oz) golden syrup
100g (4oz) treacle
100g (4oz) plain flour
100g (4oz) spelt flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp mixed spice
150ml milk
1 egg
50g stem ginger, diced

Method

Place the butter, sugar, syrup and treacle into a pan and heat gently until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.  Take the pan off the heat. Sift in the flours, baking powder and spices.  Measure the milk in a jug and break in the egg and whisk lightly to combine and pour this over the treacly mixture and flour and stir to combine well.  Add the stem ginger if you are using it and mix in well. Pour into the prepared tin and tip gently to level the mixture.

Place in a preheated oven at 170°c, gas mark 3, or the fourth set of runners of the baking oven of the Aga for 25-30 minutes until springy to the touch.  Place the tin on a wire rack and leave the cake to cool completely.

Sit yourself down with a cup of tea and enjoy a large square and think yourself very lucky that you aren’t a chicken. BBRRRRR!

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Pikelets

65 Comments / yeast cookery /

We always used to have a pikelet when I was a child, it seems though from the Wikipedia entry that pikelet is a term specific to the West Midlands.  Well, this makes me very proud.

A pikelet is a flatter crumpet, or a crumpet made without a crumpet ring. Those of us from the West Midlands know not to mess about when messing about is not needed.

The important thing is not to let your pan get too hot.  You want it just on a medium heat and keep it that way, turning down the heat when necessary. That way the bottom won’t get burned whilst the middle gets cooked.  Don’t turn it until is pretty much cooked and that way you get the maximum burst air bubbles which means maximum butter absorption. I helped the bubble bursting with the tines of a fork, gently probing the top of the bubbles.

This mixture makes about 26 pikelets.  You can eat some straight from the pan, the rest can be frozen for a speedy breakfast later in the week.  Just place back on a hot pan or in the toaster until warmed through.

500g strong bread flour
5g dried fast action yeast (aka easy bake or instant)
2 tsp salt
350ml warm milk
350ml warm water

Method

Put the flour, yeast and salt into a bowl and mix well.  Add the warm water and milk and whisk until well combined.  Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside for about an hour until bubbling (it may take longer if the kitchen is cool).

Spoon ladlefuls onto a pan that is medium-hot.  Leave until the mixture is cooked all the way through.  You will see when this happens that the tops become a little drier than before.  Whilst they are cooking you can help burst the bubbles gently with a fork for maximum holes.  Turn the pikelet over and cook for a minute or so more.

Spread generously with butter and eat warm from the pan.


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Chocolate birthday cake

14 Comments / cake, chocolate /

It was Mr OC’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Mr OC.

This cake is a really good chocolate cake.  My friend’s husband made it for her birthday back in March.  I think it ranks as one of the best chocolate cakes that I have ever tasted, so I pinched the recipe.  The recipe comes from Dorling Kindersleys’ Children’s  Baking Book. I think this may now become my standard birthday cake.

175g (6oz) softened butter
175g (6oz) dark soft brown sugar
150g (5oz) self raising flour
25g (1oz) cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 eggs
100ml soured cream (or you can use double cream with a squeeze of lemon juice)

Method

Grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Sieve over the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and add the eggs and soured cream and whisk again until well combined.  Divide between the two tins and spread the tops evenly.

Place in a preheated oven at 170°c, gas mark 3 or the baking oven of the Aga for 25-30 minutes until springy to the touch.  Leave to cool slightly, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the lining paper.  Allow to cool completely.

For the frosting:

175g (6oz) milk chocolate, or you could use white or plain depending on your preference
125g (4oz) butter
4 tbsp milk
200g (7oz) icing sugar

Method

Put the chocolate, butter and milk into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water until melted.  Take off the heat and sift the icing sugar over the top and whisk to combine.  Leave to cool slightly, then whisk again until the mixture forms soft peaks.

Use a quarter of the frosting on the bottom of one of the cakes and sandwich  the two cakes together.  Use the rest of the frosting to decorate the top and sides of the cake.  Then decorate to your heart’s content.  This is what happens when a three-year old is let loose.  I admire her restraint.

 

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Marathon slice

19 Comments / biscuits, cake, chocolate /

I have actually got my act together this month and this is my entry into the We Should Cocoa Monthly Challenge that the wonderful Choclette and Chele host.  This month’s challenge is to create something that has both caramel and chocolate and Chele is hosting over at The Chocolate Teapot.

My automatic reaction to that is, of course, Millionaire Shortbread, but I thought I needed something a little more imaginative than that.  My second musing led me down the Snickers route.  Now being a child of the seventies and growing up in the UK the Snickers bar will never really be a Snickers bar, but instead will forever remain a Marathon (if you click on the link you will find that I am not alone). Why exactly do they have to change the name of things?  Don’t even get me started on a Starburst!  What, may I ask, ever happened that deemed Opal Fruit such a bad name?

Anyway, before something innocent gets kicked, this is my homage to the Marathon bar – long may it live.

It’s very similar to the lovely Millionaire Shortbread, except the for the base I used a peanut butter cookie dough.  If I had any unsalted peanuts in the house I would have added them to the caramel layer, but I hadn’t and it was cold so I couldn’t be bothered with going to the shops.

Be warned that this is very sweet and you will probably need to run a marathon afterwards to get rid of all the calories consumed.

For the base:

150g (5oz) butter, softened
75g (3oz) crunchy peanut butter
75g (3oz) caster sugar
75g (3oz) dark soft brown sugar
1 egg
150g (5oz) plain flour

Method

Cream the butter, peanut butter and the sugars together until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat well. Add the flour and mix to a sift dough.

Lightly grease a 20cm square cake tin and spoon the dough in, levelling off the top.

Cook in a preheated oven at 180°c, gas mark 4, or the baking oven of the Aga for 20- 25 minutes until lightly golden and fairly firm to the touch. Place the tin on a wire rack to cool completely.

(You could use this recipe to make peanut butter cookies instead, just drop spoonfuls onto a tray and bake at the same temperature for about 10-12 minutes.)

For the caramel layer:

150g (5oz) butter
150g (5oz) dark soft brown sugar
400g (14oz) tin of condensed milk

Method

Place the butter and sugar in a pan over a gentle heat and stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.  Add the condensed milk and stir until the mixture begins to boil.  Take it off the heat and allow to cool for a minute and then pour over the biscuit base.  Allow to cool completely.

For the chocolate layer:

150g (5oz) milk chocolate, melted
25g (1oz) plain chocolate, melted

Pour the milk chocolate all over the caramel layer and spread evenly with a palette knife.  Drizzle the plain chocolate over the top to create a marbling effect.  Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.  Cut into small squares and enjoy with a cup of tea and a happy memory of the Marathon bar.

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Spanish sausage hotpot

2 Comments / sausages, The Ordinary Cook /

Winter is a fabulous time for comfort foods, but not so fabulous for taking a picture of that food, so apologies for the poor quality of this photo and all photos from now until next summer.

Anyway, my local butcher has a wonderful selection of sausages and they are hard to beat taste wise. He does a spanish style sausage which has a lovely red hue and is imbued with paprika. To do this sausage justice I like to add it to a hot-pot flavoured with paprika and tomatoes.  This time I served it with plain boiled rice, but noodles, mash potato or cabbage would also be lovely as accompaniments.

6 spanish style sausages
1 onion, diced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 red chilli, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
1 tsp root ginger, chopped finely
5 ready to eat dried apricots, quartered
1 tsp paprika
1 400g tin of butter beans in water, undrained
1 400g tin of plum tomatoes

Method
Pour a tablespoon of oil into a large casserole dish and add the sausages and fry over a medium heat until the sausages are browned all over. I do this on the bottom of the roasting oven of the Aga. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes, then add the pepper, chilli, garlic and ginger and cook again for a few minutes more until everything is gently softened. Add the paprika and cook for a minute.  Then pour in the beans and the water they are in and give everything a good stir.  Add the tomatoes and the apricots and season with pepper.

Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 40 minutes to 1 hour until the sauce has reduced a little.  Check for seasoning and serve with something that will mop up the juices.

 

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Fruit loaf bread pudding

18 Comments / bread, cake, leftovers, pudding, vegetarian /

A bit unusual for us this, but this morning I found myself with about half of the Fruit Loaf left.  Now, I made this three days ago, so whilst I was happy to have one more slice toasted I feared that the rest might end up as chicken food.

My youngest loves bread pudding, so it seemed the obvious way of getting the rest of the loaf consumed.  Sorry chickens!

Actually this is the perfect way to use up this loaf, my normal bread pudding recipe requires dried fruit, mixed spice and the zest of an orange.  Well, all of this is already in there, with the marmalade taking the place of the orange zest.  So this was easy peasy to put together and tastes really lovely. I did add a little extra mixed spice and some nutmeg because I love aromatic bread pudding.

750 – 800 g (10-12 oz) leftover fruit loaf
50g (2oz) melted butter
300ml (½ pint) milk
1 egg
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
75g (3 oz) dark brown muscovado sugar

Method

Break the bread into a large bowl.  Traditionally you are supposed to remove the crusts but it would be a shame to remove the crust of this loaf as it is so tasty so I didn’t.  I just made sure the crusty bits were broken up quite small.  Combine the melted butter and the milk and pour over the bread.  Give the mixture a good stir and then set aside to soak for 30 minutes.

Beat the egg and add to the bready mixture, along with the spices and sugar and stir well to combine.

Butter a shallow dish, I used my ceramic flan dish with measures 23 cm.  Pour the mixture in and level the top.  Place in a preheated oven at 180°c, gas mark 4 or the Baking Oven of the Aga for about 1 hour.  It may take a little longer, depending on your oven.  It should be golden brown and firm to the touch. Allow to cool a little.  It’s good warm or cold.

 

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Fruit loaf

42 Comments / bread, yeast cookery /

This is a loaf that gets made again and again in this house.  Ingredients wise it’s not too different from the hot cross buns or the spiced fruit buns that I have posted about before.  I think, though, that this loaf is perhaps a little quicker to make as you add marmalade and so there is no need to zest and squeeze fruit. There is also something very satisfying about having a loaf that you can keep going back to and cutting a bit more off. It is lovely when it’s still vaguely warm from the oven, spread with butter, but it’s just as nice toasted the next day for breakfast ( or mid morning, or lunch, or all three).

The recipe is an adaptation of the Raisin Bread recipe in The River Cottage Family Cookbook (ISBN 0 340 82636 3).  You can use any combination of dried fruit that you like or have available as long as it totals 150g.

500g strong white bread flour
1 tsp mixed spice
7g easy action yeast
2 scant teaspoons fine salt
40g cranberries
40g currants
40g dried blueberries
30g sultanas
1 egg
125 ml warm water
125ml warm milk ( I tend to use just boiled water on top of the cold milk and that gets the temperature about right, you want it hand hot)
2 tbsp marmalade

For the glaze:
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp water
(Or you could glaze with a couple of tablespoons of warmed honey)

Method

If you have a freestanding mixer then all you do is put all of the ingredients into the bowl and using the dough hook mix on speed 2 for two minutes.  Turn it out of the bowl and manhandle into a ball.  Place back in the bowl and cover with a large plastic bag for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours until it has doubled in size.

If you are mixing by hand, then put the flour, yeast, dried fruit, mixed spice and salt into a bowl.  Measure the milk and water in a jug and beat in the egg.  Add the liquid and the marmalade to the flour and using a flat knife such as a pallette  knife, begin to mix together.  When it is all combined, tip it out onto a lightly floured worktop and begin to knead.  To do this you hold half the dough down with one fist and stretch the other half away from you with the heel of your other hand.  Fold the dough back onto itself, turn and repeat the process for about ten minutes or until your arms fall off, whichever is the soonest. Make it into a ball shape and place into a bowl and cover with a large plastic bag until doubled in size.

Grease a loaf tin with butter. Take off the plastic bag and gently press the air out of the dough using your fingertips.  Lift the dough out of the bowl and shape into a log shape by stretching and folding.  Be gentle though. Place the dough into the loaf tin and cover again for 20-30 minutes until it has risen by about half its size again.

Place in preheated oven at 220°c, gas mark 7 or the Roasting Oven of the Aga for about twenty – thirty minutes until golden and sounds hollow when turned out and tapped on its base. Take the loaf out of its tin and place on a wire rack.

Just before the end of the cooking time, put the sugar and water for the glaze in a small pan over a gentle heat until the sugar dissolves.  Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat.  Brush the glaze over the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven and is sitting on the wire rack.

Allow to cool before taking your first slice.

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Preserving horseradish

17 Comments / preserves /

We grew some really good horseradish in the garden this year, although the caterpillars (of the white cabbage butterfly variety) ate the tops.  The little monsters.  I was surprised that they found them delicious, but perhaps the tops aren’t as strong-tasting as the root.  I adore horseradish sauce, especially when it is freshly made with cream.  This is the horseradish I retrieved from the garden and I can tell you it takes some digging out.

There was about 225g (8oz) in its unpeeled form and about 175g (6oz) once peeled.

You can grate it a lot finer on a microplane but I just didn’t think I could bear the eye-watering, so I used the grater attachment in my food processor and whizzed away.  It was still eye-watering, it has to be said, but not as bad as actually standing directly over a grater. This has left me with longer strands, but I am hoping these will give an interesting bite to future horseradish sauce.

To preserve it, mix the grated horseradish with one teaspoon of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt and then pack it into a sterile jar.  Add enough white wine vinegar to cover the horseradish (about 125ml, 4 fl oz) and seal the jar tightly.

I am looking forward to seeing how successful this is as a way of preserving one of my favourite things.

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