Sweetcorn Frittering for the stalker

My personal stalker asks why I post recipes I didn't really like. So I decided to tell the world that the coconut and lemon cake wasn't half bad in the end. I guess the bit about eating it next day was in the recipe for a reason...

Anyway, today we are on to a sure winner: sweetcorn fritters. They don't look like much really, which might be to do with the fact that I am a lousy photographer when hungry. The recipe is supposedly a breakfast thing, which I find slightly optimistic. I had them for lunch with bacon and a yoghurt and sambal olek dip (just stir the two together) and they were excellent.

They also live up to their name by providing an excellent opportunity to fritter away some precious time blogging about them. Who could ask for more!?!?

Sweetcorn Fritters

Yield: 2

200 g fresh or thawed frozen sweetcorn kernels or 225g can

50 g plain flour

3 tb milk

1 egg, separated

salt and freshly ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

1-2 tablespoons of oil

Put the sweetcorn in a bowl and mix in the flour, milk and egg yolk. Add a pinch of salt, a grinding of pepper and the cayenne. Whisk the egg white until stiff and fold gently into the mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan. Drop rounded tablespoons of the corn mixture into the pan, fry for a minute or two until browned on one side, then flip over and fry the other side. Continue until all the mixture has been used, adding a litttle more oil to the pan, if needed. Serve at once.

Source: Rose Elliot, take five (published by Cassell & Co.)

Moist Lemon and Coconut Cake

A while back, I decided it was time to invest in some serious kitchen gear. I settled for two long desired Le Creuset casseroles. With them came a free cookbook offer, which I gladly took up. Whilst the casseroles continue to delight (well, when I get round to using them), the book was a bit of a letdown, so after flicking through it, I put it on the shelf without even a single post-it note to return to. Well, on Saturday I was swept away by a wave of enthusiasm when I looked at it again and found a recipe for a lemon and coconut cake. So off I went to make it. The result was (again?) a bit disappointing. The cake was quite buttery and although I had reduced the sugar content (the original recipe calls for 225g) it was still a bit too sweet for my liking. The cake also refused to come out of the baking tin in one piece after baking, but that might have something to do with the fact that I am the world's most impatient cook...


Moist Lemon and Coconut Cake
Yield: 12 slices
Prepare: twenty minutes
Cook: forty five minutes


Ingredients
225 g butter or margarine, softened
200 g caster sugar
3 eggs
250 g sifted self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons lemon juice
40 g desiccated coconut


For best results, bake this a day in advance and store overnight in an airtight container before slicing. For a 32cm round cake tin


1. Preheat oven to 160C/Gas Mark 3. Grease and flour the interior of the cake tin.

2. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder into a food processor and process for approximately 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and coconut. Process again for 10 seconds but do not overmix.

3. Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the top, making a shallow groove along the length of the mixture in the middle.

4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, then reduce to 150C/Gas 2 and continue baking for 15 minutes longer until the cake is risen and golden brown. Test if the cake is cooked.

5. Leave the cake to cool in the dish for 10 minutes before turning it out. Cook on a cake rack.

6. To make the glaze, put the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually blend in the lemon juice, beating until smooth. When the cake is cool, brush the glaze all over the top and sides of the cake.


Source: Sue Cutts: The Cast Iron Way to Cook. Le Creuset

Blurry, blurry eyes

Oh boy, this blog thing is more challenging than I thought it could possibly be.

I've been busy working as well as reading and writing for a final thesis I have to hand in at the end of August - a bit of a drag really.

And when the words start blurring in front of your eyes you know it is time to go home, not write blogs... But I am looking forward to telling you about the "moist lemon and coconut cake" I made the other day... Coming up soon!

Rhubarb, rhubarb

I am known to loath rhubarb, but recently decided to give it another chance. Gärtner-Blog's call for a rhubarb event, and a special offer by my supermarket of choice meant I could no longer postpone the experiment. I also decided that baking something experimental would be ideal as my first blog event. Said supermarket also offers monthly recipe cards (to educate the nation, I guess), so I decided to make their Rhubarb Crumble Squares with Orange Zest. Well, sort of. I didn't have a square baking dish and no oranges. Also, I am a fussy eater and don't like bits of fruit in my cake. You can tell where this is heading...

Anyway, so I substituted the orange for 2 lemons, boiled the rhubarb to a pulp and used it as a third layer rather than dealing with rhubarb pieces in the dough. I also reduced the sugar required for the dough by about 25g. I was quite pleased with the result - the cake is moist and the rhubarb gives it a nice zingy taste. The cake also freezes well. You can tell from the picture that the fruit layer is quite thin, so I would probably double the amount of fruit next time. Which probably answers your question - yes, I have been converted. Bring on the rhubarb, I say....

A Step Closer To Heaven

Hi, I thought my FIRST POST deserves some serious product placement.I recently came across It's Nut Free, and this was my first order. What can I say, the cereal is delicious and just the words "white chocolate champagne truffles" make me go weak in the knees. I'm sure they won't last long ...