West country chicken casserole with cider, apple and celery

Now we're firmly into autumn why not try this homely, comforting, very English-tasting casserole from my book Meat & Two Veg? Do try and find some proper ‘dirty celery’ with some soil still clinging to the stalks, if you can. It has so much more flavour

Serves 4

2 level tbsp plain flour

4 boneless (but not skinless) chicken breasts

3 tbsp light olive oil

25g butter

1 large onion (about 175g), peeled, halved and sliced

1 large carrot (about 125g), peeled, cut lengthways and sliced

2-3 sticks of celery, washed, trimmed and sliced

1/2 tsp fresh thyme

175ml ready-made fresh chicken stock

175ml dry cider

1 large or 2 smaller Blenheim or Cox apples (about 150g) peeled and sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chives to decorate

Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pat the chicken breasts dry with kitchen towel then coat them thoroughly in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat a large, deep, lidded frying pan or casserole for a couple of minutes over a moderately high heat. Add 1 tbsp of oil then, when that is hot, half the butter. Place the chicken breasts in the pan, skin side downwards and fry for 2-3 minutes until the skin is nicely browned. Turn the breasts over, turn the heat down and fry the other side for about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate, discard the fat in the pan and wipe it clean.

Return the pan to a moderate heat and add the remaining oil and butter. Add the onion, carrot and celery, stir well, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Stir in the thyme and any leftover flour and stir.

Add the chicken stock and cider, bring to the boil and add the sliced apples. Turn the heat down and return the chicken pieces to the pan, spooning the vegetables over them. Replace the lid and cook at a gentle simmer for about 35-40 minutes, stirring the vegetables occasionally to stop them sticking and turning the chicken breasts over half way through. Add a little extra cider or chicken stock if needed.

Check the seasoning, adding extra salt or pepper to taste. Serve the chicken on warm plates and top with a few scissor-snipped chives. A few buttered new potatoes would be nice.

What to drink: Cider. What else?!

Image © Jason Lowe.

Claire Clark's Austrian Coffee Cake

The cover recipe from pastry chef Claire Clark's gorgeous new book 80 Cakes from around the World, photographed by the equally talented Jean Cazals.

Claire writes: When the Turkish army retreated in haste after the Battle of Vienna in 1683, they left behind bags of coffee, or so the story goes. Perhaps it was the bountiful supply of coffee that led to Vienna’s famous café culture.

Many a fine cake has come out of Vienna and this coffee cake is a prime example of how good a sponge cake can be. It is really simple to make but the results are stunning. I was reminded of this when I went for dinner at my neighbour’s house. Kath baked this cake for dessert and filled it with fresh raspberries. Use whatever fruits are in season.

Editor's note: there are a couple of ingredients - the freeze-dried raspberries and candied rose fragments you'll probably need to buy in advance or online (see below) You will also need a 20cm bundt ring tin

185g unsalted butter, at room temperature

185g caster sugar

3 medium eggs, lightly beaten

185g self-raising flour, sifted

a pinch of salt

To finish

125g hot, strong black coffee

15g caster sugar

1 tablespoon rum

300ml whipping cream

25g icing sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

To decorate

1 tube (2g) freeze-dried raspberries (Waitrose sells them)

5 fresh black figs

5g candied rose fragments (sold here)

Heat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease and flour a 20cm bundt ring tin. Using an electric mixer*, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, creaming well after each addition. Fold in the flour and salt with a large metal spoon.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin and bake for about 25 minutes, until it is golden brown and springs back when gently pressed with your finger. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

Sweeten the hot coffee with the sugar and stir in the rum. Return the cooled cake to the bundt tin and slowly pour the coffee over it. Invert immediately on to a serving plate and leave to cool once more.

Put the cream in a bowl with the icing sugar and vanilla and whip to medium peaks. Spread most of it over the cake, using a palette knife; it does not have to look perfectly smooth. Spoon or pipe the remaining cream into the centre of the cake and level with a spatula. Grind half the freeze-dried raspberries to a powder in a pestle and mortar or with a spice grinder. Using a tea strainer, dust the powder over the cream. Sprinkle with the remaining raspberry pieces. Cut the figs into quarters and arrange them in a circular fashion on top of the cake. Sprinkle with the candied rose fragments.

What to drink: You could pair an Austrian sweet wine with this such as an Ausbruch or a sweet gewurztraminer but I'd probably drink more black coffee

Extracted from 80 cakes from around the world by Claire Clark, published by Absolute Press at £20. Photo © Jean Cazals.

Cyrus Todiwala's Saffron and Cardamom Crème Brûlée

This is an amazing recipe I tasted earlier this year at the London Wine Fair and persuaded chef Cyrus Todiwala of Café Spice Namasté to share. He says it's not yet in any of his books so you're not to nick it and pass it off as yours!

The Café Spice Namaste Saffron & Cardamom Crème Brulee

Serves 4

Equipment and preparation: You'll need a shallow ovenproof dish (to make one large crème brûlée) or four brûlée dishes or large ramekins (for individual brulées). You'll also need a mini-blowtorch to caramelise the top, a saucepan and a heat resistant scraper, whisk and wooden spatula and definitely a good small blender or liquidizer and a strainer

Ingredients

450ml/16fl oz double cream

250ml/ 8fl oz whole milk. Best is Jersey Gold Top

1 large or 2 smaller vanilla pods, split, seeds scraped out (or a few drops of vanilla extract) Use your judgment - some vanilla is stronger than others

5-6 free-range or organic egg yolks (save the egg whites for another dish or freeze them for future use)

100g/3½ oz caster sugar, plus 40g/1½ oz more, for the topping

40g fresh ginger, washed & chopped coarsely with the skin

4-5 green cardamom pods, smashed in a mortar - not powdered

a good pinch of saffron powder. (We use only the best from Tarbund in Iran. If you can't find a good saffron powder then use saffron threads which you need to toast gently in a small bowl inside a warm oven, crumble slightly when crisp and then let infuse in a little of the cooked, strained milk )

method

. Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed saucepan along with the ginger and cardamom pods and bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently scraping the sides of the pan clean regularly with the spatula. Cook until the milk is reduced to about 100ml.

. Cool slightly then pour the mixture into the blender scraping the pan clean and blend. Pass through a strainer squeezing out as much of the milk as you can and only then discard the ginger and cardamom pulp. (We actually use it to make tea afterwards as it is not that useless!)

. Pour the strained milk back into the pan along with the cream and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.

. Split the vanilla pods down the middle with a sharp knife. Scrape out the seeds with the knife and add the seeds and the pods (or the vanilla extract) to the cream and milk mixture. Stir well to combine and slowly bring back up to simmering point.

. Pour the caster sugar into a bowl with the yolks and whisk together until well combined and frothy.

. Pour the hot cream and milk mixture (along with the vanilla pods, if using) over the egg yolks and sugar. Stir thoroughly for a minute or two to dissolve the sugar. (At this stage you can chill the mixture in the fridge and make the brulées the following day, or carry on with the recipe.)

. Add the saffron as desired. (We like it to look nice and deep coloured)

. Discard the vanilla pod or pods and pour or ladle the brûlée mixture into the serving dish (or dishes).

. Place the crème brûlée dish or dishes into a deep baking tray and pour hot water into the tray, until the water reaches halfway up the sides of the dishes (this is called a bain-marie).

. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2 Place the bain-marie into the preheated oven and cook the crème brûlées for about 30-35 minutes or until set firm but still with a slight wobble. Allow to cool. You can place the brûlées in the fridge at this stage if you're not serving them immediately but as soon as they are completely cool cover them with cling wrap so the top does not dry out and they don't pick up odours from the fridge.

. For the topping, sprinkle half of the remaining caster sugar on top of the brûlées. Heat the surface with a mini-blowtorch until it forms a thin layer of caramel.

Sprinkle over the rest of the sugar and caramelise with the mini-blowtorch once again, to form a thick crunchy layer. The crème brûlées are ready to serve immediately or in 2-3 hours.

What to drink: Cyrus matched this crème brulée made into tartlets with a glorious fortified sweet wine called Carthagène which I made my match of the week a couple of months ago. A late harvest viognier or vendange tardive gewurztramine would also be delicious.

Recipe © Cyrus Todiwala OBE. Photo is of the tartlet version.

Rosemary, Polenta and Olive Oil Biscuits

At this time of year no-one wants to spend too much time in the kitchen but it's well worth the few minutes it takes to rustle up these incredibly easy and delicious home-made biscuits from food writer Xanthe Clay's lovely book The Contented Cook - perfect, she says, with ice cream or with raspberries and cream

Xanthe says they take well to other flavourings too. "Try a teaspoonful of lavender flowers, the grated zest of lemon and orange, a teaspoonful of crushed fennel seed, or ½ teaspoonful of ground cardamom seeds."

Makes 8–12

150g flour

30g fine polenta

60g caster sugar

Pinch of salt

Leaves from 3 x 10cm rosemary sprigs

90ml light olive oil (not extra virgin)

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Chop the leaves of the rosemary finely, then stir them with the oil into the mixture. Pat into a round about 0.5cm thick on a baking tray (no need to grease it, although a sheet of greaseproof paper is a good idea, as much to protect the biscuits from over-heating as anything), or use a 20cm round loose-bottomed cake tin. Mark into squares or segments with a knife. Chill for an hour in the fridge, then bake for about 40 minutes at 150°C/gas mark 2 until very lightly coloured. Leave for five minutes or so on the tray (or in the tin) then lift on to a rack to finish cooling.

From The Contented Cook by Xanthe Clay. Published by Kyle Books, priced £19.99. Photography: Tara Fisher