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Posted
recipe plz.

 

200g good quality dark chocolate

I actually used a mix of milk and dark (70%) as didn't want it too rich

200g butter

1 tbsp instant coffee granules

85g self-raising flour

85g plain flour

1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g light muscovado sugar

200g golden caster sugar

25g cocoa powder

3 medium eggs

75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)

 

For the ganache:

 

200g good quality dark chocolate , as above

Again, I mixed 2 bars - 1 milk, 1 dark. You will get a glossier ganache if you use all dark - but you will get diarrhoea :laughing:

284ml carton double cream (pouring type)

2 tbsp golden caster sugar

 

To make it just break 200g of your choc into a heavy bottom saucepan. Add the 200g of butter to the pan.

Then, mix your instant coffee with 125ml of cold water and mix. Add that to the pan.

Put the pan onto a low heat just until everything has melted - don't overheat it though! You can use a microwave if you'd rather!

 

While choc is melting, mix your plain and self raising flours into a mixing bowl and add your bicarb of soda, the light muscovado sugar, the golden caster sugar and the cocoa powder and mix together with your hands. This will help you rid the mix of lumps as the muscovado sugar can be very lumpy.

 

Beat 3 medium eggs into a bowl and add the buttermilk to your beaten eggs.

 

Now, take your melted choc / butter / coffee mix and pour that and the egg / buttermilk into your dry ingredients in the big mixing bowl.

 

Stir until everything is blended together. It will be a smooth, runny consistency.

 

Ok, now you have 2 options.

You can stick to the original recipe and bake in a 20cm round tin (7.5 cm deep)

then cut in half once baked and cooled. The cake will need to be in for 1hr to 1hr 30 mins with this method.

 

Or do what i did and separate the mix into 2 bog standard victoria sponge tins and bake for around 40-50 mins (depending on oven).

For both methods, the oven is to be set to 140 degrees for fan assisted or 160 for non fan assisted. Your time is the only thing that differs depending on how you choose to bake.

 

Once baked, a skewer will come out clean.

 

To make the ganache, cut / break your 200g of choc into small pieces into a bowl.

Pour your double cream (1 full standard pot of Elmlea or whatever) into a pan along with 2 tbsp of golden caster sugar and heat until it's just about to boil. Once it's at that point, take it off the heat and immediately pout onto your broken chocolate. Stir until you get a glossy runny bowl of choc ganache!

 

I then just poured a small amount onto the top of one of my cakes, then put the other layer on top to sandwich together. Then I poured the ganache all over and used a palette knife to smother round.

 

You can make the ganache but leave for a while to thicken - then pour over. Might be easier doing that and less messy! :p

 

Once done, leave the ganache to cool / set and cut, shovel in and enjoy!!

 

I can confirm it is very very good! :grin:

Posted

Mmm that looks delicious. I may have to try that for my birthday. =)

 

Reminds me of a cake I made a few years ago, which was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and a chocolate filling in between two layers of cake. Was delicious!

 

2487_1098887786725_1585386_n.jpg

Posted

Aneres, that cake looks phenom. And I'm not a big chocolate fan.

 

--------------

 

This isn't exactly cooking but....I've started reviewing "good" supermarket products. I really love the Tesco Chinese Ken Hom range (both the microwave meals and snacks and the jars), I did a review of the sweet and sour jar.

 

 

And also, the Birdseye chicken quarter pounders are pretty good too.

 

 

More to come when I eat something non home-made that isn't shit (rare).

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Egg fried rice is easy. Boil your rice up, leave it overnight in the fridge, then fry stuff like spring onions, shrooms, bacon, then add the rice and add some eggs and stir it up and bam! Taste sensation. Can add/alter like crazy. Lots of tasty tastes.

Posted
Boil your rice up, leave it overnight in the fridge

 

Does the rice have to be in the fridge overnight?

 

Other than that sounds simple and delicous enough. Will probably add some turkey meat :)

Posted

Yes. The colder, day-older rice is essential. It may sound like a chore but actually it's easy. Boiling rice requires no attention, and the frying bit is 10 mins of effort. If you list any herbs/spices you have or a regular set of ingredients available to you then I'll humbly (is that a word?) submit to you my suggested recipe! Pepper, garlic, maybe some five-spice. Soy sauce or ginger or lime or a combination of the above... fried rice is very versatile and very cheap.

Posted
Yes. The colder, day-older rice is essential.

 

What if it's only a couple-hours-older cold rice? :D I would cook the rice in the morning and do the frying in the evening.

If you list any herbs/spices you have or a regular set of ingredients available to you then I'll humbly (is that a word?) submit to you my suggested recipe!

 

There's a store 1 minute away from where I live. So I could get pretty much everything.

 

I was thinking about some thai curry spices (which I already have).

Posted

That would be fine. A day of cold storage would do the trick. Fried rice is great because generally you don't need to add any herbs or spices. You can feel free to mix it up with some garam masala if you wish. It's really meant to be a snack, or a meal accompaniment. I've made up a nice fried rice with frozen veg (peas, sweetcorn, carrots) and just grilled chicken to go with it. It's a satisfying meal that is flavoursome and doesn't require anything at all. Just adding a pile of cumin, or coriander, or chili flakes, or a few eggs make the dish quite different.

 

The key is to not try to do too much with a new dish. Try making a basic fried rice dish with a few ingredients then mess with different stocks, spices and additional ingredients. It's the kind of dish I'll do when the cupboards are half-bare and I can't be bothered to go to the shops.

Posted

Egg is the last thing to go in. Rice goes in, heat it up, then shove in what you want to cook veg/meat wise (chop it very fine), then add your scrambled eggs in. I've forgotten how many eggs I use normally, but if it's for 4 people I'd use one egg per person plus an extra egg for the fun of it. Because I like eggs. let the egg set a little, then 'stir-fry' it and scramble the eggs.

 

I'd've written a decent recipe but it's late and I'm angry.

Posted

525138_10152579914835581_503567227_n.jpg

 

This was absolutely lovely.

 

Salmon (normal affair, in foil with two lemon halves and a drop of hot water, about 15-20 minutes at 180 fan)

 

Dauphinoise Potatoes. The recipe I use is really really nice, and the garlic is very subtle. Rub a garlic all over the dish, thinly slice red potatoes, with lots of salt and black pepper on every layer, fill dish, pour over cream, until the cream is just below the top layer or so. Usually in a pretty standard size dish, the normal "large" double cream pots that supermarkets do are fine. Cook for about 1.5 hours at about 180-190 fan.

 

Garlic and Lemon Green Beans and Tenderstem Broccoli. Par-boil the veg. Fry some finely cut garlic in some oil. Add the veg, and some almond flakes. Toss/fry for a minute or so. Squeeze over plenty of lemon juice and some extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle toasted almond flakes on top.

 

The whole meal was a triumph. I've done most of it plenty of times before, but I've just perfected each aspect now.

Posted

Salmon. Very nice.

The rest. Not my taste :p

 

 

Might try a Salmon - Pasta recipe if I can find one (if someone recommends me one :p) when I'm back home on Tuesday :)

Posted

I forget to take pictures but I'm taking a serious interest in being capable of cooking so that once my parents are gone I don't drown in a tub of KFC Gravy.

 

Anyway cooked Salmon Bake yesterday in a white wine and dill sauce. :)

 

and today I cooked a Prawn Curry with Salad, pitta bread and a cool garlic dip. :D

 

Tomorrow I'm gonna see how to cook a ROAST. :grin: (the big one)

Posted
525138_10152579914835581_503567227_n.jpg

 

I'm impressed. Rez, will you cook my dinner from now on? :D

 

IMG_0499.jpg

 

My very first poached egg, with ramen and red miso soup (I prefer white miso, but now there's a huge package of red miso in my fridge, so...).

 

IMG_0562.jpg

 

Sriracha fried somen with vegetarian gyoza. (I clearly eat out of the pot.)

  • 1 month later...
Posted

So I've tried two U.S. pudding/treat recipes now and both have completely failed. (Red Velvet cupcakes and a Philly butter cake) seems there is no substitute for U.S. ingredients? Or just a coincidence.

 

Anyway.

 

I've done Fondant Potatoes for the first time ever today.....

 

559177_10152694127210581_1904434473_n.jpg

 

So much butter. Very nice.

Posted
What are fondant potatoes?

 

They look like roast potatoes but different in some way.

 

You cut the potatoes (a strong one...Desiree or John Edward) into circle shapes (smooth off the edges so they don't burn) . Fry them in oil, on both sides until golden brown. Then you put in a fuck load of butter and turn the heat to medium, cook for five minutes, then you add stock, enough to cover half way up the potatoes and put it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 185c fan.

 

what are the ingredients in the US recipes, Rez?

 

I don't have one of them, and the other was this;

 

Oh okay, I don't have that either. Basically I dunno. :p

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