Hi and welcome to my blog! My name is Karen and I love cooking simple, uncomplicated, flavourful food. My cooking is inspired by seasonal ingredients, punchy flavours, an awareness of sustainability and of course by the likes and dislikes of my family and friends that sit around my table as well as you, the virtual guests around my table!
I am a chef, recipe developer and food stylist and generate my own content. I am also completely addicted to recipe books, of which I have an extremely large collection but the essence of my food is about celebrating life and all the fabulousness that we can add by creating good food.
Thank you for reading my blog. Please keep on giving me feedback and may your kitchen, as mine, be filled with joy and the best tasting food!
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm X 20cm X 5cm cake tin with baking paper. Add the butter to a heatproof bowl. Break the chocolate into pieces and add it to the butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan with simmering water and allow to melt. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir the mixture to amalgamate. Set aside, stirring every now and then, to cool until lukewarm. Add the sugar and vanilla to the chocolate mixture and stir through. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well with a hand whisk. You want a glossy, smooth mixture. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder together and add it to the chocolate mixture. Mix through. Chop the remaining 120g milk chocolate in to chunks the size of peas. Stir the chocolate into the brownie mixture. Scoop the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing it into 16 squares. The brownies keep well in a sealed container for 3 – 4 days.
I knoooooow!!! Please try this ice cream – it is unusual but really has flavour-interest that will keep you coming back!
500ml cream 1 X 385g can of condensed milk 15ml mild curry powder 5ml ground cinnamon 15ml ground turmeric yellow food colouring cinnamon quills (sticks) to decorate sugar cones or bowls
Add the cream and condensed milk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Sift the curry powder, cinnamon and turmeric into the bowl. Do not skip the sifting as you might end up with lumps of spice! Turn the mixer to high speed and beat the mixture until it reaches medium-stiff peaks. Pour the mixture into a 4 litre container (I use a medium size bread tin) and cover it with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for at least 6 hours. Take the ice cream from the freezer and stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
Spray a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray. Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Warm the milk until tepid and pour it into a mixing bowl. Add the butter, yeast and sugar to the milk and stir until the butter has melted. Add the egg and whisk together. Turn the mixer on a low speed and add the liquids. The dough will be VERY sticky! Turn the mixer to medium speed and knead for 6 minutes. You want a dough that is soft, smooth and elastic. Place the dough in an oiled mixing bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside to proof for 90 minutes. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll the dough to a large rectangle. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate over the length, in the centre.
Now fold the sides over so that you have a dough layer, chocolate layer and another 2 dough layers. Roll the folded dough with a rolling pin so that the chocolate bits roll into the dough. Divide and cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Cut each piece into 3, keeping the top attached. Plait the dough and then roll up each plaited piece and place it in a muffin hole. Cover the muffin tin with a tea towel and allow to proof for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180℃. Brush the rolls with the egg wash and bake for 20 minutes. Serve slightly warm with a cup of coffee.
Cook the steaks to your liking and set aside. Keep it covered and warm, to rest. Put a heavy-base pan on high heat and add the butter. If you cooked the steak in a pan, use the same one. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned and slightly charred on the edges. Remove from the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute while stirring. Transfer the mushroom back to the pan and sprinkle over the paprika. Pour the beef stock into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping loose any charred pieces stuck to the pan. Allow the stock to bubble away until reduced by half. Take the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream and parsley. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Place the cooked steaks in the sauce, cover the pan with a lid and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Combine the flour, salt, turmeric and curry powder in a mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter and rub the mixture together with your fingers until you are left with pea-sized clumps of butter and flour. Add the grated cheddar and pecorino cheese and mix through. Now knead/push the mixture together with the heel of your hand so that if forms a dough ball. It takes a while to come together, just keep kneading/pushing. Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough to a 5mm thickness. Cut out shapes with biscuit cutters and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Bake the biscuits for about 12 minutes. Take them from the oven and cool in the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely. Store the biscuits in an airtight glass jar.
For the topping: 160g chocolate, chopped 125ml cream 5ml corn syrup
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Spray and line the bottom (not the sides) of a 38cm X 25cm X 2,5cm baking tray with baking paper. Spray the paper lightly with a cooking spray. Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer to high speed, add the 83ml sugar and whisk for 5 minutes until the mixture is stiff. Set aside. Add the egg yolks, 125ml sugar and vanilla to a mixing bowl and beat for 2 minutes with electric beaters. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into another mixing bowl. Add the espresso powder to the dry ingredients. Melt the butter and pour it over the dry ingredients. Add the egg yolk mixture as well and beat on medium speed until the ingredients are combined. Now fold in the stiff egg whites by stirring in a third and then gently folding in the rest. Keep folding until there are no white streaks in the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tray and spread it evenly into a thin layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
Rolling the cake: Place a thin kitchen towel on a work surface and sift about 30ml cocoa powder over the towel. Take the cake directly from the oven, run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and immediately invert the cake onto the cocoa powder/kitchen towel. Gently peel off the baking paper and roll the cake and the kitchen towel in a coil. Set aside to cool completely.
Making the cream filling: Pour the whipping cream into a mixing bowl, sift over the icing sugar and add the vanilla. Beat the mixture with electric beaters until it is stiff enough to have a spreadable consistency. Unroll the cold cake and remove it from the kitchen towel. Spread the cream filling over the surface and roll the cake once again. Place the Swiss roll on a cooling rack to cover with the chocolate topping.
For the chocolate topping: Add all the ingredients to a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan with barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is amalgamated. Take the bowl from the heat and set aside for about 15minutes, stirring it every now and then so that it cools down a bit. Pour the chocolate over the Swiss roll and spread it slightly with a spatula. Wait for the first batch/layer to set slightly before pouring the rest of the chocolate over the cake. Allow the cake to stand on the cooling rack until the topping has set completely.
Transfer the Swiss roll to a serving plate and enjoy!
This is one of those easy mid-week meals that takes no time at all to prepare and leaves one surprised at the amount of punchy flavour and goodness on a plate! The sauce is enough for 6 – 8 chicken breasts but equally for 4.
Dry the chicken breasts and place them on a chopping board. Drizzle with the smallest amount of vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Mix the garlic powder and tarragon and sprinkle evenly over the breasts. Rub the mixture over the chicken with your fingers. Put a heavy-base pan (skillet) onto medium-high heat and allow it to warm up. Add 2 chicken breasts to the hot pan and cook for about 6 minutes without moving them around. Flip the breasts and add 15ml of the butter to the pan. Cook the chicken for another 6 minutes. Remove the cooked breasts from the pan, set aside and keep covered while you cook the rest. Turn the heat down to low and add the 30ml butter, lemon juice and sour cream to the pan and simmer for one minute. Place the cooked chicken back into the pan, cover with a lid and cook for another 6 minutes to warm it through. Serve with a crisp green salad.
4 – 5 beets 340ml water and beetroot-water, lukewarm 10g dry yeast 10ml sugar 10ml salt 20ml olive oil 500g cake flour 100g feta cheese, crumbed rosemary sprigs extra olive oil to drizzle
Peel the beetroot and cut it into chunks. Cover with water and cook until a sharp knife easily pierces the beet chunks. Remove the beetroot from the cooking liquid, but reserve the liquid. Mash enough of the soft beetroot so that you have 45ml of pulp. (Keep the rest of the cooked beetroot in the refrigerator and add it to a salad). Measure 340ml of the beetroot water in a jug. If you don’t have enough, fill it to measurement with tap water. Warm the water so that it is lukewarm. Add the yeast, sugar and olive oil to the water and stir to dissolve. Set aside. Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on low speed. Add the yeast mixture and the 45ml beetroot pulp and turn the mixer to medium speed. Knead for about 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside to rise for 1 -2 hours.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 38cm X 25cm baking tray with non-stick spray. Transfer the dough to the baking tray and gently start spreading it by pushing down on it with the tips of your fingers. Keep pushing and prodding the dough until it fills the entire tray. Break the feta and spread over the dough. Add a few sprigs of rosemary and then drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the dough. Lightly cover the bread with a plastic bag and allow to rise for about 20 minutes.
Sugar cones filled with crème pâtissière and then brûléed to a crunchy sweetness makes for a fabulous casual dessert. The crème pât can be made well in advance and kept in the refrigerator, however, assemble the dessert when you are ready to serve.
4 large sugar cones granulated sugar for the topping/brûlée For the crème pâtissière: 40g cornflour 500ml milk 50g + 50g caster sugar 4 egg yolks 5ml vanilla
Making the crème pâtissière: Add the cornflour to a small bowl. Drizzle a small amount of milk into the bowl while stirring – you want a runny, pourable paste. Set aside. Add the egg yolks and 50g caster sugar to a large mixing bowl. Pour the cornflour slurry into the egg mixture and stir to mix with a whisk. Set aside. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and add the other 50g caster sugar. Place on medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Take the saucepan from the heat as soon as tiny bubbles start to appear around the edges of the pan. Drizzle the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking continuously. Remember: pour slowly, whisk quickly. Now pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place it on a medium-low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick and creamy. Allow to simmer lightly for 30 seconds before removing from the heat. Add the vanilla and stir through. Pour the crème pâtissière into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Push the step onto the surface with your hand to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool completely. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve the cones.
Assembly: Stand the sugar cones in drinking glasses. Whisk the cold crème pâtissière by hand until you have a silky smooth consistency. Spoon the mixture into the cones and sprinkle an even layer of granulated sugar on the surface. Brùlée the sugar with a blowtorch and serve immediately.
Cook the spaghetti and set aside. Make zucchini strips by placing a zucchini on a chopping board and running a vegetable peeler over the length of it. Pull as many strips as you can, flipping the zucchini from time to time. Keep the zucchini strips aside. Pour a small amount of vegetable oil in a saucepan, add the bacon and cook over medium heat for about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove the bacon and garlic from the pan and set it aside. Pour the cream in the same saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Add the egg yolks one at a time while whisking continuously. Add the parmesan and zucchini strips and simmer for about 2 minutes. Now add the bacon and cooked spaghetti and toss through. Serve the pasta with more grated parmesan and an egg yolk on top.
My Whisk and I 