salted caramel frosting

Ingredients

100g butter, at room temperature

200g icing sugar, sieved

1-2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
2 tbsp tinned caramel
1 tsp salt

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft.
2. Gradually add the sugar until thoroughly combined, smooth and creamy.
3. Add the caramel, salt and vanilla and mix thoroughly
4. Finally add the milk bit by bit until you have your desired consistency.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

chocolate malt frosting

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature

200g icing sugar, sieved

1-2 tbsp milk

50g plain chocolate, melted

2 tbsp ovaltine or other malted drink powder

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft.
2. Gradually add the sugar until thoroughly combined, smooth and creamy.
3. Add the chocolate and ovaltine and mix thoroughly.
4. Finally add the milk bit by bit until you have your desired consistency.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

lemon poppy seed cupcakes

This is a classic combination of flavours with a hidden surprise. If you are feeling the need to be a little more healthy they are equally delicious with or without frosting. If poppy seeds aren't your thing you can leave them out if you really must.

The cake batter recipe is based on Dan Lepard's Sour Cream Butter Cake in his book Short and Sweet but has been adapted quite a lot.

Ingredients
175g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
200g sour cream (I used 0% fat greek yogurt and it still worked perfectly well)
200g plain flour
3tsp baking powder
Zest of a lemon
1 tsp lemon extract
10g poppy seeds (optional)
Lemon curd (approx 4 tbsps)

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F/Gas 4 and place 12 muffin cases in the tray.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add the eggs in one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
3. Beat in the sour cream or yogurt then add the lemon zest, extract and poppy seeds.
4. Sift in the flour and baking powder and beat in until all the mixture is combined.
5. Next place a spoonful of the batter into each case, it should come about a third of the way up the case.
6. Smooth the batter out so that the bottom of the base is completely covered. Now place a teaspoon of lemon curd in the centre of each case.
7. Add a couple of more spoons of batter to each case so that they are full almost to the top but not quite.
8. Place in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out cleanly.
9. Allow the cupcakes to cook completely before frosting then decorate however you choose. I opted for a simple mascarpone frosting with a little more lemon rind to continue the zingy flavour throughout.

banana and chocolate peanut butter cupcakes

Peanut butter, chocolate and bananas are three of my favourite things and when you put them all together in any combination they're great. Apparently Elvis didn’t mind that mix either. This recipe is an attempt at a healthyish cupcake/muffin and depending on how indulgent you are at breakfast time it could be a delicious start to any day. The muffin recipe is based on Felicity Cloake's 'Perfect Banana Bread' initially but quickly deviates.

If you make 24 cupcakes I've worked out that they will have approximately 143 calories each and 7.1g fat.

Ingredients
350g ripe bananas (peeled weight)
160g self raising flour
20g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
160g sugar (ideally light, soft brown, but I only had caster sugar this time)
2 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp vegetable oil

approx. 150g peanut butter

1. Makes approx 24 cupcakes or 12 muffins.
2. Preheat the oven to 170C and place muffin or cupcake liners in your tray.
3. Put the peeled bananas into a bowl and mash until smooth.
4. Put the sugar, eggs and oil in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk them until pale and slightly increased in volume. Fold in the bananas and the dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed together.
5. Spoon into your muffin/cupcake cases until 1/3 full then place 1tsp of peanut butter on top of the mix. Then you will need to add more of the banana cake mixture so that each case is 2/3 full.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Try and be patient and leave the cupcakes in the tray for a few minutes before turning out on to a rack to cool completely.

garbanzos con carne molina / chickpeas and mince - my style

This recipe is not a classy dish but it is a hearty dinner with an excellent balance of spicy and savoury and a comforting texture. I have a feeling that this dish will be a feature of my autumn and winter dining for some time to come. It is part inspired by the garbanzos con carne molida from this intriguing Colombian recipe blog and also the Spanish dish of arroz con garbanzos.

I used Laverstoke Park, lean buffalo mince in this dish as I enjoy the flavour and the fact that it is only 3% fat but you could use any minced beef, veal or pork. Feel free to experiment.

The amounts below are enough for 2-4 people depending on how greedy you are.

Ingredients
300g lean buffalo mince
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic grated/minced/crushed
1 tsp chilli flakes, add more if you like it spicy
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
400g can chickpeas, drained
generous handful of chopped, fresh coriander
salt and pepper
wedge of lime to squeeze over at the end
100g basmati or other long grain rice cooked with 1 good quality beef stock cube (e.g. Kallo) - see below for my method.

1. Heat a wide frying or saute pan over a medium heat then add the oil and cook the onion until translucent, you don't want it to colour too much.
2. Add the chili flakes and cumin and stir together, cook for a further minute or two.
3. Now add the mince and stir until it has all browned evenly. 
4. Next add the crushed garlic and stir, followed by the tomato puree. TIP: Before you stir the tomato puree through the whole mixture cook it for about a minute to one side of the pan until you start to see the colour change. This will help to intensify the flavour. 
5. At this stage I had a left over grilled aubergine so chopped it up and added it in for an additional texture and flavour but this recipe will work equally well without or you could experiment by adding other roasted veg such as red peppers or courgettes.
6. Next add the smoked paprika followed by the drained chickpeas. Lower the heat then cook the mixture for a further 5-10 minutes.
7. Taste for seasoning then adjust to your preferences.
8. Mix the rice into the meat and chickpea mixture and continue to cook over a low heat until it is all heated through.
9. Sprinkle over the fresh coriander then serve with lime wedges on the side.

How to cook perfect rice...

1. Put the rice in a saucepan, cover with boiling water/stock so that the water is about 1.5cm above the rice.
2. Cover, then boil on a medium heat for 5mins then turn the heat off and leave for approx 10 mins until all the water is absorbed. Do not lift the lid at this stage. Trust that this will all work out. 
3. While the rice is cooking you can get on with the rest of the meal.
4. When the rice is ready to use you should have perfectly separate, fluffy grains of rice.