Vegetable Cake/ Pudding Dulux

Possibilities

Cooking is a lot like dancing,  so many steps have already been done but the combination of steps you can do are infinite.  I was going to make a carrot cake but then I saw some courgettes and thought how cool would it be to make a low fat sugar cake mainly using vegetables.  I told a few people of my plans but the only person who approved was mummy.   What can I say… My mummy just has a better imagination than most.  The cake/ pudding ended up tasting wonderful,  I made so many alterations I wasn’t sure how it was going to come out. I don’t think I have ever made a cake with so many vegetables.  If you are going to make a vegetable cake then carrots and courgettes are usually the best way to go because carrots are sweet and courgettes contain a lot of moisture and do not taste of anything.  Therefore it allows you time to think of other ingredients that could be used to flavour the pudding. Take a walk on the wild side and try this exciting new cake.

This recipe was seriously adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery: Cake Days (Harper Collins Publishers, 2011).

Ingredients:

250g carrots (peeled and grated), 250g courgettes (grated), 140g sultanas, 2 tbsps mixed spice, 80ml buttermilk, 4 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 250g butter (melted), 100g dark brown sugar, 450g plain flour, 2 tsps baking powder, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda.

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees C.
2. In a large bowl mix the vegetables, sultanas, buttermillk, eggs, vanilla and butter.
3. In another bowl sift in the plain flour and mix with the sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine well.
5. Divide into 2 x 10 inch cake tins.
6. Bake for 1 hour until the pudding is firm to the touch.

Saffy’s Serving Tips:

As this is an odd recipe I have providing some serving tips if you are slightly apprehensive eating this delicious dessert/ pudding alone.

1. Custard! Try my home made vanilla custard!
2. Ice Cream! Try my home made rum and raisin ice cream it goes perfect with this!
3. Blitzed bananas and mango slices!  Trust me it’s awesome and complimentary to anyone on a diet.  That’s if your diet is cool and not super strict which doesn’t allow a few cakes every now and again.
4. A smile! This is necessary!  Fall in love with your food,  nourishment is to be enjoyed!

Lemon Cheesecake Ice Cream

Epic Fail

Cheesecake fails count as epic fails because they should not be so difficult to get right.  I consider myself to be more than capable of doing a damn cheesecake and because I hate it when they go wrong as they are so expensive to make I always follow the recipe step by step.  But what if the recipe is wrong?  What do I do if the Queen of the British baking kitchen has the simplest cheesecake recipe wrong in her book?  I make a cheesecake ice cream.  There was a typo in the book so I improvised.  It did work out well but I can’t deny that this wasn’t what I was going for.

This recipe was inspired by Mary Berry’s Baking Bible (BBC Books, 2009).

Ingredients:

175ml full fat milk, 200g caster sugar, 125g cream cheese, the rind and juice of two large lemons, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 large egg, 350ml double cream, 50g crumbled digestive biscuits.

Method:

1. Heat the milk in a pan and while it is getting warm beat in the sugar.
2. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese, lemon juice and rind, vanilla extract and egg.
3. Pour the hot milk into the cream cheese mixture.
4. Pour all of this back into the pan.
5. Cook and stir until you get a velvet custard.
6. Take off the heat and let it cool.
7. When cooled slowly stir in the double cream.
8. Place in a freezer proof tub and pour in the mixture.
9. Place in the freezer and every three hours stir the mixture briefly.
10. Add the digestive biscuit crumbs after the first mix.

Lemon Cheesecake

Lemonade

Beyonce was serving lemons for her lemonade and I was serving lemon cheesecake.  Surprisingly when her lemons were previewed she didn’t get such high acclaim, it was constant criticism and I guess people will always be uncomfortable with the unfamiliar.  Not to mention black feminism doesn’t really strike angelic chords with a lot of Americans.  My lemon creation was appealing to those who love cheesecake and everyone who tasted it loved it.  Everything isn’t for everyone but I do know that if I added some unique flavours it would have thrown a few people off.  Just like being an artist as a cook you have to figure out whether you want to create something classic or unusual.  Whatever you do be proud of it and enjoy the process.  I enjoyed making my lemon cheesecake as much as I enjoyed eating it.  This recipe makes a lot of filling so you will definitely have enough for two cheesecakes if you are using an 8 inch tin.

This recipe was adapted from cake days by the hummingbird bakery (Harper Collins Publishers, 2011).

Ingredients:

220g digestive biscuits, 100g unsalted butter (melted), 1 tsp lime zest, the juice from 2 lemons, 180g caster sugar, 600g full fat cream cheese, 2 large eggs.

Method:

1. Line the base of an 8 inch tin with baking parchment.
2. Bash up the biscuits into fine crumbs.  This can be done by putting them in a freezer bag and smashing them using a rolling pin.
3. Pour the biscuit crumbs into a bowl, add the melted butter and stir together.
4. Put the biscuits into the lined tin and press into the base with the back of a spoon.
5. Place the tin in the fridge for 20 – 30 minutes to allow the base to set.
6. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese, eggs and lemon juice.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin on top of the base.
8. Make a water bath using a roasting tin so the water goes up to an inch when the cheesecake is placed in the roasting tin.
9. Bake for 30 minutes at 160 degrees C.
10. When firm on the top and a slight wobble in the centre remove the cheesecake and allow to cool at room temperature.
11. Place in the fridge for a few hours to set or leave overnight if you can.

Rum & Raisin Ice Cream

All the stops

I was determined to make my family feel as comfortable as possible for the Christmas holidays so I made nibbles specially for meat eaters and even brought out the ice cream churner for a delicious rum and raisin ice cream.  The recipe was originally for chocolate raisin ice cream, but I adapted it to carry out my plans to keep everyone relaxed and ever so slightly intoxicated.

This recipe was adapted from The Dairy Book of Family Cookery (Ebury Press, 1983).

Rum & Raisin Ice Cream

Ingredients:

125g raisins, 10 tbsps dark rum, 2 tsps vanilla essence, 300ml milk, 2 eggs, 50g brown sugar, 300ml double cream.

Method:

1. Pour the rum over the raisins and leave to stand.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar together well.
3. Heat the milk and vanilla essence gently in a pan then add the beaten eggs and sugar.
4. When the custard thickens set aside.
5. Mix in the rum and raisins and leave to cool.
6. If you have an ice cream churner pour the cool mixture into the churner and then add the chilled cream.  Pour into a freezer proof container and freeze to firm the mixture.
7. Without a churner pour into a freezer container and freeze for about 3 hours and then stir gently to distribute the raisins easily.  Leave to set for another 6 hours.

Raspberry Upside Down Cake (Dream 6)

Raspberries 

I had a wonderful dream that I was eating raspberries.  That was it.  It doesn’t sound like much but considering I have been having dreams lately with death and fear and things which just aren’t oogly this dream was pretty darn lovely.  The sun is shining and I’m eating strawberries naked.  Best.  Spring night ever.  Raspberry upside down cake.  It’s so beautiful.  Enjoy!

This recipe was taken from Good Housekeeping Magazine (December, 2013).

Ingredients:

For the Raspberry Layer: 50g butter, 125g caster sugar, 250g fresh raspberries.  For the sponge: 150g butter, 150g caster sugar, 3 medium eggs, 200g self raising flour.

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees C.
2. For the raspberry layer, put the butter in a 10 inch ovenproof frying pan.
3. Melt the butter in the pan over a medium high hob heat add the caster sugar, stirring to mix and cook for a minute.
4. Remove the heat, then scatter in raspberries so that they cover the base of the pan in an even layer.
5. To make the sponge, in a large bowl beat the butter until soft.
6. Add the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy.
7. Beat the eggs in one at a time then stir in the flour.
8. Spoon the sponge mixture over the raspberries in blobs then carefully spread it out over the fruit in the pan.
9. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes or until the sponge feels set.
10. Take the frying pan out of the oven and allow to sit for 2 minutes.
11. Place a serving plate on top of the pan and flip it over
12. Lift off the pan to reveal the pudding.

Pineapple Sponge

Perfect Texture

This is one of my best sponges to date.  The texture of the bake was spot on despite the juicy texture of the pineapple and its natural juices.  The flavours were really beautiful, this is a bit more livelier than your average sponge.

This recipe was taken from The Dairy Book of Family Cookery (Ebury Press, 1983).

Ingredients:

175g butter, 175g caster sugar, 3 eggs (beaten), 175g self – raising flour, Pineapple rings including 30ml of the juice.

Method:

1. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy.
2. Beat in the eggs.
3. Sift in the flour and add the juice to loosen the sponge.
4. Prepare a sandwich tin and pour in the batter.
5. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes.
6. Place the pineapple on the cake and leave in the oven to rest for a few minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before serving.

Apple Streusel Cake

German Food

Pickled stuff and red meat, full on meat and more pickles.  Not really my thing.  Of course this is a stereotype of German food but on my adventures in Berlin it became increasingly difficult to separate the stereotypes from reality.  So many friendly people, so many educational activities but my favourite aspect of German food has to be the desserts.  Sometimes being restricted to white meat can seem limited but hey ho there are always desserts to look forward to.  This cake has one of the most beautiful toppings I have ever tasted and with the addition of apples the cake tasted brilliant.

This recipe was taken from Cake Days: The Hummingbird Bakery (Harper Collins Publishers, 2011).

Ingredients:

100g unsalted butter, 220g plain flour, 100g caster sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence, 1 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt, 80ml milk, 3 apples (peeled and chopped into spices), 70g soft light brown sugar..

Method:

1. Grease a 20cm tin and then brush with flour.
2. In a bowl cream together 60g of butter and the caster sugar.
3. When pale and fluffy add the egg and vanilla essence.
4. Sift 140g plain flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture.
5. Add the milk and beat the ingredients together thoroughly.
6. Pour this into the prepared cake tin.
7. Arrange the apples on top of the batter.
8. In a separate bowl sift the rest of the flour and ground cinnamon into the bowl.
9. Add the butter and using your fingertips rub the ingredients together until they resemble breadcrumbs.
10. Scatter the topping over the apples.
11. Heat the oven to 170 degrees C.
12.  Bake the cake for 45 minutes.
13.  Set aside the cake to cool but can be served warm and cold.

Golden Syrup & Avocado Cake

Substituting 

I love it when I get the opportunity to substitute ingredients because it means that I get to be more creative.  In this case I substituted the butter for avocado and the maple syrup for honey.  It was delicious and helped to make the cake a little less of a guilty pleasure.  Served warm with Greek yoghurt it heavenly. I am really happy that I have managed to make a cake which features good fats and affordable to make.

This recipe was adopted from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible (BBC Books, 2009).

Ingredients:

225g avocado (mashed and sprinkled with 2 tsps lemon juice), 222g muscavado sugar, 3 eggs, 100ml golden syrup, 350g self raising flour, 2 tsps baking powder, 1 tsp ground ginger.

Method:

1. Prepare a cake tin (Maximum 22 inches).
2. Beat the avocado, sugar and eggs together.
3. Sift in the rest of the ingredients.
4. Fold in the syrup then mix through thoroughly.
5. When well combined pour into the cake tin.
6. Bake for an 60 – 85 minutes.
7. When the cake is springy to the touch remove from the oven and then cool on a wire rack.

Angel Food Cake

Spirituality

So lately I have been trying to understand the religions of various spiritual people.  Not of mainstream religions, but religions which do not necessarily have such a high volume of reading materials and scholarly journals.  I am fascinated by religious and historical studies and seeing as there has been so much discussion about spiritual entities it felt right to bake a cake which symbolised something beautiful and light.  A cake which makes you feel as good as it looks.  I have indeed heard many times that heaven should taste like a great cake.  I would recommend serving the cake with light fruits.

This recipe was taken from Cake Days: the hummingbird bakery (Harper Collins Publishers, 2011).

Ingredients:

butter ( for greasing), 170g plain flour (extra for dusting) 10 egg whites, 1 tsp cream of tartar, 180g icing sugar (extra for dusting), 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1/2 tsp lemon zest, 1/2 tsp almond essence.

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
2. Lightly grease the tin with butter and dust with flour.
3. In a large bowl and using a hand held electric whisk, whisk the eggs and cream of tartar until the egg whites for into soft peaks.
4. Sift together the flour and icing sugar and carefully fold into the whisked egg whites incorporating 3 tbsps at a time.
5. Add the vanilla essence, 1/2 tsp lemon zest, 1/4 tsp almond essence.
6. When mixed well pour into the prepared tin, gently smoothing the surface with the back of a spoon.
7. Then place in the oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden brown and bounces back when lightly pressed.
8. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool slightly in the tin before turning it out on a wire rack to cool completely.
9. When cooled.  Dust with icing sugar.

Mince Pies

Merry Christmas … Later 

It has been a few years since I cooked for mummy at Christmas.  Christmas food is usually rich and is not usually associated with being healthy.  After the holidays my mummy was still savouring the Christmas treats so I decided to make her some yummy mince pies with a difference but increasing the fibre content with wholemeal flour.  They were delicious.

This recipe was adapted from Good Housekeeping Cook’s Year (Ebury Press, 1995).

Mince Pies

Ingredients:

Saffy’s wholemeal shortcrust pastry, mincemeat, 1 egg white and caster sugar.

Method:

1. Roll out the pastry thinly and cut out about 48 5.5cm rounds.
2. Place half the rounds into prepared cupcake trays.
3. Press into the baking trays and spoon mincemeat into the centre.
4. Cover with the remaining pastry a seal well or make a hole in the top or a decoration that leaves some space that allows air to escape.
5. Bake at 200 degrees C.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and brush with egg wash and caster sugar.
8. Return to the oven for 8 more minutes or until well browned.

Saffy’s Mincepie Serving Tips:

1. Beautiful homemade custard thick and creamy.
2. Clotted Cream
3. Strawberry Ice Cream
4. Coffee Cream