Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Stuffed Marrow Bake

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It was on a sunny summer Sunday morning that I finally went to the local car boot sale to look for any treasures that I may find to use as food props and found this beauty.

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But it wasn’t just this beauty that we came home with. We found a beautiful marrow and I instantly knew what we would be having for dinner. sometimes things just come to you by some sort of divine alignment of separate incidents to become one. I had some Lactofree mature cheddar cheese which I was looking to experiment with and this was the perfect chance to use it in a bake. Had a packet of smoked bacon cubes and yes had some cute, tiny bottles of olive oil which had been sent to me. I normally would infuse my own oils and always have a big bottle  of olive oil into which I stuff a few cloves of crushed garlic, some chill flakes and fresh herbs – the oil adds beautiful depths of flavour in whatever I use it for and because it is a lovely bottle, it looks pretty on my kitchen counter too – which reminds me I need to get around to doing this again soon – hummm

Also, I had these bright and colourful mini chilli plants now sitting on my window sill, looking all pretty and waiting to be used – yellow and deep aubergine coloured chillies – this was going to be one colourful bake!

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So this beautiful marrow came home with us and just like that became part of our dinner plans…..

Stuffed Marrow Bake 

Ingredients

  • 1  beautiful marrow
  • 3 heaped tbsp grated Lactofree mature cheddar
  • 3 flakes of garlic chopped fine
  • 500 gm smoked bacon cubes
  • 4 tbsp sweet corn
  • 2 medium-sized red onions
  • 2 tbsp chilli infused Terra Rossa Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • Sea salt to taste

Method

  • Chop the red onions lengthwise, set aside.
  • Cut the marrow into half and scoop out the insides and discard, I know I should have saved them for making something else …

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In a saucepan heat 1 tbsp chilli Terra Rossa Olive Oil.

  • Sauté the chopped garlic first and when it begins to brown and the aroma explodes into the kitchen its time to add in the chopped red onions and toss them around till they begin to change colour. Then add the smoked bacon cubes and cook on a medium flame stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.
  • Then add in the sweet corn and mix well for about a minute, season with sea salt and chilli flakes.

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  • Remove the saucepan with this onion, bacon and sweet corn mixture off the flame and set aside.
  • Line a baking tray with parchment and brush some olive oil on the marrow inside out so that it has a bang of flavour when you bite into it.
  • Stuff both halves of the marrow with the mixture.

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  • Wrap the stuffed marrow halves in foil and bake for half an hour at about 180°C – I have a fan oven, please adjust time accordingly to suit your oven.
  • Remove from foil and add the grated Lactofree mature cheddar cheese on the top.
  • Then bake again without foil till the cheese browns or for 10 minutes approximately.
  • Serve with a warm fresh baguette or a cheesy bread – simply so that you can scoop every single bit of juicy goodness as you eat

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The Terra Rossa oils, I received a pack of 3  exquisite Jordanian infused extra virgin olive oils – chilli and lemon infused oils and an unfiltered, cold dripped Sinolea extra virgin olive oil. Not only is it good to have in the store cupboard, I think it makes for a lovely gift idea too! Yes, it isn’t too early to start planning your Xmas gift list is it?

It is incredible how much flavour this humble marrow packs in. I cannot wait to use it again in soups and stews. Yes, it’s autumn and we are going towards colder weather. So along with getting those woollies out we also need to get started with beautiful soups and stews hummm – the seasons they are a-changing! This easy recipe is perfect for busy weekend evenings ( or for a lazy Sunday evening when you want to spend some time watching telly sipping a glass of wine and chilling out rather than slaving in the kitchen!) when you do not want to compromise on flavour and want a wholesome meal too. For a meat-free option replace the bacon with a spicy potato and cauliflower mix. Whatever you choose to add as the stuffing, the result will always be satisfactory – that’s the nature of this beautiful marrow ….

*With thanks to Terra Rossa for the samples. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Stuffed Marrow Bake

Chocolate Coconut Cake with Coconut flavoured Icing

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Decadent Chocolate cake with a delicious coconut flavoured icing

Dreaming of a chocolate cake, baking it, and devouring it, is a common obsession of mine. Also, I had many excuses to bake chocolatey treats, what with Valentine’s just around the corner. Not to mention many other reasons to eat cake following in quick succession after Valentines – my dad and husband’s birthday and our wedding anniversary, woohoo!

With so many occasions all lined up one after the other, a mega celebration was in order. And as we all know any celebration, big or small is incomplete without, yes you guessed right a proper cake.

So my plan was to bake an indulgent and rich chocolate cake and how better than Nigella to look to for a good recipe! Unable to pick a recipe on my own, I asked my neighbour’s adorable 5-year daughter to flip through Nigella Lawson’s book ”Feast” – Food That Celebrates Life. Lucky for me she stopped flipping pages at Nigella’s Old Fashioned Chocolate cake recipe. Better still it is made using only the food processor – so very perfect.

Besides, no better way to bring in Valentine’s week than by baking a decadent chocolate cake with hints of coconut flavour and adding some coconut flavoured icing on the top. I love Nigella’s original recipe which I have (dared to!) modify as I had been thinking of ways to use the lovely samples sent to me by Sugar and Crumbs.

I have modified the original recipe by using three medium-sized regular eggs, thick yogurt instead of sour cream, and have reduced the quantity of ingredients for the icing because I am not a big fan of slathering a very thick layer of sugary icing in between the layers nor am I very fond of a huge layer of icing on the top but I guess even after reducing the quantities of ingredients for the icing I still managed to get lots to smother the cake with. I have used Sugar and Crumbs flavoured cocoa powder in Chocolate Coconut and Sugar and Crumbs flavored natural icing sugar in coconut flavour, result – a perfectly balanced taste of coconut without being overpowering. So am calling my cake – ”Chocolate Coconut Cake with Coconut flavoured Icing”.For the remaining part, the original recipe is perfect, basic, simple, and therefore beautiful as it is foolproof and even a novice can get an excellent delicious, fluffy, and intensely chocolatey cake – very satisfying indeed! Thank You, Nigella!

Chocolate Coconut Cake with Coconut flavoured Icing

Chocolate Coconut Cake

Easy and delicious Chocolate cake recipe
Print Recipe
Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Course Dessert
Servings 8 portions

Equipment

  • Two 8 inch Round cake tins
  • Food Processor or stand-mixer
  • Spatula
  • Measuring spoons
  • Cake tester or thin skewer

Ingredients
  

  • 200 grams plain flour
  • 200 grams caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 40 grams Sugar and Crumbs flavoured cocoa powder in Chocolate Coconut
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 175 grams soft unsalted butter
  • 3 medium-sized eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 150 ml thick-set yogurt

Instructions
 

  • Sift the plain flour through a sieve into a large mixing bowl
  • Add the caster sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and bicarbonate of soda
  • Mix well with a spatula and transfer it into the food processor
  • Crack the eggs into the mixture, add the vanilla essence and the yogurt and mix roughly with a spatula before running the food processor to ensure that the loose flour doesn’t fly all over the place. For the first 30 seconds, I lightly covered the chute of the processor with my palm to prevent the flour from flying out in a mist. Now, this is the reason I want a Kitchen Aid 😉
  • After an initial spin, use the blunt edge of the knife to scoop out what stuck to the walls of the processor and mix well with the cake batter.
  • Don’t worry if you think the batter is very thick, another spin for about a minute should give you the required consistency to ”pour” into the cake tins
  • Grease two removable base 8-inch tins with butter and equally divide the cake batter into each tin
  • Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/350ºF
  • Bake for 25 minutes and then test the center of the cake with a cake tester or thin skewer
  • My cakes were done in 25 minutes but you may need up to 30 minutes depending on the type of oven. The cakes rose beautifully but the top had cracks. The icing was there to save the day and make the cake look pretty
  • Remove cakes from the baking tray and leave to cool down on a wire rack

Coconut flavoured Icing

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 50 grams unsalted butter
  • 125 grams best quality dark chocolate broken into small pieces
  • 225 grams icing sugar
  • 100 ml sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • While the cakes are in the oven prepare the icing by mixing together all the ingredients of the icing
  • The original recipe calls for adding golden syrup but I totally gave that a miss
  • Why? Because I had already borrowed some butter, some yogurt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda from my very patient neighbour H 😉 – yes, yes she did get a large portion of this cake 🙂
  • Now to ice the cakes place the slightly domed part of one cake face down and slather icing on the flat part and place the other cake flat side down on the icing and then slather icing all over the cake
  • I had some pretty pink and white sugar stars which I used to decorate my cake.

I have also been sent Sugar and Crumbs Coffee Flavoured icing sugar and a pack of salted caramel powder, maybe cupcakes need to be baked next ?:)

Need more recipe inspiration to get baking?

Why not check out my other recipes here:

Linking this post to the  We should Cocoa event hosted by Choclette who blogs at Choc Log Blog where the challenge is to use an ingredient and that ingredient is chocolate – how apt for Valentines, and with all that gorgeous dark chocolate this cake certainly qualifies!

My blog post is being linked to Dom’s Random Recipes event hosted by Dom who blogs at Belleau Kitchen, where for February the challenge is to select any chocolate-themed recipe book and to make a randomly selected recipe from that book. The idea of this recipe challenge is to make us home chefs step outside our comfort zones and make something that we would otherwise hesitate to and totally avoid. Humm okay, I got off easy this time 🙂

Also for the first time. I’m joining in with Jibber Jabber’s Love Cake first ever event where the theme for the month of love BAKING WITH PASSION and is a cake-baking challenge.

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Disclaimer: With many thanks to Sugar and Crumbs for the generous amount of samples to test and review.I was not required to write a positive review and was not compensated monetarily for this post. Like all my previous posts about events and reviews, ALL opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Easy Tasty Magic – Harvey Nichols magic gift box of festive sparkle

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Looking for a perfect Christmas Gift for everyone on your list is never easy ,especially when there’s a maddening variety of gift sets to choose from. I do know it’s really tempting to just grab a few of the pre-packed salt and pepper or honey and chilli  jars packaged brilliantly but honestly  it’s for someone you really want to treat then sparing just a tiny moment of thought will go a long way.

Even if your friend is not a connoisseur of fine and exotic food, the Harvey Nichols Alchemic larder – Easy Tasty Magic – Christmas gift box set with 16 tiny jars of  exotic,beautifully colorful  ingredients will be a very welcome gift!This box of exotic beauties is packaged so beautifully  that I can imagine a wild shriek of happiness when the wrapping paper has been ripped off to reveal these jars full of stardust,shine,sparkle,fiery flavours and even a promise of paradise!

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I must say it didn’t take me much time to decide on the  Alchemic Larder – Easy Tasty Magic -to review after glancing through the list of products that I was invited  to choose from by Harvey Nichols. It is impossible to resist this Laura Santtini creation of ”Spell Binding Flavours” – a power packed box of ingredients with endless possibilities and as the box says some ”notions for potions”!

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For those who may be thrown off balance by names such as furikake ,sumac ,devil’s penis chilli and grains of paradise amongst others , worry not , the box comes with a little note about how one can set about using the magic potion from each jar.

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L-R : Grains of Paradise, Devils Penis Chilli and Furikake.

I decided to spice up a dull Tuesday afternoon meal by putting on my wizard hat (!!) and firing up my  cauldron err oven and got busy in the kitchen.Some White Mischief powder as a rub onto a Tilapia  fish which then went into the oven and sent crazy delicious aromas wafting through my kitchen !

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For dessert it was Mediterranean Lavendar sprinkled with just a tiny hint of sugar and a generous slosh of gin onto a handful of blueberries, am not sure I can stay awake much longer after this meal.

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While I am off to catch an afternoon nap why don’t you head here and order some a few of these – Easy Tasty Magic – Alchemic Larder gift boxes from Harvey Nichols and make someone happy – very ,very happy this Christmas?! 🙂 Priced at £29.95 this is a fabulous addition to any kitchen and can get even the most unenthusiastic cook hooked. After all ,fine ingredients sourced from around the globe all packed into these handy jars which by the way have awesome re-use value ,can inspire anyone to dish up a feast,no? Harvey Nichols also has a large selection of Food and Wine as gifting options apart from their many Christmas gift hampers .

Disclaimer:I was sent this fabulous  gift set box to review by Harvey Nichols and was not compensated monetarily.Like all my previous posts about events and reviews, ALL opinions expressed here are entirely my own. For more fabulous recipe ideas there is a tiny card with information inside the Alchemic Larder box.

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