Lemon Cake with Citrus Glaze and Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients

Glaze
1.5 cups icing sugar
0.5 fresh lemon

Cake:
1/3 cup cornmeal
1.5 cups flour
0.75 cups sugar (with the glaze and sauce this cake is quite sweet, you may want to use a bit less sugar here)
3.5 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
2.5 eggs (yes, 2.5)
1 tablespoon lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla
0.5 cup unsalted butter

Blueberry Sauce:
2 cups blueberry
0.5 cup brown sugar
2 tsps lemon juice
0.5 tsp lemon peel
0.25 tsp salt


In a bowl add about 4 tablespoons of juice from the lemon to the icing sugar and mix. Add as much lemon juice as necessary to get the icing sugar into a nice glaze. But don't add too much- it should be fairly thick and not at all runny- somewhere in between liquid and solid. Set aside.


Mix the dry cake ingredients (cornmeal, salt, flour, baking powder and sugar) in one bowl. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat well. Use a grater to collect the lemon peel (finely shredded), and add one tablespoon to the mix. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, and add the melted butter. Do not beat together vigourously or you'll get lumps. Instead, use a spatula to gently integrate the two.

Pour the batter into a 2" deep circular cake pan of about 9" in diameter. Place in the oven (preheated to 350F). Bake for 20-30 mins until cooked through the center. Be absoloutely certain the center is properly cooked, but do so without burning the sides.

When cooked, gently remove the cake from the pan and place it rightside up on a wire rack. While the cake is still hot, add the glaze to the top. As the glaze melts you should be able to easily spread it around the top of the cake. Some of it will delightfully drip down the sides.

To make the blueberry sauce, add heat a cup of blueberrys to the brown sugar on a saucepan over medium heat. Throw in the salt, lemon juice and lemon peel. In about 5 mins the sugar should dissolve completely and the blueberrys should have softened into a purple mess. Add the other cup of blueberrys and let the mix simmer until you get the desired sauce consistency.

You can cool and reheat the sauce as desired. When ready to serve, pour over individual slice of cake. Some people find the sauce to add a bit too much sugar- the glazed cake is pretty good without the sauce.

Irio [Kenya]

Ingredients

3-4 medium white potatoes
2.5 cups fresh spinach
1 cup cooked sweet corn
0.33 cup peas
0.5 tsp minced garlic
3 tsp butter
salt to taste
a splash of milk

This is a great side straight from Kenya. It's basically the mashed potatoes and vegetables you find sitting next to a steak, all mixed together. With a touch of magic or something. It works beautifully.

Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes, and toss into a saucepan of boiling water. Let them sit until the potatoes are fully cooked and very soft.

Separately add the peas to a pot of water so the water just covers the peas. Boil until most of the water evaporates, then throw on the finely chopped spinach over low heat. Add in the minced garlic and one teaspoon of butter, and allow the spinach to cook until soft. This will take less than a minute.

When ready, add the potatoes to the saucepan and mash the potatoes, peas, and spinach together. Add the butter, salt and milk as necessary. When done, throw in the corn and mix well.

Irio is a Kenyan form of mashed potatoes, traditional among the Kikuyu. Irio is a staple, and quite literally means "food". There are lots of variations, some using pumpkin leaves instead of spinach, some using lima beans, some without milk, some with chicken broth. This is how I remember it- lots of butter, easy on the peas.

Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake With Chocolate Crumb Base

Ingredients:

For the Base:
1.25 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
2.5 tablespoons sugar
0.25 cup butter, melted

For the Filling:
3 x 250 gram packs of cream cheese
0.5 - 0.75 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2.25 cups white chocolate
0.5 cup half and half cream

For the Rasberry Swirl
2 packs of fresh raspberries
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar
0.5 cup water

To make the base, mix the crumbs, butter, and sugar together. Combine well. Press the filling into the base of a standard nine inch cheesecake pan (removable sides).

Meanwhile, add the raspberries, cornstarch, sugar and water into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Use a spoon to smush the raspberries fully. Allow the sauce to sit for 5 mins on a high heat so as much liquid can be extracted from the fruit as possible. Use a strainer to strain and remove the seeds.

Heat a saucepan of water on the stove until simmering. Add white chocolate and cream to a metal bowl (or smaller saucepan) and place the bowl in the saucepan of hot water until the chocolate has melted. Mix well until you have a white chocolate sauce. Do not allow any water to seep in, or the oil and chocolate will separate.

In a mixer, add the cheese and sugar. Mix. Mix in one egg at a time, mixing in between.

Wilde Oscar says: Be sure to count the egg shells when you're done- if you have 5 halves instead of 6, your cake will have a little extra crunch. Gotta roll with it, perhaps you could introduce it as "mystery cheesecake", "lucky-surprise cheesecake", or "crunchy cheesecake"... anything really, aside from "Screwed-up-and-dropped-a-shell-in cheesecake". After all marketing is everything.

Add in vanilla and 3/4 of the white chocolate sauce. Combine until filling is smooth. Pour half of the filling into the crust. Add 3tsps of the raspberry sauce, then add the remaining filling. Add another three tsps of raspberry sauce to the top, and use a toothpick to create swirls.

Place in oven preheated at 180C for 50-60 mins. Remove, allow to cool, and place in fridge to set for at least 8 hours.

Slice, and drizzle remaining raspberry sauce and white chocolate on top of slices.

Coconut Corn Curry and Spicy Green Chutney [Indian]

Wilde Oscar says: This is a fantastically simple recipe that has a good amount of flavour and is one of a very small number of indian dishes on here. Be warned though, there is no fixed recipe; this dish is about tasting and experimenting. If you like it spicier, add more chillies; if you like it more fragrant, add more lemon; if you don't plan on getting close to anyone tonight, add more garlic.


Ingredients
3 stalks of fresh corn
2 cans of coconut milk
0.5 tsp cumin
0.25 tsp tumeric
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tomato
2-3 green chillies
2-3 tsp squeezed lemon
2 tsp corriander/cilantro leaves
3 tsp green chutney (see below)
salt to taste

Remove the corn husks, and use a sharp knife to cut each ear into thirds. Place the 9 pieces in a pot of boiling water until completely cooked and softened. Remove, drain, and set aside.

Meanwhile, add the two cans of coconut milk to a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add the cumin, tumeric, ground chillies, green chutney, and a generous bit of salt and allow the mix to come to a low simmer. Puree the tomato and add it in with the garlic, cilantro, and lemon. Add the cooked corn back in, and allow the curry to simmer for about 10 more minutes. Stir every now and again to keep the coconut milk from separating.

Serve with long grain basmati rice.

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Spicy Green Chutney


This green chutney is a nice little number that goes well with rice, samosas, or just about anything you want to spice up a little.

Ingredients

0.5 tomato
0.5 bunch cilantro
2-4 green chillies
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt to taste

Throw everything in a very small food processor until you get a wicked green chutney. Very simple. Also, you can vary the proportions of lemon and chili depending on your tastes.

huh.

Bited Sized Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

*Recipe adapted from Noble Pig

Ingredients
0.75 cups flour
0.75 tsp baking powder
0.75 cups 2% milk
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese (or 0.75 mozzarella + 0.25 fresh Parmesan for an extra strong flavour)
1 cup pepperoni (turkey and beef pepperoni can be found quite easily, it turns out)
0.5 cup Ragu sauce (or other pizza sauce)
1 leaf fresh sweet basil
2 brown mushrooms
1- 1.5 tsp salt (if you decide not to use pepperoni)

*Also note you will require a mini muffin baking pan for this.

Finely chop the mushrooms and throw them onto a small pan to heat until soft (~1 min).

Mix the flour, baking powder, milk and egg in a bowl and whisk. Shred the mozzarella cheese and mix in.

Wilde Oscar says: The key to success is good mozzarella. 

Chop the pepperoni into small squares. Add the mushrooms and pepperoni to the batter and gently mix in.

Wilde Oscar says: If you're not feeling up to being haram today, you can find turkey or beef pepperoni instead of the real stuff.

Spoon out the batter into the pre-greased mini muffin pan, and place in oven preheated to 160C. Allow to cook for about 20 mins. The insides will need to continue to cook after the outside has browned.

Adding sprinkle of dried oregano on top is a nice touch.

Finally, mix the basil into the Ragu sauce and serve as a dipping sauce.