Category: Recipes
Maple Bacon and Blueberry Pancakes

Maple Bacon and Blueberry Pancakes

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I honestly don’t know where the time’s going at the moment. I kind of feel like I’m running through a tunnel and as I pop up every now and then for air I find out a months past. I only realised this morning when I looked at my post-plan spreadsheet(yes I plan my posts in a spreadsheet) that it’s pancake day on Tuesday! So, onto the obligatory story about why pancakes have a special place in my heart – if you’re not the sentimental type feel free to skip to the recipe below!

Pancakes are one of those special dishes for me as they’re one of the earliest food memories I have. Whether it was on holiday, pancake day or just the end of a really long day, it was always a treat when my mum would make a batch of these – churning them out as quick as my sister and I could eat them. When I was really young we’d have them with lots of golden syrup that would leave your hands all sticky and sweet. Then when I was about 11 we came across the wonder that is Nutella and banana pancakes, which remains my sister’s fave to this day! These days I’m more of a lemon juice and sugar girl, however I’m just starting to branch out from that and realise how versatile pancakes can be. Way back in the summer when I went to Canada I came across these at the airport where we stopped off for a quick breakfast before boarding the plane. I admit, yogurt and bacon doesn’t come across as the most likely combo for success, but with the maple syrup, sour fruit and crunchy pumpkin seeds it makes a plate that’s so so mouth watering!

Recipe

Serves 3

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the pancakes

  • 140g Plain flour
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Caster sugar
  • 140ml Semi skimmed milk
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Knob of butter

For the topping

  • 6 Rashers of bacon
  • 2 tbsp Maple syrup
  • 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • A handful of blueberries (about 80g)
  • A handful of pumpkin seeds

Method

  1. Take a medium sized bowl and put in the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir to combine. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the milk and the egg. Whisk everything together to make a smooth batter.
  2. Put the knob of butter into a large pan over a medium heat and leave to melt. Pour the excess butter into the pancake batter and mix it in.
  3. Carefully pour blobs of the batter into circles in the greased pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through and golden brown. Transfer to a plate the repeat with the rest of the batter.
  4. Meanwhile pre-heat a grill on full heat and grill the bacon for 3-4 minutes on each side until crispy. (You could also do this in a pan, but it depends on how much space you have and what equipment you’ve got to hand).
  5. To serve put 3 pancakes onto each plate and top with a couple of slices of bacon. Drizzle everything with maple, then top with a few dollops of yogurt and a generous scattering of berries and seeds. Serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Passion fruit and Ginger Madeleines

Passion fruit and Ginger Madeleines

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I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for new bits of kitchen kit. There’s so much you can do with the basics, but a cool whisk or tin can make things super fun! When I was in Bruges over Christmas I found myself wandering around loads of kitchen shops, most of which would have huge displays of little kitchen bits and bobs all over the walls. This is where I came across this really cute madeleine tin – a little bit smaller than the traditional ones but perfectly sized to fit in my oven at uni! Until then I’d made madeleines before in cupcake tins, which works really well, but if you want the classic shell-shaped treats I’d really recommend finding yourself a tin. You can get all kinds of ones from the classic for about £20 to small and sweet ones like this which I picked up for around £4!

I think the best way of working with madeleines is to pack them full of flavour. They of course taste great on their own, but I think they’re a great canvas to decorate with lots of flavour! These are gently spiced with a womph of ginger, but have a cooling passion fruit curd centre and a drizzle of chocolate to give that extra lil bit of pazazz. If you’re not a fan of that though you could try lemon curd and white chocolate instead, or dipping the madeleines in melted chocolate and then hazelnuts once cooled?

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 50g Butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
  • 50g Plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 Egg
  • 50g Caster sugar
  • ¼ tsp Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Ground ginger
  • 50g Dark chocolate, to decorate

For the Passion fruit Curd

  • 13g Cornflour
  • Juice of 2 Passion fruit
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 100ml Water
  • 1 Medium egg yolk
  • 30g Caster sugar
  • 15g Butter

Method

  1. Begin by making the passion fruit curd. Put the cornflour, passion fruit juice and lemon juice into a bowl and whisk together to make a smooth paste.
  2. Put the water into a small pan and bring to the boil. Pour the water onto the passion fruit mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Pour the mixture back into the pan, place over a medium heat and cook whilst whisking until the mixture thickens.
  3. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the egg yolk, sugar and butter until smooth. Set to one side until needed.
  4. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Brush a little of the melted butter into the Madeleine tray. Then dust the tray with a little flour and shake out the excess.
  5. To make the madeleine batter, begin by putting the eggs and sugar into a bowl. Using an electric whisk the mixture until pale and fluffy.
  6. Sift the flour into the mixture and then add the baking powder, ground ginger and melted butter. Whisk everything together and then leave the mixture for 5 minutes to rest.
  7. Pour the mixture into a piping bag and then leave in the fridge for another 10 minutes to rest.
  8. Pipe the batter into the prepared mould (you want the mixture to be filling about 2/3 of each hole) and then bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven until lightly risen and golden brown (they cook very quickly so keep a close eye on them!).
  9. When baked take a knife and make a small incision in the top of each cake. Then pipe a little of the passion fruit curd into the hole in each one until you see it pouring out a little. It’s best to do this when the cakes are still warm as it’ll let the curd seep into them.
  10. Whilst the cakes are cooling melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
  11. Drizzle the cakes with the melted chocolate and then serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 
Almond, Apricot and Ginger Bars

Almond, Apricot and Ginger Bars

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There’s something beautifully ironic about writers block becoming the key topic I seem to be writing about on here. For the past 3 weeks my tongue’s been as tied as my headphones after a day of being in the bottom of my bag and there’s no sign of that changing. Maybe it’s because life has taken over a bit recently, but there are very few things I can think of to say about snack bars.  It actually feels pretty inane to talk about a recipe through a long, sensual description in order to encourage you guys to make it anyway. Of course I can see the general point of it all, but when ice caps are melting, plastic is flooding the ocean, and God knows what is going on in my brain right now I’m just going to leave it at the classic: these are pretty tasty and pretty easy to make – so I’d recommend making them!

(Also small side point: since leaving veganuary I’ve decided to return to the land of vegetarianism and refined sugar-free-ness. That’s one of the reasons I love these so much – if you make them without the icing they’re 100% refined sugar free, and so even though they’re really sweet (and probably aren’t that good for you) they make a great treat whilst on this diet!)

Recipe

Serves 16

Time: 10 minutes, plus cooking time

Ingredients

  • 7 tbsp Unsalted butter
  • 155g Ground almonds
  • 200g Flaked almonds
  • 3 tsp Ground ginger
  • 130g Runny honey
  • 75g Dried apricots, roughly chopped
  • 1 Large egg
  • A large pinch of salt
  • 100g Icing sugar

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Line a 25cm square tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Melt the butter in a small pan. Put the almonds into a bowl with the ginger, honey, chopped dried apricots and egg, and then pour in the butter.
  3. Mix until everything is combined and then pour into the tin and smooth over to make an even layer. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until starting to go golden brown. Leave to cool whilst you make the icing.
  4. Put the icing sugar and ½ tsp water into a bowl and mix together to make a pourable icing. If you need more water add a little bit at a time until perfect.
  5. Drizzle the icing over the tray bake, slice into 16 squares and serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Vegetable Korma (Vegan)

Vegetable Korma (Vegan)

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It’s over! 2 terms of hard-core Made in Dagenham drama came to an end last night in spectacular fashion and so now I’m heading back to the land of normality and degree stuff. There’s always a bit of a withdrawal after finishing a big show and so I’m trying to find lots of other things to keep me occupied (namely other shows, more art and a lot more baking!)

I’m not a very spicy gal, but I do love a good korma. There’s something charmingly subtle about the creamy blend of aromas flooding out of a dish like this. They flow out into the kitchen and like a culinary alarm clock let you know that wonders are soon to be coming out of the pan (I confess to being a little sleep deprived at the time of writing – I apologise). I normally go for a chicken korma, but since vegaunary I’ve found a strange fondness for vegetable curries like this one, and so now it’s my new fave!

Recipe

Serves 8

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 Small butternut squash
  • 2 tbsp Sunflower oil
  • 1 Medium sized potato
  • 1 Small cauliflower
  • 1 Corgette
  • 1 Red pepper
  • 1 Large onion
  • 1 thumbsize piece of Root ginger
  • 4 Garlic cloves, crushed
  • 100g Chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp Curry powder
  • 1 tbsp Garam masala
  • 5 tsp Ground cumin
  • 5 tsp Ground coriander
  • 5 tsp Ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Ground cloves
  • ½ tsp Chilli flakes
  • 400ml Coconut milk
  • ½ cup Cashews
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp Brown sugar

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Cut the squash in half and then place on a baking tray, cut side face up. Brush with a little of the oil and then put in the oven for about 30 minutes until soft.
  2. Now prep the other veg. Peel the potato and cut it into chunks. Then take the leaves off the cauliflower and break it up into florets.
  3. Bring a large pan of water up to the boil and add the potato and cauliflower chunks. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until soft but not mushy. Drain and then leave to one side until needed.
  4. Take the ends off the courgette and pepper. Take the seeds out of the pepper and then cut it into small strips. Halve and then quarter the courgette lengthways and then cut into chunks.
  5. Put the oil into a large pan and place over a medium heat. Add the pepper and courgette and fry for 5-10 minutes until the courgette is starting to go translucent and soft. Tip into a bowl and leave until needed.
  6. Next start making the sauce. Peel the onion and then finely dice it. Add it to the pan you cooked the pepper in and fry for a few minutes until starting to caramelise.
  7. Meanwhile peel the ginger and garlic. Then grate the ginger and crush the garlic and add it to the onions. Fry for another 2-3 minutes.
  8. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and spices to the mix and simmer for a couple of minutes until starting to reduced. Then add the coconut milk, lemon juice and cashews and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes until the cashews have softened.
  9. Take a hand blender and blend the sauce until smooth. Then add the brown sugar, salt and pepper to season, and the vegetables. Stir to combine and then serve with rice and naan bread!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Salted Caramel Peanut Bread (Vegan)

Salted Caramel Peanut Bread (Vegan)

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Not gonna lie, this week has been tough. I’m used to over committing myself – it’s kinda become a defining feature of my personality – but now I’m being chased up a hill on roller-skates by several angry monsters called degree, sleep and mental-well-being. The only thing keeping me vaguely grounded are the amazing friends I have who are there to scrape me up off the floor, turn me around and put me back the in game (you know who you are and I’m so so grateful!).

If things stopped for a second or two I know I’d want to be back in the kitchen, letting out all my woes on some unfortunate bread dough like this and then devouring it as soon as it’d cooled down enough for me to eat it. I made this back at the start of Veganuary and thus it can be 100% vegan! So whether you’re a hardcore meat-eater or a strong and proud vegan, as long as you’re not allergic to nuts this is the bread for you!

So back unto the breach. Back into the storm. See you on the other side!

Recipe

Makes 1 Large loaf

Time: 2 hours, plus proving and baking time

Ingredients

  • 400g Strong white bread flour
  • 1 ½ tsp Salt
  • 40g Caster sugar
  • 45g Butter (or dairy-free spread)
  • 10g Fast action dried yeast
  • 130ml Milk (or dairy-free alternative)

For the caramel peanut filling

  • 300g Granulated sugar
  • 4 tbsp Water
  • 240g Dairy-free spread
  • 5g Salt
  • 200g Dairy-free cream (e.g coconut or soya cream)
  • 200g Peanuts (unsalted if adding the 5g salt in as above)

Method

  1. First make the bread dough. Put the flour, salt, sugar, butter, yeast, milk and 120ml water into a large bowl and mix together to form a lumpy dough.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and stretchy (about 10 minutes).
  3. Put the dough into a clean bowl and cover with cling film. Then set to one side to rise until doubled in size (about an hour).
  4. Now make the salted caramel filling. Put the sugar and water into a large pan and cook on a low heat until the mixture starts to turn a golden amber colour. Do not mix at this stage or the caramel will crystallise.
  5. Add the dairy-free spread (or butter) to the mixture (be careful as it will splatter!) and mix it in with a wooden spoon.
  6. Add the salt to the mixture and then cook for another 2 minutes on a low heat.
  7. Take the pan off the heat and add the cream. Mix until well combined, then mix in the peanuts and set aside to cool.
  8. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 seconds to knock the air out. Then shape the dough into a rectangle and roll it out to a rectangle that’s 25 x 33 cm.
  9. Spread the cooled salted peanut mixture over the dough and then roll it up like a swiss roll from long edge to long edge.
  10. Cut the dough in half length ways so you have two long strips. Then twist the strips over each other, trying to keep the open half facing the top.
  11. Wrap the dough into a ring, pressing the ends of the dough together and then place onto a lined baking tray, cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to prove for another hour until doubled in size.
  12. Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C. Bake the dough for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden brown.
  13. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool and then serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x