flapjack apple crumble

autumn sunshine in November

You know what? I think it is a brilliant recipe. Not because I am putting it on my blog....oh, no. But because it is an answer for my all time question: "why does not apple crumble  have some kind of bottom?"...and  Jamie Oliver came and gave me the answer!
So, just take his new cookery book, add some apples and actually this is the food that you will end up with on your day off. I think, you are not going to regret it.
 Late autumnal comfort food blah blah, which is pretty easy to make (I always say this), quite healthy and perfect after a good plate of hot soup. On the top of this home made custard is (shall I say?) just the perfect icing of the cake,ehm ehm, crumble.
The list of ingredient indeed long but making/baking this crumble is quicker than reading through this list, I promise.

For the flapjack:
50 g nuts (of your choice) - I used shelled, toasted walnuts (thanks to Kiki!)

1 ball of stem ginger (or a thumb size of fresh or 1 tsp of grated)

125g butter
3 tbs honey/golden syrup
175g rolled out (I used wholegrain)
75 g raisins (you can use dried apricot, sour cherries, blueberries, cranberries instead)

For the apple filling:
5 medium apples (cored and sliced into 8)
100 g demerara sugar
ground cinnamon
whole nutmeg for grating
pinch of allspice (mézeskalács fűszerkeverék in Hungarian)

a glug of brandy or rum
300g pitted fresh (or frozen) sour cherries (or blackberries, red currants etc etc etc)

for the crumble:
75g butter
75g (+ 25 g if necessary) flour
50g walnuts
100g demerara sugar


for the custard:
500 ml milk
2 eggs
2 tbs cornflour
2 tbs demerara sugar
fresh vanilla (of one pod) or a sachet of vanilla sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C and put the toasted nuts into the pestle and mortar and bash them into crumble. Grate or chop the ginger and add to the nuts with the raisins and the oat. Melt the butter and the golden syrup (or honey) and pour on the oats. Stir as long as the whole mixture is coated in butter and all is shiny.
Use a 24 cm long 6 cm high tin and spread the mixture on the bottom of the tin and use your hands (or a spatula) to press it down, and into the corners. It should be around 0,5-1 cm thick. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

In the meantime, core the apples and cut into 8. Place them into a large pan, with the cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, allspice and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes with the lid on, and shakes sometimes so that the sugar does not burn on the bottom (don't stir, since you might break the apples and all you would end of is apple mash). If you use fresh berries, then add to the apples and cook for 5 more minutes but without the lid then take off the heat. If frozen berries are used, then cook with the lid on. Let it cool. Meanwhile, you can make the crumble.


Using your hands rub the cold butter into the flour, sugar and nuts until you have fine crumbs, like beach
sand. - Or to speed things up, you can use a food processor for the same but try not to overwork the crumble.

Spread the apples/berries on the top of the flapjack but save the liquid and put that back on the stove and cook it until it reaches a syrupy consistency (you can add some brandy or rum if you like) Pour the syrup over the apples. This way you can avoid the soaking of the flapjack and you are not going to end up with mushy bottom.


Sprinkle the crumble topping on the apple, then put into the oven for 40 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden and has the consistency of biscuits.


Last but not least, for the custard heat up 400 ml milk with the demerara sugar and the vanilla. (don't let is boil, just steam) and with the remaining milk beat the eggs and the cornflour. Pour the warm milk over the egg(y) mixture and sieve back into the dish, put on the stove and cook over gentle heat (while stirring all the time) until the custard starts thickening. Take off the heat and while still stirring let it thicken and then cool. (this recipe is from the Candy's blog, thanks!:)


Serve the crumble with a generous pouring of your custard and collect the compliments from your family/friends for this heartwarming food. Be proud, you even made your custard out of scratch in the 21st century...:)!

no, this is not an Alien. Just a close up of the crumble.

chocolate cake with youghurt

- Is it very chocolatey? 

- Yes, sort of.

- Is it healthy because the yoghurt?

- No, it isn't but good for your soul at least...

So it is what it is. I would call it a placebo chocky cake. Since, people automatically believe that something with yoghurt is good for them, making them healthier and stuff like that. It is definitely true most of the time, and of course it is true for this cake as well (I am nodding!).

But if you read through the ingredients of this cake, then you will see that no matter how much yoghurt you put in the icing sugar, the chocolate and the butter is still going to be there, making your jeans (hm...) shrink in size even by looking at it if you know what I mean. Still, this dessert is recommended for rainy days, sunny days, weekdays and every day- immediately after you ran a half-marathon at least ;)

The recipe is from here 

chockyoghurt

 

for the Cake: 

100g (min.70% cocoa cont.) chocolate

200g butter

200g demerara sugar

1 tbs. vanilla extract

3 eggs

1,5 dl yoghurt (Greek)

300g flour*

8g baking powder

for the Filling:

100g chocolate (same as above)

50g butter

350 g (!) icing sugar

1dl yoghurt 

Turn on the over for 200°C. Beat the melted butter with the sugar. Mix in the vanilla and the eggs one-by-one then the yoghurt. Carefully corporate in the melted chocolate and the sieve in the flour with the baking powder and stir in thoroughly. Pour the mixture in a cake tin of your choice (I used 24cm cake tin). Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes but make sure that after the first 10 minutes you turn the oven down to 150°C. 

When ready, use a toothpick to see if baked through. Leave it on a rack to cool and make the filling in the meantime. 

For that: you need to melt the chocolate and the butter together. Sieve in the icing sugar then add the yoghurt. Put the cream in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set. 

Cut the cake in half and sandwich it with half of the cream. Then use the other half of the cream for frosting/decorating your dessert. 

Enjoy. I warned you!

*the original recipe says 150g flour and by accident I put on twice as much (don't ask me why or how. It happened, OK?) If you try the cake with this much, then please let me know how it worked! Thx.)

if nobody sees it, then it is not fattening

Híres lettem :)

Kedves olvasók!

Itt vagyok: vendég post tőlem a Dokikának.

Olvassátok szeretettel.

Üdv: Mrs Moore

Melinda's Hen Party Cupcake

 There is nothing special about these fairy cakes. I mean the reason I made them is to soak up alcohol at my friend's party and by fulfilling that they ended their lives' in the stomach of tipsy ladies, preventing next day's hangover (or I hope so). The sponge is quite heavy. I would make it with less butter if it was for me:)

 All is to be added, that it is very easy to make and quick too. So hope that this recipe is going to end among your bookmarks for any time occasions. 

from http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/

 

For the sponge: 

225g butter

225g sugar

225g flour (or self-raising flour is better) 

1/2 pack of baking powder*

4 eggs

pinch of salt

for the frosting 

110g butter

30g cocoa powder

25g coconut milk powder (or desiccated coconut)

150g icing sugar 

1-2 tbs milk

1. Turn on the over to 180°C and lin a 12-hole muffin cake tine (or if you have then fairy cake tin, which is smaller than the muffin one).  

2. Beat the eggs with the sugar, if you like add some vanilla too and a pinch of salt. Add the butter, which has been warmed but not melted in the microwave previously. Fold in the flour and distribute the mixture in the tin. 

3. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden on the top, then let them cool down before frosting

4. For the frosting beat the butter, which is on room temperature. Sieve in half of the icing sugar and beat carefully. Add the rest of the icing sugar, then the cocoa and the coconut. If too dry add a splash of milk. Put the frosting in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before using it. 

5. Spread the frosting on the cakes and decorate with chocolate hearts, or marshmallow according to your taste. 

*if you use self-raising flour then no need for baking powder. You can make your own self-raising flour by mixing 250g flour with 1/2 tbs baking powder. 

(the ultimate) finger food

Sausage roll is not considered to be the healthiest food. Full stop:) There is no argument about it I think. But making this way you can save up some fat and maybe some calories... Usually, this type of finger food is not considered to be the height of culinary wisdom but it is not the purpose of this blog entry anyway.

no, it is not chocolate filled...

So if you want to make the best finger food that your partner goes crazy about then please be my guest and steal this recipe. Serve it with some spritzer and you will see the effect: It is like having the remote control for your man;) (I hope that my hubby is not going to read this entry anyway...)
The original of this recipe has been published in the Good Food Magazine, July issue. 


What you will need: 
half red onion
1 tsp of oil (sunflower)
300 g of lean minced pork
150g of tinned lentils
1 egg
2 heaped tbs of breadcrumbs (I usually mix grated Parmesan cheese into the breadcrumbs to add flavour)
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
2 tsp of chopped tarragon
1/2 tsp of grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 sheet of puff pastry
egg yoke mixed with milk to brush

1. Heat the oil and fry the onion in a non-stick pan for a few minutes. Leave it to cool when softened.

2. Mix the meat, lentils, egg, the spices, the mustard and the breadcrumbs in a bowl. Try to mash them together with a fork so that the lentil and the meat makes a nice filling! Add the onion and stir evenly.

3. Leave the mixture to cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and in the meantime take out the puff pastry from the fridge and let if soften a bit on room temperature.

4. Take the meat mixture out of the fridge and put it on a slightly floured surface. Shape a long and thick sausage out of that and half it so that you have two thick sausages

5. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut it in half, making two rectangular sheets. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg yoke and then place the sausage meat on one of the longer edge of the pastry and roll it up. Do not make overlaps just join the pastry and then slightly press down the edges.Trim off the excess pastry.

6. Use a string to cut the rolls into 4 or 6 even slices (depends how big you want them). Using the blunt end of your knife make two or three "cut" on the top but make sure that a.) you don't cut the pastry through b.)you don't squeeze the filling out

7. Brush the rolls with the left-over egg yokes and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes on 220°C until the golden and puffed.

serve with spritzer

little fava biscuits

yess, they are lovely

One of my childhood favourite was the ischler. I do not think that I have to introduce this to any Hungarian reader of mine but maybe for those who live abroad and have never heard of this phenomenon then I can say that this is one of the best thing that can happen to your sweet shortcrust pastry...I know, I know. I am providing you sth that needs shortcrust pastry again but I promise that this is the very last one (or not :)
Making these little biscuits at home is a bit time consuming but I think it worth the dedicated time and effort.
As you will see I used low-carb flour again, but please feel free to use "normal" flour if you want to. Also the sugar was sweetener for me but for you it can be made with brown sugar, demerara, icing or plain caster sugar.
The main ingredients are give in 3:2:1 as with any usual linzer torte (or shortcrust pastry) but let's see the recipe.

Ischler
150 g plain flour (for me it was gluten free flour but BL55 is fine)
150g low-carb flour
200 g butter (noooo, please don't use margarine)
100 g icing sugar (or the equivalent of that in sweetener) 
1 whole egg
pods of a vanilla bean (or if you don't have that then vanilla essence/extract/paste to your taste--depends on your budget)
1 lemon's zest
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking powder


Use the food processor (or your hands) and rub the butter in the flour(s), salt, baking powder mixture. Add the sugar or the sweetener, the lemon zest and the vanilla. As you already know we are making sand at this stage. Then add the egg (some recipes write only the yoke but for me it was too dry and I added the white as well for additional moisture). If the dough does not come together, then add a splash of milk as well. Put the dough in clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for 20 minutes and in the meantime turn on the oven to 200°C.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of clingfilm (this is the easiest way of handling, and rolling shortcrust) to approximately 0,5 cm thick and cut out any shape of your preference with a biscuit cutter. Make sure that you make even number of biscuits, since we are going to sandwich them with jam when ready.

Put the biscuits in the oven and bake them for 10 minutes. In the meantime you can use up the excess pastry and roll them out again, cut out etc. Just make sure that you always pop the left-over dough in the fridge for a couple of minutes before rolling it out again, since the butter melts easily and you can ruin the biscuits.

Once the biscuits are out of the oven and cool enough to handle you can start sandwiching them one by one. I think that the retro(traditional) ischlers are filled with forest fruit jam (I would not swear to this but a red coloured jam comes to my mind from my childhood when I recollect) but this time I made ours with sugar free peach jam.

Last but not least the forsting. Very easy. Melt 50-60g dark chocolate (again I used sugar free) with one tablespoon of sunflower oil either over boiling water bath, or in the microwave (be careful, try not to burn down the chocolate) then dip the filled biscuits in the chocolate frosting, making sure that you cover only one side. You can decorate the top with crushed walnut or pistachios.

auntie Vanessa loved them as well

One more thing. You can use grated walnut, hazelnut, pistachio etc in the pastry but then decrease the amount of flour by the weight of the nut.

savoury biscuits for Easter (late post)

I do not like making much fuss about Easter. Don't know why. Maybe because I do not like the feast itself? Or just I am getting lazier? Who knows. But as long as the Queen of England does not send me a note that she would like to celebrate the Easter feast with us I will not make any efforts about this family holiday at all in the future either.
Of course, I was trying to make my Easter breakfast with ham, horseradish and eggs but otherwise the menu was quite simple.
This little biscuit that I will show you was on the menu as well (just to have something to nibble on, you know:) but since it is so easy to make it will be part of our everyday top 50 favourite and I will not wait till next Easter to make it.
The recipe was found here
My version is almost the same with a slight change in the recipe and in the ingredients.

the "Easter" biscuits, maybe the Queen would like them as well

Cheddar and Parmesan biscuits with rosemary

120g yoghurt butter
80g plain flour
80g low-carb flour
50g grated light cheddar (I used Cathedral light but you can pick your favourite)
50g grated Parmesan
one teaspoon of salt, grated black pepper
one egg
a splash of milk
2 tsp of dried rosemary (not the powdered one please)
pinch of baking powder

The method is almost the same as making shortcrust pastry that I have already written about in my previous post. Just to sum: you take your food processor, make "beach sand" out of the cold cubed butter, the flours and the baking powder. Add salt, pepper, rosemary and the cheese. One or two blitz and then add the egg and the splash of milk. Once it starts forming a dough you are ready.
Put the dough on  clingfilm and shape a big sausage out of the pastry then chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Heat the oven 180° Celsius and cut biscuits out of your sausage. Bake in the over for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the strength of your oven and the size of the portion that you put in once.
Consume with wine, cider or beer (or just on its own) but be careful, since it is addictive :)

some naughty boy wanted to taste it before shooting...