SMOKED SALMON WITH SCRAMBLED EGGS AND BRIOCHE TOAST

The Passionate Cook is hosting this months Waiter! there's something in my....... challenge and Johanna's theme for April is "breakfast favourites".

As a rule breakfast in my house isn't a big deal, but just something to sustain you until lunch-time comes around. That is, unless my three year old grandson comes to stay, then breakfast takes on a whole new meaning and lasts about an hour!

I decided to make an indulgent breakfast of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and toasted brioche. For this breakfast, the salmon more often than not, is added to the scrambled eggs and then spooned onto the brioche, but I prefer these ingredients to be served separately. The eggs should be made with a small amount of double cream added to them, for extra indulgence.

This is my perfect breakfast, not too filling but extremely satisfying.

TRAY-BAKED MERINGUE WITH PEARS, CREAM, TOASTED FLAKED ALMONDS AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE

The pear and chocolate combo always seems to be popular with the foodblogging community. Take a peek at other sites, magazines and cookery books and you will always find inspiration for these two ingredients.

I saw Jamie Oliver making this dessert on television a few weeks ago, and this recipe is perfect for using up some of those egg whites that have been stored away in the freezer.

I adapted the recipe in various ways, firstly by using toasted flaked almonds instead of the hazelnuts. Also, I whipped 200ml of double cream and then stirred into this 200ml of Greek yogurt, and I only used a teaspoon or so of icing sugar to sweeten the cream, instead of the 50g suggested, because I'm not very keen on sweetened cream..

The meringue was crisp on the outside and soft and sticky inside. The topping was fragrant from the vanilla cream and the grated orange zest and the chocolate sauce was smooth and rich, with a hint of ginger.

Here is Jamie's original recipe.

TRAY-BAKED MERINGUE WITH PEARS, CREAM, TOASTED HAZELNUTS AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE

JAMIE AT HOME

ISBN 9780718152437 - Page 39

Serves: 6 to 8 people

You will need:

4 large egg whites, 200g unrefined golden caster sugar, a pinch of sea salt, 100g hazelnuts with skins removed, 2 x 400g tins of halved pears in syrup, 2 pieces of stem ginger thinly sliced (optional), 200g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), 400ml double cream, 50g sifted icing sugar, 1 vanilla pod halved and seeds scraped out, zest of 1 orange.

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2 and line a 40 x 25cm baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper.
2. Put your egg whites into a clean bowl, whisk on medium until the whites form firm peaks. With your mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and the pinch of salt. Turn the mixer up to the highest setting and whisk for about 7 or 8 minutes, until the meringue mixture is white and glossy.
3. Dot each corner of the greaseproof paper with a blob of meringue, then turn it over and stick it to the baking tray. Spoon the meringue out on to the paper. Using the back of a spoon, shape and swirl it into an A4 size rectangle. Place in the preheated oven and bake for an hour or until crisp on the outside and a little soft and sticky inside. At the same time, bake the hazelnuts on a separate tray in the oven for an hour or until golden brown.
4. Drain the tins of pears, reserving the syrup from one tin. Cut each pear half into three slices. Pour the pear syrup into a saucepan with the ginger and warm gently over a medium heat until it starts to simmer. Take off the heat and snap the chocolate into the saucepan, stirring with a spoon until it's all melted.
5. Take the meringue and hazelnuts out of the oven and leave to cool. Place the meringue on a board or platter.
6. Whip the cream with the sifted icing sugar and the vanilla seeds until it forms smooth, soft peaks. Smash the toasted hazelnuts (in a tea towel) and sprinkle half of them over the top of the meringue. Spoon half the whipped cream over the top and drizzle with some of the chocolate sauce (if the sauce has firmed up, melt it slightly by holding the saucepan over a large pan of boiling water).
7. Divide most of the the pear pieces evenly over the top. Pile over the rest of the whipped cream and pears. Drizzle with some more chocolate sauce, then sprinkle over the remaining toasted hazelnuts with some grated orange zest.
8. Serve straight away. If you're making this in advance, get everything ready and assemble at the last minute.

NIGEL SLATER'S MUSCOVADO MARMALADE CAKE

Is there still orange marmalade left in the jar after making Jamie Oliver's Hot Cross Pudding? Perhaps now would be a good time to use some of it up, that is, unless you have already had the rest of it on toast.

This cake comes about from Nigel Slater's love of marmalade and to quote him 'I use more of this amber jelly in my kitchen than ever touches a piece of toast'.

This is a very homely and comforting cake, with a wonderful light texture. If you leave it for a couple of days before icing then the cake becomes really sticky.

Nigel says after cooking, the cake will sink slightly, mine didn't though, perhaps he used too much marmalade!!

I made a couple of these and cooked them in small loaf tins, then I iced one of the cakes and popped the other in the freezer.

In the past I have made marmalade cake but have never been very impressed with the results and if you too have found this to be the case, here is the recipe that we have been waiting for.

SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2008

Serves: 8 people

You will need: a loaf tin 10 x 25.5cm, 7.5cm deep or 2 smaller loaf tins, lined with baking parchment.

175g soft butter, 75g light muscovado sugar, 100g golden caster sugar, 3 large eggs, finely grated zest of 1 large orange, 100g orange marmalade, 175g self-raising flour.

For the frosting:

100g unrefined icing sugar, 1 teaspoon orange flower water, 1 tablespoon orange juice.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/170°C fan/Gas 4.
2. Put the butter and sugars into the bowl of a food mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. The mixture should be the colour of milky coffee.
3. Beat the eggs lightly with a whisk and add to the butter and sugar mixture, just a little at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl regularly with a rubber spatula. If the mixture shows any sign of curdling add a tablespoon of the flour to bring it back together.
4. With the machine turning at moderate speed, add the grated orange zest and the marmalade. Stop as soon as they are incorporated. Remove the bowl from the machine, then fold in the flour with a large metal spoon. Do this firmly but carefully, until there is no sign of any flour.
5. Spoon the mixture into the lined cake tin or tins, lightly smoothing the top. Bake for 40 minutes if making one large cake, or 35 minutes if making two smaller ones. Check the cake is cooked with a metal skewer. (It should come out clean if the cake is ready). Leave to cool in the tin or tins - it will naturally sink slightly - then remove and cool on a wire rack.

To make the frosting:

1. Sieve the icing sugar and mix it to a smooth, slightly runny consistency with the orange flower water and as much of the orange juice as it takes, probably the whole tablespoon. Drizzle the frosting over the cake, letting it run down the sides, and leave to set.

I used the full quantity of frosting to ice one small loaf.

Recipe: Lamb Tagine by Mary Berry

Just by looking at the list of ingredients in this recipe you can tell all those spices are going to make this fabulous.

This recipe is by Mary Berry and one I make time and again.  It's one pot cooking and can be cooked in the slow cooker too.  The flavours pack a punch and my kitchen always smells wonderful when this is cooking. I have slightly adapted the recipe and added some chicken stock to loosen the sauce. I made this for the two of us and halved the list of ingredients, although for the lamb I used 300g. The tagine is best made the day before and left in the fridge overnight for the flavours to develop.

Lamb neck fillet from Waitrose was used in my recipe. For some unknown reason the butchers around here don't seem to sell it.

One of my hubs favourite meals and I craftily always make this if I've been out and bought things I didn't realise I needed:)

I served mine with rice purely because we aren't fans of couscous.

You will need:

1 tbs sunflower oil, 900g neck fillet of lamb, boneless shoulder or leg, 2 large onions, 3 cloves garlic crushed, 175g quartered dried apricots, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground paprika, ⅛ tsp hot chilli powder, 1 generous pinch of saffron soaked in 3 tbs hot water, 2 tbs honey, 800g tinned chopped tomatoes, ½ pint of chicken stock, chopped parsley and coriander to garnish.

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown lamb in batches. When browned, remove and put on one side.
3. Add the chopped onions and garlic to a pan on a low heat, stir and then cover for around 10-15 minutes until soft.
4. Increase the heat and add the spices including saffron and soaking liquid.
5. Add the apricots, honey, tomatoes and lamb. Add some of the stock to loosen the mixture - you may need to top up the casserole during cooking to make a sauce.
6. Bring to the boil, season and cover with a lid. Pop in the oven for at least two hours.
7. Garnish with lots of parsley and coriander and serve either with couscous or rice.

EASTER CAKE

I know that Easter is now in the distant past but I haven't been at home much recently, and therefore, this posting is a 'little late'.
Julia, over at the delicious A Slice of Cherry Pie is hosting her Easter Cake Bake, Round 2! challenge.
I entered the Easter Cake Bake last year, and there were lots of really good entries. I'm really looking forward to this year's roundup.
My choice of cake was based purely on design, also the cake had a favourite of mine on the ingredients list, Amaretto liqueur.
The cake benefits from being left for a couple of days to 'mature' before it's decorated with marzipan.
A taster of recipes from this book are Burnt-Sugar Cake, Choco-malt Cake (I think we all know this one - it's decorated with Maltezers), Red Velvet Cake, Caramel Pecan Loaf and Gooey Chocolate Cake. This is a book to suit every occasion and now I've made a wonderful cake from it, I'm sure I will turn to it again.
The author Valerie Barrett is a food writer and stylist. She has worked for Good Housekeeping Magazine, BBC Good Food and Delicious, as well as writing her own books.

CAKES GALORE - by Valerie Barrett

ISBN 9781846011108 - Page 96

Makes: 12-14 slices

You will need: a deep 18cm round cake tin, greased and lined.

500g luxury mixed dried fruit, 2 tablespoons Amaretto, 175g softened unsalted butter, 175g soft light brown sugar, 3 beaten eggs, finely grated zest of ½ lemon, 200g self-raising flour, 2 teaspoons ground mixed spice, 50g ground almonds, 500g ready-made natural almond paste or marzipan, 225g ready-made yellow almond paste or marzipan, 1-2 tablespoons warmed apricot jam,, coloured ribbon and small chocolate or sugar-coated eggs to decorate.

1. Put the mixed fruit in a bowl and sprinkle over the Amaretto. Leave to soak for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Beat in the eggs and lemon zest. Fold in the flour, mixed spice and ground almonds, then add the dried fruit mixture and mix well. Set aside.
3. Roll out half of the natural almond paste or marzipan on a sheet of non-stick baking paper to form an 18cm circle. Spoon half of the cake mixture into the base of the prepared tin, spreading it evenly. Place the almond paste circle on top. Spoon over the remaining cake mixture, then level the surface. Bake in the oven for 2-2½ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
4. Roll out the remaining natural almond paste and all but 50g of the yellow paste to form two 18cm circles and place the yellow one on top of the natural one. Shape 8 balls from the remaining yellow paste.
5. Lightly brush the top of the cake with warm jam, leaving a small circle in the centre uncoated. Place the almond circle, yellow-side up, on top of the cake and trim the edges. Using a glass, lightly mark a circle in the centre of the cake. Using a sharp knife, cut through both almond-paste layers up to the edges of the circle to make 8 segments. Lift up the pointed end of each segment and peel it back to reveal the natural almond paste underside. Press it gently into the edge of the cake. Place a yellow almond paste ball on top.
6. Tie a ribbon around the cake and fill the centre with sugar-coated chocolate eggs.

N.B. After the cake came out of the oven I brushed the top with more Amaretto to soften the top. I then wrapped the tin which is still housing the cake in a large sheet of foil and enclosed this at the top to form a parcel. The steam then softens the top of the cake. The next day when the cake is cold turn out of the tin leave for a couple of days in an airtight tin, then decorate.
For the decoration: I dealt with the cutting of the marzipan on a board and then placed it carefully on top of the cake, this was to prevent any crumbs on top of the cake getting onto the marzipan.

ICED CRYSTALLIZED GINGER SQUARES

These little beauties remind me of McVities ginger cake, except the gooey stuff is at the bottom of the cake and not on top! McVities ginger cake is one of the few cakes that I will happily buy, it never lets you down.

The ginger squares are packed full of flavour and are totally addictive. You don't have to leave this cake to mature, thank goodness, and it has a wonderful soft texture. I love crystallized ginger and this is used in the cake batter as well on top of the icing for decoration.

The lemon icing tastes delicious and partners the ground ginger and cinnamon in the sponge cake.

If you own a coffee shop then I would definitely try this one out, its really easy to make and sure to be a winner.

This book is brimming with beautiful traybakes such as Plum Frangipane Slices, Chocolate, Pear and Macadamia Nut Brownies and Chewy Whisky, Date and Pistachio Bars. If you love baking, this would be a wonderful addition to the bookshelf.

The author is Liz Franklin who writes for magazines such as BBC Good Food Magazine, Olive and Food & Travel.

BROWNIES AND BARS by Liz Franklin

ISBN 1840914157 - Page 77

Makes 15 - this recipe can easily be halved.

You will need: a buttered and parchment paper lined deep roasting tin or a cake tin measuring 20 x 30cm/8 x 12 inches.

If you halve the recipe ingredients you will need a 18 x 18cm/7 x 7 inch cake tin.
320g plain flour, 2 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 180g butter, 100ml milk, 250ml soured cream, 2 eggs, 400g muscovado sugar, 6 pieces crystallized ginger (roughly chopped), 100g sultanas.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large bowl.
3. Place the butter and milk in a saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted. Pour into the flour mixture and stir well until thoroughly combined. Add the soured cream and eggs, and then stir in the sugar, ginger and sultanas. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes or so, until firm but springy.
4. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out. Cut into squares.

For the Icing:

300g icing sugar, zest and juice 1-2 lemons, 15 pieces crystallized ginger (to decorate).

To make the icing: mix the icing sugar, lemon zest and enough lemon juice to give a thick pouring consistency and carefully ice the cakes. Decorate each one with a piece of crystallized ginger. Store in an airtight container.