Ben and Jerry's French Vanilla Ice Cream

I used to have an ice cream maker but tbh it was a bit rubbish. I recently bought another, more expensive one and have been trying out new recipes that didn't need cooked egg custards as a base. This recipe is fabulous - it's so quick and easy to make but it tastes amazing. It uses American cups but don't let this put you off, it's easy to convert if you don't have any cups to measure with.

For 1 quart of delicious ice cream you need
2 large eggs
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups double cream
2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Whisk the eggs until light and fluffy (about 3-4 mins). Slowly add the sugar and keep whisking. Mix in the milk, cream and vanilla. Transfer to a pre-chilled ice cream machine and churn for 30-40 mins. Finish the freezing process in the freezer.

Tropical Fruit with Butterscotch Sauce

Who says that eating fruit has to be puritanical all the time ;-) This simple butterscotch sauce is great for dipping your fruit in when you’re fed up with being a saint all the time.

For 4 portions you need

50g butter

75g soft brown sugar

100ml double cream

Tropical fruit of your choice, we used mango, papaya and pineapple.

Put the butter, sugar and cream in a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted. Allow to boil gently to reduce slightly, but take care not to let the sauce catch or burn. Serve on the side as a dipping sauce or just tip the whole lot over your bowl and enjoy J

Salted Caramel Tarts

My boyfriend's mother requested these after I'd made millionaires shortbread. It's a simple caramel that is poured into a pre made sweet shortcrust tartlet and then devoured. Highly calorific but utterly delicious.

For 16 individual tartlets or one big one you need
1 tin condensed milk
200g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
1-2 tsp salt flakes depending on taste
2 packs pre made sweet shortcrust pastry tartlets (I used Morrisons which were yummy).

Place the ingredients, minus the tart cases, in a non stick heavy based pan and heat gently. The key to the caramel is patience. Keeping the heat low to medium, and stirring constantly, heat it gently until all the butter is melted. Continue to stir and heat until it comes to the boil and then still stirring keep going until it's thickened and turned a dark golden brown colour. This takes about 15-20 mins in total. Beat in the salt flakes and then carefully pour into the tart cases and leave to set.

Home Grown Roasted Rhubarb with Ice Cream

The rhubarb season has begun and the crown I planted 18 months ago is seriously bearing fruit! So we had it very simply roasted last night for pudding, served with some good quality ice cream. Simplicity at its best.

For 2 people you need
3-4 sticks rhubarb, washed and cut into 1 inch lengths
2-3 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbs water
Ice cream to serve

Place the rhubarb, sugar and water in a roasting dish and cook in a hot oven for 20 mins until the rhubarb is soft and starting to caramelise and there is a syrupy sauce forming from the sugary juices. Serve warm with ice cream. Yummy.

Cinnamon and Nutmeg Apple Breadcrumb Pudding

A brilliant way to use up stale bread and dodgy apples by turning them into a nourishing and comforting pudding. This is based on a recipe in River Cottage Everyday.

For 4-6 portions you need
50g butter
6 dessert apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
100g caster sugar
175g freshly soft breadcrumbs
4 eggs
400ml milk
Nutmeg, vanilla paste and ground cinnamon

Heat the milk to boiling point. Meanwhile mix the eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla (1tsp of each) and 75g of the sugar in a bowl. Once the milk is hot, slowly pour into the egg mixture, whisking all the time, to make a thin custard. Add the breadcrumbs to the mix and set aside to steep.

Heat the butter in a pan and add the apple wedges and remaining sugar. Continue cooking until the apples are glazed.

Pour into a baking dish in a single layer:

Cover with the eggy, milky breadcrumb mixture:

And bake in a hot oven for 30 mins until it's set but still slightly wobbly in the middle. Serve hot, warm or cold and with or without a bug fat dollop of jam. Lovely and comforting. 

Double-layer Banoffee Pie with Salted Caramel

We somehow accumulated a banana glut and there's only so many banana smoothies I can drink and the freezer was already full of (a very nice) chocolate banana cake so I asked for ideas on things to use them up and the overwhelming response was banoffee pie! So here is my version of the classic.

For a pie that serves 8-10 you need
For the base
150g digestive biscuits
100g butter

For the caramel
397g can condensed milk
100g butter
100g light soft brown sugar
pinch salt flakes

4 bananas
250ml double cream
1-2 squares of plain chocolate

Begin by melting the butter and whizzing the biscuits in a food processor until they resemble sand. Pour in the butter with the motor running until combined. Spread into the base of a flan/pie dish, leaving a little lip around the edges to catch the caramel. Chill in the fridge while you make the caramel.

Melt the butter and sugar in a pan and then add the milk. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously, and boil rapidly for 1 minute. Be careful not to get splashed by the bubbles as it will be VERY HOT! Mix in the salt.

Slice 1-2 bananas into 5mm slices and lay over the base. Top with the caramel and leave to chill for 1-2 hours in the fridge.

Once the caramel has set, place another layer of bananas on the top and then top with whipped cream. Be careful to only take the cream to soft peak stage as you want a pillow of creamy softness on the pie. Swirl to finish and then decorate with grated chocolate. Yum!

'Suprise' Lemon and Orange Pudding

I think this is the perfect Sunday dinner pudding. It's light, airy, tangy and delicious. And it's also a doddle to make, using ingredients from the cupboard. As it cooks, a sponge lighter than a cloud develops on the top, with a tangy, creamy almost lemon curd like sauce forming underneath. A friend (hello Kim!) has suggested adding fresh blackberries to it just before baking which I think is a genius idea and will be trying that next time I make it.

For 3-4 portions you need
25g soft butter/vitalite
100g caster sugar
150ml milk
zest of one orange
juice and zest of one lemon
25g plain flour
2 eggs, separated

Begin by whisking the egg whites to stiff peaks in one bowl using a handheld mixer. Then cream the butter and 25g of sugar in another bowl using the same mixer (doing it this way saves washing up ;-)

Add everything else to the creamed butter and sugar mix and mix thoroughly. Finally fold in the egg whites and gently turn into a souffle or similar oven proof dish.

Place in a bain marie and bake in a moderate (180 degree) oven for about 30 mins until the sponge is risen and lightly golden and there is a delicious layer of sauce underneath. To bake this in individual ramekins, reduce the cooking time to about 15-20 mins.

Perfect Pavlova

I don't often make pavlovas as they end up being too big for a few people to eat, and all those calories over a few days is not a good idea! But a couple of friends came round to see us on Fri so I made one and it was luuuuuush! I prefer to keep my pavlovas simple, no crunchy, pippy passion fruit toppings for me thank you very much! So this recipe can pretty much be thrown together out of store/fridge/freezer staples and looks like you've made a huge effort. Result! The rule of thumb you need when making a pavlova is 62.5g of caster sugar per egg white, this way you can make one as big or small as you like!

For 6-8 portions you need
5 egg whites
310g caster sugar
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp cornflower
600ml double cream
300g frozen raspberries (or any fruit of your choice), defrosted
1 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Begin by whisking the egg whites until they form stiff peaks in a free standing mixer. With the motor running, add the sugar a tablespoon at a time until thoroughly incorporated. Add the vinegar and cornflower and mix in well.

Spoon the meringue on to a lined baking sheet. I usually take care to make a well in the middle with banked up sides to hold the filling in place but you can do it however you wish! Pop into the oven and turn the heat down to 140 degrees. Cook for 90 minutes and then turn off the oven. Leave the door open a little and leave the pavlova to cool in the oven.

Whip the cream to soft peaks then spread onto the pavlova. Add the raspberries and then sift over the icing sugar. Utterly delicious!

Cardamon Rasmalai with Saffron; Vanilla and Nutmeg

I cheated for this, and used a packet. But frankly most of the Asian cooks I know do the same. You can buy the Shan ones from Asda for under £1. This was the perfect sweet note to follow our curry night, and calmed my tingling taste buds down after the fiery madras.

For 6-8 portions you need
1 packet Shan Ras Malai mix
5 tsp vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 litre of milk
500ml water
200g caster sugar
pinch saffron fronds
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1/4 nutmeg, freshly grated

Place the milk, water, sugar and saffron in a large pan and slowly bring to the boil. Stir every now and then to ensure the sugar melts evenly.

Make the ras malai following the packet instructions (tip powder into a bowl, add the oil and enough beaten egg to make a stiff paste).

Once the milk mixture has come to the boil, keep on a full flame and drop in small teaspoons of the ras malai mix (you can be pretentious and make them into quenelles if you want, or roll into balls). Cook for 5 mins until the ras malai has puffed up to 3-4 times its original size. Remove and leave to cool in a bowl. Reduce the milk mixture by half and then flavour with the nutmeg and vanilla. Pour the milk over the ras malai and leave to chill thoroughly before serving.

Black and White Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Snadwiches

This pic got rather a lot of likes on instagr.am the other day, proper food porn! And utterly delicious to eat too, if a tad messy! Making the cookies with vitalite not only makes them easier as you don't need to remember to leave the butter out or faff about softening it if you forget; but it also gives them a better texture. Contrasting the dark bitter chocolate with the white sweet chocolate works really well. I prefer the two flavours to adding in milk chocolate too for triple chocolate cookies. This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson's totally chocolate chocolate chip cookies from Nigella Express.

For about 20 cookies, depending on size, you need

125g dark chocolate

150g plain flour

30g cocoa powder

1tsp bicarb

½ tsp salt

125g vitalite

75g soft light brown sugar

50g white sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

350g white chocolate chunks or chocolate cut into chunks

Ice cream of your choice to serve.

Melt the dark chocolate in a bain marie and leave to cool slightly.

Beat the sugars and vitalite in a free standing mixer until light and fluffy. Then add everything else, mixing thoroughly.

Place teaspoon sized blobs onto a lined baking tray. You should be able to get 9-12 cookies on a normal sized tray and they don't spread that much whilst cooking. 

Cook in a moderate (170 degree) oven for 10 mins until cooked but not browned. Leave to cool on the tray for a few mins. If you try and move them too soon they will break but they will harden upon cooling. 

Sandwich your favourite ice cream in the middle and scoff. Nomtastic!

Apple and Banana Crumble with Nutmeg Cream

It's cold. And I have a cold. And a fruit bowl brimming with apples and bananas that needed to be eaten. So I created this and it warmed me. But it didn't cure my cold, boo.

For 4-6 portions you need
4-5 eating apples, peeled and roughly chopped into bite sized chunks
3 bananas, peeled and sliced into thick slices
2 tbsp cinnamon demerara sugar
1/2 cup jumbo oats
1/2 cup plain flour
75g cold butter, coarsely grated
1/3 cup cinnamon demerara sugar

To serve: double cream and a fresh grating of nutmeg.

Place the fruit in an oven proof dish and sprinkle over the sugar. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and place on top of the fruit. Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for 20-30 minutes until the topping is cooked and golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Serve with lightly whipped double cream topped with a fresh grating of lovely nutmeg. Yummy.

Sweet CousCous with Rose Jam and Cashew & Pistachio Caramel (v)

I made my first tagine in a proper tagine over the weekend and wanted something deliciously light and sweet to eat afterwards. This hit the spot perfectly and combined delicate middle eastern flavours with a light but tasty finish to the end of the meal. Serve with a light orange and cinnamon sorbet to really intensify the flavours if you want!

For 4 portions you need
CousCous
1/2 cup couscous
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp each of rose water and orange flower water
1/2 tsp each of ground cinnamon, cardamon powder and freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp sultanas
1 tbsp rose petal jam (optional)
A few rose petals to decorate

Place everything apart from the jam and rose petals into a bowl and stir well. Leave to steep for 5-10 mins until the water has been absorbed. Pack into a lightly greased bowl and push down well before inverting on a serving plate. Top with the jam and some rose petals.

Cashew and Pistachio Caramel
1 tbsp raw cashew nuts
1 tbsp raw pistachios
1 tsp agarve nectar (or honey if you're not vegan)
2 tbsp vegan marge (or butter if you're not vegan)

Place the nuts and butter/marge in a pan over a slow heat and gently toast the nuts. Add the nectar/honey and boil for 1-2 mins until the caramel is a light brown colour and the nuts are deliciously toasted. Take care not to burn or catch the pan! Tip onto a well oiled surface and leave to cool. Break into bite sized pieces once cooled and scatter over the cous cous.

Chocolate Christmas Trifle

I used to be able to make lovely trifles, but my trifle mojo has been usurped by my boyfriend's mum who makes a very mean one indeed. So much so Lex requested I didn't make another for fear that it didn't live up to one of hers...! However, this creation puts my mojo firmly back in contention I am pleased to say. It started as a way to use up some (embarrassingly) out of date sponge flan cases. But upon further inspection they were rock solid. So a chocolate swiss roll was purchased and the chocolate Christmas trifle extravaganza was born. It has the perfect combination of sour raspberries and strawberries to counter the sweet jelly and not-too-sweet chocolate custard. Decorate as you wish, we wanted sparkly poo so had a heavy hand with the festive glitter ;-)

For 12-14 portions you need
1/2 chocolate swiss roll
1 tin strawberries, drained
1/2 pack frozen raspberries
1 packet halal jelly (or any other veggie jelly)
2 tbsp sweet sherry
2 tins ready to eat custard
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp boiling water
450ml double cream
decoration of your choice, we used chocolate vermicelli; glitter and stars for extra bliiiiiiiiiing

Slice the swiss roll into 1cm slices. Place these in the bottom of a trifle dish and cover with the sherry, raspberries and strawberries. Make the jelly up according to the packet instructions and pour over the base. Leave to set.

Meanwhile mix the cocoa powder with the boiling water to make a smooth paste. Add to the custard and mix well. Once the jelly is set, pour over.

Whip the cream to soft peak stage and put into a piping bag. Pipe over the custard and then go wild with the decoration. Eat, eat and be merry!

Nigella's Nutella Cheesecake

Yeah. I know. Another recipe from *her*. I'm sorry. I can't deny it. I do like her recipes. They work. They're easy. And I like them... This is adapted from the original (p175 of Nigellissima) as I didn't have any digestives, and not quite enough nutella. But OH MY GOD it tastes amazeballs. I am the size of a house now. Send help...

For 12 portions you need
600g cream cheese
400g nutella
250g gingernut biscuits
75g soft butter
60g icing sugar
toasted chopped hazlenuts to serve (optional)

Begin by pulverising the biscuits and butter in a food processor until they are well combined. Turn out into a silicone cake mould and press down.

Put the cream cheese and icing sugar into a free standing mixer and mix, slowly, until combined. Add the nutella and mix well. Pour into the cake mould and leave to stand in the fridge for at least 2 hours (I didn't hence it oozing in the picture...).

Carefully remove each slice and sprinkle with hazlenuts if you want them. Scoff. Resist the temptation to eat more than you really should you your belly will feel like mine. But oh my it's worth it!!

Baklava

This is not a dish for the faint hearted, cos when you see how much butter it uses you would be forgiven for having a heart attack there and then... But, you're supposed to eat in teeny tiny slices so it's all OK really. Promise. This has been made for the forthcoming Shipley Slump taking place on the 23rd Sept. Good job I'm on a diet or I'd be scoffing it all now and having to make another it smells SOOOOOOOOOOOO divine!!!!!

For about 40 pieces you need
Baklava:
1 packet of filo or feuille de brick pastry
250g butter, melted
2.5 cups mixed nuts (I used walnuts, pistachios and hazlenuts)
1/3 cup caster sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Syrup:
1.5 cups caster sugar
1.5 cups water
3 tbsp rose water
3 tbsp orange flower water
3 whole cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup runny honey

Begin by brushing the sides and base of a swiss roll tin with butter. Lay 9 sheets of pastry into the tin, taking care to brush thoroughly and evenly with melted butter.

Take the nuts, sugar and spices (I can't resist adding a picture here they looked so pretty!) and sprinkle half the mixture over the butter pastry.



Place another two sheets of pastry on top, again brushing each carefully with butter, and top with the remaining nut mixture. Place the remaining sheets of pastry on the top, buttering each layer. Trim the edges and brush the top with the last bit of butter. Cut into small pieces using a sharp knife.

Bake in a moderate (140 degree) oven for 30 mins. Check, rotate the tin to ensure even cooking, and turn up to 150 degrees. Cook for a further 30 mins until the pastry is light golden brown, crisp and fully cooked.

Whilst the baklava is cooking, make the syrup. Place the water, sugar, honey, cloves and cinnamon in a pan and slowly melt. Once all the sugar is dissolved, bring to the boil and boil fast for 15 mins until the syrup is reduced, thickened and gorgeous. Carefully add the lemon juice, rose and orange flower waters (it will hiss and spit when you do this) and leave to cool for a bit.

When the baklava is cooked, remove from the oven and pour over the strained, fragrant syrup. Leave well alone for at least 48 hours, preferably longer, to let the syrup steep into the nuts and pastry. Serve with very strong coffee and forget about the calories...

White Chocolate Mousse Torte

I am a rubbish blogger at the moment. I know. I have been cooking, but I just haven't been blogging. And <deep breath...> I have, er, sort of fallen off of the veggie wagon in recent months and therefore haven't felt able to blog. It's disgraceful I know. I am climbing back on again. I just needed a bit of a hiatus...

This recipe is veggie. And it's also sinfully good. It's ridiculously easy to make, but O. M. F. G. it blows your socks off. It would be perfect as a Christmas pudding. It's also perfectly yummy for breakfast. Becka bad. I have adapted the recipe slightly from the original which can be found in Celia Brooks Brown's most excellent New Vegetarian cookbook.

For 10-12 slices you need:
200g amaretti biscuits, crushed to smithereens
75g butter, melted
500ml double cream at room temperature
30ml milk at room temperature
30ml amoretto liqueur (or cointreau if you want an orangey flavour or indeed any other liqueur you fancy and happen to have to hand...)
400g white chocolate, melted and left to cool slightly.

***Firstly remember to take the milk and cream OUT OF THE FRIDGE at least 2 hours before you want to make this as it's crucial they are not cold or the chocolate will try and set too quickly when you combine everything together and you will not achieve the light, moussey texture you are after***


Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and leave to cool to room temp. Meanwhile mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and line a 20cm round silicone tin with the buttery mixture (or line a 20cm springform tin).

Whip the cream, milk and whatever booze you are using until the cream forms soft peaks. Be careful not to over whip as otherwise it will be impossible to combine the chocolate in.

Slacken the chocolate mixture with one spoonful of the cream, then carefully fold this in to the remaining cream. Pour on top of the biscuits and leave to chill for at least four hours.

Serve in thin slices with exotic fruit - cape gooseberries, persimmon and passion fruit work particularly well against the creamy richness of the torte.

Chai Spiced Rice Pudding (v)

I had some sweetened soya milk to finish off and seeing as I can't stand the stuff on my cereal decided to make rice pudding cos I needed something comforting after a horrible day. This makes very sloppy rice pudding which I like, but if you prefer it more akin to Ambrosia then up the quantity of rice to 50g.

For 2-3 portions you need:
25g pudding rice
600ml sweetened soya milk
4-6 cardamon pods, crushed to allow the seeds to come out
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp vanilla sugar

Place everything in a pan and gently bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 mins till the rice is cooked. I like this most a room temperature but it's equally good hot or cold.

Plum and Cinnamon Tart (v)

This was step two in using up the rest of the pastry and some vegan cream cheese and plums...







For 2 portions you need:
4-5 plums, cut into 6ths
1/2 sheet ready rolled puff pastry
1/2 tub vegan cream cheese
3-4 dessertspoonfuls of cinnamon sugar (or demarara sugar and some ground cinnamon)

Lay the pastry on a baking sheet and score a 1cm border. Spread over the cream cheese and sprinkle over 2 spoonfuls of sugar. Lay on the plums. Top with more sugar. Bake in a hot oven for 20-25 mins. Eat. Gaze in wonder that something so amazing contains no animal products What. So. Ever.

Orange a la Cannelle (v)

All we seemed to eat in Morocco for pudding was orange a la cannelle. It's one of Lex's favourite dishes, and he's currently scoffing a couple of oranges with cinnamon for breakfast!

For one portion you need:
1 orange
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Peel the orange with a knife to remove the skin, pith and outer membrane of the orange segments. Either slice thin slices or segment the orange and place the slices/segments in a bowl and squeeze the juice on top. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and eat. Preferably outside in the sunshine in the shade of an orange tree and within earshot of a qsbah.

Apple Pie (v)

This of course could be any fruit pie, or indeed a savoury pie if you felt so inclined. The basics of the recipe remain the same: make pastry; make filling; fill; bake; eat.

For 6-8 slices you need:
700g peeled, cored and sliced cooking apples
2.5 tbsp vanilla sugar plus a little extra for the top
50g vegan marge or butter
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
250g vegan marge
500g plain flour
a little water
a little soya milk

Begin by making the pastry. In a food processor (or by hand if you don't have one) process the fat and flour till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running add just enough water to bring it together. Tip onto a work surface and knead very gently and briefly. Leave to rest for 30 mins or so.

Meanwhile make the filling. Place the apples, sugar and fat in a pan and heat gently for about 20 mins until most of the apple is puree but some biggish chunks still remain. Leave to cool a little.

Roll the pastry out and use it to line a pie dish. Trim the edges. Place the filling inside and then roll out the top piece. Brush the edges of the pie bottom with some soya milk and place the top on top. Crimp the edges with a fork and trim again. Brush the top of the pie with soya milk and then sprinkle over some more sugar. Make a couple of steam vents in the middle.

Place the pie on a pre-heated baking tray and bake at 190 degrees for 20 mins. reduce the heat to 170 degrees and bake for a further 25-35 mins till golden brown and cooked through. Leave to cool slightly before serving with vanilla swedish glace or vegan custard.