tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39161215107551900692024-03-08T13:12:02.111+00:00urbane fruitsurbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-52808301643719070512014-09-16T14:53:00.001+01:002014-09-16T15:01:51.450+01:00August<div style="text-align: center;">
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Harvest season: purple podded peas, psychedelic tomatoes and technicolour beansurbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-82821312409207038482014-05-07T09:31:00.000+01:002014-05-07T09:31:35.267+01:00Mango and coconut ice cream lollies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We just had a fantastic weekend with sunshine so I am not going to complain that we are back to rainy grey today. If you want to preserve some of that sunshine feeling, how about making your own ice cream. It will taste equally great eaten outside or in so don't worry if you have to assemble your deck chair in your living room for now.
The recipe really couldn't be easier so don't worry if you haven't made it the night before. Just allow enough time for the ice lollies to set in the freezer and you're ready to go. <br />
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MANGO AND COCONUT ICE CREAM LOLLIES
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1 ripe mango <br />
1 lime <br />
coconut milk <br />
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For this recipe you won't need sugar as long as your fruit is juicy and ripe. You won't need cream either. Just use coconut milk with a very high coconut content. The one we use has around 80%. That way the ice cream will taste creamy and not watery. Puree the mango and add the juice of the lime. In ice cream moulds layer the fruit puree and the coconut milk and put upright in the freezer.
urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-717610820250979782014-04-22T15:01:00.001+01:002014-04-22T15:01:50.928+01:00April<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Breakfast for a clown, eating my greens and ice cream inspired by a trip to Pisa.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-71178423201393946502014-04-21T10:06:00.001+01:002014-04-21T10:06:47.525+01:00Easter cupcakes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Happy Easter everyone! Hope you all had a great time with your loved ones and since we had family around I only now get to post my Easter treats. The vanilla cupcakes are topped with a cream cheese icing adapted from the red velvet cupcakes by the Hummingbird Bakery but with much less sugar (which doesn't hurt at all), then piped with my trusted 1M nozzle, and decorated with chocolate eggs. They really take up no time to make but they taste great. For next year I have put a #233 decorating tip on my wish list so I can pipe my icing to look like grass.
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EASTER CUPCAKES<br />
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125ml sunflower oil<br />
100g sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
250g self raising flour<br />
6g baking powder<br />
dash of vanilla essence
<span style="font-style:italic;"><br />for the icing</span><br />
125g butter<br />
200g cream cheese <br />
100g icing sugar<br />
dash of vanilla essence<br />
chocolate eggs for decoration<br />
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Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the oil, vanilla essence, sugar and the eggs. Beat until the mixture turns pale in colour. Mix the flour and baking powder and sift. Gently fold under the egg-sugar mix. Fill into muffin cases and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Let cool down on a wire rack. In the meantime prepare the butter cream. Beat the butter until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar, vanilla essence and cream cheese. Put in a piping bag and leave in the fridge to cool slightly. Once piped decorate the cupcakes with chocolate eggs.
urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-83874155809963804972014-03-17T21:22:00.003+00:002014-03-17T21:22:46.371+00:00Meringue kisses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have never been a big fan of meringues until now. I just found them too sweet and there wasn't much else in flavour that could excite me. <br />
Recently meringues seem to have a moment, overtaking my favourite, the macaron. They are not dissimilar when it comes down to the ingredients so I thought I will give it a try. Meringues are actually easier to make than macarons with just two main ingredients: egg whites and sugar. You can introduce flavour with freeze dried raspberries, cocoa or instant coffee powder and get quite creative with food colouring to make them look the part. Or make plain ones to be the base of some great desserts like Eton Mess or a classic pavlova. Quite a lot you can do with such a humble base recipe so no wonder it is exciting so many people.
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MERINGUE KISSES <br />
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2 egg whites <br />
pinch of salt <br />
100g caster sugar <br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract <br />
pink food colouring gel <br />
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Pre-heat the oven to 150°C. Whisk up the egg whites and the salt in a clean metal bowl. When the egg whites begin to stiffen, slowly beat in the caster sugar until shiny and silky. Stir in the vanilla essence and mix. To get the pink stripe effect put some food colouring gel as stripes on the inside of the piping bag from the nozzle up. Fill with the mixture and pipe onto a baking paper. Bake in the oven for about 30-40 min depending on size. Leave them in the oven to cool down so they can dry out completely.
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<br />urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-15031000729644466342014-02-28T14:45:00.000+00:002014-02-28T14:45:38.224+00:00Cheese cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last week was my friend Nithra's birthday. Unlike me she doesn't have a sweet tooth though, so I was thinking cheese cake, literally. Stack a variety of cheese: goats cheese, Brie, flavoured cream cheese, blue cheese and hard cheese. Dress it all with fruit and nuts et voilà: ready is the non-bake savoury cheese cake. Just add some wine and Bon appétit!urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-8406279335585478092014-02-19T20:01:00.000+00:002014-02-19T20:01:22.425+00:00Filo pastry roses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Happy new year to you all! I hope you had a great start in the new year and Hello to 2014! We finally have a kitchen as we have finished our extension and all building work is done so we are off to a good start. Hooray!
We had to make do with a make shift kitchen in a section of the living room consisting of a camping cooker and the fridge freezer during the first stage of work. It was like camping with the plastic crockery, foldable chairs and one-pot-wonder-foods. well, minus the insect bites and the open fire (though we were close to using the fireplace to cook in...). We are quite keen campers so no hardship there but it was restrictive and baking certainly wasn't an option.
So now having a kitchen again is such a luxury. I am still getting to grips with my new oven though. It doesn't seem to bake as evenly as I had hoped but I am glad to have an electric one again and bye bye to the gas oven. Hopefully no more burnt baking paper and chargrilled cakes. <br />
I remember my grandma used to say that you will have a close relationship with your oven as a baker and now I know what she means. I am still figuring out which settings are best for what type of dish and if I can go with the recommended temperature in a recipe or if i should over or under compensate.
So here is one of the first batches we made. Filo pastry with a nutty filling twisted to little roses and baked like a cake which you can serve individually.
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FILO PASTRY ROSES <br />
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Filo pastry <br />
butter <br />
ground hazelnuts <br />
honey <br />
icing sugar <br />
chopped pistachios <br />
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Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter and brush some over one sheet of filo, then cover with a second sheet. Brush with a some more melted butter. Dust with icing sugar and ground hazelnuts. Squeeze some honey on top and fold over twice by a third, then roll up and twist to shape the roses. Repeat until all filo sheets have been used up. Place all roses next to one another in a round cake tin. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden and done. Finally dust with icing sugar and serve.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-67387786266340108612014-02-02T18:59:00.000+00:002014-02-02T18:59:53.063+00:00February<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ice cold days and citrus sunshine.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-40633228937882453532013-09-04T11:14:00.001+01:002013-09-04T11:14:40.910+01:00Rainbow sorbet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Long time no see! Been really busy here the last weeks and when the heat of summer hit us we spent more time in the park or in the garden than in front of our beloved computer. But I am catching up with some foodie posts and here is the first one. How about freezing a rainbow? <br />
This dessert will definitely brighten everyones mood and it's great for a kids birthday party. Or do an adult version and add a hint of booze and make cocktail flavour layers. If life gives you lemons, crack open the gin! Just go easy on the alcohol as it will prevent the sorbet from freezing through and layering will be more difficult. <br />
In the kid friendly version I made I have left out the sugar and just layered fruit purée. Still quite sweet if you make sure the fruit is ripe and juicy. Older kids may want it a bit sweeter so add caster sugar or agave syrup to taste. So the layers are as following: <br />
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strawberry and watermelon <br />
mango <br />
banana and pineapple <br />
kiwi and pear <br />
blackberry and vanilla <br />
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RAINBOW SORBET <br />
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Place your baking tin or other suitable dish, ideally metal, in the freezer for a few minutes. Blend the fruit with a blender or a food processor. Add the desired amount of sugar and/or spices and/or booze. Spread the first layer of fruit purée evenly in your chilled tin and put back in the freezer to chill and set. This may take several hours. Purée the next layer of fruit once the first layer is frozen solid and spread the next sorbet mix on top and so on. When you want to serve it it may take a while to defrost so you can cut it, there for make sure you take it out of the freezer some time before serving.
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urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-10016004540474641052013-09-04T09:10:00.002+01:002013-09-04T09:10:53.556+01:00August<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Full of colour: birthday balloons, rainbow cake and party animals.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-91988794650428789132013-06-16T21:12:00.000+01:002013-06-16T21:12:10.384+01:00Lemon curd cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Summer is still keeping us waiting this year and the average temperatures last month have been at a record low. Now, that is not really something to celebrate and as I can't escape to a hot and tropical place to soak up the sunshine I have resorted to the second best thing to lift my spirits and that is baking. Lemons shout summer like nothing else and in German we have a saying: "Sauer macht lustig", what means something like sour makes funny. It doesn't translate that well but you should get the idea. Might be the funny faces we make when we eat something sour. <br />
The base of the cake is a lemon sponge, filled with my tart homemade lemon curd and then decorated with a whipped cream and cream cheese icing.
You will find a great tutorial about how to pipe the roses on this wonderful website <a href="http://iambaker.net/rose-cake-tutorial/">here</a> and there's lots more inspiration there, so go and pay Amanda's blog 'I am Baker' a visit.
And now off to eating some more lemons. Summer, here I come!
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LEMON CURD SPONGE CAKE <br />
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<i>for the sponge <br />
</i>200ml vegetable oil <br />
250g sugar <br />
4 large eggs <br />
400g flour <br />
4 tsp baking powder <br />
1 lemon (juice and zest) <br />
pinch of salt <br />
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<i>for the lemon curd <br />
</i>4 unwaxed lemons (juice and zest) <br />
4 large eggs <br />
350g caster sugar <br />
250g butter <br />
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<i>for the icing <br />
</i>200ml whipping cream or double cream <br />
200g cream cheese <br />
4 tbsp caster sugar <br />
3 tbsp lemon curd <br />
yellow food colouring <br />
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Preheat oven to 175-195°C. Mix the oil and sugar, add the eggs, salt, lemon juice and zest. Mix the baking powder and the flour and sift, gently adding to the mixture. Divide the mixture in half and pour into round baking tins. Bake for about 30 minutes and set aside to cool.
In the meantime prepare the lemon curd. In a medium pan whisk the eggs and add the lemon juice and zest, sugar and small cubes of the butter. Gently bring to the boil over medium heat and continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Continue stirring and simmer for another minute and take of the heat. Pour into sterilised jars and leave some for the cake. Spread between the two layers of sponge and stack. To make the icing whip the double cream until it stiff. Add the sugar and cream cheese and blend. Cover the layered cake with a thin coating of the icing to seal and place in the fridge. Take about half of the rest of the mixture and fold in the lemon curd and food colouring. Spoon into a piping bag, alternating yellow and white icing. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes as the yellow mix will be a bit runny still. With a large nozzle pipe roses all along the cake and place in the fridge before serving.
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<br />urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-48892906087752039272013-06-01T05:52:00.000+01:002013-06-01T05:52:03.111+01:00April<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Trips to the garden center, Ottolenghi's cheese cake and my disco nails.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-1700865609453628792013-04-01T10:24:00.001+01:002013-04-01T10:24:12.159+01:00March<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Snow and ice, ice cream and icing sugar.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-16399998005513319032013-03-31T20:28:00.002+01:002013-03-31T20:30:35.966+01:00Happy Easter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Easter eggs and bunnies.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-71998737396502211402013-03-29T13:41:00.001+00:002013-03-29T13:46:57.855+00:00Almond flake vanilla cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So much time has passed and I didn't get to post but rest assured I haven't forgotten about you. Not that I haven't been making <i>things (insert here anything from "cake" to "pasta")</i> but the food that keeps me most busy these days takes on a funny shape. Rectangular to be precise. I have just been steaming some pear and turnip and it's now back in the freezer as ice cubes. Obviously not for a cocktail (though maybe the pear could work... still, alcohol is pretty rare in this house since a baby and a hangover don't mix very well...) but to make up the wee man's diet. How strange we start off like that. What have the Neanderthal man been doing before the invention of the blender? Well, they died out, didn't they... <br>
And now for all the lovely people who have already developed their taste buds and are allowed refined sugar I have made a cake. Almond sponge and vanilla whipped cream with toasted almond flakes. Sort of to celebrate I am back on dairy. Now bring on the cheese! <br>
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ALMOND BUNDT CAKE <br>
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100ml vegetable oil <br>
150g caster sugar <br>
pinch of salt <br>
2 small eggs <br>
dash of vanilla extract <br>
50ml almond milk <br>
150g flour <br>
1 tsp baking powder <br>
100g ground almonds <br>
100ml double cream <br>
2-3 tbsp caster sugar <br>
dash of vanilla extract <br>
100g almond flakes <br>
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Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. With a hand held mixer whisk the oil, sugar and salt. Add the eggs and mix until pale in colour and well aerated. With a spatula fold in vanilla extract and almond milk. In another bowl sift the flour and baking powder and add the ground almonds. With the spatula gently incorporate the flour mixture, trying not to lose too much air. Grease the baking tin and dust lightly with flour. Fill the tin and bake for about 30-40 minutes. Leave to cool on a rack. Now whisk the double cream until its light and fluffy, add the sugar and the vanilla essence. Spread over the chilled cake and layer the toasted almond flakes to create a scale pattern. urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-3987514718632581542013-02-23T11:34:00.001+00:002013-02-23T11:36:36.030+00:00February<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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London weather or the different shades of grey, waiting for spring and still time for some hearty food.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-40507989030766605252013-02-13T19:23:00.000+00:002013-02-13T19:23:19.740+00:00Almond and rose water bundt cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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With Valentine's day coming up and in honor of Saint Valentine I have baked a cake. It's a simple almond bundt cake but the rose water icing makes it special. I have used a small cake tin but if you want to use a regular sized tin just double the measurements and bake for longer. <br>
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ALMOND AND ROSE WATER BUNDT CAKE <br>
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100ml vegetable oil <br>
150g caster sugar <br>
pinch of salt <br>
2 eggs <br>
dash of vanilla extract <br>
50ml almond milk <br>
150g flour <br>
1 tsp baking powder <br>
100g ground almonds <br>
100g icing sugar <br>
rose water <br>
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Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. With a hand held mixer whisk the oil, sugar and salt. Add the eggs and mix until pale in colour and well aerated. With a spatula fold in vanilla extract and almond milk. In another bowl sift the flour and baking powder and add the ground almonds. With the spatula gently incorporate the flour mixture, trying not to lose too much air. Grease the baking tin and dust lightly with flour. Fill the tin and bake for about 30-40 minutes. Leave to cool on a rack. Now mix the icing sugar and slowly add some rose water. Mix well so you won't have lumps and don't make the mixture too runny. Drizzle over the cake and wait for it to set before serving.
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<i>The rose is red, the violet's blue,<br>
The honey's sweet, and so are you.</i> <br>
<br>urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-8138145036450678442013-02-12T08:01:00.000+00:002013-02-12T08:01:07.432+00:00Coconut pancake cake<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today is pancake day and I have made a cake. A pancake cake. Pancake Tuesday is the last day before Ash Wednesday when one would start the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, so last chance to live it up before going cold turkey. Well, no turkey. <br>
Since I am off dairy for the time being I have used coconut cream instead of regular cream. You can whip it in the same fashion and it tastes brilliant. What a revelation! Just make sure you put your cans or cartons of coconut cream in the fridge overnight as it needs to be chilled so you can extract the solid cream from the liquid easily (if there is any liquid - it could be used in the batter instead of coconut milk). And it helps to freeze the bowl and the beaters for about 5 minutes before you get going.
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COCONUT PANCAKE CAKE <br>
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2 cups flour <br>
2 tsp baking powder <br>
1/2 cup sugar <br>
pinch of salt <br>
1 cup coconut milk <br>
1 cup almond milk <br>
2 eggs <br>
vegetable oil <br>
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<i>For the filling</i> <br>
500ml coconut cream <br>
3 tbs caster sugar <br>
vanilla essence to taste <br>
desiccated coconut <br>
fresh fruit like mango, pineapple, kiwi, papaya <br>
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Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add all the wet ingredients and mix well to get an even batter. Brush a small pan with a little oil and cook the pancakes at medium heat about 2 minutes on each side. The batter should make about 12 pancakes. Leave them on greaseproof paper to cool down before assembling the cake. To make the filling whisk the chilled coconut cream at highest speed with a handheld mixer. Add the sugar and vanilla essence and whisk some more until soft and creamy. To assemble the cake spread some of the coconut cream over the first pancake, top with another pancake and keep alternating until all pancakes are used up. Top with some more coconut cream and sprinkle with desiccated coconut. Now peel, cut and arrange your fruit and you're ready to tuck in!
urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-51378980727588558162013-02-07T16:15:00.001+00:002013-02-07T16:15:48.743+00:00January<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Snow like icing on a cake, to track and me turning into a snow man.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-78599584421419139752013-02-03T11:00:00.000+00:002013-02-07T16:17:57.193+00:00Leek tarte tatin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I love how a coincidence can make for a creative outcome. Did you know the tarte tatin was actually an accident and should have turned out like a perfectly normal apple tart? The story goes the elderly Stéphanie Tatin, who ran a hotel in France in the 1880s with her sister, got confused and put the pastry on the top of her apples rather than the bottom. An alternate story is that she was overworked and simply forgot the apples and sugar in the pan and when realising her mistake put the pastry on top and all quickly in the oven in order to rescue the dish. Either way it makes for a pretty tasty outcome. <br>
My recipe involves baby leeks rather than apples but you could swap them for anything that is in season and takes your fancy, sweet or savoury. Just go easy on the salt and pepper. Or maybe not, could be a great new invention too and could turn our taste buds upside down. <br>
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LEEK TARTE TATIN <br>
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1 sheet puff pastry <br>
150g baby leeks (6-8) <br>
50g salted butter <br>
2 tbsp sugar <br>
pinch of nutmeg <br>
twig of thyme or mixed herbs <br>
cracked black pepper <br>
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Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Wash the baby leeks and cut to 2-3cm long wheelsIn a small pan melt the butter and sugar until it starts to caramelise. Add the nutmeg and herbs and arrange the leek wheels in the pan and turn temperature down to medium so the leeks won't burn but start to cook. Cut out a circle slightly larger than your pan and place on top of the leeks. Tuck under and pierce a hole in the center so steam can escape. Bake in the oven for 15-20min or until the pastry is golden brown in colour. Flip over onto a plate but be careful with the hot pan.
urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-32654604993957189862013-01-06T10:16:00.000+00:002013-01-08T09:58:25.129+00:00Poached pears<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Poaching fruit and storing in syrup is such an old-fashioned way of preserving for the colder month when fresh fruit is hard to come by. My grandma was a master in this fine art and had a cellar full of jam jar treasures. Cherries, apples, plums and of course pears from her garden on to our plate to complement pancakes or rice pudding or as a quick dessert in their own sweet juices. <br />
This recipe is great for the firm winter pears you find these days as they will get soft throughout the cooking process but still keep their shape and won't get too mushy.
You can keep the pears in the fridge for some days or freeze them in the syrup to use another day.
You also don't need to strain the ginger and lemon peel as they will crystallise in the process and will taste great. The syrup would also be great with other desserts. Think panna cotta or brighten up humble yoghurt for breakfast.
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POACHED PEARS WITH GINGER SYRUP <br />
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6 ripe but firm pears <br />
3 cups dry white wine (Riesling is great) <br />
1 cup sugar <br />
pinch of salt <br />
knob of ginger <br />
1 lemon (peel and juice) <br />
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In a medium pot combine the wine, sugar, salt, lemon peel and juice and julienne of ginger. Simmer over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Peel the pears and add to the liquid. Cover with a lid slightly ajar and simmer for about 15-30 minutes depending on the size of your pears. They are done when easily poked through with a knife. Transfer the pears to a plate and leave to cool. Meanwhile reduce the remaining liquid to a syrup. Boil for about 20 minutes. Serve the pears cold with warm syrup and maybe some ice cream or a dollop of crème Chantilly.
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<br />urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-20597855835677102512013-01-04T10:04:00.000+00:002013-01-04T10:04:43.123+00:00Happy New Year!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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2013 – sorry, but the bar has been set pretty high. Thank you 2012 for the arrival of Milo and the chaos and love he embodies. 2012 also brought a new house and home and a new perspective on life. Wow. But my New Year's resolution is to give 2013 a fair chance and I will keep looking at the sweet side of life and hope to spend more time here, trying out recipes and posting about them. Happy New Year to you all!
{New Year, new luck} urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-54364967954052148002012-12-18T09:12:00.001+00:002013-01-08T09:58:37.111+00:00Gingerbread ice cream<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This recipe is based on one I have seen in Nigella's new cook show 'Nigellissima' and couldn't resist trying it myself. It sounded far too easy to be any good as it doesn't involve churning and I could keep the ice cream machine in the back of the cupboard for some time longer. It hardly involves prep time either and is ready after 6 hours of freezing so you can whip it up right before a dinner party if needed. You don't need to remember to defrost it before serving either as the alcohol in the recipe prevents it from becoming solid. <br />
I have given it my own spin and changed the flavour to a Christmas version with spices and rum and a different texture by adding biscuits, similar to cookie dough ice cream.
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GINGERBREAD ICE CREAM <br />
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300ml double cream <br />
175g condensed milk <br />
4 tbsp rum or spiced rum <br />
1 tsp cinnamon <br />
1 tsp ginger <br />
1 tsp all spice <br />
pinch of nutmeg <br />
gingerbread biscuits <br />
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Mix the cream, condensed milk, rum and spices together and whisk with a blender until soft peaks form. Mix some of the ice cream with crushed biscuits. Fill your moulds or a container with the plain ice cream until 3/4 full and top up with the version with the biscuit pieces. Freeze until serving.
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<br />urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-28328841515341282992012-12-05T11:39:00.000+00:002012-12-05T11:39:06.255+00:00December<br />
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Still waiting for the first snow, frost flowers and dusting off those Christmas decorations.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3916121510755190069.post-20703894384975742542012-11-14T10:04:00.002+00:002012-11-14T10:04:51.253+00:00Pumpkin and goats cheese tartlets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I promised more pumpkin recipes so here we go. This recipe is for 4 mini tartlets but you can easily make a larger tart by doubling the quantities and baking for longer. If you find you have some roasted pumpkin left over use it up in a pumpkin and goats cheese risotto. Drizzle some pumpkin seed oil on top and you have yourself a quick and easy dinner.
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PUMPKIN AND GOATS CHEESE TARTLETS <br />
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short crust pastry <br />
2 large eggs <br />
2 tbs sour cream <br />
100gr mild hard goats cheese <br />
50g feta <br />
1 shallot <br />
100ml milk <br />
200g pumpkin <br />
salt and pepper <br />
fresh thyme <br />
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Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas 5. Peel, deseed and cut the pumpkin into wedges, then place on a baking tray. Cover with tin foil and leave in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until soft. Set aside to cool slightly and cut into small cubes. Roll out the pastry and blind bake the shells. Let cool for a bit. Combine the egg, sour cream, milk and goats cheese. Finely chop the shallot and add to the mixture with the thyme. Season with salt and pepper and pour into the pastry shells. Sprinkle with the pumpkin cubes and feta. Bake for 15 min or until set and golden.urbane fruitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168168995511135254noreply@blogger.com3