Cheryl creates a wonderful range of chocolates, scrumptious cakes and brownies at Artistry in Cocoa. Newmarket which we mentioned earlier. And here is her recipe:
Chocolate Cake with Ganache topping and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.
For the Chocolate Victoria sandwich:
4 eggs
Softened Butter or margarine or a mixture of both
Sugar (granulated)
Plain Flour
Cocoa powder
Baking powder
Milk or water
Weigh the eggs.
Weigh out the same weight of butter/margarine and place in your mixing bowl.
Weigh out the same weight of sugar and add to the mixing bowl.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Weigh out the same weight of flour, then remove a tablespoon and replace this with cocoa powder.
Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and a teaspoon of baking powder together.
Break the eggs into a cup or jug and beat into the creamed mixture one at a time, adding a little of the flour mixture to prevent curdling as necessary.
Fold in the rest of the flour with a metal spoon.
Add a tablespoon of water or milk and mix in gently. Dip your spoon in the mix and hold it above the bowl. The mixture should drop off your spoon to a slow count of 3. If it takes too long add another spoon of liquid. If you have accidentally put in a little too much liquid add a small spoon of sieved flour/cocoa.
Bake in greased and lined or greased and floured tins at 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 until the cake springs back to the touch.
Remove from the oven, run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the tin if necessary and invert onto a wire rack to cool.
For the chocolate ganache coating :
200g- 300g milk or dark chocolate and an equal amount of cream.
Break up the chocolate into small pieces, bring the cream to boiling point and pour over the chocolate.
Allow to rest for about 5 minutes to soften the chocolate then whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy. If the ganache is very runny you may wish to leave it to cool further before you cover the cake with it. This can be done by pouring or spreading. Do not cover your cake until the cake itself is cold.
Melt some extra chocolate gently until it is almost, but not entirely, liquid and stir well to melt out any lumps until the chocolate looks smooth.
Dip your strawberries holding by the stalks and place directly on the cake. Please note that the strawberries should be dry or the chocolate will not stick. If you wish to dip your strawberries in advance then place them onto greaseproof paper so that you will be able to remove them once set.
If you wish to pipe on the cake with the ganache you can make it with a little less cream so it will be thicker and whip it before use. You can fill the cake with a layer of ganache or you could use sliced strawberries and whipped cream and top with ganache.
Wow! I just ate Plaice Florentine at Zest; the training restaurant attached to West Suffolk College. It was absolutely perfect. They have a sweet trolley too, and today it featured a Malted Chocolate Tart, Strawberry Bavarois, Rose scented Creme Brulee and a hot option of Sticky Toffee Pudding. You can't buy the ingredients for the £9.50 charged for 3 courses. Book a table and see for yourself. They also do a fabulous new takeaway menu.
Quirky Black Lion Hotel in Little Walsingham, Norfolk has a menu especially for dogs. It also has a Stitch 'n Bitch Knitters Anonymous evening on a Wednesday night. I ate there last week, in the middle of the afternoon and the only person in the place. I had the fresh sea bass as I didnt fancy the rawhide chew. It was very good.
Finally got round to trying to smoke some fish because here it's all we eat, nearly every day. And because I'm not in the cold miserable UK at the moment it had to be a Barracuda fillet. I didn't catch it myself but I did brine it and smoke it over a Logwood fire (you know, like the one in the Bob Marley song) and it was a bit like the most delicious smoked haddock.
If you're going to Josef's be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
Written by Ruth
Lunch today was at Josef's Vegetarian Cafe in Bury St Edmunds. This cafe reminds me of the late 70's and 80's. Days of Bagwhan and the Rajneeshees when they were resident at their commune in Herringswell. Bright decor and the smell of patchouli with a slight hessian look going through to the Lizard Room. The food is very good. I ate the Felafel with spicy salsa, cucumber and yoghurt raita in a warm hummus pitta. The salads which were not mentioned on the menu were particularly good. But oh, the service. So laid back man.
The Guild of Food Writers are calling for entries to their annual cooking competition for 10 - 16 year old children. Some great prizes are on offer to the winner who comes up with a two course menu which will impress the judges. The deadline for entries is April 19th. Follow the link
Method:
Heat the oil in a pan then add the onions and green peppers. Fry until soft before adding the carrots, tomatoes and chillies.
Mix thoroughly and allow the mixture to simmer gently for 1 minute (stirring occasionally). Towards the end of the cooking time use a broad spoon to squash the ingredients against the side of the pan so that the mixture becomes smooth.
Add all the remaining ingredients and cook for a further 15 minutes.
From my next door neighbour...every Sunday, in return for a lift to church. Salt fish, chop-up, plantain, salad - I just have to make the toast.
Shake up your wake up because this week is Farmhouse Breakfast week. This morning I made buckwheat pancakes filled with delicious locally cured bacon and a poached free range egg. It also happens to be gluten free!
More...
A favourite Winter soup which is vegetarian. Serves 6 - 8 people
Ingredients
- 1kg g (2 lb) Jerusalem Artichokes
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 450 g (1 lb) carrots ( peeled and sliced)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 75 g (3 oz) butter
- 1.5 L (3 pints) vegetable stock
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- Method
Peel and slice artichokes then put them into a bowl of cold water to prevent them from discolouring. ( add a slice of lemon)
Melt the butter in a cooking pot and soften the onion, celery, carrots and artichokes.
Put the lid on the pan and let the vegetables sweat for 5 minutes on a low heat.
Stir from time to time.
Pour in the stock, stir well, put the lid back on and simmer for a further 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Liquidise the soup and season to taste.
They are not Artichokes and have nothing to do with Jerusalem
Written by RuthJerusalem Artichokes are a member of the sunflower family and originate in North America, not Jerusalem. They are also known as Sunchokes in the USA. They are easy to grow and are very knobbly, potato-like tubers, with the nickname "fartichoke" for a good reason!They are delicious at this time of year and make a wonderful winter soup. Here is a recipe for Jerusalem Artichoke and Carrot Soup
More food is wasted at Christmas than at any other time of the year. An estimated 74 million mince pies and two million turkeys will be carted off by the dustmen. If you would like some ideas for using up leftovers, meal planning and shopping accordingly take a look at the lovefoodhatewastewebsite. This is my turkey and ham pie made from this weeks' leftovers.
Christmas Time, Mistletoe and Wine with Neil Courtier of Grapesense
Written by Ruth
Suffolk-based wine educator Neil Courtier of Grape Sense gives us his Christmas and New Year favourites for the festive table below. Neil runs wine-tasting workshops and has one coming up on Saturday morning 26th January 2013 at the Active Business Centre in Bury, called 'An Introduction to Wine Tasting'. This would be a great birthday present for me but unfortunately I am going to be in the Caribbean (says suffolkfoodie in a sad voice...) Call him on 01359 270318 or contact him here through his website.
The Wines
Domaine Vincent Dampt - Chablis 2011 Burgundy – France - £ 12.55 (here you will get a 10% discount if you mention Grapesense) Corney & Barrow – Newmarket – Vincent Dampt is a rising star in Burgundy, check out this classic, steely, mineral enhanced Chablis, that’s beautifully balanced, by a touch of buttery richness & pin-point acidity. Try with smoked trout, roast turkey (with a white wine gravy), or guinea fowl.
Jul. Ferd Kimich – Gewürztraminer – Spätlese 2010 Pfalz – Germany - £ 12.99 Peatling's - Bury St Edmunds - A fruit-inspired Gewürztraminer, that's beautifully focused. A degree of natural sweetness (only a tad) makes this a perfect companion with a smooth duck-based pâté.
Jim Barry - The Lodge Hill – Shiraz 2010 Clare Valley – Australia - £ 12.49 / buy 2 bottles £ 9.99 – Majestic – Should you decide to enjoy a prime-joint of British beef this Christmas, tuck into this blackberry-soaked Shiraz, with notes of eucalyptus & liquorice. Full-bodied, yet it has ‘sweet’ tannins & total integration.
Domaine Michel Lafarge - Bourgogne – Pinot Noir 2009 Burgundy – France - £ 13.99 (again with a 10% discount for Grapesense) Corney & Barrow – Newmarket – From a great Domaine in Volnay, a cherry-scented Pinot, ripe, rounded & accessible, with food-matching potential too – a great match with pheasant, or venison casserole.
Champagne – Les Pionniers – Vintage 2004 - £ 25.99 / £ 22.99 (until 1st January 2013 ) Co-Operative – Toasty, complex Champagne, with notes of maturity – baked lemon, a trace of honey & a nutty finish. Great vale & should accompany smoked salmon to a tee!
Vistamar - Late Harvest - Moscatel 2012 Limari Valley – Chile - £ 6.24 / buy 2 bottles = £ 4.99 per ½ bottle – Majestic – Snap-up this peach, honey, lemon & grapey Moscatel, which has attractive acidity to underpin the sweetness. Yummy!