Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

Recipe Commission

Lamb Steaks Wild Mushroom Sauce and Dill Mash

A comforting recipe for Eat Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef

welsh-lamb-ren_-2

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Lamb Steaks with Wild Mushroom Sauce and Dill Mash

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Yield 4 servings

A creamy and comforting recipe using Welsh lamb steaks. 

Instructions

  1. Season the lamb steaks with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, on both sides. Drizzle a little oil onto the steaks and rub the oil into the meat. Set to one side.
  2. Drain the peeled potatoes and put them into a pan of fresh cold water, cover, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain into a colander and set to one side to dry.
  3. Place a dry frying pan onto a low heat. Throw in the pine nuts and allow them to toast until they turn golden – this will take around 30 seconds. Tip the pine nuts onto a plate and set to one side.
  4. Add a little oil to the same pan, turn up the heat to medium-high and add the lamb steak to the pan. Fry for 5 minutes on one side then flip them over. Add the mushrooms to the pan and a teaspoon of butter and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the lamb steaks (which will be cooked rare-medium rare) and leave them to rest on a plate.
  5. Pour the stock into the pan, swirl the stock around and allow to bubble for a minute. Add the fresh dill and double cream, stir and and bring up to the boil. Then take the pan off the heat.
  6. Mash the cooked potatoes, or put them through a potato ricer. Add one tablespoon butter, double cream and the fresh dill. Season with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, stir the butter, cream and dill into the mashed potatoes, until the potatoes are creamy and smooth.
  7. Divide the potatoes onto 4 plates. Slice each lamb steak in half and place on top of the mash. Spoon over over the creamy mushroom sauce. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and serve straight away.

Courses Main

Cuisine British

You may also like:

Lamb Steaks with Mint Ajika Sauce (Olia Hercules for Marley Spoon)

One-Pot Cypriot Lamb with Orzo 

Make-Ahead Lamb and Potato Moussaka

Jamie Oliver’s Mothership Roast Lamb

This is a paid recipe commission for Eat Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef. Find more Llambassador recipes here.

 

3 No-Bake Desserts

Summer is here and it’s hotting up so today I’m sharing three really easy recipes that require little effort and no baking! Hope you enjoy them, you can find the recipe links below which will take you straight to them on the Good to Know site. As you can probably imagine from these images, it’s a hard life creating recipes!

PINA COLADA FREAKSHAKES

Pina Colada Freakshake

Have you ever made a Freakshake?! A ‘freakshake’ is an Australian-inspired milkshake designed to wow and this weekend might be the time to have a go. These are adult shakes, made with rum, coconut cream, fresh pineapple, coconut cream and topped with fresh cream, roasted pineapple and coconut macaroons.

Get my Pina Colada Freakshake recipe here ->

NO-BAKE CUSTARD CREAM CHEESECAKE

Custard Cream Cheesecake

I love making no-bake cheesecakes as they are really just a case of combining a few ingredients, assembling them and leaving then leaving your cheesecake to set in the fridge. This cheesecake is perfect for taking along to summer BBQ’s and garden parties. Custard Cream biscuits are whizzed to make the biscuit base as an alternative to digestive biscuits and a creamy custard cheesecake filling finished with real Custard Cream biscuits on top.

Get my No-Bake Custard Cream Cheesecake recipe here ->

RAW CARROT CAKE WITH VEGAN CASHEW FROSTING

Raw Vegan Carrot Cakes

What?! A healthy carrot cake – really? Yes, these little carrot cake bites are raw, vegan and full of good things such as carrots, oats, raisins and pineapple with an alternative frosting made with just cashew nuts (soaked), almond milk, raw honey or maple syrup and a dab of coconut oil. Fear not, I have not turned into a clean-eating convert, BUT, it’s good to balance things out and try something different new every now and again! You’ll need a good food processor or a high powered blender.

Get my Raw Carrot Cake with Vegan Cashew Frosting here -> 

That’s it for now, have an amazing weekend.

With thanks to Good to Know/Time Inc. for the paid recipe commissions. Food, styling and photography my own. 

Roasted Summer Vegetables with British Goat’s Cheese #TasteOfSummer

Roasted Summer Vegetables

Roasted Summer Vegetables with British Goat’s Cheese

Most of the time we associate roasted vegetables with autumn or winter, in that root vegetables roast so well and sweeten up in the process. But I find that certain summer vegetables get on very well with a drizzle of cold-pressed rapeseed oil in a roasting tin before going into a hot oven. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been roasting plenty of British asparagus during the asparagus season – now sadly pretty much at an end. I actually used salad potatoes in this recipe, which I wouldn’t normally roast, but after par-boiling them for a few minutes I decided to throw them into the tin, too, along with some mini peppers. The salad potatoes actually roasted beautifully and became lovely and fluffy on the inside and a little bit crisp on the outside. Any waxy or new potato variety would work well, too. Another ‘first’ this summer was tasting a salad with roasted grapes and walnuts. I also love roasted summer courgettes or carrots with a sprinkle of caraway seeds. Roasted summer vegetables can be eaten warm just as they are, or, as in this recipe, with the addition of some British goat’s cheese. You can also serve the roasted vegetables cold, mixed with a little cream cheese as a filling for roasted sweet potatoes.

#tasteofsummer

All of these ideas speak to me of summer and so I thought this recipe would make the perfect addition to the Waitrose #TasteOf Summer campaign, currently ongoing.

Over the next few weeks, up until 26th August 2015, Waitrose are asking you to tell them your favourite #TasteOfSummer and to share your creations on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the chance to win one of their three summer food experiences –

  • You could win a pair of tickets to an exclusive barbecue event with Heston Blumenthal, at his pub, The Crown Inn, located in Bray, Berkshire. Winners must be available to attend the event on Saturday 25 July.
  • Or, you could win a ticket to their ‘Cocktails & Party Bites’ evening course at the Waitrose Finchley Road Cookery School in London on Thursday 13 August.
  • Or, you could win a complete summer party menu as chosen by the Waitrose Entertaining and Waitrose Cellar specialists – so all you’d need to do then is invite your friends over and crack open the bubbles!

Every week, Waitrose are also showcasing the most popular summer flavours across their social media channels.

To enter, you just have to share your favourite summer food or drink on Facebook (find the Facebook page here) Twitter (follow @Waitrose) or Instagram @Waitrose using the #TasteOfSummer hashtag.

Roasted Summer Vegetables
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So, whether you’re enjoying an ice cream at the seaside, or perhaps some freshly caught fish and chips, a barbecue in the garden, a simple summer salad, scones, strawberries and clotted cream whilst watching the tennis or even a slice freshly baked cake topped with fruit at the summer fair – there are lots of chances to win a great summer food experience.

Linking up to July and August’s Simple and in Season, too!

Simple in Season

Disclosure: I have been commissioned to create this recipe by Waitrose to help promote their Taste of Summer Campaign and received some vouchers in consideration. 

Cod, Chorizo and Pea Puree Bites

It’s almost time to start thinking about Christmas food. I say almost, because traditionally, I don’t really start thinking about Christmas food until December. However, the folks at Lurpak have invited me to take part in their Lurpak Christmas Menu this year and I’ve been tasked with creating an ‘amuse bouche’ or a ‘one bite wonder’ to get the party started. Happily, most of the thinking has been done for me, by Lurpak’s Facebook fans, who have been sending in their suggestions for their ultimate festive canapés. It was hard to pick just one recipe to recreate as there was so many great suggestions, but I was drawn to an idea by Lou Sharp who said that her one bite wonder would be a “Lurpak buttery pea puree topped with a chunk of cod and finished with a slice of chorizo.” So, here is my recreation of that idea – my Cod, Chorizo and Pea Purée Bites.

cod, chorizo and pea puree bites

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Chocolate Rolo Cake

If you’re looking for an indulgent chocolate cake – rich, extravagant, impressive yet easy – you’ve found it. I was asked to create a chocolate Rolo Cake for the Good Food Channel and this is it. I’ve made it a few times since it’s original incarnation and it has definitely become something of a request cake! The cake feeds a large crowd, so it’s perfect for a fundraiser, or a coffee morning or perhaps a birthday celebration or a family gathering. Two layers of chocolate cake filled with caramel sauce, covered in a chocolate fudge frosting and topped with a cascade of Rolo caramels and even more caramel sauce. It’s certainly not for anyone observing a Lenten fast or diet! But I can promise you, it is good!

Easy Rolo Cake

Here’s the recipe

This recipe first appeared here on the Good Food Channel.

Easy-Rolo-Cake

2 votes

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Chocolate Rolo Cake

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Yield 12

An indulgent chocolate cake - perfect for a special occasion! This recipe first appeared on the Good Food Channel's website.

Ingredients

  • For the chocolate sponge:
  • A little butter, for greasing
  • 225g/ one cup soft brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 250ml/ one cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 175g/ 1 & 3/4 cups self-raising flour
  • 75g/ 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 3 tbsp buttermilk
  • A can of dulce de leche or Carnation caramel
  • For the fudge icing:
  • 100g/ 2/3 cup good quality dark chocolate
  • 150g/ 2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 450g/ 2 & 1/4 cup icing sugar
  • 3 tbsp whole milk
  • 2 x 126g packet of rolos, to decorate

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease two 18cm sandwich tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper.
  2. Using an electric whisk or a stand mixer, beat the soft brown sugar and eggs and together for about four minutes until pale and creamy. Slowly add the vegetable oil and the vanilla bean paste and mix again.
  3. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and stir together well with a metal spoon. Add a pinch of salt and stir in the buttermilk, mix well.
  4. Divide the mixture equally into the prepared baking tins and bake for 30 minutes.
  5. Once cooked, take the sponges out of the oven. Leave to cool in the tins and then turn the sponges out onto a wire rack.
  6. For the fudge icing: Over a pan of gently simmering water in a heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate and set to one side.
  7. Whisk the butter until light and fluffy and gradually add the icing sugar. Add the melted chocolate and keep mixing until the mixture is smooth. Add the milk to loosen the icing slightly, if needed.
  8. Once the cakes have cooled, spread ¾ of the can of caramel sauce over the bottom layer of the cake, reserving the rest for the topping. Place the second cake on top and spread half of the fudge icing all over the cake. Smooth with a palette knife and then continue icing the cake until covered all over.
  9. Gently heat the remaining caramel sauce to make it easier to pour. Leave to cool slightly. Pile the Rolo’s onto the middle of the cake and drizzle over the caramel sauce with a spoon.

Easy Rolo Cake

Ren Behan is a freelance contributor to the Good Food Channel – Styling, photos and recipe author’s own. 

Let me know in the comments box below if you are brave enough to give this wonderful chocolate Rolo cake a go!

Baked Camembert with Smoked Chilli Honey

Camembert with Smoked Chilli Honey

As we inch closer to February, we’re nearing St Valentine’s Day and if you’re staying home this year, you might have started to think about planning your menu. You really want a menu that’s simple and not too stressful, tasty and a little bit creative. Sharing food is always nice, I think, or something that you wouldn’t eat everyday and hopefully, a dish or a meal that’s memorable.

Gran Luchito

This year I’ve been tasked by British brand Gran Luchito, to create a recipe to the theme of #SpicyValentines based upon their smoked chilli paste – available online at Amazon, or on the Ottolenghi food website, no less. Three products were sent to me as inspiration- Gran Luchito’s original smoked chilli paste, some smoked chilli mayo and some smoked chilli honey. All three products are made with rare smoked Mexican chillies, providing a spicy, sweet, smokey hit to your food. I decided to use their smoked chilli honey, as a drizzle for some baked Camembert. Brie would work nicely, too, or even a British alternative, such as this heart-shaped Daylesford Organic Baywell Cheese, spotted on Ocado.

Gran Luchito

A baked cheese is such an easy starter to make, there’s really no preparation at all, other than removing any wrapping that your cheese is in and placing it back into its little wooden container. You can also wrap it in tin foil if you prefer. I usually score a cross into the top of the cheese, just to make it easier to see the bubbles when they start oozing from the inside. After twenty minutes, carefully take your cheese out of the oven, scatter over some chopped walnuts for added crunch and drizzle over some slightly warm Gran Luchito Smoked Chilli Honey. Serve with chunks of crusty bread and be careful you don’t burn your fingers when dipping in!

Have I encouraged you to try a #SpicyValentines by adding a touch of rare Mexican smoked chilies?!

If so, here are a few more recipes to explore –

Laura’s Spiced, Honey Roast Squash, Chorizo, Prawn and Feta Salad

Katie’s Crispy Spiced Chicken

Jacqueline’s Smoked Chilli Bean Burgers

Michelle’s Salmon with Gran Luchito Honey Glaze or Trout with Gran Luchito Mayo

Nazima’s Braised Poussin with Chilli, Lime and Herb Broth

Helen’s Chilli Honey Marshmallows

Sarah’s Hot Stuff Bitesize Brownies with Oaxacan Smoked Chilli Honey (GF) 

Urvashi’s Chilli Honey Baklava

Gran Luchito

Camembert with Smoked Chilli Honey

1 vote

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Baked Camembert with Smoked Chilli Honey & Walnuts

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A baked Camembert, drizzled with some Gran Luchito smoked chilli honey and scattered with walnuts - perfect for sharing

Ingredients

  • 150g Pasturised Camembert or Brie (in its box)
  • 2 teaspoons Gran Luchito Mexican Smoked Chilli Honey
  • 2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
  • 1 small ciabatta roll

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  2. Remove any plastic wrapping or packaging from the cheese and place it back into its box. Score a cross into the top of the cheese, just piercing the rind. Place the lid back on. Bake the cheese for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the cheese had melted in the middle.
  3. Carefully take the cheese out of the oven and place on a serving plate. In a small pan, gently warm the smoked chilli honey. Drizzle the warm honey over the cheese and sprinkle over the chopped walnuts.Serve with small chunks of crusty bread.

Courses Starter

Cuisine French

Gran Luchito-7

With thanks to Gran Luchito for this paid recipe commission; in addition to products sent, my time and additional ingredients were covered. 

What are you thinking of eating or serving for Valentine’s Day?

Farfalle with British Pancetta and Italian Artichokes

I have an Italian recipe for you today – using ‘farfalle,’ bow-tie or butterfly pasta and a tasty sauce flavoured with British pancetta, garlic, artichokes, fresh spinach, tomato and cream. This is a lovely supper for a chilly evening and one that reminds me of our wonderful trip to Northern Italy late last spring. A piping hot plate of pasta is the perfect dish to serve up to a large family. The recipe itself is inspired by a new range of Italian products called Parioli Cucina to the theme of ‘seasonal, Italian and savoury.’

Parioli Pasta

One of the things I noticed in Italy, particularly when wandering around the food markets of Bologna, was the abundance of fresh artichokes on offer. The same doesn’t really translate over in Britain and I always think that we’re short of ideas on what to do with artichokes. Granted, preparing fresh artichokes takes a tiny bit of practice, although I follow the steps outlined by David Lebovitz here. As David says “Artichokes are not hard to prepare but they do take a bit of determination.” Since fresh artichokes usually come into season during the late spring (May/June) a good alternative is to use an authentic supply of artichokes in a jar, which are harvested in season, marinated, grilled and then preserved in vegetable oil. I’ve also added British spinach to my dish, from Kent.

Parioli Pasta

A quick note on the British pancetta, too. I was looking out for Italian pancetta, but this caught my eye at the supermarket and as I haven’t seen British pancetta before I was keen to try it. I was impressed to read that it is hand-cured, made with outdoor bred pork and is air dried for ten days. The smoked pancetta really made the dish. It gave it a little extra edge, complimenting the grilled artichokes and fresh spinach beautifully. If you can find some smoked pancetta, do try it in this recipe. Otherwise, use any good quality Italian pancetta you can find.

Parioli Pasta

As to the rest of the ingredients from Parioli Cucina, these are made and imported from Italy. Parioli is a neighbourhood in the north of Rome in Italy and the range includes dried pasta, sauces, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, chopped and plum tomatoes, antipasti (including the grilled artichokes) and olives. For this recipe, I used the Parioli farfalle pasta – which I really liked because the pasta bows were quite small and bite-sized; smaller than farfalle I’ve tried in other ranges. The pasta had a good bite and worked really well with my sauce. I also used some of their tomato sauce called ‘Basilico’ – a Sicilian basil and tomato sauce, made with vine ripened tomatoes from the Puglia region and fresh basil leaves from Neapolitan farms. The sauce had a very rich flavour and I would say was of a better quality to any of the more well-known branded pasta sauces that I’ve tried.

So, all in all, a lovely mix of flavours and textures with both British and Italian ingredients.

I hope you get to try this dish. Let me know if you do and whether you agree with me on the quality of the products used.

Parioli Cucina Range

Parioli Pasta

1 vote

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Farfalle with British Pancetta and Italian Artichokes

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Yield 4

A family pasta recipe made with both British seasonal and Italian ingredients from the Parioli Cucina range

Ingredients

  • 400g Farfalle or bow-tie pasta (100g per person), I used Parioli Cucina Pasta
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil or oil from the jar of artichokes
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
  • 180g pancetta, I used Tesco finest British smoked pancetta
  • 280g jar grilled artichoke hearts, drained, oil reserved, I used the Parioli Cucina brand
  • 170g or half a jar tomato and basil pasta sauce, I used Parioli Cucina ‘Basilico’
  • 450g/ 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 80ml or 1/3 cup double/heavy cream
  • Sea salt for the pasta water
  • Optional, Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the farfalle according to the packet instructions, or until al dente. When the pasta is cooked, take out one cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the rest of the pasta until the sauce is done.
  2. Heat two teaspoons oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and chopped pancetta. Fry until the pancetta is golden brown. Finely chop the artichoke hearts and add them to the pan, stir well. Pour in the tomato sauce and bring to the boil. Stir in the fresh spinach and keep stirring until wilted. Finally, add the reserved cup of pasta water to the pan and stir in the double cream and take the pan off the heat.
  3. Mix the cooked pasta with the sauce. Serve whilst piping hot, with Parmesan cheese grated over the top, if you like.

Courses Main

Cuisine Italian

I’m linking this recipe up with Simple and in Season, a community blog event hosted by me here. The spinach wilted down so much I could have really used twice the amount. It’s also a lovely recipe to bookmark for late Spring when we start to see fresh artichokes in season, too.

Simple and in Season

With many thanks to Parioli Cucina for inviting me to create this recipe. 

Polish Apple Cake – BBC Good Food Magazine

It’s almost time to wish you all a wonderful Christmas break. There are presents to wrap and people to see – we’ll all be getting busy. Without doubt, I’m ending the year on a food writing high and this particular feature in BBC Good Food Magazine couldn’t have come at a more special time. If you are able to get your hands on a copy of the January edition of BBC Good Food Magazine – out now – you’ll see an exciting feature called Global Kitchen, with some vibrant ideas for New Year cooking. The BBC Good Food team love to spot new trends and they’ve picked out six cuisines they think we’ll be eating more of and hopefully cooking more of in 2014. Favourites include Pakistani food, aromatic Lebanese, the food of Vietnam, homely Polish food, the Inca-inspired Peruvian kitchen and fresh Korean flavours. What a line up!

GlobalKitchen (1)_01

To celebrate these ‘up-and-coming’ cuisines, BBC Good Food selected six recipes – including my very own Polish apple cake (Szarlotka) – for us all to try our hands at. I’m incredibly excited to be featured alongside some of my favourite food writers of the moment, including Bethany Kehdy (author of The Jewelled Kitchen highlighted here), cookery teacher and writer Sumayya Jamil. entrepreneurs Van Tran and Anh Vu, Martin Moore (author of Ceviche:Peruvian Kitchen) and Judy Joo, who is about to begin a new series of Korean Food Made Simple.

Polish Apple CakeSpot my Polish apple cake recipe…

Credit: Photograph by Will Heap for BBC Good Food Magazine

So, what do you all think about the cuisines that have been highlighted by the feature? Whilst I am of course biased and hope that Polish and Eastern-European food may make its mark on global cuisine (Poland recently achieved it’s first Michelin star via Chef Amaro in Warsaw.) I am also intrigued by Korean food and I would also love to explore more Lebanese food in my own kitchen as well as trying out some Vietnamese dishes.

I also spotted a recipe in the previous edition of BBC Good Food Magazine for Piernik – a Polish gingerbread cake, by Edd Kimber, which is stuck to my kitchen cabinet with a ‘must-make’ post-it note attached.

I’m more hopeful than ever that I can tempt you all with more Eastern-European baking here on my blog and elsewhere next year.

In the meantime, I’m signing off now for a festive break. Please do leave me a comment in the box below if there are any particular recipes you’d like me to share in 2014, or cuisines you think I should be exploring in my kitchen!

With thanks to Sarah, Helen, Will and the BBC Good Food Team for inviting me to be a part of this feature and for styling and photographing my cake so beautifully. 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Make a Christmas Rice Krispie House!

Here’s a little project for the weekend, as an alternative to a baked Gingerbread house why not have a go at  my white chocolate Rice Krispie House? This was part of a group of Christmas recipes that I was asked to make and style for the Good Food Channel’s website. I think of all the recipes I made, this was the most fun!

Rice Krispie House

White Chocolate Rice Krispie House for the Good Food Channel – find the full recipe and instructions, here. 

The very basic ideas is to melt white chocolate and mix in some Rice Krispies – a bit like making chocolate crispie cakes, but with bigger quantities. You then have to work quite quickly to transfer the Rice Krispies onto two flat baking sheets, pressing down quite firmly to get two large flat slabs. Once this has set in the fridge, you use your white chocolate Rice Krispie ‘slabs’ to make up the structure of your house and with a bit of icing, just stick it all together and decorate.

This is a really exciting project for little people (and big people) and it is a great alternative when you feel like making something, but don’t quite fancy baking.

I did try using buttercream the first time to stick the panels together, but buttercream doesn’t really harden, so I found that royal icing created a firmer structure.You can decorate your house with any sweets you like and then sprinkle around some desiccated coconut for snow.

Christmas Good Food Channel

Other Christmas recipes for the Good Food Channel

Christmas Baking – Profiterole Cupcakes, Mince Pie Cupcakes, White Chocolate Malteser Cake

Stir Up Sunday – Nut Free Mince Pies and a Nut Free Christmas Pudding

Make Your Own Pomegranate Vodka – great for gifts

With thanks to the Good Food Channel for asking me to create these recipe. Styling, photos and recipes my own and reflect commissioned content. 

Cupcakes & A White Chocolate Malteser Cake – Good Food Channel

There was more than a little cloud of icing sugar in my kitchen this weekend as I busily baked and decorated cakes for the school Christmas fair. Luckily, I’d already had a warm-up, creating some Christmas recipes for the Good Food Channel earlier in November, which provided me with the perfect template for the cake stall and a spot of Christmas baking.

If you’re looking for a festive twist on Christmas cupcakes, then you might enjoy my Mince Pie Cupcakes – made with a vanilla sponge, mincemeat and a luxurious brandy butter icing. You can decorate them with sprinkles, coloured sugar or some retro-picks, as seen here.

Mince Pie Cupcakes

Mince Pie Cupcakes for the Good Food Channel – {Recipe here}

A tiny bit more of a challenge, but not much, are these Profiterole Cupcakes. If you’re not quite up for a ‘Bake Off’ style choux pastry challenge – you could cheat by leaving out the choux pastry step and buying some profiteroles to go on the top. Although I have to say, even though I’ve only made choux pastry once before, it is much easier than you might think, so I’d say have a go at the whole recipe.

Christmas Pudding Cupcakes

Profiterole Cupcakes for the Good Food Channel – {Recipe here}

Finally, if you are up for a spot of Christmas baking and are looking for a Christmas showstopper, this White Chocolate Malteser Cake is actually a simple sponge cake, covered in white chocolate butter cream and topped with white chocolate Maltesers, which makes an impressive centrepiece or star prize for the Christmas raffle! For a little twist, you can also spread a little raspberry jam or lemon curd in between the layers before icing. Then all you need to do is have fun eating the little Malteser balls as they roll off!

White Chocolate Malteser Cake

White Chocolate Malteser Cake for the GoodFood Channel – {Recipe here}

Happy Baking!

Have you come across any festive cupcakes yet this year worth bookmarking? Let me know in the comments box below.

More Festive Ideas –

A Nut-Free Christmas Pudding and Nut-Free Mince Pies for the Good Food Channel

Pierniczki – Polish Spiced Christmas Cookies

Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney

Raspberry and White Chocolate Traybake by Sarah at Maison Cupcake

Gingerbread Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting by A Spoonful of Sugar

Ren Behan is a freelance contributor to the Good Food Channel – styling, photos and recipes author’s own and reflect commissioned content. 

‘Fruitdrop’ Pear & Plum Banana Bread

This week I’ve had a much-needed health kick whilst getting through a huge box of fruit delivered to me by a company called Fruitdrop. The children got very excited about seeing all the fruit and have been eating much more of it too, usually in the way of fruit salads and a quick morning smoothie. We do eat a lot of fruit in general, but I think seeing a big box bursting with a huge variety of fruit sparked additional interest. The box contained red and white grapes, clementines, apples, pears, melon, kiwi fruit, mango, bananas, plums and a lemon – around fifty pieces of fruit in total. My Fruidrop box arrived in pristine condition and even though we are getting through it (with the help of a couple of batches of this fruity Pear and Plum Banana Bread) it has lasted us well over a week.

FruitDdop

The kids really love banana bread as an after school snack and so I very often whip up a batch for them. With all the extra fruit to hand, I decided to layer up some of the pears and plums within the loaf itself, also serving it with some extra fruit.

Plum and Pear Banana Bread

Fruitdrop is mainly aimed at office initiatives, with a suggestion of ordering enough fruit for 2-4 pieces per person per week, with a fruit box starting at £20. You can also order milk to go along with your fruit delivery and deliveries take place all over the UK on an ad hoc or more regular basis. The fruit is handpicked by Fruitdrop and sourced from wholesale markets from within the UK (although not all of the fruit was British grown). Fruitdrop also guarantee to replace any fruit if you find any damaged or over-ripe.

Fruitdrop-7

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Pear & Plum Banana Bread

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A quick and easy extra fruit banana bread recipe for the family (or your co-workers!) to enjoy. You can also use apples, or blueberries as one of the layers.

Ingredients

  • 150g unsalted butter (plus a bit extra for greasing)
  • 100g soft brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 200g self raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon (plus extra for dusting)
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 bananas, mashed
  • 120g sour cream
  • 1 pear, ripe, sliced
  • 2 plums, ripe, stone removed, sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 5. Grease the inside of a loaf tin with a little butter and line with a sheet of baking paper.
  2. Using an electric whisk, beat the butter with the sugar, eggs and vanilla.
  3. Sift in the dry ingredients and stir with a metal spoon. Stir in the mashed bananas and sour cream.
  4. Add one third of the mixture to the loaf tin and spread out using the back of a spoon. Next, add a layer of pear. Then a further third of the mixture followed by a layer of plum. Add the rest of the mixture and flatten the top. Dust with a little extra cinnamon.
  5. Bake the loaf for 1 hour. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for ten minutes before carefully taking it out to cool on a wire rack. Serve when warm or cold with extra fruit on the side. .

Other fruity recipe you might like to try with a fruit box –

You could adapt this Late Summer Fruit Salad with Pomegranate and Pistachio

Or, perhaps try these Toffee Apple Tarts, adding in some pears, too.

You could also use the pears to make these delicious Pear and Chocolate Brownies

 

With thanks to Fruitdrop for the delivery of fruit for me to review.

Pear & Plum Banana Bread Recipe commission in collaboration with Fruitdrop.

Stir-Up Sunday & a Nut-Free Christmas Pudding

The British tradition of Stir-Up Sunday, falls on the last Sunday before advent and involves getting the family to stir up the ingredients for the annual Christmas pudding. The children too are invited to have a stir and make a wish. The tradition was said to have been introduced by Prince Albert to the Victorians – so it’s a long-standing tradition, which is very much making a comeback with more of us keen to have a go at making our own puddings and cakes. At the same time as making our Christmas pudding, we also buy extra quantities of dried fruits, lemons, oranges and spices to make up a big batch of mincemeat, which can then be stored in sterlized jars ready to give away as gifts or to make mince pies with.

Stir Up SUnday

To find out more, you may like to read my piece on Stir Up Sunday for Jamie Oliver.com.

Nut Free Christmas Pudding

Nut Free Christmas Pudding-2808

 This Nut-Free Christmas Pudding first appeared on the Good Food Channel

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Nut Free Christmas Pudding

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This nut-free Christmas pudding is light, fruity and golden, with no nuts making it ideal for allergy sufferers. It's easy to make ahead for Christmas day (ideally, anytime from Stir Up Sunday) 

Ingredients

  • 50g mixed dried fruit
  • 100 ml brandy, plus extra for soaking
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 small orange, zested
  • 2 tsp butter, for greasing
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 100 g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 200 g light soft brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup or treacle 

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, add the mixed dried fruit, brandy, grated apple, orange zest, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well, cover and set to one side for at least an hour or overnight for best results.

2. Grease a one-litre pudding basin with a little butter and set to one side. If you are adding a silver coin or sixpence, boil the coin in a little water so that it is clean.

3. In another large bowl, mix the flour, spices, breadcrumbs, soft brown sugar, eggs and golden syrup together, along with all the soaked mixed fruits and give everything a very good stir. Add the silver coin if using.

4. Pour the mixture into the greased pudding basin. Cover the pudding basin with a square of greaseproof paper and make a pleat in the middle so that the pudding has a space to rise. Tie with kitchen string. Repeat with a square of tin foil.

5. Find a large lidded pan, big enough to fit the pudding basin in and half fill with water. Place an upturned saucer in the bottom of the pan for your pudding basin to sit on. Bring the water to a gentle boil. Carefully place the Christmas pudding onto the saucer in the pan and cover the pan with a lid. Steam the pudding very gently for 5-6 hours, making sure that there is enough water in the pan but that the water doesn't reach the lip of the basin.

6. Remove the pudding and leave to cool. The pudding can now be stored until Christmas day. To store, place a clean square of greaseproof paper over the top of the pudding and re-tie with kitchen string. You can also make a few holes in the base of the pudding and top it up with brandy every couple of weeks. Store in a cool, dark place.

8. To reheat the pudding on Christmas day, steam it again for 2 hours, then carefully turn the pudding out on a plate and serve.

Courses Dessert

Cuisine British

You may also like:

Nut Free Mince Pies

Nut Free Mince Pies

Nut Free Mince Pies for the Good Food Channel [find the recipe here]

I hope you manage to find the time to try making your own pudding this year – it never fails to put me in the Christmas mood – Michael Bublé tunes optional. If you are looking at making your own Christmas gifts this year – try some of these links –

Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney

Pomegranate and Vanilla Vodka 

Make Your Own Rumtopf

For more delectable Edible Christmas Gifts pop over and read Katie’s post here.

Recipes and photographs for the Good Food Channel and blog posts for JamieOliver.com reflect commissioned content. 

Recipe:Turkey Stroganoff with Soured Cream

It’s time to think smart when it comes to making the most out of the food we buy and using up our leftovers. I was pretty shocked to read that the average family in Britain wastes nearly £60 a month (the equivalent of 6 meals a week or 24 meals a month) in unused food. As we approach Christmas, two for one deals and special offers go into overdrive, which means that if we’re not careful, we’ll end up buying too much and then throwing some of it away. The one thing we are very good at doing is coming up with ways to use up our turkey leftovers and I’ve been challenged to do just that by the Lean on Turkey campaign. Although we shouldn’t just be thinking of leftovers at Christmas or Thanksgiving, using up all the little bits we have in the fridge and making the most of a roast should be the way forward all year round. I’m tapping into my Eastern European roots a little with this recipe for a turkey stroganoff, which uses up leftover turkey (or any poultry, really) along with some red onions, mushrooms, mustard, soured cream and a few sprigs of dill. It’s perfect for a Boxing Day buffet or for a quick family supper, whenever you have some leftovers to use up. Stroganoff can be made with a tablespoon or mustard or tomato puree and an optional sprinkle of paprika. Always use ‘smetana’ or soured cream.

Turkey leftovers (1 of 3)-2

Costings (to come in at under £10 for 4)

  • Leftover Turkey (nominal as it should be leftover) – £2
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (store cupboard)
  • 1 red onion – 40p
  • Mushrooms 200g – £1.69
  • 1 tablespoon mustard – 5p
  • Soured cream 300ml – 99p
  • Fresh dill – 25p
  • Noodles/Rice – £1.50

Total – £6.88 to feed 4 (Ocado)

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Turkey Stroganoff with Soured Cream

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Yield 4

A quick and easy dish to use up leftover turkey

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • 300g mushrooms
  • 500g leftover turkey
  • 300ml soured cream
  • A splash of whole milk
  • Fresh dill to garnish
  • Noddles, pasta or rice to serve

Instructions

  1. Cook the noodles, pasta or rice according to the packet instructions.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large frying pan. Cook the onions over a medium heat for five minutes, until soft. Stir in the wholegrain mustard and the mushrooms and season with freshly ground black pepper and a little salt. Cook for a further five minutes.
  3. Add the leftover turkey to the pan and mix together well. Pour in the soured cream, adding a splash of milk if the sauce is a little thick. Cook for another five minutes, or until the turkey is piping hot.
  4. Serve on a bed of noodles, pasta or rice and garnish with fresh dill. Optional: drizzle over a little extra olive oil.

Previous #LeanonTurkey recipes

Challenge 5 – Turkey and Leek Meatballs with Tomato Tagliatelle

Challenge 6 – Coronation Turkey Picnic Rolls

Lean on Turkey Blogger’s Page

This is a recipe commission in association with Lean on Turkey. Ingredients + development time paid for.  

Mini Pasta Bakes (Proware Kitchen)

I mentioned cooking with Proware Kitchen’s Tri-Ply copper pans on my blog shortly before Christmas, when I tested a set sent to me by Proware Kitchen. They’ve stood up extremely well in my kitchen and so I was pleased to see some new pans added to the range, including a 24cm saute pan, a 24cm stockpot, a 12cm mini frying pan and a 12cm mini casserole. I’ve now tried out the newbies, too and have been equally happy with them – the 24cm saute pan being my most used and loved pan in the range. Lakeland stock the pans exclusively and since the beginning of the summer Lakeland have had them on special offer – 3 for 2, with the lowest price item being free.

Proware 24cm Saute Pan

 A tasty filling for an Easy Chicken Pie – {find my recipe here}

Caring for my Copper Tri-Ply Pans

My Proware Kitchen Copper Tri-Ply pans have been through the dishwasher lots of times, though their website states that where possible, they should just be washed in warm soapy water. Copper does tarnish over time, which gives them a lovely, rustic, well-used look, although I’ve found that either Brasso (an inexpensive metal polish) or better still, half a lemon dipped in salt and gently rubbed onto the copper, brings them back to their shiny state easily enough.  

The photo on the left is before cleaning the pans. On the right, the pan on the top left was cleaned with half a lemon dipped in salt and the pan on the bottom right was cleaned and polished with Brasso.

ProWare Copper Pans

The new mini pans are also incredibly cute. They remind me of a posh meal, with perhaps a roasted chicken breast and some bright green petit pois served in a little pan alongside, or even a tasty sauce. I use mine to make mini pasta bakes in, which can then be served as individual portions. You have to be very careful though, as straight out of the oven the copper is very hot! The mini frying pans are great for single fried eggs, or mini omelettes, too.

Copper pans are excellent conductors of heat. The benefit of using Tri-Ply copper pans is that they are lighter than traditional copper pans, less expensive and have a three layer structure – a copper exterior, an aluminium core second layer and then they are finished with a thin layer of stainless steel inside the pans. So basically, the pans stand up to professional or domestic use, they look pretty and food cooks evenly and without sticking or burning as you can generally use a lower heat.

Here’s a very simple Pea and Bacon Pasta Bake recipe that I often make at home. Below the recipe, you’ll also find a giveaway for a mini frying pan – good luck!

Mini Pasta Bakes

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ProWare Kitchen Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With thanks to ProWare Kitchen for sending me the latest pans in the range to review and for providing a giveaway prize. I was not required to write a positive review and this is an unpaid post.

More Pasta Recipes

Easy Macaroni Cheese with Baby Leeks

Quick Tuna Fish Pasta

 

Coronation Turkey Picnic Rolls

Ever since eating a steaming hot jacket potato recently in a Welsh café, topped with coronation chicken (and discovering that the kids liked it, too) I’ve been making my own version at home. So, when Lean on Turkey asked me to create a recipe suitable for kids and picnics (under £10) we decided on some coronation turkey picnic rolls. You could also fill some tasty wraps with the filling, or even stir it through some pasta to make a coronation turkey pasta salad. Coronation chicken was a dish first said to have been created for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, made with cold chicken, raisins, herbs and spices. We swapped traditional chicken for some shredded, cooked turkey adding a few dollops of light mayo, curry powder, raisins and chopped mango. If you don’t want your rolls or wraps to go soggy, either line them with lettuce (as we did) or else take the coronation turkey mix in a separate jar and fill when you arrive at your favourite picnic destination!

Coronation Turkey

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Coronation Turkey

Breakdown of costs – with some ingredients leftover

Roast Turkey Breast Slices – £2.49

Essentials Waitrose Mayonnaise – £1.09 (500ml)

Curry Powder – £1.25 (100g)

Raisins – £1.00

Mango – £1.75

Lettuce – £1.00

Oaten Bread Rolls x 4 – £1.14

Total – £9.72 

Coronation Turkey

More picnic recipes –

Polish Carrot and Apple Salad

Nigella’s Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

Seasonal Cherry and Almond Traybake

Pear and Chocolate Brownies

You could also try my first recipe for the Lean on Turkey Challenge – Turkey and Leek Meatballs with Tomato Tagliatelle.

Sponsored Post + cost of ingredients covered

With many thanks to Lean on Turkey for asking me to create a picnic recipe. 

Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cake – Great British Chefs

This cake almost needs no introduction. I called it the ‘Big Daddy’ Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cake because we made it for Father’s Day. Four layers of chocolate cake with salted caramel buttercream and a chocolate fudge topping. The tallest cake I’ve ever made. Half a jar of Bonne Maman ‘Confiture de Caramel’ left to eat and a cake to feed the whole family. I know at least one ‘daddy’ who will be very happy this Sunday…will you have some time to make this, too?

Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cake

Find my recipe for the Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cake and the full post over on Great British Chefs here.

Here’s your ingredients list –

  • Caster sugar
  • Soft brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • Vanilla bean paste or powder (I use Ndalli)
  • Vegetable oil or mild, light olive oil
  • Self-raising flour
  • Cocoa powder (I use  Green and Blacks)
  • Baking powder
  • Bicarbonate of soda
  • Sea salt (I use Maldon)
  • Plain, natural yoghurt
  • One packet unsalted butter
  • Icing sugar
  • Caramel sauce (I used Bonne Maman Confiture de Caramel from Waitrose or Ocado)
  • 200g good quality dark chocolate (I used Lindt 52%)
  • Double cream
  • Chopped fudge pieces to decorate

Off you pop to the shops!

Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!

Salted_Caramel_Chocolate_Fudge_Cake

A Rhubarb and Almond Cake for the Good Food Channel

Just before going away to Italy, a large pile of rhubarb was left on my doorstep by my good friend Alex Bray fresh from her mum’s farm and on the same day, a neighbour came round with some from his garden. So, rhubarb is plentiful at the moment and in season, meaning that I was able to bake this this tray bake to be featured by the Good Food Channel blog. The recipe runs along side an interview, put together by the lovely Katie Bryson from Feeding Boys and a Firefighter, for a new section highlighting the Good Food Channel’s favourite blogs. I hope you get a chance to try the recipe. I sweetened it with Agave nectar, so it isn’t excessively sweet and if you have plenty of rhubarb, you could layer up more slices as you add the batter to the cake pan.

You can find my Rhubarb and Almond Cake recipe here

You can read more about my blog and some of my favourite foodie things here

Rhubarb

Rhubarb and Almond Cake

Rhubarb and Almond Cake

With thanks to the Good Food Channel and Katie Bryson for the feature. This was a paid recipe commission. 

Linking up to Simple and in Season, the seasonally-inspired community blog event.

Simple and in Season