Delicious Date and Apple Cake

A few months ago, after running in the Brighton half marathon, I had a piece of cake in my favourite Brighton coffee shop Coffee@33 called lumberjack cake.  It was heavy with date and apple, with a delicious caramelised coconut topping.  It was the first time I'd heard of this cake but I was smitten!  After a little bit of research, I managed to find a couple of recipes and the favourite so far has been from the forummers recipes on nigella.com and you can find the original here.

Apparently this cake is delicious without the cocunut topping but to me, this is the best bit!!

Anyway, I made this last night to take to a lovely afternoon tea picnic today for my Mum's birthday.  The weather in the south east was wonderful, and I spent the afternoon at Wakehurst Place with my sisters, parents and beautiful Ben (my nephew).  Sarah made perfect finger sandwiches, Claire made heart shaped scones and I made cake.  Ben provided the entertainment. 

Happy Birthday to the best Mum in the world! x

easy chicken dish

Having not had a proper cooked meal for quite some time now, i was craving roast chicken... here's a simple one-pot chicken dish adapted from Feed Me Now that hit the spot last night.

baked chicken with lemon, potato & green olives - serves 2

500g roasting potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into wedges

handful of green olives

1/2 lemon, sliced

30g diced pancetta

1 x bay leaf

generous teaspoon of tomato puree

generous teaspoon balsamic vinegar

60ml chicken stock

4 x chicken pieces (with bone and skin)

extra virgin olive oil

4 x chicken thighs (or any chicken pieces)

1 small red onion

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

here's how:

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

Place potatoes in a roasting tin or ovenproof dish.

Scatter over the onion, olives, lemon, pancetta and bay leaves.

Stir the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar into the chicken stock and pour over the potatoes.

Lay the chicken pieces on top, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast for 45-50 minutes or until the chicken is golden and cooked through.

Transfer the chicken to a warm plate, cover with foil and set aside to rest in a warm place.

Increase the oven setting to 220C/Gas 7 and return the roasting pan to the oven for 10 minutes or until the potatoes etc are well coloured (you may wish to drain off some of the cooking juices).

Place the chicken pieces back on top of the potatoes, scatter over some fresh herbs if you havew some, and serve.

This was delicious on its own but could easily be served with extra veg, however you like it.

Yum!