Captain Morgan Rum, Vanilla and Orange Pancakes

Just made these and they are delicious.

Not one for kids

Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream yum yum


Use my pancake recipe as before and add these to the batter and blend

Zest of 1 Orange

2-3 caps of Captain Morgan Rum

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

50 g caster sugar

Raspberry Sauce

Serve with ice cream or served on the side of any creamy dessert or chocolate cakes such and brownies.

Ingredients:

450g raspberries
100 icing sugar
Squeeze of lime juice optional

Method:

Whizz all ingredients in food processor or hand blender
Pass through a fine sieve
Decant in to a jug or serving bowl.
Will keep in fridge for a good few days.

Add more icing sugar if tastes too sharp.

Baked Chocolate Key Lime pie

This dessert is so yummy, for a change I've used Oreo biscuits for the base.

Preparation time 35 minutes
Chilling time 1 hour plus

Equipment needed 1 x 25cm loose bottom flutted tart tin a spring form tin will also work. grease well with a bit of oil or butter to prevent sticky when trying to take out of the tin.


Serves 8-10


The base:
2 packets of Oreo biscuits crushed in to crumbs
125g melted butter

The Filling:
4 eggs separated
1 tin of condensed milk
4 limes zested and juiced (try not to grate the zest past the white flesh as this is very bitter).
1 pack of chocolate drops/chips
50g sugar

For the topping
150ml whipped cream
1 x flake bar


Method:

Pre heat oven to 180oc

Melt the butter and mix with the crushed biscuits.
Press the mixture into your prepared tin. Make sure you bring the biscuits up two thirds up the sides and press well in the groves
Pop on in to the oven for 10 minutes take out and leave to cool.
Mean while for the filling
Beat the egg yolks in a bowl until fluffy then beat in the condensed milk lime zest and juice and choc chips
In another spotlessly clean bowl whisk your egg whites with the 50g sugar until firm.
Then gently fold the whites in to the yolk, lime and condensed milk mix with a large silver spoon to help cut the egg white through the mix easily with out knocking out all the air. 
Completely fill the biscuit base with your lime filling. Place in the oven again for 20-25 minutes. Until set and slightly brown but not dark.
It will sink a little bit don't worry it's meant to be like this.
Leave to cool

Remove from tin when cool and place on a serving plate.
Whip your cream to soft peaks
A spread on top of the pie. You can use a piping bag if you wish.
Sprinkle with crumbled flake and grated lime zest.
Slice and serve !

Coconut,lime and mint sorbet

This is a lovely end to a meal or great for cleansing the palette between courses.

If your lucky enough to have a ice cream machine you can use it for this recipe, otherwise whisking the mix every half an hour or so in the freezer will do the trick to break up the ice crystals. If the sorbet doesn't turn out smooth. You can always call it a granita!

Here's a quick definition of a sorbet.

Sorbet: is a frozen dessert made from sweetened water flavored with fruit (typically juice or purée), wine, and/or liqueur.

Serves 4 large portions and 6 little palette cleaners.

Preparation 10 minutes

Freezing time 4-6 hours

Ingredients:

125 g granulated sugar
150ml boiling water from kettle
1 x tin of coconut milk
Juice and zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons of roughly chopped mint

Method:

Place sugar in a saucepan and add
Boiling water.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes or until the mix makes a syrup
Pour in to a bowl and cool
When syrup is cool add lime coconut and mint.
Place in a plastic container and freeze
Every half hour or so stir with a fork or whisk to break up ice crystals until fully frozen.
Serve with fruit salad or with flaked coconut and the pulp from passion fruit. Delish!

Chocolate whoopie pies

With 4 th July coming up I thought I'd make a American treat today.
Whoopie pies are the new cupcake, they haven't taken off as well in Ireland yet but all the famous cupcake bakeries are making them and they are flying off the shelves. They are a spongy biscuit like sandwiches with a soft icing in the middle.They are lush with a cup of tea or just munched on their own. I'm making chocolate flavour but once I play around with the recipe I'll post different flavours.

Donna

Makes 10-12 sandwiched whoopsies. 20-24 halves.

Ingredients:

For the Sponge

1 large egg

150g Caster Sugar

125g Plain yoghurt

25ml whole milk

¼ tsp vanilla essence

75g melted unsalted butter

200g Plain Flour

80g Cocoa Powder

¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp baking powder

Filling:

170g unsalted butter

280g icing sugar

Drop of food colouring

Drop of vanilla extract

Method:

If you have an electronic mixer you may use it I don't so I used a whisk and they turned out just as good, cream the egg and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Pour the yoghurt, milk and vanilla essence into a jug and stir together then add to the beaten egg and sugar. Add the melted butter and mix in thoroughly on a medium speed.

Sift the remaining sponge ingredients together, then add to the creamed mixture in two batches, mixing well after each addition. Place the batter in the fridge to cool and set for 20-30 minutes.

Grease two flat baking trays and line with baking paper.
Once the batter has cooled down, spoon it on to the prepared trays, dividing the mixture into 20-24 rounds (8-10 per tray), each 3-5 cm in diameter and spaced 2-3cm apart.

(I used a piping bag but you can use a spoon instead a lot of home cooks don't have piping bags so don't worry if you don't ).

Bake in the oven for 10-13 minutes or until springy to touch. Remove from the trays and place on a wire rack, allowing them to cool completely before sandwiching together.

While the sponges are cooking you can make the filling

Method for filling:

Beat butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy
Add vanilla extract and a drop of red food colouring

Sandwich the cooled whoopies together with the icing.

Enjoy.

Flourless hazelnut brownie cake

This cake is delicious. It keeps very well for a few days. The recipe can be doubled to make two cakes then sandwiched together with fresh cream and berries to make a celebration cake or just cut in squares and enjoyed as brownies.
Makes 8 brownies or one whole cake.

Use a 20cm round cake tin. Or something similar that you have at home.

Make sure the tin is greased and lined with baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 170oC
Preparation time 10 mins
Cooking time 30-35

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate
200g butter
200g sugar
200g ground hazelnuts
6 eggs separated

Method:

Melt the butter and chocolate.
Leave to cool slightly.
I use a microwave to do this but you can use a bowl over boiling water to if you don't have a microwave or don't trust them.

Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together until light and fluffy.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff.
Add the melted butter and chocolate
To the egg yolks and sugar.
Mix well
Then add the hazelnuts.
Lastly add the egg whites to do this, get a metal spoon and add one big spoon of egg whites to the mixture and mix around until fully incorporated. This will loosen the mixture and make it easy to add the rest of egg white without knocking out all the air in the whisked eggs whites. Fold in the rest of the egg whites gradually and slowly.
Finally add the mixture to the greased and lined cake tin.
Cook until firm but not too dark.
Leave the cake to cool before cutting
These brownies are extra special with nutella spread on top.

Speedy lemon pudding

I know alot of people detest microwave food but this recipe can even turn the most discerning food snob around,(well we can try ). For a dessert it seems a bit strange however if you have forgot to buy or make a dessert and have a few of these ingredients knocking about its a perfect life saver and tastes so good with vanilla ice cream and cream.

Ingredients: 100grm/4oz golden caster sugar 100grm/4oz softened butter 100grm/4oz self raising flour 2 large eggs Zest of one lemon To serve: 4 tsp of lemon curd Ice cream Method: 1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl 2. Then place in a microwave pudding basin 3. Heat in microwave for 3 minutes 4. Turn half way through the cooking time 5. When risen leave to cool for 1 minute 6. Heat lemon curd in the microwave for 30 seconds 7. Pour over pudding serve with ice cream

Quick and Easy Tiramisu

Ingredients:

250 G Mascarpone cheese
140 G Whipped Cream
2Tbsn Icing Sugar
150 g Cake or Sponge fingers
1/2 Cup of cooled Strong Cooled Coffee
1 small glass of Tia Maria or I like Baileys (As the traditional sweet wine Marsala is a bit hard to come by I think these are a good alternative).

Method:
Beat and Mascarpone and cream together well until smooth
Add the sieved icing Sugar
Break up the sponge into 4 fancy glass or one big dish (I like martini glasses)
Sprinkle some of the coffee and alcohol on the sponge but dont soak them as it will become too wet.
Then add a blob of the cream mix to each glass
Repeat the process until the mix is gone and then set in fridge for a hour or so
Dust with Cocoa Powder and serve.
Yummy
Hope you try it :)