Chocolate Cheesecake

Oooh, this is good.
But oh, so fattening.
We use the set method for this cheesecake. Gelatine will set the topping.
It would be good to use a fruit/berry instead of chocolate, to cut through the fat.
Leave the cheesecake in the fridge for at least an hour to make sure it is set well.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (set method)

Equipment

·      Small round tin

·      Baking paper (to fit in the bottom of tin)

·      Measuring cups/spoons

·      Small mixing bowl

·      Rolling pin

·      Chopping board

·      Whisk/ egg beater

Ingredients

·      Biscuit crumbs (from 6 biscuits)

·      Butter, 50g, melted

·      Cream cheese, 2 Tbsp

·      Icing sugar, 1 heaped Tbsp

·      Cocoa powder, 1 tsp

·      Lemon juice, 1/2 tsp

·      Vanilla essence, ¼ tsp

·      Gelatin, 1 tsp

·      Hot water, 4 tsp

·      Cream, ¼ cup, whipped

·      Chocolate chips, 1 ramekin, heated in microwave.

Method

1.    Crush up the biscuit with the rolling pin on the chopping board.

2.    Melt the butter in a measuring cup in the microwave and then mix it with the biscuit crumbs.

3.    Line the bottom of the tin with the baking paper.

4.    Pack the buttery biscuit crumb into the bottom of the tin.

5.    Place into the fridge.

6.    Beat the cream cheese, cocoa and icing sugar until they are soft.

7.    Mix the lemon juice, vanilla essence and hot water together.

8.    Dissolve the gelatin in the lemon juice mixture. Heat in microwave if necessary.

9.    Stir the gelatin mixture in with the cream cheese mixture.

10. Fold in the whipped cream.

11. Add the heated chocolate chips to this mix and pour into the chilled base from the fridge.

12.  Return to the fridge to set for 20-30 minutes.

13. Carefully remove from the tin, cut up and serve.

Fish cakes

This dish is surprisingly good. They aren't really cakes but patties.
Some children don't like fish so create these crumbed potato and tinned fish patties for them to try.
I bet they will wolf these down.

Serve with a little Tartare sauce.

Try not to burn the cakes in the frypan. Just cook to golden brown on both sides. They absorb quite a bit of oil so remember to sit the patties on a sheet of kitchen paper to get rid of the excess oil.

You can change the type of fish you put in them and the subsequent seasoning. Although the fish must be cooked or tinned. Smoked fish is particularly nice.

Fish cakes

Equipment

·      Pot and lid

·      Chopping board

·      Sharp knife

·      Peeler

·      Potato masher

·      Mixing bowls

·      Measuring spoons/cups

·      Small frying pan and fish slice

·      Bowls for crumbing

Ingredient

·      Potato, 2 peeled, boiled and mashed

·      Tinned fish, 1/4 cup

·      Onion, ¼ , finely diced

·      Mixed herbs, ¼ tsp

·      Salt, ½ tsp

·      Parsley, a sprig, finely diced

·      Egg, 1, beaten with a little water

·      Breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup

·      Oil for frying

·      Flour, ¼ cup, for moulding fish cakes.

Method

1.    Wash, peel and wash the potato’s before cutting them up and boiling them. 

2.    Drain the potatoes when they are soft. Mash when they have dried out a bit.

3.    Mix the fish, onion, parsley, herbs and salt in a bowl. Add the mashed potato and mix well.

4.    Set up the 3 crumbing bowls (flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs)

5.    Divide the mix into 6-8 even portions. Shape into rounds.

6.    Carefully dip each fish cake into the flour, then the beaten egg and finally coat with breadcrumbs. Place on a plate.

7.    Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the fish cakes until golden brown on both sides.

8.    Drain on a paper towel.

9.    Serve with Tartare sauce.

Food Academy- Buttermilk Flapjacks

Making Butter and Buttermilk from cream

Pour 1 cup of cream into a yoghurt container, secure the lid well and shake vigorously for 15 minutes.

The cream will whip then begin to clot and finally forming butter.

Once the butter has become a big lump, unscrew the lid and carefully collect the buttermilk. The butter can placed in the fridge or freezer to keep.   

American Buttermilk Pancakes (Flapjacks)

Makes 10-12 flapjacks.

Ingredients

·      Flour, 1 cup

·      Salt, ½ tsp

·      Baking powder, 1tsp

·      Baking soda, 1 tsp

·      Buttermilk, 100ml

·      Milk, 225ml

·      Egg, 1

Method

1.    Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.

2.    Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk.

3.    Add the fresh milk and egg to the buttermilk mixture and beat well.

4.    Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid.

5.    Whisk in the dry ingredients, slowly at first.

6.    Heat and grease up a pan.

7.    Ladle enough mixture in to make a 12cm diameter pancake.

8.    Wait for the bubbles and carefully flip over. The second side does not take very long to cook.

9.    Serve with Bacon and Maple syrup.

Sponge cake.

This recipe is just one of the many for sponge cakes.
The key is to get as much air into the mix as possible (by mixing well with egg beater and then gently folding through) and not let it escape when it comes out of the oven.
A little trick is to drop the sponge just after it comes out of the oven, this knocks some air out but traps most of it. Doing this means the sponge won't completely collapse.

Sponge Cake

Equipment

·      Large mixing bowls

·      Egg beater

·      Measuring cup/spoons

·      Cake tin (round or square)

·      Sieve

·      Baking paper or flour dusting

·      Cooling rack

·      Wooden spoon or spatula

Ingredients

·      Eggs, 3

·      Sugar, 3/4 cup

·      Flour, 1 cup

·      Baking powder, 1 tsp

·      Salt, pinch

·      Butter, 50g, melted

·      Cream, 1/4 cup, whipped

·      Jam, 1 Tbspn

Method

Oven on to 175⁰C.

1.    Beat the eggs and salt together.

2.    Add sugar and beat until thick.

3.    Sift flour and baking powder together.

4.    Carefully add to egg mixture.

5.    Fold in the butter.

6.    Pour into a greased and lined deep cake tin.

7.    Bake for 20 minutes or until cake springs back.

8.    Leave for 10 minutes to cool down in tin before turning out onto a cooling rack.

9.    Whip the cream.

10. Carefully spread the jam on the top of the sponge.

11.  Serve with the cream.