Tag: Fruit

Categories
Bakes Recipes

Double Choc Cherry Muffins

Sometimes the unplanned, spur of the moment dishes can turn out to be the best!

I had half a pack of fresh black cherries left over from my Cherry, Mascarpone & Biscotti Dessert, and was looking for ideas on how to use them up. Spotting just over half a 100g bar of Lindt 70% dark chocolate in the kitchen cupboard, I soon had the answer.

Dark chocolate and cherries is a timeless combination that never ceases to please. This recipe delivers a double hit of chocolate, through the sponge mixture and the broken-up chunks.

The other ingredients involved here are all ones I usually have in the fridge or store cupboard. After about an hour, the family was tucking into fresh double choc cherry muffins, still warm from the oven.

Fancy some of that action? Read on…

Servings

This will make 12 muffins.

Timings

10 -15 mins to prepare while the oven is warming up, then 25 mins in the oven at 180C.

You Will Need

  • 255g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • half tsp bicarb of soda
  • half tsp salt
  • 110g sugar (caster or granulated)
  • 4 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 egg
  • 250ml milk
  • 90ml vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 60g dark chocolate broken into chunks
  • 60g black cherries, stones removed and cut into quarters

Method

  1. Switch on the oven and heat to 180C. Lay out a muffin tin or mould.
  2. While the oven is getting up to temperature, prepare the mixture.
  3. In a bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and sugar.
  4. Add in the cherries and choc chunks. Give it all a good stir so that the cherries and choc are coated in the dry mix.
  5. Break the egg into a separate bowl, and stir in the milk, oil and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate, so that there are no dry ingredients visible.
  6. Spoon into the muffin tin/mould and put in the oven for 25 mins at 180C.
  7. Remove from the oven when done and leave to cool on a wire rack, before enjoying. They are great when still a little warm, and just as good when cool. They will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container (though they will probably all be gone before then!)

Customise it!

For an even smoother taste, replace the 90ml veg oil with 90g of butter, melted in a microwave. You could also introduce some chopped nuts along with the cherries and choc – go for 40g and reduce the cherries and choc chunks to 40g also.

The next track for the ADK Spotify Playlist is bang on theme, requiring no further explanation. This is Goldfrapp with Black Cherry.

Categories
Breakfast Mains Recipes

Bacon and Blueberry Pancake Stacks

A feast for Pancake Day that’s flippin’ marvellous!

I have made this a few times, having used the recipe in my Sunday Brunch Cookbook, from the makers of the Channel 4 show featuring Simon Rimmer and Tim Lovejoy (so a big ADK shout out to Simon and Tim!).

Fancy sweet blueberry pancakes interlaced with rashers of bacon and melted butter, topped with a soft poached egg and drizzle of maple syrup, with a few twists of black pepper? Read on…

Servings

There are 3 pancakes in a stack, and this will make 6 pancakes i.e. 2 servings

Timings

15 mins to prepare the pancake batter (which can be done in advance), and then 15 mins to cook.

You Will Need

  • 1 egg for the batter
  • 25g butter
  • 125ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 60g cottage cheese
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 25g caster sugar
  • 120g fresh blueberries
  • oil
  • 2 eggs for poaching
  • 6 rashers of streaky bacon
  • maple syrup to drizzle
  • black pepper
  • some slivers of butter

Method

  1. Begin by making the pancake batter: combine the egg, milk, and cottage cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter ( I give it 12 – 15 seconds in a small bowl in the microwave) and add it in.
  2. In a separate bowl combine the flour, bicarb and sugar, the sieve it into the egg mixture. Give it a good stir, and feel free to use a mixer or hand blender to remove any lumps, if you wish.
  3. Add in most (about 100g) of the blueberries. Make sure you do this after using your mixer or hand blender, as you want them to stay whole! Give it another good stir and set aside.
  4. Warm an oven to around 100C and put in a plate that you can use to keep the pancakes warm as you cook them.
  5. Rub the base of a frying pan with a piece of kitchen paper dipped in oil, so that it has a light coating all over. Put it on the hob to heat up.
  6. Ladle in around 2 heaped tbsp of the batter. It will spread out to form a pancake about 1cm deep and 10cm in diameter, though don’t expect it to be a perfect circle (and this doesn’t matter). See the first of my photos below.
  7. After a few minutes, when it’s looking like it’s firming up, insert a spatula underneath and carefully flip it over to cook on the other side. See the second of my photos below.
  8. When both sides are cooked to a golden brown, remove and set on the warming plate in the oven.
  9. Repeat steps 6 – 8 to make 6 pancakes in total.
  10. With all 6 pancakes made, lay out the rashers of bacon in the pan and cook till crisp and golden.
  11. While the bacon is frying, soft poach the eggs. I find about 4 mins, once the water has reached boiling point, is the right length of time for large size eggs.
  12. Remove the bacon to the warming plate when done.
  13. Take the poached eggs off the boil when done.
  14. On two plates, you can then assemble the stacks. Begin with one pancake, then lay a rasher of bacon on top. Add a sliver of butter, which will soon melt. Repeat with another two layers, placing the rasher of bacon at 90 degrees to the one below. This will help the top stay flat(tish), which assists when adding the egg topping.
  15. Carefully place a poached egg on top. Drizzle with maple syrup and give it a few twists of black pepper from a mill. Scatter the remaining blueberries around the plates. Hopefully it will resemble my main photo at the top of the post.
  16. Serve!

Customise it!

I wouldn’t change the core ingredients of sweetened blueberry pancakes, bacon and soft poached egg. However, you could drizzle honey rather than maple if you wish, and also sprinkle some chilli flakes.

Next track for the ADK Spotify Playlist is from The Snuts, a young indie band who hail from West Lothian in Scotland. I like their sound and think the vocalist, Jack Cochrane, has a great voice. These boys can go far! This is Hallelujah Moment.

Categories
Bakes Recipes

Lemon Drizzle Slices

After 2 flights, 26 hours in the air, 4 movies and at least 7 in-flight meals or snacks, I am now back home in the UK from my Australian trip.

I’ve also swapped a daily high temperature of around 30C in the Australian summer, for one of around 8C in the UK winter. If that sounds low in comparison, it is positively tropical given what friends and family have told me about the freezing weather here over December and January. Touch wood, we seem to have missed the worst of a very cold UK winter.

It’s good to be back in the ADK kitchen researching new dishes and listening to some new bands over the speakers on Spotify. There’s lots of exciting recipes and stuff to come over my next few posts, so stay tuned.

The first creation since my return is the Lemon Drizzle Slices shown above. I made these as a thankyou for our lovely neighbours who have been keeping an eye on our house while we have been away. Sweet and tangy, the cakes went down particularly well along with a glass of prosecco, sat in a warm living room sharing a few holiday snaps cast to the TV screen. Fancy having a go?

Servings

This will make 16 slices.

Timings

10 minutes to prepare, 15 – 20 mins in the oven. 5 mins to drizzle the lemon and another 5 mins to add the icing.

You Will Need

  • 70g softened butter
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 140g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • zest of a lemon
  • 1 tbsp lemon curd
  • 2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
  • 30g granulated sugar
  • juice of a lemon
  • 70g icing sugar
  • 1 – 2 tbsp water

Method

  1. Grease a traybake pan 20cm x 20cm and line with baking paper.
  2. Heat the oven to 180C.
  3. Cream the softened butter and caster sugar with a mixer. Add in the eggs and whisk again.
  4. Sieve the flour and baking powder into the mixture. Add in the zest, lemon curd and milk. Stir to combine so there are no dry ingredients showing.
  5. Tip the mixture into the tin and place in the oven once it’s up to temperature. Bake for 15 – 20 mins, until the cake has risen and is golden. Pierce the middle with a skewer and, if there is no wet mixture on the skewer, it is done.
  6. Leave the cake in the tin, and pierce it all over in about 15 – 20 places to make tiny little holes. Mix the lemon juice and granulated sugar, then gently pour it over the cake, so that it seeps down into the holes. Take it slow as, if you pour too fast, it will flow off to the sides.
  7. Leave the soaked cake to cool completely, then remove it from the tin.
  8. Mix the icing sugar and water together, then spread over the cake. Leave it aside to set (I find placing it in the fridge helps the setting process).
  9. Once the icing is set, cut into slices and serve.

Customise it!

This recipe is already customised, to be fair, so there’s not too much more to suggest. It’s based on one by Paul Hollywood (thanks Paul), to which I have made a few tweaks – the main one being to use only one third the amount of icing that he does. I can only assume he likes his icing laid on nice and thick!

If you don’t want to make the icing, that’s ok – the cake is also fine to serve without it (see my photo below).

I’ve been discovering some great new music since my return, so will be featuring this on the ADK Playlist over the next few posts. Here’s the first: The WAEVE is the new venture by Graham Coxon (out of Blur) and Rose Elinor Dougall. They’ve just released their first album, and I love the bass guitar line on this track, called Kill Me Again. Stick with it – it kicks in after the first verse.

Categories
Blog Desserts

Peach Melbourne

Peaches are in season in Australia right now, and plentiful in the shops. It’s no surprise therefore that, just as Wimbledon has strawberries and cream, the Australian Open has Peach Melbourne.

The Australian Open, the first tennis major tournament of 2023, is under way at the moment, and is a pretty big deal here in Melbourne. I’ve spent a couple of days at it this week and, aside from watching the tennis, have enjoyed its Peach Melbourne signature treat.

It is of course a play on Peach Melba, the dish created in the Victorian era by a French chef, in honour of the Australian soprano, Nellie Melba. Melba was a stage name that she took from her home town of Melbourne.

The three key ingredients are ice cream, fresh peaches, and raspberries. At the Australian Open, it is served (sorry, couldn’t resist that one) as a tub of whirled vanilla ice cream, covered with a drizzle of pureed fresh peaches, and topped with pieces of dried raspberries (see my main photo).

It is lovely to taste – especially the fresh peach sauce – and a welcome respite from the heat. The temperature hit 37C one day this week, and play on the outdoor courts had to be suspended. I would not be surprised if the tennis players all headed to the Peach Melbourne outlet to cool down.

Regular followers will know that I featured on ADK some ice cream creations made with my own ice cream maker, a few months back during the UK summer. I haven’t made this peach dish before but will definitely be giving it a go when I get home. Watch out for a future post.

As for the tennis, I have really enjoyed seeing the game played up close by world class players. The first day we bought a ground pass, which gives access to all of Melbourne Park, except for the 4 show court arenas. You can wander around and see who is playing, then stand or sit at a match and watch it for as long as you wish, before moving on to another. You can go fetch a coffee (or Peach Melbourne) whenever you choose, or take a deckchair on a central green watching the action on a big screen.

The atmosphere is relaxed and informal off court, if fiercely competitive on. The setting is spectacular, with the skyline of Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) rising above the courts.

I liked being able to watch a match from a spectator gallery to the side of the court. The customary view on TV is from a raised camera position at the end of the court, but sitting to the side brings home much more effectively the speed and power with which the game is played at this level.

It’s also fun spotting any famous players taking their turn on the outside courts. The biggest name we saw there was the number 3 seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, see below.

I knew he was a top men’s singles player, but hadn’t realised he also played doubles with his brother. There is a large Greek community in Melbourne, so the boys were receiving enthusiastic support from the fans.

It’s also possible to watch the tennis for free on a big screen, by joining these Melburnians below, at the nearby AO Hilltop – a fan fest site with decent drinks and food.

On our second day, we had evening tickets for the biggest of the show courts, the Rod Laver Arena – a lovely birthday present from my son. It was very exciting making our way to the famous 15,000 seat arena, below.

In a tense game, we saw the USA’s Seb Korda inflict a shock defeat on the number 7 seed, Daniil Medvedev.

Our session ended just after midnight – not quite as late as Andy Murray endured this week, finishing at 4am the next morning! With this in mind, our latest addition to the ADK Playlist is in honour of the gallant, battling Scot who overcame the odds to progress to the next round. This is Faron Young with It’s Four in the Morning.

Categories
Desserts Recipes

Passion Fruit and Lime Pots

I made these recently to share with friends as a dessert after a dinner party. They look good, taste fresh and tangy with a hint of sweet and sour, are a little different from the norm, and not that difficult to make. They can also be prepared well in advance of mealtime. It is a Mary Berry recipe originally, so thanks to Mary for the inspiration!

My recent photo post on Twitter for this dish received a new record number of likes for A Different Kitchen, so I’m sharing the full recipe here.

Timings

20 mins to prepare, at least two hours to set in the fridge.

Servings

This will make six pots.

You Will Need

  • 6 passion fruits
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 600ml double cream
  • 100g caster sugar

Method

  1. Tip the cream and sugar into a saucepan. Heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved, then step up the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
  2. Halve 5 of the passion fruits and scoop out the juice and seeds. Whirl the juice and seeds in a food processor with blade fitted, until smooth. Push through a sieve so that you have a smooth juice, and discard the seeds.
  3. Add the passion fruit juice to the warm cream and sugar mixture, so that the cream will start to thicken.
  4. Add the lime juice also to the mixture, and stir in so that it thickens further.
  5. Pour the mixture into six ramekins and let cool. Once cooled, place in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours.
  6. When ready to serve, cut the remaining passion fruit in half and scoop out the juice and seeds. Scatter this across the surface of the 6 pots, and serve.

The musical accompaniment to this dish should be smooth, mellow and sophisticated, with just a hint of an edge to reflect the combination of sweet and sour. I’ve opted for a band getting a lot of play recently in the ADK kitchen, and that is Massive Attack, here with the excellent vocals of Tracey Thorn. Enjoy Protection.

Categories
Bakes Desserts Recipes

Austrian Apple Cake

It’s a great pleasure to introduce our latest guest post this week on A Different Kitchen. My good friend, and accomplished cook, Eva, shares with us an old family recipe from her native Austria. Eva treated me to a generous slice of this recently (see my photos) and it was delicious!

Hi, this is an old family recipe of mine from Austria, where I grew up. It’s special to me as it reminds me of my childhood. Mum used to make this cake for when we had friends round for coffee. It’s a recipe that was passed down from one of her aunts to my Mum. Also, this is a typical Austrian “fruit cake” where you use the fruits according to the season, especially plums, apricots, pears or cherries.

Ingredients

160g unsalted butter

160g sugar

160g self raising flour

3 eggs

Zest of half a lemon

2-3 spoons of dark rum

3 cooking or dessert apples

Flaked almonds

Icing sugar for dusting

Method

Beat butter, sugar and egg yolks in a bowl until fluffy and pale in colour. Add the lemon zest and rum, then add the flour. Whisk the egg whites till fairly stiff and fold into the mixture. Put the cake mixture into a baking tin. I used a spring form cake tin of 23cm diameter. Then peel the apples and cut into thin slices and arrange them on top of the cake. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake in the oven at 180C (fan oven) for about 45 minutes.

Finish with a dusting of icing sugar before serving!

My choice of musical track for adding to Kevin’s ADK Playlist is the “Hallelujah Chorus” from the Messiah by Georg Friedrich Händel. I sung this piece many years ago when I first joined a choir in this country and thoroughly enjoyed it then. Many years later and with a different choir I sung it again at Winchester Cathedral, which was so special and one of my best moments in life. I find the Messiah totally exhilarating and uplifting which makes it one of my favourite pieces.

Categories
Bakes Blog Snacks

Selkirk Bannock

Until recently, I had never heard of the Selkirk Bannock. That’s all changed since a friend of the family brought us one back as a gift from a holiday in the Scottish Borders. Delicious it is, too!

According to legend, Queen Victoria visited Sir Walter Scott’s granddaughter at Abbotsford in 1867, and was served a Selkirk Bannock made by local baker Robbie Douglas. As a result the Bannock became famous and fashionable throughout Scotland, and is still made today to Robbie’s original recipe.

A rich but lightly textured fruit loaf packed with sultanas, my first impression was the malty, slightly sticky soft crust giving off a scent of scotch whisky. According to the ingredients list, however, there is no whisky included in the mix.

It is eaten simply – sliced and spread with butter. Toast it and let the butter melt (see my photo), and it is even more delicious.

It fully deserves its place in Scotland’s great culinary tradition.

Accordingly, for musical inspiration, I’ve chosen a modern day anthem from Scottish duo Craig and Charlie Reid, better known as the Proclaimers. I was amused to read recently that an interviewer once asked Craig and Charlie how they first met (eh, they are identical twins).

I know how challenging it can be to meet my daily target of 10,000 steps. Maybe, however, with a good few slices of Selkirk Bannock with butter in me for sustenance, I too could manage 500 miles?



Categories
Bakes Recipes

Blackberry, Oat & Yoghurt Muffins

The end of summer/start of autumn is a great time of year for fresh blackberries. You may find them in supermarkets and farm shops, and some farms will let you pick your own. Best of all though is that they grow plentifully in the wild in hedges in public places and country parks, and can usually be picked free of charge.

Nutritionists will say that they are good for our overall health in various ways, such as being a source of Vitamin C and antioxidants, which protect our body cells.

I recently went on a walk to pick some in a nearby country park. I have included a photo of my haul of two filled plastic containers. My Fitbit told me afterwards that I had earned 52 active zone minutes from the exercise, which shows how blackberries can be good for our health in more ways than one!

There are many ways to use blackberries. A favourite of mine is as a topping on muesli.

I have also used them recently in a blackberry, coconut and almond traybake.

Probably my favourite though is the muffins, shown in my main photo, where they are combined with rolled oats and natural yoghurt, The muffins can be enjoyed for breakfast, as a lunchtime snack, a picnic dessert, or indeed at any time.

Servings

Ths will make 12 muffins.

Timings

15 mins to make, 25 mins in the oven at 180C.

You Will Need

  • 200g plain flour
  • 1 and a half tsp baking powder
  • half tsp salt
  • 85g rolled oats
  • 240 ml natural yoghurt
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 120g light brown sugar
  • 90ml milk
  • 90ml vegetable oil
  • 140g fresh blackberries

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare a muffin tray/container. I use a flexible silicone plastic mould that requires no greasing. This makes it especially easy to pop out the muffins when they are baked.
  2. Wash and dry the fresh blackberries. Lay them on a dish.
  3. Weigh out the flour and sprinkle a few tablespoons over the blackberries, turning them so they are coated in the flour. This will help stop them sinking to the bottom of the muffin mixture as they are baking.
  4. Mix together the rest of the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
  5. In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, yoghurt and bicarb of soda. Let this stand for a minute, then add the beaten egg, sugar, milk and veg oil.
  6. Pour the oat/yoghurt mix into the flour mix and stir to combine. Add the flour-coated blackberries in the final few strokes.
  7. Spoon the combined mixture into the muffin tray and bake for 25 mins.
  8. Remove from the tray/mould when the muffins have slightly cooled, and let cool fully on a wire tray.

Customise it!

Missed the blackberry season? Don’t worry – substitute another fresh berry, such as raspberry or blueberry, and the muffins will be nice also.

If you do venture into the countryside to go blackberry picking, here’s a topical track from The Farmer’s Boys to get you in the mood.

Categories
Blog Breakfast

The Sweetest Feeling

During the recent period of national mourning, I spent a few days in Essex visiting relatives. I made a point of stopping off at Tiptree, home of the famous jams and marmalades produced by Wilkin and Sons since 1885. I learned that their range of preserves has been supplied to the Crown under Royal Warrant since 1911, and is enjoyed in over 70 countries all around the world. I wonder if you have heard of it where you live?

On the same site as the factory where the jam is made, you can tour a museum display explaining how the company has grown over the years from its Victorian origins. There is also a shop selling the full range of preserves, including some varieties I was unaware of, such as Little Scarlet (a type of strawberry).

On display is a selection of spicy sauces and chutneys to choose from. We brought some chilli jam as a gift for our son. It’s a great place to treat yourself, and friends and family. Hey, we deserve it!

I opted for a jar of Old Times English Orange Marmalade to take home, which (as you can see) I shall be enjoying over many breakfasts ahead. It has a very delicate balance between bitter and sweet.

However, my highlight, and undoubtedly a favourite part of the visit for many devotees, is (not totally surprisingly) the Tea Room. Here you can place your order and, while waiting at a table for your own delights to arrive, be entertained by the succession of delicious cakes and carefully trimmed sandwiches making their way to the tables around you, beautifully presented on old-fashioned 3 tier china cake stands.

I opted for afternoon tea, with a toasted teacake and a choice of preserve, washed down with a pot of tea. My chosen preserve was a miniature jar of dark morello cherry jam, which was delicious. You can see it in my main photo, along with the fittingly sweet message on the underside of the lid, which says simply:

From Tiptree With Love

Categories
Desserts Recipes

Plum and Almond Crumble Squares

Those following on Twitter (@differentkitch) may recognise the above photo from my tweet earlier in the week. It shows a batch of lovely Victoria Plums, which have recently come into season and are appearing on our market stalls. This post shows how I turned them into Plum and Almond Crumble Squares.

I researched some plum recipes, with the general idea that I felt they would be great in a traybake. I settled upon one in BBC Good Food and, as usual, modified it to my liking.

The Squares have several layers, beginning with a biscuity base. On top of this is an egg custardy/almond/ bakewell pudding type layer, and then the subtle taste of the chopped plums. The main area where I modified the recipe was on the topping, adding rolled oats, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds to flaked almonds. This makes a crumble finish which is totally loaded, adding a toasted crunch as it bakes.

Servings

This will make 16 square slices (4 had already been eaten when the above photo was taken!)

Timings

Total prep time about 25 mins, total cooking time about 1 hr – 1hr 10mins.

You Will Need

  • 250g baking spread
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 300g ground almonds
  • 140g plain flour, plus an additional 25g
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 7 plums, stones removed and cut into slices
  • 50g flaked almonds
  • 50g rolled oats
  • 25g pumpkin seeds
  • 25 g sunflower seeds

Method

  1. Grease and line a baking dish with baking paper. My baking dish was 20cm square. Cut one piece that extends across the base and two opposite sides, leaving a little overhanging on each side. Paste a strip on each of the two remaining sides.
  2. Put the baking spread, sugar and ground almonds in a food processor with blade fitted. Pulse until it is mixed.
  3. Remove the mix from the food processor and reserve half of it aside. Put the other half back in the processor with the 140g flour, and mix till it forms a dough.
  4. Remove the dough and flatten it out with a rolling pin on a floured surface. You will not be able to lift it up in one piece (like a pastry base) but, as it gets flatter, lift it in pieces and gradually place these in the base of the baking dish. Press it down with the back of a spoon and distribute it so that it covers all of the base and at least about half way up the sides. It will all meld together as it bakes.
  5. Fill the base with a piece of crumpled up baking paper and baking beans, and place in the oven to bake blind at 180C for 10 – 15 mins. The edges of the base should be beginning to brown.
  6. While the base is in the oven, make the filling. Into the food processor goes the reserved half of the spead/sugar/almond mix. Add the 2 eggs, the 25g flour, mixed spice and baking powder. Pulse it to form a creamy batter.
  7. Remove the base from the oven and add the batter on top. Then gently press the sliced plums into the top of the batter so that they remain visible. Make sure that they are evenly spread across the whole of the cake – when it is cut into squares you want each one to contain plums. Bake in the oven, still at 180C for 25 mins.
  8. In a bowl, mix the flaked almonds, oats, and the two types of seeds. Give them a good swirl so that they are well mixed up together.
  9. Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the topping over. As with the plums, ensure even coverage. Gently press the nuts, oats and seeds towards the batter mix, so that they will adhere to it, and not fall off when it is cut!
  10. Place back in the oven for another 25 mins. After about 20 mins, check it and insert a skewer in the centre. If it comes out clear, it is baked. If it has some uncooked batter on it, put back in for another 5 – 10 mins and keep an eye on it.
  11. When baked to your satisfaction, remove and leave aside to cool in the tin. When cool, the base will have set and you should be able to lift it out in one piece, by gripping the two overhanging sides of the baking paper liner.
  12. Put on a board and cut into 16 squares. I find a serrated (bread) knife is better for cutting through the sides of the crust, so that these doesn’t crumble. Any other sharp knife will cut through the bottom of the base.

Customise it!

You could add other types of nuts and seeds to the crumble topping – whatever you fancy really. Just make sure you press the pieces gently towards the batter so that they adhere to the cake. Some of the crumble topping will still fall off and flake into your hand as you bite into it, but that is all part of the fun and indulgence of eating it. It’s food to make you feel good!