Raspberry souffle

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away I got myself some cute little single serving ramekins, with the plan to try my skills at making souffle. Ok, I may have been a bit melodramatic as it's probably not more than 2 years ago, and certainly not more than 30 miles away. But it does feel like a lifetime ago, my life was so different back then. I was living in my tiny shoebox of a studio, in another job and convinced I would be single for the rest of my life. Now I'm sitting in my craft room writing this blog, with the Culinary Consultant downstairs in the living room playing an unbelievably loud computer game. I'm not necessarily saying I was less happy then, but life certainly was different, and I do like the turn my life has taken over the last few years. I guess thinking back, even such a short time back, does remind me of the fact that things can change very fast. And there is no guarantee I will be sitting here in my craft room in a year's time. But I'm quite convinced I will still have my little pink ramekins! So the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Why the trip down memory lane? Well basically I was contemplating the history of my cute little pink ramekins, and the fact that they have only served as souffle receptacles once (you can see the result here). They have held plenty of other things including oven oatmeal, single serve crumble, microwave single serve chocolate cookie, cobbler and salted caramel. Today they returned to doing what they were born to do - make souffle! And what a souffle it was.

I have pinned this recipe for raspberry souffle ages ago, probably in the days when I first got the ramekins. It's from a blog called Eating out Loud. I have used it almost unaltered, only cut down the recipe by half, which made a perfect amount for two generous souffles. I also added some vanilla bean paste to the raspberry coulis, which wasn't included in the original recipe. Although souffle sounds very intimidating, this is actually a rather easy one to make. It takes a bit of prep, like buttering the ramekins and preparing the raspberry coulis. But actually, it's not very hard. If you know how to beat egg whites, you know how to make souffle. 

Raspberry souffle (serves 2): 
1/2 cup raspberries
2 tbsp plus one tsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 egg whites
icing sugar for sprinkling on top 

The howto:
Start by preparing two single serving ramekins by buttering them thoroughly. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F). Puree the raspberries using a handheld blender. Sieve the puree to remove the seeds. Add a tsp sugar and the vanilla bean paste to the raspberry coulis and set aside. Using an electric whisk, whip the egg whites until starting to turn fluffy. Then add the two tablespoons sugar, a little at a time while whisking. You will end up with a very fluffy and shiny white foam, and just as it would for making meringues, it should stay in the bowl when you turn it upside down. The slowly mix the raspberry coulis and egg whites by gently folding to keep all the air in the egg whites. Fill ramekins to the top and smooth the top with a spatula. Place in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until the souffle has risen well above the top of the ramekin. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve immediately.

This is what they looked like straight out of the oven. There is definitely some rise going on!

The verdict:
Making souffle feels very 80's. But actually it's a great dessert, I genuinely enjoyed this tasty dessert. It's light and fluffy but the raspberries bring such a punch of flavour to it. It's simply irresistible. And it's pretty failsafe as long as you don't whip all the air out of your eggwhites when adding the raspberry coulis, just remember to fold gently and it's ok even if it's a bit streaky. Better slightly under- than overfolded. And eating souffle is so great, it's almost like eating a cloud, but a really tasty one.

Raspberry and dark chocolate muffins

The other day I stopped by Morrisons as they had a good deal on strong bread flour. We don't usually shop in Morrisons as it's a bit off our usual route, but I thought it was worth going out of my way to stock up on flour. But when I got there I realised everyone else had also thought it was a great deal as there was no discounted flour left on the shelf. I felt a bit silly leaving completely empty handed as I had gone out of my way to drive there so I bought a few punnets of raspberries which happened to be very good value for money. We were rather unlucky with our own raspberries this year as the birds ate most of them, I only managed to get a few very small tubs in the freezer. So we enjoyed these raspberries very much, and ate one of the punnets with some ripe sweet figs and ice cream for pudding. I decided to make the most of the second punnet so I divided it up between two recipes, one of them being these lovely raspberry and dark chocolate muffins. 

I used a recipe from a blog called My Happy Place which I pinned ages ago. I keep on pinning stuff, but very rarely actually go back to look at them, so I felt rather satisfied with myself when I found this recipe again last night on one of my pinterest boards and it was perfect to make as a quick and easy breakfast. It also is relatively low fat as there is no added fat in addition to what comes with the yogurt and chocolate. I also replaced some of the flour with whole wheat to add some fiber. I decided to make just half of the recipe, as me and a large number of muffins is just a bad idea. The original recipe says it will make 12 muffins, so I was expecting to make 6 out of the halved recipe. However, half the recipe actually resulted in 11 muffins, so I'm not exactly sure how gigantic the original muffins are (they don't look that big in the pictures). Hence, I also needed to bake them for a much shorter time.

Raspberry and dark chocolate muffins (makes 6-11 muffins):
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used full fat, as I detest the low fat ones)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp caster sugar
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup all purpose and 1 whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup raspberries cut into quarters
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
a few teaspoons of caster sugar to sprinkle on top

The howto: 
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (375 degrees F). Butter your muffin tins (or line with paper or silicone liners. I love my silicon muffin liners, they don't need to be prepped and the muffins always come out perfectly without sticking). Mix all ingredients except the raspberries and chocolate chips in a bowl until a smooth batter forms, don't overmix. Add raspberries and chocolate chips and gently incorporate into the batter. Spoon into muffin tins until about 3/4 full. Sprinkle lightly with caster sugar. Bake for 25 minutes if making smaller muffins (i.e. 11 from this batch), and 30-40 minutes for larger muffins (i.e. if you made 6 muffins from the batter).

The verdict:
I was surprised how fluffy and soft these muffins were, given that they are very low fat. Usually my experience with "healthy" muffins is that they end up very dense, particularly if you add whole wheat flour to them. But these were really light and very delicious. The caster sugar on top forms a nice crunchy crust. The slightly tart raspberries go so well with the gooey, sweet chocolate chips. I had to immediately freeze some of these, as I had no self control whatsoever around them. I also love these easy, one bowl bakes which only take a few minutes to whip up, and you can have fresh muffins on the table in just over half an hour. Perfect for those lazy weekend brunches when you want something scrummy without having to spend the whole day slaving away in the kitchen.

Chocolate mousse and raspberry cake

Ironically, after writing just the other day how I haven't really had a craving for chocolate cake, I was going through my pins and saw this chocolate mousse and raspberry cake I have pinned ages ago, and all of a sudden I got a crazy craving for chocolate mousse cake. Fortunately my craving hit just before our weekly grocery shop run, so I just added a ridiculous amount of chocolate, some raspberries and whipping cream to the grocery list.

Actually, this cake is perfect to celebrate the fact that our mortgage application was accepted just the other day. It was taking time because of some ridiculous technicalities which there is no point of going into here, but for a while I was slightly worried. Not only is that settled, the survey also came back with no major issues. In addition to being perfect for celebrating, the cake is also perfect as it doesn't need baking. I'm still no closer to figuring out how to get along  with the oven in the bachelor pad.

The recipe is stolen directly and unaltered from BBC good food.

Chocolate mousse and raspberry cake (serves 8)
For the base:
100 g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
100 g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
200 g Hob Nobs (I used dark chocolate covered digestives)
For the mousse:
200 g milk chocolate
100 g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
4 eggs
300 ml whipping cream
3 x 150g punnets of raspberries (I only had 2 punnets)

The howto:
Using a food processor, crumble the cookies to the consistency of coarse sand. If you don't have a food processor, you can put the cookies in a bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Melt chocolate, butter and golden syrup either in a water bath or in the microwave. Mix the chocolate and butter with the crumbs, and spoon onto the bottom of a springform tin. Place in the fridge and let set. 
While the base is setting, prepare the mousse. Melt the chocolates in a waterbath or the microwave. Cool until lukewarm. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Using an electric whisk, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Whip the cream to a soft consistency. Mix the chocolate with the egg yolks, and mix with the whipped cream. Fold in the egg whites. Pour the mousse onto the base, and let set over night. Before serving, add raspberries on top.

The verdict:
I have to admit there was no way I was going to wait over night for the cake to set. The mousse wasn't completely set and the slice didn't turn out very elegant. But it was really delicious. Rich and very decadent. The combination of raspberries and chocolate is so perfect.
If I ever make the cake again, I will make a small change. The base hardened up so hard that it was hard to break with a knife, much less a spoon. So I would halve the amount of butter, possibly even leave out the butter completely and only use chocolate to bind the biscuit crumbs together for a more crumbly base. But it's obviously a matter of taste. The texture of the mousse got a bit grainy, so maybe there would be room for leaving out one of the egg yolks as well. But possibly I just didn't make it right.
These small faults are however nothing compared with the amazing flavour combination of chocolate and raspberries. I had to leave a lot of mousse in the bowl for licking as well, because it was so good. 

Cobbler Queen

I love food. I love food every single day of the year. However, I think I love food even more in summer than any other time. The berries! For a month or so, fresh berries are actually both affordable and at the peak of their taste. I still consider it a luxury that fresh berries are available in stores in the UK all year around, but mostly they are ridiculously expensive and taste about as nice as cardboard. But right now, you get berries so cheaply. I just pop by the grocery store most days after the gym to pick up a punnet or two. Delish on their own, usually eaten right after I come home, even taking off my shoes or taking the time to sit down. One evening I ate half a kilogram of raspberries.

Usually I buy strawberries, as they make best value for money. And most times I appreciate quantity. Big juicy strawberries. In smoothies, in muffins, with yoghurt or just on their own. Sometimes I splurge and get blueberries and raspberries. Back home jam made from blueberries and raspberries is called Queen's Jam. Probably because it is so good you could serve it to a queen (I actually have no idea of the etymology, and not even Wikipedia could educate me on the subject). It is such a heavenly combo. Although blueberries over here are of course not real blueberries, if all you ever had are the store bought blueberries, you really should experience the Finnish forest in late summer and eat proper, ripe and tasty wild blueberries. They are so much better than the very lightly flavoured ones found in stores. 


Ok, bottom line is berries are amazing. You know what else is amazing? Single serving recipes. Only way I can exercise portion control is by not making more than one serving. Because I know as long as I have anything sweet left in the house, I will eat it. Even if it's in the freezer, things thaw surprisingly fast. And some things can be eaten pretty much straight out of the freezer, to be honest. It's so sad that I know this. But single serving recipes keep me from eating more than one serving. I have already made chocolate mug cake and single serving cookies. This blueberry cobbler is another addition to my growing collection of a single woman's recipes I stumbled upon on Pinterest. It's from a blog called Snappy Gourmet. I made a few small alterations but otherwise it's pretty much the same recipe. I couldn't be bothered to mix up the dry ingredients first as the original recipe states, so I just mixed up everything in one bowl.


Berry cobbler for one (or maybe two):
2 tsp butter (about 10g)
2 tsp sugar (I used light muscovado)
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
33g (1/4 cup) self-raising flour (if using regular AP, add 1/4 tsp baking powder)
1/2 cup of berries, I used raspberries and blueberries

The howto:
Melt butter in a small mixing bowl. Add sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Add the flour (and baking powder if using) and mix until smooth. Measure berries in ramekins or microwavable mugs, mush them up a bit with a fork. Add some sugar or syrup on the berries if you want your cobbler a bit sweeter. Add batter on top of the berries. I sprinkled a bit of muscovado sugar on top. Microwave in 30 second increments until cobbler looks done. When I put two ramekins in my microwave I ended up cooking for 4x30 sec, the original recipe states that 1 minute is good for a single serving. Let cool for a few minutes, serve with yoghurt, whipped cream or ice cream

The verdict:
This is a lovely quick treat, although it almost seems a shame to waste fresh summer berries on something hot. Summer berries are best enjoyed as is, straight from the box. However, I think this would be brilliant for winter, when the berries aren't quite as sweet as they are now, that's when they need the fluffy soft batter on top, making it all nice, comforting, warming and a bit sweeter. I will definitely be making this again, but for now, I think I'll enjoy the berries fresh. Also, although the original recipe states that this is a single serving recipe, I actually made two cobblers from it, but I guess that depends on the size of your ramekins more than anything else. And obviously, I ate both servings myself so it's by no means too much for one person. Well at least one person like me. Which reminds me of a mystery I have been trying to solve lately. Why is my ass getting bigger for each passing week? Oh well, must be some odd abnormality in the gravitational field around my butt or something. Yes, I'm sure that's it.

Friday quickie

To celebrate the fact that nothing too bad has happened to me on this Friday the 13th, I decided to whip up some quickie comfort foods and curl up on the sofa to enjoy them (yes, I do lead such an exciting life...). For me, Friday food has to be something quick and simple, with only a few ingredients and not too much fuss, but it also has to be something yummy. Funnily enough, it also seems to contain cumin very frequently.


I had a cauliflower lying around in my fridge which needed to be used up, so I decided to make roasted cauliflower with yoghurt and pomegranate, a recipe I stumbled upon at Epicurious and have made semi-regularly. Mint is one of my favourite herbs, but I hardly ever use it for some strange reason. Here, I love the freshness of the mint and yoghurt combined with the warm softness of the cauliflower. And it's really quick to prepare (apart from seeding the pomegranate, which is a bit of a messy task, but well worth it when you taste the result).


I also wanted something sweet for dessert (I *will* get back to my "no sugar, no wheat, no dairy" nutrition plan next week, I promise...). The perfect excuse to make this dessert was that I wanted to use up the last quark and cream which were left over from my Easter baking bonanza. This quark dessert is something I can remember all the way back from my childhood, so it truly counts in the category of comfort food. 

Quark is a soured milk product, basically a type of soft and velvety cheese. The taste is very mild, a bit like cream cheese, but a bit more sour and fresh. Back home you can buy all sorts of flavoured quarks, which is something I really miss. Berry quark, vanilla quark, white chocolate and lime quark and many more. In the UK, it seems like you can only get fat free, natural (i.e. non-flavoured) quark. Quark makes a nice, fresh and not too sweet dessert which is great on it's own like served here, or amazing served on meringue nests with a bit of chocolate sauce. There are endless variations you can make by substituting other berries or fruits. A great mix is strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, or mango and banana. If you want to make it more healthy you can completely leave out the whipped cream and mix quark with berries or fruits and maybe a drollop of honey.

And finally, the actual recipe for the roasted cauliflower (serves 2):
1 large cauliflower
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
sea salt flakes, pepper
100 g organic, natural, full fat yoghurt (I prefer Greek yoghurt)
1 pomegranate
a few mint leaves


The howto:
Preheat oven to 200 C. Break the cauliflower up into florets, toss with oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until the florets look a bit darkened and crispy. Meanwhile, deseed the pomegranate, and mix pomegranate seeds with yoghurt, a pinch of salt and pepper and finely chopped mint. 


One serving contains approximately 280 kcal (13.6g fat, 35.5g total carbs and 9.6g protein). I use MyFitnessPal to estimate nutritional content, and take no responsibility for the accuracy of the estimates.

Ingredients for quark dessert (serves 3-4):
250 g quark 
150 ml double cream
40 g Whittard Rhubarb White Hot Chocolate (or 3 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
200 g strawberries
100 g raspberries

Quark howto:
Mix cream and hot chocolate (or sugar and vanilla extract) and beat until peaks form (the quark is pretty thick so don't overwhip the cream to get a nice smooth texture of the dessert). Mix cream with quark, and add berries. Try to refrain from eating the whole batch in one sitting. Or just overindulge...


One serving (a third of the whole recipe) contains 400 kcal (28g fat, 23.6g total carbs, 13.5g protein).


The verdict:
Cauliflower: yummy. Quark: yummy. Could I have some more, please?