Ginger-roasted Rhubarb Cake with Vanilla Crumble Topping – catch it while you can!

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A sheaf of plump rhubarb has sat pride of place on the kitchen table for the past week. The world is its oyster. It could be anything it wants to be...  but it is just sat there. It needs direction. Here are a few ideas as to what it might become...



The world is my oyster apparently ...

 A career as rhubarb fool would be fun and rather light-hearted, but it looks like serious rhubarb to me.

Perhaps a career as a crumble or a tart? A little too serious maybe - and besides tarts and crumbles are wintery food and look at that beautiful sunshiny day!

Well then, how about rhubarb and vanilla ice cream? Delightful, but it’s only April and while sunshiny, it’s hardly ice cream weather is it? Let’s save that one for another occasion.

I know! This sheaf of rhubarb has everything it takes to become a successful and delectable ginger-roasted rhubarb cake. Oh alright, I’ll throw in a vanilla crumble topping too.

For approximately 10 servings you will need...

Ginger-roasted rhubarb

300g rhubarb, cut into bite-sized pieces

75g Muscovado sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

Sugar and spice - ginger-roasted rhubarb

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

1          Combine all the ingredients in a shallow pie dish and bake for 20 minutes in the pre-heated oven, stirring carefully once or twice during cooking so that the rhubarb is evenly coated in the syrup that is generated. When the cooking time has elapsed, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Meanwhile, prepare the vanilla crumble topping.

Vanilla crumble topping

120g butter, chilled and cut into about 10 cubes

75g plain flour

75g rolled oats

50g Muscovado sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1          Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz in short bursts until roughly combined. Chill until ready to use. (The quantities given make about twice as much crumble topping as you’ll need for this cake but it freezes beautifully for next time.)

2         Next, make the cake batter.

Cake batter

200g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

a pinch of salt

175g caster sugar

100mls sunflower oil

50mls freshly squeezed orange juice (or milk)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or rose water)

2 eggs, beaten

a small knob of butter for greasing the tin

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C

1          Butter and baseline a 23cm (9 inch) sandwich tin.

2          In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine the first 4 ingredients.

3          In a measuring jug or batter bowl, combine the oil, orange juice, vanilla extract and eggs and add to the bowl of dry ingredients, mixing until well combined.

4          Pour half the batter into the prepared tin. Drain any excess syrup from the rhubarb (this is good spooned over ice cream) and scatter the cooled pieces on top of the batter, leaving a small margin around the edges. Spoon the remaining batter on top. Don’t be too fussy about covering up all the rhubarb as you'll be covering it with crumble.

 5         Scatter the crumble mix over the top and bake in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes or until well risen and golden on top. A cocktail stick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.  





Catch me while you can!



This is really good served slightly warm, with a dollop of whipped cream, and is even better the following day when the flavours have had a chance to develop (but it rarely hangs round long enough for that to happen).



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Leek Tart - a case for poireaux!

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I am the picnic’s most dedicated fan. I’ve been known to picnic in rain and snow. The weather doesn’t matter so long as I have a beautiful view, a dry place to sit and something delicious to eat.

A leek tart is perfect picnic food!

Excellent picnics have included:

·                    Glendalough in Co. Wicklow – bypass ‘picnic central’ near the car parks... try not to get distracted by picnic envy... there’s a thousand wonderful meals covering the wooden outdoor tables and spicy barbeque aromas rise into the air to tantalise... keep walking... find spot near lake... lay out picnic blanket. Eat, relax, sigh, and think “heaven!”

An unexpected companion at a recent picnic...

·                    Sittin' on the dock of the bay / Watching the tide roll away”, feet dangling in the water at the edge of Sausalito, with the obligatory ‘Californian’ on rye from a nearby Deli, a Coke and a smile.

Not a great day for a picnic but pretty view of Dalkey Island from Killiney Beach

·                    Hardboiled eggs washed down with red lemonade on Killiney beach, Co. Dublin, following a swim in cold, cold water with a view to rival the bay of Naples.

The best picnics are those shared. I wait with eager anticipation as the treasures concealed by picnic baskets are finally revealed and laid out on table or blanket ready to be handed around.

My favourite picnic items – apart from the obligatory nostalgia of hardboiled eggs dipped in sea salt – are pies and tarts. Sweet or savoury, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that they are simple and tasty - like this leek tart – or Tarte aux Poireaux if you want to get fancy. Crumbly pastry, rich savoury filling, great company - sunshine is optional. Buy decent ready-made pastry for even less effort, however the pastry given below is very well-behaved so even if you are a pastry virgin why not give it a whirl.

For 4 tarts you will need:

Shortcrust Pastry

110g plain flour

a pinch of salt

½ teaspoon paprika

75g butter

1 egg yolk

a little iced water

1                    Place the flour, salt, paprika and butter in a food mixer or processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

2                    Add the egg yolk and as much iced water – a tablespoonful at a time - as it takes to bring the mixture together into a soft (but not sticky) ball of pastry.

3                    Flatten the pastry into a disc, cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Luscious leek filling

50g butter

450g finely shredded chopped leeks

4 egg yolks

200g crème fraiche or 200ml fresh cream

50g Gruyere cheese

½ teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

a further 25g Gruyere cheese for sprinkling over the top

1                    Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a gentle heat. Add in the shredded chopped leeks. Stir to coat the leeks in the melted butter, then cover and leave to cook without colouring for about 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. When the leeks are meltingly tender, take them off the heat and transfer to a mixing bowl to cool.

2                    Meanwhile mix together the egg yolks, the crème fraiche or fresh cream, 50g Gruyere cheese and sprinkle in the salt and pepper.

3                    Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

4                    Roll out the pastry to approximately the thickness of a 20c coin (GB 2p coin/USA 5c coin) and use to line 4 mini-quiche dishes or flan tins.

5                    Now add the eggy cheesy mixture to the cooled leeks, mixing well.

6                    Spoon the mixture into the pastry cases and sprinkle with the remaining 25g Gruyere.

7                    Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until the mixture is light golden brown and the cheese has melted.

That’s tonight’s supper for two sorted! It’s going to be served warm with a green salad. The remaining two tarts will accompany me on a picnic tomorrow – even better served cold somewhere the view will add a little alchemy of its own.

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Pączki Tuesday – an exciting alternative to Shrovetide pancakes

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Since I went to see the highly energetic 'percussive dance' troupe Stomp the other evening, I have been making quite a racket. I have broken one wooden spoon (a tap-a-tap, a tappity tap) and the yard brush has seen better days. I don’t think it was ever constructed to be a percussion instrument (swish, swish, bang, swish). When I found myself eyeing the dustbin with new interest - such potential for noise ‘percussive dance’! - it was time to call a halt.

It's Stomp's fault...

I am left with a craving for doughnuts - also the fault of Stomp. They do this comical routine using the inner tubes of tractor tyres as outsized tutus. Think ‘streetwise doughnuts’ meet bizarre ‘corps de ballet’.

Looking for an excuse to satisfy my doughnut craving, I discovered that Pączki [POHNCH-kee] are traditionally served in the lead up to Lent, on Fat Thursday and more recently, on Shrove Tuesday. These Polish jam doughnuts make an exciting alternative to Shrovetide pancakes, and if I happen to stamp out the doughnut shapes in a Stomp-like fashion, I’m sure it will only make them taste even better.

For 2 dozen doughnuts you will need...

250mls fresh milk

1 packet dried yeast

4 eggs

75g caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest

700g strong white flour

100g butter, softened

Cooking oil for deep frying – I use sunflower oil

6 tablespoons damson (or your own favourite) jam for filling, sieved

Caster sugar or icing sugar for coating

As this is quite a sticky dough, it is best to use an electric mixer.

1          Warm the milk to between 27°C - 35°C (this is when a finger dipped in the milk will feel neither hot nor cold – but best to use a thermometer) and add the yeast.  Leave in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until the surface of the milk is slightly foamy.

2          Meanwhile, place the eggs, caster sugar, vanilla essence, salt and lemon zest in a large bowl and whisk until pale yellow and slightly thickened. Swap the whisk for a dough hook before adding the flour to the egg mixture, a little at a time, mixing well between additions.

3          Add the yeast mixture now, mixing until combined. Finally, add the softened butter in walnut–sized lumps, ensuring each addition is combined before adding the next. Continue kneading with the dough hook for a further 5 minutes. Cover with a lightly oiled sheet of cling film and leave in a warm, draught-free place to rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size. (You could make the dough in advance and leave it in the fridge to rise overnight, before continuing with the recipe).

Somewhat deflated...

4          Punch the risen dough to knock it back. It will deflate alarmingly. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured or lightly oiled work surface and knead lightly until you have a smooth ball of dough. Roll out to a thickness of about 1.5cm and stamp out rounds using a 6cm round scone cutter. Cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm, draught-free spot for a further 30 minutes or until doubled in size.



Hubble, bubble, (no) toil and (no) trouble...



5          Heat the cooking oil to 180˚C (360˚F). Lower the doughnuts into the hot oil, a few at a time, without overcrowding. Fry for approximately 1 minute then turn over to continue frying on the other side for a further minute. When evenly golden brown, remove and drain on a thick wad of kitchen paper.



Inject jam with a Bismarck nozzle



6          Fill with jam while still warm: with the tip of a knife, make a small hole in the waist of each doughnut and using a piping bag fitted with a Bismarck nozzle, inject jam into the centre of each doughnut. Roll in caster sugar or dredge with icing sugar. Apply to face. Grin happily.



Apply to face... grin happily...

Note: If it occurs to you to cut the fat content by baking these instead of deep frying, please don’t! There is no comparison. My advice is: go the whole hog, but not too often!

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Sweet Vanilla Scones – Worth getting out of bed for!

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A big jug of coffee had just been set in the hearth, the seed-cakes were gone, and the dwarves were starting on a round of buttered scones, when there came- a loud knock. 

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

In my house the loud knock came before the scones, and it wasn't a rat-tat on a Hobbit door, but my bedtime reading (Neil Jordan’s ‘Mistaken’) falling off the bed and crash-landing on the floor, which startled me out of dreamland. There was no going back to sleep and 2 doses of BBC drama and the news headlines later, I gave up and decided to have an early, early, early breakfast that was worth getting up for on a dark frosty morning.

I had Sweet Vanilla Scones mixed and in the oven in the time it took to brew a proper pot of Rosie Lee under a tea cosy. I poured out the first mug of the day and curled up on the sofa to devour another chapter until my nose (and my digital timer) told me it was time to take the scones out of the oven and make another brew.

For 12 plain and simple sweet vanilla scones you will need...
... to preheat the oven to 180°C

350g plain flour

12g baking powder

a pinch of fine table salt

100g butter, from the fridge, cut into small cubes

2 tablespoons of caster sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

120mls fresh milk 

To glaze

1 egg, beaten (or a little milk for a less glossy finish)

A little icing sugar to dust over the finished scones (optional)

Method

Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture, lifting and crumbling the mixture between your index and middle fingers and your thumbs, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the sugar and add the vanilla extract to the bowl, followed by as much of the milk as is necessary to form the ingredients into a soft dough with no dry flour remaining, mixing gently all the while until you reach that point. You may not need all the milk.

(If you have a stand mixer or food processor, it is even easier: place the first six ingredients in the bowl and mix or pulse until they resemble fine breadcrumbs, then add the milk a little at a time - mixing or pulsing between additions - until the mixture comes together in a soft dough – add just enough of the milk until there is no dry flour left in the bowl/processor)

Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured work surface. With lightly floured hands, knead gently to form a ball. The less you mix and handle the dough, the lighter the scone. Pat the dough out into a round approximately 2cm thick – you could use a rolling pin for a more even finish.

Using a 6cm (2.5”) cutter, stamp out scone shapes from the dough, re-forming any scraps into a ball and once again flattening to 2cm before cutting. This mixture yields 12 x 6cm scones. (You could make them larger or smaller if you like, adjusting the cooking time up or down accordingly).

Place the prepared scones on a non-stick baking sheet and brush the tops with beaten egg or a little milk. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes until risen and golden brown.

When baked through, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes before serving with butter and jam. Scones are best eaten the day they are made but generally there are no leftovers so this won’t be a cause for concern. They also freeze well.

TIP: Try to stamp out as many scones as possible from the dough on the first pass as scones formed out of the scraps of dough can turn out a bit misshapen. Also, cut the scones out by pressing straight down with the cutter, avoiding the temptation to twist (unless you want scones with individual character).

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Mini Orange and Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Walnut Crust – Trick? Treat!

Pin It First published: 27/10/14

 Legend has it that long ago, in the depths of Ireland, there was a farmer named Jack. Jack was notoriously mean and sneaky. Over the years he had peeved heaven and hell so much with his meanness and trickery that when he popped his clogs, he was refused admittance to both. To get rid of him, the Devil sent Jack away with a burning ember to light his way through eternal darkness. Jack hollowed out a turnip in which to carry the ember. To this day, he roams the earth looking for a resting place, with the strange lantern lighting his way. Wooooo-ooooh. The End.

Okay, the legend is a bit longer than that but the essential bit is the lantern. Thankfully, when Irish emigrants brought the legend and the lantern to the other side of the Atlantic, they discovered that pumpkins were a lot easier to carve than turnips and looked much more impressive. I’m glad because Orange and Turnip Cheesecake doesn’t have quite the same ring to it!

For approximately 22 mini cheesecakes you will need…

… to preheat the oven to 160°C while the cheesecake bases are chilling.

Filling

500g full fat cream cheese (such as Philadelphia) at room temperature
250g pureed pumpkin pulp (available in a tin)
125g brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon corn flour, sifted
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
a small pinch of ground cloves (go easy, it’s a very strong spice)
finely grated zest of one orange (just the very outer layer)

2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk 

Biscuit base

225g digestive biscuits (graham crackers)
75g walnuts
75g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
90g butter 

Decoration

Ready-made spooky chocolate shapes

OR some melted chocolate and an artistic flair

 For the filling

First make the filling. (This allows excess air bubbles incorporated while mixing a chance to escape, reducing cracking in the surface of the cheesecakes.)

Place all the ingredients, except the eggs, in a food processor and pulse until combined into a smooth batter. Now add the eggs and pulse until just combined. Transfer to a large jug and leave to one side while you prepare the base. 

For the base

Line 22 muffin cups with paper liners (I use two 12 cup tins and line 11 cups of each)

Place all the ingredients, except the butter, in a food processor and pulse until the biscuits are reduced to a fine crumb. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the crumb mixture to the melted butter and stir to combine.

Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin papers, about a heaped teaspoon in each and press down lightly and evenly. Place in the fridge until cool. (Preheat the oven now).

Pat the base into an even layer - the back of a teaspoon will do but this little cookie stamp is perfect

When the bases have chilled for about 10 minutes, remove from the fridge and divide the filling between the paper liners, leaving a gap of about 3mm at the top.

Carefully transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until they have risen very slightly and there is no wobble when you shake the tins gently.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the muffin tins. They will collapse a little. This is normal and allows room for the chocolate decorations to go on top.

When cool, cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight if possible.

Cover with white, milk or dark chocolate. Decorate with contrasting spooky chocolate shapes. (You’ll need to work quickly as the chocolate sets almost instantly on the cold cheesecake.

Happy Halloween!!!

(The cheesecakes will freeze, undecorated, in a single layer in a freezer container for up to a month. Thaw before decorating.)

Note...

For the chocolate shapes, I copied templates from the internet, making sure to size them a little smaller than the diameter of the cakes. I printed them out and placed them on a baking tray, under a sheet of non-stick baking parchment. I melted chocolate in a ziplock bag then used it as a piping bag by snipping off a tiny corner and drawing over the shapes I could see through the parchment. (I also ate a lot of the ones that didn’t turn out quite right but you could re-melt them if you have stronger willpower than me.)

I placed the finished shapes in the fridge for an hour until solid and then carefully peeled away the paper before transferring them to the chocolate-covered cheesecakes.

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Lightly Spiced Carrot Soup – Liquid sunshine!

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The choice at my supermarket the other day was an odd one. I could have a 1kg bag of carrots (already half a kilo more than I actually wanted) ... or I could have a 3kg sack at one-third of the price of the smaller bag?  Why can’t they do that kind of maths with chocolate?

It was a no-brainer but what on earth to do with the 2.5kg of carrots left over.

They’ve been cut into sticks and used to transport Hummus and Melitzanosalata (Roasted Aubergine Dip) to my mouth.

They’ve been made into veggie samosas.

They’ve been shredded into a carrot and orange salad.

They’ve been roasted along with a Piri Piri / Peri Peri / Pili Pili chicken.

They’ve been made into Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

Oddly enough, I’m not sick of carrots yet but boy is my eyesight super sharp this week and I swear my ears are longer and kinda floppy. I’ve used up the last of the carrots in this lightly spiced carrot soup – a bowl of liquid sunshine and a lovely light meal for the dog days of summer.

For 4 – 6 servings of 'sunny as a bowl of sunshine' carrot soup you will need...

1 teaspoon coriander seed

½ teaspoon cumin seed

3 green cardamom pods

2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter

1 stick of celery, peeled of stringy bits and roughly chopped

2 medium onions, roughly chopped

750g carrots, skinned and sliced or diced

1 litre of chicken stock (or vegetable stock to keep it vegetarian)

½ teaspoon fine table salt*

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

Transfer the toasted spices to a bowl (or mortar, as in the photo)

First, toast the coriander seed, cumin seed and cardamom by placing them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, swirling them around the pan to toast them evenly and to keep them from burning. This will only take a couple of minutes so don’t leave them unattended. They are done when the colour deepens slightly and they begin to smell toasty and spicy. Take them off the heat and transfer them to a bowl (or mortar) to prevent them from cooking further. Remove the cardamom seeds from their pods, discarding the pods.

When they have cooled, crush all three spices to a coarse powder using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder if you have one, or you could put them on a chopping board and roll over them with a rolling pin.

Next, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the celery, onions and carrots and stir to coat with the oil. Turn down the heat to the gentlest of sizzles and cover the pan with a lid. Let the vegetables ‘sweat’ gently for about 10 minutes. You are not looking to brown them.

Add the toasted, crushed spices, stock and salt and pepper to the saucepan. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Remove from the heat and puree to a smooth cream (a stick blender is ideal for this job).

Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

The well-mannered, posed picture...

I served it with a swirl of crème fraîche and a handful of fresh coriander leaf but parsley, basil or chives are also good.

Moments later - have I mentioned my coriander addiction...

(tho' basil, chives, parsley or chervil are all equally good with this soup)

* If your stock is already quite salty, hold off on adding any salt until you’ve tasted the pureed soup as it may not need it.

Schlurp! That's all folks!

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Quinoa Burgers - Vegetarian food for carnivores !

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I grew up in an Ireland where vegetarian food was generally carnivore food minus the meat. Happily things have changed and I find myself drifting more and more towards meatless meals. 

I’ve been experimenting recently with quinoa burgers and made them for a family gathering so that my newly-vegetarian sister had an alternative to my mum’s gorgeous roast Wicklow lamb. Surprisingly, several carnivores opted for them too and nearly everyone was curious enough to at least taste them. (They were pretty 'meaty' after all and they did look rather tempting with their crunchy golden crust.)

Although I fried them gently in a little olive oil to get that gorgeous crust, you can also bake them – straight from the freezer – in the oven preheated to 180°C for about 25 minutes or until golden on the outside and piping hot in the middle.

For 8 – 12 carnivore-tempting Quinoa Burgers you will need…

350g freshly cooked Quinoa, cooled to room temperature

100g fresh white breadcrumbs

40g Parmesan, finely grated

40g feta, finely crumbled

40g spring onion, very finely chopped

1 - 2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ teaspoon salt

a little freshly ground black pepper

4 medium eggs, beaten

A little oil for frying – I prefer olive oil or sunflower oil for this.

Method

Place the Quinoa in a large mixing bowl and add the breadcrumbs, the two cheeses, spring onions, garlic, salt and black pepper. Add the eggs and mix well until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to cook.

Form the burgers by gently pressing approximately 90g of the mixture into a mould such as a 9cm scone cutter (or a small bowl lined with cling film) to form patties approximately 2cm thick, to make 8 burgers in total. If you don't have a metric weighing scales, or a suitable mould, simply divide the mixture into 8 roughly even portions and mould into patties using your hands.  You can make the burgers bigger or smaller as you like.

(You can freeze them at this point)*

Fry gently for about 6-8 minutes each side or until they have formed a golden brown crust. Serve with or without a decent bun, some interesting dressings, and salad.

*To freeze, place them on non-stick baking paper on a tray in one layer and pop them in the freezer. Once frozen, put them into a suitable freezer bag and store frozen for up to a month. They can be cooked straight from frozen. Preheat the oven to about 180°C and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden on the outside and piping hot in the middle. You can also fry them from frozen.

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