Corn Cake (Bolo de Fubá)

For a big corn cake:

3 whole eggs

2 1/2 cups of milk

1 1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/2 cups of 'polenta' (or corn flour, but polenta is better)

1 1/2 cup of plain wheat flour

1/3 cup of oil

2 soup spoons of baking powder

Mix everything and bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees.

Optional: 1 spoon of ground cinnamon and 2 spoons of coconut.

Sausage Rolls 2 ways

1st version - Traditional Sausage Rolls



Ingredients

• 375g/13oz bought ready-rolled puff pastry
• about 2 tbsp either chutney of your choice, cranberry sauce, mustard, pickle, apple sauce, pesto, sun-dried tomato paste or red onion jam (I used bramley apple sauce and caramelised red onion chutney; I used about a tablespoon as I was worried about the sauce spilling out, however the apple ones could have done with more for additional flavour)
• 5 good-quality thick pork sausages (I used outdoor reared pork, pork and apple, and pork and red onion)
• 1 small egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Cut the pastry into 10 rectangles, about 7x10cm/2¾x4in, and place a small spoonful of your chosen filling into the middle of each one.
3. Cut the sausages in half, making 10 smaller sausages, and then peel away the skins. Lay the sausages on top of the filling on the pastry rectangles. Roll the pastry over the sausage, brushing the join with the beaten egg to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet, sealed-side down, and brush them with the egg to give a nice shiny glaze when cooked.
4. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and crispy, and eat as soon as they are cool enough or leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

2nd version - Mini Sausage Rolls in Filo Pastry




Ingredients

• dash olive oil
• 9 chipolata sausages
• 3 sheets ready-made filo pastry
• 30g/1oz butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the chipolatas until lightly browned on all sides. Leave to cool slightly.
3. Cut each sheet of filo pastry into three long strips and brush each strip with melted butter.
4. Place a sausage at one end of each strip and roll up in the pastry. Brush all over with more butter and place onto a baking sheet.
5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp and the sausages are completely cooked through.
6. To serve, place onto a serving plate.

Fruit Salad

Easy, quick, and healthy ...

To do fruit salad all you need are a few different fruits cut into small pieces. I suggest you use the following as a minimum: apple (different varieties?), orange, banana, pineapple, and peach. Other options are: melon, watermelon, grapes, cherries, pear, etc. I would advise against strawberries since they tend to get too soft too quickly (unless you are eating the fruit salad right away). As a guide, you can try to use, at least, 1 piece of fruit per person.

One trick I always tend to use is to get at least one can of fruit (you can choose the peaches, the pineapple or a mixed fruit one) and pour some of its syrup in the salad (this is the only less healthy bit).

Leave it in the fridge for a while before serving; it will taste nicer :P But do bear in mind that the properties of some fruits deteriorate with time, so fruit salad should not be made too long before being served.

Enjoy!

Cupcakes

Makes 24 to 36 cupcakes. For cooking club we cut the recipes in half. If you liked the eggy ones, cut all ingredients in half except eggs, or use normal measurements but double eggs.

Chocolate

21/4 c flour
12/3 c sugar
3/4 c butter/margarine softened
2/3 c baking cocoa
11/4 c water
11/4 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
1/4 t baking powder
2 large eggs

Yellow Cake

21/4 c flour
11/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter/margarine softened
11/4 c milk
31/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
3 eggs

Heat oven 350 F. Beat all ingredients. Bake rectangle cake pan (13X9X2 inch pan) 40 minutes, 2 round cake pans (9 inch) 30 minutes, or cupcakes 3/4 filled to top 25 minutes.