Thermomix Berries and Cherries Smoothie Recipe

I made this smoothie a couple of weeks ago when the sun was shining non stop here in the West Midlands, unfortunately this last week it's been rain, sunshine, rain, sunshine.

Redcurrants from my garden, a mixture of cherries and blueberries from the freezer and the last orange from the fruit bowl all make a delicious and refreshing smoothie.

Individual Raspberry Frangipane Tarts Recipe

I couldn't resist buying a punnet of huge raspberries after I spotted them on one of my favourite market stalls in Bridgnorth.  I know we should buy seasonal food but they said 'buy me' and so I did. These were some of the best raspberries I've ever eaten, in fact they were far superior to the ones I grow in my garden!

Brioche Berry Pudding

I wonder if the Olympians can indulge in a pudding this week as a reward? Or maybe they are programmed never to go anywhere near sugar. For those of us who like an indulgent dessert/pudding this is one of my favourites because it is as light as a feather to eat, quick and easy to make and reheats quickly in the microwave.

All you need is a sliced brioche loaf, which I mostly buy from Aldi, berries of your choice, eggs, sugar, milk and a pot of whipping or double cream.

You will need: large buttered ovenproof dish

1 small sliced brioche loaf about 200g
75g fresh raspberries
75g fresh blackberries
250ml semi-skimmed milk
250ml whipping or double cream
3 medium eggs
25g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Icing sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Cut off the crusts. Lay half the brioche over the base of a 1.5 litre x 6cm deep ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over half of the raspberries and blackberries, cover with the rest of the brioche squares. Scatter over the rest of the berries.
3.Whisk the milk, cream, eggs, vanilla extract and sugar together in a jug. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the brioche and leave to soak for 5 minutes.
4. Put the dish into a deep roasting tin and pour boiled water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 30 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from the oven and the tin. Leave to rest for 10 minutes, dust with icing sugar, serve on it's own or with whipped cream.

Summer Berry Tarts

The shops are full to the brim with summer berries and what better way to use them than a simple pastry tart topped with a lemon mascarpone filling, adorned with berries and blobs of luscious lemon curd.

Unfortunately my raspberries haven't done so well this year, my strawberry plants have done okay but need replacing next year, as ever my redcurrant bushes are bursting with little red berries.  Redcurrant bushes look after themselves so why the berries cost a fortune in the shops is a complete mystery to me.

The tarts still look pretty without lemon curd

Instructions for Thermomix pastry - food processor instructions in italics.

You will need: 6 x 10cm tins with a loose base, greased

225g plain flour
110g unsalted butter, cubed
pinch of salt
40g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
2/3 tbsp cold water

For the filling:
250g light mascarpone cheese
lemon curd

Decoration:
Mixed fruits of your choice

Food processor instructions in italics

1. Add the flour, butter, sugar and salt to the bowl - Turbo a few times to turn into crumbs. Now add the egg yolk and water. Turbo until just mixed together. Only add more water if necessary to get the dough to cling together.
Add the flour, butter and sugar to the bowl of the processor. Pulse until fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk and water, pulse until the dough starts to come together.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a flat disc. Cover in clingwrap and refridgerate for 30 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into six and roll out on a lightly floured board. Place the rolled dough carefully into the tins.  Prick the base, place the tins onto a baking tray and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180ºC conventional.
5. Place squares of baking paper into each tin and fill with baking beans.
6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, remove the paper and baking beans. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
7. Place the baked pastry cases onto a cooling rack.
8. Add the mascarpone cheese into a bowl and beat until smooth.  Add lemon curd to taste, mix and place in the fridge to chill.
9. Place dollops of lemon mascarpone cheese into the cooled baked pastry cases, top with berries and blobs of lemon curd, if you like.

You may also like:
Summer Berries Pavlova
Berry Meringue
Mixed Berry and White Chocolate Cheesecake Slice

New In My Kitchen The Thermomix TM5

Over the years I've juiced and whizzed fruit with varying successes and if you, like me, love gadgets then you too no doubt will have worked your way through a plethora of gadgetry. I've now sent the juicer to the charity shop, it has sat unused in the cupboard for ages, mainly because I feel that we should be eating the fibrous stuff the juicer spews out and not throwing it away. I bought my juicer many years ago and it was only used at weekends - I've enjoyed every single drink we made but not enjoyed cleaning five separate parts, or the dreaded filter which hubby was employed to scrupulously clean.

I've been blending drinks too over the years but my new kitchen toy really does make fast work of the task. Those pesky redcurrant seeds will take a little longer to blitz and I found adding another 30 seconds to the blend time did the trick. So in 'Thermie talk' here's the method: Chop 5 Sec/Speed 5 - Blend 1 Min/Speed 10 - Add more water if necessary Blend 20 Sec/Speed 3.

In my freezer there always seems to be frozen fruit coated in ice that I haven't used up quickly enough and these are perfect to use and saves adding too many ice cubes.

My drink is made from frozen blackcurrants and redcurrants (from my garden), a peeled orange (chopped), 1 x quartered apple (Braeburn always taste lovely) and a little water to loosen the mixture and thin down the drink.

I struggle with green smoothies and drinks and to date they aren't on my agenda for blitzing and I can't comment on these, but I've used a variety of fruits over the past few weeks and find that adding an orange to lots of blended drinks makes a huge difference to the flavour.

I'm definitely not going to wax lyrical about how living off fruit drinks and smoothies will change my life in 2016 - I try to blend a few times a week, when I fancy a refreshing drink or need to use up the last of the fruit bowl.

Well, I'm loving my new present from hubby and whizzing up things in seconds, come on what's not to love!

Pop over to my Pinterest Board for amazing drinks, smoothies and juices.

Back soon.

Summer Berries Pavlova Recipe

It's been a wonderful sunny weekend here in the West Midlands and on Saturday I went to Bridgnorth in Shropshire to buy what will possibly be the last of the late summer berries. We had a barbecue today and pavlova makes the perfect end to any meal.

There are quite a few meringue recipes on Kitchen Delights blog which is mainly because I use up any egg whites that I've frozen for a rainy day and more importantly meringue is one of our favourite desserts.

My favourite recipe for pavlova is by the super talented Alastair Hendy. His isn't a conventional method but gives a no fail meringue, on cooling the case cracks beautifully to give loads of character to the meringue. You will also be rewarded with a wonderful deep soft marshmallow layer within, the outer is delicately crisp. Should none of this appeal and if you must have the perfect meringue just leave in the oven overnight to cool but it won't have the soft marshmallow centre....

You will need:  either a hand whisk or a stand mixer and a large baking tray lined with parchment paper. Draw a 20cm circle on one side of the baking paper then turn the paper over.

4 large egg whites
120g caster sugar
110g icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp vinegar

To decorate:
150ml whipping cream
4 tbsp natural yogurt
½ tsp vanilla extract
selection of berries

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C or 130°C Fan.
2. Add the egg whites and caster sugar to the bowl of a mixer. Whisk until thickened and firm this can take some time but keep on going. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until thick and shiny, about 4 minutes.

3. Blob the mixture inside the circle on the baking tray.  Shape making a dip in the centre for the filling.

4. Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C or Fan 120°C. Bake for 70 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and leave the pavlova to cool on the baking paper.

5. Whip the cream until soft peaks, add the yogurt and whisk again.
6. Remove the cooled meringue carefully to a large serving plate. Decorate with fresh and frozen berries.

More meringue ideas:
Strawberry and Redcurrant Pavlova
Chocolate and Vanilla Berry Pavlova
Traybake  Meringue with Pears, Chocolate and Cream
Meringue Roulade with Elderflower Infused Strawberries

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

Raspberry and Coconut Scones Recipe

I came across this scone recipe on the BBC Good Food website and they looked so temptingly delicious I thought I'd get the pinny on and see how they turned out.

Coconut and raspberries are a delightful combo, these light and fluffy scones are amazing and all you need is a dollop of whipped cream for the perfect mouthful!

Raspberries are one of my favourite berries and I love the sweet/sharp flavour. They are the cooks friend, you can use them fresh or frozen and they liven up even the humblest of bakes.

Slightly adapted recipe:

200g self-raising flour
25g desiccated coconut, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling
50g cold salted butter, cut into small cubes
25g golden caster sugar
100ml buttermilk
1-2 tbsp full-fat milk
50g frozen raspberries
1 egg, beaten

You will need: Large baking tray dusted with flour.

1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC.
2. Place the flour in a bowl with the coconut and salt. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix in. Pour in the buttermilk and milk. Mix with a knife until the mixture has almost come together,add the raspberries and mix again, trying not to break up the fruit too much.
3. Tip the dough onto a work surface and knead a little to bring it togetherv– don’t overwork or the scones will be heavy. Pat the dough into a square about 4-5cm deep.
4. Cut into 4 pieces, shape them back into squares.
5. Place onto a baking tray, brush with egg, sprinkle with a little coconut.

6. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and risen. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
7. Either eat on the same day or freeze the cooked scones.

For more scone inspiration you may also like:
In Search of the Perfect Scone Recipe
Fresh Berry Scones
Blueberry Breakfast Scones

Hidden Raspberry Cupcakes Recipe

I bought the raspberries on the spur of the moment, it was a grey day and they looked bright and beautiful, I did wonder if it might be an expensive purchase I'd later regret. My head said don't buy them, my heart said I really want those raspberries. Well was I in for a nice surprise the raspberries from the supermarket smell and taste delicious.

The chocolate cupcakes with a hidden raspberry and topped with chocolate fudge frosting are a real indulgent happy sweet treat and my favourite way to eat them is to cut the cupcakes in half to show off the raspberry within.

Top Tip:  To prevent greasy cupcake cases try sifting a little flour into each section of the muffin tray prior to placing the cupcake cases into the tin.  After the cupcakes have cooled simple dust away the excess flour.

Makes: 12
You will need:  12 section muffin tin and paper cases
Recipe:
150g softened butter
150g caster sugar
160g self raising flour
15g cocoa powder, sifted
Raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC.
2. Add all of the ingredients, except for the raspberries, to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until smooth.
3. Divide the batter between the cake cases and place a raspberry on top, press slightly into the batter.

Experimenting with different size cupcake cases, the largest cupcakes were too large for the amount of cake batter

4. Bake for 25 minutes until cooked. Place the tray onto a cooling rack for 5 minutes and then remove the cupcakes onto a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Fudge Icing
You will need:
100g plain chocolate
2 tbsp milk
50g unsalted butter, cubed
75g icing sugar, sifted
Raspberry Flavouring

1.Place the chocolate, milk and butter into a small pan and heat very gently, stir until the chocolate and butter have melted.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, add the icing sugar and a few drops of raspberry flavouring. Keep on stirring until the mixture is thick and smooth. If too thick add a little more milk to thin slightly. Should the mixture separate, add a little cold milk which should bring the mixture back to an icing consistency.
3. Spread the icing over the top of the cakes.

More Raspberry Recipes:
Triple Almond and Raspberry Cake
Fresh Raspberry and Almond Traybake
Peach and Raspberry Slice

Blueberry and Lemon Drizzle Mini Loaf Cakes

I turned to one of my Mary Berry cookbooks for this delicious recipe - I've adapted her lime and blueberry ring drizzle cake and used lemon to replace her suggested lime but only because I had lemons in the fridge, this was an instantaneous bake and there wasn't time to go out shopping for a few limes. The crystallised lemon rind is quick, easy to make and delicious, not a step to miss out.

Ingredients
110g soft butter
110g caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
50g blueberries (use some of the measured flour to coat the blueberries)

Crunchy glaze:
3 tablespoons lemon juice
75g granulated sugar

Crystallised lemon rind:
1 lemon rind (I used a zester)
70g caster sugar
100ml cold water

You will need: 8 greased and lined mini loaf moulds.

Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.  Cut 8 strips of baking parchment and line the loaf tin moulds.

Place the butter, caster sugar, flour, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, and lemon zest. Beat with an electric hand whisk for about 2 minutes until smooth.

Divide half the batter between the eight moulds. Scatter the floured blueberries over the batter. Spoon the rest of the mixture over the blueberries and spread it evenly to cover the fruit.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until well risen. Whilst the cakes bake, make the glaze by mixing the lemon juice with the granulated sugar.  Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then loosen the sides with a palette knife. Lift them out of the tin with the baking paper strips and place on a wire rack to cool.

While the cakes are still warm, prick them all over with a skewer. Stir the glaze, then spoon it over the warm cakes. Leave to cool.

To make the candied lemon rind, use a zester to remove the rind from lemons in long strands. Or, if you are handy with a knife, thinly slice the lemon rind away from the lemon and cut into fine strips. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Combine the rind, sugar and water in a saucepan over a medium heat and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the rind is translucent. Remove from the heat. Use a fork to spread the rind in a single layer, over the tray. Put to one side for 5 minutes to set.
Now the candied zest is ready to decorate the cakes as you wish.

Apple and Raspberry Pie: Recipe

Deep filled apple and raspberry pie fresh from the oven

It's British Pie Week from 2-8 March and I love a good pie, whether it's an apple pie that has to be served with Birds Custard, otherwise hubby sulks, or a chicken and leek pie served with a pot of delicious gravy.

Who better to turn to for a recipe than Mary Berry whose books I've grown up with.  This recipe is called Autumn Fruit Pie, the original recipe uses blackberries and apples, and comes from Mary Berry Cooks The Perfect......this book is full to bursting with an array of tempting new recipes.

Slightly adapted recipe
You will need:
23cm Pie tin 3.5cm deep - I used a tarte tatin dish but it was a little too large

800g Bramley apples thinly sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice (bottled is fine)
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
225g fresh raspberries

Pastry:
350g plain flour
175g cold salted butter
1tbsp milk to glaze
2tsp caster sugar to sprinkle over

1. Place the flour and cubes of butter into a food processor and blend to breadcrumbs. Add 5 to 6 tablespoons of iced cold water and whizz until the mixture comes together. Tip out onto a floured surface and wrap in clingwrap and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
2. Remove the pastry from the fridge and cut into two making one piece slightly larger.
3. Place a large baking tin in the oven and preheat the oven to 180ºC .
4. Roll the larger piece of pastry out to line the pastry tin leaving the pastry overlapping at the edges.
5. Peel and core the apples.  Cut into thin slices and toss with the lemon juice.  Sprinkle over the caster sugar and flour and mix together to coat. Tip the apples and raspberries into the pastry case.
6. Roll out the lid until larger than the tin.  Brush the rim of the pastry with milk and place the pastry lid over the fruit. Press the pastry edges together.  Trim off the excess. With the back edge of a knife tap all round the edges to secure.  Crimp the edges together.  Cut a slit in centre of the pie 2cm long.
7. Make leaves with the pastry trimmings, Brush the lid with milk.  Place the leaves on the pastry lid. Sprinkle the caster sugar over.
8. Place the pie on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180ºC and bake for 35 minutes.  Leave the pie to cool slightly before serving.

Raspberry and White Chocolate Brioche Pudding - Recipe

I love this pudding, it's easy to make, you don't need to spend loads of time in the kitchen and it's perfect for this time of the year when we are all beginning to feel festive. It's lightweight to eat compared to panettone pudding and I've substituted some of the cream for semi-skimmed milk to cut down on calories.I bought a pack of 8 brioche rolls from the shop that sells everything for a £1, they are really light and perfect for this pudding, I only used four of the rolls and popped the remaining four into the freezer for another day.

White buttons are best or white chocolate chips because the chocolate needs to melt quickly.When I came to make the pudding I found I had ran out of buttons and used chunks of chocolate.

I used frozen raspberries, which have a good amount of tang to them compared with fresh and for some Christmas spirit I marinated the frozen raspberries in brandy for a few minutes!

Serves: 4

You will need:  150ml semi-skimmed milk, 150ml whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 4 brioche rolls sliced horizontally into two, 100g frozen raspberries, 1 tbsp brandy, 25g white chocolate buttons

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.  Butter a dish which is large enough to take four brioche rolls.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream and vanilla extract together.
3. Tip the frozen raspberries into a small bowl and stir in the brandy.
4. Place the cut brioche into the dish and pour the egg mixture over. Sprinkle over the raspberries and chocolate.
5. Place the dish in a roasting pan. Pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until just set.
6. Dust with icing sugar.

Plum Slice is Always Nice!

Amazing Plum Cake with Ice Cream

Last September I was sent an email inviting me to attend the Range Leisure Autumn Feast with Uyen Luu who is a blogger, cookery book writer and supperclub owner.  Sadly I was unable to attend and reluctantly/happily! passed the invitation onto @PaulFoodie who is the London Reporter for our blog.

I've been told on many an occasion that the food, wine, event, the company, including Jeanne of Cook Sister, made a truly memorable evening for all.

I love dessert and whenever I go out for a meal I mostly start by looking at the dessert menu first. I thought I'd replicate the Plum Cake with Ice Cream that Uyen Luu cooked on the evening of the event........

Deliciously tender and buttery

I'd recommend getting the best plums possible because the 'ripen at home' ones from the supermarket tend to go mouldy before they ripen and the fruit needs to be as tasty as possible.

The Perfect Raspberry and Almond Cake - Recipe

Why triple almond? Ground almonds, almond extract and flaked almonds

Hooray! My raspberries didn't sink - joy of joys.  This cake has been very kind to me, it was moist, has a tender crumb, is full of lovely flavours and I used the last of the autumn raspberries.

It's an all in one cake mix, which means less time spent in the kitchen if you have limited time on your hands, and it's a wonderful cake-cum-dessert. For dessert pop a slice into the microwave on a low setting to heat through.

The cake is also delicious dusted with icing sugar and served with either a dollop of cream or creme fraiche.

We liked the cake with a dusting of icing sugar

Recipe:
115g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 large eggs beaten
115g softened butter
115g caster sugar
1tsp almond extract
40g ground almonds
175g fresh raspberries
2 tbsp flaked almonds

You will need:  20cm base lined round cake tin, greased with butter and floured.

1. Preheat the oven to 150ºC Fan.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl, add the beaten eggs, almond extract, butter and sugar.  Beat together with an electric whisk for 2 minutes.  Fold in the ground almonds.
3. Dollop the cake batter into the tin.  Level the mixture, scatter over the raspberries and flaked almonds.

All it needs now is a scattering of flaked almonds 

4. Bake for 45 minutes until golden.  Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes.  Remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
5. The cake can be cut into slices and frozen.

Individual Lemon and Blueberry Steamed Pudding Recipe - Steam Combination Oven

Serve the pudding with golden syrup and double cream

Using a steam combination oven is really easy once you get into the swing of things.  When I first bought it my thoughts were that it would be a bit needy and I'd spend ages cleaning it out.  The good news is that once I got used to it this part isn't too much of a chore.

I love steamed puddings, preferably not the ones that weigh you down for a week, and the steam oven will make enough in one go to feed an army, not that I'll be doing that any time soon.

Non-stick Bacofoil is my best friend when I make steamed puddings, all you have to do is cut the foil into squares, pleat and cover the batter with the foil non shiny side down.

Fresh from the steamer

Recipe:

You will need: 8 x 175ml pudding basins

175g self-raising flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
175g softened butter
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
150g fresh blueberries

1. Grease the basins well and place a disc of silicone baking paper in the base of each basin.
2. Add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand held whisk for two minutes until the batter is smooth.  Place the blueberries in a bowl and sprinkle over some extra flour to coat the fruit, stir gently into the cake batter.
3. Using an ice cream scoop place scoops of cake batter into the basins. Cover each basin with a piece of non-stick Bacofoil which has been pleated.
4. Place the puddings into the steamer following the manufacturers instructions. I cooked mine for 1hr 15minutes.
5. Remove the puddings from the steamer, remove the foil lids and turn out.
6. Any puddings now used can be turned out onto clingwrap, cool and then freeze. They can easily be reheated in a microwave.

Disclaimer:  My steam combination oven is a private purchase.

Plum Cobbler - Recipe

The hot pudding is fabulous served with ice cream

The leaves are starting to fall off the trees, the nights are drawing in and Plum Cobbler is one of those comforting puddings we will soon be craving for.

This cobbler topping is beautifully light and airy, it is quick and easy to make and is a great alternative to a crumble topped pudding.

The recipe from Baking Mad's Autumn Recipes uses damsons but where I live they are ridiculously expensive and I used red plums with great success, but they must be ripe, otherwise they'll have to be pre-cooked for longer than the recipe suggests.

I placed the cobbler onto the plums in craggy blobs to make the pudding look lovely and homely or instead of one large pudding it can also be cooked in individual ramekins.

It's quite a large pudding and once cooled it can be cut into individual portions and frozen.

Disclaimer:  BakingMad.com have sent me a selection of products for this posting.

Mary Berry's Spiced Dorset Apple Traybake - Recipe

The traybake is spiced with cinnamon

This is a cake-cum-pudding - according to my hubby it needs a large bowl of 'Birds Custard' - there isn't a cure for his love of Bird's Custard, it comes from his school days. In fact he often boasts that he introduced an American businessman to custard and told him that English puddings have to be served with the pudding floating in custard!

Yes, I did give him a chunk of the cake with his beloved custard - I had a piece with a dollop of cream but creme fraiche would cut through the sweetness of the cake and for me it would be the best choice.

Mary Berry is the queen of the traybake and I don't think I had ever heard of a 'traybake' until many, many years ago when I bought her Ultimate Cake Book.  This book is very well thumbed and is getting a bit tatty but it is a turn to book when I'm in need of baking inspiration.

Part of my collection of Mary Berry cookery books

Adapted recipe and method:

You will need: 30cm x 23cm x 4cm greased and lined with baking parchment.

225g butter softened
550g Bramley cooking apples
1 tbsp bottled lemon juice
225g light brown sugar
300g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples, place them into a dish. Pour the lemon juice over the apples and toss gently together.
3. Put the butter, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon, eggs and milk into a large bowl. Beat with a hand held electric whisk for 2 minutes.
4. Dollop half the cake batter into the tin and spread it out evenly with a spatula. Place half the apple slices on top and sprinkle over the remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Spoon the remaining cake batter on top in blobs and level the surface. Scatter the rest of the apple slices over the cake mixture and press them lightly into the surface.
5. Bake for 40 minutes until golden. Test the cake is cooked through with a skewer and the apples are soft and cooked. Leave the cake to cool in the tin. Remove the cake using the lining paper.

The original recipe, method and video how to make the cake is on the Daily Mail website.

Sparkling Redcurrant Cupcakes - Recipe

I revealed on Facebook that I had for no apparent reason gone into blogger meltdown.  It didn't matter what I cooked it just seemed to fail. Cherries falling to the bottom of my cake, rocky roads that didn't quite rock and on and on it went.  I even made hubby a bacon sandwich that you definitely wouldn't pay for!  Although he did remind me he had already paid and that it tasted good all the same:)

My cupcakes may look a little like Christmas with the frosted redcurrants but I love redcurrants coated in sugar, the combination of sweet and tart is amazing, second only to dipping a stick of rhubarb into a bag of sugar.

I've got three redcurrant bushes in my fruit garden and they reward me with lots and lots of bright red bead like jewels that glisten in the sun.  The fruits can be eaten raw, cooked or can be frozen.  They fruit from July through to the middle of August and give us that all important vitamin C.  Unfortunately ants seem to enjoy my fruits too but there isn't much I can do about that!

Redcurrants cost a ridiculous amount of money in the shops and they are sold in minute quantities, I've no idea why because they grow so easily in this country.

At Christmas time we see recipes and images of redcurrants, where do we buy them from at Christmas and where do they come from?

These lovely cupcakes can be made using raspberries or a combination of redcurrants and raspberries. Yes, the fruits are inclined to sink to the bottom of the cupcake cases..........I've got that sinking feeling again!

Makes: 9
110g caster sugar
110g softened butter
110g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g redcurrants

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC.
2. Place 9 cupcake cases in a muffin tin.
3. Add all the ingredients, except the redcurrants, to a bowl and mix together for 4 minutes until soft and fluffy.
4. Fold in half the redcurrants.  Place scoops of the mixture into the cupcake cases. Sprinkle the remaining redcurrants on top of the cake batter.
5. Bake for 30 minutes until cooked through. Place onto a cooling rack.
6. To make the icing: Add 100g icing sugar to a medium size bowl and stir in enough lemon juice to make a pouring consistency.  Colour the icing with a few drops of pink colouring.  Pour into a plastic bag, cut a tiny corner off the bag and decorate the tops of the cooled cupcakes. Take a few sprigs of redcurrants and brush with lightly whisked egg white, spoon over caster sugar to frost.  Place onto a tray lined with wax paper to dry.

Strawberry Cake - Recipe

                                              Fantasy Cake - a recipe by Lisa Faulkner

I've been away from home this week and have indulged in some fabulous food, especially my treat of the week, which was an evening meal at Le Caprice. As regular readers know I love coffee, and I've had more than a few expertly made cups this week but the best was definitely at Le Caprice.

I made this cake a couple of weeks ago and have to say my strawberries have been amazing this year, I can't believe how many strawberries you can get off two rows. I've made a few strawberry cakes this year from them and these are now my favourite summer cakes, they're fabulous, especially if you serve them with cream.

I came across this recipe whilst browsing through some cookery books in the library, a quick search on the web and everyone agreed this cake is one of the best strawberry cakes ever.

The recipe can be found on the Waitrose website and they have a video on You Tube showing the cake being made -  I'd recommend using the method shown on the video and not the one on the website. My only comment regarding the recipe is the amount of strawberries used which is 400g, I used less and it was absolutely fine.

The cake keeps really well covered in cling wrap and stored in the fridge.

Make it before all the fresh strawberries disappear!


                                                       VIMTO SQUEEZY - REVIEW

I was delighted to be sent Vimto Original, Cherry and Strawberry to try, the weather has been hot and the timing was perfect.

The Vimto Squeezy is lighter than a cordial in taste, I'm not always very keen on cordials, some taste like boiled sweets - perhaps it's just me who thinks this, but these are excellent and definitely don't taste like boiled sweets!

These mini bottles are easily transportable to flavour bottles of water whilst you are out and about. Handily they will also fit into my handbag and take up no space at all.

The squeezy bottles come in a small 50ml bottle and are sugar free.  To flavour a 500ml bottle of water simply squirt in one teaspoon of Vimto.  There are approximately 25 servings in a bottle and at a RRP of just £2.49 they are very good value.  Available from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Co-op Stores.

Disclaimer:  I was sent the products for review, all thoughts are my own.

Mini Raspberry Cream Brownies - Recipe

These petits fours are 'high faff' and take a bit of patience to make but they are well worth it. They're quite rich and I could only manage to eat one, which is no bad thing, because I really wouldn't want to know how calorific they are.

I've got a few raspberry canes at the bottom of the garden, there's nothing quite like home grown raspberries, they are in a league of their own.

My hob is induction and melting chocolate is a dream, it's possible to place the chocolate in a pan and melt it gently on the hob, it's so much easier than melting chocolate over a pan of water and I find the chocolate never overheats.

The cream is made from raspberry puree, cream and melted white chocolate, I added a little red food colouring to brighten up the raspberry cream to give it a pretty pink colour.

When I piped these I didn't let the raspberry cream chill down for long enough

I'm off for a week to eat at a few posh restaurants and some not so posh, drink coffee at some trendy coffee shops and some not so trendy.......but meanwhile I'll leave you with the recipe for these fabulous brownies.....

You will need:  22cm square baking tin, greased  and lined with baking parchment so the paper extends over all four sides.  4cm cutter.

80g salted butter
150g dark chocolate
115g caster sugar
2 small eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder

Raspberry Cream
250g raspberries
1 tbsp icing sugar
60ml cream
125g white chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC.
2. Place the chocolate and butter into a bowl and place over a saucepan with gently simmering water. Stir until the butter and chocolate have melted. Remove the bowl and allow to cool.
3.Place the sugar, eggs and vanilla in a bowl and mix until pale and creamy.
4. Fold in the cooled chocolate.  Sift over the flour and cocoa powder.
5. Pour into the baking tin and cook for 15-20 minutes. Cool in the tin. Place in the fridge for an hour.
6. Raspberry Cream.  Place 125g raspberries with the icing sugar into a food processor and blend until smooth.  Strain through a fine sieve. Add the raspberry puree to a small saucepan along with the cream and bring to the boil.  Add the pieces of white chocolate to the pan, remove from the heat and spoon the raspberry cream over the chocolate pieces.  Leave it for approximately 5 minutes and then whisk to a smooth glossy sauce.  Pour into a bowl and place in the fridge until chilled and set.
7. Take the cake out of the fridge, remove the cake from the tin.  Place on a board and cut out rounds using the cutter.
8. Place the chilled raspberry cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1M Wilton nozzle and pipe onto the brownie rounds, top with a fresh raspberry.

I'm submitting this post to the recipe linky #cookblogshare over at Supergolden Bakes.......