I am still thinking back over the great few days we had at the Ideal Homes Show and I want to say a big “thank you” to all the people who came to my demos and knife masterclasses.
I often get questions about what knives to buy, and how to use them properly. I’ll always remember my first week as a trainee chef. My only task was to chop vegetables – no cooking, no baking. It served me well, and to this day, I always begin my cookery classes with how to properly chop vegetables with a good quality knife.
One of the most basic, but necessary, skills in cooking is to know how to properly chop an onion. It can be difficult to explain on paper but the trick is to dice it delicately, with your fingers curved. You you can find videos on the internet showing exactly what I mean – and it is worth practising (carefully).
Once I teach pupils how to chop an onion, we move on to other vegetables – we practise cutting them in long, thin strips, also known as a julienne, for a delicious stir fry.
When I was choosing my knife range for Cook, we tested a variety of knives in the restaurant and the cookery school, before finally deciding on Korean-made steel blades.
I use these knives every day and the fact that they are sold in a pack of three different knives, is ideal for a home cook. It comes with a large, pointed chef’s knife (which I probably use most), a santoku knife, which is another large knife but with a different blade shape (it is curved instead of pointed and is perfect for crushing and scooping, as well as cutting), and then there is a small paring knife, which is ideal for peeling or more delicate jobs.
You might not realise it but keeping your knives well-sharpened is the best way to keep safe, while ensuring they are well-maintained. A blunt knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one – it is when you are forcing it or putting excess pressure on the blade when accidents tend to happen.
I use a diamond steel sharpener, which you can find online or in most kitchen shops. Rememeber never cut towards yourself and if children are at an age where they are starting to use knives in the kitchen, take great care and ensure they are supervised as they learn.
Scarily good
This week I have two recipes which are ideal for any Halloween parties that might be happening. When I was young, the first things I learned to make in the kitchen were party-type treats, like shortcake flapjacks or apple tarts.
When you bake something from scratch, you know exactly what is going into what you’re eating and every now and then it is more than okay to treat yourself.
These caramel ripple squares are – in a word – delectable. The deep chocolate combined with the softness of the caramel is one of my favourite flavour combinations.
Good chocolate has increased in price, but Áine’s Chocolate, which is made in Co Cavan, is affordable, very good quality and responsibly sourced, with lots of unique single origin chocolates featured across the range. I like to serve these squares with cream or ice cream – they are also a great addition to a picnic or a school lunch, if treats are allowed.
In our second recipe this week, I just love the combination of sweet, white chocolate with the tartness of juicy raspberries cutting through. If you like, add in a few extra raspberries to each cupcake before baking to get an extra layer of fruitiness.
Save the nicest, plumpest berries for the garnish. We just got in the last of our Irish soft fruits from Pat Clarke – it was a challenging year for growers all across the country, with our damp and chilly summer.
Well done for all the work these growers did to keep us supplied.
Ingredients: Makes 12
100g good-quality plain chocolate (at least 55% cocoa solids)
100g butter, plus extra for greasing
2 eggs, beaten
150g light brown sugar
50g plain flour
For the caramel ripple:
200g cream cheese, softened
50g dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease a 20cm (8in) square shallow cake tin. Line the base with non-stick baking paper, with some paper hanging over the sides of the tin (this will make it easier to remove the squares once baked).
2 Break up the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and add the butter. Set on top of a pan of gently simmering water and leave to melt, stirring from time to time.
3 While this is happening, prepare the caramel ripple. Combine the soft cream cheese, dark brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a bowl, and mix well until evenly blended. Set aside.
4 Stir the beaten eggs into the melted chocolate mixture with the light brown sugar. Sift the flour into a separate bowl, then fold it in.
5 Spoon half of the chocolate mixture into the prepared tin, then dollop teaspoons of the caramel mixture and the remaining chocolate mixture on top. Using a skewer, lightly ripple them together to make a marbled top.
6 Bake for 25-30 minutes, until just set. Leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before cutting into squares, then transfer to a wire rack with a palette knife to cool completely.
7 To serve, arrange on plates or wrap in greaseproof paper, to take on picnics or put in packed lunches.
Ingredients: Makes 24
250g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
250g caster sugar
175g self-raising flour, sifted
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g plain flour, sifted
175ml milk
24 fresh raspberries
For the white chocolate icing:
400g icing sugar
100g white chocolate, broken into pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease two x 12-hole muffin tins, or line with 24 paper cases.
2 Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Add a little of the self-raising flour, then slowly add the eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well to combine.
3 Slowly add the remaining self-raising flour to the butter and sugar mixture with the plain flour and milk, and beat until just smooth.
4 Divide the batter between the paper cases and bake for 15-20 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.
5 Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 10 minutes in the tin. Turn the cupcakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6 While the cupcakes are cooling, make the icing. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and mix with one tablespoon of water to make a thick paste.
7 Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in a heatproof bowl, or set over a pan of simmering water. Leave to cool a little, then stir in the icing sugar paste, vanilla extract and orange rind, beating with a wooden spoon until smooth.
8 Cover the cooled cupcakes with the white chocolate icing and top each one with a fresh raspberry.
9 To serve, arrange on a plate in a pyramid or wrap in greaseproof paper to take on picnics or in packed lunches.
Top tip: If you want all of your cupcakes to come out the same size, use a scoop to divide the batter among the 24 cupcake cases. If you want larger cupcakes (like the ones pictured), use larger cases and double the amount of batter in each case (this will give you 12 cupcakes). One scoop of batter will make one large cupcake, and half a scoop will make one smaller cupcake.