bFeedme

Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

Treacle Tart

By

This sweet and sticky dessert is very fun to make, and it’s very tasty, especially when served warm with Custard or some fresh single cream – if you want, really push the boat out, and use some Vanilla Ice Cream or Clotted Cream.

Treacle Tart

It takes around an hour to make, including cooking time, but you can heat it up again after it’s been made, so you can eat it in one or two sittings if you can resist eating it all at once!

To serve 6
500g Shortcrust Pastry
Plain Flour, for dusting
400g Golden Syrup
225g Fresh White Breadcrumbs
Grated Zest of 1 Small Unwaxed Lemon
2tbsp Lemon Juice

1. Heat an oven to 200C, before rolling out the Shortcrust Pastry on a lightly floured surface, and line a twenty three centimetre flan tin.
2. Mix the Golden Syrup with the Breadcrumbs, Lemon Zest and the Lemon Juice until evenly mixed. Spoon into the Flan Tin, and evenly spread out the mixture, levelling out the top.
3. Cut the remaining Shortcrust Pastry into strips about a centimetre in width, and lay out in a lattice pattern on the top. Seal the strips to the edges of the flan, using water to dampen the edges and pressing together.
4. Bake for ten minutes at 200C, then reduce the heat to 180C, and bake for a further thirty minutes.

Photo Courtesy of: jbracken

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Whisky Sauce

By

A classic pudding, with a luxuriously decadent twist – the addition of the Whisky sauce makes this a very rich treat.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Make sure you pick a Scottish Whisky, as opposed to an Irish Whiskey – the difference is in the flavours and tastes that are wide and noticeable – especially when adding the other ingredients.

To Serve 6
150g Pitted Dates, chopped
225ml Boiling Water
100g Butter
150g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
200g Self Raising Flour, sifted
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda, sifted
3tbsp Cold Water
125g Caster Sugar
5tbsp Whisky
125ml Double Cream

1. Heat an oven to 180c, and line a large tray with baking paper.
2. Soak the Dates in the Boiling Water. Cream the Butter and Soft Dark Brown Sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Then add the Large Eggs, one at a time, whisking until smooth each time.
3. Start to slowly add the Sifted Flour to the mixture, along with the Bicarbonate of Soda. Mix in, and then drain the Dates over a bowl to catch the liquid, and lightly blend them in a food processor. Add the processed Dates back to the Water, then add the mixture into the batter.
4. Pour into the baking tray, and bake for thirty to thirty five minutes, or until a skewer can be pressed through and come out clean. Leave to cool.
5. For the Whisky Sauce, add the Cold Water to a pan along with the Caster Sugar, and bring to the boil for about five minutes, until it’s caramelised evenly, then remove from the heat, and add the Double Cream and Whisky.

Photo Courtesy of: Ella Mullins

Garlic Chicken with Roast Pepper Puree

By

A simple, easy to make dish, that’s got the ‘Wow!’ factor in the bucket load. The mixture of textures in the Puree makes it such a treat that you’ll be kicking yourself you haven’t tried it before. Combined with the fresh tastes of the Chicken, the Puree really makes this dish something special.
Pepper Puree
To Serve 4
4 Skinless Chicken Breasts
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and Crushed
1tbsp Fresh Thyme, Chopped
6tbsp Olive Oil
1tbsp Clear Honey
1tbsp White Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
3 Red Peppers, deseeded
2 Yellow Peppers, deseeded
2 Onions, peeled and Sliced
225g Plum Tomatoes, skinned and halved
2tsp Paprika
1tbsp Tomato Puree

1. Make some deep slits across the Chicken Breasts, and lay them in a large shallow, ovenproof dish. Mix the crushed Garlic and Chopped Thyme together, and rub into each Chicken Breast.
2. Mix two tablespoons of the Olive Oil with the Honey and White Wine Vinegar, and season to taste. Pour over the Chicken, and leave to marinate for two to three hours.
3. Drain the Chicken, saving the juices. Heat two tablespoons of Oil in a large plat bottomed pan, and place the Chicken breasts in slit-sides down, and fry quickly to seal in the flavours. Turn over, and cook for another minute. Transfer back to the Ovenproof dish with a slotted spoon. Heat the oven to 200C
4. Cut each of the Peppers into eight chunks, and place in a separate Ovenproof dish, along with the Onion and Tomatoes, before sprinkling with Paprika, and covering with the remaining Oil.
5. Bake the Vegetables for thirty minutes on a high shelf, until they are lightly charred. Place the Chicken on a lower shelf, and bake both for thirty more minutes.
6. Keep back six pieces of Red Pepper, and six pieces of Yellow Pepper, and place the rest in a food processor, along with the Onions and Tomatoes, and blend until nearly smooth. Heat through in a Saucepan, and mix in the Tomato Puree, and season to taste.
7. Spoon the Pepper Puree onto a plate, and place the cooked Chicken Breasts on top, and decorate with the remaining pieces of Pepper

Serve freshly cooked, with a range of warmed seasonal Vegetables, or Rice.

Photo Courtesy of: [puamelia]

Mississippi Mud Pie

By

Nothing says ‘relax’ like a thick slice of this deliciously decadent chocolate pie. Rich in taste, sticky in texture, and astounding to the eyes.

This recipe is in three stages – creating the pastry dish, the filling and then the decorations, so you can create a different taste, and so that you can leave the different stages to different times of day.

To Serve 8
For the Pastry
225g Plain Flour
2tbsp Cocoa Powder
140g Butter
2tbsp Caster Sugar
1-2tbsp Cold Water

For the Filling
175g Butter
350g Soft Dark Sugar
4 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
3tbsp Cocoa Powder, Sifted
150g Plain Chocolate
300ml Single Cream
1tsp Chocolate Essence

For the Decorations
425ml Double Cream, Whipped
Chocolate Flakes and Curls

1.       For the Pastry, sift the Flour and Cocoa into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into it with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir the sugar and enough water to make a soft dough. Wrap it up in cling film and chill for fifteen minutes.

2.       Heat the oven to 190 C, and roll out the Pastry on a lightly floured surface to a large enough size to line a flan tin or dish. Fill with baking beans and bake in the oven for fifteen minutes. Remove the beans, then bake for ten more minutes, until crisp. Set Aside.

3.       For the filling, beat the Butter and Sugar together, gradually beating in the Eggs and Cocoa powder. Melt the Chocolate, and slowly beat it into the mixture with the Single Cream and Chocolate Essence.

4.       Lower the oven temperature to 160 C, and then pour the filling into the pastry case and bake for forty five minutes – or until the filling has gently set.

5.       Leave the pie to cool completely, and then transfer to a serving plate. Decorate with the Whipped Cream , Chocolate Flakes and Curls. Chill, and serve.

Photo Courtesy of: Fields of View

Sticky Chicken Drummers with Wedges

By

A new twist to chicken and chips, which shouldn’t be exclusively for the children! For a healthier version, use Low-Salt Soy Sauce.

Chicken Drumsticks

Serve it fresh, and try to keep the skin on to make it extra crispy and taste better. For the wedges, you can experiment, and use different vegetables – Sweet Potatoes, Parsnips and different varieties of potatoes all vary the taste. Personally, I prefer when they still have the skin on the outside of the wedges, but it’s all down to what you prefer!

To Serve 4

4 Baking Potatoes, cut into Wedges

1-2tbsp Sunflower Oil

Pinch Chilli Flakes

½ tsp Ground Coriander

Pinch Ground Cumin

6tbsp Runny Honey

4tbsp Soy Sauce

2tbsp Dijon Mustard

8 Chicken Drumsticks

1.       Heat the oven to 200 C/ Gas Mark 6

2.       Mix the Honey, Soy Sauce and Mustard together, and pour into a food bag.

3.       Dry the chicken off on Kitchen Paper, and put them into the bag along with the marinade. Shake well, and, if possible, leave for a few hours in a fridge.

4.       Mix the Potatoes with Oil, Coriander, Cumin and Chilli Flakes, and spread out on a large tray, cooking for thirty five minutes, turning occasionally.

5.       Put the Chicken onto an Oiled Baking tray, and bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes, or until the juices run clear when pierced.

You can serve this with Salad leaves, or other vegetables.

Photo courtesy of: Micsten

Banana Bread

By

Fail-safe, no-fuss, and very sticky and gooey. Even better, as it only takes one bowl, and a fork…well, and a baking tray. But it’s very low mess, considering how sticky it should be.

banana bread

This recipe is a great use for over-ripe bananas, and the riper they are the better. I’ve tried Cyprus Bananas in the past, and found these to be very sweet, compared to regular Bananas – so have a look at the different varieties that are on offer. You might be able to change the taste slightly by using a different banana.

To serve 8

2 browning medium Bananas,

1 large free range Eggs

130g Self Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

55g Butter

100g Caster Sugar

1.       Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/ Gas Mark 4.

2.       Mash the Bananas together, and soften the butter.

3.       Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, combining with a fork. If the bananas are not ripe and mushy enough, you may need to add a drop of milk to get to the right consistency – one which is quite loose and dropping.

4.       Pour the mix into the loaf tin, and bake for thirty five to forty minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean). Leave to cool in the tray before turning out onto a wire rack to cool further.

5.       Serve sliced with Warm Custard, or sliced as a snack during the day.

Photo courtesy of: GoodnCrazy