White Chocolate Cheesecake

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!!
Wishing you all a very happy healthy and prosperous 2014. There is something about this year that feels special. I am excited to see what this new year is going to bring. I suspect alot of change, which can only be a good a thing.

I made this yummy cheesecake over the Festive season. It is made with half fat Creme Fraiche and Ricotta.

This serves approx 10 people

Crust
165g (5 1/2oz) digetive biscuits crushed
66g (2 1/2oz) butter, melted

Filing
6 leaves gelatine
500g (1Ib 2oz) half fat creme fraiche
100g (4oz) caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
100g (4oz) white chocolate, chopped
250g (9oz) ricotta cheese
chocolate curls or other sweets / edible glitter

1 x 18cm springform cake tin

- Mix together the biscuits and butter, then press into the base of the tin. Pop into the freezer while you
prepare the filing.
- Soak the gelatine in cold water until really soft approx 5 mins. Heat the cream fraiche and sugar really gently in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Keep stirring. Add the softened gelatine (squeeze out excess water) and vanilla and stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Leave to cool.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Whizz up the ricotta in a food processor until smooth, then add the melted chocolate and the cream mixture.
- Pour over the crumb base and place in the fridge to set, preferably overnight.
- Carefully remove it from the tin, a hot cloth around the edge will help to loosen it. Place on stand and decorate as desired.

This will keep in the fridge for 24hrs. If it lasts that long ;)

Clementine Cake

I was browsing twitter and was inspired to make this recipe. Its just so easy and really yummy too. Gluten and fat free.... It could be served as a pudding with some creme fraiche or as a cake.

Clementine Cake

• 375 grams clementines (approx. 3 medium-sized ones)
• 6 large eggs
• 225 grams white sugar
• 250 grams ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Method

1. Put the clementines in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the pips. Dump the clementines - skins, pith, fruit and all - and give a quick blitz in a food processor (or by hand, of course). Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190ºC/375ºF. Butter and line a 21cm / 8 inch Springform tin.
2. You can then add all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix. Or, you can beat the eggs by hand adding the sugar, almonds and baking powder, mixing well, then finally adding the pulped oranges.
3. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour, when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover with foil or greaseproof after about 40 minutes to stop the top burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack, but in the tin. When the cake's cold, you can take it out of the tin. I think this is better a day after it's made, but I don't complain about eating it at any time.
4. I've also made this with an equal weight of oranges, and with lemons, in which case I increase the sugar to 250g / 2¼ cups and slightly anglicise it, too, by adding a glaze made of icing sugar mixed to a paste with lemon juice and a little water.
5. Additional information - for gluten free make sure that the baking powder is gluten free.

Princess fairy wands

Our daughter's birthday is on Sunday.  I made these to send with her to school.  Quick easy no Mess NO fuss :). You will need skewers/ lolly sticks, sprinkles and coloured paste if you like.

Cookies
180g flour
50g caster sugar
120g butter
Zest 1 orange / lemon

Icing
120g icing sugar
1 egg white

Turn oven to pre heat @ 180oC (fan 160oC, gas 4).

Put flour,  sugar,  butter and zest into bowl and mix with hand mixer or processor till almost  coming together. 

Line baking tray with parchment paper. Put another piece of parchment on your counter top. Put the mixture on the baking paper on counter top and roll till about 1cm thick.  ( this keeps your work surface clean).

Cut out shapes using cutter(s) and place on baking tray. Push skewers / lolly sticks into the cookies enough do they wont fall out.

Bake for 10 - 12 mins until golden to make sure they are cooked. Allow to cool before removing.

Whisk egg white then beat in icing sugar until you have a thick paste.  Using a teaspoon drizzle or drop icing over cookies then add sprinkles and leave to dry.

Best ever Coffee Cake

I was asked to bake a coffee cake for a friend's son's birthday.  This recipe is quick and simple and the cake is moist and delicious.  I got the recipe from one of my favourite cookbooks by Mary Berry. 

The icing is only enough to sandwich the cakes together.  You could make more and cover the whole cake.  If you wanted to you could even top the cake with chocolate ganache and add toasted almonds to the sides or decorate with chocolate covered coffee beans ( which can be found in Earls or Tk Maxx of all places). I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did.

225g (8oz) very soft butter, plus more for the tins

225g (8oz) light muscovado sugar or caster sugar

225g (8oz) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 large eggs

4 level tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

For the coffee icing

175g (6oz) soft butter

350g (12oz) icing sugar

4 level tsp instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/315F fan/Gas 4. Butter and line the base of two deep 20cm (8in) sandwich cake tins.

Measure all the cake ingredients, except the coffee, into a large mixing bowl and beat together until smooth. Stir in the dissolved coffee until thoroughly blended. Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins and level the tops.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25–30 minutes until golden brown, shrinking away from the sides of the tin and the sponge springs back when lightly pressed.

To make the icing, mix the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl and beat together until smooth. Beat in the dissolved coffee and divide into four. When they are cold, slice each cake horizontally in half, giving four layers of cake. Sit one base on a cake stand and spread with a quarter of the mixture. Continue layering up with cake and icing so you finish with icing on top and swirl to give an attractive finish.

The cake can be made and iced up to two days ahead, kept covered in the fridge. Iced or un-iced, it freezes well.

AGA COOKING

Two-oven Aga: bake on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven, with the cold sheet on the second set of runners, for about 25 minutes, until golden brown. Three and four-oven Aga: bake on the grid shelf on the floor of the baking oven for about 25 minutes. If getting too brown, slide the cold sheet on to the second set of runners.

Gluten Free - Plum and Cinnamon Cake

Had a ladies bible study lunch to attend and had loads of plums in my fruit basket. Lovely cake easy to make, takes a little longer to bake then most but you could be doing something else while it is in the oven. 

Preheat the oven to 160oC / 140oC Fan / 325oF / Gas 3

Put butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk till light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition. Sift in flour and cinnamon, add the ground almonds and whisk again. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface. 

Arrange the plums, cut side up over the top of the cake and scatter over the blueberries and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2hrs or until cake is firm to the touch and knife I settled into the middle comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar and serve with whipped cream. 

This cake with keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container. 

Chocolate Malteser Cake

I made this cake for my brothers birthday. I got the recipe from Lorraine Pascale's latest book. I love this recipe as it is really yummy but also because it is so easy to make. You put all the ingredients in a food processor or mixer at once and voila the cake is ready to bake. How easy is that... (I didn't have 20cm tins so I used 23cm tins instead. Note to self invest in 20cm tins.)

Make sure the butter is really soft otherwise you will en up with lumps of butter in your cake batter. 

Happy Baking ;) x x x  

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus 25 minutes to cool and 20 minutes to decorate.

Time baking in the oven: 25-30 minutes

SERVES 8-10

SPONGE

• 150g • 5oz really soft butter,
• plus a little extra for greasing
• 250g • 9oz caster sugar
• 150g • 5oz self-raising flour
• 125ml • 4½ fl oz sour cream
• 4 medium eggs (at room temperature)
• 50g • 2oz cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• ½ vanilla pod (or few drops of vanilla extract to taste)

BUTTERCREAM

• 100g • 3½ oz dark chocolate (minimum 70 per cent cocoa solids)
• 550g • 1¼ lb icing sugar
• 250g • 9oz really soft butter
• 2 tbsp milk (or water)

TO DECORATE

• 4 x 135g packets of brown or
• white Maltesers (optional)

♥ Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C), 350F, gas mark 4, with the middle shelf at the ready. Grease 2 x 20cm • 8 in loose-bottomed sandwich cake tins with a little butter, line the bottoms with discs of baking parchment and sit them on a large baking sheet.

♥ Put the butter, sugar, flour, sour cream, eggs, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl or in a freestanding electric mixer or a food processor. Split the vanilla pod open, scrape out the seeds and add them also (or the vanilla extract). Then mix or blend to give a smooth, soft mixture.

♥ Divide evenly between the cake tins, smooth the tops and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

♥ To check the cakes are baked, insert a skewer into the middle of each cake and if it comes out clean, then they are ready to come out. Remove them from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before carefully removing and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack (about 25 minutes).

♥ When the cakes are almost cool, start making the buttercream. Break the chocolate into a medium bowl and melt it in the microwave in 30-second blasts, stirring inbetween. Otherwise, sit the bowl of chocolate on a medium pan of simmering water, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl, as this may make the chocolate grainy.

♥ Sift the icing sugar into the electric mixer or processor bowl (or large bowl if doing by hand). If I use a food mixer or processor for this, I don’t worry about sifting it as the blade will do a good job of blending any lumps. Add the butter and milk (or water) and beat until it is really light and fluffy. You will need to do this like mad if blending by hand. Then pour in the melted chocolate, stirring all the time.

♥ Sit one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. I often put a little dollop of buttercream underneath the sponge so that the cake doesn’t move around. Then put about a third of the buttercream on and spread it around. Then sit the other sponge on top and spread the remaining buttercream all over so it is completely covered. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Doing this is a great excuse to get nice and messy.

♥ Once you have covered the cake, and of course yourself, suitably in chocolate, take the Maltesers and stick them all over the cake. I am pedantic about this as I want the balls to be in strict rows, so I start at the base of the cake and then go in a line, up the sides, over the top and down the other side. I am not ashamed to say that rulers have been used in the decorating of this cake for a super-sharp line! Line them up nice and tight with no gaps.

Spaghetti / Pasta with Garlic Prawns

This is a super tasty super speedy meal, especially if you have fresh pasta, takes only 4 mins to cook. If you dont have any fresh pasta it will take a little longer. 

Serves 4

You will need. 

455g pasta / I prefer fresh egg pasta but dried spaghetti/ linguini also works well here 

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 - 2 dried red chillies / 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (can add or subtract according to taste - some like it hot. I sometimes omit the chilli)

400g raw peeled prawns

1 small wineglass of wine

2 heaped tablespoons of sundried tomato paste / purée (if you can get the paste you an blitz 6 sun dried tomatoes into a paste in a blender

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Salad leaves or rocket leves to serve

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to packet instructions. Heat 3tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and toss in garlic and chilli. As the garlic begins to colour add the prawns and sauté for one minute. Add the white wine and sundried tomato paste and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Drain pasta save some of the cooking water and toss the pasta with the sauce., squeeze in the lemon juice. Taste to make sure there is enough salt and pepper. Sprinkle with lemon zest and salad / rocket leaves and serve.