Slim friendly Chocolate Cake

 Curtesy of supergoldenbakes.com

Ingredients

• ▢ Cake release or Fry light for the cake tin
• ▢ 400 g (14oz) tin black Beans drained and rinsed
• ▢ 5 large eggs
• ▢ 50 g (½ cup) cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• ▢ 4 tbsp ground almonds HExB
• ▢ 5 tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ 5 tbsp Sukrin Gold or other granulated sweetener
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cinnamon or vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder (check it is Gluten Free)
• ▢ ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ▢ 50 g (3 tbsp) lighter vegetable spread, melted I used Flora Light Proactiv

To decorate (optional)

• ▢ 50 g (¼ cup) dark chocolate chips, melted or Sweet Freedom Choc Shot
• ▢ Fresh fruit such as raspberries or strawberries optional

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F. Spray a 18cm/7inch springform cake tin with cake release or low calorie cooking spray. Line the bottom with baking paper.
• Add all the ingredients into a food processor or a smoothie maker such as Nutribullet. Blitz until you have a smooth, quite runny, batter.
• Transfer the batter into your prepared tin.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes until well risen, springy to the touch and just starting to come away from the edges of the tin.
• Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully turn out onto a plate. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding any toppings.
• Drizzle the cake with a little melted chocolate or use a low calorie syrup like Sweet Freedom Choc Shot.
• Serve with fresh fruit like strawberries or raspberries or serve warm with a little light custard.

Trying to cook Pheasant so it’s not DRY!

 Curtesy of The Field  

THE BEST WAY TO COOK PHEASANT BREASTS

This is more about the cooking of the meat than the actual recipe, and you can serve it with any sauce you like. Mainly, you will be amazed about the juiciness of the meat and how easy this is, once you get your head around it. Essentially you need to know that meat changes from raw to cooked by about 65°C (149°F), so if the cooking temperature never exceeds that point, and we seal in the moisture, then (a) we cannot overcook it and (b) it will be perfect. Try it.

Serves 4

• 4 undamaged pheasant breasts (skin on)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Black pepper
• 1 large ziplock cooking bag
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 drinking straw
• 100g (31⁄2oz) butter (for later)
• Sea salt (for later)

Marinade the breasts in the oil and pepper and slide them into the bag. Add the sprig of rosemary and lay the bag flat. Zip it almost shut, and poke the straw into one corner

Suck out the air, then zip it completely shut. Pop the bag on a roasting tray and put it in the oven at 65°C (149°F) or a pan of water at the same temperature; use a thermometer. Leave it for an hour (more does not matter – it won’t overcook) then remove. The meat should feel firm with no wobbliness. If there is, put it back in the oven.

When done, remove from the bag and pat dry on kitchen paper. Then heat the butter in a non-stick pan. When the butter foams, pop the breasts in skin-side down, then sprinkle over the salt. Cook for one minute, continually spooning butter over. They are ready when golden.

Asian slaw dressing

 Asian Slaw Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
•  3 tablespoons brown rice syrup, agave or honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or GF alternative like Braggs or Coconut Aminos)
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced ( use a garlic press)
• 1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon chili flakes or chili paste ( optional)

Nigellas Super Salted Honeycomb The Times

Super salted honeycomb

A super-impressive sugary treat from Borough Market’s Bread Ahead

Bread Ahead / The Sunday Times Food

September 10 2017, 12:01am, The Sunday Times

PHOTOGRAPH: ISSY CROCKER

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We use this honeycomb to top our caramel custard doughnuts, but it’s also perfect as a sweet snack. This recipe makes lots, but you can never have enough – it’s great sprinkled on ice cream or dipped in chocolate.

535g caster sugar
100g pure honey
186g liquid glucose
53g bicarbonate of soda
Crunchy sea salt flakes

You will need
A kitchen thermometer

First, line your largest roasting tray with baking paper.

Put the sugar, 66g water, honey and glucose into a large saucepan and stir together, then place on a medium heat and slowly let the sugar dissolve.

Now turn up the heat and bring to a rolling boil, then bring the temperature to 140C. While it’s coming up to temperature, make sure you have a large whisk handy, then sift the bicarbonate of soda into a small bowl and be poised, ready for the mixture to reach the temperature.

Once the sugar mixture reaches 140C, add the bicarbonate of soda all at once and whisk it into the boiling sugar.

Be careful, as the mixture will be very hot. It will start to rise out of the saucepan, so as soon as you have whisked (we are talking seconds here), pour it into your lined baking tray, then put it on a rack and leave to cool for 30 seconds before sprinkling on the salt.

Once it has cooled and hardened, go kung fu on it and break it into pieces. It will keep in a sealed jar for up to two months.

Baking School – Bread Ahead by Matthew Jones, Justin Gellatly and Louise Gellatly (Penguin £25)

Cooked salad cream and other sauces 10/05/1996

From Simon Hopkinson in The Indépendant

5 tbsp milk

2 dsp sugar

1 tsp dry mustard powder mixed with a little milk

1 tsp salt

soft butter, size of a walnut

2 eggs, well beaten

3 tbsp vinegar (malt, naturally)

 ,Place milk, sugar, mixed mustard, salt and butter in a basin. Stand over a saucepan of just-simmering water. Stirring well, carefully add beaten eggs. Pour the vinegar into the basin in which the eggs were beaten, making sure any of the remaining egg is rinsed with vinegar (a clear hint of wartime rationing here, but excellent advice for any scrupulously thrifty cook), and add to the pan. Stir constantly until thickened. Cool and spoon generously over the salad. Any sauce left over can be stored in a screw-top jar and put in the fridge, where it will keep well for a couple of weeks or so.

Egg and anchovy sauce, enough for 4-6 pieces of poached fish

450ml/3/4 pint milk

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves

1 sprig thyme

1 bay leaf

freshly grated nutmeg, a scrap

little salt and pepper

40g/11/2oz butter

25g/1oz flour

100ml/4fl oz double cream

12 tbsp anchovy essence

4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and grated

2 tbsp chopped parsley

squeeze of lemon juice

Heat together the first seven ingredients and bring up to a simmer. Cook very gently for 5 minutes, switch off the heat, put a lid on and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.

Melt the butter in another, preferably thick-based, pan, and stir in the flour to make a roux. Strain the flavoured milk on to this, stirring constantly, and bring up to a simmer. If you have a heat-diffuser pad, set the pan on to this and cook ever so gently over a thread of heat, for about 20 minutes. Add the cream, anchovy essence and fillets, eggs and parsley. Check for seasoning. Just before pouring over the fish, add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Amish Slaw From all recipes.com

Sweet slaw with no mayo

1 med cabbage shredded
1 med onion (red) finely sliced
1 cup white sugar (suggest using 1/2 cup sugar or 1/6 cup stevia - or less)
1 cup vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery seed
1 teaspoon white sugar (or less)
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Method
Toss together cabbage, onion and 1 cup sugar (or less)
In small saucepan combine vinegar, salt, celery see, 1 tsp white sugar, mustard and oil.  Bring to boil, cook for 3 mins.  Cool completely.  Pour over cabbage mix, stir to coat.  Refrigerate overnight.  Will keep for up to a month in sealed container in a cold fridge.

Fish pie Hack

Best easy fish pie hack.
300g fresh fish pie assortment from Tesco.
1/2 tub tesco 4 cheese sauce (for pasta)
1/4 cauliflower cut into florets (you could substitute mashed potato but I am on a constant mission to reduce weight!)
Breadcrumbs (I used a pack of Tesco lemon pepper breadcrumbs)
Small amount of strong grated cheese.
Salt and pepper.  Herbes de Provence. Fennel seeds.

1. Boil cauli until v. al denté (5 mins max.) Drain. Cut up with knife in pan then chop small (not purée) with stick blender.  Stir in 2 tablespoons cheese sauce.  Season. Put fish in single layer in ovenproof dish.  Spoon over 2-3 tablespoons cheese sauce and stir.  Season well.  I added mixed herbs and fennel seeds.
Cover with part cooked cauli and cheese sauce mix.
Top with seasoned breadcrumbs mixed with a bit of grated cheese.
Cook in hot oven (200*C) for 20 mins until nicely brown on top and fish cooked.
Serve with mange tout peas and garlic bread.
Yum.