Stir-up Stir –up Christmas is coming…

As Christmas is approaching, it is time to get cooking. Stir-up Sunday is almost here so it’s the time to make a tasty homemade Christmas pud as the perfect way to end the year.

Silverwood Quality Bakeware have made a spherical mould, ideal to produce your own traditional Christmas puddings each year round; each purchase comes with a mouth-watering recipe as you discover more ways to use your mould. If not for Christmas puddings how about, ice-cream bombes, summer puddings or sponge puddings.

Birthday approaching soon and wanting to bake the perfect cake for a son, brother or father? Why not use your spherical mould to bake a football. You will never run out of ideas with all the inventive goodies you can bake. Use your mould to create bodies for a person or animal to put on top of a cake, or slice in half and experiment with icing to make ladybirds.

Happy Baking!

Phoebe

Zip-Zip-Zip and the potatoes are done

That’s right, we are now stocking an electric peeler… Electric and battery operated tin openers have been around for years and since the success of the One Touch Can Opener lots more hand-held electric products have appeared on our shelves.

Here at ChichesterCookshop.co.uk we have a lovely new electric Multipeeler from the people at Zyliss. We stock it in fun colours (so you’re not tempted to throw it away with the peelings) and it even comes with batteries.

The Multi-Peeler has a fast moving serrated blade that is designed to speed through even the most fiddle-some fruits and vegetables, be it a squash or a tomato. The blade cuts easily through the peel so the skin won’t snag or bruise and as less pressure is placed on the wrist it is perfect for those with arthritis and limited wrist movement.

Not just for fruit and veg, we have been using our buzzy friend to shave parmesan onto salads and chocolate onto desserts.

Check out the Peeler, Crusher and Opener section on our website to see the full range.

Sarah

Yummy Beetroot Brownies

Here is the recipe for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Beetroot Brownies as discussed in my post about my beetroot conversion. I take absolutely no credit for their yummy loveliness, and you can get more information about River Cottage on Channel4.com and RiverCottage.net

Ingredients

• 250g/10oz good, dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
• 250g/10oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for greasing
• 250g/10oz caster sugar
• 3 free-range eggs
• 150g self-raising flour (we used wholemeal self-raising)
• 250g beetroot, boiled until tender, peeled and grated

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking tin of approximately 20 x 30 x 3cm and line the bottom with baking parchment.

2. Break up the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes then mix them up a bit in a heatproof bowl. As the oven begins to warm up, put the bowl onto one of the shelves for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter starts to melt. Stir, and put back into the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely.

3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until combined, then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Gently fold in the flour then the beetroot – be careful not to over mix or it will make the brownies tough.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over the top with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes. A knife or skewer pushed into the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't be tempted to overcook them! Remove the tin from the oven and leave on wire rack to cool before cutting into squares.

If you’re like me and like your brownies gooey, or if you find tray-bakes hard to get out of the tin, then why not try our Silverwood Eye-Catcher Brownie Pans. They come in a variety of sizes and the side of the tin slides out for easy cake removal (but they lock together so the sticky mixture doesn’t ooze).

Finally, don’t forget to bake with a light heart. The more care you put into a cake, the yummier it will be.

Sarah

Get Your Block On

Have a look at our newly updated Butchers’ Block section on ChichesterCookshop.co.uk. We have categorized it nicely by manufacturer, so you can choose the building style that suits you. Whether you prefer the all American maple table of John Boos; self-assemble kitchen islands from Catskills Craftsmen, or the super-storage kitchen trolleys of the Hungerford Collection delivered fully assembled by Eddingtons, there will be something for you.

It is also worth keeping an eye on the Indu+ pages as we will soon be adding a larger trolley to the range – perfect for cooking and preparing on the same trolley. The induction hobs are built into the trolley to order, so you can choose the trolley and hob to suit your needs. If you can’t wait for the larger two drawer trolley to appear on the website and would like some details now, please phone us on 01243 827750 – we can also take orders on that number too, if you would like a friendly voice rather then a form.

Happy Browsing,

Sarah