Bake Bake Bake

...why yes, I did watch the Great British Bake Off last night. How did you know?

This morning I made 4 shortcrust pastry tartlets using this recipe. Tonight I will make a caramelised red onion and goats cheese filling.

I've also baked a big white loaf. This was made using one of mum's cooking books. I've attempted the loaf quite a few times this summer and feel like I'm getting closer. I will detail more about the loaf when I feel I have mastered it.

xxx

Roast Chicken Stuffed with Mozzarella, Pesto and Cherry Tomatoes

Mum has been a busy bee at work lately, so I thought I'd make her something tasty for dinner!

This is so so simply to make,
Simply pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees
Slice each chicken breast (same as number of guests) like a sandwich
Spread with pesto, then layer with mozzarella and cherry tomatoes
Bake until the chicken cooked through (white)
Take out of the oven, glaze the top with butter and cook for a further 5 minutes.

I've served this on a bed of salad, but would be lovely with homemade wedges for hungry hungry hippos.

xxx

Personalised T-Shirts

I'm still knitting the scarf... but these things take time!
So in the meantime, I had some fun with my boyfriend making personalised T-Shirts using transfer paper.

It's really fun and simple. I went for a mix of vintage-inspired pictures in the shape of a heart.

And for James we jazzed up a classic picture of one of his favourite Mathematicians using fabric pens over the transferred picture (yeah, nerd).

Fun, fun, fun! Now.. back to knitting.

xxx

Learning to Knit

Well, with a Mother like mine, it was inevitable that I would learn to knit. What I didn't realise is how addictive it is!
I've been trying lots of different small patterns to practice and to get a feel for the all important tension. Here are my first baby steps into the knitting world...

Even though these are quite tight, I think making friendship bracelets as a child has helped me get a grasp of the tension needed.
I'm really pleased with them, especially my first cable knit!

Now I've moved onto my first project. The scarf!
Nice and simple, but still extremely exciting. It's knitting up quickly, so hopefully it won't be too long until I can post it on here.

Also, Charles, I'm one step closer to that Cable Knit Onsie...

xxx

Pesto & Cheddar Savoury Muffins

These Pesto and Cheddar Savory Muffins made a delicious alternative dinner. I actually made 6 of these for three people, but I think it would be nice next time to try and make them twice as big so each person can have one big old muffin to themselves. 

(The following recipe has been adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

50g Butter
175g Plain Flour
2 Tspn Baking Powder
1/2 Tspn Paprika

2 Eggs
125ml Milk

80g Cheddar Cheese
20g Pine Nuts
6 Tspns Pesto

Recipe:
1) Preheat the over at 180 degrees and prepare your baking tray with muffin cases (I use silicon cases) 

2) Gently melt the butter over a low heat. Once done, do not clean the pan. Pour the butter into a small bowl and beat with the milk.
3) Lightly toast the pine nuts in the pan you used for the butter.
4) In a large mixing bowl sift the flour, baking powder and paprika together.
5) Add the egg mix to the flour mix and fold in. The end result will be slightly lumpy.
7) Spoon this mixture into a muffin case until half full, then add a tspn of pesto on top and fill up the case with more mixture.
8) Sprinkle the lightly toasted pine nuts on top.
9) Bake for 25 minutes. 

Served with roasted vegetables, crisps, some of Mum's lovely handmade bread and a nice glass of chilled white wine.

They were delicious and satisfyingly filling. I will definitely be up for making them again! I'd also really like to try making a savory muffin that doesn't rely so much on cheese. I just found this recipe for a vegetable muffin and think I will be giving it a go soon. 

xxx

Summer Fete Bakeathon

From the loving request of my Nan, I have been busy baking away for the Hayling Island Summer Fete. I managed to rustle up four delicious batches of cupcakes. For these I used a mixture of online recipes + a few variations that I will describe below.

Chocolate Cupcakes

An essential dessert for any fete!

(6 cakes) The sponge recipe was taken from this link.
For the frosting I whisked together 100g butter, around 1 tbspn of coco powder and 100g of icing sugar. But this link as a pretty awesome chocolate frosting recipe.
The garnish was made from sifted icing sugar and a malteser.

Banana Muffins 

They came out beautifully, I would strongly recommend making these!

(8 cakes) The sponge was made using this recipe, and I am definitely keeping that somewhere safe!
The frosting was a simple butter cream. If you haven't made it before, this is a pretty good guide (though I would use Vanilla Extract instead of food colouring).
To garnish, I used British style cake toppings and more maltesers.

Strawberry & Cream Cupcakes

Very British, perfect for a Summer Fete.

(8 cakes) For these delicious summer treats, I used this recipe. Whilst the sponge was lovely, the icing was terribly runny. I would suggest using a fraction of the suggested strawberry puree (more like 50g).

For the garnish I simply used some delicious British strawberries. 

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

Because I freakin love Lemon Curd!

(12 cakes) To make the sponge I used this recipe, although they tasted great, I was disappointed at the density of the sponge and highly recommend looking for an alternative recipe.
I also used a Delia Smith Lemon Curd recipe instead of the one specified in this recipe. It was from her book Winter Collection. Great book.
The frosting was a simple icing (icing sugar + water) which I mixed with the Lemon Curd.

Apparently they were all bought. I'm relieved.

xxx

Wedding Dresses

Kindly, and thankfully, Cheryl was a nice Bride who wanted her Bridemaids to look lovely for her big day. So instead of yellow puffy dresses, we got these very fun and very clever twist dresses.

They are brilliant because they allow each Bridesmaid to wear the dress in a way that suits them. As you can see from the photos below, this came in very handy for us mixed bunch of Bridesmaids. 

They also hung really nicely and were easy to cut to size because they were made of Jersey - and trust me, I needed mine to be cut a lot shorter!

However, it wasn't really about our dresses at all. It was all about this beautiful lady. I think her dress is elegant and classic (which mirrored the whole essence of her Wedding).

Congratulations Cheryl, you look dazzling.

xxx 

The Wedding Gift

I've just had a wonderful weekend at my friend's Wedding! She is the first of my friends to get married, and I still can't believe she asked me to be a bridesmaid.

Thank you so much for such a beautiful weekend Cheryl, I wish you all the happiness in the world.

Now, I won't tell you what I got as a present (because the happy couple haven't had a chance to find out yet!) but I will show you what it looked like.

It's simply wrapped in parcel paper, paper doilies and ribbon. I think it looks perfect for a wedding and hope you will agree.

Hopefully I will scavenge some beautiful pictures of the wedding soon, so much of it was wonderfully handmade!
xxx

Redecorating My Room

Having just finish University, my mum has kindly let me live with her again. Although I was worried this would crush the independence I had grown whilst living away from home, I've been pleasantly surprise by how happy I am back here.

I think a large reason why I don't feel 'like a child again' is because I haven't move back into the room I grew up in. It's been redecorated.

It took a lot of hard work and patience, but I think my room looks gorgeous.

One of my personal favourite things in the Chest Of Drawers I redecorated. They were once a cheap student storage solution from Ikea....

(Click here for a link to the Ikea product) 

...but after some sanding, priming, painting and new handles, it looks like this!

The beautiful handles were purchased from the Ebay seller Mango Tree

I think the drawers look stunning and fit perfectly in my lovely vintage/Laura Ashleys style room. And even though it has been lots of hard work, it has been well worth it. I feel so at home here, which is exactly what someone stressing because life-as-they-know-it-is-over needs.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to my Mum for making this redecorating possible and for being lovely to live with. Also, thank you James for my lovely shelves!

xxx 

Black Forest Gateau Cupcakes

Cupcakes are all the craze at the moment, so as a present to my family I decided to take the classic Black Forest Gateau as a cupcake.

To make them, I followed this recipe.

Also, although the recipe says it makes just 6.... I managed to make 16??? (Can't complain really!)

This recipe was loved by everyone, so I think it's going to become a regular. 

xxx

Arancini Di Riso (Yum)

I won't pretend that these didn't take a long time...(mostly because I took no shortcuts)... however, they were worth it!

There are several stages to making these.
Firstly you make a stock (I've previously blogged about how I did this)
Then you need to make the risotto (Mine was similar to this recipe, plus chicken!)
Finally you need to make the breadcrumbs, which I did using homemade bread.

(Serves 6)
Ingredients:
400g Risotto
6 chunks of Mozzarella
6 tspns Tomato Chutney
Flour
2 eggs
Breadcrumbs
Salt & Pepper

Recipe:
1) Preheat the oven at 180 degrees and sprinkle flour on a baking tray
2) Roll up the mozzarella & tomato chutney in 6 balls of risotto
3) Cover each ball with flour
4) Beat the eggs and then cover each ball in the egg
5) Add salt & pepper to the breadcrumbs, then cover the balls in this mixture.
6) Place the balls on the floury tray and cook for 25 minutes, until golden.

xxx

Humble Chicken & Mushroom Pie

This is a really simple pie, but really tasty!

Serves 4 Hungry Hippos or 6 Average Joes

Ingredients:

1 Ready Roll Puff Pastry

250g of Cooked Chicken 

2 Rashes of Bacon (optional)

1 Onions Diced

2 Leeks Sliced

400 ml Chicken Stock

3 Tbspns Creme Fraiche

1 Tbspn Granulated Sugar

1 Tspn Chilli Pepper

1 Tspn Mixed Herbs

Salt & Pepper to season

Butter for cooking

Milk to glaze

Recipe:
1) Preheat the oven at 180 degrees

2) Fry the onions & leek in the butter and sugar on a medium heat until golden (add in Bacon when the onions have softened).

3) Add in the chicken, chilli pepper, mixed herbs and season.

4) Pour in the stock and bring to the boil.

5) Take off the heat and stir in the creme fraiche.

6) Pour the cooked ingredients into a casserole dish. 

7) Layer the pastry over the cooked ingredients, roll up the edges and trim off excess. You can use the excess pastry to make leafs etc for a topping. Cut slices in the pastry to allow pie to fully cook.

8) Glaze pastry with milk so pastry browns.

9) Cook in oven for 45min - 1 hour, until pastry in golden. 

To serve I made a cheese and herb mash and roasted some carrots.

Enjoy xxx

Why You Should Buy The Chicken Whole

Well, it's been a little while since I've blogged. I ended up needing to spend all my time studying for finals... but I've still been making, baking and sewing!

This post is about why I buy full chickens instead of just chicken breast, and the simply answer is stock!

Firstly... it looks like this.... 

Ingredients:
1 Chicken
3 Tbsp of Honey

Salt & Pepper

Recipe:

1) Preheat oven at 180 degrees.
2) Season chicken and wrap in tin foil.

3) Place chicken upsidedown and cook in oven for 45 minutes
4) Turn chicken over, open the foil so the bird is exposed and pour honey ontop. 

5) Cook in oven until cooked through and golden on top (around 45minutes - 1 hour)

With the cooked chicken I made:

Chicken, Mayo and Sweetcorn Bloomers on Homemade Bread

Homemade Chicken & Vegetable Pizzas with Garlic Bread

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Secondly, with a full chicken you get to make stock

Ingredients:

Chicken Bones & Left Over Chicken

Roughly Chopped Root Vegetables (Onions, Carrots, Potatoes) 

Mixed Herbs

Salt & Pepper

Water

Recipe:

1) Simply put all the chicken bones, left overs and vegetables into a large pan and cover it all with water.

2) Season with herbs, salt and pepper.

3) Bring to boil and then leave to simmer for 2 hours
(The longer you leave it simmering, the more concentrated the stock. However, always make sure the bones are covered in water)

4) Sieve out bones, meat and vegetables and leave the liquid to cool.

With the stock I was able to make:

Chicken and Mushroom Pie

Chicken Risotto, which afterwards I made into Chicken Arancini De Riso 

And I can promise you, every meal was delicious!

In time I hope to blog about the recipes for each of these, but for the time being I hope you are convinced to buy your chickens whole

xxx

What A Tart

Just spent a healthy 3 hours in the kitchen with my housemate (and another one who pleasantly sat and patiently waited for his tarts).

Raspberry Bakewells & Walnut Tarts

These tarts use exactly the same pastry & filling, but the raspberry ones have more toppings :D

Ingredients (to make 12)
 Pastry
   200g unsalted butter
   450g plain flour
   pinch of salt
(okay, we had some left over & made Jam Tarts!)
 Filling
   110g unsalted butter
   110g golden syrup
   1 tsp vanilla extract
   225g brown sugar
   3 eggs (beaten)

Walnut Tart Topping
   1 walnut halve for each tart
   50g icing sugar

Raspberry Bakewell Topping
   50g Raspberry Jame
   50g icing sugar
   1 raspberry for each tart

To make the pastry
1) Preheat the oven at 200 degrees
2) Sift the flour, add the butter diced and make into breadcrumbs.
3) Stir in salt, add 2-3 tsp of cold water
4) Knead mix into hard dough
5) Cling film and leave in fridge for 20 minutes
6) Meanwhile, butter and greaseproof paper a cupcake tray.
7) Roll out dough, cut into large circles (we used a mug) & then press into cupcake tray.
8) Blind bake the pastry in the oven for 20 minutes (Put more greaseproof paper on top of the pastry & pour dried beans into the middle of the pastries to hold to shape)
...whilst that bad boy's baking...

To make the filling
1) Put the butter, golden syrup, vanilla extract and sugar into a saucepan over a low heat until all the butter has melted.
2) Take off the heat. Add the eggs and mix well.
3) Once the pastry cases are done, remove the beans & greaseproof paper from their tops. Pour the filling into the pastry cases and bake for another 30 minutes. (Reduce the oven heat to 180 degrees)
4) Once cooked, leave on the side to cool.

For the Walnut Tarts
1) Make a fairly thick icing (icing sugar + water). Then, using a knife, dribble the icing over the tarts.
2) Place 1 walnut half on top.

For the Raspberry Bakewells
1) Spread a spoonful of raspberry jam over the top of each tart.
2) Make a fairly thick icing (icing sugar + water). Then, using a knife, dribble the icing over the tarts.
3) Place 1 raspberry on top.

So good!!

xxx

 

The Pretty Way to Organise the Stairs

I saw someone do this on the internet, and thought it was a brilliant solution to stair mess.

To make these all you need is some baskets, card, ribbon & a pen.

Make pretty name tags with the card (I made a template with the notepad).

Then attach to the basket with the ribbon.

Guaranteed to tickle your cat's curiosity. 

xxx

Pancakes with Blueberries, Bacon & Golden Syrup

Who likes brunch? :)

Ingredients (makes 8 pancakes):
 For the Pancakes:
  200g Plain Flour
  50g Self Raising Flour
  Pinch of Salt
  2 Eggs
  1 Pint of Milk
  Butter for the pan
For the Topping:
  Lots of Bacon
  2 Handfuls of Blueberries
  A Generous Spoonful of Golden Syrup

Recipe:
1) Sift all the flour & salt into a bowl. Mix together.
2) Make a hole in the middle of the flour mix & pour in cracked eggs. Whisk together.
3) Slowly add in the milk as you continue to whisk. Once done,your batter is ready (though, if possible, leave overnight).
4) Fry the bacon.
5) Melt a lump of butter over the surface of the pan.
6) Pour in pancake batter. Allow to cook and then FLIP (my favourite part)!!! Allow to cook on both sides.
7) Plate up your pancake, bacon & blueberries. Then add a tasty spoonful of golden syrup.
8) Look at how happy your boyfriend now is...

xxx

Homemade Millionaire Shortbread

It's now the end of term, so it's time to eat up all my random food before I head home for Easter. This is what happens when I find a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk in my cupboard....

Homemade Millionaire Shortbread!!!

Ingredients:

 For The Base:

   12 Digestive Biscuits
   100g Butter

 For The Filling:

   120g Butter
   75g Brown Sugar

   2 Tablespoons Honey

   390g Sweetened Condensed Milk (1 can)

 For The Topping

   225g Milk Chocolate (I'd suggested buying a nice bar of chocolate)

Recipes:
1) Preheat the oven at 180 degrees, grease & line a cake tin with grease proof paper.
2) For the base, melt the butter and crush all the biscuits. Slowly add the melted butter to the biscuits as you mix them together.
3) Cook in the oven for about 12 minutes and then leave to cool.
4) For the filling, pour all the ingredients into a sauce pan. Mix together on a low heat until all the ingredients has joined together and become fairly thick. Pour over base mixture and leave to cool.
5) Melt the chocolate, pour over the filling mixture. Leave to cool for around 2 hours in the fridge.
6) Lift the Millionaire Shortbread out of the tin, peel off paper.
7) Cut using a hot knife.

xxx

Berry Muffins - The Birthday Brunch

So, it's been a long and work heavy month. However, my dissertation is nearly complete and I have the perfect excuse to do some baking...

It's my friend's birthday tomorrow. Although he doesn't know it yet, I've made him some Birthday Brunch Berry Muffins... and I'll tell you now, they are delicious (of course I've already tried one!). So, here are the delicious goods from my evenings bake....

Ingredients:
50g Fresh Blueberries
100g Mix Dried Berries (Strawberries, Cranberries, Raisins etc.)
100g Unsalted Butter
300g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 Large Eggs, Beaten
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
150ml Milk
25g Porridge Oats

Recipe:
1) Preheat the oven at 160 degrees. Place muffin paper cases in a muffin baking tray.
2) Cream the butter & sugar together until fluffy.
3) Slowly whisk in the eggs (one at a time).
4) Add in the milk & vanilla extract and whisk away!
5) Sift in the flour and baking powder. Fold into the mixture.
6) Add in the blueberries, dried fruit & oats. Mix well. (It should be quite a firm dough)
7) Separate dough into the muffin cases.
8) Cook for 30 minutes, until golden
9) Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then gobble them all!

I he likes the BIRTHDAY MUFFINS (and I hope you do too) !!!

xxx

Next Day Tea & Cake Party

For the Ski Trip reunion party I hosted a Tea and Cake Party (Only after a night of excessive drinking, awkward but awesome shapes on the dance floor, and an impressive inability for one particular guest to avoid pressing the 'attack' button on our burglar alarm).

Here is the delicious cakey spread served to my hung over guests:

(Click on name for recipe)
Oats & Raisin Cookies
Carrot & Walnut Cake
Banoffee Muffins
Banana Bread (with added chocolate chips)
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cheese Scones (baked by Chloe)
Poppy Seed & Orange Cake (baked by James)
Sainsbury's Chocolate Brownie Bites
A Giant Jaffe Cake Cake (See Recipe below)

Giant Jaffe Cake Cake

Ingredients:
Sponge Mix:
175g Self-Raising Flour
175g Caster Sugar
175g Unsalted Butter
4 Eggs
Jelly Filling:
1 pack of Orange Jelly
4 tbspoons Marmalade (without any bits)
Buttercream:
100g Icing Sugar
50g Unsalted Butter
Chocolate Topping:
3 x 100g Dark Chocolate (70% cocoa +)
1 pack of Jaffe Cakes

Recipe:
1) Line one of the cake tins with cling film. Pour jelly (made via packet instructions) & marmalade into tin. Freeze until set.
2) Preheat the oven at 180 degrees. Grease two cake tins.
3) Cream the sponge mix's butter & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add the eggs & mix well. Fold in the flour. Separate the mix equally into the two cake tins and bake for 25 minutes (until golden brown).
4) Leave sponge on a cooling rack until cool.
5) Make the buttercream by creaming the butter and icing sugar together. Then spread liberally over one of the sponges.
6) Place the jelly ontop of the buttercreamed sponge. Place second sponge on top.
7) Melt the dark chocolate & pour all over the cake.
8) Whilst chocolate is still setting, stick Jaffe Cakes around the outside of the cake.
9) Leave to cool before serving.

All in all, the party was amazing. Thank you everyone who came for a lovely weekend!

xxx

Chili Pesto, Olives, Feta & Sun Flour Seed Bread

The weather is cold, you've got some time to spare & you're in the mood for something tasty...

Why not try making this yummy loaf:

Ingredients:
For the Bread:
500g White Bread Flour
7g Yeast
1 1/2 tsp Salt (be carefully not to use heaped teaspoons!)
1 tsp Sugar
350ml Luke Warm Water

For the Topping:
Chili Pesto
8 Chopped Up Olives
25g Crumbled Feta
Handful of Sun Flour Seeds

Recipe:
1. Put all of your bread ingredients into a bread maker & set to knead the dough... or alternatively do it by hand (I know my preference)
2. Preheat the oven to 230 Degrees
3. Put the dough into a greased bread tin, place a tea towel on top & leave to prove for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the tea towel & place bread into the oven. Leave to bake for 25 minutes.
5. Remove the bread from the oven, leave to cool slightly.
6. Spread the chili pesto liberally over the bread. Add the olives, feta and sun flour seeds on top.
7. Bake the bread for a further 20 minutes, or until golden brown & baked throughout.
8. Leave to cool, but best served still warm.

My advice: eat with ridiculous amounts of hummus.

xxx

The Modern Mixtape

Recently it was my boyfriend's birthday - his 21st.
For this, his parents decided to get him an iPod (the awesome 160GB one).

To compliment this I decided to make him an ultimate music collection, 250 different artists, approx. 3500 songs. I thought an external hard drive would be a pretty good storage unit. It has 500GB of memory and is a pretty useful thing to have in general (as a backup of all your photos, music, work etc.)

Here's how the finish product looked:

Happy birthday!

xxx