Tuesday 22 February 2011

Definitely time to bake a cake!

Is there really a time when you shouldn't bake a cake?  Not that I can think of.
But today I felt like celebrating, just a little (hence the little cakes!). In my madness a few days ago I signed up to join a crazy expedition to attempt (the very first attempt I may add) to row 1000km of the Zambezi River in Zambia (http://rowzambezi.com).  Why crazy I hear you ask, you train all the time so should be a doddle?  But what I have not trained for, in my little sculling boat on the Thames, is crocs, hippos and rapids.  That's before we even think about  elephants, snakes and scorpions.....sounds like a fun trip eh?
Needless to say I have been put in charge of making sure we all remain fit and healthy (I can do nothing about being a croc's lunch) before and throughout the trip, so have been asking a few favours with regards to products and ingredients that I swear by for my own fitness.
Today I have had a great response from both Cherry Active (which will help our sore muscles each day), and Coconoil (which may help us against bugs and also tastes great!), who have both offered to give us their product to take along.
These delicious little cakes contain Coconoil, but I'm not sure we will be carrying bun tins on the Zambezi, so I have to enjoy as many of them as possible before we leave!

Coconut & Peach Fairy Cakes


Makes 12


140g Coconoil
140g caster sugar
3 eggs
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
small can peaches in juice, drained
35g unsalted butter
100g cream cheese
80g icing sugar
25g dessicated coconut




1.  Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6. Place 12 paper cases into a bun tin.
2.  Grate the Coconoil into a bowl and add the sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder.  Mix well with a wooden spoon.
3.  Dice one peach and slice the other.  Add the diced peach to the cake mixture and mix well.
4.  Spoon into the paper cases then bake for 12-13 minutes, until they are just springy to touch.
5.  Leave the cakes to cool on a cooling rack.
6.  For the icing, beat together the butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and coconut.
7.  Top each cake with a little of the creamy icing and a slice of peach.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Technical Issues and Tofu!

Oh the delights of technology.  First the computer decides it will go on a complete go-slow, then the Wi-Fi packs up completely!  Huge thanks to Apple in Kingston, who talked me through deleting my whole hard-drive (very scary!), and boo-hiss to Netgear who are no help whatsoever!  Having spent an afternoon doing my work from Starbucks, I have finally had enough and decided to change my system to somebody more reliable - is there such a thing I hear you ask?!

Anyway, on to more interesting things...whilst all this mayhem was occurring I was invited to a tofu-making demonstration in a Korean supermarket - Korea Foods.  And what was even more surprising is that it was not too far from my where I live.  Previously unknown to me, there is a huge Korean community in New Malden, just a 10 minute drive away - much handier than driving into Chinatown for those illusive ingredients I am often asked to buy.

Tofu is made in a similar way to cheese where, after the milk has been made by steaming and pressing the beans, a coagulant is added, the solids and liquid separated, then the solids pressed and lightly cooked in a big block before being cut, cooled and packaged.  In all the process only took about 30 minutes from start to finish - amazing.
But what was more amazing was the supermarket itself - I love to shop in a place where there are so many ingredients that I have no idea what they are!  Luckily there are lots of very friendly staff on hand to help advise.

Tofu is a great source of protein and calcium and is a great ingredient for vegetarians.  Although it is fairly bland on its' own, when cooked with other flavours tofu becomes a very versatile ingredient.

I wrote this recipe for a company that provides me with wonderful coconut oil.  If you want to know more about this delicious ingredient, and find more of my recipes, go to their website - www.coconoil.co.uk.


Vegetable and Tofu Stir-fry
Serves 4
Prep/cooking time: 30 minutes
25g Coconoil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 red onion, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
150g broccoli spears
1/4 savoy cabbage, shredded
250g tofu, cut into cubes
dash of soy sauce to serve
  1. Melt the Coconoil in a wok over a medium heat and add the spices.  When the mustard seeds start to ‘pop’ add the onion and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes.
  2. Add the remaining vegetables and stir-fry for 10-12 minutes until the vegetables are ‘al dente’ – just beginning to soften.
  3. Add the tofu and a dash of soy and stir-fry for another 4-5 minutes until the tofu is hot.
  4. Serve immediately.