Double chocolate cake: for birthdays, or not birthdays

I used to make this cake very regularly growing up and can practically make it with my eyes closed, although I expect that would be even messier than my usual baking exploits.  We had a magimix-style mixer that I used for the sponge and a Kenwood Chef (like the ones on GBBO but older than me) for the buttercream, shrouded with a tea towel to try and contain the clouds of icing sugar. 

I could tell you that I made two cakes so I could test the effect of adding baking powder - this wasn't in my original recipe but I had read many "perfect" sponge articles lauding the fluffiness of sponges with a teaspoon of extra help so I wanted to give it a try. But the real reason I made two is that I was having a birthday party, so I made one to share and one to eat all by myself 🐷

As luck would have it, a genius of witchcraft and wizardry made a rainbow cake for the party, so now I have BOTH cakes all to myself. Well, I did until I ate one.

I still enjoy licking the bowl (at each stage) as much as the finished product, which is why I use the step-by-step approach rather than the popular all-in-one method for the sponge. It's very easy - literally child's play...

Ingredients 

For the sponges:

170g unsalted butter

170g caster sugar

3 medium eggs (should weigh around 170g in their shells)

170g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 tabsp cocoa powder

For the buttercream icing:

500g icing sugar

4 tabsp Cocoa powder

250g unsalted butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C, and grease and line two sandwich cake tins with baking paper.

2. Cream together the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy, using a stand mixer or electric beaters if you have them

3. Beat in the eggs

4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in gently using a metal spoon

5. Distribute the mixture evenly between the two cake tins and level the top with a palette knife

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the sponge is springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Carefully remove the cakes from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack

7. Make the buttercream by sifting the icing sugar and cocoa powder over the butter and mixing well. It will make a cloud of icing sugar, and take a while to come together. If the cream is too stiff, try adding a little bit of warm milk until the mixture is spreadable but not sloppy

8. Scoop half the buttercream onto one cooled cake and spread out evenly. Repeat with the other half of the icing and the second cake. Put one cake on top of the other. Decorate at will.

I like my double chocolate cake in the style of 80s restaurant favourite, hot chocolate fudge cake. Microwave a slice for 30 seconds and serve with a big dollop of Greek yoghurt. Cake heaven!

Gooseberry fool: a simple summer pudding

Gooseberry fool, along with Apple snow, was one of my favourite childhood puddings. I must have had a thing for purée. I was reminded of it whilst flipping through The Garden Grows Cookbook by Eva and Tony Lambert, from 1978; they describe three gooseberry recipes although none of them were exactly a fool, so I texted my mum to check how she made it.

This dessert is a simple combination of cooked, sweetened gooseberries with creamy custard - a light summer pudding that should be sharp enough to make one eye squint from the tartness. I used standard ready made custard - don't use a low fat version as you need the creaminess to counteract the sharpness of the fruit, and the posh "Madagascan vanilla" types will compete with the flavour of the gooseberries. I've included a variation for a lighter version at the end.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

250g fresh gooseberries

2 tbsp sugar

150g custard

Method

1. Top and tail the gooseberries, add to an oven dish and sprinkle with sugar and a splash of water. Bake at 180C for 20-30 minutes, until the berries are soft and about to burst.

2. Mash the berries with a fork or blitz briefly to a pulp and cool.

3. Stir in the custard and taste; add a little honey if it's too sour. 

Serve in cute little dishes with a sweet biscuit, like shortbread or amaretti, on the side. There's absolutely no need to stick it in a flower pot, I just got carried away with the garden theme...

Lighten up, you guys! For a lighter version, substitute elderflower cordial for the sugar and Greek yoghurt for the custard. 

 

Strawberry cream flans: for Wimbledon watching

This year, I'm watching every single minute of Wimbledon... all day every day for two weeks, with no obligations to work, play or interact with society in any way whatsoever. It's bliss. I didn't get tickets in the ballot to get into the courts (and nor did any of the people I "helped" by sending them forms for it, on the understanding that I would be their plus one!) so I've mastered the Red Button, printed off the draws and gone full geek from the sofa.

So how have I managed to cook and blog, I hear you say... Well, fortunately, I can angle the telly towards the kitchen, so this wimbledon-themed recipe was researched, cooked and eaten whilst watching the tennis though the hatch (which is why every kitchen needs a hatch). Strawberries were an obvious choice, and Audrey Ellis's Cookery for All Seasons from 1977 has a full page spread of strawberry flans: a sweet sponge base topped with thick crême patissiere and luscious ripe strawberries - perfect! And 1977 was the last time we won a ladies singles title - a good omen?

I've always wondered how to make crême patissiere, or "creme pat" as they call it on the Great British Bake Off. All the contestants seem to be able to whip up a batch from memory, something which I can only do for chocolate cake and pancakes (from years of near constant practice). The recipe in this book was very heavy on the sugar compared to some other versions, so I reduced it by about a third. It also only uses plain flour where others use a mix of plain flour and cornflour; using cornflour will make a thicker creme pat if you want to pipe it somewhere or it needs to hold its shape, like in the middle of a vanilla slice. And the optional butter adds a a little gloss to the final cream - I've suggested some other optional extras at the end of e recipe for when you've nailed the basics. It's not hard to make a good creme pat, but there is a technique to it.

Many strawberry tart/flan/pie recipes use either a ready-made flan base or a pastry base (ready-made or otherwise). I chose this recipe because I wanted to make my own sponge base, although I did fill the spare holes in the muffin tray with a couple of shortcrust pastry cases. The original recipe makes double the amount below and suggests cutting the sponge in half to make two flans. I can never make that work, and also, who am I going to feed two flans to?! So I just halved the ingredients and made individual flans by baking them in a muffin (or Yorkshire pudding) tin rather than a fluted flan tin.

Ingredients

(Makes 10-12 individual flans)

250-300g strawberries 

Flan base

2 large egg yolks

65g icing sugar, sifted

125g self raising flour

65g butter, melted

1 large egg white

Pastry cream / crême patissiere

2 egg yolks

25g plain flour (or half and half plain flour and cornflour)

50g caster sugar

250ml whole milk

2-3 drops vanilla extract

A knob of butter (optional)

Method

1. To make the flan bases, beat the 2 egg yolks with the sifted icing sugar until pale and thick, then fold in the flour and melted butter. Beat the egg white until stiff and fold into the mixture.

2. Add a tablespoon of the mix to each hole of a greased, 12-hole muffin tin and flatten the surface with a palette knife. If there are any spare holes you could fill them with pastry cases (add baking beans and blind bake).

3. Bake at 160C (fan) for 15 minutes until they spring back when pressed. Cool in the tin, then on a wire rack.

4. To make the creme pat, beat the egg yolks, sugar and flour together. Heat the milk and vanilla extract until starting to boil, then slowly pour over the mixture with the whisk going. Continue beating until combined then return the mixture to the pan. 

5. Heat gently and stir constantly - it will thicken quickly. Don't worry if you get lumps, just keep whisking and they'll soon go. When the cream is smooth and as thick as custard, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter if using. Dust with icing sugar to prevent a skin forming and cool.

6. To assemble the flans, slice the top off a sponge base and press down the soft middle with the back of a spoon. Add a tablespoon of creme pat and top with hulled, halved strawberries.

Enjoy with a cup of tea (pre 6pm) or glass of prosecco (post 6pm). Come on Tim! I mean Go Andy/Jo/Kyle/Heather/Aljaz/Katie! 

Crem pat optional extras:

- add some orange or lemon zest and a squirt of juice to sharpen the taste

- add a tablespoon of cocoa powder with the flour, or melt chocolate into the milk, for chocolate creme pat

- add a teaspoon of instant coffee powder to the hot milk

- add a shot of liqueur such as Amaretto, Cointreau, rum or brandy for a sophisticated dinner party twist.

Torta pascualina: an italian-argentine spinach, ricotta and egg pie

This week I made another recipe from our Argentine Grandma's cookbook, La Cocina de Lorenzo Taberna (1961), with a little help from Antonio Carluccio. Torta pascualina is a traditional Italian tart eaten at Easter, with 33 layers of pastry, one of each if Jesus's lives. The Argentine version in Grandma Antonia's book has just six layers of pastry, but if you're short on time her namesake, Don Carluccio, uses one layer of shop-bought shortcrust pastry for the base of the tart, with a lattice of cut-offs over the top. Jesus must be turning in his shroud... 

The pastry in Grandma's book is empanada pastry, so you can also use this recipe to make empanadas if you can't get pre-made sheets from Garcia's in London - here's the link to my empanada post: http://bit.ly/2kvWw8e. The pastry was much easier to make than I expected, had a really pleasant, soft texture and rolled very thin without splitting.

The key ingredients for the tart filling are ricotta, dark green leaves and whole eggs, which are baked inside the pie. Chard is a popular choice for the greenery but I can't seem to find any, and spinach works just as well. Artichokes are another traditional component, and Carliccio recommends braising them with some onions and capers, which adds a little more depth to the flavour. 

One of my favourite things about this pie is how well it keeps for leftovers, because it's delicious cold. It makes a perfect packed lunch or an interesting picnic option.

Ingredients

(Serves 6) 

For the pastry:

350g plain flour

150g cold, unsalted butter

2 tsp salt

1 egg

100-130ml cold water

Or use a 500g packet of ready-made shortcrust pastry, and blind-bake for 10 minutes before adding the filling.

For the filling:

280g jar artichokes in oil (mine had garlic and parley in too)

1 small onion or 2-3 shallots, finely chopped

1 tbsp capers (desalted in tap water for 15mins then drained), finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

200g spinach

250g ricotta 

60g Parmesan, grated

A pinch of grated nutmeg

8 eggs

Salt & pepper

 Method

1. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour then add the egg and half the water. Mix until the dough comes together, adding more water if needed. Knead gently until thoroughly combined and the dough is smooth. Chill in the fridge until ready to use.

2. Add the artichokes and 2-3 tablespoons of oil from the jar to a pan with the onion, capers, and parsley. Add a little water, cover and braise on a low heat for 15 minutes, then drain.

3. Pour boiling water over the spinach in a colander to wilt then squeeze out excess water.

4. Beat 4 of the eggs with the ricotta and grated Parmesan and nutmeg. Add the artichokes and wilted spinach and mix together. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Split the pastry into 6 pieces, 2 slightly smaller than the others - save these for the top of the pie. Roll out one of the larger pieces until it's really thin and will cover a 30cm fluted, loose-bottomed tart tin. Oil the tin and line with the sheet of pastry, then brush this sheet with olive oil. 

6. Roll out the remaining 3 larger pieces of pastry and layer into the tin, oiling between each layer.

7. Add two thirds of the filling to the pastry-lined tin and make 4 wells. Break the remaining 4 eggs into the wells and grate over a little Parmesan, salt and pepper. Add the rest of the filling, being careful not to break the yolks.

8. Roll out the two smaller sheets of pastry and cover the pie with both layers, oiling in between. Seal the edges of the tart, making a pretty border (artistic skills dependent, not employed here). Brush with beaten egg and bake at 200C for 35 minutes until golden brown. 

To serve, allow to cool a little then remove the fluted ring. Slice into portions, aiming for the baked eggs if you can! 

Pork and pistachio terrine

It's never really "perfect picnic weather" in the UK, but when the wind dies down and the rain buggers off for half a day, I love to pack up some foil-wrapped parcels and head to a sunny patch of grass for some al fresco drinking. I mean dining. Following on from last month's mushroom pâté recipe (http://bit.ly/2rLw7qr), here's another hamper filler showcasing my highly intagrammable Le Creuset terrine.

I made this traditional farmhouse style pork terrine for our quarterly Barbican Life magazine - hello if you've made it here from there. Acquiring some new (secondhand) pots and pans recently sent me down a fascinating rabbit hole into the history of kitchenware style, where I learnt all about the Le Creuset manufacturing process, and made some shocking discoveries, like Catherine Holm is not an actual person... Anyway, I wrote it all down for the magazine article, which you can get here when it's posted online in mid-June: http://www.barbicanlifeonline.com/barbican-life-magazine/magazine-issues/

A few of my favourite kitchen items posing on the balcony (Don't panic, I took everything back inside straight after so they're not blocking the fire escape - Barbican resident private joke)

This recipe is inspired by one in Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking, first published in 1960. It's a classic pork and veal pairing, subtly flavoured with allspice, port and juniper berries, and I added chopped pistachios for some extra crunch.

Ingredients

6-8 shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

500g pork shoulder, finely chopped 

450g sausage meat

400g minced veal

12 juniper berries, crushed

12 back peppercorns, crushed

1/2 tsp cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 tbsp fresh parsley and/or thyme

100g shelled pistachios, chopped

2 tbsp port or brandy

16 rashers of streaky smoked bacon

As with the mushroom pâté, if you don't have a terrine dish, rethink your life priorities and/or use a loaf tin instead.

Method

1. Gently fry the chopped shallots in a little oil until starting to colour. Add the garlic and cook for another few minutes, then leave to cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cooled shallots and garlic with all the remaining ingredients except the bacon. Mix well, then fry a small lump of the mixture to taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

3. Stretch the bacon rashers over the back of a knife so they are long enough to line the terrine or loaf tin with the ends overhanging (about 28cm) - as demostarted by tmy little helper in the pic-strip below:

4. Add the meat mixture to the bacon-lined dish, press down firmly and wrap the overhanging rashers over the top of the meat.

5. Place the terrine in a roasting tin with an inch of water and cook uncovered at 160C for 75 to 90 minutes, until the pâté is starting to come away from the sides of the dish.

6. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and add some weight to the top of the terrine. Most recipes recommend tinned food, but I found that the digital radio was a perfect fit - feel free to be inventive with whatever you have to hand in your kitchen...

7. Cool at room temperature, then pour off any excess fat before chilling until ready to serve; it should come out of the terrine mould quite easily.

To serve, wrap up tightly for transport to the picnic site then slice thickly - it's pretty firm in texture and shouldn't disintegrate when you chomp into it. It also keeps in the fridge for up to a week and freezes well; just thaw completely at room termperature. 

Happy picnicking!

Greek tragedy act two: a meaty moussaka

As Felicity Cloake points out in her Perfect Moussaka article, this is one of those dishes that simultaneously manages to taste of sunshine and boast warming qualities sufficient to see you through a spring shower. Or arctic blast in our case. At the risk of inviting outrage, to me a moussaka is basically a greek lasagne, with aubergine instead of pasta. Which makes it a health food, right?

I used the same recipe book for the whole Greek feast menu / tragedy: The Home Book of Greek Cookery. For the moussaka, Joyce uses minced veal whereas I had always associated the dish with lamb. I'm relieved to report that Felicity thought the same, and although apparently veal is the more traditional ingredient (and my local Waitrose had minced veal but not minced lamb so I had to go to M&S #middleclasscommentoftheday) I stuck with lamb as I prefer the flavour with the cinnamon and nutmeg spices. And it's what Felicity did and she's much better at this than me...

The wobbly white sauce that tops the moussaka is a classic béchamel enriched with egg and flavoured with some parmesan and a bit more nutmeg. For some reason, my sauce went a bit lumpy, but it doesn't matter for the final dish. You could also use ricotta if you can't be doing with making the sauce from scratch.

The whole dish does take some time to prepare, perfect for a miserable afternoon, but can be made ahead and baked while your guests are devouring feta parcels and / recounting ouzo stories...

Ingredients
(Serves 4 - 6)

3 aubergines

1 onion, finely chopped
500g minced lamb
1 glass red wine
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes or passata
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A grating of nutmeg
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

For the béchamel sauce:

50g butter

50g plain flour

500ml milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp grated parmesan
A grating of nutmeg

Method

1. Slice the aubergines, sprinkle liberally with salt and drain in a colander for at least half an hour - this removes the bitterness from the vegetable.

2. While the aubergines are draining, make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter then add the flour and cook for one minute. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, and continue to heat gently and stir until the sauce thickens. Add a grating of nutmeg and the cheese and keep warm.

3. To make the sauce, sauté the onion in olive oil until soft then add the mince and brown. Add the red wine and, when that's sizzled away, add the chopped tomatoes or passata, the herbs and spices. Taste and season, then cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes. Add in a couple of spoonfuls of the béchamel sauce and turn off the heat.

 4. Rinse the aubergine slices, pat dry on kitchen towel the griddle in batches using a little olive oil.

5. Assemble the moussaka by starting with a layer of aubergine then a layer of mince and a sprinkle of parmesan. I had 20 slices of aubergine so I used 5 slices in 4 layers. Finish with an aubergine layer.

 6. Add the beaten eggs to the warm béchamel sauce, mix thoroughly then add the sauce to the top of the moussaka. Sprinkle with parmesan, and breadcrumbs if you like a crunchy topping, then bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes until golden brown on top.

Serve with simple green beans or a lightly dressed salad. And don't expect to have any leftovers... 

Room for dessert? The final part (clue: also has a 'k' in its name) coming soon...