RICH CHOCOLATE ORANGE MOUSSE

RICH CHOCOLATE ORANGE MOUSSE

Perfect for those fellow chocoholics! Its so rich and thick it will make you cross eyed! >_< 'joking of course'. Serving size - 4 dishes

INGREDIENTS

- 450ml Double Cream
- 4 Gelatine Leaves
- Zest of 1 Orange
- 80g Caster Sugar 
- 6 Eggs Yolks
- 80g Dark Chocolate 50% - 70%
- 80g Cocoa Powder
- 300ml Whole Milk
- 6-8 strands of Candied Orange Peel

HOW TO: Chocolate Orange Mousse.
1. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water and leave to bloom.

2. In a separate bowl mix egg yolks and sugar together till combined.

3. Pour 300ml of the double cream and 300ml of whole milk along with the orange zest into a pan and gently bring to a boil. As soon as its starts to boil take off the heat and leave it 3-4 mins to cool slightly.

4. Pour the mixture onto the egg yolks and sugar then return to the pan and cook on a low heat until mixture thickens a little.

5. Remove from the heat. Finely chop the chocolate and stir in, along with the gelatine (Squeeze all the cold water out of the leaves before adding them) and cocoa powder.

6. Place the pan in a bowl of very cold water. Meanwhile, whip the remaining 160ml double cream to soft peaks.

7. Leave the chocolate mixture till comes down to room temperature, fold in cream until fully combined and pour into serving dishes. Leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours.

HOW TO: Candied Orange Peel.
1. Using an ordinary vegetable peeler, peel the zest off the oranges and using a sharp knife cut into strips. Place peel strips in large saucepan and cover with 50ml of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes longer. Drain. Repeat this process two more times.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat sugar and water over high heat until boiling. Place peel in sugar mixture, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, until sugar is dissolved. Remove peel with slotted spoon and dry on wire rack overnight. Store in airtight container.

APPLE CRUMBLE CAKE

APPLE CRUMBLE CAKE

Whats not to love? Apple Crumble Meets Fluffy Rich Cake.. I know right! match made in heaven. Even better with a generous dollop of British clotted cream! 

INGREDIENTS

- 225g Self Raising Flour
- 225g Unsalted Butter (Softened-Room temp)
- 225g Soft Brown Sugar
- 225g Granny Smith Apples & 225g Bramley Apples
- 4 Medium Eggs (Room temp)
- Juice & Zest of 1 lemon
- 25g Ground Almonds
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Cornish Sea Salt

CRUMBLE TOPPING

- 110g Unsalted Butter
- 110g Demerara Sugar
- 180g Plain Flour

  

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

- Clean hands
- 500g Loaf Tin.. Greased & Lined through the middle with a rectangle sized piece of parchment so its easier to   lift the cake out. 
- Large mixing bowl 
- Wooden Spoon
- Whisk 
- Scales
- Cooling rack

HOW TO:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Lightly greasy a 500g loaf tin and cut a approx 30 by 8cm piece of parchment and place it down in the middle of the tin. This will make it easier to get the cake out of the tin without making a mess.

2. Peel, core and slice apples into 1cm chunks. Toss in lemon juice to stop oxidation and retain freshness.

3. With a whisk, cream together the unsalted butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, adding a little flour with each addition to keep the mixture smooth.

4. Sift the remaining flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into the bowl and fold in with the ground almonds. Drain the apple pieces well, then stir into the mixture.

5.  Pour into the prepared loaf tin and gently using a spatula or spoon level the top.

6. CRUMBLE TOPPING In a separate bowl rub the butter into the flour and sugar till it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Sprinkle a generous amount on top of the cake batter. 

7. Bake in the oven for 45 minuets to 1 hour. Check with a knife or skewer at around 40 minuets in, if it comes out clean then its done, if not give it couple more minuets.

8. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minuets to avoid the cake falling apart. Pull the cake out by the parchment paper instead of tipping it upside down ( dont want to loose all of that yummy crumble topping ).

Best served with good quality clotted cream or creme fresh or even salted caramel sauce with vanilla ice cream nom! nom!

SOFT WHITE BREAD BUNS

SOFT WHITE BREAD BUNS

I make these at least twice a week for the family. The trick to getting equal sized buns is to weigh the bread dough and divide the number by 10 then weigh each ball of dough, sounds quite fiddly, but its worth it I think. Before proving I like to brush the buns with a little egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.

INGREDIENTS

- 500g Strong white bread flour
- 1tsp Salt ‘Preferably fine sea salt’
- 1tsp of Sugar
- 7g Fast Action Yeast
- 30g Unsalted Butter Cubed
- 75ml Warm Milk
- 250ml Warm Water
- Oil for greasing

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

- Clean hands
- 1 large baking tray lined or greased
- Damp tea towel
- Cling Film
- Warm place to prove the dough 
- Mixing bowl
- Scales
- Measuring jug

HOW TO:

1. Using a whisk mix together dry ingredients, the whisk helps break up any lumps in the flour. 

2. Rub the cubed butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

3. Mix the warm milk with the water, make sure its not too hot before adding as this will kill the yeast. It should be blood temp.

4. Add the milky liquid to the flour mixture and mix together with your hand until the dough is well combined. Bring the dough together into a ball.

5. Flour your hands and knead the dough on a clean work surface for 25 minuets ( or in a mixer with a dough hook on medium speed for 15 minuets). Will feel like for ever but the outcome is worth it! The dough should become smooth and elastic.

6. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough into the middle and cover with a damp tea towel or cling film. Set aside for 1 and half hours in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. 

7. Knock the dough back while still in the bowl, turn out onto a lightly floured surface.

8. Separate the dough into eight parts (I usually weigh the whole thing and divide the number by 10) Roll each into a ball and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Place 2 rows of 5 dough balls snuggled together on a baking tray and flatten once again. Oil a sheet of cling film and cover the dough, place back into a warm area for an hour till they have doubled in size.

9. Preheat oven to 220C/425F/Gas7. Place a baking tray at the bottom of the oven and fill a jug with water.

10. Place buns into the oven, pour water into the baking tray that's at the bottom of the oven, this will create lots of steam and will help the buns stay soft and give a better rise. Bake for 8-10 minuets or until golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

THE HEART SHAPED EGG

THE HEART SHAPED EGG
I came across this idea by mistake while doing some research and immediately thought I HAVE TO TRY THIS RIGHT NOW!
Apparently molding hard boiled eggs is quite popular in Japan. They mold them into all sorts of shapes.. including hello kitty! 

YOU NEED
- Hard boiled egg
- Thick hard board
- Round pen 
- 2 rubber bands

The egg is best to mold while its still warm and leave to cool before releasing it from the mold. These would look great on top of a salad, kids pack lunch or even deviled. 

ULTIMATE YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS

ULTIMATE YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS

Here at the Hamilton house hold, we have these puddings at least twice a week. The recipe is my mothers and she says the secret to getting light and fluffy puddings is to rest the batter in the fridge for a few hours or even make it the night before. Also the oil in the tin needs to be smoking hot before pouring the batter.

INGREDIENTS

- 200ml Milk
- 140g Plain Flour
- 4 Eggs
- Pinch salt & pepper
- Quarter of a tea spoon of mustard powder
- Cooking Oil

HOW TO:

1. Preheat oven to 210cFAN/230c/GAS 8. Pour a tea spoon of oil into each hole of a muffin tin or Yorkshire pudding tin.

2. Whisk flour, eggs, mustard powder, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add 200ml of milk while whisking. Pour the batter into a easy pour jug.

3. If the oven has reached temperature, open the oven door (the oil should be smoking slightly) and slide the shelf half out and pour the batter into the tin (it should sizzle). 

4. Place the tins back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 20-25 mins until the puddings have puffed up and browned. Serve immediately. You can now cool them and freeze for up to 1 month.

CHOCOLATE FONDANTS

CHOCOLATE FONDANTS 

This is one of my favorite dessert recipes to wolf down on a cold winters night. Its important to use good quality dark chocolate 60% - 70%, iv tried it with normal milk chocolate and was very sickly. 

INGREDIENTS

- 200g 70% Chocolate ‘Green & Blacks’
- Cocoa powder for dusting
- 50g melted butter for brushing
- 200g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 200g caster sugar
- 200g Plain flour
- 4 eggs and 4 yolks (room temp)

HOW TO:

1. Melt 50g of butter in a mug and brush the melted butter into the ramekins. After one coat pop them into the fridge or freezer to harden. Take out and brush another layer of butter. Add 1tps of coca powder into the ramekins, tip and turn the cocoa inside till it covers all the buttered sides.

2. Melt 200g of chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water ‘don’t let the bowl touch the water, this will make the bowl too hot and burn the chocolate’. Add 200g of butter & pinch of salt into the melting chocolate. After its all melted and smooth take off the heat and leave for 10 minuets to cool a little.

3. Whisk 4 eggs, 4 yolks and 200g of caster sugar together in a separate bowl till thick and pale. Sift 200g plain flour into the mixture and beat till all combined.

4. Slowly pour the melted chocolate into the batter while beating on a medium speed.

5. Pour the mixture into ramekins and put into the fridge for 15-20mins. You can even make them in advanced and leave in the fridge, just let them sit in room temp for 5 minuets before cooking.

6. Take ramekins out of the fridge, place onto a baking tray and whack them into the oven for 12-15mins at FAN180c/200c.Gas6.

7. Leave to cool for 5 mins before turning them out into a t-towel, then place the right way up on a plate. 

Serve with good quality vanilla ice cream :)

CHRISTMAS APPLE STRUDEL

CHRISTMAS APPLE STRUDEL 

This is a great recipe to use up any left over mince meat and apples. It’s so simple to make! 

INGREDIENTS

- 1 large cooking apple or two normal eating apples
- 3-4 tbsp of mince meat
- Half zest of an Orange
- Juice of one Lemon
- 8 Sheets of Filo Pasty
- Almond Slices
- Soft brown sugar
- 150g Unsalted butter

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

- Clean hands
- 1 large baking tray lined with parchment paper
- Mixing Spoon
- Brush
- Mixing bowl 
- Scales

HOW TO:

1. Preheat oven to 180c/160cFAN/Gas4. Melt 150g of unsalted butter in the microwave for 30 seconds.  

2. Brush each sheet of Filo pastry with butter and place on top of a lined baking tray. Once all layers have been brushed with butter set aside for now.

3. Add 3 of 4 table spoons of mince meat into a mixing bowl. Peal apple skin and chop into 1” size pieces and stur them into the mince meat.

4. Zest half an orange and squeeze 1 Lemon juice into the bowl and mix well.

5. Spread the mixture out along one edge of the top sheet of filo party. Brush the opposite edge with a little water. Starting at the edge with the mixture on, gently lift the edge of the of parchment paper under the pastry and use it to help you roll the pastry up lengthways like a Swiss roll. Once it’s all rolled up, press your strudel together gently. 

6.  Place it on a baking tray, brush the top with butter and sprinkle brown sugar and sliced almonds. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minuets or untill golden brown. Serve with Crème fraîche or good quality Vanilla Ice cream.