Tag: sortedfood

Classic Pancakes

Currently (sadly) alternating between periods of intense revision and:

  • wondering what Leonardo da Vinci’s Snapchats would be like
  • researching the nutrition of scallops and uni, in other words my two current favourite types of seafood
  • embarking on The Kitchn’s baking school program, which is definitely one of the most interesting and exciting things I’ve started in a long time.

Busyness aside, there will always be time for a good settle-down in the kitchen. Like a good breakfast. Something like this:

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thin, tender, lacey (English) pancakes (here topped with fresh ripe banana, drizzled with almond butter and salted caramel walnuts+melted matcha chocolate I saved all the way from Japan)

For creativity and mood’s sake, I gave in to the whole almond-matcha theme the first time round. It’s one of those things I’ve done before, loved, and you can check it out right here. Admittedly, the day after, I reheated a couple of extra pancakes and went for the classic, ever-loved combo of freshly-squeezed lemon juice and sugar. Deliciousness= lemon and sugar soaking into thin pancake flesh, into every crevice of the crumpled carpet. That being said, there’s also something magical about the combination of a fresh, warm pancake with a creamy slather of almond butter. The melted matcha chocolate hits everything with a sweet and slightly bitter kick.

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Sorry– trypophobics beware.

Having made plenty of American pancakes, the sort which fluff up and bounce and you top with butter and maple syrup, I thought it fitting to try something else. That’s when I came across Nigella Lawson’s recipe for classic crepes. And so another question popped up:

  • what’s the difference between a crepe and a pancake?

After trying out the recipe and doing the research, I had a hard time deliberating whether the final result was more akin to one or the other. The nuances of the recipe made this more a pancake than crepe, so pancakes it was. The main difference lies in waiting time, so calling it a crepe wouldn’t be sacrilege.

These pancakes are a real treat any morning. Very thin, lacey, and have a light brown, crispy underside. The great bit? You can put them together in a pinch and any leftovers can be chucked in the fridge and reheated the next morning/ whenever you want.

Took a while for me to get these pancakes as thin and lacey as possible, but a few good tricks to have up your sleeve are:

  • when putting melted butter into the pan before ladling of the pancake batter, do not use a paper towel to remove excess butter– add a generous amount of butter, let melt and swirl around. This will promote excellent browning and crispiness at the edges.
  • I repeat– generous amount of butter.
  • use medium-high heat– should hear a mild sizzle when batter hits the pan and a heavier-bodies sizzle when batter is ladled into pan.
  • After ladling, lift the pan off the heat to swirl it around evenly. This prevents any batter that’s already been ladled from cooking too fast and lets you swirl everything nicely and thinly.

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Classic pancakes (makes 8–10 medium pancakes; adapted from Nigella’s crepes recipe)

Ingredients

150g plain, all-purpose flour

2 tbsp white sugar

pinch salt

28g (2 tbsp) melted, unsalted butter, plus more for the pan during cooking

1 large egg

340ml milk of choice (I used both whole and almond milk on 2 occasions and both worked perfectly)

Directions

Preheat your pan or crepe pan on medium-high heat and ready some butter for cooking. In a large bowl, tip in the flour, salt, sugar, milk, egg and butter, in that order, and whisk everything together. Continue whisking until no lumps remain, and the batter is pale and silky. Use a small ladle to ladle in a little batter and immediately swirl in a circle formation to spread the batter evenly in the pan. As mentioned earlier in the post, you should hear a heavy-bodied sizzle upon the application of melted butter to the pan, and a mild batter when the batter actually hits the pan and starts cooking.

Your first and second pancakes might be a little dodgy, but it gets better as you go along (promise). Once the edges of the pancakes crisp up and brown, slide your spatula underneath and flip. Cook for up to 45 seconds on this side, then remove from the pan and place on a paper towel. When cooking the pancakes/crepes, layer paper towels between each to absorb the condensation.

Serve warm with more butter and honey/maple syrup, or lemon juice and sugar. Try out the combination in the picture above too– does wonders for your tastebuds, friends.

 

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Lemon Yoghurt Bars (classic, fast, easy)

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Sweet, tangy, gooey lemon yogurt bars with a dense and buttery base. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again– nothing gets me like a good lemon dessert. Lemon bars in particular are my absolute favourite. I’d say lemon meringue pie too, but that does require the extra meringue component, and if you so wish for some lemony satisfaction at any point of time during the week, these do the trick in a wink without requiring you to whip out any fancy kitchen gadget.

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Adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery’s cookbook, so kindly purchased by my friend as a birthday present, I couldn’t resist trying these guys out. The recipe looked much to easy to pass up, and there’s never a time I’m not in the mood for lemon bars. With too much yoghurt on hand, I decided no harm would be done if a minor twist was made. Worth it, to say the least. The yoghurt adds a mild creaminess to the body of the lemon bars without subtracting any tang or sharpness.

Crust? Easy. Forget blind-baking and the works.

Filling? 2 minutes max, after weighing some 200g of sugar and squeezing a lemon, I guess. Zilch effort.

Term is winding down, coming to an end. There’s always so much to do here, and see, and enjoy. Friday night shenanigans balance all work-related stress and unrelenting fear of missing out or not knowing enough content. Despite the roller coaster, I must say that there are always the constants that get me through. Morning routines, cup of black in my hand, the oven hum, people with the brightest and most interesting personalities, House of Cards (which I just started and can’t get enough of)…. Missing home is a secondary emotion. Christmas and family and home are calling, but this already feels somewhat like home.

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Lemon Yoghurt Bars (makes 16-20 evenly-sized rectangular bars, adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook)

Ingredients

For the base: 

290g all-purpose plain flour

70g icing sugar

large pinch salt

220g unsalted butter, melted

 

For the filling:

200g white caster sugar

3 eggs

4 heaped tablespoons plain yoghurt (greek works fine too)

120ml (slightly less than half a cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice

half teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions

Preheat your oven to 170C (325F) and grease a 9×9-inch square pan.

Mix all ingredients for the base in a large bowl and press into the bottom of the pan– take your time here for it’s a bit sticky, but it gets easier after all the gloop actually unsticks from between your fingers. Bake for 20 minutes. In another bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the filling. Pour into the half-baked crust and bake another 15 minutes (at the same temperature, leave the oven on when you’re pouring in the filling). Once baked, leave to cool completely. You may place in the fridge to cool faster, but the bars will set up fine after an hour or so even at room temperature.

Cut into even bars and serve!

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Chocolate Caramel Nougat Tart

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Sweet shortcrust pastry filled with dark and milk chocolate, melted chocolate nut bars, caramel, topped with chopped pecans and peanuts

There’s little space for mistake(s) when it comes to food pairings made for each other. Rich, dark chocolate filling, chewy bits of nougat, the occasional crunch, smooth caramel. Contemplating the meaning of life earlier on this week whilst scavenging my brain for some coherent essay material, I knew I needed to make something sweet, and good, soon. The brain needs glucose, after all.

Magic results lie in the temperature of your butter (cold cold cold, please), and the speediness of all the hand work involved. It all seems a bit of a hassle at first, but I encountered nothing more therapeutic the past week. The movement of my hands in a bowl, rubbing butter into flour and salt and the works is like a welcome slowing down of all the motions you’re forced to go through in life. If you just take an hour out for yourself, make something, have a cup of coffee, or even just think about nothing, everything around you, everything you experience, becomes brighter and more beautiful. I’d hate to sound too much of a yogi because I’m no more the wiser, but the truth only came with experience.

Also, you’re probably wondering why there’s one picture in this entire blog post. Now I know as a blogger one is obligated, expected to take a million photos of the entire process, for the reader’s pleasure and benefit. It’s true, I know, but having hall-mates all around means the lifespan of anything baked (especially with chocolate) is circa half an hour, if not just a little less.

It was too delicious for too many shots. The waiting had to wait. I’ll leave it at that, and hopefully the next time I won’t disappoint.

 

Chocolate caramel tart (makes one 9-inch tart)

Ingredients

For the crust: ingredients may be found here, minus the black sesame powder

70g dark chocolate, broken up into large chunks

60g milk chocolate, broken into large chunks

one large chocolate nut candy nougat bar (Snickers works well), or substitute with 10g more milk chocolate and a handful of chopped peanuts  (though you won’t get the bits of sticky nougat this way)

14g (1 tbsp) unsalted butter

50g (around 1/3 cup) chopped pecans and peanuts (optional)

For the salted caramel: ingredients and procedure may be found here. You will need 80ml (1/3 cup) of the stuff.

 

Directions

Prepare pie crust as stated in aforementioned recipe. At the bit where it says ‘preheat the oven and cover with aluminium foil’ preceding the blind bake, don’t! Just bake it normally, then remove once done and let cool, during which time you can prepare the other components. Prepare salted caramel and let cool for a half hour, so it solidifies just a little.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt together both types of chocolate, butter and the chocolate bar in 30-second intervals, until everything has nicely melted together. There will be a few sticky bits if you’re using a Snickers bar  thanks to the nougat, but that’s what makes it all the more pleasurable. Into the cooled tart crust, pour in the salted caramel and spread into an even layer. Then pour in the chocolate mixture, and sprinkle chopped pecans and peanuts around the edges (optional). This tart need not set in the fridge, but leave to set and stiffen more at room temperature for at least half an hour. Cut using a sharp knife, wiping with a wet towel between each slice.

Serve on its own or with whipped cream and more chopped nuts.

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10-minute Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Frosting

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Look down at my boots. The wind gets through even those. Tights? Never thick enough. But thank God for Barbours. It’s getting colder… And colder. Despite the bitter air and occasional drizzle that somehow makes the situation 5 times worse, I’m embracing the sudden transition into proper fall here in the UK. Couldn’t believe it when a friend posted a video of soft snow right outside her window, here in South Kensington. It’s happening!

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The cold means more warm chocolate somethings, topped with chocolate caramel peanut butter frosting. Chocolate anythings. Some days just demand brownies, and only brownies. The first time I made this and followed the initial recipe, the whole 20 minutes made it much too dry for my liking, so I adjusted proportions and timing. Lo and behold, everything was gooey and beautiful in less than 10. The excitement was too much. Too much.

You need that rich goo. A dark, deep, intense pleasure. If I want a good, fudgy brownie that’s chewy around the edges, my go-to recipe is right here, so I implore you to check that out as well; it’s just as simple and almost as quick. This is more a mix between a gooey mud pie and dense cake, but the change is welcome and delicious. Topped with caramel peanut buttery goodness, it really doesn’t get much better than this. What do I love so much about this recipe?

  1. It takes 10 minutes. And in my case, just 7, because sometimes miracles happen.
  2. You can use either natural or processed peanut butter (crunchy, if you may) without any disastrous consequence.
  3. You won’t stop licking and picking.

 

Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Frosting (adapted from Sorted Food’s Swedish Chocolate Brownie recipe- serves 9-12)

Ingredients

For the brownies:

110g (half cup) salted, melted butter (or use unsalted, and add a pinch of salt into wet ingredients later)

200g white caster sugar

2 eggs

130g plain, all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

55g cocoa powder

40g dark chocolate, melted in a microwave in 30-second bursts

 

For the frosting:

90g ( slightly more than 1/4 cup) chunky/smooth peanut butter; natural peanut butter works perfectly here as well, just make sure it’s properly mixed through

50 dark chocolate chunks, melted in a microwave

75ml (1/4 cup) caramel sauce, store-bought or homemade

 

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and grease a square/round 23cm baking pan. In a bowl and with a whisk, mix together the melted butter, sugar, melted dark chocolate and vanilla extract. Add the salt here if you used unsalted butter. Whisk in the eggs and cocoa powder, and continue whisking until the mixture is visibly and texturally stickier and glossier. At this point, add the flour and mix until everything is just combined. Pop the pan into the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes. Whilst it’s baking, mix together the frosting ingredients. You need a fork and self-trust (that you won’t finish the whole bowl before the brownies are even out).

Check the brownies at 7 minutes- there should still be a slight wobble in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool for a half hour before frosting. Cut into as many squares as you want, then eat and be happy.

 

 

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Ricotta Chocolate Chip Pillow Pancakes

I keep finding heaven on pancake mornings. I also keep finding heaven when I realise that certain ingredients are about to expire and whatever I expect to be slipshod turns out marvellous and beyond (you could’ve guessed it was ricotta in this case). From now on, I think every Monday shall be pancake Monday. There will be no regrets.

I didn’t want to stray far from these I wrote about quite a while ago, because they’re still my absolute favourite pancakes. I remember squandering my days trying to perfect them. But with university on my heels, there’s simply no time to faff around with proportions and measurements and whatnot. Yet, I needed a bloody good pancake, and a fluffy, well-risen, tender-stomached one at that. Monday would’ve gone quite badly otherwise. I suspect.

That’s where the ricotta comes in. And the chocolate, because 99% of my recipes are incomplete without chocolate. Chocolate crisping up at the edges, chocolate running down your bottom lip when you take a bite and the pocket bursts slowly, lovingly. The pairing of the mild cheese and dark chocolate chunks is not advanced, but necessary. Ricotta makes the batter creamy and mildly sweet, whilst the chocolate (dark, if I may) adds another lush dimension to the whole thing.

‘Twas a funny story, trying to get these right. My first time using the hob to cook pancakes was almost an ordeal. Burnt the first couple and had to chuck those, but the silver lining came when I found the perfect heating level (3) to allow for a nice golden-brown on both sides, without burning them and being left with uncooked centres. These pancakes seem to be more undercooked after the second sides are done, but that’s mostly because of the ricotta, which makes it denser without having to fully compromise on fluff and the slightest chew in the middle.

You deserve it.

Ricotta Chocolate Chip Pillow Pancakes (serves 2-4, makes 8 medium pancakes)

Ingredients

125g (1/2 cup) whole-milk ricotta (strain if watery)

135g (around 1 cup) all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch of coarse salt

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

20g (slightly less than 2 tbsp) melted butter

240ml (1 cup) milk

60g (1/2 cup) chopped dark chocolate

Directions

Preheat your pan or griddle on medium heat, and ready some butter. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients– flour, sugar, baking powder, chopped chocolate and salt. In a smaller bowl, mix together the ricotta, melted butter, egg, milk and vanilla. Pour the wet into the dry mix and stir until just combined. The batter should be quite thick.

Butter your pan (it should sizzle, but not too strongly), then heap batter onto a tablespoon before laying on 2 or 3 in your pan (you can do more with a griddle of course). Flatten a little with the back of your spatula, then wait 2 minutes before flipping to cook the second side, which will take almost less than half the time it takes to cook the first side. Place cooked pancakes on a paper towel to absorb moisture from the bottom.

Serve with yoghurt, fruit or nuts, and honey or maple syrup.

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