Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

For my birthday two weeks ago, I was given a mini cupcake stand by my lovely friend, Jess and so I obviously had to whack out a cracking cupcake recipe to show it off. So, inspired by my favourite Festive treat, I decided to make some chocolate orange cupcakes. 
These are so tasty and beautifully orange-y and topped with light butter cream icing you feel like you're wafting on a cloud with a much lighter version of a Terry's Chocolate Orange. 
For the cakes you'll need:
175g self raising flour
175g caster sugar
175g soft butter/margarine
3 eggs
2 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder (NOT drinking chocolate)
Zest of two oranges
4 teaspoons orange extract (I used Waitrose cooks essentials)
2-3 tablespoons of milk
Pre-heat the oven to 180oC.
Sift the flour and cocoa into a large bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Using the all-in-one method, whisk all the ingredients together until they form a smooth batter, adding more milk if it seems a little thick. Taste to check the orange flavour- add more if you think it's needed.
Spoon the mixture into 24 lined muffin trays and bake for fifteen minutes or until they spring back when pushed with your finger.
Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the butter cream:
450g icing sugar
60g cocoa powder
zest of an orange
2 teaspoons orange extract
150g soft butter
60ml milk

Gradually whisk the icing sugar and cocoa into the butter until no lumps of butter remain. Add the orange zest and extract along with the milk and beat until light and fluffy.
I decided to pipe my frosting onto the cakes (mainly because I got a new nozzle) but I lost my piping bag so I used a large plastic sandwich bag. I cut a corner off the bag, put the nozzle through and away I went. Easy to use and no washing up required! 

I took some of these to work with me and my mum also took some with her and I now have none left so they must have been pretty good! 
Home-made Christmas gifts coming soon!!
Much love!! 

Homemade pizza and Barbecue chicken cassulet.

Howdy food friends! 
It's been a while and I can only apologise but I've been in a bit of a pit of despair on the old job front. I was inches away from a job which wasn't great but had possibilities of growth but then I didn't get it. And then one of the graduate schemes I applied for also rejected me. Life is hard but hey ho. We move on.
FOOD!! I love it. A lot. 
So, pizza!! I appreciate it's easier to buy a ready made base and them top it, and even easier to get a takeaway. But wheres the satisfaction in that? 
I propose that you spend 40p on a pack of ciabatta bread mix, add oil and water, knead into submission and leave for an hour to rise. You could just as easily use flour, water, yeast and salt, mix and knead but I like the added flavour and texture of ciabatta. 
So, once it's risen nicely, knock it back (punch it) and then stretch it over your baking tray. Top it with anything you fancy- I like to use sun-dried tomato pesto instead of tomato puree and I love love love chorizo in all forms with mushrooms and mozzarella as my toppings. Split it into thirds or quarters so that everyone in your family can pick their own toppings.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and risen and bubbly. Serve with a salad if you're feeling healthy!

So, onto the chicken cassulet! This is a recipe I came across on youtube that I've adapted. You'll need:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
6 boneless free-range chicken thighs, skin on
3 slices of smoked bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon chilli powder
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 x 415g can baked beans, drained
200g smoked sausage, sliced
3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 sprigs of thyme
100ml ketchup
50g brown sugar
250ml chicken stock
1 small red chilli, diced and deseeded
Crushed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pre heat the oven to 200°C. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and sear the chicken thighs for 1 minute both sides.
Remove from pan and set aside. Put all the remaining ingredients apart from the sausage and beans in a 3.5 liter casserole dish and stir well to combine.
Place the sealed chicken thighs on top, put the lid on the casserole dish and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken, stir in the beans and sausage mixture and replace the chicken on top.
Cook, uncovered, for a further 10 minutes. Leave to stand for 5 minutes off the heat before serving.

Enjoy my blogger friends!

Next I'll be doing home-made Christmas presents (edible of course) so keep as eye out!!

Paul Hollywood's savoury Brioche Couronne

Now, this recipe is in no way mine but it is so damn tasty I feel I have to share it with any of you who may not have seen Mr Paul Hollywood of Great British Bake Off fame making this in his bread series.


This book is really fantastic from teaching basic breads to sourdough to soda breads. I can't recommend it enough. Now it's my dad who's really caught the bread making bug, often referring to "his mate, Paul" who'd told him how to make the bread rise higher and so on. He's made this before and so I knew what each stage should look like. Here's what Paul Hollywood looks like as he's making it:


My mum has a bit of a crush on Mr Hollywood.
So what you'll need:
500g/1lb 2oz strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
10g salt
10g instant yeast
170ml/6fl oz warm milk4 free-range eggs
250g/9oz unsalted butter, in small pieces, at room temperature
4 x 125g/4½oz balls buffalo mozzarella
8-10 slices prosciutto
½ handful fresh chopped basil
1 free-range egg, beaten
pinch salt
handful grated Parmesan
Make the dough by bringing the flour, salt, yeast, milk and eggs together in a bowl. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about ten minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth. Gradually incorporate the butter into the dough, kneading as you go. (You can use a dough hook on an electric mixer, and in fact Paul recommends that you do, but seeing as I don't have one, I go for the old fashioned method) Tip the dough into an oiled bowl– it needs plenty of room to rise. Leave the dough to rise until at least doubled in size (at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge). 
Line a baking tray with baking parchment. 
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, without knocking the air out of it. Roll it out to a thickness of just under 1½cm, in a rectangle that’s about A3 size Have the long side facing you. Cover the dough with a loose layer of ham. Break off large pieces of mozzarella and distribute them all over the ham. Scatter the basil over the top. You can use basil pesto if you don't have fresh basil, but the flavour isn't quite the same. Roll up the dough from the long side furthest from you, into a long sausage shape. Cut the roll of dough in half down the length to expose the filling, leaving you with two long strips side by side. Twist the two strips together, holding both ends of the dough and twisting your hands in opposite directions, to make a long rope that’s quite tightly twisted. Form the rope into a circle and join the ends together so that the dough becomes a ring – a ‘couronne’ or crown. Put the crown onto the lined baking tray, and put the tray in a large plastic bag, big enough so that the risen dough won’t touch the sides. Leave the crown to rise until it has at least doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 200oC. Whisk an egg with a pinch of salt and brush the egg over the crown. Finally top the couronne with grated parmesan. Bake the couronne in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden-brown. The filling IS supposed to leak out- it's artistic and pretty. Leave to cool slightly. Serve warm or cold.As I've said, this is not my recipe. All I'm doing is sharing it with those of you who might not have seen this series.
This is my finished crown:

Hope you enjoy!!!

Toad in the Hole with caramelised onion gravy

I was having a chat with one of my bosses at work last week and he was telling me about the disaster that was his toad in the hole. He listed the many problems and issues he had with it: his friends kept opening the oven door, the roasting tin wasn't big enough and there were too many sausages. 
This led me to crave toad in the hole and so I decided to make my own. 
For a dish big enough for three people you'll need:
100g plain flour
300ml milk
2 eggs
salt and pepper
half a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
2 large pork sausages (or three skinny chipolatas) per person
sunflower oil (around 4 tablespoons- enough to coat the bottom of the roasting tin)
A large, deep roasting tin (Mine was 30cm by 20cm)

For the caramelised onion gravy:
2 red onions, halved and finely sliced
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp of butter
1 tbs sunflower oil
2 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tbs balsamic vinigar
1 tbs gravy granules for meat (not chicken).
Half a pint just bolied water

Pre-heat the oven to 200oC
Put the sausages and oil into the roasting tin and put into the oven for ten minutes.
Meanwhile, to make the batter, put all the remaining ingredients into a bowl and whisk until well combined and a light froth has formed on the top.

When the sausages have gone very lightly brown, pour in the batter around the sausages and quickly shut the oven door. As soon as the oven loses its temperature the batter will lose its rise, much like a souffle. Leave to bake for fifteen minutes.

And now to gravy which, luckily enough takes around fifteen minutes to make.
In a frying pan, melt the butter in the oil and add in the sliced onions and salt (the salt stops the onions browning and draws out their moisture). Using a wooden spoon, separate the rings on the onions so you have a pan full on thin onion tendrils. Leave the onions on a low heat for fifteen minutes to soften.
Check the toad is ready and turn the oven off and put your plates in there to warm up.
Add the brown sugar to the onions and let it bubble before adding the balsamic vinegar. 
Let the vinegar cook into the onions before adding the gravy granules and boiling water to make a gravy of your preferred thickness.

Take the plates out of the oven along with the toad. 

Serve it up with lashngs of gravy and sides of your choice - I went for veg but I also love a good mound of mashed potato or even roasties.

My very first Wedding Cake

The time has come. The moment has arrived. The day is here.

I 'm going to tell you all about my foray into the world of wedding cakes.
Firstly though,I'd just like to say a missive Congratulations to my cousin and his new wife on tying the knot last weekend!! It was a beautiful day and I was so honored to play even my small part.

I was asked by my cousin and his fiancée to make them a three tier fruit cake to go with the cheese rounds they were also having (Nic is from Yorkshire where apparently it's traditional to have your cheese on your fruit cake as opposed to on a cracker. As a Southerner I had never heard of this tradition, but I have to say it does work). Their theme was Autumn with orange chair sashes and orange flowers with lots of greenery so I went looking for ribbons and food colourings to match.

The equipment you'll need for a professional cake:
Electric hand whisk
large mixing bowls
long, non-stick rolling pin
cake smoothers
tape measure
cake tins (5, 8 and 11 inch)
cake boards (5, 8, 13 inch - the cake will look better and be easier to carry on a board bigger than the bottom tier)
dowling rods
cocktail sticks
cake boxes (to transport)

I made the cakes themselves about 5 weeks before the wedding to give me lots of time to 'feed' the cake with brandy, make the decorations and worry about the fondant icing.

So for my three tiers I did an 11 inch, an 8 inch and a 5 inch. I made the 11 inch cake one day and then the 8 and 5 inch cakes the day after as otherwise the oven would probably have gone into meltdown after being on for 7 hours.

Another important thing is to mix the cakes separately. There is no point whacking all three cakes worth of mixture into one bowl, partly because there is no bowl in the world big enough to hold that amount of mixture, but also because you'll more than likely end up with un-even cakes which will lead to never ending faff. So, measuring your ingredients. Luckily for you, I have already done the difficult dividing and multiplying. However, if you decide to do different sized tins to me, you're on your own.

So, for the 5 inch cake you'll need:

150g currants

60g sultanas

60g raisins

20g glace cherries

20g mixed candied peel

1 tbs brandy (I decided that since the top tier was specifically for the bride and groom that I upped this to a full shot of brandy. Cheeky!)

75g plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp mixed spice

20g whole almonds

75g soft brown sugar

1 tsp black treacle

75g butter

1 egg

1/4 of a lemon, zested

1/4 of an orange, zested

For the 8 inch cake:

450g currants

175g sultanas

175g raisins

50g glace cherries

50g mixed candied peel

3 tablespoons brandy

225g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

50g whole almonds

225g butter

225g soft brown sugar

4 eggs

1 desp black treacle

Zest of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 orange

And for the 11 inch cake:

900g currants

350g sultanas

350g raisins

110g glace cherries

110g mixed candied peel

6 tablespoons brandy

450g plain flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mixed spice

110g whole almonds

450g butter

450g soft brown sugar

8 eggs

1 1/2 tbs black treacle

Zest of 2 lemons

Zest of 2 oranges

Also, you'll need:
3kg white fondant icing 
food colouring of for choice
2kg marzipan
1 jar apricot glaze
3 metres ribbon (matched to food colouring)
edible gold luster dust

You can follow the same instructions for all three cakes, just adjust your mixing times as the bigger cakes need longer mixing to ensure even distribution.

You need to start the cake the day before so make sure you have the full weekend available, if not longer.

Weigh out the dried fruits, cherries and mixed peel into  three large mixing bowls, one for each cake's ingredients, and pour over the brandy and mix together. Cover the bowls with a tea towel and leave at room temperature over night, or until you're ready to make the cake.

You need to line your cake tins using a double strip of silicone paper (baking parchment), cut slightly longer than the circumference of the tin. Fold back 1 inch (2.5 cm) along its length and snip this at intervals, cutting at a slight angle to the fold.

Grease the tin then press the paper around the sides – it should sit comfortably around the sides of the tin. Finally, cut a double circle of paper – using the tin as a template – to fit the base and press into place

Brown paper is then tied around the outside of the tin, to protect the cake during the long, slow cooking. Pre-heat the oven to 140oC.

To make the large cake weigh out all the remaining ingredients. Chop the almonds and put everything into the biggest bowl you have (I used my mum's preserving pan for this as it's so huge) and use an electric hand mixed to whip everything together. Add the fruit and mix well for a good five-ten minutes to make sure all the fruit is well mixed in.

Pour the mix into the prepared tin. Finally, cover the top of the cake with a double sheet of silicone paper with a 50p-sized hole in the centre. It is now ready for the oven – bake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 5 - 5 1/2 hours. Sometimes it can take up to half an hour longer  than this, but don't look until at least 4 1/2  hours have passed.

The 8 inch cake will take 4 - 4 1/2 hours and the 5 inch will need 2 3/4 - 3 hours.

You'll know when the cake is cooked because it will spring back when lightly pressed with your finger and the edged of the cake are slightly shrinking from the sides of the tin.

Leave to cool for an hour in the tin before turning them out onto a wire rack. When they're completely cold, take a metal skewer and, working from the outside in, prick the cake all the way through and then spoon over between ten to fifteen tablespoons of brandy. Adjust this amount for each cake and to your preference. You don't even need to feed the cake at all but I feel the flavour of all the fruits with the brandy is sublime.

Now it's time to wrap for cakes in a double layer of grease proof paper, then a double layer of foil and keep them stored in an air tight container, feeding them with more brandy once a week.
A week before you want to fondant ice the cakes, you'll need to marzipan them. To do this, you'll need to either make or buy enough marzipan (almond paste) to cover all three cakes. I bought mine as from past experience  the shop bought stuff tastes just as good as homemade and involves much less stress. So a 454g pack of Sainsbury's white marzipan will cover the 8 inch cake and 2 packets will cover the 11 inch with enough off cuts from both to cover the 5 inch but I'd still buy 4 packs just to be on the safe side.
Marzipan is more difficult to work with than the fondant itself. You'll need to knead the paste for a good ten minutes until it becomes pliable and then roll it out between two sheets of grease proof paper.
Elevate the cakes so that you can get at the bottom edges to create smooth joins. I propped the large cake on an upturned tea tray, which not only raised it two inches off the table but also made it easier to pivot the gargantuan cake.
You need to brush the cake all over with apricot glaze (also available in Sainsbury's) or some sieved apricot jam to adhere the marzipan to the cake.
Once its rolled out evenly to the size you want it, peel off one side of the grease proof paper and lift the marzipan over the cake. Peel off the rest of the paper and smooth the marzipan over the top and sides of the cake. Smooth it all the way down and trim off the excess, cutting as close to the cake as possible. At this stage you need to adhere the cakes to the cake boards using royal icing. The marzipan needs at least 3 days to dry out otherwise the oil will stain your white fondant.

Now we come to the fun part - decorations!!!

I've talked about making sugar roses before in a previous blog, and if you find it, you'll see for yourself how far my roses have come along from my first attempts.

What you do is take a lump of sugar paste and roll it into a sausage. The thicker the sausage (no comment necessary) the bigger the rose. Then cut this sausage into around 12 equal parts (don't worry if they aren't exact). Roll each piece into a ball. Take a plastic wallet and cut off the side and the bottom so that it flaps open like a book. Put your little paste balls onto one side of the folder and bring over the other side. Using the side of your thumb, gently press down on the first ball about half way down, stretching the paste until it looks like a petal - don't make it too thin on the edges though. As you can see, my first attempts were a smidge wonky.
So flatten out all your petals. To begin, take the smallest of your petals and roll it into a tight scroll which will resemble the very middle of a rose. Now to build the rose. Take a petal and hold it half way up the scroll. Wrap it around and cone and admire the beginnings of a rose bud. Put the next petal over the join on the first petal, and the third petal over the join of the second, leaving one side of the petal open. Slide the fourth petal into the third, the fifth into the fourth and so on. After six or so petals have been added, start to fold back the tips of the petals so it looks like it's opening up as once you've completed the rose it's difficult to get at the inner petals. Keep adding more petals, folding out and pinching as you go to create little folds in the flower. The more petals you add the more open it will become.

Once the roses are dry you can brush them with edible gold luster dust which adds a lovely shimmer to the flowers.

First attempts

 Getting better .....

So, we've reached the moment of truth. It's fondant time. Try not to panic. 

Clear a big space in your kitchen and make sure it's spotlessly clean. Any markings or crumbs will be picked up by the fondant, leading to discolouration and an emotional breakdown.

For the big cake, use a full kilo of fondant. You won't need this much and there'll be lots of trimmings (which you can colour and use for decorations) but better to have too much than not enough). The 8 inch needs 3/4 a kilo and the small one around 1/2 a kilo.

Knead your desired amount of icing on your surface WITHOUT icing sugar until it's really nice and smooth and pliable. Excess icing sugar will lead to the icing drying out and cracking (and another breakdown). When it comes to rolling, dust the work surface with a little icing sugar and roll out to the right size.

Brush the marzipan with apricot glaze melted with a tablespoon of brandy (this mix acts as both glue for the icing and also as a mould repellent).

Gently lift the disk of fondant onto your forearms and drape it over the cake. Smooth any creases, easing the fondant over the sides and down to the board where you can trim off the excess. If any air bubbles form under the icing, use a pin to burst them and then smooth over the hole. At this stage, grab your cake smoothers and smooth the top and sides of the cakes until you're happy with the finish. Now would be a good time to affix the ribbon too, again using royal icing.

Doweling rods are massively important in tiered cakes. They ensure the cakes don’t sink into each other. They also keep the cakes level. You need to measure them by inserting the rod into the center of the cake and making a mark on the rod to indicate the length. Using a hack saw (and a man capable of using one) cut them to size. Then use a measuring tape to work out where the upper tier will sit and then insert the cut rods into position.

I decided to travel to the wedding with the cakes separate to avoid any disasters. I packed the cakes into their individual boxes and put the roses into a tin lined with tinfoil moulded into cups to hold each rose.
On the morning of the wedding my parents helped me with the assembly. I used more royal icing to stick the stacked cakes together and then used cocktail sticks to position the roses.

 My cousin, Tom, had been obsessed with lego as a child (and he turned out to be an engineer so it's served him well) hence the lego cake topper. 
I was so honored to be asked to make this cake for Tom and Nic. I'd never made a wedding cake before and so for them to trust me to do it justice was really lovely. I felt like a proud mum standing next to it! I had a bit of a tear in my eye when they cut it, but I'm pretty sure it was tears of happiness as opposed to annoyance that they'd just sliced through a month of my life.

So that's it!! Becca Bakes a wedding cake. And a pretty good one too even if I do say so myself!!

I just want to say once more, Congratulations to Tom and Nicola Wallace!!!!!!!

Truffles and Drunken Mexicans

Well hello!!

As promised, I have truffle recipes!! I have two for you today but the method I use can be done with many hundreds of flavourings.

I chose chilli as my family and I planned a Mexican themed night over the Bank Holiday where we'd all get together, coo over my cousins babies, don comedy fake moustaches, consume huge quantities of tortilla chips (twelve bags), drink many, many themed alcoholic beverages and eat spicy food.

The drinks, made by my cousin and his fiancée started with a watermelon, rum and lime slush which was really fresh and juicy from the melon. The other, a twist on a Dark and Stormy, wasn't designed as a drink but as a ice lolly but we suspect the vast quantity of rum made freezing fully a challenge.  Rum, ginger beer and lime make for a stunning cocktail and an excellent lolly/drink. We also attempted a margarita which tasted delicious but was lethal to all who managed to finish it.

I'd heard of the chilli chocolate combo before but never tasted it so I went and bought a bar of Linntt Excellence Chilli chocolate and loved it.

I'd seen Tomasina Mires make similar truffles on her show, Mexican Food Made Easy so I looked up her recipe which called for whole spices to be ground and then added to the cream. I wanted more of a pure chilli flavour as well as a sweeter hint. Here's my recipe:

400g good-quality dark chocolate

150ml double cream

1  red chilli

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Cocoa powder, to dust

Finely chop the chocolate into tiny pieces. Add into a bowl with the cinnamon, cayenne and a pinch of good sea salt.

Remove the seeds from the chilli. Cut it into four or five inch long pieces and add it to a saucepan. Add the cream and gently heat, but don’t let it boil. Remove from heat and pick out the chilli.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until it forms a ganache.

Pour into a clean bowl. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until it hardens.

Dust a plate with cocoa powder and get about a teaspoonful of the ganache. 

Roll it quickly in your hands until it forms a smooth ball.

Roll in the cocoa powder.

 Continue until all the ganache has been used. If it becomes too soft but the ganache in the freezer for a few minutes to harden.

The truffles need to be kept in the fridge right until you serve them so they retain their firm yet smooth texture.

The second flavouring I went for was one of my favourite flavour combinations, chocolate orange. This time, instead of infusing the cream, I zested an orange and added it to a bowl with 2 table spoons of Cointreau. 

I let that sit and marinade together while I chop the same amount of chocolate as before and then add this to the zest and liqueur.

Heat the cream, pour over the chocolate and orange and stir until it's all melted together.

 Pour into a smaller bowl, cover and refrigerate as before. I covered both truffles in cocoa powder as a challenge for my family to be brave and blindly pick a truffle without knowing its identity but when I make them again I'll coat the orange truffles in dark chocolate and add allow to set before serving.

Other flavours I've thought of include almond, using amaretto in the ganache and then coating the truffles in chopped, toasted almonds. Likewise hazelnut using frangelico. Coffee would be a nice addition, as would baileys. 

So there you go!! Easy, delicious truffles that make great, inexpensive and impressive gifts and an indulgent treat for any chocoholic.

Much love and I'll see you all soon!!

Midweek Mains

Well Hello!!

I've just finished a weeks work experience in London. I was working for a magazine (I'm not saying which one as you'll all go rushing off applying for work there and they'll blame me).

Today I'm giving you two of my very favourite main meals - Turkey chilli with tortillas and Spanish chicken with chorizo and rice. Both one-pot-wonders, both healthy, nutritious and very, very tasty even if I do say so myself.

So, the Spanish chicken and rice needs:

1 pack of 6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, sliced into strips

1 red onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red pepper finely diced

4 inches of chorizo sausage, sliced (please, I beg of you, don't buy ready sliced chorizo. It will not have the same effect)

1 chicken stock cube

1 vegetable stock cube

1 1/2 pints boiling water

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (more if you like it hot, leave out if not)

1/2 teaspoon of herbs de Provence

1 tablespoon of double concentrate tomato puree

1 standard mug of long grain rice

salt and pepper

In a large saucepan add the chopped onions, garlic, peppers and chorizo. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the oil from the chorizo is oozing out.

 Add the chicken strips, paprika, chilli flakes (if using) and herbs and cook until the chicken is browned.

Dissolve the stock cubes in the boiling water.

Stir in the rice, coating every grain in the oil from the chorizo. Pour in the stock.

Add the tomato puree and stir everything together.

Put a lid on the saucepan, turn the heat down low and allow the chicken to cook through and the rice to soften for around fifteen minutes. You might need to add extra water if the rice isn't cooked.

After this time, take off the lid and stir everything around. Then turn up the heat slightly and let everything bubble away, reducing the amount of liquid until only a thick, orange-y red sauce is left. The rice will be sticky and almost risotto-like.

Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.
I like to think of this as my version of Paella - most of the time I do it without prawns but when it's for a special occasion, I add a pack of cooked, peeled prawns to the pan five minutes before serving to allow them to heat through.

This dish works in all seasons - the warming paprika and chilli are lovely in winter and also give a summery colour to the rice.

Now, the eagle eyed among you will see that I'm not in my kitchen in these photos. In fact I was staying at a friends house in London while I was on my work experience and I cooked this dish for her dad and his carpenter mate who were down at the house fitting the wardrobes. I felt the least I could do for letting me stay in their house was to cook them dinner. 

Now for the turkey chilli. I like a bit of spice in my food but I still have to be able to taste everything in my dishes. This one is a bit of a cheat as it uses kidney beans in chilli sauce and chopped tomatoes with chilli but it tastes delicious and is an easy mid-week meal.

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 pack  lean turkey thigh mince

1 carton Italian chopped tomatoes with basil, chilli and oregano (from Sainsbury's)

1 can red kidney beans in chilli sauce (from Sainsbury's)

1 bag salted tortilla chips

50g cheddar cheese, grated

Heat the oil in a pan then add the onion, red pepper and turkey mince.

Fry over a high heat for 5 minutes, stirring to break up the mince with a wooden spoon, until the onion and pepper are softened and the mince is browned.

Add the tomatoes and kidney beans to the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly.

Put a large handful of tortilla chips onto each plate, spoon over the chilli and sprinkle with cheese.

Talk to you soon, Bloggers! I'm making truffles this week, keep an eye out!
B xxxxxx