For the past couple of weeks I have been dreaming of cake. While my oven wasn't working properly I was a bit loathe to bake anything like a cake in it because I was afraid of it not turning out and wasting ingredients.
I love having a cake in the house to enjoy with my morning cuppa. I did pick up some Twinkies at Costco the other day, but they just didn't cut it.
This is a cookbook that I have had for quite a while now. Published in 2011, I have made quite a few things from it.
All week I kept looking at that cake on its cover. If a recipe is good enough to put on the cover of a book, I contend that it must be a really good recipe!
The engineer came and replaced the computer panel in our oven yesterday and so today I wasted no time in getting into my kitchen and baking that cake that had been tantalising me all week.
I am a person who really loved basic plain cakes most of all.
My mother always used to make me a plain cake when I was a child, I have a copy of her recipe that she called Alice's Plain Cake. (My family always called me Alice, which is my second name. Too many Mary's and Marie's.)
Mom always came from the school of thought that children's stomach's couldn't handle too much in the way of flavour and spice and that simple was best.
I don't know if that is correct or not, but I do know that I appreciate always the extra attention my mother gave towards making sure we were well cared for.
The original recipe, as per the book was for a very simple vanilla butter cake, with a chocolate variation included.
My husband is not fond of chocolate cakes, but I did want to charge it up a tiny bit . . .
So I added some ground cardamom to the cake itself. Cardamom and vanilla go very well together. I didn't add a lot, just 1/2 tsp. The flavour is there but it doesn't smack you in the face.
Its very subtle, but you can certainly add more if you want more of a hit.
I also added some cardamom along with grated orange zest and orange juice to the creamy icing which tops the finished cake.
Its a lovely cake with a beautiful texture The recipe says it takes 45 minutes to bake, but mine took an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
When I tested it at 45, it was still very wet in the middle, although it did look baked from the outside.
It has a beautiful crumb . . . and went down very well with a hot cuppa . . . the icing was beautiful as well . . .
A bit of sweet without being too much . . .
I have cake tin liners that I use. They look like big cupcake papers. I have them in two sizes. 8 inch and 7 inch.
They make it very easy to life the cake out when done. Personally I like them.
They do leave a funny pattern around the edge however that some people might not like to see.
Personally it never bothers me in the least. A good cake is quite simply a good cake.
Yield: 8
Vanilla & Cardamom Cake
prep time: 15 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 60 mins
A simple, light and fluffy cake, flavoured with vanilla and ground cardamom with an orange icing. Perfect for enjoying with a hot cuppa or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
ingredients:
- 200g butter, softened (7 ounces or 1 cup less 2 1/2 TBS)
- 170g caster sugar (14 TBS)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 3 large free range eggs, beaten lightly
- 185g self raising flour (1 1/2 cups)
- 110g plain flour (3/4 cup)
- 125ml milk (generous 1/2 cup)
For the frosting:
- 155g icing sugar (scant 1 1/4 cups) sifted
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- the finely grated zest of one orange
- 1 1/2 TBS butter, softened
- milk or orange juice as needed (1 TBS or more)
Chocolate Variation:
- Add 4 TBS sifted cocoa powder with the flour and increase the milk by a TBS
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 1808C/ 350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a deep 8 inch round cake tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
- Beat the butter, vanilla, cardamom and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs, a bit at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift both flours together. Fold the flour in alternately with the milk until well combined.
- Spoon into the prepared cake tin, smoothing over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly touched. (Mine took closer to 55 minutes.)
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl along with the other ingredients, only adding enough orange juice or milk to give you a thick but spreadable icing. Spread over the top of the cake.
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Oh I am one very happy camper now, seeing as my oven is sorted and back to working as it should. I hope it lasts me another 8 years before I have to have it fixed again! Happy Sunday!
Just as Friday nights are synonymous with Fish & Chip suppers here in the UK, you will find that Saturday nights are takeaway nights, where you will find lots of families treating themselves to an Indian or a Chinese meal!
In fact, a lot of the Fish & Chip shops, or chippies will also offer curries and Chinese dishes. You also find plenty of Takeaway shops that are dedicated to one or the other, and of course no end to Chinese or Indian restaurants.
Our local chippy does Chinese meals, but after trying them once, I found myself feeling highly suspicious of just what we were eating. I know . . . it was probably all in my mind, but hey, it is what it is.
That reminds of of a story told me once upon a time by one of my long time friend's husbands. He used to work in a Chinese Takeaway/restaurant when he was younger, washing dishes. He also had a boat.
He was always afraid of someone stealing his outboard motor for his boat, and he used to take it into the kitchen with him while he was working. One night he discovered after several hours that his engine had been leaking motor oil into the gravy bucket.
It would appear that the customers had been getting a little bit extra in their gravy that night!
True story or exaggeration? I dunno . . . but I have worked in enough restaurant kitchens to know that I don't discount anything.
The stories I could tell you would make your hair curl. (And I did not work in dives.) This is one of the reasons we don't eat out a lot. I like to see the kitchen and I like to see the cook. Anyways, I digress . . .
Sticky Pineapple Chicken. This is fabulous!
If you slice all your vegetables ahead of time, and cube your chicken, stir together the sauce ingredients ready to go . . .
It is a dish that you can have on the table in not much more than 15 minutes, which is less time than it would take for you to get in the car and go to your local takeaway shops!
Deliciously stick, with just the right amount of sweet, sour and spice . . . and you know that there is nothing suspicious in it. Nothing suspicious at all!
Just a few simple ingredients put together in a quick and delicious way!
Yield: 4
Sticky Pineapple Chicken
prep time: cook time: total time:
Chicken, pineapple and peppers stir fried and combined in a sweet, sticky, lightly spiced sauce. Quick, easy and delicious. Any leftovers reheat well.
ingredients:
Stir Fry Ingredients:
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 each small red, yellow and green pepper
- 2 spring onions
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 567g tin pineapple chunks in juice (20-oz tin) (Juice only, reserve the fruit)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt)
- 2 TBS cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 TBS rice wine vinegar
- 1 TBS soy sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 TBS soft light brown sugar
- Sriracha chili sauce to taste (depending on how spicy you want it)
You will also need:
- Cooked rice to serve
instructions:
- Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together. I use about 1 TBS of the chili paste because I don't like really spicy things. I find that about right. Set aside until you need it.
- Cut your chicken into bite sized pieces. Trim your peppers, discarding stems, ribs and seeds. Cut the peppers into thin strips. You should have about 2 cups altogether. Slice the spring onions thinly on the diagonal.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken and spread it out into one layer. Sprinkle with salt. Cook on one side until golden brown, flip over and cook for a few minutes longer. Add the peppers. Stir fry and cook for a couple of minutes, until slightly softened. Pour the sauce ingredients into the pan. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Stir in the pineapple chunks. Cook for a further 6 minutes or so, until the sauce is sticky and everything is well coated. Stir in the spring onions and serve immediately.
NOTES:
Note - your pineapple juice should equal 180ml/3/4 cup. If it doesn't you can add some orange juice to make up the amount, or water.
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I know you must get tired of me saying this, but its true . . . this is quick, easy & delicious. The leftovers also reheat well, which is why I always cook us the full recipe so that we can enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day. Yummy scrummy!
I always seem to have leftover cooked chicken in the refrigerator. Not a problem, because I have about a bazillion and a half ways to use it up.
I see myself as somewhat of an expert as using up leftovers. I hate waste.
I read recently that about 1.9 million tonnes of food is wasted every year in the UK.
That's pretty disgraceful when you consider that there are roughly 785 million people in the world suffering from malnourishment at any given time. If you have three squares a day count yourself lucky!
This is a recipe I adapted to use up some leftover cooked chicken and some tortillas that I had leftover from the crispy tortilla eggs I cooked the other day.
The original recipe was for BBQ Chicken & Cheese Nachos which I found here.
Its basically pretty similar except that I used a bit of chipotle chili paste in the chicken mixture and I didn't use tortilla chips.
Instead I toasted the leftover tortillas (brush with a tiny bit of oil) over the open gas flame of my stove. If you have never done this, you really need to try it.
Its a real game changer!
They turn out lovely . . . . crisp almost charred edges . . . crisp bubbled bits covering the top. They just taste magnificent!
So anyways, I gas charred my tortillas and then I topped them with the chicken mixture . . .
Which is basically a mixture of leftover shredded cooked/rotisserie chicken, BBQ sauce and the chipotle chili paste.
Could not seriously be any easier.
Just pile that mixture on top of your toasted tortillas and then scatter some grated cheese over the top. You can use any kind of cheese you want.
I used a medium cheddar, but Jack would be good as well, or even a spicy Mexican cheese blend. YUM!
I just used what I had, which was cheddar. We always have that in the house. When I first moved over here I used to go to the Market in town and buy cheese ends/crumbles.
The guy at the cheese stall used to sell them by the bag full. They were really cheap and great for things like this, or mac and cheese. You never really knew what kind of cheese they were, but they always tasted fab.
So anyways, you just bang these into a moderate oven and bake them until the cheese is all melted and they are heated through . . .
Take them out of the oven and drizzle them with a bit more BBQ sauce. (I used Jack Daniels because that is what I had, just use your favourite kind.)
Scatter on some spring onions and serve . . . oh boy, these are really yummy nummy! You could serve a salad, or coleslaw on the side. Coleslaw is actually excellent with these. You can find my recipe for Creamy Coleslaw here.
Yield: 4
BBQ Chicken Tostadas
prep time: cook time: total time:
I hate to say it again, but these are quick, easy and yes, delicious. A great way to use up some leftover cooked chicken or part of a Rotisserie bird!
ingredients:
- 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- a bit of oil
- 375g cooked chicken shredded (3 cups)
- 370g your favourite BBQ sauce (1 1/2 cups)
- 2 tsp chipotle Chili paste
- 245g grated medium cheddar or Jack cheese (2 cups)
- 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
instructions:
- First you want to crisp up your tortillas. Brush each tortilla lightly with some olive oil and then toast them over an open flame for about 30 seconds per side until crisp and lightly charred. Alternatively you can pop them into a hot oven (220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7) for 5 minutes, flip and bake for 5 more minutes until crisp.
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready several baking sheets. Lay your tortillas out in a single layer on the baking sheets.
- Shred the chicken into a bowl. Stir in 245g (1 cup) of the BBQ sauce and the Chipotle chili paste. Mix well together and then divide it between the toasted tortillas evenly. I like to keep it a bit rough so you get lots of crags and crannies.
- Divide the cheese evenly amongst the chicken topped tortillas. scattering it over the top of each. (A small handful or about 30g/ 1/4 cup)
- Bake in the heated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, just until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven. Drizzle the remaining BBQ sauce over top and sprinkle with the spring onions to serve.
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Oh boy, but these went down a real treat! I think we have found a whole new favourite thing around here! Nom Nom Nom!
One meat my husband really loves is Pork Chops. He loves nothing better. Cooking pork chops can be a bit tricky I find. There is an optimum length of time to cook them and it varies from chop to chop, depending on the type and the thickness of the chop.
In the old days people were really afraid of under-cooked pork and so had a tendency to way overcook their pork. My poor mum used to feed us chops that were so overcooked, you needed a ton of gravy or applesauce just to make them edible. Bless her . . . she meant well and had only our safety in mind. Everyone had the same fears with pork and overcooked their meat. It wasn't just her.
One thing which helps with the tenderness of chops is to brine them prior to cooking. This is a technique that I have only discovered in recent years and I have to say that it really makes a huge difference! My chops were never dry anyways, but now they are even better!
Its amazing what the magic solution of cold water, salt and sugar and an hour of time can do!
For this recipe today you will want bone in rib loin chops that are at least 1 1/2 inches thick. The reason you want them this thick is that you will be stuffing them . . .
I don't think you can get much tastier than a stuffed pork chop!
The stuffing for these is a really simple one . . . using simple ingredients. Butter softened onion and celery, with a mix of herbs . . . thyme, parsley, sage and a bit of garlic . . . some salt and pepper . . .
Mixed with some white bread crumbs and some cream to moisten everything and get it to stick together. I also add some chopped raisins for a hint of sweetness, but you can leave them out if you wish, or replace them with chopped apple, or dried apricots, or even dried cranberries. All work well.
You will want to cut a deep pocket in the brined chops. I make only a tiny incision on the fatty edge, and then move the knife around inside to carve a pocket . . . carefully. You want a sharp knife and you don't want too large of an opening. Too large and you run the risk of your stuffing bursting out during cooking.
You want all that tastiness to stay inside, which is why you want only a tiny opening on the edge. I recommend no larger than you index finger. It is quite doable, trust me on this.
Once you have the pocket cut you can stuff the chops. I pop it in through the opening and then massage it around from the outside of the chop so that it fills the whole pocket. Do take care not to let the stuffing get too close to the opening and press it well shut when you are done. You could of course close with toothpicks, but its really not necessary and it actually makes them harder to brown if you do.
Once they are stuffed you simply brown them on both sides, pop them into a baking dish and then finish them off in a hot oven. Easy peasy.
Yield: 4
Stuffed Brined Pork Chops
prep time: 1 hourcook time: 40 minstotal time: 1 hours and 40 mins
You will need thick, bone in pork chops for these (at least 1 1/2 inches thick). They are brined first for an hour prior to stuffing, browning and baking. Let assure you that all the fuss is worth it. Succulent, tender and delicious! Note you will need to brine the chops for one hour prior to starting.
ingredients:
- 1/5 litres of cold water (1 1/2 quarts)
- 3 TBS kosher or sea salt
- 3 TBS granulated sugar
- 4 bone-in rib loin chops, 1 1/2 inches thick
- (12 ounces each)
- 3 TBS butter
- 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
- 1 stalk celery, trimmed and minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 TBS dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp each dried thyme and sage
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 sliced sandwich bread, crusts trimmed and cut
- into small cubes
- 4 TBS raisins, chopped (optional)
- 2 TBS heavy cream
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 TBS vegetable oil
instructions:
- Whisk together the cold water with the salt and sugar until both the salt and sugar dissolve. Place the chops into the mixture, making sure they are completely submerged. Leave for 1 hour. At the end of that time, remove them from the water and pat dry.
- To make the stuffing, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and herbs. Cook for a further half a minute or so until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and toss together with the bread cubes and chopped raisins. Season with some salt and black pepper. Add the cream and mash well together until you have a fairly solid mass that you can handle easily without it crumbling too much.
- Take each chop and cut a pocket into each. Use a very sharp knife and just using the tip, puncture the chop on the fat edge, making a small opening, and then by carefully manoeuvring the tip of the knife, cut a pocket inside the chop without enlarging the cut on the edge, or poking through the surface of the chop. (This will help to make sure that the stuffing stays inside when the chops are cooking.)
- Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F. gas mark 7. Have ready a shallow baking dish large enough to hold all four chops.
- Stuff each chop with 1/4 of the stuffing, massaging the chop on the outsides to work it through to fill the pocket entirely. (I try to keep it at least 1/3 of an inch away from the pocket incision.) Season your chops on both sides.
- Heat the vegetable oil in the skillet and brown the chops on both sides, about 3 minutes or so per side. Transfer the browned chops to the baking dish.
- Bake the chops in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and tent for about 5 to 10 minutes with some aluminium foil.
- Serve hot with your favourite sides.
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These really are very good. Tender and delicious . . . succulent. I guarantee your family will love them. I served them with mashed potatoes, some gravy, a bit of cauliflower cheese that I had leftover from another day and some frozen peas. Todd was in pork chop heaven! Bon Appetit!
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