AIR FRYER HERBY POTATOES and home made one-cal spray oil

When it was a really nice day recently we decided to abandon all plans for chores, gardening and DIY and have a late lunch bbq.

It being still only March we didn't quite feel like wheeling the gas bbq out of the barn and setting it all up which would have taken quite a while.  However, last year we bought a small electric bbq at a brocante for 8€ which has been a huge success so we used that instead.

We did some of our chicken, lemon and thyme kebabs (see here), a carrot and red cabbage coleslaw (see here) and some air fryer herby mini potatoes.  When the gas barbecue comes out for the year we will do our potatoes on that instead as the process is just the same (cooking the potatoes in a foil tray on the bbq) but on this occasion the air fryer came into its own and lunch was on the table (outdoors in the early spring sunshine) within half an hour.

Another thing I have started using recently is home made one-cal oil spray.  This is a tip from Nancy Birtwhistle and it works really well, makes spray oil without any additives cheaply and easily.  I bought a glass spray bottle from Amazon that has liquid measurements on the side and which makes the job of making the oil so easy.

We have found our tiny Instant Pot air fryer very useful for lots of things but wouldn't claim that we can cook everything in it.  We still use our main oven a lot.  I don't subscribe to the theory that if you have an air fryer you can do away with the oven any more than you could manage with just a microwave, or slow cooker.  I have found that different kitchen gadgets are ideal for different things but I certainly don't regret getting the air fryer.  I'm not sure I would attempt to bake a cake in it.  If there are two items that need cooking in the oven we would use that instead of the air fryer.  Horses for courses.

Do you have one and what do you use it for?

Some of the things we find it ideal for are:

Chicken fillets

Salmon fillets

Fish fillets

Sausages, bacon and black pudding

Croutons

Frozen oven chips or sauté potatoes

Baked potatoes

Baked apples 

Frozen croissants

Fish fingers

Roasted vegetables

Refreshing yesterday's baguette

Ingredients for the herby potatoes

2 handfuls of baby potatoes or any small, firm potato, washed and cut evenly to size.

spray oil

salt and pepper

dried herbs of your choice

Method

Parboil the potatoes for 5 minutes.  Drain and tip into the air fryer basket.

Spray with a few squirts of oil (or drizzle with sunflower or olive oil)  

Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle over a teaspoon or so of herbs to taste.

Shake the pan a few times then cook at 180C for 8-10 minutes until knife-tip tender.  Shake the pan a few times during the cooking time.

Serves 2.

To make the spray oil

50ml sunflower oil (or other oil of your choice)

15ml cooled boiled water from the kettled

5ml vodka

Measure the ingredients into your oil sprayer and give it a good shake before each use as the oil and water will separate.  Keep in a cool cupboard, not the fridge.

CELERIAC AND POTATO GRATIN

This is a very easy and tasty accompaniment to serve with any meat, chicken or casserole.  It’s fairly rich but a real treat.  I served mine with my version of coq au vin blanc (see here).

There are numerous recipes for it online and I adapted a Jamie Oliver recipe that you can see here because it looked simple.  I put the dish on the table for people to serve themselves as per Jamie's suggestion.  

It was absolutely delicious and there were plenty of leftovers which I reheated by covering with foil and baking at 180° fan for 15 minutes.

Ingredients 

4-6 medium potatoes 

half a large celeriac 

1 large onion 

2 cloves of garlic 

600ml double cream

75g cheddar cheese, grated

Method 

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°fan.

Peel and slice the potatoes into roughly 5mm slices. Put them into a large bowl of cold water to prevent discolouration.

Peel and slice the celeriac, garlic and onion.  Drain the potatoes and put everything into the bowl.  Add about half of the grated cheese to the bowl and mix everything together. 

Transfer the mixture into a gratin or ovenproof dish in layers and pour the cream over.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake for 50 minutes to one hour until the veg are soft (test with the tip of a knife) and the sauce bubbling.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley if you like before serving.

Serves 6-8 generous portions.

LEMON POSSET

We had dinner at a friend’s house one autumn evening last year and for dessert she served lemon posset, something I had never made or eaten before.  It was utterly divine and she served it in pretty stemmed champagne coupes.  

She and her husband are renovating one of those drop dead gorgeous French houses known as a "maison du maître" with large airy rooms, tall, draughty windows and high ceilings.  They still have plenty of work to do!  But the previous owner left behind a vast quantity of old furniture, linens, china and glassware, including the coupes.  Some of it was not to her taste but much of it was real treasure.

This is in sharp contrast to the unattractive furniture and other stuff that the owner of our first French house wanted to sell us.  We were mightily relieved to find it had all gone when we finally got the keys!  The difference is that our friend's house had been a well loved home whereas ours had been a holiday home for generations of a Parisian family who just descended on the place for six weeks every summer!  You can read a bit about that here.

Anyway, at the first opportunity, the next time we had guests for lunch, I decided to make lemon posset myself.  I served it in a hotchpotch of china cups and glasses and it went down a treat.  I adapted a Mary Berry recipe which was a doddle to make and I shall add it to my repertoire of favourite desserts.  It was luscious yet light and very lemony!  It's also ideal for a dinner party as it can be made the day before.

Ingredients

600ml double cream

15og caster sugar

3 lemons, zest and juice

a handful of fresh raspberries for decoration

strips of lemon zest for decoration (optional)

Method

Put the cream, sugar and lemon zest into a wide saucepan.  Bring to the boil over low heat and simmer gently for 3 minutes, stirring all the time.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool until lukewarm.

Stir the lemon juice into the cooled cream mixture and pour into 8 small ramekins, cups or glasses.

Chill in the fridge for at least two hours until set or overnight.

Just before serving, decorate with the fresh raspberries and strips of lemon zest.

Serves 8 portions.

CLEMEMTINE AND ALMOND CAKE

This is one of those cakes that I had the urge to make the minute I spotted the recipe which was in Dom's blog here.  I had made something similar before to a Michel Roux recipe which was a lovely dessert cake (see here) but this one sounded easier.  So, with a number of clementines in the fruit bowl I had all the ingredients needed and decided to give it a go.

Dom mentioned that it's originally a Nigella Lawson recipe so I googled it and it's from her book "How to Eat".  The only tricky bit is that the clementines should be boiled for one and a half hours.  Ah, I thought, I don’t have time for that…..I wonder if there’s another way.  

Sure enough, on Nigella's website (see here) it says that you can microwave them instead, so that’s what I did.  Nigella recommends cooking them in a covered dish with a vent in the lid so I used my lovely old Pearsons of Chesterfield stewpot.

This is a fabulous cake.  Beautifully moist with flecks of the clementine zest running through it and of course it’s gluten free.  It's very easy to make, keeps well, freezes well and makes a delicious dessert.

Ingredients

375g clementines

250g ground almonds

225g caster sugar

6 large eggs, lightly beaten

1tsp baking powder

Method 

Preheat the oven to 19°C / 170° fan / gas mk 5.  Butter and line the base of a 20cm springform tin.

Put the clementines into a dish with a lid that has a steam vent.  Add a little water and microwave on high , 800-900W, for 8-10 minutes, turning half way through until soft. Drain and allow to cool while preparing the other ingredients.

Cut each clementine in half and remove the stalk ends and any pips.  The easiest way to do this is to flatten out the halves of fruit and dig out the pips.

Put them all into a food processor and blitz briefly to a rough pulp.  Add all the other ingredients and process until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to the tin, level the top and tap on the worktop to dispel any trapped air.

Bake for 40 minutes until the cake passes the skewer test, covering loosely with foil after 20 minutes to prevent the top from scorching.

Remove from the oven and sit the tin on a rack until the cake is cool.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Cuts into 10-12 slices.

GLUTEN FREE MADEIRA CAKE (for GF trifle)

I offered to make two trifles for a Christmas party, one gluten free.

I rarely make my own cake for a trifle.  When in the UK I would use a shop bought Swiss roll filled with jam.  The red swirls always look nice on the sides of the bowl.  In France I would use a shop bought "quatre quarts" which is very similar to a Madeira cake, sliced and spread thinly with jam.  

My trifles are unashamedly old fashioned, containing raspberries or mixed berries, red jelly and Birds custard, topped with whipped cream and decorated with sprinkles, all of which are luckily gluten free.  You can see the recipe here.  Sometimes I pour a splash of sherry over the sponge before adding the fruit, but usually not if children will be eating it…..and children do seem to love a trifle!

"One I made earlier."

The usual sprinkles.

For my gluten free trifle this time I used a recipe for Madeira cake from the website "Coeliac by Design".  It could not have been easier to make and was also perfectly delicious just as cake.  I sampled a slice just to be sure before putting it in the trifle and gave the unused portion to the party host to put in her freezer for a future dessert.  Her husband is the "gluten free" person and with it being the party season I thought it might come in handy!

Interestingly….a Madeira cake does not contain any Madeira wine!  Historically it was served as a plain cake with a glass of the wine (which is similar to a sweet sherry) to sip with it.

Ingredients 

200g Doves Farm GF self raising flour

175g softened butter or baking spread

175g caster sugar

50g ground almonds

3 large eggs, beaten

zest of 1 lemon

Method

Put a paper liner into 900g loaf tin, or grease and line with baking paper.  Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4.

Put all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat well with an electric whisk until light and creamy.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and tap on the worktop a few times to settle the mixture and release any air bubbles.  Level the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until done.  Cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Cuts into 8-10 slices.

The author adds the note that this also makes an excellent cherry cake by adding 180g washed and halved cherries.  I would probably make sure they are dried and mixed with a little of the flour before adding to the mixture in an attempt to prevent them from sinking and might also add half a teaspoon of almond extract to turn it into a cherry and almond cake.

GLUTEN FREE LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Who doesn't love a lemon drizzle cake?

They are always immensely popular at cake stalls.

I made this gluten free version recently for a cake stall at a local village event and it sold really well.

The recipe comes from a handy little book called "200 gluten free recipes" published by Hamlyn.  It lists using brown rice flour but I used Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour with a little extra GF baking powder.

It was a simple, all-in-one kind of recipe, dead easy to make, and looked stunning.  I wouldn't normally include lemon zest in the drizzle, just lemon juice, but it looked great and was very lemony.  I don't often get to taste the cakes given for a cake stall but I was keen to try this one.  The recipe made a huge cake and with the lemon zest in the drizzle did not need any further adornment.  Definitely a keeper of a recipe and one to use again.

Ingredients

For the cake

250g butter, softened, or baking spread

250g caster sugar

250g gluten free self raising flour

3/4 tsp gluten free baking powder

4 eggs, beaten

1 lemon, zest and juice

For the topping

100g granulated sugar

2 lemons, zest and juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4.  Butter a large, 2lb/900g loaf tin or use a paper liner.

Place all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat together with a hand held electric whisk until well combined and fluffy.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the top.  Tap on the worktop a few times to release any trapped air.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown and firm.  Remove from the oven and prick all over with a skewer, cake tester or cocktail stick.

To make the drizzle mix the lemon zest, juice and sugar together in a small bowl.  Spoon the drizzle evenly over the cake and leave it to cool in the tin.

Cuts into 10-12 generous slices.

GLUTEN FREE BANANA AND WALNUT CAKE

In making cakes for a recent cake stall I took on the task of baking for people who like a slice of cake but need it to be gluten free.  This banana and walnut cake turned out really well using Doves Farm gluten free flour.

I didn't get to taste it but it smelled lovely when baked and it seemed nice and moist when I sliced it to serve to customers.  Sometimes gluten free cakes can seem a bit dry and crumbly.  Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour already contains xantham gum, something which helps to avoid the sandy, crumbly texture.

I do worry a bit when making gluten free cakes.  Being a vegan seems to me to be a voluntary lifestyle choice but requiring a gluten free diet is a serious health issue and it only takes a small amount of contamination to make people quite poorly.  Consequently I always bake gluten free cakes using a brand new pack of butter and sugar, to make sure there has been no accidental dipping of a spoon used for ordinary flour into an opened pack.  I also made sure there were separate knives and tongs for serving the gluten free and the vegan cakes, something that can be easily overlooked and cause problems.

It was an easy cake to make and it sold well.  I adapted a recipe on the website "Coeliac by Design".

Ingredients

For the cake

140g butter, softened, or baking spread

140g caster sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, beaten

140g gluten free self raising flour

2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

50g chopped walnuts

For the topping

1 tblsp demerara sugar

banana chips or walnut halves to decorate

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk4.  Butter and line a 2lb/900g loaf tin or use a paper liner.

Put all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat together with a hand held electric mixer until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top.  Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and decorate with the walnut halves or banana chips.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until done.  Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully lifting out (GF cakes can be slightly fragile) onto a cooling rack.

Cuts into 8-10 slices.

SALMON WITH BRAISED CABBAGE AND BACON

The weather has cooled down a lot and although there are some warmer days forecast it definitely feels autumnal now and we feel more like "proper cooking" as opposed to barbecues, quiches and salads.

This is a version of something I cooked a few years ago to a much more involved recipe.  

The sauce is one we make regularly which also works well with chicken or pork.  It’s a method we call "camp cooking" as that’s how we used to cook ourselves a decent dinner while on holiday - chicken in a creamy sauce done in a frying pan, having brought a separate pan of potatoes up to the boil and left to cook by themselves.  It’s amazing what you can do with a one burner camping stove with a little imagination.

For this version, the cabbage was cooked until just done then stirred through the hot sauce.  The salmon fillets were cooked plain and simple in the air fryer, or you could oven bake or fry them.  I added some courgette just because we have so many to use up but you could leave that out.  We had ours with plain boiled potatoes as the dish is already very rich - and delicious!

Ingredients 

half a small hard white cabbage, roughly shredded

1 small courgette, diced (optional)

a splash of vegetable oil

1 onion or shallot, chopped

a small pack (125g) lardons (we prefer smoked)

2-3 tblsp full fat crème fraîche

2 small salmon fillets

a few snipped chives

Method

Cook the shredded cabbage in boiling water until just tender.  Drain and set aside.

Cook the salmon fillets separately using an air fryer or by baking in the oven or in a frying pan.  They will  take 12-15 minutes.  Keep your eye on them as it’s easy to overcook and they’re best if just done and flaky.

In a deep sauté pan or large frying pan heat a splash of oil and add the onion, courgette and lardons.  Cook on medium heat until the onion and courgette are just tender.

Add the crème fraîche a spoonful at a time, stirring on low heat, until you have plenty of sauce.  Season with black pepper but very little salt.  Tip the drained cabbage into the pan and stir through the sauce.

Place the salmon on the bed of cabbage, sprinkled with snipped chives.  Serve with plain potatoes or pasta.

Serves 2.

APPLE CHUTNEY

Every year our apples fall from the tree too soon, heaps of them.  Most are unusable due to insect damage and end up in the compost but most years I manage to salvage some.  This year I decided to make some chutney.

I adapted a recipe on the Good Food website to what I had in stock, using Melfor vinegar instead of cider vinegar, demerara sugar instead of light muscovado and a mixture of raisins and sultanas.  You could also add other spices than just ginger: maybe cinnamon or even curry powder.

Peeling and chopping so many apples is not my favourite pastime so I've given it two stars for the amount of tedious work but it's a delicious chutney.  It goes well with our new favourite French cheese - Laguiole, which is not dissimilar to a strong cheddar and can usually be found amongst the Cantal cheeses as it’s from the same region of France.  

I'm sure it would go equally well with pork pie, sausage rolls and cold meats.

It’s ready for eating straight away but can be left to "mature" for a few weeks.

There was such a huge quantity of ingredients that I had to cook mine in two separate pans, dividing them equally between the two.  Interestingly, one lot cooked quicker than the other, the wider, flatter pan finishing first by several minutes!

I remembered a tip from, I think, a James Martin recipe on how to tell if your chutney is ready.  It should be nice and thick and when you drag your spoon through it there should be a clear trail which only fills with liquid very slowly.  If it refills immediately cook for longer, in five minutes intervals.

At the time of writing you can see the original recipe here.  The comments suggest it’s a very popular and successful recipe and there are interesting tips and ideas.

Ingredients 

1.5 kg cooking apples (prepared weight) I had about 1.7kg.

750g demerara sugar

500g mixed raisins and sultanas

2 medium white onions

2tsp mustard seeds

2tsp ground ginger

1tsp salt

700ml Melfor or cider vinegar 

Method

Put all of the ingredients into a large saucepan (or divide equally between two), bring to the boil gently then simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until thick and ready (see picture above).  Stir frequently and adjust the heat so that that the chutney doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan.

While the chutney is cooking sterilise eight suitable jars by washing in hot soapy water.  Rinse well and put jars and lids on a baking sheet in the oven set at 140°C for 20 minutes.

Allow the chutney to cool then fill your jars and seal tightly.  Once opened they should be kept in the fridge.

Makes 6-8 jars of chutney.

PLUM (OR NECTARINE) TART (can be gluten free)

The nectarine version.

The recipe for this popped up in my FB feed and comes from one of Nancy Birtwhistle's books, the one about gardening.  

The plum version before baking.

There is no pastry involved so some would ask - how can it be a tart?   I spent a happy few minutes looking up the definitions of cake, tart, torte and gateau and came to the conclusion that although it was definitely not a cake, a flan or a pie I still had no idea!  In any case it went down well for dessert at a BBQ one very hot June evening.

The plum version when cooked.

The first time I made this it was definitely a bit overdone - the plums looked a bit crozzled and it was a devil to get out of the tin.  Only when I made it the second time did I realise that I had baked the first one at 160° fan instead of 160° C.  A casualty of the debilitating heat - it had reached 39°C during the day and my concentration withers exponentially over 30°C!

The nectarine version - much less crozzled.

For the second time I used nectarines, didn't cram quite as much fruit in, and kept the slices away from the sides of the tin, which definitely made it easier to turn out, baked it at the right temperature and kept my eye on it.  With its apricot glaze it had that patisserie glamour.  It tasted great too.

Stoning the fruit can be a bit fiddly.  An old fashioned grapefruit knife came in handy for getting the stone out of some of the firmer fruits.  Changing the ordinary flour for gluten free flour (e.g. Doves Farm) will make it a gluten free dessert and a handy recipe to have instead of pavlova.

Ingredients

For the cake base

zest of 1 lemon

2 tsp lemon juice

30ml whole milk

125g softened butter or baking spread (I used Le Fleurier)

125g caster sugar

1 egg

125g plain flour or gluten free flour

125g ground almonds (or half and half ground almonds and ground rice)

For the topping/fruit

10-12 ripe plums or 3 large nectarines

2 tblsp apricot jam

Method

Butter the base and sides of a 23cm loose bottomed tart tin.

Put the milk and lemon juice into a small bowl or jug, mix together and set aside

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, lemon zest and sugar.  Add the egg and beat well until well combined.

Fold in the ground almonds (or almonds and rice), then the flour followed by the thickened milk.

The mixture will be quite thick so transfer it to the prepared tin and level with the back of a spoon or small palette knife.  Smooth the surface as much as possible then put the tin in the freezer while you prepare the fruit.

Cut each plum or nectarine in half and remove the stone.  Cut into quarters and slice thinly.  Plums  should make 8 slices each, nectarines 12 slices.

Preheat the oven to 160°C / 140° fan / gas mk3.  

Remove the tart case from the freezer and arrange the slices of fruit neatly in circles on top of the cake base.

Stand the tart tin on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 1 hour.  The fruit should be tender and the cake base lightly golden and cooked.

Remove from the oven to cool slightly.  Remove the tart from the tin and place on a serving plate.

To make the glaze, warm the apricot jam in a saucepan with 1 tblsp water.  Brush over the fruit.

Serves 8-10.

This is my gluten free version, made with apricots.  The cake base is as per the recipe above but using half and half ground almonds and ground rice, plus gluten free flour.

RHUBARB FOOL

This gorgeous old fashioned dessert has a wow factor well beyond its simplicity.

The recipe has its origins in a book by Simon Hopkinson called "roast chicken and other stories" and I found it on a blog called "The Rhubarb Fool". 

The simplicity lies in the cooking of the rhubarb which is just baked in the oven with sugar until tender and processed in a food processor to a slightly lumpy purée. This is swirled into softly whipped double cream to give a marbled effect rather than blended to a homogenous pink.

We were having six guests for dinner on a June evening and it was Nick's idea after he spotted red rhubarb in a local supermarket.  I normally balk at the price of shop bought rhubarb but it does look so pretty for a special occasion.  This rhubarb was mostly a deep red with a little green on the stems which produced a very soft pink colour when cooked.  There was plenty of it so I put a layer in the bottom of each glass before topping with the actual fool mixture.

I happened to have some vanilla sugar on the go, long forgotten at the back of the cupboard from the last time I used an actual vanilla pod, which was a few years ago.  Otherwise I might have stirred a teaspoon of vanilla extract into the rhubarb before baking, or might have used plain caster sugar.

The recipe suggests swirling the reserved juice into the cream along with the purée but instead I served it separately as I was also making a chocolate torte and thought it would also be nice drizzled over that.

I decorated each one with a tiny sprig of mint.

Ingredients 

1.3 kg rhubarb 

500ml double cream

350g vanilla sugar or caster sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange (optional)

small sprigs of mint for decoration (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C / 170° fan / gas mk 5.

Wipe, trim and roughly chop the rhubarb.

Tip it into a baking dish or roasting tin, spreading out into an even layer.  Sprinkle over the sugar and orange zest and stir in.  Do not add any water and cover with foil so that it bakes and does not roast or become brown.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until soft and tender.  Drain through a colander over a jug to retain the juice.

Allow to cool before transferring to a food processor and blend to a slightly lumpy purée.

In a large bowl, whip the cream until softly thick, i.e. not stiff but holds its shape.

Spoon a layer of puréed rhubarb into the bottom of eight glass dishes.  Fold the remaining purée into the whipped cream to give a marbled swirl effect and divide this between the dishes.

Decorate with a small sprig of mint (optional) and chill on a tray in the fridge for at least two hours or until needed.  Serve the reserved juice alongside.

Serves 8

CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND CAKE gluten free

I recently needed a gluten free dessert recipe and none of the ones I had used before seemed to be just right.  So I did a bit of internet research and stumbled across this recipe for a flourless chocolate cake.  It had all the usual ingredients you would expect but also mascarpone cheese and as it happened I had a tub of it in the fridge.  (A random purchase from when I thought "let's have tiramisu this weekend" but never got around to it.)

It was very easy to make but not so easy to get out of the tin!  The instructions suggest it can be served warm or cold and to leave in the tin to cool for 30-40 minutes.  I misinterpreted this and tried to remove it from the tin at this point when the cake was still slightly warm.  It nearly disintegrated but luckily I managed to stick it back together on the cake stand with just an ever so slightly wonky appearance!

 Lesson learned!  If I wanted to serve it warm as a dessert I would bake it in something that it can be served in at the table and slice it straight from the dish.  To get it onto a cake stand I would let it go completely cold before I tried to move it, which is clearly what I was supposed to do!!

It was however, delicious, very brownie-like and extremely rich, which is what you would expect with all that chocolate, butter and cream cheese in it!  I served it in small slices with a poached pear alongside (see recipe here).  It went down very well with our guests and I would definitely make it again. 

Other similar cakes I have written about before include the chocolate amaretti cake, the flourless chocolate torte,  chocolate and chestnut fondant and the gluten free black forest cake .  Take your pick, they are all worth the effort (but not all of them are gluten free, check the recipe).

Update…….

I also noticed that Nigella Lawson made a very similar cake which contains amaretto during the recent repeat of her series "At my Table".  Yum!! The recipe is available online on the BBC Food website.  I shall try it myself and report back!  

Ingredients

200g dark cooking chocolate (It doesn't need to have a high percentage of cocoa.  I used SuperU own brand cooking chocolate.  Cadbury's Bournville would work well.)

200g butter

3 eggs

175g golden caster sugar

100g mascarpone cheese (or soft cheese)

¼ tsp vanilla extract

100g ground almonds

30g cocoa powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4.  Line the base of a 20cm springform tin with baking paper.

Chop the chocolate and butter into cubes and melt using a bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Leave to cool slightly.

Put the eggs and sugar into a large bowl and, using an electric hand whisk or stand mixer, whisk for several minutes until thick and creamy.  Whisk in the mascarpone and vanilla until evenly combined.

Fold in the melted chocolate mixture until everything is an even colour.  Fold in the ground almonds then sift in the cocoa powder and a pinch of salt and fold in.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.  Place it on a baking tray and bake for 30-40 minutes.  The top will crack and the cake will puff up, but bake until there is not too much of a wobble in the middle.  (Mine took an extra five minutes.)  It will sink back down but the cracks will remain.

Remove from the oven an allow to cool.  Serve warm as a pudding or cold as a cake (see my notes in text).

You can, if you wish, dust it with more sifted cocoa powder before serving which would hide the cracks a bit.  I found it chocolatey enough without this and nobody seemed to mind the cracks!

Cuts into 10 slices at least as it is very rich.

PARKIN (can be gluten free)

 

Years ago I made Parkin using oatmeal for a Bonfire Night party and was disappointed with the result.  There was something slightly too gritty and serious about it - that's the best way I can describe it - not sweet or sticky enough.  I can't remember which recipe I used but do remember thinking that I probably wouldn't bother making any again!

The Parkin that my mum used to make every year for Bonfire Night wasn't really Parkin at all, it was just a plain but utterly delicious tray of ginger cake made to the Be-Ro book recipe.  You can read about that here.

Anyway, having been asked to make some for another Bonfire Night gathering I wondered what to do.  I have no idea if you can buy oatmeal as such in France so I set about finding an alternative recipe that was almost authentic but also like the sticky ginger cake we all love.  I came across one on the Sainsbury's Magazine website.

It was stunningly good.  Just like proper Parkin without the grit and with all the stickiness of a perfect ginger cake.  You can (for now) see the recipe here.  (These links do have a habit of disappearing.)

Ingredients

175g plain flour (gluten free flour also works)

125g porridge oats

200g caster sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 balls preserved ginger, finely chopped (said to be optional in the original website but it's well worth it) or use 1 extra tsp ground ginger and 1 tsp mixed spice.  My favourite way to chop preserved ginger without becoming extremely sticky is with a small fork and a small sharp knife on a small chopping board.

200ml semi-skimmed milk

110g butter

2 tbslp golden syrup (about 40g)

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C / 130° fan / gas mk 2.  Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin.

In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.

Put the milk, butter and golden syrup into a small pan and heat gently until the butter has melted.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and beat with a whisk.  Add and whisk in the preserved ginger.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 45 minutes.

Cool in the tin and then cut into 16 squares.  It keeps well for several days and if anything improves with keeping.  Remember to line your tin or box for storing it with baking paper not foil as apparently (according to the website) it will stick to foil.

Cuts into 16 generous portions.

ROASTED COD WITH POTATOES AND TOMATOES

The first time we had this dish it was served to us by friends at least twenty years ago.  The lady of the house (who does all their cooking)  (he does all the ironing)  gave me the recipe.  She actually photocopied the page from the recipe book that it came from, which included notes in pencil on how she had tweaked it.

For quite a few years I cooked it regularly.  It's a great dish to serve to friends and family and also easy to scale down for dinner for two.  Then, I totally forgot about it and I didn't make it all for years.  In fact if I had remembered it I would have had no idea what became of the recipe.

Until last month when we were ferreting about in the loft for the Christmas decorations.  Not that we have an actual loft, living in a dormer bungalow, it's just a triangular shaped space under the roof running the length of the house.  We've still managed to cram it with plenty of STUFF.

Crouching awkwardly in the tiny space Nick passed me a box of stuff that wasn't Christmas decorations but long lost paperwork.  Including my ring binder full of much loved saved recipes from magazines, friends and internet.  I spent a happy half hour browsing through the folder and my eyes fell upon this long forgotten recipe.  I couldn't wait to make it again.

The recipe originates from an old Ainsley Harriot cook book but I don't remember which one.  It's called "French style roasted cod" and is basically cod fillets baked on top of a layer of roasted potatoes.

I remembered that it was a good idea to make sure the potatoes were completely cooked before adding the cod as it would be easy to overcook the fish, which takes hardly any time at all.  You end up with succulent fish, lovely garlicky potatoes and tangy, herby tomatoes.  

It was totally delicious, just as I remembered it.  The instructions written in pencil by my friend on the recipe said "serve with green beans" - very French and oh-la-la!  We had ours with broccoli and carrots!

Looking back through some of my photos pre-edited in the folder marked "blog" I found this one.  A bit of detective work showed that I made this dish in December 2014 using hake fillets instead of cod.  That would have been in my French kitchen, suggesting that the elusive ring binder of recipes must have gone with us to France and since been repatriated, only to end up forgotten in the loft!  Zut alors!

Ingredients

450g floury potatoes* or enough to cover your dish in a single layer when peeled and cut into medium sized chunks.   (I used Maris Piper) 

1 bulb garlic

a handful of large cherry tomatoes, halved

4 sprigs rosemary

3 tblsp olive oil

4 thick boneless cod fillets (or suitable white fish)

4 tblsp dry white wine

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C / 200 fan / gas mk 7.

Cook the chunks of potato in a pan of boiling salted water until just tender.  Drain and tip into an ovenproof baking dish.

Tuck the cloves from the bulb of garlic in between the potatoes (I peeled mine as I wasn't sure our guests would like them unpeeled).  Scatter the tomatoes over the top and add the rosemary.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Roast in the oven for 25 minutes until the potatoes are turning golden brown.

Remove from the oven and place the cod fillets on top of the potatoes.  Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and roast for another 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and splash over the wine.  Roast for a further 7 minutes until the fish is just cooked and tender.  Check after 5 minutes to avoid over cooking the fish.

Serve immediately with green veg of your choice.

* the hake version shown in the last picture was made in France where I have yet to find floury potatoes.  They mostly seem to be waxy ones with a deeper, creamy colour.  It looks like that time I made it with the small, salad potatoes that we often buy in France, halved.

Serves 4.

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For dessert we had this.  Apricot brioche pudding, another dish I hadn't done for years.  You can read about it here.  This time I tucked some small nuggets of marzipan in with the apricots.  Yum!

GLUTEN FREE DATE AND WALNUT CAKE

Some time ago I had a request for a gluten free cake of my choice.  There is a vast number of recipes for gluten free cakes on the internet, many of them being quite exotic and requiring special ingredients that as a regular baker I would not use again, if ever.  But I got the feeling that the person that requested this cake would probably welcome a GF version of an old favourite that she used to eat before developing her intolerance to gluten.  She's a date and walnut loaf kind of person, I thought.

I already had a bag of Doves Farm gluten free white self raising flour so I looked first at the Doves Farm website.  There spotted a recipe for a wholemeal date and walnut cake using ordinary (not GF) wholemeal flour.  You can see it here.

I decided to adapt the recipe using the GF flour that I had in stock, to make it in a round tin not as a loaf, and decorate it to glam it up a bit.  I added a cream cheese icing and some walnuts for decoration and it looked the bees knees!  (It would also have been good with a butter icing topping.)

Sadly I did not get to taste it!  However, I'm giving the recipe here because the lady concerned was thrilled with the cake, declared it to be moist and delicious and a real treat.  (Also so that I don't forget about the recipe altogether!)  One day I will make it again using just ordinary self raising or wholemeal flour as per the recipe - I shall add it to my "tweaking list" for future consideration!

Ingredients

For the cake

200g chopped dates

150ml water

½ tsp bicarb

3 eggs

100g soft light brown sugar

100g sunflower oil

200g gluten free white self raising flour

50g chopped walnuts less 1 tblsp

For the topping*

150g full fat cream cheese

75g icing sugar

60ml double cream

the reserved tblsp of chopped walnuts (or walnut halves)

Method

Put the chopped dates into a small saucepan with the water and bring to the boil slowly.  Remove from the heat, stir in the bicarb and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160° fan / gas mk 4.  Grease and line the base of a 20cm round springform cake tin.

Put the eggs and sugar into a large bowl and using an electric whisk beat until light and airy.  Add the oil and flour and mix together until well combined.

Add the chopped nuts less one tablespoon, plus the prepared dates and mix well.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and level the top.

Bake for 55-60 minutes until done.  Cool in the tin for 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

While the cake is baking, make the cream cheese icing by beating the cream until fairly thick, then sift in the icing sugar, add the cream cheese and beat together until smooth.

When the cake is completely cold, spread the icing over the top and decorate with the chopped nuts, or walnut halves, or both.  Sift over a dusting of icing sugar before serving if you like.

Cuts into 8-10 slices.

*If you prefer make a half quantity of butter icing for the topping, using 75g butter and 150g icing sugar.