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Jellybean Rainbow Cake
This cake looks like it was lifted straight from Willy Wonka’s factory, however it is incredibly easy to make. You don’t need to be an experienced baker, all you need is patience. You may have come across this recipe when I shared it before the Irish Constitutional Referendum a number of years ago; I believe in equality for all families in all their wonderful shapes and sizes. I’ve also shared this recipe to celebrate #PRIDE because I believe that for too long people who do not conform to the norm have not been treated equally, and continue to be discriminated against. We can do better. Pride is an opportunity to…
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Banana Milkshake Cake
Take a banana malt milkshake with a side of cookies, then convert that into a cake.
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Make Ahead Cookies
These malted milk treats have a beautiful fudgy flavour thanks to the malted milk powder that I use in the baking process. There are a couple of brand names if you’re looking to pick it up for yourself. The ones that are easiest to find in the supermarket are Ovaltine & Horlicks. Allegedly, the malted milk that I like is used in a large Irish diner-style chain of restaurants for their malted milkshake. Ever wanted to make one yourself at home? Simply add a couple of tablespoons to some quality partially melted vanilla ice cream. The first thing you could do with the malted milk is to include them in…
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Chocolate Biscuit Christmas Pudding
Not everybody is a fan of desserts with dried fruits in them. However, I really love the appearance of a Christmas pudding. So we get around this by making a chocolate biscuit Christmas pudding cake. I like to lace mine with crunchy malteasers but you can add in any chocolates, sweets or nuts that you like! As this recipe has no baking to be done I think it’s a brilliant one to make with children with little supervision. Once again I have a video to go along with the recipe on YouTube!
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Christmas Fruit Parcels
These Christmas Fruit Parcels are a lighter alternative to cakes and puddings and have no suet and very little fat, no eggs and can be prepared quickly. They can easily be adapted for vegans too.
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Lovely Lemon Curd
A couple of weeks ago the folks at Margaret’s Happily Free Range Eggs contacted me and asked me if I’d like to try out their produce. Free range is something that is very important to me, obviously it’s why we made the decision to rear our own pigs, so I was delighted to accept. Then, on a day where I managed to snag some beautiful organic unwaxed lemons, there was little else I could do other than make my tried and tested lovely lemon curd. If you’re interested in finding out more about Margaret, the woman who has names for every single one of her flock, and is passionate about…
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Jam Buns Recipe
I’ve got a bit a lot of a strawberry jam glut here. Imagine that! I ran out of jam jars and space to store them in, leaving me with the jam in the bottom of the pan. It’s my moral obligation to make sure that the jam doesn’t go to waste so it might as well go to waist. Daft puns aside. If you’re going to eat something with sugar in it, eat a bun, not a cupcake. Based on my own expert (cough) visual inspections, a bun is about half the size of a cupcake. Meaning they are easier to portion and just eat the one. Cupcakes are lovely…
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Open Apple Pie Recipe
By special request, I’ve collated some of my best apple recipes, along with a new recipe for an open apple pie, in the one spot. This will make it easy for that somebody who has a glut and there are a couple of savoury options as well as sweet. My big secret with apples is that I use them instead of a sweetener such as sugar or even honey in recipes. They boost the flavour in a sauce or a soup and I even use the peel to make my jams and marmalades set. It’s no wonder they are one of my favourite seasonal and Irish fruits! *Cough* It is…
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Buttermilk Cake Recipe
I love a regular Victoria Sponge but I’ve recently started to make buttermilk cake as an alternative. Buttermilk cake has a lighter texture than an all butter cake and just as simple to make. With the addition of this warm white chocolate ganache, the buttermilk cake becomes a serious treat. As the ganache is sweet, I’ve lowered the sugar in the cake mix. I also used this basic cake mix to make some banana cake last week. It was more bread-ish than cake-ish if you get what I mean. Still it was the perfect snack for my elevenses – a time when I find I’m dipping in energy during the…
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Low Sugar Jam
Jam is sweet. It’s meant to be sweet; the sugar used preserves the fruit and makes the jam last for longer. In my house that could mean up to a year; providing I use a sterilised jar, and store it in a cool, dark place. What if there was a way to make low sugar jam? You’d still have a “set” consistency, but the trade-off would be that you’d have to make smaller quantities because the jam wouldn’t last so long. I’ve tested plenty of jam recipes over the years. I’ve made jam with less sugar than recommended, replaced the refined sugar with fruit sugar (fructose), used honey, and used…
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Simnel Cupcakes
Apparently simnel cake is traditionally eaten on Mothering Sunday. I have to say I never remember eating simnel cake then, but it always featured on our Easter table as I was growing up. Technically simnel cake is a similar mixture to a Christmas cake, and has some of the same flavours. However unlike Christmas cake, you won’t find any sickly sweet white icing (be it fondant or royal), and the almond paste is baked into the cake, with a thin layer on top that’s caramelised under the grill before serving. The thing is though, simnel cake is beautiful but a flipping heavy cake to make. It is prone to collapsing…
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Raspberry Curd
What is curd? Sweet curd is made with 4 main ingredients. 3 of which are always butter, sugar, and eggs. The 4th ingredient is normally a tart or citrus flavour. Once made properly it sets to a dropping consistency. This is because both the butter and the egg yolks play a part in the setting process. You’ve probably heard of lemon curd. It is extremely easy to make – in fact, if you want to see me make it, plus get the recipe you can head on over to my lemon curd recipe by clicking the image below.
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