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. 

Egg Custard Tart - A Student Dessert

The egg tart is probably one of my fonder memories from the UK. Walking into Tesco's and seeing them meanly LOADED absolutely FULL of custard and crumbly pastry flecked with nutmeg. Mmmmmm.... No doubt they contained little goodness and most probably came under the category of 'processed food'. This recipe is an honest portrayal of the classic French delicacy which the British and world citizen's alike have enjoyed for many years and will continue to enjoy for many more. 

Custard Tart

Ingredients:

• 175g plain flour
• 100g butter
• 25g icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp cold water

• 300ml milk
• 2 eggs 
• 1 egg yolk
• 25g caster sugar
• 1 tsp nutmeg powder

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C

1. Rub together the flour, butter and icing sugar until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs
2. Add the egg yolk and water until the mixture just sticks together in a ball
3. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until thin enough to cover the base of a regular tart tin
4. Place parchment paper over the top and weight down with baking beans
5. Bake for 7 mins
6. Remove when cooked
7. Meanwhile, heat the milk on a medium heat in a small saucepan until small bubbles form round the edge
8. Remove from the heat
9. Separately, in a large heat-proof bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk together with the caster sugar
10. Pour the warm milk into the eggs
11.  Whisk, briskly, until completely blended 
12. Sieve into the baked pastry case
13. Sprinkle the nutmeg evenly over the top
14. Bake for 15 mins
15. Reduce the oven temperature to 170 degrees C WITHOUT removing the tart from the oven
16. Bake for a further 30 mins
17. Serve warm or cold

Before Baking

After Baking

Pasta and Meatballs - A Student Meal

I made this one Tuesday night for my family. It's really simple but incredibly tasty and not too tight in the pocket :D - an added bonus!!

Almost ready to be served :D

It's really not that hard. To serve 5, you'll need;

• an onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 x packets of pre-formed meatballs (each containing 16 meatballs)
• one jar of tomato sauce
• tbsp tomato puree 
• 5 fresh basil leaves
• 500g pasta
• pinch of salt 

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a wok
2. Dice the onion and add to the pan
3. Fry until brown and then thinly slice the garlic cloves and add
4. Boil a full kettle of water 
5. Empty the pasta in a deep empty pan
6. Once the kettle has boiled, pour over the water until just covered and another tbsp of oil to it
7. leave to boil on a meduim heat
8. Meanwhile, put the meatballs into the onions and garlic and fry until completely browned and golden in some parts

The partially cooked meatball

9. Once cooked, mix with the tomato puree and then the sauce

10. Bring to the boil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper

11. Take the pasta off the heat and add a pinch of salt

12. Finely, cut the basil leaves and place in the meatball sauce

drain the pasta and serve

13. Turn off the meatballs and pour over the top

14. Serve

The good thing about this meal is that the meatballs stay lovely and moist and the sauce is very thick. Also, because the balls are beef, you should need to worry about them being cooked all the way through to avoid food poisoning as you do with chicken.   

BBQ Birthday

I turned 18 on the 8th of April this year and never got round to having a party because I was busy (celebrating with my family, doing revision and heading to a metallica concert!) But I finally got round to holding a pool party with many of my closest friends.
I made a couple of things to eat because everyone loves a BBQ with LOADS of food (especially me because I love left overs - though, 3 days later, I am a bit sick of eating couscous and kebabs).



I made;

• roasted vegetable couscous
• vegetable rice
• tomato and mozzarella pasta salad
• lettuce salad
• potato salad
• vegetable skewers (aubergine, courgette - yellow and green - mushrooms and peppers)
• strawberry pavlova
• mascapone cheesecake
• lemon and blackcurrant Victoria sponge 
• trifle (made by my mum)

Strawberry Pavlova;
(serves 8)
Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees C. Whisk 3 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually, tablespoon by tablespoon, whisk in 175g caster sugar, beating well after each addition. Separately, combine a teaspoon of cornflour with a teaspoon of vinegar. Add this to the egg white mixture. Line a baking dish with parchment paper and spread 2 tablespoons of the mixture into an even circle in the middle. Dollop consecutive tablespoons around the edge until the circle is complete. Turn the oven temperature down to 140 degrees and bake for 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Whip 300ml cream and dollop all in the middle. Decorate with strawberry halves and serve.

Vegetable Rice;
(serves 6)
Steam 500g basmati rice in boiling water in a pan over the hob for 10 mins (with the lid of the pan on). Remove the lid and pour in 200g frozen chooped vegetables and return to steam for 5 mins. Serve.

(For left-overs my mum made egg fried rice with this;
Pour the rice into a warm frying pan. Crack an egg or two - depending on amount of rice - into the middle and stir until the egg is cooked and mixed into the rice. Serve)

Vegetable Couscous;
(Serves 6)
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C. Dice 1/2 a large aubergine, 1 orange bell pepper and 1 red pepper. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a baking dish and then pour in the cut vegetables. Bake for 20 minutes until the vegetable look slightly shriveled and roasted. Then pour enough boiling water to just cover 250g couscous in a pan. Wait for 10 minutes until the couscous is fluffy without putting the pan on the heat and then season with salt. Stir in the mixed veg with their oil and juices and serve.


I'll be doing a student dinners section very soon, teaching all the Uni students how to cook quick and delicious 'mummy' meals. Stay tuned :D

Super Simple Pitta Pizzas

I've just rustled this up for my lunch tomorrow. It's a pizza made on a pre-made pitta and is very very fast.

Ingredients:
1 wholemeal pitta bread
1 tsp tomato puree
1 tsp fat free soft cheese
grated cheese
tbsp black, pitted and sliced olives
4 small basil leaves

Method:

1. Baste the pitta bread with the soft cheese and the spread the tomato puree on top
2. Sprinkle enough grated cheese to cover the base thickly and sprinkle on
3. Spread the olives out on top of the cheese 
4. Grate more cheese that will provide a thin layer and sprinkle over the olives
5. Grill (I did this step in the microwave) for 4 1/2 minutes 
6. Immediately remove from the grill and ensure that the cheese has melted
7. Then arrange the basil leaves on top 

Lemon Drizzle

I was very lucky this Christmas to receive Paul Holloywood's 'How to Bake' recipe book. It features some wonderful recipes including this; which is named Mr's Post's Lemon Drizzle Cake. I made it today and it was an absolute treat and very light and fluffy. I found it best to do this recipe solely with a wooden spoon.

Makes 9 squares
Ingredients:
Cake:
75g butter
125g caster sugar
150g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tbsp lemon curd
2 1/2 tbsp full-fat milk

Drizzle:
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees

1. Beat butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy
2. Add all the other ingredients (for the cake) and beat until thoroughly combined
3. Pour the mixture into a medium square baking tray
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden
5. As soon as the cake is taken out of the oven, mix the lemon juice and sugar (for the drizzle) in a small saucepan until just boiling (with small bubbles forming on the edges) and the sugar is dissolved
6. Pour evenly over the hot cake and allow to completely cool
7. When cool, cut into 9 squares
8. If you want, dust with icing sugar

Almond Shortbread

These shortbread biscuits are made at the suggestion of my good friend Danielle (www.greyeyesblueskies.blogspot.com) and were great to celebrate the end of my Jan exams! :D These were delicious but just needed a tad more sugar to the original recipe (which I have now added). I hope you enjoy their melt-in-the-mouth texture as much as I did!

Makes 15
Ingredients:
150g plain flour
150g butter
75g cornflour
100g caster sugar
1 tsp almond essence
handful of flaked almonds

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees

1. Either in a food processor or with a wooden spoon, combine the flour, butter, cornflour, caster sugar and almond essence until it forms a strong dough (about 3 mins)
2. Place into a lined medium square baking tray and flatten to fill out the tray
3. Sprinkle the flaked almonds evenly on top and prick the shortbread all over with a fork
4. Bake for 40 minutes until golden and firm
5. Leave until lukewarm and them cut out 15 pieces leaving in the tin
6. When completely cool removed and store

Mary Berry's Apple Cobbler

This recipe is the best Mary Berry recipe I've ever made and is remarkably easy as well as sweet. With such a recipe at your hands, it is no doubt that you will be viewed as a professional chef in no time! (Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture for this recipe)

Serves 5
Ingredients:
Filling;
200g raw brown sugar
45g plain flour
30g butter
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 large cooking apples

Cobble dough;
150g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
45g butter
175ml milk

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees

1. Measure out brown sugar and flour (for the filling) into a small saucepan with 250ml water
2. Bring to the boil over a medium heat and continuously stir
3. When thickened remove from the heat
4. Immediately stir in the butter, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg (for the filling) until melted and thoroughly combined
5. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples
6. Arrange into a medium sized round baking dish
7. Pour the sauce over the apples
8. Now begin the dough; combine flour and baking powder in a medium bowl
9. Rub in the butter with fingertips until loosely combined (not thin like breadcrumbs)
10. Add the milk and mix loosely so as the mix is still lumpy
11. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture over the apples but not in a way that the entire bowl is covered in the dough
12. Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden
13. Serve immediately with cream/ ice cream

Juicy Teabread

This is a very quick, store-cupboard fruit loaf (or teabread) that is a perfect uni recipe or alternatively a lazy Saturday one (or Sunday if you're not in the middle-east). I've made this before and I find it so tasty so I wanted to share it with you.

Juicy Teabread
Ingredients:
Soaked fruit (150g raisins, 150g dried apricots and 50g glace cherries soaked for 30 mins in 150ml boiling water)
75g brown sugar
1 egg
175g self-raising flour

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C

1. Grease and line a loaf tin
2. Add the sugar and egg to the soaked fruit, folding in with a spoon
3. Sift in the flour into the same bowl and fold in until completely combined
4. Place in the oven for 50 minutes checking that the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer and ensuring that it comes out clean 
5. After 10 minutes, turn out the cake onto a wire rack to cool

Banana Bread; a twist

Banana bread is one of the most crucial recipes that anyone should learn but it super delicious and  moist. It is perfect as a warm pudding or taken in slices for packed lunches - like I had today :) This is my twist on the recipe which incorporates bananas, walnuts and coffee and finishes off with a toffee sauce. This is by far my favourite way to get rid of those over-ripe bananas without them going to waste.

Laura's Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3 large over-ripe bananas (mashed)

250g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter

2 eggs

'coffee concentrate' (2 heaped teaspoons of instant coffee dissolved in 50ml boiling water)

260g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 handfuls of walnuts

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup cream

1/3 cup butter

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C

1. Line and grease a loaf tin with grease-proof paper
2. Whisk together the bananas and sugar for a good 4 minutes until smooth
3. Now beat in the butter until the mixture is, once again, smooth
4. Beat in the eggs, once at a time and then mix with 2 tablespoons of the coffee 'concentrate'
5. Now sift in the flour and baking powder and FOLD in with a wooden spoon
6. Fold in the walnuts pieces and the spread into the loaf tin
7. Bake for 45 minutes (This mixture tends to be quite wet so insert a skewer or fork from the top to the base of the cake to ensure it is fully cooked through - the skewer should come out of the cake clean)
8. Remove from the tin and leave to cool
9. Once cool, combine the brown sugar, butter and cream in a saucepan and constantly stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved
10. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture until thickened the pour directly over banana bread

Iced Cinnamon Pinwheels

These quick and easy cinnamon pinwheels are absolutely delicious - if I do say so myself - and are best made a day before consumption.

Iced Cinnamon Pinwheels
Ingredients:
1 cup caster sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon powder
500g puff pastry
1 beaten egg

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C

1. Grease a large, flat baking tray
2. Prepare and clean a work-surface by wiping and greasing
3. In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon and then divide in half (placing half the mixture in one bowl and the other half in another bowl)
4. Now roll out your pastry into a square about 4cm in thickness and sprinkle evenly one of the bowls of cinnamon sugar onto the surface
5. Now roll out the pastry into a rectangle of about 2cm thickness pressing down so as the sugar goes into the pastry
6. Now baste the surface with the beaten egg (don't feel as though you must use all of it, if the mixture gets too wet and runny. Use enough so that the surface is lightly coated and there is no surface run-off)
7. Now evenly sprinkle the remainder of the sugar on top
8. Roll the pastry from one short end to the other
9. Glue the ends together with a brush of beaten egg then cut into thin slices and place on a baking tray
10. Place in the oven to cook for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling
11. Leave on the tray until cool before removing
12. You can decorate the pinwheels with glace icing by mixing around 50g of icing sugar with 2 teaspoons of warm water (adding more if needed) until the correct consistency is created and topping with a cherry