SEASON 4 VIDEO BONUS RECIPES

As with every season, there were a few BONUS recipes which appeared only on the FoodPoint Youtube channel as companions to the 'Tips' or 'Spotlight' episodes. If you missed these recipes and would like to check them out, please click the links below.

Peking Duck Pancakes - Low-Fuss - from 'Tips #7: Top 10 Kitchen Tricks & Hacks'

The video recipe is available at https://youtu.be/ddh2XSryIJ0.

Rocket Pesto Pasta - Low-Fuss - from 'Spotlight #4: Olive Oil'

The video recipe is available at https://youtu.be/0IFibLcK-Y0.

Enjoy!

--- Blake

Season 4 BONUS Recipe: Crème Caramel – Intermediate – Baking & Desserts

So this was just meant to be “another way to use my baked custard base from the crème brûlée recipe”, but had the unintended consequence of my mother declaring it “the best thing she’s eaten in years”. Which is kind of a put-down really, considering she’s had the opportunity to eat everything else on the blog while I’ve been testing recipes… oh, well!

Unlike crème brûlée which is a silky baked custard with toffee on top, crème caramel is a silky baked custard with toffee on the bottom (which is then flipped over so the toffee is on top anyway). While I really enjoyed the crème brûlée I made earlier in the season, I’m forced to concede that my mother may have a point when it comes to this crème caramel.

Not to toot my own horn (because it’s not like I invented the dish), but this was absolutely divine!

Ingredients:

1 batch Baked Custard Base, at room temperature (from ‘Episode4.05’)

½ cup caster sugar

¼ cup water

Yep, that’s it. A bit of sugar and water is all it takes to knock a simple baked custard out of the park.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F).

2. Place the sugar and water into a saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves.

3. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat until it begins to boil, then reduce to medium until it begins to caramelise. (DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM IT! Boiling sugar can be dangerous if unattended. Also, try not to spill it on yourself… that would be rather unfortunate, not least of all because then you'd have to start again.)

4. Once the sugar syrup has reached the desired colour (a deep amber) remove it from the heat and pour it into a 15cm ramekin or another ovenproof dish of a similar size. (You REALLY need to do this right away. The sugar syrup will continue to caramelise until it starts to cool down, so you want it OUT of the saucepan as soon as possible to prevent it from burning.)

5. Once the toffee has cooled and is completely solid (approx. 30 minutes later), move the ramekin into a high-sided baking tray and pour the custard base over the toffee until the dish is almost completely full. (Unless you’re using a really deep ramekin.)

6. Fill the baking tray with enough boiling water until it reaches around halfway up the sides of the ramekin.

7. Place the baking tray into the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 60-70 minutes or until there is just a slight wobble in the centre of the custard.

8. Allow the crème caramel to cool, then place into the fridge overnight to chill.

9. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut around the inside edge of the ramekin to release the crème caramel.

10. Place your serving plate over the ramekin tightly and flip it over.

11. Lift away the ramekin (slowly) and serve immediately.

Serves 2-4 (or just 1, honestly).

A video of this recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/U6-UX-VmABA.

If you have a recipe to request, it's not too late! Please send me an email and you may see it in Season 5.

4.12 Black Forest Gâteau Macarons – Advanced – Baking & Desserts

Almost a year ago, the final episode of FoodPoint Season 1 was for my basic macarons. For the final episode of Season 4, it seems fitting to revisit macarons and apply what I’ve learned since then.

I received a request from CookingwithKarma, another popular Australian food blogger, for another flavour of macaron. I chose chocolate because it seemed like the best place to start, then decided to make things a bit more interesting by making a multi-layered macaron. The only question was: what should it be?

Black Forest Gâteau has been my favourite cake since I was a kid. The combination of rich chocolate, sour cherries and whipped cream still makes me happy, so this seemed like the logical choice.

I encourage you to check out CookingwithKarma’s YouTubechannel as there’s really something for everyone. Otherwise, it’s on to the recipe!

PART A – CHOCOLATE MACARONS

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my macaron recipe using Italian meringue to work properly with this dessert. I’m not completely sure, but I think that the cocoa dries it out too much? Anyway, after several failed attempts, I had to use a different recipe that used the less-stable French meringue.

The result? Flavour is great, but around half of the macaron shells ended up cracked. C’est la vie! It doesn’t really matter anyway, since you won’t really see 2/3 of them in the end!

Ingredients:

3 egg whites, room temperature

2 cups icing sugar

1 cup almond meal

3 tbsp caster sugar

3 tbsp cocoa powder

¼ tsp cream of tartar

¼ tsp salt

As mentioned previously, icing sugar is also known as powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar, and not to be confused with icing mixture.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F) and line a couple of trays with baking paper.

2. Place the icing sugar, almond meal, cocoa powder and salt into a food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until well combined, then sift onto a sheet of baking paper and place aside. (You can sift into a bowl instead, but I find the baking paper makes it easier to funnel the mixture.)

3. Place the egg whites and cream of tartar into a benchtop/stand mixer and whip to a soft peak. (This means it just holds a shape.)

4. Gradually whisk in the caster sugar a bit at a time until the meringue forms a stiff peak. (This means it will hold a shape easily. To test this, you could tip the bowl upside-down over your head and it shouldn’t pour out. Or, you can just learn to judge it by eye.)

5. Funnel approx. ¼ of the dry ingredients into the meringue and fold in gently until combined. (Try not to overmix.)

6. Repeat Step 5 until all of the dry ingredients have been added. (The meringue will have mostly collapsed, but don’t be too concerned.)

7. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and pipe blobs, approx. 2.5cm (1 in) in diameter, onto the lined baking trays.

8. Bash the base of each baking tray against the benchtop a few times to collapse any air pockets.

9. Place aside for at least 30 mins so that the surface forms a skin.

10. Bake for 14-17 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool before filling. (They can also be stored in an airtight container for up to a week before filling.)

Makes 30-40 macaron shells.

A video of this part of the recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/L5mvxbEXoqU.

PART B – SOUR CHERRY FILLING

I’ll be honest, you really could just use premade cherry jam for this, but I don’t think it’s sour enough.

Plus, this is an Advanced recipe, so you’re sort of expected to take the more difficult route.

Ingredients:

425g jar of sour cherries, in juice

2 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

See, it’s not so bad anyway! Only 3 ingredients.

Method:

1. Drain the liquid from the jar of cherries into a small saucepan, then put the cherries aside until needed. (Make sure you drain as much liquid as possible.)

2. Add the sugar to the saucepan and place over a medium-high heat until it begins to bubble.

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to bubble for approx. 30 mins or until reduced to a thick syrup.

4. Remove from the heat and melt in the butter, stirring until combined.

5. Place the cherries into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. (You don’t want a puree, but you don’t want the pieces to be too large either.)

6. Transfer the cherries to a bowl, pour over the warm syrup, and mix through.

7. Cover the bowl with cling film and place into the fridge to chill overnight.

8. Drain off the excess liquid (if there is any) and you should be left with a thick, jam-like mixture.

Makes approx. ¾ cup.

PART C – CUSTARD CREAM FILLING

The name says it all, really. Basically make a custard (crème pâtissière) and fold through some whipped cream.

Ingredients:

500ml thickened or double cream

250ml milk

3 egg yolks, room temperature

¼ cup caster sugar

2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla extract/paste/essence

Nothing too unsual here.

Method:

1. Heat the milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it just begins to simmer, then remove from the heat and place aside.

2. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks to break them up, then add the caster sugar and whisk until light and fluffy.

3. Add the cornflour and whisk until thick and pale.

4. Slowly pour the hot milk into the custard base, whisking constantly until combined.

5. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until thick and smooth.

6. Transfer to a bowl and place a sheet of cling film onto the surface, and place aside to cool. (The cling film stops it from forming a skin as it cools.)

7. Whip the cream to stiff peaks.

8. Mix the cooled custard to loosen it up, then stir in a dollop of whipped cream to lighten it up.

9. Add the custard to the whipped cream and fold together gently until combined.

10. Use right away, or place into the fridge to chill for use in no more than 48 hours.

Makes approx. 1 litre.

PART D – ASSEMBLING THE MACARONS

As usual, this is probably an unnecessary step, but I’m going to share the process I used.

Ingredients:

Some maraschino cherries, stalks attached

Method:

1. Take 1 of the macaron shells (preferably a cracked one) and pipe on blobs of the custard cream until the base is covered.

2. Pipe on some of the cherry filling in the gaps. (You won’t need much, it’s fairly potent.)

3. Take a smooth macaron and place it over the top.

4. Take another macaron shells (either smooth or cracked) and repeat Steps 2 and 3.

5. Place the first filled macaron onto the second filled base.

6. Pipe a blob of custard cream on top.

7. Place a maraschino cherry onto the blob of custard cream.

8. It’s finished! Put it onto your serving plate and start on the next one.

9. Repeat Steps 1 to 8 until you run out of macaron shells.

Makes approx. 10 Black Forest Gâteau Macarons.

A video of parts B, C & D of the recipe is available - https://youtu.be/A0c-ldjEF18.

If you have a recipe to request, it's not too late! Please send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

***NOTE: If you didn’t see above, this is the final episode of Season 4. I’ll be back with Season 5 in 6 weeks, but there’ll be updates and bonuses before then so keep an eye out!***

4.11 Vegan Fried Rice – Low-Fuss – Rice & Pasta

Don’t be scared away by the name! I know that vegan food is largely sneered at by most people, but that doesn’t necessarily make it bad food. Whilst I’m far from a vegan myself, I have to acknowledge that there is a group of people out there who want food without any animal products in them, and that’s their choice.

But you know what? I made this dish, I ate this dish, and I darn well enjoyed it!

This recipe is based on a request from a crazy girl named Ling Ling. Well, she’s not so much a crazy girl as in she’s a crazy alter ego of a reasonably sane girl (it depends who you ask) named Damielou. If you’veread my previous blog posts, you’ll know that Damie is a vlogger. Ling Ling is a party girl who speaks her mind (which appears to function in gibberish) and goes for what she wants (which for the most part appears to be money and alcohol). Either way, she has fun!

This dish is great for a girl on the go as it only takes around 10 minutes from start to finish. It’s fine as a meal all on its own, or you can use it as a side dish with a stirfry.

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups cooked rice

2 spring onions, sliced

200g shitake mushrooms, sliced

¼ cup peas

¼ cup corn kernels

¼ cup coriander, roughly chopped

⅓ cup bean sprouts

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp vegan stirfry sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp cooking oil

Okay, so this looks like a lot of ingredients, but that’s because I’ve tried to make this dish interesting by adding lots of different flavours and textures.

The cooked rice should be either boiled or steamed (preferably be Jasmine rice, although regular long grain rice will suffice). As bacteria can form on rice very quickly, it’s best that you use rice that was cooked less than 36 hours before you make this recipe (or 24 just to be safe). It’s recommended that the rice be cold, however.

The peas and corn I used were frozen vegetables that I just thawed out in some warm water and then drained. You could probably also use tinned peas or corn that you’ve drained and rinsed.

The vegan stirfry sauce was a premade bottled product, but – if you prefer – from a bit of messing around I’ve come up with a sauce you can make yourself using 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch. Or, if you aren’t restricting yourself to a vegan diet, you could just use some oyster sauce and it should taste fine.

By cooking oil, I would suggest either vegetable oil, rice bran oil, or peanut oil. Olive oil would be a bit overpowering in a recipe like this.

Method:

1. Heat the cooking oil in a pan over medium-high heat, then add the sliced spring onions and fry for a minute or so, stirring frequently, until slightly softened.

2. Add the minced ginger and garlic and stirfry for a further 30-60 seconds.

3. Add in the mushrooms and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft.

4. Add the peas, corn, and beansprouts and stirfry for a further 30-60 seconds.

5. Add the rice and stir until any clumps have broken up into the individual grains, then continue to stirfry for a further 1-2 minutes.

6. Stir in the sauce (whichever type you end up using) and cook off for another minute.

7. Remove from the heat and stir through the sesame oil and coriander, then serve! (TIP: You can scatter over some toasted cashews or peanuts for an extra hint of texture and flavour.)

Serves 2-4 (depending on whether it’s a main or a side.

A video of this recipe is also available at - https://youtu.be/1z257gCW6OU.

If you have a recipe to request, it's not too late! Please send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

4.10 Nutella Tart – Low-Fuss – Baking & Desserts

It seems like you can't go anywhere food-related on the internet without stumbling over a few dozen Nutella-based recipes. This week, I'll add to this already crowded market with my simple yet delicious tart.

This recipe is based on a request from my friend Leasha, who – like an ever-increasing number of people – wanted “something with Nutella”. Hopefully this delivers everything she was hoping for!

If you aren’t really a big fan of Nutella, then this probably isn’t for you, but I would still recommend that you give it a try!

Ingredients:

400g Nutella

400g choc chip cookies

250g unsalted butter

395g sweetened condensed milk

Yep, just 4 ingredients. Any decorations, etc. will increase this, but those would be optional extras.

While Nutella lovers can sometimes be a little overzealous, I would recommend that you refrain from adding more Nutella than what is listed as it could cause problems with the recipe if you don’t also increase the other ingredients by the same ratio.

The cookies I used are 40% chocolate chip. This doesn’t refer to the amount of cocoa in the chocolate chips (although incidentally, this may be close to the mark); it refers to the percentage of chocolate chips in the cookie itself. If you can’t find these, just use any other type of choc chip cookie you can find. If you find something with hazelnuts in it, then that’s good too, as it will enhance the flavour of the Nutella.

I tested this recipe in 3 different versions before settling on this one, and the only reason it works is because of the sweetened condensed milk. Don’t be tempted to swap this for evaporated milk or cream, those versions didn’t work!

Method:

1. Break the cookies up into a food processor and blend until they become crumbs, then transfer to a mixing bowl.

2. Melt all of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then measure out ½ cup of melted butter and place the rest aside until needed later in the recipe. (You shouldn’t need to refrigerate it unless you plan on leaving the tart shell to set overnight, which isn’t really necessary. Just leave it in the saucepan for a couple of hours and it should be fine.)

3. Pour the ½ cup of melted butter over the cookie crumbs and mix together until combined. (The hot butter will likely melt the chocolate chips, but that’s fine, this makes the mixture softer and easier to work with.)

4. Place the cookie crumb mix into a 20-25cm tart tin with a removable base and press out to an even layer on the bottom and sides.

5. Place the tart shell into the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes or until firm, then move on to Step 6.

6. In the saucepan with the remaining butter, add the sweetened condensed milk and Nutella, then stir together over a low heat until everything is combined and smooth. (There may be a few air bubbles which make it look a bit lumpy, but as long as you can tell it’s just air then that’s fine.)

7. Pour the tart filling into the base, then place into the fridge to set. (It may take a few hours, so overnight it probably the easiest.)

8. To serve, remove from the tin and base, decorate however you like (I just used some whipped cream and strawberries) and allow to sit out of the fridge for around 15 minutes so that it’s easier to cut.

9. Eat it!

Serves 1-12 (realism again! But this is quite rich, so 12 serves is probably the most accurate measure.)

A video of this recipe is also available at - https://youtu.be/H8fD4BmytWU.

If you have a recipe to request, it's not too late! Please send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

4.09 Spotlight #4: Olive Oil

I hope you’re enjoying the recipes so far, but this week I'm doing another (unsolicited) Spotlight video.

Most people who cook have a specific ingredient that they absolutely cannot do without, and mine just happens to be olive oil. In this video I'll discuss the different varieties, how they're made, and when each one should be used. Plus, there is a BONUS recipe for my Rocket Pesto Pasta!

If you feel that you can sit this one out, I will be back with another recipe next week. For everyone else, please watch the video at https://youtu.be/l_am_6DsWlI.

If anyone would like to share their own tips, or even if you just have a question, please do not hesitate to email me.

I'm also still taking recipe requests for the rest of the season, so let me know if there's something you'd like to see!

4.08 Beef Wellington – Advanced – Meat & Poultry

I have to confess that I’m a little excited this week. The request for this recipe came from Nicko’s Kitchen, which is a pretty big name on the YouTube food scene. This is basically the equivalent of a busker being approached by a world-famous artist and being asked to perform for them. Well, not exactly, but close enough!

For those of you who don’t know him, Nicko runs the super-popular YouTube Channel Nicko’s Kitchen. We’re talking about millions of views, over a million subscribers, over one-and-a-half million ‘Likes’ on Facebook, over ten thousand followers on Twitter, and almost eighteen thousand followers on Instagram. This is essentially celebrity status.

Unfortunately, this makes cooking for Nicko much more daunting, as he undoubtedly has a ton of experience when it comes to food. Still, I’m always up for a challenge!

Back to the recipe at hand, some of you may not be familiar with Beef Wellington. Traditionally, it’s a seared beef fillet smothered with paté, wrapped in a herb crepe, then wrapped again in pastry and baked until medium-rare (or less).

There’s already a slew of different versions, so here’s my interpretation.

Ingredients:

800g-1kg beef eye fillet, trimmed of fat

300g swiss brown mushrooms, blended until minced

4 savoy cabbage leaves, large

30g unsalted butter

Hot English mustard

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Shortcrust pastry OR puff pastry

Okay, so as you see there’s no paté or crepes in the above ingredients. Personally, I think you don’t NEED to cover a big chunk of meat with a paste made out of livers! You don’t NEED to wrap something with a crepe if you’re then going to wrap it in pastry anyway! In this rare instance I’ve decided to take the slightly healthier route, and replaced these superfluous elements with vegetables instead.

As I’ve mentioned on a few occasions previously, I prefer swiss brown mushrooms in almost all cases. As usual, if you can’t find them (or don’t want them), feel free to use portabello mushrooms, field mushrooms, or button mushrooms. And to clarify, when I say ‘minced’, I mean it’s basically a chunky paste (sounds appetising, right? Don't worry, it tastes awesome by the time you're finished!).

The same goes for the savoy cabbage. If you use a different type of cabbage, just make sure that the leaves are big enough, and that the stems aren’t too chunky.

I haven’t given a precise measurement for the mustard or olive oil, and that’s because it’s sort of up to your own judgment; maybe you want to use a little less oil, or maybe you can’t handle too much mustard? If I had to choose a number, I’d say approx. 2 tbsp of each should be sufficient for the recipe.

The type of pastry you use is also up to you. Buy it, make it yourself, whatever! Just make sure you have enough to wrap up everything up at the end. For the purposes of this recipe, I used the same shortcrust pastry that I used for my Steak and Stout Pie recipe a few months ago. If you don't make your own pastry, then this could be considered an Intermediate recipe, rather than Advanced.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) and line a baking tray with some baking paper.

2. Sprinkle some salt, pepper and olive oil over the beef fillet and rub until coated all over.

3. Place the fillet into a pan over medium-high heat and sear on all sides for 2-3 minutes each, then remove from the pan and place aside to cool.

4. Leave the pan on the heat, and place in the butter along with some more olive oil until melted and sizzling.

5. Add the minced mushrooms to the pan along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and fry until browned and all liquid has evaporated, then remove from the pan and place aside to cool. (It’s worth mentioning that the juices released by the mushrooms will deglaze the pan, so any part of the beef fillet that you’re worried will be burnt on to the pan should be lifted and incorporated into the mushrooms.)

6. Bring a pot of water to the boil, then add the cabbage leaves and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the stalks are soft and pliable. Drain the cabbage and place aside to cool.

7. Once the beef, mushrooms and cabbage have cooled, move on to Step 8. (This is the assembly part, so I’ll add lots of photos to make it easier for you!)

8. Brush the fillet with some mustard until coated as desired.

9. Place two cabbage leaves flat on the bench, with the ends overlapping.

10. Spoon the mushroom onto the cabbage leaves in a shape similar to the fillet.

11. Place the fillet onto the mushrooms.

12. Place the remaining cabbage leaves over the fillet and tuck underneath to seal it in.

13. Place the cabbage parcel onto your pastry and wrap tightly, ensuring everything is sealed.

14. Transfer the wellington to the baking tray and brush with some beaten egg. (This will make it look nice and shiny.)

15. Slice a few slits into the top of the pastry. (This will allow any steam to escape, and it gives a nice rustic look too.)

16. Bake for 40-60 minutes to get your desired result. (For Rare-Medium Rare: 40 minutes, for Medium-Well Done: 50 minutes, and for Well Done: 60 minutes. I cooked mine to Well Done in order to gauge cooking times just to make it easier for you. It was a shame to do that to such an awesome fillet, but it still tasted great anyway!)

17. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for approx. 10 minutes.

18. Slice thickly, and serve!

Serves 6-10 (some people may want a second helping.)

A video of this recipe is also available at - https://youtu.be/44LULR3fSQM.

If you have a recipe to request, it's not too late! Please send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

4.07 Golden Syrup Mudcake – Intermediate – Baking & Desserts

This recipe was inspired by a request from my friend Kate, who loves pretty much every type of baked good (aside from things like quiche, which she complains is “too eggy”).

She wanted something decadent using any combination of cake, chocolate and caramel. Keeping in mind that this recipe is meant to be something she can replicate on her own, I did the best I could to bring together all the elements she wanted into something that's fairly simple.

I have noticed that people living in countries outside of UK and Australia aren’t very familiar with golden syrup. This syrup is made by boiling down sugar cane juice until it turns thick and… well… golden. I think if you’re looking for an alternative, you could probably substitute brown rice syrup or dark corn syrup – and maybe even honey – but don’t quote me on that as I haven’t tested it! Something like maple syrup is probably too thin and would make the batter too runny.

It’s worth noting that while I’ve called this a mudcake, it’s not quite as dense as most mudcakes seem to be. Although, it is quite rich!

PART A – GOLDEN SYRUP MUDCAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups self-raising flour

1 ½ cups light brown sugar

½ cup golden syrup

½ cup milk

200g unsalted butter, softened

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla essence/extract/paste

½ tbsp pink salt flakes

All of these ingredients are fairly standard for baking, except possibly the pink salt flakes. Half a tablespoon of salt might seem like quite a lot for a dessert – indeed, it’s probably quite a lot for a savoury dish! – but it cuts through the sweetness a bit. Think of salted caramel, it’s similar. Also, pink salt isn’t quite so “salty” as regular salt as it contains a number of other minerals. If you can’t find this, just use 1 tsp of regular salt instead.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F) and line the bottom and sides of a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. (TIP: Use a tin with high sides, and line with baking paper even higher. This cake has a long bake time when this recipe is followed exactly and the high paper sides can provide some protection to stop the top from browning too much. Also, you’ll want the high sides for when you add the topping to the cake!)

2. Place the milk and syrup into a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir together until the syrup has dissolved into the milk. (TIP: Do not let it come to a boil as the milk could split and you have to start again – learned THAT the hard way!)

3. Remove the milk and syrup from the heat and place aside to cool for approx. 5 minutes.

4. Place the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt flakes into a large mixing bowl and beat together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

5. Add in 1 egg and beat until incorporated.

6. Sift in ½ cup of flour and beat until incorporated.

7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until all eggs and flour are incorporated.

8. Pour in the cooled milk and syrup mixture and beat until smooth and velvety.

9. Pour the mixture into the lined cake tin and bake it for 65-75 minutes, or until a skewer can be inserted and removed clean. (Yes, this is a long bake! This is because it’s all in a single tin. If you want to use this cake for something other than what I’ve done with it, then you can split it between 2-3 tins instead and bake for 20-40 minutes instead.)

10. Remove the cake from the oven and place aside to start on Part B of the recipe while it’s still hot.

PART B – CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING

Ingredients:

300ml pure/single cream

300g dark chocolate

2 tbsp golden syrup

This is just a basic chocolate ganache which I’ve made in previous videos, however this time I’ve added golden syrup too. I’ve done this for two reasons:- (1) it adds to the golden syrup flavour of the cake, and; (2) it makes the ganache nice and shiny, which looks good!

Keep in mind that you don’t have to do this part if you don’t want to. You have a perfectly good cake from Part A that you can use in whatever way you choose. But hopefully you’ll give this a try because it’s such a small amount of effort!

Method:

1. Place the chocolate and syrup into a jug.

2. Warm the cream in a saucepan over-medium high heat until it just starts to bubble slightly.

3. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and syrup, allow it to sit for a minute to soften the chocolate, then mix together until everything is melted together and smooth.

4. Use a thick skewer to poke lots of holes in the top of the warm cake. (You can just pierce the surface if you like, but feel free to poke the skewer all the way down to the bottom of the cake.)

5. Pour the warm ganache over the warm cake and leave to soak overnight. (You can leave it for just a couple of hours if you can’t wait, but I would STRONGLY suggest that you leave it overnight.)

6. If the ganache is firm, move on to Step 7. Otherwise, place the cake into the fridge until the ganache is firm before moving on to Step 7.

7. Remove the cake from the tin and unwrap the baking paper.

8. Decorate as desired, then serve with some whipped cream or icecream and maybe some fresh berries. (I simply added a few more sprinkles of pink salt flakes to decorate, but that’s probably not to everyone’s taste.)

Serves 1-12 (being realistic!)

A video of this recipe is also available at - https://youtu.be/FfMVPDKe-Jg.

If you have a recipe to request, it's not too late! Please send me an email and I'll see what I can do.