HUMBLE PIE: lemon cake w/ rose water + blackberries

If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll have seen this post already as I shared the recipe back when I auditioned for the show. It was actually the dish I brought to my first audition; I've always known it was special so I had no qualms repeating it when I got through. Not only is this lemon cake my dad's favourite, but I used to make it day in, day out for 3 years when I worked in a tearoom. Yes, I could make it with my eyes closed, but that doesn't make it any less special. I stuck to my guns and made something simple but perfect and it paid off; this is my winning recipe and Marco Pierre White himself said 'always keep it simple'.

Cake, cream and jelly are one of life's best combinations (basically trifle, sans custards) and this makes a really lovely, properly British pud that will definitely impress people with a bit of extra technique. It's deceptively easy to pull together and everything can be made in advance, so it's perfect for Sunday lunch or an afternoon tea party.

To make the lemon cake:
3 eggs (150g)
150g self-raising flour
150g softened butter
150g caster sugar

To make the lemon drizzle:
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
50 - 100g caster sugar

The formula for a simple sponge goes: equal quantities of eggs, flour, butter and sugar. Three medium eggs should weigh about 150g, but if they weigh more or less, adjust your other ingredients to match; for example, if your eggs weigh 170g, then use 170g each of self-raising flour, butter and sugar.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Mix together the butter and sugar until smooth, then beat the eggs and add to the mixing bowl along with the flour and the grated zest of one lemon. Beat together until you have a creamy batter. Be careful not to over beat, though, or you'll knock out all the air and be left with a dense sponge. If you have a couple of lumps, they are likely to be butter and should melt when cooked anyway.

To make these little individual cakes, I used empty baked bean tins (I saw the idea here ages ago) that I thoroughly cleaned and removed the paper from the outside. To be honest, I don't recommend it - I cut myself pretty badly twice. On the show, they gave me a set of fondant pudding moulds and these worked much better and I liked the shape better too. 

Fill the tins about halfway full and then bake in the oven for 10 - 20 minutes or until a skewer poked through the centre comes out clean. If you are using a loaf tin instead, the cake will need around 30 - 35 minutes.

While the cakes are still in the tin, mix together the juice of two lemons with the caster sugar. It really depends how sweet you want the cake; if you are serving it with something like ice cream, you might want the syrup to be a bit more tart. Poke holes in the top of the cake with a skewer,  making sure to go all the way through to the bottom, and pour over the syrup. 

For the rose water cream:
300ml whipping cream
A few drops of rose water

Rose water is a lovely fresh flavour, but be careful not to overdo it as things can get a little overpowering. For the cream, simply add a few drops of rose water and whisk until thick and fluffy. It's best to go slowly with the rose water - you can always add more but you won't be able to subdue the flavour unless you have some extra cream to dilute it. You can fold in some crushed blackberries for a little bit of colour if you like, but they might alter the texture a little bit as the juice is quite acidic.

For the jellied elderflower blackberries:
75ml elderflower cordial mixed with 325ml of water
1 sachet of gelatine

The sachet of gelatine that I used is intended to set 570ml of liquid, but to make the jellies stand on their own, you need to use less liquid than the packet suggests for a more sturdy consistency.

Pour a few tablespoons of boiling water into a glass bowl and add the gelatine to the bowl (always add the gelatine second, never pour boiling water straight onto it). Gently stir until the gelatine dissolves. If the gelatine clumps, place the bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water, add some of the elderflower liquid and stir until the lumps disappear, but never allow the mixture to boil. Then add the warm, gelatine-infused liquid to the rest of your elderflower mixture.

To create mini jellies, fill an ice cube tray about half full with the mixture and place in the fridge to chill. After about half an hour, test the jelly with your finger and if it has set, or at least started to set, you can press a blackberry into it and then top up with more elderflower. You can also use this jelly in a mould or small bowl and it will set in the fridge in a few hours. To turn out the jellies, put half an inch of warm water in a baking tray and then place the ice cube tray in the pan for a few minutes so that the jelly softens slightly. Then using the the end of a teaspoon, gently push out the jellies and they should pop out in shape. Don't worry if some break - it just gives a more rustic finish ;)

The last round of the competition, when I went head to head with the other finalist, Carine, was really tough. Up until that point we were kind of on equal footing - you can find my Vietnamese beef recipe here - and our puddings both turned out well without any major disasters. It really was such a mind game in that final round, with the producers egging us on to criticise each other's desserts. It still hasn't quite sunk in that a Michelin-starred chef said that my cake was perfectly cooked; at that point, the producers were behind the camera telling us 'who was Marco talking about? Tell her you think yours was perfectly cooked!' In my heart I knew I'd nailed the sponge, but it would have been heart-wrenching to say mine was perfect and then not have won! 

In the end, neither of us eliminated ourselves. I think it was just too close and we both felt that the risk of eliminating yourself and then finding out that Marco Pierre White would have sent the other person home would have been so much worse than missing out on the cash you'd get for bowing out. I was also confident in my special little pudding and now, every time I eat lemon drizzle I will think of this amazing experience.

HUMBLE PIE: vietnamese bun bo xao

Bun bo xao** is a sort of stir fry/salad hybrid from Vietnam. I first had it at Pho (when I finally tried something other than their addictive pho soup noodles) and I was totally hooked by the fresh sweet, spicy, sour and salty flavours that are so common in South East Asia. It's usually served luke warm - the salad ingredients can be prepared in advance and then topped with seared beef - which makes it great for when you have friends and family over, as you can make nearly everything before hand, plus I think it looks quite impressive!

When I found out I had to come up with a beef dish to make on Humble Pie and I only had 2 days to think of something, test it and send a list of ingredients off to the producers, I panicked a bit; cooking meat isn't my strong point. And then I remembered how much I loved this dish and knew it perfectly fit the brief of beef with a twist. The only problem was, I'd made all of the components individually before, but never served them up together as the full bun bo xao. Anyway, I didn't have time to test it so I sent off my ingredients and quantities and hoped for the best when I tested the recipe the following week!

There are a lot of components to this dish, but it actually comes together pretty quickly and what I like about it is that you can pick and choose the bits you want to have. Yes, it's a bit of a show-stopper with everything all on one plate, but if you're pushed for time, the beef is SO DELICIOUS on its own with plain rice; the salad part goes perfectly with fresh king prawns; the spring rolls are enough of a faff in their own right - and are so amazing - that you could just make that part too. In honour of this modular dish, I've written up the recipe with all the different components separately, so if you fancied having a go at just one part, then it should be easy to follow. If you make everything in the quantities I've suggested, it's perfect for two people, so bear that in mind if you decide to leave some bits out.

For the steak
175g ribeye steak (or any cut with a good fat content)
2 sticks lemongrass
1 clove garlic
2tsp sugar
1tbsp fish sauce
1tbsp rice wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Chop the lemongrass, grate the garlic and rub over the steak. Pour over the sugar, fish sauce, salt and vinegar, massage gently and leave for at least half an hour to marinade. Lemongrass is fairly easy to come by in larger supermarkets, but if you don't have any to hand then you can substitute it with a small piece of grated ginger.

Heat a griddle pan with a splash of olive oil and a small knob of butter until just foaming. Fry the steak for a minute on either side, or to your liking.

These spring rolls are a little out of the ordinary...they're actually a combination of fried spring rolls and fresh summer rolls (you can find my summer rolls recipe here). In Vietnam, fried spring rolls  come with a side of big lettuce leaves and plenty of herbs, which you're meant to wrap around the spring rolls. With this version, the crispy fried spring roll is wrapped in lettuce and then secured with another spring roll wrapper for an awesome fusion of textures and fresh flavours. They are a bit of a faff as you are essentially making two rounds of spring rolls but they are SO WORTH IT. If you've never made spring rolls before, it might be worth making these on their own one day to get the hang of it.

For the spring rolls
10 raw king prawns (fresh or frozen)
2 shallots
2 mushrooms
Half a small carrot
1 spring onion
1tsp sugar
Half a tbsp fish sauce

4 small spring roll wrappers/4 large spring roll wrappers
4 leaves round lettuce
Basil, mint and coriander

Put the first list of ingredients in a mini food processor and blend until smooth. I wasn't going to post the picture below as it looks a bit unappetising, but I thought I'd reassure you that that's what it's supposed to look like! Soak one of the small wrappers in hand-hot water for about 10 seconds and then place on a plate. Place a large spoonful of the mixture in a sausage shape in the bottom third of the wrapper and then fold the bottom up and sides in (like you would with a fajita), and roll over to secure - there are plenty of videos on Youtube if you get stuck. Repeat with the other small wrappers (and continue until your mixture is finished, if needs be). Heat an inch of sunflower oil in a small pan. Once it's hot - you can check it by dropping in a piece of coriander and see if it sizzles to the surface - gently place one of the spring rolls in, fry for a few minutes and then turn and fry for another minute or two. If you have space, you can fry two at a time but be careful as if they touch in the pan they will stick together like glue! Also be careful of your oil getting too hot, as it will make the wrapper come away from the filling (like in my picture...oops). Repeat until your small spring rolls are cooked.

Soak one of the large spring roll wrappers (if you just have one size, this step will still work - I've tried both ways before - but you won't be able to fit as many herbs in), place on a plate and then layer it with a lettuce leaf and a mixture of basil, mint and coriander. Place the crispy spring roll on top and roll as before.

For the salad
100g vermicelli rice noodles
1 carrot
Half a cucumber

3tbsp sugar
3tbsp rice wine vinegar (or 2 of white wine vinegar and 1 of rice wine)
1 lime
3 - 4tbsp fish sauce
2 cloves of garlic

Rehydrate the noodles according to the instructions on the packet - usually 5 - 10 minutes in boiling water - and then rinse thoroughly under cold water. Rinsing the noodles helps them not to stick together. Julienne the carrot and cucumber and mix in with the noodles. Add a splash of lime juice if they seem to be sticking already.

For the dressing, combine the sugar, rice wine vinegar, lime and grate in the garlic cloves. At this point, continue with caution! Not everyone likes fish sauce. Actually, a funny (IN RETROSPECT) story, my boyfriend hated this the first time I tested it, which had me really worried as the show was coming up very quickly, but it's mostly because he's not a fish sauce fan. If you use a good quality brand, 4tbsp should be about right, but cheaper brands can have a stronger flavour, so it's best to add and taste as you go. I like to mix half of the dressing into the noodles and then pour the rest of the dressing over later.

Garnishes are what give the dish a little something special. My style of cooking is generally pretty simple and then you can go in with some thoughtful additions to jazz it up a bit (like with the ratatouille I posted here). 

For the crispy shallots, finely slice shallots into thin rings. Heat half an inch of oil in small pan and, when hot, chuck in the shallots. If you have a slotted spoon, you can remove them all in one swoop when they start to brown. I was manically picking mine out one by one with chopsticks, so some of them got a little bit charred! They just add a bit of crunch to the salad, which I think really lifts it. 

For the quick-pickled cucumbers, slice the cucumber into whatever shapes you like. Pop in a jar with a few slices of chilli, a splash of vinegar, a few teaspoons of sugar and a pinch of salt. Add water if you need to so that all the cucumber is submerged. These aren't called 'quick-pickled' for nothing; if you make these at the very start, then they are lovely and sweet and sharp by the time everything else is ready, but they are also great overnight.

Roasted peanuts also make a tasty garnish, again for that crunch, and I like to go liberal with the herbs too. 

When you get to assembly, all the hard work is done. On the show, I was worried how it was going to look as I hadn't really planned out that part, but the more you throw on the better it looks - I'd rather have tempting food piled high and a bit messy any day than a sparse, but beautiful plate. Really, once you scatter the garnishes over everything, it really pulls the dish together. 

I feel like this post is a bit of a marathon, but I wanted to get the whole recipe out in one go. I hope it makes you feel like you want to cook it :) To read more about my Humble Pie experience, you can read my posts on what it was like to be on a TV show and a little bit about the audition process. Make sure you check out my winning pudding recipe too!

**Full disclosure: I've never been to Vietnam and I PRONOUNCED THE NAME OF THE DISH WRONG...ON TELEVISION! I should have googled how to say it beforehand, but for anyone wondering, it is pronounced like boon bo sao. Doh.

A STORY ABOUT RATATOUILLE

Now the cat's out of the bag and you know when and where I'm going to be on TV, I'm excited to post a recipe I've been hanging on to for a while. This ratatouille recipe has a funny story behind it (but it's also very tasty, so I hope you make it!). I've seen the movie a million times, but I'd never actually eaten Rataouille before until Darren and I had it at our local bistro. We were obsessed, went home and trialled loads of recipes and landed on this one by Jamie Oliver. With a few tweaks - minus some vegetables here, add some butter there - we ate it all summer long in 2013. I had completely forgotten about it, until I ended up having to recall the recipe for the second round of Humble Pie auditions.

Let's start from the beginning shall we? (If you're not bothered by my adventures in TV but you want to make this recipe, scroll down to the end of the post). One day back in April, I randomly saw a tweet about a new cooking competition looking for contestants; I was intrigued, so I replied to the tweet, filled out a form and then forgot about it. A few days later one of the production assistants gave me a call and we chatted about why I love cooking (because I love to eat), what my signature dish is (lemon drizzle), what my must-have kitchen essentials are (a v. sharp knife), etc. and they invited me for an audition a few days later.

I'm a big believer in fate and I took the fact that the auditions were going to be on Good Friday - meaning I had the day off from work - as a sign. The only problem was I had to bring a dish with me and I only had 2 days to think of something. I tested a recipe that night that was a total fail so in a blind panic I turned to my faithful lemon drizzle and went to the audition. There were a few other people waiting nervously in a test kitchen as we chatted and eyed up each other's dishes. Mine was a disaster, as the accompaniments I'd made for the cake melted by the time I got there, and there was a guy who had brought a whole roast chicken, which he then proceeded to joint and serve, so you can imagine how nervous I was!

Two weeks later I was invited to another audition, which is where the ratatouille comes in. This time, the audition was on my birthday! Again, I had the day booked off from work...fate! And it was taking place near my parents' house, so my mum could pick me up afterwards and take me for a birthday tea. Really, everything worked out perfectly. For this audition, we had to cook...on camera! They told us that week we'd be making ratatouille with a pan-fried chicken breast, but I didn't have time to practice so I just re-read the recipe I'd jotted down two summers ago and hoped for the best.

I smoked out the whole kitchen trying to fry my chicken breast on an electric hob (!), but the ratatouille itself was a success. Jamie Oliver's recipes are always straightforward, but have an extra-dimension that lifts everything and makes them seem much more complicated than they are; in this case, it's the salsa verde. Thanks Jamie! Luckily, my ratatouille turned out beautifully and another week after I found out I'd got through to be on the show. Throughout the whole process I was equal parts excited and mortified, sort of hoping that I wouldn't get through and actually end up being on TV! I'm glad I did it in the end, but I was a nervous wreck the whole of April and May...and I still am now waiting to see myself on the actual television!

My episode of Humble Pie is scheduled for Friday 4th December and I can't wait to share the recipes I cooked on it.Yikes! For now, I hope you enjoyed this little story about how I came to be on a TV show...and please make this recipe because it really is a good'un.

To make 4 servings
2 tins chopped tomatoes
3 fresh tomatoes
2 courgettes
1 aubergine
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
2tsp mixed dried herbs (basil, herbes de provence, sage, etc. as you wish)
Small handful basil
Small handful mint (optional)
Butter
Juice of half a lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Mozzarella to serve

Roughly chop the onions and fry with butter in a large saucepan until soft and brown. Add 3 of the garlic cloves (chopped) and the dried herbs. Chop one of the courgette into rounds and add to the pan, along with the tomatoes, quartered. Let everything fry off for a few minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes. Add a little water if it looks too dry. Bring to the boil with a pinch of salt and pepper and then simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes, checking every now and then to check the liquid hasn't boiled away.

While the vegetables cook away, finely slice the remaining courgette and the aubergine lengthways, brush with olive oil and place under the grill, turning occasionally until browned. Add to the pan with the stewing vegetables and turn off the heat.

Using a small food processor, whizz up the basil, mint and the remaining garlic clove with the juice of half a lemon and a few glugs of olive oil. You want a loose sort of pesto.

Serve the ratatouille in a shallow dish with the sauce drizzled over the top and some torn mozzarella - it's not traditional, but it's delicious and adds a bit of protein to make a more hearty meal.

HUMBLE PIE

So I've mentioned a few things here and there about being on a TV show, but now I can finally tell you that Humble Pie is out TONIGHT! And the episode I'm appearing in is going to be on the Watch channel (Sky 109, Virgin Media 124) on Friday 4th December at 8pm! YIKES!

It's a brand new show so it was really exciting to take part. Each episode is self-contained so don't worry, you won't be seeing my mug on TV for the next 12 weeks! The concept of the show is a little complicated to explain, but I'll try;

There are 3 rounds, in which 4 contestants each cook a dish that fits a pre-provided brief, with one person getting kicked out in each round. But there's a twist! Marco Pierre White (!!) tastes each dish and picks the one that he thinks is the weakest. Meanwhile, the cooks don't know which dish he's picked. They take it in turns to try each other's dishes and give their feedback. Then, the chef gives a clue as to who he wants to send home. At this point, the contestants have the chance to eliminate themselves (if they think their dish might be the one the chef is alluding to) and they get a consolation cash prize. But if no one wants to 'eat humble pie' and admit defeat, then the chef will send home his choice, and they won't get anything. This continues until the final round, where two contestants go head to head. The idea is that everyone has the chance to win some money, if they're humble enough to accept that their dish is the worst...but you can also ruffle some feathers by trying to knock someone else's confidence and make them think they should send themselves home. Anyway, if that doesn't make sense, you'll have to watch and see!

The whole thing was a bit of an adventure. We actually filmed my episode back in May so it's been hard to keep schtum! I still can't quite believe that I've done it and while the whole thing was exhilarating and such a cool experience, I'm actually mortified about being on television! Aside from the fact that I have no idea how I looked on camera and that I'm pretty sure my makeup was smudged everywhere and I probably looked really worried the whole time, I can't remember what I said and I'm sure there will be an unsavoury moment or two!

There were so many ups and downs - hours of waiting around (the first day, we filmed from 9am to 11pm!), followed by cooking for an hour and a half which whizzed by in seconds and then the super tense judging rounds - and so many emotions flying around. You would be totally exhilarated after cooking and have this huge adrenaline rush and then have to wait an hour to film a little clip about how you think you did in that round (one of the interviews even happened the morning after we'd cooked the night before!), by which time you'd have crashed and not really remember anything! In the rounds where we were tasting each other's food, the producers really tried to get us to be honest and to say what we really thought about everyone's dishes; luckily we were quite a nice group though. No one really seemed to be playing a game and no one was unnecessarily mean - if someone had been I think I would have cried! It's been such a long time since it all happened, whatever I said, it's going to be a surprise for sure!

I have a few posts lined up about the show: there's a ratatouille recipe that I made during the audition round, where I'm going to share a bit more about how I ended up doing Humble Pie and a bit more about the audition process. I also have both my recipes from the show (we cooked 3 in total, but one was a blind test), which I'll share on the day it airs! If you have any questions, pop a comment below!