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

 

Valentine Chocolate Hearts February 16, 2017

These are so easy to make & you get to eat the left-overs yourself!

 

I used 340g of white chocolate & red food colouring.

Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof dish over boiling water, while it’s melting line a 31cm x 22cm baking sheet (with sides). The baking sheet doesn’t have to be exactly the same size, but remember if you a smaller one you’ll have less but thicker hearts.

Once the chocolate has melted pour it into the prepared tin, tap the tin on the work surface to get rid of any bubbles in the chocolate. Then immediately put a few drops of food colouring onto the chocolate & drag a fork through, to make patterns.

Place in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes, after that time take out & cut the heart shapes while the chocolate is still slightly soft. Leave in the fridge for an hour then you can use the same cutter & cut through completely.

 

Cheats’s Plum Tarte Tatin February 5, 2017

This is easier than the classic tarte tatin but just as tasty for a quick dessert.

Ingredients

25g butter

75g soft dark brown sugar

6-7 plums, or you could use nectarines

250g ready to roll puff pastry

Method

Preheat oven to 170C/gas 5.

Line a 20 – 22cm cake tin with parchment paper, so that it comes up the sides & grease it with the butter.

Sprinkle the sugar over the butter & press down lightly.

Halve & stone the fruit, then arrange them on top of the sugar (cut side facing down) packing them in tightly.

Roll out the pastry & cut a 24 – 26cm circle. Lay the pastry on top of the fruit & tuck it in around the fruit. Make 3 small holes in the pastry to let the steam out while the tarte is cooking.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden.

Place a plate on top of the tin, then turn over, expect some juice to escape. Remove the tin & parchment paper & serve while still warm. Mmmmmmmm

Little Chocolate Fudgy Balls December 5, 2016

These are lovely but, maybe too rich for the kiddies.

They would make nice Christmas gifts if placed in small, pretty cellophane bags with a ribbon around them 😉

 

Ingredients

 

120g walnuts

220g stoned dates

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

A good pinch

100g chocolate chips (optional)

 

Method

 

Blend all ingredients together in a blender.

Place in a plastic bag and squish well together, then break small pieces off and roll into small balls and put into mini paper cupcake cases.

Toffee Crisp Bars June 8, 2016

I’ll start off today by saying a big ”Hi!” to my new followers, thanks for being here and I hope you enjoy the recipies. 🙂

 

Ingredients

 

125g Rice Krispies

125g butter

5 Mars Bars, roughly chopped

200g milk chocolate

 

Method

 

Line a 7 x 10 inch baking dish with parchment paper.

Place the butter and Mars Bars into a saucepan and melt gently over a low heat, stirring frequently.

Once melted, beat well to get rid of any lumps.

Add the Rice Krispies and mix well to make sure they’re all covered in the butter/Mars Bar sauce.

Pour into the prepared dish and press down well, ensuring its pressed into the corners of the dish, then smooth off the top as flat as possible.

Leave in the fridge for an hour.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water, then pour the chocolate over the top of the hardened crispy mixture.

Return to the fridge for an hour then cut into bars.

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge to keep them crispy.

 

Cake Pops June 5, 2016

Following on from the previous post, where we had a cake to put in the freezer, here’s something easy to make with that cake. Or you could use any shop bought cake if you wanted to.

 

Firstly, if using cake you’ve previously frozen, defrost it overnight.

Using a food processor, turn that cake into fine crumbs

Add a tablespoon or two of either cream cheese frosting or butter cream frosting (I’ve usually got some in the fridge or freezer). Start with just the one tablespoon, add it to the cake crumbs and whizz up in the processor until all the crumbs are mixed into a dough. Using your hands, make small balls out of the dough, leave to cool in the fridge for an hour.

Meanwhile melt some chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water.

Push a cake pop stick or lolly stick into each cake pop and firstly using a teaspoon drizzle a small amount of chocolate over the stick end of the cake pop and let it set, this will help keep the cake pop on the stick when you dip it into the chocolate to cover the rest of it. Once all done, place in the fridge to set, or you could add assorted sprinkles

Not Ferrero Rocher March 15, 2016

Almost as good but not the real thing, these are child safe as there’s no nut in them. Although I guess you could use chopped nuts instead of rice krispies if you wanted.

 

Ingredients

 

14 malted milk biscuits

25g rice krispies

200g nutella or your favourite chocolate spread

200g milk chocolate

 

Method

 

In a food processor or plastic bag, crush the biscuits until fine crumbs, place in a bowl, add the rice krispies and nutella. Mix well together.

Put a sheet of baking parchment paper on a baking tray.

Using your hands, take small amounts and roll into balls, put onto the parchment then place in the fridge for an hour.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water.

Dip the balls into the melted chocolate and place back onto the parchment paper, then back into the fridge for an hour.

Makes 20 – 30 depending on size

 

Giant Sugar Cookies December 28, 2015

These are fun and easy to make, just make sure the kiddies don’t eat a whole one in one sitting!

 

Ingredients for the cookies

 

1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

 

Ingredients for the icing

 

1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sieved
4-6 teaspoons milk
3-4 teaspoons golden syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 bar (150g) white chocolate

food colouring of choice

sugar sprinkles (optional)

Makes 3 giant (teaplate size) and 8 small cookies.

 

Method

 

Combine the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until smooth and fluffy. Add one egg and vanilla extract. Mix well until ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Combine baking powder and flour into a large bowl and mix well. Add this to the butter mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough is combined and crumbly. Transfer into a plastic bag and knead with your hands until it becomes a dough. Close the bag and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 175C/gas 4.

Flour your work surface and take your dough out of the refrigerator. Roll to about 1 cm thickness (1/3 inch). I cut the cookie by placing a teaplate on the dough and cut around it with a knife. Carefully place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make smaller cookies with the leftover dough. Bake for 15 minutes (about 8 minutes for smaller cookies). Let the cookies cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, combine icing sugar and milk (only using 4 tsp of the milk to start with. Mix well. Add syrup and mix to get the right consistency. Add vanilla extract for flavour. Pour the icing onto your cookie and spread evenly. Melt white chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds increments being careful not to burn the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and smooth. Divide the melted chocolate in two and colour them with just a little food coloring. Pour the colored icing on top of the cookies (I didn’t pour mine straight away so it sort of blobbed on as it was begining to set) :-(. If desired, add sugar sprinkles on top. If you have smaller cookies, decorate them as desired.

 

 

 

 

Festive Gingerbread Cookies December 24, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are great to make yourself or with some help from the children. Lovely as they are, decorated or you can even top cupcakes with small ones. The decorated ones above are what Freya, my 4 year old  Granddaughter did 🙂

Makes approx 60, depending on size.

 

Ingredients

 

5 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1 cup lard ie: Trex (shortening)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups treacle

2 eggs, beaten

 

Method

 

Preheat oven to 190C/gas 5.

Thoroughly mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Melt lard in large saucepan. Cool slightly. Add sugar, treacle and eggs to saucepan and mix well. Add 4 cups dry ingredients and mix well.

Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface. Knead in remaining dry ingredients by hand. Add a little more flour, if necessary, to make firm dough.

On floured surface, roll out 1/8 to 1/4 in. thick for cut-out cookies. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet, small and medium-sized cookies for 6-10 minutes.

Substitute 1 1/4 cups golden syrup for treacle to make lighter, slightly sweeter Gingerbread.

If you want to make these for hanging on the Christmas tree, make a hole near the top with a skewer before baking, to thread ribbon through and bake them for 10 – 15 minutes.

Have fun!

 

 

 

Bread-in-a-bag (one for the kiddies) August 23, 2015

Here’s one for the kiddies if they’re still on school holidays and feeling bored…..(What can I do Mum/Dad?) Embrace the mess, it’s easily cleaned up after especially if they help you.

It’ll be easier for the kiddies to believe they’re doing it all on their own if, before they start, you’ve already measured out all the ingredients into bowls ready for them to use.

Lets get started kids! Oh, don’t forget to wash your hands first 😉

 

Ingredients

3 cups plain flour, divided

3 Tbsp white sugar

1 pack yeast

1 cup warm water

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

Large resealable bag

Mini loaf tins

 

Method

Put one cup flour into the bag then add the sugar, yeast and water. Seal your bag and smoosh it until it’s all mixed together. Now let it rest for 10 minutes while you play for a bit. When you come back from playing there will be lots of bubbles in the bag, this is good.

Now add the salt, olive oil and a second cup of flour to the bag and smoosh again. Add the last cup of flour and give it all another really good smooshing!

Turn out the dough onto a well floured table and knead it for 10 minutes until  its smooth.

Divide the dough into the loaf tins, this amount of dough will make 6 mini loaves or you could just make 1 large loaf. Cover the loaves with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes while you do a clean up of the table.

Bake in a preheated oven 190C/gas 5 for 25 – 30 minutes.

Enjoy with butter while still warm.