I baked: Grasmere Gingerbread (MasterChef)

So far, I have been cooking and baking stuff from MasterChef Australia for this "Cook Like a Star" event. Long before the MasterChef Australia series started, I was already watching MasterChef UK, which is the original series. I was hooked to the show and would watch it every night without fail.

So I browsed the website to find something I could make - most of the recipes on MasterChef UK seem to be a lot harder (quite technical too). However, I found this recipe for Grasmere Gingerbread on BBC UK website, by Jackie Kearney - one of the semi-finalist in the 2011 show which seems to be very easy to make. I love gingerbread and Grasmere Gingerbread is reputed to be one of the best in the world.Jamie Oliver describes it as "the best gingerbread I've ever eaten in my life".



Grasmere Gingerbread are supposed to be "flaky, crumbly as well as soft and slightly chewy". However, using this recipe (actually I cut down baking time from 40 minutes to 30 minutes), it turned out to be more like flapjacks than gingerbread. They were still a nice treat - we still enjoyed them nonetheless but not what I envisaged them to be. The texture was crunchy and I liked how strong the ginger taste was. I did likehow enticing the kitchen smelt during and after the bake -the aroma of spices is heavenly. Everytime I walked into the kitchen, I would take a deep breath and suck it all in!

Kids still loved it



What I think went wrong: Baking time is definitely too long, which is way the texture was quite crunchy like a flapjack. Based on other recipes, I think you may only need to bake it for 10-15 minutes. I may attempt this again, using either this BBC Good Food recipe or Jamie Oliver's.



Grasmere gingerbread
Recipe adapted from MasterChef UK - Jackie Kearney
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4-6

"A gingerbread in a class of its own, flavoured with heaps of ground ginger and given texture by oatmeal."

Ingredients
125g oatmeal
125g plain flour
4 heaped tsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
175g butter
130g soft brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup


1. Preheat the oven to 180C/365F/Gas 4. Grease and line a baking tin or tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Mix together the oatmeal, plain flour, ground ginger, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar in a bowl.


3. Melt the butter over a low heat in a small saucepan, then add to the dry ingredients and mix well. Mix in the sugar and golden syrup until well combined.

4. Pour the mixture into the tin in a thin layer and press down lightly with the back of a wooden spoon. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden-brown.


5.Allow to cool slightly, then mark into 3cm/1in squares. Leave to cool before slicing into squares.





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I am submitting this to the "Cook Like a MasterChef" bloghop which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Anuja of Simple Baking. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe (from the contestants, judges or even sponsors) from any MasterChef websites or cookbooks (any countries) and blog hop with us for the whole m! onth of September 2012.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in September 2012 - please do not link older posts.

Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Anuja of Simple Baking and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

You can get the HTML code here: get the InLinkz code (Click on the link, copy and paste the HTML code into your blog post where you want the blog hop list to appear. Make sure you are in HTML mode when you paste in the code)

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:



Tarragon Oil

Here's one of the little secret weapons I've kept stocked in my refrigerator all summer. It's a simple tarragon oil. Actually, it's equal parts tarragon, parsley, and olive oil - but I think of it as having tarragon in the limelight. The grassy anise notes and electric color of the herbs permeate the golden olive oil, it's beautiful. I use it as a finishing oil on soups, as a component of anything bread-centric (open-faced sandwiches, panzanellas, etc), and as a vinaigrette base. It's ridiculously good drizzled over simple poached eggs and toast. So, have at it, and let me know if you do anything off-beat or unexpected with it.

Tarragon Oil RecipeTarragon Oil RecipeTarragon Oil Recipe

I wrote the recipe below to yield about 2/3 cup (160 ml) of tarragon oil. But you can certainly make more/less depending on how much you're think you're likely to use it - just use the ratio 1:1:1 - tarragon leaves, flat-leaf parsley leaves, extra virgin olive oil.

Also(!) for those of you looking to do a bit of armchair traveling, I posted a handful of photographs shot on my recent Tahoe trip (under separate cover) for any of you who want a peek. xo -h

Continue reading Tarragon Oil...


Le Fooding headed to Los Angeles


Mee Udang Mak Jah @ Wangsa Maju

Mee Udang Mak Jah is originated from Kuala Sepetang (Port Weld) and a popular dish from Perak. You can now get it in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur and I would recommend it to you especially if you love to eat prawns.It has been in Wangsa Maju since July last year and it is a privilege to be able to savour this northern prawn delicacy in Kuala Lumpur, you need not travel down Perak or Penang for such food.The place isconduciveand clean.Mee Udang Special - RM12.00 with 6 prawns. When I saw this my mouth was excited and just could wait to taste it.The yellow noodle dug out for you to see and the taste is truly superb. I literally dry up the bowl. Goodness that was how good this bowl of prawn noodle.Another delicious dish is their fried rice and of course not forgetting with the fresh and succulent prawns.
Mak Jah Mee Udang
22, Jalan Wangsa Delima 10
Wangsa Maju
Kuala Lumpur
GPS :N03.197008, E101.740576

Tatto @ Hampshire Place

Tatto moved this month, leaving the bungalow on Damai Road where it was born in 2009 and relocating to the Hampshire Place office-residence complex.

Fortunately, this Hampshire venue is no less lovely than Tatto's old home; the restaurant still soars on wings of intimate elegance, piloted by the same stellar service team of the past three turbulent years.

Italian flights of foodie fancy take off with a menu that spans everything from brodetto to burrata, pizza bianca to penne carbonara and panna cotta della casa.

Stopping for a simple supper snack, we had our appetites roused anew by the tangy savoriness of these bouncy baby octopuses (RM28) coated thickly with tomato sauce.

Beef cecina rolls (RM34), curled up with buffalo mozzarella and eggplant on a bed of rocket. Potently pungent, not for the faint of tongue.

Pumpkin mousse ravioli, scented with sage and soaked in the most buttery sauce imaginable. What makes this wonderful: the Garden-of-Eden pumpkin sweetness that defies description.

Capellini aglio olio with tiger prawns and asparagus (RM36). Heavy on the salt and slickness, but rich-tasting enough to remind us why pasta's so pleasurable.

Entry on Tatto @ Jalan Damai: March 23, 2009.



Tatto Italian Restaurant,
Hampshire Place, Jalan Mayang Sari, Off Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2166-5212