Friday 23 July 2010

Corn cakes with buckwheat and basil

A very filling lunch brimming with flavours




I love corn. Love love love it. These corn cakes are fat little gems fried on a hot pan and bulging with awesomeness. I have used buckwheat flour here (it makes them very filling and more like a proper meal) but you can use regular flour if you want. The best thing you can do to these lovelies is hit them with a bit of real butter once they come off the pan and let it melt in. It makes all the difference.

Ingredients: (makes about 10 cakes)

- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- Tsp baking powder
- Tsp salt
- 2 cups corn kernels (fresh/ thawed from frozen/ tinned)
- 1/4 cup chopped basil

Method:
- Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and gradually add in the eggs and milk. Whisk together well to make sure there are no lumps.
- If using tinned sweetcorn, drain it and rinse it really well to get the sugary brine off the kernels as much as possible.
- Add the corn and basil to the batter and stir well.
- Put some olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat until it's hot but not smoking. Use 1/4 cup of batter per cake (or just over a tablespoon) and pour batter into the hot oil. The batter will be very thick. Cook for 2 mins or so, until the edges of the corn cake are dry, and flip them over for another min or two of cooking.
- Remove from the pan and rub a little butter over the top of each cake.
- EAT! For the love of jehovah, eat these lovely things!

Monday 5 July 2010

George Pig birthday cake

Happy birthday!



Here are some shots of the cake I made this week for my nephew's 3rd birthday party. He loves the cartoon Peppa Pig, particularly George Pig who never goes anywhere without his toy dinosaur. The inside is chocolate brownie cake and it went down well with the sugar-high kids at the party. I loved making this cake, it was a lot of fun. After we cut the cake I glimpsed my nephew gnawing on one of George Pig's eyeballs and he looked delighted. Success!