Breakfast Super Slice

I've just posted a recipe for a great "slice" over  here  at  Live Laugh Love and Cook

It's from "River Cottage Everyday" and it's lovely.

It's easy and quick.

Great for an energy hit at breakfast....

Or with a cuppa in the afternoon

It's all thanks to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and River Cottage...with a slight variation from me.

Enjoy

Panettone

Not sure what's happening but I seem to be posting a lot of  recipes at the moment. I'm sure it'll pass and I'll get back to other "stuff" around here...but baking makes me happy and that's what's going on at Number 10 at the moment

This weekend it was Panettone.

Panettone's a cross between bread and cake. It has eggs like a cake, but also has yeast, like bread...one thing they both have...deliciousness.

It's pretty easy, a little time consuming because you have to let it sit and rise...but it is worth the effort
I found a couple of recipes on-line and sort of merged them to come up with my own concoction

You'll need
_________

1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
5 tablespoons caster sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
500 gr plain flour
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup sultanas
1/4 cup candied orange peel
1 tablespoon icing sugar

Preheat oven to 170c

In a medium bowl, combine yeast, water and caster sugar, then stir and cover and let stand for 10 minutes until it starts to foam. In another bowl, combine yoghurt, eggs, vanilla, zest and salt and mix together, then add to the yeast mixture. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until it foams and bubbles

Stir in the flour, a little at a time until a dough starts to form into a manageable ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary, until dough is soft and pliable, but not sticky

Place the ball of dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with a tea towel.

It'll take about an hour for the dough to double it's size

Lightly grease a round 20cm cake tin and place two layers of baking paper in the bottom, then in a small bowl, mix the dried fruit with the icing sugar. Punch down the dough, transfer to a floured surface again and knead in the fruit

Put the dough into the cake tin and let is rise again...for about half an hour

Then bake for about 35-40 minutes,

That's all there is to it really...easy but time consuming...absolutely delicious though if you like something a little different for breakfast...or afternoon tea for the matter.

The original recipe had the oven at 180 deg and a baking time of 45 minutes. I tried it a little lower as my oven is fan forced. I also tested the Panettone after 35 minutes and it was fine, although some of the fruit on the top was a little crispy, as you can see.

But as one of the recipes stated, the more you make it the better it'll be because you'll adapt it to suit your oven and taste.

Seriously good!

I mean it. This plum cake is so good I can't begin to describe how delish it is.

It's another delight from Valli Little in Delicious Magazine

When I started making it I thought it was going to be a little involved and maybe not worth the effort...I. WAS. WRONG!

You need
250gr cream cheese at room temperature
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup (55gr) caster sugar
4 eggs
175gr softened unsalted butter
175gr brown sugar
200gr self-raising flour-sifted
400gr plums, sliced with stones removes
Icing sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 180 c and grease and line a 24x24 cake pan or 28x18 lamington tray.
In a mixing bowl add cream cheese, caster sugar, vanilla and 1 eggs and beat 2 to 3 minutes until smooth.

Place butter, brown sugar, flour and the other 3 eggs in a clean bowl and beat until creamy.
Spread half the flour mixture in the bottom of the cake pan, then half the cream cheese mix and swirl it around a little so they meld together, then top with half the plums.

Repeat that process with the flour mix, cream cheese mix and plums and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until golden and cooked in the middle.

This is not only a great cake for afternoon tea but also a great dessert cake/slice. Valli included a white chocolate custard with this, but that doesn't do it for me to be honest, a little too sweet, so I went with cream and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

When baking this I put it in for 40 minutes then tested it with a skewer...it needed the 45 minutes.

I really hope you like this. It's not too sweet, just a little tart with these luscious plums....and I'm sure other fruits could be used if plums are not in season. Berries maybe?...apricots...I guess the options could be endless.

Right, well I'm off to have a piece with my morning coffee.

Fig and Raspberry slice

I've posted the recipe for this over here.

It's an old Weight Watchers recipe that's nice and easy and isn't too sweet. It goes nicely with a cuppa in the afternoon, or even a small piece for breakfast with a good coffee, if you are so inclined

Fig and Raspberry Slice. Enjoy

Apricot Walnut Shortcake Slice

Time for a recipe.....using one of my favourite stone fruits - Apricots.

When I was working, I had apricots with yogurt, every morning at my desk. It was my breakfast ritual....Having them that way at home isn't the same, so this is a good alternative

I haven't made this for ages but thought it was time this weekend.
I first saw the recipe on the back of a can of apricots and gave it a go...and loved it

You need
----------

1 x 410gr can bakers apricot halves (no added sugar)
125gr softened butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
slurp of vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 cup walnuts
extra 2 tablespoons sugar

Grease a 20cm square cake pan and line it with baking paper. Preheat oven to 180 deg (fan forced)

Cream the butter and sugar and vanilla till light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the flour, half a cup at a time. The mix will be quite dry. Spoon it into the cake tin and smooth the top. Spoon the apricots on top and then sprinkle with the extra sugar and the walnuts. Unfortunately, I didn't have a full cup of walnuts. Pity because they make it extra delicious....but if you don't like nuts you don't have to use them.

Bake for 30 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for another 25 minutes.

Let it cool and eat....even for breakfast, which I did this morning with a cup of coffee.

The recipe's also on the back of the can

Easy and delicious

Christmas x 2 and a deliciously wicked recipe

We have two Christmas celebrations at Number 10 each year.

The first is the Saturday before Christmas Day when Monts' girls and their husbands and all the kids arrive to have a nice meal and exchange gifts

I call it the "Festival of Meat" because I seem to cook just about every beast there is... all the food groups are represented.

This year I did my usual glazed ham, a rack of beef and roast chicken, with seafood on the side, as well as vegetables and salad.

Dessert this year was:  cheese cake and fresh raspberries with home made ice-cream and a rich chocolate mousse cake that can be frozen!.

Now, by all accounts, this recipe shouldn't work, or at least not work as well as it does.

It's simple. So simple that if you can turn on your oven, work the microwave and open the door to the freezer then you can make this rich dessert.

A friend at work passed it on to me. I'm so glad he did.

These are the things you need

20cm round cake tin

450 grams dark chocolate
4 eggs
145 grams unsalted butter
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon plain flour

First off, line the cake tin with baking paper (do not grease it) or silver foil, with enough hanging over so it can cover it later. Just note, this will not work out as well if you use a larger cake tin. A smaller one will be OK, but using a larger one means you'll end up with a rather flat and solid cake.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Melt the butter and choclate together in a bowl in the microwave then let cool to room temperature.
Using an electric mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar until pale and creamy and fluffy
Fold in the sifted flour, then the room temperature chocolate mixture
Pour into the lined cake tin and put in a 180 degree oven for 20 minutes until the top cracks and it's still a bit wobbly. Do not leave this in the oven thinking it's undercooked because it's wobbly. It's not.

Let it cool in the tin then cover it with the foil and put it in the freezer overnight

To serve the next day, take it out of the freezer at least an hour before serving, then invert it onto a plate, cover the top with berries and serve with cream or ice-cream. Or both!

Now, it's pretty darn rich so you only need a small sliver on your plate, but you can always have more than one. That's what I did.
Perfect

What's also good about this dessert is that it's the perfect thing to take to a party because it travels so well!

You can make it the night/day before, pop it in the freezer and while you're driving to your celebrations it's thawing out in the back of the car.

Told you it was easy

Easy Christmas Cake

I like my recipes to be easy, but I also like them to pack a bit of a visual punch...and this delivers on both counts.

It's an easy Christmas cake recipe that I first got from New Idea...and adapted it just a little.

The first thing you do, preferably the night before you plan to make the cake, is soak 1 kg of mixed dried fruit, with half a cup of brandy. Actually, you can use whatever alcohol you like. It's basically to help preserve the cake so you can make it well in advance and store it in the lead up to Christmas

The next day, line your cake tin with at least two layers of baking paper.  This helps to protect the cake from burning

Then in the bottom of the tin, place in 1 cup of brazil nuts, a good sprinkling of almonds and I also added some chopped fruit medley and some halved macadamias

Easy peasy

Now.... cream together 250 gr butter and 1 cup dark brown sugar

Then add 4 eggs and a large glob of marmalade. I used some Rose's lime marmalade I had in the fridge. Now if the mix starts to separate, don't worry, just add a tablespoon of flour to bring it together..

Next, mix in the fruit and liquid

...and then add 2 1/2 cups of plain flour and a teaspoon of mixed spice. I used cinnamon and Nutmeg....and fold it all through

Spoon it into the cake tin and smooth down the top

It's going to take about 2 1/2 hours in a slow oven, about 150 degrees,(fan forced)

Always make sure you test it with a skewer or sharp bladed knife to make sure it's cooked right through the centre though

Once it's cool, invert the cake onto a nice plate or cake stand...and there you have it

Mine was a little overcooked on the bottom, I think I'll put three layers of paper on the bottom of the cake pan in future, just to give it a little more protection

Hope you like it. I know we're going to enjoy it next weekend when the family's here for the annual
"Festival of Meat".
More on that later in the week.

Ingredients:

1kg mixed dried fruit

1/2 cup brandy (or other alcohol)

250gr butter

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 cup brazil nuts

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

half a cup of almonds

half a cup of fruit salad medley (optional)

Baking again

I seem to be posting more about cooking/baking lately, but that's what I've been doing at Number 10 more than anything else

It was MONT's birthday at the weekend (a milestone number) so we had a bit of a shindig with some friends on Saturday night. I offered to make his birthday cake and while he's not a fan of candles and the whole "happy birthday" thing, he agreed, as long as it wasn't chocolate...so this is the one I turned to.

If you like things a little tart, then you'll love this.

It's wonderful as afternoon tea with a cuppa...or as dessert.

Or as a birthday cake....It's as easy as pie and you can check the recipe here

Hope you like it

I knead you...or not

Another post about baking bread again, but this is one of those easy, no fuss recipes where you go..."wow, how did I achieve that?"

It's a good one if you've never made bread before because you really don't have to do anything except mix four ingredients together and let it sit on the bench for a few hours.

...and this is what you can end up with

I think that's a great return for very little effort

Oh...and it tastes pretty darn good too!

The recipe's here

Sourdough Bread

I tried making my first ever loaf of sourdough bread and the result was OK...not brilliant, but OK

We love good, gutsy bread, so I thought it was time I tried making some
It was edible, but needed more salt and I'll use a tin to bake it in in future, not just let it spread on a tray in the oven

If you'd like the recipe...or at least some hint as to what I did, then you can read more here