0 Seasoned Pioneers

Recently those lovely people at Seasoned Pioneers kindly sent us a selection of their spices and also a pack of their new range "Knead the Seed" seed mixes. Seasoned Pioneers are a family firm based on the Wirral and their spice collection is extensive and second to none.

All their spices are packaged in light proof resealable pouches which are great for ensuring that your chosen spice has a maximum shelf life and is still fragrant and flavourful when you next come to use it after opening. Seasoned Pioneers stock a wide range of individual spices and spice mixes some of which are very difficult to obtain.

I'm in good company when it come to reviewing their products as their very informative product booklet is stuffed full of complements from the likes of Delia, Nigel Slater and Nick Nairns to name just a few. I can see why as the spice mixtures are very flavourful, reasonably be price and the unique packaging seals in the flavour, plus they stock some of the more innovative spices and spice mixes.

The website is very informative and can be found here and is a great place to start if you need to restock your spice rack and also if you wish to purchase a more novel gift, I for one would be very happy to find one of their gift boxes or seasoning selections under the Christmas tree.

You can find the recipe to the cake I made with the Quatre Epice spice mix here. I have also used the 8 seed mixture in a flatbread recipe and was very happy with the resultant bread which I served with a spicy fish curry.

Seasoned Pioneers can also be found on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Detail: Seasoned Pioneers

0 Spiced apple chickpea cake

Recently I have been experimenting with cake recipes that are naturally gluten free or are made with alternative flours or no flour at all. I have previously dabbled with cakes made with chickpeas and beans previously including one that ended up being featured in The Clandestine Cake club cook book and they turned out well. The gluten free chocolate cake is of particular note , the link is here.

This recipe is based on the same basic recipe but I fancied including grated apples and spices to provide a fruity flavour in place of the chocolate plus I have bought a lot of apples recently as I am also planning on having a go at using apple sauce / puree as a butter alternative in baking so watch out for that post too.

Chickpeas or garbanzo beans (as our friends across the pond call them) are used as the flour substitute yet you still get some rise, the recipe is also lower fat as it has no added oils or butters. The cake is lovely and moist and is great served on its own or as a dessert if served with cream, custard or yogurt. You would never know it contains chickpeas at all, plus it smells amazing whilst baking all cosy and comforting.

What you need

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 cup of caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp lebucken spice (I used Steenbergs but you can come up with your own spice mix, may be incorporating cinnamon, cloves, ginger or what ever else takes your fancy)
• A couple of cox apples - grated keep the skin on 
• Lemon rind

What you do

• Grease a square cake tin roughly 9" by 9"
• Pre heat your oven to 180C
• Pulse the chickpeas in a food processor until they become a fine paste , now pulse in the rest of the ingredients.
• Pour the mix into your prepared tin, don't be alarmed the mixture will be very runny
• Bake for at least 45 minutes until golden, set and risen. Test with a skewer to make sure its cooked through
• Cool fully on a wire rack
• Cut into squares and store in an airtight tin for a couple of days if it lasts that long

Detail: Spiced apple chickpea cake

0 Chai Tea bread

I don't know about any body else but when its cold and blustery outside , I like nothing better than hankering down with a cup of tea and a great piece of cake (always homemade), baking that contains warming spices always seems so comforting to me. Chai tea is also very comforting so I decided to merge the two in this cake , I was very pleased with the resultant warmingly spiced tea loaf, deliciously moist and very moreish.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour - sieved
• 2 tsp baking powder (level)
• 1/2 cup of sunflower margarine
• 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 eggs free range
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1/2 cup of chai tea, cooled (I used vanilla chai tea bags by Pukka)
• 1/3 cup of skimmed milk
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of sea salt

Method

• Pre heat your oven to 180c
• Oil spray your 2lb loaf tin and line lengthwise with a piece of grease proof paper or baking parchment
• In your mixer, mix all you ingredients until smooth and well incorporated, be careful not to over mix
• Pour into your prepared tin
• Bake for approximately 45 -50 minutes, until well risen, golden and tests cooked with a skewer
• Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from tin and leaving to cool fully on a wire rack .
• Stores well when wrapped in foil.

Detail: Chai Tea bread