Chocolate cake with icing

Tessa says,"This is exactly the kind of chocolate cake i loves as a child. Sometimes i make this just chocolate, sometimes halved and filled with not-too-sweet raspberry or strawberry jam or puree and a few dollops of cream(and then i don't ice it). If you like, you might also add some chopped nuts in with the flour or scatter some over the top."


Chocolate cake with icing
Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam(page. 311)

Cuts into 10-12 slices

180g (6½ oz) butter
50g (1¾ oz) Dark semi-sweet chocolate, broken up
30g (1 oz) unsweeted cocoa powder
3 eggs, separated
180g (6½ oz) caster sugar
125g (4½ oz)/1 cup) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons milk

Icing:
80g (2¾  oz) butter, softened
60g (2¼ oz) confectioners (icing) sugar
30g (1 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk
2 generous teaspoons golden syrup

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/gas 4). Butter and flour a 24cm(9½ inch) springform tin. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the chocolate and cocoa and stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until they are creamy and stiff. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are foamy, then beat in the sugar. Add the chocolate mixture, a bit at a time initially to acclimatize the eggs. Next, sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Add the milk and mix until smooth.
Carefully fold in the beaten whites, trying not to deflate them, and gently mix until they are completely incorporated into a fluffy but dense mixture. Scrape out into the thin and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin before moving to a serving plate.
For the icing, whip the butter with the icing sugar until fluffy. Whisk in the cocoa a bit at a time so that it doesn't fly everywhere. When it is completely incorporated, add the milk and golden syrup and whisk until very smooth. Spread it over the top of the cake with a spatula, using swift smooth strokes. I like it not completely smooth but in chocolate waves.

Daring cooks December 2011:Cha sui & Cha sui bao

Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Sui Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Sui, and filling from scratch – delicious!

Bao yum! I thought when i saw this years last challenge. This wouldn't be so hard on me, because i did this already. But only once. That time i made steamed bao so i chose to make baked bao this time around. Baked the pork in the oven but used the searing method so baked the pork in a pan first.
Everything went well except making the dough for the bao. The dough was to wet and sticky and it took me a while to get it right by adding more flour. The taste of the Cha sui and Cha sui bao was awesome. So thank you Sara daring me to make Cha sui an Cha sui bao again.

Char Sui (Cantonese BBQ Pork)

Ingredients
1 pork fillet/tenderloin (roughly 1-1.5 pounds)
4 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon (3 gm) ginger, grated
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 ½ tablespoons maltose (you can substitute honey)
1 ½ tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine
½ teaspoon (2 gm) ground white pepper
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon (2 gm) five spice powder
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon pillar box red food colouring
(1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)
Directions:

1. Trim the pork loin to remove fat and tendon and slice lengthways so you have two long pieces, then cut in half. By cutting the pork in to smaller pieces to marinate you will end up with more flavoursome char sui. If you want to leave the pork in one piece you can do this as well. Place in container that you will be marinating them in.
2. Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. I placed my maltose in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier to work with. Maltose is quite a solid hard sticky substance.
3. Cover pork well with ⅔ of the marinade mixture. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, I find it is best left to marinate overnight. Place the reserved ⅓ portion of the marinade covered in the fridge. You will use this as a baste when cooking the pork.
 

Cooking Method 1 - Oven
This is the first way that I experimented with cooking the char sui.

1. Pre-heat oven to moderate 180˚C/350°F/gas mark 4.
2. Cover a baking tray with foil or baking paper. Place on top of this a rack on which to cook the pork.
3. Place pork on the rack and place in oven.
4. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, basting and turning.
5. Turn the heat up to moderately hot 200˚C/400°F/gas mark 6 for the final 20 minutes as this will aid the charring. Cook until cooked through.

Cooking Method 2 - Seared in pan & then into the oven
On reading more I discovered this method, it was meant to give a better charred finish. Not sure that it did give a "better" result, but the pork was a lot more moist.

1. Pre-heat oven to moderate 180˚C/350°F/gas mark 4.
2. Cover a baking tray with foil or baking paper. Place on top of this a rack on which to cook the pork.
3. Place pork in a hot frying pan or wok. Sear it quickly so it is well browned
4. Remove from pan/wok and place pork on the rack and place in oven.
5. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, basting and turning until cooked through.

Cooking Method 3 - BBQ

 

This method I feel gave the best result. If you have access to a BBQ use it. The pork had a better BBQ flavour and was also very moist.

1. Place marinated pork loin on the grill of your BBQ 
2. Cook on a medium heat, approximately 15 minutes, until cooked through.
3. Be careful to watch that you don't burn the pork.

Char Sui (Cantonese BBQ Pork)
Alternative marinade without red food colouring or maltose

Ingredients
1 teaspoon (6 gm) salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon (3 gm) ground white pepper
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) sugar
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine
1 teaspoon (3 gm) five spice
(1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)
Directions:

1. Trim the pork loin to remove fat and tendon and slice lengthways so you have two long pieces, then cut in half. Place in container that you will be marinating them in.
2. Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine.   
3. Cover pork well with ⅔ of the marinade mixture. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, I find it is best left to marinate overnight. Place the reserved ⅓ portion of the marinade covered in the fridge. You will use this as a baste when cooking the pork.
4. Follow the desired cooking method from the previous recipe.

 

 

Baked Char Sui Bao (Cantonese BBQ Pork Bun)

Servings: 12
Filling Ingredients
350 gm (12 oz) char sui (finely diced)
2 green onions/spring onions (finely sliced)
1 tablespoon hoisin
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup (60 ml) chicken stock
1 teaspoon (2 gm) cornflour
½ tablespoon vegetable oil
(1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)

 

Dough Ingredients
2½ teaspoons (8 gm/1 satchel) of dried yeast
¼ cup (55 gm/2 oz) sugar
½ cup warm water
2 cups (280 gm/10 oz) plain flour
1 egg (medium size - slightly beaten)
3 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon (3 gm) salt
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with a dash of water
(1 cup=240 ml, 1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)
Filling Directions:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or pan.
2. Add diced char sui to the wok/pan and stir then add spring onions, cook for 1 minute.
3. Add hoisin, dark soy sauce and sesame oil to the pork mixture, stir fry for one minute.
4. Mix cornflour and stock together and then add to the pork mixture.
5. Stir well and keep cooking until the mixture thickens, 1 or 2 minutes.
6. Remove mixture from wok/pan and place in a bowl to cool. Set aside until ready to use.

Bun Directions:

1. Place the sugar and warm water in a bowl, mix until the sugar has dissolved. Add yeast and leave it for 10 - 15 minutes until it becomes all frothy.
2. Sift flour in to a large bowl.
3. Add yeast mixture, egg, oil and salt and stir. Bring the flour mixture together with your hands.
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 - 2 hours depending on weather conditions.
6. Once dough has doubled in size knock back and divide in to 12 portions and shape in to round balls.
7. Use a rolling pin to roll out to approximately 5cm (2 inches) in diameter. Then pick the piece of dough up and gently pull the edges to enlarge to about 8cm (3 inches) in diameter.
By doing this it keeps the dough slightly thicker in the centre. This means when your buns are cooking they won't split on the tops. 
8. Place a good sized tablespoon of filling on the dough circle. Then gather the edges and seal your bun. 
9. Place the bun seal side down on your baking tray. Continue with rest of dough.
10. Once all buns are complete brush surface with egg wash.
11. Place in a preheated oven of 200º C/392º F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
 

Steamed Char Sui Bao (Cantonese BBQ Pork Bun)

Servings: 20
Filling Ingredients
350 gm (12 oz) char sui (finely diced)
2 shallots (finely diced)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup (60 ml) chicken stock
1 teaspoon (3 gm) cornflour
½ tablespoon vegetable oil

 

Bun Ingredients
1 cup milk, scalded
¼ cup (60 gm/2 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon (2 gm) salt
2½ teaspoons (8 gm/1 satchel) of dried yeast
3 cups (420 gm/15 oz) plain flour
(1 cup=240 ml, 1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)
Filling Directions:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or pan. Sauté the shallots for one or two minutes until soft.
2. Add diced char sui to the wok/pan and stir.
3. Add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and sesame oil to the pork mixture, stir fry for one minute.
4. Mix cornflour and stock together and then add to the pork mixture.
5. Stir well and keep cooking until the mixture thickens, 1 or 2 minutes.
6. Remove mixture from wok/pan and place in a bowl to cool. Set aside until ready to use.

Bun Directions:

1. Scald milk and then stir in sugar, oil and salt, leave to cool until it is lukewarm. Once it is the right temperature add yeast, leave until yeast is activated and it becomes frothy, about 10 - 15 minutes.
2. Sift flour in to a large bowl.
3. Add milk/yeast mixture to the flour. Bring the flour mixture together with your hands.
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 - 2 hours depending on weather conditions.
6. Punch down dough and divide in to 20 equal portions.
7. Roll each dough portion in to a 7 – 8cm (2¾ - 3 ¼ inches) round.
8. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the centre of the round, gather the edges together at the top and place on a 8cm (3 inch) square of baking paper. Repeat until all dough has been used.
9. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes. 
10. Place buns in bamboo steamer, leaving space between the buns.
11. Heat water in a wok until it is simmering and place steamers one on top of each other in the wok.
12. Place lid on top bamboo steamer and steam for approximately 12 minutes.

La pizza rossa

Whe are cooking al red this week for a study in Scarlet.

Whit this weeks theme for the I Heart Cooking Clubs; A study in scarlet it didn't took me long to decide what i should make going trough my Apples for Jam cookbook i found this Pizza recipe. In the red section ofcourse. It's just a plane normal pizza but the taste was magnificent and in my mind i'm making all this variations on it already, with cheese ofcourse or maybe an all sweet one with apple or other fruits. This bready crust i think it goes with everything!

La pizza Rossa

Tessa Kiros(Apples for jam, page 53)

Cuts up in to 12- 15 pieces

Dough:
435ml (15¼ fl oz/1¾ cups) warm water
20g(¾ oz) fresch yeast, crumbled, or 10g(¼ oz) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
600g (1lb 5oz/4¾ cups) all-purpose flour

Tomato topping:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, peeled and squashed a bit
800g(1Lb 12 oz) tinned diced tomatoes
3 basil leaves, torn

Put the water, yeast, honey, olive oil and 3 fistfuls of the flour in a bowl. Mix with electric beaters until smooth. Cover the bowl and leave for 20-30 minutes, until the mixture froths up and looks foamy on top. Mix in the reat of the flour and 1½ teaspoons of salt. The dough will be very soft and sticky(don't be tempted to ad more flour). Now using a dough hook, mix for about 4-5 minutes so everything is completly incorporated. If you don't have a dough hook just mix it with your hands, slapping it from one side of the bowl to the other as it will be too soft to knead. Cover the bowl with a couple of cloths and leave it in a warm and draughtfree place for about 1½ hours, or until the dough has puffed up well.

Very lightly oil a 28x38x4cm(11x15x1½inch) baking tray. Punch down the dough with one firm blow to the centre. Spread the dough gently into the tray, right out to the edges, working it with your palms to stretch it along the tray. If it won't stretch easily, leave it to relax for another 5 minutes and then gently stretch out the dough, starting from the centre and flicking your palms across it. Make sure the dough doesn't break anywhere and that it is more or less evenly spread. Put in a warm draught-free place. Arrange four glasses around the tray and drape a couple of tea towels or a towel over them like a tent to completly cover the tray(so that the dough doesn't stick to the cloth as it rises). Leave for 45 minutes or so, until the dough has puffed up.

For the tomato topping, heat the oil with the garlic in a saucepan and, when you begin to smell the garlic, add the tomatoes, basil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 15 minutes over fairly strong heat, until the sauce loses its wateriness and starts to look thick and bubbly. If you like, you can whiz it a couple of times with a hand-held blender to make it a little smoother, but still keep some chunks.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to its hottest temperature.

Dimple the top of the dough here and there with your fingers, so that the tomato has some nests to settle into(take care not to deflate your dough, though). Scatter the tomato sauce over the top and gently spread it out with the back of the ladle. It may seem like a lot of sauce, but it keeps the pizza lovely and moist. Put the tray in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes(depending on the strenght of your oven) until the pizza is golden and a bit crusty here and there. Check that the bottom is crusty and crisp, too, and cook for longer if you need to. cut up into squares to serve. I think this is best warm but it can also be served at room temperature, or reheated.


Notes:
- I used only half of the ingredients and that was enough for one round pizza baking tray.
- Heated the oven to 270C(518F) and baked the pizza for the advised 20minutes and it came out right the way whe liked it.

Salsicce e fagioli (Sausages and beans)

This weeks theme is " bean there done that" at the I Heart Cooking Club. To get my bean on i made this rustic dish from Tessa Kiros's first book twelve. After eating it i understood why the tuscans love this dish so much. It's on my list of comfort foods now!

Tessa Kiros says, "Tuscans are well known for their love of beans, and this rustic recipe is one of their favorites".

Salsicce e fagioli



Tessa Kiros, Twelve(p.56)

Serves 6

500G(1 lb 2 oz) dried cannellini, soaked overnight in cold water
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 sprigs of sage
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 large Italian pork sausages, about 100g(3½ oz) each
400G(14oz) tin peeled tomatoes, with their juice, chopped

Rinse the beans and put them into a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Skim the surface of the scum with a slotted spoon. Add 2 whole garlic cloves and one of the sage Sprigs. Cook for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper in the last half hour of the cooking time.
In a separate large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Prick the sausages in couple of places with a fork and add them to the pan. Fry on a medium-high heat to brown on all sides. Add the remaining garlic clove and the sage, and as soon as it begins to sizzle ad the tomatoes. The sausages should provide enough Seasoning; if not add a little salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have melted into a sauce.
Drain the cooked beans, reserving a little of the cooking liquid and add the beans to THE sausage pot. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessery. Simmer for 10 minutes more, adding about 125-250 ml(1/2-1cup)of the reserved water to thin it out a little. Serve warm.

Notes: could not get any fresh sage at the moment so i used dried Sage.

Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies

This weeks cooking theme at I Heart Cooking Club is Attitude of gratitude. Wich foods are you most grateful for? Since we don't celebrate thanksgiving in Europe(Those who do celebrate, I hope you all had a wonderful time). I cooked something up with chocolate! Because i'm so grateful for every piece of chocolate that i can put in my mouth. I really have to have my "shot" of chocolate well.... almost every day. With christmas coming up i thought this would be a good choice and i'm going to give them away this year as Tessa suggested.


Tessa says, "These I learned from my American friend Sue. When I first made them my children said they were the best ever and I must definitely put the recipe in this book - so here it is. I also love them with dried strawberries instead of cranberries, and sometimes my girls prefer them without the cranberries, just chocolate. I like these small so I make them no bigger than a good teaspoon of dough, but you might like to make them larger. I also like to take them as a gift, packed in a lovely box and tied with a ribbon. Unless you have a huge oven, you will need to bake these in batches so have the two cookie sheets ready."

Chocolate & cranberry cookies

Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam(pg.58)

Makes 30 cookies

5-1/2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup firmly packed soft brown sugar

1/4 cup superfine sugar

1 egg

a few drops of vanilla extract

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

salt

3/4 cup coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup dried cranberries (dried cherries would also be nice)

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mash up the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until well mixed, then whisk with an electric beater until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and add a small pinch of salt. Beat with the wooden spoon to make a soft sandy mixture. Stir in chocolate and cranberries.

Lightly moisten your hands and roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls. Arrange them on the sheets, leaving a fair space between for flattening and spreading. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and darkening around the edges. Remove from the oven, but leave them on the sheet to cool and firm up. These will keep in a cookie jar for a couple of days.



Chicken drumsticks & Wings with Orange tomato glaze

Orange skies...♪♫ is this weeks theme over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.
Orange skies bring me back to our vacation on the island of Java, Indonesia. We went there two and a half year ago when my brother in-law moved to Bali. Whe took this oppurtunity to see them again with getting to know the country. So whe aranged a ful trip from Jakarta(Java) to Bali by car with a guide and a driver. One of the last days on Java whe went to see the sunrise at Bromo vulcan. It was so breath taking beautiful when that sky turned orange from the rising sun. I Will never forget that morning.

One of our favorite foods during that travel was sweet and sour chicken, and when i saw Tessa's recipe for Chicken with orange(sweet) and Tomato(sour) glaze i immediatly decided to make them. And they where a big hit at my home!

Chicken drumsticks & Wings with Orange tomato glaze

Tessa Kiros, Apples for jam(page81)
Serves 6

110g (3 3/4oz) light brown sugar
375ml (13fl oz/1 1/2 cup) fresh orange juice
185ml (6fl oz/3/4 cup) tomata passata(pureed tomato)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershiresauce
6 chicken drumsticks
6 chicken wings

Preheat the oven to 160C (315F/Gas 2-3). Put the sugar, orange juise, tomata passata, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring to disolve the sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Spred the chicken drumsticks and wings in a baking dish just large enough to fit them in a single layer and pour the sauce over the top. Bake for 2-2 1/2 hours, basting and turning the pieces over every now and then, until the chisken is crispy and sticky and the sauce is a thick sticky glaze. Serve warm, or even at romm temperature.

If you like to know what the other orange dishes are, follow this link below.

Daring cooks november 2011: Cooking with Tea!

Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.

I decided to make the chinese tea eggs for this months challenge because they always looked so beautiful to me, but it never came to making them myself. So thank you sarah that you encouraged us to make something with tea. The tea eggs are not very difficult to make. But i crushed one egg in the cracking proces, because i was being so enthousiastic while cracking them up. In the end all the other eggs looked very good and the taste was awesome.

Chinese Tea Eggs

Servings: 6 eggs
Ingredients
6 eggs (any size)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (6 gm) black tea leaves, or 4 tea bags
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (5 gm) Chinese five spice powder
1 tablespoon (5 ml) (3 gm) coarse grain salt
toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

Directions:

In a large enough pot to avoid overcrowding, cover the eggs with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for twelve minutes.
Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and keep the cooking water.
With a spoon, tap the eggs all over until they are covered with small cracks. This can also be done by tapping and rolling the eggs very gently on the counter.
Return the eggs to the pan and add the tea leaves or bags, Chinese five spice powder, and salt. Cover the pan.
Heat gently and simmer, covered, for one hour.
Remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs cool down in the liquid for 30 minutes.
Remove the eggs from the liquid. Peel one egg to check how dark it is; the others can be returned to the liquid if you wish to have the web-like pattern darker. Allow the eggs to cool fully.
To serve, peel and slice the eggs in halves or quarters. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.