Monthly Archives: August 2011

BANANA LOAF


Banana Loaf

 

Ingredients:

125g butter

Extra butter for greasing the tins

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

500g selfraising flour

4 bananas, mashed

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease 1 large loaf tin or 2 small loaf tins with the extra butter.

In a mixing bowl cream together butter, sugar and eggs.

Mix in mashed bananas. Add flour, bicarb and milk and mix to a thick batter. Pour into the prepared tins. Bake in preheated oven for 30 – 40 minutes. To test if the cake is done insert a skewer in the middle of the cake, if it comes out dry the cake is done.

BANANA LOAF

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PANCAKES


Basic pancake mixture

 

Ingredients:

110g plain flour, sifted

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

200ml milk mixed with 75ml water

50g butter

 

Preparation method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs – any sort of whisk or even a fork will do – incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.

2. Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don’t worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any elusive bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake.

3. Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you’re using the correct amount of batter. I find 2 tbsp is about right for an 18cm pan. It’s also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it’s tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife – the other side will need a few seconds only – then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.

4. Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

Fill with coconut, lemon juice, or instant pudding with banana slices,etc

PANCAKES FILLED WITH CARAMEL CONDENSED MILK & BANANA SLICES

CHOCOLATE CAKE


CHOCOLATE CAKE

Quick and economical to make!!

These ingredients makes a 20cm round cake. For a larger or square cake double the amounts and adjust your baking time accordingly.

 

Ingredients:

3 eggs separated (use the yolk)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

Mix the above ingredients well.

ADD

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup flour

Whip egg whites until stiff. Fold into cake mixture. Divide into 2 well greased round (20cm) baking tins and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for approx 15-20 minutes. Decorate with cream, butter cream, icing sugar….

CARROT CAKE


CARROT CAKE

 

Ingredients:

300g cake flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

200g soft brown sugar

4 eggs

250ml oil

1 orange, zested

1 lemon, zested

200g carrots, finely grated

150g walnuts, chopped

227g tin pineapple pieces, well drained and chopped (optional)

 

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

125g unsalted butter at room temperature

50g icing sugar

250g cream cheese

 

Method:

Heat the oven to 170C/fan. Line a 20cm, 10cm deep cake tin. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together and stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs with the oil and citrus zests. Stir in the carrots and fold everything into the flour mixture. Fold in the walnuts and pineapple if using. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool.

 

For the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until soft and then beat in the cream cheese. Chill the mixture until it’s thick but spreadable. Spread a thick layer on top of the cake, making sure the side of the icing is flat and continues upwards from the side of the cake. Decorate with walnuts (optional)

 

CONVERSIONS & EQUIVALENTS


I love the fact that the site is a global community, but of course it does raise issues and problems and another thorny area is weights and measures. Obviously, when you move from one system of measurement to another, you are obliged to round up or down, so it’s always going to be an approximation, but here is a table of conversions and equivalents, which should at least help!

Equivalents

As we welcome such an international audience to this site you may not recognise some of the ingredients listed in the recipes section. Here is our UK / US equivalents guide to give you a helping hand…

 Double cream  Heavy cream
 Single cream  Light cream
 Cornflour  Corn starch
 Shortcrust  Pie crust
 Caster sugar  Superfine sugar
 Icing sugar  Confectioners’ sugar
 Grill  Broil
 Aubergine  Eggplant
 Courgette  Zucchini
 Mangetout  Snow peas
 Coriander  Cilantro
 Clingfilm  Saran wrap
 Beef mince  Ground beef
 Prawns  Shrimp
 Digestive biscuits  Graham crackers (substitute)
 Sultanas  Raisins
 Trifle sponges  Ladyfingers
 Spring onions  Scallions
 Semi-skimmed milk  2% milk
 Dark/plain chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)  Bittersweet chocolate
 Milk/plain chocolate (less than 70% cocoa solids)  Semi-sweet chocolate
Bicarbonate of soda  Baking soda
Horlicks UK brand of malted milk powder
Maltesers UK brand of malted milk balls

 

 

 

 

TEMPERATURES

Gas Mark 1 140C 275F Very cool
Gas Mark 2 150C 300F Cool
Gas Mark 3 160C 325F Warm
Gas Mark 4 180C 350F Moderate
Gas Mark 5 190C 375F Fairly Hot
Gas Mark 6 200C 400F Fairly Hot
Gas Mark 7 210C 425F Hot
Gas Mark 8 220C 450F Very Hot
Gas Mark 9 240C 475F Very Hot

VOLUME AND LIQUID MEASUREMENTS

5 ml one-sixth fl oz 1 teaspoon
15ml half fl oz 1 tablespoon (NOTE: Australian tablespoon = 20ml)
30ml 1 fl oz 2 tablespoons
45ml 1 and half fl oz 3 tablespoons
60ml 2 fl oz quarter cup
75ml 2 and half fl oz one-third cup
125ml 4 fl oz half cup
150ml 5 fl oz two-thirds cup
175ml 6 fl oz three-quarters cup
250ml 8 fl oz 1 cup
600ml 1 pint 2 and half cups
900ml 1 and half pints 3 and three-quarter cups
1 litre 1 and three-quarter pints 4 cups

SOME USEFUL CUP CONVERSIONS

Please note that these are approximations

1 cup sugar 200g
1 cup icing sugar 125g
1 cup flour 140g
1 cup rice 200g
1 cup frozen peas 125g
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs 70g
1 cup grated cheese 100g
1 cup chocolate chips 175g
1 cup sultanas 150g
1 cup honey/syrup 300g
1 stick of butter 110g 4oz

 

 

WEIGHT CONVERSIONS

15g half oz
30g 1 oz
45g 1 and half oz
60g 2 oz
75g 2 and half oz
90g 3 oz
100g 3 and half oz
125g 4 oz
150g 5 oz
175g 6 oz
200g 7 oz
250g 8 oz
275g 9 oz
300g 10 oz
325g 11 oz
350g 12 oz
375g 13 oz
400g 14 oz
450g 15 oz
500g 1 lb

CAKE TINS SIZES

20cm 8 inch
23cm 9 inch
25cm 10 inch

LOAF TIN SIZES

450g 1lb
900g 2lb

 

NAAN KHATAI


NAAN KHATAI

Ingredients:

500ml plain flour

250ml ghee (approx)

250ml sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

3-4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For garnishing

1 egg, beaten

Pistachio nuts or

Almonds or

Cherries or

Strawberry jam as required

Method:

In a mixing bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder

Add vanilla essence and ghee, little at a time

Add enough ghee to combine the mixture, you’ll need less than a cup

Add the milk to soften the dough to a malleable dough.

Shape into little round balls and flattened slightly onto a baking tray

Lightly and carefully brush each biscuit with egg wash

Decorate with nut, cherries or jam

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 18 – 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Do not overcook the biscuits as it’s a very delicate biscuit and will crumble easily.

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