Halloween Hell

Halloween!  What a perfect time for kids.  What a super time to spend time together as a family. How many Halloween magazine spreads do I have to bear - happy children, beautiful spotless house, everyone smiling, carving pumpkins, baking cakes, dressing-up, happy, happy, happy......Looks so lovely and if it wasn't for one thing, it really would be quite easy to achieve the fantasy. What is the obstacle that once again so cruelly prevents me from finally achieving that perfect family moment?  The bloody kids!  

Instead, an hours happy recreation is turned into a stress filled two hours, with another hour just to clear up. "Please get you fingers out of the cakes", "Don't eat any more icing, you will be sick",  "Of course I love you helping me, but you can't use that very sharp knife","I told you not to eat anymore icing", "You can't lick the spoon and use it again",  "I have absolutely had enough.  Just go and play somewhere else!"  Slimy pumpkin seeds litter the floor, sticky icing on every possible surface.  Happy, happy, happy.........

I have to admit that I never used to make many cakes.  Once I started cooking in restaurants there was never much call for them as they were not considered a classic dessert.  An exception was the Chocolate Nemesis at the River Cafe which I made so often that I can still remember the recipe off by heart even today.  It was so mousse-like in texture that I suppose it wasn't really a cake at all  and passed as a pudding.  

Now a days, two kids later and what with birthdays, mum's coffee mornings and endless school charity cake sales, I seem to be endlessly making cakes and my skills are coming along.  I am not going to pretend that I am anyway as talented as all those cupcake bloggers out there who spend their lives in pursuit of the perfect cupcake and my heart will still always be with the savoury but this week was my son, Daniel's seventh birthday birthday.  I must admit that I only intended to make the cup-cakes and buy the cake but when I got to the supermarket they had sold out of Halloween cakes, four days before Halloween itself.  So I ended up making that as well.  

I chose a super chocolate cake recipe which is really easy and fantastically rich and fudge-like in consistency.  In contrast I wanted the cup cakes to be as light as possible.  The vanilla cupcake recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery and somehow manages to be airy but chewy at the same time, which I find quite satisfying.  The chocolate Nutella cupcakes I got from The Ordinary Cook.  I have made them before and they are a winner.  Just sublime.  Once I got the kids out the way it was plain sailing.

Amazing Chocolate Cake
200g good quality dark chocolate, about 60% cocoa solids
200g butter , cut in pieces
1 tbsp. instant coffee granules
85g self-raising flour
85g plain flour
1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
200g light muscovado sugar
200g golden caster sugar
25g cocoa powder
3 medium eggs
75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)
grated chocolate or curls, to decorate

Chocolate Ganache
200g good-quality dark chocolate , as above
284ml carton double cream (pouring type)
2 tbsp golden caster sugar

Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3. Break the chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Tip in the butter, then mix the coffee granules into 125ml/4fl oz cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave on Medium for about 5 minutes, stirring half way through.
While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the buttermilk.

Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25- 1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three. Make the ganache: chop the chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan, add the sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate curls or ghosts. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.

Vanilla Cupcakes

120g plain flour

140g caster sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter, at room temperature

120ml whole milk

1 egg

¼tsp vanilla extract

1 quantity vanilla frosting

a 12-hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases

Vanilla frosting:

250g icing sugar, sifted

80g unsalted butter, at room temperature

25ml whole milk

a couple of drops of vanilla extract

Nutella Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 10
110g light soft brown sugar
110g softened butter
120g self raising flour (or plain flour with 1 tsp baking powder added)
20g good quality cocoa
2 eggs
Nutella or hazelnut chocolate spread, about 6 teaspoons.  Place all of the ingredients, except for the Nutella, in a large bowl and whisk well until all is combined.  Place a scant teaspoonful of the mixture into a fairy cake (mini muffin) case in a patty (mini muffin) tin. Place half a teaspoonful of Nutella on top. Cover with another scant teaspoonful of cake batter. Repeat with the remaining eleven. Place in a preheated oven at 180°c, gas mark 4 or the baking oven of the Aga for 15-20 minutes until springy to the touch of a light finger.  Place on a wire rack to cool.

A hint of Halloween

Please, don't anybody else mention Halloween.  My kids have not shut-up about it since we got back from holiday - in July.  As the next major event on their social diary's and being one that offers all pluses and no minus's, Halloween scores highly.  The combination of dressing up, staying up late and eating vast amounts of sweets is pretty much even more exciting than Christmas.  And the shops this year seem to be even more heaving with Halloween tat and gore than ever.

My son Daniel's birthday is on 28th October, so it is only natural I suppose that he should choose a Halloween themed party.  He has also demanded not one but six carved pumpkins.  Obviously, Pumpkins and Squashes are at their best right now, having spent the whole summer soaking up as much sunshine as they possibly can, now they seem to reflect the sun with their deep orange hue. Their flavour is quite bland so they lend themselves beautifully to aromatic Thai flavours.  

My recipe for Thai green curry with Butternut Squash is the perfect dish to serve up for the adults after a hard evening "trick or treating."  The kids usually feel too sick to eat anything, having stuffed themselves on sweets!  Butternut Squash works best in this recipe as it has a firmer texture than pumpkin.  Home-made green curry paste is really easy to make and so much better that anything you will ever buy ready-made in the shops. It is well worth the effort.

There are some great Thai shops in London.  I often pop in to stock up on coconut milk, Tamarind, thick wide Thai rice noodles, Nam Pla (fish sauce), palm sugar, dried shitake mushrooms, sweet chilli sauce and shrimp paste. All of these ingredients keep really well so it is well worth the trip. Even the lime leaves and Galangal freeze well.  I love to loose myself in these shops.  They usually have a lovely array of fresh produce - baskets of limes, bunches of coriander, lemon grass, shallots, ginger, Pak Choi, Bok Choi and beautiful pea aubergines. Also look out for sweet, Thai or Holy basil which tastes really fresh, like a cross between normal basil and mint. It really gives an authentic Thai taste to your food especially in a green curry.  It is like a short holiday to Thailand.  Anything to get away from Halloween.

Thai green curry with Butternut Squash

You can add all sorts of vegetables to this curry such as bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, broccoli, mange tout and mushrooms.

Serves 4

1 large butternut squash
2 shallots (pealed)
3 cloves garlic (pealed)
1 large piece of fresh ginger (pealed)                                                                    
2 sticks lemon grass sliced thinly
5 lime leaves
2 fresh green chillis (seeds removed)
1 large bunch coarsely chopped coriander leaves and stems
1 small bunch of Thai Basil
Vegetable oil
1/2 pint vegetable or chicken stock
1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
Nam Pla (fish sauce)

Trim off the stem and blossom end of the squash.   Halve lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds and fibres. Remove the peel and cut into large chunks about 1 inch pieces.  Toss lightly in vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a medium oven until golden brown and soft, about half an hour.  Do not over-cook.  You want the chunks to retain their shape.

Now make the green curry paste. In a liquidiser or with a hand blender, puree the shallots, garlic, ginger, chillis, lemon grass the lime leaves and most of the coriander.  Whiz until really smooth.  Add a little water if necessary.  You should have a bright green paste.

Lightly fry the paste in a wok or large pan for a minute or two in a little oil to release flavours.  Add the stock and bring to a gentle boil.  Add the chunks of cooked squash and any other lightly cooked vegetables and then coconut milk.  At this stage try not to boil again as this will kill the flavour of the coconut.  Remove from heat and season with first Nam Pla (which is very salty), further salt if necessary, freshly squeezed lime juice and the remaining coriander.  Adjust seasoning.  It should be a fragrant combination of sweet, sour and spicy.  Serve with Thai rice or noodles.