Sticky Ginger Cake with Lemon Drizzle

January is a long month. 

People are trying to be good, make up for all the boldness and extravagance of the previous weeks. The whole sugar-free great intentions tend to go a little over my head. 

For now I’ve adapted ever so slightly a recipe I watched being made on the ‘Afternoon Show’ on rte one. I’ve added in some chopped hazelnuts and almonds to give it some extra texture, bite and nutritional value.   

I must admit I was a little sceptical at first with this cake but boy was I pleasantly surprised at its mouthwatering taste, smooth nutty texture and warm comforting aroma. It is a rich dark coloured cake full of warming spices and packed full of healing ginger to give the immune system a good old boost this January. 

Sticky Ginger Cake with Lemon Drizzle 

Ingredients: 

225g self-raising flour 

1 tablespoon of ground ginger 

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of mixed spice 

115g butter 

115g dark muscovado sugar

115g treacle 

115g golden syrup 

250ml full fat milk 

85g grated fresh ginger 

1 egg 

75g chopped hazelnuts & almonds 

For the Drizzle 

50g icing sugar 

Zest of 1 lemon 

Juice of 1 lemon 

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 160℃. Grease or line a standard size loaf tin with butter. 

Gently melt the butter, brown sugar, treacle, golden syrup and milk in a heavy based saucepan until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is a nice smooth liquid.

Sieve the flour and spices into a mixing bowl and stir in the chopped nuts. Roughly grate the fresh ginger and add in along with the flour mixture. 

Pour the treacle mixture on top of the flour and stir using a wooden spoon. Add in the egg and continue to mix until evenly distributed.  

Pour the mixture into the greased tin and bake for up to 40minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. 

To make the drizzle sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and grate in the zest of one lemon. Add the lemon juice and stir to make a thick smooth white drizzle. 

Once the cake is well cooled pour the drizzle over the top to create a zigzag design. 

This cake keeps for up to 4days due to the spices. 

It is the perfect little pick me up this January! 

Hope you enjoy! 

Tangy Lemon & Lime Curd Tartlets

It has been a while. 

I have neglected the blog for a few weeks. 

I'm on 'Survival Mode' and eating my way through September, October, November... Being back to work has been so hectic and as with life I don't often prioritise the important things that I enjoy and love doing which I need to change! 

It's time to get back to what I know and love best. 

The Kitchen and writing about it. 

These beauties featured are a little gem. I have meaning to make a batch of lemon curd for so long - I had it recently in a M&S cheesecake and my god. Speechless.   

These tartlets are not on the clean eating list or agenda nor anywhere near it. It is the season of comfort eating and well we'll come back to the healthy eating stuff again. Another time, another month. 

This curd lasts in the fridge for about a month of so. I have also used it and dolloped it on top of fresh scones and I'm working on a lemon and lime curd ice-cream - soon to be shared! 

To cut down on time and labour with these I made the lemon and lime curd a week in advance so it can be easier to prepare these quickly having it ready in the fridge. 

Anyways, I hope you enjoy them. 

Lemon & Lime Curd Ingredients: 

-Finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes

-Finely grated zest and juice of 3 lemons

-250g caster sugar

-125g butter, cut into small cubes

-4 large eggs, lightly beaten

Pastry ingredients: 

-250 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

-50 g icing sugar

-125 g cold butter, cut into small cubes

-1 large free-range egg, beaten

-1 tablespoon of milk 

Fresh raspberries to decorate 

Method: 

To make the curd: 

Begin my sterilising one medium sized killiner jar in a hot preheated oven to 180℃. Place the jar on its side in the oven. Turn off the oven after 5minutes and leave them in the oven until the curd is ready.  

Zest the 3 lemons and 2 limes into a heatproof bowl. Add the juice from the lemons and limes and stir in the sugar and cubed butter. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.  Let the sugar dissolve and the butter melt gently over the low heat stirring occasionally. 

Next add the beaten eggs to the bowl and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. 

You may have to wait up to 20minutes for the curd to thicken. Make sure you stir every few minutes to allow a smooth lump free curd. 

Remove the sterilised jars from the oven and pour in the curd. 

Put the lids on the jars and leave to cool completely before placing in the fridge to chill and fully set. 

This curd can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 month.

To make the Pastry: 

Sieve the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add in the beaten egg and a tablespoon of cold milk to form a smooth dough. Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30minutes before rolling. 

Lightly flour the work surface and roll the chilled pastry to 1cm thick. Line the individual tartlet moulds. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork.  

Gently cover loosely with some greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake the pastry blind for 10minutes. Remove the pastry after 10minutes, remove the greaseproof paper and baking beans. Return to the oven for a further 5minutes to dry out. 

Let the pastry chill gently and fill each tartlet with a generous dollop of the lemon and lime curd. Decorate with fresh raspberries. 

Enjoy!   

Crunchy Granola

This recipe is inspired by my good pal Michelle who kindly supplied me with some Greek Yoghurt! I have been having such a hard time finding it in Dublin and she kindly shared some with me this week. I have been meaning to experiment with some granola for a long time and this is the perfect excuse! 

Granola is such a tasty snack however the shop bought ones are full of hidden sugar and salt. This one I think it very healthy and full of flavour from the toasted nuts, seeds and oats. It has a great combination of sweet and savoury crunch. 

The recipe below fills a 1.5kg Killiner Jar. 

Ingredients: 

225g rolled oats 

60g sunflower seeds 

60g pumpkin seeds 

80g crunchy linseed (I got mine in Lidl)  

60g flaked almonds 

60g pecans 

60g walnuts

50g desiccated coconut 

2 teaspoons of cinnamon 

1 teaspoon of ground ginger 

2 tablespoons of organic honey 

3 tablespoons of maple syrup 

2 tablespoons of sunflower oil 

Grated zest of one large orange 

100g of any dried fruit raisins / sultanas / dried cranberries / cherries 

Preheat the oven to 160℃. 

Mix everything together in a large bowl except the dried fruit raisins/sultanas. 

Spread the mixture onto a lined baking tray(s). 

Bake in the hot oven for up to 40minutes. Turn and toss the granola after 15-20minutes in the oven to evenly cook and toast the mixture. 

Once baked remove and leave to cool on the trays. If you add it to the container straight away the mixture will go soggy. 

Add in the dried fruits. I tossed in some dried cherries and cranberries into my batch. 

Store in a airtight container or Killiner jar for up to 2weeks. 

Enjoy with some Greek yoghurt for breakfast or an energising snack! 

White Chocolate & Strawberry Cheesecake

This cheesecake is the absolute bomb! If I ever decide to sell my food and make a business this is my number one go to never fail me recipe. It really is such a great crowd pleaser. The combination of gingernut biscuits, white chocolate and strawberries work really well together. I have also previously used raspberries in this recipe but I think the strawberries are a winner winner! 

I actually have found myself occasionally dreaming about and woke up craving it all day! It's a great 'pick me up' dessert and will always give you a little lift when you need it. 

To me it’s like a big hug! 

For this recipe I use white chocolate from Aldi and I use 2 full bars. The chocolate is of a high quality and it really brings through the flavour and sweetness. I have also used large amounts of milky bar white buttons to make this cheesecake but you do need a lot to carry through the flavour and the Aldi block of white chocolate works better. 

Anyway enough praise for now, it’s time for you all to see for yourself! It has taken me sometime to actually share this on the blog and I think this may be something to do with the fact that it is very precious to me and it was/is my signature cheesecake. 

Hope you enjoy, feel free to leave a comment!  

Ingredients: 

Biscuit Base: 

30 ginger nut biscuits 

75g butter 

2 tablespoons of golden syrup 

Filling: 

500g Cream cheese 

125ml double cream 

400g white chocolate 

20 strawberries to decorate   

Begin by heating the oven to 160℃.  

In a saucepan melt together the butter and golden syrup. Next break up all the biscuits in the plastic food bag with a rolling pin. Once they are like fine breadcrumbs mix together with the melted butter and golden syrup. 

Press down and flatten into a cheesecake tin. Bake in the oven for no more than 10minutes. Be careful it doesn’t burn. You just want to let the biscuits harden and set.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a little while in the fridge before adding the filling. 

Next in a heat proof bowl over hot water melt all the white chocolate. Make sure the water in the base of the saucepan is not touching the base of the bowl as it will burn the chocolate. Leave to melt on a very low heat for 4-5minutes. Once melted remove from the heat and leave to chill slightly. 

In a mixing bowl beat the double cream for 3-4minutes until thickened. Add in the cream cheese and beat lightly until thoroughly mixed together. Pour in the melted white chocolate and mix gently to a smooth consistency. Pour the filling on top of the biscuit base. Smooth out the surface with a palette knife. Slice the strawberries in half and decorate as you wish inserting them gently into the filing. Leave to set for at least 12hours in the fridge. 

Enjoy

Fruity Flapjacks

This recipe was passed along to me from another Home Economics teacher and after a few attempts I have managed to perfect them. You need to be generous with the tablespoon of golden syrup in the recipe and it is important to slice into the flapjacks once removed from the oven to allow them to harden into the desired shape. I also sometimes like to melt some dark and white chocolate and drizzle it over the top of them once cooled. I've kept this recipe to the original healthy version.  

Ingredients: 

125g butter 

1 large tablespoon of golden syrup 

100g Caster sugar 

75g plain flour 

250g oats 

pinch of salt 

1/4 teaspoon of bread soda 

1 tablespoon of mixed seeds (flaxseeds, sunflower seeds)

2 tablespoon of raisins, sultanas and dried cranberries  

Preheat the oven to 170℃. 

Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a pot over a gentle heat. Once melted remove and leave to cool for a few minutes. 

Weigh the dry ingredients and mix them all together in a bowl. 

Mix in the melted butter and syrup and stir to coat all the ingredients. 

Transfer to a lightly greased square tin. Press down the mixture with the back of a wet spatula and flatten. Bake in a hot oven for 15-20minutes. 

Remove from the oven and cut into slices immediately on removing from the oven. 

Leave the flapjacks to cool for at least 10minutes before removing the slices from the tin.

Enjoy for breakfast or as a tasty healthy snack. 

Wholesome Vegetable Soup

With the long evenings creeping in, autumn steadily upon us and being back to school the vegetable soup is firmly back in action and replacing the summery salads and light lunches.   

This soup is so easy to prepare. It’s packed full of your five a day, nutritious, warm, comforting, gluten free and best of all very easy to prepare. 

I like to make a large pot of this soup and use it for lunch in work or freeze it in lunch boxes. 

It is also very cheeky served with some of the caramelised onion bread featured on the blog. 

Ingredients 

1 onion 

3 carrots 

2 parsnips 

1 leek 

3 sticks of celery 

40g butter 

2 tablespoons of olive oil 

2 litres of homemade chicken stock 

Salt and freshly ground pepper 

Parsley

To serve: 

A little dollop of Cream 

Chopped chives 

I have been making soup for a long time and I used to be constantly disappointed, lashing in copious amounts of salt and pepper and deeming it tasteless time upon time.
Finally I discovered that the secret to a well flavoured successful soup is a good homemade stock. 

I like to make mine using the leftover carcess of the roast chicken boiled up with some celery, carrots, onions, rosemary, parsley, a bay leaf and a little garlic with lots of cold water. Once the stock begins to boil leave to simmer for a few hours and then sieve and discard the bones and vegetables. Freeze in small portions for ease of use. I use my chicken stock mostly for risottos or soup and there is a huge difference to the commercial stock cubes. The flavour is so much more intense and I also find you are less thirty due to the lack of salt from commercial stock cubes. 

That being all said you can obviously still use commercial stock cubes as they can be very convenient and it is not always possible to have fresh stock available to you! 

To begin dice up all the vegetables nice and finely. 

Keeping Paleo in mind I have removed the potato from this soup and the flour to thicken it and it works just fine! 

Begin my heating some oil and a little butter. 

Fry the onions only first and allow them to sweat and soften. 

Next add in the leeks, carrots, parsnips and celery and stir to coat all the vegetables. 

Continue to stir the vegetables for a few minutes to help evenly cook and avoid burning and sticking. Generously season with some salt and black pepper. Pour in the stock and turn up the heat to boil. Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat, cover the soup and simmer gently for 15-20minutes. 

Blitz the soup in the blender and return to the heat to cook once more. 

Serve with some fresh cream and some chopped fresh parsley and chives. 

Caramelised Onion & Sage Bread

This bread is from the Ballymaloe Collection and was made by Rachel Allen the day I visited the Cookery School this summer. Bread has always been my weakness. It is the one food that I always without fail tend to over indulge in at a meal! This bread was served fresh out of the oven in Ballymaloe and was so warm and comforting. It has a gorgeous crusty exterior and soft doughy inside oozing with the caramelised onions. This bread is served best warm with lashings of Kerrygold butter melting into it. 

I baked it recently for friends and it went down a storm served alongside some smokey bacon soup. It is so easy to make if you have an electric mixer and are patient and willing to let it rise slowly. 

Ingredients

215ml warm water 

1 teaspoon of caster sugar 

1 sachet 7g of fast action yeast

15g butter or 15ml olive oil (plus a little extra for greasing the tin)

350g strong white bread flour 

1 teaspoon of salt 

For the onion mixture 

2 tablespoons of olive oil 

800g peeled and sliced thinly white onions (7-8 onions)

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper 

2 tablespoons of dried sage 

Loaf tin 12 x 23 cm (5 x 9inch) 

Begin my preparing the yeast mixture. Mix together the warm water, caster sugar, yeast and olive oil if using instead of the butter. Leave to sit in a warm place for 5-10 minutes until it foams. 

Sieve the flour and salt together into a large bowl. If using butter instead of oil rub into the flour now. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture. Using the dough hook knead the mixture for up to 6-7minutes. If kneading by hand this can take up to 10 minutes. You know the dough is ready when it is smooth and springy to touch. Grease the bowl with a little olive oil and add the smooth dough back to it. Cover with cling film and a tea towel and leave to prove for 3-4hours at room temperature until it has doubled in size. 

Once the dough is rising you can start to make the onion mixture. Using a heavy based saucepan or good non-stick frying pan heat some olive oil. Add the very thinly sliced onions and stir coating the onions. Add in the sage and season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook the onions until they begin to sizzle, once this happens turn down the heat to the lowest setting and leave to cook for 1-2hours. Over the time they will begin to turn a lovely golden colour. Keep stirring every now and then to prevent sticking. Once golden remove the onions and leave to cool before adding them to the dough. 

When the dough has doubled in size tip the cooked onions over the bowl and punch the onion mixture into the dough. Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and tuck in any of the stray onions that may fall away. Shape the dough into an oval shape and add it into the oiled loaf tin. Brush the top of the loaf with a little olive oil and leave to prove once more for 30minutes in a warm environment covered with a tea-towel.

Preheat the oven to 220℃/Gas Mark 7. 

Place the loaf in the very hot oven and bake for 10minutes and then turn the temperature down to 200℃/Gas Mark 6 and continue to bake for 30-35minutes or until golden brown on top. 

When the loaf is cooked, it should remove easily from the tin and sound hollow at the base when tapped. Allow to cool completely (up to one hour) before slicing on a wire tray. 

Enjoy with some wholesome soup!