thefoodwife – Page 29 – The Food Wife

Butterfly Cakes

10th March 202110th March 2021
by thefoodwife

Makes 12

As it approaches my little oneâ€™s first birthday, cake is on my mind. Butterfly cakes are fun to make and a delicious treat. Theyâ€™re an excellent addition to a party spread or to accompany an afternoon tea. For dietary requirements they can easily be made dairy-free by switching the butter in the sponge and buttercream to a vegetable fat based block.

We added some coloured sugar sprinkles to make ours colourful, but you can leave them plain, if you wish.

Ingredients:
For the sponges:
160g softened butter or vegetable baking block/spread
160g caster sugar
160g self-raising flour (or the same of plain flour with 3 level tsp baking powder)
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the butter cream:
150g softened butter or vegetable baking block/spread
250g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Step 1: preheat the oven to 150c (fan) and line a 12 hole muffin tray with cases.

Step 2: Place all the cake ingredients into a mixer and beat using the paddle attachment, until smooth.

Step 3: Divide evenly between the cases and bake for about 22 minutes. They should be risen and spring back to the touch. Allow to fully cool.

Step 4: Make the buttercream by beating the ingredients together until smooth.

Step 5: Use a sharp knife to cut a circle out of the top of each cake. Leave a centimetre rim around the edge, and angle the knife so that you can pop the circle out to reveal a hollow. Slice each removed circle in half to make two wings.

Step 6: Fill the hollows with your buttercream (using a piping bag will make them nice and neat but you can spoon them in if needs be) and then pop the wings back on. Add any sprinkles or extra decorations as you like.

Korean-Spiced Nuts and Seeds

7th March 20217th March 2021
by thefoodwife

Makes approximately 1kg

I recently catered a virtual night out for a group of friends, providing nibbles to accompany our delicious wine from Cru Wines in Bradford on Avon. One of the savoury offerings were these Korean-spiced nuts and seeds, an experiment which turned out good!

This uses the Korean red pepper powder Gochugaru for a warming glow. You can of course adjust the quantity to achieve your desired heat (this quantity was by no means hot) or you could use different spices to your taste. The maple, oil and salt quantity will provide the right amount of coating for what ever you choose to coat 1kg of nuts and seeds.

I used 800g of mixed nuts and 200g of the mixed seeds to provide little clusters which partly cling to the nuts.

Ingredients:

1 tsp fine salt
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
4 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder)
1kg mixed unsalted nuts and seeds (I used cashews, almonds, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and linseeds)

Step 1: Melt the maple and coconut oil together ( this can be done on a hob or in a microwave).

Step 2: Mix this with the salt and chilli. Add the nuts and seeds and then stir to ensure everything is coated.

Step 3: Spread on a lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven (180c) for 20-25 minutes (checking occasionally to make sure they arenâ€™t burning) until they are toasted.

Step 4: Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Store in an airtight container (this way they should stay fresh for a couple of weeks).

Smashed Cucumber Salad

13th February 202113th February 2021
by thefoodwife

Serves 3-4

This salad is insane. Both in how easy it is to prepare and the flavour explosion in your mouth. I really struggle to not pick at this before serving. And although Iâ€™ve said this serves three to four people, I could devour it all by myself!

Adapt the ingredients appropriately to make it vegan/gluten-free.

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber

1 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp fish sauce (optional – leave out if making this vegetarian or vegan)

1 heaped tbsp crispy chilli oil (gluten-free/vegan if required)

Sesame seeds (optional)

Step 1: Top and tail the cucumber (peel too if you like), make sure it is lying flat on a chopping board and then use a rolling pin to give it a few whacks. The cucumber should split in several places. Then use a knife to cut these pieces into one or two inch chunks.

Step 2: Place the chunks in a bowl and add the soy, vinegar, fish sauce and chilli oil. Mix.

Step 3: Arrange on a plate and scatter with a pinch of sesame seeds. Serve.

Blood Orange Curd

4th February 20214th February 2021
by thefoodwife

I picked up a bowl of blood oranges for Â£1 in the local fruit and veg shop (although Iâ€™m sure these will be from Italy rather than Wiltshire!) and two of them have just been turned into a gluten and dairy-free curd.

I think it will be destined as the filling for a cake (as long as it survives not just being eaten out of the jar with a spoon).

Ingredients:

1tsp corn flour
75g vegan baking block (or butter if not making dairy-free)
175g caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs, beaten
2 blood oranges (juiced, reserve the zest for later)
1/2 lemon (juice only)

Step 1: Put all the ingredients (except the zest) in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and very gently heat, stirring nearly constantly to avoid any scrambling.

Step 2: Cook until the curd coats the back of a spoon (10-15 minutes). Remove from the heat and then pass through a sieve. Now stir through your zest before pouring into a sterilised jar.

Apple and Blueberry Muffins (BLW)

14th January 202114th January 2021
by thefoodwife

Makes 12 small muffins

Low-sugar apple and blueberry muffins (easily made dairy free) for my little people to enjoy. Austin (3) and I made them together this morning and he and his 9 month old brother enjoyed them at lunchtime.

They are great to make with little ones as all it requires is a little mixing. Whilst they arenâ€™t too sweet (if you want these for a more adult sweet tooth you can always up the sugar by 50g) they are packed full of sweet juicy fruit.

These are not big muffins, the recipe makes 12 in normal cupcake cases.

Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
60ml oil
120ml (dairy free if required) milk
200g plain flour
100g caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 small eating apples (or one large), peeled and cored then cut in to a medium dice
120g (frozen is fine) blueberries

Step 1: Simply mix all the ingredients together (donâ€™t over mix! It’s the secret to a light muffin) and then equally fill 12 cup cake cases in a muffin tin.

Step 2: Bake in a preheated oven (200c fan) for 22 minutes and then allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.

These can be frozen. Ensure they are suitably wrapped before hand.