J's Chocolate Mousse Entremet

Firstly I appologise for the photos, not the best but you can see the cake so it'll do this time! I baked this for my boyfriends birthday. It had to be something show stopping and like none of my other cakes. But the recipe I followed was a French youtube video for a one portion dish... So I had to make it up along the way. It's almost like a cheesecake but with mousse. So the outter edges of the cake is an eggy sponge with the centre being all chocolate mousse. With a layer of strawberries and another praline. This takes a lot of time, due to the chilling steps.

Recipe:

Cake:

2 eggs separated. Whisk the whites to form peaks. Mix the yolks with 100g flour, 100g sugar. 

Fold in egg whites. Spread thinly and evenly on a baking tray. Bake at 180 celcius for 7-10 minutes.

Using a cake tin (preferably with a removable base) Cut a long strip with height of tin and a base.

Praline:

60g Almond flakes. 100g Sugar. Melt the sugar without water in a saucepan on medium heat. As the edges being to brown turn the heat low and allow all the sugar to melt completely and gain a dark brown colouring. At no point should you stir the sugar, before it has become liquid. Fold in almond flakes and spread onto a well greased baking tray. Or using 2 silicon sheets, use a rolling pin to flatten. Leave to set.

Strawberries:

Cut 6 large strawberries into small even chunks. Add to 20g of caster sugar and simmer in a sauce pan until the excess juice from strawberries has become thick and concentrated.

Mousse:

Using 300ml of whipping or thick cream (UHT will not whip). Beat the cream until thick and add to 200g of melted chocolate. Stir in gently.

Assembly:

Line your cake tin with the sponge. Making sure there are no gaps by gently squeezing the edges together. Using the sauce from the strawberries, brush on the juice evenly to the cake. Next spoon in 1/3 of the mousse mixture. Layer with strawberries (It is important that minimal liquid is added or it will melt the mousse) Leave to set for 20 minutes. Layer with 1/3 more mousse and sprinkle over chipped up almond praline brittle. Leave to set for further 20 minutes. Layer with the remaining mouse and leave to set for 2 hours. 

Once chilled and hard, using a hot pallet knife slide over the cake, using the tin as a guide, to gain a flat surface. Refrigerate for further 30 minutes before removing from tin. Dust with dutch press unsweetened cocoa powder using a fine sieve. Decorate with balls of chocolate ganache, hazelnuts, large shards of almond brittle.

Until Next Time xo

Chocolate & Banana Cake

When I really got into big celebration cakes a few weeks back I offered to make a cake for a birthday my brother was attending. I needed an excuse to practise without having the need to eat any hahaha! I surprised myself with how this cake turned out. Very proud moment, although I think the rose does need a little more colour!

Since this was an 18th birthday cake, I spiked the buttercream with a little Baileys. But the recipe below is without. Just add enough to your own taste, because who doesn't love a bit of birthday Baileys!

Kokoro, Sushi Bar Review

I love sushi, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who fell trap to the supermarket so called 'sushi'. What a joke. My little brother claims to love sushi, but he's only ever had it from Tesco. So next time I'm in Guildford I'm picking a few trays up in a cooler bag and bringing them back home! The problem is most teenagers get into sushi because it's 'fashionable' or whatever. Then all of the sudden I found myself forcing it down just to say I like it. When I hated it. It's because supermarket sushi is crap!! I'm yet to find a quality sushi bar in Cardiff centre or anywhere surrounding for that fact. If you know of one please comment below and fill me in!

Salmon Nigiri, Chicken Katsu Nori, Wasabi.

The reason I love Kokoro so much is simple, it's just so understated. The only advertising they have for themselves is the store. I can't find them anywhere online but the store is always packed! This just goes to show that the food really does speak for itself. Since I had my first Salmon lovers box, (around £6.99) I find myself constantly stopping by for lunch when I'm on the high street shopping. Theres just enough space or a few people at their breakfast bars, seated at the windows looking out to the shoppers. But there have also been times when I resisted the temptation and decided to cook something myself, only to find myself rushing back into town to make the 8pm closing time and grab myself a medium box of hot sticky chicken on stir fry noodles (~£5) and some fresh salmon. Since the chefs know sushi inside and out, they know it's best FRESH. The sushi is made daily and throughout the day, so you know you wont be getting yesterdays left overs. Which means... get there too late in the day and they wont be stocking up because it wont go out tomorrow! 

I'm yet to become more adventurous and grab the deluxe box with eel, octopus and others. But they do have a selection of salads and pot stickers too! So you can imagine, the combination of how much I love food and eating out with James (who has a healthy appetite) we're racking up quite a bill. But so worth it since when I come home I say good bye to sushi times. Kokoro also offer a loyalty card. A few weeks ago I saved myself a free miso soup! I could go on but theres just no need. Enjoy the pictures, drool, be jealous and then go there. You'll thank me later, I know.

Salmon Nigiri at it's best.

My favourite sticky spicy chicken box.

Empty shelves late at night.

Until Next Time xo

Palmiers for Breakfast

I love palmiers, I had my first in gorgeous Tuscan Italy under the sun. Visiting the leaning tower, spending the evening listening to street musicians at Ponte Veccio and chowing down some beautiful fresh seafood pallets and Florentine steak. Foodies paradise! Palmiers are a great way to cook your own breakfast, fresh and fast when we're rushed in the early morning. Pack these in a small bag and take them for snacking during the day too.

Back To University

I hate when the weather is doing that stupid inbetweeny crap when it can't decide if it wants to start summer yet or stay in winter. It makes deciding what to wear so difficult! There's definitely a big trend for floral this spring, as with every spring. But a massive emphasise on wearing full prints. On everything! I'll save you too much flower power this time and suggest a few outfits for back to uni/college which ever institution of learning you'll be heading to!

I'm thinking of treating myself to some new jeans, I love the china print on these! And of course white jumpers are always in style so that too is on the list. I never took a second look at peplum tops other than to think what kind of weird throw back fashion trend is this? But I love the grey material here so I thought I'd just give it a go. No wonder peplums are such a big thing, the fit is amazing. Which means I can go for a big meal and get away with a pot bloated belly, hehehe! Also notice how I somehow manage to look exactly the same in both photos... weird.

What do you think of the looks? Tweet me what your wearing back to work/uni this spring and I'll add you photo below! @ericahenderson

Until Next Time xo

Hake on Skordalia with Seared Spinach, buttered Muscles, Oyster Mushrooms and Sundried Tomatoes

Masterchef makes my mouth do some serious drooling. My belly will start rumbling and I'm itching to get into the kitchen. So my new tactic, eat before I watch! Yeah, I'm that bad. I get some serious cravings if I'm even slightly hungry while watching Masterchef. So for lunch yesterday I wanted some serious food going on. I'd never tried Hake before yesterday so I had no idea what to cook with it! All I could gather from asking around was that it tasted amazing. It was on offer so how could I not really? I looked around at a few recipes and saw it's mostly teamed with bold and strong flavours, so I just imagined a sea bass flavour and worked around it. I'm so pleased with how it turned out! My private home taster even said they'd be happy to pay £15 for this dish! But hey they may be slightly biased no?

I don't care! A compliment is a compliment! Especially with all the thought I put into this! I really do hope you give this a go. It's like eating out, but eating in. Hrmm. It's fairly simple to make, just takes a lot of concentration, with so many components! Skordalia, is Greek in origin and is said exactly how it's spelt. If you've been watching Masterchef, yes I did learn this from John!

Recipe:

Skordalia - 

5 large potatoes

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of fresh garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp lime juice

Enough milk to cover potatoes.

Peel and chop potatoes to small squares. Boil in a saucepan with milk (no water!) Peel and squash garlic add to potatoes.
Once cooked and soft, scoop potatoes without milk into a blender add remaining ingredients, bled into a smooth mash/puree consistency.