Nigella's Christmas-Spiced Chocolate Cake

I love chocolate and I love spices, so what's not to love about this cake?  And of course it's from one of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks Nigella Christmas so a winner for me!  Do I have all her books?  Mm, I think so.  I love her prose voice, though I was amazed to find that one of my (male) friends dislikes her heartily (from seeing her on the telly I guess).  He thinks she's a bit snooty.  But he's jealous of her charm, I reckon :=)

Some of my fave Nigella tricks are: using scissors for cutting herbs, melting chocolate in the microwave, baking rather than frying, and ... well, there are heaps more.  I have made so many recipes from Feast for instance, and they have always worked.  And this one is a beauty!  I tried a small piece, but couldn't stay away and kept grabbing another wee piece and another ...  

caramelised almonds on top!

Gives you 10-12 slices:

ingredients:

For the Cake:

150g./5+ oz dark chocolate, chopped

150g./5+ oz butter, at room temp.

6 large eggs

250g./9 oz caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g./3.5 oz almond meal/ground almonds

1 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves

zest of an orange or similar fruit (we don't have her suggested clementine/satsuma stuff here in Aus, plus it's Summer here!)

4 tsp instant espresso powder (I used Lavazza Prontissimo Espresso)

For the Topping:

juice of the zested fruit

15g./1 (U.K.) Tbs butter

1 Tbs caster sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

50g./1.8 oz flaked almonds

Top with: 300 mL/10 oz of double cream, or whipped cream, to which you add 2-3 Tbs of your fave liqueur, stirred in

Method:

Have everything at room temp. before you start making the cake (says Nigella)

Whack on your oven to 180C/350F to heat up

Grab your 23 cm./9 inch springform tin, butter the sides, and line the bottom with baking paper

The chocolate and butter go into a heatproof bowl in the microwave - watch carefully so it doesn't burn - try 30 second bursts till melted

Let it cool for a few minutes, while you beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla till thick, pale and mousse-like - till doubled or even tripled

Now fold in the almond meal, spices, zest and espresso powder - gently!

And then fold in the chocolate/butter mixture (also gently) into the batter

Pour/spoon into your cake tin, and bake for 35-40 minutes - you want a firm top, and a slightly! gooey interior

Sit the tin on a cake rack, with a tea towel over it, and let it cool right down

In the meantime, you make the topping by putting the juice, butter, sugar and cinnamon into a small non-stick frying pan, melt together, and let sizzle for a minute or two, before adding the almonds

Nigella says to tip the pan to keep it moving, so that you end up with the liquid gone and you have shiny, thinly-coated, fragrant nuts

Let 'em cool, put the cake on a serving platter, and spread the flavoured cream over the cake.  I stirred some roast coffee spiced-rum into double cream, whacked it into the freezer for 20 minutes to firm up ('cos this is Queensland, and it's hot and it's humid), then I spread it all over the cake, and topped with the orangey, spicy nuts

Mr P. buttered and lined this tin for me, as I don't have a 23cm springform pan

ingredients gathered

beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together

gather your dry ingredients 

fold everything in - gently!

pour the batter into the cake tin

it's baked!

make your nuts!

my nuts are done

wanna try a piece? :=)

(Joining in with Jo from the Brookford Kitchen Diaries (BKD) Cookbook Club this month!)

c. Sherry M.

Pickled Beetroot AKA Beetroot for Salads

I have turned into a pickle fiend lately.  Don't know why, but there it is.  I pickled some chillies that I snipped off a bush outside Reception at some holiday apartments, and I finally got around to pickling some beetroot.  There was actually a beetroot shortage last Christmas, and you just could not buy them - the ones in tins and jars, I mean.  So now I am prepared!  And they are delicious!

This is a recipe from the PWMU cookbook, first published in 1904!  That is the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union, in case you are not familiar with the acronym - 'cos I wasn't :=)  And it's such a fab cookbook.  I made half the amount so just double it if you are really keen.  They just blithely say you need a bunch of beetroot; so I figured that might be about 1 kilo, so I halved it for my recipe.

c. Sherry M.

Makes 1 x 680g./24 oz jar:

ingredients:

1/2 bunch of beetroot - around 500g./1.1 lb  see Notes

for the brine:

1-2 cm/half an inch or so of fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped

300 mL vinegar (I used white wine and apple cider vinegars)

100g./3.5 oz sugar (I used caster sugar)

1 tsp sea salt flakes

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1/4-1/2 tsp of mountainpepper berries (optional) and of 

coriander seeds and of allspice berries   see Notes

Method:

Chop up the beetroot and pile into your clean, sterilised jar

Place the ginger, vinegar, sugar, salt, and all the other spices into a small saucepan

Bring to the boil, turn down and simmer for 5 minutes

Let the mixture cool down a bit, strain it over a bowl, and MAKE SURE you collect the vinegar mixture

Pour the liquid over the beetroot in the jar, whack on the lid and into the fridge it goes!

Notes:

You can buy raw beetroot, boil it for an hour, cool it and peel it OR be sensible - just buy the vacuum-packed, cooked, and peeled stuff

The extra spices are my idea; they just went for salt, pepper and mustard - probs not easy to get mountainpepper berries and coriander seeds back in 1904 :=)

c. Sherry M.

And for those of you who don't come from Australia, I have to tell you about our iconic Aussie hamburger 'with the lot', as it's known here.  You add a fried egg, and a slice of pineapple, the meat pattie of course, plus fried onion, and a thick slice of beetroot!  It ain't a burger with the lot without the beetroot!

ingredients gathered

simmer your brine

chop up the beetroot and into the jar(s)

the (mostly) strained brine ready for the jar  (I do love me some mustard seeds)

and ready for the fridge

all done!

c.  Sherry M.

In My Kitchen - December 2024

'Hello friends', as Cherry the English YouTuber I watch now and then, always says at the start of her videos.  Well, here we are - the last In My Kitchen for 2024.  Mm, did someone wave a magic wand and cast a spell on me?  It simply cannot be December!  But it is, so on we go.

I know we are all a bit overwhelmed this time of year, so I hope all goes well for you.  Enjoy the Christmas rush, my friends.  Take care, and see you over the hump!  Watch out 2025!

    

c. Sherry M.

Santa wishes everyone a very merry Christmas and whatever else you do or do not celebrate this time of year, dear friends.  And many thanks to all of you who have followed along contributing your posts to In My Kitchen.  We appreciate you! :=)  Hee hee hee ...

In My Kitchen:

I made more tomato relish!   (And it's all gone already!) Gotta make more.

and lemon cordial with Meyer lemons from our Tassie mates

and rice pudding with rose petals

I pickled some red and green chillies

We stayed up at Hervey Bay for a few nights recently; the kindly manager of the holiday apartments let me pick the chillies from the bush outside Reception.  So they came home with us, and I pickled 'em.  We actually got a self-tapping roofing screw in our back tyre on the way home (on a Sunday lunchtime), so had to find a motel and stay the night till the tyre shop (?) was open Monday morning.  We stayed in an 'interesting' part of town; there were people living on spare blocks of land with tarpaulins as their home.  Heaven knows how they showered or went to the loo!  Strange times we are living in.

I ordered these online from Mingle - delish!

I bought this cute little cup for my morning coffee

and this book by the cook, and cookbook writer Nigel Slater

Santa is looking a bit worried; maybe he thinks Nigel doesn't believe in him?!  Nevermind Santa; WE believe in you.

the curveball! The cutest wee vase made by our friend Nat

She sells her ceramics under the name Austin Flowers.  I have quite a few of her works, including a print which is a stylised portrait of our mate Chainsaw Newton - he of Gelato Bob fame (she is a painter mostly).

Well, that's it for this year's IMK.  See you in January!  Take care, have fun, eat well and give out lots of hugs!

c. Sherry M.

Be a part of our friendly IMK community by adding your post here too - everybody welcome!  We'd love to have you visit.  Tell us about your kitchen (and kitchen garden) happenings over the past month.  Dishes you've cooked, preserves you've made, herbs and veg. in your garden, kitchen gadgets, and goings-on.  And one curveball is welcome - whatever you fancy; no need to be kitchen-related.  

The link is open from the first of the month to midnight on the thirteenth of the month, every month.

Options for adding your post to IMK:

1. Add via the Add Link button at the bottom of this post.  Instructions can be found on the sidebar of this page, under the Add your IMK link OR:

2. Comment on this post, providing a link to your post so I can add it manually to the list below OR:

3. Email me: sherrym1au@gmail.com, with your link or any queries about the link process, or if you would like it to be added after the 13th ('cos I'm happy to add it for you later)

https://spadesspatulasandspoons.com/2024/12/13/in-my-kitchen-december-2024/

(Sorry - had probs. trying to add Liz's link!  Just key it into your search engine to find her post.))

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Pickled Cucumbers

As regular readers will be aware, I am a big fan of pickled cucumbers.  And I make them often, especially in summer.  My recipe here is just a guide really, as you can spice 'em up however you like.  Add more or less sugar or spices ...

You can also just make a cold brine - i.e. - don't bother to heat it up, just pour it over the cukes in the jar and give it a good shake.  And let sit for a few days before eating.  But I do find the hot brine gives a tiny heads-up, in the taste department.

For some reason, this recipe reminds me of a day in Budapest, where Mr P. and I were wandering around the city looking for a café.  A young fellow came up to us in the street, offering pale green bullhorn chillies.  I'm not sure if we were meant to pay for them.  So we took one!  In fact, there was usually one on every plate of food we had in Budapest.  Pale and mild, and very light green in colour.  But kinda weird, just hanging out on the plate, or with your sandwich ...

ready!

Makes 1 big (I used a 680g./24 oz) jar:

ingredients:

2 Lebanese cucumbers     see Notes 

Hot Brine:

200 mL/7 oz apple cider vinegar (or vinegar of your choice)

100 mL/3.5 oz water

1/4 tsp coriander seeds

3 bay leaves

1/4 tsp mountain pepperberries

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

1/4 tsp peppercorns

1/4 tsp cummin seeds

1.5 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds

1/8 tsp caraway seeds

2 Tbs dark brown sugar  (add more if you like it sweeter)

1-2 tsp sea salt flakes

2-3 garlic cloves, unpeeled, and lightly smashed

1/4 tsp allspice berries

1/4 tsp red chilli flakes  (optional)

For the jar:

add 3-4 dried red chillies to the jar before sealing (optional) and 

2 tsp lemon juice 

Method:

Peel your cukes (or not, as you please), and slice into thin discs

Put aside while you make the hot brine

Put the brine ingredients into a medium saucepan, give it all a good stir, let it come to a boil, then simmer it for a few minutes

Place the cukes into a sterilised glass jar, pour over the hot brine, add the extra chillies if using, and the lemon juice to spritz it up  see Notes

Seal the jar and put away into the fridge once cooled

Will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge

Notes:

My cukes were about 16 cm/6.3 inches long; their combined weight ranged from 340g./12 oz to 440g./15.5 oz (I made them several times, and the weight was a bit different each time)

If your jar isn't quite full with brine, just add a bit more water and/or vinegar to cover all the cukes!  Or on the other hand, if not enough cuke slices, add a few more :=)

gather your ingredients

peel and slice the cukes

fill up your jar

stir the brine, and let it simmer

pour the hot brine over the cucumber slices

ready to sit for a few days before eating

done!

you can add some sliced radishes if you fancy too, as I sometimes do

c. Sherry M.

Preserved Lemon Hummus

I love a garlicky, lemony hummus or is that hommus?  Or even houmous?  Dunno but I like to eat it.  I have made many a hummus, adding different herbs and spices, or some lime instead of lemon.  (I have to say my very fave is a medieval hummus that is made with lots of green herbs.)

But here we have a recipe by Cherie Hausler from A Plant-Based Farmhouse, which uses preserved lemon.  As I usually have a jar of my homemade lemons in the fridge, I happily decided to make this version.  In fact, I preserved some Meyer lemons with mountain pepperberries recently, and they turned a beautiful pink!

I also made tomato relish, which I handed over to my mate Chainsaw Newton, along with some of my other homemade condiments in return for a fabulous artwork of his.  See Gelato Bob below :-)  I have quite the collection of Bob's!  (Or is that Bobs?)  The things you can do with a chainsaw and a wee bit of fire.  

great with crackers or crudités

Gelato Bob by Chainsaw Newton

Makes about 400g./14 oz

ingredients:

40 mL/1.25 oz lemon juice

60g./2 big oz tahini

250g./9 oz chickpeas, tinned or cooked up by your sweet self

30 mL/1 oz EV olive oil, plus more for drizzling

30 mL/1 oz water

1 Preserved Lemon quarter, plus 40 mL/1.25 oz of the brine

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

a pinch or 2 of sea salt, if needed

1-2 Tbs toasted and/or black sesame seeds, to sprinkle over the top

Method:

Into a blender or food processor, you add the lemon juice and tahini and let it rip - 'till whipped and creamy', says Cherie

Then you chuck in the other ingredients, and keep blitzing till smooth

Scoop into a bowl, and throw on some EV olive oil, and some sesame seeds if you fancy

Eat with crackers, or crudités, or whatever you like

Notes:

Cherie doesn't say if you use the complete lemon quarter, or just the skin so do what you like; I usually take out most of the flesh

I added quite a bit of the lemon, as I like my hummus tangy!

in they go

and blitz!

grab those crackers!

my homemade lemons

which turned pink!

c. Sherry M.

Lime Syrup Buttermilk Cake

Buttermilk, you ask?  Yes, it's becoming a bit of an anachronism these days.  I tend to make my own version with milk and lemon juice anyway.  Though for this cake, I used Greek yoghurt, almond milk and the juice of half a lime!  Use what you have; be frugal, finish off that just-about-to-go-mouldy stuff in your fridge - nah, just kidding.    

This recipe is from The Australian Women's Weekly Cakes & Slices Cookbook - Vintage Edition.  Phew, what a mouthful.  For those who don't know, the AWW have produced much-loved cookbooks for many years.  The recipes always work, and are made in the simplest (and best) way.  I think every Aussie household would have one or more of their cookbooks! 

The AWW cookbooks bring back memories of me, mum and my sister, all cooking together in our tiny, freezing cold, living in the mountains with no heating kind of way.  Mum had a Sunbeam Mixmaster (didn't everyone's mum?) which I imagine was a gift, as we were bloody poor.  I've seen some vintage models still around the ridges (I even saw a blogger some time ago with a still-working, pink one!); wish I still had mum's!  Anyhoo, let's get on with the recipe. 

looking all syrupy and deliciously moist :=)

(This makes a 20cm/8 inch cake:)

ingredients:cm/

250g./9 oz butter

1 Tbs lime zest  (about 2-3 limes needed)

220g./8 oz/1 cup caster sugar

3 large eggs, separated

juice of half a lime  (optional)

1-2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

300g./11 oz/2 cups self-raising flour

240 mL/8 oz/1 cup buttermilk   see Notes

Lime Syrup:

1/3 cup lime juice   see Notes

3/4 cup sugar   - I used caster

1/4 cup water

zest of half a lime (optional)

Method:

Butter and flour your 20cm/8 inch baba pan, and shake out the excess flour  see Notes

Put the butter, sugar and rind into a small mixing bowl, and beat 'em up with your electric beaters till creamed - you know - pale and fluffy

Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, till combined nicely

Now spoon/pour the batter into a big mixing bowl

Briefly stir in the vanilla and lime juice, then add half the flour and half the buttermilk, give it a good mix and add the other halves of flour and milk

Put that aside while you beat the heck out of those egg whites -  nah, just till soft peaks form

Then fold 'em gently into the cake batter, in 2 lots

Now pour/spoon that batter into your greased and floured tin

Bake in a moderate oven (180C/350F) for about 1 hour (they say) - check after 50 minutes

Let it sit for 5 minutes, (while you now make the syrup!), then turn onto a wire cake rack

The Lime Syrup:

In go the lime juice, sugar and water into a small saucepan

Give it a quick stir, and keep stirring over a medium-low heat till the sugar is dissolved

Let it come to a boil for about 30 seconds, then take off the heat

Now you are going to stir in the lime zest, and 

Pour that syrup over the still-warm cake, which it will suck up into its cakey heart  see Notes

Any left-overs will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days

Notes:

Use lemon or any citrus you like, really

I made my own buttermilk with about 2/3 cup yoghurt, just under 1/3 cup almond milk and the juice of half a lime!  Stir together and let it get thick and oddly curdled-looking :=)

The recipe is in cups, so I finally gave up when it came to the syrup, and used their measurements!

The optionals are my own additions

A baba tin is one that has an empty ring in the middle, like a bundt pan but it's a bit smaller (the hole I mean); use a bundt pan if that's all you have

Make sure the cake is sitting on a rimmed plate or a tray so the syrup doesn't go all over your bench when you pour it over the cake

gather those ingredients

get ready to cream that butter and sugar

juice that lime to make your buttermilk

cream the butter and sugar, and whip up those egg whites

pour/spoon into the baba pan

let it sit for a bit while you make the syrup

so make it!

pour it over the warm cake

looking tasty I have to say

Ms M. displaying her dessert

c. Sherry M.