The alliteration was unintentional, honest! And sadly, not all of today’s baked goodies are for personal consumption, as we’re off on a West Country Odyssey tomorrow so thought it best we arm ourselves with gifts for the various family members we’re visiting in Wiltshire and Devon, plus friends in Cornwall and then Devon again.

I’ve got quite the growing obsession with cakes made from vegetables, the fire of which was stoked last week when Laura gave me a couple of slices of courgette cake. It made sense to follow that up with Dan Lepard’s sweet potato brownies from Saturday’s Guardian magazine, and then some baklava as that generally keeps for a good few days (so hopefully we’ll still have some in a week’s time when we visit friends in Appledore, Devon), and finally some orange and almond Anzac biscuits from a recipe my Mum sent over a while back.

I think it’s safe to say that day one of my 14 days between jobs has been a roaring success.

When in need of something sweet, especially something that takes just 15 minutes to whack together, consider this raspberry coconut slice.

After my Nana passed away, my Grandad became quite the dab hand at baking, with this slice being our favourite. Little did I know that it was so easy to make! Perhaps that’s why he made it pretty much every time we visited…

So, if you want to whip up this simple slice in 15 minutes, using just one bowl; a spoon, and a measuring cup, hit up the recipe down below.

Note: I actually double this recipe to get 16 squares, but if you follow the recipe below, you’ll get eight squares.

Ingredients for the base

3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup self-raising flour
2 tablespoons sugar
90g butter
1 egg
1/2 cup raspberry (or any) jam

Ingredients for the topping

1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar
1 and 1/4 cups coconut

For the base, combine all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl, and the rub in the butter with your fingers. Crack one of the eggs into the bowl, and mix it up with a spoon.

Spread it into a greased tray, and then spoon the jam over the top.

Next, whack the coconut, sugar and the egg into the bowl, and stir together until mixed. Spoon it over the jam, so it’s evenly distributed. Put it in the oven at around 180 degrees, and keep an eye on it, pulling it out after 20 minutes or so — or until brown.

Snaffle a square while it’s still piping hot, otherwise leave to cool and cut up into about eights (or 16 squares, if you doubled it.)

Having been handed Violet Cakes’ recipe book for my birthday, my first venture into these strange Amish cake-sandwiches was a complete disaster. I set about trying to make the strawberry ones, but as the shop didn’t have strawbs, I substituted them for blueberries. One big, gooey mess later (I had no idea how much they grew in the oven!) I vowed to stick to cupcakes for the time being.

That was until I tried Violet’s salted caramel whoopies, and my god, if they weren’t the tastiest baking I ever did make! The caramel swiss buttercream was incredibly smooth and subtle; I could’ve eaten the whole bowl if I wasn’t expecting friends ’round for tea.

Ingredients:

300g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
125g unsalted butter
120ml whole milk
200g light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method and buttercream recipe below the jump…

Don’t preheat the oven yet, as there’s some chilling involved first.

You’ll need three bowls of varying sizes for the whoopies. In your middle-sized one, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, and set this aside. Next, melt butter in with the milk in a small saucepan, careful that it doesn’t boil. Remove from the heat once mixed, and pour this into your smallest bowl.

In your largest bowl, beat the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until it’s all fluffy. Add the middle-sized bowl’s contents (flour, baking powder and salt) and mix. Then, pour in the buttery milk from your smallest bowl, and stir. Put this bowl into the fridge for half an hour.

Violet says this recipe makes 9 large or 24 small whoopies. I’d recommend you go for the small ones, because even they turn out to be quite larger than expected (see my first paragraph, above!) So, get a teaspoon, and drop tiny dollops (making them as highly-built up as possible) onto a greaseproof paper-lined tray. Make sure they’re not too close together, because they will grow larger than you think.

Bake for close to 10 minutes; keeping an eye on them so they don’t go any further than golden brown.

While you’re doing this, you can get started on the caramel swiss buttercream for gluing them together…

Ingredients:

40ml double cream
75 caster sugar, and an extra 50g on the side
2 tablespoons water
175g unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1/4 vanilla extract

In a bain-marie (small saucepan on top of larger saucepan, which is filled with water), mix 75g of caster sugar with the water. Don’t stir much; just keep at a low heat until it’s mixed. Then, rack the heat up higher, and boil it until it goes dark caramel-ish. Quickly turn the heat off before you burn it, and pour in the double cream, whilst whisking frantically. Pour it into a bowl, and let it cool down.

Meanwhile, wash your smallest saucepan and whisk, because you’ll be using that bain-marie again.

In your large-sized bowl (you may need to wash it by now!), mix 50g of the caster sugar with the egg whites, until foamy. Pour it into the smallest saucepan, and put it atop the larger one which should be filled with simmering water, and get that whisk into it until the sugar’s all dissolved, and the consistency is positively frothy.

In a middle bowl, beat the butter and salt together until fluffy. Grab that large bowl again, and pour the sugary egg whites mixture back into it, beating it until fluffy. Ensure it’s cooled down, and then add the butter and salt mixture you’ve just made. Beat together until mixed, and then pour in the butterscotch which you made first.

The next bit is easy. Grab two like-sized whoopies, and smoodge them together with a good slick (and I mean good) of buttercream. Eat with a tea or a glass of prosecco — both of which should be served with a hugely-satisfied smile.

Everyone’s got a go-to recipe when they need something quick and easy to take into work the next day. For me, it’s Hummingbird Bakery’s frosted brownies — a delicious, cake-like brownie with walnuts and cream cheese frosting that always gets rave compliments. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had such an overwhelming response to a brownie before — and I’ve made it my life’s work to find The Ultimate Brownie Recipe, believe me.

Actually, I lie, there was one time I bought a ready-made box mix of Betty Crocker brownies under extreme duress of impending visitors, and passed them off as my own (we’ve all been there, I’m sure). Hearing someone exclaim that they were the best brownies they’d ever tasted definitely brought a smile to my face for more than one reason.

But back to the non-cheat’s version. This is a really simple recipe that you can trot out in 15 minutes, leaving you plenty of time to lick the bowl. Click over for the recipe…

Ingredients:
5x eggs
500g caster sugar (my trick is to just buy a new 500g bag of caster sugar, to avoid weighing out sugar from the jar — saves a lot of time)
120g plain flour (the brownies in the picture above were actually made with wheat and gluten-free flour, for a friend. Truth be told, I barely notice a difference — perhaps some additional crumbliness, but certainly no change in flavour)
100g cocoa powder
250g melted unsalted butter (like the caster sugar trick from above, I also just buy a brand new 250g stick to avoid weighing and chopping from different bars. Easy!)
30g shelled and chopped walnuts (I quite often add more, but it’s up to you)
30g chopped dark chocolate

Frosting ingredients
200g sifted icing sugar
75g melted unsalted butter
30g sifted cocoa powder
150g cream cheese

Turn the oven on to 170 degrees. Begin making the brownie mix by creaming the 5x eggs and caster sugar in a large bowl, with an electric beater. Add the plain flour with the cocoa powder, and mix until everything’s combined. Pour the melted butter in and mix up, chucking in the walnuts and chopped chocolate.

Grease up a suitable tray for the brownie mix (I use a medium Le Creuset, plus a smaller one), and bake for around 30 minutes. Slide a knife or other tool into the middle when finished, to see if it slides out clean. If it’s done, bring it out and let it cool down.

Meanwhile, start on the icing by beating the icing sugar, butter and cocoa powder together. It will be quite dry, but don’t add milk or water — this will make it too sloppy once the cream cheese has been put in. Slop the cream cheese in and beat it until mixed, and then slather it over the brownies — I tend to cut them first before icing them, for greater control.

Like the cake tin or potholder behind the brownies? The tin is from Emma Bridgewater, and the potholder from Anthropologie.

As aforementioned, Sunday was the day o’ three baked goodies, with the rosewater sponge being the best rated by all who ate it.

I followed Feast on Scraps’ recipe, which was really simple. It’s basically an adapted sponge, which rises really well and as Laura wrote, it makes for a bloody big cake. All the more to eat, mmm. Definitely don’t scrimp when pouring the boiled rosewater syrup on before icing it — it makes it more moist, and certainly adds to the flavour.

There was a slight change to mine, however — I actually followed Hummingbird Bakery’s cream cheese icing recipe rather than Laura’s, as I was running low on caster sugar by that stage. Their recipe as follows:

300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold

I just rinsed a whole lemon of its juice, grated in some rind, and bob was indeed my uncle.

Why a picture of a jug of roses for this post? Well would you believe me when I said the cake disappeared so quickly that I forgot to take a snap of it?

Nonetheless! Thanks to the generosity of Moro’s chefs, I can make them all at home! And cook I did, with the dark chocolate and apricot tart. They said you can use the apricot paste “amradeen,” found in Lebanese shops, but I chose to chop up dried apricots finely instead.

While the recipe calls for 180g of apricots, I actually used 500g — I wanted a really strong taste to match the bitterness of the dark chocolate layer, and after scoffing half the tart since making it, I’m so glad I did.

No, wait — it was only a third of the tart, as I gave our neighbour two slices. Phew — conscience saved!

For this recipe, you’ll need to have created a sweet pastry shell beforehand. Moro’s recipe calls for:

140g plain flour
30g icing sugar
75g butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk

Flour and icing sugar should be sifted together, then mixed together with the butter thrown in. When it resembles breadcrumbs, throw in the egg yolk and add some milk if it looks too dry. Shape into a ball, wrap in clingwrap, and stick in the fridge for an hour. When that hour’s up, grate the pastry into a greased tin, and then pop it in the fridge for half an hour. Once the time is up, stick it in an oven at 220 degrees, for 10 – 15 mins.

Filling recipe:

180g apricot paste, or dried apricots. I used 500g, which I strongly recommend.
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
135g unsalted butter
110g dark chocolate
2 large eggs
60g caster sugar

Chop dried apricots finely, and pop in a small saucepan along with the water and lemon juice. Simmer for five minutes or so, until it gets smoother and more paste-like. If you’re using the paste, do the same thing. Then, puree in a blender until it’s smoother. I didn’t worry too much about getting all the lumps out, as wanted some texture. Spread the paste onto the cool tart shell, and leave to set for 15 mins or so.

Prepare a bain marie with two saucepans, and place the chocolate and butter in the top saucepan. While it’s melting, whisk the eggs and sugar together until light, and then fold into the chocolate mix. Once fully melted and mixed, spoon it over the apricot tart, and bake in the oven for 25 mins, at 180 degrees. I gave pulled mine out a little early, and it had a nice wobble to it. The first night, I served warm with creme fraiche, and the next day (after it had been in the fridge) it was even better served cold.

This is definitely one of the better desserts I’ve made, and has soared straight up to the top of my baking repertoire. It’s also lit a firecracker under my backside, as I’m now desperate to make a date at Moro (or its tapas little brother, Morito) with Gemma and Darika ASAP.

]]> http://katherinehannaford.com/2011/01/03/food-diaries-moros-dark-chocolate-and-apricot-tart/feed/ 3 http://katherinehannaford.com/2010/12/30/some-of-my-work-for-the-telegraph/ http://katherinehannaford.com/2010/12/30/some-of-my-work-for-the-telegraph/#comments Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:21:23 +0000 Kat Hannaford http://katherinehannaford.com/?p=249 Continue reading →]]>

Hey, look Ma! I’ve only gone and done a spot of freelance work for The Telegraph, writing 900 words on the substance graphene (and interviewing one of the Russian scientists who won the Nobel prize for physics, after notable work in this field); a list of aspirational robots; and another 900-odd words on 3D printers.

These all appeared in the paper as well as online, in a three-part series sponsored by Ford, The Future Sessions.

More recently, I particularly enjoyed being one of The Telegraph‘s “experts” for a wide selection of readers’ questions on food, culture, travel and wine. It was refreshing to write about something other than technology for a change, and to be able to put my local knowledge and offbeat tips to good use. The aim was to provide “off the beaten track” tips, and hopefully the readers were informed as well as entertained.

Here’s a round-up of some of the questions I answered (I’ll keep adding links once the Q&As get uploaded):

Food

• Halloumi cheese recipes
• London pubs with cats
• How to make ginger beer
• Restaurant review apps
• Spice rack essentials
• Best veg box delivery services
• Prepared meal delivery services
• Simple omega 3 recipe
• Sunday roasts for every day of the week
• Best food blogs
• How to cook with polenta
• Recipes to eat with dogs
• Decent Mexican restaurants
• Vegetarian desserts
• Bath restaurants
• Skewering vegetables
• Eating out while on Weight Watchers
• How to use truffle oil
• What to do with leftover dips
• London’s best pop-up restaurants
• Posh breakfasts for the morning after

Travel

• Maldives or Mauritius for a honeymoon?
• Cheap ‘n cheery accommodation in New York
• Non-touristy San Francisco adventures
• Berlin nightlife
• Heathrow terminal 5 power sockets
• Non-tacky Las Vegas hotels
• Californian camping
• Tokyo otaku adventures
• How to get a free upgrade when flying
• Photographing nature in and around London
• Best travel gadgets
• Holidaying in Western Australia
• Lille sightseeing

Wine

• Best iPhone apps for wine
• Where to buy wedding champagne
• What to do with leftover wine

Jim and Kate also answered a bunch of questions too, you can see Jim extolling our local fish & chip shop Olley’s here, and Kate’s tips on creating the perfect sponge here.

More Q&As can be viewed at The Telegraph, here.

Yesterday’s was less recipe, and more OFM Monthly Awards — which was a tad disappointing, but the Best Reader’s Recipe caught my eye. Sadly it hasn’t been uploaded yet to the website, but until then you can get it here via my condensed rehash. I’ll pop a link in when it’s finally online.

Maya Glaser’s Sweet Potato and Aubergine Subji With Red Onion and Coriander Raita

Recipe says enough for 2 – 3 people, but I think it’d serve four.

It took me about an hour to make, but I had to scurry around four different shops for over half an hour, trying to find garam masala and ground cardamom! It’s a very easy recipe, but I would suggest ensuring you had all the ingredients ready before starting.

It’s not too hot, with the raita tempering it slightly. I’m not a fan of onions (let me rephrase that: I LOVE onions but onions don’t love me — I get horrible stomach cramps), so went easy on them, but by all means, go for it if you can handle them!

Curry ingredients:

2x medium onions
4x garlic cloves, crushed
small chunk of garlic
1tsp cumin seeds
1 – 2 green chili peppers, chopped
dash of olive oil
2tsp garam masala
2sp turmeric
1/2tsp ground cardamom (I used cardamom pods, and just mortar ‘n pestle’d them)
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
handful coriander, chopped
1x large aubergine, chopped into cubes
2x sweet potatoes, chopped into cubes
2 handfuls spinach, chopped

Raita ingredients:

half pot natural yoghurt
1/2 garlic clove
1/2 red onion
handful coriander
squeeze lemon

Method:

Fry onions, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds and chili in olive oil.
Stir in garam masala, turmeric and cardamom, then chopped tomatoes and half the coriander.
Simmer 5 – 10 mins, add aubergine. Simmer for 20 mins, then add sweet potato. Simmer for further 20 mins.
Add spinach, simmer until wilted. Add coriander.

Meanwhile, make the raita by combining the yoghurt, garlic, red onion and coriander with squeeze of lemon in bowl.

Serve with rice (but don’t let it get gluggy like mine went…I got sidetracked watching an episode of Kath & Kim. Whoops!) and perhaps a naan if you’re feeling naughty.

Christina’s Domestic Sluttery recipe for smoked garlic and mushroom risotto looked very decent and easy to make, however as we’re a strict no-white-wine household, I had to use some merlot we had lying about. I usually only use red wine in mushroom or beetroot risottos, as it makes it a more cloying, winter-suitable risotto. While it’s late-May, I could sense some bad weather coming last night, so it made us feel pretty snug.

Instead of using parmesan cheese like Christina’s recipe called for, I used goat’s cheese. I also roasted up some portobello mushrooms for the side, and boiled some English asparagus. Over the top of the asparagus I drizzled some Australian truffle oil. It’s expensive stuff, and we’re down to our last bottle (I’ve already request Mum bring over a bulk lot when they arrive in a few weeks), but it really suits asparagus well.

Quick (for risotto), and very easy. Certainly made watching the last episode of Lost a heck of a lot better. (And the leftover risotto was excellent the next day, shaped into fritters, rolled in plain flour, and fried in oil. I even put a fried egg on top of Jim’s cakes).

Link: Christina’s Domestic Sluttery risotto recipe.

Salmon is one of my favourite fish, and when it’s sold at Sainsbury’s for £6 per two packs, we eat it pretty often too. The best way to cook it is wrapped in a sheet of aluminum foil, with a bit of olive oil drizzled over the top, in the oven for about 15 minutes. Served while still pink in the middle, it’s absolute bliss.

However, I do love pan-frying it with a bit of olive oil, then pouring a generous drizzle of ketjap manis (caramelised-tasting soy sauce from Indonesia – got mine in Brixy market, but it’s quite common, just got to know what the bottle looks like!) and some honey. Fry until still a bit pink and tender inside, and serve. As you can see from the photo, the ketjap manis turns the salmon almost black, and gives it a chicory/caramel taste. Beautiful served with a stir fry.