Blueberry and lemon tray bake

This delicious cake is a lovely twist on the lemon drizzle that seems to be a favourite in our family.  The original recipe, from the Tesco magazine, included thyme in the cake and maple syrup was added to the topping.  I used thyme in my first attempt and it was a nice addition however I wouldn't say it was a necessity.  I also used half the amount of topping that was in the original recipe (minus the maple syrup) - it just seemed far too much and even cutting the quantity by half gave me some left overs which are absolutely gorgeous mixed with flavoured or natural Greek yogurt.

The tray bake serves 12





200g unsalted butter or baking margarine
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
200g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp thyme leaves (if using)
50g ground almonds
75g Greek natural yogurt

250g blueberries
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour

50g unsalted butter or baking margarine
100g icing sugar

Set oven to gas 4, 180 deg. C (160 deg C fan oven), grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with nonstick baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat the butter/margarine and caster sugar with a wooden spoon until soft and combined, then add the eggs, one at a time, together with 1 tbsp of self raising flour per egg, beating well.  Using a metal spoon carefully fold in the remaining flour and baking powder then stir in the lemon zest (and thyme if using), lemon juice, almonds and yogurt, ensuring ingredients are well mixed.  Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 60-75 minutes until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Leave to cool in the tin on a wire try for about 10 minutes and then poke holes in the top of the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon ensuring you go about 1/2 to 3/4 deep into the cake each time.

Whilst the cake is baking add the blueberries, lemon juice and caster sugar to a pan and gently bring it to a simmer, partly covered, and cook for 4 minutes.  Mix a little water with the cornflour, stir to make a runny paste and add to the pan cooking for a further 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and cool. When ready, spoon about 3/4 the blueberry mix over the cake, making sure the mix runs into the holes.  Leave the cake in the tin and cool for a further hour, then remove from the tin to continue to cool completely.

Beat the butter/margarine and sifted icing sugar together and carefully spread this over the top of the cake.  At this stage you can add the remaining 1/4 blueberry mix, if you feel you need to, otherwise keep it in the fridge and use to mix with natural or flavoured yogurt.

Carefully cut the cake equally into 12 squares.

Desserts in a jar - ideal for picnics

I've been saving this post since Christmas, waiting patiently for any hint of Summer on the horizon.  As the warmer weather begins to tantalise us, there's the possibility that packing up a picnic could be on the agenda, so it's time to share this with you ... desserts in jars.

Not a new thing I know, but it's a great idea, easy to transport, saves on mess and give the picnicers a choice.

When asked to supply dessert for Christmas lunch at my in-laws last year I decided desserts in jars was the way to go, purely because everyone then had a choice (as it turned out most wanted to sample each one ... can't win eh?!).

Use lidded glass jars (pre-used jars are perfect for this, just make sure they're scrubbed clean and sterlised before being filled).  I found the lid labels on-line, free to print and use, and I added a little tag to each so there was no confusion over contents.  Just don't forget the spoons!

My choices were Strawberry Trifle (a simple from the box variety (perhaps with a few additional sponge fingers - makes about 7 small jars), but a homemade one would be even more fantastic), Tiramisu (throw back to the 80s) and the more modern Raspberry Eton Mess.

Eton Mess
2 punnets of raspberries
icing sugar
4 meringue nests
300ml double cream

Give the raspberries a quick rinse under running water and check over for any leaves etc., drain well on absorbent kitchen paper and place in a good sized bowl.  Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and crush slightly with a fork. Break the meringue nests into bite sized pieces and add to the bowl.   Pour the double cream into a clean bowl and use an electric whisk to whip the cream until it holds its shape (keep going, it takes some time!).  Fold the whipped cream it into raspberry and meringue mixture and then divide between the jars (makes about 5 small jars).


Tiramisu
100ml cold espresso coffee
150g sponge fingers
400g mascapone cheese
275g sweentened condensed milk
1tsp vanilla extract
Grated chocolate
Cocoa-powder for dusting

In a clean bowl, beat together the mascapone cheese, condensed milk and vanilla extract until fluffy in texture.  Break the sponge fingers into smallish pieces and dip each one into the espresso, just enough to make it slightly soft (but not falling apart) and layer into the bottom of each jar.  Spoon in a layer of the cream mixture covering the sponge fingers and then grate over some chocolate.  Keep repeating this process until everything has been used up.  Finish with a dusting of cocoa-powder before putting on the lid.  Tiramisu is best left to sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavours combine - it can be made and stored in the fridge for up to three days before using.
Recipe sourced from Food Network.

Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies

I've been baking again ... and these turned out so well I thought I'd share them with you.  I had a tin of condensed milk left over from a recent ice cream making session so I thumbed through my large collection of recipes torn out from various magazines over the years and found just the recipe I needed - raspberry and white chocolate cookies.

These are 100% delicious, but are certainly not for those trying to cut back on sugary foods.  With very sweet condensed milk as well as caster sugar and chocolate, I'd say you'd get your sugar hit from just one cookie (and you can't just have one now can you?)!

Here's the recipe online, at Carnation's site, but as usual, I've tweaked it a little.

Quantity: can vary - depends on the size of dough ball/slices - smaller ones cooked quicker and obviously go further - larger ones were lovely and soft when fresh but continued to soften and began to break apart after a day or two (although the weather was very hot so this probably didn't help).  Still perfectly OK to eat, and would be scrummy broken up into bowl of ice cream - oooh, just imagine it.

170g Carnation Condensed Milk
225g baking margarine
225g caster sugar
350g self raising flour
150g white chocolate (my first batch as a mix of white chocolate chips and milk chocolate bar cut into small pieces)
175g raspberries, halved
Icing sugar for the work surface

Heat oven to 180 deg. C, (160 deg C for fan ovens), gas 4.

Line two large baking trays with baking paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, sugar and condensed milk, then mix in the flour and stir in the chocolate.  Bring it all into a sticky ball and tip out, with the help of a spatula, onto a clean work surface dusted with icing sugar.  Dust your hands with icing sugar too and gently manipulate the ball into a fat sausage.  At this stage I found it easier to work with the dough if I roll it up in icing sugar dusted baking paper and pop in the freezer for about 1/2 hour.  When you take it out, the roll is a little firmer and even slices can be cut ready to for the next stage.  Place a couple of halved raspberries onto each slice of dough and then fold up and use your icing sugar dusted hands to gently roll into a ball and then flatten slightly before placing on to the baking sheet.  Leave a good space around each cookie as they grow as they cook!

Place the trays in the oven and bake for approximately 15-18 mins.  They should look golden at the edges but still slightly soft in the middles (they will firm up a little as they cool).  Let them cool slightly on the trays before carefully moving on to a cooling rack with the help of a fish slice.

Whoopie Pies

Here's another super recipe picked up from Matilda Ramsey's blog on the BBC website - Ramsay Whoopie Pies.  They make the perfect end of meal treat, although I think when we next make these we'll have the cookies a little softer.  The combination of crunchy cookies and soft ice cream was good, but it did make them rather difficult to bite into (with ice cream squishing out at the sides!).  Here's my slightly altered version.

Serves 6
125g dark chocolate
125g baking margarine (or unsalted butter at room temperature)
125g light brown sugar
1 egg (at room temperature)
150g plain flour, sifted
30g cocoa, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
75g milk chocolate chips
75g white chocolate chips
ice cream of your choice

Break up the dark chocolate into a non-metallic bowl and microwave in short 30 second bursts until melted.  Place the margarine and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix until until creamy and smooth.  Add the egg and melted chocolate and whisk again.  Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix carefully with a metal spoon making sure all flour has been incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Tip the cookie dough onto a length of cling film sprinkled with flour and roll into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of the film to make a tight sausage about 24cm long.  Wrap the sausage in baking paper if it's a little fragile to move, and then pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes (it can be frozen for up to a month).

Whilst the cookie dough is in the freezer, heat oven to 180 deg C/160 deg C fan and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Remove the dough sausage from the freezer and carefully unwrap.  Cut into slices, around 1.5cm thick (about 12 slices).  Place them on the lined baking sheet and cook in the oven for about 25 minutes.  Remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool a little.  Before they completely cool, take a small scoop of ice cream and sandwich between two cookies then serve immediately.

Lemon iced Chelsea buns

Picked up a recipe card from Budgens for Chelsea buns and slightly tweaked it to our liking.  I can whole-heartedly recommend these; they had just the right amount of mixed spice in them and the lemon icing finishes them off perfectly.  Recipe says it makes 9 buns, but when you get to rolling it into a sausage you could cut more rounds to try and make the buns last just a little longer!  Original recipe also included 150g mixed dried fruit (scattered over with the brown sugar) but as I didn't have any in the store cupboard, this part was left out.

500g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
7g sachet of fast action yeast
300ml milk
75g unsalted butter or baking margarine
1 medium egg
75g soft brown sugar
2 tsp ground mixed spice
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp apricot jam
3 tbsp icing sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Put flour, salt and yeast into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.  Take 40g of the butter/margarine add to a saucepan along with the milk and gently heat until the butter has melted and the liquid is lukewarm.

Pour the warm milk liquid into the centre of the well, add the lemon zest and egg and bring it all together to form a dough.  Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 5 mins until the dough is smooth.  Place the dough in a slightly greased bowl, cover with cling film or a clean oiled large plastic bag and leave in a warm place to rise for a couple of hours.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, punching the air out first.  Roll it out into a 1cm thick rectangle.  Melt the remaining butter/margarine and add the mixed spice.  Brush this all over the dough, then scatter over the soft brown sugar.

Roll the dough into a tight sausage and cut up into equal parts placing each part onto a lightly greased baking tray, leaving a gap between each one.  Cover again and leave to rise in a warm place for about 30 mins. While this is happening, heat the oven to 190 deg C/170 deg C fan or Gas 5.

Place the baking tray in the oven for about 20-25 mins, until the buns are golden.

Warm the apricot jam in the microwave for 30 seconds and then brush it over the buns while they are still hot from the oven.  Leave to cool completely before mixing the icing sugar and lemon juice to form a paste to drizzle over the cool buns.

The humble scone

is one of my favourite little treats but quite often I find scones leave my mouth dry after eating them.  Perhaps it's just me, but it puts me off treating myself to a cream tea when I'm out somewhere nice.

However, forget shop bought and cafe scones, making your own is really very simple and I've discovered an ingredient that turns the humble scone into a truly delicious little snack with no dry after taste.  Buttermilk.

Hubs, the bread maker, has been using buttermilk to make soda bread these last few weeks.  It's a quick and easy bread to make and I'll share the recipe with you soon in another post.  As is usual when using ingredients that you wouldn't normally have in your store cupboard or fridge, we are left with a little buttermilk in the carton once the bread making has been completed.  Noticing that the carton suggested using it to make scones made me dig out my battered scrapbook of recipes and make a batch using this newly discovered ingredient.


75g (3oz) butter or baking margarine
250g (8oz) self-raising flour
50g (2oz) sultanas
150ml (1/4 pint) buttermilk
Extra buttermilk, or milk, for glazing

Heat oven to gas 7, 220 deg. C, 425 deg. F.  Lightly dust a non-stick baking sheet with flour.  In a large bowl, rub butter into the flour to make breadcrumbs and stir in the sultanas.  Add the buttermilk and mix to a smooth, soft and spongy dough.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly until smooth.  Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1 inch (2.5cm) and use a 3 inch (7cm) biscuit cutter to cut out the rounds (obviously you can use a smaller cutter if you desire more scones!).  Place on the floured baking sheet and brush tops with additional buttermilk or milk.  Cook in the oven for 12 minutes until lightly golden and risen.  Remove and cool slightly on a wire rack before eating warm with jam or, for a really special treat, whipped or clotted cream.

Beetroot & Chocolate Brownies

There are some combination of foods that I've shied away from in the past.  One is chilli with chocolate with other is beetroot with chocolate (and another was courgette in a cake - I tried this last year and gave it a big thumbs up).  When my neighbour gave me two big buckets of unwanted beetroot, Ben sourced a simple Beetroot & Chocolate Brownie recipe from the BBC Good Food site for me to try.  They are delicious - moist and slightly pink with the tiniest hint of beetroot that gave them a lovely down-to-earth taste.

500g whole raw beetroot (approx 400g once peeled)
100g unsalted butter or baking margarine
200g bar plain chocolate (70% cocoa, although we always use the store's own cheapo version)
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
100g plain flour
25g cocoa powder

Microwave, food processor or blender and electric hand whisk are also needed.

Peel the beetroot, slice the top and bottoms off and roughly chop (you'll need about 400g).  Place in a large microwaveable bowl, add a splash of water, cover with cling film and microwave on High for about 12 minutes or until tender.

Heat oven to 180C/16C fan/gas 4.  Grease and line a traybake (about 20x30cm).  Roughly chop the chocolate and cut butter/marg into cubes.  Tip the cooked beetroot into a sieve (be careful, the bowl, if glass, will be very hot) to drain off any liquid.  Place the beetroot, together with the chocolate, butter/marg and vanilla extract into a food processor or blender.  Whizz until it all turns smooth.

Put the sugar and eggs into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until thick, pale and foamy (about 2 mins).  Spoon the beetroot mixture into the bowl then use a large metal spoon to fold it into the egg mixture, trying to keep as much air in the mix as possible.  Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and gently fold these in too to make a smooth batter.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 25 mins or until well risen all over with a little quiver under the centre of the crust when you shake the tin!  Cool completely in the tin then cut into squares.

Chocolate Brownies

I have a new, extremely delicious, chocolate brownies recipe.  Katie and I have made two batches so far as they don't last very long once they're out of the oven!  These brownies have a firm outer and a light and slightly gooey centre - chocolate heaven.

Makes 16

200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
150g unsalted butter or baking margarine (plus extra for greasing)
2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
150g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
75g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
100g dark chocolate chips (we used 100g dark chocolate, snipped by scissors!)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/Gas 4 and grease a 19cm (or thereabouts) square shallow baking tin, lined with baking paper (greased also).

Gently heat the chocolate, butter and vanilla together in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of just simmering water (make sure the water doesn't touch the bowl), or microwave in short bursts until chocolate has melted and is mixable.  Remove from heat/microwave and stir in the sugar.

Beat the eggs and add to the bowl then sift in the flour, cocoa and salt folding it in until the mixture is smooth and glossy.  Stir in the chocolate chips (or snipped chocolate).

Pour the mixture into the tin, level the top and pop it in the oven for 20/25 mins - or until the top starts to crack but the centre remains gooey.  Turn off the oven and leave the brownie in there for a further 5 mins before removing.  Leave to cool completely in the tin.  When ready, remove from tin and cut into squares.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Ben made these the other day - they are very scrummy indeed!


225g crunchy peanut butter
200g bar dark chocolate, broken into pieces  (we used milk chococlate)
280g soft light brown sugar
3 medium eggs
100g self-raising flour

Set aside 50g each of the peanut butter and chocolate.

Heat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C for fan ovens), gas 4, line and grease a square baking tin.  Slowly melt remaining peanut buttter, chocolate and all the sugar in a pan, stirring occasionally until the sugar has just about melted.  Turn off the heat and beat in the eggs, one at a time, using a wooden spoon.   Stir in the flour and scrape into the prepared tin.

Melt reserved peanut butter in the microwave on high for 45 secs, or in a pan on the hob, until runny.  Drizzle over the brownies.  Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins until it has a crust, but the middle is still slightly uncooked.

Melt reserved chocolate and drizzle over the cooked brownies.  Cool in the tin and cut into squares before lifting.

Banana and fudge loaf

As you may know, we've been inundated with courgettes and one of the recipes we were given to try and use them up was Courgette and Lemon Cake.  Had a go at baking this last week, it was nice, very moist and certainly very lemony, but it wasn't really a big hit with us.  However, Katie came up trumps the day after by baking banana and fudge loaf - try it, it's the best!

The recipe calls for vanilla fudge cut into cubes.  I'm guessing you could use the little finger of fudges but as we didn't have any of these in the house she used the equivalent weight in Mars bars and it tasted spot on!



150g (5oz) salted butter, softened + extra for greasing (we used baking margarine)
300g (10oz) plain flour + extra for dusting
175g (6oz) light muscovado sugar
2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
150ml (5fl oz) semi-skimmed milk
3 medium, ripe bananas, mashed
75g (3oz) vanilla fudge cut into small cubes (or Mars bars!)

Preheat oven to gas 4, 180 degrees C (or 160 degrees C fan oven).  Lightly grease and flour a 2 litre (2 pint) loaf tin - shake out excess flour.  We also lined the bottom with greased greaseproof paper - just in case.

Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.  Gradually add the eggs, beating all the time.  Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then gradually add the milk until smooth.  Fold the mashed banana into the mixture with the chopped fudge.  Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and smooth the top.

Bake for 30 mins then take the loaf out of the oven and cover with foil (to stop the top from getting too brown).  Return to the oven for a further 30 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.  Remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5-10 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

If you wish, you may decorate the top with whipped cream, slices of banana and extra fudge pieces to make it ultra special, but we were too impatient and wanted to try it straight away!