A Royal Weekend Cake (red, white & blue) May 18, 2018

It’s not the cake Prince Harry & Meghan Markle are having but it is a good cake for the special day.

Before I go on to the recipe, I’d like to welcome the many new follower’s that have joined my blog recently. Thank you so much x

 

Ingredients for the cake (basic victoria sandwich)

 

175g butter

175g caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

175g self raising flour

pinch of salt

 

Ingerdients to decorate

 

300g light mascarpone

100g fat-free fromage frais

Raspberry jam

Fresh Strawberries, Raspberries & Blueberries

 

Method

 

Pre heat oven to 180C/gas 4.

Line 2 20cm/8 inch sponge tins with baking parchment.

Cream the butter & sugar together until the mixture is pale, light & fluffy.

Add the egg a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the flour & salt & add to the mixture, folding it in using a metal spoon or spatula.

Divide the mixture between the tins & smooth over.

Bake for 20-25 mins until risen, golden brown & just starting to shrink from the sides of the tins.

Remove from oven & leave to cool in the tins for 5 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Stir the mascarpone into a bowl to soften it, then mix in the fromage frais.

Spread one of the cakes with raspberry jam followed by half of the mascarpone mixture, then top with the other cake.

Stir a little raspberry jam into the other half of the mascarpone mixture, swirl the mixture on top of the cake, the top it off with the strawberries, raspberries & blueberries.

Dust with icing sugar if liked to finish & enjoy

Tip: You will if you wanted, have enough to decorate a 3 tier cake

 

 

 

 

 

Valentine Day Chocolate Tart February 13, 2018

This looks so fancy but believe me when I say it’s easy…I don’t really do complicated.

 

Ingredients

 

1 shop bought sweet pastry tart

14 oz dark chocolate, although in this I did run out of dark chocolate so used half dark & half milk

10oz double cream

5 Tbsp butter

 

Method

 

Break the chocolate into pieces & place in a large heat proof dish with the butter.

Put the cream into a small pan & heat, but don’t let it boil.

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate & butter & cover with cling film. Do NOT stir, just cover & leave for 5 minutes.

Using a hand held whisk, whisk the mixture until smooth & pour into pastry case.

Leave in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set.

I used frozen (defrosted) berries to serve with this as there’s no sweetner added to them at all & the tartness of the berries cuts through the sweetness of the chocolate tart.

Happy Valentine’s Day, love you all x

 

Anzac Biscuits (Norm’s Favourites) February 12, 2018

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup plain flour

2 cups oats

1 cup brown sugar

125g butter

2 Tbsp golden syrup

1 Tbsp water

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

 

Method

 

Heat oven to 175C/gas 4.

Put the flour & rolled oats into a bowl & mix together.

Melt the butter, golden syrup, sugar and water in a large saucepan.

Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the liquid mixture.

Put the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture & mix well together.

Place walnut-sized balls of mixture on a baking sheet & bake for 15 minutes.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Bacon, Beef, Whiskey Meatballs February 4, 2018

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These meatballs are made with bacon and minced beef and simmered in a whiskey bbq sauce.  Perfect to serve as an appetizer, in a sandwich or a  family dinner. Serve on a pile of spaghetti, with chips or mash & veggies.

 

Now before I go on, I really must say a big hello to all new followers. It’s lovely to see you all 🙂

 

Ingredients

 

6 rashers of bacon

1/2 an onion

1 lb minced beef

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 lrg egg

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups Bbq sauce

1 cup water

3 Tbsp whiskey

 

Method

 

Place the uncooked bacon into a food processor and process for about 1 minute or until bacon is finely ground up. Add in the onion and process until onion is finely chopped and mixed in.

Spoon bacon and onion mixture into large bowl. Add minced beef, breadcrumbs, parsley, egg, chilli powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

Scoop out the meat mixture and roll into balls using your palms, should make about 24 1 inch meatballs.

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Place the meatballs into the pan and cook, turning every couple minutes to ensure all sides cook evenly. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until fully cooked.

Remove the meatballs and set aside. Remove the pan from the heat and pour out the excess fat.

Add the barbecue sauce, water and bourbon to the saucepan and return to heat. Stir to mix the sauce together. Add in the meatballs and allow them to simmer in the sauce for at least 10 minutes.

If you prefer a thicker sauce simply halve the sauce ingredients

 

Very Berry White Chocolate Rocky Road September 30, 2017

Ingredients

 

300g white chocolate, broken into chunks

100g malted milk biscuits, btoken into small pieces

100g chopped nuts OR 75g rice krispies

200g pink & white mini marshmallows

18g freeze-dried strawberries OR 70g ruby berries & cherries (I used Whitworths berries & cherries)

 

Method

 

Line a 29cm square tin with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate in a dish over hot water until smooth.

Put the biscuits, nuts OR krispies & most of the marshmallows into a large bowl and pour the melted chocolate over stirring well to coat everything.

Tip the mixture into the prepared tin, spreading out to fill the corners and pressing down. Scatter the remaining marshmallows and the dried strawberries OR the ruby berries & cherries on top & press down gently with the back of a spoon.

Put in the fridge for at least 3 hours then cut into squares to serve.

Chicken & Bacon Stew… September 23, 2017

Comfort food at it’s best. Takes a bit of prepping but well worth it. You can halve the ingredients if you need but I’ve made a big pan full as this recipe is freezable once cold. I served with garlic bread but any crusty bread would be good, you’ll need it to mop up all that creamy sauce.

Serves 6-8

 

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil

6  Chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

140g Smokey Bacon, chopped

4 Carrots, sliced

2 Onions, diced

2 Tbsp Plain flour

1 Tbsp Tomato Puree

75ml white wine

1 1/2 pints Chicken stock

3 Bay leaves

4 Tbsp Crème fraîche

600g small New potatoes, washed & halved

200g Button mushrooms

Dried herbs, such as Parsley, tarragon

 

Method

 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the chicken pieces in batches for 5 mins on each side until lightly browned, then transfer to a plate. Sizzle the bacon in the same pan for a few mins until beginning to crisp. Stir in the carrots and onions, then cook for 10 mins until starting to soften. Stir in the flour and tomato purée and cook for 2 min more. Pour in the wine and stir well.

Put the chicken & other ingredients from the frying pan into a large saucepan. Pour in the stock, add the bay leaves, crème fraîche and seasoning. Add the potatoes & stir everything over a few times so that the potatoes are immersed in the sauce. Cover with a lid bring to the boil then simmer. After 30 minutes, add the mushrooms & herbs & stir in. Cover again and simmer for another 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender. You can now turn off the heat, and chill and freeze some or all of it.

Tip:

Defrosting

If in a suitable container, defrost in the microwave, then reheat in the microwave until piping hot. Alternatively, defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat in a casserole dish at 160C/gas 4 for 30-40 mins until piping hot.

 

 

Mini Pizzas…Top That! September 7, 2017

 

Perfect for freezing, so why not make a few dozen at a time. Perfect snack for when the kiddies come home from school or for us as a quick lunch. Also the kiddies might like to add their own toppings. These are so simple & only need a few ingredients.

 

Ingredients

 

English Muffins

Pizza sauce or Tomato Puree or BBQ sauce

Grated Mozzarella

Assortment of cooked meats (I used cooked ham but you could also use cooked sausage or pepperoni)

Assortment of vegetables (I used mixed red/green/yellow peppers & diced onion but feel free to add any veggies you & your kiddies like)

Chilli flakes (optional)

 

Method

 

Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice open the muffins and line them up on the baking sheets with cut sides facing up.

Spread about 1 Tbsp pizza sauce over the surface of each muffin, then add about 1 Tbsp grated mozzarella.

Chop the vegetables & meats into very small pieces, then divide them evenly among the pizzas then add another Tbsp mozzarella.  Press down lightly on top of each pizza to help compact the toppings and keep them in place as they freeze. Freeze for about 8 hours, or until the pizzas are solid.

Once the pizzas are frozen solid, carefully transfer them to freezer bags for long-term storage. For the best results, the pizzas should be cooked and eaten within 3 months (not a problem in my house 🙂 )

To bake the pizzas, take out the number you wish to bake, place them on a baking sheet, and let them partially thaw as you preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6 (about 7 minutes). Once the oven is fully preheated, bake the pizzas for about 15- 17 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Baking time will vary depending on your oven and the amount of toppings on the pizzas.

 

 

 

 

Choc/Mallow Eggy Bread anyone? September 4, 2017

Hi & hello to all new follower’s of my blog, it’s lovely to have you along 🙂

Ok so I came home after walking for 2 hours in the rain with Bertie my dog, we were both soaked through & I needed something special, this was it!

Ingredients

2 slices bread

Nutella or your favourite chocolate spread

A handful of mini marshmallows

2 eggs, beaten

Butter

Method

Pour the beaten eggs into a shallow dish

Spread one slice of bread with chocolate spread then put the marshmallows ontop of the chocolate spread. Place the second slice of bread ontop of the marshmallows & press down gently.

Put the sandwich into the beaten egg for a minute then carefully turn it over to get that sandwich covered in egg.

While the sandwich is soaking up the egg, heat the butter in a frying pan, once it’s hot add the sandwich, let cook for 2-3 minutes until a lovely brown then turn over & again give it 2-3 minutes to go brown.

Eat & enjoy!

 

Peach & Cherry Galette July 16, 2017

With a few simple steps and in a relatively short time this perfect summer pastry is baked. Preferably eat it warm but not right after you take it out of the oven. If you like, enjoy some vanilla ice cream with it.

 

200g plain flour

5 Tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

120g butter

60ml iced water

2 peaches

100g cherries

 

Method

 

Put the flour, 3 tablespoons sugar and the pinch of salt in a mixing bowl and mix together. Cut the butter into cubes and add them to the mixture. Mix with the food processor until it is crumbly. Then add the ice-cold water and stir with a fork, so that the flour is completely bound. Lightly knead the dough with your hands and then form into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap in cling film and let it rest for one hour in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, cut the peaches in half and remove the stone. Cut each half in about 8 thinner slices. Cut also the cherries into halves and remove stone. Put the fruits in a bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Let it stand until you take the dough out of the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Take the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a floured work surface. Make it as round in shape as possible. Now distribute the fruits on the dough, using a slatted spoon as you don’t want all that juice on the pastry or you’ll have a soggy bottom. Spare around 4cm from the edge. Fold the edge slightly over the filling. The fruits should not to be covered.

Bake the galette approximately 25 minutes on the middle rack until the dough has a nice golden brown colour. Let cool slightly before serving.

Cherry Bakewell Cake June 13, 2017

If you know someone who likes Bakewell tart, then they will just love this cake – it’s full of almond flavour and sandwiched with cherry jam. I made this for a neighbour who recently helped me out.

 

Ingredients

 

200g butter, softened

200g sugar

100g ground almond

100g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp almond extract

4 lrg eggs

 

For the filling & topping

 

1/2 a 340g jar of cherry conserve

175g icing sugar

2-3 Tbsp lemon juice or water

2 Tbsp ready toasted flaked almonds

 

Method

 

Heat oven to 180C/gas 4 and make sure there’s a shelf ready in the middle. Butter and line the bases of 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins with baking paper.

Using electric beaters, beat together all the cake ingredients with a pinch of salt until smooth, then spoon into the tins and level the tops. Bake for 30 mins or until golden and springy. Don’t open the oven before 25 mins cooking time has passed.

When they’re ready, cool the sponges for a few mins, then tip out of the tins and cool completely on a wire rack.

When cool, put one sponge on a serving plate, then spread with jam. Sandwich the second sponge on top. Sieve the icing sugar into a large bowl. Add the water or lemon juice, then stir until smooth and thick. Spread evenly over the top and let it dribble over the sides. Scatter with the nuts and leave to set for a few mins before cutting.