Keeping Chickens

This recipe makes a wonderful light but rich dessert for a special meal. Best eaten the same day but even better made a few hours ahead and allowed to stand. If you want to save time on the day you need it the meringue component can easily be made in advance and stored in an airtight container. The recipe calls for 4 eggs but uses them in separate components of the gateaux. The whites are used to make 4 meringue based layers and the yolks are used to make the filling. This gateaux is a more advanced recipe for a confident cook however everyone needs to face a challenge occasionally and this is worth a try..

Link to measurement conversion chart

This recipe uses 4 eggs and will serve 6 – 8 people depending upon how generous you want to be.

Ingredients

Meringue layers

• 150g Roasted Hazelnuts finely ground
• 4 egg whites
• 185g Caster sugar
• 80g Plain flour

Filling

• 125g Caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Instant coffee powder
• 2 floz Water
• 4 egg yolks lightly beaten
• 250g unsalted butter cut into 1cm cubes

Topping

• 10 floz Double or whipping cream
• 2tsp Tia Maria
• Whole nuts or coffee beans to decorate

You will need 2 or 4 x 20cm loose bottomed cake tins. If you have 4 you can bake in 1 batch otherwise you will need to bake in 2 batches

Method

Make the meringue layers

• Preheat the oven to 160c, grease and line the base and sides of the baking tins
• Put the egg whites into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form then slowly add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the sugar has all been added and the whites have a stiff glossy texture.
• Gently fold in the ground nuts and flour until just combined
• Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts and put a quarter into each of the tins available, spread the mix evenly in the tin and smooth the top. If cooking in 2 batches put the remaining meringue in the refridgerator until the first batch has cooked
• Bake for 25 mins. Until golden light and crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a few minutes before removing the meringue from the tin
• If cooking in 2 batches repeat step 5 with the remaining uncooked meringue portions. At this stage the meringues can be stored in an airtight tin for several days.

Make the coffee filling

• Combine the sugar, coffee and water in a pan. Heat gently until the mixture boils and the sugar dissolves
• Simmer uncovered for 5 mins without stirring and the mix goes syrupy, remove from the heat and allow to cool
• Using an electric mixer beat the egg yolks for 10 mins then very slowly add the cooled syrup. Keep beating for a further 5 mins
• Add the butter a cube at a time beating well between additions

Make the topping

• Whip the cream until starting to hold peaks when you lift out the whisk
• Add the Tia Maria and beat until combined. NB do not over whip the cream as it will continue to stiffen when you stop and crack when you have covered the gateaux.

Assemble the gateaux

• Layer the meringue with the coffee filling
• Spread half the cream over the sides and top of the gateaux
• Pipe the remaining cream over the top and decorate with nuts or coffee beans

Serving suggestions and variations

• This gateaux is a great one impress your friends. As it benefits from being left a few hours before being served once assembled it is a good BBQ or dinner party dessert and needs no accompaniment
• It can be adapted to a berry version easily by omitting the nuts and coffee. Substitute the ground nuts with flour and layer the meringue with cream and fresh fruit. Replace the Tia Maria with suitably flavoured liquor such as Framboise or Casis. See my Raspberry meringue gateaux recipe for further guidance. Decorate with fruit or white chocolate
• for a mint choc meringue gateaux , stir a splash of mint essence into the meringue instead of ground nuts, increasing the flour content to 225g, add 4 tbsp of cocoa powder  to the sugar syrup and add Crème de Menthe  to the cream. Decorate with chocolate curls or similar
• For a citrus version substitute the nuts for flour, add the zest of 1 orange or 2 lemons or 2 limes to the meringue. Add the juice to the sugar syrup instead of the water and add a suitably flavoured liquor to the cream consider Cointreau or Limoncello

Acknowledgements

The original version of this gateaux came from an Australian Women’s Weekly recipe. I tested it out as an alternative to sponge cake for a Farmers Market. It was loved by 1 gent so much he asked me to make him one for a special meal  for his soon to be fiancée at the time.

If you enjoyed this recipe you might like to try:

• Chantilly Cream is a great alternative to whipped cream for this dessert.
• Fancy a lunch or teatime treat then Whoopie Pies are the go
• Want something a little less changing, then have a go at our Victoria Sponge Cake which can be tweaked using one of our variations to suit your taste.

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

There are many carrot cake recipes. This version is a low fat moist cake and has been tried and loved by many carrot lovers and haters amongst our friends and family. This is a single layer tray bake version which is just how I like it. I hope you enjoy it too.

Link to measurement conversion chart

Ingredients: Makes 12 Portions 

Cake

• 200g of carrots, grated
• 200g wholemeal self raising flour
• 175g soft dark brown sugar
• 175g sultanas
• 120ml sunflower oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tsp mixed spice
• 1 & ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Grated zest of 1 orange Orange

syrup:

• Juice of ½ orange
• 1 tblsp lemon juice
• 1 & ½ oz soft dark brown sugar

You will also need

• a 10 x 6 inch cm baking dish lined with baking parchment
• a mixing bowl
• a hand or electric whisk

Method

1. Pre heat your oven to 170C 
2. Whisk sugar, eggs and oil for 2-3 mins with an electric whisk
3. Add the sifted flour, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice, plus the bran and fold into the eggy mixture
4. Fold in the carrots, sultanas and orange zest
5. Put the mixture into your cake tin and bake for 35 – 40 mins, until springy in the middle
6. While the cake is cooking, mix the syrup ingredients together in a bowl
7. Whilst the cake is hot, slowly pour over the orange syrup, spreading it evenly over the cake
8. Leave till cold, turn out of the tin and cut into 12 equal portions
9. Will store in a tin without any topping for a week if it lasts that long. The cake improves with age.

Serving suggestions

• We prefer this without any topping, the original recipe calls for a soft cheese topping. See below for 2 different equally good soft cheese toppings, however the addition makes it higher in fat and more difficult to store.
• A vanilla or orange butter cream topping is equally tasty. Try our Meringue Buttercream for a slightly less sweet topping
• Carrot cake goes very well with nuts. If you don’t fancy a creamy topping try decorating the top with halved pecans or walnuts before baking
• This cake is great as a dessert with custard, cream or ice cream
• Tastes great on its own with a cup of tea/coffee

If you have some photo's to share, we would love to hear from you or you can post them on our Facebook page.

Acknowledgements

The original recipe comes from “Delia’s How To Cook Book One”, a very much used book in our house.

Cream cheese topping version 1 “low fat”

• 9 oz Quark
• ¾ oz caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate until the cake is cold. Spread over the cake before cutting into slices and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon.

Cream cheese topping 2 “not so low fat”

• 5oz Mascarpone
• 4 fl oz Creme Fraiche
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Freshly grated nutmeg

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate until the cake is cold. Spread over the cake and grate a little nutmeg over the surface, before cutting into slices.

If you liked this recipe you might also like to try;

1. Our take on welsh rarebit which we call Eggy Scrumble
2. Having friends round or just want a tasty starter to share than Camebert with aspapragus dippers is good one to try
3. Got lots of carrots and looking for something different for a veg then mashed carrots and swede is the go

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes and would love to hear from you if you have any recipes to share, serving suggestions or variations to add. 

Happy eating!

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This recipe for tiramisu has evolved over the years to the perfection we like so much that Simon has taken over the production of it. It is essentially a coffee trifle but incorporates mascarpone instead of custard and has no jelly in it. It incorporates 3 egg yolks, which make it a richer dessert, but are not essential if you prefer not to use raw eggs. We also make our own 2 egg coffee sponge cake as we don’t like the texture of soaked boudoir biscuits. It is best if made a day before as the flavours mature. We love it and now you can too. enjoy!

Link to measurement conversion chart

This recipe serves 6 - 8 and is great if assembled and served in individual wine glasses.

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks – optional
• 75g Caster sugar
• 100ml of coffee liquor such as Tia Maria plus another good splash!
• 500g Mascarpone
• 200g Fromage Fraise
• 300ml strong coffee or expresso, Camp coffee works well
• 20 boudoir biscuits – we make a 2 egg coffee sponge, it has a better texture
• 25g plain chocolate grated

You will also need

• 1 large serving bowl for an individual dessert or 6 – 8 wine glasses depending upon the size of them
• 2 x mixing bowls
• a hand or electric whisk

Method

1. Using a large bowl beat the egg yolks and caster sugar together until pale and thick
2. Add the mascarpone and beat until smooth then incorporate the fromage fraise and a good splash of coffee liquor
3. In a separate bowl mix together the coffee liquor and coffee.
4. Dip half the boudoir biscuits into the coffee liquid and arrange in the bottom of the serving bowl
5. Spoon over half the mascarpone mix and sprinkle half the grated chocolate evenly over the top
6. Repeat to form a second layer – then lick the mascarpone spoon, chefs treat!
7. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or more, this improves the flavour

Serving suggestions and variations

• If you don’t consume alcohol miss out the liquor and add a slug of coffee to the mascarpone mix instead.
• If you don’t like to eat raw eggs, leave them out.
• Replace the coffee liquor with a chocolate liquor for a Mocca version
• Miss out the coffee elements and add your favourite fruit liquor and a suitable flavoured fruit juice instead. Stir some fruit into the mascarpone mix as well if you like or layer it in on top of the sponge cake. Raspberries and peaches work well.
• I recommend the use of a proper sponge cake instead of boudoir biscuits. Use a flavoured or plain sponge following our basic Victoria sponge adapted to 2 eggs

Acknowledgements

Most Italian families have their own recipe for this wonderful dessert. A former colleague of mine, Claudine, attended an Italian cookery class and brought this in for us all to try. It was the start of a Tiramisu love affair! Our version has evolved in part from Claudine and in part from a BBC food recipe.

If you have enjoyed this recipe you might like to have a go at these too;

• If having some friends round try Camembert with Asparagus dippers, great to share as a starter
• Doing an Italian meal then our Corned Beef Lasagne makes a great main with a little twist
• Want a lighter bite then have a go at Minted Pea and Pancetta tart

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

 If you enjoyed this recipe you may also like to try one of the followingIf you

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Meringue buttercream is a great way to use up spare egg whites and produce a light smooth buttercream filling which can be flavoured to suit any cake. Whilst this topping/filling takes a little more effort than your standard butter cream it is worth the effort as you get a light filling that has a much nicer texture to the standard variety. It pipes well so you can make a beautiful and professional finish to your cake. Any spare will store in the refrigerator or freeze for another day

Link to measurement conversion chart

This recipe uses 4 egg whites and will make enough to top fill and decorate a 2 sponge, 20cm, Victoria sandwich cake

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• 250g caster sugar
• 375g unsalted butter softened and cut to 2cm cubes
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

You will also need

• a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simering water or double boiler
• a hand whisk
• an electric whisk
• a large mixing bowl

Method

1. Using a hand whisk lightly whisk the egg whites and sugar together to combine.
2. Place the bowl over the hot water and continue to whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the eggs are hot – about 2 mins
3. Remove from the heat and transfer the eggs to a large mixing bowl. Beat using an electric mixer until the meringue forms glossy peaks and has cooled - do not expect the meringue to volume up
4. Reduce the speed of the mixer and add the butter 1 cube at a time allowing the butter to be thoroughly mixed each time before adding more
5. Add the vanilla essence and whisk to evenly combine.
6. If your buttercream is a little soft to use allow it to stand in the refrigerator until it has firmed up. Whisk it again to smooth it out before use.

Serving suggestions, variations, hints and tips

• If you forget the buttercream in the refridgerator or have stored for a few days and it has gone hard allow it to get to room temperature then whisk it to smooth it through to make it usable consistency
• Substitute the vanilla essence for any other flavouring
  • For chocolate flavour, melt and cool 100g of plain chocolate
  • For coffee flavour use 2 tablespoons of espresso
  • For mocha combine the coffee and chocolate
• This butter cream pipes extremely well, try using it with any of the variations of our Victoria Sponge Sandwich Cake to make them look extra special
• Makes a great topping for any tray bake
• Try using instead of cream with a sponge pudding

Acknowledgements

I can only thank Julia Child for this recipe. Julia is a popular American celebrity chef not widely known in the UK, I picked up a copy of her “Baking with Julia” book from a book sale and discovered this recipe in it. I have used it many times and adapted the flavours successfully from her original chocolate flavoured version. Thanks Julia.

We hope you have enjoyed this recipe. If you have some photo's to share, we would love to hear from you or you can post them on our Facebook page.

You might also like to try some of these recipes from our collection;

• If you are having folks over why not try Tony's Prawny eggs, they make a great starter or side dish on a buffet
• Another popular one for parties is Mama's Salad, an atractive layered salad that you mis when ready to serve
• Just wanting some comfort food then you can't beat a potato and leek hotpot.

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

Clafoutis is a dessert that originates in France, I have always known it as cherry batter pudding. It calls for the use of black cherries but any cherries will do. Once cooked the cherries sit evenly in the cooked batter, which has a smooth, light, custardy taste and texture.  This dessert makes a great finish to a rich meal.

Link to measurement conversion chart

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 level tbsp. flour
• Pinch of salt
• 3 eggs beaten – add an extra yolk if you have one
• 6 level tbsp. caster sugar
• 450ml milk
• 1tbsp rum – optional
• 50g butter
• 675g cherries – black if possible, stoned

You will also need

• A saucepan
• a mixing bowl
• a hand whisk or fork
• 1 large baking dish or casserole

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220c. Use a little of the butter to grease the baking dish
2. Warm the milk, with the rum if using.
3. Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt, blend the egg into the flour and then add half the sugar
4. Gradually add the warm milk to the eggy mix
5. Put the cherries in the baking dish then carefully pour in the butter
6. Dot with the remaining butter
7. Bake for 25 – 30 mins
8. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining sugar over and leave to cool slightly
9. Serve warm

Serving suggestions and variations

• This is great served with fresh cream or natural yogurt.
• As a custard lover I think custard goes well with this too
• Any fruit can be used instead of cherries, try;
  • Apricots
  • Raspberries
  • Blueberries
  • Peaches
  • Blackberries
  • Plums
• Substitute brandy for the rum

Acknowledgements

My first experience of this was from “The Dairy Book of Family Cookery”. It makes a great slidey down dessert, something my in laws are always looking for as they don’t like too much stodge after a main meal.

If you enjoyed this recipe you may like to try one of the folling from our collection:

• For a gluten free and low carb main meal have a look at using Runner Beans instead of flour based spaghetti in our Bologaise with Runner Bean Spaghetti
• Roasted vegetables have become a more popular side in our home and our Med Veg make a very versatile store cupboard dish
• Have a go at our Picallili and you will not go back to the shop bought version with your the cheese whether in a sandwich or crackers, Yummy

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

Cheesecake is one of my favouritist things, this recipe creates a baked raspberry cheesecake, yummy. I much prefer a baked cheesecake as the texture is thicker than the ones that can be made using gelatine. This one is quick to make, has a deep filling and as we add extra biscuits to the base it is a filling dessert. It easily provides 12 portions and keeps well in the refrigerator for several days.

Link to measurement conversion chart

This recipe uses 3 eggs, 2 whole and one extra egg yolk. Serves 8 – 12 people

Ingredients

• 10 Digestive biscuits
• 75g Butter melted
• 600g Cream Cheese
• 2 tbsp flour
• 175g Caster sugar
• Vanilla extract
• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 250g pot of Mascarpone
• 400g Raspberries
• 1 tbsp icing sugar

You will also need

• 1x20cm deep spring form tin
• a mixing bowl
• a hand or electric whisk
• a hand blender or food processor
• a seive

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180c
2. Crush the biscuits and mix together with the melted butter
3. Press into the bottom of the baking tin creating an even layer, bake in the oven for 5 mins then allow to cool
4. Beat together the cream cheese, flour, sugar, a few drops of vanilla essence, eggs, yolk and mascarpone until light and fluffy
5. Add 100g of raspberries to the biscuit base then pour the cheesecake filling over the top.
6. Put aside a few berries to decorate, blitz the remaining raspberries in the bender then push through a sieve, drizzle about 1/3 of the sauce over the cheesecake then bake for 40 mins
7. Sweeten the remaining sauce with a little icing sugar to taste
8. Check that the cheesecake has set but remains a little wobbly in the middle, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
9. Serve with pouring cream and the remaining sauce

Serving suggestions and variations

• For a plain vanilla cheesecake omit the raspberries
• Want a slightly lower fat version then substitute the mascarpone for lighter crème fraiche
• Substitute the raspberries for another berry such as blueberries, blackberries or strawberries, Blackcurrants would work well too.
• For a lemon version substitute the vanilla and raspberries for the juice and zest of a lemon and serve with a little lemon curd.
• We are big fans of Greek yogurt, it makes a refreshing alternative to cream as an accompaniment

Acknowledgements

We have tried many variations of baked cheesecake. The original version of this recipe was a variation on a simple vanilla cheesecake from BBC Good Food. Thanks to the BBC for their good work on this one, we love it. I thank Simon for making the one shown for me, it was delicious!

You might also like to try one of the following recipes from our collection;

• Great to make at any time of the year but best made in the summer when the veg starts to come in, have a go at Picallili, wonderful with ham or cheese.
• Pea and pancetta flan is a good alrounda for picnics and salad teas, this one is deep filled and has mint in as well.
• Got a BBQ on your mind then have a go at Boston Baked Beans, they are a real winner.

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

Rhubarb fool is a creamy dessert that is refreshing at the same time. This is due to the acidity in the rhubarb cutting through the richness of the cream giving a well balance slidy down pudding which is great to round off a good meal. We love rhubarb and it is one of those fruits, well stems really, that we only eat in season. We always force 1 of the 4 hearts we grow, in rotation each year, to get an early crop of bright pink stems. The rest we pick as it grows and once over that will be it for another year.

Serves 4

Link to measurement conversion chart

Ingredients

• 450g rhubarb chopped to 1 inch pieces
• 1 orange, zested then squeezed for the juice
• 75g soft brown sugar
• 425g can of custard or similar quantity of homemade custard
• 150ml double cream beaten until softly stiff

You will also need

• 4 good sized wine glasses
• a small saucepan
• a mixing bowl
• a seive

Method

1. Put the rhubarb in a pan with the orange juice and sugar, simmer on a low heat for 15 mins until pulpy, remove from the heat
2. Drain the rhubarb using the seive over a bowl, saving the syrupy juice. Put the juice back in a pan and simmer until reduced by half. Cool the rhubarb pulp.
3. Mix together the custard, ¾ of the cream and rhubarb pulp then add half of the reduced syrup and stir well.
4. Evenly distribute the fool amongst 4 wine glasses then decorate the top with a swirl of cream some orange zest and a drizzle of the remaining syrup.
5. Refrigerate for 30 mins until ready to serve

Serving suggestions and variations

• Try using gooseberries instead or rhubarb
• Use 2 oranges and layer the syrup in the glasses with the fool
• Serve with some shortbread fingers or cigarettes russes
• Omit the cream and use extra custard if you want a less rich dessert, make the custard extra thick
• Try using stem ginger syrup instead of orange juice and sugar, chop a little stem ginger as decoration

Acknowledgements

Rhubarb is one of those foods that bring back childhood memories of my Grandma for me. She had a huge patch growing in her garden and it was always ready to pull during our summer school holidays. We would usually have it with crumble but as I grew older and had a rhubarb patch of my own I found 2 fool recipes to refer to, 1 just uses cream and introduces orange, the other adds custard. This recipe is a combination of the two and goes down well in our household. Thanks to “The dairy book of family cookery”  and “Hamlyn new all colour cookbook” for the original recipes.

If you have enjoyed this recipe you might also like to try one of these from our collection:

• For a tasty and simple version of the classic try our French Onion Soup, a must with melted gruyere on a crouton
• Add a bit of sunshine to your life with our South African Bobootie, which is a cross between a cottage pie and mousaka
• Round ovff a meal with luxury and make your own Vanilla Ice Cream - yummy

Happy eating!

Clotted cream is a must for a cream tea, scones just aren’t the same with anything else. It has a richer flavour to double cream and is considerably thicker in texture, so much so you need a knife to spread it. It also comes with a buttery crust on the surface which is the sign that you have the real thing. However I appreciate that this is a West of England speciality and it may not be easy to get hold of elsewhere in the world. So I have investigated a method for making your own, if you want to get the whole "Traditional English Cream Tea" experience that is. It is worth the effort, and there isn’t much effort, so give it a go at least once.

Link to measurement conversion chart

Ingredients

• 1 litre Double Cream

You will also need

• a shallow ovenproof dish

Method

• Pre heat your oven to 90c
• Pour the cream into a shallow oven proof dish – preferably ceramic
• Cook for 2 hours in the oven
• Leave to cool
• Refrigerate for 24 hours to allow a golden crust to form
• Using a fish slice or spatula transfer the cream to a lidded container
• Keep refrigerated until required, eat within 2 weeks

Serving suggestions and variations

• Particularly nice with fresh scones and homemade jam
• Clotted cream can be used as an accompaniment with any hot or cold cake or pastry
• Try using to make ice-cream
• Can successfully be frozen but will need using within a month
• Cook in large ramekins if you don’t want to mix up the crust and cream for storage
• Recipe qty can be halved if you don’t want to make as much

Acknowledgements

I am certain there are regional tweaks and variations in the method for making clotted cream here, however this method is one I have researched and is pretty simple to follow. With any traditional dish there will be methods passed down through the generations, if you have never tried it how would you know the difference anyway. Some of the methods I have seen appeared to make hard work of it so keep it simple is what I say. My thanks go to Dick and James Strawbridge “Made at home” series for this one.

If you enjoyed this recipe you might also like to try the following desserts that will benefit from your Clotted Cream Efforts:

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

This recipe for hot cross bread and butter pudding is something that comes into it’s own in the run up to Easter. The hot cross buns start to surface in supermarkets on Boxing day and we resist until February. I guarantee at some point in the intervening time there will be a few that don’t get eaten, don’t throw them to the birds, make up a tasty dessert with them. You’ll never look at a stale hot cross bun in the same way again I guarantee.

Link to measurement conversion chart

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 stale hot cross buns (teacakes work as well)
• 50g Butter
• 20g caster sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 568ml milk

You will also need

• a 1 litre oven proof baking dish or casserole, greased with butter
• a jug

Method

1. Slice the buns in half horizontally
2. Spread butter on the cut side then cut into triangles
3. Layer the slices in the baking dish, you should get 2 layers, top with a sprinkle of sugar
4. Beat the eggs in a jug, then add the milk, beat to combine
5. Carefully pour the eggy mixture into the oven dish allowing the buns to soak up the mix as you go. Reserve any spare eggy mix
6. Allow the pudding to stand for 30 mins to properly absorb the liquid, topping up with the spare if necessary
7. Preheat the oven to 160c
8. Bake the pudding for 45 - 60 mins, the pudding should be raised, golden and crispy on top.
9. Eat and enjoy!

Serving suggestions and variations

• The pudding will sink again soon after it comes out of the oven so if you want to impress take the pudding to the table straight from the oven.
• Serve warm with custard, cream or ice-cream.
• There are loads of variations on bread and butter pudding. One of our favourites is Delia Smiths chocolate bread and butter pudding.
• Try using other sweet breads such as panettone, brioche or teacakes.
• Croissants also make a good substitute, as they don’t contain fruit you will need to add this element.
• If you don’t like dried fruit use jam or marmalade spread on the bread instead
• Always use at least day old bread, it absorbs the liquid better.
• If you want a larger pudding increase the quantities in proportion to the number of buns you have, 1 bun per serving.

Acknowledgements

Some things I don't make and hot cross buns are one of them. A packet of hot cross buns comes in 6 ‘s and I struggle to eat that many in one sitting, so I made a bread and butter pudding with the leftovers. My original bread and butter pudding recipe comes from the Dairy Book of Family Cookery. I substituted the hot cross buns and left out the fruit, as there are already dried fruit in the buns. I also don’t add as much sugar either as the buns are sweet enough, but I do sprinkle a little on top as it helps to make the top crunchy. Hot cross buns make a very good substitution and I really like the added spices that flavour the pudding.

You might like to try some other recipes from our collection;

• Thinking about a small starter for a special meal the make mini versions of the Asparagus Galette and they'll be like a filled vol au vent
• Onion gravy is a tasty alternative to any ready made gravy and goes so well with a roast or grilled chop
• for a more interesting vegetable side why not have a go at peas and sprouts, the added bacon makes all the difference.

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

Banoffee pie is a great dish for using up a couple of over ripe bananas, you know the ones where the skin is starting to get brown dots and they smell very banana'y.  We love the combination of bananas and toffee and it is well worth the effort it takes to make, you get the flavour combination of biscuits, banas toffee and cream all in one mouthful, delicious. You need to use bananas that are fully ripe so that you get the full banana flavour, any that are still firm to the touch rather than slightly soft leave them another day or so, and if they have gone over the edge, to over ripe, make them into a smoothie instead. The caramel sauce is easy to make but you need to watch it like a hawk. I have gone back to it as having tried loads of other toffee sauces this one works the best. We also prefer a biscuit base to pastry, but either works well. So if you find yourself with a few bananas that are heading for the ripe side treat yourself.

Serves 6 - 8

Link to measurement conversion chart

Ingredients

For the base:

• 100g butter
• 225g digestive biscuits crushed

For the caramel:

• 100g butter
• 100g dark brown soft sugar
• 397g can Carnation Condensed Milk

For the filling and top:

• 3 medium ripe bananas cut into 5mm thick rings
• 300ml carton whipping cream, lightly whipped
• grated chocolate
• juice of 1 lemon

You will also need...

• 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, greased
• A small saucepan
• A mixing bowl
• an electric whisk

Method

• Make the base
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan then remove from the heat
  • Add the crushed biscuits to the buter and stir until evenly coated with butter
  • Pour the biscuits into the loose bottomed cake tin and spread evenly across the bottom and sides, pressing firmly.
  • Refridgerate for 30 mins.
• Make the caramel sauce
  • Melt the butter and sugar into a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, stirring all the time until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Add the condensed milk and bring to a rapid boil for about a minute, stirring all the time for a thick golden caramel.
  • Allow to cool slightly
• Assemble the pie
  
  • Put the remaining banana rings in a bowl and sprinkle with a little lemon juice to stop them going brown
  • Spread an even layer of banana rings on the base of the pastry case, holding some back for decoration if you want to.
  • Pour the toffee sauce over the bananas then chill in the refrigerator for 30 mins or until the sauce has stiffened
  • Spread the whipped cream over the toffee and decorate with banana slices and grated chocolate

Serving suggestions and variations

• Try using chocolate digestives instead of plain ones for a biscuit base.
• For a pastry base use 1 batch of extra rich short crust pastry or 1 pack of ready made dessert pastry or 1 batch of Gluten free pastry, blind baked before assembly
• Substitute the bananas for tinned peaches or cooked apple slices
• Instead of layering the bananas at the bottom the original recipe combined half with the whipped cream and piled it all on top of the toffee sauce
• Make it exotic by adding 50g or desiccated coconut to the cream and decorating with pineapple segments
• If you have any pastry left over cook up a batch of mini tart cases, remove them from the oven and pop a banana slice in the bottom, top with half a toffee and bake for a further 5 mins to the toffee melts then spoon over a little whipped cream. Bite sized banoffee pies make a great pass around pudding at a cocktail party or buffet.

Acknowledgements

The original recipe is one I found on a Carnation condensed milk can. However I didn’t like the bananas stirred into the cream so layered them at the bottom of the pie instead.

Fancy something else from our collection then why not try one of the following;

• A Salad Nicoise makes a great light lunch if you have a banoffee pie for pud!
• Want something a little more substantial then try our Corned Beef Lasagne
• Our red cabbage coleslaw makes a great addition to either of these main meals and adds a little colour to the plate as well

We hope you have enjoyed these recipes

Happy eating!

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