Rich Tea Biscuit Cake witth Almond

Ingredients for the Recipe: ( enough for many :D )

• 4 yolks
  
• 125 g butter
• 125 g Fine sugar (Caster fine sugar)
• 125 g Icing sugar
  
• 40 g ground almonds (I ground my own for a more intense flavour)
• 1/2 almond essence
  
• +/- 2 packets McVities Rich Tea biscuits (or Maria biscuits)
• 1 cup strong coffee (just warm nearly cold)
• 10 flaked almonds (I flaked my own with my Santuku knife)

In a bowl place the yolks, butter (soft or into little cubes), sugars, and the almond essence, blend these very well with a mixer, until it forms a whitish cream, once it gets to that point add the almond while still mixing , mix these very well until all the ground almond is all blended in. Then refrigerate it for about an hour so it hardens to a thick cream consistency.

Then get the biscuits and one by one dip them in the (almost cold) coffee for about 3 seconds each, don't leave them too long or they will become soft and break apart, and also if too soft is impossible to spread the cream. Arrange them on a plate or tray one in the centre and six surrounding the centre one, then apply a thin layer of cream (that you had refrigerated), repeat the process until the cake is around 5-6 biscuits high, and finally cover the whole of the cake outside in the same cream, and sprinkle the almond flakes on top, them refrigerate until very cold and firm.

It is very nice served with a nice strong cup of coffee. I believe the original recipe doesn't have almonds at all and the walls and top of the cake is decorated with dessicated coconut shavings.
We all know that almond goes extremely well with coffee, as a lot of times when out for a coffee you get a little almond biscuit with it, therefore the reason why I used it.

Apple Pancakes with Zesty Vanilla Whip and Maple Syrup

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients: (enough for 4 if not too sweet toothed)

• 1 glass of self raising flour
  
• 3/4 glass of full fat milk (or a little more if needed)
  
• 3 soup spoons and one tea spoon of sugar
• 1 heaped tea spoon of baking powder
  
• 1/2 glass of whipping cream
  
• 1/2 of a lemon zest
  
• 1 tea spoon of vanilla essence
  
• 4 soup spoons of vegetable oil
  
• 1 egg
• 1 apple (skinless and cut into quarters, then finely slice all the quarters)
• Maple Syrup (to taste)
  

In a bowl put the flour and the baking powder and the 3 soup spoons of sugar, and with the aid of a whisk, mix both very well. Now make a well in the flour and place the egg in there as well as the vegetable oil, start whisking from the centre outwards and as it gets thick start adding the milk little by little and whisking until is all incorporated, it should have the consistency of runny yoghurt. Now pour the thinly sliced apple into that and give it one stir, cover it with a cloth and let it rest around 10 minutes.

Mean while put a non stick frying pan on the stove with the flame just above minimum, and let it heat do this about 4 minutes before the end of the dough rest period. Meanwhile in another bowl put the cream there and start whipping it and when is almost at its peak add the vanilla, lemon zest and sugar, bet remaining to peak and your cream is done.

Now on the preheated frying pan, if this one is large enough like 26-28" you should be able to make 3 pancakes at each time, two soup spoons of dough for each pancake and once these are golden brown on one side turn them over. Always check that they are fully cooked through, that is why pan can't be too hot or it will cook the outside with still runny dough on the inside.

Mascarpone and Creme Fraiche Mousse with Blueberries

This was made when I received the day before yesterday all my family in my house for diner (they had come from Portugal) so I wanted to impress a little, and may I say with a big head I didn't disappoint them ...according to their comments.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 8 digestives
• 1 soup spoon of butter
  
• 1 pkt of mascarpone (about 200grs)
• 1 pkt of crème fraiche (about 250grs)
• 1 punnet blueberries (about 250grs)
• 4 soup spoons of sugar (+ a little extra)
• 1/2 lemon (just the juice)
• 1 lid of vanilla essence

Just put a the lemon juice the sugar and the berries in a little pan and take it to the stove medium heat, after about 3 minutes the berries start bursting (you know this as the liquid starts to gain the berries colour) squish them with a potato masher, and then let them cook for a further about 5 minutes. Set it aside ready to mix with the mousse.

Prior to making the mousse, you need to line the base of the ramekins with the digestive, so to prepare the digestive for this, in a bowl with your hands crush the digestives until they nothing but powder, then put the butter and the vanilla essence in and still with your hands mix it in until it resembles crumbs, at this stage divide them equally through the ramekins and flatten it down with the base of a glass that fits into the ramekin. They are now ready for the mousse.

On a bowl mix the mascarpone and the crème fraiche and a little sugar (about one heaped then spoon) with a whisk until a smooth paste achieved , pouring in a bit at time of the blueberries compote keep whisking and add it till all is in, than spoon them evenly to the ramekins and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes before serving and that is it.

Crepes with Vanilla Cream and Maple Syrup

Receita em Portugues clique AQUI.

Here you are something to celebrate about, easy peasy to do pancakes (crepes) I made these on a non stick frying pan. This I offered to my family as a New Year treat breakfast ...Obviously with a steaming cup of coffee...but I am sure you know how to make the coffee....lol

Recipe Ingredients:
Crepes:

• 6 soup spoons of plain flour
• 3 soup spoons of sugar
• 1 egg
  
• 3 soup spoons of vegetable oil
• about 1 and 1/2 glass of milk (consistency should be of gravy)
• a dash of vanilla essence

Whipped Cream:

• 1 glass of chilled fresh double cream
• 2 tea spoons of sugar
• 1 dash of vanilla essence (or a scraping of vanilla seeds from a split pod)
• 3 drops of lemon juice

In a jug put the flour and the sugar in, whisk it together. Make a little well and pour the oil and the egg, star whisking it and as it starts to get pasty add milk little by little always whisking it, last add the vanilla essence whisk once more and it's done.

Place the non stick frying pan in the fire, once hot reduce fire to just bellow medium, pour a drop of oil and with a dried tissue spread that oil evenly on the whole area of the pan, then with the jug pour in the center of the pan the liquid until it fills 2/3 of the area then stop spread the rest by inclining the pan and going around motion always over the fire until liquid sets. Once it sets let it cook it takes about 2-3 minutes on each side, to flip with a spatula lift the side of the pancake enough to get your fingers in then with your hands (fingers) pull it up gently without ripping it and flip it to the other side. Then once cooked is ready for the filling...which you can just add sugar and lemon, or just syrup or chocolate sauce or fresh cream or many many more combos.

I used a vanilla whipped cream with maple syrup. To make this pour one cup of chilled fresh cream into a bowl and start whisking it once is half way through add the 2 tea spoons of sugar the lemon juice and whisk a little more then the dash of vanilla essence (remember at this stage you van also add liquor like Tia maria (coffee flavour) or baileys (caramel flavour) cointreau (orange flavour) see ...your only limit is your imagination...one cap full will suffice. And that is that.

Obviously there is many many more fancy stuff you can do with pancakes, I know a few maybe I'll tell you later.... ;)

Picture in the reverse order of making process:

Chocolate and Almond Mousse with Port

Every year (normally) I have my family around for my birthday. As my birthday is so close to xmas (27th) I ask them to come along and I celebrate by cooking for them something made by me entirely, so no peeking is aloud (into other peoples recipes), I can take past experiences in restaurants and cafés, and come up with my own thing.

So this birthday I decided to spoil them a little, well I do that every year... So I made for main course a Cod Fillet "en croute" with an Asian twist (Indian) and a plain rice portion with a special hot curried sauce (this inspired by Wagamamas, just the rice not the fish), and for desert I made a dark chocolate and almond mousse with an almond and port digestive base.

But on this post I will only provide you with the desert recipe, as I'll do another posting with the main meal, to make things simple. This desert was enough for 10 people.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 250mls double cream pots (one for the almond one for the chocolate)
• 8 chocolate squares ( dark chocolate cocoa from 30% to 50%)
• 9 Mcvites digestives (other brand will do)
• 2 soup spoons of Port Wine
• 1 + 1 teaspoons of almond essence
• 1 hand full of almonds (about 50grs) with the skin (chopped)
• 2 soup spoons of denmerra sugar
• 1 + 1 + 1 soup spoon of butter
• some white sugar
  

In a bowl crush all the digestives add one (full) spoon of butter, half of the almonds (chopped) a tea spoon of white sugar, one tea spoon of almond essence and the port, mix this very well and should be enough to place one soup spoon of this mixture into each one of the 10 ramekins, after doing that press mixture down with a flat object I used the bottom of a small glass.

On two separate bowls pour each of the creams and whip them until they are Chantilly, but remember to half way before that happens to add a tea spoon of sugar to each cream part, set them aside for a little while, while you do the flavouring.

Put two little pans on the stove one with a little water and a bowl inside that (bain Marie) inside the bowl put the 8 pieces of chocolate once hot enough the chocolate will become very soft, add now one soup spoon of butter mix well it starts to go harder and darker, remove bowl from heat and add one egg yolk and mix well, pour this mixture into one of the bowls of whipped cream and fold gently, once well mixed set it aside.

On the other pan, put a (full soup) spoon of butter, and the remaining almonds, let them sizzle for about 3 minutes them add the denmerra sugar and and a soup spoon or two of water, let this continue to boil until is near caramelized but not caramelized as such. Let this cool briefly than pour it into the second bowl of whipped cream but not directly into the cream, let it cool a little more, than fold int into the cream adding also a tea spoon of almond essence.

Spoon both types of cream into the ramekins two have two halves each colour (see picture), then decorate top, i did the chocolate side with chocolate shavings, and the almond part with a little more chopped almonds and refrigerated these for 30 minutes.

It was a great success with the guests. You can also use instead of port amaretto (almond liquor) I did not try but I bet would be nice too.

Golden Slices (or Eggy Bread)

Receita em Portuguese clique AQUI

It has been a little while that I have not made something sweet, well here is a treat for you cheap and easy to make. Eggy Bread (also known as golden slices), this can be a way of using bread that is a little old.

Ingredients for Recipe:

• Half a loaf of bread
• 1 glass of milk
• 2 soup spoons of sugar
• 3 eggs
• a mixture of two soup spoons of sugar and a tea spoon of cinnamon
• a plate with some absorbent tissues
• a frying pan with a finger deep of oil

This is so darn easy and so tasty, (however quite fattening therefore only have it once in awhile). In a soup plate put the milk and the sugar well mixed, on another plate the three eggs (beaten), place the frying pan on the stove until the oil is well hot, quickly deep a slice of bread in the milk both sides, don't leave it in or absorb a lot of milk, them bathe it in the egg, both sides too and place it in the pan, repeat the process on another slice, once it fries (seals) on one side turn it to the other side, to seal that too even if is not yet golden, as the idea is to seal the egg so that it does not absorb the oil, as you just want to cook in it not eat it. Once both sides are sealed then, yes let it get golden brown on each side, pull it out making sure all the oil drains and place it on the plate with the paper tissue, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on both sides of each slice, then just keep repeating the whole process until the whole of the bread is gone. And that is all, just call your kids but don't get distracted as if you do by the time you look back all the slices are gone lol.

If the beaten egg plate gets to low or the milk and sugar plate you can always add more.....but it is that easy!!!

Left over Egg White Cake

I bake quite a few cakes to sell, but I am always left with the egg whites which really upsets me to throw them away, it feels wrong, however my sister has come to live with me here in England and I asked her to find me some recipe where I could use the egg whites in a cake so she found an excellent way to to save them in the cake recipe given bellow, which we have made some alterations to the original recipe.


Recipe Ingredients:

• 125grs baking margarine
  
• 250grs sugar
• 190grs flour
• 1 tea spoon baking powder
• the juice and zest of one orange
• 8 egg whites

Preparation:

Very simple indeed, soften the margarine and mix with the sugar until a creamy pale paste, add to this the flour premixed with the baking powder, then add the juice and zest of the orange. Once this is done beat the eggs whites until they peak and add to the previous mixture with a folding action. Rub some margarine is a cake pan and dust it with flour adding covering the bottom with grease proof paper, the cake containing egg whites will stick a lot.
Bake it in a medium oven for 35 minutes (gas mark 180 c) and that's this simple is done.
I didn't do this but I think it could be really nice to warm up the juice of an orange with a measure of Cointreau, stabbing the cake all over with a fork and letting the Cointreau sauce soak into it. yum yum!! (but of course is just an idea)
But anyway now you can save all your egg whites with no fear of high cholesterol giving cake :)

Milk Tartlets

Recipe Ingredients:

• 5 dl of full Milk
• 4 Eggs
• 130 grs of Flour
• 30 grs Butter
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 Dash of Vanilla Essence

Confection:

This is an easy one, Mix the flour and sugar together until well blended, the mix eggs one by one mixing in between until a smooth paste, heat the milk with the butter until this one melts, once that is achieved, pour slowly into the egg; flour & sugar mixture (always mixing) finally add the lemon zest and the Vanilla essence. let the dough rest for about 15 minutes. Then pour into silicone cups and bake in the oven in a "bain marie" 190 degrees, for 20 minutes until golden brown (see picture above) and enjoy them, let them cool before eating.

Butter Bean Cakes

Recipe Ingredients:

• 500 grs Sugar
• 2.5 dl Water
• 250 grs Butter Beans (these can be from a can, but you must peel them)
• A soup spoon full of Butter
• 6 yolks and 2 full eggs
• the zest of one Lemon
• A dash of Vanilla Essence

Preparation:

Put in a pan the sugar and water boiling this until it reaches "pearl point" for you and me until when it drips from the spoon onto a surface forms like a pearl (it takes about 7 minutes boiling).
While that is going on after peeling beans mash them with a fork until a smooth paste, once the sugar reached the point take it off the fire and add the beans mixing well take it back to the fire for about 3-4 minutes so that it just thickens up a bit (always stirring) lastly add the butter until it melts. Once done take it of the fire and set it aside.
Let this mixture cool down a bit and then add the eggs (mixed) little by little always mixing it, then add the lemon zest and the dash of vanilla essence. Mixture done.

Dough Preparation:

In a bowl mix 1 cup of flour and a heaped spoon of baking margarine, mix it with your hands until resembles bread crumbs, then add a little water and continue mixing until a silky soft dough (like bread dough), let it rest for 15 minutes in the bowl with a cloth over it. After that cut a small piece and roll it with a rolling pin in a well floured table until about 2-3 millimetres thickens, cut round shapes (using a dough cutter) then lay it into aluminium cup cases that have been previously buttered. (the secret for a wafer thin dough is to stretch the circles inside the cup to cover it all. (well practice makes perfect...have fun).
Fill the cups with the mixture and oven bake them for about 25 - 30 minutes.