Radio Recipes - 30th October 2017 - BBC Radio Northampton The Bernie Keith Show

As promised here are the recipes and the bits and pieces mentioned during my chat with Bernie Keith, on his Radio Show, The Bernie Keith Show, BBC Radio Northampton on Monday 30^th October 2017 at 10am

First up :

Fun Stuff

Between the sheets

No – not the cocktail of white rum, cognac, triple sec and lemon juice – sorry to disappoint!

It's sheets of baking parchment for easy chocolate biscuits the kids can make.

Chocolate biscuits

Takes 2½ hours

250g digestive biscuits

300g dark or milk chocolate broken into small even-sized pieces

100g unsalted butter

100g golden syrup

100g tart cherries or cranberries, chopped finely

100g pecans, chopped finely or blitzed to a crumb

icing sugar or cocoa to dust

Place the biscuits in a plastic bag, clip the end and roll with a rolling pin until you have a fine crumb. Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a bain-marie, mixing until smooth. Remove from the heat, add the digestive biscuits, cherries (or cranberries) and pecans - mix well, coating everything in the chocolate syrup.

You will need :

4 x sheets of baking parchment -

45cms x 30cms

a pastry board as large as the parchment

Place a sheet of parchment on your board, divide the mixture in half and place one half on your parchment. Place another sheet of parchment on top of the mixture and press down then roll out thinly – 0.5cm approx. Take the board with the mixture between the sheets to the fridge and slide straight onto the fridge shelf. Repeat with the remaining sheets and mixture. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Peel off the top sheet of parchment and dust with icing sugar or cocoa, then cut out your biscuits in shapes of your choice. I managed 25 biscuits per batch, 50 in total although this will vary depending on the size of cutter used.

The final bonus is that you finish up with a “jigsaw” of chocolate biscuit bits. Bag or box them and freeze. Blitz them as required for a crumb to sprinkle over your favourite ice cream.

Next up, the tiramisu, here's the recipe :

Orange Tiramisu

Serves 4 large or 6 smaller

servings

Grated rind and juice of 2 medium oranges – 200ml

plus an additional 4tbsp of juice if you are not

adding alcohol

(as a guide one medium orange has 4tbsp of juice)

20fl oz whipping cream

20 sponge fingers or Madeira cake

4tbsp caster sugar

225g Mascarpone cheese

2 tbsp orange curd plus extra to decorate

2oz chocolate flake crumbled to decorate

For the adults

4 tbsp Cointreau or other orange liqueur

plain chocolate chips to decorate

If you are using orange liqueur then substitute it for the additional 4tbsp of orange juice in the recipe.

Mix the cream carefully with the caster sugar and mascarpone, then whisk with a hand mixer to thicken, gently fold the orange curd into the mixture so that it gives a ribbon effect. If you're using a hand mixer use the blades to fold through the curd.

For one large tiramisu and using sponge fingers, a rectangular dish is the best shape. Dip the fingers into the syrup and arrange in a row, then add the mascarpone mixture and repeat.

For the kids, bash a chocolate flake in its packet so that it doesn't fly all over the kitchen worktop, open carefully and sprinkle over to decorate. If you want grown-up “sprinkles” use plain chocolate chips or grate a plain chocolate bar to decorate instead.

Cling film and fridge until you're ready to serve.

The success of this recipe is in its versatility – kids love it – a welcome, refreshing change from the coffee version. I suppose it doesn't go down too well with the tiramisu purists but who cares – surely the whole point is to give people food that you know they are going to love.

If anyone wants to know the chapter and verse - for the small, individual servings I used small glasses with a capacity of 160ml – they measure 7 cms in diameter and 7 cms deep. They benefit from being made ahead – time to soak up all that lovely syrup – and the alcohol too if you are indulging in a grown-up version.

The small servings are given height using a circle of cake soaked in syrup at the bottom of the glass and then circles of soaked cake to line - the filling is spooned (or piped if you are proficient) into the centre and topped with another circle of soaked cake. Add a teaspoon of curd to the cake top and then sprinkle with the chocolate – the curd “glues” the chocolate in place. The size of the cutter used is 4cms in diameter and the cake should be 1cm slices approximately.

You can buy plastic sundae dishes with lids that also double as a base exactly the same size as the glasses. A practical solution if you are giving a party for both adults and children and less washing up too! When you are ready to serve, remove the lid and clip to the bottom to create your sundae dish.

I buy these sundae dishes from SCS Packaging in Orchard Road, Finedon. Aladdin's cave!

SCS Packaging, Units 1 & 2, Orchard Road, Finedon, Wellingborough NN9 5JG – 01933 681681 – www.scspackaging.co.uk

By the way - you can make your own orange curd in the microwave – recipe below, it takes 12 minutes max!

Microwave Orange Curd

4 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks

170g caster sugar

2 tsps finely grated orange rind

185ml fresh orange juice

125g unsalted butter, cubed

Put the butter, rind and juice in a large microwave-proof bowl. Cook on high for 3 minutes. Add the sugar to the bowl and stir for 1 minute until it has almost dissolved. Return to the microwave and cook on 100% power for 2 minutes, stirring every minute.

Beat the eggs and the yolk together, then whisk into the mixture, a little at a time.

Cook on medium (40% power) for 10-12 minutes, whisking every 2 minutes, until the curd thickens.

Ladle into hot sterilized jars, cover and seal. When cooked, fridge and use within 2 months.

Notes :

This recipe is based on an 800 watt version. For microwaves with a different wattage, adjust cooking times as follows, 900 watt – subtract 10 seconds per minute. 850 watt, subtract 5 seconds per minute, 750 watt, add 5 seconds per minute. 700 watt, add 10 seconds per minute.

You don't have to go to the trouble of making your own curd – you can buy it from most supermarkets these days. A word to the wise it varies in price and taste. Waitrose produces its own brand and it gets my vote on both counts.

Autumn Stuff

Chillier mornings mean we begin to turn our attention or rather tummies, towards comfort food. Somehow it's more of an effort to produce hot food – what follows is me “banging on again about getting yourself organised!” If you're in the kitchen make the best use of the time – what I call the “whilst I'm at it, I might as well” principle.

If you have turned on the oven, fill it.

Here's what I do. Bake half a dozen jacket potatoes – they don't take up too much space if, for example, you're cooking a roast. Prick them and wrap in foil – bake for an hour – check – depending on the size they make take a little longer. Set them aside to cool and then bag and fridge.

Wrap 500g of fresh fish of your choice in foil, bake for 15 minutes. Your oven should be set at 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Set aside, cool and fridge, ready to turn into a fish pie.

If you are cooking a roast, get into the habit of prepping extra veggies – you won't be sorry. Bag your extra roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots et al when cooled and fridge, ready for a savoury crumble.

Slow cook a whole chicken – it takes 10 minutes at the most to place the chicken in the cooker and then spread with garlic and a stock pot (mixed to a paste) then sprinkle with oregano.

Grate mature cheddar cheese - bag, box and fridge. Grate Parmesan too – bag, box and fridge.

Make a sauce that will go with so many things it can't possibly fail – this really is the quickest and most amenable sauce you'll ever make. It only has one downside and that is that you cannot microwave it – it will split. Don't say you haven't been warned! In my view it's a price worth paying.

Alfredo Sauce

2 tbsp unsalted butter (50g)

400ml double cream

100g freshly grated Parmesan

freshly ground black pepper

Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, until the butter has melted, then stir in the Parmesan. Slowly bring to a gentle boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stir continuously for a minute or so until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.

The sauce can be made ahead and fridged or you can freeze it too.

A note or six

Half the recipe given serves 2 with 225g of uncooked pasta.

Traditionally there are no additions to Alfredo although sometimes

it may be served with peas.

Add to mushrooms to serve on toast

Use as a sauce over chicken or fish

Pour over roasted veggies – especially leftovers

Serve drizzled over asparagus

If you decide to freeze the sauce use small containers

(check out the baby aisle in the supermarket)

you won't waste it – you can always take out another

I mentioned getting into the habit of cooking extra veggies – cut them into similar size chunks, pour over the Alfredo sauce and complete with “3p topping”.

3p savoury crumble topping

Serves 4/6

mix together 100g Panko crumbs, 50g Parmesan

and a generous sprinkle of Parsley

Preheat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Perfect for a vegetarian meal but could be served with meat or poultry if the mood takes.

I can only tell you that by spending a little time planning your shopping list to produce quick, easy and tasty food not only saves you time it saves you money too – you're less likely to throw random stuff into your shopping trolley real or virtual - that you'll never use.

The plan is that you've the beginning of suppers for the following week that will take minutes to pull together so that when you arrive home feeling like you've done 10 rounds with a champion boxer - the last thing you want to do is have to think about food.

Food should be a pleasure – it should make you happy!

The trouble is we live our lives at warp speed – constantly chasing our tails, juggling balls, whatever the description they mean the same. There are not enough hours in a day and it's so easy to resort to the ding of the microwave and a processed meal or rely on takeaways.

Please don't think that I'm being a pain in the posterior – everyone indulges in one or the other or indeed both, from time to time.

In the spirit of “fast” or “takeaway” food - how about Friday night is pizza night – your own – sort of. These days you can buy good quality frozen pizza bases - all you have to remember is to take the base out of the freezer.

Try this on for size :

Pizza bianca

Use leftover cold Alfredo sauce, spread on a pizza base, add mushrooms, black olives and Italian meats of your choice – or diced chicken

Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan and ditto of oregano and bake

in a preheated oven at 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 20 minutes until hot and bubbling

This pizza takes no longer to assemble than the telephone call to the takeaway and infinitely cheaper and, take my word for it, tastes great.

Enjoy!

www.miammiamcookery.com

Between the sheets

No – not the cocktail of white rum, cognac, triple sec and lemon juice – sorry to disappoint!

It's sheets of baking parchment.

This is for those of you who like it really sweet and is my variation on the “Fridge cake” recipe. Is it a biscuit – is it a sweetie – you decide - I'd best describe it as fruity fudge with a “snap” texture.

250g digestive biscuits, crushed into a fine crumb

300g good quality white chocolate, broken

into similar size pieces

100g unsalted butter

100g golden syrup

100g cranberries, finely chopped

100g toasted almonds, blitzed or finely chopped

Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a bain-marie, mixing until smooth. Remove from the heat, add the digestive biscuits, cranberries and almonds - mix well, coating everything in the chocolate syrup.

A quick reminder about toasting almonds. Preheat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 5 minutes. I set my timer a minute at a time – checked and gave the baking tray a shake - the colour of the almonds is up to you but don't forget them or you'll be really cross!

You will need :

4 x sheets of baking parchment -

45cms x 30cms

a pastry board as large as the parchment

Place a sheet of parchment on your board, divide the mixture in half and place one half on your parchment. Place another sheet of parchment on top of the mixture and press down then roll out thinly – 0.5cm approx. Take the board with the mixture between the sheets to the fridge and slide straight onto the fridge shelf. Repeat with the remaining sheets and mixture. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Peel off the top sheet of parchment and then cut out your “fruity fudge snaps” in shapes of your choice. I managed 25 biscuits per batch, 50 in total.

The final bonus is that you finish up with the same “jigsaw” of fruity fudge snap bits. Bag or box them and freeze. Blitz them as required for a fudge crumb to sprinkle over your favourite ice cream.

Photo guide coming next - not one crumb wasted!

A glug

I know that I mention “glug” frequently. For the uninitiated I feel I should explain, since recently I've defined “blob” and “splodge”.

A glug refers to liquid, usually oil or alcohol too in my culinary book. If you want to be reasonably accurate then a glug is what I'd call a generous tablespoon.

I appreciate that if you aren't particularly confident with this cooking malarkey then you would want the comfort of a more exact measure. Cooking is about personal taste, recipes are meant to be a guide not strict rules. As you gain confidence then you'll feel better about “flying by the seat of your pants” adding a drop of this and/or a pinch of that to make your own variations to favourite dishes to suit your taste and that of your family and friends.

There is however an exception that proves the rule and that is when you are baking – be it bread, cakes or desserts. Baking is a science and exact measurements are imperative for a good result.

The obvious example I can give you is that if you are making bread and you “dust” a board with flour to knead the bread then you're adding more flour to the recipe and in turn the finished loaf will be altered.

Ovens vary – get to know yours. Pay attention - bake and cook too at the correct temperatures given otherwise you won't get a good result, chemical reactions won't happen as they should and you'll be disappointed.

Not for nothing, back in the day, was it called “Domestic Science”!

Feedback and photos … the pie

Back to classes after the summer break. My aim, as always, is to inspire and make life easier for busy people.

On that note, the chicken and mushroom pie took centre stage, here's the filling

here's the topping

… “the chicken pie was to die for … sublime … and lovely”.

Definitely worth adding to your “speed week menu”. My friend and student M said that she was going to serve the pie in individual pots as a main course for a dinner party. I think I rest my case - there's no law that says you have to complicate food, keep it simple and keep your sanity!

The Pie

Here's the end result of your foray into “whilst I'm at it, I might as well” … and the slow cooked chicken.

Chicken & Mushroom Pie

2 x slow cooked chicken breasts and/or

a mixture of leg and thigh meat -

400g in total, diced and placed in

a large bowl

250g chestnut mushrooms

Sauce Supreme – using your

chicken stock

Sliced cooked baked potatoes – 3 medium size

skin on or skin off, whichever you prefer

salt and black pepper and a dot or two of

butter

Preheat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Ensure that your chicken and stock have been taken from your best friend (the freezer) and fridged overnight.

There are only two elements to cook – the mushrooms and the sauce.

Heat a medium sized frying pan, slice the mushrooms and sauté with 50g of unsalted butter adding salt and black pepper. Turn the mushrooms – they'll produce water and the idea is that you use a high heat to reduce the liquid. Add a glug of dry sherry or red wine and reduce again. The sherry or wine enhances the flavour of the mushrooms. Whilst I'm at it don't be afraid to use mushrooms that might be past their “best before” date. They have more flavour.

Your sauce recipe :

15g unsalted butter

15g plain flour

½ tsp Dijon mustard

200ml double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously making a roux sauce – do not walk away.

Tip your cold stock straight into the roux and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the mustard and the cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

You can make the sauce ahead and freeze it if more convenient – it's every bit as good from the freezer, leaving only the mushrooms to sauté on the day.

You have choices for your pie lid. I'm using the potatoes you already have in your fridge from the “whilst I'm at it, I might as well” applied principle.

You could use the ever popular puff pastry sheet, again taken from your freezer stash. A third option would be to use the 3p topping from The Tickle Tray, Panko crumbs, Parmesan and Parsley.

Add the mushrooms to the chicken and then fold through the sauce. Pour the filling into a casserole measuring 23x23 cms approximately or, in my case, a foil tray - layer the sliced potatoes over the top, add a little salt and pepper and a dot or two of butter. Place in the oven for 25 minutes and serve.

Feedback and photos on their way.

Here's the thing: Autumn Planning Continued

Food should be a pleasure – it should make you happy – especially when the weather changes into Autumn and we demand comfort and warmth from our food.

The trouble is we live our lives at warp speed – constantly chasing our tails, juggling balls, whatever the description they mean the same. There are not enough hours in a day and it's so easy to resort to the ding of the microwave and a processed meal or rely on takeaways.

Please don't think that I'm being a pain in the posterior – everyone indulges in one or the other or indeed both, from time to time.

We don't have the time to cook from scratch every day.

I know I'm repeating myself - make the best use of your kitchen when you are in it, using the “whilst I'm at it, I might as well” principle. If you've read “Autumn Planning” then so far you're able to produce the following :

Whatever you cooked on Sunday, which

gave you leftover veggies

A vegetable bake using the leftovers, covered

in an Alfredo sauce finished with 3p topping

Stuff the baked jacket potatoes – add chopped chicken

to the leftover vegetables and the Alfredo sauce

Fish Pie – two alternatives

Slow roasted chicken – so far three choices

more to follow

That's Sunday through to Thursday so far -and we haven't scratched the surface yet. Another thing – you might want to make sure your BFF contains a couple puff pastry sheets, or, these days you can buy frozen rolled pizza bases too. Both are excellent products and for speedy “working week” food you'll find them invaluable.

As an example :

How about Friday night is pizza night – your own – sort of. All you have to remember is to take the base out of the freezer.

Pizza bianca

Use leftover cold Alfredo sauce, spread on a pizza base, add mushrooms, black olives and Italian meats of your choice – or diced chicken

Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan and ditto of oregano and bake

in a preheated oven at 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 20 minutes until hot and bubbling

This pizza takes no longer to assemble than the telephone call to the takeaway and infinitely cheaper and, take my word for it, tastes great.

I've just realised that it's academic since you've deleted the takeaway delivery number anyway – tee hee!

Chicken choices – definitely not boring!

You should be feeling very pleased with yourself – you've used every last morsel of the chicken and it's not taken you three weeks of preparation, cooking and the aftermath.

I say every morsel, what you were left with, literally, was the carcass of the bird. If you have the time and are sufficiently enthusiastic you could make a stock. Making stock from scratch is a worthy but long winded process, not appropriate for the time saving, speedy stuff we're talking about at the moment.

I should mention the cost of the chicken. I bought mine as part of a meal deal i.e. choice of starter or side, main meal, dessert and a bottle of wine or a non alcoholic alternative. This is the best value – you may think you don't want a meal deal and you probably don't on that occasion, but you may in the future. Choose wisely – with the exception of the liquid refreshment of course, you can store it in your BFF – your freezer!

Chicken choices

Stir fries are great - they are quick, you can choose noodles or rice, use up your leftovers – why not throw in roasted cashews, roughly chopped. Use a plum sauce to fold through the stir fry – live dangerously and add a glug (another technical, culinary term) of sweet chilli sauce too.

Who doesn't love a pie – how about chicken and mushroom. You get to use your chicken stock – it's now called liquid gold in my kitchen. It's intense and rich and what better way to show it off than by making the sauce for your chicken and mushroom filling. I apologise, I should have said that you get between 250/300ml of stock depending on the size of your chicken.

How about a hearty chicken soup – using your stock as a base. Serve your soup with home-made soda bread.

It's what you put with the boring stuff that turns it into delicious home cooked food - produced in the blink of an eye after a hard day at the office – a magician.

P.s. You can delete the takeaway delivery numbers you have on speed dial!

The four Ss – the photo guide

Here goes :

The whole chicken, lifted from slow cooker onto the foil lined tray, ready for action or to be cooled, covered and fridged.

The stock, strained into a jug, ready to be cooled, covered and fridged.

The stock the following day, decanted into a “pour and store” bag ready to freeze. The stock forms a golden jelly with some natural fat from the bird – you've not added any fat at all – nice colour don't you think?

Here's the chicken stripped and portioned into four.

Top right and bottom left are the breasts. I would freeze each breast individually – you may only need one in the future but should you need both it's not an issue. Top left is a leg left as is, again to be frozen. There's no doubt that if you leave meat on the bone it is less likely to dry out. Finally bottom right we have a mixture of leg and thigh meat. What you'll also find when you strip the chicken the next day is that you'll have blobs of the jellied stock – don't waste it, freeze it altogether, the flavour will be great, whatever you decide to cook.

Coming next – your chicken choices!

P.s. Don't forget the definition of a “blob” - a drop of anything soft and round – a perfect description of the residual stock.

Slow, strip, strain and stock

In the blog “Autumn Planning” you might remember I suggested slow cooking a whole chicken – it sounds so boring – here's where I hope to convince you otherwise.

A quick recap on the recipe :

1 chicken – between 1.5kg – 1.75kg

1 chicken stock pot

2 tsps of garlic paste or 1 garlic stock pot

generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic

Italian seasoning

Place your chicken in the slow cooker and mix the stock pot with the garlic paste and spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with the herbs. Switch your slow cooker to the low setting and leave it for 8 hours.

8 hours later and we begin. You won't get a crispy skin from the chicken – if it's your thing then you'll find the cooked skin (already flavoured with the garlic/stock paste and oregano) peels off quite easily. Place the skin on a non stick baking sheet and into a hot oven – 180fan/200c/Gas 6 – for 15 minutes, check and turn, repeat if necessary.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker carefully – I used two fish slices slid under each side, meeting in the middle and lifted carefully onto a shallow dish or a tray with sides, preferably lined with foil. It matters not whether you strip your chicken immediately or cover, leave to cool and fridge until the following day - when you've more time. What is important is that you strain your stock through a sieve into a jug – cool, cover and fridge.

I'm sorry you can't smell the stripped chicken and stock.

One thing is for sure, it'll be the most effective ten minutes prep you've ever done and the results and choices you have given yourself are anything but boring!

Photo guide to follow and chicken choices too!

Your “BFF” - your best friend … your freezer

In Autumn Planning I talked about filling your oven when it was turned on.

It's a similar principle with your freezer – it's your best friend – it's the keeper of all your hard work and effort but, best of all, with a little thought and forward planning you'll be able to produce your own home cooked food effortlessly and with a certain aplomb – courtesy of your BFF!

It's not just about freezing main meals, it's about freezing virtually everything you make, bake or cook.

As an example, the most recent recipe from “The Little Book of Chocolat” gave us the fridge cake. Quite apart from freezing the biscuits – if you've any left! I mentioned at the time that the remains looked like the outline of a jigsaw puzzle, not to throw away but to box and freeze and that all would be revealed.

I hope you're with me so far, you've already made a batch of the Mascarpone ice cream. Take some of the biscuit pieces, let them defrost and then pop into your mini Kenwood chopper and blitz to a crumb – not too fine that it becomes a dust – you want substance – now known as “biscuit blitz”.

Sprinkle over your ice cream, top with fresh fruit – ideally. Frozen fruits - raspberries, fruits of the forest, cherries - to name but three - are now easily available – another valuable addition to your freezer dessert menu!

Another ice cream of the no churn variety

I cannot claim the credit for this addition to our ice cream repertoire – it is courtesy of delicious. Magazine – consistently brilliant in my humble opinion! If you are making a Christmas list for yourself you could do worse than add a subscription.

Mascarpone no-churn ice cream

Whisk 150g mascarpone with 170g condensed

milk and ½ tsp vanilla extract (or bean paste).

Pour into a container suitable for the freezer

fold in 1 tbsp of your favourite fruit purée, then

freeze for an easy ripple ice cream.

Freeze for minimum of 4 hours and allow to soften

for 10/15 minutes before serving

I added 1.5 tbsps of good quality lemon curd and served the ice cream with raspberries and then added a shortbread biscuit or two.

This ice cream is full of flavour and a silky texture, not sickly as with some ice creams. I've already mentioned that my friend is over from the USA – who has become an enthusiastic student. He does not do desserts other than ice cream and so considers himself to be a connoisseur in this field – a perfect taster! The recipe is winging its way to the USA as we speak – enough said I think.

Note to self – you might want to consider doubling the recipe – I think you'll be glad you did.

Biscuit taste test!

“Taste tested” the biscuits – the decorator was hard at work when I asked him if he had a sweet tooth - “no, not at all” he replied. I asked if he'd like a couple of biscuits to take home, to sample?

No problem!

The empty box was returned the following day – one eaten, “loved it - especially the combination of the tart cherries and plain chocolate with the cocoa dusting”. “Saving the other biscuit for tonight”. Needless to say he went home with four more biscuits for the freezer.

Rose had a play date this week with Tuli – seven month old collie – gorgeous girl. V, Tuli's Mum sampled the biscuits - “they are delicious”.

By the way, the “fridge cake” or “biscuits” whichever you prefer - freeze very well. Freezing them is also a great way of hiding them!

We are now over half way through the nine recipes I flagged in “The Little Book of Chocolat” and there hasn't been a recipe so far that hasn't made the grade.

An absolute bargain!

5 down 4 to go – the photos

Here's the usual step by step guide :

The bain marie

Blob your chocolate glue

Stick your parchment to the blobs

Pour your biscuit mix into the tray

Tip your biscuit out of the tray – how clean is that parchment?!

Dust your biscuit with cocoa

How good do they look?

The remains … the jigsaw puzzle.

5 down 4 to go – hints and tips

Following Rosette's Chocolate Fridge Cake here's my twopenceworth.

Instead of bashing the biscuits with a rolling pin – clip the end of the bag and roll the biscuits gently into a crumb, turning the bag and repeating – you get a much finer more even crumb and you won't split the bag and pebbledash the kitchen!

Use unsalted butter.

I used tart Montmorency cherries and chopped them finely.

Blitz the pecans in the baby Kenwood processor if you've invested (mentioned in The kit, the crumble and the ice cream) – you'll get a more even texture.

Glue your baking parchment to the tray using a spatula dipped into the melted chocolate mixture – i.e. before you add the biscuit, fruit and nuts. A small blob in each corner of the tray will do the trick. A “blob” is a serious culinary term not to be confused with “splodge”.

“Blob” – a drop of anything soft and round.

“Splodge” – a big or heavy splash.

You'll need blobs - not splodges - sorry, got carried away.

The paper will stay where it's glued!

You'll find that after you've cut out you're preferred shapes you'll have bits leftover – they look remarkably like the outline of a jigsaw puzzle. Box up the bits and freeze – all will be revealed.

By the way I cut 15 large biscuit hearts, measuring 6cms in diameter at the top and 5cms in length to its point – they measured 1cm deep. I also cut 5 tiny “make weight” hearts – hey, you know I don't like waste. Actually the tiny hearts are perfect if someone would like just a taster rather than a larger biscuit.

Although the recipe is called “fridge cake” I'd call it “fridge biscuits” - I'm probably nit picking – the introduction to the recipe does mention biscuits – don't expect anything soft and “cake” like – just moreish!

Photos on their way!

It's that book again ... 5 down 4 to go

Here's the next contribution from “The Little Book of Chocolat” continuing to hit the chocolate spot!

Rosette's Chocolate Fridge Cake

… This recipe is so easy that even a child can make it – in fact, I know from experience that the task of destroying biscuits by hitting them with a rolling pin can become so popular with children that it's hard to make them understand that it isn't always necessary. There are many variations on this basic recipe – here we've used raisins and pecans, but almonds and cherries work well too, as do sultanas and orange peel.

Takes 2½ hours – Serves 12

250g digestive biscuits

300g dark or milk chocolate broken into small even-sized pieces

100g butter

100g golden syrup

100g raisins

100g pecans, chopped

Line a 30x30cm shallow baking tray with baking parchment.

Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a bain-marie, mixing until smooth. Remove from the heat, add the digestive biscuits, raisins and pecans, and mix well, coating everything in the chocolate syrup.

Put the mixture into the prepared tray, push down and flatten the top Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours. Remove from the tray, dust with icing sugar or cocoa powder and cut into 12 squares (or hearts, or stars, if you prefer).

As is my usual routine, there are hints and tips coming up and photos too.

The plum pudding photo guide

As usual and hopefully helpful, here's a step by step guide …

… from the beginning :

to the end!

Back to the plums … plum pudding but not as you know it

Traditionally plum pudding is what we call Christmas pudding – which has nothing to do with plums since the pudding doesn't contain any – originally “plums” was a term used to describe raisins.

There are recipes already on the blog for a Summer Pudding and an Autumn version too.

This is another great way of using your recent harvest of plums from your freezer and your jam reserves.

Plum Pudding

Equipment

1 litre (1¾ pint) basin

plain sided cutter slightly larger than the

base of the basin – measuring 6cms in diameter

cling film and a drop of vegetable oil to wipe

the basin

Ingredients

400g roasted plums from your

freezer stash - defrosted

(from “More plum stuff – the recipes)

1 x 370g jar of plum jam from reserves

Madeira cake

I use inexpensive supermarket own brand cake

weights vary – you'll need approximately 10 slices of cake

I'd err on the side of caution and use two cakes if they weigh

265g – the cake should be sliced lengthways into quarter

inch slices and neatened at the edges

Wipe the basin with a drop of vegetable oil on a sheet of kitchen roll, then line the basin with the cling film, ensuring that it overlaps the basin.

Cut out a circle of cake for the base and place it in the bottom of the basin. Line the rest of the basin with sliced Madeira cake, overlapping the cake which will give you a great looking pudding when turned out.

Add the plum jam to the roasted plums and then pour the mixture into the cake lined bowl. Top with slices of cake to cover completely. Fold the cling film over the pudding to seal.

Place a slightly smaller plate or saucer on top of the basin and weigh down with a jar. Fridge it for 12-24 hours.

To serve, remove the can and plate unwrap the cling film and cover the basin with a large plate or bowl. Invert the pudding and peel off the cling film.

What to serve with the pudding - remember the recipe for the plum ripple ice cream I mentioned in The latest experiment? - a marriage made in heaven!