Mulled Apple Juice

Little bit late for Christmas flavours but I've been so busy lately, what with getting a new job, my landlords selling the house and Her Circle Ezine kicking into overdrive ready for the International Women's Day Festival, I've really not had a lot of time to think. There's always next year though. So anyway, here it is: Mulled Apple Juice.

All you need to make this delicious Christmas drink is a handful of Christmas songs on repeat, a twinkling of Christmas lights, a stressed out mum wrapping last minute gifts and the following:

*2 litres apple juice - cloudy works best
*Strips of orange peel
*2 cinnamon sticks
*6 cloves
*2 star anise
*Sugar or honey to taste


Pour all of the apple juice out into a large pan and simmer with the strips of orange peel, cinnamon sticks and cloves for about 5 - 10 minutes until all of the flavours have infused. Sweeten to taste with your choice of either sugar or honey.

<3 Serve each drink with a cinnamon stick! <3

Pecan, Toffee and Banana Cake

My parents returned home yesterday after a month of gallavanting on the other side of the World (Australia and Singapore to be precise). It was all decided, I was going home to see them and then out to the wonder that is Glastonbury Carnival. However, plans fell afoul when I discovered I had little over £10 to last me the month and they returned home to fins their kitchen ceiling was falling in.

Instead Mum came to good old Bristol for coffee and Cafe Rouge, equipping my kitchen with a few unaffordable necessaties and of course a good old chinwag over some cake.

This really is one for the mothers. Also, great to use up those over-ripe bananas that no-one will eat.


For the cake you will need:
*175g soft butter
*175g dark muscovado sugar
*3 large, free range eggs
*1tsp vanilla extract
*250g self-raising flour
*275g over-ripe bananas (peeled weight), mashed
*100g pecans, chopped


For the topping you will need:
*250g cream cheese
*4 tbsp maple syrup
*40g light brown soft sugar
*1/2tsp vanilla extract
*50g pecan halves

Heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a cake tin.

In a bowl, whisk together the cake ingredients, except the chopped pecans, for about 3 mins or so until it is light in colour. Stir in the pecans, spoon into your cake tin and smooth the top.


Bake for roughly 50 mins or until it is light and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven, cool in the tin for about 15 mins and then transfer it to a cake rack so that it can cool completely.


Whisk together the cream cheese, 2tbsp of the maple syrup, sugar and vanilla essence until smooth and thick. Stick it in the fridge to chill, until the cake is completely cooled and you can spread it on without fear of going runny.


In a non-stick frying pan, toast the pecan halves over a medium to low heat for 1-2 mins. Pour in the remaining 2tbsp of maple syrup and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds-1 min until the nuts have gone glossy and the syrup has almost evaporated. Cool.

Spread the frosting on the cake and decorate with the pecan halves. Put on the kettle and get your mum round. Enjoy.

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post! I have had serious camera trauma for well over a year now, but I am determined to sort it out this week and get back into the blogging zone. What with the lazy days of summer gone, the leaves changing colour outside my window and All Hallows Eve just around the corner I have been practically chained to the kitchen and I miss snapping it all up.

Speaking of Halloween, we are holding a House of Horrors themed ghoul fest tomorrow night and I have been creating blood cake, witches fingers and science experiments involving disected brains all evening. Tomorrow I get to decorate the house...Excited!!

Saute Potatoes

A nice little side-addition to a lot of meals, I really like it with stuffed marrow, but they are tasty with anything, and also reasonably low calorie for a roasted-style 'tato.

• Floury potatoes (enough for everyone, I tend to use 3-4 big potatoes for 3 people).
• 1 tbsp oil
• Extra low calorie oil for spraying on

Put the oven on to approximately 180C to preheat.



Peel your potatoes and then par boil them until they just begin to flake apart.



Drain the potatoes and put them back in the pan to dry off. This is important, it means that they will go much crispier and yummier!)


Meanwhile put 1tbsp oil in a roasting tray and place in the oven to get hot.



When this has heated up and the potatoes are dry, put them in the roasting tray and then back in the oven.






Cook them for 20-30 minutes, tossing them regularly, until they begin to go golden and crisp up.

Spiced Apple Muffins

Apples, mixed spices and muffins are three of my favourite food-stuffs, so naturally; this is one of my favourite sweet-treat recipes. The appley spicy scent will fill your kitchen as they are baking and that's almost as good as the taste! They have the perfect wintery flavour (even though I made them mid-July this time!)

To make 12 of these little beauties you will need:

• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 2tsp lemon juice
• 4oz (100g) light demerara sugar
• 7oz (200g) plain flour
• 3oz (85g) wholemeal flour
• 4tsp baking powder
• 1tbsp ground mixed spice
• 2oz(50g) pecan nuts, chopped
• 250ml (8floz) milk
• 4tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200C and then line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and set aside.

Put the apple into a bowl with the lemon juice and toss together so that it is all covered. Add 4tbsp of the sugar and toss again before setting aside for 5 minutes.

Whilst the apple is soaking up all of the delicious flavours, sift the plain and wholemeal flours, baking powder, mixed spice and 1/2tsp salt into a large bowl. Tip any bran left over from the wholemeal flour into the bowl as well.

Stir in the remaining sugar and pecans and then make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.

Beat together the milk, oil and egg and then add the apple to this. Tip the wet ingredients into the centre of the dry ingredients and mix together to make a lumpy looking batter.

Spoon this mixture into the paper cases, filling each to about three-quarters up the case. Bake them for 20-25 minutes until the tops are peaked and brown.

Custard is yummy with these when still warm from the oven.

Chocoholics Chocolate Cheesecake

I am, and always have been a certified Sunday hater. Don't ask me why, but since the age of '0' I haven't been able to stand Sundays. So I devised myself a plan to conquer my Sunday blues - I allow myself only to do fun things. I read the Sunday observer, sing songs, play my guitar (which I am just starting to learn on and am pretty awful to tell you the truth), watch my favourite films, cook big dinners and of course bake.


This Sunday was Chocolate Cheescake's turn.

For the Base you will need:

500g digestive biscuits
240g butter
4 tbsp cocoa butter

For the filling you will need:

175g dark chocolate, chopped small
500g cream cheese
150g caster sugar
1tbsp custard powder
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
150ml sour cream
1/2 tsp cocoa powder dissolved in 1tbsp hot water

For the glaze (which is optional, but delicious):

75g dark chocolate, finely chopped
125ml double cream
1tsp golden syrup


To make the base, process the biscuits to rough crumbs and then add the butter and cocoa. Process again until it makes damp, clumping crumbs and then tip them into a 23cm springform pan. Press the biscuit crumbs into the bottom to make an even base and then put into your freezer whilst making the filling.


Preheat the oven to 180C and put the kettle on.

Melt the chocolate for the filling either in a microwave or a double boiler and set aside to cool slightly.

Beat the cream cheese to soften it, then add the sugar and custard powder, beating to combine. Beat in the whole eggs and then the yolks, and the sour cream. Finally add the cocoa dissolved in hot water and the melted chocolate and mix to a smooth batter.

Take the springform tin out of the freezer and line the outside of the tin with clingfilm, then a layer of foil over that - this protects it from the waterbath. Sit the springform tin in a roasting pan and pour in the filling. Fill the roasting pan with just boiled water to halfway up the cake tin and bake for 45minutes to an hour. The top should be set but the underneath should still have a wobble. Peel away the foil and film wrap, sit it in its tin to cool.


Refridgerate covered with film until it is set and then unspring the cheescake ready to pour on the glaze and serve!

To make the chocolate glaze, very gently melt the chopped chocolate, cream and syrup. When the chocolate has nearly melted, take it off the heat and whisk it to a smooth sauce.

Let it cool a little and then drizzle it over the chocolate cheesecake on its serving plate.

Calorific Chocolate Cake

Mei's 22nd birthday fell on an unusually hot and sunny English summers day so we decided to have a picnic. Being late, as usual, I didn't have time to let the icing on the cake set - definately leave yourself enough time to do this.

To make this delicious and indulgent cake you will need:

• 10oz plain flour
• 1 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 6oz caster sugar
• 6oz light muscavado sugar
• 8floz water
• 2oz cocoa powder
• 4oz butter
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1tsp malt vinegar
• 1/4pt single cream
• 2 beaten eggs

For the filling:

• 4oz broken up, dark, plain chocolate
• 7oz caster sugar
• 3tbsp water
• 6tbsp single cream
• 4oz butter
• 1/2tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:

• 4oz dark plain chocolate
• 1oz butter
• 3tbsp water
  

Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease 2 8inch cake tins (or if like me you only have smaller, make it a 3 tiered cake instead).

Sieve the flour and soda into a bowl and add both types of sugar. Then make a well in the middle. Put the water, butter and cocoa into a pan and heat and stir until it is all smooth - don't let it boil, do it on a low temperature.

Take it off the heat and add the vanilla extract. In another dish or jug mix the vinegar and cream together and pour into the flour well. Add the cocoa mix and the eggs to the flour and mix until smooth.

Divide the mix between the cake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.


Whilst your cakes are cooling, begin to make the filling for your cake by putting the chocolate and water in a small pan and stir over a low flame until melted.

In another pan put the butter, caster sugar and cream and stir over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until smooth and thick.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate mix. Let it cool.

When it's gone cold, sandwich the cakes together and set it aside to cool again.


To make the icing for the cake, put the chocolate, butter and water into a pan and stir until it is coating the back of the spoon. Don't overheat it. Then pour it over the cake and let it trickle down the sides.

Chill your beautiful creation in the fridge until the icing is set and then present it to someone special as their birthday treat!