Honey Cake & Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Breast
Honey Cake
Ingredients
1 cup plain flour*
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey*
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 tbsp milk, lightly warmed
1 pinch orange zest
1/3 cup almond flakes
HONEY SYRUP
2/3 cup honey*
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp lemon juice
TOPPING OPTIONS FOR SERVING
Vanilla ice cream, cream, lightly toasted almond flakes or slivered almonds
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
2. Prepare cake pan: Butter and line a 20cm/8" round pan with baking paper (base and sides).
3. Whisk Dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
4. Cream butter and honey: In a separate bowl, cream the butter and honey for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides halfway, until smooth and fluffy.
5. Add eggs and flour – Add one egg, mix with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds until mostly incorporated into the batter (mixture will looked curdled). Then add in 1/4 of the flour and mix until the batter comes together. Repeat again – mixing in 1 egg, then a portion of flour – until you've used all the eggs.
6. Milk and zest: Stir in the milk and orange zest, stir until the batter is almost completely smooth. The batter should be quite thick, but soft.
7. Bake 45 min: Scrape batter into the prepared pan, smooth the surface and sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Cool 30 min: Remove cake from the oven. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan – don’t skip this else the cake gets too dense when soaked with syrup.
9. Honey Syrup: Meanwhile, make the syrup. Bring the honey and water to a gentle boil for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the lemon juice and boil for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat, cool for 10 minutes then use per below.
10. Poke and soak: Poke about 30 holes all across the surface using a skewer (between the almond flakes). Pour 1/4 of the warm Honey Syrup across the surface (if using a springform pan, put it on a plate in case it leaks). Once it mostly sinks in, repeat 3 more times, waiting between pours for the syrup to soak in. Then leave the cake to soak for 15 minutes.
11. Serve: Serve warm. Remove the springform pan sides or serve it straight out of the cake pan. I typically serve it plain.
*In Flyer September 11-17, 2022
Recipe and photo credit: Recipe Tin Eats
Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients
7oz chicken breast, skinless boneless*
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp unsalted butter
7 oz mushrooms, sliced 3mm (1/8″) thick (~2 heaped cups) *
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
2 cups baby spinach
3 oz mozzarella, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F.
2. Cut pockets into each chicken breast, being sure not to cut all the way through. Cut on the side with the fold in the meat, to keep the smooth side intact.
3. Season the inside and outside of the chicken with half the salt and pepper.
4. Mushroom filling: Melt butter in a heavy based oven proof skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes until they start to turn pretty golden. Then add garlic, thyme, remaining salt and pepper and continue cooking for a further 2 minutes until mushrooms are nice and golden.
5. Add spinach: Add baby spinach and stir until wilted – about 30 seconds.
6. Stuff mushroom mixture into the pocket of each chicken, then top with cheese.
7. Seal with toothpicks as best you can – it doesn’t need to be fully sealed like we do with Chicken Kiev. Just mostly sealed.
8. Sear chicken: Give the pan a quick wipe with paper towels. Heat oil over medium high heat. Sear each side of the chicken breast for 1 1/2 minutes until golden.
9. Bake 15 minutes: Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 65°C/149°F (chicken flesh, not the mushroom filling).
10. Rest 5 minutes: Remove from tray onto a plate, loosely cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes. Serve
*In Flyer September 11-17, 2022
Recipe and photo credit: Recipe Tin Eats