Chocolate Brandy Fingers

These chocolate brandied currant fingers, really give you that cocoa choc hit!
And are also really easy to make:

75g currants
60ml Brandy
250g plain choc biscuit digestives
85g unsalted butter
330g dark choc chopped
190ml pouring cream

Place the currants and brandy in a small saucepan over a low heat and cook until the brandy is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Place the biscuits and butter in a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Press mixture into a 10cm x 35cm loose bottom tin.

Put the choc and cream in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until the choc has melted and smooth. Add the currents, pour over the base and refidgerate for 2 hours until firm...

can serve as a pud with cream and rasberries......

Tasty Muesli

Hi all,

So randomly got up at 6am this week and was bored... so decided to make some muesli.
Now you're probably thinking, "Muesli, how boring!?!". But this is not the case with this muesli.

Once you try this muesli, you'll be addicted!! I mean it :D

So it's dead easy to make, here you go:


200g Traditional whole rolled oats
25g pumkin seeds
15g sunflower seeds
50g nuts (you can use whatever, I like Pecans, hazelnuts & Almonds) Chopped
3 tbspn maple syrup (can always add a little extra if you've got a sweet tooth)
75g dried apicots ready to eat
50g sultanas

Pre-heat oven to 200oc
In a large bowl mix your Oats, seeds, nuts and maple syrup. Spread mixture onto one large or two medium baking trays, that have been lined with baking paper.

Bake for 10-12mins until toasty, golden in colour.
Allow to cool a bit, then return to the bowl and mix in your dried fruit.

Store in an airtight contain - Keeps for 4 weeks (unless you eat it all in the same day!?)

Serve with ice cold milk.

LUSH!!!

Pin Wheels

Made some 'savory' snacks by request by several people & decided to make some tasty salami & olive pin wheels. Really quick to make and even easier to eat!

Salami & Olive Pin Wheels:
4 slices of salami
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 tbsp chopped Rosemary (or thyme)
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 pack pre-rolled puff pastry (found in butter section)

Pre-heat oven to 220oc


Whizz all ingredients (except pastry) in food processor & spread on your rolled out puff pastry.


Cut pastry into two pieces and roll each section up. Then cut into 1cm thick wheels. Place in oven for around 15mins.

Eat while warm & enjoy!

Mum's Flapjack Cookies

So this weekend I decided to make a batch of my fav flapjacks!
Now these aren't the average flapjacks, these are made using my mums recipe, which is more of a cookie than a slice.

They are sooo moreish and not too bad on the hips :o)

Victoria's Famous Flapjack Recipe:
6oz Traditional whole rolled oats
5oz Sugar
5oz Plain flour
1 tspn bicarb of soda
2 tbsp Boiling hot water
6oz block butter
1 tablespoon Syrup
(makes around 34 biscuits)

Preheat oven to 180oc
Mix the oats, sugar and flour together in bowl. In a seperate bowl mix the boiling water and bicarb of soda, then mix into the oat miture.

Melt the butter & syrup in a bowl over boiling water. once melted add to the oat mixture.
Roll into small balls and place on a baking tray covered with baking parchment, press two fingers into each blob. Make sure they are too close together as they will spread. If you're using one tray, do it in three batches.

Pop in the oven for around 12-14 mins, they won't take long.
leave to cool on the tray a bit to crispen up, then onto a wire rack to fully cool.

Make a large cuppa tea and enjoy!

Raisin me loaf!

So using my freebe stash of yeast from St John's, I jumped back into the kitchen to have a go at another loaf. I fancied trying something a bit different, so decided to do a 'Raisin, Hazelnut & shallot loaf.

Here is how I got on...

First fried off the shallots before adding my crushed hazelnuts and the raisins....


And then started working the dough. I'm currently having to do this on the kitchen table, as it works better being glass than a wooden surface - thus my back kills, let alone my arms...
You can see the shallot mixture in the backround which was added to the dough before leaving it to rise.

Throw, fold and trap in that air, Raaaa!!

Just before it goes in to be baked..
And the finished result - following as directed I baked them for 30mins, but think it may have needed 5 mins less. All the same it's lush!



Great with a bit of home-made pate, chutney & Pete's pickled onions :D

The Healthy Veggie Cake!!

So I had a go of one of my 'healthy veggie' cakes today! :D
With great results, Pete even loved it !!

It was a chocolate, pistachio & courgette cake.
At only 300 cals a slice, that's definately worth two slices!! :D

Look at all the courgette that went in...

And the ground pistachios ...

The finish article....
And do you know what ..... it was delicious especially with a couple of blobs of vanilla ice cream :D Well you can't have it being to healthy now....

RELAX!

Whilst we were doing a few laps of Spitlefields before heading to St John's, Pete saw these typesetting letters. Took us ages to decide which ones we wanted..

I thought it was quite funny that he'd want to remind ourselves to "Relax" when having a bubble bath :)

A Blackout With One Torch

After bringing many samples of my cakes and bakes into work (Pete refusing to eat any more cake..) One of my colleague's, Ben, asked if I would bake his Misses a Big birthday cake. Of course not one to turn down an excuse to bake, I said yes.

His main requirement was that it needed to be:
"Chocolate overload, with more chocolate!"

So I decided to bake my "A Blackout With One Torch" cake. Strange name I know, it's to decribe a three sponge chocolate cake that is drenched on all layers and topped in rich chocolate custard. Except for the center section of the cake that has a smooth white chocolate cream frosting - that'll be the torch.. Then finished with wizzed up cake crumbs over the top. Don't think it could get more chocolate!

Here are some pics of the cake during the "building" of it and the finished product. Ben did say he'd take a photo of Jazz enjoying it for the blog too - so watch this space...


Nearly forgot...

"HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY Jazz!"

Hope you enjoy the cake and have a fab day on Monday, also hope you have a superb weekend celebrating! :D

Best EVER Bacon sarnie!!

A whole week has passed since my last post!? I can't believe it!
Do not dispair I'll have at least a couple of posts to put up today :D

So as the title suggests I had a rather amazing brekkie this morning. Pete and I decided that we'd head over to Spitlefields to St John's for breakfast. On quite a few occassions I have been recommended to go there by Heiko Prigge, who after describing all the food to me has left me desperate to go.


So at 9.50am we arrived outside St John's egar to sample their food. Pete made us do a couple of laps around the market so we didn't look so desperate waiting for the doors to open.

As soon as we were through the door, we hit the warm cloud of fresh baked bread smells. Our brekkie soon arrived, Old Spot Bacon Sandwichs for each of us. Home-baked bread gently toasted, with thick delicious rashers succulent bacon oozzing with home-made tomie K. Everything home-made and delicious! By far the best bacon sarnie I've ever tasted :O)

They sell a good range of beautiful breads that were baked first thing thta morning. When I went to pay, I thought I'd ask if they new where I could get fresh yeast (other than ebay!?).
"Fresh yeast? We sell it here. How much do you want?"
Brilliant!! So I asked for 10g, they gave me 40g... "how much is that?"
"We have tones of it! No worries, it's free. Just make sure you back for more food :D "

So that'll be AMAZING bargin two!! I tell you what that's the second weekend I've got something for nothing. It's AWESOME :D!

Will deffinately be going back there again, hopefully next time we'll sample there lunchtime dishes - I really can't wait.

Anyho this afternoon, I thought I'd have a go at a Raisin,shallot & hazelnut loaf - I'll let you know how it goes. Oh yes, nearly forgot, I'm also going to have a go at one of my vegetable cakes too - will explain more in my veggie cake post.

Here is the link to St John's website: http://www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk/