Happy First Birthday Sarah's Kitchen Diary

This is my 83rd post and one year since I started my blog on 22nd August 2011.

I wanted to mark the first anniversary in some way. I've been interested in cooking since I was a very small girl. I'd help my mum and my nan in the kitchen and I especially love baking. I think I've mentioned before my first baking book was Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book, which has been revamped and republished in various guises over the years. I've lost count of the number of copies I've bought as gifts and genuinely every recipe works! My copy, although well looked after, is also well loved. The recipes I've baked the most invariably have a smudge of cake batter or chocolate on them. These days a lot of the recipes that I've made time and time again are committed to memory and in even when I play around and create a recipe 'from scratch' the starting point and the baking knowledge is likely to come either from my mum or Mary Berry.

So in making a first 'birthday' cake I had to make something influenced by my mum and Mary Berry.

I have taken Mary Berry's basic Victoria sponge but added some fresh raspberries to the batter. This is something my mum used to do for a quick pudding when I was young, typically served with custard and using whatever fruit was in season, raspberries, blackberries or apples.

I also added some white chocolate to the buttercream as I think this makes it more of a celebration cake and goes very well with the raspberries.

I toyed with the idea of making a sophisticated celebration cake with minimal decoration but decided that because I could and as it was a first 'birthday' I would go to town with the decoration. So I decorated the cake with plenty of sprinkles and sparkles and topped with some long silver candles.

If you want to recreate this please remember that the addition of raspberries to the cake will make it very moist and prone to go off quickly so eat it or freeze it within a day or two otherwise you'll end up with a mouldy mess. I never seem to have that problem as cake never lasts long in my house!

Here is a picture of my creation.





Happy First 'Birthday' to
Sarah's Kitchen Diary!

Here is a picture of the bottom when it came out of the oven. You can see the raspberries.



Here is my bible!





Recipe

8oz self raising flour (I use sponge flour as I think it gives a better texture)
8oz caster sugar (I use unrefined)
8oz margarine or butter (I always use Stork as I think it gives a better texture and have seen Mary Berry do the same so much be good)
4 large free range eggs
2 tsp baking powder
A couple of handful's of raspberries

For the icing:
250g butter
500g icing sugar
100g white chocolate

Start by pre-heating the oven to 180C.

Line two 8" round cake tins

Put all of the cake ingredients, apart from the raspberries, in a bowl and mix until blended.

Pour half of the mixture into each cake tin and place in the pre-heated own for 30-40 mins until a skewer, when placed into the cake, comes out clean and they are springy to the touch. Remember from the tins and put on a wire rack to cool completely.

Whilst the cakes are cooling make the icing. Put the butter in a stand mixer and beat for a few minutes until very pale, light and fluffy. Gradually add the icing sugar a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all of the icing sugar is incorporated leave the icing to keep mixing, whilst you melt the chocolate, as this will make the icing lighter and fluffier.

I always melt chocolate in the microwave on full power but for bursts of 15-30 secs stirring in between each one, but I know some people are scared of the chocolate burning so feel free to melt it in a pan suspended over a bowl of boiling water. Once the chocolate is melted, stop the mixer and put the chocolate to one side to cool slightly. This avoids the hot chocolate melting the butter and ruining your icing.

Once the chocolate is cooler pour it into the mixing bowl and blend until it is incorporated into the icing.

Put half of the icing on one cake and then place the other cake on the top to create a sandwich. Add the remaining icing to the top and then decorate with your choice of sprinkles, sparkles and candles.

Enjoy!

Jubilee Afternoon Tea

After being out of the country for the royal wedding last year I decided to throw myself into the Jubilee celebrations with abandon. So liberal amounts of red, white and blue later a Jubilee afternoon tea was ready for my friends.

For the savoury elements I decided to keep it relatively simple. My take on coronation chicken, revamped into a fresh salad, which would have jewelled with pomegranate seeds (had I not left them in the kitchen) plus salmon, cream cheese and pickled cucumber sandwiches, cheese and chutney sandwiches, chicken and lemon mayonnaise sandwiches and ham sandwiches This was all washed down with some bubbly with a non alcoholic version for my pregnant friend and the drivers.







For the sweet elements I had such a long list to chose from, but I manage to narrow it down by prioritising the ones which were most in keeping with the red, white and blue theme (plus the lime cupcakes as you can see from previous posts I love lemon drizzle cake and I'd been meaning to try experimenting with a lime version for ages)
- raspberry cupcakes
- lime drizzle cupcakes
- blueberry and lemon cupcakes
- mini Victoria sponge
- individual eton mess












Recipes

Jewelled Coronation Chicken Salad

Serves 4-6 (easily doubled or trebled)

1 roast chicken, cold
Mixed leaves
1/2 a cucumber
Pomegranate
300ml natural yoghurt
2 tablespoons of korma curry paste
1 teaspoon of honey
2-3 springs of mint, chopped
Seasoning
A squeeze of lemon juice

Start by making the dressing. Mix the curry paste, honey, mint, lemon juice and seasoning into a thick dressing.

Scatter the lettuce leaves all over a platter and then add cubes of cucumber and chunks of roast chicken.

When you are ready to serve drizzle liberally with the dressing and scatter with pomegranate seed. Serve the rest of the dressing alongside.

Smokes salmon, cream cheese and pickled cucumber sandwiches

Smoked salmon (I used Waitrose essentials trimmings as it doesn't need to be in large pieces for this)
Cream cheese
Cucumber
White wine vinegar
Sugar
Seasoning
Sliced bread

At least and hour before use a potato peeling the slice the cucumber into ribbons. Put them into a bowl and toss in a generous glug of white wine vinegar, a large pinch of sugar and seasoning.

Spread the bread with a thin layer of cream cheese. Add the smoked salad and a few ribbons of cucumber. Top with another slice of bread and cut into triangles of fingers, with or without crusts as desired.

Cheese and chutney sandwiches

Grated mature cheddar cheese
Your favourite chutney
Sliced bread
Butter

Thinly butter the bread and add a generous helping of grated cheese. Spread the other side of the bread with the chutney and add to the top of the sandwich.

Cut into triangles of fingers, with or without crusts as desired.

Chicken and lemon mayo sandwiches

Roast chicken, chopped
Mayonnaise
Lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Seasoning
Lettuce
Sliced bread

Out the chicken into a bowl and add the mayonnaise. I would normally make this using Jamie Oliver's recipe but my friend is pregnant and therefore can't eat raw eggs so I tarted up bought mayonnaise with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a squeeze of lemon juice and seasoning.

Sandwich the chicken mixture, with a few lettuce leaves, between two slices of bread.

Cut into triangles of fingers, with or without crusts as desired.

Red, White and Blue Cupcakes
Makes 12

For the cakes:
4oz self raising flour
4oz margarine
4oz sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the flavourings and icings:
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
Zest of 1/4 lemon and about a tablespoon of juice
About 10 raspberries
Freeze dried raspberry powder
12 Blueberries
8oz butter
8-10oz icing sugar
A tablespoon of milk

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C in a fan oven). I started by making all of the cake plain for ease. Beat together all of the ingredients for the cake and share the mixture between 12 muffin cases.

In 4 sprinkle the lemon zest and another 4 with lime zest and give them a gentle stir with the end of a teaspoon so the zest doesn't sit on the top. Leave the other 4 plain.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 mins.

While they are cooking mix a tablespoon of granulated sugar with the lime juice. As soon as the cakes come out take the 4 lime ones and make very small holes in them with a skewer and drizzle over the lime juice mixture.

Whilst the cakes are cooling make the icing. I always beat the butter for 5 mins or more until it is very pale and then gradually add the icing sugar and finish with the milk. This makes the icing very light and fluffy and also makes it much paler which is good when you're aiming for white!

In a small saucepan take the raspberries and the other tablespoon of sugar and heat up until it has thickened slightly. To get smooth icing sieve the raspberry mixture to remove the pips. Put to one side to cool.

Split the icing into two bowls. In the one add the lemon juice. In the other add the raspberry juice.

Pipe the icing onto the cakes. I used a round nozzle for the lemon icing and a Wilton 2D for the raspberry. I topped the lemon ones with blueberries and the raspberry ones with a sprinkle of raspberry powder.

I also had a few little union jack flags which I popped in the top.

Mini Victoria sponges
Makes 2

Using the same recipe as for the cakes above split the mixture between two 4 inch cake pans.

Once cool split each cake and sandwich with whipped cream and strawberries.

Eton Mess

Greek yoghurt
Whipped cream
Vanilla extract
Icing sugar
Strawberries
Raspberries
Meringues

Mix roughly equal amounts of cream and yoghurt with a little vanilla extract and icing sugar. Layer up in glasses with the fruit and meringues.

Raspberry Loaf Cake

I'm sure my Christmas list must have looked very odd to lots of people. Nearly all of it was food related in some way shape or form. I think it is now bordering on an obsession. Even people at work joke I work to fund my baking habit!

One of the things I asked for was some freeze dried raspberry powder. I have read about using it in macaroons or reconstituting it for drinks, coulis etc but I decided to try it in a cake.

I used a basic sponge recipe and simply added some of the freeze dried raspberry powder to give flavour and colour. Once baked I made some raspberry flavoured icing by adding the powder to icing sugar and enough water to make a pouring consistency. I then used a small sieve to remove any lumps and drizzled it all over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. I expected the colour to be a light pink colour but it was actually quite dark and almost purpley.

Next time I will whizz up the powder a bit more before using it as some of the pips were still whole. And as much as I don't like food colouring I might put a few drops in to change the colour.

It turns out its a fab way of getting the taste of raspberries without buying out of season.



In the background is a lemon drizzle cake which is one of my all time favourite quick recipes.

Recipe
For the cake:
2 eggs weighed with the shell on
The same weight of self raising flour
The same weight of caster sugar
The same weight of margarine
A splash of milk
3tsp freeze dried raspberry powder

For the icing
Approx 3 tbsp icing sugar
3 tsp freeze dried raspberry powder
A little water

Pre-heat the oven to 190C
Incorporate all of the ingredients for the cake together
Pour into a lined 1 litre loaf tin
Bake for approx 25-30 mins depending on your oven.
Remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool

While it cools sift the icing sugar and raspberry powder into a bowl and slowly stir in enough water to make a dropping consistency.

Once the cake is cool drizzle the icing over the top of the cake allowing it to drip down the sides

Orange and Raspberry Juice

Surprisingly given that it is November I'm still picking raspberries from the garden. I thought it'd be a shame not to take advantage of these unexpected late comers and thought I'd make a juice, especially a I haven't been eating as healthily as normal lately.

I simply peeled and chopped an orange and removed as much of the pith as possible and then used a hand blender to blend the whole thing with a handful of raspberries. By using the whole orange I retained a lot of the fibre and goodness which would've been lost by just juicing.

Here is the final product, a lovely taste of sunshine on an autumn day :)