Category: pudding/dessert

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I’m delighted that the Great British Bake Off is back on – not only is it light and frothy viewing (just what we need these days) but it also gives lots of new inspiration for bakes, as well as the pressure to keep up. I’ve got into a phase of having masses of recipes but never getting round to writing them up – well that has to change, and what better time than right now?

Week 1 was cake week and featured Battenberg, pineapple upside down cake or a cake bust. Well, i’m not quite in the mood to fashion a horrifyingly bad bust out of cake and Battenberg isn’t to my taste so pineapple upside down cake it is. In fact, someone asked me ages a go to come up with a pineapple upside down cake recipe but somehow it never got to the top of the ‘to do list’, until now that is! (I do hope you are still reading if it was you?)

Anyway, this cake is a real hit. Delightfully retro and garish with the tinned pineapple rings and glace cherries (I toned it down a little with morello glace cherries rather than the almost neon maraschino versions) and the epitome of comfort food. This is a cake which will take you back in time. In fact I had a leftover pineapple ring which ended up as the chef’s treat and even that was a trip down memory lane – who eats tinned pineapple these days?! This cake is probably best served with a good dose of custard, and not whipped cream like they did on the bake off, what on earth were they thinking?

Pineapple Upside Down Cake works well as a large cake as I’ve made here but would be even better as individual servings, each with a little pineapple ring topping the cake like a golden crown. I didn’t have the right sized moulds so one big cake it is! If you want to make individuals just evenly divide the mixture and reduce the cooking time to about 18-20 minutes (but do keep checking).

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegan and vegetarian)

makes 1 16cm cake or 4-6 individuals

Tinned pineapple rings to top the cakes (i used 3)

2 tbsp demerara sugar

1/2 tbsp dairy-free margarine

200g self-raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g soft brown sugar

50g golden syrup

Pinch of salt

100ml sunflower oil

150ml dairy-free milk

1/2 tsp lemon juice

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade
  2. Grease a spring-form tin or individual mould with the dairy-free margarine. Sprinkle the sugar into the buttered base.
  3. Lay over the pineapple rings and fill the centres with a place cherry. Set aside.
  4. Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate and salt. Stir in the sugar.
  5. Combine the syrup, oil, dairy-free milk and lemon juice. Give it a stir and pour into the dry ingredients. Gently mix to make a smooth and runny batter
  6. Pour into the pineapple lined tin and bake for about 30-35 minutes until risen, golden and a knife comes out clean. I recommend placing the tin onto of a baking sheet as you may get some caramel leakage!
  7. Invert onto a plate and carefully remove the cake tin. If a pineapple ring sticks to the base just gently place back on the top of the cake. Pour over any remaining syrup.

 

 

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Dairy-free Summer Berry Fro-Yo

Wow, what a scorcher! It’s sweltering here so we need as much cooling down as possible. In the UK we’re not really set up for true heat, so rather than having the benefit of air conditioning everywhere, we’ve got to get by with cold drinks and doing as little hot cooking as possible.

While there are so many fantastic dairy-free ice creams available these days (how things have changed in the past 10 years or so!), sometimes you need something a bit lighter and fresher. This simple three ingredient summer berry ‘fro-yo’ is light, refreshing, and yet creamy and utterly delicious. It takes only minutes to prepare followed by a couple of hours in the freezer, and there you have the perfect refreshing summer pudding.

Not only does it involve just three ingredients but they are ones that that you are likely to have in,  which means a beautiful frozen dessert is always within reach. By all means use any frozen fruit you have to hand, but the tartness of the berries gives an extra cooling tang which is welcome on a mid-30 degrees kind of day!

Dairy-free Summer Berry Fro-Yo

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, can be soya-free, vegetarian and vegan)

serves 4

250g frozen berries

2-4 tbsps icing sugar

1 tbsp water

250g dairy-free yogurt, ideally Greek style

  1. In a food processor or high speed blender blitz together the frozen berries and icing sugar and 1 tbsp water. You will end up with a granular paste.
  2. Add the Greek-style yogurt and blitz until smooth and uniform. Freeze for an hour. Stir and freeze for another hour. Easy, no? Enjoy 😊

 

 

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Homemade Lindor style truffle filled chocolates – dairy-free

I think lockdown is a time for looking after yourself and others, for putting well-being and mental and physical health at the top of the agenda. What could be better a promoting a sense of feeling good than a luxury homemade chocolate to raise the spirits and feed the soul.

We decided on these Lindor style chocolate because i’d been given some and both girls were “ooh they look nice, I wish we could eat them’. Well these home-made versions are almost spot on – the filling is maybe a little softer than the originals, and the coating is darker but that’s my preference because then i can get a lovely shiny chocolate!

Enjoy, look after yourself and your tastebuds and stay safe and well x

Homemade Dairy-free Lindor Chocolates

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, can be soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes about 20

for the shells:

150g dairy-free chocolate

for the truffle centres:

100g dairy-free chocolate, I used a creamy version

2 tbsps dairy-free mik

2 tbsps golden syrup

pinch of salt

The process:

  1. First make the truffles: Melt all the truffle ingredients in a microwave or over a bain-marie. Stir until smooth. Place bowl in the fridge for the ganache to fully set.
  2. Next start making the shells: first temper the chocolate. In a microwave or over a Bain Marie, only just melt the chocolate, then stir until all the pieces are melted. You need to bring it down to degrees either by stirring in the bowl until the temp had reduced or pouring out onto a cold work top ( I have a marble board which is perfect for the job) and move it around with a palette knife until it has cooled and has turned beautifully shiny.
  3. Pour a blob of chocolate into each mould and evenly coat all the sides; a small brand new paint brush may help. Leave to set for a few minutes and then paint on another layer if it looks thin or has any gaps. Place in a cool spot to firm up.
  4. One the truffle mix is firm enough to spoon, fill each mould and then seal with a layer of melted chocolate.
  5. Leave to set and then unfold. We find it best to keep them in the fridge 🙂

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Incredible Triple Chocolate Brownies

At times like this where everything is so odd and uncertain, there is one thing for sure and that’s that we need comfort, joy and chocolate!

These triple chocolate brownies really are incredible. Made with only a little flour so you can eek out your supplies and just a few cupboard essentials, meaning that you should be able to create this chocolatey hug without having to venture to the supermarket . Really the supermarket is a mission that I really wouldn’t recommended right now, not only does it take twice as long due to quests to get in and also pay but why are there so many people who seem to think they’re immune to social distancing. I seriously feel stressed out and a little traumatised by my visit this week!

So my advice is; stay in, stay safe and make these brownies and for a little while everything might feel right with the world 🙂

Incredible Triple Chocolate Brownies

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, can be soya-free, sesame-free, vegan and vegetarian)

makes 9 large brownies

4 tbsp cocoa powder

150g self-raising flour

110g caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp flavourless oil, I use sunflower

250ml dairy-free milk

70g dairy-free chocolate, melted

50g dairy-free chocolate chips, or equal amount of chopped chocolate

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Line a brownie tin with parchment
  2. In a bowl, mix together the cocoa, self-raising flour, caster sugar and salt.
  3. Pour in the oil, milk and vanilla and mix to form a smooth batter
  4. Stir in the melted chocolate (this will make the batter much stiffer and far richer)
  5. Stir in 2/3rds of the chocolate chips
  6. Transfer to the lined brownie tin and level off.
  7. Sprinkle over the remaining chocolate chips
  8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. It should be a bit gooey looking in the middle. Cool fully in the tin before cutting into portions.

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Decadent Chocolate Braid

With days starting to merge into each other in Coronavirus lockdown (and it’s only day 9!) I’m determined to somehow make each day different and special.

It may be an annoyance , a bit scary and frankly a bit like living through a disaster movie, but there are also positives we need to focus on to stop feeling overwhelmed by the situation. It’s an enforced opportunity to take a pause, to reconnect as a family and focus on the simpler things in life: I’m really enjoying seeing my mum and brother on ‘Houseparty’ a few times each day, being creative with the food and resources we have in the house and trying to make our food as exciting as possible.

This chocolate braid is a fabulous recipe – it’s quick and easy but looks impressive and tastes totally luxurious. It would make a very indulgent breakfast if you’re missing pain au chocolat, a seriously good pudding with cream or ice cream, or just a naughty work from home snack!

Decadent Chocolate Braid

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

serves 4-6

1/2 pack of puff pastry, ready rolled is easiest as it’s nice an rectangular!

1/3 cup caster sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp dairy-free margarine

50g dairy-free chocolate, finely chopped [optional]

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade and line a baking sheet with baking paper
  2. Mix together the caster sugar, margarine, cocoa powder to form a soft paste. Set aside.
  3. Roll or unfold the pastry. Imagine it is 3 columns and spread the chocolate paste over the middle column leaving a little gap at each end. Sprinkle over the chopped chocolate
  4. Cut the edge columns with diagonal slices, 1cm apart the whole way down. This should mean you get to remove a triangle at the top.
  5. Fold over the top flap of pastry and then alternating sides, cross over a pastry ribbon from each side until you get to the bottom
  6. Brush with dairy free milk and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and puffed up
  7. Cool and then dust liberally with icing sugar

 

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Fudge

Now that worthy January is out of the way I can start posting my backlog of recipes, and what better day to make fudge that when storm Ciara is battering the country.

Fudge is such a naughty sweet treat, utterly delectable and rather moreish, but it certainly didn’t fit into the clean living start of the year! Little S had been badgering me to make fudge for ages – it had featured at a school charity sale and all her friends swooped onto the bags of fudge like a flock of hungry seagulls. Obviously she couldn’t have any 😦 but she couldn’t fail to notice how much the others were enjoying it.

So here is my friendly fudge recipe – it doesn’t make huge amounts (which is probably best with a sweet but naughty treat!) and when I’ve tried to increase the amounts the texture hasn’t been as good, so I definitely recommend sticking to the stated recipe. The basic recipe can carry any traditional fudge flavour but I have tended to opt for chocolate because not only do we all love chocolate but also the resulting colour is the best – the dairy-free margarine can otherwise give a yellow fudge which is far less appealing!

I have to say, now that the girls have tasted fudge it’s a recurrent request!

I would recommend using a kitchen thermometer is essential – you can make fudge but he using the old school soft set test but with a thermometer you’ll get it right every time 🙂

Dairy-free Fudge

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan)

150ml dairy-free milk

175g caster sugar

50g dairy-free margarine

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

50g dairy-free dark chocolate (optional)

pinch of salt

  1. Place the milk, sugar and margarine into a deep saucepan and melt together
  2. Once the sugar has dissolved increase the heat to a rolling boil. Boil for 10-15 minutes stirring regularly. You will notice the bubbles change as the temperature increases and continue until you reach 115 degrees Centigrade
  3. Turn off the heat, add a pinch of salt and leave to cool for a 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in the vanilla and/or chocolate if using. Pour into a lined tin and leave to set.
  5. Once fully set cut into squares and enjoy

 

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