While we're on the topic...

Late last summer, my boyfriend Andrew and a good friend of his, struck gold one day when biking around Holyrood Park. Rows and rows of blackberry bushes unfolded before their eyes, all with perfectly ripe fruit for the picking. One would be foolish not to see the baking potential in a situation like this!
Thanks to their foraging efforts, we now had a couple jars of homemade jam and baked vanilla and blackberry cheesecake. Thankyou mother nature for providing the goods!

The principles for this recipe are much the same as for the pumpkin version. Make the base as before, but with digestive biscuits instead. Then simply mix together... 
 500g cream cheese, 300ml sour cream, 150g caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essence and 2 beaten eggs. Pour into the tin and tap the sides lightly.

 I made a coulis from the berries, by bringing 250g berries and 50g caster sugar to the boil and simmering for 5 minutes. Tip it into a blender, give it a whizz and and pour through a sieve. 



The next step, is your chance to let the inner creative genius flow. Just drizzle or dollop the coulis over the cheesecake with a spoon and drag the tip of a knife through it. Bake at 170 C for 30 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the centre is a little wobbly.

Spicy Pumpkin Cheesecake...

I had hoped to get this cheesecake out of the oven in time for Halloween, but alas... there wasn't a pumpkin to found in the entire city! Once supply and demand had caught up with each other,  I finally got hold of the perfect pumpkin and created something quite lovely from it.
A lighter and more subtle version of the traditional pumpkin pie.
I suggest you try out the ginger snap base, but of course a digestive base would suffice! 

The ingredients...

250g ginger snap biscuits
65g butter

340g cooked and mashed pumpkin (steamed if possible)

100g brown sugar

125g caster sugar

450g cream cheese

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

4 eggs

Oven set at 170 C.

Grease the sides of a spring-form tin and line the bottom with baking paper.
Crush the ginger snaps fairly well, add in the melted butter and press firmly into the tin. Bake for  5-7 minutes and put aside.
Beat together the cream cheese and both sugars, then add the pumpkin and spices. Beat the eggs separately and fold into the mix. Pour onto the base, give it little shake to get rid if bubbles and even it out.
Bake in the centre of your oven for 90 minutes (but as all ovens are unique, it pays to check on it after 75 - 80 minutes). You're looking for firm edges and a slightly wobbly centre. If it begins to brown to much before its ready, cover the top with tin foil.
Leave in the oven with the door open. Once completely cooled, put in the fridge.
Serve with a decent dollop of whipped cream.

x

Fresh from the fridge...

Chocolate Peppermint Slice
No baking required


Since leaving home, I found I must bake to adapt. Alot of my favourite things are no longer readily available to me, like mums incredible pav's, or Arnott's Chocolate Mint Slice's, so as a result I was forced to make my own or go without. The latter is never really an option, especially when it's this ridiculously easy to recreate!

The ingredients...

250g digestive biscuits

(fact.. the first digestive biscuits were devised in Edinburgh by McVities & Price!)

125g butter

2 tbsp cocoa

3 tbsp golden syrup

3 cups icing sugar

a few drops of peppermint essence

30g butter

2 tbsp boiling water

200g dark chocolate

20g butter

Firstly, crush the digestive biscuits using whatever method you find works best. I prefer to leave it a little chunky, makes the base more interesting. Melt the butter and syrup, mix together with biscuits and cocoa and press into a lined baking tray (with relatively deep sides). Put this in the fridge while you get to work on the filling.
Soften your butter and stir into the icing sugar, along with peppermint essence and boiling water. Add more of any ingredient as you see fit. If you've added to much essence (I usually do), just add more icing sugar.
Spread this onto the base and give it some more time in the fridge.
Melt together the chocolate and butter and when the filling is set, pour the final layer on.
Let it set and slice.


Thankyou Arnotts for the inspiration!

Just my cup a' tea...

 

Growing up, there was always a fresh pot of Earl Grey sitting on our breakfast table. Dressed in its Sunday best, the all familiar mustard tea cosy. I suppose it's because of this, that it is still my drink of choice. To me, a cup of tea is a comforting, calming and cherished ritual. Essentially, it's like a hug in a cup. So you can imagine how over the moon I was to discover this. An Earl Grey Tea Loaf.

May I recommend this recipe to all fellow tea drinkers.  A delicate and fragrant loaf topped with a zesty lemon drizzle. I mixed it up a little, adding a tsp of Blue Lady tea, and I'm sure this recipe could be experimented with even more. Instead of a drizzle, you could incorporate some lemon (or orange) rind into the mix. I think I'll try using chai tea next time..

 

 The ingredients...

2 tbsp of loose Earl Grey tea 

(or 3 bags with tea leaves taken out)

60 ml boiled water

80ml milk

150g butter

150g sugar

2 eggs

200g flour

1 tsp baking powder

Lemon drizzle ...

230g icing sugar

Juice and rind on half a lemon

Oven at 170 C 

Steep your tea leaves in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then add to the cold milk. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and beat in the eggs. Sift the flour and baking powder together and add half of this to the butter mix, then half of the tea. Combine and repeat. Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and bake for about 40 minutes. Test with a knife, it should come out clean. Don't fret if it's still not cooked in the centre, just cover the loaf with tin foil so the top doesn't burn and keep baking until it's done. If opting for the drizzle, do so once cooled. x

Not baking in the slightest, but....

Tasty, cheap and ridiculously healthy ingredients blended up to make the perfect Autumn weeknight dinner. Squirrel some away in the freezer for a night when you can't be bothered.

Carrot and Red Lentil Soup 

 The ingredients...

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin or seed

Pinch of ground chilli or flakes 

900g carrots (peeled and chopped)

150g split red lentils

1.2 L hot vegetable stock

120 ml milk 

Put all ingredients into a large pot, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes.
Give it a whizz with a blender and serve.
Bonus: improved night vision from all that vitamin A!

Warming Autumn Treats: Spicy Apple Chutney

After a month of gallivanting around Italy, soaking up the sun and enjoying a predominantly gelato based diet... we were (strangely) pleased to feel the fresh Autumn air chill us to the core, after arriving back home in Edinburgh.
Almost instinctively, thoughts of all things warm, fragrant and spicy sprung to mind... and after such a long holiday, a tight budget had duly been put into practice.
With these two things in mind... A spicy apple chutney sounded like a winner!

Every recipe I read, called for malt, cider or red or white wine vinegar. But I already had a bottle of  distilled vinegar and couldn't justify buying another. So, by using the most humble of ingredients, I managed to produce something that looks and tastes like a chutney should. I understand the storage method is quite an important step, but so long as your jars are clean, dry, hot (from the oven) and have lids with a plastic inner, your preserve should be safe and sound.

The ingredients...

900g tart apples (peeled and cut into chunks)

1 large onion (finely chopped)

1 tbsp fresh ginger (finely chopped)

400g brown sugar

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp mixed spice

1tsp chilli (I used dried flakes)

500ml vinegar

Pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper

Let all ingredients come to the boil in a heavy based pan, then lower the heat and simmer for a good 40-50 minutes. Your entire house will now smell of vinegar... but don't fret, it eventually becomes the sweet scent of successful preserve making! Give it a stir every now and then, keeping an eye on the consistency. Once it's thick enough (draw a spoon through it - no liquid should be left at the bottom of the pan), put it straight into hot sterilised jars, fill right to the top, screw on the lid and tip it upside down for a while. Not sure what that last step does exactly, but I read it somewhere once! Can't hurt...

Perfect Pav.... almost

Everything was going so well, after numerous failed attempts over the years, trying to achieve what seemed like the impossible, I thought this was it.. this would be the perfect pav. I had turned off the heat and left the oven door slightly ajar. I left the house feeling confident and proud of my baking success, until we came home later that night to find the crack of all cracks had caused a crater effect on the top of my precious pavlova. After a tense few minutes trying to get the thing off of the baking paper, we heaped on the whipped cream and fresh strawberries and dug in... perfection. 

I have scoured the internet for solutions and there are many conflicting methods. I can't yet tell you which one will work, BUT a Womens Weekly recipe said not to change the temperature when placing the Pavlova in the oven and when done, to leave the door ajar using a wooden spoon. Shall try this next time.

The ingredients...

4 egg whites (room temperature)

pinch of salt

225g castor sugar

1/2  tsp cornflour

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Set oven to 180 C.

In a clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites and salt together until stiff peaks form. Beat in 1/3 of sugar and then the remaining sugar a tbsp at a time. Sprinkle in cornflour, vinegar and vanilla, beat until combined. Spoon the meringue onto a tray lined with baking paper. Spread out into a circle (about 15-18cm diameter) and smooth the top with a knife and create fancy swirls on the side if you so wish. Turn the oven down to 100 C and bake for 1 hour. Turn oven off and leave to cool with the door open just a smidge.

Now, I think we can be sure that the ingredients are not at fault here, it's the finicky temperature control that makes or breaks it. My mum has always used the method of turning the heat down when putting the pav in, but next time I will try keeping it the same temperature and a bit lower at 90 C. No harm in trying!

Good luck.