Apple crumble bars

Continuing my baking bonanza last Saturday, I was on the lookout for something appley to bake. I had a couple of Bramleys stored in the garage that, athough were fine, wouldn't have lasted that much longer. I thought about making apple and cinnamon muffins, but decided that they were too spongey after having made the coconut and cherry banana bread. I really wanted something more of a bar, or slice, so I had a quick look through my Hummingbird Bakery books and found the recipe for apple crumble bars. My son, Theo, is the world's biggest fan of apple crumble so he was delighted that I was making these. He was even more delighted about being able to take them to school for his healthy(ish) snack!

Whilst these were delicious eaten fresh, they are a somewhat fragile affair, and therefore do benefit from being stored in a tin for a few days. Next time I make them, I think I'll use more butter than the recipe suggests, as this will ensure a clumpier base and topping and an altogether sturdier cake!


Ingredients:

200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
quarter tsp salt
200 unsalted butter, softened
250g soft light brown sugar
120g rolled oats
300g apples
4 tbsp cornflour
3 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

One 22cm x 31cm baking tray


1. Preheat the oven to 170 degs C/gas mark 3, and line the tin with baking parchment.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, add the butter and rub together until the consistency of breadcrumbs (you could do this in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment if you prefer), then stir in the sugar and rolled oats. After mixing, press half the mixture into the prepared tin and set aside.

3. Peel and core the apples, then cut into slices and mix together with the cornflour and spices. Place the coated apple slices in rows on top of the oat mixture in the base of the tray...

...spoon the remaining mix over them and press down gently.

4. Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the mixture is golden brown.

Allow to cool in the tray completely before cutting into slices to serve. Enjoy!



This recipe comes from The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days

Coconut and cherry banana bread

Saturday was one of "those days." The weather was uninspiring and Simon and Theo had gone into town to have a look in the new (expensive) toy shop in The Brooks Centre. Not wanting to trail along with the boys on their shopping trip, I decided to stay at home and bake. I had, and still have, lots of ingredients in the cupboard left over from Christmas baking, which included half a pack of desiccated coconut. I also had a few glace cherries left over from the Christmas cake so I set about browsing through my many cookbooks looking for a suitable recipe. I came across the coconut and cherry banana bread in Nigella Lawson's Kitchen, a perfect recipe for using up some of my left-overs. To me, it's one of those old fashioned cakes, not much to look at but tastes gorgeous. The bananas keep the sponge moist, the coconut gives a great texture and the cherries add a little extra sweetness. It's quick, easy and perfect for a tea time treat or to pack in lunchboxes. A real winner that I'll definitely be making again!


Ingredients:

125g soft, unsalted butter
4 small-medium bananas
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
175g plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
half tsp bicarb
100g dried cherries (I used glace which worked perfectly)
100g desiccated coconut

1 x 900g (2lb) loaf tin


1. Preheat the oven to 170 degs C/gas mark 3. Put a loaf liner into your tin, or line it with baking parchment.

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, and take it off the heat. Peel and mash the bananas in a bowl.

3. Beat the sugar into the cooled, melted butter, then beat in the mashed bananas and the eggs. Fold in the flour, baking powder and bicarb. Finally add the cherries and coconut.

4. Fold well so that everything is incorporated, then pour and scrape into the lined loaf tin and smooth the top.

5. Bake for about 50 minutes. When ready, the bread will be coming away from the sides of the tin and should have a hearty bounce when pressed.

6. Once out of the oven, leave it in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully slip the cake out of the tin (still in the liner) onto a wire rack to cool completely.

7. Cuts into 10-12 slices. Enjoy!

Strawberry cheesecake valentines cupcakes

I'd been pondering for ages what cake(s) to make to celebrate Valentine's Day. I'd been intent on making some vanilla cupcakes with white fondant icing, then festooned with red hearts. But when I thought about it more carefully, I decided that vanilla cupcakes weren't special enough. After all, when I'm not baking something with chocolate and bananas, I'm more often than not baking something vanilla flavoured. With cupcakes in mind, I flicked though my Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and fell upon their Strawberry Cheesecake cupcakes. The fact that they have fresh strawberries in them probably means they are more of a summer cake, but I knew that my local Waitrose would have them so my mind was made up. I also knew that I could still get away with decorating them with red hearts. All in all, a Valentine's day winner!

Coincidentally, and through our regular three-way tweeting, I established that I wasn't the only person baking a Hummingbird recipe yesterday. Two of my best Twitter buddies, @dickybundock and @lilmssquirrel were tweeting about how they were busily baking another of their recipes, a rhubarb and almond loaf. What good taste the three of us have!


Ingredients:

FOR THE CAKES:

120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 and a half tsps baking powder
pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter
120ml whole milk
half a tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
12 large strawberries, chopped into small pieces
200g digestive biscuits - you really don't need this quantity...I used about 6 biscuits!


FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

300g icing sugar
50g unsalted butter
125g cream cheese

Line a 12-hole cupcake tray with paper cases.


1. Preheat the oven to 170 degs C/gas mark 3.

2. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a free standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on a slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.

3. Pour in the milk and vanilla extract and beat on a medium speed until all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the egg and beat well for a few minutes until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

4. Divide the chopped strawberries between the paper cases...

...then spoon the cupcake mixture on top until two-thirds full...


5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light golden. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tin before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack.

6. To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld whisk) on a medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is fully incorporated. Turn the mixer up to a medium-high speed and continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy. Don't overbeat as it can come become runny.

7. Roughly break up the digestive biscuits and put them in a food processor. Process until finely ground. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the frosting on top and finish with a sprinkling of the biscuits. Enjoy!


This recipe can be found in The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.

Nutella and banana bites

Back to the chocolate and banana combination again, I made these as a lunchbox treat for the children, but we ALL ended up eating them. After all, who can resist the lure of nutella, chocolate, bananas, marshmallows and rice krispies?! Although not included in the recipe, I added a couple of handfuls of chopped dates to the rice krispie mix, just to give a little more flavour and texture. These delights are super quick and easy to make and don't require any baking.

The recipe can be found in Edd Kimber's book The Boy Who Bakes.


Rice Krispies, marshmallows, butter and chopped dates, all packed into the tin...

A layer of chopped bananas covers the rice krispie base...

Melted chocolate and nutella...

...which is then spread over the top of the bananas...

Once the chocolate topping has set, cut into small (or in our case, large!) squares and enjoy!

Maple and pecan muffins

Maple syrup and pecan nuts are a classic combination and a match made in heaven. Both ingredients have been in existence for thousands of years, indeed the pecan nut started growing in America long before the first settlers arrived. The syrup in these muffins helps to keep them lovely and moist which means they keep well in the tin for several days.

I made these muffins, which are from the Hummingbird Bakery, a few weeks ago now and chose them because I haven't made them before. I wanted to make something that I knew we would all love and which didn't include chocolate or bananas! We'd had pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast one Sunday recently so I think it was them that really inspired me to have a go at these. We all agreed that that they were extremely delicious and the best thing about them, for me anyway, was biting the nut off the top of the cake before devouring the rest of it, and the gooey syrupy bit that could be found at the bottom of the muffin case. A perfect excuse to pick it up and lick it!


Ingredients:

350g plain flour
160g caster sugar
three quarters tsp salt
1 and a half tsps baking powder
half tsp bicarb
375ml buttermilk
1 egg
half tsp vanilla extract
70g butter, melted
240g shelled pecan nuts, chopped, plus 12 halves to decorate
200ml maple syrup

Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases


1. Preheat the oven to 170 degs C/gas mark 3.

2. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb in a large bowl and mix until well combined.

3. Put the buttermilk, egg and vanilla in a jug and combine together. Slowly pour into the flour mixture and beat on a slow speed until all the ingredients are incorporated.

4. Pour in the melted butter and beat until incorporated. With a wooden spoon, stir in 100ml of the maple syrup and the chopped pecan nuts until evenly dispersed.

5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and drizzle the remaining syrup over the tops. Finish with a pecan half in the centre of each one.

6. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the muffins to cool for a while in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.


This recipe can be found in The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

My chicken and mushroom pie

We had a huge roast chicken for lunch on Sunday and even though I'm generous with the amount I put on everybody's plates, there was plenty of meat for left overs. The children were delighted, they thought it meant they would be having chicken rolls in their Monday lunch boxes so their faces fell slightly when I announced that I would, instead, be making a chicken and mushroom pie for Monday's supper.

Pies are good at any time of the year but especially in winter. They offer comfort, warmth and bolster the senses when making and eating them. Perhaps the best part is making the pastry - even if you make it in a food processor like I do, you still need to use your hands for the last part; the rolling, the draping, the piecing together and the crimping. Very tactile and very satisfying.


Ingredients:

300g shortcrust or puff pastry,
olive oil
a large knob of butter
3 sticks of celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped into fairly small dice
left over chicken, at least 300g, torn into large chunks
a couple of good handfuls of mushrooms, chopped into fairly large chunks
2 tbsps plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 pint of chicken stock
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten


1. Preheat the oven to 190 degs C/180 degs C fan/gas mark 5

2. Add a lug of oil and the butter to a large pan over a medium heat. Add the celery and carrots, stir to give them a good buttery coating. Add a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper and then pop the lid on, turn the heat down and let them cook away for about 15 minutes until softened.

3. When the vegetables are ready add the chicken and stir. Add the flour, mix it in well, pour in the stock and stir again. Finally add the mushrooms, turn up the heat and bring everything up to the boil. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary, then turn off the heat.

4. Pour the chicken mixture into a fairly deep pie dish...


...and roll out the pastry into a big fat disc to sit on the top. Tuck the ends under or crimp the edges, brush with the beaten egg and pop into the oven for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

5. Serve with potatoes of your choice and some buttery peas. Enjoy!

Nigella's Chocolate gingerbread

I haven't made a large cake since the end of November when I made our Christmas cake. In the immediate days and weeks following Christmas, I opted to make muffins, cupcakes and other small delights in order to make up for all those Christmas indulgences. However, as much as I love making small cakes, they tend to disappear very quickly and I wanted to make something that had a little more longevity. This chocolate gingerbread seemed the perfect solution. It's the "daddy" of gingerbreads, an old fashioned gingerbread...moist, dark, sticky and intensely rich, hence you have to cut it into slabs rather than small, dainty slices. It's deeply chocolatey too and the addition of chocolate chips makes it full of tiny chocolate nubs. It's topped with a gooey icing of cocoa and ginger ale which tastes better than it sounds.

For a late winter dose of heat and chocolate indulgence, you don't have to look further than this beautiful cake. The recipe can be found here.

The melting pot...

Dark chocolate chips remain crunchy and nubbly when cooked...

Ready to go in the oven...

Just out of the oven, don't worry about the cracks...

Ready for eating...

Date, pistachio and almond flapjacks

We all love flapjack in our family and it's one of those treats that you can knock up a batch of really quickly and easily. For years I have tended to use the same recipe which is just the basic oats, butter, syrup and sugar. However, after watching the fabulous Nigel Slater at Christmas, I was inspired to ring the changes and this is my take on his recipe for Festive Chocolate flapjacks.


Ingredients:

50g pistachios
60g dried, pitted dates
30g pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp ground almonds
50g butter
100g caster sugar
2 tbsps golden syrup
200g porridge oats
100g dark chocolate


1. Preheat the oven to 180 degs C/170 degs C fan/gas mark 4

2. Roughly chop the pistachios and dates then add to a food processor along with half the pumpkin seeds. Add the ground almonds and blitz together for just long enough to leave nice sizeable chunks of the fruit and nuts. Tip into a large mixing bowl with the rest of the whole pumpkin seeds.


3. In a pan, melt the butter with the sugar and syrup over a low heat.

4. Once melted, mix in the oats, and add to the fruit and nuts...

...then spread the mixture out evenly in an oven tray (mine was 25cm x 20cm and lined with baking parchment) and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

5. Leave to cool in the tin. When cold, turn the flapjack out and cut into squares, rectangles or triangles. The size depends on how big you want your pieces to be...I made about 16 squares.

6. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water...

...and dip the flapjacks in as far as you dare. Allow to chill in the fridge for 20 minutes so that the chocolate goes lovely and crisp.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Banana and Cinnamon muffins

This is my own recipe and is a great way to use up those forlorn looking, over-ripe bananas that I always seem to have in the fruit bowl. I've made banana muffins many times before, they're a great snack to go in the children's lunchboxes, but I've usually succumbed to their chocolate cravings and added at least chopped chocolate, and sometimes cocoa too. This time, though, I wanted the muffin to be all about the banana, but to give it a little extra kick, I added cinnamon. My (sometimes fussy) nine year old son declared them a success...I take that as the ultimate seal of approval.


Ingredients:

Makes 12

175g plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
half a tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsps ground cinnamon
125g unsalted butter, melted
150g soft light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 small ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE CRUNCHY TOPPING

1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsps demerera sugar


1. Preheat the oven to 180 degs C/170 degs C fan/gas mark 3

2. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb and cinnamon into a medium sized bowl and combine well.

3. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar, and beat until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then the mashed bananas and vanilla.

4. Add the flour mixture and stir well.

5. Line a muffin tin with paper cases and fill each case with the mixture, until about two-thirds full, and sprinkle the tops with the sugary cinnamon.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out on to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Mac & Cheese

As much as I love cooking, sometimes I don't want to be spending lots of time in the kitchen on a Sunday morning preparing a roast, casserole or pie. Last Sunday was one of those days when I wanted to bask in our sunny conservatory with coffee and the papers, feeling good that my morning wasn't going to be dominated by food. The fact that I ended up sorting out my car insurance and going through my bank statement is a moot point. OK, it was papers of a different kind but still accompanied by coffee!

Flicking through Lorraine Pascale's book, Baking Made Easy, earlier in the week, I had decided to make this glammed up version of Macaroni Cheese. I haven't made the less glammed up version for years as our nine year old has always been a bit sniffy about Macaroni, but this dish looked so inviting in the book, I just had to give it a go. It's quick, easy and incredibly tasty, and the verdict from us all? A real winter warmer winner!


Ingredients:

340g macaroni
salt and freshly ground black pepper
80g pancetta, diced (I used bacon)
1 small handful of fresh thyme leaves (I used 1 tsp dried)
3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
100g breadcrumbs
1 handful of chopped fresh parsley


FOR THE CHEESE SAUCE

40g butter
40g plain flour
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tsp mustard powder
200ml milk
285ml double cream (I opted not to use any cream and used 400ml milk instead)
200g cheddar cheese
115g fresh parmesan


1. Preheat the oven to 200 degs C/gas mark 6

2. Cook the macaroni in a large pan of boiling salted water. It needs to be cooked to just under what you would normally do, as the pasta will be cooked again in the oven. Drain, return to the pan and set aside.

3. Fry the pancetta/bacon in a medium frying pan over a gentle heat, until it just starts to brown and crisp up, then add the thyme and spring onions and cook for a further 3 minutes...

...remove the pan from the heat and add its contents to the pasta.

4. To make the sauce, you can follow the proper method in Lorraine's book, but I always use the cheats method. It works brilliantly and saves an awful lot of time, and if Jamie and Delia make their sauces this way, then I'm absolutely going to as well!

Put all the ingredients, except for the cheese, in a saucepan set over a medium heat and stir (I use a small balloon whisk) until all the ingredients have incorporated. Keep stirring all the time until the sauce starts to thicken. Once it's bubbling, keep stirring until it's nice and thick, then remove from the heat. Essentially, the trick here is to stir continually from start to finish...I guarantee there will be no lumps!

Add two-thirds of both cheeses to the sauce while it is still hot and combine well. There may be a few lumps at this stage but that is fine. Season to taste and add to the pasta mix. Stir everything together and spoon into a shallow casserole dish or 4 individual large ramekins.

Sprinkle the top with the rest of the cheese and the breadcrumbs and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the topping goes crumbly and brown. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve while hot.

This recipe comes from Baking Made Easy by Lorraine Pascale