Chilli Jam For A chilly Day!

Close up of the Chilli Jam showing those vibrantly red flecks of chilli and red pepper

Now that the chaotic period of festive gatherings has fluttered away into the backdrop for yet another year, and things today have just gone back to normality, I can now knuckle down to things I personally enjoy especially my baking and blogging – wonderful!! Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy my festive gatherings but too much of a good thing as they say..........

Chilli Jam

I didn’t want to let slip by some Chilli Jam sourced from Nigella’s Christmas cookbook, I made this Christmas. It tastes just as good as it looks, not too hot and packs a little punch that tingles on the tongue. . It’s rather chilly here today and a spoon or two of this chilli jam served with cheese and cold meats is sure thing to add a warm glow to anyone’s cheeks. This recipe is a winner through and through. It will be making more appearances in my household and not just at Christmas. I also made a batch of Nigella’s Cranberry & Apple Chutney from the same book, which is also excellent in taste and texture.

Chilli Jam & Cranberry & Apple Chutney

Chilli Jam

Makes Approx – 1.5 litres

Ingredients

150g (5oz) long fresh red chillies deseeded and cut into four pieces each.

150g (5oz) sweet red peppers cored deseeded and cut into chunks

1kg (2.2lbs) Jam sugar (with added pectin)

600mls cider vinegar

You will also need - 6x250 ml sterilized sealable jars with vinegar proof lids – Kilner jars or re-usable pickle jars are terrific for this.

Method

Put the cut up chillies into the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the chunks of sweet pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring.

Scrape the pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring to the boil and leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes

Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly like as it cools.

After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly distributed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the bits of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating in it), ladle it into your jars. If you want to stir it gently at this stage, it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.

*Make the jam up to one month before using or giving.*

*Store in a cool dark place for up to a year.*

*Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.*

This recipe is sourced from Nigella Christmas cookbook.

Sweet Potato Cake ~ The Cake Slice Baker’s Event!!!

This month I am pleased to reveal our second bake from ‘The Cake Slice Bakers! This is a new baking event hosted by two lovely ladies Giggi and Katie. The aims and objectives of this group are to bake a cake each month for a year from a selected book. This is a great event because reflecting on my cookbooks, somehow I never seem to work my way through them and only cook or bake certain things. The book we are baking from this year is, Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne. A fantastic book packed from end to end with lovely recipes and eye-catching pictures of gorgeous cakes to drool over.

This time around we chose to bake a Sweet Potato Cake. Being Halloween end of last month, this certainly was a fitting cake for this festivity. I was intrigued by the use of sweet potato in the recipe; on the other hand take for example cakes that have potato, carrots, pumpkin, and courgette in them, they are great flavoursome cakes so sweet potato must work in the same way or would it? Well having tried a slice of this cake I can vouch this is one scrumptious cake. The sweet potato wasn’t dominant and the wonderful spices bended through well, I am positive this cake is akin to carrot cake. I served my cake for Halloween dressed up in pumpkins I made from fondant icing and a few shop brought sprinkles; I didn’t want you to think here, oh she’s gone and lost her marbles and still celebrating Halloween lol.

I haven’t got x 3 -9 inch (23cm) cake tins so I used x 3 -8 in (20cm) cake tins instead without any problems of the mixture overflowing in the oven, (thank goodness!)

A must try cake you’d be surprised at its taste!

Sweet Potato Cake

Sourced from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne.

Makes a 9 in (23cm) triple layer cake, serves 16 -20 people. You will require x 3 -9 inch (23cm) cake tins.

Ingredients
2 medium or 1 large sweet potato (12 ounces)
3 cups of cake flour ** see below**
3 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp of freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
5 eggs, separated
2¼ cups sugar *I used caster sugar*
1 stick plus 2 tbsp (5 oz) of butter, at room temperature
1½ tsp of vanilla
1¼ cups of milk

**The recipe calls for cake flour and if you only have all-purpose (plain) flour on hand, you can substitute ¾ cup (105 grams) all-purpose (plain) flour plus 2 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch (cornflour)***

**If fresh potato is not available you could use canned sweet potato, yams or pumpkin puree**

Method

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/fan oven 180°C/Gas mark 6. Prick the sweet potatoes in 2-3 places and place on a small baking dish and bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes are very soft. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F/180°C/fan oven 160°C/Gas mark 4. Butter the bottoms and sides of the pans and line with non-stick baking paper or greaseproof paper. Butter the paper also.
When the sweet potatoes are cool, peel off the skin and remove any dark spots. Cut the potatoes into chunks and puree in a food processor until smooth.

Measure one cup of potato puree and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves into a large bowl and set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer add the egg whites and attach the whip attachment. Beat on a medium speed until the egg whites are frothy, raise the speed to high and gradually beat in ¼ cup of sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites are moderately stiff.

In another large bowl with a paddle attachment, combine the sweet potato, butter, vanilla and remaining sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl after each egg yolk is added. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately in 2-3 additions, making sure to begin and end with the dry ingredients.

With a large spatula, fold in one fourth of the eggs whites into the batter to lighten. Then fold in the remaining egg whites until no streaks remain. Making sure to not over mix or this will deflate the batter. Divide the batter among the three pans equally.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then turn out the cake layers onto a wire rack and cool completely at least 1 hour.

To assemble the cake, place one layer flat side up on to a cake stand. With a pastry bag fitted with ½ inch round tip and filled with chocolate cream cheese icing, pipe a boarder around the edge of the cake. Fill the centre with orange cream filling smoothing it to the edge of the boarder. Place the second layer on top and repeat the process. Place the third layer on top and use all the chocolate cream cheese frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 3 cups

Ingredients
10 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 stick (4 oz) butter at room temperature
16 ounces of powdered (icing) sugar; sifted
1½ ounces of unsweetened chocolate melted and slightly cooled

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Slowly add the powdered (icing) sugar to cream cheese butter mixture. Making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then beat until fluffy 2-3 minutes.

Measure out 1 cup of frosting and set aside.

Add the melted chocolate to the remaining icing in the bowl and beat until well combined.

Orange Cream Filling

Ingredients
1 cup of reserved cream cheese icing from above
2 tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
¼ tsp of orange extract
***I added fresh orange juice and the zest of 1 orange due to unable to buy frozen orange juice concentrate***

Stir together all the ingredients until well mixed.

If you would like to view more Sweet Potato Cakes made by other members of The Cake Slice, then please visit our blogroll site: The Cake Slice Bakers!

Butternut Squash Soup & Spelt Bread

Squashes and pumpkins are plentiful in food stores being autumn time in England. In my local store, I purchased two large organic squashes with an exact recipe in mind to use them. Last year I made Butternut Squash soup from Mary Berry’s recipe, which is an absolute winner in my household and one that I knew I’d be making again this year! This is a simple soup to make by cutting the squashes in half and drizzling over olive oil, salt and pepper placing them in a roasting tray and topping up with water to roast away in the oven until the flesh is soft and easy to scoop out leaving the skin behind. A few carrots, onion, celery, grated ginger and chopped rosemary, sweated off in butter and a good vegetable stock added. All the ingredients whizzed together to make a smooth silky soup. Pure comfort food in a bowl served with crusty warm homemade bread.

I baked for the first time a Spelt loaf to accompany the soup. WOW, this spelt bread has a wonderful nutty wheat taste with a nice texture. To think I was ‘knocking back’ dough with spelt flour that was a common ingredient of ancient civilisations! Spelt grains I believe have even been found Stone Age excavations! I used Doves Farm Organic spelt flour and a recipe from their web site.

If you’d like the recipes for the soup and/or bread the links are below.

Butternut Squash soup

Spelt Bread

Glamorgan Sausages

I love to watch foodie programmes on the TV and I was tuned in one weekend to U.K.T.V. food. Imagine this setting; there was I feet up on the sofa with a lovely cup of tea in hand. On comes Sophie Grigson’s weekend food show and she was demonstrating making veggie sausages called Glamorgan sausages. I was really taken with this idea and I found the recipe on the U.K.T.V. food web site and knew I had to make these for lunch sometime.

Mission accomplished and now I can tell you all about these divine veggie sausages, you wouldn’t expect anything different from me now would you? I used a strong Cheddar cheese knowing I needed a good strong flavour; this is the base to the sausages after all. English mustard powder is a fantastic enhancer it brings out all the best qualities in the cheese so please don’t be afraid to use it for a more mellow mustard. The best way to mix all the ingredients was by hand; I like to feel the texture of the mixture to ensure not too much fluid is added to bind it all together. The messy part comes when you roll each sausage into the eggy glue and then into the breadcrumbs. I learnt the hard way here * giggle * only to use one hand and keep the other one clean just in case the phone rings!

I brought some freshly baked rolls from a little bakers shop to honour these magnificent beasts. Served with lashings of tomato ketchup and French fries I had one happy family on my hands. Even Mr R who isn’t a veggie person was perfectly happy munching away and thoroughly savouring them!

You will find the recipe link here.

Prawn and Sweetcorn Chowder

This recipe has been passed onto me from my dear friend Maureen. I don’t know how she manages to accumulate the most superb recipes; it must be a good eye and perfect taste buds for what’s required in any form of cooking. I have been very fortunate indeed to be given permission to share with you this most wonderful chowder.

The soup is creamy with the bonus of very finely chopped soft vegetables, juicy prawns, small nuggets of bacon and little jewels of yellow corn. A good chicken stock works wonders towards the flavour and I can tell you this soup ROCKS!!

Once you try this recipe be warned, it will become a staple in your home too like mine I am sure.

Thank you to Maureen for allowing me to post your recipe here.

Prawn and Sweetcorn Chowder

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients
25g butter
25g flour
6 rashers bacon – chopped
1 onion chopped finely
1 red or green pepper, chopped finely
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
425ml chicken stock
425ml milk
100g frozen sweetcorn – defrosted
250g pack frozen prawns – defrosted
Salt and pepper
50ml finely chopped parsley

Method
Heat butter in a large saucepan, add bacon and cook gently.
Add onion and red or green pepper and potatoes and fry over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add flour and cook over low heat for 1 minute. Gradually add milk and stock, stirring continuously. Bring to the boil and add sweetcorn, parsley and seasoning.Simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Lastly add prawns and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Note: The only alteration I have made to this recipe which is perfectly optional was to; add 1 carrot very finely peeled and diced, 1 stick of celery removing the stringy bits and finely dicing, adding these with the rest of the vegetables at the same time.