Chocolate Malteser Cake

My husband Paul and I are members of a running club. He is a much more serious runner than I am and also a lot better than me. I only started running about 6 months ago and entered my first 10K race back in the summer. I started running as a way to keep fit as I was getting bored with going to the gym. Paul has been running for a while now and persuaded me to give it a go. Well I'm so pleased I did as although I don't feel that I'm all that good I can see that I have improved a lot and I have really started to enjoy it.

You'll probably wondering what running has to do with a chocolate cake. Well I'll let you know. Our running club Wimborne AC organise a race every November called the Wimborne 10. This is a ten mile race around the beautiful area of Wimborne. I didn't run the race this year as I'm yet to attempt that distance but Paul did. I volunteered to help out as a marshall on the day and along with 2 other people manned a water station for the thirsty runners.

One of the best things about this race is that it is so well recievd by everyone that takes part. For the last few years everyone gets a cup of tea and a slice of cake when they have finished the run. So this calls for volunteers to make the cakes. There were 700 runners in the race this year so this called for a lot of cake.

I volunteered to help with the cake and decided on the chocolate Malteser Cake from Nigella Lawsons Feast. I have made this once before and it is delicious. Sadly I didn't get a slice this time around as all the hungry runners has eaten all the cakes by the time I got there. I made three of these to take along on the day and they went down very well with everyone that ate them. There wasn't a crumb left at the end which is definately a good sign.

Makes 8 - 10 slices

For the cake:

150g soft light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
3 eggs
175ml milk
15g butter
2 tablespoons Horlicks
175g plain flour
25g cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of sode

For the icing and decoration

250g icing sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa
45g Horlicks
125g soft unsalted butter
2 tablespoons boiling water
2 x 37g packets of Maltesers

Preheat the oven to Gas 3/ 170C. Butter and line two 20cm cake tins with baking parchment.

Whisk together the sugars and eggs until they are light and fluffy.

Heat the milk, butter and Horlicks in a pan until the butter melts and it is hot but not boiling. Beat into the sugar and egg mixture. Then fold in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Divide the cake mixture between the tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Once the cakes are cold you can ice them. I used a processor here but you could make the icing by hand if you wish. Put the icing sugar cocoa and Horlicks in the processor and blitz to remove any lumps. Add the butter and process again. Stop and then slowly add the boiling water and beat until you have a smooth buttercream.

Sandwich the cold cakes together with half of the buttercream. The ice the top of the cake with the remaining half. Decorate with the Maltesers and enjoy.

Goodbye Pistashio

It has been a very sad week this week and I have had to say goodbye to my friend Pistashio. Although we never met in real life, she was a real friend to me as well as many others. She will be sorely missed on the Pantry which is an online foodie forum I am a member of. She was a wonderful inspiring person and a great cook too. Her blog was and will remain one of my favourites.

Goodbye Pi. May you rest in peace.

Off to a cookware party tonight

I have been invited to a party tonight. It is for Pampered Chef cookware. I have just been browsing their website and it looks as though they sell some wonderful things. I will have to be careful and make sure I don't spend too much this evening. Apparently the consultant will use some of the products to cook something that we can all taste. I've never been to anything like this before so I'm really lookin forward it. It sounds vaguely similar to Tupperware parties that my mum used to go to. I couldn't resist the chance to go to party that is all about kitchen goodies and cookware. If nothing else it will be lovely to spend the evening with some friends.

I'm liking the look of these pretty spotty cups and bowls. There is a whole lot of stuff in this range and from the pictures on the website I think it looks lovely.

Has anyone else been to one of these parties? If so are there any products that you would recommend? I'll let you know how I get on and if I can resist the temptation to buy anything.

Molten Chocolate Babycakes

I adore chocolate couldn't imagie a world without chocolate in it. I wanted to make a chocolate dessert and as I was flicking through Nigella Lawson's How To Be A Domestic Goddess I came across these. The picture in the book is wonderful and I wanted to dive in and eat the ones on the page. Nigella says in the book "These are the acceptable face of culinary cute: their intensity guarantees the triumph of chic over prettiness". I couldn't agree more with that statement.

These are so easy to make and if you want to then you can make up the mixture a few hours in advance. I found the most fiddly bit of this recipe was preparing the individual pudding moulds but the end result was definately worth it.

I served these up to my husband and my inlaws. They went down a storm and my father in law has requested them next time he comes for dinner. Perhaps I should pass on the recipe and he could make them himself. These really were delicious and I will definately be making them again.

This recipe makes 6 little chocolate desserts. I served mine with a little cream but I also think that some vanilla ice cream would be scrumptious with these.

The recipe:

50g soft unsalted butter plus more for greasing the moulds
350g very good dark chocolate
150g caster sugar
4 large eggs beaten with a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50g plain or Italian 00 flour

You will need 6 individual pudding moulds and some baking parchment.

These need to be cooked just at the moment you are ready to eat them.

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6 and put a baking sheet in the oven. Lay 3 of the moulds on a sheet of doubled baking parchment. Draw round them and then cut out the disks. Grease the pudding moulds with unsalted butter and place a parchment disk in the base of each one.

Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly. Cream together the butter and sugar and gradually beat in the eggs and salt, then the vanilla. Now add the flour and when it is all smoothly combined scrape in the cooled chocolate, blending it to a smooth batter.

Divide the batter between the 6 moulds. Quckly whip the baking sheet out of the oven, arrange the moulds on it and replace in the oven. Cook for 10 -12 minutes. The extra 2 minutes will be required if you made these in advance and they are cold from the fridge. As soon as you take them out of the oven, tip them out onto small plates or bowls. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Tomato and Basil Soup

Soups are very versatile and can be made using so many different ingredients. One of the great things I find about soup is that you can put a selection of ingredients into a pan with some stock, let the mixture bubble away for a little while and within no time at all you have made a delicious, flavourful, home-made soup with very little effort.

Many soups are very quick and easy to make and this is no exception. You can simply combine a few key ingredients with some herbs or spices and after a little while have a delicious bowl of soup. Some soups make ideal appetizers to a meal while others are enough to be a meal in themselves. I had this soup for my dinner along with some homemade crusty bread and it was delicious. There are light and refreshing soups that are chille and are ideal for summer dining. Then there are rich and creamy soups perfect for an autumn meal shared with family. Whichever kind of soup you choose it is well worth the effort to create your own fresh and flavourful soup in your own kitchen.

I really fancied a bowl of soup last night when I got home. I had a fridge full of tomatoes as my lovely father in law has been growing them in his greenhouse and has rather a lot. So I thought the perfect way to use some up was by making soup. This recipe is so quick and easy to do yet completely delicious.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
25g butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
900g ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
750ml vegetable stock
120ml dry white wine
2 tablespoons tomator puree
2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil plus a few whole leaves to garnish
150ml double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan until foaming. Add the onion and cook gently for about five minutes, stirring frequently until softenened but don't allow to brown.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes and garlic then add the stock, white wine and tomato puree with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil then lower the heat. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the soup into a food processor or blender. Add the shredded basil and blend to a puree. Using a wooden spoon press the soup through a sieve into a clean pan.

Stir in the double cream to the soup and heat through. Do not allow the soup to boil. Check the consistancy and add a little more stock if it is too thick. Adjust the seaoning to your taste and then pour into bowls. Garnish with some whole basil leaves and serve with some crusty bread.

The British One Hundred

As it is British Food Fortnight I thought it would be a good opportunity to post the British food 100. A friend of mine emailed me this list of British Foods that she has tried.

The list is below and the ones that I have tried are in bold. I think I have tried a fair few of them but there are still a lot to go. I'm not sure if I'll ever try them all.

Which ones have you tried?

1. Grey squirrel
2. Steak and kidney pie
3. Bubble and squeak
4. Spotted dick
5. Hot cross buns
6. Laver bread
7. Toad in the hole
8. Shepherds pie AND cottage pie
9. Scotch egg
10. Parkin
11. Welsh rarebit
12. Jellied eels (My Grandad liked these but I have never tried them)
13. Stilton
14. Marmite (I have tried it but I hate it, evil, evil stuff...)
15. Ploughman’s lunch
16. Cucumber sandwiches
17. Coronation chicken
18. Gloucester old spot
19. Cornish pasty (Oh how I love Cornish pasties!)
20. Samphire
21. Mince pies
22. Winkles ( My grandad liked these too but could never persuade me to try one)
23. Salad cream
24. Malt loaf
25. Haggis
26. Beans on toast ( don't like beans)
27. Cornish clotted cream tea
28. Pickled egg
29. Pork scratchings (they are revolting though)
30. Pork pie
31. Black pudding
32. Patum Peperium or Gentleman’s relish
33. Earl grey tea
34. Elvers (I saw Gordon Ramsay cook these on the F Word and it totally freaked me out)
35. HP Sauce
36. Potted shrimps
37. Stinking bishop
38. Elderflower cordial
39. Pea and ham soup
40. Aberdeen Angus Beef
41. Lemon posset
42. Guinness
43. Cumberland sausage
44. Native oysters
45. A ‘full English’ breakfast
46. Cockles (another of my Grandads favourties)
47. Faggots
48. Eccles cake
49. Potted Cromer crab
50. Trifle
51. Stargazy pie
52. English mustard
53. Christmas pudding
54. Cullen skink
55. Liver and bacon with onions
56. Wood pigeon
57. Branston pickle
58. Oxtail soup
59. Piccalilli
60. Sorrel
62. Chicken tikka masala
63. Deep fried Mars Bar (wrong, so wrong)
64. Fish, chips and mushy peas
65. Pie and mash with liquor (I've eaten pie & mash, but not with liquor)
66. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (with gravy)
67. Pickled onions
68. Cock-a-leekie soup
69. Rabbit and Hare
70. Bread sauce
71. Cauliflower cheese
72. Crumpets
73. Rice pudding
74. Bread and butter pudding
75. Bakewell tart
76. Kendall mint
77. Summer pudding
78. Lancashire hot pot
79. Beef Wellington
80. Eton mess
81. Neeps and tatties
82. Pimms
83. Scampi
84. Mint sauce
85. English strawberries and cream
86. Isle of Wight garlic
87. Mutton
88. Deep fried whitebait with tartare sauce
89. Angels on horseback
90. Omelette Arnold Bennett
91. Devilled kidneys
92. Partridge and pheasant
93. Stew and dumplings
94. Arbroath smokies
95. Oyster loaves (sounds interesting though!)
96. Sloe gin I'm going to try and make my own this year
97. Damson jam
98. Soda bread
99. Quince jelly
100. Afternoon tea at the Ritz (I've had afternoon tea but never at the Ritz)

Over to you!!

I Love You This Much Award

The wonderful Nazarina from Giddy Gastronome has sent me this amazing award. Thank you so much. It has made me feell all warm and fuzzy. Do have a look at Nazarina's blog. It is excellent.

One Bowl Chocoloate Chunk Cookies

Over on Violets Panty which is a forum I post on, we had a summer swap. This is where we all send a box of goodies to another member of the forum and it is lots of fun. George from Culinary Travels of a Kitchen Goddess sent me my swap parcel this time. I had a wonderful parcel of goodies which included a delightful book called Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey. I had not heard of this book before I recieved it but I have had such an enjoyable time reading through it and drooling over the recipes and photographs.

This book is a collection of gooey and sticky desserts, cakes and cookies with names such as Coconut Cream Puffs, Mocha Hazelnut Trifle, Butterscotch Pots and Cheesecake Pops. In addition to all the wonderful recipes, the author has included the techniques that are used to create these delightful goodies. Sprinkled throughout the book are are all sorts of tips such as choosing the right cocoa, toasting nuts and making a heavenly ganache. This book is so pretty with glorious photos and is easy to read. The recipes all look amazing and I love all things to do with chocolate and desserts so this is definately my kind of book. Thank you George for a wonderful gift.

I was flicking though the book trying to decide which recipe to try first when the heavens opened and we had a awful thunderstorm here. That put me off venturing outside to the shops so then I was looking for a recipe that I had all the ingredients for. In the end I settle for a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. My little nephews are visiting tomorrow so I'm sure they will love them. Thats if there are any left and we haven't eaten them all before then.

This recipe was so easy to make and uses only one bowl so there is hardly any washing up. Yet it delivers big chunky chewy cookies that are packed with chocolate chunks. According to the author the secret to its easy perfection lies with melting the butter first instead of creaming it with the sugar. This cookie dough was ready in about 5 minutes and was so simple to make. The recipe calls for toasted pecan nuts but I left these out of my cookies so that my little nephews could share them tomorrow. I think these cookies will be even nicer with them and I will definately add them in next time I make them. All in all a delicious recipe from a wonderful book. I can't wait to try something else.

This recipe makes 18-20 large cookies.

2 cups pecan halves

1 cup unsalted butter

3/4 of a cup dark brown sugar

3/4 of a cup of caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 and a quarter cups plain flour

half a teaspoon baking soda

a quarter of a teaspoon baking powder

2 cups of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180C. Place the pecans on a large baking sheet and toast in the oven until they are warm and fragrant for about 6-9 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Place the butter in a large bowl and microwave uncovered on high for one minute. If you don't have a microwave then melt the butter in a pan over a gentle heat. Remove from the microwave and stir until completely melted. Using a large wooden spoon stir in both types of the sugar. When combined add the salt, vanilla and the eggs. Stir until smooth then incorporate the flour, baking soda and baking powder until a soft dough forms. Carefully fold in the chocolate chunks and the pecans.

Line 2 trays with baking parchment and then using an ice cream scoop or a dessert spoon measure out the dough. Make sure to leave some space between the balls of dough as the cookies will spread when they are baking. Then place the trays of cookie dough into the fridge and chill for 45 - 60 minutes until they are firm. Towards the end of the chilling time preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/ 180C.

Bake the cookies in the oven until they are crisp and golden around the edges but still a little soft in the centres. 15 - 18 minutes should be about right. Transfer the baking sheets to wire rack and let them cool slightly. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the cookies onto the wire racks and leave to cool completely

Lamb Chops with Oregano and Tatziki

After a flick through Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls Meat book, I discovered that contrary to popular belief spring lamb is not the best. These lambs would have been born in November or December of the previous year and are sometimes reared indoors. For a long time we have been led to believe that the first lambs are ready for our plates with the first rays of the spring sunshine.


By the laws of nature spring is the time when lambs are born not when they are ready to eat. They need a few months to mature which takes us into the summer time. The lambs born in the spring will have eaten the new fresh grass which has to be good news for us as surely it will improve the flavour and quality of the meat. With this in mind I went to my local butcher and bought some lamb chops. My lamb chops were brushed with a little olive oil and some oregano from my garden. This was a delicous meal and the lamb was very tasty indeed.

This recipe serves 2

For the tsatzki:

half a cucumber

250g natural yoghurt

2 spring onions

a handful of chopped fresh mint

Grate the cucumber into a sieve, sprinkle it lightly with sea salt and leave to drain for about half an hour. Tip the yoghurt into a bowl. Finely chop the spring onions and the mint leaves then stir them into the yoghurt. Squeeze any excess moisture from the cucumber then stir it into the yoghurt mixture. Keep it into the fridge until you need it.

Now for the lamb. I used the grill which is built into my oven but I think it would be fine to cook them in a griddle pan too. In a small bowl mix some olive oil with the oregano and some salt and black pepper then brush it over the lamb chops. Cook the lamb in a hot grill or in a griddle pan until it is dark and sizzling on the outside, the fat is crisp and the inside of the meat is a juicy pink. Serve with the tsatziki. I also served my lamb with some delicious buttery new potatoes.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Small yet perfectly formed, who can resist a tempting little treat of a cupcake. These little cakes are adored by both children and adults. I love making cupcakes and trying out different combinations and decorations. Whether they are topped with sugar flowers or chocolate curls, I believe that there is a cupcake for every occasion.

These chocolate chip cupcakes are a tried and tested recipe in my kitchen. I have lost count of the amount of times I have baked these so thought it was about time I blogged about them. For a really intense chocolate hit, I decorate them with melted chocolate or chocolate fudge icing. Today though I decided to leave them plain and enjoy them just as they are.

This reicpe makes 12 cupcakes.

• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 100g self raising flour
• 00g chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5.
• Put 12 cake cases in a cake tray.
• Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until fluffy.
• Add the eggs and beat in.
• Fold in the flour
• Finally stir in the chocolate chips and then divide the mixture between the cake cases.
• Place the tray in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and place the cakes in a rack to cool.
• Enjoy