Nathanael's Naughty Profiteroles

Giant profiteroles!

My big brother

  "Because profiteroles are naughty, right? (See previous Jacob and Jamie post "Profiteroles!") My name is Nathanael, I'm eight and Jacob, the blogger of Jacob and Jamie, is my older brother. I love cooking with him and the other day we made profiteroles with the recipe from Jacob and Jamie together but I basically did all of it. (It's true!)

 "I think making profiteroles is easy. But because I'm a little small, I was standing on a stool and knocked the oven-thingy (that would be the temperature dial) and they could have burned but it was a relief that they didn't. Everyone should have a go at making them.

 "The funnest bit about making profiteroles is getting to eat them when they're done! The way to eat a profiterole is to shove the whole thing in without letting any cream burst out your mouth! Just for fun, we made two huge ones just for us which we put mint chocolate ice-cream in but they were definitley too big to eat "properly"."

Bonabrtee, (That's hilarious!)

Nathanael

 "Thanks, Nathanael! A brilliant post. If you're looking for the recipe for these delicious profiteroles then click this link right here. Why not give them a try and let me know how you get on? (Just be careful with that "oven-thingy"!)"

It should come away from the saucepan cleanly

When it's cooled, add the eggs

(Avoid any shell!)

And then you have choux pastry!

Spoon or pipe it into the tray

...and it's ready to cook

...they'll be a perfect golden brown

When they're done...

Why not experiment with size and shape?

These were fun

"To glorify my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Creator 

of the universe and spread further abroad His glorious gospel." - Yours Truly

Abbie Berger's Spicy Samosas

 Readers, I had the privilege of trying these just fantastic, little darlings when visiting Abbie's family and I have to say that, man, are they good! If Indian food is your thing then try them with these two recipes below:

"Curry: The British Staple...Really?"

"Leftovers: Indian Style Potatoes with Flavoured Yoghurt"

 Now, have a read of the recipe below and get cooking...

Prep time: 2 hours | Cook time: 1 hour | Makes 46 samosas

Dough:

-10 cups white flour

-1/2 cup olive oil

Water

Filling:

-5 lbs cooked ground beef

-5 medium potatoes

-1 onion

-4 ½ heaping tablespoons curry powder

-4 ½ heaping tablespoons ginger

-2 ½ tablespoons dried chili pepper flakes

-1 ½ tablespoons cumin

-1 tablespoon coriander

-¼ teaspoon cinnamon

-½ teaspoon ground pepper

-1 ¼ teaspoon salt

 "Mix the flour and oil together thoroughly. Keep mixing while adding water; a little at a time. Knead for five minutes. Dough should form a smooth ball and be easy to roll out. Place dough back in bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Chop potatoes and onion finely. Add meat and place over low heat. Add remaining ingredients (spices). When potatoes and onions are cooked remove from heat. Grease three cookie sheets well. Grab a small section of dough (slightly larger than a golf ball) and roll out into an oval. Cut the oval in half. [see figure 4] Join corners A and B and form seam. [see figure 5] Carefully fill pastry with a spoonful of filling. [see figure 6] Seal pastry by gentle pressing the dough together and place on greased cookie sheet.

 "Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit with convection on. Before placing the completed samosas in the oven gently brush with olive oil. Repeat 2-3 times throughout baking time. Flip samosas half way through baking to make them crisp all over. Remove when they are at a desired brownness. This is a great main dish served with curried rice and yoghurt on the side. Enjoy!"

 Thank you so much, Abbie. A really great post with some fantastic photos too! I can't wait to try these when I get home...

"This is a great main dish served with curried
rice and yoghurt on the side. Enjoy!"

 If you are reading this and can think of a recipe that you would like to share then don't hesitate; you could have your very own post right here on YourBlog!. Just write to me at onedeliciousman@gmail.com now. This is an online food community so let's get sharing!

Jacob

"To glorify my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Creator 

of the universe and spread further abroad His glorious gospel." - Yours Truly

Sophie's Amazing Summer Fruit Sponge Wedding Cake

The top of the finished cake

I made this beautiful cake for my friend’s wedding, but it would easily suit any other summer occasion. It is very easy to achieve a spectacular centre-piece without needing to be artistic – the sheer profusion of fruit makes this cake truly eye-catching! The cake is made up of 9 layers of egg sponge, making 3 tiers of 3 layers each. You need to make three 4-egg quantities (in a 10’’tin) for the bottom layer, two 3-egg and one 2-egg (8’’ tin) for the middle layer, and one 2-egg and two 1-egg mixtures (6’’ tin) for the top layer. I know this seems odd, but the cake looks best and most-balanced that way! You will need an electric mixer to make the sponges, as it requires an awful lot of mixing. So much, that if you did it by hand, your arm would fall off!

It might take a while...

Sieve in the flour

I recommend lining the bottom of the tins with greaseproof paper – no need to line the sides as it bakes so quickly – and spraying with FryLight. If you don’t have FrylLight (you should!) you can grease with a small amount of margarine. As for baking times, I have a very slow oven, so I baked them all on the maximum temperature. I reckon a good fan oven would bake them at around 180, with approx. 20 mins for 4-egg, 15 for 3, 12 for 2 and 10 or less for 1. This is a very rough guide – you’ll know your own oven best. It takes a long time to bake all the layers for the cake, so this needs to be done the day before you want your cake.

Ingredients

4 eggs, 6oz white caster sugar, 4oz self-raising flour, 1tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs, 4 ½oz white caster sugar, 3oz self-raising flour, ½tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, 3oz white caster sugar, 2oz self-raising flour, ¼tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, 1½oz white caster sugar, 1oz self-raising flour, wee drop vanilla extract

Method

Whisk the room-temperature eggs in a warmed bowl with a pinch of salt. Add the sugar a little at a time, whisking thoroughly between each addition. After adding all the sugar, keep whisking until the mixture is very thick and pale. Test for thickness by making a figure of eight in the mixture with the beater. Count to eight, and the figure of eight should still be visible. If it dissolves before then, keep whisking! Sift in the flour, and fold into the mixture, gently and quickly. Then stir in the vanilla extract, pour into your prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven.

Assembly

Putting it all together

You will need a 12’’ cake-board and a thin 8’’ and 6’’ board; 2 pints whipping cream;  freezer jam; 2 punnets large strawberries, sliced; 1 punnet each of small strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries; one large spring of lemon-balm or mint; three or four rosebuds or tearoses; several lengths of narrow pink and cream ribbon; crystallized rose petals. And the cakes.

Place one 4-egg cake on the cake-board. Spread jam evenly over it. Arrange the sliced strawberries evenly over the cake. Make sure you let some strawberries peep just over the edge of the cake. Spoon cream over the strawberries, and lightly press the second 4-egg cake on top. Repeat the same steps for the second cake. Do not put jam or cream on the last 4-egg cake. Instead, place a thin 8’’ cake board on top, and build the second layer on this, placing the 3-egg sponges first, with the 2-egg on the top. This helps to stabilize the cake and spread the weight evenly. Do the same with a 6’’ cake board for the top layer, using the 2-egg cake first. Spread cream over the top cake. Tie the roses together in a posy with the ribbons, leaving a considerable length to drape down the sides of the cake. Nestle the roses into the cream, and heap small strawberries, raspberries and blueberries all over. Make sure you cover the edges of the supporting cake-boards with fruit. Scatter some crystallized rose petals over the whole thing and you’re finished! Step back and enjoy your creation!

The happy couple cutting the cake!

Freezer Jam

1lb strawberries

1 ½ lb caster sugar

Juice of a large lemon

Wash, hull and slice the strawberries. Mash the strawberries with the lemon juice and add half the sugar. Leave for a few hours to dissolve at room temperature. Then add the rest of the sugar, stir well and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. You’ll probably want to stir it up a few times. Put it into wee pots and freeze!

Crystallized Petals

Take some *perfect* rose petals, make sure there’s no bugs on them, and paint with a mixture of egg white whisked with a tiny drop of water. Don’t make the petals too wet. Sprinkle them with sugar and leave to dry in a cool, dry place. I made these during the spell of really hot weather, so having nowhere cool and dry, I left them over-night in a fan oven with the temperature turned to 0. This worked really well. When they’re fully dry, store them in an air-tight container between layers of greaseproof.

Well done, Sophie!

"To glorify my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Creator  

of the universe and spread further abroad His glorious gospel." - Yours Truly

Charis Shepherd - My "125 Lemon Sponge Cake"

 Hi Everyone,

 My sister who does the amazing photography for my blog JacobandJamie submitted this awesome Lemon Sponge recipe for you guys to make and enjoy. I absolutely love it so I know you will!

 "This is a delicous, super easy, light and fluffy, Lemony Sponge cake that I know you'll love! Everything used it is in 125 grams so it's real easy to remember. The more you enjoy making it, the better it tastes so don't forget to have lots of fun." 

 Time: Roughly 35 minutes

 Serves: 8-10

 RECIPE:

 1) First you'll need to preheat your oven to 180ºc and grease your tin. (I like to butter it and then sprinkle some flour around evenly, just to be sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom.) Put 125g of lightly salted butter in a bowl with 125g of golden caster sugar and place it in the microwave for 30 sec. until it's a yummy, gooey, melted mess. (You could do it in a saucepan over the hob.)  Once that's done stir it around (use a whisk if you can, it's much easier and makes the sponge fluffier too.) 

 2) Then add the lemon rind of two lemons and mix it all together. Add an egg (organic if you can!) stir, then add another and mix again. Sieve in 125g of self raising flour and mix it all together. Now, you can add the lemon juice of 1 and a half lemons and stir that well. 

 3) Pour the mixture into your already greased tin (if you're like me and just want to get to making that cake, it's time grease your tin now!) Leave it to cook for 15-20 minutes or until it's a lovely golden brown colour and firm to touch. If your still not sure if it's done, do the plastic knife/toothpick trick. 

 "And there you go, your cake's done! If you want a two tier cake, simply double this recipe."

 "For decoration, a pretty little dusting of icing sugar on top works, or make a simple butter cream icing and add the other half of your lemon juice to it and the rind. Make sure the cake is good and cooled down before you ice it though!

 For extra deliciousness, make a sweet and sticky lemon topping.

 Grab another small bowl and pour in the other half of your lemon juice and a nice sprinkle (around two tbsp. more if you fancy being naughty) of golden caster sugar. Mix them both together and pour this all over the cake while it's still hot, then serve. This makes the cake a bit gooey-er rather than the fluffier version but you can try both and see what one you prefer.

With Love,

Charis

 Thanks so much, Charis, brilliant post and recipe! If you are reading this and know of a recipe that you would like to share then write to me at onedeliciousman@gmail.com right now for your very own post right here on YourBlog!. This is an online food community for everyone to be a part of so get in your kitchens; I know you are all out there and that you are capable of more than you make yourself believe!

God Bless!

"To glorify my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Creator  

of the universe and spread further abroad His glorious gospel." - Yours Truly