This is a soft, almost pudding-like sponge. The addition of the cherries with their glorious syrup is the icing on the cake (and of course don’t forget a good dollop of cream!). This is one of those cakes which is a perfect teatime treat but also particularly good for breakfast… Don’t be put off by its rather ‘flat’ appearance, looks can be deceiving, it really is delicious and better still, is incredibly easy to bake. The recipe is from Florence Knight, the wonderful chef of the fashionable London restaurant, Sessions Arts Club (see my review here!).

200g fresh cherries, halved and pitted

50g sugar

100ml red wine

For the sponge:

1 egg

2 egg yolks

180g caster sugar

100g ricotta

65g butter, melted (plus extra to grease the tin)

130g plain flour (gluten-free if required – I used Doves)

¾ teaspoon baking powder

A good pinch of salt

Double cream to serve

1. Lightly butter of a 20cm cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.
2. Add the cherries, sugar and wine to a small pan and simmer for 8 minutes until glossy but holding their shape. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl beat the whole egg, the yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Slowly add the cooled butter followed by the ricotta, mix well to create a smooth batter.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and fold through.
5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over with the back of a spoon. Scatter over the drained cherries, reserving the liquor for later!
6. Place the cake in the middle of a preheated oven, 160’c fan, and cook for 25-30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
7. Meanwhile, reduce the reserved cherry liquor into a syrup over a medium heat until thick and glossy.
8. Allow the cake to cool in the tin before serving in wedges with the syrup and a dollop of cream.

If I’m going to be entirely truthful, I must admit that over the last couple of weeks there hasn’t been as much cooking going on in my kitchen as I have finally ventured abroad! I have just had a wonderful holiday in the sun and whilst I did lots of reading there wasn’t a cookbook in sight! But of course, I didn’t want you to miss out on your recipe fix for April, so at the beginning of March, I was manically cooking and writing up April’s recipes!

As Easter is on the horizon I wanted to give you a delicious lamb recipe and I think I’ve definitely accomplished the task. Menu One is ‘Butterflied Leg of Lamb’, this is a incredible recipe from Rick Stein, the herby lemon and paprika marinade really takes this roast lamb to a higher level. It extremely easy to prepare and cook – it will be on the table in just over an hour and will feed friends and family generously. It is the perfect Easter Sunday feast! Of course, just because it’s Easter and lamb is the traditional dish, it doesn’t mean you have to serve it. How about breaking the mould with a more relaxed dinner of Meatballs, Tomato Sauce and Pasta?…Menu Two, ‘Pork, Beef and Ricotta Meatballs with Tomato Sauce’ is loved by adults and children alike. It is a combination of a meatball recipe from Mary Hefferman and a classic tomato sauce recipe that I’ve been using for years. As we move into April we will hopefully see the arrival of some brighter, sunnier days, so I thought that Menu Three should reflect springtime. ‘Cod with Spring Onion Mash’, is a dish that will make a perfect midweek supper and one which I think you’ll be cooking throughout spring and summer. Finally, a vegetarian recipe from the wonderful Diana Henry, ‘ Roast Indian-Spiced Vegetables with Lime-Coriander Butter’ is another dish which I think you’ll be cooking more than once…

Also… With the Easter celebrations I think that we will be needing some up-beat tunes in our kitchens… so that gives me the perfect opportunity to share my new playlist which has some great disco beats!… Music to Cook to…MenuMusic Eighteen – listen to it here!

Enjoy!…

(Menu Mistress will be back on 12th April with a Tuesday Treat!..)

Menu One

Butterflied Lamb with Herby Lemon and Paprika Marinade (Serves 6)

Cooking a leg of lamb butterflied, off the bone, reduces the cooking time and makes it much easier to slice and serve. This recipe from Rick Stein is particularly flavoursome with a subtly spiced marinade. There is no need to marinate it for long, 30 minutes is all it needs,  and better still, it will be cooked in 30 mins! I like to serve this with ‘Concetta’s’ sliced baked potatoes and ‘Green Beans with Shallots & Sherry Vinegar’ (recipes here!). (Ask your butcher to butterfly the leg of lamb)

1 x 2.5kg leg of lamb, boned and butterflied

For the marinade:

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes

6 teaspoons chopped rosemary

6 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

1 fresh bay leaf, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

2 tablespoons sweet smoked paprika

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1. Mix the marinade ingredients together. Lay out the butterflied lamb, it should be an even thickness throughout – you can cover it with clingfilm and bash the surface with a rolling pin to flatten out any of the thicker sections. Rub the marinade all over the lamb and set aside in a roasting tin, skin side up, for about 30 minutes.
2. Roast the lamb in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160’c and roast for a further 10 minutes (this will give you pink lamb, if you prefer it less so, cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and rest for 15 minutes before carving into thick slices and serving with some of the meat juices.

Menu Two

Pork, Beef and Ricotta Meatballs with Tomato Sauce (Serves 6)

These meatballs are made from a combination of pork and beef, and are held together by the ricotta cheese rather than breadcrumbs, so have a lighter consistency. I have taken the recipe from Mary Heffernan’s cookbook ‘Five Mary’s Ranch Raised’. The tomato sauce is a basic one that I’ve used over the years, it is rich and garlicky. Served with spaghetti they make a crowd-pleasing dish – they should definitely be on your recipe list!…

For the Tomato Sauce:

6-9 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

6 tablespoons olive oil

3 x 400g tins whole plum tomatoes

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and black pepper

For the Meatballs:

450g minced pork

450g minced beef

250g ricotta cheese

30g grated Parmesan cheese (plus more to serve)

½ onion, finely chopped

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I use Schwartz)

½ teaspoon ground fennel

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh basil leaves to garnish

Spaghetti to serve (gluten-free if required)

1. For the tomato sauce, place the oil in a large, deep-sided frying pan over a medium-high heat, lightly brown the garlic with the bay leaves. Add the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar, bring to a simmer, lightly crushing them with the back of a spoon. Simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Put aside whilst you make the meatballs.
2. To make the meatballs, place the pork, beef, ricotta, Parmesan, onion, egg, Italian seasoning, ground fennel, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix gently with your hands until combined. Shape into meatballs, you should make about 28, each about 2 inches in diameter.
3. Lightly oil a baking sheet and space the meatballs evenly on it. Place in a preheated oven, 220’c fan, for 20 minutes, until well browned on one side and cooked through.
4. Loosen the meatballs from the baking tray into the tomato sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, gently moving the meatballs around occasionally.
5. Serve with spaghetti and garnish with the chopped basil and more grated Parmesan.

Menu Three

Butter Roasted Cod with Spring Onion Mash (Serves 4)

This recipe has wonderful light, bright flavours. It’s a recipe that I picked up many years ago from Silvana Franco’s cookbook, ‘Family Food’. It’s an easy dish which is perfect for a family midweek supper… and like me, I think you’ll be cooking it more than once!

1 kg floury potatoes (such as Maris Piper), peeled and cubed

4 skinless cod fillet pieces (around 150g each)

Large knob of butter, plus extra to grease

Grated zest and juice of 1 lime

1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling, salted water until tender (15-20 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, cut out 4 rectangles of greaseproof paper, just large enough for each piece of fish. Lightly butter each piece of paper and place on a large baking tray. Place the fish on the paper and dot with butter. Sprinkle the lime zest over and season with salt and pepper.
3. Bake the fish in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 6-8 minutes until just cooked.
4. Drain the potatoes and roughly mash (they don’t have to be smooth), then stir in the spring onions, olive oil and lime juice (to taste). Season with salt and pepper.
5. Divide the mash between four plates and gently ease the fish off the paper and slide on top of the mash. Serve immediately.

Menu Four

Roast Indian-Spiced Vegetables with Lime-Coriander Butter (Serves 4)

This recipe is from the cookbook ‘From Oven to Table’ by Diana Henry, and as she says herself, ‘it is the simplest, loveliest dish; beautiful’. It’s the lime-coriander butter, with its zingy, chilli-infused flavour, that really brings this dish of subtly spiced, roasted vegetables to life. It doesn’t need anything else on the side except a spoonful of natural yoghurt and, perhaps, a dollop of your favourite Indian chutney…

For the Vegetables:

300g small, waxy potatoes (such as Charlotte), scrubbed and quartered

3 medium-small ready-cooked beetroot, halved

6 long slim carrots, halved (or 3 large carrots, quartered)

1 medium-large cauliflower, about 1kg broken into florets, with the leaves

3 parsnips, halved lengthways

3 cloves garlic, finely grated

5 tablespoons groundnut oil

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

¾ teaspoon ground turmeric

Natural yoghurt and chutney to serve

For the Butter:

75g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 red chilli, chopped (or ½ teaspoon chilli flakes)

2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves

Finely grated zest of 1 lime, plus a squeeze of lime juice

1. First of all, get out your largest roasting tin, about 38-36cm (or use a couple of smaller tins). Place in a preheated oven, 210’c fan, to heat up.
2. Put all the vegetables in a very large bowl, add the garlic, oil and seasoning.
3. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan for about a minute or two, until you can smell the spices. Put these spices in a mortar with the turmeric and pound together. Add the spices to the vegetables, turning everything over in the oil.
4. Take the hot tins out of the oven and add the vegetables to them. Roast for 25 minutes tossing the vegetables halfway through.
5. Meanwhile, mash the butter with the chilli, coriander, lime zest and juice.
6. When the vegetables are ready put knobs of the butter all over the top and allow it to melt. Serve with the natural yoghurt and chutney on the side.

The Joanna (Serves 1)

On my travels through the internet searching for cocktail recipes (with of course Menu Mistress always in mind!), I came across this recipe for ‘The Joanna’. It immediately caught my eye as it is made with ‘Lavender Bitters’, which are the newest addition to my cocktail cabinet (check out last months Lavender Martini here!). The Joanna is a sophisticated cocktail. Despite its vodka base, it has a light and refreshing finish due to the combination of fino sherry, lavender bitters and elderflower liqueur. Enjoy!

6 drops of Lavender Bitters

50ml vodka

25ml fino sherry

25ml dry vermouth

1 tablespoon St Germain Elderflower Liqueur

A handful of ice

(a sprig of lavender to decorate – optional)

1. Place the lavender bitters, vodka, fino sherry, dry vermouth and elderflower liqueur in a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake for about 15 seconds until the shaker is cold.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass and decorate with a sprig of lavender (if using)

(There will be no new recipes next week, but Menu Mistress will be back on Wednesday 30th March with a wonderful cocktail recipe….!)

Spiced Steaks with a Whisky Sauce (Serves 4)

I first posted this recipe in July 2020, if you haven’t already made it then you really should…

Steak, whisky and spices may sound a strange combination, but believe me, they really do work together and add an extra special dimension to a simple steak. The quality of the whisky does make a difference, so use the best you have, the smokier the better. Serve with Homemade Oven Chips (recipe here) and a green salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe here).

2 teaspoons Schwartz Jamaican Jerk seasoning (or mix one teaspoon each of allspice and chilli powder, plus a generous pinch of sugar)

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

2 tablespoons mixed peppercorns

4 beef fillet or sirloin steaks

4 tablespoons olive oil

10 tablespoons whisky

15g unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

150 ml beef stock

2 level tablespoons redcurrant jelly

6 tablespoons double cream

1. Crush together the salt and peppercorns with a pestle and mortar (or the end of a rolling pin), mix with the jerk seasoning (or spice and sugar mixture).
2. Use 1 tablespoon of the oil to lightly coat the steaks and press each side into the spice mix. Leave for 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat a frying pan with the remaining olive oil and add the steaks (normally I don’t add oil to the pan when I’m frying steaks, I just oil them, but this recipe needs extra oil in the pan otherwise the spices will burn). I like my steak on the rare side, so I cook them for 1½ minutes on each side depending on the thickness. Cook for longer, depending on your taste.
4. Remove the steaks to rest on a plate whilst you make the sauce. Add the knob of butter to the pan, along with the chopped garlic and the whisky.
5. When the whisky has warmed through, very carefully light the sauce using a long kitchen match. When the flames have died down add the stock, redcurrant jelly and double cream.
6. Lightly whisk, so that the redcurrant jelly melts into the sauce. Continue to heat through gently, until it is reduced and slightly thickened.
7. Serve the sauce straightaway with the steaks and their juices.

There will be no new recipes next week, but Menu Mistress will be back on Wednesday 30th March with a wonderful cocktail recipe….!

Raspberry Friands

Friands are delicious little almond cakes that are rich, dense, moist and very moreish! They are particularly good for those of us who are gluten-free as they contain only a small quantity of flour which can easily be substituted for a ‘free-from flour’ with no ill side effects. Traditionally they are baked in friand tins to produce oval little cakes which really do look gorgeous, but if you don’t have a friand tin you can always use a muffin tin – just make sure you butter it well. I would thoroughly recommend the friand tin I bought from Amazon here – you will be making these again!!…

200g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

225g icing sugar

75g plain flour (gluten-free if required – I recommend Doves)

150g ground almonds

½ teaspoon almond extract

6 egg whites

150g fresh raspberries

25g flaked almonds

Icing sugar to dust

1. Grease a friand tin (or muffin tin – see note above).
2. Melt the butter in a small pan, then remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.
3. Meanwhile sift the icing sugar and flour into a bowl and stir in the almonds and extract.
4. Whisk the egg whites until they are just foamy (they don’t need to have soft peaks).
5. Fold the egg whites and melted butter into the dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Divide the mixture between the greased tin – the mixture should come to about three quarters of the way up each hole. Add two or three raspberries and sprinkle with a few flaked almonds. Bake in a preheated oven, 180’c fan, for 15-20 minutes until golden and firm in the centre. Leave to cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar before serving.