Easter 2022: Aubergine kuku

I have decided that Easter is my favourite holiday. We get three days off work, it is Spring and everything feels full of possibility, the days are fresh and sunny (if we are lucky), and the garden is full of the best flowers and not yet too out of control. Spring and its regenerative effect feels like something to celebrate: potent and powerful. 

Eggs are so symbolic of all this. I make an effort to cook something big and eggy, and ideally using beaten eggs, so the shells can be painted later.

This time, I remembered this recipe, which had caught my eye a while ago, partly because of the fun name. I bought a pile of barberries a while ago and have been trying them out in different things. So we had all the ingredients except the aubergines, which I picked up from my favourite wee shop (along with some mangoes - the yellow South American ones are here - summer is on its way!) on my way home today.

120 ml sunflower oil, plus extra (used less - about 50 ml)
4 small onions, peeled and sliced
3 small aubergines, peeled
5 eggs
2 tbsp plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
25 g chopped parsley, plus extra to garnish
1 tsp saffron strands, dissolved in 1 tbsp of hot water
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ tsp salt
Black pepper
20 g dried barberries, rinsed and dried

Heat the oven to 210C. Drizzle the oil in a big roasting tin, toss in the chopped onions, and put in the oven for about 7 min.

Meanwhile, cut the aubergines in two widthways, cut each half into 1 cm-thick slices, then cut each slice into 1cm-thick sticks. Add these to the onion tin, toss, and put back in the oven for 15-20 min, until the aubergines are completely soft (add a little more oil if needed, but not a lot). Set aside to cool down.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, flour, baking powder, parsley, the saffron and its water, garlic, salt and a good grind of pepper. Once smooth, fold in the barberries and the aubergine and onion mix.

Grease and line a 22cm spring-form cake tin. Pour the egg mix into the tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden-brown and cooked through – insert a skewer in the middle to make sure the egg has set.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature,with good bread. It will keep in the fridge for two days.

 

I made this with s, he liked the idea of a savoury cake. It is pretty quick and easy, especially if you do the aubergine-onion mix in advance. The recipe called for frying them, by the way - but generally I prefer to do them in the oven for these kinds of things.

Easter 2021: Pace Eggs

At some point I fell down an Easter google bunny hole, wherein I discovered that the Pace Egg is not only a peculiar play at Heptonstall, but also the name for beautifully dyed boiled eggs. Also the word 'pace' is closer to 'påske' (Danish for Easter) than 'easter', making me wonder about origins of both traditions. I've tried dyeing eggs naturally before but it didn't work that well, probably boiling is the trick. I used mainly this recipe, but took the tip about using flowers and leaves from this one.

 **save red and brown onion skins for a few weeks before Easter!**

Eggs

Onion skins

Small, pretty flowers and leaves (e.g. curly parsley)

Dampen the eggs, then press leaves or flowers (could also try cutting shapes from larger leaves, or plastic bags) gently onto them to stick.

Wrap onion skins (red, brown, or a mixture) around the eggs, covering the leaves/flowers.

Wrap tinfoil around the onion skins, encasing the egg.

Put the eggs in a pan along with the rest of the onion skins. Cover with water and bring to the boil.

Boil approx. 8 min, then let cool in the water.

Remove the wrapping carefully to see the pattern. Polish with a little butter to make them shine, if you wish.

They are mainly decorative - they are edible, but not the best-tasting boiled egg you ever had.

I tried shapes made from paper, but it didn't work very well - perhaps could cut shapes from larger leaves instead? I considered other dyes (turmeric? red cabbage? beets?) - but the beauty of onion skins, besides the good strong colour, is that it makes use of something I'd otherwise throw out.

Easter 2021: Creme Caramel

A whole year later, and here is last Easter's egg recipe. I like to make something at Easter that uses a lot of beaten egg, so I can blow the eggs and decorate the shells later. My mum used to make creme caramel often, and S+s like it (and flan - what is the difference?). I used this recipe.

(can do in individual ramekins - I used a smallish flat round-edged ceramic baking dish)

For the caramel:

160g/6oz sugar

butter, for greasing

 

For the custard:

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

25 g / 1 oz sugar

600 ml / 1 pint milk (I used oat milk - normal would prob have been better but it worked OK)

Heat oven 150C / 300F. Warm the dish in the oven, so it is warm when the caramel is poured in

Make the caramel. Pour the sugar and six tablespoons of water into a clean stainless steel pan. Dissolve the sugar slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon over a low heat. When there are no sugar granules left, stop stirring and boil until the sugar turns a dark copper colour. Remove immediately from the heat to ensure the caramel does not burn. Quickly pour the caramel into the warmed dish. 

Set aside to cool and become hard. (Do not put in the fridge because the sugar will absorb moisture and go soft and tacky). Once hard, butter the sides of the dish above the level of the caramel.

For the custard, whisk the eggs, vanilla extract and caster sugar together in a bowl until well mixed. Pour the milk into a saucepan, gently heat over a low heat until you can still just dip your finger in for a moment, then strain the milk through a fine sieve onto the egg mixture in the bowl. Whisk together until smooth, then pour the mixture into the prepared dish. 

Stand the dish in a roasting tin and fill the tin half-way with boiling water from a kettle. Cook in the oven for about 40-50 minutes or until the custard has set. Do not overcook the custard – check around the edges of the dish, to make sure no bubbles are appearing. Take the crème caramel out of the oven, remove the dish from the tray and set on a cooling rack. 

When cool, transfer to the fridge overnight so that the caramel is absorbed into the custard.

To serve, loosen the sides of the custard by tipping the dish and loosen with a small palette knife round the edges. Place a serving dish on top of the dish and turn upside down.

Chocolate cake

I bought a kilo of ceremonial grade (100%) chocolate to support a covid fundraiser for a permaculture cacao farm in Guatemala. It arrived a few months later and it’s a significant brick of slightly powdery, almost smoky chocolate. I don’t find it awesome for just snacking, but it makes a great hot beverage - the smokiness really comes through. The restaurant that organised the chocolate fundraiser sent this recipe through with the chocolate info and I thought it sounded worth a try - although the original was with 77% choc so I had to adapt...

106 g sugar

80 g butter

54 g 100% chocolate

2 eggs

Melt butter, sugar and chocolate in a double boiler. 

Meanwhile, set oven to 150C and butter a baking tin (I used a loaf tin for this amount - cake ended up about 1 in deep). Also break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly.

When all is melted, add the eggs to the chocolate bowl and whisk. It may split but keep whisking - it will come together. When smooth, pour into prepared tin and bake for approx. 25 min (35 min for 5 egg version). Done when a sharp knife comes out clean. Take out and let rest in the tin until cool.

This was adapted from a version with 5 eggs, 200g butter, 200g sugar, and 200g 77% choc - that’s why the numbers are a bit weird. I also worked out for 3 eggs, which might have fit a little better in the tin: 120g butter, 159.6 g sugar, 80.4g 100% choc. Or for 5 eggs and 100% choc do 266g sugar and 134g choc. 

I wasn’t sure if it’d work with subbing 100% choc for 77% - had a feeling 100% wouldn’t be good for melting / cooking - but it worked really well!

Tinned-peach and custard cake

We went to Aldi, checking for the good tofu. I spontaneously purchased a huge tin of peach halves while we were there, off of some kind of thought process like: it's winter, there aren't many good fresh fruits now... how about tinned fruit? I used to love tinned peaches as a kid, maybe sage would like them... now I realize how sweet they are, I guess that's why I liked them really, but they do have a specific, nostalgic taste. I won a tin in a tombola once.

They'd been sitting in the pantry for some time when I realized I was never really going to eat 800+ g of tinned peaches... and I felt like I'd seen a German cake recipe with tinned fruit. I came across this one and it sounded good and I had pretty much all the ingredients sooooo here we are.

For the base:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup (55 g) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup milk (used oat milk)
1 egg
1 large (c. 825 g) tin peach halves, drained and sliced 1/2 in thick

For the custard:
1 cup heavy cream (used oat milk)
2 tsp flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 400F / 204C. Grease and line a springform cake tin. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together with a fork in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. In a separate, small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Pour the milk mix over the flour mix and mix with the fork until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Arrange the peach slices on top (I had a few left over). Bake for 15 min.

Meanwhile make the custard. Combine 1/4 cup milk with the flour, and whisk to get rid of lumps. Add the rest of the milk, sugar, egg, vanilla and salt, and whisk well to mix. Take the cake out of the oven and pour the cream mix over the top. Put the cake back in and reduce the heat to 350F / 177C. Bake 35-40 min more (nb mine took longer, and I had to add a foil hat as the peaches were catching). When the cake top is puffed, and the edges are deep gold and separating from the sides of the tin, the cake is done. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 15 min before removing from the tin and letting cool completely.

Shakshuka

I first ate shakshuka quite a while ago. Perhaps it was made by my friend N, it was one of his signature dishes (he's also vegetarian, and a good cook). But somehow never got around to making it for ages. We had some for lunch in a cafe recently, and I realized it is good, and also super simple if you make the sauce in advance. I used approximately this recipe, and made the sauce in advance, before cracking 4 eggs into it for a weeknight dinner.

 4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 sweet peppers, diced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne
800 g (2 tins) tinned tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4-8 eggs*
small bunch coriander, chopped
c. 2/3 a pack feta

Heat the oil in a large lidded pan. Add onion, cook until golden. Add peppers, fry until soft. Stir in garlic and spices and cook for a few more minutes. Add tinned tomatoes, stir in the sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for c. 30 min. Taste and season.

When ready to eat, heat the sauce in a large lidded deep-sided frying pan. When warm, turn down to the lowest heat, make the right number of wells for the eggs, then crack the eggs one at a time into a cup before pouring into a well. Simmer gently for approx. 10 min (mine took a bit longer) - you may wish to put the lid on to encourage the eggs to cook more evenly. Sprinkle with coriander and feta and eat with crusty bread. 


*The eggs took a little longer to cook than I expected (maybe more like 20 min?), but other than that it was great - perhaps even a good idea to leave the sauce in the fridge for a bit, to let the flavours meld.

Easter egg decorating

I kicked the Easter holidays off with some egg dyeing experiments. I bought a big box of biodynamic white eggs, and used everything I could find in the kitchen to try and colour them. I wanted to make something for Sage to discover and play with, mainly. But was also curious to try different things.

Clockwise from top right: Egg blown (innards used for banana pancakes), then soaked in hot water containing a little vinegar and lots of turmeric - which made it pale yellow - then dipped in hot water containing green food colouring, a little vinegar, and some sunflower oil spattered on top; Egg hardboiled (9 min) in water containing salt, a little vinegar, and a lot of red onion skins - which made it hen's egg brown, with the colour seeming to stick in the pores but wipe off elsewhere; Egg hardboiled, then dipped in hot water containing green food colouring with a spatter of sunflower oil on top; Egg treated same as the first one; Egg hardboiled (9 min) in water containing salt, a little vinegar, and as much chopped red cabbage as I could fit in - turned the water a pretty purple shade but did nothing to the egg... so then I dunked it in the red onion skin water, and smeared it with frozen-defrosting blueberries... and the purple one is one of small S's egg shaker toys.

Of the natural colours I tried, the turmeric gave by far the strongest/nicest colour - although I might try again with blueberries and raspberries, they also had potential (but I didn't want to waste them). And my cabbage didn't seem to have as strong a colour as other red cabbages, actually - could maybe try again. Or maybe use a different approach - instead of putting stuff in the cooking water could try making a puree or extract and rubbing it directly onto the egg like with the blueberries... The effect I like best is the marbling with oil on coloured water though - I guess food colouring is designed to stick well and look good...

Banana pancakes

The small one is obsessed with bananas. I guess most small ones are. He can spot them a mile off - was standing and staring at a small boy eating one on the train the other day...

It being Easter, a combination of egg and banana seemed like exactly the right thing this morning. I never tried making pancakes with only egg and banana before (I'd say the vanilla and bicarb are optional), but I came across the idea when looking for banana pancake recipe inspiration, and it worked!

(makes approx 3 large medium (ie somewhere in between uk and us thickness) pancakes)

1 large banana, mashed with a fork
2 eggs, beaten
pinch of bicarb
1/2 tsp vanilla
oil for the pan

Mash the banana in a medium bowl, add the beaten eggs and mix well together, incorporating the bicarb and vanilla. Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan and then fry the pancakes, flipping when one side is done. Watch they don't burn, the banana sweetness can speed that up.


Good with maple syrup, greek yoghurt, raspberries, pecans, that kind of thing. Small S ate a whole one, so I guess he was a fan.

Delia veggie moussaka

This was comfort food too. I made this a few times, a long time ago. You can't go wrong with Delia and this kind of thing. It was just as satisfying as I remembered.

10 fl oz / 275 ml veg stock
2 oz / 50 g puy lentils
2 oz / 50 g green lentils
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped into ¼ inch (5 mm) dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 aubergines, each 8 oz / 225 g -> 1 lb / 450 g total, cut into 1/2 in / 1 cm dice
1 x 14 oz (400 g) tin chopped tomatoes, drained
7 fl oz / 200 ml red wine (subbed a bit of soy sauce and some water - wine is rarely open around here)
2 level tbsp tomato purée or sun-dried tomato paste
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
2 level tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

For the topping:
10 fl oz / 275 ml whole milk
1 oz / 25 g plain flour
1 oz / 25 g butter
¼ whole nutmeg, grated
1 x 9 oz / 250 g tub ricotta 
1 large egg
1 oz / 25 g parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 350F / 180C. Pour the stock into a medium saucepan together with the puy lentils (but no salt), cover and simmer for 15 min before adding the green lentils. Cover and cook for 15 min, by which time most of the liquid will have been absorbed and the lentils will be soft.

While the lentils cook, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions until they're soft and tinged brown at the edges (about 5 min), then add the chopped pepper and soften and brown that too for about another 4 min. Add the garlic, cook for 1 min more, then transfer the whole lot to a plate.

Put the other 2 tbsp oil in the frying pan, turn the heat up to high and toss the aubergines in it so they get evenly cooked. When they're starting to brown a little, add the tinned tomatoes and the onion and pepper mixture to the pan. In a small bowl mix the wine, tomato purée and cinnamon together, then pour it over the vegetables. Add the lentils and the chopped parsley, season well and let everything simmer gently while you make the topping.

Put the milk, flour, butter and nutmeg in a saucepan and whisk until it comes to simmering point and becomes a smooth glossy sauce. Season with salt and pepper, remove it from the heat and let it cool a little before whisking in the ricotta followed by the beaten egg.

Finally, transfer the vegetable and lentil mixture to a large ovenproof dish and spoon the cheese sauce over the top, using the back of a spoon to take it right up to the edges. Sprinkle with the parmesan, put the dish in the oven and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour. Rest for 15 min before serving.


It tasted good. I did not miss the wine.

Plantain, chilli and polenta fritters

These used to be one of my go-tos - it was a (Sugar Club) recipe T made and I loved so she colour-photocopied it for me and I made it soooo many times - the recipe is totally splattered. Hadn't had a plantain in a while but the baby loves bananas (obvs, they all do), so I thought plantains might be down his alley too. He liked them - perhaps not as much as good old Jarlsberg but yeah anyway.

225 g / 8 oz (approx 1 normal-sized plantain), grated
80 g / 3 oz polenta grains
1 egg
60 ml / 2 fl oz beer (this is an awkward amount, since we never really drink beer - alternatively add a little bit of water and some baking powder to the mix)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sliced spring onions (or 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, at a pinch)
1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh green chilli (used 1 whole mild yellow one)
1 tsp salt
veg oil for frying

Mix all ingredients except oil well together and rest for 15 min (note: I did this minus most of the salt and the chilli so that I could fry a few baby-friendly ones first before doing the rest). Heat a frying pan and add enough oil to coat the bottom by a few mm. Heat to smoking, then add spoonfuls of the mixture and cook for 90 sec on each side, stacking on a plate lined with kitchen paper when done. Plantain is sweet so can burn easily - watch the heat.


We ate with red rice and some mild tomato-lime-coriander salsa.

I wrote up a simpler, vegan version on here before.

S's birthday cake from 2018

Was just looking back and enjoying how this is, if nothing else, a repository for all the birthday cakes I have made S (and now small S too) since 2011. Gosh, 9 years: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 + small S 2018 (we've been together for 13 - I guess a few cakes are missing from back in the mists of time). Then I realized that last year's is missing - I did bake a cake, even though he was away at a conference on his birthday and we were deep in baby fug... But I guess I didn't manage to write it up / decided not to... But I really think I ought, for completeness, so here we are...

For my birthday in 2017, I was still in hospital after giving birth to small S, so my birthday cake from Sebastian was a book of German baking recipes and a promise to bake me whichever one I liked when we were home. I made him a cake from that book for his birthday too... Luckily small S was going through possibly his best-ever napping phase then, so I had a little time for cake baking. I chose to make a mohntorte, with walnuts from the garden. It was pretty epic, I had to grind the walnuts and the poppyseeds before even starting on the cake, and it's kind of a long recipe. But here goes...

175 g butter, softened
50 g icing sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 tbsp rum
zest of 1 lemon
180 g ground walnuts (or almonds, or a mix)
210 g poppy seeds
pinch salt
125 g granulated sugar
100 g redcurrant jelly

Heat oven to 180C. Line the base of a 9 in / 23 cm springform tin with baking paper and grease the sides.

Cream the butter and icing sugar. Mix in the egg yolks one at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the rum and lemon zest, and beat until thick and glossy. Fold in ground nuts and poppy seeds until just combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they start to form large bubbles. Add the granulated sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking all the time, until the mix is stiff and glossy.

Scrape 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the nut mixture and fold in to lighten. Then fold in the next 1/3; then the final 1/3, until no white streaks remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking tin and smooth the top.

Put in the oven and bake 50-55 min, rotating halfway through (pretty sure mine took longer). It is ready when the cake is pulling away from the edges and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 5 min before turning out, peeling off the paper, and letting cool upside down on rack.

When ready to assemble (and the cake is completely cool), heat the jelly in a small saucepan until runny, then remove from the heat and let cool briefly. Slice the torte in half horizontally. Spread the jelly evenly over the bottom layer, then put the top layer on top. Sift icing sugar on top (use a stencil if you like). It will keep, lightly wrapped in clingfilm, for several days.


It was a good combination; different from anything I had before, not too sweet, as often the case for German cakes. How could I forget?!

Pao de queijo (vegetarian not vegan)

We found somewhere in CPH selling pao de queijo! Which was exciting... and also reminded me that (1) they are easy to make; (2) I have never made non-vegan ones, which presumably are even easier than the vegan ones I made before; and (3) we were close to the best place I could think of to find tapioca flour.

I read around a bit on Google, and decided to use this recipe, because it was clear and seemed straightforward.

(makes c 24 medium sized ones)

1 cup milk (used oat milk)
1/2 cup veg oil
1 tsp salt
10 oz / 284 g tapioca flour
2 large eggs
1 packed cup grated cheese (used a mixture of parmesan, pråst and jarlsberg... the internet suggests that pretty much any cheese will do - most recipes use either parmesan or a mix of parmesan and mozzarella... pics of the real Brazilian cheese look quite like pråst - perhaps that's a good local sub?)

Heat the oven to 450F / 232C. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Bring the milk, oil and salt to a gentle boil over a medium heat in a medium-large saucepan (big enough to fit all ingredients and mix the dough). Stir occasionally. Remove when you can see big bubbles.

Add the tapioca flour and stir with a wooden spoon until there is no dry flour and the dough is grainy and gelatinous. Beat the dough for a few minutes until it smooths out and has cooled down enough that you can hold your finger against it for a few seconds. There may be a bit of an oily unincorporated bit.

Beat in the eggs one at a time - fully incorporate the first one before adding the second. Beat in the cheese until fully incorporated. It should be a sticky, stretchy, soft dough.

Scoop the dough into approx 2 tbsp sized balls and place on a baking sheet approx 2 in apart (should be 12 per sheet). Try dipping the scoop in water between scoops to prevent sticking.

Put the baking sheets in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F / 177C. Bake for 15 min, then rotate top-bottom and front-back. Bake 10-15 min more, until puffed, outsides dry, and golden brown on the bottoms (mine only needed 10 more min). Cool a few minutes and eat while warm.


I shaped them in the afternoon and let them sit for an hour or so, then baked half of them for dinner. The other half I put in the fridge for a couple of days and then baked, and they were good too. I wanted to try baking from freezing but the freezer was too full.

They were good! And simple and quick (for a bread). I kind of want to go back and try the vegan ones again - I remember them being really good too, and thinking you don't really need the cheese - the texture and savoury deliciousness is all you really need...

Also! I think potato starch might be easier to find and give a similar texture, and so I want to try making some with that instead of tapioca - I found a recipe, I'll add it when I've tried.

Apple muffins

Our apple tree started dropping apples already, so I wanted to make a start on some apple recipes to use them up. I fancied making muffins, even though they are not the most efficient way to use up apples. I liked the sound of this recipe, with grated, diced and sauced apple in it, and decided to give it a go even before I realized it's also a great baking-with-honey recipe - I especially like that it takes into account honey's tendency to dry out / burn.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated apple
1 cup diced (1 cm) apple
1/3 cup olive oil (or veg oil)
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)
2 eggs (ideally at room temp)
1/2 cup Greek yoghurt
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 tbsp demerara sugar to go on top

Heat the oven to 163C / 325F (218C / 425F for maple syrup). Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a large bowl, mix flours, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, bicarb and salt with a fork. Add grated and chopped apple and stir.

In a medium bowl, beat oil, honey (or maple syrup) together, then add eggs and beat, then add yoghurt and apple sauce and mix.

Add wet to dry and mix until just combined, adding raisins and pecans in the final few strokes. Spoon into muffin cups and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for c 25 min (13-15 min for maple syrup), until skewer comes out clean.

Walnut, raisin, honey and oat cookies (no dry sugar, no butter, no white flour)

These were another go at perfect quick cookies using walnuts and honey - pretty tasty, probably the best yet, although maybe could cut down the oil just a bit. This recipe.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup olive oil (or sunflower or vegetable)
1 tbsp mulberry molasses (or normal)
1 egg (beat with 1 tbsp water)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts

 In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients (except raisins and walnuts) together. In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together (note: measure oil before honey so the honey doesn't stick). Mix the wet into the dry. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix. Chill for c. 20 min in the fridge.

Heat the oven to 335F / 170C. Dollop the mixture in heaping teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, and press gently with a fork. Bake for 15-20 min or until golden on the bottom of the cookie.


These came out good - perhaps a little soft/greasy, try reducing the oil a bit. Also, the recipe said they freeze well - test that next time. The flavour is all there though, and they stick together well despite not containing much flour. Could maybe also try cramming in a few more raisins+walnuts.

Another banana cake - but I haven't found the perfect one yet

I ended up with a lot of bananas that needed eating again - this hardly ever happens, but then now all of a sudden twice within a short time... This time my main requirement was that it didn't involve softened butter, since I didn't feel like waiting for it. I found this recipe pretty quick, and decided just to go with it - I guess banana and chocolate sounded pretty good!

3 large ripe bananas
1/2 cup (115 g) butter, melted
3/4 cup (145 g) light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (130 g) plus 1/4 cup (35 g) plain flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup (about 20 g) cocoa
3/4 cup (130 g) chopped chocolate

Heat oven to 175C/350F. Grease a loaf tin and line the base.

Melt butter and put into a medium bowl, then mash the bananas into it. Whisk in the sugar, egg, vanilla, bicarb, and salt until thoroughly combined. Add 130 g flour, stirring until just combined. Pour half of batter into a second bowl. Into one bowl, mix the remaining 35 g flour and the cinnamon. Into the other bowl, mix the cocoa and chocolate. Dollop batters into the prepared loaf pan in large alternating spoonfuls. Use a flat knife to make a few figure-8s through the batters, to marble them together. Bake for 55-65 min, until a skewer comes out clean. Let cool for 10 min, then invert onto a cooling rack. Keep in a cake tin or wrapped in foil.


While baking this, I realized I have developed a banana cake wishlist: it should have oil in it (not butter), honey (not sugar), and should have walnuts and/or chocolate chips. With this in mind, I checked around for the perfect recipe... I found three possibilities - next time I have an excess of bananas, I will have to try one of these: cake 1, cake 2, cake 3.

Baking with Honey I: Honey-Lavender Cake

We harvested honey a couple of weeks ago - T and me, plus S and T's friend. It was a lot of fun, if somewhat improvised... My estimate was that we got 18 kilos of honey - so I guess I ended up with about 8 kilos. I still have some from last year, so realized I'd better start experimenting more with baking and other projects using honey. Last weekend, I tried two quite different honey cake recipes. This is the first (Ottolenghi - full recipe here). It is very similar to a cake I made with L, back at Mill Hill Road in Norwich, when we had a teaparty - it was a different recipe (I still have it in my recipe folder but we were never quite sure about the quantities) - we were very proud of it then, but I never made it since. I always thought about it, so it sprang to mind instantly when I was thinking about honey recipes. I used lavender from the garden as well. I took it for C's birthday party/dinner, and it ended up being her birthday cake, with candles and all!

For the cake:
225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
115 g sugar
115 g honey
3 eggs
245 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chopped dried lavender, plus more for garnish (used fresh)
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
110 ml sour cream (used yoghurt instead)

For the glaze:
4 tsp lemon juice (one lemon is enough)
2 tsp honey
100 g icing sugar

Heat the oven to 325F / 163C. Grease a 9-inch cake tin, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter and flour the base paper. Cream the butter, sugar, and honey together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs lightly together and slowly incorporate into the butter mixture. Mix the dry ingredients together (all remaining ingredients but the sour cream / yoghurt) and stir well. Fold 1/3 of the flour mixture gently into the butter base, then about 1/3 of the yoghurt. Repeat twice more until all ingredients are just incorporated. Turn the batter into your prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for about 50 min, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Note that honey browns very quickly in the oven, so if you notice this happening, you can tent your cake with foil for the duration. When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for about ten min, then place on a rack to cool.

When cool, transfer to a plate and make the icing: whisk the lemon juice and honey together, then whisk in the icing sugar (ideally pre-sifted to remove lumps). Drizzle/spread over your cake, allowing the icing to trickle down the sides. Sprinkle with additional lavender flowers. Allow icing to set, and serve.

I thought the lavender might be a bit subtle, but it was a nice, moist cake. It went down pretty well (I think). The icing got good feedback too - it was thick and spreadable and maintained a good layer - it's perhaps a good idea to use for other cakes too!

Chard, herb and feta pide-pie

Recently, when I've gotten something in my head I want to eat, I want to eat that thing and only that thing. Yesterday, it was pie - something like the multitude of greens+cheese pies we ate in Greece. We had a big bunch of chard in the fridge, and with some feta and a selection of herbs from the yard, this seemed like it (I used this recipe and this one as guides for the filling). But then, pastry - I never really make pastry, I definitely don't have a go-to recipe. I also have a distinct aversion to going to the shops for a single ingredient - I'd always rather improvise with the contents of the fridge. And I don't currently own a pie dish, so I had to find something that could be free-shaped and plonked on a baking sheet. It turns out that thing can be called a galette, and I liked the idea of a dough with yoghurt in it (I'd like it even more if it had olive oil instead of butter, will have to investigate), so I thought I'd try this recipe. When S got home, he thought the idea came from the tasty pide I have sometimes been buying from a Middle Eastern bakery on the way home, and it's true - they were pretty much pide-shaped and filled, and pide are also a freeform shape like what I was looking for - next time, I'll have to look up pide dough recipes.

(Make sure to start the dough an hour before you want to shape and bake the pies - it needs to rest in the fridge. I made two medium sized pies that fitted comfortably on my baking trays, but the recipe could easily make one big pie or four smaller pies)

For the dough:
160 g (1 1/4 cups) plain flour (definitely needs more - at least 200g)
1/4 tsp salt (don't use if using salted butter)
115 g (8 tbsp) cold unsalted butter (don't add extra salt if using salted)
60 g (1/4 cup) yoghurt
2 tsp lemon juice
60 ml (1/4 cup) ice water


For the filling:
big bunch of chard (c. 250 g - or beet greens)
olive oil
3 large spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley, chopped
1 tbsp chopped oregano, chopped
2 tsp chopped mint, chopped
2 tsp chopped sage, chopped
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1/3 of a 200g pack of feta
1 egg, and the white of another left from making the pastry glaze, beaten
salt+pepper

For the pastry glaze:
1 egg yolk (put the rest in the filling), beaten with
1 tsp water

First, prepare the dough: put the flour (and salt, if using) into a large bowl, then chop the butter into small dice and add to the bowl. Rub the butter into the flour as if making crumble. Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice and water in a small bowl, then add to the flour-butter crumbs and mix until the dough comes together into a ball. Add a little more flour if it doesn't stick together in a ball. Wrap the ball in clingfilm and put in the fridge for at least an hour (up to two days).

While resting the dough, prepare the filling. Wash chard and separate stems from leafy parts. Chop the stems, and tear the leafy parts into pieces. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and add the spring onions and chard stems. Fry reasonably high for a few minutes. Add chard leaves and herbs and saute for a few minutes, until the chard collapses. Let cool a bit in the pan, then transfer to a colander. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as you can and discard the liquid. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, crumble over the feta, then add the parmesan and egg, mix up, and season with salt and pepper. This should be about the right time to start the oven - heat to 200C / 400F.

To assemble, split the dough in half. Roll out one half into an approximate circle on a well-floured work surface. It should be about the size of a large plate, about 3 mm thick. Fold lightly in half, then in quarters, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Unfold. Spread half the filling in the middle, out to about 1 1/2 inches from the edge. Then fold in the edges to overlap the outer part of the filling, pleating and crumpling to make it fit. Brush the exposed pastry with egg glaze, then put the pie in the oven. Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling.

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the pie is golden. Take out and eat pretty much immediately with a simple salad, or let cool and take for lunches (it's fairly robust and travels well).


Notes:
Shaping the dough was super straightforward, and nothing annoying happened whatsoever. And the pies came out great - prettily crumpled and golden, crisp tasty pastry (no soggy bottom), stored well in the fridge for a few days and nice cold (although I have actually been reheating in the microwave at work for c. 15 sec). Could maybe have done with a little more filling, but it was sufficient - never underestimate how much greens collapse when cooked! So many other filling ideas now! And, I would like to try with an olive oil pastry.

* I used the gram measurements from the original recipe, but it came out a little wet and I had to add a bit more flour - my guess is it should be approx. 200 g flour instead of 160 g

S's pumpkin muffins

S made a pumpkin-carving party for his lab last week. He got them all pumpkins, and asked them to bring pumpkin themed food and then they carved pumpkins together. These muffins were his idea, slightly adapted by him from this recipe, and he even bought special silicone baking forms with pumpkin faces for baking them. He used the guts scraped out of two small-medium sized pumpkins and one butternut squash that he planned to carve the following day to make these. He spread all those pumpkin guts out on a baking sheet and baked them until soft and not liquidy, then blended them up to make the 15 oz of pumpkin puree needed.

(makes 12-13)

1 3/4 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp bicarb
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts
2 eggs
15 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla essence

Heat oven to 375F and prepare baking tin with liners (not necessary for silicone form). Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl with a fork. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and mix until just combined. Dollop into baking cups, and bake for 20-25 min until a skewer comes out clean.

Apple cake

The food insert from a copy of the Guardian from February had been lying around since then, unread. I have no cutoff for how old such things have to be before I will read them. I read it a week or two ago, while drinking tea and surveying the apples on the table, and came across this apple cake recipe, which seemed so serendipitous (and a little different from anything I've made before), that I had to try it.

(makes 1 large cake)

200 g dark muscovado sugar
200 g unsalted butter, soft (or use salted and skip the salt)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
150 g plain yoghurt
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
A good grating of nutmeg
4 apples (about 500 g)
2 tbsp demerara sugar

Butter and line a large (900 g) cake tin with baking paper. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the muscovado sugar and soft butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and yoghurt and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated.

Grate three unpeeled apples (about 375 g) and fold into the cake mixture.

Scrape into your prepared cake tin and smooth the top. Peel and slice the remaining apple and arrange on top of the cake. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake about 60 min, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.


My wholemeal flour was very coarse - this works well. Also, I was unable to resist throwing in some walnuts and raisins at the last minute before putting it in the oven, which I'd highly recommend - it introduces some interesting texture - otherwise the grated apple disappears into the cake - perhaps some diced apple would also add interest. It's dense and lovely though - cooks well but v moist.

Rye biscuits (småkager)

We visited Frilandsmuseet at Sorgenfri the other day, when S's mum was here. It was very nice for a warm day - it's an open-air museum with lots of old buildings from all over Denmark you can go in and around. It was Møllerlaug day, so the windmills and watermills were especially on show. A water mill from Ellested was running, milling flour, and they were giving away bags of flour (for a donation). It reminded me of the windmill in Bardwell, and also Preston Mill. Except they were milling rye! We took some home, and I have been experimenting a little. Some went into pizza dough (about 1/3 rye to 2/3 white wheat), which was quite nice (although maybe didn't rise that well). We took a recipe booklet from the mill, and a recipe for biscuits (småkager) caught my eye. I made some to take to Danish class on a day when I had to give a one-minute talk: I'd decided to talk about Frilandsmuseet.

150 g rugmel / rye flour
150 g hvedemel (wheat flour)
200 g smør (butter), chilled
125 g flormelis (icing sugar)
1 æg (egg)
1/4 tsp vanijepulver (vanilla powder)
25 g hakkede mandler (chopped almonds) (optional)

Rub the butter into the flour, then knead in the remaining ingredients to make a dough, mixing the almonds towards the end. Roll the dough out on clingfilm to make a 3 cm thick sausage (or two). Wrap each sausage in clingfilm and put in the freezer for about half an hour. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220C (200C fan), and prepare 2-3 baking sheets by lining with baking paper. When ready, take the sausage out of the freezer and slice into approx. 5 mm thick rounds. Place them on the baking trays (they will not spread so can be reasonably close together). Bake for 6-10 minutes, until just starting to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. They will crisp up as they cool.