Tuesday 27 May 2014

Week beginning Tuesday May 27th - VE, V, GF, F

This week we will be focussing our menu on vegetarian, vegan, raw and gluten free. We are noticing now more that ever a growing demand for these items on the menu, and as the weather warms up the variety of produce available makes these diets more sustainable. Also on our menu blog and display cards you’ll find universal symbols to help you decide which foods are good for you.

(V) vegetarian
(VE) vegan
(GF) gluten-free
(F) flexitarian, my new favourite word...

In the last of our recipes during the month of May we will be sharing our chocolate laminations. As it is the end of the month and our famous Pay-Day Lamingtons will be available from Thursday to Saturday. Once again if you do make this please send us a tweet picture to @kaffeinelondon and we will retweet your successful bake. 

Lamingtons

3 large eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup corn flour
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate Icing:
25 g cocoa powder
25g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
150ml water
375g icing sugar

Extras:
500g desiccated coconut 
200ml double cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla 
1 1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
Method:

Preheat Oven to 190oC, line at 6 inch by 8-inch sandwich tin with baking paper. 
Beat egg whites until peaks form when beater is removed. Slowly add caster sugar to the egg whites and continue to beat until the mixture is stiff and sugar dissolved. 
Add the egg yolks and beat until well blended. Sift corn flour, flour and baking powder three times and fold into egg mixture gently with a metal spoon. Use an up and down movement, don't stir.
Pour sponge mixture into sandwich tin and bake for 15 - 17mins. Allow sponge to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack. Once cooled trim the edges and cut the sponge 4x4 making 16 pieces.

To make icing you will need a small pot, place cocoa, vanilla, butter, water into pot and place on a high heat and stir until the cocoa has dissolved into the water and makes a syrupy paste.
Place chocolate mixture into bowl with icing sugar and beat till smooth and runny.
In a separate bowl place coconut, dip the sponge squares into the chocolate icing then coconut, coating all sides of the sponge with coconut. Place the lamingtons onto grease proof paper to set.

Whip the cream, vanilla and caster sugar till the cream is quite floppy make sure you don’t over beat as this will turn the whipped cream into butter.

To complete the lamingtons spoon one dollop of whipped cream onto a lamington square and carefully place another square on top, they are now ready to eat.

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.

Jared Bryant
Lead Chef
Kaffeine
@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Summer berries and white chocolate (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Apple, mustard, thyme, cheddar (V) 2.40
Apricot friands 2.40 (V, GF)
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Melting moments biscuits 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch
French retro baguettes 5.00
Roasted red peppers, courgette, butternut with pesto and camembert (V)
Ham, bubblegum berries, gorgonzola, basil and rocket

Foccacias 5.30
Pancetta, mushroom, grapefruit soft cheese, rosemary and spinach
Tomato, avocado, periperi mayonnaise, mature cheddar and rocket (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Grilled marinated tofu with soba noodles, edamame, carrots, spring onion and lemongrass (VE, GF)
Roasted sweet potato with sea beet flowering tops and satay dressing (VE, GF)
Baked round courgette salad with rosey garlic flowers, pineapple and wild rocket dressing (VE, GF)

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Spring vegetable gratin with fat hen (foraged herb), grilled apricots and pistachio (VE, GF)


Sunday 18 May 2014

Week beginning May 19th - British Sandwich Awards - Gold

To celebrate our golden win for Best Independent Cafe sandwich retailer at the Sandwich Awards last week we will be making a collection of what most consider our best of selection. These are sandwiches that have made a regular appearance on Kaffeine’s menu over the last 4 years. These filling tend to be our biggest sellers or the variety we receive the most request for. Come in this week and try something from our award winning display. 

Our recipe of the week is Apricot Friands, a wheat and gluten free cake made with almonds, butter and egg whites. Very simple to make and the batter can be stored in a fridge for up to a week, so you can bake in small batches if needed. Please feel free to post a picture of your efforts on our twitter page @kaffeinelondon.

Apricot Friands

600g flaked almonds
300g caster sugar
250g good quality salted butter
100ml butter-milk
10 egg whites
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

ICING:
300g sliced apricot
150g caster sugar
3 tablespoons water
350g cream cheese

METHOD:

Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat until it becomes foamy, then remove from heat and leave to stand. Ground almonds in food processor until they are fine like breadcrumbs (might take several minutes to get this consistency). Place the ground almonds in a large mixing bowl with sugar, baking powder, soda and cinnamon; mix together until combined. Add the buttermilk, egg whites, vanilla and butter to the dry mixture; beat together for 2 minutes.
To bake friands grease a friand (oval shaped moulds) pan with oil spray and 3/4 fill each mould. Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 180ºC for 25 minutes.

To make the icing put apricots, water and sugar in saucepan and place over a high heat, cook for about 10 minutes until syrup forms and apricots become mushy, and then remove from heat. Pass the apricots through a sieve using the back of a spoon, leave to cool. 
Put cream cheese in mixing bowl then add 3/4 of the apricot syrup, beat until well combined. 


To finish the friands turn out each almond cake and cool on wire rake before icing. Using a tablespoon place a large dot of icing on top of each friand followed by 1 teaspoon of apricot syrup to garnish, your wheat and gluten-free cakes are now ready to eat. 

Please enjoy the menu this week, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.

Jared Bryant
Lead Chef
@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Apricot and almond 2.40
Savoury Scone: Insalata caprese (tomato, mozzarella and basil) 2.40
Buckthorn and white chocolate friands 2.40 (GF)
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Melting moments biscuits 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch
French retro baguettes 5.00
Hummus, carrot, cucumber, olives and rocket (V)
Ham, gherkin, Dijon, Gruyere, red onion, spinach

Foccacias 5.30
Smoked salmon, aioli, capers, dill, red onion and rocket
Crumbed aubergine, tomato sauce, mozzarella, spinach (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Roasted H&G Walters’s organic duck with mango, cucumber, shredded carrot, Asian herbs and oregon grape dressing
Asparagus and foraged sea aster, parmesan, lemon, basil and mustard (V)
Raw rainbow radish and honesty seed pods with spring onion, chives and parsley (GF)

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
HG Walters Organic Chicken pie in a pistachio pastry


Friday 9 May 2014

Week beginning May 12th - Bubbleberries & Carrot and lemon marmalade

This weeks menu introduces a new ingredient that has featured in the media heavily the last 2 weeks, bubbleberries. There are only 2 companies that have the rights to sell these jewelled fruits, one being Waitrose the other our fresh produce supplier 4 degrees. Bubbleberries have the appearance of deep red miniature strawberries but have the aroma and flavour of bubblegum, random but true. This week we will be popping these berries into one of our salads with Gorgonzola, toasted sesame and coconut, polenta balls with a Kahlua dressing. 

Our recipe challenge this week will be our famous carrot and lemon marmalade. I first came across this jam in the Sahara desert, made by a Bedouin woman. At the time I was working on a film set that demanded the dramatic landscape of a great red-hot land, which is the reason for us being there. Ramadan fell in the middle of the shoot and many of our workers were locals. It also happened to be the peak of summer where temperatures would rise above 50 degrees Celsius. The days were very long, more so for the local helpers who had to endure a fast and work in extreme conditions. Often I would find several of our workers hiding/sleeping behind the portable air conditioning units in the middle of the afternoon, who could blame them?

So I could grasp their discipline during their religious yearly event, I challenged myself to a day of fasting in the same conditions as our Moroccan workers. This was a great novelty to the locals; most of them predicted I wouldn't last the day or even 2 hours. They were right, I made it to the 6th hour before I succumbed to water and temperatures reached a record 58 degrees that day. Though I failed miserably the locals let me join them in their breakfast, which is what they eat when the sun sets. It involves their version of porridge, Moroccan pancakes, along with many different condiments. During Moroccan breakfast I was first introduced to carrot marmalade, at first the woman who made it wanted me to guess what it was made of, I went through the usual orange fruit like oranges and mango, I gave up after these 2. After a day of nagging what was in the vibrant jam it was revealed the secret ingredient was carrot.

The origins and inspiration for our signature marmalade comes from North Africa, what follows is the recipe I came up with when I arrived back in the UK after the production was done.

Carrot and Lemon Marmalade
1 kg peeled and grated carrots
3 un-waxed lemons
1 kg granulated sugar

METHOD:
Place the carrots and whole lemons into a large pot with a heavy base and fill with warm water until the ingredients are just covered. Put the pot over a high heat and bring to a simmer, cook until the carrots are just tender, this can take up to 40 minutes.
Drain the liquid and leave to cool for 20 minutes. The next step is to grate the carrots and place back into the same pot. Slice the soft lemons in half and scoop out the seeds, then finely slice the lemons into thin strips and add to carrots.
Next place the pot over a medium heat and warm up the carrots and lemons, once they begin to steam pour in the sugar and gently stir until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat up high and leave the marmalade to bubble and simmer for 15minutes.

During this time place a saucer in the fridge to get cold. To test if the jam is ready put a teaspoon of marmalade onto the cold saucer and leave in the fridge for 1 minute to cool, then run your finger through the middle. If the liquid part of the marmalade doesnt merge back together it is ready. Leave the marmalade to sit for 15 minutes on a cool bench top before pouring into sterilised jam jars, seal with a lid tightly and store in a dark cool place until ready to consume. 

It is a delicious marmalade, made even better when you tell your friends or family what is in it.

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.

Jared Bryant
Lead Chef
@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Peach and raspberry 2.40
Savoury Scone: Curried peas and soft cheese 2.40
Buckthorn and white chocolate friands 2.40 (GF)
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Melting moments biscuits 2.00

Lunch
French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham with glazed nectarines, camembert, red onion, basil and rocket
Roasted butternut, saute mushrooms, tarragon, dijon, cheddar and spinach (V)

Foccacias 5.30
Pancetta, avocado, tomato, mango mayonaise and spinach
Broad bean pate with roasted red onions, oregano, spicy feta spread and rocket (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Hot smoked salmon with pickled rainbow radish, candied almonds and a paprika yoghurt dressing (GF)
Bubblegum berries with gorgonzola, polenta balls, toasted sesame seeds and coconut with a kahlua dressing (V)
Roasted sweet potatoes with saute rainbow chard and tapenade dressing (GF)

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Open tart with mornay Devon Crab and passionfruit dressing

Tuesday 6 May 2014

Week beginning Tuesday May 6th - Blueberry and Bran muffins

As I was saying in last weeks blog, during the month of May we will be posting a recipe from our menu. The reason behind this mainly because there isn't a lot of celebrations to base our menu on during this month which means there isn't a lot for me to report on. However we can celebrate our busiest day in terms of coffee and muffins sales since we opened almost 5 years ago.

Last weeks canelé recipe was somewhat complex and as far as we are aware no one has attempted the recipe we posted. As a result of our muffin sales last week we have decided to post the recipe for our most popular of muffin variety 'Blueberry and Bran'. These are simple to make with great results; and every household may not have a canelé moulds but almost every kitchen has a muffin tray. 

The recipe that follows was inspired by one of my favourite places to eat growing up. A roadside cafe called the Pumpkin Cafe located in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. It was a humble cafe that had its own kiwi fruit orchard and fresh produce store. The one thing they excelled at was blueberry muffins, this was during a time where just add water muffin mixes was popular within the hospitality industry. The finished product was very cakey and you were lucky to get more that 5 dried blueberries the size of a raisin. 

The Pumpkin Cafe only used fresh blueberries and made the scone batter from scratch. When ordered they would toast them and serve with a side of butter. The recipe that follows is my interpretation of this memory and has been a base for all Kaffeine muffins since we opened in 2009. 

We welcome you to make this recipe and tweet to our twitter account @kaffeinelondon, there is no prize but you will be reward with a successful bake from our tried and tested recipe.

BLUEBERRY AND BRAN MUFFINS

450g Plain Flour
200g sugar
100g butter melted
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons bran
150ml buttermilk
150ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
250g fresh blueberries

METHOD:
Place in a large mixing bowl flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and bran; stir together till evenly incorporated, then gently mix through the blueberries.
Once the butter has melted leave to stand and cool for 5 minutes then beat in the eggs and add to the dry mixture along with the buttermilk, milk and vanilla, mix together using a butter knife until just under mixed.

Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either butter or oil spray and evenly distribute the muffin mixture into the pan. Garnish each muffin with a sprinkling of sugar on top of each muffin and bake in preheated oven at 180oC on middle shelf for 25minutes. Once cooked leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from pan. Best served warm with some butter.

Please enjoy this weeks menu, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.

Jared Bryant
Lead Chef
@redjar50

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffin: Blueberry and bran 2.40
Savoury Scone: Courgette and feta 2.40
Buckthorn and white chocolate friands 2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Afgan Biscuits 2.00

Lunch
French retro baguettes 5.00
Smoked salmon with lime cheese, cucumber, thai basil and rocket
Asparagus, camembert, pesto, red onion and spinach

Foccacias 5.30
Ham, tomato mayonnaise, baked courgette, mozzarella and spinach
Sauté mushrooms and leeks, tarragon, pecorino fondue, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90
Crushed fresh peas with crispy ham, mint, fried salsify buds and gooseberries
Slow baked heritage tomatoes with marinated fennel and rock samphire
Jersey royals tossed in a spiced and fragrant dressing

Tart: 4.40 or 7.90 with salad
Chicken and scented mayweed