Just wanted to say thank-you to FrauJ and Joey - SLOC and I are loving the pfeffernuesse and the spicy cheese biscuits.

(Maybe I made the pfeffernuesse too small because I halved the quantities and still made 53! I was a little concerned at first how we're going to eat them all, but on consideration I don't think it's going to be a problem...)

Just wondering if anyone has made anything from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookery book. I got it for Christmas and thought the pictures were lovely but now looking at the detail I'm a bit scared by the recipes -- 3oz butter to 10oz sugar?????! Strawberry Daquiri Cupcakes look very alluring!

My sister uses this a lot and she bakes things for charity events and ordered goods (birthdays and so on).

She says that if she gives out samples people are amazed by the taste, saying they're like nothing they've tasted before, adn she's come to the conclusion that it's all that sugar! Proportions in the UK are much, much lower, so of course they do taste different to what we're used to.

Barefoot Contessa also uses huge amounts of sugar (and unneccessary cream!) in things, too, so I guess it's an American thing?

Dawn (sister) does well with Hummingbird recipes, but I find them way too sweet for my taste.

Soda Bread

450g plain flour
2 tsps salt
1 tsp bicarb
150mls soured cream (or youhurt)
150mls water

Oven GM 7/425/220

Mix dry ingredients
Mix cream/yoghurt together
Add to dry ingredients
Can add a little bit more water if needed
Knead lightly into a round to make the surface smooth
Cut top pf loaf in desired pattern
Bake in top half of oven for 30 mins (might need to cover if crust darkens too much)
Cool for 15 mins before eating

* I also put some boiling water into a loaf tin on the bottom of the oven, to help crisp up the crust.

[quote="julieanne1811"]My sister uses this a lot and she bakes things for charity events and ordered goods (birthdays and so on).

She says that if she gives out samples people are amazed by the taste, saying they're like nothing they've tasted before, adn she's come to the conclusion that it's all that sugar! Proportions in the UK are much, much lower, so of course they do taste different to what we're used to.


Thanks for the tip. I've just got round to trying the basic cake recipe and the response to the plain cakes is endearingly Problem for the Chalet School: "It tastes like cake from a shop," wailed my son in horror!

However, I have now tried filling them with a bit of strawberry jam and low fat cream cheese mixed with icing sugar and vanilla (like Cherub Cakes!) and they were delicious; much nicer than my usual butter rich recipe when given the same treatment. My cakes are nicer on their own though.

Just heard back from daughter and the Joan cakes sold out in moments at the charity sale this morning. Thanks to the lack of butter they were so much cheaper to make than my normal ones!

As served at the Spring Gather 2012:

Persian Onion Soup

Serves 4 people as a starter

4 large onions
2 tbsps olive oil
1 heaped tsp. turmeric
1 heaped tsp. fenugreek
1 tsp. dried mint (actually I used fresh and added it towards the end)
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, homemade preferably
1 cinnamon stick
juice of 1/2 lemon
sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Peel the onions and slice them thinly. You want long, thing bits. Heat the oil in a large pan and sweat the onions with sea salt and black pepper. Cover them with a lid and cook gently for at least 15 minutes.

2. Add the turmeric, fenugreek and mint and cook for another few minutes, without the lid.

3. Add the stock and the cinnamon stick, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the soup for about 20 minutes.

4. Add the juice of half a lemon and then taste for seasoning. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving (or leave it there for decoration).

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"[Reprint means] word for word, comma for comma, not a mutilated updated version revised to take account of current fads and vocabulary." Antonia Forest

I hope this isn't already here, but I couldn't face reading about so much chocolate and sugar to check more than a few pages.

It is also most Un Chalet like, being low fat, so it won't compare to some of the hugely chocolatey recipes I have read so far, however for a diet food it is quite nice I think. I've been eating loads of this and still lost weight so far, so it might please some other dieting chocolate cake addicts on CBB. It works well eaten as a dessert with raspberries/ Strawberries or with a Muller Light etc. It is a bit more like a brownie than cake perhaps sometimes, but it satisfies chocolate cravings!

For non Slimming world folk, you can have 15 syns a day, which are things like crisps chocolate, butter etc, so in theory I could eat half the cake below every day and still have some syns to spare.


The original recipe is here :

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-d ... ipe=523325


It doesn't keep well at all, and dries quite quickly, so would recomend making it and eating straight away. I've found it nicer with the amendment below. I usually make half this, since it is then only 10 syns for the cake under Slimming World Extra Easy.

Ingredients

100g All bran cereal (16 syns)

6fl oz boiling water

4 medium eggs

4 tbs drinking chocolate or cocoa powder (4 syns) Thus varies - 1 to 2 syns per tablespoon depending on cocoa powder. Actually also tasty with less cocoa if you want fewer syns/ calories)

24 tsp splenda / sugar based sweetener (Not other artificical sweeteners, or it will taste quite chemically)

Directions

Pour boiling water over the all bran in a large bowl and let it soak through. This is important. You are basically wanting All Bran to go back to bran mush. It's better not to be too liquid, but also you don't want any buts of hard all bran left.

After it has soaked to mush, mix thoroughly.

Add eggs (I whisk them separately first but it doesn't make much different), cocoa powder and splenda and beat the mixture until it's all combined.

Pour into a plastic bowl. You can use a pyrex one, but I find a microwaveable plastoc bowl works better.

The size and shape of the bowl affects the cooking time and fluffiness of the cake. It does rise so you don't want it right to the top if the bowl, but it doesn't rise much so bear that in mind in bowl choice!

Microwave on high for 6 minutes. I start checking it at about 5 minutes, and sometimes find 7 to 8 minutes better, but it varies with the bowl shape and size.

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'An adventure was one thing. But an adventure without something to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all'
Enid Blyton, The Valley of Adventure

fraujackson asked me to post this here, It's from comparethemarmite.com.

Marmite and Cheddar Scones

Ingredients
225g of self raising flour
Pinch of salt
55g of butter
25g of grated mature cheddar cheese
150ml of whole milk
4tsp of Marmite

In a large bowl add the flour, salt and butter. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the cheddar cheese.

In a separate container, mix the Marmite with the milk. Make a small well in the centre of the breadcrumbs and mix in the milk and Marmite gradually with a knife until you have a soft dough.( only use enough of the mix to get the required consistency). Then place on a floured board and knead , pat down with your hands until the dough is 2cm thick. Using a 5cm pastry cutter, cut the dough and then place onto a lightly floured baking tray (plain flour). The mixture should make around 8 scones.

Lightly dust the scones with plain flour and bake at 200ºc for around 20mins or until cooked and golden.

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I am an optimist. The glass isn't half full or half empty: it has liquid in it, so the question is, what kind of liquid, and what can be done with it?

NB you need to start this the day before you want to have it. The 'I' in the recipe is not me, but a friend who gave me the recipe after I'd had it at her house.

Forgotten pudding
(this makes enough for six - I tend to scale it down and also cut down the sugar!)

6 egg whites
half teaspoon salt
250g caster sugar
half teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250ml double cream
4 passionfruit (kiwis are just as good)
175g blackberries or other berries
175g strawberries quartered

1. Preheat oven 220 degrees C
2. Whisk egg whites and salt to peaks
3. Add sugar, cream of tartar and vanilla
4. Grease Swiss roll tin or I use a deep round tart dish which I can serve it in
5. Spread mixture evenly and put in oven
6. Switch off oven immediately and leave overnight without opening door or looking at it.
7. Whip cream and spread over marshmallow mix.
8. Spread passionfruit pips and pulp over cream and arrange berries on top.
9. Enjoy

*this arising from a post in Rose Garden asking about using up egg whites*

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to be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
e.e.cummings
http://stitchwords.blogspot.co.uk

Sounds similar to pavlova, Abbeybufo, which is my never-fail pudding. If it cracks you pile fruit and cream on top, and if it falls apart, just call it Eton Mess.

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http://nicolaslade.wordpress.com/

No, Nicky - it's much more marshmallow-like not pavlova/meringue texture at all.

_________________
to be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
e.e.cummings
http://stitchwords.blogspot.co.uk

Polish Cheesecake a la Nigella

The ultimate cheesecake - very dense and horribly calorific. You can only eat a small amount of this at a time, but there is nothing stopping you going back later and having some more. Unlike British cheesecakes, this is baked and has no topping on it. And after you taste it, you will wonder who had the bright idea of putting cream and fruit on something that is meant to be rich and heavy.

You need a tin about 12 inches by ten inches and it has to be about 2 inches deep. I use a roasting tin, lined with a double layer of foil.

Base
225 g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
50 g castor sugar
25g butter
1 egg
50ml milk

Rub the butter into the flour, then stir in the baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and bring into a ball. Do not roll out in the traditional way - just put the mixture into the baking tray and press out with your hands until the whole surface of the tin is covered. If you can manage to get a wee ledge going round the sides as well, that's even better. Don't worry if it is uneven, because nobody is going to see it, and really the pastry is only there to give a solid base for the cheesecake. In fact, if you wanted to used ready made shortcrust pastry, then feel free. Pop into fridge to chill while you get on with the filling.

Filling:
725 curd cheese. After a great deal of trial, I've found that the best cheese to use is 3 large tubs of cottage cheese and then make up the difference in wieght after you've got rid of all the water with marscapone. Tip the cottage cheese into a muslin bag (a jelly bag is great for this, but if you dno't have one, then a clean j-cloth works) and then squeeze to expell all the liquid. Add marscapone to make up the final weight.
150 castor sugar (I use sugar that I've stored a vanilla pod in for that extra hit of vanilla)
4 eggs, separated
50g cornflour
45 ml lemon juice (I like to put in the grated zest of 1 lemon as well)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
250ml double cream, softly whipped.
Some people like to add a handful of sultanas to the mixture at the end - it is entirely optional. I can't stand dried fruit, so my cheesecakes are unadulterated!

Heat the oven to 170/gas mark 3.

(It's easiest if you use a mixer for this recipe, but perfectly possible to make by hand)_
Beat the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage and then put to one side.

Put the cheeses into a clean bowl and mix well.
Beat in the sugar.
With the mixer running at medium speed, add the egg yolks, then the cornflour, lemon juice (and zest, if using), vanilla extract and salt.
Slow mixer speed down and fold in the whipped cream.
Add a couple of heaped tablespoons of the whipped egg whites and beat in well at medium speed.
Fold in the rest of the egg whites at a low speed in about 3 or 4 batches.
Finally, add the sultanas, if using. You might want to do this by hand.

Pour the mixture into the baking tin and bake for 1 hour. It should be set on top and slightly scorched, even if it doesn't feel completely cooked all the way through. Do not worry, for all will be well. The cheesecake will rise during the cooking process, and then collapse down on itself. Panic not, for this too is normal! Some cracks may also develop - tell yourself this is the sign of a good cheesecake.

Do not attempt to remove the cheescake from its tin - it will not thank you for this and may even take revenge by collapsing all over your kitchen floor. Beleive me, it is too good to be wasted on the dog, whose digestive system will not thank you anyway, and may indeed wreak horrible revenge. Instead, put the tin on a wire rack and leave to cool. When completely cold, cover with a clean tea towel (Cheesecakes like to be able to breathe) and put the whole tin in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.

When you want to eat some of your masterpiece, cut the slices while it is still chilled, and then let them warm up to room temperature. And enjoy!

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Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on earth. Mark Twain

Wow! Thanks for posting this Claire. Er - how did Nigella get into the act? It's what I know as New York Cheesecake. Wonderful stuff.

Just one question - why cottage rather than curd cheese? Or a low fat cream cheese? Surely the cottage cheese stays a bit bitty? I tend to use either of the others, or some sort of quark. In the CR it's easy because they have tvaroh which is much used over there for baking and cooking, in both hard and soft forms.

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Cestina's dolls houses - "But there's never a rose like you..."

Thank you, Claire, it looks wonderful.

Is there a particular reason why drained cottage cheese is better than Quark? I can get the latter at Sainsbury's and the only cottage cheese they sell tends to have bits in it - chives or pineapple or something.

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The Chalet School has done it again!

My website - Joyful Jewellery

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[url=http://joyful-jewellery.myshopify.com/blogs/news/79806723-christmas-2015New blog post 28th November[/url]

Re the cottage cheese rather than curd - I've experimented with various types of cheese, and this is the one that comes closest to the authentic texture of proper Polish cheescake that I remember from my childhood, when there was tiny little Polish shop in Barony Street, Edinburgh where you went to order them. They were baked down in Manchester to order and then driven up. But any curd cheese will work. The cottage cheese isn't bitty once you've squeezed all the liquid out and then beaten it up.

As for New York cheesecake - well, all I can think of is that they had a large migrant community from Eastern Europe. But this is the recipe that comes closest to my memory of a proper Polish cheesecake and it certainly brought tears to my Dad's eyes when he tasted it, which was praise indeed.

PS - Polish deli in Barony Street long gone. But it was the place to get news of what was happening during the Solidarity uprising, when information was being highly censored.

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Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on earth. Mark Twain

Thanks, Claire! I definitely want to try it so I'll have to see if I can get unflavoured cottage cheese.

_________________
The Chalet School has done it again!

My website - Joyful Jewellery

Joyful Jewellery on Facebook

[url=http://joyful-jewellery.myshopify.com/blogs/news/79806723-christmas-2015New blog post 28th November[/url]

Basic Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients
400g (14oz) dark or milk chocolate (I use one bar of each, Aldi 99p)
397g can condensed milk
25g (1oz) butter
100g (3½oz) icing sugar
55g (2oz) roasted chopped nuts (optional)
Method
Chop the chocolate into small chunks and place in a non-stick saucepan with the condensed milk and butter, heat very gently, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively place these ingredients into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 10-20 second bursts, stirring frequently until the mixture is silky smooth).
Beat the icing sugar into the mixture until combined thoroughly. Press the fudge into a 18cm (7in) square tin, smooth over the top and press the nuts into the surface, if using.
Chill in the fridge for 1 hour until set, cut into squares.

Coffee Fudge
400 grams white chocolate (the 99pence bars from Aldi, excellent quality)
25grams butter
397gram tin condensed milk
100 gram dark muscovado sugar (I used a little under that as I added a couple of spoons of vanilla sugar)
3 generous teaspoons Camp Coffee Essence

I made it the same way as the chocolate fudge. The dark sugar and the coffee essence give a lovely colour. It doesn't set quite as hard as the chocolate fudge and the brown sugar stays a little grainy but that doesn't matter, it's excellent though hard to extract from the baking tray. Probably lining the tray with foil would help to get it out in neat squares.

For the salted caramel version take the basic chocolate recipe but use caramel condensed milk instead of the ordinary Carnation milk, salted butter, and about a quarter of a teaspoon of salt - but go easy on the salt on the first batch until you work out how much you like. I guarantee you will make it again!

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Cestina's dolls houses - "But there's never a rose like you..."

Does anyone know if a recipe demands cornflour and the supermarkets in their infinite wisdom have decided not to sell any, would it wreck matters if I just put in extra normal flour instead?

I would say it depends on what the recipe is - I use cornflour lots but that's because I can't have wheat. Possibly look at the recipe and see where and when it's added (ie is it added to the same part as the flour is - eg flour for the base of a lemon merringue pie, but you need cornflour for the lemon part).

Did you ask them if they had any? Sometimes it isn't kept with the ordinary flour but in a different bit of the isle.

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"How long does getting thin take?" asked Pooh anxiously
"About a week, I should think" said Christopher Robin

Probably not, but the get-away-withness might depend on the recipe. What are you making?

Red velvet cakes, but it's OK - hubby went off to try a different place on the off-chance, and he found some!