Banana & Peanut Butter Bread

May 17, 2013 7 Comments

Sunday is World Baking Day, so I thought what could be more appropriate for the first recipe after my hiatus than a baking one.  One of my favourite Sunday night suppers when I was little was bananas mashed up on toast:  super fresh bloomer that was bread lightly toasted, spread with salted butter and topped with bananas mashed up with a drizzle of honey.  It was so yummy.  I can actually taste it now!  In the Domestic Residence, we’re quite partial to peanut butter, so I thought I’d try and create something that was reminiscent of my Sunday night suppers combined with peanut butter.  The result is my Banana and Peanut Butter Bread, which I’m looking forward to having a slice of on Sunday evening with lashings of salty butter!

Banan & peanut butter bread

Makes a 2lb loaf tin (23 x 13 x 7cm (9″ x 5″ x 2¾”) )

Ingredients

  • 175 grams plain flour
  • 2½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 125 grams unsalted butter, softened
  • 180g soft light brown sugar
  • 175g crunchy peanut butter
  • 2 large eggs (approximately 100g)
  • 5 small ripe bananas, roughly mashed (approximately 400 – 500g flesh)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/gas mark 3.
  2. Grease and line a 2lb / 23 x 13 x 7cm / 9″ x 5″ x 2¾” loaf tin.
  3. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl.  Put to one side.
  4. In a large, separate bowl, cream together the sugar and softened butter – I use my KitchenAid for this.  Then slowly beat in the eggs one at a time.
  5. Now mix in the mashed bananas and crunchy peanut butter.
  6. Add the flour mixture a tablespoon at a time, giving it a good stir each time to make sure it’s all incorporated.
  7. Scrape into a loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 55 to 70 minutes.
  8. When a skewer or tooth pick comes out fairly clean, your loaf is ready.
  9. Pop the tin on a cooling rack and leave in the tin until completely cold.
  10. Serve either plain or spread with cold salted butter.

Domestic Princess tips:

  1. For a more indulgent loaf, add 200g Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups, or 200g roughly chopped milk chocolate at stage 5.
  2. Whilst banana bread is brilliant for using up over-ripe bananas, they don’t need to be at the completely black stage.  I’ve made a loaf with just yellow bananas, and the end result is exactly the same.  What you don’t want to use, are green bananas.  The benefit of over-ripe bananas is the mashing is super easy!
  3. Smooth peanut butter can easily be substituted for the crunchy one.
  4. To make this a dairy-free cake, substitute the softened butter for vegetable oil.
  5. If you fancy making this a bit more showy, then you could add a frosting:  mix equal quantities of softened butter with icing sugar, half the amount of crunchy peanut butter and beat together.  Add a drop of milk if the frosting needs loosening.
  6. Bangaloreans, since our bananas are on the tiny size, you’ll need more like 7 small bananas.
  7. If you notice the bread browning too fast, lower the temperature and loosely cover it with foil.
  8. Also, be careful not to over-stir the batter, as the texture will become crumbly and your loaf will just fall apart.

All you need now is a cup of tea and peace and quiet for 30 minutes!

Hope everybody has a lovely weekend.  We’re off to watch the IPL tomorrow night.  Come on Bangalore!

With much love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

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Mini Egg Blondies

March 26, 2013 3 Comments

Hello everyone!

Is it just me that thinks this year is flying by?  I cannot believe that it is Easter this weekend!  It’ll probably come as no surprise to you that I love Easter.  Chocolate, hot cross buns, roast lamb and the promise of 4 days free of work?  What’s not to love!  I think my favourite Easter chocolate has to be Cadbury’s Mini Eggs.  The matte, pastel shell covered chocolate eggs are just so moreish.  Surprisingly, I have never added these delicious little gems to any of my recipes, so when I came across a recipe on Twitter for Mini Egg Blondies, I practically squealed.  Mini Eggs, encased in a scrumptious, chewy blondie…what was stopping me?!  If you’re wondering what a blondie is, the best way I can describe it would be to liken the taste to a bar version of a cookie, and the texture to that of a brownie – gooey and chewy.  In fact, you might think of a blondie as the brownie’s cousin.  What they’re most definitely not, are brownies made with white chocolate instead of dark or milk.  The only chocolate element to a blondie, are the chips you add in.  No melted chocolate here!

Obviously, I couldn’t just follow somebody else’s recipe, I had to tinker and fiddle until I’d made it my own, and here’s the result.

Mini egg blondies

Ingredients

  • 200g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 
  • 225g light brown sugar
  • 1/4tsp of salt
  • 1 1/2tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1/4tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 200g Mini Eggs (or more if you’re feeling generous!)

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas mark 4.  Butter an 8 or 9″ square cake tin and then line with greaseproof paper.
  2. In a saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the sugar and salt.  The more you whisk it, the lighter and fluffier your blondies will be.
  3. Add in the vanilla extract and whisk again.  Take off the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.
  4. Once the sugar/butter mixture has cooled, add the eggs and give a good whisk.
  5. Into a large bowl sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder.  Then into the flour, whisk small amounts of the the egg and butter mixture until it’s all been combined. Don’t pour all the egg and butter mixture in at once, as you’ll end up with a lumpy mixture.
  6. Fold in the Mini Eggs.
  7. Pour the mixture into your prepared cake tin and spread out evenly.
  8. Pop the tin in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is slightly cracking, the outer edges are firm and the middle still slightly gooey.
  9. Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 to 15 minutes (this bit is SO hard!), then cut into squares ready to serve.

Domestic Princess tips:

  1. Make sure to let the melted butter and sugar mixture cool to room temperature before adding in the eggs, otherwise you’ll risk them scrambling.
  2. By melting the butter with the sugar, instead of creaming them, you’ll end up with a chewier blondie.
  3. Don’t worry if you can’t get your sticky mits on Mini Eggs, just substitute them for roughly chopped milk chocolate, or white or dark for that matter!
  4. A metal pan tends to work better with blondies than silicone or glass.
  5. These blondies lend themselves to many different things being added:  nuts, raspberries, fudge pieces, peanut butter, cranberries…the list is endless.
  6. The “butterscotch” taste of blondies comes from the brown sugar and melted butter combo, so don’t be tempted to switch the brown sugar for white, as they’ll taste quite different.
  7. Over-cooking the blondie mixture will give you a dry and hard bar.  As you near the end of the cooking time, check every 1 to 2 minutes until the skewer comes out with just a little bit of the mixture on it.  Remember, it’ll carry on cooking for awhile when it’s out of the oven.
  8. If you’re watching your sugar intake, you can reduce the sugar in this recipe by a third. The texture will still be the same, but it’ll be slightly less sweet.

I can’t think of anything more perfect to have on Easter Sunday afternoon!  Please send me some pictures if you make a batch of these!

Happy Easter!

With much love

The Domestic Princess

xoxo

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Found: The Prodigious Remoska

March 14, 2013 3 Comments

Hello readers, I hope you’ve all had a good weekend.  Today we are hearing from the lovely Domestic King on one of his recent finds and if that wasn’t enough, he’s sharing with us one of his favourite recipes as well!  Thank you Domestic King.

“What on earth is a Remoska?” I hear you say! If you’re guessing it’s a Russian song or dance you’d be wrong; if you’re thinking it’s something Eastern European, you’re on the right track. It is in fact, an electric cooker with a difference, and quite frankly an amazing piece of kit! What it’s not, is a slow cooker. I think once you’ve read this post you’ll be tempted to buy one. It’s certainly added a degree of magic to my very ordinary culinary skills! Image

The Remoska is available exclusively to Lakeland , in the UK, one of the most popular and respected brands in the country. Its website describes it like this:

“Cooking better than an oven, the Remoska is positively miserly with electricity – in fact, they’re so versatile your oven will hardly ever need to be switched on.

It’s the Czech Republic’s best-kept secret…

The Remoska has been around since before the Second World War, surviving 40 years of nationalisation until being rescued in 1990 by two Czechs, who scraped together all they had to buy the machinery.

Each Remoska is individually made and tested by skilled workers in a small Czech factory; there’s no production line. The stainless steel lid, which houses the element, does all the work, controlling the venting of steam developed during cooking. You can see what’s going on through the glass window and you’ll be impressed by how clean it is in use, with virtually no cooking smells either.

The pan is coated with Teflon® Classic for easy release. Being so compact, it is frequently packed up and taken anywhere there’s a 240V electricity supply, which makes it just the thing when cooking away from home. Pans are dishwasher safe. Recipes included.”

Versatility

The claim that it’s compactness enables it to be taken anywhere is absolutely true. On a walking holiday in the Lake District last September with a couple of friends, we stayed at Underscar Manor, a luxury self-catering complex in the shadow of Skiddaw. The Remoska did us proud and it traveled extremely well! Grilled sausages, caramelised onions and jacket potatoes was a particularly memorable dinner devoured at the end of a strenuous walk up Grisedale Pike! You can increase its versatility by plugging an electric timer into the power socket and setting the Remoska’s start and end cooking times. Great if you’re out at work all day and would like to come home to a meal ready to eat. And of course, the range of meals you can cook is endless; everything you can cook in an oven, the Remoska can handle with ease. I don’t know of any other cooking device that is as useful and versatile as the Remoska!

Healthy eating

I mostly eat a low carb, low sugar foods (Domestic Princess:  look out for a future post about this) following the excellent advice and guidance of Dr Briffa, a qualified doctor and nutritionist. In this respect, the Remoska is an unrivalled asset in helping me to cook meals that fit my eating regime.

Accessories

There are some accessories that the dedicated Remoska cook will want to acquire.

  • A stainless steel rack, which raises food closer to the lid’s heat source for faster cooking.
  • A pan separator that fits inside the Remoska allowing different foods to be cooked separately.
  • Shallow pans are available to replace the deep pan that comes with the Remoska enabling the cook to warm up foods and snacks very quickly.
  • An essential buy for me was the cookbook, “Remoska Cooking”, which has 200 recipes, tips on using the Remoska, and suggested cooking times. After trying some of the recipes my confidence grew as a home cook. And the great thing about the Remoska is that you don’t have to watch it slavishly in the way that one has to when using a conventional oven or stovetop cooking. Just pop on the lid and relax!

Miserliness

According to Lakeland, the standard Remoska uses 80% less energy than an average electric oven. When you consider that many people use the oven simply to heat up supermarket ready-made meals, or grill three or four rashers of bacon, or bake a couple of jacket potatoes, they are using excessive quantities of electricity compared to that consumed by a Remoska. Lakeland says that an average oven uses around 2500W of energy versus the Remoska’s 470W of energy.

Here is one of my favourite recipes when using the Remoska.

Country Lamb Casserole – adapted from “Remoska Cooking”

The lamb in this dish is absolutely delicious and so tender, resulting in a tasty, filling and full flavoured casserole!

Ingredients

Serves 4 using a standard Remoska

  • 500g boneless lamb chops
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 500g potato, cut into cubes
  • 8 small onions, finely chopped
  • 175g French beans, chopped
  • 1tsp ground cloves, or to taste
  • 1 x 320g tin of condensed mushroom soup
  • 150ml lamb stock
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Sweet paprika to serve  

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the garlic and onions, and fry until golden brown and then put in the Remoska.
  2. In the same pan, seal the lamb on both sides and pop in the Remoska.
  3. Add the cubed potatoes, beans, cloves, mushroom soup, stock and seasoning.
  4. Cook for approximately 1 hr and 15 minutes in the Standard Remoska, or 1hr 45 minutes in the Grand, until the lamb is tender. Sprinkle with a little paprika before serving.

Domestic Princess:  If you’re not lucky enough to own a Remoska, use a casserole dish instead, double the quantity of stock and pop in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours on 150C.  This can also be made in a slow-cooker as well.  

Final word ….

I can confirm I’ve also grilled incredible sausages with mouthwatering caramelised onions, roasted succulent whole chicken, roasted Mediterranean vegetables, baked sweet potatoes to perfection, and roasted belly pork to die for! At the end of the process, washing up is not a big chore because the non-stick surfaces are extremely effective. The pan is dishwasher friendly for anyone preferring this cleaning option, and the lid only requires to be wiped down with a damp cloth. Anyone keen on pursuing a healthy eating regime based on fresh ingredients and wishing to do so as effortlessly and economically as possible, should invest in a little Czech magic and get yourself the Prodigious Remoska from Lakeland!

Thanks Pappy!  And if you’re carb conscious too, then swap the potato for a sweet potato, or leave out completely.

I’ll be back on Friday with a new recipe.

With much love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Caramelised Pecans

December 23, 2012 1 Comment

Hello lovely readers, today’s post is my last until the New Year and it’s another festive themed one to help you with the big day.  I think I might be in the minority in loving Brussels sprouts.  I believe the problem many might have when it comes to this vegetable is that they quite often end up overcooked, owing to the many layers.  And when they’re overcooked it results in that nasty drain-type smell.  I’ve played around with a few recipes and have found that there are a few different ways to cook Brussels which will make them super tasty.  Peeling all the leaves off and sautéing in some butter and a drop of water is divine.  Or the more common: Brussels with pancetta.  However, the one that really struck a chord with my taste buds was this one:  Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Caramelised Pecans.  I’d be surprised if even the fussiest eaters didn’t love this version!

BrussellSprouts

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 300g Brussel sprouts
  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • 100g pecans
  • 50g light soft brown sugar
  • Salt & pepper

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C.
  2. Trim and quarter the Brussels sprouts.
  3. Put the Brussels in a roasting tin and toss in the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and put in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.  Stir once or twice during cooking.  When ready they’ll be a deep, golden brown – crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
  4. Whilst the Brussels are in the oven, put the pecans and sugar in a frying pan and let the sugar melt and coat the pecans.
  5. Once the pecans are all coated, tip them out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and leave to cool.  When cooled, break into smaller pieces and add to the Brussels sprouts when they’re ready.
  6. Serve immediately.

Domestic Princess tips

  1. The light brown sugar can be substituted for any sugar.
  2. Hazelnuts would work well instead of pecans.
  3. For a salty / sweet dish, add in either lardons of bacon or some pancetta.
  4. Bangaloreans, you can buy pecans in Nature’s Basket in Indiranagar.

Well, this is nearly it for another year!  I wanted to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and to thank you for all of your support for The Domestic Princess.  I am so looking forward to bringing you lots more posts in 2013.

With much love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

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Five easy recipes for a drinks party

December 21, 2012 2 Comments

Before I moved to India, if we were having a drinks party or people over for supper, I would raid the party selection at my beloved Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.  However, in my new life, unfortunately there isn’t a branch of M&S or Waitrose for me to pop to when we’re having people over, so I’ve had to come-up with my own nibbles / canapés.  They may not look as fabulous as shop bought ones, but I think they’re just as tasty.

Spiced nuts

spiced nuts

Ingredients

  • 350g unsalted and unroasted nuts of your choice – I used pecans, cashews & almonds
  • 70g honey – runny honey is preferable
  • 1/2tsp mixed spice
  • 1tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2tsp all spice
  • 1/2tsp smoked paprika
  • 60g sugar – I used light brown sugar, but caster sugar would work just as well
  • 2tsp finely ground sea salt

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 170C.
  2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  3. Put the nuts in a bowl and set aside.
  4. In a small saucepan put the honey, mixed spice, cinnamon, all spice and smoked paprika.
  5. Gently warm the honey and mixed spices together, until the honey is less viscous.
  6. Pour the honey and spice mixture over the nuts, making sure they’re evenly coated.
  7. Tip them out onto the greaseproof paper and spread evenly.
  8. Put the nuts in the oven for between 8 to 12 minutes.
  9. Check the nuts after about 4 to 6 minutes and give them a toss.
  10. Once roasted, leave to cool.
  11. In a bowl, mix together the sugar and sea salt.  Toss the nuts in the salt and sugar mixture and they’re ready to serve.

Sticky cocktail sausages

Sausages

Ingredients

  • 30 cocktail sausages
  • 3tbsp orange marmalade, with or without peel – I opted for a peel one
  • 1tbsp runny honey
  • 1tbsp lime juice
  • 1tbsp soy sauce

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C.
  2. Snip the sausages if needed and put in a bowl.
  3. Put the marmalade, honey, lime juice and soy sauce in a saucepan over a low heat until the marmalade and honey have melted.
  4. Pour the sauce over the sausages, making sure they’re all coated.
  5. Tip the sticky sausages and the sauce into a roasting tin and pop in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
  6. Give the sausages a toss and another coating after 10 to 12 minutes.
  7. Once they’re golden brown they’re ready to serve.

Smoked salmon with lemon creme fraiche blinis

Bilini 1

These have to be one of the simplest, yet one of the scrummiest nibbles / canapés to serve at a drinks party or before supper.

Ingredients

  • Smoked salmon
  • Creme fraiche
  • Lemon juice
  • Black pepper
  • Mini or regular blinis

Method

  1. In a bowl whisk the creme fraiche, lemon juice and a good grind of black pepper.
  2. Place the blinis on the serving plate / platter and place a small dollop on top of each one.
  3. Shred the salmon into small pieces and twist and place on the creme fraiche.

As I said, easy peasy!!

Brie and cranberry crostini

CranberryBrieToastini

Ingredients

  • French baguette – I opted for mini ones, so they’re more of a two bite canapé
  • Olive oil
  • Brie
  • Cranberry sauce

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C.
  2. Cut the french bread into thin slices and using a pastry brush, brush each side of the french bread slices with the olive oil and place on a baking tray.
  3. Put in the oven for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
  4. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  5. When cooled, place thin slices of the brie on top of french bread slices
  6. Top with half around half a teaspoon of cranberry sauce.

Triple cheesey straws

CheeseStraws

Ingredients

  • 300g ready-rolled puff pastry
  • 50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 50g Gruyere cheese, finely grated
  • 50g Emmenthal cheese, finely grated
  • Flour for rolling out pastry

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  2. Mix all the cheeses together in a bowl.
  3. Unroll the pastry and on half of the pastry, sprinkle most of the cheese on one half, leaving enough to sprinkle over the top.
  4. Fold over and seal the cheese in.
  5. Lightly flour your worktop and roll out the pastry until it’s around 3-4mm thick.
  6. Cut into 1/2 inch strips and twist.
  7. Pop onto the baking tray and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
  8. Put in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden.  Leave to cool.  These will keep for 2 to 3 days.

They’ll be just one more post before I take a little break over the holidays.  I’m off to be reunited with one of my besties!

I hope all your festive planning is coming along nicely!

With much love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

PS apologies for the quality (or I should say lack of) of the photographs, I’ve been taking them myself and as you can see, I’m nowhere near as talented as The Domestic Prince who’s my normal ‘tog!

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Malted chocolate cheesecake….with a surprise!

December 15, 2012 3 Comments

Whilst I adore Christmas pudding, especially my Granny Phyll’s Christmas pudding recipe (I’ll share it with you next year), I’m well aware that there are many of you who don’t share my love for it! So, for the non-pudding lovers out there, I’ve created this pudding just for you!

Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • 300g malted milk biscuits
  • 110g, unsalted butter
  • 30g golden syrup
  • 7tbsp of malted powder, e.g. Horlicks
  • 50g popping candy (optional, but this is the surprise bit!)
  • 600g cream cheese, room temperature
  • 150ml double cream
  • 150ml sour cream, room temperature
  • 300g milk chocolate
  • 300g white chocolate
  • Chocolate malt balls, such as Maltesers

Method

  1. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8″ to 9″ (22 – 23cm) springform tin.
  2. Crush the biscuits into crumbs.  I normally whizz them up in my food processor, but not being in my own kitchen, I gave them a good bash in a zip lock with a bottle of wine! Improvisation at its best.
  3. In a saucepan over a low heat, put the golden syrup and butter and leave to gently melt.
  4. Once the butter and golden syrup have melted, give them a quick stir to combine it all and in a bowl put the crushed biscuits, the melted butter mixture and 3tbsp of the Horlicks.  Stir until it’s all combined and resembles damp sand.  Quickly add in the popping candy, if adding it, and press down firmly into the springform tin.  Cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge to set.
  5. Melt the milk chocolate and white chocolate in separate bowls over saucepans of simmering water.
  6. Divide the cream cheese, double cream and sour cream evenly between the two bowls of melted chocolate.  In the milk chocolate one, add the remaining 4tbsp of Horlicks.
  7. Using an electric whisk, beat both sets of mixtures until they’re smooth and lump free.
  8. Pour the milk chocolate mixture evenly over the biscuit base.  Clean up any splashes.
  9. Carefully spoon the white chocolate mix on the top of the milk chocolate one.
  10. Pop in the fridge and after about an hour decorate with Maltesers and put back in the fridge for another 4 hours.

Domestic Princess tips:

  1. Bangaloreans, you can find malted milk biscuits in the Waitrose section at Hypercity.  If they’re out of stock, just use regular digestive biscuits and add 2 extra tablespoons of Horlicks.
  2. For a more Christmassy look, use white chocolate Maltesers.
  3. If you can’t find Maltesers, grate some chocolate and mix with some Horlicks powder and sprinkle evenly over the top.

Children will love the popping candy element of this pudding!

And the best bit of this cheesecake, you can make it a few days ahead and just keep it covered in clingfilm in the fridge.

I hope all your Christmas preparations are coming along nicely.  I have to confess, I have never been this disorganised!  So on that note, I’m off to play catch-up.

With much love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

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Sweet treats: Baileys & praline truffles

December 2, 2012 4 Comments

Yesterday I promised you a recipe for some sweet treats that you could give as gifts and here they are:  Bailey truffles and praline truffles.  Anybody who receives these will not be disappointed, I promise.

If giving as a gift – just pop them in a plain white dish, wrap in brown paper, tie with some ribbon and attach a tag – it’ll look very chic and will be hugely appreciated!

Truffles

Baileys truffles

Ingredients

  • 125g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, chopped
  • 125g milk chocolate, chopped
  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 1/2tsp sea salt
  • 125ml double cream
  • 125ml Baileys or Irish cream
  • Enough crushed Cadbury’s Flakes, grated milk chocolate or cocoa powder for coating

Method

  1. In a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, put both chocolates, the salt and butter, and leave to melt.
  2. Once melted, whisk in the cream, followed by the Baileys.
  3. Put in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours to allow the ganache to set.
  4. Once set you’re ready to get making the truffles!  Take a teaspoon and scoop out enough of the ganache to form small, one bite truffles (ours got bigger and bigger as we went along!)
  5. Immediately roll the truffle in whichever coating you’ve opted for, and pop in the freezer for about an hour.

Praline Truffles

Ingredients

For the praline

  • 60g nuts of your choice, skinned and roasted (my fav are hazelnuts). Most praline is made from hazelnuts or almonds, however, any nut will work.  Different nuts will give the praline a different flavour.
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 45ml water

For the ganache

  • 180g milk chocolate, chopped
  • 70g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, chopped
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 120ml double cream
  • 1/2tsp sea salt

For the coating

  • Finely chopped hazelnuts or cocoa powder

Method

To make the praline

  1. Line a baking tray or tin with greaseproof paper.
  2. Chop the skinned and roasted nuts and put to one side.
  3. Put the sugar and water in a heavy-based saucepan, and gently heat over a low-heat, shaking the pan occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved.  DO NOT STIR THE MIXTURE DURING THIS STAGE.
  4. Once all the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat, so the mixture comes to a boil.  When it’s turned a golden brown colour it’s ready.  If you’re using a sugar thermometer, the mixture is ready when the temperature reaches around 160-177ºC (320-350ºF).
  5. Take off the heat and quickly stir in the chopped nuts.  Pour onto the lined baking tray or tin, and leave to completely cool.
  6. Once it’s completely cooled, break into pieces, put into a food processor and whizz as finely as possible.  If you don’t have a food processor or grinder, then with a bit of elbow grease, this can be done with a pestle and mortar.  And if you don’t have one of those, put the praline in a zip lock bag and bash hard with a rolling pin or other similar tool.
  7. Put in an airtight container until ready to use.

Making the ganache

  1. In a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, put both chocolates, the salt and butter, and leave to melt.
  2. Once melted, whisk in the double cream and fold in the praline you made earlier.
  3. Put in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours to let the ganache set.
  4. Once set, roll into small, bite-sized balls and cover in either chopped hazelnuts or cocoa powder.
  5. Put in the freezer to harden for around an hour or so.

Domestic Princess tips

  1. When melting the chocolate, be very careful not to let any water drip into the chocolate, as this will cause the mixture to seize.
  2. In the case of both truffles, for a richer flavour, use all dark chocolate.
  3. The Baileys can be substituted for any liquer:  Cointreau, Grand Marnier and rum would all work really well.
  4. When rolling the truffles, speed is your friend.
  5. Keep half the mixture in the freezer whilst you roll them.
  6. These taste best straight from the fridge.

Remember to save a few for you to enjoy!

With much truffley love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

Filed Under: Food&Drink, Gifts, Life, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Spiced Apple Chutney

December 1, 2012 1 Comment

Whenever we go to somebody’s house for supper I always like to take a gift for the hosts to say thank you.  Sometimes a bottle of Champagne, sometimes wine, occasionally flowers (it’s tough to get decent flowers here), now and again chocolates, or a small gift that I think they would love.  Sometimes though, I like to take a homemade gift, as it somehow feels a bit more special.  Homemade gifts are especially good if you’re on a tight budget, which can so often be the case at this time of year.

I’m not particularly a chutney fan, although two of the most important people in my life, The Domestic Prince & King are, so I thought I would create a chutney that would be perfect with cold meats, cheeses and crackers or crusty bread, or could be popped into a stylish Kilner jar and given as a gift.

Spiced Apple Chutney

Makes approximately 1.2kg

Ingredients

  • 1kg apples (I used Jazz apples, but any eating apples would work), peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
  • 200g finely chopped shallots
  • 300g sultanas, raisins, chopped dates or figs
  • 200g demerara sugar
  • 200g dark muscovado sugar
  • 250ml white wine vinegar
  • 250ml apple cider vinegar
  • 5g smoked or regular paprika
  • 15g freshly grated ginger
  • 10g ground all spice
  • 5g ground cloves
  • 15g mixed spice
  • 2tsp of sea salt or 1tsp of table salt
  • A good grind of freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Put all the ingredients into a large heavy-based saucepan or casserole dish (I used my 28cm Le Creuset) and slowly bring to the boil.
  2. Simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours, stirring every so often to make sure the chutney doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
  3. As it simmers away, the liquid will reduce until it becomes very thick and has a glossy look.  You’ll know it’s ready when you can drag a wooden spoon through the chutney and it reveals the base of the pan that doesn’t immediately rush back together.
  4. Pour the hot chutney into sterilised jars (either put them through a full cycle in the dishwasher, or in a low oven at 110C for 10 to 15 minutes), seal and leave to cool.

Domestic Princess tips:

  1. This is a piquant, sweet chutney that would be perfect with a baked brie or camembert and hunks of crusty french bread.
  2. If you wanted to give this a bit more fire, then add a finely chopped birds eye chilli.
  3. You can swap the shallots for regular onions, or red ones would work well too.
  4. If you don’t have any muscovado sugar in the house, any brown sugar will work, or all demerara.
  5. For a more mature chutney, store in a cool dark cupboard for a week or two before consuming.

As I said, I’m not a chutney fan, having confessed that, I must admit that I did enjoy this with some cheese for my lunch today.  I continually surprise myself!

Tomorrow’s post, will be all about sweet treats that make perfect gifts.

With much love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

Filed Under: Food&Drink, Gifts, Life, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Roasted pumpkin, red pepper & sausage casserole

November 11, 2012 1 Comment

Just like my love of soup, it doesn’t matter if there’s blazing sunshine or a swirling snow storm going on outside, I always enjoy a tasty, hearty casserole.  Bar a bit of chopping, this dish is relatively quick and super easy, making it perfect for a mid-week supper, when you don’t really have the time to be slaving over a stove for hours! And any recipe that results in minimal washing-up afterwards, will always be a winner with me! Serve with creamy mashed potatoes or if time allows, a delicious crispy jacket potato.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • 400g sausages
  • 180g red (bell) pepper (capsicum), chopped into rough chunks
  • 700g pumpkin, shopped into 3cm cubes
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 to 1tsp of smoked (or regular) paprika
  • 50ml red wine
  • 250ml beef stock
  • 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1tbsp Balsamic vinegar
  • 1tbsp Worcester sauce
  • 400g tin of haricot beans, drained
  • Salt & pepper to season

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
  2. Put 1tbsp of the olive oil, the chopped pumpkin and red pepper in a roasting tin, give them a good toss to make sure the pumpkin and pepper has a coating of oil and season.
  3. Put the sausages in a separate tin and pop both tins in the oven for 30 minutes.
  4. After 15 minutes, turn the sausages over.
  5. Whilst the veggies and sausages are roasting, get a heavy-based casserole dish and heat up the other 1tbsp of oil.  Add in the onions and garlic, and sauté until they’re turning golden brown.
  6. Add in the smoked paprika and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
  7. Pour in the red wine, beef stock, chopped tin of tomatoes, Balsamic, vinegar, Worcester sauce and haricot beans and simmer for 20 minutes.
  8. When the pumpkin, peppers and sausages are ready, chop the sausages up into bite size chunks (be careful not to burn your fingers) and put them and the veggies into the casserole dish, clamp the lid on and put back in the over for 20 to 25 minutes.

Domestic Princess tips:

  1. When cooking with olive oil – just use the regular one and not the extra virgin option.
  2. Choose the highest percentage meat sausages that you can afford.  I use the 97% pork ones from M&S, which are not only scrumptious, but gluten-free too.
  3. Bangaloreans, Bamburies sell tasty “no spice” sausages.
  4. Instead of pumpkin, you can swap it for butternut squash.
  5. Any bean can be used instead of the haricot ones – aduki, butter bean, cannellini etc. - whatever you can lay your hands on.
  6. For a spicier result, add in half a finely chopped red chilli, or increase the amount of smoked paprika. I found 1tsp a little too spicy, but The Domestic Prince said the heat of the dish was perfect.
  7. If making it for little ones, I’d leave out the smoked paprika.
  8. Double the recipe and pop in the freezer for future meals.

Have you got any casserole recipes you can share?  And would you like to see other casserole recipes on the blog?

With much love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

Filed Under: Food&Drink, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Salted Caramel & Nutella Fudge Squares

November 6, 2012 1 Comment

Well, I am pleased to say that normal service has been resumed and I’m back with a truly decadent sweet treat, involving chocolate of course!  And not just chocolate, but chocolate and Nutella!  I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise that I ADORE Nutella.  I love it on toast, on crusty french bread, in pancakes, straight from the jar off the spoon!  I just really enjoy it!  I used to love when we used to go on holiday to France or Italy, as there would be the small little packets in bowls at breakfast, and I would sneak a couple to eat later on the beach!  I wasn’t alone in doing this was I?!

I feel quite guilty that I haven’t shared this divine recipe before now, so for that, I apologise. Now, you might be wondering where my photo of this glorious recipe is?  Well, if you scroll down you’ll see it…..not pretty huh?  So, it’s time to fess up….this was my second (!) attempt at making this for the purpose of taking a picture for the blog.  You see, the first time, I took my eye off the (soft) ball and ended up with a salted caramel layer that would crack the hardest of teeth (still delicious, but definitely a workout for the jaws!).  So, on my second attempt, I was soooo worried about making it too hard again, that I didn’t boil the caramel for long enough, so as you can see from the picture, it’s on the soft side.  I can assure you though, that it’s still delicious.

Makes around 25 small squares 

Ingredients

  • 200g Digestive biscuits or Graham Crackers
  • 70g unsalted butter
  • 60g golden syrup or corn syrup
  • 250g caster (superfine) sugar
  • 2tbsp water
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 150ml double (heavy) cream
  • 1 1/4tsp of sea salt
  • 40g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, chopped
  • 175g milk chocolate, chopped
  • 200g Nutella

Method

  1. Crush the biscuits, either by bashing them in a zip lock with a rolling pin (very therapeutic if you have pent up anger/frustration!), or as I do, whizz them in the food processor.
  2. In a small saucepan melt the butter and 30g of the syrup.
  3. Mix the butter and syrup mixture with the biscuits until it resembles damp sand.
  4. Pat the biscuit mixture firmly into a tin (I use a 20cm/8 inch one) and put in the fridge to firm up.
  5. Put the cream and salt in a saucepan and bring to just below boiling point.  Set aside.
  6. In a heavy-based saucepan, put the sugar and water and give a good stir.  Turn on the hob to a medium heat and let the sugar dissolve in the water and start to boil.
  7. Once the sugar has dissolved, pour in the rest of the syrup and if using a sugar thermometer let the temperature rise to around 238/240F.  If you’re not using a sugar thermometer, then put a bowl of very cold water next to the stove and after around 18 minutes, drop a small amount of the caramel mixture in.  Put your hand in and try to form a ball with it. If you can bring it out and it stays whole, then it’s ready.  If not, carry on boiling until it reaches a ball stage.  N.B.  Please be VERY careful making the caramel.  Sugar burns are horrible. 
  8. Once the sugar mixture has reached the correct temperature, take off the heat and whisk in the salted cream and vanilla.  Be careful, adding these in will cause the sugar mixture to bubble up.
  9. Once the caramel is ready, take the biscuit base out of the fridge, pour the caramel over in an even layer and pop back in the fridge for 2 hours to set.
  10. Once the caramel has set, it’s time to make the chocolate layer!  In a glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, put the dark and milk chocolate and leave to melt.
  11. After the chocolate has melted, take off the heat and stir in the Nutella until it’s all combined.
  12. Pour over the caramel layer and put in the fridge until set.
  13. Cut into small squares and enjoy.

Domestic Princess tips

  1. If you’re not a fan of salted caramel (why not?!), then just omit the salt from the cream.  If omitting the salt, there’s no need to heat the cream.
  2. As in the Homemade Twix recipe, if you don’t fancy making the caramel layer yourself, then melt 250g of shop-bought caramels/toffees with 1tbsp of cream, 1 1/4tsp of salt and carry on as per step 9.
  3. If you want a more bitter topping, use 100g of dark chocolate and 115g of milk.
  4. And if you’re not keen on Nutella (again, really?!), then add 200g extra of milk and dark chocolate. I’d probably do 120g milk and 80g dark, but this can be altered according to your tastes.
  5. To give the squares some more crunch, stir in 200g roasted and chopped hazelnuts into the caramel before pouring onto the biscuit layer.

salty caramel & nutella fudge squares

I love sweet and salty flavours, so the saltiness of the caramel against the sweetness of the chocolate, and crunch of the biscuit base, is my idea of heaven!

With much gooey, salty caramel and Nutella love
The Domestic Princess
xoxo

Filed Under: Food&Drink, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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