Pumpkin with Crispy Chorizo Soup

This is going to be a very short post as I wanted to get it up as soon as possible, just incase some of you had some left over pumpkin or hadn't yet got round to carving your pumpkins. Every year we waste the  inside of the pumpkin that we scoop out, mistakenly thinking that we didn't like pumpkin.

Boy, how wrong we were, it is gorgeous, I am so pleased that Hubby and I spent a little time this evening making this delicious soup. It is smooth, creamy, extremely tasty and has just the right amount of kick from the chilli. If you want a vegetarian version just substitute the chicken stock for vegetable and if you think the chilli will be a little to spicy for children just halve the amount or leave it out all together.

So if you don't want to waste your pumpkin this year, give this simple soup a go, its just what you need to warm you up this Halloween.

Happy All Hallows' Eve to you all.
(Photo above is of Hubby's Pumpkin, can you tell how much he loves Apple???)

Serves 4

650g pumpkin flesh
25g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 - 3 fresh sage leaves
1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
650ml chicken stock (vegetable stock if going for the vegetarian option)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
100g chorizo, diced (I must say its just as yummy without the chorizo)

Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan, add the onions, chilli and sage, then cook for 10 minutes until well softened.

Add the pumpkin flesh and sweat for a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock, then cover and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry the chorizo and garlic until the chorizo is browned and the garlic is crispy.

Blend the soup, season to taste, then reheat gently, adding the chorizo and garlic, along with the chorizo oil.

I love all things baking related.

Everyone can bake, you only need a few basic pieces of equipment, but if you love baking and I mean really love baking it really takes over your life, I think about baking 24/7, I watch every programe I can, read every magazine, have a vast collection of cookery books and I love my baking equipment. I seem to have an ever growing wish list for the next pieces I want to buy and I can not wait until Christmas so that I can ask my loved ones to buy me even more. Every pay day the first thing I do is make an order on Amazon for more cookery books and  pop to my local cook shop to buy more equipment.


My latest must have piece comes from George Wilkinson ( http://www.george-wilkinson.com/bakeware/great-british-bakeware ) and is the 8 3/4 inch springform tin, which I test drove making my Son's 10th Birthday cake. I have in the past brought cheap and nasty tins in bulk from Amazon, but they don't last very long and were not of a very high quality and boy did the cakes stick to them, however well I greased and lined them, you do really get what you pay for.


My new George Wilkinson one is so fantastically non-stick, it has a ceramic reinforced triple coating which gives it outstanding non-stick properties, this means cakes just fall out, no banging, no prising, they just come out and it is so well made you just know by the feel of it, the quality of the materials used, that it is going to last you for years and years. You can see why they are confident in giving you a 15 year guarantee. Also luckily for me my favourite cook shop in Reigate ( http://aolcookshop.co.uk/ ) stocks George Wilkinson products. If you want to find your local stockist just go on the George Wilkinson website and they have a stockist locator gadget on there, now that makes things nice and simple. 


So if you fancy having a go and like I said, you do only need a few basic items, but it does help if they are good quality ones and if you are new to this baking malarkey, it is loads of fun and really rewarding, you will have a few disasters along the way, even the best bakers after years of practice still get it wrong sometimes, but it is all worth it when you produce something beautiful.


Here is Delia's list of what she thinks is the essential cake making kit, notice that she recommends good quality baking tins.
http://www.deliaonline.com/equipment/essential-cake-making-equipment.html

Chocolate Sour Cream Fudge Frosting

Now here is the recipe for the frosting for Luca's Birthday cake, the recipe is also from 'Baked in America' and the frosting recommended in the book to compliment the cake. Of course you can use it on any cake you wish and it would be great on cupcakes. One thing I would do differently next time when I make it is, I would use creme fraiche instead of sour cream as I didn't really like the tang, but thats probably just because I have a very sweet tooth.

The frosting does set quite thickly but was still easy to apply onto the cake with a palette knife, so don't panic like I did when I first saw it. You will have a luxuriously smooth satin finish frosting.

There is enough frosting to cover one 3 layer cake or 36 cupcakes.

340g milk chocolate, chopped
175g semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (50% Cocoa)
340g sour cream or creme fraiche
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the chocolates in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally to hasten the melting. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the sour cream and vanilla. As the book recommended doing this in a food processor, I did mine in my Artisan with the whisk attachement. If you use a processor you just need to pulse as needed to achieve a smooth, even colour and consistency. Let the frosting cool to room temperature, stirring every once in awhile when you pass the bowl. Avoid the urge to beat it to cool it faster as that will change the texture. How long your frosting will take to cool to room temperature will depend on how warm your kitchen is, but should roughly take about 30 minutes.

Once it's thick enough to spread, frost the cake rather quickly. As you work, the frosting will set and thicken. If it has gone beyond the point of no return, gently re-heat the frosting over a pan of simmering water and start again.

Happy frosting!

Coke Layers - Luca's 10th Birthday Cake

As promised here is the recipe for Luca's 10th Birthday Cake, Coke Layers from the Outsider Tart's fantastic book 'Baked in America'.

This is not the first recipe I have baked from this book, I have made their gorgeous Sugar Saucers, which are wonderful cookies the size of a side plate and I made my Son Olly the Blackout Cake a couple of weeks a go for his 16th Birthday. What I love about this book is that it really puts me out of my usual baking comfort zone, I get to bake with the biggest mix of ingredients, in the most unusual way. When you take a usual sponge mix of eggs, butter, sugar & flour, throw that simple set of ingredients completely into disarray by adding coke, marshmallows, buttermilk, so on and so on, you do wonder how on earth this will ever turn into an edible cake.

Trust... thats what you need, trust that the two Davids know what they are talking about, trust that the huge list of ingredients is required and trust in the simple and straight forward instructions and you will have a wonderful cake.

As with the Blackout Cake and the Sugar Saucers, everyone loved it. I took some into work for everyone to try, well that was the plan, one of my colleagues liked it so much that he had 3 slices!!! Everyone complimented me on what a wonderful cake it was and I was really chuffed with how it turned out, more importantly, Luca loved it.  It is described in the book as the perfect cake to impress a crowd of real chocoholics, it ticks all the boxes, a rich deep sweet chocolate flavour with just enough bitterness to please purists!

Happy Birthday Luca & buon appetito

Link for the cakes frosting:
http://dianastaveley.blogspot.com/2011/10/chocolate-sour-cream-fudge-frosting.html

340g unsalted butter
350ml Coke (you can use caffeine-free, but not diet)
65g mini marshmallows
85g unsweetened chocolate, chopped (unsweetened translates as 100% cocoa, as this was for Luca I used 85% as it is a little sweeter)
530g plain flour
115g cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
3/4 of a teaspoon of salt
675g granulated sugar
80ml of flavourless oil, I used sunflower
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
5 large eggs at room temperature
300ml buttermilk, also at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/gas mark 4. Butter three 9 inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with baking parchment, dust with flour and tap out any excess. I got to use my new wonderful George Wilkinson tin.

In a medium saucepan, place the butter and Coke over a medium heat until the butter melts. Add the marshmallows and chopped chocolate and stir continuously until the chocolate and marshmallows have melted - this takes longer than you'd think, but constant stirring will help speed things up. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fixed with the paddle attachement, thoroughly combine the sugar, oil and vanilla on medium speed. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and stir until evenly incorporated. The mixture should have a consistent colour. Alternately add the flour and buttermilk in 3 or 4 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing only until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. It is best to rotate the pans front to back, top to bottom about 2/3 of the way through.

The link below is for the yummy Sugar Saucers:

http://dianastaveley.blogspot.com/2011/08/finding-good-cookie-recipe-is-not-easy.html

Toffee Apples

I love this time of year, not just because I love Autumn,  but also because there is so much to look forward to, Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas, all great excuses to bake lots of lovely goodies to eat and even better, lots of fun with the kids.

My lot may all be grown up now, but we all love Halloween and yesterday was Luca's Birthday, a perfect excuse to have some Halloween themed fun.

We started the day in the usual way with presents and cards, but then things took a spooky twist when we went to Priory Farm where we did the fantastic Halloween walk, with ghost's, witches, blood and bats, what more could you ask for. We made Halloween masks, toffee apples and enjoyed Luca's massive birthday cake that I will be blogging about very soon, all in all a wonderful day.

The toffee apples were heavenly, they tasted like buttered toffee, Rosie & I were in heaven. They are very simple to make, would make lovely gifts wrapped in cellophane and tied with a ribbon, but one word of warning, the syrup is like molten lava and as Hubby would say "hot as the centre of the earth", so please be careful when dipping your apples.

Buon appetito
(Top photo taken at Priory Farm, Nutfield - Luca, Olly, Rosie & Max)

225 g Demerara sugar
110 ml water
0.5 tsp vinegar
2 tbsp golden syrup
25 g butter
6 apples
6 wooden skewers, for holding the apples

Dissolve the sugar in the water over a moderate heat. When it has dissolved, stir in the vinegar, syrup and butter. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring until it reaches hard-crack stage (138C) or hardens into a ball when dropped in a jug of cold water. This should take around 10 minutes boiling time.

While the syrup is cooking, pierce each apple with a wooden stick. Once the toffee is ready, dip each apple into the hot toffee, turning it around in the syrup so that each one is fully coated.

Leave to harden on a lightly oiled tray before serving. If you're planning to keep them for a day or two, wrap the apples in cellophane.

Now I left mine a natural colour, but if you fancy them red like they are in the shops, just add some food colouring. Any colour, green would be great, black for Halloween would also be fun.

Or if you don't fancy toffee, how about dipping them in melted chocolate, you could decorate them with smarties, sprinkles or for a more grown up theme for a Halloween party, how about small apples in dark chocolate or belgium milk chocolate then decorated with gold leaf. The kids could have loads of fun with mini marshmallows, coloured licorice laces and make faces, using smarties as eyes, licorice lace hair & jelly sweet lips.

Iced Fingers - The Paul Hollywood Recipe

As you maybe aware, if you have come across my Blog before, I have mentioned setting myself a few challenges from the Great British Bake Off, so far I have made macaroons, which need work, a very amazingly successful Sachertorte, don't know what all the fuss was about and now I have made Paul Hollywoods Iced Fingers! Also a great success, if I do say so myself and I do!

This blowing of one's own trumpet is very rare for me, so please bare with me, like a lot of stay at home Mum's who are venturing into the big scary World after years of child rearing and homemaking, I lack a huge amount of confidence in myself and my abilities, but have found of late that my baking has come on in leaps and bounds, giving me a little belief in myself that I am good at something and that can't be bad, can it?

My Iced Fingers, were light, fluffy, so tasty and were a hundred times better than any I have ever brought in the shops and I love Iced Fingers, I must admit to eating a huge amount over the years, so feel that I am a good judge! The only trouble is, I don't think that I could every eat shop brought ones again.....made a rod for my own back... AGAIN!

As you will see from my photographs, I do need a little work on the shaping & sizing of my fingers, but felt that this wasn't to bad for a first attempt as the taste, texture and everything else was just perfect. You will also see a lack of jam and cream filling, this is not down to a lack of skill on my behalf I must add, but more down to the lack of taste buds in Hubby & Children, who do not like cream, so a lot of icing was requested and a little sprinkle of glitter from moi and hey presto, iced fingers.

Boun appetito

All cooked on my lovely new baking sheet from George Wilkinson http://dianastaveley.blogspot.com/2011/10/great-british-bakeware-by-george.html





(Photo of the dough after 2nd proving)








Ingredients


For the dough
500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour
50g/1¾oz caster sugar
40g/1½oz unsalted butter, softened
2 free-range eggs
2 x 7g/¼oz sachets instant yeast
2 tsp salt
150ml/5fl oz warm milk
140ml/4½fl oz water


For the icing
200g/7oz icing sugar
5 tsp cold water


For the filling
200ml/7fl oz whipping cream
100g/4oz strawberry jam
icing sugar, for dusting


Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7 (Please note that this is what Mr Hollywoods recipe suggests... Unless you want your oven sitting on for hours, wasting electricity/gas, I suggest that you put your oven on when you have about 20 minutes or so left of the last part of your second proving)


To make the dough
Place all the ingredients into a large bowl, holding back a quarter of the water. Stir the mixture with your hands, then slowly add the remaining water to form a dough and knead in the bowl for four minutes.


Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for one hour.


Divide the dough into 12 pieces, each about 70g/2½oz, then roll into balls and shape into fingers about 13cm/5in long.


Place the dough fingers onto a greased baking tray, leaving space for them to double in size, then set aside in a warm place for 40 minutes. They should just touch each other when they’ve risen. 


Bake in the oven for 10 minutes then set them aside to cool.


For the icing
Sift the icing sugar in a wide bowl and gradually stir in the cold water to form a thick paste.


Dip the top of the cooled fingers into the icing, smoothing it with your finger, then leave to set on a wire rack.


Lightly whip the cream and spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle. Spoon the strawberry jam into another piping bag.


Sliced the iced fingers horizontally, leaving one long edge intact. 


Pipe in a generous line of whipped cream into the middle of each finger, then a thinner line of jam. 


Dust the iced fingers with icing sugar and serve.

Great British Bakeware by George Wilkinson

There is a lot of talk about food air miles, supporting your local farmer, producers, bakers and I am all for this, with the Great British Bake Off and Jamie Olivers new show Jamie's Great Britain, there is so much to be said for British Cooking. Cooking is now fashionable, who would ever of guessed!!!

BUT, are we not missing something here, what about the GREAT BRITISH companies that make British baking great? For example, the legend that is AGA (http://www.agaliving.com/about-us/history.aspx), and have we forgotten that there are such companies as George Wilkinson (http://www.george-wilkinson.com/) who have been making bakeware since 1931. These guys have been the backbone behind British baking and cooking for years and there are so many like them.

I have recently had the pleasure to use two of George Wilkinson's products, the insulated baking sheet, priced at £16.99 and the springform tin, priced at £12.99, great prices, especially when you feel the quality of the product and realise how lovely they are to bake with. Made in the heart of Lancashire, these products will really stand up to the rigours of daily use, they come with a 15 year product and coating guarantee, have been independently tested and have outperformed all other products on the market for its non-stick coating, now thats something to boast about. Also you can feel you are doing your bit for the environment, made with 60% recycled British steel and a low carbon footprint, these guys are really striving for great sustainability.

I made Paul Hollywoods Iced Fingers from the GBBO on the insulated baking tray, I lightly oiled the tray as Paul suggests in the recipe, but really didn't need to bother, as the superior non-stick coating is amazing and washing up afterwards was a breeze.

Its not very often I get on my soapbox about anything other that baking and cooking, and its very rare that I promote a product, but you all know what a traditional girl I can be and these are so great that I had to tell you all about them. Go on spoil yourself and put some of the products on your Christmas list, you will love them and your doing your bit for Britain !

Please see the link below for George Wilkinson Great British Bakeware and they can also be found on Twitter at @britishBakeware and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/George-Wilkinson/109018132523005

http://www.george-wilkinson.com/bakeware/great-british-bakeware

Happy Baking

Bloggers Choice Awards 2011

Followers of my blog will know that now and then I have problems with a rather nasty back condition and when I can't bake and I am stuck in bed I still think about food 24/7, I cure my itch to bake by watching food shows, reading cookery books and scouring the internet for recipes and anything food related.

Today I am unfortunately stuck in bed with my laptop and whilst browsing came across the Blogger Choice Awards, so in a moment of madness decided to enter my blog!!!

So if you like my blog, please vote on the link below.


http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/170228

Thank you XXX

Sauteed Potatoes

You may of seen my post http://dianastaveley.blogspot.com/2011/10/mini-beef-wellingtons.html , the yummy dinner I cooked for my Hubby the other night, well here is the recipe for the sauteed potatoes that accompanied it. Crisp on the outside, light & fluffy on the inside and so full of flavour, to die for.


If you fancy mixing it up a little, try adding different herbs or use beef dripping, goose or duck fat instead of the oil for different flavours. 





                                                                                                     









Prepare a pan of salted boiling water for the first stage of cooking your potatoes.


Whilst it is coming up to the boil, take your Charlotte potatoes and cut them in half (there's no need to peel them).


Cook in the boiling water for around 4-5 minutes until they are parboiled (which basically means half cooked).


Drain the potatoes in a colander and allow to sit for a moment to dry out. Removing any excess moisture will allow them to become crispier when you fry them.


Place a non-stick frying pan on a medium to high heat. Add olive oil and allow it to heat up.


Now you're ready to add your potatoes - place them in the pan, cut side down. Be very careful as the oil may splatter. Season with salt and pepper and add 2 cloves of crushed garlic to the pan. When the potatoes are golden brown on the bottom, turn them over.


Towards the end of cooking add a knob of butter. Make sure it distributes throughout the frying pan as this will help add the final bit of crunch to the potatoes. Lastly add two sprigs of chopped rosemary.


When they're golden brown and crispy on all sides drain on some kitchen cloth to remove any excess oil and serve.


There you have the perfect sautéed potato, crispy and golden brown on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Mini Beef Wellingtons

Hubby and I have a rather large family, 6 Children, 5 of my own and the lovely James, who we call our Son makes 6! Now the three eldest may of left home, but with regular visits from Stephen and Max my daughter Rosie's boyfriend, the house always seems to be full of people and lots of mouths to feed, we never know from one day to the next will it be two people for dinner or maybe seven! I wouldn't have it any other way, as I love them all to bits, but with all of that, the house to run, their lives to run around after, work and my own projects, sometimes I just need a break and having a weekend alone with Hubby is our saving grace from complete and utter melt down.

Weekends alone I am afraid have become few and far between at the moment, for one reason or another, they just have not been happening every third weekend like they use to and Hubby and I crave that time alone together. We miss the house being completely still and quiet, no one making demands on our time and best of all being to eat exactly what we want to eat, when we want to eat it.

So finally, after much wangling by myself, I managed to pull off a weekend alone, from Friday evening all the way to late Sunday evening, HEAVEN !!!!

I decided to start the weekend off by completely spoiling Hubby, he has been under a lot of stress at work lately, working silly hours and has generally been a little down, what better way to cheer a man up than to feed him steak! I made gorgeous mini beef wellingtons which he had been drooling over ever since he saw them on Lorraine Pascale's show, Home Cooking Made Easy, sauteed potatoes, another of his favourites, a rocket salad and a huge glass of a very good red wine, just perfect.

So the weekend got off to a great start. Today (Saturday) we didn't wake up until 1pm, have opened our bedroom french doors and have enjoyed laying here in the sun. Hubby has had eggs benedict for breakfast and I had a massive cup of fresh coffee and a slice of Sachertorte. Hubby has watched the Grand Prix and I have laid here in the sun writing up blog posts. We may get up and go for a Starbucks in a bit, but maybe not. We will just go with the flow of the day, enjoy it while we can and ready ourselves for the Monday onslaught of LIFE !

Buon appetito

                                           












Ingredients


500g/1lb 2oz packet ready-made puff pastry
plain flour, for dusting
20g/¾oz dried porcini mushrooms or large morels
2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 180g/6oz slices beef fillet
4 small shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
knob of butter
500g/1lb 2oz chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
generous dash medium sweet sherry (optional)
large handful fresh thyme leaves
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
300ml/10fl oz double cream

Preparation method
Roll the puff pastry out on a floured work surface to a 5mm/¼in thickness. Trim the pastry into a 36cm/14in square. Then cut into four smaller squares and place onto two baking trays. Chill in the fridge for five minutes.

Rinse the dried mushrooms in cold water, then put them into a bowl and cover with hot water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot. Season the beef well all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry for one minute on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Place the shallots into the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes or until softened. Add the butter and chestnut mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the dried mushrooms and finely chop, then add them to the pan with the glug of sherry, if using. Increase the heat and cook until most of the sherry has evaporated.

Add the thyme, cook for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and place a tablespoon of the mushroom mixture into the middle of each piece of pastry; spread it out to the same size as the beef steak. Top with the steak and brush the edges with the beaten egg.

Draw up the corners and edges of the pastry so they meet and overlap slightly in the middle. Turn it right-side up and shape it round the sides a little with your hands. If the pastry is soft, chill it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm up.

Slash the tops of the Wellingtons with a knife and brush them all over with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 12-14 minutes (for medium-rare), or until cooked to your liking.

Five minutes before the Wellingtons are ready, reheat the remaining mushroom mixture. When it is hot, add the double cream and cook on a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, season, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with a lid to keep warm.

Serve the Wellingtons with a spoonful of the sauce.

We had ours with gorgeous sauteed potatoes and a lovely fresh rocket salad and a good red wine, YUM!

Sachertorte - as seen on the Great British Bake Off

For the last two years, at a certain time of the year, one night a week, I have been glued to my seat, even on the edge of my seat towards the end of the series, moved to tears and even known to talk to the television.... the reason being "The Great British Bake Off"!

I absolutely love the show, getting to know the contestants over the weeks, the highs, the lows, the challenges, its my idea of fantastic TV viewing. I am also very good at picking out the final three, right from day one. I love watching the contestants grow each week, learning from the Master's, Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry and to be honest, I just love BAKING!

Everyone says that I should go on the show, I have even got as far as this year to download the entry form, but I lack the confidence and I also know that I have area's that I would really struggle in, especially pastry. So I have decided to set myself a bit of a challenge, cook the GBBO technical challenges and see how I get on. I have already discovered that I need to work on my macaroons and that, and these are my Hubby's words not mine, I am the Mistress of Cakes when it comes to the Sachertorte!!

So who knows, I may not be brave enough to enter this year, but with practice, watch this space, I may just be brave enough to enter next year.

Buon appetito    
(Photo's all taken on my iPhone)                          










This chocolate cake is said to be invented in Vienna by the chef Franz Sacher in 1832. It improves if left a day or two before cutting. The recipe below is the wonderful Mary Berry's recipe as baked on The Great British Bake Off.

Ingredients

140g/5oz plain chocolate
140g/5oz unsalted butter, softened
115g/4oz caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
5 free-range eggs, separated
85g/3oz ground almonds
55g/2oz plain flour, sieved

For the topping and the icing
                
6 tbsp apricot jam, sieved
140g/5oz plain chocolate
200ml/7fl oz double cream
25g/1oz milk chocolate


Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a deep 23cm/9in round cake tin then line the base with greaseproof paper.





Break the chocolate into pieces, melt gently in a bowl set over a pan of hot water, stirring occasionally, then cool slightly.

Beat the butter in a bowl until really soft, then gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the cooled chocolate and the vanilla extract and beat again. Add the egg yolks, then fold in the ground almonds and sieved flour. The mixture will be quite thick at this stage.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff but not dry. Add about one-third to the chocolate mixture and stir in vigorously. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface.

Bake in the oven for about 45-50 minutes, or until well risen at the top and the cake springs back when lightly pressed with a finger. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then turn out, peel off the paper and finish cooling on a wire rack.

To make the topping, heat the apricot jam in a small pan and then brush evenly over the top and sides of the cold cake. Allow to set.

Make the icing by breaking the plain chocolate into pieces. Heat the cream until piping hot, remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted, then cool till a coating consistency. Then pour the icing on to the centre of the cake. Spread it gently over the top and down the sides, and leave to set.

For the ‘icing’ writing, break the milk chocolate into pieces then melt gently in a bowl set over a pan of hot water. Spoon into a small paper icing bag or polythene bag and snip off the corner. Pipe ‘Sacher’ across the top and leave to set.

I was so chuffed with how my Sachertorte turned out, that I wasn't brave enough to pipe 'Sacher' on the top like you are suppose to, I was just going to put a very light sprinkle of tiny gold stars around the edge, but as it was just for myself and Hubby I didn't bother. If you feel brave, have a go at the piping, or you can sprinkle it with a few gold stars, maybe some gold balls, even some strawberries fanned out in one corner, just do what feels right for you.
     

Christmas Cake Poll 2011

Please check out my Facebook page for my Christmas Cake Poll and help me decide which cake I should make this year. The winning cake I will bake, blog and let you know how it all went & tasted.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugar-Spice/153417948084546

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

My little boy Luca loves his food, he is willing to try everything at least once and when the leaves on the tree's start to change colour he always asks for my special Christmas soup as he like's to call it. The soup he is referring to is http://dianastaveley.blogspot.com/2010/06/roast-squash-and-sweet-potato-soup-with.html and the reason he calls it the Christmas soup is only because the first time I made it, it was for our starter on Christmas day.

I associate it with snow, as I remember last year when we were snowed in walking to the shop to buy the ingredients to make this gorgeous warming soup.

This year as October has been ridiculously hot ,I felt it just wasn't right to make him this soup yet and so instead I made him this vibrant, roasted red pepper soup and he loved it, but he did say that he still prefers the other one, bless him. I promised to make it for him as soon as the weather cools down a little.

Either soup would be perfect for the little ones when they come in from Trick or Treating on Halloween or around the Bonfire on Firework Night. You could even add a little chilli or ginger to give it that extra warming kick.

Buon appetito











Serves 8

8 large red peppers
1.5 litres vegetable stock
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled & diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 head of garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
150g soft goats cheese
50g rocket leaves

Preheat the oven to 230c/ 450f/ gas mark 8.

Cut the peppers in half, removing the seeds but leaving the stalks intact, then place in a roasting tin as a single layer with the skins facing upwards.

Wrap the garlic head in foil, add to the tin, then roast for 30 minutes until the pepper skins are lightly charred. Keep an eye on them, as my cooker always seems to cook them far quicker.

Place the peppers in a bowl, cover with cling film and allow to cool. Once cooled, the skins should be easy to remove.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, carrots and celery, then cover and cook for 15 - 20 minutes until softened. Add the smoked paprika and stir.

Add the stock and skinless peppers (as well as their juices) to the pan.

Squeeze half of the roasted garlic cloves from their skins and add to the pan (you can use the other half on bruschetta or in a pasta dish), bring to the boil and remove from the heat.

Blend in batches, season to taste and serve with a small handful of rocket leaves and crumbled goats cheese.

Bayonne Ham Omelette

To say that Hubby and I are competitive, especially in the kitchen, would be a slight understatement. We do admit that we both bring different things to the table, or kitchen, so to speak, but touch on the others territory and there will be trouble and tears before bedtime!

Hubby is an amazing cook, he can make recipes up in his head as he goes, is very relaxed about the whole thing but boy is he messy.


Now, I am a baker! I am methodical, precise, follow the recipe to the letter and tidy and clean as I go, we couldn't be more different. Hubby can actually bring me to tears with the carnage he can create in my kitchen.


Anyway, I digress, back to the competitiveness.... Hubby the other week challenged me to a macaroon baking session, the results were about the same, but to say that I was unhappy about him taking me on at baking, the only thing that I am better than him at, did not make me a happy bunny.


So revenge is a dish best eaten cold and I waited until this weekend to offer to make him breakfast. Hubby has tried & tried to make omelette's on many occasions and they always turn out like scrambled egg. This weekend I made not one, not two but three PERFECT Bayonne ham omelette's, following a recipe from The Skinny French Cookbook.


To be honest, Hubby loved the omelette that much that I think he will let me off this win, but I have now made a rod for my own back and will be lumbered with always making the omelettes from now on !!!


Boun appetito                                        















Serves 2


(20cm frying pan or omelette pan)


4 medium free-range eggs
white pepper
5g butter
2 thin slices Bayonne ham or Italian/Spanish varieties, fat removed and cut into strips (we used Italian & lots of it, whoops, not so skinny, but hey, it tasted good)
a small bunch of chives, finely chopped (reserve some for serving) I could not get hold of chives so very finely chopped spring onions, it worked just fine


Crack the eggs into a large bowl, season with the pepper and give them a good whisking with a fork. You are aiming for a few big bubbles to appear on the surface.


Heat a frying pan until it is hot, then add the butter. Tilt the pan so that the melted butter covers the bottom and the sides of the pan.


As soon as it begins to foam and turn a nutty colour, add the beaten eggs and cook over a medium-high heat.


When the sides of the omelette begin to look cooked, drag them gently into the middle of the pan with the help of a wooden or silicone spatula and tilt the pan so that the liquid egg mixture fills the space where the cooked egg used to be. This technique ensures that you end up with a wet centre to your omelette, whilst the outside is coloured golden brown.


Once the edges are cooked and there is no more liquid egg, add the ham and most of the chives.


Quickly fold the omelette in half, shake it free from the bottom of the pan and serve immediately, with the last of the chives scattered over the top.


This was a lovely light & fresh omelette to start the day on, Hubby said that he missed the cheese in it (sour grapes me thinks), but we did agree that we would maybe add a sprinkle of parmesan at the ham/chives stage before folding if we were using Italian ham again, but it does rather miss the point that this is suppose to be a 'skiiny' omelette.