Baked Coconut Custard

I love Grannymar's Blog. She does not have a food Blog but Monday is 'Food Monday' and she always has an interesting recipe. Good old fashioned uncomplicated food of which I am so fond. I love baked custard and when I saw this some time ago I just had to make it. The use of coconut milk instead of cream is lovely. It makes it a very light dessert. It looks pretty and so quickly prepared it would be perfect for a dinner party. I think the addition of a crispy thin shortbread biscuit would set it off perfectly.


Coconut Custard Serves 4

Preheat your oven to 150.C/300F/Gas 1-2

Ingredients

4 eggs
3 ozs light brown sugar
8 fluid ozs coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method

Place all the ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth or mix together with a whisk in a bowl by hand. 
Transfer to individual lightly buttered ramekin dishes
Place the ramekin dishes in a deep sided tin and place in the oven.
Pour water into the tin to come approximately half way up the side of the dishes.
 Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the custard has just set but has a little wobble.
Present as your imagination takes you.

Veda Bread

There is a little malt loaf particular to Northern Ireland called Veda.

My hubby loves it. I have tried for years but have been unable to replicate it in the kitchen. Why? because I could not get the necessary dark malt flours. Well I could have but they only sold in bulk to the bakeries. Even at my most enthusiastic I don't think I could get through 50 kilos of flour. The other day I finally found my flour courtesy of Bakery Bits. A very good website selling flour and all sorts of bread making equipment. All I had was the ingredients on the loaf sleeve and my fiercest critic (Hubby) and the knowledge that hundreds of ex pat. ulster people have been searching for a recipe but with little success (Google told me this) Previous attempts with just malt extract and treacle failed to give the definitive flavour particular to Veda.
I explained to Rhyley what I was doing. The tension in the kitchen was immense as I took the loaf out of the oven and waited for it to cool. Enter Hubby who had a slice slathered in butter while four female eyes watched in apprehension as he chewed. He then uttered the words 'That's it' and watched in amazement as Rhyley and I danced round the kitchen. Success is heady stuff. I haven't had to buy a Veda since.
You can just make this with the malt extract and treacle and it will give a nice malt loaf but if you are a fan it takes the malted flours.

I make my loaf in a covered mermaid pan as it gives the bread a lovely soft sandwich texture. It can of course be baked in an ordinary loaf pan.

Makes one small loaf.
Oven temperature
200.C/180.C Fan/400.F/Gas 6


Ingredients


450gms/1lb White Bread Flour
1 teasp Roasted barley Malt Flour
2 teasp Nut Brown Malt Flour
1 teasp instant yeast
1 teasp salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 large teaspoon malt extract
1 large teaspoon treacle or molasses
200-250 mls warm water

Glaze (If desired)

A teaspoon of warmed treacle/molasses


Method


Mix all the ingredients together using 200mls of the water. If it seems a little dry add a little more water just a drop at a time. It should be a softish slightly sticky dough
Knead for 10 minutes by hand or five in a stand mixer with a dough hook.
Form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl covered with cling film 
Leave somewhere warm to rise for about an hour until doubled in volume.
Gently pull the dough out of the bowl onto an oiled work top and dimple out with your fingers to disperse the gas.

Fold the dough over towards yourself bit by bit firming each roll with your thumbs as you go..
When you have a sausage fold it into thirds like a busines letter.
Turn it over and tease the sides down and under until you get a cob shape.
Place this into a greased 2 lb loaf pan and squash it down until it fills the base.
Place the tin inside a plastic bag and leave for 30-40 mins until it has risen again. You will know when it is ready if you very gently shake the end of it trembles a bit like a jelly.
Brush gently with the glaze and bake for approx thirty minutes.
The loaf will sound hollow when tapped on the underside when it is done. If not pop it back in the tin and bake for a further five minutes and check again.

TIP
Oil your hands and the work top when working with the dough. It stops it sticking to you and everything else

Parmigiana

This was just an unpretentious supper of ragu pasta of which we all enjoy from time to time.So easy to prepare. I serve it with a little salad and garlic bread and love its simplicity of flavour. This uncomplicated dish however, was  pushed into a different dimension using a wonderful  three year old Parmigiana from Tuscany. A very dear friend had the big heart to send it to me. If you are used to the supermarket variety of this cheese nothing will prepare you for the real flavour of Italy. My tongue is still tingling two hours later. Heaven on a plate. The rather nice Chianti helped too. Perfect to wash it down with. If you ever have the good fortune to visit Italy please leave room in your case to take home a big chunk of this. You won't regret it.

Spicy Stir Fried Beef

This is a fairly quick uncomplicated meal. I have used beef but chicken or other meat of your choice could be used. It's also good for using up left overs. Served with rice of course would be the obvious accompaniment but I love it with baked potatoes. What ever you eat it with it is quick and that is always such a bonus. You can of course up the chilli if you like it really hot. The recipe for me is spicy enough. Just nicely tongue tingling. You can also use fresh ginger chilli garlic etc but it's great sometimes just to lift the little jars out of the cupboard and measure out what you need isn't it?

Serves two generously

Ingredients

450g (1lb) thick sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
10ml (2tsp) sunflower oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped

Marinade

10ml (2tsp) sesame oil/wok oil or any vegetable oil if you don't have these
Juice from 1 lime
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2tbsp brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic granules or 2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
30ml (2tbsp) soy sauce
200ml (7fl oz)  coconut milk
150g (5oz) peanut butter (About two large tablespoons)



Boiled rice, noodles or baked potatoes and salad  to serve

Method

Place all the marinade igredients into a plastic bag and squish around until well mixed.
Place the beef strips into the bag with the marinade and squish around some more.
Do this for an hour before cooking at room temperature  or for a couple of days in the fridge

Heat a the oil in a frying pan
Finely slice the onion and gently fry for about five minutes until it is soft and translucent
Turn up the heat and add the contents of the bag stirring to keep it moving in the pan.
Fry for about five to ten minutes or longer if you like as long as you don't want the beef rare.

Serve with your chosen accompaniment.

If I have peppers or mushrooms etc  needing used up I often add them to the pan as well.

Chocolate Orange Cake

I was finishing off  Sally's Lemon Butter Cake when it occurred to me, if it tasted so good and had such a lovely texture, it might make a rather nice chocolate cake. Then the next wave of an idea hit me. Why not orange as well? Nothing for it. I grabbed my wooden spoon so to speak and off I went. I love messing around and experimenting in the kitchen but things don't always work out. I tell myself it's a learning curve. I didn't need to worry this time. The marriage of chocolate and orange was sheer ambrosia. The texture of the cake was light but moist. Intensely chocolatey. Perfect. I know I know, self praise is no recommendation but my resident eating machine agreed completely and as he is my fiercest critic who was I to argue. I hope you'll try it. I think you'll find it worth the short time it takes to throw this cake together.

Chocolate Orange Cake


Ingredients

250g /9 oz Butter or Margarine

250g /9oz Dark brown sugar

200g /7oz S.R Flour plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder or plain flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder (sifted)

50 g / 2oz cocoa powder

3 Eggs (beaten)

2 large tablespoons marmalade

Rind of two oranges and juice of one

Icing

2-3 tablespoons orange juice
2oz icing sugar

A few squares of chocolate melted with a little oil or butter (optional)



Method....

Pre Heat your oven to 180.C/160.C Fan/400.F/Gas 6

Grease and line a shallow baking tray 24 cms x 33 cms/ 13 inches x 9 1/2 inches.

Leave an over hang lengthwise of your lining paper so the cake can be removed from the tin easily.

Melt butter and marmalade in microwave on 50% power or in a large saucepan on the hob.


Stir in sugar, then the flour and cocoa powder, add the eggs, orange zest and juice from the oranges (reserving about three tablespoons of juice for drizzle icing.) stirring well. A whisk is good.

Pour into your prepared tin and bake for approx 20 - 30 minutes until the cake is springy to touch.


Leave in the tin until cold before removing


Sieve the icing sugar and mix with the juice giving a fairly runny icing.
Drizzle over the cake

Melt the chocolate and oil if using and drizzle over.

Cut into squares/fingers

Thank you Sally for setting of this chain of events. x

 

Sally's Lemon Butter Cake

I am sorry my  friends. I have not been blogging recently but family life was calling. I was on holiday then I had to attend a family wedding a distance away. None of these were hardships of course. Now I am back to catch up.
Sally a great friend and fellow Blogger drew my attention to this recipe on her Blog. It is perfect. Simple to make and tastes just wonderful. Now grab a baking tray and off you go. Trust me you won't regret it

Ingredients

250g Butter

250g Soft brown sugar

250g S.R Flour or plain flour with a teaspoon of baking powder (sifted)

3 Eggs (beaten)

1 Lemon

Caster Sugar for paste approx 50 gms/2 oz

Method....

Pre Heat your oven to 200.C/180.C Fan/400.F/Gas 6

Grease an line a shallow  baking tray 24 cms x 33 cms/ 13 inches x 9 1/2 inches.

Leave an over hang lengthwise of your lining paper so the cake can be removed from the tin easily.

Melt butter in microwave on 50% power or in a large saucepan on the hob.

Stir in sugar, then the flour, add the eggs and the zest from the lemon. (Keep the juice from lemon for later)

Pour into your prepared tin and bake for approx 20 - 30 minutes.until the cake is golden on top and springy to touch

 Mix juice from lemon with enough caster sugar to form a paste,.

Spread on cake while still hot from oven. A silicon pastry brush is helpful for this

Using the liner overhang lift from the baking tin and leave to cool on a cooling rack. 


My Notes


I used an orange and a lemon. I used all the rind but tipped about 2/3rds of the juice into the cake mix using the rest for the sugar glaze.


Limes would be nice too.


Let your imagination take you

Chocolate Spice Cake

I have been having a fiddle around. That is to say I was looking for a rich moist chocolate loaf cake without too much faffing around in the making. I finally managed to tick the boxes. It's densely chocolatey,very moist and keeps really well and most importantly it is easy and quick to make. The spice is optional and of course you can use any sweet spice of your choice. It just gives a little tingle in the background which I like. You do need the large pan I mention as it is quite a big mixture but is easily divided into smaller pans if you do not have the larger size. It was suggested to me it would be rather nice with custard. I haven't tried that option but I will soon.

Chocolate Spice Cake

225 gms/8oz butter
300gms/11oz dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple or ordinary syrup
2 beaten eggs
100 gms /4oz dark choc
175 gms /6oz SR flour (or the same weight in plain/all purpose flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder)
25gms/1 oz cocoa powder
250mls milk
1 tablespoon allspice optional

Method

Warm the milk slightly in a large saucepan
Add everything else except the flour cocoa spice and eggs.
Melt together stirring as you go.
When cool beat in the eggs then sift in the flour, cocoa and allspice if using and mix in gently but thoroughly
Pour into a greased lined loaf tin

Bake at 180.C/160.C Fan/325.F/Gas3 for 30 minutes then turn down your oven to160.C/140.C Fan/ 125.F/Gas2 for 15-30 minutes or until skewer comes out clean
Leave to cool completely in the tin before turning out.

You need a large loaf tin 23.5 x 13.3 x 7 cms. 9 1/4"x 5 1/4"/ 2 3/4"
or you can use a regular 2lb loaf tin and a 1lb loaf tin or make a few cupcakes

It gets better as it sits for a day or two. The allspice gives just a hint of spice but you can leave it out and just have choccie cake.

It will crack on top and sink slightly so don't worry.

It is a very moist cake and keeps really well.