Light and fluffy Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Happy Easter everyone :) and to celebrate why not try some of these wonderful light and fluffy pancakes for breakfast...

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

3/4 cup plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 cup ricotta
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
Zest of 1 large Lemon
4 tbsp (heaped) Lemon curd
Blueberries, for garnish

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Mix together the ricotta, eggs, milk, lemon zest in a large bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Heat a pan with some oil and butter over a medium high heat and once heated, pour out any excess oil from the pan. Spoon small amounts of the batter into the pan and cook on both sides until light golden brown. Place them on a plate and continue with the remaining batter.
Drizzle some of the curd over the pancakes and top with fresh blueberries.

Chocolate and Orange Hot Cross Buns

It's Good Friday and a perfect time for some easter baking. Hot Cross Buns are a perfect easter treat but I'm going to be honest...I'm not a big fan of raisins and currants :( so I normally stay away from them but this year I decided to make my own but with a twist so that I could eat and enjoy them....chocolate and orange hot cross buns! They were out of this world...don't just take my word for it, definitely give them a go :)

Chocolate and Orange Hot Cross Buns

450g strong white bread flour
25g cocoa powder
7g fast action yeast
60g caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (ground)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
40g butter
300ml milk
100g chocolate chips
Zest of one large orange

Crosses
75g flour
75ml water

Glaze
3 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp orange juice

Pour the milk into a pan and add the milk and heat gently until the better has melted (try not to boil the milk), add the vanilla extract and set aside. It needs to be like warm.

Place the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, orange zest and cinnamon into a bowl and slowly add the milk/butter mixture. Mix until you get a soft dough and then add the chocolate chips.

Knead for around 10 minutes or 5 minutes if using a stand mixer

Place in an oiled bowl and leave to prove for around 1 1/2 hrs or until doubled in size

Turn out onto a lightly oiled work surface and knock back. Divide into 12 balls and roll the balls gently to make them smooth and place on a lined baking sheet. Cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to prove again, until about doubled in size (about 45 minutes)

Pre heat the oven to 200/180c

Mix the flour and water together to a smooth spreadable paste and fill a piping bag fitted with a small holed nozzle.

Pipe crosses onto the buns and place into the pre heated oven for about 15 minutes.

While the buns are baking, make up the glaze by add the caster sugar and orange juice in a pan and heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Once the hot cross buns are cooked, remove from the oven and immediately brush the orange glaze over all the buns

Enjoy :))

Easter Cookie Nests

Easter is almost upon us, so me and my son decided to bake some easter treats....and as requested by him we made some cookies but with an easter twist :) here's the first recipe, nice and easy to make with little ones and very tasty :)

Easter Cookie Nests

1 batch of Cookie Dough (my chocolate chip cookie recipe)
Mixed Mini Eggs

Pre heat the oven to 180/170c

Make up the batch of cookie dough but leave out the chocolate chips
Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Put spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the baking sheet but don't flatten them as you need them to be thicker than normal.
In the centre of the cookie, push in a few of the mini eggs

Place them into the pre heated oven for around 10-12 minutes.

Leave to cool and enjoy :)

Creme Egg Cookie Pies :))

I'm sure you've seen the creme egg brownies that seem to have swept the nation hahaha and although they look lovely I decided to do something a little different with the creme eggs. Following on from the cookie baking session with my son we also made some Creme Egg Cookie Pies, this idea started off with a different cookie filling but as its easter Creme Eggs it is and honestly they are lovely :))

Creme Egg Cookie Pie

1 sweet shortcrust pastry case (homemade or shop bought)
I used the hazelnut sweet shortcrust pastry that I had left over
1 cookie batch (my chocolate chip cookie recipe)
Pack of creme eggs- I used the mini creme eggs

Pre heat the oven to 180/170c

If your making your own pastry case, blind bake the pastry case first.

Make up the cookie dough but leave out the chocolate chips.

Fill the pastry case with the cookie dough and spread evenly inside. You can do one large one or small individual ones if you prefer.

Cut the creme eggs in half

Place the cookie pie into a pre heated oven for 10 minutes, remove and place the creme eggs into the cookie dough and push them in gently, the dough will be very soft at this stage.

Place back into the oven for a further 4 minutes

Some Easter Lamb recipe ideas :)

It's tradition to eat Lamb around Easter so here are 4 different ways to have your lamb...all extremely tasty and perfect family meals :)

Lamb 4 Ways

Sweet and Sticky Marinated Lamb

4 Lamb steaks

Marinade
4 tbsp Honey
Zest of 1 Lemon
2 heaped tsp dried Rosemary or 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 tbsp Olive oil
3 large Garlic cloves (crushed)
1 tbsp wholegrain Mustard

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and pour over the lamb steaks and leave to marinade for at least an hour preferably longer.

Once your ready to cook them, bast them again with the sauce so they ate completely covered.

You can either BBQ the steaks, fry them (keeps them sticky) or you can grill them.

(This marinadeaalto works well with beef steaks)

(recipe by Jose Pizarro)

Roast Lamb

I leg of lamb joint
4 or 5 garlic cloves (peeled)
1 tbsp dried rosemary

Prepare your leg of lamb by making incisions into the meat, large enough to accommodate a garlic clove.
Insert the garlic clove directly into the meat and continue with all the cloves
Drizzle some oil over the meat (you can use olive oil or garlic oil) and then sprinkle over the rosemary cook to your liking.

(We like our medium rare so it's normally 20 min per pound and 15 min resting time)


Saffron, Chilli and Lime Lamb Skewers

1kg lamb cubed
Salt and black pepper
3 medium tomatoes
60ml olive oil
1 onion, very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ tsp saffron threads
Zest of a lime and some of the juice
1/2 tsp mild chilli flakes (more if you like it spicy)
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp caster sugar

Heat the oven to 200C/180c. Season the lamb with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and some black pepper, then spike the cubes of meat on to skewers. Arrange these side by side in a roasting tray just large enough to accommodate them and set aside.

Coarsely grate the tomatoes into a bowl (so most of the skin stays in your hand), and discard the skin.

Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, fry gently for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic, saffron, lime Zest, and a squeeze of lime, chilli flakes, cardamom, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute, stirring once or twice, turn off the heat and then stir in the tomato flesh.

Spoon the mixture evenly over the lamb skewers, so that all the meat is coated. Cover with foil and roast for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 150C/140c and cook for two more hours, basting once, until the meat is very tender.

Place skewers on serving plates, spoon over the thick sauce from the bottom of the tray and serve at once. If there's quite a lot of runny juice left in the tray, transfer the skewers to a warm plate, cover and keep warm. Pour all the juices into a sauté pan, place on a high heat and cook until reduced and thickened.

(adapted for a yotam ottolenghi recipe)

Mediterranean Lamb

6 Lamb chops

New potatoes cut into wedges

Zest of 1 lemon and juice
Zest of 1 lime
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp chilli flakes (more if you want it spicy)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
5 garlic cloves (skin removed)
A good glug of garlic oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Pre heat oven to 180/170c

Place the lamb chops and the potato wedges into a roasting pan.

Add the zest of both the lemon and lime, dried mint, chilli flakes, fennel seeds and the whole garlic cloves, pour over a good glug of garlic oil, juice of the lemon and some salt and pepper

Place in the oven for around 1 hour

Serve with fresh bread as the sauce is divine to dip into.

(adapted from a nigella lawson recipe)

Easter Hazelnut and Mascarpone Tart

Easter is nearly upon us so here's another easter inspired recipe...must say it is hard to get into the easter baking spirit with snow outside :(

Easter Hazelnut and Mascarpone Tarts

Hazelnut pastry case

180g plain flour
60g icing sugar
3 tbsp hazelnuts ,toasted, skins removed
90g butter , cold and cubed
1 egg yolk
1-2 tbsp cold water

Filling

250g Mascarpone
4 heaped tbsp Ricotta
2 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Nutella (optional)
Mini eggs for decoration
Chocolate to drizzle

Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C
Whizz the hazelnuts in a food processor until roughly chopped
Tip the flour, sugar into the food processor with the hazelnuts and add the butter. Whizz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1 or 2 tbsp cold water, then pulse to a soft dough. Take out of the processor and gently bring the pastry together (don't over work the pastry as it will become tough), wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough out and use it to line a tart tin (I used 4 individual tart tins) then chill for 15 mins. Line the pastry case with baking parchment filled with baking beans. Bake for 15 mins, then remove the paper and beans and cook for a further 5-10 mins until the pastry is cooked through

Mix the mascarpone until soft and add the ricotta and mix thoroughly.
Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whisk in. Chill until the pastry cases have cooled down.

Once the pastry case(s) have cooled down, spread some Nutella onto the bottom of the tart and top with the mascarpone filling, spread this gently and evenly.

Top with some mini eggs and a drizzle of melted chocolate

I did half with Nutella at the bottom and half without and both tasted yummy :))

A perfect breakfast :)

This morning we yet again woke up to snow...it's the 24th March, how can this be? I must say I'm getting pretty sick of the cold weather now and really craving some sunshine especially as I have some spring clothes that desperately need to be worn haha!
Anyway we all decided that a yummy warming breakfast was in order so I made my boys some banana and macadamia nut pancakes and they were wonderful...a lovely alternative to your normal pancakes and I'm guessing with the bananas and nuts in them, they must be slightly good for you ;))
(sorry about the picture I only managed to get a very grainy pic from hubby's phone before they got devoured haha)

Banana and Macadamia Nut Pancakes

225g bananas (well ripened)
225g milk
2 eggs
55g butter melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g self raising flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
50g toasted macadamia nuts

Mash the bananas and add to a bowl with the milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract, whisk until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk until everything is mixed and combined.

The mixture is thicker than your normal pancake mixture due to the addition of the bananas but this is fine.

Heat a very small amount of oil in a pan.

Pour spoonfuls of the mixture in to the pan and add the macadamia nuts on the top straight away.

Turn over once cooked underneath and starting to firm up on the top. Cook the other side and place on a plate stacked up

Serve with maple syrup or if like me...nice and plain :)) but if your doing these for a pudding, they would be great with a big dollop of mascarpone cream or ice cream :)

This does make a large batch but perfect for a family :)

Recipe from "desserts for breakfast"

Almond, Orange and Pine Nut Biscuits

Despite this awful weather we are having I'm determined to bring you some easter/spring inspired recipes. My recipe today is a lovely biscuit with wonderful fresh flavours (inspired by Spain)
Almond, Orange and Pine Nut Biscuits...easy to make and easy to eat haha :))

Almond, Orange and Pine Nut Biscuits

240g plain flour
125g ground almonds
Zest of 1 orange
200g salted butter
125g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
25g toasted pine nuts (more if you wanted)

Put the flour, ground almonds, orange zest and butter in a food processor and whizz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolks and whizz to a dough. Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead in the toasted pine nuts very gently or you can keep the dough in the food processor and whizz so the pine nuts are finely chopped. Shape into a log, Wrap in cling film and chill for an hour.
Heat the oven to 180C/160c fan. Cut the dough into biscuits and arrange on a lined baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes and allow to cool on the baking sheet. (Due to the ground almonds they are fairly soft at first so allow to cool thoroughly.)

You can of course replace the orange with some lemon zest for a sharper fresher taste :)

Easter Rocky Road

I have a confession to make....I've never eaten rocky road...I know I know, how can this of happened, but after all these years I've never managed to try this sweet overloaded chocolate treat hahaha :) so I decided to make my own and make it perfect for Easter :)

White Chocolate and Mini Egg Rocky Road

400g white chocolate
4 cookies (I used some left over funfetti cookies)
Bag of mini eggs
80g-100g marshmallows

Break up your cookies and mini eggs, leaving a few whole and cut your marshmallows into smaller pieces.

Melt the white chocolate either in a bowl over simmering water or in the microwave

Pour the broken up cookies, marshmallows and mini eggs into the melted chocolate and mix in gently to avoid breaking up the cookies too much.

Pour into a lined tray, place the whole mini eggs on top and pop into the fridge to harden :))

Butternut Squash and Tahini Dip with Cardamom and Coriander Seed Flat Breads

Anytime I get an opportunity to try something a little different I go for it...especially with my three year old, I thoroughly embrace him eating all different flavours and foods! As you know this weekend I went for a middle eastern theme and yesterday was no exeption. I wanted something nice and easy for lunch but a little different from a plain sandwich or roll and when I saw this recipe in yotam ottolenghis Jerusalem I knew I had to make it....well I wasn't disappointed at all, neither was my son. The flavours of this dip are incredible and so warming and inviting that it is very difficult to not eat all of it unless you have enormous will power hahaha but with it being fairly healthy, why not eat it all :)) I served it with my fragrant cardamom and coriander seed flatbreads and a salad :)

Butternut Squash and Tahini Dip

1/2-1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks (net weight 450g)
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
salt to taste
35g tahini paste
60g Greek yoghurt
1 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Large handful of flaked almonds- toasted in a pan
maple syrup to drizzle

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Spread the squash out on a medium-sized baking tray, pour over the olive oil and sprinkle on the cinnamon and salt. Mix well and roast for about 40 minutes or until soft , stirring once during the cooking. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Transfer the cooled squash to the bowl of a food processor, along with the tahini, yoghurt and garlic. pulse so that everything is combined into a coarse paste – you don't want it too smooth (you can also do this by hand using a fork or masher).

To serve, spread the butternut tahini dip and sprinkle with toasted almonds and a drizzle of maple syrup

(Recipe adapted from a yotam ottelenghi recipe)

Serve with some aromatic flat breads

Cardamom and Coriander Seed Flat Breads

250g strong wholemeal bread flour

5g salt

20ml olive oil

160ml water

6 cardamom pods-seeds removed and crushed in a pestle and mortar

1/2 tsp coriander seeds-crushed or you can use ground

Add the flour, salt and spices to a bowl and then add the olive oil and water and mix to form a dough.

Turn out on to a lightly floured work top and knead for about 5 minutes

Place in the bowl and cover with cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes

Divide the dough into 6 pieces

Heat a large frying pan (no oil needed) and roll out the first ball so it is very flat. Cook in the frying pan for a minute on each side...or until golden on each side.

Remove from the pan and place on a plate and cover with a tea towel or cling film to stop from drying out

Great as a wrap, dipping bread, smothering a delicious dip on or as an aromatic chapati to accompany a curry :)

Lahmacun

I always like to try something different so when I saw this middle eastern pizza style dish I know I had to try it...and wow I'm glad I did, it was fantastic and such a wonderful change from your normal style pizza which I must say I'm not the biggest fan of. The enriched dough with the fragrant and spiced minced meat topping with a cooling salad and yoghurt is perfect :) and my three year old absolutely loved it so perfect for kids too :)

Lahmacun
Middle Eastern pizza with spicy minced beef and a salad topping

Makes 2 large or 4 small snack size pizzas

Dough
250g strong white bread flour
½ tbsp salt
2 tsp fast-action dried yeast
½ tbsp caster sugar
60ml sunflower oil
1 medium egg
100ml lukewarm water

Topping
250g minced beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1¼ tsp salt
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp red chilli flakes
25g flat leaf parsley, chopped
1½ tbsp sumac

3 tbsp tahini paste
25g pine nuts


Olive oil for brushing
Salad (optional)
1 mini-cucumber cut into cubes
2 small tomatoes cut into cubes
10g coriander, roughly chopped
Feta cheese cut into cubes
Yoghurt with fresh mint and parsley roughly chopped and mixed in

Salt and black pepper

Start with the dough. Put the flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Make a well in the centre. Add the sunflower oil and egg and stir as you add the water. When the dough comes together, remove it from the bowl and knead lightly for 3 minutes on your work surface until smooth, and elastic. Oil a bowl lightly and place the dough inside, brush with some olive oil, cover with cling film and leave somewhere warm for about 2 hours, until almost doubled in size.
Put all of the topping ingredients in a large bowl, apart from the tahini, and pine nuts. Mix well with your hands and pop in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 210°C/200c and line two large baking sheets with baking parchment.
Divide the risen dough two balls, and roll each into a thin disc, about 2mm thick. Cover and leave to rise for 15 minutes.

If you make the salad, mix together the vegetables and add the coriander, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste Stir gently and set aside.

Spread the tahini onto each disc, divide the filling between the dough and spread it evenly so it covers the dough fully. Sprinkle over the pine nuts and place in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until just cooked. You want to make sure the dough is just baked, not over-baked; the topping can be slightly pink inside and the pastry golden when you look underneath. Remove from the oven, spoon the salad on top, and finish off with a little of the yoghurt

Adapted from a recipe by yotam ottolenghi

My Favourite Dessert :))

As you've probably guessed I love food and all things sweet hahahaha...and this dessert is all things that I love...pastry, frangipane and nuts and it is so simple to make and will impress all your guests when they see it :)

M'hanncha
(Moroccan snakey cake)

Filo pastry 8 sheets

Frangipan filling
250g butter softened
250g icing sugar
2 eggs
250g ground almonds
1tbsp plain flour
Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
75g Crushed pistachios
75g flaked almonds

A little olive oil (for dotting on the filo pastry)

Add the softened butter and icing sugar into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the eggs and mix well.
Pour in the ground almonds and stir through.
Add the orange and lemon zest and the nuts, mix into all incorporated.

Line the filo pastry sheets onto a table, overlapping them slighting to form a long line of sheets and fill on one side (longest edge) and then spread as even as possible and roll up (like a cigar) it will look like a long snake
Now you can roll it round and round (so it looks like a snail) Place into a lightly oiled 9" cake tin
Place Into an oven at 180 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes until crisp and golden
Turn out and sprinkle with icing sugar


Adapted from a jamie Oliver recipe

Middle Eastern Chicken with Caramilised Onion and Cardamom Rice

Over the weekend we had friends over and as I had just bought a new middle eastern cook book I was dieing to try out some of the recipes! I'm a huge lover of all types of food and I must say middle eastern food would probably be one of my favourites, the use of flavours, ingredients is out of this world and the first recipe I am posting about is no exeption...but don't worry they are so simple to prepare and great family meals

Middle Eastern Chicken with Caramilised Onion and Cardamom Rice

2 1/2 tablespoons Currants
olive oil
2 onions thinly sliced
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp heaped Ras El Hanout
Salt and pepper

6 chicken thighs
10 green cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon of whole cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
300g basmati rice
510ml boiling water
salt and pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the onion, honey and ras el hanout, with some salt and pepper. cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is golden and caramelized. Transfer onion to a small bowl.
Combine the chicken with salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon. Mix everything together with your hands.
Heat a large lidded pan over medium-high with some olive oil. Add the chicken, along with the spices, to the pot and cook for 5 minutes on each side. You want it to get golden, and for the skin to crisp up a bit. Use a pair of tongs to remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
Add the rice, caramelized onion, salt, and pepper to the Pan. (Make sure there is olive oil in the pan, otherwise add more) Stir until the rice is coated in the oil/leftover chicken fat. Add the currants to the pan. Stir and then add the chicken to the pot, tucking it into the rice.
Add the boiling water, cover, and reduce down the heat to very low. Continue cooking for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the heat, take off the lid and place a tea towel over the pot. Replace the lid and let sit for 10 minutes.
Then enjoy :))

I used whole grain rice and this requires a little more liquid and longer cooking time

Adapted from a recipe by yotam ottolenghi

The Best Carrot Cake Ever

This week has been so busy and today was no exception, swimming with my son, food shopping and we also had a friend over for lunch so of course i had to make something special but with limited time I opted for homemade focaccia with cold meats, cheeses, olives and homemade dips...all topped off with some gorgeous carrot cake!
This is probably one of my favourite cakes due to the fact that it is so moist and tasty ...and as its almost half carrot it must certainly be good for you and im sure it counts as one of your five a day hahaha, as I say to myself while tucking into my fourth piece :)))
My version, as so many, has nuts in but I haven't opted for walnuts or pecans..mine uses pistachios and with the orange zest...my goodness does it work well! The cake itself is so easy to make and the end result is amazing. I did it as a tray bake today but please feel free to use 2 x 8" cake tins and use the half the frosting to fill the two cakes and the remaining on top.

The Best Carrot Cake Ever with Pistachio Nuts

250ml vegetable oil
150g caster sugar
100g soft muscavado sugar
Zest ½ to 3/4 large orange
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon (ground)
3 large free-range eggs
250 self-raising flour, sifted
250g carrots, coarsely grated (about 3 large carrots)
100g pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

THE CREAM CHEESE ICING
150g cream cheese
150g mascarpone
75g icing sugar, sifted
Zest ½ orange

Heat the oven to 180C/170c Grease a shallow 20x30cm (8x12in) cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper, extending the paper 5cm (2in) above the tin.
Place the oil, sugars, orange zest and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer bowl and mix on a medium speed until well beaten. Reduce the speed of the mixer and gradually add the eggs.
Sift over the flour and spices and gently fold in with a large metal spoon until smooth. Fold in the grated carrot and the chopped pistachio nuts. Spoon the batter into the tin and smooth the surface.
Bake for about 35 mins, or until golden and firm to the touch. Cool in the tin, then, with the help of the overhanging baking paper, lift the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely. To make the icing, mix together all the ingredients until smooth and light. Spread over the top of the cake.

Ultimate Sticky Ribs

I must say I wasnt the biggest fan of ribs until I came up with this marinade, they might possibly be the best ribs you will ever taste, they are incredibly juicy, tasty and moreish...the key is to slow cook them. A fantastic weekend family dish (this recipe will be enough for a family of 4) :)

Slow Cooked Sticky Ribs

8 tbsp honey
8 tbsp tomato ketchup
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soya sauce
4 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

2 kg of meaty pork ribs

Place the pork ribs into a large roasting tin
Mix all the marinade ingredients together and spread half of the mixture over the meat and leave to marinade for a few hours in the fridge (over night is fine, but make up half the mixture at a time)

Pre heat the oven to 140/130c

Spread the other half of the mixture over the meat and place in the oven and cook for 3 hours

Once cooked, remove from the oven and baste the sauce over the meat to completely cover and leave to stand for around 10 minutes

Serve with Cajun Potato Wedges, salad and some garlic bread :))

Another loaf cake :))

Well this cold weather looks like its here to stay for a while...must say I'm sick of it now and desperate for some mild and warm weather but until then I'm occupying the cold days with lots of baking. Again I made a loaf cake but this was purely because I had some ricotta left over and didn't really fancy anything savoury haha! I found a recipe and although it looked good I made many alterations to make it my own and really glad I did as the end result was divine, moist, chocolatey, and very moorish!

Chocolate, Orange and Walnut Ricotta Loaf Cake

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ cup milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 soft light brown sugar
8 oz whole fat ricotta cheese, at room temperature
Zest of one large orange
3 large eggs
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
½ cup (3 oz) chocolate chips

preheat the oven to 180/170c . Butter and Line an 8×4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt into a bowl.
In another small bowl or a cup, combine the milk and vanilla extract.
In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the ricotta and beat well to combine. Now add the orange zest and mix in.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Now add the dry ingredients in two additions alternating with the mix mixture, try not to over mix, just fold in enough to incorporate the ingredients. Stir in the toasted walnuts and chocolate chips.
Transfer the batter into the loaf tin, smooth the top and bake for about 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a rack.

Sticky Apple, Gingerbread and Pecan Loaf Cake

I just can't believe the wether has turned so cold again...well this of course meant that I needed to make something warming and it even smelt Christmassy hehehe :))

Sticky Apple, Gingerbread and Pecan Loaf Cake

150g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
150g soft dark brown sugar
150g golden syrup
200ml milk
250g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp baking powder
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
75g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
2 crisp eating apples, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks (about 245g peeled and cored)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4.
Grease and line a 2 litre loaf tin. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool.
Sift the flour with the dry spices and baking powder into a bowl. Add the chopped apples and mix in to cover the apples with flour (this will prevent them from sinking to the bottom) add the toasted pecans.
Whisk the eggs into the milk and pour into the cooled sugar mixture.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the cooled sugar/milk mixture. With a wooden spoon, slowly incorporate with the flour mixture using a circular motion. Try to be gently and don't over mix as you don't want it tough.
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for around 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then place on a wire rack.
Serve warm with some vanilla ice cream or mascarpone or cold in slices with mascarpone :))

I added a crumble topping, if you want to add this refer to my apple crumble pie recipe for the crumble recipe :)

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookies...perfect treat

Happy Mother's Day to all the mummy's out there :). If your household is anything like mine and you want a sweet treat, you have to make it yourself... so here's an adaptation of my chocolate chip cookie recipe, but this time with some divine caramel filling.....absolutely mouthwatering :)

Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookies

Chocolate chip recipe
Soft Caramel (either homemade or you can buy a jar from most supermarkets...dulce de leche is good)

Make up the dough for the chocolate chip cookies and spoon a small amount onto a baking tray and flatten slightly. Get a teaspoon and spoon a small amount of the caramel into the centre of the cookie dough and then spoon some more of the chocolate chip dough on top and mould round the caramel centre.

Bake in a pre heated oven (180/170) for around 12 minutes depending on size
Leave to cool and enjoy :))

Chocolate Truffles...perfect gift for Mothers Day

As promised and just in time for Mother's Day, the recipe for chocolate truffles...easy to make and perfect as a gift.

Chocolate Truffles

300ml Double Cream
Knob of butter
300g Dark Chocolate (min 70% cocoa solids)

Coatings
Melted chocolate
Cocoa powder
Hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, almonds
Desiccated coconut
Mixed peel

Break up the chocolate in a bowl and pour the cream into a saucepan.

Heat the cream in the pan and when it starts to boil add the knob of butter, stir and pour over the chocolate.

Allow the chocolate to melt and then allow to cool before transferring to the fridge.

Keep in the fridge for at least 2 hours for the mixture to set.

Remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature.

Using a spoon roll the mixture into balls and either roll into cocoa powder, melted chocolate, crushed nuts...whatever your heart desires :)))

Pearl Barley and Marinated Steak

This evening I wanted to make something a little different so rummaged through my cupboards and found a few ingredients which I threw together with some steak.... it ended up being absolutely delicious, so I'm sharing this lovely recipe...definitely give it a go, the mixture of flavours is wonderful :)

Pearl Barley and Marinated Steak

1 1/2 cups Pearl barley
4 Roasted red peppers
6 Artichoke halves (jar)
5 sundried tomatoes
Big Handful of flaked almonds (toasted)
Big Handful of walnuts (toasted)

2 steaks
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp rosemary
4 tbsp garlic oil

Boil 8 cups of water with a pinch of salt and a glug of oil. Once it comes to the boil pour in the 1 1/2 cups of pearl barley and reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for about an hour until all the water is absorbed.
Leave to rest and cool. I made mine in the morning to use in the afternoon.

Mix the steak marinade ingredients together and pour over the steaks. Leave to rest for at least a few hours.

Heat some oil and a bit of butter in a frying pan on a medium/high heat. Place the steaks in the pan and cook for about 4 minutes on each side (depending on size and how you like your steaks)

Once cooked, remove from the pan and put on a warm plate and leave to stand while you make the pearl barley salad.

When you are ready to make the pearl barley salad, heat about 1 tbsp of garlic oil and a knob of butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the pearl barley and heat through.

Add the roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, and artichokes and stir through on the heat.

Remove from the heat and stir through the walnuts and almonds.

Place some of the pearl barley salad on a plate and place, cut strips of steak on top and enjoy :))

Stromboli with a roasted red pepper and garlic dough

It's been another busy cooking and baking day so I have a few recipes for you, starting off with Stromboli with a roasted red pepper and garlic dough.

Stromboli (with a garlic and roasted red pepper dough)

Dough
Pizza dough (check my homemade pizza recipe)
Garlic oil
2-3 Roasted red peppers (in a jar or you can make your own) sliced

Filling
1 Onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove sliced
35g diced pancetta
a sprinkling of Rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tin of Plum Tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Cheese of your choice-Mozzarella, goats cheese, Parmesan

6 Basil leaves

Add the ingredients of the dough to a bowl and add two tablespoon of garlic oil and the chopped roasted red peppers and mix with the water and knead for 5-10 minutes
Leave to prove for around 2 hours until doubled in size

Make the filling
Fry the onion in a pan until softened and add the pancetta and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary and oregano and cook for a couple of minutes.
Pour in the tinned plum tomatoes and break the tomatoes up in the pan and mix well. Season well with salt and pepper and simmer on a medium heat until the sauce has reduced slightly.

Line a baking sheet with baking paper

Place the dough on a well floured surface and knock back

Place the dough on the baking sheet and roll it out into a rectangle with a thickness of a pound coin.

Spoon some of the sauce onto the dough and spread evenly across. Sprinkle the cheese over and then place the basil leaves randomly across the dough.

Using the baking paper, start to roll the dough up like a Swiss roll and once rolled, place in a pre heated oven (200/190c) for around 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and enjoy :)

The Best Granola you'll ever eat :))

My favourite breakfast is granola (slight understatement haha) especially packed full of nuts, but I do find a decent brand of granola quite expensive when the whole family eat it most mornings therefore I like to make my own and I then get to choose what yummy nuts and seeds I can add

The Best Granola recipe

5 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup flaked almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped brazil
3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 (3/4 filled) cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.
Combine the oats, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, almonds, pecans, brazils and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes, do keep checking and mixing it up so that it toasts equally. Store in an airtight container
Please feel free to double the recipe if needed, the amount above will happily last a week in a airtight container.

Apple Crumble Pie with a pecan crumble

It's British Pie Week this week so I couldn't miss an opportunity to bake a pie. I wanted to do something a little different so I decided on a Apple Crumble Pie (with a pecan crumble)...just perfect, pastry and apple crumble, okay must stop drooling hahaha :)) it really was lovely and all my friends loved it and all took a doggy bag of it home, which is always a good sign

Apple Crumble Pie

For the crumble
150g plain flour
87.5g Demerara brown sugar
100g butter
A good handful of pecans (toasted either in the oven or in a pan)

For the filling
225g Apple (eating or cooking apples) peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
30g Demerara sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 pinch of ground cinnamon

Sweet crust pastry
250g plain flour
125g butter
25 icing sugar
A pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
2-3 tbsp milk

Pastry-
Put the flour, butter, sugar and salt into a food processor (with a metal blade) and blitz quickly until you get fine bred crumbs.
Add the egg yolks and blitz quickly and add the milk (tbsp at a time) until the dough comes together.
Remove and place on a floured work surface and work gently but briefly until it is smooth. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least half an hour.

Roll the pastry out (about 2mm) and gently lift into the tart tin. Push the pastry gently into the corners, you can do this with a small piece of pastry. Trim off the top and prick the base with a fork several times.
Cut some baking paper and scrunch up and line the base with it. Pour the baking beans in and put into a pre heated oven (190/180 fan) for 20-25 mins, take out the oven and remove the baking beans and baking paper and place back in the oven for a further 5 minutes. Remove from he oven.

Crumble-
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour mixture. Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Break up the pecans into little bits and add this to the crumble mixture.

Pie filling-
Place the apple in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir well.
Put this into the pastry case and top with the crumble
Bake in the oven for around 30-35 minutes until the crumble is browned.
Serve with thick cream or custard.

Rosemary and Walnut Shortbread and Orange and Cardamom Shortbread

As promised here is another recipe I did today...

Rosemary and Walnut Shortbread

325g plain flour
200g salted butter
125g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp rosemary , finely chopped
100g walnuts , chopped

Put the flour and butter in a food processor and whizz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, egg yolks and rosemary and whizz to a dough. Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead in the walnuts. Shape into a log about 5cm across. Wrap in cling film and chill for an hour.
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160/gas 4. Slice the dough into biscuits and arrange on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes then cool.

To do the Orange and Cardamom, replace the rosemary and walnuts with the zest of one orange and 5 cardamom pod seeds crushed in a pestle and mortar.

Lemon Melting Moments

I had a marathon baking session today so I have a few recipes for you to all enjoy. We had friends over so I decided to do some nice biscuits to enjoy in the afternoon, I started off with some lemon melting moments...seemed very appropriate with the lovely sun shine and the daffodils in bloom. They are very simple to make and are so delicate in texture, they are one of my favourite biscuits but its also very easy to eat quite a few of them :))

Lemon Melting Moments

125g butter, softened
3/4 cup (115g) plain flour
1/4 cup (45g) icing sugar mixture
1/3 cup (50g) custard powder or cornflour flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of half a lemon (if you want them more lemony then add more zest)

Filling
150g mascarpone
1 -2 tbsp icing sugar
Zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. beat butter until pale and creamy. Add the flour, icing sugar, custard/cornflour powder, vanilla extract and lemon zest and use a wooden spoon to stir until combined. (You may need to use your hands to being the dough together)
Use your hands to roll teaspoonsful of the dough mixture into balls. Place the balls 3cm apart on the lined trays. Use a fork dusted in icing sugar to gently flatten. Bake in preheated oven, for 15 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside for 30 minutes to cool.
Mix your mascarpone with 1tbsp of icing sugar and the zest of one lemon.
Use a piping bag to pipe onto the flat side of one of the melting moments and then gently press the other biscuit to sandwich the mascarpone into the middle...continue with the rest

Literally the best cake you will ever eat :)

It was my best friends birthday and of course I wanted to make an extra special cake...a plain sponge with boring buttercream just wouldn't cut it so I wanted something that would produce gasps of amazement and so it had to be my Devilish Chocolate Cake with Cookie Dough Buttercream and a Brownie Waterfall....its absolutely out of this world! I have a very, very happy best friend who has described it as the best cake he's ever had...quite the compliment! Honestly give it a go, you won't regret it!

Devilish Chocolate cake

2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
Use the first set of ingredients to make the cake. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, and mix. Stir in the boiling water by hand. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.
This recipe makes a two layer 9" cake but you can use the mixture to make a different size ie 8" or like me a two tier cake of 6" and 4" ( just adjust the cooking times)
While the cakes are cooling you can make up the brownies.

The Best Chocolate Brownies
(I halved this recipe for the cake but I've given you the full recipe as its so good)

250 g unsalted butter
200 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
80 g cocoa powder, sifted
65 g plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
360 g caster sugar
4 large free-range eggs

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.
Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don't want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don't want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle.
Leave to cool, preferably over night! You can of course add nuts to the brownies (50g)

Cookie Dough Buttercream

250g butter softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 cups (about 315g) icing/confectioners' sugar, sifted
2/3 cup (about 85g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
200g (about 1 cup) mini chocolate chips or finely chopped pieces of milk chocolate

Prepare the buttercream; beat together the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high. Mix in the icing sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended. Stir in chocolate chips until evenly mixed.

Smooth some of the buttercream between the two layers and sandwich together and use the remaining buttercream to spread around the cake.
Now cut up the brownies into small squares and position them on the cake
Pour melted chocolate over the top and enjoy....enjoy...enjoy :))

Walnut and seeded Soda Bread

About 10 years ago when I was at uni...okay its probably longer than 10 years ago haha, I used to buy a bread that was just wonderful, the flavours and textures were fantastic but I didn't ever pay attention at what it was or what the name was, i just bought it and ate it and all of a sudden the shop didn't sell it anymore! But this weekend I decided to make a soda bread and rather than a boring plain one i decided to add some nuts and seeds...so off I went with the help of my three year old son and we produced the walnut and seeded soda bread...I took a bite and it was exactly like the bread I had regularly bought years ago and had never found anything even similar in taste....now I can enjoy it again and again woohoo :)

Walnut and Seeded Soda Bread

170g self-raising flour
170g wholemeal plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp brown sugar
Hand full of walnuts
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1tbsp Sunflower seeds
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
290ml/½ pint buttermilk or yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 200C/190 fan
Tip the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda and walnuts and seeds into a large mixing bowl and stir.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly with a large fork to form a soft dough. (Depending upon the absorbency of the flour, you may need to add a little milk if the dough seems too stiff but it should not be too wet or sticky.)
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly.
Form into a round and flatten the dough slightly before placing on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet
Cut a cross on the top and sprinkle with flour and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

A very summery dinner :)

Well as the sun is shining, I made a very summery dinner and wow was it nice and I must say, I almost forgot it was still just above freezing outside :)) I love it when food can do that!

Wild Mushroom, Spinach and Manchego cheese tart with a Walnut Pastry

Walnut pastry
60g walnut
250g plain flour
125g butter
Pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp water chilled

Filling
300g wild mushrooms - mixture
Good handful of spinach
100g Manchego cheese grated
300ml double cream
3 eggs
Salt and Pepper

Olive oil for frying

Make up the pastry
First of all toast the walnuts in the oven for about 5 minutes and allow to cool
Add the walnuts and half the flour to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until walnuts are broken up.
Add the remaining flour, butter and pinch of salt and blitz until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency.
Add the egg yolk and blitz. Add a tbsp of water at a time until the dough comes together.
Tip onto a floured work surface and gently work to form a smooth ball (the trick is not to over work as you don't want it to be tough)
Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Roll out the dough and fill a tart tin. Blind bake at 200/190 fan for 20 minutes and remove baking beans and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Reduce the oven temp to 190/180 fan
Slice the mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes until they just start to go soft.
Fill the pastry case with the spinach, top with the mushrooms and then the grated Manchego cheese.
Mix together the double cream and eggs and some seasoning and pour this over the other ingredients in the pastry case
Place in a pre heated oven for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm


Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Aubergine with rosemary, garlic and cannellini beans
(Of course feel free to substitute the beans to butter beans or flageolet beans if you wanted)

10 Cherry tomatoes
1 Aubergine cut into cubes
Rosemary
4 Garlic cloves
5 tbsp Garlic oil
1 tin of cannellini beans

Add all the ingredients to a roasting tray and add to a pre heated oven (180/170 fan) and roast for 15-20 minutes
The cannellini beans will go soft so if you prefer yours harder then please feel free to either add them in the last 5 minutes of cooking or add just before serving. (This is a large side dish so reduce if only serving to a few people)

All served with a rocket salad with peppers, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts and walnut and seeded soda bread