Coffee cake

Its been quite quiet in the 365things kitchen this month. Me n Hubs were in Ireland over Easter for a bit of a holidays, and since then, I’ve been on a health kick. I’ve pared things back a lot and cooking a lot simpler and healthier, so things like grilled lean meat such as turkey and chicken breast or fish roasted in a little oil and lots of herbs and spices. These are accompanied by boiled or steamed veggies. Its also a good opportunity to finish up the ends of packets, so couscous, quinoa and brown rice are served alongside. I’ve made a couple of yummy breakfast smoothies using (for 2 people) a low-fat yogurt, one banana, one cup of frozen berries, a glug of milk, a shake of cinnamon and two dessert spoonful’s of muesli. I sometimes add a good dessertspoon of almond paste if I feel like it. These are blasted in the blender for one minute and slugged. If it is a bit thick, add a little more milk. Lunch is a massive salad with lettuce and/or spinach leaves, tomatoes, a little bit of blue cheese or lean protein (turkey slices, tinned fish without oil) or substantial soup made with beans and lentils. I’ve been doing this for a little over a week, and I’m already down two kilos*.

But still, it’s the weekend, and weekend = little treat. While we were in Ireland we went to a gorgeous little coffee shop in Galway city called Cupan Tae (it’s Irish for ‘cup of tea'). The shop is a mishmash of china cups, chintz curtains, lace tablecloths and general kitchness. They serve sandwiches and divine homemade cakes. I tried the coffee cake, and I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. So, I tried the BBC Good Food/Angela Nilsen Ultimate Makeover coffee cake this weekend.

Half-iced coffee cake

The original recipe is here, and this is my version. It’s not as low in fat as the BBC version, as there are some things I don’t like, such as oil in cakes, but I’ve indicated all changes. I didn’t put any walnuts into the cake itself as my SD is allergic to them. Overall, it’s very light and tasty cake.

2 dessertspoons of coffee (made coffee, not granules!)

250g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

25g ground almonds, as this is all I had in the cupboard

85g light muscovado sugar

50g golden caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

250g 0% fromage frais

75ml melted butter

Icing

2 tbsp golden caster sugar

2 dessertspoons of coffee

250g mascarpone

lots of icing sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract

Walnut halves

Heat your oven to 180°C and grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.

Mix the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and both sugars into a large mixing bowl. Make a dip in the centre and stir in the eggs, fromage frais, melted butter and the coffee with a wooden spoon so everything is evenly mixed. Spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top to level it, then bake for 40-45 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the tin briefly, then turn it out and peel off the lining paper. Leave to cool completely while you make the icing.

Put the caster sugar and coffee into a small, heavy-based saucepan. Heat gently, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. Once dissolved, raise the heat, then boil at a fast rolling boil for about 2½-3 mins until thickened and syrupy. Pour into a small heatproof bowl and set aside to cool. When cold it should be the consistency of treacle.

Beat the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla together until smooth, then stir in the cold coffee syrup. It said in the recipe that you need a tablespoon of icing sugar, but the icing was very runny, so I just kept adding spoonfuls until it thickened up. I’ve no idea how much I used in the end.

Split the cake into 2, then sandwich back together with the filling. Spread the icing over the top, scatter over the chopped walnuts and leave to set.

As the sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed, I only iced half the cake. Hubs isn’t as fond of the sweet stuff as I am, so decorating like this means we can both enjoy it. #compromise.

'light' coffee cake

* I'm neither a doctor nor a nutritionist, so please seek the advice of a doctor before going on any diet. Also, I'd lost the 2 kilos before eating the entire cake (with Hubs) over the weekend. The 2 kilos lost has become 1 kilo lost ;-)

Yotam Ottolenghi’s marinated turkey breast with cumin, coriander, and white wine

Turkey isn’t just for Christmas dinner, and if you fancy something a little different to the traditional roast, try this fresher tasting alternative. It only uses the breast, so it's perfect if you're only 2-3 people.  This is from Yotam Ottolenghi's the cookbook. 

4 tbsp mint leaves (it really annoys me when recipes require teaspoons of a herb. One basil leaf is the size of – or bigger than – a teaspoon. Same for a mint leaf. I took a couple of springs, stripped and chopped them. 

4 tbsp parsley leaves (see above)

4 tbsp coriander leaves (and again)

1 garlic clove, peeled (one garlic clove? ONE??? Put in at least 2-3)

60 ml [about 3 oz] lemon juice (life is too short to measure out 60ml of lemon juice. Get your lemon and juice it.)

125 ml [about 4 oz] white wine (ditto; glug, glug and another glug for good measure)

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

about 1kg turkey breast

Either put all the ingredients except the turkey breast in a food processor or blender and blitz for 1-2 minutes to get a smooth marinade or mash it up using a pestle and mortar. This latter option reduces the amount of washing up! If you are going to use the pestle and mortar too, add the wine at the end, only. Doing it this way results in a more chunky marinade.

Ottolenghi's marinade for roast turkey

Put the turkey in a non-metallic container and pour the marinade over it. Massage the marinade into the meat, cover the container and leave in the fridge for 24 hours or however long you have (only up to 24 hours – please do not cook or eat anything, especially meat, that’s been basking in your fridge for a long time!).

As a complete aside, I heard some about competition thing on the radio once, where people had to ring in and complete the sentence “you know your marriage is in trouble when…”. One of the entrants was “you watch your husband prepare the Christmas turkey, and you're jealous as the turkey is getting more action than you.” Ho ho ho.

The turkey breast, marinading 

Anyway, when you’ve marinated your turkey, preheat your oven to 220°C. It starts getting a bit diva-ish at this stage, as you've the change the temperature every 15 minutes for the next half an hour, so put a reminder on your phone to keep yourself reminded.

Ottolenghi says to remove the turkey from the marinade (keep the marinade for later) and put it on a roasting tray. I kept the turkey in the marinade and cooked it the way he suggests: put it in the oven and roast for 15 minutes, then reduce them temperature to 200°C. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature again to 180°C. Cook it at this temperature until the turkey is done — another 30-45 minutes. To check, the turkey is cooked, stick a small knife all the way into the centre; it should come out hot. If the meat goes dark before it is ready, cover it will foil.

The roasted, marinated turkey breast

If you decide to remove the turkey from the marinade, put the leftover marinade in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes, until reduced by about half. Taste and season with some more salt and pepper.

Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice it thinly and serve with the warm sauce.

I've also tried the sumac chicken from this book. 

Pork and fennel tray roast with lemon and coriander

I’ve made this three times now, and this is the first time I’ve been quick enough to get a photo before it’s devoured! It’s really simple, and the kind of dish you can pretty much prepare, pop in the oven and leave there while you potter around. From fridge to table, it takes an hour.

Roast pork and fennel with lemon and coriander

The recipe comes from the May 2012 edition of delicious magazine.

For four people:

2 large red-skinned potatoes cut into chunks (new potatoes are in, so I used 3-4 per person)

2 fennel bulbs, sliced into eights

3 red onions, quartered

Olive oil

2 pork fillets (I used 600g), trimmed and cut into 8

Paste

2 preserved lemons, rinsed and dried and cut into pieces

A dribble of olive oil

Garlic cloves (I love garlic, so I use lots)

Chili – whatever amount you like, either flakes, dried or fresh

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1 tablespoon of honey

chopped coriander

Heat your oven to 180°.

Put the potatoes and fennel into a pot of salted water, bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes. Drain well and put into a roasting tin together with the onions and the olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

While all that’s going on, either blitz all the paste ingredients in a blender or chop up finely and mix together (second option = less washing up). I always add a crumbled stock cube too, and of course a little salt and pepper.

Rub the paste all over the pork pieces and leave aside.

When your veg have hit the 20 minute mark in the oven, tumble the pork pieces on top and return the lot to the oven for another 20-25 minutes, until the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are soft.

As I’d some parsnips in the fridge this week I used these too. I just boiled them with the potatoes and fennel first. Yum.

Photos are en route (probably tonight).