Cheese.... cake?!

"A cake... of cheese?!"

Aah, good old Peter Kay, always cracks me up. Unfortunately for my waistline, I absolutely love cheesecake. I'm actually quite good at making them, though to be fair that's the nature of cheesecakes, rather than my technique. My Mam spotted this Mary Berry (her off The Great British Bake Off) recipe in one of her magazines, and like all recipes she wants to try, she gave it to me to whip up. So, like the good daughter I am, I set about making her a cheesecake. Totally selfless act, you understand...

To make Mary Berry's Lemon and Lime Cheesecake, you will need:

For the base:

100g digestive biscuits

50g unsalted butter

1 tablespoon golden caster sugar

For the filling:

250g mascarpone cheese

397g condensed milk (full fat or it won't set)

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice and zest of 2 limes

3 tablespoons lemon curd

8 individual cheesecake pots (I save the GU pudding pots and they are perfect for this) or you can make one big cheesecake in a springform tin.

Method:

1. Put the digestives in a plastic bag and annihilate them with a rolling pin until you've got crumbs. It helps to create a perfect texture if you picture the face of somebody annoying inside the bag.

2. Put the butter and caster sugar in a pan and melt slowly. Be careful with this as the butter will take only a split second to go from perfectly melted to burnt and bitter.

3. Pour the crumbs into the buttery mixture and stir to combine. Share the mixture between the 8 pots and press it in firmly. Put in the fridge or freezer to set whilst you make the filling.

4. Whisk the mascarpone and condensed milk in a bowl until smooth.

5. Add the lemon curd, lemon juice, lime juice and most of the lime zest (you want to reserve a little sprinkling for each cheesecake for a little decorative touch) and whisk again.

6. Get your pots from the fridge/freezer (I prefer the freezer as it sets quicker) and spoon in the cheese mixture, smoothing the top over once you've finished. I literally have enough mixture to fill the pots, so no leftover tasting sessions, sadly.

7. Adorn each cheesecake with a sprinkling of the remaining lime zest, then put in the fridge to set for a minimum of 2 hours. I like to leave it overnight as it is a bit firmer and creamier.

8. Remove a cheesecake from the fridge, grab a spoon, find a quiet, relaxing spot in the house and devour. Yummers! 

Do you like cheesecake? What is your favourite flavour?

xoxo

What I ate Wednesday

Happy humpday folks! I don't know about you, but I'm counting down the days until the weekend. I'm off out to dinner with the girls on Saturday, but most of all I'm looking forward to some lie-ins! Some of you may know, some of you may not, but for the last month or so I've been having work troubles. They seem to be easing again now but I've been working overtime on my beloved Thursday's off, and the end is nowhere in sight. It's not killing me, but I do miss having a day to myself. Thursday was my productive day where I'd catch up on things around the house, pamper myself, and watch trashy TV that I've been Sky+ing all through the week, but instead I've had to go to work. I'd much rather be at home with my overflowing basket of dirty laundry! Anyway, not long until Saturday. The countdown begins...

Here are my eats from yesterday. Don't forget to check out Jenn's blog for a full list of WIAW participants. I love What I Ate Wednesday posts and it's my favourite part of the week {except the weekends, natch ;)}.

BREAKFAST - 7:00am

The weather has been so lousy that when I woke up I was craving something warm, sweet and filling, so I decided to make an apple and blueberry porridge. It was simple to make and really yummy too:

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup apple juice (I love, love, love the Innocent one - I'm not a huge apple juice fan in general but this is especially nice)

1/3 cup milk (I used Rice Dream Vanilla rice milk but you use whatever milk you prefer)

1/2 grated pink lady apple, no peel

1 cup frozen blueberries

Mix the oats, apple juice, milk, grated apple and half of the blueberries together, then microwave to your desired consistency. I like it quite thick, so mine took about 3 1/2 minutes in total due to the frozen fruit and thin milk. When cooked, stir through the rest of the blueberries (I do this for extra texture but you can cook them all with the oats for a smoother, gooier porridge) and serve. See, simple!

LUNCH - 12:30pm

My yummy breakfast filled me up until lunchtime, so I didn't need a morning snack. Lunch was a big bowl of spinach and lentil soup. I roughly followed Laura's recipe but added some extra curry powder for an extra kick. At first I wasn't sure I liked it, so I blended it a bit and found it was much more enjoyable. I know where I went wrong with the recipe (I used different quantities of ingredients and didn't adjust the seasonings to match) so I'll be trying this again once I've finished the batch I've frozen.

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK - 4:00pm

I had a carton of chocolate flavoured Rice Dream rice milk and some 'cookie dough' balls. Two of them were cinnamon and raisin flavour and two were chocolate coconut flavour. These are essentially balls of peanut butter combined with ground almonds, and flavoured with different things. Once I've perfected my recipes, I will share them with you but I'm still experimenting at the moment. They were okay, nothing to rave about.

TEA - 6:45pm

I've eaten this every single night since Sunday and I'm still not bored! I had a big salad with lettuce, cucumber, red pepper and sugarsnaps, topped with a massive dollop of houmous (tonight's one was my current favourite, caramelised onion. Wowwee, it tastes so good!), some beetroot, and some wholewheat mini pasta shells mixed with some pesto, pine nuts and a teeny bit of cheese. So lush! Then later on in the evening I had an attack of the sweet tooth, so I had a glass of Innocent's Strawberry and Banana smoothie. It satisfied my sweet craving and filled me right up. Win-win :)

Don't forget to join in the WIAW fun!

xoxo

Spiced carrot and lentil soup

Despite having some rare sunny days this week, the evenings have been cold and dark and the mornings have a distinct chill in the air. It's had me craving something warm and comforting, so I made up a huge batch of spiced carrot and lentil soup. Quick, simple, hearty and wholesome, and perfect with a crusty wholemeal roll. Yum!

Ingredients

300g carrots, grated

150g dried split red lentils

1 litre vegetable stock

120mls milk

Pinch of chilli flakes

1/2 tsp mild chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp mild curry powder

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

♥ Dry fry the chilli flakes in a large saucepan for about 30 seconds, then add the olive oil.

♥ Add the grated carrots (I don't bother to peel mine before I grate them - I just make sure they are cleaned thoroughly, but it's up to you) and fry for a few minutes until they've softened slightly.

♥ Add the spices and stir through. Continue cooking for a few minutes, then add the vegetable stock.

♥ Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, before adding the milk and lentils. I used Kara Dairy Free Coconut Milk, and it added a lovely sweetness to the soup. Bring the soup back to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the lentils have softened, swollen, and absorbed most of the liquid, like this:

♥ Season with salt and pepper to suit your tastes. The next step is optional but I like to transfer to a food processor and pulse for a few seconds until it's still thick in consistency but smoother in texture.

I've frozen mine in batches, and I've noticed that when reheating I need to add a bit of water or more vegetable stock, as the lentils continue to thicken the soup. This is really delicious and will become a staple through the forthcoming colder months. It's vegetarian, low fat, super tasty and very filling - what more do I need?! Yummers!

What are your foodie staples for the colder months?

xoxo

Chunky vegetable chilli

Since I've decided to stop eating meat, I've had to think a little more about my meals. Before I could just rustle up something in a matter of minutes, and whilst I can still do that now, I need to get out of the mindset of making meat the focus of the dish.

One of my favourite dishes is chilli con carne. Love the stuff. When I'm being naughty I love it with spicy salsa, sour cream, guacamole and tortilla chips, as well as a sprinkling of cheese and a serving of rice. Mmm. To make my vegetarian version, I literally walked around Morrisons and put whatever I thought would work well into my basket. That must've been a brilliant method because for a first attempt, I am thrilled. It was really enjoyable and I didn't miss the minced beef at all. Yum!

INGREDIENTS

2 x 400g tin tomatoes

410g tin mixed beans, drained and rinsed
410g red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

2 medium courgettes, diced

2 onion, diced

A large handful mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 gloves garlic, crushed (I used garlic infused olive oil so omitted this)

1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce (you could also use a fresh chilli instead)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons chilli powder (hot or mild, it's your own preference)

1 tablespoon coriander

METHOD

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan.

2. Add the onions and garlic (if using) and cook over a medium heat until softened.

3. Add the peppers, courgettes and mushrooms and continue frying for 5 minutes.

4. Add the tin of beans nd cook for a further minute, then stir in the sweet chilli sauce, chilli powder and cumin.

5. Add the tin of tomatoes and coriander and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Serve with rice, couscous, baked potato or salad - whatever floats your boat.

I ate mine as it is in a bowl, topped with spicy salsa and sour cream. The combination of the chunky vegetables and mixed beans really filled me up, and the spices added a ton of flavour to tickle my tastebuds. I devoured my bowl and it really hit the spot! This made a really huge batch, so I've got some leftover for tomorrow and still have enough to freeze, which will be ideal for me when the family are eating their meat-based meals. The first bowl was a little juicier than the others so it seemed like a bit of a soup, but it was delicious nevertheless. If you don't like it as juicy, don't add all of the tomatoes, but it was only my first bowl that seemed extra saucy - the rest seemed the thicken as it stood. This is definitely a staple recipe for me now, and it will be a fabulous way to use up vegetables as the dish is so versatile. I was going to add carrots too, until I realised I'd have nothing left to dip into my houmous. Maybe next time...

What is your favourite meat-free recipe? Please share!

xoxo

What I ate Wednesday

I can't get enough of health and fitness blogs at the moment as I find them really inspiring and motivating when it comes to my personal weightloss and healthy eating journey. One of my favourite posts that I read on many of them is 'What I Ate Wednesday'. I'm a nosey little parker so I love delving into the lives of others, plus these type of posts give me great inspiration for meal ideas. I believe WIAW originated here, (please do correct me if I'm wrong) and I think Jenn's blog is great, so do have a browse. So without further ado, here is what I ate today (excuse the picture quality, they're from my iPhone):


BREAKFAST - 6:30am

My new favourite porridge combination, coconut and raspberry. I used to despise porridge, but during another one of my diets I started eating the ready-flavoured varieties. I developed a taste of porridge through that and now I can eat the regular version, though I still need to add flavourings to it. This one is my current favourite.

    * 1/3 cup oats
    * 1/3 cup semi-skimmed milk (or you can use soya milk, skimmed milk - whatever milk you like)
    * 1/3 cup water
    * 2 tablespoons desicated coconut
    * 1 bottle of raspberry Actimel (Activia do a pouring yoghurt now that would be a great substitute, or you could just use a regular pot of yoghurt)
    * 1/3 cup frozen raspberries, defrosted
    * drizzle of honey to taste

Really tasty, really filling and really satisfying. Yum! I should point out here my reasoning for using defrosted frozen berries instead of fresh. As the raspberries defrost, they create a little juice. And that's it, the reason I like to use defrosted berries on my porridge! You can get a similar effect by drizzling some fresh berries with honey and leaving to stew overnight, but that ends up too sticky and sweet for my liking. I also had a small glass of Innocent Smooth Orange Juice, which I'd already had half of when I remembered to take a picture. I prefer my orange juice without bits, and I really love the ethos behind the Innocent brand, not to mention the OJ is quite delicious!



MID-MORNING SNACK - 11:00am

I eat my breakfast at 6:30am and don't eat my lunch until 1:30pm, and as filling as my breakfast is, I do get a rumbly in my tummy. Instead of gorging on the toast that is cooked everyday in work, I ate a low fat peach flavoured Activia yoghurt. The Activia yoghurts are my favourite, as the low fat variety is still really flavoursome and creamy.


LUNCH - 1:30pm

This is my favouritest lunch to date. A lemon, coriander and parsley marinated chicken breast, half a packet of lemon and coriander flavoured cous cous, a green pepper (half cooked with the chicken, the other half raw to add some crunch) and a sprinkle of pine nuts. I ate it cold and it was super tasty, but it could've benefitted from being warmed slightly in the microwave I think. Scrummy regardless.


MID-AFTERNOON SNACK - 4:00pm

Afternoon tea in work always involves cake or sweets of some sort, so I had a banana and some pecans instead. The pecans look quite calorific from the nutritional information, but I didn't eat 50g (it was more like 20g) and they are good calories as pecans contain essential fats. Much better this than a slice of chocolate cake.


TEA - 6:30pm

I'm so lucky in that my tea is ready on the table for me as I come home from work. Thanks Dad! The main family meals are generally pretty healthy anyway, but on the occasion that the boys chow down on chips, my Mam and I eat something else. Tonight the boys had burgers, so we had some salmon with a herby butter and the rest of the packet lemon and coriander cous cous. I'd normally add a serving of green vegetables here, like green beans or broccoli, but I wasn't feeling that hungry.


EVENING SNACK - 8:00pm

I don't tend to have an evening snack as I find that once I finish my evening meal, I'm good for the night. I developed a sweet craving about half an hour ago though, so I whizzed up a frozen banana in the food processor. I'm classing this as a delayed pudding, but for arguement sake it's a snack. I added a splash of milk to help it along the way, and it's just like soft serve ice cream - smooth and creamy and absolutely delish!


DRINKS

I aim to drink at least 2 litres of water everyday, and today I managed 2x750ml bottles of water. Not quite my 2 litre goal, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I consumed more tea than I cared to count, so I must remember to cut down my consumption on that. I stopped taking sugar a little while ago, so it's not that bad I don't think. I've also got a herbal night-time tea booked in during tonight's The Apprentice. It's a nightly ritual now as it really helps me sleep. Tomorrow's goal : drink less tea!


In other news, I got whistled at today when I was coming out of work. Of course I did the typical thing of rolling my eyes, but I was secretly chuffed. My friends are the ones who get attention usually, not that I'm looking for it, but it really boosted my confidence!



So, did you eat anything exciting today? What do you like to snack on?


xoxo

Banana and walnut cake

A couple of weeks ago I had a big bunch of about 9 over-ripe bananas that either needed to be used or thrown away. I chopped up 3 and froze them to use in smoothies, and the rest I used to make a luscious banana cake. I rummaged through my cookbooks and Google for a delicious sounding banana cake, but nothing jumped out at me - they were either breads, had sultanas (strict instructions from my Mother "NO sultanas!"), or just seemed like too much effort. Not even the darling Nigella Lawson could provide me with a recipe for perfection. Luckily, I found a banana cake recipe that sounded super easy and had me drooling at the mere thought of it. I did meddle with it slightly, but that's the beauty of baking, no? This is my tweaked recipe - the original recipe is here.

INGREDIENTS

170g unsalted butter

200g sugar - you can sling a bit of whatever you have in, but I used golden caster sugar

220g self-raising flour

2 decent tablespoons of honey

3 large eggs

150g walnuts, chopped or whole. I always chop mine

Over-ripe bananas - 6 small, 4 medium or 2/3 large

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. I have a fan assisted oven so set it to 160C.

2. Grease and line a large tin. You can use a loaf tin but I used a 23cm springform tin and that worked just as well.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar. You want to mix until it's light in colour and fluffy looking.

4. In a separate bowl, mash up the bananas. I find it easier to use a potato masher, but if you have some anger you would to get out of your system, a sturdy fork would work perfectly. If they're not ripe, they'll be too hard to mash properly, so ripened bananas are imperative. As I've said, mine were over-ripe, and it just made a softer, stickier texture with a little sweeter taste.

5. In the butter/sugar bowl, add the eggs and beat in. I find it easier to add one egg at a time, but you can bung them all in together.

6. Add the honey and beat again.

7. Stir in the mashed bananas.

8. Sift in the flour and stir until combined.

9. Chop the nuts (if you don't want to use them whole) and stir them through the mixture.

10. Pour the mixture into the tin and place in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes. My oven cooks really quickly, so mine was cooked after about 20, so do keep an eye on it.

11. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

12. Devour whilst still warm with a cup of tea. Yum yum!

I really love making anything banana-based. The house is filled with a yummy, sweet aroma, they're so simple to make, and the recipes can be adapted to suit your needs. Don't like walnuts? Try hazelnuts or pecans. Don't like nuts at all? Leave them out! Fancy have a chocolate hit? Add some chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, or how about smothering the finished cake with some melted chocolate? Mmmm. You can add other fruits such as sultanas or blueberries, or bake two cakes and sandwich them together with buttercream. The options really are endless with this type of cake, and you can guarantee that each one will be as delightful and gratifying as the last. You can even leave it as it is, because quite simply, it's scrumptious.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Breakfast muffins - the healthy way

Until recently, if somebody had offered me a "breakfast muffin", I'd have held out my hand and expected a Sausage & Egg McMuffin from that fast food place with the golden arches. I was looking for a new muffin recipe to try when I stumbled across one that is energy boosting and perfect for breakfast or a mid morning snack, hence it being called a Breakfast Muffin. As I read through the ingredients I was excited to see that no butter or sugar was needed, and was packed with healthier things like apricots and muesli. As I am back on the healthy eating bandwagon, I couldn't wait to try it! I know I'm not the only one trying to eat right at the moment, so I hope this recipe helps some of you :)

Makes 12

Ingredients

170g dried apricots, coarsely chopped

170g unsweetened muesli

250g self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

250ml unsweetened apple juice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

100ml honey

1 large egg

Method - so easy!

1. Preheat oven to 190c and line a 12 hole muffin tin with cases

2. Put the apricots, muesli, flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir.

3. In a jug, mix together the apple juice, honey, oil and egg.

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently to incorporate. Make sure you do not overmix.

5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases. My cases are quite big and I filled mine to about 2/3 full.

6. Put the tray in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

7. You know the drill, if they are golden brown and spring back when touched, or you insert a skewer and it comes out clean, they are done.

8. Transfer to a wire rack to cool then store in an airtight container. I'd keep for 3-4 days maximum.

A few quick tips;

• The recipe calls for unsweetened muesli and unsweetened apple juice. This is imperative from a taste point of view, as the apricots add more than enough sweetness to the cakes. From a healthy point of view, it's less sugar to contend with.
• The mixture will be very runny, so don't be alarmed.
• Chop the apricots as small as you can. Mine are a bit too chunky for my liking, which is why it looks a bit gooey in the picture below. It tastes fine though.
• I used a 'Really Nutty' variety of Dorset Cereals muesli, but when making these again I would add more nuts, such as pecans and almonds, so they have more of a bite to them. The recipe doesn't call for nuts though, so if you're not a fan, don't feel like they're necessary.
• I think the apricots can be substituted with figs and dates if you'd rather a less sweet taste. 

 

Now, these did not smell very appetising when I pulled them out of the oven, and unlike most muffins, they didn't taste better oven-warm either. Don't let that put you off though - wait until breakfast time the following morning, and enjoy with a big cup of tea. They are sweet, moist, slightly chewy and slightly sticky, so it feels really naughty and indulgent having one for breakfast. Because they are packed with good, filling things, one of these and a bit of fruit fills me right up until lunchtime, so I'm not snacking on toast dripping in real butter come mid-morning!

There are about 200 calories in each muffin (more if you add nuts) but there's less than 5g fat and only 0.6g of saturated fat, so they are good calories. I know I'd much rather eat one of these for breakfast than a bowl of soggy, sugary cereal for the same calorie content, then be reaching for the calorie-laden toast at 11am.

What are your favourite healthy breakfasts? I'd love to know!

xoxo

Sunday 006 (on a Monday)

Evening all! If you are feeling the love today, Happy Valentine's Day; if you are not feeling the love, Happy Monday; and if you are Mr Lollipop, Happy Anniversary! It's our 9 year anniversary today, which makes me feel proud, excited, happily in love... and OLD!  It really feels like just last week that we shared our first kiss, not almost a decade ago. I still fancy him, he still makes me laugh, and he is still my perfect man. Wow. Anyhoo, onto the summary!

♥ My weekend was spent planning Valentine's. We never really go overboard and decided this year to focus the money on fixing our car. Mr L did buy me some new underwear last week which was my present, but on Friday I received a parcel that said it was to remain unopened until today.

So, first thing this morning I opened it up, and inside the box was some of my favourite retro sweets from aquarterof, which took me right back to my childhood. Not your traditional romantic gift but I love it!

♥ I was feeling very inspired by Sam's post and decided to make Mr L a Valentine's card.

This was so, so stressful due to timescale but it was so enjoyable, and very much worth it. I also knew that I wanted to bake something for Mr L but couldn't decide what. After a quick scout on Twitter, Abby said she was making her boy some Millionaire's Shortbread, and since that is Mr L's favouritest sweet snack in the whole wide world, I cheekily decided to copy her. I used this recipe and they're delicious. I do wish there was less biscuit and more chocolate though. It was a relatively easy recipe so I'd highly recommend it. Cutting them into a heart was awkward and they look a bit crumbly and messy in the picture, but Mr L is thrilled and is scoffing them as I type!

♥ Speaking of recipes, on Saturday I had a bash at the Teriyaki Prawns that Charlotte blogged about recently. It was so scrummy! I used sugarsnap peas, red and yellow peppers, baby sweetcorn, mushrooms, beansprouts and carrots, and instead of serving the stir fry on a bed of rice, I stirred the rice through. It was so tasty and definitely one I'll be making again!

♥ I'm wearing Nails Inc 'Heather Grey' on my tootsies and it's so pretty. I'm still loving the Nails Inc and Diet Coke collection!

♥ I spent most of weekend procrastinating and watching YT videos instead of doing my NVQ. I haven't watched YT videos for absolutely ages but when I do have the chance to sit down and watch them, there are loads that I skim over but there are certain people I watch every video of. The Pixiwoo sisters and Lisa Eldridge fall into the latter category - absolutely amazing and I learn so much from them. I particularly loved this from Lisa:

And this from Pixiwoo:

♥ And Wales won the rugby! All in all, a good weekend, though I'm quite sad that Comedy Dave got kicked out of Dancing On Ice. Okay, he couldn't skate as well as most of the others, but he was better than Kerry Katona and I love him!

♥ Listening to: Noah and the Whale L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N, Rihanna S&M and Clare Maguire The Last Dance.

♥ Few to follow: Rachel, Caz, Sophie and Lily.

How was your weekend, or indeed your Valentine's Day?

xoxo

Blueberry scuffins

I have been getting a huge compulsion to bake this week, and though charming cupcakes are usually my chosen delight, I decided to whip up some mouthwatering muffins instead. Yum! If you asked the huge gaggle of women in my family what muffin to bake, we'd all tell you the same thing - blueberry. We are so parallel in our thinking and feelings, it's scary. Just look at the Dior Airflash epidemic I blogged about recently! Anyhoo, since they're a personal favourite of mine (and my Mammy asked me nicely) I got cracking.

Normally I'd take to my baking bible - The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook - but this time I referred to Nigella Lawson's 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess'. I absolutely adore Nigella. She was the lady who evoked my passion for cooking and baking a few years ago. Her 'Ham in Cherry Coke' recipe is absolutely scrumptious, and her 'Caramel Croissant Pudding' is heavenly comfort food in a bowl. When I picture myself as a wife and mother, I always seem to conjure up images of a happy home where I'm in the kitchen, baking an array of ambrosial treats, just like a domestic goddess... but that's a whole different post! Back to the task at hand - blueberry muffins! Of course, this is Nigella's recipe, but one I think you should all attempt. They look a bit like scones on top but muffin in the middle - kind of a scone-muffin hybrid (hence the scuffin terminology) but they're absolutely gorgeous - so fluffy and sweet. Yum yum indeedy!

For 12 scuffins, you will need:

200g plain flour

75g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

200mls buttermilk (can be substituted with 100ml milk and 100ml natural yoghurt)

75g unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

200g blueberries (I used a bit more and they were yum, so in the region of 200-300g would be okay)

Method:

1. I use a fan assisted oven so I either lower the temperature slightly or lower the cooking time, but Nigella says to preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Put the melted butter, buttermilk and egg in a jug or bowl, and whisk it up.

3. Put the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate - in another bowl. Then, gradually add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, continually mixing with a woden spoon. You don't need to have a perfectly smooth mixture, but you need to make sure the ingredients are combined well.

4. Add the blueberries to your bowl, then gently fold them in. You don't want to be too rough at this stage or you'll burst the blueberries too much. You want them to burst whilst they are cooking so they seep through the cake mixture, not before.

5. Put your 12 muffin cases into a 12-hole baking tray, then spoon the mixture into them. There is enough mixture here to fill about 2/3 cases.

6. Carefully put the tray in the oven (I know you're all intelligent, but I got some war wounds - so be careful!) and bake for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them though, you don't want to cremate them!

7. When they are ready, they should be golden on top and spring back when touched. If you're still not sure, put a skewer through the middle. If it comes out clean, they're done.

8. Cool down on a wire rack, but if like me, you are too impatient, greedily gobble down the warm fruity bundle of yumminess whilst your second one is cooling.

9. Share amongst your family and friends, if you can bear to part with them!

They didn't rise as much as I anticipated, so I think I'll use self-raising flour next time. That said, they tickle your tastebuds perfectly and satisy any sweet craving. They are really delicious, especially when washed down with a cup of tea. They are so simple to make and the lovely, sweet and comforting aroma fills the house, which makes it all seem very homely. You can't beat a bit of home cooking at this time of year - just call me a domestic goddess in training!

Have you been baking anything recently?

♥

Yummy scrummy for my tummy

Baking is an absolute passion of mine, and I find that the perfect way to while away a Sunday afternoon while Mr Lollipop is in work is to bake up some delectable treats. I think it is so therapeutic and relaxing, beating eggs and butter, whisking up some cream, and it's a great way to vent my frustrations. Mr Lollipop particularly enjoys coming home to the mouthwatering scent of something sweet and homely baking away in the oven, and he enjoys sampling them even more!

It was my brother's birthday on Monday and since you can't have a birthday without some scrumptious treats, I decided to make some profiteroles on Sunday afternoon. Beats a regular birthday cake, hands down! I'm not a massive fan of profiteroles because I don't like the chocolate sauce. Well, I love naked profiteroles, so I dressed them with some melted chocolate instead.

Ingredients:
Choux pastry
125ml milk
200ml cold water
85g unsalted butter
150g plain flour
1 teaspoon caster sugar
A pinch of salt
4 eggs

Filling
300ml whipping cream
A tiny splash of vanilla extract


Topping
I just topped mine with melted milk chocolate - I used a big 200g bar of Cadbury's and this was enough for mine. If you make more from your mixture (mine were a bit on the large side), then obviously you'll need more chocolate. If you'd prefer the chocolate sauce, you'll need:
200g chocolate - traditionally you'd use dark chocolate but if I was making it I'd use milk chocolate
30g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons clear honey or golden syrup
100ml milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C.

2. Put the milk, water, sugar, salt and butter in a saucepan, and simmer on a low heat. Once the butter is melted and the sugar and salt dissolved, turn up the heat a little bit until you have a rolling boil.

3. Remove from the hob, tip in the flour, and beat like crazy until you have a ball of doughy mixture. Transfer into a large bowl and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.

4. Once cooled, beat in the eggs, one at a time. I found this really, really hard work and my arms ached trying to make a smooth paste - but it's worth it! I used all of my eggs, but apparently you may not need them all. The mixture needs to be smooth and glossy, and fall of your spoon when you shake it.

5. Line two tins with greaseproof paper (I didn't and mine didn't stick) and put your paste into a piping bag. Pipe dollops of the mixture onto the sheet, leaving a good 2-3 inch gap between them for expansion. You want your dollops to be about the size of a shelled walnut - mine were huge! If you have a peak on top, wet your finger and push it down a little bit, so it doesn't burn when it's cooking.

6. Put your profiteroles in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. Don't forget to keep an eye on them - you want your profiteroles to be puffed up and hollow, not hard like rocks. When they're done leave to cool on a wire rack.

7. Put the cream and vanilla extract into a bowl and whisk. I prefer whisking cream with a handwhisk, not an electric one, because I like my cream to still be soft - I find electric whisks overwhisk it. I like mine to have soft peaks.

8. When the profiteroles are completely cooled pierce a small hole in the bottom. Spoon your cream mixture into a clean piping bag and pipe inside through the hole. My piping bag was still in the dishwasher, so I just cut them open and spooned it in. Looked messier but tasted just as nice.

9. Break your chocolate up into a heatprof bowl, and place over a simmering pan of water to melt. You can either spoon the melted chocolate over the top of your profiteroles like I did, or continue on to make a sauce. Add the butter and honey and stir continuously until everything is melted and combined. Whisk in the milk until it's all warm and you have a smooth, glossy mixture. Pour it over the profiteroles just before serving.

10. Enjoy!

These were absolutely delicious. Some of my profiteroles were flat and others were perfectly formed, but I like the rustic look when it comes to cooking. I think it's a sign of being homemade! They looked a bit messy but they tasted delicious, and that's the main thing :)

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my diet. My brother took most of them into work with him for a birthday treat, so I only ate one. Two. Okay I ate two and sampled the chocolate when it was melting, but that's all! I also made a chocolate gateau for him, but the less said about that the better!

xoxo

My speciality

White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. My favourite thing to make and my family's favourite thing to eat. It's so smooth and creamy and sweet... and just yummy! It's the perfect pudding for celebrations, so it's quite fitting to have today, on my Bloggy-Birthday-Anniversary type thing :)

I can't remember where I found the recipe for this, but I've made it tons of times so I know it by heart. I don't even measure anymore. I've tweaked the mixture along the way - like for the base I always use all chocolate digestives, sometimes I mix some chopped white chocolate buttons in the filling so that it has an extra bite to it, and sometimes I use half clotted cream and half whipping cream (which is absolutely GORGEOUS!) I'll give you the original recipe though - do with it as you please!

For the biscuit base 

75g plain digestive biscuits

75g ginger biscuits

(I use 150g milk chocolate digestives instead)

75g unsalted butter

For the filling 

400-600g white chocolate (the richer tasting chocolate, the less you'll need)

65g unsalted butter

1/2 vanilla pod (or you could use a few drops of vanilla extract)

500g Philidelphia cream cheese (I use mascarpone cheese instead because I don't like Philly when it's used in a dessert. Sometimes I use 250g mascarpone and 250g ricotta)

50g caster sugar

180ml whipping cream

1 punnet Raspberries

Method

Biscuit base  

1. My favourite part of the recipe - crush up the biscuits. I stick them in a sandwich bag and whack it with a rolling pin until I have crumbs. It's very therapeutic y'know! I don't annihilate them completely - I like a mixture of crumbs and chunks. I then melt the butter and mix it all together. I love using chocolate digestives because the butter melts with the little chocolate crumbs, so it makes a yummy chocolatey base.

2. Press it firmly into the base of a springform tin (the ones with a clip on the side) then put it in the fridge or freezer to set whilst you make the filling. I normally use the freezer because it's quicker.

Filling

1. Put the cream cheese into a bowl and soften slightly. I find softening the cheese first eliminates the risk of lumps. Lumpy cheesecake is not good! Next, beat in the sugar and then beat in the whipping cream until you have a smooth consistency.  Don't whip the cream first, just pour it in. The only reason you need whipping cream is so that it sets thicker, but if you whip it, the cheesecake has a grainy texture.

2. Break the chocolate into pieces and put into a bain marie (just a heatproof bowl placed over a simmering pan of water). You can chop up 100g and add that to the cheese mixture instead if you want - that adds a nice bite and texture to an otherwise soft filling. Add the butter and vanilla to the bowl of chocolate and melt them all together.

3. Once it's all melted and smooth, remove the vanilla pod (if using) then stir the chocolate mixture into the cheese mixture.

4. Fold in the raspberries. Be careful not to squish them otherwise you'll get a runny mushy mixture. Yuck!

5. Resist the urge to eat it as it is!

6. Get your base from the fridge/freezer, and spoon your cheesecake mixture over the top. Bang the tin on the counter a few times (lightly!) to settle it, then shove it in the fridge for 8 or so hours to set. I often can't resist and take it out of the fridge 4 hours later to have a slice, just to check if it's set you see, but the longer you leave it the yummier it tastes.

7. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try this recipe. It's my absolute favourite and so simple to make. It tastes like heaven on a plate - orgasmic even :)

And since it's been a whole year since I started blogging, I wanted to thank every one of you who follows or reads my blog and have taken the time to comment. I really do appreciate it - the interaction is what I enjoy most about blogging so lots of love and thanks to you guys :)

xoxo

Vanilla melting moments

Last night I was feeling a little bit grumpy, so decided to make some yummy, fattening, sugary things to cheer myself up. I wanted something that would give me a sugar hit with one mouthful, and something that would be super quick and easy to make. Enter, Vanilla Melting Moments. I saw the recipe for these on a Rachel Allen cooking programme yonks ago, and are reserved for occasions like this. They're soft, crumbly, sweet biscuits that literally melt in your mouth. I will warn you, they're quite sickly after one or two (especally if you 'sample' the buttercream as you make it, like me...)

The recipe below makes about 20 melting moments, so be sure to share!

Biscuits

175g self raising flour

125g cornflour

50g icing sugar

225g butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Buttercream

50g butter

125g icing sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C.

2. Put the butter and vanilla into a bowl and cream together until the mixture is quite pale.

3. Once softened, sift in the flour, cornflour and icing sugar, and mix thoroughly. You can use an electric whisk to make it easier, but definitely stir the dry ingredients through before you whisk or you'll end up with a big ol' mess! You want to mix until you have a soft dough.

4. Make 40 small balls the size of a large marble and place onto baking trays. There's no need to grease or line the trays. If you can't get 40 out of your mixture, make sure you a least have an even number of balls. Flatten down each ball with a fork - only a little bit though, you don't want flat pancakes!

5. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until still very pale in colour but slightly firm. Mine take about 9-10 minutes, so don't be tempted to sit down with a magazine and a cuppa whilst you wait :)

6. Remove the biscuits from the tray carefully because they're really fragile, and cool on a wire rack.

7. To make the buttercream, soften the butter and vanilla in a bowl, then mix in the icing sugar. Again, you can use an electric whisk, but I found it therapeutic to mix it myself. It helped vent my frustrations if nothing else!

8. Once the biscuits are cool, sandwich two together using the buttercream. See, that's why you needed an even number!

9. Now you can sit down with your magazine, a nice cuppa and a couple of Vanilla Melting Moments - enjoy! :)

You can sandwich them together with a chocolate spread like Nutella for something a little different, or you can make Chocolate Melting Moments by adding some cocoa powder to both the biscuit mixture and the buttercream mixture. You could even keep them as singles if you wanted to, and top them with melted chocolate... Yum!

xoxo

Jam splats and FOTD fail

I love being in love and I'm all for celebrating love - I'm just not a fan of Valentine's Day. That said... look what arrived for me yesterday!

Lillies are my absolute favourite type of flower in the whole wide world, and he included 8 red roses in my bouquet because today is our 8 year anniversary :) That makes me feel quite proud (if not a little old!). I know, it's quite ironic that Valentine's Day is the anniversary of someone who is Anti-Valentine's haha.

Mr Lollipop is working today, so I decided to make him something yummy to come home to. He loves vanilla and jam based biscuits, so I made him these yummy biscuits. They're not called anything romantic - Jam Splats - but they're so yummy they are perfect for any occasion. Birthday Jam Splats, Christmas Jam Splats, Easter Jam Splats, and for today... yep, Valentine's Jam Splats! Guess where the inspiration for these biscuits came from? Haha! I've just tasted one and they're rather yummy scrummy for my tummy. They've filled the entire house with a gorgeous vanilla smell, and I'm trying really hard not to eat the rest!

My recipe below made about 13 Jam Splats. Not all of them had buttercream in because I didn't make enough, but they're just as delicious without it :)

Ingredients:

Biscuits

250g softened, unsalted butter

140g caster sugar

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

375g plain flour, and a little extra for dusting

Filling:

Jam - I'm using strawberry. You need about quarter of a jar I guess.

Buttercream (if using) - 50g unsalted butter, 100g of icing sugar, and a splash of vanilla extract.

Method:

1. To make your biscuits, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy.

2. Add the vanilla and egg yolk, and combine well.

3. Sift in the flour and combine. I tend to do this is stages, like a third of flour at a time. It's easier to mix that way, and less messy! You'll get a dough, that isn't too sticky. I resisted the urge to make something out of it, a la playdoh!

4. Wrap your dough in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for about half an hour.

5. Preheat your oven to 190C.

6. Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto your clean worktop (or flat surface, ie chopping board, plate) and rolling pin, and start rolling your dough. You want to roll it so it's about 5mm thick.

7. Cut out an even number of shapes. I'm using a heart shaped cookie cutter (since it's Valentine's Day - duh!) but the traditional shape is round. Then, cut a small circle out of the centre of half of them.

8. Place them on a baking tray (no need to grease or line), and bake for about 15 minutes. Mine take 10 minutes, but my oven cooks things quickly (the top of the biscuits were left in for 15 minutes, and they're not burnt but a bit too brown).

9. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Be careful when transferring them - they're super crumbly and I had a few casualties, but once they're cool they're hard.

10. Get your filling ready. I like to soften the jam up in a bowl first, but this is optional. Then, in a seperate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then mix in the vanilla. Smells so yum-tastic!

11. When the biscuits are cool, spread a layer of buttercream on the 'whole' biscuits, then a layer of jam. Try not to go too close to the edge, or they'll get a bit messy like mine.

12. Put a biscuit with a hole on top, and squish together a little bit to help it stick. Et viola! Jam splats - yummy vanillery scrumminess, with some sticky sweet jam :)

You can eat them straight away, or leave in the fridge for half an hour or so, for the jam to set and get sticky. Both ways are delicious, but I prefer the second.

You can dust them with a little bit of icing sugar to finish (as if they weren't sweet or calorific enough!) and for something a bit different you can sandwich them with melted chocolate, coloured icing, or flavoured buttercream... nom nom nom.

And I'll leave you with my Valentine's FOTD fail! haha.

I look washed out in all of the other pictures, and I've got two styes on my eye which are more prominant with pink eyeshadows. I got exasperated trying to find a half-decent picture, so I gave up and took this picture for ya. I loved my lips though, MAC Gladiola lipstick and MAC Hot Frost lipglass. Considering they're both hot pink, I love them. They're actually really wearable and are a fab alternative to the traditional red lips featured on a pin-up look :) Not a combination for everyday in work, but one I should wear more often, definitely.

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend!

xoxo

Nom nom nom...

Mr Lollipop has gone swimming with his family. Since I haven't seen the inside of a swimming pool since 1998, I gave it a miss. Everyone is coming back here afterwards though - and by everyone I mean everyone : Mr Lollipop's parents, Mr Lollipop's brother and his two little boys, and Mr Lollipop's sister, her fiance and their baby girl. They live about 70 miles away, so we don't get to see them often and the last time was Christmas.

Last night we decided to make some cupcakes for their visit. I love cupcakes - they're so cute and yummy scrummy! We made a batch of vanilla cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery book, and we frosted them with some pink vanilla frosting and multicoloured sugar sprinkles. Yum! I'm resisting every urge to taste one, because once I start I won't stop!

We used muffin cases as the book suggests, but ideally we should have doubled the mixture so that the cakes filled the cases. If you like a lot of frosting, definitely double the quantities - we just about managed to cover our cakes by multiplying the frosting quantities by 1.5!

The recipe for 12 cupcakes (or technically muffins) is:

Ingredients
120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter at room temperature
120ml milk (the book says to use whole but we always use semi-skimmed and can never tell the difference)
1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting
250g icing sugar sifted
80g unsalted butter at room temperature
25ml milk
A couple of drops of vanilla extract
A couple of drops of food colouring (Optional - We used red for pink frosting)

Method
1. Line muffin tray with paper cases and preheat oven to 170C.

2. The book says to mix all the dry ingredients with butter, but that makes one heck of a mess. I find it easier to cream the sugar and butter then mix in the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.

4. Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl and then pour into the flour mixture. Continue mixing for a couple of minutes until the mixture is smooth. It will be quite runny, not like normal cake mixture. Don't be alarmed - that's how it's suppsed to look!

5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases but only fill them two thirds full. Bake in the oven for 25 mins or until slightly golden (ours took about 18 minutes in a fan assisted oven, so after about 15 minutes watch them carefully so they don't get ruined!) and then cool on a wire rack.

6. Beat the icing sugar and butter together until well mixed.

7. In a separate bowl combine the milk, vanilla extract and food colouring then add to the butter mixture gradually. Continue to beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.

8. Decorate the cupcakes with the frosting once cool. Add whatever pretty decorations you choose. We used sugar strands. Yum!

You can use normal cupcake cases aswell. This makes about 18 cakes using cupcake cases, and you need to reduce the cooking time. I should imagine they'd only take about 12 minutes in my oven, so make sure you keep an eye on them!

My Granny took one home with her last night and she just phoned me to say it was delicious, so it passed the taste-test too. I can't wait to try one.

Have you got any yummy cupcake recipes for me to try?

xoxo