Moroccan Honey & Mint Bundt Cake

If like me you have loads of left over fresh mint and dozen of eggs in the fridge that  need using up, this is the recipe for you!

I have to say this is the first cake I have ever baked that contains fresh herbs and I like it! Why have I never done this before?! It just shows that is always worth a good google when you have an abundance of particular ingredient. You end up finding unique new recipes.

The original recipe had a lot more coconut and no ground almonds in it. But due to a limited amount of coconut, I improvised and it seemed to work.

Here is the recipe I used:

Moroccan Honey & Mint Bundt Cake

Ingredients

For the cake batter

160g butter, softened

310g sugar

1½  teaspoons dried or fresh chopped mint

6 eggs

100g desiccated coconut

130g ground almonds

210g self-raising flour

10-15 Cup Bundt Tin (or you can use 20cm spring-release cake-tin with baking paper)

Method

Preheat the oven to 150ºC.

Beat the butter, sugar and mint until they begin to change colour. Add small quantities of the egg, coconut, ground almonds and flour, beating well between each addition to prevent the mixture from curdling. Repeat until you have used these ingredients up.

Butter a large Bundt cake-tin and then lightly dust with flour. Pour the batter in. Bake for 1–1½  hours (you can make the Mint Syrup during this time).

Check the cake is baked by inserting a skewer in the centre. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 5–10 minutes.

For the Mint Syrup

200ml water

180g sugar

1½  cups roughly chopped fresh mint

Place the water, sugar and mint in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 30–45 minutes. Strain through a sieve and discard the mint leaves. Use the syrup as directed.

To finish

75g butter

180g honey

180g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 170ºC.

With the cake still in the tin, prick 60–70 holes in the top. Pour the Mint Syrup evenly over the cake, allowing it to soak in. Once soaked in fully, turn cake out onto a lipped baking tray.

Place the butter, honey and almonds in a saucepan and melt together, stirring until well combined. Do not allow to boil. Remove from the heat and immediately spread this topping on the cake.

Place the cake back in the oven and bake the topping to a light amber colour, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 20–30 minutes.

Remove the cake from the tin carefully and remove the baking paper gently while still warm.

Dust with icing sugar before serving warm with a blob of creme fraiche.

Have to say it's great to be back back blogging and I plan to do a lot more this year. Hopefully I stick to this promise this year!

Tap soon....

FIELD MUSHROOM AND FARMHOUSE PATE

After doing so many posts on the sweet variety I decided I should add a savory one to the batch. Not only did I make Pate but also had another go at baking some bread, which I have to say I was bloody pleased with! I managed to turn out a lovely crusty Raisin and Hazelnut Loaf to go with the Pate. I made it before for a previous post, but this time I made one large loaf rather than two smaller ones. The recipe was from that DOUGH book by Richard Bertinet, I plan to make another loaf next weekend too! Seem to have got my bread baking addiction back :)

Farmhouse & Field Mushroom Pate Recipe

25g Butter
80g Bacon Lardons (I used smoked, but it via my mum's recipe it says unsmoked)
250g Chicken livers (you can find them in the freezer isle) cut off the stringy bits.
1 Bay leaf
2 Sprigs of thyme
1 shallot - Finely chopped
1 Garlic Clove
1 tbsp Brandy
1 tbsp Creme Fraiche
freshly grated nutmeg
Dollop butter
2 large field mushrooms (around 100g)
seasoning.

 

Pop the butter and oil in a hot frying pan and add the lardons. Fry until crispy and golden, then add the bay leaf and thyme and livers** Important: Do not over cook the livers! You only want to cook them for around 3 minutes, so that they're cooked but still slightly pink in the middle. This will make sure the pate has a lovely smooth texture. Once ready pop the contents onto a plate, put the herbs and bay leaf back into the pan.

Put the shallots and garlic into the pan with the herbs and cook until soft and slightly golden. Add the brandy, and cook until the alcohol has evaporated.

Put all the cooked goodies into a food processor, add the creme fraiche and wizz up! It's up to you how chunky or smooth you like your pate....

Now don't forget the mushrooms!! Get your two lovely dark field mushrooms and chop up finely (again depending how chunky you like it) Put the last dollop of butter in the frying pan, add the mushrooms and cook off add ing a little bit of pepper at the end. Add the mushrooms to the food processor and give it one last wizzzz to mix it all up.

Then pour into a small pot, bowl, terrine and leave to cool before popping into the fridge to completely set.

Voila! 

Your own delicious quick and easy pate. Enjoy!

Let me know how you get on. Once you realise how easy it is to make you'll never buy shop bought stuff again.

Ps: I shall post again soon with another loaf and the recipe for the hazelnut and raisin loaf :)

Cookies The Size of your Hand!!

February is here already and I'm desperate to see signs of spring...summer soon..please!!
Now I realise the start of the year is time for 'detoxing' and diets. Well personally I think that January and February are better known for being miserable and dowdy months... SO! I am encouraging "re-toxing" to help with the February blues :) Re-toxing as i read on another blog is a term used for eating foods that make you happy!! Now who could deny happiness!?
On that note I present the BIGGEST cookies I've ever made, courtesy off The Humming Bird Recipe Book.

White chocolate and Pecan nut Cookies Recipe
250g Unsalted Butter (yes I know - A whole block!?)
100g caster sugar
200g Soft light brown sugar
2 eggs
11/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
400g Plain flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking powder
100g white choc, chopped
100g Shelled Pecan nuts, chopped

Put the butter and sugars in a bowl and using a handheld electric whisk, cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraing any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a spatula after each addition. Turn the mixer down to slow speed and beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the flour, salt and baking powder and mix well until a smooth dough is formed. Stir in the chocolate and pecan nuts until evenly dispersed.

Divide the mixture in half and shape each half into a roll 15cm in length and 3cm in diameter.wrap the rolls in cling and put them in the freezer to set completely for a couple of hours.

Preheat the oven to 170oc.

Get the rolls out of the freezer and take off the cling. Cut the dough into disks around 2cm in thickness. Arrange the cookies on prepared baking trays with parchment. make sure the cookies are well spaced as they will spread to around double the size when baking. Bake in the preheated oven for around 10-15minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and quite flat. Leave the cookies to cool slightly on the trays before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

The cookies should be soft and slightly chewy :)
See if you can resist eating one warm with a glass of ice cold milk!!!

Enjoy!
I plan to do these again but using dark choc and hazelnuts, it has to be done and tried :D

 

Tasty Muesli

Hi all,

So randomly got up at 6am this week and was bored... so decided to make some muesli.
Now you're probably thinking, "Muesli, how boring!?!". But this is not the case with this muesli.

Once you try this muesli, you'll be addicted!! I mean it :D

So it's dead easy to make, here you go:


200g Traditional whole rolled oats
25g pumkin seeds
15g sunflower seeds
50g nuts (you can use whatever, I like Pecans, hazelnuts & Almonds) Chopped
3 tbspn maple syrup (can always add a little extra if you've got a sweet tooth)
75g dried apicots ready to eat
50g sultanas

Pre-heat oven to 200oc
In a large bowl mix your Oats, seeds, nuts and maple syrup. Spread mixture onto one large or two medium baking trays, that have been lined with baking paper.

Bake for 10-12mins until toasty, golden in colour.
Allow to cool a bit, then return to the bowl and mix in your dried fruit.

Store in an airtight contain - Keeps for 4 weeks (unless you eat it all in the same day!?)

Serve with ice cold milk.

LUSH!!!