The Ultimate Autumnal Crumble

You may think I'm crazy but I am so glad summer is coming to an end and Autumn is around the corner. Apart from Christmas, the months of September and October are probably my favourite time of year. Its filled with sunny yet chilly days and dark, cosy nights. Its acceptable to dig out knitwear and boots to walk through crunchy, orange leaves. Its a time of new stationery and hot chocolate. Its also time to start cooking warming and comforting food - soup, roast dinner, pies and fruit crumbles.

As soon as it turned September I was desperate to make this Apple and Blackberry Crumble because finally it felt acceptable to get excited about the return of Autumn. Plus, I've just finished re-watching all the episodes of Friday Night Dinner on 4OD and the constant reference to "Crimble Crumble" was making me crave some.

The topping is crunchy, the fruit is juicy and its easy to whip up to enjoy after a Sunday roast or on a miserable evening.

This recipe is slightly adapted from here.

You will need:

For the crumble

225g of plain flour
175g of butter
55g of demerara sugar
125g of a mixture of oats, seeds and chopped nuts

For the fruity filling

4/5 cooking apples
180g - 250g of blackberries
175g of demerara sugar

Equipment

1 large pie dish

Method

A little note on the ingredients, I only had about 40g of demerara sugar in my cupboards so I used a mixture of demerara, soft light brown, granulated and muscovado sugars and it turned out fine. I would say that brown sugar works better in this recipe but I wouldn't solely use muscovado sugar. Also, the original recipe says to use more fruit than I have, simply because I don't have a dish big enough to fit it all in. I reduced the amount of fruit but kept the amount of crumble the same because I often find there isn't enough crumble compared to fruit in some recipes.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

Begin by making the crumble. Cut the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour to create a breadcrumb texture. The crumbs don't have to be too fine, the chunkier the crumb, the crunchier the topping will be. Mix in the sugar and the extra bits. I added about 60g of oats, 40g of mixed chopped nuts (you can buy bags of chopped nuts in the baking section in supermarkets) and 25g of pumpkin seeds.

Peel and cut the apples into medium sized slices. Cover the bottom of the dish with apple, throw in a handful of blackberries and sprinkle some of the sugar over the top.

Keep layering the fruit and sugar until, either you've used it all or it fills at least half of the dish. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top until the dish is full. Make sure you don't pat the mixture down otherwise it will get rid of its crumble texture.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges and the crumble is golden.

Serve with cream, custard or ice cream and enjoy!

b'nou - Norwich City Centre

b'nou only opened a couple of months ago and its already made an impact. When we were looking on Tripadvisor for places to go we noticed b'nou was fourth and had 19 reviews, all of which were excellent, so we decided to check it out.

The restaurant is quite small and can probably only seat around 30 people (booking is essential!). It has a very homely feel to it and a lovely, relaxed atmosphere.

It all kicks off at 7:30. There are no menus, but a selection of tapas-type dishes that changes each night. One by one, each dish is brought round to all of the tables. Each dish costs £4 and if you decide to have one the hosts stamp a little card so they know how much to charge you at the end. Although they're small little plates, one between 2 or 3 works out well because there's lots to try. When we went, there were 13 savoury dishes and 3 desserts available and between the 4 of us we had 19 dishes. It was great to share lots of really tasty food and be able to try a lot of different things in one meal. Also because there's enough time to eat in between the next dish coming round you don't get too full.

All the food was delicious. Simple combinations executed flawlessly. When we were chatting to one of the owners he said they had lived in Spain for the last 5 years, which shows as the food is clearly influenced by Spanish cooking. He also said that the meat is all free-range, the fish is fresh on that day and the fruit and vegetables are locally sourced. A lot of thought and care has obviously gone into b'nou and it really pays off.

Here's some pictures of some of the dishes we had and the sort of thing to expect if you ever go there.

Smoked mackerel paté.

Chorizo, butterbean and roasted pepper rocket salad.

Baked camembert. 

Paella with chorizo, bacon, cod and prawns.

Chicken drumsticks (I can't remember what they were marinaded in - I think it was lemon and honey).

Tortillas filled with spicy vegetables.

Three types of mushrooms in a creamy sauce (the picture does not do this justice -it was amazing).

Chicken (again I've forgotten the flavour of it) with couscous.

The desserts were incredible.

Lemon and lime panna cotta.

Chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream.

Berry compote with vanilla ice cream.

We had such a lovely evening. The concept of the restaurant made it an interesting and different meal out and if I lived in Norwich I would venture there regularly. The owners were so nice, worked hard to make sure the evening was a success and are clearly passionate about their fairly new restaurant. I have absolutely no negatives about b'nou and I really hope it continues to be as successful as it has been since it opened.

Pinocchio's Restaurant - Norwich City Centre

As mentioned in my last post, I went to Norwich for a mini-break with my family and got home yesterday evening. I had no idea how nice Norwich is, I expected it to be full of 1960s and 70s grey buildings and full of chain restaurants and shops. Although there are parts like that, we mainly kept to the old part of the city centre, with cobbled lanes and independent shops and cafés. The old buildings were so interesting to look at and this part of town had such a nice character.

On Tuesday morning, we wandered down to the cathedral, which was enormous and one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've seen.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the town and by the evening we were pretty hungry. After walking around for a very long time we decided the go in Pinocchio's Restaurant on St Benedicts Street. It described itself as a Mediterranean Brasserie and the food mainly focus' on an Italian theme.

I ordered the burger, which had an Italian twist as the beef patty was accompanied by pancetta, taleggio and salsa verde.

 

I hadn't had taleggio before, which is an Italian cheese that has a consistency when melted that reminded me a bit of melted mozzarella but with a more pungent flavour. I'm not a huge cheese lover so I found there to be a bit much, but it was interesting having something a bit different to the usual cheddar you get in burgers. Salsa verde is a sauce made up of ingredients like parsley and vinegar and compliments meat well. It was quite strong and there was a tad too much of it in this burger for my liking but overall it was a really good burger.

It was nice to have a slightly different version of something I always have and the triple-cooked chips it was served with were really good.

My parents both had pasta dishes - tagliatelle carbonara and pappardelle with spicy lamb ragu, both of which were delicious.

 

My sister had a lamb dish served with bulgur wheat in a pomegranate sauce (I thought it was horrible but she thought it was one of the best meals she's ever had).

Earlier in the day I had decided against getting an ice cream and planned on having dessert with dinner instead, and I'm glad I did!

I had the salted caramel filo crisp with white peaches. Salted caramel mousse sandwiched between two layers of crispy pastry filled with nuts and topped with slices of white peach. It was a combination I've never had before and it was very tasty.

The salted caramel mousse was particularly good! I wish it was served with a scoop of ice cream or some extra sauce but I still enjoyed it and I would definitely have it again.

My mum had the tiramisu which she enjoyed.

 

Overall we had a lovely meal and the service was great. If I was going back to Norwich for a couple of days I would probably find somewhere else to try out but if I lived in Norwich I would definitely go back there.

The only chocolate brownie recipe you will ever need

Now, I really mean it that once you've made these brownies you will throw out any other recipe you're holding onto. I've been making these for years and they are heavily requested by my family and friends. Easy to make, super chocolatey and insanely gooey - what more could you want from a brownie recipe?

As I said above, I've been making this recipe for years and I have no idea where I got it from. It was originally on a print out from the website I found it and tucked inside a big Mary Berry cookbook until I got this recipe folder for my birthday a couple of years ago. I promptly wrote it into the folder and threw away the print out.

I love this folder, I use it all the time and its from Paperchase (my favourite stationary shop)

Because I no longer have any clue where I found it I can't credit this recipe to anyone and I really wish I could for bringing this wonderful creation into the world. Anyway, on with the recipe!

To make 16 squares you will need:

200g dark chocolate

100g unsalted butter at room temperature

250g caster sugar

4 large eggs (beaten)

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

60g cocoa powder

60g plain flour

1 square brownie tin (a silicon one is best to use so you can avoid the boring job of greasing and lining a metal tin)

First, preheat your oven to 180°c. Start by breaking up your chocolate and placing it in a heatproof bowl over a gently simmering pan of water. When melted, place to one side to cool slightly.

Next, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy using an electric whisk (or a wooden spoon if you don't mind it taking a long time and being tough work). Make sure the butter is soft and it will make it a lot easier to beat if its cut into cubes.

Slowly add the beaten eggs and beat in until its combined and then mix in the vanilla essence.

Mix in the cooled melted chocolate until its completely combined (and then lick the bowl the chocolate was melted in). Finally, sift in the flour and cocoa powder and carefully fold in until it is combined.

The mixture should be thick and glossy. Pour into your brownie tin and set it on a baking tray to make it easier to get in and out of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes poke a skewer or the end of a fork to see if its cooked. If the skewer is completely coated in brownie mixture then stick it back in the oven for a few minutes, but if only a bit of gooey mixture comes up with the skewer then its cooked. The top of the brownies should be firm but still quite fudgy. 

Leave to cool in the tin for about half an hour before turning out onto a wire rack to cool for a further 20 minutes. When cool enough you can cut it up and enjoy when still slightly warm!

If you can see the knife in the picture above and the one at the top you will get some sort of idea as to how gooey these brownies are.

 Incredibly rich and enough to satisfy any chocolate craving. The top of the brownies are a bit crunchy so it provides another texture other than just chocolatey goo and they're firm enough not to fall apart or collapse.

Because of how rich and heavy these brownies are I think they're particularly good served as dessert, warmed up and served with vanilla ice cream.

Then again, they're pretty good on their own!

They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days (if they last that long).

If you're a chocoholic and you refuse to try these then I'm afraid you'll be missing out!

The North Star - North Road, Cardiff

A few days ago I went for dinner with some friends in The North Star in Cardiff. I've been a couple of times before and could not stop thinking about their pizzas for the few weeks before we went. The menu is quite varied, from said pizzas to classic pub dishes - there is something for everyone. Although it is, essentially, a pub, there is a restaurant feel to it as tables are served by waiting staff and the food is much better than a bog-standard pub. Its a relaxed place with great decor and a really good atmosphere.

Both times I've been before I have had a pizza, so I felt like I should have something different, and there was plenty on the menu that caught my eye, but seeing as a had been suffering from a pizza craving for about a month, I gave in and ordered a Margherita with mixed peppers and grilled chicken as extra toppings.

I was not disappointed when it arrived.

It was massive! It was larger than the wooden board it was served on!

I much prefer thin and crispy pizzas to deep bases, and this one was deliciously thin and crispy. The sauce was great, a perfect amount of cheese, and there was plenty of toppings too. A very yummy pizza. So good that I ate it all even though it was huge and I was pretty full towards the end.

Two of my friends had pizzas too. They both had the Four Seasons, but one substituted olives for red onions and the other substituted the mixed peppers for red onions too.

They both enjoyed their pizzas as much as I enjoyed mine and were really pleased they could swap toppings at no extra cost.

Another friend had the fish and chips.

She said the batter was really good and the chips were delicious - a great standard fish and chips.

My other friend had a cheeseburger which she said was really yummy.

You can't really see the burger that well - soz, I didn't take the photo, blame my cheeseburger eating friend

Another friend came to join us after we had finished our main meals, and as she wanted to order pudding, it would have been rude not to join her!

I've given up chocolate for lent and I've found it surprisingly easy not to give in this year. However sitting across the table from this brownie was quite challenging.

It looked so good and my friend really enjoyed it as it was not dry but not too moist. I think warm brownies and ice cream is one of my favourite desserts, and after lent is over I'm sure I'll find an excuse to make some (the stress of exams will be enough of an excuse).

Four of my friends had sticky toffee pudding.

I've never really tried sticky toffee pudding and I've never really been that bothered to give it a go but I wish I asked for a little taste of one of my friend's puddings as the more I look at this picture, the more I want to try it. They all enjoyed it though, apparently it wasn't too sickly and it was very spongy (whatever that means?!).

I thought I'd try something I hadn't had before - key lime pie - but seeing as I love limes I was pretty sure I was going to like it.

It was so creamy and had a wonderful lime flavour. The base of the pie was made from ginger biscuits (I assume anyway, it tasted gingery) and went really well with the filling.

We all really enjoyed our food and the whole menu is really reasonably priced. I spent under £14 and got a drink, main and pud that were really, really tasty. The service was a little slow at times but it really didn't bother us as we were in no rush to leave, I think we chatted away for well over three hours. I love The North Star and I will definitely return sometime in the near future, and maybe next time I'll choose something other than a pizza. But then again they do some of the best pizzas I've had in the UK so maybe I won't!

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake Pots

I'm having a bit of a love affair with white chocolate at the moment and on the weekend I created this recipe to serve at my Brum Dine With Me dinner party. Brum Dine With Me is a society at my university where members are organised into groups and each week we takes it in turns to host dinner parties. Its a lot of fun and a great way to meet other people who love food and cooking as much as I do!

 

Sadly I've given chocolate up for lent so won't be able to make these again until after Easter but I thought I'd share my recipe for anyone who isn't silly enough to give chocolate up for 6 weeks!

 

 

 

To serve 6 you will need:

 

6 deep ramekins or small bowls

 

For the biscuit base

100 g of digestive biscuits

25g of butter, melted

 

For the cheesecake mixture

600g of soft cheese (I used full fat but I'm sure lighter options will work well too!)

300g of white chocolate

30g of caster sugar (roughly)

275ml of double cream

 

For the raspberry sauce

150g of raspberries (I used frozen raspberries which are cheaper than fresh and taste just as good)

100ml of cold water

About two teaspoons of caster sugar

 

Start by crushing up the biscuits into crumbs. It doesn't make much difference whether the crumbs are fine or a bit chunky so go with your personal preference. Combine with the melted butter so all the biscuit is covered and sticks together. Using about two-thirds of the biscuit mixture, press a spoonful of biscuit into the bottom of each of the ramekins or bowls and put in the fridge to set.

 

Very slowly melt the white chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water. Its important not to rush this along as white chocolate has a tendency to go lumpy and grainy so stir frequently to ensure it melts smoothly. Set aside to cool slightly.

 

In a large bowl, beat the soft cheese until smooth. Stir in the sugar slowly until it is only just slightly sweet (the white chocolate will also make it sweeter so you don't want to add too much sugar at this point). Pour in the cream and use a whisk to beat the mixture until it is thick and drops very slowly from the whisk when lifted. Beat in the cooled white chocolate until it is completely combined (it may start to look a bit lumpy or like a mixture that's curdled so keep going until its nice and smooth). If its a bit too stiff add a bit more cream and if you think it needs to be a bit sweeter add more sugar until it suits your taste. Using a dessert spoon, place a dollop of the cheesecake mixture in the ramekins/bowls and push to the sides and place back in the fridge. There should be about half of the mixture left.

 

To make the raspberry sauce, heat the raspberries and water in a pan and boil. Keep stirring it, making sure the raspberries break down and the sauce thickens. If desired add a little sugar to take the edge off the sharpness of the raspberries and set aside to cool.

 

Once the sauce has cooled, split the mixture between the cheesecakes, placing a spoonful on top of each one and sprinkle on the rest of the biscuits. I thought adding some more biscuit in the middle of the cheesecake would be an interesting variation as I often find there is too much cheesecake to get through before getting to the base, but if you prefer you can put it all at the bottom of the dishes.

 

 

Put the rest of the cheesecake mixture on the top and smooth so the top of the dishes are flat and place in the fridge once again to set.

 

Chill for at least 4 hours before serving. I made them the day before serving and they were fine 24 hours later.

 

 

I thought they looked good in these glass bowls as you can see the layers and the sauce in the middle. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!