Recipes

07.07.2012 - Chocolate Cake
175g self raising flour
200g butter
25g coco powder
3 eggs
200g sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 vanilla essence

FOR THE ICING:
75g butter
tablespoon of coco powder
200g icing sugar
few drops of vanilla essence

1) pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
2) grease 2 x sandwich tins
3) cream the butter and sugar together
4) add the flour, eggs, coco powder, baking powder and vanilla essence to the mixture and mix well! I usually use an electric mixer.
5) divide mixture between 2 cake tins and bake for 20minutes. I find 18minutes is more than enough.
6)Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool.

TO MAKE THE ICING:

1) put the butter in with the icing and mix carefully as the icing tends to go everywhere!
2) add drops of vanilla essence and coco
3) keep testing to preferred taste!
3) spread between the cake slices and on top for an even covering.
4) decorate with strawberries/hundreds and thousands/buttons - anything of your choice.

ENJOY!

05.04.2012 - Chicken and Mushroom Pie

chicken, diced

mushrooms

garlic (teaspoon, or however preferred)

plain flour (2 tablespoons & enough to lightly spread onto a board)

mustard (2 teaspoons)

creme freche (a generous tablespoon)

chicken stock (300ml)

1 egg, beaten
teaspoon of mustard (or how preferred!)

1) Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

2) Chop up the mushrooms and onions

3) Cook chicken in a frying pan, using oil if preferred (i tend not too)

4)Once cooked, add the mushrooms, garlic, mustard,2 tablespoons worth of flour, chicken stock,mustard and the creme freche, mix well together and let it simmer.

5) Whilst your chicken simmers, roll out your puff pastry onto a dry floured surface and use a knife to make a criss cross pattern.

6) Grease the dish with butter and then lay your pastry in and around the sides.

7) Once the chicken has thicked add into the dish and then cover with the remaining pastry and seal around the edges.

8) Brush the top with a beaten egg.

9) Cook for 10-15 minutes.

10) The best part- ENJOY.

19.04.2012 - Tuna Macaroni Bake

Tuna 2-4 cans (depending on preferred taste)
Spring onions/leeks chopped
250g macaroni
3 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of garlic
750ml milk
90g grated cheese
80g fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons of plain flour

1) pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
2) Cook macaroni for 12-15 minutes depending on what the packet states.
3)Whilst pasta cooks, melt butter in a saucepan, then add the leeks or onion and saute for 2-3 minutes or until they have softened.
4) Add the flour to the butter and leeks/onions and mix until smooth.
5) Gradually add the milk and mix until smooth and thick. Bring to the boil. Then remove from the heat.
6) Once pasta is cooked transfer to an oven dish and then add the cookedmixture of milk, butter etc and all of the tuna and 60g of the cheese and mix altogether well.
7)Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and add the remaining cheese or more if you prefer.
8) Cook for 25 minutes or until the top is golden.

9) Enjoy it! Serve with new potatoes and salad.

20.04.2012 -Chocolate Slices

300g crushed digestive biscuits.
250g butter
3 tablespoons of golden syrup
50g coco powder
400g of chocolate

1) Melt over a saucepan the butter, and add the golden syrup and coco powder. Leave to simmer to they are all mixed in well together.
2) Add to the biscuits making sure there are no lumps, mix until everything is covered in chocolate
3) Pour into a a greased tin and leave to cool for 20 minutes.
4) Whilst that cools melt the chocolate over the saucepan.
5) Once fully melted pour all over the biscuit base and chill for a further 20 minutes.
6) Cut into about 20 rectangular slices.
7) ENJOY!

20.04.2012 - Nutella Cookies.

Nutella
175g unsalted butter
175g sugar
1 large egg
125g self raising flour
175g plain flour

1) Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
2) Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and beat in the egg.
3) Mix in together the plain flour and the self raising flour well into a dough.
4) Leave to rest for 1 hour.

5) Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees,
6) Use a tablespoon to get the dough out of the bowl and using your palm roll into a ball and then flatten.
7) Place these onto the tray leaving space as they expand when cooked.
8) With your thumb make a hole in the centre of the dough and fill with nutella.
9) Bake for 10-12 minutes.
10) Cool and Enjoy!

20.04.2012 - Jam roly poly.

Jam, as much as you require.
225g of self raising flour
100g butter
125ml water

1)Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
2) Sift the flour and butter together well.
3) Make a 'well' in the centre of the mixture and pour in the water and use a non serrated knife to mix together until it clumps together.
4) Roll the dough (sticky texture) into a ball and roll out a rectangle between two greaseproof papers. (1 underneath and 1 over). Roll out a rectangle about 20 x 26cm in size.
5) Remove the top greaseproof paper and spread the jam across leaving a gap all the way around (approx 2cm).
6) Roll up your dough using the paper as guidance; starting with the shorter side.
7) Keep your roly poly on the paper and roll that around it, twisting the ends closed.
8) Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
9) Leave to cool and cut. Do not cut until it has cooled completely.
10) Enjoy!