Vicky Sponge my personal favourite! A brilliant summer cake, great for a barbeque desert or secretly indulge in a wedge with a cup of tea in the garden. Any which way you like yours, there is no denying that the Victoria Sponge is up there in the top 10 cakes!

I made one the other weekend when I had a gaggle of girls over, and I am pleased to announce that Victoria sponge goes very well with the following beverages:

• Tea
• Coffee
• Wine
• Gin

This is the recipe that I follow. It is SO super easy and takes hardly any time at all.

Vicky Sponge

Ingredients

• 220g/8oz caster sugar
• 220g/8oz butter, plus extra for greasing
• 4 free-range eggs, beaten
• 220g/8oz self-raising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam
• 600ml/1 pint 2fl oz double cream, whipped
• icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Grease and line two 23cm/9in cake tins.
3. Beat the sugar and butter together in a bowl until pale and creamy, then gradually add the eggs, alternating with a tablespoon of flour. Gently fold in the rest of the flour and vanilla extract, then divide equally between the two cake tins.
4. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
5. When cool, spread one cake with jam and whipped double cream, then place the other cake on top. Dust with icing sugar and serve in slices.

When I was making it, I went a bit crazy with the double cream, so filled inside with jam, cream and berries! I also but a huge layer of cream on top of the cake and crammed as many berries on top as I could, it went down pretty well! I will show you some of my pictures, but please excuse the poor quality as they were taken on my phone!

Hope you enjoy!

Kirsty

x

You can choose from a wide selection of Scottish beers, including a huge range from Brew Dog, a few from the Orkney Brewery and many, many more. We have a great selection of wines available to suit every taste, a big glass of crisp rose (Pinot Grigio, La Casada, Italy 2008), a tropical tasting glass of white (Sauvignon Blanc, Las Condes, Chile 2009) or a super rich red (Grenache, Tramontane, Vin de Pays de Cotes de Catalanes, France 2008) ask any of our Foodie Servers for their recommendation or further information on your chosen wine!

At the same time as opening a wee bit later we are launching CAKE FRIDAY! We have a few fantastic offers for one of the most indulgent days of the week, they are as follows:

A glass of Prosecco and a Cupcake for £5

‘The Cream Tea’; a scone, jam, clotted cream and a pot of tea of your choice (there are lots to choose from) for £5

Buy any cake and get a coffee free

Head down to Foodies to have your cake and eat it, possibly accompanied by a glass of fizz?

See you down there,

Kirsty

X

P.S. Check out the Blog next week when members of the Foodie team talk and discuss their favourite cakes (recipes included).

It is the season for delicious tomatoes; they are such a versatile ingredient for so many different dishes! You can throw cherry tomatoes into a salad. Create a salad entirely from tomatoes (Three types make it awesome), with a wee glug of red wine vinegar, rapeseed oil and a bit of salt and pepper… Scrum!

Goji berries, Pomegranates, Wheat grass, Almonds, Blueberries and Flaxseed are all buzz words around the ‘Super Food’ list, but the humble tomato often gets forgotten about!

Tomatoes are crammed full of amazing things. They have very high levels of Potassium which helps cell, tissue and organ function. Vitamin C which helps the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones and teeth, it also helps the healing of wounds. Beta Carotene which helps defend the immune system and helps to keep skin healthy.

Finally, the most impressive is Lycopen, which helps neutralise harmful free radicals, which are implicated in cancer, heart disease, macular degeneration and other age related illness!

So what I’m trying to say is… get eating those tomatoes, any which way you can! Below is a recipe for a delicious and easy pasta sauce.

Tantalising Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

10 ripe tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 cup Burgundy wine

1 bay leaf

2 stalks celery

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Method

• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop 8 tomatoes and puree in blender or food processor. Chop remaining two tomatoes and set aside.
• In a large pot over a medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften (5 minutes). Pour in pureed tomatoes. Stir in chopped tomato, basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in tomato paste and simmer an additional 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and celery and serve.

Cranachan is sometimes called Crowdie Cream, because it was originally made with a soft Scottish cheese known as Crowdie. If you would prefer to make it that way, replace the cream in this recipe with any light cream cheese, mixed with a little milk.

You can use any kind of whisky in the recipe, but for the really authentic touch, Drambuie would be the best choice. This is a malt whisky, flavoured with honey and herbs, produced on the Isle of Skye. If you prefer an alcohol-free Cranachan, use a few drops of vanilla essence instead or scrape a vanilla pod into your cream!

Ingredients

2/3 cup (2 oz, 50 g) medium oatmeal

1½ cups (12 fl oz, 360 ml) heavy (double) cream

2 tbsp honey

A good glug of whisky

2½ cups (10 oz, 300 g) fresh raspberries

Method

Start by placing the oatmeal in a dry pan or skillet

Toast the oats on a medium heat, turning often until it’s a golden brown, do NOT burn, it will taste disgusting!

Whisk the cream until it is firm (my mum always tells me to not over whip the cream)

Add the honey and whisky to the cream and fold together gently

Cranachan is best served in a tall dessert glass. The traditional way to serve Cranachan is to take all the ingredients to the table and let each guest assemble their own desserts. Cranachan is just a Scottish Eton mess! Yum!

At the Foodie Company we love everything Scottish and everything Foodie, so when I was flicking through a magazine and stumbled across this delicious sounding dessert, the page was ripped from the publication!  I will now share it with you!

Highland Crowdie and Rhubarb Cheese Cake

Ingredients

10 Digestive Biscuits

100g Butter, melted

750g Highland Crowdie Cheese

300g caster sugar

1kg of cooked rhubarb

2 eggs

A handful of berries

Stem Ginger syrup

Method

1. Pre- heat the oven to 170.
3. Blitz the digestive biscuits and the melted butter together and press the mixture into the bottom of a 12 inch bottomless cake tin.
5. In a big mixing bowl cream the Crowdie and the sugar and add the eggs.
7. Cut the cooked rhubarb into short lengths and add to the cheese cake mixture.
9. Pour all into the lined cake tin and bake for 20-30 minutes.
11. Allow to chill and serve with fresh berries rolled in ginger syrup.

Why not try it out and email photos of your attempts to kirsty@foodieboxes.co.uk

Ghana relished in victory against the USA to push them through the group stages of the World Cup.  In the Foodie World Cup blog, we take a look into Ghanaian cuisine, its history and influences and a typical Ghanaian dish.

Ghana is situated on the North West Coast of Africa.  It has a tropical climate with two rainy seasons, which reflects upon the type of cuisine found in this area.

Ghana has a history of exporting Palm oil, pepper and corn as well as cocoa. Today many of these products are still exported as well as Bananas, coconuts, palm fruits and cola nuts.

Ghanaians enjoy flavourful cuisine, with the majority of meals consisting of a thick well seasoned stew.  These stews are usually accompanied by staple foods for example boiled yams or rice.

Jollof Rice is a popular dish throughout Ghana which is often an accompaniment to a meal or eaten as a meal itself.  It is a spicy dish consisting of a rich tomato sauce and meat.  Fish can also be added to this dish instead of meat.

Jollof rice

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ Cups rice
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1lb skinless chicken breast
• 2 tsps vegetable oil
• 6oz tomato paste
• 3 cups chicken stock

Method

• In a saucepan sauté the onion and the rice in oil
• Cover and cook until the onion in translucent and has become soft
• Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and add to sauté mixture
• Mix into the mixture the tomato paste and then the chicken stock
• Bring to the boil
• Cover the saucepan and reduce to a low heat
• Cook the mixture until the rice is tender, the liquid all absorbed and the chicken cooked, roughly this should be around 25 minutes.

Why not enjoy this dish whilst watching Ghana in the second stages of the world cup!

But, you are all aware that we are not here to discuss Brazil’s plaudits in Football – we are here to discover the delights of Brazilian Food!!

Brazil is a vast country – it’s the fifth largest country in the world to be exact, bordering every country in South America except Chile and Ecuador. Colonised by the Portuguese in the 15^th Century, Brazilian food has a Portuguese influence to it.  The dish that I have chosen is popular in both Brazil and Portugal.

Coxinha is a tasty little Brazilian snack often eaten at parties.  It is made out of chicken which is shredded and cooked with a variety of spices, encased in a batter and deep fried. It is shaped to resemble a chicken drum stick and is literally translated to ‘little thigh’. We thought that these would make excellent little scrumptious treats to munch on whilst watching Brazil take on the world at Football.

INGREDIENTS:

3 chicken breasts

½ chopped onion

2 chopped cloves of garlic

6 tablespoon margarine

2  beef stock cubes

salt

ground pepper

3 cups plain flour

8oz cream cheese

2 eggs

Bread crumbs

PREPARE:

Put the chicken breast, chopped onion, garlic, beef bouillon, salt, ground pepper, margarine and 3 cups of water in to a pressure cooker. Place the pressure cooker in medium-heat. Chicken is ready 10 minutes after the regulator starts to blow steam.

(If you don’t have a pressure cooker, cut chicken breast into 2-inch cubes and cook with the same ingredients in a saucepan over medium-heat for about 30 minutes or until done.)

Scoop the chicken breast from the broth. Finely chop chicken breast to make the coxinha filling.

You can increment the filling with parsley, green onions. But do not add liquids to the filling.

Bring exactly 3 cups of the remaining broth to boil. Add the 3 cups of flour into the boiling water and stir vigorously with a wood spoon for about 1 minute until it becomes a dough. Take dough out of pan. When warm, knead dough until it becomes smooth and dissolve the flour lumps (about 10 minutes).

Flatten dough with a rolling pin to about ¼-inch thick and cut medium size circles with a biscuit cutter. Place the dough in your palm, place a small cube of cream cheese and a teaspoon of chicken filling previously prepared.

Dose the ingredients according to the size of the dough circle you cut so that you can close the dough with the filling inside. Knead scraps and re roll, repeat cutting circles until all dough is used.

Fold and close the dough in a shape of a drum stick Grease hands if necessary.

Baste the filled dough with egg whites and roll them over breadcrumb.

Deep-fry the snacks 350 °F for about 8 minutes or until golden brown.

SERVING SIZE: 60 bite size coxinhas or 30 mediums – to serve pop these little chicken bites into baking cases – YUM!!!!

Send us your pictures of Coxinhas that you have made at home.

Football fever has grasped the nation once again hasn’t it? Not so much fun for poor Scotland being knocked out in the qualifying round though.  However, our country of Football Mad supporters still seem to be embracing the delights, the tension, the competition, the colours, and the atmosphere of the beautiful game.

We here at Foodie H.Q have to admit – football mad we are not, food mad however we most certainly are! For that reason and to keep us sane during the month of June we thought it would be fun to do a Food World Cup – taking a look at our favourite dishes from the ‘bookies’ favourites to win.  Take a look at the recipes, try them out, and please let us know what you think.

Ok, so the odds may not be on them to win but the World Cup is being played in South Africa, one of my most favourite Foodie Nations. The recipe that I have chosen is full of fantastic flavour and is a traditional South African dish – Potjie which translated literally means Pot of food has been part of South African Culture for centuries, originally derived from the Dutch settlers on the Cape. A Potjie is a special type of round cast iron pot-bellied pot with a lid which retains heat.  It is usually cooked over an open fire – not a very popular or efficient cooking method for over in Blighty!  We recommend just using a large Casserole pot with lid and cooking for a long time over a medium / low heat.

This is for a Beef and Beer Potjie perfect for serving up after the match.  If they are hungry beforehand give them some Biltong to nibble on and really get into the South African spirit!

Ingredients
15ml plain flour
5ml mixed herbs
5ml paprika
375ml beer – why not use castle lager for a really authentic taste?
1kg beef fillet, cubed
250ml beef stock
15ml butter
1 packet of tomato soup powder
15ml oil
1 bay leaf
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
15ml vinegar
15ml white sugar
10ml Corn Flour
8 green beans, cut up
Salt and pepper to taste
4 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped

Method
Coat the meat with a mixture of the flour and paprika.
Heat the oil and butter in the pot and brown the meat.
Remove the meat and brown the onions and sugar until the onions is nice and soft.
Add the beans, carrots and garlic, cover with the lid and allow the pot to simmer for about 5 minutes.
Replace the meat and stir in the herbs, beer, beef stock, soup powder and bay leaf. Cover with the lid and allow the pot to simmer for a final hour or until the meat is soft (stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon).

The award ceremony was held at the Willow Tea rooms on Sauchiehall Street which was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. This is a great historic venue with a lovely atmosphere but in need of a full restoration. So if anyone has a spare few pennies to help they are trying to raise some funds.

With a lovely setting and reputation i was disappointed to see the staff stocking the shelves with mass made wholesale cakes from Costco. Why do places do it, i find it so frustrating!!! Ok, rant over…

The awards got underway way with a warm welcome from the PSYBT Chairman, Mark Strudwick shortly passing it on to Mr Jamie Moffat, speaking on behalf of the Moffat Charitable trust and then onto the real business of the day.

We were delighted to be announced as the winners of the Growth and Development award in Travel and Tourism. Well done to all he Foodies staff and customers!

Twin brothers Guy and Jamie Mckenzie, founders of Blown Away won the award for Best Customer Service.  A very cool business based in St Andrews specialising in beach sports.

French born Raphael Metayer and Brazilian partner Carin Neubert founded Golf Experience in St Andrews. Another excellent business bringing tour groups to Scotland from all over the world to play golf.  A big well done to them for winning the Best Tourism Business, with outstanding economic and community impact.

Some photos from the day.

After searching the internet looking for a birthday present for a dear friend, I came across the most fantastic table cloth!

If you are one of these PVC table cloth users, there is now hope. A very clever Norwegian designer, Kristine Bjaadal has come up with the most brilliant invention, A patterned table cloth that soaks up any form of liquid into different parts of the design (please see image for a clearer description) Amazing!

I know in the past I have hosted or been to a dinner party when someone gesticulates a little too enthusiastically and crash goes the beautiful big glass of Merlot, out comes the bi carbonate of soda, the soda water and the salt, creating a big pile of pink granulated mess! But not with this table cloth!

It’s on sale on line and would make a great gift for any avid dinner party host!

Just keeping you Foodies updated with the newest products in the entertaining world!

But for now,

Kirsty

xxx

Ingenious