Month: December 2020

350g good-quality beef skirt, rump steak or braising steak
350g waxy potatoes
200g swede
175g onions
salt and freshly ground black pepper
knob of butter or margarine
Two rounds of pre-made shortcrust pastry

Peel and cut the potato, swede and onion into cubes about 1cm square. Cut the beef into similar sized chunks. Put all four ingredients into a bowl and mix. Season well with salt and some freshly ground black pepper, then put the filling to one side.

Lightly grease a baking tray with margarine (or butter) and line with baking or silicone paper (not greaseproof).

Preheat the oven to 170C (150C fan assisted)/325F/Gas 3.

Divide the dough into four equal-sized pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a disc roughly 25cm/10in wide (roughly the same size as a dinner plate).

Spoon a quarter of the filling onto each disc. Spread the filling on one half of the disc, leaving the other half clear. Put a knob of butter or margarine on top of the filling.

Carefully fold the pastry over, join the edges and push with your fingers to seal. Crimp the edge to make sure the filling is held inside – either by using a fork, or by making small twists along the sealed edge. Traditionally Cornish pasties have around 20 crimps. When you’ve crimped along the edge, fold the end corners underneath.

Put the pasties onto the baking tray and brush the top of each pasty with the egg and salt mixture. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 45 minutes or until the pasties are golden-brown. If your pasties aren’t browning, increase the oven temperature by 10C/25F for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

420g plain flour
630g white granulated sugar
100g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
5g teaspoon salt,
160ml vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract, (20 ml)
380ml milk
380ml boiling water mixed with 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease two 9-inch. Line base with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine well.

Add oil, egg, vanilla and milk to the flour mixture and beat well to combine, about 30 seconds. Pour in the boiling water (with the coffee), and mix until glossy. (Cake batter is very thin in consistency.)

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the chocolate cake comes out semi-clean with small amount of cake (not runny batter) on it due to the fudgy texture.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Transfer cake from the pan to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.