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!
Soybean is a complete protein and really delicious when mixed in a salad with crunchy vegetables. I have used black soybeans in this salad but any soybean can be used.
250ml soybeans, cooked according to packet instructions baby spinach, finely chopped purple cabbage, finely shredded pomegranate seeds feta cheese, crumbled
Dressing: 30ml lemon juice 15ml red wine vinegar 5ml mustard 5ml garlic, minced 15ml honey 60ml olive oil
Add all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together until amalgamated. Add the salad ingredients to a platter or bowl and drizzle the dressing over.
Who can say no to an espresso and pain à la crème on a sidewalk in Paris? I assure you, you might be in your own home but your tastebuds will be fooled into believing you were there….
For the buns: Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and put aside. 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, instant yeast and sugar to the milk and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the mixer on to a low speed and add the liquids. Mix/knead for about 3 minutes. The dough will be very sticky! Turn the mixer to medium speed and knead for another 6 minutes. You are aiming for a soft, smooth, elastic dough. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces – weigh them on a scale, they should be around 60g each. Roll each portion into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the dough ball slightly with your hand. Now make an indent with a small cup/glass, pushing down onto the dough. Spray some plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the buns lightly. Set aside in a warm place for 90 minutes.
For the crème pâtissière: Add the corn flour to a small bowl and pour a small amount of milk in to the bowl while stirring. You want to make a slurry, which is basically a runny, pourable paste. Put aside. Add the egg yolks and 50g caster sugar to a mixing bowl. Stir the corn flour slurry into the egg mixture. Set aside. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and add the other 50g caster sugar. Place the saucepan on medium heat and stir 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 vigorously. Pour slowly, whisk quickly! Now pour the mixture from the mixing bowl, back into the saucepan and place it on a medium-low heat. Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened. Allow to cook for 30 seconds before removing it from the heat. Add the vanilla and stir to mix. Pour the crème pâtissière into a shallow bowl and place some plastic wrap directly on the surface. This will prevent a skin from forming while the custard cools down. Place in the refrigerator and allow to cool completely.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Take the same cup/glass that you used to make the indents in the buns, and press down onto the exact same area again. Brush the buns with egg wash. Whisk the cold créme pâtissière to soften it. Spoon about 20ml or more if you can, of crème pâtissière into each round indent you have made. Bake the custard buns for 20 minutes. The custard filling will rise up as it bakes but do not panic, it will fall back on itself once it cools. Cool the buns to room temperature. Sieve with icing sugar and serve with coffee.
The best of two worlds!! A delicious chocolatey brownie base with a velvet baked cheesecake topping!
For the brownie base: 115g butter 115g dark chocolate, chopped 200g caster sugar 2 eggs 50ml milk 115g flour
For the cheesecake topping: 500g cream cheese, room temperature 125g caster sugar 3 eggs 5ml vanilla 125ml Greek yoghurt
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin. Add the butter and chopped chocolate to a heatproof mixing bowl and place it over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir every now and then until melted. Remove the bowl from the head and add the sugar. Whisk until the ingredients are amalgamated. Add the eggs and milk and whisk to mix. Add the flour and stir through until the mixture is just blended. Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and even it out with a spatula. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove and set aside. Lower the oven temperature to 160℃. Add the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat together on high speed until you have a smooth mixture. Scrape the bowl down once or twice in between mixing. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the yoghurt. Stir the yoghurt through the cheesecake mixture. Pour the mixture onto the baked brownie base. Place in the oven and bake for 55 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Run a knife around the edge of the cake before removing the sides of the cake tin. Cut into slices and drizzle with melted chocolate to serve.
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and spray an oven-proof dish or casserole of about 18cm X 28cm. Set aside. Add all the sauce ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk together until the sugar has dissolved. Put aside. Cut the chicken in to 2 – 3 cm chunks, season with salt and pepper and toss together in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the chicken and mix to coat all the pieces. Heat about 3cm of vegetable oil in a saucepan. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and fry the pieces in batches, in the oil, until golden. Place the fried chicken into the prepared oven-proof dish. Keep going until all the chicken has been fried. Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook in the oven for 40 minutes. Give it a stir once or twice during cooking time. Serve the sweet-and-sour chicken on steamed rice or noodles, with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 23cm X 13cm loaf tin. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon to a mixing bowl and mix together with a whisk. Add the buttermilk, egg and vegetable oil to a wide-mouth jug and whisk together until blended. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until all the flour has been incorporated and you are left with a shaggy, wet batter. Add the chopped apple and nuts and stir through. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and pat it into the corners. Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
This simple apricot sauce transforms a baked sweet potato into a well-balanced, tasty meal. Easy, quick and utterly delicious!
6 – 8 medium sweet potatoes 250g dried apricots 125ml honey 30ml apple cider vinegar 2,5ml ground ginger 2,5ml ground coriander a pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, until soft. Remove from the oven and keep warm. Turn your oven onto the grill setting. Add the apricots to a mixing bowl and sprinkle lightly with olive oil. Mix through so that all of the apricots are covered in oil. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and grill until very lightly charred. Keep an eye on them, they burn quickly! Add half the apricots to a liquidiser. Add the honey, vinegar, ginger, coriander and a pinch of salt and blitz to a purée. Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking. Adjust the thickness to your liking by adding more apricots for a thicker sauce. Make a slit in the baked sweet potatoes and spoon the sauce over it. Serve on rocket leaves and the rest of the whole roasted apricots.
Warm the milk and pour it into a mixing bowl. Add the yeast and stir until dissolved. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Set the machine on medium-high speed and cream the ingredients together. Add the egg and beat to incorporate into the mixture. Add the yeast and milk mixture and mix again. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add half a cup of flour at a time, stirring the flour into the mixture with a wooden spoon. Keep going until all of the flour has been incorporated. Dust the dough with 15ml of flour and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside and allow to proof for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Lightly coat your hands with vegetable oil and knead the dough 5 or 6 times. The dough will be very sticky! Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into an oval shape and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Allow to rise for 15 minutes. Bake the rolls for 8 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and lightly brush the rolls with vegetable oil. You may sprinkle the rolls with brown sugar at this stage. Return the rolls to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Build this salad as large or as an individual portion and keep the dressing in the refrigerator for the next day – it is delicious with anything fresh and crunchy!
mixed lettuce red cabbage, cut into chunks apple, sliced or cubed walnuts black sesame seeds
Dressing: 45ml mayonnaise 45ml Greek yoghurt 5ml lemon juice 2,5ml salt Whisk the ingredients together until emulsified. Spoon on to the salad before serving. The dressing can be kept refrigerated for 5 days.
This recipe is easy, quick and really big on flavour. The recipe will feed 8 hungry adults.
500g dried pasta 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced a handful of parsley a handful of basil 2 heads of broccoli ( I know it sounds like you are about to feed an army!!!) 5ml salt 2,5ml black pepper 1 stock cube 250g cream cheese 30ml lemon juice
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Cut the broccoli florets from the stems and add them to the pasta during the last 2 minutes of cooking time. Reserve 250ml of the pasta water before draining the pasta and the broccoli florets. Keep aside. Chop the broccoli stems and add them to a large saucepan with a good dash of vegetable oil. Turn the heat on to medium and add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft. Add the 250ml pasta water and the stock cube and cook until the broccoli stems are soft. Take the saucepan off the heat and pour the mixture into a liquidiser. Add the parsley and basil and blitz. You are aiming to have a chunky, very thick sauce. Pour this sauce back into the saucepan, add the salt and pepper and then stir the cream cheese into the mixture. Keep stirring until the cheese has melted and is incorporated into the rest of the sauce. Add the lemon juice and stir through. Now add the pasta and the broccoli florets. Stir the mixture so that everything is coated in the sauce. Serve immediately.
These pancakes are not cocoa-chocolatey-looking but actually contain real chocolate in the batter!! Whether you serve them with ice-cream, fresh fruit and Chantilly cream or plain, from-the-pan, you will love them! Yields about 12 pancakes depending on the size of your pan.
80g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa 250ml + 100ml milk 90ml caster sugar 200g cake flour 100ml water 3 eggs 2,5ml vanilla butter for frying
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and add it to a small saucepan. Pour in 100ml milk and place on a very low heat. Stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted completely and remove from the heat. Add the 250ml milk and caster sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Pour the water, eggs and vanilla into a jug and whisk it together. Pour the egg mixture into the flour in a very thin stream while whisking. Pour slowly, whisk quickly …. you don’t want lumps in your batter! Now whisk in the chocolate mixture in the same way. Cover the batter with a tea towel and allow to stand for one hour.
Heat a frying/crêpe pan until it is very hot. Add a knob of butter and swirl it around so that it covers the surface of the pan. Pour in a ladleful of batter and swirl again to evenly distribute in the pan. Turn the heat down slightly and cook the pancake for 1 minute. Turn the pancake over with a spatula and cook for another 30 seconds. (The combination of sugar and chocolate burns really easy!!) Keep going with the rest of the batter until you have a heavily stack of chocolate pancakes. Serve warm.
My Whisk and I 