Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks

 

With very little effort or planning you can create these flavourful easy oven baked drumsticks. Exceptionally tender and juicy with a savoury sweet flavour that has a slight spicy kick. It's a recipe that can easily be doubled, just adjust the seasonings and cooking time, or made using bone-in chicken thighs and served with whatever side or sauces you wish.   

Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks

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1 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon chilli powder  

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 chicken drumsticks

2 tablespoons olive oil

Barbeque sauce, for brushing and serving 

Preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.

In a bowl combine the sweet smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, salt and ground black pepper. 

Places the drumsticks in a large bowl and drizzle the olive oil over top, toss to coat evenly in the oil, then sprinkle the prepared seasoning mix over the oiled drumsticks and toss until evenly coat with the spice mixture. 

Place the now seasoned drumsticks on the prepared baking tray with enough space between them so they are not touching. 

Place the tray into the oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the drumsticks reach an internal temperature of 175ºF (approximately 77ºC to 80ºC), flipping the drumsticks once half way through cooking time and brushing with barbeque sauce. Serve hot.

Notes: if doubling the recipe, do adjust the seasonings and cooking time. I baked 12 drumsticks for about 80 minutes, flipping and brushing barbeque sauce half way through and checking after 60 minutes, making sure that the internal temperature for each reached 175ºF (approximately 77ºC to 80ºC). You can try adding other herbs, seasonings or sauces according to your preference. 

Another option is... You can make a spicy herb rub by mixing the spices and oil, listed in the recipe, together then rub each chicken drumstick with the rub and place them on a preheated barbeque to cook, ensuring when the chicken is done and the internal temperature of 165ºF is reach for each drumstick. Preheat a gas grill barbeque 10 to 15 minutes on medium high heat before you begin cooking.   

Korean Snacks

 

Going to our local Korean shop is a wonderful. There are all sorts of delightful items. This is one of them... a pastel colour corn puff snack that is very moreish. It is slightly sweet, slightly sour, and has a hint of fruit flavour taste. A fun snack for sharing! - JD

Dalgona Coffee

My son made this South Korean treat. Dalgona means honeycomb toffee and it's not surprising as this coffee has a cinder toffee... sponge toffee, burnt caramel taste. With three simple ingredients you can have a delightfully sweet drink. It all comes down to equal parts and using a hand held mixer is a must to create the dreamy pale frothiness of Dalgona.     

Dalgona Coffee

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2 tablespoon caster sugar

2 tablespoons Instant Coffee

2 tablespoons hot boiling water

milk

ice cubes

In a bowl, add the sugar and instant coffee. Whisk to combine. Add the hot boiling water and using a hand held mixer whip until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. The coffee mixture should be a light caramel colour. 

Pour milk into a glass with ice cubes. Spoon the fluffy coffee mixture on top of the milk, it should float. After a few minutes, once the coffee starts to sink towards the bottom of the glass, gently stir to combine the coffee mixture and milk.  

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. - JD 

Unusual Negroni

This isn't so unusual if you enjoy a smooth mellow cocktail. A nice alternative to the drier classic. 

Unusual Negroni 

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makes 1 cocktail

1 oz Aperol

1 oz Lillet

1 1/4 oz Gin

ice cubes

small grapefruit slice or grapefruit twist for garnish, if you wish

To serve on the rocks: Pour the Aperol, Lillet and Gin onto and Old Fashion glass with ice cubes. Stir. Garnish with a grapefruit slice or twist, if you wish.

To serve as a cocktail: Pour the Aperol, Lillet and Gin into a mixing pitcher with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a grapefruit twist, if you wish. 

Notes: try botanical gins for a slightly different flavour.

Have a great weekend everyone! - JD

Fudge Kitchen

When travelling for some reason fudge seems not that far behind... I guess I should have   said when travelling with teenagers fudge seems to be found. The Fudge Kitchen in Bath is worth every morsel. Traditional and unique flavours and some dairy free options to tempt you. We chose four, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, Sea Salt Caramel, Lemon Sorbet and Rum Raisin, which is pictured above.  

To find out more about Fudge Kitchen click *here*

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We did! The weather is changing... do I dare say,  it fells like winter is on it's way. -JD 

Crosstown Doughnuts

I had heard about Crosstown Doughnuts months before we left for London and was eagerly  waiting to find them. I was pleasantly surprised on one of our long walks, that Crosstown, just fell into our path, so to speak. The lovely lady who served us was chatty, helpful and patient as we cruised the selection of doughnuts gradually to make our decision. These doughnuts are fantastic and you would hardly know they are vegan/vegetarian! 

From top left to right: Rum & Pineapple and Matcha Tea; from bottom left to right: Cinnamon Scroll and Coconut & Lime. Some other flavours, sadly not pictured above, included Orange Blossom, Lychee & Gooseberry, Lemon-Thyme, Rhubarb & Raspberry and Peanut Butter with a Blackcurrant Compote. Unique flavours that will definitely not disappoint! 

To find out more about Crosstown Doughnuts click *here*

Just getting back into the swing of things and preparing for school to start. I have been sifting through the holiday photos and figuring out which ones I will post about. Hope everyone had a good August. - JD 

Roasted Garlic

Roasted garlic has to be one of those aromas that either elicits culinary comfort or makes one recoil with much pungency. Roasting garlic gives it a more caramelized sweeter taste. Lovely in soups, sauces, spreads, dips or my favourite... spread on top of a slice of bread ready to be devoured, as is. 

First, preheat oven to 400ºF. Take a garlic bulb and slice about 1/4 inch off the top. Place a piece of aluminum foil on a flat surface and put the cut garlic bulb on top, cut side facing up.

Drizzle the exposed garlic top with olive oil, cracked black pepper, and a pinch of salt. You may use any oil and depending on which oil you use, that may change the flavour. 

Now tightly wrap the piece of aluminum foil around the garlic; until you have a nice tight bundle. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

When done, remove from the oven and carefully open the aluminum foil, as it and the garlic will be extremely hot! Take a butter knife or spreading knife and scoop out a clove or two of the now roasted garlic and spread the sweet garlicky paste on to a slice of bread. Enjoy!   

Hope everyone had a  great weekend. It was sunny and rainy here for the most part however still a lovely weekend. - JD  

Coconut Macaroons

With only two ingredients you can create these chewy sweet coconut macaroons without too much effort.  

Coconut Macaroons

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1 can sweetened condensed milk

400g shredded coconut*

*more shredded coconut may be needed if the mixture seems wet rather than sticky

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a baking tray with baking parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir, to combine the condensed milk and the shredded coconut together. The coconut mixture should be sticky but not too wet.  

Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to help mould the coconut mixture. Pressing the mixture firmly into spoon. Run a knife around the inside edge to help release the mixture. Place each generous mound on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are crisp around the edges and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly on the baking tray. Then transfer macaroons to a wire rack. Repeat until all the coconut mixture has been baked.

Once cooled you can dip the bottoms in melted chocolate or drizzle chocolate over the top of each macaroon. Allowing the chocolate to set. 

Notes: You want the coconut mixture to be firmly pressed together so that the macaroons do not spread. You may coat the tablespoon measuring spoon with oil or butter to help ease the mixture out or run a knife around the inside edge to remove, like I did. Again, if you find that the coconut mixture seems to be wet, add a bit more shredded coconut, adding a little at a time until the coconut mixture is more sticky then wet. 

Ovens vary so baking times may vary. Some coconut macaroon recipes do have the oven temperature set to 350ºF with a baking time of 7 to 10 minutes or 15 to 20 minutes. You may try baking the macaroons at 350ºF, just adjust the baking time. Although I found baking at a lower temperature of 325ºF was perfect! 

With a heavy drizzle of dark chocolate that cuts through the sweetness.       

Hope everyone had a lovely long weekend! We did! - JD 

Creme Egg Fudge

There are a few factors that went into making this recipe. Having leftover Easter candy or buying discounted Easter candy, as well as wanting to make such an indulgent treat. I recommend using dark chocolate as it takes a bit of the sweetness edge off and what better way to use the multitude of candy on shop shelves.    

Cadbury Creme Egg Fudge

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400g milk or dark chocolate

1 can of condensed milk

7-8 regular sized Cadbury Creme Eggs, sliced into pieces

3 tablespoons icing sugar

a few drops of water

Line a 8x8 square baking tin with parchment paper. 

Unwrap the Cadbury creme eggs and with a sharp knife, serrated or not, slice into pieces. Placing some of the creme egg pieces in the bottom of the prepared baking tin, the remainder will be used later. Set aside. 

In a large sauce pan combine the condensed milk and chocolate over medium heat. Stir constantly to ensure that the fudge does not stick to the bottom of the sauce pan and that the ingredients are well blended. 

Take off the heat, allowing to cool for a minute, and pour the fudge mixture into the prepared baking tin. Spreading evenly. Once smooth on top, place the remaining pieces of the creme eggs on top of the fudge, gently pressing them down. Mix the icing sugar and water together to form a runny drizzle and drizzle over the top of the fudge. Cover and place in the refrigerator for... 6 hours or overnight for the fudge to set.

Once set, cut into squares and serve.     

Notes: I had over 400 grams of dark chocolate. I could have made another drizzle icing adding yellow food colouring however I opted to keep it simple with just the white drizzle icing. You may use mini Cadbury Creme Eggs, I would slice them in half.

Pecan Squares

This recipe is nutty, and gooey and not overtly syrupy sweet. A firm crust rests on the bottom while a pliable pecan filling nestles on top... very reminiscent of pecan pie.   

Pecan Squares

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Makes an 8x8 pan

Crust:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour 

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/4 sticks) of unsalted butter at room temperature

3 tablespoons caster sugar

1 large egg

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter 

1/4 cup corn syrup

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon heavy cream or whipping cream

2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line the 8x8 baking pan with baking parchment paper. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside. 

Beat the butter and caster sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer, hand held or on a stand it's your preference, until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture on low speed until just combined and a lovely dough has formed. Press the dough, evenly,  into the prepared baking pan. Going up the sides of the pan to create an edge; similar to a pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set however not browned. Allow to cool.

To make the filling... combine the butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar together in a large heavy bottom saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter has melted, stirring with a wooden spoon or a heat proof spoon. Turn the heat up and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and pecans. Carefully pour the filling over the cooled crust; trying not to let the filling spill over. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling has set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool, cover the baking pan with cling film and place in the refrigerator until cold. Slice into squares. 

Notes: If you find that the dough is a bit sticky just sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour and proceed to form in the baking pan. If you find that the crust has puffed, after baking, up just gently tamp it down with the flat base or bottom of a glass. You may add shredded coconut to the filling mixture, if you wish. Also you may try using golden syrup in replace of corn syrup, although the texture maybe slightly different. 

Just getting back into the swing of things. Hope everyone is having a good week so far. 

- JD  

Almond Poppy Seed Loaf

Another loaf recipe to add to your baking repertoire. Delicious with a subtle hint of almond flavour plus the added bonus of a bit of fibre. This is irresistible with a cup of tea!    

Almond Poppyseed Loaf

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1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 cup All-Bran cereal

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted

Preheat of to 350ºF (180ºC). 

Butter and flour a loaf pan. Line the loaf pan with baking parchment paper. Set aside.

In a bowl, blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, mix together the cereal and milk. Let stand for 5 minutes until the cereal has softened. Stir in the eggs, oil, vanilla, and almond extract. Add the toasted almonds and then add the flour mixture, stirring until just combine.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack. 

Notes: You use caster sugar however the loaf would probably be more sweet. Coconut sugar gave richness with just a hint of sweetness and complimented the toasted almonds. I also thought chopped apple pieces might be a nice addition. 

Getting things done inside and outside of the kitchen. The temperature today is a balmy -29ºC! Stay warm everyone! - JD 

Jelly Roll ~ Part 2

I knew my attempt at making another jelly roll would happen sooner than expected and here it is, in all it's rolled up glory. This recipe was by far the better one. With a pliable spongy cake that rolled effortlessly and oozed crimson jam.  


Jelly Roll
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3 large eggs
1 cup of casters sugar
1/3 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose flour OR 1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
icing sugar, for dusting the tea towel and sprinkling on the finished cake 
about 2/3 cup jelly or jam of your choice
1 clean tea towel

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a jelly roll pan (15.5 x 10.5 x 1 inch) with parchment paper or waxed paper or aluminium foil. If using waxed paper or foil grease generously.

Beat the eggs in a bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or until very thick and lemon coloured. Gradually beat in the sugar. On low speed beat in the water and vanilla. Gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt, just beating until batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared pan, spreading to the corners. 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Immediately loosen cake from the edges of the pan and turn upside down onto a clean tea towel generously sprinkled with icing sugar. Carefully remove the paper. Trim off stiff edges of cake, if necessary. While the cake is hot, carefully roll cake and towel from narrow end. Cool on wire rack for at least 30 minutes. 

Unroll cake and remove the sugared tea towel. Beat the jam or jelly slightly until soften; spread over cake. Roll up the cake. Sprinkle with icing sugar. 

Just waiting to be sliced. Sweet and definitely worth another try.  


Hope everyone is having a good week so far. - JD 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing

After a fairly busy week it was nice to spend time in the kitchen relaxing and making these cupcakes. The decorating was done by the kidlets as I took a more hands off approach... well I did manage to decorate 1 cupcake. I did the prep and clean up while they just got on with the creative bit. Bloodied candy eyeballs were the focal point and a dollop of mystical purple buttercream icing to aid a spooky feeling. It was good to get a head start on some Halloween fun. The chocolate cupcake itself is spongy and dense. While the buttercream icing is fluffy. Both recipes are simple and can be whipped up very easily. How you decorate them depends on your mood and who is helping.  

Chocolate Cupcakes

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1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder

1 cup hot water

1 2/3 cups of cake and pastry flour

1 1/2 cups coconut sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup applesauce

2 eggs

Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF and line a muffin tin with cupcake papers (paper baking cups).

In a medium bowl mix the cocoa powder and water together. Blend until smooth. Then set aside to cool a bit.

In a large bowl blend the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the applesauce and the cooled cocoa mixture. With a handheld mixer on medium speed beat for about 2 minutes; all the while scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl constantly. 

Add the eggs and beat for another 2 minutes; again, scraping the sides and the bottom of the bowl. The batter is quite runny so not to worry.  

Pour into the baking cups... about 1/2 full and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. When done remove from oven and muffin tin and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool decorate as desired.

Notes: Ovens and temperatures vary, the cupcakes that I made baked for 15 minutes.

Buttercream Icing 

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1 cup of butter, softened

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

4 cups of icing (confectioners') sugar

3 tablespoons of milk

food colouring of your choice, optional

In a large bowl beat the butter and vanilla together. Blend in the icing sugar 2 cups at a time. Beating very well after both additions. Beat in the milk and continue to mix until light and fluffy. Then add the food colouring of choice; adding small amounts at a time until the desired colour is achieved and blend together with a stain proof spoon. 

Notes: to make a chocolate buttercream icing add 3/4 cup of cocoa powder and about 1 to 2 more tablespoons of milk. The food colouring I used had more of a thick, paste like consistency and came in a pot; I found I prefer this texture of food colouring as there are more colour options and it doesn't interrupt the consistency of the recipe to which you are adding it to. 

For effect, a glacé cherry was sliced down the middle, but not all the way through, to fan or open the cherry up and then a candied eyeball was placed on top. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. - JD 

Sweet BBQ Sauce

After looking up a multitude of barbeque sauce recipes for inspiration; I decided to sift through the pantry and whip up a sauce with what I had on hand. It was sweet and sticky. Which was great for the drumsticks I made, pictured here, however it would be perfect for ribs or a pork tenderloin.   

 

Simple ingredients pulled right from the pantry to create this dark, sticky sauce.  

A rich amber treacle with a wonderful savoury smell. After it mellowed in the refrigerator for a few hours it became more thick and all the flavours came together. 

Sweet Barbeque Sauce

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1 cup of golden syrup or honey

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon of the following:

ground cinnamon

ground cumin

ground ginger

oregano

paprika

1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt

1 shallot, finely diced 

1 clove of garlic, crushed

freshly ground pepper, optional 

Place all the ingredients into large bowl. Stir throughly to combine. Once all ingredients are mixed together; cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

Notes: If you find 1 cup of golden syrup or honey too sweet then add less. I used 1 cup of golden syrup and found that I could have reduced that to 3/4 cup. 

Have a good weekend everyone! - JD 

Baked & Delicious

And just like the other cookbook from the Dollar store this one offers some good recipes. Giving you a step by step visual guide which can be appreciated and most helpful. Even more helpful when kidlets are cooking or baking in the kitchen. In fact, when I purchased these cookbooks I had my kids in mind. 

Just like it's counterpart, Fast & Simple, the introduction has hints and tips for easy baking and time-saving shortcuts. Again, most of the ingredients one would already have on hand so choosing a recipe will be any easy one. This cookbook offers some classic sweet and savoury recipes. Here is a savoury recipe from the book to try... 

Feta & Olive Biscuits
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butter, for greasing
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped, pitted black olives
1/3 cup drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup milk, plus extra for glazing


1. Pre heat the oven to 425ºF. Grease a baking sheet. (If not using a non stick coated one or line the baking sheet with parchment paper.)

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub together until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

3. Stir in the olives, tomatoes, and feta. Add the milk, a little at a time, and mix to form a soft dough.

4. Roll out on a floured surface to a 1 1/4 inch - thick rectangle. Cut into 2 1/2 - inch squares. Place on the prepared baking sheet, brush with milk, and bake for 12minutes, until golden brown. Serve the biscuits while still warm.

Notes: It is easy to change some of the ingredients to your liking. Like try a different cheese, add green onions, or add some spices.  

Have a great weekend everyone! - JD 

Apricot Honey Bread

Last week I did a post about the Winnie-the-Pooh cookbook and shared the Apricot Honey Bread recipe. Over the weekend we had a get together with friends so I decided to make that and serve it with a few other nibbles. The loaf turned out perfectly... light and moist and disappeared quickly!  

I was tempted to add walnuts however decided to make the recipe as stated. I did sneak in a bit of British mixed spice and it was worth it. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend. - JD 

Pi Day

Today being Pi Day I made these two delicious pies... a savoury broccoli and cheddar quiche and a French apple. Happy Pi Day! - JD 

Avocado Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

I diligently made these cupcakes this morning. I was very curious to see and mostly to taste, if using avocado in replace of butter was going to make that much of a difference. I can honestly say it does not. The batter... yes I had to sneak a taste because to me that is the true test. What the batter tastes like is a precurser to the end result. Remember licking the beaters, the wooden spoon and running your finger along the inside of the mixing bowl as a child? If there was baking to be done and when all was said and done then there certainly were beaters to be licked! 

The recipe came from Avocado Central. It is a great website that has many recipes dedicated to avocados. I urge you to give this recipe if for nothing else other than to see how easily avocados may replace butter. For this recipe, Avocado Red Velvet Cupcakes click *here*  They taste virtually the same as if made with butter or oil. 

This is what they looked like when they came out of the oven. A lovely reddy brown colour and spongy cake like texture.

All dressed up and ready to be eaten. I did not make the Honey Avocado Icing as suggested instead I made a Cream Cheese one.

Surprise dessert time! I am sure these will be gobbled up in no time. As I did with mine. 

- JW 

Steam Pudding

In all my holiday relaxation glory I forgot to mention the steam pudding I made. I must admit I was a bit anxious at pulling this dessert off. As far as first time deserts go this was definitely a hit. As you can see all went well. With some minor adjustments and a few simple additions this mighty little dessert captivated the dinner table. All eyes fixated on it's golden glow. I let my husband do the honours at serving all those who waited patiently. Through my relief I too was in complete awe. 

When one thinks of steam pudding the thoughts of a heavy sticky stodgy mass come to mind. However even though this pudding was dense, the texture was airy and it was not too sweet.   

Sponge Steam Pudding   - from the Lyle's Golden Syrup Cookbook 

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75g softened unsalted butter, plus a little for greasing

75g soft light brown sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

100g self rising flour

1 level teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon milk

For the sauce: 3 tablespoons of golden syrup  

                       4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

*Note: I had used dark brown sugar... almost Demerara. I found that I need to a a bit more milk to get the batter to a dropping consistence. Because of this I add a few splashes at a time until I felt the batter was right.

Butter the inside of a 1 pint pudding basin.

*Note: Even though it was not suggested I cut some glacé cherries and placed them at the bottom of the buttered bowl. Then I grated orange rind over the buttered bowl. By doing this the orange rind stuck to the sides and bottom giving the steam pudding a fragrant and zesty taste.  

Take a large mixing bowl and beat together the butter and the sugar until it is really soft and light. An electric whisk is ideal for this. Gradually add the beaten eggs, sieve in the flour and baking powder and finally the milk. Beat the mixture until well until it is thoroughly blended and you have a dropping consistency. Pour the mixture into the basin, making a nice level surface with the back of a spoon.

Line a sheet of greaseproof paper... parchment paper will do, and fold to make a pleat in the centre - this will allow for expansion as the pudding rises. Cover the basin with the lined foil and wrap around the rim firmly. Then tie round with a piece of string to secure the foil in place. Stand the basin in a steamer or a pan of simmering water, put the lid on the pan and steam for 1 1/2 hours, keeping an eye on the water level and topping up with boiling water as necessary.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small pan and heat gently. When the pudding is cooked, remove from the pan, unwrap and ease the edges of the pudding away from the basin with a palette knife. Turn out onto a warmed plate and spoon over loads of the golden syrup, which will soak into the sponge. Finally pour the warm orange syrup over the pudding and serve. 

Have a great weekend everyone! - JW 

Rhubarb and Mixed Berry Crumble

Over the weekend this became a joint effort. Not that it takes two people to make a rainy day dessert. More like my fiancé went out to the garden to collect some rhubarb, came up with the idea for a dessert and I felt compelled to get my hands in there while things were coming together in the kitchen. Honestly I don't need an excuse to take over the helm in the kitchen... I just get in there! This was the best comfort food on a rainy day. The sharp tart taste was balance by the sweetness of the mixed berries and crumble. Super easy and so delicious. Enjoy! - JW   

Rhubarb and Mixed Berry Crumble

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4-5 cups of rhubarb stalks 

2-3 cups mixed berries

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 oz (125g) of butter

3/4 cup of white flour 

Pre heat the over to 200ºC / 400ºF.

Wash and cut up the rhubarb stalks into 2cm / 1 inch pieces. Making sure all the leafy parts are cut of - they are poisonous.

Melt the butter and add both of the sugars and flour. Mix well to create a crumbly mixture.

Put the rhubarb and mixed berries into a lovely oven proof dish. Cover with the crumble mixture. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until crumble is browned and crisp. 

Let cool for a bit before serving. May be served with ice cream or whip cream. 

Note: You could cut down the caster sugar a bit if you find it too sweet however that would elevate the tartness.