My Coronation Chicken

I've been told that Coronation Chicken is a bit of an old-fashioned dish. A blast from the past.

So if you do talk to me about Coronation Chicken, I immediately imagine myself sitting at an old wooden table, taking part in a street party during the 70s, wearing flared trousers, a flower power shirt and surrounded by kids with page boy haircuts running around.

Although I only discovered it a couple of years ago, it has a very specific place in the image I have of my parents lives when they were my age. (Even though my parents never ate Coronation Chicken and aren't British, they did wear flared trousers).

Invented 60 years ago for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, coronation chicken belongs to one of these Indian inspired, traditional British dishes, created to represent the British Empire. A big hit at its creation, it still is one of Britain's all time favourite picnic dishes and sandwich fillings.

In my quest to discover and experience traditional British cuisine, I couldn't not give it a try!

Coronation Chicken

As I never do as I'm told, I surfed the web for days to look at all the recipes I could find and picked things I liked here and there to create my own take on this recipe.
It's a light version of the recipe, as I used half of yogurt and half mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken, cooked and shredded ( I used the leftovers of a cold roast chicken)

a good pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 cm piece of fresh ginger, very finely chopped
1 good drizzle of lemon or lime juice
2 heaped tbsp mango chutney

a small handful of ready-to-eat dried apricots, finely chopped

1 tbsp curry powder
3 tbsp of mayonnaise
3 tbsp. Greek yogurt
1/2 handful of flaked or roughly chopped almonds, toasted
Green salad (I used baby gem lettuce) or bread to serve


Prepare the Coronation Chicken:

1/ In a small dry pan, toast the curry powder for a few minutes, until golden (it will prevent it from bringing a harsh taste to the dish). Pour the powder in a small bowl and leave aside.

2/ In the pan again, toast the almonds dry until golden brown. Leave aside.

3/ In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, curry powder, mango chutney, lemon or lime juice, salt, pepper and mix well.

4/ Add the apricots and shredded chicken, mix well. Just before serving add some flaked almonds.

5/ To serve : I served the coronation chicken in baby gem lettuce leaves that I used as wraps, sprinkling some toasted almonds on top of each wrap just before serving.

The Best Ever Chilled Cheesecake (+ variations)

I'm on a diet.

No?

Yes. I said it. And this time, it's for real, and I can't mess with it because I just put it out there for the entire world to be a witness to.

Why? Because I've got a wardrobe full of clothes I love and that don't fit me anymore. That's a good enough reason, isn't it?

I'm following the Weight Watchers weight loss program. I chose it because it's a diet that includes all types of food and drink. I'm even allowed a certain amount of treats per week, which more or less allows me to eat a big piece of any cake I like once a week. It also fits with the fact that I like to eat out a lot, and I see it as something I will be able to follow in the long run (not like the super fast diets that make you eat only certain foods, for you to put all the weight back on again as soon as you start eating normally again)

The key is building a balanced diet (incredible, right?!) and planning treats to really enjoy them, rather than just eating any old junk food that comes to hand and which is often not that great.

So far so good, I've lost 1.4kg in 2 weeks. So it's slowly but surely!

The Best Ever Chilled Cheesecake

(+ variations)

God knows I love baked cheesecake like the New York Cheesecake, but this one is undoubtedly my all time favourite. As it's a chilled (not baked) cheesecake, its texture is smoother, lighter. I just love it. 
This base recipe allows you to be creative and personalise your cheesecake by adding any flavour you might like : Fruits, Fudge, Chocolate, Toffee...
Just play with it, and enjoy!

Ingredients

600g cream cheese (full fat)
200g double cream (light if you like)
100g (more or less, to taste) caster sugar
Half a sachet of gelatine + 2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 pack of digestive biscuits (approx 12 biscuits) : hobnobs or ginger nuts
40g of butter, melted
a drizzle of golden syrup
any optional addition : pieces of toffee, fudge, fresh fruit cut in pieces, etc

Make the cheesecake

1/ Preheat the oven to 180deg C

2/ In a food processor, process the digestive biscuits until they ressemble fine crumbs. Alternatively, put them in a freezing bag and smash them with a rolling pin until they ressemble fine crumbs. 

3/ In a large bowl, mix the crumbs with the melted butter and a drizzle of golden syrup until well combined. Press firmly onto the base of a 22/24cm diameter round cake tin with removable bottom (the golden syrup is my personal addition to the traditional recipe. I find that it seals the crumbs together and form a lovely crunchy base). Cook for 10-15 min in the oven until golden brown. Leave to cool completely.

4/ In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Add the double cream and mix until well combined. 

5/ Take a break to prepare the gelatine: in a small bowl, mix together the gelatine powder and 2 tbsp of water. Heat in the microwave for 10 sec until the gelatine powder is completely dissolved (add 10sec more if needed), mix well and leave to cool for 1 min.

6/ Add the gelatine to the cheese mixture and mix well. Add the sugar, the vanilla, and mix well.

At this stage, you can add any "dry" addition ("dry" in order not to compromise the cheesecake mixture) that you wish to the cheesecake mix : toffee, fudge, fresh fruits (avoid very juicy fruits like pineapple, peaches, citrus, etc)

7/ Pour the cheese mixture onto the cake base, smooth the top with a spatula, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Take the cheesecake out of the mould and serve.

Variations
Almond and seed brittle decoration (like on my picture)
On a silicone baking mat, spread roughly chopped almonds and sesame seeds.
Make a caramel in a small pan (heat 100g of sugar, with no water. Just let the sugar dissolve without mixing, until the it turns into a golden caramel)
Pour the caramel over the nuts on a thin layer, leave to cool completely before cutting into chunks.
Decorate your cheesecake with little chunks of brittle (they look rough on purpose)  

Blueberry (or other red fruits)
Just drop whole fresh blueberries in the cheesecake mixture before spreading it onto the base.
An hour before serving, make a blueberry coulis by heating fresh (or ideally frozen) blueberries in a small bowl with sugar in the microwave for 2 minutes. Mix and leave to cool completely before pouring over the cheesecake (once taken out of the mould)

Toffee / Fudge
Cut fudge candies in small pieces and add them to the cheesecake mixture before spreading it onto the base.
An hour before serving, make a toffee sauce by heating 50g of light muscovado sugar with 40g butter and 150ml of double cream in a small pan. Mix and cook until it turns to a toffee colour. Leave to cool, and pour over the cheesecake before serving

Picture courtesy of Pierre, who took a picture of my cheesecake very quickly in my lounge before we dug into it!

Chocolat The Travelling Bear - Best of Kerala (India)

The other day, Chocolat my travelling bear found this article of a travelling fox in Metro, and it made him smile, thinking of all the potential travelling stuffed animals around the world, waiting to be discovered (and bumped into!)

As I mentioned before, Chocolat, The Man and I went to Kerala (India) last October.

Kerala is probably one of the great destinations if you wish to visit India for the first time.
It's one of the richest states (rich, by Indian standard of course, which still means quite poor compared to our western countries).
In Kerala, the level of education is said to be one of the highest in India. It results in overall higher standards of living than in other parts of India (you see less people living in extreme poverty than you would in other places), a great tolerance between the several religions represented in the region, and very open-minded and very kind Keralan people.

Keralan food is diverse, delicious, delicate, not too spicy (which is great for unaccustomed european digestive systems). As a large chunk of the population is vegetarian, Keralan people cook stunning vegetarian cuisine, but you can also enjoy many fresh local fish, prawns, lobsters, etc.

Over two weeks, we were able to explore cities (Cochin), the beautiful backwaters, beaches (Varkala), and mountains (Munnar and its tea plantations), making up for a diverse trip over a short period of time. We travelled around in local buses and trains, which (it's true) take a lot of time to cross, compared to what, at home in Europe, would be fairly short distances, but which are such a great way to meet and live like locals. I can only highly recommend it!

I'll soon share some of the great recipes I discovered and brought back from Kerala, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of our lovely trip.

Like us, Chocolat my travelling bear enjoyed every single minute of it!

Kochi

Varkala Beach

Munnar, tea plantations

Munnar

Where is Choco?

Plum and pear pie

Happy New Year!
May it be full of joy, wearing an apron or a party dress.
May it fulfil your dreams of richness and creaminess 
May it bring lots of fantastic sights to remember and record through the camera lens.

 

How were your holidays?
 
Mine were: 

- for foodies: I made my family discover lots of British dishes and we filled our bellies with large spoonfuls of cheesecake, beef and ale stew, chicken pie, fish and chips, etc
 
- a bit tiring: I've heard that when you become a parent, your inner "super-self" that doesn't need to sleep more than a few hours a night takes over to enable you to cope with the lack of sleep. Well, let me tell you that this doesn't happen when you become an auntie. 7.30am still feels like the middle of the night to me!

- full of a child's laughter and smiles and great family moments.
 
In a nut shell, I had great holidays!

Plum and pear pie

Plums and pears bring just the right combination of sweetness and tanginess to this pie, making it just a bit more exciting than an apple pie.
Super easy to make, the lattice pattern on the top of the pie gives it this traditional and homey look.

Ingredients:

2 sheets of sweet shortcrust pastry (I'm not going to give you the recipe for my wholemeal shortcrust pastry yet because I'm not completely happy with it. but a good quality shortcrust pastry from the supermarket will do)
2 pears
5 or 6 plums
3 or 4 tbsp of sugar
20g butter

Make the pear and plum pie:

Preheat the oven at 180deg C.

1. Line a pie dish with 1 sheet of pastry

2. Peel, stone and cut the fruits in large thumb-sized pieces

3. In a pan, gently cook the fruits with the sugar and butter, mixing gently and not to often, for 10 min, until the fruits are cooked but not mashed. Leave to cool.

4. Spread the fruits and their juices on the pastry case. With the other pastry, make a lattice pattern as shown here.

5. Lightly brush the top pastry with milk and bake in the oven for 30 min until golden. Serve warm with cream or custard.

Sticky citrus and almond cake

However old you might be, when you're the youngest of 5, you always remain the baby in the eyes of your family.

Worse, whether you do it unconsciously or not, you tend to play up that role. You might behave like a kid for a little bit longer than your other siblings, you might chose a different lifestyle to them,...I call it  "The youngest child syndrome"

Crucially, it means that you might have loads of responsibility at work or that you have finally moved in with your partner but you're never seen as a real adult until you've hosted a family dinner, let alone the full Christmas celebrations.

Now I'm 31 and I've kind of been leading that 'adult-with-responsibilities' life for a while, but in a couple of weeks I will become a real adult: I'm hosting Christmas at my place.

Needless to say, I'm in complete panic mode. I've started to pull together a list of things I need to prepare but scarily I don't have much time now, as my family rocks up in less than a week.

And of course, like any kid, as much as it thrills me to be hosting Christmas, I procrastinate as much as possible when it comes to the actual preparations. There's all that other exiting Christmas stuff to enjoy first!

Sticky citrus cake

That's the way I like fruity cakes: sticky with caramel!
This cake is a divine matching between tangy orange, and sticky golden syrup. It's moist, fresh, absolutely scrumptious. I've made it so many times, it's one of my all time favourites.

Ingredients

4 medium oranges

6 tbsp golden syrup, plus extra to serve, optional

200g butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing

200g soft brown sugar

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

100g ground almonds

4 large eggs

Make the sticky citrus cake 

1.    Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Finely grate the zest from 2 oranges into a large bowl. Cut the peel and pith from all the oranges with a serrated knife, and slice quite thickly.

2.    Drizzle the golden syrup evenly over the base of a greased 23cm round cake tin or a silicone cake mould. There is no need to line the tin and it shouldn’t have a loose bottom otherwise the syrup will bubble through. Arrange the best orange slices on top of the syrup and finely chop any that don’t fit.

3.    Put all the remaining ingredients in the bowl with the zest and chopped orange. Beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Spoon on top of the oranges, spread lightly and make a deep hollow in the centre of the mix with the back of a spoon – this will ensure that the cake rises evenly.

4.    Bake for 35-45 mins until firm when pressed. Allow to cool down before turning out. Drizzle with golden syrup if you like.

And here comes the festive season, Oh Oh Oh

I love the run up to Christmas in London.

The lights, the carols, Winter Wonderland, Fortnum and Mason shop windows, the whole British attitude towards Christmas, and of course, those Christmas markets!
A couple of Saturdays ago we headed South to visit the Albion Street Scandinavian Christmas market before retreating to a pub to drink a glass of mulled wine as it was getting dark.

A lovely Saturday in the city, and some funny Scandinavian food shots as a souvenir.

Life is so much more beautiful when waffles are heart shaped, isn't it?

Yum Yummy roe! ;-)

Eat liver paté and you'll become strong, Child!

The Ultimate New York Cheesecake Recipe

When you're the youngest kid in a family, you share your parents' fate, to see your brothers and sisters growing up and spreading their wings, with pride and a little sadness.

The first holidays they spend away with their friends, the day they leave home to go to University, the day they move in with their partner...and their first Christmas with their in-laws.

Like your parents, you find out that you can never really get prepared for any of this, and that even though it's life and you're happy for them, every Christmas eve without them breaks your heart a little. 

This year is one of these Christmases, when most of my siblings (yes, I've got many of them) will be with their in-laws. So this time, the rest of the family have decided to make the most of it and shake up those Christmas traditions by getting away from our big empty family home. 

So, tada!, this year my parents and one of my sisters will come and spend Christmas in London, at mine!

...and slowly...this is when the pressure sinks in. Will I be able to pull if off?
More on that later.

The Ultimate New York Cheesecake Recipe

This is a simple and delicious New York Cheesecake recipe adapted from my favourite cheesecake recipes book : Women's weekly cheesecakes book
Fresh, rich, it has everything to please!
You can either make a crushed biscuit base like in this recipe, or use a sweet shortcrust pastry for the base (which I did this time). Both work, so just go with your mood! 

Ingredients

1 shortcrust pastry
750g mix of cream cheese and quark (I used 600g cream cheese and 150g quark)
100ml sour cream
200g caster sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon + 1 tsp of orange juice (from the pressed orange)
3 eggs

For the sour cream topping, mix together

150ml sour cream
2 tbsp of caster sugar

Make the New York Cheesecake

Preheat the oven at 160deg C/Gas 2

1/ Bake blind the shortcrust pastry with baking beans for 10min at 180deg C
(Grease and line the base of a 23cm spring form cake tin with baking parchment and the pastry, you cover the pastry with baking parchment and baking beans or uncooked rice, and you bake for 10min. Remove the paper and beans, and leave to cool)

2/ Make the filling : with an electric whisk or food processor, mix the cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the sour cream, juices and zests of lemons and orange, and mix until well combined.

3/ Pour the cheesecake mixture over the base and cook for 40 min to an hour until the cheesecake is cooked on the outside and still slightly wobbly in the center. Spread over the sour cream topping, leave to bake for 10 more minutes, turn off the oven, and leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door ajar.

4/ Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or ideally overnight.