EduCook: The Cookery Help and Ideas Thread

[Ditto]

Lemon Drizzle Loaf

 

3 eggs (ideally large) - weigh them in their shells

 

Same weight of:

• Self Raising Flour

• Butter/margarine (soft or block at room temperature)

• Caster Sugar

 

Half a teaspoon of baking powder

 

1 lemon - finely grate the zest using that scratchy bit of the grater you only use for nutmeg

 

Topping

Juice of above lemon (tip: zap it in the microwave for 10 seconds before juicing)

60g Caster Sugar

 

2lb loaf tin - greased and then lined with baking paper (or you can buy loaf tin liners made of baking paper)

 

 

 

Preheat the oven to 160C fan or 180C no fan

 

 

 

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth

 

Gradually beat in the eggs. Add a spoonful of flour if it starts to curdle.

 

Mix the flour, baking powder and lemon zest together. Beat into the egg mixture one spoonful at a time.

 

Pour into your lined tin and get it reasonably level.

 

Bake for 45 mins - 1 hour ... until a skewer comes out cleanly.

 

While it bakes stir the remaining sugar into the lemon juice for the topping. It will mostly dissolve.

 

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, skewer it thoroughly all over to make lots of deep holes. Then gradually drizzle the lemon and sugar mix across the top of the cake so it soaks in.

 

Leave to cool in the tin.

 

Keeps for ages in theory. Usually gets guzzled very quickly here [emoji3]

It's only fair I share the results of the recipe! I suspect there will be little left by the end of the weekend, especially as we have a planned family bike exercise ride planned for tomorrow! I love the fact recipe is driven by the weight of the eggs - that's a first for me!

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by elsiegee40

[elsiegee40]

It's only fair I share the results of the recipe! I suspect there will be little left by the end of the weekend, especially as we have a planned family bike exercise ride planned for tomorrow! I love the fact recipe is driven by the weight of the eggs - that's a first for me!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]60378[/ATTACH]

 

Looks great!

 

That’s a very old-fashioned and standard sponge cake mixture that has been used by generations of cooks. You can use this 1:1:1:1 mixture to make any cake of any size.

 

Play with it:

Add half a teaspoon of vanilla essence for a plain sponge

Remove 2 tablespoons of flour and add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder for a chocolate cake

Bake it in paper cases for cup cakes

 

I suspect it stems from the days of balance scales. Put your eggs on one side of the balance and then you can easily get equal quantities of the other ingredients. There’s no need to use weights and eggs vary in size anyway.

Edited January 9, 2021 by elsiegee40

[elsiegee40]

Having made a cheesy pasta bake this evening, here are the steps...

 

Cheat’s white sauce (Gluten free)

 

You can make a very passable white sauce from just cornflour and milk.

 

Put 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour in a measuring jug.

 

Add a little cold milk and stir until completely smooth.

 

Gradually add more milk, stirring constantly, until you reach the half pint (280ml) mark.

 

Pour the sauce into a pan, cook over a medium heat stirring constantly until sauce starts to thicken.

 

 

Cheat’s Cheese Sauce (Gluten free)

 

Grate 80-100g of strong cheddar (to taste) and stir into white sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and optional 1/4tsp English Mustard powder.

 

 

Pasta Bake (serves 3-4)

 

Grease a large, ideally ceramic or glass, ovenproof dish. Preheat the oven to 180C fan (200C non fan)

 

Make 1 quantity of cheese sauce. It needs to be on the thin side. Add more milk if necessary.

 

Optional: cook and chop a couple of slices of bacon or 75g lardons and stir into cheese sauce

 

Chop 3 leeks into 2cm chunks. (You may have to split and wash the top section)

 

Put leeks in a microwaveable dish with 1tbsp water and zap on high for 5-6 minutes until soft. Then drain in a sieve or colander. It’s important to get rid of all the water.

 

Cook 225g pasta shapes until not quite cooked. (8-9 mins) Then drain getting rid of all the water.

 

Stir the pasta and leaks into the cheese sauce. Pour into the greased dish and spread evenly. Top with more grated cheese.

 

Bake in the oven for approx 20 mins until the top is browned.

Substitute cauliflower cooked ‘al dente’ for the pasta and this recipe makes a lovely cauliflower cheese too

Edited January 10, 2021 by elsiegee40

[jmak]

All in one microwave white sauce (Delia approved!)

 

To make 1 pint:

1.5 oz flour

2 oz butter

1 pint cold milk

 

Add the flour to the milk and whisk. Chop butter into the mix.

Microwave on full for 2 minutes and then whisk until (most of) the lumps have gone.

Microwave some more - watch out for it boiling over! If it does boil, whisk and leave for a minute or two then microwave some more.

 

Hints: if you start with a bit less milk, you can always add more, just in case it doesn't thicken quickly enough (that applies to any white sauce method)

If it keeps boiling up the jug, just leave it for a few minutes and it will thicken by itself

If it's lumpy, just whisk it a bit more

It'll thicken up a bit more once you add the cheese

 

Advantages of microwave method: you don't have to keep stirring it while it's cooking. Pyrex jug will go in dishwasher whereas my saucepans won't.

Disadvantage: because it doesn't require constant attention, it's easy to boil it over requiring a clean-up of the microwave.

 

For 3/4 pint:

1 oz flour

1.5 oz butter

15 fl oz milk

 

I use the Imperial measurements because for some reason when I use the metric conversions, it never thickens [emoji2369]

Edited January 10, 2021 by elsiegee40

[Ditto]

A neighbour and friend of mine is an NHS surgeon and has recently been helping his colleagues with with basic care work. - basic duties which is extremely honourable of him. Local kids have been making food treats and he's taken them in to distribute.

 

I'm looking to do my bit, so some recipe ideas would be much appreciated. I'm sure I have an oaty/muesli style, tray recipe somewhere that proved very popular years ago. I'm looking for tasty items that keep a few days, but always happy to try something new. Suggestions very much welcome.

[elsiegee40]

Some of the recipes I posted earlier could be portioned and wrapped in cling film. They keep well.

 

The microwave brownies and jamaica ginger loaf come to mind as really simple.

 

Also this Tea Loaf is dead simple... I have no idea why it uses US cup measures. The recipe is my Mum’s and she’s made it as long as I remember.

 

The night before:

Soak 1lb mixed dried fruit with 1 cup black tea and 1 cup demerara/light brown sugar.

 

Next day:

 

Heat the oven to 130C Fan/150C conventional

 

Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin... or just use a loaf tin liner.

 

Add 1 egg and 2 cups self raising flour and mix thoroughly

 

Tip into the tin, roughly level the mix and bake for 1 ¾ to 2 hours when a skewer comes out cleanly.

 

I’ll have a think about other stuff

[elsiegee40]

I haven’t made this for years! I foresee it being made in the next few days. [emoji3]

 

Chocolate Crunch Cake

 

6oz plain chocolate (+6oz for topping)

4oz butter or margarine

1 large can condensed milk

10oz rich tea biscuits (crushed)

1oz raisins or sultanas

 

Line a 8” cake tin with foil (a brownie pan would do the job)

 

Melt together 6oz chocolate, butter and condensed milk over a low heat

 

Stir in the biscuits and raisins

 

Chill for 3 hours and then turn out

 

Melt the remaining chocolate and spread over the cake.

Edited February 3, 2021 by elsiegee40

[Pink_Panda]

a very easy recipe is for banana cake. this recipe got me started with baking and it always comes out alright which then gave me the confidence to look at other cake recipes.

 

Things to note: the riper the bananas, the better. I've only ever used butter not margarine. This recipe is so forgiving, you can mix it all together with an electric whisk, but a lot of the times I just use a wooden spoon. I've even used 4 bananas before, just to use them up.

 

 

Easy Banana Cake

 

110g butter or margarine

170g sugar

2 eggs

225g self-raising flour

2 large or 3 medium bananas, mashed

 

Preheat oven to 180C.

Cream butter and sugar together.

Mix in the eggs, then stir in the mashed bananas. Finally mix in flour.

Pour mixture into a loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes, then lower the temperature to 150C and bake for a further 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack.

[elsiegee40]

I made these breakfast muffins this morning.

 

They’re very quick and easy and the recipe is flexible as you can see from my notes on it! I beat the eggs, milk, etc with a fork. It doesn’t need a mixer.

 

[elsiegee40]

I haven’t made this for years! I foresee it being made in the next few days. [emoji3]

 

Chocolate Crunch Cake

 

6oz plain chocolate (+6oz for topping)

4oz butter or margarine

1 large can condensed milk

10oz rich tea biscuits (crushed)

1oz raisins or sultanas

 

Line a 8” cake tin with foil (a brownie pan would do the job)

 

Melt together 6oz chocolate, butter and condensed milk over a low heat

 

Stir in the biscuits and raisins

 

Chill for 3 hours and then turn out

 

Melt the remaining chocolate and spread over the cake.

 

 

It had to be done... I made it for the first time in 30 years... but used chopped stem ginger instead of raisins and the result is amazing!

 

Updated recipe:

 

10oz/300g plain cooking chocolate (6oz/170g for the cake and the rest for the topping)

 

397g tin of condensed milk

 

4oz/115g butter/margarine (I used cake stork)

 

10oz/285g rich tea biscuits

 

6 balls of stem ginger - drained of syrup and chopped into small pieces

 

20cm/8” square cake/brownie tin lined with foil

 

Crumble the biscuits reasonably finely (you do want some bigger bits)

 

Mix in the stem ginger

 

Melt together the condensed milk, 6oz/170g chocolate and butter/marg

 

Pour into the biscuit mix and stir thoroughly.

 

Press into the cake tin and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

 

Melt the remaining chocolate and spread over the cake then return to the fridge and chill for another hour.

 

Leave in tin, and cut into portions with a table knife. Return to fridge to really harden up if you can wait that long

[jmak]

Banoffee pie

 

So simple it's stretching it to call it a recipe.

 

You need a tin of caramel (it'll be next to the condensed milk and looks very similar)

 

Bash up 250g digestive biscuits and stir in melted butter ?100g? I think... (amounts on side of caramel tin [emoji16])

Press into pie/flan dish and put in fridge for 30 minutes to set

 

Spread caramel on biscuit base and slice on bananas (recipe says 4 small; I used 1 and a half large this morning)

 

Whip a tub of cream and spread on top.

 

Grate chocolate as a finishing touch

 

Appallingly bad for you, but better than any of the pre-made ones I've had.

[Ditto]

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That's almost exactly the image I had in my mind! For me it's probably 20+ years since I did one like this. I still haven't tracked where the recipe I used came from, so I will give this a go. It may be the same one! The condensed milk rings a bell, but I think I used digestive biscuits. I'm going to do one stem ginger, one dried fruit early next week and hopefully get them transported to front line NHS staff pronto. If all goes to plan, I'll come back with feedback.

[elsiegee40]

That's almost exactly the image I had in my mind! For me it's probably 20+ years since I did one like this. I still haven't tracked where the recipe I used came from, so I will give this a go. It may be the same one! The condensed milk rings a bell, but I think I used digestive biscuits. I'm going to do one stem ginger, one dried fruit early next week and hopefully get them transported to front line NHS staff pronto. If all goes to plan, I'll come back with feedback.

 

My recipe is handwritten by me. Heaven only knows where I found it originally

[Djmonky1]

My recipe is handwritten by me. Heaven only knows where I found it originally

 

I may use it now it’s making me hungry

[Andrew_C]

I wouldn't normally buy stuff that I've found in a F@rsebook advert, but I have tried Tastesmiths and am very pleasantly surprised.

 

They send you packs with all the herbs, chillies & spices (c£3.50) to make proper currys etc. Sure, it would be cheaper over time to buy pots of this & that, but you could end up throwing a lot away once they smell of dust. And who has a dried lime, or 50g of fresh coconut kicking around at home?

 

The use-by is a bit of an issue (3/4 weeks) if you buy a bunch, but they can be frozen.

 

Watch the recipes, read it all first. We did a Persian Koresh, but with lamb instead of chicken. MrsC got to the bottom of the recipe and missed adding the meat as she knew it said lamb at the bottom (needing longer cooking time), but the chicken meat should have gone in about step 3. They cater for heat preferences well; Mild - prick the chillies, and take out once cooked, Medium - de-seed chillies and chop, Hot - chop them all in. The hottest may not satisfy the rufty-toughty Phall eaters though.

[jmak]

Even more of a cheat than my last post!

 

We had a restaurant meal kit for a celebration last night and is thoroughly recommend it.

 

We went for a Sri Lankan meal by Hoppers of London. All the pre-prep was done, but everything had to be cooked from raw. Lots of ingredients that we'd never have so straightforward instructions gave us a freshly cooked meal that was different to anything I've ever made. It was £45 and supposed to serve 3-4 people; there were four of us and we've got loads of left-overs.

 

Not cheap, but great value for a special occasion.

[Ditto]

Got my kids to make one stem ginger and one raisin version. Both now on the way to front line NHS staff.

[6Foot2]

5Foot2 has just prepared 6 servings of leek and potato soup with caramelised leek garnish (four servings to freeze, for another day)

 

[6Foot2]

Just enjoying an improvised Bakewell cake. 'Improvised' because we didn't have enough almonds, so the difference was made up with dessicated coconut.

 

[Pink_Panda]

I had some natural yoghurt and lemons that needed using up and had a recipe for yoghurt and lemon cake (baked it before and quite nice, although recipe asks for Greek yoghurt), but didn't have any eggs. Quick online search showed a variety of how to replace eggs in baking. I went for baking soda and vinegar (cider vinegar in my case). Well, there certainly was nothing mentioned about a funny taste (which I was worried about) when the remains of the dough were scraped out of the bowl! Sons got some for their packed lunch today, so will give an update of the taste testing tomorrow.

[elsiegee40]

I have been experimenting with vegan egg substitute for baking as my son’s girlfriend is vegan.

 

Welsh cakes, the tea loaf and Jamaica ginger cake (recipes all in this thread) all successful.

 

I haven’t yet made a sponge cake that I am happy with. The traditional skewer test for whether or not it’s baked doesn’t work. It’s annoying me. I will crack this.

 

Note to other bakers… block Stork margarine is vegan. The tub of soft Stork contains dairy.

[Pink_Panda]

I had some natural yoghurt and lemons that needed using up and had a recipe for yoghurt and lemon cake (baked it before and quite nice, although recipe asks for Greek yoghurt), but didn't have any eggs. Quick online search showed a variety of how to replace eggs in baking. I went for baking soda and vinegar (cider vinegar in my case). Well, there certainly was nothing mentioned about a funny taste (which I was worried about) when the remains of the dough were scraped out of the bowl! Sons got some for their packed lunch today, so will give an update of the taste testing tomorrow.

 

I can confirm no difference in taste! You wouldn't even know there were no eggs in it.

[StevieM]

Returning to the asparagus theme from last year, I tried another combination at the weekend.

 

First, I blanched the asparagus for about two minutes. I then wrapped it in smoked salmon and drizzled a little olive oil before putting it in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 200°C. I served it on a bed of mixed salad leaves, chopped baby plum tomatoes, spring onions and diced soft Irish goats' cheese, all seasoned with some freshly ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

 

It was stunning!

 

[elsiegee40]

Returning to the asparagus theme from last year, I tried another combination at the weekend.

 

First, I blanched the asparagus for about two minutes. I then wrapped it in smoked salmon and drizzled a little olive oil before putting it in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 200°C. I served it on a bed of mixed salad leaves, chopped baby plum tomatoes, spring onions and diced soft Irish goats' cheese, all seasoned with some freshly ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

 

It was stunning!

 

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That sounds extremely good!

[elsiegee40]

Not as posh, but I invented a dinner to use up leftovers last night and it was really rather good. It turns out it’s rather like a Parmigiana apparently (I hadn’t heard of one before )

 

1 large courgette chopped in half and thinly sliced lengthways. Layered in a dish and softened in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

 

Very thinly sliced red pepper

 

Leftover bolognaise sauce

 

A little grated cheddar

 

In a baking dish layer like a lasagna: courgette, bol, pepper, a small amount of cheddar more courgette, bol, pepper (season with salt & pepper as you go)

 

Top with parmesan crumble: Rub together 100g plain flour and 50g margarine. Mix in 40g grated parmesan, salt and black pepper)

 

Whack in oven 180C fan until browned and bubbling (30-40 mins)