10/10 Recipe Thread

[FrayedKnot]

Ok...here it is...

Please post your delicious 10/10 cake vegetable and fruit recipes here

Actually cake recipes are welcome too

Gluten Free Chocolate Loaf Cake

(with apologies to Nigella, and with little sign of any fruit or veg)

200g gluten free flour*
1/2 tsp bicarb
50g cocoa
275g caster sugar
175g unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
80ml sour cream **
125ml boiling water
175g chocolate chips or chunks (optional)

• Original recipe uses plain flour

** I use milk and a dash of balsamic vinegar, or I suppose you could use yoghurt

This can be made either by creaming the butter & sugar first or just by putting everything in a food processor and blitzing.

It is quite runny batter, but because the gluten free flour seems to need more moisture, it works well.

Pour into a 900g loaf tin and bake for an hour.

It is very rich.

You can also make this into a banana loaf cake by leaving out the cocoa and adding a mashed banana.

Look, see, a fruit reference

Yummy. I will try the chocolate banana cake

In the spirit of all things fruit & veg, here is the recipe for Pumpkin Bars. Unfortunatley, ot uses American cups which is a pita. 1 cup = ~ 250ml

Pumpkin Bars

18 - 24

½ c butter (soft) 1 stick
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup canned pumpkin (~ ½ can)
1 tsp vanilla
1c flour
½ tsp baking pdr
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg

Brown Butter Icing

½ c butter (I stick)
3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 TB milk

? Preheat oven to 350/ 180/ gas 4
? Cream butter
? Add sugar, eggs, pumpkin & vanilla
? Sift dry ingredients together
? Gradually add wet to dry
? Pour into 9x13 inch pan
? Bake for 15 ? 20 mins

? Heat butter over low heat til light brown
? Remove from heat & add sugar, vanilla & milk

Franny's Nut loaf (all quantities excitingly vague)

Cook onions and mushrooms until nicely browned. Can also add red pepper or in fact anything . Cook brown rice until tender. Mix with a good quantity (probably 1 part nuts to 2 parts rice and 1 part fried onion / mushrooms) of ground or chopped nuts and seeds (ground probably best for 3 year old) - you can get ground almonds in the shops, while cashews, pumpkin and sunflower seeds grind up nicely in a coffee grinder or nut attachment on blender. Add a stock cube mixed with a few tbsp hot water to make a sort of sludge, tom puree, herbs, seasoning, soy sauce etc to taste. Put in loaf tin or oven dish and bake on about GM 5 for about 40 mins.

Sorry this one is so vague but it's a made up one. Just experiment until you find how you like it. You can ring the changes and add different nuts, cooked lentils, grated cheese, other veg, curry spices etc. Great for using up leftovers. The nuts can be pricey but not if bought in bulk or at one of those weigh and save places. Overall with the rice added it makes a cheap meal as you only give a slice of it and then bulk up the meal with veg.

Freezes well and goes nicely with either a simple tomato sauce, boiled pots and green beans, or roast veg and gravy, or cold with salad and mayonnaise. Also nice sliced in a sandwich.

Baked Oatmeal

Serves 3 - 4

1 cup porridge oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dried fruit (I used raisins and cranberries)
1/2 tsp cinamon
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 ehgg whites
drop veg oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350/ 180/ gas 4
Grease glass baking dish
In bowl, combine oats, sugar, fruit, salt, cinnamon
Beat egg whites lightly and add to rest of wet ingredients
Mix w/ dry
Bake for 50 - 60 mins until the centre is firm and set.
Serve with milk, yoghurt, creamb & fruit.

Aubergine caviar

2 medium aubergines
1 onion
1 green pepper or 3 medium tomatoes

Wash and score aubergines, brush with oil and bake at 180c for 30 minutes or until tender. Cut in half, remove pulp and chop.
Chop onion, pepper and/or tomatoes.
Chop everything together very finely on a wooden board.
Add french dressing and salt to taste.
If it is too moist, cook it lightly.

Prune & Raisin Brownies

Ingredients
50g/2oz raisins
175g/6oz prunes (without stones)
125ml/4fl oz dark rum
150g/6oz unsalted butter
125g/4oz dark chocolate - chopped
450g/1lb caster sugar
4 large eggs
225g/8oz plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder (sieved with flour)
¼ tsp baking power
9 x 11 tin - lined with parchment paper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Place prunes in a saucepan with the rum. Simmer until liquid is absorbed. Allow to cool. Cut in half.
3. Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl, over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth.
4. Remove bowl, and add sugar, eggs, flour and cocoa, baking powder, raisins and prunes. Mix well to combine.
5. Pour mixture into a tin. Bake 50 - 60 minutes or until set. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Freezes really well.

Chocolate Prune Cake (from SpawnChorus)

210g prunes
310 ml boiling water
1 teaspoon bicarb
60g butter chopped
150g brown sugar
150g SR flour
2 eggs
100g dark choc chopped coarsely

sauce:
300ml cream
120g dark choc chopped

Preheat oven to 180

Grease a 20cm baba tin (I don't have one of them...I just use a big cake tin)

Combine prunes and water in food processor. Add bicarb. Leave to stand 5 mins.

Add butter and sugar and pulse until just combined.

Add flour then eggs. Pulse until just combined.

Add choc. Pulse until choc is just mixed in (pieces will still be visible).

Bake for an hour and serve warm with sauce.

(To make sauce just combine cream and choc over low heat until melted).

Crumpets

Makes ~ 12

8 oz (225 g) strong plain flour
1 level teaspoon salt
1 level tablespoon dried yeast
1 level teaspoon caster sugar
½ pint (275 ml) milk

Warm milk til 'hand hot', stir in the sugar & yeast. Leave in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until frothy on top

Put flour and salt in bowl, make well and add frothy batter. Cover with tea towel and leave in warm place for 45 mins

Grease circle cookie cutter, place in frying pan, dollop 1 tbs batter in and cook for ~ 5 mins. Then remove cookie cutter & flip. Cook for another min. You could do it without the cookie cutter though.

Mexican Lasagna

Tin of refried beans
1 big tin of tomatoes
corn
black beans
chili powder
other spices (cinnamon, cumin etc)
other veg (courgette, onions, peppers, mushrooms, garlic & anything else lurking in the fridge)
flour tortillas - torn into strips so they fit into dish
Yoghurt/ sour cream
cheese

Make a vege chili type ratatouille from tomatoes, 'other veg' and chili powder & 'other spices'

Add corn & black beans.

Layer as follows:
Chili
tortillas
refred beans (spread over tortillas)
yoghurt/ sour cream

until you get to the top. Finish with grated cheese and bake for a while on 180 - maybe 20 - 45 mins (have no idea how long I cook it)

Easy peasy and yummy.

Littlerach's mexican bake

Plaese forgive my quantities!!

Fry off an onion (I use red), a couple of cloves of garlic and two peppers ( I use green as they are leftover!). For about 5 mins??

Then add either two tins chopped tomatoes or about 6-8 normal tomatoes, well chopped.

Add some chilli ( I use 2/3 of a teaspoon of chilli flakes). Also a splash of red wine vinegar and about half teaspoon sugar of you have it.

Simmer for about 12 mins.

Add tin of sweetcorn.

Simmer for 3 more minutes.

Using a casserole/lasagne dish, layer the sauce with one of tortilla chips, I usually do 3 layers, ending with tortillas.
then cover top with sour cream and then grated cheese.

Bake uncovered for 15 mins.

Sounds weird because of tortilla chips, but it is very nice and comforting.

And meat eaters normally like it too!

Hot Cross Buns

Dough
150ml milk
50g butter
zest of 1 orange
1 clove
2 cardamom pods
400g bread flour
1 packet easy blend yeast 97g)
125g mixed dried fruit
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 egg

Egg Wash
1 egg, beaten with a little milk

For the crosses
3 tablespoons plain flour
½ tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons water

Sugar Glaze
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon boiling water

Heat the milk, butter, orange zest, clove & cardamom pods in a saucepan until the butter melts, then leave to infuse.

Measure the flour, yeast & dried fruit into a bowl & add the spices. When the infused milk has reached blood temperature take out the clove & cardamom pods & beat in the egg. Pour this liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients.

Knead the dough either by hand or with a machine with a dough hook. If it is too dry add a little more milk or water. Keep kneading until you have silky, elastic dough but bear in mind that the dried fruit will stop this from being exactly satin smooth. Form into a ball & place in a buttered bowl covered with cling film, & leave to prove overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 220c. Take the dough out of the fridge & let it come to room temperature.

Punch the dough down, and knead it again until it is smooth & elastic. Divide into 16 balls & shape into smooth round buns.

Sit the buns on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Make sure they are quite snug together but not touching. Using the back of an eating knife, score the tops of the buns with the imprint of a cross. Cover with a tea towel & leave to prove again for about 45 minutes ? they should have risen & almost joined up.

Brush the buns with the egg wash, then mix the flour, sugar & water into a smooth thick paste. Using a teaspoon, dribble two lines over the buns in the indent to make a cross, then bake for 15-20 minutes.

When they come out of the oven, mix the sugar & boiling water, and brush each bun to make then sweet & shiny.

Crunchy Lentil Loaf

1/3 cup red lentils
½ cup green lentils
1 ½ c chicken stock
1 bay leaf
oil
1 clove garlic
4 ½ oz mushrooms
½ red pepper
½ yellow pepper
1 ½ cups breadcrumbs
2 tbs cilantro leaves
½ lemon zest + juice
2 eggs
Black pepper

? Wash lentils. Put in pan w/ stock and bay leaf. Boil then simmer 20- 30 mins until all fluid absorbed
? Preheat oven to 350
? Fry onion & garlic ~2mins, add mush and peppers, cook 2 mins
? Remove bay leaf and add lentils to pan with most of breadcrumbs, cilantro, lemon and egg. Season. Mix well. Should be soft but not runny
? Spoon lentils into loaf tin, sprinkle crumbs on top & bake for 35 ? 49 mins until firm to touch.
? Allow to cool for 10 mins before turning out.
? Serve hot or cold w/ salsa & green salad.

Jewelled Quinoa is a throw it all in/ make it up as you go along (based on a Jewelled Rice reipce) but goes along the lines of:

You can do it hot or cold with/ without a dressing

Cook Quinoa (in stock)

When it is nearly ready, add some or all of:
Peas
Corn
Red Pepper
carrots
Raisins
Spinach
Anything colourful and/or shiny
Walnuts
Feta

Sweet version

Cook quinoa (in stock or apple juice or a mix of both) with handful of raisins
When cooked, add dried cranberries, chopped apples, oranges, cherries, any other fruit.

DS loves qunioa cooked like this.

oh ta UR

what's cilantro leaves - coriander? I don't like that, how would it be if I left it out?

they both sounds fab. the sweet quinoa - would you serve that as a pudding, or a breakfast?

Sweet quinoa we have at lunchtime sort of like a salad. I eat it with mixed leaves. But I am odd. Would def be ok for breakfast too. And pudding.

Yes, cilantro is coriander, I forgot to translate. I don't it like either. I think I did use it in that recipe but I would use parsley next time. HTH

Leek, potato and lentil bake

More excitingly vague quantities here

5-6 small potatoes
2 leeks
1 small onion
3 eggs
2 large handfuls grated cheddar or parmesan
4 handfuls of red lentils

Peel and parboil the potatoes whole until just tender.

Cook the lentils in boiling water until soft and mushy. Drain lentils.

Fry the onions and leeks until soft.

Drain potaotes and slice. Layer potatoes in bottom of a greased loaf tin (or silicon if you have it). Layer onions, leeks and lentils on top.

Whisk eggs with grated cheese, season, and pour over onion/leek/lentil mix.

Bake in oven at 170 degress for 20-30 mins until eggs cooked and potatoes feel soft when you poke a knife into the bottom of the tin.

Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly - then turn out onto a plate and slice to serve.

PS quantities below serve 2-3.

I make this in my 2lb loaf tin and it comes about halfway up - increase quantities for a bigger loaf.