Thursday 30 May 2013

Blueberry Crumble Muffins

These Blueberry muffins are so delicious and not difficult to make. You won't be able to just eat one believe me :)

Ingredients:

For the batter :
1 and 1/2 cups of plain flour
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Fresh blueberries as needed

For the crumble :
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup plain flour
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp cinnamon powder

Preparation Method :

Pre heat oven to 180

Sieve the flour,salt,baking powder and sugar into a large bowl.



Place oil,egg and enough milk to fill up a cup measurement.



Pour the the milk mixture into the flour and mix into a batter and gently fold in the blueberries.



Fill the muffin liners.

Now make the crumble:


Add flour,butter,sugar and cinnamon powder to a clean bowl and mix with a fork then use your fingers and rub the mixture together to make the crumble.



Sprinkle the crumble on top of each of the muffins.



Pop them in the middle shelf of your oven for 20-25 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean :) Oven temps vary so keep an eye on the muffins as they bake.




Enjoy :)

Sunday 26 May 2013

My Kinda Mess

This delicious desert is my version of Eton mess, Eton mess is made with whipped cream and all mixed together.
Mine Isn't hehehehe!

Ingredients:
Fresh strawberries (that have been frozen) as needed
2 Tsp vanilla sugar
Crushed Meringue as needed 
Vanilla Ice cream

Preparation Method :


Sprinkle the vanilla sugar onto the frozen strawberries and mix through until they are all coated well.


Don't let the Strawberries thaw out completely as we want an icy bite to them :)
Chop them up into rough chunks.


Divide the chopped strawberries into dessert bowls.

Psssst .... see the sugary syrup at the bottom of the bowl that the Strawberries were mixed in??? Don't pour it away ;)


Crush a few meringues up leaving some small chunks.


Divide the meringue between the dessert bowls.


Add 3 scoops of Ice cream into each bowl.

Now drizzle that yummy strawberry vanilla syrup on top of the ice cream scoops and watch it freeze from the cold icecream (I only noticed it today) as I usually make a sauce.
It looks wonderful.

Enjoyyyyyyy :)

Mac N Cheese

Mac N Cheese is the ultimate comfort food for me :) I just love it so much. There are endless versions of this dish and this is one of mine :)

Ingredients:

Dried Macaroni (as needed)
Water for boiling
Pinch of salt
4 slices of Jalapenos ( I used the ones in a jar) chopped.
Small tin of sweetcorn
1 green bell pepper diced
pinch of Black pepper
1/2 tsp English mustard
3 tsp cornflour 
Grated cheese as needed for sauce and topping
2 and 1/2 cups of milk.
Powdered tomato ketchup flavoured Cheetos for bread crumbs.
Preparation Method :
Pre heat the oven to 180


Chop up the veg and take out the amount of sweetcorn needed.


Grate the amount of cheese needed.


In a medium sized pan add the milk, cornflour,cheese, mustard and salt and pepper and heat on a medium heat.
Stir continuously until the cheese has melted and the sauce is thickened nicely.


Now add the veg to the sauce and mix through. If at this stage the sauce is still runny, you can add more cornflour by mixing a little more in some milk and pouring it in the pan.


Then set aside.

Now prepare the Macaroni.


Add the Macaroni to a pan and add salt and boiling water.
Boil the macaroni for 8 minutes ( it cooks quickly as it's tiny)


Drain and put it in an oven proof dish.


Add the sauce to the macaroni and stir through.


Now sprinkle the desired amount of cheese on top followed by the crushed cheetos for a crunchy topping :)

Pop it in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling  
and the topping is crunchy and to your liking :)


Gorgeous eh :)


Time to eat.

Enjoy :)

Lemon Meringue Pie

This version of a lemon Meringue Pie is very easy to make and and absolutely delicious. Please give it a go.

Ingredients :

For the Meringue:
3 egg whites at room temp.
6 Tbsp of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract.

For the Base :
10- 14 Digestive biscuits (crushed to make breadcrumbs)
1 tbsp of butter.

For the Lemon Curd :
1 cup of water
1 cup sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp corn flour
3 egg yolks

Preparation Method :

Firstly prepare the base of your pie by putting the digestive biscuits into a zip lock bag and bash them to your hearts content until they are fine crumbs.




Now melt the butter in a pan on a low heat and add the crumbs to it.


Once it resembles a wet sand look remove the pan off the heat.


Now add the crumbs into a cake tin and spread them into the tin firmly either using your hands or the bottom of a glass. 
Chill the base in the fridge for ten minutes or until the curd is made.

Now it's time to make the Lemon Curd:
Add the water, sugar , lemon juice,zest and corn flour to a pan on medium heat and stir continuously until it thickens up.
Now take the pan of the heat and pour a some mixture into your bowl of egg yolks while whisking quickly. This is called tempering. Do Not add the yolks straight into the pan or they will scramble.
Add the egg mix back into the pan and whisk in quickly.
Now add the butter and stir it in. Cook for a minute or 2 to make sure the yolk gets cooked.
Remove the pan of the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.

Now bring out the base from the fridge.


Pour the Lemon curd into the base and chill in the fridge until your meringue is ready.

Now pre heat your oven to 180.

Time to make the meringue topping !


 Add your egg whites in a clean grease free/yolk free bowl.
Whisk gently until they become frothy and stop whisking.
Now add 1 tbsp of the powdered sugar and the vanilla extract and continue to whisk.
Add in the rest of the sugar a little at a time until it's gone whilst still whisking.

Continue to whisk until they form stiff glossy peaks like this :)


And the beater/whisk looks like this.


At this point you should be able to hold the bowl upside down over your head, but I still haven't been brave enough to do so hehehehe :P
If it doesn't slide around the bowl when tipped, it's ready :)

So let's put the yummy topping onto our pie now .


Gently add the meringue on top of the curd using a spatula.
spread it all over and gently tap and lift your spatula over the meringue to make small peaks.

Time to bake :)

Place your pie into the middle shelf of your oven and bake for 10- 15 minutes.


Your pie is now ready woohooo!
But stop right there! Do not be tempted to dig in just yet NO NO NO! :p
The pie needs to chill for 3 hours in the fridge to allow the curd and meringue to set.
Trust me it's worth the wait. If you do not chill it, your pie will fall apart and your efforts will have gone to waste so please follow this instruction.

Tick Tock I know you've been clock watching like I have.
The pie is now ready to serve and enjoy :)



Enjoyyyyyyyyyyyy :)

Friday 24 May 2013

Vanilla Meringue Cookies

These Meringue cookies are soooooooooo yummy, you have to try them :) As daunting as making meringue sounds, it's not that difficult if you follow the instructions carefully. Don't be scared just go for it.

Ingredients:

3 egg whites at room temperature
6 Tbsp of powdered sugar.
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Preparation Method:

Pre heat your oven to 100 - 110 ( oven temps vary)


Whisk the egg whites until they become frothy like this and stop.
Now add the vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of sugar and start whisking again.
Add a tbsp of sugar a little at a time whilst whisking until the sugar has finished.


Keep whisking until you get stiff glossy peaks and the mixture does not slide around when you move the bowl around. 

Your whisk should look similar to this when lifted.


Now gently fill your your piping bag( nozzle of your choice) with the meringue batter. Or you can spoon the meringue onto the baking sheets.




Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe out the meringues to your desired shape and size. I piped out random sizes as I'm going to crush them to make Eton Mess :)

Put both trays in the middle of the oven and bake for 30- 60 minutes, it all depends on how hot your oven is.
I set the times for 30 minutes but found that they were still too wet, so baked them for 20 minutes more and they were perfect. 
Remember you're not browning the meringues, just baking them to dry them out, so keep an eye on them.
Do not open the oven door until half way through the baking or you may run the risk of getting cracked meringues.

Once the cooking time is over, turn the oven off and keep the trays inside until the oven cools completely this will help to dry out the meringues.

This may take up to 1-4 hours depending on your oven. Mine took 1 and a half hours to cool down completely.


Your Meringues will look paler than before and have that slight tint of the vanilla .

The Meringues should come off leaving the paper clean, if some of them stick to the paper don't panic (it's a good excuse to taste them).

Now they are ready to eat :)


Or store them in an air tight container. They will last up to 2 weeks.







Enjoy :)

Notes:
If you forgot to leave your eggs out in room temperature, don't panic ,all you have to do is fill a bowl with hot water from the tap (not boiling) and put the eggs in it for 2 minutes.

Make sure that the bowl that you are using to whisk the egg whites in is clean as any fat or grease or even a speck of yolk will prevent your meringue from forming.

I hope this recipe was useful :) give it a go .


Easy Fruit and Nut Fudge

This fudge is extremely easy to make and absolutely delicious. So give it a go peeps. It just melts in your mouth :)

Ingredients
1 can of condensed milk 397 g
1 and half packs of fruit and nut chocolate
1 tbsp of unsalted butter
small pinch of salt.
1 tsp vanilla extract.
Preparation Method

Put all the ingredients into a non stick pan and turn the heat up to medium and stir continuously.

Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and turn the heat down and carry on stirring for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat.



Immediately pour the mixture into a grease proof paper lined tray or cake tin. 
Let it cool before setting in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.


Once set, cut into chunks and enjoy. 
These are best stored in the fridge in a container lined with grease proof paper and put close together, then another sheet on top and the rest of the fudge. this way they won't stick together.

Enjoy  :)