Wholemeal Goats Cheese Scones

I had some very pungent firm blue goats cheese in the fridge that was maturing at a rate of knots and needed using up. I contemplated melting it into sauce for pasta but feared this would be too overpowering and so decided to use it to make cheese scones instead.

I used self raising wholemeal flour as I think the wheat-ier flour coped better with the flavour/strength of the cheese than white flour would have done.

It is important not to overwork a scone mixture or else your scones will turn out sense and flat. They also don’t need much rolling out as the mixture must be left thick to give a taller scone. It is also important not to twist the cutter when cutting out the scones, or else they will bake twisted and unevenly, a sharp tap on top of the cutter will give you a much cleaner finish.

The scones were lovely eaten warm from the oven; the cheese was still soft and melty and they made the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of lunchtime soup. They also tasted good when spread with a little chutney and I bet onion marmalade would be great too – no extra cheese required!

I wouldn’t recommend making these with a soft mild goats cheese, as this would dissolve into the dough and the flavour would be lost, but any strong leftover firm cheese should do it.

Wholemeal Goats Cheese Scones
Recipe adapted from Delia’s Vegetarian Collection by Delia Smith
Ingredients
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
½ tbsp milk
70g firm goats cheese (strong)
175g wholemeal self raising flour
½ tsp mild chili powder
25g butter
1 egg

For the top
20g firm goats cheese
Milk for brushing

Method
Preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Sieve the flour and chili powder in a bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour using the tips of your fingers. Lift the mixture up above the top of the bowl and let it fall back in to aerate it at the same time as working the butter in.
Stop when the butter is evenly distributed and the flour has formed small crumbs.
Beat the egg, yoghurt and milk together in a small bowl and then pour over the flour and crumble in the goats cheese.
Use a knife to start working the liquid into the flour and then switch to your hands to bring the mixture into a soft ball of dough. Do not knead the dough like you would bread.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour and gently roll out the dough until it is 1inch/2.5cm thick.
Cut out rounds using a 6cm cutter, pressing down sharply for a clean cut. Do not twist the cutter or else your scone will rise twisted when baked.
Place the scones onto the baking tray and brush the tops with a little milk and scatter over a little more cheese.
Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes until risen, golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
Transfer the scones to a wire wrack to cool slightly.
Best served warm and eaten within 2 days.
Makes 6 scones.

Waiter There’s Something in My….. Breakfast!

WTSIM is a monthly event hosted alternately by Jeanne of Cook Sister, Andrew of Spittoon Extra and Johanna of The Passionate Cook. This month Johanna chose Breakfast as the theme and my entry is Crisp Cinnamon Granola.

Granola with a generous dollop of yoghurt has to be my favourite thing to have for breakfast. I just love how it’s crispy yet chewy. Fruity, nutty and oaty. Slightly sweet, lightly spiced and wholesome. I love to eat it in my pajamas curled up in bed on a lazy weekend. It must also be served in a mug (much easy to hold in bed) and eaten with a teaspoon to make it last (I hate eating anything using big spoons).

For this batch I used a base of jumbo oats, porridge oats, wheat flakes and …cornflakes. I added a mix of seeds, brazil nuts and hazelnuts along with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and vanilla. After toasting goji berries, dried blueberries and the must have classic of dried banana chips were stirred through to complete my granola.

I ate some whilst still warm form the oven and was intrigued to find that the cornflakes had become a little chewy rather than going crisp. However I think this is actually preferable as it adds another interesting texture and they ended up tasting remarkably like crunchy nut cornflakes after being baked in the syrup coating.

I added quite a bit of cinnamon to the mix, but there is just something about warm toasted nuts and oats and ground cinnamon that I adore. The aroma and flavour is (in my opinion) a match made in heaven.

Crisp Cinnamon Granola Ingredients
100g jumbo rolled oats

50g porridge oats

100g wheat flakes
100g cornflakes

25g linseeds

30g pumpkin seeds

35g brazil nuts

30g hazelnuts

2½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp natural oil

3 tbsp honey or 2tbsp golden syrup

1 tbsp hot water

30g dried blueberries

30g goji berries

30g dried banana chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl weigh out the oats, wheat flakes, cornflakes and seeds.

Chop the brazil nuts into quarters and the hazelnuts in half and add to the oats along with the cinnamon.

Thin down the golden syrup in the water, stir in the oil and vanilla and then drizzle it over the oaty mixture.
Mix well, ensuring everything is lightly coated.

Scatter the mix onto the baking tray and place in the oven for 10 minutes until it’s starting to smell toasted.

Remove from the oven and give everything a good stir to ensure even toasting.

Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes more.

Remove from the oven. Crush the banana chips into large chunks and stir through the warm oaty mixture along with the blueberries and goji berries.
Leave to cool before storing in an airtight container.Eat in bed from a mug using a teaspoon – go on try it!

Click here for more info on WTSIM

Cheesecakeless

I'm sorry to say that if you have come here in the hope of finding some yummy cheesecake pops from this months Daring Bakers challange you will be dissapointed.
I fully intended on making them, I really did, but what with being away with work, having people to stay and then travelling home for my birthday... whoosh the month has gone and I never managed to make them.
I promise to do better next month.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

It’s my 21st birthday today and so for the Monday Munchers this week I wanted to try and bake something fun and a bit different. Somewhere in the back of my mind was an idea of baking cake in ice cream cones and then decorating them to look like ice creams. I think I probably got this idea from another blog, but I can’t remember which one. I baked one on its own to start with, to determine how full I needed to fill the cones with the cake batter. The cones I used had a little ridge in them, about an inch from the top, and this turned out to be the perfect measure of where to fill them up to allow the batter to rise to the top during baking.

It’s important to use flat bottomed ice cream cones, as they have got to stand up while you bake them. I wanted to make a choice of flavours and so made a plain sponge batter and then divided it in half and flavoured one half lemon and the other chocolate. Once baked the chocolate ones were topped with a layer of dulce de leche caramel and a whipped chocolate cream. The lemony ones were topped with lemon curd and a lemon and white chocolate cream. I also added sugar sprinkles for a fun party touch.

The cones turn a little chewy after being baked, but are still crisp and sturdy enough to hold the cake and stand unsupported. I was really please with how they turned out and they really did look like ice creams, although my chocolate ones must have been in the sun too long as they look a bit melted! (I didn’t beat the cream stiff enough before piping it on). I loved all the different tastes and textures you could get in one bite – creamy topping, sweet gooey sauce, fluffy cake and crisp wafer cone.

They are a bit messy (yet fun) to eat and after the first bite it’s a good idea to spread some of the topping down the side of the cake for ease of eating or else you might end up squishing your nose it in! They were a hit at work and were a novel twist on the traditional birthday cake with a fun party feel.
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
For the plain batter
110g butter
100g caster sugar
110g self raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
12 flat bottom wafer ice cream cones

For lemon cakes (1/2 plain batter mix)
40g lemon curd
Zest of ½ lemon
For lemon topping
150ml double cream
60g white chocolate
1 tbsp lemon curd
6 tsp extra lemon curd
Sprinkles to decorate

For the chocolate cakes (1/2 plain batter mix)
2 tsp (10g) cocoa powder
For the chocolate topping
150ml double cream
60g dark chocolate
6 tsp dulce de leche (caramel/toffee sauce)


Method – plain batter
Preheat the oven to 175C.
Place 12 ice cream cones in the wells of a muffin tin and set to one side.
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and beat again.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and beat until well incorporated.
Divide the cake batter equally into two bowls.
Flavour the batter as you wish and bake for 18-22 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Leave to cool before topping.

For the chocolate cakes
Sift over the cocoa powder and beat well, adding a drop of milk if needed.
Spoon into 6 of the ice cream cones, but leaving a 1 inch gap at the top to allow rising.
Once cooked, spread a teaspoon of the dulce de leche over the top of each of the cakes and top with the chocolate cream.

For the chocolate cream
Heat the cream gently until it begins to simmer but not boil.
Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and stir until smooth.
Leave to cool before whipping into a thick cream.
Pipe onto the tops of the chocolate cakes.


For the lemon cakes
Add the lemon zest and lemon curd and beat well.
Divide between the 6 ice cream cones leaving a 1 inch gap.
Once cooked, spread a teaspoon of lemon curd over the tops of the cakes and top with the lemon and white chocolate cream.

For the lemon cream
Heat the cream gently until it begins to simmer but not boil.
Remove from the heat and pour over the white chocolate and lemon curd.
Stir until smooth.
Leave to cool before whipping into a thick cream.
Pipe onto the tops of the lemon cakes and decorate with sugar sprinkles.

Makes 12 cone cupcakes

Mini Walnut Cake Pies

A few weeks ago I read a post on Bake or Break about mini pecan pies in the form of cupcakes. They looked great and I was so intrigued by this pie/cake combo that I decided to try them out for myself.

I halved the recipe as I didn’t want to make too many and as I didn’t have any pecans to hand I substituted walnuts. The recipe came together in a flash and I was excited when they went into the oven. They came out looking like miniature pies but with a slightly spongy top. I decided to let them cool in the tin for a while as they looked a little fragile, but I think I left them too long as they got quite stuck. Thankfully most of them made it out of the tin intact.

I’m not sure if I undercooked mine, but they still had soft and sticky centers, definitely more pie than cupcake but by no means a disappointment. They were very sweet but this worked well with the buttery walnuts and as they are quite small they didn’t come sickly. They were a hit with friends and I loved how quick and simple they were to put together, no messing around with pastry required and yet you end up with yummy little pies.

Mini Walnut Pies
Recipe from Bake or Break blog
Ingredients
115g walnuts
55g plain flour
200g soft brown sugar
140g butter
2 eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 180C.
Grease a muffin tin with oil and set to one side.
Finely chop the walnuts and melt the butter.
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix well.
Fill each well ¾ of the way full with the batter.
Bake in preheated oven for around 18-20 minutes.
Allow to cool for only a few minutes before removing from the tins.
Great eaten hot or cold.
Makes 8 - 10

Chilli Chocolate Muffins

I really like muffins. I love there soft and tender texture and their tall puffed up appearance, almost as if they are trying to burst out of their cases with self importance. However, you may have noticed that there are very few muffin recipes on this blog, for even though I love muffins, they do not love me, or rather they do not like being baked by me. More often than not I end up with a hard dense rock, a flat muffin with a crispy top or just cake. After trying quite a few recipes over the years I admitted defeat and accepted that I was one of those people that just couldn’t bake muffins.

All that changed when I happened upon a recipe for dark chocolate muffins on Baking Bites. They just looked so perfect, that I was longing to eat one and decided it was time to give muffins another shot.

I had been asked to make something using chilli and chocolate for the Monday Munchers this week and so decided that not only was I going to try making muffins, but that the muffins would come back with a kick.

I kept the muffin batter plain chocolate but added a little chilli powder and also stirred through some chunks of chilli chocolate to provide little pockets of spice. I tried to follow all the rules I have learnt about muffin making e.g. not over mixing the batter and allowing a few clumps to remain etc. Yet I was apprehensive when it came to filling the muffin cases as the batter looking a little thinner than I was expecting but I went ahead and baked them.

I didn’t dare look in the oven until the time was up and when I opened the oven door I couldn’t believe the tall muffins that greeted me. They had high domes and soft tops and smelt amazing. I kept expecting them to collapse while they were cooling, but they stayed standing proud.

They were very chocolaty and had a closely knit and tender crumb attributed to a muffin. The thing that pleased me most was how they didn’t develop a hard dry surface, but stayed soft and moist. The chilli flavour was quite subtle, but left a nice warm sensation in the back of your throat. Next time I may try using melted chilli chocolate in the muffin batter for more of a kick.

If you are in need of a good muffin recipe then use the one below and hopefully your muffin hunt will be over. You can of course leave out the chilli and use plain chocolate for a normal muffin. Thanks Nic for the recipe.

Chilli Chocolate Muffins
Adapted from Baking Bites blog
Ingredients
125g dark chocolate
110g butter
230g plain flour
100g soft light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp chilli powder
2 large eggs
165ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g chilli chocolate

Method
Preheat oven to 175C.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Melt together the butter and dark chocolate either in the microwave or a small saucepan.In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, chilli powder and baking powder.
Make a well in the center and the add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract.
Give a quick stir and then pour in the melted chocolate. Fold everything together using a large spatula until all the ingredients are incorporated. It’s ok for a few lumps to remain.
Chop the chilli chocolate into chunks and fold into the batter.
Divide the batter between the paper cases, filling three-quarters full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool.
Store in an airtight container until required.

Makes 12-14

An Award and A Six Word Memoir

Firstly I would like to thank Gigi for awarding me a ‘E for Excellence’ award. Thanks Gigi, I’m really touched.

I wish to pass the award on to Naomi from Straight Into Bed Cakefree And Dried. She has an amazing gluten free blog full of delicious and creative recipes. Her wide knowledge and use of alternative flours always amazes me.



I was recently tagged by Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe for a Six Word Memoir. This involves trying to sum up my personality and capturing the essence of ‘me’ in just 6 words. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. Below are my six chosen little words.

Bake-aholic
Passionate
Creative
Optimistic
Backwards
Thoughtful

I am now passing the challenge on to six other bloggers who have to write six words about themselves, pass the tag on to six others and link back here.

Meeta of What’s for Lunch Honey?
Jen of Milk and Cookies
Pixie of You Say Tomato I Say Tomato
Naomi of Straight Into Bed Cakefree And Dried
Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms
Deborah of Taste and Tell

Gingerbread & Date Cake

I started out planning to bake a date and ginger cake, but as always, I tweaked with the recipe and this cake was the result. The cake itself requires very little added fat as the main binding ingredient is a boiled date mixture. This not only adds a great flavour but also provides a wonderful stickiness which goes hand in hand with the ginger. By substituting wholemeal self raising flour for the white flour stated in the recipe and adding oats in place of breadcrumbs give it a lovely wholesome and slightly toasted/nutty flavour. I also included a little crystallized ginger for extra spice.

I had a little slice of it warm with custard when it was straight out the oven after lunch and it was gorgeous, warming, spicy and fruity. I had a little bit later on that night and was a bit disappointed that it seemed a little dry. I wrapped it up and left it until the following evening when I was overjoyed to discover it had developed a sticky surface and become quite moist and slightly dense but without being heavy. So it seems as though it ages like a traditional gingerbread, getting better with age. If you don’t want to eat it straight away as a hot pudding I would strongly recommend keeping it for 1-2 days before eating.

I consider this cake to be relatively healthy, quite low in fat and full of fibre from the wholemeal flour, oats and dates. You could almost justify it for breakfast.

Gingerbread & Date Cake
Ingredient
45g butter
120g caster sugar
180g wholemeal self raising flour
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
2tsp ground ginger
15g crystallized ginger
225ml water
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125g dates (stone removed)
50g raisins
60g rolled oats

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease a deep 8inch/20cm round tin and set to one side.
Chop the dates into small pieces and add to a small saucepan along with the water.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and then add the bicarbonate of soda. Stir while the mixture bubbles and froths up.
Allow to cook for 3 minutes until the dates have turned mushy and then remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and beat again.
Add the flour, baking powder, and ground ginger into the bowl. Pour the date mix, water and all, over the top and stir until all combined.
Chop the crystallized ginger into small pieces and stir though the batter along with the raisins and oats.
Spread into the greased tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and springy when pressed.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and cooling completely.
When cool, wrap in cling film and leave for 24hours – 2 days before eating for best results. (Although can be eaten straight away, when warm and served with custard).

Ganache Truffles

Over Easter I bought a chocolate mould, and to keep things simple, I decided that the first batch of truffles I made should be plain ganache truffles. Ganache is just a mix of cream and chocolate, melted together until smooth. It produces a wonderful silky mouthfeel with a melt in the mouth texture.

To start with I melted the chocolate and gave the moulds two coats to act as a casing, then added the leftover chocolate to the heated cream to make the ganache. I then filled the moulds with the ganache, waited for it to set and topped each one off with a little extra melted chocolate to form a base.

The thing I loved about the moulds is how I was able to pour the soft ganache into each indent, rather than trying to roll them into balls by hand. The moulds also resulted in a wonderfully glossy shine to the truffles.

If you don’t have a chocolate mould you can still make the truffles by allowing the ganache to set and then rolling it into balls using your hands and then dusting them in cocoa powder or dipping into melted chocolate. In the past I have also brushed mini petit fours paper cases with melted chocolate and used these as moulds, which work well, as you can easily peel away the paper once they are filled.

Making sure to use good quality chocolate is essential – as the quality of chocolate you use will determine the quality of the finished truffle.

Ganache Truffles
Ingredients
150g dark chocolate 60%-74% coco
50g milk chocolate
170ml double cream
½ tsp vanilla
35g extra dark chocolate for the bases.

Method
Melt the 150g dark chocolate and the milk chocolate together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water until melted and smooth.
Brush the insides of your moulds or paper cases with the melted chocolate, ensuring there are no gaps. Turn the moulds upside down to allow any excess chocolate to dribble down and coat the sides of the mould where it is most needed.
Repeat once again when the first layer has set.
Heat the double cream and vanilla in a pan set over a low heat until small bubbles begin to appear, but do not let it boil.
Remove the cream from the heat and pour over the chocolate leftover from brushing the moulds (It will probably have reset but this is fine.)
Stir gently until the chocolate melts into the cream and it becomes smooth, thick and glossy.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before pouring into the moulds, making sure to leave a 2mm gap at the top of each one.
Allow the truffles to set for about 30-60 minutes.
Melt the extra dark chocolate and then spoon a little over each of the truffles, sealing the ganache inside a case of chocolate.
Place somewhere cool for 3-4 hours to ensure the truffles and properly set. Then either tap out from the moulds or carefully peel away the paper cases.

Honey & Orange Creams

For the Monday Munchers this week I really wanted to give them something a bit different that I hadn’t made before. I was flicking through one of my favourite cook books for inspiration when I suddenly found the perfect thing – sandwich cookies! And not only were they sandwich cookies, they were honey and orange sandwich cookies topped with crushed walnuts and filled with honey buttercream. Problem solved.

The recipe for the cookies was really intriguing as it involved making a very light and airy dough that had to be rolled into small balls and flattened before baking – I had thought sandwich cookies would have to be rolled and cut out into discs, but it appears not as the cookies baked into perfect circles. Another curious thing was that they had a crisp surface and yet remained quite soft and tender on the inside. I was initially disappointed by this when I tasted a little of the cookie on its own, but once assembled with the cream filling I think its actually better this way as it means you can take a bite easily without the cream oozing out the middle. I was also quite startled by how orange the cookies looked when I took them out the oven, curiously this lessened to become a golden brown colour as they cooled. I’m not sure why this happened, all I can think is that it’s something to do with a chemical reaction to the bicarbonate of soda in the mix. Anyone have any suggestions?

The flavour of the cookies was also very good. The honey and orange made it taste quite zesty and delicate. The walnuts of top became lightly toasted and provided a wonderful nutty flavour and a slight crunch. I feel they are quite an elegant little cookie and would be the ideal thing to serve your mum or grandmother with a cup of afternoon tea, but that’s not to say there weren’t equally enjoyed by the guys at work.

Honey & Orange Creams
(Recipe from The Cookie Book by Catherine Atkinson & Joanna Farrow)
Ingredients
250g self raising flour
2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g caster sugar
110g butter
Zest of 1 large orange
115g clear honey
25g walnuts

For the cream filling
50g butter
100g icing sugar
1 tbsp honey

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and set to one side.
Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl with sugar. Grate in the rind from the orange.
Add the butter and rub the ingredients together using the tips of your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Heat the honey until it’s runny and warm, but not hot. (Either in a saucepan or the microwave). Pour over the crumbs and stir with a spoon until it begins to form clumps and then use your fingers to bring it into a sticky dough.
Take small heaped teaspoonfuls of the dough and roll it between your hands to form balls the size of a large marble.
Place the cookie balls onto the baking tray and flatten slightly using your fingers. Leave a 2inch gap between each one to allow for spreading.
Finely chop the walnuts and press a few pieces into the top of half the cookies. Leave the other half plain.
Bake the cookies for 8 minutes until puffy and golden brown (or orange!)
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling wire. Repeat with any remaining cookie balls.
When cool, spread the honey cream over the base of one of the plain cookies and top with a cookie embedded with walnuts.
Makes 40 cookie discs or 20 sandwich cookies.

To make the cream filling
Beat the butter until smooth and soft. Gradually sift over the icing sugar and beat until well incorporated.
Stir through the honey and leave at room temperature until required.

Daring Bakers March Challenge – Perfect Cake for a Party

This months challenge was selected by Morven of Food Art And Random Thoughts. She selected a lemon scented white cake, which I think is what we call Angel Cake here in the UK. It is a cake made using lots of egg whites, resulting in a light yet closely textured cake with a very pale crumb colour. It was to be frosted with an Italian buttecream, also made with egg whites, so you will have plenty of egg yolks left over after making this cake – great for making custard.

We were allowed to be quite free with our adaptations and decorations of the cake, so I am looking forward to seeing a whole host of different party cakes created by fellow bakers.

I decided to stay true to the recipe and bake a lemon flavoured cake, as I love lemony things and it seemed a fitting flavour for Easter and the start of spring which is when I baked and ate the cake. The recipe calls for the cake to be baked in two 9inch circular tins but I didn’t have tins this size so I baked mine in square tins thinking “that’ll do”, but this resulted in rather a thin cake as the square tins have a bigger surface area than circles. My cakes were a little too thin to cut in half safely, so instead I cut them in half down the centre, stacked them one on top of the other and made a very tall rectangle cake instead. It was obviously meant to be, as they baked with an indented line right down the middle! This was because I had folded the baking paper in half before placing it in the tin and the cake batter was so light and airy that it wasn’t heavy enough to flatten out the crease! So it all worked out for the best.

I sandwiched the cake layers together with lemon buttercream and lemon curd and also drizzled it with lemon icing, made from lemon juice and icing sugar for an extra lemony hit and the whole thing was topped off with toasted coconut. I loved the texture of the cake, it was soft and moist with quite a close texture that went really well with the extremely fluffy pearly white buttercream. Its definitely one I will be making again, although maybe next time I will try to find the right sized tins.
Don’t forget to check out the Morven’s blog for the official recipe as well as the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Perfect Party Cake

By Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours.
For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour – 300g

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk – 275ml

4 large egg whites

1 ½ cups sugar – 300g

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 stick unsalted butter – 100g

½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream

1 cup sugar – 200g

4 large egg whites

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter – 300g

¼ cup fresh lemon juice – 2 lemons

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves (I used lemon curd)

About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 180C. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out cleanTransfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream

Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.Remove the bowl from the heat.Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake

Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.Spread it with one third of the preserves.Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Mushroom & Mixed Veg Pie

While I was home over Easter I wanted to cook my family a Vegetarian meal that we could all enjoy. (They are all meat eaters and don’t eat that much vegetarian food) Due to the horrible cold weather (snow and hail) I chose to cook a warming vegetable pie. I decided to make the base a sort of mushrooms style bolognaise and then layer it up with grilled aubergine, spinach and topped with roasted butternut squash and potato mash.

The mushroom base was mixed with beans and gave a wonderful texture and flavour that meant my family didn’t miss their meat at all. As much as I hate to admit it they do give a nice ‘meaty’ texture. The roasted butternut squash in the mash gave a wonderful colour and a lovely autumnal flavour to the dish. I also stirred through some sliced leek for added flavour.

The only downside to the pie is that it did take quite a while to prepare due to the different components which were all assembled separately, but as it was a horrible day outside I was more than happy to stay warm and cosy in the kitchen. If you are short of time I see no reason why you couldn’t forgo the roasting of the squash and simply boil it with the potatoes, and the aubergine could be diced and cooked with the mushrooms instead of being griddled quite easily.

It was a very comforting meal to eat while listening to the hail stones bouncing off the windows.

Mushroom & Mixed Veg Pie
Ingredients
450g mushrooms
3 cloves garlic.
1 large onion
1 small butternut squash
1 aubergine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
400g tin black eyed beans
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp brown sauce
4 medium potatoes
1 leek
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp double cream
Milk
Nutmeg
100g spinach

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C. Chop the butternut squash into large chunks, remove the seeds and place on a baking tray (you can leave the skin on). Drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes until soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a very large frying pan. Chop the onion into a small dice, add to the pan and cook gently until soft.
Meanwhile dice the mushrooms, crush the garlic and finely chop the thyme and then add to the pan of onions. Allow to cook slowly and reduce for around 30 minutes.
Heat a griddle pan until hot. Slice the aubergine into ½ cm discs and brush each slice with a little olive oil and sprinkle with oregano. Place the discs onto the griddle pan and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Brush with a little more oil and then flip over and grill the other side. Transfer to a plate and set to one side.
When the mushrooms are golden brown and reduced, drain the tin of beans and add to the pan along with the chopped tomatoes and brown sauce. Stir until well mixed and allow to simmer, reduce and thicken (about 30 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
While the mushroom mixture is cooking, peel, dice and boil the potatoes until soft.
Meanwhile, slice the leek and fry in a little oil until softened, then set to one side.
Drain the potatoes. Scrape the roasted butternut squash the its skin and add to the potato. Mash both together, adding the double cream and enough milk to create a smooth mash. Stir through the leek, season to taste and set to one side.
Now assemble the dish.
Place half the mushroom mixture into the base of a deep 30x20cm ovenproof dish, arrange the sliced aubergine over the surface and then spread the remaining mushroom mixture over the top.
Lay the spinach over the top and grate over a little fresh nutmeg.
Dollop the vegetable mash over the top and spread it out into an even layer. Drag a fork over the surface to create peaks and tufts and then place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 6

Chocolate Rice Krispie Easter Egg Nests

Chocolate Rice Krispie cakes have long been a favourite at children’s parties but I decided they would be perfect for this weeks Monday Munchers, especially when given an Easter inspired twist. The addition of speckled chocolate mini eggs turns these krispie cakes into Easter nests complete with their own eggs and cute fluffy chicks.

These are so simple and easy to make that they would be the perfect Easter treat to make with children. You could make mini ones, standard ones or even muffin sized ones if you wanted to give them away as gifts. Chocolate mini eggs always appear in the shops around Easter time and add a fun festive feel to the nests. I found some little fluffy Easter chicks in a cake shop and they were so adorable cute that I had to buy some, after all, you can’t have a nest without some chicks.
Make sure you have the paper cases ready to go, as the mixture starts to set quite quickly once you add the Rice Krisipes. You could use Cornflakes, crushed Shredded Wheat or even All Barn in place of the Rice Krispies is you wish, but I find Rice Krispies easier to work with and I much prefer the texture they provide.

While they still might seem more suited to children, can you honestly say you know an adult who would say no to a chocolate krispie cake? Have a Happy Easter!

Chocolate Rice Krispie Easter Egg Nests
Ingredients
135g dark chocolate
35g butter or margarine
1 tbsp golden syrup (45g)
100g rice krispies
Chocolate mini eggs for decoration

Method
Line a bun tin with paper cases and weigh out the rice krispies and set to one side.
Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water.
Stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Remove the bowl from the pan and immediately stir in the rice krispies, making sure they all get coated in chocolate evenly.
Quickly spoon the mixture into the paper cases and add 2 - 3 chocolate mini eggs on top of each one.
Allow to set at room temperature before storing in an airtight container until required.
Makes 12