Flan pâtissier

The simplest things are often the best. This is yet another French classic and a cake you’ll find in any bakery’s window display . Well, in France anyway. Really, it’s nothing more than a flaky pastry tart filled with a pastry cream. The secret is to not eat it until it has stayed overnight in your fridge so that it has had time to set and cool down completely. Just like cheesecake, and many other things in life, the more you wait, the better it is… Now, that’s assuming you can of course.

Tried & Tasted Recipe 

• 1 packet ready-rolled puff pastry 
• 4 eggs 
• 1 litre whole/full fat milk  
• 150g sugar 
• 100g cornflour /cornstarch
• 1 vanilla pod or 2 tsps vanilla essence 

Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F.

Lay and press the dough into a deep baking pan. Set aside in the fridge or freezer.

Pour the milk into a saucepan.

Slit the vanilla pod open length-ways and scrape out the seeds; put seeds and pod into the pan and heat.

Meanwhile, beat the sugar, cornflour and eggs together. Once the milk has reached boiling point, rescue the pod* and add slowly to the egg mixture whilst you continue stirring. Place the custard back into the pan and stir over a low heat until the cream thickens.

Set aside to cool slightly.

Using a fork, prick the pastry and pour the custard into it.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the luscious custard has set beneath a soft, caramelised skin.

* Don't discard the pod after using. Once dry, blitz in a food processor with some sugar to make vanilla-flavored sugar which you'll be able to use in your baking.

Veal Parmigiana

I have this love-hate relationship with Italian food. I absolutely love it. Problem is it doesn’t like me very much and does horrible things to my figure. So when I do have Italian, it’s always homemade – even pizza – it tastes so much better and is so much healthier.
Now, if you decide to cheat and use shop-bought pasta sauce for this recipe, you can and I promise I won’t tell.

Tried & Tasted Recipe

For the tomato sauce

• 1 onion
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 celery stick
• 1 large carrot 
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 400 g fresh or tinned tomatoes
• 2 tbsps tomato paste
•  ½ tsp dried basil
• Salt & pepper

For the veal

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsps milk
• 250 g dry bread crumbs
• 100 g grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 veal scallopinis
• 5 tbsps olive oil + 2 tbsp butter
• 500 ml tomato pasta sauce
• 100 g shredded mozzarella cheese

First, prepare the sauce.
Chop onion, garlic, celery and carrot and fry in 2 tbsp olive oil, until translucent.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and basil
Season to taste and cook for at least 10 minutes. 

Using an electric blender, blend the sauce until nice and smooth.

Heat oven to 180°C.
Mix egg and milk.
Mix bread crumbs and half the Parmesan cheese.
Dip veal into the egg, then coat with bread crumbs mixture.
Heat half the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan. Cook the veal scallopinis (2 at a time so as not to crowd the pan) for about 2 minutes on each side or until light brown.
Pour the tomato sauce into the pan and place the veal on top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cook covered for about 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese has melted.

Serve with pasta and more cheese.

Buon appetito!

Carrot Cake

Carrot cake may illustrate the epitome of culinary oxymorons and make you think that by indulging in a slice you would actually be eating one of your daily fruit and vegetable servings and thus doing a good diet deed. This cake is indeed packed with wholesome and nutritious ingredients, but don’t be fooled, it is devilishly "more  rich". Maybe I will post a lighter version some other time but, today, I feel naughty.

Moist and crunchy, soft and creamy, this cake will hit the right spot with a nice cup of tea.

Tried & Tasted Recipe
For the cake

• 350g carrot, grated
• 50g pecans, chopped
• 50g raisins, sultanas or other dried fruit
• 100g wholemeal flour
• 120g plain flour
• 1 or 2 tsps of cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp baking powder (omit if using self raising flour)
• 200ml vegetable oil
• 150g brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• Juice and zest of 1 orange

For the topping:

• 200g cream cheese
• 50g unsalted butter, softened
• 50g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• A few more pecans for decoration

Preheat oven to 160°C.
Whisk the oil and soft brown sugar together, add the eggs, carrots, pecans, raisins and orange juice and zest.
Sieve all the dry ingredients together and add to the carrot mix.
Pour into a 20cm/9 inch round/square cake tin (basically a medium to large size tin).
Cook for about 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.
To make the topping, whisk the cream cheese and butter until it’s all nice and smooth; only then, add the sifted icing sugar and vanilla.
Once the cake has cooled, spread the topping over it and scatter with a few more pecans.
This cake will keep for a few days in the fridge. Yeah right!