georgie – Page 21

Italian meringue buttercream

11.02.2014 by georgie // Leave a Comment

This makes enough to cover one large cake or frost 18 – 20 cupcakes.

3 large egg whites, free range or organic
180g caster sugar
300g unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of fine salt
Vanilla extract

Place 150g of the sugar in a small pan with 60ml of water and gently bring to the boil. Do not stir, but swirl around to dissolve the sugar. Leave the pan on a gently rolling boil, until it reaches 121c on a sugar thermometer. Have a bowl of cold water at the ready to plunge the pan into.

Whilst the syrup is on the hob whisk the egg whites in a free standing mixer until you have stiff peaks, and then gradually whisk in the remaining sugar. As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 121c, plunge the pan into the bowl of cold water for just a few seconds to cool quickly. Then, with the mixer on full speed, gently pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream until all mixed together (try not to get the sugar syrup up the sides of the bowl or on the whisk itself as it will stick to them, aim for the egg whites). Continue to mix for a further 8 – 10 minutes until the bowl is cool. Chop the butter into chunks and gradually whisk into the meringue, with the salt and a splash of vanilla. It may look like the mixture has split but keep mixing, you will end up with a smooth and fluffy buttercream.

FInished carrot honey cake with Italian meringue frosting

Funfetti Buttermilk Pancake Stack

10.30.2014 by georgie // Leave a Comment

Today I have my dreamboat of a mate staying for a few days, and I promised her a birthday sweet treat. When I asked her what her favourite cake was, she pulled out a pinterest board of images, and settled on a stack of strawberry pancakes. Fine by me, quick and pretty and I’m a sucker for a pancake stack. I opted for buttermilk pancakes, layered with maple cream cheese, strawberries and dollops of homemade jam. Here you have it, Miss Clara’s funfetti pancake stack.

FUNFETTI BUTTERMILK PANCAKE STACK

Serves 2 hungry people or 3 normal folk

For the pancake batter:

150g plain flour
A teaspoon of hundreds and thousands
1 large egg, free range or organic
A teaspoon of vanilla extract
250ml buttermilk
3 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
A pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of melted butter

To serve:

Handful of strawberries, hulled
2 heaped tablespoons of strawberry jam or compote
125g cream cheese
2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup
Hundreads and thousands, to decorate

In a jug whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract and melted butter. Leaving the sprinkles to one side, mix the remaining dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk mix into the dry bowl until you have a smooth batter, then finally stir in the sprinkles last.

Place a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When the butter has melted spoon in spoonfuls of the batter. I like to make them pretty small, using a generous tablespoon, so there are more of them. But by all means make them larger and just less. Fry the pancakes on one side until golden, and then flip over and continue to fry until cooked on both sides. Remove and leave to one side whilst you finished frying the remaining batter.

Meanwhile mix together the cream cheese with enough maple syrup to sweeten. When all the pancakes have cooked and cooled a little, layer them up with the sliced strawberries, and dollop of jam and cream cheese in between. Sprinkle with more of the hundreds and thousands and serve.

Tofu and peanut bun cha

10.28.2014 by georgie // 3 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of my late twenties/ early thirties eating Vietnamese food. Heck, if we were tallying up take-aways and meals out, I would put a bet on pho being the front runner. I love it, it is my ultimate healthy eating comfort food (as long as it isn’t laden with MSG, I’m too old to deal with MSG hangovers now).

We live Shoreditch, a part of London with brilliant authentic Vietnamese eateries and shops; I honestly never tire of their offerings. We love it so much in fact that we went to Vietnam about 3 years ago, purely because of how much we love the food. (We now love the country too. What a place). My order will usually be along the lines of salt and pepper squid/ banh xeo and a pho. However occasionally I’ll mix it up a bit and order a bun cha. Perfect for warmer days, lighter meals and very easy to make at home (unlike pho where you need hours to get a good stock). Traditionally you’re looking at pork, prawns etc for your protein, but for this particular lunch I went tofu. It’s perfect for me during the day, a meal for one, easy to do, nutritious and delicious (albeit high in salt) and really quick.

TOFU AND PEANUT BUN CHA

Serves 1 (multiply as needed)

You could use crushed, roasted (unsalted) peanuts on here instead of the peanut butter. But I like the creaminess it gave the tofu, and think it works well once dressed.

Handful of iceburg lettuce, washed and spun dry
1 small or 1/2 a large carrot, peeled
A spring onion, washed
4 sprigs of coriander, washed
40g rice or sweet potato noodles
4cm piece of cucumber
75g fried/ firm tofu
Half a lime
A heaped teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter
A large clove of garlic, peeled
Groundnut oil
A tablespoon of soy sauce
1/4 – 1/2 a red chilli
A teaspoon of golden caster sugar
A tablespoon of rice wine or white wine vinegar
A tablespoon of fish sauce
2cm piece of ginger, peeled

Start by prepping the veg. Shred the lettuce, finely slice the spring onion, julienne the carrot and cucumber and roughly chop the coriander. Cook the noodles according to packet instructions and leave to one side. Make the dressing by mixing together the caster sugar, vinegar, fish sauce and 50ml of boiling water. Finely grate in the ginger and whisk.

Place a small non-stick pan on a medium heat and add a lug of groundnut oil. Finely slice the garlic, finely chop the chilli and chop the tofu into 2-3cm chunks. Add everything to the pan and fry until lightly golden all over. Add the soy sauce and peanut butter and coat the tofu, frying for a further 1 – 2 minutes.

Pour the dressing into a large bowl. Top with the noodles and then arrange the chopped veg and coriander all around it. Spoon the tofu into the middle and then toss everything together, with the squeezed lime half.