Raspberry & Coconut Loaf

Victoria & David, Kate & William, raspberry & coconut .... matches made in heaven, right?

175g softened butter

175g caster sugar

2 eggs

175g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

60g desiccated coconut

75ml milk

Buttercream, raspberry jam & desiccated coconut to decorate.

Beat the softened butter & caster sugar until pale and fluffy (yes, this is important).

Add the eggs, one at a time.

Add the flour, coconut, baking powder, salt and milk & beat for a short time until mixed.

Bake in whatever tin you like (I think a loaf looks best), for about 45 minutes on 180oC.

Once the cake is cool, turn out & top with a layer of buttercream, followed by jam & a good sprinkle of desiccated coconut.

Pumpkin Ginger Doughnuts

This was my first go at making doughnuts, surprisingly easy too. These badboys would make Homer Simpson proud!

 You need to be careful not to burn your doughnuts or yourself whilst deep frying. DOH!

Find the recipe here.

Banana & Custard Cake

This is the only banana cake recipe I use, hence why I have already blogged this recipe previously.

Anyway, the difference with this cake is the filling, a thick vanilla pastry cream, which tastes just like custard. 

Mmmm bananas & custard!

Banana Cake

75g soft butter

4 ripe bananas, mashed up

200g soft brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

1 pinch of salt

170g plain flour

Preheat the oven tp 180oc. Grease and line your tin.

Pour the mashed bananas into a big mixing bowl.  Mix in the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract.  Add the bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix the flour last.  Pour into the prepared tin.  Bake for 1 hour, remove and cool.

Vanilla custard pastry cream

2 egg yolks
200ml double cream
3 tsp cornflour
2 tsp vanilla extract
25g caster sugar

To make the custard cream, beat together all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, whisking often, then beat until smooth

Bounty Slice

Yum yum, these should be called crack cakes .... they are addictive

You can use Mars or Snickers Bars if you like, they are equally yummy & addictive.

300g Bounty bars

50g butter

1 tbsp golden syrup

150g rice krispies

200g milk chocolate

1 tbsp desiccated coconut, toasted (optional)

Chop the Bounty bars & place in a heatproof bowl with the butter & syrup over a pan of boiling water.  Heat until the mixture has melted.

Beat the butter, syrup & Bounty mixture until smooth.

Add the rice krispies & mix.

Place the mixture in a tin & smooth the top with a spoon, then leave to cool.

Melt the milk chocolate & pour on top of the bounty krispie mixture & sprinkle over the desiccated coconut.

Leave to cool & cut into slices.

Baked Cheese & Ham Bread Pudding

If you have a leftover loaf (not the fake sliced Hovis stuff please), this is a great way to use it up.  I made this for my bro & served it up alongside some of my yummy Dr Pepper Ribs.

The recipe is from one of my fave cookbooks Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros.

3 eggs
250ml milk
250ml pouring cream
freshly grated nutmeg
80g softened butter
1 loaf sliced 1cm thick, crusts removed
200g finely sliced ham or bacon
200g edam, grated
60g parmesan, grated

Preheat your oven to 180oC/Gas 4, & lightly butter a 30 x 20 5 cm ovenproof dish.
Whip the eggs in a bowl, then whisk in the milk & cream.  Season with nutmeg & salt.
Butter the bread slices on one side only.  Lay half of them, buttered side up, in the dish in a slightly overlapping layer.  Pour over half of the egg mixture & leave for five minutes for the bread to soak some of it up.
Layer half the ham over the bread & sprinkle with half the edam & parmesan.
Repeat the bread & butter layer then cover with the remaining egg mixture & the rest of the ham.  
Press down gently on the ham so some of the egg mixture leaks through, the finish off with the rest of the cheese.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden & crusty.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Beetroot & chocolate might sound like a strange combination, but it really works .... try this cake & you'll know exactly what I mean.

I came across this recipe on Joy the Baker's Blog, I used the cream cheese frosting in Joy's post, although I think a chocolate fudge icing would be delicious too.

Chorizo Empanadas & Guacamole

Mexican cornish pasties .... deepfried. Need I say more?

Rough Puff Pastry

100g plain flour

a pinch of salt

75g unsalted butter

50ml cold water

Filling

115g kidney beans

1/2 a red onion

50g chorizo

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp coriander

115g sweet corn

vegetable oil, for deep frying

Guacamole

1 red onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 tsps coriander

1 avocado

1 lime

a pinch chili flakes

a slug olive oil

salt & pepper

Chop the red onion, garlic & chorizo & place in a frying pan over a medium heat, cook until the onions & garlic soften.
Put the beans, sweetcorn & chopped coriander into a bowl & add the softened onion & chorizo mixture, mix & leave to cool.

To make the rough puff pastry, mix together the flour & salt.  Cut the butter into 1cm pieces & toss them into the flour, so that they are coated.
Add the cold water and stir until the mixture comes together to form a dough.  Be careful not to overmix, you do not want the butter to melt into the pastry.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough into a rectangle, about 10 x 30cm.  Fold the bottom third of the dough up over the middle section, and then fold the top third of the dough on top.  Turn the dough round 90 degrees, so that the folds are now at the side.  Cover and place the dough back into the fridge for 30 minutes.  Repeat the folding & rolling three more times, refrigerating inbetween.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface, using a 9cm cookie cutter, cut out circles, you should be able to get about 10 circles from the dough.
Place a teaspoon of the bean & chorizo mixture into the center of the dough circles, brush the edges with water, & bring up the edges, pressing them together to seal well.

Heat about 2cm of oil in a frying pan.  Cook the empanadas over a medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side, until the pastry is golden brown.

To make the guacamole, place all the ingredients into a blender & blend until smooth, season to taste.