Have Your Cake, And Eat It

Baking is one of my passions in life. Watching a pasty mixture turn golden brown and mellow is one of the most satisfying things. But when your passion adds more weight to your middle than your life, it was inevitable that I would go on a cake detox.

It, however, wasn't really by choice. When I moved to uni, I envisaged baking thousands of things to share with my flatmates. But, on seeing the size, and later, the state, of our kitchen, I decided otherwise and indulged on victoria sponges made by Marks and Spencer and cookies of volumes larger than the whole nation of America would consume.

When your kitchen looks as 'clean' as your desk on a daily basis, nothing is getting done!!

Writing, then, took over. I've always loved writing and it is passion equal to my love of baking. Baking and writing should strike quite a nice balance. When you don't write, bake. And when you don't bake, write. But I've found it that much harder to do than say it.

I'm tight. I can't deny it. I try to save my money in all areas I can, and so the last thing I want to be doing is spending my student loan on flour and sugar - although I wish I did. I've gotten better at spending (and I still manage to save!) so hopefully next year should see some more baking creations.

Writing takes alot of time, but I've decided to dedicate more time to baking this summer, especially as I'm going to be working selling sandwiches until September.

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You won't find a yellow banana in our house, most days, so before holiday the black ones went straight into the freezer and a banana and carrot loaf. 

I don't know why it should be like this, but I've never actually done a cream cheese topping like this. It was so easy and spread like a dream. Usually I don't get a lot of texture in my icings. They are either too runny or spread smooth like a glaze - good for somethings, but I'm all about volume! 

So I thought I'd share it with you, though - to be honest - if you do any cooking at all, you've probably already got this in your baking bible! 

Simply mix 150g cream cheese (philly - straight from the fridge) with 2 tbsp lemon curd. Go quick, but avoid over-beating, then spread straight away!

That's all for now! :D  

Orange Cheesecake

I was feeling like cooking yesterday but I didn't know exactly what it was that I wanted to do. When my heart's not in it, anything I make is a good as useless. 

I poured through some of my favourite cookbooks and my mum's too but didn't find anything that made me jump to the cupboard and start measuring flour. 

I looked around the kitchen, my eyes resting on the fruit basket laden with a thousand oranges and a few grapefruit that we're forbidden to eat. Oranges it was then. 

I looked at chocolate orange cakes, orange trifle, orange and cranberry muffins - everything with that word in it but I found nothing. So I resolved to make it up as I go along. 

I grabbed a grater from the drawer and pulled thin ribbons of orange peel off and into a bowl. With the juicer in hand, I squeezed 2 oranges dry then scoured the fridge for what else I could add to this concoction. 

I was adamant that what ever I made was heading straight into the bin but after pouring icing sugar, Philadelphia, whipped cream and gelatin in the bowl, I had a cheesecake filling. I made a base for the dessert (crunching digestives with melted butter) and left it in a loose-bottomed tin over night. 

And this is what I got ... 

A very thin, but otherwise perfectly formed, orange cheesecake complete with a rose design made out of orange peel. 

Whether it tastes any good is still a thought that hangs in the air but nevertheless, if it doesn't taste that good at least it will have been nice to look at! 

Carrot and walnut cupcakes

These delicious little cakes were SOOOO moist and delicious. Every mouthful was a mixture of soft fluffy cake pickled with the crunch of walnuts. The colour of them was just lovely!! The orange strands of fresh carrots really brightened them up! :D (I'm just in LOVE with these!) 

They read didn't take long to bake either. Just 15 minutes before they were beautifully golden and firm to the touch. Absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself. :D 

To finish them off I iced them with a Philadelphia and icing sugar mixture with orange juice. That really finished it of. The icing was just so smooth and mixture of textures and colours was just divine! 

I'm using the recipe from my absolute favourite baking book at the moment: 'Home Baking'. I adore books and for me I low nothing more than sifting through cooking books :D I bought it last summer in 'The Works' in the UK for about £3.99 and every recipe I've made from it has turned out remarkably well for a heavy handed and poor decorating baker like me! 

As far as I can tell, 'The Works' no longer sells the book but follow the link below for the book on Amazon: 

tinyurl.com/k2whvmc

Fruit Flan

What I love love love about any summer pudding or dessert at brunch is the BEAUtiful array of fruits in store. Nothing says summer like ripe fruits stacked on a light cake or in a sweet pastry that can be enjoyed with cream in the garden. I love it! I've just made this flan and (call it geeky or weird) I can't help but feel warm inside when I look at this flan :D

SUPER SIMPLE Granola Pots

So what with our healthy diet, I've been experimenting with low fat and low cholesterol foods - a novelty. I've always been fairly conscious of what I eat in recent years after stopping 5 day-a-week swimming training in year 11. However, as summer kicks in, I've a new-found drive to eat healthy food that's both filling and quick. This is definitely a breakfast, snack or dessert that ticks all of those boxes for me.

Granola Pots:

Ingredients:
A handful of blueberries
A handful of red grapes
A handful of raspberries
30g sultanas
4 dessert spoons of 'fat-free'/ low fat or skimmed natural yogurt
2 dessert spoons of rolled oats (porridge)

Method:
1. Wash your fruit
2. Place at the bottom of a tall glass
3. Spoon over the yogurt
4. Sprinkle the oats on top

As you can probably gather, this is a very basic recipe but you can always change any of the fruits for whatever you want; perhaps try dried apricots and bananas or strawberries and kiwi. You can, if the rolled oats aren't your thing, crumble a granola bar on top of the yogurt, toast your oats for 2 mins before placing atop or use a breakfast cereal such as cornflakes or a 'Jordan's' variety to pack in that crunch.

The end result should look something like this - I haven't made this; the image is purely for exemplification purposes (www.realfood.tesco.com)

The Lifestyle Change: Day 2

A few days ago my father was diagnosed with dangerously high cholesterol and blood pressure levels and high blood sugar. With such news in mind it's suffice to say that we've gone on somewhat of a lifestyle change. We gone out with the bad; the unhealthy snacking and dependence on white carbs in favour of morning runs, whole wheat and extra lashings of chicken. Having already tried ultra healthy meals from Weightwatchers without much success, I could hardly be hopeful for what fat free and low cholesterol meals might hold for us. The thought, for me, was hardly an appeasing one. Nevertheless, the dietary change is a necessity and there is no questioning its importance. Day 2 of a diet that time can only tell how long it might last, we've had a first lunch that I will cook again; a couscous salad.

Dad's low cholesterol vegetable couscous:

Ingredients:
350g couscous
100g green beans
1 red capsicum
4 medium tomatoes
300g sweet potato
500ml vegetable stock (made from 1 knorr/maggi stock cube dissolved in 500ml boiling water)
100g frozen peas (thawed)
150g frozen sweet corn kernels (thawed)

Method:
1. Pour the dry couscous in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling stock over the top
2. Cover and leave for 5 mins until the couscous has soaked up the liquid
3. Meanwhile, dice the sweet potato and boil in a pan for 5 mins or until tender
4. Chop the green beans in half width ways and boil for 5 mins or until soft
5. Dice the capsicum and tomatoes
6. Once the couscous is cooked transfer to a large mixing bowl
7. To the couscous add the cooked potato, beans, capsicum, tomatoes, sweet corn and peas
8. Toss together until well combined

9. For the dressing, thinly dice 1 clove of garlic and place in a small bowl with 1 tbsp chopped mint or mint paste
10. Add to it 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp clear honey
11. Mix well and then pour over couscous
12. Mix well and serve

Healthy as this may be it is a clear lunch favourite and like a broken lift on the 15th floor, it won't let you down!

Round-Up

Although I HAVE actually been baking recently, it's been a while since I posted anything. So, I just wanted to give a brief round-up of what's been baking in my house recently and, perhaps, inspire you to get baking this summer.

Flatbreads

These flatbreads were INCREDIBLY simple to make and very soft. The yield made 7 which we ate with a Hungarian Goulash as a substitution for rice so I made another 10 which I froze for easy use whenever. Whether from frozen or fresh these are such a fulfilling treat.

Spinach and Olive Bread

This bread was somewhat of my own creation, taken from an olive bread I found in the Italian cookbook. What made me decide to put Spinach in it, I seriously don't know but was quite a complimentary ingredient.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche 

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

These Mushroom and Spinach quiches were taken form my favourite recipe book - an old book from the Women's Institute full of real good food from the late 1960s as well as many English classics.

Stay tuned for recipes on simple granola pots and cheese and mushroom risotto.