Spiced ginger loaf cake with maple glaze

You will need:

For the loaf

Loaf tin (and liner) 

150g soft brown sugar

150g butter (or good margarine) 

3 large free range eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

150g self-raising flour 

4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Half a  teaspoon ground allspice

For the glaze

As much icing sugar as you dare

4 tablespoons maple syrup

Enough water to turn it into a runny mess

Method:

Preheat oven to gas mark 4 (180 degrees)

Cream the butter and sugar

Beat in the eggs and vanilla

Sift in the flour and spices, and mix well

Spoon into tin (greased and lined with baking parchment, if not using a liner)

Bake for 40-45 minutes - it's ready when a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean

Leave in the tin, on a cooling rack

While still warm, poke a skewer a good few times all over the cake

Make up the glaze by mixing everything together

Spoon over the cooling cake and leave to set

Try to leave until it is cool, then demolish!

Banana bread

Ingredients:

150g demerara sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large free range eggs

2 bananas, mashed

275g self-raising flour

shake of ground ginger

shake of ground cinnamon

150g unsalted butter, melted

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3 / 170 degrees C
• Whisk the eggs and sugar until combined, the leave for five minutes - it will go a bit frothy
• Whisk for a few more minutes, then add the mashed banana and vanilla and whisk until combined
• Add the flour and spices, and stir to combine
• Add the melted butter and stir until smooth (there will be a few lumps from the bananas)
• Pour into a large cake tin (I always use silicone) and bake for 50 minutes
• Turn halfway round through cooking
• Test with a skewer and if it comes out clean, it's ready
• If not, leave for another five minutes
• Turn out on to a cooling rack and leave to cool nearly completely (it's easier to slice when cool!)

Swedish sunshine cake

Ingredients

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

150g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

150g self-raising flour

1 tsp vanilla paste

50g ground almonds

handful flaked almonds

Method

Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas 6. 

Grease a 23 cm silicone cake tin and sprinkle with ground almonds.

Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla.

Stir in the melted, cooled butter.

Add flour; mix until smooth (it will look lumpy to begin with, keep mixing until it's smooth)

Spread the batter into the prepared tin. 

Sprinkle flaked almonds on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Allow cake to cool slightly before removing from the tin. 

Cool completely on a wire rack. 

This cake keeps very well for up to a week in an airtight container or plastic bag.

Chocolate and honey cake with crème de marrons filling (eggless cake)

Ingredients

For the sponge:

90g margarine or unsalted butter

80g unrefined golden caster sugar

3 tblsp runny honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

200ml milk (not skimmed)

185g self-raising flour

20g cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

For the filling:

2 heaped tblsp crème de marrons

2 tblsp runny honey

2 tblsp sifted icing sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 / 190 celcius

Grease and flour two 23 cm cake tins (I always use butter and ground almonds, and silicone cake tins)

Cream the butter and sugar

Add the vanilla and honey and mix together

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder

Add a third of the dry ingredients, and a third of the milk, and mix thoroughly

Continue until it is all mixed together

Divide between the two tins and smooth flat

Bake for 25-30 minutes, testing with a skewer at 25 minutes

Cool in the tins for 5 minutes

Then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool

Mix the filling ingredients together until combined

Turn one of the cakes upside down

Spread with the filling

Put the other cake on top

You're done! Congratulate yourself then shove that cake in your mouth!

Onion and oregano white soda bread

This recipe is so quick and easy. It makes a delicious loaf that's great with soup or stew, and you can use it for sandwiches the day after. It doesn't keep very well, but that's not a problem as it gets eaten up straight away!

Ingredients:

350g plain flour

50g self raising flour

2 heaped tsp onion granules

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp bicaronate of soda

1 tsp sugar

330ml buttermilk

If you can't find buttermilk, you can make your own really easily. Just add two tablespoons of lemon juice to the 330ml of milk, and give it a stir. The lemon juice sours the milk and makes it a bit thicker.

Method:

Preheat the oven to gas mark 8 / 230 C - very hot.

Sift the flour and add the rest of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl, give it all a quick stir with a spoon.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk. 

Bring together quickly to form a sloppy, wet dough. Do not over mix or your loaf will be tough!

Turn the dough on to a baking sheet, and scrape it into a round. 

Sprinkle some flour on the top, and slash three times with a sharp knife.

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to gas mark 6 / 200 C, and bake for a further 25-35 minutes.

When ready, the loaf will sound hollow when tapped underneath.

Leave to cool on a wire rack - and don't worry if it feels tough, it softens when cooled.

Alternatives:

Rosemary and raisin

Garlic and cheese

I'm looking forward to trying different flavours.

Currywurst - my recipe

As Christopher is part German, we've tried cooking lots of German recipes. Currywurst is a popular street food in Germany (you can even get delicious bratwurst street food in Cardiff!) so we tried it out ourselves. After experimenting with recipes I found online, I made my own.
You will need:
1 onion, chopped
2 large mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp of curry powder (I use medium, but you can choose mild or strong depending on your taste)

a shake of onion powder

a shake of garlic powder

a pinch of sea salt

a good pinch of black pepper

a chicken stock cube (I use the jelly type ones)
good squeeze of tomato ketchup

First chop the onions and mushrooms, and fry them in a saucepan or shallow frying pan with some oil, along with the curry powder, and onion and garlic powder. Fry them until they are starting to become translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes on a medium heat.

Next add a big splash of boiling water, the ketchup, salt and pepper, and chicken stock cube. Heat through for a further 5 minutes. Then blitz with a hand blender.

You can make this ahead of time and reheat when needed. The bratwurst we bought were from Aldi, and really delicious!

 

You need to make six or seven cuts in the brats before you put them in the oven. Slice into them at regular intervals so they open up in the oven. Lightly oil them, and put in a hot oven or about 20 minutes.

Serve them with fresh bread, and a sprinkling of curry powder.

Ice cream loaf

I saw this online and had to try it. It's really easy, all you need is:

1 pint of ice cream (that's been left out of the freezer to melt)
210g of self raising flour

That's it! Mix them together and pour into a lined loaf tin, and bake at gas mark 4 / 180 degrees for about 45 minutes.

It's not bad, maybe a bit expensive - but definitely give it a go! :) I used Ben & Jerry's Phish Food, and I also threw in some chocolate chips.

Low fat banana bread

A really, really easy, and low fat banana bread. It can easily be made gluten free too.

You will need:
4 ripe bananas, mashed
225g self raising flour (can be substituted for gluten free flour)
100g low fat margarine
100-150g of unrefined caster sugar (the less sugar you use, the less calories the final loaf will be!)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla paste/extract
handful of dried fruit (optional)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4 (180°C/350°F), grease and line a 2lbs loaf tin.
2. Put everything in a large bowl, and mix with an electric mixer for a few minutes. Leave for 2 minutes for the raising agent to start working, then fold int he dried fruit (if using).
3. Pour into loaf tin and bake for 1 and half hours until the top is golden.
4. Leave to cool on a cooling rack. Scoff!

Is also nice with a shake of ground cinnamon in the mix.

Healthy workout cookies

I saw this recipe online, but a few of the comments said they were a bit tasteless, so I decided to make my own version.

You will need:
2 large (or 3 small) ripe bananas
400g rolled oats
1 small handful of dried fruit (I used currants)
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder (must be cocoa, not drinking chocolate, that has sugar added) 
2 teaspoons of honey
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of chocolate extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)

Method (makes about 12 - I ate one before I took the picture!)
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 (180°C / 350°F)
Mash the bananas with a fork, then add everything else and bring together into a rough dough
Shape into 12 cookie shapes on a greased baking sheet, and pop in the oven for about 15-20 minutes
Leave to cool on a cooling rack

That's it! Easy peasy. They have a lovely chewy texture, somewhere between a cookie and a cake. They'll keep for a few days in an airtight container. 

This is the secret ingredient! Chocolate extract (I got mine from Lakeland). The cookies turned out really nice, much nicer than I thought they would. One or two before a workout gives you some good carbs for energy, or if, like me, you love cakes and biscuits, one of these is a nice healthy alternative. 

 

UPDATE: 21 May 2013
I made these again today, but totally forgot that they were in the oven! I left them in there for just over 40 minutes. I thought they'd be ruined, but they were actually really nice - a bit crunchier on top, but still moist and chewy in the middle. So I'll be intentionally overbaking them from now on!

Focaccia recipe

You will need: 
500g strong white flour 
7g sachet of dried yeast
80ml extra virgin olive oil
400ml lukewarm water
pinch of salt
good pinch of sea salt
few more drizzles of extra virgin olive oil

Mix the flour, yeast, salt, oil, and 300ml of the water in a large bowl and bring together to form a dough. Knead in the bowl for a few minutes, gradually incorporating the last 100ml of water (the more water you can get in the lighter the crumb will be).

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. It is ready when if you press a finger gently into tit, the indentation springs back - if it stays pressed in, knead for a few more minutes.

Lightly oil (normal olive oil will do for this, or even vegetable oil) and put in a tea-towel covered bowl. Leave in a warm place for about 1 and half hours until doubled in size.

Once it has doubled in size, gently knock it back by pressing it lightly with your fingers, then knead gently for a minute or two. Divide into two equal balls. You can either shape them into two rounds, sprinkle with oil and sea salt and bake, or you can make them into a sandwich with delicious things inside! I always do it this way.

Shape the first ball into a large round, then add the fillings. I use a torn up mozzarella, some sun-dried tomatoes chopped up, some olives, a few splashes of pesto, maybe some salami. It's quite nice with Gruyère cheese, or some ham and basil leaves, or halved cherry tomatoes - basically you can go wild with anything you like!

Then shape the second ball into a round and press it down onto the first round and fillings. Then press your finger all over it, drizzle with more oil and scatter with sea salt. Leave this somewhere really warm for about 40 minutes to prove. The longer you leave it the fluffier the crumb will be. I like to leave it near the oven with the oven on low. Now is a good time to preheat the oven to gas mark 7 (200 degrees).

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top (I turn it halfway through, and also turn the oven down to gas mark 6 / 180 degrees). Turn onto a cooling rack and drizzle with (yet more) extra virgin olive oil. It's lovely still warm, but will keep until the day after. 

Quick and easy flatbreads

A super easy and very quick flatbread recipe.

Makes 2, all tablespoons are heaped
You will need:
6 and a half tablespoons SR flour
2 tablespoons hummous
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of water (you may need to add a little bit more)
Small handful of freshly chopped herbs of your choice (I normally use parsley or chives, but a good few pinches of dried herbs works well too)
Pinch of sea salt, pinch of black pepper, good pinch of cumin seeds, ground together in a pestle and mortar (ready-ground cumin isn't as good)

* Add everything into a large bowl and bring together into a dough, adding a few more drops of water if needed.
* Turn out and knead for a minute or two.
* Half the dough and press both bits into two rounds with your fingers, to about half a centimetre thick (no need for precision here!)
* In a dry frying pan on a medium heat, cook the flatbreads for 2-3 mins on each side, or until golden and a bit brown.
* Leave to cool on a wire rack for a minute.

Great with curry, tagine or stew.

Variations:
You can replace the hummous with a good dollop of Greek yoghurt
Replace the olive oil with peanut oil
Add some turmeric to add a lovely golden yellow colour
Try caraway seeds instead of cumin
Use coriander seeds and fresh coriander
A dollop of tomato ketchup instead of hummous

...all delish!

Pineapple upside down cake

You will need:
100g self raising flour
100g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
1 tin pineapple rings in juice
2 or 3 tsp dark brown sugar
2 large free range eggs
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cochineal
8” cake tin

Method:
1. Cream the butter and sugar
2. Beat the eggs lightly, then stir into the creamed butter and sugar
3. Add the cochineal and stir until mixture turns deep pink
4. Sift the flour into the mixture and stir until combined
5. Open the pineapple rings and set four aside along with about 4 tsps of juice (eat the rest and drink the juice, it’s nice with vodka straight from the freezer!)
6. Put the juice in the cake tin, and sprinkle on the brown sugar, then arrange the rings prettily
7. Cover the pineapple rings with the mixture and smooth over, put in a moderate oven (200 degrees - gas mark 5) for about 30-40 minutes
8. Take the cake from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack
9. Serve warm with cold cream or *custard, will keep in an airtight container for a day or two

*Please follow the custard rules. They are as follows:
Cold dessert = hot custard
Hot dessert = cold custard
Anything else is just wrong

I weep for the future

I don't know if they're taking the piss or not.

Seriously hope not though.