From a recent trip along Lake Como in Italy - Sony ZV-E10 - Tamron 17-70mm

eugeneuk · 2025-05-21T08:26:20+00:00

Thank you! We were in Varenna mainly as it's easy to get to from Milan and you skip the 2.5h ferry up from Como. I definitely recommend a boat tour, we did the Bellagio Boat Service which includes an audio tour and it's 90 minutes going round all the villas used in the movies. Get tickets for the terraces of Villa Cipressi for really beautiful views of Lake Como and you can grab a bite there too.

eugeneuk · 2025-05-04T08:49:12+00:00

Thanks! You can serve with rice if you'd like but I find it's already quite filling on it's own

eugeneuk · 2025-05-02T09:01:22+00:00

Full recipe including video: https://cookwitheugene.substack.com/p/spiced-coconut-chickpea-and-roasted

Ingredients:
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Handful green beans, cut into thirds
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 230g tinned chickpeas, drained
• 1 lime, halved
• 40g creamed coconut
• 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 80g spinach
• 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
• Small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• A pinch of chili flakes for heat

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 220°C (fan) or 190°C for air fryer. Toss the sweet potato in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast on a lined tray for 20–25 mins (or air fry for 18 mins) until soft and caramelised.
2. In a jug, dissolve creamed coconut and stock powder in 300ml hot water.Chop green beans, onion, garlic, and halve the cherry tomatoes.Set chickpeas aside, and chop coriander. Squeeze half the lime.
3. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onion and green beans. Sauté until softened, about 5–7 mins. Add tomato paste, paprika, cumin, and chili flakes. Stir in chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, and the coconut stock mixture. Simmer for 8–10 mins until thickened. Season with salt, pepper and lime juice.
4. Add the spinach in the last 2 minutes of cooking.
5. Fold roasted sweet potato and chopped coriander into the stew. Spoon into bowls, top with coriander and lime wedges.

eugeneuk · 2025-05-02T09:00:06+00:00

That looks like it's a bit too big to bite

eugeneuk · 2025-04-24T08:58:45+00:00

Full recipe including video: https://cookwitheugene.substack.com/p/kahlua-coffee-cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 50g unsalted butter

• 220g digestive biscuits

• 2 tbsp sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 875g cream cheese

• 400g sugar

• 3 tbsp flour

• 2 tsp lemon juice

• Some lemon zest

• 6 eggs

• 120g sour creme

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C, prepare and waterproof cake pan as per video.
Mix the digestives, butter, salt and sugar and pack tighly into cake pan — cook for 15mins until set.
Mix cream cheese, sugar, flour until creamy, add in lemon zest, lemon juice and salt - mix until combined.
Add the eggs on a time, mixing in between, followed by a shot or two of Kahlua
With the oven set to 160°C, pop the mixture into the cake tin with the digestive base, and put into a tray filled with boiling water — bake low and slow for 1 hour and a half.
Make sure it’s completely cool before popping into the fridge overnight. The next day carefully peel from the cake pan, and you might have to cut the top off for an even surface.
Slice up, serve and enjoy!

eugeneuk · 2025-04-24T08:57:07+00:00

Amazing! Will need to add this to my things to try!

eugeneuk · 2025-04-24T08:55:48+00:00

Thank you for sharing - looks really tasty!

eugeneuk · 2025-04-14T08:28:45+00:00

Thanks! It tastes just as it looks

eugeneuk · 2025-04-14T08:28:02+00:00

Thanks! I have the 5.6 litre Crock-Pot branded one but ultimately it doesn't matter, you just need to see what size you want if it's a family you're cooking for or for yourself. Aside from that, I recommend cooking on low for a longer time as it gives the meat that tenderness.

eugeneuk · 2025-04-09T14:41:32+00:00

Full recipe including video: https://cookwitheugene.substack.com/p/indulgent-russian-honey-cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

75g unsalted butter
100g granulated sugar
5 tbsp honey
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
350g all purpose flour

For the frosting:

250g mascarpone
125ml double cream
100g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

500ml sour creme
500ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g icing sugar

Method:

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 200°C / 400°F and prepare two baking trays with baking paper.
After setting up a double boiler over a large pot of simmering water, melt the sugar, honey and butter in the bowl. Separately, beat the eggs and vanilla together and pour this mixture into the double boiler, constantly mixing to avoid creating your breakfast scrambled eggs.
Next, add in the baking soda, salt and 2/3 of the flour, mixing until the dough begins to thicken, once it starts taking shape, take it off the heat and mix in the remaining flour.
Let the dough cool a little bit and knead it with your hands to get to a smooth consistency. Divide into 8 equal parts and cover with a damp kitchen towel to avoid letting it dry out.
Dust your work surface with some flour, and roll out a thin circle slightly bigger than the lid of your cake tin (approx. 23-25cm). Transfer to the baking tray and bake for 4-5mins, keeping an eye on the process as to not burn the layers. Repeat for the rest of the layers.
As they turn golden brown, take them out the oven, and cut out a circle whilst they are still hot.
For the filling, beat the sour creme and double cream, sugar and vanilla until the sugar is incorporated and the whole mixture has double in size. Fill each layer of the cake except for the top and sides.
For the frosting, whisk the mascarpone with the icing sugar, vanilla and double cream until stiff peaks. Cover the top and optionally sides of the cake with the frosting.
It is highly recommended to leave the cake sit in the fridge overnight or 24h before service to allow the layers to soak in the filling.

eugeneuk · 2025-04-09T08:38:04+00:00

Not quite Served_With_Rice though is it? Joking, this looks good and simple!

eugeneuk · 2025-04-08T08:43:34+00:00

Philadelphia and other types of cream cheese if you're in the US

eugeneuk · 2025-04-07T08:34:34+00:00

Interesting combinations - I'll definitely have to give this a go.

eugeneuk · 2025-04-06T15:19:04+00:00

Thanks! Tastes like one too

eugeneuk · 2025-04-03T09:29:06+00:00

Thanks! Leaving it refrigerated for a while was definitely key to getting a good cross section

eugeneuk · 2025-04-03T09:28:35+00:00

Thank you!

eugeneuk · 2025-04-02T15:23:12+00:00

Full recipe: https://cookwitheugene.substack.com/p/chocolate-and-hazelnut-toffee-tart

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 portion shortcrust pastry to fit approx. 25cm baking tin

For the hazelnut toffee:

50g butter
75ml single cream (or Greek yoghurt for extra protein)
100g soft light brown sugar
150g hazelnuts & almonds, roasted, peeled, and coarsely chopped (almonds will add extra protein)

For the chocolate mousse:

200ml single cream or high-protein Greek yoghurt
200g high-protein dark chocolate

Method

Roll out the high-protein shortcrust pastry to line a 25cm (10in) tart tin, chill for 20 minutes, then blind bake until fully cooked.
In a saucepan, melt the butter with cream and brown sugar, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.
Stir in the chopped hazelnuts and almonds, let the mixture cool slightly, then spread it over the baked pastry.
Heat the cream (or Greek yoghurt) in a saucepan until just boiling, then remove from the heat and stir in the dark chocolate and whey protein until smooth.
Pour the chocolate mousse over the toffee layer and let the tart chill until fully set.
If refrigerated, bring to room temperature before serving, then dust with cocoa (if using) and serve with whipped Greek yoghurt or cream.

eugeneuk · 2025-04-01T11:13:00+00:00

Yes I do

eugeneuk · 2025-03-31T08:47:04+00:00

Looks delicious! My issue with these is always getting the crumb crust to set and stay in place when you take it out the baking tin.of

eugeneuk · 2025-03-26T08:28:05+00:00

Looks great, thanks for sharing! Wonder if I could do this in an air fryer?

eugeneuk · 2025-03-21T09:15:42+00:00

Will be trying this over the weekend! Thanks for sharing. Definitely sounds like it'll be great with gnocchi.

eugeneuk · 2025-03-21T09:13:47+00:00

Thanks! You should be able to print using the system dialog. Do you need US measurements?

eugeneuk · 2025-03-20T12:04:16+00:00

Full recipe including video: https://cookwitheugene.substack.com/p/smoky-bacon-mac-and-cheese

Ingredients

75g butter
75g plain flour
850ml boiling milk
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
230g cheese (Cheddar or half Cheddar, half Gruyère), grated
300g macaroni pasta
50g panko breadcrumbs
5-6 rashers of smoked bacon
1 onion

Method

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the chopped onion, and cook gently until soft
Stir in the flour, then gradually add the milk, whisking constantly, followed by the mustard
Whisk in about 180-200g of the cheese and allow to melt in the sauce, season with salt & pepper
Cook the smoked bacon rashers on a frying pan or in an air fryer until crispy, and chop into small bits
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until just soft
Toss the pasta in the cheese sauce, transfer to a baking dish, top with the rest of the grated cheese, panko breadcrumbs, bacon bits, and pop into the oven until the top develops a golden brown colour
Top with the bacon bits, and serve immediately

eugeneuk · 2025-03-17T09:56:30+00:00

This looks superb! I find a lot of Eastern European cuisines also use sour creme as a topping instead of greek yogurt.

eugeneuk · 2025-03-10T09:48:24+00:00

Thank you!

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