Cook’s Corner


Cook’s Corner – a place for all you budding young chefs to try cooking your favourite Runescape dishes with ingredients lists and instructions provided.

WARNING! Food preparation involves the use of sharp blades (perhaps even hatchets!) and either a range or an open fire. Blades are sharp and fire is hot, so make sure you have either an adult or the Wise Old Man to supervise you.
This month sees the first of what I hope will be many recipes in the Villager. In order to reach all levels of chefs, I have decided to take this right back to the basics with bread and cake. Don your aprons and chef hats and prepare to enter my domain. I am Chef Richboi0, here to take you on a culinary journey. You may call me Chef.

Let us start with a very basic recipe –

Plain White Bread.

Ingredients
  • 15g / ½oz fresh yeast or 2.5ml / ½tbsp dried yeast
  • 300ml / ½ pint lukewarm milk
  • 450g / 1lb strong white flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 25g / 1oz butter

Method
  1. Mix the yeast with a little of the milk to get a creamy liquid.
  2. Put the flour and the salt in a separate bowl and stir in the butter.
  3. Stir the yeast liquid and the rest of the milk in with your butter, salt, and flour concoction to get a soft dough.
  4. Turn on to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a clean bowl and cover it with cling film. Let the bowl stand in a warm place for 1 hour to rise.
  5. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly oil a 1kg / 2¼lb bread tin.
  6. Turn the dough on to the work surface again and knead for 5-10 minutes. Shape the dough into a loaf shape to fit the tin and place in the tin. Cover with a clean tea towel and allow it to rise back up again, about 15 minutes.
  7. Bake in the oven for 3-40 minutes, or until golden and risen. The base of the loaf should sound hollow when you tap it. Turn on to a wire rack to cool.
  8. Once it’s cooled, slice and enjoy!

So, now that you have made bread, how about something for the sweeter-toothed among you? The next recipe is for one of my personal favourites, Victoria Sponge Cake. Those less keen on culinary lingo may find this item sometimes called “Cake.” However, in my kitchen you call it Victoria Sponge and you call it that with pride!

Victoria Sponge Cake

Ingredients
  • 1 knob of butter, melted
  • 225g / 8oz butter, softened
  • 225g / 8oz caster sugar
  • 4 large free-range eggs
  • 225g / 8oz self-raising flour, sifted (you may need a bit extra)

For the filling
  • 6 tbsp good-quality strawberry jam
  • 300ml / 10½ fl oz double cream, lightly whipped

To serve
  • Icing sugar, for dusting

You'll need two 15cm-17.5cm / 6in-7in cake tins

Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
  2. Gently heat the knob of butter in a pan and brush the two 6in-7in/15cm-17.5cm cake tins with the melted butter. Line the bottom of the two cake tins with a circle of greaseproof paper.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, using an electric whisk or a wooden spoon. Beat well for several minutes to get lots of air into the mixture.
  4. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add a tablespoon of flour if the mixture curdles.
  5. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon. Be careful not to over-mix it.
  6. Pour the mixture equally between the two cake tins and level off the top with a spatula. Make a slight dip in the centre with the tip of the spatula if you don't want them to be pointed in the middle.
  7. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when pressed gently with a finger and are pale golden in colour.
  8. Remove from the oven and take them out of the tins after 5-10 minutes. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely for 30 minutes.
  9. Spread the sponge cakes with the jam and the whipped cream, then carefully sandwich together.
  10. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Thank you for cooking with Richboi0, I hope you all try these recipes. Anyone who PM’s me with a picture of your finished products will get a mention in next month’s edition of Cook’s Corner!

BON APETITE

(Disclaimer- all recipes are tried and tested and can be found on www.bbc.co.uk/food)


Written By: richboi0
Edited By: Rocky Martin
Coded By: TheAmericanIdiot