The Bakewell Tart Experience

A very classic British dessert and a favourite of mine, although it has fallen out of favour due to the sickly sweet or bland tarts commercially mass produced by the large bakeries/supermarkets.
The original tart comes from the Derbyshire town of Bakewell, hence the name, although the recipe and what constitutes as the perfect bakewell tart have lead to many a discussion into the early hours of the morning!!
Bakewell Tart is made using short pastry with a layer of jam, covered with a ground almond sponge (known as a frangipane) and topped with flaked almonds
Bakewell Pudding is made using flaky pastry with a layer of jam covered with a egg and almond filling.
Cherry Bakewell is a tart covered with a layer of fondant icing and topped with a cherry

Bakewell Tart

Bakewell Pudding

My preference is towards the classic and simple tart, served warm with homemade custard. This is the recipe I use,
Pastry
I make a sugar pastry which has a slightly higher fat content but you get a sweeter flavor and softer texture.
8oz Plain/all purpose Flour
5oz Unsalted soft Butter
2oz Caster sugar
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt
Pre-heat your oven at 190c (170c fan)/gas 5

Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl. Rub in the butter til you get a breadcrumb like mixture, mix in the sugar. Add in the whisked egg and bring together to make a smooth soft dough. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
You can roll out the pastry but being a soft pastry it tends to tear and crack easily, therefore I pat it into to a greased and floured tart/flan pan using my hands. Once you have a even layer along the bottom and sides, prick the bottom with a fork and blind bake for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool for a minute or two then remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for a about 5 minutes til the pastry is golden brown.

Meanwhile make your frangipane
4oz Butter
4oz Caster sugar
2 Eggs
4oz Ground almonds
1/2oz Flour
1/2tsp baking powder
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
Cream together butter and sugar, gradually adding the eggs while continuously whisking. Add the lemon zest and then fold in the ground almonds along with the sifted flour and baking powder.

For the fruit filling I prefer to use seasonal fruit compote, although raspberry jam is considered to be the classic filling. I would urge you to experiment with your favorite fruits but store cupboard jam is an acceptable alternative.
At the moment cherries and raspberries are in season so I will be using raspberry compote.
8oz Raspberries
1-2oz Caster sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Put all the ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil, leave to simmer for about 10-15 minutes til thickened. Allow to cool slightly.

Pour the compote into the pastry case spread over the base, top with the frangipane and level to get an even bake.
Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until well risen and golden brown. You can add flaked almonds during the last 5 minutes of the cooking time.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the tart pan. Place on a serving plate and dust with icing sugar (optional)

I like mine with custard but you can serve with pouring cream, vanilla flavored ice cream, creme fraiche or serve cold with your choice of beverage.

Happy Baking

Pickling and Preserving Vegetables

With September around the corner, it is a good time to start thinking about preserving foods for the winter months and getting ahead in your preparations. The most common way of preserving these days is to freeze, which is a great way of having summer vegetables during the cold winter months. The easiest way to freeze vegetables is to prepare them by peeling, slicing,dicing or simply chopping and then blanching in boiling water for a few minutes, this helps maintain the taste, texture and flavor. Then refresh straight away in ice cold water, this will help keep the color, drain well and pat dry. You can either freeze in single layers on baking sheets then bag and store or you can simply bag and store. Make sure you label the bags and date them before putting in the freezer as this enables you to have a  good stock rotation.
The following vegetables are available cheaply and in large quantities at farmers markets,
Beetroots
Cabbage
Pumpkin
Sweetcorn
Globe artichoke
Celery
Leeks
Runner Beans
Marrow
The following are going out of season in the next month or so but you may still be able to pick some up economically
Courgettes
Tomatoes

One of the best and truly English ways to preserve summer vegetables is to make Piccalilli, its fairly easy to make and is great with raised pies, boiled meats and strong cheeses.
This recipe will make about 6/8 jars
1lb small pickling onions, peeled
1lb cauliflower, small florets
1lb runner beans, trimmed and finely sliced
1lb courgette or marrow, 1/2inch dice
1lb cucumber, de seeded and 1/2inch dice
1lb pumpkin, peeled, de seeded and 1/2inch dice
1lb salt
2tsp (30g) mustard
2tsp ground ginger
2tsp curry powder
1tsp  turmeric
2tsp black peppercorns
1lt malt vinegar
2tsp cornflour
Place the vegetables with the salt in a large bowl, cover and leave overnight.
Drain and rinse vegetables under cold water and dry ( I place the vegetables on clean tea towels)
Put 3/4 of the vinegar in a large non-metallic pan with the spices and the vegetables. Bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are just tender.
Mix the cornstarch with the remaining vinegar and add to the pan. Mix and simmer for about 5mins, the mix should thicken up.
Put into hot sterilized jars, seal with airtight lids and cool.
Leave for about 3 months in a cool, dark cupboard.

Here's a general guide to getting you started on pickling vegetables
Any vegetable you can eat raw are easy to pickle
Any that usually have to be cooked like cauliflower, beetroot, carrots etc you will need to cook before hand to make tender ( I like mine to still have a slight crunch) so cook your vegetables according to your taste.
Pickling spices are also a personal preference and you can buy pickling spices from the store for a variety of pickles. However I like to add my own as the combination possibilities are endless but here is a few I pick from mustard seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves, dill seeds,fennel seeds, cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, juniper berries, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and chilli flakes. As well as fresh garlic, whole chillies, ginger, lemon grass and tamarind.
For the pickling liquid use 2 cups of white wine vinegar, 4tbsp sugar, 2tbsp salt and 1 cup of water. Bring the first 3 ingredients to a boil and then simmer til the sugar and salt have dissolved. Then add the water which will reduce the temperature and pour over your vegetables.
You are now ready to can the vegetables ensuring the liquid submerges the vegetables in the jar. You can store in the refrigerator for about a month but the vegetables are normally ready to eat within a couple of hours.
To store for longer you will need to omit the water from the pickling liquid and the storage jars will need to be sealed with airtight and vinegar resistant lids. Store for a few weeks before using but give the jars a shake once a week to infuse the flavors.

My favorite pickling combinations are:
Pickled Slaw- carrot, white/green cabbage, bell peppers, white onion, sugar snap peas, cucumber, celery or you can go with any combination of crunchy vegetables you have. Juilenne (thin strips) the vegetables, add mustard seeds and thin strips of fresh chillies,  cover with the pickling liquid, and store in the refrigerator. Leave overnight before eating and it can be stored in the refrigerator for about a month (dare anyone to still have the first batch after the first month!!). This is great as a salad, on sandwiches and as an accompaniment to burgers, hotdogs and cold meats

Giardiniera(Italian pickle)- aubergines, courgettes, red onion, fennel, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes (you can also use carrots, celery, cauliflower, olives) they should be roughly diced/small florets. For the spice flavors use fresh garlic, chilli flakes, celery seeds, oregano, bay leaves and peppercorns. You will need to soak the prepared vegetables in a brine (water and salt) overnight and then drain well before pickling. You can also add a couple tbsp of olive oil if you wish to your pickling liquid. Put into sterilized jars with airtight lids and store for a month before eating. Will keep for about 6 months. Use as an accompaniment with any Italian dish or with grilled fish and meats.

Achar(Indian pickle)-Indian pickles are made using mustard oil instead of vinegar, for the spice mix use the following 1cup of mustard powder, 3/4cup of salt, 1tsp fenugreek powder, 1tbsp dried mango(amchar) powder, 1tbsp fennel seeds coarsely ground, 1tsp turmeric, 3/4tbsp nigella seeds and 1/4lt of mustard oil. Mix all the ingredients to form a paste and then add to about 4cups of your chosen prepared vegetables( I leave my vegetables to dry on clean tea towels overnight). I also add 2 green chillies, cut into small pieces, 8 cloves of garlic left whole and 1inch piece of ginger cut into strips. Add 1-2 tbsp of vinegar, mix well and put into a large sterilized container . Making sure you use any remaining mix to top up the jar . Cover the jar with a lid and keep aside for 3 days, once a day stir the vegetable mix with a clean spoon/ladle. On day three you will notice that the oil is floating on top of the vegetables if not than top up with more oil, check seasoning and correct if required. Decant into sterilized airtight jars and store for at least a week before using to allow the flavors to infuse. I find the longer its left the more intense the flavors. It will keep for a good 12 months in airtight jars.
You can also use this method to make singular vegetable pickles i.e green mango, lime, carrot, cauliflower etc.

I hope this inspires you to make your own combination of pickles and please let me know how they turn out. If you use the above recipes, please give me your feedback as its always great to know what you think of the recipes.

Next time I will be looking at preserving fruits for the winter months.

Happy Pickling and Preserving

Basic staples for your kitchen

On the previous post I gave you a list of things that make life easier for me when I'm doing pastry work, now here's a few recipes for other basics that are a must in my kitchen.

Oils
For Flavored oils, take a handful of your chosen herb including the stalks and place in a pan with about a pint of olive oil and warm through on a low/moderate heat.When the herb starts to wilt slightly remove from the heat and allow to sit for a good couple of hours. This allows the oil and herb to infuse further while it cools down. Then pour the oil into your chosen container and its ready for use. I use fresh herbs (but you can use dried) which can then be processed to a paste. placed in the fridge and used in sauces/dressings or mix with breadcrumbs to make a coating.

Cajun Spice Mix
2tbsp each of  basil, oregano, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder
1tbsp each of Thyme and crushed chillies
5tbsp Smoked Paprika (regular is fine if you don't have smoked)
4tbsp Salt
This is a fairly hot mix so reduce the chillies by half to make it milder

Chinese Five Spice Mix
Equal quantities of cinnamon, star anise, cloves, fennel seeds and szechuan peppercorns.
place all into a grinder and grind to powder, place into an air tight container. If you don't have a grinder then use the already ground spices but I find these lack the intensity of flavor that you get with grinding your own.

Homemade Basil Pesto
2 handfuls of Basil leaves
1/2 cup of Extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of pine nuts or walnuts ( leave out for nut-free version)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano /grana padano or your choice of hard cheese 
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped (use roasted garlic for a more subtle flavor)
salt and pepper to taste
In a blender process the basil, pine nuts and garlic. Add the olive oil in a steady stream with the blender running. Scrape down the sides, add the cheese and pulse again til well combined. Season to taste. Pour into a jar or bowl and refrigerate til ready to use.
Making your own pesto means you can adapt the recipe to your own liking, omitting what you don't
like.
To make Red Pesto Sauce add about 1/2cup of chopped sun-dried Tomatoes to the mix

Tomato Sauce
1 med Onion chopped
2 cans Peeled plum tomatoes
2tbsp tomato puree
3-4 cloves garlic chopped
handful of fresh basil stalks, chopped
6 cloves
salt and pepper to season
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp sugar
 Fry the onion, garlic and basil stalks in the oil until soft and transparent, meanwhile squash the tomatoes with your hands. Add all the ingredients to the onion mix, leave to simmer until you have a thick sauce. Cool and refrigerate (you can blend the sauce to get a smoother consistency) until required, can last for about a week in the fridge.
I always add a handful of fresh basil leaves just before serving

Homemade Stock
Making your own stock is so easy, that you will never use store bought again. I make my stock on a sunday when I'm making my sunday dinner or when I have a cook day normally about once a month.
You need to start by keeping all your vegetable trimmings and peelings, place into a freezer bag and freeze, as and when you have them. Remember to wash your vegetables before peeling especially things like carrots, potatoes etc. Don't use vegetables that are likely to color your stock i.e beetroot.  Keep your herb stalks, peelings from garlic,
Keep trimmings and bones from your Meats, Poultry and Fish, again place into separate bags and freeze. If your meats /fish was frozen before hand then don't refreeze, use to make the stock in the next few days.To get a less fatty and clearer stock you should roast all your trimmings. You can also use the leftover bones from your roast joints,
There are no measurements or ingredients list just fill up a pot with your trimmings add water to cover and leave to simmer on a low/moderate heat for a minimum of 2hrs. Strain to remove the vegetables etc and then double strain. Place back on the heat and reduce by half. I then place this into individual 1/4 cup portions and freeze. They will keep for up to 6 months in the freezer and can be used straight from the freezer.

When using limes, lemons and oranges just for the juice, I always peel them and keep the peels once I have removed the pith. Lemons and limes can be used chopped in breadcrumb crusts, in marinades and dressings. Orange peels can be used in dressings, drinks and sauces.
You can also use all of them as a garnish for a number of desserts.

With these staples in your kitchen you will be able to create quick and easy meals when your pushed for time but will also provide you with unlimited number of possibilities to get more creative.

There is a very long list of other basic recipes that I have and use regularly, however to post them now would take an eternity and give me sore fingers!!!!!!  So as I post future recipes I will let you all know, which you can make in advance and the storage procedures.

Pastry staples to always have in your dessert kitchen

As we continue with this blog my friends you will notice that I will prepare and mix many things in advance and have them to hand when  needed. Also I very rarely waste any food and will use the by products of dish to create another.
Today I'm going to give you some ideas on the things that I need to have in my pastry kitchen in order to save time later on.

Vanilla Sugar
Never discard Vanilla pods when a recipe requires using them for infusing, you can keep the pods and pat them dry. Place them into your sugar container and you will have vanilla sugar on hand. Just keep adding pods as and when you can.

Fruit Pulp
When making fruit syrups, sauces and coulis, you will only need the juice. The pulp leftover in the sieve can be used for all sorts of cakes and bakes. You can either keep in an air tight container in the fridge or you can freeze in 500g portions. In the fridge it will only last for about a week but frozen it can last for a month.

Mixed Spice
Often called for in fruit dishes and cake recipes. I make my own mixed spice as I have all the individual spices in my cupboard. However most shops sell mixed spice in the baking section.
This is a very basic recipe that is a good all rounder
2tbsp cinnamon, 2tbps allspice, 2tbsp nutmeg, 3tsp mace, 2tsp cloves, 2tsp coriander, 2tsp ginger,
2tsp caraway, 1tsp mace

Any bread products that you have should be dried out and processed to make breadcrumbs. To dry out bread you can either use the residual heat from your oven when can or just leave to dry in a single layer on top of your cooker.
I also make sweet crumbs from crossiants, bricohe bread and should you have any pound cake/plain sponge leftover!!!!
Dried bread crumbs can be kept for at least 3mths in airtight containers or you can bag in 500g portions and freeze

Dark Chocolate Sauce
150g 70% dark chocolate broken into pieces
6tbsp golden syrup
warm over a moderate heat, stirring until the chocolate has melted

Caramel Sauce
250g caster sugar
50g butter
142ml double cream
On a moderate heat caramelize the sugar with about 4tbsp of water til you get slightly dark caramel, remove from heat stir in the butter and the cream

Sugar Syrup
250ml water
250g caster sugar
heat the sugar and water on a moderate heat until the sugar has dissolved, allow to cook further until the mix has reduced by 1/4 and is slightly thickened. Cool and keep refrigerated for about fortnight.

And finally you'll want to make sure that you always have a good back up of canned, preserved and dried fruits as well as a variety of  nuts in your pantry.

While we still have a British summer and the sun is shining I wanted to share a quick ice cream recipe with you all,which can be adapted for varies other summertime treats
Banana Ice Cream
Its quick and easy to make and great for keeping the children entertained.
this recipe will give you 4 good size portions
4 medium bananas cut into chunks and freeze, I like to do this about 3hrs a head of time
1/4tsp Vanilla extract or essence
3/4tbsp sugar you can adjust this to taste*
150ml Buttermilk or cream if you don't have buttermilk to hand
Place the frozen bananas in a blender with the vanilla,sugar and half of the milk, process until  you get a smooth puree, it will be a really thick mix.
With the blender still running pour in the remaining milk in a steady stream. you will get a soft but smooth ice cream which can be served straight away.
Serve with any fruit syrup or chocolate sauce and sprinkles of your choice.
* I tend to use overly ripe bananas, therefore I don't feel the need to add any sugar or alternatively you can substitute with honey
Any leftover Ice cream can be kept in the freezer til the evening when it can be used to make s'mores by the children or you can use it to make root beer type ice cream floats the following day
You can also you this same recipe to make milkshakes just add about quarter to half pint of milk to thin out the mix so that you can drink it.
Vary the flavour by adding a handful of your choice of fruit i.e strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants
For chocolate milkshake add about 2tbsp of dark chocolate sauce.

And now for the adults
You can use the same recipe as above just don't add the milk until after you have add you choice of alcohol and
add a couple of shots of rum or vodka and peach schnappes
However I like to use the recipe to make adult milkshakes which have the taste of banana cocktails
such as
Top Banana
make milkshakes as above and add the following to your liking, I like to add a shot per person
Vodka
Peach schnappes


Banana Margarita
Lemon juice, lime juice, triple sec, tequila

Daiquiri
light rum, lime juice

Bananas Foster
brown sugar
cinanamon
honey
dark rum
frozen yogurt

You can top the shakes with cherries, whipped cream and strawberries

Happy Drinking

While making the jam from the previous post here's the other things that I also made


Basic White Dough
7g scht of quick action dried Yeast or if using fresh yeast 15g
1/2pt (300ml)  luke warm water
1tbsp sugar
1lb strong white bread flour/'00' flour
1.5 tsp salt
2tbsp olive oil

To make the dough I use my mixing machine with a dough hook but you can make it by hand as well.
Sieve the flour into clean mixing bowl along with the salt.
In a jug mix the yeast, sugar olive oil with the water and leave for a few minutes
add the liquid to the flour on a very slow speed to begin with.
Increase to a moderate speed as the dough begins to form continue on this speed until the dough is smooth and springy to the touch. I tend to knead by hand for about 5 mins before leaving the dough to rest. Cover with a damp tea towel but I find in my kitchen it works better if a use a plastic bag or clean shower cap. Leave to rest for about 2.5hrs or until doubled in size. Knead lightly to knock out the air, the dough is now ready to be used or you can wrap in clingfilm and store in the fridge til ready to use.
This dough will give you 3 medium size bases or four small bases.
I find its better to roll out the dough about 20/30mins before you are ready to cook but do not leave the dough hanging about any longer than this.
Once rolled you are ready to top with whatever you like
For the base
Classic tomato and basil sauce
Romesco Sauce (red pepper based rather than tomato)
Red or green pesto
Garlic and herb butter
Curry paste for an Indian inspired pizza toppings
Roasted garlic and coconut milk (good for vegans but also great for making a thai inspired pizza topping, if you add coriander, lemongrass and chill when blending the garlic and coconut milk together. Then top with marinated chicken or seafood) It really does work!!!
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This dough recipe will also give you a medium sized loaf or 8 rolls these are perfect for burgers and lunches or you can make 16 dinner rolls.
About five minutes before you finish cooking them in the oven, egg wash the top and sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, oat flakes, herbs etc to give you different look.
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Curry Sauce
A staple in my fridge and last for a about 1 week or you can freeze it for about 2 weeks but I never get past the next day once its made

2medium Onions finely chopped
8/9 gloves of garlic peeled
3inch piece of ginger peeled should be about the same in weight as the garlic
5 medium size chilli (the ones i get are moderately hot so i tended to use the whole chilli but you can deseed them or leave them out completely if you want a really mild sauce. For extra hotness you can increase the amount used to your liking)
1tsp turmeric powder
1tsp ground cumin seeds
1tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tin chopped tomatoes or 2tbsp tomato concentrate mixed with about 1/3pt or cup of water
or you can use about 8 med fresh tomatoes finely chopped(will take longer to cook)

Fry the onions on a high heat in a tbsp of oil for a few minutes, lower the heat to the lowest setting on you stove while you blend the garlic, ginger and chillies to a fine paste and add to the onions, turn the heat up high for about a minute while stirring to prevent browning and sticking, lower the heat down to low again and cook for about 20mins, continue to stir as required so nothing burns or sticks
Add the dry spices and cook for another 10/15mins ensuring the spices do not burn as this will affect the taste of the sauce, you can use water or tomato juice to prevent this.
Add the tomatoes and continue cooking on low heat until you have a paste like mix, you may need to add water occasionally to prevent the mix sticking and you will need to stir regularly as well.
You can blend the mix to a puree and then finish off the cooking, I however prefer to cook it on the stove as that allows me to control the texture of the sauce.
Once cooked you can bottle the sauce and put it the fridge for when required.
To use the sauce:
Brown the meat, add the sauce and leave on low heat til the meat is cooked. For beef/lamb curry you may need to add a touch of water as the meat requires longer to longer.
For fish and Seafood, add straight to the sauce, heat on low til the seafood or fish is 90% cooked. As it will continue cooking when off the heat and you don't want to overcook.
For vegetables you can use cooked or uncooked, just add the sauce and either re-heat or cook til the vegetables are done.

Always finish off any curry with freshly chopped coriander.

The Rhubarb continues

Thought I would make rhubarb jam as I had never tried it before and wondered what it would taste like. So with fingers crossed I attempted the following recipe

2.5 lbs  rhubarb roughly chop to small pieces
2lbs sugar
half cup of water
2 oranges, juice and grated rind from each

Alternate layers of rhubarb and sugar into a large pan and allow to stand for an hour ( I prefer to leave it overnight to allow maximum juice to be released from the fruit)
then add the juice and rind from the oranges, stir the mix to see how much liquid you have.
the liquid should cover at least 3/4 of the fruit, if not add the water but you should not have to use more than a half a cup of water. Cook for about 30 mins, gently on medium/low heat, stir occasionally to prevent burning the sugar as this will alter the taste. Turn off the heat and leave the pan on the stove to use up the residual heat. You can continue using residual heat to cook the jam while you are cooking other things for the next day or two, making sure that you stir the jam to prevent it from sticking and burning.
This allows the jam to thicken and gives it a glorious reddish color
As my kitchen is in constant use I kept moving the pan around the stove through out the day, thus I  cooked the jam for only a day to achieve the thickens and color that I required. It may take you a day or so longer using this method.
Pour in to sterilized jars, seal and store. Remember to sprinkle sugar to cover the top of the jam before sealing to prevent mould growth!!

The reason I used this particular recipe was because it did not call for the use of pectin, however you can try other recipes that call for pectin to be used thus you will get a larger yield from the amount of fruit used.

My yield from this recipe was 5 jars but I have different size and shape jars, you may have more if you use the same size small mason/kilner jars.
Now I have put the jam into jars and left it to store for a few weeks!!!!
So now the wait............

Happy Cooking

Another Favorite of mine is Rhubarb Ripple Ice Cream

Before starting the ice cream you will need to make the rhubarb syrup
this recipe is so simple
About 1lb of cleaned and roughly chopped Rhubarb
7 cups of water
4 cups of honey or you can use Sugar,  best to leave it slightly tart at this stage as you will be adding more sugar later
1 vanilla pod

Place all the ingredients into a large stainless steel pan and bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes til the rhubarb is soft and slightly mushy but do not over cook or you will lose the pinkness of the rhubarb.
Strain the mixture through a muslin cloth or a colander lined with a plain white tea towel, you can use a sieve but make sure that it is a very fine mesh as want to strain only the juice through.
Leave the liquid to drain through, DO NOT try to push through as it will make the syrup cloudy.
Once done keep the fruit to use in cakes etc
Meanwhile place the liquid back on to heat adding more sugar/honey to taste, I prefer to leave the syrup slightly tart.
Allow to boil on medium heat until the mix has reduced by half and has thickened.
Cool before pouring into jars and place in fridge until ready to use.

For the Ice Cream
This makes about a pint of ice cream
4 egg yolk
100g caster sugar
3/4pt milk
1/4pt thick(double) cream
1 vanilla pod

Whisk the yolks and sugar together til light and fluffy
Put the milk onto boil, halve the vanilla pod, scrap out the seeds and put into the milk along with the pod case halves. Allow to boil then remove from the heat.
Pour the milk onto the yolk and sugar mix while whisking continuously to prevent curdling ( or you will end up with scrambled eggs). Pass the mix through a fine sieve and then add the cream, stir to combine fully.
Place into ice cream machine and churn. Add the rhubarb syrup on the last churn so you get the ripple effect. Freeze until ready to use.

any leftover syrup can be used to :
Flavor Yoghurts
Flavor Lemonade, Still and Sparkling Water
Mix with Vodka, Rum etc to create a different flavored drink
Topping for Cheesecake


Happy cooking

Today's Bake

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
There is so much rhubarb from the garden that I'm gonna have to get creative in the kitchen this week.
The rhubarb works much better in this recipe if you cook it in just sugar so that it caramelizes sightly while still retaining its light pink color. Line the cake tin about 1/4 of the way up with the rhubarb before pouring in your sponge mix.

Making the most of apricots which are in season this month.

Apricot Fool
Great for a light summer pudding and for a low calorie version use Creme Fraiche.

Alternatively

Upside Down Apricot Cake
Serve hot with custard or serve cold with yoghurt/cream/creme fraiche.

Apples are coming into season this month.
So here are a few ideas of what to do with them......

Apple Fritter Doughnuts

A twist on an old and firm favorite, Apple, Lychee and Raspberry Crumble