Radiant Silver Spoon

Lavender infused Brown sugar, Pear and Apple Tarte Tatin

2011-08-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hello All, Sorry the name is a little bit ponsy but i still am trying to use up my culinary lavender in new ways lol... (Side note - Cats do NOT like the taste..) The new incredibly famous Tarte Tatin has an interesting history... apparently (after looking it up on wikepedia lol..). Tradition says that the Tarte Tatin was first created by accident at the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France in 1898. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. There are conflicting stories concerning the tart's origin, but the predominant one is that Stéphanie Tatin, who did most of the cooking, was overworked one day.

She started to make a traditional apple pie but left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting the whole pan in the oven.

After turning out the upside down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests appreciated the dessert. An alternative version of the tart's origin is offered on the Brotherhood of the Tarte Tatin website, according to which Stéphanie baked a caramelized apple tart upside-down by mistake. Regardless she served her guests the unusual dish hot from the oven and a classic was born.

The Tarte became a signature dish at the Hotel Tatin and the recipe spread through the Sologne region. Its lasting fame is probably due to the restaurateur Louis Vaudable, who tasted the tart on a visit to Sologne and made the dessert a permanent fixture on the menu at his restaurant Maxim's Paris.Anyways, Here is my take on the classic French dessert

Lavender infused Brown sugar, Pear and Apple Tarte Tatin
Ingredients

9inch over proof dish

The pastry:
225g all purpose flour
110g Cubed Butter
2 Beaten Egg Yolks
30g Fine sugar
1 Tsp vanilla essence
1-2 Tbsp Water

The filling:
1 Chopped medium conference pear
1 Sliced Large dessert apple
1 Tsp Cinnamon
20G Tightly packed brown sugar
1/2 Tsp Ground Culinary Lavender (you can do this by finely chopping it)
1 Pinch of salt (to taste
30g Softened butter

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180c
2. Combine the pastry dry ingredients in a large bowl
3. Rub in the butter until the mixture looks like bread crumbs
4. Beat the egg yolks with the vanilla essence and then mix by hand into the bread crumbs
5. Kneed the mixture until dough like, adding the water.
6. Roll the dough into a ball, cover with cling film, and place in the fridge.
7. Add the cinnamon, lavender, brown sugar, salt and softened butter to a pan on a medium heat and allow to melt together.
8. When melted together, reduce the heat and place the chopped fruit in the mixture to cook for roughly 10 minutes.
9. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll till its about 4-5mm thick. Then place over the cooking fruits and transfer into the oven. (MAKE SURE YOUR DISH/PAN IS OVEN PROOF!)
10. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the crust is a golden brown, then remove.
11. Place a tart tin or place ontop of the pan and turn the pan upside down (Upsidedown cake style)

AND VOILA!

Until Next time!
\(^_^)/

=/ I should learn to draw

2011-07-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

Joined a guild in the game that i'm basing the story belows world on... Made my first avatar and Sig.... I know, i suck lol.

Artist ReChew: Hanabi Drift

2011-03-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hello people!

Recently i was talking to a good friend of mine who also happens to be an artist and graphic designer in his spare time. After checking out some of him more recent stuff i asked him if he could do something for the site... He agreed, and in exchange i would like to share a bit about the Artist himself and some of his work. The interview is below..... But first, Look how awesome this is!

Great huh?! I feel it really captures me in my purest form lolol.

Interview~

Walnuts
Today I am joined by good friend and fantastic artist Andre Hanabi Drift! Men want him and Women want to be him! Welcome to Radiant Silver Spoon Andre, How have you been?

Andre

Haha, I've been well. my arm's practically a stump from all the drawing i've been doing lately but i'll live.

Walnuts
Good to hear it! So lets get started, first off, tell the audience a little about yourself, your art style and how you get started.

Andre

I'm 25 living in south London, I love lasagne and cookies (not together), and my favourite song of all time is R.E.M.'s losing my religion.

I'd describe my art style as "almost bara" because although I follow a history of manga style conventions I don't think i'd call myself a mangaka (comic artist)
as for how I got started started I was basically bored at school and started doodling, I didn't put a pen down for about 15 years and here I am

Walnuts
Can you describe Bara to the people out there... and lets face it you may need to describe Manga also haha.

Andre

Haha, well Manga is a term used for the Japanese style of drawing comic books, things like Dragonball, Sailor Moon and Pokemon are the more mainstream side of it that made a strong hold here in the west

within manga there are many subgenres

Bara is should not to be confused with Shonen-Ai (boys love) or it's more R-rated cousin Yaoi which tend to feature very feminine pretty boys

Bara is written for gay guys by gay guys so the men tend to be more... well manly

Walnuts

So we could say its basically a Masculine/Muscled sub genre of manga, with a sometimes adult theme?

Andre

Yes yes

very much so

-Andre Reaches for a Cookie, dropping crumbs everywhere. I pretend not to notice but the OCD inside me is freaking out....-

Walnuts
So what would you say gives you the inspiration to draw? Is it certain times? certain situations? certain musics?

Andre
Hmmm, I usually get inspiration at really weird times, like at 3 in the morning haha

I find that music definitely helps me concentrate
I even have a spotify play list specifically for when I'm at work

my biggest inspiration probably comes from talking with other artists, having that community to support me definitely keeps me focused

Walnuts

Awesome, so if you had to recommend an artist to us (asides from yourself) who are you drawing inspiration from currently?

Andre

my darling Emi is an amazing artist who is always great to bounce ideas off of, in fact we tend to be very good at breaking each other out of artistic blocks. Mosskat is also a very talented artist, she just has a natural grace when it comes to setting up scenes, she also kicks me in the pants if I start slacking.
Nickie Charles is also awesome as is my beloved Sable-chan who is a sweet heart.

Walnuts

Woah, sounds like you have a great community there. I have also seen Emi's stuff... she is fantastic! Might get her to do something as well one day haha.

Well Andre, as always its been a pleasure

before i let you get off to your land of art and imagination

i would like to ask you to let my readers in on a secret about you that not many people know!

Andre

I'm a natural blonde.... haha, no I kid

hmmm....

when I was younger I had a brief crush on Jackie Chan, ah the innocence of youth

Jackie Chan?? Really??

Walnuts

LOL! Hilarious!

And with that, i will let you get back to work, thank you for spending some time with me today.

From myself and the viewers of Radiant Silver Spoon i would like to wish you all the best in your future works!

Andre

No problem, hope you feel better

Walnuts

Cheers (sniffle/cough/splutter)

~End~

If you liked any of the stuff you saw here feel free to check out his DeviantArt page HERE. You can also become a fan of his work at his Facebook page found HERE.

Now im off to nurse my Manflu... its serious stuff lol...

Until Next time guys
\(^_^)/

Fresh approach

2011-02-20T02:27:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Hope i haven't been away too long!

Its been a while since i actually made anything in the kitchen that was worth sharing with you guys, but last night i found myself home, alone, on a Saturday night... you can imagine the pathetic scene..... I came back from the gym to find my house mate gone to see his family. The TV isn't working properly because of the reception mess up caused by the typical British rainfall. I have seen all the dvds we own. And i'm too broke to go out. ( i can imagine you are all shedding a little tear for me now haha.)

HOWEVER, this was a great opportunity to use up some of the random crap that my kitchen accumulates.

After having dinner, triple quarter pounder burger with all the trimmings (YUM!), i set to work dragging out what i had. Previously i had some vanilla pod steeped in sugar at the back of the cupboard which i had forgotten about, in addition to a pot of culinary lavender which i bought ages ago to try with sautéed Anya potatoes... needless to say that combination was horrendous.

So, all is good until i remember i do not have any eggs, and i am too broke to go get some seeing as they are "non essentials"... We have Butter, Vanilla sugar, Clementine Zest

Flour and Culinary Lavender..... It could only mean one thing.....

Lavender and Clementine Zest Shortbread cookies!:

Ingredients
125g Butter
55g Sugar (caster preferably)
180g Plain Flour
Zest of 3 Small/Medium Clementines
1 Table spoon of Lavender
Pinch of salt (to taste)

Method
1. Preheat Oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Combine the Butter and Flour in a large bowl by hand.
3. Once fully incorporated add the sugar and salt to the dough mixture and fully combine.
4. Add the Zest and fully combine
5. Add the Lavender and fully combine.
6. Roll by hand on a flat surface in a cylindrical shape (like a tube) and cut cookies vertically down with a sharp knife to a thickness of about 3/4 of an inch.
7. Position on baking paper in a baking tray with about an inch of space between each one, as they will expand while cooking, and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool.
8. Remove from Fridge and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies turn a golden light brown.
9. Once finished remove from oven, place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.

Complete!

By time they were sitting out cooling my house mate had returned with some of his visiting family members.. and i couldn't tell them "NO! I need those to take poncy pictures of!!!" haha.

But at least i managed to get one!

Hope you guys enjoy these as much as i did. I used Clementine because i think the taste is a bit more floral and perfumey than orange zest which can be a bit harsh. The Clementine mellowness and the floral lavender are a good combination, but im sure you guys can think of some equally great ones. All the best!

Until next time
\(^_^)/

Skipped my mind

2011-01-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hello all.

I don't know what i have never posted about this before but in 2008 i went to the culinary Olympics in Erfurt (germany)... Being a cooking blog u would think that it would of been the first thing i spoke about... But you would be wrong lol.

Here are some of the pictures.. its was truly amazing. As always i spent my time hovering around all the sugary things!

Obligatory Chocolate Dragon (as you do haha)

Platted selection of chocolate, berry and hazlenut sweets (i think)

My favourite piece! No idea what went into it though lol... except a truckload of thought and precision.

All the pictures can be seen in my facebook pictures here!

Don't forget to like the page in the top right hand corner if you are on facebook guys, i appreciate the support a lot!

- As an extra bonus, Check out what i found on the web.... so simple and yet so effective! -

Until next time \(^_^)/

Mumbo Jumbo cakes!

2011-01-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

I'm still on track with my new years resolutions and to date have managed not only to update my blog regularly, but also get myself to the gym, and focus more on what i moved out for!

In this post i'm going to pay my respects to (in my and many others opinions) one of the most talented and influential pastry chefs of the century, Pierre Hermé

Pierres elegant take on the archetypical French "Macaron" is what i believe shot him to notoriety! For those of you who do not know what a Macaron is just Google it and wait for the visual feast of colors.

Like all geniuses Pierre began at a young age. At 14 he began his career as an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre, a prolific baker who sadly die a few years back. From here onwards Hermé went from strength to strength, eventually opening his first shop in Tokyo in 1998. Since then he has opened several other venues and written numerous recipe books and biographies. His work in the pastry kitchens is absolutely phenomenal.

The flavor combinations are themselves incredible, but what really is appealing with his creations are their appearances.. Hermé manages to bring the most simple of recipes to life with a variety of twists and tweaks.

Simply fantastic.... Ok Enough gushing haha!

This week i tried my hand at some classic flavor combinations with my own tweaks. its been a while since i did a recipe, but here goes!

Double chocolate cashew butter frosted cupcakes (kinda)

Ingredients:

~Cake base~
225G Butter (either salted of unsalted, depends on your taste)
225G Sugar
4 Medium Eggs
250G Milk Chocolate
225G Self Raising Flour
3Tbspn Milk
1Tspn Vanilla essence
3Tbsn Coco Powder
Salt to taste

~Frosting~
300G Smooth Peanut butter
180G Butter softened
1Tspn Vanilla essence
200G Chopped Cashew nuts
400G Icing Sugar

Method:

BEFORE ANYTHING PREHEAT THE OVEN TO Gas Mark 4 (180c degrees)

1. Combine all of the frosting ingredients in a bowl and make sure they are fully incorporated into the mix. Then set aside in the fridge or a cool place.

- Grease whatever tray you plan on baking the cakes in. i have one designed to make 12 brownies, 3x3 inches, this recipe makes about 15 of these sized cakes. -

2. In a large bowl combine the cake butter with the castor sugar and cream them together.

3. To this mixture add, 1 at a time, the eggs. make sure to fully incorporate the eggs before adding the next one.

4. Once the eggs are mixed in add the vanilla essence and the milk and mix in.

5. Mix in the Coco powder and the flour until fully incorporated.

6. Finally add the chopped chocolate and fully combine all the ingredients.

7. Place in the preheated oven for roughly 20 minutes, checking after 20 minutes to check with a skewer whether or not they are fully cooked through. If the skewer comes out wet then place them back in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes.

8. Once fully cooked through remove from oven and leave to cool, and then decorate with icing and garnish when cooled.

And thats it!

Complete! They arent Pierre standard but these were actually really good, i brought them into work and they were gone within a few minutes.

Enjoy.
See you next time \(^_^)/

Happy new years!

2011-01-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

I know its a few days late but i want to wish everyone across the globe a happy new year! Hope you all did something worthwhile to see the new year in.

I went to a masquerade ball... which turned out to be mostly debauchery, but also pretty random and amusing so cant complain. especially when you wake up with pictures like this!

Obviously when i was told "Masquerade ball" i heard "Masked Waiters Ball"...

The new years gang in The last Tuesday society chaos

No words needed...

Needless to say my friends and i had a great time!

Lol. Ive made 2 new years resolutions. These are realistic ones that i cant really not start doing because time is getting away from me and i need to keep focused on atleast a few things once in a while.

The first is I NEED TO GO BACK TO THE GYM! i lay in bed playing with my belly fat about an hour ago and suicide seemed like the only other option. Suicide is messy and a bit selfish so the gym it is lol. Used to go religiously, but you know what happens when u take some time off and get lazy... you just forget about it :(

The second is to start working towards my entrepreneurial goals.... If i want to make it into the catering industry i need to pull my finger out and start actually doing some work.

Ah, before i go, The Christmas meal was delicious if i dont say so myself. I spent about 8 hours in the kitchen with my mother trying to get everything prepared and awesome looking for Christmas day. This is how it turned out.

The table did look very indulgent! especially that decanter... i dont even know where that came from lol.

These were my favorite, My sister and Brothers fiancé have dietary needs which wouldn't permit them to eat the meat. So we made these Pygmy cranberry, lentil and red onion stuffed pumpkins.

Wishing the best for all of you. Have a blessed New year and stay tuned!

See you soon \(^_^)/

Corinne Bailey Rae

2010-12-27T17:25:00.000-08:00

This is my first artist review. As such i have chosen to go with one of my all time favorite songstresses.

Corinne released her first, self titled, album in February 2006 and believe it went to number 1 in the UK charts! With mesmerizing songs like "Choux Pastry Heart" and dazzling lyrics displayed in "Like a Star" (which was song recently by Rebecca on the British X Factor) it was obvious that Corinne would be an international sensation.

Unfortunately after releasing her first album her husband, jazz musician Jason Rae, passed away in what police announced as a drug related incident. After such a traumatic event it would of been understandable if Corinne didnt return to the public eye at all. However, in January 2010 She came back onto the radar with the release of her highly anticipated second album "The Sea". releasing the single "I'd do it all again" just before the album.

Whilst the songs are just as beautiful there is a definite sadness to many of the lyrics, and justifiably so.

Corinne has a soulful voice unmatched in grace and mellowness. After listening to any of her songs even once you will definitely want to hear more. She has collaborated with some interesting characters, such as John Legend and John Mayer at the 2007 Grammy awards, and has produced some beautiful covers of Bjork and Led Zeppelin songs. If you are looking for a calm yet memorably gentle sound then look no further!

See you next time!
\(^_^)/

Worldwide Celebrations!

2010-11-24T15:56:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween!!!
I did my first Jack'o'Lantern for the ghoulish holiday!

It was Also Eid recently... So Eid Mubarak to all my Muslim friends out there! Also it was recently Diwali, so happy diwali all you Hindus.

My work colleagues decided to share thier celebration with us by bringing in some amazing indian sweets!

As far as i can tell these sweets are made from curdled milk, sugar and a vast arrangement of spices and decorations. Ranging from pistachios to edible silver leaf! If you have never tried Indian sweets, then its definitely an enjoyable and different experience especially if you are use to your western sweets. Not saying western sweets are bad, but its just different. Like when u go to Germany or Belgium and buy some chocolate... In the UK we have chocolate and its pretty good.... but the Belgian chocolate is like on a whole new level of epic!

Anyone else celebrating anything let me know how it went!

Ive got something a bit special Coming up next...

Until next time everyone, stay cool!
\(^_^)/

Apple and Banana Baby Cakes

2010-11-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

A few days back i had been walking to my local tube station to get the underground to work. The rain was pouring down, and everyone was miserable because of this. As i had a bit of time i stopped in a local health food Cafe near me for a coffee before i carried on my journey.

In there the was a small baby girl and her mother on the table opposite me, the mum was feeding the baby Apple and Banana baby food.

Now i dont know about you guys but this brings back MAJOR memories for me... i use to love these little baby food pots so much when i was young that even when my younger sister, who is almost 5 years younger than me, was born i would sneakily eat hers!

Lol, dont worry, this story actually going somewhere.

Seeing this i was inspired to make my own version of this delicious little pot of gold. Obviously im too old for baby food now.... (atleast thats what i tell my friends) so i came up with a quick recipe to try and re-experience my toddler years!

Apple and Banana Baby Cakes!

The Recipe is an adaptation of Rachel Allens (author of Bake) Dutch apple cake with the additon of the banan and apple mini chunks throughout.

The icing was a typical icing sugar mix with reduced pink lady apple juice as the base rather than water, in order to counter the melllow banana'y taste of the sponge.

Find the recipe HERE

Yes i know..... i have nothing to do with myself... And yes, yes i AM very bored most evenings LOL.

Until next time
\(^_^)/

Anime ReChew: Scrapped Princess

2010-11-13T06:08:00.000-08:00

Ive decided to actually start doing some anime reviews after a friend of mine from work has suddenly become interested (thanks to me) in japanese animation and cartoons.

Ive watch anime since i was about 8 years old and have never looked back. Whilst i have seen many, MANY, shows i have only had a few achive viewing excellence in my opinion. Whenevr i do an Anime ReChew (get it??? sounds like ReView but cause i like food i put ReChew!!!!???!! arent i hilarious ahhahahahahaah lol. feel free to shoot me if u see me irl) i will try and be as indepth as possible. And will also talk about series' that i dont think are worth a watch.

With all that said lets have a look at one of my favourite series' from the land of the rising sun!

Scrapped Princess

When i was first introduced to this anime it took me about a year before i actually watched it. The name threw me and i have no interest in cutesy magical girl shows (Sailor moon etc), but once you start watching it you see a very intricate story, held together by believable characters.The plot follows Paciffica Cassull. A young girl with who appears to be like any other little blond girl. She is bossy, rude, sweet, sensible and at times helpful. All of this being fine until you find out that she is a child born to royalty, bearing the stigma of an ancient prophecy which dictates that if she is to reach her 16th birthday then the world shall be destroyed. And all at once the story gets interesting.

Paciffica is accompanied by her step brother and sister whilst she runs from.... well... pretty much the world. Shannon Cassull, her brother, is an excellent swordsman. He has vowed to keep her safe from anyone who would do her harm, even though he is constantly bossed around by Paciffica he still remains loving and loyal. Raquel Cassull, Pacifficas sister, is a military class wizard with the ability to conjure tremendous power with only a few words (particularly impressive when noting that other magicians in the series have very long incantations to perform minor spells), Raquel has a very calm and gentle nature in contrast to her great magical strength, since both of the siblings parents have died trying to protect Paciffica, Raquel now assumes the motherly role in the group.Along the journey the trio are joined by some who wonder how true the prophecy is, and others who are oblivious that they are befriending the scrapped princess.

In a world where robotic war ships co exist with mysticism the scrapped princess must remain alive to find the truth about who she is and what will happen when she turns 16.One of my favourite things about this series is that it is only 24 episodes long, so it doesnt drag on and on and on....If you are new to anime then definitely start off your adventure with this. Truly a masterpeice of story telling.... and the fight scenes are mesmorising to boot.Hope you guys like it as much as I do!

Until next time! \(^_^)/

Move Completed... Finally!

2010-09-07T01:23:00.000-07:00

Hello subscribers and visitors!

Its been a long LONG struggle lol.. and majorly stressful to boot.... but im finally moved into my new house!

Dining area!

Living Area!

Plant!

And a Bigasss TV! My Housemates idea.... but im warming to it lol! :)

So this is where im living now, will be able to upload alot more freely now. Hope everyone has been good and i will be back with something delicious soon!

Until then.... Stay cool!

\(^_^)/

Chocolate exploits

2010-08-18T03:08:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks now i have been learning about chocolate... I discovered what couverture is, i figured out why tempering is used... i also found out that different chocolates react to different ingredients in unique ways.

This is a quick post to show what i have been coming up with!

Plum Kuro

The garden has produced a billion plums this year, so i have mixed them with dark chocolate ganache to make these delicious little bars... based with crushed digestive biscuits and garnished with plum icing and cashews.

Diced plums were incorperated into the sponge which was dyed a slight pink to match the skin of the plums.

Dark chocolate melted with salted butter to give it the shine. I was going to use milk chocolate but the plums were sweet with the sour aftertaste, and milk chocolate would of definitely gotten lost amongst the flavors.

And Voila! They are complete. They are very simple to make and without going into too much detail...

The sponge was a basic victoria spong recipe with a tsp of red food colouring and the chopped plums incorperated whilst mixing.

The chocolate coating was choocolate and butter melted and mixed together

And the icing decoration was the remaining plums reduced in a bit of water and caster sugar, then when fully reduced over a medium heat strain out the juice (i used a sieve for this) and mix the juice with enough icing sugar to get the correct consistency, not too runny. this should also come out as pinkish color, depending on what plums are used.

Well thats it from me! but before i go, here are some chocolates i had at a japanese tea bar recently.

Strawberry and Chilli
Yuzu
Matcha
Mango and Balsamic

See if you can guess which is which! Until next time \(^_^)/

Indian inspired Revlation!

2010-06-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ah............ Finally completed!

That took about 3 days to come up with a final design and after the initial prototype with the Mango Lassi cream cheese style frosting (seen here)

I decided to go in a new direction because the frosting was just so loose.... i considered thickening it with custard powder but then i had to watch his allergies (see previous post) so i couldn't do anything too risky... Also Look at that thing... It looks terrible lol... The watery looking stuff over the passion fruit is my attempt at caramelized decorations... turns out i should stick to chocolate work and leave the sugar spinning o the pros for the mean time lol.

All in all i think this original one looks terrible and i wasn't a big fan of the taste although mum and sisters disagreed and thought it was nice, but they are always nice when i make stuff and tend to eat anything that's put in front of them lol.....

So..... Back to the drawing board!!

In the end i went back to basics.... I had to think what would actually convey exotic fruits, but at the same time not kill him.

The inspiration for this cake kinda came from the Indian restaurant that me and my work colleagues visited the other day. For the First time i had Mango Lassi.... was so nice, tasted like milkshake but wasn't overpoweringly dairying.

The major problem however this time was..... THE CHOCOLATE!!! I know right... as if chocolate is ever a major problem lol... But this time it was. The person who was getting the cake doesn't like chocolate... so i racked my brain trying to think of substitutes.... Which led me to the Above DISASTER!

Then i thought about it a different way..... "Why doesn't he like chocolate?"

It turns out that he doesn't like the smell of it... And that sorted everything out, as well as confirming that i should be going with the potent smelling exotic fruits....

I decided to go in a different direction with it now finally! Mango White Chocolate frosting with a cheaper white chocolate so that the smell of it would not detract from the mango and alert him to the fact it was chocolate based. in the end it just tasted like mango ice cream (but not ice cream obviously).. was very lush. Passion fruits to trigger the nostrils initially and then the more subtle but just as delicious smell of the mangoes really drew you into this cake. The day I transported it to the party i had to go to work first in the day time, so the whole office smelt like a fruit cocktail lol.

On the inside was a cardamom infused sponge cake without the egg obviously. and running through it were strands of saffron for the color and for the subtle spice of it....

And then.... TADA!!!

The Left Over White Chocolate i just mixed with some cream cheese and butter to make a ganache kinda thing and added green food dye to tie in with the theme of the cake

And now, ill let you know how i made it!

Cardamom and Saffron Sponge With Mango Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

Egg-less Cardamom Cake:

175g Plain flour
50g Fine Cornmeal
400g Sweetened condensed milk
100g Butter
175ml Water
2tsp Baking powder
1tsp Baking soda
1tsp Vanilla extract
10 Strands of Saffron
2tsp Ground Cardamom
1/2tsp Salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees centigrade and Grease the bottoms of 2 9" cake tins and then set aside
2. In a Large bowl sieve the dry ingredients together and make sure they are all fully incorporated together (Salt, Flour, Cornmeal, Bicarbonate, Baking powder, Chopped Saffron and Cardamom)
3. Melt the butter and then add melted butter to the wet ingredients remaining minus the vanilla extract, so that's the Condensed milk and the water.
4. Mix the wet ingredients (now with the vanilla extract) into the dry ingredients and Incorporated fully with a wooden spoon of electric mixer if u are lucky enough to have one lol.
5. When fully mixed separate the batter evenly into the cake tins and even out the mixture before putting them into the oven for roughly an hour, check to see when the cake it done by using a skewer to see if the middle of the cake is ready or not.
6. When done, take both cakes out and set aside on cooling racks.

Mango White Chocolate Frosting:

Unfortunately i didn't do the measurements for this properly and it was all kinda doing it by eye and feeling my way through... but if you follow these directions you will know what to do when it comes to it.

ROUGHLY...

600g White Chocolate
350ml Mango Puree
25g Butter

1. Melt the Chocolate either in the microwave for a few seconds (stiring after 10 seconds), or in a ban marie over a stove.
2. Add butter to the melted chocolate
3. Pour Chocolate and butter mixture into a bowl and slowly add the mango puree, mixing all the time. When the mixture becomes stiff but manageable cover it and put it aside in the fridge until needed.

Green Chocolate Ganache:

100g Cream cheese
180g White Chocolate
80g Icing sugar
2tsp Green Food coloring

1. Melt the Chocolate
2. Remove chocolate from stove or microwave once fully melted and then stir in the cream cheese, icing sugar and green food coloring. It should go a kind of putty texture.

And VOILA!

Hope you guys like it as much as i enjoyed making it... pity i don't really like cake that much lol.

Until next time...

Enjoy \(^_^)/

Challenge!

2010-06-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ok ive been set the task of coming up with an egg less, nut less, chocolate less cake by Friday....

One of my best friends is annoyingly allergic to all these things (and he just doesn't like chocolate.... such an awkward guy!)

Immediately i thought "Fruits"

So im gonna go with an Egg less Mango infused sponge (dunno if thats the right wording lol)

With Mango Lassi style cream cheese frosting....

Lassi is that Indian sweet yogurt drink, very light and refreshing. I was thinking of spicing the cake with Cardamom and a bit of saffron for the golden color of mango to really come through.

Anyone have any ideas on whether or not that is a good or bad idea... even if you have tried something similar and have any advice that could be valuable to me. I know that using mango in sponge will be risky because of the very watery nature of the fruit so ill have to find a way of compensating for that without it being too rigid because of the lack of egg.

Also is the Saffron gonna be wasted on this because.... you know.... saffron isn't the CHEAPEST of spices lol... If the mango will make the sponge golden yellow on its own then i could just omit the saffron... We shall see!!

Anyways, Here goes nothing!!! Gonna start practicing now.

Ill keep you all updated \(^_^)/

Veggie Cake!

2010-06-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hello people, its been a long time.

GOT A PROMOTION!!! WOO!!!

Money money money lol...

OK on a different note, I'm sorry i haven't been around for ages, i have just had so much stuff to do.... I'm currently apartment hunting and that is just the longest process ever... on top of that I've started hitting the gym twice as hard. Been going every morning for the past 6 weeks i think (with weekends off as a break).... I totally recommend it, once you get into it you will love it.

Ok enough about my boring life.... on with the food!

You may be wondering "What is this ridiculously cute looking anime about?". Well quite frankly this has been filling the spaces of time when i'm not active and still awake.... Its called Yumeiro Patissiere and its an interesting anime show which is quite popular in japan at the moment..... Admittedly its probably mostly little girls watching it for the cute characters.... but i watch it for the inventive recipes they come up with (also its pretty funny at times).

The show revolves around Ichigo Amano who wants to be a pastry chef and joins a school where the young elite go to train... she is terrible at making sweets and as the show progresses she is helped by the "sweets princes" who are all experts in their own rights (Hanabusa is an expert in decoration, Kashino is an expert in chocolate stuff, and Andou is an expert at Japanese style desserts), as well as the strange but almost necessary additions of little fairy creatures who encourage Amano to not give up... Its pretty watchable and some of the recipes they come up with are pretty Ingenious (spelling...)

For example.... my next post will hopefully be a remake of one of their cakes either a Rose water infused Peach Pound cake, or a Spinach and cream cheese frosting carrot and apricot chiffon. Also looking at their presentation is inspiring (I know i know its a cartoon lol)

Definitely worth checking out though if you are ever bored! But now on to what i have made recently...

Spiced Carrot Cake with White chocolate cream cheese frosting:

I was set the challenge recently of trying to make something nice for the office out of semi healthy ingredients.... I instantly thought of fruits and vegetables... I was considering doing some kind of apple or pear something but those are boring... Then i realized i have never actually made a carrot cake... one of the most inspired combination of flavors.... (this is why i want to try that spinach cake at some point cause i like the idea of veg in sweet stuff, its interesting.

This cake was for a colleagues birthday and without blowing my own trumpet it was delicious.... so much so that the mother of the colleague who has been baking for years, actually called her daughter to ask me for the recipe. I was very proud of myself considering i just felt my way through the cake and added what i thought would be necessary to get that moist texture that any good carrot cake should have.

So without further adieu and so i can stop bigging myself up (lol) here is the recipe and method!

Ingredients:

300g Soft Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
250ml Sunflower Oil
30g Margarine
300g Plain Flour
1tsp Bi carbonate of soda
1tsp Baking powder
1tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2tsp ground ginger
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp vanilla extract
350g Grated Carrot
200g Raisins
(A few Walnuts to decorate if you want)

Gonna need 2 or 3 cake tins for this also... I used 2, you can do it three tier if you like!

Method:

Preheat the over to 170 degrees Centigrade (350 Fahrenheit or Gas mark 3)

Put the sugar, eggs, oil and margarine in a bowl and mix them all together with a wooden spoon. (if you have an electric mixer then use the paddle attachment).

Then slowly add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla extract and continue mixing.

Grate the carrots and press as much water out of them as possible. Add the carrots and the raisins to the mix and keep mixing until all are incorporated fully.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins (coated in margarine or butter) and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched.

Leave the cakes to cool slightly in the tins before turning out onto a wire rack to let them cool completely.

Voila... the cake is done.

Now, whilst the cake is cooling you can make the frosting.

Frosting ingredients:

800g White Chocolate (i used Milky bar)
500g Soft cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g Butter
250g icing sugar

Method:

Melt the chocolate in a small pan and be sure not to burn it.

Once the chocolate is melted pour into a large bowl and slowly add the butter and cheese whilst mixing all the time until fully incorporated. The heat from the chocolate should melt the other two easily.

Add the vanilla extract and icing sugar and keep mixing until full incorporated.

When fully mixed leave aside in a cool area to reduce in temperature before using a pallet knife to place frosting between the cake layers and then completely cover the cake...

That's it you should now be done! I hope it comes out just as nicely as mine did, decorate it how you see fit :D!!

Until next time...

Enjoy!! \(^_^)/

Just a quick one

2010-04-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone, Long time no see!

Sorry its taken a while for me to post anything but my new job is keeping me busier than i thought it would. In addition to that i haven't had much time to cook anyone worth talking about.

However, A birthday has just gone by and inevitably i was conscripted (is that the right word?) to make something.

Now.. the fun thing about being able to cook is that i will never be short of a present or a surprise for anyone. Whenever i use to mess up with my ex-girlfriends i would usually be able to smooth it over by making something nice... and usually with chocolate or liqueur in it... or maybe even both depending on how badly i screwed up Lol!

So its come to April the 4th and i'm happily lying in bed when my youngest sister walks by my door carrying a present.... I'm like "oh whats that for".... She replies... "Um.... its Amanda's birthday Matthew....... OMG YOU FORGOT!! I'M TELLING!!!"

Lol turns out ive forgotten my Other sisters birthday....

So naturally i panic slightly, then i remember i had some flour and stuff in the pantry, enough to make a cake perhaps, but certainly enough to get me out of trouble with cookies or something at a push lol.

So here it goes!

Black Forest Forgetmenot Cake!

Ingredients

(It was a pretty big cake so feel free to half these values if ur making a smaller one)

200g Softened butter
200g Self raising flour
3 Eggs
180G Castor sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla essence
100g cocoa powder
40g hot chocolate powder
1 Tin black cherries (i think thats 325ml in a normal tin)

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugar together and then when full incorporated add the eggs one at a time slowly and beat them in.

2. Add the vanilla essence to this mixture and set aside

3. Sift the remaining dry ingredients into a separate bowl (i was lazy and sifted them right into the first bowl with the wet stuff)

4. Mix all the ingredients together and then when fully mixed remove most of the jelly surrounding the cherries and stir in the cherries. (you can save the jelly for other things if u want, but it wont be used int his recipe)

5. Grease up a cake tin, set the over to 180 (do this first lol) and then whack it in! give it about 25 minutes before checking on it, and poke it in the middle wtih a skewer to make sure the cake is done.

6. When it is done set it to the side and leave to cool. It will be difficult to decorate if it is still hot/warm

Chocolate frosting

For the chocolate frosting i improvised and (without my ego exploding too much) the texture and taste came out perfectly.

50g butter
100g cream cheese
180g chocolate (i used milk chocolate)
80g icing sugar

This is a really simple method. Just melt the chocolate in a banmarie or in a glass bowl over some water on a stove... or if ur in a rush, for 1 minute int he microwave then take it out and stir.

Once the chocolate is melted, stir it into a combination of butter and cream cheese and icing sugar. Mix until fully incorporated, it should go quite stiff and then just put it into your piping bag and GO GO GO!

Now what i did on the sides of the cake is to use the remaining frosting that i didn't use on the top to cover the sides. And then using the remaining pistachio nuts i had in the previous post, i chopped them up and (with a lil bit of difficulty) stuck them to the frosting that is on the sides.

Good luck guys, and remember.... Chocolate is ALWAYS a good present lol.

Enjoy!

The big day

2010-03-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well i finally had to do it..the event has come around and it turns out that its some kind of womans empowerment day... lol i guess it was only fitting that they had a guy make thier food for them on such a day.

Things went well, and while there were no macarons in sight i did make redvelvet mini cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Bitter chocolate biscuits and just some ordinary cupcakes with chocolate in them.

In addition i made a few chocolate truffles just because i had spare time. I think they all came out pretty well, and the feedback was good so im happy.

I decided to decorate the frosting with pistchio nuts just for acontrast in flavour... the taste of them didnt really have much to do with thier inclusion.

Lol its always nice to see all the random crap that u buy before makign something suddenly become somethign nice and appertizing lookng. Red velvet is certainly an odd looking cake i must say, i was trying to go for purple because of the theme of the event, but i ran out of blue dye fairly early on and got a weird kind of maroon colour lol... i didnt tell anyone obviously haha.

The chocolate Chunks in the bigger cupcakes i thoguht at first were a bit too much but then i thought.. "Who doesnt like chocolate!"

At the front of each of the chocolate chunks is just a small decoration of dessicated coconut.

And heres how i did it!

Lol.. sadly these are not my own recipes this time, but i took inspiration froma fellow blogger. All credit for this goes to them, and im just gonna paste a link to thier recipe here.

http://www.pickycook.com/dessert/redvelvetcupcakeswithcreamcheesefrosting.aspx

Finally its over!

Now to do the dishes.... nah... that can wait til tommorow when the women folk come back!

HAHA only kidding... now where did i put that sponge...

Enjoy! (^_^)

Right.... lol

2010-03-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Ok i have accepted defeat... there is no way im gonan perfect the macarons in the next 3 days so i have decided to make Whoopie pies, Whitechocolate coconut truffles and coloured cupcakes instead... which i will be posting probably on monday after the event!

For the sake of mockery this was my final attempt at the macarons before i finally decided to just not bother...

These dont look like they are gonna turn out too badly...... UNTIL..............................

Suddenly...

Instantly failed lol.... OH well!

On monday ill be posting three different Deliscious things so stay tuned for 3 posts. ill take pics of the event also and see if anyone made anything deliscious that needs to be shared.

Till next time, Ill deffinatly work harder!

Enjoy! \(^_^)/

Still no joy... Gotta keep trying though!

2010-03-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

Right so im still trying these macarons... got until the 21st to complete them and have them perfect... Things arent looking good though lol!

Even more anoying is that ive just seen on my facebook feed that an old school mate without any formal pastry training (as far as im aware) is making them left right and centre.... I REFUSE TO ASK FOR HELP FROM HIM! lol... its probably the testosterone kicking in... but ill keep trying until i figure it out for myself.. It will be much more satisfying that way.

In the mean time i have also been asked to make a cake for a work colleages leaving do...

The lucky sod is off to the carribean on a cruise... So jealous.. but i was happy to make the cake. Lol but im out of green! so i improvised!

First off i decided seeing as its the carribean but no specific island ill just go with a general theme! Also the fact that all she does is talk about how sunny its gonna be and bla bla blah...... *insert jealousy here* lol

In order to get this runout done correctly you first need to mix the colours and test them out... I used autumn brown and canary yellow in varying ratios to get the three colours seen on this sun.

First i drew the picture onto some paper, and then put it into a plastic wallet and began to make the outline with a less liquid ammount of icing. Try not to make it too runny or it melts together and becomes a nightmare... But also try and not make it too delicate... this makes it difficult to get off the plastic wallet when it is dry.

You proabably cant see it here but some of the suns rays actualy broke and i had to cleverly possition them back on so that noone would notice lol.

The cake was just an ordinary victoria sandwich sponge cake... jam, cream, vanilla... the usual. To be hoenst it was such short notice that i didnt really think of flavours, it was purely for the looks. If i had thought about it i would of slipped some ginger in there to keep with the carribean theme.

The cake is baked and the two seperate sandwiches are cut into squares so that they match, thi isnt necassary but makes things alot easier... again speed was something i was going for.

Royal icing is then mixed with colouring in order to make a decent covering for the cake whcih is tidied up with a plastic spatula and various other cake decorating tools.

Then the C scrolls were piped around the edge of the cake with a small line ontop of them for extra effect. Prettey effetive i think, and not much to it. Deffiantly have to keep a steady hand though.

My lettering is pretty shambolic so i tend to do fancy writing to hide the fact that i suck LOL.

And there you go! it was pretty simple to be hoenst. If i have more time next time and given a bit more notice maybe i can make something better... but i dont even know the woman that well... lol. Was fun though! And not nearly as daunting as it looks... you should try it. Im sure your local cake shop wuill be happy to talk you through anything.. and if u have any questions feel free to ask me! ill be more than happy to help!

Until next tim guys... Enjoy!

Back to the macarons again... grrr!! lol

Failure and Compensation

2010-03-04T02:44:00.000-08:00

Right.. So ive been asked to make some macarons for a friends event... because i love putting my big foot in my big mouth i said yes... knowing that in all my years ive only ever succesfully made macarons once. Thants ONCE out of about 30 tries lol. As a result they were obviously a failure, but ive got a month so ill keep trying... These were the result of my failed almond treats.... they bassically tasted like sugary paper rather than ealgrey infused light almond shells :(

Ah well...

So after my failure i was talking to a friend of mine who i use to work at a cocktail bar with... She also knows a thing or two about food stuff but eventually she concluded that i suck lol... so unhelpful.

But it did trigger my memory as to when i started as a cocktail barman. I found it difficult to judge what liquers would go well with others, as well as what fruit to use or even if they deserved to be paired with somethng creamier.

We had to learn over 50 cocktail in 3 days... was very challenging but we all managed to do it. And of all fo them my favourite was my own variation on a Key West Cooler... which i embarasingly called Fooler Cooler (because i messed up the original so many times, but this one tasted better in my opinion lol).

So colourful and easy to drink, i gaurantee u guys will be trying this out at your next BBQ! The original recipe calls for peach schnaps, but I used malibu as the drink was introduced to the bar during a heatwave in England... and I trying to be all tropical lol... in england... the nonsense of it!

First off your gonna need to have these two bad boys at hand!

Malibu is a Coconut infused carribean rum... Im not sure if it counts as a liquer or a rum, but its deliscious and very fragrant. the coconut really comes through in it. If you cannot get hold of this (you should be able to... its like EVERYWHERE) then another coconut liquer or sum will do just fine.

As well as!

Midori! This is probaably my favourite liquer. The word Midori is japanese for "Green" which is pretty obvious. The colour is amazing and adding it to any drink will make it stand out really. Asides from the colour the taste is of sweet melons. Midori and lemonade is a classic... but its easily drinkable with coke as i have found.

Ok. Lets begin.

Ingredients:

12.5ml Midori
12.5ml Malibu
12.5ml Vodka
50ml Cranberry Juice
50ml Pineapple Juice
Some ice
1 slice of Kiwi and Orange (optional, decorate it however u want)

Method:

1: Pour the Midori and Malibu into an empty glass, then add one of the fruits to the glass.
2: Add ice up to the top of the glass
3: SLOWLY pour the cranberry juice over the ice so that it sits ontop of the alcohol at the bottom (cranberry juice is very light and sits ontop of most things... but vodka is even lighter!)
4: in a seperate tumbler (or boston glass if u have one) add the pineapple juice to the vodka and stir about 10 times. (DO NOT SHAKE, pineapple juice goes frothy and discoloured when shaken)
5: Now slowly pour the pineapple and vodka mixture ontop of the cranberry juice. It should sit on top of the cranberry juice because the vodka has lightened the pineapple juice. Decorate with the other slice of fruit on the side of the glass and add straws. COMPLETE!

There we go! That wasnt too hard now was it... Drink responsibly guys... im gonna try those macarons again.... back to the kitchen!

Until next time... Enjoy!

Clafoutis! Because i got the job!

2010-03-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well I just finnished my old role at the department of health..... and i didnt know exactly where i would be going after that so as you can imagine it was a bit of a nail biting time. But this morning i got the job i was going for at the department of transport.... So thats a huge weight off my shoulders!

And as an extra bonus i dont start my new job until monday.... which means..... 1 WEEK OFF... SWEET!!!!!!

And sweet news deserves a sweet treat. So i decided to celebrate with a quick and easy assortment of Clafoutis.

Clafoutis is bassically a baked take made of flan like batter, traditionally made with black cherries i think. But as usuall i am not concerned with the traditional lol... One day ill make something recognisable to normal people haha.

For this recipe i decided to once again use use my ramakins (still in love with them) as opposed to a tart or pie dish.

Ok so lets begin.

Ingredients:

120g Plain Flour
Lots of assorted fruit haha (I used Apples, Pears, Blackberries, Blueberries and Raspberries)
60g Butter (I used Flora pro active because it has reduced cholestoral)
300ml Milk
90g Sugar
Icing Sugar (for dusting)
Mint leaves for garnish (i used these but do whatever you tink looks nice)

Method:

1: Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C
2: In a small bowl break and then beat the eggs
3: When the eggs are beaten put aside and melt the butter in a small frying pan. When melted take off the fire and keep in a warm place to keep it liquid but not any hotter than it should be at the point.
4: Sift the flour into a large bowl
5: Add the eggs slowly to the flour and mix all the while. The mixture should become a thick batter.
6: Now add the sugar, milk and butter to the mix and whisk until the mixture becomes a loose batter (if too watery add a little bit of flour, but it should be a milkshake consistency.... lol hope thats helpful)
7: Now set the mixture aside and take a bit of butter and grease the dish (or dishes depending on how u are making them) with butter.
8: To the dish thats now buttered and arrange the fruit in it (fill the dish between half to 2/3 full with the fruit)

9: Pour the batter over the fruit and place in the oven.

10: allow to cook for around 40 miutes (dont worry if it raises alot when its taken out of the over it will sink again, i was a lil worried when i first did it lol)

11: When its done take it out of the over and dust with icing sugar and decorate however u like. Deffinatly serve it warm!

And there we have it...

Congratulations Clafoutis!

Enjoy :D!!

Ok.... Im obsessed.....

2010-02-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

Ok asides from my love of cooking i have a dirty little secret which i usually keep under wraps... but sometimes i let it slip... And that is the fact that i am a huge anime nerd....

There... IVE SAID IT!!! And im not even ashamed... Ive always loved Anime, and the first one i ever saw was a film called "Tenko no shiro Rapyuta" which translates (I think) to "Laputa: Castle in the sky"... Drawn and Directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki the film is set in a mythical land where a boy who works in a mine is one day the saviour of a ysterious girl who floats down from the sky with the aid of her pendant. Add some pirates and a few robots in there and it truly is one of the most beautiful films ive ever seen. IF your not too busy deffinatly check it out, even if your not into anime.

Ok... you may be wondering where im going with this, but FEAR NOT FOODIES... i do have a point lol.

One of my favourite pass times is combining my favourite pass times! So a combination of anime and food is ideal, luckily there is awhole genre devoted to anime fans who love food.

There are so many good shows out there which are not only fun to watch but also pretty inspirational. Today i wont be cooking any, but whilst looking for some anime inspired recipes i came accros a japanese website with the most beautiful cakes and treats and i felt it was my DUTY to share with you guys.... dont ask me what each thing is, as i sadly cannot answer you lol.. i wish i knew myself, but they do all look deliscious!

I dont even know what these are but just look at how beautiful they are... pretty flawless stuff.

Im almost certain that this one isnt even real!!! it looks perfect.

Chocolate elegance...

Amazing.... Just amazing, i want whoever made these to put thier hand against the screen of thier computer so that they can recieve my virtual highfive!

I can only hope that one day i can make stuff as amazing as this! I really dont want to pretend that these pics are in any way my own but i cant really figure out who the artist is who made them... I THINK the name of the patissier is Hidemo Sugino.... but that could be the name of the pattiserie. Either way, hats off to these guys. so so inspiring. Hope you guys are just as inspired!

Till next time! Enjoy!

Toooo long!

2010-02-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys! im sorry it took so long for me to come back you lot with antyhign that even looked and tasted remotely good... btu my daytime job has actually gotten pretty hectic as of late.

And whilst i havent actually made this dish myself for a while,it is still a personal favourite! So the following pictures are not creditted to me but they do show you how to present the meal in a variety of delicate and artistic ways!....... OK! PANNA COTTA!

I first fell in love with this dessert when i was about 13 and i was watching blue peter (for you americans its like a DIY show for kids, cooking, animals, arts and crafts etc.. :D). They had a local chef come on and after a long talk about how she had began cookign and how much she loved it and blah blah blah.... they then had her prepare her favourite dish which was the Panna Cotta.... I WAS IN LOVE! To me it looked like jelly + ice cream.... and what kid doesnt liek that combination! so i tried it and tried it and tried it over the years and after a while i could make it pretty perfectly. So now that i could make it well, i began experimenting with flavours! Mango.... Apple.... rosemary..... But out of all of them my favourite was the stangest combination.

Thyme

and Honey

(Just noticed that i use honey an awful lot.... maybe i should look into it in a bit more detail for my next blog :P)

The basics of a Panna cotta recipe are incredibly simple. you will probably reasd this and think "why havent i made this before?!". The only thing that i doubt you will have just lying around the pantry will be gelatin, or gelatin powder.

Ingredients:

(This is a generic recipe which you can use as the base of any panna cotta... just tweak it to your liking by adding flavours and garnishes)

For the Panna Cotta

3 gelatine leaves
250ml/9fl oz milk
250ml/9fl oz double cream
6 spriggs of thyme
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped out
25g/1oz sugar

For the sauce

1.5 tsp lemon juice
75g/6oz honey
175ml/6fl oz water
50 ml Drambuie (honey and spice based whiskey)

Method:

1. For the panna cotta, soak the gelatine leaves in a little cold water until soft.
2. Place the milk, cream, thyme spriggs, vanilla pod and seeds and sugar into a pan and bring to a simmer. Remove the vanilla/thyme spriggs and discard.
3. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, then add to the pan and take off the heat. Stir until the gelatine has dissolved.
4. Divide the mixture among four ramekins and leave to cool. Place into the fridge for at least an hour, until set.
5. For the sauce, place the honey, lemon juice, water and Drambuie into a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is smooth and clear.

Complete!

Now because im obsessed with my new ramikins and shot glass set that i found at a bargain price (of £4 for 16 ramakins, and £2 for 10 nice glass shot glasses! so awesome!) I usually put my pannacotta into one of these moulds and put in the fridge until needed. Then place them on a square or oblonged dish for serving and decorate in whatever way you think is best.

Enjoy! and i promise ill update things more often... \(^_^)/

Mind Block = Time for alcohol!

2010-02-11T02:43:00.000-08:00

Ok that makes me sound like an alcoholic, WHICH ISNT TRUE, but I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of another weird and interesting super food to give you guys the three that I promised. So far I keep just coming up with blueberries and salmon and turkey… all stuff that people have heard of and know what to do with, so it’s a bit boring. One fruit I found which was interesting and apparently has diabetes reducing properties, called the Mangosteen, would have been ideal to do a piece on, but I couldn’t find it to buy anywhere, which means that I couldn’t test anything out with it and give you guys a recipe… total fail :(

So instead… whilst I figure out where I can get it from, I decided to look at the respectable collection of alcohol that has been accumulated in the family home. Now, funnily enough, no one in my family drinks asides from my brother, and me but out of respect neither of us drink at home or within eyesight of my parents. However, people always seem to give us alcohol as last minute Christmas or birthday or new year’s presents…. Lol we collected so much over the years that eventually mum and dad bought a small drinks bar, which is now well stocked enough to satisfy a student social! This is awesome for me as you can imagine, as alcohol (the good stuff) is expensive, but if its there then its really cool to experiment with. Conveniently I am not only a trained chef, but also a trained cocktail waiter (needed to make some money whilst at uni)

There were also some lychee kicking around the fruit bowls so set to work.

Lychees have a weird flavour and I would argue that along with pomegranates are the most filddly and awkward of all the fruits.

A hard, rough and spikey shell that covers a very watery white flesh…. Which is again hiding a giant seed lol… very annoying, however, the taste is unique enough to make all this effort worth it!

I have a terrible sweet tooth so I wanted something to match, but not be overtly sugary, and after 3 attempts I came up with this deliscious recipe for what I have aptly dubbed;

“The Charm”

Ingredients:

5 Lychee flesh (without seeds, also fresh will taste better than tinned)
3 drops of Angostura bitters
12.5ml Midori (Melon Liqueur. From Japan I think)
25ml Vodka
25ml Mango juice
100ml Lychee Juice
¼ Lime

Method:

Take the Lychee and the ¼ Lime and add them to a strong glass(If you are lucky enough to have a professional cocktail set then add these to your boston glass) and then using a muddler (or the end of a rolling pin if you don’t have a muddler) crush the ingredients to release as much juice from them as possible.

Once you have done this, you will need to add the alcohol (excluding the Angostura bitters and some ice.

Place about half way up the glass full of ice, and then add the alcohol (excluding the Angostura bitters), add a secure lid to the glass, and Shake it like a combination of Shakira and Beyonce in a tumble dryer lol!

After shaking with the ice (this releases more juice from the fruits, as well as cooling down the alcohol, which smoothens the taste of vodka and sharpens the sweet midori) add the mango and the lychee juice and stir about 30 times.

Pour the contents through a sieve into whichever glass you will serve the drink in, and decorate as you see fit. Then put 3 drops of Angostura bitters ontop of the finnished drink. I did not decorate mine because I was on my own…. With alcohol…. Late at night… maybe I am becoming an alcoholic… haha bad times.

Enjoy!

Super food 2.... the smallest of the bunch!

2010-02-06T05:38:00.001-08:00

In Keeping the with “super food” theme, I want to introduce you guys (if u don’t already know about them) to an awesome little powerhouse capsule! Flaxseeds!

These tiny little seeds are native to hot countries like those in the Mediterranean and India. Although they look incredibly boring these small seeds have the highest content of omega 3 for any plant in the world (so far anyways… they are always finding something new! Lol). If you don’t know, omega 3 is a fatty acid commonly found in the oils in many fish. Although the composition of omega 3 in fish is slightly different than that in flax seeds (because there is an extra boost from the algae that the fish eat which the flax seed plant obviously isn’t eating) this seed is the single biggest culinary support against a number of blood related problems!

Omega 3 is beneficial in so many areas of the body that its hard to start at any single point. It has the ability to ward against cancerous cells. It can thin blood to reduce clotting which would lead to cardiovascular problems as well as high blood pressure. It has also been found to bolster and maintain a healthy immune system…. LESS FLU!

From a culinary point of view Flax seeds aren’t actually that great haha….. They are physically non distinct and pretty flavourless (aside from a slightly nutty taste, but nothing strong enough to overpower even the mildest of flavours). Whilst this sounds terrible its actually a pretty good trait. The benefits of them not tasting of anything in particular means that they can pretty much be added to any meal or drink without affecting the flavour. You can use them to top cakes, mix them into curries, sprinkle them into sandwiches or even have them ground and dust them over smoothies!

My favourite use for them personally is using them to top off delicious muffins!

Honey, Walnut and Flaxseed muffins (12 approx):

Ingredients:

49.5g whole wheat flour
49.5g oat bran
40.5g oatmeal
30g chopped walnuts
1.5 Tsp baking powder
1/4 Tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp milled flax seeds
1 Tsp cinnamon
½ Tsp salt
30g caster sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
25g honey
1 Tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup milk
2Tbsp oil

Method:

Combine the dry ingredients first, sieving the baking powder, baking soda, flour, salt and sugar into a large mixing bowl.

Then in a separate bowl beat together the egg, vanilla essence, honey, milk and oil.

Mix the wet into the dry slowly a small amount at a time and combine thoroughly.

After combining completely dispense evenly into 12 muffin tins.

Bake at 200 degrees (C) for 15-20 minutes.

When complete and baked all the way through, remove from oven and let cool.

Drizzly with honey and sprinkle with any remaining flax seeds or chopped walnuts.

Enjoy!

Super Foodology!!..... wait... is that even a word?

2010-02-04T06:09:00.000-08:00

The word “Superfood” seems to be bounced around fairly often nowadays in the media. I find it slightly worrying that there is no actual scientific definition of this popular term… Nethertheless, it is a useful term for describing ingredients that have a particularly high level of good nutritional traits in them. Proteins, Pectin, Anti oxidants etc… Amongst these billions of ingredients that are now making their way out of the woodwork of awesome foods there are some particularly interesting ones, which I have found to not only be particularly good for you, but also have tastes, which will truly liven up any meal or beverage you guys decide to make!

To kick it off we have Matcha!

This is one of the oldest forms of instant tea that the world has ever known. The leaves that make up this tea are though to of originally been cultivated in china and then slowly made their way across to Japan where the tea leaves were eventually refined and crushed into a powder like form which all you needed to do was add hot water too.

Tea itself has long been known for its high concentration of anti-oxidants, cancer-fighting nutrients. However, of all of the teas Matcha is by far the most potent when it comes to health. This is due to the tea being powdered and not just brewed. You ingest all of the leaves nutrients when you drink it and therefore get all of the nutrients.

To put the benefits of this “super food” into perspective for you, one cup of matcha contains 70 times the antioxidants of a cup of orange juice and nine times the beta carotene of a serving of spinach.

It has a slightly bitter but fragrant taste and is very versatile. You can find it flavouring Lattes, Ice creams, savoury dishes and in some cases, I have seen it accompanied with truffles in order to obtain a fragrant but earth taste atop sweet dishes.

I am addicted to Matcha lattes personally… They are awesome, and if you ever get the chance then you should definitely make your own.

Matcha Latte:

3 Level tablespoons of Matcha Powder

350ml of semi skimmed milk (I wouldn’t suggest full fat milk, if you’re trying to be healthy with matcha, you do not need to ruin it lol)

25ml of vanilla syrup (this is just my personal addition, i've got an incurable sweet tooth)

Enjoy!

TBQFWTFBBQ

2010-01-31T14:59:00.000-08:00

What the hell is going on with all these ridiculous abbreviations.... Seriously, who is coming up with them. Are we as humans so lazy that we are shortening an already efficient means of communication??

This occured to me as i was sitting at my desk at work. The boy behind me, in a nonthreatening and mildly amusing way, keeps saying "Lol" instead of actually laughing....

This is just bizarre.. at first its quirky little bit of his character.. and slowly but surely its become the worst thing about work. He doesnt just stop at "lol" he has an entire arsenal.... "TBQF" "WTF" "ROFL...... seriously, what the hell is "TBQF" i had to google it. Lol... whilst googling it to try and find out what it was i came across a website about mushrooms which seemed very random, but being the incurable foodie that i am i decided to have a peek.

From this i got to thinking about mushroom recipes, using the inherant nuttiness of some mushrooms to really bring a dish to life.

I settled on going for a mixture of shitake mushrooms for thier nuttiness and strength, mixed with oyster mushrooms for thier silky texture. The result was a deliscious Creamy mushrooms on toasted brioche. Very simple and very effective!

Ingredients:

This will be enough for about 8-10 servings

30 medium to large shitaake mushrooms
20 varying size oyster mushrooms
250ml single cream (can be changed for creme fraiche but its not NEARLY as tasty)
Cracked black pepper to taste
Salt to taste (use low salt for the health conscious)

8-10 Small semi sweetened Brioche rolls

Method

Before anything be sure to have your Brioche ready for when the mushrooms are done, so its probaably best to toast them first. Personally i cheated and didnt make the Brioche myself... so i bought some finger shaped brioche rolls instaed and cut them through the middle horizontally for the mushrooms to sit on when they were done.

Toast the Brioche on a low grill heat, it needs to be rady when the mushrooms are ready as it will be served almost immediatly.

Slice the Shitaake mushrooms into 1/2cm (roughly) thick slices and then set aside.
Then cut the Oyster mushrooms in half vertically and set aside with the Shitaake mushrooms.

Take a large, high rimmed, frying pan on a Medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to heat it up.

Add the Mushrooms to the pan and allow to cook until they begin to soften. (about a minute with constant slow stiring)

Then add the cream to the pan, all the while stiring so that the cream does not begin to burn, if this is becoming difficult then reduce the heat and continue at a steady pace.

After about a minute or 2 the mushrooms should begin to turn the cream a greyish colour. at this point turn the heat down as much as possible and begin to add your salt and pepper to taste.

Once the seasoning is done, it is time to dish the meal up!

I arrnaged mine on a bed of baby mixed leaves and dressed it with chopped parsley for colour.

Im sure you guys can think of a better way lol!

Enjoy!

TBQF!!!

A game of two halves...... both of them disproportionatly wealthy

2008-07-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

Uni is over and after a gruelling, heart thumping event of trying to check my results several times by typing in the wrong password... which annoyed the hell out of me, but finally I got in and I have graduated with a high tier second class degree, which has made me incredibly happy. As the first child of my generation in my family to achieve a degree (and a good one at that) words cannot express my joy... and my heart is actually pounding as I type. Lol, but this post is not about this incredible feeling.

At the moment I am watching Manchester united on one of my housemates dvd's (I’m not watching really, my Gameboy is in my hand and i’m listening to the commentary in the background). The fans are jumping and everyone seems to be in high spirits. My friends seem to enjoy it but i am not entirely sure why they are so transfixed by an average game played by overpaid lower-tier athletes.

Don’t get me wrong, I think athletes are worthy of admiration. The mental state required to devote your life to something on such a large scale is mind boggling and i wish I had the ability.

However......

It bothers me immensely that these guys get paid an ungodly sums of money for doing some that is, while impressive, not world changing. The money given to these people can be used for much better things, David Beckham for example is on a mind boggling wage of around 250000 pounds a week.... now that is obviously a nice lil packet of money to go home with.... but what has he honestly done to deserve it. While he is sitting on that ludicrous sum there are doctors who are saving lives, fire-fighters who risk their lives, policemen, even teachers who devote their lives to benefiting the lives of every child they teach..... These people are getting pittance compared to these athletes and personally it disheartens me to know that the world values physical strength and prowess over that of selflessness and mental capability.

I am probably sounding like I have had some kind of bad experience with sports at an early age. But I didn’t, I played sports and I enjoyed them. I still enjoy watching some sports and whilst it isn’t so much the sportsmen that I consider at fault, but the fans who devote their lives to, regardless of its connotations, a GAME. The winner of this game will probably have no effect on the state of the world, and the money people pay to go and see these games really does beg the question… are we inherently selfish? Putting our fleeting moments of pleasure above the life of those suffering in desolate areas of the world.

If I was earning the money that they do I wouldn’t be complaining for certain, I would be loving it and probably be dictating this post to one of my several underlings which I would no doubt have wearing ridiculous hats, interchangeable for every day of the week, purely because I could. But my conscience would get to me; so much that I would eventually have to give money to some form of charity. Hell, David Beckhams yearly wage could actually probably wipe out hunger for a small third world country....

Yet still the crowd stands and cheers blissfully.

*sigh* (^_^)/

Salad days

2008-06-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of weeks i have been trying to tone up for the summer. I have no intention of taking my top off in public unless i can break rocks against my chest and stomach. lol.... as of yet this dream has not been realised, and istead of toning up i just seem to be losing weight... which to most people would be ideal, but when it gets to the point where people are saying "are you eating properly" instead of "wow your getting big!" its slightly problematic. So i figure i must just not be eating enough to keep up with the excersize. I jog for about an hour mostly 3 times a week, and on the off days i do my weights (i try and do situps but i dont think ive mastered them yet). Along with this i try and eat healthily throughout the week and drink in moderation.

From being a student and drinking ridiculous ammounts of alcohol atleast 5 days a week, to be slightly less ridiculous and only drinking stupid ammounts of alcohol one day a week, i think my body is just waiting for my mind to give in so that it can have its fill of chocolate and any kind of sugary stuff within grabbing distance.

Doesnt help that im surrounded with food at work either... Oh well, ill probably figure out what im doing wrong at some point.

Word of advice, never get tips for weight lifting techniques from youtube... There is some dodgy stuff on there!

Till next time (^_^)/

The unveiling

2008-06-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a young man.... this man was blessed with many things, good health, friends, a loving family... but as much and as many times he smiled, there was always something wrong.

Ok enough with the melodramatics...

I'm Matthew, this is my 5th attempt at blogging but i honestly think this time it will work... for a while anyways... always lose my password or forget i have a blog in the first place. If i carry on writing this blog, and you continue to be interested, you will no doubt come to realise just how bad my memory is.

The general gist of my life so you can get some understanidng of where many of my views come from, begins here, in London, England. Croydon to be exact.

I am the second eldest child in a family of 4, one older brother, and two younger sisters. my parents (by some unearthly will) are still married, and i am currently just finnishing my last year of University in Bedford. in an attempt to fool people into thinking i knew what i wanted to do with my life i took Criminology as my major... (for gods sake... what did i think i was gonna do with it... become batman or somehting?.... sigh..) However after three LONG years of having fun, making friends, ruining my kidneys, and slowly realising that this course was not for me in the first place, i am finally finished.

I am now 21 and have one year to figure out what i want to do with my life, the situation i find myself in is one of 3.

do my Masters in Forensic Psychology?

or

enrol at Le cordon bleu in london, a school of gastronomic excellence, bassically its a highly acclaimed cooking college. Ive alwyas loved cooking, and i can see myself building a life around it.

While i do want to do my masters, i dont want to build my life around a subject that im already bored with.

Cooking is currently where im headed (fingers crossed), but i can see myself getting dragged along in my parents footprints, or should i say "pushed along".

That is bassically me as i am now, To be honest, its a pretty normal life i have. Fortunatly im lucky enough to have very few worries in life. I dont know if ive just been complelty sheltered as a child, or i really am just very lucky. But either way im thankful for it.

The following posts (when i get around to them) will depict the bizzare things that happen around me, mostly instigated by the weird people outside my house, but some of them are my friends.... and some of the wierd things i have myself to blame.

But thats it. hope i havent bored you yet and you will come back to read more throughout the week, (if you dont come back then your gonna miss out on the cake >.>) lol.

Peace (^_^)