Pastel De Nata – Portuguese Custard Tarts Recipe

Our family had some pretty amazing travel plans for this year, and if things hadn’t gone as  they did, we’d be setting off from Sintra near Lisbon in Portugal roundabout now, for Spain. One of the things I remember from a previous visit to Portugal is Pastel de Nata – Custard Tarts – which are delicious sweet baked custard tarts in a puff pastry shell.Pastel de nata - Portuguese Custard Tarts If you’re a fan of the Nando’s restaurant chain, you may recognise these as one of the only desert options on the menu, but I’ve never been a fan of them! There’s nothing quite like fresh, home made tarts. It just wins out. No surprises there, I suppose.

Pastel de nata - Portuguese Custard Tarts

I’d like to be all holier-than-though, but I actually bought this puff pastry, because as Lorraine Pascale, James Martin and Jamie Oliver all say – there’s no reason not to! Especially if you buy the all butter pastry. It’s about £1 more than the ‘normal’ one, but it’s so much better, with a much nicer taste and no bitter aftertaste. It’s well worth paying that bit extra.

If you are going to make it, have a look at this easy puff pastry recipe from Jane at Why Is There Air?

Pastel de nata - Portuguese Custard Tarts

Sprinkle the icing sugar before you’re going to serve, as it will be absorbed and you won’t see it and if you keep adding sugar it becomes terribly sweet. My five year old was the icing sugar distributor in these photos and she was, shall we say, liberal in her application 😉

4.0 from 1 reviews
Portuguese Custard Tarts Recipe
 
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The cooking time here does not include the cooling time once the custard is cooked before it is baked. Add at least another 30 - 50 minutes depending on your temperature. If you cover the custard with plastic while it's cooling it shouldn't form a skin, but if it does just mix it up - you won't notice it in the final product.
Author:
Recipe type: Desert
Cuisine: Portuguese, European
Serves: 12 pies
Ingredients
  • 115g White Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • 10g Cornflour
  • 400g Full Fat Milk
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 300g All Butter Puff Pastry
Instructions
Thermomix® Recipe
  1. Weigh out the milk and set aside.
  2. Place the white sugar into the Thermomix® Bowl and mix at Speed 5 / 10 Seconds
  3. Add one egg and two yolks to the bowl. (don't bang against the Thermomix® bowl as that tends to upset the scales)
  4. Add 10g cornflour and mix it all together, Speed 5 / 2 Seconds
  5. Set the Thermomix® to 90C/Speed 5/ 7 minutes and start it running
  6. Add the milk slowly in a steady stream - it should take about 30 seconds to add.
  7. When it's finished, add the vanilla extract and do a quick speed 5/ 1 second to mix it in.
  8. Remove the lid and leave to cool.
  9. If you're making the pastry, now's a good time to do that. Role out the pastry and use a cutter to cut 12 circles big enough to cover your muffin pans.
  10. Spray the pans, add the pastry and press down to make the 'cases'.
  11. Once the custard is cooled all the way down, heat the oven to about 180C
  12. Add a tablespoon or two of the custard to each muffin case - don't fill it all the way to the top.
  13. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes. The custard will puff up and look pillowy and like it's going to overflow but when you take it out of the oven it'll collapse down again.
  14. Bake until the tops are brown - I don't like them blackened, but I'll leave it to your personal preferences on that.
  15. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down thoroughly. They can be eaten warm, but are just as delicious cold.
  16. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

 

Baharat Spiced Meatballs With Yoghurt And Garlic Butter Sauce

I was given a selection of mixed pices recently, and I’ll be honest and confess that I’d never heard of most of them. The first one I wanted to try and cook with was Baharat. If you Google Baharat you’ll find a number of versions based on area, but this one was from a company called Spice Kitchen and according to their website it’s a blend of  cloves, black pepper, cumin seeds, nutmeg, paprika, cardamon & cinnamon.

Garlic Butter3

I spent a whole afternoon perusing Pinterest and the rest of the web trying to learn the best use of this spice, and when I finally sat down to meatballs in a yoghurt and garlic butter sauce at dinner time, I was thrilled with the result. I didn’t find this a spicy dish at all, and the dressing was perfect with plain, fluffy white rice. We also had another dish at the table which was a lot more spicy, and this sauce provided beautiful relief for the tongue.

As someone who didn’t grow up with a lot of spices, and who can’t really handle much more heat that black pepper – or a light wasabi – and who’d never choose to eat at an Indian restaurant, for example, I’d never have considered experimenting with these spice until a few years ago, and sitting eating this meal, I savoured every mouthful Baharat Meatballs2

I think my favourite thing about this dish is that it’s not just one flavour all the way through. Each mouthful is different, with hints of mint, crunchy pine nuts yoghurt and the Baharat meatballs coming through in different bites. Hmm… sitting here writing this, I’m salivating – I’m going to have to buy some more lamb mince!Baharat Spiced Meatballs With Yoghurt and Garlic Butter

Baharat Meatballs With Yoghurt & Garlic Butter Sauce
 
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This is a delicious recipe that can be used as a single main, or one of many sharing dishes. The yoghurty dish also offsets other spicy dishes on the table, while this isn't spicy of itself.
Author:
Recipe type: Varoma, Main, Sharing
Cuisine: Arabian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the meatballs
  • 400g ground lamb
  • salt and pepper for seasoning
  • 1 small onion, halved
  • 15g Baharat Spice (adjust seasoning to taste)
For the dressing
  • 100g (100ml) plain yoghurt (try this recipe)
  • 25g butter
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
For the topping
  • 1 tsp Mint (fresh or dried)
  • 50g pine nuts
  • Oil for frying
  • Rice to Serve
Instructions
In the Thermomix®
  1. Switch the Thermomix® on Speed 4 and drop the onion halves on athe blades for a few seconds.
  2. Open the lid and add the minced lamb, salt and pepper and Baharat Spices. Mix Speed 4/10 seconds.
  3. Oil the Varoma
  4. Form small egg-yolk sized meatballs and place them in the Varoma. (You can also do these the 'normal' way on the stove if you prefer them being browned)
  5. Fill the bowl to the 1 litre mark and put the Varoma in place. Cook on Varoma temp, speed 4 for 20 - 25 minutes.
  6. (If you're having rice with this dish, add it after about 10 minutes. Add the rice in the internal steamer for the remaining 15 minutes.)
  7. Meanwhile, on the stove, heat the pine nuts till they start releasing their aroma. Toast them lightly but watch that they don't burn - mine in the pictures are a little burned!
  8. Next melt the butter and add the garlic, and finally warm the yoghurt. DO NOT let it boil or split, just warm it.
  9. Move the meatballs into a serving dish.
  10. Pour the yoghurt over them, then drizzle the garlic butter, top with pine nuts and mint.
  11. Serve with rice.
Traditional Cooking
  1. Chop the onions finely, and add the spices, salt and pepper and mince with the onions in a bowl. Mix well till all combined.
  2. Form small egg-yolk sized meatballs and place them in a hot pan. Cook for about 15 minutes, turning ocassionally to get it browned on all sides and cooked through.
  3. In the meantime, cook your rice according to manufacturer instructions.
  4. On a baking tray, or on another plate on the stove, toast the pine nuts but watch that they don't burn.
  5. Next melt the butter and add the garlic, and finally warm the yoghurt. DO NOT let it boil or split, just warm it.
  6. Move the meatballs into a serving dish.
  7. Pour the yoghurt over them, then drizzle the garlic butter, top with pine nuts and mint.
  8. Serve with rice.

The inspiration for this recipe came from this original

SmoothPacks Reusable Yoghurt & Smoothie Pouches

I’ve been making my own yoghurt for a few years now, and my yoghurt recipe is in fact one of the most popular recipes on this blog, dating back almost two years! In that time I’ve been using a reusable pouch system that I was perfectly happy with and have recommended to many, but last week I discovered something new and I am in make-your-own-yoghurt-smoothies heaven, seriously. I cannot recommend the SmoothPacks Squeeze Pack System highly enough.

Reusable Yoghurt or Smoothie Pouches
When you buy a kit, you receive the Smoothpack ‘Station’ – the bit you fill up with your babyfood, yoghurt, smoothie or whatever else you’re making – and you receive 4 x 125ml pouches and two 250ml pouches.

Inside  the plunger bit for the Smoothpack Station you’ll find all the accessories – the nozzles and cleaning clips – safely stored – this is awesome for storage, and not having random bits lying annoyingly around the kitchen drawers.

The plunger has a spiral ridge all the way around it that slots in to place and runs down the ‘track’ as you turn it, meaning you don’t end up with yoghurt (smoothie, babyfood) down your front if you get the angle wrong. In fact, the gliding motion is so smooth, my 5-year old insists on doing it.

Reusable pouches

Rather than one nozzle that means you fill your pouches one at a time there are four nozzles and you can fill them all at the same time. You fill the Station with 500ml of whatever, and push, filling four pouches at the same time. If you only want to do one or more at a time though, you can just put the stopper (that lives inside the plunger) in place, and seal it up. Essentially it takes about 10 seconds to fill four though, so it’s a fantastic time saver.

The thing people always ask me about reusable pouches, however, is how you clean it. These pouches have a seam down the side that you can open to clean. What also lives inside the plunger are four alien looking plastic thingies that you put inside each pouch and wedge into the dishwasher or drying rack so that the pouches can wash inside. It’s really clever.

The set also comes with two spoons that clip to the lid of the pouches so that you can take them out and about with you for spoon feeding your baby, if that’s your thing, or in my children’s case, feeding your younger sister!Reuseable pouches

We use our pouches for yoghurt, and in this particular instance I also used the Easyo fruit packets to flavour the yoghurt. I filled about 45oml of plain yoghurt and topped it off with 50ml of fruit compote. Mix it together with a spoon (you can also use a stick blender to liquidize or puree) and put the plunger in place. Open the nozzle lids and fit the pouches securely on before twisting the plunger gently and watching the pouches fill. Screw the lids on and wash the plunger, ready for next time.

The only negatives I can mention for this product is that since it is quite new to the UK, I can’t seem to find the option to buy pouches only at the moment, although spare sachets will be available for the price of £6.95 for 4 Smoothpacks and 2 spoons

If you’re in the UK you can pick this amazing, sleek and easy to use and store refillable pouch system up at Cuckooland for £19.99 (with £4.95 delivery) and £5 off your first order when you sign up for their newsletter. Click here to buy.

If you’re in the US you can find it at Amazon, for $34.99.

Lemonade Scones

When I was living out in Australia a few years ago, my brother had a friend who brought scones round one day. They were the lightest scones I had ever had, and I had to have the recipe. I’ve made these hundreds of times and recently a friend asked me if I had the recipe on the blog. I realised I didn’t, so here it is Sam, just for you.

Lemonade Scones2

This is a 3-ingredients scone – okay, four, but salt doesn’t count. The self raising flour and salt are the dry ingredients, and the cream provides the fat you’d normally get from crumbling butter into the mix. The lemonade gives you the rise, since it reacts to the baking powder in the flour, and the bubbles airate the whole mixture, I guess.

You must not overmix this recipe, or you completely knock the air right out of it and end up with flat cakes – still tasty, but not quite afternoon tea quality.

Lemonade S

Whether you a jam first or cream first scone eater , you’re bound to love how light and fluffy these scones are.

Lemonade Scones
 
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Light, airy and easy to make scones - enjoy!
Author:
Recipe type: Thermomix®
Serves: 15
Ingredients
  • 400g self-raising flour
  • 240g double cream
  • 190g lemonade
  • pinch of salt
Instructions
Regular Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C
  2. Sift the self raising flour, cream and salt in a mixing bowl.
  3. Add the lemonade and mix briefly till it's all mixed together. Literally till it's JUST mixed.
  4. It's REALLY important not to over mix or your scones won't rise.
  5. Remove from the bowl, and lay out on a tray. Pat it down to an even 2cm height.
  6. Use a cutter and press down, and straight back up again - don't twist the cutters as you don't want to squeeze the air out.
  7. Carefully lift the scones onto a tray
  8. Brush with milk (use the back of a spoon if you don't have a pastry brush)
  9. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, till golden
Thermomix® Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C
  2. Place the self raising flour, cream and salt in the Thermomix® bowl.
  3. Add the lemonade and mix speed 4, 5 - 10 seconds. Literally till it's JUST mixed.
  4. It's REALLY important not to over mix or your scones won't rise.
  5. Remove from the bowl, and lay out on a tray. Pat it down to an even 2cm height.
  6. Use a cutter and press down, and straight back up again - don't twist the cutters as you don't want to squeeze the air out.
  7. Carefully lift the scones onto a tray
  8. Brush with milk (use the back of a spoon if you don't have a pastry brush)
  9. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, till golden


South African Thermomix® Vetkoek

I love Vetkoek, it reminds me of growing up, of my dad coming home on a Friday with a bag of ready made dough from the shop, chopping it up and making vetkoek, which he’d put into a big cream-coloured bowl and we’d all crowd round eating warm fresh vetkoek filled with cheese, mince, syrup or apricot jam. Sometimes we have it with a chicken mayonnaise filling, and sometimes I’d simply have it on it’s own.Vetkoek

 

While you can try to compare a vetkoek with a doughnut, it doesn’t taste like a doughnut, it’s more savoury, but still a little sweet. Actually, there’s nothing I can think of to compare the flavour to – it’s it’s own thing.

Your choice of fillings is endless – pretty much anything goes, but for us the favourites are cheese, mince, chicken, syrup, and apricot jam, as I said above.

South African Thermomix® Vetkoek
 
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Author:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 210g water (room temp)
  • 280g unbleached bread flour
  • 1 (5g) teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon (3g) sugar
  • 1.5 teaspoons (7g) fast-rising active dry yeast (I use this one)
  • oil, for deep-frying
Instructions
  1. Pour water into the Thermomix® bowl.
  2. Add dry ingredients finishing with the yeast.
  3. Mix 10 seconds/ speed 6
  4. Then 3:30 minutes/ kneading setting
  5. Remove and set aside to rise
  6. When doubled in size (about 90 minutes) divide into 10 balls on lightly floured surface. Flatten slightly in the palm of your hand.
  7. Let rise for ½ hour. (Use this time to prepare your filling)
  8. Warm oil in deep pot– oil should be about 2 inches deep – on medium heat. Drop a thumbnail sized bit of dough into the pan. If it sizzles it's hot enough, and once the tiny bit of dough has risen to the top, remove it and start cooking your vetkoek.
  9. Add the dough balls one at a time, depending on the size of your pot, about 5 or 6 at a time. They will swell up so don't overfill the pot.
  10. Fry vetkoek for about 5 minutes a side, but keep an eye on it. If they blacken too quickly, they'll still be raw inside, and your oil is too hot. If the oil is not hot enough, the vetkoek will absorb lots of oil and be gross.
  11. They should be the color of doughnuts when ready. Golden delicious.
  12. Drain on kitchen towels or in a colander.
  13. As soon as you can bear to touch them, slice open and fill.
  14. Enjoy.

 

Thermomix® Bobotie

In a home with children there are so many fun and celebratory dates in March, (St David’s Day, 1st, Dr Seuss birthday, 2nd, World Book Day, 5th, St Patrick’s Day, 17th) and I think it’s a great thing, because as Mothering Sunday (15th, this year) etches nearer, my heart grows heavier, and as the 1st of April approaches, I feel downright sad, thinking of my mother’s birthday.South African Bobotie Recipe

One of the things that I think about when I think about my mom is life as I knew it, growing up as a child in South Africa, so this month I’m paying homage to my mom, and to my history, and taking the time to convert some of the nation’s favourite recipes from her old and tattered recipe book to Thermomix® recipes too.

There are a lot of Bobotie recipes online, and despite BBC Good Food’s instructions, it’s NOT pronounced bo-boor-tie, but bo-boo-tie. No R, please. The double ‘o’ is like the o’s in moor.

But yes, there are a hundred adaptations available online. This one is what I consider the original though. It’s from Magdaleen van Wyk’s The Complete South African Cookbook  published in 1980. It’s a very mild bobotie, and while it’s absolutely delicious as is – and even better reheated the next day – we double the spices (flavour, not heat).

South African Bobotie Recipe

Bobotie
 
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Bobotie freezes really well. Make it up to the end of step 5, then freeze. To prepare, thaw, and add the eggs, milk and bay leaves before baking.
Author:
Recipe type: TM31, Main Meal
Cuisine: South African
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 slice white bread
  • 1 onion
  • 90g blanched almonds
  • 65g seedless raisins
  • 1 tbs apricot jam (we adjust to 2)
  • 1 tbs fruit chutney (we adjust to 2)
  • 1kg minced beef
  • 25g lemon juice
  • 2 tsp curry powder (we adjust to 3)
  • 1 tsp turmeric (we adjust to 2)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 125g milk (plus about 60g)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C
  2. Soak the bread in half (125ml) the milk. Add the onion to the Thermomix® bowl and chop speed 5/10 seconds
  3. Add whole almonds and chop speed 5/ 10 seconds (adjust if using crushed or sliced almonds)
  4. Add raisins, half the mince, jam, chutney, lemon juice, curry powder, turmeric and salt.
  5. Squeeze the milk out the bread and add bread to bowl
  6. Mix REVERSE BLADES/speed 3/ 45 seconds.
  7. In a large frying pan, I use a wok, melt the butter and add the meat mixture AND THE REST OF THE MEAT to it, and brown lightly, (don't overcook) before turning it out into a casserole dish.
  8. Break the eggs into the Thermomix® and pour the bread milk in, and top up to 125g. Mix speed 5/10 seconds, then pour over the meat. Garnish with the bay leaves.
  9. Bake for about 50 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Chocolate Crispy Bars {Dairy Free Sugar Free Gluten Free}

It’s almost Easter again, and while we aren’t really a free-from anything family, when there’s so much focus on chocolate – between Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day, and Easter, I like to have alternatives available, so that even if I don’t manage to curb my sweet tooth, I’m at least not filling up myself or the children with cheap, often actually not very good – chocolate.Chocolate Crispies

This recipe is very easy. The children can help you make it, or you can whip it up quickly. It’s quite dark, we like dark chocolate. If you don’t like it as dark, adjust the cocoa down. You could add other things, like marshmallows, nuts, or cherries, but just remember to adjust the quantity of rice crispies down then. The main thing to remember is this isn’t held together by chocolate, which is strong, but by coconut oil, which needs to be kept cool, otherwise you’ll end up with what looks like a (very tasty) bowl of chocolate cereal.

I use a gluten free Rice Crispie from Nature’s Path, because we have it at the moment, but you can use any other if you prefer.

I also use this brownie pan because it’s super convenient.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Dairy Free Sugar Free Gluten Free Chocolate Crispy Bars
 
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A lovely snack box recipe for the kids, and fabulous for hitting that sweet spot, while not being overly unhealthy.
Author:
Recipe type: Sweets, TM31
Serves: 24 blocks
Ingredients
  • 50g Coconut Oil (1/4 cup)
  • 70g honey (1/4 cup)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 30 - 50g cocoa powder (1/3 cup) (Cacao for Paleo)
  • pinch of fine sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
  • 100g rice crispies (1.5 cups)
Instructions
Thermomix® Recipe
  1. Add the coconut oil and honey to the Thermomix® bowl. If you're using runny honey, 30 seconds/37 degrees/speed 2 should melt it all, but if the honey is crystalised or set, about 1 minute/50 degrees/speed 2. It must be mixed and melted before you go to step 2.
  2. Add the vanilla and cocoa powder, and a small pinch of sea salt. 15 seconds/speed 3
  3. Add the rice crispies and use the spatula to stir it in so that all the rice crispies are covered with the chocolate mix.
  4. Transfer to a brownie pan (this one is fantastic!) and squash it all in nicely. Put in the fridge for an hour or two to set, then cut into squares.
  5. Tip: Remember this is kept together with coconut oil, so keep it cool otherwise it might fall apart a bit.
Regular Instructions
  1. Create a double boiler by boiling a pot of water on the stove, and put coconut oil and honey in a glass bowl over it. Once they're melted, mix together and add the vanilla extract (be careful - both the glass bowl and the mixture will be very hot).
  2. Add the cocoa powder and sea salt, and then add the rice crispies.
  3. Mix together till all the rice crispies are covered in the chocolate mixture and transfer into your brownie pan.
  4. Place in the fridge till it's cooled and set, then cut into squares.

chocolate crispies

Sourdough Bread In The Thermomix®

Before we go any further, I need to come clean on something here: I’m not a professional at sourdough. I’m not even really good at it. This was my first attempt at sourdough, and I’m really happy with how it turned out, so I wrote it down. I expect that there’ll be plenty of editing and changing as I play and learn with it. But, sitting here eating a slice of bread with butter, I can tell you that this recipe as it is written here, works, and works well.

Sourdough BreadBack in November a friend gave me a master class on Sourdough as it’s something she makes a lot. I took away a dried starter with me, and then life happened. In the last week of February, I finally activated the starter, and have been feeding it for a week. Yesterday I felt we were good to go.

If you want to buy a ready to go starter, you can get them from eBay and Etsy, among others.

This makes a huge loaf. In future I’ll make it as two breads in a regular loaf tin. You can also use this proving basket for up to 1kg of bread, which would suit this recipe perfectly.

So, to the recipe…

4.0 from 1 reviews
 
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Author:
Serves: 2 standard loaves
Ingredients
  • 750g strong white bread flour
  • 400g lukewarm water
  • 40g olive oil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 200g sourdough starter
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to the Thermomix® bowl
  2. Mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds to combine everything
  3. Then knead for 3 minutes on the dough setting (wheat sheaf)
  4. Meanwhile, oil or butter your loaf tin.
  5. Note: This makes a HUGE loaf, so if you're using a standard loaf tin, you'll need to separate the dough into two.
  6. Remove from Thermomix® and place on a tray. Halve the dough now if you're going to.
  7. You need to 'fold' it into a ball. Essentially treat it like a sheet you're tucking in to a mattress - take one side and fold it under, then the other, and fold it under, then the final two, till it's a 'ball'.
  8. Place in the bread tin, then cut deep slits along the top - this is to prevent the sides of the bread splitting apparently.
  9. Now here things get tricky. There are as many instructions for making sourdough bread as there are recipes, so here's what I did.
  10. Leave the dough to rest for six hours, in a warm, but not hot place.
  11. Heat the oven to 200C and cook for 30 - 40 minutes. Test to see if it's ready by knocking on the crust. If it sounds hollow it's ready.
  12. Leave the bread to cool slightly before cutting.

I hope it works for you. Please let me know, and if you have any hints and tips, leave them below! I think I could use them!