Baked Eggs - No Ham!

Another food scare which once again confirms that we just do not know what is in our food unless we prepare it all ourselves.  Hugh, the other half, has taken this one to heart. Even though we never eat ready prepared meals he has decided to not only give up nasty supermarket ham (as I have been telling him to do forever) but to go from one extreme to the other (as always) and give up meat all together (apart from free-range chicken!) 

This is an admirable principle but since it is me that does all the cooking, one that I am obviously going to have to endeavor to cook on my own. Not that it is really such an undertaking.  We don't eat that much meat anyway, preferring to let the vegetables be most prominent and predominant. 

Plus, my current series of cookery lessons  with Riverford, are all vegetarian, so I am always looking for new and exciting ways with vegetables. The challenge will do me good. Hugh expressed an interest in some baked eggs but there are so many variations, it was hard to know where to start. So many countries have there own take. In France alone, they not only have Oeufs en Cocotte but I distinctly remember having to learn endless page after page of variations in Escoffier for my catering exams, from Meurette to Florentine to a la Truffe

Then there is the Basque Piperade - Tomato, Red and Green Pepper Stew with Eggs, or the spicy North African variation of Shakshuka.  Mexico has Huevos Ranchos which is a similar concoction but with the addition of a Tortilla, more of a tomato salsa than a sauce and re-fried beans. But there is no need to stick to a particular recipe - you can add all sorts of herbs or vegetables - Tarragon, broad beans, courgettes, potatoes or kales work particularly well.

If you don't fancy a tomato based sauce then they are equally delicious with Spinach and Parmesan or even some smoked fish.  And of course you could add meat - crispy Parma ham, bacon or Chorizo all work super well with eggs but obviously not if you are a vegetarian who only eats free-range chicken!

Shakshuka
Seves 2
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion (thinly sliced)
3 cloves garlic (very finely chopped)
1 (28 ounce) can good quality plum tomatoes
1  red pepper (cut into thin slices)
1 fresh red chilli (very finely chopped)
2 teaspoons cumin
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 handful fresh coriander (chopped)
4 eggs

Heat the oil in a all metal frying-pan. Add the onions and saute gently until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Add the red pepper, some salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic, red chilli and the cumin and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. You will need to add  a cup or so of water to stop the sauce over-reducing. Stir in the coriander. Check the seasoning and adjust. Preheat your oven at 180 C. Make a little well in the sauce, where you want to eggs to go and add them carefully. Put in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs.

Huevos Ranchos
I like to make a huge batch of beans because I love them.  I use them up in Tortillas or Soup but you can half the recipe if you like.
For the Spicy Black Beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 Spanish onion, chopped 
3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons) 
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt 
1 tablespoon Chipotle Chilli Paste ( try Trees can Dance)
2 teaspoons ground cumin 
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or handful of fresh oregano
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
500g dried black beans, soaked overnight
Small bunch of coriander, finely chopped
Tomato, Chilli and Coriander Salsa (Pico de Gallo)
Flour Tortillas
Nice ripe avocados

Heat oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion and celery. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree and the Chipotle paste, the salt, the herbs and spices. Stir and cook 1 minute. Give everything a good mix and add the drained black beans. Cover with cold water and simmer, uncovered for about 30 - 45 minutes until the beans are cooked. You even want to slightly over-cook the beans for this dish. Remember, they are meant to be re-fried, which is not necessary but they do need to be creamy in texture to bring the whole dish together. Taste and adjust seasoning.  Add more chilli, salt, pepper or cumin if necessary. Finally add the coriander.

Place your tortilla in an all metal frying-pan. Pile some beans on top.  Make a well in a couple of places and crack in your eggs.  Bake in a medium oven until the eggs are just set (or how you like them.)  Serve with plenty of salsa and slices of avocado.

Return of the slow-cooker

I am finding it really hard these days to even get near my computer to write my blog.  It used to be my kids who hijacked the laptop, limiting my writing time to "after bedtime" hours, by which time I was usually ready for bed myself. But now it is our latest addition to our household, Rudy the kitten who has managed to usurp all the computer time.

Since I am still refusing to put on the heating during the day, he has decided that this is the only warm place in the house.  And I have to agree it is getting quite cold out.  The first dusting of snow was on the ground yesterday and it is just the time of year that the slow-cooker is dragged out the cupboard, dusted down and put to good use once more. The house is full of the smell of cooking and everyone gets to come home to a hot dinner. 

I had my heart set on some slow-cooked lamb and usually I choose shoulder as it is so fatty that it always holds up beautifully to hours and hours of gentle heat but Hughie, the other half is incredibly fussy about his meat and shows a huge amount of hostility to even the smallest amount of gristle or fat on his plate.  Wishing to avoid confrontation of any sort, I opted for leg of lamb.  Amazingly, due to the fact that leg is so often on special offer in the supermarkets, this proved to be the same price as shoulder. I was worried that the meat would be dry but after 8 hours in the slow-cooker it was meltingly soft, juicy and tender. I based the whole dish on a variation of Machoui which is a North African recipe for whole slow-cooked lamb, originally sealed in a fire pit which would have effectively created the same environment as the slow-cooker in gently steaming the meat, which what results in it being so succulent  You could equally successfully adapt it for Kleftiko, which means "stolen meat".  This is the Greek version of the same dish. According to legend, this dish would be made with a lamb stolen from a flock as it grazed on a hillside. The thief would cook the meat over many hours in a hole in the ground, sealed with mud so that no steam could escape to give him away."

I wanted it to be a one pot dish. I had a lot of Celeriac in the fridge so I used predominately used that, but this is a good dish to use-up any root vegetables you have to hand.  For the spices I used a mixture of Seasoned Pioneer's Fajita Seasoning Spice Mix and Ras-el-Hanout  Spice Blend, which I especially love with its pretty rose petals. To this I added extra cumin, some freshly ground fennel seeds and some fresh coriander. I could not have been happier with the way this dish turned out. It is barely a recipe though because you can use whatever spices you like, whatever veg you like, whatever beans or you like or maybe chickpeas but whatever you choose, I guarantee it will be delicious.















Slow-cooked Spiced Leg of Lamb with Coriander and Butter Beans
This dish can just as easily be cooked in the oven, on a very low heat, wrapped in tin foil to create the steam.

1 leg of lamb on the bone
1 tin of good quality plum tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 bunches Coriander
2 tins Butter Beans

Spices - use what ever you have to hand.  I used - 
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp fennel seeds, finely ground
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp Fajita Seasoning Spice Mix
1 tbsp Ras-el-Hanout  Spice Blend
1 tbsp Sea Salt

Mix the spices all together including the salt. Stab the lamb with a sharp knife is several places, deep into the flesh.  Insert some garlic into each cut and as much spice mix as you can.  Massage the remaining spice mix all over the lamb.  Peel and chop the celeriac, or any other root vegetables, into 1" chunks   Put in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Roughly chop one bunch of coriander and add next.  Add the tin of tomatoes.  Finally top with the leg of lamb.  Cook for 8 - 10 hours on slow.  When the meat is falling off the bone, do just that.  Remove any fat or skin and roughly break up the meat into nice size chunks.  Pour off the sauce and veg into a saucepan.  Skim if necessary, although there shouldn't be very much fat.  Add the drained butter beans and the other bunch of chopped coriander and bring to the boil.  Check the seasoning and when perfect add the meat and bring back to the boil.  (You can do all this in the slow-cooker if you like).  Serve with some Cous Cous or Bulgar Wheat, drizzled with really good extra virgin olive oil.

Hot and Spicy

I am determined to enter my first challenge.  I have been desperately trying to for about six months but it would appear that I am woefully ill-informed in the world of blogging and every time I hear about a challenge, it is because it has just finished.  I have a suspicion that other bloggers try and keep challenges secret, so less people enter and they have more chance of winning.  I know! Shocking!  It's a dog eat dog world, this blogging business.  You can trust no-one.  On the other-hand, maybe I am just completely paranoid.

Anyway, thanks to Farmersgirl and her great new group UK Cooking and Baking Challenges I am no longer in the dark.  Unsurprisingly however, I missed the first Sweet Heat Blogger Challenge set by Lyndsey of Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops fame.  But I am super-excited to say that I am in time for challenge Sweet Heat # 2 - "Spicy Soup."

This soup, interestingly enough started life as a made-up recipe for Harissa.  I make it exactly the same way as the soup, roasting the peppers, garlic, chilli, onion and cumin and then whizzing up the whole lot up with some olive oil, lemon juice (or preserved lemons) and fresh coriander.  I would use this to maybe marinade a chicken or stir into cous cous with some roast winter vegetables.  But somehow along the way this recipe evolved into a soup.  With just the addition of chickpeas it has been a winner at my Riverford lunches and a great way of using up peppers. And it is really delicious.  I made a a little extra effort for my first challenge and added some of my crispy roasted chickpeas.  I blogged about these a few weeks ago but this time I seasoned them with some delicious Ras-el Hanout from Seasoned Pioneers.  The combination of the soothing, earthy spices and the floral notes of the rose petals really enlighten this bowl of comfort.

Spicy Red Pepper, Chickpea and Coriander Soup

3 large red peppers (cut in half and de-seeded)

2 red onions (peeled and quartered)

4 cloves garlic (peeled)

1 -2 Fresh Red Chilli (de-seeded and roughly chopped)

3 teaspoons of cumin

Extra virgin olive oil

2 tins of chickpeas

Bunch coriander (roughly chopped)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Put the peppers, onions,  garlic and chilli in a dish.  Sprinkle with cumin, salt, pepper and drizzle with a good slug of olive oil. Wrap in tin foil and put in the oven for about one to two hours until really soft.  Tip into a saucepan and cover with water.  About  2 pints.  Add the drained chickpeas and bring to the boil.  Add the coriander and give a good stir.  Liquidise with a hand blender or in a liquidiser.  Adjust seasoning to taste. 

Some Salads for a Summer's Day

When I was a kid in the 70's, America was a really big influence.  We wore baseball jackets and Converse shoes, my favourite TV show was Starsky and Hutch and American Pizza and Burger restaurants were opening all over London.  The thing I loved the most about these restaurants was the choice.  How your food was cooked, what it came served with and side orders galore.  The options seemed limitless. Salads had not one but five different dressings - Italian, French, Blue Cheese, Ranch or Thousand Island.  I thought this was just the most amazing thing, even though I always chose Thousand Island, which I adored.  The salad was different too.  We were used to a limp lettuce leaf, a piece of cucumber and an unripe tomato but this was something else.  Shredded red and white cabbage, grated carrot and sweetcorn.  I loved it so much that it was one of the first restaurant dishes that I tried to create for myself at home.  The beginning of a long road.

Now I like to think my pallet more sophisticated and I tend to avoid mayonnaise based dressing in search of more subtle combinations. So when choosing a salad to accompany my Ribs last week a chose a Slaw but felt it needed a really clean dressing.  Barbecued Ribs are delicious but can be a bit sickly so I wanted something to cut the richness.  I think this one works really well.



For the Fish Marinated with Chermoula I made a monkfish kebab but you could use tuna or salmon instead.  Just make sure it is a firm fish which will stay on the Skewer.  With it I served a Giant Couscous Salad.  The Couscous being giant, not the salad.  I am quite a fan of Giant Couscous mainly due to the fact that when the children eat it, they seem to manage to get slightly more of it in their mouths than on the floor, which certainly cannot be said about the other variety.  This salad is simplicity itself, as you use the Chermoula again as a dressing and with just a few other ingredients thrown in you have yourself a really tasty salad.

Finally with the Steak and Chimicurri I made one of my favourite, quick salads of Avocado, Tomatoes, Coriander and Lime.  It is such a great combination.  Really fresh and vibrant.  Great on a sunny day.  Not that it was !  Avocados are really fantastic right now.  I don't know if they have a season but they just seem so creamy and tasty at the moment and they are super-good for you too.

I have to admit that they are one of my favourite snacks.  I remove the stone and in the cavity and I squeeze a mixture of half mayonnaise, half tomato ketchup and a squeeze of lemon.  I then mix the dressing up in the pear and eat the whole thing standing up by the fridge.  So much for my sophisticated pallet !  I haven't changed a bit.



Slaw for Ribs

1/2 White Cabbage (shredded)
1/2 Red Cabbage (shredded)
4 large carrots (pealed and grated)
1/2 head of Celery (wash and slice fairly thinly through the whole head)
2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Sesame Oil
Juice of 2 Lemons

Mix all the vegetables together in a large bowl.. Mix the ingredients for the dressing and add. The dressing should not drown the salad however you do not want it to be dry. If necessary just make up a little more.



Giant Cous Cous with Chermoula

Giant Couscous
Chermoula
Bunch of Spring Onions (finely sliced)
Some Red, Yellow or Orange Peppers (seeds removed, finely chopped)
A Cucumber (seeds removed, finely chopped)
1 Fresh red Chilli (seeds removed, finely chopped)
A bunch of Coriander (finely chopped)

Cook the Couscous in plenty of salted water until soft and pleasant to eat.  If it is not, then it is not ready.  Drain and refresh with a little cold water.  Drain really well.  Add a generous amount of Chermoula until the Couscous is quite green and tastes pretty punchy.  Now add the vegetables and mix well.

Avocado, Tomato, Coriander, Lime and Chilli

One clove of garlic (very finely chopped)

One Fresh Red Chilli (very finely chopped)
2 spring onions (finely sliced)
200g cherry tomatoes (quartered)
2 ripe avocados (pealed and chopped into large bite size pieces)
Juice of one or two limes
Bunch of Coriander (very finely chopped)
Glug of Olive Oil
Good pinch salt
Freshly ground pepper

Mix garlic, chilli, lime juice and olive oil together.  Season well.  Stir in rest of ingredients.  make sure avocado is well coated in lime juice to avoid discolouration.

A Mean Marinade

Last week I was cooking Tandoori Chicken, because it was the best recipe for marinated barbecued chicken, that I could think of.  This year the supermarket have gone mad for marinades. Supermarkets are permanently on the lookout for new trends. In this way they can spot whatever it is that you like to do, be it barbecuing, growing your own vegetables, making jam or baking cupcakes. Then they repackage it and sell it back to you, at a profit. I hate it.  I don't know why but it almost feels like an invasion of my mind.

Anyway, as summer came with unsubstantiated promises of al fresco eating and barbecues, so the shelves filled up with every marinade ever thought of, from every country in the world. From Argentina to Japan, Morocco to India. Every now and then, I was tempted by some exotic sounding combination, no-doubt lured by some enticing packaging. I momentarily forgot that I could just have easily knocked up whatever marinade it was myself, in about 10 minutes, from ingredients I probably had at home already. Anyway, they were all, without fail, revolting. Too much sugar, too much vinegar, unsubtle flavours, herbs that had become pickled and lost all freshness and zest. So, just to remind myself never to do that again, I have written out a few of my favourite recipes. 

The first is Chimichurri which is a sauce and also used as a marinade for grilled meat. It is originally from Argentina and Uruguay, but is also used in countries as far north as Nicaragua and Mexico.  It is vibrant and fresh with the Paprika adding a smoky note and it works excellently with Steak on the barbecue.  You can use Picante or Dulce Paprika depending on your taste.  I prefer the extra chilli kick.  There is no need to marinade your meat for any length of time.  Just coat your steaks and wait for 10 minutes or so.  The extra marinade can be used as a sauce on the side.

Chermoula is the North African variant for fish. It is almost identical to Chimichurri, but replaces vinegar for lemon juice which is more subtle with delicate fish flavours.  Once again there is no need to marinade for more than 10 minutes.  Just coat and cook.  Never leave fish or meat in a marinade containing salt for any length of time as it will just draw out the juices.



In my opinion, lamb needs nothing more than a combination of olive oil and lemon juice with lots of freshly ground black pepper, loads of Rosemary and garlic.  In this case the meat should be left in the marinade over-night to allow the flavours to penetrate and the lemon acts to tenderise the meat which makes it all the more delicious.  Season with salt just before cooking. 



Finally everyone need a good rib recipe for the barbie season.  I have really battled over the years to find a recipe that I liked.  I found the Chinese one's were often too heavy on the Hoi Sin and the Five Spice (although I do recommend my Char-Siu Pork ) and the American versions, laden with Tomato Ketchup and Malt Vinegar.  So I was delighted to find a fantastic Japanese alternative.  Although this recipe does contain some honey it balances beautifully with the other ingredients. 

A Japanese Barbecue is called a Yakiniku and the meat would be further dipped in a Tare Sauce before eating. Personally I use this marinade to cook ribs which I slow-bake first submerged in marinade for a few hours until the meat is beginning to flake.  I then pour off the excess sauce and reduce it in a pan until you have a sticky, delicious  sauce.  Let the ribs cool before cutting up, so that they don't fall to pieces.  Finally I briefly put them on the barbie until hot and smoky and serve with extra sauce.  You don't have to do this.  It is still delicious served straight from the oven.  Just slow-cook them for even longer.

All of these recipes are dead simple, so there is no need to ever succumb to a marinade in jar ever again.  And with the money that you save you can invest in better meat.  Remember, please try to buy free-range when you can and Organic if possible.  This really is something that is worth the extra money.

Chimichurri Sauce

1 large bunch coriander
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika, sweet or spicy
1 fresh red chilli, roughly chopped or 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 small bunch fresh Oregano
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1  cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Whiz up all ingredients in a liquidiser or with a hand-held blender until smooth.  Season to taste with salt.

Chermoula

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
3/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon sweet or spicy Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 large bunch of Coriander leaves
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon Ras el Hanout (optional)
1-2 tsp salt or to taste

Whiz up all ingredients in a liquidiser or with a hand-held blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Harumi's Barbecue Sauce
from Everyday Harumi: Simple Japanese Food for Family and Friends
by Harumi Kurihara

(Personally I whiz this all up with a hand blender which means you don't have to grate anything.)

100ml red wine
2 tbsp honey
70g caster sugar
200ml soy sauce
1 tbsp miso (any type)
60g apple, grated
60g onion, grated
2 tablespoons garlic, grated
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp ground toasted sesame seeds

Put the red wine in a small pan and bring to a boil. Simmer it over low heat for 1 minute to let the alcohol evaporate. Add the honey, sugar, coarse sugar, soy sauce and miso, mix and boil again. When the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat off. When the mixture has cooled down, add the grated apple, onion, garlic and ginger, sesame oil and ground sesame seeds, and mix together.  The flavour will improve if left overnight.  It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

A Taste of Winter Sunshine

All the Citrus fruit always seems to look its best at this time of year. Oranges and Grapefruits are in season and are all looking so juicy and tempting. Lots of beautiful pink grapefruits, blood oranges and now is the time to make marmalade, as servile oranges are around, but only for a short while. It really is cold outside at the moment and these fantastic fruits really are like a taste like a mouthful of sunshine, from the other side of the world. Although Lemons apparently don't have a season, they too always seem best in the winter. So I decided to make a batch of Preserved Lemons because I had a craving for Moroccan Lemon and Coriander Chicken.


My recipe for preserved lemons comes from Claudia Roden, in her fantastic book "Middle Eastern food". Every time I pick up that book I can't stop reading and find new and exciting recipes that I would love to try. But since we are on the subject of citrus, I thought I would share with you her fantastic, famous recipe for Orange and Almond Cake. This is a Sephardic recipe and one I often make for Passover, as it has no flour in it. It is really unique in its use of whole oranges which are boiled first and produces a cake which has more of a pudding consistency. It is delicious with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream.

My Moroccan Lemon and Coriander Chicken, (I won't call it a Tagine, since I did not cook it in one, although I really must invest in one soon), is a combination of other people recipes, which I have adapted over the years.  I use Ras-El-Hanout Spice Blend by Seasoned Pioneers which is an impressive combination of Galangal, Rosebuds, Black Pepper, Ginger, Cardamom, Nigella, Cayenne, Allspice, Lavender, Cinnamon, Cassia, Coriander, Mace, Nutmeg and Cloves.  I also particularly like the little re-sealable pouch it comes in, to keep it fresh. Top Marks!  I don't use any extra chilli but added extra black pepper to add a little kick.  I like to have this with simple plain Cous Cous maybe with a little fresh chopped coriander and a little finely chopped preserved lemon mixed through it. 

Preserved Lemons in Salt

You can add spices such as cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, coriander seeds, cloves, peppercorns, dried chilles, and cardamom pods if you like.

Ingredients

Lemons (Organic, un-waxed if possible)

Kosher salt or Natural Rock Salt

Large Kilner Jar

Scrub the lemons under running water with a stiff brush to remove any dirt and impurities. Starting at one end, cut the lemons in half lengthwise, but stop about 1/2 an inch before you reach the bottom. Repeat the cut perpendicularly so you have cut each lemon lengthwise in a "X" formation, but not all the way through; they should still be attached at the bottom, about 1/2 an inch. Liberally sprinkle salt on the inside of the lemons. Hold them open with your fingers and really get the salt inside them. It is a little bit like those fortune-teller origami toys kids make out of paper. Place each lemon in the jar, pushing down on them and squeezing them to release the juices. Keep adding Lemons until you absolutely cannot get any more in. The lemons should be completely submerged in juice. If they are not, top up with some extra lemon juice. Seal the jar.  Let the jar sit at room temperature. Every few days, turn the jar upside down and shake it to distribute the salt and liquids. The lemons will be ready in three weeks, or so, when the rinds have softened.

Moroccan Lemon and Coriander Chicken


Olive oil (or Argan oil if you have it)

One whole chicken jointed or 800g of chicken drumsticks

2 heaped teaspoons of Ras-el-Hanout or more to taste

Two onions, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

One cup chicken broth (or water)

Large pinch of saffron

Two preserved lemons, chopped

One bunch coriander, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a tagine. Fry the chicken until all sides begin to brown. Remove and add the onions.  Cook for 10 minutes until soft and just about to brown.  Add the garlic and the Ras-el-Hanout and a generous amount of salt and pepper.  Fry for a few minutes to release the spices. Add chicken broth, or water and the saffron and return the chicken . Bring briefly to boil. Reduce heat. Cover, but leave a crack for steam to escape. Simmer over low heat for thirty minutes or more. When the chicken is cooked, check the sauce.  There should not be too much liquid.  If necessary remove the chicken and reduce.  Add the preserved lemons and the Coriander. Add salt and adjust seasoning.

Orange and Almond Cake

2 large oranges

6 eggs, separated

250g caster sugar

250g ground almonds

1tsp baking powder

Place the clean, whole and unpeeled fruit in water to cover, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1½ hours or until soft, adding more water when necessary. Drain the oranges, cut into quarters, discard any major pips, and whiz the rest, including peel, in the food-processor. Add the egg yolks and sugar into the food processor and continue to mix until completely smooth. Add the almonds, and baking powder. Mix for a minute more and  pour into a 23cm (9in) spring-form cake tin and bake for about an hour at 180C/Gas 4, until firm to the touch (cover with a loose sheet of foil if over-browning). Cool in the tin before removing.  You can also try making little "Madeleine’s" with the mix.  They worked really well.  Don't forget to butter your tin thoroughly. 

 

When I make a large cake I like to decorate it with these Candied Orange Slices.

Candied Orange Slices

Take an orange cut whole sliced as thin as possible. Set these aside. In a large, heavy skillet, bring 1.5 cups water and 1 cup of granulated white sugar to a boil... then add the orange slices. Let it boil for about 5-10 minutes, turning once or twice, then reduce the heat to medium and let it continue cooking for about 30 minutes turning occasionally. The liquid will thicken and become syrup. Reduce the heat until the oranges are at a low simmer... continue cooking and occasionally turning until the syrup is thick and the oranges are translucent but still intact. 

Remove from heat but let the orange slices remain in the pan as they cool for about 10 minutes... then remove to a sheet of wax paper to cool completely. The syrup remaining in the pan can be saved and used in other dishes... great fresh orange flavour for cakes and puddings.