Frying pan pizza - take two

On Friday evening I had lots of friends over to celebrate the end of exams.  Originally we planned to order a take-away but I couldn't resist another attempt at my no oven, no grill pizza.  This time I used a proper pizza dough recipe from the July edition of the BBC GoodFood magazine which arrived just a couple of days before then end of my exams.

For 4 pizzas you will need:
500g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried yeast (or 1/4 tsp fast-action yeast)
400ml warm water
oil for greasing

Frying pan pizza

I used strong white bread flour but it didn't work amazingly well so I think plain white flour would be better.  As I don't have a mixer the dough took about 45 minutes to make but if you do have a mixer with a dough hook then it can be done in as little as 15 minutes.

If you're making the dough in a mixer make sure you've attached the dough hook, if not get a large bowl and start off mixing with a wooden spoon and as the mixture thickens use your hands to bring the dough together.  All you need to do is weigh out the flour, add the salt and yeast (if it's fast-action, if not add it to the water first and wait five minutes to allow the yeast to start working).  Pour the liquid in gradually while mixing until the dough comes together in a ball.  If the dough is too sticky add a little extra flour (but remember that this dough is meant to be a little sticky), if it's too dry add some more water a little at a time but be careful not to add too much.

In a mixer the dough should be kneaded for 5-7 minutes, but hand this supposedly takes 10 minutes but I found it took longer than that (partly because I was kneading a larger quantity of dough) even with the help of D.  Knead the dough until it is shiny and springs back when you press your finger into it.

Oil a bowl (I used olive oil) and place the dough in it, turning it so it's coated in the oil.  Cover the bowl tightly with cling film and place a tea towel over the top.  Leave the bowl in a safe, warm place, out of the way of draughts for 2-4 hours.

These pizzas can be cooked on a BBQ but I used my trusty frying pan.  The main problem I encountered was that my toppings were generally too wet, meaning the base became soggy, so although the pizzas tasted good they were a little tricky to eat and not as crispy as I would have liked.

For the tomato sauce (per pizza):
a handful of cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 tsp tomato puree
1/4 can chopped tomatoes (strained)

Mix the tomatoes together with some seasoning and warm through in a saucepan.  I didn't strain my chopped tomatoes but I think it would be a good idea to help get rid of some of the excess moisture (and for anyone else just finishing exams you could save the juice to use in a Bloody Mary!)

Cooking the pizza base

To cook the pizza base take a quarter of your dough and stretch it out until it is the right size (for me this was dictated by the size of my saucepan).  I found it best to heat a teaspoon of olive oil in the saucepan, then to place my dough into the pan and cook it on very low for 4-5 minutes until the underside was browned.

Then flip the dough over.  Place your tomatoes on top along with any other toppings you fancy (microwave-steamed asparagus worked well as did pepperoni and mushrooms) finally sprinkle some cheese over the top.  I used mozzarella but although I had tried to squeeze out some of the moisture it was still too wet.  I am still on the hunt for a better option (let me know in the comments if you have any better ideas).

Adding the toppings

Once again cook on low for 4-5 minutes, this time covering the frying pan with a lid to trap in the heat and melt the mozzarella.  Check to make sure the bottom has browned and cook for a further couple of minutes if it hasn't.  Then transfer to a plate and top with a couple of basil leaves to serve.  I got my basil leaves from a plant I've had in my room and managed to keep alive for over a month now!

Basil

It seems strange to think that in just over a couple of weeks time I will be leaving Cambridge and my little kitchen.  As much as I'm excited to move on to new places and new experiences I will really miss Cambridge with all its lovely quirks.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  In my last post I promised to tell you about my attempts to make some treats in the form of Easter egg cheesecakes!  I came across this idea a week or so ago on a The Londoner and decided to give them a go myself.  Of course Easter wouldn't be complete without a chocolate rabbit (thanks to my family - missing you lots) and hot cross buns which D kindly bought for us from my favourite Cambridge cafe Afternoon Tease (read my review here).

My Easter bunny with his Easter treats

I bought a pack of hollow eggs from M&S, originally designed to be used in an Easter egg hunt, these eggs are a perfect size for the cheesecakes - any larger and they would be too rich and sweet to finish.  The recipe recommends using 6 eggs but I found that there was probably enough mixture left over for around 4 more.  Unfortunately I didn't have any extra eggs (owing to a couple of mishaps when removing the tops) so decided to simply put the rest of the mixture into a couple of ramekins I happened to have.

Oops!

Although not essential I would advise using an electric mixer for this recipe as you will need to whip 150ml whipping cream until it forms soft peaks - you really would need a lot of strength and patience to do this by hand!  Next mix 150g cream cheese with 30g icing sugar, the juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.  Combine with the whipped cream and set aside.

There are two ways to cut the tops off your eggs.  If you want them to look a little more authentic then you can do what I did which is carefully crack the top off with a sharp knife to leave a ragged edge.  If you prefer to play things a little safer then run the knife under warm water first and evenly slice the top off.

Use a teaspoon/the end of a spoon to fill your hollow eggs with the cream cheese mixture, then place them in the fridge while you make the yolk.  If you don't have egg cups then just use the carton the eggs came in to keep them upright.

Passion fruit and chocolate - yum!

Squeeze the juice and pips of 1 passion fruits into a bowl, then sieve into a saucepan, getting as much juice out as possible.  Add a tsp of apricot jam and 1tsp butter (about 15g) and melt over a low heat, stirring to combine.

Once melted remove the eggs from the fridge, use the end of a spoon to make a small well in the centre of each egg and pour a little of the passion fruit mixture into each.  Return to the fridge for at least 15 minutes before eating.

Not your usual box of eggs

Since I had quite a lot of chocolate debris (remember the Easter egg mishaps I mentioned earlier?) I crushed up the leftover chocolate and sprinkled it over the cheesecakes in the ramekins and added a few mini eggs to make them look like nests.

Cheesecake nests

These were great fun to make (if a little fiddly) and are a lovely Easter treat.  I can especially recommend these if you tend to find Cadbury's cream eggs too sweet as the lemon and passionfruit cut through the sweetness of the chocolate slightly to provide a nice balance.  Enjoy the rest of the holiday!

No Oven, No Grill Pizza

A pizza you can make without and oven or a grill?  Yes this really is a dream come true!  This post is for all of you who, like me, love pizza but don't want to always order a take-away which is often overpriced and greasy.

Edit: I have since tried making frying pan pizza again with a better dough recipe, have a look at the updated post here.

No oven, no grill pizza

All you need to make this pizza is a frying pan with a lid/a plate that will fully cover the top of the pan, a hob and the following ingredients.

Self-raising flour
Olive oil
Tomato base (passata and tomatoes)
cheese (mozarella)
toppings (anything you like!)

Prepare your toppings in advance.  I diced a couple of tomatoes, some red onion and finely chopped a couple of cloves of garlic.  Make as much or as little topping as you fancy.  I fried the onion and garlic before adding about 4 tbsp passata and the tomatoes.  You could alternatively use some chopped tomatoes from a can mixed with some tomato paste or replace my normal tomatoes with some halved cherry tomatoes.  I also added a few olives to the frying pan for the last minute.

Next make the dough.  My base didn't come out very well but I have some suggestions regarding how to make it better and will update this post next time I try making pizza again.  I used 225g plain flour, first mistake, along with 3 tbsp olive oil and 6-7 tbsp warm water.  Next time I do this I will be sure to use self-raising flour so that my dough isn't as dense and to mix the ingredients in a larger bowl so that I can combine them more easily.  Essentially you want to mix in the oil with about half of the water, then add the rest gradually until your flour comes together as you are mixing it to form a soft dough.  If you need to add a little more water to combine all the flour then do so, but don't add too much otherwise your dough will be too sticky.  Similarly, if your dough comes together before you have added all the water, then stop, don't add too much!

Roll out the dough on a flat surface.  I don't have a rolling pin, so I found an empty wine bottle, wrapped it in cling film (to make sure I didn't get wine/dirt in the dough) and used that to roll out my pizza base.  This was my next mistake.  You need to roll out your dough until it is the size of the base of your frying pan.  My dough was a little too thick.  If this is the case for you, either don't use all the dough or make two small rather than one large pizza.

Heat some oil in a frying pan and place your pizza base into the pan.  Cook it for a few minutes, then use a spatula to check the bottom.  If it is browning then carefully flip your base over.  If not leave it for a little longer until it does go brown.  Once flipped add your tomato base and toppings (you can use literally anything) and scatter on around 50g cheese (or enough to cover the top of your pizza).  Cover your pan with a lid (or plate or anything that covers the top of your pan) and leave for another few minutes.  Check after 2 or 3 minutes to see if the cheese is melting and try and use a spatula to check the bottom of the pizza.  Once the base has browned and the cheese has melted then your pizza is ready to eat.  Slide it carefully onto a plate and served.  I garnished mine with some fresh basil leaves as I happened to have some left over.

So there you have it, a no oven, no grill pizza.  It took me about half an hour to make and with a few adjustments to the base it will be the perfect, healthy alternative to a take-away.

Happy Halloween!

I realise that this isn't the post about salad which I promised, but I couldn't let Halloween pass me by without trying some seasonal recipes.  So here goes, a very pumpkin-filled post!

For starters, here is my attempt at pumpkin carving, it is meant to be my college's crest being held up by yales (the mythical creatures which traditionally support our crest).  Unfortunately my pumpkin was a little small to reproduce the rather complex design, but nevertheless it was fun to make!

So on to dinner!  I decided to make a simple but delicious pumpkin soup.

For two (large) portions, you will need:

1tbsp olive oil (for frying)

500g pumpkin flesh (I bought 2 small pumpkins which was just about enough)

350ml vegetable stock

70ml double cream

salt and pepper to season

The first thing you need to do is scoop all of the flesh out of the pumpkin (this was difficult, not sure whether it was due to the size and ripeness of the pumpkin or my technique).  Then chop the onion finely (this is particularly important if you don't have a blender).

500g pumkin flesh

First, you need to fry the onion for 5 minutes to soften it, but don't brown it.  Then you need to add the pumpkin flesh and cook for another 8-10 mins until it is soft.  Add the 350ml vegetable stock, season, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins.  The pumpkin should now be very soft.  Add the double cream and bring to the boil.  If you don't have a blender, don't worry, the texture won't be great but the soup will taste very nice as it is.  If you do have a blender then blend the soup to give it a lovely thick texture.  Alternatively you could use a potato masher, not perfect, but it will do.  Season to taste and enjoy!

We enjoyed our soup with some crusty bread.  We also thought that it would have been nice had we caramelised the onions before adding the pumpkin flesh, or with a sweet onion chutney dolloped on top.

We finished off the evening with pumpkin mug cake!
Like the mug cakes I have tried previously this was super-simple and took just minutes to prepare.

Mix 4 tbsp self-raising flour, 2 tbsp caster sugar, 2 tbsp pumpkin puree (mash up 2 tbsp pumpkin flesh), 2 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp sunflower/vegetable oil and 1/4 tsp of either cinnamon or nutmeg.  Put in the microwave for a minute on high (maybe a little longer if your mug is slightly larger).  This produces a yummy cake, if you really want a strong taste of pumpkin then you'll need to add some more pumpkin flesh but make sure you use a little less flour if you decide to do this.

I hope your Halloween is as full of tasty treats as mine has been!

Let them eat cake!

Here it is, as promised, the post in which I tell you how to make cake without an oven.  Unfortunately I don't have any photos of my mug cakes yet as they generally get eaten before I remember to photograph them, but I will update the post later when I do take some!

The best and most effective mug cake is the basic chocolate one.  All you need to make this is a mug and a spoon and a microwave (or a hob and saucepan - but more on that later).

You will need:

4 tbsp self-raising flour

4 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 egg

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp sunflower oil

3 tbsp choc chips/grated chocolate

Method:

- Add dry self-raising flour, caster sugar and cocoa powder to the large mug, then add the egg and mix well

- Add milk and oil, mix well

- Add choc chips and mix well

- Cook in microwave for 3 mins on high (this is usually enough but if the cake isn't cooked then pop it back in for a few more seconds)

Variations:

Traditional sponge: instead of cocoa powder and chocolate chips add an extra couple of tablespoons of flour and sugar.

Oreo cake: replace the chocolate chips with several crushed oreos

Nutella cake: add 3 tbsp Nutella instead of chocolate chips

Banana cake: This tasted good, however, I couldn't get the consistency right, hopefully this amended recipe will work better when I try it.  Mash up a ripe banana and mix it with 4 tbsp self-raising flour, 4 tbsp caster sugar, 1 egg, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp milk.  Pop it into the microwave for 3-4 mins on high (or until baked)

Syrup sponge: N.B. This MUST be eaten fresh, otherwise it solidifies.  Make the traditional sponge mix in a separate bowl.  Pour a couple of tablespoons of golden syrup into the bottom of a mug and pour the cake mix on top.  Cook in the microwave as normal.  The syrup with rise up into the middle of the sponge creating a gooey centre.

If, like me last year, you don't have a microwave don't despair!  There is a way of making cake, you just have to be a lot more patient.  Mix the ingredients in a mug (as you would for a microwave cake) and cover the top of the mug with some baking paper (cut out a circle that is larger than the top of the mug and use an elastic band to secure it in place).  Then bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer (when you put the mug in the pan the water level should be just over halfway up the mug).  Once simmering place the mug carefully into the pan and leave for about 2 hours (give or take half an hour depending on the size of the mug and temperature of the water).  To check to see if the cake is ready carefully remove the mug from the water and peel back the baking paper so see if the mixture is cooked.  Make sure the water does not boil!  You don't want the baking paper to get too wet or for water to get into the mixture.

I hope you found this post helpful!  If you have any requests for other flavours of cake please post them below and I will let you know how I get on!