Category: Recipes
Berry Souffle with Yogurt and Blood Orange

Berry Souffle with Yogurt and Blood Orange

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Ok, so for a second I’d like you to cast from your mind any previous things you’ve ever known or thought about souffles. Forget the stereotype that they’re hard, posh and chefy – listen to this. I’m a strong believer that if you have the right recipe you can make just about anything. In the past I’ve struggled with souffles but I think that’s down to the individual recipes rather than the technique. The other day I decided to whip up a quick souffle in the same way I normally would, but this time following a different ratio of ingredients, and it somehow resulted in some of the best souffles I’ve ever made.

Souffles have to be served straight from the oven otherwise they sink, but I’ve always heard that a good souffle should still have some marshmallowy bounce to it even after it’s sunk from it’s original glory – and hey presto that’s what happened here! Photographs taken, uploaded and tweaked and even after all that these beauties were like little pillows of fruity air. It’s traditional to serve these at fancy dinner parties, but personally I think why not eat them whenever? They take relatively little time to make as far as desserts go and are super light, making them perfect for summer days!

Recipe

Serves 2

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • Butter for greasing
  • 100g Caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 100g Frozen cherries
  • 50g Frozen raspberries
  • 50g Frozen blackberries
  • ¼ tsp Ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp Ground ginger
  • 10g Cornflour
  • 2 Egg whites

To serve

  • 1 Blood orange
  • 2 tsp of Greek yogurt

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Take 2 ramekins and grease them with butter in vertical lines. Chill the ramekins in the freezer for 15 minutes and then sprinkle a little caster sugar to line the mould. Tap out the excess and then leave in the fridge until needed.
  2. Now make the fruit puree. Put the frozen fruit and spices into a small pan and leave covered for 15-20 minutes on a low heat to simmer and soften. Then press the mixture through a sieve to make a puree (make sure to scrape mixture off the bottom of the sieve as lots of puree will collect there).
  3. Put the puree and 50g of the sugar into a pan and bring back up to the boil.
  4. Mix the cornflour and 2 tsp of water in a small bowl and add it to the puree. Stir over a medium heat until the mixture thickens to a jam-like consistency. Pour 50g of the puree into a large, clean mixing bowl and leave to cool completely.
  5. Crack the two egg whites into a super-clean metal or glass bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and whisk again until the mixture is stiff and fluffy.
  6. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the fruit mixture until uniform in colour. Then fold in the other 2/3 to make a thick, even mixture.
  7. Divide the mixture between the two chilled ramekins and tap them gently on the worktop to make sure the mixture fills the ramekins. Then take a palette knife (or the back of a table knife) and sweep it across the top of the ramekins to make the top a smooth layer.
  8. Take your thumb at an angle and run it around the rim of the ramekin to shape the top. Then bake the souffles in the oven for 5-10 minutes until risen and just golden on top.
  9. Whilst baking chop the top and bottom off the blood orange and then peel the skin off with a knife. Then slice the orange into discs around 1/2 cm wide.
  10. Serve the souffles as soon as they come out of the oven with the orange slices and 1 tsp of yogurt on each plate!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 
Whortleberry and Coconut Roly Poly with Coconut Custard

Whortleberry and Coconut Roly Poly with Coconut Custard

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What a magnificent word is whortleberry eh? I’d never heard of it before my trip down to Devon last month when I came across a jar of whortleberry jam in a little corner shop. It sounded really weird but I’m always one for trying new flavours so I knew I had to give it a go. Flavour wise it’s a kinda cross between a blueberry and a blackberry, but it also just makes the perfect combo with coconut. I really wanted to use this stuff in a recipe but I wasn’t sure how to incorporate jam into something as fun as it’s name. Then I remembered just how much I love a good roly poly, and the name whortleberry jam roly poly was something too good to pass on.

It might seem a bit weird to have a traditional sticky British pud in summer, but I personally see no reason to put an expiration date on these beauties. I mean I kid you not when I say that I saw snow, rain and glorious sunshine within hours of each other yesterday so anything goes. Besides, this is comfort food 101 and that stuff is needed all year round so I’m bringing the roly poly into May – coconut, whortleberry, custard and all!

Recipe

Serves 8

Time:  1 hour plus extra time for cooking

Ingredients

  • 50g Coconut Oil, plus extra for greasing
  • 200g Self raising flour
  • 50g Desiccated coconut
  • ½ tbsp Vanilla bean paste
  • 50g Vegetable suet, shredded
  • 150ml Coconut milk
  • 150g Whortleberry (or blueberry) jam

For the custard

  • 250ml Coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
  • 50g Caster sugar
  • 3 Egg yolks
  • 10g Plain flour
  • 10g Cornflour

To serve

  • A handful of Blueberries
  • 75g Whortleberry (or blueberry) jam
  • 25g Flaked coconut

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Take a deep roasting tin and fill it with water about 2/3 full. Put this onto the bottom shelf, or base of the oven and leave in the oven.
  2. Take a sheet of foil and another of greaseproof paper and lay the paper on top of the foil. Grease the paper lightly with a little coconut oil, and set aside for later.
  3. Now it’s time make the roly-poly. Put the coconut oil, flour, desiccated coconut, and vanilla into a bowl. Cut into the oil with a round bladed knife to chop it into small lumps. Once you can’t cut it up any further, go in with your fingers and rub the oil into the flour until you have a rough bread-crumb texture. Shake the bowl from side to side every now and then to get the lumps to the top so you can rub them in.
  4. Stir the suet into the mixture. Then pour in the coconut milk and bring together with a round-bladed knife until a dough forms. If the dough is dry add some more milk – you want the dough to be a little sticky.
  5. Flour a surface (a lot) and tip out the dough. Shape into a rough square and then roll out to around 25x25cm. Don’t roll it as thin as you would pastry, and this dough is very soft and will tear easily.
  6. Spread the jam over the sheet of dough, leaving a 1cm strip at one end. Roll the dough up from the other end into a tight spiral. Pinch the non-jammy dough into the roll to seal it.
  7. Lift the roll onto the greased baking paper, making sure that the join is on the paper and not facing up. I know this part is much harder than you would expect, but I found that it’s true to it’s name and literally rolling it onto the grease-proof was the best way to get the roll off the work surface.
  8. Bring the foil and paper up around the roly-poly and fold over the top and scrunch the ends to seal the parcel. Don’t wrap the dough too tightly as it’ll need to stretch when cooking.
  9. Make sure a rack is above the tin of water in the oven and place the parcel onto the rack. Steam in the oven for at least 1 hour.
  10. Meanwhile make the custard. Put the coconut milk and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
  11. Mix the sugar, egg yolks and two flours until fully combined. Once the milk is heated, remove the pan from the heat and mix 1/3 of the milk into the egg mixture.
  12. Whisk the mixture quickly and then pour the egg mixture into the milk. Put the pan back over a medium heat and whisk until the mixture boils and thickens. Pour into a jug and cover with cling-film to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside for later.
  13. Once the pudding is ready take it out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before unwrapping. When this is going on you can prep the decorations.
  14. Put the flaked coconut into a small roasting tin and roast in the oven for 3-5 minutes, or until starting to brown. Set aside for now. Take the extra jam and put into a pan. Heat gently for around 2 minutes, until it’s thinned out slightly. Put into a pipping bag with a small round nozzle.
  15. Unwrap the roly-poly and put it onto a serving plate. Arrange the extra bluberries on top of the pudding. Then pipe the thinned jam on top of the blueberries in a zig-zag and top with the flaked coconut. Serve with the custard and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Apple Pancakes

Apple Pancakes

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Stress. Yup, stress is officially the key work of the week. Everything’s blowing up a bit atm but we’re getting through it with the help of some amazing friends and (as always) lots of food. This recipe takes me back to the chilled few days when I was down in Devon walking the south west coastal path last month. We didn’t have access to big shops with lots of ingredients so instead I made simple dishes like these sweet apple pancakes with Greek yogurt.

My opinion of healthy pancakes fluctuates regularly. Some days I think they’re the key to all healthy eating and God’s gift to sweet toothed brunchers, and on other days I really can’t see the point as they essentially just take the best bits out of the pancake and replace them with ingredients more closely resembling gravel. That said these do have the element of feeling a little healthy due to the apple floating through the batter and make a great semi-low-sugar brunch to get your day started.

Recipes

Serves 2

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 40g Self raising flour
  • 1 Egg
  • 20ml Milk
  • 1 tsp Brown sugar
  • ½ tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 1 Green apple
  • 1 Red apple
  • 1 Cal oil spray (or 1/2 tsp Sunflower oil)
  • 2 tbsp Greek yogurt to serve
  • 2 tbsp Maple syrup to serve (optional)

Method

  1.  Put the self raising flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Break in the egg and mix together. Then pour in the milk a litttle at a time to get a runny batter.
  2. Add the sugar and cinnamon to the mixture and stir these in. Then grate the apples into the batter and stir to combine (you can leave the skin on the apples to grate them if you want).
  3. Put a little oil into a large pan and use it to grease it. Then place it over a medium heat and leave for about a minute to warm up.
  4. Spoon blobs of the batter onto the pan (I got about 3 at once in mine) and fry until you can see the underside starting to cook through. Flip the pancakes over with a fish slice and fry again until golden brown.
  5. Put the cooked pancakes on a plate to one side and repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve warm with Greek yogurt and a little maple syrup.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Oven Baked Arancini with a Spicy Tomato Sauce

Oven Baked Arancini with a Spicy Tomato Sauce

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I kid you not when I say that this is the most delicious savoury thing I’ve ever made. I’m a sucker for Italian food in general so maybe I’m biased but these Italian crispy risotto balls are out of this world – try them yourself and you will not be disappointed! Combine a rich, tomato-y squidgy rice ball, coated in crispy bread crumbs and stuffed with oozying mozerella, with a side of a sweet, sour, spicy tomato sauce and bam, you’ve got one hell of a starter/maincourse/snack thing. Arancini are traditionally deep fried, but as I don’t have a deep fat fryer I decided to try oven-baking them and I think it worked out really well. You still get the crispy, crunchy outside to the arancini but without the added calories and grease of deep-fat frying.

On another exciting note I’m officially going to Italy this summer on an inter-railing trip with some friends. We’ll be starting in Rome and will wind our way north, soaking up the beauty and of course trying all the food we can on the way! Needless to say I’m more than a little excited at the prospect of pizza, pasta, risotto, tiramisu, and mountains of gelato so I’ll come back with lots of Mediterranean inspiration for future recipes. If you have any recommendations for foods to try/places to stop off please ping them my way!

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

  • 600ml Vegetable stock (or 1 vegetable stock cube in 600ml water)
  • 50g Unsalted butter
  • ½ Large white onion, diced
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 200g Arborio rice
  • 260ml Bolognese sauce
  • ½ tbsp Garlic puree
  • 50g Parmesan, grated
  • 80g Mozzarella, torn in chunks
  • 2 Egg whites
  • 100g Bread crumbs

For the sauce

  • ½ Large white onion
  • 1 tsp Olive oil
  • 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp Smoked paprika
  • 75ml Balsamic vinegar
  • 20g Caster sugar
  • 1.2kg Chopped tomatoes
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • ½ tsp Thyme
  • ½ tbsp Garlic puree

Method

  1. In a large pan bring the vegetable stock to the boil and leave to simmer until needed.
  2. Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and then add the bay leaves and diced onions. Fry the onions until they just begin to caramelise, then season with a little salt and pepper.
  3. Add the rice to this pan and cook whilst stirring for around 2 minutes.
  4. Slowly add the stock to the rice, one ladle full at a time, constantly stirring as you do. Keep doing this until the rice is sticky and just overcooked.
  5. Then add the Bolognese sauce to the rice and mix it in. Remove the pan from the heat and set to one side until needed.
  6. Stir the garlic, parmesan and mozzarella into the risotto and then take the bay leaves out of the mixture. Taste to check the seasoning and then pour the mixture into a large tray and leave to cool.
  7. Break the egg whites into a bowl and beat a little with a fork to make it runny. Then pour the breadcrumbs into a separate bowl. Shape the rissotto mixture into small balls – about 1 heaped tbsp for each one. Dip each ball into the egg whites and then the breadcrumbs, making sure they are coated fully and then put them on a tray in the fridge until needed.
  8. Now make the tomato sauce. Peel and then dice the onions. Add them to a pan with the olive oil and fry until caramelised.
  9. Add the pepper and paprika to the mixture and stir. Add the balsamic and sugar and stir them in. Then leave to reduce for a couple of minutes.
  10. Add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic puree to the mixture and stir. Then leave to simmer for a couple of hours until reduced and thick. (You could boil it for less time but you get the best flavour if you leave it to properly reduce).
  11. Once the sauce is almost ready pre-heat the oven to 180C. Place the arancini on a lined baking tray and bake them in the oven for around 20 minutes until crisp, golden brown and so that the cheese is bubbling.
  12. Taste the sauce again and season to taste before serving with the arancini balls.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Chocolate and Vanilla Rabbit Cookies

Chocolate and Vanilla Rabbit Cookies

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Happy Easter! It might seem a little late to have a Easter-themed recipe, but if like me your whole family’s getting together today and you need a baking activity to keep little people occupied (and use up some of the vast quantities of mini eggs floating around) then look no further. I came across this way of shaping cookies online and it looked so cute that I thought I’d give it a try. Granted mine look a little more quirky than the ones I saw on Pinterest and whilst I quite like the variation in my herd I’m gonna blame this on my gingerbread man cutter. The idea is that you make gingerbread men, then fold the arms over a mini egg in the middle, turn them upside down and poke some eyes in and hey presto you’ve got yourself a rabbit holding an Easter egg! Unfortunately my gingerbread man cutter was very human shaped so the bodies were longer than they should have been and as a result I’ve de-capitated the men to get my rabbits, but hey ho I think it worked.

The best way to make this much easier is to make sure the dough is super super cold. I put mine the freezer before and half way through rolling as it made it easier to get the rabbits from the table to the baking trays – otherwise you end up with some very all-shapes-and-sizes kinda rabbits, which is sweet and endearing in it’s own way, but might not be what you’re looking for. You can also mix up the flavours in anyway you want when you’ve got the hang of the shaping. You could add spices or chocolate chips to the dough and/or dip the rabbits in melted chocolate and 100s + 1000s to jazz them up a bit!

Recipe

Makes 16

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 200g Butter
  • 200g Caster sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 500g Plain flour
  • 25g Cocoa powder
  • 1 small bag of Mini eggs (around 16 eggs total)

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper or Teflon sheets.
  2. Cream together the butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until pale and creamy. Then add the egg and beat it in.
  3. Equally divide the mixture between two bowls (roughly 220g in each, but I’d recommend measuring the weight of all your dough then dividing it in 2). Add half the flour to each bowl and then add the cocoa powder to one. Mix everything in each bowl together until you have 2 smooth doughs.
  4. Wrap each dough in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and then transfer it to a freezer 30 minutes before rolling.
  5. Roll one of the doughs out between two sheets of cling film to make a sheet roughly half the thickness of a pound coin. Then cut out as many gingerbread men as you can. Transfer these to your lined baking trays, fold the remaining dough back into a ball and re-roll. Repeat until you’ve used the dough as much as possible. Then do this for your other flavoured dough.
  6. Once you have all your gingerbread men place a mini egg in the ‘belly’ of each with the pointy end facing downwards (towards where the ears will be).
  7. Turn your gingerbread men upside down and from now on think of them as rabbits. Take the two arms and fold them up over the egg to secure it in place. Then take a cocktail stick and if needed chop off the heads of the ex-gingerbread men and place to one side (you can bake these ‘heads’ alongside the rabbits to make bite-sized biscuits).
  8. Using the same cocktail stick poke two eyes in the top of each rabbit to make some eyes and then press the flat of it into each ear to make indents.
  9. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until just starting to go solid and brown a little. They’ll firm up a lot when out of the oven so don’t worry if they’re not crisp. Leave to cool and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x