RED - 14 November 2013
Nov. 14th, 2013 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teddy_radiatorWhew! Tough day, but then again, Thursdays and Fridays always are. Makes up for the total indolence spent Saturday through Wednesday.
It's pretty chilly right now - low 30's, which for us is cooool. I'm not really complaining; I was absolutely miserable this summer with no a/c in the car. The only thing I'm worried about is no heat, either. Last year we got caught in a sleet storm a long way from home, and the drive home was horrific. We couldn't see, and we couldn't prevent the ice from sticking. Harrowing.
Well, tonight I watched the film version of Les Miz, just to see if it was as awful as I remember it. Yep. It was pretty grim. I found myself skipping the parts I knew would be awful. I skipped a lot. Wow, it was bad. Anne Hathaway wasn't bad, but hey, she shuffles off in the first ten minutes of the story, so there's a lot of time to kill, and it dies pretty hard after that.
The fact that tomorrow is the halfway mark for the month freaks the pants off me. I'm pretty darn unprepared for everything. I have lots of started projects; now I need to get my act together in a big way. I'm hoping Sunday will be a big push; TheHubs® is going to be at rehearsal and a photo shoot, so I'll be home most of the day. I hope that will be what I need to keep myself in line. Next weekend - Christmas decs! Le SCREAM!
So, today's RED is in tribute to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sabrebabe, who loves them so much. I will confess I have not made these yet, but they look pretty easy. I suppose one could use store-bought orange curd for this, if you can find it.
Homemade Jaffa Cakes
Orange Curd
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups fresh orange juice (about 4 pounds navel oranges)
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a 3-quart saucepan; gradually whisk in fresh orange juice. Whisk in lightly beaten eggs. Bring to a boil (5 to 6 minutes) over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Cook, whisking constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture reaches a pudding-like thickness. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter and grated orange rind. Cover, placing plastic wrap directly on curd, and chill 8 hours.
Jaffa Cakes
• 2 eggs
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g flour, sifted
Simmer some water in a pot and put a heat proof bowl over it, making sure the water doesn’t touch base of bowl. Beat the sugar and eggs in the bowl until pale and fluffy. It will take about 4-5 minutes. Then, gradually add the sifted flour while still beating the mixture. Pour the batter into a non-stick 12 hole muffin tin, each to about 0.5cm thick. If you don’t have non-stick, make sure the tin’s properly greased and coated with a light dusting of flour.
Bake 8-10 minutes at 350F/180C.
Allow to cool slightly, remove from tin with a rubber spatula. When cool, top with orange curd, then melt dark chocolate and spread over the cakes. Do not dip unless you've made your curd stiffer than usual - it will slide right off. Chill in fridge until chocolate sets.
It's pretty chilly right now - low 30's, which for us is cooool. I'm not really complaining; I was absolutely miserable this summer with no a/c in the car. The only thing I'm worried about is no heat, either. Last year we got caught in a sleet storm a long way from home, and the drive home was horrific. We couldn't see, and we couldn't prevent the ice from sticking. Harrowing.
Well, tonight I watched the film version of Les Miz, just to see if it was as awful as I remember it. Yep. It was pretty grim. I found myself skipping the parts I knew would be awful. I skipped a lot. Wow, it was bad. Anne Hathaway wasn't bad, but hey, she shuffles off in the first ten minutes of the story, so there's a lot of time to kill, and it dies pretty hard after that.
The fact that tomorrow is the halfway mark for the month freaks the pants off me. I'm pretty darn unprepared for everything. I have lots of started projects; now I need to get my act together in a big way. I'm hoping Sunday will be a big push; TheHubs® is going to be at rehearsal and a photo shoot, so I'll be home most of the day. I hope that will be what I need to keep myself in line. Next weekend - Christmas decs! Le SCREAM!
So, today's RED is in tribute to
sabrebabe, who loves them so much. I will confess I have not made these yet, but they look pretty easy. I suppose one could use store-bought orange curd for this, if you can find it.Homemade Jaffa Cakes
Orange Curd
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups fresh orange juice (about 4 pounds navel oranges)
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a 3-quart saucepan; gradually whisk in fresh orange juice. Whisk in lightly beaten eggs. Bring to a boil (5 to 6 minutes) over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Cook, whisking constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture reaches a pudding-like thickness. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter and grated orange rind. Cover, placing plastic wrap directly on curd, and chill 8 hours.
Jaffa Cakes
• 2 eggs
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g flour, sifted
Simmer some water in a pot and put a heat proof bowl over it, making sure the water doesn’t touch base of bowl. Beat the sugar and eggs in the bowl until pale and fluffy. It will take about 4-5 minutes. Then, gradually add the sifted flour while still beating the mixture. Pour the batter into a non-stick 12 hole muffin tin, each to about 0.5cm thick. If you don’t have non-stick, make sure the tin’s properly greased and coated with a light dusting of flour.
Bake 8-10 minutes at 350F/180C.
Allow to cool slightly, remove from tin with a rubber spatula. When cool, top with orange curd, then melt dark chocolate and spread over the cakes. Do not dip unless you've made your curd stiffer than usual - it will slide right off. Chill in fridge until chocolate sets.
