Garlic & Rosemary Focaccia Recipe

Focaccia is such a versatile bread; You can slice it down the middle and fill it with salami, provolone and rocket for an Italian style sandwich, or serve it with pasta to mop up an unctuous tomato sauce, or serve it as part of an antipasto with some salami, olives, cheese & lemonade as I’ve done here. It’s also pretty easy to make, meaning it’s perfect for baking newbies; No starter is required, it’s a high-hydration dough meaning there’s no neat shaping involved and if you have a stand mixer it makes it even easier. It just takes a bit of time to make as you need to prove the dough twice, and how long this takes will vary slightly on whether it’s a warm or cold day. I’d recommend giving the recipe a read through before you start, as there’s a lot of bits to do. It’s well worth it, trust me 🙂

Lemon & Rosemary Olive Oil Cake Recipe

This cake a real winner, especially with my girlfriend and her family! It is a lovely twist on an original lemon cake recipe, which uses no butter, but olive oil instead. Don’t be put off by using rosemary; it adds a delicate herbal flavour to the cake. A perfectly balanced cake is one that has an equal measure in weight of eggs, fat (in this cake olive oil), flour and sugar. Weigh the eggs in their shells and ensure you use digital scales for pinpoint accuracy. Also, make sure you use a pale olive oil, as a dark extra virgin one will have too much flavour.

Brioche Recipe by French Guy Cooking (YouTube)

I’m subscribed to many fantastic channels on YouTube, many of which are food related (of course). The channel ‘French Guy Cooking’ is presented by Alex. If you hadn’t guessed already, he is, unsurprisingly, a French guy who enjoys cooking!! His videos are always fun and make French cuisine look easy. His video for brioche really inspired me to make it myself and I’m so glad I did! The full video for the recipe is below. I have copied and pasted the written recipe from YouTube below too.

Keith’s Puff Pastry Cinnamon Swirls Recipe

Ok ok, I know you all love cinnamon swirls but I bet you’ve never considered just how easy they are to make at home. I cheat a bit and use ready-made puff pastry but even I’d admit that making pastry from scratch is such a chore and once you give them a go you’ll be hooked!! My recipe is so easy and quick to make they owe themselves perfectly to those long, lazy weekend breakfasts. Give them a go this weekend…

Keith’s Lemon & Almond Biscuits

This is a great little recipe which yields some lemony, soft, slightly chewy biscuits that you simply won’t be able to stop eating!! Great with a good espresso or a glass of Amaro. They’re derived from and Italian recipe called pasticcini di mandorle but with the inclusion of flour which I think gives them a smoother texture, although you could use 100% ground almonds if you’d prefer.

Makes 11 or 12 biscuits.

Ingredients:
1 small unwaxed lemon, finely zested
100G ground almonds
100G icing sugar
50G plain flour
1 egg

Preheat oven to 180C and line a large baking tray with baking paper

1. In a large bowl mix together the flour, ground almonds, icing sugar and lemon zest then create a well in the centre.
2. In a small bowl beat the egg thoroughly then pour into the well. Using a metal tablespoon gradually incorporate the egg into the rest of the ingredients until you get a wet, thick paste.
3. Continually dust your hands well with icing sugar – this is very important as it will give the biscuits a nice smooth surface. Roll walnut-sized pieces of the dough into balls onto prepared baking tray, leaving an inch or so between each. Dust lightly with icing sugar.
4. Bake in the centre of the oven until lightly golden, 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack and enjoy!!

Variations: Prior to baking top each one with half a glacé cherry or a pinch of shelled, unsalted pistachios.

Keith’s Seville Orange Magdalenas

Makes 12 small cakes

The perfect breakfast treat; these delicately sweet cakes are made with the zest of Seville oranges which gives them a lovely bitter edge. Although traditionally, lemon zest is used. These are perfect to make on a Sunday night, then once cooled, keep them in a tin to be enjoyed throughout the week. This is a great recipe to make with kids!

Ingredients:
115g plain flour
50g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 small unwaxed Seville oranges (or you can use zest of 1 regular unwaxed lemon or regular orange)
100ml olive oil
3 eggs, separated
2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 180c

1. Mix the flour, sugar, orange (or lemon) zest, olive oil, egg yolks and milk in a small mixing bowl until you get a thick paste-like mixture. In a large mixing bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks, then fold in a 3^rd of the cake mixture until incorporated, before folding in the remainder.

2. Line a muffin/cupcake tin with regular sized paper cake cases and fill each 2 thirds full with the mixture.

3. Place into centre of preheated oven for approx 20 minutes or until the tops have become golden and cracking slightly.

4. Place onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely, remove from paper cases and enjoy!!

Adapted from a Daily Mail recipe.

Chocolate-orange variation!!
Make them as the orange variations above, then, once cooled, gently melt 50g dark chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave and drizzle over the top of the cakes using a teaspoon.

Keith’s Pudina tal-Hobz (Maltese Bread Pudding)

I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like bread pudding. This is my interpretation of this frugal classic and includes a few tweaks that wouldn’t look out of place in a Maltese bakery. Just make sure you use a large loaf of stale bread, a baguette or ciabatta simply wouldn’t work. Keep it in a biscuit tin in a cool dry place and it’ll keep for 3-4 days.

Ingredients:
450g stale crusty bread, crust included
750ml milk, semi-skimmed or full fat
100g sultanas
3 tbsp Amaretto or orange liquer (optional)
1 tbsp mixed spice
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tspn cornflour
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 medium egg
1 egg yolk
50g dark chocolate, broken into small chunks
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed orange,
8 glace cherries, halved

Things to prepare in advance:
1. (1 hour – overnight prior) Place sultanas in a bowl, add amaretto or orange liquer, stir, cover and allow to sit at room temp. This step is optional.
2. 30 mins in advance: Tear up the bread into chunks into a large mixing bowl, pour over the milk and allow to soak at room temp for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Preheat oven to 220C, grease a 16*16cm cake tin/baking tray with melted butter (I use a silicone tray).

3. Ensure that the bread is fully soaked in the milk before stirring in sultanas with a wooden spoon. Then add all of the remaining ingredients one at a time (except for the cherries), ensuring that each is well mixed before adding the next. You should be left with a wet, thick mixture. If it’s too dry add a little water, if it’s too wet add a little cornflour.
4. Pour the mixture into the cake tin/tray, smooth out the top with a wooden spoon and top with the cherries evenly spaced as in the photo. Place cake tin onto a baking tray in the centre of the oven  and bake for 40-45 minutes or until it’s cooked through. Place a knife into the centre and it should come out dry.
5. Once cooled, slice into 16 squares and enjoy!!

I hope you enjoyed the recipe. Why not have a read of my Foodie Snapshots – Malta article, giving all foodies essential advice for a visit to the island!!