Sally Oliver's blog

My number one chocolate cake recipe

I have probably tried more chocolate cake recipes than any other, mainly because I stand by the fact that good friends should always have a birthday cake and in my opinion nothing is ever as good as chocolate.

My grannie's most amazing chocolate cake was a secret recipe and only my eldest sister has it (and annoyingly won't share it) but I am not deterred from my cake making, pursuit of perfection and I have 2 recipes that have never failed to please the crowd. One is my 'Serious Chocolate Cake', it involves ganache, a great deal of Valrhona chocolate and takes a long time to cook and prepare.. so I'm not going to bother sharing that one. The second is my 'Foolproof Chocolate cake' which is easy as pie.. which is more difficult than cake, perhaps whoever coined that phrase was talking about the eating rather than the cooking..anyhoo I digress. This cake is like a giant chocolate brownie and I haven't met anyone yet who doesn't like it!

My Foolproof chocolate cake

Ingredients:

350g butter

400g Bourneville choc - 2 large bars 

400g golden caster sugar

130g plain flour

100g mixed chopped nuts (I like hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans best.

Method:

1. Heat oven to 180 degrees, or 165 if fan oven.

2. Butter and line two 12 inch cake tins, (only need to line the bottom with a circle of parchment)

3. Melt 300 grams of Bournville choc in large heavy based saucepan with 400g caster sugar and 350g unsalted butter over a very gentle heat. Pour into bowl when melted and let cool a little.

4. Chop the remaining chocolate into small chunks and set to one side.

5. Seperate 6 eggs. Whisk the whites in one bowl to soft peaks, whisk the yolks in another bowl lightly with a fork.

6. Stir the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture.

7. Fold the flour, nuts and chopped chocolate into the mixture.

8. Carefully fold in the egg whites with a metal spoon.

9. Pour half the mixture into one tin and half into the other. Bake 35 minutes.

For the buttercream filling:

I tend to make buttercream up to taste but 175g icing sugar and 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder (or about 30 grams melted choc) sifted into 75g very soft butter with 2 teaspoons of milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract will make a nice filling.

You can either dust the top with icing sugar, cover with buttercream and decorate or cover with ganache for a smarter finish.

Also note you can easily halve this recipe to make one smaller cake.

And finally some little pointers I thought I'd add for complete cake beginners:

. Get the butter out of the fridge a good few hours before you cook. Get the eggs out about half an hour before. You want the ingredients at the same temp and the butter as soft as possible.
. Use the empty butter wrappers to butter the tin, then draw round the base of the tin onto baking parchment and cut out.
. I LOVE LOVE springform tins, get one!
. Leave cake to cool for about 15 mins before you get it out of the tin or it will crack. Be patient!
. Personally I always think organic ingredients taste better, though this may be all in my head.
. Don't forget to think lovely thoughts about the person you're baking it for. Call me a big old hippy but I think the best cakes are made with love.

Flying fish, Banana bread and Rum Punch... guess where I've been?

Yes, I have been sunning myself in Barbados on my very own honeymoon and you have every right to be jealous as it was pretty fantastic. We did lots of waterskiing, went to see the cricket final and also attended a friend's fantastic wedding at the Sandy Lane country club, (memories of poor G in 34 degree heat in tuxedo..)

The food was fantastic, a combination of the freshest fish, spicy fried food and British colonial influences. The national dishes are pudding and souse (pork chops usually, though pigs heads and trotters traditionally, and sweet potato pudding). Brilliantly named dishes such as 'Cohobbolopot', 'Hoppin' John' and 'Buljol'. The island's most popular fish is flying fish. G does not have fond memories of these as he was repeatedly slapped in the face by them when he rowed the Atlantic, but greatly preferred the peppered, fried version we ate every day for lunch!

Other favourites were fried fish balls, mahi mahi and wahoo (the best named fish in the sea!), a great deal of plantain and the juiciest papaya and watermelon imaginable. We ate lobster and prawn skewers with the island's national dish of macaroni pie (G asked for chips and received a filthy look!) at Oistins friday night 'fish fry'. Cocktails at the Cliff is a must for any visitor to Barbados, the most stunning beachfront location, but at £16 a cocktail you may not want to stay for dinner, (£150 per person for 2 courses... though I am assured the food and service are world class.) http://www.thecliffbarbados.com/index.html

I also enjoyed the best cocktail in memory at Daphnes http://www.daphnesbarbados.com/index.cfm an Apple Strudel made with vanilla vodka, green apple puree and a dash of apple schnapps and then dusted with
Cinnamon- delicious!  

Back to Bristol with a bang and I am greatly missing the Bajan cuisine. No fear though! As most people collect souvenirs from their travels, I collect cookbooks! and I have proudly accommodated 'Caribbean cooking' alongside 'Creative Basque cuisine' and 'Pure Finnish flavours'!

No matter that the flavour combinations and local recipes never seem to taste quite the same back home in the rainy surrounds, (note to self: Parmesan and honey is fabulous in a mountain tavern in Trentino but will be grounds for divorce if presented to G on a Friday night) they transport me back to sunnier or more exotic climes in a nano-second.

So to spice up your lives a little here are a couple of recipes. The ultimate rum punch and Bajan banana bread (I ate this every single day for 2 weeks :)

Bajan Banana Bread

220g whole-wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

100ml olive oil

185g brown sugar

2 eggs

6 medium bananas (very ripe is best)

2 tbsps molasses (optional)

raisins and chopped nuts (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp clove

1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease 2 medium loaf tins and line with baking parchment.

2. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined (don't over mix)

3. Place in the loaf tins and sprinkle with extra cinnamon and sugar.

4. Bake for 50 mins, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Lift out of the tin and cool on a cooling rack.

Proper Bajan Rum Punch

1 measure of lime juice, freshly squeezed

2 measures of sugar syrup

3 measures of dark Caribbean rum, the older the better

4 measures of water

Dash of angostura bitters and freshly grated nutmeg.

1. Place 2 measures of sugar in a pan with a little water and cook until dissolved and add to the juice.

2. Add the rum and the water.

3. Serve with plenty of ice,  a dash of ice, bitters and a grating of nutmeg.

 

Easter Bake-a-thon!

Oof. Did rather a lot of baking yesterday. Tried out the Delicious magazine macaroon recipe, as promised a month or so ago: a success! Was really rather pleased with myself, although have noted a couple of alterations to the recipe for next time. Also made a lemon cake and strawberry and vanilla shortcakes. Will post the recipes but here are a few pics to whet your appetite!

Making macaroons.. my first ever attempt

Not too shabby!

 

 

 

 

Pink icing..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ta da! Laduree eat your heart out!

 

Lemon cake on the way..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lemon buttercream filling...

and raspberries..

 

 

 

 

 

 

equal yumminess!

 

 

 

 

Making strawberry and vanilla shortcakes..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and voila! My little Easter spread!

Wilfred's mini muffins.

This is a recipe I made up, based on my own 'healthy banana and blueberry muffins', that I make when I am trying to be good but have a cake craving, (this happens often.) Wilfred is a very sweet little person I know who would happily eat them all day long and has been known to wake from naps demanding 'CAKE!' (his name for them). They are pretty sturdy and little hand-sized so unlikely to crumble all over the carpet. Best of all is that they contain only good stuff and yet children seem to think they are naughty treats.

Wilfred's mini muffin recipe

65g wholemeal flour

65g plain flour

1 egg (lightly beaten)

2 tbsp maple syrup

a few chopped raisins or apricots

1 mashed banana, apple or pear

few blueberries if desired

1 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp olive oil

half teaspoon cinnamon

oats to sprinkle on top

 

• Preheat oven to 160C
• Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl with the chopped dried fruit. Mash the fruit with the oil, syrup and egg and add to the dry ingredients.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and ask small person to mix (don't overmix)
• Pour teaspoons of the mixture into mini muffin moulds (I don't bother to grease them as I find they tend to come out of the moulds easily but you can grease if you prefer.)
• Ask small person to sprinkle oats on top. (They will probably be quite over exuberant about this- see Wilf's artwork above, but the more oats the better!)
• Bake for 20 mins until golden brown.
• Eat! (Try to leave some for the small person.)

 

 

 

 

Makeshift Moroccan

Had a rather long day today, during which I was rained on repeatedly. Needed warming comfort food to transport me to sunnier climes, and had a sudden pang of desire for something Moroccan inspired...

Here is my Wednesday night 'Moroccan' winter warmer (rather delicious it was too).

I cooked some (lean) lamb mince in a dash of olive oil over a high heat, and then added chopped onions, a chopped clove of garlic, a small piece of chopped fresh ginger, a teaspoon of cumin, ground ginger and cinnamon and cooked on a lower heat until the onions had softened.

Added a squirt of tomato puree, and then a can of chopped tomatoes, as well as half a cup of hot water. Left to simmer whilst I prepared the cous cous, (I was hungry so this was only about 15 mins- would ideally leave for 30 mins or more to allow flavours to combine.)

V important note: make sure you have glass of wine at this point (to drink, not to throw in pan- this helps the warming process.)

Bit blurry this one I'm afraid (possibly post wine) but this is cous cous (cooked according to packet instructions: pour boiling water over and leave for couple mins, then fork through.) To the cous cous I added the following:

handful chopped, fresh parsley and basil

grated zest of 1 organic lemon

pomegranate seeds

crumbled feta

chopped celery

2 chopped spring onions

I topped with rocket and a drizzle of olive oil et voila! (or the equivalent in Arabic). A Makeshift Moroccan inspired (if not authentic) meal in minutes.

'Man Salad' (Vegetarians look away now.)

I was away over the weekend and was greeted on my return to Bristol by a proud G, brandishing photo of his 'Man Salad' (not a euphemism), composed with big brother Ben over the weekend. Ben is undisputed king to G's prince of all things meat related and is basically a bigger, louder, more meat obsessed version of G, (with a beard). When they get together for brother time G returns home sporting a meaty glow and telling stories of guzzling slabs of top notch, imported beef, which they apparently slice up and eat raw. (I joke not.) Ben even has a sideline in providing award winning,organic hog roasts for events, his alter ego is Mr Hog of 'Crackle and Hog' http://www.crackleandhog.moonfruit.com/ 

Anyway, G would like me to introduce my many avid followers to the delights of the 'Man Salad'. G and Mr Hog's version of health food I suppose and no beef in sight. (Please note I waive all responsibility for the below.)

Here is the un-edited recipe:

Man salad according to G and Mr Hog.

Whole breast organic chicken wrapped in parma ham and oven  roasted. Drizzle with olive oil, chop and toss with salad. Salad  leaves consist of chicory, iceberg and 'that other type that also 
looks like chicory'. Buffalo mozzarella, new potatoes, watercress,  balsamic and hard boiled egg.

Does this look appetizing to you? Hm.. I'm not so sure. Comments on a postcard please.

Lasagne and chocolate mousse.

Every time I go to London I get a bit overexcited.. which usually leads to overindulgence. It's probably the Yorkshire upbringing but I always feel like a child in a sweet shop: too much to see, do and consume! By the second day I have a London stomach ache and am ready to return to the comparative rural greenery of Bristol and detox.

This weekend was no different and I've just recovered enough to write about it. Friday saw a dinner party/ housewarming at my lovely friend Rachel's new pad in Wimbledon. It was an evening of pink Moet, mismatched plates, amaretto in egg cups and inifinite lasagne. G was in his element, after a hard days work, a Friday feast of prolific pasta was certainly up his alley. Rachel had even made 2 different versions: the original meat one (for fussy G types) and another with butternut squash. I have tracked down the recipe: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/simple-baked-lasagneWe dug into both and peppered our plates with a rocket, pine nut and avocado salad.

After the pasta feast we were presented with jugs and bowls filled with luscious, creamy chocolate mousse. (The kind of thing I find much easier to eat when I haven't seen the ingredients before hand) Embarassingly I was the only one to polish my hefty portion off. Thankfully I did retain a modicum of decency and refrained from eating everyone elses- (though I did harbour dark thoughts about sneaking into the kitchen to scoff leftovers). Then we were on to amaretto, choc truffles and a game of Articulate, which I unbelievably lost! (no comments necessary please- I   blame the amaretto) Charlotte the trader won, (obviously more accustomed to being on the ball with a system full of booze than me! See smug winner on right)

Dinner and games over and we wobbled home. A lesson in laid back, Friday night fun with unpretentious, scrummy, homely food. Not a vol-au-vent in sight.

 

First blog and some baked fish

Right, now that I have got to grips with logging in to this blog (after an embarrassing amount of time), I thought I should actually post something (this is dedication since I'm missing 'Glee'....)

So, I decided to trial a recipe from yesterday's Sunday Times which looked tasty and was under the heading 'Healthy appetite'. Any health giving recipe which allows me to save my calorie consumption for cupcakes, whilst also tasting half decent is alright by me:

Ingredients:

500g pollack, 2 spring onions, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, 2 egg whites, 100ml sparkling water, 50g oats.

Well I did trot smugly along to the fishmonger to buy my sustainable pollack, before being advised (even more smugly) that there are no fish markets on a Monday, (ahem, I knew that) so I shuffled dejectedly to Tesco and picked up some anaemic looking cod instead. I was a bit dubious about the sparkling water but grabbed that too.

Method:

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Cut the fish into small pieces, place in food processor and mince (but not to a mush), add the onions and herbs, blend for a minute, add the egg whites and blend for 2 more minutes.

Place the mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add the sparkling water, oats and some salt and pepper. Butter 4 or 6 cocottes (I didn't bother with this) and divide the fish mixtures between them, then bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

I did take a photo of the result but am having more technological issues, so that will have to wait. The end result was quite an oddly, unfishy tasting souffle. Surprisingly filling and eggy. I'm not quite sure what the effect of the fizzy water is? more air for the souffle texture I presume, but I will definitely make this again, albeit probably with salmon, for a fishier taste, and more herbs, possibly even sprinkle some parmesan on top (Yes, yes I know, fish and cheese, Italy shakes it's head in disgust). The Sunday Times suggests serving this with coleslaw and rye bread, but I opted for sauteed leeks and mushrooms and roasted beetroot with thyme, (a heavy weekend and I like the idea of beetroot's liver cleansing properties!), though probably not the most obvious accompaniment.

My verdict: a healthy, super quick supper with few ingredients.

And there we are! my first foodie entry! Hoorah! Now off to catch the end of Glee.