Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

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J and her daughter V decided to host the first Annual Whalley Range Cherry Berry Festival at their house yesterday. As the name says, it was all about celebrating cherries and berries and the abundance of great fruit that's around at the moment. Everyone invited was asked to bring along a treat and the table nearly collapsed under the weight of all the fabulous food.



Unfortunately, the sun didn't really put in much of an appearance so it ended up being an indoors picnic instead of a garden party, but that really didn't put a damper on things and everyone ended up being high on sugar and/or berry cocktails!

One of the fun things was to look for recipes that would be suitable, which took up quite a bit of my time over the last week. Whenever I was supposed to do something that I didn't really want to do, I just started searching the net and going through books and magazines looking for recipes. In the end I chose a Raspberry Buttermilk Cake that I found on another blog. You can see the original on Cookworm.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

1 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4oz unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
6oz fresh raspberries (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 200C. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and line with parchment. (I used a 26cm springform pan, so it was a little bigger than suggested.)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

With a standing or hand mixer, beat the butter with the 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla extract and the egg, beating thoroughly.

Turn speed to low and alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, mixing until just combined.

Spread batter into your prepared pan, smoothing the top. Scatter the raspberries evenly over the top and sprinkle with the 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Mine took about 35 minutes, despite being thinner due to the bigger cake pan.)

Cool in pan 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup with Chorizo

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Last Friday the weather was really bad and I got absolutely soaked cycling back home from town, so I needed something warm and comforting. I don't usually make soup often during the summer months, but it didn't feel like summer at all and I had a butternut squash that had been hanging around my kitchen for at least six weeks. Soup seemed like the perfect solution.

Also my friend JM had been to Brindisa at Bourough Market and brought back some fresh chorizo. Since he and E left for their holiday before they could finish all of it, I was the lucky recipient of the 'leftovers' that they hadn't got round to eating. In addition to that I found a sweet potato in my pantry and threw that in the mix as well.

B was also in need of some comfort on Friday so she came round to help me eat the resulting soup. A perfect quiet Friday night in with food, loads of pots of tea and good talk.


















Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup with Chorizo (serves 4)

1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
1 large sweet potato, peeled and thickly sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1-2 tsp of paprika
1 1/4 litre vegetable stock
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

4 fresh chorizo sausages, casings removed and sliced

Place the squash and sweet potato on a large baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place in an oven at 200C/Gas 5 for about 45 minutes, until the flesh is soft.

In the meantime heat a little oil in a large, heavy-based pan and sweat the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the ginger, chili and half of the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Once the butternut squash and potato is done, chop them up roughly and add to the pan. If you prefer you can just use the flesh of the buttenut squash by scooping it out with a spoon, but I just use it as it is including the skin. Puree, using a stick blender until smooth and add the rest of the stock until you get your desired thickness.

Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a further 5-10 minutes.

While your soup is simmering fry the sliced chorizo in a pan. You don't need to add any oil as their is enough fat in the sausages. Once cooked place on some kitchen towel to soak up some of the excess fat and divide between four bowls.

Spoon over the hot soup and serve with some crusty bread.

Lemon Drizzle Cake with Lemon Cream and Berries

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I know it's been a while since I've last posted, but for some reason I've not really been in the mood for much writing. I've also been off sick for a bit, which meant I spent quite a lot of time sleeping and just generally not having much energy for anything. I'm better now though and just thought that I'd better get back to it, especially as I'll be off again on my summer holiday soon, which will mean another dry period.

Last weekend I was invited to T's first birthday party. I promised to bring a cake for the buffet. It didn't have to be a birthday cake, as they already had a fabulous one., so I decided to make a lemon cake. I knew that JM was bringing a chocolate one and I like the freshness of lemon cake on a sunny day.

Wanting it to be a little more special for the ocassion I decided to top it with lemon cream and fresh strawberries, which made it that bit more decadent and also looked great.



There isn't really a new recipe, but this is what I did:

Lemon Drizzle Cake with Lemon Cream and Berries

Use the recipe for Easy Peasy Lemon Drizzle Cake, but bake it in a 26cm springform pan, rather than the usual loaf tin to give you the base for the cake. Baking it in a larger tin means of course that it bakes quicker, so it should be done after about 30 minutes. Test with a wooden skewer.

Allow to fully cool before assembling the cake.

Whip 200ml of double cream (or you can use whipping cream) with 1tbsp of icing sugar.

Once stiff, stir in 2 generous tablespoons of lemon curd.

Evenly spread the cream over the base with a palate knife.

Top with loads of your favourite summer berries. I used just strawberries, which I cut into different sizes, but you could use rasperries, blackberries or blueberries, or a mixture of all.

Taleggio

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Do you ever find that you've never heard of something and then once you have it crops up everywhere?!

Well that happens to me quite often. The last occasion was when Abel & Cole sent me some Taleggio cheese to try. I had never heard of it before or seen it anywhere as far as I was aware, but since I got some a couple of weeks ago I've seen it at the cheese monger, which might be because now I am aware of it and looked out for it, but I even found it on the breakfast buffet at the hotel I stayed at in Brighton this week.



Taleggio is an Italian soft cheese with a washed orange rind, named after a Val Taleggio near Bergamo in Lomabardy. It definitely has quite a pong to it, especially after a couple of days in the fridge, but it is generally mild with a fresh and fruity taste. The rind has a somewhat stronger flavour, but if you don't like it you can cut it off. I do like the stronger flavour though and just like with brie or camenbert I eat it just as it is, rind and all.

It was gone too quickly for me to try using it in cooking, but I have since found out that it is great for melting over vegetables and polenta or used in risottos.

Ramsay's Roasted Rhubarb Crumble

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This rhubarb crumble recipe has been waiting around a bit to be blogged about and there is no reason for it other than that I have been busy. I made it for the dinner party a few weeks ago.

When I was going through my cookbooks to see what kind of roast chicken to do, I came across the recipe (well, the picture first) and knew that I just had to give it a go. It's from Gordon Ramsey's Sunday Lunch cookbook, and whether you like the man or not, he can cook. I liked the sound of the ginger and nuts in this crumble, so the chicken was forgotten, at least for a little while, while I started jotting down the rhubarb crumble ingredients on my shopping list.



I changed the recipe a little bit as even after my shopping trip I didn't have any stem ginger or vanilla sugar, so here is my version with the original in brackets.

Roasted Rhubarb Crumble (6-8 servings)

800gr rhubarb (forced rhubarb if in season), cut into 4-5cm long chunks
150 gr caster sugar (vanilla sugar)
a few knobs of butter
2tbsp ginger syrup (20gr Japanese pickled ginger, chopped finely)
1tsp vanilla essence (unless you are using vanilla sugar)

150 gr toasted, skinless hazelnuts
100gr plain flour
75gr unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
50gr demerara sugar
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
40 gr porridge oats

finely grated zest of a lemon
200gr mascarpone
1tbsp ginger syrup

Preheat your oven to 190C/Gas 5.

Toss the rhubarb in the sugar and place in a large pan over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of water and the vanilla essence and cook for bout 8 minutes stirring once or twice carefully. You don't want it to go to soft, the pieces should feel just tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.

Add the ginger syrup, carefully stir and pour into a 1.5-2. litre baking dish and set aside to cool.

While it's cooling you can start making the crumble.

In a large bowl slightly crush the hazelnuts with a rolling pin, alternatively place them in a freezer bag and bash them a little with a pan or a rolling pin.

In another bowl rub the flour and the butter together with your finger tips until they form a crumb-like mix.

Add the demerara sugar, nutmeg, oats and nuts and mix well.

Evenly spread the crumble over the cooled rhubarb and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

While it's cooling, mix the mascarpone with the lemon zest and ginger syrup to serve with your crumble. Of course it also goes well with ice cream or custard.

Black Cherry and Cointreau Jam

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On Sunday my friend J told me that one of the small local green grocers had boxes of cherries on offer for just £2.99 and that she'd been making cherry and blueberry jam just that afternoon. Hearing this I just couldn't resist to get on my bike on Monday and nip down to bag a bargain for myself. Cycling home with a wooden box containing 4 lbs of black cherries strapped to my pannier rack, my mind started to race through various possibilities of using them even before I got home.



To eat them fresh as they were, make cherry pie, clafouties, pancakes or to make jam, that was the question. Initially the thought of removing the stones of 4lb of cherries all at once to make jam put me off that possibility, but after a little nap I thought 'what the heck' and got to work.

I remembered that I bought a Jam and Preserves cookbook last summer which I had never used and in it I found a recipe for Black Cherry and Brandy Jam. I didn't have any brandy in and having already been on my bike to buy the cherries and then again later to by jam sugar I didn't want to go out again, so I decided to make Black Cherry and Cointreau Jam instead, following the recipe and just switching the types of booze.

My fingers looked like I had murdered somebody (next time I'll remember to put on gloves), my white kitchen wall now sports some blue speckles and I nearly burned my fingers sterilizing the jars, but it was well worth it. Not just because the jam is really good, but also because I've already been able to make some friends happy by passing on a jar of the finished jam.



Black Cherry and Cointreau Jam (makes about 2.25kg)

1.8kg dark cherries, rinsed and stoned
125 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
125gr jam sugar
1tsp butter
4 tbsp Cointreau, brandy or kirsch

Roughly chop the and place them in a large sauce pan or preserving pan.

Add the lemon juice and simmer over a gentle heat for about 20 minutes, until the cherries are quite soft.

Add the jam sugar and stir until disolved.

Increase the heat and boil rapidly for four minutes.

Take off the heat and carefully pour into warm sterilised jars. Heating the jars and placing them on a damp towel will stop them from cracking when you fill them with the hot jam.

Screw on the lids and place upside down until cool.

Store in a cool place.

Summer Range from Abel and Cole

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Before I catch up on some of the recipes I tried over the last couple of weeks I thought I'd write about the parcel I got from Abel & Cole with some samples from their summer range of deli foods.


















It contained sliced Milano Salami, Sesame Artisan Grisini and a jar of Chili and Fresh Ginger Salsa, all organic and great quality. So, I went out and got some cheeses, my friends E and JM added some olives, sun-dried tomatoes- stuffed peppers, saucisson and fresh bread and we had a wonderful supper that made us feel like we were on holiday somewhere in Southern Europe, even though we were sat in a Manchester living room.


















Out of the samples I was sent my favourite was the Pollen Chili and Fresh Ginger Salsa. I have to say I love pickles and salsas and to me they are a vital addition to any cheese board. The Chili and Fresh Ginger Salsa, was not too hot and not too tangy, a great balance between sweet, spicy and sauvoury. It went especially well with the goats cheese we had I thought.

Muttar Paneer (Vegetarian Curry)

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My friend A has invited me and five other friends (plus kids) for dinner tonight. I offered to help out and make one of the dishes as it is quite a big job to cook for so many and of course because I like to cook anyways. A's menu for tonight is vegetarian, which he's a bit worried about as he really likes his meat and rarely cooks veggie, but not all the other guests do share in his carnivourous preferences. So as to not to have to add any more worry, he decided to make a curry as he's good at it and South Asian is one of his favourite cuisines. He is cooking a cauliflower and potato curry and I thought Muttar Paneer would go quite well alongside it.



If you haven't heard of Paneer or Panir before, it is a South Asian cheese, which doesn't melt when cooked and therefore makes a perfect ingredient for a vegetarian curry. Muttar Paneer originates from the Punjab and is not a particularly spicy curry, instead it has many subtle flavours that compliment each other perfectly and are well balanced. If you prefer a bit of heat though, just add a finely chopped chili.



Muttar Paneer (serves 4-6)

500g paneer cheese, cubed
2 medium onions, chopped finely
2 (400 g) cans chopped tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 inch of fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp ground coriander
3-4 tsp garam masala
2 tsp turmeric
2tsp ground cumin
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
vegetable oil or ghee
fresh coriander, chopped (to garnish)

Heat the oil or ghee in a large heavy bottomed frying pan.

Add the cuben paneer and fry until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.

If necessary add a little more oil or ghee and fry the onions, until soft and golden.

Now add the spices and the garlic and fry for another couple of minutes until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and about 250ml (1cup) water and stir. Bring to a a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about five minutes.

Add the peas and return the fried cheese to the pan. Cover and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve with pilau rice and/or naan bread or chappati.