The Cakeyboi Alphabet - A

For the next 26 weeks (oh god, I hear you cry!) I will bring you the Cakeyboi Alphabet - a different cartoon, every week, representing a letter of the alphabet. The letter may stand for something in the baking world, or something 'loosely' connected to our favourite pastime...

'A' is for anaphylactic - or allergies. When baking for people, remember to make sure no one is allergic to any of the ingredients you are using. This could result in unwelcome outcomes!

Garlic and Herb Challah Bread

What?, I hear you cry! Savoury?!

I know I said I would probably never bake savoury on Cakeyboi, but hey it is a new year and it’s good to try new things out. And as always, I feel sorry for my little neglected Bread section of the recipe index.

I had seen Challah bread made on a TV show recently and thought it looked good. It’s traditional plaited Jewish bread, usually eaten on the Sabbath and holidays (according to Wikipedia) and no, I’m not Jewish. But I am part Italian, so thought incorporating a touch of herbs and garlic into the bread would be delicious – as I have a weakness for garlic bread. And this was made without tons of melted butter, with wholemeal flour, so was way more virtuous for the New Year health kick.

Adapted from Yasmeen Health Nut

Yield: One loaf

Ingredients:

190ml warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 ½ teaspoon dry active yeast

300 grams wholemeal flour

1 tablespoon honey

2 large egg

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 garlic glove, grated

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, chopped

sesame seeds

Method:

In a bowl, mix together the water, sugar and yeast. Allow to bubble and fizz for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, mix together the flour, honey, one egg, salt and one tablespoon of the oil. Add the yeast mix and mix with your hands into a dough. Place this on a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Place into a lightly greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow this to prove for one hour in a warm place. 

After the hour, place back onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Form a ball and place back into the oiled bowl, covered with the tea towel, for another hour. Allow to prove in a warm spot again. In a separate bowl, whisk together the garlic, herbs and remaining tablespoon of oil.

After the hour, preheat the oven to 180^oC. Take the dough and split into three equal balls. Roll each ball flat, coat with a third of the garlic mix and then roll up into a sausage shape. 

Repeat this for each third until you have three long sausages of dough. Pinch the ends together and plait. Being a boi, I have never plaited before, but I gave it my best shot. I think it turned out okay, despite one wonky strand.

Place your plait on a piece of greaseproof paper, on a baking tray. Cover with a tea towel and allow to prove in a warm place for another hour. Yes, I know, three hours in total. After the hour, brush the plait with one egg, whisked,  and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place into the oven for 35 minutes. During baking, if the loaf begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil.

After the time is up, remove from the oven and with a gloved hand remove from the paper. Allowing it to stay on the paper may cause it to stick. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped. Place on a cooling rack, to cool thoroughly.

And there, eventually, you have garlic and herb challah bread. It is delicious spread with a little butter. It is even better when toasted as the garlic and herb flavour really comes to the fore. And the wholemeal flour really gives it an earthy, wholesome balance. Give it a try and enjoy!

Cartoon Time - Cupcake Wars

Happy New Year everyone!
To start off 2013, a little homage to one of my favourite films, crossed with a popular Food Network show...

First Foot Shortie

It’s the end of 2012, New Year’s Eve, or Hogmanay as we call it in Scotland. When it comes to New Year, I am a bit ‘bah humbug’. It’s never been my favourite time, and I always find folk are either Christmas or New Year fans. I am most certainly the former.

Anyway, a quiet Hogmanay for us this year. It’s been a busy month, what with a couple of weddings, Christmas nights out and so on, plus we are off on our annual January pilgrimage to London very soon.

Back to New Year however, and we will be visiting family over the next couple of days. Usually Disneyboi’s family on the 1^st and then my family on the 2^nd – which is also my aunt’s birthday, where she makes us a gorgeous meal. In Scotland the tradition of visiting folk at New Year, and taking them a gift, is known as First Footing. It’s supposed to be a tall, dark, handsome stranger who crosses your door after the bells, who is your first foot and brings with him luck – and a lump of coal(?). But any visiting of people over the first few days in the New Year is generally referred to as first footing.

For my gift to take to the family this year, I decided to literally take a First Foot or Feet. Some shortbread (adapted from Nigella) and cut into the shape of feet, with a little nail varnish icing for the toes! A very easy to make shortie, if you are ‘short’ on time!

Adapted from Nigella.com

Ingredients:

100 grams icing sugar

200 grams plain flour

100 grams cornflour

200 grams unsalted butter, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

granulated sugar for sprinkling

Method:

In a food processor, blend together the icing sugar, flour and cornflour. Dice the butter into cubes and add into the processor, along with the vanilla. Blitz until it forms a dough. Plop this into some clingfilm  and wrap tightly, shaping into a flat disc. Chill in the fridge for about half an hour. Preheat your oven to 160^oC and line a couple of cookie sheets with baking paper.

Remove the dough  from the fridge and roll it out, using icing sugar on the rolling pin and work surface to prevent sticking. Cut out feet shape with the cookie cutter (or whatever cookie cutter you are using). Place them on the prepared sheet and sprinkle with some granulated sugar. Chill them again for 15 minutes, then place them in the oven for 11-12 minutes. The edges should start to turn golden brown. Place them on a cooling rack immediately, and allow to cool completely.

I iced my toes with some icing, using a recipe from my friend Debs over at Debs Dust Bunny.

This is a different shortbread recipe than I have used before, what with the cornflour and icing sugar. It results in a very light cookie and is very delicious.

Happy New Year to you all when it comes and I wish everyone a very lucky 2013!

(Oh and Happy Birthday Auntie Dola when it comes! Don’t worry I won’t give the game away!!)

After Eight Cereal

Christmas morning and if you are anything like me, you eat chocolate for breakfast. Totally unhealthy I know. Disneyboi loves his After Eights – well we usually get up after 8 on Christmas day so it’s probably legit.

If I am lucky enough to get a few days off in-between Christmas and New Year, I love the lazy mornings and grazing through all your sweets I received as gifts. In fact I usually try to eat all the sweets I get before New Year, so I can start to be a bit more virtuous come January. Anyway, I digress.

I was pottering about the kitchen one day and came up with something that wasn’t intended. But the result was actually quite tasty. And it ties in with sweets, breakfast and being ‘slightly’ healthy. I came up with an After Eight (or After Dinner Mint) flavoured breakfast granola.

I combined chopped dates, porridge oats, dark chocolate, marshmallows and peppermint extract and the result - with milk poured on top of course – was absolutely delicious. Disneyboi, the After Eight fanatic approved (but hates dates), so I must have invented something quite good.

Yield: A few bowls worth

Ingredients:

200 grams pitted dates

100 grams porridge oats

50 grams mini marshmallows

50 grams 74% plain chocolate

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Method:

Pop all of the ingredients into a food processor and blitz for two minutes until it whirs about freely.

Directions:

Pour into a bowl, splash on milk of your choice and eat something akin to after dinner mints, which is maybe a wee bit healthier, what with the fruit, oats and antioxidant-full chocolate!

Enjoy…

Key Lime Pie Trifle

Christmas seems like ages ago now! But the heartburn continues. I have gorged myself with festive food. Including the remains of this year’s delicious trifle.

Now, what with Trifle Layer Cake and Trifle Cupcakes, I was a tad tired of the traditional variety. I knew that I wasn't going to make trad trifle for this reason, but was unsure what to make. Then somebody at work mentioned an article they had seen in a magazine about a Key Lime Trifle. Disneyboi’s favourite dessert is Key Lime Pie, so I decided to concoct my own version, using an old recipe I had for the pie. 

Key Lime Pie is nothing without the delicious buttery crust, as well as the tangy sweet citrus filling, so I made sure my crust had a big part to play. I wanted this to feature throughout the dessert, so I had it in the jelly layer, above the custard layer and sprinkled on top of the cream, when ready to serve.

The ‘custard’ would actually be the pie filling, minus lime zest, which I decide to add through the cream, and sprinkled on top of it also.

I made the trifle in my old bowl, which I always use. It’s not classy or modern, but it wouldn’t be trifle to me without it!

Adapted from BBC Good Food

Yields: A big bowl of the stuff

Ingredients:

I pint of lime jelly prepared

375 grams digestive biscuits, crushed

150 grams unsalted butter, melted

Zest and juice of 4 limes

570 ml double cream

200 grams sweetened condensed milk

Method:

Line an 8” cake tin with Clingfilm. In a bowl, mix together the crushed digestives and butter and place this into the lined cake tin. Press down hard, into a smooth flat disk. Pop into the fridge to set, at least two hours, but preferably overnight.

When set, remove the film from the piecrust and chop this into bite size pieces. Sprinkle two thirds of the chopped crust into the base of your trifle bowl. Pour your prepared jelly over the top, until it just covers the crust. Place back into the fridge and allow to set.

When the jelly has set, prepare the pie filling. In a bowl, place 285 ml of the double cream, all of the condensed milk and limejuice. Whisk for two minutes, or until the mixture is whipped and stiff. Place this on top of the jelly and smooth with an off set spatula. 

Sprinkle on half of the remaining piecrust pieces. Then in another bowl whisk the remaining double cream until stiff, and fold through three quarters or so of the lime zest. 

Spread this on top of the pie filling and smooth over, with an off set spatula. Sprinkle the remaining lime zest on top. If you are not going to be eating this immediately, cover tightly with Clingfilm and place back in the fridge.

When ready to serve, scoop into bowls and on top of each serving, sprinkle over more of the remaining piecrust. This will ensure that it stays crunchy and not turn soft.

I made the mistake of cutting the piecrust into wedges and placing them in the bottom of the bowl (see below), but this made it near impossible to get a spoon through! So, chop the base into chunks.

My mum and Disneyboi loved it - although we had to wait a while after our main course to eat it! It tastes deceptively like Key Lime Pie, what with the buttery crunch of the base and sweet citrus flavours going on. The jelly adds another layer of freshness. Christmas may be over, but this would a lovely dessert anytime of the year. Enjoy!

Cartoon Time - Cake Box

Time to box up all those gifts! Hope you all are having a great time!

And I am pleased to announce that the winners of the Cakeyboi 2013 calendar are (after inputting the entries into the Random Number Generator) Janice at Farmersgirl Kitchen, Nix at the Nom! The Indulgent Baking Blog and  Cakeyboi follower Audra (Snowflake Day). I will be in touch very soon to arrange delivery.

Thanks to everyone who entered and here's to a very lucky 2013 for us all!