tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19238222135178396912024-03-06T07:46:25.949+00:00The Princess and the CakeStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-63349160645493235772014-04-27T21:24:00.000+01:002014-04-27T21:24:00.389+01:00Smarties CookiesMy last two posts have been "egg white only", so I thought I should even the odds a bit and post a "yolk only" recipe. To be honest, I actually made these cookies on the same day as the Creme Egg mousse, so as not to waste the yolk! These cookies are soft, sweet and chewy - which provides a nice contract to the crunchy shells of the smarties. Needless to say, they are SUPER tasty.<br />
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The cookie recipe is based loosely on <a href="http://www.actuallymummy.co.uk/2013/09/17/lemon-and-white-chocolate-egg-yolk-cookies-recipe/" target="_blank">this one here</a>. (I used it to figure out quantities of butter and sugar). I was still in birthday mode when I made these, hence the sprinkles. But let's be honest, who doesn't love sprinkles?<br />
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Ingredients:
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75g margarine<br />
125g caster sugar<br />
1 egg yolk<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
100g self raising flour<br />
1 tub smarties<br />
15g chocolate chips<br />
Sprinkles (if desired)<br />
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Prep time: 10 minutes<br />
Cook time: 18 minutes<br />
Makes 12 cookies<br />
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<ol>
<li>Preheat the oven to 180 and line a baking sheet with grease proof paper.</li>
<li>Beat the margarine and sugar together until creamy, then add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and best until fluffy.</li>
<li>Add the flour, smarties and chocolate chips (and sprinkles!!) to the bowl, and mix together until a soft dough forms.</li>
<li>Roll the dough into 12 balls (around 30g each) and place these onto the prepared baking sheet. Make sure to leave plenty of space between the cookies, as they will spread!</li>
<li>Bake the cookies for 18 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven but leave to cool on the baking tray for another 5 minutes - the cookies will firm up as they cool. Once firm enough to move, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.</li>
<li>Taste one, just to make sure they are OK. Then taste another, just in case that first one was a fluke. ;-)</li>
</ol>
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Happy Thoughts
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xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-9992224263779076662014-04-20T08:00:00.000+01:002014-04-20T08:00:06.036+01:00Creme Egg MousseHappy Easter!!<br />
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So, last Sunday I was at the garage with my other half, when I spotted a pack of 6 Creme Eggs on offer for £1.50. When I picked them up, Ali gave me a look which said "seriously, a week before Easter and you're buying MORE chocolate?", so I explained, "I want to make something Eastery for my blog." And we left it at that.<br />
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Later that same day, I was browsing some recipe books looking for something for dessert, when I came across a recipe for Mars Bar Mousse in Good Food's 101 Tempting Desserts. That gave me an idea - what if I made Creme Egg mousse, instead!? So, I did, and they turned out pretty tasty. The end result is a light, fluffy mousse, sitting on top of a layer of chocolate sauce. And guess what? IT ACTUALLY TASTES OF CREME EGG!<br />
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You can thank me later.<br />
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Ingredients:
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2 Creme Eggs<br />
30ml milk<br />
1tbsp cocoa powder<br />
1tsp cornflour<br />
1 egg white<br />
Chocolate stars, to decorate<br />
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Prep time: 15 mins<br />
Set time: at least 2 hours<br />
Serves: 2 <br />
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<ol>
<li>Okay, so you start with the tricky part. Chop your creme eggs into smallish chunks, without losing too much creme. Pop this in a small saucepan with the milk and cocoa powder.</li>
<li>Put the pan on a low heat and stir continuously with a whisk until the chocolate has melted. Add the cornflour and continue to whisk for a further 3 minutes. You want the mixture to get hot so that it thickens, but you don't want to let it boil or you may spoil the chocolate. Remove from the heat and set to one side.</li>
<li>Put your egg white into a glass bowl, and rest this over a pan of gently simmering water. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, being very careful not to get any water into the bowl. Once the egg whites have reached stiff peaks remove from the bain marie.</li>
<li>Carefully fold the chocolate sauce into the egg whites, until fully combined. Pour this into two serving dishes, and pop in the fridge for at least two hours to set.</li>
<li>Get a spoon, tuck in, and enjoy the chocolate overload. After all, it is Easter!</li>
</ol>
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Happy Thoughts
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xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-32604539842713628712014-04-16T08:00:00.000+01:002014-04-16T08:00:14.536+01:00Birthday BarsYou know, I never understood the tradition of taking sweet treats into school or work on your birthday. I know it's the done thing, but why? Surely people should be bringing you cake on your birthday, rather than the other way around!?<br />
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Anyway, today is my birthday, so I decided to conform and bake something to take into work. However, my plan for the evening is to go to a restaurant with a bunch of my friends and have pudding. Not dinner, just pudding. I'm hoping we can just order a couple of everything, and a bunch of spoons, and then when it all arrives we just tuck in. That's the plan.<br />
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When it came to making something to take into work, I thought I should try and make something light and easy going, bearing in mind my plans for the evening. The result of that thinking was a tasty little tray bake, packed full of smarties, chocolate chips and sprinkles, topped with a light meringue frosting and more sprinkles (it is my birthday, after all...)<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
75g margarine<br />
75g low-fat Greek style yogurt (I used Alpro Soy Yogurt)<br />
50g caster sugar<br />
6 tbsp granulated sweetener<br />
20ml milk<br />
1 medium egg<br />
2 tsps vanilla extract<br />
150g self-raising flour<br />
1/2 tsp baking powder<br />
38g (1 tube) smarties<br />
10g polka dot sprinkles<br />
30g chocolate chips<br />
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For the frosting:<br />
1 egg white<br />
50g caster sugar<br />
3tbsp water<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
splash of pink food colouring<br />
30g icing sugar<br />
More sprinkles<br />
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Prep time: 20 mins<br />
Cook time: 20 mins<br />
Serves: 15<br />
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<ol>
<li>Pre-heat the oven to 180 and line a square baking pan with greaseproof paper</li>
<li>Add the margarine, yogurt, sugar, sweetener, egg, milk and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl, and whisk until smooth.</li>
<li>Tip the flour, baking powder, smarties, sprinkles and chocolate chips on top of the cake mixture, and fold in until combined. (Adding the "extras" with the flour like this gives them a nice coating of flour which helps to stop them from sinking to the bottom... :-) )</li>
<li>Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 20 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.</li>
<li>Move on to the frosting. Whisk the egg white to stiff peaks and put to one side. Pop the sugar and water into a heavy based pan over a low heat. Stir until the sugar has melted, then bring the syrup to the boil for a minute or so - be careful not to let this turn to caramel, though! Remove the syrup from the heat, and, whilst whisking, pour it into the egg whites. Once your sugar syrup is well incorporated, add the vanilla extract, food colouring and icing sugar to the mixture and continue to whisk until these have dissolved and you are left with a fluffy, glossy frosting.</li>
<li>Spread the frosting over the tray-bake and top with the remaining sprinkles. Cut into 15 slices, and serve.</li>
</ol>
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Happy Thoughts</div>
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xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-12591438258537121342014-03-23T23:22:00.000+00:002014-03-23T23:22:00.142+00:00Cake'n'Bake Club: Beetroot and Goat's Cheese BrowniesThis month's theme for Cake'n'Bake was "Mad March", and I wanted to bake something a little on the unusual side. When I saw a photo of "goat's cheese brownies" on buzzfeed, I knew that had to be it. The only problem was that it ended up turning out that goat's cheese brownies were not that mad at all... when I searched for recipes 100's came up! Apparently goat's cheese brownies are pretty big in the USA! So, how could I make my brownies even madder? By adding beetroot. Yummy, lovely beetroot.<br />
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This is a brownie of three layers. I used my usual brownie recipe for the chocolate layer, and took inspiration for the goat's cheese layer and the beetroot layer <a href="http://pink-apron.com/2011/12/goat-cheese-brownies-using-a-boxed-mix/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2973683/better-beetroot-brownies" target="_blank">here</a> (respectively). I started mine with the chocolate layer, then goat's cheese, and then beetroot. Next time I make them, I'll do the beetroot layer first, as that batter is much thicker than the other two and needed spreading with a spoon, whereas the chocolate and cheese layers could just be poured. I've typed the instructions below as if the beetroot layer went in first, because I think you'll find it much easier to do that way! These brownies do take a bit of time and effort, but they are seriously worth it...</div>
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I've provided below all of the ingredients you need to make all three layers, so this will work as a sort of shopping list. But, to make it easier to read and to tell what goes where, I've split ingredients by layer in the method below. I hope this makes sense!</div>
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Ingredients</div>
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175g cooked beetroot</div>
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35ml vegetable oil</div>
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100g dark chocolate</div>
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3 medium eggs</div>
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50g caster sugar</div>
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2 tsp vanilla extract</div>
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100g self raising flour</div>
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50g cocoa powder</div>
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150g soft goat's cheese</div>
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30g honey</div>
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55g margarine</div>
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110g muscovado sugar</div>
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Prep time: 20 minutes</div>
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Cook time: 40 minutes</div>
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Makes: 25 brownies</div>
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<ul>
<li>Preheat the oven to 180 and line a brownie tin with baking paper</li>
<li>Start with the beetroot layer: </li>
</ul>
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For the beetroot layer:</div>
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175g cooked beetroot</div>
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35ml vegetable oil</div>
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100g dark chocolate</div>
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1 egg</div>
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50g caster sugar</div>
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1 tsp vanilla extract</div>
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45g self raising flour</div>
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25g cocoa powder</div>
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<ul>
<li>Put the beetroot and the oil into a blender and blend to a fine paste. Add the chocolate and blend until the chocolate is in very small chunks. Put this mixture to one side.</li>
<li>Pop the egg, sugar and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl and whisk until pale and foamy. Add the beetroot mixture, flour and cocoa powder to the bowl and fold into the eggs until all combined.</li>
<li>Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and spread level with the back of a spoon. Pop the brownie tin to one side whilst you prepare the cheese layer:</li>
</ul>
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For the cheese layer:</div>
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150g soft goat's cheese</div>
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1 egg</div>
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30g honey</div>
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20g self raising flour</div>
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<ul>
<li>Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk until smooth. Carefully pour the mixture over the beetroot layer and put to one side.</li>
<li>Prepare your chocolate layer:</li>
</ul>
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For the chocolate layer:</div>
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55g margarine</div>
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25g cocoa powder</div>
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1 egg</div>
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110g muscovado sugar</div>
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1tsp vanilla extract</div>
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35g self raising flour</div>
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<ul>
<li>Melt the margarine, either in the microwave or in a pan over a low heat. Stir in the cocoa powder, and put this to one side to cool for a few minutes.</li>
<li>Put the egg, sugar and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl and whisk until pale and foamy. You'd be surprised - even brown sugar goes pale when whisked!</li>
<li>Fold in the cocoa mixture and the flour until this combines to a smooth, runny batter.</li>
<li>Pour the batter very carefully over the goats cheese layer in the brownie tin, making sure to cover all of the goats cheese mixture.</li>
<li>Pop the brownies into the over for 40 minutes. The brownies should feel "set" when you press them likely - that's how you know they will be cooked but still fudgey.</li>
<li>Allow the brownies to cool in the tin before turning out onto a chopping board and cutting into 25 squares.</li>
<li>Eat one, and be amazed at the marvellous combination of taste and texture!</li>
</ul>
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Happy Thoughts
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xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-85909157671110283522014-03-16T08:00:00.000+00:002014-03-16T08:00:07.392+00:00Lemon and Raspberry LoafThe sun is shining, and my garden is filled with daffodils, so I wanted to make something light and delicious to celebrate the start of Spring: a lemon and raspberry tea loaf. The cake is light and fluffy with a subtle lemon flavour, topped with juicy, zingy raspberries. Perfect for a sunny afternoon tea!<br />
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Based on <a href="http://lmld.org/2013/11/06/glazed-lemon-poppy-seed-bread/" target="_blank">this recipe</a> I found on Pinterest. I love Pinterest far too much. It has ALL the things.<br />
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Ingredients:
<br />
135ml sunflower oil<br />
135ml milk<br />
1 tsp vanilla exract<br />
75ml lemon juice<br />
2 eggs<br />
250g self-raising flour<br />
200g caster sugar<br />
50g raspberries<br />
<br />
Prep time: 5 minutes<br />
Cook time: 1 hour<br />
Serves: 10<br />
<ol>
<li> Preheat the oven to 160 and line a loaf tin with baking paper.</li>
<li>Pop all of the ingredients except the raspberries into a large mixing bowl and whisk until they come together to form a smooth batter.</li>
<li>Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and pop into the oven, make sure to set a timer for 15 minutes. </li>
<li>After 15 minutes, quickly open the oven door and sprinkle the raspberries of the top of the loaf. This should mean that they don't sink too far into the cake, but instead rest nicely on the top where they will go soft and leave lots of yummy juices.</li>
<li>Bake for a further 45 minutes, until golden brown on top (between the raspberries) and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.</li>
<li>Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Once cooled, cut into slices and serve with a cup of tea! (You could also serve with a dollop of clotted cream, if you're after a really indulgent spring-time treat!)</li>
</ol>
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Happy Thoughts<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-49220700015594905792014-03-09T08:00:00.000+00:002014-03-09T08:00:06.443+00:00Cake'n'Bake Club: Cheese Scones<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I decided last weekend that I'd start posting recipes on a Sunday instead. No real reason, other than I felt like it. Sundays were made for baking, right? I'm still playing catch-up with typing recipes from my Cake'n'Bake meetings, so thought I'd continue in a completely non-chronoligical way with these cheese scones from our Fairytale Tea Party in July 2013. I had used the "Sword in the Scone" pun previously when I was doing the Disney Movie Challenge, but it went down well so I figured it would be a good way to get some savoury bakes into our fairytale offering. I accidentally made these vegan, since I try to avoid dairy and used sunflower spread, soy milk and soy cheese. I don't particularly like the taste of soy cheese normally, but it tasted fine in these scones. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The scones can be served warm or allowed to cool before serving, and are best eaten on the day of baking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Prep time: 5-10 mins </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Cook time: 10-12 mins </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Makes 6 large scones (or 12 mini ones, as pictured!)<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /><br />135ml milk<br />1 tsp lemon juice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">275g self-raising flour<br />pinch of salt<br />tsp baking powder<br />65g margarine<br />1tbsp caster sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">100g grated cheese</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">To glaze:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">2tbsp milk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Salt and cracked black pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Heat the oven to gas mark 7 and place the baking tray you plan to use into the oven to heat up.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Heat the milk in the microwave for around 30 seconds until warm, but not hot. Add the lemon juice to the milk and set this to one side for a few minutes whilst you prepare the dry ingredients.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Tip the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl, and then tip in the margarine. Rub the ingredients together with your fingers until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and grated cheese to the crumb-like mixture, and mix in with your hands.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the cooled milk. Mix these together using a cutlery knife until they combine to make a wet dough, being careful not to overwork.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Scatter flour over the work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Sprinkle a little more flour on top of the dough. Fold the dough over itself 2-3 times until it becomes smooth, again being careful not to overwork. Pat the dough out (it's better to pat than to use a rolling pin) to around 3cm thick.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Using a cutter of your choice, cut scones out of the dough. <i>Tip - do not twist your cutter as this seals the sides of the dough and may prevent your scones from rising.</i></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Brush the scones with a little milk, and then sprinkle on some salt and black pepper before popping them in the oven </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Enjoy!</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Happy Baking!</span></div>
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Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-74732467827569941092014-02-28T11:16:00.000+00:002014-03-02T13:08:37.812+00:00Cake'n'Bake Club: Peanut Butter CookiesI know I usually post Cake'n'Bake recipes on a Wednesday, but since I struggled to post anything at all towards the later part of last year, I think I'm going to start posting these on a Friday instead. I have a lot of Cake'n'Bake recipes to type up and catch up on too... I was just seriously bad at blogging in 2013!<br />
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For Cake'n'Bake Club's January 2014 meeting, our theme was "free-from", so I knocked up these vegan and gluten free cookies. Originally I had used gluten free flour, but they didn't hold together too well so I remade them last weekend using oats and they were much better! The recipe below started it's life over on <a href="http://blissfulbasil.com/2013/10/06/soft-and-tender-peanut-butter-cookies-vegan-and-gluten-free/" target="_blank">this blog here</a>, but with a few tweaks from me ;-)<br />
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<div>
Prep time: 5 minutes<br />
Cook time: 8-10 minutes<br />
Makes 18 cookies<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
150g rolled oats<br />
1 tsp baking powder<br />
<div>
250g crunchy peanut butter</div>
150g dark muscovado sugar<br />
1tsp vanilla extract<br />
4 tbsp water<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Preheat your oven to 180 and line a couple of baking sheets with grease proof paper</li>
<li>Pop 100g of the oats into a blender, and whizz to a fine powder. Don't worry if there are a couple of rough bits. Stir in the remaining oats and the baking powder and put to one side.</li>
<li>Beat together the peanut butter, sugar, vanilla extract and water until well combined. Stir in the oats until a crumbly dough starts to form, then knead this gently with your hands until the mixture comes together. </li>
<li>Roll the dough into balls and pop on the baking sheets, leaving a little space in between. Press down with a fork to make a criss cross pattern on top.</li>
<li>Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown and starting to get crisp on top. Don't worry if they are still gooey when you take them out of the oven, they will firm up as they cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.</li>
<li>Enjoy!</li>
</ol>
</div>
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Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-3749472236818799442014-02-21T09:30:00.000+00:002014-02-21T09:30:02.858+00:00Vegan "Sausage" Rolls<div dir="ltr">
Last Friday at work we had a charity bake sale in aid of Hand in Hand for Syria and the British Red Cross Typhoon Haiyan Appeal. I sit on the charity committee and am starting to get a bit of a name for myself with my baking. I just missed our on the Star Baker award at our Christmas do last year, but have got it in my sights this year. At any rate, it had been requested that there are more vegan and gluten free offerings made at bake sales, so I did my best to comply.</div>
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All credit for this recipe goes to my friend Joy, who bought these "sausage" rolls to Cake'n'Bake a few months back. They are super simple, and I wouldn't have guessed that the ingredients were vegan friendly, but they are! I'm not sure if all brands would be equally vegan friendly, so just check the labels to be sure. </div>
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Prep time: 10 minutes<br />
Cook time: 18-20 minutes<br />
Makes 24 sausage rolls</div>
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<div dir="ltr">
Ingredients<br />
200g sage and onion stuffing mix<br />
Boiling water (as needed)<br />
1 packet of ready-to-roll puff pastry<br />
1 tbsp soy milk, to glaze</div>
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<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Pre-heat the oven to 160, and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper</li>
<li>Tip the stuffing mix into a bowl and stir in boiling water. Check the packet of stuffing mix to get the quantity of water, as I believe this varies brand to brand. I used around 350mls. Pop the stuffing to one side to cool.</li>
<li>Unroll the packet of pastry and cut into 24 evenly sized rectangles.</li>
<li>When the stuffing is cool enough to handle, roll into 24 balls. Pop each ball onto the centre of each rectangle of pastry, and warp the pastry around the stuffing, making sure to tuck in the edges of the pastry as you go.</li>
<li>Brush the sausage rolls with a little soy milk to glaze, the pop in the oven for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.</li>
<li>Can be enjoyed hot or cold!</li>
</ol>
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Until next time,</div>
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Happy thoughts <u>x</u></div>
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Happy Thoughts
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xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-77465290136747059452014-02-14T08:00:00.000+00:002014-02-20T23:16:40.842+00:00Love and FudgeMy dear Valentine,<br />
<br />
I made you some fudge. It tastes good.<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
<br />
Stay<br />
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Every year I try to make/bake an edible valentine that I'm able to post out to girlfirends. This year I also gave some to some boys - my housemate and my boyfriend. So, I give out a lot of valentines... everyone deserves a little love, right? I had a couple of packets of Love Hearts and knew I wanted to make something with those, and a colleague had recently told me about making fudge with marshmallows. So I did a bit of research, and decided to give it a go. My fudge is based on the recipes <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chocolate_marshmallow_14263" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://homecooking.about.com/od/candyrecipes/r/bldes69.htm" target="_blank">here</a>, but in the end I left both my phone and my laptop in my bedroom so just ended up winging it. I think it worked!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ31uy5IBxTY4lf9qnB3wnHjnqbs-pW4VfzjmAltgMXeoWnZk8kaWP-_x83h_Q6l9EGTkjSI_QPqLtYPxxLt0WkXBzjPUDFJxFYm-nEvlkU-Sm9MaSAgG-tSWpRd807Qrb8inImIQvtos/s1600/valentines+fudge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ31uy5IBxTY4lf9qnB3wnHjnqbs-pW4VfzjmAltgMXeoWnZk8kaWP-_x83h_Q6l9EGTkjSI_QPqLtYPxxLt0WkXBzjPUDFJxFYm-nEvlkU-Sm9MaSAgG-tSWpRd807Qrb8inImIQvtos/s1600/valentines+fudge.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by the wonderful Ms Zoe O.</td></tr>
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Ingredients:
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25g margarine<br />
300g dark brown muscovado sugar<br />
150ml evaporated milk<br />
180g mini marshmallows<br />
300g white chocolate, broken into chunks<br />
Heart shaped sprinkles and love heart sweets, to decorate<br />
<br />
Prep time: 10 minutes<br />
Cool time: at least 3 hours<br />
Makes 25 pieces<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Line a square cake tin with cling film, and put to one side.</li>
<li>Place your margarine, sugar and evaporated milk into a large saucepan and stir over a low heat until the margarine has melted and the sugar dissolved. Stop stirring and allow the mixture to come to the boil for 5 minutes.</li>
<li>Remove from the heat and add half of the marshmallows to the pan. Fold these into the hot mixture until they have completely melted, then repeat with the remaining marshmallows. Stir in the chocolate until this has melted and the ingredients come together as a smooth, yummy, gloopy mixture. Pour this into the lined brownie tin.</li>
<li>Sprinkle on your sprinkles (ha!) then place the love heart sweets message up into the mixture. It doesn't take long for a film to develop on the top of the fudge, so work quickly and just press your sweets onto the fudge lightly so that they stick, but don't sink. Pop your fudge into the fridge for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.</li>
<li>Using the clingfilm to help you, lift the fudge from the tin and place onto a chopping board. Use a long knife to slice the fudge into squares, using the love heart sweets as a guide. Pro tip when it comes to fudge slicing (seriously, I was taught to slice fudge by the guys at Cambridge Fudge Kitchen) - place your knife against the fudge where you'd like to slice, and press down in a smooth movement. Then, gently slide the knife out of the fudge towards your body. Hey presto, smooth sided fudge!</li>
<li>Taste one before sharing with you friends and loved ones. This is a very important step - you need to show yourself some love, too!</li>
</ol>
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Happy Thoughts<br />
x<br />
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I got the<a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2246/starry-toffee-cake-squares" target="_blank"> recipe for the sponge cake</a> from good old BBC Good Food, but switched in some dark muscovado sugar for a rich sticky toffee taste. The buttercream is just my standard recipe with caramel flavouring instead of vanilla!<br />
<br />
Ingredients:
<br />
For the cake:<br />
200g margarine<br />
200g golden syrup<br />
pinch of salt<br />
300g self raising flour<br />
200g dark muscovado sugar<br />
30ml milk<br />
3 medium eggs<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
<br />
For the buttercream:<br />
250g butter<br />
500g icing sugar<br />
2tsp caramel flavouring<br />
1-2tsp milk, if needed<br />
One diam bar, to decorate (optional)<br />
<br />
Prep time: 20 minutes<br />
Cook time: 25-30 minutes<br />
Serves: 12-16<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Preheat the oven to 150 degrees, and grease the cake tins.</li>
<li>Pop the margarine, golden syrup and salt into a saucepan and melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Put to one side to cool.</li>
<li>Sift the flour and the sugar into a large bowl. I know it seems weird to sift sugar, but I find that when using muscovado sugar this is the only way to ensure that you can all the lumps out!</li>
<li>Tip the milk, eggs and vanilla into a jug and whisk until combined.</li>
<li>Stir the cooled butter and syrup mixture into the flour, then stir in the milk and egg mixture until it all comes together to make a smooth, runny batter.</li>
<li>Share the batter evenly between the three cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes until springy to touch. remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.</li>
<li>Once the cake have cooled, make your buttercream. If you're using a stand mixer, just pop all of the ingredients into you mixer, turn it on and come back in a few minutes. If, like me, you prefer to mix up your buttercream by hand, you might find it easier to add the icing sugar to the butter around 150g at a time. Beat in the flavouring, and the milk if needed to make the icing a spreadable consistency.</li>
<li>Place one of the cakes onto your serving plate, and leave the other two on the cooling rack. Divide the buttercream evenly between the three cakes and spread the the edges before carefully stacking the cakes. Sprinkle crushed up diam bar onto the top tier, and Robert's your father's brother!</li>
<li>Make sure to inhale a lot of the yummy toffee whiff that this cake gives off before eating. Seriously, it smells good!!</li>
</ol>
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Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-10591466974977400552014-01-31T19:32:00.000+00:002014-01-31T19:32:00.042+00:00Super Simple Gluten Free Chocolate BrowniesTwo weeks in a row... not bad going, right? ;-)<br />
<br />
These brownies are lovely, rich and chocolatey, and with a few cheeky ingredients swaps, not as bad for you as you might think!!<br />
<br />
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<br />
It seems to have become a recent habit of mine to find a recipe, decide to try it, and then change it around a bit in the process of making it. This particular recipe started it's life as a <a href="http://www.bromabakery.com/2013/04/37-calorie-brownies-and-no-im-not.html" target="_blank">37-calorie brownie recipe</a>, which Joy posted to the Cake'n'Bake club Facebook wall. My version is about 64 calories, as I used sugar instead of sweetener, and added some chocolate chips. They went down well in my office! (Note - the calorie content will change depending on the brands you use... I make no promises!) I'd also recommend using milk chocolate chips, as I found these injected a bit of sweetness into the rich chocolate brownie which just MADE them.<br />
<br />
Ingredients:
<br />
50g rolled oats<br />
175g low-fat natural yogurt (I actually used a soy yogurt which worked just as well)<br />
50ml milk<br />
70g cocoa<br />
30g caster sugar<br />
1 medium egg<br />
1 tsp baking powder<br />
2 tsp vanilla extract<br />
50g milk chocolate chips<br />
<br />
Prep time: 5 minutes<br />
Cook time: 12-15 minutes<br />
Makes 16 brownies<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a square brownie tin.</li>
<li>Pop your oats into a blender and whizz to a fine flour - don't worry if there are a couple of bigger bits, as long and it's mostly ground.</li>
<li>Tip all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix together to form a thick batter. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 12-15 minutes, until springy to touch.</li>
<li>Allow the brownies to cool in the pan before turning out onto a chopping board and slicing into 16 squares.</li>
<li>Enjoy with a cup of tea, completely guilt free!!</li>
</ol>
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Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-12502210183627363432014-01-24T18:16:00.000+00:002014-01-24T18:16:00.091+00:00Banana Breakfast PancakesWell folks, today is Friday, which means tomorrow is Saturday, so I decided to share my current favourite Saturday breakfast recipe with you. Easy-peasy yet scrumdiddlyumptious banana pancakes. And they only have 3 ingredients...<br />
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<br />
This recipe started life a a <a href="http://theskinnyconfidential.com/2012/09/25/ummm-seriously-dying-ingredient-pancakes-flourless-full-protein/" target="_blank">2 ingredient pancake recipe</a>, but I just wasn't brave enough to try eating eggy mashed banana, so I tweaked it a little. Pretty sure the fitness fanatics aren't going to go ape for this one, but it's certainly good enough for me!<br />
<br />
Ingredients:
<br />
1 large banana, or two small ones<br />
1 medium egg<br />
20g self raising flour<br />
A little oil, butter, or frylite for greasing<br />
<br />
Prep time: 5 minutes<br />
Cook time: 5 minutes<br />
Serves: 1 hungry person, or two not-so-hungry people (it makes 4 pancakes)<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Break your banana into a bowl and then mash it up with a fork - try to get rid of all the big lumps.</li>
<li>Add the egg to the mashed banana and whisk with the fork until combined.</li>
<li>Tip in your flour and fold in until just mixed.</li>
<li>Heat a little oil/butter/frylite in a pan. When hot, spoon 2tbsp of the pancake batter into the pan and spread into a circle shape with the back on your spoon. Let the pancake cook side for 30-45 seconds, until the edges are cooked and bubble start to form in the centre, then flip the pancake over and cook the other side for 30-45 seconds.</li>
<li>Repeat until you've used all the batter, then enjoy your yummy, fairly healthy banana breakfast pancakes!</li>
</ol>
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Happy Thoughts<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-45438279029410518742014-01-13T18:44:00.000+00:002014-01-13T18:44:09.132+00:00Feeling sheepish...Well, that all went a bit wrong, didn't it. Honestly, I had every intention of blogging recipes regularly again in December... I really did. But then life happened, and the recipes did not find their way onto the blog.<br />
<br />
I had talked to my friends about this, and potentially "retiring" this blog, but Craig said something which made a lot of sense, so that's what I'm going with. What did he say, you ask? It's my hobby, so I should just do it when I feel like it, rather than feel I have to post every week. Sensible, huh?<br />
<br />
At any rate... I am going to try my utmost best to keep this blog alive, because I really do love The Princess and the Cake, but I may not always be able to post weekly. I think that's OK. So, watch this space, and you may well see something you like.<br />
<br />
Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-3278089347342554122013-12-11T08:00:00.000+00:002013-12-11T08:00:16.960+00:00Cake'n'Bake Wedensday: Bailey's BlondiesThese Blondies are also known as "Monica Geller's" because they came to be due to my uncontrollable need to please people.<br />
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<br />
What happened was this:
on the day of our December meeting we had a few last minute
cancellations, which under normal circumstances wouldn't pose a problem,
but because of the Secret Santa theme we had in December 2012 it meant that some
bakers would not receive their "gift" (i.e. have their word baked) and
that simply wouldn't do.<br />
<br />
I generally finish work at 5pm, and on
club nights aim to get to the Friends Meeting House by 7pm to start
setting up. Usually I take my bake club things to work with me in the
morning, stay at work until 6:30pm and go straight from there, as work
is about halfway between my house and the meeting house. This time,
however, to ensure that everyone got their words baked, I left work bang
on 5pm, ran to the supermarket to buy some ingredients, ran home, and
started baking like a mad-woman! Anyway, I ended up getting a taxi up to
the meeting house, and the brownies were still lovely and warm by the
time I got there. Thankfully, Ruth had arrived before I did and started
setting up shop :-) We then sat and ate some of the gooier brownies with
spoons. It was a good day.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the words that
needed to be baked were Bailey's, Stars and Red. so below is my recipe
for Bailey's Blondies with white chocolate stars and red edible glitter
to decorate!<br />
<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
200g slightly salted butter<br />
100g white chocolate<br />
2 medium eggs<br />
135g caster sugar<br />
100ml Bailey's Irish Cream<br />
300g plain flour<br />
Edible glitter and white chocolate stars to decorate (optional)<br />
<br />
Prep Time: 10 minutes<br />
Cook Time: 35 - 40 minutes<br />
Makes 16 blondies<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 and line a square tin with baking paper.</li>
<li>Put the butter into a small microwavable bowl and melt in the microwave. Place this to one side to cool.</li>
<li>Melt the white chocolate, either in the microwave in 20 second
blasts, or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, place
to one side to cool.</li>
<li>Put the eggs and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat
until frothy. Beat in the cooled melted butter, Baileys and white
chocolate. Finally add the flour to the mixture and fold in until just
combined.</li>
<li>Pour the batter into the prepare cake tin, then sprinkle on the edible glitter and white chocolate stars, if using, to decorate.</li>
<li>Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown in colour, and springy
but still moist to touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the
pan before turning out and cutting into 16 gorgeous, gooey brownies! (Blondies...!)</li>
</ol>
<br />
Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-12381743868816685302013-12-06T08:00:00.000+00:002013-12-06T08:00:09.864+00:00Celebration Brownies<div dir="ltr">
Ho ho ho!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I said I'd be back with Christmas bakes... and here we are! </div>
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<div dir="ltr">
Growing up, it was an absolute guarantee in my house that we'd have enough tins of chocolate to open up our own shop. My mum would always buy in some tins for when we had visitors, and the visitors would always bring along a tin so as not to come empty handed. We always had enough Roses, Quality Street, Celebrations and Heroes to last us well into the New Year, so that's my inspiration for this festive bake. I took these into work last week, and my colleagues loved them. Especially trying to figure out which chocolates appeared in their brownie - there was a good 10 minutes worth of "I think it's a Milky Way," "I had a Snickers", and "Oh my god there was a whole piece of Galaxy in that bite!" :-D</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Prep time: 15 mins<br />
Bake time: 40-45 mins<br />
Makes 16 brownies</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Ingredients:<br />
225g margarine<br />
75g cocoa powder<br />
4 medium eggs<br />
300g caster sugar<br />
1tsp vanilla extract<br />
150g self raising flour<br />
Half a box of Celebrations (around 20 sweets)</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<ol>
<li>pre-heat the oven to 180 and line a square brownie tin with greaseproof paper</li>
<li>melt the margarine in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir in the cocoa powder. Place this to one side to cool. (You might want to start unwrapping the sweets at this point!)</li>
<li>in a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale and foamy. Whisk in the cooled cocoa mixture until well combined.</li>
<li>sift half of the flour into the bowl and fold into the mixture. Sift the other half of the flour into the bowl, then add the sweets before folding in until all combined.</li>
<li>pour your mixture into the prepared brownie tin and level with the back of a spoon. Pop this in the oven for 35-40mins - when done the brownies should be springy to touch but still a little gooey in the centre</li>
<li>remove from the oven and allow the brownies to cool in the tin. Once cool, take out of the pan and cut into 16 pieces.</li>
</ol>
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Stayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-59730398500521226362013-12-04T08:00:00.000+00:002013-12-04T08:00:15.954+00:00Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Ginger and White Chocolate Cheesecake<span style="font-family: inherit;">The club had decided to try not to repeat themes
from the previous year, but we also decided that we couldn't NOT do Christmas in
December, so we put a Secret Santa spin on it. Each member
had to put a word or phrase which made them think of Christmas into a
hat, and then the words were drawn out at random for another member to
use as baking inspiration.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">T</span>he word I drew out of the <span style="font-size: small;">hat w<span style="font-size: small;">as "Ginger".<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Originally I was planning to bake<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">a gingerbread house that we could assemble together at the meeting, but <span style="font-size: small;">as I did the draw I knew <span style="font-size: small;">that another member had gingerbread, so I decided to go for something a little bit different. <span style="font-size: small;">A ginger and white chocolate cheesecake!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ingredients:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">200g gingernut biscuits</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">100g marg<span style="font-size: small;">a</span>rine</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">30g crystallised ginger<span style="font-size: small;">, plus extra to decorate</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">150g white chocolate</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">300ml <span style="font-size: small;">double </span>cream</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">300g <span style="font-size: small;">cream cheese</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">150g icing sugar</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">A little bronze lustre dust</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gold edible shimmer spray </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prep time: 20 minutes</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chill time: <span style="font-size: small;">3</span> hours (minimum)</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Serves 8-10</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crush the gingernut biscuit<span style="font-size: small;">s into fine crumbs, either by<span style="font-size: small;"> putting in a blender, or by bashing with a rolling pin the old fashioned way.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Melt
the margarine and mix into the biscuit crumbs. Pour the biscuit mixture
into the cake tin you are using (I used a 7 inch springform pan) and
press down <span style="font-size: small;">with the back of a spoon to flatten. Pop the tin in the fridge to <span style="font-size: small;">allow the biscuit base to set whilst you make the cheesecake filling.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Start by<span style="font-size: small;"> chopping the <span style="font-size: small;">crystallised ginger into teeny tin<span style="font-size: small;">y small pieces, and put these to one side. Melt the white chocolate<span style="font-size: small;"> - either in the microwave or in a bowl o<span style="font-size: small;">ver hot water - and put this to one side to cool.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In a lar<span style="font-size: small;">ge bowl, whisk the double cream <span style="font-size: small;">to soft peaks, then whisk in<span style="font-size: small;"> the cream cheese and icing sugar. <span style="font-size: small;">Separate 250g <span style="font-size: small;">(approximately
1/3) of the filling into a smaller bowl, and stir in the chopped ginger
and bronze lustre dust. Put this to one side.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whisk the cooled white chocolate into the remaining cheesecake mi<span style="font-size: small;">xture.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remove the biscuit base from the fridge and start to layer the cheesecake fillings<span style="font-size: small;"> on top of this, making sure to level <span style="font-size: small;">the top of the cheesecake between each layer.</span></span> Start with half of the white chocolate<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">filling, then all of the ginger filling, then the remaining white chocolate filling.</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Spray the top of the cheesecake with the gold <span style="font-size: small;">shimmer spray<span style="font-size: small;">, then p<span style="font-size: small;">lace one or two pieces of ginger in the centre to decorate. Pop the cheesecake in the fridge for at least <span style="font-size: small;">3 hours to set<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> bef<span style="font-size: small;">ore serving.</span></span> (It's best to leave it overnight, if you can!)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Thoughts
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">x</span>Stayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-12232181058744755212013-11-14T18:30:00.001+00:002014-02-21T00:48:53.787+00:00Pudsey's Spotty Sponge<div dir="ltr">
Well hello there! I know I said I wouldn't be posting regular content until December, and that's still the plan, but last night I baked this cake for a Children in Need bake sale and I thought it would be a shame not to share it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6328-LCkBjq8SC3CXJ34VPZB22hPXjHKkSwI8wyGuDUItRgv3nC7vUHDhZ4NXyumBl6DFB9OHdzwkHQlu5MVIB931nBeZMDHWzMqE-cQjHiJXB6w3dL_y8Wk0buijKgTXcXMF9zVA94c/s640/20131113_211534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6328-LCkBjq8SC3CXJ34VPZB22hPXjHKkSwI8wyGuDUItRgv3nC7vUHDhZ4NXyumBl6DFB9OHdzwkHQlu5MVIB931nBeZMDHWzMqE-cQjHiJXB6w3dL_y8Wk0buijKgTXcXMF9zVA94c/s640/20131113_211534.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
It's a quick and simple Victoria sponge with a spotty surprise... I hope you like it! If you're feeling generous, text DONATE to 70705 to donate £5 to Children in Need :-)</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Ingredients:<br />
200g margarine<br />
200g caster sugar<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 tbsp milk<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
200g self raising flour<br />
40g colourful sprinkles (I used some multicoloured sugar pearls)<br />
3 tbsp raspberry jam<br />
150g trex<br />
300g icing sugar<br />
100g white chocolate<br />
1 tube smarties</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
1) pre-heat the oven to 180 and grease and line two cake tins.<br />
2) beat together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, followed by the milk and vanilla extract. <br />
3) fold in the flour until the mixture comes together to form a smooth batter. Tip the coloured sprinkles into the mixture and stir in - but be careful not to overmix as you don't want the colours to run!<br />
4) split the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and springy to touch. Remove the cakes from the oven and put to one side to cool.<br />
5) whilst the cakes are cooling, prepare the icing. Melt the white chocolate and put this to one side to cool. Beat together the trex and icing sugar until smooth and creamy, then fold in the cooled white chocolate. Put half of the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. <br />
6) Once the cakes have cooled, place one of them on to a serving plate. Spread the jam over this, then pipe on the icing. Gently place the second cake on top of the frosted layer, then spread the remaining icing over the top of this. Decorate with the smarties, serve and enjoy!</div>
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Until December, happy thoughts <u>x</u><br />
</div>
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<p dir=ltr>Prep time: 5 minutes<br>
Cook time: 12-15 minutes<br>
Makes 14 cookies</p>
<p dir=ltr>Ingredients<br>
75g margarine<br>
90g golden granulated sugar<br>
50g golden syrup<br>
1tsp vanilla extract<br>
100g self raising flour<br>
3tsp mixed spice<br>
50g pumpkin seeds<br>
50g white chocolate chips</p>
<p dir=ltr>1) pre-heat the oven to 180 and line a baking tray with grease proof paper<br>
2) cream the margarine and sugar, then add the golden syrup and vanilla extract and continue the beat until combined.<br>
3) fold in half of the flour and all of the mixed spice. Stir through the chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds, then add the rest of the flour to the dough.<br>
4) split the dough into 14 pieces and roll into a rough ball in your hand. Place on the baking tray making sure you leave at least an inch between each, and pop in the oven until golden brown.<br>
5) allow the cookies to firm up on the tray for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool <br>
Note, when you take the cookies from the oven they'll still be super gooey! Don't w<i>orry</i><i>,  they will set as they cool :-)</i></p>
<p dir=ltr>I'll return to weekly posts in December, but until then, my friends -</p>
<p dir=ltr>Happy thoughts<br>
<u>X</u></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUiQtGuYeaYQoiDH5Mz5ipcf2iU8jEr__HFpXfziZm9Kv5HFmG9XPw2NzQ4du7L236JYMcj5WZT10oaEsYNKtzWa3qj0_2nNpBXlF9TpBCliHxRIKBsxrBpI3yjdxb3XH_35rmyQ9s1zQ/s1600/20131031_074518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUiQtGuYeaYQoiDH5Mz5ipcf2iU8jEr__HFpXfziZm9Kv5HFmG9XPw2NzQ4du7L236JYMcj5WZT10oaEsYNKtzWa3qj0_2nNpBXlF9TpBCliHxRIKBsxrBpI3yjdxb3XH_35rmyQ9s1zQ/s640/20131031_074518.jpg"> </a> </div>Stayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-69340507895456440002013-10-29T20:40:00.001+00:002013-10-29T20:41:19.163+00:00Hello stranger!<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me, hasn’t it?</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
I don’t actually have an excuse for this, other than not being able to find the time to commit to writing this blog over the past few months, and for that I’m very sorry! So, what’s been eating my time? Well, in July I got a new job, and in August I got a new boyfriend, and whilst I’m very fond of both of those things I have to admit that they are accountable for rather a lot of my time and energy over the past few months! I also started driving lessons this summer, and passed my test in September. I’m still learning to dance Ballroom and Latin, and recently started Boxing (I know, right!?) Not to mention all the baking I’ve been doing… because I have been doing it, I’ve just not managed to find the time to type up the recipes!</div>
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So, I’m going to spend a little time over the next month or so re-organising the blog; it needs a bit of a refresh, my recipe indexes are WAY out of date, and I have to type up some recipes! I will start posting weekly recipes again in time for Christmas (yay!), and I’m hoping to whip up a little something for you for Halloween (again, yay!) – so please bear with me!</div>
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Happy thoughts,</div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.35em;">
Stacey</div>
Stayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-50958578778824318952013-10-16T08:00:00.000+01:002013-10-16T08:00:15.579+01:00Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Meringue Ghosts<br />
Here's the final of my "Trick or Treat" themed bakes from Cake'n'Bake Club's October 2012 meeting. I had some egg whites leftover from my pumpkin pie mixture that I needed to use up, and thought that these meringue ghosts would be a great way to do just that. And I really like baking things for Halloween. So here are my meringue ghosts!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWH13BDx5KQofBDjvK_YRlizQfuHPFwlKBSxpekicoTlxal8gpxHrSsPXHTKK7vKZe7Luq07wSRkgxNOuP46oYImdvKw-FCBQl75RUr19FUZ_XGhQji43sgaUmYSqu5Dpq450OoMZD4TI/s1600/SAM_4251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWH13BDx5KQofBDjvK_YRlizQfuHPFwlKBSxpekicoTlxal8gpxHrSsPXHTKK7vKZe7Luq07wSRkgxNOuP46oYImdvKw-FCBQl75RUr19FUZ_XGhQji43sgaUmYSqu5Dpq450OoMZD4TI/s320/SAM_4251.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Prep time: 15 minutes<br />
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes<br />
Makes 18 ghosts<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
2 egg whites, room temperature<br />
60g golden caster sugar<br />
60g icing sugar<br />
Coloured sugar ball decorations for the eyes<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Preheat the oven to gas mark 1, and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.</li>
<li>Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then add the caster sugar a little at a time, whisking well between each addition to ensure the sugar has dissolved. By the time you've whisked in all of the caster sugar, you should have a really thick, pillowy and glossy meringue.</li>
<li>Gently fold in the icing sugar with a spatula until it's all mixed in, then spoon the meringue into a large piping bag. </li>
<li>Snip of the end of the piping bag and pipe hap-hazard spirals onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches tall. Carefully stick two sugar balls into each meringue pile for eyes.</li>
<li>Bake the meringues for 1 hour 30 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow them to come to room temperature with the oven door still closed. This will ensure you have super crisp, super yummy meringues!</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-56567190057283968282013-10-09T08:00:00.000+01:002013-10-09T08:00:06.062+01:00Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Mummified Mini-Pizza<br />
Here's the second recipe I baked for Cake'n'Bake Club's October 2012 meeting - Mummified Mini-Pizzas. I ended up making quite a lot for the Halloween themed meeting, simply because I love Halloween bakes! I'd recommend eating these warm straight from the oven, as they are then REALLY tasty.<br />
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Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes<br />
Cook time: 25 - 30 minutes<br />
Makes 16 mini pizzas<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
<br />
For the pizza base:<br />
3g (1/2 packet) dried yeast<br />
1tbsp sugar (any kind)<br />
2 tbsp olive oil<br />
150ml warm water<br />
<br />
175g white bread flour<br />
75g wholemeal bread flour<br />
Pinch of salt<br />
<br />
For the topping:<br />
50g tomato puree<br />
One red pepper<br />
Half a bag of grated mozzarella (can also use cheese strings, but I find that grated mozzarella tastes nicer!)<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Start by making your pizza dough. tip the yeast, sugar and olive oil into a jug with the warm water and stir well. Put this to one side for a few minutes to allow the yeast to start working.</li>
<li>Tip both kinds of flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl, and mix together with your hands. Make a well in the centre of the bowl of flour and pour in your liquid mixture. Stir the flour from the sides of the bowl into the wet mixture with a fork until a rough dough forms. Tip this out onto a lightly floured surface a knead for a good 10 minutes before returning to the mixing bowl and covering with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place for an hour to prove.</li>
<li>After an hour the bread should have double in size. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. </li>
<li>Tip the bread dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly for a minute or so to knock out the air. Roll the dough out to around 0.5cm, then cut circles out of it with a cookie cutter. Place these circular pizza bases onto the baking tray and bake for 10 minutes before removing from the oven to cool slightly before adding the toppings.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, cut small "eyes" out of the red pepper. Was the pizza bases are cool enough to handle, spread a little tomato puree on each one. Give each pizza two red pepper eyes, and then arrange the grated cheese around the eyes, leaving gaps in between to look like bandages.</li>
<li>Bake for a further 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and started to brown, and the underside of the pizza is completely cooked. Serve immediately - we don't want those Mummies to escape!</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-34478720739645009152013-10-02T08:00:00.000+01:002013-10-02T08:00:02.650+01:00Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Mini Pumpkin PiesI LOVE pumpkin pie! So when "Trick or Treat" was selected as the theme for our October 2012 meeting, I simply HAD to make pumpkin pie. I decided to make individually sized portions of pie for club as they are just that little bit easier to share.<br />
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I followed one of the other members' recipes for pastry, and so glad I did as it was my most successful attempt at making pastry to date! Long-term readers of the blog will know that pastry is my weakness...</div>
<br />
Ingredients<br />
<br />
For the pastry cases:<br />
200g slightly salted butter, chilled and cubed.<br />
400g plain flour<br />
80g icing sugar<br />
2 medium eggs, beaten<br />
<br />
<i>Note: you could always use store bought pastry, if you wanted to. Mary Berry said it was OK. If using store bought pastry, skip to step 3.</i><br />
<br />
For the pumpkin filling:<br />
1 large egg, plus 1 yolk<br />
125ml double cream<br />
200g condensed milk<br />
220g pureed pumpkin<br />
1tsp ground cinnamon<br />
<br />
Makes 16 - 18 tarts, depending on the size of you pan (I made mine in a muffin pan)<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Start by NOT preheating the oven. You want the kitchen to be as cold as possible whilst you're making the pastry. Tip the cold, cubed butter and the flour into a large mixing bowl, and rub in between your fingers until it resembles fine bread crumbs. </li>
<li>Mix in the icing sugar by hand, then cut in the beaten egg with a knife until the mixture starts to come together to form a dough. Press the mixture together into a ball, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.</li>
<li>Whilst the pastry is in the fridge, prepare your pie filling. Start by whisking the egg and egg yolk together until light and frothy. Add the cream, condensed milk, pureed pumpkin and cinnamon and continue to whisk for 3-4 minutes, until the ingredients combined to form a custard-like consistency.</li>
<li>Preheat the oven to gas mark 4, and grease a deep muffin pan.</li>
<li>Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it lightly, before rolling out as thinly as possible. Cut circles out of the pastry and place this into the muffin pan, using the end of a rolling pin to help you push the pastry into the muffin holes. Prick the pastry cases all over with a fork, then blind bake for 15 minutes.</li>
<li>Take the pastry cases from the oven, and carefully remove the foil and baking beans used for the blind bake. Fill each pastry case with 2tbsp of the pie filling, then return to the oven for another 30 minutes, until the pie filling is completely set (you can test with a cocktail stick, if you'd like to.) You'll noticed that the pie filling has risen into a dome shape - this will deflate as the pie cools. Don't worry, this happens to mine all of the time and as far as I can tell it's normal. At the very least - they still taste good!</li>
<li>Allow the pies to cool in the muffin pan, then keep refrigerated.</li>
</ol>
<br />
Happy Thoughts
<br />
xStayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-68689128541059671072013-09-11T16:14:00.000+01:002013-09-11T16:14:00.451+01:00Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Raspberry Meringues<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
This
is another recipe I baked for September 2012's "Five-a-Day" theme, and it's one of my favourite EVER recipes. The meringues take a long time to cook, but are SO worth the wait. You can use either fresh or frozen
raspberries.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKKcfTF4gE9WkuLvnmkfRaM0MLQIVcqEL1FiTLf_rIHnFOewhHfLfYa9CArt02BQcnyTm3bVC96ZyFESiNKUpXJBO9vhbPhJXMxFL9QtwPjqfGOy0pDoLv1vaiJ5ftxJEEZPl7uxKpHY/s1600/raspberry+meringues.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKKcfTF4gE9WkuLvnmkfRaM0MLQIVcqEL1FiTLf_rIHnFOewhHfLfYa9CArt02BQcnyTm3bVC96ZyFESiNKUpXJBO9vhbPhJXMxFL9QtwPjqfGOy0pDoLv1vaiJ5ftxJEEZPl7uxKpHY/s320/raspberry+meringues.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
4 large egg-whites (room temperature)</div>
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1tsp cream of tartar</div>
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115g caster sugar</div>
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115g icing sugar</div>
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50g raspberries</div>
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<br /></div>
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Prep time: 15-20 minutes</div>
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Cook time: 1hour 30 minutes</div>
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Makes 18 meringues</div>
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<br /></div>
<ol style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li>Preheat the oven to gas mark 1 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Chop the raspberries into small pieces.</li>
<li>Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar together until the egg whites are thick, opaque, and stand in stiff peaks. </li>
<li>Whisk the caster sugar into the egg whites one tbsp at a time, being
sure to whisk well between each addition. If your sugar doesn’t
dissolve into the egg whites properly at this stage you will end up with
weepy meringues later! When all of the caster sugar has been added you
should be left with a mixture that is stiff, smooth and glossy.</li>
<li>Gently fold half of the icing sugar into the meringue mixture until
combined, but be careful not to beat out too much of the air you’ve
whipped in! Add the remaining icing sugar and the raspberries to the
meringue bowl, and fold these in gently.</li>
<li>Scoop the meringue mixture onto the baking tray using two
tablespoons to shape into rough ovals, then bake for around 1 hour 30
minutes until golden brown and crispy on top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn
off the oven, but allow the meringues to cool inside the oven – this
will create meringues which have a really crispy outer-layer, and a
really gooey inside! Once completely cool, store in an airtight
container until ready to serve.</li>
</ol>
Happy Thoughts,<br />
x <br />
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</ol>
Stayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1923822213517839691.post-10975737956100927892013-09-04T08:00:00.000+01:002013-09-04T08:00:19.511+01:00Cake'n'Bake Wednesday: Honey and Apricot Scones<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Our theme for September 2012 was "Five-a-Day", or fruit and veg. The rule this month was simple - anything you baked had to contain at least one item from the fruit or vegetable family. <br />
<br />
I
had previously entered my Champagne Victoria Sponge recipe into a competition run by
Natural Selection Foods and won a whole bunch of their dried fruits,
so I wanted to use some in my baking for fruit and veg month. I chose
the apricots as they were lovely and sweet, and really complemented the honey in this recipe.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmx8A_x6sW6FsRPKT9TBUm7zC_Fxv9IM-4IBNI_ba2aMCaMot1vNp6noRL_7xFHW-x86T5jpPO-MSmOwYUIiqBb6esZYNqkpEFTLje6MxNk4YmiIbjiUuwdXeE0-ASB05Hln084QvqzVM/s1600/scones.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmx8A_x6sW6FsRPKT9TBUm7zC_Fxv9IM-4IBNI_ba2aMCaMot1vNp6noRL_7xFHW-x86T5jpPO-MSmOwYUIiqBb6esZYNqkpEFTLje6MxNk4YmiIbjiUuwdXeE0-ASB05Hln084QvqzVM/s320/scones.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
225g plain flour</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
1tsp baking powder</div>
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50g butter or margarine</div>
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50g chopped apricots</div>
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2tbsp clear “runny” honey</div>
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100ml buttermilk</div>
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Beaten egg, to glaze</div>
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<br /></div>
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Prep time: 15 minutes</div>
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Cook time: 15-20 minutes</div>
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Makes 12 small scones</div>
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<br /></div>
<ol style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li>Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.</li>
<li>Tip the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and mix together
by hand. Add the butter and rub this into the flour until the mixture
resembles fine breadcrumbs.</li>
<li>Add the chopped apricot, honey and buttermilk to the mixture and
stir with a spoon until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Tip
the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly for a few
minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth. </li>
<li>Roll the dough out to around an inch thick, cut out small scones
using a round cutter, then place these on the prepared baking tray,
leaving a space between each. Brush with the beaten egg to glaze, then
bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top.</li>
<li>Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool – although scones are always best eaten slightly warm! </li>
<li>Eat as they are, or serve with jam and cream.</li>
</ol>
Happy Thoughts<br />
x <br />
<ol style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</ol>
Stayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08364524221167470122noreply@blogger.com0