Baked Raspberry Donuts with Chocolate Glaze

I only got 5 out of this mix was supposed to do 6. They are not that large so you could eat 2 :)

·         1 Cup All Purpose Flour

·         1/3 Granulated Sugar

·         1 tsp Baking Powder

·         ¼ tsp Cinnamon

·         ¼ tsp Kosher Salt

·         1 Large Egg , lightly beaten

·         1/3 Cup Butter Milk (or milk and lemon juice)

·         1 tsp Vanilla

·         ½ Cup Raspberries – roughly chopped

Glaze:

·         ¾ Cup Powdered Sugar

·         3 TBS Milk

·         ¼ tsp Vanilla Extract

·         ¾ Cup White Chocolate Chips

·         Sprinkles (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add in egg, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir until just combined. Add in raspberries and gently fold to combine. The batter should be thick.

3.  Spoon the batter into a large piping bag or freezer bag (with tip snipped off wide enough for pecans to pass through). Pipe batter into pan cavities filling about 3/4 full (batter will expand and rise).

4.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the top of donut springs back to touch. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan 5 minutes before removing. Remove donuts and let cool completely before glazing.

5.  Meanwhile, Make the Glaze: Melt white chocolate, milk and vanilla extract in a double boiler over medium-low heat. Allow to cool slightly. Whisk in powdered sugar. Dip the tops of donuts in the glaze and generously top with sprinkles. 

Strawberry Yogurt Cake

I made 2/3 of this mix in a loaf tin and cut into 10 squares

·         1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

·         2 cups granulated sugar

·         3 large eggs

·         3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided

·         Zest of 1 lemon

·         2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

·         1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         8 ounces plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt

·         12 ounces fresh strawberries, diced

·         1 cup powdered sugar

1.     Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 1/4 cups of flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.

2.     With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.

3.     Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.

4.     Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

5.     Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie

The Cheesecake mix tasted wonderful. When I made this again I will use strawberry coulis mixed in the cheesecake mix instead of ice cream.

1 cup heavy whipping cream

½ cup cream cheese, softened
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
1 small container strawberry ice cream
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 pint fresh strawberries

1. Allow Halo Top ice cream to come to room temperature (should be soft and scoopable).


2. In a blender or food processor, pulse whipping cream until thick (not peaked). Add cream cheese, condensed milk, and vanilla. Mixture should have thick, pudding-like consistency. 


3. In the graham cracker crust, alternate large spoonfuls of cheesecake and Halo Top.

4. Using a skewer, lightly swirl them together. Place in the freezer about 15-20 minutes to set. Add an additional layer of cheesecake/Halo Top and swirl again. Freeze until set (about 2-3 hours)


6. Slice strawberries into thin slices and fan in the center of the pie. Serve immediately. 


Easiest ever chocolate cheesecake

Seemed to be a hit with Rob & Malcolm although very sweet

100g Honey Nut Cornflakes

1 jars Hazelnot Spread (400g)

1 x 180g tubs of cream cheese

      Put 100g honey nut cornflakes and (100g) of chocolate hazelnut spread in a bowl and beat to combine – don’t worry about breaking up the cornflakes. Press the mix into the base of a 23cm springform tin.

      In a separate bowl, beat tub of cream cheese until smooth, then fold in the remaining  (300g) of chocolate hazelnut spread. Smooth onto the cornflake base, wrap tightly in cling film and freeze overnight.

·     Remove from the freezer 20-30 mins before serving, or until you can cut it easily with a sharp knife. Serve in slices with 1 tbsp roasted and chopped hazelnuts sprinkled over. Will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Cherry Bakewell Pudding

Made this with one tin of cherry filling to 2/3 of the sponge

2 x 425g cans pitted black cherries , in syrup

6 tbsp cherry jam

200g butter, softened

200g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs

50g self-raising flour

140g ground almond

1 tsp almond extract

50g flaked almond

icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1.    Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the syrup from the cherries and the jam into a saucepan. Boil for 10-15 mins until the liquid has reduced by half and is thick and syrupy, and add the cherries to the pan. Pour into a baking dish, roughly 18 x 25cm, then set aside.

2.    In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, almonds, almond extract and a pinch of salt with an electric whisk until combined. Dollop the sponge mixture over the cherries and spread to a smooth layer, trying not to disturb the cherries underneath too much. Scatter over the flaked almonds, then bake for 45 mins until a skewer inserted into the sponge layer comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then dust with icing sugar and serve with cream or, better yet, custard.

Caramel Banana Cream Pie

Used a pastry base instead of digestives and a tin of nestle caramel instead of the sweets

Serves: 8-10

For the Graham Cracker Crust:

·         12 graham cracker sheets

·         ¼ cup sugar

·         ¼ cup butter, melted

For the Pie Filling:

·         2 bananas

·         1 11oz package caramels, unwrapped

·         3-4 TBS heavy cream

·         1 3.5 oz instant vanilla pudding mix

·         1 3.5 oz instant banana cream pudding mix

·         2½ cups milk

·         8 oz cool whip

Crush your graham crackers into a fine crumb. (It should make about 1½ cups).

Mix together your sugar with your graham cracker crumb in a medium sized bowl.

Pour your melted butter over the top of your crumb and mix it all together.

Pour your crust mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch pie crust pan and press down on the bottom and the edges.

Cut your bananas into slices and lay them over your graham cracker crust.

Combine your caramels and heavy cream in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium until caramels are melted and smooth, stirring throughout. Pour caramel over banana slices (reserve about ¼ cup if desired for later).

Pour your pudding mixes into a large bowl and pour your milk over it and stir together. Add ½ cup of cool whip to the pudding mixture and mix well.

Pour pudding mixture over caramel and smooth top. Place in fridge to set for about 3 hours.

Top with remaining cool whip and additional bananas before serving.

Smoked Salmon Terrine

Didn't have red salmon so used pink - think the red would make the colour pinker

·         ½ Cucumber

·         280g Soft cheese

·         3 tbsp Mayonnaise

·         200g Smoked salmon, finely chopped

·         213g Red salmon, can, drained and flaked

·         1 Lemon, finely grated zest and 1 tbsp of juice only

·         1 tbsp Dill, fresh, chopped

·         60g Butter, melted

Instructions

1            Cut half the cucumber into thin rings and dice the rest. Put the diced bits in a bowl and sprinkle with salt, leave for 20 minutes then drain and squeeze out excess liquid with kitchen paper.

2            Meanwhile, beat together the soft cheese with the mayonnaise, all the salmon, lemon zest and juice and dill. Fold in the diced cucumber and half the melted butter. Season to taste.

3            Spoon into a large glass jar or 6 glass ramekins. Top with cucumber slices and brush the top with melted butter.

4            Cover tightly with clingfilm and chill overnight. Serve with oatcakes or fresh crusty bread.