Mandy's Food Blog

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Black bottom cupcakes

The black bottom cupcake looks innocent but packs a punch! It's a dark chocolate sponge with a dollop of cheesecake baked into it. Makes twelve.

Ingredients (Makes twelve)

for the chocolate sponge base:

for the cheesecake filling:

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. For the chocolate sponge base, put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl and mix with a handheld electric whisk on slow speed until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated.

Put the oil, vinegar, vanilla extract and 125ml water in a jug and whisk to combine. While the electric whisk is running in the flour bowl, slowly add the contents of the jug, increasing the speed of the blender as the mixture thickens. Continue to beat until all the ingredients are incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full. Set aside.

For the cheesecake filling, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla extract and salt in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until smooth and fluffy.

Stir in the chocolate chips by hand until evenly dispersed. Don't overmix, otherwise the cream cheese will start to split.

Scoop about 1 tbs of the cheesecake filling on top of the cupcake mixture in the cases and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are firm to the touch and they have an even golden colour on the cheesecake filling. Don't overcook, as the cheesecake will become dry and crumbly. Leave to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the cream cheese frosting on top and decorate with a light sprinkling of cocoa .

Fig and Walnut Cake

A big family cake made in much the same way as carrot cake. Serves 8 (at least).

Ingredients (Serves at least 8)

For the icing

Sticky five-spice Ribs

Ingredients (Serves four)

For the cabbage salad

To serve

Put the ribs in a baking dish. Place all the remaining rib ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth (or simply stir together in a bowl). Pour all but a few tablespoons of this marinade over the ribs and rub well in. Turn the ribs meat-side down, ready for cooking.

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Bake the ribs for 40 minutes, then turn them over and brush with the reserved marinade. Raise the heat to 220C/425F/gas mark 7, and cook for 10 minutes more.

Meanwhile, shred the cabbage and place in a bowl. Combine the vinegar, sesame oil, salt and sugar to make a dressing, drizzle over the cabbage and toss with your hands.

Lift the ribs on to a board and cut each rib off the rack. Serve with the cabbage salad and steamed rice.

Linguine with tomatoes, lemon, chilli and crab

This recipe (and variations thereof) has graced summer menus all over the place, the best and first at the brilliant River Cafe in London. But oh, it's good, and so moreish, and seems to epitomise summer in every bite. If there is one good summer pasta dish to have in your repertoire, this should be it. Serves two.

Ingredients(Serves two)

Cut the tomatoes in half and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Using a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic and chilli to a pulp. Mix in the oil, lemon juice and zest. Add the crab to the mix if your mortar is big enough; if not, transfer everything to a slightly bigger bowl.

Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water until al dente, drain, transfer to a serving bowl, pour over the crab mixture and tomatoes, mix, sprinkle with parsley, and eat.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

This is such a fresh dish that it makes a perfect summer starter or canapé. Other raw veg can be substituted for those listed here. Add cooked chicken or prawns for a more substantial non-vegetarian snack. Makes eight large rolls.

For the dipping sauce

1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce (or, to make the dish vegetarian, light soy sauce)
1 lime, juiced

For the spring rolls

50g vermicelli rice noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
8 good lettuce leaves (little gem or romaine)
24 fresh basil leaves
24 fresh mint leaves
8 sprigs fresh coriander
1 carrot, peeled and cut into very fine strips
½ red pepper, cut into very fine strips
¼ cucumber, cut into very fine strips
6 sugarsnap peas, cut into very fine strips
6 radishes, cut into very fine strips
8 rice paper wrappers

To make the dipping sauce, put the vinegar, sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, leave to cool, then stir in the rest of the ingredients and set aside.

Cook the noodles for three to four minutes (or according to the instructions) until al dente, drain and refresh under cold running water. Cut the noodles into small pieces and toss in the sesame oil.

Lay out one lettuce leaf on a work surface, and top with an eighth of the herbs (ie three leaves each of mint and basil, plus one coriander sprig), an eighth of the vegetable strips and an eighth of the noodles.

Soak one sheet of rice paper in warm water until soft and pliable. Place on a damp cloth and carefully lift the lettuce leaf and lay it on top of the rice paper. Roll the rice paper as tightly as possible over the filling, folding in the sides, to make a neat, tight parcel. Repeat with the remaining rice paper, lettuce and filling.

To serve, cut in half diagonally and serve with dipping sauce

Saffron Chicken and Herb Salad

This refreshing salad was created by the chefs at Ottolenghi in Belgravia and is the biggest summer hit there. If you don't like fennel, use a combination of spring onion and rocket instead. Serves six.

Ingredients(Serves six)

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Trim and discard 1cm off the top and tail of the orange and cut it into 12 wedges, keeping the skin on but picking out any pips. Place the wedges in a small saucepan along with the honey, saffron, vinegar and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for about an hour. At the end, you should be left with soft orange pieces and about three tablespoons of thick syrup; add water during the cooking, if needed. Use a food processor to blitz the orange (skin and all) and syrup into a smooth, runny paste; again, add water if needed.

Rub the chicken breasts with half the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper, and place on a very hot ridged griddle pan. Sear for about two minutes on each side, to get clear char marks all over. Transfer to a roasting tray and roast for 15-20 minutes, until just cooked.

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, but still warm, break it up with your hands into quite large pieces. Put these in a large bowl, pour over half the orange paste and stir. (The remaining orange syrup will keep in the fridge for a few days, and makes a good addition to a herb salsa to serve with oily fish.)

Add the remaining ingredients to the salad, including the rest of the oil, and toss gently. Taste, add salt and pepper and, if needed, some more olive oil and lemon juice.

Sunday, 29 August 2010

Barbecue Temperatures

Once the charcoal has been burning for 20 minutes, or is smoke/free and glowing, hold your hand directly over the grill bars and see how long you can bear to keep it there!

For 1 second Searing - fish such as tuna, which is best seared on the outside and left pink in the centre, should be cooked at this temperature, as should blue steak.
For 3-4 seconds Sizzle - at this temperature, the food will brown. So beep an eye on it, as it will need to be turned regularly.
For 6-7 seconds Cook - start large pieces of meat at sizzle, then transfer to "cook".
Indefinitely, but hand feels warm Holding - for keeping food warm and resting meat.

If the temperature does not fall exactly into one of these categories, but is good and hot, rake the coals around a little.