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Dorset apple cake and disruptive females
I had hoped to find the time to sit down at my computer and write this post before now, but, once again, I’ve been absolutely rushed off my paws. I can’t let Java out of my sight for a minute without her getting up to something unthinkable (three pairs of riding boots and a school bag became history in the space of a week) and Bossy is being almost as troublesome. I suspect they might be in competition; could it be a girl thing? I think Bossy must be a bit vain because she thinks that she is capable of operating electronic equipment sans glasses (did you notice my subtle but appropriate use of a French word there? I am a sophisticated bilingual dog). Anyway, she appears convinced that repeatedly jabbing at every single button on the dishwasher/washing machine/television will help them work. Not so – we’ve been visited by three different men in white vans full of tools during the past few days. Luckily the Tall One seems to find it amusing, although I’m not sure why.
I commissioned my new byline picture from my favourite artist as it looks as though Java is going to become a fixture. I’m very pleased with it because it perfectly portrays my gravitas and her inconsequence. I hope you like it too.
Thank you Hugo for your contribution, although I’m not sure it’s altogether flattering. This simple cake is a cross between a cake and a scone. It’s not too sweet and delicious served warm or cold with some Greek yoghurt or ice cream.
Ingredients (serves 8)
250g spelt flour
Pinch of salt
50g salted butter
50g organic coconut oil
2 cooking apples, cored, peeled and diced
50g sultanas
75g cane sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons of milk
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the flour in a bowl with the butter and coconut oil. Rub in the fats until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the apples, sultanas and sugar, then add the egg and milk and mix to a firm dough. Transfer the mixture to greased, medium-sized loaf tin, levelling the surface with your fingertips. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. -
Spicy courgette loaf cake and green mane extensions
Top of the class at the School for Extremely Naughty Horses (or bottom really, depending on which way you look at it), Castaño has a multitude of convictions to his name. He was recently detained overnight at The School for extreme insubordination and unusually boisterous and rebellious behaviour. But don’t let’s go there; let’s visit instead our poor trampled-upon vegetable garden. Did he really think we weren’t going to notice the broken gate, hoof prints, missing vegetables and randomly-deposited manure? Just how stupid does he think we are? To add insult to injury, I found the cheeky monster hanging out in the field afterwards as if butter wouldn’t melt, bearing a striking resemblance to a large, hairy bridesmaid. It’s just as well I had picked the courgettes for this cake beforehand or it would have been a no-show!
Ingredients (serves 8)
2 large eggs
125ml olive oil
85g soft brown sugar
350g courgettes, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
140g sultanas, pre-soaked in rum
300g spelt flour
2 teaspoons garam masala (or other mixed spice if you prefer)
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
85g walnuts, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and prepare a medium-sized loaf tin. Whisk the eggs, olive oil and sugar well in a large mixing bowl and then add the courgettes, vanilla and sultanas. Sift the remaining ingredients together and then incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Pour into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. -
Chocolate beetroot cake and fast food for young birds
We appear to have earned ourselves a bit of a reputation as the go-to hangout for young birds. Word of mouth, or tweet of beak as the case may be, is a very powerful thing. We had another winged visitor this morning, who we discovered perched next to the little turtle dove in the kitchen. They looked as if they were sitting in a restaurant waiting for lunch to be served. Had there been miniature knives and forks to hand, I think they’d have been banging them on the table impatiently. Not wanting to disappoint, I whipped up some quinoa; I’ve been slightly concerned that little TD might not be getting a broad enough range of nutrients on her rather obsessive mono-diet of couscous. Having been quite categorical about not cooking separate dishes for month-old birds, my stance has evidently flown out of the window. I’m absolutely intransigent when it comes to baby animals! I’m now racking my brains as to what I can prepare for them for dinner as, having checked on the Turtle Dove Forum, apparently chocolate cake is a no-no.
Beetroot’s nutritional benefits come from its potent combination of vitamins, minerals, amino acids (notably glutamine), fibre and unique anti-oxidants. Beets are high in vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, fibre and essential minerals such as potassium (essential for healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas). Studies have shown the beneficial effect of beetroot juice on blood pressure and suggest that nitrate-rich foods such as beetroot may help in heart attack survival. The powerful phytonutrients that give beets their deep crimson colour may even protect from cancer.
Ingredients
100g spelt flour
75g rye flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
75g unsweetened cocoa powder
80g cane sugar
100g dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa solids), melted
3 eggs, beaten
250g beetroot, cooked and grated
200ml olive oil
100ml plain yoghurt
Grease a medium-sized cake tin and set aside. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Sift the flours, raising agents and cocoa powder together in a bowl and set aside. Add the sugar, melted chocolate, beaten eggs, grated beetroot, olive oil and yoghurt to a bowl and mix well. Incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients little by little, mixing well. Bake for 40 minutes or until a fork inserted into the middle comes out clean. Delicious served with vanilla ice cream or Greek yoghurt. -
Summer fruitcake and a ladies’ dog
When Bossy wrote about my last visit to the vet, it wasn’t very complimentary, so, in the interests of accuracy, I’m doing this one. I behaved beautifully in the car, even though I have never understood why they insist on putting me in the boot. I didn’t even bark or throw myself against the car windows when I saw other animals. When we arrived, I amused myself by playing on the scales. If you stand on them with two legs instead of four you lose weight and if you get on and off enough times you send the electronics doolally and they stop working altogether *very naughty chortle*. Then a bitch arrived and things went downhill. I think it was love at first sight for her because, after just one look at me, she started straining on her lead so much that her owner became quite red in the face and started saying words that I’d never heard before. Although she wasn’t really my sort, I reciprocated by howling like a wolf – a very very loud wolf – to be polite. She obviously saw this as a come-on because she became quite hysterical – so much so that she scared me a bit and I had to hide behind Bossy and Noisy’s chairs. The vet lady came out of her office and told us both off, although it was quite obviously the bitch’s fault and not mine. She was sent off to wait in her car in the end. I think I might have to stop going to see the vet because it’s very tricky and really rather tiring being so irresistible to lady dogs, especially in public places.
Ingredients (serves 8)
400g soft fruit, stoned and cut into cubes (I used apricots, plums and blackberries)
2 tablespoons of honey
100g ground almonds
80g spelt flour
50g buckwheat flour
6 cardamon pods, crushed keeping the seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
80g soft brown sugar
3 eggs
100ml olive oil
150ml plain yoghurt
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add the fruit and honey to a saucepan and gently heat until softened. Mix the ground almonds, flours, spices, bicarbonate of soda and spices in a bowl and set aside. Whisk the sugar and eggs together until well combined and then add the olive oil and yoghurt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and then stir in the fruit. Pour the mixture into a buttered medium-sized cake tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a fork comes out clean. -
Apple, cinnamon and honey clafouti and mud therapy for dogs
Our bipolar weather this summer – grey chilliness one day, stifling heat and tropical rainfall the next – has cajoled Hugo’s inner breakdancer into putting in an appearance. He has taken to throwing himself into tepid puddles (the deeper and muddier the better) with an incongruous and not altogether elegant stomach-first, legs-last sort of manoeuvre, presumably looking for relief from the heat and mosquitos. At least I hope that’s what he’s looking for, because if not he’s even odder than I thought. He then stands up and starts all over again, a beatific smile plastered firmly on his face. The sequence is repeated until the puddle is entirely rid of its water. Mud creates a very effective barrier against both flies and the heat, so Hugo’s logic is irreproachable, but then we knew that already. The downside is, however, that I have a very dirty house…
Originally from the Limousin region, clafouti, or clafoutis in French, is now a popular dessert throughout France. The name comes from the word ‘clafotis’, which means to ‘fill up’ in Occitan. Traditionally it is made with cherries, but it works well with any fruit or berry.
There are many benefits to adding cinnamon to a dish: it controls blood-sugar levels, helping those with insulin resistance and and pre-diabetic conditions and also aiding weight loss. Added to this, it has significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, making it an excellent choice for sufferers of arthritis and IBS.
Ingredients (serves 6) :
6 apples, peeled and chopped into small cubes
40g salted butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons honey
100g spelt flour
4 eggs, beaten
50g cane sugar
300ml full fat milk
100ml cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter in a deep frying pan and fry the apples for about five minutes on a low heat. Add the cinnamon and the honey and heat for another couple of minutes, stirring gently. Butter a gratin dish and add the apple mixture. Put the flour, eggs and sugar in a bowl and mix, adding the milk and cream to the mixture a little at a time, beating well. Pour the mixture over the apples in the dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. -
Coffee walnut muffins and unusual best friends
My best friend is a hen. Our friendship is based on mutual compassion – we are both victims of misunderstanding. The other day I was given some chicken bones to eat and, because I’m a generous sort of dog, I invited BHF to share them. I made it plain to the other hens that she was the only one invited; they tend towards vulgar, thuggish behaviour and gate-crashing. Luckily, I can be very intimidating *grrrr* , so they quickly got the message. I’m not sure that BHF knew she was cannibalising, but I didn’t explain because I know she has enough problems and a rather sensitive nature. Sometimes, when Bossy isn’t looking, I invite her into the house to eat from my food bowl. I’m working on a plan to sneak her in to watch television with me. My favourite programme is Scooby Doo and I think she’d like it too (did you like the internal rhyme? I’m learning about poetry at the moment). I think you’d agree that it would be worth it just to see Bossy in full meltdown mode *wicked doggy cackle*.
Walnuts are a rich source of omega 3 fatty acid (just 25g a day covers most of your needs). They are also very rich in vitamin E and other antioxidants, as well as providing a healthy supply of B-complex vitamins. Added to this, they contain numerous minerals: manganese, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.Ingredients (makes 12)
175g spelt flour
100g rye flour
Pinch of sea salt
I heaped tablespoon instant coffee
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ginger, powder or freshly grated
3 eggs
250ml coconut milk
4 tablespoons honey
60g chopped walnuts
150g organic virgin coconut oil, melted
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare and grease two muffin tins with butter or coconut oil. Sift the flours, salt, coffee powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then add the coconut milk, honey, walnuts and melted coconut oil, stirring constantly. Combine the two mixtures well. Fill the muffin tins and bake for about 18 minutes.
Delicious served hot or cold as a dessert with Greek yoghurt or ice-cream, or alone with a cup of coffee.
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Apple chickpea cake (gf) and competitive shoppers
Yesterday was one of the warmest days of the year so far and, in the afternoon, I went on an ice-cream dash to our local supermarket. I’ve never thought of myself as being the least bit competitive, but I’m now wondering if I shouldn’t reconsider following a rather random conversation with another shopper at the checkout:
Random Monsieur: ‘I’ve got two tubs of ice-cream’
Me: ‘I’ve got three’
RM: ‘I’m on a motorbike’
Me: ‘I’m in a car’
RM: ‘I haven’t got a freezer bag’
Just when I was about to boast that I, Miss Organised, did have one, I realised that he was actually angling to jump the queue in front of me. I was rather disappointed because I was beginning to quite enjoy the harmless one-upmanship; It certainly beat thinking horribly uncharitable thoughts about the basket contents of my fellow shoppers, which seems to be my mind’s default activity while waiting in line.
I’m quite addicted to this cake. It couldn’t be simpler and it’s spicy and satisfying, as well as being incredibly healthy. Chickpeas are a rich, tasty and versatile source of amino acids, fibre, manganese, iron, zinc and folates.
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
300g chickpeas (garbanzo beans), pre-cooked and rinsed (you can use tinned)
3 eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons honey (preferably raw)
2 apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons garam masala spice (or other mixed spice to taste)
100g raisins (pre-cooked in a tablespoon of rum for about 10 minutes)
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Grease and prepare a medium-sized cake tin, round or square. Pulse the chickpeas in a food processor until they reach a paste-like consistency and then mix in the other ingredients, except the raisins, one at a time, continuing to pulse. Add the raisins last and mix by hand. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for between 50 minutes and an hour (a fork inserted into the centre should come out clean). Best served cold.
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Flourless chocolate cake (gf) and slovenly asset management
Based on my current posts, anyone would think that we currently existed solely on a diet of chocolate cake. Last week I scored a significant hit of carrots and beets from our neighbour, Yvette. Unfortunately the carrots disappeared within the hour; our asset management leaves a lot to be desired at the moment. Yesterday my husband drove off with his wallet and ID card on the roof of the car (both were later found in the track a kilometre from the house) and I had my Visa card confiscated by a very uppity machine (don’t let’s go there). Back to the disappearing carrots: Texas, the equine retiree with a highly inflated sense of entitlement, broke into the storage grange and scoffed the whole ‘hit’! To my further shame, he also chewed Yvette’s straw basket to bits. Anyway, he was about to move on to the beetroot when I discovered him. Luckily the beets were recovered, almost slobber-free, and I was able to whip up this cake.
Beetroot has plenty of health benefits: It lowers blood pressure, boosts stamina, fights inflammation, supports detoxification and helps prevent cancer. It is also fibre-rich and a very rich source of vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and manganese.
This is another adaptation from Amber Rose’s wonderful book ‘Love, Bake, Nourish’.
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
300g cooked beetroot, peeled and puréed.
4 large free-range eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon organic cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
125g ground almonds
125g min. 70% cocoa solids chocolate
1 teaspoon of rum (optional)
4 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and prepare a 22cm cake tin. Mix the beetroot, eggs, honey, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, beating well. Once the ingredients are well combined, fold in the ground almonds. Melt the chocolate in the rum over a low heat and add the oil. Stir the chocolate and oil into the existing mixture, combining well. Transfer to the cake tin and bake for 35 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool before serving, lightly dusted with cocoa powder. -
Chocolate and vanilla marble cake and the perils of laying at altitude
Our hens lay their eggs in hay-filled wooden boxes on shelves in my husband’suntidy toolshedworkshop. Naturally, they don’t lay in any old boxes; these are exceedingly posh vintage wine boxes. Three of our more intrepid hens are into extreme sports and like to lay altitude eggs on the higher shelves, while the more cowardly lay at ground level. Yesterday afternoon we heard an unusual and hysterically distressed screeching noise coming from the workshop, very different from the customary ‘get out of my face bitch or I’ll do you over’ squawking. Upon investigation, it appeared that two of the intrepids had been trying to lay in the same high altitude box at the same time and had ended up in a heap on the ground, imprisioned in the box that had landed on top of them. Luckily both they and their eggs were intact or I suspect we’d have been eating coq au vin omelette for dinner. 😉
Ingredients
250g spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
125g butter
125g extra virgin organic coconut oil
100g honey
100g cane sugar
5 medium eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together. Divide the mixture in two and add the cocoa powder to one half, combining well. Set aside. Cut the butter and coconut oil into cubes and leave to soften at room temperature. Beat the butter and coconut oil with an electric mixer for about ten minutes until fluffy and then gradually add the sugar and honey, continuing to beat. Add the eggs, one at a time and whisk for another few minutes. Add and combine the vanilla extract. Half the mixture and gently fold in the plain flour mixture to one half and the cocoa powder and flour mixture to the other. Transfer the mixtures to a buttered loaf tin, alternating one spoon of plain mixture, one spoon of cocoa mixture. Bake for 80 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
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Double chocolate and spicy pear muffins and equine sleepovers
Two of our horses went for a sleepover last night. Castaño, our youngest horse, goes for private tuition every Monday at a nearby School for Extraordinarily Naughty Horses. The school is very recent; I’m convinced its creation was motivated by the mass of potential clients amongst our wayward equines. We received a phone call from Castaño’s teacher at 11pm, asking whether we had lost anything. After establishing that, unfortunately for me, she hadn’t found my sunglasses, she said that she did have our two bay horses. It was decided they stay overnight, which thankfully avoided us a precarious and muddy moonlit traipse. When I went to fetch them this morning, it occurred to me that maybe Castaño had been trying to win brownie points by turning up early for his weekly lesson and had taken Texas, the wise 30-year-old, to show him the place where he was learning to become A Better Horse. I think we can safely say this particular project is still very much ‘work in progress’…
These muffins are a really rich double chocolate treat. Just in case you’re looking for an excuse to make them, both cardamon and dark chocolate increase serotonin levels in the brain. Amongst other things, serotonin helps ward off depression. And who doesn’t need a serotonin boost towards the end of the winter?
Ingredients (makes 12)
275g spelt flour
50g pure cacao powder (no added sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon cardamon
½ teaspoon ginger, freshly grated
3 eggs
250ml coconut milk
4 tablespoons honey
1 pear, peeled and chopped into small cubes
150g organic virgin coconut oil, melted
100g 70% dark chocolate, melted
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Prepare and grease two muffin tins with butter or coconut oil. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cardamon and ginger into a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then add the coconut milk, honey, pear, melted coconut oil and chocolate, stirring constantly. Combine the two mixtures well. Fill the muffin tins and bake for about 18 minutes.
Absolutely delicious served hot or cold!
