Amaretti Biscuits

You can never have too much chocolate (though I have given it up for March)

Leiths is more full on and my kitchenette more tiny than I could have imagined 6 months ago. After cooking all day and then going home to write time plans and read up on the next day's demonstration I'm afraid to say that writing more about food on my blog has rather flown out of the window. That doesn't mean that I've forgotten all about it and I am sorry not to have written sooner. The guilt that I haven't updated you has finally gotten too much and so here I am, hiding from the sudden cold snap and finally putting pen to paper again.

Sometimes the simplest toppings are the best

I've just finished my second term. I can't quite believe how fast it's going. Recently I had a Dem about setting up a catering business and must admit that I'm intrigued by the idea. While I do still want to work for a food magazine or two it would be nice to stretch myself by catering for small events. You heard it here first. If you want a willing if slightly green cook to impress then email me!

Fruit Tarts

My repertoire has expanded to include all sorts of recipes and ingredients that I wouldn't have gone near before starting the course. I can cook kidneys, mushrooms and prawns with aplomb  (I still don't  like eating them though). I've learnt the seasons for game, the coagulation temperature of eggs, and how to skin a rabbit (it just comes off like a glove). I have sipped wine, single variety olive oils and stock. I have scoffed all manner of tasty morsels in the name of education.

Game dem - not for the faint hearted!

Now we've improved and are more confident in our skills more freedom has been allowed with regards to what we cook. Recently there have been "Chef's Choice" veg accompaniments, biscuits, and tart toppings. I  believe this is leading up to a creative day with rabbit or duck where we have to use as much of the animal as possible to create something exciting. And beautifully presented of course.

Christmas poached pears with hazelnut praline and chocolate drizzle

I've been falling down on my presentation recently and no matter how hard I try or how happy I am with my plating the teachers always say something along the lines of 'that wasn't quite what we meant', or the killer comment 'it's just a bit rustic'. I'm learning to roll with the punches and take photos of how it's rearranged but would really like to get it right just once. If anyone has any tips or books that could help then I'd be most grateful.

Flatbreads with perfect griddle marks

Going back to the biscuits, they were to be served with blackcurrant ripple ice cream and I chose  to make sweet little amaretti. They went well with ice cream and would make a lovely bite to go with coffee or to give as a gift, wrapped up in cellophane and tied with a ribbon.

Amaretti and ice cream

Amaretti Biscuits

Oven 170*

Makes about 20

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: about 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 large egg whites

caster sugar

ground almonds

1 lemon

Icing sugar to dust

Method

Heat oven to 170*

Sieve almonds

Zest lemon and add zest to sugar

Beat egg whites with an electric whisk until they hold medium-stiff peaks

Fold the almonds, sugar and lemon zest into the egg whites. They will look like the egg whites have lost all the air but don't worry about it

Dust your hands with icing sugar to stop the mix from sticking then roll the mixture into small balls (I weighed mine so they were all 20g but this isn't necessary, just try to make them the same size)

Place spaced apart on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment or a silpat (a reusable non-stick baking sheet cover)

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the oven until golden brown, and crisp on the outside with a chewy centre. They'll come off the paper/silpat cleanly when cooked through

Leave to cool then serve with ice cream or coffee

My first (very boozy) Christmas Cake

Classic Chocolate Cake

Get your chocolate fix with this strikingly simple chocolate cake. 

Who doesn’t love cake? This is a great basic cake recipe that everyone should know. I remember the first time I made a cake, my mum helped but didn't know what to do when the eggs curdled, so we rang my dad (who was at work) and badgered him to instruct us remotely. That cake turned out well and ever since I've remembered the mantra four, four, four, and two (4oz sugar, 4oz butter, 4oz self-raising flour and 2 eggs)  or six, six, six, and three (6oz sugar, 6oz butter, 6oz self-raising flour and 3 eggs) for a sandwich cake, ever since and it has proved invaluable when a cake is needed in short order.

Topping the cake with a simple ganache elevates a simple cake to a whole new level and will impress anyone.

Birthday Dessert

I turned 22 on the 26th of December and was sick of cakes after a spate of birthdays recently. Initially I decided to have a birthday starter instead (of cheese soufflé) but one of my friends posting a photo of some caramel that she was making swayed me in favour of homemade vanilla ice cream drizzled with salted caramel (my current, and long-lasting, weakness - last year's cake was a set of salted caramel fondants). Previously I've always bought in my salted caramel sauce from the excellent Artisan du Chocolat in London as I don't want to see just how bad for me it is, but they sadly don't have an outpost in Poitiers nor Talmont (they should really look into that) so I had to bite the bullet and make it myself.

First off, I'm sorry but it is as bad for you as you think it is, however, it's even more scrumptious than you think it will be so just enjoy it! My pan of caramel is currently cooling and every time I pass it I take a spoonful, thankfully there's a lot of it!

Thank You Cookies

My family have lived in Singapore for the past three years but are sadly in the throes of packing up to return to rainy old England. I've had some amazing holidays in South East Asia and taken cookery lessons in many different countries during my gap year, but more on those in later posts. This summer I spent a month and a half over there, visiting Indonesia and Hong Kong for a few weeks, as well as getting a bit too click happy with internet shopping in the process! Back in Manchester the parcels were piling up for me and a friend who was flat-sitting told me the concierges were a bit grumpy about holding all of my parcels (it was like christmas had come early when I got back and saw them!), so as a thank you I decided to bake them some cookies.

One of these packages contained 2.5kg of Callebaut chocolate chips to stop me from searching the city for Green and Blacks every time I baked a batch of brownies (baking is an expensive habit!). They cost me about £13 from Amazon, and I think I have the 54% (or a number around that). They're delicious, and sadly for my waistline, if I'm not careful, just the right size to snack on. When I added them to my cookies (recipe below) and then baked them the chocolate remained viscous even once they'd cooled, which makes them a bit messy to eat but worth it! If you don't want the mess then add a different chocolate - I used to make them with Smarties or M&Ms, as the original recipe (where from I do not remember) told me to do. As a treat, or for a more upmarket cookie, I replace the regular chocolate with white chocolate and fresh raspberries. I've been making these cookies for years and they've always met with approval from friends and family.  They're easy to make, both by hand or, as I always do, with a stand mixer (cue my new KitchenAid!) or electric hand mixer.

I've tried in the past to make this recipe healthier with golden/brown sugar and brown flour but it just doesn't work. If you forget to use self-raising flour and use plain instead then it's fine, I've done it before and it doesn't appear to noticeably affect the quality. As there aren't any eggs in the recipe it is both safe and delicious to eat the dough without cooking it first. If you don't want to cook it all at once then you can wrap it in cling film and freeze or refrigerate it for a few days and just leave it on the work surface to return to room temperature before you separate it into cookie sized balls.

Cookie Recipe

Oven at 170˚C

Makes as many as you want, but I normally make 18, using 2 trays with 9 cookies on each (original recipe said 12)

Don't forget to grease the baking trays

Ingredients

100g butter (soft if possible, can be blitzed in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time to warm)

100g caster sugar (EDIT it's actually light muscovado in the original recipe and it as tastes really good but if you like a bit of a crunch in your cookies then keep the caster sugar. I promise you both work equally well)

1tbsp golden syrup

150g self-raising flour

85g-120g chocolate, depends on how much you like

Method

Beat together the butter and caster sugar until combined, soft and fluffy and light in colour

Then add the golden syrup and incorporate

Half the flour gets added and mixed in

Chocolate next

And finally the rest of the flour joins the mix

If using something to do the job for you then just put everything in the bowl at the same time and turn the mixer on

Once it looks like cookie dough and there aren't any left over bits at the bottom (if there are then add a smidgen more golden syrup) stop mixing and make as many balls of cookie dough as you want.

Don't flatten them!

Place your raw cookies onto the greased trays ensuring that they have space to spread

Pop into the oven for 8-10 minutes, then remove and leave them on the trays for 5 minutes or so until you can move them onto a cooling rack without them breaking apart (and if you do it too soon then what a shame, you'll just have to eat the broken ones!!!)

N.B. I'm not used to writing recipes so feel free to comment if you think it's too chatty or I'm missing information out etc.. Also, please let me know if the recipe works for you - I'd really love to hear your opinions.

What's your favourite cookie filling?