Tag Archives: Recipes

Recipe: Casper’s Super Gooey Yummy Chocolate Cake

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Chocolate Cake 1

I made this cake for the annual Mother’s Day tea party at Casper’s Beaver Scouts group this afternoon. It is such a lovely occasion; the boys are all dressed in their uniforms and look so proud as they show their mums to the tables and ask if they want tea or coffee, milk (skimmed or semi skimmed), sugar (how many) and what type of cake – lots of questions for a seven-year-old to remember! Casper did very well, especially as he had not only me to attend to but also his brother and sister who were both eager to get stuck into all the lovely cakes. At the end, all the mums were presented with a small bunch of daffodils and a homemade card with a picture of their son inside. So sweet!

Personally I’m not a big fan of chocolate cake but ask Casper what his favourite thing in the world is and I guarantee that he will say ‘chocolate’. So you can imagine his delight when I suggested that we make this gooey chocolate cake with a chocolate fudge topping AND Smarties for the tea party!

Gooey Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

100 g melted butter
2 eggs
230 g caster sugar
100 g flour                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  40 40 g cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
A generous handful of chopped Daim

topping:
100 ml double cream
40 g caster sugar
50 ml golden syrup
50 g dark chocolate
50 g butter
Smarties, mini marshmallows or other sweets

Turn the oven to 175 degrees. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the melted butter and finally the eggs and combine thoroughly. Stir in the Daim pieces and pour the batter into a prepared loose bottomed cake tin.

Bake in the middle of the oven for around 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of the tin. The cake should not be completely set in the middle. Let it cool down completely before you make the fudge topping.

Topping:

Combine all the ingredients for the topping, apart from the butter, in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 15 minutes until it thickens (make sure it doesn’t burn!). Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the butter until you get a smooth fudge mixture. Spread the topping over the cake and let it cool slightly. Scatter Smarties, mini marshmallows or other sweets over before the topping sets completely. Put the cake in the fridge, ideally overnight, before serving.

Chocolate cake 2

 

Recipe: Butternut Squash Pasta

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Butternut use2part b

Butternut  squash is hands down my favourite vegetable – I love it roasted, in risottos or whizzed up into a soup. My husband, on the other hand, is not as keen on the orange starchy vegetable but, thanks to the Jamie Oliver cookbook I received at Christmas, we have now found a dish we both enjoy.

The recipe for Squash Rigatoni is featured in Save with Jamie and I have only made a couple of small changes – I use rosemary instead of thyme as we both prefer it, gluten free pasta as my husband can’t eat wheat and I have sprinkled some pancetta fried in garlic oil over the pasta before serving.

Butternut cooked

Start by roasting a whole butternut squash in the oven (180 degrees/gas mark 4) for one and a half hours.

Butternut cut

Once it is cooked, split it in half, deseed and scoop out the flesh and either use right away or save for another day. The recipe only calls for half a squash so you can use the leftover flesh to make soup or another of Jamie’s recipes such as squash houmous or squash fritters.

Here’s how to make the pasta dish: 

(Serves 4, cooking time: 20 minutes)

Ingredients: 

320g dried rigatoni (or other pasta)

Olive oil

Dried chilli flakes

8 sprigs of thyme

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of creme fraiche

40g blue cheese

1-2 tablespoons of boiling water

Parmesan cheese

Put a generous splash of olive oil and a pinch of dried chilli flakes into a large pan on a medium heat, then strip in the leaves from the thyme (or in our case rosemary) and squash in the garlic through a garlic crusher. Fry for one minute then add the creme fraiche, blue cheese and a splash of boiling water. Simmer gently while you cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, then drain reserving a cupful of cooking water. Season the squash mixture, toss the pasta through it, loosening with the cooking water if needed. 

If, like my husband you don’t feel you’ve had a proper meal unless it has some meat in it, fry some pancetta cubes in a pan until just crispy and sprinkle over the pasta along with parmesan cheese before serving.

Butternut use3

Apologies that my pictures aren’t the best – I cooked this in the evening and with no natural light it is hard to make food look appetising. But take my word for it, this recipe is definitely worth trying!

A healthy breakfast to kick-start your day

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Breakfast

I hardly ever skip breakfast and on the rare days that I do, I very quickly live to regret it when the inevitable mid-morning energy slump sets in. Whether or not you adhere to the old saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, a healthy one beats a sugar-laden bowl of cereal hands down. My favourite go-to breakfast is my homemade low carb muesli but on cold mornings I often crave something warm like eggs or porridge. I found this recipe on Pinterest – it’s super simple and guaranteed to keep your energy levels up until lunch time. And if you’re not a breakfast fan, it tastes just as good for lunch, maybe with a bowl of soup.

The recipe specified Ezekiel bread but I’ve never seen that in the supermarkets here so I substituted my regular Soy & Linseed bread. Simply toast the bread, spread avocado on top, sprinkle over some crushed red pepper, season with salt & pepper and top it all off with a fried egg, sunny side up.

A delicious start to the day!

Recipe: Saffron and White Chocolate Cake

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Saffron cake

Christmas for me is all about traditions – carrying on old ones from my childhood as well as creating new ones just for our family. Despite having lived in the UK since the age of ten, when I was growing up we always celebrated a traditional Swedish Christmas (with a few English twists). Much of the festive season revolves around food and in Sweden saffron is synonymous with Christmas. For St Lucia Day (read more about it here), which falls on December 13, it is customary to serve bright yellow saffron buns studded with raisins. While the buns are rather time consuming to make as the dough needs to rise (but they are oh, so worth it, I will share the recipe when I do make them), this cake takes hardly any time at all. My eldest son has inherited my love for saffron so I made it for his birthday earlier this month and I’ll make another one for the first of advent to serve along with Glögg (similar to mulled wine) and gingerbread biscuits.

Ingredients:

100g unsalted butter
100g white chocolate
0.5g saffron (if you’re near a Scandinavian food store you can usually buy the saffron powder in tiny (but expensive) bags)
2 eggs
160g sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
130g plain flour

Preparation Method:

Melt the butter together with the white chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the saffron and put to one side.Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence until white and fluffy. Add the chocolate and butter mixture and stir until combined. Sift in the flour and carefully fold it in. Pour the butter into a prepared spring form cake tin. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on the desire texture (I like the cake to be slightly gooey in the middle). Allow it to cool before serving.

Recipe: Raspberry Oat Slices

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Oat bars2

My friend made these raspberry oat bars for a cake sale at my son’s school last month and, after tasting one, I immediately asked for the recipe. They’re super easy to make and the oaty crunchiness contrasts nicely with the gooey jam. If you use sugar free jam they’re not too sweet and make perfect lunch box treats.

Ingredients:

(makes approx 12 slices)

5 tablespoons light brown soft sugar

125g (4 1/2 oz) plain flour

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

a pinch of salt

100g (4 oz) porridge oats

125g (4 1/2 oz) butter, softened

250g (9 oz) good quality raspberry jam

Preparation method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/Gas mark 4. Grease one 20cm (8 inch) square cake tin and line with baking parchment.

2. Combine brown sugar, flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and porridge oats in a large bowl. Rub in the butter using your hands to form a crumbly mixture.

3. Press 3/4 of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared cake tin, reserving the rest for the topping. Spread the jam over the base but not quite to the edges as it will spread.

4. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top and lightly press it into the jam.

5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into slices.

Oat bars

Recipe – Lasagne without the Pasta

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Lasagne 2

I hardly ever eat pasta at home as my husband suffers from coeliac disease and has to avoid all wheat and gluten. The kids will often have spaghetti bolognese or other pasta dishes for their tea and occasionally my husband will make us all a carbonara with gluten free spaghetti on a weekend (although he is not mad about the taste or texture). Over time I have got used to cooking rice, potatoes or just vegetables to go with whatever meat/chicken/fish we’re having. Sometimes though, on a chilly autumn night, I long for a bowl of lasagne with a nice glass of red wine. So I was delighted to come across a recipe which uses thin courgette slices instead of the traditional pasta sheets. As well as being great for anyone with a gluten allergy, it also works for those trying to cut down on the carbs.

I make my own version of bolognese (slightly spicy with a splash of double cream) but you can use whatever recipe you like for the meat sauce.

1 onion – chopped

garlic oil or 1-2 garlic cloves and olive oil

500 g beef mince

1 can chopped tomatoes

2-3 teaspoons Sambal Oelek (or Thai red chilli paste)

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

a splash of red wine

2-3 tablespoons double cream

1-2 courgettes – finely sliced lengthways, I use a cheese slicer (bought from Ikea) to make the slices really thin

Cheese sauce: 400-500 ml creme fraiche mixed with 300 ml grated cheese

Turn the oven to 175c. Fry the onion and garlic until softened. Add the mince, breaking it up with a fork or spatula. Let it brown then add the other ingredients and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Alternate the courgette slices, bolognese and cheese sauce in an oven proof rectangular dish, topping it with a sprinkle of grated cheese. Cook in the oven for 40 minutes and serve with vegetables or a green salad (and a glass or two of Vino Rosso for that authentic Italian taste)

Recipe: Gluten Free Apple & Blackberry Crumble

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IMG_4350

Last weekend I made my first ever crumble. It was really easy and tasted delicious so I can’t believe it had taken me so long. My only excuse is that, until now, the children have not been super keen on cooked fruit. But it turns out that, if you add enough butter and sugar, they gobble it all up! It probably also helped that they had picked the apples and blackberries themselves a couple of days before.

IMG_4352

Ingredients

For the crumble

  • 30g/1¼oz unsalted butter

  • 3 large Bramley apples or similar tart cooking apples, peeled, cores removed, each apple cut into 0.5cm/¼in slices

  • 150g/5¼oz caster sugar

  • 80g/3oz fresh blackberries

For the crumble topping

  • 170g/6oz gluten free flour

  • 85g/3oz unsalted butter

  • 1-2 tbsps caster sugar

Preparation method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
  2. For the crumble filling, heat the butter in pan over a medium heat. Add the apple slices and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
  3. Add the sugar and stir well to coat the apples. Continue to cook until the apples are tender and golden-brown and the sugar has melted.
  4. Add the blackberries and stir gently to combine.
  5. For the crumble topping, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and sugar and rub together, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. (Or even better, put it all into a food processor like I did and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs)
  6. Spoon the apple and blackberry filling into a shallow ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the topping mixture to just cover the filling. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping is pale golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

IMG_4395

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Recipe: Salmon with butter and chive sauce

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Salmon1

I love salmon (tasty, easy to cook and boosts your brain power – what’s not to like?) and this is hands down my favourite recipe. You have to try it, the sauce is out of this world but beware, it tastes good enough to eat straight out of the saucepan!

This dish tastes great with rice or any kind of potatoes – last night we ate it with boiled new potatoes and green beans, simple but yummy. I squeezed some lemon over the salmon fillets and seasoned them with sea salt with garlic and chilli from The Garlic Farm, before cooking in the oven at 180 degrees for around 15-20 minutes.

Here’s how to make the sauce:

Serves 4

2 finely chopped shallots
1 tbsp olive oil
150 ml white wine
1 fish stock cube
300 ml double cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
75 butter, cubed
3-4 tbsp finely chopped chives
50 ml crème fraiche

Saute the shallots in the oil for approximately 2 minutes. Add the wine, fish stock and double cream and simmer uncovered for around 20 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and pour it back into a clean saucepan. Stir in the lemon juice and gradually add the butter cubes, whisking the sauce while the butter melts. Finally, add the chives and  crème fraiche.

Salmon2

Recipe: Gluten free chocolate cake

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Cake2

For Clemmie’s birthday party last weekend I made a gluten free chocolate cake in lieu of a traditional birthday cake so that my husband, who suffers from coeliac disease, could have a slice too. The cake turned out really well – nice and gooey on the inside – and tasted delicious with fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

  • 100 g margarine or butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 250 g caster sugar
  • 90 g gluten free flour
  • 5 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp vanilla essence

1. Melt the butter or margarine over a low heat and let it cool

2. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy

3. Combine the gluten free flour and cocoa powder in a separate bowl and carefully fold into the sugar and egg mixture

4. Add the melted butter or margarine and stir to combine

5. Grease a springform cake tin and coat it with cocoa powder before pouring in the batter

6. Bake in the oven at 150°C for 25-30 minutes.

Cake empty

Recipe: Lemon chicken with black olives

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ingredients

Last night I tried a new recipe for a chicken dish which is perfect for this time of year – light but still filling with a refreshing taste of lemon.

Lemon Chicken with Olives

.4 chicken fillets
2 garlic cloves
butter for frying
1 tsp salt
a pinch of black pepper
250ml double cream
1⁄2 chicken stock cube
1 tsp rosemary
grated zest and juice from 1⁄2 lemon
a handful of pitted black olives
3 tbsps roughly chopped parsley 

.

Slice the chicken fillets in half length-wise. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Melt the butter in a frying pan and brown the seasoned chicken along with the  garlic. Combine the cream, chicken stock, rosemary and lemon juice in a casserole  in a casserole pan over a medium heat. Add the chicken and garlic and simmer covered for around five minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the lemon zest, olives and parsley (I omitted the parsley).

Pot 2

I served this chicken dish with potato wedges and peas – yummy!

plate