Coffee, Almond & Plum Swiss Roll

Coffee, almond and plum... What are your opinions on this flavour combination?
It is strange, I grant you. Strange, but by no means unheard of, although all the recipes I stumbled across during my (very) brief Google search seem to be of German origin. Of course, it being a strange combination, I had to try it. Luckily, we have, at the moment, an abundance of plums.
I decided to make a coffee and almond flavoured Swiss roll with a whipped cream and plum filling. The responses were... well, varied, to say the least. My mother outright rebelled at the idea of putting anything fruit in a coffee sponge, but she quite enjoyed the result. My brother pronounced it 'yuck' at first bite, although I’m still not sure whether it was him 'rebelling' at the lack of butter cream or genuine dislike. Others pronounced it delicious. My sister, upon taking the first mouthful, immediately put down her fork, pronouncing it was 'not for me!' And I? Well, I quite liked it. I loved the sweetness of the sponge and the contrasting bitter coffee, the slight crunch of almonds, the smooth sweetened  fresh cream, and the sharp notes of plum cutting through it all, leaving you wanting to taste it all over again... but then, I’ve always liked strange flavours. I’ll just throw the recipe out here, and leave it up to you to decide, if you do feel intrigued enough to attempt it. It’s rather simple, made with minimal ingredients and with a minimal cooking time.

COFFEE, ALMOND AND PLUM SWISS ROLL:

SPONGE:
3 eggs
3oz (75g) Caster Sugar
3oz (75g) Self-Raising Flour
2oz (50g) Ground Almonds
2tbsp Coffee granules dissolved in 1tbsp boiling water

FILLING:
Whipping Cream (About one small tub)
Approximately 2tbsp Icing sugar, according to one's taste.
4-5 Plums, chopped. (The plums I used were quite small, being garden plums. If the plums you use are bigger, simply reduce the amount.)

METHOD

1. Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and frothy.
2. Add in the coffee, making sure its cooled.
3. Gently stir in flour and ground almonds, taking care not to knock all the air out of the mixture.
4. Pour into a lined Swiss roll tin.
5. Bake at Gas Mark 6 for 7-9 minutes, no more otherwise it will be dry and crack when rolling.
6. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
7. To make the filling, whip the cream with the sugar until it just about holds its shape. Retain a little to decorate, fold chopped plums  into the rest.
8. Spread onto the Swiss roll sponge, and then roll up gently.
9. Decorate with cream rosettes and flaked almonds if one so wishes, or simply dust with icing sugar.

Best of luck, and DO let me know your opinions!

Singaporean Rice & Noodles

Lunch today is Singaporean rice and noodles with spicy chicken and vegetables and a smooth and creamy mayonnaise sauce. This recipe belongs to one of my mum's friends, and makes a wickedly delicious and satisfying meal.


Deliciously satisfying; Singaporean Rice and Noodles

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup rice
8oz noodles or spaghetti
500g boneless chicken, cubed
2 onions cubed
2 capsicum (red or green) cubed
2 pak choi chopped
3 carrots sliced
4tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp of your preferred chilli sauce
3tbsp sweet tomato sauce
Diced fresh ginger
3 cloves finely diced fresh garlic
Finely diced fresh green chillies
1tsp red chilli flakes
Salt to taste

FOR THE SAUCE:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup fresh cream
3tbsp tomato sauce (e.g. ketchup)
1tsp sugar
1tsp salt
1tbsp vinegar
Dash of yellow food colouring (if one so wishes)

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan or skillet. stir fry the vegetables until they are just done, but still retain their crispness. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Fry the diced green chillies and 2 cloves of garlic separately and set aside.
3. Heat a little more oil in the frying pan and add ginger and the remaining garlic. Add the chicken and cook until it is thoroughly done and taken on colour.
4. Add the soy sauce, chilli sauce and tomato sauce and chilli flakes and cook until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt to taste.
5. Boil the rice until just done, drain and set aside.
6. Cook spaghetti until its just done. it should have an al-dente texture. Drain and set aside.
7. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients and stir thoroughly.
8. Arrange in a serving dish or large pot; begin by layering the rice and noodles or spaghetti, drizzle some sauce on top, top with vegetables and another drizzle of sauce, chicken, and lastly drizzle the remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with the fried chilli and garlic. Serve.

Easily enough for eight.

The vegetables, and amounts of certain ingredients in this recipe are according to family preferences. Remember, recipes are flexible. You can substitute the mentioned vegetables with others, or omit others entirely. you can also vary the amounts of sweet and chilli sauces, mayonnaise, fresh cream, fried chilli etc. according to you and your family's preferences. Happy cooking :)

About My Blog

Food is a major part of everyday life. From the moment we wake, 'till we go to sleep, we find ourselves thinking about it, viewing it, nibbling it or smelling it. Breakfasts of hot crunchy toast with salted butter and sweet strawberry jam, eggs, steaming porridge with swirls of maple, or crunchy muesli with refreshingly cold milk, to fragrant and satisfying lunches and dinners of meat, rice, vegetables or fish, to evening cuppas, not forgetting the various snacks and sweet treats we nibble during the day... food is the one thing all stop for, taking breaks from the dizzying speed of life to ingest something that sustains us and keeps us going until the next mealtime.
Food is my passion. Flavours are my life. The wonderful sweet savoury warmth to the rich and spicy, the sharp tangy flavours, and the bitter notes that are the baseline of everything we dream, crave, smell, touch, ingest... this blog is aiming to be a collection of records of experiments in the fields of baking and cooking, as well as an assortment of recipes, some dreamt up by me, tried and tested and proved successful, to others that are family favourites, or passed down through generations, valuable, and as deliciously satisfying as they were the first time they were made, on the open fire cooking pits in the dusty back gardens of Africa, or the noisy crowded streets of India, carried through time and space to finally land in our hands and cooking pots, ready and waiting to be savoured.