 help you with all your cooking queries...
Q
Everytime I make a pavlova it always sinks when I take it out of the oven. What am I doing wrong?
A
Actually you are not doing anything wrong. That’s what pavlovas generally do when they come out of the oven so don’t worry. You have beaten a lot of air into the meringue and that air expands with the heat in the oven and then the sugar gently melts and sets the egg white. When the heat is removed, as you take the pavlova out of the oven it always sinks just a little and looks rather deflated. Quite normal – just fill with the cream and fruit and then liberally dust with icing sugar - this always covers up a multitude of sins!
Q
I'm hosting a tea party for a friend's baby shower, but I'm a really bad baker. Can you give me any foolproof recipes or advice on any products which I can buy that no one will guess I didn't bake myself!?
A
I'm going to give you a pretty foolproof recipe for fairy cakes - I don't believe you can go wrong making these - everything is literally popped into one bowl to mix and then spooned out into paper cases and baked. The icing is fabulous because instead of colouring, you use fruit puree, giving the cakes a wonderful fresh taste.
However, if you really are worried about baking cakes, then look no further than my new show at the end of March - Lotte Duncan's Cakes and Desserts on QVC. There will be many to choose from and all of them completely delicious. And if anyone asks if you made them - just smile that knowing smile and give them another slice!
Lotte's Fairy Cakes
4oz (100g) butter
4oz (100g) caster sugar
Grated zests of 1 lemon
2 eggs - beaten
4oz (100g) self-raising flour
12 paper cases
1 deep bun tin or if you don't have one, just a plain baking sheet
Place your paper cases in a bun tin and pre-heat your oven to 190c or Mk5
Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until pale. Add the eggs a little at a time and beat well between each addition.
Fold in the flour and then using a teaspoon, fill each paper case two thirds full.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch.
For the icing:
Blackcurrant - 2oz (50g) frozen blackcurrants - pureed and sieved to remove seeds.
Raspberry - 2oz (50g) frozen raspberries - pureed and sieved to remove seeds.
Pour the fruit purees into separate bowls and then add enough sieved icing sugar to each to make a soft, yet slightly firm icing.
Using a teaspoon, ice the cakes and then scatter with sprinkles or sweets.
Q
I love spicy food, but when buying chilies I always get confused which ones are hotter. Can you clear it up for me?
A
In 1902 a chap called Wibur Scoville developed a method of measuring the heat of a chilli pepper and since then all peppers have had their heat measured in Scoville units. The bell pepper has 0 units being the mildest and the scotch bonnet (not quite the hottest, but not far off) has 100,000 - 325,000 units!
There are so many different types of chilli with more varying scales of heat and detail than I can possibly fit in this short answer. So I'm just going to give you temperature of the most common chillies and the ones you are most likely to see in the shops.
Bell Pepper = 0, Pimento Pepper = 100 - 500, Tabasco sauce = 2,500, Jalepeno = 2,500 - 8,000, Cayenne Pepper = 30,000 - 50,000, Jamaican Hot Pepper = 100,000 - 200,000.
And, if in doubt - when buying any chilli from a supermarket have a look at the label - it usually tells you whether or not you'll blow your head off!
Here is a top tip - if you do bite into a very hot chilli - don't drink water. Eat a couple of sugar cubes - moving them around in your mouth as they dissolve - it really does work and takes the heat away.
Q
My New Year's resolution is to cook and eat more seasonally. What should I be looking out for this month?
A
I love your New Year's resolution - food is much more delicious and considerably cheaper when eaten within the rhythm of the seasons. January may be a cold grey month, but there is still plenty of food to be happy about.
Cranberries are not just for Christmas - they go beautifully in a lamb stew and are full of goodness - just what we need to keep colds at bay.
Cabbages and Brassicas are in season and at their best in January and parsnips are always nicer after a bit of frost. There are some winter varieties of lettuce available and plenty of autumn root vegetables in the shops - ones that have been stored since autumn and still excellent to eat.
One of my favourite herbs starts to come to life again in January. Sorrel - so easy to grow (just scatter the seeds over raked soil - but in a place that you don't mind if it goes mad in - it's a bit of a bully) and the lemony sharp leaves are wonderful in a winter salad or perhaps a salmon quiche. Sorrel will bring your jaded winter palate back to life!
Tune in to QVC each week to see Food with Lotte, Sky Digital Channel 640, Freeview Channel 16, Virgin TV Channel 740, Freesat Channel 800. Log on to.qvcuk.com or call 0800 50 40 30.
Watch out for Lotte's new cookery range coming soon! |
