Week Eight: Cakes and Biscuits

Ok, I know that this isn't exactly a meal, but it was my sister's birthday party and I also wanted some way in which to revise without dying of boredom (revision biscuits to come later...).

Gooey, rich chocolate cake
This will stay moist for several days and is amazingly chocolatey. Don't be put off by the long ingredients list - it's incredibly easy to make!
The decoration is up to you - I haven't included any ingredients for it. My cake was "Cowboys and Indians" themed, to tie in with the party.

Ingredients
85g Plain flour
85g Self-raising flour
200g Caster sugar
200g Brown sugar
200g Unsalted butter
100g Milk chocolate
100g Dark chocolate
75ml Cream / Buttermilk
25g Cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 tbs coffee granules, dissolved in 125ml water
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C and grease (or line) a round tin - about 8" or 20cm diameter.
Break up the chocolate then melt together the chocolate and butter, then stir in the coffee.

Mix together the dry ingredients (sifting is desirable but not entirely necessary).

Beat together the eggs, cream / buttermilk and vanilla, then mix thoroughly into the dry ingredients.

Stir in the chocolate mixture; the final mix is very runny - this worried me, but apart from slight leakage on the part of the tin, it was fine. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

Put in the oven (TIP: If there's any chance of your tin leaking, put a baking tray on the shelf beneath to prevent that burnt toast smell from haunting your oven) and cook for anywhere between 1h 15m and 1h 30m. The top should feel firm to touch.

Leave in the tin until just warm, then turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool.

Week Seven Pictures

A note about onions...

If you're anthing like me, you'll find that chopping and even peeling onions causes you to tear up like mad. Here are the solutions I've discovered:

• Sunglasses. Seriously. These only work for a limited amount of time, but they work well for that time!
• Food processor. If you're going to be chopping onions for burgers or something else where you don't need neat slices, this is great.
• Water. Keep a jug of water near by when preparing onions. Once you've topped, tailed and peeled them, dunk them in the water and then again once you've cut them in half. This works really well and the most onions I've ever prepared this way with no tears is 4!

Good luck with your onions!

Week Seven: Turkey burgers with onion marmalade

 Serves 4  - £1.70 per person
Ingredients:
500g turkey mince
1 egg
60g fresh breadcrumbs
A handful of fresh herbs- thyme, sage, bay...
Oil for frying

400g onions. finely sliced
2 dsps brown sugar
3 tsps red wine vinegar
Oil for frying

Method
First, mix together the breadcrumbs and herbs, then add the turkey mince and combine thoroughly with either your (clean) hands or a fork. Put this mixture into the fridge.

Now, start to make the onion marmalade by heating the oil and then adding the onions. Turn the heat down and leave to cook for about 15 minutes with a lid on, adding the sugar after 10.
Next, add the vinegar and cook without a lid on a higher heat for another 10 or so minutes, then remove from the heat and put to one side.

Return to the burger mixture. Shape this into 8 thinnish patty shapes. Heat the oil in a frying pan and place the burgers in - leave enough space to be able to turn them over easily. Leave for about 3 minutes then turn them over and continue to cook for another couple of minutes. Depending on the size of your pan, you may want to keep the cooked burgers hot in a dish in the oven while you cook the rest.

Warm the onion marmalade through then serve with the burgers, some bread rolls and salad.
Enjoy!