Saturday 15 April 2017

Beano Birthday Cake

 12 years old.
 
Beano fan.
 
Happy Birthday to my boy.
 
Xx
 
 
I welcome comments on the state of Dennis. Was someone drinking Prosecco whilst making fondant figures?!!
 
 
 

Wednesday 12 April 2017

Chicken Breasts with Chilli, Lime and Hoisin - Recipe

Another surprisingly easy recipe... A Thai-Chinese fusion, using whatever I could find in the fridge and store cupboard. I'm so glad I keep buying spices...


Chicken with Chilli, Lime and Hoisin

Marinading Time: as long as you wish! But anything from 30 minutes to overnight
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cook Time: 20-30 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tsp light brown sugar
juice 2 limes
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chilli bean paste/sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
120 ml chicken stock or water

On the side:

4 stems broccoli
1 small onion, chopped
dash of soy

Method:

To prepare the chicken, use a sharp knife to cut deep slashes in a diamond pattern. Mix the garlic, sugar, lime juice, soy and chilli bean sauce together in a bowl. Place the chicken in a dish and pour over the marinade mixture. Leave to marinade as long as you can. 

Once you are ready to cook, heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan. Remove the chicken from the marinade and fry for about 5 minutes on each side, making sure it is cooked through. Once cooked, add the remaining marinade, along with the hoisin sauce and stock/water, and simmer for a few minutes.

Meanwhile stir-fry the broccoli and onions together in another pan. Once softened, add a dash of soy sauce.

Serve together with the sauce from the chicken drizzled over the top. With rice and freshly chopped coriander.


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Friday 7 April 2017

Carrot Cake with Orange Frosting - Recipe

I wasn't going to blog about this, because I thought it was a bit of a disaster when I made it. But the reactions I got from Himself (not a cake fan) and when I took it to work was so good, I thought I should try and remember how I did it! It's a good carrot cake!
When I whisked up the mascarpone, it went all curdled (due to the orange zest I guess), so I kept adding icing sugar until it came back together. It was still really runny, but I wanted to get it done, and we had a visitor, so with him watching, the disaster unfolded...
It was so runny it just seeped down through the cake. I mean, it looks fine in this photo, right? But 5 minutes later it was all over the cake stand! I kept re-loading it for a while but it didn't let up.
Had to cut a slice to try it, obviously, and even then the frosting cascaded down the centre!
So it didn't look good... But it tasted amazing. Which is why I needed to share it. Perhaps the whole drizzle effect kept it moist and fresh for longer! The frosting eventually hardened, so it was more presentable, and everyone loved it. 

The recipe is taken and adapted from Rhubarb&Rose's Decorated.

Carrot Cake

Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cook Time: 50-60 mins

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:
 
For the cake:
 
100 g pecans, roughly chopped (you can pre-roast them if you wish - 5-10 mins in the oven)
320 g golden caster sugar
180 ml rapeseed oil
3 eggs
225 g plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tsp ground cinnamon
6-7 carrots, peeled and grated
Zest of half an orange (save the other half for the frosting)
 
 For the frosting:
 
1 tub mascarpone (~250 g)
Zest of half an orange
100 g icing sugar (plus more as needed)
 

Method:

Line a 18 cm cake tin and heat the oven to 170 C.

Beat together the sugar, oil and eggs, until pale.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda, cinnamon and a pinch of salt, and beat until combined. Next, fold in the grated carrot, orange zest and chopped pecans.

Pour into the cake tin and bake in the oven for about 50-60 minutes - check towards the end with a skewer, it should come out clean.

Allow to cool, then turn out on to a wire rack.

For the frosting, beat the mascarpone with the orange zest in a mixture until smooth. Add the icing sugar and continue to beat. If it curdles, keep adding more icing sugar until it comes back together and is a runny consistency. If it becomes smooth and thickens, well done - that's how it should be!

Slice the cake in half horizontally, and then pour some of the frosting on top of the bottom half. Place the top half back on and then pour the frosting over the top and let it drizzle down. It may seep, just keep and eye on it and re-apply it if needed. If your frosting is nice and thick then just smooth it over the top as you wish.

Decorate with any leftover pecan nuts, if you wish.



Have you had any major cake disasters, which you managed to salvage?










Wednesday 5 April 2017

Easy Mexican Beef Wraps - Recipe

Making a meal out of nothing seems to be a specialty in our house. Although Himself had cooked for the kids, there wasn't much left for our dinner. He'd cooked a huge batch of bolognese, ready to freeze in batches, so there was that, but it didn't appeal somehow, late on a Tuesday evening.

So I delved into the fridge to find what else was hanging around - some tortillas, cream (almost past its best), half a lime, bits of vegetables... so I thought I'd take some of his cooked mince meat and turn it Mexican. With spices from the store cupboard, and less than half an hour, here's how to make a delicious, quick, spicy, Mexican beef wrap:



Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:

300g mince meat 
1 small onion, chopped
half a pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 fresh green chilli, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano 
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1-2 tbsp tomato passata
2 tortillas

To Serve:

1-2 dollops of soured cream (squeeze half a lime into 100ml cream)
Fresh coriander

Method:

Saute the mince beef until it is brown and cooked all over. Set aside.

In a clean pan, saute the onion and pepper for a few minutes until soft, then add in the garlic and chilli, and fry for one more minute. Then add back in the cooked meat.

Stir in the herbs and spices, and then add in the passata. Allow to cook down for up to 10 minutes, adding a little more passata if necessary, not letting it dry out. 

Warm the tortillas, then spoon the mixture in the centre. Add a dollop of sour cream, then fold and wrap the tortilla. Serve with another dollop of soured cream and fresh coriander.


Buen provecho!