Chicken coconut curry

There are endless variations of this curry, but this is what I had at home today and YUMMIE! You can of course use other vegetables such as courgette, green beans, cauliflower, cabbage-or whatever you fancy. I often use a Korma curry paste to enhance flavours, but decided the jar had done its time in the fridge and made my own.

400-500g chicken breast fillet
2 large carrots
4 small/medium sized potatoes
4 good size mushrooms
2 small brown onions
8 broccoli florets
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp olive oil
2 chicken stock cubes
1½ cups boiling water (375ml)
3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp tomato purée 
⅓ tsp ground ginger
⅓ tsp paprika
⅓ tsp cumin
1 tin (400ml) coconut milk, full fat gives best results

pinch of white pepper

½ tsp salt

1-2 tbsp cold water

2 heaped tsp cornflour

Cut chicken, onion, mushrooms, carrots and potatoes into bite size pieces. Potatoes are nice when they are a bit chunky. Dissolve 2 stock cubes in ½ cup boiling water. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the chicken until all pieces are cooked on the outside. Sprinkle the chicken with a pinch of white pepper and a pinch of curry powder while frying. Add the onion and fry for 2 minutes. Pour the stock into the pan and add the rest of the boiling water (1 cup). Crush the garlic clove through a garlic press and add broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, curry powder, turmeric, tomato purée, ginger, paprika and cumin and give it a good stir so the spices mix well with the liquid. 

Cover the pan and let boil for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then. When the potatoes are soft and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce, add the coconut milk and salt and stir well. While you bring it back to the boil, dissolve the cornflour in 1-2 tbsp cold water. When your curry is boiling again, slowly pour in the cornflour whilst stirring until you have desired thickness.

Serve with basmati rice. 

Tip: I have used mild curry powder for the kids' sake, but medium or hot curry powder will obviously give more of a sting!

Tip: If you want a saucier curry, add more coconut milk or water. You may have to adjust the amount of salt and curry accordingly, and up the cornflour mix to 3 heaped tsp to 2 tbsp cold water. 

Pineapple coconut muffins (12)

These muffins turned out fantastic! Perfectly moist and dense, like a muffin should be! The pineapple and lemon zest adds a tropical flavour and gentle contrast to the sweetness, and the coconut adds a little texture and sweetness. 

175g butter

8 oz (250g) caster sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla sugar

8 oz (250g) plain flour

8 oz (250g) crushed pineapple, drained (just less than a large tin)

5 tbsp pineapple juice (from the crushed pineapple tin)

½ cup (125ml) dessicated coconut

Turn the oven onto 190 degrees C. Use a conventional oven rather than a fan oven if you have a choice, the fan oven tends to dry the sponge out a little. Let the butter reach room temperature, or if taken from the refrigerator, microwave for about 15 seconds until soft but not melted. 

Cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla sugar, flour, pineapple, pineapple juice and coconut and mix together until smooth.

Have a 12 hole muffin tin ready and lined with muffin cases. Using two spoons, divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Each muffin case should be almost full if you want them to rise high. 

I filled my cases to about ⅔ and I got 15 smaller muffins. Next time I'll make 12 larger ones instead. 

Baked taco smörgåstårta

Mmm...just delicious! A perfect Friday night dinner for the family. 

27 square white bread slices (Kingsmill 50/50 crust away works perfectly)
500g beef mince
1 bag Old el Paso taco spice
100ml water
1 jar mild chunky Old el Paso salsa
300ml creme fraiche
¾ cup leek, chopped finely (180ml)
1 avocado, chopped into small pieces
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dark soy sauce
250g grated mozzarella cheese
2-3 tomatoes
pinch oregano


Turn your oven onto 170 degrees C. 
Filling 1: Brown the mince, add 1 bag of Taco spice and 100ml water and let boil rapidly until the water has boiled away. 
Filling 2: Chop about ⅓ of a leek (¾ cup) finely and rinse well. Peel and chop the avocado into small pieces. Mix in a bowl with the creme fraiche, soy sauce and Dijon mustard.

Place 9 slices of bread on a baking tin. If you use bread without crusts they'll fit together better. 

Spread the taco mince over the bread

Use a teaspoon to dollop the salsa over the mince and cover with another 9 slices of bread.

Spread the creme fraiche filling on the next layer.

Cover with another layer of 9 slices of bread. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top, keeping aside a small amount. Sprinkle as close to the edges and corners as you can to keep it from getting dry in the oven. Top with sliced tomatoes, and sprinkle a pinch of oregano on each slice. 

Use the rest of the mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on the tomatoes and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese has a golden colour and the smörgåstårta is hot through. Serve with a green salad.

Pineapple coconut upside down cake

Traditionally this cake includes glazed red cherries on top with the pineapple, but I am not crazy about glazed cherries, and maybe more importantly- I didn't have any at home. They add a nice contrast of colour, but I think I prefer it without. The coconut compliments the pineapple beautifully.

Sponge
2 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp vanilla sugar
½ cup coconut
1¼ cup plain flour
4 tbsp syrup/juice from the tinned pineapple
75g butter
⅓ cup water (80-90ml)


Topping
50g butter
50g sugar (50ml)
zest of 1 lemon
7 pineapple rings


Turn the oven onto 175 degrees C. Line a round (app 9") cake tin with baking paper. Start by making the topping. Put the butter, sugar and the finely grated zest of 1 lemon into a small saucepan. Melt the butter while stirring to dissolve the sugar. When melted let cool for a couple of minutes to a thick yellow liquid. Pour the liquid into your baking tin and spread it out, and up about an inch (2,5cm) along the sides of the tin with a pastry brush.
Place the pineapple slices on top of the butter mix. 


To make the sponge beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (the bicarbonate of soda gives the sponge a slightly darker colour, so if you prefer a light coloured sponge, use only baking powder). Mix.
Mix in the dessicated coconut and the pineapple juice/syrup. Add the flour and mix.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. When melted add cold water bring back to the boil. With your electric mixer on good speed, pour the melted butter into your sponge mix and mix in well. Pour the batter over the pineapple slices and bake in the oven for about 50 minutes, until you can stick a skewer or knife into the cake and it comes out clean. It is important to get the cake into the oven asap after you add the melted butter, as the heat starts the process of the baking powder. 
When the cake is baked, let cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a grill to cool under a towel or cloth. Hopefully you've got a beautiful pineapple coconut upside down cake!

Chilli con carne

1 medium brown onion

½ tbsp olive oil

500g beef mince

1 large garlic clove

1 red pepper

1-2 chillies of choice depending on how hot you want it

(I've used 1 medium chilli for the children's sake)

4 large fresh mushrooms

1 beef stock cube

2 tbsp boiled water

2 cans chopped tomatoes

1 tin kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 tsp salt

Pinch of white and black pepper

1 tsp paprika

3-4 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

Chop onion, deseed the chilli(es) and chop, slice pepper finely and chop, chop mushrooms in small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a deep pan and sauté the onions until a clear colour. Add the mince and brown. Push the garlic clove through a garlic press into the mince. Add salt and pepper. 

Add the mushrooms, pepper and chilli(es) and heat through for a couple of minutes. 

Liquidise the chopped tomatoes with a hand blender (or use tomato passata if you wish) and add to the mince. Dissolve the stock cube in a cup with 2 tbsp boiling water and add to the pan. Add paprika, cumin and oregano and give it a good stir. Let boil until the liquid has reduced to very little and the chilli con carne is of a thick consistency (10-15min), stirring every now and then. When the chilli is right, add the drained and rinsed kidney beans and heat through.

Serve with rice and a green salad, and a dollop of sour cream if you wish. 

Tip: If you're not keen on kidney beans, try substituting a tin of baked beans in tomato sauce for 1 tin of chopped tomatoes and the kidney beans. 

Smooth and creamy cupcake buttercream

For cupcake recipe click here

100ml water (1dl)

10oz (300g) caster sugar 

5 large egg whites

500g unsalted softened butter

Pinch of salt

1tsp vanilla extract

Paste food colourings if you want to colour it

• You do need a candy thermometer for this or one that can rest in a saucepan and will reach above 120 degrees C. 
• Caster sugar is a finer sugar than regular granulated sugar. Regular sugar can be used but may take longer to dissolve. 

1. Fill a large bowl with cold water (large enough to fit your saucepan in as you'll need to plunge it in cold water later).

2. Pour 100ml water into a saucepan and add 250g (8oz) caster sugar. Place the saucepan on the hob and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Bring the syrup to a boil and use a pastry brush to brush down any sugar that sticks to the side of the pan. (I never needed to do this). Stick a thermometer in the pan and boil the mixture rapidly until it reaches 121 degrees C. 

3. While the syrup boils, beat the egg whites until you get stiff white peaks when lifting the mixer out. Gradually mix in the rest of the sugar. About 1-2 tbsp at a time and mix for at least 4 seconds before adding more. The meringue should be white and glossy when done right. 

4. As soon as the syrup reaches 121 degrees C, take the pan off the heat and plunge it into the large bowl of cold water, to avoid it getting any hotter. Plunge for a few seconds, but not for too long as the syrup will thicken and become difficult to pour. 

5. With the mixer on full speed, slowly pour in the syrup in a thin stream. Take care to pour it between the edge of the bowl and the whisk, as it will otherwise either stick to the side of the bowl and set, or it will splatter and make a mess on the whisk. If the syrup becomes to thick, return to the hob for a short while to thin it. Continue to whisk until the bowl (and the mixture) feels just lukewarm. 

6. Gradually whisk in the soft butter and then add salt and vanilla. If the egg white mixture has not cooled down enough, it will melt the butter, and you don't want this to happen!

The meringue might collapse a little and may look like it's curdled, but keep whisking until it returns to being creamy. 

7. Add desired paste colouring, and ice your cupcakes. 

Tip: Make sure your cupcakes have cooled when piping your buttercream, as it will otherwise melt. 

Vanilla cupcakes

For smooth and creamy buttercream recipe click here

8oz (250g) unsalted softened butter

8oz (250g) caster sugar

8oz (250g) self-raising flour -or plain flour with 2tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

4 eggs

4 tablespoons milk

1tsp vanilla essence or 2tsp vanilla sugar

1. Turn the oven onto 190 degrees C.

2. Let the butter reach room temperature (or if taken from the refrigerator microwave on full heat for 10 seconds at a time, checking that it doesn't melt). Beat the butter until softened and creamy.

3. Add the sugar, flour (and if using- baking powder), eggs, milk and vanilla flavouring and beat until smooth. 

4. Use two 12-hole muffin tins if you can, or bake in two goes. The recipe is for 24 cupcakes, but I only got 18 out of it. Line the muffin tin with paper cases. Using two spoons fill each muffin case to about ½ - ⅔ and bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes until the cupcakes have a light golden colour. After about 8 minutes turn the tray around for the cupcakes to bake evenly. 

Tip: If you leave the cupcakes in the tin covered with a towel for a while just after you take them out, they will continue to bake a little bit more. So take them out as soon as you think they might be done, don't leave them any longer as they may get dry.

Tip: I find that a fan oven dries the sponge out more than a conventional oven.

Recipe taken from this website, I have followed most of it, but might have changed a thing or two. 

Chocolate orange cake

2 eggs

1 cup caster sugar (2,5dl)

2 tsp vanilla sugar

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tbsp cocoa

1 orange

1¼ cup plain flour (3+dl)

100g butter

⅓ cup water (80-90ml)

1 tsp freeze dried coffee (instant coffee powder)

Icing:

100g butter

3 tbsp orange juice

1 tsp lemon juice

2 cups icing sugar (2,5dl)

To make the sponge:

Line a 6" (15cm) baking tin with baking paper. Grease and flour. Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla sugar, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder,sift in the cocoa and beat until smooth. Add the zest from the orange and juice the orange in a separate bowl. Add 1 tbsp orange juice to the egg and sugar mix. Add the flour and beat until you've got a smooth mix. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add water and coffee powder and bring back to the boil. While mixing, slowly pour the melted butter into the mixing bowl and mix until smooth. As soon as your mix is smooth pour it over into the baking tin and place it in the oven to bake at 175 degrees (fan oven) for about an hour. I would start checking the sponge halfway through and then regularly by sticking a skewer or a knife into the cake to see if it comes out clean. If it does-your cake is ready. Time of baking will vary slightly in different ovens. 

It is important to get the cake into the oven as quickly as possibly, as the adding of the hot butter and water will start the process of the baking powder. 

Turn the cake out and let cool. Make the icing by creaming the butter with an electric mixer until the butter changes colour for slightly whiter, and then mixing in the rest of the ingredients until you've got a thick but spreadable icing. When the cake has cooled cut it into two layers and spread some icing in the middle between the two sponges, and a thicker layer on top. 

If the cake is not cool enough it will melt the buttercream. Enjoy!

Creamy onion sauce

I wasn't sure how this onion sauce would turn out, but it was a massive success with hubbie and children. Even my sauce-hating son liked it! Brilliant as an accompaniment or sauce with BBQ or as we ate it-with oven baked salmon, broccoli, breaded and fried courgette, asparagus and green beans (and potato mash).
I forgot to photograph the sauce before we demolished most of it, so here's a photo of what was left after dinner.

1 medium sized brown onion

1 spring onion (green onion)

1 cup + 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt

¼ tsp salt

1 cube fish stock

1 tsp dried dill

Chop the onions and place in a bowl or jug you can use with your hand blender. Crumble the stock cube over the onions and add 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt. Liquidise with a hand blender. When all of the onion has been liquidised, mix with the rest of the yoghurt, salt and dried dill. Let sauce sit in the fridge for a good hour at least to get the most of the flavours.