Dragon Age – Found Cake

When I had a read through Game Rant’s “Most Disappointing Games of 2011” I wasn’t surprised when I saw Dragon Age II among the expected movie tie-in games of the year. Although I know a lot of people loved it, it was a saddening shadow of the awesome that was Dragon Age and an even greater festering husk of Baldur’s Gate for me. I was so involved with Dragon Age and so attached to Alistair (I don’t even find blond men attractive) I once drunkenly reprimanded a guy with the same name at a party for sacrificing himself at the end of my tale. I’m not sure how he felt when I declared my love and explained the impending grief for both me and the people of Ferelden but thankfully I still had my trusty dog (Bucephalus) who once brought me this cake. Personally, I don’t know what the hell Tycho was complaining about – I’d eat a “found cake”. Cake is cake, after all.

This recipes serves 6.

What you will need: Two 8inch (20cm) round sandwich tins, sieve, 2 mixing bowls and a whisk.

Ingredients:

175g / ¾ Cup Butter (Room Temperature)

175g / ¾ Cup Caster/Fine Grain Sugar

3 Eggs (Room Temperature)

175g / ¾ Cup Self-Raising Flour

70g / ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder (High Quality)

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

To Garnish:

250ml / 1 Cup Whipping Cream

Icing/Confectioners Sugar (Optional)

2 Strawberries (Halved)

Dog Spittle (Optional)

Making the Found Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F. Grease the cake tin with a little butter, line it with greaseproof paper/baking parchment and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until pale and creamy. While continuing to mix, gradually add the eggs and whisk well until light and fluffy.
3. Sieve in half the flour, gently fold it in then sieve in the rest of the flour along with the cocoa powder and baking powder. Add the vanilla extract and stir.
4. Divide the cake mix between the prepared tins and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. The top of the cakes should spring back when softly pressed if ready. Once cooked, remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool.
5. Once cooled, remove the cakes from the tins. Whip the cream (with a little sugar if you wish), spread half the cream on top of one layer then turn the other layer upside down, place it on top and cover with the remainder of the cream. Place 3 of the strawberry halves on top to decorate.
6. Optional: Place the cake on your kitchen floor and get your dog to serve it for that final, authentic touch.

I’ve based the recipe for the Found Cake off the traditional Victoria sponge. This is a simple, fuss-free cake that wouldn’t be out of place in a Ferelden setting. It’s incredibly light and fluffy which means you can eat four slices for each slice of normal cake, ideal for any New Year dieters, because I’m pretty sure lack of cake is what turned Flemeth into that dragon.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Portal - Cake.

Request: The Sims – Key Lime Pie

Last Thursday it was Adam’s birthday, he hates the idea of birthday cakes and any kind of fanfare but I couldn’t let his day go by without him having something nice to eat. His favourite dessert is Key Lime pie and I just happened to have a string of requests for the same dish from when I made The Sims Mac and Cheese. Although not the most bizarre dish to appear in The Sims (I’m looking at you ‘Eggs Machiavellian’, eggs and watermelon? Really?!) it seems to be one of the most popular in-game desserts - I know that my Sim bakes it on a regular occasion only to leave servings of it around the house for impending pie emergencies. Since it now counts as a Gourmet Gaming post, it’s no longer a birthday treat and therefore acceptable for a non-celebration… right?

This recipe serves 6-8.

What you will need: A 9-inch pie dish, a whisk, a grater and a large bowl.

For the Crust:

200g / 2 Cups Crushed Digestives (or Graham Crackers)

2 Tablespoons Ground Ginger

45g / ¼ Cups Caster/Granulated Sugar

135g / ⅝ Cup Butter (Melted)

For the Lime Filling:

4 Large Egg Yolks

400ml / 1 ¾ Cups Condensed Milk

6 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice

2 Tablespoons Lime Zest (Grated)

To Garnish:

Lime Jelly (Jell-o)

120ml / ½ Cup Double Cream

2 Tablespoons Icing/Confectioners Sugar

5 Quarter-Lime Slices

Making the Key Lime Pie:

1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F and place a baking tray inside. Grease and line a pie dish and set aside.
2. In a bowl combine the crushed digestives, ginger, sugar and butter then press evenly into the prepared pie dish. Place the pie dish in the oven on top of the preheated baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes. Once cooked remove and set aside to cool.
3. In a clean bowl whisk the egg yolks until pale and fluffy and gradually add the condensed milk. Pour in the lime juice and add the lime zest, mix well then pour the mixture into the cooled pie base.
4. Place the pie back into the oven (still at 175C/350F) for about 15 minutes or until the mixture has set. Once cooked remove the pie and allow to cool before placing in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours.
5. Prepare the lime jelly (Jell-o) as per the packet instructions. Allow the jelly mixture to cool significantly, once lukewarm remove the chilled pie from the fridge and carefully pour a small amount of the jelly liquid over (just enough to cover the pie filling) then return to the fridge until the jelly has set.
6. Before serving, whip the double cream with the sugar until it forms stiff peaks. Spoon the cream into an icing bag and pipe the cream in a circle around the edge and pipe a dollop into the middle of the pie. Arrange the lime slices around the centre.

I’m not usually a fan of citrus things, I often find lemony flavours over powering and they just make me feel like I’m eating kitchen cleaner. I had it in my mind that this was going to come out terrible, I didn’t even know what Key Lime Pie was supposed to taste like since I’d never dared try any before. It reminded me mostly of a cheese cake and amazingly the lime jelly added a nice sweetness against the tart filling. I’ve decided that baked creamy-pie-cake things are becoming my forte which is ironic considering they’re the one thing I can’t really eat but I suffer the small taster slice for you guys… Oh and Happy Birthday, Adam!

Like this? You might also enjoy the Sims - Mac and Cheese.

Dead Rising - Golden Brown Pizza

I’ll happily be the first to admit how much I really didn’t enjoy Dead Rising. I wanted to enjoy it; zombies, open world, plethora of weapons, photography… what wasn’t to like?! It just didn’t come together for me. After the 50th novelty Servbot mask and the 4000th victim of my lawnmower, all while I ran around in a rather fetching red dress, it just became old. What didn’t get old though was taking lecherous yet hilarious photos down or up my young female victims respective clothing… It often accosts me from my shelf because I rarely leave a game unfinished even if I’m not enjoying it all that much. But there is a reason behind picking this game over one that I actually enjoy: pizza. I’ve been looking for an excuse to make pizza for about two months; I’d considered TMNT, Neo Kobe and even No More Heroes to name a few, but I couldn’t source enough information to justify making the pizza - UNTIL TODAY. 

This recipe makes 3 Golden Brown Pizzas.

What you will need: Large pizza stone or pizza tray, sieve, large mixing bowl, measuring jug, rolling pin, medium bowl.

For the Dough:

500g ‘00’ Flour

½ Teaspoon Salt

7g Sachet of Dried Yeast

½ Tablespoon Sugar

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

325ml Warm Water

For the Tomato Base:

300g Tinned Plum Tomatoes

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Fresh Basil

Dried Oregano

Salt & Pepper

Toppings:

Fresh Hard Mozzarella

Green Pepper

Pineapple Chunks

Black Olives

Pepperoni

Preparing the Dough:

1. In a jug filled with 325ml warm water, add the yeast sugar and olive oil and leave to stand for a few minutes.
2. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the middle then pour the water and yeast mixture into the hole.
3. Use a fork to slowly mix the flour and the water, once the dough comes together, turn it out onto a floured surface and kneed with floured hands.
4. Once the dough forms a smooth ball, place it in a bowl lightly oiled with olive oil, cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place for about an hour.
5. While the dough is rising, you can prepare the tomato sauce base.

Preparing the Tomato Base:

1. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and break them up with a fork. 
2. Add the salt & pepper and herbs to taste, add the olive oil then mix. You do not need to cook this sauce.

Making the Golden Brown Pizza:

1. Preheat the oven to its highest setting with your pizza stone/tray inside.
2. Have all your toppings ready; peppers and olives sliced and mozzarella grated.
3. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and place on a floured surface, knock back the dough with your fists to get the air out.
4. Separate a piece of the dough, enough to make a pizza the size of your stone/tray, and roll it out into a rough circle.
5. Take the preheated stone/tray out of the oven and place your base onto it - trim any edges with a sharp knife if you‘d like a perfect circle or fold them up to make a crust.
6. Spread just enough of the marinara sauce to cover the top - too much will make the base soggy, make sure to leave a little edge. Sprinkle the mozzarella on first, then the pepperoni, pineapple, olives and peppers and drizzle lightly with some olive oil.
7. Place in the middle of the preheated oven and cook until golden brown.

Despite being half Italian, I’ve not made many pizzas. As expected, pizza making usually falls to my mother who has always been quick to shoo me from the kitchen which is probably why I didn’t really learn to cook until I left home. I had attempted to make a complicated ‘marinara’ style sauce for this, but I failed and it ended up like chunky tomato soup (for shame). When my mother wouldn’t answer her phone to impart her saucy secrets, I happily turned to my copy of Two Greedy Italians (a birthday present) and what a surprise, the tomato sauce base recipe was identical to my moms. Sometimes I think Italians have a shared consciousness for recipes. While the Golden Brown Pizza is supposed to be cooked in a microwave (god forbid - I don’t even own one), I decided that I’d rather have it more rustic and traditional. The toppings were rather tricky to figure out, that picture isn’t the clearest, though through much squinting I thought there was most likely pineapple on that pizza and I allowed it as a faithful American twist, even though my Nonno is probably rolling in his grave at the thought of it. While I couldn’t eat this pizza, I certainly enjoyed smelling it and the pizza I made for myself was awesome, I can seriously recommend this recipe as the ultimate in pizza-making and zombie-surviving snacks and what the hell is better than that?

Like this? You might also enjoy the Saints Row - Lil’ Gyro.

You only have until the 30th of September to vote for the Gourmet Gaming Hallowe’en Special, so VOTE NOW!

Request: Metal Gear Solid - Rations

A few weeks ago I received my first Gourmet Gaming request for the Rations from Metal Gear Solid. I’ll admit I’ve never played an awful lot of Metal Gear, so this request gave me the perfect excuse to play it. I found a copy of the Playstation original on one of my many shelves; the manual describes the Rations as “Meals-ready-to-eat.”, and notably that they are ‘military rations’. So I started by researching the actual provisions from the first and second World Wars and picked the idea of a Meat and Vegetable Stew; full of the right stuff that would “sustain Snake to help him fight”. I added the dumplings because really, who doesn’t love a good dumpling? This recipe makes enough for about two people, just double the quantities if you’d like to make it for more.

This recipe serves 2-4.

What you will need:

A large pot, a mixing bowl, a sieve and a tin can to serve.

For the Stew:

1 Large White Onion

1 Clove Garlic

100g Celery 

150g Chantenay Carrots

300g Braising Steak

500ml Beef Stock

15g Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

For the Dumplings:

50g Self Raising Flour

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

25g Shredded Suet (Beef or Vegetable)

¼ Teaspoon Salt

Handful of Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

5-8 Tablespoons Cold Water

Preparing the Dumplings:

1. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
2. Stir in the suet, chopped parsley and salt.
3. Slowly add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft and sticky.
4. With floured hands roll the dough into about 8 dumplings.

Making the Stew:

1. To prepare; chop the onion, carrots, celery and garlic.
2. Chop the braising steak into bite size chunks.
3. Put a few tablespoons of flour on a plate and season well with salt and pepper. Coat the beef pieces in the mixture then dust off any excess.
4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the pot and seal the meat, frying in small batches for about a minute each side. 
5. When done remove from the pot and set aside.
6. Add a little more oil if needed; add the chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the pot and cook until lightly golden.
7. Return the beef to the pot, add the thyme and bay leaf and stir.
8. Pour in the beef stock, season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to the boil.
9. Once boiling, reduce to a low heat, cover and simmer for about an hour and a half.
10. After an hour and a half add the dumplings, making sure they are covered with liquid. Cover the pot again and cook for another half hour.
11. Serve in a tin can and garnish with some thyme.

The good news is that the stew was delicious, the not so good news is that it was near impossible to make it look like what it was, but I think I got as close as I could without taking up metal craft (the request did state it had to be in a can). It had been raining all day so this stew was a welcome meal even in June. It was also surprisingly light and not stodgy at all. One of my fears was making something that would have been too complex to be considered a ‘ration’; some people suggested I add lentils or barely or eye of newt but I told them no! I wanted something simple and easy and that’s what I’ve achieved here. I’d never made a stew before so I’m rather proud of myself - I just wish I’d eaten it while hiding under a cardboard box to enhance the experience.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Streets of Rage - Roast Poultry.

Grand Theft Auto IV - “The Bleeder”

Like many of you recently, I’d become completely addicted to Rockstar’s latest offering L.A Noire. So when it came to thinking about what to make this week I decided to have a look through the Rockstar back catalogue for inspiration. Thankfully Grand Theft Auto has always offered a range of foods from every incarnation, but I felt Liberty City from GTA IV had the most iconic choices to pick from. My original thought was the myth of “The Heart Stopper”, 6lbs of meat and cheese that will “Kill someone in 5 seconds flat”. Although advertised throughout the game you can only buy a “Bleeder” for $1 at a Burger Shot despite the visible menu options that were also previously available in Vice City and San Andreas. Sadly after a little research “The Heart Stopper” became more and more out of reach due to the cost of creating such a burger (I’m thinking of starting a “Heart Stopper” donation fund) and eventually I settled on the option that was actually available to the player, so it seemed like a fair compromise.

My recipe for “The Bleeder” is based solely off the menu picture in the restaurant. It contains two ¼ pounder burgers, two types of cheese and four sauces obviously topped with bacon to create a seriously awesome burger that unlike “The Heart Stopper” wont send you to your grave, but will bring you one step closer.

With this recipe please feel free to substitute some of the ingredients to suit your tastes, I’m simply providing the ingredients that I used to create the type of burger I wanted for “The Bleeder”.

This recipe serves 1.

What you will need:

Frying pan, griddle pan (Or whatever you like to cook your burger on), deep pot or a deep fat fryer.

Ingredients:

1 Large White Burger Bun

2 ¼ Pound Beef Patties 

2 Types of Cheese - Mature Red Cheddar, Applewood Mild Smoked Cheddar (I chose pre-sliced for ease)

3 Pieces of Bacon (Unsmoked)

1 Medium Gherkin

1 Large Ripe Tomato

1 Head of Butterhead Lettuce

4 Sauces - Mayonnaise, French’s American Mustard, Smoky Chipotle Chilli Relish, Ketchup

For the Crispy Onions:

1 Medium White Onion

Flour

Salt and Pepper

Oil

For the Garnish:

1 Wooden Skewer

Preparing the Crispy Onions:

1. Heat some oil in a deep pan (or use a deep fat fryer if you have one).
2. Slice the onion into thin rings.
3. Season the flour with a little salt and pepper.
4. Coat the onions in the flour mixture then dust off any excess.
5. Drop the onions into the heated oil and fry until crispy.

Preparations:

1. Slice the gherkin and tomato and tear off a few lettuce leafs. 
2. Fry the bacon in a little oil in a frying pan until nicely crisp.
3. If your burgers seem thick; I’d recommend flattening them out so that they cook into a thinner and wider shape unless you want a tower of meat like mine.
4. Cook your burgers however you like them. I’ve chosen to cook mine in a griddle pan for a little added flavour and have cooked them medium rare.
5. Once cooked layer the mature red cheddar, gherkin and Applewood cheese on to one of the burgers and place under a grill for a few minutes until the cheese has melted a little.

Preparing the Burger:

1. Slice in the burger bun in half and warm through by placing in an oven.
2. Layer the burger up in the following order, from bottom to top: bun, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, burger, mature cheddar, gherkins, Applewood cheese, American mustard, burger, chilli relish, crispy onions, bacon, ketchup, bun.
3. Slide the skewer through the burger to hold it together!

Best served with an ice cold Pißwasser on the side!

Although my burger is clearly massive and doesn’t exactly resemble the one on the Burger Shot menu, I’m still calling this a success. Those I made it for hailed it as “the worlds greatest tasting burger” and complimented the balance of flavour within it. Since I made it I’ve edited the recipe slightly to create a more faithful visual representation of “The Bleeder”, resulting in a flatter appearance. In fact, the veggie-burger version I made looked more like it was from Burger Shot. It was delicious and something I will most definitely be making again because right after I ate it I wished I’d had another one to gobble.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Grand Theft Auto IV - Cluckin’ Bell Fowl Burger.