Coconut and raspberry cupcakes

Ingredients

Favourite of J
For the cake
4oz margarine or butter
4oz caster sugar
3oz self-raising flour
2oz desiccated coconut
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs

For the raspberry compote
1 punnet raspberries (175g)
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cornflour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5
2. Put the margarine, butter, caster sugar, self-raising flour, coconut and eggs in a bowl. Beat until the mixture is smooth.
3. Divide the mixture evenly between cupcake cases and put in the oven at Gas Mark 5 for 15-20 minutes until they spring back when touched and a stick comes out clean when pushed into the cake.
4. Put the raspberries, caster sugar and lemon juice in a pan and heat until the sugar dissolves and the raspberries begin to break down.
5. In a separate pot, mix the cornflour and some water together until it makes a watery, milky solution. Pour into the pan of raspberry sauce and continue to stir. The sauce should thicken to form a jam-like substance.
6. Spread the jam on top of the cupcakes, or alternatively, use an apple corer to take out the centre of the cupcake and fill with the jam.

5 minute cake

5 minute cake

Favourite of Len (thedutchstory), who provided the recipe. Thank you Len!


Ingredients

What you need for one big one or two small ones:

2 big mugs that you can put in your microwave.
4 tablespoons self raising flour
4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
3 Tablespoons Nutella (hazelnut chocolate spread)
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons olive oil

Method

I made a small one, which was more than enough. I put all the ingredients together and then I mixed it until it was like a thick paste. Then you pour the mix into the two mugs (or one bigger mug) and put it in your microwave for about 2,5-3 minutes. You can finish it any way you like, with icing sugar, whipped cream or serve it whit fruits… what you want….

It’s really that simple! Go try it yourself! I wasn’t a big fan of microwaving stuff because it would get so dry, but this… YUM!

Additional notes

If the little cake is to dry, its probably because of the microwave. Try different times what time works for your microwave.

We need YOU!

The Golden Cookbook blog is dedicated to providing some of our favourite recipes. However, the true aim for our blog was to gather other people's favourite recipes . We are all interested in food and would love to try cooking recomended dishes so we know that they must be delicious.

This is why we need you to send some of your favourite recipes. They can be recipes from the internet or ones you have made up, all are apreciated. We would love it if you could fill in our google document so we can try out these delicious dishes ourselves and so our readers can as well. 

All that said, there is still a wide selection of favourites, from us 3 writers, our friends and our family, so be sure to check them out! We have at least 25 recipes to form the base of our blog, but we need you to help us make that number larger. We will still provide recipes, but we are eager to try out your prefered meals.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1kFYwjNzihtWjpHb0gNz-13t5mgtF6-azkFHaPqUYgok/viewform

Thank you to all for reading this,

S, J and M, The writers of The Golden Cookbook

"Rockery road"

Rockery road

M's favourite!

 Ingredients 

200g of milk chocolate

2-3 tablespoons of golden syrup 

135g of butter

100g of mini marshmallows 

200g of digestive biscuits 

Method 

Line a baking tray with cling film

Crush the digestive biscuits in a plastic bag 

Put in a sauce pan the butter, syrup and chocolate until melted

Take sauce pan of heat and add digestive biscuits and mini marshmallows 

Mix, then pour into the tray

Put in fridge for at least 2 hours until set

The Beavertail

The Beavertail. An interesting Canadian delicacy that I found out about 3 years ago. When I was first told about the Beavertail, I believed, as the name would suggest, an actual Beavertail. Although rather alarmed by this, I didn't question it. That was a bad mistake. To my embarrassment, I later found out that it was, in fact, a doughnut-like pastry in the shape of a beaver's tail. The worst part being that I had told all my friends it was an actual beaver's tail. Then again, can you blame me? How was I to know any different?

I was rather relieved that it wasn't a real beaver that I would be eating, and was eager to try one of these famous pastries. The selection of toppings for the Beavertail were vast, varying from maple to chocolate with Reese's Pieces. I had a cinnamon sugar Beavertail, which I enjoyed very much. It was crunchy in the centre and soft on the outside, and the cinnamon worked really well. I ended up with sugar all over my hands and face, but it was certainly worth it. We have returned every year since our first trip to Canada, and always have to get a Beavertail (or 5) at some point in the holiday.

However, I was told that once upon a time, the chain served savoury Beavertails as well as the traditional sweet. It's a shame that there weren't any at the store, and by looking at their menu, I don't think that they serve them at all, which is a shame, because I would love to try the legend that is the savoury Beavertail. My parents went to Canada when they served them and they had salmon and cream cheese on theirs. I bet that there would be some pretty tasty combinations you could try. I am generally more of a savoury person, so that sounds like my sort of thing. Come on Beavertails. Bring 'em back!

J

A food fair and an interesting find

On Monday, S and myself (J) took a trip to a food and craft festival in Cobham, Surrey, UK. It was certainly worth the journey, because there were plenty of stalls where you could taste delicious samples. There were cupcakes,curries,chocolates,chilli sauces,popcorn,scones,preserves,BBQ stalls, seasonings and a large variety of chutneys.

Among the others were the most memorable: The campervan bakery http://www.theflyingducks.co.uk/, the curry stall (although I don't recall it's name), and "Chipstix". This is an unusual snack that has been seen in South Africa and Vietnam (probably else where also, but these are the only two I know of). It is a twirl of potato on a large stick which is deep fried and seasoned with one of the many flavoured salts you could have. They include garlic butter (the one S and I had), mexican chilli, pizza, flame grilled BBQ, fried chicken and the usual crisp flavours. I have never seen anything like this before, and so was amazed at these tasty treats. My aunt suggested having a go at making one with a pineapple corer (or some other tool for a pineapple, I can't remember whether it was a corer, peeler etc). Here are a few pictures of these wonders: