All posts tagged: dessert

Pear and Marzipan Tartlets with Lemon Marmalade

Published by

Spring seems to come and go, this past week. But there are sure signs of its increasing presence, with the hedgerows turning light green and the daffodils standing tall in full bloom. Spring will triumph once again! And if you feel like you are just sitting around waiting for spring to really get going, then I’ve got just the recipe if you’ve got a bit of time on your hands.   These little pear and marzipan tarts are a perfect afternoon treat, for friends and family to enjoy on a grey day. ______________________________________________ Makes 8 tarts For the pastry 225g plain flour 100g butter 80g sugar 1 large free range egg ½ lemon, zested Frangipane filling 170g sugar 170g ground almonds 50g marzipan 1 tbsp flour 1 large free range egg 1 tsp almond extract ½ lemon, zested Plus 3-4 pears, sliced 2 tbsp almond flakes 5 tbsp lemon marmalade, heated ____________________________________________ Add the cold butter and flour to a food processor and blitz to bread crumbs. Add the sugar and egg, and blitz until just …

Homemade Elderflower Ice Lollies

Published by

The sun is still shining! Oh we are so lucky to have a whole summer of pleasant weather here in Scotland. The first flush of this seasons flowers and produce is finished, including the beautiful elderflowers and sweet strawberries. But other crops are ripening at the moment in my garden including wild raspberries and peas. And there are still many ways to prolong the taste of summer, for example by using my elderflower cordial recipe, which you can find here, and freeze the sweet summer drink into homemade ice lollies. It is the easiest thing I have ever made, but I know it will impress your guests and its fun for kids to make too. _________________________________________________________________________ Ingredients 500 ml elderflower cordial, recipe here 1/2 a lime squeezed _________________________________________________________________________ Simply make the cordial a little stronger than you would take it, if you were drinking it. Squeeze the lime juice in, and pour the liquid into a pre bought lolly tray, or into 6 small washed yoghurt tubs. Insert the plastic popsicle sticks, or wooden ones if …

Apple Cinnamon Cake

Published by

Sundays call for cake I say! And what better to have as a weekend treat, than a slice of a tangy apple and sweet cinnamon cake.  Its best to use tangy, not to sweet apples, but as Ive added a whole lemon to the recipe, it has a great balance of flavours regardless. This cake keeps well, if you don’t manage to finish it in one day! And it also freezes really well, if that’s what your after. ____________________________________________________________________________________ 450g or roughly 3-4 tart apples , such as breaburn 1lemon, juiced 225g butter , softened 280g golden caster sugar 4 eggs 350g self-raising flour 2 tsp baking powder 4 tbsp sugar and cinnamon combined, to sprinkle extra knobs of butter for the top. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, and grease and line a baking tin of your choice roughly measuring between 21-25 cm. Core, and chop the apples, and squeeze the lemon juice over, and set aside. Next, beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. …

Iced Café Frappé

Published by

We have been busy packing up boxes this week, ready for our move out of our old house into a new one. I have managed to do most of the kitchen, but have left out some vital tools, like my blender, that I know I cant substitute with a fork! And as the sun was shining from a beautiful blue spring sky, I felt the need for a cool refreshing beverage, all be it a caffeinated one. So I whipped up a delicious Café Frappé and was instantly given the promise that summer must arrive soon! ‘ I use frozen coffee cubes instead of regular plain ice, as I hate when you get half way through your drink, and it gets all diluted with stale water! Instead of getting weaker, my recipe gets stronger! Cheers! ____________________________________________________________________________________ Makes two drinks For the ice cubes: make roughly 300ml fair-trade coffee of your choice, and pour into ice trays, or one ice cube bag. (there is enough coffee cubes for 4 frappés, just freeze the rest for later, …

Be My Valentine Macaroon

Published by

Be my Valentine Macaroon ‘ As a little valentines gift, I decided to make my Valentine a batch of Macaroons. They are sweet, romantic, pretty and a whole lot of hassle! I don’t want you to be under any illusions that these are quick to whip up! Oh no, they took me 6 hours and my kitchen was turned into total chaos by these dainty cakes. Half way through I was frantically texting my baker friend for help (got phone covered in sticky goo in process) due to the difference in texture between the two colour batches..and I thought all was lost…But, just like magic, they came out of the oven looking gorgeous and tasting fantastic. Phewww! What dishes do you find stressful to make? ‘ ‘I adapted Edd Kimber’s recipe, winner of BBC’s Great British Bake Off, by changing the filling from chocolate to custard. ‘ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Makes roughly 30 macaroons 170g icing sugar 160g ground almonds 120ml egg whites from about 4 medium eggs, separated into 2 equal batches 160g granulated sugar a …

Blueberry and Orange Polenta Cake

Published by

Blueberry and Orange Polenta Cake A couple of years ago I tasted the most heavenly polenta cake with a rosemary sirup in the cafe of The Scottish National Galley of Art. The soft texture and sticky sirup was a cake triumph! And even after thinking about this cake more than one should think about cake, it’s taken me this long to give polenta a go myself. If you need a gluten free friendly cake, this is a good start. Adapted from Sainsburys Baking Collection. ____________________________________________________________________________________ 100g unsalted butter 100g caster sugar 2 large eggs 100g almonds 50g cashews 90g fine polenta zest and juice of half a orange 1 ½ tsp baking powder 100ml of crème fresh 100g blueberries ____________________________________________________________________________________ Preheat your oven to 180 °c /fan 160 °c / gas mark 4. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. In a food processor, whiz the almonds and cashews to a fine dust, set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together, until soft and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating after …