Christmas Tiffin

 Recipe sounded so good. I made the mistake of using soft butter so it is not as hard as it should be.

For the Tiffin:

•          125 g raisins or sultanas

•          200 g glacé cherries

•          80 ml brandy

•          300 g Rich Tea biscuits

•          150 g butter (Hard unsalted)

•          40 g light brown soft sugar

•          200 g golden syrup

•          25 g cocoa powder, not drinking chocolate

For the topping:

•          100 g very dark chocolate

•          100 g milk chocolate

Instructions

Preparation:

1.        Grease the tin with a little butter OR line the base with baking parchment or a liner

2.        Cut the cherries into halves - no need to wash

3.        Put the fruit in a small bowl with the brandy and microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds

Stand for 5 minutes

Stir and microwave on HIGH for a further 30 seconds

For the Chocolate Tiffin:

1.        Crush the biscuits:

Put the biscuits in a large bag. Beat with a rolling pin until the biscuits are in small pieces.

2.        In a large saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, and golden syrup and mix to combine

3.        Turn off the heat, add the crushed biscuits and cocoa and mix thoroughly

4.        Add the fruit and any remaining liquor and mix carefully

5.        Press the mixture into the tin with the back of a spoon. Push it down firmly

6.        Leave to cool in the fridge.

For the Topping:

1.        When the base has cooled, tip it out of the tin and remove the liner

2.        Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a saucepan of hot water

3.        When the chocolate is melted, pour over the base and spread

4.        Leave to cool, then cut into squares.

Mincemeat Bakewell Tart

 Saw a similar Mary Berry Recipe so modified my own. Very tasty.

1 bought pastry case

6 Tbsp Mincemeat

3oz caster sugar

3oz softened butter

3oz ground almonds

2  eggs

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp baking powder

2oz plain flour

Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, 160°C fan. 

Spread mincemeat over the pastry case.

Beat together the sugar, butter, almonds, eggs, almond extract, baking powder and flour until creamy.

Spoon the mixture over pie case.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and risen. Cool in the tin. Cover with icing.

Fruit Crumble

 I made with Apples and mixed red fruits

For the crumble topping

• 100g soft light brown sugar
• 100g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 150g plain flour

For the filling

• 75g caster sugar
• 300g raspberries
• 300g strawberries, hulled and halved
• 100g blueberries
• 50g redcurrants

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Place the strawberries and raspberries for the filling in a saucepan along with the sugar. Bring to a simmer over a medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar as dissolved. Spoon into the base of a heatproof, glass baking dish.
3. Place the butter and flour in a food processor and pulse until it resembles rough breadcrumbs. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir through the sugar. Spoon the crumble topping on top of the fruit, then sprinkle the redcurrants and blueberries on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the topping is golden brown in colour.

Apple Cinnamon Custard Cake

 Made this in a loaf tin and frozen for later so hope it tastes as good as photograph looks.

20g unsalted butter

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 8 wedges, then cut into 1/2 cm thick slices

2 tbsp Grand Marnier, or other orange liqueur
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra

2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp icing sugar, sifted

Whipped Cream
1 cup thickened cream
1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

Position a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 180°C or 160°C fan forced. Grease a 23cm springform pan with 20g of butter
In a medium bowl, toss the apples with Grand Marnier (or Cointreau) to coat, and set aside

In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ½ cup caster sugar, baking powder, salt and 1/4 tsp of the cinnamon. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, milk, whole eggs and vanilla to blend. Whisk dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to form a smooth batter. Be careful not to over-mix.

Stir in the apples. Transfer the apple batter to prepared pan and, using a crank-handled spatula, spread batter into an even layer and press the apples in to submerge them. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining sugar and cinnamon to blend, and then sprinkle it evenly over the batter.

Bake for 40-50 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 15 mins. Run a knife around the sides of the cake and release the pan sides. Cool cake for about 30 mins to serve warm, or cool completely. Dust with icing sugar.

To make whipped cream, in a medium bowl, whisk cream and icing sugar until thick. To serve, cut cake into wedges and serve with a generous dollop of whipped cream.

Cherry and Marzipan Loaf

Made for a Myeloma Coffee afternoon - was really nice and every piece went 

150 g unsalted butter - softened

2 large eggs

150 g caster sugar

130 g self raising flour + a little extra for dusting the cherries

130 g ground almonds

1 tsp almond extract

150 g glacé cherries

150 g marzipan, cut into 1cm cubes

A little icing sugar

 

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan

Butter and line a loaf tin

Beat the butter (150g) and caster sugar (150g) until light and fluffy

Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after after adding the first egg before adding the second.

Add the almond extract (1 tsp)

Fold in the self-raising flour and ground almonds

Prepare the cherries by cutting in half 

In a separate bowl, sprinkle a little flour over the cherries and mix to lightly coat the cherries – coating the cherries in flour will help to stop them sinking to the bottom of the cake when it bakes

Fold the cherries into the cake mixture and the marzipan cubes

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and even out the top

Bake for approximately 40-50 minutes – You can use a skewer to check if it’s done, however a little of the marzipan may stick to the skewer meaning it doesn’t come out clean even when the cake is cooked.

Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes, remove from the tin and transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely

Cover with some glace icing and chopped cherries and marzipan

Rhubarb and Custard Pie

 Nice and tasty warm with clotted cream

1 unbaked pie shell

3 c. rhubarb cut into medium pieces

1/2 c. sugar plus 1 Tbsp

2 eggs beaten

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp. flour

1.   Place rhubarb in pie shell and top with 1 tbsp of sugar.

2.   In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients together and pour over rhubarb.

3.   Bake 10 minutes at 400°, and then 20-25 minutes at 350°.

Let cool completely before serving and store refrigerated

Tuscan Chicken

 A nice easy and tasty meal with chips, rice or jacket potato.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1.5 garlic cloves, minced
• 0.5 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp paprika
• 0.5 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp butter
• 0.5 cup heavy whipping cream
• 0.5 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated 
• 0.5 cup cherry tomatoes. halved
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• Handful Grated Cheddar
• 1/2 onion

1.           Season chicken with Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper.

2.           In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil.

3.           When the skillet gets nice and hot, add your chicken and sear on both sides until brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

4.           Add butter, garlic, onion and diced tomatoes to pan for 5 minutes stirring occasionally on medium/ low heat.

5.           De-glaze pan with chicken broth. Scrape the pan to remove the bits that might have stuck to the bottom.

6.           Add heavy cream, tomato puree, cheeses and spinach and simmer on medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken stirring occasionally so that it doesn't stick. (It took approx seven minutes.)

7.           Add the chicken back to the skillet, and simmer on low heat for five minutes.

Calories: 380kcal | Net Carbohydrates: 4g

Rhubarb Squares

Made this with Strawberries instead of rhubarb. My condensed milk was quite a dark yellow so cooked cake was quite dark.

14 ounces canned condensed milk

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour

2 cups diced rhubarb

1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar, optional

Instructions

1.                 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a square 9×9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.

2.                 In a large bowl, use a sturdy spoon or spatula to stir together the condensed milk and flour until combined.

3.                 Next, add in the diced rhubarb and fold into the thick batter. The batter is extremely thick, so don’t be alarmed! 

4.                 Transfer batter to lined cake pan.  Press the batter into the pan, being sure to get into the corners.  Try to get the top as evenly flat as possible. 

5.                 Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing from pan.  Cut into 16 squares and dust with confectioner's sugar if you so desire.

 

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g

 

If you want beautiful, bright red flecks of rhubarb in your squares, soak the diced rhubarb in grenadine for an hour.  

Crustless Quiche

 This amount serves 2; I used garlic granules and streaky bacon

Fry Light Spray

1 Clove Garlic peeled and very finely chopped

2 bacon Medallions cut into strips

200 g Mushrooms quartered

3 Medium Eggs

30 ml Skimmed Milk

30 g Low fat Cheddar Cheese grated

Salt & Black pepper

2 Cherry tomatoes halved

Calories 165 / Net Carbs 4

 

You will need an 8 inch / 20cm flan dish or sandwich tin

Preheat your oven 180C/350F/Gas4

In a frying pan, using fry light fry your bacon medallion pieces, garlic and mushrooms for approx 10 minutes until lightly golden

Spray your flan dish or sandwich tin with Fry Light and tip in your cooked mushroom & bacon

Next crack your eggs in to a bowl, add your milk, salt & pepper and mix with a fork or whisk

Add your grated cheese to your egg mix and stir

Tip your egg mix over your mushrooms and bacon into the flan dish or tin

Pop your halved Cherry tomatoes on top

Bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until cooked (firm to the touch) and golden in colour

Blueberry Scones

 I made using strawberries and added some icing on top - very moorish.

·    1 ¼cup Almond flour

·    1/3 cup Coconut flour

·    ¼ cup Granular erythritol sweetener, 

·    1/2 teaspoons Gluten free baking powder

·    2 Tbsp Butter, soft

·    ¼ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

·    ¼cup Cream

·    2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

·    1 large Egg

·    1/2 cup Blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS

1.                  Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.                  In the bowl of your mixer combine all of the dry ingredients.

3.                  Add the softened butter and cream it together with the dry ingredients until it is well mixed.

4.                  Add the almond milk, vanilla extract, and egg and continue mixing until well combined.

5.                  Add the blueberries and using a spatula fold them into the dough. Leave to settle for 15 minutes.

6.                  Using your hand, shape dough into a circle. Cut into 8 and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

7.                  Bake in the 350 degree F oven for 18-23 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and you begin to see a few golden brown spots on top.

8.                  Remove from the oven and let the scones cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

 

110 Calories / 3 Carbs

Leg of Lamb with Harissa, Roasted Aubergines & Tomatoes

 Recipe from Ocado - was delicious

• 2 aubergines, thickly cut into 1cm slices
• 1 red onion
• 2½ kg leg of lamb
• 3 tsp harissa paste
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil with garlic
• 16 small vine tomatoes

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2. Line a roasting tin with the aubergine slices, then scatter over the onion. Place the leg of lamb on top of the vegetables, and tuck the halved garlic alongside.

Step 2

Stab the lamb all over with a very sharp knife, then rub all over with the harissa paste. Sprinkle the meat and vegetables with the sea salt, then drizzle over the garlic oil. Transfer to the oven and roast for 30 mins, uncovered, then cover with foil and roast for a further 2 hrs.

Step 3

Turn up the oven to 180°C/150°C fan/gas 5 and uncover the lamb. Cook for 30-40 minutes until lamb is to your liking. Turn oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2 for last 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the tin for the last 20 minutes.