|
|
 |
| |
Recipes for Valentines Day |
‘Be true to me dear Valentine’
Chocolate and beetroot may seem strange bedfellows but, with a single red rose, it’s a match made in heaven, says Clare Latimer
WELLI can’t say there has been much to look forward to in February so far apart from a day or two of fabulous snow scenes, but coming up now is Valentine’s Day.
It is a time to have fun as much as a chance for people to have a romantic night out and spoil their partners. It always amuses me to send a few cards to close friends and listen to them going on about not having a clue who sent them.
We get a lot of orders in our shop for heart-shaped somethings, ranging from little biscuits to huge cakes and even heart-shaped meat steaks. So here are some ideas for you at home.
Rather than buying 12 red roses which will cost a fortune on the 14th, I suggest you cook a hugely chocolate gooey cake, and cut it into a heart shape.
Then, after icing it with more chocolate gooey stuff, put one big red rose into the top left-hand corner of the chocolate heart.
Your partner will be so impressed by your efforts and a scrummy tasting cake that you will get away with one rose.
But first, why not give them a heart-shaped burger!
Hearty hamburger
To keep on the budget theme here is a cheap main course but absolutely delicious and will warm anyone’s heart. Served with oven chips and a good salad after a starter glass or two of champagne and then a good bottle of red wine, I would certainly be a happy punter. If cooking for two people then just freeze the others before cooking.
Ingredients
Serves 4
450g lean minced beef
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
Handful fresh breadcrumbs
Splash Worcestershire sauce
Half teasp dried thyme
1 teasp tomato puree
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A little flour.
Method
Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil for about three minutes or until soft. In a mixing bowl, combine the cooked onion mix together with all the other ingredients except the rest of the olive oil. The best mixing tool is your hands. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and then cook the burgers on a high heat to brown and seal then lower the heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Chocolate beetroot heart cake
Use fresh beetroot for this recipe so buy it raw and boil in salted water for one hour. Leave to cool and then peel and blend the amount you need. It sounds weird but it is delicious and lightens the cake, as with carrots in carrot cake.
Ingredients
80g cocoa powder
1 heaped teasp baking powder
180g plain flour
300g beetroot, cooked
3 eggs
1 teasp vanilla essence
200ml sunflower oil
250g caster sugar.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.
Grease a cake tin about 20cm with butter and then dust with flour.
Sieve the cocoa powder, baking powder and flour into a bowl. Puree the beetroot in a food blender.
Add the eggs, one at a time and next add the vanilla and oil, and blend until smooth.
Add the sugar and mix again. Stir in the dry ingredients and then add the beetroot and gently mix well.
Pour into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is firm when pressed down gently. Cool on a wire rack.
To cut the cake into a heart shape use a template of A4 paper folded in half and then cut out half a heart. This way it will be even each side. Place the template over the cake and then cut out the shape with a sharp knife. Keep the extra cake for a trifle or just have it cut up with cups of tea during the following week.
Fudge icing
Rich, dark and splendid…what more is to be said!
Ingredients
100g plain chocolate, chopped into small pieces with a sharp knife
1 tablespoon golden syrup
25g softened unsalted butter.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water or put it into a microwave with a splash of water and then stir every 20 seconds on high until melted and smooth. When melted add the golden syrup and butter. Mix well and then let the mixture cool stirring occasionally. When you think it is a good consistency for spreading, cover the heart-shaped cake over the top and round the sides. Leave in a cool place to set and then decorate with a red rose. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
