Our granddaughters are getting older (and we’re not getting any younger!) so they were enlisted to cook dinner when they came to stay with us.
Although you can surf the net and find countless recipes, I still believe you can’t beat a good cookbook, especially for young cooks just starting out. So I had a pile of them ready for them to peruse.
Miss 15, who is vegetarian, chose to bake a crustless quiche which included lots of chopped vegetables. She served it with corn on the cob and oven-baked potatoes. For dessert we had boysenberry ice-cream and blueberries.
Miss 12 loves pies, so she was inspired by a recipe in Who’s Cooking Tonight by Claire Gourley (a cookbook for teenagers by a young New Zealand food writer) to make a slimmer version of bacon and egg pie. It has a lattice top so uses less pastry.
I tried to hover around the kitchen to keep a watchful eye as she lined the tin with pastry and to check the oven temperature but was shooed away. So, keeping my fingers crossed, I retired to the lounge for a pre-dinner drink.
It was a huge success and very filling. She served it with hunks of iceberg lettuce drizzled with mayonnaise and cherry tomatoes. For dessert, we ate slices of chilled watermelon.
There were some emotional moments in the kitchen. Our delightful Miss 10 had kept us entertained all week by doing what my partner calls her Dan Carters (high kicks) and cartwheels on the lawn and writing and drawing very witty mischievous stories about our pets and her sisters. She has her own creative approach to cooking.
Her main course went off without any dramas. She briefly whizzed the contents of a couple of tins of crushed tomatoes in the food processor and then simmered them in a pot until slightly reduced. This sauce, along with some tinned tuna (from which the oil had been drained), was stirred through pasta spirals. Lots of cheese was grated on top. It was so nice and easy, and we all enjoyed it.
However, there was a meltdown when it came to dessert. Her own recipe for little sponge cakes, baked in mugs in the microwave, failed to rise and was inedible. She had copied it down from an internet site and added an egg, which had worked perfectly when she’d tried it at home.
When the tears had dried, I explained that different microwave ovens can perform differently, and you have to measure very accurately when baking. I persuaded her to switch to a reliable Alison Holst chocolate cake in a mug which, as one would expect, turned out perfectly.
Out of all the cookbooks we had looked at The Complete Home Baking Collection by Simon and Alison Holst had been the most popular. I think I need to send a copy home with them, as every young cook needs some reliable, tasty, and economical recipes.
In the meantime, I’ll post Miss 10’s favourite:
Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
Yes, that is chocolate mug cake, not mud cake. This is our version of a recipe we were emailed, where the mixture was stirred together, and then baked in a coffee mug. We’ve moved away from this a little, but it’s still amazing how you can get such a good result in a short space of time. Chocolate cake is only five minutes away any time of day!
(Reproduced from The Complete Home Baking Collection by Simon & Alison Holst)
For 2 small cakes:
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg
2 Tbsp canola or other light oil
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
¼ cup self-raising flour
¼ cup milk
¼ tsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt
➊ Measure the sugar into a small bowl, add the egg and oil, and whisk until pale and creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and stir just enough to combine.
➋ Non-stick spray two microwave-safe teacups or two 250ml ramekins or teacups. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared containers, then place them in the microwave.
➌ Cover with a square of baking paper or a paper towel, then cook on High (100% power) for 2–3 minutes or until the centre of the cakes is firm.
Remove the cakes from the microwave, then tip them out of the cups/ramekins. Cool on a rack for a few minutes or enjoy immediately.
➍ Some yoghurt, whipped cream or ice-cream make the perfect accompaniment.
Joybel - 8 years ago
Wondering if it would work in a larger soup mug as I do not have mugs as such. The double recipe could be just the trick. Going to give it a go anyway , as a large cake is just too big for a live alone . Most enjoyable article. The young cooks are a joy to read about.