Spinach, Feta & Paprika Savoury Muffins

Last weekend the weather was rather cold, wet and blustery. The perfect weather for staying indoors and baking. As I’ve been baking rather a lot of sweet things recently I decided instead to bake something savoury.

I had a look through my fridge at what needed using up and came across a block of feta and a half used jar of sun dried tomato paste and decided to combined them together in a savoury muffin. I wanted another colour and so fished out a couple of blocks of spinach from the freezer, which I think always goes well with feta. Hunting through my spice cupboard (yes I have a whole cupboard full of herbs and spices) I settled on some smoky paprika from Schwartz, which I think goes wonderfully with tomato.

I used a combination of self raising flour and then some nuttier brown rice flour to add a little grainy wholesomeness to the muffins. You could use fine ground cornmeal or polenta to achieve the same effect.

Mixing the batter together produced a wonderful smoky earthiness from the paprika, which also lent the batter a great subtle red-orange hue. All the colours together looked so pretty, green spinach, pure white feta and dusky red paprika/tomato.

During baking the muffins smelt so inviting, a mix of savoury smoky aromas that had me peeking through the oven door impatiently. After baking the muffins had a pale golden outer crust that was slightly crisp and scone-like, but breaking into one revealed a soft and tender crumb. These aren’t as light and fluffy as sweet muffins, being savoury they are more wholesome but they are by no means dense or heavy.

The chunks of feta became soft and creamy while the strands of spinach were scattered throughout giving a very attractive appearance. The muffins were slightly sweet to taste, but just as salt adds flavour to sweet things, I found the sweetness seemed to enhance the savoury elements of the muffins. I found the subtle smoky earthiness of the paprika added a slight tongue tingling warmth in a similar way that chili does.

They were delicious eaten on their own but I discovered they were even better with a little houmous or chutney. I took a few to work and warmed them in the microwave before dipping pieces into my soup and it was a lovely alternative to bread.

This was my first foray into savoury muffins, but I doubt it will be my last.

Spinach, Feta & Paprika Savoury Muffins

Ingredients

250g gluten free self raising flour*

50g brown rice flour or fine cornmeal*

40g caster sugar

1½ tsp gluten free baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1¼ tsp paprika

¼ tsp salt

180ml milk

2 eggs

100g (2 blocks) frozen spinach

1 tbsp sun dried tomato paste or tomato pesto

100g feta cheese

6 cherry tomatoes

6 extra cherry tomatoes for decoration (optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C. Grease the 12 wells of a muffin tin thoroughly with oil.

Defrost the spinach in the microwave and squeeze out any excess liquid. It’s fine to still be damp, but not swimming in liquid. Chop roughly and set aside.

Chop the feta into 5mm x 1cm pieces and half the cherry tomatoes and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, bicarb and paprika.

In a jug, measure out the milk and then beat in the eggs and sun dried tomato paste/pesto.

Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture and stir briefly until some of the liquid is starting to be absorbed. Add the spinach, half the tomatoes and feta and fold together gently until just combined. (The batter should still be soft and lumpy, you don’t want a smooth mix).

Use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to generously fill the wells of the muffin tin with the muffin mix. They don’t rise much so you can pile them up quite high and leave them looking rustic. You’ll get between 10-12 muffins.

Place a halved cherry tomato on the top of each muffin if desired and bake for 22-25 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before running a round bladed knife around the rim and removing them from the tin. Place on a rack to cool slightly.

Serve warm with houmous, chutney or cheese. Also taste great dipped into soup.

Eat or freeze on day of baking. On defrosting, warm slightly in the oven or microwave before serving.

Makes 10-12 muffins

Note: If you don’t want to make them gluten free then replace the gluten free flour with normal self raising flour and use fine ground cornmeal/polenta in place of the brown rice flour.

Gooseberry, Raspberry & Almond Crumble

A few weekends ago I went to a PYO (Pick Your Own) fruit farm and enjoyed a happy but rather prickly hour picking my own gooseberries and raspberries. After munching on a few I decided I wanted to bake something with them and decided on crumble.

Gooseberries and raspberries look so pretty together, their contrasting red and green colours look so striking and as they are both in season together, it makes sense that they would taste good baked together too.

I lightly cooked the gooseberries first, just so they started to soften as they were a lot bigger and firmer than the raspberries. I love the flavour of almond with fruit and so added a little almond extract to the fruit and sugar base and then some ground almonds to the crumble topping. I was actually surprised how fragrant and inviting this made the crumble smell while it was baking. Warm sweet fruit and heady almond is a match made in heaven in my opinion.

I also added a few gluten free oats to the topping, as I like the little bit of texture they add. You can leave them out or replace them with some flakes almonds if you can’t tolerate gluten free oats.

The finished crumble was fabulous. The juices had escaped from the gooseberries and mingled with the jammy raspberries to form a delicious sweet and sticky pink syrup with a lovely subtle almond flavour. The gooseberries themselves were a mix of sweet and intense sharpness. I found the ones that had burst seemed to take on some of the sugar and were nicely sweet and syrupy, while the few that remained intact released a burst of tart fruity sharpness when bitten into. I know plenty of people who would have found this too sharp, but I loved it. It also helped prevent the pudding from being too sweet. I love tart sharp flavour – I have been known to eat raw cooking apple! If you like your sweets to be sweeter simply taste a gooseberry and add more sugar before baking.

It was the perfect fresh and fruity summer dessert and the zingy colourful fruity was definitely the star of the show.

Gooseberry, Raspberry & Almond Crumble

Fruit

450g gooseberries

40g caster sugar *see note below

½ tsp almond extract

150g raspberries

Crumble Topping

75g brown rice flour

15g tapioca starch

30g ground almonds

30g gluten free oats

50g butter

45g light soft brown sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Place the gooseberries into a pan along with 2 tbsp of water and cook gently until they are just starting to soften and a few are beginning to burst. You don’t want to cook it until you have puree.

Remove from the heat and stir in the caster sugar and almond extract.

Spoon the gooseberry mixture into a baking dish approx 5x8inches, and scatter the raspberries over the top.

Make the crumble topping by mixing together the flours, oats, almonds and brown sugar. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour mix.

Rub the butter into the flour using the tips of your fingers, lifting them up above the bowl and letting the mix fall back into the bowl as you rub.

Continue until you have a mix of small clumps and fine crumbs of crumble.

Scatter the crumble over the top of the fruit and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Also tastes great cold or served with custard if desired.

*Note: some gooseberries can be very sharp and sour tasting. Taste a gooseberry when they have been lightly cooked and mixed with the sugar. If it is too tart for your liking, add 20g+ more sugar to taste.

Mint Choc Chip Frozen Yoghurt

Growing up I don’t think I was really aware of having a favourite ice cream flavour, but now, looking back I think it would probably be mint choc chip. We didn’t have it that often as my two siblings always preferred chocolate, but I have very fond memories of being able to choose a mint Feast ice cream from the ice cream van or the rare occasions when mum would present a mint Viennetta ice cream slice rather than a homemade dessert after dinner.

Mint is quite a unique flavour and I think that fact it was usually always dyed a pale green colour helped with the attraction. Nowadays my ice cream preferences have become a bit more sophisticated with hazelnut or coconut and lime being some of my favourite (and hard to find) flavours.

Last weekend I ended up with two large tubs of yoghurt, having forgotten I’d already bought some, and in a moment of nostalgia I decided to turn one tub into mint choc chip frozen yoghurt.

I added brandy to the mix, not for flavour, but because I had read that adding a little alcohol to homemade ice cream will help prevent it from being too icy or freezing too solid, as it has a lower freezing point than water. I think vodka would be ideal, but as I didn’t have any brandy did the job perfectly. The resulting frozen yoghurt was smooth and creamy and certainly seemed to melt a lot quicker than previous ice creams I’ve made – this could be good or bad depending on how quickly you want to eat it.

Eating this ice cream brought back fond summer holiday memories of hot sandy beaches and playing with the water hose in the back garden. I also found the mint flavour really refreshing on a hot afternoon. One thing I discovered is that it is very important to chop your chocolate into very fine pieces. I left a few chunky bits in mine, thinking I was being generous and it would be nice to hit a big bit of chocolate, but in reality the chocolate was very firm and hard and I actually much preferred the smaller flakes of chocolate against the soft frozen yogurt, much better than the occasional big chunk that I had to crunch and chew.

Does anyone else have any ice cream flavours that bring back memories of their childhood?

Mint Choc Chip Frozen Yoghurt

Ingredients

500g Greek yoghurt

1½ tsp peppermint extract

50g caster sugar

1½ tbsp brandy

1/8 tsp green food dye paste

60g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Method
Set your ice cream to freeze*

Combine the yogurt, caster sugar, peppermint extract and brandy together in a bowl. Mix until the sugar has dissolved. Taste and add a little more sugar if you prefer it sweeter. (The mint and sugar should take more pronounced that you would usually like, as the flavours lessen on freezing.)

Take one tablespoon of the yogurt mix and combine it with the green food dye paste until the paste is smooth and well combined. Then stir this concentrated green yoghurt mix back into the rest of the yoghurt until you have reached your desired strength of green. (I like using the pastes as these are more concentrated and don’t add any extra liquid to your mix).

Pour the yoghurt mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufactures instructions. When it is starting to thicken and holds its shape and the finely chopped chocolate and leave to continue freezing and mixing until thick and softly set.
Transfer the ice cream to a plastic Tupperware container and place in the freezer to stiffen up for around 1 hour. If left longer, you may want to leave it to soften for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Note* If you don’t have an ice cream maker, simply pour the yoghurt mix into a plastic container and place in the freezer. Take it out every half and hour and give it a bit of a whisk to ensure an even freezing, until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Summer Veg & Bean Salad in a Smoky Tomato Dressing

Now that we have had a couple of weeks of glorious warm and sunny weather it means things like summer salads, wedges of cold quiche and crunchy coleslaw are finally back on the menu. Last weekend I decided to prepare a huge veg and bean salad to have on hand for either work lunches or as part of a quick evening dinner for when it was just too hot to cook.

I’ve discovered that I absolutely love the combination of using both roasted and raw veg in a salad. They add such a wonderful texture and flavour contrast to each other. The roasted veg is sweet, soft and often slightly smokey or charred, while the raw veg is fresh, crisp and crunchy. That together with a mix of creamy starchy beans and a nice dressing makes for a delicious salad. It’s also the perfect tasty way to getting your 5 a day – did you know that beans (baked beans too) count as one of your 5 a day – its true! So think how healthy and delicious a tasty veg and bean salad it.

I’ve also discovered that making a dressing on the baking tray the veg has previously been roasted on, not only helps get those sticky stuck on pieces off the tray, but also adds a wonderful flavour base to the sauce. The sticky juices, edges of stuck on veg and scraps of roasted garlic are a delicious addition to the dressing. For this sauce I did a mix of tomato puree, paprika and chipotle chili powder for a smoky, only faintly spicy warmth.

This salad kept me going for 4 days. It makes a great meal in itself, but is also a lovely accompaniment to a wedge of quiche or on the side of a BBQ meal.

Summer Veg & Bean Salad in a Smoky Tomato Dressing

For Roasting

¼ head cauliflower

2 carrots

¼ fennel bulb

1 large onion

1 yellow pepper

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp dried oregano

For Salad

1 x 400g can mixed beans

¼ head broccoli

2 spring onion

50g mange tout

4 tbsp sweetcorn

2 tbsp broad beans

10 basil leaves

Dressing

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chipotle chili powder

½ tsp balsamic vinegar

100ml water

1 tsp cornflour

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 220C. Have a large baking tray ready, but don’t line it with foil.

Divide the cauliflower into small florets. Peel and slice the carrots into thin batons and chop the fennel, onion and yellow pepper into squares. Place all the veg onto the baking tray.

Finely chop the garlic and sprinkle it over the veg along with the oregano, oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix everything together until all the veg is coated. Spread into a even layer.

Place in the oven for 20 minutes before giving everything a mix and roasting for a further 10-20 minutes depending on the size of your veg.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli into small florets. Either blanch them in a pan of boiling water or in the microwave until they are slightly softened, but still firm and crisp. Cool under cold water, pat dry and add to a large bowl.

Slice the mange tout on a diagonal, so you get thin long strips. Thinly slice the spring onions. Add them to the bowl along with the sweetcorn and broad beans (you can pod them if you want, but mine were young and sweet so it wasn’t necessary).

Drain and rinse the beans and add them to the bowl along with the cooled roasted veg.

Shred the basil and sprinkle it over the top. Give everything a good mix together.

Your baking tray will probably have some sticky veg juices from roasting, which will form the base of the dressing. Add the tomato puree, paprika and chili powder onto the baking tray. Stir in the water and then place over the hob and heat gently, stirring constantly with a spoon or spatula. Rub the spatula over the base of the pan, scraping up any sticky bits of stuck on veg. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.

If the dressing looks a little thin, dissolve the cornflour in a little cold water and then stir into the dressing. Heat until slightly thickened.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the smokey tomato dressing from the heat and pour over the salad. Toss everything together so that it all gets coated in the dressing.

You can eat ti straight away but it tastes even better is allowed to sit in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight. This allows the veg and beans to absorb some of flavour from the dressing.

Serve as a meal or as an accompaniment to other summery food.

Crustless Lemon Tart with Mango, Basil & Elderflower

Not too long ago I bought a large net of lemons intending to make a hot baked lemon pudding cake, but then boom, we are suddenly in the middle of the hottest weather we have experienced in 6years and the idea of baking and eating a hot dessert was no longer appealing.

I still wanted to enjoy some weekend baking but it had to be quick, simple and fresh. I decided to use my lemons to make something zingy and chilled. I find citrus so refreshing in hot weather. Instantly I thought of a lemon tart, but didn’t want the hassle of having to make and bake my own gluten free pastry. Instead I decided to simply make the filling and bake these into little dishes, which I could then eat chilled. This also meant minimal preparation and amount of time the oven had to be on.

I based the recipe on one of Delia’s for a lemon tart. This called for cream which I didn’t have, so instead I used yogurt which I thinned with a little milk. This worked really well and gave the finished ‘tart’ a fresh and clean taste, rather than making it too rich and creamy.

The lemon mix only needs lightly whisking together and it’s ready. I chose to bake it in a water bath as without the pastry crust, and in individual servings, I felt it was at risk of over baking from the dry heat in the oven. This worked well and resulted in a thin firmer top with a delicious, softly set, almost crème brulee like zingy lemon filling.

To make the dessert extra special I served it with some tiny cubes of super sweet fresh mango that I first marinated in basil and homemade elderflower syrup. The basil may sound like a strange addition, but it just added another clean fresh note, without being too obviously basil. Mint would be a great substitute too. The floral mango and elderflower went perfectly with the fresh and zingy lemon.

The desserts were fresh, light and zingy. If you can image stirring lemon curd into a set custard that’s the kind of flavour and consistency you get, only slightly lighter. The perfect sweet treat to enjoy after a light dinner on a hot day.

Crustless Lemon Tart with Mango, Basil & Elderflower

Ingredients

80-100ml lemon juice

Zest of 2 lemons

2 eggs

60g caster sugar

50ml milk

40g Greek yoghurt

To serve

½ ripe mango

2 basil leaves (or mint)

3 tsp homemade elderflower syrup (or lemon syrup or Limoncello)

Cream or Greek yoghurt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Lightly whisk together the eggs and sugar, you want them combined, but not fluffy.

Add the lemon zest and juice and stir to combine.

Mix the yoghurt and milk together and then add to the lemon mixture.

Mix until smooth and combined.

Divide the lemon mix between two pudding dishes (approx 12cm diameter) or 3 ramekins.

Place the dishes or ramekins into a deep sided baking tray. Add boiling water from the kettle carefully into the tin, so that it reaches half way up the sides of the dishes.

Place into the oven for 15-18 minutes.

They should be softly set on top and still slightly wobbly in the centre when baked.

Remove from the oven and take the dishes out of the water bath. Leave to cool for 1 hour before chilling in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Meanwhile, slice one mango cheek into thin fingers, remove the skin and cut into cubes about 5mm square.

Place into a small bowl along with 2 finely shredded basil or mint leaves.

Drizzle over 3tsp elderflower syrup and stir until evenly coated.

Chill in the fridge until required.

To serve, place a large spoonful of the marinated mango onto the chilled lemon dessert. Serve with a blob of lightly whipped cream or thick Greek yoghurt.

Eat and enjoy

Serve 2-3 depending on dish used

Note: Recipe can easily be doubled or quadrupled as required

To make your own elderflower syrup

Elderflower grows wild in huge bushy patches almost everywhere. Make sure the flowers are pure white and fragrant. If they are yellow, they are past their best.

Pick the flowers off a large bunch of elderflower and place into a saucepan with 1 pint of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Then turn off the heat and leave until cool.

Strain the water through a fine sieve or muslin to remove the elderflowers. Weigh the amount of water you have left and add the same quantity of caster sugar.

Stir together and bring back to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and then allow to bubble until thick and syrupy.

Transfer to clean seteralised jars that you have first heated in the oven.

Store in the fridge

Great in drinks, over ice cream or yogurt or drizzled over fresh fruit or cake

Cherry Brandy & Chocolate Surprise Cheesecake

Do you ever have some days or weeks where you are craving a certain food or flavour and you just can’t get it out of your head? Last weekend for me that was cheesecake. I just had a craving for it that wouldn’t go away. Normally my dessert of choice is something cakey or spongy, but last weekend I wanted rich, creamy indulgent cheesecake!

Being coeliac sadly means I can’t pop down the shops for a quick cheesecake fix, but have to make one myself. However this has its advantages. Not only do I love baking, but baking it yourself allows you the freedom to be as simple or wacky as you want with the flavours, plus at the end you end up with an entire cheesecake to devour, rather than a single slice wahhhha!

As I went cream cheese hunting I instead discovered a different sort of soft cheese called Quark. This cheese is almost like a cross between cream cheese and ricotta and feeling adventurous I decided t use it as the base for my cheesecake. This proved to be a very good idea as the Quark was thicker and creamier than normal cream cheese, which I’ve found can sometimes go a little runny when I’ve baked with it in the past. Like ricotta, the Quark is made with strained milk, meaning it’s a lot healthier than cream cheese too, all the more reason for a bigger slice!

I had a jar of Morello cherries in syrup that I had been wandering what to do with and so decided to make a cherry studded cheesecake. Cherry Brandy flavoured ice lollies used to be one of my favorites. I’d buy them from the ice cream van outside school and feel ever so grown up as it had ‘brandy’ in the title (can you still get these?) I decided to soak the cherries overnight in Brandy to give them a bit of more a kick.

Chocolate always goes well with cherries and so I made a chocolate biscuit base for my cheesecake, which also added a nice colour contrast. While preparing my cheesecake I suddenly decided to create a hidden middle layer of chocolate cheesecake, encased in the cherry cheesecake. This created a fun surprise when the cheesecake was sliced, as from the outside all you could see was the pale cherry. Chocolate and cherry are also a fabulous flavour pairing.

As I still had some cherry juice leftover I made a quick cherry jelly using a little of the agar agar powder I have been experimenting with recently. This finished the cheesecake off nicely and gave it a wonderfully glossy mirror top.

I was really pleased with my finished cheesecake and it certainly satisfied my cheesecake cravings. Morello cherries steeped in brandy, a hidden chocolate layer, a rich chocolate base and a glossy cherry glaze and combined into a velvety smooth and creamy cheesecake. What’s everyone else been craving recently?

Cherry Brandy & Chocolate Surprise Cheesecake

For the cherries

100g drained, pitted Morello cherries in syrup (reserve the syrup)

40ml Brandy

For the base

90g gluten free shortbread or digestive style biscuits

50g butter

20g caster sugar

10g cocoa powder

For the cheesecake

400g Quark or soft cream cheese

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

10g cornflour

50g dark chocolate

For the cherry jelly

130ml cherry syrup reserved from earlier

20g caster sugar

½ tsp agar agar powder

Method

The day before, remove the cherries from their syrup, cut them in half and place into a small bowl. Pour over the brandy, stir and cover with clingfilm. Set aside for 6 hours, or preferably overnight to allow the cherries to steep and absorb the flavour of the brandy.

The following day, line a 6inch/15cm deep springform tin with baking parchment. Wrap the base and sides of the tin with a large sheet of foil, you want it cover the whole base and up and sides of the tin in one piece. Repeat so you have two layers of foil wrapped around the outside of your tin.

For the base, blitz the gluten free biscuits in a food processor until they resemble fine crumbs. Add the sugar and cocoa powder and blitz again briefly.

Melt the butter, pour it over the cocoa crumbs and pulse briefly until and crumbs resemble damp sand.

Tip the biscuit mix into the base of your lined tin and press down into an even layer. Place the tin in the fridge to chill while you prefer the filling.

Preheat the oven to 175C.

For the filling, beat the Quark or cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs and sugar and beat again until well combined.

Now remove one-third of this mixture and place it into a separate bowl. Melt the chocolate and add this to the removed third of the cheese mixture, stirring it together until well combined. Set aside.

Sift the cornflour over the remaining two-thirds of mix. Then pour the soaked cherries and their brandy liquid into the cream mixture and fold in to incorporate. It will turn a light pink colour and be quite runny, this is fine.

Pour half of the cherry cheesecake mixture over the chilled biscuit base, spreading it into an even layer.

Place small spoonfuls of the chocolate cheesecake mix over the top of the cherry cheesecake until it is all used us. Gently try and smooth the chocolate cheesecake into an even layer, but don’t worry too much about making it perfect.

Then pour the remaining cherry cheesecake mix on top, covering the chocolate filling inside. Tap the cheesecake on the counter 2-3 times to remove any trapped air.

Place the foil wrapped tin into a larger deep baking tray.

Fill the tray with boiling water so that it reaches halfway up the sides of the cheesecake tin.

Carefully transfer this to the 175C preheated oven to bake for 50-60minutes. The cheesecake should be set around the edge but still a little wobbly in the centre when gently shaken.

Once baked, quickly remove the cheesecake tin from the water bath and return it to the switched off, but still warm oven. Leave the oven door ajar and leave the cheesecake to cool down gradually for 45-60 minutes.

For the jelly, start this once your cheesecake has been cooling in the oven.

Add another 130ml of cherry juice to a small pan along with the sugar and agar agar. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring the mixture to the boil for 15 seconds, then remove from the heat and allow to cool for 3 minutes.

Remove your partially cooled cheesecake from the oven and carefully pour the hot cherry glaze over the top. It must still be hot, or else it will have set into a solid.

Carefully transfer the cheesecake to the fridge and allow to chill for at least 4-6 hours before serving.

Makes 1 x 6inch/15cm cheesecake

Devnaa Indian Sweets Tiffin Box: A Review

Now, this may look like a fancy box of chocolates – but don’t be fooled. These are not just your ordinary box of truffles and caramels, oh no. These are so much more indulgent and exciting than that!

Devnaa is a relatively new company who make gourmet boxes of sweet Indian treats, specially developed to represent the infamous tiffin boxes of India, used to transport food. They also make Indian inspired bars and drinking chocolates too. The box itself looks very artisan, but lift the lid, peel back the paper and the most intricate box of beautifully decorate chocolates are revealed. However, these are not actually ‘chocolates’ as we known them, but a range of specially designed and delicately spiced classic Indian sweets, which have been enrobed in chocolate and beautifully decorated.

Bite into one of these and you won’t find ganche or salted caramel, instead your get to experience a pistachio barfi delicately flavoured with cardamom and rosewater and encased in dark chocolate and finished with chopped pistachios. Or, how about a coconut barfi enrobed in milk chocolate or one of the other fabulous combinations including vanilla, saffron, orange, strawberry and chai!

I’m not much of a chocolate lover – shocking I know. On the odd occasion I have been given a box I usually eat one or two and then put them in a cupboard and forget about them. Not so with these divine creations. I was so excited when I opened the box that I ate two just after breakfast. I just couldn’t resist trying them immediately.

My first choice was Cinnamon Chai. A signature chai blend of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and close infused barfi which is enrobed in milk chocolate. Wow, it was divine. You could taste all the spices, the cardamom in particular, but nothing too strongly overpowered anything else. The spices were delicate and fragrant and worked so well with the coating of smooth milk chocolate. The barfi itself had a creamy, yet slightly crumbly texture and wasn’t overly sweet, which let the spices really shine through.

I couldn’t resist trying another one and selected the Velvety Vanilla. A Madagascan vanilla barfi with hints of saffron and cardamom, covered in white chocolate. This was fabulous too. Again I loved the cardamom flavour and how you could see speckles of it throughout the barfi. The saffron flavour was subtle but still noticeable and also gave a light golden hue to the barfi. So good, I sat there in my PJ’s grinning over my box of Indian treats.

All the barfi sweets were amazing and I’d much, much, much sooner be presented with a beautiful box of these than a box of regular chocolates (even the expensive ones). I adored their soft melt-in-the-mouth texture, how the spices were delicate and yet still shone through, how the centres were made from delicious barfi rather than chocolate or truffle based and the presentation is stunning. Plus, this particular box (Signature Indian Sweets Collection) is entirely gluten free! (although some of their other Inidan Sweet boxes do contain gluten so ask before buying).

So friends and family take note, next time its my birthday, Christmas or you are just feeling generous…keep your chocolates and jewelry, I’ll have a box of these please! I might even let you try one too.

Buffalo Milk, Honey & Almond Gelato

Recently I was having a discussion with a friend about buffalo milk. They were raving about its thick creamy taste and texture and couldn’t believe I had never tasted it. The next time I saw them they bought me a gift – a carton of buffalo milk. I was slightly unsure how it would taste. Buffalo are big hairy animals and I could image their milk tasting quite unusual and strongly flavoured, a bit like goats milk. However, on drinking a glass I couldn’t believe how fresh and clean it tasted. No goaty or animal taste to it at all. It was clean, rich and unbelievably creamy.

The milk was so indulgent and creamy that I decided to use the rest of it to make some buffalo milk gelato. Gelato is similar to ice cream, only its lighter as it’s made with a milk base, rather than cream.

I wanted the creaminess to be the star, so decided to flavour the gelato only lightly with honey and some chopped almonds. My idea was based on my love of creamy thick Greek yoghurt with honey and almonds, which always tastes lovely and fresh. The honey also added sweetness without having to use sugar.

After churning in an ice cream maker, the gelato had retained the buffalo milks freshness and richness. It was naturally not as thick or full on creamy as ice cream, but it was very refreshing. I found it also tended to melt a lot more quickly than ice cream, I suppose because it doesn’t have so much butter fat or any eggs compared to ice cream to help stabilise it.

The honey flavour was subtle but went very well with the freshness of the gelato. The almonds added a nice crunch too.

Has anyone else tried buffalo milk? I have recently discovered it in Waitrose if anyone wants to try some for themselves. Also, does anyone know why its called buffalo milk/cheese when (to my understanding, I may be wrong!) buffalo are the males and it’s actually bufala, the females who produce the milk? In Italy there is a cheese called Mozzarella di Bufala, which in 1993 was grated DOC status and in 2008 was awarded Protected Geographical Status. Maybe this means no one else can now call it Bufala?

Buffalo Milk, Honey & Almond Gelato

Ingredients

700ml buffalo milk

250ml full fat milk

100g honey

35g almonds, skin on

½ tsp vanilla extract

Method
Set your ice cream to freeze*Mix all the ingredients together, making sure your milk is well chilled first.
Pour this mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufactures instructions. It should be thick and softly set when done after about 45 minutes.
Transfer the ice cream to a large container and place in the freezer to stiffen up for about 30-60 minutes.
Scoop your ice cream into serving bowls, drizzle over a little honey and a few chopped almonds.

Eat and enjoy in the sunshine (if it ever reappears!)
Makes 1 litre ice cream

Note* If you don’t have an ice cream maker, simply pour the ice cream mix into a plastic container and place in the freezer. Take it out every half and hour and give it a bit of a whisk to ensure an even freezing, until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Deconstructed Pavlova – Buttermilk Panna Cotta, Mini Meringues & Textures of Strawberry

I have recently been reading about a vegetarian gelatine alternative called agar agar, which is derived from boiling several kinds of seaweed together. It’s dried and sold in powder form, flakes or bars and has similar properties to gelatine, in that it can set things into a gel or jelly.

I was intrigued and ordered some of the powder form online to have a play. As the weather was bright and sunny, I decided to try and replicate a recipe for buttermilk panna cotta, using the agar in place of the gelatine. Using buttermilk rather than cream appealed to me as it sounded lighter and fresher than regular panna cottas.

Seeing the first English strawberries starting to appear in the shops, I couldn’t resist buying a large punnet of them. I decided to pair them with the buttermilk panna cotta in order to create a light and summery dessert. As I was in an experimental mood and had set aside a whole day to play with my new agar ager, I decided to have some fun and use the strawberries in three different ways. Some I kept fresh and whole, others I sliced thinly and dehydrated until crisp and the rest I pureed, mixed with some agar and set the mixture into a jelly, which I then cut out small dots/circles of to decorate the plate. Strawberry 3 ways!

Thinking through the dessert I decided I needed to add some chew or crunch element to compliment the other softer textures. Mini piped meringues seemed a good idea and I was struck with how my dessert now resembled a deconstructed pavlova.

I was a little anxious my buttermilk panna cotta wouldn’t set, as I wasn’t sure how to much to use. As it turns out I actually used far too much, as my panna cotta was more like a firm jelly, than a softly set cream. It still tasted nice, but wasn’t the texture I hoped for.

I have decided not to give any recipes for the dessert, as although I was happy with the presentation and the flavours, I felt the textures of both the panna cotta and meringues could have been improved. The panna cotta was much too firm and the meringues were more chewy than crisp.

The flavours were lovely when eaten together. The buttermilk panna cotta was fresh, and only lightly sweet, the strawberry elements had ripe fruity flavours that actually tasted like strawberries and the meringues had a lovely crisp outer crust and very very chewy interior.

I tried really hard with the presentation and was happy with how the dish looked. It just needs some tweaking to perfect the recipes. I need to read up about how to correctly substitute powdered agar agar for gelatine.

Anyone else got experience of working with agar agar?