Chocolate Finger Birthday Cake

We had to transport the cake to Kent from the West Midlands and the safest way was to Blu Tack the cake board to the base of the cake box. It arrived safely but when we came to lift the cake out of the box it was stuck down so well we couldn't budge 'board from box'.  Eventually we managed to lift the cake out but the chocolate fingers started falling off the cake with shock.  Not to be beaten we melted the chocolate fingers with a match and stuck them back onto the buttercream.  What a faff!

The chocolate cake with Nutella buttercream pleased my grandchild and he said it exceeded all expectations and didn't care that the chocolate fingers were falling off because we were going to eat them anyway....

200g butter softened
200g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
150g self-raising flour
50g cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

For the Nutella Buttercream
225g sifted icing sugar
100g softened unsalted butter
2 heaped tablespoons Nutella
2 tsp milk

To decorate:
2/3 Packs of Chocolate Fingers
Box Maltezers
Bag of Mini Chocolate Orange Slices

Conventional Method - Thermomix instructions in italics

Preheat oven 180C. Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins with greaseproof paper.

Add all of the ingredients into the bowl of a mixer and combine for a couple of minutes until smooth.
Add all of the ingredients into the jug of the TM and mix 1 minute/3.5 speed.

Pour the cake batter into the cake tins making sure you they’re as even as possible. Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until cooked. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Leave in the tins for 10 minutes, turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.

For the butter cream
Place the softened butter in the bowl of a food mixer, gradually add the icing sugar. Mix for 5 minutes. Add the Nutella and milk, mix again to incorporate.
Add the icing sugar and softened butter to the TM and mix 15 Secs/Reverse/Speed 2. Add the milk and mix for 4 Minutes/Reverse/Speed 2. Now add the Nutella and mix for a further 15 Secs/Reverse/Speed 2.

Put the base cake onto a serving plate. Spread Nutella buttercream over one of the cakes then sandwich the two cakes together. Spread the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Press the chocolate fingers around the sides. Decorate with maltezers, smarties and mini chocolate orange slices.

Thermomix Steamed Asparagus and Hollandaise Sauce

I couldn't believe how easy it is to achieve a perfectly smooth (not curdled) hollandaise. I'm sounding annoyingly smug now but one of the reasons I invested was to make sauces that I found to be too much of a faff.  There's still the jug to wash after it's done it's magic but the dishwasher can take care of that.

The salmon and asparagus were cooked in the Varoma (a fancy name for the steamer) and the new potatoes in the steamer basket which sits inside the jug.  After these were cooked I then got to work making the sauce using the whisk attachment but don't forget to wash the jug and cool down with cold water otherwise the hollandaise will turn to scrambled eggs when you put the egg yolks into the jug.

My sauce isn't the recommended Thermomix recipe, but I did use the method given in The Basic Cook Book which is supplied with the Thermie. I spent a few minutes Googling and came up with a recipe using less butter, the result was a thinner sauce but I found it perfect for this meal. Brilliantly this sauce cooks in 4 minutes!

Sauce being whisked

Potatoes in the steamer basket take about 30/40 minutes to cook

Salmon takes approximately 20 minutes 

Depending how thick the asparagus stalks are this should take between 10 and 20 minutes to cook in the Varoma.

Asparagus being steamed

For a Thin Hollandaise Sauce
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
50g butter melted

1. Add the egg yolks, cold water, lemon juice and seasoning to the jug.  Place the whisk on the blade. Whisk on speed 3 until doubled in size.
2. Making sure the Measuring Cup is placed on the lid. 4 mins/70C/Speed 3, steadily pour the melted butter onto the lid and it will slowly go trickle down into the jug and the sauce will thicken. Check to see if any more lemon juice and seasoning is required. Pour into a jug and serve.

I'm still getting to know my Thermie but to date I'm really pleased with the results. I know part of the sales talk is that it will replace all my kitchen gadgets but I've bought a shed load of gadgets over the years and reviewed lots too and I wouldn't part with any of them even though I may use them less often.

It's a shame you can't buy the Thermomix from stores but that's how they sell. My local demonstrator Marta is a Team Leader and really knows her product.  Recently I was invited to a fun morning watching Marta and a team of demonstrators putting the machine through it's paces.  It was a class aimed at people who had recently bought a machine or were keen to see a demonstration - it's a great way to meet new people too!

Thermomix #boughtbymeforme

Spicy Mince Beef Bake

I've been on holiday, the sun shone and our view from the apartment was a dream whether we sat on the small balcony or looked out through the patio door that spanned the whole width of our living area.  We went to the Mumbles in Swansea and it's a great place to visit for food and views.

No, I didn't make this lasagne whilst I was away, although the kitchen was amazing with everything you could wish for. We ate out for all our meals and why not when you are spoilt for choice in this fabulous location.

This is a great way to make lasagne with a twist by using the last of the tortillas instead of pasta sheets.

The meat base has a spicy kick, tortillas are far lighter to eat than pasta, the indulgent topping is made up of three different cheeses and the finished dish can be frozen.

The recipe is made in the conventional way - I've tried cooking mince beef in the Thermomix and it's okay if you like baby food!

If you are making this with small children in mind it's easy to leave out the chilli and simply puree the onions and red pepper to hide them.

Adapted from Mary Berry's Foolproof Cooking

You will need: 1.5 litre shallow ovenproof dish.

For the mince layer
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
500g/1lb 2oz beef mince
1 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp mango chutney
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To assemble
3 large tortilla wraps
250g full-fat mascarpone
100g mozzarella, grated
100g cheddar, grated

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
2. Pour the oil into a large ovenproof pan over a medium heat, add the chopped onions and fry for 3 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the mince beef and fry until brown, breaking up the meat.
3. Add the chilli, red pepper, garlic and spices and fry for 5 minutes, or until all the moisture has evaporated and the mixture is quite dry. Stir in the tomato purée, mango chutney, tinned tomatoes and salt and black pepper. Cover, bring to the boil and place in the oven for an hour.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and stir in half the chopped coriander. Raise the oven temperature to 200C.
5. Spread a third of the cooked mince beef mixture over the bottom of the ovenproof dish and lay one tortilla wrap on top. Spread a third of the mascarpone over the tortilla and sprinkle with a third of each of the mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses. Repeat twice more so you have 3 layers.
6. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Set aside for 5 minutes before serving and garnish with the remaining coriander.
7. Serve with a salad.

Thermomix Banana Cake

Those black bananas lurking in the fruit bowl are perfect for this recipe.......if you love banana cake, you'll love this recipe even more, because some banana cake recipes can be on the heavy side.

Experimenting with recipes and seeing how the Thermomix performs with various cooking and baking tasks is really interesting, I appreciate it may be the opposite for some and all a bit of a yawn but we all have our own little quirks in life!  As I've previously documented I'm in no way connected with Vorwerk and if the machine can't perform certain tasks then I'll let you know!

I haven't used the whisk attachment very much and was curious to see how we got on - I've received a few emails from readers asking how the whisk performs, no worries here the whisk performs really well, providing you remove the measuring cup from the top of the jug to allow air inside. To date I haven't experimented whipping up egg whites but I'll let you all know if it's a success or fail.

I'm still getting used to speeds and times and the rule of less is more has to be remembered otherwise everything will be pureed or mashed up to within an inch of it's life.  I still have a love/hate relationship with washing up the jug, yes it will go in the dishwasher but it's easier to wash by hand.

Thermomix instructions are in italics

You will need: oblong baking tin approximately 30cm x 20cm greased and lined

2 eggs
200g soft brown sugar
300g banana, mashed
2 tsp bicarbonate soda
¼ tsp salt
130ml vegetable oil
240g plain flour
45g banana chopped

Icing
30g unsalted butter
225g icing sugar
100g cream cheese at room temperature
½ lemon, freshly squeezed

Method
1.  Preheat the oven to 170ºC/fan 150ºC.
2.  Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy using an electric whisk to make life easier.
Place the whisk onto the blade, remove the MC/Speed 3/10 minutes.
3.  Add the mashed banana, bicarbonate of soda, salt and oil  mix using a low speed until well combined. Sift the flour into the mixture, increase the speed gradually and keep mixing until no trace of flour remains. Fold in the chopped banana and pour the cake batter into the tin.
Add the mashed banana, bicarbonate of soda, salt and oil, Whisk 10 seconds/Speed 1. Add the flour and whisk 10 Seconds/Speed 3. Add the chopped banana 10 Seconds/Speed 3.
4. Bake for approximately 30-45 minutes depending on your oven, or until a skewer poked into the centre comes out nice and clean. Cool for 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack.
5. For the icing: beat the butter and gradually add the icing sugar, cream together until pale - this may be easier using a wooden spoon. Now taking an electric hand whisk, add the cream cheese and lemon juice, keep on whisking until light and fluffy.
Add the butter, icing sugar, cream cheese and lemon juice to the jug TM 20 Secs/Speed 5, scrape down and mix for another 20 Secs/Speed 5.
6. When the cake has cooled spread over a generous layer of cream cheese icing.  Leave to set then cut into bars. Can be frozen in bars and defrosts really well too.

Can easily be made by hand and all you need is a bowl, wooden spoon and a sturdy whisk!

Pecan Sponge Squares

My husband isn't overly keen on cakes smothered in buttercream and he was delighted when I made this light textured cake which is rippled and topped with ground pecans.

This was another bake I made using my Thermomix, the cake batter took 20 seconds to mix!  I can now confidently say the finished sponge is comparable to using a food mixer or food processor.  If you like making sponge cakes in the traditional way then a food mixer will be fine.

A food processor or Thermie are ideal for this recipe, the pecans are ground and then put to one side whilst the cake is mixed.  I buy my pecans from the local Lidl store they are far too expensive in the supermarkets.

Adapted from Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites.

Conventional Method and Thermomix Instructions in Italics

100g butter, softened
2 large eggs
100g self-raising flour
100g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

For The Ripple
50g pecan nuts
10g light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

You will need: 20cm x 20cm tin greased and lined with baking paper.

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Place 25g of the pecan nuts in a food processor and whiz until finely ground. Mix in a bowl with the light brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
Add the pecans to the jug TM 8 Sec/Speed 7.
3. Chop the remaining pecans by hand and set them aside for the topping.
Chop pecans TM 4 Sec/Speed 6.
4. Add the ingredients for the cake batter into a bowl, beat until combined.
Measure the ingredients into the jug TM 20Sec/Speed 5.
5. Spread just under half of the sponge mixture over the base of the prepared tin. Spoon over two-thirds of the pecan ripple mix in an even layer. Spoon over the rest of the cake batter and level with a palette knife. Swirl the handle of a teaspoon through the cake batter. Sprinkle over the rest of the pecan ripple and scatter over the reserved chopped pecans.
6. Bake for 30 minutes until just firm to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, turn out on to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares.
7. Will freeze.

You may also like:
Cappuccino Cake
Coffee, Walnut & Raisin Cake
Strawberry Cake

Plum and Pear Slice

We've been busy since the beginning of the New Year decorating our lounge and dining room. We set a deadline for the beginning of April to have all the painting finished and new carpet fitted. Mission accomplished and now we can look forward to getting out and about, enjoy the lighter and hopefully brighter days and organise some weekend breaks and holidays.

I've managed to feed us but the blog has had to take a rest for a while, however, I made this lovely red plum and pear slice for dessert which is ridiculously easy to make if you use a food processor or Thermie.

140g self-raising flour
140g softened butter
140g caster sugar
2 large eggs beaten
4 plums
1 pear
1 tablespoon of clear honey

You will need: a square tin 20cm x 20cm greased and lined with baking paper.

Conventional Method - Thermie Method is in italics

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl and cream until light and fluffy, now beat in the honey. Gradually add the beaten eggs and if the mixture looks as if it is about to curdle add a tablespoon of the flour.  Or if using a food processor simply add everything to the bowl and whiz until combined ensuring you don't over process or the cake will be tough.
Add the flour, softened butter, caster sugar, honey and eggs to the jug TM 1 Min/Speed 3.5.
2. Stone the plums and chop into large pieces. Slice and chop the pear. Fold the fruit into the mixture.
Add the stoned and chopped plums and chopped pear to the bowl TM10 Secs/Stir until combined.
3. Pour the cake batter into the lined cake tin, bake for 45–50 minutes covering if the sponge is getting too dark.

You may also like:
Plum, Rhubarb and Apple Crumble
Tray Baked Pear Meringue
Roast Pears with Star Anise, Blackberries & Lemon