Tag: recipe

Cakes & Bakes: Malted flapjacks

Malted flapjack with mug of tea

Our house is rarely without biscuits of some type or variety; digestives, shortbread, cookies… However, when we’re out for whatever reason, a batch of flapjacks is easy to rustle up. For a twist on my regular recipe, I decided to try making malted flapjacks using medium oatmeal rather than my usual porridge oats.

butter, malt extract and honey in a saucepan Malted flapjacks in a cake tin before going into the oven

This is a ‘no sugar’ recipe, the sweetness comes from honey, the malt extract and natural sugars in the fruit. The dried fruit & nuts I used were sultanas and chopped hazelnuts and walnuts. However, you could use any combination that takes your fancy, or you happen to have in your store cupboard.

Cooked malted flapjack Sliced malted flapjack

A single tablespoon of malt extract – two, tops – will suffice for this recipe. Malt extract is potent stuff, you don’t want the taste to be too overwhelming. Using the medium oatmeal instead of the rolled oats gave a crunchy texture and nutty flavour – I really like it!

Click here or on the image below to save my malted flapjacks recipe to Pinterest

Malted flapjacks recipe

Malted flapjack with mug of tea

Malted flapjacks

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Course Snack
Cuisine British

Ingredients
  

  • 125 g unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 tbsp malt extract
  • 400 g medium oatmeal
  • 75 g chopped fruit & nuts I used a mixture of sultanas, hazelnuts and walnuts

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/Gas mark 3
  • Line a square brownie tin with parchment paper. Set aside
  • In a large saucepan, melt the butter, honey and malt extract over a low heat. Stir occasionally to combine
  • Add the oatmeal and fruit & nuts and combine well. Remove from the heat
  • Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and, using a spatula or serving spoon, level it out pressing down firmly, not forgetting the 4 corners
  • Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the top begins to turn brown
  • Allow the flapjack to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before lifting it out and slicing into portions
Malted flapjacks ingredients
Keyword flapjack, malt, oats

Liquorice pudding

Nigella's liquorice pudding

I was intrigued when I discovered this liquorice pudding in Nigella Lawson’s Nigellissima cook book. I love the flavour of liquorice; in ice cream, in All Sorts… and now in a creamy pudding.

Little tin of liquorice pellets

Nigella recommends you use Amarelli Rossano liquorice pellets (which were out of stock when I tried to buy some), but there are a few other brands available such as Simpkins Nipits, Barkleys pure liquorice pellets and Bel Canto imps (which are little rounds rather than pellets).

Liquorice pellets were originally produced as aids to clear the throat; natural liquorice is a mucoactive agent, which means that it helps to clear mucus from the airways. Perfect little cough & cold sweets!

Making liquorice syrup Slaking cornflour and milk

The recipe quantities make two little puddings – perfect for Justin and me. It’s easy to up the amounts if you’re making it as a family or dinner party dessert. It’s a quick dish to make, it can be prepared in advance and chilled and is just gorgeous. Don’t forgo the addition of the sprinkling of salt flakes as you eat – it really does lift the flavour – like salted caramel.

Click here or on the image below to save Nigella’s liquorice pudding to Pinterest

Nigella's liquorice pudding recipe

Nigella's liquorice pudding

Liquorice pudding

Nigella Lawson
Print recipe Pin recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 60 ml/2 fl oz water
  • 1 tsp pure liquorice pellets
  • 2 tbsp light brown muscovado sugar
  • 175 ml/6 fl oz double cream
  • 2 tsp cornflour
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • sea salt flakes

Instructions
 

  • Put the water and liquorice pellets into a small saucepan (such as a milk pan) and bring to the boil, stirring or whisking frequently to help the liquorice melt
  • Once it starts bubbling, turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes, stirring or whisking every now and again
  • Turn the heat back on and whisk in the sugar, then the cream, and bring up to a bubble. Remove from the heat.
  • Spoon the cornflour into a little bowl, cup or ramekin and slake it with the milk: which is to say, whisk in the milk until you have a smooth paste
  • Pour this, whisking as you go, into the mixture in the saucepan. Still whisking, put the pan back on the heat and bring back up to a bubble, whisking all the while, for 20-30 seconds, or until thickened
  • Divide between 2 heatproof glasses or cups and - unless you want to eat this hot - cover, touching the surface of the puddings, with cling film or baking parchment that you've wet with cold water then wrung out (this is to prevent a skin forming) and put them in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  • Allow the puddings reach room temperature before serving. Remove the cling film/parchment and smooth the tops with the back of a teaspoon. Put the salt flakes on the table to sprinkle over as you eat, if desired
Liquorice pudding ingredients
Keyword liquorice, pudding

Cakes & Bakes: Wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread

Wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread

We’re lucky enough to have lots of wild garlic growing in parts of our garden. Before moving, we used to carefully forage in the wild for a few leaves to make pesto and garlic butter. Now that we have so much of it, we’ll be using it to make so much more… beginning with this wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread.

Dry ingredients in a mixing bowl Wet and dry ingredients in a mixing bowl

This year, for some reason, we’ve left it a little late to harvest. Leaves should be picked before the flowers come into bloom; which generally happens in early May. If you’re picking in the wild, try to pick only a couple of leaves from each plant. Don’t exhaust the plant or leave massive bald patches in the woodland floor; don’t pick more than you need. For this recipe, you only need a handful… only about a dozen or so leaves.

Chopped wild garlic and goats cheese on wooden chopping boards Wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread before being cooked

The goats cheese I used was quite a wet, gooey one, but you could always use a more crumbly-textured kind. The flavours of the wild garlic and goats cheese really complement each other. While it was cooking, the cheesy, garlicky smell engulfing the kitchen was mouth-watering!

I like it still warm from the oven, with just a bit of butter spread over – melting into the crumb. Justin thinks it’s delicious as an accompaniment to poached eggs, bacon or cooked ham.

Cooked wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread boule

Click here or on the image below to save my wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread recipe to Pinterest

Homemade wild garlic and goats cheese soda bread recipe

Wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread

Wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread

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Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Bread
Cuisine British
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 350 ml/12fl oz buttermilk or 330ml/11½fl oz full cream milk with the juice of a lemon stirred in
  • 200 g/7oz wholemeal flour
  • 200 g/7 oz plain flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100 g/3½oz goats cheese cubed
  • handful of wild garlic leaves finely chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5
  • Grease & line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, bicarb and salt
  • Add the cubed goats cheese and chopped wild garlic leaves and toss to combine. Make a well in the middle
  • Pour in the buttermilk and bring the dough together. Don't overwork
  • Empty the dough out on to a well-floured work surface and form into a ball. Again don't overwork
  • Put the dough ball on to the prepared baking sheet. Score with a deep cross on top
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is a lovely golden brown
  • Take off the baking sheet on to a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes
  • Slice and serve warm
Wild garlic & goats cheese soda bread ingredients
If you don't have buttermilk, make something similar by stirring the juice of a lemon into full fat milk and allowing it to sit for about ½ an hour before use
Keyword bread, cheese,, forage, goats cheese, soda bread

Cakes & Bakes: Tea-soaked sultana buttermilk pancakes

Tea-soaked sultana buttermilk pancakes with mug of coffee

These tea-soaked sultana buttermilk pancakes are a great weekend recipe. It’s when you have the time to hang around waiting for your dried fruit to rehydrate and plump up. It’s a drawn out process; frying off a stack of twelve, one at a time. We have three, identical little frying pans; so I juggle with cooking and flipping three at a time.

buttermilk pancake batter in a large Pyrex measuring jug

The secret to successful buttermilk pancake batter is to not over-mix it; a few lumps of flour here and there is a good thing. It should be thick and clumpy as it falls from your ladle or spout.

Pouring pancake batter into a hot frying pan

Letting the batter rest for half an hour or so before cooking allows for the buttermilk, bicarb and baking powder to interact which produces the light, airy, puffed up pancakes.

Pancake cooking in a frying pan Pancake cooking in a frying pan

My recipe produces a dozen, 10cm/4-inch diameter pancakes – that should be enough for breakfast or brunch for three… or a pair of ravenous people. Serve with a sprinkling of sugar, lemon & sugar or drizzle of maple syrup over the top.

Click here or on the image below to save my tea-soaked sultana buttermilk pancakes recipe to Pinterest

Tea-soaked sultana buttermilk pancakes recipe | H is for Home #buttermilk #buttermilkpancakes #pancake #pancakes #recipe #sultana #sultanas #cooking #cookery

Tea-soaked sultana buttermilk pancakes with mug of coffee

Tea-soaked sultana buttermilk pancakes

Print recipe Pin recipe
Course Breakfast
Cuisine British
Servings 3

Ingredients
  

  • 250 ml strong hot tea
  • 75 g/2½oz sultanas
  • 125 g/4½oz plain flour
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 20 g/¾oz sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 300 g/10½oz buttermilk
  • 1 medium egg lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted (and a little extra for the frying pan)

Instructions
 

  • Soak the sultanas in the tea for at least an hour
  • In a large measuring jug, combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, sugar and salt
  • Gently mix in the buttermilk, beaten egg and melted butter. Don't overmix
  • Fold in the soaked sultanas
  • Allow the mixture to stand for about ½ an hour
  • Heat a frying pan or skillet on a medium flame, add a little butter and pour/ladle about 115ml /4 fl oz to form each pancake
  • Allow to cook on one side for about a minute before flipping and cooking the other side
  • Repeat until all the batter has been used
  • Sprinkle with a little sugar and serve
Tea-soaked sultana buttermilk pancakes ingredients
Drizzle over a little maple syrup or honey & lemon
Keyword buttermilk, pancakes