Happy Valentine's Day! Red Wine Chocolate Fondue

Happy St Valentine's Day!

This year, Simon and I entertained our good friend and DnD partner Dean. We played some games, drank some wine, and also had a fabulous fondue platter of fruit, sweets, crisps, pastries, and the main star: red wine chocolate fondue.

Making this is very easy and needs only three ingredients: 3 parts (in weight) of plain or dark chocolate, 1 part whipping cream, and 1 part red wine. I used 12 ounces (340 grammes) of chocolate and 4 ounces each (115 grammes) of wine and cream. It's best to use a dry wine to complement the darkness of the chocolate and the richness of the cream.

Simply cut the chocolate up and put it in a bowl, then heat the cream to boiling point either in saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for about two minutes before mixing thoroughly. Then, heat the wine in a similar way just up to boiling point; do not boil! Pour this into the chocolate and cream mixture and voilà! Red wine chocolate fondue.

On my platter I served:

• Strawberries
• Black and white grapes
• Raspberries
• Sugared ring doughnuts, cut into sixths
• Marshmallows
• Pretzels
• Digestive biscuits
• Thick cut cheese and onion crisps

I presented the platter with a pot of cocktail sticks for us to eat the food, but if you have some fancy fondue forks they would work nicely too! You can serve whatever you like on the platter, but I think a good mix of fruit, sweet pastries/cakes/biscuits, savoury snacks, and marshmallows works very well.

So, enjoy this year's celebration of the patron saint of lovers, beekeepers, and epileptics!

Pretty Pink Inside-Out Whoopie Pies: One Recipe, Two Results

You may have guessed: I love pink, and I love cake. So why not mix the two in these lovely little handheld cakes? Here's my most recent experiment: inside-out whoopie pies!

A few months ago, I discovered a great American cups recipe for whoopie pies, and at the time I thought it was all sorted out. However, over the past few months, as I made the recipe a few times it didn't turn out the same way every time after all. I feel that that is to do with how humid Ireland gets in winter, which makes the flour more damp, which in turn skews things in the recipe.

So, I went back to the drawing board and worked with the ratios found in that recipe and found a good recipe using weights. It took about 11 or 12 failed attempts, but I finally got something that's pretty similar to the original Amish recipe I was using.

 

This recipe can be made two ways and it has two different results: if you make the cake with oil, it makes whoopie pie cakes that can be sandwiched; if you make it with butter, it makes little cakes that can be frosted on top like cakey cookies, or "cupcake tops".

  

I made them with raspberry buttercream to make them all pink, but you can put any topping or filling with these: lemon curd, or whipped cream, or flavoured buttercreams. The cakes can also be flavoured with different essences or zests; whatever you like!

INGREDIMENTS

2 medium eggs

4 ounces (115 grammes) salted butter for cupcake tops, or oil for whoopie pies

9 ounces (255 grammes) caster sugar

12 ounces (340 grammes) plain white flour: wheat or spelt*

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) baking soda

¾ teaspoon (4 millilitres) fine salt

6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) buttermilk

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence

HOW TO MAKE CUPCAKE TOPS

• Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line two flat baking trays with non-stick paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until mixed well: there's a lot of sugar, so it won't cream fully until you add the egg.
• Beat in the egg, vanilla essence and salt until you have a nice fluffy mixture.
• Mix together flour, soda, salt, and sugar into another bowl. Sieve half of this mixture into the butter mix and fold in fully.
• Fold in the buttermilk, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Mix well until smooth, but do not overmix.
• Spoon teaspoonfuls of batter onto the trays, about 2 inches apart, or you can use a piping bag to shape the cakes.
• Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size, or until they have puffed up and are springy to the touch.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. On cooling, they will be a little crunchy; however, they will be soft and flexible after a few hours.
• Top the cakes with icing of your choice: buttercream, glacé, whipped cream, etc.

HOW TO MAKE WHOOPIE PIES

• Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line two flat baking trays with non-stick paper.
• Mix the egg, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla essence in a jug. Beat very well, and set aside.
• Sieve the flour, soda, salt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the liquid.
• Fold the liquids into the dry ingredients to make a smooth but thick batter. Spoon teaspoonfuls of batter onto the trays, about 2 inches apart, or you can use a piping bag to shape the cakes.
• Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size, or until they have puffed up and are springy to the touch.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. On cooling, they will be a little crunchy; however, they will be soft and flexible after a few hours.
• Pair up similarly sized cakes and sandwich together with a filling of choice: jam, buttercream, whipped cream, etc.

"Marvellous Creations" Muddie Buddies [BACK-DATED]

Looking for a delicious snack for your party entertaining! Try this American style treat with an English twist: "Marvellous Creations" Muddie Buddies!

Muddie Buddies, also known as Puppy Chow, is a Mid-Western American treat which involves coating Chex cereal in melted chocolate (and often peanut butter) and dusting the whole thing in icing sugar. Sometimes, other sweets are mixed in to make a themed puppy chow, like M&Ms or Andes Mints. The origin of this sweet treat isn't known for sure, but Chex cereal was invented in the late 1930s so it's a fairly recent creation.

Now, I know this treat is served normally at Christmas, but I think it'd be good for any large gathering, including birthdays or Halloween!

As for the "Marvellous Creations", you ask? That's where England comes into it! Cadbury has a Dairy Milk chocolate bar that has popping candy, cherry jelly beans, and coloured crispy shelled chocolates. I thought combining these two things together would make for a delicious mix and it did!

We can't get Chex in Ireland, so I used chocolate frosted Shreddies (Aldi's knock off finest!). I mixed 4 ounces (115 grammes) of these Shreddies and tossed them in 8 ounces (225 grammes) melted plain chocolate and about a tablespoon (15 millilitres) of popping candy. I mixed together 1 ounces (30 grammes) each of icing sugar and cocoa powder, and tossed the cereal until each individual piece was coated. I allowed it to set for about an hour.

I mixed small portions of the snack mix with crispy M&Ms, a variety of pink jelly beans, and sprinkled extra popping candy on top. It was lovely!

I feel that if this were tossed in icing sugar alone it would be too sweet, but if that's what you're used to knock yourself out!

Sweetie Pie's Perfectly Pink Summer Punch: An Easy Formula! (Cup Measurements)

Summer time is prime time for entertaining! I have a social circle who really enjoy socialising around card and board games, so to end my summer holiday in style I had a games party with pizza. And what party would be complete without a delicious party drink?

As a wedding gift, a good friend of mine gave me two garden flamingos -- a pink one and a black one -- which my husband decided to name Bert and Ernie, for some strange reason. It was even stranger considering the fact that he actually didn't know who "Bert and Ernie" were. So, in honour of their arrival, everything in the party was flamingo themed, including the punch.

I don't normally provide alcoholic drinks at social occasions because a) it's expensive, and b) sometimes people have no self control. However, we're all getting older now, and some of my more enthusiastic friends have calmed down with their imbibing as they've aged...

However, you can stretch a spirit a long way if you make yourself a nice party punch! Punch is a Caribbean drink that's made by mixing rum in specific ratios with other liquids. It's easily remembered with this traditional rhyme:

1 part sour

2 parts sweet

3 parts strong (alcohol, traditionally rum)

4 parts weak (mixer, traditionally water)

This ratio will produce a punch that's 9% alcohol volume. However, I don't want to get by guests completely plastered so I use 6 parts of mixer to make the overall volume 7.5%. To make it even weaker, use 2 parts strong and 6 parts weak to make the overall volume 5%.

Sour is exactly what it says on the tin: a sour liquid, like lemon or lime juice. You could also use grapefruit juice.

Sweet is a simple syrup or sweet fruit juice. You could use shop-bought syrups or squashes, but make sure to dilute them so they're not overwhelming. Some recipes even use a sweet liqueur here, like Framboise or Grand Marnier.

Strong is obviously the main alcoholic element, most frequently a spirit: whiskey, rum, vodka, you name it. Preferably this element is 30-35.7% alcohol volume, but you can use a weaker alcohol if you don't want your punch too strong.

And finally, weak is your diluting mixer: soft drink, tea, or even sparkling or still water. Some very adventurous people even use a weak alcohol here, like beer or cider. That's a but too alcoholic for me.

Sweetie Pie's Perfectly Pink Summer Punch

1 cup (240 millilitres) lime juice, bottled is fine

1 cup (240 millilitres) concentrated cherry syrup or squash, like this one

1 cup (240 millilitres) water, to dilute the syrup

3 cups (720 millilitres) mint vodka*, or strong peppermint schnapps (must be 30% alcohol)

6 cups (1440 millilitres) lemon lime soft drink, or cola

Ice, to serve

METHOD

• In a punch bowl or large pitcher, mix together the lime juice, cherry syrup, water, and vodka. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
• Immediately before serving, add 3 cups of ice and the lemon lime drink. Use a ladle to serve if it's in a bowl.
• Using these ratios the punch will be roughly 7.5%. Reducing the soft drink to 4 cups will yield a 9% drink.

*  I make mint vodka myself by dissolving 100 grammes (3.5 ounces) of clear mint sweets in 500 millilitres (17.5 fluid ounces) of vodka or about 24 hours, stirring occasionally. 

Feel free to experiments with flavours! What about something with blackberries and Jaegermeister for a spooky magical purple? Or keep it tropical fresh with lemon, orange, and grapefruit juice with rum? Whatever the occasion, this recipe is easily adaptable to your taste and event.

Something Savoury: Teriyaki Chicken Nuggets (Dairy and Egg Free)

Summertime is party time, and party time is party food time! Here is a different take on chicken nuggets with an Asian flair.

I love chicken nuggets and dippers: they're just so gloriously naff. However, if you're someone who isn't so sure about the quality of the meat involved, or how exactly is was "mechanically reclaimed" from the source animal, then I suggest you make your own minced filling.

I like making chicken nuggets, dippers, and burgers from scratch because you are 100% in control of the meat used. I get thighs and breasts and chop them finely with a nice big knife. I don't mince it so finely that it no longer has any texture. For this you could also use turkey, which has a meatier flavour than chicken.

I served this with some crinkle cut oven chips bought from the supermarket, and a quick homemade iced tea.

INGREDIMENTS

For the chicken filling

350 grammes (about 12 ounces) chicken, either breast meat or 50/50 mix of thigh and breast

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) maple syrup, or brown sugar

One grated garlic clove, or 1/4 tsp dehydrated chopped garlic

1 tsp grated ginger root, or 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of salt

A few cracks of black pepper

For the coating

4 tablespoons (55 millilitres) plain flour

4 tablespoons (55 millilitres) cornflour

About 4 fluid ounces (115 millilitres) of cold water

Salt and pepper

METHOD

• If using dehydrated garlic, rehydrate it in a teaspoon of hot water. Allow to soak for 10 minutes.
• Chop the chicken very finely into a mince. In a bowl, mix the chicken, soy sauce, maple syrup or sugar, garlic, and ginger with a fork until well mixed. If using fresh garlic, add a teaspoon of water. Season with some salt and pepper. 
• Chill the mixture for at least 2 hours to marinate. I let mine marinate for about 4 hours and it was fine.
• Mix the flours and seasoning in a bowl, and mix with water until you get a consistency of crepe batter. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Heat the deep frying oil to 180C. Or, if shallow frying, heat about half an inch of oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. 
• Shape the mixture into 12 nuggets, and dust with flour. Dip each nugget in the batter, then put in the oil. 
• Cook for 5 to 6 minutes (flipping halfway if shallow frying) until the batter is crispy, but still pale. 
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before returning to the oil for a further 5 to 6 minutes until a delicious golden colour and very crispy.
• Serve with chips and dipping sauces, like ketchup or sweet chili sauce.

Variation
You can skip the batter and fry the chicken in burger patties, and serve in toasted buns with lettuce and tomato. Or, you could make meatballs and serve in teriyaki sauce with jasmine rice and steamed vegetables.

"Jacob's Mikado" Cupcakes: Coconut, Raspberry, and Marshmallows

Mikadoo, doo, doo, push Pineapple shake the tree.... 

Y’all know I love Mikado biscuits. I don’t think I’ve ever done a Mikado recipe on this blog before, but I’ve probably enthused about this all-Irish treat at some point on some blog post in the past. A Mikado, produced by a company called Jacob’s, is a small rectangular biscuit topped with two parallel rows of pink marshmallow, between which is a row of tangy raspberry jam; the whole confection is dusted with desiccated coconut. Although they are available all year round, they are especially popular at Christmas time, where they’re sold in massive plastic tubs to make sure you have enough for all the guests you’ll be entertaining throughout the Christmas season. 

Mikados are just one biscuit in a range of marshmallow biscuits produced by Jacob’s: there are Coconut Creams, which are round plain biscuits topped with a splodge of coconut sprinkled marshmallow (which are either pink or white); and there are Kimberleys, which are a sandwich biscuit made of gingerbread and marshmallow, the exposed edges of which are encrusted with coarse white sugar crystals. And all of these, of course, come in a chocolate coated variety for greater indulgence at special occasions (there’s even a triple chocolate Kimberley, where the biscuit and the marshmallow within the chocolate coating are also cocoa flavour. It’s sinfully delicious). 

This simple combination of plain, buttery biscuit, jam, marshmallow and coconut is easily adapted to all sorts of baked goods, including these here cupcakes! These are a nice vanilla almond cake (a flavour which is commonly referred to as “birthday cake” flavour in the States, sans the sprinkles) filled with seedless raspberry jam and topped with pillowy 7-minute frosting, before being dunked in desiccated coconut. The whole thing is then crowned with a Mikado. 

I make 7-minute frosting by mixing 2 egg whites, 2 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and 8 ounces of caster sugar in a heatproof bowl. I then gently heat this over simmering water until the sugar dissolves and it’s warm to the touch. I take it off the heat and whip it with an electric hand mixer for a full 7 minutes, until it is marshmallowy light and cool to the touch. This is easily flavoured and coloured: in hindsight, I should have coloured mine pink to mirror the biscuits, but the white it also pretty; I flavoured mine with vanilla. 

This is best eaten within three days, as after three days the icing turns all dusty as the sugar re-crystalises. To avoid this, you can replace up to a third of the sugar with glucose syrup. 

Happee Birthdaee Daddee! Coffee Poodle Cake

Looking to make a novelty cake, but have never been very good with fondant? Well, look no further: here is a cute puppy cake, with zero fondant!

My Dad had his birthday on Friday, but actual celebrations with cake and presents were delayed due to all of us having different work commitments. On the Friday night itself, we went to see The Crimes of Grindewald, which was a dull and conflicted piece of cinema.

When we did eventually meet up for cake and presents, I wanted to make a special cake for Dad: he has a pet toy poodle, called Boadecia (well, when I say he has, she dog is actually my mother's but Dad has an extreme fondness for her and carries her around everywhere he goes), so I made a cake in the likeness of a poodle. However, I really dislike working with fondant, and I hate how it tastes.

So, I went with good old fashioned piping.

I made a 9 inch (23 centimetre) deep round coffee cake, and sandwiched and crumb coated it with some coffee buttercream. After a brief trip into the fridge, I spread another thin layer of coffee icing over the top and sides, using a bench knife to get the edges nice and straight. I coated the sides in a dusting of desiccated coconut and piped a scroll design around the top edge. I then popped the cake into the fridge for another 20 or so minutes.

To get the beautiful white surface, I melted 2½ ounces (65 grammes) of white chocolate with 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) of sunflower oil. I added a pinch of salt to make it taste richer, because sunflower oil is pretty flavourless. I melted them together gently in the microwave and poured it in the top of the cake, where the scroll piping acted as a dam. I gently tilted the cake to get full coverage.

After a half hour rest in the fridge, I piped the features using dark chocolate and pink-tinted glacé icing. I just mixed some icing sugar and milk together to a thick, piping consistency and used pink gel colouring to get a lovely, doggy-tongue shade of pink.

Dad's poodle wears a little baby blue collar, so I thought I'd put a band of paper around the cake, where I would normally pipe a lower border. I think the effect was very pretty, put next time I'll use a ribbon for a better effect.

All in all, I was very pleased with this cake! You could do it with chocolate cake, too, or any flavour you like. Happy baking!

German Witches' Brew: Buttergrog (Contains Alcohol)

Es ist fast Winter! Und für euch, ich habe ein leckeres Wintergetränk: Buttergrog!

The nights are getting darker, the outside world is getting colder and more stark, and inside we're all starting to stock up on our heating fuel and warming, comforting food. In Ireland, winter starts on November 1st, which is a month before the rest of the western world, which marks December 1st as the first day of winter.

The four main Celtic festivals in the year mark the start of a new season. Samhain, the first day of winter, is celebrated on November 1st, which is the day after Oíche Shamhna, which means "Samhain Eve". Oíche Shamhna is our native name for Halloween.

Of course, we don't have the monopoly on wintertime celebrations! In fact, the homeland of our Celtic ancestors is central Europe, who absolutely go to town on autumnal and winter feasting. Germany, Austria, Poland, and many other countries throughout the European heartland have absolutely wonderful arrays of warming food and drinks.

All throughout Germany, Austria, and Poland there are a variety of warm, spiced alcoholic drinks. There's glühwein, which we know in English was mulled wine; there's the strange concoction grzaniec, which is hot spiced beer (which I really want to try so watch this space); and of course this blog's subject, the German delight buttergrog.

The word "grog" conjures an altogether, and much less classy, image of booze swilling pirates, but this drink is a delicious hot cider, flavoured with spices and aromatic citrus, spiked with rum, and finished off with a smooth hit of rich, buttery goodness. This is comfort in a glass.

For anyone who has made mulled wine in the past, you might be put off by the fiddliness of finding raw spices such as cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and star anise. However, I have a cheat:

Most Polish shops, and various healthfood shops, in Ireland sell spiced teabags. They often have a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, and sometimes orange zest, and are the perfect short-cut to a delicious aromatic spice blend for mulled drinks.

The brand I use is Loyd, but there is also Pukka. Both of these brands sell a variety of spiced teabags, but the one I used for this recipe was Loyd Warming Tea.

DIFFICULTY

Easy!

INGREDIMENTS

For 2 servings

1 can (500 millilitres) dry cider, about 5%

2 shots (60 millilitres) rum: white or spiced. You could also use some homemade spice infused rum

4 teaspoons (20 grammes) unsalted butter, cold

1 spiced teabag

2 slices of lemon or orange

1 or 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 grammes) brown sugar or honey, to taste

HOW-TO

• In a small saucepan, heat the cider with the lemon or orange slices and the teabag. Don't let it boil, but let it get steaming hot. Let the teabag infuse with the cider for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir in the rum, and then add sugar or honey to taste. Allow to come back to temperature. I used some homemade spiced rum, infused with cinnamon, vanilla, and cloves. You could also use shop bought spiced rum.
• Put two teaspoons (10 grammes) of the butter in the bottom of each beer mug.
• Pour half the drink into each mug, stirring constantly to properly incorporate the butter and let it emulsify. 
• Serve hot with sweet or savoury snacks

American Style: Corn Dogs (Wheat Free, with Gluten Free Option)

Fancy an American style party treat? Here's my take on a favourite, whether bought from the freezer section of the 'market or from food-carts in the street: corn dogs!

I was inspired to make this treat because around this time of year, in the short-term run up to Halloween and the long-term run up to Christmas, our local supermarkets will start selling party finger food in the freezer section. One of which, is mini corn dogs, designed to be cooked in the oven for twenty minutes before serving the hungry party guests.

I have never set foot in the U.S.A., but my father and brother have both been to New York City. My brother Patrick loved the hot dog treats sold on the street; he particularly liked the regular hot dogs in a split bun covered in mustard. American style fast food is extremely popular here in Ireland (because we have had a strong relationship with the U.S.A. for generations through migration), but I've always wondered if our Irish palate approximations taste anything like they do in their homeland.

Here in Ireland, you can buy Frankfurters (also known as Wieners) from any supermarket, but they are always the German style sausages. One day I hope to traverse to New York City, not only to visit my cousin who lives there, but to find out what an American hot dog is supposed to taste like....

Now, the concept of a sausage dipped in batter and deep fried isn't foreign to people of these parts: battered sausages are available in most fish-and-chip shops around Ireland and Great Britain. But dipping them in corn batter is something different entirely. I hope that this rendition is faithful to the original American recipe!

DIFFICULTY

Intermediate: HOT OIL!

INGREDIMENTS

For 10 full sized corn dogs, or 20 mini dogs

10 Frankfurters, about 12 ounces (350 grammes)

3 ounces (85 grammes) fine cornmeal

1 ounce (30 grammes) plain flour: spelt, gluten free, or wheat

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons (10 grammes) caster sugar

1 tablespoon (15 grammes) melted butter

1 egg, made up to 5 fluid ounces (140 millilitres) with milk, or milk alternative

Thick wooden skewers for whole dogs, or thick cocktail sticks for mini dogs

HOW-TO

• Set some flavourless oil in a deep fat fryer, or heavy saucepan on a rear hob, to heat to 190°C (375°F), or until the handle of a wooden spoon bubbles quickly when submerged in the hot oil. Make sure you have at least two or three inches (5 to 7 centimetres) of oil in the pan, because if there is too little oil the sausages will sink and stick to the bottom of the pan. While the oil is heating, prepare the corn dogs.
• Leave the Frankfurters whole, or cut each one in half. Dry the sausages with a paper towel, and dust with a little plain flour to help the batter stick. Pop a stick in each piece of sausage, trying to insert the stick as far into the sausage as possible, while leaving a handle.
• Sieve cornmeal, plain flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl. Mix egg, milk, and melted butter together in a jug.
• Using a wire whisk or metal spoon, make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients in a mix with the whisk or spoon. Mix only until the batter is smooth and there is no dry flour.
• Dip the sausages in the batter, coating thoroughly, and let the excess drip off. Cook the battered sausages in the oil for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping halfway, until the batter is puffed and deliciously golden.
• Drain the cooked corn dogs with kitchen paper, and serve immediately with mustard, ketchup, or mayonnaise.

American Style: Deep Pan Pizza (Egg Free with Wheat Free Option)

Looking for a hearty, comforting dinner? Why not try this recipe for deep pan pizza! (It comes with my fiancé's approval, as seen below)

Autumn and Winter are full of party occasions and opportunities: in my family, even without the traditional holiday events, there are three birthdays in October and November. This time of year is a real season of festive eating!

When we were kids, we had normal kids' party food at all these kinds of occasions: sausage rolls, cocktail sausages, chips, and either hamburgers, or pizza. In the 1990s, supermarkets where I lived began to stock cook-from-frozen pizzas, and normally they had big, fluffy bread bases. I didn't see a thin and crispy based pizza until I was in my mid-late teens.

The most commonly eaten brand was Goodfellas, but there were many others, including supermarket own branded pizzas. I have very fond associations with thick based pizzas, even though when I eat shop bought ones now my adult taste buds aren't able to taste what was so amazing to my childhood taste buds....

I've been meaning to try a deep pan pizza for a very long time: I popped it on my list of projects to try about this time last year, I just never had the opportunity to try it. I was reminded to try it when I was watching Chef John's Detroit style pizza video on Youtube earlier last week.

My pizza differs from his, insofar as it's just a regular (well, what I consider regular) pizza with a thicker base. I use a completely different dough recipe to his, and different toppings. But, I was inspired by his idea to rise the bread dough in the tin it will be cooked in, rather than in a bowl.

DIFFICULTY

Intermediate


INGREDIMENTS

For the bread dough

6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) warm water

One ¼ ounce (7 gramme) sachet of dry active yeast

1 tablespoon (15 grammes) caster sugar

½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) salt

1 ounce (30 grammes) light olive oil, or sunflower oil

12 ounces (340 grammes) plain flour: wheat or spelt

½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder

For the topping

Roughly 5 or 6 tablespoons (2½ or 3 fluid ounces; 75 or 90 millilitres) tomato pasta sauce, with herbs and garlic

Pinch of sugar

Salt and black pepper

Roughly 4 or 5 ounces (115 to 140 grammes) grated mozzarella cheese

Sliced meat of your choice: pepperoni, salami, ham, chicken, sausage, etc.

Thinly sliced vegetables of your choice: pepper, tomato, mushroom, courgette, etc.

HOW-TO

• Grease a 9 by 7 inch (23 by 18 centimetre) deep baking tin with a tablepoon (15 millilitres) of sunflower or light olive oil. Set aside for later
• In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast, sugar, oil, and warm water together. Add in about half of the flour and mix into a sticky paste. Cover, and leave to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size and very spongy in appearance.
• Once risen, tap the bowl sharply on the counter top to release the air. Sieve in the half of the remaining flour, the baking powder, and salt and mix together with a wooden spoon until combined.
• Sprinkle some of the remaining flour on the work surface, scrape out the dough in the bowl, and sprinkle some more flour on top. Knead the dough, adding flour only if you need to, until you have a smooth, tacky dough. You may not need all the flour, so don't add it all in at the beginning.
• Knead the dough for a good 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Press the dough into the bottom of your oiled tin and allow to rise for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in size once more.
• Once it has doubled, press the air out with floured hands and spread the tomato sauce on top, leaving a half-inch (1 centimetre) border around the edge of the pizza. Decorate with your toppings.
• Set the oven to preheat to 190°C (375°F, Gas Mk.5) and allow the pizza to puff slightly while the oven is heating. Once the oven is hot enough, bake the pizza on the centre shelf for 30 to 25 minutes. If the toppings are browning too fast, cover the pizza with a piece of tin foil.
• When fully cooked, remove from the oven and gently transfer the pizza to a wire rack. This will stop the crust from getting soggy with condensation.
• Serve hot from the oven with side salad, or chips.

Vodka Infusions: Hot and Spicy Cinnamon

Looking for a heartwarming autumnal drink? Try this delicious cinnamon infused vodka!

Autumn is really starting to take shape as we begin the descent to winter: the leaves are falling off the trees, there's a nip in the air, and the distinct smell of comfy wood-fueled home fires can be smelled wherever people live. It's at this time of the year people are starting to keep their houses, and themselves, nice and toasty warm. One good way to keep warm to drink a nice warming spirit, and this is such a spirit.

The slow infusion of cinnamon bark stick into the sweetened vodka brings out a beautiful golden colour, like a hearth fire. As you drink it, it warms your throat and then the centre of your body. Enjoyed in a small amount, this really is a delicious treat.

Infusing vodka for other clear strong spirits is a very simple and fun project that has endless possibilities! Vodka can be infused with dried spices, such as cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, star anise, or cardamom, and also vanilla pods. It can also be infused with herbs, like peppermint or basil (don't knock it), citrus zest, and even tea leaves or ground coffee. With all the innumerable flavour sources and combinations therein, you could become a vodka alchemist.

I find, though, that the infused spirits always taste better if you add a little sugar and a pinch of salt. Unseasoned infused vodka can taste very flat. You could use any kind of sugar or sweetener, like brown sugar, golden syrup, honey, or white sugar. I find a ratio of one part sugar, to 5 parts spirit works best, but you can experiment with your own batches. But just remember, you can always add more sugar, but you can't take it away.

This batch of cinnamon vodka was very, very hot and spicy, which I how I like it, and I make mine with just cinnamon sticks and white sugar. However, if you want it to taste more soft and warm, you can use brown sugar or honey instead of white sugar, and you can even add a seeded vanilla pod for a delicious cinnamon roll flavour. The world's your oyster!

~ ^_^ ~

DIFFICULTY

Easy!

~ ^_^ ~

INGREDIMENTS

500 millilitres (2⅛ cups; 17½ UK fluid ounces) vodka, white rum, or other clear spirit (40% ABV; 80 Proof)

100 grammes (3½ ounces; ½ cup) sugar

Pinch of salt

4 or 5 cinnamon sticks

Optional: 1 deseeded vanilla pod

HOW-TO

• Clean a glass 700 or 750 millilitre (1¼ UK pints, 3 cup) bottle, such as a wine bottle, and pour in the sugar, salt, and vodka.
• Put the cinnamon sticks down the neck of the bottle, breaking them if necessary, and close the lid tightly.
• Shake the bottle until the sugar is dissolve completely. Store the bottle in a cool, dark place for 4 to 7 days. Fewer days will yield a much weaker infusion, more days will yield a stronger infusion. I infused mine for 5 or 6 days (I can't quite remember) and it was nice and spicy.
• Once the infusion is as strong as you want it to be, strain the vodka into a large jug and remove the spices. Return the strained vodka to the bottle, close, and keep in a cool dark place.

Zesteratops: the Return of the Novelty Dinnersaurus!

Say hello to Zesteratops!

When I launched my blog back in 2013, I made a dinosaur shaped cake for my mother's birthday that year. It's my blog's most popular blog post, racking up over 1000 views so far!

As such, I thought an update of my technique was well overdue. I'm not really a novelty cake person, which you could probably tell from the fact that I've only ever done a 3D dinosaur and a 3D panda cake in the past. However, my attitude towards novelty cakes has been changing: recently my parents decided to foster an eleven year old boy, and having a child in the family again really changes to chemistry of family gatherings! (He actually named this cake: I was originally going to call it Lemonpleurodon)

Mum loves lemon or orange flavour cakes, and the previous dinnersaurus was orange flavoured so this time I went for lemon. I also decided to decorate with buttercream rather than fondant. I absolutely hate working with fondant, but I used it to design the details, like the back sails, tail spikes, eyes, and smiling face.

This project is very time consuming: from the moment I started mixing the cake, to the moment I put on the last tail spike, it took 6 hours. So keep this in mind when you go to make it!

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

DIFFICULTY

Requires cake shaping and novelty decorating

TIME

About 6 hours

RECIPE RATING

Needs experience

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

INGREDIMENTS

To make a dinosaur cake that will serve 16 to 20 people

One deep 9 inch (23 centimetre) round lemon flavoured cake

Some rolling fondant (sugarpaste) icing, to make decorative details

Food colouring

For the lemon curd

1 medium egg

4 teaspoons (20 millilitres) cornflour

2 large lemons

4 ounces (115 grammes) caster sugar

2 ounces (55 grammes) unsalted butter

Pinch or two of salt

For the icing

5 ounces (140 grammes) unsalted butter

5 ounces (140 grammes) Greek yoghurt

5 ounces (140 grammes) caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon, see Method

10 ounces (280 grammes) white chocolate

Two pinches of salt

Yellow food colouring

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

METHOD

• Before assembly, prepare the icing and the lemon curd. This recipe makes twice as much lemon curd as you need, so you can use the remainder for another project.

To make the lemon curd

• Zest the two lemons, and place the zest of one of the lemons into a measuring jug. Use the zest of the other lemon for the icing later.
• Into the jug, squeeze the two lemons and then top up with water to make 8 fluid ounces (240 millilitres) of liquid.
• In a small saucepan, blend the cornflour, sugar, and egg. Slowly mix in the diluted lemon juice until you have a fully combined mixture.
• Cook the mixture over medium high heat, mixing constantly, until it comes to the boil. Boil for a full minute or so until thickened and it loses some of its opacity.
• Sieve the mixture into a bowl, and then mix in the butter and a pinch of salt. To make the lemon curd taste richer, you might need to add an extra pinch of salt.
• Allow to cool to room temperature before covering with cling film, making sure the film touches the curd, and chilling in the fridge for about an hour.

While the curd is cooling, make the icing

• Follow the instructions in my Simnel cake recipe to make the icing, including the lemon zest in the cooked yoghurt and sugar mixture and omitting the lemon juice. Allow to cool as instructed.
• Tint the icing a pale yellow colour to represent the lemon flavour. Or, you can make it any summery colour you like.

Assembly

• Take the cake, and cut it in half horizontally. Don't cut off the dome: you'll need that to help the shape of the dinosaur.
• Cut each half in half vertically. Now you will have 4 semicircles: two flat ones, and two with domes.
• Take the two domed semicircles and sandwich a flat semicircle between them. Use lemon curd to secure the shapes together.

• Take the remaining flat semicircle and cut it into thirds. You will have two rounded shapes, and one long, rectangular shape. The rectangular shape will be used later for the tail.
• Take the two rounded pieces and sandwich them together with the lemon curd to make the head.

• You now have a body piece, a head piece, and a tail piece. Secure all the elements together as shown using some icing, and then trim the cake to make it more dinosaur shaped.
• After all the cutting and trimming, you'll have roughly 4 ounces (115 grammes) of cake trimmings. Use these and some more lemon curd to make some cake truffle mixture, and use this to make some legs. If you don't have enough cake crumbs to make all four legs, just make two legs and form the remaining legs out of fondant.

• Fix the legs to the body with icing, cover the entire cake in a crumb coat, and then chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes before decorating however you like! I used a petal piping technique to make scales, but you could use fondant if you like.

THIS TIME IN 2017: American Style: Chocolate Fudge Tart
THIS TIME IN 2016: Chocolate Biscuit Cake, a.k.a: Rocky Road
THIS TIME IN 2015: Zingy Lemon Gâteau (Wheat Free)
THIS TIME IN 2013: Experiment: Homemade Sprinkles
There was no blog on this day in 2014.