Mini Strawberry Pavlova

One of my favourite desserts has to be pavlova. Fortunately I had a few egg whites in the freezer waiting to be used and hey presto an almost instant summer dessert.

The strawberries were shop bought, the ones in my garden aren't doing very well and need replacing but I managed to pick just enough to make the strawberry sauce.

I've received a few emails from readers who struggle to make pavlova and a couple of years ago I wrote a step by step blog post Summer Berries Pavlova which should ensure a stress free bake.

Rhubarb and Custard with Apricot Granola Topping

I didn't buy into the expensive pink rhubarb at the beginning of the season, we've got a perfectly good rhubarb patch at the end of the garden and if you pick the stalks that are streaked with pink and resist peeling them you'll end up with some pink fruit juices.  Whilst I lingered over the pretty pink stalks in the shops with a hefty price tag and thought of all the bakes I could make with them, commonsense has to prevail and I think about my everyday rhubarb that I planted and the fact it rewards me with free homegrown fruit.

A cheat way to turn everyday rhubarb pink is to cook it with red fruits such as strawberries, raspberries or plums and this will definitely make old rhubarb look far more attractive.

Recipe serves 6 people:
450g rhubarb, trimmed (if necessary)
cut into chunks
85g caster sugar
500g tub ready-made custard
or make up the same of Birds Custard
½ quantity honey crunch granola (recipe below

Apricot, Honey and Nut Granola

200g clear honey
4 tbsp sunflower oil
300g rolled oats
100g flaked almonds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
140g dried apricots roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a large pan gently heat the  honey and oil together until the mixture is bubbling, then add in the oats, almonds and cinnamon. Stir well until the oats are well coated, then tip onto a large baking tray, spread the mixture out on the tray. Bake for ­25 minutes, stirring halfway, until  golden.
3. Remove from the oven and immediately stir in the apricots.  Spread out again and press down
with a spatula to cool. Any leftover will keep in an  airtight container for 3 weeks.
4. To cook the rhubarb. Turn the oven down to 150°C. Place the rhubarb in a roasting tin in a single layer, scatter with the sugar and cover with foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just tender, cool in the tin.
5. Spoon some of the rhubarb into the base of 6 small glasses, top with a couple of tablespoons of custard, repeating the layers.  Cover with clingwrap and chill in the fridge. Remove from the fridge and just before serving sprinkle with granola.
6. Serve either at Brunch or for Dessert.

More rhubarb recipes:
Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble
Plum, Rhubarb and Apple Crumble

Mixed Berry and White Chocolate Cheesecake Slice

My strawberries were at their best when I left for my holiday a few weeks ago and now they are struggling to produce any fruit.  Next year I'm definitely not going away during strawberry season and missing one of my favourite fruits.

The raspberries are being a bit temperamental this year and the berries aren't anything to get excited about.  However, my redcurrant bushes are producing amazing crops of fruit and I'm looking forward to filling bag after bag to pop into the freezer for a rainy day.

I'm not the biggest fan of a baked cheesecake but because the cooked layer is quite thin I was more than happy with my dessert. If you have a go at making this you'll find that there is a quantity of cheesecake batter left over but you can easily make a couple of individual cheesecakes with some extra biscuits.

You will need:  12.5cm x 35cm loose based tin.

Ingredients:
250g Hobnobs
80g butter, melted
120g white chocolate
1 vanilla bean or 1tsp vanilla extract
125g cream cheese, softened
55g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
125ml whipping cream

To decorate:
60g white chocolate
250g small strawberries
125g raspberries

1. Add the Hobnobs to a food processor and whizz until fine.  Add the melted butter and process until all combined.
2. Pour the biscuit mixture into the tin and press over the base and sides of the tin.  Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
4. Break the chocolate into pieces and add to a small bowl.  Place a pan of water on the hob to a gentle simmer and place the bowl with the chocolate over the pan to melt the chocolate.  Cool.  Or if you have an induction hob the chocolate can be placed in a small saucepan and the chocolate melted on the lowest setting.
5. If using, take the vanilla bean and split it lengthways, scrape out the seeds.
6. Place the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla seeds or vanilla extract into a mixing bowl.  Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture thickens and becomes smooth - if the mixture seems a little thin don't worry it will still be okay.  Now add the cooled chocolate and cream and whisk until the mixture thickens slightly.
7. Remove the tin from the fridge, place onto a large baking tray, and pour in the filling taking care not to overfill.
8. Bake for 30 minutes.  Leave the baked cheesecake in the oven for a couple of hours.  Remove from the oven, cool and place in the fridge for approx 2 hours to chill down.
9. Carefully remove the flan tin and place onto a suitable plate, decorate with the fruit, melt the chocolate and drizzle over the top of the berries.

Mini Lemon Cheesecakes - Recipe

The inspiration for these mini desserts - yellow diamonds!

The way to a man's heart..........in my case my hubby loves jelly! He went to a posher school than me, they had an amazing school cook who made wonderful nursery puddings. He would happily eat nursery puddings and jelly and ice cream every week if I let him.

This lemon cheesecake is my hubby's favourite, it's a little retro using jelly instead of gelatine as a setting agent, but in this recipe it works really well, although to make the cheesecake layer less sweet simply cut down on the amount of sugar. I mostly make this dessert in a 20cm loose base sandwich tin for a low faff dessert but mini desserts always look really pretty.

You will need:  silicone cupcake tray

Makes: 8

170g Hobnob biscuits crushed
100g butter
Half a 1 pint lemon jelly
225g full fat cream cheese (not low fat)
55g caster sugar
grated zest of a lemon
Topping:
juice of a lemon
1-½ to 2 tsp arrowroot
30g caster sugar
butter
yellow food colouring (optional)
For the decoration:
Half a 1 pint lemon jelly

1. Place the biscuits into a bowl and crush using the end of a rolling pin(no fancy kitchen equipment needed here). Melt the butter.  Add the melted butter to the crushed biscuits.
2. Put the silicone tray onto a sturdy metal tray.  Divide the biscuit crumb mixture between the cavities. Press down with a spoon. Place in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill.
3. Boil the kettle, add half the jelly tablet to a jug and make up to ¼ pint with hot water.  Stir to dissolve the jelly.  Cool and then place the jug in the fridge to chill until it is the consistency of unbeaten egg white.
4. Beat the cream cheese with the caster sugar and lemon rind.  Gradually whisk in the chilled jelly.  It will go lumpy but keep on beating with a hand whisk and it will become smooth.  Remove the cupcake tray from the fridge and fill the cavities nearly to the top with the cream cheese/jelly mixture making sure there is a space for the topping. There will be some cream cheese mixture left over when you make individual cheesecakes.  If making the 20cm cheesecake all the mixture will be used up.  Place the silicone tray back in the fridge to chill until the filling is set.
5. To make the topping: Make the lemon juice up to ¼ pint with water.  Place the arrowroot into a basin and mix with some of the liquid to make a smooth paste, add the rest of the liquid and the sugar. Pour into a small saucepan, bring to the boil whilst stirring to prevent lumps.  Boil to produce a clear mixture.  Remove from the heat, add the butter and a little yellow food colouring.  Let the mixture cool.
6. Take the cheesecakes from the fridge.  Spoon the sauce over the top.
7. Place the cheesecakes into the freezer to partially freeze, this will make it easier to remove them from the moulds.
8. In the meantime, make up the other half of the lemon jelly to ¼ pint as before.  Pour into heart shaped silicone moulds.  Chill down and then place in the freezer.  Remove from the freezer and take the hearts out of the mould.
9. Take the cheesecakes out of the freezer and remove from the moulds, place on individual plates to return to room temperature.  Place a heart on each plate.
10. Decoration: Half a lemon jelly dissolved in ¼ pint of hot water. Place on a tray and chill in the fridge until set, remove from the fridge and chop to make 'diamonds'.

Raspberry Cheesecake - Recipe

No bake Mini Raspberry Cheesecake

These were supposed to be called raspberry rippled cheesecakes but my rippling wasn't great.  I've always liked cheesecake but I haven't made a cheesecake for some time now and these mini cheesecakes were really lovely and remind me of warm days. I used a silicone muffin tray which makes turning them out easy.

I'm suffering from 'writers block' and my posts are a 'little to the point' at the moment, hopefully I'll find something interesting to say in future posts - maybe I should say I fell into the raspberry canes in my fruit patch whilst picking the raspberries but I have to admit the raspberries came from the freezer cabinet in Waitrose!

Do you prefer bake or no bake cheesecake? I would be really interested to know.

Will they freeze?  I have no idea - they didn't get as far as the freezer but I can't see
a reason why they shouldn't freeze and thaw successfully.

Makes: 6 in a regular size silicone muffin tray or 12 in a silicone mini muffin tray

Ingredients:
55g butter
115g crushed digestive biscuits
3 tbsp water
2tsp powdered gelatine
150g raspberries + extra to decorate
2 tsp lemon juice
3 tbsp caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon
150ml double cream
150ml ready made custard
freeze dried raspberries to decorate

Method:
1. Melt the butter and add the crushed digestives. Place the silicone tray onto a metal tray. Divide the biscuit mixture between the six holes. Press the biscuit mixture down with the back of a spoon.  Place the tray in the fridge for an hour.
2. Place the water into a heatproof bowl, sprinkle over the gelatine, leave on one side for 5 minutes.
3. Puree the raspberries, then press through a plastic sieve to remove the seeds.
4. Place the bowl of gelatine in a saucepan of gently simmering water and heat for 5 minutes, stirring until the gelatine is a clear liquid.
5. Pour the cream into a bowl and whisk to soft peaks.  Fold into the custard with the grated zest of a lemon and the sugar.  Stir 1½ tablespoons of the gelatine into the raspberry puree and fold the remainder of the gelatine into the custard and cream mixture.  Pour the mixture into the muffin moulds.  Place blobs of the raspberry puree on top and taking a skewer swirl the mixtures together. Chill in the fridge for a few hours to set.
6. Remove the cheesecakes from the moulds and decorate with extra raspberries and freeze dried raspberries.

Individual Raspberry Trifle

I turned to a Delia Smith recipe for my traditional trifle, sponge soaked in sherry, raspberries, homemade custard, whipped cream and I topped it with some chopped pistachios.

Huge bowls of trifle look amazing and have the wow factor but occasionally I like to make individual trifle.

A fellow food blogger has a wonderful Nigella recipe on her site, chocolate cherry trifle, should you need more trifle inspiration....

Back soon!

Individual Pineapple Tart Tatin - Recipe

Pineapple Tart Tatin made with fresh pineapple

Today we have had glorious weather and it's looking like we are going to get some more late summer sunshine. Hubby happily cooked a barbecue and I made these lovely fresh pineapple tart tatin for dessert. They are delicious served with ice cream for that lovely hot/cold dessert which always works so well.

Sometimes caramel can be a pain to make and for reasons unknown won't play and I managed to get toffee instead which is no bad thing because my husband loved it.  I find the best way to make caramel is to use a small saucepan, which I forgot to do, and used a frying pan which seemed to give problems.

The pineapple rings sitting on top of the set caramel

The 'what's that' in the top right of the photograph is my clever apple corer, which is a great kitchen gadget and I've had this for many years, it's very useful for taking the cores out of pineapples too.

It's best to make a few slits in the pastry lids

My caramel and pineapple tried to burst out of the tins whilst cooking and next time I'm going to make some slits in the pastry.

I hope you have a go at making this delicious dessert.......

Serves:  4 people:

You will need:  4 x deep individual tart tins

4 x 2cm slices of ripe pineapple
50g caster sugar
cube of butter
4tsp rum
375g puff pastry

1.   Roll out the pastry - cut out four circles slightly larger than the tops of the tart tins.
2.   Remove the core from the centre of the pineapple slices, this is easily done with an apple corer.
3.   Take a small saucepan and add the sugar to the pan.  Set over a medium heat until it turns golden brown, add the butter, let it melt and bubble.
4.   Pour into the four tins and place in the fridge until set.
5.   Take a pineapple ring and place on the top of the caramel.
6.   Spoon a teaspoon of rum into the centre of each pineapple ring.
7.   Take a pastry lid and place over the pineapple and with the help of the handle of a teaspoon, tuck the pastry edges in to encase the pineapple.  Make a few slits in the pastry lids.  Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
8.   Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200oC.
9.   Place the tarts onto a baking tray and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden.
10. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.  Run a knife round the tins and place a plate over the tin and turn upside down.  Beware the caramel can still be hot and it is safest to use a tea towel to help you remove the tins.
11. Serve with ice cream.

Raspberry and Cream Pavlova Crown

This was our dessert after a lovely barbecue last night and was a great way to end the barbie. To give the outside edge of the pavlova some character I went round the edge with my thumb and turned some of the meringue casing over to the inside.  The filling is whipped cream and a small pot of thick yogurt mixed together and flavoured with a little vanilla extract, decorate the top with raspberries and a dusting of icing sugar to produce the raspberry and cream crown.

This was the perfect dessert to end our barbecue - I've adapted the recipe from the book which came with my new cooker. I thought I had better get busy practicing using the new oven, I have a couple of books to review and a husband to feed - the pressure is on.

Line a large baking tin with parchment paper.

For the pavlova:
4 large egg whites
250g golden caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
½ tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage, add the caster sugar a teaspoon at a time whisking well all the time until the thick glossy stage is reached, about 10 minutes.  Whisk in the cornflour, white wine vinegar and the vanilla extract. Dollop the meringue into a 20cm circle and smooth the edges of the pavlova.
3. Turn the oven down to 150ºC and bake for 1¼ hours. Turn the oven off and leave overnight in the oven to dry out.

To decorate:
Small pot of double cream
Small pot of thick natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Berries

1.  Whisk the double cream until the floppy stage has been reached now whisk in the yogurt and the vanilla extract.

Strawberry Meringue Slice: Recipe

Strawberries dipped in chocolate

I love strawberries dipped in chocolate, I also love looking at them sitting on a cloud of meringue and cream. Sunshine, the odd glass of bubbly, a BBQ and the perfect dessert to end a meal......happy:)

Halved strawberries dusted with icing sugar are perfect too.

For the meringue:
4 large egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
225g caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp white wine vinegar

For the filling:
284ml pot double cream
225g strawberries

You will need:  Large baking sheet lined with baking parchment.

1. Preheat oven to 140°C.
2. Place the egg whites in a bowl with the cream of tartar and whisk until they hold their shape and soft peaks are formed. Add the sugar a teaspoon at a time and whisk until the meringue is thick and glossy. Whisk in the cornflour and vinegar.
3. Take a few blobs of meringue and place these on the four corners of the baking sheet,these will act as glue, now place the baking parchment on top. Spread the meringue mixture out to a rectangle approx 27cm x 17cm. Bake for 1 hour until crisp on top. Remove from the oven. Leave to cool completely before removing the paper from the base and transferring onto a plate.
4. Whip the cream to soft peaks and spread over the meringue.
5. Dip a few strawberries into melted chocolate and leave to set on parchment paper. Decorate the meringue slice as you wish.

Freshly picked from my garden

More berry meringue recipes:

Strawberry & Redcurrant Pavlova
Chocolate & Vanilla Berry Pavlova
Berry Meringue

Recipe: Chocolate Mint Aero Mousse

This is an exclusive recipe by Aero using their Bubbly Peppermint Aero and it is totally delicious.  The best way to describe the dessert is a mint chocolate biscuit in a glass. I'm sure Willa Wonka would have approved.

My dessert was made in 6 shot glasses and I also used natural yoghurt to keep those calories at bay....

Chocolate Mint Aero Mousse

Serves 4

Please note this recipe contains uncooked egg white.

Ingredients:

120g Mint Chocolate Aero, broken into cubes
2 digestive biscuits, crushed
15g butter, melted
8 marshmallows
200g low fat natural yoghurt (or whipping cream)
1 egg white, whisked

Method:
1. Crush the digestive biscuits and add to melted butter and 1 crushed cube Mint Chocolate Aero, mix well and place into the bottom of 4 shot glasses.
2. Reserve another piece of Mint Chocolate Aero for grating.
3. Place the remaining Aero into a small bowl and microwave for 1 ½ minutes. (750w). Add the marshmallows and microwave for another 30 seconds.
4. Whisk in ¾ of the yogurt and then fold in the whisked egg white.
5. Pour the mixture into shot glasses and leave to chill in the fridge.
6. Once set, top with the remaining yoghurt and sprinkle reserved grated Aero on top.

I was kindly sent Aero bars to make this delicious recipe.

Pancakes With Fresh Orange Juice

Pancakes served with orange is a puzzle to those who have never heard of this or always use freshly squeezed lemons.  I'm never sure, do you put juice on the pancake first and then sugar, or is it the other way round?

This is how I have eaten my pancakes since I was a child. I originally come from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, I'm not sure if this is the traditional way to serve them in Melton Mowbray or indeed Leicestershire.

Listening to the afternoon presenter on Radio Shropshire he has said for a few days now that he has always eaten pancakes with orange juice and he too comes from Melton Mowbray.

Upon a little internet research there is an article regarding pancakes on the bbc.co.uk/Leicester information pages and one of the photographs shows an orange being squeezed over a pancake. They also suggest filling pancakes with pork pie, Stilton Cheese and Red Leicester, not sure about this suggestion though!

I always use Delia's recipe because I love the lace effect the pancake produces - I hope you try this way of serving pancakes next time you feel a pancake moment coming on.  Children love oranges squeezed over pancakes and it is far kinder to them than using lemon juice.

Nigel Slater Recipe: A Creamy, Crunchy Fruit Sundae

The wild blackberries are from a stash in my freezer.  A relative picked these last year at a top secret location in Melton Mowbray - I now live in the West Midlands, and I'm not likely any time soon to pass this intelligence to any Meltonians.

Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers was must watch TV and the recipe from his programme can be found on the BBC Food website.

This is an easy, yet delicious dessert recipe and all you have to do is gather the six ingredients together, whisk the cream and layer the ingredients.  I slightly adapted the recipe and used half double cream and half natural yogurt which I mixed together. The base layer is a scoop of vanilla ice cream, followed by a cream, meringue and blackberry layer, a few chopped pistachio nuts are sprinkled over for decoration.

A perfect sundae and I am entering this into Dish of the Month - January 2013. Hosts are Janice at Farmers Girl and Sue at A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate.

Recipe: Frozen Berry Parfait

This is such a pretty dessert and one that can be made ahead and frozen. One of my Christmas desserts,  it is totally delicious and fortunately there is still some left in the freezer.  First published in Olive Magazine the recipe can be found on the fabulous BBC GoodFood website.

My 'nodietdiet' is about to start - basically this is simply eating less and more healthily. I now need to cut back on sugary things, I've eaten my body weight in sugar and some of my pending blog posts are Christmas desserts loaded with sugar. My increase in weight over the festive period was nil but I did eat far too much sugar.

Grazing on seeds, dried and fresh fruits at lunchtimes is going to be a priority.  Leaves, leaves and more leaves will be on the menu too. Pomegranates definitely won't get a look in, I used to like them, but every book and every magazine has a recipe using pomegranate seeds.

There are still Christmas goodies in the freezer, the naughty cupboard has all manner of chocolates looking at me and trying to tempt me in.  How can I resist a Thorntons Chocolate Smile? I have carrier bags with part-baked baguettes, Cadbury chocolate fingers and a few bags of posh crisps.  Everyone seems to have bought us sweet indulgences for Christmas and the house is heaving with sugar overload. Looking at all the booty I think it will take us until Valentine's Day to eat the lot.

Chocolate and Vanilla Berry Pavlova - Recipe

The cream filling is softly whipped double cream mixed with natural yogurt - this lightens the cream and also gives a subtle tang.  The fruit is a pack of good quality frozen summer berries mixed with a few frozen redcurrants from my garden.  Tip the frozen berries, with the exception of the raspberries, into a sieve and allow the berries to thaw and release some of their juices, otherwise the cream will become stained with fruit juice.  I used the reserved frozen raspberries to decorate the top, this enables them to keep their shape for longer.

The adapted Nigella Lawson  pavlova recipe is one I have used many, many times and always works.

You will need:  large oven tray - draw a 20cm diameter circle on a sheet of baking paper (I use a plate). Turn the baking paper over and place onto the oven tray. TIP: Take some of the vanilla meringue and place blobs at each corner of the tray, place the baking paper on top, the meringue will secure the baking paper.

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites
250g caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp sifted cocoa powder
300ml double cream
150ml natural yogurt

Method:

1.   Preheat the oven to 180ºC
2.   Whisk the egg whites and a pinch of salt until they reach the stiff peak stage.
3.   Gradually add the caster sugar a teaspoon at a time, whisking well in between.  Keep on whisking until the mixture is stiff and glossy.
4.   Whisk in the cornflour, vanilla extract and white wine vinegar.
5.   Remove a third of the meringue mixture to a bowl.  Add the sieved cocoa powder and stir in to combine.
6.   Take alternate blobs of vanilla meringue and chocolate meringue and place onto the marked out circle on the baking paper.  Swirl the two together.
7.   Turn the oven temperature down to 150ºC and cook for one hour.
8.   Leave the pavlova in the oven overnight.
9.   Remove the pavlova and place onto a large plate.
10. Whip the cream into soft folds and gently fold in the natural yogurt.
11. Decorate.

Raspberry Tiramisu - Recipe

Raspberry Tiramisu is always delicious and very easy to make. A handful of raspberries are sprinkled over the coffee and brandy soaked sponge fingers and then hidden under a blanket of mascarpone cheese.

It's always best to make a Tiramisu the day before because it gives the flavours a chance to blend and get to know each other. The sponge fingers will have a chance to soften up too.

Finely grated dark chocolate is used instead of the usual dusting of cocoa powder.

Serves:  4

4 tablespoons very strong espresso coffee, 2 tablespoons brandy, 10 sponge fingers, 125g raspberries (either fresh or frozen), 175g mascarpone cheese, 2 separated eggs, 50g icing sugar, 25g finely grated plain chocolate

1. Mix together the coffee and brandy.  Dip the sponge fingers into the liquid to coat. Arrange in a small dish.  Pour over any liquid left in the dish.  Sprinkle the raspberries over the soaked sponge fingers.
2. Whisk together the mascarpone, egg yolks and icing sugar until smooth.
3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and glossy, fold into the mascarpone mixture.
4. Spoon over the sponge fingers. Finely grate the chocolate over the top. Chill to set.

Chocolate and Raspberry Tiramisu

Chocolate and Raspberry Tiramisu

Chocolate, coffee, raspberries, Amaretto liqueur and mascarpone are some of the fabulous ingredients used in this Tiramisu.  Unfortunately, I didn't have a lovely dish for my Tiramisu, it would have looked so much better but obviously wouldn't have tasted any different.

Some versions of Tiramisu aren't very exciting, and whilst this isn't authentic, it is a lightweight and zingy version. I prefer this dessert with fruit, it definitely adds another dimension, some may be horrified, but this is a winner and my hubby was more than delighted.

What's different about this Tiramisu?  After the base layer of coffee and Amaretto soaked sponge fingers, it has a layer of crushed raspberries and then a layer of mascarpone lightened with egg yolks, then whipped egg whites are folded into the mascarpone mix.  Another layer of soaked sponge fingers, topped with the remaining mascarpone mix and a dusting of cocoa powder.  Leave to set overnight.  Top with more crushed raspberries, a scattering of raspberries, and curls of white and dark chocolate. The recipe is from Woman and Home Feel Good Food Magazine Spring 2011.

This months challenge is Coffee and is hosted by Chocolate Log Blog and guest host this month is Lucy of The Kitchen Maid - We Should Cocoa - June 2012

Tea Time Treats this month is Summer Fruits and is hosted by Karen of Lavender and Lovage and this month the host is Kate from What Kate Baked

Diamond Jubilee Strawberry Crumble Crunch

The recipe for the  Heston Blumenthal Diamond Jubilee Strawberry Crumble Crunch can be found on the Waitrose website or you can watch the recipe video.

My recommendation is to make this in individual pots, because it looked a bit messy on the plate when I served it up.

Enjoy the holiday - back soon!

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Brownie Bowls

To make this recipe you really need to buy the 6-cavity dessert shell tin. The recipe is from Kitchen by Nigella Lawson, it's just a shame Nigella didn't include a few more recipe variations because baking tins can be quite expensive and using them for one recipe isn't ideal.

I greased my tin with Wilton Cake Release to make sure the brownie bowls didn't stick to the tin and would turn out easily. Next time I make them I'm going to use cake release and then dust the tin with cocoa powder to see if this gives the base of the bowls more eye appeal.

An easy recipe to make and the cooking time is only 12 minutes. They turn out easily, can be frozen and reheat successfully in the microwave.

I made a chocolate sauce to fill my bowls (this isn't a Nigella recipe) and topped them with vanilla ice cream. Nigella says to eat the bowls warm and and then top them with ice cream. It just remains for me to say, delicious!

You will need:

125g unsalted soft butter, 125g caster sugar, 15g malted milk powder (Horlicks or similar), 15g best-quality cocoa powder, 125ml boiling water, 125 buttermilk or runny plain yogurt, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 150g plain flour ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6 and either butter or use Cake Release to grease the tin.
2. Melt the butter over a low heat, add the sugar, keep stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar into the butter. Take off the heat.
3. Put the cocoa powder and malted milk powder into a basin and whisk in the boiling water, whisk until smooth and there aren't any lumps. Add this to the warm pan of butter and sugar, stir well to combine.
4. To a basin add the buttermilk or yogurt, egg and vanilla and whisk together, stir this mixture into the pan. Whisk in the flour and bicarb.
5. Pour the mixture into a jug and fill the 6 bowls.
6. Place in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes. When cooked they will feel slightly bouncy if you press on the surface - sit the tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes before turning out the little brownie bowls. Fill whilst still just warm or when cooled.

The bowls can be baked up to a day ahead and stored in an airtight container, layered with baking parchment. Reheat in a warm oven for 5-8 minutes before serving. I found they reheated well in the microwave oven.
The bowls can be frozen, layered with baking parchment, for up to 2 months. Defrost for 3-4 hours on a wire rack at room temperature. Reheat.

Chocolate Sauce

You will need: 25g butter, 142ml double cream, 75g good quality dark chocolate broken into small pieces, splash of brandy, rum, Amaretto or Baileys.

Place the butter in a pan with the cream and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate pieces to the pan. Stir, leave for 5 minutes for the chocolate to melt into the cream. Add a splash of either brandy, rum, Amaretto or Baileys.

Christmas Individual Fruit and Grand Marnier Trifles

These trifles are easily put together and all you need is a bag of frozen berries from the freezer and you are part way to assembling a delicious trifle. The recipe is fairly low fat but is easily tweaked, bought custard can be used instead of making it yourself, also whipped cream can be used instead of the yogurt. Mr W and I enjoyed this low fat trifle and surprisingly didn't miss using cream for the topping.

The original recipe was fruit overload (as in the photograph), and in this instance you can definitely have too much of a good thing. You can never have too much Grand Marnier though.

Serves: 4

For the custard: 3 free-range egg yolks, 25g caster sugar, 1dsp cornflour, 300ml semi-skimmed milk, dash vanilla extract.

For the trifle: 4 slices of Madeira cake or trifle sponges, 4 tablespoons Grand Marnier, 200g mixed half thawed frozen berries, 200g Organic Greek Style Yogurt, 3tbsp sifted icing sugar, 1tsp vanilla extract, few extra berries to decorate.

1. For the custard: mix together the egg yolks with the caster sugar and cornflour. Heat the milk in a pan and when it is hot stir into the egg mixture, then pour into a clean saucepan and stir over a moderate heat until thickened. Add the vanilla extract, pour into a bowl and cover the clingfilm to prevent a skin forming, leave to cool.
2. Put the cake slices in the bottom of each glass, then drizzle over the liqueur. Divide the berries between them, then whisk the custard again and spoon over the berries and cake. In a separate bowl, mix together the yogurt, sugar and vanilla then spoon over the top. Leave in the fridge for the flavours to get to know each other. Decorate with a few extra berries.

Roast Pears with Star Anise, Blackberries and Lemon

Pears stained by blackberries look so pretty, but add to them a few bay leaves, star anise and cinnamon we know autumn is here. If you have any blackberries in the freezer to use up or a glut of pears, this dessert is perfect.

The recipe calls for maple syrup but at the time I made this there wasn't any in the store cupboard and so I used honey instead, the dessert was still delicious. This dessert is best eaten at room temperature.

Serves: 6

You will need: 6 ripe but firm pears, 1 small lemon, 3 tablespoons maple syrup or runny honey, 2 or 3 fresh bay leaves, 2 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 150g blackberries.

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel, halve and core the pears. Place the pears in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.
2. Using a peeler, remove the skin from the lemon in strips, scatter over the pears. Juice the lemon and drizzle over the pears along with the maple syrup and 200ml of cold water.
3. Tuck the bay leaves, star anise and cinnamon stick among the pear halves and bake for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, scatter the blackberries over the pear halves and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Take the pear and blackberry mixture out of the oven and turn them in the juices from the blackberries. Leave to cool.