NezumiWorld Cake Shop

Diploma in Nutrition

2016-03-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Trying to do new things this years and be healthier, decided to do a nutrition course (Diploma Introduction to Personal Nutrition) . As I have done other courses with the Shaw Academy the personal nutrition course seemed good (you can get discounts for their courses on places like groupon and wowcher), it was very well organised and had lots of information, plus interactive challenges each week like drinking more water and eating more fruit and veg (via twitter or facebook). You watch the live webinar (8 live & 2 recorded in total over 4 weeks), if you miss a session they record them and put them on their site 24 hours later. The advantage of attending the webinar live is you can ask questions and get answers (you can also email them) I really enjoyed this course, even happier I finished my final exams with a Distinction :)
Look out for more healthy recipes coming soon!!!

Baked Blueberry Porridge

2016-03-04T07:21:00.002-08:00

Baked Porridge

I like porridge for breakfast, even in the summer. But when it's still cold and wintry out, I need something warm in the morning to eat. Plus porridge keeps you feeling full throughout the day, its tasty and healthy. BUT I have a problem my hob is broken (the oven is fine so I don't want to replace the cooker yet, I can't afford it either presently) , my attempts to microwave porridge have had problems plus it's not a healthy way to cook/ eat either. Nearly every time I cook my porridge in the microwave it has just exploded!! Oats everywhere. Not only have I to clean the mess up and I have lost half my porridge. Anyone have the same problem me?
What am I doing wrong?
I had read about baked porridge I have a little book of oats and from several old recipe books, but had never tried it. I am think I prefer the taste of baked porridge and will be cooking it this way in future. The smell and taste when cooked is so good, like a bread and butter pudding so yummy and easy to make

This recipe is a basic/ base recipe that can be adapted to whatever oats, milk, fruit and sweeteners you prefer. Have a play see what you will create and let me know what you make :)

Preheat oven 190°C/ 375°F/ gas mk5
Prepare your baking container/ dish/ bowl whatever you will be using, I used an enamelled stainless steel dish (I also like to use silicone dishes) has it's easy to clean and does not stick.

Recipe:

Approx. 4 heaped tablespoons of Oats (I used Flahavan's Irish organic jumbo oats)
Approx. 300 mls/ 12 oz boiling water
Approx. 200 mls/ 8 oz milk (of choice - coconut, almond, cow, goat, soya whenever you prefer) I used semi-skimmed cows milk but have made this many times with coconut milk (very very tasty with coconut milk) also almond milk
A small tub of blueberries (or any berries of choice)
Sweetener of choice - Sugar, honey, maple syrup, stevia only if required as the fruit is sweet (I used a sprinkling of coconut sugar to serve)

The measurements are approximate because you may like your porridge softer or harder, you really need to experiment with the recipe to achieve the texture you prefer.

To start: In a bowl add your oats and boiling hot water leave them to soak for 5 - 8 minutes until soft (stir them well)
To the softened oats add the milk & fruit and stir.
Add mixture to your prepared dish and place in the oven.
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes (or until lightly browned and liquid is absorbed)

To serve: Place required amount of baked porridge into bowls and add sugar if required to taste (the fruit is surprisingly sweet) if you want you can add a little more milk and some more fruit to serve.

I will add a few more variations of flavours in the coming weeks

Microwave Crisps/ Chips

2015-12-15T02:57:00.001-08:00

I was in a discount shop (as usual) and saw The Joie Healthy Potato Chip Maker for £5.99. It is small and neat, all the parts fit together for storage( although I needed a little masking tape to keep them other). It has 4 pieces, a bowl, a mandolin lid, a hand protector (so you don't slice your fingers on the mandolin lid) and a cooking rack for the microwave.
The mandolin lid goes on the bowl (after removing the cooking rack) you use the hand protector with the potato to slice it into very thin slices. The hand protector prongs are slippy and did not grip the potato well, so I chopped my potato in half and the flat surface gripped the potato better. Do be careful when slicing your vegetables, I had to do it very slowly. One large potato made a lot of crisps (or chips if you live in America) and yes I did peel my potato but that's personal choice.

I put my potato slices into a larger bowl containing hot water with a little salt dissolved in it so they did not discolour, I know other people recommend adding vinegar or lemon, but my potatoes did not seem to need it.
I dried the potato slices as needed on kitchen paper and placed them into the cooking rack. My first batch did stick a little as the potato I sliced was very large so the sliced touched as they cooked, the next batch (after leaving a little time for the microwave to cool) I placed a slice every second slot on the cooking rack, these turned out really well. One tip is to turn the potato slices midway as the outside outed faster the the inside so this made them cook more evenly.

It seemed like a lot of work but as the crisps were fat free and once sliced it only a case of turning on the microwave between doing other things, it was not so bad. Do you good firm potatoes, the not old potatoes you want to use up as the taste really does depend on the quality of your potato. For flavouring I use a little salt and herbs. It is up to you but I think they do need some sort of flavour.

I really like this product and need to experiment and see if it will work with other vegetables.

Carrot and Daikon Pickles

2015-03-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

I love all types of pickles, some takes months before you can eat them, but this recipe is a favourite and is very quick way of making tasty pickles. This is based on a Japanese pickle recipe that is traditionally eaten in the New Year's celebration called kohaku-namasu.
It does not have many ingredients but is super tasty. You can add a teaspoon of mirin to the vinegar/ sugar mix for a more traditional taste and I used cyder vinegar instead of rice wine vinegar because I prefer it you can experiment with other vinegars also :)

Ingredients

300 gms/ Daikon (also called a mooli, winter radish, white radish)
70 gms Carrot
2 Heaped teaspoons course salt (I used course sea salt)
4 tablespoons vinegar (I used cyder vinegar but you could you rice wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons sugar or honey

Cut the carrot into slices (I cut at an angle) and than into small matchsticks, add to a bowl

Repeat cutting the daikon into matchsticks and add to the bowl.

Sprinkle with the salt and mix well. Leave for 20 minutes than drain off the liquid. Squeeze gently to get as much liquid off as possible.

Mix the vinegar and sugar together in a separate bowl, until the sugar has dissolved.
Transfer the cut carrot and daikon matchsticks to a lidded jar. Add the vinegar/ sugar mix to the jar and mix well.

Leave for a minimum of 4 hours turning the jar to mix occasionally, or if you prefer over night. Keeps for several days in a refrigerater (although in my house there's never any left for the refrigerater)

Serve in small individual bowls can also be served sprinkled with sesame seeds.

New lid with a little house

2015-02-19T02:56:00.001-08:00

Over time I really don't know what happens to pot lids, some get dropped and broken, others just disappear leaving good pots so when a lid is needed you have to use a plate or a lid from another pot and just does not do the job. So here's my latest find and it was in the bargain section to, a silicone lid that fits most of my lidless small to medium pots. It has a cute little house in the middle which lets steam rise through it. Its microwave and dishwasher safe (if only I had a dishwasher, maybe someday) its about 8" in diameter. Most importantly it works really well and makes me smile seeing the steam come through the chimney everytime :) Below is a photo of it on my meduim sized saucepan.

Veggi Haggis

2015-01-24T02:33:00.000-08:00

Burns night is the 25th January and Sainsburys was selling half price haggis. I have never had haggis before mainly because its animal parts but this was a veggie haggis and bargain priced so I thought something different.

It was very simple to cook - place in foil and bake in the oven. I was not sure of the smell and the look, but tried it. To my surprise it was very tasty, a little like a spicy nut roast, its not been in the supermarket since, so I am now on the lookout for a veggie haggis recipe to make myself :)

Spiced Pears in Red Grape Juice

2014-12-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Spiced Pears in Red Grape Juice

Eaten hot (which I prefer) or cold, this simple dessert smells of Christmas and the holiday season. It's so tasty on a cold winter day eaten warm it's to tasty to also be good for you. Equally good served cold in the summer.
As red grape juice is used instead of wine unlike most poached pear recipes, children and adults wishing not to drink alcohol can also share in this tasty and healthy dessert. Plus it's one of your five a day :)
Any left over liquid can be used on ice cream :)

Ingredients

750mls Red Grape juice
4 Ripe firm pears (peeled and insides removed from the bottom of the pear, keep any juices and add to the saucepan)
1/2 orange (cut into 4 leave peel on again add any juice to the saucepan)
1 Cinnamon stick
2 -3 Cloves
A little ginger (it adds a nice kick, I used fresh peeled ginger about the size of a 1/3 of my finger)
A teaspoon honey

How To
Put all ingredients except the pears into a medium sized saucepan and heat until it boils, stir well and add the pears, reduce heat so the liquid simmers (a low heat but it bubbles slowly). If you have a lid put it on the saucepan.
Simmer making sure you keep putting the juice mix over the pears for 40 minutes to 1 hour until tender (not to soft but not hard).
Remove the pears and put into bowls add the orange piece for decoration. Heat the liquid on boiling for 10 minutes until it reduces and thickens, spoon some of the liquid over each pear, be careful not to add the ginger, cloves or cinnamon. Leave to stand for a few minutes so the boiling liquid does not burn anyone. Can no be served hot. If you prefer it cold, leave to cool than place in a fridge for 3 - 4 hours before serving.

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate: Christmas 2014 organised by Yen from Eat your heart out, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and me from Bake for Happy Kids.
Please link your post with us if you are also cooking something special for your Christmas celebration for the whole of December 2014.

Soda Bread Tea Towel arrived

2014-12-15T04:34:00.002-08:00

My tea towel with my mom's recipe for soda bread arrived. I still need to hem it, but I am so happy with the results of the print I thought I would post it anyway.
The recipe printed on it is at http://nezumiworldcakeshop.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/soda-bread.html
The design is scaled for the cotton/ linen fabric mix and is available at spoonflower at http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/3056085 as a fat quarter (1 tea towel) or by the yard (4 tea towels)
Now to hem it and make a soda bread.

Pineapple and Coconut Upside Down Cake

2014-12-06T14:52:00.004-08:00

The weather is getting cooler and sometimes after a hard week working its just nice to relax with a warm slice of cake with custard or cream. Brings me back to my childhood, when there were some really back winters, my mom always made tasty warm treats to warm us up :)

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400ºF/ gas mark 6
Prepare your baking tin (I used a greaseproof paper circle at the bottom of my silicone baking tin for ease of turn the cake out)

Ingredients:
For the cake

6 slices canned pineapple (drain the juice reserving 3 tablespoons of the liquid)
100 grams/ 4oz/ ½ cup caster sugar/ (superfine USA)
100 grams/ 4oz/ 1 stick soft butter
100 grams/ 4oz/ ⅔ cup plain flour/ (all-purpose flour USA)
3 Heaped tablespoons desiccated coconut
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 Medium eggs

Place your pineapple rings into your baking tin I overlapped my because I think it looks pretty when baked.
Beat together in a large bowl the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and continue beating the mixture.
Fold in the flour, coconut and pineapple liquid.
Mix until just combined (not over mixing)
Spoon mixture onto the pineapple slices and cook for approx. 30 minutes in a moderate heat oven or until brown.

Tip: if you put a knife into the centre of the cake it should come out clean (no mixture sticking to it)
Leave to cool slightly before carefully removing. Can be served it warm or cold, on its own or with custard or cream or both :)

Greengauge and Marzipan Cakes

2014-09-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love greengages and meant to post this last month but time seems to speed by to fast. Greengages are a small sweet green coloured plum, they are only in the supermarket (cheap) for a few weeks each year and are great to eat as they are, but are also excellent to cook with. Most sweet plum recipes work with them.

Preheat the oven 180 C / 350 F / Gas mark 4

Prepare a 12-hole bun tray with paper cases

For the Grengage and Marzipan Cakes

75g/ 3oz Softened butter
75g/ 3oz Caster sugar
1 Extra large egg (room temperature)
100g/ 4oz Self raising flour (with a pinch of salt added)
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
6 Greengages (remove stones)
100g/ 4oz Marzipan (also known as almond paste)

To make the Cakes
Place the butter and sugar into a large bowl then beat with spoon or electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
Add the egg one to the butter/ sugar mixture, beating until smooth.
Add the flour, cinnamon and salt, fold them into the mixture until combined.

Chop the greengages and marzipan into silimar sized small cubes and add to the mixture,
lightly mixing in.

Divide the mixture into the prepared 12 bun tray filling each papercase so they are just over half full.

Bake the cakes for 12 - 15 minutes until golden-brown. Leave to cool.

No need to add any icing, these are sweet enough. For serving you could lightly dust with icing sugar (also known as confectioners sugar)

Carrot Salad

2014-08-31T08:50:00.001-07:00

OK this is not a cake or bake but it is sweet and good for you, plus with all the warm weather making a selection of salads to share with some tasty breads makes a perfect light lunch or diner.

8 large carrots, peeled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 finely sliced spring onions (scallions)
2 - 3 teaspoons English mustard
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (or lemon if you can not get a lime)
The grated zest from1 unwaxed lime (or lemon)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons honey, to taste(depending on how sweet the carrots are)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

Grate the carrots into ribbons or long strips into a large bowl (you can use a peeler for this) and add the sliced spring onions and chopped parsley.
In a small bowl mix the mustard, lime, oils, honey, vinegar and salt mix well, taste to see if it needs more honey or mustard.
Add the oil mix to the carrots and mix making sure the carrots are evenly coated in the oil/ mustard mixture.
Leave for a couple of hours for all the flavours to combine, you may find the carrots shrink that is OK.
Serve in a large bowl or small individual bowls sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and lightly mix in just before serving.

Experiment adding different herbs, mustards and oils

Focaccia Bread

2014-08-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

So following on from the Victoria sandwich last week, I made a focaccia bread using a recipe from Paul Hollywood as this week is the the Great British Bake Off's bread week. I used some crushed rock salt instead of sea salt (I think it tastes more salty) and sprinkled on lots of dried rosemary.

The Great British Bake Off

2014-08-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

The Great British Bake Off is back on TV (its the second week already), its moved from BBC 2 to BBC 1, I nearly missed it! (it is also available to watch on the BBC player)
So I decided to make some cake to eat while watching it, this Victoria sandwich recipe is from the wonderful Mary Berry's website. OK I halved the recipe and made one cake round and chopped it in half as there were only 2 of to eat it. I also added a little vanilla paste to the cake mix and made a vanilla buttercream instead of what looks like fresh cream (its missing from the recipe but the photo looks like it has whipped cream. So here's the photo of my cake and very tasty it was :)
Next week is bread week so I am planning to make Paul Hollywoods focaccia bread recipe

Soda Bread Tea Towel

2014-05-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

My mom would have been 70 this month she died this year at the start of January, so it is an upsetting month for us. This weeks competition from Spoonflower is "Moms recipe tea towels" the brief was "No matter where you live in the world, nothing spells comfort like a home cooked meal from your mom or grandmother. Celebrate the important culinary women in your life this Mother's Day by designing a lovely recipe just like mom used to make. Recipes should fit a fat quarter-yard of our Linen-Cotton Canvas fabric. Entries will be previewed at the scale of a fat quarter (27" x 18")"
So the image up top is my entry "Mom's recipes - soda bread tea towel" with yes my moms soda bread recipe is on it. She made this all the time often making extra to give to friends. I have this recipe here on this blog on a previous post from a few years ago, if you fancy making it :) My mom liked her fancy tea towels I am sure she would have been so happy to see the recipe on one.
To vote or just look at any of the entries in this week competition click on the link below, please remember to make sure you go all the way down to the bottom of the page and hit submit when you do vote so it is counted (you don't need to sign up to vote)
http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=245

Irish Coffee Butterfly Cakes

2014-03-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Irish Coffee Butterfly Cakes

I love coffee and as it St Patricks Day today a little Baileys added to the mix makes everything extra tasty and a little special :)

Preheat the oven 180 C / 350 F / Gas mark 4

Prepare a 12-hole bun tray with paper cases

For the Butterfly Cakes

100g/4oz Softened butter
100g/4oz Caster sugar
2 Small eggs (room temperature)
100g/4oz Self raising flour (with a pinch of salt added)
25g/1oz Ground almonds
1 tsp Coffee extract (1 used 2 tsp coffee granules mixed with a tsp of boiling water)
1 tbsp Baileys Original Irish Cream

For the buttercream

125g/4½oz Softened butter
200g/8oz Icing sugar (sifted)
1 tsp Coffee extract (1 used 2 tsp coffee granules mixed with a tsp of boiling water)
1 tbsp Baileys Original Irish Cream

To make the Butterfly Cakes
Place the butter and sugar into a large bowl then beat with spoon or electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time (beat the first egg into the mixture totally before adding the second) to the butter/ sugar mixture, beating until smooth.
Add the flour, ground almonds and salt fold them into the mixture until combined.
Stir in the coffee and bailey's.
Divide the mixture into the prepared 12 bun tray filling each papercase so they are just over half full.
Bake the cakes for 12 - 15 minutes until golden-brown. Leave to cool.

To make Buttercream
Put the butter, icing sugar, coffee extract and baileys into a large bowl. Beat with a spoon or electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

To assemble butterfly cakes
Using a sharp knife hold it at an angle and cut a round out of the top of the cake.
Using the round, cut it in half to make your wings.
Add a heaped teaspoon of buttercream into the hollow of the cake.
Place the wings into the buttercream
Dust lightly with a little icing sugar.

Apple and Blueberry Pies

2014-03-02T09:52:00.001-08:00

It was my birthday recently and I popped into TK Max for a scarf as a present/ treat for myself, but I went to the household section first and found a baking tray with apple shapes and a matching set of apple cutters and they were half price :) so I bought them instead of the scarf.

One problem with the matching cutters was only one cutter (there are 5 in the pack) fit the tray. This matching cutter cut the bottom pastry shape for the pie, I had to adjust a smaller shaped cutter for the lids to fit.

Apple and Blueberry Pies

1 Sheet puff pastry (made or bought)
1 Large cooking apple
A few handfuls of blueberries
Sugar to taste (1 used about 1 heaped teaspoon as the blueberries were very sweet)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 heaped teaspoon cornflour

Preheat oven at 200C / 400F / Gas Mark 6
Prepare baking tray (You can use a normal baking tray with rounds, I just wanted to try my new tray)

Kitchen Christmas Decorations

2013-12-17T03:55:00.000-08:00

While out and about in the Oxford Street I saw these excellent Christmas windows at the John Lewis store. They used cups, plates, pots and pans plus many other items you can find in the kitchen to decorate their windows. Very clever :)

Sweet Pepper Relish

2013-10-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

On special offer at the supermarket a few weeks ago were very large bags of mixed peppers. I bought a bag but only used half the peppers. I hate wasting food so chopped the peppers up and put them in the freezer for adding to soups and sauces, it seemed like a good idea (I also do this with other fruit & veg onions are always handy to have chopped and really) except on Friday my fridge/ freezer stopped working. Now I am busy using everything up before the food spoils. The peppers were at the front so I decided to make some sweet pepper relish. This recipe made a small jar and tastes great with some crackers and cheese :)
For larger qualities just double, triple etc. up the basic recipe. If you like your sweet relish with a kick add 1/2 tsp of chili flakes or a finely chopped a small chili.

6 oz Prepared bell peppers - de-seeded & finely chopped (I used a mix of red, yellow, green & orange because that's what I had)
3 Shallots (or 1 small onion)
3 oz sugar
1 Clove garlic (crushed)
1 tsp salt
170 mls/ 6 fl oz Apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Olive oil

Prepare the peppers - remove the seeds and white inner walls, chop finely. Add to a saucepan.

Peel and chop the shallots finely, crush the garlic and add to the saucepan with the sugar, vinegar, salt and oil.

Bring to a boil then simmer until reduced and the mixture has thickened (approx.10 - 15 minutes).

Spoon into a sterilised jar/s. Seal at once.

Banana Limequat Jam

2013-10-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

I wanted to use up my over ripe bananas, I hate wasting them and don't like the sweet taste when they have over ripened, so instead of making my usual banana muffins or banana bread I decided I wanted something different, plus I had purchased some very cheap limequats I also wanted to use up so looking thought some old recipe books I saw a few recipes for vanilla banana jam and adapted them with the flavours I liked. The recipes made about 8 pots (I don't even have enough cupboard space for that many) and used vanilla I don't know how the vanilla taste would go with the limequat juice of changed it to cinnamon. I added salt as I like how it works with really sweet things (plus I like salt) not sure why I added the knob of butter but it worked. Plus I only had 2 limequats left and 3 bananas so this recipe makes just a small jar, as banana has no acid it is not like other jams so was not sure of its cupboard life.

Ingredients

3 Medium over-ripe bananas (chopped)
50 gms/ 2 fl oz/ 1/4 cup water
Juice of 2 limequats
125 gms / 5 oz/ 2/3 loose cup brown sugar
a knob of butter
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon

Prepare the bananas remove the skins and chop into small pieces set aside.

In a large saucepan add the brown sugar, limequat juice, water and salt.
Heat until the sugar has dissolved and starts to boil.

Add the bananas and butter, simmer for approx. 20 minutes.

As jam cooks use a wooden spoon or masher to mash the bananas as they heat. This will make the mixture thicken.
Add the cinnamon and stir.
Add the mixture to a clean sterilised jar add lid. This should keep in the fridge for 1 - 2 weeks but it is recommended to use as soon as possible.

Add to hot toast, scones, English muffins, pikelets or try adding a spoonful in to your yogurt

English Muffins

2013-10-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

What could be better on an windy, rainy autumn weekend then hot toasted muffins. Traditionally muffins are pulled apart without cutting then lightly toasted and buttered yummy!

Muffins work well with both savoury or sweet toppings such as jam or honey.

Ingredients

450g/ 1 lb/ 3 1/3 cups Strong white flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
25g/ 1oz Melted butter
300g/ 10oz/ 1 1/3 cups warm water
1 tablespoon Semolina or ground rice or cornmeal (for dusting)

In a large bowl add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast and mix together.
Add the melted butter and water and mix to a soft dough.
Knead the dough for 5 minutes and cover with oiled cling-film and leave to stand for approx 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Knead the dough for a couple of minutes on a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 balls.
Place on a baking tray dusted with half the semolina or ground rice or cornmeal (only use 1 not all 3) sprinkle remain over the top of the muffin, lightly press the muffin to slightly flatten them to roughly 1.5cm/ 3/4 inches thick, cover with a clean tea towel and leave until well risen approx.30 minutes.
Heat a heavy-based frying pan/ flat griddle to a medium heat (not to hot or the base of the muffins will burn). You may find if the muffins stick you can spray your pan with a little oil. Depending on the size of our pan place 3 to 4 muffins (cooking in batches) and cook gently for about 6 - 8 minutes or until they puff up and the bottom is golden brown, turn over and cook the other size for approx. 4 - 6 minutes. I find to make sure the centre is fully cooked I pre-heat my oven to a medium heat then the muffins are cooked I pop them on a baking tray in the oven for a approx 3 - 5 minutes on a medium heat.
Remove from oven, leave to cool.
Un-toasted muffins can stored in an airtight tin/ container for about two days.

Servicing suggestions - split the muffin in half and butter for hot muffin toast lightly for a few minutes before serving.
Great for as a daytime treat buttered with a little jam and a hot cup of tea.
Make a tasty breakfast with a poached egg and crispy bacon (or veggie crispy bacon)

Pikelets

2013-09-30T09:40:00.003-07:00

Super tasty served warm with butter or jam and a cup of tea. Pikelets are like crumpets but are thinner and not cooked in a ring. Pikelet in the UK are different from pikelets in other parts of the world as they are made with yeast not baking powder like Scotch crumpets/ pancakes (also very very tasty).

Best eaten the day they are made. This is an easy way to try cooking with yeast as no kneading is required.

Ingredients

125g/ 4.5 oz/ 1 cup Strong white flour

125g/ 4.5 oz/ 1 cup Plain white flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Sugar

350 ml /12 oz/ 1 1/2 cups Warm water & milk (1/2 water, 1/2 milk)

1/2 tsp fast-action dried yeast

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda (you will need 8 tablespoons of warm water)

In a large bowl add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast and mix together.
Add the warm milk and water and stir in until smooth.
Cover with cling-film and leave to stand for approx 2 hours until bubbles have risen in the mixture and started to fall again.

Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 8 tablespoons of warm water and whisk it into the batter.
Set aside for 15 minutes.
Heat a heavy-based frying pan or a flat griddle over a medium to high heat (not to hot or the base of the pikelets will burn but if nt hot enough the bubbles will not appear).
Drop a heaped tablespoon of batter on to the hot pan/ griddle and cook until the top of the pikelet is no longer wet and little bubbles will appear.
Turn pikelet over and cook the other side until it is lightly browned approx 1 1/2 minutes.
If you find the bottom of the pikelets burning, try heating your oven and when the bubbles appear on the pikelets pop them on a baking tray in the oven for a few minutes or until the top is dry then remove from the oven and return to the the pan/ griddle to lightly brown.

Can be served hot from the pan, or you can leave to cool then toast when required and butter.

Hummus

2012-11-02T05:45:00.000-07:00

This is a quick and super easy dip, I use organic tinned chickpeas as I think they have a nice texture and clean taste plus they have already been cooked. You can cook your own chickpeas if you prefer. This is my don't want to cook just want to roll up on the sofa nibble and dip food :)

Ingredients

1 200 grams / 7 oz can of chickpeas
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
2 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika

Drain chickpea and rinse, combine the chickpeas, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt and water in a food processor, and blend until creamy.

Add more lemon juice, garlic and salt to taste.

Serve in a large bowl (or small individual bowls) smoothing hummus with the back of a spoon and create a shallow well in the centre. Drizzle with olive oil (use your good extra virgin olive oil) and a sprinkling of the paprika.

Use as a dip for vegetables (great with raw carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and baby corn) or delicious with warm or toasted pita bread. Great to share with friends.

Cover and refrigerate any left over hummus use as soon as possible.

Mini Baked Cinnamon Donuts

2012-10-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

I was shopping and could not resist buying a mini silicone donuts mould tray. It looked so cute and the idea of baked healthy (OK healthy-ish) donuts appealed to me.

Mini Baked Cinnamon Donuts

Preheat the oven to 160°C/ 300°F/ Gas Mark 3

3 Heaped tablespoons plain flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon vegetable oil
3 Tablespoon caster sugar
5 Tablespoons milk (skimmed, semi-skimmed or whole)
1 Beaten egg
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt

For Dusting

A little melted butter
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Prepare large or small donut mould baking tray

Add the dry ingredient together in a bowl make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients. Mix into a smooth batter.

Add the batter to the donut mould making sure not to over fill (fill until just under the centre hole, I overfilled a little but they still looked cute and tasted good).

Cook for 10-15 minutes, until risen, golden and firm to the touch.

In a small bowl mix together the caster sugar and cinnamon. Melt the butter

Remove the cooked doughnuts from the tin and brush with the butter and toss into the cinnamon sugar. Leave to cool on a rack.

Eat warm or cold

This recipe and the mini mould baking tray made 2 batches.

Little Rustic Peach Pies

2012-09-11T06:27:00.001-07:00

Quick and tasty, peaches and cinnamon

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry (if you make your own try adding a tsp of ground cinnamon)
3 -4 Ripe peaches
1 tablespoon of sugar (depending on the sweetness of the peaches)
1 heaped teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 heaped teaspoon cornflour
A little sugar for sprinkling on pastry

Preheat oven at 200C / 400F / Gas Mark 6

Prepare your baking tray I used a Yorkshire pudding tray but a flat baking tray works just as well.
Remove stones from the peaches and cut into slices add to a bowl. Add the cinnamon, sugar and cornflour stir together to coat the peaches and set aside.

Un-roll if bought or roll our if home made the pastry and cut into 4 squares. Add a square of pastry to the baking tray and add a 1/4 of the peaches, wet the edges of the pastry with water and fold starting at a corner work your way around leaving a centre hole.

Repeat for the other 3 squares

Brush the pastry with milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Good eaten hot or cold, I served mine hot with cream. For a stylish look dust lightly with icing sugar before serving

Apple Streusel Cupcakes

2012-08-27T11:01:00.002-07:00

The whole kitchen smelt wonderful when cooking these delicious moist buttery apple cinnamon crumbly streusel topped cupcakes so so yummy.
Because of the moisture from the apples you may find your paper cases (if you used them) can get wet, you can double case or add another case when cooked if they are a gift.Or don't use cases use a muffin tin :)

Preheat the oven 180 C / 350 F / Gas mark 4

Ingredients

For the cake

2 oz / 50 grams Butter
2 oz / 50 grams Caster sugar
3 oz / 75 grams Self raising flour
1 Egg
2 Cooking apples (peeled, cored and diced)
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
A pinch of Salt
1 tablespoon Milk
Icing sugar to dust

For the streusel topping

2 oz / 50 grams Self raising flour
1 1/2 oz / 40 grams Butter (very cold and diced)
1 1/2 tablespoons Caster sugar
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon

First prepare the streusel topping, sift the flour into a bowl and add the butter. Rub together until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar than set aside.

For the cake, in a separate bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, continue to beat until fully mixed.

Sift in the flour and cinnamon and add to the mixture also adding the milk, fold everything together.

Spoon the mixture between 12 paper cases

Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly.

Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until browned and firm to touch.

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before eating, dust with icing sugar before serving.